Model-based evaluation on the conversion ratio of ammonium to nitrite in a nitritation process for ammonium-rich wastewater treatment

Modeling for nitritation process was discussed and analyzed quantitatively for the factors that influence nitrite accumulation. The results indicated that pH, inorganic carbon source and Hydraulic Retention Time(HRT) as well as biomass concentration are the main factors that influenced the conversion ratio of ammonium to nitrite. A constant high pH can lead to a high nitritation rate and results in high conversion ratio on condition that free ammonia inhibition do not happen. In a CSTR system, without pH control, this conversion ratio can be monitored by pH variation in the reactor. The pH goes down far from the inlet level means a strongly nitrite accumulation. High concentration of alkalinity can promoted the conversion ratio by means of accelerating the nitritation rate through providing sufficient inorganic carbon source(carbon dioxide). When inorganic carbon source was depleted, the nitritation process stopped. HRT adjustment could be an efficient way to make the nitritation system run more flexible, which to some extent can meet the requirements of the fluctuant of inlet parameters such as ammonium concentration, pH, and temperature and so on. Biomass concentration is the key point, especially for a CSTR system in steady state, which was normally circumscribed by the characteristics of bacteria and may also affected by aeration mode and can be increased by prolonging the HRT on the condition of no nitrate accumulation when no recirculation available. The higher the biomass concentration is, the better the nitrite accumulation can be obtained.

Relation between soil matrix potential changes and water conversion ratios during methane hydrate formation processes in loess

With a new apparatus designed and assembled by ourselves, the matrix potential of non-saturated loess was firstly measured and studied during methane hydrate formation processes. The experimental results showed that during two formation processes, the matrix potential changes of the loess all presented a good linear relationship with water conversion ratios. In addition, although it was well known that the secondary gas hydrate formation was easier than the initial, our experimental results showed that the initial hydrate formation efficiency in non-saturated loess was higher than that of the secondary.

Intoxication Induced by Urea Containing Diets in Broiler Chickens: Effect on Weight Gain, Feed Conversion Ratio, Hematological and Biochemical Profiles

Urea as a source of cheap non-protein nitrogen is used to adulterate fish and meat meals which are basic components of broiler diets. The present study was carried out to elucidate the effects of urea on weight gain, and hematological and biochemical profiles. A total of 48 broiler chicks were randomly allotted into 4 groups, designated Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 of 12 birds each. Birds in Groups 2, 3 and 4 were fed on diets containing urea at the levels of 1%, 2.5% and 4%, respectively. Birds in Group 1 served as control and were not exposed to urea. Experimentation period was for 3 weeks and experiment was terminated when birds were 42 days of age. Body weight of all intoxicated birds at the various intervals was significantly decreased in comparison with that of the untreated control. Compared with control, all intoxicated broilers manifested significant (P ≤ 0.05) decrease in all hematological parameters involving erythrocytic and total leucocytic counts, Hemoglobin (Hb) and Packed Cell Volume (PCV) on a dose- and time-pattern. In comparison with the control levels, biochemical profile of the intoxicated birds disclosed significant decrease in blood glucose level and significant increase in serum uric acid, urea, Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. Based upon the present data, it was concluded that the addition of urea to broiler diets bears serious sequences concerning the general health condition, performance, weight gain, and hematological and biochemical profiles.

Studies on Conversion of K in Potash Feldspar into Water-soluble Form

The studies for raising potash feldspar utilization ratio by physical, biological and chemical methods are carried out in laboratory and the results are presented. It is shown that calcinatory and biological methods have positive effects on conversion of K in potash feldspar into water-soluble form, but the conversion is low; chemical method can change most of insoluble potassium into available form, and might be significant in industry to some extent.

