Screening Capsicum Accessions for Capsaicinoids Content

Ninety Capsicum accessions selected from the USDA Capsicum germplasm collection were screened for their capsaicinoids content using gas hromatography with nitrogen phosphorus detection (GC/NPD). Fresh fruits of Capsicum chinense, C. frutescens, C. baccatum, C. annuum, and C. pubescens were extracted with methanol and analyzed for capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, and nordihydrocapsaicin. Mass spectrometry of the fruit crude extracts indicated that the molecular ions at m/z 305, 307, and 293, which correspond to capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, and nordihydrocapsaicin, respectively, have a common benzyl cation fragment at m/z 137 that can be used for monitoring capsaicinoids in pepper fruit extracts. Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin were the dominant capsaicinoids detected. Capsaicin concentrations were typically greater than dihydrocapsaicin. Concentrations of total capsaicinoids varied from not detectable to 11.2 mg fruit^?1. Statistical analysis revealed that accession PI-441624 (C. chinense) had the highest capsaicin content (2.9 mg g^?1 fresh fruit) and accession PI-497984 (C. frutescens) had the highest dihydrocapsaicin content (2.3 mg g^?1 fresh fruit). Genebank accessions PI-439522 (C. frutescens) and PI-497984 contained the highest concentrations of total capsaicinoids.     

A process integration approach to industrial water conservation: a case study for a Chinese steel plant

A systematic approach to optimizing water network has traditionally been utilized to exam and plan water conservation in industrial processes. In the present case study, water-pinch technology was used to analyze and optimize the water network of a steel plant near China's Zhangjiakou city. A system design was developed and a limiting constraint (Cl(-) concentration) was identified based on investigations of water quality then the minimum freshwater and wastewater targets were determined without considering water losses. The analysis was then extended by calculating the additional input of freshwater required to balance the actual water losses. A nearest-neighbor algorithm (NNA) was used to distribute the freshwater and recycled water among each of the plant's operations. The results showed that with some reconstruction of the water network, the flow rates of freshwater and wastewater could be decreased by 57.5% and 81.9%, respectively.     

Differences in nitrous oxide fluxes from red soil under different land uses in mid-subtropical China

Red soil may play an important role in nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions due to its recent land use change pattern. To predict the land use change effect on N₂O emissions, we examined the relationship between soil N₂O flux and environmental determinants in four different types of land uses in subtropical red soil. During two years of study (January 2005-January 2007), biweekly N₂O fluxes were measured from 09:00 to 11:00 a.m. using static closed chamber method. Objectives were to estimate the seasonal and annual N₂O flux differences from land use change and, reveal the controlling factors of soil N₂O emission by studying the relationship of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), water filled pore space (WFPS) and soil temperature with soil N₂O flux. Nitrous oxide fluxes were significantly higher in hot-humid season than in the cool-dry season. Significant differences in soil N₂O fluxes were observed among four land uses; 2.9, 1.9 and 1.7 times increased N₂O emissions were observed after conventional land use conversion from woodland to paddy, orchard and upland, respectively. The mean annual budgets of N₂O emission were 0.71-2.21 kg N₂O-N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ from four land use types. The differences were partly attributed to increased fertilizer use in agriculture land uses. In all land uses, N₂O fluxes were positively related to soil temperature and DOC accounting for 22-48% and 30-46% of the seasonal N₂O flux variability, respectively. Nitrous oxide fluxes did significantly correlate with WFPS in orchard and upland only. Nitrous oxide fluxes responded positively to MBC in all land use types except orchard which had the lowest WFPS. We conclude that (1) land use conversion from woodland to agriculture land uses leads to increased soil N₂O fluxes, partly due increased fertilizer use, and (2) irrespective of land use, soil N₂O fluxes are under environmental controls, the main variables being soil temperature and DOC, both of which control the supply of nitrification and denitrification substrates.     

