Hydrogen bonding structure of confined water templated by a metal-organic framework with open metal sites.

Water in confinement exhibits properties significantly different from bulk water due to frustration in the hydrogen-bond network induced by interactions with the substrate. Here, we combine infrared spectroscopy and many-body molecular dynamics simulations to probe the structure and dynamics of confined water as a function of relative humidity within a metal-organic framework containing cylindrical pores lined with ordered cobalt open coordination sites. Building upon the agreement between experimental and theoretical spectra, we demonstrate that water at low relative humidity binds initially to open metal sites and subsequently forms disconnected one-dimensional chains of hydrogen-bonded water molecules bridging between cobalt atoms. With increasing relative humidity, these water chains nucleate pore filling, and water molecules occupy the entire pore interior before the relative humidity reaches 30%. Systematic analysis of rotational and translational dynamics indicates heterogeneity in this pore-confined water, with water molecules displaying variable mobility as a function of distance from the interface

Bifid and secondary superior nasal turbinates

The lateral nasal wall contains the nasal turbinates (conchae) which are used as landmarks during functional endoscopic surgery. Various morphological pos- sibilities of turbinates were reported, such as bifidity of the inferior turbinate and extra middle turbinates, such as the secondary middle turbinate. During a retrospective cone beam computed tomography study of nasal turbinates in a patient we found previously unreported variants of the superior nasal turbina- tes. These had, bilaterally, ethmoidal and sphenoidal insertions. On the right side we found a bifid superior turbinate and on the left side we found a secondary superior turbinate located beneath the normal/principal one, in the superior nasal meatus. These demonstrate that if a variant morphology is possible for a certain turbinate, it could occur in any nasal turbinate but it has not been yet observed or reported.

UV DISINFECTION - A METHOD OF PURIFYING WASTEWATER FROM FARMS – A REVIEW

The livestock industry increased significantly globally due to increasing demand for animal products. There are however, growing concerns on the environmental risks, associated with the disposal of untreated livestock wastewater into streams and rivers. Disinfection is considered to be the primary mechanism for the inactivation/ destruction of pathogenic organisms to prevent the spread of waterbornediseases to downstream users and the environment.Water disinfection using ultraviolet light is a newer process that currently has a limited use area [5].The purpose of this paper is to present the ultraviolet disinfection process used for the treatment of waste water

ARTIFICIAL COMPACTION GIVEN BY PENETRATION RESISTANCE IN SOILS WITH DIFFERENTUSE

Heavy agricultural machinery is major cause of one of the processes of soil degradation, compaction, which became a problem of significant proportions, especially on soils with high moisture. Excessive traffic affects soil quality and crop production, and also causes environmental problems.The paper presents the results of research conducted to determine soil compaction on three experimental fields: plot of energy willow, plot of clover and cherry orchard, while different moisture contents represent subfactor. Maximum penetration resistances were recorded at 45 cm depth, where the soil is severely compacted: 3194.5 kPa on the soil cultivated with energy willow, 2984kPa in the orchard, respectively 3069kPa on the plot of clover

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT BY UV – A REVIEW–

Reclamation and reuse ofwastewater is one of the most effectiveways to alleviatewater resource scarcity.Disinfection plays a key role in reuse of wastewater for eliminatinginfectious diseases.Water disinfection using ultraviolet light is a newer process that currently has a limited use area. Ultraviolet(UV) disinfection is now widely implemented as a tertiary treatment forwastewater reclamation. The purpose of this paper is to present the most representative studies on the use of ultraviolet in wastewater treatment

Utilizarea procesului de ierarhizare analitică în selectarea celor mai importante produse forestiere nelemnoase din judeţul Iaşi

In Romania, the non-wood forest products are mainly represented by the fauna of hunting interest, forest fruits, truffles and edible mushrooms and medicinal plants. The aim of this research was to study the most important non-wood forest products from Iaşi County. The analyze model used in similar studies done in the case of other counties across Romania was taken into account. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to assess the performance of selected alternatives by means of pairwise comparisons. The analyses were carried out using the Expert Choice Desktop software package. Honey and pheasant were the most promising non-wood forest products, while the less promising was the European elderberry. According to the results of this study, we conclude that Iaşi County has a great potential for harvesting and marketing of NWFPs

A macroevolutionary role for chromosomal fusion and fission in Erebia butterflies.

