One new species of Everestiomyia Townsend(Diptera:Tachinidae)from western China

Everestiomyia Townsend,1933(Diptera:Tachinidae)belongs to the tribe Ernestiini in the Tachininae.One new species of this genus from the Altun Mountains of Xinjiang,western China was found and is described:Everestiomyia nudioculata Zhang sp.nov.

Ozonation as an efficient pretreatment method to alleviate reverse osmosis membrane fouling caused by complexes of humic acid and calcium ion

Humic acid has been considered as one of the most significant sources in feed water causing organic fouling of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, but the relationship between the fouling behavior of humic acid and the change of its molecular structure has not been well developed yet. In this study, the RO membrane fouling behavior of humic acid was studied systematically with ozonation as a pretreatment method to control RO membrane fouling. Furthermore, the effect of ozone on the structure ofhumic acid was also explored to reveal the mechanisms. Humic acid alone (10-90 mg/L, in deionized water) was found not to cause obvious RO membrane fouling in 45-h operation. However, the presence of Ca^2+ aggravated significantly the RO membrane fouling caused by humic acid, with significant flux reduction and denser fouling layer on RO membrane, as it was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). However, after the pretreatment by ozone, the influence of Ca^2+ was almost eliminated. Further analysis revealed that the addition of Ca^2+ increased the particle size of humic acid solution significantly, while ozonation reduced the SUVA254, particle size and molecular weight of the complexes of humic acid and Ca^2+(HA-Ca^2+ complexes). According to these results and literature, the bridge effect of Ca^2+ aggregating humic acid molecules and the cleavage effect of ozone breaking HA-Ca^2+ complexes were summarized. The change of the structure of humic acid under the effect of Ca^2+ and ozone is closely related to the change of its membrane fouling behavior.

Algal-bloom control by allelopathy of aquatic macrophytes—A review

Algal-bloom control is an important issue for water environment protection as it induces several negative impacts on the lives of aquatic organisms,aquaculture,landscaping,and human health.The development of an environment-friendly,cost-effective,and convenient alternative for controlling algal bloom has gained much concern.Using the allelopathy of aquatic macrophytes as a novel and safe method for algal-bloom control is a promising alternative.This paper reviews the development and potential application about allelopathy of aquatic plants on algae,including the allelopathic research history,the potential research problems,the research methodology,and the reported aquatic macrophytes and their inhibitory allelochemicals.Potential modes of inhibition action of allelochemicals on algae,possible ways for application,and future development directions of research on algal-bloom control by aquatic macrophytes were also presented.

Improvement of the assimilable organic carbon （AOC） analytical method for reclaimed water

Microbial growth is an issue of concern that may cause hygienic and aesthetic problems during the transportation and usage of reclaimed water. Assimilable organic carbon （AOC） is an important parameter which determines the heterotrophic bacterial growth potential of water. Pseudomonas fluorescens P17 and Spirillum sp. NOX are widely used to measure AOC in drinking water. The AOC values of various reclaimed water samples determined by P 17 and NOX were compared with those determined by the new strains isolated from reclaimed water in this study. It showed that the conventional test strains were not suitable for AOC measurement of reclaimed water in certain cases. In addition to P17 and NOX, Stenotrophomonas sp. Z J2, Pseudomonas saponi- phila G3 and Enterobacter sp. G6, were selected as test strains for AOC measurement of reclaimed water. Key aspects of the bioassay including inoculum cell density, incubation temperature, incubation time and the pH of samples were evaluated for the newly selected test strains. Higher inoculum density （104 CFU.mL-1） and higher incubation temperature （25℃） could reduce the time required for the tests. The AOC results of various collected samples showed the advantages of the method proposed based on those five strains in evaluating the biologic stability of reclaimed water.

