Altered seawater salinity levels affected growth and photosynthesis of Ulva fasciata(Ulvales, Chlorophyta)germlings

Seawater salinity is greatly influenced by tide, evaporation and rain falls. In this study, we investigated the growth and photosynthetic responses of zygote-derived Ulva fasciata Delile germlings to short-term （minutes） and prolonged （days） exposure to different salinity gradients, to evaluate the effect of salinity variation on the early stage of life history in this seaweed. The results showed that, the maximum net photosynthetic rates （NPRm） of U. fasciata germlings was observably decreased in desalted （25 and 15） and high （45） salinity seawater in short-term exposure tests （in minutes）. However, after 30 min, the photosynthesis activity in medium salinity （25） was maintained at a relative high level （above 70%）. After 8 d prolonged culture, the photosynthesis and mean relative growth rate （RGR） of germlings were all markedly lowered, whereas the malondialdehyde （MDA） contents increased as the salinity desalted from 34 to 15. The salinity decrease from 34 to 25 had no significant effect on the RGR, but obviously influenced the morphology of the germlings. High salinity level （45） significantly depressed the RGR and photosynthesis of U. fasciata germlings, while it notably increased the MDA contents. The results showed that the salinity elevation had more detrimental effects on Ulvafasciata germlings than salinity decrease did. The germlings grown at the salinity seawater levels from 25 to 34, performed preferable photosynthetic acclimation both in temporary and prolonged culture. Broad salinity tolerance from 25 to 34 in U. fasciata germlings may have partly evolved as a response to regular diurnal tides.

Effects of elevated CO_2 on the photosynthesis and nitrate reductase activity of Pyropia haitanensis(Bangiales,Rhodophyta) grown at different nutrient levels

Pyropia haitanensis,a commercially important species,was cultured at two CO2 concentrations(390×10- 6 and 700×10-6(parts per million)) and at low and high nutrient levels,to explore the effect of elevated CO2 on the species under nutrient enrichment. Results show that in CO2-enriched thalli,relative growth rate(RGR) was enhanced under nutrient enrichment. Elevated CO2 decreased phycobiliprotein(PB) contents,but increased the contents of soluble carbohydrates. Nutrient enrichment increased the contents of chlorophyll a(Chl a) and PB,while soluble carbohydrate content decreased. CO2 enrichment enhanced the relative maximum electronic transport rate and light saturation point. In nutrient-enriched thalli the activity of nitrate reductase(NRA) increased under elevated CO2. An instantaneous pH change in seawater(from 8.1 to 9.6) resulted in reduction of NRA,and the thalli grown under both elevated CO2 and nutrient enrichment exhibited less pronounced reduction than in algae grown at the ambient CO2. The thermal optima of NRA under elevated CO2 and/or nutrient enrichment shifted to a lower temperature(10–15°C) compared to that in ambient conditions(20°C). We propose that accelerated photosynthesis could result in growth increment. Nassimilation remained high in acidified seawater and refl ected increased temperature sensitivity in response to elevated CO2 and eutrophication.

Comparative study of the stoichiometric characteristics of karst and non-karst forests in Guizhou, China

Carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorous (P) levels and their stoichiometry in plant components (leaves, branch trunks, roots) of trees in a karst forest and non-karst forest are compared. The results show that the C contents, C:N and C:P ratios of dominant species in the karst forest were lower than those in the non-karst forest, but the N and P and the N:P ratio were higher;C:N:P ratios in plant organs of trees in the karst forest were in the order of trunks>roots>branches>leaves. However, C:N:P ratio in the non-karst forest trees were trunks>branches>roots>leaves. Moreover, ratio of C:N:P in trunks was highest and lowest in leaves in both forests. In non-karst forest trees, N:P was in the order of leaves> roots>branches>trunks. There were no significant differences in the ratio of N:P in different plant components of trees in the karst forest. However, in karst and non-karst forest trees, the ratio of N:P in leaves was highest;positive correlations between N and P contents, and N and N:P ratios were observed in both karst and non-karst forests (p<0.001). Negative correlations between P and N:P ratios (p<0.05) were observed in karst forest trees, while positive correlations were observed in non-karst forest trees.

