Laboratory Evaluation of Internal and External Nutrient Removal to Control Algal Bloom in Eutrophic Lakes

Eutrophication is one of the most widespread water quality problems in lakes and reservoirs. Frequent cyanobacterial blooms resulting from eutrophication can greatly damage aquatic ecosystems and pose a high risk to human health. Phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) are the major causes for eutrophic conditions and can enter to the aquatic ecosystem via different sources. The combination of phosphorus precipitation and sediment capping are promising technologies to minimize internal P loading and control harmful algal blooms in eutrophic lakes. Denitrification bioreactors have emerged as an important edge-of-field treatment technology to reduce nitrate-nitrogen loads from external sources. The objective of this study was 1) to evaluate the use of natural minerals to enhance the precipitation of phosphorus and cyanobacteria during alum coagulation, 2) to reduce phosphate release during sediment capping, 3) to evaluate the synergistic effects of polyaluminum chloride (PAC) and phoslock on phosphate and cyanobacteria removal during coagulation of eutrophic lake water, and 4) to evaluate the quantity and quality of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leaching from agricultural residues including corn cobs, corn stover and barley straw to develop a new denitrification bioreactor system that uses a combination of an agricultural residue and woodchips for enhancing the nitrate removal efficiency. Laboratory coagulation experiments were conducted on a lake water spiked with Anabaena sp. using alum and four natural minerals (zeolite, calcite, limestone, and sand) to determine the effect of natural minerals on chlorophyll α, phosphate and turbidity removal. Long-term column sediment capping experiments were also conducted using different minerals after alum coagulation to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing phosphate release. The results showed that alum coagulation was able to remove 85-90% of phosphate and chlorophyll α from Anabaena sp. enriched lake water samples. The added natural particles did not substantially affect the removal of phosphate and chlorophyll α during combined alum and particle coagulation. However, natural particles substantially increased the floc settling kinetics during coagulation. The combined treatment with alum and particles also increased the resistance of the sediment to disturbance by mixing. The long-term sediment capping experiments showed that capping with natural minerals substantially reduced the levels of phosphate released from the sediment. Lake water samples were also treated with PAC, phoslock, and the combination of these two technologies to evaluate their removal efficiencies for phosphate, chlorophyll α, and DOC. The impact of doses, pH, DOC levels on the removal efficiencies were investigated. The results showed that PAC alone achieved 90% removal for phosphate and chlorophyll α, and 23.6% removal for DOC at the maximum dose of 8 mg Al/L. Phoslock alone removed phosphate, chlorophyll α, and DOC by 70%, 73.3% and 4%, respectively, at a dose of 800 mg/L. The combination of PAC (4 mg Al/L) and phoslock (300 mg/L) resulted in the removal of phosphate, chlorophyll α, and DOC by 90%, 100%, and 35%, respectively, suggesting that the combination of PAC (4 mgAl/L) and phoslock (300 mg/L) is able to significantly enhance the phosphate, chlorophyll α, and DOC removal efficiencies. The combined use of PAC and phoslock exhibited high tolerances to variations in pH and DOC levels for phosphate and chlorophyll α removal. The combination of PAC and Phoslock also increased the settling kinetics of the flocs. The final set of experiments showed that the DOC leaching potential followed the order of barley straw \u3e corn stover \u3e corn cobs \u3e woodchips. Agricultural residues also exhibited faster DOC leaching kinetics and higher biodegradation potentials than woodchips. Although agricultural residues leached higher concentrations of nutrients during initial flush, those concentrations quickly declined within several days of leaching

A Hubel Wiesel Model of Early Concept Generalization Based on Local Correlation of Input Features

Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN

Respirometry Test Manual: WEERC Laboratory

Biological treatment methods are the basis for waste water treatment worldwide. Among biological treatment systems, activated sludge processes are most widely used to remove the oxygen demand and nutrients from wastewater. The activated sludge process uses naturally occurring bacteria at high concentrations in tanks. The bacteria in the activated sludge process remove small molecules of organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphate as a consequence of bacterial growth and the waste water is purified. The effluent can then be safely released to the environment. Respirometry techniques are an effective tool to measure the respiration of living organisms. These techniques are associated with readily biodegradable organic carbon . Modern respirometry has the ability to automate data collection. Therefore, it is considered a simple and effective tool to measure the oxygen uptake or the rate of substrate depletion. The oxygen consumption is directly associated with substrate removal and biomass growth in respirometry. This makes it a useful technique for monitoring, modeling and controlling the activated sludge process

AN EXAMINATION OF IRANIAN EFL LEARNER TRANSLATORS' PROBLEMS IN TRANSLATION ACTIVITIES

The research reported here was an attempt to understand the nature of classroom translation problems of Iranian EFL learners. For this purpose, three cohorts of EFL learners taking introductory and advanced translation courses (from English to Persian and vice versa)participated in the study in order to identify the sources of their translation problems and offer solutions for the betterment of the situation. The content analysis of the samples of translationactivities of the participants revealed that translation is a more sophisticated skill than expected and that an inappropriate linguistic competence in English is responsible for the bulk of translation blunders faced by learner translators

Effects of different doses of tamoxifen on the sperm parameters and chromatin quality in mice: An experimental model

