Characteristics of culturable endophytic bacteria of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge with tumor roots北大核心CSCD

Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge with tumor roots was discovered, and the endophytic bacteria that were isolated from the tumor roots were purified and identified. This paper aimed to study the characteristics of endophytic bacteria. The CAS detection plate, Salkowski colorimetry, phosphate solubilizing circle, and molybdenum antimony spectrophotometry were used to analyze endophytic bacteria ability, which produced siderophores, secreted indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and dissolved phosphorus. Strains were isolated from the tumor roots through morphological and molecular identification, and they were named XSB1-XSB9, of which 6 strains belonged to Bacillus sp., 2 strains belonged to Brevibacillus sp., and 1 strain belonged to Pseudomonas sp. All 9 strains produced siderophores; strains XSB3, XSB4, XSB8, and XSB9 were extremely high yielding, and strains XSB5 and XSB6 were high yielding. The strains with high yields were XSB3, XSB4, XSB5, XSB6, XSB8, and XSB9 and accounted for 66.7% of the tested strains. Nine strains secreted IAA; the concentration of IAA secreted by the strains that contained tryptophan was between 15-50 mg/L, and the concentration of IAA secreted by the one strain without tryptophan was between 10-35 mg/L. The IAA ability of the XSB2, XSB3, XSB4, XSB5, and XSB9 strains were significantly different (P < 0.05) after adding tryptophan. These results indicate that the synthesis of IAA may be the tryptophan synthesis pathway where tryptophan is used as a precursor. All 9 strains had some ability to dissolve phosphorus. The concentration of phosphate in the solubilizing strains, XSB1, XSB2, XSB4, and XSB5, were significantly higher than that in the other strains (P < 0.01), and the concentration of phosphate solubilizing was between 50-90 mg/L; the ability to dissolve phosphate was increased by 19-29 times. The XSB4 and XSB5 strains, which produced siderophores, secreted IAA and had a strong capacity to dissolve phosphorus, may be candidate strains for promoting growth. This research provides the foundation for the development and utilization of rhizosphere microbes to understand the resistance mechanisms and cultivation level of X. sorbifolia. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

Fine root decomposition and nutrient release in Toona sinensis plantation under the reconstruction mode of low-efficiency cypress forest gaps北大核心CSCD

Fine root decomposition is an important way in which nutrients are returned to plantation soil; thus, further study of this process will be helpful for understanding material cycling in forest ecosystems. We investigated a Toona sinensis plantation in the central Sichuan hilly region using litter bags containing T. sinensis fine roots to evaluate the dynamics of fine root decomposition and nutrient release for one year in forest gaps of 50 m2 (L1), 100 m2 (L2), and 150 m2 (L3). The results showed that T. sinensis fine root decomposition was fastest in the first 90 days. As time passed, the decomposition rate slowed. One year later, the residue rate was 75.44%, 73.92%, and 72.07%, respectively. The fine root decomposition rate of L3 was greater than that of L2, which was greater than that of L1. During fine root decomposition, the dynamics of the fine root nutrient concentrations changed. C, P, and K concentrations of the fine roots declined in forest gaps, while N, Ca, and Mg concentrations increased overall in the fine roots. In conclusion, forest gaps had effects on the fine root decomposition and nutrient release of T. sinensis, and different sized forest gaps produced different results. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

Effects of a lead- and cadmium-resistant fungal strain on the absorption of heavy metals by Vetiveria zizanioides北大核心CSCD

A two-factor randomized complete block experiment was used to explore the remediation by a plant-microorganism combination on soils contaminated by lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd). Factor A was the amount of fungi, for which four values were considered, namely, 0, 1, 3, and 5 g. Factor B was the level of contamination by lead and cadmium, for which six values were considered, namely, Cd0Pb0, Cd10Pb400, Cd20Pb600, Cd30Pb800, Cd50Pb1200, and Cd80Pb1800 (data in units of mg/ kg). The results showed that the resistant fungi promoted the growth of vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides). At weights of 1, 3, and 5 g, the resistant fungi increased the biomass of vetiver by 41.9%, 74.9%, and 71.7% respectively. The resistant fungi stimulated the absorption of lead and cadmium by both the aerial and underground parts of vetiver. In the presence of 80 mg/kg of Cd2+ and 1 800 mg/kg of Pb2+, the contents of lead in the aerial parts of vetiver were increased by 120.6%, 265.4%, and 242.9%, while the lead content in the underground parts were increased by 110.3%, 278.2%, and 266.2%, after the addition of 1 g, 3 g, and 5 g of fungi, respectively. The content of cadmium in the aerial parts increased by 113.2%, 238.3%, and 217.3%, while the content of cadmium in the underground parts increased by 103.1%, 298.8%, and 274.4%, after the addition of 1 g, 3 g, and 5 g of fungi, respectively. The addition of fungi strengthened the effect of V. zizanioides to remediate soils contaminated by lead and cadmium, and the remediation after the addition of 3 g of fungi was better than that after treatment with 1 g and 5 g of fungi. The combination of resistant fungi and the heavy metal enrichment plant, vetiver, under different concentrations of lead and cadmium showed that the fungi had a significant effect on the remediation of soils contaminated by lead and cadmium. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

Projecting the environmental profile of Singapore's landfill activities: Comparisons of present and future scenarios based on LCA

