Site selective gold(i)-catalysed benzylic C-H amination an intermolecular hydride transfer to triazolinediones.

Triazolinediones are known as highly reactive dienophiles that can also act as electrophilic amination reagents towards enolisable C-H bonds (ionic pathway) or weak C-H bonds (free radical pathway). Here, we report that this C-H amination reactivity can be significantly extended and enhanced gold(i)-catalysis. Under mild conditions, several alkyl-substituted aryls successfully undergo benzylic C-H aminations at room temperature.

Environmental information disclosure and public choice decisions for urban river restoration: A comparative study between Brussels (Belgium) and Guangzhou (China).

Worldwide environmental information disclosure (EID) has been widely promoted as a policy approach to establish transparent governments, enhance public environmental awareness, and foster participatory environmental governance. While information disclosure and transparency are inherently incentivised within democratic regimes, how and through what pathways an increased flow of environmental information in the absence of democracy could lead to favourable public support for environmental/ecological projects remain under-investigated. Particularly, there exists very limited literature which compares how EID is associated with public environmental choices between different sociopolitical contexts.

A microbial fuel cell configured for the remediation of recalcitrant pollutants in soil environment.

A pristine soil environment supports a healthy soil biodiversity, which is often polluted with recalcitrant compounds. The bioelectrochemical remediation of the contaminated soils using bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) is gaining significant attention with respect to the restoration of the soil ecosystem. In this direction, a microbial fuel cell (MFC, an application of BES), was employed for the treatment of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) in a soil microenvironment at three ranges of pollution (loading conditions - 320, 590 and 840 mg TPH per L).

Wintertime spatio-temporal variation of ultrafine particles in a Belgian city.

Simultaneous measurements of ultrafine particles (UFPs) were carried out at four sampling locations situated within a 1 km(2) grid area in a Belgian city, Borgerhout (Antwerp). All sampling sites had different orientation and height of buildings and dissimilar levels of anthropogenic activities (mainly traffic volume). The aims were to investigate: (i) the spatio-temporal variation of UFP within the area, (ii) the effect of wind direction with respect to the volume of traffic on UFP levels, and (iii) the spatial representativeness of the official monitoring station situated in the study area.

Exposure assessment of a cyclist to PM10 and ultrafine particles.

Estimating personal exposure to air pollution is a crucial component in identifying high-risk populations and situations. It will enable policy makers to determine efficient control strategies. Cycling is again becoming a favorite mode of transport both in developing and in developed countries due to increasing traffic congestion and environmental concerns.

An uncertainty analysis of air pollution externalities from road transport in Belgium in 2010.

Although stricter standards for vehicles will reduce emissions to air significantly by 2010, a number of problems will remain, especially related to particulate concentrations in cities, ground-level ozone, and CO(2). To evaluate the impacts of new policy measures, tools need to be available that assess the potential benefits of these measures in terms of the vehicle fleet, fuel choice, modal choice, kilometers driven, emissions, and the impacts on public health and related external costs. The ExternE accounting framework offers the most up to date and comprehensive methodology to assess marginal external costs of energy-related pollutants.