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The synthesis and characterization of lithium and sodium bis(o-anisyl)phosphides are described. Both compounds are important reagents in organophosphine and metal phosphide syntheses. The results showed that the presence of potential chelating o-methoxy group can affect the chemistry of the phosphine ligands. The results of the studies on the crystal of (Na P C6H4OMe-o 2 diglyme)2 are also presented.

Research on blue and green water footprints (WF) for China has typically been carried out based on bottom-up and top-down approach using a single-region input–output table. However, this research typically lacks detail on the sectoral interrelationships which exist between China and its trading partners in other countries/regions of the world. Here, a multi-region input–output approach using the WIOD database was applied to quantify the blue and green WF for China in 2009. The quantification was conducted from both production (WFP) and consumption (WFC) perspectives. The results show that the total WFP for China in 2009 was 1152.2 km3, second only to India. At 1070.9 km3, China had the largest WFC volume in the world. The internal WF was 953.5 km3, taking the substantial share for both the WFC and WFP. Overall, China’s trade resulted in a net export of 53.5 km3 virtual water. In contrast, the agricultural sector resulted in a net import of 70.6 km3 virtual water to China, with United States, Brazil, and Canada acting as major suppliers. This study suggests that quantifying the WF of China at global level through a MRIO framework is a necessary step towards achieving sustainability for China’s water management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis and characterization of the first complex of a rare earth element with a tris(amino) aminate(3-) ligand are described. The scheme involves the reaction of YCl3 with Li3(N'3N) in tetrahydrofuran (THF). The reaction produces a Y2Li3 cluster containing a (N CH2CH2NSiMe3 sub3)3- ligand and fragments arising from a facile cleavage of THF solvent. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis and NMR spectroscopy.

The flow regime of a river is fundamental in determining its ecological characteristics. Impoundment of rivers has been documented to severely impact the natural flow regime, resulting in abiotic and biotic changes in downstream ecosystems. Contemporary water legislation is driving increasing concern among environmentalists and water resource managers with respect to how these impacts can be mitigated. This has stimulated research aimed at assessing the relationship between reservoir outflow modification (i.e. managed environmental flows) and downstream ecosystem responses., We carried out a critical review and synthesis of the global literature concerning post-impoundment reservoir outflow modification and associated downstream biotic and abiotic responses. Seventy-six studies published between 1981 and 2012 were analysed. In contrast to previous studies of this subject, we systematically assessed the methodological quality of research to identify strengths and weaknesses of the approaches. We also undertook a novel quantification of ecosystem responses to flow modification, thus enabling identification of priorities for future research., We identified that: (i) there was a research bias towards North American and Western European studies; (ii) the majority of studies reported changes in flow magnitude (e.g. artificial floods) and primarily focused on traditionally monitored ecological groups (e.g. fish); (iii) relationships between flow, biota (e.g. macroinvertebrates) and water quality (e.g. electrical conductivity and suspended solids concentration) were evident, demonstrating the potential for managed environmental flows to manipulate river ecosystems; (iv) site-specific factors (e.g. location, climate) are likely to be important as some ecosystem responses were inconsistent between studies (e.g. fish movement in response to increases in flow magnitude); and (v) quality of study design, methodological and analytical techniques varied, and these factors may have contributed to the reported variability of ecosystem response., To advance scientific understanding and guide future management of regulated flow regimes, we highlight a pressing need for: (i) diversification of study locations as well as flow modification and ecosystem response types assessed; (ii) a focus on understanding flow-ecosystem response relationships at regional scales; (iii) further quantitative studies to enable robust statistical analyses in future meta-analyses; and (iv) robust monitoring of flow experiments and the use of contemporary statistical techniques to extract maximum knowledge from ecological response data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water can be redistributed through, in physical terms, water transfer projects and virtually, embodied water for the production of traded products. Here, we explore whether such water redistributions can help mitigate water stress in China. This study, for the first time to our knowledge, both compiles a full inventory for physical water transfers at a provincial level and maps virtual water flows between Chinese provinces in 2007 and 2030. Our results show that, at the national level, physical water flows because of the major water transfer projects amounted to 4.5% of national water supply, whereas virtual water flows accounted for 35% (varies between 11% and 65%at the provincial level) in 2007. Furthermore, our analysis shows that both physical and virtualwater flows do not play a major role in mitigating water stress in the water-receiving regions but exacerbate water stress for the water-exporting regions of China. Future water stress in the main water-exporting provinces is likely to increase further based on our analysis of the historical trajectory of the major governing socioeconomic and technical factors and the full implementation of policy initiatives relating to water use and economic development. Improving water use efficiency is key to mitigating water stress, but the efficiency gains will be largely offset by the water demand increase caused by continued economic development. We conclude that much greater attention needs to be paid to water demand management rather than the current focus on supply-oriented management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which validated the flexible-membrane model using onsite data from water treatment plant (WTP) in Great Britain which uses an inorganic coagulant to clarify raw water and employs a flexible-membrane press to dewater thickened slurry. To show that the flexible-membrane model represents the appropriate filtration dynamics, model predictions using the phenomological material properties of the feed slurries, the operating conditions and the press dimensions are compared.