1,813 research outputs found
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Treatments to Remove Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from WaterâAre We Using the Right Approach? Proposal of a Paradigm Shift from âChemical Onlyâ towards an Integrated Bio-Chemical Assessment
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been under intense investigation by the scientific community due to their persistence in the environment and potentially hazardous effects on living organisms. In order to tackle the presence of these compounds in water, to date, the research has been strongly focused on the evaluation of the effectiveness of different types of technologies. Considering the extreme complexity of the matter of PFASs and our relatively low knowledge in this topic, the following question arises: is the âchemical onlyâ approach that is followed for evaluating the effectiveness of technologies for PFAS removal from water reliable enough? In this work, some limitations of the present approach are discussed, highlighting the reasons why it cannot be considered a reliable tool to correctly estimate the effectiveness of technology when referring to emerging compounds such as PFASs. Bioassays can play a key role in moving towards an integrated bio-chemical evaluation (chemical analysis and ecotoxicological evaluation), which is strongly encouraged. This represents the only way to completely characterize a water matrix and fully evaluate the impact of technologies when dealing with micropollutants in water, such as PFASs. Future research should focus on defining an optimal battery of bioassays that specifically fit to best represent changes in water quality in terms of short- and long-term impacts on living organisms
A Cross-Over in the Enstrophy Decay in Two-Dimensional Turbulence in a Finite Box
The numerical simulation of two-dimensional decaying turbulence in a large
but finite box presented in this paper uncovered two physically different
regimes of enstrophy decay. During the initial stage, the enstrophy, generated
by a random Gaussian initial condition, decays as t^{-gamma} with gamma
approximately 0.7-0.8. After that, the flow undergoes a transition to a gas or
fluid composed of distinct vortices. Simultaneously, the magnitude of the decay
exponent crosses over to gamma approximately 0.4. An exact relation for the
total number of vortices, N(t), in terms of the mean circulation of an
individual vortex is derived. A theory predicting that N(t) is proportional to
t^{-xi} and the magnitudes of exponents gamma=2/5 and xi=4/5 is presented and
the possibility of an additional very late-time cross-over to gamma=1/3 and
xi=2/3 is also discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure
Exact solution of the one-dimensional ballistic aggregation
An exact expression for the mass distribution of the ballistic
aggregation model in one dimension is derived in the long time regime. It is
shown that it obeys scaling with a scaling
function for and for
. Relevance of these results to Burgers turbulence is discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 2 Postscript figure
Revision of the Eocene \u27Platyrhina\u27 species from the Bolca LagerstÀtte (Italy) reveals the first panray (Batomorphii: Zanobatidae) in the fossil record
The fossil-LagerstĂ€tte of Bolca (Italy) is well known for the diversity and exquisite preservation of its bony and cartilaginous fishes documenting tropical shallow-water marine environments associated with coral reefs in the western Tethys during the early Eocene. In this study, the taxonomic, systematic and phylogenetic position of two batoid species traditionally assigned to the living thornback ray genus Platyrhina is re-evaluated. â Platyrhina bolcensis Heckel, 1851 is recognized as a separate species of the Platyrhinidae because of its plate-like antorbital cartilage with an irregular outline and a small horn on the nasal capsules. Also, the rostral cartilage does not reach the anterior border of the disc. Support for the placement of this species within the new genus â Eoplatyrhina gen. nov. is based on a combination of morphological and meristic features (e.g. nasal capsules at right angles to the rostrum; large space between the hyomandibulae and mandibular arch; approximately 132 vertebral centra; 15â16 rib pairs; 81â87 pectoral radials; 18â21 pelvic radials; short, straight and stout claspers; 40â50 caudal-fin radials; thorns absent). A second species, â Platyrhina egertoni (De Zigno, 1876), is more closely related to the living panray Zanobatus than Platyrhina and is assigned here to â Plesiozanobatus gen. nov. because of a combination of characters that support its placement within the family Zanobatidae (tail stout and short, distinctly demarcated from disc; two dorsal fins and complete caudal fin; small dermal denticles and scattered thorns covering disc and tail; rostral cartilage absent; nasal capsules without horn-like processes; mesopterygium absent). The systematic position of a third taxon, â Platyrhina gigantea (Blainville, 1818), is currently impossible to establish due to the poor preservation of the only known specimen, and therefore we propose to consider it a nomen dubium. Palaeoecological and biogeographic features of the Eocene platyrhinids and zanobatids from Bolca are also discussed
