Conspecific brood parasitism in an upland-nesting bird: cues parasites use to select a nest

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology - In the animal kingdom, conspicuous colors are often used for inter- and intra-sexual communication. Even though primates are the most colorful mammalian taxon,...     

改性土-膨润土阻隔墙阻控离子型稀土矿氨氮污染

以土-膨润土为阻隔材料,使用硅灰及水泥对其进行固化改性,研究改性后阻隔墙对离子型稀土矿原地浸矿氨氮污染的阻控效果。通过了解阻隔墙材料的渗透性能、力学性能,并结合阻隔材料对氨氮的吸附效果、穿透效果和数值模拟结果,探讨改性土-膨润土阻隔材料对氨氮污染的阻控性能。结果表明:硅灰改性土-膨润土阻隔材料,最佳质量配比为硅灰∶土=1∶10,最佳含水率为67.80%;改性阻隔材料生成的铝硅酸盐提高了阻隔墙防渗性能,渗透系数为2.36×10~(-9) m·s~(-1);CaCO_3提高了材料的力学性能,使抗压强度达到0.896 MPa;改性阻隔材料对氨氮的吸附过程符合准二级动力学模型及Langmuir等温模型。这说明该吸附过程以化学吸附为主,并且该吸附是放热过程。在不同氨氮浓度的穿透下,渗透系数呈逐渐减小的趋势,实验期间并未达到穿透浓度。利用Visual MODFLOW数值模型对阻隔墙的阻控效果进行模拟发现,7 300 d后NH_4~+扩散范围小,未穿透阻隔墙。硅灰改性土-膨润土阻隔墙用于对离子型稀土矿氨氮污染阻控的效果较好。     

反硝化生物滤池中生物膜量与脱氮效果和脱氢酶活性的关系

采用自主研发的中试反硝化生物滤池处理传统活性污泥法的二沉池出水,研究了稳定运行下生物膜量与脱氮效果和脱氢酶活性之间的关系。结果表明:根据VSS/SS=0.78、VSS/SS0.78、VSS/SS0.78,将SS分为3个区域,分别为区域1(232.5～1 246.6 mg·L~(-1))、区域2(1 246.6～2 542.7 mg·L~(-1))、区域3(2 542.7～3 523.9 mg·L~(-1))。在区域2内能获得最大的NO_3~--N和TN去除能力,去除率分别为95.0%和85.7%及最大的总脱氢酶活性(TDHA),为112.5 g;单位质量生物膜脱氢酶活性(DHA)与SS和VSS之间显著负相关,R~2分别为0.822和0.876;TDHA随SS的增加而增加,直至VSS/SS开始减小时随之减小。DHA能较好地从微观层面反应微生物的活性,TDHA可从宏观层面反映整个反应器的生物活性,为反硝化生物滤池运行提供参考。     

Circumpolar status of Arctic ptarmigan: Population dynamics and trends

Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) and willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus) are Arctic birds with a circumpolar distribution but there is limited knowledge about their status and trends across their circumpolar distribution. Here, we compiled information from 90 ptarmigan study sites from 7 Arctic countries, where almost half of the sites are still monitored. Rock ptarmigan showed an overall negative trend on Iceland and Greenland, while Svalbard and Newfoundland had positive trends, and no significant trends in Alaska. For willow ptarmigan, there was a negative trend in mid-Sweden and eastern Russia, while northern Fennoscandia, North America and Newfoundland had no significant trends. Both species displayed some periods with population cycles (short 3–6 years and long 9–12 years), but cyclicity changed through time for both species. We propose that simple, cost-efficient systematic surveys that capture the main feature of ptarmigan population dynamics can form the basis for citizen science efforts in order to fill knowledge gaps for the many regions that lack systematic ptarmigan monitoring programs.

     

Muskox status,recent variation,and uncertain future

Ambio - Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are an integral component of Arctic biodiversity. Given low genetic diversity, their ability to respond to future and rapid Arctic change is unknown, although...     

Locally enhanced electric field treatment (LEEFT) for water disinfection

• Nanowire-assisted LEEFT is applied for water disinfection with low voltages. • LEEFT inactivates bacteria by disrupting cell membrane through electroporation. • Multiple electrodes and device configurations have been developed for LEEFT. • The LEEFT is low-cost, highly efficient, and produces no DBPs. • The LEEFT can potentially be applicable for water disinfection at all scales. Water disinfection is a critical step in water and wastewater treatment. The most widely used chlorination suffers from the formation of carcinogenic disinfection by-products (DBPs) while alternative methods (e.g., UV, O₃, and membrane filtration) are limited by microbial regrowth, no residual disinfectant, and high operation cost. Here, a nanowire-enabled disinfection method, locally enhanced electric field treatment (LEEFT), is introduced with advantages of no chemical addition, no DBP formation, low energy consumption, and efficient microbial inactivation. Attributed to the lightning rod effect, the electric field near the tip area of the nanowires on the electrode is significantly enhanced to inactivate microbes, even though a small external voltage (usually<5 V) is applied. In this review, after emphasizing the significance of water disinfection, the theory of the LEEFT is explained. Subsequently, the recent development of the LEEFT technology on electrode materials and device configurations are summarized. The disinfection performance is analyzed, with respect to the operating parameters, universality against different microorganisms, electrode durability, and energy consumption. The studies on the inactivation mechanisms during the LEEFT are also reviewed. Lastly, the challenges and future research of LEEFT disinfection are discussed.     

