Livelihood vulnerability to climate change in the mountains of Northern Vietnam: comparing the Hmong and the Dzao ethnic minority populations

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Livelihoods of ethnic minority populations living in the mountains of Northern Vietnam are highly vulnerable to climate-induced natural hazards....     

Diversity of antibiotic resistance genes and encoding ribosomal protection proteins gene in livestock waste polluted environment

The rapid development and increase of antibiotic resistance are global phenomena resulting from the extensive use of antibiotics in human clinics and animal feeding operations. Antibiotics can promote the occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), which can be transferred horizontally to humans and animals through water and the food chain. In this study, the presence and abundance of ARGs in livestock waste was monitored by quantitative PCR. A diverse set of bacteria and tetracycline resistance genes encoding ribosomal protection proteins (RPPs) from three livestock farms and a river were analyzed through denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The abundance of sul(I) was 10³ to 10⁵ orders of magnitude higher than that of sul(II). Among 11 tet-ARGs, the most abundant was tet(O). The results regarding bacterial diversity indicated that the presence of antibiotics might have an evident impact on bacterial diversity at every site, particularly at the investigated swine producer. The effect of livestock waste on the bacterial diversity of soil was stronger than that of water. Furthermore, a sequencing analysis showed that tet(M) exhibited two genotypes, while the other RPPs-encoding genes exhibited at least three genotypes. This study showed that various ARGs and RPPs-encoding genes are particularly widespread among livestock.     

Effects of climate variables on the transmission of COVID-19: a systematic review of 62 ecological studies

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was initially discovered at the end of 2019 in Wuhan City in China and has caused one of the...     

Metabolic uncoupler, 3,3′,4′,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide addition for sludge reduction and fouling control in a gravity-driven membrane bioreactor

• Effects of metabolic uncoupler TCS on the performances of GDMBR were evaluated. • Sludge EPS reduced and transformed into dissolved SMP when TCS was added. • Appropriate TCS increased the permeability and reduced cake layer fouling. • High dosage aggravated fouling due to compact cake layer with low bio-activity. The gravity-driven membrane bioreactor (MBR)system is promising for decentralized sewage treatment because of its low energy consumption and maintenance requirements. However, the growing sludge not only increases membrane fouling, but also augments operational complexities (sludge discharge). We added the metabolic uncoupler 3,3′,4′,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide (TCS) to the system to deal with the mentioned issues. Based on the results, TCS addition effectively decreased sludge ATP and sludge yield (reduced by 50%). Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS; proteins and polysaccharides) decreased with the addition of TCS and were transformed into dissolved soluble microbial products (SMPs) in the bulk solution, leading to the break of sludge flocs into small fragments. Permeability was increased by more than two times, reaching 60–70 L/m²/h bar when 10–30 mg/L TCS were added, because of the reduced suspended sludge and the formation of a thin cake layer with low EPS levels. Resistance analyses confirmed that appropriate dosages of TCS primarily decreased the cake layer and hydraulically reversible resistances. Permeability decreased at high dosage (50 mg/L) due to the release of excess sludge fragments and SMP into the supernatant, with a thin but more compact fouling layer with low bioactivity developing on the membrane surface, causing higher cake layer and pore blocking resistances. Our study provides a fundamental understanding of how a metabolic uncoupler affects the sludge and bio-fouling layers at different dosages, with practical relevance for in situ sludge reduction and membrane fouling alleviation in MBR systems.     

多层次灰色综合评价法在企业清洁生产方案研选中的应用

针对国内清洁生产方案在选择过程中存在的主观性和不确定性,结合清洁生产审核中的实际问题,将层次分析法的思想融入灰色关联度分析法中,并结合某电镀厂筛选清洁生产方案的案例,对多层次灰色综合评价法模型的求解进行验证。通过验证证实了多层次灰色综合评价法能够解决多准则多方案选择过程中主观因素影响过大的问题,为清洁生产多方案的优选问题提供了科学合理的研究方法。     

Responses of protists with different feeding habits to the changes of activated sludge conditions: A study based on biomass data

Changes of protists, which were categorized into different functional groups primarily according to their feeding habits, in two full-scale municipal wastewater treatment systems experiencing sludge bulking were investigated over a period of 14 months. Protist biomass represented 3.7% to 5.2% of total biomass on average under normal sludge conditions, and the percentage increased significantly (p < 0.05) under sludge bulking conditions. The biomass of Chilodonella spp., capable of eating filamentous bacteria, tended to decrease in both systems when sludge bulking occurred, showing that the abnormal growth of filamentous bacteria did not lead to a biomass bloom of this group of protists. On the other hand, the bactivorous protists represented more than 96% of total protist biomass, and the biomass of this group, particularly the attached ciliates, increased significantly (p < 0.05) when sludge bulking occurred. The significant increase of the attached ciliates may have possibly facilitated the growth of filamentous bacteria through selectively preying on non-filamentous bacteria and further exacerbated sludge bulking. The redundancy analysis and correlation analysis results showed that the biomass changes of the attached ciliates were primarily related to the sludge volume index and to some extent related to five-day biochemical oxygen demand loading and hydraulic retention time.     

纳米TiO_2纤维的制备及其光催化降解甲醛研究

以胶原纤维为模板制备纳米TiO2纤维用于光助催化降解甲醛气体,用扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)和N2吸附-脱附技术对纳米TiO2纤维进行了表征。结果表明,纳米TiO2纤维的比表面积为11.33 m2/g,晶型为锐钛矿型。在相同催化反应条件下纳米TiO2纤维对甲醛气体的催化降解率与商品纳米TiO(2Degussa P25)催化剂相当。纳米TiO2纤维的用量、甲醛气体初始浓度是影响催化效果的两个因素。当甲醛气体初始浓度为0.270 mg/m3,相对湿度为38%,气体流速0.1 L/min,纳米TiO2纤维用量为1.0 g时,甲醛的降解率达到96%。因此,纳米TiO2纤维可用于室内甲醛气体的催化降解。     

Risk assessment of Giardia in rivers of southern China based on continuous monitoring

The occurrence and risks of Giardia in China have been unclear to date, which has made it difficult to properly manage source water as well as to create reasonable drinking water standards. The levels of Giardia in river networks of several cities in Zhejiang Province, China were found to be in the range of 0-5 oocysts/10 L in the rainy season in 2008. The mortality due to Giardia infection for people in this region was calculated to be from 0 to 1.95 × 10^-8 persons using a conditional probability equation. Based on multiple unboiled water intake routes, the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to Giardia infection for people who consumed conventionally treated water was 0.625 (95% CI: 0.137-2.05) per 10⁵ persons, with the symptom of hospitalization making the highest contribution to total DALYs (0.56 per 10⁵ persons; 95% CI: 0.122-1.84). The DALYs decreased to 0.425 (95% CI: 0.137-2.05) per 10⁵ persons per year for those consuming water treated with advanced technology. These values were lower than the acceptable risk (1.97 × 10^-5 DALYs per year). This study revealed the risk of Giardia infection to the people in river networks of Zhejiang Province for the first time, and provides a method to evaluate the risk of Giardia infection. The results are useful for the modification of drinking water quality standards based on cost-benefit analysis.     

原油加热炉炉管剩余寿命评估

根据加热炉炉管温度分布,提出了加热炉炉管剩余寿命评估方法:即炉管蠕变损伤后剩余寿命的评估和腐蚀损伤后剩余寿命的评估,采用此方法对在用加热炉进行了评估,并对评价结果进行了验证.