Application of Pesticide Sprays to Fresh Produce: A Risk Assessment for Hepatitis A and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmonella</Emphasis>

The purpose of this study was to quantify the transfer of viral and bacterial pathogens in water used to dilute pesticides sprayed onto the surfaces of cantaloupe, iceberg lettuce, and bell peppers. The average percent transfer of bacteria was estimated to range from 0.00021 to 9.4%, while average viral transfer ranged from 0.055 to 4.2%, depending on the type of produce. Based on these values the concentrations of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and Salmonella in water necessary to achieve a 1:10,000 annual risk of infection were calculated. Under worst case scenario assumptions, in which a pesticide is applied on the same day that the produce is harvested and when maximum transfer values are used, concentrations of 1.5 × 10⁻³ CFU Salmonella or 2.7 × 10⁻⁷ MPN HAV per 100 ml of the water used for application would result in 1:10,000 annual infection risk to anyone who consumes the fresh produce. If harvesting does not occur until at least 14 days after the application, to produce the same risk of infection, the numbers of Salmonella in 100 ml of water used to dilute the pesticides will be greater by up to five orders of magnitude, while the HAV numbers will have increased by up to two orders of magnitude. Based on the reported concentrations of enteric viruses in surface and ground waters in the United States, a 1:10,000 annual risk of infection could easily be exceeded with some groundwater sources used in the United States. To reduce the risks associated with the consumption of fresh produce, water used to prepare pesticides in spray applications should be evaluated for its microbiological quality.     

Improvement of soil aggregate stability by repeated applications of organic amendments to a cultivated silty loam soil

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of repeated field applications of three urban compost amendments and one farmyard manure amendment over a 9-year period on aggregate stability in a silty loam soil initially characterized by low clay and initial organic matter contents and poor aggregate stability. Three different aggregate stability tests with increasing disruptive intensities (fast wetting > mechanical breakdown > slow wetting tests) and different disaggregation mechanisms, were used. All of the amendments, which were applied at approximately 4 Mg C ha⁻¹ every other year, increased the organic carbon content and improved the stability of the aggregates against the disruptive action of water, as determined by each of the stability tests. However, the year-to-year variations in the aggregate stability that related to factors other than the organic inputs were greater than the cumulative increase in aggregate stability relative to the control. The positive effects of the tested amendments on aggregate stability were linked to their contribution to soil organic C contents (r = 0.54 for the fast wetting test and r = 0.41-0.42 for the mechanical breakdown and slow wetting tests; p < 0.05). The addition of urban composts had a larger positive effect on aggregate stability than farmyard manure at the majority of sampling dates. The addition of biodegradable immature compost, such as municipal solid waste (MSW), improved the aggregate stability through an enhanced resistance to slaking. The addition of mature composts, such as the co-compost of sewage sludge and green wastes (GWS) or biowaste compost (BW), improved the aggregate stability by increasing interparticular cohesion. The MSW compost was the most efficient in improving aggregate stability during the first 6 years of the experiment (average improvements of +22%, +5% and +28% in the fast wetting, mechanical breakdown and slow wetting tests, respectively, compared to the control treatment); this result was likely due to the larger labile organic pool of the MSW compost that was highly effective at stimulating soil microbial activity. After the first 6 years, the two other composts, GWS and BW, became more efficient (average improvements of +25%, +61% and +33% in the fast wetting, mechanical breakdown and slow wetting tests, respectively, compared to the control treatment), which was probably linked to the greater increase in soil organic C contents. Therefore, the application of urban compost to silty soil that is susceptible to water erosion was effective at improving aggregate stability and thus could be used to enhance the resistance of soil to water erosion.     

