Dynamic modelling of high biomass density cultivation and biohydrogen production in different scales of flat plate photobioreactors

This paper investigates the scaling‐up of cyanobacterial biomass cultivation and biohydrogen production from laboratory to industrial scale. Two main aspects are investigated and presented, which to the best of our knowledge have never been addressed, namely the construction of an accurate dynamic model to simulate cyanobacterial photo‐heterotrophic growth and biohydrogen production and the prediction of the maximum biomass and hydrogen production in different scales of photobioreactors. To achieve the current goals, experimental data obtained from a laboratory experimental setup are fitted by a dynamic model. Based on the current model, two key original findings are made in this work. First, it is found that selecting low‐chlorophyll mutants is an efficient way to increase both biomass concentration and hydrogen production particularly in a large scale photobioreactor. Second, the current work proposes that the width of industrial scale photobioreactors should not exceed 0.20 m for biomass cultivation and 0.05 m for biohydrogen production, as severe light attenuation can be induced in the reactor beyond this threshold. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2015;112: 2429–2438. © 2015 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by Wiley Peiodicals, Inc.     

Hydrological responses of a valley‐bottom wetland to land‐use/land‐cover change in a South African catchment: making a case for wetland restoration

Valley‐bottom wetlands are valuable assets as they provide many ecosystem services to mankind. Despite their value, valley‐bottom wetlands are often exploited and land‐use/land‐cover (LULC) change results in trade‐offs in ecosystem services. We coupled physically based hydrological modeling and spatial analysis to examine the effects of LULC change on water‐related ecosystem services in the Kromme catchment: an important water‐providing catchment for the city of Port Elizabeth. LULC scenarios were constructed to match 5 different decades in the last 50 years to explore the potential effects of restoring the catchment to different historic benchmarks. In the Kromme catchment, valley‐bottom wetlands have declined by 84%, driven by key LULC changes: an increase in irrigated land (307 ha) and invasion by alien trees (336 ha). If the wetlands were restored to the relatively pristine extent and condition of the 1950s, riverflow could increase by approximately 1.13 million m³/a, about 6% of the current supply to Port Elizabeth. Wetland restoration would also significantly improve the catchment's ability to absorb extreme rainfall events, decreasing flood damage. We conclude that in the face of the water scarcity in this region, all ecosystem services, particularly those related to water flow regulation, should be taken into account by decision makers in charge of land zonation. Zonation decisions should not continue to be made on the basis of provisioning ecosystem services alone (i.e. food provision or dam yield). We recommend prioritization of the preservation and restoration of valley‐bottom wetlands providing water‐related ecosystem services to settlements downstream.     

脉冲回波法研究微乳液体系的稳定性

本文主要以正庚炕（C71116）、水乳浊液（以span-80为表面活性剂）为模型体系,研究了脉冲回波法探测微乳体系结构稳定性的可能性,并进行了初步讨论。实验结果表明,超声衰减系数（a）与微乳体系配比、表面活性剂含量及微乳液制备时搅拌转速密切相关。微乳液体系在实验当中均出现了由油和水两相混合的状态到油和水分相的状态。微乳液体系的超声衰减系数在分相前后均保持着相对平稳的变化,但对应于不同条件下制备的溶液,分相时间都有所不同。且一般而言,当微乳液开始两相（水相和油相）分离时,超声衰减系数将发生明显变化。因此预计脉冲回波法有可能发展成为一种简单、可靠、非破环性的微乳体系稳定性检测新方法。     

The mechanism of background extinction

Following publication of On the Origin of Species, biologists concentrated on and resolved the mechanisms of adaptation and speciation, but largely ignored extinction. Thus, extinction remained essentially a discipline of palaeontology. Adequate language is not available to describe extinction phenomena because they must be discussed in the passive voice, wherein populations simply ‘go extinct’ without reference to process, specifics, effects, or causality. Extinction is also described typically in terms of its dynamics (including rate or risk), and although correlative variables enhance our ability to predict extinction, they do not necessarily enable an understanding of process. Yet background extinction, like evolution, is a process requiring a functional explanation, without which it is impossible to formulate mechanisms. We define the mechanism of background extinction as a typically long‐term, multi‐generational loss of reproductive fitness. This simple concept has received little credence because of a perception that excess generation of progeny ensures population sustainability, and perhaps the misconception that the loss of reproductive fitness somehow constitutes selection against reproduction itself. During environmental shifts, reproductive fitness is compromised when biotic or abiotic extremes consistently exceed existing norms of reaction. Subsequent selection will now favour individual survival over reproductive fitness, initiating long‐term negative selection pressure and population decline. Background extinction consists typically of two intergrading phases: habitat attenuation and habitat dissolution. These processes generate the relict populations that characterize many species undergoing background extinction. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 105 , 255–268.     

Modern geochemical and molecular tools for monitoring in-situ biodegradation of MTBE and TBA

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is a major gasoline oxygenate worldwide and a widespread groundwater contaminant. Natural attenuation of MTBE is of practical interest as a cost effective and non-invasive approach to remediation of contaminated sites. The effectiveness of MTBE attenuation can be difficult to demonstrate without verification of the occurrence of in-situ biodegradation. The aim of this paper is to discuss the recent progress in assessing in-situ biodegradation. In particular, compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA), molecular techniques based on nucleic acids analysis and in-situ application of stable isotope labels will be discussed. Additionally, attenuation of tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) is of particular interest, as this compound tends to occur alongside MTBE introduced from the gasoline or produced by (mainly anaerobic) biodegradation of MTBE.     

螺旋藻细胞培养与光能利用的关系

对钝顶螺旋藻(Spirulina platensis Geitler)细胞培养体系的光衰减以及连续培养条件下藻细胞生长对光能的利用特性进行了分析,结果表明改进的Lambert-Beer定律I=I0exp(-αxL)可较好地描述细胞浓度及光程对光衰减的综合影响;引入平均光强和细胞平均比消光量概念,借鉴Monod方程形式,较好地描述了它们与比生长速率之间的关系,并求得最大比生长速率μm、光强半饱和参数kI、光能维持系数m和得率系数YG分别为μm=1.75/d,kI=1.453×10