共查询到20条相似文献,搜索用时 15 毫秒
1.
Philippe F. X. Corvini Patrick Shahgaldian 《Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology》2010,9(1):23-27
Elimination of recalcitrant chemicals during wastewater treatment is a difficult problem for both developing and industrialized
countries. The biological elimination of very persistent xenobiotics such as endocrine disrupting chemicals from municipal
and industrial sewage treatment plants is an ambitious challenge as existing physico-chemical methods, such as advanced oxidation
processes, are energy-intensive and consume high amounts of chemicals. Through the entry into force of strict legislative
measures, such as the Water Framework Directives (EU WFD in Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy, 2000) and REACH (REACH EU in European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006), 2007), the market for wastewater treatment is exploding. For instance the European market potential for the membrane bioreactor
technology is estimated to 57 M€ per year. Based on recent progresses in nanotechnology, new developments in catalysis and
environmental applications can be foreseen for the near future. Indeed, because of high surface area-to-volume ratio in nano-systems,
heterogeneous enzymatic or catalytic reactions can be greatly enhanced. In the LANCE project a nanoparticle (NP)-based technology
is under development. Cheap and resistant oxidative enzymes, i.e. laccases are immobilized onto the surface of the particles
in order to produce systems possessing a broad substrate spectrum for the degradation of cocktails of recalcitrant pollutants.
One of the objectives is to produce NPs that are compatible with wastewater treatment and can be synthesised in a cost-effective
and large-scale fashion, e.g. silica-based NPs using flame spray pyrolysis and emulsion-based techniques. The modified particles
are applied in bioreactors where they are retained, i.e. membrane bioreactors or perfusion basket reactors to eliminate pollutants
from the wastewater. Such reactors allow multi-cycle use of the NPs coated with active enzymes and thus contribute to decrease
the treatment costs. The two-year activities of the LANCE project encompass the synthesis of various NP systems, the immobilization
of selected low cost industrial laccases on the latter, and the technical and scientific proof of the “depollution” concept. 相似文献
2.
Stefan Frank Hannes Böttcher Petr Havlík Hugo Valin Aline Mosnier Michael Obersteiner Erwin Schmid Berien Elbersen 《Global Change Biology Bioenergy》2013,5(3):306-314
The expansion of biofuel production can lead to an array of negative environmental impacts. Therefore, the European Union (EU) has recently imposed sustainability criteria on biofuel production in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). In this article, we analyse the effectiveness of the sustainability criteria for climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. We first use a global agriculture and forestry model to investigate environmental effects of the EU member states National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) without sustainability criteria. We conclude that these targets would drive losses of 2.2 Mha of highly biodiverse areas and generate 95 Mt CO 2 eq of additional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, in a second step, we demonstrate that the EU biofuel demand could be satisfied ‘sustainably’ according to RED despite its negative environmental effects. This is because the majority of global crop production is produced ‘sustainably’ in the sense of RED and can provide more than 10 times the total European biofuel demand in 2020 if reallocated from sectors without sustainability criteria. This finding points to a potential policy failure of applying sustainability regulation to a single sector in a single region. To be effective this policy needs to be more complete in targeting a wider scope of agricultural commodities and more comprehensive in its membership of countries. 相似文献
3.
We describe a new macrophyte-based assessment tool for Austrian lakes elaborated according to the requirements of the European
Water Framework Directive. Data from 38 out of 45, WFD-relevant (≥50 ha) lakes in Austria collected with the help of a new
mapping procedure form the basis for a macrophyte-based lake typology and the definition of reference conditions. Module 1
of the Austrian Index Macrophytes (AIM) focuses on the assessment of trophic state and general impairment of lakes. Several
metrics were developed and applied in combination with existing indices to classify lakes into five ecological status classes.
