Influence of surrounding environment on subcritical crack growth in marble

Science.gov (United States)

Nara, Yoshitaka; Kashiwaya, Koki; Nishida, Yuki; , Toshinori, Ii

2017-06-01

Understanding subcritical crack growth in rock is essential for determining appropriate measures to ensure the long-term integrity of rock masses surrounding structures and for construction from rock material. In this study, subcritical crack growth in marble was investigated experimentally, focusing on the influence of the surrounding environment on the relationship between the crack velocity and stress intensity factor. The crack velocity increased with increasing temperature and/or relative humidity. In all cases, the crack velocity increased with increasing stress intensity factor. However, for Carrara marble (CM) in air, we observed a region in which the crack velocity still increased with temperature, but the increase in the crack velocity with increasing stress intensity factor was not significant. This is similar to Region II of subcritical crack growth observed in glass in air. Region II in glass is controlled by mass transport to the crack tip. In the case of rock, the transport of water to the crack tip is important. In general, Region II is not observed for subcritical crack growth in rock materials, because rocks contain water. Because the porosity of CM is very low, the amount of water contained in the marble is also very small. Therefore, our results imply that we observed Region II in CM. Because the crack velocity increased in both water and air with increasing temperature and humidity, we concluded that dry conditions at low temperature are desirable for the long-term integrity of a carbonate rock mass. Additionally, mass transport to the crack tip is an important process for subcritical crack growth in rock with low porosity.

Association between the food retail environment surrounding schools and overweight in Canadian youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Seliske, Laura M; Pickett, William; Boyce, William F; Janssen, Ian

2009-09-01

There is growing interest in how the physical environment influences obesity. Few studies have considered how the food retail environment surrounding schools influences overweight in students. To determine whether there is a relationship between food retailers surrounding schools and overweight among Canadian youth. Cross-sectional study. SETTING/METHODS/SUBJECTS: The number of food retailers was obtained within a 1 km and 5 km radius around 178 schools in Canada. Retailers included full-service restaurants, fast-food restaurants, sub/sandwich retailers, doughnut/coffee shops, convenience stores and grocery stores. An index of total food retailer exposure was also created. Multilevel analyses were used to control for individual- and area-level covariates. None of the individual food retailers was associated with an increased likelihood of overweight. The total food retailer index was most strongly related to overweight, but in the opposite direction to that hypothesized. At 1 km, students attending schools with at least one food retailer had a lower relative odds of overweight (OR = 0.70, 95% CI 0.61, 0.81). At 5 km, students attending schools with the highest exposure to the total food retailer index had a lower relative odds of overweight (OR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.47, 0.68) compared with students attending schools with no exposure. Exposure to various types of food retailers in school neighbourhoods was not associated with an increased likelihood of overweight in Canadian school-aged youth. The opportunity to make healthy choices from a variety of options and the unique Canadian context may explain the findings.

ENGINEERED BARRIER SYSTEM: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jarek, R.

2004-01-01

The purpose of this report is to describe the evolution of the physical and chemical environmental conditions within the waste emplacement drifts of the repository, including the drip shield and waste package surfaces. The abstraction model is used in the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA LA) to assess the performance of the engineered barrier system and the waste form. This report develops and documents a set of these abstraction-level models that describe the engineered barrier system physical and chemical environment. Where possible, these models use information directly from other reports as input, which promotes integration among process models used for TSPA-LA. Specific tasks and activities of modeling the physical and chemical environment are included in ''Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport In-Drift Geochemistry Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171156], Section 1.2.2). As described in the technical work plan, the development of this report is coordinated with the development of other engineered barrier system reports

ENGINEERED BARRIER SYSTEM: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

G.H. Nieder-Westermann

2005-01-01

The purpose of this report is to describe the evolution of the physical and chemical environmental conditions within the waste emplacement drifts of the repository, including the drip shield and waste package surfaces. The abstraction model is used in the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA LA) to assess the performance of the engineered barrier system and the waste form. This report develops and documents a set of these abstraction-level models that describe the engineered barrier system physical and chemical environment. Where possible, these models use information directly from other reports as input, which promotes integration among process models used for TSPA-LA. Specific tasks and activities of modeling the physical and chemical environment are included in ''Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport In-Drift Geochemistry Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171156], Section 1.2.2). As described in the technical work plan, the development of this report is coordinated with the development of other engineered barrier system reports

Consumer exposure to chemicals in indoor environment : A specific focus on chemicals from textile products

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wijnhoven SWP; Kooi MW; te Biesebeek JD; SIR; vgc

2010-01-01

Textile products in indoor environment contain a variety of chemicals. Well-known examples are flame retardants, phthalates, formaldehyde and dimethylfumarate. Consumers are potentially exposed to these chemicals since a lot of textile products are present in indoor environment (clothing, curtains,

Engineered Barrier System: Physical and Chemical Environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, P.

2004-01-01

The conceptual and predictive models documented in this Engineered Barrier System: Physical and Chemical Environment Model report describe the evolution of the physical and chemical conditions within the waste emplacement drifts of the repository. The modeling approaches and model output data will be used in the total system performance assessment (TSPA-LA) to assess the performance of the engineered barrier system and the waste form. These models evaluate the range of potential water compositions within the emplacement drifts, resulting from the interaction of introduced materials and minerals in dust with water seeping into the drifts and with aqueous solutions forming by deliquescence of dust (as influenced by atmospheric conditions), and from thermal-hydrological-chemical (THC) processes in the drift. These models also consider the uncertainty and variability in water chemistry inside the drift and the compositions of introduced materials within the drift. This report develops and documents a set of process- and abstraction-level models that constitute the engineered barrier system: physical and chemical environment model. Where possible, these models use information directly from other process model reports as input, which promotes integration among process models used for total system performance assessment. Specific tasks and activities of modeling the physical and chemical environment are included in the technical work plan ''Technical Work Plan for: In-Drift Geochemistry Modeling'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 166519]). As described in the technical work plan, the development of this report is coordinated with the development of other engineered barrier system analysis model reports

ENGINEERED BARRIER SYSTEM: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R. Jarek

2004-11-23

The purpose of this report is to describe the evolution of the physical and chemical environmental conditions within the waste emplacement drifts of the repository, including the drip shield and waste package surfaces. The abstraction model is used in the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA LA) to assess the performance of the engineered barrier system and the waste form. This report develops and documents a set of these abstraction-level models that describe the engineered barrier system physical and chemical environment. Where possible, these models use information directly from other reports as input, which promotes integration among process models used for TSPA-LA. Specific tasks and activities of modeling the physical and chemical environment are included in ''Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport In-Drift Geochemistry Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171156], Section 1.2.2). As described in the technical work plan, the development of this report is coordinated with the development of other engineered barrier system reports.

ENGINEERED BARRIER SYSTEM: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

G.H. Nieder-Westermann

2005-04-07

The purpose of this report is to describe the evolution of the physical and chemical environmental conditions within the waste emplacement drifts of the repository, including the drip shield and waste package surfaces. The abstraction model is used in the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA LA) to assess the performance of the engineered barrier system and the waste form. This report develops and documents a set of these abstraction-level models that describe the engineered barrier system physical and chemical environment. Where possible, these models use information directly from other reports as input, which promotes integration among process models used for TSPA-LA. Specific tasks and activities of modeling the physical and chemical environment are included in ''Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport In-Drift Geochemistry Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171156], Section 1.2.2). As described in the technical work plan, the development of this report is coordinated with the development of other engineered barrier system reports.

Sound Environments Surrounding Preterm Infants Within an Occupied Closed Incubator.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimizu, Aya; Matsuo, Hiroya

2016-01-01

Preterm infants often exhibit functional disorders due to the stressful environment in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The sound pressure level (SPL) in the NICU is often much higher than the levels recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Our study aims to describe the SPL and sound frequency levels surrounding preterm infants within closed incubators that utilize high frequency oscillation (HFO) or nasal directional positive airway pressure (nasal-DPAP) respiratory settings. This is a descriptive research study of eight preterm infants (corrected agenoise levels were observed and the results were compared to the recommendations made by neonatal experts. Increased noise levels, which have reported to affect neonates' ability to self-regulate, could increase the risk of developing attention deficit disorder, and may result in tachycardia, bradycardia, increased intracranial pressure, and hypoxia. The care provider should closely assess for adverse effects of higher sound levels generated by different modes of respiratory support and take measures to ensure that preterm infants are protected from exposure to noise exceeding the optimal safe levels. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Engineered Barrier System: Physical and Chemical Environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

P. Dixon

2004-04-26

The conceptual and predictive models documented in this Engineered Barrier System: Physical and Chemical Environment Model report describe the evolution of the physical and chemical conditions within the waste emplacement drifts of the repository. The modeling approaches and model output data will be used in the total system performance assessment (TSPA-LA) to assess the performance of the engineered barrier system and the waste form. These models evaluate the range of potential water compositions within the emplacement drifts, resulting from the interaction of introduced materials and minerals in dust with water seeping into the drifts and with aqueous solutions forming by deliquescence of dust (as influenced by atmospheric conditions), and from thermal-hydrological-chemical (THC) processes in the drift. These models also consider the uncertainty and variability in water chemistry inside the drift and the compositions of introduced materials within the drift. This report develops and documents a set of process- and abstraction-level models that constitute the engineered barrier system: physical and chemical environment model. Where possible, these models use information directly from other process model reports as input, which promotes integration among process models used for total system performance assessment. Specific tasks and activities of modeling the physical and chemical environment are included in the technical work plan ''Technical Work Plan for: In-Drift Geochemistry Modeling'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 166519]). As described in the technical work plan, the development of this report is coordinated with the development of other engineered barrier system analysis model reports.

Engineered Barrier System: Physical and Chemical Environment Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jolley, D. M.; Jarek, R.; Mariner, P.

2004-01-01

The conceptual and predictive models documented in this Engineered Barrier System: Physical and Chemical Environment Model report describe the evolution of the physical and chemical conditions within the waste emplacement drifts of the repository. The modeling approaches and model output data will be used in the total system performance assessment (TSPA-LA) to assess the performance of the engineered barrier system and the waste form. These models evaluate the range of potential water compositions within the emplacement drifts, resulting from the interaction of introduced materials and minerals in dust with water seeping into the drifts and with aqueous solutions forming by deliquescence of dust (as influenced by atmospheric conditions), and from thermal-hydrological-chemical (THC) processes in the drift. These models also consider the uncertainty and variability in water chemistry inside the drift and the compositions of introduced materials within the drift. This report develops and documents a set of process- and abstraction-level models that constitute the engineered barrier system: physical and chemical environment model. Where possible, these models use information directly from other process model reports as input, which promotes integration among process models used for total system performance assessment. Specific tasks and activities of modeling the physical and chemical environment are included in the technical work plan ''Technical Work Plan for: In-Drift Geochemistry Modeling'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 166519]). As described in the technical work plan, the development of this report is coordinated with the development of other engineered barrier system analysis model reports

Residential Surrounding Greenness, Self-Rated Health and Interrelations with Aspects of Neighborhood Environment and Social Relations.

Science.gov (United States)

Orban, Ester; Sutcliffe, Robynne; Dragano, Nico; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Moebus, Susanne

2017-04-01

Previous research suggests that green environments positively influence health. Several underlying mechanisms have been discussed; one of them is facilitation of social interaction. Further, greener neighborhoods may appear more aesthetic, contributing to satisfaction and well-being. Aim of this study was to analyze the association of residential surrounding greenness with self-rated health, using data from 4480 women and men aged 45-75 years that participated in the German population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study. We further aimed to explore the relationships of greenness and self-rated health with the neighborhood environment and social relations. Surrounding greenness was measured using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within 100 m around participants' residence. As a result, we found that with higher greenness, poor self-rated health decreased (adjusted OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.82-0.98; per 0.1 increase in NDVI), while neighborhood satisfaction (1.41, 1.23-1.61) and neighborhood social capital (1.22, 1.12-1.32) increased. Further, we observed inverse associations of neighborhood satisfaction (0.70, 0.52-0.94), perceived safety (0.36, 0.22-0.60), social satisfaction (0.43, 0.31-0.58), and neighborhood social capital (0.53, 0.44-0.64) with poor self-rated health. These results underline the importance of incorporating green elements into neighborhoods for health-promoting urban development strategies.

Chemical buffering capacity of clay rock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beaucaire, C.; Pearson, F.J.; Gautschi, A.

2004-01-01

The long-term performance of a nuclear waste repository is strongly dependent on the chemical properties of the host rock. The host rock establishes the chemical environment that determines such important performance attributes as radionuclide solubilities from the waste and the transport rates from the repository to the accessible environment. Clay-rich rocks are especially favourable host rocks because they provide a strong buffering capacity to resist chemical changes prompted either internally, by reactions of the waste itself and emplacement materials, or externally, by changes in the hydrologic systems surrounding the host rock. This paper will focus on three aspects of the stability of clay-rich host rocks: their ability to provide pCO 2 and redox buffering, and to resist chemical changes imposed by changes in regional hydrology and hydro-chemistry. (authors)

Monitoring program of surrounding of the NPP SE-EBO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dobis, L.; Kostial, J.

1997-01-01

The paper dealt with monitoring program of radiation control of surrounding of the NPP Bohunice, which has the aim: (1) to ensure the control of influence of work of the NPP Bohunice on the environment in their surrounding; (2) to ensure the back-ground for regular brief of control and supervisory organs about condition of the environment in surrounding of the NPP Bohunice; (3) to maintain the expected technical level of control of the NPP Bohunice and to exploit optimally the technical means; (4) to solicit permanently the data about the radioactivity of environment in surrounding of the NPP Bohunice for forming of files of the data; (5) to exploit purposefully the technical equipment, technical workers and to maintain their in permanent emergency and technical eligibility for the case of the breakdown; (6) to obtain permanently the files of the values for qualification of the reference levels. This program of monitoring includes the radiation control of surrounding of the NPP Bohunice, in the time of normal work of power-station's blocks, inclusively of all types of trouble-shooting and repairer works in surrounding of the NPP Bohunice, up to distance 20 km from power-station. The monitoring includes: outlets from the NPP Bohunice, monitoring of radiation characteristics in surrounding of the NPP Bohunice, (aerosols, fall-outs, soil), the links of food chains: (grass and fodder, milk, agriculture products), hydrosphere in surrounding (surface waters, drink water, bores of radiation control in complex of the NPP Bohunice, components of the hydrosphere), measurement of radiation from external sources (measurement of the dose rates, measurement of the doses [sk

Consumer exposure to chemicals in indoor environment : A specific focus on chemicals from textile products

OpenAIRE

Wijnhoven SWP; Kooi MW; te Biesebeek JD; SIR; vgc

2010-01-01

Textile products in indoor environment contain a variety of chemicals. Well-known examples are flame retardants, phthalates, formaldehyde and dimethylfumarate. Consumers are potentially exposed to these chemicals since a lot of textile products are present in indoor environment (clothing, curtains, floor covering, and upholstery of furniture) and consumers are in contact with these products for up to 24 hours a day. The Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (VWA) commissioned RIVM to mak...

Engineered Barrier System: Physical and Chemical Environment Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D. M. Jolley; R. Jarek; P. Mariner

2004-02-09

The conceptual and predictive models documented in this Engineered Barrier System: Physical and Chemical Environment Model report describe the evolution of the physical and chemical conditions within the waste emplacement drifts of the repository. The modeling approaches and model output data will be used in the total system performance assessment (TSPA-LA) to assess the performance of the engineered barrier system and the waste form. These models evaluate the range of potential water compositions within the emplacement drifts, resulting from the interaction of introduced materials and minerals in dust with water seeping into the drifts and with aqueous solutions forming by deliquescence of dust (as influenced by atmospheric conditions), and from thermal-hydrological-chemical (THC) processes in the drift. These models also consider the uncertainty and variability in water chemistry inside the drift and the compositions of introduced materials within the drift. This report develops and documents a set of process- and abstraction-level models that constitute the engineered barrier system: physical and chemical environment model. Where possible, these models use information directly from other process model reports as input, which promotes integration among process models used for total system performance assessment. Specific tasks and activities of modeling the physical and chemical environment are included in the technical work plan ''Technical Work Plan for: In-Drift Geochemistry Modeling'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 166519]). As described in the technical work plan, the development of this report is coordinated with the development of other engineered barrier system analysis model reports.

Physico-Chemical Characterization and Pollution Index ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

MICHAEL HORSFALL

bodies; groundwater and surface water (Slomwcznska ... may then enter the environment and pollute the surrounding water ... In order to avoid chemical and biological changes that have the ..... disposal of treated leachates to inland surface water .... India. 3(5): 147-153. Kumar, D., and Alappat, B. J. (2003b). A technique.

Levels and distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the freshwater environment surrounding a PBDE manufacturing plant in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Jie; Gao Zishen; Xian Qiming; Yu Hongxia; Feng Jianfang

2009-01-01

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determined in muscle, liver and eggs of freshwater fishes and surface sediments from the Nongkang River in Jinhu, Jiangsu Province, China. The present study is the first to report PBDE concentrations in the freshwater environment surrounding a PBDE manufacturing plant in China. The concentrations of 13 PBDE congeners in muscle, liver and eggs of freshwater fishes ranged from < LOD to 130, < LOD to 252 and < LOD to 33.3 ng/g lipid wt, respectively, while the concentrations of 13 PBDE congeners in surface sediments from sewage outfall, upstream and downstream of the river were 52, 9.2, 7.1 ng/g organic carbon wt, respectively. Contamination by PBDEs in this area was not serious when compared with other regions of the world. A relatively high proportion of BDE-183 was found, consistent with the octa-BDE technical mixtures from the manufacturing plant by the side of the river. - The first study to report concentrations of PBDEs in the freshwater environment surrounding a PBDE manufacturing plant in China.

Uranium in the Surrounding of San Marcos-Sacramento River Environment (Chihuahua, Mexico)

Science.gov (United States)

Rentería-Villalobos, Marusia; Cortés, Manuel Reyes; Mantero, Juan; Manjón, Guillermo; García-Tenorio, Rafael; Herrera, Eduardo; Montero-Cabrera, Maria Elena

2012-01-01

The main interest of this study is to assess whether uranium deposits located in the San Marcos outcrops (NW of Chihuahua City, Mexico) could be considered as a source of U-isotopes in its surrounding environment. Uranium activity concentrations were determined in biota, ground, and surface water by either alpha or liquid scintillation spectrometries. Major ions were analyzed by ICP-OES in surface water and its suspended matter. For determining uranium activity in biota, samples were divided in parts. The results have shown a possible lixiviation and infiltration of uranium from geological substrate into the ground and surface water, and consequently, a transfer to biota. Calculated annual effective doses by ingestion suggest that U-isotopes in biota could not negligibly contribute to the neighboring population dose. By all these considerations, it is concluded that in this zone there is natural enhancement of uranium in all environmental samples analyzed in the present work. PMID:22536148

An approach for assessing human exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rice, Glenn; MacDonell, Margaret; Hertzberg, Richard C.; Teuschler, Linda; Picel, Kurt; Butler, Jim; Chang, Young-Soo; Hartmann, Heidi

2008-01-01

Humans are exposed daily to multiple chemicals, including incidental exposures to complex chemical mixtures released into the environment and to combinations of chemicals that already co-exist in the environment because of previous releases from various sources. Exposures to chemical mixtures can occur through multiple pathways and across multiple routes. In this paper, we propose an iterative approach for assessing exposures to environmental chemical mixtures; it is similar to single-chemical approaches. Our approach encompasses two elements of the Risk Assessment Paradigm: Problem Formulation and Exposure Assessment. Multiple phases of the assessment occur in each element of the paradigm. During Problem Formulation, analysts identify and characterize the source(s) of the chemical mixture, ensure that dose-response and exposure assessment measures are concordant, and develop a preliminary evaluation of the mixture's fate. During Exposure Assessment, analysts evaluate the fate of the chemicals comprising the mixture using appropriate models and measurement data, characterize the exposure scenario, and estimate human exposure to the mixture. We also describe the utility of grouping the chemicals to be analyzed based on both physical-chemical properties and an understanding of environmental fate. In the article, we also highlight the need for understanding of changes in the mixture composition in the environment due to differential transport, differential degradation, and differential partitioning to other media. The section describes the application of the method to various chemical mixtures, highlighting issues associated with assessing exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment

Chemical performance of multi-environment trials in lens (Lens culinaris M.).

Science.gov (United States)

Karadavut, Ufuk; Palta, Cetin

2010-01-15

Genotype-environment (GE) interaction has been a major effect to determine stable lens (Lens culinaris (Medik.) Merr.) cultivars for chemical composition in Turkey. Utilization of the lines depends on their agronomic traits and stability of the chemical composition in diverse environments. The objectives of this study were: (i) to evaluate the influence of year and location on the chemical composition of lens genotypes; and (ii) to determine which cultivar is the most stable. Genotypes were evaluated over 3 years (2005, 2006 and 2007) at four locations in Turkey. Effects of year had the largest impact on all protein contents. GE interaction was analyzed by using linear regression techniques. Stability was estimated using the Eberhart and Russell method. 'Kişlik Kirmizi51' was the most stable cultivar for grain yield. The highest protein was obtained from 'Kişlik Kirmizi51' (4.6%) across environments. According to stability analysis, 'Firat 87' had the most stable chemical composition. This genotype had a regression coefficient (b(i) = 1) around unity, and deviations from regression values (delta(ij) = 0) around zero. Chemical composition was affected by year in this study. Temperature might have an effect on protein, oil, carbohydrate, fibre and ash. Firat 87 could be recommended for favourable environments. Copyright (c) 2009 Society of Chemical Industry.

Non-Chemical Stressors in a Child’s Social Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Non-chemical stressors exist in the built, natural and social environments including physical factors (e.g., noise, temperature and humidity) and psychosocial factors (e.g., poor diet, smoking, illicit drug use)[1]. Scientists study how non-chemical stressors (e.g., social suppor...

Chemical behaviour of zinc in cover gas environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thorley, A.W; Blundell, A.; Lloyd, R.

1987-01-01

The possibility that enhancement of 65-Zn in the cover gas regions of reactor plant may increase levels of radioactivity and provide potential embrittlement situations has lead to a limited metallurgical and chemical investigation into how this element behaves in cover gas environments. This paper reports the chemical findings from those investigations and compare results obtained with those anticipated from thermodynamic predictions

Energy and environment efficiency analysis based on an improved environment DEA cross-model: Case study of complex chemical processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geng, ZhiQiang; Dong, JunGen; Han, YongMing; Zhu, QunXiong

2017-01-01

Highlights: •An improved environment DEA cross-model method is proposed. •Energy and environment efficiency analysis framework of complex chemical processes is obtained. •This proposed method is efficient in energy-saving and emission reduction of complex chemical processes. -- Abstract: The complex chemical process is a high pollution and high energy consumption industrial process. Therefore, it is very important to analyze and evaluate the energy and environment efficiency of the complex chemical process. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of decision-making units (DMUs). However, the traditional DEA method usually cannot genuinely distinguish the effective and inefficient DMU due to its extreme or unreasonable weight distribution of input and output variables. Therefore, this paper proposes an energy and environment efficiency analysis method based on an improved environment DEA cross-model (DEACM) method. The inputs of the complex chemical process are divided into energy and non-energy inputs. Meanwhile, the outputs are divided into desirable and undesirable outputs. And then the energy and environment performance index (EEPI) based on the cross evaluation is used to represent the overall performance of each DMU. Moreover, the improvement direction of energy-saving and carbon emission reduction of each inefficiency DMU is quantitatively obtained based on the self-evaluation model of the improved environment DEACM. The results show that the improved environment DEACM method has a better effective discrimination than the original DEA method by analyzing the energy and environment efficiency of the ethylene production process in complex chemical processes, and it can obtain the potential of energy-saving and carbon emission reduction of ethylene plants, especially the improvement direction of inefficient DMUs to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emission.

Organic matter recycling during a mucilage event and its influence on the surrounding environment (Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean)

Science.gov (United States)

Misic, Cristina; Schiaparelli, Stefano; Harriague, Anabella Covazzi

2011-04-01

The development of benthic mucilage in the Marine Protected Area of Portofino (Ligurian Sea) during the summer of 2009 was studied to verify the influence of this event on the surrounding environment (seawater and soft-bottom). The calm meteorological and sea conditions at the beginning of the time frame under consideration caused the thermal stratification of the water column. This stratification was one of the driving factors influencing the development of the mucilage, which developed on a large boulder surface above the pycnocline. Mucilage was progressively detached from the boulder surface by hydrodynamism, together with macroalgae, and sank onto the sediment below the thermocline. Increased surface-water movements, caused by meteorological forcing during the study period, influenced the aggregation-disaggregation of mucilage flocks above the thermocline, leading to increased dissolved oxygen concentrations and enhanced production and turnover of the organic matter (OM). Mixing with the adjacent seawater led to the fertilisation of the surrounding environment with potentially labile OM and inorganic phosphorus, which caused increases in the hydrolytic enzymatic activity. Conversely, below the thermocline, the sunken mucilage and algae aggregates supported a heterotrophic consumption system. Dissolved oxygen concentrations were lower than those recorded in the mucilage lying above the thermocline, making more carbohydrates than proteins and labile phosphorus available. Despite the slow oxygenation of this mucilage, it contributed to the food supply for the soft-bottom macrofauna, which showed an increase in density, diversity and biomass during the study. These results suggest that the development and fate of the mucilage, as well as its interactions with the surrounding environment, were principally regulated by physical features. In the oligotrophic coastal area of the Ligurian Sea, certain compartments of the ecosystem were able to promptly respond and take

Quantum field inspired model of decision making: Asymptotic stabilization of belief state via interaction with surrounding mental environment

OpenAIRE

Bagarello, Fabio; Basieva, Irina; Khrennikov, Andrei

2017-01-01

This paper is devoted to justification of quantum-like models of the process of decision making based on the theory of open quantum systems, i.e. decision making is considered as decoherence. This process is modeled as interaction of a decision maker, Alice, with a mental (information) environment ${\\cal R}$ surrounding her. Such an interaction generates "dissipation of uncertainty" from Alice's belief-state $\\rho(t)$ into ${\\cal R}$ and asymptotic stabilization of $\\rho(t)$ to a steady belie...

Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife

Science.gov (United States)

Teuten, Emma L.; Saquing, Jovita M.; Knappe, Detlef R. U.; Barlaz, Morton A.; Jonsson, Susanne; Björn, Annika; Rowland, Steven J.; Thompson, Richard C.; Galloway, Tamara S.; Yamashita, Rei; Ochi, Daisuke; Watanuki, Yutaka; Moore, Charles; Viet, Pham Hung; Tana, Touch Seang; Prudente, Maricar; Boonyatumanond, Ruchaya; Zakaria, Mohamad P.; Akkhavong, Kongsap; Ogata, Yuko; Hirai, Hisashi; Iwasa, Satoru; Mizukawa, Kaoruko; Hagino, Yuki; Imamura, Ayako; Saha, Mahua; Takada, Hideshige

2009-01-01

Plastics debris in the marine environment, including resin pellets, fragments and microscopic plastic fragments, contain organic contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, petroleum hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides (2,2′-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane, hexachlorinated hexanes), polybrominated diphenylethers, alkylphenols and bisphenol A, at concentrations from sub ng g–1 to µg g–1. Some of these compounds are added during plastics manufacture, while others adsorb from the surrounding seawater. Concentrations of hydrophobic contaminants adsorbed on plastics showed distinct spatial variations reflecting global pollution patterns. Model calculations and experimental observations consistently show that polyethylene accumulates more organic contaminants than other plastics such as polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride. Both a mathematical model using equilibrium partitioning and experimental data have demonstrated the transfer of contaminants from plastic to organisms. A feeding experiment indicated that PCBs could transfer from contaminated plastics to streaked shearwater chicks. Plasticizers, other plastics additives and constitutional monomers also present potential threats in terrestrial environments because they can leach from waste disposal sites into groundwater and/or surface waters. Leaching and degradation of plasticizers and polymers are complex phenomena dependent on environmental conditions in the landfill and the chemical properties of each additive. Bisphenol A concentrations in leachates from municipal waste disposal sites in tropical Asia ranged from sub µg l–1 to mg l–1 and were correlated with the level of economic development. PMID:19528054

Heat-activated Plasmonic Chemical Sensors for Harsh Environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carpenter, Michael [SUNY Polytechnic Inst., Albany, NY (United States); Oh, Sang-Hyun [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

2015-12-01

A passive plasmonics based chemical sensing system to be used in harsh operating environments was investigated and developed within this program. The initial proposed technology was based on combining technologies developed at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) and at the University of Minnesota (UM). Specifically, a passive wireless technique developed at UM was to utilize a heat-activated plasmonic design to passively harvest the thermal energy from within a combustion emission stream and convert this into a narrowly focused light source. This plasmonic device was based on a bullseye design patterned into a gold film using focused ion beam methods (FIB). Critical to the design was the use of thermal stabilizing under and overlayers surrounding the gold film. These stabilizing layers were based on both atomic layer deposited films as well as metal laminate layers developed by United Technologies Aerospace Systems (UTAS). While the bullseye design was never able to be thermally stabilized for operating temperatures of 500oC or higher, an alternative energy harvesting design was developed by CNSE within this program. With this new development, plasmonic sensing results are presented where thermal energy is harvested using lithographically patterned Au nanorods, replacing the need for an external incident light source. Gas sensing results using the harvested thermal energy are in good agreement with sensing experiments, which used an external incident light source. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the wavelength parameter space from 665 variables down to 4 variables with similar levels of demonstrated selectivity. The method was further improved by patterning rods which harvested energy in the near infrared, which led to a factor of 10 decrease in data acquisition times as well as demonstrated selectivity with a reduced wavelength data set. The combination of a plasmonic-based energy harvesting

Spectroscopic analyses of chemical adaptation processes within microalgal biomass in response to changing environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vogt, Frank, E-mail: fvogt@utk.edu; White, Lauren

2015-03-31

Highlights: • Microalgae transform large quantities of inorganics into biomass. • Microalgae interact with their growing environment and adapt their chemical composition. • Sequestration capabilities are dependent on cells’ chemical environments. • We develop a chemometric hard-modeling to describe these chemical adaptation dynamics. • This methodology will enable studies of microalgal compound sequestration. - Abstract: Via photosynthesis, marine phytoplankton transforms large quantities of inorganic compounds into biomass. This has considerable environmental impacts as microalgae contribute for instance to counter-balancing anthropogenic releases of the greenhouse gas CO{sub 2}. On the other hand, high concentrations of nitrogen compounds in an ecosystem can lead to harmful algae blooms. In previous investigations it was found that the chemical composition of microalgal biomass is strongly dependent on the nutrient availability. Therefore, it is expected that algae’s sequestration capabilities and productivity are also determined by the cells’ chemical environments. For investigating this hypothesis, novel analytical methodologies are required which are capable of monitoring live cells exposed to chemically shifting environments followed by chemometric modeling of their chemical adaptation dynamics. FTIR-ATR experiments have been developed for acquiring spectroscopic time series of live Dunaliella parva cultures adapting to different nutrient situations. Comparing experimental data from acclimated cultures to those exposed to a chemically shifted nutrient situation reveals insights in which analyte groups participate in modifications of microalgal biomass and on what time scales. For a chemometric description of these processes, a data model has been deduced which explains the chemical adaptation dynamics explicitly rather than empirically. First results show that this approach is feasible and derives information about the chemical biomass

Spectroscopic analyses of chemical adaptation processes within microalgal biomass in response to changing environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vogt, Frank; White, Lauren

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Microalgae transform large quantities of inorganics into biomass. • Microalgae interact with their growing environment and adapt their chemical composition. • Sequestration capabilities are dependent on cells’ chemical environments. • We develop a chemometric hard-modeling to describe these chemical adaptation dynamics. • This methodology will enable studies of microalgal compound sequestration. - Abstract: Via photosynthesis, marine phytoplankton transforms large quantities of inorganic compounds into biomass. This has considerable environmental impacts as microalgae contribute for instance to counter-balancing anthropogenic releases of the greenhouse gas CO 2 . On the other hand, high concentrations of nitrogen compounds in an ecosystem can lead to harmful algae blooms. In previous investigations it was found that the chemical composition of microalgal biomass is strongly dependent on the nutrient availability. Therefore, it is expected that algae’s sequestration capabilities and productivity are also determined by the cells’ chemical environments. For investigating this hypothesis, novel analytical methodologies are required which are capable of monitoring live cells exposed to chemically shifting environments followed by chemometric modeling of their chemical adaptation dynamics. FTIR-ATR experiments have been developed for acquiring spectroscopic time series of live Dunaliella parva cultures adapting to different nutrient situations. Comparing experimental data from acclimated cultures to those exposed to a chemically shifted nutrient situation reveals insights in which analyte groups participate in modifications of microalgal biomass and on what time scales. For a chemometric description of these processes, a data model has been deduced which explains the chemical adaptation dynamics explicitly rather than empirically. First results show that this approach is feasible and derives information about the chemical biomass adaptations

A regional study of the radiation environment of Greenham Common, Newbury District and surrounding areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-02-01

This study was commissioned by Newbury District Council and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in response to public concern following disclosures about events at Greenham Common in the 1950s, and the suspicion that there may have been an accident involving a nuclear weapon leading to off-site contamination at the airbase. The Greenham Common airbase is at an advanced stage of decommissioning with parts of the site already re-developed for industrial and leisure purposes and material being removed for use in construction of the Newbury by-pass. The success of such developments is critically dependent on public confidence in the quality of the environment, both near the site, and more generally throughout the area. For this reason the study was commissioned with the aims of: I. defining the radiation environment of the whole district and parts of its surrounding areas. II. examining whether there is any evidence of radioactive contamination in the vicinity of the Greenham Common airbase. III. assessing the evidence that there may have been a release of nuclear material from the site. The work involved a collaboration between scientists from the Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre, who conducted gamma ray surveys to define the general radiation environment of the area, and Scientists from the University of Southampton who collected an extensive range of samples for high sensitivity radiochemical analyses. This report presents their findings and main conclusions, together with a discussion of the background to the study and its implications. (Author)

Transuranic radionuclides in the environment surrounding radioactive waste diposal sites, a bibliography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoker, A.C.; Noshkin, V.E.; Wong, K.M.; Brunk, J.L.; Conrado, C.L.; Jones, H.E.; Kehl, S.; Stuart, M.L.; Wasley, L.M.; Bradsher, R.V.

1994-08-01

The purpose of this project was to compile a bibliography of references containing environmental transuranic radionuclide data. Our intent was to identify those parameters affecting transuranic radionuclide transport that may be generic and those that may be dependent on chemical form and/or environmental conditions (i.e. site specific). An understanding of the unique characteristics and similarities between source terms and environmental conditions relative to transuranic radionuclide transport and cycling will provide the ability to assess and predict the long term impact on man and the environment. An additional goal of our literature review, was to extract the ranges of environmental transuranic radionuclide data from the identified references for inclusion in a data base. Related to source term, these ranges of data can be used to calculate the dose to man from the radionuclides, and to perform uncertainty analyses on these dose assessments. In an attempt to gather relevant information about the transuranic radionuclides in a variety of environments, we conducted an extensive literature search. In our literature search we identified over 5700 potential written sources of information for review. In addition, we have identified many references which were not found through the literature searches, but which were known to contain useful data. A total of approximately 2600 documents were determined to contain information which would be useful for an in depth study of radionuclides in different environments. The journal articles, books, reports and other documents were reviewed to obtain the source term of the radionuclides studied. Most references containing laboratory study data were not included in our databases. Although these may contain valuable data, we were trying to compile references with information on the behavior of the transuranics in the specific environment being studied

ENGINEERED BARRIER SYSTEM: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

R. Jarek

2005-01-01

The purpose of this model report is to describe the evolution of the physical and chemical environmental conditions within the waste emplacement drifts of the repository, including the drip shield and waste package surfaces. The resulting seepage evaporation and gas abstraction models are used in the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA-LA) to assess the performance of the engineered barrier system and the waste form. This report develops and documents a set of abstraction-level models that describe the engineered barrier system physical and chemical environment. Where possible, these models use information directly from other reports as input, which promotes integration among process models used for TSPA-LA. Specific tasks and activities of modeling the physical and chemical environment are included in ''Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport In-Drift Geochemistry Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173782], Section 1.2.2). As described in the technical work plan, the development of this report is coordinated with the development of other engineered barrier system reports. To be consistent with other project documents that address features, events, and processes (FEPs), Table 6.14.1 of the current report includes updates to FEP numbers and FEP subjects for two FEPs identified in the technical work plan (TWP) governing this report (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173782]). FEP 2.1.09.06.0A (Reduction-oxidation potential in EBS), as listed in Table 2 of the TWP (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173782]), has been updated in the current report to FEP 2.1.09.06.0B (Reduction-oxidation potential in Drifts; see Table 6.14-1). FEP 2.1.09.07.0A (Reaction kinetics in EBS), as listed in Table 2 of the TWP (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173782]), has been updated in the current report to FEP 2.1.09.07.0B (Reaction kinetics in Drifts; see Table 6.14-1). These deviations from the TWP are justified because they improve integration with FEPs documents. The updates

A computational environment for creating and testing reduced chemical kinetic mechanisms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Montgomery, C.J.; Swensen, D.A.; Harding, T.V.; Cremer, M.A.; Bockelie, M.J. [Reaction Engineering International, Salt Lake City, UT (USA)

2002-02-01

This paper describes software called computer assisted reduced mechanism problem solving environment (CARM-PSE) that gives the engineer the ability to rapidly set up, run and examine large numbers of problems comparing detailed and reduced (approximate) chemistry. CARM-PSE integrates the automatic chemical mechanism reduction code CARM and the codes that simulate perfectly stirred reactors and plug flow reactors into a user-friendly computational environment. CARM-PSE gives the combustion engineer the ability to easily test chemical approximations over many hundreds of combinations of inputs in a multidimensional parameter space. The demonstration problems compare detailed and reduced chemical kinetic calculations for methane-air combustion, including nitrogen oxide formation, in a stirred reactor and selective non-catalytic reduction of NOx, in coal combustion flue gas.

Chemical compounds from anthropogenic environment and immune evasion mechanisms: potential interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Kravchenko, Julia; Corsini, Emanuela; Williams, Marc A.; Decker, William; Manjili, Masoud H.; Otsuki, Takemi; Singh, Neetu; Al-Mulla, Faha; Al-Temaimi, Rabeah; Amedei, Amedeo; Colacci, Anna Maria; Vaccari, Monica; Mondello, Chiara; Scovassi, A. Ivana; Raju, Jayadev; Hamid, Roslida A.; Memeo, Lorenzo; Forte, Stefano; Roy, Rabindra; Woodrick, Jordan; Salem, Hosni K.; Ryan, Elizabeth P.; Brown, Dustin G.; Lowe, Leroy; Lyerly, H.Kim

2015-01-01

An increasing number of studies suggest an important role of host immunity as a barrier to tumor formation and progression. Complex mechanisms and multiple pathways are involved in evading innate and adaptive immune responses, with a broad spectrum of chemicals displaying the potential to adversely influence immunosurveillance. The evaluation of the cumulative effects of low-dose exposures from the occupational and natural environment, especially if multiple chemicals target the same gene(s) or pathway(s), is a challenge. We reviewed common environmental chemicals and discussed their potential effects on immunosurveillance. Our overarching objective was to review related signaling pathways influencing immune surveillance such as the pathways involving PI3K/Akt, chemokines, TGF-β, FAK, IGF-1, HIF-1α, IL-6, IL-1α, CTLA-4 and PD-1/PDL-1 could individually or collectively impact immunosurveillance. A number of chemicals that are common in the anthropogenic environment such as fungicides (maneb, fluoxastrobin and pyroclostrobin), herbicides (atrazine), insecticides (pyridaben and azamethiphos), the components of personal care products (triclosan and bisphenol A) and diethylhexylphthalate with pathways critical to tumor immunosurveillance. At this time, these chemicals are not recognized as human carcinogens; however, it is known that they these chemicalscan simultaneously persist in the environment and appear to have some potential interfere with the host immune response, therefore potentially contributing to promotion interacting with of immune evasion mechanisms, and promoting subsequent tumor growth and progression. PMID:26002081

Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensors and Fiber-Optic Bio-Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Pospíšilová, Marie; Kuncová, Gabriela; Trögl, Josef

2015-01-01

This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS) and biosensors (FOBS). Fiber optic sensor (FOS) systems use the ability of optical fibers (OF) to guide the light in the spectral range from ultraviolet (UV) (180 nm) up to middle infrared (IR) (10 µm) and modulation of guided light by the parameters of the surrounding environment of the OF core. The introduction of OF in the sensor systems has brought advantages such as measurement in flammable and explosive environments, immunity to electrical noises, miniaturization, geometrical flexibility, measurement of small sample volumes, remote sensing in inaccessible sites or harsh environments and multi-sensing. The review comprises briefly the theory of OF elaborated for sensors, techniques of fabrications and analytical results reached with fiber-optic chemical and biological sensors. PMID:26437407

Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensors and Fiber-Optic Bio-Sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Pospíšilová, Marie; Kuncová, Gabriela; Trögl, Josef

2015-09-30

This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS) and biosensors (FOBS). Fiber optic sensor (FOS) systems use the ability of optical fibers (OF) to guide the light in the spectral range from ultraviolet (UV) (180 nm) up to middle infrared (IR) (10 μm) and modulation of guided light by the parameters of the surrounding environment of the OF core. The introduction of OF in the sensor systems has brought advantages such as measurement in flammable and explosive environments, immunity to electrical noises, miniaturization, geometrical flexibility, measurement of small sample volumes, remote sensing in inaccessible sites or harsh environments and multi-sensing. The review comprises briefly the theory of OF elaborated for sensors, techniques of fabrications and analytical results reached with fiber-optic chemical and biological sensors.

Waste dissolution with chemical reaction, diffusion and advection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambre, P.L.; Kang, C.H.; Lee, W.W.L.; Pigford, T.H.

1987-06-01

This paper extends the mass-transfer analysis to include the effect of advective transport in predicting the steady-state dissolution rate, with a chemical-reaction-rate boundary condition at the surface of a waste form of arbitrary shape. This new theory provides an analytic means of predicting the ground-water velocities at which dissolution rate in a geologic environment will be governed entirely to the chemical reaction rate. As an illustration, we consider the steady-state potential flow of ground water in porous rock surrounding a spherical waste solid. 3 refs., 2 figs

Exploring consumer exposure pathways and patterns of use for chemicals in the environment through the Chemical/Product Categories Database

Science.gov (United States)

Exploring consumer exposure pathways and patterns of use for chemicals in the environment through the Chemical/Product Categories Database (CPCat) (Presented by: Kathie Dionisio, Sc.D., NERL, US EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC (1/23/2014).

Monitoring of gross beta radioactivities on water sample environment in the surrounding of kartini reactor at 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siswanti; Munandar, A. Aris

2013-01-01

Measurement of gross beta radioactivities on water environment were done in the PTAPB BATAN has a goal for routine monitoring, with the result that fill RPL has been made and the result equivalented with quality standard were decided by BAPETEN. The water sample taken as much as 2 liter at 18 area were definited on radius 100 m to 5000 m in the surrounding of kartini reactor, vaporin on electric stove till the volume been ± 10 ml, and than pick out to the aluminium planset and drying on hot plate. Sample in the plancet were counted with a Low Background Counter (LBC) for 30 minutes and accounted of gross beta radioactivity water system. The result of gross beta radioactivity water environment at 2011 has a lowest 009, ± 0,06 Bq/I on Tambak Bayan area at june and in the Janti area highest 0,39 ± 0,08 Bq/ at December. The result still under of quality standard were decided by SK BAPETEN. No. 02/Ka- BAPETEN/V-99 is 0,4 Bq/I. (author)

Chemical compounds from anthropogenic environment and immune evasion mechanisms: potential interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kravchenko, Julia; Corsini, Emanuela; Williams, Marc A; Decker, William; Manjili, Masoud H; Otsuki, Takemi; Singh, Neetu; Al-Mulla, Faha; Al-Temaimi, Rabeah; Amedei, Amedeo; Colacci, Anna Maria; Vaccari, Monica; Mondello, Chiara; Scovassi, A Ivana; Raju, Jayadev; Hamid, Roslida A; Memeo, Lorenzo; Forte, Stefano; Roy, Rabindra; Woodrick, Jordan; Salem, Hosni K; Ryan, Elizabeth P; Brown, Dustin G; Bisson, William H; Lowe, Leroy; Lyerly, H Kim

2015-06-01

An increasing number of studies suggest an important role of host immunity as a barrier to tumor formation and progression. Complex mechanisms and multiple pathways are involved in evading innate and adaptive immune responses, with a broad spectrum of chemicals displaying the potential to adversely influence immunosurveillance. The evaluation of the cumulative effects of low-dose exposures from the occupational and natural environment, especially if multiple chemicals target the same gene(s) or pathway(s), is a challenge. We reviewed common environmental chemicals and discussed their potential effects on immunosurveillance. Our overarching objective was to review related signaling pathways influencing immune surveillance such as the pathways involving PI3K/Akt, chemokines, TGF-β, FAK, IGF-1, HIF-1α, IL-6, IL-1α, CTLA-4 and PD-1/PDL-1 could individually or collectively impact immunosurveillance. A number of chemicals that are common in the anthropogenic environment such as fungicides (maneb, fluoxastrobin and pyroclostrobin), herbicides (atrazine), insecticides (pyridaben and azamethiphos), the components of personal care products (triclosan and bisphenol A) and diethylhexylphthalate with pathways critical to tumor immunosurveillance. At this time, these chemicals are not recognized as human carcinogens; however, it is known that they these chemicalscan simultaneously persist in the environment and appear to have some potential interfere with the host immune response, therefore potentially contributing to promotion interacting with of immune evasion mechanisms, and promoting subsequent tumor growth and progression. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

ENGINEERED BARRIER SYSTEM: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R. Jarek

2005-08-29

The purpose of this model report is to describe the evolution of the physical and chemical environmental conditions within the waste emplacement drifts of the repository, including the drip shield and waste package surfaces. The resulting seepage evaporation and gas abstraction models are used in the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA-LA) to assess the performance of the engineered barrier system and the waste form. This report develops and documents a set of abstraction-level models that describe the engineered barrier system physical and chemical environment. Where possible, these models use information directly from other reports as input, which promotes integration among process models used for TSPA-LA. Specific tasks and activities of modeling the physical and chemical environment are included in ''Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport In-Drift Geochemistry Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173782], Section 1.2.2). As described in the technical work plan, the development of this report is coordinated with the development of other engineered barrier system reports. To be consistent with other project documents that address features, events, and processes (FEPs), Table 6.14.1 of the current report includes updates to FEP numbers and FEP subjects for two FEPs identified in the technical work plan (TWP) governing this report (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173782]). FEP 2.1.09.06.0A (Reduction-oxidation potential in EBS), as listed in Table 2 of the TWP (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173782]), has been updated in the current report to FEP 2.1.09.06.0B (Reduction-oxidation potential in Drifts; see Table 6.14-1). FEP 2.1.09.07.0A (Reaction kinetics in EBS), as listed in Table 2 of the TWP (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173782]), has been updated in the current report to FEP 2.1.09.07.0B (Reaction kinetics in Drifts; see Table 6.14-1). These deviations from the TWP are justified because they improve integration with FEPs

Compared assessment of chemical risk and radiological risk for the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beaugelin-Seiller, K.; Garnier-Laplace, J.

2007-01-01

The environmental protection is today a global issue that concerns all the human activities. The challenge is to be able to prove their compatibility with the protection of the natural environment, but also if required to manage adequately a potential or established risk, generally in the context of ever strict regulations. Regarding the chemical aspects, known methods are available for the assessment of the associated risk for the environment. From the radiological point of view, the necessity to have such tools recently became more apparent, in order to justify for the public and with a full transparency the release of radioactive substances into the environment, to meet the requirements of the new regulations in terms of environmental protection and finally to harmonize the approaches between human and environmental radioprotection as well as between chemical and radioactive pollutants, simultaneously present for example in routine releases from nuclear power plants. At this end of harmonization, the assessment methodologies of the environmental risk linked to radionuclides or chemical substances are exposed from the theory to their comparative application, a new approach under development from which the first results are summarised. (authors)

Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensors and Fiber-Optic Bio-Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie Pospíšilová

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS and biosensors (FOBS. Fiber optic sensor (FOS systems use the ability of optical fibers (OF to guide the light in the spectral range from ultraviolet (UV (180 nm up to middle infrared (IR (10 μm and modulation of guided light by the parameters of the surrounding environment of the OF core. The introduction of OF in the sensor systems has brought advantages such as measurement in flammable and explosive environments, immunity to electrical noises, miniaturization, geometrical flexibility, measurement of small sample volumes, remote sensing in inaccessible sites or harsh environments and multi-sensing. The review comprises briefly the theory of OF elaborated for sensors, techniques of fabrications and analytical results reached with fiber-optic chemical and biological sensors.

Chemical nature of catalysts of oxide nanoparticles in environment ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

12

Chemical nature of catalysts of oxide nanoparticles in environment prevailing during growth of carbon nanostructures by CCVD. M. Jana*, A. Sil and S. Ray. †. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. Roorkee 247 667, India. Present address: *School of Materials ...

Mercury's interior, surface, and surrounding environment latest discoveries

CERN Document Server

Clark, Pamela Elizabeth

2015-01-01

This SpringerBrief details the MESSENGER Mission, the findings of which present challenges to widely held conventional views and remaining mysteries surrounding the planet. The work answers the question of why Mercury is so dense, and the implications from geochemical data on its planetary formation. It summarizes imaging and compositional data from the terrestrial planet surface processes and explains the geologic history of Mercury.  It also discusses the lack of southern hemisphere coverage. Our understanding of the planet Mercury has been in a transitional phase over the decades since Mariner 10. The influx of new data from the NASA MESSENGER Mission since it was inserted into the orbit of Mercury in March of 2011 has greatly accelerated that shift. The combined compositional data of relatively high volatiles (S, K), relatively low refractories (Al, Ca), and low crustal iron, combined with an active, partially molten iron rich core, has major implications for Mercury and Solar System formation. From a s...

Chemical basis for minimal cognition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hanczyc, Martin; Ikegami, Takashi

tension between the drop of oil and its environment. We embed a chemical reaction in the oil phase that reacts with water when an oily precursor comes in contact with the water phase at the liquidliquid interface. This reaction not only powers the droplet to move in the aqueous phase but also allows...... for sustained movement. The direction of the movement is governed by a self-generated pH gradient that surrounds the droplet. In addition this self-generated gradient can be overridden by an externally imposed pH gradient, and therefore the direction of droplet motion may be controlled. Also we noticed...... that convection flow is generated inside the oil droplet to cause the movement, which was also confirmed by simulating the fluid dynamics integrated with chemical reactions (Matsuno et al., 2007, ACAL 07, Springer, p.179, Springer). We can observe that the droplet senses the gradient in the environment (either...

Reliability Evaluation and Improvement Approach of Chemical Production Man - Machine - Environment System

Science.gov (United States)

Miao, Yongchun; Kang, Rongxue; Chen, Xuefeng

2017-12-01

In recent years, with the gradual extension of reliability research, the study of production system reliability has become the hot topic in various industries. Man-machine-environment system is a complex system composed of human factors, machinery equipment and environment. The reliability of individual factor must be analyzed in order to gradually transit to the research of three-factor reliability. Meanwhile, the dynamic relationship among man-machine-environment should be considered to establish an effective blurry evaluation mechanism to truly and effectively analyze the reliability of such systems. In this paper, based on the system engineering, fuzzy theory, reliability theory, human error, environmental impact and machinery equipment failure theory, the reliabilities of human factor, machinery equipment and environment of some chemical production system were studied by the method of fuzzy evaluation. At last, the reliability of man-machine-environment system was calculated to obtain the weighted result, which indicated that the reliability value of this chemical production system was 86.29. Through the given evaluation domain it can be seen that the reliability of man-machine-environment integrated system is in a good status, and the effective measures for further improvement were proposed according to the fuzzy calculation results.

Chemical energy powered nano/micro/macromotors and the environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Moo, James Guo Sheng; Pumera, Martin

2015-01-02

The rise of miniaturized artificial self-powered devices, demonstrating autonomous motion, has brought in new considerations from the environmental perspective. This review addresses the interplay between these nano/micro/macromotors and the environment, recent advances, and their applications in pollution management. Such self-propelled devices are able to actuate chemical energy into mechanical motion in situ, adding another powerful dimension towards solving environmental problems. Use of synthetic nano/micro/macromotors has demonstrated potential in environmental remediation, both in pollutant removal and contaminant degradation, owing to motion-induced mixing. At the same time, the chemical environment exerts influence on the locomotion of the motors. These sensitized self-powered devices demonstrate capabilities for being deployed as sensors and their chemotactic behaviors show efficacy to act as first responders towards a chemical leakage. Thus, the notion of a self-propelling entity also entails further investigation into its inherent toxicity and possible implications as a pollutant. Future challenges and outlook of the use of these miniaturized devices are discussed, with specific regard to the fields of environmental remediation and monitoring, as we move towards their wider acceptance. We believe that these tiny machines will stand up to the task as solutions for environmental sustainability in the 21st century. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Extensive severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus contamination in surrounding environment in patient rooms.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryu, B-H; Kim, J Y; Kim, T; Kim, M-C; Kim, M J; Chong, Y-P; Lee, S-O; Choi, S-H; Kim, Y S; Woo, J H; Kim, S-H

2018-01-31

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne disease in Korea and China. Although there is previous evidence of person-to-person transmission via direct contact with body fluids, the role of environmental contamination by SFTS virus (SFTSV) in healthcare settings has not been established. We therefore investigated the contamination of the healthcare environment by SFTSV. We investigated the possible contamination of hospital air and surfaces with SFTSV transmission by collecting air and swabbing environmental surface samples in two hospitals treating six SFTS patients between March and September 2017. The samples were tested using real-time RT-PCR for SFTS M and S segments. Of the six SFTS patients, four received mechanical ventilation and three died. Five rooms were occupied by those using mechanical ventilation or total plasma exchange therapy in isolation rooms without negative pressure and one room was occupied by a patient bedridden due to SFTS. SFTSV was detected in 14 (21%) of 67 swab samples. Five of 24 swab samples were obtained from fomites including stethoscopes, and 9 of 43 were obtained from fixed structures including doorknobs and bed guardrails. Some samples from fixed structures such as television monitors and sink tables were obtained in areas remote from the patients. SFTSV RNA was not detected in five air samples from three patients' rooms. Our data suggest that SFTSV contamination was extensive in surrounding environments in SFTS patients' rooms. Therefore, more strict isolation methods and disinfecting procedures should be considered when managing SFTS patients. Copyright © 2018 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparing rankings of selected TRI organic chemicals for two environments using a level III fugacity model and toxicity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edwards, F.G.; Egemen, E.; Nirmalakhandan, N.

1998-01-01

The Toxics Release Inventory, TRI (USEPA, 1995) is a comprehensive listing of chemicals, mass released, source of releases, and other related information for chemicals which are released into the environment in the US. These chemicals are then ranked according to the mass released as a indication of their environmental impact. Industries have been encouraged to adopt production methods to decrease the release of chemicals which are ranked highly in the TRI. Clearly, this ranking of the chemicals based upon the mass released fails to take into account very important environmental aspects. The first and most obvious aspect is the wide range of toxicity's of the chemicals released. Numerous researchers have proposed systems to rank chemicals according to their toxicity. The second aspect, which a mass released based ranking does not take into account, is the fate and transport of each chemical within the environment. Cohen and Ryan (1985) and Mackay and Paterson (1991) have proposed models to evaluate the fate and transport of chemicals released into the environment. Some authors have incorporated the mass released and toxicity with some fate and transport aspects to rank the impact of released chemicals. But, due to the complexities of modeling the environment, the lack of published data on properties of chemicals, and the lack of information on the speciation of chemicals in complex systems, modeling the fate and transport of toxic chemicals in the environment remains difficult. To provide an indication of the need to rank chemicals according to their environmental impact instead of the mass released, the authors have utilized a subset of 45 organic chemicals from the TRI, modeled the fate and transport of the chemicals using a Level III fugacity model, and compared those equilibrium concentrations with toxicity data to yield a hazard value for each chemical

A permeability barrier surrounds taste buds in lingual epithelia

Science.gov (United States)

Dando, Robin; Pereira, Elizabeth; Kurian, Mani; Barro-Soria, Rene; Chaudhari, Nirupa

2014-01-01

Epithelial tissues are characterized by specialized cell-cell junctions, typically localized to the apical regions of cells. These junctions are formed by interacting membrane proteins and by cytoskeletal and extracellular matrix components. Within the lingual epithelium, tight junctions join the apical tips of the gustatory sensory cells in taste buds. These junctions constitute a selective barrier that limits penetration of chemosensory stimuli into taste buds (Michlig et al. J Comp Neurol 502: 1003–1011, 2007). We tested the ability of chemical compounds to permeate into sensory end organs in the lingual epithelium. Our findings reveal a robust barrier that surrounds the entire body of taste buds, not limited to the apical tight junctions. This barrier prevents penetration of many, but not all, compounds, whether they are applied topically, injected into the parenchyma of the tongue, or circulating in the blood supply, into taste buds. Enzymatic treatments indicate that this barrier likely includes glycosaminoglycans, as it was disrupted by chondroitinase but, less effectively, by proteases. The barrier surrounding taste buds could also be disrupted by brief treatment of lingual tissue samples with DMSO. Brief exposure of lingual slices to DMSO did not affect the ability of taste buds within the slice to respond to chemical stimulation. The existence of a highly impermeable barrier surrounding taste buds and methods to break through this barrier may be relevant to basic research and to clinical treatments of taste. PMID:25209263

A permeability barrier surrounds taste buds in lingual epithelia.

