Search results for "Environmental Biotechnology"
showing 10 items of 568 documents
Remote Sensing Observations of Thunderstorm Features in Latvia
2017
AbstractThunderstorms are the most hazardous meteorological phenomena in Latvia in the summer season, and the assessment of their characteristics is essential for the development of an effective national climate and weather prediction service. However, the complex nature of convective processes sets specific limitations to their observation, analysis and forecasting. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse thunderstorm features associated with severe thunderstorms observed in weather radar and satellite data in Latvia over the period 2006–2015. The obtained results confirm the applicability of the selected thunderstorm features for thunderstorm nowcasting and analysis in Latvia. The …
Comment on “Determining soil erodibility for the USLE-MM rainfall erosion model by P.I.A. Kinnell”
2018
Abstract The measurements units of the USLE-MM soil erodibility factor are dependent on the exponent of the erosivity term. This circumstance prevents to compare soil erodibility values of sites differing by the value of this exponent. To overcame this problem, Kinnell (2018) suggested to relate the soil erodibility factor of the USLE-MM with that of USLE-M by a linear relationship with the objective to obtain a soil erodibility factor independent of the power of the erosivity term. The USLE-MB, which is a recently proposed model, has also a soil erodibility factor having measurement units common to USLE modelling environment. Kinnell (2018) also showed that the relationship between the pow…
Can PBDEs affect the pathophysiologic complex of epithelium in lung diseases?
2020
Brominated flame-retardant (BFRs) exposure promotes multiple adverse health outcomes involved in oxidative stress, inflammation, and tissues damage. We investigated BFR effects, known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) (47, 99 and 209) in an air-liquid-interface (ALI) airway tissue derived from A549 cell line, and compared with ALI culture of primary human bronchial epithelial cells (pHBEC). The cells, exposed to PBDEs (47, 99 and 209) (0.01-1 mu M) for 24 h, were studied for IL-8, Muc5AC and Muc5B (mRNAs and proteins) production, as well as NOX-4 (mRNA) expression. Furthermore, we evaluated tight junction (TJ) integrity by Trans-Epithelial Electrical Resistance (TEER) measurements, …
Biomonitoring of mercury in hair of children living in the Valencian Region (Spain). Exposure and risk assessment.
2018
Abstract In this study, we assessed total mercury levels in hair specimens of 661 children, aged 6 to 11, participating in the BIOVAL programme, a human biomonitoring study carried out by the Health Department of the Regional Government of Valencia (Spain). The reference value (95th percentile) determined for this population, within this programme, was 3.25 μg g−1. Hg concentrations ranged between 0.03 μg g−1 and 8.71 μg g−1, with a geometric mean of 0.79 (CI 95%: 0.73–0.85) μg g−1. This mean value was five times higher than the average levels found in children of 17 other European countries (0.145 μg g−1). About 13% of children had hair mercury levels above the FAO/WHO JECFA guideline of 2…
Obesogen effect of bisphenol S alters mRNA expression and DNA methylation profiling in male mouse liver
2020
International audience; Environmental pollution is increasingly considered an important factor involved in the obesity incidence. Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are important actors in the concept of DOHaD (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease), where epigenetic mechanisms play crucial roles. Bisphenol A (BPA), a monomer used in the manufacture of plastics and resins is one of the most studied obesogenic endocrine disruptor. Bisphenol S (BPS), a BPA substitute, has the same obesogenic properties, acting at low doses with a sex-specific effect following perinatal exposure. Since the liver is a major organ in regulating body lipid homeostasis, we investigated gene expression and DNA methyl…
A Comprehensive Observational Study of Graupel and Hail Terminal Velocity, Mass Flux, and Kinetic Energy
2018
Abstract This study uses novel approaches to estimate the fall characteristics of hail, covering a size range from about 0.5 to 7 cm, and the drag coefficients of lump and conical graupel. Three-dimensional (3D) volume scans of 60 hailstones of sizes from 2.5 to 6.7 cm were printed in three dimensions using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic, and their terminal velocities were measured in the Mainz, Germany, vertical wind tunnel. To simulate lump graupel, 40 of the hailstones were printed with maximum dimensions of about 0.2, 0.3, and 0.5 cm, and their terminal velocities were measured. Conical graupel, whose three dimensions (maximum dimension 0.1–1 cm) were estimated from an an…
Use of Vegetation as Biomaterial for Controlling Measures of Human Impact on the Environment
2019
In a context of a climate change, bioengineering techniques and biomaterials are needed to reduce the human impact on the environment. Thus, in recent years, living materials have been used in environmental engineering applications. In the present paper, attention is restricted to the vegetation, and a brief review on its use as biomaterial in engineering control techniques is presented. The core of this review is a comprehensive overview of two important techniques using vegetation as living material for measures limiting the human impact both in extra-urban and in urban sites. In particular, the use of vegetation both as living material for soil erosion protection and river’s bank stabili…
Greenhouse gas emissions from integrated urban drainage systems: where do we stand?
2018
As sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, integrated urban drainage systems (IUDSs) (i.e., sewer systems, wastewater treatment plants and receiving water bodies) contribute to climate change. This paper, produced by the International Working Group on Data and Models, which works under the IWA/IAHR Joint Committee on Urban Drainage, reviews the state-of-the-art and modelling tools developed recently to understand and manage GHG emissions from IUDS. Further, open problems and research gaps are discussed and a framework for handling GHG emissions from IUDSs is presented. The literature review reveals that there is a need to strengthen already available mathematical models for IUDS to take …
Explicit equations for uniform flow depth
2017
Conventional approach in uniform open channel flow is to express the resistance coefficient in the Manning, Darcy-Weisbach or Chezy form. However, for practical cross-sections, including rectangular and trapezoidal ones, the governing equation is implicit in the uniform water depth. For these sections the water depth, corresponding to known values of the flow discharge, slope channel and resistance coefficient, is presently obtained by trial and error procedure. In this paper exact analytical solutions of uniform flow depth for rectangular and trapezoidal section have been obtained in the form of fast converging power series.
A non-hydrostatic pressure distribution solver for the nonlinear shallow water equations over irregular topography
2016
Abstract We extend a recently proposed 2D depth-integrated Finite Volume solver for the nonlinear shallow water equations with non-hydrostatic pressure distribution. The proposed model is aimed at simulating both nonlinear and dispersive shallow water processes. We split the total pressure into its hydrostatic and dynamic components and solve a hydrostatic problem and a non-hydrostatic problem sequentially, in the framework of a fractional time step procedure. The dispersive properties are achieved by incorporating the non-hydrostatic pressure component in the governing equations. The governing equations are the depth-integrated continuity equation and the depth-integrated momentum equation…