Effect of cattle manure on sunflower production and water use in two types of soil

The aim of the present study was to evaluate water consumption, use efficiency and yield components of sunflower variety Embrapa 122 V/2000 cultivated in two types of soil (Fluvissol and Haplic Luvisol) subjected to increasing doses of cattle manure. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse at Universidade Estadual da Paraíba. The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial scheme. The irrigation was performed every other day, replacing the water absorbed by the plants. The water consumption and the use efficiency were evaluated, being the use efficiency determined by the ratio of the total dry mass of sunflower and the amount of water used to produce it in each treatment. Plants were harvested at 95 days after sowing when the following parameters were evaluated: number of seeds per plant, weight of seeds per plant, weight of 1000 seeds and the outer diameter of the capitulum (head). The results showed that the sunflower was positively affected by cattle manure application, increasing the production components and the water use efficiency, regardless of the type of soil. Excepting for the 1000 seeds weight and the water use efficiency, the type of soil affected significantly the water use, the number and weight of seeds per plant. The plants cultivated in Haplic Luvisol had a better performance.

Multiple Antibiotic Resistances of Vibrio Isolates from Coastal and Brackish Water Areas

An experiment was designed to assess the occurrence of multiple antibiotic resistances in Vibrio sp from different (brackish and marine) environments. Water samples front nine marine landing sites and two coastal inland aquaculture farms were screened for the Vibrio spp and assessed their resistance to twenty-two different antibiotics, which arc commonly encountered in the aquatic ecosystem. Tissue samples (shrimp, mussel and sepia) were tested from the sampling site with highest antibiotic resistance. Of' the total 119 Vibrio isolates, 16. 8% were susceptible to all antibiotics. Of the resistant (83.19%) Vibrio strains, 30.3% were resistant against three antibiotics, 55.5% were resistant against 4-10 antibiotics, 14.14% were resistant against more than 10 antibiotics and 54% have shown multiple antibiotics resistance (MAR). Antibiotic resistance index was higher in Coastal 3, 6, Aqua farm 2 in isolates from water samples and all the tissues tested. Interestingly, incidence of antibiotic resistance in isolates from water samples was comparatively lower in aquaculture farms than that observed in coastal areas. Highest incidence of antibiotic resistance was evident against Amoxycillin, Ampicillin, Carbencillin and Cefuroxime followed by Rilanipicin and Streptomycin and lowest against Chloramphenicol, Tetracycline, Chlortetracycline, Furazolidone, Nalidixic acid, Gentamycin Sulphafurazole, Trimcthoprinr, Neomycin and Amikacin irrespective of the sampling sites. Results from various tissue samples collected from the sites of highest antibiotic resistance indicated that antibiotic resistance Vibrio spp collected from fish and tissue samples were higher than that of water samples. Overall results indicated that persistent use of antibiotics against diseases in human beings and other life forms may pollute the aquatic system and their impact on developing antibiotic resistant Vibrio sp may be a serious threat in addition to the use of antibiotics in aquaculture farms.

Multiple Antibiotic Resistances of Vibrio Isolates from Coastal and Brackish Water Areas

