Macrozoobenthos in an altitudinal gradient in North Patagonian Cautín River (Araucanía Region, Chile)

The Cautín River is closely related with the economic development of Temuco city, (38°S; Chile). Existing knowledge of the Cautín River is limited to information about its biological characteristics as a reference for the evaluation and assessment of water quality. The object of this study was to develop taxonomic characterisation of the benthic macroinvertebrates along the main course of the Cautín River, and to study the community structure using correlation analysis between community parameters. To carry out this research, the macroinvertebrate community was studied in 10 sampling sites distributed along the main course of the river. The samples were taken in summer (1997 and 2000), when optimal hydrological conditions existed. Analysis of the samples showed that the benthic fauna was composed of 56 taxa, the dominant group being insects with 48 taxa. Three main sectors were recognised in the course of the Cautín River: high, middle and low. Each sector has restricted-distribution species, while other species are widely distributed along the river. These distribution patterns seem to be influenced by dissolved oxygen concentration, temperature, altitudinal distribution and anthropo-cultural activity, present at every sampling site. Finally, this research provides a first approach to the biology of the Cautín River. Further studies could be planned on the basis of this knowledge to investigate water quality indicators based on macroinvertebrate communities.

Problem of maintaining a normal condensate dissolved oxygen concentration

Study presents the results of the steam surface KCS-200-2 reconstruction. In order to maintain the dissolved oxygen concentration, according to the Code of Operation for Power Plants, the steam sparger was installed in condenser hotwell. Despite the abnormal air leakage level, reducing of dissolved oxygen concentration was reached. The dissolved oxygen concentration reduced, on average, by 2 times. As it was expected, in the cases of low inlet cooling water temperature, the final oxygen concentration did not reach the normal level. In last 3 tests the dissolved oxygen concentration was reduced to 19 mg /l. The results show a possibility of described reconstruction experience.

The use of microtechnology’s in the construction of water aeration installations

Water aeration systems are highly efficient if the dispersion of air in the water is carried out in a controlled and uniform manner. The use of fine bubble generators ensures this and in addition, creates a small loss of pressure when air passes through them. The paper demonstrates that producing as few air bubbles as possible leads to a more efficient aeration process. Two water aeration installations are compared: - The first has a perforated plate with 152 orifices Ø 0.1 mm; - The second has four perforated plates, each with 113 orifices Ø 0.05 mm; Both installations are successively supplied with the same flow rate of compressed air, at the same temperature and at the same initial dissolved oxygen concentration in the water.

Hybrid Dissolved-Oxygen and Temperature Sensing: A Nanophotonic Probe for Real-Time Monitoring of Chlorella Algae

Dissolved-oxygen concentration and temperature are amongst the crucial parameters required for the precise monitoring of biological and biomedical systems. A novel hybrid nanocomposite probe for real-time and contactless measurement of both dissolved-oxygen concentration and temperature, based on a combination of downconverting phosphorescent molecules of platinum octaethylporphyrin and lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles immobilized in a host of polystyrene, is here introduced. Chlorella algae are employed here as a model to demonstrate the hybrid nanophotonic sensor’s capability to monitor the aforementioned two parameters during the photosynthesis process, since these are among the parameters impacting their production efficiency. These algae have attracted tremendous interest due to their potential to be used for diverse applications such as biofuel production; however, feasibility studies on their economic production are still underway.

Effects of sub-atmospheric pressure and dissolved oxygen concentration on lesions generated in ex vivo tissues by high intensity focused ultrasound

Background Acoustic cavitation plays an important role in the medical treatment using high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), but unnecessarily strong cavitation also could deform the morphology and enlarge the size of lesions. It is known that the increase of ambient hydrostatic pressure (Pstat) can control the acoustic cavitation. But the question of how the decrease of Pstat and dissolved oxygen concentration (DOC) influence the strength of cavitation has not been thoroughly answered. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship among the Pstat, DOC and the strength of cavitation. Methods Ex vivo bovine liver tissues were immersed in degassed water with different DOC of 1.0 mg/L, 1.5 mg/L and 2.0 mg/L. Ultrasound (US) of 1 MHz and the spatial and temporal average intensity (Isata) of 6500 W/cm2 was used to expose two groups of in vitro bovine livers for 2 s; one group was under atmospheric pressure (Pstat = 1 bar) and the other was under sub-atmospheric pressure (Pstat = 0.1 bar). Acoustic cavitation was detected by a passive cavitation detector (PCD) during the exposure process. Echo signals at the focal zone of HIFU were monitored by B-mode ultrasound imaging before and after exposure. The difference between two pressure groups was tested using paired sample t-test. The difference among different DOC groups was evaluated by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results The results demonstrated a significant difference of broadband acoustic emissions from the cavitation bubbles, echo signals on B-mode image, morphology of lesions under various conditions of ambient pressure and DOC. The lesion volume in tissue was increased with the increase of ambient pressure and DOC. Conclusion Cavitation could be suppressed through sub-atmospheric pressure and low DOC level in liver tissue, which could provide a method of controlling cavitation in HIFU treatment to avoid unpredictable lesions.

Photoelectrocatalytic generation of miscellaneous oxygen-based radicals towards cooperative degradation of multiple organic pollutants in water

In the present photoelectrochemical (PEC) system utilizing MoS2 nanoflakes as a wide spectrum absorptive photoanode, simultaneous PEC degradation of different organic pollutants was achieved by employing in situ generated oxysulfur radicals, superoxide and hydroxyl radicals as strong oxidants. In order to better understand the cooperative PEC degradation of representative organic pollutants including rhodamine B dye (RhB), chlorpyrifos (CPF) and ciprofloxacin (CIP), the influences by bias potential, solution pH, radical scavenger, dissolved oxygen concentration and electrolyte concentration have been investigated. The selective PEC degradation efficiency follows the order of CPF > RhB > CIP in mixed substrates condition. In addition, the degradation rate for the single substrate degradation was about two times higher compared to that in mixed substrates degradation. The experimental results verified that reactive oxidation species (ROS) including oxysulfur radicals, superoxide and hydroxyl radicals can be efficiently produced on both anode and cathode under visible light irradiation, and they work together for simultaneous degradation of different pollutants, but the contribution of each ROS for pollutant degradation is substrate dependent. These results indicate that cooperative oxidation of multiple pollutants by miscellaneous oxygen-based radicals should be further considered as a promising advanced oxidation technique.