The Effect of Quantitative Feed Restriction Duration on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Broiler Chickens

The growth productivity of broilers is influenced by improving growth performance through improving body weight, average daily gain, and feed conversion rate. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of quantitative feed restriction duration on growth performance and carcass characteristics of broilers. A total of 144 day-old broiler chicks were reared in a deep litter system until slaughter at 42 days. Chicks were randomly allocated to three treatments which were replicated three times with 16 birds per replicate. The three treatments were the control (T1), one week of feed restriction (T2), and two weeks of feed restriction (T3). Birds were fed with starter, grower and finisher diets. The average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) were computed for each week. Carcass weight and internal organs weights were measured. The body weight gained by the birds in T1 was similar to the birds that were restricted for a week. The treatments had a significant effect on the average daily gain in weeks 4, 5, and 6. The ADG for T2 was higher (P < 0.05) at week 5 after 1 week of restriction, than T1 and T3. The feed conversion ratio was significantly higher in T3 after 2 weeks of restriction. In T2 and T3, feed intake was significantly lower than in birds fed ad libitum at week 4 at the start of the treatment. There was no significant effect on the relative weights of heart weights, liver, gizzard, feet, and heads among the treatment groups except for intestine weight which was lower (P < 0.05) in T1 than T2 and T3. It was concluded that broilers that were restricted for one week had a positive result in growth performance. Feed restriction had minimal effect on the organ weights of broiler chickens.

Microwave-assisted Synthesis of Modified Polyaspartic Acid in Solvent

Polyaspartic acid(PASP)is suitable for the inhibition of scale deposition from water.To enhance its in- hibition efficiency,PASP was modified by reacting aspartic acid(Asp)with glutamic acid(Glu)to provide Asp-Glu copolymer under microwave irradiation.The influence of reaction parameters on conversion,molecular weight and inhibition of CaCO3 precipitation was investigated Infra-red.(IR), 1H nuclear magnetic resonance( 1H NMR)and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance( 13C NMR)spectroscopies were used to characterize the copolymer.The results show that copolymerization of aspartic acid and glutamic acid is catalyzed by a small amount of phosphorous acid (H3PO4)in solvent,the product conversion is 98.05%under the following conditions:the molar ratio of glutamic acid to reactant[Glu/(Asp+Glu)]is 0.3 and that of catalyst(Cat)to reactant[Cat/(Glu+Asp)]is 0.05(0.65ml H3PO4),the volume of solvent dimethylformamide is 16ml,the microwave power used is 720W and the reaction for 3 min.The weight average molecular weight of copolymer synthesized under these conditions is 2709 and the inhi- bition rate for CaCO3 is 97.75%.

Linkage between the intestinal microbiota and residual feed intake in broiler chickens

Background:Intestinal microbiota plays a key role in nutrient digestion and utilization with a profound impact on feed efficiency of livestock animals.However,the intestinal microbes that are critically involved in feed efficiency remain elusive.Methods:To identify intestinal bacteria associated with residual feed intake(RFI)in chickens,male Cobb broiler chicks were individually housed from day 14 to day 35.Individual RFI values were calculated for 56 chickens.Luminal contents were collected from the ileum,cecum,and cloaca of each animal on day 35.Bacterial DNA was isolated and subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Intestinal microbiota was classified to the feature level using Deblur and QIIME 2.High and low RFI groups were formed by selecting 15 and 17 chickens with the most extreme RFI values for subsequent LEfSe comparison of the difference in the microbiota.Spearman correlation analysis was further performed to identify correlations between the intestinal microbiota composition and RFI.Results:No significant difference in evenness,richness,and overall diversity of the microbiota in the ileum,cecum,or cloaca was observed between high and low RFI chickens.However,LEfSe analysis revealed a number of bacterial features being differentially enriched in either high or low RFI chickens.Spearman correlation analysis further identified many differentially enriched bacterial features to be significantly correlated with RFI(P<0.05).Importantly,not all short-chain fatty acid(SCFA)producers showed a positive association with RFI.While two novel members of Oscillibacter and Butyricicoccus were more abundant in low-RFI,high-efficiency chickens,several other SCFA producers such as Subdoligranulum variabile and two related Peptostreptococcaceae members were negatively associated with feed efficiency.Moreover,a few closely-related Lachnospiraceae family members showed a positive correlation with feed efficiency,while others of the same family displayed an opposite relationship.Conclusions:Our results highlight the complexity of the intestinal microbiota and a need to differentiate the bacteria to the species,subspecies,and even strain levels in order to reveal their true association with feed efficiency.Identification of RFI-associated bacteria provides important leads to manipulate the intestinal microbiota for improving production efficiency,profitability,and sustainability of poultry production.