Science.gov (United States)

Dando, Robin; Pereira, Elizabeth; Kurian, Mani; Barro-Soria, Rene; Chaudhari, Nirupa; Roper, Stephen D

2015-01-01

Epithelial tissues are characterized by specialized cell-cell junctions, typically localized to the apical regions of cells. These junctions are formed by interacting membrane proteins and by cytoskeletal and extracellular matrix components. Within the lingual epithelium, tight junctions join the apical tips of the gustatory sensory cells in taste buds. These junctions constitute a selective barrier that limits penetration of chemosensory stimuli into taste buds (Michlig et al. J Comp Neurol 502: 1003-1011, 2007). We tested the ability of chemical compounds to permeate into sensory end organs in the lingual epithelium. Our findings reveal a robust barrier that surrounds the entire body of taste buds, not limited to the apical tight junctions. This barrier prevents penetration of many, but not all, compounds, whether they are applied topically, injected into the parenchyma of the tongue, or circulating in the blood supply, into taste buds. Enzymatic treatments indicate that this barrier likely includes glycosaminoglycans, as it was disrupted by chondroitinase but, less effectively, by proteases. The barrier surrounding taste buds could also be disrupted by brief treatment of lingual tissue samples with DMSO. Brief exposure of lingual slices to DMSO did not affect the ability of taste buds within the slice to respond to chemical stimulation. The existence of a highly impermeable barrier surrounding taste buds and methods to break through this barrier may be relevant to basic research and to clinical treatments of taste. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Contamination of nebulisers and surrounding air at the bedside of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An air sampler was used to collect air samples from the surrounding bedside environment. .... individualised resealable plastic bags and stored upside down in a cooler .... conventional and mesh technology nebulisers used at home by adults.

Chemical factors controlling actinide sorption in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beall, G.W.; Allard, B.

1979-01-01

The solid geologic media and the aqueous phase are of equal importance for the retention of actinides in the environment. The composition of the water is largely determined by the mineralogical composition of the rock that it is in equilibrium with. The chemical form of the actinides and their sorption, are highly dependent on the composition of the water with respect to pH, redox potential, and concentration of anions like carbonate, phosphate, fluoride, and organic acids

Chemical degradation of fluoroelastomer in an alkaline environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mitra, S.; Ghanbari-Siahkali, A.; Kingshott, P.

2004-01-01

We have investigated the time-dependent chemical degradation of a fluoroelastomer, FKM (Viton((R)) A), in an alkaline environment (10% NaOH, 80 degreesC). Optical microscopy and SEM analysis reveal that degradation starts with surface roughness right from the earliest stage of exposure (e.g., 1...... week) and finally results in cracks on the surface after prolonged exposure. Initially the extent of degradation is mainly confined to the surface regions (a few nanometers) but with longer exposure (e.g., 12 weeks) it extends to below the subsurface region of the fluoroelastomer. The extent...... of this surface degradation is found to be strong enough to affect the bulk mechanical properties. The molecular mechanisms of the surface chemical degradation were determined using surface analysis (XPS and ATR-FTIR) where the initial degradation was found to proceed via dehydrofluorination. This leads to double...

Journal of NIRE, Vol. 5, No. 1, January 1996. Special issue: Behavior in the environment and countermeasure technology of hazardous chemicals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-01-01

Contents: Technique for Management of Hazardous Chemical Substances --Risk Assessment; Behaviors of Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment; Numerical Model of Chemical Fate in an Environment; Source Characterization and Chemical Processes of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Atmosphere; Development of Sensor for Hazardous Substances; Removal of Chemical Substances from the Atmosphere by Photocatalysis; Microbial Degradation of Organic Xenobiotics in Environment.

Matriptase autoactivation is tightly regulated by the cellular chemical environments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jehng-Kang Wang

Full Text Available The ability of cells to rapidly detect and react to alterations in their chemical environment, such as pH, ionic strength and redox potential, is essential for cell function and survival. We present here evidence that cells can respond to such environmental alterations by rapid induction of matriptase autoactivation. Specifically, we show that matriptase autoactivation can occur spontaneously at physiological pH, and is significantly enhanced by acidic pH, both in a cell-free system and in living cells. The acid-accelerated autoactivation can be attenuated by chloride, a property that may be part of a safety mechanism to prevent unregulated matriptase autoactivation. Additionally, the thio-redox balance of the environment also modulates matriptase autoactivation. Using the cell-free system, we show that matriptase autoactivation is suppressed by cytosolic reductive factors, with this cytosolic suppression being reverted by the addition of oxidizing agents. In living cells, we observed rapid induction of matriptase autoactivation upon exposure to toxic metal ions known to induce oxidative stress, including CoCl2 and CdCl2. The metal-induced matriptase autoactivation is suppressed by N-acetylcysteine, supporting the putative role of altered cellular redox state in metal induced matriptase autoactivation. Furthermore, matriptase knockdown rendered cells more susceptible to CdCl2-induced cell death compared to control cells. This observation implies that the metal-induced matriptase autoactivation confers cells with the ability to survive exposure to toxic metals and/or oxidative stress. Our results suggest that matriptase can act as a cellular sensor of the chemical environment of the cell that allows the cell to respond to and protect itself from changes in the chemical milieu.

Spectrophotometer is useful for assessing vitiligo and chemical leukoderma severity by quantifying color difference with surrounding normally pigmented skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayashi, M; Okamura, K; Araki, Y; Suzuki, M; Tanaka, T; Abe, Y; Nakano, S; Yoshizawa, J; Hozumi, Y; Inoie, M; Suzuki, T

2018-05-01

Acquired skin hypopigmentation has many etiologies, including autoimmune melanocyte destruction, skin aging, inflammation, and chemical exposure. Distinguishing lesions from normally pigmented skin is clinically important to precisely assess disease severity. However, no gold standard assessment method has been reported. We aimed to investigate whether spectrophotometers are useful for assessing vitiligo and rhododendrol (4-(4-hydroxyphenol)-2-butanol) (Rhododenol ® )-induced leukoderma disease severity by quantifying skin color. Mexameter ® MX18 and CM-700d spectrophotometer were used for assessing vitiligo/leukoderma by measuring melanin index, L*a*b* color space, and ΔE*ab value, which represents the color difference between two subjects and is calculated by the values of L*a*b*. MX18 and CM-700d can quantitatively distinguish vitiligo/leukoderma from normally pigmented skin based on melanin index. CM-700d consistently quantified the color of vitiligo/leukoderma lesions and surrounding normally pigmented skin in L*a*b* color spaces and ΔE*ab. ΔE*ab is well correlated with melanin index and clinical appearance. ΔE*ab has been frequently used in aesthetic dentistry; however, current study is the first to use it in the measurement of skin color. ΔE*ab seems to be a useful parameter to evaluate the color contrast between vitiligo/leukoderma and surrounding normally pigmented skin and can be used to evaluate disease severity and patient's quality of life. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ecotoxicological assessments and the setting of limit values for chemicals in the environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-11-01

The Committee on the Setting of Limit Values for Chemicals held its first open conference in Denmark in March 1992 at Mogenstrup Kro, Zealand. The conference proceedings were entitled `Risk Management and Risk Assessment in Different Sectors in Denmark`. The conference focused on risk assessment and the setting of limit values for chemicals in connection with human exposure to chemicals. The conference held in January 1996, which is covered by the present proceedings, dealt with the exposure of the environment to chemicals and the state-of-the-art as well as perspectives of ecotoxicological research. Special emphasis was placed on the illustration and discussion of the problems that have to be solved in order to secure satisfactory levels of protection of soil and aquatic environments in connection with exposure to chemicals. Also, problems connected with exposure through the atmosphere were discussed and exemplified by the work on the setting of limit values for tropospheric ozone. Furthermore, the global problems pertaining to what is believed to be the greenhouse effect and the degradation of the stratospheric ozone layer as well as the damage to crops caused by ozone were mentioned. (au)

The effect of the indoor environment on the fate of organic chemicals in the urban landscape.

Science.gov (United States)

Cousins, Anna Palm

2012-11-01

To assess the effect of the indoor environment on the urban fate of organic chemicals, an 8-compartment indoor-inclusive steady state multimedia chemical fate model was developed. The model includes typical urban compartments (air, soil, water, sediment, and urban film) and a novel module representing a generic indoor environment. The model was parameterized to the municipality of Stockholm, Sweden and applied to four organic chemicals with different physical-chemical characteristics and use patterns: formaldehyde, 2,4,6-tribromophenol, di-ethylhexylphthalate and decabromodiphenyl ether. The results show that emissions to indoor air may increase the steady state mass and residence time in the urban environment by a factor of 1.1 to 22 for the four chemicals, compared to if emissions are assigned to outdoor air. This is due to the nested nature of the indoor environment, which creates a physical barrier that prevents chemicals from leaving the urban system with outflowing air. For DEHP and BDE 209, the additional partitioning to indoor surfaces results in a greater importance of the indoor removal pathways from surfaces. The outdoor environmental concentrations of these chemicals are predicted to be lower if emitted to indoor air than if emitted to outdoor air because of the additional indoor removal pathways of dust and indoor film, leading to loss of chemical from the system. For formaldehyde and 2,4,6-TBP outdoor environmental concentrations are not affected by whether the release occurs indoors or outdoors because of the limited partitioning to indoor surfaces. A sensitivity analysis revealed that there appears to be a relationship between logK(OA) and the impact of the ventilation rate on the urban fate of organic chemicals. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A multi target approach to control chemical reactions in their inhomogeneous solvent environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keefer, Daniel; Thallmair, Sebastian; Zauleck, Julius P P; Vivie-Riedle, Regina de

2015-01-01

Shaped laser pulses offer a powerful tool to manipulate molecular quantum systems. Their application to chemical reactions in solution is a promising concept to redesign chemical synthesis. Along this road, theoretical developments to include the solvent surrounding are necessary. An appropriate theoretical treatment is helpful to understand the underlying mechanisms. In our approach we simulate the solvent by randomly selected snapshots from molecular dynamics trajectories. We use multi target optimal control theory to optimize pulses for the various arrangements of explicit solvent molecules simultaneously. This constitutes a major challenge for the control algorithm, as the solvent configurations introduce a large inhomogeneity to the potential surfaces. We investigate how the algorithm handles the new challenges and how well the controllability of the system is preserved with increasing complexity. Additionally, we introduce a way to statistically estimate the efficiency of the optimized laser pulses in the complete thermodynamical ensemble. (paper)

Identification of β-SiC surrounded by relatable surrounding diamond ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

β-SiC is identified in the presence of a relatable surrounding diamond medium using subtle, but discernible Raman ... Change in the nature of the surrounding material structure and its .... intensity implies very low graphite content in thin film. In.

The effect of the indoor environment on the fate of organic chemicals in the urban landscape

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cousins, Anna Palm

2012-01-01

To assess the effect of the indoor environment on the urban fate of organic chemicals, an 8-compartment indoor-inclusive steady state multimedia chemical fate model was developed. The model includes typical urban compartments (air, soil, water, sediment, and urban film) and a novel module representing a generic indoor environment. The model was parameterized to the municipality of Stockholm, Sweden and applied to four organic chemicals with different physical–chemical characteristics and use patterns: formaldehyde, 2,4,6-tribromophenol, di-ethylhexylphthalate and decabromodiphenyl ether. The results show that emissions to indoor air may increase the steady state mass and residence time in the urban environment by a factor of 1.1 to 22 for the four chemicals, compared to if emissions are assigned to outdoor air. This is due to the nested nature of the indoor environment, which creates a physical barrier that prevents chemicals from leaving the urban system with outflowing air. For DEHP and BDE 209, the additional partitioning to indoor surfaces results in a greater importance of the indoor removal pathways from surfaces. The outdoor environmental concentrations of these chemicals are predicted to be lower if emitted to indoor air than if emitted to outdoor air because of the additional indoor removal pathways of dust and indoor film, leading to loss of chemical from the system. For formaldehyde and 2,4,6-TBP outdoor environmental concentrations are not affected by whether the release occurs indoors or outdoors because of the limited partitioning to indoor surfaces. A sensitivity analysis revealed that there appears to be a relationship between logK OA and the impact of the ventilation rate on the urban fate of organic chemicals. -- Highlights: ► A novel indoor-inclusive multimedia urban fate model is developed and applied. ► Emissions indoors may increase the urban chemical residence time. ► Indoor removal from surfaces constitutes an additional loss process

Chemical form of transuranic elements in underground environment and its effect on adsorption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Tomo

1990-01-01

Many of the transuranic elements such as Np, Pu and Am contained in high-level radioactive wastes are highly dangerous to humans and have extremely long lives. Therefore, safety evaluation of them is highly important after their disposal into the ground. Particularly important processes include the migration of these transuranic elements in near and far fields. The migration of a nuclide depends largely on its chemical form in the underground environment. The present report first describes various chemical forms of transuranic elements in underground environments and outlines their migration behaviors. Techniques that have recently become available for determining their chemical forms include photo-acoustic spectroscopy, thermal lensing spectroscopy, laser induced fluorescence, photo-acoustic detection of light scattering, auto-correlation photon spectroscopy, and laser-induced time-resolved spectrofluorometry. Chemical forms of these elements are then discussed focusing on underground environmental conditions, pH-Eh diagram, deposition/dissolution, formation of complex, formation of colloid, and organic complexes. Migration is discussed in relation to ions, insoluble matters, and colloids. (N.K.)

Environmental impacts of coal mine and thermal power plant to the surroundings of Barapukuria, Dinajpur, Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Hossain, Md Nazir; Paul, Shitangsu Kumar; Hasan, Md Muyeed

2015-04-01

The study was carried out to analyse the environmental impacts of coal mine and coal-based thermal power plant to the surrounding environment of Barapukuria, Dinajpur. The analyses of coal, water, soil and fly ash were carried out using standard sample testing methods. This study found that coal mining industry and coal-based thermal power plant have brought some environmental and socio-economic challenges to the adjacent areas such as soil, water and air pollution, subsidence of agricultural land and livelihood insecurity of inhabitants. The pH values, heavy metal, organic carbon and exchangeable cations of coal water treated in the farmland soil suggest that coal mining deteriorated the surrounding water and soil quality. The SO4(2-) concentration in water samples was beyond the range of World Health Organisation standard. Some physico-chemical properties such as pH, conductivity, moisture content, bulk density, unburned carbon content, specific gravity, water holding capacity, liquid and plastic limit were investigated on coal fly ash of Barapukuria thermal power plant. Air quality data provided by the Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Limited were contradictory with the result of interview with the miners and local inhabitants. However, coal potentially contributes to the development of economy of Bangladesh but coal mining deteriorates the environment by polluting air, water and soil. In general, this study includes comprehensive baseline data for decision makers to evaluate the feasibility of coal power industry at Barapukuria and the coalmine itself.

A study on the steam generator data base and the evaluation of chemical environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Kyung Rin; Yoo, Je Hyoo; Lee, Eun He; Hong, Kwang Pum

1990-01-01

In order to make steam generator data base, the basic plant information and water quality control data on the steam generators of the PWR nuclear power plant operating in the world have been collected by EPRI. In this project, the basic information and water quality control data of the domestic PWR nuclear power plants were collected to make steam generator data base on the basic of the EPRI format table, and the computerization of them was performed. Also, the technical evaluation of chemical environments on steam generator of the Kori 2 plant chemists. Workers and researchers working at the research institute and universities and so on. Especially, it is able to be used as a basic plant information in order to develop an artificial intellegence development system in the field on the technical development of the chemical environment. The scope and content of the project are following. The data base on the basic information data in domestic PWR plant. The steam generator data base on water quality control data. The evaluation on the chemical environment in the steam generators of the Kori 2 plant. From previous data, it is concluded as follows. The basic plant information on the domestic PWR power plant were computerized. The steam generator data base were made on the basis of EPRI format table. The chemical environment of the internal steam generators could be estimated from the analytical evaluation of water quality control data of the steam generator blowdown. (author)

Effects of Co-Processing Sewage Sludge in the Cement Kiln on PAHs, Heavy Metals Emissions and the Surrounding Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, Dong; Zhu, Tianle; Liu, Runwei; Li, Xinghua; Zhao, Yuan; Sun, Ye; Wang, Hongmei; Zhang, Fan; Zhao, Qinglin

2018-04-08

To understand the effects of co-processing sewage sludge in the cement kiln on non-criterion pollutants emissions and its surrounding environment, the flue gas from a cement kiln stack, ambient air and soil from the background/downwind sites were collected in the cement plant. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals of the samples were analyzed. The results show that PAHs in flue gas mainly exist in the gas phase and the low molecular weight PAHs are the predominant congener. The co-processing sewage sludge results in the increase in PAHs and heavy metals emissions, especially high molecular weight PAHs and low-volatile heavy metals such as Cd and Pb in the particle phase, while it does not change their compositions and distribution patterns significantly. The concentrations and their distributions of the PAHs and heavy metals between the emissions and ambient air have a positive correlation and the co-processing sewage sludge results in the increase of PAHs and heavy metals concentrations in the ambient air. The PAHs concentration level and their distribution in soil are proportional to those in the particle phase of flue gas, and the co-processing sewage sludge can accelerate the accumulation of the PAHs and heavy metals in the surrounding soil, especially high/middle molecular weight PAHs and low-volatile heavy metals.

Analysis of the geomorphology surrounding the Chang'e-3 landing site

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chun-Lai; Mu, Ling-Li; Zou, Xiao-Duan; Liu, Jian-Jun; Ren, Xin; Zeng, Xing-Guo; Yang, Yi-Man; Zhang, Zhou-Bin; Liu, Yu-Xuan; Zuo, Wei; Li, Han

2014-12-01

Chang'e-3 (CE-3) landed on the Mare Imbrium basin in the east part of Sinus Iridum (19.51°W, 44.12°N), which was China's first soft landing on the Moon and it started collecting data on the lunar surface environment. To better understand the environment of this region, this paper utilizes the available high-resolution topography data, image data and geological data to carry out a detailed analysis and research on the area surrounding the landing site (Sinus Iridum and 45 km×70 km of the landing area) as well as on the topography, landform, geology and lunar dust of the area surrounding the landing site. A general topographic analysis of the surrounding area is based on a digital elevation model and digital elevation model data acquired by Chang'e-2 that have high resolution; the geology analysis is based on lunar geological data published by USGS; the study on topographic factors and distribution of craters and rocks in the surrounding area covering 4 km×4 km or even smaller is based on images from the CE-3 landing camera and images from the topographic camera; an analysis is done of the effect of the CE-3 engine plume on the lunar surface by comparing images before and after the landing using data from the landing camera. A comprehensive analysis of the results shows that the landing site and its surrounding area are identified as typical lunar mare with flat topography. They are suitable for maneuvers by the rover, and are rich in geological phenomena and scientific targets, making it an ideal site for exploration.

Characterization of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls, and polychlorinated naphthalenes in the environment surrounding secondary copper and aluminum metallurgical facilities in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jicheng; Zheng, Minghui; Liu, Wenbin; Nie, Zhiqiang; Li, Changliang; Liu, Guorui; Xiao, Ke

2014-10-01

Unintentionally produced persistent organic pollutants (UP-POPs) were determined in ambient air from around five secondary non-ferrous metal processing plants in China, to investigate the potential impacts of the emissions of these plants on their surrounding environments. The target compounds were polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs), and polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs). The PCDD/F, dl-PCB, and PCN concentrations in the ambient air downwind of the plants were 4.70-178, 8.23-7520 and 152-4190 pg/m(3), respectively, and the concentrations upwind of the plants were lower. Clear correlations were found between ambient air and stack gas concentrations of the PCDD/Fs, dl-PCBs, and PCNs among the five plants, respectively. Furthermore, the UP-POPs homolog and congener patterns in the ambient air were similar to the patterns in the stack gas samples. These results indicate that UP-POPs emissions from the plants investigated have obvious impacts on the environments surrounding the plants. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Chemical Aquatic Fate and Effects database (CAFE), a tool that supports assessments of chemical spills in aquatic environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Bejarano, Adriana C; Farr, James K; Jenne, Polly; Chu, Valerie; Hielscher, Al

2016-06-01

The Chemical Aquatic Fate and Effects (CAFE) database is a centralized repository that allows for rapid and unrestricted access to data. Information in CAFE is integrated into a user-friendly tool with modules containing fate and effects data for 32 377 and 4498 chemicals, respectively. Toxicity data are summarized in the form of species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) with associated 1st and 5th percentile hazard concentrations (HCs). An assessment of data availability relative to reported chemical incidents showed that CAFE had fate and toxicity data for 32 and 20 chemicals, respectively, of 55 chemicals reported in the US National Response Center database (2000-2014), and fate and toxicity data for 86 and 103, respectively, of 205 chemicals reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2003-2014). Modeled environmental concentrations of 2 hypothetical spills (acrylonitrile, 625 barrels; and denatured ethanol, 857 barrels) were used to demonstrate CAFE's practical application. Most species in the 24-h SSD could be potentially impacted by acrylonitrile and denatured ethanol during the first 35 min and 15 h post spill, respectively, with concentrations falling below their HC5s (17 mg/L and 2676 mg/L) at 45 min and 60 h post spill, respectively. Comparisons of CAFE-based versus published HC5 values for 100 chemicals showed that nearly half of values were within a 2-fold difference, with a relatively small number of comparisons exceeding a 10-fold difference. The development of CAFE facilitates access to relevant environmental information, with potential uses likely expanding beyond those related to assessment of spills in aquatic environments. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1576-1586. © 2015 SETAC. © 2015 SETAC.

Chemical environment effects on the Kβ emission spectra in P compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ceppi, S.; Tirao, G.; Stutz, G.; Riveros, J.A.

2008-01-01

Several clusters of PO 4 3- and P 2 O 7 4- were studied in different chemical environment by measuring the Kβ 1,3 , Kβ x and Kβ' lines from P-Kβ emission spectrum. The Kβ spectrum structures were analyzed from its relation with its chemical environment. In this paper, the cation influence and the cation substitution with H on satellite Kβ' line parameters were also studied. It was found that this line allows the light ligand atom to be identified and also the number of H bonds with the PO 4 3- cluster be characterized. Besides cation influence on the P-Kβ spectrum, it can be shown that this influence is smaller than the ligand atom and cation-H substitution. Theoretical spectra were obtained by using the DV-Xα method in order to compare it with the experimental data and to interpret the Kβ line structure in terms of molecular orbital theory

Plutonium mobilization from sedimentary sources to solution in the marine environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noshkin, V.E.; Wong, K.M.

1979-01-01

Inventories of plutonium radionuclides greatly in excess of global fallout levels persists in the benthic environments of Bikini and Eniwetok Atolls. It now appears that the atolls have reached a chemical steadystate condition with respect to the partitioning of 239+240 Pu between solution and solid phases of the environment. The mobilized 239+240 Pu has solute-like characteristics, passes rapidly and readily through dialysis membranes, has adsorption characteristics similar to those of fallout plutonium in the open ocean, and exists in solution primarily as some oxidized +5 or +6 chemical species. Water-column profiles of 239+240 Pu taken outside the atolls show a plutonium excess in the deep water mass. This remobilized 239+240 Pu possibly originates from the contaminated sediments previously deposited on the outer slopes of the atolls and surrounding basins

The effect of the indoor environment on the fate of organic chemicals in the urban landscape

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cousins, Anna Palm, E-mail: anna.cousins@ivl.se

2012-11-01

To assess the effect of the indoor environment on the urban fate of organic chemicals, an 8-compartment indoor-inclusive steady state multimedia chemical fate model was developed. The model includes typical urban compartments (air, soil, water, sediment, and urban film) and a novel module representing a generic indoor environment. The model was parameterized to the municipality of Stockholm, Sweden and applied to four organic chemicals with different physical-chemical characteristics and use patterns: formaldehyde, 2,4,6-tribromophenol, di-ethylhexylphthalate and decabromodiphenyl ether. The results show that emissions to indoor air may increase the steady state mass and residence time in the urban environment by a factor of 1.1 to 22 for the four chemicals, compared to if emissions are assigned to outdoor air. This is due to the nested nature of the indoor environment, which creates a physical barrier that prevents chemicals from leaving the urban system with outflowing air. For DEHP and BDE 209, the additional partitioning to indoor surfaces results in a greater importance of the indoor removal pathways from surfaces. The outdoor environmental concentrations of these chemicals are predicted to be lower if emitted to indoor air than if emitted to outdoor air because of the additional indoor removal pathways of dust and indoor film, leading to loss of chemical from the system. For formaldehyde and 2,4,6-TBP outdoor environmental concentrations are not affected by whether the release occurs indoors or outdoors because of the limited partitioning to indoor surfaces. A sensitivity analysis revealed that there appears to be a relationship between logK{sub OA} and the impact of the ventilation rate on the urban fate of organic chemicals. -- Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A novel indoor-inclusive multimedia urban fate model is developed and applied. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Emissions indoors may increase the urban chemical residence time. Black

ISS Local Environment Spectrometers (ISLES)

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, Linda Habash; Gilchrist, Brian E.

2014-01-01

In order to study the complex interactions between the space environment surrounding the ISS and the ISS surface materials, we propose to use lowcost, high-TRL plasma sensors on the ISS robotic arm to probe the ISS space environment. During many years of ISS operation, we have been able to condut effective (but not perfect) extravehicular activities (both human and robotic) within the perturbed local ISS space environment. Because of the complexity of the interaction between the ISS and the LEO space environment, there remain important questions, such as differential charging at solar panel junctions (the so-called "triple point" between conductor, dielectric, and space plasma), increased chemical contamination due to ISS surface charging and/or thruster activation, water dumps, etc, and "bootstrap" charging of insulating surfaces. Some compelling questions could synergistically draw upon a common sensor suite, which also leverages previous and current MSFC investments. Specific questions address ISS surface charging, plasma contactor plume expansion in a magnetized drifting plasma, and possible localized contamination effects across the ISS.

Predicting chemical environments of bacteria from receptor signaling.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Clausznitzer

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Sensory systems have evolved to respond to input stimuli of certain statistical properties, and to reliably transmit this information through biochemical pathways. Hence, for an experimentally well-characterized sensory system, one ought to be able to extract valuable information about the statistics of the stimuli. Based on dose-response curves from in vivo fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET experiments of the bacterial chemotaxis sensory system, we predict the chemical gradients chemotactic Escherichia coli cells typically encounter in their natural environment. To predict average gradients cells experience, we revaluate the phenomenological Weber's law and its generalizations to the Weber-Fechner law and fold-change detection. To obtain full distributions of gradients we use information theory and simulations, considering limitations of information transmission from both cell-external and internal noise. We identify broad distributions of exponential gradients, which lead to log-normal stimuli and maximal drift velocity. Our results thus provide a first step towards deciphering the chemical nature of complex, experimentally inaccessible cellular microenvironments, such as the human intestine.

How A Black Hole Lights Up Its Surroundings

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-10-01

How do the supermassive black holes that live at the centers of galaxies influence their environments? New observations of a distant active galaxy offer clues about this interaction.Signs of CoevolutionPlot demonstrating the m-sigma relation, the empirical correlation between the stellar velocity dispersion of a galactic bulge and the mass of the supermassive black hole at its center. [Msigma]We know that the centers of active galaxies host supermassive black holes with masses of millions to billions of suns. One mystery surrounding these beasts is that they are observed to evolve simultaneously with their host galaxies for instance, an empirical relationship is seen between the growth of a black hole and the growth of its host galaxys bulge. This suggests that there must be a feedback mechanism through which the evolution of a black hole is linked to that of its host galaxy.One proposed source of this coupling is the powerful jets emitted from the poles of these supermassive black holes. These jets are thought to be produced as some of the material accreting onto the black hole is flung out, confined by surrounding gas and magnetic fields. Because the jets of hot gas and radiation extend outward through the host galaxy, they provide a means for the black hole to influence the gas and dust of its surroundings.In our current model of a radio-loud active galactic nuclei,a region of hot, ionized gas the narrow-line region lies beyond the sphere of influence of the supermassive black hole. [C.M. Urry and P. Padovani]Clues in the Narrow-Line RegionThe region of gas thought to sit just outside of the black holes sphere of influence (at a distance of perhaps a thousand to a few thousand light-years) is known as the narrow line region so named because we observe narrow emission lines from this gas. Given its hot, ionized state, this gas must somehow be being pummeled with energy. In the canonical picture, radiation from the black hole heats the gas directly in a process

Chemical ecotoxicology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paasivirta, J.

1991-01-01

This book discusses risk assessment, chemical cycles, structure-activity relations, organohalogens, oil residues, mercury, sampling and analysis of trace chemicals, and emissions from the forestry industry. Topics include: Cycles of chemicals in the environment. Rick assessment and management, strucuture and toxicity, sampling and analysis of trace chemicals in environment, interpretation of the environmental analysis results, mercury in the environment, organohalogen compounds in the environment, emissions from forestry industry, oil residues in the environment: oil spills in the marine environment

Sacrificial amphiphiles: Eco-friendly chemical herders as oil spill mitigation chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Deeksha; Sarker, Bivas; Thadikaran, Keith; John, Vijay; Maldarelli, Charles; John, George

2015-06-01

Crude oil spills are a major threat to marine biota and the environment. When light crude oil spills on water, it forms a thin layer that is difficult to clean by any methods of oil spill response. Under these circumstances, a special type of amphiphile termed as "chemical herder" is sprayed onto the water surrounding the spilled oil. The amphiphile forms a monomolecular layer on the water surface, reducing the air-sea surface tension and causing the oil slick to retract into a thick mass that can be burnt in situ. The current best-known chemical herders are chemically stable and nonbiodegradable, and hence remain in the marine ecosystem for years. We architect an eco-friendly, sacrificial, and effective green herder derived from the plant-based small-molecule phytol, which is abundant in the marine environment, as an alternative to the current chemical herders. Phytol consists of a regularly branched chain of isoprene units that form the hydrophobe of the amphiphile; the chain is esterified to cationic groups to form the polar group. The ester linkage is proximal to an allyl bond in phytol, which facilitates the hydrolysis of the amphiphile after adsorption to the sea surface into the phytol hydrophobic tail, which along with the unhydrolyzed herder, remains on the surface to maintain herding action, and the cationic group, which dissolves into the water column. Eventual degradation of the phytol tail and dilution of the cation make these sacrificial amphiphiles eco-friendly. The herding behavior of phytol-based amphiphiles is evaluated as a function of time, temperature, and water salinity to examine their versatility under different conditions, ranging from ice-cold water to hot water. The green chemical herder retracted oil slicks by up to ~500, 700, and 2500% at 5°, 20°, and 35°C, respectively, during the first 10 min of the experiment, which is on a par with the current best chemical herders in practice.

Mining and the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janecka, V.; Nemec, V.; Bradka, S.; Placek, V.; Sulovsky, P.

1992-01-01

The proceedings contain 30 contributions, out of which 9 have been inputted in INIS. They are concerned with uranium mines and mills in the Czech Republic. The impacts of the mining activities and of the mill tailings on the environment and the population are assessed, and it is concluded that the radiation hazard does not exceed that from natural background. Considerable attention is paid to the monitoring of the surroundings of mines and mills and to landscaping activities. Proposed technologies for the purification of waste waters from the chemical leaching process are described. Ways to eliminate environmental damage from abandoned tailings settling ponds are suggested. (M.D.). 18 tabs., 21 figs., 43 refs

Progress in the study on Pu chemical behavior under the geological environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yingjie; Fan Xianhua

2006-01-01

The generation, characteristic, and disposal technology of the high level radioactive waste were discussed, and a progress in the study on the chemical behavior of Pu, a transuranic element possessing the long-term potential risk for the environment, under the geological repository was reviewed. Release behavior of Pu from the high level radioactive glass waste form, the basic chemical reactions of Pu possibly happening in groundwater, including solubility, complexation, redox reaction, and colloidal formation. Some proposals for the further work in China are also suggested. (authors)

Analysis of the geomorphology surrounding the Chang'e-3 landing site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Chun-Lai; Mu Ling-Li; Zou Xiao-Duan; Liu Jian-Jun; Ren Xin; Zeng Xing-Guo; Yang Yi-Man; Zhang Zhou-Bin; Liu Yu-Xuan; Zuo Wei; Li Han

2014-01-01

Chang'e-3 (CE-3) landed on the Mare Imbrium basin in the east part of Sinus Iridum (19.51°W, 44.12°N), which was China's first soft landing on the Moon and it started collecting data on the lunar surface environment. To better understand the environment of this region, this paper utilizes the available high-resolution topography data, image data and geological data to carry out a detailed analysis and research on the area surrounding the landing site (Sinus Iridum and 45 km×70 km of the landing area) as well as on the topography, landform, geology and lunar dust of the area surrounding the landing site. A general topographic analysis of the surrounding area is based on a digital elevation model and digital elevation model data acquired by Chang'e-2 that have high resolution; the geology analysis is based on lunar geological data published by USGS; the study on topographic factors and distribution of craters and rocks in the surrounding area covering 4 km×4 km or even smaller is based on images from the CE-3 landing camera and images from the topographic camera; an analysis is done of the effect of the CE-3 engine plume on the lunar surface by comparing images before and after the landing using data from the landing camera. A comprehensive analysis of the results shows that the landing site and its surrounding area are identified as typical lunar mare with flat topography. They are suitable for maneuvers by the rover, and are rich in geological phenomena and scientific targets, making it an ideal site for exploration

Reversible chemical patterning on stimuli-responsive polymer film: Environment-responsive lithography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ionov, Leonid; Minko, Sergiy; Stamm, Manfred; Gohy, Jean-Francois; Jerome, Robert; Scholl, Andreas

2003-01-01

We report on a novel type of chemical patterning based on thin stimuli-responsive polymer films. The basic concept is the permanent storage (writing) of a pattern, which is reversibly developed and erased upon exposure to appropriate environment, e.g., solvent, pH, and temperature. The smart surface is fabricated from the mixed brush of poly(2-vinylpyridine) and polyisoprene. The mixed brush demonstrates switching behavior upon exposure to different solvents. Cross-linking of polyisoprene via illumination through a photomask results in formation of patterns with suppressed switching. Due to the contrast in switching between illuminated and dark areas, exposure of the smart surface to different solvents causes either reversible formation or erasing of chemical contrast between the illuminated and dark areas. Thus, the pattern surface can very locally attract colloidal particles or can be wetted by water only upon exposure to the special solvent which introduces the contrast between the illuminated and dark areas. Appearance of the patterns indicates particular environment and can be used for local switching of adsorption

Chemical behaviour of transuranic elements in the natural environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, J.I.

1991-01-01

The chemical behaviour of transuranic elements in natural aquifer systems is governed by a variety of geochemical reactions, such as dissolution reaction (solubility), hydrolysis, complexation with inorganics or organics, redox reaction, colloid formation, geochemical interaction with surfaces of various minerals, coprecipitation, mineralisation etc. This paper reviews the present state of knowledge on some of these particular reactions. The emphasis is placed on how the individual reactions can be appraised for the long-term prediction of the geochemical behaviour of transuranic elements in the natural environment. Of the various reactions, the primary thermodynamic processes of dissolution of transuranic compounds in aquatic solution, complexation with important anions present in groundwater and colloid generation are discussed with notable examples. Various laser spectroscopy in use for the chemical speciation are mentioned briefly as for their spectroscopic capability as well as applicability. The present review discussion is primarily directed to a better understanding of the migration behaviour of transuranic elements in natural aquifer systems. (author) 100 refs

Radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes. Impact on man and his environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parker, F.L.; Suess, M.J.

1984-01-01

The main objective of the various safety measures in all fields of human activities is to prevent deleterious effects of various agents on human health. Preventive health and safety measures therefore play an important role in achieving the main goal of the World Health Organization (WHO): 'Health for all by the year 2000'. The present WHO programme on environmental health emphasizes the prevention of chemical hazards as one of the most important environmental factors affecting human health. At the same time, protection from physical factors, including radiological protection, is part of this programme. Therefore, WHO compares health detriments from both physical and chemical agents. The paper describes the hazardous waste problems of great concern in industrialized countries. For instance, the Commission of the European Communities countries produce about 2x10 9 tonnes of waste per year, a rate which grows by 2 to 3% annually. This poses serious problems of pollution, particularly where the toxic ingredients do not decay. Special attention will also be given to the safe handling of high-level radioactive waste from the peaceful use of nuclear technology. These wastes have to be stored in safe storage facilities, or be disposed of without causing damage to man and his environment. The international measures to contain and control these wastes are described, including the activities of WHO within the Global Environmental Monitoring System and Regional Sea programmes of the United Nations Environment Programme. Guidelines and methodologies for the management of hazardous chemical and radioactive wastes are being developed through WHO to assist national authorities in this task. The paper pays special attention to a comparative assessment of environmental and public health impacts of toxic chemical and radioactive wastes. (author)

NMR chemical shifts in amino acids: Effects of environments, electric field, and amine group rotation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Young-Gui; Pfrommer, Bernd G.; Louie, Steven G.; Canning, Andrew

2002-01-01

The authors present calculations of NMR chemical shifts in crystalline phases of some representative amino acids such as glycine, alanine, and alanyl-alanine. To get an insight on how different environments affect the chemical shifts, they study the transition from the crystalline phase to completely isolated molecules of glycine. In the crystalline limit, the shifts are dominated by intermolecular hydrogen-bonds. In the molecular limit, however, dipole electric field effects dominate the behavior of the chemical shifts. They show that it is necessary to average the chemical shifts in glycine over geometries. Tensor components are analyzed to get the angle dependent proton chemical shifts, which is a more refined characterization method

Chemical characterization and receptor modeling of PM10 in the surroundings of the opencast lignite mines of Western Macedonia, Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Samara, Constantini; Argyropoulos, George; Grigoratos, Theodoros; Kouras, Αthanasios; Manoli, Εvangelia; Andreadou, Symela; Pavloudakis, Fragkiskos; Sahanidis, Chariton

2018-05-01

The Western Macedonian Lignite Center (WMLC) in northwestern Greece is the major lignite center in the Balkans feeding four major power plants of total power exceeding 4 GW. Concentrations of PM 10 (i.e., particulate matters with diameters ≤10 μm) are the main concern in the region, and the high levels observed are often attributed to the activities related to power generation. In this study, the contribution of fugitive dust emissions from the opencast lignite mines to the ambient levels of PM 10 in the surroundings was estimated by performing chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor modeling. For this purpose, PM 10 samples were concurrently collected at four receptor sites located in the periphery of the mine area during the cold and the warm periods of the year (November-December 2011 and August-September 2012), and analyzed for a total of 26 macro- and trace elements and ionic species (sulfate, nitrate, chloride). The robotic chemical mass balance (RCMB) model was employed for source identification/apportionment of PM 10 at each receptor site using as inputs the ambient concentrations and the chemical profiles of various sources including the major mine operations, the fly ash escaping the electrostatic filters of the power plants, and other primary and secondary sources. Mean measured PM 10 concentrations at the different sites ranged from 38 to 72 μg m -3 . The estimated total contribution of mines ranged between 9 and 22% in the cold period increasing to 36-42% in the dry warm period. Other significant sources were vehicular traffic, biomass burning, and secondary sulfate and nitrate aerosol. These results imply that more efficient measures to prevent and suppress fugitive dust emissions from the mines are needed.

Study on water migration of tunnel surrounding rock in nuclear waste repository based on coupling theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Zhongming; Zhang Xinmin

2008-01-01

Excavation of tunnel changes not only the stresses and deformation of tunnel surrounding rock, but also disturbs the underground water environment in tunnel surrounding rock Water migration happens due to variation of pore water pressure and redistribution. Based on the mechanics of porous media, saturated and unsaturated hydro-mechanical coupling analysis method is employed to study the variation of the stresses, deformation and pore pressure of the surrounding rock. Case study indicates that the excavation of tunnel will induce redistribution of stress and pore water pressure. Redistribution of pore water pressure will seriously affect on evaluation of surrounding rock stability and diffusion of nucleon in the pore water. (authors)

Chemical Variations in a Granitic Pluton and Its Surrounding Rocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Baird, A K; McIntyre, D B; Welday, E E; Madlem, K W

1964-10-09

New techniques of x-ray fluorescence spectrography have provided, for the first time, abundant data regarding chemical variability of granitic rocks on different scales. The results suggest that current designs of sampling plans for trend surface analysis should be modified; in particular several specimens, preferably drillcores, may be required at each locality.

Microplastics as vectors for bioaccumulation of hydrophobic organic chemicals in the marine environment: A state-of-the-science review.

Science.gov (United States)

Ziccardi, Linda M; Edgington, Aaron; Hentz, Karyn; Kulacki, Konrad J; Kane Driscoll, Susan

2016-07-01

A state-of-the-science review was conducted to examine the potential for microplastics to sorb hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) from the marine environment, for aquatic organisms to take up these HOCs from the microplastics, and for this exposure to result in adverse effects to ecological and human health. Despite concentrations of HOCs associated with microplastics that can be orders of magnitude greater than surrounding seawater, the relative importance of microplastics as a route of exposure is difficult to quantify because aquatic organisms are typically exposed to HOCs from various compartments, including water, sediment, and food. Results of laboratory experiments and modeling studies indicate that HOCs can partition from microplastics to organisms or from organisms to microplastics, depending on experimental conditions. Very little information is available to evaluate ecological or human health effects from this exposure. Most of the available studies measured biomarkers that are more indicative of exposure than effects, and no studies showed effects to ecologically relevant endpoints. Therefore, evidence is weak to support the occurrence of ecologically significant adverse effects on aquatic life as a result of exposure to HOCs sorbed to microplastics or to wildlife populations and humans from secondary exposure via the food chain. More data are needed to fully understand the relative importance of exposure to HOCs from microplastics compared with other exposure pathways. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1667-1676. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

Chemical speciation of long-lived radionuclides in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiaolin Hou

2008-11-01

This project started in November 2005 and ended in November 2008, the work and research approaches are summarized in this report. This project studied the speciation of radionuclides in environment. A number of speciation analytical methods are developed for determination of species of 129 I, 99 Tc, isotopes of Pu, and 237 Np in seawater, fresh water, soil, sediment, vegetations, and concrete. The developed methods are used for the investigation of the chemical speciation of these radionuclides as well as their environmental behaviours, especially in Danish environment. In addition the speciation of Pu isotopes in waste samples from the decommissioning of Danish nuclear facilities is also investigated. The report summarizes these works completed in this project. Through this research project, a number of research papers have been published in the scientific journals, the research results has also been presented in the Nordic and international conference/meeting and communicated to international colleagues. Some publications are also enclosed to this report. (au)

Impact of oil and related chemicals on the marine environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

This review updates a previous review entitled ''Impact of Oil on the Marine Environment''. It covers oil and individual hydrocarbons, used lubricating oils, chemical control agents for oil spills, and wastes from offshore petroleum operations. It considers all major knowledge generated since the mid-1970s. The review covers its topics comprehensively, from a consideration of the composition, sources and inputs of oil to its ecological and human health effects and its effects on man's use of the sea. The review addresses several key questions on the present levels of contamination, the impact of hydrocarbons and related chemicals on marine biota, the recovery potential of marine ecosystems exposed to these contaminants, the degree of protection required for marine ecosystems known to be vulnerable and sensitive, and recommended research and other actions to fill gaps in knowledge. The review describes the hazards of marine oil pollution and associated chemicals and wastes as they are understood currently, and clarifies the importance of reducing oil inputs in coastal and offshore waters. It assists in considering fundamental questions, asked by the public and decision-makers alike, such as: how much oil is entering our oceans, and how much harm is it doing? (author)

Food and soil-borne Penicillia in Arctic environments: Chemical diversity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frisvad, Jens Christian

Penicillia are very common inhabitants of cold environments, including arctic soil, plants, animals, and foods. We have investigated the mycobiota of Greenland inland ice and soil, and found a very unique and pronounced diversity among the Penicillia. Nearly all species were new to science....... The species found in inland ice were both of the soil-borne type, and Penicillia that grow and sporulate well at 25°C. The latter group of Penicillia have been found earlier in refrigerated foods, including P. nordicum, and in glacier ice and melting water from Svalbard (se Sonjak et al., this conference......). This “food-borne group” of arctic fungi also contained some new species, but not as many as in arctic soil. The chemical diversity of the Penicillium species was remarkably high and in most cases even larger than the chemical diversity of Penicillia in the tropics. Several new secondary metabolites were...

Micro-poromechanics model of fluid-saturated chemically active fibrous media.

Science.gov (United States)

Misra, Anil; Parthasarathy, Ranganathan; Singh, Viraj; Spencer, Paulette

2015-02-01

We have developed a micromechanics based model for chemically active saturated fibrous media that incorporates fiber network microstructure, chemical potential driven fluid flow, and micro-poromechanics. The stress-strain relationship of the dry fibrous media is first obtained by considering the fiber behavior. The constitutive relationships applicable to saturated media are then derived in the poromechanics framework using Hill's volume averaging. The advantage of this approach is that the resultant continuum model accounts for the discrete nature of the individual fibers while retaining a form suitable for porous materials. As a result, the model is able to predict the influence of micro-scale phenomena, such as the fiber pre-strain caused by osmotic effects and evolution of fiber network structure with loading, on the overall behavior and in particular, on the poromechanics parameters. Additionally, the model can describe fluid-flow related rate-dependent behavior under confined and unconfined conditions and varying chemical environments. The significance of the approach is demonstrated by simulating unconfined drained monotonic uniaxial compression under different surrounding fluid bath molarity, and fluid-flow related creep and relaxation at different loading-levels and different surrounding fluid bath molarity. The model predictions conform to the experimental observations for saturated soft fibrous materials. The method can potentially be extended to other porous materials such as bone, clays, foams and concrete.

Chemical behavior of long-lived radionuclides in the marine environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edgington, D.N.; Nelson, D.M.

1983-01-01

Measurements of long-lived radionuclides in the marine environment have provided a wealth of information regarding the physical, biological, and chemical processes which control the behavior of these and many other pollutants in the oceans. Their value as tracers for the dispersion, transport, and fate of pollutants in the oceans is largely dependent on the chemical properties of each individual radioelement. Differences in these properties, particularly in relation to their interaction with biotic or abiotic particulate matter, result in the separation of parent-daughter radioisotopes in the natural radioelement series or in changes in the ratios of fission and activation products. Such differences have provided the means to provide time scales for a variey of transport processes and to determine sedimentation rates. The properties of these radionuclides in the oceans can, in general, be predicted from the chemical properties of the stable elements. For those elements such as plutonium, for which there are no naturally-occurring stable isotopes, studies of their distribution in the oceans have provided a new important understanding of their chemical behavior. This behavior has not always agreed with what would have been predicted from laboratory studies carried out at far higher concentrations. Differences between observed distributions and laboratory predictions have highlighted the importance of correct experimental conditions in order to avoid confusing experimental artifacts. The interaction of radionuclides with particles in the oceans and marine sediments can be described in terms of simple ion exchange or adsorption equilibria

The physical and chemical environment and radionuclide migration in a low level radioactive waste repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torok, J.; Buckley, L.P.

1988-01-01

The expected physical and chemical environment within the low-level radioactive waste repository to be sited at Chalk River is being studied to establish the rate of radionuclide migration. Chemical conditions in the repository are being assessed for their effect on buffer performance and the degradiation of the concrete structure. Experimental programs include the effect of changes in solution chemistry on radionuclide distribution between buffer/backfill materials and the aqueous phase; the chemical stability of the buffer materials and the determination of the controlling mechanism for radionuclide transport during infiltration

A review of reaction rates and thermodynamic and transport properties for the 11-species air model for chemical and thermal nonequilibrium calculations to 30000 K

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Roop N.; Yos, Jerrold M.; Thompson, Richard A.

1989-01-01

Reaction rate coefficients and thermodynamic and transport properties are provided for the 11-species air model which can be used for analyzing flows in chemical and thermal nonequilibrium. Such flows will likely occur around currently planned and future hypersonic vehicles. Guidelines for determining the state of the surrounding environment are provided. Approximate and more exact formulas are provided for computing the properties of partially ionized air mixtures in such environments.

Real-Time Molecular Monitoring of Chemical Environment in ObligateAnaerobes during Oxygen Adaptive Response

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holman, Hoi-Ying N.; Wozei, Eleanor; Lin, Zhang; Comolli, Luis R.; Ball, David. A.; Borglin, Sharon; Fields, Matthew W.; Hazen, Terry C.; Downing, Kenneth H.

2009-02-25

Determining the transient chemical properties of the intracellular environment canelucidate the paths through which a biological system adapts to changes in its environment, for example, the mechanisms which enable some obligate anaerobic bacteria to survive a sudden exposure to oxygen. Here we used high-resolution Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectromicroscopy to continuously follow cellular chemistry within living obligate anaerobes by monitoring hydrogen bonding in their cellular water. We observed a sequence of wellorchestrated molecular events that correspond to changes in cellular processes in those cells that survive, but only accumulation of radicals in those that do not. We thereby can interpret the adaptive response in terms of transient intracellular chemistry and link it to oxygen stress and survival. This ability to monitor chemical changes at the molecular level can yield important insights into a wide range of adaptive responses.

Impact of the environment on reproductive health.

Science.gov (United States)

1991-01-01

The WHO workshop on the impact of the environment on reproductive health is summarized. Topics include the nature of environmental factors affecting reproductive health, environmental factors blamed for declining sperm quantity and quality, the effects of natural and man-made disasters on reproductive health, chemical pollutants, how the environment damages reproductive health, and research needs for better research methodologies and surveillance data. Recommendations are made to: 1) promote international research collaboration with an emphasis on consistency of methodological approaches for assessing developmental and reproductive toxicity, on development of improved surveillance systems and data bases, an strengthening international disaster alert and evaluation systems; 2) promote research capabilities for multidisciplinary studies, for interactive studies of the environment and cellular processes, and for expansion of training and education; and 3) take action on priority problems of exposure to chemical, physical, and biological agents, of exposure to pesticides among specific populations, and of inadequate screening methods for identification of environmental chemicals. The costs of environmental injury to reproduction include subfertility, intrauterine growth retardation, spontaneous abortion, and various birth defects. Developed country's primary threats are from chemical pollution, radiation, and stress. There is a large gap in knowledge. Caution is urged in understanding the direct relationship between environmental causes and infertility. Sexual health is difficult to assess and research is suggested. Exposure to excessive vitamin A and toxic chemicals are cited as agents probably having serious effects on malformations. Sperm quality has declined over the decades; there is speculation about the potential causes. The effects of radiation such as at Chernobyl are described. Toxic chemical exposure such as in Bhopal, India killed thousands. Neurological

Influences of the volcanic activity and anthropogenic in the chemical composition of the rain of the surroundings of the Poas Volcano, Costa Rica

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez Cruz, M.

2000-01-01

In this work the results of a study are described on the physico chemicals characteristic of the rain water of the surroundings of the Poas Volcano . The main objective was to establish a general profile of the gradients of some physico chemicals parameters of the rain in function of the localization and the distance of the stations rain collectors, with regard to the column of gases, aerosols and vapors that emanate through the fumaroles of the active crater of the Poas Volcano, for this reason a net of collectors of rain water settled down in four places located along the Southwest flank of the Volcano until a distance of 19 km, following the predominant address of the wind. In Heredia to place a fifth collector of rain water which I play the part of station control. The rain was gathered from to March and November of 1996, for daily precipitation events every 24 hours. To sample of rain are determined the following parameters: HP, electric conductivity, ions fluoride, chloride, nitrate and sulfate for chromatography of ions of high resolution (HPIC) ammonia by means of analysis for injection of flow (FIA), and some such metals as calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, manganese and aluminum for spectrophotometer of atomic absorption (EAA) [es

Aquatic exposures of chemical mixtures in urban environments: Approaches to impact assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

de Zwart, Dick; Adams, William; Galay Burgos, Malyka; Hollender, Juliane; Junghans, Marion; Merrington, Graham; Muir, Derek; Parkerton, Thomas; De Schamphelaere, Karel A C; Whale, Graham; Williams, Richard

2018-03-01

Urban regions of the world are expanding rapidly, placing additional stress on water resources. Urban water bodies serve many purposes, from washing and sources of drinking water to transport and conduits for storm drainage and effluent discharge. These water bodies receive chemical emissions arising from either single or multiple point sources, diffuse sources which can be continuous, intermittent, or seasonal. Thus, aquatic organisms in these water bodies are exposed to temporally and compositionally variable mixtures. We have delineated source-specific signatures of these mixtures for diffuse urban runoff and urban point source exposure scenarios to support risk assessment and management of these mixtures. The first step in a tiered approach to assessing chemical exposure has been developed based on the event mean concentration concept, with chemical concentrations in runoff defined by volumes of water leaving each surface and the chemical exposure mixture profiles for different urban scenarios. Although generalizations can be made about the chemical composition of urban sources and event mean exposure predictions for initial prioritization, such modeling needs to be complemented with biological monitoring data. It is highly unlikely that the current paradigm of routine regulatory chemical monitoring alone will provide a realistic appraisal of urban aquatic chemical mixture exposures. Future consideration is also needed of the role of nonchemical stressors in such highly modified urban water bodies. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:703-714. © 2017 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC. © 2017 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC.

Chemical durability and characterization of nuclear waste forms in a hydrothermal environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braithwaite, J.W.; Johnstone, J.K.

1979-01-01

The chemical durability of a simulated copper borosilicate waste glass and titanate waste ceramic has been studied in hydrothermal environments which could possibly be encountered in a bedded salt or sub-sealed waste isolation repository. The major parameters investigated which affect matrix corrosion and cesium solubilization include solution saturation and equilibrium phenomena, solution composition (especially the Mg +2 ion concentration), pH, particle size, temperature, and time

Natural and active chemical remediation of toxic metals and radionuclides in the aquatic environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McPherson, G.; Pintauro, P.; O'Connor, S.; Zhang, J.; Gonzales, R.; Flowers, G.

1993-01-01

The focus of this research is the non-biological, chemical remediation of toxic heavy metals and radionuclides in aquatic environments. This Tulane/Xavier group includes researchers from Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Geology. Active methods using novel zeolites and ion exchange membranes are currently being evaluated for use in removing heavy metals from natural waters. In addition, field and laboratory studies of metal ion exchange reactions and competitive, heavy metal adsorption on clay substrates are underway to determine sediment metal sequestering capacity. A summary of progress to date and future work is presented

Chemical Munitions Dumped at Sea near the Hawaiian Islands

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, M.; Bissonnette, M. C.; Briggs, C. W.; Shjegstad, S. M.

2016-12-01

Sea disposal was once internationally accepted as an appropriate method for disposal of excess, obsolete, and unserviceable conventional and chemical munitions. The past decade has seen an increase in the number and complexity of studies to assess the effects of historical munitions disposal in the oceans. The Hawai`i Undersea Military Munitions Assessment (HUMMA) is a comprehensive deep-water (300-600 meter) investigation designed to determine the potential impact of sea-disposed munitions on the ocean environment, and vice versa, at a disposal site south of Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. Historical records indicated that as many as 16,000 mustard-filled bombs were disposed in this area following World War II. A secondary objective of HUMMA is to determine best practices and technologies for mapping and sampling sea-disposed munitions. The overarching result from five HUMMA field programs conducted over a decade is that the greatest risk from munitions derives from direct contact; there is little evidence that leakage from munitions into the surrounding environment has a direct pathway to affect human health and the impact on the surrounding environment in Hawaii is detectable only at trace levels. This finding should be modulated based on the quantity of physical samples, which were collected around detected at control sites. Both findings support a hypothesis that the impacts of sea-disposed munitions change over time. This presentation will describe the technical approach and results of the 2014 HUMMA field program using Jason 2.

Exploring consumer exposure pathways and patterns of use for chemicals in the environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathie L. Dionisio

/Product Categories Database,DCPS,Danish Consumer Product Survey,DfE,Design for the Environment,EDSP,Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program,EPA,Environmental Protection Agency,EWG,Environmental Working Group,GRAS,Generally Recognized as Safe,HTP,Human Toxome Project,IUR,Inventory Update Reporting Modifications Rule,MSDS,Material Safety Data Sheets,NICNAS,National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme,RPC,Retail Product Categories Database,SDWA,Safe Drinking Water Act,SPIN,Substances in Preparation in Nordic Countries,TSCA,Toxic Substances Control Act,Chemical exposure,Human exposure,High throughput,Exposure prioritization,Use category

Assessment of land degradation and its spatial and temporal variation in Beijing surrounding area

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shuang; Dong, Suocheng; Zhang, Xiaojun; Zhiqiang, Gao

2005-08-01

The indulgence in willful persecution of sandstorm had made great attention of many countries around the world. Chinese government and the Chinese academy of science going with some other countries have devoted a large amount of vigor to study the crucial environment problem. Due to the main source areas of sandstorm all located in the arid and semi-arid regions where there have great area, hard natural condition and bad traffic condition, it's very difficult to accomplish source area and the reason of sandstorm. For this destination, a international cooperation organization has been established to clarify the occur mechanism, transfer process and the following environment impact of sandstorm. The organization includes many researchers come form USA, Japan, Korea, and so on. Beijing surrounding area is one of the main sandstorm sources in recent years. In order to understand fully of the sandstorm form and development, we analyzed the land use degradation of Beijing surrounding area during the last ten years. 71 scenes Landsat TM/ETM, 611 scenes DRG and DEM data had been processed in our study. This paper made a detail describe of using Landsat image data and high resolution DEM data to construe the soil erosion and vegetation degenerate. The result shows that the irrational human activities and land use style are the main factors of land use degradation. In case of Beijing surrounding area, the land degradation directly impacted the frequency and intensity of sand & dust storm in Northern China. The case study region of Beijing surrounding area includes 51 counties that belong to three provinces and autonomous regions.

Chemical implications for the presence of introduced materials in the post-emplacement environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meike, A.

