Metabolic response under different salinity and temperature conditions for glass eel Anguilla japonica

Diadromous fish often enter freshwater directly from seawater via fish ladders or channels built in estuarine dams. The oxygen consumption rates (OCR) of glass eel, Anguilla japonica, were determined using an automatic intermittent flow respirometer under various salinity and temperature regimes to physiologically explain this direct movement. The endogenous rhythm of the OCR in wild glass eels, freshly collected from estuaries, was nearly synchronous with the tidal pattern at the estuarine collection site. When the salinity was changed from 20 psu (12°C) at a constant temperature to that of freshwater, the OCR of the glass eels decreased by 21.6±7.0% (mean ± SD) (P<0.05), showing a dampened rhythm for about 48 h. After this period of impediment, the glass eels resumed normal metabolic activity. Direct migration from seawater to freshwater under constant temperature would result in a severe physiological stress for these glass eels for about two days. When the glass eels were exposed to a cyclic change in water temperature of 2°C 26 h⁻¹, as they encounter in estuaries, and then were introduced to freshwater abruptly, the OCR rhythm corresponded to the cyclic changes in water temperature after exposure to freshwater. Under these conditions, the mean OCR of the glass eels had a small difference before and after exposure to freshwater. These data explained how glass eels can directly move from sea water into the freshwater without any apparent metabolic stress in the estuaries showing cyclic change in water temperature (Δt=2°C).     

Global warming related carbon dioxide abatement proposals

The relationship between man-made CO2 emission and atmospheric CO2 concentration has been established. The factors that affect CO2 reduction allotment and the impacts on future energy demand and supply were discussed, in order to help energy policy makers both in developed countries and in developing countries for understanding the fundamental constraint on energy sector resulted from global warming related CO2 reduction, and hopefully in finding a common objective starting point to deal with global warming negotiation in energy sector, and to investigate the optimum stabilization goal and process acceptable to all sovereign countries that based on equity and applicability.     

Performance of an electrochemical COD (chemical oxygen demand) sensor with an electrode-surface grinding unit

An electrochemical COD (chemical oxygen demand) sensor using an electrode-surface grinding unit was investigated. The electrolyzing (oxidizing) action of copper on an organic species was used as the basis of the COD measuring sensor. Using a simple three-electrode cell and a surface grinding unit, the organic species is activated by the catalytic action of copper and oxidized at a working electrode, poised at a positive potential. When synthetic wastewater was fed into the system, the measured Coulombic yields were found to be dependent on the COD of the synthetic wastewater. A linear correlation between the Coulombic yields and the COD of the synthetic wastewater was established (10-1000 mg L(-1)) when the electrode-surface grinding procedure was activated briefly at 8 h intervals. When various kinds of wastewater samples obtained from various sewage treatment plants were measured, linear correlations (r(2)> or = 0.92) between the measured EOD (electrochemical oxygen demand) value and COD of the samples were observed. At a practical wastewater treatment plant, the measurement system was successfully operated with high accuracy and good stability over 3 months. These experimental results show that the application of the measurement system would be a rapid and practical method for the determination of COD in water industries.     

Effect of amorphous silica and silica sand on removal of chromium(VI) by zero-valent iron

The effect of two surfaces (amorphous silica and silica sand) on the reduction of chromium(VI) by zero-valent iron (Fe(0)) was investigated using batch reactors. The amendment of both surfaces significantly increased the rate and extent of Cr(VI) removal. The rate enhancement by amended surfaces is presumed to result from scavenging of Fe(0)-Cr(VI) reaction products by the provided surfaces, which minimized surface deactivation of Fe(0). The rate enhancing effect was greater for silica compared to sand, and the difference is attributed to silica's higher surface area, greater affinity for reaction products and pH buffering effect. For a given mass of Fe(0), the reactivity and longevity of Fe(0) to treat Cr(VI) increased with increasing dose of silica. Elemental analyses of the reacted iron and silica revealed that chromium removed from the solution was associated with both surfaces, with its mass distribution being approximately 1:1 per mass of iron and silica. The overall result suggests reductive precipitation was a predominant Cr(VI) removal pathway, which involves initial reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III), followed by formation of Cr(III)/Fe(III) hydroxides precipitates.     

Efficacy of woody biomass and biochar for alleviating heavy metal bioavailability in serpentine soil

Crops grown in metal-rich serpentine soils are vulnerable to phytotoxicity. In this study, Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) biomass and woody biochar were examined as amendments on heavy metal immobilization in a serpentine soil. Woody biochar was produced by slow pyrolysis of Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) biomass at 300 and 500 °C. A pot experiment was conducted for 6 weeks with tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) at biochar application rates of 0, 22, 55 and 110 t ha^?1. The CaCl₂ and sequential extractions were adopted to assess metal bioavailability and fractionation. Six weeks after germination, plants cultivated on the control could not survive, while all the plants were grown normally on the soils amended with biochars. The most effective treatment for metal immobilization was BC500-110 as indicated by the immobilization efficiencies for Ni, Mn and Cr that were 68, 92 and 42 %, respectively, compared to the control. Biochar produced at 500 °C and at high application rates immobilized heavy metals significantly. Improvements in plant growth in biochar-amended soil were related to decreasing in metal toxicity as a consequence of metal immobilization through strong sorption due to high surface area and functional groups.