Urea hydrolysis and recovery of nitrogen and phosphorous as MAP from stale human urine

Laboratory-scale tests for magnesium ammonium phosphate(MAP)precipitation following urea hydrolysis of human urine were conducted using orthogonal experiment design.The effects of initial pH,temperature and the volumetric ratios of stale urine to fresh urine,on urea hydrolysis in urine were studied to determine the final hydrolysis time to recover most nitrogen from separated human urine by MAP.With a volumetric ratio of stale to fresh urine>10% and at temperature≥20℃,urea hydrolysis could be completed i...     

Risk Assessment of Inbreeding and Outbreeding Depression in a Captive‐Breeding Program

Captive‐breeding programs can be implemented to preserve the genetic diversity of endangered populations such that the controlled release of captive‐bred individuals into the wild may promote recovery. A common difficulty, however, is that programs are founded with limited wild broodstock, and inbreeding can become increasingly difficult to avoid with successive generations in captivity. Program managers must choose between maintaining the genetic purity of populations, at the risk of inbreeding depression, or interbreeding populations, at the risk of outbreeding depression. We evaluate these relative risks in a captive‐breeding program for 3 endangered populations of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). In each of 2 years, we released juvenile F₁ and F₂ interpopulation hybrids, backcrosses, as well as inbred and noninbred within‐population crosstypes into 9 wild streams. Juvenile size and survival was quantified in each year. Few crosstype effects were observed, but interestingly, the relative fitness consequences of inbreeding and outbreeding varied from year to year. Temporal variation in environmental quality might have driven some of these annual differences, by exacerbating the importance of maternal effects on juvenile fitness in a year of low environmental quality and by affecting the severity of inbreeding depression differently in different years. Nonetheless, inbreeding was more consistently associated with a negative effect on fitness, whereas the consequences of outbreeding were less predictable. Considering the challenges associated with a sound risk assessment in the wild and given that the effect of inbreeding on fitness is relatively predictable, we suggest that risk can be weighted more strongly in terms of the probable outcome of outbreeding. Factors such as genetic similarities between populations and the number of generations in isolation can sometimes be used to assess outbreeding risk, in lieu of experimentation. Evaluación del Riesgo de Depresión por Endogamia y Exogamia en un Programa de Reproducción en Cautiverio     

Effects of feed solutions on refuse hydrolysis and landfill leachate characteristics

Tap water, aerobically pre-treated leachate, and anaerobically pre-treated leachate, were each fed into the top of a series of three simulated landfills columns, filled with municipal solid waste collected in Shanghai, China. Changes in leachate, including pH, total organic carbon (TOC), and volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and the produced biogas were monitored over time. The tap-water-fed columns had a low hydrolysis rate that yielded an acidic environment (pH 4.8-5.4) in the leachate that inhibited methanogenesis reaction in the refuse. When aerobically pre-treated leachate was fed into the columns, the hydrolysis rate of total organic carbon fluctuated between 200 and 400 mg d-1 and methanogenesis in the refuse column was only partly activated. The hydrolysis rate of refuse fed with anaerobically pre-treated leachate was the highest among the three solutions. The high alkaline levels of the anaerobically pre-treated leachate and its methanogenic bacteria led to an early activation of methanogenesis in the refuse columns. The VFAs contributed approximately 40-60% of TOC in tap-water-fed columns, 60-80% of TOC in the columns fed aerobically pre-treated leachate, and up to 70-90% of TOC in columns fed with anaerobically pre-treated leachate. The feed solution had considerably affected leachate characteristics, and then the build-up of the methanogenesis in the refuse column and the composition of fermentation products in the leachate. The success of a bioreactor landfill depends on whether the recycled leachate could yield a favorable methanogenic environment in the top refuse layer, or whether an appropriate pre-treatment is adopted to modify the leachate characteristics.     

