Characterization of an open biocathode microbial fuel cell for electricity generation and effluent polish

The application of a biocathode in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) could be an alternative for the abiotic cathode MFCs that use noble metal catalysts and/or artificial mediators. An open biocathode MFC with oxygen reduction was investigated in this study and the roles of microbes in the cathode compartment were characterized. After 50-days operation, the MFC became stable and the power density of the MFC reached 2.55 W/m³ at an influent flowrate of 0.20 mL/min. The concentration of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was significantly reduced from 372 mg/L (in the influent) to 22 mg/L (in the final effluent) at an influent flowrate of 0.20 mL/min. Microbial community analysis demonstrated that four major groups of the clones were identified, where 28 clone types were derived from the cathode microorganisms, which included proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and unclassified bacteria. Among these phylatypes, Deltaproteobacteria was the most abundant division with 25.0% of total clones, which plays important roles in the cathodic electron transfer process. The presence of symmetric peaks could be detected in the effluent of the cathode compartment, which confirmed that the possible electron mediators were excreted by cathodic bacteria involved in the electron transfer process.     

Uncertainty Analysis of Mound Monitoring for Recharged Water from Surface Spreading Basins

This study has conceptually reviewed issues related to implementation of a groundwater mound monitoring well (GMMW) for monitoring recharged water from a surface spreading basin with emphasis on uncertain hydrogeological conditions. For this, we selected a recharge site in the City of Mesa, Ariz., that is characterized with near-surface clay lenses of low permeability. A geostatistical simulation technique was used for generating hydrogeological fields under the recharge basin, using soil boring logs and historical hydrological data. More than 50 hydrogeological fields were generated and used for modeling. Five scenarios were formulated with varying parameter values and different initial and boundary conditions, and each scenario was evaluated with the 50 hydrogeological fields generated. Results of this study indicate that travel times to the mound may vary by over one order of magnitude and the use of a GMMW will only be practical for regulatory compliance in a homogeneous system.     

Approaches for obtaining sperm in patients with male factor infertility

OBJECTIVE: To describe methods of sperm retrieval for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in patients with male factor infertility and to review the clinical results using sperm from the different sources. DESIGN: The literature on sperm-obtaining methods and ICSI was reviewed. Studies related to this topic were identified through MEDLINE. RESULTS(S): This review describes the evolution of sperm retrieval methods. Sperm can be obtained by microepididymal sperm aspiration (MESA), percutaneous sperm aspiration (PESA), and testicular sperm extraction (TESE), from patients with congenital absence of the vas deferens or acquired vas obstruction. When ICSI is performed with ejaculated, epididymal, or testicular sperm, good fertilization and pregnancy rates are achieved without significant differences among the various sperm sources. The original percutaneous sperm aspiration method has been modified slightly and yields successful results. CONCLUSION(S): Viable pregnancies can be achieved with ICSI by using not only ejaculated sperm, but also epididymal and testicular sperm. Microepididymal sperm aspiration, percutaneous sperm aspiration, modified percutaneous sperm aspiration, and testicular sperm extraction can be considered standard procedures to treat male factor infertility.     

CYP2C19 genotype and phenotype determined by omeprazole in a Korean population

Omeprazole (20 mg orally) was given to 103 healthy Korean subjects and blood was taken 3 h after administration. The plasma concentration ratio of omeprazole and hydroxyomeprazole, used as an index of CYP2C19 activity, was bimodally distributed. Thirteen subjects (12.6%) were identified as poor metabolizers (PMs) with an omeprazole hydroxylation ratio of 6.95 or higher. Among the 206 CYP2C19 alleles, CYP2C19*2 and CYP2C19*3 were found in 43 alleles (21%) and 24 alleles (12%), respectively. Twelve subjects (12%) carried two defect alleles (*2/*2, *2/*3 or *3/*3), 43 subjects (42%) were heterozygous for a mutated (*2 or *3) and a wild type (*1) allele, and the remaining 48 subjects (47%) were homozygous for the wild type allele. The distributions of the metabolic ratio between these three genotype groups were significantly different (Kruskal-Wallis test: p < 0.0001). The genotypes of 19 additional Korean PMs has been identified in a previous mephenytoin study. From a total of 32 PMs, 31 were genotypically PMs by analysis of the CYP2C19*2 and *3 alleles and only one PM subject was found to be heterozygous for the *1 and *2 alleles. At present it cannot be judged whether this subject has a defective allele with a so-far unidentified mutation or a true wild type allele. We thus confirm a high incidence (12.6%) of PMs of omeprazole in Koreans and of the 32 Korean PMs 97% could be identified by the genotype analysis.     

