Steam activation of biochars facilitates kinetics and pH-resilience of sulfamethazine sorption

Purpose

Sulfamethazine (SMT) is increasingly detected in environmental matrices due to its versatile use as antibiotics. We aimed to investigate the benefits and roles of steam activation of biochars with respect to SMT sorption kinetics and equilibrium sorption.

Materials and methods

Biochars were produced from burcucumber plant and tea waste using a pyrolyzer at a temperature of 700 °C for 2 h. The biochar samples were treated with 5 mL min^?1 of steam for an additional 45 min for post-synthesis steam activation. The SMT sorption on the unmodified and steam activated biochars were compared.

Results and discussion

The time taken to reach equilibrium was significantly less for steam activated biochars (～4 h) than non-activated biochars (>24 h). Up to 98 % of SMT could be removed from aqueous solutions by steam activated biochars. The sorption kinetic behaviors were well described by the pseudo-second model and SMT sorption rates of steam activated biochars (k ₂?～?1.11–1.57 mg g^?1 min^?1) were significantly higher than that of the unmodified biochars (k ₂?～?0.04–0.11 mg g^?1 min^?1) because of increased availability of accessible porous structure with averagely larger pore diameters. Moreover, the equilibrium sorption on the unmodified biochars was significantly influenced by increasing solution pH (～30–50 % reduction) because of speciation change of SMT, whereas steam activated biochars manifested much stronger sorption resilience against pH variation (～2–4 % reduction only) because the enhanced porosity offset the effect of unfavorable electrostatic repulsion.

Conclusions

The observed features of steam activated biochars would render their applications more versatile and reliable in field throughout changeable environmental conditions.

     

Seasonal patterns of root-surface phosphatase activities in a Mediterranean shrubland. Responses to experimental warming and drought

Mediterranean ecosystems are water limited and the current general circulation Models (GCM) and ecophysiological models forecast a warming and a further increase of drought in the next decades. A stronger water stress can decrease the capacity for nutrient absorption by plants. We conducted a field experiment to simulate forecasted drought and warming in a Mediterranean calcareous shrubland to assess the performance of root-surface phosphatase activities of the dominant shrub Globularia alypum. These enzyme activities were higher in autumn and spring, when the climate conditions were optimal for plant activity, than in summer or winter, when there was either lack of water or cold temperatures. A decrease in soil moisture in drought plots decreased root-surface phosphatase activity (29% in summer and 25% in autumn). The decrease in root-surface phosphatase activity in drought plots coincided with a decrease in P leaf concentrations and P accumulation in aboveground biomass and loss of photosynthetic capacity of some dominant shrub species of this ecosystem, and with a tendency to increase total soil-P. These results suggest that the expected drier conditions in this Mediterranean shrubland in the next decades will slow down the P uptake by plants, thereby, diminishing the P contents in biomass and increasing total P contents in soil in non-available forms and that this can be, in part, attributable to a result of the decrease in root-surface phosphatase activity.     

The Application of Multivariate Statistical Methods for the Evaluation of Soil Profiles (8 pp)

Background, Aim and Scope   Contamination of soils does not only occur on their surface over large areas, but also in depth. Therefore a characterization of soil state after pollution demands a three-dimensional soil sampling, by what a large number of samples has to be analyzed. Analytical results could be evaluated by multivariate statistical methods, which have already been used for the evaluation of data sets containing results from soil sampling of two dimensions like areas or single profiles. In this case study, multivariate statistical methods were applied to investigate structure and interactions between features in a data set containing results of three-dimensional soil sampling. The investigated soil profiles were contaminated by emissions of a former cement and phosphate fertilizer plant. The aim of this study was to determine the remaining extent of contamination and to analyze whether pollutants are mobilized and vertically transported within the profiles. Materials and Methods: Three soil profiles were sampled in the surroundings of the plant. Grain size, organic and carbonatic bonded carbon, pH value, and the total contents of Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, F, Fe, K, Mn, Mg, Na, Ni, P, Pb, and Zn were determined. The resulting data set was evaluated by cluster analysis, linear discriminant analysis, and principal components analysis. The sequential extraction procedure according to Zeien and Brümmer was applied to analyze the binding properties of Ca, Cd, Cu, Na, Pb, and Zn from selected samples. Results: Cd was identified as contaminant of the top soils. The pH values of the bottom soils were determined to be in alkaline range, which is unnaturally high. Variables were clustered according to enrichment of variables in top soils. The samples were classified regarding their pollution state and their substrate by cluster analysis, which was confirmed by linear discriminant analysis. Geogenic and anthropogenic sources of variables as well as relationships between variables like the binding of heavy metals at organic matter were detected by using principal components analysis. The binding of heavy metals at organic matter in the top soils was confirmed by the results of the applied sequential extraction. A vertically altered distribution of Na binding was determined. Discussion: According to the current soil conditions, the uptake of heavy metals had probably occurred by the over ground part of plants during the deposition. The distribution of Na should likely result from the vertical transport of Na, which would also explain the high pH values of the bottom soils by ion exchange. Altogether, the main amount of deposited Ca, F, Na, P, and heavy metals is likely nearly insoluble bound in the top soils. Conclusions: Ten years after the end of production, the pollution of top soils in the surroundings of the former plant is still high. However, regarding the ecotoxicological relevance the now explored interactions between several soil features and elements strongly indicate that there is no short-term to medium-term risk of a mobilization of the deposited elements with the exception of Na. Recommendations and Perspectives: The results of this case study prove that multivariate statistical methods are powerful tools to explore interactions of variables and relationships in a data set derived from three dimensional soil sampling. The methods applied in this work can be highly recommended for evaluations of large data sets resulting from two- or three-dimensional samplings. Multivariate statistical methods enable the characterization of soils and their pollution state in a simple and economic way.     

