An improved method for the extraction of low molecular weight organic acids in variable charge soils

Due to specific adsorption to variable charge soils, low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) have not been sufficiently extracted, even if common extractants, such as water and 0.1 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH), were employed. In this work, the method for extracting LMWOAs in soils with 0.1 M NaOH was improved for variable charge soils; e.g. 1.0 M potassium fluoride (KF) with pH 4.0 was applied as an extractant jointed with 0.1 M NaOH based on its stronger ability to change the electrochemical properties of variable charge soils by specific adsorption. With the proposed method, the recoveries of oxalic, tartaric, malic, citric and fumaric acids were increased from 83 4, 93 1, 22 2, 63 +/- 5 and 84 +/- 3% to 98 +/- 2, 100 +/- 2, 85 +/- 2, 90 +/- 2 and 89 +/- 2%, respectively, compared with NaOH alone. Simultaneously, the LMWOAs in Agri-Udic Ferrosol with field moisture were measured with a satisfactory result.

Sediment sources and the flood record from Wanghu lake, in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River

A sediment core was collected from the centre of Wanghu Lake, in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River. The recent part of the core was dated using a combination of Pb-210 and spheroidal carbonaceous particle (SCP) techniques. Extrapolating this chronology dated the laminated section of the core, between 723 and 881 mm, to the first half of the 18th century and this section was selected for detailed study. The thicknesses of the laminae were measured using reflecting and polarizing microscopes whilst geochemistry was determined by an electron probe. The thickness of the dark layers was found to be positively correlated with titanium concentrations, and negatively correlated with aluminium and potassium concentrations. The thickness of the light layers was found to be negatively correlated with the concentrations of titanium. It is concluded that the dark layers were deposited from the Fushui River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, under periods of normal flow whilst the light Layers were mainly deposited from the Yangtze River itself during flood periods. Documentary evidence for floods occurring in the take catchment corresponded with thick laminations of high titanium concentration. Further, two of the three thickest, light laminations with low titanium concentrations were found to be synchronous with recorded flood dates of the main Yangtze River in its Middle Reaches, but one was synchronous with a local drought. These data suggest that the Lake sediment provides an archive of the relative water levels of the Yangtze and Wanghu including floods of both the main Yangtze River and the local hydrological regime. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impacts of Choerospondias axillaris growth on acidity of Udic Ferrosols in subtropical China

Changes in acidity of Udic Ferrosols, caused by growth of Choerospondias axillaris (Roxb.) Burtt et Hill, in comparison to wild grass, were investigated for pH distribution in the soil profile, exchangeable acidity, and cation status in the soil leachate of a simulated leaching experiment. Soils were sampled in profiles at 5 cm intervals to a depth of 100 cm. In the 1.5-60 cm layer the soils with 10-year old C. axillaris had significantly lower pH (P < 0.05), with the largest difference being 0.41: and in the 25-75 cm soil depths, especially in the 30-55 cm layer, the soils had a significantly higher exchangeable acidity, ranging 1.93 to 3.02 cmol(c) kg(-1). There was also higher aluminum, potassium, and sodium contents in the soil leachate under C. axillaris than with wild grasses. This suggested that the growth of C. axillaris accelerated acidification of Udic Ferrosols and promoted soil clay mineral weathering.

Dried field populations of Nostoc flagelliforme (Cyanophyceae) require exogenous nutrients for their photosynthetic recovery

The effects of nutrients on the photosynthetic recovery of Nostoc flagelliforme during re-hydration were investigated in order to see if their addition was necessary. Net photosynthesis was negligible in distilled water without nutrient-enrichment. Addition of K+ resulted in significant enhancement of net photosynthesis, whereas other nutrients (Fe3+, Mg2+, Na+, NO3-, PO43-, Cl-) and trace-metals (A(5)) showed little effect. The recovered net photosynthetic activity increased with the increased K+, and reached the maximum at concentrations above 230 mu M. Desiccation and re-hydration did not affect the dependence of photosynthetic recovery on K+. It was concluded that dried field populations of N. flagelliforme require exogenous addition of potassium for photosynthetic recovery and that growth may be potassium-limited in nature.