This article aims to generate the environmental profile of Singapore's Semakau landfill by comparing three different operational options associated with the life cycle stages of landfilling activities, against a 'business as usual' scenario. Before life cycle assessment or LCA is used to quantify the potential impacts from landfilling activities, an attempt to incorporate localized and empirical information into the amounts of ash and MSW sent to the landfill was made. A linear regression representation of the relationship between the mass of waste disposed and the mass of incineration ash generated was modeled from waste statistics between years 2004 and 2009. Next, the mass of individual MSW components was projected from 2010 to 2030. The LCA results highlighted that in a 'business as usual' scenario the normalized total impacts of global warming, acidification and human toxicity increased by about 2% annually from 2011 to 2030. By replacing the 8000-tonne barge with a 10000-tonne coastal bulk carrier or freighter (in scenario 2) a grand total reduction of 48% of both global warming potential and acidification can be realized by year 2030. Scenario 3 explored the importance of having a Waste Water Treatment Plant in place to reduce human toxicity levels - however, the overall long-term benefits were not as significant as scenario 2. It is shown in scenario 4 that the option of increased recycling championed over all other three scenarios in the long run, resulting in a total 58% reduction in year 2030 for the total normalized results. A separate comparison of scenarios 1-4 is also carried out for energy utilization and land use in terms of volume of waste occupied. Along with the predicted reductions in environmental burdens, an additional bonus is found in the expanded lifespan of Semakau landfill from year 2032 (base case) to year 2039. Model limitations and suggestions for improvements were also discussed.     

An ecological risk assessment model for a pulsed contaminant emission into a wetland channel flow

As a continuation of the modelling on ecological degradation and hydraulic dispersion of pollutant emission into an idealized two-dimensional free-surface wetland flow (Zeng, L., Chen, G.Q., 2009b. Ecological degradation and hydraulic dispersion of contaminant in wetland. Ecol. Model., doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2009.10.024), an ecological risk assessment model for the typical case of a pulsed contaminant emission into a realistic three-dimensional wetland channel flow is presented in this paper for the fate of cross-sectional mean concentration under environmental dispersion. An environmental dispersion model for the mean concentration is devised as an extension of Taylor’s classical analysis on dispersion in fluid flows. The velocity distribution and the environmental dispersivity in the fully developed steady flow through the wetland is found and illustrated with limiting cases covering various known solutions for the porous media flow between parallel plates, flow in a shallow wetland, sweeping flow in a densely vegetated wetland, and single phase flow in a channel. Obtained by Aris’s method of moments, the environmental dispersivity is shown characterized with multi-scale asymptotic time variations with stem dominated stage, transitional stage, and width-depth-stem dominated stage. Based on the solution for the evolution of contaminant cloud in the wetland channel flow, critical length and duration of the contaminant cloud with concentration beyond given environmental standard level are concretely illustrated for typical pollutant constituents in wastewater emission. Under the same emission intensity and environmental standard, the duration of contaminant cloud in the wetland channel is revealed shorter than that in a free surface wetland, due to the lateral effect.     

Influence of support on catalytic behavior of nickel catalysts in the steam reforming of ethanol for hydrogen production

Al₂O₃, MgO, SiO₂ and ZnO-supported nickel catalysts were prepared and evaluated in the ethanol steam reforming for hydrogen production. It is shown that the catalytic behavior can be influenced depending on the experimental conditions employed and chemical composition of the catalyst.     

CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND FLOOD FREQUENCY ESTIMATION FOR THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI AND LOWER MISSOURI RIVERS1

ABSTRACT: This paper considers the distribution of flood flows in the Upper Mississippi, Lower Missouri, and Illinois Rivers and their relationship to climatic indices. Global climate patterns including El Niño/Southern Oscillation, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and the North Atlantic Oscillation explained very little of the variations in flow peaks. However, large and statistically significant upward trends were found in many gauge records along the Upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers: at Hermann on the Missouri River above the confluence with the Mississippi (p = 2 percent), at Hannibal on the Mississippi River (p < 0.1 percent), at Meredosia on the Illinois River (p = 0.7 percent), and at St. Louis on the Mississippi below the confluence of all three rivers (p = 1 percent). This challenges the traditional assumption that flood series are independent and identically distributed random variables and suggests that flood risk changes over time.     

One way to reduce the NOX Emission of biodiesels: The increase of cetane number

Compared to conventional diesel fuels, biodiesels normally have lower smoke and particulate matter, while higher nitrogen oxides (NO_X) emissions. In our study, an attempt was made to reduce the NO_X emissions of biodiesels by increasing the cetane numbers (CNs). Three kinds of biodiesels with extremely high CNs (70.1, 76.9, 80.9, respectively) were developed. Their main physical and chemical properties were tested. With a two-cylinder direct injection diesel engine, their emission performances were experimentally investigated. The results indicate that, CN, freezing point, as well as viscosity of biodiesels are linearly increased with the increase of carbon number. The NO_X emission for biodiesels with high CNs is lower than that of conventional diesel fuels. High CN promotes smoke formation as well while lower smoke emissions are still obtained for biodiesels when certain oxygen contents are present. That is, the smoke/NO_X tradeoff is broken. Besides, as fuel CN is elevated, NO_X for biodiesels decreases but smoke and carbon monoxide emissions are increased.     

Management of household waste in sanitary landfill of Mostaganem district (Western Algeria)

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The management of solid waste in Mostaganem district was limited to collection and transportation to open dumpsites. By the end of 2010, the...