Prediction and validation of diffusive uptake rates for indoor volatile organic compounds in axial passive samplers

The diffusive uptake rate is essential for using passive samplers to measure indoor volatile organic compounds(VOCs).The traditional theoretical model of passive samplers requires available regression formulas of uptake rates and physicochemical properties of adsorbents to predict the uptake rate.However,it is difficult to obtain the uptake rates of different VOCs under different sampling periods,and it is also difficult to obtain the physical parameters of adsorbents accurately and effectively.This study provides a reliable numerical prediction method of diffusive uptake rates of VOCs.The modeling was based on the standard automated thermal desorption(ATD)tubes packed with Tenax TA and the mass transfer process during adsorption.The experimental determinations of toluene uptake rate are carried out to verify the prediction model.Diffusive uptake rates of typical indoor VOCs are obtained from the literature to calibrate the key apparent parameters in the model by statistical regression fitting.The predicted model can provide the VOC diffusive uptake rates under different sampling duration with an average deviation of less than 5%.This study can provide the basis for fast and accurate prediction of diffusive uptake rates for various VOC pollutants in built environments.

Camouflaged Uptake Following Incidental Focus-on-Form Episodes

The efficacy of focus-on-form(FonF)within the context of communicatively-oriented language activities is measured via uptake.Uptake is defined as learners’verbal responses immediately following either preemptive or reactive FonF instruction(Loewen,2004).The present study investigated what is(not)meant and(not)measured through this definition of uptake.Drawing on the audio-recorded analysis of 20 hours of communicatively–oriented interactions in an intermediate IELTS class with two teachers,this study investigates the frequency of preemptive and reactive incidental FonF,and the subsequent occurrence of uptake in an English as a foreign language context.This study also provided an in-depth qualitative analysis of these classes through field notes,learner notes,and video-recorded data to explore the instances of uptake moves that were not captured through audio-recorded data.The quantitative findings of this study demonstrated a very low and disappointing uptake rate.Furthermore,the study did not find a significant difference between reactive and preemptive FonF in terms of uptake rate.Nonetheless,the qualitative data revealed a myriad of uptake instances not observable via the initial data analysis.Based on these findings,a new definition of uptake is suggested,which includes camouflaged uptake and learners’immediate oral responses to FonF.Since uptake is used to gauge the efficacy of incidental FonF in primarily meaning–oriented classes,it is concluded that audio-recorded data just show the tip of the iceberg as far as the uptake rate is concerned.Thus,second language acquisition researchers are recommended to employ multiple indices to examine the effectiveness of FonF instruction.

Effects of Photosynthetically Active Radiation and Air Temperature on CO_2 Uptake of Pterocarpus macrocarpus in the Open Field

Since trees and plants can absorb CO2, forests are widely regarded as a carbon sink that may control the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. The CO2 uptake rate of plants is affected by the plant species and environmental conditions such as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), temperature, water and nutrient contents. PAR is the most immediate environmental control on photosynthesis while air temperature affects both photorespiration and dark respiration. In the natural condition, PAR and temperature play an important role in net CO2 uptake. The effects of PAR and air temperature on the CO2 uptake of Pterocarpus macrocarpus grown in a natural habitat were studied in the present work. Due to many uncontrollable factors, a simple rectangular hyperbola could not represent the measured data. The data were divided into groups of 2oC intervals; CO2 uptake in each group may then be related to PAR by a rectangular hyperbola function. Using the obtained functions, the effect of PAR was removed from the original data. The PAR-independent CO2 uptake was then related to air temperature. Finally, the effects of PAR (I) and air temperature (Ta) on the CO2 uptake rate (A) were combined as: (-0.0575Ta2+2.6691Ta-23.264)I A= ——————————————— (-0.00766Ta2+0.40666Ta-3.99924) (-4.8794Ta2+227.13Ta-2456.9)+I

Immobilization of activated sludge using improved polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel

The microbial immobilization method using polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） gel as an immobilizing material was improved and used for entrapment of activated sludge. The oxygen uptake rate （OUR） was used to characterize the biological activity of immobilized activated sludge. Three kinds of PVA-immobilized particles of activated sludge, that is, PVA-boric acid beads, PVA-sodium nitrate beads and PVA-orthophosphate beads were prepared, and their biological activity was compared by measuring the OUR value. The bioactivity of both autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms of activated sludge was determined using different synthetic wastewater media （containing 250 mg/L COD and 25 mg/L NH4^＋ -N）. The experimental results showed that the bioactivity and stability of the three kinds of immobilized activated sludge was greatly improved after activation. With respect of the bioactivity and the mechanical stability, the PVA-orthophosphate method may be a promising and economical technique for microbial immobilization.

Adenovirus-mediated transfection with glucose transporter 3 suppresses PC12 cell apoptosis following ischemic injury

In this study, we investigated the effects of adenovirus-mediated transfection of PC12 cells with glucose transporter 3 after ischemic injury. The results of flow cytometry and TUNEL showed that exogenous glucose transporter 3 significantly suppressed PC12 cell apoptosis induced by ischemic injury. The results of isotopic scintiscan and western blot assays showed that, the glucose uptake rate was significantly increased and nuclear factor kappaB expression was significantly decreased after adenovirus-mediated transfection of ischemic PC12 cells with glucose transporter 3. These results suggest that adenovirus-mediated transfection of cells with glucose transporter 3 elevates the energy metabolism of PC12 cells with ischemic injury, and inhibits cell apoptosis.

Implications from γ-globulin adsorption onto cation exchangers fabricated by sequential alginate grafting and sulfonation

Our previous work proved that high adsorption capacity and uptake rate of lysozyme were achieved on alginate(Alg)-grafted re sin with an ionic capacity(IC) of 240 mmol·L^(-1)(Alg-FF-240).Moreover,the salt-tolerant feature of Alg-FF-230 was improved by using sequential alginate grafting and sulfonation strategy.Inspired by the enhanced adsorption performance of lysozyme,we have herein proposed to investigate the static and dynamic adsorption behaviors of γ-globulin on a series of Alg-grafted resins with different grafting densities and sulfonation degrees.The adsorption ca pacity of γ-globulin decreased with increa sing alginate-grafting density(IC) from 160 to 230 mmol·L^(-1) at 0 mmol·L^(-1) NaCl because of the steric hindrance caused by the alginate-grafting layer.Effects of ionic strength(IS) indicated that the adsorption capacities of the resins with the IC value of 230-370 mmol·L^(-1) were much higher than CM Sepharose FF at 50-100 mmol·L^(-1) NaCl,and the uptake rate of Alg-FF-230 was about twice as much as that of CM Sepharose FF.This work demonstrated the important effects of alginate-grafting layer and IS in γ-globulin adsorption behavior,which would be helpful in the design of Alggrafted resins and the selection of proper IS condition for protein purification.

Simulation of the biomass dynamics of Masson pine forest under different management

TREE submodel affiliated with TREEDYN was used to simulate biomass dynamics of Masson pine （Pinus massoniana） forest under different managements （including thinning, clear cutting, combining thinning with clear cutting）. The purpose was to represent biomass dynamics involved in its development, which can provide scientific arguments for management of Masson pine forest. The results showed the scenario that 10% or 20% of biomass of the previous year was thinned every five years from 15 to 40 years made total biomass of pine forest increase slowly and it took more time to reach a mature community; If clear cutting and thinning were combined, the case C （clear cutting at 20 years of forest age, thinning 50% of remaining biomass at 30 years of forest age, and thinning 50% of remaining biomass again at 40 years of forest age） was the best scenario which can accelerate speed of development of Masson pine forest and gained better economic values.

