Wind environment evaluation on major town of Malaysia

This study focus on wind flow or wind environment of residential areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. Natural wind flow is one of the most effective methods to help achieve the energy saving in large cities especially under the tropical climate like Malaysia. The weather in Malaysia is characterized by four monsoon regimes, namely, the southwest monsoon, northeast monsoon and two shorter periods of inter-monsoon seasons. For this study, the data of wind velocity in twentytwo (22) weather station in Malaysia obtained from Meteorological Department and considered in wind environment evaluations. Then that data of wind velocities will convert to 1.5 in height at all measuring points were calculated by using the law. The result compared by Table 2.2 in previous researches (Kubota and Miura et al., 2002). From the study, it was found out, in Malaysia there are only two type of wind. First type is weak wind means that area are discomfort thermal and the second type is comfort range to strong wind means that area are comfort thermal. The minimum value of mean wind speed from 2005 to 2009 is O.mis in mean temperature is over 2C at Sitiawan. For the maximum value of mean wind speed is I .7m/s in average value of mean temperature is 276C at Mersing. Base on results, it can be concluded that when considering wind flow at a residential area, terrace housing is not a suitable option for towns located on the south of the Peninsular. It was prefer for high-rise building because it was considered this location of towns was weak wind condition. On the other hand, the major towns exclude the south of the Peninsular including Sabah and Sarawak, they was under the comfort thermal. So, terrace housing or high-rise building is suitable option

Have genetic targets for faecal pollution diagnostics and source tracking revolutionised water quality analysis yet?

The impacts on faecal pollution analysis using nucleic acid-based methods, such as PCR and sequencing, in health-related water quality research were assessed by rigorous literature analysis. A wide range of application areas and study designs has been identified since the first application more than 30 years ago (>1,100 publications). Given the consistency of methods and assessment types, we suggest defining this emerging part of science as a new discipline: genetic faecal pollution diagnostics (GFPD) in health-related microbial water quality analysis. Undoubtedly, GFPD has already revolutionised faecal pollution detection and microbial source tracking, the current core applications. GFPD is also expanding to many other research areas, including infection and health risk assessment, evaluation of microbial water treatment, and support of wastewater surveillance. In addition, storage of DNA extracts allows for biobanking, which opens up new perspectives. The tools of GFPD can be combined with cultivation-based standardised faecal indicator enumeration, pathogen detection, and various environmental data types, in an integrated data analysis approach. This comprehensive meta-analysis provides the scientific status quo of this field, including trend analyses and literature statistics, outlining identified application areas, and discussing the benefits and challenges of nucleic acid-based analysis in GFPD

Global diversity and biogeography of bacterial communities in wastewater treatment plants

Microorganisms in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are essential for water purification to protect public and environmental health. However, the diversity of microorganisms and the factors that control it are poorly understood. Using a systematic global-sampling effort, we analysed the 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences from ~1,200 activated sludge samples taken from 269 WWTPs in 23 countries on 6 continents. Our analyses revealed that the global activated sludge bacterial communities contain ~1 billion bacterial phylotypes with a Poisson lognormal diversity distribution. Despite this high diversity, activated sludge has a small, global core bacterial community (n = 28 operational taxonomic units) that is strongly linked to activated sludge performance. Meta-analyses with global datasets associate the activated sludge microbiomes most closely to freshwater populations. In contrast to macroorganism diversity, activated sludge bacterial communities show no latitudinal gradient. Furthermore, their spatial turnover is scale-dependent and appears to be largely driven by stochastic processes (dispersal and drift), although deterministic factors (temperature and organic input) are also important. Our findings enhance our mechanistic understanding of the global diversity and biogeography of activated sludge bacterial communities within a theoretical ecology framework and have important implications for microbial ecology and wastewater treatment processes

Assessing biological stability in a porous groundwater aquifer of a riverbank filtration system: combining traditional cultivation-based and emerging cultivation-independent in situ and predictive methods

