a b s t r a c tRecognized as one of the most mature renewable energy technologies, wind energy has been developing rapidly in recent years. Many countries have shown interest in utilizing wind power, but they are concerned about the environmental impacts of the wind farms. The continuous growth of the wind energy industry in many parts of the world, especially in some developing countries and ecologically vulnerable regions, necessitates a comprehensive understanding of wind farm induced environmental impacts. The environmental issues caused by wind farms were reviewed in this paper by summarizing existing studies. Available mitigation measures to minimize these adverse environmental impacts were discussed in this document. The intention of this paper is to provide state-of-the-art knowledge about environmental issues associated with wind energy development as well as strategies to mitigate environmental impacts to wind energy planners and developers.

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Hydrophobic alginate derivative was prepared by modification of alginate by acid chloride reaction using oleoyl chloride without organic solvents. The conjugate of oleoyl alginate ester (OAE) was confirmed by FT-IR and (1)H NMR. The degree of substitution (DS) of OAE was determined by (1)H NMR, and it ranged from 0.84 to 3.85. In distilled water, OAE formed self-assembled nanoparticles at low concentrations in aqueous medium, and nanoparticles retained their structural integrity both in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). The loading and release characteristics of nanoparticles based on OAE were investigated using vitamin D(3) as a model nutraceutical. As the concentration of vitamin D(3) increased, the loading capacity (LC) increased, whereas the loading efficiency (LE) decreased. Nanoparticles could release vitamin D(3) at a sustained rate in gastrointestinal fluid. These results revealed the potential of OAE nanoparticles as oral carriers for sustained release of vitamin D(3).

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A novel visible light-induced living surface grafting polymerization was developed by a strategy in which isopropyl thioxanthone (ITX) was first photoreduced under UV light and sequentially coupled onto the surface of polymeric substrates, and the produced isopropyl thioxanthone-semipinacol (ITXSP) ''dormant'' groups were subsequently reactivated under visible light to initiate a surface grafting polymerization. By using glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films as models, a ''living'' surface grafting polymerization initiated by ITXSP under visible light at room temperature was observed. Both the surface grafting chain length versus grafting conversion of monomer and the grafting polymerization rate versus monomer concentration demonstrated a linear dependence, which is in accord with the known characteristics of living polymerization. The livingness rendered it possible to accurately control the thickness of the grafted layer by simply altering the irradiation time. V V C 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Phys