Heterogeneous activation of persulfate by CuMgAl layered double oxide for catalytic degradation of sulfameter

In this study,a series of CuMgAl layered double oxides(CuMgAl-LDOs)were obtained via calcination of CuMgAl layered double hydroxides(CuMgAl-LDHs)synthesised via a co-precipitation method.The results show that CuMgAl-LDO can be prepared using an optimal Cu:Mg:Al molar ratio of 3:3:2,NaOH:Na_(2)CO_(3)molar ratio of 2:1,and calcination temperature of 600°C.CuMgAl-LDO is a characteristic of mesoporous material with a lamellar structure and large specific surface area.The removal efficiency of sulfameter(SMD)based on CuMgAl-LDO/persulfate(PS)can reach>98%over a wide range of initial SMD concentrations(5–20 mg L^(-1)).The best removal efficiency of99.49%was achieved within 120 min using 10 mg L^(-1)SMD,0.3 g L^(-1)CuMgAl-LDO,and 0.7 mmol L^(-1)PS.Kinetic analysis showed that the degradation of SMD was in accordance with a quasi-first-order kinetic model.The stability of the CuMgAl-LDO catalyst was verified by the high SMD removal efficiency(>97%within 120 min)observed after five recycling tests and low copper ion leaching concentration(0.89 mg L^(-1)),which is below drinking water quality standard of 1.3 mg L^(-1)permittable in the U.S.Radical scavenging experiments suggest that SO_(4)^(-)is the primary active species participating in the CuMgAl-LDO/PS system.Moreover,our mechanistic investigations based on the radical scavenging tests and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)results indicate that Cu^((II))-Cu^((III))-Cu^((II))circulation is responsible for activating PS in the degradation of SMD and the degradation pathway for SMD was deduced.Accordingly,the results presented in this work demonstrate that CuMgAl-LDO may be an efficient and stable catalyst for the activation of PS during the degradation of organic pollutants.

Proposal and evaluation of a new norm index-based QSAR model to predict pEC50 and pCC50 activities of HEPT derivatives

The search and development of anti-HIV drugs is currently one of the most urgent tasks of pharmacological studies. In this work, a quantitative structure-activity relationship （QSAR） model based on some new norm indexes, was obtained to a series of more than 150 HEPT derivatives （1-[（2-hydroxyethoxy）methyl]-6-（phenylthio）thymine） to find their pEC50 （the required effective concentration to achieve 50% protection of MT-4 cells against the cytopathic effect of virus） and pCC50 （the required cytotoxic concentration to reduce visibility of 50% mock infected cell） activities. The model efficiencies were then validated using the leave-one-out cross validation （LOO-CV） and y- randomization test. Results indicated that this new model was efficient and could provide satisfactory results for prediction of pECso and pCC50 with the higher R2 train and the higher Rt2est. By using the leverage approach, the applicability domain of this model was further investigated and no response outlier was detected for HEFT derivatives involved in this work. Comparison results with reference methods demonstrated that this new method could result in significant improvements for predicting pEC50 and pCC50 of anti-HIV HEPT derivatives. Moreover, results shown in this present study suggested that these two absolutely different activities pECso and pCC50 of anti-HIV HEPT derivatives could be predicted well with a totally similar QSAR model, which indicated that this model mizht have the potential to be further utilized for other biological activities of HEFT derivatives.

Slowdown of sea surface height rises in the Nordic seas and related mechanisms

A slowdown of sea surface height （SSH） rise occurred in the Nordic （GIN） seas around 2004. In this study, SSH satellite data and constructed steric height data for the decades before and after 2004 （i.e., May 1994 to April 2014） were used for comparative analysis. The findings indicate that the rate of slowdown of SSH rises in the GIN seas （3.0 mm/a） far exceeded that of the global mean （0.6 mm/a）. In particular, the mean steric height of the GIN seas increased at a rate of 4.5 mm/a and then decreased at a slower pace. This was the main factor responsible for the stagnation of the SSH rises, while the mass factor only increased slightly. The Norwegian Sea particularly experienced the most prominent slowdown in SSH rises, mainly due to decreased warming of the 0-600 m layer. The controlling factors of this decreased warming were cessation in the increase of volume of the Atlantic inflow and stagnation of warming of the inflow. However, variations in air-sea thermal flux were not a major factor. In the recent two decades, mean halosteric components of the GIN seas decreased steadily and remained at a rate of 2 mm/a or more because of increased flow and salinity of the Atlantic inflow during the first decade, and reduction in freshwater inputs from the Arctic Ocean in the second decade.