The metric “vegetation density” focuses on the overall abundance of macrophytes. Since the lower limit of the macrophyte vegetation
in lakes is mainly regulated by the water transparency, the metric “vegetation limit” is closely related to the trophic state
of the lake. In deep lakes, macrophytes normally form different vegetation zones. As a result of alteration of the shoreline,
artificial water level fluctuations or wave action and even eutrophication, specific zones can be missing. The metric “characteristic
zonation” helps to check, if all type-specific vegetation zones are present. The metric “trophic indication” uses the Macrophyte
Index after Melzer (Hydrobiologia, 395/396: 181–190, 1999). This term indicates the lake trophic state but, in contrast to the metric “vegetation limit”, it tends to show not only
the trophic state of the water column but also, in particular, the nutrient conditions in the sediment. With the help of the
metric “species composition,” the species spectrum and the species abundances of the current transect are compared with the
species composition at reference sites. The similarity of the datasets is measured as Bray–Curtis Distance (Beals, Advances
in Ecological Research, 14: 1–55, 1984). The established metrics cover different aspects of macrophyte vegetation and allow analysing the prevailing pressure. Since
the different metrics have a different temporal response to eutrophication and reoligotrophication, additional information
on the current state of the lake in relation to these processes can be derived. The successful application of AIM-Module 1
is presented for two Austrian lakes and discussed in relation to other assessment tools.
Guest editors: P. N?ges, W. van de Bund, A.C. Cardoso, A. Solimini & A.-S. Heiskanen
Assessment of the Ecological Status of European Surface Waters 相似文献
4.
David Gaertner 《Journal of bioethical inquiry》2011,8(3):245-256
According to Charles Hauss, “[i]n the last few years, reconciliation has become one of the ‘hottest’ topics in the increasingly
‘hot’ field of conflict resolution” (2003, ?1). However, despite the apparent interest in this “hot” academic topic (which is becoming increasingly warm in Canada
as our own Truth and Reconciliation Commission commences), reconciliation studies have been dominated by Truth-based approaches.
The restrictions of these approaches, which emphasize objectivity and rationality, often elide the body and the primacy of
emotions in the reparative process. This essay begins a conversation on the role of the body and emotion in the study of reconciliation
by engaging the work being done in the social sciences with contemporary trends in critical theory and literature. I argue
that by looking at the fundamental role the body plays on the “road to reconciliation” we can devise a more vital approach
to conflict resolution and the various processes that make it up. 相似文献
5.
Vivian Schueler Ulf Weddige Tim Beringer Liliana Gamba Patrick Lamers 《Global Change Biology Bioenergy》2013,5(6):652-663
The political will to reduce global GHG emissions has largely contributed to increased global biofuel production and trade. The expanding cultivation of energy crops may drive changes in the terrestrial ecosystems such as land cover and biodiversity loss. When biomass replaces fossil energy carriers, sustainability criteria are therefore crucial to avoid adverse impacts and ensure a net positive GHG balance. The European Union has set mandatory sustainability criteria for liquid biofuels in its Renewable Energy Directive (RED) 2009/28/EC to ensure net positive impacts of its biofuel policy. The adoption of sustainability criteria in other world regions and their extension to solid and gaseous biomass in the EU is ongoing. This paper examines the effect of the EU RED sustainability criteria on the availability of biomass resources at global and regional scale. It quantifies the relevance of sustainability criteria in biomass resource assessments taking into account the criteria's spatial distribution. This assessment does not include agricultural and forestry residues and aquatic biomass. Previously unknown interrelations between sustainability criteria are examined and described for ten world regions. The analysis concludes that roughly 10% (98.5 EJ) of the total theoretical potential of 977.2 EJ occurs in areas free of sustainability concerns. 相似文献
6.
European Union (EU) Member States have agreed to limit their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, including emissions from agricultural sector. The aggregated GHG emission rate (i.e. t CO2 eq. from agricultural sector per country) is commonly used to measure the overall size of agriculture’s influence on climate. And indeed, since 2005, EU has managed to decrease its aggregated GHG emissions by 3.1%. However, the question is—does that mean that EU’s agriculture has become less emission intensive? This paper answers the question by providing a different perspective for the assessment and comparison of the agricultural GHG emissions in 28 EU Member States. It is done by applying three different approaches, including creation of derived indicators and application of multi-criteria analysis (TOPSIS), which is a novel approach for comparison of agricultural GHG emission mitigation performance. The results show that each EU Member State performs very differently in emission intensities. Even more, the emission intensity results show an alarming tendency of increase in most of the EU Member States, which indicates that the measured changes in aggregate agricultural GHG emission rates are misleading. Therefore, the paper suggests reconsidering the policy targets for GHG emission limits. 相似文献
7.
