Suction Cup Samplers for Estimating Nitrate-Nitrogen in Soil Water in Irrigated Sugarbeet Production

Efforts have increased to measure nitrate losses from farmland under different management practices due to environmental and public concerns over levels of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) in surface and ground waters. This study evaluated the effect of conventional tillage (CT) and strip tillage (ST) practices and three N application rates on NO3-N concentrations in soil water at a 76 cm depth under irrigated sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) in a clay loam soil. Nitrogen rates were applied as dry urea at 120, 150, 180 kg N ha-1 in 2006;130, 160, 190 kg N ha-1 in 2007;and 110, 140, 170 kg N ha-1 in 2008. Soil water volumes were measured weekly during each growing season using three ceramic suction cup samplers per plot placed at a 76 cm depth below the soil surface under each tillage. Results indicated that NO3-N concentrations at the 76 cm depth in the soil profile were not significantly affected by either tillage practice or by N application rate due to soil variability across the field and due to suction cup samplers’ biased estimate of soil water. The three N rates under CT and ST practices maintained NO3-N concentrations below the root zone to levels exceeding the 10 mg L-1 safe drinking water maximum level in all three years. There were large variations in NO3-N concentrations among replicates within each tillage and N rate that were likely caused by variability in soil physical, hydraulic and chemical properties that impacted water movement through the soil profile, N dynamics and leaching below the root zone of sugarbeet. In conclusion, suction cup samplers are point water measurement devices that reveal considerable variability among replicates within each treatment due to the heterogeneity of field soils. Further, these samplers are not recommended in heterogeneous soils with preferential flow characteristics.

New Series of Soil Samplers and Their Application

In this paper,the structure of 'double juts' soil sampler and a series of new soil samplers are introduced.The internal diameter of auger tip the sampler is less than that of sampling tube, but the external diameterof auger tip is larger than that of sampling tube. Therefore, adhesion and cutting resistance can be reducedby limiting connection areas between sampler and the soil. Such a new structure makes it possible to bewidely used for the production of a series of special soil samplers.

Effect of Ambient Temperature on PUF Passive Samplers and PAHs Distribution in Puerto Rico

Passive sampling for the monitoring of organic pollutants (PAHs, PCBs, PBDEs) in ambient air has received increased attention in the last two decades. However, the accuracy of the concentration of organics obtained with passive samplers under varying environmental conditions is a subject of controversy. In this study, effect of ambient temperature on passive samplers was evaluated by using three different sampler configurations. Additionally, passive samplers with polyurethane disks (PUF) were applied throughout the Island for the determination of the airborne concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The passive samplers were deployed in seven municipalities for three-month periods in two different sampling campaigns, representing hurricane and non-hurricane seasons. Here we present preliminary results obtained from those sampling campaigns. The total concentrations of 15 PAHs varied from 3.1 to 19.6 and from 5.5 to 38.5 ng/m3 for hurricane and non-hurricane seasons, respectively. Hurricane and non-hurricane season concentrations of PAH were significantly different for the samples taken in the northern municipalities of the Island. However, there was no significant difference in PAH concentrations between the hurricane and non-hurricane seasons for the southern sites. Increased rainfall and high-relative humidity during the hurricane season had an influence on the concentrations of PAHs derived by the passive PUF sampler.

Measurement of Air Pollution in Kuwait City Using Passive Samplers

Measurements of gaseous SO2, NO, NO2, H2S, O3, NH3 and VOCs, in Kuwait city using IVL passive sampler technology, were obtained on monthly basis during the period from March 2011 to February 2012 at 10 locations. The results of this study reveal that those compounds had low concentrations compared to Kuwait Environment Public Authority standards for residential areas. It is found that nitrogen oxides, benzene and xylene were mostly emitted from motor vehicles;in contrast, industrial sources including oil industries were a major contributor to sulfur dioxide and toluene pollution. Higher concentrations of NOx and SO2?were recorded during winter season where the inversion layer is quite pronounced thus trapping more pollutants in ambient air, while higher O3 values were recorded in summer period;the hot season in Kuwait. The spatial distributions of the measured gaseous air pollutants were extremely consistent with the influence of the prevailing wind direction NW. In general and except for PM10, the yearly average air quality indices (AQI) of SO2, NO2, CO and O3?concentrations are coming under the category of “good” and “moderate”.