An experiment was designed to assess the occurrence of multiple antibiotic resistances in Vibrio sp from different (brackish and marine) environments. Water samples front nine marine landing sites and two coastal inland aquaculture farms were screened for the Vihrio spp and assessed their resistance to twenty-two different antibiotics, which arc commonly encountered in the aquatic ecosystem. Tissue samples (shrimp, mussel and sepia) were tested from the sampling site with highest antibiotic resistance. Of' the total 119 Vihrio isolates, 16. 8'7(, were susceptible to all antibiotics. Of the resistant (83.19%) Vibrio strains, 30.3% were resistant against three antibiotics, 55.5% were resistant against 4-10 antibiotics, 14.14% were resistant against more than 10 antibiotics and 54% have shown multiple antibiotics resistance (MAR). Antibiotic resistance index was higher in Coastal 3, 6, Aqua farm 2 in isolates from water samples and all the tissues tested. Interestingly, incidence of antibiotic resistance in isolates from water samples was comparatively lower in aquaculture farms than that observed in coastal areas. Highest incidence of antibiotic resistance was evident against Amoxycillin, Ampicillin, Carbencillin and Cefuroxime followed by Rilanipicin and Streptomycin and lowest against Chloramphenicol, Tetracycline, Chlortetracycline, Furazolidone, Nalidixic acid, Gentamycin Sulphafurazole, Trimcthoprinr, Neomycin and Amikacin irrespective of the sampling sites. Results from various tissue samples collected from the sites of highest antibiotic resistance indicated that antibiotic resistance Vibrio spp collected from fish and tissue samples were higher than that of water samples. Overall results indicated that persistent use of antibiotics against diseases in human beings and other life forms may pollute the aquatic system and their impact on developing antibiotic resistant Vibrio sp may be a serious threat in addition to the use of antibiotics in aquaculture farms.

Antibiotic resistance pattern of motile aeromonads from farm raised fresh water fish

Motile aeromonads isolated from the intestines of farm-raised freshwater fish such as Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Ctenopharyngodon idella have been characterized to species level. Morphological and physiological grouping revealed 61% Aeromonas hydrophila, 30% Aeromonas caviae, 7% Aeromonas sobria and 2% which remained unidentified. Hemolytic activity was detected mostly in A. hydrophila, while only half of the A. sobria and A. caviae showed this activity. Antibiotic resistance patterns of the strains revealed that they had acquired a relatively higher resistance to oxytetracycline, amoxycillin, ampicillin, novobiocin and polymixin-B, implicating possible use of these antibiotics in the aquaculture systems.

Multiple Antibiotic Resistances of Vibrio Isolates from Coastal and Brackish Water Areas

An experiment was designed to assess the occurrence of multiple antibiotic resistances in Vibrio sp from different (brackish and marine) environments. Water samples from nine marine landing sites and two coastal inland aquaculture farms were screened for the Vibrio spp and assessed their resistance to twenty-two different antibiotics, which are commonly encountered in the aquatic ecosystem. Tissue samples (shrimp, mussel and sepia) were tested from the sampling site with highest antibiotic resistance. Of the total 119 Vibrio isolates, 16. 8% were susceptible to all antibiotics. Of the resistant (83.19%) Vibrio strains, 30.3% were resistant against three antibiotics, 55.5% were resistant against 4-10 antibiotics, 14.14% were resistant against more than 10 antibiotics and 54% have shown multiple antibiotics resistance (MAR). Antibiotic resistance index was higher in Coastal 3, 6, Aqua farm 2 in isolates from water samples and all the tissues tested. Interestingly, incidence of antibiotic resistance in isolates from water samples was comparatively lower in aquaculture farms than that observed in coastal areas. Highest incidence of antibiotic resistance was evident against Amoxycillin, Ampicillin, Carbencillin and Cefuroxime followed by Rifampicin and Streptomycin and lowest against Chloramphenicol, Tetracycline, Chlortetracycline, Furazolidone, Nalidixic acid, Gentamycin Sulphafurazole, Trimethoprirn, Neomycin and Amikacin irrespective of the sampling sites. Results from various tissue samples collected from the sites of highest antibiotic resistance indicated that antibiotic resistance Vibrio spp collected from fish and tissue samples were higher than that of water samples. Overall results indicated that persistent use of antibiotics against diseases in human beings and other life forms may pollute the aquatic system and their impact on developing antibiotic resistant Vibrio sp may be a serious threat in addition to the use of antibiotics in aquaculture farms.

Transformation of monochromatic waves from deep to shallow water /

"August 1980."

