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International Journal of Environmental... May 2022It is often only at the operation stage of a wastewater treatment plant that there is a need to adjust the treatment process in terms of variable hydraulic capacity,...
It is often only at the operation stage of a wastewater treatment plant that there is a need to adjust the treatment process in terms of variable hydraulic capacity, increased pollutant load, high/low concentration of suspended biomass, or the unfavorable phenomenon of reduced sedimentation capacity of the activated sludge. One of the ways to improve the treatment process efficiency is to increase the biologically active surface by using bio-carriers in the form of fibers, materials, or bio-balls. This paper presents the results of a wastewater treatment plant operation during the period of six months after the implementation of the integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) technology. The research showed that microorganisms developed both in the activated sludge and on the fibers, positively influencing the activated sludge condition. During the start-up of the IFAS process, ciliates predominated over the other species. However, as oxygen content was high (2 mg/dm and more) and textile beds were used, the protozoan population developed intensively, and small metazoans became increasingly common. Throughout the research period, nitrifying and phosphorus-accumulating bacteria were observed both in the activated sludge and on the fibers. Between the 59th and 184th day of operation, numerous microorganisms were detected on the fibers and in the activated sludge, testifying to low biological oxygen demand, good aerobic conditions for nitrification, and long sludge age. However, the process seemed to break down after day 72, when the occurrence of metazoan led to reduced sludge production; after day 88, chemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids in the outflow increased, and oligochaetes and rotifers dominated the suspended sludge and fibers. Results also showed that the textile bed and low ammonia concentration became an excellent substrate for the development of sp. With regard to chemical and biological oxygen demand, total nitrogen- and total phosphorus-effluent concentrations were mostly within the legally permissible limits throughout the 184 days of operation.
Topics: Animals; Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; Bioreactors; Phosphorus; Sewage; Water Purification
PubMed: 35627522
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19105985 -
International Journal of Environmental... Feb 2022The organophosphate-mineralizing bacteria (OPB) convert environmental organic phosphorus (P) into soluble P that can be directly absorbed and utilized by organisms. OPB...
The organophosphate-mineralizing bacteria (OPB) convert environmental organic phosphorus (P) into soluble P that can be directly absorbed and utilized by organisms. OPB is an important group of microorganisms in lake sediments. The P decomposed and released from the sediments by OPB is an important P-source in eutrophic water bodies. In this study, the egg-yolk organophosphate medium was used to isolate and screen OPB strains from the sediments of Sancha Lake. Furthermore, the obtained OPB strains were classified based on their 16S rDNA sequence. Both the solid and liquid lecithin hydrolyzing experiments were conducted to investigate the P-solubilizing characteristics of the obtained OPB strains. Microcosm experimentsiwere performed to study the P-release ability of OPB strains from sediments. A total of 39 OPB strains were isolated from the sediments of Sancha Lake. They belonged to three phyla, five families, and five genera, and contained two potentially new species. and were the dominant genera. On the solid lecithin plate, 35 of the 39 OPB strains produced visible phosphate halos, and 24 strains showed a high ratio of P halo diameter (HD)/colony diameter (CD). In the liquid lecithin medium, all 39 OPB strains demonstrated P-solubilizing ability, but with significant differences. The strain demonstrated the strongest P-solubilizing ability, at 70.91 mg·L. There was no significant correlation between the amount of released phosphorus by OPB strains and pH. The P-solubilizing characteristics of OPB were affected by the interaction of dissolved inorganic phosphate and alkaline phosphatase. In the microcosm experiments, the added OPB strains significantly promoted the decomposition and release of organic phosphorus (OP) in the sediments. OPB in the sediments of Sancha Lake is rich in diversity and had a strong ability to release OP in the sediments.
Topics: Bacteria; China; Geologic Sediments; Humans; Lakes; Organophosphates; Phosphates; Phosphorus
PubMed: 35206506
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19042320 -
International Journal of Environmental... Oct 2020Excess phosphorus (P) accumulation in the soil can change the bioavailability of P and increase the leaching risks, but the quantitative evaluation of these responses in...
