Connectivity between countries established by landbirds and raptors migrating along the African–Eurasian flyway

The conservation of long-distance migratory birds requires coordination between the multiple countries connected by the movements of these species. The recent expansion of tracking studies is shedding new light on these movements, but much of this information is fragmented and inaccessible to conservation practitioners and policy makers. We synthesized current knowledge on the connectivity established between countries by landbirds and raptors migrating along the African–Eurasian flyway. We reviewed tracking studies to compile migration records for 1229 individual birds, from which we derived 544 migratory links, each link corresponding to a species’ connection between a breeding country in Europe and a nonbreeding country in sub-Saharan Africa. We used these migratory links to analyze trends in knowledge over time and spatial patterns of connectivity per country (across species), per species (across countries), and at the flyway scale (across all countries and all species). The number of tracking studies available increased steadily since 2010 (particularly for landbirds), but the coverage of existing tracking data was highly incomplete. An average of 7.5% of migratory landbird species and 14.6% of raptor species were tracked per country. More data existed from central and western European countries, and it was biased toward larger bodied species. We provide species- and country-level syntheses of the migratory links we identified from the reviewed studies, involving 123 populations of 43 species, migrating between 28 European and 43 African countries. Several countries (e.g., Spain, Poland, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo) are strategic priorities for future tracking studies to complement existing data, particularly on landbirds. Despite the limitations in existing tracking data, our data and results can inform discussions under 2 key policy instruments at the flyway scale: the African–Eurasian Migratory Landbirds Action Plan and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia.     

Variations in δ13C of water–soluble leaf and phloem organic matter of Platycladus orientalis: influences of photosynthetic and post–photosynthetic fractionation

Analysis of variations in water–soluble organic matter (WSOM) δ¹³C of leaves and phloem can efficiently describe the δ¹³C distributions within plants and identify the temporal variation of δ¹³C. In this study, WSOM δ¹³C values of both leaves and phloem (twig, stem, and root) of Platycladus orientalis were measured during seven sunny days, including 2–hour interval measurements at three days for diel pattern analysis and 6–hour interval measurements at the remaining four days for day–to–day variation analysis. Analysis of WSOM δ¹³C in different plant organs showed that ¹³C was generally depleted from leaves to twigs, then enriched in stems and subsequently depleted in roots. Stems were significantly ¹³C–enriched compared to twigs (p?<?0.05), while δ¹³C differences between stems and other organs and among leaves, twigs and roots were not significant (p?>?0.05). No clear diel patterns in δ¹³C of leaves and phloem were found. Daily average δ¹³C values indicated that all plant organs had more positive values on sunny days during the dry season than during the wet season. Both photosynthetic and post–photosynthetic fractionation influence variations in WSOM δ¹³C. These results have implications for research on plant physiology and plant water use.     

Assessment of the seismic effect of insulation on extra-large cryogenic liquid natural gas storage tanks

Insulation is typically used in extra-large double-walled cryogenic storage tanks that are used to store liquid natural gas (LNG). These vessels have been designed with the assumption that the insulation offers negligible structural resistance that might cause structural damage. Observation of the deformation of the insulation in such tanks leads to concern that the insulation may become sufficiently compacted to cause significant load transfer between the inner and outer tank. The inner tank, though protected from most external events by the outer tank, is only designed to contain the liquid gas. It is therefore much more sensitive to seismic effects. In this investigation, simplified and 3D finite element models are used to simulate the interaction effects of the fluid, inner tank, insulation and outer tank. This paper presents an initial analysis of the potential effects of LNG tank insulation under earthquake conditions and assesses the potential for structural damage by comparison of models that do or do not consider the insulation layer. The data reported and statistically sorted include the overturning moment, the base shear, the tank wall stress, and the wave height in the tank. The results show that the insulation layer has certain influence on seismic design of LNG tanks.     

A design method of a plant alarm system for first alarm alternative signals using a modularized CE model

Management of a plant alarm system has been identified as one of the key safety issues because of disasters caused by alarm floods. When a chemical plant is at abnormal state, an alarm system must provide useful information to operators as the third layer of an independent protection layer (IPL). Therefore, a method of designing a plant alarm system is important for plant safety. Because the plant is maintained in the plant lifecycle, the alarm system for the plant should be properly managed through the plant lifecycle. To manage changes, the design rationales of the alarm system should be explained explicitly. This paper investigates a logical and systematic alarm system design method that explicitly explains the design rationales from know-why information for proper management of changes through the plant lifecycle. In the method, the module structure proposed by Hamaguchi et al. (2011) to assign a fault origin to be distinguished is extended. Using modules to investigate the sets of alarm sensors and the alarm limits setting for first alarm alternative signals to distinguish the fault origin, an alarm system design method is proposed. Also, the completeness of fault propagation for a branch of the cause–effect model as the plant model is explained. Using the modules and the set of fault origins to be distinguished by the alarm system, we try to explicitly explain the design rationales of the alarm system.     

