The chemical basis for trail recognition in Lasius nipponensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Summary. In this paper we report on the chemical basis for trail recognition in Lasius nipponensis. On and near trails in the field, workers became aggressive against conspecific intruders and succeeded in protective contests, while intruders usually avoided confrontation. Such asymmetric interactions were also observed in the laboratory when two non-nestmate workers were sequentially placed in a clean glass dish, while mutual aggression was observed when they were placed simultaneously. Asymmetric aggression was also observed when the workers were placed in a dish previously conditioned by other workers, or when the dish was treated with the hexane rinse of the conditioned dish. The rinse contained a series of hydrocarbons, in which components and proportion were almost identical to those of the cuticular hydrocarbons of the workers, except for a lack of n-alkanes. Amounts of the hydrocarbons that remained on the dish were very small when all the tarsi of the workers were incapacitated. We therefore consider that the hydrocarbons are not adhesion of the cuticular hydrocarbons but secretion from the tarsi of workers, and serve as a key signal for trail recognition in this ant.     

Nutritional phagostimulants function as male courtship pheromone in the German cockroach, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Blattella germanica</Emphasis>

Summary. Males of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, secrete a pheromonal substance from the abdominal tergal glands, which elicits a feeding response in females during the sequential courtship behavior. The nuptial secretion consists predominantly of a synergistic mixture of sugars and phospholipids. Cholesterol and a series of amino acids, which are also components of the males glandular secretion, significantly enhanced the phagostimulant activity of the sugar components. The nuptial feeding behavior of the female cockroach is therefore elicited by a complex assortment of nutritive components in the male tergal secretion, including sugars, phospholipids, cholesterol, and amino acids. These results indicate that a mixture of primary metabolites, and not of specific secondary metabolites, serves as a pheromonal cue that appeals to the females gustatory sense and effectively brings her to the precopulatory position. Although the male secretion consists of nutrients, we suggest that these compounds probably do not represent a significant nutrient investment in females and their progeny but rather function as a signal in the mating sequence of B. germanica.     

城市CO2排放量审核方法初探

阐述了一个城市CO2排放量审核的计算方法.依据日本产业技术综合研究所开发的NICE模型,将能源供应纳入计算范围,修正了只计算能源消耗的CO2排放的传统方法.通过对农业、工业、建筑业、第三产业、交通运输业和人民生活6大部门二氧化碳排放量的审核,得出该城市总的CO2排放量.以苏州市为例,对苏州市2005~2008年CO2排...     

Degradation of bisphenol A by photo-fenton processes

The photo-Fenton reactions, which could yield hydroxyl radicals via the catalytic degradation of H₂O₂ by Fe(II), were focused as one of the abiotic degradation processes of bisphenol A (BPA) in surface waters. At pH 6, in the presence of H₂O₂ only, 32% of BPA was degraded after 120?min of irradiation. However, 97% of BPA was degraded in the presence of both H₂O₂ and Fe(II). Without light irradiation, no BPA degradation was observed even in the presence of Fe(II) and H₂O₂. These results show that photo-Fenton processes are effective in the natural attenuation of BPA in surface water. In addition, the presence of humic acids (HAs), which were of more aliphatic nature, resulted in enhancing BPA degradation via the photo-Fenton processes. Therefore, HAs can be one of the important factors in enhancing the degradation of BPA in surface water via the photo-Fenton processes.     

苏州垃圾填埋生命周期清单分析

采用理论计算和实测相结合的方法,求得了苏州七子山垃圾填埋埋场的生命周期清单。实践证明,理论计算和实测相结合是清单分析的有效方法,对今后的同类研究具有参考意义。研究中获得的清单包括生活垃圾的收集和运输、垃圾填埋的物耗和能耗,以及每吨填埋垃圾所排放的大气和水污染物的量,并考察了填埋气用于发电后对清单的影响。这些结果可以为众多的产品生命周期评价提供数据支持。     

Application of lean flammability limit study and large eddy simulation to burner development for an oxy-fuel combustion system

Previously, we developed a model to predict lean flammability limit L and flame propagation velocity Sb for pulverized coal. In the present paper, we have extended the model to apply it in development of oxy-fuel combustion systems. The basic model consists of two particles. One of the two particles burns first, then, the other particle is ignited by the heat of combustion of the one burning particle. We analyzed at what distance the first burning particle could ignite the next particle, and how fast the first burning particle could ignite the next particle. The model was verified both for air and oxy-fuel combustion conditions. Next, a method to support burner development was examined by using the model. Local Sb and L near the ignition points of the burner could be analyzed from the concentration and temperature profiles of CFD results. Flame stability was judged by the calculated Sb and L profiles, and past results of blow-off limits obtained with actual- and pilot-scale experiments. A DS^®T-burner was developed by Hitachi Power Europe, and installed at the Schwarze Pumpe pilot plant. Combination of the technique and large eddy simulation was applied to confirmation of the system.     