上海城市绿化发展的思路及对策

比较、分析了国内外一些先进城市的绿化现状,提出了发展上海城市绿化的思路与对策。     

Natural Radioactivity in Polish Coal Mines: An Attempt to Assess the Trend of Radium Release into the Environment

The highly mineralised formation waters in the coal mines of Poland’s Upper Silesian Coal Basin contain natural radioactive nuclides, mostly radium. The ²²⁶Ra concentration in the groundwater that flows into the underground mine workings reaches 390 Bq/L, and is sometimes exceeded by the ²²⁸Ra concentration. The radium-bearing water sometimes also contain barium ions, which enables coprecipitation of barium-radium sulphate. Another type of radium-bearing water contains sulphate ions instead of barium; in this case, radium is transported to settling ponds and downstream. We have assessed the daily activity of radium in waters flowing into the underground mines and being discharged to the environment. Based on 1995 data, we estimate that the total activity of radium isotopes flowing into the mines was about 1300 MBq/day, while the radium activity in the discharge waters was about 700 MBq/day. A similar assessment performed with 2016 data indicated that the total activity in inflows was roughly 1150 MBq/day, while that discharged to surface waters was about 450 MBq/day.

     

Application of spinodal decomposition to produce metallic glass matrix composite with simultaneous improvement of strength and plasticity

An original two-step procedure, based on the miscibility gap between two elements, produced an in-situ bulk metallic glass matrix composite. The Zr-Ta binary alloy, which exhibits a large immiscible region in solid state, formed a two-phase mixture of Zr- and Ta-rich solid solution by phase separation. When the Zr-Ta binary alloy was remelted with Cu, Zr, and Ti, the Ta-rich solid solution, which has a high melting temperature, did not melt, while the remaining melt containing Zr-rich solid solution mixed with the other elements and solidified into an amorphous phase at lower temperatures. The improvement of strength in the composite indicates that the interfaces between the Ta-rich particles and the BMG matrix formed by phase separation are strong enough to hold a high interfacial cohesion strength.     

Development of high-performance concrete having high resistance to chloride penetration

The resistance to chloride penetration is one of the simplest measures to determine the durability of concrete, e.g. resistance to freezing and thawing, corrosion of steel in concrete and other chemical attacks. Thus, high-performance concrete may be defined as the concrete having high resistance to chloride penetration as well as high strength. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the resistance to chloride penetration of different types of concrete and to develop high-performance concrete that has very high resistance to chloride penetration, and thus, can guarantee high durability. A large number of concrete specimens have been tested by the rapid chloride permeability test method as designated in AASHTO T 277 and ASTM C 1202. The major test variables include water-to-binder ratios, type of cement, type and amount of mineral admixtures (silica fume, fly ash and blast-furnace slag), maximum size of aggregates and air-entrainment. Test results show that concrete containing optimal amount of silica fume shows very high resistance to chloride penetration, and high-performance concrete developed in this study can be efficiently employed to enhance the durability of concrete structures in severe environments such as nuclear power plants, water-retaining structures and other offshore structures.     

User required information modality and structure of in-vehicle navigation system focused on the urban commuter

Current available functions of In-Vehicle Navigation System (IVNS) are approaching to the multimedia system, and its information types become diverse by manufacturing company for accomplishing the on-board multimedia system. Concerning these trends, Human-Machine Interface (HMI) is regarded as more crucial issue for driver's safety and system usability. Also, this kind of issue includes determining the type of information that would be most beneficial to the particular group of users, when and where they need specific information, and the modality in which it should be presented. This paper conducted two kinds of experiments. One is an assessment of driver's mental workload of two kinds of modality to verify the developed Revision of NASA-TLX (RNASA-TLX), and the other is survey-based study to prioritizing the user required information that presented from IVNS. This experiment conducted in the real road situation using IVNS simulator especially focused on the urban commuter.