电感耦合等离子体质谱法同时测定地下水中钴和钼

建立了一种用电感耦合等离子体质谱法同时测定水源地地下水中微量元素钴和钼的方法。与常规的元素测试方法相比,该方法可以同时快速有效地完成钴和钼测试,测试方法简单,结果准确可靠。     

Benthic Fluxes and Pore Water Profiles in the Tigullio Gulf

Diffusive fluxes of elements (NO^-₂, NO^-₃, NH⁺₄, SiO₂, PO^3-₄, Cl^-, SO^2-₄, Fe, Mn) have been measured by applying the Fick's first law in two stations of the Tigullio Gulf: the first one characterized by sandy sediments rich in vegetal detritus and the second one, located to within the tourist harbour, characterized by a silty-clay sediments.

Benthic fluxes were measured only in the second station by means of benthic chamber experiments. Although the significant presence of dissolved oxygen in the surface sediments, and the evidence of processes usually occurring in oxidised sediments such as nitrification, both stations also presented characteristics of anoxic sediments such as high oxygen consumption rate and high pore water concentrations of ion, manganese and N-ammonia and reactive orthophosphate.

In both stations, sediments seemed to represent a potential source for most of the chemical species studied, although fluxes were not confirmed for ion, manganese and reactive orthophosphate in benthic chamber experiments.

Diffusive fluxes presented a general agreement for both stations, with higher fluxes of N-nitrate and N-nitrite at the first station were oxidative processes of N-ammonia in the upper layer of the sediments seemed to be more active. the comparison between diffusive and benthic fluxes showed a possible contribution of bioturbation.     

Experimental study and modeling of the transfer of zinc in a low reactive sand column in the presence of acetate

Nowadays, it is necessary to understand and identify the reactions governing the fate of heavy metals introduced into the environment with low complexing organic compounds, particularly when they are transferred through soils in urban areas. In this work the concomitant influence of pH and acetate on the fate of zinc on siliceous sand was studied in batch and non-saturated column experiments. Total zinc concentrations varied between 2 and 20 mg/l, and total acetate concentrations were fixed at 22, 72, 132, and 223 mM to obtain solution pHs of 4, 5, 6 and 7, respectively. Natural sand (diameter, 0.3-2 mm), mainly constituted of silica, was used. In batch adsorption experiments, zinc adsorption is insignificant at pH 4, low and linear at pH 5, and increasingly nonlinear, of the Langmuir type, at pH 6 and 7 indicating near-saturation conditions of surface sites at these high pH values. In column experiments, Zn retardation increases and the maximum outlet concentration of Zn decreases with rising pH and acetate concentrations. Previous column tracer experiments revealed the occurrence of regionalized water transport in the column. Modeling these data was based on a non-electrostatic approach. Batch and column data modeling was based on the PHREEQC code that allows concomitant resolution of chemical speciation and regionalized water transport. The speciation calculation indicates that the ZnAcetate+ species is the dominant Zn species in the solutions used. Batch experimental curves are correctly modeled assuming the formation of the three surface species triple bond SiOZn+, triple bond SiOH-Zn Acetate+ and triple bond SiO-Zn(Acetate)2-. The column data could be adequately modeled assuming a two-region water transport and the formation of the same three species with the same thermodynamic constants determined in the batch experiments. The hypothesis of the modeling leads to a slight overestimation of the quantities of zinc eluted (10%) at pH 6 and 7, mostly in the desorption phase. These results show that the methodology used facilitates the correct modeling of both batch and transport experiments and formulation of the hypothesis on the interactions between the low reactive sand and a complex solution.     

真空条件下高分辩质谱对不同煤质热解释放CO2分析

煤的热解机理和热解物质的形成与释放特征是煤田火灾研究领域的重要基础问题.本文以淮北不同煤种(烟煤,无烟煤,天然焦)为研究对象,在高真空条件下对样品进行热解,利用分子泵即时将热解气体产物抽入高分辨质谱检测器,在线分析热解过程中CO2的释放规律.研究结果表明:天然焦热解过程中产生的CO2,主要是样品和体系中残留以及吸附在煤微孔隙中O2分子反应生成;烟煤和无烟煤热解产生的CO2,主要是其内部含氧官能团在受热过程中分解形成,为不同煤种自燃发火防治提供资料.     

