Potential for microbially mediated redox transformations and mobilization of arsenic in uncontaminated soils

Surface soil samples, which had no significant As contamination, were examined for As(V) reduction, As(III) oxidation and As mobilization capability. All five soil samples tested exhibited microbial As(V)-reducing activities both in aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Under aerobic conditions when As(V) reduction had almost ceased, oxidation of As(III) to As(V) occurred, whereas only As(V) reduction was observed under anaerobic conditions. In cultures incubated with As(III), As(III) was oxidized by indigenous soil microbes only under aerobic conditions. These results indicate that microbial redox transformations of As are ubiquitous in the natural environment regardless of background As levels. Mobilization through microbially mediated As(V) and Fe(III) reduction occurred both in the presence and absence of oxygen. Significant variation in dissolved As occurred depending on the Fe contents of soils, and re-immobilization of As arose in the presence of oxygen, presumably as a consequence of dissolved As(III) and Fe(II) oxidation. There was no apparent correlation between dissolved Fe(II) and As, suggesting that reductive dissolution of Fe(III) minerals does not necessarily determine the extent of As release from soils.     

Efficiency and Economy of a New Agricultural Rainwater Harvesting System

Shortage of water is the key limiting factor for agricul-tural development of Beijing. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) could provide an alternative water source for greenhouse agriculture, but local natural and socioeconomic conditions challenge the applica-tion of the technology. This article analyses the advantages and disadvantages of different types of greenhouse RWH in Beijing,and describes a new greenhouse RWH system demonstrated in 2008 in Huairou, a suburb district of Beijing. It analyses the ef-ficiency, cost-benefit ratios and limiting factors of the new system.The results show that with the new system, RWH efficiency can be as high as 66% (of total rainfall) and the rainwater usage rate can reach 69% of total water usage. The ratio of benefit to cost of government investment can be 1.84, and the ratio of benefit to cost of a farmer's investment could be 1.68 provided the project is designed to save water and also increase income. However, the price of groundwater for agriculture directly influences the potential for applying and scaling up the project. If the RWH system does not increase the farmers' incomes at the current water price, they will not use it until the water price rises to a critical point, which is de-termined by external factors. This article also suggests a number of measures to increase the efficiency of the system in order to apply it on a large scale.     

接种外源微生物菌剂对香蕉茎秆堆肥的影响

为了研究接种外源微生物菌剂对香蕉茎秆堆肥的影响,本实验采用高温好氧堆肥技术,设计了对照（不接菌）、接种白腐菌及棱盖多孔菌3个处理,探讨了不同处理堆肥过程中堆体温度、水分、pH值、电导率、有机碳、C/N、发芽指数及堆肥质量的变化情况。结果表明,接种微生物菌剂处理的温度均高于对照,且高温期持续时间相对较长,以接种白腐菌处理的高温持续时间最长;接种外源微生物菌剂对堆肥含水率、pH、EC、全碳、C/N变化影响不大;与对照相比,接种白腐菌可增加全氮及全钾的含量,有利于提高堆肥产品质量;接种白腐菌处理在36 d（GI〉50%）就达到腐熟,比对照提前8 d腐熟,明显缩短堆肥腐熟时间;而接种棱盖多孔菌处理比对照推迟10 d腐熟,共需54 d不利于香蕉茎秆堆肥的进行。     

Environmental assessment of a Palette Modular Device for gold recovery from PVD

The novel “Palette Modular Device” (PMD) technology, addressing the recovery of wastes from Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) maintenance, is evaluated according to a Life Cycle Assessent (LCA) approach. The PMD recovery technology was recently developed with the aim of an easier and more sustainable separation of the film layers used in PVD, with a particular emphasis on multi-material film productions, frequently adopted in the electronic industry. The PMD is briefly presented in the paper, along with three implementations for industrial purposes. Each implementation adopts a different light solvent for the metal recovery like acetone and formic acid. The usage of light solvents is a peculiar feature enabled by the system considered, as an alternative to traditional approaches. The LCA starts with the objectives and prosecutes with inventories of all material and energy flows for each different scenario considered. Additionally, a global impact assessment is provided in a specific section, in order to enable a quantitative comparison of the potential effects on the environment in every scenario. The results of this study allow the industrial designer to perform an overall environmental evaluation of the three strategies proposed and to compare the performances of the novel technology. The research, furthermore, highlights some critical points in the adoption of the PMD and suggests how to improve the implementation of this recovery process.     