Molecular phylogeny of Chinese vegetable mustard (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica juncea</Emphasis>) based on the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA

Sequence variation of nuclear internal transcribed spacer regions of ribosomal DNA (ITS1, 5.8S rRNA and ITS2) from Chinese vegetable mustards (AB-genome) and its putative parents Brassica rapa (the A-genome) and Brassica nigra (the B-genome) were used to investigate the molecular phylogeny and the probable evolutional pattern of this amphidiploid species that uniquely formed in China. Totally, 16 accessions of Chinese vegetable mustard those covering nearly all the diverse variations were included in this study, and together with three accessions of B. rapa and one accession of B. nigra. The results disclosed two strongly supported clades, one containing four accessions of vegetable mustard which have closer relationship with B-genome species “B.nigra” lineage and the other containing 12 accessions of B. juncea and three A-genome accessions. This classification was in disagreement with the evidence from chloroplast DNA, mitochondrial DNA, nuclear DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), which suggested that B. juncea was closely related to the A-genome type. For the incongruence, we speculated that the B. juncea crops derived from Chinese have evolved through different recombined events of the diploid morphutypes and evolved unidirectional concerted evolution. The traditional phenotypic classification of B. juncea was not wholly supported by ITS results, and hence the phylogenetic relationships among these subspecies need to be reconsidered on molecular level.     

Effect of FMD vaccination on semen quality parameters in Karan Fries and Murrah buffalo bulls

Effect of Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) vaccination was studied on semen quality parameters of 19 Karan Fries (KF) and eight Murrah (MU) breeding bulls during the period 2002 to 2004 at Artificial Breeding Complex, NDRI, Karnal. A total of non-vaccinated 155 KF and 72 MU bulls' ejaculates were taken as control, while 169 KF and 51 MU bulls' ejaculates, collected after vaccination, were used to study the effect of vaccination stress. The results showed that FMD vaccination had no significant (P > 0.05) effect on ejaculate volume and total volume per day of semen in both KF and MU bulls. Volume of semen increased slightly during post-vaccination period in both the breeds. After FMD vaccination, there was significant (P < 0.01) decrease in mass activity (2.27 ± 0.06 vs. 1.67 ± 0.07 and 2.49 ± 0.09. vs. 1.75 ± 0.10, for KF and MU, respectively), initial motility (56.89 ± 0.03% vs. 44.62 ± 0.02% and 62.26 ± 0.04% vs. 47.08 ± 0.05%, for KF and MU, respectively), sperm concentration (754.19 ± 23.96 vs. 554.14 ± 22.95 × 10⁶/ml and 848.61 ± 33.65 vs. 571.57 ± 39.99 × 10⁶/ml, for KF and MU, respectively), and total sperm output per ejaculate (3,685.94 ± 158.40 vs. 2,781.54 ± 151.70 × 10⁶ and 2,218.75 ± 133.14 vs. 1,582.84 ± 158.20 × 10⁶, for KF and MU, respectively). Application of FMD vaccine had significantly (P < 0.05) adverse effect on most of the seminal attributes during post-vaccination in KF and MU buffalo bulls. So, the spermiograms affected following vaccination suggest that in bovines, the semen collection and preservation should be suspended till normal fertility of sperm is restored to avoid the failure of conception from artificial insemination using such semen.     

