Inactivation effect of pressurized carbon dioxide on bacteriophage Qβ and ΦX174 as a novel disinfectant for water treatment

The inactivation effects of pressurized CO2 against bacteriophage Qβ and ΦX174 were investigated under the pressure of 0.3–0.9 MPa, initial concentration of 107–109PFU/mL, and temperature of17.8°C–27.2°C. The optimum conditions were found to be 0.7 MPa and an exposure time of 25 min. Under identical treatment conditions, a greater than 3.3-log reduction in bacteriophage Qβ was achieved by CO2, while a nearly 3.0 log reduction was observed for phage ΦX174. The viricidal effects of N2O(an inactivation gas with similar characteristics to CO2), normal acid(HCl), and CO2 treatment with phosphate buffered saline affirmed the chemical nature of CO2 treatment. The pumping cycle, depressurization rate, and release of intracellular substances caused by CO2 were its viricidal mechanisms. The results indicate that CO2 has the potential for use as a disinfectant without forming disinfection by-products.     

Predicting the particle size distribution of fine-grained and sandy soils using deep learning for classifying recovered soils separated from tsunami deposits

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Disaster wastes, particularly those generated in the tsunami, comprise soil and sediments, and recovered soil is yielded through treatment such as...     

Features in Number Concentration-Size Distributions of Aerosols in the Free Atmosphere over the Desert Areas in the Asian Continent: Balloon-Borne Measurements at Dunhuang,China

Vertical changes of aerosol concentration and size in the freetroposphere over the Asian desert areas were firstly observed using a balloon-borne optical particle counter at DunHuang, China (40°00N, 94°30E) (17 August and 17 October 2001, and 11 January 2002). In the free troposphere highly concentrated aerosol layers were frequentlyobserved, suggesting the importance of regional scale particletransportation over the Asian continent. Concentration ofparticles with a diameter larger than 0.15 m was about 5–10particles cm^-3 in the free troposphere.Particle number-size distribution in the free troposphereshows important contribution of super micron particles. Regionalscale transportation, in addition to diffusion of soil particlesfrom the lower atmosphere to the free troposphere through localand small scale air motions, is suggested by backward trajectoryanalysis of air masses containing super micron particles. The importance of horizontal transport of coarse size particles in the free troposphere was strongly suggested.Thickness of the boundary mixing layer, from distributions ofparticle concentration, was about 4 km in summer (17 August 2001)and apparently higher than the height of layers in fall (17 October2001) and in winter (11 January 2002), which suggest an active mixingof particles near the boundary in summer. In winter measurement(11 January 2002), strong inversion was found in the vertical profile of temperature, suggesting cold ground surface and vertically stable atmosphere near the ground.     

Measurement of fetal urine production in mild infantile polycystic kidney disease—A case report

It is generally recognized that the sonographic findings of infantile polycystic kidney disease (IPKD) are bilaterally enlarged kidneys, oligohydramnios, an absent fetal bladder, and the typical kidney texture. Since there is a broad spectrum of renal compromise with IPKD, in utero diagnosis is thought to be limited to the severe forms. This paper reports a mild case of IPKD, where the in utero diagnosis was established by measuring fetal urine production and amniotic fluid volume serially during pregnancy, and by ultrasonographic examination of fetal kidneys.     

液相色谱-大气压光电离/质谱测定鱼肉中的氯霉素残留

用液相色谱 大气压光电离质谱开发出测定鱼肉中氯霉素的方法 .为优化大气压光电离子 (APPI)考察了几种离子源参数 .使用该参数 ,得到了简单的质谱图和对应于 [M H]- 的强信号 .样品用乙酸乙酯萃取并挥发至干 ,然后用乙腈和正己烷通过液液分配进行纯化 .对于加入量为 0 1— 2ng·g- 1 的样品 ,小鲱肉和比目鱼肉中氯霉素的平均回收率分别为 89 3%— 1 0 2 5 %和 87 4%— 94 8% .小鲱肉和比目鱼肉中氯霉素残留的检测极限 (信噪比 =3)分别为 0 2 7ng·g- 1 和 0 1 0ng·g- 1 .     

