Field Testing the Riparian Ecosystem Management Model on a Riparian Buffer in the North Carolina Upper Coastal Plain

The riparian ecosystem management model (REMM) was field tested using five years (2005‐2009) of measured hydrologic and water quality data on a riparian buffer located in the Tar‐Pamlico River Basin, North Carolina. The buffer site received NO₃‐N loading from an agricultural field that was fertilized with inorganic fertilizer. Field results showed the buffer reduced groundwater NO₃‐N concentration moving to the stream over a five‐year period. REMM was calibrated hydrologically using daily field‐measured water table depths (WTDs), and with monthly NO₃‐N concentrations in groundwater wells. Results showed simulated WTDs and NO₃‐N concentrations in good agreement with measured values. The mean absolute error and Willmott's index of agreement for WTDs varied from 13‐45 cm and 0.72‐0.92, respectively, while the root mean square error and Willmott's index of agreement for NO₃‐N concentrations ranged from 1.04‐5.92 mg/l and 0.1‐0.86, respectively, over the five‐year period. REMM predicted plant nitrogen (N) uptake and denitrification were within ranges reported in other riparian buffer field studies. The calibrated and validated REMM was used to simulate 33 years of buffer performance at the site. Results showed that on average the buffer reduced NO₃‐N concentrations from 12 mg/l at the field edge to 0.7 mg/l at the stream edge over the simulation period, while the total N and NO₃‐N load reductions from the field edge to the stream were 77 and 82%, respectively.     

Potential of Nassarius nitidus for monitoring organotin pollution in the lagoon of Bizerta （northern Tunisia）

Imposex and butyltin burden were assessed in Nassarius nitidus, Bolinus brandaris and Hexaplex trunculus collected at five stations in the Bizerta lagoon. Biological analysis showed that imposex followed type (a) in N nitidus (distal evolution), against type (d) in the two muricids (proximal evolution). Imposex indices were higher in sites located nearby sources of tributyltin and N nitidus was the least affected species of the five sites, followed by B. brandaris and H. trunculus. Butyltin analysis showed lower accumulation in N nitidus followed by H. trunculus and B. brandaris. This study has allowed the gathering of data on imposex in a snail studied for the first time in Tunisia (N. nitidus). It suggests the possibility of using such snail as a complementary species for organotin monitoring programs in the Mediterranean and further confirmed that H. trunculus is the most suitable species for such investigations.     

Carbon paste electrode modified with chromium thiopental for the potentiometric flow injection analysis of chromium (III)

A chemically modified carbon paste electrode for chromium (III) based on the formation of ion-association complex of chromium with 5-ethyl-6-oxo-5-pentan-2-yl-sulfanyl-pyrimidin-4-olate (thiopental, THP) as electroactive ion-exchanger (Cr-THP) was prepared and investigated. The electrode has a linear dynamic range of 1.7?×?10^?6–1.3?×?10^?2?mol?L^?1, with a Nernstian slope of 19.6?±?0.5?mV per decade and a detection limit of 9.0?×?10^?7?mol?L^?1. It has a fast response time of <15?s and can be used for at least 7 weeks without any considerable divergence in potential. The proposed sensor revealed good selectivity for Cr(III) over a wide variety of mono-, di-, and trivalent cations and could be used in the pH range of 2.3–6.5. The proposed electrode was used in batch measurements and in flow injection analysis. The Cr-CMCPE was successfully applied for the determination of Cr(III) in real samples (wastewater of hot dip galvanizing unit and alloys). The present electrode was also used as an indicator electrode in potentiometric titration of Cr(III). The results were highly satisfactory.     