Effects of low temperature on sludge settleability and nutrients removal performance treating domestic wastewater

In order to investigate the effect of temperature on activated sludge systems,sludge settleability,nitrogen and phosphorus removal processes were investigated by changing temperature variation patterns using 4 sequencing batch reactors (SBR).The results showed that no matter temperature changes in the range of 15-22 ℃ (decrease or increase) gradually or sharply,it has little effect on nitrogen and phosphorus removal processes.But when temperature decreases to 12 ℃,biochemical reactions will be inhibitted obviously.At least 1 sludge retention time (SRT) is needed for nitrification adapt to new temperature envirionment,and more time is necessary for phosphorus removal process.When temperature increases from 12 ℃ to 22 ℃ sharply,nitrification process deteriorates seriously,but phosphorus removal process shows no change.In addition,sludge settleability deteriorates when temperature changes sharply (decrease or increase),but the reasons are different.Under temperature decrease condition,it is mainly caused by the increase of accumulated extracellular polymeric substances (EPS).Under temperature increase condition,the loosing sludge flocs' configuration is the main reason.It should be pointed out that the filamentous bacteria content during the entire experiment keeps almost constant,and the sludge settleability variations are the reflection of the change of sludge physicochemical characteristics.

Translocation and distribution of mercury in biomasses from subtropical forest ecosystems:evidence from stable mercury isotopes

To understand its source,distribution,storage,and translocation in the subtropical forest ecosystems,mercury(Hg)concentrations and stable isotopes in forest biomass tissues(foliage,branch,bark,and trunk)were investigated at Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve,Southwest China.The total Hg(THg)concentrations in the samples show the following trend:mature foliage(57±19 ng g-1)>bark(11±4.0 ng g-1)>branch(5.4±2.5 ng g-1)>trunk(1.6±0.7 ng g-1).Using the measured THg concentrations and the quantity of respective biomasses,the Hg pools in the forest are:wood(60±26μg m-2)>bark(51±18μg m-2)>foliage(41±11μg m-2)>branch(26±8.3μg m-2).The tree biomasses displayed negativeδ202Hg(-1.83‰to-3.84‰)andΔ199Hg(-0.18‰to-0.62‰).The observedΔ200Hg(-0.08‰to 0.04‰)is not significantly from zero.AΔ199Hg/Δ201Hg ratio of 1.05 was found in tree biomasses,suggesting that mercury has undergone Hg(Ⅱ)photoreduction processes.A Hg-isotope based binary mixing model suggests that Hg in the tree biomasses mainly originated from foliage uptake of atmospheric Hg0,constituting 67%,80%,and 77%of Hg in wood,branch,and bark,respectively.Our study sheds new light on the transportation and sources of Hg in the subtropical forest ecosystems.

Growth,Dislocation and Morphology of Nd∶GdVO_4 Single Crystal

The neodymium ions doped gadolinium vanadate (Nd∶GdVO_4) single crystals were successfully grown by Czochralski method. Chemical etching technique was used to reveal the dislocation structure of the crystals. An average dislocation density of (100) plane is 600 pits/mm 2. The crystal-morphology can be used to determine crystal orientation accurately with simple optical method.

Characteristics of copper removal and ion release during copper biosorption by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia in presence of benzo[a]pyrene

The ability of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia was demonstrated to selectively remove Cu2+from Cu(NO3)2 solution under the circumstance that 1 mg/L benzo[a]pyrene(BaP) was either present or not. The removal ratios of 2 and 10 mg/L Cu2+by 0.25 g/L biosorbent are up to 80% and 49% at 10 min, respectively. The biosorption includes ion exchange, NO3 reduction, ion release, and cell oxidation by Cu2+. BaP does not significantly affect Cu2+removal and ion release. Although 2 mg/L Cu2+increases the release of PO4 3, K+, NH4 +and Ca2+, 10 mg/L Cu2+has strong oxidation on cell, and then decreases NO3 reduction and hinders the release of K+, NH4 +and Ca2+. Exogenous cations inhibit the Cu2+biosorption, while additional anions increase the removal ratios of 10 mg/L Cu2+from 52% to 88%.

Syntheses, Structures and Anticancer Activities of Three 4(3H)-Quinazolinone Cd(Ⅱ) Complexes

The title complexes based on 4（3H）-quinazolinone ligand have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectrum and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.Complex 1 belongs to the triclinic system, space group P1, with a = 6.5392（3）, b = 7.4402（5）, c =10.3397（7） ？, α = 83.204（5）, β = 75.465（5）, γ = 86.075（5）° and V = 483.88（5） ？~3. Complex 2 is of orthorhombic system, space group Pbca, with a = 10.1294（3）, b = 7.6747（5）, c = 23.8171（15） ？ and V = 1849.1（4） ？~3. Complex 3 belongs to the orthorhombic system, space group Pbca, with a =12.7188（2）, b = 6.66582（9）, c = 25.6987（6） ？ and V = 2178.77（5） ？~3. The complex structures are affected by the synthesis conditions.

