Isolation and identification of potential fungal species for spent engine lubrication oil remediation in Peninsular Malaysia

Improper disposal and spills of spent engine oil into the environment can result in contamination, which eventually affects humans through the food chain. Mycoremediation is an effective and inexpensive alternative to clean up spent engine oil contamination. In recent work, the potential effectiveness of fungi for degrading spent engine oil was confirmed, with the species identified through molecular identification. Fungi that were able to grow in Bushnell Haas Broth supplied with spent engine oil were identified with the potential to utilize spent engine oil as a carbon source. Six species of fungi namely Penicillium simplicissimum, Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma longibrachiatum, Aspergillus ustus, and Aspergillus flavus were successfully identified in this study. Over a course of seven days, P. simplicissimum (21.11 percent) was identified as the most effective fungi in degrading spent engine oil, followed by A. nidulans (17.75 percent), A. niger (15.85 percent), T. longibrachiatum (15.12 percent), A. ustus (15.02 percent), and A. flavus (11.80 percent). As these species of fungi were isolated from the natural environment in Peninsular Malaysia, the potential of using these fungi as mycoremediation of spent engine oil was therefore confirmed.     

工业区恶臭污染自动监控体系设计

选取典型工业区,汇总了恶臭污染的突发性、排放不规律、夜间高值显著等特征,分析了由化学特性、物质种类和监控要求等带来的恶臭污染监测难点。根据信访投诉、地理特点和大气扩散规律,提出构建工业区恶臭污染自动监控体系。在恶臭污染排放特征分析基础上,筛选优控污染物,优选适用在线监测技术,建设边界监控为主、园区监测为辅的专业化、自动化大气特征污染监测系统,通过统一联网和平台,统一质控和规范,建立预警监测信息平台。在实际构建与应用的过程中,探索了分级管理、多方合作的运行机制,为工业区恶臭污染分析评估、污染溯源和控制提供了技术支持。     

基于OP-FTIR的化工区空气特征污染实测方法研究

应用开放式傅里叶变换红外光谱分析仪(OP-FTIR)对华东地区某化工区周边空气特征污染进行了180 d连续在线监测,建立了污染特征分析、预警评估和污染溯源等体系化监测应用方法,匹配形成了近10项日常数据监控指标的质保质控体系和基于最小二乘法人机结合的谱图解析和数据生成体系,数据误差控制在20%以内。结果表明,通过180 d外场稳定监测,实现了超过40种区域特征污染因子库的建立和实时监控,掌握了乙烯和甲醇等10余种特征污染物的排放规律和主要来源。     

三峡库区腹地土地功能演变及其驱动机制分析

土地利用功能在一定程度上反映了土地利用方式和强度的变化。以三峡库区腹地奉节县和巫山县为研究区域,以1986、2000、2007和2015年多时相遥感影像资料为数据源,通过空间自相关和冷热点分析等研究方法,分析土地利用功能的时空演变规律,并探索其与海拔、坡度和岩性等自然因子,以及人口、道路等社会经济条件的耦合驱动机制,揭示土地利用功能的理论现实意义。研究发现：(1)就土地利用功能数量而言,生活用地增加,生产功能减少,生态用地总体趋于稳定;就土地利用功能面积变化格局而言,三生功能均向稳定性方向发展。(2)就其集散程度而言,生产功能由大集聚向小集聚转变且集聚面积减少;生活功能集聚性持续增强,且集聚面积扩大;生态功能由集聚向分散变化,且空间范围增加。(3)就土地利用功能的驱动机制而言,包括高程、坡度和岩性在内的自然因子影响其空间分布状况,人口及道路分布影响三生功能的空间数量变化。     

Study of chest injuries to 3-year-old child occupants seated in impact shield and 5-point harness CRSs

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate whether the 5-point harness or the impact shield child restraint system (CRS) or both have the potential to cause chest injuries to children. This is determined by examining whether the loading to the chest reaches the internal organ injury threshold for children.

Method: The chest injury risk to a child occupant in a CRS was investigated using Q3 dummy tests, finite element (FE) simulations (Q3 dummy and human models), and animal tests. The investigation was done for 2 types of CRSs (i.e., the impact shield CRS and 5-point harness CRS) based on the UN R44 dynamic test specifications.

Results: The tests using a Q3 dummy indicated that although the chest deflection of the dummy in the impact shield CRS was large, it was less than the injury threshold (40 mm). Computational biomechanics simulations (using finite element FE analysis) showed that the Q3 dummy's chest is loaded by the shield and deforms substantially under this load. To clarify whether chest injuries due to chest compression can occur with an impact shield or with the 5-point harness CRS, 7 experiments were performed using Tibetan miniature pigs with weights ranging from 9.7 to 13 kg. Severe chest and abdominal injuries (lung contusion, coronary artery laceration, liver laceration) were found in the tests using the impact shield CRS. No chest injuries were present when using the 5-point harness CRS.

