The European charcoal trade

About half the wood extracted worldwide from forests is used as fuelwood to produce energy, about 17 percent is converted to charcoal (FAO 2017) which represents one of the least controlled/monitored segments of the European timber market. Although charcoal has a significant share on the European market of wood-based products it is not yet covered by the European Timber Regulations (EUTR), (EU) No 995/2010. For this project, a total of 150 charcoal consignments from eleven countries (Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and Belgium) were examined and evaluated based on the 3D-reflected light microscopy technique. The high-resolution study indicates the proportion of different European timbers compared with that of timbers from subtropical and tropical regions. The share of subtropical and tropical species is surprisingly high with approximately 46% for material received from all countries studied, but far over 60% for Spain, Italy, Poland, and Belgium. The study shows that comparing the results for charcoal received from these countries there is an inversely proportional relation of certified products (FSC and PEFC) and products with timbers from subtropical or tropical origins. In the charcoal consignments from Switzerland, the share of timbers from subtropical or tropical origin is only 13.5%, whereas that of certified products is 60%. In material received from Spain, the proportion of timbers from subtropical or tropical regions is 67%, whereas that of certified products only 8%. A careful check of the declaration on the packaging, of the accompanying certificates, and the information on origin revealed alarming evidence: only 25% of the consignments examined provide information on the bags, e.g., with regard to the processed wood species; and well over half of such declarations were incorrect and/or incomplete. A trade flow analysis of EU member states was carried out to contribute to a better understanding of the relationships between international charcoal trade flows and the end products in European countries. This approach contributes to an essential understanding of charcoal transit in Europe and the results constitute a strong motive for the inclusion of charcoal in the respective annex to the EUTR.

Stellaria popovii, a new name in Caryophyllaceae

As part of the ongoing study on the Western Himalayan Caryophyllaceae Juss. (see e.g., Pusalkar & Singh 2015, Pusalkar & Srivastava 2015, Pusalkar & Srivastava 2016), I came across to Stellaria fontana Popov (1936: 407) from lower Ladakh (Jammu & Kashmir, India; see Klimés and Deckore 2005). A careful check of the online nomenclatural databases (e.g., The Plant List 2013, IPNI 2015+) revealed that the Popov’s name is a later homonym of S. fontana Wulfen (1786: 327). As a consequence, it is illegitimate under the Art. 53.2 of ICN (McNeill et al. 2012). A new name—Stellaria popovii—is here proposed for S. fontana Popov.

E layer dominated ionosphere observed by EISCAT/ESR radars during solar minimum

According to the study by Mayer and Jakowski (2009), periods of E layer dominated ionosphere (ELDI) are defined as being characterized by vertical electron density profiles having a maximum density at E layer altitudes. In this paper, characteristics of ELDI intervals have been investigated, focusing on their temporal variations, using field-aligned measurements from the EISCAT and ESR radars during the interval 2009–2011. ELDI events were identified using simple but reasonable criteria, in which a minimal duration was required to exclude possible "fake" events induced by random errors in measurements. It was found that ELDIs were observed more often in winter and earlier spring than other seasons, especially in the auroral zone. The occurrence of ELDI intervals peaks around geomagnetic midnight at auroral latitudes, while it reaches a maximum around geomagnetic local noon at the latitude of the ESR. Our results imply that ELDI intervals appear to be a sporadic rather than a regular phenomenon, in disagreement with previous results inferred from radio occultation measurements. The discrepancy between the typical durations of ELDI events observed by the two radars is remarkable, being 30 min on average at Tromsø but about a half of this at Svalbard. During intervals of ELDI, the mean thicknesses of the E layer are quite close at the two sites, as are the values of HmE and the ratio of NmE / NmF2. Case studies confirm that either extra E layer ionization or F layer density depletion alone could lead to the presence of ELDIs. Based on a careful check on ELDI intervals of various types, however, we suggest that both of them play a critical role in ELDI formation.