Examining farmland applications of composted biosolid wastes depending on nutrient balance in soils

This study emphasizes nutrient balance of soils in the farmland application of composted biosolid wastes. The loading rates of plant nutrients following the compost application to farmland in Japan were estimated and compared with the nutrient uptake of agricultural plants. Results show that the current compost application in Japan can meet the requirements of agricultural plants for plant nutrient Ca, except for K, Mg, P, Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn. The compost application could realize the safe disposal of biosolid wastes and the effective recycling of plant nutrients in composts to soils without causing heavy metal accumulation. The application manner of composts affects the heavy metal accumulation in farmlands. Field examination indicates that the excessive compost application has led to the heavy metal accumulation in compost-amended farmlands. Measuring the nutrient balance in compost-amended farmlands is well suitable for explaining the accumulation of heavy metals, such as Cu and Zn.     

Effect of aging time on the availability of freshly precipitated ferric hydroxide to coastal marine diatoms

Cell growth and iron uptake of the coastal marine diatoms Chaetoceros sociale and Thalassiosira weissflogii were studied in the presence of short-aged amorphous ferric hydroxide (am-Fe(III)) media. These were prepared by aging for 1 day, 3 days, and 3 weeks after adding a small amount of ferric iron acidic stock solution to autoclaved filtered seawater and were experimentally measured in culture experiments at 10°C for C. sociale and 20°C for T. weissflogii. The order of cell yields for both species was: 1-day aged am-Fe(III) >3-day aged am-Fe(III) >> 3-week aged am-Fe(III) media. The iron uptake rates by C. sociale during 0–1 day in 1 day and 3-day aged am-Fe(III) media were about two-thirds and one-fourths, respectively, lower than that in the direct Fe(III) input medium containing C. sociale into which an acidic Fe(III) stock solution was added directly. The longer aging time of am-Fe(III) in media results in reducing the supply of bioavailable iron in the media by the slower dissolution rate of am-Fe(III) with the longer aging time. These results suggest that the chemical and structural changes of freshly precipitated amorphous ferric hydroxide with short aging time affect their ability, such as iron solubility and dissolution rate to supply bioavailable iron for the phytoplankton growth. The chemical and structural conversion of solid iron phases with time is one of the most important processes in changing the supply of available iron to marine phytoplankton in estuarine and coastal waters and in iron fertilization experiments.     

Detection of benzotriazole UV stabilizers in the blubber of marine mammals by gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS)

Benzotriazole UV stabilizers (BUVSs), such as UV-328 and UV-327, were identified in the blubbers of finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) collected from the Ariake Sea, western Japan, by gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS). The mean concentrations and standard deviations of UV-328 and UV-327 in five blubber samples were 38 ± 28 ng g(-1) (lipid wt) and 19 ± 19 ng g(-1), respectively. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) of UV-327 between water and finless porpoises was estimated to be 33?300, which is approximately one order of magnitude higher than that found for small fish inhabiting the same regions. The BCF of UV-327 in finless porpoises was similar to that of persistent organochlorine pesticide, hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH: 37?000) in marine mammals from the western North Pacific Ocean. These results suggest that BUVSs appear to be persistent and bioaccumulative in the aquatic food chain. Further investigations on temporal trends, and regional and global monitoring of BUVSs are needed to understand their environmental profiles and potential risks to wildlife and human.     

Micro fabrication on cylinder surface for control of wettability

A micro fabrication is presented to control wettability on cylinder surfaces. A machine tool is developed to form the micro-scale structure on the cylinder in incremental stamping. The stamping tool is manufactured with fabricating the micro-scale structure on the top of the tool in FIB sputtering. The micro incremental stamping is repeated with linear motion of the tool and rotation of the workpiece. The rotation is controlled by the friction drive on the machine table because of the stable stamping with reducing bending of the workpiece. The critical stamping depth, the minimum depth in which the structure is formed, is determined in the forming tests using the structured tool. Then, a stripe type structure is formed to control wettability on the cylinder surface. Anisotropic wettability appears on the structured surface.