Risk reduction concept to provide design criteria for Emergency Systems for onshore LNG plants

The functional safety requirement is widely applied in the process plant industry in accordance with the international standards, such as IEC and ISA. The requirement is defined as safety integrity level (SIL) based on the risk reduction concept for protection layers, from original process risk to tolerable risk level. Although the standards specify both, the Prevention System and the Emergency System, as level of protection layers, the standards specify in detail only the use of the Prevention System (i.e., Safety Instrumented System (SIS)). The safety integrity level is not commonly allocated to the Emergency System (e.g., Fire and Gas System, Emergency Shutdown System and Emergency Depressuring System). This is because the required risk reduction can be normally achieved by only the Prevention System (i.e., SIS and Pressure Safety Valve (PSV)). Further, the risk reduction level for the Emergency System is very difficult to be quantified by the actual SIL application (i.e., evaluated based on the single accident scenario, such as an accident from process control deviation), since the escalation scenarios after Loss of Containment (LOC) greatly vary depending on the plant design and equipment. Consequently, there are no clear criteria for evaluating the Emergency System design. This paper aims to provide the functional safety requirement (i.e., required risk reduction level based on IEC 61508 and 61511) as design criteria for the Emergency System.In order to provide clear criteria for the Emergency System evaluation, a risk reduction concept integrated with public’s perception of acceptable risk criteria is proposed and is applied to identify the required safety integrity level for the Emergency System design. Further, to verify the safety integrity levels for the Emergency Systems, the probabilistic model of the Emergency Systems was established considering each Emergency System (e.g., Fire and Gas System, Emergency Shutdown System and Emergency Depressuring System) relation as the Overall Emergency System. This is because the Overall Emergency System can achieve its goal by the combined action of each individual system, including inherent safe design, such as separation distance.The proposed approach applicability was verified by conducting a case study using actual onshore Liquefied Natural Gas Plant data. Further, the design criteria for Emergency Systems for LNG plants are also evaluated by sensitivity analysis.     

Silver speciation in liver of marine mammals by synchrotron X-ray absorption fine structure and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopies

The chemical form of Ag in the livers of five species of marine mammals was examined using X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopies. The XAFS analysis suggested that Ag(2)Se was present in the livers of the Franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei), Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli), and Baird's beaked whale (Berardius bairdii), whereas Ag(2)S was present in the livers of the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) and pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata). XRF spectroscopy results revealed that the distribution patterns of Ag and Se in a thin section of the liver of the Franciscana dolphin were the same; this also implied that Ag was associated with Se in the liver. Thus, the interaction of Ag with Se or S may offer significant protection against the toxicity of Ag in marine mammals. The formation of either Ag(2)Se or Ag(2)S might depend on the Hg levels in the liver. Ag(2)Se was observed in liver samples with relatively high Ag/Hg ratio, whereas liver samples with low Ag/Hg ratio contained Ag(2)S.     

Nitrogen removal efficiencies and microbial communities in full-scale IFAS and MBBR municipal wastewater treatment plants at high COD:N ratio

• Two IFAS and two MBBR full-scale systems (high COD:N ratio 8:1) were characterized. • High specific surface area carriers grew and retained slow-growing nitrifiers. • High TN removal is related to high SRT and low DO concentration in anoxic tanks. The relative locations of AOB, NOB, and DNB were examined for three different kinds of carriers in two types of hybrid biofilm process configurations: integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) and moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) processes. IFAS water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) used Anodkalness^TM K1 carriers (KC) at Broomfield, Colorado, USA and polypropylene resin carriers (RC) at Fukuoka, Japan, while MBBR WRRFs used KC carriers at South Adams County, Colorado, USA and sponge carriers (SC) at Saga, Japan. Influent COD to N ratios ranged from 8:1 to 15:1. The COD and BOD removal efficiencies were high (96%–98%); NH₄⁺-N and TN removal efficiencies were more varied at 72%–98% and 64%–77%, respectively. The extent of TN removal was higher at high SRT, high COD:N ratio and low DO concentration in the anoxic tank. In IFAS, RC with high specific surface area (SSA) maintained higher AOB population than KC. Sponge carriers with high SSA maintained higher overall bacteria population than KC in MBBR systems. However, the DNB were not more abundant in high SSA carriers. The diversity of AOB, NOB, and DNB was fairly similar in different carriers. Nitrosomonas sp. dominated over Nitrosospira sp. while denitrifying bacteria included Rhodobacter sp., Sulfuritalea sp., Rubrivivax sp., Paracoccus sp., and Pseudomonas sp. The results from this work suggest that high SRT, high COD:N ratio, low DO concentration in anoxic tanks, and carriers with greater surface area may be recommended for high COD, BOD and TN removal in WRRFs with IFAS and MBBR systems.