Resistance and biosorption mechanism of silver ions by Bacillus cereus biomass

Biosorption of silver ions onto Bacillus cereus biomass was investigated. Overall kinetic experiments were performed for the determination of the necessary contact time for the attainment of equilibrium. It was found that the overall biosorption process was best described by pseudo second-order kinetic model. The crystals detected by scanning electron microscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy suggested the precipitation was a possible mechanism of biosorption. The molecular genetics of silver resistance of B. cereus biomass was also detected and illustrated by a whole cell sensor tool.     

高温状态下受热时间对膨润土物性指标的影响∗

高温状态下膨润土的物性指标变化是高放核废物深地质处置库设计的重要参数之一。通过高温状态下不同受热时间MX80钠基膨润土的比重、液塑限、自由膨胀率试验,研究了受热时间对膨润土基本物性指标的影响规律;并通过热重分析(TGA)、X衍射(XDR)、电镜扫描(SEM)试验,从微观角度对上述变化规律进行了合理解释。研究结果表明:随着受热时间的增加,膨润土的比重、液塑限、自由膨胀率在受热15～30天内急剧下降,降幅分别为2.5%、3.1%和28.3%,之后各值变化量很小;高温状态下,膨润土的矿物成分转化、结合水脱附、微观形貌改变是膨润土物性指标发生变化的根本原因,三者之间相互作用和彼此影响。     

2株苯胺降解的分离鉴定及其降解特性研究

从处理印染废水的活性污泥中分离得到2株苯胺降解菌,从菌落、细胞形态、生理生化及16S rRNA基因扩增测序等方面对2株菌进行了鉴定,并比较分析2株菌在好氧与缺氧条件下的苯胺降解、偶氮染料脱色及苯胺脱氨氧化酶基因tdnQ和黄素还原酶基因(fre)的携带情况.结果表明,2株菌属于Pseudomonas属和Shewanella属,分别命名为Pseudomonas sp.AN30和Shewanella sp.DN425.AN30菌株在振荡好氧条件下72h内对250mg/L苯胺的降解率为96.1%,DN425菌株的降解率为13.8%;在静置缺氧条件下AN30菌株的苯胺降解率为39.6%,DN425菌株的降解率仅为8.6%.DN425菌株在静置缺氧条件下4h内可将初始浓度为50 mg/L的偶氮染料酸性大红彻底脱色,而AN30菌株对酸性大红不具有脱色能力.以总DNA为模板,分别用tdnQ基因和fre基因特异性引物进行扩增,2株菌均能扩增出大小分别为380bp和630bp左右的目标条带,显示2菌株均携带有苯胺脱氨氧化酶基因和黄素还原酶基因.     

锅炉监控仪表的改进与实践

在原有"锅炉高低水位报警器"的基础上,研制出锅炉智能监控仪表.该仪表系统实现了自动操作、失误防护、报警及连锁保护等功能,对锅炉各类事故有积极的预防作用.     

土壤对铜和镉的静态吸附研究

通过静态吸附实验研究了德兴矿区大坞河下游下沽口土壤对铜和镉的吸附特点并采用Freundlich等温吸附方程进行拟合,探讨了pH值变化对铜和镉在土壤样品中分配系数的影响。结果表明：土壤铜和镉的吸附特性均符合Freundlich等温吸附方程,得到的金属铜和镉的Kf值分别为354．08、34．132;随着pH值的升高,铜和镉在土壤中的分配系数逐步增大,随后降低,pH值与分配系数关系曲线为单峰曲线。     

Effects of compression ratio,swirl augmentation techniques and ethanol addition on the combustion of CNG–biodiesel in a dual-fuel engine

The diminishing resources and continuously increasing cost of petroleum in association with their alarming pollution levels from diesel engines has led to an interest in finding alternative fuels to diesel. Emission control and engine efficiency are two of the most important parameters in current engine design. The impending introduction of emission standards such as Euro IV and Euro V has forced research towards developing new technologies for combating engine emissions. This paper examines the effects of compression ratio, swirl augmentation techniques and ethanol addition on the combustion of compressed natural gas (CNG) blended with Honge oil methyl esters (HOME) in a dual fuel engine. The present results show that the combustion of HOME and 15% ethanol blend with CNG induction in a dual-fuel engine operated in optimized parameters at an injection timing of 27° Before Top Dead Centre and a compression ratio of 17.5 resulted in acceptable combustion emissions and improved brake thermal efficiencies. The implementation of swirl augmentation techniques increased brake thermal efficiencies (BTEs) and considerably reduced combustion emissions such as smoke, HC, CO and NO_x. The addition of ethanol also increased BTEs. However, at more than 15% of ethanol in HOME, NO_x emissions increased dramatically.     