1993-11-01

This paper addresses our ability to predict the chemical consequences of the presence of introduced materials, many of them man-made, in a radioactive waste repository. The chemical modeling ability required to describe this environment over a 10,000 year period is unique and unprecedented. It requires knowledge of parameters that have never been measured, many of them with respect to introduced materials. This paper discusses considerations that are required to establish the potential significance of introduced materials, especially those that could compromise the lifetime of the waste packages or affect the transport of radionuclides from breached containers. The paper presents issues related to the stability of individual compounds, the potential alteration of predicted natural chemical reactions, the potential moderation of those effects by natural zeolites, and the potential for interactions at elevated temperatures between rock, water, water vapor, radiation, waste package, and introduced materials

Assessment of predictive dermal exposure to chemicals in the work environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnieszka Jankowska

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Assessment of dermal exposure to chemicals in the work environment is problematic, mainly as a result of the lack of measurement data on occupational exposure to chemicals. Due to common prevalence of occupational skin exposure and its health consequences it is necessary to look for efficient solutions allowing for reliable exposure assessment. The aim of the study is to present predictive models used to assess non-measured dermal exposure, as well as to acquaint Polish users with the principles of the selected model functioning. This paper presents examples of models to assist the employer in the the assessment of occupational exposure associated with the skin contact with chemicals, developed in European Union (EU countries, as well as in countries outside the EU. Based on the literature data dermal exposure models EASE (Estimation and Assessment of Substance Exposure, COSHH Essentials (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, DREAM (Dermal Exposure Assessment Method, Stoffenmanager , ECETOC TRA (European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals Targeted Risk Assessment, MEASE (Metal’s EASE, PHED (Pesticide Handlers Exposure Database, DERM (Dermal Exposure Ranking Method and RISKOFDERM (Risk Assessment of Occupational Dermal Exposure to Chemicals were briefly described. Moreover the characteristics of RISKOFDERM, guidelines for its use, information on input and output data were further detailed. Problem of full work shift dermal exposure assessment is described. An example of exposure assessment using RISKOFDERM and effectiveness evaluation to date were also presented. When no measurements are available, RISKOFDERM allows dermal exposure assessment and thus can improve the risk assessment quality and effectiveness of dermal risk management. Med Pr 2017;68(4:557–569

Physical and chemical characteristics of the longissimus dorsi from swine reared in climate-controlled and uncontrolled environments

Science.gov (United States)

de Mello, Juliana Lolli Malagoli; Berton, Mariana Piatto; de Cassia Dourado, Rita; Giampietro-Ganeco, Aline; de Souza, Rodrigo Alves; Ferrari, Fábio Borba; de Souza, Pedro Alves; Borba, Hirasilva

2017-10-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ambient temperature on the physical and chemical characteristics of the longissimus dorsi muscle by comparing the quality of meat from pigs reared in a controlled and in an uncontrolled environment, the latter provided with a shallow pool. Twenty castrated male pigs of the Topigs line were randomly allotted to two treatments: a controlled environment, with constant temperature (22 °C) and relative humidity (70%); and an uncontrolled environment in a conventional shed for rearing pigs equipped with a shallow pool, where pigs were subject to climatic variations. Meat from pigs kept in the controlled environment showed a greater capacity to retain intracellular water, higher tenderness, and lower cholesterol levels than meat from pigs reared in the uncontrolled environment, but displayed higher lipid oxidation and a lower concentration of DHA. Treatments had no effect on color, pH, chemical composition, or fatty acid profile (except DHA concentration). Rearing pigs in sheds equipped with a shallow pool minimizes the effects of environmental heat on meat quality, allowing the production of high-quality meat in warm climate regions without expensive investments. Animals reared in an uncontrolled environment equipped with a shallow pool are able to produce meat with characteristics within the quality standards and with similar quality to that of meat from animals raised in controlled environment.

Comparative Analysis of Termiteria and Surrounding Soil

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Magashi

2013-06-01

Jun 1, 2013 ... or are important nutrients hot-spots for plants and their associated fauna. Therefore, it has a high ecological role which cannot be disregarded. Generally, termites are affected by the environment where they live when inflicting physical and chemical changes in the plant-litter- soil system. They do so through ...

Teacher Leadership: Everyday Practices Surrounding Work- Related Stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiweshe Nigel

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This interpretivist study contributes to our scholarly understanding of how everyday practices surrounding work-related stress in education affect teacher leadership and successful learning outcomes. Insights are drawn from our long-standing engagement in the field where we observed how teaching staff, students, and management interacted. These observations were supplemented by in-depth interviews with 20 teaching staff. Our findings reveal competing demands and practices across the individual intrapersonal environment and the work related environment. There were three key themes that emerged in answer to the core research question: 1 the role of relational practices in managing teacher burnout, 2 the role of surveillance practices in education and 3 the role of assimilating practices in education. Drawing insights from these practices, we develop a conceptual framework that will help us to see relations at work anew, and develop a deeper understanding of ‘sickies’, motivation, learning outcomes and teacher leadership opportunities in education

TRIGGERED STAR FORMATION SURROUNDING WOLF-RAYET STAR HD 211853

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu Tie; Wu Yuefang; Zhang Huawei [Department of Astronomy, Peking University, 100871 Beijing (China); Qin Shengli, E-mail: liutiepku@gmail.com [I. Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet zu Koeln, Zuelpicher Str. 77, 50937 Koeln (Germany)

2012-05-20

The environment surrounding Wolf-Rayet (W-R) star HD 211853 is studied in molecular, infrared, as well as radio, and H I emission. The molecular ring consists of well-separated cores, which have a volume density of 10{sup 3} cm{sup -3} and kinematic temperature {approx}20 K. Most of the cores are under gravitational collapse due to external pressure from the surrounding ionized gas. From the spectral energy distribution modeling toward the young stellar objects, the sequential star formation is revealed on a large scale in space spreading from the W-R star to the molecular ring. A small-scale sequential star formation is revealed toward core 'A', which harbors a very young star cluster. Triggered star formations are thus suggested. The presence of the photodissociation region, the fragmentation of the molecular ring, the collapse of the cores, and the large-scale sequential star formation indicate that the 'collect and collapse' process functions in this region. The star-forming activities in core 'A' seem to be affected by the 'radiation-driven implosion' process.

TRIGGERED STAR FORMATION SURROUNDING WOLF-RAYET STAR HD 211853

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Tie; Wu Yuefang; Zhang Huawei; Qin Shengli

2012-01-01

The environment surrounding Wolf-Rayet (W-R) star HD 211853 is studied in molecular, infrared, as well as radio, and H I emission. The molecular ring consists of well-separated cores, which have a volume density of 10 3 cm –3 and kinematic temperature ∼20 K. Most of the cores are under gravitational collapse due to external pressure from the surrounding ionized gas. From the spectral energy distribution modeling toward the young stellar objects, the sequential star formation is revealed on a large scale in space spreading from the W-R star to the molecular ring. A small-scale sequential star formation is revealed toward core 'A', which harbors a very young star cluster. Triggered star formations are thus suggested. The presence of the photodissociation region, the fragmentation of the molecular ring, the collapse of the cores, and the large-scale sequential star formation indicate that the 'collect and collapse' process functions in this region. The star-forming activities in core 'A' seem to be affected by the 'radiation-driven implosion' process.

PIXE characterization of tissues surrounding metallic prostheses coated with biological glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbotteau, Y.; Irigaray, J.L.; Moretto, Ph.

2004-01-01

Biological glasses can be used as coatings for metallic prostheses in order to prevent corrosion. According to their composition, these glasses have different properties. We studied, in vivo, two glasses referred to as BVA and BVH. They are used as coatings of Ti6Al4V metallic implant. BVA glass disappears after 3 months of implantation and is replaced by bone. Prostheses initially coated by this glass have a larger osseous contact perimeter compared to the uncoated prostheses. This ensures a better anchoring of the implant and limits the micro-motions which cause wear debris. BVH glass keeps a constant composition during implantation and it is used like a layer which isolates metal implant from biological environment. In order to characterize the bony environment surrounding implants, we have used PIXE and RBS methods. This paper shows results of the behavior of bony tissue under micro-beam, the quality tests of new bone which replaces the BVA glass coating and the evaluation of corrosion effects. Titanium release in bony tissues begins when the metal surface of the prosthesis is exposed to biological fluids. After a few months of implantation, the titanium contamination is stabilized and remains localized within the first tens of micrometers of surrounding bone

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aqueous environment by chemical treatments: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubio-Clemente, Ainhoa; Torres-Palma, Ricardo A; Peñuela, Gustavo A

2014-04-15

Due to their carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic potential, the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from aqueous environment using physical, biological and chemical processes has been studied by several researchers. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge concerning PAHs including their physico-chemical properties, input sources, occurrence, adverse effects and conventional and alternative chemical processes applied for their removal from water. The mechanisms and reactions involved in each treatment method are reported, and the effects of various variables on the PAH degradation rate as well as the extent of degradation are also discussed. Extensive literature analysis has shown that an effective way to perform the conversion and mineralization of this type of substances is the application of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Furthermore, combined processes, particularly AOPs coupled with biological treatments, seem to be one of the best solutions for the treatment of effluents containing PAHs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

E4CHEM. A simulation program for the fate of chemicals in the environment. Handbook. User`s guide and description. Version 3.6. December 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brueggemann, R [GSF - Forschungszentrum fuer Umwelt und Gesundheit Neuherberg GmbH, Oberschleissheim (Germany). Projektgruppe Umweltgefaehrdungspotentiale von Chemikalien; Drescher-Kaden, U [GSF - Forschungszentrum fuer Umwelt und Gesundheit Neuherberg GmbH, Oberschleissheim (Germany). Projektgruppe Umweltgefaehrdungspotentiale von Chemikalien; Muenzer, B [GSF - Forschungszentrum fuer Umwelt und Gesundheit Neuherberg GmbH, Oberschleissheim (Germany). Projektgruppe Umweltgefaehrdungspotentiale von Chemikalien

1996-02-01

The predominant aims of E4CHEM are: Deterministic description of the chemical`s behavior in the environment with varying ecoparameters including the special aspects; Behavior of the same chemical in different compartments; Behavior of different chemicals in the same compartment with the same ecoparameters; Tracing back of chemicals detected in the environment to the possible source by means of check procedures like in EXWAT, one of the E4CHEM models; Discharge of the user from extensive calculation operations; Interpretation of experimental results. In combination with statistics and algebraic tools (lattice theory) but not included in E4CHEM yet: Selection of descriptors as tool for priority setting; Identification and ranking of chemicals according to their risk to the environment by comparing descriptors within descriptor matrices about the behavior of chemicals deived from the different models. Furthermore: Identification of chemical applicable as reference substances with respect to environmental behavior. The program E4CHEM is described in this manual. (orig./SR)

Theory of terahertz pumping of chemical environments in the condensed phase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mishra, Pankaj Kumar

2015-12-01

Newly emerged light-sources allow to generate fully synchronized, ultrashort and highly intense light pulses. With these light pulses, it is possible to initiate a process by a pump pulse and follow the dynamics via probe pulse in the femtosecond timescale. These pump-probe experiments play an important role for studying the chemical and biological processes in real time. Such techniques are also used to generate temperature-jump (T-jump) in ultrashort timescale to study the very fast kinetics of fundamental steps in chemical processes. Because of its biological and chemical relevance, T-jump experiments on liquid water have gained a lot of attention. Rather than acting as a passive environment, the dynamics of water during chemical and biological processes play a fundamental role in the solvation and stabilization of reaction intermediates. To target the O-H stretching mode of water with an infrared (IR) laser is a widely used mechanism to generate the T-jump in nanosecond to femtosecond timescales. With these techniques, T-jump has been limited only to few 10s of K so far. In this thesis, a new mechanism is investigated to generate T-jump up to few 100s of K in sub-ps timescale. The main portion of this thesis concentrates on the response of liquid water to sub-cycle THz pump pulses spectrally centered at 100 cm -1 (∝3 THz). The THz pump pulse with intensity of 5 x 10 12 W/cm 2 transfers a large amount of energy to inter- and intramolecular vibrations of water in sub-ps timescale. After the pump pulse, water reaches to a quasiequilibrium state, which is a gas-like hot liquid. The large energy gain in water causes significant structural modifications and vibrational shifting, which can be probed by timeresolved coherent x-ray scattering and time-resolved IR spectroscopy, respectively. Here, the interaction of THz pulse with water molecules is investigated from clusters to bulk water. We find it to be mainly described via the interaction of electric field with

Applications of micro-spectroscopy and chemical imaging to delineate contaminant associations in heterogeneous mineral environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunter, D.

1998-01-01

Full text: Chemical speciation of a contaminant in the environment controls its mobility, bioavailability and ultimately its toxicity to organisms, including man. Transport models for environmental contaminants have continually failed because of an incomplete understanding of the physicochemical controls regulating the chemical speciation of both inorganic and organic contaminants. One of the greatest analytical difficulties to studying contaminant behavior in the subsurface is the inherent heterogeneity of mineral and organic constituents. Added to the multiplicity, of geological component surfaces that contaminants can interact with is the synergistic (both positive and negative) effects that occur due to non-conservative interactions between these components. Modern spectroscopic techniques can provide detailed quantitative and qualitative information on how contaminants behave within a specific mineral's surface-water interface. In general, the information is so rich as to be un interpretable in heterogeneous systems where multiple binding environments exist on competing multi-mineralic surfaces. None-the-less, it is the behaviour of contaminants in complex heterogeneous environments that is tantamount to understanding and predicting transport behaviour under field conditions. One solution is micro-spot spectroscopy. In micro-spot spectroscopy, chemical composition is determined by dispersing light absorbed or emitted from a highly localized spatial position within a heterogeneous sample. Such examples include FT-IR, Raman, fluorescence, and X-Ray absorption spectroscopies where spatial resolutions of 1 to 10 μm can be achieved. This scale can be still far too large to fully spectroscopically probe binding behaviour that is heterogeneous on colloidal scales ranging down to nanometers. However, it can provide a bridge to established characterization techniques such as optical petrography, since the challenge lies not only in identifying the speciation and

International environment, enterprise environment and energy environment giving different look

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kubo, Shunsuke

1987-04-01

0he international environment, enterprise environment and energy environment surrounding Japan are changing their looks. In such situation, what Japan should do for the development of the world was discussed. Internationally, in the Western Pacific economical block including Japan and Asian NICs, Japan promotes the international exchange of materials, capital, technology, information and people, and creates various international public properties. Enterprisers should have global mind, and cope with the internationalization, technical innovation and information orientation which are in progress at present through international exchange, interindustrial exchange, industry-university-government exchange and so on. In the aspect of energy environment, Japan carries out the technical development of energy conservation, energy, creation and the exploration of energy resources, in this way, contributes to the stabilization of energy in the world. (3 figs, 1 tab)

Corrosion Behavior of SA508 Coupled with and without Magnetite in Chemical Cleaning Environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Son, Yeong-Ho; Jeon, Soon-Hyeok; Song, Geun Dong; Hur, Do Haeng; Lee, Jong-Hyeon

2017-01-01

To mitigate these problems, chemical cleaning process has been widely used. However, the chemical cleaning solution can affect the corrosion of SG structural materials as well as the magnetite dissolution. During the chemical cleaning process, the galvanic corrosion between SG materials and magnetite is also anticipated because they are in electrical connection. However, the corrosion measurement or monitoring for the materials has been performed without consideration of galvanic effect coupled with magnetite during the chemical cleaning process. In this study, the effect of temperature and EDTA concentration on the corrosion behavior of SA508 tubesheet material with and without magnetite was studied in chemical cleaning solutions. The galvanic corrosion behavior between SA508 and magnetite is predicted by using the mixed potential theory and its effect on the corrosion rate of SA508 is also discussed. By newly designed immersion test, it was confirmed that the extent of galvanic corrosion effect between SA508 and magnetite increased with increasing temperature and EDTA concentration. The galvanic corrosion behavior of SA508 coupled with magnetite in chemical cleaning environments was predicted by the mixed potential theory and verified by ZRA and LP technique. Galvanic coupling increased the corrosion rate of SA508 due to the shift in its potential to the anodic direction. Therefore, the galvanic corrosion effect between SA508 and magnetite should be considered when the corrosion measurement is performed during the chemical cleaning process in steam generators.

The importance of chemical components in cleaning agents for the indoor environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vejrup, Karl Ventzel

In order to evaluate the importance for the indoor environment of chemical compounds in cleaning agents, the emission of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) from 10 selected cleaning agents and the content of LAS (Linear AlkanbenzeneSulfonate) in dust samples from 7 buildings were investigated.The...... of LAS between smooth floored corridors to carpeted offices, are apparently also of importance for the LAS content in individual rooms.The amounts of LAS found in the dust samples indicated that LAS may be of importance for the indoor environment, but inadequate knowledge about how low concentrations...... investigation of VOC emission from 10 selected cleaning agents showed that it was useful to classify the VOCs into two groups: nonpolar VOCs and polar VOCs.The nonpolar VOCs consisted of several hundred different compounds, mainly terpenes typically used as perfume in cleaning agents. The nonpolar VOC...

Smelling in chemically complex environments: an optofluidic Bragg fiber array for differentiation of methanol adulterated beverages.

Science.gov (United States)

Yildirim, Adem; Ozturk, Fahri Emre; Bayindir, Mehmet

2013-07-02

A novel optoelectronic nose for analysis of alcohols (ethanol and methanol) in chemically complex environments is reported. The cross-responsive sensing unit of the optoelectronic nose is an array of three distinct hollow-core infrared transmitting photonic band gap fibers, which transmit a specific band of IR light depending on their Bragg mirror structures. The presence of alcohol molecules in the optofluidic core quenches the fiber transmissions if there is an absorption band of the analyte overlapping with the transmission band of the fiber; otherwise they remain unchanged. The cumulative response data of the fiber array enables rapid, reversible, and accurate discrimination of alcohols in chemically complex backgrounds such as beer and fruit juice. In addition, we observed that humidity of the environment has no effect on the response matrix of the optoelectronic nose, which is rarely achieved in gas-sensing applications. Consequently, it can be reliably used in virtually any environment without precalibration for humidity or drying the analytes. Besides the discussed application in counterfeit alcoholic beverages, with its superior sensor parameters, this novel concept proves to be a promising contender for many other applications including food quality control, environmental monitoring, and breath analysis for disease diagnostics.

3D Room Visualization on Android Based Mobile Device (with Philips™’ Surround Sound Music Player

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Durio Etgar

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This project’s specifically purposed as a demo application, so anyone can get the experience of a surround audio room without having to physically involved to it, with a main idea of generating a 3D surround sound room scenery coupled with surround sound in a handier package, namely, a “Virtual Listen Room”. Virtual Listen Room set a foundation of an innovative visualization that later will be developed and released as one of way of portable advertisement. This application was built inside of Android environment. Android device had been chosen as the implementation target, since it leaves massive development spaces and mostly contains essential components needed on this project, including graphic processor unit (GPU.  Graphic manipulation can be done using an embedded programming interface called OpenGL ES, which is planted in all Android devices generally. Further, Android has a Accelerometer Sensor that is needed to be coupled with scene to produce a dynamic movement of the camera. Surround sound effect can be reached with a decoder from Phillips called MPEG Surround Sound Decoder. To sum the whole project, we got an application with sensor-dynamic 3D room visualization coupled with Philips’ Surround Sound Music Player. We can manipulate several room’s properties; Subwoofer location, Room light, and how many speakers inside it, the application itself works well despite facing several performance problems before, later to be solved. [Keywords : Android,Visualization,Open GL; ES; 3D; Surround Sensor

How patients experience the surroundings in relation to patient participation: a qualitative study of inpatients with intestinal failure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thyssen GD

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Gunvor Dichmann Thyssen, Anne BeckDepartment of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, DenmarkIntroduction: Patient participation is known to improve patients' motivation, compliance, treatment results, and satisfaction with the received care. It is well known that the physical environment is of great importance in supporting patient involvement. A systematic literature search has shown a lack of articles on the subject of “surroundings” in relation to patient participation, for all patient groups.Aim: We aimed to investigate how patients with intestinal failure experience their hospital surroundings in relation to patient participation.Methods: The study included eight patients admitted for at least 2 weeks at the Intestinal Failure Unit, H8, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom. Included patients had a good level of consciousness with no confusion. The included patients participated in a semistructured interview. The interviews were analyzed using Malterud's principles of systematic text condensation.Results: The patients described that the surroundings enabled them to participate in their treatment and care. The surroundings made it possible for them and encouraged them to participate through: the possibility to seek and get information and the possibility to participate in daily activities. This led to a feeling of independence, reassurance, normality, control, responsibility, and confidence.Conclusion: The findings in this study indicate that the hospital surroundings are essential for the patients with respect to their ability to participate in their own care and treatment. The surroundings, in relation to patient participation, should be considered when planning and organizing nursing care. Further research is needed to increase the understanding of the surroundings in relation to patient participation - this research could, for eg, include the nurse's perspective

An Integrated Chemical Environment to Support 21st-Century Toxicology.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Shannon M; Phillips, Jason; Sedykh, Alexander; Tandon, Arpit; Sprankle, Catherine; Morefield, Stephen Q; Shapiro, Andy; Allen, David; Shah, Ruchir; Maull, Elizabeth A; Casey, Warren M; Kleinstreuer, Nicole C

2017-05-25

SUMMARY : Access to high-quality reference data is essential for the development, validation, and implementation of in vitro and in silico approaches that reduce and replace the use of animals in toxicity testing. Currently, these data must often be pooled from a variety of disparate sources to efficiently link a set of assay responses and model predictions to an outcome or hazard classification. To provide a central access point for these purposes, the National Toxicology Program Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods developed the Integrated Chemical Environment (ICE) web resource. The ICE data integrator allows users to retrieve and combine data sets and to develop hypotheses through data exploration. Open-source computational workflows and models will be available for download and application to local data. ICE currently includes curated in vivo test data, reference chemical information, in vitro assay data (including Tox21 TM /ToxCast™ high-throughput screening data), and in silico model predictions. Users can query these data collections focusing on end points of interest such as acute systemic toxicity, endocrine disruption, skin sensitization, and many others. ICE is publicly accessible at https://ice.ntp.niehs.nih.gov. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1759.

School food environments associated with adiposity in Canadian children.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzpatrick, C; Datta, G D; Henderson, M; Gray-Donald, K; Kestens, Y; Barnett, T A

2017-07-01

Targeting obesogenic features of children's environment that are amenable to change represents a promising strategy for health promotion. The school food environment, defined as the services and policies regarding nutrition and the availability of food in the school and surrounding neighborhood, is particularly important given that students travel through the school neighborhood almost daily and that they consume a substantial proportion of their calories at school. As part of the Quebec Adipose and Lifestyle Investigation in Youth (QUALITY) cohort study, we assessed features of school indoor dietary environment and the surrounding school neighborhoods, when children were aged 8-10 years (2005-2008). School principals reported on food practices and policies within the schools. The density of convenience stores and fast-food outlets surrounding the school was computed using a Geographical Information System. Indicators of school neighborhood deprivation were derived from census data. Adiposity outcomes were measured in a clinical setting 2 years later, when participants were aged 10-12 years (2008-2011). We conducted cluster analyses to identify school food environment types. Associations between school types and adiposity were estimated in linear regression models. Cluster analysis identified three school types with distinct food environments. Schools were characterized as: overall healthful (45%); a healthful food environment in the surrounding neighborhood, but an unhealthful indoor food environment (22%); or overall unhealthful (33%). Less healthful schools were located in more deprived neighborhoods and were associated with greater child adiposity. Despite regulatory efforts to improve school food environments, there is substantial inequity in dietary environments across schools. Ensuring healthful indoor and outdoor food environments across schools should be included in comprehensive efforts to reduce obesity-related health disparities.

Chemical environment in cements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glasser, F.B.; Angus, M.J.; McCulloch, C.E.; Macphee, D.; Rahman, A.A.

1984-01-01

The alkalinity of Portland cements is responsible for precipitation and low solubility of many radwastes species. The sources of alkalinity are evaluated and two chemical models, based on experimental and theoretical data presented enabling the effect of blending agents (PFA, silica fume, etc.) to be evaluated and the alkalinity of the system at longer ages predicted. The data take the form of a solubility model which is applicable to non-heat generating wastes. 7 refs., 10 figs

Chemical abundances associated with gamma-ray bursts: nucleosynthesis in afterglows

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Tao; Wang, Min

2014-03-01

Gamma-ray burst (GRB) ejecta carries huge amounts of energy expanding into the surrounding medium and heats up these materials, making it possible that nucleosynthesis can take place in such hot sites in afterglow stage. Here, we study possible changes in chemical abundances in the GRB afterglow processes of Wolf-Rayet (WR) star wind environments (Case A) and constant density surroundings (Case B). We find that the light element of lithium-beryllium-boron could occur in the afterglows via He+He process and spallation reactions. Some isotopes of F, Ne, Mg, Al, Si, P, S and Fe-group elements are also new species formed in the afterglows via proton-, neutron- and α-capture. The results show that the nucleosynthetic yields might be a diagnostic of the GRB's ambient environment. Our calculations indicate that Mg, Al, Si, P, Cr, Mn, Fe and Co have trended to appear in Case A, while Ne, Ti and Ni trend to occur in Case B. Furthermore, although some species have occurred both in Cases A and B, their mass fractions are quite different in these two cases. Here, we show that the mass fractions of 7Li, 7Be, 24Mg and 30Si are higher in Case A than that in Case B, but 18F gives an opposite conclusion. Nucleosynthetic outputs might also be an indice to estimate the luminosity-temperature relation factor β. In this study, when β reduces, the mass abundances of 11B and 20Ne are higher in Case B than that in Case A; in contrast, as the β becomes larger, this trend would be reversed; therefore, perhaps we could select the above elements as the indicators to estimate the properties of the surroundings around the GRBs. We also suggest that the spectroscopic observations of a GRB afterglow could only reveal the nucleosynthetic outputs from the interaction site between the GRB jet and its ambient matter, but could not represent the original composition of the pre-GRB surrounding medium.

Changes in unique hues induced by chromatic surrounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Klauke, Susanne; Wachtler, Thomas

2016-03-01

A chromatic surround can have a strong influence on the perceived hue of a stimulus. We investigated whether chromatic induction has similar effects on the perception of colors that appear pure and unmixed (unique red, green, blue, and yellow) as on other colors. Subjects performed unique hue settings of stimuli in isoluminant surrounds of different chromaticities. Compared with the settings in a neutral gray surround, unique hue settings altered systematically with chromatic surrounds. The amount of induced hue shift depended on the difference between stimulus and surround hues, and was similar for unique hue settings as for settings of nonunique hues. Intraindividual variability in unique hue settings was roughly twice as high as for settings obtained in asymmetric matching experiments, which may reflect the presence of a reference stimulus in the matching task. Variabilities were also larger with chromatic surrounds than with neutral gray surrounds, for both unique hue settings and matching of nonunique hues. The results suggest that the neural representations underlying unique hue percepts are influenced by the same neural processing mechanisms as the percepts of other colors.

Trace metal distribution in sediments of the Pearl River Estuary and the surrounding coastal area, South China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ip, Carman C.M.; Li Xiangdong; Zhang Gan; Wai, Onyx W.H.; Li, Y.-S.

2007-01-01

Surface sediments and sediment cores collected at the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) and its surrounding coastal area were analysed for total metal concentrations, chemical partitioning, and Pb isotopic compositions. The distribution of Cu, Cr, Pb, and Zn demonstrated a typical diffusion pattern from the land to the direction of the sea. Two hotspots of trace metal contamination were located at the mixed zone between freshwater and marine waters. The enrichment of metals in the sediments could be attributed to the deposition of the dissolved and particulate trace metals in the water column at the estuarine area. The similar Pb isotopic signatures of the sediments at the PRE and its surrounding coastal area offered strong evidence that the PRE was a major source of trace metals to the adjacent coastal area. Slightly lower 206 Pb/ 207 Pb ratios in the coastal sediments may indicate other inputs of Pb in addition to the PRE sources, including the inputs from Hong Kong and other parts of the region. - The distribution of trace metals in sediments reflected contaminant sources, physical and chemical deposition processes

Transformers For Extreme Environments

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Imagine a revolutionary way to remotely control the environment surrounding one or more roving vehicles exploring remote and unexplored areas of the Solar System,...

Indoor environment and children's health: recent developments in chemical, biological, physical and social aspects.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Cann, Pierre; Bonvallot, Nathalie; Glorennec, Philippe; Deguen, Séverine; Goeury, Christophe; Le Bot, Barbara

2011-12-01

Much research is being carried out into indoor exposure to harmful agents. This review focused on the impact on children's health, taking a broad approach to the indoor environment and including chemical, microbial, physical and social aspects. Papers published from 2006 onwards were reviewed, with regards to scientific context. Most of publications dealt with chemical exposure. Apart from the ongoing issue of combustion by-products, most of these papers concerned semi volatile organic compounds (such as phthalates). These may be associated with neurotoxic, reprotoxic or respiratory effects and may, therefore, be of particular interest so far as children are concerned. In a lesser extent, volatile organic compounds (such as aldehydes) that have mainly respiratory effects are still studied. Assessing exposure to metals is still of concern, with increasing interest in bioaccessibility. Most of the papers on microbial exposure focused on respiratory tract infections, especially asthma linked to allergens and bio-aerosols. Physical exposure includes noise and electromagnetic fields, and articles dealt with the auditory and non auditory effects of noise. Articles on radiofrequency electromagnetic fields mainly concerned questions about non-thermal effects and papers on extremely low-frequency magnetic fields focused on the characterization of exposure. The impact of the indoor environment on children's health cannot be assessed merely by considering the effect of these different types of exposure: this review highlights new findings and also discusses the interactions between agents in indoor environments and also with social aspects. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

3D Room Visualization on Android Based Mobile Device (with Philips™’ Surround Sound Music Player

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Durio Etgar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This project’s specifically purposed as a demo application, so anyone can get the experience of a surround audio room without having to physically involved to it, with a main idea of generating a 3D surround sound room scenery coupled with surround sound in a handier package, namely, a “Virtual Listen Room”. Virtual Listen Room set a foundation of an innovative visualization that later will be developed and released as one of way of portable advertisement. This application was built inside of Android environment. Android device had been chosen as the implementation target, since it leaves massive development spaces and mostly contains essential components needed on this project, including graphic processor unit (GPU. Graphic manipulation can be done using an embedded programming interface called OpenGL ES, which is planted in all Android devices generally. Further, Android has a Accelerometer Sensor that is needed to be coupled with scene to produce a dynamic movement of the camera. Surround sound effect can be reached with a decoder from Phillips called MPEG Surround Sound Decoder. To sum the whole project, we got an application with sensor-dynamic 3D room visualization coupled with Philips’ Surround Sound Music Player. We can manipulate several room’s properties; Subwoofer location, Room light, and how many speakers inside it, the application itself works well despite facing several performance problems before, later to be solved.

Survey on bio-chemical complex harmonized with global environment. 3; Kankyo chowagata seibutsu kagaku konbinato ni kansuru chosa. 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-03-01

A survey was conducted of bio-chemical complex harmonized with the global environment for the purpose of constructing the material production process harmonized with the environment by the process fusion between biological conversion and chemical reaction. Palm oil was taken up as renewable raw material plant resource. The process utilizing bio-chemical reaction advances at normal temperature and pressure and is high in reaction specificity and selectivity. This is a recycling, circulation and environmental harmony type production technology which brings high yield, energy conservation, resource conservation, and low environmental loads. Waste water treatment and production of useful substances from sludge were thought as elementary technology. A possibility was studied of enzyme production by culturing solid waste, and the enzyme was applied to the hydrolysis process. The paper indicated trace components in the palm oil and the extraction method and proposed the production process of new derivatives for adding value to hydrolysate. A study was also made of the overall process flow which integrated these new processes and the material balance. The comprehensive evaluation of this new process was made from the aspect of the product structure, the market, construction cost, economical efficiency, and the environment. 133 refs., 65 figs., 56 tabs.

Biogeochemistry of Lead. Its Release to the Environment and Chemical Speciation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cullen, Jay T; McAlister, Jason

2017-04-10

Lead (Pb) is a metal that is not essential for life processes and proves acutely toxic to most organisms. Compared to other metals Pb is rather immobile in the environment but still its biogeochemical cycling is greatly perturbed by human activities. In this review we present a summary of information describing the physical and chemical properties of Pb, its distribution in crustal materials, and the processes, both natural and anthropogenic, that contribute to the metal's mobilization in the biosphere. The relatively high volatility of Pb metal, low melting point, its large ionic radius, and its chemical speciation in aquatic systems contributes to its redistribution by anthropogenic and natural processes. The biogeochemical cycle of Pb is significantly altered by anthropogenic inputs. This alteration began in antiquity but accelerated during the industrial revolution, which sparked increases in both mining activities and fossil fuel combustion. Estimates of the flux of Pb to the atmosphere, its deposition and processing in soils and freshwater systems are presented. Finally, the basin scale distribution of dissolved Pb in the ocean is interpreted in light of the chemical speciation and association with inorganic and organic particulate matter. The utility of stable radiogenic Pb isotopes, as a complement to concentration data, to trace inputs to the ocean, better understand the biogeochemical cycling of Pb and track water mass circulation in the ocean is discussed. An ongoing international survey of trace elements and their isotopes in seawater will undoubtedly increase our understanding of the deposition, biogeochemical cycling and fate of this infamous toxic metal.

Phylogenetic or environmental control on the organo-chemical composition of Sphagnum mosses?

Science.gov (United States)

Limpens, Juul; Nilsson, Mats

2014-05-01

Decomposition of organic material is one of the key processes that determines the size of the soil-feedback to global warming, but it is also a process surrounded with one of the largest uncertainties, making understanding its mechanistic drivers of crucial importance. In organic soils decomposition is closely determined by the organo-chemical composition of the litter entering the soil. But what, in turn drives the organo-chemical composition? Is it an emergent feature of the environment the species producing the litter grow in, or is it an evolutionary trait that can be tracked through the species' phylogeny? We set out to answer this question for one of the most import peat-forming plants on earth: the genus Sphagnum. We sampled 18 Sphagnum species, about equally distributed over 6 sites spanning a wide range of environmental conditions: most species were collected at multiple sites. For all species we characterised the chemical composition, focussing on three functional chemistry groups: (i) mineral elements, (ii) carbohydrate polymers (iii) non-carbohydrate polymers (aromatic and aliphatic compounds) . For each group of compounds we used multivariate statistical techniques to derive the degree of variation explained by environment: (site, position within site) and phylogeny (sections within genus Sphagnum). We found that the variation in mineral element concentrations was mostly explained by environment, with the biggest differences in the concentrations of basic cat-ions calcium and magnesium. In contrast, the variation in carbohydrates was mostly explained by phylogeny, with clear associations between sections and monosaccharides. The monosaccharide rhamnose was associated with species from the Acutifolia section known for their poor degradability, whereas xylose and galactose were closely associated with degradable species from the Cuspidata section. The composition non-carbohydrate polymers took an intermediate position: both environment and phylogeny

Radioactive influence of some phosphogypsum piles located at the SW Spain in their surrounding soils and salt-marshes

Science.gov (United States)

Bolivar, J. P.; Mosqueda, F.; Vaca, F.; Garcia-Tenorio, R.; Martinez-Sanchez, M. J.; Perez-Sirvent, C.; Martinez-Lopez, S.

2012-04-01

In the SW of Spain, just in the confluence of the mouths of the Tinto and Odiel River and in the vicinity of Huelva town, there is a big industrial complex which includes between others an industry devoted during more than 40 years to the production of phosphoric acid, by treating sedimentary phosphate rock by the so-called "wet acid method". As a by-product of the mentioned process it have been produced historically huge amounts of a compound called phosphogypsum, which composition is mostly di-hydrate calcium sulphate containing some of the impurities of heavy metals and natural radionuclides originally present in the raw material. Due to the lack of market for this by-product, it has been mostly piled over some salt-marshes located in the vicinity of the industry, on the bank of the Tinto River. About 100 million tons of phosphogypsum have been piled in an area covering more than 1000 hectares, constituting a clear environmental and radiological anomaly in the zone. The phosphogypsum piles set do not conform obviously a close system. They are interacting with the nearby environment mostly by leaching waters releases from the waters accumulated in them either for its previous use in transporting in suspension the PG from the factory or by rainfall. These waters leaks contain in solution enhanced amounts of heavy metals and radionuclides that can provoke the chemical and radioactive contamination in surroundings soil and salt-marshes areas. In this communication the radioactive influence by the phosphogypsum piles in the surrounding terrestrial environment is evaluated. This contamination is mostly due to radionuclides belonging to the uranium series, which are present originally in the raw material treated in the industry, and afterwards in the generated phosphogypsum, in enhanced amounts in relation to typical soils. In addition, the different dynamics and behavior of different radionuclides will be discussed and analyzed. The gained information in this study

Playing Chemical Plant Environmental Protection Games with Historical Monitoring Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Zhengqiu; Chen, Bin; Reniers, Genserik; Zhang, Laobing; Qiu, Sihang; Qiu, Xiaogang

2017-09-29

The chemical industry is very important for the world economy and this industrial sector represents a substantial income source for developing countries. However, existing regulations on controlling atmospheric pollutants, and the enforcement of these regulations, often are insufficient in such countries. As a result, the deterioration of surrounding ecosystems and a quality decrease of the atmospheric environment can be observed. Previous works in this domain fail to generate executable and pragmatic solutions for inspection agencies due to practical challenges. In addressing these challenges, we introduce a so-called Chemical Plant Environment Protection Game (CPEP) to generate reasonable schedules of high-accuracy air quality monitoring stations (i.e., daily management plans) for inspection agencies. First, so-called Stackelberg Security Games (SSGs) in conjunction with source estimation methods are applied into this research. Second, high-accuracy air quality monitoring stations as well as gas sensor modules are modeled in the CPEP game. Third, simplified data analysis on the regularly discharging of chemical plants is utilized to construct the CPEP game. Finally, an illustrative case study is used to investigate the effectiveness of the CPEP game, and a realistic case study is conducted to illustrate how the models and algorithms being proposed in this paper, work in daily practice. Results show that playing a CPEP game can reduce operational costs of high-accuracy air quality monitoring stations. Moreover, evidence suggests that playing the game leads to more compliance from the chemical plants towards the inspection agencies. Therefore, the CPEP game is able to assist the environmental protection authorities in daily management work and reduce the potential risks of gaseous pollutants dispersion incidents.

Playing Chemical Plant Environmental Protection Games with Historical Monitoring Data

Science.gov (United States)

Reniers, Genserik; Zhang, Laobing; Qiu, Xiaogang

2017-01-01

The chemical industry is very important for the world economy and this industrial sector represents a substantial income source for developing countries. However, existing regulations on controlling atmospheric pollutants, and the enforcement of these regulations, often are insufficient in such countries. As a result, the deterioration of surrounding ecosystems and a quality decrease of the atmospheric environment can be observed. Previous works in this domain fail to generate executable and pragmatic solutions for inspection agencies due to practical challenges. In addressing these challenges, we introduce a so-called Chemical Plant Environment Protection Game (CPEP) to generate reasonable schedules of high-accuracy air quality monitoring stations (i.e., daily management plans) for inspection agencies. First, so-called Stackelberg Security Games (SSGs) in conjunction with source estimation methods are applied into this research. Second, high-accuracy air quality monitoring stations as well as gas sensor modules are modeled in the CPEP game. Third, simplified data analysis on the regularly discharging of chemical plants is utilized to construct the CPEP game. Finally, an illustrative case study is used to investigate the effectiveness of the CPEP game, and a realistic case study is conducted to illustrate how the models and algorithms being proposed in this paper, work in daily practice. Results show that playing a CPEP game can reduce operational costs of high-accuracy air quality monitoring stations. Moreover, evidence suggests that playing the game leads to more compliance from the chemical plants towards the inspection agencies. Therefore, the CPEP game is able to assist the environmental protection authorities in daily management work and reduce the potential risks of gaseous pollutants dispersion incidents. PMID:28961188

Playing Chemical Plant Environmental Protection Games with Historical Monitoring Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhengqiu Zhu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The chemical industry is very important for the world economy and this industrial sector represents a substantial income source for developing countries. However, existing regulations on controlling atmospheric pollutants, and the enforcement of these regulations, often are insufficient in such countries. As a result, the deterioration of surrounding ecosystems and a quality decrease of the atmospheric environment can be observed. Previous works in this domain fail to generate executable and pragmatic solutions for inspection agencies due to practical challenges. In addressing these challenges, we introduce a so-called Chemical Plant Environment Protection Game (CPEP to generate reasonable schedules of high-accuracy air quality monitoring stations (i.e., daily management plans for inspection agencies. First, so-called Stackelberg Security Games (SSGs in conjunction with source estimation methods are applied into this research. Second, high-accuracy air quality monitoring stations as well as gas sensor modules are modeled in the CPEP game. Third, simplified data analysis on the regularly discharging of chemical plants is utilized to construct the CPEP game. Finally, an illustrative case study is used to investigate the effectiveness of the CPEP game, and a realistic case study is conducted to illustrate how the models and algorithms being proposed in this paper, work in daily practice. Results show that playing a CPEP game can reduce operational costs of high-accuracy air quality monitoring stations. Moreover, evidence suggests that playing the game leads to more compliance from the chemical plants towards the inspection agencies. Therefore, the CPEP game is able to assist the environmental protection authorities in daily management work and reduce the potential risks of gaseous pollutants dispersion incidents.

Forest Fragments Surrounded by Sugar Cane Are More Inhospitable to Terrestrial Amphibian Abundance Than Fragments Surrounded by Pasture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Eveline Ribeiro D’Anunciação

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, there has been increasing interest in matrix-type influence on forest fragments. Terrestrial amphibians are good bioindicators for this kind of research because of low vagility and high philopatry. This study compared richness, abundance, and species composition of terrestrial amphibians through pitfall traps in two sets of semideciduous seasonal forest fragments in southeastern Brazil, according to the predominant surrounding matrix (sugar cane and pasture. There were no differences in richness, but fragments surrounded by sugar cane had the lowest abundance of amphibians, whereas fragments surrounded by pastures had greater abundance. The most abundant species, Rhinella ornata, showed no biometric differences between fragment groups but like many other amphibians sampled showed very low numbers of individuals in fragments dominated by sugar cane fields. Our data indicate that the sugar cane matrix negatively influences the community of amphibians present in fragments surrounded by this type of land use.

Chemical and non-chemical stressors affecting childhood obesity: a systematic scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lichtveld, Kim; Thomas, Kent; Tulve, Nicolle S

2018-01-01

Childhood obesity in the United States has doubled over the last three decades and currently affects 17% of children and adolescents. While much research has focused on individual behaviors impacting obesity, little research has emphasized the complex interactions of numerous chemical and non-chemical stressors found in a child's environment and how these interactions affect a child's health and well-being. The objectives of this systematic scoping review were to (1) identify potential chemical stressors in the context of non-chemical stressors that impact childhood obesity; and, (2) summarize our observations for chemical and non-chemical stressors in regards to child-specific environments within a community setting. A review was conducted to identify chemical and non-chemical stressors related to childhood obesity for the childhood life stages ranging from prenatal to adolescence. Stressors were identified and grouped into domains: individual behaviors, family/household behaviors, community stressors, and chemical exposures. Stressors were related to the child and the child's everyday environments and used to characterize child health and well-being. This review suggests that the interactions of chemical and non-chemical stressors are important for understanding a child's overall health and well-being. By considering these relationships, the exposure science research community can better design and implement strategies to reduce childhood obesity.

Chemical and mineralogical concerns for the use of man-made materials in the post-emplacement environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meike, A.

1993-01-01

In a radioactive waste repository, materials will be introduced for a variety of reasons. Some materials such as metals, bonding agents, and concrete will serve as active parts of the designed engineered barrier system (EBS). Other materials will be introduced to serve a number of purposes that include any or all of the following: surveillance (thermocouples, gauges), construction and operation (drilling rigs, roadbeds, exhaust fumes, chemical toilets, concrete, grout, rebar), lubrication (petroleum-based products, rope dressing) and other functions. Water chemistry will directly affect the corrosion of containers, the dissolution of spent fuel and waste glass and the concentration of dissolved or suspended radionuclides in water that exits breached containers. To predict the water quality requires a knowledge of the dissolution kinetics of the phases present in man-made materials, and the precipitation kinetics of product phases. The chemical evolution of man-made materials of interest to the Yucca Mountain project are by and large not presently known. Prediction of the long-term behavior (10,000 years) required of the modeling efforts is an additional layer of complexity that is not addressed by current models of water chemistry. Man-made modifications to the environment may significantly alter the thermal, chemical and radionuclide transportation attributes of the natural environment that are presently being considered in order to determine a waste package design. The specific chemical concerns addressed here are: solubility and stability of solid phases; liquid and gas phase stability; long term effects; radiolysis effects; colloids; and interactions between man-made material, rock, and J-13 or concentrated J-13 water. The report concludes with recommendations

Fate of rhenium in the environment as a chemical analogue of technetium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tagami, Keiko; Uchida, Shigeo

2007-01-01

Concentrations of rhenium, a chemical analogue of Tc, were measured in various environmental samples by ICP-MS to obtain information values on long-lived 99 Tc mobility in the environment. From the results, it was assumed that Re was removed from the rock and soil by water due to weathering and transport to the sea through rivers. The element would be retained in seawater for a long time, i.e., 2 x 10 5 to 7.5 x 10 5 y. The reservoirs of Re in the sea would be seaweeds, and anoxic and suboxic sediments, especially slightly below the water-sediment interface. (author)

Deformation at longyao ground fissure and its surroundings, north China plain, revealed by ALOS PALSAR PS-InSAR

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chengsheng; Lu, Zhong; Zhang, Qin; Zhao, Chaoying; Peng, Jianbing; Ji, Lingyun

2018-05-01

The Longyao ground fissure (LGF) is the longest and most active among more than 1000 ground fissures on the North China Plain. There have been many studies on the formation mechanism of the LGF, due to its scientific importance and its potential for damage to the environment. These studies have been based on both regional tectonic analysis and numerical simulations. In order to provide a better understanding of the formation mechanism, the deformation of the crack and its surrounding environment should be taken into consideration. In this paper, PS-InSAR technology was employed to assess the ground deformation of LGF and its surrounding area, using L-band ALOS-1 PALSAR images from 2007 to 2011. The characteristics of ground deformation, relationships between fissure activity and surrounding faults and groundwater exploitation were analyzed. This study shows that the north side of Longyao fault (LF) is uplifting while the south side is subsiding. This provides the tectonic conditions responsible for the activity of the ground fissure. Local groundwater exploitation also plays an important role in the development of ground fissures. InSAR observations were modeled to infer the loading depth (-2.8 km) and the slip rate (31.1 mm/yr) of LF.

Heritage landscape structure analysis in surrounding environment of the Grand Canal Yangzhou section

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Huan

2018-03-01

The Yangzhou section of the Grand Canal is selected for a case study in this paper. The ZY-3 satellite images of 2016 are adopted as the data source. RS and GIS are used to analyze the landscape classification of the surrounding landscape of the Grand Canal, and the classification results are precisely evaluated. Next, the overall features of the landscape pattern are analyzed. The results showed that the overall accuracy is 82.5% and the Kappa coefficient is 78.17% in the Yangzhou section. The producer’s accuracy of the water landscape is the highest, followed by that of the other landscape, farmland landscape, garden and forest landscape, architectural landscape. The user’s accuracy of different landscape types can be ranked in a descending order, as the water landscape, farmland landscape, road landscape, architectural landscape, other landscape, garden and forest landscape. The farmland landscape and the architectural landscape are the top advantageous landscape types of the heritage site. The research findings can provide basic data for landscape protection, management and sustainable development of the Grand Canal Yangzhou section.

Molybdenum and technetium cycle in the environment. Physical chemical evolution and mobility in soils and plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saas, A.; Denardi, J.L.; Colle, C.; Quinault, J.M.

1980-01-01

Molybdenum 99 and technetium 99 from liquid discharges of base nuclear installations (reactors, reprocessing plants, UF 6 treatment, etc.) can reach the environment via irrigation waters and atmospheric deposits. The contribution to the soil by irrigation results in a physical-chemical transformation, the results of which, in the case of technetium 99, could be volatilization via microbes. The changes in the physical-chemical forms of technetium in different soils reveals the preponderant effect of the initial amount deposited. The determination of the rate of technetium and molybdenum assimilation shows a certain similarity in behaviour; yet the localization of these isotopes is not the same. The transfer of molybdenum and technetium via the root system is different in its intensity; this is mainly due to different physical-chemical forms. Finally, each isotope has an optimum assimilation threshold and a toxicity threshold. The study of the physical-chemical evolution and the mobility in the soil-plant-water table system of these two isotopes shows a new aspect with respect to certain transfer channels to the human being [fr

Enhancement of Afterimage Colors by Surrounding Contours

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takao Sato

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Presenting luminance contours surrounding the adapted areas in test phase enhances color afterimages in both duration and color appearance. The presence of surrounding contour is crucial to some color phenomenon such as van Lier's afterimage, but the contour-effect itself has not been seriously examined. In this paper, we compared the contour-effect to color afterimages and to actually colored patches to examine the nature of color information subserving color-aftereffect. In the experiment, observers were adapted for 1 sec to a small colored square (red, green, yellow, or blue presented on a gray background. Then, a test field either with or without surrounding contour was presented. Observers matched the color of a test-patch located near the afterimage to the color of afterimage. It was found that the saturation of negative afterimage was almost doubled by the presence of surrounding contours. There was no effect of luminance contrast or polarity of contours. In contrast, no enhancement of saturation by surrounding contours was observed for actually colored patches even though the colors of patches were equalized to that of afterimage without contours. This dissociation in the contour-effect demonstrates the crucial difference between the color information for aftereffects and for ordinary bottom-up color perception.

Physico-chemical characteristics of travertine springs and lakes, affecting the lives of lamellibranches (Ostracoda)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sykorova, M.

2014-01-01

Ostracods are very frequent fossils in the travertine, but we know little about their biodiversity, space distribution and ecological preferences in the extant travertine springs and lakes. To improve their application in Quaternary paleoecologic and paleoclimatic studies, we studied travertine springs and lakes of different physical characteristics (cold 25 grad C) and chemical composition (carbonate, sulfate, Fe) in Slovakia. Twenty-four ostracod species were observed in the travertine springs, lakes and their surroundings. Our findings provide interesting information on ostracods biodiversity in these environments. Connection between variables was evaluated by using the statistical program PCA analysis. Travertine habitats exhibit high variability in environmental parameters. (author)

Chemical shift of U L3 edges in different uranium compounds obtained by X-ray absorption spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joseph, D.; Jha, S.N.; Nayak, C.; Bhattacharyya, D.; Babu, P. Venu

2014-01-01

Uranium L 3 X-ray absorption edge was measured in various compounds containing uranium in U 4+ , U 5+ and U 5+ oxidation states. The measurements have been carried out at the Energy Dispersive EXAFS beamline (BL-08) at INDUS-2 synchrotron radiation source at RRCAT, Indore. Energy shifts of ∼ 2-3 eV were observed for U L 3 edge in the U-compounds compared to their value in elemental U. The different chemical shifts observed for the compounds having the same oxidation state of the cation but different anions or ligands show the effect of different chemical environments surrounding the cations in determining their X-ray absorption edges in the above compounds. The above chemical effect has been quantitatively described by determining the effective charges on U cation in the above compounds. (author)

Impacts of emerging contaminants on surrounding aquatic environment from a youth festival.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Jheng-Jie; Lee, Chon-Lin; Fang, Meng-Der; Tu, Bo-Wen; Liang, Yu-Jen

2015-01-20

The youth festival as we refer to Spring Scream, a large-scale pop music festival, is notorious for the problems of drug abuse and addiction. The origin, temporal magnitudes, potential risks and mass inputs of emerging contaminants (ECs) were investigated. Thirty targeted ECs were analyzed by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-LC-MS/MS). Sampling strategy was designed to characterize EC behavior in different stages (before and after the youth festival), based on multivariate data analysis to explore the contributions of contaminants from normal condition to the youth festival. Wastewater influents and effluents were collected during the youth festival (approximately 600 000 pop music fans and youth participated). Surrounding river waters are also sampled to illustrate the touristic impacts during peak season and off-season. Seasonal variations were observed, with the highest concentrations in April (Spring Scream) and the lowest in October (off-season). Acetaminophen, diclofenac, codeine, ampicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin-H2O, and gemfibrozil have significant pollution risk quotients (RQs > 1), indicating ecotoxicological concerns. Principal component analysis (PCA) and weekly patterns provide a perspective in assessing the touristic impacts and address the dramatic changes in visitor population and drug consumption. The highest mass loads discharged into the aquatic ecosystem corresponded to illicit drugs/controlled substances such as ketamine and MDMA, indicating the high consumption of ecstasy during Spring Scream.

Chromatic induction from surrounding stimuli under perceptual suppression.

Science.gov (United States)

Horiuchi, Koji; Kuriki, Ichiro; Tokunaga, Rumi; Matsumiya, Kazumichi; Shioiri, Satoshi

2014-11-01

The appearance of colors can be affected by their spatiotemporal context. The shift in color appearance according to the surrounding colors is called color induction or chromatic induction; in particular, the shift in opponent color of the surround is called chromatic contrast. To investigate whether chromatic induction occurs even when the chromatic surround is imperceptible, we measured chromatic induction during interocular suppression. A multicolor or uniform color field was presented as the surround stimulus, and a colored continuous flash suppression (CFS) stimulus was presented to the dominant eye of each subject. The subjects were asked to report the appearance of the test field only when the stationary surround stimulus is invisible by interocular suppression with CFS. The resulting shifts in color appearance due to chromatic induction were significant even under the conditions of interocular suppression for all surround stimuli. The magnitude of chromatic induction differed with the surround conditions, and this difference was preserved regardless of the viewing conditions. The chromatic induction effect was reduced by CFS, in proportion to the magnitude of chromatic induction under natural (i.e., no-CFS) viewing conditions. According to an analysis with linear model fitting, we revealed the presence of at least two kinds of subprocesses for chromatic induction that reside at higher and lower levels than the site of interocular suppression. One mechanism yields different degrees of chromatic induction based on the complexity of the surround, which is unaffected by interocular suppression, while the other mechanism changes its output with interocular suppression acting as a gain control. Our results imply that the total chromatic induction effect is achieved via a linear summation of outputs from mechanisms that reside at different levels of visual processing.

Distribution of radium and chemical toxins in the environment of a uranium complex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markose, P.M.; Eapen, K.P.; Venkataraman, S.; Kamath, P.R.

1978-01-01

The discharge of waste effluents from mining and milling of uranium ore brings into the aquatic environment radioactive pollutants and chemical toxins. The radioactive element of primary concern is radium and the nonactive pollutants are manganese, chlorides, sulphates and water hardness. In the Uranium Complex, Bihar (India), the low grade ore is mined and processed for recovery of uranium. The waste slurries from the process are neutralised and discharged into the tailings pond(TP) where the solids settle and the effluents flow out into a natural stream, Jurianala. The TP effluent mixes with mine water and floor washings from the mill in the canal on its down stream course to the river, R. Subarnarekha. This study was conducted to assess the total pollution from the liquid discharges in the environment and the impact of discharge on water quality. The results of the study of movement of pollutants in the biosphere and laboratory investigations on containment are presented. (author)

An aerial radiological survey of the Millstone Nuclear Power Station and surrounding area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vojtech, R.J.

1994-03-01

An aerial radiological survey was conducted during the period of September 10 to 18, 1990, over a 40-square-mile (104-square-kilometer) area surrounding the Millstone Nuclear Power Station (MNPS). The MNPS is located on the Long Island Sound shoreline, three kilometers south of Waterford, Connecticut. The purpose of the survey was to measure and document the terrestrial gamma ray environment of the plant and surrounding areas. A contour map showing radiation exposure rates at 1 meter above ground level was constructed from the aerial data and overlaid on an aerial photograph and a United States Geological Survey map of the area. The exposure rates within the survey region are quite uniform. The area is characterized by an exposure rate of 10-12 microroentgens per hour including an estimated cosmic ray contribution of 3.6 μR/h. This is typical of natural background. The only exception to the natural background readings is the Millstone station itself, which is characterized by an exposure rate consistent with the standard operation of the reactor units. Radionuclide assays of soil samples and pressurized-ion-chamber gamma ray measurements were obtained at five locations within the survey boundaries. These measurements were taken in support of, and are in agreement with, the aerial data. The radiological environment near the plant is consistent with normal plant operation

An aerial radiological survey of the Millstone Nuclear Power Station and surrounding area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vojtech, R.J.

1994-03-01

An aerial radiological survey was conducted during the period of September 10 to 18, 1990, over a 40-square-mile (104-square-kilometer) area surrounding the Millstone Nuclear Power Station (MNPS). The MNPS is located on the Long Island Sound shoreline, three kilometers south of Waterford, Connecticut. The purpose of the survey was to measure and document the terrestrial gamma ray environment of the plant and surrounding areas. A contour map showing radiation exposure rates at 1 meter above ground level was constructed from the aerial data and overlaid on an aerial photograph and a United States Geological Survey map of the area. The exposure rates within the survey region are quite uniform. The area is characterized by an exposure rate of 10-12 microroentgens per hour including an estimated cosmic ray contribution of 3.6 {mu}R/h. This is typical of natural background. The only exception to the natural background readings is the Millstone station itself, which is characterized by an exposure rate consistent with the standard operation of the reactor units. Radionuclide assays of soil samples and pressurized-ion-chamber gamma ray measurements were obtained at five locations within the survey boundaries. These measurements were taken in support of, and are in agreement with, the aerial data. The radiological environment near the plant is consistent with normal plant operation.

State of the Arctic Environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

The Arctic environment, covering about 21 million km 2 , is in this connection regarded as the area north of the Arctic Circle. General biological and physical features of the terrestrial and freshwater environments of the Arctic are briefly described, but most effort is put into a description of the marine part which constitutes about two-thirds of the total Arctic environment. General oceanography and morphological characteristics are included; e.g. that the continental shelf surrounding the Arctic deep water basins covers approximately 36% of the surface areas of Arctic waters, but contains only 2% of the total water masses. Blowout accident may release thousands of tons of oil per day and last for months. They occur statistically very seldom, but the magnitude underlines the necessity of an efficient oil spill contingency as well as sound safety and quality assurance procedures. Contingency plans should be coordinated and regularly evaluated through simulated and practical tests of performance. Arctic conditions demand alternative measures compared to those otherwise used for oil spill prevention and clean-up. New concepts or optimization of existing mechanical equipment is necessary. Chemical and thermal methods should be evaluated for efficiency and possible environmental effects. Both due to regular discharges of oil contaminated drilled cuttings and the possibility of a blowout or other spills, drilling operations in biological sensitive areas may be regulated to take place only during the less sensitive parts of the year. 122 refs., 8 figs., 8 tabs

Experimental study and modelling of physico-chemical mechanisms of clay-concrete interactions in the radioactive waste geological disposal context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dauzeres, A.

