Fractional Fourier Transform-Based Radio Frequency Interference Suppression for High-Frequency Surface Wave Radar

High-frequency surface wave radar (HF SWR) plays an important role in marine stereoscopic monitoring system. Nevertheless, the congestion of external radio frequency interference (RFI) in HF band degrades its performance seriously. In this article, two novel fractional Fourier transform (FRFT)-based RFI suppression approaches are proposed. One is based on the orthogonal projection of sequences from fractional Fourier domain, and the other is based on singular value decomposition (SVD) of Hankel matrix of sequences from fractional inverse-Fourier domain. Simulation and experimental data collected by HF SWR from Wuhan University were used to test the effectiveness as well as the application condition of the proposed RFI suppression algorithms. The FRFT-based orthogonal projection algorithm is practicable for suppressing stationary RFI with unvaried carrier frequency, while the FRFT-based SVD algorithm is applicable equally for mitigating nonstationary RFI with time-varying carrier frequency or occasional duration time. The processing results may provide useful guidelines for interference suppression of HF SWR, and inspiring the further application of the FRFT-based methods for signal processing

Dissipation, Bioconcentration and Dietary Risk Assessment of Thiamethoxam and Its Metabolites in <i>Agaricus bisporus</i> and Substrates under Different Application Methods

In order to acquire scientific evidence for the application of thiamethoxam (TMX) in Agaricus bisporus cultivation, residue and dissipation experiments for field trials were performed with the application of TMX in compost and casing soil, respectively. An effective QuEChERS method was established to analyze TMX and its two metabolites, clothianidin (CLO) and thiamethoxam-urea (TMX-urea), in compost, casing soil, and fruiting bodies. The results indicated that the TMX dissipation half-lives (t1/2) at dosages of 10 and 50 mg kg−1 were 19.74 d (day) and 28.87 d in compost and 33.54 d and 42.59 d in casing soil, individually. TMX, CLO, and TMX-urea were observed after TMX application in compost and casing soil. For TMX applied to the casing soil, only TMX residues were detected in fruiting bodies with bioconcentration factors (BCFs) of 0.0003~0.0009. In addition, both the chronic risk quotient (RQ) and acute risk quotient (HQ) values of TMX in fruiting bodies were far less than 1, which means the dietary health risks to humans were acceptable. However, in the TMX application to the compost, these analytes were not detected in the fruiting bodies. This suggested that the application of TMX in compost was safer than in casing soil during A. bisporus cultivation

Efficient Removal of Nonylphenol Contamination from Water Using Optimized Magnesium Silicate

Nonylphenol (NP) is considered to be an environmentally toxic, endocrine-disrupting chemical that affects humans and ecosystems. Adsorption is one of the most promising approaches for the removal of nonylphenol contamination from water. Herein, in order to design an adsorbent with high adsorption capacity, magnesium silicate with different Mg/Si ratios was successfully synthesized by a sol&ndash;gel method at 60 &deg;C. Magnesium silicate with a Mg/Si ratio of 1:6 was found to possess the best adsorption performance, with maximum 4&minus;NP sorption 30.84 mg/g under 25 &deg;C and 0.2 g/L adsorbent dose. The adsorption was negatively affected by increasing adsorbent dose and temperature. The kinetics and isotherm of 4&minus;NP adsorption by Mg/Si were well described by the pseudo&minus;second&minus;order and Sips model, respectively, and behavior was proven to be physisorption&minus;enhanced by a chemical effect. Detailed characterization by XRD, BET, and SEM confirmed that the magnesium silicate possesses an amorphous, mesoporous structure. The study will contribute to the applicability of cheap magnesium silicate for removal of NP contamination in water

New insights into the transfer and accumulation of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in the food web of farmed Chinese mitten crabs : A typical case from the Yangtze River area

Dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) transfer and accumulation behavior remains poorly understood in the farmed Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis). In this study, dioxins and DL-PCBs concentration in 48 farming crabs in lower reaches of the Yangtze River was monitored and controlled field design was conducted in a typical farm to dissect the dioxins and DL-PCBs contamination in crab food web (crab, feeds, and environment). Results showed that dioxins and DL-PCBs were ubiquitous in farmed crabs with concentrations ranging from 0.390 to 37.2 pg toxic equivalents (TEQ) g−1 ww and do not present a health risk to general consumers. Of the total dioxins TEQ found in crab in treated farms, 45.6% was attributed to direct transfer from the aquaculture environment and 46.5% to the consumption of snails. Consumption of feed material accounted for nearly all of the total DL-PCBs TEQ, divided as 58.2% from feed and 41.8% from snails. These results demonstrated that dominant routes of dioxins accumulation in crabs were transferred for the sediment-snail-crab and sediment-crab chains, whereas DL-PCBs is mainly transferred through consumption of feeds and snails. To our knowledge, this work is the first report of snails serving as a biomagnification medium that promotes accumulation of dioxins in mitten crabs. This observation provided crucial insight to prevent and reduce contamination of crab by dioxins and DL-PCBs