Reproductive Success of Marginal Populations of Dactylorhiza maculata (L.) Soó (Orchidaceae)

Russian Journal of Ecology - Populations at the border of ranges are considered more vulnerable than those in the center. However, some recent reviews contradict this hypothesis. We have studied...     

The Arbuscules Formation Intensity Decreased in Mycorrhizal Alien Plants of Belarusian Polesia

Russian Journal of Ecology - Abstract—We tested a hypothesis about the different abilities of alien and native plants to form arbuscular mycorrhizae. The studies were carried out in the...     

Rate-temperature responses in scyphozoan medusae and polyps

The effects of temperature on oxygen consumption and spontaneous rhythmic activity have been investigated in various stages of the life histories of 3 species of jellyfish from the Chesapeake Bay, USA. All 3 species clearly show the ability to acclimate positively to temperature change. Thermal sensitivity of metabolism in the winter medusa Cyanea capillata fulva is fairly low at temperature intervals which are experienced in nature. Polyps of the two summer medusae, Chrysaora quinquecirrha and Aurelia aurita, show reduced metabolic sensitivity at temperatures normally accompanying high developmental activity and the onset of strobilation.     

基于AIS轨迹修复的船舶排放空间表征改进方法与应用

基于船舶自动识别系统（Automatic Identification System,AIS）数据表征船舶排放是目前船舶排放空间表征的主流方法,但AIS船舶轨迹点缺失会造成船舶排放量低估和船舶空间分布表征错误,进而影响船舶排放控制区的划分.为改进船舶排放空间表征,本研究以2013年广东省AIS船舶数据为例,采用基于时间和经纬度的三次样条方法对AIS船舶轨迹进行修复,结合动力法计算船舶排放,分析对比AIS轨迹修复前后船舶排放表征的差异,并利用空气质量模型和卫星观测评估AIS轨迹修复对船舶排放表征和广东沿海空气质量模拟的改进效果.结果表明：轨迹修复后广东省海域船舶轨迹点总数由4685773个增至5746664个,船舶NO_x排放量增加了0.6%.对于轨迹点与排放缺失集中的粤东海域,轨迹修复后船舶轨迹点数增加了88%,NO_x排放量在广东省船舶排放量的占比提升至22%,特别是在粤东重点修复海域NO_x排放量增加了2.7倍.原始轨迹在广东省海域较为稀疏,在粤东海域有明显轨迹缺失;轨迹修复后广东省海域船舶轨迹更为密集,粤东海域船舶轨迹得以补充,船舶排放空间分布更连贯.对比模拟结果与卫星观测结果,轨迹修复后粤东重点修复海域船舶模拟浓度与观测浓度的偏差由51%减至6%,总体上船舶排放模拟结果更接近卫星观测结果.     

‘Emulsion locks’ for the containment of hydrocarbons during surfactant flushing

Reversible double water in oil in water (W/O/W) emulsions were developed to contain subsurface hydrocarbon spills during their remediation using surfactant flushing. Double emulsions were prepared by emulsifying CaCl₂ solutions in canola oil, and subsequently by emulsifying the W/O emulsions in aqueous sodium alginate solutions. The formation of double emulsions was confirmed with confocal and optical microscopy. The double emulsions reversed and gelled when mixed with the surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cocamidopropyl betaine (CPB). Gels can act as ‘emulsion locks’ to prevent spreading of the hydrocarbon plume from the areas treated with surfactant flushing, as shown in sand column tests. Shear rheology was used to quantify the viscoelastic moduli increase (gelation) upon mixing the double emulsion with SDS and CPB. SDS was more effective than CPB in gelling the double emulsions. CPB and SDS could adsorb at the interface between water and model hydrocarbons (toluene and motor oil), lowering the interfacial tension and rigidifying the interface (as shown with a Langmuir trough). Bottle tests and optical microscopy showed that SDS and CPB produced W/O and O/W emulsions, with either toluene or motor oil and water. The emulsification of motor oil and toluene in water with SDS and CPB facilitated their flow through sand columns and their recovery. Toluene recovery from sand columns was quantitated using Gas-Chromatography Mass-Spectroscopy (GC-MS). The data show that SDS and CPB can be used both for surfactant flushing and to trigger the gelation of ‘emulsion locks’. Ethanol also gelled the emulsions at 100 mL/L.     

Kitchen waste valorization through a mild-temperature pretreatment to enhance biogas production and fermentability: Kinetics study in mesophilic and thermophilic regimen

Biowaste valorization through anaerobic digestion is an attractive option to achieve both climate protection goals and renewable energy production. In this paper, a complete set of batch trials was carried out on kitchen waste to investigate the effects of mild thermal pretreatment, temperature regimen and substrate/inoculum ratio. Thermal pretreatment was effective in the solubilisation of macromolecular fractions, particularly carbohydrates. The ability of the theoretical methodologies in estimating hydrogen and methane yields of complex substrates was evaluated by comparing the experimental results with the theoretical values. Despite the single batch configuration, a significant initial hydrogen production was observed, prior to methane yield. Main pretreatment effect was the gain in hydrogen production; the extent was highly variable according to the other parameters values. High hydrogen yields, up to 113 mL H2/g VSfed, were related to the prompt transformation of soluble sugars. Thermophilic regimen resulted, as expected, in faster digestions (up to 78 mL CH₄/gVS/day) and sorted out pH inhibition. The relatively low methane yields (342–398 mL CH₄/g VS_fed) were the result of the consistent lignocellulosic content and low lipid content. Thermal pretreatment proved to be a promising option for the enhancement of hydrogen production in food waste dark fermentation.     

Preparation of solar-enhanced AlZnO@carbon nano-substrates for remediation of textile wastewaters

Photoactive aluminum doped ZnO(AlZnO) was synthesized by sol-gel method.After that,AlZnO photocatalyst was deposited on five carbon-based materials(CBMs) using ultrasonic route followed by solid-state mixing using ball mill.The CBMs used were poly aniline(PANI),carbon nitride(CN),carbon nanotubes(CNT),graphene(G),and carbon nanofibers(CNF).The crystal phases,elemental compositions,morphological,and optical properties of the AlZnO@CBMs composites were investigated.Experimental results revealed that two of AlZnO@CBMs composites exhibited superior bleaching efficiency(100% removal) and photocatalytic stability(three cycles) for 50 μmol/L Methylene Blue(MB) contaminated water after 60 min irradiation in visible light at pH 6.5,0.7% H_2O_2,and 5 g/L inorganic salts.Under optimum conditions,AlZnO@CBMs nanocomposites were employed for the treatment of mixed dyestuffs composed of MB,Methyl Orange(MO),Astrazone Blue FRR(BB 69),and Rhodamine B(RhB) dyes under dark,ultraviolet,visible,and direct sunlight.For mixed dyestuffs,the AlZnO@G achieved the highest dye sorption capacity(60.91 μmol dye stuffs/g) with kinetic rate 8.22 × 10~(-3) min~(-1) in 90 min via multi-layer physisorption(Freundlich isotherm) on graphene sheet.In additions,AlZnO@CN offered the highest photo-kinetic rate(K_(photo)) of～54.1 × 10~(-3) min~(-1)(93.8% after 60 min) under direct sunlight.Furthermore,the selective radical trapping experiment confirmed that the holes and oxidative superoxide radicals are crucial on dyes photodegradation pathway.Owing to their superior performance,AlZnO@G and AlZnO@CN nanocomposites can offer an effective in-situ solar-assisted adsorption/photocatalytic remediation of textile wastewater effluents.