2010-09-01

These research works are carried out as part of the radioactive wastes geological disposal feasibility study. The current option developed by Andra, includes several cementitious materials in contact with the surrounding Callovo-Oxfordian (COX) (an argillite). Concretes and argillite present very different pore solutions (ionic concentrations and pH). Controlled by the concentrations differences, the aqueous species diffusion in the solids generates chemical and physical disturbances. This study is based on experimental, analytical and numerical works, in order to identify the mechanisms controlling the clayey environment influence on cementitious materials. (author)

Chemistry and sustainable environment (abstract)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussain, M.

2011-01-01

Chemistry is one of the oldest branches of science; the human beings had ever come across. It has consistently contributed towards meeting the human needs from the dawn of civilization. However, its role has multiplied since the inception of industrial revolution. Although anthropogenic activities have made the human life comfortable and even luxurious yet their impacts on the physical, biological and socio-economic environments had been destructive. Numerous kinds of chemicals have engulfed us and our environment. Modern chemistry has leading role in sculpting the present as well as future of human lifestyle. It is serving the man and other biodiversity by providing countless products in every sphere of life. At the same time it is playing villain role in the destruction of environment at an alarming rate. Today the world is confronted with heinous environmental issues hitherto unknown to the living beings mostly triggered by chemicals. Thousands of chemicals are used in industrial products, agricultural chemicals, persistent organic pollutants, freezers, pharmaceuticals, chemical and radiological warfare, construction industry, synthetic materials, electrical goods, medical gadgets etc. Some natural sources of chemicals are acid rains, volcanic eruptions, eutrophication and photochemical smog. The fact of matter is that chemicals are being consistently added into atmosphere, biosphere and lithosphere. For the sustainable environment it is imperative that the chemicals must not be added into human environment beyond its carrying capacity. It is responsibility of chemists to introduce environmentally benign and biodegradable chemicals. All types of chemistry need to be green and environment friendly. The scientists and engineers should develop chemicals and technologies which do not harm the living creatures during any stage of their life-cycle. (author)

Phthalic Acid Chemical Probes Synthesized for Protein-Protein Interaction Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chin-Jen Wu

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Plasticizers are additives that are used to increase the flexibility of plastic during manufacturing. However, in injection molding processes, plasticizers cannot be generated with monomers because they can peel off from the plastics into the surrounding environment, water, or food, or become attached to skin. Among the various plasticizers that are used, 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid (phthalic acid is a typical precursor to generate phthalates. In addition, phthalic acid is a metabolite of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP. According to Gene_Ontology gene/protein database, phthalates can cause genital diseases, cardiotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, etc. In this study, a silanized linker (3-aminopropyl triethoxyslane, APTES was deposited on silicon dioxides (SiO2 particles and phthalate chemical probes were manufactured from phthalic acid and APTES–SiO2. These probes could be used for detecting proteins that targeted phthalic acid and for protein-protein interactions. The phthalic acid chemical probes we produced were incubated with epithelioid cell lysates of normal rat kidney (NRK-52E cells to detect the interactions between phthalic acid and NRK-52E extracted proteins. These chemical probes interacted with a number of chaperones such as protein disulfide-isomerase A6, heat shock proteins, and Serpin H1. Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA software showed that these chemical probes were a practical technique for protein-protein interaction analysis.

Factors Influencing the Spatial Distribution of Organochlorine Pesticides in Soils surrounding Chemical Industrial Parks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, G.; Lu, Y.L.; Wang, T.Y.; Zhang, X.; Han, J.Y.; Luo, W.; Shi, Y.J.; Li, J.; Jiao, W.T.

2009-01-01

Topsoil samples (n = 105) were collected to Study the distribution of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) residues in the vicinity of chemical industrial parks in Tianjin, China. The occurrence and distribution of target organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were mapped

Rock fracture processes in chemically reactive environments

Science.gov (United States)

Eichhubl, P.

2015-12-01

Rock fracture is traditionally viewed as a brittle process involving damage nucleation and growth in a zone ahead of a larger fracture, resulting in fracture propagation once a threshold loading stress is exceeded. It is now increasingly recognized that coupled chemical-mechanical processes influence fracture growth in wide range of subsurface conditions that include igneous, metamorphic, and geothermal systems, and diagenetically reactive sedimentary systems with possible applications to hydrocarbon extraction and CO2 sequestration. Fracture processes aided or driven by chemical change can affect the onset of fracture, fracture shape and branching characteristics, and fracture network geometry, thus influencing mechanical strength and flow properties of rock systems. We are investigating two fundamental modes of chemical-mechanical interactions associated with fracture growth: 1. Fracture propagation may be aided by chemical dissolution or hydration reactions at the fracture tip allowing fracture propagation under subcritical stress loading conditions. We are evaluating effects of environmental conditions on critical (fracture toughness KIc) and subcritical (subcritical index) fracture properties using double torsion fracture mechanics tests on shale and sandstone. Depending on rock composition, the presence of reactive aqueous fluids can increase or decrease KIc and/or subcritical index. 2. Fracture may be concurrent with distributed dissolution-precipitation reactions in the hostrock beyond the immediate vicinity of the fracture tip. Reconstructing the fracture opening history recorded in crack-seal fracture cement of deeply buried sandstone we find that fracture length growth and fracture opening can be decoupled, with a phase of initial length growth followed by a phase of dominant fracture opening. This suggests that mechanical crack-tip failure processes, possibly aided by chemical crack-tip weakening, and distributed solution-precipitation creep in the

Effect of microorganisms on the chemical behavior of radionuclides in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amachi, Seigo

2004-01-01

Microorganisms are affecting the fate of various radionuclides in the environment through processes such as sorption, accumulation, reduction, leaching and volatilization. We have studied on the microbial influences on the chemical behavior of iodine in the environment, and have isolated various microorganisms which can mediate volatilization, accumulation and oxidation of iodine. We found that iodine-volatilizing bacteria are distributed widely in the environment, and are very diverse group of bacteria. From gas chromatographic analyses, volatile iodine species produced by bacteria was identified as methyl iodide (CH 3 I). Radiotracer experiments were carried out to estimate bacterial contribution to the volatilization of iodine from soils and seawaters. In soil samples, bacteria were considered to play major roles in iodine volatilization since the addition of bacterial inhibitor almost completely inhibited the volatilization. On the other hand, in seawater samples, both bacterial and fungal (or algal) contributions were suggested. We also isolated iodine-accumulating bacteria and iodine-oxidizing bacteria from the environment. Iodine-accumulating bacteria were isolated from marine sediments, and 16S ribosomal DNA sequences showed that they are close to common marine bacteria Flexibacter sp. During the cultivation with iodide ion, they accumulated iodide intracellularly at a concentration that is more than 1,000 times higher than the culture medium. Iodide uptake by iodine-accumulating bacteria was found to occur biologically, and the uptake was specific for iodide but not for iodate. Iodine-oxidizing bacteria, which can mediate iodide (I - ) oxidation to molecular iodine (I 2 ), were phylogenetically divided into two groups within alpha-Proteobacteria, and iodide oxidation was mediated by an extracellular enzyme protein. (author)

Comparison of Socioeconomic Factors between Surrounding and Non-Surrounding Areas of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway before and after Its Construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shicheng Li

2016-08-01

Full Text Available As the world’s highest railway, and the longest highland railway, the Qinghai–Tibet Railway (QTR has been paid considerable attention by researchers. However, most attention has been paid to the ecological and environmental issues affecting it, and sustainable ecological, social, and economic development-related studies of the QTR are rare. In this study, by analyzing the passenger traffic, freight traffic, passenger-kilometers, and freight-kilometers of the QTR for the period 1982–2013 and the transport structure of the Tibetan Plateau (TP for 1990–2013, the evolutionary process of the transport system in the TP following the construction of the QTR has been revealed. Subsequently, by comparing Gross Domestic Product (GDP, population, industrial structure, and urbanization level at the county and 1 km scales between surrounding and non-surrounding areas of the QTR, the differences in socioeconomic performance before and after its construction were detected. The results show that (1 in the TP, the highway-dominated transport system will break up and an integrated and sustainable transport system will form; (2 at the county scale, the annual growth rates of GDP of counties surrounding the QTR were greater than those of non-surrounding counties for the period 2000–2010. At the 1 km scale, following the opening of the completed line, the GDP of surrounding areas had a greater growth rate than before; (3 analysis at the county and 1 km scales indicated that population was not aggregated into the surrounding areas of the QTR in the period 2000–2010; (4 in terms of industrial structure, the proportion of primary industry decreased continuously, while the proportion of secondary and tertiary industries increased overall in the period 1984–2012. The QTR had no obvious impact on changes in the urbanization level of its surrounding areas.

EXAFS characterization of supported metal catalysts in chemically dynamic environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robota, H.J.

1991-01-01

Characterization of catalysts focuses on the identification of an active site responsible for accelerating desirable chemical reactions. The identification, characterization, and selective modification of such sites is fundamental to the development of structure-function relationships. Unfortunately, this goal is far from realized in nearly all catalysts, and particularly in catalysts comprised of small supported metal particles. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) has had a dramatic effect on our understanding of supported metal particles in their resting state. However, the performance of a catalyst can not be assessed from such simple resting state measurements. Among the factors which influence catalyst performance are the exact catalyst composition, including the support and any modifiers; particle size; catalyst finishing and pretreatment conditions; pressure, composition, and temperature of the operating environment; time. Gaining an understanding of how the structure of a catalytic site can change with such an array of variables requires that we begin to develop measurement methods which are effective under chemically dynamic conditions. Ideally, it should be possible to obtain a full X-ray absorption spectrum of each element thought to have a causal relationship with observed catalyst properties. From these spectra, we can optimally extract only a relatively limited amount of information which we must then piece together with information derived from other characterization methods and intuition to arrive at a hypothetical structure of the operating catalyst. Information about crystallinity, homogeneity, and general disorder can be obtained from the Debye-Waller factor. Finally, through analogy with known compounds, the electronic structure of the active atoms can be inferred from near edge absorption features

Numerical investigation of heating of a gold nanoparticle and the surrounding microenvironment by nanosecond laser pulses for nanomedicine applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sassaroli, E; Li, K C P; O'Neill, B E

2009-01-01

We have modeled, by finite element analysis, the process of heating of a spherical gold nanoparticle by nanosecond laser pulses and of heat transfer between the particle and the surrounding medium, with no mass transfer. In our analysis, we have included thermal conductivity changes, vapor formation, and changes of the dielectric properties as a function of temperature. We have shown that such changes significantly affect the temperature reached by the particle and surrounding microenvironment and therefore the thermal and dielectric properties of the medium need to be known for a correct determination of the temperature elevation. We have shown that for sufficiently low intensity and long pulses, it is possible to establish a quasi-steady temperature profile in the medium with no vapor formation. As the intensity is increased, a phase-change with vapor formation takes place around the gold nanoparticle. As phase-transition starts, an additional increase in the intensity does not significantly increase the temperature of the gold nanoparticle and surrounding environment. The temperature starts to rise again above a given intensity threshold which is particle and environment dependent. The aim of this study is to provide useful insights for the development of molecular targeting of gold nanoparticles for applications such as remote drug release of therapeutics and photothermal cancer therapy.

Numerical investigation of heating of a gold nanoparticle and the surrounding microenvironment by nanosecond laser pulses for nanomedicine applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sassaroli, E; Li, K C P; O' Neill, B E [Department of Radiology, Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston, TX, 77030 (United States)], E-mail: beoneill@tmhs.org

2009-09-21

We have modeled, by finite element analysis, the process of heating of a spherical gold nanoparticle by nanosecond laser pulses and of heat transfer between the particle and the surrounding medium, with no mass transfer. In our analysis, we have included thermal conductivity changes, vapor formation, and changes of the dielectric properties as a function of temperature. We have shown that such changes significantly affect the temperature reached by the particle and surrounding microenvironment and therefore the thermal and dielectric properties of the medium need to be known for a correct determination of the temperature elevation. We have shown that for sufficiently low intensity and long pulses, it is possible to establish a quasi-steady temperature profile in the medium with no vapor formation. As the intensity is increased, a phase-change with vapor formation takes place around the gold nanoparticle. As phase-transition starts, an additional increase in the intensity does not significantly increase the temperature of the gold nanoparticle and surrounding environment. The temperature starts to rise again above a given intensity threshold which is particle and environment dependent. The aim of this study is to provide useful insights for the development of molecular targeting of gold nanoparticles for applications such as remote drug release of therapeutics and photothermal cancer therapy.

Saving the environment: women at the wheel.

Science.gov (United States)

Domoto, A

1999-01-01

The article discusses the role of women in environmental conservation and in the promotion of the "green revolution" movement. Environmental degradation and pollution arises with the occurrence of industrial revolution and modernization. Women's vulnerability to these environmental problems results in a greater awareness of the links between the environment and human health. Women are in a strong position to develop integrated responses to the problems surrounding them. With the many barriers women faced, more and more women are educators, scientist, doctors, politicians, and business leaders. These women have a special responsibility to ensure that agricultural chemical and genetic engineering do not endanger the health of the food supply or the environment as a whole; that high quality reproductive health services are made available to those in need; that girls receive decent education; that business decisions are made with a firm eye on their environmental and social consequences; and that this planet fits for human habitation. By virtue of women's powerful position as consumers and educators, and their rising strength as business and political leaders, they have the opportunity to implement holistic solutions to environmental problems. Since the well being of the environment is a prerequisite to human well being, a true "green revolution" is called for. It necessitates the drafting and implementation of holistic legislation, the creation of accounting systems that account for the environment, and the inclusion of people across the social spectrum.

Synthesis of Ceramic Protective Coatings for Chemical Plant Parts Operated in Hi-temperature and Corrosive/Erosive Environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Son, M. C.; Park, J. R.; Hong, K. T.; Seok, H. K.

2005-01-01

Some feasibility studies are conducted to produce an advanced ceramic coating, which reveals superior chemical and mechanical strength, on metal base structure used in chemical plant. This advanced coating on metallic frame can replace ceramic delivery pipe and reaction chamber used in chemical plant, which are operated in hi-temperature and corrosive/erosive environment. An dual spraying is adopted to reduce the residual stress in order to increase the coating thickness and the residual stress is estimated by in-situ manner. Then new methodology is tried to form special coating of yttrium aluminum garnet(YAG), which reveals hi-strength and low-creep rates at hi-temperature, superior anti-corrosion property, hi-stability against Alkali-Vapor corrosion, and so on, on iron base structure. To verify the formation of YAG during thermal spraying, XRD(X ray diffraction) technique was used

Exposure to different toxic chemicals: a threat to environment and human health in mining sites in Tanzania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magduala, J.J.

2009-01-01

The mining activities in Tanzania have been existed since time immemorial whereby traditional mining was practiced. However until now the country is still endowed with abundant mineral resources including gold, tanzanite diamonds, iron ore, salt, gypsum, gemstones, natural gas, phosphate, coal, cobalt and nickel. The country's major gold fields are located in Geita, Musoma, Tarime, Chunya and Mpanda. During the last decade, local and foreign investors intensified their mining activities in Tanzania. This resulted in increased use of hazardous chemicals like mercury and cyanide which are harmful and toxic. In this report, the extent and impact to long term exposure of such chemicals to both natural environment and animals including human beings will be discussed. Recommendations to local and international investors and policy markers regarding the safe and sustainable use of harmful chemicals will also be discussed.(author)

Chemical fractionation and mobility of traffic-related elements in road environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Adamiec, Ewa

2017-12-01

Due to considerable progress in exhaust control emission technology and extensive regulatory work regarding this issue, non-exhaust sources of air pollution have become a growing concern. This research involved studying three types of road environment samples such as road dust, sludge from storm drains and roadside soil collected from heavily congested and polluted cities in Poland (Krakow, Warszawa, Opole and Wroclaw). Particles below 20 µm were examined since it was previously estimated that this fine fraction of road dust is polluted mostly by metals derived from non-exhaust sources of pollution such as brake linings wear. Chemical analysis of all samples was combined with a fractionation study using BCR protocol. It was concluded that the finest fractions of road environment samples were significantly contaminated with all of the investigated metals, in particular with Zn, Cu, both well-known key tracers of brake and tire wear. In Warszawa, the pollution index for Zn was on average 15-18 times the background value, in Krakow 12 times, in Wroclaw 8-12 times and in Opole 6-9 times the background value. The pollution index for Cu was on average 6-14 times the background in Warszawa, 7-8 times in Krakow, 4-6 times in Wroclaw and in Opole 5 times the background value. Fractionation study revealed that mobility of examined metals decreases in that order: Zn (43-62%) > Cd (25-42%) > Ni (6-16%) > Cu (3-14%) > Pb (1-8%). It should, however, be noted that metals even when not mobile in the environment can become a serious health concern when ingested or inhaled.

MAPPING THE SURROUNDINGS AS A REQUIREMENT FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Steininger

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Motivated by the hype around driverless cars and the challenges of the sensor integration and data processing, this paper presents a model for using a XBox One Microsoft Kinect stereo camera as sensor for mapping the surroundings. Today, the recognition of the environment of the car is mostly done by a mix of sensors like LiDAR, RADAR and cameras. In the case of the outdoor delivery challenge Robotour 2016 with model cars in scale 1:5, it is our goal to solve the task with one camera only. To this end, a three-stage approach was developed. The test results show that our approach can detect and locate objects at a range of up to eight meters in order to incorporate them as barriers in the navigation process.

Tectonic uplift and denudation rate influence soil chemical weathering intensity in a semi-arid environment, southeast Spain: physico-chemical and mineralogical evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Ameijeiras-Mariño, Yolanda; Opfergelt, Sophie; Schoonejans, Jérôme; Vanacker, Veerle; Sonnet, Philippe; Delmelle, Pierre

2015-04-01

Tectonic uplift is known to influence denudation rates. Denudation, including chemical weathering and physical erosion, affects soil production rates and weathering intensities. At topographic steady state, weathering can be transport- or weathering-limited. In the transport-limited regime, low denudation rates should lead to comparatively high weathering intensities, while in the weathering-limited case high denudation rates are associated with lower weathering intensities. Here, we test if this relationship applies to semi-arid environments where chemical weathering is generally slow. Three catchments (EST, FIL and CAB) were studied in the Internal Zone of the Betic Cordillera in southeast Spain, spanning a range of increasing uplift rates (10-170 mm/kyr) and increasing denudation rates (20-250 mm/kyr) from EST to CAB. In each catchment, two ridgetop soil profiles were sampled down to the bedrock. The three catchments have similar vegetation and climatic conditions, with precipitation of 250- 315 mm/yr and mean annual temperature of 15-17 °C. The mineralogy of the bedrock, as determined by XRD, is similar across the three catchments and is characterized by the presence of quartz, muscovite, clinochlore, biotite and plagioclase. This primary mineral assemblage is also found in the catchment soils, indicating that the soils studied derive from the same parent material. The soil clay-size fraction is dominated by kaolinite, vermiculite and illite. However, the proportions of the soil primary and secondary minerals vary between the catchment sites. The abundance of biotite decreases from CAB (14%) to EST (4%), whereas the quartz and clay contents show an opposite tendency (from 30 to 69% and 9.9 to 14.3%, respectively). Further, the abundance of vermiculite increases from CAB to EST. The results are interpreted in terms of increasing weathering intensity from CAB to EST by weathering of biotite into vermiculite and enrichment of soils on more weathering resistant

PubChem atom environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Hähnke, Volker D; Bolton, Evan E; Bryant, Stephen H

2015-01-01

Atom environments and fragments find wide-spread use in chemical information and cheminformatics. They are the basis of prediction models, an integral part in similarity searching, and employed in structure search techniques. Most of these methods were developed and evaluated on the relatively small sets of chemical structures available at the time. An analysis of fragment distributions representative of most known chemical structures was published in the 1970s using the Chemical Abstracts Service data system. More recently, advances in automated synthesis of chemicals allow millions of chemicals to be synthesized by a single organization. In addition, open chemical databases are readily available containing tens of millions of chemical structures from a multitude of data sources, including chemical vendors, patents, and the scientific literature, making it possible for scientists to readily access most known chemical structures. With this availability of information, one can now address interesting questions, such as: what chemical fragments are known today? How do these fragments compare to earlier studies? How unique are chemical fragments found in chemical structures? For our analysis, after hydrogen suppression, atoms were characterized by atomic number, formal charge, implicit hydrogen count, explicit degree (number of neighbors), valence (bond order sum), and aromaticity. Bonds were differentiated as single, double, triple or aromatic bonds. Atom environments were created in a circular manner focused on a central atom with radii from 0 (atom types) up to 3 (representative of ECFP_6 fragments). In total, combining atom types and atom environments that include up to three spheres of nearest neighbors, our investigation identified 28,462,319 unique fragments in the 46 million structures found in the PubChem Compound database as of January 2013. We could identify several factors inflating the number of environments involving transition metals, with many

Physical geography of the Nete basin and surroundings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beerten, K.

2011-01-01

The report briefly describes the main features of the physical geography of the Nete basin (Campine region, Belgium) and its immediate surroundings. First, an integrated overview of the topography, morphology and hydrography is given. This overview serves as the basis for the assessment of the morphological stability of the region and also explains the relationship between the topography and the hydrology. Furthermore, special attention is paid to soil science including a quantitative survey of some soil characteristics data. Another part of this report deals with erosion processes caused by water and wind action, and the (potential) impact on the morphology. Finally, the palaeogeographical evolution during the Quaternary is discussed. This evolution shows that the environment is stable over 10 000 years or more in the current and similar climatic conditions. Altering climatic conditions, notably glacial-interglacial periods, have impacted erosion with periods of strong erosion.

QUIC: a chemical kinetics code for use with the chemical equilibrium code QUIL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lunsford, J.L.

1977-10-01

A chemical rate kinetics code QUIC is described, along with a support code RATE. QUIC is designed to allow chemical kinetics calculations on a wide variety of chemical environments while operating in the overlay environment of the chemical equilibrium code QUIL. QUIC depends upon a rate-data library called LIBR. This library is maintained by RATE. RATE enters into the library all reactions in a standardized format. The code QUIC, operating in conjunction with QUIL, is interactive and written to be used from a remote terminal, with paging control provided. Plotted output is also available

Method for producing chemical energy

Science.gov (United States)

Jorgensen, Betty S.; Danen, Wayne C.

2004-09-21

Fluoroalkylsilane-coated metal particles having a central metal core, a buffer layer surrounding the core, and a fluoroalkylsilane layer attached to the buffer layer are prepared by combining a chemically reactive fluoroalkylsilane compound with an oxide coated metal particle having a hydroxylated surface. The resulting fluoroalkylsilane layer that coats the particles provides them with excellent resistance to aging. The particles can be blended with oxidant particles to form energetic powder that releases chemical energy when the buffer layer is physically disrupted so that the reductant metal core can react with the oxidant.

Probing the chemical environments of early star formation: A multidisciplinary approach

Science.gov (United States)

Hardegree-Ullman, Emily Elizabeth

Chemical compositions of prestellar and protostellar environments in the dense interstellar medium are best quantified using a multidisciplinary approach. For my dissertation, I completed two projects to measure molecular abundances during the earliest phases of star formation. The first project investigates gas phase CO depletion in molecular cloud cores, the progenitors of star systems, using infrared photometry and molecular line spectroscopy at radio wavelengths. Hydrogenation of CO depleted onto dust is an important first step toward building complex organic molecules. The second project constrains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) abundances toward young stellar objects (YSO). Band strengths measured from laboratory spectroscopy of pyrene/water ice mixtures were applied to estimate abundances from features attributed to PAHs in observational YSO spectra. PAHs represent a distinct but important component of interstellar organic material that is widely observed but not well quantified in star-forming regions.

Sub-micron opto-chemical probes for studying living neurons

Science.gov (United States)

Hossein-Zadeh, M.; Delgado, J.; Schweizer, F.; Lieberman, R.

2017-02-01

We have fabricated sub-micron opto-chemical probes for pH, oxygen and calcium monitoring and demonstrated their application in intracellular and extracellular monitoring of neurons (cortical neuronal cultures and acute hippocampal slices). Using these probes, we have measured extracellular pH in the stratum radiatum of the CA1 region of mouse hippocampus upon stimulation of presynaptic Schaffer collateral axons. Synaptic transmission was monitored using standard electrophysiological techniques. We find that the local pH transiently changes in response to synaptic stimulation. In addition, the geometry of the functionalized region on the probe combined with high sensitivity imaging enables simultaneous monitoring of spatially adjacent but distinct compartments. As proof of concept we impaled cultured neurons with the probe measured calcium and pH inside as well as directly outside of neurons as we changed the pH and calcium concentration in the physiological solution in the perfusion chamber. As such these probes can be used to study the impact of the environment on both cellular and extra-cellular space. Additionally as the chemical properties of the surrounding medium can be controlled and monitored with high precision, these probes enable differential measurement of the target parameter referenced to a stable bath. This approach eliminates the uncertainties associated with non-chemical fluctuations in the fluorescent emission and result in a self-calibrated opto-chemical probe. We have also demonstrated multifunctional probes that are capable of measuring up to three parameters in the extracellular space in brain slices.

Instrument developments for chemical and physical characterization, mapping and sampling of extreme environments (Antarctic sub ice environment)

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, S. W.; Powell, R. D.; Griffith, I.; Lawson, T.; Schiraga, S.; Ludlam, G.; Oen, J.

2009-12-01

A number of instrumentation is currently under development designed to enable the study of subglacial environments in Antarctica through narrow kilometer long boreholes. Instrumentation includes: - slim line Sub-Ice ROV (SIR), - Geochemical Instrumentation Package for Sub Ice Environments (GIPSIE) to study geochemical fluxes in water and across the sediment water interface (CO2, CH4, dO, NH4, NO3, Si, PO4, pH, redox, T, H2, HS, O2, N2O, CTD, particle size, turbidity, color camera, current meter and automated water sampler) with real-time telemetry for targeted sampling, - long term energy-balance mooring system, - active source slide hammer sediment corer, and - integration of a current sensor into the ITP profiler. The instrumentation design is modular and suitable for remote operated as well as autonomous long-term deployment. Of interest to the broader science community is the development of the GIPSIE and efforts to document the effect of sample recovery from depth on the sample chemistry. The GIPSIE is a geochemical instrumentation package with life stream telemetry, allowing for user controlled targeted sampling of water column and the water sediment interphase for chemical and biological work based on actual measurements and not a preprogrammed automated system. The porewater profiler (pH, redox, T, H2, HS, O2, N2O) can penetrate the upper 50 cm of sediment and penetration is documented with real time video. Associated with GIPSIE is an on-site lab set-up, utilizing a set of identical sensors. Comparison between the insitu measurements and measurements taken onsite directly after samples are recovered from depth permits assessing the effect of sample recovery on water and sediment core chemistry. Sample recovery related changes are mainly caused by changes in the pressure temperature field and exposure of samples to atmospheric conditions. Exposure of anaerobic samples to oxygen is here a specific concern. Recovery from depth effects in generally p

Complex monitoring of the surroundings of the Dukovany nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tylova, E.

1993-01-01

Based on a Resolution of the Government of the Czech Republic, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic shall develop a project of complex environmental pollution and contamination monitoring in the surroundings of the Dukovany nuclear power plant and shall discuss this project with municipalities there till the end of 1993. The objective of the project is to assess in a complex manner the situation in the Dukovany area with respect to all risks and their simultaneous effects, so as to ensure that the population in the area concerned is not burdened to an intolerable extent. (Z.S.)

The influence of plastic deformation and chemical environment on the resistively of al-alloy overhead lines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nowak-Woźny D.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The electrical resistively and intensity of X-ray diffraction reflexes were determined for overhead line wires deformed plastically and immersed at different solutions. Immersing (chemical ageing was performed by plastic deformation along the wire axis. During chemical ageing the samples were exposed to the action of the Cl-, SO4 2-, and SO3 2- ions. Resistively was measured at room temperature and at liquid nitrogen temperature. After the X-ray and resistively measurement data were compared, it was found that three processes could take place: the flow of ions through the boundary between a sample and environment; the mechanical relaxation of vacancies near a line of dislocations, and the ordering of microstructure. These effects can lead to the anisotropy of resistively.

Controlling Chemical Reactions in Confined Environments: Water Dissociation in MOF-74

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erika M. A. Fuentes-Fernandez

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The confined porous environment of metal organic frameworks (MOFs is an attractive system for studying reaction mechanisms. Compared to flat oxide surfaces, MOFs have the key advantage that they exhibit a well-defined structure and present significantly fewer challenges in experimental characterization. As an example of an important reaction, we study here the dissociation of water—which plays a critical role in biology, chemistry, and materials science—in MOFs and show how the knowledge of the structure in this confined environment allows for an unprecedented level of understanding and control. In particular, combining in-situ infrared spectroscopy and first-principles calculations, we show that the water dissociation reaction can be selectively controlled inside Zn-MOF-74 by alcohol, through both chemical and physical interactions. Methanol is observed to speed up water dissociation by 25% to 100%, depending on the alcohol partial pressure. On the other hand, co-adsorption of isopropanol reduces the speed of the water reaction, due mostly to steric interactions. In addition, we also investigate the stability of the product state after the water dissociation has occurred and find that the presence of additional water significantly stabilizes the dissociated state. Our results show that precise control of reactions within nano-porous materials is possible, opening the way for advances in fields ranging from catalysis to electrochemistry and sensors.

Estimation of environment-related properties of chemicals for design of sustainable processes: development of group-contribution+ (GC+) property models and uncertainty analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hukkerikar, Amol Shivajirao; Kalakul, Sawitree; Sarup, Bent; Young, Douglas M; Sin, Gürkan; Gani, Rafiqul

2012-11-26

The aim of this work is to develop group-contribution(+) (GC(+)) method (combined group-contribution (GC) method and atom connectivity index (CI) method) based property models to provide reliable estimations of environment-related properties of organic chemicals together with uncertainties of estimated property values. For this purpose, a systematic methodology for property modeling and uncertainty analysis is used. The methodology includes a parameter estimation step to determine parameters of property models and an uncertainty analysis step to establish statistical information about the quality of parameter estimation, such as the parameter covariance, the standard errors in predicted properties, and the confidence intervals. For parameter estimation, large data sets of experimentally measured property values of a wide range of chemicals (hydrocarbons, oxygenated chemicals, nitrogenated chemicals, poly functional chemicals, etc.) taken from the database of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and from the database of USEtox is used. For property modeling and uncertainty analysis, the Marrero and Gani GC method and atom connectivity index method have been considered. In total, 22 environment-related properties, which include the fathead minnow 96-h LC(50), Daphnia magna 48-h LC(50), oral rat LD(50), aqueous solubility, bioconcentration factor, permissible exposure limit (OSHA-TWA), photochemical oxidation potential, global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, acidification potential, emission to urban air (carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic), emission to continental rural air (carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic), emission to continental fresh water (carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic), emission to continental seawater (carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic), emission to continental natural soil (carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic), and emission to continental agricultural soil (carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic) have been modeled and analyzed. The application

Development of a technical scheme for the management of chemical dangerous substances in hospitable environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calleja Amador, C.E.

2002-01-01

The chemical substances that are used in the hospitals, and their remainders, represent risks for the environment, the health and security of those who work in these establishments, and of the civil population. The deficiency of a norm that establishes the directives for the handling responsible for such products in the hospitals that our country has motivated the elaboration of a technical scheme that serves as it guides for the correct manipulation, storage and safe disposition of chemical substances in the twenty-nine hospitals of the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social, establishing Procedures of Standard Operation for its management. To development of the guideline proposal it took a sample of hospitals that includes three levels of comple complexity: national, regional and peripheral. Applying a methodology of evaluation of risks two factors of risk of hospitable were determined, the zones and the population but affected by the existence of chemical substances, which allowed to identify some operative deficiencies in the product handling diverse. The qualitative analysis of the results lead to the elaboration of a technical scheme that includes an instrument for the identification of risks, guideline for the management responsible for hospitable chemical substances, a friendly tool computations like complementary source of intelligence and the proposal of a governing group in charge of the monitoring of the fulfillment of these lineament. (Author) [es

Chemical Records in Snowpits from High Altitude Glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau and Its Surroundings

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yulan; Kang, Shichang; Zhang, Qianggong; Gao, Tanguang; Guo, Junming; Grigholm, Bjorn; Huang, Jie; Sillanpää, Mika; Li, Xiaofei; Du, Wentao; Li, Yang; Ge, Xinlei

2016-01-01

Glaciochemistry can provide important information about climatic change and environmental conditions, as well as for testing regional and global atmospheric trace transport models. In this study, δ18O and selected chemical constituents records in snowpits collected from eight glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas have been investigated. Drawing on the integrated data, our study summarized the seasonal and spatial characteristics of snow chemistry, and their potential sources. Distinct seasonal patterns of δ18O values in snowpits indicated more negative in the south TP controlled by Indian monsoon, and less negative in the north TP and Tien Shan. Overall increasing concentrations of microparticles and crustal ions from south to north indicated a strength of dust deposition on glaciers from semi-arid and arid regions. Principal component analysis and air mass trajectories suggested that chemical constituents were mainly attributable to crustal sources as demonstrated by the high concentrations of ions occurring during the non-monsoon seasons. Nevertheless, other sources, such as anthropogenic pollution, played an important role on chemical variations of glaciers near the human activity centers. This study concluded that air mass transport from different sources played important roles on the spatial distributions and seasonality of glaciochemistry. PMID:27186638

Chemical Records in Snowpits from High Altitude Glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau and Its Surroundings.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yulan Zhang

Full Text Available Glaciochemistry can provide important information about climatic change and environmental conditions, as well as for testing regional and global atmospheric trace transport models. In this study, δ18O and selected chemical constituents records in snowpits collected from eight glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas have been investigated. Drawing on the integrated data, our study summarized the seasonal and spatial characteristics of snow chemistry, and their potential sources. Distinct seasonal patterns of δ18O values in snowpits indicated more negative in the south TP controlled by Indian monsoon, and less negative in the north TP and Tien Shan. Overall increasing concentrations of microparticles and crustal ions from south to north indicated a strength of dust deposition on glaciers from semi-arid and arid regions. Principal component analysis and air mass trajectories suggested that chemical constituents were mainly attributable to crustal sources as demonstrated by the high concentrations of ions occurring during the non-monsoon seasons. Nevertheless, other sources, such as anthropogenic pollution, played an important role on chemical variations of glaciers near the human activity centers. This study concluded that air mass transport from different sources played important roles on the spatial distributions and seasonality of glaciochemistry.

Chemical Records in Snowpits from High Altitude Glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau and Its Surroundings.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yulan; Kang, Shichang; Zhang, Qianggong; Gao, Tanguang; Guo, Junming; Grigholm, Bjorn; Huang, Jie; Sillanpää, Mika; Li, Xiaofei; Du, Wentao; Li, Yang; Ge, Xinlei

2016-01-01

Glaciochemistry can provide important information about climatic change and environmental conditions, as well as for testing regional and global atmospheric trace transport models. In this study, δ18O and selected chemical constituents records in snowpits collected from eight glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas have been investigated. Drawing on the integrated data, our study summarized the seasonal and spatial characteristics of snow chemistry, and their potential sources. Distinct seasonal patterns of δ18O values in snowpits indicated more negative in the south TP controlled by Indian monsoon, and less negative in the north TP and Tien Shan. Overall increasing concentrations of microparticles and crustal ions from south to north indicated a strength of dust deposition on glaciers from semi-arid and arid regions. Principal component analysis and air mass trajectories suggested that chemical constituents were mainly attributable to crustal sources as demonstrated by the high concentrations of ions occurring during the non-monsoon seasons. Nevertheless, other sources, such as anthropogenic pollution, played an important role on chemical variations of glaciers near the human activity centers. This study concluded that air mass transport from different sources played important roles on the spatial distributions and seasonality of glaciochemistry.

Designing an adaptive salutogenic care environment

OpenAIRE

Dalton, Cathy; Harrison, Jim D.

2011-01-01

Humans are profoundly affected by the surroundings which they inhabit. Environmental psychologists have produced numerous credible theories describing optimal human environments, based on the concept of congruence or “fit” (1, 2). Lack of person/environment fit can lead to stress-related illness and lack of psychosocial well-being (3). Conversely, appropriately designed environments can promote wellness (4) or “salutogenesis” (5). Increasingly, research in the area of Evidence-Based Design, l...

A Survey of Deepwater Horizon (DWH Oil-Degrading Bacteria from the Eastern Oyster Biome and its Surrounding Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesse eThomas

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The Deepwater Horizon (DWH accident led to the release of an estimated 794,936,474 liters of crude oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico over an 85 day period in 2010, resulting in the contamination of the Gulf of Mexico waters, sediments, permeable beach sands, coastal wetlands and marine life. This study examines the potential response of the Eastern oyster’s microbiome to hydrocarbon contamination and compares it with the bacterial community responses observed from the overlaying water column and the oyster bed sediments. For this purpose, microcosms seeded with DWH crude oil were established and inoculated separately with oyster tissue (OT, mantle fluid (MF, overlaying water column (WC and sediments (S collected from Apalachicola Bay, FL. Shifts in the microbial community structure in the amended microcosms was monitored over a 3-month period using automated ribosomal intergenic spacer region analysis (ARISA, which showed that the microbiome of the oyster tissue and mantle fluid were more similar to the sediment communities than those present in the overlaying water column. This pattern remained largely consistent, regardless of the concentration of crude oil or the enrichment period. Additionally, 72 oil-degrading bacteria were isolated from the microcosms containing OT, MF, WC and S and identified using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA gene sequencing and compared by principal component analysis (PCA which clearly showed that the water column isolates were different to those identified from the sediment. Conversely, the oyster tissue and mantle fluid isolates clustered together; a strong indication that the oyster microbiome is uniquely structured relative to its surrounding environment. When selected isolates from the OT, MF, WC and S were assessed for their oil-degrading potential, we found that the DWH oil was biodegraded between 12%-42%, under the existing conditions.

HYPER-­TVT: Development and Implementation of an Interactive Learning Environment for Students of Chemical and Process Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Santoro, Marina; Mazzotti, Marco

2006-01-01

Hyper-TVT is a computer-aided education system that has been developed at the Institute of Process Engineering at the ETH Zurich. The aim was to create an interactive learning environment for chemical and process engineering students. The topics covered are the most important multistage separation processes, i.e. fundamentals of separation…

Ecological Assembly of Chemical Mixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Human-environment interactions have a significant role in the formation of chemical mixtures in the environment and by extension in human tissues and fluids. These interactions, which include decisions to purchase and use products containing chemicals as well as behaviors and act...

The chemical speciation of technetium in the environment: a literature survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sparkes, S.T.; Long, S.E.

1987-07-01

This report reviews the current understanding of the chemical forms and behaviour of technetium in the environment. Technetium (VII) is the dominant species in most systems, however when reducing conditions arise technetium (IV) species predominate. Pertechnetate is a highly mobile ion in aqueous media and can exhibit significant environmental transfer. Technetium (IV) is readily sorbed by sediments and is able to complex with various ligands which subsequently determine its fate. Complexation with high molecular weight organic moieties reduces the availability of technetium although this is not necessarily the case with smaller molecules. In plants, technetium is absorbed as TcO 4 - and can become incorporated into organic molecules. The technetium present in such forms is generally considered less available for uptake by the ingesting animal than aqueous TcO 4 - , although significant transfer of this element has been reported from food into eggs. Areas of potential future interest are suggested. (author)

Are we going about chemical risk assessment for the aquatic environment the wrong way?

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Andrew C; Sumpter, John P

2016-07-01

The goal of protecting the aquatic environment through testing thousands of chemicals against hundreds of aquatic species with thousands of endpoints while also considering mixtures is impossible given the present resources. Much of the impetus for studies on micropollutants, such as pharmaceuticals, came from the topic of endocrine disruption in wild fish. But despite concern over reductions in fish fertility, there is little evidence that fish populations are in peril. Indeed, fish biologists suggest that many cyprinid populations have been recovering for the past 30 to 40 yr. The central assumption, key to current risk assessment, that effects observed in the laboratory or predicted by models are readily transferrable to the population level, is therefore questionable. The neglect in monitoring wildlife populations is the key weakness in environmental protection strategies. If we do not know whether aquatic wildlife species are declining or increasing, how valuable are our other ecotoxicological activities? Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1609-1616. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

Engineering chemical interactions in microbial communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kenny, Douglas J; Balskus, Emily P

2018-03-05

Microbes living within host-associated microbial communities (microbiotas) rely on chemical communication to interact with surrounding organisms. These interactions serve many purposes, from supplying the multicellular host with nutrients to antagonizing invading pathogens, and breakdown of chemical signaling has potentially negative consequences for both the host and microbiota. Efforts to engineer microbes to take part in chemical interactions represent a promising strategy for modulating chemical signaling within these complex communities. In this review, we discuss prominent examples of chemical interactions found within host-associated microbial communities, with an emphasis on the plant-root microbiota and the intestinal microbiota of animals. We then highlight how an understanding of such interactions has guided efforts to engineer microbes to participate in chemical signaling in these habitats. We discuss engineering efforts in the context of chemical interactions that enable host colonization, promote host health, and exclude pathogens. Finally, we describe prominent challenges facing this field and propose new directions for future engineering efforts.

Crustal structure beneath Beijing and its surrounding regions derived from gravity data

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Wenliang; Zhang, Jingfa; Lu, Xiaocui; Lu, Jing

2011-06-01

In this paper we use gravity data to study fine crustal structure and seismogenic environment beneath Beijing and its surrounding regions. Multi-scale wavelet analysis method is applied to separating gravity fields. Logarithmic power spectrum method is also used to calculate depth of gravity field source. The results show that the crustal structure is very complicated beneath Beijing and its surrounding areas. The crustal density exhibits laterally inhomogeneous. There are three large scale tectonic zones in North China, i.e., WNW-striking Zhangjiakou-Bohai tectonic zone (ZBTZ), NE-striking Taihang piedmont tectonic zone (TPTZ) and Cangxian tectonic zone (CTZ). ZBTZ and TPTZ intersect with each other beneath Beijing area and both of them cut through the lithosphere. The upper and middle crusts consist of many small-scale faults, uplifts and depressions. In the lower crust, these small-scale tectonic units disappear gradually, and they are replaced by large-scale tectonic units. In surrounding regions of Beijing, ZBTZ intersects with several other NE-striking tectonic units, such as Cangxian uplift, Jizhong depression and Shanxi Graben System (SGS). In west of Taihangshan uplift, gravity anomalies in upper and middle crusts are correlated with geological and topographic features on the surface. Compared with the crust, the structure is comparatively simple in uppermost mantle. Earthquakes mainly occurred in upper and middle crusts, especially in transitional regions between high gravity anomaly and low gravity anomaly. Occurrence of large earthquakes may be related to the upwelling of upper mantle and asthenosphere heat flow materials, such as Sanhe earthquake ( M S8.0) and Tangshan earthquake ( M S7.8).

Hydraulic fracturing chemicals and fluids technology

CERN Document Server

Fink, Johannes

2013-01-01

When classifying fracturing fluids and their additives, it is important that production, operation, and completion engineers understand which chemical should be utilized in different well environments. A user's guide to the many chemicals and chemical additives used in hydraulic fracturing operations, Hydraulic Fracturing Chemicals and Fluids Technology provides an easy-to-use manual to create fluid formulations that will meet project-specific needs while protecting the environment and the life of the well. Fink creates a concise and comprehensive reference that enables the engineer to logically select and use the appropriate chemicals on any hydraulic fracturing job. The first book devoted entirely to hydraulic fracturing chemicals, Fink eliminates the guesswork so the engineer can select the best chemicals needed on the job while providing the best protection for the well, workers and environment. Pinpoints the specific compounds used in any given fracturing operation Provides a systematic approach to class...

Stimulus size dependence of hue changes induced by chromatic surrounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Kellner, Christian Johannes; Wachtler, Thomas

2016-03-01

A chromatic surround induces a change in the perceived hue of a stimulus. This shift in hue depends on the chromatic difference between the stimulus and the surround. We investigated how chromatic induction varies with stimulus size and whether the size dependence depends on the surround hue. Subjects performed asymmetric matching of color stimuli with different sizes in surrounds of different chromaticities. Generally, induced hue shifts decreased with increasing stimulus size. This decrease was quantitatively different for different surround hues. However, when size effects were normalized to an overall induction strength, the chromatic specificity was largely reduced. The separability of inducer chromaticity and stimulus size suggests that these effects are mediated by different neural mechanisms.

ReportSites - A Computational Method to Extract Positional and Physico- Chemical Information from Large-Scale Proteomic Post-Translational Modification Datasets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edwards, Alistair; Edwards, Gregory; Larsen, Martin Røssel

2012-01-01

-translational modification data sets, wherein patterns of sequence surrounding processed sites may reveal more about the functional and structural requirements of the modification and the biochemical processes that regulate them. Results: We developed Report Sites using a test set of phosphoproteomic data from rat......-chemical environment (local pI and hydrophobicity). These were then also compared to corresponding values extracted from the full database to allow comparison of phosphorylation trends. Conclusions: Report Sites enabled physico-chemical aspects of protein phosphorylation to be deciphered in a test set of eleven...... thousand phospho sites. Basic properties of modified proteins, such as site location in the context of the complete protein, were also documented. This program can be easily adapted to any post-translational modification (or, indeed, to any defined amino acid sequence), or expanded to include more...

An Extended Chemical Plant Environmental Protection Game on Addressing Uncertainties of Human Adversaries

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Rongxiao; Chen, Feiran; Wang, Yiping; Qiu, Xiaogang

2018-01-01

Chemical production activities in industrial districts pose great threats to the surrounding atmospheric environment and human health. Therefore, developing appropriate and intelligent pollution controlling strategies for the management team to monitor chemical production processes is significantly essential in a chemical industrial district. The literature shows that playing a chemical plant environmental protection (CPEP) game can force the chemical plants to be more compliant with environmental protection authorities and reduce the potential risks of hazardous gas dispersion accidents. However, results of the current literature strictly rely on several perfect assumptions which rarely hold in real-world domains, especially when dealing with human adversaries. To address bounded rationality and limited observability in human cognition, the CPEP game is extended to generate robust schedules of inspection resources for inspection agencies. The present paper is innovative on the following contributions: (i) The CPEP model is extended by taking observation frequency and observation cost of adversaries into account, and thus better reflects the industrial reality; (ii) Uncertainties such as attackers with bounded rationality, attackers with limited observation and incomplete information (i.e., the attacker’s parameters) are integrated into the extended CPEP model; (iii) Learning curve theory is employed to determine the attacker’s observability in the game solver. Results in the case study imply that this work improves the decision-making process for environmental protection authorities in practical fields by bringing more rewards to the inspection agencies and by acquiring more compliance from chemical plants. PMID:29584679

An Extended Chemical Plant Environmental Protection Game on Addressing Uncertainties of Human Adversaries.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Zhengqiu; Chen, Bin; Qiu, Sihang; Wang, Rongxiao; Chen, Feiran; Wang, Yiping; Qiu, Xiaogang

2018-03-27

Chemical production activities in industrial districts pose great threats to the surrounding atmospheric environment and human health. Therefore, developing appropriate and intelligent pollution controlling strategies for the management team to monitor chemical production processes is significantly essential in a chemical industrial district. The literature shows that playing a chemical plant environmental protection (CPEP) game can force the chemical plants to be more compliant with environmental protection authorities and reduce the potential risks of hazardous gas dispersion accidents. However, results of the current literature strictly rely on several perfect assumptions which rarely hold in real-world domains, especially when dealing with human adversaries. To address bounded rationality and limited observability in human cognition, the CPEP game is extended to generate robust schedules of inspection resources for inspection agencies. The present paper is innovative on the following contributions: (i) The CPEP model is extended by taking observation frequency and observation cost of adversaries into account, and thus better reflects the industrial reality; (ii) Uncertainties such as attackers with bounded rationality, attackers with limited observation and incomplete information (i.e., the attacker's parameters) are integrated into the extended CPEP model; (iii) Learning curve theory is employed to determine the attacker's observability in the game solver. Results in the case study imply that this work improves the decision-making process for environmental protection authorities in practical fields by bringing more rewards to the inspection agencies and by acquiring more compliance from chemical plants.

An Extended Chemical Plant Environmental Protection Game on Addressing Uncertainties of Human Adversaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhengqiu Zhu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Chemical production activities in industrial districts pose great threats to the surrounding atmospheric environment and human health. Therefore, developing appropriate and intelligent pollution controlling strategies for the management team to monitor chemical production processes is significantly essential in a chemical industrial district. The literature shows that playing a chemical plant environmental protection (CPEP game can force the chemical plants to be more compliant with environmental protection authorities and reduce the potential risks of hazardous gas dispersion accidents. However, results of the current literature strictly rely on several perfect assumptions which rarely hold in real-world domains, especially when dealing with human adversaries. To address bounded rationality and limited observability in human cognition, the CPEP game is extended to generate robust schedules of inspection resources for inspection agencies. The present paper is innovative on the following contributions: (i The CPEP model is extended by taking observation frequency and observation cost of adversaries into account, and thus better reflects the industrial reality; (ii Uncertainties such as attackers with bounded rationality, attackers with limited observation and incomplete information (i.e., the attacker’s parameters are integrated into the extended CPEP model; (iii Learning curve theory is employed to determine the attacker’s observability in the game solver. Results in the case study imply that this work improves the decision-making process for environmental protection authorities in practical fields by bringing more rewards to the inspection agencies and by acquiring more compliance from chemical plants.

Explaining preferences for home surroundings and locations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Hans Skifter

2011-01-01

This article is based on a survey carried out in Denmark that asked a random sample of the population about their preferences for home surroundings and locations. It shows that the characteristics of social surroundings are very important and can be divided into three independent dimensions......: avoiding social nuisances, preferring social homogeneity and living close to one’s social network and place of origin. The study shows that most people have many detailed preferences, whereas some have very few. This confirms an earlier theory that some people are very connected to certain places...... with given characteristics and thus do not have priorities regarding home surroundings and locations. For others, mostly young people and singles, home is just a place to sleep and relax, whereas life is lived elsewhere. For this group, there are only preferences for location and there are few specific...

Investigation of the Effect of Water Removal from Wells Surrounding Parishan Lake on Groundwater and Surface Water Levels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shafiei, M.; Raini Sarjaz, M.; Fazloli, R.; Gholami Sefidkouhi, M. A.

2017-01-01

In recent decades the human impacts on global warming and, its consequences, climate change, stirred up earth ecosystems balance and has created many problems all over the world. Unauthorized underground water removal, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran, along with recent decade drought occurrences significantly lowered underground and surface water levels. To investigate the impacts of water removal from surrounding wells in Parishan Lake water level, during 1996 to 2009 interval, 8 buffer layers surrounding the lake were mapped in ArcGIS 9.3 environment. Each buffer layer wells and their total annual discharges were determined. Using SPSS 16 software, the regression equations between wells water levels and water discharges were computed. By employing Thiessen function and creating Thiessen network (TIN) around observation wells, decline of groundwater levels was evaluated. Finally regression equations between wells discharges and groundwater level declines were created. The findings showed that there are highly significant correlations (p ≤ 0.01), in all buffer layers, between water levels and wells discharges. Investigation of the observation wells surrounding lake showed that severe groundwater level declines has been started since the beginning of the first decade of the 21st century. Using satellite images in ArcGIS 9.3 environment it was confirmed that lake’s area has been reduced significantly. In conclusion, it is obvious that human interferences on lake’s natural ecosystem by digging unauthorized wells and removing underground water more than annual recharges significantly impacted surface and groundwater levels.

HIV behavioural surveillance among refugees and surrounding host ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

We used a standardised behavioural surveillance survey (BSS), modified to be directly relevant to populations in conflict and post-conflict settings as well as to their surrounding host populations, to survey the populations of a refugee settlement in south-western Uganda and its surrounding area. Two-stage probability ...

Information Space, Information Field, Information Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Ya. Tsvetkov

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes information space, information field and information environment; shows that information space can be natural and artificial; information field is substantive and processual object and articulates the space property; information environment is concerned with some object and acts as the surrounding in relation to it and is considered with regard to it. It enables to define information environment as a subset of information space. It defines its passive description. Information environment can also be defined as a subset of information field. It corresponds to its active description.

Evaluating legacy contaminants and emerging chemicals in marine environments using adverse outcome pathways and biological effects-directed analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutchinson, Thomas H; Lyons, Brett P; Thain, John E; Law, Robin J

2013-09-30

Natural and synthetic chemicals are essential to our daily lives, food supplies, health care, industries and safe sanitation. At the same time protecting marine ecosystems and seafood resources from the adverse effects of chemical contaminants remains an important issue. Since the 1970s, monitoring of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals using analytical chemistry has provided important spatial and temporal trend data in three important contexts; relating to human health protection from seafood contamination, addressing threats to marine top predators and finally providing essential evidence to better protect the biodiversity of commercial and non-commercial marine species. A number of regional conventions have led to controls on certain PBT chemicals over several years (termed 'legacy contaminants'; e.g. cadmium, lindane, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs] and polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs]). Analytical chemistry plays a key role in evaluating to what extent such regulatory steps have been effective in leading to reduced emissions of these legacy contaminants into marine environments. In parallel, the application of biomarkers (e.g. DNA adducts, CYP1A-EROD, vitellogenin) and bioassays integrated with analytical chemistry has strengthened the evidence base to support an ecosystem approach to manage marine pollution problems. In recent years, however,the increased sensitivity of analytical chemistry, toxicity alerts and wider environmental awareness has led to a focus on emerging chemical contaminants (defined as chemicals that have been detected in the environment, but which are currently not included in regulatory monitoring programmes and whose fate and biological impacts are poorly understood). It is also known that natural chemicals (e.g. algal biotoxins) may also pose a threat to marine species and seafood quality. Hence complex mixtures of legacy contaminants, emerging chemicals and natural biotoxins in marine ecosystems represent

Evaluating legacy contaminants and emerging chemicals in marine environments using adverse outcome pathways and biological effects-directed analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutchinson, Thomas H.; Lyons, Brett P.; Thain, John E.; Law, Robin J.

2013-01-01

Natural and synthetic chemicals are essential to our daily lives, food supplies, health care, industries and safe sanitation. At the same time protecting marine ecosystems and seafood resources from the adverse effects of chemical contaminants remains an important issue. Since the 1970s, monitoring of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals using analytical chemistry has provided important spatial and temporal trend data in three important contexts; relating to human health protection from seafood contamination, addressing threats to marine top predators and finally providing essential evidence to better protect the biodiversity of commercial and non-commercial marine species. A number of regional conventions have led to controls on certain PBT chemicals over several years (termed ‘legacy contaminants’; e.g. cadmium, lindane, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs] and polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs]). Analytical chemistry plays a key role in evaluating to what extent such regulatory steps have been effective in leading to reduced emissions of these legacy contaminants into marine environments. In parallel, the application of biomarkers (e.g. DNA adducts, CYP1A-EROD, vitellogenin) and bioassays integrated with analytical chemistry has strengthened the evidence base to support an ecosystem approach to manage marine pollution problems. In recent years, however, the increased sensitivity of analytical chemistry, toxicity alerts and wider environmental awareness has led to a focus on emerging chemical contaminants (defined as chemicals that have been detected in the environment, but which are currently not included in regulatory monitoring programmes and whose fate and biological impacts are poorly understood). It is also known that natural chemicals (e.g. algal biotoxins) may also pose a threat to marine species and seafood quality. Hence complex mixtures of legacy contaminants, emerging chemicals and natural biotoxins in marine ecosystems represent

Bitumen coating as a tool for improving the porosity and chemical stability of simulated cement-waste forms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saleh, H.M.

2010-01-01

Coating process of simulated cement-based waste form with bitumen was evaluated by performing physical and chemical experimental tests. X-ray diffraction (X-RD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and electron microscope investigations were applied on coated and non-coated simulated waste forms. Experimental results indicated that coating process improved the applicable properties of cement-based waste form such as porosity and leachability. Diffusion coefficients and leach indecies of coated specimens were calculated and show acceptable records. It could be stated that coating cemented waste form by bitumen emulsion, isolate the radioactive contaminants, thus reduces their back release to surrounding and in consequently save the environment proper and safe

Some thoughts on geovirtual environments

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Cooper, Antony K

2010-11-01

Full Text Available environments can assist people develop an understanding of their spatial surroundings and how our actions can affect others, 3) how virtual globes can be used for all types of education, and not just environmental education, 4) the impact geovirtual...

Use of questionnaires and an expert panel to judge the environmental consequences of chemical spills for the development of an environment-accident index.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersson, Asa Scott; Stjernström, Olof; Fängmark, Ingrid

2005-05-01

Assessing the environmental consequences of a chemical accident is a complex task. To date, the methods used to evaluate the environmental effects of an acute release of a chemical have often been based on measurements of chemical and physical variables deemed to be important, such as the concentration of the chemical. However, a broader strategy is needed to predict the environmental consequences of potential accidents during the planning process. An Environment-Accident Index (EAI), a simple tool based on such a strategy, has been developed to facilitate the consideration of a multitude of influential variables. The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether questionnaire-based expert panel's judgements could provide useful data on the environmental consequences of chemical spills, and an effective basis for further development of the EAI. As expected, the judgements did not agree perfectly, but they do give rough indications of the environmental effects, and highlight consistent trends that should be useful inputs for planning, prevention and decontamination processes. The different accidents were also judged to have caused everything from minor to very major effects in the environment, implying that a wide range of accident scenarios were represented in the material and covered by the EAI. Therefore, questionnaires and expert panel judgements can be used to collect useful data for estimating the likely environmental consequences of chemical accidents and for further development of the EAI.

