Biosorption of uranium by chemically modified Rhodotorula glutinis

The present paper reports the biosorption of uranium onto chemically modified yeast cells, Rhodotorula glutinis, in order to study the role played by various functional groups in the cell wall. Esterification of the carboxyl groups and methylation of the amino groups present in the cells were carried out by methanol and formaldehyde treatment, respectively. The uranium sorption capacity increased 31% for the methanol-treated biomass and 11% for the formaldehyde-treated biomass at an initial uranium concentration of 140 mg/L. The enhancement of uranium sorption capacity was investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis, with amino and carboxyl groups were determined to be the important functional groups involved in uranium binding. The biosorption isotherms of uranium onto the raw and chemically modified biomass were also investigated with varying uranium concentrations. Langmuir and Freundlich models were well able to explain the sorption equilibrium data with satisfactory correlation coefficients higher than 0.9.     

Adsorption of Cu（Ⅱ） on rice straw char from acidic aqueous solutions

研究了稻草炭对Cu（Ⅱ）的吸附特征,探讨了Cu（Ⅱ）的吸附机制.结果表明,稻草炭对Cu（Ⅱ）有很高的吸附容量,Langmuir方程能很好地拟合Cu（Ⅱ）吸附等温线,因此可以描述稻草炭对Cu（Ⅱ）的吸附,其预测的Cu（Ⅱ）在pH 4.5和pH 5.0时的最大吸附量分别为0.628 mol.kg-1和0.763 mol.kg-1.稻草炭对Cu（Ⅱ）的吸附量随体系pH升高而增加,但吸附Cu（Ⅱ）的解吸率呈相反的变化趋势.当吸附体系pH≤4.5时,Cu（Ⅱ）解吸率大于55%,说明此时以静电吸附为主;在较高pH条件下Cu（Ⅱ）以非静电吸附机制为主.红外光谱的分析结果表明,稻草炭表面有丰富的—COOH和—OH等含氧官能团,Cu2＋与含氧官能团形成有机络合物导致—COOH吸附峰位移.Cu（Ⅱ）吸附使稻草炭颗粒的Zeta电位向正值方向位移.结果说明Cu（Ⅱ）在稻草炭表面发生了专性吸附.     

Vulnerable groups*

As a rule, refugees arrive in their host country with a bare minimum of possessions; in this respect every refugee can be classified as vulnerable. However, a certain category is especially at risk, namely those persons who would be considered vulnerable in a "normal society." These people are doubly in need of assistance, firstly, inasmuch as they are refugees and secondly, insofar as they are vulnerable. If these refugees can be helped to overcome (or at least reduce) their handicaps, they can begin to become self-reliant and form an active, productive parts of their community, rather than remaining an extra burden to an already vulnerable part of the society in their country of asylum. Whilst their able-bodied companions work in the fields or the towns, part of this category can be trained and usefully employed in sectors of work that do not require great mobility or physical fitness (such as handicrafts, trade, teaching and services)..     

酚二磺酸法测定硝酸盐氮有关问题的探讨

酚二磺酸光度法测定硝酸盐氮是《水和废水监测分析方法》(第三版)中的推荐方法,由于它的测定范围较宽,显色稳定而被采用;但是此方法的反应条件要求严格,较难控制,造成加标回收率不稳定。经过多年的试验摸索,发现对试验产生影响的因素有显色剂、硝化条件、干扰、取样量等。     

太子河流域土地利用对大型底栖动物功能摄食类群的影响

水生生物群落功能结构研究不仅是河流生态学的基础,也有助于更好地剖析水生生物对环境压力的响应关系.为探明土地利用对大型底栖动物FFGs（功能摄食类群）的影响,于2009年5月对太子河流域47个采样点（6个参照样点、41个受损样点）的大型底栖动物进行调查,分析其FFGs结构及与流域土地利用类型（森林用地、草业用地、农业用地和城镇用地）和环境因子的关系.结果表明:①受损样点的ALT（海拔）、WT（水温）、EC、ρ（NH₄+-N）和ρ（PO₄3--P）均显著高于参照样点.②受损样点捕食者、刮食者与撕食者的相对丰度、丰富度及密度、直接收集者丰富度、刮食者的Shannon-Wiener指数及Pielou指数、直接收集者与捕食者Margalef指数和刮食者Simpson指数均显著低于参照样点,而直接收集者的相对丰度则显著高于参照样点.③Spearman相关性分析结果表明,农业用地和城镇用地比例增加会造成河流水质恶化及大型底栖动物FFGs结构发生变化.④CCA结果表明,EC是影响大型底栖动物FFGs结构分布的主要环境因子.研究显示,大型底栖动物FFGs对太子河流域农业活动与城镇化的响应敏感,可以为利用大型底栖动物FFGs监测流域环境压力提供理论支持.      