Comparison of methods for deriving phenotypes from incomplete observation data with an application to age at puberty in dairy cattle

Background Many phenotypes in animal breeding are derived from incomplete measures,especially if they are challenging or expensive to measure precisely.Examples include time-dependent traits such as reproductive status,or lifespan.Incomplete measures for these traits result in phenotypes that are subject to left-,interval-and rightcensoring,where phenotypes are only known to fall below an upper bound,between a lower and upper bound,or above a lower bound respectively.Here we compare three methods for deriving phenotypes from incomplete data using age at first elevation(>1 ng/mL)in blood plasma progesterone(AGEP4),which generally coincides with onset of puberty,as an example trait.Methods We produced AGEP4 phenotypes from three blood samples collected at about 30-day intervals from approximately 5,000 Holstein–Friesian or Holstein–Friesian×Jersey cross-bred dairy heifers managed in 54 seasonal-calving,pasture-based herds in New Zealand.We used these actual data to simulate 7 different visit scenarios,increasing the extent of censoring by disregarding data from one or two of the three visits.Three methods for deriving phenotypes from these data were explored:1)ordinal categorical variables which were analysed using categorical threshold analysis;2)continuous variables,with a penalty of 31 d assigned to right-censored phenotypes;and 3)continuous variables,sampled from within a lower and upper bound using a data augmentation approach.Results Credibility intervals for heritability estimations overlapped across all methods and visit scenarios,but estimated heritabilities tended to be higher when left censoring was reduced.For sires with at least 5 daughters,the correlations between estimated breeding values(EBVs)from our three-visit scenario and each reduced data scenario varied by method,ranging from 0.65 to 0.95.The estimated breed effects also varied by method,but breed differences were smaller as phenotype censoring increased.Conclusion Our results indicate that using some methods,phenotypes derived from one observation per offspring for a time-dependent trait such as AGEP4 may provide comparable sire rankings to three observations per offspring.This has implications for the design of large-scale phenotyping initiatives where animal breeders aim to estimate variance parameters and estimated breeding values(EBVs)for phenotypes that are challenging to measure or prohibitively expensive.

Difference between low-volume and high-volume Andersen samplers in measuring atmospheric aerosols

The mass concentration and size distribution of aerosols in Tokaimura were investigated using a high-volume and a low-volume Andersen sampler. A difference was found using the two samplers： the concentration of total aerosols determined with the high-volume sampler is smaller than that of the low-volume sampler by 70-90% throughout the year. Compared to the high-volume sampler, low-volume sampler gave lower concentration for aerosols 〉7 μm, higher concentration for aerosols of 3.3-7.0 μm and 〈 1.1 μm, though similar results for aerosols of 1.1-3.3 μm. The low-volume sampler was found to have better separation efficiency and higher accuracy.

Comparison of using polyurethane foam passive samplers and tree bark samples from Western China to determine atmospheric organochlorine pesticide

Polyurethane foam（PUF）passive samplers were deployed and tree bark samples were collected at 15 sites across western China in 2013,and the organochlorine pesticide（OCP）concentrations in the samples were determined.Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its degradation products（collectively called DDTs）,hexachlorocyclohexanes（HCHs）,and hexachlorobenzene（HCB）were the dominant OCPs in the PUF samples and tree bark samples.The mean DDTs,HCHs and HCB concentrations were 33,22 and 18 ng/sample in the PUF samples,and 428,74,and 43 ng/（g lipid weight（lw））in the tree bark,respectively.The OCP concentrations in the air,calculated using PUF–air and tree-bark–air partitioning models,were of the same order of magnitude.Both sample types showed that relatively fresh inputs of DDT and HCHs to the environment have occurred in western China.Meanwhile,PUF passive samplers were compared with the use of tree bark samples as passive samplers.The OCP compositions in the PUF and tree bark samples were different.Only the relatively stable OCPs（such as HCB,β-HCH and p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloro-ethylene（DDE））were consistent in the PUF and tree bark samples.

