Exploring the diverse potentials of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Planococcus</Emphasis> sp. TRC1 for the deconstruction of recalcitrant kraft lignin

Kraft lignin (KL) is the chief contaminant which is responsible for dark coloration, toxicity and high chemical oxygen demand (COD) of paper pulp mill effluent. The present study investigated the diverse potentials of Planococcus sp. TRC1 in the biodegradation of KL. Preliminary evaluation indicated that the strain was able to grow on broad spectrum of lignin-derived compounds, decolorize lignin-mimicking dyes and catabolize substrates of ligninolytic enzymes. Response surface methodology (RSM) was executed to perform the optimization of different process parameters. The results displayed that Planococcus sp. TRC1 could completely utilize 100 mg L^?1 of KL and 78% of 200 mg L^?1 of KL as sole source of carbon with concurrent reduction in COD and color. The biokinetic details of KL biodegradation showed that the values of \(\mu^{*}\), µ _max, \(q^{*}\) and q _max were 0.018 h^?1, 0.01 h^?1, 0.023 g g^?1 h^?1 and 0.05 g g^?1 h^?1, respectively. UV–visible spectrophotometry, SEM and FTIR indicated the significant alterations in the surface morphology, functional groups and chromophores during the course of biodegradation. XRD revealed the emergence of peak signifying the formation of low molecular weight intermediates after bacterial treatment. Considering the environmental impact, bacterial-treated KL illustrated less phytotoxicity using Vigna radiata seed bioassay. These results suggested that Planococcus sp. TRC1 could be a promising strain for the degradation of KL in an ecofriendly way.     

Petrology of a portion of the Eastern Peninsular Ranges mylonite zone,Southern California

Peraluminous and metaluminous plutonic rocks of the Peninsular Ranges batholith near Borrego Springs in southern California were mylonitized in the large shear zone known as the eastern Peninsular Ranges mylonite zone (EPRMZ). Accompanying mylonitization in this portion of the EPRMZ was metamorphism at intermediate-low-pressure amphibolite-facies conditions. Deformation in the zone overlapped in time with Cretaceous intrusion of the batholith. In the San Ysidro Mountain — Pinyon Ridge area, four north-south trending zones of differing intensity of deformation have been defined; from east to west the degree and style of deformation gradually change from undeformed or weakly deformed rocks to strongly mylonitized rocks. Electron microprobe analysis shows that recrystallized hornblende, biotite, and plagioclase are variable in composition, probably reflecting a range of metamorphic conditions accompanying deformation. Comparison of mineral compositions with those from mafic schists of Vermont suggests conditions ranged from andalusite-staurolite through sillimanite-muscovite grades as defined for pelitic rocks. Stability of muscovite+quartz in mylonite assemblages and lack of remelting of granitic rocks indicate that temperature did not exceed about 650° C during mylonitization and lithostatic pressure did not exceed about 5 kbar. Over time, any given rock volume experienced a range of temperature, lithostatic pressure, and perhaps fluid pressure and differential stress. Mineral reactions in the zone involved hydration, requiring introduction of water. The possibility of large-scale migration of K and Fe is suggested by whole-rock chemical data. Brittle and ductile deformation features are closely associated in one part of the EPRMZ. The combined evidence suggests the presence of a pore fluid with fluid pressure close to lithostatic pressure. Short periods of low fluid pressure and possible high differential stress cannot be ruled out.     

Towards medium-term (order of months) morphodynamic modelling of the Teign estuary, UK