Allelopathic inhibition on red tide microalgae Skeletonema costatum by five macroalgal extracts

This study aims to identify effective antialgal allelochemicals from marine macroalgae that inhibit the growth of red tide microalgae.Practically,new algicidal agents were developed to control red tide.The growth inhibitory effects of 5 marine macroalgae Porphyra tenera,Laminaria japonica,Ulva pertusa,Enteromorpha clathrata,and Undaria pinnatifida on Skeletonema costatum were evaluated by adding crude seawater extracts of macroalgal dry tissue into the culture medium containing S.costatum.The half-effective concentrations at 120 h(EC_(50),120 h)of the seawater extracts were 0.6,0.9,1.0,1.0,and 4.7 g/L for the five macroalgae above,respectively.E.clathrata,L.japonica and U.pertusa showed strong allelopathic effect on the growth of S.costatum.There have been no previous reports with regard to the allelopathic effects of the former two macroalgae so far.The possible allelochemicals of 21 compounds of the E.clathrata were detected using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS)analysis.Unsaturated fatty acids,acrylic acid(C_(3)H_(4)O_(2)),and linolenic acid(C_(18)H_(30)O_(2))were the most likely allelochemicals in E.clathrata.

Occurrence of estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals concern in sewage plant effluent

The purpose of this study was to give a worldwide overview of the concentrations of typical estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals （EDCs） in the effluent of sewage plants and then compare the concentra- tion distribution of the estrogenic EDCs in ten countries based on the survey data of the estrogenic EDCs research. The concentrations of three main categories （totally eight kinds） of estrogenic EDCs including steroidal estrogens （estrone （El）, estradiol （E2）, estriol （E3） and 17a- ethynylestradiol （EE2））, phenolic compounds （nonylphe- nol （NP） and bisphenol A （BPA）） and phthalate esters （dibutyl phthalate （DBP） and dibutyl phthalate （2- ethylhexyl） phthalate （DEHP）） in the effluents of sewage plants reported in major international journals over the past decade were collected. The statistics showed that the concentration distributions of eight kinds of EDCs were in the range of ng·L^-1 to μg·L^-1. The concentrations of steroidal estrogens mainly ranged within 50.00 ng. L-1, and the median concentrations of El, E2, E3 and EE2 were 11.00, 3.68, 4.90 and 1.00 ng·L^-1, respectively. Phenolic compounds and phthalate esters were found at pg. L-1 level （some individual values were at the high level of 40.00 μg·L^-1）. The median concentrations of BPA, NP, DBP and DEHP were 0.06, 0.55, 0.07 and 0.88 μg·L^-1, respectively. The concentrations of phenolic compounds and phthalate esters in the effluents were higher than that of steroids estrogens. The analysis of the concentration in various ten countries showed that steroids estrogens, phenolic compounds and phthalate esters in sewage plant effluents were detected with high concentration in Canada, Spain and China, respectively.

Inhibition of bromate formation by reduced graphene oxide supported cerium dioxide during ozonation of bromidecontaining water

Ozone(O3)is widely used in drinking water disinfection and wastewater treatment.However,when applied to bromide-containing water,ozone induces the formation of bromate,which is carcinogenic.Our previous study found±at graphene oxide(GO)can enhance the degradation efficiency of micropollutants during ozonation.However,in this study,GO was found to promote bromate formation during ozonation of bromide-containing waters,with bromate yields from the O3/GO process more than twice those obtained using ozone alone.The promoted bromate formation was attributed to increased hydroxyl radical production,as confirmed by the significant reduction(almost 75%)in bromate yield after adding t-butanol(TBA).Cerium oxide(less tfian 5 mg/L)supported on reduced GO(xCeO2/RGO)significantly inhibited bromate formation during ozonation compared with reduced GO alone,and the optimal Ce atomic percentage(x)was determined to be 0.36%,achieving an inhibition rate of approximately 73%.Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR)spectra indicated the transformation of GO into RGO after hydrothermal treatment,and transmission electron microscope(TEM)results showed that CeO2 nanoparticles were well dispersed on the RGO surface.The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)spectra results demonstrated that the Ce^3+/Ce^4+ratio in xCeO2/RGO was almost 3-4 times higher than that in pure CeO2,which might be attributed to the charge transfer effect from GO to CeO2.Furthermore,Ce+on thexCeO2/RGO surface could quench Br-and BrO-to further inhibit bromate formation.Meanwhile,0.36CeO2/RGO could also enhance the degradation efficiency of N,N-diethyl-zn-toluamide(DEET)in synthetic and reclaimed water during ozonation.