Excess phosphorus (P) accumulation in the soil can change the bioavailability of P and increase the leaching risks, but the quantitative evaluation of these responses in acidic red soil is lacking. This study aimed to investigate the composition of soil P fractions under different phosphorus apparent balances (PAB) in acidic red soil and the bioavailability and the leaching change-points of different P fractions. Five phosphorus (P) fertilization rates were applied (0, 16.38, 32.75, 65.50, 131.00 kg P·ha) in every sweet corn cultivation from the field experiment, and the treatments were marked as P0, P1, P2, P3, and P4, respectively. The PAB showed negative values in P0 and P1 which were -49.0 and -15.0 kg P·ha in two years, respectively. In contrast, PAB in P2 as well as in P3 and P4 were positive, the content ranging from 40.2 to 424.3 kg P·ha in two years. Per 100 kg ha P accumulate in the soil, the total P increased by 44.36 and 10.41 mg kg in the surface (0-20 cm) and subsurface (20-40 cm) soil, respectively. The content of inorganic P fractions, including solution phosphate (Sol-P), aluminum phosphate (Al-P), iron phosphate (Fe-P), reduction phosphate (Red-P), and calcium phosphate (Ca-P), significantly increased by 0.25, 16.22, 22.08, 2.04, and 5.08 mg kg, respectively, in surface soil per 100 kg ha P accumulated in the soil. Path analysis showed that the most important soil P fractions contributing to Olsen-P were Sol-P and Al-P, which can directly affect Olsen-P, and their coefficients were 0.24 and 0.73, respectively. Furthermore, the incubation experiments were conducted in the laboratory to investigate the leaching risk of different P fractions, and they showed Sol-P was a potential source of leaching, and the leaching change-points of Al-P and Fe-P were 74.70 and 78.34 mg·kg, respectively. Continuous P that accumulated in soil changed the composition of P fractions, and the bioavailability as well as the leaching risks increased. This is important in optimizing soil P fertilization management in agricultural ecosystems based on the bioavailability and critical levels for leaching of P fractions.
Topics: Biological Availability; China; Ecosystem; Environmental Monitoring; Fertilizers; Phosphorus; Soil
PubMed: 33050443
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17207384 -
The New Phytologist Feb 2020Plants are inherently dynamic. Dynamics minimize stress while enabling plants to flexibly acquire resources. Three examples are presented for plants tolerating saline... (Review)
Review
Plants are inherently dynamic. Dynamics minimize stress while enabling plants to flexibly acquire resources. Three examples are presented for plants tolerating saline soil: transport of sodium chloride (NaCl), water and macronutrients is nonuniform along a branched root; water and NaCl redistribute between shoot and soil at night-time; and ATP for salt exclusion is much lower in thinner branch roots than main roots, quantified using a biophysical model and geometry from anatomy. Noninvasive phenotyping and precision agriculture technologies can be used together to harness plant dynamics, but analytical methods are needed. A plant advancing in time through a soil and atmosphere space is proposed as a framework for dynamic data and their relationship to crop improvement.
Topics: Energy Metabolism; Nitrogen; Phosphorus; Plant Roots; Plant Shoots; Stress, Physiological; Water
PubMed: 31127613
DOI: 10.1111/nph.15955 -
Plant, Cell & Environment Nov 2021Strigolactones (SLs) are plant hormones that modulate morphological, physiological and biochemical changes as part of the acclimation strategies to phosphorus (P)...
Strigolactones (SLs) are plant hormones that modulate morphological, physiological and biochemical changes as part of the acclimation strategies to phosphorus (P) deficiency, but an in-depth description of their effects on tomato P-acquisition strategies under P shortage is missing. Therefore, in this study, we investigate how SLs impact on root exudation and P uptake, in qualitative and quantitative terms over time, in wild-type and SL-depleted tomato plants grown with or without P. Under P shortage, SL-depleted plants were unable to efficiently activate most mechanisms associated with the P starvation response (PSR), except for the up-regulation of P transporters and increased activity of P-solubilizing enzymes. The reduced SL biosynthesis had negative effects also under normal P provision, because plants over-activated high-affinity transporters and enzymatic activities (phytase, acidic phosphatase) to sustain elevated P uptake, at great carbon and nitrogen costs. A shift in the onset of PSR was also highlighted in these plants. We conclude that SLs are master kinetic regulators of the PSR in tomato and that their defective synthesis might lead both to suboptimal nutritional outcomes under P depletion and an unbalanced control of P uptake when P is available.
