[1] The river discharges have decreased continuously during the last half century in the Yellow River, the second-largest river basin in China. In particular, a drying up of the main river along the lower reach has occurred since 1972, and the situation has become more and more serious during the 1990s. Using 50 years of meteorological data from 108 stations together with a collection of irrigation data, the long-term changes in the river discharge have been investigated with a view to identifying the reason for the drying up of the Yellow River. It was found that the annual precipitation generally decreased (À45.3 mm/50 yr) while the air temperature generally increased (+1.28°C/50 yr). From the 1960s to the 1970s the precipitation decreased by 29.6 mm/10 yr, the evaporation increased by 7 mm/10 yr (for pan evaporation), and the irrigation water usage increased by 10.5 mm/10 yr. As a consequence the drying up of the Yellow River has occurred since 1972. Irrigation was developed continuously in the 1980s, but the drying-up situation maintained at the same level as during the 1970s. The reason for this was the increase in precipitation (by 10.3 mm/10 yr) and the sharp decrease in the evaporation (by 133 mm/10 yr for pan evaporation). During the 1990s the irrigation was maintained at a level similar to that during the 1980s, but the drying-up situation was greatly aggravated. The reason for this was found to be a result of the decrease in precipitation (by 38.2 mm/10 yr) and the increase in evaporation (by 52 mm/10 yr for pan evaporation).

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Objective: Recent studies have shown that generation of reactive oxidants during arsenic metabolism can play an important role in arsenic-induced injury. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between arsenic in drinking water and oxidative stress in humans by measuring 8-Hydroxy-2 0 -deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study in an arsenic-affected village in Hetao Plain, Inner Mongolia, China. A total of 134 of the 143 inhabitants (93.7%) of the village participated in the study. The levels of 8-OHdG, arsenic and its metabolites were measured in urine collected from the participants. Regression analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between arsenic species and 8-OHdG levels in urine. Results: In the polluted village, monomethylarsenic was significantly higher in subjects with arsenic dermatosis than those without dermatosis despite no difference in mean levels of arsenic in well water between both types of subject. For subjects with arsenic dermatosis, arsenic species and metabolites in urine are significantly associated with 8-OHdG, while there was no statistically significant relationship for subjects without arsenic dermatosis. For all residents of the polluted village, the levels of dimethylarsenic and 8-OHdG were significantly higher for those who had been exposed to well water for more than 12 years. Conclusions: These results provide evidence of a link between exposure to arsenic from drinking water and oxidative stress, which may play an important role in arsenic-involved injuries.

Tests on erosion of the cohesive sediments in the Chikugo estuary in Japan were conducted. The results indicate that the decrease in the rate of erosion at constant shear stresses is caused rapidly 20 to 30 minutes after the start of tests and that tue decrease is caused by the increase in the solid fraction and the yield value of the seaiment remaining uneroded due to shear stress. In order to simulate the erosion process of sediments, a model in which the increase in the yield value of sediment is assumed to be proportional to the integration value of the absolute value of the sediment velocity gradient with respect to time was developed. The simulation based on this model is shown to be available to estimate the amount of sediments eroded in the erosional process of cohesive sediments.

The fundamental behaviour of suspended sediments and muds was investigated using an annular flume with the condition of cyclically changed shear stress. The results from two series of experiments showed that particle sizes which participate in the variation of suspended sediments were restricted to smaller sizes of the material. It was also found that the cyclically steady state was finally attained with respect to the suspended sediments as the tidal cycle repeated. In that state the suspended sediments were subject to three phenomena: erosion; deposition with dispersed state; and deposition with flocculation. A simple model on the suspended sediments in an estuary was developed and its behaviour in a model estuary was simulated by using the fluxes of erosion and deposition in the experiment. That model well described the variation of the suspended sediments and muds.

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This research studied the effects of the particulate biodegradable fraction (X(S)) of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in a post-denitrification configuration. Denitrifying polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (DN-PAOs) and nitrifiers were completely separated in a system also known as Dephanox. It was composed by an anaerobic-anoxic (A(2)) process coupled with a parallel Nitrification biofilm tank. The results of a long-term operation of the Dephanox continuous-flow lab-scale system as well as results of sludge characterization assays showed that raw wastewater feeding promoted complete phosphorus (P) removal by double via (i) providing complementary volatile fatty acids (VFAs) for a complete P removal by prefermentation of the X(S) fraction of COD under a long anaerobic SRT, and (ii) assisting the metabolic accumulation and selection of DN-PAOs. Complete P removal was accomplished only when the system was fed with raw wastewater (high XS concentration). When primary effluent was used as influent, lack of VFAs in the anaerobic stage led to an incomplete and instable P removal, suggesting that the use of primary treatment is not only unnecessary but detrimental for simultaneous nutrient removal in a post-denitrification configuration.