Ecological and Low-carbon Technology in Urban Decentralized Treatment and Reclamation of Wastewater

China's water shortage situation is grim.Deep exploration of non-traditional water resources and relief of contradiction between China's economic development and water resources shortage is the only way to ensure the sustainable development of China.Urban sewage treatment and reclamation is a more stable and widely used method of non-traditional water resources development and utilization.However,urban centralized reclaimed water treatment faces many problems such as high transportation cost and difficulty in laying reusing pipe network.Relatively speaking,decentralized reclaimed water treatment technology has obvious advantages and is gradually getting more attention.In this research,three types of wastewater treatment process featured with urban decentralized low-carbon ecological technology have been mainly introduced.In addition,the operating data of relevant domestic and foreign engineering cases were analyzed from the perspectives of treatment effect,energy consumption level,applicable scale and occupied area,etc.This study considers that these three new sewage processes based on the principle of ecological engineering have the advantages of compact structure,small footprint,low water consumption,stable effluent quality,beautiful appearance and large applicable scale,and are worthy of researching and importing.

Competition for Single Carbon Source Between Denitrification and Phosphorus Release in Sludge under Anoxic Condition

In order to investigate the competition for carbon source between denitrification and phosphorus release processes,simultaneous phosphorus release and denitrification in sludge operated in anoxic,aerobic mode are investigated by varying the ratio of influent COD to nitrogenous compound concentration under anoxic condition using a lab-scale sequencing batch reactor(SBR).The results show that the nitrate reduction rate is nearly independent of the ratio of influent COD to nitrate under anoxic condition.More NOx--N in the influent leads to less 3 4PO --P release during the feeding period.However, 3 4PO--P release proceeds at a low rate simultaneously with denitrification even when the influent NOx--N concentration is as large as 20 mg·L-1and its rate is increased obviously when NOx--N is denitrified to a concentration lower than 0.5 mg·L-1.The variation of pH during anoxic period gives some information about the biochemical reactions of denitrification and3 4PO--P release.When more nitrate is present in the influent,more acetate uptake in feeding period is used for direct microorganism growth.

Effect of chelating agent on oxidation rate of aniline in ferrous ion activated persulfate system at neutral pH

In the interest of accelerating aniline degradation, Fe2+ and chelated Fe2+ activated persulfate oxidations were investigated in neutral pH condition. Three kinds of chelating agents were selected including citric acid, oxalic acid and ethylenediamine tetraaceatate(EDTA) to maintain available Fe2+. The results indicate that the concentration of chelating agent and ferrous ion didn't follow a linear relationship with the degradation rate of aniline. A 1/1 ratio of chelating agent/Fe2+ results in a higher degradation rate compared to the results by other ratios. The oxidation enhancement factor using oxalic acid was found to be relatively low. In contrast, citric acid is more suitable chelating agent in the ferrous iron activated persulfate system and aniline exhibits a highest degradation with a persulfate/Fe2+/citric acid/aniline molar ratio of 50/25/25/1 compared to other molar ratios.

Degradation of aniline by Fe^(2+)-activated persulfate oxidation at ambient temperature

The aniline degradation by persulfate activated with ferrous ion (Fe2+ ) was investigated in batch reactor at ambient temperature. The experimental factors in aqueous solutions including persulfate concentration, Fe2+ concentration, pH and ionic strength level were discussed. It is demonstrated that, aniline degradation rate increases with increasing persulfate concentration, but much more ferrous ion inhibits the aniline degradation. When the aniline concentration is 0.10 mmol/L, the maximum aniline degradation occurs at the S2O82- to Fe2+ molar ratio of 250/5 at pH 7.0. In the pH range of 5.0-8.5, increasing pH causes higher aniline degradation. What's more, the increase of ionic strength in solution causes inhibiting in the reaction. Produced intermediates during the oxidation process were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technology. And degradation pathways of aniline were also tentatively proposed.

