Can arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improve grain yield, As uptake and tolerance of rice grown under aerobic conditions?

The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) - Glomus intraradices and G. geosporum on arsenic (As) and phosphorus (P) uptake by lowland (Guangyinzhan) and upland rice (Handao 502) were investigated in soil, spiked with and without 60 mg As kg⁻¹. In As-contaminated soil, Guangyinzhan inoculated with G. intraradices or Handao 502 inoculated with G. geosporum enhanced As tolerance, grain P content, grain yield. However, Guangyinzhan inoculated with G. geosporum or Handao 502 inoculated with G. intraradices decreased grain P content, grain yield and the molar ratio of grain P/As content, and increased the As concentration and the ratio of grain/straw As concentration. These results show that rice/AMF combinations had significant (p < 0.05) effects on grain As concentration, grain yield and grain P uptake. The variation in the transfer and uptake of As and P reflected strong functional diversity in AM (arbuscular mycorrhizal) symbioses.     

四川省能源消费的CO2排放状况及减排对策

根据中提供的碳排放计量方法,计算了四川省1999-2008年能源消费的CO2排放量、CO2排放强度以及能源消费各部门的CO2排放量,并根据结果分析了影响CO2排放量变化的主要因素.结果表明,1999-2008年,四川省能源消费CO2排放量总体呈上升趋势;CO2排放量受能源消费...     

硫化法制备废水处理用光催化剂La3NbS2O5

采用高温硫化法制备了具有可见光活性的La3 NbS2 O5光催化剂,运用X射线衍射谱图、扫描电子显微镜照片、比表面积和紫外-可见漫反射光谱对La3 NbS2 O5的结构、物理性质和光吸收性能进行了表征.以亚甲基蓝为目标降解物,考察了硫化温度、催化剂加入量和制备方法对亚甲基蓝降解率的影响.实验结果表明,当硫化温度为800...     

磁性Fe_3O_4/石墨烯纳米复合材料催化降解水中17β-雌二醇

利用化学沉淀法制备磁性四氧化三铁/石墨烯(Fe3O4/GE)纳米复合材料,并将其与H2O2构成非均相Fenton体系用于催化降解水中微量的17β-雌二醇(E2),研究了初始p H值,初始H2O2浓度,催化剂用量对E2降解的影响。结果表明,Fe3O4/GE纳米复合材料在无需外加光源的条件下能够有效催化降解E2。在p H 7.0,E2初始浓度为1 mg/L,初始H2O2浓度为15 mmol/L,Fe3O4/GE投加量为15 mg/L的条件下,反应8 h后可去除92.9%的E2。Fe3O4/GE具有便捷的磁分离特性和稳定的催化活性,经过7次循环使用后对E2的降解效率仍保持在91.5%左右。     

Expansion of cropland area and formation of the eastern farming-pastoral ecotone in northern China during the twentieth century

Land cover changes induced by historical cultivation in ecologically fragile areas involving important issues such as environmental change, ecology, and human sustainability are particularly worthy of attention. This paper reconstructs the spatial distribution of cultivated areas at the county level in the eastern farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China for four time periods during the twentieth century. The paper also analyzes how the location of cultivation ratio contours of 15 and 30 %, representing the boundaries of agricultural areas, have moved and the formation process of farming-pastoral ecotone patterns during this period. The study concludes that the area and ratio of cultivated land fluctuations increased during the twentieth century. The boundaries of the cultivation ratio contours of 15 and 30 % continually moved west and north. Moving north took priority over the other directions during the period of 1916–1940, when its center moved the farthest during the twentieth century, and the boundaries primarily moved westward during 1940–1980 and northwestward during 1980–2000. The distance, direction, and extent of the movement of the cultivation boundaries are all related to agricultural area expansion processes during this period, finally resulting in the creation of the modern farming-pastoral ecotone pattern.     

The living environment and children's fears following the Indonesian tsunami

The tsunami that struck South-east Asia on 26 December 2004 left more than 500,000 people in Aceh, Indonesia, homeless and displaced to temporary barracks and other communities. This study examines the associations between prolonged habitation in barracks and the nature of fears reported by school-age children and adolescents. In mid-2007, 30 months after the tsunami, the authors interviewed 155 child and parent dyads. Logistic regression analysis was used to compare the fears reported by children and adolescents living in barracks with those reported by their peers who were living in villages. After adjusting for demographic factors and tsunami exposure, the data reveals that children and adolescents living in barracks were three times more likely than those living in villages to report tsunami-related fears. The study demonstrates that continued residence in barracks 30 months after the tsunami is associated with higher rates of reporting tsunami-related fears, suggesting that barracks habitation has had a significant impact on the psychological experience of children and adolescents since the tsunami.     

