Variables affecting melanoidins removal from molasses wastewater by coagulation/flocculation

Coagulation/flocculation process was applied in the polishing treatment of molasses wastewater on a bench-scale. Important operating variables, including coagulant type and dosage, solution pH, rapid mixing conditions as well as the type and dosage of polyeletrolytes were investigated based on the maximum removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color, residual turbidity and settling characteristics of flocs. HPSEC was utilized to evaluate the removal of molecular weight fractions of melanoidins-dominated organic compounds. Experimental results indicate that ferric chloride was the most effective among the conventional coagulants, achieving 89% COD and 98% color eliminations; while aluminum sulfate was the least effective, giving COD and color reductions of 66% and 86%, respectively. In addition to metal cations, counter-ions exert significant influence on the coagulation performance since Cl--based metal salts attained better removal efficiency than SO42--based ones at the optimal coagulant dosages. Coagulation of molasses effluent is a highly pH-dependent process, with better removal efficiency achieved at lower pH levels. Rapid mixing intensity, rather than rapid mixing time, has relatively strong influence on the settling characteristics of flocs formed. Lowering mixing intensity resulted in increasing settling rate but the accumulation of floating flocs. When used as coagulant aids, synthetic polyelectrolytes showed little effects on the improvement in organic removal. On the other hand, cationic polyacrylamide was observed to substantially enhance the settleability of flocs as compared to anionic polyacrylamide. The effects of rapid mixing conditions and polymer flocculants on the coagulation performance were discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Oxidative damage in unfertilized eggs of Chinese rare minnow (Gobiocypris rarus) exposed to nonylphenol

In the present study, female Chinese rare minnows (Gobiocypris rarus) were used as in vivo models and exposed to nonylphenol (NP) at concentrations of 1 to 200 mu g/L for 21 d under semistatic conditions. Molecular biomarkers of oxidative stress were measured in unfertilized eggs and included reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation products (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances [TBARS] and protein carbonyl), superoxide dismutase activity, and glutathione. Cathepsin D activity as an indicator of egg viability also was assayed. Nonylphenol induced ROS formation in unfertilized eggs in all exposed groups compared to the controls. The levels of protein carbonyl and TBARS in unfertilized eggs were significantly increased (p < 0.05) at 10 to 200 and 100 to 200 mu g/L, respectively. Good positive correlations were shown between ROS induction and levels of TBARS and protein carbonyl in eggs (R = 0.918, p < 0.05 and R = 0.784, p < 0.05, respectively). Superoxide dismutase activity in eggs was significantly inhibited (p < 0.05) in the 50 to 200 mu g/L exposure groups. Glutathione levels in eggs were significantly depleted (p < 0.05) at 100 to 200 mu g/L concentrations. In addition, ROS induction resulted in oxidative damage to lipid and protein in chorions. Significant reductions (p < 0.05) of the protein and lipid contents in chorions were both found in the 50 to 200 mu g/L exposure groups. A previous study found that NP exposure could lead to chorion thinning in zebra fish. Thus, the reductions in protein and lipid contents in chorion could be the reason for chorion thinning by NP exposure. Meanwhile, cathepsin D activity was significantly inhibited (p < 0.05) in all exposure groups. The results demonstrated that NP-induced oxidative stress could damage the chorion of unfertilized eggs and lead to a decline in gamete quality in female Chinese rare minnow.

Steel and aluminium in a low carbon future

Production of steel and aluminium creates 10% of global carbon emissions from energy and processes. Demand is likely to double by 2050, but climate scientists are recommending absolute reductions of at least 50% and these are Increasingly entering law. How can reductions of this order happen? Only 10-20% savings can be expected in liquid metal production, so the primary industry is pursuing carbon sequestration as the main solution. However, this Is as yet unproven at scale, and as well as carrying some risk, the capital and operating costs are likely to be high, but are as yet unknown. In parallel with these strategies we can also examine whether we can reduce demand for liquid metal. 'Material efficiency' may allow delivery of existing services with less requirement for metal, for instance through designing products that use less metal, reducing process scrap, diverting scrap for other use, re-using components or delaying end of life. Overall demand reduction could occur if goods were used more intensely, alternative means were used to deliver the same services, or total demand were constrained. The paper analyses all possible options, to define and evaluate scenarios that meet the 2050 target, and discuss the steps required to bring them about. The paper concludes with suggestions for key areas where future research In metal forming can support a future low carbon economy. © 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. Weinheim.

Non-compressive wideband spectrum sensing with sub-Nyquist sampling rates

In this paper, we propose a low complexity and reliable wideband spectrum sensing technique that operates at sub-Nyquist sampling rates. Unlike the majority of other sub-Nyquist spectrum sensing algorithms that rely on the Compressive Sensing (CS) methodology, the introduced method does not entail solving an optimisation problem. It is characterised by simplicity and low computational complexity without compromising the system performance and yet delivers substantial reductions on the operational sampling rates. The reliability guidelines of the devised non-compressive sensing approach are provided and simulations are presented to illustrate its superior performance. © 2013 IEEE.