A Comparison of Two Macroinvertebrate Multi-Plate Sampling Methods to Inform Great Lakes Monitoring and Remediation Efforts

Hester-Dendy (HD) multi-plate samplers have been widely used by state and federal government agencies for bioassessment of water quality through use of macroinvertebrate community data. To help guide remediation and restoration efforts at the Niagara River Great Lakes Area of Concern site, a multi-agency study was conducted in 2014 to assess the contribution of seven major urban tributaries on the US side of the river toward the impairment of the Niagara River. As part of this study, macroinvertebrate communities were sampled using two co-located versions of HD samplers: one version used by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and another by the US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development. Samplers were deployed in tributaries in highly developed watersheds with high percent impervious surface. The two sampling methods varied in terms of number and size of plates, between-plate spacing, and deployment method. Comparison of the similarity/grouping of communities with multivariate ordination techniques, Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling and Multi-Response Permutation Procedure, showed that both methods were able to detect differences in communities at stations, despite some grouping by month and method. The indices and metrics derived from the two HD methods were found to give comparable but not identical assessments of water quality. Despite their differences, the methods were robust with respect to water quality categories derived from indices used nationally (HBI) and by NY state (BAP). For the common richness metrics, total taxa and EPT richness, there was no statistical difference between means from 3 samplings. Some metrics, especially percent tolerant collector-gatherer individuals, did show significant differences at certain stations. Indicator Species Analysis showed some taxa associated with each method. The observed community differences were thought mostly due to the difference in sampler deployment position. .

FTIR-OMNI采样器快速鉴定真伪文书的应用研究

采用傅里叶变换红外光谱仪的衰减全反射附件—OMNI采样器,采集文书范本上印章位置处印泥的衰减全反射红外光谱信息进行分析,以鉴定文书真伪性.结果表明,原告和被告提供的文书上印章所采用的印泥的红外光谱特征峰信息区别十分明显,可用于鉴定其真伪.该分析技术具有无需预处理、无损分析的特点,能快速准确地鉴别文书真伪.

Establishment of a Collection and Detection Technology of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in Aerosol

ObjectiveThis study was to establish a simple method for collecting and detecting Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae （Mhp） in aerosol. MethodBased on the mechanisms of liquid impinger and filtration sampler, a double concentration aerosol sampler was designed for collecting Mhp aerosol. Firstly, the collection was performed in a closed environment full of artificial aerosol of Mhp. Secondly, collection efficiency was detected by real-time PCR. Thereafter, the clinical feasibility of the designed equipment was tested by collecting aerosol samples in different pig herds. In one assay, the samples were collected at different times from one pig house challenged with Mhp. In another assay, the samples was collected from the delivery room, nursery and fattenning house of a MPS outbreak farm as well as a Mhp infection positive pig farm without obvious clinical symptoms. All the aerosol samples were then detected by real-time PCR or nested PCR. ResultThe collection efficiency of the designed bioaerosol sampler was （37.04±6.43） %, Mhp could be detected 7 d after intratracheal challenge with pneumonic lung homogenate suspension. Aerosol samples of 11 pig houses from the two Mhp positive pig farms with or without clinical symptoms all showed a positive result of PCR, the positivity rate was 100%. ConclusionA high sensitive collecting and detecting technology of aerosol was successfully established, which can be applied to clinical detection of Mhp in aerosol.

基于Gibbs Sampler的线性回归模型选择

线性回归模型是计量经济学的基本模型,在建立线性回归模型的过程中,模型选择是非常重要的一个环节,如果可能的解释变量不是很多时,可以通过逐步回归的方法比较每个候选模型的准则值,如AIC、SIC等进行模型选择。可是,当存在大量可能的解释变量时,我们无法一一比较每个候选模型的准则值。为了解决这个问题,文章提出一个基于Gibbs Sampler的线性回归模型选择方法,结果表明应用该方法能够从大量候选模型中准确、高效地确认准则值最小的模型。

Sedimentation in Mountain Streams: A Review of Methods of Measurement

The goal of this review paper is to provide a list of methods and devices used to measure sediment accumulation in wadeable streams dominated by cobble and gravel substrate. Quantitative measures of stream sedimentation are useful to monitor and study anthropogenic impacts on stream biota, and stream sedimentation is measurable with multiple sampling methods. Evaluation of sedimentation can be made by measuring the concentration of suspended sediment, or turbidity, and by determining the amount of deposited sediment, or sedimentation on the streambed. Measurements of deposited sediments are more time consuming and labor intensive than measurements of suspended sediments. Traditional techniques for characterizing sediment composition in streams include core sampling, the shovel method, visual estimation along transects, and sediment traps. This paper provides a comprehensive review of methodology, devices that can be used, and techniques for processing and analyzing samples collected to aid researchers in choosing study design and equipment.

