Contributions of phosphatase and microbial activity to internal phosphorus loading and their relation to lake eutrophication

Phosphatase may accelerate the process of lake eutrophication through improving phosphorus bioavailability. This mechanism was studied in three Chinese eutrophic shallow lakes (Lake Taihu, Lake Longyang,and Lake Lianhua). Phosphatase activity was related to the concentration of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and chlorophyll a. Stability of dissolved phosphatase in reverse micelles may be attributed to molecular size, conformation and active residues of the enzyme. At the site with Microcystis bloomed in Lake Taihu, dissolved phosphatase activity was higher and more stable in micelles, SRP concentrations were lower in interstitial water, the contents of different forms of phosphorus and the amounts of aerobic bacteria were lower while respiration efficiency was higher in sediments. Phosphobacteria, both inorganic and organic and other microorganisms were abundant in surface water but rare in sediments. Therefore, internal phosphorus may substantially flux into water column by enzymatic hydrolysis and anaerobic release, together with mobility of bacteria, thereby initiating the bloom. In short, biological mechanism may act in concert with physical and chemical factors to drive the internal phosphorus release and accelerate lake eutrophication.

Negative refraction via domain wall resonances in a homogeneous mixture of ferro- and nonmagnetic substances

We deliver the general conditions on the synthetic proportions for a homogeneous mixture of ferro- and nonmagnetic substances to become left-handed. As an alternative for left-handed metamaterials, we consider mixing ferromagnetic materials with nonmagnetic microscopic particles. In the mixture, the ferromagnetic material provides the needed permeability via domain wall resonances at high frequencies, whereas the nonmagnetic material gives the required permittivity. Using the effective medium theory, we have found that when the concentration of the nonmagnetic particles falls into a certain range, the refractive index of the mixture is negative, n < 0, which includes the double negative ( epsilon < 0 and mu < 0) and other cases ( e. g. epsilon < 0 and mu > 0). We finally give the requirements on the microscopic material properties for the ferromagnetic materials to reach the domain wall resonances at high frequencies.

In-situ FTIR study on adsorption and oxidation of native and thermally denatured calf thymus DNA at glassy carbon electrodes

In-situ Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectra of native and thermally denatured calf thymus DNA (CT DNA) adsorbed and/or oxidized at a glassy carbon (GC) electrode surface are reported. The adsorption of native DNA occurs throughout the potential range (-0.2 similar to 1.3 V) studied, and the adsorbing state of DNA at electrode surface is changed from through the C=O band of bases and pyrimidine rings to through the C=O of cytosine and imidazole rings while the potential shifts negatively from 1.3 V to -0.2 V. An in-situ FTIR spectrum of native CT DNA adsorbed at GC electrode surface is similar to that of the dissolved DNA, indicating that the structure of CT DNA is not distorted while it is adsorbed at the GC electrode surface. In the potential range of -0.2 similar to 1.30 V, the temperature-denatured CT DNA is adsorbed at the electrode surface first, then undergoes electrochemical oxidation reaction and following that, diffuses away from the electrode surface. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A STUDY ON THE LUMINESCENCE PROPERTIES OF EU3+ AND DY3+ IN M(2)RE(8)(SIO4)(6)O-2 (M=MG, CA RE=Y, GD, LA)

In this paper, the luminescence properties of Eu3+ and Dy3+ in the oxyapatites M(2)RE(8)(SiO4)(6)O-2 (M=Mg, Ca; RE=Y, Gd, La) were studied. The spectral characters of Eu3+ were discussed in relation to the crystal structure. The dependence of the red-to-orange intensity ratio and the position of the charge transfer band of Eu3+ and the yellow-to-blue intensity ratio of Dy3+ together with their fluorescence intensities (I-R for Eu3+ and I-Y for Dy3+) On the M(2+) and the substitution of BO45- and PO43- for SiO44- was discussed. Finally, the concentration quenching of Dy3+ luminescence was reported.