Two‐Stage Agricultural Ditch Sediments Act as Phosphorus Sinks in West Michigan

Phosphorus (P) and sediment inputs from agricultural drainage contribute to the development of hypereutrophic conditions in lakes across the world. Two‐stage (2‐S) ditches, an agricultural best management practice gaining acceptance in the Midwestern United States, increase floodplain area within drainage ditches to help capture nutrients and sediment. While denitrification has been shown to increase on 2‐S benches, less is known about their P retention ability. This study assessed the abiotic and biotic P retention of two separate 2‐S ditches compared to their corresponding traditional reaches directly upstream within the Macatawa watershed, located in West Michigan. Soluble reactive P export was significantly reduced in 2‐S baseflow of both ditch systems. Equilibrium P concentration values suggest retention of P within the 2‐S sediment. P was bound within stable fractions in both 2‐S and traditional reaches. An analysis of P stock within the ditches revealed sediment held over 96% of total P (TP) within each reach compared to <4% in bench vegetation and periphyton combined. Turbidity, but not TP, was reduced in one study ditch, whereas TP, but not turbidity, was reduced in the other study ditch. Geomorphic stability may have been responsible for differing P retention between ditches. Ability to retain P appears to be impacted by physical as well as biogeochemical characteristics; hence, structure and age of 2‐S reaches influence P retention.     

Levels and patterns of polychlorinated biphenyls in residues from incineration of established source-classified MSW in China

Municipal solid waste (MSW) source-classified collection represents an advancement in resource cycling and secondary pollution control in China. Comparative experiments were performed to assess the levels and patterns of polychlorinated biphenyls in bottom ash, fly ash from boiler, and fly ash from bag filter from an MSW incineration plant with source-classified collection of MSW. Polychlorinated biphenyls were concentrated in the bag filter fly ash and in the bottom ash. The total amount of polychlorinated biphenyls was much lower than in fly ashes and bottom ash from traditional mixed waste incineration. Total concentration of coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls and toxic equivalent quantities were also reduced. Due to variations of feed waste, complete combustion, including continuously high incineration temperature, low CO concentrations and high air excess ratio were observed. Incineration temperature showed a negative correlation, while CO concentration showed a positive correlation with total and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls, indicating that the latter can be reduced by controlling combustion conditions related to properties of feed waste.     

The Influence of Two‐Stage Ditches with Constructed Floodplains on Water Column Nutrients and Sediments in Agricultural Streams

The two‐stage ditch is a novel management practice originally implemented to increase bank stability through floodplain restoration in channelized agricultural streams. To determine the effects of two‐stage construction on sediment and nutrient loads, we monitored turbidity, and also measured total suspended solids (TSS), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N) species, and phosphorus (P) after two‐stage ditch construction in reference and manipulated reaches of four streams. Turbidity decreased during floodplain inundation at all sites, but TSS and P, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and total phosphorus (TP) decreased only in the two‐stage ditches with longer duration of inundation. Both TSS and TP were positively correlated within individual streams, but neither were correlated with turbidity. Phosphorus was elevated in the stream to which manure was applied adjacent to the two‐stage reach, but not the reference reach, suggesting that landscape nutrient management plans could restrict nutrient transport to the stream, ultimately determining the efficacy of instream management practices. In addition, ammonium and nitrate decreased in two‐stage reaches with lower initial N concentrations. Overall, results suggest that turbidity, TSS, and TP were reduced during floodplain inundation, but the two‐stage alone may not be effective for managing high inorganic N loads.     

Alkali activation processes for incinerator residues management

Incinerator bottom ash (BA) is produced in large amount worldwide and in Italy, where 5.1 millions tons of municipal solid residues have been incinerated in 2010, corresponding to 1.2–1.5 millions tons of produced bottom ash. This residue has been used in the present study for producing dense geopolymers containing high percentage (50–70 wt%) of ash. The amount of potentially reactive aluminosilicate fraction in the ash has been determined by means of test in NaOH. The final properties of geopolymers prepared with or without taking into account this reactive fraction have been compared. The results showed that due to the presence of both amorphous and crystalline fractions with a different degree of reactivity, the incinerator BA geopolymers exhibit significant differences in terms of Si/Al ratio and microstructure when reactive fraction is considered.     