A stochastic-advective transport model for NAPL dissolution and degradation in non-uniform flows in porous media

Remediation schemes for contaminated sites are often evaluated to assess their potential for source zone reduction of mass, or treatment of the contaminant between the source and a control plane (CP) to achieve regulatory limits. In this study, we utilize a stochastic stream tube model to explain the behavior of breakthrough curves (BTCs) across a CP. At the local scale, mass dissolution at the source is combined with an advection model with first-order decay for the dissolved plume. Field-scale averaging is then employed to account for spatial variation in mass within the source zone, and variation in the velocity field. Under the assumption of instantaneous mass transfer from the source to the moving liquid, semi-analytical expressions for the BTC and temporal moments are developed, followed by derivation of expressions for effective velocity, dispersion, and degradation coefficients using the method of moments. It is found that degradation strongly influences the behavior of moments and the effective parameters. While increased heterogeneity in the velocity field results in increased dispersion, degradation causes the center of mass of the plume to shift to earlier times, and reduces the dispersion of the BTC by lowering the concentrations in the tail. Modified definitions of effective parameters are presented for degrading solutes to account for the normalization constant (zeroth moment) that keeps changing with time or distance to the CP. It is shown that anomalous dispersion can result for high degradation rates combined with wide variation in velocity fluctuations. Implications of model results on estimating cleanup times and fulfillment of regulatory limits are discussed. Relating mass removal at the source to flux reductions past a control plane is confounded by many factors. Increased heterogeneity in velocity fields causes mass fluxes past a control plane to persist, however, aggressive remediation between the source and CP can reduce these fluxes.     

A model of oscillatory transport in granular soils, with application to barometric pumping and earth tides

A simple algebraic model is proposed to estimate the transport of a volatile or soluble chemical caused by oscillatory flow of fluid in a porous medium. The model is applied to the barometric pumping of vapors in the vadose zone, and to the transport of dissolved species by earth tides in an aquifer. In the model, the fluid moves sinusoidally with time in the porosity of the soil. The chemical concentration in the mobile fluid is considered to equilibrate with the concentration in the surrounding matrix according to a characteristic time governed by diffusion, sorption, or other rate processes. The model provides a closed form solution, to which barometric pressure data are applied in an example of pore gas motion in the vadose zone. The model predicts that the additional diffusivity due barometric pumping in an unfractured vadose zone would be comparable to the diffusivity in stagnant pore gas if the equilibration time is 1 day or longer. Water motion due to the M2 lunar tide is examined as an example of oscillatory transport in an aquifer. It is shown that the tidal motion of the water in an aquifer might significantly increase the vertical diffusivity of dissolved species when compared to diffusion in an absolutely stagnant aquifer, but the hydrodynamic dispersivity due to tidal motion or gravitational flow would probably exceed the diffusivity due to oscillatory advection.     

A hybrid method for inverse characterization of subsurface contaminant flux

The methods presented in this work provide a potential tool for characterizing contaminant source zones in terms of mass flux. The problem was conceptualized by considering contaminant transport through a vertical "flux plane" located between a source zone and a downgradient region where contaminant concentrations were measured. The goal was to develop a robust method capable of providing a statement of the magnitude and uncertainty associated with estimated contaminant mass flux values. In order to estimate the magnitude and transverse spatial distribution of mass flux through a plane, the problem was considered in an optimization framework. Two numerical optimization techniques were applied, simulated annealing (SA) and minimum relative entropy (MRE). The capabilities of the flux plane model and the numerical solution techniques were evaluated using data from a numerically generated test problem and a nonreactive tracer experiment performed in a three-dimensional aquifer model. Results demonstrate that SA is more robust and converges more quickly than MRE. However, SA is not capable of providing an estimate of the uncertainty associated with the simulated flux values. In contrast, MRE is not as robust as SA, but once in the neighborhood of the optimal solution, it is quite effective as a tool for inferring mass flux probability density functions, expected flux values, and confidence limits. A hybrid (SA-MRE) solution technique was developed in order to take advantage of the robust solution capabilities of SA and the uncertainty estimation capabilities of MRE. The coupled technique provided probability density functions and confidence intervals that would not have been available from an independent SA algorithm and they were obtained more efficiently than if provided by an independent MRE algorithm.