Hydraulic Retention Time Influence on Improving Flocculation in the Activated Sludge Processes Through Polyelectrolytes

Hydraulic retention time (HRT) influence improving sludge flocculation with adding the polyelectrolytes (non-ionic, anionic, and cationic) was studied on an activated sludge (AS) system fed with synthetic domestic wastewater (SDW), dairy industry wastewater (DIW), and caramel industry wastewater (CIW). The sludge volumetric index, food/microorganism ratio (F/M), and mixed liquor volatile suspended solids at different HRTs (6, 8 and 10 h) were monitored on an experimental model. Results showed that both SDW and IW had the best sludge flocculation conditions at 8 h and 100 mL of non-ionic polyelectrolyte (0.2 mg L^?1). In addition, this phenomenon reached the organic matter removal efficiencies of 95.9, 95.7, and 94.2% for SDW, DIW, and CIW, respectively. Therefore, optimum HRT increased the organic matter removal efficiencies by 10%, sludge concentration by 37% (22–55%), and F/M ratio by 70%. Moreover, the polyelectrolytes used in AS improved the sludge flocculation by 2.9 times.     

First report of Pseudomonas aeruginosa causing tumor disease of Populus koreana in China

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - In May 2018, a bacterial tumor disease was observed on Populus koreana in Shuangyang county, Changchun city, Jilin Province. Based on physiological...     

Comparison of larval thermal maxima between <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fundulus heteroclitus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">F. grandis</Emphasis>

Fundulus heteroclitus and F. grandis are resident salt marsh fishes that overlap in distribution over a narrow range in northeastern Florida. The objective of the present study was to examine whether the limits of the species’ ranges could be explained by differences in thermal tolerance. Two populations of each species were collected and then spawned in the laboratory, and 9-day-old larvae were used for critical thermal maxima trials. Mean LOE temperatures of larvae ranged from 43.04 to 43.65°C and showed little difference between species. Therefore, differences in high temperatures experienced cannot account for the differences of the distributions of the two species. Condition-specific competition may play a greater role in determining the observed range of the two species.     

中国潜在产出测算实证研究

在对中国潜在产出测算研究状况进行评介的基础上,分别使用H-P滤波法和生产函数法估算了中国1978—2004年间的潜在产出、产出缺口和潜在产出增长率。结果表明:(1)1978—2004年间,中国的产出缺口出现了波动水平正负交替的周期情形;(2)1995年以前产出缺口的波动幅度比较剧烈且较为频繁,1996年特别是1999年以后产出缺口的变化较为平缓;(3)1997年以后,虽然经济的增长率保持较高的水平,但是生产要素的实际利用水平却逐渐降低;(4)生产函数法得到的结果基本客观的反映了改革开放后,中国开始从计划经济向市场经济过渡到市场经济初步建立这一时期的生产要素使用情况。(5)根据H-P滤波法和生产函数法估算的潜在产出,得到1978—2004年间的平均潜在产出增长率分别为9.54%和9.67%。根据估计结果,在今后几年,通过适当的宏观调控,把中国的经济增长率稳定在8%～9%可能是一个较好的选择。     

Immune responses in piglets infected with highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection compromises the host's innate and adaptive immunity. The aim of this study was to investigate the immune responses of piglets infected with highly pathogenic (HP) PRRSV (HuN4 strain) with or without the immunization with CH-1R attenuated PRRSV vaccine. The response was evaluated for the clinical signs, pathological changes and virus load in immune organs, antibody responses and levels of serum IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-10. The result showed that in comparison with the piglets received the immunization, the piglets infected with HP-PRRSV alone had the thymus atrophy, decreased serum levels of IL-4 and increased serum levels of IL-10 and INF-γ. These results suggest that elevated IL-10 levels at the early stage of the infection may enhance virus survival and delay the induction of protective immunity, while increased levels of IL-4 induce the effective immune responses and increase the animals' health status.     

三七及竹节参中皂甙的不同提取方法

采用冷浸、回流、微波等方法提取三七及竹节参皂甙,按光密度值分别计算出三七及竹节参皂甙的含量。结果显示,微波提取法与冷浸、回流法相比提取率稍高,并且微波提取法操作简单、安全、省时。因此,微波提取法将使三七和竹节参资源得到更好的开发和利用。     

Analysis of rice blast resistance gene <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pi</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">z</Emphasis> in rice germplasm using pathogenicity assays and DNA markers

The Pi-z gene in rice confers resistance to a wide range of races of the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae. The objective of this study was to characterize Pi-z in 111 rice germplasm accessions using DNA markers and pathogenicity assays. The existence of Pi-z in rice germplasm was detected by using four simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers (RM527, AP4791, AP5659-1, AP5659-5) closely linked to Pi-z, and was verified using pathogenicity assays with an avirulent strain (IE1k) and two virulent races (IB33 and IB49). Among 111 germplasm accessions evaluated, 73 were found to contain the Pi-z gene using both SSR markers and pathogenicity assays. The remaining 38 germplasm accessions were found to be inconsistent in their responses to the blast races IB33, IEIk and IB49 with expected SSR marker alleles, suggesting the presence of unexpected SSR alleles and additional R gene(s). These characterized germplasm can be used for genetic studies and marker-assisted breeding for improving blast resistance in rice.     

Assessing the Impacts of Time-to-Detection Distribution Assumptions on Detection Probability Estimation

Abundance estimates from animal point-count surveys require accurate estimates of detection probabilities. The standard model for estimating detection from removal-sampled point-count surveys assumes that organisms at a survey site are detected at a constant rate; however, this assumption can often lead to biased estimates. We consider a class of N-mixture models that allows for detection heterogeneity over time through a flexibly defined time-to-detection distribution (TTDD) and allows for fixed and random effects for both abundance and detection. Our model is thus a combination of survival time-to-event analysis with unknown-N, unknown-p abundance estimation. We specifically explore two-parameter families of TTDDs, e.g., gamma, that can additionally include a mixture component to model increased probability of detection in the initial observation period. Based on simulation analyses, we find that modeling a TTDD by using a two-parameter family is necessary when data have a chance of arising from a distribution of this nature. In addition, models with a mixture component can outperform non-mixture models even when the truth is non-mixture. Finally, we analyze an Ovenbird data set from the Chippewa National Forest using mixed effect models for both abundance and detection. We demonstrate that the effects of explanatory variables on abundance and detection are consistent across mixture TTDDs but that flexible TTDDs result in lower estimated probabilities of detection and therefore higher estimates of abundance.Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear on-line.