Chemical, Mechanical, and Durability Properties of Concrete with Local Mineral Admixtures under Sulfate Environment in Northwest China.

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Qingke; Zhou, Changjun; Shu, Xiang; He, Qiang; Huang, Baoshan

2014-05-13

Over the vast Northwest China, arid desert contains high concentrations of sulfate, chloride, and other chemicals in the ground water, which poses serious challenges to infrastructure construction that routinely utilizes portland cement concrete. Rapid industrialization in the region has been generating huge amounts of mineral admixtures, such as fly ash and slags from energy and metallurgical industries. These industrial by-products would turn into waste materials if not utilized in time. The present study evaluated the suitability of utilizing local mineral admixtures in significant quantities for producing quality concrete mixtures that can withstand the harsh chemical environment without compromising the essential mechanical properties. Comprehensive chemical, mechanical, and durability tests were conducted in the laboratory to characterize the properties of the local cementitious mineral admixtures, cement mortar and portland cement concrete mixtures containing these admixtures. The results from this study indicated that the sulfate resistance of concrete was effectively improved by adding local class F fly ash and slag, or by applying sulfate resistance cement to the mixtures. It is noteworthy that concrete containing local mineral admixtures exhibited much lower permeability (in terms of chloride ion penetration) than ordinary portland cement concrete while retaining the same mechanical properties; whereas concrete mixtures made with sulfate resistance cement had significantly reduced strength and much increased chloride penetration comparing to the other mixtures. Hence, the use of local mineral admixtures in Northwest China in concrete mixtures would be beneficial to the performance of concrete, as well as to the protection of environment.

A model for radiological dose assessment in an urban environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Won Tae; Kim, Eun Han; Jeong, Hyo Joon; Suh, Kyung Suk; Han, Moon Hee

2007-01-01

A model for radiological dose assessment in an urban environment, METRO-K has been developed. Characteristics of the model are as follows ; 1) mathematical structures are simple (i.e. simplified input parameters) and easy to understand due to get the results by analytical methods using experimental and empirical data, 2) complex urban environment can easily be made up using only 5 types of basic surfaces, 3) various remediation measures can be applied to different surfaces by evaluating the exposure doses contributing from each contamination surface. Exposure doses contributing from each contamination surface at a particular location of a receptor were evaluated using the data library of kerma values as a function of gamma energy and contamination surface. A kerma data library was prepared for 7 representative types of Korean urban building by extending those data given for 4 representative types of European urban buildings. Initial input data are daily radionuclide concentration in air and precipitation, and fraction of chemical type. Final outputs are absorbed dose rate in air contributing from the basic surfaces as a function of time following a radionuclide deposition, and exposure dose rate contributing from various surfaces constituting the urban environment at a particular location of a receptor. As the result of a contaminative scenario for an apartment built-up area, exposure dose rates show a distinct difference for surrounding environment as well as locations of a receptor

New Approach to Evaluate the Antennal Response of an Adult Predator Insect to Different Volatile Chemical Compounds by using Electroantennogram Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Shonouda, Mourad L.

The antennal response of adult syrphid flies to selected plant volatile chemical compounds was investigated in the present study. The main chemical classes and their chemical compounds were aldehydes (nonanal and benzaldehyde), monoterpene-alcohols (linalool and alpha-terpineol), ketones (6-methyl-5-heptene-2-one and 2-undecanone), hydrocarbons (tetradecane) and benzoids (methyl salicylate). Electroantennogram (EAG) records showed that the syrphid antennae were strongly responded to linalool, 6-methyl-5-heptene-2-one and methyl salicylate even at low concentrations, in addition to the high dose concentration of nonanal comparably to the other chemical compounds. The antennae of old syrphid adults were more responsive and elicited higher levels of responses to all compounds rather than young syrphid adults. The antennal sensitivity may differ from one compound to another according to the sex. The difference in responses could be attributed to the sensitivity of olfactory receptors and/or the characterization of binding protein(s). The quality of biocontrol agent could be improved if the chemical interaction between beneficial natural enemies and the surrounding environment is intensively studied and we clearly understand the chemical ecology of each natural enemy.

Chemically Treated 3D Printed Polymer Scaffolds for Biomineral Formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Richard J; Patrick, P Stephen; Page, Kristopher; Powell, Michael J; Lythgoe, Mark F; Miodownik, Mark A; Parkin, Ivan P; Carmalt, Claire J; Kalber, Tammy L; Bear, Joseph C

2018-04-30

We present the synthesis of nylon-12 scaffolds by 3D printing and demonstrate their versatility as matrices for cell growth, differentiation, and biomineral formation. We demonstrate that the porous nature of the printed parts makes them ideal for the direct incorporation of preformed nanomaterials or material precursors, leading to nanocomposites with very different properties and environments for cell growth. Additives such as those derived from sources such as tetraethyl orthosilicate applied at a low temperature promote successful cell growth, due partly to the high surface area of the porous matrix. The incorporation of presynthesized iron oxide nanoparticles led to a material that showed rapid heating in response to an applied ac magnetic field, an excellent property for use in gene expression and, with further improvement, chemical-free sterilization. These methods also avoid changing polymer feedstocks and contaminating or even damaging commonly used selective laser sintering printers. The chemically treated 3D printed matrices presented herein have great potential for use in addressing current issues surrounding bone grafting, implants, and skeletal repair, and a wide variety of possible incorporated material combinations could impact many other areas.

Beliefs about motivation and work with quality, environment and working environment in small organisations

OpenAIRE

Lindmark, Camilla

1999-01-01

Three small organisations in Sweden were studied in order to describe found motives for and against work with quality, environment and working environment among people in a small organisation. Some motives for work within the three areas mainly expressed beliefs about increased production results and increased psychological well-being of people. The work was also thought to have a positive impact on the organisation in terms of coping with changes in the surrounding. Arguments why small organ...

Analysis of environmental-social changes in the surrounding area of KWB Turow in the historical context

Science.gov (United States)

Ciesłik, Tobiasz; Górniak-Zimroz, Justyna

2018-01-01

Opencast mining of large-area lignite deposits impacts the environment, and the health and life of people living in the vicinity of the conducted mining activity. Therefore, the attempt was made to develop a methodology for identification of environmental and social changes in the Bogatynia municipality (south-western Poland), resulting from functioning of Turow lignite mine within its area. During the study of changes occurring over the years, the development of mining pit was noticed, as well as the transformations of this area and impact of the mining plant on the selected elements of environment and surrounding areas. Analogue and digital data were used for the preparation of cartographic compilations, the usefulness of which was analyzed in accordance with the guidelines contained in the standard [1]. The conducted cartographic studies allowed to learn the history of the mine together with identification of changes taking place in the municipality Bogatynia. The obtained results show the form and condition of the objects in the analyzed year, allowing for the interpretation of changes that occurred in the surrounding areas of the Turow mine. Due to the conducted activity of the mine and Turow power plant, both negative and positive aspects were noted in connection with the carrying out of mining activity in the Bogatynia municipality.

Investigations on an environment friendly chemical reaction process (eco-chemistry). 2; Kankyo ni yasashii kagaku hanno process (eko chemistry) ni kansuru chosa. 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-03-01

In order to structure a chemical reaction process that does not discharge a large amount of waste by-products or harmful chemical substances, or so-called environment friendly process, investigations and discussions were given based on the results derived in the previous fiscal year. A proposal was made to reduce environmental load on development of oxidized and dehydrogenated catalysts that can produce selectively ethylene, propylene and isobutylene in an oxidation process. In liquid phase oxidation, redox-based oxidation and solid catalyzation of automatic oxidation reaction were enumerated. In acid base catalyst reaction, development of ultra strong solid acid was described to structure no pollution discharging process. In the fine chemical and pharmaceutical fields, the optical active substance method and the position-selective aromatics displacement reaction were evaluated to reduce environmental load. A questionnaire survey performed on major chemical corporations inside and outside the country revealed the following processes as the ones that can cause hidden environmental problems: processes discharging large amount of wastes, processes treating dangerous materials, and processes consuming large amount of energy. Development of catalysts is important that can realize high yield, high selectivity and reactions under mild conditions as a future environment harmonizing chemical process. 117 refs., 23 figs., 22 tabs.

[Study on contamimation of endocrine disrupting chemicals in aquatic environment of Qiantang River].

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Delei; Chen, Jiang; Fu, Jianyun; Zheng, Yunyan; Song, Yanhua; Yan, Jun; Ding, Gangqiang

2011-07-01

To study contamination of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in aquatic environment of Qiantang River. Carp vitellogenin (VTG) content in serum and ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase (EROD) activity in liver of wild crucian, pesticide content including organic cholorine, organic phosphorus and pyrethroid in its muscle from 7 monitoring sites including Zhangtan (ZT), Jiekou (JK), Jiangjunyan (JJY), Yandongguan (YDG), Tonglu (TL), Fuyang (FY) and Yuanpu (YP) in Qiantang river were detected. And chemical analysis of water quality was carried on in four sites. EROD activity in crucian from ZT, JJY, FY and YP [(23.51 +/- 4.17), (16.79 +/- 7.39), (18.74 +/- 5.16), (18.65 +/- 8.86) nmol x g(-1) pro x min(-1), respectively] was significantly higher than that of control ((7.84 +/- 2.42) nmol x g(-1) pro x min(-1)), and VTG content in wild crucian from ZT, TL, FY and YP [(1.536 +/- 0.521), (16.404 +/- 13.579), (19.672 +/- 16.354) and (17.079 +/- 18.397)] microg/ml, respectively) was significantly higher than that of control [(0.400 +/- 0.099) (microg/ ml]. No significantly difference in biomarkers was observed between other site and control. From high to low, in total organophosphorus, it was followed as: TL, YDG, YP, FY, QZ, JK, JJY (EPN was up to 2695.64, 611.96 microg/kg in TL and YDG, respectively). In total organochlorine: TL, YP, YDG, FY, QZ, JK and JJY (tetradifon content in muscle of wild crucian from TL was up to 3962.17 microg/kg). For pyrethroid pesticides: TL, YDG, YP, ZT, JK, FY and JJY (alpha-tetramethrin and alpha-phenothrin was comparatively high in TL and YDG, up to 371.54, 239.62 microg/kg in the former, 416.23, 189.15 microg/kg in the latter, respectively). Aquatic environment of these sites including ZT, TL, FY and YP in Qiantang river received comparatively high EDCs, whose effects may be mainly due to pesticide pollution. Obvious organic contamination occurred in these sites including ZT, JJY, FY and YP. Changes of chemicals in water and EROD activity in

Influences of chemical and non-chemical stressors on childhood obesity

Science.gov (United States)

Background/Aim: Children are exposed to diverse chemical and non-chemical stressors in their built, natural, and social environments; and these are thought to contribute to their health and well-being during each developmental stage throughout life. Here we focus on growing evide...

[Decontamination of chemical and biological warfare agents].

Science.gov (United States)

Seto, Yasuo

2009-01-01

Chemical and biological warfare agents (CBWA's) are diverse in nature; volatile acute low-molecular-weight toxic compounds, chemical warfare agents (CWA's, gaseous choking and blood agents, volatile nerve gases and blister agents, nonvolatile vomit agents and lacrymators), biological toxins (nonvolatile low-molecular-weight toxins, proteinous toxins) and microbes (bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae). In the consequence management against chemical and biological terrorism, speedy decontamination of victims, facilities and equipment is required for the minimization of the damage. In the present situation, washing victims and contaminated materials with large volumes of water is the basic way, and additionally hypochlorite salt solution is used for decomposition of CWA's. However, it still remains unsolved how to dispose large volumes of waste water, and the decontamination reagents have serious limitation of high toxicity, despoiling nature against the environments, long finishing time and non-durability in effective decontamination. Namely, the existing decontamination system is not effective, nonspecifically affecting the surrounding non-target materials. Therefore, it is the urgent matter to build up the usable decontamination system surpassing the present technologies. The symposiast presents the on-going joint project of research and development of the novel decontamination system against CBWA's, in the purpose of realizing nontoxic, fast, specific, effective and economical terrorism on-site decontamination. The projects consists of (1) establishment of the decontamination evaluation methods and verification of the existing technologies and adaptation of bacterial organophosphorus hydrolase, (2) development of adsorptive elimination technologies using molecular recognition tools, and (4) development of deactivation technologies using photocatalysis.

Circumstances surrounding aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schievink, W. I.; Karemaker, J. M.; Hageman, L. M.; van der Werf, D. J.

1989-01-01

The circumstances surrounding aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage were investigated in a group of 500 consecutive patients admitted to a neurosurgical center. Subarachnoid hemorrhage occurred during stressful events in 42.8% of the patients, during nonstrenuous activities in 34.4%, and during rest or

Nanostructured conjugated polymers in chemical sensors: synthesis, properties and applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Correa, D S; Medeiros, E S; Oliveira, J E; Paterno, L G; Mattoso, Luiz C

2014-09-01

Conjugated polymers are organic materials endowed with a π-electron conjugation along the polymer backbone that present appealing electrical and optical properties for technological applications. By using conjugated polymeric materials in the nanoscale, such properties can be further enhanced. In addition, the use of nanostructured materials makes possible miniaturize devices at the micro/nano scale. The applications of conjugated nanostructured polymers include sensors, actuators, flexible displays, discrete electronic devices, and smart fabric, to name a few. In particular, the use of conjugated polymers in chemical and biological sensors is made feasible owning to their sensitivity to the physicochemical conditions of its surrounding environment, such as chemical composition, pH, dielectric constant, humidity or even temperature. Subtle changes in these conditions bring about variations on the electrical (resistivity and capacitance), optical (absorptivity, luminescence, etc.), and mechanical properties of the conjugated polymer, which can be precisely measured by different experimental methods and ultimately associated with a specific analyte and its concentration. The present review article highlights the main features of conjugated polymers that make them suitable for chemical sensors. An especial emphasis is given to nanostructured sensors systems, which present high sensitivity and selectivity, and find application in beverage and food quality control, pharmaceutical industries, medical diagnosis, environmental monitoring, and homeland security, and other applications as discussed throughout this review.

Assessing the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment: the challenge ahead.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodson, William H; Lowe, Leroy; Carpenter, David O; Gilbertson, Michael; Manaf Ali, Abdul; Lopez de Cerain Salsamendi, Adela; Lasfar, Ahmed; Carnero, Amancio; Azqueta, Amaya; Amedei, Amedeo; Charles, Amelia K; Collins, Andrew R; Ward, Andrew; Salzberg, Anna C; Colacci, Annamaria; Olsen, Ann-Karin; Berg, Arthur; Barclay, Barry J; Zhou, Binhua P; Blanco-Aparicio, Carmen; Baglole, Carolyn J; Dong, Chenfang; Mondello, Chiara; Hsu, Chia-Wen; Naus, Christian C; Yedjou, Clement; Curran, Colleen S; Laird, Dale W; Koch, Daniel C; Carlin, Danielle J; Felsher, Dean W; Roy, Debasish; Brown, Dustin G; Ratovitski, Edward; Ryan, Elizabeth P; Corsini, Emanuela; Rojas, Emilio; Moon, Eun-Yi; Laconi, Ezio; Marongiu, Fabio; Al-Mulla, Fahd; Chiaradonna, Ferdinando; Darroudi, Firouz; Martin, Francis L; Van Schooten, Frederik J; Goldberg, Gary S; Wagemaker, Gerard; Nangami, Gladys N; Calaf, Gloria M; Williams, Graeme; Wolf, Gregory T; Koppen, Gudrun; Brunborg, Gunnar; Lyerly, H Kim; Krishnan, Harini; Ab Hamid, Hasiah; Yasaei, Hemad; Sone, Hideko; Kondoh, Hiroshi; Salem, Hosni K; Hsu, Hsue-Yin; Park, Hyun Ho; Koturbash, Igor; Miousse, Isabelle R; Scovassi, A Ivana; Klaunig, James E; Vondráček, Jan; Raju, Jayadev; Roman, Jesse; Wise, John Pierce; Whitfield, Jonathan R; Woodrick, Jordan; Christopher, Joseph A; Ochieng, Josiah; Martinez-Leal, Juan Fernando; Weisz, Judith; Kravchenko, Julia; Sun, Jun; Prudhomme, Kalan R; Narayanan, Kannan Badri; Cohen-Solal, Karine A; Moorwood, Kim; Gonzalez, Laetitia; Soucek, Laura; Jian, Le; D'Abronzo, Leandro S; Lin, Liang-Tzung; Li, Lin; Gulliver, Linda; McCawley, Lisa J; Memeo, Lorenzo; Vermeulen, Louis; Leyns, Luc; Zhang, Luoping; Valverde, Mahara; Khatami, Mahin; Romano, Maria Fiammetta; Chapellier, Marion; Williams, Marc A; Wade, Mark; Manjili, Masoud H; Lleonart, Matilde E; Xia, Menghang; Gonzalez, Michael J; Karamouzis, Michalis V; Kirsch-Volders, Micheline; Vaccari, Monica; Kuemmerle, Nancy B; Singh, Neetu; Cruickshanks, Nichola; Kleinstreuer, Nicole; van Larebeke, Nik; Ahmed, Nuzhat; Ogunkua, Olugbemiga; Krishnakumar, P K; Vadgama, Pankaj; Marignani, Paola A; Ghosh, Paramita M; Ostrosky-Wegman, Patricia; Thompson, Patricia A; Dent, Paul; Heneberg, Petr; Darbre, Philippa; Sing Leung, Po; Nangia-Makker, Pratima; Cheng, Qiang Shawn; Robey, R Brooks; Al-Temaimi, Rabeah; Roy, Rabindra; Andrade-Vieira, Rafaela; Sinha, Ranjeet K; Mehta, Rekha; Vento, Renza; Di Fiore, Riccardo; Ponce-Cusi, Richard; Dornetshuber-Fleiss, Rita; Nahta, Rita; Castellino, Robert C; Palorini, Roberta; Abd Hamid, Roslida; Langie, Sabine A S; Eltom, Sakina E; Brooks, Samira A; Ryeom, Sandra; Wise, Sandra S; Bay, Sarah N; Harris, Shelley A; Papagerakis, Silvana; Romano, Simona; Pavanello, Sofia; Eriksson, Staffan; Forte, Stefano; Casey, Stephanie C; Luanpitpong, Sudjit; Lee, Tae-Jin; Otsuki, Takemi; Chen, Tao; Massfelder, Thierry; Sanderson, Thomas; Guarnieri, Tiziana; Hultman, Tove; Dormoy, Valérian; Odero-Marah, Valerie; Sabbisetti, Venkata; Maguer-Satta, Veronique; Rathmell, W Kimryn; Engström, Wilhelm; Decker, William K; Bisson, William H; Rojanasakul, Yon; Luqmani, Yunus; Chen, Zhenbang; Hu, Zhiwei

2015-06-01

Lifestyle factors are responsible for a considerable portion of cancer incidence worldwide, but credible estimates from the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) suggest that the fraction of cancers attributable to toxic environmental exposures is between 7% and 19%. To explore the hypothesis that low-dose exposures to mixtures of chemicals in the environment may be combining to contribute to environmental carcinogenesis, we reviewed 11 hallmark phenotypes of cancer, multiple priority target sites for disruption in each area and prototypical chemical disruptors for all targets, this included dose-response characterizations, evidence of low-dose effects and cross-hallmark effects for all targets and chemicals. In total, 85 examples of chemicals were reviewed for actions on key pathways/mechanisms related to carcinogenesis. Only 15% (13/85) were found to have evidence of a dose-response threshold, whereas 59% (50/85) exerted low-dose effects. No dose-response information was found for the remaining 26% (22/85). Our analysis suggests that the cumulative effects of individual (non-carcinogenic) chemicals acting on different pathways, and a variety of related systems, organs, tissues and cells could plausibly conspire to produce carcinogenic synergies. Additional basic research on carcinogenesis and research focused on low-dose effects of chemical mixtures needs to be rigorously pursued before the merits of this hypothesis can be further advanced. However, the structure of the World Health Organization International Programme on Chemical Safety 'Mode of Action' framework should be revisited as it has inherent weaknesses that are not fully aligned with our current understanding of cancer biology. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

Assessing the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment: the challenge ahead

Science.gov (United States)

Goodson, William H.; Lowe, Leroy; Carpenter, David O.; Gilbertson, Michael; Manaf Ali, Abdul; Lopez de Cerain Salsamendi, Adela; Lasfar, Ahmed; Carnero, Amancio; Azqueta, Amaya; Amedei, Amedeo; Charles, Amelia K.; Collins, Andrew R.; Ward, Andrew; Salzberg, Anna C.; Colacci, Anna Maria; Olsen, Ann-Karin; Berg, Arthur; Barclay, Barry J.; Zhou, Binhua P.; Blanco-Aparicio, Carmen; Baglole, Carolyn J.; Dong, Chenfang; Mondello, Chiara; Hsu, Chia-Wen; Naus, Christian C.; Yedjou, Clement; Curran, Colleen S.; Laird, Dale W.; Koch, Daniel C.; Carlin, Danielle J.; Felsher, Dean W.; Roy, Debasish; Brown, Dustin G.; Ratovitski, Edward; Ryan, Elizabeth P.; Corsini, Emanuela; Rojas, Emilio; Moon, Eun-Yi; Laconi, Ezio; Marongiu, Fabio; Al-Mulla, Fahd; Chiaradonna, Ferdinando; Darroudi, Firouz; Martin, Francis L.; Van Schooten, Frederik J.; Goldberg, Gary S.; Wagemaker, Gerard; Nangami, Gladys N.; Calaf, Gloria M.; Williams, Graeme P.; Wolf, Gregory T.; Koppen, Gudrun; Brunborg, Gunnar; Lyerly, H. Kim; Krishnan, Harini; Ab Hamid, Hasiah; Yasaei, Hemad; Sone, Hideko; Kondoh, Hiroshi; Salem, Hosni K.; Hsu, Hsue-Yin; Park, Hyun Ho; Koturbash, Igor; Miousse, Isabelle R.; Scovassi, A.Ivana; Klaunig, James E.; Vondráček, Jan; Raju, Jayadev; Roman, Jesse; Wise, John Pierce; Whitfield, Jonathan R.; Woodrick, Jordan; Christopher, Joseph A.; Ochieng, Josiah; Martinez-Leal, Juan Fernando; Weisz, Judith; Kravchenko, Julia; Sun, Jun; Prudhomme, Kalan R.; Narayanan, Kannan Badri; Cohen-Solal, Karine A.; Moorwood, Kim; Gonzalez, Laetitia; Soucek, Laura; Jian, Le; D’Abronzo, Leandro S.; Lin, Liang-Tzung; Li, Lin; Gulliver, Linda; McCawley, Lisa J.; Memeo, Lorenzo; Vermeulen, Louis; Leyns, Luc; Zhang, Luoping; Valverde, Mahara; Khatami, Mahin; Romano, Maria Fiammetta; Chapellier, Marion; Williams, Marc A.; Wade, Mark; Manjili, Masoud H.; Lleonart, Matilde E.; Xia, Menghang; Gonzalez Guzman, Michael J.; Karamouzis, Michalis V.; Kirsch-Volders, Micheline; Vaccari, Monica; Kuemmerle, Nancy B.; Singh, Neetu; Cruickshanks, Nichola; Kleinstreuer, Nicole; van Larebeke, Nik; Ahmed, Nuzhat; Ogunkua, Olugbemiga; Krishnakumar, P.K.; Vadgama, Pankaj; Marignani, Paola A.; Ghosh, Paramita M.; Ostrosky-Wegman, Patricia; Thompson, Patricia A.; Dent, Paul; Heneberg, Petr; Darbre, Philippa; Leung, Po Sing; Nangia-Makker, Pratima; Cheng, Qiang (Shawn); Robey, R.Brooks; Al-Temaimi, Rabeah; Roy, Rabindra; Andrade-Vieira, Rafaela; Sinha, Ranjeet K.; Mehta, Rekha; Vento, Renza; Di Fiore, Riccardo; Ponce-Cusi, Richard; Dornetshuber-Fleiss, Rita; Nahta, Rita; Castellino, Robert C.; Palorini, Roberta; Hamid, Roslida A.; Langie, Sabine A.S.; Eltom, Sakina E.; Brooks, Samira A.; Ryeom, Sandra; Wise, Sandra S.; Bay, Sarah N.; Harris, Shelley A.; Papagerakis, Silvana; Romano, Simona; Pavanello, Sofia; Eriksson, Staffan; Forte, Stefano; Casey, Stephanie C.; Luanpitpong, Sudjit; Lee, Tae-Jin; Otsuki, Takemi; Chen, Tao; Massfelder, Thierry; Sanderson, Thomas; Guarnieri, Tiziana; Hultman, Tove; Dormoy, Valérian; Odero-Marah, Valerie; Sabbisetti, Venkata; Maguer-Satta, Veronique; Rathmell, W.Kimryn; Engström, Wilhelm; Decker, William K.; Bisson, William H.; Rojanasakul, Yon; Luqmani, Yunus; Chen, Zhenbang; Hu, Zhiwei

2015-01-01

Lifestyle factors are responsible for a considerable portion of cancer incidence worldwide, but credible estimates from the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) suggest that the fraction of cancers attributable to toxic environmental exposures is between 7% and 19%. To explore the hypothesis that low-dose exposures to mixtures of chemicals in the environment may be combining to contribute to environmental carcinogenesis, we reviewed 11 hallmark phenotypes of cancer, multiple priority target sites for disruption in each area and prototypical chemical disruptors for all targets, this included dose-response characterizations, evidence of low-dose effects and cross-hallmark effects for all targets and chemicals. In total, 85 examples of chemicals were reviewed for actions on key pathways/mechanisms related to carcinogenesis. Only 15% (13/85) were found to have evidence of a dose-response threshold, whereas 59% (50/85) exerted low-dose effects. No dose-response information was found for the remaining 26% (22/85). Our analysis suggests that the cumulative effects of individual (non-carcinogenic) chemicals acting on different pathways, and a variety of related systems, organs, tissues and cells could plausibly conspire to produce carcinogenic synergies. Additional basic research on carcinogenesis and research focused on low-dose effects of chemical mixtures needs to be rigorously pursued before the merits of this hypothesis can be further advanced. However, the structure of the World Health Organization International Programme on Chemical Safety ‘Mode of Action’ framework should be revisited as it has inherent weaknesses that are not fully aligned with our current understanding of cancer biology. PMID:26106142

A wearable fingernail chemical sensing platform: pH sensing at your fingertips.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jayoung; Cho, Thomas N; Valdés-Ramírez, Gabriela; Wang, Joseph

2016-04-01

This article demonstrates an example of a wearable chemical sensor based on a fingernail platform. Fingernails represent an attractive wearable platform, merging beauty products with chemical sensing, to enable monitoring of our surrounding environment. The new colorimetric pH fingernail sensor relies on coating artificial nails with a recognition layer consisted of pH indicators entrapped in a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) matrix. Such color changing fingernails offer fast and reversible response to pH changes, repeated use, and intense color change detected easily with naked eye. The PVC matrix prevents leaching out of the indicator molecules from the fingernail sensor toward such repeated use. The limited narrow working pH range of a single pH indicator has been addressed by multiplexing three different pH indicators: bromothymol blue (pH 6.0-7.6), bromocresol green (pH 3.8-5.4), and cresol red (pH 7.2-8.8), as demonstrated for analyses of real-life samples of acidic, neutral, and basic character. The new concept of an optical wearable chemical sensor on fingernail platforms can be expanded towards diverse analytes for various applications in connection to the judicious design of the recognition layer. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effective ecological half-lives of Cs-137 for fishes controlled by their surrounding sea-waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morita, T.; Yoshida, K.

2004-01-01

National Research Institute of Fisheries Science (NRIFS) has carried out the long term monitoring program for radioactive pollution in marine organisms caught around Japan in order to confirm the safety of marine organisms as food source. Main radionuclide in our monitoring program is Cs-137 because it has the relatively high radiotoxicity and the long term physical half-life (about 30.1 y), and tends to accumulate in the muscle. Recently, the effective ecological half-lives have been introduced to estimate the recovery time from radioactive pollution, and been applicable to various ecosystems. In this study, effective ecological half-lives of Cs-137 for some fishes were calculated from our long term monitoring data. It is known that fish species have each effective ecological half-lives. However, it has been unclear what change the effective ecological half-lives of Cs-137 for fishes. Fishes intake Cs-137 through food chain and directly from their surrounding sea-waters. Accordingly, the effective ecological half-lives of Cs-137 for some fishes would be controlled by the effective environment half-lives of Cs-137 for their surrounding sea-waters. There is difference in effective environment half-lives of Cs-137 between the open ocean and the coastal sea-waters because they have the different input sources of Cs-137. Some fishes move between the open ocean and the coastal areas, and therefore their effective ecological half-lives of Cs-137 are influenced by the effective environment half-lives of Cs-137 for sea-waters of both areas. Consequently, the differences in effective ecological half-lives of Cs-137 among fish species would depend the rate of coastal area in their lives. (author)

Analysis of radiation and chemical factors which define the ecological situation of environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trofimenko, A.P.

1996-01-01

A new method of large information set statistical analysis is proposed. It permits to define the main directions of work in a given field in the world or in a particular country, to find the most important investigated problems and to evaluate the role each of them quantitatively, as well as to study the dynamics of work development in time, the methods of research used, the centres in which this research is mostly developed, authors of publications etc. Statistical analysis may be supplemented with subject analysis of selected publications. Main factors which influence on different environment components and on public health are presented as an example of this method use, and the role of radiation and chemical factors is evaluated. 18 refs., 6 tab

The virtual environment display system

Science.gov (United States)

Mcgreevy, Michael W.

1991-01-01

Virtual environment technology is a display and control technology that can surround a person in an interactive computer generated or computer mediated virtual environment. It has evolved at NASA-Ames since 1984 to serve NASA's missions and goals. The exciting potential of this technology, sometimes called Virtual Reality, Artificial Reality, or Cyberspace, has been recognized recently by the popular media, industry, academia, and government organizations. Much research and development will be necessary to bring it to fruition.

Microplastic as a Vector for Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment. Critical Review and Model-Supported Re-interpretation of Empirical Studies.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koelmans, A.A.; Bakir, A.; Burton, G.A.; Janssen, C.R.

2016-01-01

The hypothesis that ‘microplastic will transfer hazardous hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOC) to marine animals’ has been central to the perceived hazard and risk of plastic in the marine environment. The hypothesis is often cited and has gained momentum, turning it into paradigm status. We provide

Research Regarding The Impact Of Chemical Fertilizers Upon The Soil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Călugăr

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Chemical fertilizers need to be used according to the natural fertility of the soil, to the ecological conditions and the cultivation requirements for nourishing elements. Keeping this in mind, they will not have any negative effects over the surrounding environment. But if the optimal doses are not respected the soil will be polluted. Regarding this matter a study has been made that showed that if the correct dosage is not respected this could lead to the acidification of the soil to such a level that it won’t be suitable for agricultural purposes. Even if excess usage of fertilizers does not cause any changes in the soils texture, it can still contribute to its pure quality. If the correct dosage and the period of administration is respected than the soil will be improved with nourishing elements, this leading to a better agricultural production.

Cholinergic enhancement reduces orientation-specific surround suppression but not visual crowding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna A. Kosovicheva

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Acetylcholine (ACh reduces the spatial spread of excitatory fMRI responses in early visual cortex and the receptive field sizes of V1 neurons. We investigated the perceptual consequences of these physiological effects of ACh with surround suppression and crowding, two tasks that involve spatial interactions between visual field locations. Surround suppression refers to the reduction in perceived stimulus contrast by a high-contrast surround stimulus. For grating stimuli, surround suppression is selective for the relative orientations of the center and surround, suggesting that it results from inhibitory interactions in early visual cortex. Crowding refers to impaired identification of a peripheral stimulus in the presence of flankers and is thought to result from excessive integration of visual features. We increased synaptic ACh levels by administering the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil to healthy human subjects in a placebo-controlled, double-blind design. In Exp. 1, we measured surround suppression of a central grating using a contrast discrimination task with three conditions: 1 surround grating with the same orientation as the center (parallel, 2 surround orthogonal to the center, or 3 no surround. Contrast discrimination thresholds were higher in the parallel than in the orthogonal condition, demonstrating orientation-specific surround suppression (OSSS. Cholinergic enhancement reduced thresholds only in the parallel condition, thereby reducing OSSS. In Exp. 2, subjects performed a crowding task in which they reported the identity of a peripheral letter flanked by letters on either side. We measured the critical spacing between the target and flanking letters that allowed reliable identification. Cholinergic enhancement had no effect on critical spacing. Our findings suggest that ACh reduces spatial interactions in tasks involving segmentation of visual field locations but that these effects may be limited to early visual cortical

Crossed optical and chemical evaluations of modern glass soiling in various European urban environments

Science.gov (United States)

Favez, Olivier; Cachier, Hélène; Chabas, Anne; Ausset, Patrick; Lefevre, Roger

As part of the MULTI-ASSESS and VIDRIO EC projects, the soiling of modern glass is characterised in various European urban atmospheres. Our original methodology relies on crossed chemical measurements of the deposit (evaluation of the ion, elemental and organic carbon contents, and subsequent "mass closure") and exhaustive measurements of glass optical properties (light reflectance, transmittance and absorption). Samples were exposed sheltered from rain in Athens, Krakow, London, Montelibretti (Italy), Prague and Troyes (France), during increasing exposure durations, up to more than two years. Although a slowing down of the deposition rate is observed for some species at some sites, no obvious saturation phenomenon seems to occur for the particle deposition. The chemical composition of the deposit is shown to reflect the atmospheric environment of the exposure site. Some post-deposit evolutions, such as the disappearance of ammonium and possibly of particulate organic matter, are found to occur. For thin deposits, the glass optical properties (e.g. light absorption and diffuse transmittance) are found to evolve quasi-linearly with species concentrations (EC and ions, respectively). However, for conditions creating heavier deposits such as long time exposures in rather polluted environments, a saturation phenomenon is observed. Using a simple model, light absorption, which is primarily due to EC particles, is shown to reach the saturation level ( S) for A≈16% and the concentration for which the semi-saturation level is reached (C 1/2) is found to be about 15 μgC of EC/cm 2. For diffuse transmittance, due to scattering species, these parameters are found to be about 30% and 65 μg of ions/cm 2, respectively. These values may be considered as representative of the soiling in Europe.

Lead identification in soil surrounding a used lead acid battery smelter area in Banten, Indonesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adventini, N; Santoso, M; Lestiani, D D; Syahfitri, W Y N; Rixson, L

2017-01-01

A used lead acid battery smelter generates particulates containing lead that can contaminate the surrounding environment area. Lead is a heavy metal which is harmful to health if it enters the human body through soil, air, or water. An identification of lead in soil samples surrounding formal and informal used lead acid battery smelters area in Banten, Indonesia using EDXRF has been carried out. The EDXRF accuracy and precision evaluated from marine sediment IAEA 457 gave a good agreement to the certified value. A number of 16 soil samples from formal and informal areas and 2 soil samples from control area were taken from surface and subsurface soils. The highest lead concentrations from both lead smelter were approximately 9 folds and 11 folds higher than the reference and control samples. The assessment of lead contamination in soils described in C f index was in category: moderately and strongly polluted by lead for formal and informal lead smelter. Daily lead intake of children in this study from all sites had exceeded the recommended dietary allowance. The HI values for adults and children living near both lead smelter areas were greater than the value of safety threshold 1. This study finding confirmed that there is a potential health risk for inhabitants surrounding the used lead acid battery smelter areas in Banten, Indonesia. (paper)

The final report of the state scientific programme 'Ignalina NPP and the Environment'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-03-01

The final report of the State Scientific Programme 'Ignalina NPP and the Environment' includes the generalised research material on the after effects of Ignalina NPP operation upon natural environment and social processes. The data on changes of thermal state and water balance of lake Drukshiai; the effect of permanent thermal and chemical pollution on the water chemical composition and hydrochemical regime; the geochemical - contaminated state; the condition, dynamics and changes of hydrobiont communities in lake Drukshiai; the bio indication of ecological effects; the toxic and genotoxic influence of Ignalina NPP waste waters and lake Drukshiai water as well as bottom sediments; the state and dynamic of landscape ecosystem components of Ignalina NPP region; the radionuclides in Ignalina NPP area, the medical and biological studies in the Ignalina NPP influence population zone; the impact of Ignalina NPP on social territorial processes in the region are presented. Radioecological and ecotoxilogical state of Ignalina NPP region and lake Drukshiai is estimated as well as changes in lake Drukshiai and Ignalina NPP surrounding area ecosystems under the combine anthropogenic of the plant influence are elucidated. The final report contains the results of final report by the executors of the tasks and themes of the Programme which have been obtained since the beginning of the implementation of the Programme as well as generalising conclusions and recommendations. (author)

On the close environment of BL Lacertae objects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Falomo, R. (Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova (Italy)); Melnick, J. (European Southern Observatory, Santiago (Chile)); Tanzi, E.G. (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milan (Italy))

1990-06-21

The local environment of BL Lacertae objects, which resemble quasars but lack emission lines, is poorly understood. In the few cases where the surrounding nebulosity has been studied in detail, it is consistent with the presence of a giant elliptical galaxy, but the evidence that the BL Lac and the putative galaxy are physically associated rests solely on their positional coincidence. An alternative hypothesis, that BL Lacs are gravitationally lensed and that the surrounding emission is from the foreground lensing object, gains some support from a number of observations which reveal less than perfect alignment between BL Lacs and surrounding emission. We have begun a systematic programme of high-resolution imaging aimed at understanding in a general way the local environment of BL Lacs. Here we describe a first series of images, which show the presence of emission features around most of the BL Lacs observed. Typically, this emission is close (<5 arcsec) to the BL Lac, and faint (m{sub R} = 21). We discuss the interpretation of these companions in terms of both interacting objects and gravitational lenses. (author).

Passive Sampling in Regulatory Chemical Monitoring of Nonpolar Organic Compounds in the Aquatic Environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Booij, Kees; Robinson, Craig D; Burgess, Robert M

2016-01-01

We reviewed compliance monitoring requirements in the European Union, the United States, and the Oslo-Paris Convention for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic, and evaluated if these are met by passive sampling methods for nonpolar compounds. The strengths...... is the best available technology for chemical monitoring of nonpolar organic compounds. Key issues to be addressed by scientists and environmental managers are outlined....... and shortcomings of passive sampling are assessed for water, sediments, and biota. Passive water sampling is a suitable technique for measuring concentrations of freely dissolved compounds. This method yields results that are incompatible with the EU's quality standard definition in terms of total concentrations...

Co-integration of optical and micro-fluidic approaches on glass for chemical analysis in harsh environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jardinier, E.

2013-01-01

The current will of reducing environment and human hazards has led the scientists to imagine new solutions for nuclear waste reprocessing. Miniaturized online chemical analysis of industrial processes has in particular an important role to play to reduce effluent volumes, response times and costs. In this context, we present the design, fabrication and characterization of an integrated spectrophotometric sensor on glass for chemical analysis of radioactive cations. The device is called a - nano-channel waveguide - and is fabricated by reactive ion etching and ion exchange on glass. It is made of two borosilicate glass wafers bonded together. The first one contains a strip core and the second one a (100 ±10) nm deep nano-channel and a slab core. It allows the propagation of a hybrid mode, optimizing the fluid/guide wave interaction on a large wavelength range. Spectrometric measurements of a neodymium nitrate in nitric acid (pH 2) followed by statistical treatment have led to a limit of detection in terms of absorption coefficient of (3.7 ± 0.9) * 10 -3 cm -1 for a device length of (3.70 ± 0.05) cm and fluid volume as low as (7 ± 3) nL. A structure allowing to increase the interaction length and therefore further decrease the detection limit has been proposed as an outlook of this work, and a preliminary study for use in a nuclear environment has been performed. (author) [fr

Microclimate risk evaluation in agroindustrial work environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monarca, D.; Porceddu, P.; Cecchini, M.; Babucci, V.

2005-01-01

The concept of workers' safety includes not only the prevention from accidents, as a result of improvements in the devices utilised, but also their welfare and comfort microclimate, i.e., the complex of parameters that affect the thermal exchange between workers and the surrounding environment is one of the main factors that affect the working environment. The paper describes the main risk assessment methodologies and the main actions to be taken for improving the working environment and workers' personal comfort [it

SPATIALLY RESOLVED SPECTROSCOPY AND CHEMICAL HISTORY OF STAR-FORMING GALAXIES IN THE HERCULES CLUSTER: THE EFFECTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petropoulou, V.; Vilchez, J.; Iglesias-Paramo, J.; Cedres, B.; Papaderos, P.; Magrini, L.; Reverte, D.

2011-01-01

Spatially resolved spectroscopy has been obtained for a sample of 27 star-forming (SF) galaxies selected from our deep Hα survey of the Hercules cluster. We have applied spectral synthesis models to all emission-line spectra of this sample using the population synthesis code STARLIGHT and have obtained fundamental parameters of stellar components such as mean metallicity and age. The emission-line spectra were corrected for underlying stellar absorption using these spectral synthesis models. Line fluxes were measured and O/H and N/O gas chemical abundances were obtained using the latest empirical calibrations. We have derived the masses and total luminosities of the galaxies using available Sloan Digital Sky Survey broadband photometry. The effects of cluster environment on the chemical evolution of galaxies and on their mass-metallicity (MZ) and luminosity-metallicity (LZ) relations were studied by combining the derived gas metallicities, the mean stellar metallicities and ages, the masses and luminosities of the galaxies, and their existing H I data. Our Hercules SF galaxies are divided into three main subgroups: (1) chemically evolved spirals with truncated ionized-gas disks and nearly flat oxygen gradients, demonstrating the effect of ram-pressure stripping; (2) chemically evolved dwarfs/irregulars populating the highest local densities, possible products of tidal interactions in preprocessing events; and (3) less metallic dwarf galaxies that appear to be 'newcomers' to the cluster and are experiencing pressure-triggered star formation. Most Hercules SF galaxies follow well-defined MZ and LZ sequences (for both O/H and N/O), though the dwarf/irregular galaxies located at the densest regions appear to be outliers to these global relations, suggesting a physical reason for the dispersion in these fundamental relations. The Hercules cluster appears to be currently assembling via the merger of smaller substructures, providing an ideal laboratory where the local

A Chemical Activity Approach to Exposure and Risk Assessment of Chemicals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gobas, Frank A. P. C.; Mayer, Philipp; Parkerton, Thomas F.

2018-01-01

activity approach, its strengths and limitations, and provides examples of how this concept may be applied to the management of single chemicals and chemical mixtures. The examples demonstrate that the chemical activity approach provides a useful framework for 1) compiling and evaluating exposure......To support the goals articulated in the vision for exposure and risk assessment in the twenty-first century, we highlight the application of a thermodynamic chemical activity approach for the exposure and risk assessment of chemicals in the environment. The present article describes the chemical...... assessment. The article further illustrates that the chemical activity approach can support an adaptive management strategy for environmental stewardship of chemicals where “safe” chemical activities are established based on toxicological studies and presented as guidelines for environmental quality...

Chemical environments of submarine hydrothermal systems

Science.gov (United States)

Shock, Everett L.

1992-01-01

Perhaps because black-smoker chimneys make tremendous subjects for magazine covers, the proposal that submarine hydrothermal systems were involved in the origin of life has caused many investigators to focus on the eye-catching hydrothermal vents. In much the same way that tourists rush to watch the spectacular eruptions of Old Faithful geyser with little regard for the hydrology of the Yellowstone basin, attention is focused on the spectacular, high-temperature hydrothermal vents to the near exclusion of the enormous underlying hydrothermal systems. Nevertheless, the magnitude and complexity of geologic structures, heat flow, and hydrologic parameters which characterize the geyser basins at Yellowstone also characterize submarine hydrothermal systems. However, in the submarine systems the scale can be considerably more vast. Like Old Faithful, submarine hydrothermal vents have a spectacular quality, but they are only one fascinating aspect of enormous geologic systems operating at seafloor spreading centers throughout all of the ocean basins. A critical study of the possible role of hydrothermal processes in the origin of life should include the full spectrum of probable environments. The goals of this chapter are to synthesize diverse information about the inorganic geochemistry of submarine hydrothermal systems, assemble a description of the fundamental physical and chemical attributes of these systems, and consider the implications of high-temperature, fluid-driven processes for organic synthesis. Information about submarine hydrothermal systems comes from many directions. Measurements made directly on venting fluids provide useful, but remarkably limited, clues about processes operating at depth. The oceanic crust has been drilled to approximately 2.0 km depth providing many other pieces of information, but drilling technology has not allowed the bore holes and core samples to reach the maximum depths to which aqueous fluids circulate in oceanic crust. Such

Environmental surveillance of the Oak Ridge Reservation and surrounding environs during 1985

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-04-01

Routine monitoring and sampling for radiation, radioactive materials, and chemical substances on and off the Oak Ridge Reservation are used to document compliance with appropriate standards, identify undesirable trends, provide information for the public, and contribute to general environmental knowledge. Regional stations located at distances of up to 140 km (90 miles) from the ORR provide a basis for determining conditions beyond the range of potential influence of the three Oak Ridge installations. Stations within the Reservation, around the perimeters and within each plant site, and in residential and community areas document conditions in areas occupied and visited by the public and potentially affected by the Oak Ridge operations. In all, during 1985 some 115,000 analyses of environmental samples were completed as part of the Reservation-wide and regional monitoring program. Included were approxiately 61,000 air, 41,000 surface water, 8090 groundwater, 2400 wastewater, 80 fish, 231 soil, 132 grass, 36 pine needle, 360 sediment, and 80 external gamma analyses

Environmental surveillance of the Oak Ridge Reservation and surrounding environs during 1985

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1986-04-01

Routine monitoring and sampling for radiation, radioactive materials, and chemical substances on and off the Oak Ridge Reservation are used to document compliance with appropriate standards, identify undesirable trends, provide information for the public, and contribute to general environmental knowledge. Regional stations located at distances of up to 140 km (90 miles) from the ORR provide a basis for determining conditions beyond the range of potential influence of the three Oak Ridge installations. Stations within the Reservation, around the perimeters and within each plant site, and in residential and community areas document conditions in areas occupied and visited by the public and potentially affected by the Oak Ridge operations. In all, during 1985 some 115,000 analyses of environmental samples were completed as part of the Reservation-wide and regional monitoring program. Included were approxiately 61,000 air, 41,000 surface water, 8090 groundwater, 2400 wastewater, 80 fish, 231 soil, 132 grass, 36 pine needle, 360 sediment, and 80 external gamma analyses.

2005 dossier: clay. Tome: phenomenological evolution of the geologic disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

This document makes a status of the researches carried out by the French national agency of radioactive wastes (ANDRA) about the phenomenological processes taking place in an argilite-type geologic disposal facility for high-level and long-lived (HLLL) radioactive wastes. Content: 1 - introduction: goal, input data, time and space scales, long-time forecasting of the phenomenological evolution; 2 - the Meuse/Haute-Marne site, the HLLL wastes and the disposal concepts: impact of the repository architecture; 3 - initial state of the geologic environment prior to the building up of the repository: general framework, geologic formations, tectonics and fractures, surface environment, geologic synthesis; 4 - phenomenological processes: storage-related processes, geodynamics-related processes, time scales of processes and of radionuclides migration, independence and evolution similarities of the repository and of the geologic environment; 5 - heat loads: heat transfers between containers and geologic formations, spatial organization of the thermal load, for C-type wastes and spent fuels, for B-type wastes, synthesis of the repository thermal load; 6 - flows and liquid solution and gas transfers: hydraulic behaviour of surrounding Jurassic formations (Tithonian, Kimmeridgian, Callovian, Oxfordian); 7 - chemical phenomena: chemical evolution of ventilated facilities (alveoles, galleries, boreholes), chemical evolution of B-type waste alveoles and of gallery and borehole sealing after closure, far field chemical evolution of Callovo-Oxfordian argilites and of other surrounding formations; 8 - mechanical evolution of the disposal and of the surrounding geologic environment: creation of an initial excavated damaged zone (EDZ), mechanical evolution of ventilated galleries, alveoles and sealing before and after closure, large-scale mechanical evolution; 9 - geodynamical evolution of the Callovo-Oxfordian and other surrounding formations and of the surface environment: internal

Placental vascular responses are dependent on surrounding tissue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brøgger, Torbjørn Halle

-depth understanding of the mechanism regulating blood flow and perfusion is necessary if we are to come up with new ideas for intervention and treatment. Method: From fresh born placentas stem villi arteries were carefully dissected. The artery branches were divided. The surrounding tissue was removed from one end...... and was left untouched in the other end. Then using wire myography they were investigated in terms of contractility and sensitivity to physiological relevant human-like agonists. Results: Sensitivity to PGF2α, Tx-analog, 5-HT and endothelin-1 was significantly lower in arteries with intact surrounding tissue...... compared to arteries stripped of the tissue. The maximal force development was also significantly lower in arteries with surrounding tissue, when they were depolarized high extracellular [K+] or stimulated with PGF2α or endotheline-1. Conclusion: The perivascular tissue significantly alters stem villi...

Placental vascular responses are dependent on surrounding tissue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brøgger, Torbjørn Halle

. Materials and methods. From fresh born placentas, stem villi arteries were carefully dissected. The artery branches were divided. The surrounding tissue was removed from one end and was left untouched in the other end.Then, using wire myography, they were investigated in terms of contractility...... and sensitivity to physiological relevant human-like agonists. Results. Sensitivity to PGF2α, Tx-analog, 5-HT and endothelin-1 was significantly lower in arteries with intact surrounding tissue compared to arteries stripped of the tissue. The maximal force development was also significantly lower in arteries...... with surrounding tissue when they were depolarized high extracellular [K+] or stimulated with PGF2α or endotheline-1. Conclusion. The perivascular tissue significantly alters stem villi arteries' sensitivity and force development in a suppressive way. This implicates a new aspect of blood flow regulation...

A synchronous surround increases the motion strength gain of motion.

Science.gov (United States)

Linares, Daniel; Nishida, Shin'ya

2013-11-12

Coherent motion detection is greatly enhanced by the synchronous presentation of a static surround (Linares, Motoyoshi, & Nishida, 2012). To further understand this contextual enhancement, here we measured the sensitivity to discriminate motion strength for several pedestal strengths with and without a surround. We found that the surround improved discrimination of low and medium motion strengths, but did not improve or even impaired discrimination of high motion strengths. We used motion strength discriminability to estimate the perceptual response function assuming additive noise and found that the surround increased the motion strength gain, rather than the response gain. Given that eye and body movements continuously introduce transients in the retinal image, it is possible that this strength gain occurs in natural vision.

Chemical Fouling Reduction of a Submersible Steel Spectrophotometer in Estuarine Environments Using a Sacrificial Zinc Anode.

Science.gov (United States)

Tait, Zachary S; Thompson, Megan; Stubbins, Aron

2015-07-01

The availability of in situ spectrophotometers, such as the S::CAN spectro::lyser, has expanded the possibilities for high-frequency water quality data collection. However, biological and chemical fouling can degrade the performance of in situ spectrophotometers, especially in saline environments with rapid flow rates. A complex freshwater washing system has been previously designed to reduce chemical fouling for the S::CAN spectro::lyser spectrophotometer. In the current study, we present a simpler, cheaper alternative: the attachment of a sacrificial zinc anode. Results are presented detailing the S::CAN spectro::lyser performance with and without the addition of the sacrificial anode. Attachment of the zinc anode provided efficient corrosion protection during 2-wk deployments in a highly dynamic (average tidal range, 2.5 m) saline tidal saltmarsh creek at Groves Creek, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, GA. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Effect-based tools for monitoring and predicting the ecotoxicological effects of chemicals in the aquatic environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Connon, Richard E; Geist, Juergen; Werner, Inge

2012-01-01

Ecotoxicology faces the challenge of assessing and predicting the effects of an increasing number of chemical stressors on aquatic species and ecosystems. Herein we review currently applied tools in ecological risk assessment, combining information on exposure with expected biological effects or environmental water quality standards; currently applied effect-based tools are presented based on whether exposure occurs in a controlled laboratory environment or in the field. With increasing ecological relevance the reproducibility, specificity and thus suitability for standardisation of methods tends to diminish. We discuss the use of biomarkers in ecotoxicology including ecotoxicogenomics-based endpoints, which are becoming increasingly important for the detection of sublethal effects. Carefully selected sets of biomarkers allow an assessment of exposure to and effects of toxic chemicals, as well as the health status of organisms and, when combined with chemical analysis, identification of toxicant(s). The promising concept of "adverse outcome pathways (AOP)" links mechanistic responses on the cellular level with whole organism, population, community and potentially ecosystem effects and services. For most toxic mechanisms, however, practical application of AOPs will require more information and the identification of key links between responses, as well as key indicators, at different levels of biological organization, ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services.

Effect-Based Tools for Monitoring and Predicting the Ecotoxicological Effects of Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard E. Connon

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Ecotoxicology faces the challenge of assessing and predicting the effects of an increasing number of chemical stressors on aquatic species and ecosystems. Herein we review currently applied tools in ecological risk assessment, combining information on exposure with expected biological effects or environmental water quality standards; currently applied effect-based tools are presented based on whether exposure occurs in a controlled laboratory environment or in the field. With increasing ecological relevance the reproducibility, specificity and thus suitability for standardisation of methods tends to diminish. We discuss the use of biomarkers in ecotoxicology including ecotoxicogenomics-based endpoints, which are becoming increasingly important for the detection of sublethal effects. Carefully selected sets of biomarkers allow an assessment of exposure to and effects of toxic chemicals, as well as the health status of organisms and, when combined with chemical analysis, identification of toxicant(s. The promising concept of “adverse outcome pathways (AOP” links mechanistic responses on the cellular level with whole organism, population, community and potentially ecosystem effects and services. For most toxic mechanisms, however, practical application of AOPs will require more information and the identification of key links between responses, as well as key indicators, at different levels of biological organization, ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services.

Evaluation of the 226Ra transport by rivers sediments surroundings the brazilian uraniums mining and milling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azevedo, H.L.; Amaral, E.C.S.; Godoy, J.M.

1989-01-01

A study of the 226 Ra contamination of the rivers sediments surroundings the Brazilian uranium mining and milling was carried out. The total and mondetrital 226 Ra concentrations was determined as well as some preliminary speciations measurements. It was not observed increments in the nondetrital fraction when comparing with the pre operational results. The values indicated that the soluble form could be the main path of 226 Ra transport. However the critical sampling point supplied to influence from the chemical processing effluent show increments tht indicate to be mainly due to the presence of 226 Ra bound with barium sulphate. (author) [pt

Human body micro-environment: The benefits of controlling airflow interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Melikov, Arsen Krikor

2015-01-01

This paper focuses on the micro-environment around a human body, and especially on its interaction with the surrounding environment. Research on the free convection flow generated by a human body (including the convective boundary layer around the body and the thermal plume above the body), its...

Cytoplasmic movement profiles of mouse surrounding nucleolus and not-surrounding nucleolus antral oocytes during meiotic resumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Bui, Thi Thu Hien; Belli, Martina; Fassina, Lorenzo; Vigone, Giulia; Merico, Valeria; Garagna, Silvia; Zuccotti, Maurizio

2017-05-01

Full-grown mouse antral oocytes are classified as surrounding nucleolus (SN) or not-surrounding nucleolus (NSN), depending on the respective presence or absence of a ring of Hoechst-positive chromatin surrounding the nucleolus. In culture, both types of oocytes resume meiosis and reach the metaphase II (MII) stage, but following insemination, NSN oocytes arrest at the two-cell stage whereas SN oocytes may develop to term. By coupling time-lapse bright-field microscopy with image analysis based on particle image velocimetry, we provide the first systematic measure of the changes to the cytoplasmic movement velocity (CMV) occurring during the germinal vesicle-to-MII (GV-to-MII) transition of these two types of oocytes. Compared to SN oocytes, NSN oocytes display a delayed GV-to-MII transition, which can be mostly explained by retarded germinal vesicle break down and first polar body extrusion. SN and NSN oocytes also exhibit significantly different CMV profiles at four main time-lapse intervals, although this difference was not predictive of SN or NSN oocyte origin because of the high variability in CMV. When CMV profile was analyzed through a trained artificial neural network, however, each single SN or NSN oocyte was blindly identified with a probability of 92.2% and 88.7%, respectively. Thus, the CMV profile recorded during meiotic resumption may be exploited as a cytological signature for the non-invasive assessment of the oocyte developmental potential, and could be informative for the analysis of the GV-to-MII transition of oocytes of other species. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Physical and Chemical Factors Affecting Contaminant Hydrology in Cold Environments

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Grant, Steven

2000-01-01

.... The chemical thermodynamics of geochemical solutions below 0 deg C is then reviewed. Particular attention is placed on the physical-chemical properties of ice and liquid water at subzero temperatures...

Model tool to describe chemical structures in XML format utilizing structural fragments and chemical ontology.

Science.gov (United States)

Sankar, Punnaivanam; Alain, Krief; Aghila, Gnanasekaran

2010-05-24

We have developed a model structure-editing tool, ChemEd, programmed in JAVA, which allows drawing chemical structures on a graphical user interface (GUI) by selecting appropriate structural fragments defined in a fragment library. The terms representing the structural fragments are organized in fragment ontology to provide a conceptual support. ChemEd describes the chemical structure in an XML document (ChemFul) with rich semantics explicitly encoding the details of the chemical bonding, the hybridization status, and the electron environment around each atom. The document can be further processed through suitable algorithms and with the support of external chemical ontologies to generate understandable reports about the functional groups present in the structure and their specific environment.

Estimation of Environment-Related Properties of Chemicals for Design of Sustainable Processes: Development of Group-Contribution+ (GC+) Property Models and Uncertainty Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

The aim of this work is to develop group-contribution+ (GC+) method (combined group-contribution (GC) method and atom connectivity index (CI) method) based property models to provide reliable estimations of environment-related properties of organic chemicals together with uncert...