Determination of Steroid Estrogens in Wastewater Treatment Plant of A Controceptives Producing Factory

Steroid estrogens such as estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) have been suspected to be the main contaminants, which can affect the endocrine system of animals. Many authors have investigated these chemicals in the domestic wastewater treatment plants (WTP). However, wastewater from industries producing steroid contraceptives has not got ample attention. From the environmental point of view, the four steroids are very significant because even very low concentrations (ng/L) can cause reproductive disturbances in human, livestock and wildlife. The main purpose of the present investigation was to develop an analytical method for the determination of the four steroid estrogens present in WTP of a pharmacy factory, mainly producing contraceptive medicine in Beijing, China. Analysis was performed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) system and liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The average recoveries from effluent samples ranged from 88% to 103% and the precision of the method ranged from 9% to 4%. Based on 0.5-L wastewater samples, the limit of quantification (LOQ) was determined at 0.7 ng/L for E1, 0.8 for E2, 0.9 ng/L for E3, and 0.5 ng/L for EE2 in influent, and 1.0 ng/L for E2 and EE2, and 2.0 ng/L for E1 and E3 in effluent. In the influent samples, average concentrations of 80, 85, 73 and 155 ng/L were determined for E1, E2, E3 and EE2, respectively, showing that they were removed in this WTP to the extent of 79, 73, 85 and 67%, respectively.     

Comparative Metal Distribution in Hair of Pakistani and Libyan Population and Source Identification by Multivariate Analysis

Using nitric acid-perchloric acid wet digestion based FAAS method ten selected metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, K, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb and Zn) were determined in the scalp hair of male Pakistani and Libyan donors (n = 62), between 3–54 years age and residing in typical urban areas. The study was taken up to identify sources of metal distribution in two diverse population segments exposed to different environments. Sodium emerged with the highest mean hair concentration of 511.0 μg/g and 496.9 μg/g for Libyan and Pakistani donors respectively, followed by K, at 266.2 μg/g and 242.4 μg/g for the two donor categories. Cadmium showed the lowest mean hair concentration for both Pakistani (0.380 μg/g) and Libyan (0.530 μg/g) donors. Levels of Na, K, Pb, Cr and Cd were higher in hair of Libyan donors compared with Pakistani counterparts which showed higher comparative levels of Zn, Fe, Co, Ni and Mn. Strong metal-to-metal correlations were found between Na–K (r = 0.638) and Cd–Co (r = 0.574) for Pakistani donors, while for Libyan donors, Na–K (r = 0.680) and Fe–Mn (r = 0.624) correlations emerged as strongly significant. Only K was found to have a strong positive correlation (r = 0.611) with age for Pakistani donors while this correlation was significantly negative (r = −0.500) for Libyan donors, probably arising from individual food habits. Other metals showed no viable relationship with age. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis (CA) of the data evidenced food, industrial emissions and automobile emissions as possible sources of metal distribution. The results of the present study are compared with those reported for subjects from other regions of the world.     

Comparison of 24 h averaged VOC monitoring results for residential indoor and outdoor air using Carbopack X-filled diffusive samplers and active sampling--a pilot study

Analytical results obtained by thermal desorption GC/MS for 24 h diffusive sampling of 11 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are compared with results of time-averaged active sampling at a known constant flow rate. Air samples were collected with co-located duplicate diffusive sampling tubes and one passivated canister. A total of eight multiple-component sampling events took place at fixed positions inside and outside three private homes. Subsequently, a known amount of sample air was transferred from the canister to an adsorbent tube for analysis by thermal desorption GC/MS. Results for the 11 most prevalent compounds--Freon 11, 1,3-butadiene, benzene, toluene, tetrachloroethene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene, o-xylene, 4-ethyltoluene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, and p-dichlorobenzene--show that the ratio of average study values (diffusive sampling to active sampling) is 0.92 with 0.70 and 1.14 extreme ratios. Absolute percent difference for duplicate samples using diffusive sampling was <10% for the four most prevalent compounds. Agreement between the two sampling approaches indicates that the prediction of approximately constant diffusive sampling rates based on previous laboratory studies is valid under the field conditions.