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

UNCOVERING BENEFITS AND RISKS OF INTEGRATED PRODUCT SERVICE OFFERINGS-USING A CASE OF TECHNOLOGY ENCAPSULATION

The objective of this article is to uncover benefits and risks of Integrated Product Service Offering （IPSO） in a systematic manner. To do so, it adopts an explorative longitudinal in-depth case study （development of an IPSO based on a new technology） and adds insights to the existing literature. The article first proposes a theoretical and generic framework termed the PCP （Provider - Customer - Product） triangle with associated information flow and uncertainty. Second, various types of benefits and risks are presented based on the framework. Among others, the benefit of keeping IPR （Intellectual Property Rights） with the provider and the risk of regulation change are new findings from the case study. In addition, the case study reveals that IPSO is regarded as a positive contributor to innovation. Applying the framework and classification of benefits and risks as norms to other cases has yet to be done for verification. However, the framework contributes scientifically to a better understanding of the benefits and risks of IPSO. In addition, this framework is advantageous with its easiness to understand, which contributes practically to the dissemination of IPS0 insight to industry.

Decolorization of molasses melanoidins and palm oil mill effluent phenolic compounds by fermentative lactic acid bacteria

Lactobacillus plantarum SF5.6 is one of the lactic acid bacteria （LAB） that has the highest ability of molasses melanoidin （MM） decolorization among the 2114 strains of LAB. The strains were isolated from spoilage, pickle fruit and vegetable, soil and sludge from the wastewater treatment system by using technical step of enrichment, primary screening and secondary screening. This LAB strain SF5.6 was identified by 16S rDNA analysis and carbohydrate fermentation （API 50 CH）. The top five LAB strains having high MM decolorization （ 55%）, namely TBSF5.8-1, TBSF2.1-1, TBSF2.1, FF4A and SF5.6 were selected to determine the optimal condition. It was found that the temperature at 30°C under facultative conditions in GPY-MM medium （0.5% glucose, 0.1% peptone, 0.1% yeast extract, 0.1% sodium acetate, 0.05% MgSO4 and 0.005% MnCl2 in MM solution at pH 6） giving a high microbial growth and MM decolorization for all five strains. It was noticed that the decolorization of MM by LAB strains might be cell growth associated. L. plantarum SF5.6 grew rapidly within one day while the other strains took 2–3 days. This L. plantarum SF5.6 could rapidly decolorize MM to 60.91% without any lag phase, and it also had the ability to remove 34.00% phenolic compounds and 15.88% color from treated palm oil mill effluent.

Effect of chemical and thermal activations on the properties of rice husk ash-based solidified wastes

Strength development, leachability and microstructure of heavy metals from the solidified waste using synthesis rice husk ash （sRHA） and lime blended at the weight ratio of 1：1 were used as binders. The heavy metal-containing sludge was used at the level of 0 wt.%, 30 wt.%, and 50 wt.% dry weight, respectively. The sample specimens with and without 1.5 wt.% of sodium silicate （SiO2/Na2O = 1.0） were cured under the ambient condition and elevated temperature curing at 50℃ for 24 hr. Experimental results showed that the introduction of sodium silicate solution and elevated temperature curing to sRHA-based solidified waste containing 30 wt.% of heavy metal sludge gave one day strength of 20 kg/cme compared to 0.9 kg/cm^2 for the control sample. XRD patterns indicated that most metal-sulfides present in the sludge were appeared in the solidified waste and SEM coupled with EDX techniques reveal these metal-sulfide particles were trapped within the lime-sRHA matrices. In addition, cumulative leaching behavior by tank test （EA NEN 7375：2004） showed that solidified waste containing up to 30 wt.% of heavy metal sludge was suitable to dispose in a secured landfill.

Enhancement of elemental mercury adsorption by silver supported material

Mercury, generally found in natural gas, is extremely hazardous. Although average mercury levels are relatively low, they are further reduced to comply with future mercury regulations,which are stringent in order to avoid releasing to the environment. Herein, vapor mercury adsorption was therefore investigated using two kinds of supports, granular activated carbon（GAC） and titanium dioxide（Ti O2）. Both supports were impregnated by silver（5 and 15 wt.%）,before testing against a commercial adsorbent（sulfur-impregnated activated carbon, SAC）. The adsorption isotherm, kinetics, and its thermodynamics of mercury adsorption were reported.The results revealed that Langmuir isotherm provided a better fit to the experimental data.Pseudo second-order was applicable to describe adsorption kinetics. The higher uniform Ag dispersion was a key factor for the higher mercury uptake. Ti O2 supported silver adsorbent showed higher mercury adsorption than the commercial one by approximately 2 times.Chemisorption of mercury onto silver active sites was confirmed by an amalgam formation found in the spent adsorbents.

A flexible conductive hybrid elastomer for high-precision stress/strain and humidity detection

Flexible and environment-responsive materials are essential for a large number of applications from artificial skin to wearable devices. The present study develops a flexible, ultra-low cost conductive hybrid elastomer(CHE), which possesses high responsive capabilities to stress/strain and humidity. CHE was composed of polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) and starch hydrogel(SH), enabling great elasticity(56 kPa),high conductivity(10^(-2)S/m) and high sensitivity to external stimuli(gauge factor of CHE under stress and strain are 0.71 and 2.22, respectively, and sensitivity to humidity is 1.2 × 10^(-6)S/m per RH%). These properties render CHE a promising candidate for artificial skin and wearable electronics applications of continuously monitoring environmental information.