Evidence of Upwelling along Peninsular Malaysia during Southwest Monsoon

Upwelling off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia (PM) was detected from recent cruise data collected during the southwest monsoon. Thermocline lifting was observed at 104?E from a number of parallel transects. To confirm the presence of upwelling, satellite remote sensing data were used, and numerical model experiments were conducted. A cooler sea-surface temperature along the coast was spotted from both in-situ and satellite data while upward movement from the model agreed with field data. The southwesterly wind that blows along PM from June to September is believed to be the important mechanism that contributed to this upwelling through an Ekman dynamics process.

Distribution of Heavy Metals and Rare Earth Elements in the Surface Sediments of Penang River Estuary, Malaysia

Geochemical sediment of the tropical Pinang River, Malaysia was carried out with the aim at documenting elemental concentrations and pollution level assessment. Concentration of selected heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn and Mn), rare earth elements, TOC and grain size distribution of sediments were determined at 100 m sampling interval along the river. Sediment size showed a positive correlation with ∑REE and Mn and medium correlations with TOC, Zn, Cu, Cr and Pb contents showing enrichment in the clay size fraction. Results of enrichment factor and geoaccumulation index showed that most of the elemental sources were natural (especially REE) and mostly likely represented background values. However, pollution load index revealed the higher levels of Cr, Cd, Zn and Pb, and, therefore, indicating to the anthropogenic sources (i.e. fishing activities) especially in the downstream locations. Thus, the Pinang River is classified as moderately to highly polluted.

Principles for managing marine ecosystems prone to tipping points

As climatic changes and human uses intensify,resource managers and other decision makers are taking actions to either avoid or respond to ecosystem tipping points,or dramatic shifts in structure and function that are often costly and hard to reverse.Evidence indicates that explicitly addressing tipping points leads to improved management outcomes.Drawing on theory and examples from marine systems,we distill a set of seven principles to guide effective management in ecosystems with tipping points,derived from the best available science.These principles are based on observations that tipping points(1)are possible everywhere,(2)are associated with intense and/or multifaceted human use,(3)may be preceded by changes in earlywarning indicators,(4)may redistribute benefits among stakeholders,(5)affect the relative costs of action and inaction,(6)suggest biologically informed management targets,and(7)often require an adaptive response to monitoring.We suggest that early action to preserve system resilience is likely more practical,affordable,and effective than late action to halt or reverse a tipping point.We articulate a conceptual approach to management focused on linking management targets to thresholds,tracking early-warning signals of ecosystem instability,and stepping up investment in monitoring and mitigation as the likelihood of dramatic ecosystem change increases.This approach can simplify and economize management by allowing decision makers to capitalize on the increasing value of precise information about threshold relationships when a system is closer to tipping or by ensuring that restoration effort is sufficient to tip a system into the desired regime.

Evaluating indicators of human well-being for ecosystem-based management

Introduction:Interrelated social and ecological challenges demand an understanding of how environmental change and management decisions affect human well-being.This paper out-lines a framework for measuring human well-being for ecosystem-based management(EBM).We present a prototype that can be adapted and developed for various scales and contexts.Scientists and managers use indicators to assess status and trends in integrated ecosystem assessments(IEAs).To improve the social science rigor and success of EBM,we developed a systematic and transparent approach for evaluating indicators of human well-being for an IEA.Methods:Our process is based on a comprehensive conceptualization of human well-being,a scalable analysis of management priorities,and a set of indicator screening criteria tailored to the needs of EBM.We tested our approach by evaluating more than 2000 existing social indicators related to ocean and coastal management of the US West Coast.We focused on two foundational attributes of human well-being:resource access and self-determination.Outcomes and Discussion:Our results suggest that existing indicators and data are limited in their ability to reflect linkages between environmental change and human well-being,and extremely limited in their ability to assess social equity and justice.We reveal a critical need for new social indicators tailored to answer environmental questions and new data that are disaggregated by social variables to measure equity.In both,we stress the importance of collaborating with the people whose well-being is to be assessed.Conclusion:Our framework is designed to encourage governments and communities to carefully assess the complex tradeoffs inherent in environmental decision-making.