Fuel efficiency improvement of a dual-fuel engine fuelled with Honge oil methyl ester (HOME)–bioethanol and producer gas

Renewable and alternative fuels have numerous advantages compared with fossil fuels as they are renewable and biodegradable and provide food and energy security and foreign exchange savings besides addressing environmental concerns and socio-economic issues (Yaliwal et al. 2013. International Journal of Sustainable Engineering, doi:10.1080/19397038.2013.801530. Zhu et al. 2011a, Applied Thermal Engineering 31 (14–15): 2271–2278; Zhu et al. 2011b, Fuel 90: 1743-1750; Banapurmath, Tewari, and Hosmath 2008, Renewable Energy 33: 2007-2018; Banapurmath 2009, “Performance, Combustion and Emission Characteristics of a Single Cylinder Direct Injection CI Engine Operated on Dual Fuel Mode Using Honge Oil and Producer Gas.” PhD thesis, 1–195; Banapurmath et al. 2011, Waste and Biomass Valorization 2: 1–11). In this context, the main objective of the present work is to study methods of biofuel production such as Honge oil methyl ester (HOME) using a conventional transesterification process and bioethanol from the Calliandra calothyrsus shrub using a new pretreatment method known as hydrothermal explosion. Further, experimental investigations were carried out on a single-cylinder, four-stroke, direct-injection stationary diesel engine operating in a dual-fuel mode using HOME, bioethanol and producer gas combinations to determine its performance, combustion and emission characteristics. The performance of the dual-fuel engine was analyzed at optimized engine conditions. HOME-Bioethanol (BE) blends such as HOME+ 5% bioethanol (BE5), HOME+ 10% bioethanol (BE10) and HOME+ 15% bioethanol (BE15) were prepared by adding bioethanol to HOME (on volume basis) in different proportions ranging from 5 to 15% with an increment of 5%. In this present work, the effect of different BE blends on the performance of producer gas fuelled dual fuel engine was studied. Experimental investigation on dual fuel engine using BE5-Producer gas operation resulted in up to 4–9% increased brake thermal efficiency with decreased hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and marginally increased nitric oxide (NOx) emission levels compared to HOME-Producer gas, BE10-producer gas and BE15-producer gas mode of operation. However, it was observed that, the overall performance of BE-producer gas operation was found to be lower compared to diesel-producer gas operation.     

Iron improving bio-char derived from microalgae on removal of tetracycline from aqueous system

Novel magnetic carbonaceous bio-char was hydrothermal prepared from microalgae under different loadings of iron and its structures and surface chemistry were characterized with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm (BET). The morphology of bio-char changed from sheet to particle as iron loading increased and its surface area also increased. When 3.0 g of dried microalgae and 6.0 mmol iron salt ((NH₄)₂SO₄·FeSO₄·6H₂O) were mixed and treated, the obtained bio-char possessing the highest amount of oxygen-containing functional groups resulted in the best adsorption performance on tetracycline (TC). This adsorption process was fitted to Langmuir adsorption isotherm and the maximum adsorption capacity was 95.86 mg/g, which is higher than other bio-char reported. The iron loading contributed to the higher adsorption capacity of bio-char, which may be due to three factors, the high surface area, more hydrogen bonding, and bridging effects of the structural Fe for TC. Our data suggest that bio-char may have more important role in stabilization of pollutants in the environment.