Isolation of a Pseudomonas Stutzeri strain that degrades 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene and characterization of its degradative plasmid

The genetic information encoding metabolic pathways for xenobiotic compounds in bacteria often resides on catabolic plasmids.The aim of the present work was to know the location of the genes for degrading 1,2,4-trichlorobenzen.In this paper a 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene-degrading strain THSL-1 was isolated from the soil of Tianjin Chemical Plant using 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene as the sole carbon source.The strain was identified as Pseudomonas stutzeri through morphologic survey and 16S rDNA sequence determination.A plasmid was discovered from strain THSL-1 by using the alkali lysis method.When the plasmid was transformed into E.coli.JM109 by the CaCl2 method,the transformant could grow using 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene as the sole carbon source and had the degradation function of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene.Therefore,it could be deemed that the plasmid carried the degradative genes of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene.The average size of the plasmid was finally determined to be 40.2 Kb using selectively three kinds of restricted inscribed enzymes(HindIII,BamHI,and XholI)for single cutting and double cutting the plasmid pTHSL-1,respectively.

Chemical identification and genotoxicity analysis of petrochemical industrial wastewater

The actual harmful effects of industrial waste- water can not be reflected by the conventional water quality index. Therefore, the change in dissolved organic matter and the genetic toxicity of petrochemical waste- water were observed in the current study by examining the wastewater treatment plant of a large petrochemical enterprise in Northwest China. Using XAD-8, MSC, and DA-7 resins, the wastewater was separated into six fractions, namely, hydrophobic acid （HOA）, hydrophobic neutral （HOB）, hydrophobic alkaline, hydrophilic acid, hydrophilic alkaline, and hydrophilic neutral. Umu-test was used to detect the genetic toxicity of the wastewater samples, and fluorescence spectra were also obtained to examine genetic toxic substances. The results show that wastewater treatment facilities can effectively reduce the concentration of organic matter in petrochemical waste- water （p 〈 0.05）. However, the mixing of aniline waste- water can increase the amount of organic carbon （p 〈 0.05） and can overload facilities. This finding shows that the mixed collection and joint treatment of different types of petrochemical wastewater can affect the water quality of the effluent. Particularly, hydrophobic substances can be difficult to remove and account for a relatively large proportion of the effluent. The mixture of aniline waste- water can increase the genetic toxicity of the effluent （p〈0.05）, and biologic treatment can not effectively decrease the toxicity. Most of the genetic toxicology may exist in the HOA and HOB fractions. Fluorescence spectroscopy also confirms this result, and tryptophan- like substances may play an important role in genetic toxicity.

Denitrification and biofilm growth in a pilot-scale biofilter packed with suspended carriers for biological nitrogen removal from secondary effluent

