Qualitative Real-Time Schlieren and Shadowgraph Imaging of Human Exhaled Airflows: An Aid to Aerosol Infection Control

Using a newly constructed airflow imaging system, airflow patterns were visualized that were associated with common, everyday respiratory activities (e.g. breathing, talking, laughing, whistling). The effectiveness of various interventions (e.g. putting hands and tissues across the mouth and nose) to reduce the potential transmission of airborne infection, whilst coughing and sneezing, were also investigated. From the digital video footage recorded, it was seen that both coughing and sneezing are relatively poorly contained by commonly used configurations of single-handed shielding maneuvers. Only some but not all of the forward momentum of the cough and sneeze puffs are curtailed with various hand techniques, and the remaining momentum is disseminated in a large puff in the immediate vicinity of the cougher, which may still act as a nearby source of infection. The use of a tissue (in this case, 4-ply, opened and ready in the hand) proved to be surprisingly effective, though the effectiveness of this depends on the tissue remaining intact and not ripping apart. Interestingly, the use of a novel ‘coughcatcher’ device appears to be relatively effective in containing coughs and sneezes. One aspect that became evident during the experimental procedures was that the effectiveness of all of these barrier interventions is very much dependent on the speed with which the user can put them into position to cover the mouth and nose effectively

Pretreatment Hydrolysis Acidification/Two-Stage AO Combination Process to Treat High-Concentration Resin Production Wastewater

The rapid development of the resin industry has led to a large amount of high-concentration resin production wastewater, which has created serious water pollution problems while limiting the development of related enterprises. In this study, a combined pretreatment hydrolysis acidification/two-stage anaerobic oxic (AO) process for high-concentration resin production wastewater was constructed, and the effect of operation time on the treatment efficiency of the hydrolysis acidification and the two-stage AO unit was investigated using chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and NH3-H (ammonia nitrogen) as indicators. The effect of operation time on the treatment efficiency of the hydrolysis acidification and the two-stage AO unit was investigated. Results showed that the pretreatment of “alkaline digestion + ozone oxidation” could effectively remove volatile phenols and phenolic organic pollutants from the wastewater. The average removal rates of COD, TN, and NH3-H (ammonia nitrogen) of resin production were 91.96%, 85.35%, and 85.67%, respectively. The average concentrations of final biochemical effluent were 404.7, 21.4, and 11.4 mg/L, respectively

Pretreatment Hydrolysis Acidification/Two-Stage AO Combination Process to Treat High-Concentration Resin Production Wastewater

The rapid development of the resin industry has led to a large amount of high-concentration resin production wastewater, which has created serious water pollution problems while limiting the development of related enterprises. In this study, a combined pretreatment hydrolysis acidification/two-stage anaerobic oxic (AO) process for high-concentration resin production wastewater was constructed, and the effect of operation time on the treatment efficiency of the hydrolysis acidification and the two-stage AO unit was investigated using chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and NH3-H (ammonia nitrogen) as indicators. The effect of operation time on the treatment efficiency of the hydrolysis acidification and the two-stage AO unit was investigated. Results showed that the pretreatment of “alkaline digestion + ozone oxidation” could effectively remove volatile phenols and phenolic organic pollutants from the wastewater. The average removal rates of COD, TN, and NH3-H (ammonia nitrogen) of resin production were 91.96%, 85.35%, and 85.67%, respectively. The average concentrations of final biochemical effluent were 404.7, 21.4, and 11.4 mg/L, respectively

Synergistic-potential engineering enables high-efficiency graphene photodetectors for near- to mid-infrared light

Abstract High quantum efficiency and wide-band detection capability are the major thrusts of infrared sensing technology. However, bulk materials with high efficiency have consistently encountered challenges in integration and operational complexity. Meanwhile, two-dimensional (2D) semimetal materials with unique zero-bandgap structures are constrained by the bottleneck of intrinsic quantum efficiency. Here, we report a near-mid infrared ultra-miniaturized graphene photodetector with configurable 2D potential well. The 2D potential well constructed by dielectric structures can spatially (laterally and vertically) produce a strong trapping force on the photogenerated carriers in graphene and inhibit their recombination, thereby improving the external quantum efficiency (EQE) and photogain of the device with wavelength-immunity, which enable a high responsivity of 0.2 A/W–38 A/W across a broad infrared detection band from 1.55 to 11 µm. Thereafter, a room-temperature detectivity approaching 1 × 109 cm Hz1/2 W−1 is obtained under blackbody radiation. Furthermore, a synergistic effect of electric and light field in the 2D potential well enables high-efficiency polarization-sensitive detection at tunable wavelengths. Our strategy opens up alternative possibilities for easy fabrication, high-performance and multifunctional infrared photodetectors

Macroinvertebrate communities in the Big East Lake water network in relation to environmental factors

The Big East Lake water network (BELWN), located in Wuhan city, China, is mainly composed of six lakes and isolated from the Yangtze river. At the background of restoring the hydrological connectivity between rivers and lakes, four season investigations were conducted during 2014–2015 to study the spatial distribution and seasonal dynamics of macroinvertebrate communities, explore their relationships with environmental factors, and forecast the change trends in assemblages in a long period after restoration measures. A total of 40 species were recorded, oligochaetes and chironomids dominated the communities. Season variation in density and biomass were distinct and the community differences in lakes related to the degrees of organic pollution. In comparison with the historical data, the species richness of mollusks in Donghu lake sharply decreased due to water pollution and the loss of diverse habitat. Concerning on the whole BELWN, the whole taxa recorded in our study was slightly fewer than the previous study. A new recorded species polychaete Nephtys sp. was first collected with an important ecological interest. As an urban lake system dominated by eutrophication, the water nutrients significantly affected the distribution of macroinvertebrates. According to the GAM models, the dominant species responded to environmental gradients with different response curves. After restoring the hydrological connectivity between rivers and lakes, the macroinvertebrate communities would change and the biodiversity would steadily increase with time. Additionally, the new recorded species Nephtys sp. would spread into the whole BELWN in the foresee future