Topics: Biological Transport; Heterocyclic Compounds, 3-Ring; Lactones; Solanum lycopersicum; Membrane Transport Proteins; Phosphorus; Plant Proteins; Up-Regulation
PubMed: 34414578
DOI: 10.1111/pce.14169 -
Journal of Nanobiotechnology Aug 2022Surgery is currently a mainstream treatment modality for various solid tumor indications. However, aggressive resection of tumor tissues frequently causes postoperative... (Review)
Review
Surgery is currently a mainstream treatment modality for various solid tumor indications. However, aggressive resection of tumor tissues frequently causes postoperative complications, which severely undermine the well-being of patients. Moreover, the residue tumor cells may substantially increase the risk of local and distant tumor relapse. The recent development in black phosphorus (BP)-based nanomaterials offers a promising opportunity to address these clinical challenges. BP is an emerging nanomaterial with excellent biocompatibility and versatile functionality, which has already demonstrated great potential for a variety of biomedical applications including tumor therapy and tissue engineering. In this review, the recent advances in BP-based nanobiomaterials for the post-surgery treatment of solid tumor have been summarized, while specific emphasis was placed on their capability to continuously inhibit residue tumor growth at the surgery site as well as stimulating various healing mechanisms, aiming to preventing tumor relapse while promoting the healing of surgery-induced traumatic soft/hard tissue injuries. It is anticipated that the nanoengineered BP-based materials may open new avenues to tackle those clinical challenges in surgical treatment of solid tumors.
Topics: Humans; Nanostructures; Neoplasms; Phosphorus; Recurrence
PubMed: 35953821
DOI: 10.1186/s12951-022-01579-3 -
Chemosphere Jul 2021Biologically available phosphorus supports plant growth but can also cause environmental contamination. Sequential extraction methods, such as Hedley fractionation, are...
Biologically available phosphorus supports plant growth but can also cause environmental contamination. Sequential extraction methods, such as Hedley fractionation, are the most widely used to assess available phosphorus from solids. However, such methods exhibit numerous deficiencies. The USEPA Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF) is a tiered system developed to evaluate releases of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) from solids. This study compared the Hedley fractionation method to the LEAF pH-dependent, parallel batch tests (Method 1313) and dynamic leaching column test (Method 1314) to assess the bioavailability of phosphorus. The three methods were applied to wastewater treatment plant sludge before and after thermal treatment. Both methods revealed similar qualitative trends, namely that thermal treatment transformed phosphorus into less immediately available forms. However, the Hedley and LEAF methods were inconsistent in the forms and amounts of available phosphorus recovered from the solids. The Hedley method left 40% of phosphorus unextracted from sludge and 20% from ash, suggesting that it may be less appropriate for organic materials. Moreover, only 2 of the 6 Hedley phosphorus pools were within environmentally relevant pH conditions. Furthermore, the Hedley method overpredicted the readily available phosphorus. In contrast, the LEAF methods allowed for a more detailed analysis of phosphorus availability - while simultaneously assessing PTEs - across a controlled pH range. Moreover, LEAF used simpler procedures and provided more easily interpreted results. Thus, LEAF facilitates more robust and valuable assessment of organic and inorganic solids being considered for land application.
Topics: Phosphorus; Sewage; United States; United States Environmental Protection Agency
PubMed: 33677273
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130081 -
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Feb 2022The present paper discusses the impact of land use and seasons on the concentration of nutrients in the waters of the Utrata River (Pruszków Poviat, Mazowieckie...