Tertiary denitrification is an effective method for nitrogen removal from wastewater. A pilot-scale biofilter packed with suspended carriers was operated for tertiary denitrification with ethanol as the organic carbon source. Long-term performance, biokinetics of denitrification and biofilm growth were evaluated under filtration velocities of 6, 10 and 14 m/hr. The pilot-scale biofilter removed nitrate from the secondary effluent effectively, and the nitrate nitrogen（NO_3-N） removal percentage was 82%, 78% and 55% at the filtration velocities of 6, 10 and 14 m/hr, respectively. At the filtration velocities of 6 and 10 m/hr, the nitrate removal loading rate increased with increasing influent nitrate loading rates, while at the filtration velocity of 14 m/hr, the removal loading rate and the influent loading rate were uncorrelated.During denitrification, the ratio of consumed chemical oxygen demand to removed NO_3-N was 3.99-4.52 mg/mg. Under the filtration velocities of 6, 10 and 14 m/hr, the maximum denitrification rate was 3.12, 4.86 and 4.42 g N/（m^2·day）, the half-saturation constant was 2.61, 1.05 and 1.17 mg/L, and the half-order coefficient was 0.22, 0.32 and 0.24（mg/L）1/2/min,respectively. The biofilm biomass increased with increasing filtration velocity and was 2845,5124 and 7324 mg VSS/m^2 at filtration velocities of 6, 10 and 14 m/hr, respectively. The highest biofilm density was 44 mg/cm^3 at the filtration velocity of 14 m/hr. Due to the low influent loading rate, biofilm biomass and thickness were lowest at the filtration velocity of 6 m/hr.

Effect of ultraviolet irradiation and chlorination on ampicillin-resistant Escherichia coli and its ampicillin resistance gene

Antibiotic resistance is a serious public health risk that may spread via potable and reclaimed water. Effective disinfection is important for inactivation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and disruption of antibiotic resistance genes. Ampicillin is a widely prescribed antibiotic but its effectiveness is increasingly undermined by resistance. In this study, changes in ampicillin resistance for Escherichia coli （E. coli） CGMCC 1.1595 were analyzed after exposure to different doses of ultraviolet （UV） or chlorine, and damage incurred by the plasmid encoding ampicillin resistance gene blaTEM-1 was assessed. We reported a greater stability in ampicillinresistant E. coli CGMCC 1.1595 after UV irradiation or chlorination when compared with previously published data for other E. coli strains. UV irradiation and chlorination led to a shift in the mortality frequency distributions of ampicillin-resistant E. coli when subse-quently exposed to ampicillin. The ampicillin hemiinhibitory concentration （IC5o） without disinfection was 3800mg·L^-1, and an increment was observed after UV irradiation or chlorination. The IC50 of ampicillin-resistant E. coli was 1.5-fold higher at a UV dose of 40 mJ·cm^-2, and was 1.4-fold higher when exposed to 2.0 mg·L^-1 chlorine. These results indicate that UV irradiation and chlorination can potentially increase the risk of selection for E. coli strains with high ampicillin resistance. There was no evident damage to blaTEM-1 after 1-10 mg Cl2· L^-1 chlorination, while a UV dose of 80 mJ·cm^-2 yielded a damage ratio for blaTEM-1 of approximately 1.2-log.Therefore, high UV doses are required for effective disruption of antibiotic resistance genes in bacteria.

A biofilter model for simultaneous simulation of toluene removal and bed pressure drop under varied inlet Ioadings

In this study, a biofiltration model including the effect of biomass accumulation and inert biomass growth is developed to simultaneously predict the Volatile Organic Compounds （VOCs） removal and filter bed pressure drop tmder varied inlet loadings. A laboratoryscale experimental biofilter for gaseous toluene removal was set up and operated for 100 days with inlet toluene concentration ranging from 250 to 2500 mg· m^-2 According to sensitivity analysis based on the model, the VOCs removal efficiency of the biofilter is more sensitive to Henry＇s constant, the specific surface area of the filter bed and the thickness of water layer, while the filter bed pressure drop is more sensitive to biomass yield coefficient and original void fraction. The calculated toluene removal efficiency and bed pressure drop satisfactorily fit the experimental data under varied inlet toluene loadings, which indicates the model in this study can be used to predict VOCs removal and bed pressure drop simultaneously. Based on the model, the effect of mass-transfer parameters on VOCs removal and the stable-run time of a biofilter are analyzed. The results demonstrate that the model can function as a good tool to evaluate the effect of biomass accumulation and optimize the design and operation of biofilters.