EFFECTS OF LOW-TEMPERATURE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL AGE ON SUPEROXIDE-DISMUTASE IN WATER HYACINTH (EICHHORNIA-CRASSIPES SOLMS)

Superoxide dismutase activity in water hyacinth leaves was not sensitive to small changes in environmental pH, but declined markedly with greater pH changes. KCN inhibited superoxide dismutase activity, suggesting that the enzyme was mainly composed of the Cu-Zn form. Low temperature (2-degrees-C) treatment caused a decline in superoxide dismutase activity. This effect became more pronounced as the treatment time was prolonged. Furthermore, the decline was much more significant than reductions of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity or respiration under comparable conditions. With increasing physiological age, superoxide dismutase activity declined and was significantly lower in old than in young leaves. Therefore, superoxide dismutase activity might be employed as one of physiological parameters in studying leaf senescence.

STUDIES ON THE PURIFICATION AND RECLAMATION OF WASTE-WATER FROM A MEDIUM-SIZED CITY BY AN INTEGRATED BIOLOGICAL POND SYSTEM

The feasibility of an inexpensive wastewater treatment system is evaluated in this study. An integrated biological pond system was operated for more than 3 years to purify the wastewater from a medium-sized city, Central China. The experiment was conducted in 3 phases with different treatment combinations for testing their purification efficiencies. The pond system was divided into 3 functional regions: influent purification, effluent upgrading and multi-utilization. These regions were further divided into several zones and subzones. Various kinds of aquatic organisms, including macrophytes, algae, microorganisms and zooplankton, were effectively cooperating in the wastewater treatment in this system. The system attained high reductions of BOD5, COD, TSS, TN, TP and other pollutants. The purification efficiencies of this system were higher than those of most traditional oxidation ponds or ordinary macrophyte ponds. The mutagenic effect and numbers of bacteria and viruses declined significantly during the process of purification. After the wastewater flowed through the upgrading zone, the concentrations of pollutants and algae evidently decreased. Plant harvesting did not yield dramatic effects on reductions of the main pollutants, though it did significantly affect the biomass productivity of the macrophytes. The effluent from this system could be utilized in irrigation and aquaculture. Some aquatic products were harvested from this system and some biomass was utilized for food, fertilizer, fodder and some other uses. The wastewater was reclaimed for various purposes.

Photoluminescence pressure coefficients of InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We have investigated the ground exciton energy pressure coefficients of self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots by calculating 21 systems with different quantum dot shape, size, and alloying profile using the atomistic empirical pseudopotential method. Our results confirm the experimentally observed significant reductions of the exciton energy pressure coefficients from the bulk values. We show that the nonlinear pressure coefficients of the bulk InAs and GaAs are responsible for these reductions, and the percentage of the electron wave function on top of GaAs atoms is responsible for the variation of this reduction. We also find a pressure coefficient versus exciton energy relationship which agrees quantitatively with the experimental results. We find linear relationships which can be used to get the information of the electron wave functions from exciton energy pressure coefficient measurements.

A Fast-Locking Phase-Locked Loop Using a Seven-State Phase Frequency Detector

A seven-state phase frequency detector (S.S PFD) is proposed for fast-locking charge pump based phase-locked loops (CPPLLs) in this paper. The locking time of the PLL can be significantly reduced by using the seven-state PFD to inject more current into the loop filter. In this stage, the bandwidth of the PLL is increased or decreased to track the phase difference of the reference signal and the feedback signal. The proposed architecture is realized in a standard 0.35 mu m 2P4M CMOS process with a 3.3V supply voltage. The locking time of the proposed PLL is 1.102 mu s compared with the 2.347 mu s of the PLL based on continuous-time PFD and the 3.298 mu s of the PLL based on the pass-transistor tri-state PFD. There are 53.05% and 66.59% reductions of the locking time. The simulation results and the comparison with other PLLs demonstrate that the proposed seven-state PFD is effective to reduce locking time.

Induction of cytogenetic adaptive response in spermatogonia and spermatocytes by pre-exposure of mouse testis to low-dose C-12(6+) ions

To investigate the effects of pre-exposure of mouse testis to low-dose C-12(6+) ions on cytogenetics of spermatogonia and spermatocytes induced by subsequent high-dose irradiation. the testes of outbred Kun-Ming strain mice were irradiated with 0.05 Gy of C-12(6+) ions as the pre-exposure dose, and then irradiated with 2 Gy as challenging dose at 4 h after per-exposure. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARPs) activity and PARP-1 protein expression were respectively measured by using the enzymatic and Western blot assays at 4 h after irradiation; chromosomal aberrations in spermatogonia and spermatocytes were analyzed by the air-drying method at 8 h after irradiation. The results showed that there was a significant increase in the frequency of chromosomal aberrations and significant reductions of PARP activity and PARP-1 expression level in the mouse testes irradiated with 2 Gy of C-12(6+) ions. However, pre-exposure of mouse testes to a low dose of C-12(6+) ions significantly increased PARPs activity and PARP-1 expression and alleviated the harmful effects induced by a subsequent high-dose irradiation. PARP activity inhibitor 3-aminobenzamide (3-AB) treatment blocked the effects of PARP-1 on cytogenetic adaptive response induced by low-dose C-12(6+) ion irradiation. The data suggest that pre-exposure of testes to a low dose of heavy ions can induce cytogenetic adaptive response to subsequent high-dose irradiation. The increase of PARP-1 protein induced by the low-dose ionizing irradiation may be involved in the mechanism of these observations. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adaptive hormetic response of pre-exposure of mouse brain with low-dose C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray on growth hormone (GH) and body weight induced by subsequent high-dose irradiation