Integrating urban ecosystem sustainability assessment into policy-making: insights from the Gold Coast City

This paper introduces a policy-making support tool called ‘Micro-level Urban-ecosystem Sustainability IndeX (MUSIX)’. The index serves as a sustainability assessment model that monitors six aspects of urban ecosystems – hydrology, ecology, pollution, location, design, and efficiency – based on parcel-scale indicators. This index is applied in a case study investigation in the Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia. The outcomes reveal that there are major environmental problems caused by increased impervious surfaces from growing urban development in the study area. The findings suggest that increased impervious surfaces are linked to increased surface runoff, car dependency, transport-related pollution, poor public transport accessibility, and unsustainable built environment. This paper presents how the MUSIX outputs can be used to guide policy-making through the evaluation of existing policies.     

A bioeconomic model of a single-species fishery with a marine reserve

This study examines the impact of the creation of marine protected areas (MPAs), from both economic and biological perspectives. In particular, we examine the effects of protected patches and harvesting on resource populations. We conclude that protected patches are an effective means of conserving resource populations, even though extinction cannot be prevented in all cases. We discuss the dynamic optimization of a harvest policy by choosing E(t), the harvesting effort, as the dynamic variable. We also discuss the optimal equilibrium harvest policy and explain the biological and bioeconomic interpretations of the results.     

Effects of cultivation conditions on the diversity of microbes involved in the conversion of rice straw to fodder

To confirm the optimum cultivation conditions for analyzing lactic acid bacterial communities and to provide the cultivation foundation for lactic acid bacterial communities that were used to convert straw into fodder, fermented rice straw was inoculated into 13 different broths. After 48 h of cultivation, pH values, volatile products, and microbial diversity were analyzed. Except for LAB broth, the pH values of the other broths could decrease to approximately 4.5. GC/MS analysis showed that lactic acid in Tomato MRS broth, MRS broth, LAB broth, and Tomato juice broth was higher than that in the other broths. DNA concentration analysis showed that the counts of microbes in Tomato MRS broth were 2.5 times of those in other broths and that tomato juice favored the reproduction of the microbes. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE） analysis showed that the number of lactic acid bacterial species in HYA broth, Tomato juice broth, and Tomato MRS broth were higher than those in the other broths.     

多功能混合菌剂处理模拟生活污水研究

从菜园土壤及药材土壤土样中分离选育出以丝状菌为主的6株COD高效降解菌,与实验室保藏的2株絮凝剂产生菌构建混合菌剂,使菌剂同时具有降解污染物以及增强活性污泥沉降性和絮凝性的功能.以COD去除率、污泥指数和活性污泥絮凝性为指标,研究了混合菌剂各菌种接种量的配比.结果表明,该菌剂添加于活性污泥系统处理模拟生活污水,可以使COD去除率从86.5%提高到94.5%,污泥指数从124下降到59.0,活性污泥絮凝性从0.358增加到0.530.研究表明,该多功能混合菌剂添加于活性污泥系统可以显著增强对模拟生活污水的处理效果.     

邻苯二甲酸二异辛酯在番茄根际土壤中的持留动态

利用分室根箱法模拟根际微域环境的试验结果表明,无论初始浓度高低,邻苯二甲酸二异辛酯(DEHP)在土壤中的持留都可较好地用一级反应动力学方程进行描述,初始浓度越高,持留半寿期越短．土壤中DEHP浓度的增加可引起土壤脱氢酶活性的增加．但在DEHP初始浓度低、中、高3种情况下都表现出在根际土壤(0～5mm)中DEHP的残留浓度比非根际土壤(25～30mm)中的残留浓度稍高,持留的半寿期(t1/2)稍长的趋势,说明植物的生长并没有加速DEHP的降解．不添加DEHP的根室土壤中DEHP浓度始终都维持在一个较低的水平上,处理之间没有显著差异,且植物组织中DEHP的含量很低,处理之间也没有显著差异,说明DEHP在土壤中随水溶液的扩散和由于植物根系生长活动引起的迁移是微不足道的．     

锌离子对活性污泥微生物DNA序列多样性的影响

研究了锌离子对活性污泥微生物群落结构的影响.不同浓度的锌离子对有机物的降解和氮的转化均有抑制.经过驯化后,处理系统对有机物的降解可以逐步得到恢复,而对于氨氮和亚硝酸氮的降解则并不随着驯化时间的延长而得到改善.随机扩增多态性RAPD分析表明,在不同的驯化阶段,DNA序列的分子多样性是不同的.结果显示,加入锌离子的微生物多样性明显小于对照组,驯化成熟的实验组尽管在COD的去除率上和对照组没有什么差别,但在生物多样性、丰富度、均匀度和相似性上与驯化初期有较大的差别.从RAPD条带上可清楚地看到某些细菌的消失,以及耐受锌离子的种类的持续存活.