Combined thermochemical and fermentative destruction of municipal biosolids: a comparison between thermal hydrolysis and wet oxidative pre-treatment

In this study the comparative destruction of municipal biosolids using thermal hydrolysis (140 or 165 °C) and wet oxidation (220 °C) was followed by biological degradation via mesophilic anaerobic digestion (36 °C). Wet oxidation (WO) destroyed more than 93% of the VSS, while thermal hydrolysis (TH) at 140 and 165 °C destroyed 9% and 22%, respectively. Combined TH and anaerobic digestion resulted in approximately 50% VSS destruction. The ultimate methane potential of the combined fractions from the thermal hydrolysis at 140 and 165 °C improved by 12-13% relative to the untreated control sample. Methane production from the WO material was 53% of the control yield and wholly attributable to soluble organic carbon in the liquid fraction, indicating that the WO destroyed all putrescible carbon from the solids fraction. Point sampling during the BMP assay revealed that methanogenic development, not solids hydrolysis, was the kinetic barrier during anaerobic digestion in this study.     

入侵杂草五爪金龙在切割处理下的再生能力

对五爪金龙(Ipomoea cairica (Linn.) Sweet)进行切割试验,对其在不同光环境及不同季节的萌芽率、成活率、主茎长度和生物量等进行研究。结果表明:五爪金龙切条越短其萌芽越迟,其成活率、主茎长度和生物量下降;五爪金龙在光下和林下的成活率无显著差异,但林下生物量较低;切条越短,林下条件越不利于主茎的伸长;冬季五爪金龙的主茎长度和生物量最低;夏季在光下和林下不能再生的最长切条长度均为4 cm;秋季均为1 cm;而冬季光下为1 cm,林下为3 cm;春季光下则为4 cm,林下为5 cm。春季时将五爪金龙切割为5 cm并置于林下是最经济的防除方法;如果不考虑季节性及光条件,应将其切割至1 cm以下的片段,可以有效防止五爪金龙再生。     

Ground beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) assemblages inhabiting Scots pine stands of Puszcza Piska Forest: six-year responses to a tornado impact

Ground beetle assemblages were studied during 2003-08 in the Pisz Forest by comparing stands disturbed by a tornado to undisturbed control stands. The following exploratory questions were put forward. (1) How do the carabid assemblages change during six years following the tornado impact? (2) Does the carabid assemblage recovery begin during the six first post-tornado years? To assess the state of carabid assemblages we used two indices: the MIB (Mean Individual Biomass) and the SPC (Sum of Progressive Characteristics). Carabid assemblages in the disturbed and in the control stands, as expressed by these two indices, were compared using the length of a regression distance (sample distance in a MIB:SPC coordinate system). A cluster analysis revealed that the assemblages of the disturbed and the control stands were different. The tornado-impacted stands produced lower carabid catch rates, but species richness was significantly higher there than in the control stands. They hosted lower proportions of individuals of European species, of large zoophages, and of forest and brachypterous species, than the control stands. The observed reduction in SPC and MIB, and an increase in the regression distances may indicate that the carabid assemblages had not started to recover from the tornado-caused disturbance. Carabid assemblages apparently responded to the tornado in two steps. Firstly, the first three years were characterized by moderate decreases of index values. Secondly, from the fourth to the sixth year after the tornado, many observed changes became magnified. We did not observe clear signals of the recovery of forest carabid assemblages during the six follow-up years.     

Characterization of thermostable Xyn10A enzyme from mesophilic Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824

A thermostable xylanase gene, xyn10A (CAP0053), was cloned from Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824. The nucleotide sequence of the C. acetobutylicum xyn10A gene encoded a 318-amino-acid, single-domain, family 10 xylanase, Xyn10A, with a molecular mass of 34 kDa. Xyn10A exhibited extremely high (92%) amino acid sequence identity with Xyn10B (CAP0116) of this strain and had 42% and 32% identity with the catalytic domains of Rhodothermus marinus xylanase I and Thermoascus aurantiacus xylanase I, respectively. Xyn10A enzyme was purified from recombinant Escherichia coli and was highly active toward oat-spelt and Birchwood xylan and slightly active toward carboxymethyl cellulose, arabinogalactouronic acid, and various p-nitrophenyl monosaccharides. Xyn10A hydrolyzed xylan and xylooligosaccharides larger than xylobiose to produce xylose. This enzyme was optimally active at 60°C and had an optimum pH of 5.0. This is one of a number of related activities encoded on the large plasmid in this strain.     

The stabilizability of a controlled system describing the dynamics of a fishery

This work presents two stock-effort dynamical models describing the evolution of a fish population growing and moving between two fishing zones, on which it is harvested by a fishing fleet, distributed on the two zones. The first model corresponds to the case of constant displacement rates of the fishing effort, and the second one to fish stock-dependent displacement rates. In equations of the fishing efforts, a control function is introduced as the proportion of the revenue to be invested, for each fleet. The stabilizability analysis of the aggregated model, in the neighborhood of the equilibrium point, enables the determination of a Lyapunov function, which ensures the existence of a stabilizing discontinuous feedback for this model. This enables us to control the system and to lead, in an uniform way, any solution of this system towards this desired equilibrium point.     