The photocatalytic degradation of carbamazepine and prediction by artificial neural networks

The three layer artificial neural network model was applied to predict the degradation efficiency for carbamazepine in photocatalytic oxidation under UV radiation. Titania–zirconia was employed as a catalyst for the photooxidation. The catalyst was prepared using titanium isopropoxide and zirconium oxychloride by sol–gel method and characterized by transmission electron microscopy and BET analysis. Different process parameters such as, initial concentration of carbamazepine, pH of the solution, catalyst concentration and time of UV irradiation were employed as the input to the artificial neural network model and the output of the network was degradation efficiency of carbamazepine. The multilayer feed-forward networks with the Levenberg–Marquardt (trainlm) backpropagation training algorithm was used for the network training. The smallest mean square error was obtained for three-layer network with ‘logsig’ transfer function and five neurons in the hidden layer gave optimal results. A comparison between the predicted values and selective experimental data of degradation efficiency showed a high correlation coefficient (R²) of 0.997.     

Solar photocatalytic degradation of the herbicide isoproturon on a Bi–TiO2/zeolite photocatalyst

The photocatalytic degradation of the herbicide isoproturon under solar light was investigated in aqueous solution containing a Bi–TiO₂/zeolite photocatalyst. The catalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The effect of Bi–TiO₂ loading onto the zeolite support and influence of the parameters such as catalyst amount, pH, and initial concentration of isoproturon on the degradation rate were evaluated. The recycling ability of the catalyst was found to be sustainable for elongated periods. The high activity of the Bi–TiO₂/zeolite was attributed to its absorptivity of visible light and its high adsorption capacity for the pollutant molecules.     

Investigating the potential for different scooter and car exhaust emissions to cause cytotoxic and (pro-)inflammatory responses to a 3D in vitro model of the human epithelial airway

The aim of this study was to compare the cytotoxicity and the (pro-)inflammatory responses of two-stroke (direct injection and carburetor technology) and four-stroke scooter and diesel car exhaust emissions on lung cells in vitro. This was analyzed by exposing a 3D in vitro model of the epithelial airway (consisting of human bronchial epithelial cells (cell line 16HBE14o^?) combined with human whole blood monocyte-derived macrophages and dendritic cells) to physically characterized exhaust emissions. Biological endpoints of cytotoxicity (lactate dehydrogenase release), as well as pro-inflammatory cytokine (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α) and inflammatory chemokine (interleukin(IL)-8) stimulation were examined. Two-stroke direct injection scooter exhaust contained the highest particle number concentration and nitrogen oxides (NO _x ) concentrations and the emissions from the two-stroke carburetor scooter contained the highest hydrocarbon and lowest NO _x concentrations. The four-stroke scooter emitted the highest carbon monoxide concentration whereas the cars emitted the lowest. The combination of various technical optimizations for the two-stroke direct injection scooter (particle filter, oxidative catalyst, better oil and fuel) reduced the total emissions strongly and the TNF-α concentration significantly (p?相似文献   

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of a Fe3O4–AgCl nanocomposite against Escherichia coli

In this investigation, Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were prepared by the alkalinization of an aqueous medium containing ferrous sulfate and ferric chloride. In the next step, a Fe₃O₄–AgCl magnetic nanocomposite was fabricated by the drop-by-drop addition of silver nitrate solution into a NaCl solution containing Fe₃O₄ MNPs. All prepared nanoparticles were characterized by transition electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Both particle types varied in size from 2.5 to 20?nm, with an average size of 7.5?nm for Fe₃O₄ MNPs and 12.5?nm for Fe₃O₄–AgCl nanocomposites. The antibacterial effect of the Fe₃O₄ MNPs and fabricated Fe₃O₄–AgCl nanocomposites against Escherichia coli (ATCC 35218) were investigated by conventional serial agar dilution method using the Müller–Hinton Agar medium. The minimum inhibitory concentration was 4?mg?mL^?1 for Fe₃O₄ MNPs and 2?mg?mL^?1 for the Fe₃O₄–AgCl magnetic nanocomposites. Time-kill course assays showed that the Fe₃O₄–AgCl magnetic nanocomposites successfully killed all inoculated bacterial cells during an exposure time of 60?min. The antibacterial activity of recycled Fe₃O₄–AgCl magnetic nanocomposites over four 60?min cycles of antibacterial treatment was further tested against E. coli by the colony-forming unit (CFU) method. The antibacterial efficiency of the nanocomposites was constant over two cycles of antibacterial testing.     

Trace element atmospheric pollution in South Albania studied by the moss technique and inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry

Monitoring hazardous air pollutants is needed for understanding their spatial and temporal distribution and ultimately to minimize their harmful effects. For the first time, the moss biomonitoring technique has been applied to air pollution monitoring in South Albania. Moss samples were collected during the period of September–October 2010, and were analyzed for total concentration of the elements Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Sr, V, and Zn by inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry. Geographical distribution maps of the elements over the sampled territory were constructed using geographic information systems technology. Multivariate statistical analysis was applied to distinguish elements mainly of anthropogenic origin from those predominantly originating from natural sources. Four factors were identified: Factor 1 reflects wind-blown mineral particles or local emissions from industry (Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, V, Zn); Factor 2 is related to long-range atmospheric transport of elements or local emissions from industry (Cd, Pb); Factor 3 (Na, Mg) and Factor 4 (K) reflect the natural origin of elements as crustal, marine, and vegetation components.