Over three million dry metric tons of biosolids produced in the United States are land applied as Class B. Lime stabilization
is employed for biosolids treatment at approximately 20% of the wastewater treatment plants because it is a simple and inexpensive
process. During lime stabilization, the pH of sewage sludge is raised above 12 for pathogen inactivation and odor reduction.
Lime dose and mixing have been found to greatly reduce odor generation from lime stabilized biosolids. A better quality biosolids
product is less likely to create public opposition to land application programs. In this study, land application tests using
Class B biosolids were conducted in order to determine whether better mixing can reduce odor generation during the land application
of lime stabilized biosolids. The mixing quality of a treatment plant’s lime stabilized biosolids was improved by relocating
the lime addition point, which prolonged the mixing time and produced a better mixed biosolids product. Based on field observations
of land application, the poorly mixed biosolids were more odorous and offensive prior to incorporation. However, once incorporated
into the soil, there was no appreciable odor difference between the biosolids. Another land application study was conducted
to assess the odor of unincorporated Class A biosolids and compare it with incorporated Class A biosolids with the soil. 相似文献
The study aims to compare the detection of 16S rRNA gene of Dehalococcoides species and the microcosm study for biotransformation in predicting reductive dechlorination of chlorinated ethenes in ground water at hazardous waste sites. A total of 72 ground water samples were collected from 12 PCE or TCE contaminated sites in the United States. The samples were analyzed and used to construct microcosms in the laboratory. The results showed that the presence of Dehalococcoides DNA was well associated with dechlorination to ethene in the field. Nearly half of the wells where Dehalococcoides DNA was detected had ethene as a dechlorination end product. In comparison, for ground water samples of 16 wells where ethene was detected, ethene was produced in 11 of the corresponding microcosms. For most microcosms, during two years of incubation, dechlorination was less extensive than that observed in the field. 相似文献
To detect threats and reduce predation risk prey animals need to be alert. Early predator detection and rapid anti-predatory action increase the likelihood of survival. We investigated how foraging affects predator detection and time to take-off in blue tits (Parus caeruleus) by subjecting them to a simulated raptor attack. To investigate the impact of body posture we compared birds feeding head-down with birds feeding head-up, but could not find any effect of posture on either time to detection or time to take-off. To investigate the impact of orientation we compared birds having their side towards the attacking predator with birds having their back towards it. Predator detection, but not time to take-off, was delayed when the back was oriented towards the predator. We also investigated the impact of foraging task by comparing birds that were either not foraging, foraging on chopped mealworms, or foraging on whole ones. Foraging on chopped mealworms did not delay detection compared to nonforaging showing that foraging does not always restrict vigilance. However, detection was delayed more than 150% when the birds were foraging on whole, live mealworms, which apparently demanded much attention and handling skill. Time to take-off was affected by foraging task in the same way as detection was. We show that when studying foraging and vigilance one must include the difficulty of the foraging task and prey orientation.Communicated by P.A. Bednekoff 相似文献
Repertoire size, the number of unique song or syllable types in the repertoire, is a widely used measure of song complexity in birds, but it is difficult to calculate this exactly in species with large repertoires. A new method of repertoire size estimation applies species richness estimation procedures from community ecology, but such capture-recapture approaches have not been much tested. Here, we establish standardized sampling schemes and estimation procedures using capture-recapture models for syllable repertoires from 18 bird species, and suggest how these may be used to tackle problems of repertoire estimation. Different models, with different assumptions regarding the heterogeneity of the use of syllable types, performed best for different species with different song organizations. For most species, models assuming heterogeneous probability of occurrence of syllables (so-called detection probability) were selected due to the presence of both rare and frequent syllables. Capture-recapture estimates of syllable repertoire size from our small sample did not differ significantly from previous estimates using larger samples of count data. However, the enumeration of syllables in 15 songs yielded significantly lower estimates than previous reports. Hence, heterogeneity in detection probability of syllables should be addressed when estimating repertoire size. This is neglected using simple enumeration procedures, but is taken into account when repertoire size is estimated by appropriate capture-recapture models adjusted for species-specific song organization characteristics. We suggest that such approaches, in combination with standardized sampling, should be applied in species with potentially large repertoire size. On the other hand, in species with small repertoire size and homogenous syllable usage, enumerations may be satisfactory. Although researchers often use repertoire size as a measure of song complexity, listeners to songs are unlikely to count entire repertoires and they may rely on other cues, such as syllable detection probability.Communicated by A. Cockburn 相似文献
Objectives: In this article, we evaluate the sensitivity to cognitive load of 3 versions of the Detection Response Task method (DRT), proposed in ISO Draft Standard DIS-17488.
Methods: We present a user study with 30 participants in which we compared the sensitivity to cognitive load of visual, audio, and tactile DRT in a simulated driving environment. The amount of cognitive load was manipulated with secondary n-back tasks at 2 levels of difficulty (0-back and 1-back). We also explored whether the DRT method is least sensitive to cognitive load when the stimuli and secondary task are of the same modality. For this purpose, we used 3 forms to present the n-back task stimuli: visual, audio, and tactile. Responses to the task were always vocal. The experiment was based on a between-subject design (the DRT modalities) with 2 levels of within-subject design study (modalities and difficulty of the secondary n-back tasks). The participants' primary task in the study was to drive safely, and a second priority was to answer to DRT stimuli and perform secondary tasks.
Results: The results indicate that all 3 versions of the DRT tested were sensitive to detecting the difference in cognitive load between the reference driving period and driving and engaging in the secondary tasks. Only the visual DRT discriminated between the 0-back and 1-back conditions on mean response time. Contrary to expectations, no interaction was observed between DRT modality and the stimuli modality used for presentation of the secondary tasks.
Conclusions: None of the 3 methods of presenting DRT stimuli showed a consistent advantage in sensitivity in differentiating multiple levels of cognitive load if all response times, hit rates, and secondary task performance are considered. If only response time is considered, the visual presentation of the DRT stimulus used in this study showed some advantages. In interpreting these data, it should be noted that the methods of DRT stimulus presentation varied somewhat from the currently proposed draft ISO standard and it is possible that the relative salience level of the visual DRT stimulus influenced the findings. It is further suggested that more than 2 levels of difficulty of the n-back task should be considered for further investigation of the relative sensitivity of different DRT stimuli modalities. Parameters that indicate change in cognitive load (response time, hit rate, task performance) should be analyzed together in assessing the overall impact on the driver and not individually, in order to obtain a fuller insight of the assessed cognitive load. 相似文献
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of relative humidity (RH) and temperature on norovirus (NoV) persistence
as infectious particles on food-contact surfaces such as stainless steel and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). For this purpose, a
new method combining enzymatic digestion with molecular beacon-based NASBA targeting the ORF1-ORF2 domain was developed to
discriminate between infectious and noninfectious NoV. Stainless steel and PVC disks were contaminated with known amounts
of human NoV and kept for 56 days at 7 and 20°C at high (86% ± 4%) and low (30% ± 10%) RH. NoV retained its putative infectivity
for 56 days on PVC and for 49 days on stainless steel at 7°C and for 7 and 28 days, respectively, at low and high RH at 20°C
on both tested surfaces. These results confirm that NoV persists in an infective state on inert surfaces for long periods
of time and consequently may cause illness. The new molecular approach to detecting infectious NoV on inert surfaces may provide
valuable information for evaluating environmental surface decontamination strategies. 相似文献