Passive Sampling of Ambient Nitrogen Dioxide at Toll Plazas in Malaysia

With the increasing trend of development and industrialization in Malaysia, air pollution has become an inevitable part of the process, resulting from increased vehicular activities and industrial processes. Toll operators are potentially exposed to high levels of air pollutants from working in proximity to traffic pollution sources, thereby increasing their risk of health defects associated with air pollution exposure. This study assessed the levels of Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) toll operators are exposed to, considering the influences traffic density and meteorological factors. This is intended to serve as an indicator of the cumulative pollution emanating from the combustion process of vehicles at toll plazas. Using Passive diffusion samplers saturated with Triethanolamine (TEA), the weekly indoor and outdoor NO2 concentrations at tollbooth were measured at Sungai Besi (SB), Kajang (KJ) and Putra-Makhota (PM) toll Plazas, to capture the varying traffic densities of 138,000, 65,000 and 24,100 vehicles/day respectively. The results showed that NO2 concentrations increase with traffic densities, and indoor NO2 concentrations correlated highly with outdoor NO2 concentrations (R2: SB = 0.767, KJ = 0.689 and PM = 0.877). The indoor/outdoor NO2 ratio varied from 0.7 to 1.2 for all toll booths, suggesting pollution control in-efficiency, caused by technical and behavioural factors. Also, meteorological factors had no significant effect on nitrogen dioxide concentrations, contrary to previous studies, which is likely due to the far distance between tool plazas and meteorological stations. Furthermore, the NO2 concentrations reported in this study were higher in comparison to weekly standards adopted in Germany (0.032 ppm) and previous literature. Therefore, toll operators are potentially exposed to high levels of pollution, and we advise that toll operators to wear pollution protection gears to reduce the risk of exposure, and the ventilation systems and mitigation measure (air curtain) reviewed to assess its efficiency.

短篇小说The Sampler与《孔乙己》对照赏析

本文通过对照以赏析短篇小说The sample和《孔乙己》的相同和相异之处,从时代和社会背景来分析两位主人公的遭遇和命运的根源。通过解读两文的叙事方法以再现其艺术感染力,从而达到对比和鉴赏中西文学作品的目的。

Review and Analysis of Key Techniques in Marine Sediment Sampling

Deep-sea sediment is extremely important in marine scientific research,such as that concerning marine geology and microbial communities.The research findings are closely related to the in-situ information of the sediment.One prerequisite for investigations of deep-sea sediment is providing sampling techniques capable of preventing distortion during recovery.As the fruit of such sampling techniques,samplers designed for obtaining sediment have become indispensable equipment,owing to their low cost,light weight,compactness,easy operation,and high adaptability to sea conditions.This paper introduces the research and application of typical deep-sea sediment samplers.Then,a representative sampler recently developed in China is analyzed.On this basis,a review and analysis is conducted regarding the key techniques of various deep-sea sediment samplers,including sealing,pressure and temperature retaining,low-disturbance sampling,and no-pressure drop transfer.Then,the shortcomings in the key techniques for deep-sea sediment sampling are identified.Finally,prospects for the future development of key techniques for deep-sea sediment sampling are proposed,from the perspectives of structural diversification,functional integration,intelligent operation,and high-fidelity samples.This paper summarizes the existing samplers in the context of the key techniques mentioned above,and can provide reference for the optimized design of samplers and development of key sampling techniques.

The pressure compensation technology of deep-sea sampling based on the real gas state equation

Compressed gas is usually used for the pressure compensation of the deep-sea pressure-maintaining sampler.The pressure and volume of the recovered fluid sample are highly related to the precharged gas. To better understand the behavior of the gas under high pressure, we present a new real gas state equation based on the compression factor Z which was derived from experimental data. Then theoretical calculation method of the pressure and volume of the sample was introduced based on this empirical gas state equation. Finally, the proposed calculation method was well verified by the high-pressure vessel experiment of the sampler under 115 MPa.

Fast pulse sampling module for real-time neutron–gamma discrimination

An adaptable and compact fast pulse sampling module was developed for the neutron–gamma discrimination. The developed module is well suited for low-cost and low-power consumption applications. It is based on the Domino Ring Sampler 4(DRS4) chip, which offers fast sampling speeds up to 5.12 giga samples per second(GSPS) to digitize pulses from front-end detectors. The high-resolution GSPS data is useful for obtaining precise real-time neutron–gamma discrimination results directly in this module. In this study, we have implemented real-time data analysis in a field programmable gate array. Real-time data analysis involves two aspects: digital waveform integral and digital pulse shape discrimination(PSD). It can significantly reduce the system dead time and data rate processed offline. Plastic scintillators(EJ-299-33), which have proven capable of PSD, were adopted as neutron detectors in the experiments. A photomultiplier tube(PMT)(model #XP2020) was coupled to one end of a detector to collect the output light from it. The pulse output from the anode of the PMT was directly passed onto the fast sampling module. The fast pulse sampling module was operated at 1 GSPS and 2 GSPS in these experiments, and the AmBe-241 source was used to examine the neutron–gamma discrimination quality. The PSD results with different sampling rates and energy thresholds were evaluated. The figure of merit(FOM) was used to describe the neutron–gamma discrimination quality. The best FOM value of 0.91 was obtained at 2 GSPS and 1 GSPS sampling rates with an energy threshold of 1.5 MeV_(ee)(electron equivalent).