CO removal by two-stage methanation for polymer electrolyte fuel cell

In order to remove CO to achieve lower CO content of below 10 ppm in the CO removal step of reformer for polymer electrolyte fuel cell （PEFC） co-generation systems, CO preferential methanation under various conditions were studied in this paper. Results showed that, with a single kind of catalyst, it was difficult to reach both CO removal depth and CO2 conversion ratio of below 5%. Thus, a two-stage methanation process applying two kinds of catalysts is proposed in this study, that is, one kind of catalyst with relatively low activity and high selectivity for the first stage at higher temperature, and another kind of catalyst with relatively high activity and high selectivity for the second stage at lower temperature. Experimental results showed that at the first stage CO content was decreased from 1% to below 0.1% at 250-300 ℃, and at the second stage to below 10 ppm at 150-185 ℃. CO2 conversion was kept less than 5%, At the same time, influence of inlet CO content and GHSV on CO removal depth was also discussed in this paper.

Total Replacement of Fish Oil with Vegetable Oils in the Diet of Juvenile Jade Perch Scortum barcoo Reared in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems

To determine the replacement of fish oil with vegetable oils in the diet of juvenile Jade perch Scortum barcoo, four feeds with each a different oil （fish, sunflower, linseed and a mixture of 75% canola and 25% linseed oil）, were fed to Jade perch reared in recirculating aquaculture systems （RAS）. The trial lasted for 10 weeks and the fatty acid （FA） profile of both feed and fish muscle tissue were examined. There was no difference in growth, feed conversion rate （FCR） and mortality. The fish grew from 10 g to 110 g with a FCR of 1.25 and 0 mortality. The FA profile of the fish muscle tissue reflected the FA profile of the feed. The flesh of the fish that were fed the linseed oil diet, were extremely high in omega-3 （n-3） polyunsaturated FA （n-3 PUFA） with 3.75% of wet weight. This is one of the highest concentrations of n-3 PUFA ever recorded in fish flesh. In a finishing feeding test, the remaining vegetable oil fed fish were fed the fish oil diet for another two weeks immediately after the 10 weeks trial, to check for a possible recovery of n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids （HUFA）. The wash out rate of FA towards n-3 HUFA in the muscle tissue was about 25% over this two weeks period.

Alkaline extraction characteristics of steelmaking slag batch in NH_4Cl solution under environmental pressure

In order to obtain better carbonation effect, extraction behavior of slag batch is necessary to study. Relevant parameters like selective extraction yield were originally discussed. The relationship between selective extraction yield and conversion ratio was systemically focused on. The results show that alkaline earth metal conversion ratio is changed with leaching time and NH4CI concentration by first order exponential, and the maximum conversion for calcium keeps about 68% at 120 min in 0.4 mol/L NH4C1 solution, while leaching temperature and particle size have a linear effect on conversion ratio. Selective extraction yield of calcium is more than 93%, and the value of Mg is less than 5%. Apparent layer bands of silicon and calcium appear in the surface area through morphology detection of slag after leaching, and the case for 38-75 μm slag batch is more obvious than 75 150 μm slag and slag with larger particle size when leaching in 0.4 mol/L NH4Cl solution for 90 rain at 60 ℃.

Energetics of Geostrophic Adjustment in Rotating Flow

Energetics of geostrophic adjustment in rotating flow is examined in detail with a linear shallow water model. The initial unbalanced flow considered first falls tinder two classes. The first is similar to that adopted by Gill and is here referred to as a mass imbalance model, for the flow is initially motionless but with a sea surface displacement. The other is the same as that considered by Rossby and is referred to as a momentum imbalance model since there is only a velocity perturbation in the initial field. The significant feature of the energetics of geostrophic adjustment for the above two extreme models is that although the energy conversion ratio has a large case-to-case variability for different initial conditions, its value is bounded below by 0 and above by 1 / 2. Based on the discussion of the above extreme models, the energetics of adjustment for an arbitrary initial condition is investigated. It is found that the characteristics of the energetics of geostrophic adjustment mentioned above are also applicable to adjustment of the general unbalanced flow under the condition that the energy conversion ratio is redefined as the conversion ratio between the change of kinetic energy and potential energy of the deviational fields.