Paired interference 3-dB coupler based on SOI rib waveguides with anisotropic chemical wet etching

A 3-dB paired interference (PI) optical coupler in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) based on rib waveguides with trapezoidal cross section was designed with simulation by a modified finite-difference beam propagation method (FD-BPM) and fabricated by potassium hydroxide (KOH) anisotropic chemical wet etching. Theoretically, tolerances of width, length, and port distance are more than 1, 100, and 1 mu m, respectively. Smooth interface was obtained with the propagation loss of 1.1 dB/cm at the wavelength of 1.55 mu m. The coupler has a good uniformity of 0.2 dB and low excess loss of less than 2 dB.

Third-order optical nonlinearities of lead-free (Na1-xKx)(0.5)Bi0.5TiO3 thin films

(Na1-xKx)(0.5)Bi0.5TiO3 (NKBT) (x = 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3) thin films with good surface morphology and rhombohedral perovskite structure were fabricated on quartz substrates by a sol-gel process. The fundamental optical constants (the band gaps, linear refractive indices and absorption coefficients) of the films were obtained through optical transmittance measurements. The nonlinear optical properties were investigated by Z-scan technique performed at 532 nm with a picosecond laser. A two-photon absorption effect closely related with potassium-doping content was found in thin films, and the nonlinear refractive index n(2) increases evidently with potassium-doping. The real part of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility chi((3)) is much larger than its imaginary part, indicating that the third-order optical nonlinear response of the NKBT films is dominated by the optical nonlinear refractive behavior. These results show that NKBT thin films have potential applications in nonlinear optics. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multimode interference 3-dB coupler in silicon-on-insulator based on silicon rib waveguides with trapezoidal cross section

A 3-dB multimode interference optical coupler based on rib waveguides with trapezoidal cross section was designed and fabricated on silicon-on-insulator wafer. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) anisotropic chemical etching of silicon was used to fabricate the waveguides to obtain smooth interface. A modified finite-difference beam propagation method was used to simulate the multimode rib waveguide with slope interfaces. The rms roughness of etching interface is as small as 1.49 nm. The propagation loss of the waveguide is 1.3 dB/cm at wavelength of 1.55 mum. The fabricated 3-dB coupler has a good uniformity of 0.2 dB.

Design and fabrication of compact nonblocking 4X4 optical matrix switch on silicon-on-insulator by anisotropic chemical etching

A folding nonblocking 4 X 4 optical matrix switch in simplified-tree architecture was designed and fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator wafer. To compress chip size, switch elements (SEs) were connected by total internal reflection mirrors instead of conventional S-bends. For obtaining smooth interfaces, potassium hydroxide (KOH) anisotropic chemical etching of silicon was employed. The device has a compact size of 20 X 3.2 mm(2) and a fast response of 8 +/- 1 mu s. Power consumption of 2 x 2 SE and excess loss per mirror were 145 mW and -1.1 dB, respectively. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Integrated folding 4x4 optical matrix switch with total internal reflection mirrors on SOI by anisotropic chemical etching

A folding rearrangeable nonblocking 4 x 4 optical matrix switch was designed and fabricated on silicon-on-insulator wafer. To compress chip size, switch elements (SEs) were interconnected by total internal reflection (TIR) mirrors instead of conventional S-bends. For obtaining smooth interfaces, potassium hydroxide anisotropic chemical etching of silicon was utilized to make the matrix switch for the first time. The device has a compact size of 20 x 1.6 mm(2) and a fast response of 7.5 mu s. The power consumption of each 2 x 2 SE and the average excess loss per mirror were 145 mW and -1.1 dB, respectively. Low path dependence of +/- 0.7 dB in total excess loss was obtained because of the symmetry of propagation paths in this novel matrix switch.

Tunable Fano resonance in photonic crystal slabs

A three dimensional analysis of a special class of anisotropic materials is presented. We introduce an extension of the Scattering Matrix Method (SMM) to investigate the behavior of anisotropic Photonic Crystal Slabs (PhCS) subject to external radiation. We show how the Fano effect can play a fundamental role in the realization of tunable optical devices. Moreover, we show how to utilize electron injection, electric field and temperature as parameters to control the Fano resonance shift in both isotropic and anisotropic materials as Si and Potassium Titanium Oxide Phosphate (KTP). We will see that because Fano modes are sensitive and controllable, a broad range of applications can be considered. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America