Biodegradation of imidacloprid in liquid media by an isolated wastewater fungus Aspergillus terreus YESM3

In the present study, a new fungal strain capable of imidacloprid degradation was isolated from agricultural wastewater drain. The fungal strain of YESM3 was identified as Aspergillus terreus based on ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 gene sequence by PCR amplification of a 500 bp sequence. Screening of A. terreus YESM3 to the insecticide imidacloprid tolerance was achieved by growing fungus in Czapek Dox agar for 6 days at 28°C. High values (1.13 and 0.94 cm cm^?1) of tolerance index (TI) were recorded at 25 and 50 mg L^?1 of imidacloprid, respectively in the presence and absence of sucrose. However, at 400 mg L^?1 the fungus did not grow. Effects of the imidacloprid concentration, pH, and inoculum size on the biodegradation percentage were tested using Box–Behnken statistical design and the biodegradation was monitored by HPLC analysis at different time intervals. Box–Behnken results indicated that optimal conditions for biodegradation were at pH 4 and two fungal discs (10 mm diameter) in the presence of 61.2 mg L^?1 of imidacloprid. A. terreus YESM3 strain was capable of degrading 85% of imidacloprid 25 mg L^?1 in Czapek Dox broth medium at pH 4 and 28°C for 6 days under static conditions. In addition, after 20 days of inoculation, biodegradation recorded 96.23% of 25 mg L^?1 imidacloprid. Degradation kinetics showed that the imidacloprid followed the first order kinetics with half-life (t₅₀) of 1.532 day. Intermediate product identified as 6-chloronicotinic acid (6CNA) as one of the major metabolites during degradation of imidacloprid by using HPLC. Thus, A. terreus YESM3 showed a potential to reduce pollution by pesticides and toxicity in the effected environment. However, further studies should be conducted to understand the biodegradation mechanism of this pesticide in liquid media.     

Evaluation of simulated strategies for reducing nitrate-nitrogen losses through subsurface drainage systems

The nitrates (NO(3)-N) lost through subsurface drainage in the Midwest often exceed concentrations that cause deleterious effects on the receiving streams and lead to hypoxic conditions in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The use of drainage and water quality models along with observed data analysis may provide new insight into the water and nutrient balance in drained agricultural lands and enable evaluation of appropriate measures for reducing NO(3)-N losses. DRAINMOD-NII, a carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) simulation model, was field tested for the high organic matter Drummer soil in Indiana and used to predict the effects of fertilizer application rate and drainage water management (DWM) on NO-N losses through subsurface drainage. The model was calibrated and validated for continuous corn (Zea mays L.) (CC) and corn-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] (CS) rotation treatments separately using 7 yr of drain flow and NO(3)-N concentration data. Among the treatments, the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of the monthly NO(3)-N loss predictions ranged from 0.30 to 0.86, and the percent error varied from -19 to 9%. The medians of the observed and predicted monthly NO(3)-N losses were not significantly different. When the fertilizer application rate was reduced ~20%, the predicted NO(3)-N losses in drain flow from the CC treatments was reduced 17% (95% confidence interval [CI], 11-25), while losses from the CS treatment were reduced by 10% (95% CI, 1-15). With DWM, the predicted average annual drain flow was reduced by about 56% (95% CI, 49-67), while the average annual NO(3)-N losses through drain flow were reduced by about 46% (95% CI, 32-57) for both tested crop rotations. However, the simulated NO(3)-N losses in surface runoff increased by about 3 to 4 kg ha(-1) with DWM. For the simulated conditions at the study site, implementing DWM along with reduced fertilizer application rates would be the best strategy to achieve the highest NO(3)-N loss reductions to surface water. The suggested best strategies would reduce the NO(3)-N losses to surface water by 38% (95% CI, 29-46) for the CC treatments and by 32% (95% CI, 23-40) for the CS treatments.     

Oxidation of natural and synthetic hormones by the horseradish peroxidase enzyme in wastewater

Steroid estrogens, including both natural estrogens (e.g., estrone - E1; 17beta-estradiol - E2; and estriol - E3) and synthetic estrogens (e.g., 17alpha-ethinylestradiol - EE2), are known as endocrine-disrupting compounds. The objective of this research was to evaluate the feasibility of the enzymatic oxidation of estrogens and to optimize this process in municipal wastewater contaminated with steroid estrogens using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and hydrogen peroxide. An initial HRP activity of 0.02 U ml(-1) was sufficient to completely remove EE2 from the synthetic solution, although greater HRP doses (up to 0.06 U ml(-1)) were required to remove E1, E2 and E3. The optimal molar peroxide-to-substrate ratio was determined to be approximately 0.45. Based on the Michaelis-Menten kinetics, the HRP had an increasing reactivity with E1, E3, E2, and EE2, in increasing order. In real activated sludge process effluent, an HRP dose of 8-10 U ml(-1) was required to completely remove all of the studied estrogens, while only 0.032 U ml(-1) of HRP was necessary to treat synthetic water containing the same estrogen concentrations.     