The Growth of Latex Particles during the VAc/BA Copolymerization

The semi-continuous seeded emulsion eopolymerization of vinyl acetate and butyl acrylate was carried out with hydroxyethyl cellulose as a colloid stabilizer. The morphology of the latex particle and the relationship between the reaction time and the average particle diameter and/or the conversion ratio during the polymerization were invstiguted. The experimental results shaw that the morphology of the latex particle possesses the stable sterie construction. In the seeded polymerizution, the average particle diameter of latex decreased while the conversion ratio increased. At the second term of the emulsion copolymerization （the growth stage of particle size）, the latex particle average diameter increased with copolymerization continuously, but the instantaneous conversation ratio was not large, so it was very necessaO to properly prolong the time during the holding temperature stage.

Analysis of York Pigs Feeding Behavior Using Stepwise Regression and Principal Component Regression

A statistical analysis was conducted on the feeding behavior of 106 York breeding pigs.Pearson correlation analysis,principal component correlation analysis and multiple stepwise regression equation methods were applied to establish regression equations of the York breeding pigs total feed intake per time and average feed intake per time with corrected fat thickness,feed conversion rate,and corrected daily gain.The results showed that:①there were three peak feed intake periods for the pigs,and the correlation coefficient between the feed intake and the corrected fat thickness of the pigs in the 24 h period was positive or negative,that is,increasing the number of feeding times and the feed intake was not necessarily conducive to the fat thickness accumulation,but the breeding goal of fat thickness could be achieved by controlling the feeding times and feed intake;②the average feed intake of pigs in the 60-90 kg body weight stage was 30%-50%higher than that of the 30-60 kg body weight stage,but the number of feeding times decreased,the peak feeding time was more concentrated,and the feeding duration per time was 3.0 min longer,indicating that as the weight of pigs increased,the feed intake increased significantly;and③the stepwise regression equations and the principal component equations showed that the feeding behavior of York pigs in the 30-90 kg growth stage was not only affected by the feeding time within 24 h,but also by environmental factors such as temperature and humidity.The feeding behavior of York pigs is a complex process of interaction between environmental factors and animal factors.

Elaborations of the influencing factors on the formation of secondary inorganic aerosols in a heavily polluted urban area of China

In this study,online water-soluble inorganic ions were detected to deduce the formation mechanism of secondary inorganic aerosol in Xianyang,China during wintertime.The dominant inorganic ions of sulfate(SO_(4)^(2-)),nitrate(NO_(3)^(-)),and ammonium(NH_(4)^(+))(the sum of those is abbreviated as SNA)accounted for 17%,21%,and 12% of PM_(2.5)mass,respectively.While the air quality deteriorated from excellent to poor grades,the precursor gas sulfur dioxide(SO_(2))of SO_(4)^(2-)increased and then decreased with a fluctuation,while nitrogen dioxide(NO_(2))and ammonia(NH_(3)),precursors of NO_(3)^(-)and NH_(4)^(+),and SNA show increasing trends.Meteorological factors including boundary layer height(BLH),temperature,and wind speed also show decline trends,except relative humidity(RH).Meanwhile,the secondary conversion ratio shows a remarkable increasing trend,indicating that there was a strong secondary transformation.From the perspective of chemical mechanisms,RH is positively correlated with sulfur oxidation ratios(SOR),nitrogen oxidation ratios(NOR),and ammonia conversion ratios,representing that the increase of humidity could promote the generation of SNA.Notably,SOR and NOR were also positively related to the ammonia.On the one hand,the low wind speed and BLH led to the accumulation of pollutants.On the other hand,the increases of RH and ammonia promoted more formations of SNA and PM_(2.5).The results advance our identification of the contributors to the haze episodes and assist to establish more efficient emission controls in Xianyang,in addition to other cities with similar emission and geographical characteristics.