Surrounding Moving Obstacle Detection for Autonomous Driving Using Stereo Vision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Sun

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Detection and tracking surrounding moving obstacles such as vehicles and pedestrians are crucial for the safety of mobile robotics and autonomous vehicles. This is especially the case in urban driving scenarios. This paper presents a novel framework for surrounding moving obstacles detection using binocular stereo vision. The contributions of our work are threefold. Firstly, a multiview feature matching scheme is presented for simultaneous stereo correspondence and motion correspondence searching. Secondly, the multiview geometry constraint derived from the relative camera positions in pairs of consecutive stereo views is exploited for surrounding moving obstacles detection. Thirdly, an adaptive particle filter is proposed for tracking of multiple moving obstacles in surrounding areas. Experimental results from real-world driving sequences demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed framework.

Increasing cocoa productivity and farmer capacity in surrounding area of PT Kaltim Prima Coal and PT Berau Coal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J.B.Baon

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Based on agro-climate factors, most of surrounding area of coal mining sites in Indonesia is suitable for cocoa cultivation. However, most of cocoa farmers in the environs of coal mining sites have little access both to new technology of cocoa cultivation and to market of their cocoa products. Therefore, productivity of cocoa farms and the income of cocoa farmers are low, which may disturb social responsibility of the coal mining companies present in their surroundings. These are the consequences of poor interaction between the government, private sector and research sector. The aim of this study is to transfer and to implement good agricultural practices of cocoa in surrounding area of mining sites of Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC and Berau Coal (BC, East Kalimantan, in order to increase farmer capacity and cocoa productivity. Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute as the developing agent of cocoa technology has established collaboration with corporate social responsibility program of KPC (already 7 years and BC (already 2 years to improve productivity and farmer capacity of cocoa farms surroundings the two cocoa mining companies. This paper discusses the aspects of natural, economic and human resources; baseline study; technology transfers; marketing partnership; cocoa productivity; farmer income after technology implementing; study of cocoa growth on post-coal-mining. It is concluded that improvement of the cocoa productivity and farmer capacity surroundings the two mining sites associated with high adoption of technology by farmers, better access to availability of knowledge for good agricultural practices, extension officers, demonstration plots, cocoa price, and length of market chains, partnership, and competition with oil palm plantations.

Personal Chemical Exposure informatics

Science.gov (United States)

Chemical Exposure science is the study of human contact with chemicals (from manufacturing facilities, everyday products, waste) occurring in their environments and advances knowledge of the mechanisms and dynamics of events that cause or prevent adverse health outcomes. (adapted...

Availability of limited service food outlets surrounding schools in British Columbia.

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Jennifer L; Day, Meghan

2012-06-05

The purpose of this study was to provide a descriptive profile of the availability of limited service food outlets surrounding public schools in British Columbia, Canada. Data from the 2010 Canadian Business Data Files were used to identify limited service food outlets including fast food outlets, beverage and snack food stores, delis and convenience stores. The number of food outlets within 800 metres of 1,392 public schools and the distance from schools to the nearest food outlets were assessed. Multivariate regression models examined the associations between food outlet availability and school-level characteristics. In 2010, over half of the public schools in BC (54%) were located within a 10-12 minute walk from at least one limited service food outlet. The median closest distance to a food outlet was just over 1 km (1016 m). Schools comprised of students living in densely populated urban neighbourhoods and neighbourhoods characterized by lower socio-economic status were more likely to have access to limited service food outlets within walking distance. After adjusting for school-level median family income and population density, larger schools had higher odds of exposure to food vendors compared to schools with fewer students. The availability of and proximity to limited service food outlets vary widely across schools in British Columbia and school-level characteristics are significantly associated with food outlet availability. Additional research is needed to understand how food environment exposures inside and surrounding schools impact students' attitudes, food choices and dietary quality.

Social environment has a primary influence on the microbial and odor profiles of a chemically signaling songbird

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danielle June Whittaker

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Chemical signaling is an underappreciated means of communication among birds, as may be the potential contributions of symbiotic microbes to animal chemical communication in general. The dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis produces and detects volatile compounds that may be important in reproductive behavior. These compounds are found in preen oil secreted by the uropygial gland, and this gland supports diverse bacterial communities including genera known to produce some of these volatile compounds. We investigated the relative contributions of shared environments and genetic relatedness in shaping juncos’ symbiotic bacterial communities, and investigated whether these bacterial communities underlie juncos’ chemical signaling behavior. We sampled parents and nestlings at 9 junco nests during one breeding season at Mountain Lake Biological Station in Virginia, USA. From each individual, we collected swabs of the uropygial gland and the cloaca, preen oil, and a small blood sample for paternity testing. We characterized junco bacterial communities through 16S rRNA gene surveys and preen oil volatile compounds via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Nest membership and age class had the strongest influence on the structure of bacterial and volatile profiles. We compared father-offspring similarity based on paternity, and nestling similarity in nests containing full siblings and half siblings, and found that relatedness did not noticeably affect bacterial or volatile profiles. While we cannot rule out an influence of genetic relatedness on these profiles, it is clear that shared environments are more influential in shaping bacterial and volatile profiles among juncos.We did not find significant covariation between individual bacterial and volatile profiles. Possible explanations for this result include: 1 bacteria do not underlie volatile production; 2 ample redundancy in volatile production among bacterial types obscures covariation; or 3 the

Carbon-Nanotube-Based Chemical Gas Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Kaul, Arunpama B.

2010-01-01

Conventional thermal conductivity gauges (e.g. Pirani gauges) lend themselves to applications such as leak detectors, or in gas chromatographs for identifying various gas species. However, these conventional gauges are physically large, operate at high power, and have a slow response time. A single-walled carbon-nanotube (SWNT)-based chemical sensing gauge relies on differences in thermal conductance of the respective gases surrounding the CNT as it is voltage-biased, as a means for chemical identification. Such a sensor provides benefits of significantly reduced size and compactness, fast response time, low-power operation, and inexpensive manufacturing since it can be batch-fabricated using Si integrated-circuit (IC) process technology.

Detained and Dying: Ethical Issues Surrounding End-of-Life Care in Prison.

Science.gov (United States)

Stensland, Meredith; Sanders, Sara

2016-01-01

Prisons are increasingly being called upon to provide end-of-life (EOL) care within the restrictive correctional environment. Several relatively recent phenomena have brought medical ethics to the forefront of prison EOL care-including aging behind bars, a paradigm shift in prison culture, the increasing rate of in-prison deaths, and the corresponding prison hospice movement. This article examines prominent ethical issues that emerge for prison personnel who are tasked with providing care to terminally ill offenders by presenting three offender composite characters that exemplify dying offenders and emergent ethical issues surrounding their care. Identification and critical analysis of these ethical issues demonstrate the need for strong commitment to ethical practice and highlights specific issues for prisons to examine in their own EOL care practice.

Hurricane Harvey, Houston's Petrochemical Industry, and US Chemical Safety Policy: Impacts to Environmental Justice Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Goldman, G. T.; Johnson, C.; Gutierrez, A.; Declet-Barreto, J.; Berman, E.; Bergman, A.

2017-12-01

When Hurricane Harvey made landfall outside Houston, Texas, the storm's wind speeds and unprecedented precipitation caused significant damage to the region's petrochemical infrastructure. Most notably, the company Arkema's Crosby facility suffered a power failure that led to explosions and incineration of six of its peroxide tanks. Chemicals released into the air from the explosions sent 15 emergency responders to the hospital with severe respiratory conditions and led to the evacuation of hundreds of surrounding households. Other petrochemical facilities faced other damages that resulted in unsafe and acute chemical releases into the air and water. What impacts did such chemical disasters have on the surrounding communities and emergency responders during Harvey's aftermath? What steps might companies have taken to prevent such chemical releases? And what chemical safety policies might have ensured that such disaster risks were mitigated? In this talk we will report on a survey of the extent of damage to Houston's oil and gas infrastructure and related chemical releases and discuss the role of federal chemical safety policy in preventing and mitigating the potential for such risks for future storms and other extreme weather and climate events. We will also discuss how these chemical disasters created acute toxics exposures on environmental justice communities already overburdened with chronic exposures from the petrochemical industry.

Influence of Surrounding Colors in the Illuminant-Color Mode on Color Constancy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazuho Fukuda

2011-05-01

Full Text Available On color constancy, we showed that brighter surrounding colors had greater influence than dim colors (Uchikawa, Kitazawa, MacLeod, Fukuda, 2010 APCV. Increasing luminance of a stimulus causes the change in appearance from the surface-color to the illuminant-color mode. However it is unknown whether the visual system considers such color appearance mode of surrounding colors to achieve color constancy. We investigated the influence of surrounding colors that appeared illuminant on color constancy. The stimulus was composed of a central test stimulus and surrounding six colors: bright and dim red, green and blue. The observers adjusted the chromaticity of the test stimulus to be appeared as an achromatic surface. The luminance balance of three bright surrounding colors was equalized with that of the optimal colors in three illuminant conditions, then, the luminance of one of the three bright colors was varied in the range beyond the critical luminance of color appearance mode transition. The results showed that increasing luminance of a bright surrounding color shifted the observers' achromatic setting toward its chromaticity, but this effect diminished for the surrounding color in the illuminant-color mode. These results suggest that the visual system considers color appearance mode of surrounding colors to accomplish color constancy.

P1-13: Color Induction from Surround Color under Interocular Suppression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ichiro Kuriki

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The effect of surround colors on color appearance is known to subserve color constancy in humans, but how multiple mechanisms in the visual system are involved in this effect is controversial. We used an interocular-suppression technique to examine how the effect occurs at the level higher than the interaction of binocular information. A test color chip (1.7 × 1.7 deg visual angle was presented in a static surround either with continuous-flash suppression in the dominant eye (CFS condition to make the surround inperceptible or without the suppression (no-CFS condition. The surround stimulus was either a Mondrian or a uniform field of the same mean chromaticity. Stimuli were simulated OSA color chips under red, white (D65, or green illuminant color and were presented on a CRT display. Unique yellows were measured by asking the subjects to judge whether the test stimulus appeared reddish or greenish. Two sizes of the surround stimuli (widths of 1 deg and 4 deg were used. Results showed significant shifts in unique yellow even under the CFS conditions, except for the 1 deg uniform-surround condition. Under the no-CFS condition, the shifts showed remarkable difference between subjects, except for the 4 deg Mondrian-surround condition. Interestingly, trends of the shifts showed high consistency within each subject, across conditions. These results indicate that mechanisms at both higher and lower levels than the neuronal site of interocular suppression are involved, and that the color shifts follow each subject's strategy in the higher-order mechanisms when only insufficient clues are available in the surround to estimate illuminant color.

Retrospective biomonitoring of chemical contamination in the marine coastal environment of Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica) by environmental specimen banking.

Science.gov (United States)

Grotti, Marco; Pizzini, Sarah; Abelmoschi, Maria Luisa; Cozzi, Giulio; Piazza, Rossano; Soggia, Francesco

2016-12-01

Antarctica offers a good opportunity to investigate planetary-scale pollution and climate change, and provides baseline values for contaminants such as Trace Elements (TEs) and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Literature data on contaminant levels in the Antarctic environment indicate that long-range atmospheric transport is the primary pathway by which pollutants from surrounding continents are carried to this pristine environment. However, local contamination sources represented by the scientific stations are also not negligible. Climate change and global warming are altering the global budget of anthropogenic contaminants and their monitoring in Antarctica ecosystems is very important to protect the global environment. In this work, eighty specimens of Adamussium colbecki (Smith, 1902), a benthic Antarctic scallop, collected from 1996 to 2009 and stored in the Antarctic Environmental Specimen Bank, were analyzed to quantify TEs and POPs, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Metals concentrations were not affected by anthropogenic contributions, highlighting a natural accumulation with the age of the organism. Similarly, no temporal trend was found for PCNs, PCBs and PAHs. However, specimens collected during the summer 1997-98 showed enhanced concentration levels of PCBs and PAHs that could refer to a local anthropogenic source of contamination. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Confronting, Confirming, and Dispelling Myths Surrounding ERP-in-the-Cloud

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beaulieu, Tanya; C. Martin, Todd; Sarker, Saonee

2015-01-01

on the topic, there is substantial uncertainty surrounding the benefits and challenges of ERP cloud computing. Consequently, as often is the case with new technologies, popular myths surrounding the technology are used to make adoption and implementation decisions. As a first step toward providing an informed...... with stakeholders related to an ERP cloud-based solution. Our results dispel some of the myths, while supporting others, and highlight how ERP vendors work around the different types of challenges surrounding this technology. Our study also helps understand the benefits of ERP cloud computing, and informs about how...

Groundwater quality in Taiz City and surrounding area, Yemen Republic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metwali, R.

2002-01-01

Fifty one water samples were collected from production wells used for human consumption from Taiz City and its surroundings, Yemen Republic. The water quality was investigated with respect to bacteriological and physico-chemical parameters. The achieved results revealed that most water samples, especially from private wells, contain a high number of total coliforms (TC) which exceed the permissible limit recommended by the World Health Organization, WHO (1996). Also faecal coliforms (FC) were recorded in the majority of polluted samples. A quantitative estimation was done for each of temperature (18-26C), pH (6.12-8.79), total hardness (58-2200 mg/L), electrical conductivity (218-4600 m.Mohs), total dissolved solids (117-3700mg/L), nitrate (10-187mg/L) and type of aquifer (rocky and alluvium). It is worthy to notice that from the total of fifty-one wells, there was pollution in (65%) of them. Recommendations were suggested for the treatment of the water of such polluted wells and rigid government control in a trial to prevent human and animal illness. (author)

A nebula of gases from Io surrounding Jupiter.

Science.gov (United States)

Krimigis, Stamatios M; Mitchell, Donald G; Hamilton, Douglas C; Dandouras, Jannis; Armstrong, Thomas P; Bolton, Scott J; Cheng, Andrew F; Gloeckler, George; Hsieh, K C; Keath, Edwin P; Krupp, Norbert; Lagg, Andreas; Lanzerotti, Louis J; Livi, Stefano; Mauk, Barry H; McEntire, Richard W; Roelof, Edmond C; Wilken, Berend; Williams, Donald J

2002-02-28

Several planetary missions have reported the presence of substantial numbers of energetic ions and electrons surrounding Jupiter; relativistic electrons are observable up to several astronomical units (au) from the planet. A population of energetic (>30[?]keV) neutral particles also has been reported, but the instrumentation was not able to determine the mass or charge state of the particles, which were subsequently labelled energetic neutral atoms. Although images showing the presence of the trace element sodium were obtained, the source and identity of the neutral atoms---and their overall significance relative to the loss of charged particles from Jupiter's magnetosphere---were unknown. Here we report the discovery by the Cassini spacecraft of a fast (>103[?]km[?]s-1) and hot magnetospheric neutral wind extending more than 0.5[?]au from Jupiter, and the presence of energetic neutral atoms (both hot and cold) that have been accelerated by the electric field in the solar wind. We suggest that these atoms originate in volcanic gases from Io, undergo significant evolution through various electromagnetic interactions, escape Jupiter's magnetosphere and then populate the environment around the planet. Thus a 'nebula' is created that extends outwards over hundreds of jovian radii.

Human dynamics and forest management: a baseline assessment of the socioeconomic characteristics of the region surrounding the El Yunque National Forest

Science.gov (United States)

Kathleen McGinley

2016-01-01

In this paper, I examine the socioeconomic dynamics and human–environment interactions in the region surrounding the El Yunque National Forest (EYNF) in northeastern Puerto Rico and their implications for policy development and sustainable resource use. As part of a larger, comprehensive assessment of the conditions and trends of the EYNF and broader region, I...

Influence of pyrolysis temperature on lead immobilization by chemically modified coconut fiber-derived biochars in aqueous environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Weidong; Li, Jianhong; Niazi, Nabeel Khan; Müller, Karin; Chu, Yingchao; Zhang, Lingling; Yuan, Guodong; Lu, Kouping; Song, Zhaoliang; Wang, Hailong

2016-11-01

Biochar has received widespread attention as an eco-friendly and efficient material for immobilization of toxic heavy metals in aqueous environments. In the present study, three types of coconut fiber-derived biochars were obtained by pyrolyzing at three temperatures, i.e., 300, 500, and 700 °C. In addition, nine types of biochars were prepared by chemical modification with ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, and nitric acid, respectively, which were used to investigate changes in physico-chemical properties by inter alia, Fourier transformation infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and BET specific surface area analysis. Batch sorption experiments were carried out to determine the sorption capacity of the biochars for lead (Pb) in aqueous solutions. Results showed that the cation exchange capacity of biochar pyrolyzed at 300 °C and modified with nitric acid increased threefold compared to the control. Loosely corrugated carbon surface and uneven carbon surface of the biochar pyrolyzed at 300 °C were produced during ammonia and nitric acid modifications. Removal rate of Pb by the coconut biochar pyrolyzed at 300 °C and modified with ammonia was increased from 71.8 to 99.6 % compared to the untreated biochar in aqueous solutions containing 100 mg L -1 Pb. However, chemical modification did not enhance adsorption of Pb of the biochars pyrolyzed at higher temperatures (e.g., 500 or 700 °C), indicating that resistance of biochars to chemical treatment increased with pyrolysis temperature.

Modeling of non-additive mixture properties using the Online CHEmical database and Modeling environment (OCHEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oprisiu Ioana

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract The Online Chemical Modeling Environment (OCHEM, http://ochem.eu is a web-based platform that provides tools for automation of typical steps necessary to create a predictive QSAR/QSPR model. The platform consists of two major subsystems: a database of experimental measurements and a modeling framework. So far, OCHEM has been limited to the processing of individual compounds. In this work, we extended OCHEM with a new ability to store and model properties of binary non-additive mixtures. The developed system is publicly accessible, meaning that any user on the Web can store new data for binary mixtures and develop models to predict their non-additive properties. The database already contains almost 10,000 data points for the density, bubble point, and azeotropic behavior of binary mixtures. For these data, we developed models for both qualitative (azeotrope/zeotrope and quantitative endpoints (density and bubble points using different learning methods and specially developed descriptors for mixtures. The prediction performance of the models was similar to or more accurate than results reported in previous studies. Thus, we have developed and made publicly available a powerful system for modeling mixtures of chemical compounds on the Web.

Toward refined environmental scenarios for ecological risk assessment of down-the-drain chemicals in freshwater environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Franco, Antonio; Price, Oliver R; Marshall, Stuart; Jolliet, Olivier; Van den Brink, Paul J; Rico, Andreu; Focks, Andreas; De Laender, Frederik; Ashauer, Roman

2017-03-01

Current regulatory practice for chemical risk assessment suffers from the lack of realism in conventional frameworks. Despite significant advances in exposure and ecological effect modeling, the implementation of novel approaches as high-tier options for prospective regulatory risk assessment remains limited, particularly among general chemicals such as down-the-drain ingredients. While reviewing the current state of the art in environmental exposure and ecological effect modeling, we propose a scenario-based framework that enables a better integration of exposure and effect assessments in a tiered approach. Global- to catchment-scale spatially explicit exposure models can be used to identify areas of higher exposure and to generate ecologically relevant exposure information for input into effect models. Numerous examples of mechanistic ecological effect models demonstrate that it is technically feasible to extrapolate from individual-level effects to effects at higher levels of biological organization and from laboratory to environmental conditions. However, the data required to parameterize effect models that can embrace the complexity of ecosystems are large and require a targeted approach. Experimental efforts should, therefore, focus on vulnerable species and/or traits and ecological conditions of relevance. We outline key research needs to address the challenges that currently hinder the practical application of advanced model-based approaches to risk assessment of down-the-drain chemicals. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:233-248. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

Ecological mechanisms linking protected areas to surrounding lands.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Andrew J; DeFries, Ruth

2007-06-01

Land use is expanding and intensifying in the unprotected lands surrounding many of the world's protected areas. The influence of this land use change on ecological processes is poorly understood. The goal of this paper is to draw on ecological theory to provide a synthetic framework for understanding how land use change around protected areas may alter ecological processes and biodiversity within protected areas and to provide a basis for identifying scientifically based management alternatives. We first present a conceptual model of protected areas embedded within larger ecosystems that often include surrounding human land use. Drawing on case studies in this Invited Feature, we then explore a comprehensive set of ecological mechanisms by which land use on surrounding lands may influence ecological processes and biodiversity within reserves. These mechanisms involve changes in ecosystem size, with implications for minimum dynamic area, species-area effect, and trophic structure; altered flows of materials and disturbances into and out of reserves; effects on crucial habitats for seasonal and migration movements and population source/sink dynamics; and exposure to humans through hunting, poaching, exotics species, and disease. These ecological mechanisms provide a basis for assessing the vulnerability of protected areas to land use. They also suggest criteria for designing regional management to sustain protected areas in the context of surrounding human land use. These design criteria include maximizing the area of functional habitats, identifying and maintaining ecological process zones, maintaining key migration and source habitats, and managing human proximity and edge effects.

The nature of surround-induced depolarizing responses in goldfish cones

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kraaij, D. A.; Spekreijse, H.; Kamermans, M.

2000-01-01

Cones in the vertebrate retina project to horizontal and bipolar cells and the horizontal cells feedback negatively to cones. This organization forms the basis for the center/surround organization of the bipolar cells, a fundamental step in the visual signal processing. Although the surround

Investigation of the readout electronics of DELPHI surround muon chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khovanskij, N.; Krumshtejn, Z.; Ol'shevskij, A.; Sadovskij, A.; Sedykh, Yu.; Molnar, J.; Sicho, P.; Tomsa, Z.

1995-01-01

The characteristics of the readout electronics of the DELPHI surround muon chambers with various AMPLEX chips (AMPLEX 16 and AMPLEX-SICAL) are presented. This electronics is studied in a cosmic rays test of the real surround muon chamber model. 4 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab

Coupled sensor/platform control design for low-level chemical detection with position-adaptive micro-UAVs

Science.gov (United States)

Goodwin, Thomas; Carr, Ryan; Mitra, Atindra K.; Selmic, Rastko R.

2009-05-01

We discuss the development of Position-Adaptive Sensors [1] for purposes for detecting embedded chemical substances in challenging environments. This concept is a generalization of patented Position-Adaptive Radar Concepts developed at AFRL for challenging conditions such as urban environments. For purposes of investigating the detection of chemical substances using multiple MAV (Micro-UAV) platforms, we have designed and implemented an experimental testbed with sample structures such as wooden carts that contain controlled leakage points. Under this general concept, some of the members of a MAV swarm can serve as external position-adaptive "transmitters" by blowing air over the cart and some of the members of a MAV swarm can serve as external position-adaptive "receivers" that are equipped with chemical or biological (chem/bio) sensors that function as "electronic noses". The objective can be defined as improving the particle count of chem/bio concentrations that impinge on a MAV-based position-adaptive sensor that surrounds a chemical repository, such as a cart, via the development of intelligent position-adaptive control algorithms. The overall effect is to improve the detection and false-alarm statistics of the overall system. Within the major sections of this paper, we discuss a number of different aspects of developing our initial MAV-Based Sensor Testbed. This testbed includes blowers to simulate position-adaptive excitations and a MAV from Draganfly Innovations Inc. with stable design modifications to accommodate our chem/bio sensor boom design. We include details with respect to several critical phases of the development effort including development of the wireless sensor network and experimental apparatus, development of the stable sensor boom for the MAV, integration of chem/bio sensors and sensor node onto the MAV and boom, development of position-adaptive control algorithms and initial tests at IDCAST (Institute for the Development and

Chemical carcinogens

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Searle, Charles E

1976-01-01

Cancer causing agents are now known to exist throughout the environment-in polluted air and tobacco smoke, in various plants and foods, and in many chemicals that are used in industry and laboratories...

Trace Elements Speciation of Submicron Particulate Matter (PM1) Collected in the Surroundings of Power Plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Zajusz-Zubek, Elwira; Kaczmarek, Konrad; Mainka, Anna

2015-10-16

This study reports the concentrations of PM1 trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb and Se) content in highly mobile (F1), mobile (F2), less mobile (F3) and not mobile (F4) fractions in samples that were collected in the surroundings of power plants in southern Poland. It also reports source identification by enrichment factors (EF) and a principal component analysis (PCA). There is limited availability of scientific data concerning the chemical composition of dust, including fractionation analyses of trace elements, in the surroundings of power plants. The present study offers important results in order to fill this data gap. The data collected in this study can be utilized to validate air quality models in this rapidly developing area. They are also crucial for comparisons with datasets from similar areas all over the world. Moreover, the identification of the bioavailability of selected carcinogenic and toxic elements in the future might be used as output data for potential biological and population research on risk assessment. This is important in the context of air pollution being hazardous to human health.

Trace Elements Speciation of Submicron Particulate Matter (PM1 Collected in the Surroundings of Power Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elwira Zajusz-Zubek

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This study reports the concentrations of PM1 trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb and Se content in highly mobile (F1, mobile (F2, less mobile (F3 and not mobile (F4 fractions in samples that were collected in the surroundings of power plants in southern Poland. It also reports source identification by enrichment factors (EF and a principal component analysis (PCA. There is limited availability of scientific data concerning the chemical composition of dust, including fractionation analyses of trace elements, in the surroundings of power plants. The present study offers important results in order to fill this data gap. The data collected in this study can be utilized to validate air quality models in this rapidly developing area. They are also crucial for comparisons with datasets from similar areas all over the world. Moreover, the identification of the bioavailability of selected carcinogenic and toxic elements in the future might be used as output data for potential biological and population research on risk assessment. This is important in the context of air pollution being hazardous to human health.

Social context influences chemical communication in D. melanogaster males.

Science.gov (United States)

Kent, Clement; Azanchi, Reza; Smith, Ben; Formosa, Amanda; Levine, Joel D

2008-09-23

Chemical communication mediates social interactions in insects. For the fruit fly, D. melanogaster, the chemical display is a key fitness trait because it leads to mating. An exchange of cues that resembles a dialogue between males and females is enacted by pheromones, chemical signals that pass between individual flies to alter physiology and behavior. Chemical signals also affect the timing of locomotor activity and sleep. We investigated genetic and environmental determinants of chemical communication. To evaluate the role of the social environment, we extracted a chemical blend from individual males selected from groups composed of one genotype and compared these extracts to those from groups of mixed genotypes. To evaluate the role of the physical environment, these comparisons were performed under a light-dark cycle or in constant darkness. Here, we show that chemical signaling is affected by the social environment, light-dark cycle, and genotype as well as the complex interplay of these variables. Gene-by-environment interactions produce highly significant effects on chemical signaling. We also examined individual responses within the groups. Strikingly, the response of one wild-type fly to another is modulated by the genotypic composition of his neighbors. Chemical signaling in D. melanogaster may be a "fickle" trait that depends on the individual's social background.

A review of reaction rates and thermodynamic and transport properties for an 11-species air model for chemical and thermal nonequilibrium calculations to 30000 K

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Roop N.; Yos, Jerrold M.; Thompson, Richard A.; Lee, Kam-Pui

1990-01-01

Reaction rate coefficients and thermodynamic and transport properties are reviewed and supplemented for the 11-species air model which can be used for analyzing flows in chemical and thermal nonequilibrium up to temperatures of 3000 K. Such flows will likely occur around currently planned and future hypersonic vehicles. Guidelines for determining the state of the surrounding environment are provided. Curve fits are given for the various species properties for their efficient computation in flowfield codes. Approximate and more exact formulas are provided for computing the properties of partially ionized air mixtures in a high energy environment. Limitations of the approximate mixing laws are discussed for a mixture of ionized species. An electron number-density correction for the transport properties of the charged species is obtained. This correction has been generally ignored in the literature.

Nanomotor dynamics in a chemically oscillating medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robertson, Bryan, E-mail: bryan.robertson@mail.utoronto.ca; Kapral, Raymond, E-mail: rkapral@chem.utoronto.ca [Chemical Physics Theory Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6 (Canada)

2015-04-21

Synthetic nanomotors powered by chemical reactions have potential uses as cargo transport vehicles in both in vivo and in vitro applications. In many situations, motors will have to operate in out-of-equilibrium complex chemically reacting media, which supply fuel to the motors and remove the products they produce. Using molecular simulation and mean-field theory, this paper describes some of the new features that arise when a chemically powered nanomotor, operating through a diffusiophoretic mechanism, moves in an environment that supports an oscillatory chemical reaction network. It is shown how oscillations in the concentrations in chemical species in the environment give rise to oscillatory motor dynamics. More importantly, since the catalytic reactions on the motor that are responsible for its propulsion couple to the bulk phase reaction network, the motor can change its local environment. This process can give rise to distinctive spatiotemporal structures in reaction-diffusion media that occur as a result of active motor motion. Such locally induced nonequilibrium structure will play an important role in applications that involve motor dynamics in complex chemical media.

Nanomotor dynamics in a chemically oscillating medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robertson, Bryan; Kapral, Raymond

2015-01-01

Synthetic nanomotors powered by chemical reactions have potential uses as cargo transport vehicles in both in vivo and in vitro applications. In many situations, motors will have to operate in out-of-equilibrium complex chemically reacting media, which supply fuel to the motors and remove the products they produce. Using molecular simulation and mean-field theory, this paper describes some of the new features that arise when a chemically powered nanomotor, operating through a diffusiophoretic mechanism, moves in an environment that supports an oscillatory chemical reaction network. It is shown how oscillations in the concentrations in chemical species in the environment give rise to oscillatory motor dynamics. More importantly, since the catalytic reactions on the motor that are responsible for its propulsion couple to the bulk phase reaction network, the motor can change its local environment. This process can give rise to distinctive spatiotemporal structures in reaction-diffusion media that occur as a result of active motor motion. Such locally induced nonequilibrium structure will play an important role in applications that involve motor dynamics in complex chemical media

Organic chemicals in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, T.A.; Beauchamp, J.J.; Walton, B.T.

1991-01-01

Disappearance of 15 volatile and semivolatile organic compounds was determined in a mixture added to two different soil types using experimental procedures to distinguish abiotic losses from biological degradation over a 7-d period. Losses due to volatilization were quantified and mass balances were calculated for each compound. The compounds (methyl ethyl ketone; tetrahydrofuran; chlorobenzene; benzene; chloroform; carbon tetrachloride; p-xylene; 1,2-dichlorobenzene; cis-1,4-dich-loro-2-butene; 1,2,3-trichloropropane; 2-chloronaphthalene; ethylene dibromide; hexachlorobenzene; nitrobenzene; and toluene) were applied to the soil in a mixture such that the concentration of each chemical was 100 mg/kg soil (dry wt.). Apparent half-lives for the 15 organic compounds ranged from 14 C-toluene, were unsuccessful. Nonreversible sorption and preanalysis storage conditions were considered as contributors to this inability to achieve a mass balance. On the basis of these results, the authors strongly advise positive accounting for all test compounds and degradation products at the conclusion of studies involving volatile and semivolatile compounds

Survey of Radiological and Chemical Contaminants in the Near-Shore Environment at the Hanford Site 300 Area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patton, Gregory W.; Van Verst, Scott P.; Tiller, Brett L.; Antonio, Ernest J.; Poston, Ted M.

2003-01-01

This updates the original report by correcting some errors and adding new information. This assessment of the 300 Area was completed to identify any contamination present and determine if it could present a risk to humans and plant and animal life. The assessment characterized the radiological and chemical conditions existing in the near-shore environment of the Columbia River at the 300 Area by collecting water, biota, and sediment samples and measuring radiation levels during a time when the effects of riverbank spring discharges and groundwater upwelling into the river was likely to be present

[The 'healing environment' and the fate of autonomous art in hospitals].

Science.gov (United States)

Brands, Faye E M; Witte, Arnold A

2013-01-01

Attention to the role of art within healthcare is on the rise. Dutch hospitals are increasingly embracing the concept of the 'healing environment', which aims to create agreeable hospital surroundings for the well-being of employees and patients. The concept is being interpreted in diverse ways; irrespective of the specific outcome of this interpretation, the healing environment does have consequences for the healthcare facilities' policies related to art. Research at a few Dutch hospitals has revealed that the more stringently the guidelines on the healing environment are followed, the more emphasis is placed on the medical-functional approach to art and the lesser attention is paid to the intrinsic value of art. Hospitals that reject the concept of the healing environment, however, also clearly demonstrate defining art in terms of making the surroundings agreeable to the patient. The healing environment therefore cannot serve as a new legitimation of autonomous artworks in existing hospital collections, but it is congruent with the recent attention given to the societal role of art.

The potential for chemical mixtures from the environment to enable the cancer hallmark of sustained proliferative signalling.

Science.gov (United States)

Engström, Wilhelm; Darbre, Philippa; Eriksson, Staffan; Gulliver, Linda; Hultman, Tove; Karamouzis, Michalis V; Klaunig, James E; Mehta, Rekha; Moorwood, Kim; Sanderson, Thomas; Sone, Hideko; Vadgama, Pankaj; Wagemaker, Gerard; Ward, Andrew; Singh, Neetu; Al-Mulla, Fahd; Al-Temaimi, Rabeah; Amedei, Amedeo; Colacci, Anna Maria; Vaccari, Monica; Mondello, Chiara; Scovassi, A Ivana; Raju, Jayadev; Hamid, Roslida A; Memeo, Lorenzo; Forte, Stefano; Roy, Rabindra; Woodrick, Jordan; Salem, Hosni K; Ryan, Elizabeth P; Brown, Dustin G; Bisson, William H

2015-06-01

The aim of this work is to review current knowledge relating the established cancer hallmark, sustained cell proliferation to the existence of chemicals present as low dose mixtures in the environment. Normal cell proliferation is under tight control, i.e. cells respond to a signal to proliferate, and although most cells continue to proliferate into adult life, the multiplication ceases once the stimulatory signal disappears or if the cells are exposed to growth inhibitory signals. Under such circumstances, normal cells remain quiescent until they are stimulated to resume further proliferation. In contrast, tumour cells are unable to halt proliferation, either when subjected to growth inhibitory signals or in the absence of growth stimulatory signals. Environmental chemicals with carcinogenic potential may cause sustained cell proliferation by interfering with some cell proliferation control mechanisms committing cells to an indefinite proliferative span. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Genes versus environment: geography and phylogenetic relationships shape the chemical profiles of stingless bees on a global scale

Science.gov (United States)

Leonhardt, Sara D.; Rasmussen, Claus; Schmitt, Thomas

2013-01-01

Chemical compounds are highly important in the ecology of animals. In social insects, compounds on the body surface represent a particularly interesting trait, because they comprise different compound classes that are involved in different functions, such as communication, recognition and protection, all of which can be differentially affected by evolutionary processes. Here, we investigate the widely unknown and possibly antagonistic influence of phylogenetic and environmental factors on the composition of the cuticular chemistry of tropical stingless bees. We chose stingless bees because some species are unique in expressing not only self-produced compounds, but also compounds that are taken up from the environment. By relating the cuticular chemistry of 40 bee species from all over the world to their molecular phylogeny and geographical occurrence, we found that distribution patterns of different groups of compounds were differentially affected by genetic relatedness and biogeography. The ability to acquire environmental compounds was, for example, highly correlated with the bees' phylogeny and predominated in evolutionarily derived species. Owing to the presence of environmentally derived compounds, those species further expressed a higher chemical and thus functional diversity. In Old World species, chemical similarity of both environmentally derived and self-produced compounds was particularly high among sympatric species, even when they were less related to each other than to allopatric species, revealing a strong environmental effect even on largely genetically determined compounds. Thus, our findings do not only reveal an unexpectedly strong influence of the environment on the cuticular chemistry of stingless bees, but also demonstrate that even within one morphological trait (an insect's cuticular profile), different components (compound classes) can be differentially affected by different drivers (relatedness and biogeography), depending on the

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the samples of environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Velkova, V.; Vybohova, E.; Bubenikova, T.

2006-01-01

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pAHs) represent one group of toxic organic substances in the environment. We determined PAHs in the samples of water and river sediments from river Zolna, in the samples of soils and plants from surrounding of Zolna. The river Zolna flows directly through word-processing factory area. The impregnation division together with associated impregnated materials store is considered the most important source of PAH contamination in the surrounding area. We analysed the 16 compounds (PAHs) by List of the priority pollutants by EPA by the HPLC method. (authors)

Physical environment and job satisfaction in a community mental health center.

Science.gov (United States)

Folkins, C; O'Reilly, C; Roberts, K; Miller, S

1977-01-01

Relocation of professional staff in a community mental health center provided a setting in which to evaluate the effects of physical environment on job satisfaction. Two mental health teams moved from an old, drab central clinic building to new satellite clinics while a third team remained in the old building. Relocated staff reported significant increase in satisfaction with physical surroundings as compared to staff that did not move. Furthermore, satisfaction with physical surroundings had some impact on overall satisfaction ratings. Physical surroundings in a community mental health center may be a mediating variable for staff morale and effectiveness.

Religion's relationship with social boundaries surrounding gender ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Religion's relationship with social boundaries surrounding gender. ... is associated with segregation, marginalization and differentiation between men and women. ... are necessary in the society it should not be mistaken for gender inequality.

Calcination of Rod-like Hydroxyapatite Nanocrystals with an Anti-sintering Agent Surrounding the Crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okada, M.; Furuzono, T.

2007-01-01

Sintering-free nanocrystals of calcined hydroxyapatite (HAp) having a rod-like morphology were fabricated by calcination at 800 deg. C for 1 h with an anti-sintering agent surrounding original HAp particles and the agent was subsequently removed after calcination. The original HAp particles having a rod-like morphology with a size ranging from 30 to 80 nm (short axis) and 300 to 500 nm (long axis) were prepared by wet chemical process, and poly(acrylic acid, calcium salt) (PAA-Ca) was used as the anti-sintering agent. In the case of calcination without additives, the mean size of HAp crystals dispersed in an ethanol medium increased by about 4 times and the specific surface area of the crystals exhibited a 25% decrease compared to those of the original HAp particles because of calcination-induced sintering among the crystals. On the other hand, the HAp crystals calcined with the anti-sintering agent, PAA-Ca, could be dispersed in an ethanol medium at the same size as the original particles, and they preserved the specific surface area after calcination. These results indicate that PAA-Ca and/or its thermally decomposed product, CaO, surrounded the HAp particles and protected them against calcination-induced sintering during calcination. The HAp crystals calcined with PAA-Ca showed high crystallinity, and no other calcium phosphate phases could be detected after washing with water

[Fleas on small mammals in the surrounding area of Erhai Lake].

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Wen-Ge; Guo, Xian-Guo; Men, Xing-Yuan; Gong, Zheng-Da; Wu, Dian; Zhang, Zheng-Kun; Zhang, Li-Yun

2009-12-01

To investigate the distribution pattern, species diversity and community structure of fleas on small mammals in the surrounding area of Erhai Lake, and the relationship between fleas and their hosts. Different geographical areas surrounding the Erhai Lake in Yunnan were selected as investigated spots. Small mammals were captured with baited cages. The cage-traps were examined and re-baited each morning. All fleas on the hosts were collected and identified. The richness (S), evenness (J'), diversity index (H'), dominance index (C'), total ectoparasite infestation rate (Rpt), total ectoparasite infestation index (Ipt), and constituent ratio (Cr) were used to measure the community structure. Altogether, 3,303 small mammals and 3,243 fleas were collected. From the 21 species of small mammal hosts, 13 species of fleas were identified. In southern area of the Lake, the species richness (21 species of small mammals & 12 species of fleas) was highest among the three selected areas. Seventeen species of small mammals and 8 species of fleas were found in eastern area, and only 13 species of small mammals and 7 species of fleas found in the west. This implied the probable influences of ecological environments on the fleas and their corresponding hosts. The community structure of fleas on small mammals was complex. The species diversity, species composition, community structure and distribution pattern of fleas were simultaneously influenced by the hosts' body surface microenvironment and the macroenvironment (habitat). The fleas are commonly distributed in small mammals in the areas and their communities are related to host species and the habitats.

Vasculature surrounding a nodule: A novel lung cancer biomarker.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaohua; Leader, Joseph K; Wang, Renwei; Wilson, David; Herman, James; Yuan, Jian-Min; Pu, Jiantao

2017-12-01

To investigate whether the vessels surrounding a nodule depicted on non-contrast, low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) can discriminate benign and malignant screen detected nodules. We collected a dataset consisting of LDCT scans acquired on 100 subjects from the Pittsburgh Lung Screening study (PLuSS). Fifty subjects were diagnosed with lung cancer and 50 subjects had suspicious nodules later proven benign. For the lung cancer cases, the location of the malignant nodule in the LDCT scans was known; while for the benign cases, the largest nodule in the LDCT scan was used in the analysis. A computer algorithm was developed to identify surrounding vessels and quantify the number and volume of vessels that were connected or near the nodule. A nonparametric receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed based on a single nodule per subject to assess the discriminability of the surrounding vessels to provide a lung cancer diagnosis. Odds ratio (OR) were computed to determine the probability of a nodule being lung cancer based on the vessel features. The areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) for vessel count and vessel volume were 0.722 (95% CI=0.616-0.811, plung cancer group 9.7 (±9.6) compared to the non-lung cancer group 4.0 (±4.3) CONCLUSION: Our preliminary results showed that malignant nodules are often surrounded by more vessels compared to benign nodules, suggesting that the surrounding vessel characteristics could serve as lung cancer biomarker for indeterminate nodules detected during LDCT lung cancer screening using only the information collected during the initial visit. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Predicting degradability of organic chemicals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Finizio, A; Vighi, M [Milan Univ. (Italy). Ist. di Entomologia Agraria

1992-05-01

Degradability, particularly biodegradability, is one of the most important factors governing the persistence of pollutants in the environment and consequently influencing their behavior and toxicity in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The need for reliable persistence data in order to assess the environmental fate and hazard of chemicals by means of predictive approaches, is evident. Biodegradability tests are requested by the EEC directive on new chemicals. Neverthless, degradation tests are not easy to carry out and data on existing chemicals are very scarce. Therefore, assessing the fate of chemicals in the environment from the simple study of their structure would be a useful tool. Rates of degradation are a function of the rates of a series of processes. Correlation between degradation rates and structural parameters are will be facilitated if one of the processes is rate determining. This review is a survey of studies dealing with relationships between structure and biodegradation of organic chemicals, to identify the value and limitations of this approach.

Thermally emissive sensing materials for chemical spectroscopy analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Poole, Zsolt; Ohodnicki, Paul R.

2018-05-08

A sensor using thermally emissive materials for chemical spectroscopy analysis includes an emissive material, wherein the emissive material includes the thermally emissive materials which emit electromagnetic radiation, wherein the electromagnetic radiation is modified due to chemical composition in an environment; and a detector adapted to detect the electromagnetic radiation, wherein the electromagnetic radiation is indicative of the chemical interaction changes and hence chemical composition and/or chemical composition changes of the environment. The emissive material can be utilized with an optical fiber sensor, with the optical fiber sensor operating without the emissive material probed with a light source external to the material.

Feasibility Study of Venus Surfuce Cooling Using Chemical Reactions with the Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Christopher

2013-01-01

A literature search and theoretical analysis were conducted to investigate the feasibility of cooling a craft on Venus through chemical reformation of materials from the atmosphere. The core concept was to take carbon dioxide (CO2) from the Venus atmosphere and chemically reform it into simpler compounds such as carbon, oxygen, and carbon monoxide. This process is endothermic, taking energy from the surroundings to produce a cooling effect. A literature search was performed to document possible routes for achieving the desired reactions. Analyses indicated that on Venus, this concept could theoretically be used to produce cooling, but would not perform as well as a conventional heat pump. For environments other than Venus, the low theoretical performance limits general applicability of this concept, however this approach to cooling may be useful in niche applications. Analysis indicated that environments with particular atmospheric compositions and temperatures could allow a similar cooling system to operate with very good performance. This approach to cooling may also be useful where the products of reaction are also desirable, or for missions where design simplicity is valued. Conceptual designs for Venus cooling systems were developed using a modified concept, in which an expendable reactant supply would be used to promote more energetically favorable reactions with the ambient CO2, providing cooling for a more limited duration. This approach does not have the same performance issues, but the use of expendable supplies increases the mass requirements and limits the operating lifetime. This paper summarizes the findings of the literature search and corresponding analyses of the various cooling options

Feasibility Study of Venus Surface Cooling Using Chemical Reactions with the Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Christopher

2013-01-01

A literature search and theoretical analysis were conducted to investigate the feasibility of cooling a craft on Venus through chemical reformation of materials from the atmosphere. The core concept was to take carbon dioxide (CO2) from the Venus atmosphere and chemically reform it into simpler compounds such as carbon, oxygen, and carbon monoxide. This process is endothermic, taking energy from the surroundings to produce a cooling effect. A literature search was performed to document possible routes for achieving the desired reactions. Analyses indicated that on Venus, this concept could theoretically be used to produce cooling, but would not perform as well as a conventional heat pump. For environments other than Venus, the low theoretical performance limits general applicability of this concept, however this approach to cooling may be useful in niche applications. Analysis indicated that environments with particular atmospheric compositions and temperatures could allow a similar cooling system to operate with very good performance. This approach to cooling may also be useful where the products of reaction are also desirable, or for missions where design simplicity is valued. Conceptual designs for Venus cooling systems were developed using a modified concept, in which an expendable reactant supply would be used to promote more energetically favorable reactions with the ambient CO2, providing cooling for a more limited duration. This approach does not have the same performance issues, but the use of expendable supplies increases the mass requirements and limits the operating lifetime. This paper summarizes the findings of the literature search and corresponding analyses of the various cooling options.

Chemical consequences of nuclear transformations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collins, C.H.; Lancas, F.M.; Andrade, J.C. de; Collins, K.E.

1979-01-01

The recombination processes of chemical bonds in liquid phase, after being split by nuclear transformations, include hot and diffuse reactions. Both processes probably occur by different mechanisms. The direct substitution process as well as processes which involve atoms, ions or other fragments retained in 'cages' formed by surrounding molecules, are processes not sensitive to the presence of a sequestering agent. The diffuse reactions whose fragments escaped from the 'cage' involve reactions with any reactive species found in the medium. (Author) [pt

The use of vibration monitoring to record the blasting works impact on buildings surrounding open-pit mines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sołtys Anna

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Environmental protection law and geological and mining law require the mineral mining plant to protect its surroundings from the effects of mining operations. This also applies to the negative impact of vibrations induced by blasting works on people and construction facilities. Effective protection is only possible if the level of this impact is known, therefore it is necessary to record it. The thesis formulated in this way has been and continues to be the guiding principle of the research works carried out in the AGH Laboratory of Blasting Work and Environmental Protection. As a result of these works are procedures for conducting preventive activities by open-pit mines in order to minimize the impact of blasting on facilities in the surrounding area. An important element of this activity is the monitoring of vibrations in constructions, which is a source of knowledge for excavation supervisors and engineers performing blasting works, thus contributing to raising the awareness of the responsible operation of the mining plant. Developed in the Laboratory of the Mine's Vibration Monitoring Station (KSMD, after several modernizations, it became a fully automated system for monitoring and recording the impact of blasting works on the surrounding environment. Currently, there are 30 measuring devices in 10 open-pit mines, and additional 8 devices are used to provide periodic measurement and recording services for the mines concerned.

The use of vibration monitoring to record the blasting works impact on buildings surrounding open-pit mines

Science.gov (United States)

Sołtys, Anna; Pyra, Józef; Winzer, Jan

2018-04-01

Environmental protection law and geological and mining law require the mineral mining plant to protect its surroundings from the effects of mining operations. This also applies to the negative impact of vibrations induced by blasting works on people and construction facilities. Effective protection is only possible if the level of this impact is known, therefore it is necessary to record it. The thesis formulated in this way has been and continues to be the guiding principle of the research works carried out in the AGH Laboratory of Blasting Work and Environmental Protection. As a result of these works are procedures for conducting preventive activities by open-pit mines in order to minimize the impact of blasting on facilities in the surrounding area. An important element of this activity is the monitoring of vibrations in constructions, which is a source of knowledge for excavation supervisors and engineers performing blasting works, thus contributing to raising the awareness of the responsible operation of the mining plant. Developed in the Laboratory of the Mine's Vibration Monitoring Station (KSMD), after several modernizations, it became a fully automated system for monitoring and recording the impact of blasting works on the surrounding environment. Currently, there are 30 measuring devices in 10 open-pit mines, and additional 8 devices are used to provide periodic measurement and recording services for the mines concerned.

Childhood Suicide and Myths Surrounding It.

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, Dorothea B.

1994-01-01

Dispels five misconceptions surrounding the suicide of children: that children under the age of six do not commit suicide; that suicide in latency years is extremely rare; that psychodynamically and developmentally true depression is not possible in childhood; that child cannot understand finality of death; and that children are cognitively and…

Radiological impact evaluation on the aquatic ecosystems surrounding IPEN-CNEN/SP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacomino, Vanusa F.; Maduar, Marcelo F.; Bellintani, Sandra A.; Mazzilli, Barbara P.

1996-01-01

In order to control the discharge of radioactive materials into the aquatic system surrounding IPEN-CNEN/SP, an monitoring program has been carried out on a routine basis. All the liquid effluent generated by the IPEN facilities are released into the Pinheiros river at two different discharge points located 2 km apart. In the present paper the source term measured during the period 1985 to 1984 is presented, as well as the effective equivalent dose received by public individuals for each critical pathway. These results showed that the total activity released into the Pinheiros river is just a small fraction of the receiving capacity of the environment. The estimated annual doses during the period of study were always below 1/10 of the primary limit for the public individual as established by the International Commission of Radiological Protection, which is 1 mSv/year. (author)

SOILS AND GEOENVIRONMENTS OF THE NATIONAL PARK OF VIRUÁ AND SURROUNDING, RORAIMA: INTEGRATED VISION OF THE LANDSCAPE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Araujo Furtado de Mendonça

2013-06-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/198050989287The Viruá National Park (PARNA Viruá occupies 227.011ha, in the region of the low ‘Branco’ river, in Roraima state. This area includes an extensive mosaic of complex seasonally flooded forested and non-forested environments. The present work had as general objective to characterize the pedology aspects and the geo-environmental units of the Park and surroundings, in an integrated vision of the landscape and, additionally, estimate the carbon stocks in the soils and geo-environments. We described and collected 29 soil profiles in the main vegetation types of Campinaranas and Forests of PARNA Viruá and surroundings. The main soil classes are: Espodossolo Humilúvico, Neossolo Quartzarênico, Neossolo Flúvico, Neossolo Litólicos, Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo, Latossolo Vermelho, Cambissolo Háplico, Cambissolo Flúvico, Gleissolo Háplico and Plintossolo Háplico. The soils present spatial distribution marked by abrupt limits and close association with the vegetation type. We identified three pedo-environments: (1 sandy soils of the Campinaranas; (2 soils associated with the inselbergs and adjacencies; and (3 alluvial soils. We mapped and described 18 geoenvironmental units in PARNA Viruá National Park. The main geo-environments are: i Sandy plains and Paleodunes with grassy and arborous Campinarana on ‘Neossolos Quartzarênicos hidromórficos’ and ‘Espodossolos’; and Floodplains and; ii Terraces with Igapó Forest on sandy hydromorphic soils, occupying 24.6% and 20.1% of the studied area, respectively. In terms of total soil carbon stocks, the geo-environments of the sandy complexes of Campinaranas and associations stand out, with 9450.9 Gg C. The great extension and representativeness of the sandy areas of Campinaranas characterize PARNA Viruá PArk as an important conservation unit for protection Amazonian sandy soil systems. The areas under the domain of ‘Espodossolos’ possess the

Precision in harsh environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

French, P.; Krijnen, G.; Roozeboom, F.

2016-01-01

Microsystems are increasingly being applied in harsh and/or inaccessible environments, but many markets expect the same level of functionality for long periods of time. Harsh environments cover areas that can be subjected to high temperature, (bio)-chemical and mechanical disturbances,

An aerial radiological survey of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and surrounding area, Paducah, Kentucky

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-11-01

An aerial radiological survey of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) and surrounding area in Paducah, Kentucky, was conducted during May 15--25, 1990. The purpose of the survey was to measure and document the terrestrial radiological environment at the PGDP and surrounding area for use in effective environmental management and emergency response planning. The aerial survey was flown at an altitude of 61 meters (200 feet) along a series of parallel lines 107 meters (350 feet) apart. The survey encompassed an area of 62 square kilometers (24 square miles), bordered on the north by the Ohio River. The results of the aerial survey are reported as inferred exposure rates at 1 meter above ground level in the form of a gamma radiation contour map. Typical background exposure rates were found to vary from 5 to 12 microroentgens per hour (μR/h). Protactinium-234m, a radioisotope indicative of uranium-238, was detected at several facilities at the PGDR. In support of the aerial survey, ground-based exposure rate and soil sample measurements were obtained at several sites within the survey perimeter. The results of the aerial and ground-based measurements were found to agree within ±15%

Probing Structural and Catalytic Characteristics of Galactose Oxidase Confined in Nanoscale Chemical Environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ikemoto, Hideki; Mossin, Susanne; Ulstrup, Jens

2014-01-01

Galactose oxidase (GAOX) is a special metalloenzyme in terms of its active site structure and catalytic mechanisms. This work reports a study where the enzyme confined in a nanoscale chemical environment provided by mesoporous silicas (MPS) is probed. Two types of MPS, i.e. SBA-15 and MCF, were...... synthesized and used to accommodate GAOX. SBA-15-ROD is rod-shaped particles with periodically ordered nanopores (9.5 nm), while MCF has a mesocellular foam-like structure with randomly distributed pores (23 nm) interconnected by smaller windows (8.8 nm). GAOX is non-covalently confined in SBA-15- ROD, while...... it is covalently immobilized in MCF. Relatively high loadings in the range of 50–60 mg g1 are achieved. Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy is used to probe the active site structures of the enzyme. The similar ESR spectra observed for GAOX in the free and immobilized states support that the electronic...

Interspecies chemical communication in bacterial development.

Science.gov (United States)

Straight, Paul D; Kolter, Roberto

2009-01-01

Our view of bacteria, from the earliest observations through the heyday of antibiotic discovery, has shifted dramatically. We recognize communities of bacteria as integral and functionally important components of diverse habitats, ranging from soil collectives to the human microbiome. To function as productive communities, bacteria coordinate metabolic functions, often requiring shifts in growth and development. The hallmark of cellular development, which we characterize as physiological change in response to environmental stimuli, is a defining feature of many bacterial interspecies interactions. Bacterial communities rely on chemical exchanges to provide the cues for developmental change. Traditional methods in microbiology focus on isolation and characterization of bacteria in monoculture, separating the organisms from the surroundings in which interspecies chemical communication has relevance. Developing multispecies experimental systems that incorporate knowledge of bacterial physiology and metabolism with insights from biodiversity and metagenomics shows great promise for understanding interspecies chemical communication in the microbial world.

Road Environments: Impact of Metals on Human Health in Heavily Congested Cities of Poland.

Science.gov (United States)

Adamiec, Ewa

2017-06-29

Road dust as a by-product of exhaust and non-exhaust emissions can be a major cause of systemic oxidative stress and multiple disorders. Substantial amounts of road dust are repeatedly resuspended, in particular at traffic lights and junctions where more braking is involved, causing potential threat to pedestrians, especially children. In order to determine the degree of contamination in the heavily traffic-congested cities of Poland, a total of 148 samples of road dust (RD), sludge from storm drains (SL) and roadside soil (RS) were collected. Sixteen metals were analysed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) in all samples. Chemical evaluation followed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that road environments have been severely contaminated with traffic-related elements. Concentration of copper in all road-environment samples is even higher, exceeding even up to 15 times its average concentrations established for the surrounding soils. Non-carcinogenic health risk assessment revealed that the hazard index (HI) for children in all road-environment samples exceeds the safe level of 1. Therefore, greater attention should be paid to potential health risks caused by the ingestion of traffic-related particles during outdoor activities.

Lactic acid bacteria in a changing legislative environment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Feord, J.

2002-01-01

The benefits of using lactic acid bacteria in the food chain, both through direct consumption and production of ingredients, are increasingly recognised by the food industry and consumers alike. The regulatory environment surrounding these products is diverse, covering foods and food ingredients,

An aerial radiological survey of the Ames Laboratory and surrounding area, Ames, Iowa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maurer, R.J.

1993-04-01

An aerial radiological survey of the Ames Laboratory and surrounding area in Ames, Iowa, was conducted during the period July 15--25, 1991. The purpose of the survey was to measure and document the terrestrial radiological environment at the Ames Laboratory and the surrounding area for use in effective environmental management and emergency response planning. The aerial survey was flown at an altitude of 200 feet (61 meters) along a series of parallel lines 350 feet (107 meters) apart. The survey encompassed an area of 36 square miles (93 square kilometers) and included the city of Ames, Iowa, and the Iowa State University. The results are reported as exposure rates at 1 meter above ground level (inferred from the aerial data) in the form of a gamma radiation contour map. Typical background exposure rates were found to vary from 7 to 9 microroentgens per hour (μR/h). No anomalous radiation levels were detected at the Ames Laboratory. However, one anomalous radiation source was detected at an industrial storage yard in the city of Ames. In support of the aerial survey, ground-based exposure rate and soil sample measurements were obtained at several sites within the survey perimeter. The results of the aerial and ground-based measurements were found to agree within the expected uncertainty of ±15%

Optical and infrared study of the region surrounding Herbig-Haro objects 1 and 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strom, S.E.; Strom, K.M.; Grasdalen, G.L.; Sellgren, K.; Wolff, S.; Wyoming Univ., Laramie; Hawaii Univ., Honolulu)

1985-01-01

Optical and near-IR observations of the environs of H-H objects 1 and 2 provide the basis for identifying a recently discovered radio continuum as the star responsible for powering the highly collimated mass outflow traced by these objects. Polarimetric observations show that the source (designated as VLA 1), located at the midpoint between HH 1 and 2, illuminates a biconical reflection nebula. It is suggested that VLA 1 is probably surrounded by an optically thick disk viewed edge on; an optical jet emanates from the vicinity of HH 1 and is directed along the axis of the putative disk toward HH 1; its spectrum resembles that of HH 1 and other Herbig-Haro objects. 37 references

Implications of global climate change for the assessment and management of human health risks of chemicals in the natural environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Balbus, John M; Boxall, Alistair B A; Fenske, Richard A; McKone, Thomas E; Zeise, Lauren

2013-01-01

Global climate change (GCC) is likely to alter the degree of human exposure to pollutants and the response of human populations to these exposures, meaning that risks of pollutants could change in the future. The present study, therefore, explores how GCC might affect the different steps in the pathway from a chemical source in the environment through to impacts on human health and evaluates the implications for existing risk-assessment and management practices. In certain parts of the world, GCC is predicted to increase the level of exposure of many environmental pollutants due to direct and indirect effects on the use patterns and transport and fate of chemicals. Changes in human behavior will also affect how humans come into contact with contaminated air, water, and food. Dietary changes, psychosocial stress, and coexposure to stressors such as high temperatures are likely to increase the vulnerability of humans to chemicals. These changes are likely to have significant implications for current practices for chemical assessment. Assumptions used in current exposure-assessment models may no longer apply, and existing monitoring methods may not be robust enough to detect adverse episodic changes in exposures. Organizations responsible for the assessment and management of health risks of chemicals therefore need to be more proactive and consider the implications of GCC for their procedures and processes. Copyright © 2012 SETAC.