8.
Thorough environmental observation and a series of life cycle consideration have been performed to underpin the development
of the environmental criteria of a new EU Eco-label product group following the voluntary and selective European Environmental
Award Scheme based on Regulation EC 1980/ 2000. Since April 2002, the European Eco-label is available for the Hard Floor Coverings
product group, subsequently also called ‘HFC’. The Eco-label translates environmental awareness on products for indoor and
outdoor covering materials such as ceramic and clay tiles, concrete paving units, terrazzo, agglomerated and natural stones
into a new market-based environmental policy tool. As a matter of fact, the HFC ecological criteria development has been positively
concluded based on a the study of the Italian National Environment Protection Agency (ANPA, Agenzia Nazionale per la Protezione
dell’Ambiente) with the technical support of Life Cycle Engineering (Turin, Italy), that had been entrusted with this task
by the European Commission, DG Environment. The stakeholders involved in the ‘Ad Hoc Working Group’ activities included European
Eco-label Competent Bodies, some of the most important manufacturers, consumers and environmental associations at a European
level. In December 2001, after eighteen months of concerted work with all the interested parties in the European Union Eco-label
Board (EUEB), the final vote of criteria by Member States enabled the publication of the EU-wide valid criteria and the elaboration
of an application pack (user manual) in late March 2002. 相似文献
9.
Roman B. Ho?yński 《Journal of Ornithology》2009,150(1):307-309
The “reverse migration hypothesis” as the explanation for the vagrancy of Far Eastern birds in Europe is commented on. It
is concluded that, as the postulated switch of 180° along a great circle line would lead the eastern or even central Siberian
birds to North America rather than to Europe, the application of the “reverse migration hypothesis” to them seems untenable
(which, however, does not preclude its plausibility in case of transatlantic, southern European, or even southwestern Siberian
vagrants). On the other hand, patterns of appearance of the Turdus [naumanni] superspecies (Machalska et al. 1967) suggest the relationship of the phenomenon of vagrancy to post-breeding nomadic movements and/or periodical invasions of
non-migrating species. 相似文献
10.
11.
Roger Bill 《Dialectical Anthropology》2010,34(3):395-417
Jack Kerouac, the author of On The Road, was a central figure of the Beat Generation, a generation which rebelled against middle-class conformity in post–World War
II America. Kerouac described himself as “a religious wanderer” (Kerouac 2006: 2), but an examination of his texts and life suggest his travels may also be understood as tourism. Viewed through the prism
of tourism, this study will argue, for example, that MacCannell’s notion of the tourist’s quest for reality and authenticity
(MacCannell 1989: 3) provides some insight into why Kerouac wrote that just south of Macon, Georgia, he and his travelling companion Neal
Cassady stopped and got out of the car, “and suddenly both of us were stoned with joy to realize that in the darkness all
around us was fragrant green grass and the smell of fresh manure and warm waters” (Kerouac 1957: 115). As Kerouac rebelled against being, as one of his protagonists in The Dharma Bums put it, “imprisoned in a system of work, produce, consume, work, produce, consume” (Kerouac 2006: 73) he travelled across America on a rapidly improving network of highways, turning “mobility into a retreat” (Holladay
and Holton 2009: 42). Kerouac alternately identified himself as a hobo (Kerouac 1973: 181) and “not a real hobo” (Kerouac 1973: 173), but this article asks whether Kerouac’s travels were those of the last in a line of wanderers rebelling against conformity
and modernization or a precursor of mobile mass tourism in America. 相似文献
12.