Impacts of Date Palm Seeds （Phoenix dactyliferous L.） on Growth Indices and Nutrient Utilization of Common Carp Cyprinus carpio L,

This study was carried out to study the effect of adding different levels of date palm seed （Phoentix dactyliJProus） powder in the diet of common carp （Cyprinus carpio） at fish laboratory of Animal Production Department, College of Agricultural Sciences, Sulaimani University, Sulaimani, Iraq. The actual experimental feeding trials were conducted for 70 d and the adaptation period for 21 d. A total of 81 common carp fingerlings weighted 62 ± 2 g were divided into three experimental groups. The control treatment T1 was with 0 g date palm seed, T2 with 2.5 g date palm seed per kg diet and T3 with 5 g date palm seed per kg diet. Each treatment was in three replicates in which three common carp fingerlings were stocked in each aquarium which fed the experimental diets twice daily. The results indicated that weight gain （WG） and specific growth rate （SGR） in the third treatment （T3） group were significantly higher than those of fish fed control diets. T2 consumed more diet than other treatments with 306.940 g with higher feed conversion ratio （FCR）; T3 was higher significantly in food efficiency. No significant （P 〈 0.05） differences obtained from consumed protein while the protein efficiency ratio was significantly higher in T3 with 319.323. Control was higher significantly in flesh weight without viscera with the third treatment; in flesh weight without head and viscera each the control and the second treatment was significantly higher than the third treatment. As a conclusion, the date palm seeds powder have a positive effect on growth performance of common carp.

Feeding Effect of Growing-Finishing Pigs under Fine Division of Feeding Stages

In order to study the feeding effect of fine division of feeding stages on the growing-finishing pigs,96 healthy Duroc × Landrace ×Yorkshire hybrid commercial pigs with similar age in days,size,and body weight about 15 kg,half boars and half sows,randomly divided into3 treatments( each treatment repeated 4 times,and each repetition 8 pigs). According to the body weight division standard,three stages,four stages,and five stages of feeding were adopted separately. The daily ration of with different nutrition levels was used,body weight and feed consumption were measured,and effects of different feeding methods on body weight increase,feed utilization,and economic benefits of growing-finishing pigs. The results showed that compared with the three-stage feeding,the body weight of five-stage and four-stage feeding increased by 4. 18%( P < 0. 01) and 2. 41%( P < 0. 05),respectively,and the body weight of five-stage feeding increased by 1. 74%( P < 0. 05) compared with that of four-stage feeding; the daily feed consumption of five-stage and four-stage feeding increased 3. 10%( P < 0. 01) and 1. 70%(P <0. 01),respectively,and the daily feed consumption of five-stage feeding was 1. 37% higher than that of four-stage feeding. The feed cost of five-stage feeding and four-stage feeding increased 3. 32%( P < 0. 01) and 1. 61%( P < 0. 05) separately,and the feed cost of five-stage feeding was 1. 69% higher than that of four-stage feeding( P < 0. 01). The income from average body weight increase of five-stage and fourstage feeding increased by 5. 47%( P < 0. 01) and 3. 59%( P < 0. 01) respectively,and the benefit of average body weight increase of fivestage feeding was 1. 81% higher than that of four-stage feeding( P > 0. 05). The crude protein consumption from average body weight increase of five-stage and four-stage feeding decreased by 2. 28%( P < 0. 01) and 1. 68%( P < 0. 01),respectively; the crude protein consumption from average body weight increase of five-stage feeding was 0. 67% lower than that of four-stage feeding; the feed conversion ratio of five-stage feeding,four-stage feeding,and three-stage feeding was 2. 92,2. 93,and 2. 95 respectively. The results showed that compared with the threestage feeding,the four-stage and five-stage feeding could significantly increase the body weight of the growing-finishing pigs,improve the feed utilization level and improve the economic benefits,and the effect of five-stage feeding was better than the four-stage feeding.

