Levels of pollutants at Zomar stream, the only recreational area for the inhabitants of the northern part of the West Bank, Palestine, were recently determined, and have shown to be relatively high. Three bathing site...Levels of pollutants at Zomar stream, the only recreational area for the inhabitants of the northern part of the West Bank, Palestine, were recently determined, and have shown to be relatively high. Three bathing sites along the Zomar stream area were monitored for one year （fortnightly）. Wastewater samples were subjected to microbiological analysis （fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas, Enterococcus and Klebsiella）, physico-chemical analyses （water temperature, pH, electroconductivity and DO （dissolved oxygen））, biochemical oxygen demand, total Kjeldahl nitrogen and ammonia. The study results demonstrated seasonal and locational variations in all parameters studied. The highest levels of pollution were detected during summer, especially before a rainfall or after a discharge from onsite cesspits. Locations associated with sewage discharge were found to have the highest fecal indicator levels.展开更多
Fission-Track Dating (FTD) has been developed as a useful technique for geological studies. Parent elements are measured by counting 235 U tracks induced by thermal neutrons. If insufficient thermalization occurs, fis...Fission-Track Dating (FTD) has been developed as a useful technique for geological studies. Parent elements are measured by counting 235 U tracks induced by thermal neutrons. If insufficient thermalization occurs, fission of 238 U and 232 Th will be induced, and further measurement error will be introduced. Therefore, whether the neutrons are well thermalized or not will affect the FTD results. Due to requirement of safe operation, the 101 reactor was terminated in 2007. By using the 492 reactor as the new thermal neutron reactor, our present paper will attempt to study the feasibility and the potential influence on FTD. By irradiating monitor glass SRM612 and CN5 in pairs, we will study the thermalization situation of the 492 reactor. Irradiated data show that thermal neutrons are not evenly distributed either in horizontal or in vertical dimension. Especially, horizontal heterogeneity is obvious. But we discovered that proper irradiation position in the reactor can meet the requirement of FTD. Under the current irradiation condition, we calculated and assessed the insufficient thermalization effects on determining fission-track ages. We found that the difference between the 232 Th/ 238 U ratios of samples and standards is the main factor to the experiment results. The results will not be affected if the 232 Th/ 238 U value of samples is equal to the standard samples. However, if the 232 Th/ 238 U ratio is larger than that of the standards, the results will be smaller than actual ages. Comparatively, the ages will be more than expected if the 232 Th/ 238 U ratio is less. Therefore, to reduce the irradiation error, we suggest either locating the position of irradiation strictly, or minimizing the influence of lateral heterogeneity by reducing the amount of each sample package. Additionally, accuracy of the experimental results can be improved by increasing standard samples to adjust ζ value and using the monitor of standard glass SRM612 and CN5 together.展开更多
Localisation microscopy overcomes the diffraction limit by measuring the position of individual molecules to obtain optical images with a lateral resolution better than 30 nm. Single molecule localisation microscopy w...Localisation microscopy overcomes the diffraction limit by measuring the position of individual molecules to obtain optical images with a lateral resolution better than 30 nm. Single molecule localisation microscopy was originally demonstrated only in two dimensions but has recently been extended to three dimensions. Here we develop a new approach to three-dimensional （3D） localisation microscopy by engineering of the point-spread function （PSF） of a fluorescence microscope. By introducing a linear phase gradient between the two halves of the objective pupil plane the PSF is split into two lateral lobes whose relative position depends on defocus. Calculations suggested that the phase gradient resulting from the very small tolerances in parallelism of conventional slides made from float glass would be sufficient to generate a two-lobed PSF. We demonstrate that insertion of a suitably chosen microscope slide that occupies half the objective aperture combined with a novel fast fitting algorithm for 3D localisation estimation allows nanoscopic imaging with detail resolution well below 100 nm in all three dimensions （standard deviations of 20, 16, and 42 nm in x, y, and z directions, respectively）. The utility of the approach is shown by imaging the complex 3D distribution of microtubules in cardiac muscle cells that were stained with conventional near infrared fluorochromes. The straightforward optical setup, minimal hardware requirements and large axial localisation range make this approach suitable for many nanoscopic imaging applications.展开更多
文摘Levels of pollutants at Zomar stream, the only recreational area for the inhabitants of the northern part of the West Bank, Palestine, were recently determined, and have shown to be relatively high. Three bathing sites along the Zomar stream area were monitored for one year （fortnightly）. Wastewater samples were subjected to microbiological analysis （fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas, Enterococcus and Klebsiella）, physico-chemical analyses （water temperature, pH, electroconductivity and DO （dissolved oxygen））, biochemical oxygen demand, total Kjeldahl nitrogen and ammonia. The study results demonstrated seasonal and locational variations in all parameters studied. The highest levels of pollution were detected during summer, especially before a rainfall or after a discharge from onsite cesspits. Locations associated with sewage discharge were found to have the highest fecal indicator levels.