Von willebrand and factor VIII portosystemic circulation gradient in cirrhosi. Implications for portal vein thrombosis
OBJECTIVES: Portal vein thrombosis seems to be dependent on local hypercoagulation and venous stasis; data regarding endothelial damage are lacking. METHODS: von Willebrad factor, a marker of endothelial damage/perturbation, factor VIII, and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were studied in the portal and systemic circulation of 20 cirrhotic patients undergoing transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic procedure. RESULTS: von Willebrad factor, factor VIII, and LPS were higher in the portal compared with systemic circulation, with a significant correlation between LPS and the other 2 variables. DISCUSSION: Endothelial damage and hypercoagulation coexist in the portal tree of patients with cirrhosis, and both could contribute to portal vein thrombosis. LPS may be a potential trigger of endothelial damage
Nontrivial Polydispersity Exponents in Aggregation Models
We consider the scaling solutions of Smoluchowski's equation of irreversible
aggregation, for a non gelling collision kernel. The scaling mass distribution
f(s) diverges as s^{-tau} when s->0. tau is non trivial and could, until now,
only be computed by numerical simulations. We develop here new general methods
to obtain exact bounds and good approximations of . For the specific
kernel KdD(x,y)=(x^{1/D}+y^{1/D})^d, describing a mean-field model of particles
moving in d dimensions and aggregating with conservation of ``mass'' s=R^D (R
is the particle radius), perturbative and nonperturbative expansions are
derived.
For a general kernel, we find exact inequalities for tau and develop a
variational approximation which is used to carry out the first systematic study
of tau(d,D) for KdD. The agreement is excellent both with the expansions we
derived and with existing numerical values. Finally, we discuss a possible
application to 2d decaying turbulence.Comment: 16 pages (multicol.sty), 6 eps figures (uses epsfig), Minor
corrections. Notations improved, as published in Phys. Rev. E 55, 546
The influence of positive affect and visual access on the discovery of integrative solutions in bilateral negotiation
The present study investigated the influence of positive affect and visual access on the process and outcome of negotiation in an integrative bargaining task. Visual access was crossed with positive affect in a 2 x 2 design. The results supported the hypotheses that positive affect would reduce the use of contentious tactics and would increase joint benefit, just as had been found for the presence of a barrier that eliminated visual access to the other negotiator (S. Lewis & W. Fry, 1977, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 20, 75-92). This latter finding was also replicated. Only when bargainers were face to face and not in a positive state was there heavy use of contentious tactics, reduced trade-offs, and fewer integrative solutions. This means that positive affect can overcome the competitive processes and poor outcomes normally observed in face-to-face integrative bargaining. The results are discussed in terms of the cognitive dynamics of negotiation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26263/1/0000344.pd
Influence of Cellulose on the Anoxic Treatment of Domestic Wastewater in Septic Tanks: Statistical Analysis of the Chemical and Physico-Chemical Parameters