Cost of Production at Business Unit in Aquaculture Industry： Study at Aquafarm Nusantara Company

Types of industry are manifold, patterns used in the determination of the cost of production can also vary. Elements of the cost of production are raw materials, direct labor, and factory overhead. Value of raw materials used in aquaculture industry in particular needs to calculate the cost of feed consumed by fish, thus greatly affect the price of fish feed cost of production. The calculation of the value of raw materials in fish production cost element to consider is the calculation of the value of raw material components, namely, （1） biomass of harvestable fish as the basic multiplication cost of production per kilogram or per fish harvested fish; （2） the ratio of fish feed intake by the amount of fish produced or often called the Feed Conversion Ratio （FCR）; and （3） the average purchase price of feed on fish harvest period is used as the basis for calculating the cost of production as well. This research is applied research that uses data archive aquaculture companies. The results in the observed period, the value FCR is 0.80, which means to fish have been consumed as much as 0.80 kg of fish feed. Biomass of fish that are harvested at 47,399.95 kg or 1,869,647 individuals. The average purchase price of fish feed on the observation period amounted to IDR 4,855.79. So the price of raw materials contained in harvested fish in the observation period calculates the value of multiplying all the components of raw materials （i.e., IDR 184,131,362.57）. Method of calculating the cost of production companies is process method and charging method used is the full costing method.

Research on the Index System of Ecological Balanced Fertilization for Three Crops

This paper studied the index system of ecological balanced fertilization for three crops by data mining method based on data of"3414 fertilizer field trials"of rice,wheat and maize by published papers from national soil testing and recommendation since 2005.A systematic analysis of the materials and methods,the main research contents,the main research results and the main research conclusions of the column was made,in order to enable readers to understand and grasp the overall contents of the following 15 papers.

Performance of Broilers Supplemented with Natural Herb Extract

The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of a natural herb extract on the general performance, carcass parameters and mortality of broiler chicks. A total of 720 one-day old chicks (Cobb 500) were used in the experiment and randomly partitioned into nine pens (80 chicks per pen). Three experimental diets (C: regular starter feed;CC plus: regular starter feed supplemented with chicken plus herbal extract;AFC plus: antibiotic-free diet supplemented with chicken plus) were assigned each to three randomly selected pens. The herbal extract was supplemented in drinking water at rate of 300 ml/cubic meter. Results showed that weights, feed conversion ratios (FCR) and dressing percentages (DP) increased (P < 0.05) in birds supplemented with herb extract compared to control birds. Mortalities and sudden deaths were minimized via herbal supplementation. However, herbal supplementation had no significant effects on carcass cuts and some visceral organs. The relative economic efficiency (REE) was up to 13% improved by the herb supplementation. It can be concluded that feeding the herbal extract has significant positive effects on broilers general performance as feed efficiency is increased by 11% and on mortality and sudden death cases.

Development of monitoring and assessment of forest biomass and carbon storage in China

Addressing climate change has become a common issue around the world in the 21st century and equally an important mission in Chinese forestry.Understanding the development of monitoring and assessment of forest biomass and carbon storage in China is important for promoting the evaluation of forest carbon sequestration capacity of China.The author conducts a systematic analysis of domestic publications addressing＂monitoring and assessment of forest biomass and carbon storage＂in order to understand the development trends,describes the brief history through three stages,and gives the situation of new development.Towards the end of the 20th century,a large number of papers on biomass and productivity of the major forest types in China had been published,covering the exploration and efforts of more than 20 years,while investigations into assessment of forest carbon storage had barely begun.Based on the data of the 7th and 8th National Forest Inventories,forest biomass and carbon storage of the entire country were assessed using individual tree biomass models and carbon conversion factors of major tree species,both previously published and newly developed.Accompanying the implementation of the 8th National Forest Inventory,a program of individual tree biomass modeling for major tree species in China was carried out simultaneously.By means of thematic research on classification of modeling populations,as well as procedures for collecting samples and methodology for biomass modeling,two technical regulations on sample collection and model construction were published as ministerial standards for application.Requests for approval of individual tree biomass models and carbon accounting parameters of major tree species have been issued for approval as ministerial standards.With the improvement of biomass models and carbon accounting parameters,thematic assessment of forest biomass and carbon storage will be gradually changed into a general monitoring of forest biomass and carbon storage,in order to realize their dynamic monitoring in national forest inventories.Strengthening the analysis and assessment of spatial distribution patterns of forest biomass and carbon storage through application of remote sensing techniques and geostatistical approaches will also be one of the major directions of development in the near future.