The free-volume depth profile of asymmetric polymeric membrane systems prepared by interfacial polymerization is studied using positron annihilation spectroscopy coupled with a variable monoenergy slow positron beam. Significant variations of S, W, and R parameters from the Doppler broadened energy spectra vs positron incident energy up to 30 keV and orthopositronium lifetime and intensity are observed at different doping times of triethylenetetraamine (TETA) reacting with trimesoyl chloride (TMC) in an interfacial polymerization on modified porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) asymmetric membrane. The positron annihilation data are analyzed in terms of free-volume parameters as a function of depth from the surface to nano- and micrometer regions of asymmetric membranes. A multilayer structure is obtained in polymerized polyamide (PA) on modified PAN membranes (m-PAN):  a nanometer scale skin polyamide layer, a nanometer to micrometer scale transition layer from dense to porous m-PAN, and the porous m-PAN support. The results of free-volume parameters and obtained layer thicknesses are compared with the flux (permeability) and water concentration in permeate (selectivity) through the pervaporation separation of 70 wt % 2-propanol aqueous solution. It is found that the water concentration in permeate is mainly controlled by the free-volume properties of skin polyamide and weakly related to the transition layer from the skin to porous m-PAN. The obtained layer structures of asymmetric polymeric membranes are supported by the data obtained by AFM, SEM, and ATR−FTIR.

According to guidelines for the approval of pesticides, information about effects of pesticides on soil microorganisms and soil fertility are required, but the relationships of different structures of pesticides on the growth of various groups of soil microorganisms are not easily predicted. Some pesticides stimulate the growth of microorganisms, but other pesticides have depressive effects or no effects on microorganisms. For examples, carbofuran stimulated the population of Azospirillum and other anaerobic nitrogen fixers in flooded and non-flooded soil, but butachlor reduced the population of Azospirillum and aerobic nitrogen fixers in non-flooded soil. Diuron and chlorotoluron showed no difference between treated and nontreated soil, and linuron showed a strong difference. Phosphorus(P)-contains herbicides glyphosate and insecticide methamidophos stimulated soil microbial growth, but other P-containing insecticide fenamiphos was detrimental to nitrification bacteria. Therefore, the following review presents some data of research carried out during the last 20 years. The effects of twenty-one pesticides on the soil microorganisms associated with nutrient and cycling processes are presented in section 1, and the applications of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) for studying microbial diversity are discussed in section 2.

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Among a large collection of Taiwanese soil isolates, a novel Gram-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming, yellow-pigmented bacterial strain, Soil-3-27 T , was isolated from farmland soil in Wu-Feng, Taiwan. The isolate was subjected to a polyphasic study including 16S rRNA gene sequencing, DNA-DNA hybridization, fatty acid analysis and comparative phenotypic characterization. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that the organism belongs to the genus Chryseobacterium. The organism contains menaquinone MK-6 as the predominant isoprenoid quinone and 15 : 0 iso (43 %), 17 : 1 isov9c (17?5 %) and 17 : 0 iso 3-OH (16?6 %) as the major fatty acids. Phylogenetically, the closest relatives of strain Soil-3-27 T are Chryseobacterium daecheongense, Chryseobacterium defluvii and Chryseobacterium taichungense with 96?7-97?2 % sequence similarity. DNA-DNA hybridization showed relatedness values of 8?5-24?2 % with these species. The DNA G+C content is 36?8 mol%. Strain Soil-3-27 T is clearly distinguishable from other Chryseobacterium species and represents a novel species, for which the name Chryseobacterium taiwanense sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is strain