基金supported by State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics (Grant No.LED2009A05)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.41030317)
文摘Fission-Track Dating (FTD) has been developed as a useful technique for geological studies. Parent elements are measured by counting 235 U tracks induced by thermal neutrons. If insufficient thermalization occurs, fission of 238 U and 232 Th will be induced, and further measurement error will be introduced. Therefore, whether the neutrons are well thermalized or not will affect the FTD results. Due to requirement of safe operation, the 101 reactor was terminated in 2007. By using the 492 reactor as the new thermal neutron reactor, our present paper will attempt to study the feasibility and the potential influence on FTD. By irradiating monitor glass SRM612 and CN5 in pairs, we will study the thermalization situation of the 492 reactor. Irradiated data show that thermal neutrons are not evenly distributed either in horizontal or in vertical dimension. Especially, horizontal heterogeneity is obvious. But we discovered that proper irradiation position in the reactor can meet the requirement of FTD. Under the current irradiation condition, we calculated and assessed the insufficient thermalization effects on determining fission-track ages. We found that the difference between the 232 Th/ 238 U ratios of samples and standards is the main factor to the experiment results. The results will not be affected if the 232 Th/ 238 U value of samples is equal to the standard samples. However, if the 232 Th/ 238 U ratio is larger than that of the standards, the results will be smaller than actual ages. Comparatively, the ages will be more than expected if the 232 Th/ 238 U ratio is less. Therefore, to reduce the irradiation error, we suggest either locating the position of irradiation strictly, or minimizing the influence of lateral heterogeneity by reducing the amount of each sample package. Additionally, accuracy of the experimental results can be improved by increasing standard samples to adjust ζ value and using the monitor of standard glass SRM612 and CN5 together.
文摘Localisation microscopy overcomes the diffraction limit by measuring the position of individual molecules to obtain optical images with a lateral resolution better than 30 nm. Single molecule localisation microscopy was originally demonstrated only in two dimensions but has recently been extended to three dimensions. Here we develop a new approach to three-dimensional （3D） localisation microscopy by engineering of the point-spread function （PSF） of a fluorescence microscope. By introducing a linear phase gradient between the two halves of the objective pupil plane the PSF is split into two lateral lobes whose relative position depends on defocus. Calculations suggested that the phase gradient resulting from the very small tolerances in parallelism of conventional slides made from float glass would be sufficient to generate a two-lobed PSF. We demonstrate that insertion of a suitably chosen microscope slide that occupies half the objective aperture combined with a novel fast fitting algorithm for 3D localisation estimation allows nanoscopic imaging with detail resolution well below 100 nm in all three dimensions （standard deviations of 20, 16, and 42 nm in x, y, and z directions, respectively）. The utility of the approach is shown by imaging the complex 3D distribution of microtubules in cardiac muscle cells that were stained with conventional near infrared fluorochromes. The straightforward optical setup, minimal hardware requirements and large axial localisation range make this approach suitable for many nanoscopic imaging applications.