Matthew R. L. Egyud Zofia K. Z. Gajdos Johannah L. Butler Sam Tischfield Loic Le Marchand Laurence N. Kolonel Christopher A. Haiman Brian E. Henderson Joel N. Hirschhorn 《Human genetics》2009,125(3):295-303
Many association methods use a subset of genotyped single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to capture or infer genotypes at
other untyped SNPs. We and others previously showed that tag SNPs selected to capture common variation using data from The
International HapMap Consortium (Nature 437:1299–1320, 2005), The International HapMap Consortium (Nature 449:851–861, 2007) could also capture variation in populations of similar ancestry to HapMap reference populations (de Bakker et al. in Nat
Genet 38:1298–1303, 2006; González-Neira et al. in Genome Res 16:323–330, 2006; Montpetit et al. in PLoS Genet 2:282–290, 2006; Mueller et al. in Am J Hum Genet 76:387–398, 2005). To capture variation in admixed populations or populations less similar to HapMap panels, a “cosmopolitan approach,” in
which all samples from HapMap are used as a single reference panel, was proposed. Here we refine this suggestion and show
that use of a “weighted reference panel,” constructed based on empirical estimates of ancestry in the target population (relative
to available reference panels), is more efficient than the cosmopolitan approach. Weighted reference panels capture, on average,
only slightly fewer common variants (minor allele frequency > 5%) than the cosmopolitan approach (mean r
2 = 0.977 vs. 0.989, 94.5% variation captured vs. 96.8% at r
2 > 0.8), across the five populations of the Multiethnic Cohort, but entail approximately 25% fewer tag SNPs per panel (average
538 vs. 718). These results extend a recent study in two Indian populations (Pemberton et al. in Ann Hum Genet 72:535–546,
2008). Weighted reference panels are potentially useful for both the selection of tag SNPs in diverse populations and perhaps
in the design of reference panels for imputation of untyped genotypes in genome-wide association studies in admixed populations.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 相似文献
13.
Towards a custom chelator for mercury: evaluation of coordination environments by molecular modeling
Juxia Fu Ruth E. Hoffmeyer M. Jake Pushie Satya P. Singh Ingrid J. Pickering Graham N. George 《Journal of biological inorganic chemistry》2011,16(1):15-24
Abstract
A chelator is a molecule which binds a metal or metalloid ion by two or more functional groups to form a stable ring complex known as a chelate. Despite the widespread clinical use of so-called chelation therapy to remove mercury, none of the drugs currently in use have been shown to chelate mercury. Mercury can adopt three common coordination environments: linear diagonal, trigonal planar, and tetrahedral. We have previously discussed some of the structural criteria for optimal binding of mercury in linear-diagonal coordination with thiolate donors (George et al. in Chem. Res. Toxicol. 17:999–1006, 2004). Here we employed density functional theory and X-ray absorption spectroscopy to evaluate the ideal chain length for simple alkane dithiolate chelators of Hg2+. We have also extended our previous calculations of the optimum coordination geometries to the three-coordinate [Hg(SR)3]− case. Finally, we propose a new chelator “tripod” molecule, benzene-1,3,5-triamidopropanethiolate, or “Trithiopod,” which is expected to bind Hg2+ in three-coordinate geometry with very high affinity. 相似文献14.
O. Hoegh-Guldberg 《Coral reefs (Online)》2009,28(3):569-575
Maynard et al. (Coral Reefs 27:745–749, 2008a) claim that much of the concern about the impacts of climate change on coral reefs has been “based on essentially untested
assumptions regarding reefs and their capacity to cope with future climate change”. If correct, this claim has important implications
for whether or not climate change represents the largest long-term threat to the sustainability of coral reefs, especially
given their ad hominem argument that many coral reef scientists are guilty of “popularising worst-case scenarios” at the expense
of truth. This article looks critically at the claims made by Maynard et al. (Coral Reefs 27:745–749, 2008a) and comes to a very different conclusion, with the thrust and veracity of their argument being called into question. Contrary
to the fears of Grigg (Coral Reefs 11:183–186, 1992), who originally made reference to the Cassandra syndrome due to his concern about the sensationalisation of science, the
proposition that coral reefs face enormous challenges from climate change and ocean acidification has and is being established
through “careful experimentation, long-term monitoring and objective interpretation”. While this is reassuring, coral reef
ecosystems continue to face major challenges from ocean warming and acidification. Given this, it is an imperative that scientists
continue to maintain the rigour of their research and to communicate their conclusions as widely and clearly as possible.
Given the shortage of time and the magnitude of the problem, there is little time to spare. 相似文献
15.