Management of slips and its effect on growth and production of 'Pérola' pineapple plants

The lack of good quality planting material has limited the expansion and contributed to yield reduction of the Brazilian pineapple culture. Alternatives of 'Pérola' pineapple slips management were studied aiming at obtaining superior planting material within a shorter time period and making good use of healthy slips of low vigor, that are commonly discarded by growers. Two experiments were carried out at the Experimental Field of Embrapa Cassava & Fruits, Cruz das Almas, Bahia, Brazil, and another one in a commercial plantation in the region of Itaberaba, BA, using blocks or entirely randomized designs with at least four replications. In the first one, the development of slips of different initial sizes (6 to 20 cm long), when grown on mother plants after fruit harvest, was compared with that of slips grown in a nursery after their removal from the mother plants. It became clear that larger slips grow more vigorously and that the removal from the mother plant delays their growth. However, results from the second study showed that those slips grown in nursery had vegetative and agronomic performance similar to that of conventional slips and close to that of plantlets produced from plant stem sections. Independently from the type of planting material used, the larger ones presented a more vigorous growth and produced higher yields. In the third study, it was observed the influence of mineral fertilization, pest control and growth regulator application after fruit harvest on slip development. The treatments applied did not significantly accelerate slip growth. Slips reached 50 cm length and at least 300 g fresh weight within 90 days after fruit harvest, indicating that vigorous plants have enough nutritional storage material for slips development.

Current status of the waste-to-energy chain in the County of North Savo, Finland

The aim of this report is to describe the current status of the waste-to-energy chain in the province of Northern Savonia in Finland. This work is part of the Baltic Sea Region Programme project Remowe-Regional Mobilizing of Sustainable Waste-to-Energy Production (2009-2012). Partnering regions across Baltic Sea countries have parallelly investigated the current status, bottle-necks and needs for development in their regions. Information about the current status is crucial for the further work within the Remowe project, e.g. in investigating the possible future status in target regions. Ultimate result from the Northern Savonia point of view will be a regional model which utilizes all available information and facilitates decision-making concerning energy utilization of waste. The report contains information on among others: - waste management system (sources, amounts, infrastructure) - energy system (use, supply, infrastructure) - administrative structure and legislation - actors and stakeholders in the waste-to-energy field, including interest and development ideas The current status of the regions will be compared in a separate Remowe report, with the focus on finding best practices that could be transferred among the regions. In this report, the current status has been defined as 2006-2009. In 2009, the municipal waste amount per capita was 479 kg/inhabitant in Finland. Industrial waste amounted 3550 kg/inhabitant, respectively. The potential bioenergy from biodegradable waste amounts 1 MWh/inhabitant in Northern Savonia. This figure includes animal manure, crops that would be suitable for energy use, sludge from municipal sewage treatment plants and separately collected biowaste. A key strategy influencing also to Remowe work is the waste plan for Eastern Finland. Currently there operate two digestion plants in Northern Savonia: Lehtoniemi municipal sewage treatment sludge digestion plant of Kuopion Vesi and the farm-scale research biogas plant of Agrifood Research Finland in Maaninka. Moreover, landfill gas is collected to energy use from Heinälamminrinne waste management centre and Silmäsuo closed landfill site, both belonging to Jätekukko Oy. Currently there is no thermal utilization of waste in Northern Savonia region. However, Jätekukko Oy is pretreating mixed waste and delivering refuse derived fuel (RDF) to Southern Finland to combustion. There is a strong willingness among seven regional waste management companies in Eastern Finland to build a waste incineration plant to Riikinneva waste management centre near city of Varkaus. The plant would use circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler. This would been a clear boost in waste-to-energy utilization in Northern Savonia and in many surrounding regions.