Investigating the Interdependence Between Non-Hydroelectric Renewable Energy,Agricultural Value Added,and Arable Land Use in Argentina

We examine the dynamic relationships between per capita carbon dioxide emissions, real gross domestic product (GDP), non-hydroelectric renewable energy (NHRE) consumption, agricultural value added (AVA), and agricultural land (AGRL) use for the case of Argentina over the period 1980–2013 by employing the autoregressive distributed lag bound approach to cointegration and Granger causality tests. The Fisher statistics of the Wald test are examined, and the existence of a long-run cointegration between variables is proved. There are long-run bidirectional causalities between all considered variables. The short-run Granger causality suggests bidirectional causality between AVA and agricultural land use, unidirectional causalities running from AGRL to NHRE and from NHRE to AVA. Long-run elasticity estimates suggest that increasing AGRL reduces carbon emissions; increasing AVA increases GDP and reduces pollution, AGRL, and NHRE; and increasing NHRE reduces AVA and AGRL. Thus, it seems that agriculture and renewable energy are substitute activities and compete for land use. We recommend that Argentina should continue to encourage agricultural production. The substitutability between agricultural and non-hydroelectric renewable energy productions, and their competition for agricultural land use, should be at least reduced or even stopped by encouraging research and development in second-generation (or even in third-generation) biofuel production and in new technologies for renewable energy and for agriculture more efficient in land use.

     

Quantification of steroid sex hormones using solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

In this study, the occurrence of trace amounts of natural and synthetic steroid estrogens in the aquatic environment was studied using liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray mass spectrometry, following solid-phase extraction (SPE). The SPE was performed with C18 and NH2 cartridges. The first objective was to develop a reliable method for analyzing steroid estrogens (resulting from human and animal excretions) in different matrices. The method developed was then applied to quantify the occurrence of natural and synthetic hormones (estrone [E1], 17beta-estradiol [betaE2], 17alpha-estradiol [alphaE2], estriol [E3], and 17alpha-ethinylestradiol [EE2]) in environmental samples in surface water and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent and effluent. In the WWTP influents, betaE2, alphaE2, and E3 were identified as ranging up to 72.6 ng/L in WWTP influent and to 16 ng/L in WWTP effluent. Analysis o f surface wa ter sampled upstream from the WWTP revealed the presence of all five estrogens, at levels up to 19.8 ng/L. These concentrations of estrogens pose an issue for large and small communities, because they are higher than the recommended guidelines for estrogen-active compounds and because a lot of communities use surface water as drinking-water sources.     

An Experimental Study of Heat Pipe Performance Using Nanofluids

Heat pipe cooling is widely used in computer processors. Advances in microprocessor technology have resulted in reduced heat transfer surface area. Maintaining an efficient cooling process is therefore challenging. The main goal of this experimental study is to perform a parametric study on heat pipe performance using nanofluids. Nanofluids of 1 and 3 vol% of alumina nanoparticles of 20–50 nm diameters in deionized water versus deionized water as a base fluid were considered in the present study. The nanofluids are prepared in our laboratory using two-step method. The nanofluids thermal properties are measured to confirm the properties enhancement that could indicate a corresponding performance enhancement of the heat pipe. A 10 mm inner diameter, 200 mm long brass tube with 50 mm long evaporator, and 50 mm long water cooled condenser were used. Heat pipe wall temperature is reduced with nanofluids as is the temperature difference between the evaporator and condenser. The thermal diffusivity of the nanofluids is increased by 10%. The pipe pressure in case of deionized water was higher than the corresponding one for the nanofluids by 20–32%.