Role of cosubstrate and bioaccessibility played in the enhanced anaerobic biodegradation of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in a paddy soil by nitrate and methyl-β-cyclodextrin amendments

The present study was conducted to investigate the anaerobic biodegradation potential of biostimulation by nitrate (KNO₃) and methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MCD) addition on an aged organochlorine pesticide (OCP)-contaminated paddy soil. After 180 days of incubation, total OCP biodegradation was highest in soil receiving the addition of nitrate and MCD simultaneously and then followed by nitrate addition, MCD addition, and control. The highest biodegradation of chlordanes, hexachlorocyclohexanes, endosulfans, and total OCPs was 74.3, 63.5, 51.2, and 65.1 %, respectively. Meanwhile, MCD addition significantly increased OCP bioaccessibility (p?<?0.05) evaluated by Tenax TA extraction and a three-compartment model method. Moreover, the addition of nitrate and MCD also obtained the highest values of soil microbial activities, including soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, ATP production, denitrifying bacteria count, and nitrate reductase activity. Such similar trend between OCP biodegradation and soil-denitrifying activities suggests a close relationship between OCP biodegradation and N cycling and the indirect/direct involvement of soil microorganisms, especially denitrifying microorganisms in the anaerobic biodegradation of OCPs.     

Effects of leachate accumulation on landfill stability in humid regions of China

Leachate levels are important to landfill stability and safety. High leachate or water levels often lead to landfill instability, which can cause accidents. Here a case study of a landfill located in a humid region of southern China is presented. Leachate distribution and quality were systematically analyzed, and the effect of leachate level on waste-mass stability was assessed. Boreholes were drilled in the field, samples were analyzed in the laboratory, and a simulation was performed. In addition, the safety and stability of the landfill was evaluated. The leachate level in the landfill was 9–19 m, which was higher than the top of the dam crest (8–20 m). Leachate accounted for more than 1/4 of the total landfill storage capacity. The contaminant concentration of the leachate samples collected directly from the waste body was very high, with large variation among the samples. The mean concentrations of NH₃–N, BOD, and COD from the waste body were 5404, 14,136, and 22,691 mg/L, nearly 2.7, 2.4, and 1.8 times the mean concentrations in the leachate pond, respectively. Three series of shear strength parameters were used in a slope stability analysis, and a limit equilibrium method was used to calculate the factor of safety (Fs). The analysis showed that Fs could be affected by potential anisotropy in the shear strength of the waste. The minimum values of Fs corresponding to series I were 1.84 and 1.17 for units ? and II, respectively. The Fs value of unit II was significantly lower than the safe design value (1.25). In addition, Fs decreased with increase in the normalized height of the leachate level, h/H, where h is the height of the leachate mound and H is the maximum thickness of the landfill. If the h/H values of units I and II are kept below 50% and 40%, respectively, a safe design value of 1.25 for Fs can be guaranteed. Therefore, some measures to prevent risk should be considered.     

Optimization of hydrogen distribution systems with pressure constraints

Hydrogenation units are often operated at high pressure, requiring the use of compressors which are one of the most expensive chemical processing equipment. Optimizing a hydrogen network should therefore take into consideration not only purity and flowrate constraints but also pressure requirements. In this paper, based on the hydrogen surplus diagram approach, the average pressure profiles of hydrogen sources and sinks are proposed through the introduction of a system’s minimum pressure drop Δp. Combined with the traditional purity profiles, whether a source can meet a sink either for hydrogen concentration or for pressure requirements can be determined intuitively. In cases where the pressure of a source is not sufficient for a sink, installing a hydrogen compressor or using another source with higher purity and pressure could be potential solutions. A cost equation is established to determine which of the two solutions is economically more viable. For different matching situations between sources and sinks, strategies for optimum placement of compression equipment within a given hydrogen network are proposed. A case study is used to illustrate the application and effectiveness of the proposed method.