The nitrate to ammonia and ceramic (NAC) process for the denitration and immobilization of low-level radioactive liquid waste (LLW)

Hazardous radioactive liquid waste is the legacy of more than 50 years of plutonium production associated with the United States' nuclear weapons program. It is estimated that more than 245,000 tons of nitrate wastes are stored at facilities such as the single-shell tanks (SST) at the Hanford Site in the state of Washington, and the Melton Valley storage tanks at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee. In order to develop an innovative, new technology for the destruction and immobilization of nitrate-based radioactive liquid waste, the United State Department of Energy (DOE) initiated the research project which resulted in the technology known as the Nitrate to Ammonia and Ceramic (NAC) process. However, inasmuch as the nitrate anion is highly mobile and difficult to immobilize, especially in relatively porous cement-based grout which has been used to date as a method for the immobilization of liquid waste, it presents a major obstacle to environmental clean-up initiatives. Thus, in an effort to contribute to the existing body of knowledge and enhance the efficacy of the NAC process, this research involved the experimental measurement of the rheological and heat transfer behaviors of the NAC product slurry and the determination of the optimal operating parameters for the continuous NAC chemical reaction process. Test results indicate that the NAC product slurry exhibits a typical non-Newtonian flow behavior. Correlation equations for the slurry's rheological properties and heat transfer rate in a pipe flow have been developed; these should prove valuable in the design of a full-scale NAC processing plant. The 20-percent slurry exhibited a typical dilatant (shear thickening) behavior and was in the turbulent flow regime due to its lower viscosity. The 40-percent slurry exhibited a typical pseudoplastic (shear thinning) behavior and remained in the laminar flow regime throughout its experimental range. The reactions were found to be more efficient in the lower temperature range investigated. With respect to leachability, the experimental final NAC ceramic waste form is comparable to the final product of vitrification, the technology chosen by DOE to treat these wastes. As the NAC process has the potential of reducing the volume of nitrate-based radioactive liquid waste by as much as 70 percent, it not only promises to enhance environmental remediation efforts but also effect substantial cost savings. ^

Functional characterization and target discovery of glycoside hydrolases from the digestome of the lower termite Coptotermes gestroi

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Analysis of hybrid waste-to-energy for medium-sized cities

Urban centers have a huge demand for electricity and the growing problem of the solid waste management generated by their population, a relevant social and administrative problem. The correct disposal of the municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in cities is one of the most complex engineering problems that involves logistics, safety, environmental and energetic aspects for its adequate management. Due to a national policy of solid wastes recently promulgated, Brazilian cities are evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of incinerating the non-recyclable waste. São José dos Campos, a São Paulo State industrialized city, is considering the composting of organic waste for biogas production and mass incineration of non-recyclable waste. This paper presents a waste-to-energy system based on the integration of gas turbines to a MSW incinerator for producing thermal and electric energy as an alternative solution for the solid waste disposal in São José dos Campos, SP. A technical and economic feasibility study for the hybrid combined cycle plant is presented and revealed to be attractive when carbon credit and waste tax are included in the project income. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Effectiveness of healthcare waste management interventions in developing countries

Inefficiencies during the management of healthcare waste can give rise to undesirable health effects such as transmission of infections and environmental pollution within and beyond the health facilities generating these wastes. Factors such as prevalence of diseases, conflicts, and the efflux of intellectual capacity make low income countries more susceptible to these adverse health effects. The purpose of this systematic review was to describe the effectiveness of interventions geared towards better managing the generation, collection, transport, treatment and disposal of medical waste, as they have been applied in lower and middle income countries.^ Using a systematic search strategy and evaluation of study quality, this study reviewed the literature for published studies on healthcare waste management interventions carried out in developing countries, specifically the low and lower middle income countries from year 2000 to the current year. From an initially identified set of 829 studies, only three studies ultimately met all inclusion, exclusion and high quality criteria. A multi component intervention in Syrian Arab Republic, conducted in 2007 was aimed at improving waste segregation practice in a hospital setting. There was an increased use of segregation boxes and reduced rates of sharps injury among staff as a result of the intervention. Another study, conducted in 2008, trained medical students as monitors of waste segregation practice in an Indian teaching hospital. There was improved practice in wards and laboratories but not in the intensive care units. The third study, performed in 2008 in China, consisted of modification of the components of a medical waste incinerator to improve efficiency and reduce stack emissions. Gaseous pollutants emitted, except polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDF) were below US EPA permissible exposure limits. Heavy metal residues in the fly ash remained unchanged.^ Due to the paucity of well-designed studies, there is insufficient evidence in literature to conclude on the effectiveness of interventions in low income settings. There is suggestive but insufficient evident that multi-component interventions aimed at improving waste segregation through behavior modification, provision of segregation tools and training of monitors are effective in low income settings.^