Formation of multiple trimethylsilyl derivatives in the derivatization of 17α-ethinylestradiol with BSTFA or MSTFA followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry determination

N,O-bis（trimethylsily）trifluoroacetamide （BSTFA） and N-methyl-N（trimethylsily） trifluoroacetamide （MSTFA） are common derivatization reagents used in the GC-MS analysis of estrogen steroids such as estrone （El） and 17α-ethinylestradiol （EE2）. In this study, three trimethylsilyl （TMS） steroid derivatives, mono- and di-trimethylsilyl EE2 and mono-trimethylsilyl El, were observed during the derivatization of EE2 with BSTFA or MSTFA and/or GC separation. Factors influencing the production of multiple TMS derivatives and their relative abundance were examined. It was found that both methanol and bisphenol A competed with estrogenic esteroids when reacting with silylation reagents, and thus affected the formation of TMS derivatives and their relative abundance in the derivatization products. Methanol was found to be more reactive than bisphenol A with the BSTFA reagent. None of the three solvents tested in this study could prevent the generation of multiple TMS derivatives during the derivatization of EE2 with BSTFA, followed by GC analysis. A similar result was observed using MSTFA as the derivative reagent followed by GC analysis. Thus, the suitability of BSTFA or MSTFA as the derivatization reagent for the determination of E1 and EE2 by GC-MS, under the conditions reported here, is questionable. This problem can be solved by adding trimethylsilylimidaz （TMSI） in the BSTFA reagent as recommended, and the performance of the method has been proved in this study.

Preparation of Nicotinic Acid from Oxidation of 3-Picoline with Oxygen Under Catalysis of T(o-Cl)PPMn

The oxidation of 3-picoline to nicotinic acid took place efficiently in an ethanol solution with 02 as the oxidant under the catalysis of T（o-Cl）PPMn at 40--150 ℃ and 0.5--3.0 MPa oxygen pressure. The influences of temperature, oxygen pressure, reaction time, concentration of 3-picoline, concentration of sodium hydroxide, and concentration of T（o-Cl）PPMn catalyst, etc. on the production of nicotinic acid were investigated. The results show that T（o-Cl）PPMn presented excellent catalytic activity in the oxidation Of 3-pieoiine to nicotinic acid and the yield of nicotinic acid varied greatly with the reaction temperature, oxygen pressure, T（o-Cl）PPMn concentration, etc.

Electromagnetic anti-fouling technology for prevention of scale

An electromagnetic anti-fouling technology(EAFT) was developed further. The operating principle of the EAFT was presented using fundamental physics laws. To validate the effect of EAFT and identify the mechanism, a circulating flow setup was built. A series of fouling tests were carried out with and without EAFT, measuring fouling thermal resistance as function of time, making scanning electron microscope images and analyzing the particles size distribution in solution by dynamics light scattering technology. The main results were as follows: 1) All the precipitated crystals in solution were calcite and there were little differences between with EAFT and without EAFT in the experimental range. 2) The number of precipitate nucleation in solution was small and the particle growth was slow without EAFT. In opposition to the case untreated, a rapid particle growth was observed and the number of nucleation was expected to be large, due to the fact that the EAFT effectively increases the ions and crystals collision frequency and effectiveness by utilizing the induced electric field. It is indicated that the particle growth is promoted mainly by coagulation process but not nucleation growth. 3) The EAFT could prolong the delay time of fouling greatly, and after the delay time, the thermal resistance quickly increased. Therefore, in order to mitigate scale significantly, the floccules in solution should be deposited beforehand in a low-lying area of the exchangers and let off in time.

The Necessity of Using Cloud Computing in Monitoring Metropolitan Performance<br/>-Case Study: Tehran Metropolitan Urban Observatory

Due to the metropolitan area of immense diversity and breadth of their construction activities, the performance of activities at districts level, cannot be precisely evaluated. Therefore, generally, it monitors only the indices which are defined for those functions. Furthermore, district-based development policy, and decentralization of governance, necessitate more local autonomy, which requires closer monitors of districts for being sure of its movements in the frame of urban developing plans. The advancement of technology has created the expectation that we can monitor all details of the metropolitan administrative processes and involve them in decision support systems for urban management. In this study, a web based SDSS prototype has been implemented to monitor the Tehran development plans progress at districts level. This interactive system presents a map of Tehran which indicates the realization of each component of the city master plan in different parts of town. The design of system lets all districts produce and support their own reporting maps, and it presents them in their dedicated place of city map by snapping all districts reports, when a city report arises. Also it elaborates the problem of implementing and proposes “cloud computing facilities” as a solution.

