No abstract

The antioxidant activities of 70% acetone extract (70% AE) from the hypocotyls of the mangrove plant Kandelia candel and its fractions of petroleum ether (PF), ethyl acetate (EF), water (WF), and the LF (WF fraction further purified through a Sephadex LH-20 column), were investigated by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The results showed that all the extract and fractions possessed potent antioxidant activity. There was a significant linear correlation between the total phenolics concentration and the ferric reducing power or free radical scavenging activity of the extract and fractions. Among the extract and fractions, the LF fraction exhibits the best antioxidant performance. The MALDT-TOF MS and HPLC analyses revealed that the phenolic compounds associated with the antioxidant activity of the LF fraction contains a large number of procyanidins and a small amount of prodelphinidins, and the epicatechin is the main extension unit.

Sewage sludge (SS) with corn stalk (CS) was used to prepare SS-based activated carbon (SAC) by pyrolysis with ZnCl2. The effects of mixing ratio on surface area and pore size distribution, elemental composition, surface chemistry, and morphology were investigated. The results demonstrated that the addition of CS into SS samples improved the surface area (from 92 to 902 m(2)/g) and the microporosity (from 1.2 to 4.1%) of the adsorbents and, therefore, enhancing the adsorption performance. The removal of leachate chemical oxygen demand (COD) was also determined. It was found that the COD removal rate reached 85% at pH 4 with the SAC (90 wt% CS) dosage of 2% (g/mL) and an adsorption time of 40 min. The adsorption experimental data were fitted by both Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. Long-chain alkanes and refractory organics were found in raw leachate, but could be removed by SAC largely.

Aims: To assess human adenoviruses (HAdVs) removal in an advanced wastewater treatment facility and compare two parallel tertiary treatment methods for the removal of HAdVs. Methods and Results: Tangential flow ultrafiltration was used to concentrate the water samples, and HAdVs were precipitated by polyethylene glycol. HAdVs were detected only by TaqMan real-time PCR, and HAdV genotype was determined by DNA sequence. HAdVs were detected in 100% of primary clarification influent, secondary clarification effluent and granular media (GM) filtration effluent samples but only in 31Á2% of membrane filtration (MF) effluent and 41Á7% of final effluent (FE) samples, respectively. The average HAdVs loads were significantly reduced along the treatments but HAdVs were still present in FE. Comparison of two parallel treatments (GM vs MF) showed that MF was technically superior to GM for the removal of HAdVs. Conclusions: These findings indicate that adenoviruses are not completely removed by treatment processes. MF is a better treatment for removal of adenoviruses than GM filtration. Because only qPCR was used, the results only indicate the removal of adenovirus DNA and not the infectivity of viruses. Significance and Impact of the Study: Presence of HAdVs in FE by qPCR suggests a potential public health risk from exposure to the treated wastewater and using the FE for recreational or water reuse purposes should be cautious.

Field surveys were carried out from January 2007 to December 2008 to investigate seasonal variations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorus (DIP) transported to the Linjiang Bay of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China. The results revealed that both DIN and DIP exhibited large seasonal variability. DIN (dominated by NH4-N) concentrations were drastically higher in the dry season than those in the rainy season, and the same seasonal patterns of DIP concentrations and DIN and DIP fluxes were observed but inverse to that of DIN concentrations. The interannual variation in DIN fluxes descended by 28.2% from 2007 to 2008, while DIP fluxes increased by 40.9%, which were closely constant with interannual changes in DIN and DIP concentrations, respectively. The study indicated that nutrient fluxes (DIN and DIP) were strongly correlated with both nutrient concentrations and river discharge, and the Linjiang Bay received approximately 3,416×10(3) kg DIN and 324×10(3) kg DIP every year. In addition, DIN mainly originated from point sources, but DIP originated from non-point sources. It is shown that to control point source pollution is the most effective step for water quality improvement and reducing nutrient loading inputs in the Linjiang Bay.