Cellulose is a very common polymer in domestic wastewater (WW), representing a not negligible part of the organic substance contained in sewage. To date, many studies have highlighted the feasibility of reusing this compound in several ways (e.g., building sector, wastewater treatment, energy production, etc.) after its separation from domestic WW. However, studies about the impact of the absence of cellulose on the chemical and physico-chemical parameters of a biological process are still lacking. In this work, two pilot-scale plants were used to simulate an anoxic treatment of WW in septic tanks, with and without cellulose (CWW and NCWW, respectively), for three months. The results of the monitoring highlighted that T, pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) remained almost constants, in both cases. The Spearman correlation coefficients (SCC) for turbidity (TUR), total suspended solids (TSS), and color (COL) indicated a higher removal in the case of CWW (65%, 66%, and 56%, respectively). Organic substance and nitrogen forms showed a similar behavior with and without cellulose, but in the case of CWW, N-NH3 was highly negatively correlated with TUR (SCC: â0.54), TSS (â0.49), and COL (â0.39). A biological denitrification process was highlighted in both cases. Despite these differences, when statistically analyzing the trends of the chemical and physico-chemical parameters for CWW and NCWW, a significant difference due to the absence of cellulose was excluded. These results will be useful to the scientific community, as they exclude that the operational parameters of anoxic treatments and the effectiveness on pollutants removal can be affected in the case of preliminary cellulose separation from domestic WW for recovery/reuse purposes
Efficacy of mosquito nets treated with insecticide mixtures or mosaics against insecticide resistant Anopheles gambiae and Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) in CĂŽte d'Ivoire
Only pyrethroid insecticides have so far been recommended for the treatment of mosquito nets for malaria control. Increasing resistance of malaria vectors to pyrethroids threatens to reduce the potency of this important method of vector control. Among the strategies proposed for resistance management is to use a pyrethroid and a non-pyrethroid insecticide in combination on the same mosquito net, either separately or as a mixture. Mixtures are particularly promising if there is potentiation between the two insecticides as this would make it possible to lower the dosage of each, as has been demonstrated under laboratory conditions for a mixture of bifenthrin (pyrethroid) and carbosulfan (carbamate). The effect of these types of treatment were compared in experimental huts on wild populations of Anopheles gambiae Giles and the nuisance mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus Say, both of which are multi-resistant. Four treatments were evaluated in experimental huts over six months: the recommended dosage of 50 mg mâ2 bifenthrin, 300 mg mâ2 carbosulfan, a mosaic of 300 mg mâ2 carbosulfan on the ceiling and 50 mg mâ2 bifenthrin on the sides, and a mixture of 6.25 mg mâ2 carbosulfan and 25 mg mâ2 bifenthrin. The mixture and mosaic treatments did not differ significantly in effectiveness from carbosulfan and bifenthrin alone against anophelines in terms of deterrency, induced exophily, blood feeding inhibition and overall mortality, but were more effective than in earlier tests with deltamethrin. These results are considered encouraging, as the combination of different classes of insecticides might be a potential tool for resistance management. The mixture might have an advantage in terms of lower cost and toxicit
The Phylogeny of Rays and Skates (Chondrichthyes: Elasmobranchii) Based on Morphological Characters Revisited.
Elasmobranchii are relatively well-studied. However, numerous phylogenetic uncertainties about their relationships remain. Here, we revisit the phylogenetic evidence based on a detailed morphological re-evaluation of all the major extant batomorph clades (skates and rays), including several holomorphic fossil taxa from the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic, and an extensive outgroup sampling, which includes sharks, chimaeras and several other fossil chondrichthyans. The parsimony and maximum-likelihood analyses found more resolved but contrasting topologies, with the Bayesian inference tree neither supporting nor disfavouring any of them. Overall, the analyses result in similar clade compositions and topologies, with the Jurassic batomorphs forming the sister clade to all the other batomorphs, whilst all the Cretaceous batomorphs are nested within the remaining main clades. The disparate arrangements recovered under the different criteria suggest that a detailed study of Jurassic taxa is of utmost importance to present a more consistent topology in the deeper nodes, as issues continue to be present when analysing those clades previously recognized only by molecular analyses (e.g., Rhinopristiformes and Torpediniformes). The consistent placement of fossil taxa within specific groups by the different phylogenetic criteria is promising and indicates that the inclusion of more fossil taxa in the present matrix will likely not cause loss of resolution, therefore suggesting that a strong phylogenetic signal can be recovered from fossil taxa
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