Effects of Local Nitrogen Supply on Water Uptake of Bean Plants in a Split Root System

To study the effects of local nitrogen supply on water and nutrient absorption, French bean （Phaseolus vulgaris L.） plants were grown in a split root system. Five treatments supplied with different nitrogen forms were compared： homogeneous nitrate （NN） and homogenous ammonium （AA） supply, spatially separated supply of nitrate and ammonium （NA）, half of the root system supplied with N-free nutrient solution, the other half with either nitrate （NO） or ammonium （AO）. The results showed that 10 d after onset of treatments, root dry matter （DM） in the nitratesupplied vessels treated with NA was more than two times higher than that in the ammonium-supplied vessels. Water uptake from the nitrate-supplied vessels treated with NA was 281% higher than under ammonium supply. In treatments NO and AO, the local supply of N resulted in clearly higher root DM, and water uptake from the nitratesupplied vessels was 82% higher than in the -N vessels. However, in AO plants, water uptake from the -N nutrient solution was 129% higher than from the ammonium-supplied vessels. This indicates a compensatory effect, which resulted in almost identical rates of total water uptake of treatments AA and AO, which had comparable shoot DM and leaf area. Ammonium supply reduced potassium and magnesium absorption. Water uptake was positively correlated with N, Mg and K uptake.

Aeration optimization through operation at low dissolved oxygen concentrations:Evaluation of oxygen mass transfer dynamics in different activated sludge systems

In wastewater treatment plants（WWTPs）using the activated sludge process,two methods are widely used to improve aeration efficiency — use of high-efficiency aeration devices and optimizing the aeration control strategy. Aeration efficiency is closely linked to sludge characteristics（such as concentrations of mixed liquor suspended solids（MLSS）and microbial communities）and operating conditions（such as air flow rate and operational dissolved oxygen（DO）concentrations）. Moreover,operational DO is closely linked to effluent quality. This study,which is in reference to WWTP discharge class A Chinese standard effluent criteria,determined the growth kinetics parameters of nitrifiers at different DO levels in small-scale tests. Results showed that the activated sludge system could meet effluent criteria when DO was as low as 0.3 mg/L,and that nitrifier communities cultivated under low DO conditions had higher oxygen affinity than those cultivated under high DO conditions,as indicated by the oxygen half-saturation constant and nitrification ability. Based on nitrifier growth kinetics and on the oxygen mass transfer dynamic model（determined using different air flow rate（Q′air）and mixed liquor volatile suspended solids（MLVSS）values）,theoretical analysis indicated limited potential for energy saving by improving aeration diffuser performance when the activated sludge system had low oxygen consumption; however,operating at low DO and low MLVSS could significantly reduce energy consumption. Finally,a control strategy coupling sludge retention time and MLVSS to minimize the DO level was discussed,which is critical to appropriate setting of the oxygen point and to the operation of low DO treatment technology.

Comparison of biochemical characteristics between PAO and DPAO sludges

A successful enhanced biological phosphorus removal （EBPR） was observed in both anaerobic- aerobic sequencing batch reactor （An-Ox SBR） to induce growth of phosphorus accumulating organism （PAO） and anaerobic-anoxic （An-Ax） SBR to induce growth of denitrifying PAO （DPAO）. Although the EBPR performance of An-Ox SBR was higher by 11.3% than that of An-Ax SBR, specific phosphorus release rates in the An-Ax SBR （22.8 ± 3.5 mg P/（g VSS.hr）） and the An-Ox SBR （22.4 ± 4.8 mg P/（g VSS.hr）） were similar. Specific phosphorus uptake rates under anoxic and aerobic conditions were 26.3 ± 4.8 mg P/（g VSS.hr） （An-Ax SBR） and 25.6 ± 2.8 mg P/（g VSS.hr） （An-Ox SBR）, respectively, which were also similar. In addition, an analysis of relationship of poly-β-hydroxyalkanoates （PHA） synthesized under anaerobic conditions with phosphorous release （Preleased/PHAsynthesized） and of PHA utilized under anoxic and aerobic conditions with phosphorous uptake （Puptaked/PHAutilized） verified that biological activities of EBPR per unit biomass between DPAO and PAO were similar. An analysis of the specific denitrification rate of DPAO showed that NO3-N can be denitrified at a rate that does not substantially differ from that of an ordinary denitrifier without additional consumption of organic carbon when the PHA stored inside the cell under anaerobic conditions is sufficiently secured.