Conclusion: When using the impact shield CRS, the chest deformed substantially in dummy tests and FE simulations, and chest and abdominal injuries were observed in pig tests. It is possible that these chest injuries could also occur to child occupants sitting in the impact shield CRS.     

Rural migrants’ participation in old-age insurance: a case study of the inter-provincial migrant workers from Sichuan,China

Old-age pension, a fundamental part of the Chinese social security system, is perceived by the Chinese government as the last support for rural-to-urban migrant workers upon retreating from the labor market. Using survey data collected by the authors, this paper examines a host of factors which influence migrant workers’ participation in the old-age scheme. The result shows that individual characteristics, employment status, attitudes toward old-age support and perception of the old-age pension system significantly differentiate two groups of migrant workers between those that have participated in and their counterparts who have not participated in the old-age pension schemes. Among a number of factors, age, educational attainment, holding labor contract, etc. are found to be significant factors influencing migrants’ behavior participating (or not participating) the available age-pension schemes. Policy implications for how to improve the rate of participation in existing old-age pension schemes among migrant workers are drawn from the findings.     

集抄系统电表变更识别和故障诊断研究综述

针对由于用户电表及设备档案变更、损坏、通信故障等因素导致集抄系统数据采集成功率和质量出现的问题,对集抄系统路由方法和集抄系统故障诊断方法的新进展进行综述。研究结果表明:(1)利用电力线载波路由算法并构建新的网络结构模型,将复杂的电力线通信网络拓扑转化成简单清晰的网络拓扑,解决集抄系统电表更换识别问题;(2)将数据挖掘技术和专家系统相结合,开发基于数据挖掘的故障诊断专家系统,使集抄系统故障诊断智能化,提高数据采集的质量;是未来需要进一步研究的课题。     

Effects of carbon nanotube and biochar on bioavailability of Pb,Cu and Sb in multi-metal contaminated soil

This study examined the effects of carbon nanotube and biochar on the bioavailability of Pb, Cu and Sb in the shooting range soils for developing low-cost remediation technology. Commercially available multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and biochar pyrolyzed from soybean stover at 300 °C (BC) at 0.5, 1 and 2.5% (w w^?1) were used to remediate the contaminated soil in an incubation experiment. Both DTPA (bioavailable) and TCLP (leaching) extraction procedures were used to compare the metal/loid availability and leaching by the amendments in soil. The addition of BC was more effective in immobilizing mobile Pb and Cu in the soil than that in MWCNT. The BC reduced the concentrations of Pb and Cu in the soil by 17.6 and 16.2%, respectively. However, both MWCNTs and BC increased Sb bioavailability by 1.4-fold and 1.6-fold, respectively, in DTPA extraction, compared to the control. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) test showed that the leachability of Pb in the soil amended with 2.5% MWCNT was 1.3-fold higher than that the unamended soil, whereas the BC at 2.5% decreased the TCLP-extractable Pb by 19.2%. Precipitation and adsorption via electrostatic and π–π electron donor–acceptor interactions were postulated to be involved in the interactions of Pb and Cu with surfaces of the BC in the amended soils, whereas ion exchange mechanisms might be involved in the immobilization of Cu in the MWCNT-amended soils. The application of BC derived from soybean stover can be a low-cost technology for simultaneously immobilizing bioavailable Pb and Cu in the shooting range soils; however, neither of amendments was effective in Sb immobilization.     

Effect of biosolid hydrochar on toxicity to earthworms and brine shrimp

The hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge has been studied as an alternative technique for the conversion of sewage sludge into value-added products, such as soil amendments. We tested the toxicity of biosolid hydrochar (Sewchar) to earthworms. Additionally, the toxicity of Sewchar process water filtrate with and without pH adjustment was assessed, using brine shrimps as a model organism. For a Sewchar application of 40 Mg ha^?1, the earthworms significantly preferred the side of the vessel with the reference soil (control) over side of the vessel with the Sewchar treatments. There was no acute toxicity of Sewchar to earthworms within the studied concentration range (up to 80 Mg ha^?1). Regarding the Sewchar process water filtrate, the median lethal concentration (LC50) to the shrimps was 8.1% for the treatments in which the pH was not adjusted and 54.8% for the treatments in which the pH was adjusted to 8.5. The lethality to the shrimps significantly increased as the amount of Sewchar process water filtrate increased. In the future, specific toxic substances in Sewchar and its process water filtrate, as well as their interactions with soil properties and their impacts on organisms, should be elucidated. Additionally, it should be identified whether the amount of the toxic compounds satisfies the corresponding legal requirements for the safe application of Sewchar and its process water filtrate.