程序升温汽化大体积进样气相色谱法同时测定空气中的甲醛及其他10种羰基污染物（英文）

Long-term indoor-air limit for formaldehyde stipulated by the European Commission is 1 μg/m3,while the World Health Organization has set a threshold of 100 μg/m3 that should not be exceeded for more than 30 min. To date,however,only a few analytical techniques have been developed that can be used to detect formaldehyde at these very restrictive limits. Thus,there is a need to develop for comprehensive methods for analyzing airborne formaldehyde and other carbonyl pollutants in the ambient environment. The aim of this study is to develop a highly sensitive online automated preconcentration gas chromatographic method using large-volume injection with a programmed temperature vaporization injector for the analysis of airborne formaldehyde and ten other carbonyl compounds. The influence of several parameters,such as the maximum volume injected,programmed temperature vaporization transfer time and temperature,carrier gas flow rate,and type of packing material was investigated. After optimization,highly satisfactory results in terms of the absolute and methodological detection limits were achieved,i. e. as low as the μg/m3 level for all the carbonyl pollutants studied. A commercially available sampler,originally designed for active sampling,was evaluated as a passive sampling device;this optimized technique was applied to monitor the concentrations of carbonyl pollutants in the indoor air of ten public buildings in Florence. The strength of this methodology lies both in the low detection limits reached in the simultaneous analysis of a wide group of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine derivatives,and the potential adaptability of this method to other gas chromatographic applications to achieve lower sensitivity.

Design of Full-Ocean-Depth Self-Floating Sampler and Analysis of Factors Affecting Core Penetration Depth

The hadal zone(ocean depths of 6 – 11 km) is one of the least-understood habitats on Earth because of its extreme conditions such as high pressure, darkness, and low temperature. With the development of deep-sea vehicles such as China's 7000 m manned submersible Jiaolong, abyssal science has received greater attention. For decades, gravity-piston corers have been widely used to collect loose subsea-sediment long-core samples. However, the weight and length of the gravity sampler cables and the operating environment limit sampling capacity at full ocean depths. Therefore, a new self-floating sediment sampler with a spring-loaded auto-trigger release and that incorporates characteristics from traditional gravity-driven samplers is designed. This study analyzes the process by which a gravity-piston corer penetrates the sediment and the factors that affect it. A formula for obtaining the penetration depth is deduced. A method of optimizing the sampling depth is then developed based on structure design and parametric factor modeling. The parameters considered in the modeling include the sampling depth, balance weight, ultimate stress friction coefficient, dimensions of the sampler, and material properties. Thus, a new deep-sea floating parametric sampler designed based on virtual prototyping is proposed. Accurate values for all the design factors are derived from calculations based on the conservation of energy with penetration depth, analyses of the factors affecting the penetration depth, and analyses of the pressure bar stability. Finally, experimental data are used to verify the penetration-depth function and to provide theoretical guidance for the design of sediment samplers.

Optimization Design and Finite Element Analysis of Core Cutter

The hydro-hammer sampler is a new type of sampler compared with traditional ones. An important part of this new offshore sampler is that the structure of the core cutter has a significant effect on penetration and core recovery. In our experiments, a commercial finite element code with a capability of simulating large-strain frictional contact between two or more solid bodies is used to simulate the core cutter-soil interaction. The effects of the cutting edge shape, the diameter and the edge angle on penetration are analyzed by non-liner transient dynamic analysis using a finite element method （FEM）. Simulation results show that the cutter shape clearly has an effect on the penetration and core recovery. In addition, the penetration of the sampler increases with an increase in the inside diameter of the cutter, but decreases with an increase in the cutting angle. Based on these analyses, an optimum structure of the core cutter is designed and tested in the north margin of the Dalian gulf. Experiment results show that the penetration rate is about 16.5 m/h in silty clay and 15.4 m/h in cohesive clay, while the recovery is 68% and 83.3% resoectively.