The main objective of this paper is to address the principal mechanisms involved in the medium-term (order of months to years) morphodynamic evolution of estuaries through the application of a process-based numerical modelling. The Teign estuary (Teignmouth, UK) is the selected site. The system is forced by the macrotidal semi-diurnal tide in the English Channel and is perturbed to a minor extent by high river discharge events (freshets). Although waves have a definite influence on the adjacent coastal area, Wells (Teignmouth Quay Development Environmental Statement: Changes to Physical Processes. Report R.984c:140. ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd., Southampton, 2002b) suggested that swell waves do not enter the estuary. Hence, wave effects are neglected in this study, as only tides and the river discharge are taken into account. The sediment grain size is highly variable, but mainly sandy. Within the frame of the COAST3D project (), four bathymetric surveys of the adjacent coastal area were carried out at a nearly weekly intervals. The outer estuary and the adjacent coastal area were also surveyed every 6 months as part of the COASTVIEW project (). Based on these data and on continuously measured parameters, such as water level, waves, wind and river discharge, numerical modelling of the morphodynamic processes can be tested. To replicate the morphological changes in the medium-term within a feasible simulation time, forcing conditions are reduced through the use of an input reduction method (called ensemble technique). In this study, simulations are based on the coupling between Telemac-2D and its non-cohesive sediment transport module, Sisyphe (version 5.3 for both modules). Three different sediment transport formulae were tested: (1) Engelund and Hansen (A monograph on sediment transport in alluvial streams, 3rd edn. Technological University of Denmark, Copenhagen, 1967) including the modifications proposed by Chollet and Cunge (J Hydraul Eng 17(1):1–13, 1979); (2) Bijker (Mechanics of sediment transport by the combination of waves and current. In: Design and reliability of coastal structures. 23rd international conference on Coastal Engineering, pp 147–173, 1968) and (3) Soulsby (Dynamics of Marine Sands. A manual for practical applications. HR Wallingford, Wallingford, p 142, 1997) modified version of van Rijn [J Hydraul Eng 110(10):1431–1456, 1984a, J Hydraul Eng 110(11):1613–1641, 1984b] formulation. Both a qualitative (i.e. visual comparison) and a quantitative tool [Brier Skill Score (BSS); described in Sutherland et al. in Coast Eng 51:917–939, 2004b] are applied to assess the similarity of simulations when compared to model predictions and observations. Tests confirmed the reliability and time efficiency of the ensemble technique, since it reproduced very well the results of a reference run, a computation based on the observed boundary conditions. For the spring-neap cycle modelled, the BSS was of 0.91 (a perfect modelling would have a BSS of 1), with a reduction in the simulation time on the order of 80%. For the 6-month-period simulation, results were also excellent: BSS=0.92 and a computer time reduction of 85%. In principle, this method has the advantage of being applied to any process-based numerical model.     

Ice flow direction during late Paleozoic glaciation in western Paraná Basin, Brazil

The recent discovery of ice-striated surfaces associated with the late Paleozoic Aquidauana Formation suggests that glaciers coming from southwest Africa reached westernmost parts of the Paraná Basin in central Brazil. Abrasion features were developed by glaciers moving from SSE towards NNW, mainly on an unconsolidated bed. These records expand to about 1,050,000 km², the coverage of the late Paleozoic glaciation in the region of the Paraná Basin in Western Gondwana.

Resumen

A recente descoberta de superfícies estriadas associadas à Formação Aquidauana, de idade permocarbonífera, sugere que as geleiras provenientes do sudoeste da África alcançaram as porções ocidentais da Bacia do Paraná, na região central do Brasil. As feições de abrasão foram geradas pelo deslocamento de geleiras de SSE para NNW, principalmente sobre substrato inconsolidado. Estes novos registros evidenciam que a glaciação neopaleozóica cobriu uma área de pelo menos de 1.050.000 km² na região ocupada pela Bacia do Paraná no Gondwana Ocidental.     

A simple sufficient condition for a variogram model to yield positive variances under restrictions

Estimation of linear combinations is accomplished by using the observed (available) data. Accordingly, to require the negative of a modeled variogram function to be positive definite for all possible data combinations is unnecessary when only the observed data are used in estimation. The requirement that the negative of a variogram model be conditionally positive semidefinite is then relaxed to apply at the observed spatial locations only. In this setting a simple, yet crude, sufficient condition is developed to ensure that a variogram model will yield nonnegative variances for the available data. It is seen that the condition is independent of the dimensionality of the data and applies to both isotropic and anisotropic models. An example of the application of the condition is also presented. The condition is harder to satisfy as the amount of data increases and must be adjusted as the variogram changes to accommodate new data.     

Ionosphere and surface weather

Summary The author describes the pulsing ionospheric technique which since 1939 has been successfully employed for forecasting surface weather.     

The relation between the magnitude derived from surface and from body waves for station průhonice

auam aum¶rt;, m u n¶rt; n a¶rt;u u nm a anu, umua a u mauu u 1964–1976 . ¶rt; aum¶rt; ma auau aum¶rt;, n¶rt; uu m .     

Formation of metamorphic biotite by decarbonation

Microcline is not necessarily the source of the K content of metamorphic biotite. The biotite may be formed by decalcitization; the released Ca reacts with Al, derived from sericite and chlorite, to form some calc-alumino-silicate such as plagioclase or epidote. It may also result from the reaction of sericite with the Fe---Mg released by dedolomitization. The biotitic character of meta-calco-pelites from the Belgian Ardenne, increasing with their anorthite content, illustrates this mode of biotite formation.     

Higher order analytical solutions of water table fluctuations in coastal aquifers

The groundwater response of coastal aquifers to tidal forcing is described by Laplace's equation coupled with the nonlinear phreatic-free surface boundary condition. Here we describe fluctuations in the water table using two small parameters, extending previous work by proposing an ansatz to compute higher order, semi-analytical solutions. The new solutions are compared with known lower order solutions. The relative difference between the linear solution and higher order solutions can reach up to 30% of the linear solution for shallow beaches. The new solutions exhibit a reduction in the over height of the groundwater fluctuations compared with the lower order solutions. In addition, the super elevation of the water table, both near shore and as the aquifer tends landward, is examined with the inclusion of higher order terms.