The impact of large-scale chromosomal rearrangements, such as fusions and fissions, on speciation is a long-standing conundrum. We assessed whether bursts of change in chromosome numbers resulting from chromosomal fusion or fission are related to increased speciation rates in Erebia, one of the most species-rich and karyotypically variable butterfly groups. We established a genome-based phylogeny and used state-dependent birth-death models to infer trajectories of karyotype evolution. We demonstrated that rates of anagenetic chromosomal changes (i.e., along phylogenetic branches) exceed cladogenetic changes (i.e., at speciation events), but, when cladogenetic changes occur, they are mostly associated with chromosomal fissions rather than fusions. We found that the relative importance of fusion and fission differs among Erebia clades of different ages and that especially in younger, more karyotypically diverse clades, speciation is more frequently associated with cladogenetic chromosomal changes. Overall, our results imply that chromosomal fusions and fissions have contrasting macroevolutionary roles and that large-scale chromosomal rearrangements are associated with bursts of species diversification

LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS PRETREATMENT FOR BIOFUEL PRODUCTION

The energetic crisis of recent years, as well as the increasing greenhouse gas emissions, have created premisesfor identification and exploitation of new, non-polluting and economic energy sources. Thus, have appearedconcerns in the field of biofuel production from renewable materials.Worldwide, biomass is considered the most valuable source of alternative energy to fossil fuels. Lignocellulosic biomass, consisting of agricultural and forest residues, animal manure and energy crops,is considered the main substrate for the production of second-generation biofuels (biogas, bioethanol etc).The main components of lignocellulosic materials are cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin which is the most recalcitrant component of the plant cell wall (the higher the proportion of lignin, the higher the resistance to chemical and enzymatic degradation).In this paper there are presented the main pretreatment methods of lignocellulosic biomass, including mechanical, biological, chemical and thermal pretreatment, with the focus on the principles, advantages and disadvantagesof each method for biofuelsproduction.

An updated checklist of the European Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea)

This paper presents an updated checklist of the butterflies of Europe, together with their original name combinations, and their occurrence status in each European country. According to this checklist, 496 species of the superfamily Papilionoidea occur in Europe. Changes in comparison with the last version (2.6.2) of Fauna Europaea are discussed. Compared to that version, 16 species are new additions, either due to cryptic species most of which have been discovered by molecular methods (13 cases) or due to discoveries of Asian species on the eastern border of the European territory in the Ural mountains (three cases). On the other hand, nine species had to be removed from the list, because they either do not occur in Europe or lost their species status due to new evidence. In addition, three species names had to be changed and 30 species changed their combination due to new evidence on phylogenetic relationships. Furthermore, minor corrections were applied to some authors¿ names and years of publication. Finally, the name Polyommatus ottomanus Lefèbvre, 1831, which is threatened by its senior synonym Lycaena legeri Freyer, 1830, is declared a nomen protectum, thereby conserving its name in the current combination Lycaena ottomana.VL was supported by grant N 14-14-00541 from the Russian Science Foundation to the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and ZF by grant 14- 36098G from the Czech Science Foundation

ADVANCED METHODS OF BIOGAS PURIFICATION – A REVIEW

One of the main environmental problems of today’s society is the continuously increasing production of organic wastes. The discovery of abundant natural gas resources has greatly increased the study of using methane as a feed stock to produce transportation fuels. Biogas (primarily containing methane and carbon dioxide), which is generated from biomass or organic waste via anaerobic digestion or from landfills, is regarded as a renewable source of methane, and has the potential to achieve sustainable production of transportation fuels. Since biogas also contains a significant amount of impurities (e.g.,hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, water vapor and siloxane), a procedure is generally required to clean it before its final use.In this paper are presented the advanced methods of biogas purification