Macrophytes’ Performance in Floating Treatment Wetlands for the Remediation of Ciprofloxacin-Contaminated Water

The presence of trace antibiotics in domestic and industrial effluents poses a risk of toxicity to fauna and flora. The application of floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) is a low-cost and sustainable approach to remediate wastewater. In this study, the performance of different macrophytes vegetated in FTWs for the remediation of ciprofloxacin (CIP)-contaminated water is investigated. Six macrophytes, Brachia mutica, Typha domingensis, Phragmites australis, Canna indica, Cyperus laevigatus, and Leptochloa fusca, are vegetated in FTWs for the removal of CIP (50 mg L⁻¹) from water. The FTWs show the potential to remove 30–43.58 mg L⁻¹ CIP from water in 28 days. They also reduce the chemical oxygen demand (118–138 mg L⁻¹) and biochemical oxygen demand (35–45 mg L⁻¹) of water. Among the macrophytes, C. indica removes maximum (43.58 mg L⁻¹) and T. domingensis minimum (30 mg L⁻¹) CIP. Canna indica and T. domingensis exhibit the maximum and minimum increase (30% and 12% of dry biomass) in growth, respectively. This study reveals that the FTWs vegetated with different plant species exhibit varying performances in removing CIP from water. This investigation is a step forward toward sustainable bioremediation of water contaminated with antibiotics.     

The 2014 seismic hazard model of the Middle East: overview and results

The Earthquake Model of Middle East (EMME) Project aimed to develop regional scale seismic hazard and risk models uniformly throughout a region extending from the Eastern Mediterranean in the west to the Himalayas in the east and from the Gulf of Oman in the south to the Greater Caucasus in the North; a region which has been continuously devastated by large earthquakes throughout the history. The 2014 Seismic Hazard Model of Middle East (EMME-SHM14) was developed with the contribution of several institutions from ten countries. The present paper summarizes the efforts towards building a homogeneous seismic hazard model of the region and highlights some of the main results of this model. An important aim of the project was to transparently communicate the data and methods used and to obtain reproducible results. By doing so, the use of the model and results will be accessible by a wide community, further support the mitigation of seismic risks in the region and facilitate future improvements to the seismic hazard model. To this end all data, results and methods used are made available through the web-portal of the European Facilities for Earthquake Hazard and Risk (www.efehr.org).     

柴达木盆地昆特依盐湖沉积特征及其盐类资源评价

昆特依盐湖位于柴达木盆地西北部,是一个相对独立的沉积盆地,可反映盆地西北部的演化历史,对研究盆地内盐湖演化有重要意义。基于研究区已有的研究成果,总结和评价了昆特依盐湖沉积与盐类矿产资源,并得到以下结论:1)昆特依湖自1 925～774 ka期间以暖湿型气候为主,其后呈干冷与暖湿气候交替出现,最早成盐期为1150 ka,最终于30.6 ka成为干盐湖。昆特依盆地早期沉积的细碎屑沉积物沉积速率(0.22 mm/a)慢于晚期沉积的石盐层(0.33 mm/a);2)昆特依盐湖液体KCl储量为1.32×10~8 t,MgCl储量为2.79×10~8 t,NaCl储量为24.15×10~8 t;3)估算出赋存于昆特依盐湖石盐矿中的锂资源量达39×10~4 t,同时估算出液体中的锂资源量约有74×10~4 t,二者总量达百万吨;4)昆特依矿田的成因属典型的内陆湖相沉积,成矿控制因素以构造作用为主,其次为气候及物质来源。关于昆特依盐湖沉积特征与盐类矿产资源特征的研究,有利于对本地区地质演化更全面的认识,对合理开发利用盐类资源有重要意义。     

刀额新对虾主要过敏原蛋白的肽指纹图谱鉴定与分析

以我国常见的刀额新对虾为研究对象,旨在获得其主要过敏原的氨基酸序列等基础数据,增加对虾类过敏原的认识和理解。分离和纯化了分子量为36 kD的虾主要过敏原蛋白,利用激光辅助解析/飞行时间质谱对其进行肽质量指纹图谱鉴定,并对鉴定的结果采用Mascot搜索引擎在NCBInr数据库上进行搜索。结果表明刀额新对虾主要过敏原蛋白与斑节对虾原肌球蛋白匹配分值最高为268,吻合肽段27条,序列覆盖率为65%;与其它无脊椎动物如腐食酪螨、衣鱼等的原肌球蛋白的序列覆盖率也很高,分别达到了51%和53%。这一结果不仅表明了刀额新对虾与其它甲壳类海产品过敏原存在着高度同源性,而且为其与甲壳类及其它无脊椎动物主要过敏原之间存在严重交叉反应的现象提供了理论依据。     

Optimization of preparative separation and purification of total polyphenols from Sargassum tenerrimum by column chromatography

Polyphenols from the ethanol extracts of Sargassum tenerrimum (ST) with potent antiallergic effects were studied to optimize separation process through column chromatography. The adsorption and desorption characteristics of three widely used adsorbents: macroporous resin, silica gel, and polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP), were critically evaluated respectively and studied for the optimization of preparative separation of polyphenols. Static operations on these adsorbents showed that macroporous resin had the best adsorption and desorption capability among the three adsorbents. Dynamic adsorption and desorption with macroporous resin packed column were also conducted to optimize the parameters such as: with the optimal values shown in brackets, the concentration of extract solution (4 times diluted), pH value (6–7), adsorption speed (3 BV h⁻¹, bed volumes/per hour), concentration of ethanol (80%), elution speed (3 BV h⁻¹) and elution volume (7 BV). The chromatographic process so optimized gave a purity of 62.43% from the crude polyphenols, providing a promising basis for large scale preparation of bioactive polyphenols upon further scaling up tests.     

