Influence of environmental parameters on the carbon balance in a biofilter

The fate of pollutants in a biofilter is poorly understood. Quantifying the fate of carbon in the pollutant provides a better understanding of operation and improves modeling of biofilter performance. This study investigated the fate of carbon as influenced by temperature, water tension and pollutant concentrations. Soil biofilters degrading toluene were operated with no supplemental nutrient addition. Rigorous control of inlet concentration, temperature and water content was maintained with a differential biofilter. Temperature experiments were conducted at 20ᵒC, 30ᵒC and 40ᵒC and water tension was varied between 10 cmH2O and 20 cmH2O. The carbon recovery as CO2 ranged from 45% to 60% at a tension of 10 cmH2O and an inlet concentration of 170 ± 6 ppm with variable fractions of carbon ending up in the liquid and solid phases as determined by TOC. Further experiments maintaining the temperature at 40ᵒC and varying the tension to 20 cmH2O were done. Fractions of carbon recovered as CO2 significantly lowered to 32 % at a tension of 20 cmH2O. A third parameter was investigated at 30ᵒC by implementing a lower inlet toluene concentration of 96 ± 4 ppm and 10 cmH2O. The fraction of carbon recovered as CO2 was 72% illustrating significant variation in the carbon recovery with different environmental parameters. The endogenous respiration of C-CO2 from the soil bed was corrected for in the net CO2 produced. This result shows the dynamic variability of the various endpoints and product ratios on system inputs

Bacillus Spore Inactivation Methods Affect Detection Assays

Detection of biological weapons is a primary concern in force protection, treaty verification, and safeguarding civilian populations against domestic terrorism. One great concern is the detection of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. Assays for detection in the laboratory often employ inactivated preparations of spores or nonpathogenic simulants. This study uses several common biodetection platforms to detect B. anthracis spores that have been inactivated by two methods and compares those data to detection of spores that have not been inactivated. The data demonstrate that inactivation methods can affect the sensitivity of nucleic acid- and antibody-based assays for the detection of B. anthracis spores. These effects should be taken into consideration when comparing laboratory results to data collected and assayed during field deployment

Entwicklungspfade der Gewalttätigkeit männlicher Jugendlicher aus anerkennungstheoretischer Perspektive

Sitzer P. Entwicklungspfade der Gewalttätigkeit männlicher Jugendlicher aus anerkennungstheoretischer Perspektive. Soziale Passagen. 2010;2(2):183-196.the extent to which youth violence can be interpreted as a productive way of dealing with an unmet need for recognition in the socialization contexts of family, peer group, and school was explored on the empirical basis of interviews with 21 violent adolescents. Our findings iden- tify two different development paths via which male adolescents who have experienced specific kinds of non-recognition come to commit violent acts. Whereas acts of violence committed by defensively oriented perpetrators are connected with violence and non-recognition experienced in their peer group, violence committed by offensively oriented perpetrators has its roots in violence and non-recognition experienced in the family.Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, inwieweit Jugendgewalt als produktive Verarbeitung der missachtung von Anerkennungsbedürfnissen und -ansprüchen in den Soziali- sationskontexten Familie, Gleichaltrigengruppe und Schule verstanden werden kann. Dabei wird zwischen zwei Entwicklungspfaden der Gewalttätigkeit männlicher Jugendlicher als besonderen Verarbeitungsmustern spezifischer Missachtungserfahrungen differenziert. Es wird gezeigt, dass die Gewalthandlungen defensiv orientierter Gewalttäter in Zusammenhang mit Gewalt- und miss- achtungserfahrungen in der Gruppe der Gleichaltrigen stehen, während die Gewalthandlungen offensiv orientierter Gewalttäter in familiären Gewalt- und missachtungserfahrungen gründen. Der empirisch fundierten typenentwicklung liegen Interviews mit 21 männlichen, gewalttätigen Jugendlichen zugrunde