Recent Advances in the Use of Chemical Markers for  Tracing Wastewater Contamination in Aquatic  Environment: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fang Yee Lim

2017-02-01

Full Text Available There has been increasing research focus on the detection and occurrence of wastewater contamination in aquatic environment. Wastewater treatment plants receive effluents containing various chemical pollutants. These chemicals may not be fully removed during treatment and could potentially enter the receiving water bodies. Detection of these chemical pollutants and source identification could be a challenging research task due to the diversified chemical and functional groups, concentration levels and fate and transportation mechanisms of these pollutants in the environment. Chemical markers such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products, artificial sweeteners, fluorescent whitening agents, sterols and stanols, and nitrate and nitrogen isotopics have been widely used by most research as markers. These markers served as indicators of wastewater contamination to the receiving bodies due to their frequent usage, resistance to biodegradability and, more importantly, anthropogenic origin. These markers are commonly used in combination to identify the contaminant source of different origins. This article discusses the main chemical markers that are used to identify wastewater contamination in receiving bodies, the current trends, and approach to select suitable chemical markers.

Exploring consumer exposure pathways and patterns of use for chemicals in the environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Dionisio, Kathie L; Frame, Alicia M; Goldsmith, Michael-Rock; Wambaugh, John F; Liddell, Alan; Cathey, Tommy; Smith, Doris; Vail, James; Ernstoff, Alexi S; Fantke, Peter; Jolliet, Olivier; Judson, Richard S

2015-01-01

Humans are exposed to thousands of chemicals in the workplace, home, and via air, water, food, and soil. A major challenge in estimating chemical exposures is to understand which chemicals are present in these media and microenvironments. Here we describe the Chemical/Product Categories Database (CPCat), a new, publically available (http://actor.epa.gov/cpcat) database of information on chemicals mapped to "use categories" describing the usage or function of the chemical. CPCat was created by combining multiple and diverse sources of data on consumer- and industrial-process based chemical uses from regulatory agencies, manufacturers, and retailers in various countries. The database uses a controlled vocabulary of 833 terms and a novel nomenclature to capture and streamline descriptors of chemical use for 43,596 chemicals from the various sources. Examples of potential applications of CPCat are provided, including identifying chemicals to which children may be exposed and to support prioritization of chemicals for toxicity screening. CPCat is expected to be a valuable resource for regulators, risk assessors, and exposure scientists to identify potential sources of human exposures and exposure pathways, particularly for use in high-throughput chemical exposure assessment.

Journal of Chemical Sciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Synthesis, spectroscopic and structural characterization of new linear mononuclear silver(I) complexes containing -keto phosphorus ylides as ambidentate ligands. Seyed Javad ... and the metal centre. The Ag(I) atom is located in a slightly distorted linear environment, surrounded by C atoms of the methine of the ylide.

40 CFR 720.85 - Chemical identity.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Chemical identity. 720.85 Section 720... PREMANUFACTURE NOTIFICATION Confidentiality and Public Access to Information § 720.85 Chemical identity. (a... submits information to EPA under this part may assert a claim of confidentiality for the chemical identity...

Dioxin-like chemicals in bivalves and sediment collected from around Australia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller, J.F.; Muller, R.; Goudkamp, K. [EnTox, The University of Queensland, Brisbane (AU)] (and others)

2004-09-15

The aquatic environment is a significant sink for persistent organic pollutants including dioxin-like chemicals. Besides continuous investigations into sources of higher chlorinated PCDD that have initially been found in soils, and later in dugong and sediments little is known about the levels of dioxin-like chemicals in Australia's aquatic environment. In 2002 the National Dioxin Program (NDP) was commissioned by the Department of Environment and Heritage, Australia. One focus of the NDP was to evaluate background levels of dioxin-like chemicals in Australia's environment. One component of the 'Environmental Levels' project aimed to identify dioxinlike chemicals in the aquatic environment including bivalves collected in both marine, estuarine and freshwater systems. Here we report results from the NDP aquatic study with a particular emphasis on the levels of dioxin-like chemicals in bivalves and sediments respectively in areas from where the bivalves were collected.

Online Chemical Characterization of Food-Cooking Organic Aerosols: Implications for Source Apportionment.

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes-Villegas, Ernesto; Bannan, Thomas; Le Breton, Michael; Mehra, Archit; Priestley, Michael; Percival, Carl; Coe, Hugh; Allan, James D

2018-04-11

Food-cooking organic aerosols (COA) are one of the primary sources of submicron particulate matter in urban environments. However, there are still many questions surrounding source apportionment related to instrumentation as well as semivolatile partitioning because COA evolve rapidly in the ambient air, making source apportionment more complex. Online measurements of emissions from cooking different types of food were performed in a laboratory to characterize particles and gases. Aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements showed that the relative ionization efficiency for OA was higher (1.56-3.06) relative to a typical value of 1.4, concluding that AMS is over-estimating COA and suggesting that previous studies likely over-estimated COA concentrations. Food-cooking mass spectra were generated using AMS, and gas and particle food markers were identified with filter inlets for gases and aerosols-chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS) measurements to be used in future food cooking-source apportionment studies. However, there is a considerable variability in both gas and particle markers, and dilution plays an important role in the particle mass budget, showing the importance of using these markers with caution during receptor modeling. These findings can be used to better understand the chemical composition of COA, and they provides useful information to be used in future source-apportionment studies.

Modifications of center-surround, spot detection and dot-pattern selective operators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Petkov, Nicolai; Visser, Wicher T.

2005-01-01

This paper describes modifications of the models of center-surround and dot-pattern selective cells proposed previously. These modifications concern mainly the normalization of the difference of Gaussians (DoG) function used to model center-surround receptive fields, the normalization of

Physical chemistry and the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunning, T.H. Jr.; Garrett, B.C.; Kolb, C.E. Jr.; Shaw, R.W.; Choppin, G.R.; Wagner, A.F.

1994-08-01

From the ozone hole and the greenhouse effect to plastics recycling and hazardous waste disposal, society faces a number of issues, the solutions to which require an unprecedented understanding of the properties of molecules. We are coming to realize that the environment is a coupled set of chemical systems, its dynamics determining the welfare of the biosphere and of humans in particular. These chemical systems are governed by fundamental molecular interactions, and they present chemists with an unparalleled challenge. The application of current concepts of molecular behavior and of up-to-date experimental and computational techniques can provide us with insights into the environment that are needed to mitigate past damage, to anticipate the impact of current human activity, and to avoid future insults to the environment. Environmental chemistry encompasses a number of separate, yet interlocking, areas of research. In all of these areas progress is limited by an inadequate understanding of the underlying chemical processes involved. Participation of all chemical approaches -- experimental, theoretical and computational -- and of all disciplines of chemistry -- organic, inorganic, physical, analytical and biochemistry -- will be required to provide the necessary fundamental understanding. The Symposium on ''Physical Chemistry and the Environment'' was designed to bring the many exciting and challenging physical chemistry problems involved in environmental chemistry to the attention of a larger segment of the physical chemistry community

Water Fountains in Environment Transformation Correcting

Science.gov (United States)

Sidorenko, M. Yu; Ponomareva, Zh V.

2017-11-01

The article provides information on the means and principles for adjusting the process of the urban environment transformation. The interest in the topic is caused by the fact that the surrounding artificial environment is turning into a dangerous factor in the mechanism of human visual perception which requires immediate, effective intervention in the adjustment of the existing modern buildings. The paper considers The correction with the help of new dominants, small architectural forms, in particular, water fountains. Fountains are an important part of the measures to create a comfortable, environmentally friendly urban human environment. Their planning and functional links with the system of streets, squares, traffic arteries can create the urban plan basis.

Geochemical induced degradation of environmental chemicals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parlar, H

1984-09-01

Attempts to correlate the concentration of organic chemicals in the environment with their production figures have resulted in a large deficit; this includes environmental chemicals such as chlorinated hydrocarbons. It has been assumed that analytical errors accounted for this deficit. Another explanation, however, allows for reactions of compounds under biotic and abiotic conditions. Because of the biostability of many organic chemicals biological transformation mechanisms can bring about slight change only. By contrast, abiotic environmental factors such as the UV-irradiation or decomposition on natural surfaces contribute considerably to the transformation of this substance class. An investigation of such abiotic charges of organic chemicals must therefore pay particular attention to dynamic and catalytic effects primarily attributable to the respective molecular state and interactions with the environment. This paper deals with the photoinduced reactions of organic substances adsorbed on natural surfaces and their significance for the degradability of environmental chemicals.

Surrounding rock stress analysis of underground high level waste repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Wengang; Wang Ju; Wang Guangdi

2006-01-01

During decay of nuclear waste, enormous energy was released, which results in temperature change of surrounding rock of depository. Thermal stress was produced because thermal expansion of rock was controlled. Internal structure of surrounding rock was damaged and strength of rock was weakened. So, variation of stress was a dynamic process with the variation of temperature. BeiShan region of Gansu province was determined to be the depository field in the future, it is essential to make research on granite in this region. In the process of experiment, basic physical parameters of granite were analyzed preliminary with MTS. Long range temperature and stress filed was simulated considering the damage effect of surrounding rock, and rules of temperature and stress was achieved. (authors)

Lanczos-driven coupled-cluster damped linear response theory for molecules in polarizable environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

List, Nanna Holmgaard; Coriani, Sonia; Kongsted, Jacob

2014-01-01

are specifically motivated by a twofold aim: (i) computation of core excitations in realistic surroundings and (ii) examination of the effect of the differential response of the environment upon excitation solely related to the CC multipliers (herein denoted the J matrix) in computations of excitation energies......We present an extension of a previously reported implementation of a Lanczos-driven coupled-cluster (CC) damped linear response approach to molecules in condensed phases, where the effects of a surrounding environment are incorporated by means of the polarizable embedding formalism. We...... and transition moments of polarizable-embedded molecules. Numerical calculations demonstrate that the differential polarization of the environment due to the first-order CC multipliers provides only minor contributions to the solvatochromic shift for all transitions considered. We thus complement previous works...

Jahani Salt Diapir, Iran: hydrogeology, karst features and effect on surroundings environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahmoud Abirifard

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The Jahani Salt Diapir (JSD, with an area of 54 km2, is an active diapir in the Simply Folded Belt of the Zagros Orogeny, in the south of Iran. Most of the available studies on this diapir are focused on tectonics. The hydrogeology, schematic model of flow direction and hydrochemical effects of the JSD on the adjacent water resources are lacking, and thus, are the focus of this study. The morphology of the JSD was reevaluated by fieldwork and using available maps. The physicochemical characteristics of the springs and hydrometric stations were also measured. The vent of the diapir is located 250 m higher than the surrounding glaciers, and covered by small polygonal sinkholes (dolines. The glacier is covered by cap soils, sparse trees and pastures, and contains large sinkholes, numerous shafts, several caves, and 30 brine springs. Two main groups of caves were distinguished. Sub-horizontal or inclined stream passages following the surface valleys and vertical shafts (with short inlet caves at the bottoms of nearly circular blind valleys. Salt exposure is limited to steep slopes. The controlling variables of flow route within salt diapirs are the negligible porosity of the salt rocks at depth more than about ten meters below the ground surface and the rapid halite saturation along the flow route. These mechanisms prevent deep cave development and enforce the emergence points of brine springs with low flow rates and small catchment area throughout the JSD and above the local base of erosion. Tectonics do not affect karst development, because the distributions of sinkholes and brine springs show no preferential directions. The type of spring water is sodium chloride, with a TDS of 320 g/l, and saturated with halite, gypsum, calcite and dolomite. The water balance budget of the JSD indicates that the total recharge water is 1.46 MCM (million cubic meter/a, emerges from 30 brine springs, two springs from the adjacent karstic limestone, and flows into

CERN and the Environment

CERN Document Server

Aymar, Robert

2005-01-01

The impact of CERN’s activities on the surrounding environment is carefully monitored by the Organization via a complete environmental monitoring programme, which is defined and run in agreement with the authorities of Switzerland and France. This programme covers both radiological and conventional aspects. So far the environmental impact of CERN was shown to be negligible. In particular, CERN’s radiological impact is a fraction of the variation of the natural exposure at different locations of the surrounding region. As the site of the Organization is on the territory of two countries and straddles the Swiss-French border, the implementation of its environmental policy requires specific procedures and a very transparent communication towards the Host States authorities and the public opinion. This paper reports the official CERN speech delivered for the opening of the international conference Enviroinfo 2004 that was held at CERN in October 2004.

Neutron spectrum in small iron pile surrounded by lead reflector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, Itsuro; Hayashi, S.A.; Kobayashi, Katsuhei; Matsumura, Tetsuo; Nishihara, Hiroshi.

1978-01-01

In order to save the quantity of sample material, a possibility to assess group constants of a reactor material through measurement and analysis of neutron spectrum in a small sample pile surrounded by a reflector of heavy moderator, was investigated. As the sample and the reflector, we chose iron and lead, respectively. Although the time dispersion in moderation of neutrons was considerably prolonged by the lead reflector, this hardly interferes with the assessment of group constants. Theoretical calculation revealed that both the neutron flux spectrum and the sensitivity coefficient of group constants in an iron sphere, 35 cm in diameter surrounded by the lead reflector, 25 cm thick, were close to those of the bare iron sphere, 108 cm in diameter. The neutron spectra in a small iron pile surrounded by a lead reflector were experimentally obtained by the time-of-flight method with an electron linear accelerator and the result was compared with the predicted values. It could be confirmed that a small sample pile surrounded by a reflector, such as lead, was as useful as a much larger bulk pile for the assessment of group constants of a reactor material. (auth.)

Smart Chips for Smart Surroundings -- 4S

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schuler, Eberhard; König, Ralf; Becker, Jürgen; Rauwerda, G.K.; van de Burgwal, M.D.; Smit, Gerardus Johannes Maria; Cardoso, João M.P.; Hübner, Michael

2011-01-01

The overall mission of the 4S project (Smart Chips for Smart Surroundings) was to define and develop efficient flexible, reconfigurable core building blocks, including the supporting tools, for future Ambient System Devices. Reconfigurability offers the needed flexibility and adaptability, it

Investigation of radioactive contaminations of the environment in the surroundings of the Institute of Nuclear Research at Swierk in the years 1977-1980. Badanie zanieczyszczen promieniotworczych srodowiska w otoczeniu Instytutu Badan Jadrowych w Swierku w latach 1977-1980

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pensko, J; Stpiczynska, Z; Hryczuk, O; Kowalska, A

1983-01-01

The results of measurements of the contamination level of the environment in the surroundings of the Institute of Nuclear Research at Swierk and in surroundings of the repository of radioactive wastes at Rozan including the possible paths of migration of the radionuclides in the years 1977-1980 have been presented. The investigations proved that the radioactive fall-out from nuclear weapon tests was the main source of contamination. In the period of investigation the quantities of the radionuclides discharged into the sanitary sewage system did not exceed the weekly limit of 2590 MBq (70mCi). They had no influence on the level of the radioactive contaminations of the Vistula river water. Sporadically observed, the increased level of the radioactive contamination of the draining system water at Swierk exceeded at most 3 times the permissible concentration of /sup 90/Sr for drinking water 2.6 Bq dm/sup -3/. The radioactive contamination of the water, soil, grass and rye investigated around the Centre have been shown in the same level as for the reference points being out of the range of the influence of the Institute.

The effect of tensile and compressive loading on the hierarchical strength of idealized tropocollagen-hydroxyapatite biomaterials as a function of the chemical environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubey, Devendra K; Tomar, Vikas

2009-01-01

Hard biomaterials such as bone, dentin and nacre have primarily a polypeptide phase (e.g. tropocollagen (TC)) and a mineral phase (e.g. hydroxyapatite (HAP) or aragonite) arranged in a staggered manner. It has been observed that the mechanical behaviour of such materials changes with the chemical environment and the direction of applied loading. In the presented investigation, explicit three-dimensional molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based analyses are performed on idealized TC-HAP composite biomaterial systems to understand the effects of tensile and compressive loadings in three different chemical environments: (1) unsolvated, (2) solvated with water and (3) calcinated and solvated with water. The MD analyses are performed on two interfacial supercells corresponding to the lowest structural level (level n) of TC-HAP interactions and on two other supercells with HAP supercells arranged in a staggered manner (level n+1) in a TC matrix. The supercells at level n+1 are formed by arranging level n interfacial supercells in a staggered manner. Analyses show that at level n, the presence of water molecules results in greater stability of TC molecules and TC-HAP interfaces during mechanical deformation. In addition, water also acts as a lubricant between adjacent TC molecules. Under the application of shear stress dominated loading, water molecules act to strengthen the TC-HAP interfacial strength in a manner similar to the action of glue. An overall effect of the observed mechanisms is that, in a staggered arrangement, tensile strength increases in the presence of water and calcinated water environments. On the other hand, corresponding compressive strength decreases under similar circumstances. Fundamentally, supercells with primarily normal load transfer at the TC-HAP interfaces are stronger in tensile shear loading. On the other hand, supercells with primarily tangential or shear load transfer at the TC-HAP interfaces are stronger in compressive shear loading. A

An alternative approach to risk rank chemicals on the threat they pose to the aquatic environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Andrew C; Donnachie, Rachel L; Sumpter, John P; Jürgens, Monika D; Moeckel, Claudia; Pereira, M Gloria

2017-12-01

This work presents a new and unbiased method of risk ranking chemicals based on the threat they pose to the aquatic environment. The study ranked 12 metals, 23 pesticides, 11 other persistent organic pollutants (POPs), 13 pharmaceuticals, 10 surfactants and similar compounds and 2 nanoparticles (total of 71) of concern against one another by comparing their median UK river water and median ecotoxicity effect concentrations. To complement this, by giving an assessment on potential wildlife impacts, risk ranking was also carried out by comparing the lowest 10th percentile of the effects data with the highest 90th percentile of the exposure data. In other words, risk was pared down to just toxicity versus exposure. Further modifications included incorporating bioconcentration factors, using only recent water measurements and excluding either lethal or sub-lethal effects. The top ten chemicals, based on the medians, which emerged as having the highest risk to organisms in UK surface waters using all the ecotoxicity data were copper, aluminium, zinc, ethinylestradiol (EE2), linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), triclosan, manganese, iron, methomyl and chlorpyrifos. By way of contrast, using current UK environmental quality standards as the comparator to median UK river water concentrations would have selected 6 different chemicals in the top ten. This approach revealed big differences in relative risk; for example, zinc presented a million times greater risk then metoprolol and LAS 550 times greater risk than nanosilver. With the exception of EE2, most pharmaceuticals were ranked as having a relatively low risk. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Local environment effects in disordered alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cable, J.W.

1978-01-01

The magnetic moment of an atom in a ferromagnetic disordered alloy depends on the local environment of that atom. This is particularly true for Ni and Pd based alloys for which neutron diffuse scattering measurements of the range and magnitude of the moment disturbances indicate that both magnetic and chemical environment are important in determining the moment distribution. In this paper we review recent neutron studies of local environment effects in Ni based alloys. These are discussed in terms of a phenomenological model that allows a separation of the total moment disturbance at a Ni site into its chemical and magnetic components

Chemical Sensors Based on Optical Ring Resonators

Science.gov (United States)

Homer, Margie; Manfreda, Allison; Mansour, Kamjou; Lin, Ying; Ksendzov, Alexander

2005-01-01

Chemical sensors based on optical ring resonators are undergoing development. A ring resonator according to this concept is a closed-circuit dielectric optical waveguide. The outermost layer of this waveguide, analogous to the optical cladding layer on an optical fiber, is a made of a polymer that (1) has an index of refraction lower than that of the waveguide core and (2) absorbs chemicals from the surrounding air. The index of refraction of the polymer changes with the concentration of absorbed chemical( s). The resonator is designed to operate with relatively strong evanescent-wave coupling between the outer polymer layer and the electromagnetic field propagating along the waveguide core. By virtue of this coupling, the chemically induced change in index of refraction of the polymer causes a measurable shift in the resonance peaks of the ring. In a prototype that has been used to demonstrate the feasibility of this sensor concept, the ring resonator is a dielectric optical waveguide laid out along a closed path resembling a racetrack (see Figure 1). The prototype was fabricated on a silicon substrate by use of standard techniques of thermal oxidation, chemical vapor deposition, photolithography, etching, and spin coating. The prototype resonator waveguide features an inner cladding of SiO2, a core of SixNy, and a chemical-sensing outer cladding of ethyl cellulose. In addition to the ring Chemical sensors based on optical ring resonators are undergoing development. A ring resonator according to this concept is a closed-circuit dielectric optical waveguide. The outermost layer of this waveguide, analogous to the optical cladding layer on an optical fiber, is a made of a polymer that (1) has an index of refraction lower than that of the waveguide core and (2) absorbs chemicals from the surrounding air. The index of refraction of the polymer changes with the concentration of absorbed chemical( s). The resonator is designed to operate with relatively strong

Differences in coupling between chemical and nuclear explosions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glenn, L.A.

1992-01-01

The teleseismic amplitude resulting from an underground explosion is proportional to the asymptotic value of the reduced displacement potential (φ∞) or, in physical terms, to the permanent change in volume measured anywhere beyond the range at which the outgoing wave has become elastic. φ∞ decreases with increasing initial cavity size (r o ) until the cavity is large enough to preclude inelastic behavior in the surrounding rock, at which point no further decrease occurs. With nuclear explosions, φ∞ can also be reduced by decreasing the initial cavity size over a certain range. This occurs because, in this range of r 0 W -1/3 (where W is the yield) the thermal pressure in the surrounding medium increases much more slowly than does the thermal energy. With chemical explosions, by contrast, r 0 W -1/3 cannot be decreased below the fully tamped limit because the energy density is bounded above. Moreover, for the most of the cavity expansion period the ratio of specific heats of the chemical explosion products is substantially higher than the equivalent ratio in a nuclear explosion, so that the cavity pressure in the former case is higher as well and this further amplifies the differences between the two. Calculations show that the teleseismic amplitude could be as much as 50% higher for an equivalent tamped chemical explosion in salt than was observed in the SALMON nuclear event

Cryptic chemical identification as a crime intelligence aid.

Science.gov (United States)

Sturaro, A; Rella, R; Parvoli, G; Doretti, L

1999-01-01

A dead body was found near the sea and a commercial port in north-east Italy. The man had been shot and then burnt, by using a large volume of fire accelerant. The chemical composition of the flammable mixture had to be determined in order to aid police investigations. GC-MS analysis of residual cloth and soil identified a common gasoline, together with some unrelated compounds deriving from the container used to carry the inflammable liquid. A reconstruction of the event, an examination of the surroundings where the crime took place and the cryptic chemicals found, enabled the investigators to restrict and intensify their enquiries within a specific area.

Application of surface plasmons to biological and chemical sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kajikawa, Kotaro

2015-01-01

Surface plasmons (SPs) are a collective normal mode of electrons localized at a metallic surface. It has been used for biological sensors since 1990s. This is because it has the following specific characters: (a) The resonance condition is sensitive to the surrounding dielectric constants (refractive indexes) and (b) Highly enhanced optical-electric-fields are produced adjacent to SPs. A brief introduction is given on the principle of the biological and chemical sensors based on SPs for the readers working in the fields other than SPs, followed by a review on the recent developments of the biological and chemical sensors. (author)

Factors influencing recovery and restoration following a chemical incident.

Science.gov (United States)

Peña-Fernández, A; Wyke, S; Brooke, N; Duarte-Davidson, R

2014-11-01

Chemicals are an important part of our society. A wide range of chemicals are discharged into the environment every day from residential, commercial and industrial sources. Many of these discharges do not pose a threat to public health or the environment. However, global events have shown that chemical incidents or accidents can have severe consequences on human health, the environment and society. It is important that appropriate tools and technical guidance are available to ensure that a robust and efficient approach to developing a remediation strategy is adopted. The purpose of remediation is to protect human health from future exposure and to return the affected area back to normal as soon as possible. There are a range of recovery options (techniques or methods for remediation) that are applicable to a broad range of chemicals and incidents. Recovery options should be evaluated according to their appropriateness and efficacy for removing contaminants from the environment; however economic drivers and social and political considerations often influence decision makers on which remedial actions are implemented during the recovery phase of a chemical incident. To date, there is limited information in the literature on remediation strategies and recovery options that have been implemented following a chemical incident, or how successful they have been. Additional factors that can affect the approach taken for recovery are not well assessed or understood by decision makers involved in the remediation and restoration of the environment following a chemical incident. The identification of this gap has led to the development of the UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents to provide a framework for choosing an effective recovery strategy. A compendium of practical evidence-based recovery options (techniques or methods for remediation) for inhabited areas, food production systems and water environments has also been developed and is included in the chemical

Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering in Clinical Environment and Legal Surrounding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Medvedec, M.

2013-01-01

An application of radiation in medicine is essentially associated with medical physics and biomedical engineering. The purpose of this study is to analyze the perception and the status of clinical medical physicists and biomedical engineers within the current international and Croatian legal framework. The International Labour Organization (ILO) in its International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08) notes that medical physicists and biomedical engineers are an integral part of the health workforce, alongside those occupations classified as health professionals. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in its basic safety standards for radiation protection and safety of radiation sources also defines medical physicists as health professional. The World Health Organization (WHO) urges member states to include biomedical engineers in assessment, planning, procurement, implementation and management of health technologies, in particular biomedical devices. The Council of the European Union (EU) in its directives defines qualified professionals, especially experts in medical physics, as workers who carry out physical, technical and radiochemical work in regard to dosimetry, radiation protection, quality assurance and quality control, equipment management, etc. According to the U.S. Office of Labor Statistics, biomedical engineer is an occupation with the third-fastest growth rate in the economy, as projected for the period 2010-2020. It is expected that the role and the importance of medical physics and biomedical engineering profession in Croatia, a member state of ILO, WHO, IAEA and EU, will be soon fully regulated in a way comparable to the career paths of other health professionals within a clinical environment, primarily for the benefit of patients and hospital staff, healthcare facilities and healthcare system in general.(author)

Chemical and natural stressors combined:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gergs, André; Zenker, Armin; Grimm, Volker

2013-01-01

In addition to natural stressors, populations are increasingly exposed to chemical pollutants released into the environment. We experimentally demonstrate the loss of resilience for Daphnia magna populations that are exposed to a combination of natural and chemical stressors even though effects...... demonstrates that population size can be a poor endpoint for risk assessments of chemicals and that ignoring disturbance interactions can lead to severe underestimation of extinction risk...

Special theory on chemical engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-06-01

This book give a special description about chemical engineering. The contents of this book are special technique for isolation on introduction and separation by membrane, biochemistry engineering, process system engineering, energy engineering, environment engineering, a high molecular new material, election material and research on surface property of catalyst. It has appendixes on history of transition on Korean chemical engineering text contents and history of the activity of Korea chemical engineering institute.

Flows and chemical reactions in heterogeneous mixtures

CERN Document Server

Prud'homme, Roger

2014-01-01

This book - a sequel of previous publications 'Flows and Chemical Reactions' and 'Chemical Reactions in Flows and Homogeneous Mixtures' - is devoted to flows with chemical reactions in heterogeneous environments.  Heterogeneous media in this volume include interfaces and lines. They may be the site of radiation. Each type of flow is the subject of a chapter in this volume. We consider first, in Chapter 1, the question of the generation of environments biphasic individuals: dusty gas, mist, bubble flow.  Chapter 2 is devoted to the study at the mesoscopic scale: particle-fluid exchange of mom

Biogeochemical typing of paddy field by a data-driven approach revealing sub-systems within a complex environment--a pipeline to filtrate, organize and frame massive dataset from multi-omics analyses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diogo M O Ogawa

Full Text Available We propose the technique of biogeochemical typing (BGC typing as a novel methodology to set forth the sub-systems of organismal communities associated to the correlated chemical profiles working within a larger complex environment. Given the intricate characteristic of both organismal and chemical consortia inherent to the nature, many environmental studies employ the holistic approach of multi-omics analyses undermining as much information as possible. Due to the massive amount of data produced applying multi-omics analyses, the results are hard to visualize and to process. The BGC typing analysis is a pipeline built using integrative statistical analysis that can treat such huge datasets filtering, organizing and framing the information based on the strength of the various mutual trends of the organismal and chemical fluctuations occurring simultaneously in the environment. To test our technique of BGC typing, we choose a rich environment abounding in chemical nutrients and organismal diversity: the surficial freshwater from Japanese paddy fields and surrounding waters. To identify the community consortia profile we employed metagenomics as high throughput sequencing (HTS for the fragments amplified from Archaea rRNA, universal 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA; to assess the elemental content we employed ionomics by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES; and for the organic chemical profile, metabolomics employing both Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR all these analyses comprised our multi-omics dataset. The similar trends between the community consortia against the chemical profiles were connected through correlation. The result was then filtered, organized and framed according to correlation strengths and peculiarities. The output gave us four BGC types displaying uniqueness in community and chemical distribution, diversity and richness. We conclude therefore that

Biological pathways and chemical behavior of plutonium and other actinides in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahlman, R.C.; Bondietti, E.A.; Eyman, L.D.

1976-01-01

The principal long-lived actinide elements that may enter the environment from either U or Pu fuel cycles are Pu, Am, Cm, and Np. Approximately 25% of the alpha activity estimated to be released to the atmosphere from the LMFBR fuel cycle will be contributed by 241 Am, 242 Cm, and 244 Cm. The balance of the alpha activity will come from Pu isotopes. Activities of 242 Cm, 244 Cm, 241 Am, 243 Am, and 237 Np in waste may exceed concentrations of Pu isotopes in waste after various periods of decay. Thorium and uranium isotopes may also be released by operations of the thorium fuel cycle. Environmental actinides are discussed under the following headings: sources of man-made actinide elements; pathways of exposure; environmental chemistry of actinides; uptake of actinides by plants; distribution of actinides in components of White Oak Lake; entry of actinides into terrestrial food chains; relationship between chemical behavior and uptake of actinides by organisms; and behavior of Pu in freshwater and marine food chains

Natural Ecosystem Surrounding a Conventional Banana Crop Improves Plant Health and Fruit Quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florence P. Castelan

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Natural ecosystems near agricultural landscapes may provide rich environments for growing crops. However, the effect of a natural ecosystem on crop health and fruit quality is poorly understood. In the present study, it was investigated whether the presence of a natural ecosystem surrounding a crop area influences banana plant health and fruit postharvest behavior. Plants from two conventional banana crop areas with identical planting time and cultural practices were used; the only difference between banana crop areas is that one area was surrounded by a natural forest (Atlantic forest fragment (Near-NF, while the other area was inserted at the center of a conventional banana crop (Distant-NF. Results showed that bananas harvested from Near-NF showed higher greenlife and a more homogeneous profile during ripening compared to fruits harvested from Distant-NF. Differences in quality parameters including greenlife, carbohydrate profile, and pulp firmness between fruits harvested from Near-NF and Distant-NF are explained, at least partly, by differences in the balance of plant growth regulators (indole-3-acetic acid and abscisic acid in bananas during ripening. Furthermore, plants from Near-NF showed a lower severity index of black leaf streak disease (BLSD and higher levels of phenolic compounds in leaves compared to plants from Distant-NF. Together, the results provide additional evidence on how the maintenance of natural ecosystems near conventional crop areas could be a promising tool to improve plant health and fruit quality.

Examining the interaction between food outlets and outdoor food advertisements with primary school food environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Walton, Mat; Pearce, Jamie; Day, Peter

2009-09-01

Schools are commonly seen as a site of intervention to improve children's nutrition, and prevent excess weight gain. Schools may have limited influence over children's diets; however, with home and community environments also exerting an influence within schools. This study considered the environment of food outlets and outdoor food advertisements surrounding four case study primary schools in New Zealand, and the impact of that external environment on within-school food environments. The shortest travel route between school and home addresses, and the number of food outlets and advertisements passed on that route, was calculated for each student. Interviews with school management were conducted. The schools with a higher percentage of students passing food outlets and advertisements considered that their presence impacted on efforts within schools to improve the food environment. Limiting students' exposure to food outlets and outdoor food adverts through travel route planning, reducing advertising, or limiting the location of food outlets surrounding schools could be explored as intervention options to support schools in promoting nutrition.

Physiognomic and chemical characters in wood as palaeoclimate proxies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poole, I.J.; Bergen, P.F. van

2006-01-01

Fossil wood is both abundant and ubiquitous through geological time and space. During growth the parent plant was directly influenced by the biotic and abiotic (including climatic-) factors in the surrounding environment. The climate affects wood production in a number of ways and it is the

Technology Of Controlled-Environment Agriculture

Science.gov (United States)

Bubenheim, David L.; Bates, Maynard E.

1995-01-01

Report discusses controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) for commercial production of organisms, whether plants or animals. Practiced in greenhouses to produce food on nonarable lands. Describes conceptual regenerative system that incorporates biological, physical, and chemical processes to support humans in extraterrestrial environments.

Improving the monitoring of a dumping site in a dynamic environment. Example of the Octeville site (Bay of Seine, English Channel).

Science.gov (United States)

Méar, Yann; Poizot, Emmanuel; Murat, Anne; Beryouni, Khadija; Baux, Noémie; Dauvin, Jean-Claude

2018-04-01

Dredged sediments have different physical and chemical characteristics compared with the sediments in place, which generates multiple effects on the environment. In this study, we show that the sampling strategy used to monitor the effects of dredge spoil deposition on the surrounding environment can lead to different interpretations. It appears that sediment sample replicates may or may not be necessary, depending on the studied area, the prevailing environmental forcings before sediment sampling and the combination of these two factors. The proposed modus operandi allows us to optimize both the confidence on the obtained results and the cost of the sediment studies (sampling and laboratory analyses). The results are based on the sediment fine fraction, which is considered as a key environmental component due, for example, to its strong association with the structure of benthic faunal communities as well as its role in the build-up of pollutants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In Situ Observation of Hard Surrounding Rock Displacement at 2400-m-Deep Tunnels

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Xia-Ting; Yao, Zhi-Bin; Li, Shao-Jun; Wu, Shi-Yong; Yang, Cheng-Xiang; Guo, Hao-Sen; Zhong, Shan

2018-03-01

This paper presents the results of in situ investigation of the internal displacement of hard surrounding rock masses within deep tunnels at China's Jinping Underground Laboratory Phase II. The displacement evolution of the surrounding rock during the entire excavation processes was monitored continuously using pre-installed continuous-recording multi-point extensometers. The evolution of excavation-damaged zones and fractures in rock masses were also observed using acoustic velocity testing and digital borehole cameras, respectively. The results show four kinds of displacement behaviours of the hard surrounding rock masses during the excavation process. The displacement in the inner region of the surrounding rock was found to be greater than that of the rock masses near the tunnel's side walls in some excavation stages. This leads to a multi-modal distribution characteristic of internal displacement for hard surrounding rock masses within deep tunnels. A further analysis of the evolution information on the damages and fractures inside the surrounding rock masses reveals the effects of excavation disturbances and local geological conditions. This recognition can be used as the reference for excavation and supporting design and stability evaluations of hard-rock tunnels under high-stress conditions.

The surrounding concrete structure of the containment as a safety component

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alex, H.; Kuntze, W.M.

1978-01-01

This paper will briefly discuss the containments of the various types of reactors in the Federal Republic of Germany and will try to show the importance of the surrounding concrete structures with respect to safety. It will be seen that the surrounding concrete structures serve in any case - as protection against external events - as secondary shielding and must therefore be considered as a passive safety feature. The design requirements for the surrounding concrete structures with respect to protection against external events and to physical protection generally supplement each other. Reference will be made to possible alternatives, which might result from studies of underground siting of nuclear power plants. Whether or not this type of construction can lead to additional safety can only be judged when the results of all these studies - some of which are still under way - are evaluated. The concluding part of this paper will deal with the responsibilities of the civil engineering supervisory authorities and the nuclear licensing authorities with respect to the surrounding concrete structures. (orig.) [de

Consistent and robust determination of border ownership based on asymmetric surrounding contrast.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakai, Ko; Nishimura, Haruka; Shimizu, Ryohei; Kondo, Keiichi

2012-09-01

Determination of the figure region in an image is a fundamental step toward surface construction, shape coding, and object representation. Localized, asymmetric surround modulation, reported neurophysiologically in early-to-intermediate-level visual areas, has been proposed as a mechanism for figure-ground segregation. We investigated, computationally, whether such surround modulation is capable of yielding consistent and robust determination of figure side for various stimuli. Our surround modulation model showed a surprisingly high consistency among pseudorandom block stimuli, with greater consistency for stimuli that yielded higher accuracy of, and shorter reaction times in, human perception. Our analyses revealed that the localized, asymmetric organization of surrounds is crucial in the detection of the contrast imbalance that leads to the determination of the direction of figure with respect to the border. The model also exhibited robustness for gray-scaled natural images, with a mean correct rate of 67%, which was similar to that of figure-side determination in human perception through a small window and of machine-vision algorithms based on local processing. These results suggest a crucial role of surround modulation in the local processing of figure-ground segregation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interactions between chemical and non-chemical stressors and inherent characteristics to elucidate children’s mental health disparities

Science.gov (United States)

Children may be more vulnerable to the combined interactions of chemical and non-chemical stressors from their built, natural, and social environments when compared to adults. When children are exposed to cigarette smoke, bisphenol A (BPA), or organophosphate pesticides, they are...

Enhanced sources of acoustic power surrounding AR 11429

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donea, Alina; Hanson, Christopher

2013-01-01

Multi-frequency power maps of the local acoustic oscillations show acoustic enhancements (''acoustic-power halos'') at high frequencies surrounding large active region. Computational seismic holography reveals a high-frequency ''acoustic-emission halo'', or ''seismic glory'' surrounding large active regions. In this study, we have applied computational seismic holography to map the seismic seismic source density surrounding AR 11429. Studies of HMI/SDO Doppler data, shows that the ''acoustic halos'' and the ''seismic glories'' are prominent at high frequencies 5–8 mHz. We investigate morphological properties of acoustic-power and acoustic emission halos around an active region to see if they are spatially correlated. Details about the local magnetic field from vectormagnetograms of AR 11429 are included. We identify a 15'' region of seismic deficit power (dark moat) shielding the white-light boundary of the active region. The size of the seismic moat is related to region of intermediate magnetic field strength. The acoustic moat is circled by the halo of enhanced seismic amplitude as well as enhanced seismic emission. Overall, the results suggest that features are related. However, if we narrow the frequency band to 5.5 – 6.5 mHz, we find that the seismic source density dominates over the local acoustic power, suggesting the existence of sources that emit more energy downward into the solar interior than upward toward the solar surface.

Quantum Chemical Modeling of Enzymatic Reactions: The Case of Decarboxylation.

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Rong-Zhen; Yu, Jian-Guo; Himo, Fahmi

2011-05-10

We present a systematic study of the decarboxylation step of the enzyme aspartate decarboxylase with the purpose of assessing the quantum chemical cluster approach for modeling this important class of decarboxylase enzymes. Active site models ranging in size from 27 to 220 atoms are designed, and the barrier and reaction energy of this step are evaluated. To model the enzyme surrounding, homogeneous polarizable medium techniques are used with several dielectric constants. The main conclusion is that when the active site model reaches a certain size, the solvation effects from the surroundings saturate. Similar results have previously been obtained from systematic studies of other classes of enzymes, suggesting that they are of a quite general nature.

Man and the environment: Disease as a warning symptom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Begemann, H.

1991-01-01

The author explains the importance of the environment to human health. In this connection, the main causes of disease are dealt with separately for physical precipitating factors (ionising and non-ionising rays) and chemical processes in the environment (air, drinking water, pollution chemical production plants). (MG) [de

Experimental Studies on Hypersonic Stagnation Point Chemical Environment

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Chazot, O

2006-01-01

Development of space transportation is a very challenging task. Hypersonic flight should be investigated in details to allow designing spacecraft according to the severe environment of their flight conditions...

Occurrence and distribution of pharmaceutically active and endocrine disrupting compounds in Singapore's marine environment: Influence of hydrodynamics and physical–chemical properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayen, Stéphane; Zhang, Hui; Desai, Malan Manish; Ooi, Seng Keat; Kelly, Barry C.

2013-01-01

The fate and exposure risks of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in marine environments are not well-understood. In this study we developed a multi-residue analytical method for quantifying concentrations of forty target compounds in seawater from Singapore. Analyses of samples (n = 24) from eight sites showed the occurrence of several compounds, including gemfibrozil ( R ). Principal Components Analysis revealed a strong relationship between t R and contaminant concentrations. While source emissions are undoubtedly important, proximate distance to a wastewater treatment plant had little influence on concentrations. The site with the greatest t R , which exhibited the highest concentrations, is adjacent to Singapore's largest protected wetland reserve. The results highlight an important linkage between hydrodynamic behavior and contaminant exposure risks in complex coastal marine ecosystems. Highlights: •A field study of emerging contaminants in Singapore's coastal marine environment was conducted. •PhACs such as gemfibrozil, triclosan, carbamazepine and ibuprofen were frequently detected. •Site proximity to WWTP had little influence on ambient concentrations. •Contaminant concentrations were highly correlated to hydrodynamic residence time. •Coastal hydrodynamic behaviour greatly influences contaminant exposure risks. -- A field study demonstrates the influence of hydrodynamic residence time and physical–chemical properties on exposure risks of PhACs and EDCs in coastal marine ecosystems

Chemical Sensing in the Marine Environment, Final Report

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Holland, Paul

1998-01-01

... these analyses in the near shore environment. During the OSME program, new methods for sampling and detecting trace levels of explosives from unexploded ordinance in seawater were developed and demonstrated...

Spatial Distribution of Viruses Associated with Planktonic and Attached Microbial Communities in Hydrothermal Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Nunoura, Takuro; Kazama, Hiromi; Noguchi, Takuroh; Inoue, Kazuhiro; Akashi, Hironori; Yamanaka, Toshiro; Toki, Tomohiro; Yamamoto, Masahiro; Furushima, Yasuo; Ueno, Yuichiro; Yamamoto, Hiroyuki; Takai, Ken

2012-01-01

Viruses play important roles in marine surface ecosystems, but little is known about viral ecology and virus-mediated processes in deep-sea hydrothermal microbial communities. In this study, we examined virus-like particle (VLP) abundances in planktonic and attached microbial communities, which occur in physical and chemical gradients in both deep and shallow submarine hydrothermal environments (mixing waters between hydrothermal fluids and ambient seawater and dense microbial communities attached to chimney surface areas or macrofaunal bodies and colonies). We found that viruses were widely distributed in a variety of hydrothermal microbial habitats, with the exception of the interior parts of hydrothermal chimney structures. The VLP abundance and VLP-to-prokaryote ratio (VPR) in the planktonic habitats increased as the ratio of hydrothermal fluid to mixing water increased. On the other hand, the VLP abundance in attached microbial communities was significantly and positively correlated with the whole prokaryotic abundance; however, the VPRs were always much lower than those for the surrounding hydrothermal waters. This is the first report to show VLP abundance in the attached microbial communities of submarine hydrothermal environments, which presented VPR values significantly lower than those in planktonic microbial communities reported before. These results suggested that viral lifestyles (e.g., lysogenic prevalence) and virus interactions with prokaryotes are significantly different among the planktonic and attached microbial communities that are developing in the submarine hydrothermal environments. PMID:22210205

Exposure to Chemicals in Consumer Products: The Role of the Near-Field Environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fantke, Peter; Ernstoff, Alexi; Huang, L.

2016-01-01

Humans can be exposed to chemicals in consumer products during product use and environmental releases with inhalation, ingestion, and dermal uptake as typical exposure routes. Nevertheless, chemical exposure modeling has traditionally focused on the far-field with near-field indoor models only...... recently gaining attention. Further, models that are mostly emissions-based, may not necessarily be applicable to all types of chemical release from consumer products. To address this gap, we (1) define a framework to simultaneously account for exposure to chemicals in the near- and far-field, (2......) determine chemical product concentrations for various functional use categories, (3) introduce a quantitative metric linking exposure to chemical mass in products, the Product Intake Fraction (PiF), and (4) demonstrate our framework for various consumer product categories. This framework lends itself...

Ecological effects from transuranium elements in terrestrial environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uiker, F.U.

1985-01-01

To understand ecological effects from transuranium elements in environment it is necessary to know how their chemical, physical and biological behaviour depends on duration of their being in natural environment. It is necesary to take into account that behaviour of transuranium elements in environment depends on physical and chemical forms of a nuclide as well as on characteristics of ecosystem. Radiation dose of certain tissues plays an essential role here but dose distribution is especially complicated for relatively non-soluble α-irradiators

Casimer Funk, nonconformist nomenclature, and networks surrounding the discovery of vitamins.

Science.gov (United States)

Maltz, Alesia

2013-07-01

In the 2 decades between when the existence of vitamins was first postulated and when they were isolated, scientists and research physicians could produce no conclusive evidence for their existence from the laboratory or clinic. By the time the first vitamin was chemically isolated, vitamins were already widely accepted by scientists, clinicians, the public, and government agencies. In the period between when vitamins were postulated and the Nobel Prize was awarded for their discovery, a debate over nomenclature served as a substitute for a priority dispute. The most popular term "vitamine" was introduced by Casimer Funk in 1912 and was changed to "vitamin" by Cecil Drummond in 1920. Initial conditions surrounding the discovery of vitamins, including World War I, necessitated the creation of unusual networks for the dissemination of scientific information about vitamins. In Great Britain, research institutes, government agencies, and individual researchers were instrumental in creating a set of national and international networks for the dissemination of information from research laboratories to hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical houses, and the public. These networks of dissemination still exert an influence on how scientific information about vitamins is communicated to the public today.

Teamwork in high-risk environments analogous to space

Science.gov (United States)

Kanki, Barbara G.

1990-01-01

Mountaineering expeditions combine a number of factors which make them potentially good analogs to the planetary exploration facet of long-duration space missions. A study of mountain climbing teams was conducted in order to evaluate the usefulness of the environment as a space analog and to specifically identify the factors and issues surrounding teamwork and 'successful' team performance in two mountaineering environments. This paper focuses on social/organizational factors, including team size and structure, leadership styles and authority structure which were found in the sample of 22 climb teams (122 individuals). The second major issue discussed is the construction of a valid performance measure in this high-risk environment.

Spontaneous magnetic alignment by yearling snapping turtles: rapid association of radio frequency dependent pattern of magnetic input with novel surroundings.

Science.gov (United States)

Landler, Lukas; Painter, Michael S; Youmans, Paul W; Hopkins, William A; Phillips, John B

2015-01-01

We investigated spontaneous magnetic alignment (SMA) by juvenile snapping turtles using exposure to low-level radio frequency (RF) fields at the Larmor frequency to help characterize the underlying sensory mechanism. Turtles, first introduced to the testing environment without the presence of RF aligned consistently towards magnetic north when subsequent magnetic testing conditions were also free of RF ('RF off → RF off'), but were disoriented when subsequently exposed to RF ('RF off → RF on'). In contrast, animals initially introduced to the testing environment with RF present were disoriented when tested without RF ('RF on → RF off'), but aligned towards magnetic south when tested with RF ('RF on → RF on'). Sensitivity of the SMA response of yearling turtles to RF is consistent with the involvement of a radical pair mechanism. Furthermore, the effect of RF appears to result from a change in the pattern of magnetic input, rather than elimination of magnetic input altogether, as proposed to explain similar effects in other systems/organisms. The findings show that turtles first exposed to a novel environment form a lasting association between the pattern of magnetic input and their surroundings. However, under natural conditions turtles would never experience a change in the pattern of magnetic input. Therefore, if turtles form a similar association of magnetic cues with the surroundings each time they encounter unfamiliar habitat, as seems likely, the same pattern of magnetic input would be associated with multiple sites/localities. This would be expected from a sensory input that functions as a global reference frame, helping to place multiple locales (i.e., multiple local landmark arrays) into register to form a global map of familiar space.

Estimation of environment-related properties of chemicals for design of sustainable processes: Development of group-contribution+ (GC+) models and uncertainty analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hukkerikar, Amol; Kalakul, Sawitree; Sarup, Bent

2012-01-01

The aim of this work is to develop group-3 contribution+ (GC+)method (combined group-contribution (GC) method and atom connectivity index (CI)) based 15 property models to provide reliable estimations of environment-related properties of organic chemicals together with uncertainties of estimated...... property values. For this purpose, a systematic methodology for property modeling and uncertainty analysis is used. The methodology includes a parameter estimation step to determine parameters of property models and an uncertainty analysis step to establish statistical information about the quality......, poly functional chemicals, etc.) taken from the database of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and from the database of USEtox is used. For property modeling and uncertainty analysis, the Marrero and Gani GC method and atom connectivity index method have been considered. In total, 22...

Rules and recent trends for setting health-based occupational exposure limits for chemicals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jolanta Skowroń

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The working environment is the special case of the non-natural environment created by man in which the increased production activity brings about the concentration of stimulators particularly aggressive to the human organism, such as chemical hazards, noise, vibration, extreme temperatures, and finally, intensified psychological and emotional stress. Depending on the nature and intensity, working environment factors have been classified into dangerous, harmful and annoying. The workers are more and more frequently exposed to dangerous chemicals in the working environment. The chemicals cause many diseases including, in the 1st place, respiratory insufficiency, inflammatory skin conditions, psychoneurological disorders and neoplastic diseases. Occupational exposure limit values (OELs, the main criteria for occupational exposure assessment, constitute an important factor for the safe use of chemicals in the working environment. In Poland, to date there are 524 chemical substances and 19 dusts for which maximum admissible concentrations (MAC have been established.

Materials of 44. Scientific Assembly of Polish Chemical Society and Association of Engineers and Technicians of Chemical Industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

Scientific assemblies of Polish Chemical Society and Association of Engineers and Technicians of Chemical Industry are the most important chemical meeting organised annually in Poland. Basic as well as application studies in all chemical branches have been extensively presented. The next subjects was proposed as scientific sessions and symposia topics: solid state chemistry; didactics of chemistry; electrochemistry; biologically active compounds; geochemistry; organic chemistry; physical chemistry; environment quality and protection; coordination chemistry; chemical technology; polymers; explosive materials; analytical chemistry; theoretical chemistry

The chemical industry - a danger to nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voigtsberger, P.

1976-01-01

Nuclear power stations could contaminate large areas with radioactivity when destroyed by strong external influences. In Germany, authorities try to cope with this danger firstly by making certain demands on the strength of the reactor shell and secondly by imposing strict safety regulations on dangerous industrial plants in the surroundings of the reactor. In the case of chemical industry, this means: If a chemical plant and a nuclear reactor lie closely together, special stress is given to explosion pretection measures in the form of primary explosion protection, e.g. strong sealing of inflammable gases and liquids handled in the immediate neighbourhood of the reactor. (orig.) [de

Opportunity's Surroundings on Sol 1818

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this full-circle view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,818th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's surface mission (March 5, 2009). South is at the center; north at both ends. The rover had driven 80.3 meters (263 feet) southward earlier on that sol. Tracks from the drive recede northward in this view. The terrain in this portion of Mars' Meridiani Planum region includes dark-toned sand ripples and lighter-toned bedrock. This view is presented as a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction.

[Prospects in getting accordance between chemical analytic control means and medical technical requirements to safety system concerning chemical weapons destruction].

Science.gov (United States)

Rembovskiĭ, V R; Mogilenkova, L A; Savel'eva, E I

2005-01-01

The major unit monitoring chemical weapons destruction objects is a system of chemical analyticcontrol over the technologic process procedures and possibility of environment and workplace pollution withtoxicchemicals and their destruction products. At the same time, physical and chemical control means meet sanitary and hygienic requirements incompletely. To provide efficient control, internationally recognized approaches should be adapted to features of Russian system monitoring pollution of chemical weapons destruction objects with toxic chemicals.

Flow evaluation of the leaching hazardous materials from spent nickel-cadmium batteries discarded in different water surroundings.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xingmei; Song, Yan; Nan, Junmin

2018-02-01

The leaching characteristics of hazardous materials from Ni-Cd batteries immersed in four typical water samples, i.e., water with NaCl, river water, tap water, and deionized water, were investigated to evaluate the potential environmental harm of spent Ni-Cd batteries in the water surroundings. It is shown that four water surroundings all could leach hazardous materials from the Ni-Cd batteries. The water with NaCl concentration of 66.7 mg L -1 had the highest leaching ability, the hazardous materials were leached after only approximately 50 days (average time, with a standard deviation of 4.1), while less than 100 days were needed in the others. An electrochemical corrosion is considered to be the main leaching mechanism leading to battery breakage, while the dissolution-deposition process and the powder route result in the leakage and transference of nickel and cadmium materials from the electrodes. The anions, i.e., SO 4 2- and Cl - , and dissolved oxygen in water were demonstrated to be the vital factors that influence the leaching processes. Thus, it is proposed that spent Ni-Cd batteries must be treated properly to avoid potential danger to the environment.

Chemical analysis of carbonates and carbonate rocks by atomic absorption analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tardon, S

1981-01-01

Evaluates methods of determining chemical composition of rocks surrounding black coal seams. Carbonate rock samples were collected in the Ostrava-Karvina coal mines. Sampling methods are described. Determination of the following elements and compounds in carbonate rocks is discussed: calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, barium, silicon, aluminium, titanium, sodium, potassium, sulfur trioxide, phosphorus pentoxide, water and carbon dioxide. Proportion of compounds insoluble in water in the investigated rocks is also determined. Most of the elements are determined by means of atomic absorption analysis. Phosphorus is also determined by atomic absorption analysis. Other compounds are determined gravimetrically. The described procedure permits weight of a rock sample to be reduced to 0.5 g without reducing analysis accuracy. The results of determining carbonate rock components by X-ray analysis and by chemical analysis are compared. Equipment used for atomic absorption analysis is characterized (the 503 Perkin-Elmer and the CF-4 Optica-Milano spectrophotometers). The analyzed method for determining carbonate rock permits more accurate classification of rocks surrounding coal seams and rock impurities in run-of-mine coal. (22 refs.) (In Czech)

Seawater-sediment interaction at elevated temperatures and pressures: implications for the near field chemical environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seyfried, W.E. Jr.; Thornton, E.C.; Janecky, D.R.

1981-01-01

Results of four experiments are reported which document chemical exchange and mineralogic modification during seawater-sediment interaction at 200 0 to 300 0 C, 500 bars. Sediments used for this study are from MPG-1 (central North Pacific). Experimental conditions (T, P, W/R) were chosen to be reasonably analogous to conditions which will characterize the near field environment; that is a zone within approximately 1 m of the buried waste canister. In general, the major element chemistry of seawater was similarly modified in all experiments. The aqueous concentrations of Ca, Mg, Sr, and SO 4 decreased and SiO 2 /sub (aq)/, Na, K, and ΣCO 2 increased relative to values in seawater prior to reaction with sediments. pH decreased and remained distinctly acid. Con comitantly significant concentrations of heavy metals entered seawater from the sediments during reaction. Dissolution of Mn-rich phases profoundly affected alteration processes. For example, reaction of MnO 2 components of the smectite-rich sediment (Pacific smectite) with seawater created an unusually oxidizing milieu (fO 2 = 10 -7 74 ), and resulted in dissolution of significant quantities of Au from the reaction cell. Although illite-quartz-Fe-chlorite (sediment B)-seawater interaction also created a relatively oxidizing environment, this environment was not capable of oxidizing Au. Thus, in this regard (oxidation potential) sediment mineralogy exerts a strong influence. Mineralogic modification of sediment B at 200 0 and 300 0 C was minor and characterized by partial dissolution of illite and exchange of Fe for Mg in chlorite. In contrast the smectite-rich sediment, which, prior to reaction with seawater contained a poorly crystalline smectite phase, clinoptilolite, and amorphous material, recrystallized totally to a well defined smectite mineral. Anhydrite was abundantly present amongst the alteration products of all experiments

Chemical variation in a dominant tree species: population divergence, selection and genetic stability across environments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julianne M O'Reilly-Wapstra

Full Text Available Understanding among and within population genetic variation of ecologically important plant traits provides insight into the potential evolutionary processes affecting those traits. The strength and consistency of selection driving variability in traits would be affected by plasticity in differences among genotypes across environments (G×E. We investigated population divergence, selection and environmental plasticity of foliar plant secondary metabolites (PSMs in a dominant tree species, Eucalyptus globulus. Using two common garden trials we examined variation in PSMs at multiple genetic scales; among 12 populations covering the full geographic range of the species and among up to 60 families within populations. Significant genetic variation in the expression of many PSMs resides both among and within populations of E. globulus with moderate (e.g., sideroxylonal A h(2op = 0.24 to high (e.g., macrocarpal G h(2op = 0.48 narrow sense heritabilities and high coefficients of additive genetic variation estimated for some compounds. A comparison of Qst and Fst estimates suggest that variability in some of these traits may be due to selection. Importantly, there was no genetic by environment interaction in the expression of any of the quantitative chemical traits despite often significant site effects. These results provide evidence that natural selection has contributed to population divergence in PSMs in E. globulus, and identifies the formylated phloroglucinol compounds (particularly sideroxylonal and a dominant oil, 1,8-cineole, as candidates for traits whose genetic architecture has been shaped by divergent selection. Additionally, as the genetic differences in these PSMs that influence community phenotypes is stable across environments, the role of plant genotype in structuring communities is strengthened and these genotypic differences may be relatively stable under global environmental changes.