Riverbank filtration systems are important drinking water resources. Aquifers of riverbank filtration systems are subjected to considerable dynamics concerning the quantity and quality of the infiltrating water. The microbiological quality is mainly jeopardized by faecal contamination of the main river. Besides, water quality can be impacted by growth of natural water-borne bacteria due to the input of nutrients resulting in the proliferation of opportunistic pathogens, impairment of odour and taste or bio-corrosion. The occurrence of such phenomena indicates a biological instability. For highly dynamic riverbank filtration systems, it is thus of high relevance to assess the biological stability of the groundwater resource. In the present study, we applied a holistic, two-tiered concept of in situ and predictive methods to assess the biostability of the aquifer in a bank filtration system of the Danube River. We applied traditional cultivation-based and selected cultivation-independent methods—including cultivation on yeast extract and R2A agar, determination of total cell counts via fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, leucine incorporation and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing—at critical control points along the infiltration path from the river to the abstraction well. The concentration of organic nutrients and the hydrological variability were the main controlling factors driving the biological stability of the groundwater body. Wells situated at greater distance displayed significantly lower dissolved organic carbon concentrations and a dampened hydrological influence in comparison to the well situated next to the river. Apparent discrepancies between the methods used indicated a different indicator function of the cultivation-based and cultivation-independent approaches. For complex systems, we thus recommend this new holistic concept for assessing biostability by combining in situ as well as predictive parameters and using cultivation-based and cultivation-independent methods.Flussuferfiltrationssysteme sind wichtige Trinkwasserressourcen. Die Aquifere von Uferfiltrationssystemen sind einer erheblichen Dynamik in Bezug auf die Menge und Qualität des infiltrierenden Wassers unterworfen. Die mikrobiologische Qualität wird hauptsächlich durch die fäkale Verunreinigung des Hauptflusses gefährdet. Darüber hinaus kann die Wasserqualität durch das Wachstum natürlicher wasserbürtiger Bakterien aufgrund von Nährstoffeinträgen beeinträchtigt werden, was zur Vermehrung opportunistischer Krankheitserreger, zur Beeinträchtigung von Geruch und Geschmack oder zur Biokorrosion führen kann. Das Auftreten solcher Phänomene deutet auf eine biologische Instabilität hin. Für hochdynamische Uferfiltrationssysteme ist es daher von großer Bedeutung, die biologische Stabilität der Grundwasserressource zu bewerten. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde ein ganzheitliches, zweistufiges Konzept aus In-situ- und Vorhersage-Methoden angewandt, um die biologische Stabilität des Aquifers in einem Uferfiltrationssystem der Donau zu bewerten. Wir wendeten traditionelle kultivierungsbasierte und ausgewählte kultivierungsunabhängige Methoden – einschließlich Kultivierung auf Hefeextrakt und R2A-Agar, Bestimmung der Gesamtzellzahl mittels Fluoreszenzmikroskopie und Durchflusszytometrie, Leucin-Inkorporation und 16S rRNA-Genamplikon-Sequenzierung – an kritischen Kontrollpunkten entlang des Infiltrationspfads vom Fluss zum Entnahmebrunnen an. Die Konzentration der organischen Nährstoffe und die hydrologische Variabilität waren die wichtigsten Einflussfaktoren für die biologische Stabilität des Grundwasserkörpers. Brunnen in größerer Entfernung wiesen deutlich niedrigere Konzentrationen an gelöstem organischem Kohlenstoff und einen gedämpften hydrologischen Einfluss im Vergleich zum Brunnen in Flussnähe auf. Offensichtliche Diskrepanzen zwischen den verwendeten Methoden deuten auf eine unterschiedliche Indikatorfunktion der kultivierungsbasierten und kultivierungsunabhängigen Ansätze hin. Für komplexe Systeme empfehlen wir daher dieses neue ganzheitliche Konzept zur Bewertung der Biostabilität durch die Kombination von In-situ- und Vorhersage-Parametern und die Verwendung kultivierungsbasierter und kultivierungsunabhängiger Methoden.49050011FTI—Forschungs‑, Technologie- und Innovationsprogramm NiederösterreichWiener Wasser (MA 31

Using hydrodynamic and hydraulic modelling to study microbiological water quality issues at a backwater area of the Danube to support decision-making