A comparative study of different arrangements for methanol distillation process

The current study presents an effective method of determining and optimizing distillated methanol alternative arrangements. To complement the information required to run the rigorous simulation, Vminmethod is used as a base for the selection of the optimum arrangement among different alternatives. Results obtained from Vmindiagram and shortcut simulation are utilized, by means of the simulator, for the precise simulation of alternative arrangements of methanol distillation under optimum conditions. Taking into account target function profit and the process parameters and conditions, the most optimum parameter value for reaching maximum profit was obtained, based on which all the arrangements with or without their heat integration were compared to each other. Technical and economic analysis results indicate, that increased profit by Prefractionator with heat integration arrangement is 4.79% compared to the base arrangement, while the three-column, four-column and five-column arrangements have benefits increase by 3.61%, 3.55% and 3.46%, respectively.

Disposal methods for used passenger car tires: One of the fastest growing solid wastes in China

With the rapid growth in the number of passenger cars(PCs)in China over the past decades,more than ten million tons of used tires have already become solid wastes and subsequently caused serious environmental issues.Due to the presence of synthetic rubber in PC tires,waste PC tires cannot be disposed through rubber reclaiming technology.Thus,waste PC tires have become one of fastest growing solid wastes in China.First,the current disposal capacity of the pyrolysis method,regarded as a promising technology for the disposal of waste PC tires,is surveyed and compared with other disposal methods mentioned in previous papers.Second,this work establishes a model to predict the total number of waste PC tires in the next five years depending on the rate of PC growth and current waste tire disposal capacity.Moreover,pyrolysis is evaluated on 15 collected waste PC tires selected from the most representative tire brands in the Chinese market.The corresponding results imply that~68.5%of S was into oil and~44.3%N and large amount of heavy metals resided in solid carbon which severely limit further applications.Finally,a new pyrolysis technology is introduced that may represent a solution to the limits in the application of tire disposal methods and relief for the coming waste tire crisis.

Accumulation, transportation, and distribution of tetracycline and cadmium in rice

Co-exposure to heavy metal and antibiotic pollution might result in complexation and synergistic interactions,affecting rice growth and further exacerbating pollutant enrichment.Therefore,our study sought to clarify the influence of different Tetracycline (TC) and Cadmium(Cd) concentration ratios (both alone and combined) on rice growth,pollutant accumulation,and transportation during the tillering stage in hydroponic system.Surprisingly,our findings indicated that the interaction between TC and Cd could alleviate the toxic effects of TC/Cd on aerial rice structures and decrease pollutant burdens during root elongation.In contrast,TC and Cd synergistically promoted the accumulation of TC/Cd in rice roots.However,their interaction increased the accumulation of TC in roots while decreasing the accumulation of Cd when the toxicant doses increased.The strong affinity of rice to Cd promoted its upward transport from the roots,whereas the toxic effects of TC reduced TC transport.Therefore,the combined toxicity of the two pollutants inhibited their upward transport.Additionally,a low concentration of TC promoted the accumulation of Cd in rice mainly in the root tip.Furthermore,a certain dose of TC promoted the upward migration of Cd from the root tip.Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry demonstrated that Cd mainly accumulated in the epidermis and stele of the root,whereas Fe mainly accumulated in the epidermis,which inhibited the absorption and accumulation of Cd by the rice roots through the generation of a Fe plaque.Our findings thus provide insights into the effects of TC and Cd co-exposure on rice growth.

Defect Engineering and Carbon Supporting to Achieve Ni‑Doped CoP_(3) with High Catalytic Activities for Overall Water Splitting

This work reports the use of defect engineering and carbon supporting to achieve metal-doped phosphides with high activities and stabilities for the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)and the oxygen evolution reaction(OER)in alkaline media.Specifically,the nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber-supported Ni-doped CoP_(3) with rich P defects(Pv·)on the carbon cloth(p-NiCoP/NCFs@CC)is synthesized through a plasma-assisted phosphorization method.The p-NiCoP/NCFs@CC is an efficient and stable catalyst for the HER and the OER.It only needs overpotentials of 107 and 306 mV to drive 100 mA cm^(-2) for the HER and the OER,respectively.Its catalytic activities are higher than those of other catalysts reported recently.The high activities of the p-NiCoP/NCFs@CC mainly arise from its peculiar structural features.The density functional theory calculation indicates that the Pv·richness,the Ni doping,and the carbon supporting can optimize the adsorption of the H atoms at the catalyst surface and promote the strong electronic couplings between the carbon nanofiber-supported p-NiCoP with the surface oxide layer formed during the OER process.This gives the p-NiCoP/NCFs@CC with the high activities for the HER and the OER.When used in alkaline water electrolyzers,the p-NiCoP/NCFs@CC shows the superior activity and excellent stability for overall water splitting.