Temporary stabilization of air pollution control residues using carbonation

Carbonation presents a good prospect for stabilizing alkaline waste materials. The risk of metal leaching from carbonated waste was investigated in the present study; in particular, the effect of the carbonation process and leachate pH on the leaching toxicity of the alkaline air pollution control (APC) residues from municipal solid waste incinerator was evaluated. The pH varying test was conducted to characterize the leaching characteristics of the raw and carbonated residue over a broad range of pH. Partial least square modeling and thermodynamic modeling using Visual MINTEQ were applied to highlight the significant process parameters that controlled metal leaching from the carbonated residue. By lowering the pH to 8-11, the carbonation process reduced markedly the leaching toxicity of the alkaline APC residue; however, the treated APC residue showed similar potential risk of heavy metal release as the raw ash when subjected to an acid shock. The carbonated waste could, thereby, not be disposed of safely. Nonetheless, carbonation could be applied as a temporary stabilization process for heavy metals in APC residues in order to reduce the leaching risk during its transportation and storage before final disposal.     

Health Assessment of the 1985 Flood Disaster in Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico, during October 1985, tropical storm Isabel caused widespread flooding, landslides, and collapsing of bridges. A maximum of 180 persons died, including an estimated 127 at a landslide where the majority (78%) of deaths resulted from traumatic injury. Approximately 3,000 homes were damaged with 4,400 persons temporarily displaced into 44 shelters. A shelter surveillance system was established to monitor 19 acute and chronic conditions in 28 shelters during a 5-week period. Trend analysis trends of selected reportable communicable diseases in the general community revealed no changes attributable to the disaster in the 12 most severely affected municipalities. In these municipalities, the number of persons using the scheduled outpatient clinics after the disaster decreased significantly, but the mean daily number of emergency room visits did not show significant change. Analysis of surveillance data showed that no infectious disease outbreaks had occurred in the shelters. The post-impact health consequences resulting from this widespread flooding were minimal. Even so, disease surveillance remains essential for efficacious resource allocation and prevention strategies.     

Chytridiomycosis and Seasonal Mortality of Tropical Stream‐Associated Frogs 15 Years after Introduction of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

Assessing the effects of diseases on wildlife populations can be difficult in the absence of observed mortalities, but it is crucial for threat assessment and conservation. We performed an intensive capture‐mark‐recapture study across seasons and years to investigate the effect of chytridiomycosis on demographics in 2 populations of the threatened common mist frog (Litoria rheocola) in the lowland wet tropics of Queensland, Australia. Infection prevalence was the best predictor for apparent survival probability in adult males and varied widely with season (0–65%). Infection prevalence was highest in winter months when monthly survival probabilities were low (approximately 70%). Populations at both sites exhibited very low annual survival probabilities (12–15%) but high recruitment (71–91%), which resulted in population growth rates that fluctuated seasonally. Our results suggest that even in the absence of observed mortalities and continued declines, and despite host–pathogen co‐existence for multiple host generations over almost 2 decades, chytridiomycosis continues to have substantial seasonally fluctuating population‐level effects on amphibian survival, which necessitates increased recruitment for population persistence. Similarly infected populations may thus be under continued threat from chytridiomycosis which may render them vulnerable to other threatening processes, particularly those affecting recruitment success. Quitridiomicosis y Mortalidad Estacional de Ranas Asociadas a Arroyos Tropicales Quince Años Después de la Introducción de Batrachochytrium dendrobatidisvsp     

GeoChip-based analysis of the microbial community functional structures in simultaneous desulfurization and denitrification process

The elemental sulfur （S^0） recover）, was evaluated in the presence of hi,ate in two development models of simultaneous desulfurization and denitrification （SDD） process. At the loading rates of 0.9 kg S/（m^3.day） for sulfide and 0.4 kg N/（m^3.day） for nitrate, SO conversion rate was 91.1% in denitrifying sulfide removal （DSR） model which was higher than in integrated simultaneous desulfurization and denitrification （ISDD） model （25.6%）. A comprehensive analysis of functional diversity, structure and metabolic potential of microbial communities was examined in two models by using functional gene array （GeoChip 2.0）. GeoChip data indicated that diversity indices, community structure, and abundance of functional genes were distinct between two models. Diversity indices （Simpson＇s diversity index （1/D） and Shannon-Weaver index （H′）） of all detected genes showed that with elevated infiuent loading rate, the functional diversity decreased in ISDD model but increased in DSR model. In contrast to ISDD model, the overall abundance of dsr genes was lower in DSR model, while some functional genes targeting from nitrate-reducing sulfide-oxidizingbacteria {NR-SOB）, such as Thiobacillus denitrficans, Sulfurimonas denitrificans, and Paracoccus pantotrophus were more abundant in DSR model which were highly associated with the change of SO conversion rate obtained in two models. The results obtained in this study provide additional insights into the microbial metabolic mechanisms involved in ISDD and DSR models, which in turn will improve the overall performance of SDD process.     