A Behaviorally Explicit Demographic Model Integrating Habitat Selection and Population Dynamics in California Sea Lions

Abstract: Although there has been a call for the integration of behavioral ecology and conservation biology, there are few tools currently available to achieve this integration. Explicitly including information about behavioral strategies in population viability analyses may enhance the ability of conservation biologists to understand and estimate patterns of extinction risk. Nevertheless, most behavioral‐based PVA approaches require detailed individual‐based data that are rarely available for imperiled species. We present a mechanistic approach that incorporates spatial and demographic consequences of behavioral strategies into population models used for conservation. We developed a stage‐structured matrix model that includes the costs and benefits of movement associated with 2 habitat‐selection strategies (philopatry and direct assessment). Using a life table for California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), we explored the sensitivity of model predictions to the inclusion of these behavioral parameters. Including behavioral information dramatically changed predicted population sizes, model dynamics, and the expected distribution of individuals among sites. Estimated population sizes projected in 100 years diverged up to 1 order of magnitude among scenarios that assumed different movement behavior. Scenarios also exhibited different model dynamics that ranged from stable equilibria to cycles or extinction. These results suggest that inclusion of behavioral data in viability models may improve estimates of extinction risk for imperiled species. Our approach provides a simple method for incorporating spatial and demographic consequences of behavioral strategies into population models and may be easily extended to other species and behaviors to understand the mechanisms of population dynamics for imperiled populations.     

两级序批式MBR除磷特性实验研究

为解决常规MBR工艺中脱氮除磷矛盾问题,采用新的工艺形式——两级序批式MBR工艺(两级SBMBR),对该工艺的除磷特性进行了实验研究。研究结果表明,在系统稳定运行阶段,SBMBR1内聚磷菌优势生长,进水总磷得以高效去除,再通过SBMBR2内膜的进一步截留,系统TP平均值0.46 mg/L,满足城市景观环境用水水质要求;在沉淀期间,POAs的释磷作用对生物除磷系统的影响甚至超过了水中剩余悬浮富磷污泥颗粒本身的影响,所以在满足沉淀要求的前提下,生物除磷系统应注意尽量缩短沉淀时间。     

Photodynamic effects of 31 different phthalocyanines on a human keratinocyte cell line

Phthalocyanines (Pcs, colored macromolecular compounds with the ability to generate singlet oxygen) represent a promising group of photosensitizers due to their intense absorption in the red and UV portion of the spectrum which leads to their excitation. In order to characterize possible toxic effects associated with eventual practical use and application of these chemicals, we employed an in vitro cell culture model to evaluate cytotoxic effects of 31 different phthalocyanines using neutral red uptake assay. An immortalized human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT was exposed to the tested chemicals for 2 or 24 h, either with or without illumination in the last 60 min of the exposure period. After 2- or 24-h exposure without illumination, no cytotoxic effects or weak cytotoxic effects were induced by any Pc under the study and EC50 values could not be obtained within the tested concentration ranges (1.25–20 mg L⁻¹ or 0.625–10 mg L⁻¹). On the other hand, exposure to phthalocyanines under illumination induced a significant cytotoxic effect. The most pronounced cytotoxicity was elicited by Pcs previously shown to have high positive charge densities at peripheral parts of substituent groups, which is most likely the factor responsible for the binding of Pc to negatively charged membranes on the cell surface and thus guaranteeing the tight connection necessary for the singlet oxygen attack on the cell surface.     

汶川地震典型民居震害特征分析

汶川"5.12"Ms8.0级特大地震造成了巨大的经济损失和人员伤亡。大量的民居房屋遭到了破坏。针对汶川地震灾区典型民居结构——砖混结构和底框架结构,通过震害描述介绍了其破坏形式,并按构件从基础到屋面依次分析了震害特征及结构破坏机理。最后对民居房屋建筑的建设提出了设计与施工方面的建议。     

喷嘴角度对脱硫塔内气液两相流场的影响

提出了采用数值模拟的方法研究喷嘴角度对脱硫塔内部气液两相流场的影响。由于实际脱硫塔尺寸庞大,给实验研究带来困难且成本很高,在数值模拟平台上,分别模拟了45°、75°和-30°3种喷嘴角度布置下脱硫塔内部速度场、温度场变化以及湍流强度的分布情况。结果表明,在角度为-30°布置时速度场变化不是很剧烈,脱硫塔进出口温差比较理想,湍流强度在脱硫塔底部较大随着塔高的增加缓慢降低,这样有助于气液两相均匀混合,并控制出口烟温,有利于提高脱硫效率。     

垃圾焚烧底灰固化污水厂污泥的岩土工程性质实验

对污水处理厂污泥采用垃圾焚烧底灰进行固化处理,分别测试不同掺量和不同养护龄期时固化体的岩土工程性质,通过测试发现,固化体重度基本位于11～13 kN/m3之间,与垃圾焚烧底灰的重度相近;固化体含水率随着垃圾焚烧底灰掺量的增大而急剧减小;抗剪强度指标和无侧限抗压强度随垃圾焚烧底灰的掺量增加和养护龄期的增长而增大,其内摩擦角位于10°～30°之间。建立的固化强度预测模型,可对不同掺量和龄期的固化污泥强度进行预测。