Maria Isabel Aldinhas Ferreira 《Biosemiotics》2012,5(2):269-289
In this paper architectural forms are presented as symbolic forms issued from the complex semiosis that characterises human cognition (Ferreira (2007, 2010)). Being semiotic objects, these symbolic forms are, consequently, context- dependent_they emerge and have meaning, i.e., they are assigned a functional and/or aesthetic value, in particular physical, social and cultural frameworks. As it happens with all semiotic objects, architectural forms, whatever their nature, are not static but highly interactive. In fact, they act as agents of specific semiotic processes, engaged in a permanent dialectic relationship with the environment they are embedded in. From this dialectics important physical, social, cultural and economic changes frequently arise, redefining this way the original framework for decades to come. As Pallasmaa (2009) points out: “Architecture is existentially rooted, and it expresses fundamental existential experiences, the complex condensation of how it feels to be human being in this world. Architecture grounds and frames existence and creates specific horizons of perception, understanding and identity.” Architecture happens in the context of particular landscapes both natural and man-made, individuating spaces, assigning them an identity, turning the frequently undifferentiated physical environment into “locus”, “place”, “site”, “ort”, definitely contributing to the definition of the mental map that individual minds are able to share collectively. The fundamental role played by architectural forms in the definition of “place” and identity and in the shaping or reshaping of a physical, social and cultural environment is analysed in this paper through a case study that observes the consequences of this dynamics in the development of the social and cultural tissue of a particular city. 相似文献
16.
Wei-Ming He Giles C. Thelen Wendy M. Ridenour Ragan M. Callaway 《Biological invasions》2010,12(10):3591-3598
A central hypothesis in ecology is that plant life history evolution is constrained by fundamental “compromises between the
conflicting selection pressures resulting from particular combinations of competition, stress, and disturbance”, with stress
being defined as abiotic conditions that restrict production. Biogeographic differences among native and non-native ranges
of invasive plants may provide unique opportunities for tests of this theory. We conducted a greenhouse experiment with Centaurea stoebe plants from North American and European populations. We compared the total biomass and phenotypic plasticity indices for
plants from the native and non-native ranges under stressed and non-stressed conditions. The average size of Centaurea stoebe plants from 13 North American populations was greater than that of plants from 18 European populations regardless of stress
treatment. However, when plants from the same populations were exposed to lower resources the differences in biomass between
plants from North American and European populations were significantly less, suggesting that large plants were poorer stress
tolerators. For all 31 populations the regression slope for the relationship between mean mass for populations in non-stressful
conditions and mean mass in stressful conditions was less than 1.0, indicating that populations that produced large plants
in good conditions also produced plants that grew disproportionately less in stressful conditions. These findings suggest
that Centaurea stoebe may be evolving towards being a good “competitor” (sensu Grime, 1977) in its invasive range, but at the cost of being a good “stress tolerator”. 相似文献
17.
Yves Laumonier Yumiko Uryu Michael Stüwe Arif Budiman Budi Setiabudi Oki Hadian 《Biodiversity and Conservation》2010,19(4):1153-1174
Biogeographical studies are a necessary step in establishing conservation area networks. Determining the ecological factors
influencing vegetation is also a basic principle for hierarchical ecological classifications and a necessary prerequisite
for ecosystem-based land use planning. Eco-floristic sectors (EFS) have already been identified for the Indonesian island
of Sumatra, combining both approaches, dividing it into 38 EFSs representing unique ecosystems in terms of tree flora and
environment (Laumonier 1997). The impact of deforestation on individual EFSs has been highly varied and in some cases extreme. We assigned one of five
‘extinction risk categories’ to each EFS based on the percentage of forest lost between 1985 and 2007. Eighty-five percent
of all forest loss (10.2 million ha) occurred in the eastern peneplain, western lowland regions and swamps. In 2007, only
29% of forests were protected by conservation areas, only nine of the 38 EFS had more than 50% of their remaining forest cover
protected. 38% of remaining forest was “critically endangered”, “endangered” or “vulnerable” EFSs (5 million ha) but only
1 million ha (20%) were protected. Sumatra’s existing network of conservation areas does not adequately represent the island’s
ecosystems. Priorities for a new conservation area network can be formulated for integration into Sumatra’s new land use plans
at provincial and district level. Decision makers can now use EFSs to locate new conservation areas so they represent and
maintain the whole range of the island’s diversity. 相似文献
18.
