Designing biochar properties through the blending of biomass feedstock with metals: Impact on oxyanions adsorption behavior.

Metal-blending of biomass prior to pyrolysis is investigated in this work as a tool to modify biochar physico-chemical properties and its behavior as adsorbent. Six different compounds were used for metal-blending: AlCl3, Cu(OH)2, FeSO4, KCl, MgCl2 and Mg(OH)2. Pyrolysis experiments were performed at 400 and 700 °C and the characterization of biochar properties included: elemental composition, thermal stability, surface area and pore size distribution, Zeta potential, redox potential, chemical structure (with nuclear magnetic resonance) and adsorption behavior of arsenate, phosphate and nitrate. Metalblending strongly affected biochars' surface charge and redox potential. Moreover, it increased biochars' microporosity (per mass of organic carbon). For most biochars, mesoporosity was also increased. The adsorption behavior was enhanced for all metal-blended biochars, although with significant differences across species: Mg(OH)2-blended biochar produced at 400 °C showed the highest phosphate adsorption capacity (Langmuir Qmax approx. 250 mg g-1), while AlCl3-blended biochar produced also at 400 °C showed the highest arsenate adsorption (Langmuir Qmax approx. 14 mg g-1). Significant differences were present, even for the same biochar, with respect to the investigated oxyanions. This indicates that biochar properties need to be optimized for each application, but also that this optimization can be achieved with tools such as metal-blending. These results constitute a significant contribution towards the production of designer biochars.

Supporting prolonged COPD monitoring using an application for mobile devices.

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is the most frequent form of chronic respiratory disease. During the progress of this disease, phases of aggravation of pulmonary function (exacerbations) can occur, which reduce the quality of life. Clinical experience shows that single investigations are insufficient. Therefore a prolonged monitoring is required to recognize an exacerbation early. This home monitoring will involve a quick respiratory test and a related application for Android, iOS and Windows phones. This rapid test transmits the relevant pulmonary parameters, converted in an Extensible Markup Language file to the smartphone. The application will analyze the incoming data to evaluate the current health status of the patient. Additionally the data will be transferred to the virtual control point (server) and stored in a database. If critical values are detected, the server will send a notification to prior defined relatives and doctors. A connection to a Hospital Information System will be possible through an included Health Level 7 interface. This offers an improved site-independent patient care. The project is planned to be in development until 2016.

Effects of Video-Based Visual Training on Decision-Making and Reactive Agility in Adolescent Football Players.

This study investigated the trainability of decision-making and reactive agility via video-based visual training in young athletes. Thirty-four members of a national football academy (age: 14.4 ± 0.1 years) were randomly assigned to a training (VIS; n = 18) or a control group (CON; n = 16). In addition to the football training, the VIS completed a video-based visual training twice a week over a period of six weeks during the competition phase. Using the temporal occlusion technique, the players were instructed to react on one-on-one situations shown in 40 videos. The number of successful decisions and the response time were measured with a video-based test. In addition, the reactive-agility sprint test was used. VIS significantly improved the number of successful decisions (22.2 ± 3.6 s vs. 29.8 ± 4.5 s; p < 0.001), response time (0.41 ± 0.10 s vs. 0.31 ± 0.10 s; p = 0.006) and reactive agility (2.22 ± 0.33 s vs. 1.94 ± 0.11 s; p = 0.001) pre- vs. post-training. No significant differences were found for CON. The results have shown that video-based visual training improves the time to make decisions as well as reactive agility sprint-time, accompanied by an increase in successful decisions. It remains to be shown whether or not such training can improve simulated or actual game performance.

Toxicity screening of soils from different mine areas--a contribution to track the sensitivity and variability of Arthrobacter globiformis assay.

This study used the Arthrobacter globiformis solid-contact test for assessing the quality of soils collected in areas subjected to past and present mine activities in Europe (uranium mine, Portugal) and North Africa (phosphogypsum pile, Tunisia; iron mine, Morocco). As to discriminate the influence of soils natural variability from the effect of contaminants, toxicity thresholds were derived for this test, based on the dataset of each study area. Furthermore, the test sensitivity and variability was also evaluated. As a result, soils that inhibited A. globiformis dehydrogenase activity above 45% or 50% relatively to the control, were considered to be toxic. Despite the soil metal content determined, the properties of soils seemed to influence dehydrogenase activity. Overall, the contact test provided a coherent outcome comparing to other more time-consuming and effort-demanding ecotoxicological assays. Our results strengthened the feasibility and ecological relevance of this assay, which variability was quite reduced hence suggesting its potential integration within the test battery of tier 1 of soil risk assessment schemes.

The "sowing of concrete": Peri-urban smallholder perceptions of rural-urban land change in the Central Peruvian Andes.

Policy makers concerned with the peri-urban interface find their greatest challenges in the rapid urban growth of developing mountain regions, since limitations caused by relief and altitude often lead to an increased competition between rural and urban land use at the valley floors. In this context, little attention has been paid to the affected agriculturalists' perceptions of peri-urban growth-important information required for the realization of sustainable land use planning. How is the process of rural-urban land change perceived and assessed by peri-urban smallholder communities? Which are the major difficulties to be overcome? By what means are the affected people reacting and how are these adaptation strategies linked with the ongoing landscape transformations of the hinterland? By using the example of Huancayo Metropolitano, an emerging Peruvian mountain city, it is shown that rural-urban land change is intensively discussed within peri-urban smallholder groups. Although urbanization also leads to infrastructure investments by public institutions-an advantage perceived throughout the study area-the negative impacts of rural-urban land use change prevail. The perceptions' analysis reveals that the decrease of fertile and irrigated agricultural land at the quechua valley floor is especially considered to threaten subsistence, food and income security. In order to compensate the loss of production capacities, many smallholders try to expand or intensify their land use at the suni altitudinal belt: an agro-ecological zone characterized by steep and nonirrigated slopes that can actually not be used for the year-round production of crops previously cultivated at the quechua zone.

Phthalate exposure during cold plastisol application--a human biomonitoring study.

The phthalates DEHP (Diethylhexyl phthalate), DiNP (Diisononyl phthalate) and DiDP (Diisodecyl phthalate) are constituents of plastisols. We sought to obtain first data on occupational exposures to the above phthalates by analyzing their metabolites in pre- and post-shift urine samples from 5 workers in a car manufacturing plant engaged in seam sealing with a DINP based plastisol. Pre-shift samples were collected after a work-free period of at least 2 days. As a comparison group we investigated 10 employees from the same plant. The comparison group had phthalate exposures in the range of the general German population. All plastisol workers had post shift values of DiNP and DiDP metabolites that were approx. 20-times higher, and pre-shift values that were approx. 5-10 times higher than those of the general background exposure. Post-shift values of DiNP metabolites were (median [maximum]: OH-MiNP: 117 [442] µg/L; oxo-MiNP: 44.3 [175] µg/L; carboxy-MiNP: 57.8 [286]µg/L), pre shift values were (OH-MiNP: 26 [164] µg/L; oxo-MiNP 12.9 [68.6] µg/L; carboxy-MiNP: 32.3 [103] µg/L), compared to the comparison group (OH-MiNP: 6.2 [33]µg/L; oxo-MiNP: 2.8 [16] µg/L; carboxy-MiNP: 6.5 [31] µg/L). DiDP values were generally lower. Regarding DEHP we found no significant work related exposure. The dermal exposure route might play an important role for phthalates in plastisols, with possible influences on distribution and elimination kinetics and therefore data interpretation.

Vivid valleys, pallid peaks? Hypsometric variations and rural-urban land change in the Central Peruvian Andes.

What happens to the land cover within the hinterland's altitudinal belts while Central Andean cities are undergoing globalization and urban restructuring? What conclusions can be drawn about changes in human land use? By incorporating a regional altitudinal zonation model, direct field observations and GIS analyses of remotely sensed long term data, the present study examines these questions using the example of Huancayo Metropolitano - an emerging Peruvian mountain city of 420,000 inhabitants, situated at 3260 m asl in the Mantaro Valley. The study's results indicate that rapid urban growth during the late 1980s and early 1990s was followed by the agricultural intensification and peri-urban condominization at the valley floor (quechua) - since the beginning of Peru's neoliberal era. Moreover, regarding the adjoining steep slopes (suni) and subsequent grassland ecosystems (puna), the research output presents land cover change trajectories that clearly show an expansion of human land use, such as reforestation for wood production and range burning for livestock grazing, even at high altitudes - despite rural-urban migration trends and contrary to several results of extra-Andean studies. Consequently, rural-urban planners and policy makers are challenged to focus on the manifold impacts of globalization on human land use - at all altitudinal belts of the Andean city's hinterland: toward sustainable mountain development that bridges the social and physical gaps - from the bottom up.