Mesoscale Tank Experiments for Investigating Carbon Tetrachloride Biodegradation

Mesoscale tank experiments were performed to simulate bioremediation of saturated zone carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) originating from a vadose zone carbon tetrachloride source. The mesoscale tank is 2-m wide by 2-m high by 3-m long and was constructed of stainless steel, yielding a total volume of 12 m3. Simulated geology within the tank consisted of two unconsolidated sand layers separated by a clay layer containing variable-sized stainless steel tubes that represented fractures within a consolidated porous medium. The thickness of the upper sand layer was approximately 55 cm, the thickness of the virtual fracture layer was 25 cm, and the thickness of the lower sand layer was approximately 98 cm. The water table was located at an elevation of approximately 54 cm from the bottom of the tank. CCl4 was added to the sealed tank by pouring 500 ml of neat CCl4 into a beaker buried approximately 10 cm below the upper sand surface through a stainless steel tube. The CCl4 was then allowed to partition through the reactor over time, eventually coming to equilibrium. Once CCl4 equilibrium had occurred in the saturated zone (~500 ppb); the reactor was bioaugmented with a CCl4 degrading culture enriched from the Subsurface Disposal Area at the INEEL. The culture was grown to a cell density of ~ 1.0 x 108 cells/ml and injected into the simulated aquifer through a center sampling port. Following injection of the culture, an initial aliquot of lactate (1,000 g/L), nitrogen, and phosphorus were added to the reactor. Lactate was injected every 3 – 5 days for one month. After 1 month of operation, a continuous supply of lactate (1,000 g/L) was pumped into the reactor at an average rate of 50 mL/min. CCl4 concentrations in the unsaturated zone were measured using hollow fiber membrane samplers, while liquid samples were analyzed to monitor levels in the simulated aquifer zone. Samples were also taken for analysis of volatile organic acids and cell density. As would be expected, increases in cell density over the length of the cell correlated with the flow of the water through the cell. One week following injection microbes and lactate, cell numbers were in the range of 5.0 x 106 cells/mL, by the end of the experiment cell numbers had increased to approximately 1.94 x 107 cells/mL. Five days after lactate injection was initiated, chloroform appeared in liquid samples taken for chlorinated VOC analysis. CCl4 concentrations in the liquid phase dropped to approximately 180 ppb. At the conclusion of the batch lactate injection phase of the bioaugmentation, CCl4 levels averaged 40 ppb and chloroform levels averaged 44 ppb. Interestingly, once continuous lactate addition was initiated, CCl4 concentrations in the saturated zone increased with spikes as high as 3,000 ppb. Chloroform concentrations also increased following continuous addition of lactate. Since the CCl4 source in the breaker had been depleted, vadose zone concentrations of CCl4 dropped steadily during addition of lactate to the saturated zone. CCl4 levels of ~ 800 ppmv were noted at the beginning of the experiment, levels decreased to below 200 ppmv by the end of the bioaugmentation phase. No chloroform was noted in the vadose zone during testing

Whitings as a Potential Mechanism for Controlling Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentrations – Final Project Report

Species of cyanobacteria in the genera Synechococcus and Synechocystis are known to be the catalysts of a phenomenon called "whitings", which is the formation and precipitation of fine-grained CaCO3 particles. Whitings occur when the cyanobacteria fix atmospheric CO2 through the formation of CaCO3 on their cell surfaces which leads to precipitation to the ocean floor and subsequent entombment in mud. Whitings represent one potential mechanism for CO2 sequestration. Research was performed to determine the ability of various strains of Synechocystis and Synechococcus to calcify when grown in microcosms amended with 2.5 mM HCO3- and 3.4 mM Ca2+. Results indicated that while all strains tested have the ability to calcify, only two, Synechococcus species, strains PCC 8806 and PCC 8807, were able to calcify to the extent that CaCO3 was precipitated. Enumeration of the cyanobacterial cultures during testing indicated that cell density did not appear to have an effect on calcification. Factors that had the greatest effect on calcification were CO2 removal and subsequent generation of alkaline pH. As CO2 was removed, growth medium pH increased and soluble Ca2+ was removed from solution. The largest increases in growth medium pH occurred when CO2 levels dropped below 400 ppmv. Precipitation of CaCO3 catalyzed by the growth and physiology of cyanobacteria in the Genus Synechococcus represents a potential mechanism for sequestration of atmospheric CO2 produced during the burning of coal for power generation. Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 8806 and Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 8807 were tested in microcosm experiments for their ability to calcify when exposed to a fixed calcium concentration of 3.4 mM and dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations of 0.5, 1.25 and 2.5 mM. Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 8806 removed calcium continuously over the duration of the experiment producing approximately 18.6 mg of solid-phase calcium. Calcium removal occurred over a two-day time period when Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 8807 was tested and only 8.9 mg of solid phase calcium was produced. The ability of the cyanobacteria to create an alkaline growth environment appeared to be the primary factor responsible for CaCO3 precipitation in these experiments. These research results demonstrate the potential of using cyanobacterial catalyzed “whitings” as a method to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere

A mechanism for extremely weak SpaP-expression in Streptococcus mutans strain Z1

Background: Streptococcus mutans surface-protein antigen (SpaP, PAc, or antigen I/II) has been well known to play an important role in initial attachment to tooth surfaces. However, strains with weak SpaP-expression were recently reported to be found in natural populations of S. mutans. The S. mutans gbpC-negative strain Z1, which we previously isolated from saliva and plaque samples, apparently expresses relatively low levels of SpaP protein compared to S. mutans strains MT8148 or UA159. Objective: To elucidate the mechanism for weak SpaP-expression in this strain, the spaP gene region in strain Z1 was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and analyzed. Methods: Allelic exchange mutants between strains Z1 and UA159 involving the spaP gene region were constructed. The SpaP protein expressed in the mutants was detected with Coomasie Brilliant Blue (CBB)-staining and Western blot analysis following SDS-PAGE. Results: The 4689 bp spaP gene coding sequence for Z1 appeared to be intact. In contrast, a 20 bp nucleotide sequence appeared to be deleted from the region immediately upstream from the Z1 spaP gene when compared to the same region in UA159. The 216 bp and 237 bp intergenic fragments upstream from the spaP gene, respectively, from Z1 and UA159 were isolated, modified, and transformed into the other strain by allelic replacement. The resultant UA159-promoter region-mutant exhibited extremely weak SpaP-expression similar to that of strain Z1 and the Z1 complemented mutant expressed Spa protein levels like that of strain UA159. Conclusion: These results suggest that weak SpaP-expression in strain Z1 resulted from a 20 bp-deletion in the spaP gene promoter region

Heavy ion fusion system assessment: Final focus and transport model

This report discusses the trade-offs necessary to build an economical heavy ion fusion reactor. The principal concerns are the dynamics of the accelerated ion beam. 15 refs. (JDH

Cost of induction linac driver for inertial fusion for various target yields

The cost of induction linac accelerators for inertial fusion using mass 200 ions at a charge state of +3 for target yields of 300, 600, and 1200 MJ is presented. The ions are injected into the accelerator at 3 MV, and accelerated to the required voltage appropriate to the desired target yield. A cost comparison of the low voltage portion of the accelerator (3 to 50 MV) is made between a system with 64 and one with 16 superconducting quadrupoles. The design of the low voltage portion which yields the minimum-cost accelerator designs for several target yields and a fusion power of 3000 MW is presented

Analysis of an induction linac driver system for inertial fusion

A linear induction accelerator that produces a beam of energetic (5 to 20 GeV) heavy (130 to 210 amu) ions is a prime candidate as a driver for inertial fusion. Continuing developments in sources for ions with charge state greater than unity allow a potentially large reduction in the driver cost and an increase in the driver efficiency. The use of high undepressed tunes (sigma/sub 0/ approx. = 85/sup 0/) and low depressed tunes (sigma approx. = 8.5/sup 0/) also contributes to a potentially large reduction in the driver cost. The efficiency and cost of the induction linac system are discussed as a function of output energy and pulse repetition frequency for several ion masses and charge states. The cost optimization code LIACEP, including accelerating module alternatives, transport modules, and scaling laws, is presented. Items with large cost-leverage are identified as a guide to future research activities and development of technology that can yield substantial reductions in the accelerator system cost and improvement in the accelerator system efficiency. Finally, a cost-effective strategy using heavy ion induction linacs in a development scenario for inertial fusion is presented. 34 refs., 6 figs., 7 tabs

Serum Concentrations of Myostatin and Myostatin-Interacting Proteins do not differ between young and Scarcopenic elderly men

Peer reviewedPostprin

Generality of shear thickening in suspensions

Suspensions are of wide interest and form the basis for many smart fluids. For most suspensions, the viscosity decreases with increasing shear rate, i.e. they shear thin. Few are reported to do the opposite, i.e. shear thicken, despite the longstanding expectation that shear thickening is a generic type of suspension behavior. Here we resolve this apparent contradiction. We demonstrate that shear thickening can be masked by a yield stress and can be recovered when the yield stress is decreased below a threshold. We show the generality of this argument and quantify the threshold in rheology experiments where we control yield stresses arising from a variety of sources, such as attractions from particle surface interactions, induced dipoles from applied electric and magnetic fields, as well as confinement of hard particles at high packing fractions. These findings open up possibilities for the design of smart suspensions that combine shear thickening with electro- or magnetorheological response.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Nature Material

Support of dS/CFT correspondence from space-time perturbations

We analyse the spectrum of perturbations of the de Sitter space on the one hand, while on the other hand we compute the location of the poles in the Conformal Field Theory (CFT) propagator at the border. The coincidence is striking, supporting a dS/CFT correspondence. We show that the spectrum of thermal excitations of the CFT at the past boundary $I^{-}$ together with that spectrum at the future boundary $I^{+}$ is contained in the quasi-normal mode spectrum of the de Sitter space in the bulk.Comment: Modified version, appearing in Phys. Rev. D66 (2002) 10401

Plans for the LIGO-TAMA Joint Search for Gravitational Wave Bursts

We describe the plans for a joint search for unmodelled gravitational wave bursts being carried out by the LIGO and TAMA collaborations using data collected during February-April 2003. We take a conservative approach to detection, requiring candidate gravitational wave bursts to be seen in coincidence by all four interferometers. We focus on some of the complications of performing this coincidence analysis, in particular the effects of the different alignments and noise spectra of the interferometers.Comment: Proceedings of the 8th Gravitational Wave Data Analysis Workshop, Milwaukee, WI, USA. 10 pages, 3 figures, documentclass ``iopart'