Mammalian prenatal neocortical development is dominated by the synchronized formation of the laminae and migration of neurons.
Postnatal development likewise contains “sensitive periods” during which functions such as ocular dominance emerge. Here we
introduce a novel neuroinformatics approach to identify and study these periods of active development. Although many aspects
of the approach can be used in other studies, some specific techniques were chosen because of a legacy dataset of human histological
data (Conel in The postnatal development of the human cerebral cortex, vol 1–8. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1939–1967). Our method calculates normalized change vectors from the raw histological data, and then employs k-means cluster analysis of the change vectors to explore the population dynamics of neurons from 37 neocortical areas across
eight postnatal developmental stages from birth to 72 months in 54 subjects. We show that the cortical “address” (Brodmann
area/sub-area and layer) provides the necessary resolution to segregate neuron population changes into seven correlated “k-clusters” in k-means cluster analysis. The members in each k-cluster share a single change interval where the relative share of the cortex by the members undergoes its maximum change.
The maximum change occurs in a different change interval for each k-cluster. Each k-cluster has at least one totally connected maximal “clique” which appears to correspond to cortical function. 相似文献
19.
Victoria N. Alexander 《Biosemiotics》2009,2(1):77-100
Hackles have been raised in biosemiotic circles by T. L. Short’s assertion that semiosis, as defined by Peirce, entails “acting
for purposes” and therefore is not found below the level of the organism (2007a:174–177). This paper examines Short’s teleology and theory of purposeful behavior and offers a remedy to the disagreement.
Remediation becomes possible when the issue is reframed in the terms of the complexity sciences, which allows intentionality
to be understood as the interplay between local and global aspects of a system within a system. What is called “acting for
purposes” is not itself a type of behavior so much as a relationship between a dynamic system that “exists for a purpose”
and its microprocesses that “serve purposes.” The “intentional object” of philosophy is recast here as the holistic self-organized
dynamics of a system, which exists for the purpose of self-maintenance, and that constrains the parts’ behaviors, which serve
the purpose of forming the system. (A “system” can be any emergent, e.g. an abiotic form, an adapted species, a self, a conditioned response, thought, or a set of ideas.) The self-organized whole,
which is represented to the parts in their own constrained behaviors, assumes the guiding function so long attributed to the
mysterious “intentional object.” If emergent self-causation is not disallowed, creative originality, as well as directionality, becomes part of the definition of purposeful behavior. Thus, key tools used here, required for understanding emergence, come
from poetics rather than semoitics. In the microprocesses of self-organization, I find what I call “accidental” indices and
icons — which are poetic in the sense that they involve mere metonymic contiguity and metaphoric similarity — and which are
preferentially selected under constrained conditions allowing radically new connections to habituate into an “intentional”
self-organized system that, not coincidentally, has some of the emergent characteristics of a conventional symbolic system.
相似文献
Victoria N. AlexanderEmail: |
20.
Brendon M. H. Larson 《Biological invasions》2007,9(8):947-956
Several authors have recently argued that invasion biologists should adopt a more objective and dispassionate stance towards
invasive species. Brown and Sax (Austral Ecol 29:530–536, 2004; Austral Ecol 30:481–483, 2005) assert that invasion biologists risk their objectivity, “commit the naturalist fallacy” or “embark on a slippery slope”
with engaged concern about invasive species. Elsewhere, Colautti and MacIsaac (Divers Distrib 10:135–141, 2004) propose a neutral language for invasion biology, one that insulates scientific from popular discussion about invasive species.
While there is certainly hyperbole about the effects of some invasive species, the type of objectivity promoted in these papers
may often be inappropriate for invasion biology. It implies a policy of non-action that is inconsistent with the conservation
values of many invasion biologists. To engage these values, invasion biologists can adopt deliberative methods for environmental
problem-solving that involve stakeholders in their research design and which still promote high standards of scientific rigor. 相似文献