The present paper discusses the impact of land use and seasons on the concentration of nutrients in the waters of the Utrata River (Pruszków Poviat, Mazowieckie Voivodeship) from April 2018 to March 2019. The pollution of rivers by nutrients is a major problem for society. Surface water is a source of drinking water, water used for industrial and agricultural purposes. With the increasing pollution of rivers, the purification process for these purposes becomes more expensive and more challenging. To assist in carrying out activities aimed at reducing the inflow of biogenic substances into large river systems and then down to the Baltic Sea, we analyzed the spatial and temporal dynamics of loads from the entire Utrata River catchment area. We divided the entire catchment area into three impact zones: grasslands and wastelands, urbanized areas, and agricultural land and examined changes in nutrient concentrations (total phosphorus, nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen) in each of the zones. The results were statistically processed using the 1-factor ANOVA method with the p-value of significance below 0.05. Research indicates an increase in the concentration of total phosphorus and nitrogen forms down the course of the river in urban and agricultural areas with persistently low concentrations of these biogenic substances in grasslands.
Topics: Environmental Monitoring; Nitrogen; Phosphorus; Rivers; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Water Quality
PubMed: 35141798
DOI: 10.1007/s10661-022-09821-z -
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... Nov 2021Phosphorus (P) discharges from human activities result in eutrophication of lakes. We investigated whether the forms of phosphorus (P) in rivers with high effluent loads...
Phosphorus (P) discharges from human activities result in eutrophication of lakes. We investigated whether the forms of phosphorus (P) in rivers with high effluent loads flowing through urban areas of Sapporo, Japan, were transformed when transported downstream into a eutrophic lake, namely Lake Barato. We hypothesized that the inorganic P supplied from the rivers might be transformed to organic forms in the lake. The results showed that soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and particulate inorganic phosphorus (PIP) dominated in the river discharge to the lake. Suspended solids in the rivers were rich in iron (Fe) so PIP was associated with Fe. A comparison of the concentrations at the river mouth and 4.5 km downstream showed that the concentrations of SRP and PIP were lower at 4.5 km downstream than at the river mouth, whereas the concentrations of organic P (i.e., dissolved organic phosphorus and particulate organic phosphorus) were similar. The results from solution P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of lake water showed that pyrophosphate was only present in the particulate fraction, while orthophosphate diesters (DNA-P) were only present in the dissolved fraction. Riverine samples contained orthophosphate (ortho-P) only, while lake samples contained ortho-P, orthophosphate monoesters, and DNA-P. The results suggest that the P forms, particularly those of dissolved P, shifted from inorganic to organic forms as the water was discharged from the river to the lake.
Topics: China; Environmental Monitoring; Eutrophication; Humans; Lakes; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Phosphorus; Phosphorus Compounds; Rivers; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 34256284
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117732 -
Renal Failure Dec 2021The purpose of this study was to explore the contribution of each factor of the phosphorus metabolism network following phosphorus diet intervention Granger causality...
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to explore the contribution of each factor of the phosphorus metabolism network following phosphorus diet intervention Granger causality analysis.
METHODS
In this study, a total of six healthy male volunteers were enrolled. All participants sequentially received regular, low-, and high-phosphorus diets. Consumption of each diet lasted for five days, with a 5-day washout period between different diets. Blood and urinary samples were collected on the fifth day of consumption of each diet at 9 time points (00:00, 04:00, 08:00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 20:00, 24:00) for measurements of serum levels of phosphate, calcium, PTH, FGF23, BALP, α-Klotho, and 1,25 D and urinary phosphorus excretion. Granger causality and the centrality of the above variables in the phosphorus network were analyzed by pairwise panel Granger causality analysis using the time-series data.
RESULTS
The mean age of the participants was 28.5 ± 2.1 years. By using Granger causality analysis, we found that the α-Klotho level had the strongest connection with and played a key role in influencing the other variables. In addition, urinary phosphorus excretion was frequently regulated by other variables in the network of phosphorus metabolism following a regular phosphorus diet. After low-phosphorus diet intervention, serum phosphate affected the other factors the most, and the 1,25 D level was the main outcome factor, while urinary phosphorus excretion was the most strongly associated variable in the network of phosphorus metabolism. After high-phosphorus diet intervention, FGF23 and 1,25 D played a more critical role in active regulation and passive regulation in the Granger causality analysis.
CONCLUSIONS
Variations in dietary phosphorus intake led to changes in the central factors involved in phosphorus metabolism.
Topics: Adult; Calcium; Fibroblast Growth Factors; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Klotho Proteins; Male; Phosphorus; Phosphorus, Dietary
PubMed: 34193019
DOI: 10.1080/0886022X.2021.1945463