Impacts of dissolved oxygen on the sorption of humic substances and the subsequent inhibition of o-cresol ptake by granular activated carbon

The impacts of dissolved oxygen (DO) on the sorption of natural and model humic substances by granular activated carbon (GAC) were investigated. Among five substances tested, the sorptions of only two, polymaleic acid (PMA) and peat humic acid, were affected by the presence of DO. The uptake of the target compound o-cresol on virgin GAC and on GAC preloaded with PMA under oxic and anoxic conditions was also examined. The oxic and anoxic preloading conditions had similar effects on subsequent o-cresol reactions under both oxic and anoxic sorption conditions. A reduction of approximately 20 % in o-cresol uptake observed under anoxic conditions by GAC preloaded under each condition is attributed to a decrease in the adsorption capacity of the GAC by preloading. In the presence of oxygen, however, an observed reduction of about 45% in o-cresol uptake by preloaded GAC appears to result from a combination of decreased adsorption and inhibited o-cresol polymerization.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31488/1/0000410.pd

Consensus on the reporting and experimental design of clinical and cognitive-behavioural neurofeedback studies (CRED-nf checklist)

Neurofeedback has begun to attract the attention and scrutiny of the scientific and medical mainstream. Here, neurofeedback researchers present a consensus-derived checklist that aims to improve the reporting and experimental design standards in the field.</p

Temporal variations of disinfection byproduct precursors in wildfire detritus

The Rim Fire ignited on August 17, 2013 and became the third largest wildfire in California history. The fire consumed 104,131&nbsp;ha of forested watersheds that were the drinking water source for 2.6 million residents in the San Francisco Bay area. To understand temporal variations in dissolved organic matter (DOM) after the wildfire and its potential impacts on disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation in source water supply, we collected the 0-5&nbsp;cm ash/soil layer with surface deposits of white ash (high burn severity) and black ash (moderate burn severity) within the Rim Fire perimeter in Oct 2013 (pre-rainfall) for five sequential extractions, and in Dec 2013 (∼87&nbsp;mm cumulative precipitation) and Aug 2014 (∼617&nbsp;mm cumulative precipitation) for a single water extraction. Water-extractable DOM was characterized by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy and DBP formation tests. Both increasing cumulative precipitation in the field or number of extractions in the lab resulted in a significant decrease in specific conductivity, dissolved organic carbon, and DBP formation potential, but an increase in DOM aromaticity (reflected by specific UV absorbance). However, the lab sequential leaching failed to capture the increase of the NOx(-)-N/NH4(+)-N ratio and the decrease in pH and dissolved organic carbon/nitrogen ratio of ash/soil extracts from Oct 2013 to Aug 2014. Increasing cumulative precipitation, inferring an increase in leaching after fire, led to an increase in DOM reactivity to form trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, and chloral hydrate, but not for haloketones, haloacetonitrile, or N-nitrosodimethylamine, which were more related to the original burn severity. This study highlights that fire-affected DBP precursors for different DBP species have distinct temporal variation possibly due to their various sensitivity to biogeochemical alterations

Sodium fast reactor safety and licensing research plan. Volume II.

Expert panels comprised of subject matter experts identified at the U.S. National Laboratories (SNL, ANL, INL, ORNL, LBL, and BNL), universities (University of Wisconsin and Ohio State University), international agencies (IRSN, CEA, JAEA, KAERI, and JRC-IE) and private consultation companies (Radiation Effects Consulting) were assembled to perform a gap analysis for sodium fast reactor licensing. Expert-opinion elicitation was performed to qualitatively assess the current state of sodium fast reactor technologies. Five independent gap analyses were performed resulting in the following topical reports: (1) Accident Initiators and Sequences (i.e., Initiators/Sequences Technology Gap Analysis), (2) Sodium Technology Phenomena (i.e., Advanced Burner Reactor Sodium Technology Gap Analysis), (3) Fuels and Materials (i.e., Sodium Fast Reactor Fuels and Materials: Research Needs), (4) Source Term Characterization (i.e., Advanced Sodium Fast Reactor Accident Source Terms: Research Needs), and (5) Computer Codes and Models (i.e., Sodium Fast Reactor Gaps Analysis of Computer Codes and Models for Accident Analysis and Reactor Safety). Volume II of the Sodium Research Plan consolidates the five gap analysis reports produced by each expert panel, wherein the importance of the identified phenomena and necessities of further experimental research and code development were addressed. The findings from these five reports comprised the basis for the analysis in Sodium Fast Reactor Research Plan Volume I

Reconciling the stratigraphy and depositional history of the Lycian orogen-top basins, SW Anatolia

Terrestrial fossil records from the SWAnatolian basins are crucial both for regional correlations and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. By reassessing biostratigraphic constraints and incorporating new fossil data, we calibrated and reconstructed the late Neogene andQuaternary palaeoenvironments within a regional palaeogeographical framework. The culmination of the Taurides inSWAnatolia was followed by a regional crustal extension from the late Tortonian onwards that created a broad array of NE-trending orogen-top basins with synchronic associations of alluvial fan, fluvial and lacustrine deposits. The terrestrial basins are superimposed on the upper Burdigalian marine units with a c. 7 myr of hiatus that corresponds to a shift from regional shortening to extension. The initial infill of these basins is documented by a transition from marginal alluvial fans and axial fluvial systems into central shallow-perennial lakes coinciding with a climatic shift from warm/humid to arid conditions. The basal alluvial fan deposits abound in fossil macro-mammals of an early Turolian (MN11–12; late Tortonian) age. The Pliocene epoch in the region was punctuated by subhumid/humid conditions resulting in a rise of local base levels and expansion of lakes as evidenced by marsh-swamp deposits containing diverse fossilmammal assemblages indicating late Ruscinian (lateMN15; late Zanclean) ageWe are grateful for the support of the international bilateral project between The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and The Russian Scientific Foundation (RFBR) with grant a number of 111Y192. M.C.A. is grateful to the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA) for a GEBIP (Young Scientist Award) grant. T.K. and S.M. are grateful to the Ege University Scientific Research Center for the TTM/002/2016 and TTM/001/2016 projects. M.C.A., H.A., S.M. and M.B. have obtained Martin and Temmick Fellowships at Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Leiden). F.A.D. is supported by a Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Scientific Research Grant. T.A.N. is supported by an Alexander-von-Humboldt Scholarship. L.H.O. received support from TUBITAK under the 2221 program for visiting scientists