The alluvial backwater areas of the Danube are valuable ecological habitats containing important drinking water resources. Due to the river regulation and the construction of power plants, the river water levels and natural dynamics of the backwater areas continuously decline, threatening their typical characteristics. The aim of this study was to evaluate how an increased connectivity of the backwater branch located in a nature-protected riverine floodplain (enabled by diverting river water into the backwater system via a weir) affects the microbiological quality of groundwater resources. The defined quality criterion was that the diversion measures must not lead to an increased detection frequency of faecal indicators in groundwater. The microbiological water quality of the Danube, its backwater branch and the groundwater was analysed from 2010 to 2013. E. coli was selected as bacterial indicator for recent faecal pollution. C. perfringens (spores) was analysed as indicator for persistent faecal pollution and potentially occurring pathogenic protozoa. We simulated the microbial transport from the Danube and the backwater river into groundwater using a 3‑D unsaturated-saturated groundwater model coupled with 2‑D hydrodynamic flow simulations. Scenarios for no diversion measures were compared with scenarios for an additional discharge of 3, 20 and 80 m3/s from the Danube River into the backwater branch. While the additional discharge of 20 and 80 m3/s of Danube water into the floodplain strongly improved the ecological status according to ecological habitat models, the hydraulic transport simulations showed that this would result in a deterioration of the microbiological quality of groundwater resources. The presented approach shows how hydraulic transport modelling and microbiological analyses can be combined to support decision-making.Die Flussauen der Donau sind wertvolle ökologische Lebensräume und enthalten wichtige Trinkwasserressourcen. Durch Flussregulierungen und den Betrieb von Kraftwerken nehmen der Wasserstand und die natürliche Dynamik in den angrenzenden Auengebieten kontinuierlich ab, was die natürliche Charakteristik dieser Landschaftstypen gefährdet. Das Ziel dieser Studie war es zu untersuchen, wie eine verbesserte Anbindung eines Auengebiets durch Einleitung von Donauwasser über ein Wehr die mikrobiologische Qualität der Grundwasserressourcen beeinflusst. Das Qualitätskriterium war so definiert, dass die Anbindungsmaßnahmen nicht zu einem häufigeren Nachweis von Fäkalindikatoren im Grundwasser führen dürfen. Die mikrobiologische Wasserqualität der Donau und des Seitenarms im Untersuchungsgebiet wurde von 2010 bis 2013 analysiert. E. coli wurde als bakterieller Indikator für rezente fäkale Verunreinigung gewählt. C. perfringens (Sporen) wurden als Indikatoren für persistente fäkale Verunreinigung und potenziell vorkommende pathogene Protozoen gewählt. Wir simulierten den mikrobiellen Transport von der Donau und dem Altarm im Auengebiet ins Grundwasser. Dazu verwendeten wir ein 3‑D ungesättigt-gesättigtes Grundwassermodell, gekoppelt mit einem 2‑D hydrodynamischen Strömungsmodell. Wir verglichen Modellszenarien ohne Anbindungsmaßnahmen mit welchen mit zusätzlichen Einleitungen von 3, 20 und 80 m3/s von der Donau in den Seitenarm. Während ökologische Habitatmodelle zeigten, dass eine zusätzliche Einleitung von 20 und 80 m3/s Donauwasser in die Au den ökologischen Zustand stark verbesserte, zeigten die hydraulischen Transportsimulationen, dass diese zu einer Verschlechterung der mikrobiologischen Qualität der Grundwasserressourcen führen würde. Der vorgestellte methodische Ansatz zeigt, wie hydraulische Transportmodellierung und mikrobiologische Analysen kombiniert werden können, um die Entscheidungsfindung bei der Planung zu unterstützen.Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF)4824898(New) Danube—Lower Lobau Network Projec

Low yield and abiotic origin of N2O formed by the complete nitrifier Nitrospira inopinata

Nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitric oxide (NO) are atmospheric trace gases that contribute to climate change and affect stratospheric and ground-level ozone concentrations. Ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) are key players in the nitrogen cycle and major producers of N2O and NO globally. However, nothing is known about N2O and NO production by the recently discovered and widely distributed complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox). Here, we show that the comammox bacterium Nitrospira inopinata is sensitive to inhibition by an NO scavenger, cannot denitrify to N2O, and emits N2O at levels that are comparable to AOA but much lower than AOB. Furthermore, we demonstrate that N2O formed by N. inopinata formed under varying oxygen regimes originates from abiotic conversion of hydroxylamine. Our findings indicate that comammox microbes may produce less N2O during nitrification than AOB

Giant viruses with an expanded complement of translation system components

The discovery of giant viruses blurred the sharp division between viruses and cellular life. Giant virus genomes encode proteins considered as signatures of cellular organisms, particularly translation system components, prompting hypotheses that these viruses derived from a fourth domain of cellular life. Here we report the discovery of a group of giant viruses (Klosneuviruses) in metagenomic data. Compared with other giant viruses, the Klosneuviruses encode an expanded translation machinery, including aminoacyl transfer RNA synthetases with specificities for all 20 amino acids. Notwithstanding the prevalence of translation system components, comprehensive phylogenomic analysis of these genes indicates that Klosneuviruses did not evolve from a cellular ancestor but rather are derived from a much smaller virus through extensive gain of host genes

Giant viruses with an expanded complement of translation system components.

The discovery of giant viruses blurred the sharp division between viruses and cellular life. Giant virus genomes encode proteins considered as signatures of cellular organisms, particularly translation system components, prompting hypotheses that these viruses derived from a fourth domain of cellular life. Here we report the discovery of a group of giant viruses (Klosneuviruses) in metagenomic data. Compared with other giant viruses, the Klosneuviruses encode an expanded translation machinery, including aminoacyl transfer RNA synthetases with specificities for all 20 amino acids. Notwithstanding the prevalence of translation system components, comprehensive phylogenomic analysis of these genes indicates that Klosneuviruses did not evolve from a cellular ancestor but rather are derived from a much smaller virus through extensive gain of host genes