Optimization of Preparative Separation and Purification of Total PolyphenoJs from Sargassum tenerrimum by Column Chromatography

Polyphenols from the ethanol extracts of Sargassum tenerrimum （ST） with potent antiallergic effects were studied to optimize separation process through column chromatography. The adsorption and desorption characteristics of three widely used adsorbents： macroporous resin, silica gel, and polyvinylpolypyrrolidone （PVPP）, were critically evaluated respectively and studied for the optimization of preparative separation of polyphenols. Static operations on these adsorbents showed that macroporous resin had the best adsorption and desorption capability among the three adsorbents. Dynamic adsorption and desorption with macroporous resin packed column were also conducted to optimize the parameters such as： with the optimal values shown in brackets, the concen- tration of extract solution （4 times diluted）, pH value （6-7）, adsorption speed （3BVh-1, bed volumes/per hour）, concentration of ethanol （80%）, elution speed （3 BV ht） and elution volume （7 BV）. The chromatographic process so optimized gave a purity of 62.43% from the crude polyphenols, providing a promising basis for large scale preparation of bioactive polyphenols upon further scaling up tests.     

Origin of Boron in the Gas Hure Salt Lake of NorthwesternQaidam Basin,China: Evidence from Hydrochemistry andBoron Isotopes

The Gas Hure Salt Lake(GHSL) in the northwestern Qaidam Basin, western China, is rich in boron(B)resources, but its B-resource origin is hardly known. Hydrochemical compositions and B isotope characteristics of different waters were collected around the GHSL, including the river water, stream water, spring water, salt-lake brine,intercrystalline brine, well water, drilling brine, and solar pond brine. The hydrochemical signatures suggest that silicates,carbonates and evaporates are the main B-bearing rocks during the water dynamic. The reservoir estimation of B resources shows that the Kulamulekesay River(KLMR) and the Atekan River(ATKR) contribute annually 18.3 tons and 22.84 tons of B, respectively, with a total amount of 11.72 × 10~4 tons of B during the past 5.7 ka. In comparison with the known B reservoir(32.96 × 10~4 tons) in the GHSL, a significant amount of B in the GHSL was probably recharged from deep fluids and sediments around the GHSL. The B concentration and B-enrichment degree are shaped by the evaporation process,which are highly elevated at the carnallite and bischofite stages.     

Evaluating the Effects of Radiative Forcing Feedback in Modelling Urban Ozone Air Quality in Portland,Oregon: Two-Way Coupled MM5–CMAQ Numerical Model Simulations

We summarize an on-line coupled meteorological–emissions–photochemical modelling system that allows feedback from air-quality/chemistry to meteorology via radiative forcing. We focus on the radiative-forcing impacts (direct effects) of ozone. We present an application of the coupled modelling system to the episode of 23–31 July 1998 in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. Results suggest that the inclusion of radiative-forcing feedback produces small but accountable impacts. For this region and episode, stand-alone radiative transfer simulations, i.e., evaluating the effects of radiative forcing independently of changes in meteorology or emissions, suggest that a change of 1 ppb in ground-level ozone is approximately equivalent to a change of 0.017 W m⁻² in radiative forcing. In on-line, coupled, three-dimensional simulations, where the meteorological dependencies are accounted for, domain-wide peak ozone concentrations were higher by 2–4 ppb (relative to a simulated peak of 119.4 ppb) when including the effects of radiative-forcing feedback. A scenario of 10% reduction in anthropogenic emissions produced slightly larger decreases in ozone, an additional 1 ppb in local-peak reductions, relative to scenarios without feedback.     

Nonlinear analysis of seasonality and stochasticity of the Indus River

Abstract

One of the world's largest irrigation networks, based on the Indus River system in Pakistan, faces serious scarcity of water in one season and disastrous floods in another. The system is dominated both by monsoon and by snow and glacier dynamics, which confer strong seasonal and inter-annual variability. In this paper two different forecasting methods are utilized to analyse the long-term seasonal behaviour of the Indus River. The study also assesses whether the strong seasonal behaviour is dominated by the presence of low-dimensional nonlinear dynamics, or whether the periodic behaviour is simply immersed in random fluctuations. Forecasts obtained by nonlinear prediction (NLP) and the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) methods show that the performance of NLP is relatively better than the SARIMA method. This, along with the low values of the correlation dimension, is indicative of low-dimensional nonlinear behaviour of the hydrological dynamics. A relatively better performance of NLP, using an inverse technique, may also be indicative of the low-dimensional behaviour. Moreover, the embedding dimension of the best NLP forecasts is in good agreement with the estimated correlation dimension. This provides evidence that the nonlinearity inherent in the monthly river flow due to the snowmelt and the monsoon variations dominate over the high-dimensional components and might be exploited for prediction and modelling of the complex hydrological system.

Citation Hassan, S. A. & Ansari, M. R. K. (2010) Nonlinear analysis of seasonality and stochasticity of the Indus River. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(2), 250–265.