A novel approach to estimate and control denitrification performance in activated sludge systems with respirogram technology

Respirogram technology has been widely applied for aerobic process, however, the response of respirogram to anoxic denitrification is still unclear. To reveal such response may help to design a new method for the evaluation of the performance of denitrification. The size distribution of flocs measured at different denitrification moments demonstrated a clear expansion of flocs triggered by denitrification, during which higher specific endogenous and quasi-endogenous respiration rates(SOUReand SOURq) were also observed. Furthermore,SOURqincreases exponentially with the specific denitrification rate(SDNR), suggesting that there should be a maximum SDNR in conventional activated sludge systems. Based on these findings, an index Rq/t, defined as the ratio of quasi-endogenous(OURq) to maximum respiration rate(OURt), is proposed to estimate the denitrification capacity that higher Rq/tindicates higher denitrification potential, which can be readily obtained without complex measurement or analysis, and it offers a novel and promising respirogram-based approach for denitrification estimation and control by taking measures to extend anoxic time to maintain its value at a high level within a certain range.

Low intensity ultrasound stimulates biological activity of aerobic activated sludge

This work aims to explore a procedure to improve biological wastewater treatment efficiency using low inten-sity ultrasound.The aerobic activated sludge from a munici-pal wastewater treatment plant was used as the experimental material.Oxygen uptake rate(OUR)of the activated sludge(AS)was determined to indicate the changes of AS activity stimulated by ultrasound at 35 kHz for 0-40 min with ultrasonic intensities of 0-1.2 W/cm^(2).The highest OUR was observed at the ultrasonic intensity of 0.3 W/cm^(2) and an irradiation period of 10 min;more than 15%increase was achieved immediately after sonication.More significantly,the AS activity stimulated by ultrasound could last 24 h after sonication,and the AS activity achieved its peak value within 8 h after sonication,or nearly 100%higher than the initial level after sonication.Therefore,to improve the wastewater treatment efficiency of bioreactors,ultrasound with an intensity of 0.3 W/cm^(2) could be employed to irradiate a part of the AS in the bioreactor for 10 min every 8 h.

Effect of short-term atrazine addition on the performance of an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic process

In this study,an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic(A^(2)O)wastewater treatment process was implemented to treat domestic wastewater with short-term atrazine addition.The results provided an evaluation on the effects of an accidental pollution on the operation of a wastewater treatment plant(WWTP)in relation to Chemical Oxygen Demand(COD)and biological nutrient removal.Domestic wastewater with atrazine addition in 3 continuous days was treated when steady biological nutrient removal was achieved in the A^(2)O process.The concentrations of atrazine were 15,10,and 5 mg%L–1 on days 1,2 and 3,respectively.The results showed that atrazine addition did not affect the removal of COD.The specific NH4þoxidation rate and NO3–reduction rate decreased slightly due to the short-term atrazine addition.However,it did not affect the nitrogen removal due to the high nitrification and denitrification capacity of the system.Total nitrogen(TN)removal was steady,and more than 70%was removed during the period studied.The phosphorus removal rate was not affected by the short-term addition of atrazine under the applied experimental conditions.However,more poly-hydroxy-alkanoate(PHA)was generated and utilized during atrazine addition.The results of the oxygen uptake rate(OUR)showed that the respiration of nitrifiers decreased significantly,while the activity of carbon utilizers had no obvious change with the atrazine addition.Atrazine was not removed with the A^(2)O process,even via absorption by the activated sludge in the process of the short-term addition of atrazine.