黑土真菌群落互作及其与梯度有机质碳分子结构的关系

真菌在土壤有机质积累、转化以及养分循环中发挥着重要功能.本文利用高通量ITS扩增子测序和固态~(13)C核磁共振波谱技术,比较低有机质(2%～5%)和高有机质(7%～9%)条件下,土壤真菌各类群间的互作关系及其与有机碳官能团结构的联系.~(13)C-NMR分析结果表明,O-Alkyl C占总有机碳的比例随着有机质含量的升高而增大(25.8%～35.9%).有机质含量越高,A/A-O(Alkyl C/O-Alkyl C)越小,有机质分解程度越低.真菌群落中粪壳菌纲(Sordariomycetes, 14.33%～28.17%)和被孢毛霉菌纲(Mortierellomycotina, 7.32%～23.14%)为优势类群,其相对丰度均随着土壤有机质含量的升高而显著增加(P0.05).网络分析结果表明,相比高有机质土壤,低有机质土壤中真菌生态网络的节点数、连接数和平均聚类系数较小,真菌互作关系更简单,且真菌与有机碳官能团联系更紧密,尤其与LOC联系更紧密.随机森林模型显示LOC对低有机质土壤真菌互作关系的解释量最高(10%),其次是难分解碳组分(ROC).相比LOC对高有机质土壤真菌互作关系的贡献相对较小(7.4%).在全球土壤碳损失日益严重的背景下,碳资源的限制,特别是LOC的减少,可能会降低土壤真菌群落的稳定性和多功能性.     

不同交联度PP-g-4VP离子交换纤维的制备及对水溶液中铬离子吸附的研究

通过控制交联剂(DVB)及单体(4-VP)浓度等工艺,研制了不同交联度的聚丙烯接枝4乙烯基吡啶离子交换纤维(PP-g-4VP),旨在改善纤维的结构及其再生吸附和重复使用性能。实验结果表明,随着DVB含量增大,纤维的接枝率下降,交联度增加,而吸水率下降。所制的PP-g-4VP和PP-g-4VP-季铵盐纤维对Cr~(6+)静态吸附量大,分别达约6.5mmol/g和4mmol/g。交联度低时,纤维对Cr~(6+)吸附速度越快,穿透点前流出液浓度较低。纤维吸附Cr~(6+)后用1N NH_3·H_2O能完全洗脱,再生吸附性能良好。     

Are There Ecological Foundations for Ecosystem Health?

We present a critical introduction to the problems shared by ecologists and ecosystem health researchers who attempt to integrate applied ecology with other disciplines. The importance of the concept of ecosystem health as an approach to environmental problems is presented, and the difficulties in integrating ecology into the concept are outlined. A rigorous ecological and evolutionary basis for ecosystem health is introduced through diversity abundance models and especially by the outcome of competitive exclusion, niche hierarchy, and log normality. The importance of defining functional groups for assessing the effects of disturbance (e.g., on pollinators, macrolepidoptera, diatoms, gut bacteria) and in the broader context of ecosystem health (e.g., through pollinating bees) is stressed.     

CORRELATION OF SELECTED WELL WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS WITH SOIL AND AQUIFER HYDROLOGIC PROPERTIES1

ABSTRACT: The geographical distribution of well water specific electrical conductivity and nitrate levels in a 932 km² ground water quality study area in the Fresno-Clovis, California, indicated that frequently areas of lower ground water salinity were also areas of relatively greater soil and aquifer permeability. From these observations and certain assumptions we hypothesized that the quality of the well water should be better in areas with permeable soils and geological formations. Correlation and multiple linear regression analysis supported this hypothesis for well water salinity. However, well water nitrate levels were significantly negatively correlated with only the estimated equivalent specific yield of the aquifer system. The multiple R² values of the most significant multiple linear regression models showed that only a fourth to a third of the variability in well water specific electric conductivity and nitrate levels could be ascribed to the effects of the hydrogeological parameters considered with more than 90 percent confidence. This indicates that three-fourths to two-thirds of the variability in ground water salinity and nitrate levels may be related to land use. Thus, there is considerable room for land use management techniques to improve ground water quality and reduce its variability.     

Variations in surface functional groups, carbon chemical state and graphitization degree during thermal deactivation of diesel soot particles

The thermal deactivation of diesel soot particles exerts a significant influence on the control strategy for the regeneration of diesel particulate filters (DPFs). This work focused on the changes in the surface functional groups, carbon chemical state, and graphitization degree during thermal treatment in an inert gas environment at intermediate temperatures of 600°C, 800°C, and 1000°C and explore the chemical species that were desorbed from the diesel soot surface during thermal treatment using a thermogravimetric analyser coupled with a gas-chromatograph mass spectrometer (TGA-GC/MS). The surface functional groups and carbon chemical state were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The graphitization degree was evaluated by means of Raman spectroscopy (RS). The concentrations of aliphatic C–H, C–OH, C=O, and O–C=O groups are reduced for diesel soot and carbon black when increasing the thermal treatment temperature, while the sp²/sp³ hybridized ratio and graphitization degree enhance. These results provide comprehensive evidence of the decreased reactivity of soot samples. Among oxygenated functional groups, the percentage reduction during thermal treatment is the largest for the O–C=O groups owing to its worst thermodynamic stability. TGA-GC/MS results show that the aliphatic and aromatic chains and oxygenated species would be desorbed from the soot surface during 1000°C thermal treatment of diesel soot.