The brain of the Kun-Ming strain mice were irradiated with 0.05 Gy of C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray as the pre-exposure dose, and were then irradiated with 2 Gy of 12C6+ ion or Co-60 gamma-ray as challenging irradiation dose at 4 h after per-exposure. Body weight and serum growth hormone (GH) concentration were measured at 35th day after irradiation. The results showed that irradiation of mouse brain with 2 Gy of C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray significantly diminished mouse body weight and level of serum GH. The relative biological effectiveness values of a 2 Gy dose of C-12(6+) ion calculated with respect to Co-60 gamma-ray were 1.47 and 1.34 for body weight and serum GH concentration, respectively. Pre-exposure with a low-dose (0.05 Gy) of C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray significantly alleviated reductions of mouse body weight and level of serum GH induced by a subsequent high-dose (2 Gy) irradiation. The data suggested that low-dose ionizing irradiation can induce adaptive hormetic responses to the harmful effects of pituitary by subsequent high-dose exposure.

Isospin- and momentum-dependent interaction in isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics

An isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamical model (IQMD) is developed, with the isospin degree of freedom in the momentum-dependent interaction(MDI) included in IQMD, to obtain an isospin- and momentum-dependent interaction (IMDI) in IQMD. We investigate the effect of IMDI on the isospin fractionation ratio and its dynamical mechanism in the intermediate energy heavy ion collisions. It is found that the IMDI induces the significant reductions in the isospin fractionation ratio for all of beam energies, impact parameters, neutron-proton ratios and mass number of colliding systems. However, the strong dependence of isospin fractionation ratio on the symmetrical potential is preserved, with the isospin degree of freedom included in the MDI, i.e. the isospin fractionation ratio is still a good probe for extracting the information about the equation of state of isospin asymmetrical nuclear matter.

Cosmological equations and thermodynamics on apparent horizon in thick braneworld

We derive the generalized Friedmann equation governing the cosmological evolution inside the thick brane model in the presence of two curvature correction terms: a four-dimensional scalar curvature from induced gravity on the brane, and a five-dimensional Gauss-Bonnet curvature term. We find two effective four-dimensional reductions of the generalized Friedmann equation in some limits and demonstrate that the reductions but not the generalized Friedmann equation can be rewritten as the first law of equilibrium thermodynamics on the apparent horizon of thick braneworld.

Effects of the transition dipole moment function on the dynamics of ozone photodissociation: an exact 3D quantum mechanical study

The effects of the transition dipole moment function (TDMF) on the dynamics Of O-3 photodissociation in the Hartley band have been exploited by means of exact 3D time-dependent wavepacket method using the SW potential energy surface [J. Chem. Phys. 78 (1983) 7191]. The calculations show that the explicit inclusion of the TDMF results in slight uniform reductions for the intensities of recurrence peaks of the autocorrelation function and a slight broadening of the absorption spectrum, in comparison with the result where the TDMF is assumed to be constant. The pattern of recurrence structures of the autocorrelation function is essentially unaffected. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Large-Scale and Template-Free Growth of Free-Standing Single-Crystalline Dendritic Ag/Pd Alloy Nanostructure Arrays

Large-scale arrays consist of dendritic single-crystalline Ag/Pd alloy nanostructures are synthesized for the first time. A simple galvanic replacement reaction is introduced to grow these arrays directly on Ag substrates. The morphology of the products strongly depended on the reaction temperature and the concentration of H2PdCl4 solution. The mechanism of the formation of alloy and the dendritic morphology has been discussed. These alloy arrays exhibit high surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity and may have potential applications in investigation of "in situ" Pd catalytic reactions using SERS. Moreover, electrocatalytic measurements suggest that the obtained dendritic Ag/Pd alloy nanostructures exhibit electrocatytic activity toward the oxidation of formic acid.

Electrochemistry of Microperoxidase-11 (MP-11) on Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with Chitosan

In this paper, microperoxidase-11 (MP-11) was immobilized on glassy carbon electrode surface modified with chitosan by physical adsorption. The direct electrochemistry and the electrocatalytic behaviours to O-2 and the H2O2 of MP-11 on glassy carbon electrode modified with chitosan were characterized by cyclic voltammetry. The results indicate that MP-11 on modified electrode displays a quasi-reversible electrochemical process coupled with proton transfer in the phosphate buffer solutions(pH = 7.12). Direct electrochemical reaction of MP-11 on modified electrode has been realized. MP-11 on modified electrode can catalyze reduction for O-2 and H2O2. Both of the catalytic reductions are surface-controlled electrochemical process.