Heavy metals mobility in full-scale bioreactor landfill: initial stage

Selected heavy metals (HMs) including Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn initially released from a full-scale bioreactor landfill were monitored over the first 20 months of operation. At the initial landfill stage, the leachate exhibited high HMs release, high organic matter content (27000-43000gl(-1) of TOC) and low pH (5-6). By the fifth month of landfilling, the methanogenic stage had been established, and HMs release was reduced below the Chinese National Standards. Total released HMs accounted for less than 1% of landfill deposited during the investigated period. Most landfill HMs were inorganic. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra data and model calculations using Visual MINTEQ indicated that humic substances strongly affected the mobility of organic fractions of HMs in the methanogenic landfill. The initial rates of HMs release could be enhanced by recycling the leachate back to bioreactor landfill, but the total quantity released may be reduced by early establishment of methanogenic stage in bioreactor landfill.     

Effect of temperature switchover on the degradation of antibiotic chloramphenicol by biocathode bioelectrochemical system

Exposure to chloramphenicol(CAP),a chlorinated nitroaromatic antibiotic,can induce CAP-resistant bacteria/genes in diverse environments. A biocathode bioelectrochemical system(BES) was applied to reduce CAP under switched operational temperatures.When switching from 25 to 10°C,the CAP reduction rate(kCAP) and the maximum amount of the dechlorinated reduced amine product(AMCl,with no antibacterial activity) by the biocathode communities were both markedly decreased. The acetate and ethanol yield from cathodophilic microbial glucose fermentation(with release of electrons) was also reduced. Formation of the product AMCl was enhanced by the biocathode dechloridation reaction compared with that produced from pure electrochemical or microbial dechloridation processes. The electrochemical and morphological analyses of cathode biofilms demonstrated that some cathodophilic microbes could adapt to low temperature and play a key role in CAP degradation. The resilient biocathode BES has a potential for the treatment of CAP-containing wastewater in temperature fluctuating environments.     

Characteristics of indoor/outdoor PM2.5 and elemental components in generic urban, roadside and industrial plant areas of Guangzhou City, China

Quantitative information on mass concentrations and other characteristics, such as spatial distribution, seasonal variation, indoor/outdoor （I/O） ratio, correlations and sources, of indoor and outdoor PM2.5 and elemental components in Guangzhou City were provided. Mass concentration of PM2.5 and elemental components were determined by standard weight method and proton-induced X-ray emission （PIXE） method. 18 elements were detected, the results showed positive results. Average indoor and outdoor PM2.5 concentrations in nine sites were in the range of 67.7-74.5μg/m^3 for summer period, and 109.9-123.7 μg/m^3 for winter period, respectively. The sum of 18 elements average concentrations were 5362.6-5533.4 ng/m^3 for summer period, and 8416.8-8900.6 ng/m^3 for winter period, respectively. Average concentrations of PM2.5 and element components showed obvious spatial characteristic, that the concentrations in roadside area and in industrial plant area were higher than those in generic urban area. An obvious seasonal variation characteristic was found for PM2.5 and elemental components, that the concentrations in winter were higher than that in summer. The I/O ratio of PM2.5 and some elemental components presented larger than 1 sometimes. According to indoor/outdoor correlation of PM2.5 and element concentrations, it was found that there were often good relationships between indoor and outdoor concentrations. Enrichment factors were calculated to evaluate anthropogenic versus natural elements sources.