Distribution and characteristics of gamma and cosmic ray dose rate in living environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagaoka, Toshi; Moriuchi, Shigeru

1991-01-01

A series of environmental radiation surveys was carried out from the viewpoint of characterizing the natural radiation dose rate distribution in the living environment, including natural and artificial ones. Through the analysis of the data obtained at numbers of places, several aspects of the radiation field in living environments were clarified. That is the gamma ray dose rate varies due to the following three dominant causes: 1) the radionuclide concentration of surrounding materials acting as gamma ray sources, 2) the spatial distribution of surrounding materials, and 3) the geometrical and shielding conditions between the natural gamma ray sources and the measured point; whereas, the cosmic ray dose rate varies due to the thickness of upper shielding materials. It was also suggested that the gamma ray dose rate generally shows an upward tendency, and the cosmic ray dose rate a downward one in artificial environment. This kind of knowledge is expected to serve as fundamental information for accurate and realistic evaluation of the collective dose in the living environment. (author)

An novel identification method of the environmental risk sources for surface water pollution accidents in chemical industrial parks.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jianfeng; Song, Yonghui; Yuan, Peng; Xiao, Shuhu; Han, Lu

2013-07-01

The chemical industry is a major source of various pollution accidents. Improving the management level of risk sources for pollution accidents has become an urgent demand for most industrialized countries. In pollution accidents, the released chemicals harm the receptors to some extent depending on their sensitivity or susceptibility. Therefore, identifying the potential risk sources from such a large number of chemical enterprises has become pressingly urgent. Based on the simulation of the whole accident process, a novel and expandable identification method for risk sources causing water pollution accidents is presented. The newly developed approach, by analyzing and stimulating the whole process of a pollution accident between sources and receptors, can be applied to identify risk sources, especially on the nationwide scale. Three major types of losses, such as social, economic and ecological losses, were normalized, analyzed and used for overall consequence modeling. A specific case study area, located in a chemical industry park (CIP) along the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province, China, was selected to test the potential of the identification method. The results showed that there were four risk sources for pollution accidents in this CIP. Aniline leakage in the HS Chemical Plant would lead to the most serious impact on the surrounding water environment. This potential accident would severely damage the ecosystem up to 3.8 km downstream of Yangtze River, and lead to pollution over a distance stretching to 73.7 km downstream. The proposed method is easily extended to the nationwide identification of potential risk sources.

IKEA and the Responsible Governance of Supply Chains : IKEA’s work on chemicals in textiles

OpenAIRE

Boström, Magnus; Gilek, Michael; Jönsson, Anna Maria; Karlsson, Mikael

2013-01-01

This report focuses on IKEA’s management and communication surrounding sustainability in general and chemical risks specifically. IKEA’s work is analysed in relation to theoretical concepts around responsibility, supply chain, and governance . The report focuses on IKEA’s visions and organizational structures, its policy instruments to deal with chemical risks, supplier-relations and communication and learning. The study is based on previous scholarly literature, analyses of relevant document...

Durability of cement-based materials: modeling of the influence of physical and chemical equilibria on the microstructure and the residual mechanical properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guillon, E.

2004-09-01

A large part of mechanical and durability characteristics of cement-based materials comes from the performances of the hydrated cement, cohesive matrix surrounding the granular skeleton. Experimental studies, in situ or in laboratory, associated to models, have notably enhanced knowledge on the cement material and led to adapted formulations to specific applications or particularly aggressive environments. Nevertheless, these models, developed for precise cases, do not permit to specifically conclude for other experimental conclusions. To extend its applicability domain, we propose a new evolutive approach, based on reactive transport expressed at the microstructure scale of the cement. In a general point of view, the evolution of the solid compounds of the cement matrix, by dissolutions or precipitations, during chemical aggressions can be related to the pore solution evolution, and this one relied to the ionic exchanges with the external environment. By the utilization of a geochemical code associated to a thermodynamical database and coupled to a 3D transport model, this approach authorizes the study of all aggressive solution. The approach has been validated by the comparison of experimental observations to simulated degradations for three different environments (pure water, mineralized water, seawater) and on three different materials (CEM I Portland cement with 0.25, 0.4 and 0.5 water-to cement ratio). The microstructural approach permits also to have access to mechanical properties evolutions. During chemical aggressions, the cement matrix evolution is traduced in a microstructure evolution. This one is represented from 3D images similarly to the models developed at NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). A new finite-element model, validated on previous tests or models, evaluates the stiffness of the cement paste, using as a mesh these microstructures. Our approach identifies and quantifies the major influence of porosity and its spatial

Illicit Drugs: Contaminants in the Environment and Utility in Forensic Epidemiology

Science.gov (United States)

The published literature surrounding the origin, occurrence, fate, and effects of illicit drug ingredients (IDIs) in the environment is examined. Similarities exist with medical pharmaceuticals, particularly with regard to the basic processes by which these ingredients enter the ...

W1045 environment surf drip shield and waste package outer barrier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gdowski, G.

1999-01-01

The environments on the drip shield and waste package outer barrier are controlled by the compositions of the waters that contact these components. the temperature (T) of these components, and the effective relative humidity (RH) at these components. Because the composition of the waters that are expected to enter the emplacement drifts (either by seepage flow or by episodic flow) have not been specified: well J13 water was chosen as the reference water (Harrar 1990). Section 6.2 discusses the accessible RH for the temperatures of interest at the repository horizon. Section 6.3 discusses the adsorption of water on metal alloys in the absence of hygroscopic salts. Because the temperatures of the DSs and the WPOBs are higher than those of the surrounding near-field environment, the relative humidity at the DSs and the WPOBs will be lower than that of the surrounding near-field environment. This difference is a result of the water partial pressure in the drift being constant and no higher than the equilibrium water vapor pressure at the temperature of the drift wall

Full Immersive Virtual Environment Cave[TM] in Chemistry Education

Science.gov (United States)

Limniou, M.; Roberts, D.; Papadopoulos, N.

2008-01-01

By comparing two-dimensional (2D) chemical animations designed for computer's desktop with three-dimensional (3D) chemical animations designed for the full immersive virtual reality environment CAVE[TM] we studied how virtual reality environments could raise student's interest and motivation for learning. By using the 3ds max[TM], we can visualize…

Exploring consumer exposure pathways and patterns of use for chemicals in the environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dionisio, Kathie L.; Frame, Alicia M.; Goldsmith, Michael-Rock

2015-01-01

(CPCat), a new, publically available (http://actor.epa.gov/cpcat) database of information on chemicals mapped to “use categories” describing the usage or function of the chemical. CPCat was created by combining multiple and diverse sources of data on consumer- and industrial-process based chemical uses...

Rules and recent trends for setting health-based occupational exposure limits for chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Skowroń, Jolanta; Czerczak, Sławomir

2015-01-01

The working environment is the special case of the non-natural environment created by man in which the increased production activity brings about the concentration of stimulators particularly aggressive to the human organism, such as chemical hazards, noise, vibration, extreme temperatures, and finally, intensified psychological and emotional stress. Depending on the nature and intensity, working environment factors have been classified into dangerous, harmful and annoying. The workers are more and more frequently exposed to dangerous chemicals in the working environment. The chemicals cause many diseases including, in the 1st place, respiratory insufficiency, inflammatory skin conditions, psychoneurological disorders and neoplastic diseases. Occupational exposure limit values (OELs), the main criteria for occupational exposure assessment, constitute an important factor for the safe use of chemicals in the working environment. In Poland, to date there are 524 chemical substances and 19 dusts for which maximum admissible concentrations (MAC) have been established. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Chemical Safety Research Advances in Support of Lautenberg Act

Science.gov (United States)

EPA researchers are developing new ways to identify which chemicals to prioritize for further testing, to provide better access to information about chemicals, and to understand what potential risks chemicals may pose to humans and the environment.

Using the WTO/TBT enquiry point to monitor tendencies in the regulation of environment, health, and safety issues affecting the chemical industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Pio Borges Menezes, Rodrigo; Maria de Souza Antunes, Adelaide

2005-04-01

The growing importance of technical regulation affecting the use and sale of chemical products is a topic of interest not only for the chemical industry, but also for governments, nongovernmental organizations, consumers, and interested communities. The results of such regulation on behalf of the environment, health and safety of individuals, as well as its economic effects on industrial activity, are well understood in the United States and recently in the European Union. In less developed countries, however, the general level of public understanding of these issues is still minimal. It is common knowledge that the so-called "regulatory asymmetry" between countries at different levels of development contributes to the establishment of technical barriers to trade. Such asymmetries, however, also have other impacts: the displacement of polluting industrial sectors to countries which have less demanding regulations, the concentration of unsafe and harmful environmental conditions in certain parts of the globe, and the competitive disadvantage for industries located in countries where control is more rigid. This study analyses information on a wide range of technical regulations issued by World Trade Organization (WTO) members, and focuses on those regulations that affect the chemical industry. This information is available through the WTO Enquiry Points, organizations created in each country to administrate the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT). This article consists of an analysis of 4,301 notifications of technical regulations by WTO member states in the 7-year period following the establishment of the WTO in 1995. Starting from this mass of information, 585 notifications that affect the circulation or use of chemical products were isolated. Of this group, 71% refer to only 15 countries. This group of notifications was further classified according to their motivation (the environment, health, safety), by the type of product affected (medications, fuels

Chemical Warfare Materiel in Sediment at a Deep-Water Discarded Military Munitions Site

Science.gov (United States)

Briggs, C. W.; Bissonnette, M. C.; Edwards, M.; Shjegstad, S. M.

2016-12-01

Understanding the release and transformation of chemical agent (CA) at underwater discarded military munitions (DMM) sites is essential to determine the potential risk to human health and impact on the ocean environment; yet few studies have been conducted at sites in excess of 250 m, the depth at which most U.S. CA munitions were disposed. Maritime construction workers installing cables or pipelines at a CA DMM site, as well as fishermen and scientific researchers deploying bottom-contact gear, represent possible exposure pathways to human receptors. The Hawai`i Undersea Military Munitions Assessment (HUMMA) sought to characterize a historic munitions sea-disposal site at depths between 400-650 m. During the 2014 HUMMA Sampling Survey, the Jason 2 remotely operated vehicle was used to collect sediments within two meters of suspected World War II chemical munitions, confirmed to be 100-lb M47 series bombs containing sulfur mustard. When environmental media was brought to the surface, samples were screened for distilled sulfur mustard (HD) and related agent breakdown products (ABP) (collectively referred to as chemical warfare materiel [CWM]). Detectable concentrations of HD and/or its ABP 1,4-dithiane were found in sediments collected at all CA DMM sites; HD was also detected at two control sites. The location and extent of munitions casing deterioration strongly influenced the distribution and level of CWM in sediment. The interior of the casing contained levels of CWM orders of magnitudes higher than that observed in the surrounding sediment at one meter distance, indicating the majority of the CWM is hydrolyzed as it is released from the munitions casing and a fraction of the fill materiel persists in the environment for decades following disposal. Although the potential for future site users to become exposed to CWA in recovered sediments and debris exists, the level of risk is significantly mitigated by the depth and location of the sea-disposal site.

Chemical ecology of fungi.

Science.gov (United States)

Spiteller, Peter

2015-07-01

Fungi are widespread in nature and have conquered nearly every ecological niche. Fungi occur not only in terrestrial but also in freshwater and marine environments. Moreover, fungi are known as a rich source of secondary metabolites. Despite these facts, the ecological role of many of these metabolites is still unknown and the chemical ecology of fungi has not been investigated systematically so far. This review intends to present examples of the various chemical interactions of fungi with other fungi, plants, bacteria and animals and to give an overview of the current knowledge of fungal chemical ecology.

The Influence of Real Estate on Its Surroundings Based on the Example of the Manufaktura Complex in Lodz

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olbińska Katarzyna

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Real estate compared to other goods is distinguished by a high specificity. One of the signs of these specifics is the interdependence or correlation between property and its surroundings. On the one hand, the factor of closest neighborhood can largely shape the value of the property, while on the other hand, the function, use and development of real estate can strongly affect nearby property and the image of their entire neighborhood. The dynamics of the interdependence between the property and its environment reveal themselves most clearly in moments of transformation of real estate and its use.

Pollution of the Marine Environment by Dumping: Legal Framework Applicable to Dumped Chemical Weapons and Nuclear Waste in the Arctic Ocean

OpenAIRE

Lott, Alexander

2016-01-01

The Arctic seas are the world’s biggest dumping ground for sea-disposed nuclear waste and have served among the primary disposal sites for chemical warfare agents. Despite of scientific uncertainty, the Arctic Council has noted that this hazardous waste still affects adversely the Arctic marine environment and may have implications to the health of the Arctic people. The purpose of this manuscript is to establish the rights and obligations of the Arctic States in c...

Microorganisms and their influence on radionuclide migration in igneous rock environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pedersen, Karsten

2005-01-01

Microorganisms interact with their surroundings and in some cases they greatly modify the characteristics of their environment. Several such interactions may have a significant influence on the behaviour of radionuclides possibly escaping from underground radioactive waste repositories. Microbes can mobilise trace elements. Unattached microbes may act as large colloids, transporting radionuclides on their cell surfaces with the groundwater flow. Many microbes produce ligands that can mobilise trace elements from solid phases and that can inhibit trace element sorption to solid phases. Bacterial species from the deep subsurface have demonstrated a significant effect on the mobilization of 59 Fe(III), 147 Pm(III), 234 Th(IV) and 241 Am(III) under varying redox conditions. The extent of bacterial immobilisation of radionuclides has been investigated under in situ conditions. Experiments have demonstrated this effect with 60 Co, 147 Pm, 234 Th, 237 Np, and 232 U. A large group of microbes catalyse the formation of iron oxides from dissolved ferrous iron in groundwater that reaches an oxidising environment. Such biological iron oxide systems (BIOS) will have a retardation effect on many radionuclides. Microorganisms execute an important influence on the chemical situation in groundwater. Especially, they may catalyse reactions that stabilise the redox potential in groundwater at a low and, therefore, beneficial level for a radioactive waste repository. (author)

Modeling the role of environment in addiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Caprioli, Daniele; Celentano, Michele; Paolone, Giovanna; Badiani, Aldo

2007-11-15

The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the main types of animal models used to investigate the modulatory role of environment on drug addiction. The environment can alter the responsiveness to addictive drugs in at least three major ways. First, adverse life experiences can make an individual more vulnerable to develop drug addiction or to relapse into drug seeking. Second, neutral environmental cues can acquire, through Pavlovian conditioning, the ability to trigger drug seeking even after long periods of abstinence. Third, the environment immediately surrounding drug taking can alter the behavioral, subjective, and rewarding effects of a given drug, thus influencing the propensity to use the same drug again. We have focused in particular on the results obtained using an animal model we have developed to study the latter type of drug-environment interaction.

Assessing and controlling risks from the emission of organic chemicals from construction products into indoor environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Veronica M; Crump, Derrick R; Harrison, Paul T C

2013-12-01

Construction products can be a significant source of indoor pollutants, including volatile organic compounds that may be a risk to the health and well-being of building occupants. There are currently a number of schemes for the labelling of products according to their potential to emit organic compounds. Assessment of the complex mixtures of compounds that may be released has mandated the development of test methods that allow the determination of the concentrations of the chemicals released from products in controlled test chamber environments. In response to concerns about the financial burden faced by manufacturers required to test products according to the various different labelling schemes currently in existence, the European Commission has investigated the scope for greater harmonisation. This initiative has sought to harmonise the process for the assessment of emissions data, complementing work led by the European standards organisation focussed on harmonising the test chamber procedures. The current labelling schemes have a range of requirements with respect to the number of chemicals to be quantified. A comparison of 13 schemes worldwide has identified 15 lists of target compounds, with a total of 611 chemicals occurring on at least one of the target lists. While harmonisation may clarify and perhaps simplify these requirements, at least in Europe, it can be expected that future changes to product formulations, the introduction of new products and our increasing knowledge about the potential risks to health, will require continued development of new and improved measurement techniques. There is, therefore, a particular challenge for analytical chemists to ensure the efficient provision of high quality emissions data and thereby ultimately enable effective control of risks to human health through the prevention or reduction of indoor air pollution.

Views on chemical safety information and influences on chemical disposal behaviour in the UK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hinks, J.; Bush, J.; Andras, P.; Garratt, J.; Pigott, G.; Kennedy, A.; Pless-Mulloli, T.

2009-01-01

This study examined how groups representing four tiers in the chemical supply chain (manufacturers, vendors, workers and consumers) understood safety information, and the factors that influenced disposal behaviour. Data from seven, semi-structured, focus groups was analysed both qualitatively (textual analysis) and quantitatively (network analysis). Such combined analytical methods enabled us to achieve both detailed insights into perceptions and behaviour and an objective understanding of the prevailing opinions that occurred within and between the focus group discussions. We found issues around awareness, trust, access and disposal behaviours differed between groups within the supply chain. Participants from the lower tiers perceived chemical safety information to be largely inaccessible. Labels were the main source of information on chemical risks for the middle and bottom tiers of the supply chain. Almost all of the participants were aware of the St Andrew's Cross and skull and crossbones symbols but few were familiar with the Volatile Organic Compound logo or the fish and tree symbol. Both the network and thematic analysis demonstrated that whilst frequent references to health risks associated with chemicals were made environmental risks were usually only articulated after prompting. It is clear that the issues surrounding public understanding of chemical safety labels are highly complex and this is compounded by inconsistencies in the cognitive profiles of chemical users. Substantially different cognitive profiles are likely to contribute towards communication difficulties between different tiers of the supply chain. Further research is needed to examine the most effective ways of communicating chemical hazards information to the public. The findings demonstrate a need to improve and simplify disposal guidance to members of the public, to raise public awareness of the graphic symbols in the CHIP 3.1, 2005 regulations and to improve access to disposal guidance

An aerial radiological survey of the EG ampersand G Mound Applied Technologies and surrounding area, Miamisburg, Ohio

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-11-01

An aerial radiological survey was conducted over EG ampersand G Mound Applied Technologies, Miamisburg, Ohio, during the period of June 9--24, 1989. The purpose of the 41-square-kilometer (16-square-mile) survey was to document the terrestrial gamma environment of the plant and surrounding area. In addition, ground-based exposure rate measurements and soil samples were obtained to support the aerial data. An exposure rate contour map at 1 meter above ground level was.constructed from the gamma data and overlaid on an aerial photograph and map of the area. Exposure rates measured in the area typically ranged from 9 to 11 microroentgens per hour (μR/h)

Assessment of chemicals in construction products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krogh, Hanne; Olsen, Stig Irving

2000-01-01

. The reasons for that are lacks of product-specific emissions by manufacturing of chemical products, e.g. waterproofing systems and sealants. Besides, most LCA-models do not include assessments of emissions in working environment, in indoor environment or from disposal processes. It was therefore...

El enfoque de la mezcla surround en la música

OpenAIRE

Castro Gómez, Albert

2010-01-01

El método estandarizado de escuchar música es el conocido sistema estéreo. Únicamente con dos altavoces o dos auriculares se escucha cualquier tipo de sonido de la manera más cómoda, usándolo en la mayoría de reproductores, ordenadores, coches, etc… pero hay otras formas de escuchar música. Nuevas técnicas de sonido que amplían la respuesta auditiva. Este nuevo sonido se conoce como sonido envolvente, internacionalmente llamado sonido surround. El sonido surround trabaja con más canales audit...

Neutron albedo effects of underground nuclear explosion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Bo; Ying Yangjun; Li Jinhong; Bai Yun

2013-01-01

The neutron field distribution is affected by the surrounding medium in the underground nuclear explosion. It will influence the radiation chemical diagnosis. By Monte Carlo simulation, the fuel burnup induced by device and neutron albedo was calculated. The analysis method of albedo effect on radiation chemical diagnosis result under special environment was proposed. Neutron albedo should be considered when capture reaction burnup fraction is used, and then correct analysis can be carried out on the nuclear device.The neutron field distribution is affected by the surrounding medium in the underground nuclear explosion. It will influence the radiation chemical diagnosis. By Monte Carlo simulation, the fuel burnup induced by device and neutron albedo was calculated. The analysis method of albedo effect on radiation chemical diagnosis result under special environment was proposed. Neutron albedo should be considered when capture reaction burnup fraction is used, and then correct analysis can be carried out on the nuclear device. (authors)

Decommissioning nuclear and radiation hazardous facilities at the Mining and Chemical Combine: International cooperation in assessment of impact on the environment and population health

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lebedev, V.A.; Revenko, Y.A.; Zhidkov, V.V.

2002-01-01

The discharge of radionuclides to the Yenisei River has substantially reduced after shutdown of direct cycle reactors at the Mining and Chemical Combine; currently exposure dose rate above water surface and radionuclide concentration in sewage water flows do not exceed the levels set by existing sanitary rules. The results of other protection measures connected with decommissioning of nuclear- and radiation-dangerous facilities and environment restoration activity are considered in the paper. Recently, the workers of the Mining and Chemical Combine, together with specialists from other Russian institutions and with international participation, made significant progress in investigation and monitoring of the radiological impact, primarily in the Yenisei River floodplain and around the 'Severnyi' radwaste disposal site. The inventory of man-made radionuclides in flood-plain deposits of the Yenisei River was assessed and long-term radionuclide transport into the Kara Sea forecasted. New local information on radionuclide pathways to man and environment was the basis for the development of an original dosimetric model. The models of radionuclide migration in the underground liquid radwaste disposal sites have been created and associated human doses predicted. A GIS project has been developed for Yenisei River floodplain contamination. Future work will include development of M and CC ecological geoinformation cadastre and assessments of the impact of radionuclide exposure on the environment, agriculture, fishing, and water quality, as well as identification of necessary rehabilitation measures. (author)

Chemicals in marine and coastal environments: the need for toxicological information

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, A.R.

1982-04-01

The tremendous increase in the number and amount of chemicals produced and transported in past years has resulted in increasing problems with accidental spills and uncontrolled waste sites involving these chemicals. The United States government has accordingly developed a mechanism for responding to such incidents. As part of that mechanism, the Hazardous Materials Response Project serves to coordinate scientific activities and facilitate in the gathering of scientific information needed for response to chemical spill or waste site emergencies involving coastal waters. Inevitably, much information of a toxicological nature is required to adequately evaluate potential hazards and appropriate responses. The Hazardous Materials Response Project is also able to provide a framework for significant progress in scientific understanding because it can bring together and encourage collaboration among experts in the various disciplines which are relevant to the environmental toxicological problems encountered.

Annual report 90 Environment Institute

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

This is the second annual report of the Environment Institute of the Joint Research Centre, Ispra Site, of the Commission of the European Communities. The report summarizes the progress accomplished in the course of 1990 in the various projects included in the multiannual (1988-91) Specific Research Programmes tackled by the Institute i.e. Environment Protection and Radioactive Waste Management, the former being focused on environmental chemicals, air pollution and pollutant transport, water pollution, chemical waste, food and drug analysis, the latter on safety assessment for waste disposal in geological formations. The scientific support given to the Commission Services for the implementation of EC directives dealing with chemicals, air pollution, water pollution, chemical waste and radioactive environmental monitoring (REM) is also described. Lastly the outcome of various activities related to work for third parties and to the participation of the Institute in EUREKA and COST projects is shortly outlined. The report includes data on the Institute Structure, human and budget resources and large installations operated by the Institute

Method for innovative synthesis-design of chemical process flowsheets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kumar Tula, Anjan; Gani, Rafiqul

Chemical process synthesis-design involve the identification of the processing route to reach a desired product from a specified set of raw materials, design of the operations involved in the processing route, the calculations of utility requirements, the calculations of waste and emission...... to the surrounding and many more. Different methods (knowledge-based [1], mathematical programming [2], hybrid, etc.) have been proposed and are also currently employed to solve these synthesis-design problems. D’ Anterroches [3] proposed a group contribution based approach to solve the synthesis-design problem...... of chemical processes, where, chemical process flowsheets could be synthesized in the same way as atoms or groups of atoms are synthesized to form molecules in computer aided molecular design (CAMD) techniques [4]. That, from a library of building blocks (functional process-groups) and a set of rules to join...

Study on the Optimal Equivalent Radius in Calculating the Heat Dissipation of Surrounding Rock

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. T. Song

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The heat dissipation of surrounding rock of a non-circular roadway is computed using an equivalent circular roadway approach under three circumstances when the area, perimeter, or hydraulic diameter of the circular roadway is equal to the non-circular roadway to obtain the optimal equivalent radius. The differential equations of heat conduction for unstable surrounding rock are established in cylindrical and rectangular coordinate systems using dimensionless analysis method. The calculation formulas of heat dissipation capacity and heat transfer resistance are derived from differential equations. Based on the method of equivalent radius, the similarities and differences between non-circular and circular roadways in calculating the heat dissipation of surrounding rock are discussed. Using the finite volume method, the calculation models for non-circular and circular roadways in the heat dissipation of surrounding rock are also established, among the non-circular roadways including three circumstances, namely, trapezoid, rectangle, and arch. The relation errors of heat dissipation of the surrounding rock of the three equivalent circular roadway methods are investigated for the three non-circular roadways. Results show that the calculation approach with equal perimeters is the best for the heat dissipation of surrounding rock of non-circular roadways.

Annual environment report 2012 - EDF Flamanville (annual report 2012 of environment survey)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delauge, A.

2013-01-01

After a presentation of the Flamanville site (history, operation principle of a nuclear plant, life of both units, impacts on the environment, organization, legislation, actions performed in 2012, ability management and communication regarding the management of the environment), this report presents the activity of Flamanville: production, events and incidents. It gives an overview of issues related to the control of impacts on the environment: radioactive releases, chemical and thermal releases, water resource management, dredging operations, conventional and nuclear wastes, radiological cleanliness, noise. Controls and inspections are indicated and briefly reported

Flow environment and matrix structure interact to determine spatial competition in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadell, Carey D; Ricaurte, Deirdre; Yan, Jing; Drescher, Knut; Bassler, Bonnie L

2017-01-13

Bacteria often live in biofilms, which are microbial communities surrounded by a secreted extracellular matrix. Here, we demonstrate that hydrodynamic flow and matrix organization interact to shape competitive dynamics in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Irrespective of initial frequency, in competition with matrix mutants, wild-type cells always increase in relative abundance in planar microfluidic devices under simple flow regimes. By contrast, in microenvironments with complex, irregular flow profiles - which are common in natural environments - wild-type matrix-producing and isogenic non-producing strains can coexist. This result stems from local obstruction of flow by wild-type matrix producers, which generates regions of near-zero shear that allow matrix mutants to locally accumulate. Our findings connect the evolutionary stability of matrix production with the hydrodynamics and spatial structure of the surrounding environment, providing a potential explanation for the variation in biofilm matrix secretion observed among bacteria in natural environments.

Ultrastructural relationship of the phagophore with surrounding organelles.

Science.gov (United States)

Biazik, Joanna; Ylä-Anttila, Päivi; Vihinen, Helena; Jokitalo, Eija; Eskelinen, Eeva-Liisa

2015-01-01

Phagophore nucleates from a subdomain of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) termed the omegasome and also makes contact with other organelles such as mitochondria, Golgi complex, plasma membrane and recycling endosomes during its formation. We have used serial block face scanning electron microscopy (SB-EM) and electron tomography (ET) to image phagophore biogenesis in 3 dimensions and to determine the relationship between the phagophore and surrounding organelles at high resolution. ET was performed to confirm whether membrane contact sites (MCSs) are evident between the phagophore and those surrounding organelles. In addition to the known contacts with the ER, we identified MCSs between the phagophore and membranes from putative ER exit sites, late endosomes or lysosomes, the Golgi complex and mitochondria. We also show that one phagophore can have simultaneous MCSs with more than one organelle. Future membrane flux experiments are needed to determine whether membrane contacts also signify lipid translocation.

Discussion on the Development of Green Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yunshen

2017-11-01

Chemical industry plays a vital role in the development process of national economy. However, in view of the special nature of the chemical industry, a large number of poisonous and harmful substances pose a great threat to the ecological environment and human health in the entire process of raw material acquisition, production, transportation, product manufacturing, and the final practical application. Therefore, it is a general trend to promote the development of chemistry and chemical engineering towards a greener environment. This article will focus on some basic problems occurred in the development process of green chemistry and chemical engineering.

Leisure, environment, and the quality of life

Science.gov (United States)

Daniel R. Williams

2006-01-01

The environment is omnipresent. It is everything and anything external to us that might have an impact on how we think, feel, and act. It is physical and social, natural and human made. It includes not just our immediate surroundings but also a kind of mental shell of spatially and temporally nested situations and contexts we carry around with us in the form of...

Improving Chemical Plant Safety Training Using Virtual Reality

OpenAIRE

Nasios, Konstantinos

2002-01-01

The chemical engineering industry often requires people to work in hazardous environments and to operate complicated equipment which often limits the type of training that be carried out on site. The daily job of chemical plant operators is becoming more demanding due to the increasing plant complexity together with increasing requirements on plant safety, production capacity, product quality and cost effectiveness. The importance of designing systems and environments that are as safe as poss...

Female sexual maturation and reproduction after prepubertal exposure to estrogens and endocrine disrupting chemicals: a review of rodent and human data.

Science.gov (United States)

Rasier, G; Toppari, J; Parent, A-S; Bourguignon, J-P

2006-07-25

Natural hormones and some synthetic chemicals spread into our surrounding environment share the capacity to interact with hormone action and metabolism. Exposure to such compounds can cause a variety of developmental and reproductive detrimental abnormalities in wildlife species and, potentially, in human. Many experimental and epidemiological data have reported that exposure of the developing fetus or neonate to environmentally relevant concentrations of some among these endocrine disrupters induces morphological, biochemical and/or physiological disorders in brain and reproductive organs, by interfering with the hormone actions. The impact of such exposures on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and subsequent sexual maturation is the subject of the present review. We will highlight epidemiological human studies and the effects of early exposure during gestational, perinatal or postnatal life in female rodents.

An experimental investigation of transient heat transfer in surrounding rock mass of high geothermal roadway

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Yuan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A self-designed experimental installation for transient heat transfer in the modelling surrounding rock mass of high geothermal roadways was elaborated in this paper. By utilizing the new installation, the temperature variation rules in surrounding rock mass of the high geothermal roadway during mechanical ventilation were studied. The results show that the roadway wall temperature decreases dramatically at the early stage of ventilation, and the temperature at every position of the surrounding rock mass is decreasing constantly with time passing by. From roadway wall to deep area, the temperature gradually increases until reaching original rock temperature. The relationship between dimensionless temperature and dimensionless radius demonstrates approximately exponential function. Meanwhile, the temperature disturbance range in the simulated surrounding rock mass extends gradually from the roadway wall to deep area in the surrounding rock mass. Besides, as the air velocity increases, heat loss in the surrounding rock mass rises and the ratio of temperature reduction becomes larger, the speed of disturbance range expansion also gets faster.

Quantum chemical evaluation for the stability of liquid sodium containing titanium nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Ai; Inaba, Kenji; Ishizawa, Yukie; Miura, Ryuji; Hatakeyama, Nozomu; Miyamoto, Akira; Saito, Jun-ichi; Ara, Kuniaki

2015-01-01

Recently, liquid sodium containing titanium nanoparticles (LSnanop) have attracted considerable attention. In this study, suspension state of Ti nanoparticle in liquid sodium was quantum chemically evaluated. The atomic interaction between Ti nanoparticles and sodium atoms in the liquid sodium medium was investigated. There were some literatures which gained quantum chemical insight into a nanoparticle with the surrounding sodium atom. However, liquid sodium medium itself together with a Ti nanoparticle under the realistic temperature has not yet been investigated theoretically. To overcome the problem of conventional theoretical method, we applied computationally low-load Tight Binding Quantum Chemical Molecular Dynamics (TB-QCMD) calculation method to investigate the suspension state of the Ti nanoparticle in liquid sodium metal. (author)

Stochastic analysis of uncertain thermal characteristic of foundation soils surrounding the crude oil pipeline in permafrost regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Tao; Zhou, Guoqing; Wang, Jianzhou; Zhao, Xiaodong

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The influence of stochastic properties and conditions on permafrost foundation was investigated. • A stochastic analysis for the uncertain thermal characteristic of crude oil pipe is presented. • The mean temperature and standard deviation of foundation soils are obtained and analyzed. • Average standard deviation and maximum standard deviation of foundation soils increase with time. - Abstract: For foundation soils surrounding the crude oil pipeline in permafrost regions, the soil properties and the upper boundary conditions are stochastic because of complex geological processes and changeable atmospheric environment. The conventional finite element analysis of thermal characteristics for crude oil pipeline is always deterministic, rather than taking stochastic parameters and conditions into account. This study investigated the stochastic influence of an underground crude oil pipeline on the thermal stability of the permafrost foundation on the basis of a stochastic analysis model and the stochastic finite element method. A stochastic finite element program is compiled by Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB) software, and the random temperature fields of foundation soils surrounding a crude oil pipeline in a permafrost region are obtained and analyzed by Neumann stochastic finite element method (NSFEM). The results provide a new way to predict the thermal effects of the crude oil pipeline in permafrost regions, and it shows that the standard deviations in temperature increase with time when considering the stochastic effect of soil properties and boundary conditions, which imply that the results of conventional deterministic analysis may be far from the true value, even if in different seasons. It can improve our understanding of the random temperature field of foundation soils surrounding the crude oil pipeline and provide a theoretical basis for actual engineering design in permafrost regions.

Teaching and Learning in Chemical Product Engineering - an Evolving par of the Chemical Engineering Curriculum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vigild, Martin Etchells; Kiil, Søren; Wesselingh, Johannes

2007-01-01

Over the last decade Chemical Product Engineering has evolved as part of the Chemical Engineering Curriculum at several universities in Europe and America. At the DTU Chemical Product Engineering was introduced in 2000. This presentation will report on the experiences gained from teaching classes...... and preparing a text book on the subject. [1] Chemical Product Engineering is solidly based on chemical technical and engineering knowledge. Furthermore, the subject naturally calls for a holistic approach to teaching and learning and introduces elements which target transferable and professional engineering...... skills. Such skills are important in Chemical Product Engineering when dealing with open-ended problems, creative problem solutions, operating in a team working environment and exercising project management. In our course we emphasise team activites, formative feed back to the students as well as helping...

Chemical nature of catalysts of oxide nanoparticles in environment

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Carbon nanostructures (CNS) are often grown using oxide nanoparticles as catalyst in chemical vapour deposition and these oxides are not expected to survive as such during growth. In the present study, the catalysts of cobalt- and nickel oxide-based nanoparticles of sizes varying over a range have been reduced at 575 ...

Linking disadvantaged housing areas to the surrounding city

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stender, Marie

Several disadvantaged social housing areas in Denmark are currently undergo-ing thorough physical refurbishments, aiming to integrate them better with the surrounding city. The ambition is to attract new users and residents by opening up the borders of the area and establish attractive, new...

Changes of the soil environment affected by fly ash dumping site of the electric power plant

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Jerzy; Gwizdz, Marta; Jamroz, Elzbieta; Debicka, Magdalena; Kocowicz, Andrzej

2014-05-01

In this study the effect of fly ash dumping site of the electric power plant on the surrounding soil environment was investigated. The fly ash dumping site collect wastes form brown coal combustion of Belchatow electric power station, central Poland. The dumping site is surrounding by forest, where pine trees overgrow Podzols derived from loose quartz sands. The soil profiles under study were located at a distance of 50, 100, 400 and 500 m from the dumping site, while control profiles were located 8 km away from the landfill. In all horizons of soil profiles the mpain hysico-chemical and chemical properties were determined. The humic substances were extracted from ectohumus horizons by Shnitzer's method, purified using XAD resin and freeze-dried. The fulvic acids were passed through a cation exchange column and freeze-dried. Optical density, elemental composition and atomic ratios were determined in the humic and fulvic acids. Organic carbon by KMnO4 oxidation was also determined in the organic soil horizons. The fly ash from the landfill characterized by high salinity and strong alkaline reaction (pH=10), which contributed significantly to the changes of the pH values in soils horizons. The alkalization of soils adjacent to the landfill was found, which manifested in increasing of pH values in the upper soil horizons. The impact of the landfill was also noted in the changes of the soil morphology of Podzols analysed. As a result of the alkalization, Bhs horizons have been converted into a Bs horizons. Leaching of low molecular humus fraction - typical for podzolization - has been minimized as a result of pH changes caused by the impact of the landfill, and originally occurring humic substances in the Bhs horizon (present in the control profiles) have been probably transported out of the soil profile and then into the groundwater.

Turkish Air Force's Experiences in Chemical Material Acquisition

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Taskiran, Huseyin

2002-01-01

.... In addition, it analyzes the chemical material acquisition from business perspective. Due to operating in different environments, the Turkish Air Force and the private sector have different objectives in the acquisition of chemical materials...

A multimodal architecture for simulating natural interactive walking in virtual environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordahl, Rolf; Serafin, Stefania; Turchet, Luca

2011-01-01

We describe a multimodal system that exploits the use of footwear-based interaction in virtual environments. We developed a pair of shoes enhanced with pressure sensors, actuators, and markers. These shoes control a multichannel surround sound system and drive a physically based audio...

Modeling study on geological environment at Horonobe URL site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimo, Michito; Yamamoto, Hajime; Kumamoto, Sou; Fujiwara, Yasushi; Ono, Makoto

2005-02-01

The Horonobe underground research project has been operated by Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute to study the geological environment of sedimentary rocks in deep underground. The objectives of this study are to develop a geological environment model, which incorporate the current findings and the data obtained through the geological, geophysical, and borehole investigations at Horonobe site, and to predict the hydrological and geochemical impacts caused by the URL shaft excavation to the surrounding area. A three-dimensional geological structure model was constructed, integrating a large-scale model (25km x 15km) and a high-resolution site-scale model (4km x 4km) that have been developed by JNC. The constructed model includes surface topography, geologic formations (such as Yuchi, Koetoi, Wakkanai, and Masuporo Formations), and two major faults (Ohomagari fault and N1 fault). In hydrogeological modeling, water-conductive fractures identified in Wakkanai Formation are modeled stochastically using EHCM (Equivalent Heterogeneous Continuum Model) approach, to represent hydraulic heterogeneity and anisotropy in the fractured rock mass. Numerical code EQUIV FLO (Shimo et al., 1996), which is a 3D unsaturated-saturated groundwater simulator capable of EHCM, was used to simulate the regional groundwater flow. We used the same model and the code to predict the transient hydrological changes caused by the shaft excavations. Geochemical data in the Horonobe site such as water chemistries, mineral compositions of rocks were collected and summarized into digital datasets. M3 (Multivariate, Mixing and Mass-balance) method developed by SKB (Laaksoharju et al., 1999) was used to identify waters of different origins, and to infer the mixing ratio of these end-members to reproduce each sample's chemistry. Thermodynamic code such as RHREEQC, GWB, and EQ3/6 were used to model chemical reactions that explain the present minerals and aqueous concentrations observed in the site

Characterization of plutonium-bearing wastes by chemical analysis and analytical electron microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behrens, R.G.; Buck, E.C.; Dietz, N.L.; Bates, J.K.; Van Deventer, E.; Chaiko, D.J.

1995-09-01

This report summarizes the results of characterization studies of plutonium-bearing wastes produced at the US Department of Energy weapons production facilities. Several different solid wastes were characterized, including incinerator ash and ash heels from Rocky Flats Plant and Los Alamos National Laboratory; sand, stag, and crucible waste from Hanford; and LECO crucibles from the Savannah River Site. These materials were characterized by chemical analysis and analytical electron microscopy. The results showed the presence of discrete PuO 2 PuO 2-x , and Pu 4 O 7 phases, of about 1μm or less in size, in all of the samples examined. In addition, a number of amorphous phases were present that contained plutonium. In all the ash and ash heel samples examined, plutonium phases were found that were completely surrounded by silicate matrices. Consequently, to achieve optimum plutonium recovery in any chemical extraction process, extraction would have to be coupled with ultrafine grinding to average particle sizes of less than 1 μm to liberate the plutonium from the surrounding inert matrix

Enhancing realism in virtual environments by simulating the audio-haptic sensation of walking on ground surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordahl, Rolf; Serafin, Stefania; Nilsson, Niels Christian

2012-01-01

overlooking a canyon. Subjects were asked to visit the environment wearing an head-mounted display and a custom made pair of sandals enhanced with sensors and actuators. A 12-channels surround sound system delivered a soundscape which was consistent with the visual environment. Passive haptics was provided...

Childhood obesity and endocrine disrupting chemicals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Taek Kim

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The prevalence of obesity around the world has increased sharply. Strong evidence has emerged over the last decades that human exposure to numerous endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs is the cause of obesity and obesity-related metabolic diseases. Many EDCs are manmade chemicals that are released into the environment. EDCs are exogenous compounds that interfere with hormonal regulation and normal endocrine systems, thereby affecting the health of animals and humans. The number of chemicals belonging to EDCs is increasing and some of them are very stable; they persist in the environment (persistent organic pollutants. Although they are banned, their concentrations have been continuously increasing over time. This review gives a brief introduction to common EDCs, and evidence of harmful effects of EDCs on obesity-related diseases; we focus in particular on EDCs’ role in causing mitochondrial dysfunction.

On non-linear magnetic-charged black hole surrounded by quintessence

Science.gov (United States)

Nam, Cao H.

2018-06-01

We derive a non-linear magnetic-charged black hole surrounded by quintessence, which behaves asymptotically like the Schwarzschild black hole surrounded by quintessence but at the short distances like the dS geometry. The horizon properties of this black hole are investigated in detail. The thermodynamics of the black hole is studied in the local and global views. Finally, by calculating the heat capacity and the free energy, we point to that the black hole may undergo a thermal phase transition, between a larger unstable black hole and a smaller stable black hole, at a critical temperature.

Crust Structure Data of Seas Surrounding Turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maden, N.; Gelisli, K.

2007-01-01

Black Sea, Aegean, Mediterranean and Marmara Sea, which surround the Turkey, have not been examined with respect to the Geological, Geophysical and other natural sciences sufficiently. In fact, it is not attach importance the Turkish seas adequately and abandoned with respect to the scientific researches. The most important reason of this situation is the lack of the education of the Marine Sciences in the Turkish Universities. In this study, it is tried to construct a crustal structure data base of the surrounding seas of the Turkey by collecting crustal structure data sets done by different authors in different times so far. The data acquired in the base are collected from different data base sources by dragging. The Moho depth in the eastern and western basin of the Black sea is 22 km and 19 km, respectively. In the Marmara Sea the Moho depth is 24 km. The moho value in the southern Aegean is 20 km, in the northern Aegean the moho depth is 30 km. on the other hand, the moho depth value in the eastern and western basin of the Mediterranean Sea are 15-20 km and 25-30 km, respectively

Novel Miniature Spectrometer For Remote Chemical Detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pipino, Andrew C.R.

2000-01-01

New chemical sensing technologies are critically important for addressing many of EM's priority needs as discussed in detail at http://emsp.em.doe.gov/needs. Many technology needs were addressed by this research. For example, improved detection strategies are needed for non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPL's), such as PCE (Cl2C=CCl2) and TCE (HClC=CCl2), which persist in the environment due their highly stable structures. By developing a miniature, ultra-sensitive, selective, and field-deployable detector for NAPL's, the approximate source location could be determined with minimal investigative expense. Contaminant plumes could also be characterized in detail. The miniature spectrometer developed under Project No.60231 could also permit accurate rate measurements in less time, either in the field or the laboratory, which are critically important in the development, testing, and ultimate utilization of models for describing contaminant transport. The technology could also be used for long-term groundwater monitoring or long-term stewardship in general. Many science needs are also addressed by the Project 60231, since the effort significantly advances the measurement science of chemical detection. Developed under Project No.60231, evanescent wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy (EW-CRDS) is a novel form of CRDS, which is an the emerging optical absorption technique. Several review articles on CRDS, which has been generally applied only to gas-phase diagnostics, have been published1-3. EW-CRDS4-10 forms the basis for a new class of chemical sensors that extends CRDS to other states of matter and leads to a miniaturized version of the concept. EW-CRDS uses miniature solid-state optical resonators that incorporate one or more total internal reflection (TIR) surfaces, which create evanescent waves. The evanescent waves emanate from the TIR surfaces, sampling the surrounding medium. The utility of evanescent waves in chemical analysis forms the basis for the field of attenuated

Enhancing area surrounding breast carcinoma on MR mammography: comparison with pathological examination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goethem, M. van; Verslegers, I.; Biltjes, I.; Schepper, A. de; Schelfout, K.; Colpaert, C.; Kersschot, E.; Tjalma, W.A.; Weyler, J.

2004-01-01

The enhancing area surrounding breast carcinoma on MR mammography is correlated with findings from pathological examination. We studied 194 patients with breast cancer who underwent preoperative MR mammography. Of all malignant lesions presenting with an enhancing surrounding area on MR mammography, morphologic features including long spicules, a ductal pattern, diffuse enhancement or nodules were evaluated and compared with histopathological examination. A double breast coil was used; we performed a 3D FLASH sequence with contiguous coronal slices of 2 mm, before and after injection of 0.2 mmol/kg GD-DTPA, and subtraction images were obtained. In total, 297 malignant lesions were detected at MR mammography and 101 of them had one or more types of enhancing surrounding area. In 49 of the 53 cancers with long spicules and in 49 of the 55 cancers with surrounding ductal pattern of enhancement, pathological examination showed in situ and/or invasive carcinoma. Multiple nodules adjacent to the carcinoma were seen in 20 patients and corresponded with six cases of invasive and ten cases of ductal in situ carcinoma. A diffuse enhancing area next to a mass was seen in ten patients and consisted of carcinoma in all cases: seven in situ and three invasive carcinomas. Enhancing areas including long spicules, a ductal pattern, noduli, or diffuse enhancement surrounding a carcinoma corresponded with in situ or invasive extension of the carcinoma in 92.5, 89, 80 and 100% of cases, respectively. (orig.)

Physical and chemical monitoring of environment components at Rirang and Eko Remaja West Kalimantan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sorot S, Achmad; Deddi, Eep; Wismawati, Titi; Widarti, Sri

2002-01-01

The aim of the environmental monitoring is to know the possibility change environmental component quality at Kalan area West Kalimantan. This monitoring activity has done parallel to the exploration and mining research on radioactive ore at Kalan area. The monitoring consist the activities such as river water sampling, stream sediments, soil, and pH. Water and sediment samples were taken from the same location as what been carried out at the previously research sampling. COD and BOD parameters of the water were been analyzed in field, while the other parameters were analyzed at Jakarta using spectrophotometer and Eberline alpha counter SACR5. Data obtained on BOD, COD, and heavy metal constant such as Ca, As, Mg, Fe, Ni, Zn, Cu, Pb, Mn, Mc, U, Th nad Ra lesser than that in 1997/1998 monitoring. Base on the criteria of EQAM, AMDAL the Rirang water quality (4.62 scales) and Eko Remaja water quality (4.76) are fairly good. Result of stream sediment and soil samples analysis are relatively close to 1997/1998 monitoring, except U and Th content were increase 1-5 %. Result of soil analysis on the parameters Ca, Ni, Zn, Cu, Pb, Mn, Mo, U, Th, and fe relatively same with the 1997/1998 monitoring, except the uranium content is lesser than that monitoring. The maximal radioactivity values were accepted is 0.4 Bq/l. Based on the physical and chemical assay of the river water, stream sediments, and soils samples shown that the quality of the environment was not deteriorating, that mean the exploration and mining research on radioactive ores are do not disturb the environment

New insights into the chemical behaviour of radioiodine in aquatic environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behrens, H.

1982-04-01

It was found that in surface fresh water and in soil water iodine is to a large extent chemically converted by processes which are instigated by microbial action. The reactions involve extracellular oxidation of iodide with subsequent incorporation of the iodine into organic compounds, probably proteins. Furthermore it was found that iodate is reduced, probably also by a biochemical reaction. This reduction is more pronounced in soil than in surface water. In surface fresh water the formed organic radioiodine compounds are mainly in solution. In soils the radioiodine becomes to a larger extent bound to insoluble organic substances by these processes. The dissolved form of organic iodine is not precipitable as silver halide. Some other chemical and physico-chemical properties are described. Details on how the iodine conversion influences its fixation processes in soil are given. Possible consequences of these reactions on the migration behaviour of radioiodine and on the performance as well as on the interpretation of experiments in this context are discussed. (orig.)

Summaries of the 40. Scientific Assembly of Polish Chemical Society and Association of Engineers and Technicians of Chemical Industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

Annual 40. Scientific Assembly of Polish Chemical Society and Association of Engineers and Technicians of Chemical Industry has been held in Gdansk on 22-26 September 1997. The most valuable scientific results obtained in Polish Laboratories have been presented in 22 main sections and 7 symposia directed especially at following subjects: analytical chemistry, biochemistry, solid state chemistry and material science, physical chemistry, heteroorganic and coordination chemistry, medical and pharmaceutical chemistry, metalorganic chemistry, inorganic and organic chemistry, polymers chemistry, chemistry and environment protection, theoretical chemistry, chemical didactics, photochemistry, radiation chemistry and chemical kinetics, chemical engineering, catalysis, crystallochemistry, chemical technology, electrochemistry, and instrumental methods

Democratizing rendering for multiple viewers in surround VR systems

KAUST Repository

Schulze, Jü rgen P.; Acevedo-Feliz, Daniel; Mangan, John; Prudhomme, Andrew; Nguyen, Phi Khanh; Weber, Philip P.

2012-01-01

We present a new approach for how multiple users' views can be rendered in a surround virtual environment without using special multi-view hardware. It is based on the idea that different parts of the screen are often viewed by different users, so that they can be rendered from their own view point, or at least from a point closer to their view point than traditionally expected. The vast majority of 3D virtual reality systems are designed for one head-tracked user, and a number of passive viewers. Only the head tracked user gets to see the correct view of the scene, everybody else sees a distorted image. We reduce this problem by algorithmically democratizing the rendering view point among all tracked users. Researchers have proposed solutions for multiple tracked users, but most of them require major changes to the display hardware of the VR system, such as additional projectors or custom VR glasses. Our approach does not require additional hardware, except the ability to track each participating user. We propose three versions of our multi-viewer algorithm. Each of them balances image distortion and frame rate in different ways, making them more or less suitable for certain application scenarios. Our most sophisticated algorithm renders each pixel from its own, optimized camera perspective, which depends on all tracked users' head positions and orientations. © 2012 IEEE.

Democratizing rendering for multiple viewers in surround VR systems

KAUST Repository

Schulze, Jürgen P.

2012-03-01

We present a new approach for how multiple users\\' views can be rendered in a surround virtual environment without using special multi-view hardware. It is based on the idea that different parts of the screen are often viewed by different users, so that they can be rendered from their own view point, or at least from a point closer to their view point than traditionally expected. The vast majority of 3D virtual reality systems are designed for one head-tracked user, and a number of passive viewers. Only the head tracked user gets to see the correct view of the scene, everybody else sees a distorted image. We reduce this problem by algorithmically democratizing the rendering view point among all tracked users. Researchers have proposed solutions for multiple tracked users, but most of them require major changes to the display hardware of the VR system, such as additional projectors or custom VR glasses. Our approach does not require additional hardware, except the ability to track each participating user. We propose three versions of our multi-viewer algorithm. Each of them balances image distortion and frame rate in different ways, making them more or less suitable for certain application scenarios. Our most sophisticated algorithm renders each pixel from its own, optimized camera perspective, which depends on all tracked users\\' head positions and orientations. © 2012 IEEE.

Effectively Communicating the Uncertainties Surrounding Ebola Virus Transmission.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andy Kilianski

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The current Ebola virus outbreak has highlighted the uncertainties surrounding many aspects of Ebola virus virology, including routes of transmission. The scientific community played a leading role during the outbreak-potentially, the largest of its kind-as many of the questions surrounding ebolaviruses have only been interrogated in the laboratory. Scientists provided an invaluable resource for clinicians, public health officials, policy makers, and the lay public in understanding the progress of Ebola virus disease and the continuing outbreak. Not all of the scientific communication, however, was accurate or effective. There were multiple instances of published articles during the height of the outbreak containing potentially misleading scientific language that spurred media overreaction and potentially jeopardized preparedness and policy decisions at critical points. Here, we use articles declaring the potential for airborne transmission of Ebola virus as a case study in the inaccurate reporting of basic science, and we provide recommendations for improving the communication about unknown aspects of disease during public health crises.

Effectively Communicating the Uncertainties Surrounding Ebola Virus Transmission.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilianski, Andy; Evans, Nicholas G

2015-10-01

The current Ebola virus outbreak has highlighted the uncertainties surrounding many aspects of Ebola virus virology, including routes of transmission. The scientific community played a leading role during the outbreak-potentially, the largest of its kind-as many of the questions surrounding ebolaviruses have only been interrogated in the laboratory. Scientists provided an invaluable resource for clinicians, public health officials, policy makers, and the lay public in understanding the progress of Ebola virus disease and the continuing outbreak. Not all of the scientific communication, however, was accurate or effective. There were multiple instances of published articles during the height of the outbreak containing potentially misleading scientific language that spurred media overreaction and potentially jeopardized preparedness and policy decisions at critical points. Here, we use articles declaring the potential for airborne transmission of Ebola virus as a case study in the inaccurate reporting of basic science, and we provide recommendations for improving the communication about unknown aspects of disease during public health crises.

Assessing the Nexus of Built, Natural, and Social Environments and Public Health Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Archer, R.; Alexander, S.; Douglas, J.

2017-12-01

This study investigates community-related environmental justice concerns and chemical and non-chemical health stressors from built, natural, and social environments in Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) County and East Oakland, California. The geographical distribution of health outcomes is related to the built and natural environments, as well as impacts from the social environment. A holistic systems view is important in assessing healthy behaviors within a community, because they do not occur in isolation. Geospatial analysis will be performed to integrate a total environment framework and explore the spatial patterns of exposure to chemical and non-chemical stressors and access to health-promoting environments. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis using primary and secondary existing data will be performed to determine how social environments impact exposure to chemical health stressors and access to health-promoting built and natural environments. This project will develop a comprehensive list of health-promoting built and natural environments (e.g., parks and community gardens) and polluting sites (e.g., shipping ports and sources of pollution not included in federal regulatory databases) in East Oakland and SELA. California Department of Public Health and U.S. Decennial Census data will also be included for geospatial analysis to overlay the distribution of air pollution-related morbidities (e.g. asthma, diabetes, and cancer) and access to health-promoting built and natural environments and related community assets, exposure to polluting industries, social disorganization, and public health outcomes in the target areas. This research will help identify the spatial and temporal distribution and cumulative impacts of critical pollution hotspots causing community environmental health impacts. The research team will also map how social environments impact exposure to chemical health stressors and access to health-promoting built and natural environments. The

40 CFR 716.50 - Reporting physical and chemical properties.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... chemical properties. Studies of physical and chemical properties must be reported under this subpart if... they investigated one or more of the following properties: (a) Water solubility. (b) Adsorption... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Reporting physical and chemical...

Chemical weathering in response to tectonic uplift and denudation rate in a semi-arid environment, southeast Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Ameijeiras-Mariño, Yolanda; Opfergelt, Sophie; Schoonejans, Jérôme; Vanacker, Veerle; Sonnet, Philippe; Delmelle, Pierre

2014-05-01

Soil thickness reflects the balance between soil production and denudation by chemical weathering and physical erosion. At topographic steady state, the soil weathering intensity is expected to be higher at low denudation rate (transport-limited) than at high denudation rate (weathering-limited). We tested this hypothesis for the first time in a semi-arid environment where chemical weathering processes are generally slow. The study site is the Internal Zone of the Betic Cordillera in Southeast Spain, Almeria province. The lithology is mainly mica-schist and quartzite with local presence of phyllite. Three catchments (EST, FIL, CAB) were selected upstream local faults along a gradient of increasing uplift rates (10-170 mm/kyr) and increasing denudation rates (20-250 mm/kyr), following the sequence EST

Abstracts Book of 42. Scientific Assembly of Polish Chemical Society and Association of Engineers and Technicians of Chemical Industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

Scientific Assembly of Polish Chemical Society and Association of Engineers and Technicians of Chemical Industry is the most important chemical forum of Polish chemists organised annually. The state of art of many fundamental and applied investigations have been presented and discussed. The following scientific sessions and microsymposia have been proposed: plenary session, analytical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, chemistry and environment, chemistry and technology of polymers, chemistry didactics, electrochemistry, young scientists forum, chemical technology, chemical engineering, high energetics materials, computers in research and teaching of chemistry, structure modelling and polymer properties, silicon-organic compounds

Elimination kinetic model for organic chemicals in earthworms.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dimitrova, N.; Dimitrov, S.; Georgieva, D.; van Gestel, C.A.M.; Hankard, P.; Spurgeon, D.J.; Li, H.; Mekenyan, O.

2010-01-01

Mechanistic understanding of bioaccumulation in different organisms and environments should take into account the influence of organism and chemical depending factors on the uptake and elimination kinetics of chemicals. Lipophilicity, metabolism, sorption (bioavailability) and biodegradation of

Indoor Environment Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daisey, J.M.

1993-06-01

This paper reports progress during the year 1992 in the Indoor Environment Program in the Energy and Environment Division of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Studies in the following areas are reported: energy performance and ventilation in buildings; physical and chemical characterization of indoor air pollutants; indoor radon; indoor air quality; exposure to indoor air pollutants and risk analysis. Pollutants of particular interest include: radon; volatile, semi-volatile and particulate organic compounds; and combustion emissions including environmental tobacco smoke, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides