Status and short-term environmental changes of lakes in the area of Devil's Bay, Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Jan Kavan ◽  
Linda Nedbalová ◽  
Daniel Nývlt ◽  
Tomáš Čejka ◽  
Juan Manuel Lirio

Abstract Climate change affects various components of the polar environment, including lacustrine systems in many regions of the Antarctic Peninsula. However, the recent status of these life-preserving habitats remains poorly known. We performed field geomorphological mapping and limnological characterization of lakes distributed across Devil's Bay in the northern area of Vega Island, James Ross Archipelago, and described some significant changes in their physical and chemical properties during the 2013 summer season. Fifty lakes were described in the area, even though the area is relatively small (~12 km2). Six major lake types were distinguished based on their geomorphological settings and their origins, and their hydrochemical properties were compared with the neighbouring lake districts. The geomorphic characteristics of the lakes range from stable lakes on till plains (21 out of 50 lakes), to kettle lakes on fresh moraines with an unstable shoreline, to very dynamic ice-contact lakes with fluctuating water levels and inundated areas. The ice-contact lake dynamics were observed using ‘Lake Payer’ as an example. At the interface between hydrology and geosciences, this study provides new and original data from a yet largely unexplored region and emphasizes the importance of cross-disciplinary research in polar sciences.

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (22) ◽  
pp. 7061-7070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoit Pugin ◽  
Fabián A. Cornejo ◽  
Pablo Muñoz-Díaz ◽  
Claudia M. Muñoz-Villagrán ◽  
Joaquín I. Vargas-Pérez ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTTellurium, a metalloid belonging to group 16 of the periodic table, displays very interesting physical and chemical properties and lately has attracted significant attention for its use in nanotechnology. In this context, the use of microorganisms for synthesizing nanostructures emerges as an eco-friendly and exciting approach compared to their chemical synthesis. To generate Te-containing nanostructures, bacteria enzymatically reduce tellurite to elemental tellurium. In this work, using a classic biochemical approach, we looked for a novel tellurite reductase from the Antarctic bacteriumPseudomonassp. strain BNF22 and used it to generate tellurium-containing nanostructures. A new tellurite reductase was identified as glutathione reductase, which was subsequently overproduced inEscherichia coli. The characterization of this enzyme showed that it is an NADPH-dependent tellurite reductase, with optimum reducing activity at 30°C and pH 9.0. Finally, the enzyme was able to generate Te-containing nanostructures, about 68 nm in size, which exhibit interesting antibacterial properties againstE. coli, with no apparent cytotoxicity against eukaryotic cells.


2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C1223-C1223
Author(s):  
Jason Benedict ◽  
Ian Walton ◽  
Dan Patel ◽  
Jordan Cox

Metal-organic Frameworks (MOFs) remain an extremely active area of research given the wide variety of potential applications and the enormous diversity of structures that can be created from their constituent building blocks. While MOFs are typically employed as passive materials, next-generation materials will exhibit structural and/or electronic changes in response to applied external stimuli including light, charge, and pH. Herein we present recent results in which advanced photochromic diarylethenes are combined with MOFs through covalent and non-covalent methods to create photo-responsive permanently porous crystalline materials. This presentation will describe the design, synthesis, and characterization of next-generation photo-switchable diarylethene based ligands which are subsequently used to photo-responsive MOFs. These UBMOF crystals are, by design, isostructural with previously reported non-photoresponsive frameworks which enables a systematic comparison of their physical and chemical properties. While the photoswitching of the isolated ligand in solution is fully reversible, the cycloreversion reaction is suppressed in the UBMOF single crystalline phase. Spectroscopic evidence for thermally induced cycloreversion will be presented, as well as a detailed analysis addressing the limits of X-ray diffraction techniques applied to these systems.


Química Nova ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamila Ody ◽  
João Jesus ◽  
Carlos Cava ◽  
Anderson Albuquerque ◽  
Ary Maia ◽  
...  

ASSESSMENT OF THE ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE OF THE MONOCLINIC PHASE OF NIOBIUM OXIDE BASED ON THE USE OF DIFFERENT DENSITY FUNCTIONALS. Niobium oxides, Nb2O5, are considered semiconductor materials with very attractive physical and chemical properties for applications in many areas, such as catalysis, sensors, medical, aerospace, etc. Especially, the characterization of Nb2O5-based nanostructures with monoclinic structure has received much attention in recent years. However, despite the great importance of this system, some of its fundamentals properties are still not fully understood. Hence, this work aims to apply the theoretical methodologies through Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations in periodic models based on the use of different density functionals (like B1WC, B3PW, B3LYP, PBE0, PBESOL0, SOGGAXC, and WC1LYP) to investigate the physical and chemical properties of the monoclinic structure of Nb2O5. The band structures, energy bandgap, density of state, and vibrational properties, as well as order-disorder effects on the monoclinic structure of Nb2O5 are investigated in this study. Our theoretical results show a better agreement with experimental data for the B3LYP functional and hence lead to new perspectives on the deeper physicochemical understanding of the monoclinic Nb2O5. From these computational tools, it is possible to unravel the relations between structure and properties, which may contribute to the future development of new devices and applications based on these materials.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 2581
Author(s):  
Adriana Cristina Bordignon ◽  
Maria Luiza Rodrigues de Souza ◽  
Eliane Gasparino ◽  
Edson Minoru Yajima ◽  
Jesuí Vergílio Visentainer ◽  
...  

After Nile tilapia skin was preserved using the methods of freezing and dry salting, characteristics of skin gelatin were evaluated with regard to yield, rheological features and physical and chemical properties. Preservation was performed after filleting, at which time skins were either frozen (-18°C) for 7 days or salted (25°C) for 7 days. Although no differences (p > 0.05) were observed with respect to humidity, protein, lipid, ash and calcium levels, gelatin from salted skins had a higher concentration of iron relative to frozen skins. Further, twenty-three fatty acids were detected in salted skins compared with merely three found in skin derived gelatin. Of amino acids found, glycine, alanine, proline and arginine were the most abundant. Hydroxyproline abundance in salted and frozen skin gelatin were 8.76% and 8.71%, respectively. In addition, salted skin gelatins had a greater accumulation of saturated fatty acids and lower rates of monounsaturated fatty acids. Salted skin gelatin had the highest yield (18g × 100g-1), gel strength (200 g) and viscosity (19.02mPas) when compared to the yield (17g × 100g-1), gel strength (12.7g) and viscosity (9.16 mPas) of frozen skins. Results show that gelatin from dry salted skin had the best yield and also had relatively better rheological properties, more iron, and better coloration relative to gelatin obtained from frozen skins of Nile tilapia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 942 ◽  
pp. 40-49
Author(s):  
Yulia Murashkina ◽  
Olga B. Nazarenko

Natural zeolite of Shivirtui deposit (Russia) was modified with nanofibers of aluminum oxyhydroxide AlOOH. Aluminum oxyhydroxide nanofibers were produced at the heating and oxidation of aluminum powder with water. The properties of modified zeolite were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, transmission electronic microscopy, scanning electronic microscopy, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, thermal analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was found that water content in the modified sample of zeolite was about 15 %. Based on the study of the physical and chemical properties, shivirtui zeolite modified with nanofibers of aluminum oxyhydroxide can be proposed for use as a flame-retardant additive to polymers.


Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Masaki Watanabe ◽  
Yoshihide Hashimoto ◽  
Tsuyoshi Kimura ◽  
Akio Kishida

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of engineering plastics processed using supercritical CO2. First, we prepared disk-shaped test pieces via a general molding process, which were plasticized using supercritical CO2 at temperatures lower than the glass-transition points of engineering plastics. Amorphous polymers were plasticized, and their molecular weight remained nearly unchanged after treatment with supercritical CO2. The mechanical strength significantly decreased despite the unchanged molecular weight. The surface roughness and contact angle increased slightly, and electrical properties such as the rate of charging decreased significantly. These results suggest that supercritical CO2 could be used for a new molding process performed at lower temperatures than those used in general molding processes, according to the required properties.


1981 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. Huray ◽  
M. T. Spaar ◽  
S. E. Nave ◽  
J. M. Legan ◽  
L. A. Boatner ◽  
...  

The electronic charge states and site symmetries of the radioactive ions incorporated in nuclear waste forms are of considerable importance in determining the physical and chemical properties of these materials. An in situ characterization of these ions is, unfortunately, often difficult – especially when a mixture of charge states and local crystal symmetries exist. The application of Mbssbauer spectroscopy represents a powerful technique for obtaining solid state chemical information.


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