Background: Tamoxifen (TX) is widely used for the treatment of male factor and idiopathic infertility. It has been shown that TX induces sperm production and so improves male fertility. Objective: This study evaluated the effects of different doses of TX on the sperm parameters and chromatin quality in mice. Materials and Methods: In this research, 24 male NMRI mice were divided into three groups including group A: control animal receiving vehicle; group B: the group receiving basal diet and TX 0.4 mg/kg/day; and group C: the group receiving basal diet and TX 0.6 mg/kg/day for 35 days. Thereafter, epididymal spermatozoa were analyzed for standard parameters and nuclear chromatin quality using Aniline Blue (AB) and Toluidine Blue (TB) staining. Results: The results indicated that although the TX did not affect the sperm count, motility, and viability parameters, it could elevate the percentage of sperm cells with abnormal morphology and abnormal chromatin at both doses. In addition, in comparison with the control mice, a significant elevation was observed in spermatozoa with residual histones (assessed by AB staining) at high doses of TX. Conclusion: Our experimental data in mice suggested that the use of TX for treating male infertility might increase the rates of spermatozoa with abnormal chromatin in a dose-dependent manner

Financing in the Islamic System and Sustainable Economic Development of Selected Islamic Countries

Financial markets have the obligation to support the real economy has become the development and sustainable economic growth. Capital is an indispensable tool for economic growth and prosperity, which is accelerated through the financial markets, and Islamic finance tools have developed significantly in Islamic countries in recent years. Promoting macroeconomic objectives such as sustainability and achieving endogenous and viable economic growth are the purposes of all economic systems. Increasing growth of financial methods and development of these systems drives from this reality that the sustainable development of the financial system is an integral part of economic system development. Islamic financing has emerged in the world financial literature, intending to provide a new model for replacing conventional financial plans and providing financial, commercial and investment facilities and opportunities by the principles of Sharia. This system has been able to identify its various dimensions. Due to the particular benefits and advantages of Islamic financing, the issue of Islamic financing has become critical in the international arena. By assuming Islamic financial systems, it can be concluded that they do not permit the use of current financial methods since usury is forbidden in Islam. So, they attempt to create Islamic financial instruments. As an Islamic and non-usury financial instrument, Sukuk has found a suitable position among Islamic governments and companies. Islamic financing has emerged in the world financial literature to provide a new model for replacing traditional and conventional financial systems and providing financial, commercial and investment facilities and opportunities under the principles of Sharia. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of Islamic financing of Sukuk on the economic growth of Malaysia, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, Bahrain, Turkey, Indonesia, UAE and Saudi Arabia; applying the panel data, will be analysed the variables affecting economic growth (government spending, gross capital formation, labour force, exports and Sukuk)

The efficacy of metacognitive therapy on emotional processing components of patients with functional dyspepsia: controlled clinical trial

Background: Functional dyspepsia is characterized by a set of symptoms in the upper gastrointestinal tract due to an underlying organic cause and is one of the common causes of patients ’visits to gastroenterologists. A few researches have been conducted on the effectiveness of psychotherapy with respect to the psychological components of these patients. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of metacognitive therapy on emotional processing components of these patients. Materials and Methods: In this study, 40 patients with dyspeptic symptoms were recruited after medical examination by gastroenterologists, performing H. Pylori test and undergoing endoscopy. Moreover, 20 of the patients were randomly assigned to a group for metacognitive therapy and another 20 to the control group. The Baker's emotional processing questionnaire was used at pre-treatment, post-treatment and three months after treatment for evaluating changes in patients' emotional processing styles. Finally, repeated measures analysis of variance was employed for data analysis by using SPSS 19. Results: The research data that was obtained by repeated measures analysis of variance indicated statistically significant differences in three emotional processing scales in metacognitive therapy group compared to the control group at pre-treatment, post-treatment and three months after treatment. Conclusion: Compared to the control group, the metacognitive therapy of functional dyspepsia patients was more effective in the short- and long-term for coping with difficulty in emotional recognition and experience, difficulty in emotional control and expression as well as inadequate emotional processin

When Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Predicts Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Poor Sleep—Results from a Larger Cross-Sectional and Quasi-Longitudinal Study

Poor sleep is associated with a higher risk of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) as a proxy of unfavorable emotion regulation. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that past non-suicidal self-injury was associated with current non-suicidal self-injury and with current subjective sleep patterns. To this end, a larger sample of young adults were assessed. A total of 2374 adults (mean age: 27.58 years; 39.6% females) completed a series of self-rating questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, past and current NSSIs, suicide attempts, and current sleep patterns, including experiencing nightmares. Past NSSIs predicted current NSSIs. Current sleep patterns had a modest impact on the association between past and current NSSIs. Compared to male participants, female participants did not report more sleep complaints or more current NSSIs, but more past NSSIs. Past NSSIs predicted the occurrences of nightmares and suicide attempts. The best predictor of current NSSI was the remembered past NSSI, while current poor sleep was only modestly associated with current NSSI. Further indicators of current NSSI and poor sleep were suicide attempts and nightmares within the last six months. Overall, it appears that poor emotion regulation should be considered as underlying factor to trigger and maintain non-suicidal self-injury-related behavior and poor sleep. Further, unlike previous studies, which focused on the possible influence of sleep patterns on NSSIs, the aim of the present study paradigm was to investigate NSSIs on sleep patterns

N,N′-Dibenzyl-N,N′-dimethyl-N′′-(methyl­sulfon­yl)phospho­ric triamide

In the title compound, C17H24N3O3PS, the P and the S atoms are each in a distorted tetra­hedral environment and the N atoms display sp 2 character. The phosphoryl group and the NH unit are anti with respect to one another. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the benzene rings is 31.08 (8)°. The crystal packing is stabilized by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming an extended chain parallel to the b axis