Fungal and microbial volatile organic compounds exposure assessment in a waste sorting plant

In the management of solid waste, pollutants over a wide range are released with different routes of exposure for workers. The potential for synergism among the pollutants raises concerns about potential adverse health effects, and there are still many uncertainties involved in exposure assessment. In this study, conventional (culture-based) and molecular real-time polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) methodologies were used to assess fungal air contamination in a waste-sorting plant which focused on the presence of three potential pathogenic/toxigenic fungal species: Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, and Stachybotrys chartarum. In addition, microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOC) were measured by photoionization detection. For all analysis, samplings were performed at five different workstations inside the facilities and also outdoors as a reference. Penicillium sp. were the most common species found at all plant locations. Pathogenic/toxigenic species (A. fumigatus and S. chartarum) were detected at two different workstations by RTPCR but not by culture-based techniques. MVOC concentration indoors ranged between 0 and 8.9 ppm (average 5.3 ± 3.16 ppm). Our results illustrated the advantage of combining both conventional and molecular methodologies in fungal exposure assessment. Together with MVOC analyses in indoor air, data obtained allow for a more precise evaluation of potential health risks associated with bioaerosol exposure. Consequently, with this knowledge, strategies may be developed for effective protection of the workers.

Comparison of the effect of pre-treatment and catalysts on liquid quality from fast pyrolysis of biomass

The overall objective of this work was to compare the effect of pre-treatment and catalysts on the quality of liquid products from fast pyrolysis of biomass. This study investigated the upgrading of bio-oil in terms of its quality as a bio-fuel and/or source of chemicals. Bio-oil used directly as a biofuel for heat or power needs to be improved particularly in terms of temperature sensitivity, oxygen content, chemical instability, solid content, and heating values. Chemicals produced from bio-oil need to be able to meet product specifications for market acceptability. There were two main objectives in this research. The first was to examine the influence of pre-treatment of biomass on the fast pyrolysis process and liquid quality. The relationship between the method of pre-treatment of biomass feedstock to fast pyrolysis oil quality was studied. The thermal decomposition behaviour of untreated and pretreated feedstocks was studied by using a TGA (thermogravimetric analysis) and a Py-GC/MS (pyroprobe-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry). Laboratory scale reactors (100g/h, 300g/h, 1kg/h) were used to process untreated and pretreated feedstocks by fast pyrolysis. The second objective was to study the influence of numerous catalysts on fast pyrolysis liquids from wheat straw. The first step applied analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC/MS) to determine which catalysts had an effect on fast pyrolysis liquid, in order to select catalysts for further laboratory fast pyrolysis. The effect of activation, temperature, and biomass pre-treatment on catalysts were also investigated. Laboratory experiments were also conducted using the existing 300g/h fluidised bed reactor system with a secondary catalytic fixed bed reactor. The screening of catalysts showed that CoMo was a highly active catalyst, which particularly reduced the higher molecular weight products of fast pyrolysis. From these screening tests, CoMo catalyst was selected for larger scale laboratory experiments. With reference to the effect of pre-treatment work on fast pyrolysis process, a significant effect occurred on the thermal decomposition of biomass, as well as the pyrolysis products composition, and the proportion of key components in bio-oil. Torrefaction proved to have a mild influence on pyrolysis products, when compared to aquathermolysis and steam pre-treatment.