Nursing Experience of 850 Cases on Centralized Cataract Surgery in CDPF Eyesight Recovery Project

<strong>Objective</strong>: To explore and summarize the nursing experience of concentrated cataract surgery in CDPF eyesight recovery project. <strong>Method</strong>: Retrospective analysis of the nursing experience in 850 cases of CDPF cataract patients admitted to the hospital for surgery from June 2008 to July 2014. <strong>Results</strong>:<strong> </strong>Through planned, organized education of related knowledge, all patients showed stable emotion and good attitude. They could greatly cooperate in the surgery and master postoperative self-care methods. With fewer complications, their visual acuity was improved to a certain degree. They all reached the standards of blindness exclusion. <strong>Conclusion</strong>: Organized arrangements, centralized health education, perfect preoperative examination, rational sequencing, careful check and meticulous care were the successful basis of centralized cataract surgery in CDPF eyesight recovery project, which guaranteed a smooth surgery without errors or accidents.

Determination of (+/−) Elution Orders of Chiral Organochlorines by Liquid Chromatography with a Chiral Detector and by Enantioselective Gas Chromatography

Enantioselective gas chromatography (GC) with 5 modified cyclodextrins was applied to chiral organochlorines. A prerequisite for determining GC elution orders of enantiomers is the availability of enantioenriched standard solutions. In addition to compounds reported before (e.g., α-HCH, PCB 174, oxychlordane), we determined the sign of optical rotation of enantioenriched solutions of e-aeee-pentachlorocyclohexene-1 (β-PCCH), perdeuterated α-HCH (α-PDHCH), perdeuterated β-PCCH, and the persistent compound of technical toxaphene—2-exo,3-endo,5-exo,9,9,10,10-heptachlorobornane (B7-1453)—by liquid chromatography (LC) with a chiral detector. An enantioenriched solution of (β-PCCH was obtained by enantioselective degradation of α-HCH with (-)-brucine. In addition to forming an enantiomeric excess of (-)-α- HCH, we formed enantioenriched (+)-(α-PCCH. In a similar study, α-PDHCH showed the same behavior with respect to enantioselectivity. Dextrorotation of an enantioenriched solution of B7-1453 was also confirmed by LC with a chiral detector. Enantioseparation of chiral organochlorines on 5 chiral stationary phases resulted in several reversed elution orders. These results indicate that a careful check of elution orders of organochlorine enantiomers is necessary prior to comparison of literature data for the study of enantioselective processes in the environment.

Application of an Automated Coulometric Titrator to the Determination of Water in Phosphoric Acids

In the described method, water in phosphoric acid is determined by in situ coulometric generation of Karl Fischer reagent with automated end point detection. The variables associated with visual end point detection among different operators are eliminated. Sample size is limited by the generation rate of available coulometers and is 50 mg for samples containing more than 20% water and 100 t o 150 m g for samples containing less than 20% water for a 20 min analysis time . The precision at 99% confidence ranges from 0.43 ± 0.05% for superphosphoric acid to 36.8 ± 0.81% for untreated 10–34–0 base solution; for polished wet process phosphoric acid the precision is 16.49 ± 0.19% compared to 16.70 ± 0.64% by azeotropie distillation. The method is applicable in all systems which do not normally interfere with Karl Fischer reagent; the generating efficiency at the 100% water level is &gt;99%. Coulometer power tube fatigue is the most serious limitation unless a careful check and replacement program is initiated.

Wegener's South America–Africa Assembly, Fit or Misfit?

A statement by Jeffreys that the Wegener fit of South America and Africa is a misfit of 15° has been widely quoted and accepted. However, careful check by any rigorous method will show that these continents do in fact fit together as precisely as their forms can be defined. Whether continental drift be true or false, this argument against it must be abandoned.

A Southern Oklahoma Copper Ornament

In 1937, while exploring a series of rock shelters in the southern extremity of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, a copper ornament was found in association with shell tempered potsherds and flint artifacts. Due to the composition of the article, its construction and embellishments, a careful check was made as to its possible origin. Data and conclusions are given in the following.