Demographic dynamics and off-take of cattle herds in southern Mali

The herds of 95 families were monitored for 1 year in eight villages in the cotton-growing region of southern Mali. In 2006–2007, reproduction performances were average, with 0.54 calvings/year per cow, and mortality was low. Herd numerical productivity is not very high, less than 0.13/year, because of the high proportion of males kept for animal draught. Depending on the herd size, the behaviour of the families differs, in terms of off-take and in-take of animals. Families that only have one or two draught animals seek to increase their animal draught capacity, with a negative net off-take (−0.13/year). Families with two to three cows have a very low net off-take (0.02/year), with culling of adult animals compensated by purchase. They therefore capitalised this year, with an annual herd growth of 8%. Families with a very large herd (20 to 50 cows) take off more of their stock, with a net off-take of 0.08/year (very few animal purchases) and make a stock growth of 5%. And finally, families with an average-sized herd (6 to 19 cows) take off the whole of the year’s production, with a net off-take of 0.11/year and a nil stock growth rate. The use of a demographic model made it possible to measure the sensitivity of the productivity rate to the different demographic parameters.     

Preparation and properties of antibacterial Poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers by nanoparticles

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/Ag-zeolite nanofiber webs were prepared with different concentrations of Ag-zeolite nanoparticles by the electrospinning technique. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Instron, and antibacterial activities analysis were utilized to characterize the morphology and properties of the PVA/Ag-zeolite nanofiber webs. The study results showed that the polymer concentration, applied voltages and tip-to-collector distances were the main factors influencing the morphology of the electrospun nanofiber webs. The introduction of Ag-zeolite nanoparticles improved the mechanical properties and thermal stability of the PVA nanofiber webs. TEM data demonstrated that the Ag-zeolite nanoparticles were well distributed within the nanofiber. FTIR revealed a possible interaction between the PVA matrix and the Ag-zeolite nanoparticles. These fibers showed an antibacterial efficacy of 99.8 % and over against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae at Ag-zeolite concentrations of 1 % and over, because of the presence of the silver nanoparticles in the zeolite.     

Preparation and properties of solid polymer electrolyte based on imidazolium-based ionic liquids for structural capacitors

We prepared solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) composed of poly(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether acrylate (1A9OMe) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate ([EMIm][OTF]) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl) imide ([EMIm][TFSI]) as the ionic liquid. The SPEs formed by appropriately adding ionic liquids in the 1A9OMe prior to thermal cure. The ratio of 1A9OMe and ionic liquid was 1:9, 3:7, and 5:5, respectively. The characterization of solid polymer electrolytes were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in the attenuated total reflectance mode (FTIR-ATR), Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and glavanostatic charge-discharge test. The highest ionic conductivity of SPEs was found to be 4.90×10^?4 S/cm in a 1A9OMe/[EMIm][OTF] of 3:7. As IL contents were increased, the specific capacitance of supercapacitor was increased. The specific capacitance of supercapacitor for ionic liquid with large ion size was lower than that for ionic liquid with smaller ion size.     

Synthesis of hydrophobic anthraquinoid magenta dyes having linear alkyl substituents

A new series of magenta dyes having different length of alkyl substituents was synthesized to dye unmodified polypropylene (PP) and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber. It could be concluded that the affinity of the dyes onto unmodified PP and UHMWPE fibers was increased with the increase of the length of alkyl substituents. The optimum length of alkyl group was determined as the longest dodecyl-substituted dye in this study. Their absorption spectra appeared almost the same at visible range, which meant that the length of alkyl substituents did not affect the color appearance of the dyes. The color fastness properties of the dyeings to washing, rubbing and light were good enough for commercialization.     

Diversity of root-knot nematodes in Moroccan olive nurseries and orchards: does <Emphasis Type="Italic">Meloidogyne javanica</Emphasis> disperse according to invasion processes?

Background

Root-knot nematodes (RKN) are major pest of olive tree (Olea europaea ssp. europaea), especially in nurseries and high-density orchards. Soil samples were collected from main olive growing areas of Morocco, to characterize Meloidogyne species and to discuss the contribution of biotic and abiotic factors in their spatial distribution.

Results

RKN were found in 159 soil samples out of 305 from nurseries (52.1% occurrence) and in 11 out of 49 soil samples from orchards (23.2% occurrence). Biochemical and molecular characterisation (PAGE esterase and SCAR) revealed the dominance of M. javanica both in nurseries and orchards with minor presence of M. incognita only in nurseries, and M. arenaria in only one nursery. RKN were distributed on aggregated basis. Frequent presence of M. javanica in orchards might have come from nurseries. In contrast, the detection of M. incognita in nurseries alone suggests that this species could not reproduce in orchards because of either the competition with other plant-parasitic nematodes or unfit local habitats. The impact of environmental variables (climate, habitat origin and physicochemical characteristics of the substrates) on the distribution of Meloidogyne species is also discussed.

Conclusion

Olive nurseries in Morocco are not able to guarantee the safety of rooted plants. As a result, olive production systems are exposed to strong RKN invasion risks. Consequently, the use of healthy substrates in nurseries may prevent plant-parasitic nematode induction in orchards.