Removal of C.I.Reactive Red 2 by low pressure UV/chlorine advanced oxidation

Azo dyes are commonly found as pollutants in wastewater from the textile industry,and can cause environmental problems because of their color and toxicity.The removal of a typical azo dye named C.I.Reactive Red 2（RR2） during low pressure ultraviolet（UV）/chlorine oxidation was investigated in this study.UV irradiation at 254 nm and addition of free chlorine provided much higher removal rates of RR2 and color than UV irradiation or chlorination alone.Increasing the free chlorine dose enhanced the removal efficiency of RR2 and color by UV/chlorine oxidation.Experiments performed with nitrobenzene（NB）or benzoic acid（BA） as scavengers showed that radicals（especially OH） formed during UV/chlorine oxidation are important in the RR2 removal.Addition of HCO_3^- and Cl^- to the RR2 solution did not inhibit the removal of RR2 during UV/chlorine oxidation.

Stainless steel corrosion scale formed in reclaimed water： Characteristics, model for scale growth and metal element release

Stainless steels generally have extremely good corrosion resistance, but are still susceptible to pitting corrosion. As a result, corrosion scales can form on the surface of stainless steel after extended exposure to aggressive aqueous environments. Corrosion scales play an important role in affecting water quality. These research results showed that interior regions of stainless steel corrosion scales have a high percentage of chromium phases. We reveal the morphology, micro-structure and physicochemical characteristics of stainless steel corrosion scales. Stainless steel corrosion scale is identified as a podiforrn chromite deposit according to these characteristics, which is unlike deposit formed during iron corrosion. A conceptual model to explain the formation and growth of stainless steel corrosion scale is proposed based on its composition and structure. The scale growth process involves pitting corrosion on the stainless steel surface and the consecutive generation and homogeneous deposition of corrosion products, which is governed by a series of chemical and electrochemical reactions. This model shows the role of corrosion scales in the mechanism of iron and chromium release from pitting corroded stainless steel materials. The formation of corrosion scale is strongly related to water quality parameters. The presence of HCIO results in higher ferric content inside the scales. Cl- and SO2- ions in reclaimed water play an important role in corrosion pitting of stainless steel and promote the formation of scales.

Improvement of detection method of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in reclaimed water

Cryptosporidium and Giardia are two typical species of pathogenic protozoans that seriously endanger water quality.Previous works indicated that detection of Cryptosporidium and Giardia with modified United States Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA)method-1623 using a membrane filtration-elution for sample concentration attained better recovery and lower cost compared to the USEPA method-1623.Several improvements of membrane filtration-elution step as well as immunomagnetic separation(IMS)steps were investigated and an optimized method for detection of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in wastewater reclamation system was recommended in this paper.The experimental results show that an overnight soak of the membrane after scraping and vortex agitation before elution could enhance and stabilize the recovery.Increasing turbidity to 4 NTU by adding kaolin clay before filtration could effectively improve the recovery of low-turbidity water.Washing the concentrate after centrifugation and twice acid dissociation both reduced the impact of water quality to protozoan recovery.Protozoans in different water samples were determined by this optimized method,and the recovery of Cryptosporidium and Giardia were above 70% and 80%respectively,much higher than the acceptance of method-1623.

Genotoxicity removal of reclaimed water during ozonation

Genotoxicity in wastewater and reclaimed water now is gaining increased attention because of genotoxins＇ potential damage to the ecosystem and human health. The effect of ozonation on genotoxicity in reclaimed water was investigated. It was found that ozonation decreased the genotoxicy dramatically in three tertiary treatment plants. In the further batch ozonation experiment in laboratory, secondary effluent sample used exhibited the genotoxicity of （41.1 ± 4.1） μg 4NQO/L. Ozonation with a dose of 10 mg O3/L completely removed the genotoxicity in secondary effluent. However, after ozonation, the dissolved organic carbonvalue of the sample didn＇t change much but the specific ultraviolet absorbance （SUVA） value dropped sharply. With the help of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ozonation was found to change chemical aliphatic carbon and C-O of the dissolved arganic matter, which might be the reason of the significant decreases of SUVA and genotoxicity.