Production of biodiesel from soapstock using an ion-exchange resin catalyst

The feasibility of biodiesel production from soapstock containing high water content and fatty matters by a solid acid catalyst was investigated. Soapstock was converted to high-acid acid oil (HAAO) by the hydrolysis by KOH and the acidulation by sulfuric acid. The acid value of soapstock-HAAO increased to 199.1 mg KOH/g but a large amount of potassium sulfate was produced. To resolve the formation of potassium sulfate, acid oil was extracted from soapstock and was converted to HAAO by using sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS). The maximum acid value of acid oil-HAAO was 194.2 mg KOH/g when the mass ratio of acid oil, sulfuric acid, and water was 10:4:10 at 2% of SDBS. In the esterification of HAAO using Amberylst-15, fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) concentration was 91.7 and 81.3% for soapstock and acid oil, respectively. After the distillation, FAME concentration became 98.1% and 96.7% for soapstock and acid oil. The distillation process decreased the total glycerin and the acid value of FAME produced a little.

乙酰丙酸钾对黄土高原山地红枣生长发育及产量品质的影响

选用9 a生盛果期矮化密植梨枣树为试验材料,研究乙酰丙酸钾叶面喷施对黄土高原山地红枣生长发育及产量品质的影响。结果表明:叶面喷施稀释800倍的乙酰丙酸钾,对枣树的生长发育、产量和品质都有明显的促进作用,建议在黄土高原区红枣实际生产中采用稀释800倍的乙酰丙酸钾喷施。

云雾山不同草地群落土壤活性有机碳分布特征

为探讨黄土高原草地植被演替过程活性有机碳的变化规律,揭示草地退耕后的分布特征,在云雾山草原区采集不同草地群落土壤,采用高锰酸钾氧化法对0~100 cm土层活性有机碳进行分析。结果表明:不同草地群落土壤活性有机碳含量均高于坡耕地,活性有机碳含量大小顺序为:长芒草(Stipa bungeanaTrin.)群落>大针茅(Sti-pa grandisP.Smirn.)群落>铁杆蒿(Artemisia gmeliniiWeb.ex Stechm.)群落>百里香(Thymus mongolicusRonn.)群落>退耕草地>坡耕地,且群落间差异达极显著水平(P<0.01);在恢复初期(坡耕地-退耕草地-百里香)活性有机碳含量增加较多,恢复到长芒草群落活性有机碳含量达到最大值,趋于稳定;活性有机碳的密度与含量表现出相同的变化规律,并随着土层的加深而呈现减小趋势。相关性分析表明,活性有机碳含量与土壤总有机碳含量呈极显著线性正相关关系(r=0.9742),土壤活性有机碳比总有机碳更能反映草地植被恢复初期土壤有机碳库的变化。

低分子有机酸对辣椒生长发育及叶片活性氧代谢的影响

采用盆栽试验与室内分析相结合的方法,研究了6种低分子有机酸和一种有机酸盐对辣椒生长发育和叶片活性氧代谢的影响。结果表明:柠檬酸、乙酰丙酸和有机酸钾处理不仅可显著提高辣椒根系干质量,增加辣椒vC含量,而且提高了辣椒的产量。甲酸、柠檬酸、乙酰丙酸和有机酸钾处理使根系活力比对照分别提高83%、93.8%、96.75%和99.5%。柠檬酸、乙酰丙酸和有机酸钾处理提高了辣椒叶片的SOD和POD活性,降低了膜脂过氧化产物MDA含量,延缓了叶片衰老。但是低分子有机酸处理对CAT活性的影响较小。

配施钾肥、有机肥对旱地春玉米光合生理特性和产量的影响

以长期定位施肥试验为平台,研究在施用氮磷肥条件下,配施钾肥、有机肥对黄土塬区春玉米光合生理特性和产量的影响。结果表明:配施钾肥在灌浆前期降低了LAI、WUE、叶片水势、干物质积累量、叶片光合和蒸腾速率,但在灌浆后期提高了LAI、WUE、干物质积累量和叶片光合速率,且与对照间达显著差异,这说明配施钾肥对春玉米生长的影响主要表现在生育后期;配施钾肥可显著提高整个生育期的SPAD(叶绿素相对含量)、株高;可促进同化向籽粒的转移,使籽粒产量增加;但收获指数下降了3.2%。而配施有机肥可显著提高春玉米整个生育期的LAI、株高、SPAD、光合速率和蒸腾速率等生理指标(WUE和水势除外)和产量,使籽粒产量和生物产量增加,与对照、钾肥间差异均达到显著水平(P<0.05)。在富含钾素的黄土塬区,配施有机肥对春玉米光合生理特性和产量的作用优于配施钾肥。