How prevalent is crassulacean acid metabolism among vascular epiphytes?

The occurrence of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in the epiphyte community of a lowland forest of the Atlantic slope of Panama was investigated. I hypothesized that CAM is mostly found in orchids, of which many species are relatively small and/or rare. Thus, the relative proportion of species with CAM should not be a good indicator for the prevalence of this photosynthetic pathway in a community when expressed on an individual or a biomass basis. In 0.4 ha of forest, 103 species of vascular epiphytes with 13,099 individuals were found. As judged from the C isotope ratios and the absence of Kranz anatomy, CAM was detected in 20 species (19.4% of the total), which were members of the families Orchidaceae, Bromeliaceae, and Cactaceae. As predicted, the contribution of CAM epiphytes to the total number of individuals and to total biomass (69.6 kg ha^-1) was considerably lower (3.6% or 466 individuals and, respectively, 3.0% or 2.1 kg ha^-1).     

雷州半岛桉树生物质能源林生长的密度效应研究

以雷州半岛2年生桉树无性系DH201(Eucalyptus grandis  E. tereticornis)能源林为研究对象,对6种不同密度配置下的林分生长量、生物量以及热值等进行了分析,探讨密度对桉树生物质能源林生长的影响。结果表明,密度对桉树胸径和树高生长量影响极显著,在林分不同发育阶段对林分蓄积量的影响不同;单株生物量随密度增大而减小。1年生的林分蓄积量和生物量均以密度为10000 ind. hm-2的最大,分别为52.57 m3 hm-2和32.02 t hm-2;2年生的林分蓄积量和生物量均以密度为2500 ind. hm-2的最大,分别为75.85 m3 hm-2和45.66 t hm-2;密度对热值及灰分含量的影响不显著。因此,1年生和2年生的桉树能源林的最优密度分别为10000 ind. hm-2和2500 ind. hm-2。     

四种挺水植物生理生态特性和污水净化效果研究

采用人工气候室水培系统以人工污水培养慈姑(Sagittaria trifolia)、花皇冠(Echinodorus berteroi)、菖蒲(Acorus calamus)和芦苇(Phragmites australis) 4种挺水植物,比较它们的根和地上部分生物量、根长、根寿命、根孔隙度、根径向泌氧量(ROL)、光合作用等生理生态特性及对总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)、化学需氧量(COD)的去除效果。结果表明,ROL与根孔隙度、光合速率、地上生物量呈显著正相关(P<0.05),与根长极显著正相关(P<0.01);TP的去除与光合速率、COD的去除与ROL显著正相关; TN的去除与生物量极显著正相关(P<0.01),但与根生物量和地上部分生物量的比值(根茎比)显著负相关(P<0.05)。慈姑和花皇冠拥有庞大生物量和发达的根系,根孔隙度、ROL和光合作用等生理指标较高,在水培系统中的污水净化效果接近甚至优于菖蒲和芦苇,是构建人工湿地的优良植物。     

钻形紫菀开花期种群构件的生物量分配

在野外用样方法,选取60株钻形紫菀(Aster subulatus Michx.)开花植株,进行根、茎、叶及花等构件的生物量及其物质分配关系的研究.结果表明:钻形紫菀开花期构件生物量为茎>花>根>叶,其变异系数分别为57.15%、64.66%、57.65%和55.2%,具有较大表型可塑性;在各构件物质分配变异系数中,花生物量分配的变异系数相对较大,说明其调节生殖分配的能力较强;植株高度与各构件生物量呈显著的正相关性,随着各构件生物量的增加均呈幂函数形式增加;花生物量分配与总生物量呈显著的正相关性,其余构件生物量分配均与总生物量及花生物量分配呈负相关性,物质分配由营养构件、支持构件、光合构件向生殖构件转移.反映出钻形紫菀具有自我调节生长力的分配策略,对异质环境具有较强适应能力.     

The shade avoidance syndrome: A non-Markovian stochastic growth model

Plants at high population density compete for light, showing a series of physiological responses known as the shade avoidance syndrome. These responses are controlled by the synthesis of the hormone auxin, which is regulated by two signals, an environmental one and an internal one. Considering that the auxin signal induces plant growth after a time lag, this work shows that plant growth can be modelled in terms of an energy-like function extremization, provided that the Markov property is not applied. The simulated height distributions are bimodal and right skewed, as in real community of plants. In the case of isolated plants, theoretical growth dynamics and speed correctly fit Arabidopsis thaliana experimental data reported in literature. Moreover, the growth dynamics of this model is shown to be consistent with the biomass production function of an independent model. These results suggest that memory effects play a non-negligible role in plant growth processes.