Effects of design parameters on performance and cost analysis of combined ultraviolet-biofilter systems treating gaseous chlorobenzene based on mathematical modeling

A conceptual mathematical model was used to evaluate the design parameters of a combined ultraviolet （UV）-biofilter system, and perform a cost analysis. Results showed that the UV light source strength and the gas residence times in the UV system （UVRT） and biofilter （EBRT） had positive effects on the overall chlorobenzene removal efficiency of the system. High ratio of UVRT to EBRT improved the removal efficiency, suggesting that the UV system has a greater effect on the overall performance of the system compared with the biofilter. Analysis of the capital and operating costs showed that the capital costs of the standalone biofilter system were much higher than those of the standalone UV system. However, the biofilter operating costs were lower than those of the UV system. The operating costs of the combined UV-biofilter system increased with increasing UVRT/EBRT ratio, whereas its capital costs decreased.

A joint call for actions to advance taxonomy in China

Taxonomy plays an important role in understanding the origin, evolution, and ecological functionality of biodiversity. There are large number of unknown species yet to be described by taxonomists, which together with their ecosystem services cannot be effectively protected prior to description. Despite this, taxonomy has been increasingly underrated insufficient funds and permanent positions to retain young talents. Further, the impact factordriven evaluation systems in China exacerbate this downward trend, so alternative evaluation metrics are urgently necessary. When the current generation of outstanding taxonomists retires,there will be too few remaining taxonomists left to train the next generation. In light of these challenges, all co-authors worked together on this paper to analyze the current situation of taxonomy and put out a joint call for immediate actions to advance taxonomy in China.

Removal of fluorescence and ultraviolet absorbance of dissolved organic matter in reclaimed water by solar light

Storing reclaimed water in lakes is a widely used method of accommodating changes in the consumption of reclaimed water during wastewater reclamation and reuse. Solar light serves as an important function in degrading pollutants during storage, and its effect on dissolved organic matter（DOM） was investigated in this study. Solar light significantly decreased the UV_（254） absorbance and fluorescence（FLU） intensity of reclaimed water.However, its effect on the dissolved organic carbon（DOC） value of reclaimed water was very limited. The decrease in the UV_（254） absorbance intensity and FLU excitation–emission matrix regional integration volume（FLU volume） of reclaimed water during solar light irradiation was fit with pseudo-first order reaction kinetics. The decrease of UV_（254） absorbance was much slower than that of the FLU volume. Ultraviolet light in solar light had a key role in decreasing the UV_（254） absorbance and FLU intensity during solar light irradiation. The light fluence-based removal kinetic constants of the UV_（254） and FLU intensity were independent of light intensity. The peaks of the UV_（254） absorbance and FLU intensity with an apparent molecular weight（AMW） of 100 Da to 2000 Da decreased after solar irradiation, whereas the DOC value of the major peaks did not significantly change.

The “Fingerprint” of a freshwater microalga Scenedesmus sp. LX1:Visualizing the composition of its soluble algal products

In this study,a fingerprint analysis method along with the EEM fluorescence spectra was used to characterize the SAPs released by Scenedesmus sp.LX1 during the growth process.Resin fractionation was used firstly to divide the SAPs into six resin fractions,and then size exclusion chromatography(SEC)was performed to separate each resin fraction into several subfractions with different molecular weights(MW).The fingerprint graph integrated the information revealed by resin fractionation as well as that by SEC,showing that main components of SAPs changed from the hydrophilic subfractions with MW of 10~2-10~3 Da to the hydrophobic subfractions with MW of 10~3-10~4 Da.Comparing these results with the EEM fluorescence spectra of different resin fractions,the change of the main matters within SAPs could be inferred.