Small quantities of reduced sulphur compounds (RSCs) emitted from Kraft pulp mills can affect air quality due to low odour thresholds. Chromatographic methods were developed for individual RSCs at ppt to ppb concentrations. Analyses of ambient air samples showed that while H2S, CH3SH, DMS and DMDS were linked to the pulp mill, the majority of COS and CS2 was due to other sources unrelated to the mill. The fluxes of individual RSCs from kraft wastewater clarifiers were quantified for the first time. DMDS and DMS were the major RSCs emitted from the primary and secondary clarifiers, respectively. RSC fluxes were one to three orders of magnitude higher at the primary clarifier than at the secondary one. Clarifier emissions were, however, insignificant compared to point sources in the mill. Statistically significant correlations were found between the DMS emission and BOD, COD, as well as TSS in the secondary treatment system.

The treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD) by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) has been reported in the literature as a possible alternative to chemical treatment. The overall objective of this study was to implement such a treatment process at the mine site and specifically within the open mine pit itself. The first step of this study was to characterize process parameters. To accomplish this, a reactor was designed and built to simulate hydrodynamic conditions found in the mine pit. This reactor contained a 6$ sp{ prime prime}$ deep gravel bed in which a mixed population of SRB was inoculated. The operation of this reactor demonstrated that treatment of a continuous flow of AMD by SRB was possible, however, the response to changes in the composition of the AMD and to flow conditions was limited. The results indicated that further studies should be directed at the gravel bed itself since this was where the SRB are located and is the active site within the system. / The role of various physical parameters of a gravel bed in the biological treatment of AMD by SRB was examined. This was accomplished by using gravel of different sizes (0.25$ sp{ prime prime}$ vs. 0.5$ sp{ prime prime})$ and composition (granite vs limestone) to form 12$ sp{ prime prime}$ beds in a series of column reactors. The difference in size results in variations in the total surface area, the void volume and various volume ratios within the system. The effect of potential geological buffering by limestone was examined by using and comparing with beds composed of granite. / The gravel beds were inoculated with a mixed culture of SRB and overlaid with 6 L of AMD. After the SRB were established, a series of experiments were performed in which 16.7%, 25%, 75% and 100% of the water column was replaced with an equivalent quantity of fresh AMD. Changes in pH, ORP, electric conductivity, and concentrations of metal and sulfate were monitored for at least 28 days. Sulfate and metal removal at days 7 and 28 of each experiment were compared. The SRB can tolerate a wide range of disturbances, however, an increase in the load of fresh AMD decreased the performance of the system. The results indicated that the total surface area is of greater importance than the void volume in the overall treatment process by SRB. / A dimensionless number was constructed to describe the relationships between the physical parameters of the gravel bed. A plot of the proportion of sulfate removed and this dimensionless number could provide essential information for the sizing of a gravel bed for the purposes of sulfate reduction. This was done for each type of gravel and comparison of the two curves indicated that there was no significant difference between the two gravels. / The importance of the physical substrate for the SRB has been reported in the literature. However, no known attempt has been made to quantify the relationships between the physical parameters and the biological activity. Such information would be useful for the sizing of wetlands and other passive treatment system that uses SRB activity for the purposes of treating AMD. This study is a step towards filling this void.

Tetrahydrofolate-mediated one-carbon metabolism is required for the biosynthesis of many central metabolites, including some amino acids, nucleobases, and nucleotides, and hence dysfunction of one-carbon metabolism is associated with many human diseases and disorders. The mitochondrial glycine decarboxylase complex (GDC) is an important component of one-carbon metabolism, generating 5,10-methylene-tetrahydrofolate (5,10-CH2-H??4folate) from glycine. Previous work has shown that the genes encoding the unique sub-units of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae GDC (GCV1, GCV2 and GCV3) are regulated in response to changes in the levels of cytosolic 5,10-CH2-H??4folate (Piper et al., 2000). Given the centrality of 5,10-CH2-H??4folate to many aspects of metabolism, it was hypothesised that other genes may be regulated by the same mechanism. Using microarray analysis of S. cerevisiae under a number of conditions that affect 5,10-CH2-H??4folate levels, the ??one-carbon regulon??, a group of genes that were co-regulated with the GCV genes was identified. The one-carbon regulon corresponds closely to genes whose promoters are bound by the purine biosynthesis regulator Bas1p, but not all one-carbon regulon members are significantly purine regulated. Genetic approaches demonstrated that the one-carbon unit response and the purine response are distinct, though both depend on the presence of Bas1p. This demonstrated that the close metabolic connections of one-carbon and purine metabolism are reflected in over-lapping, but separable regulatory mechanisms. The identity of the sensor of one-carbon unit depletion remains unknown, but in the course of investigation of the candidate regulator Caf17p, it was demonstrated that Caf17p is in fact involved in Fe/S cluster protein maturation. Examination of the effects of Caf17p depletion revealed that Caf17p is required for the function and maturation of the related mitochondrial Fe/S proteins aconitase and homoaconitase, as well as the function of, but not de novo iron incorporation into, the mitochondrial radical-SAM Fe/S protein biotin synthase. Because other Fe/S proteins were unaffected, Caf17p appears to be a specialised Fe/S maturation factor. The presence of a putative H4folate binding site indicates that Caf17p may constitute a metabolic link between one-carbon and iron metabolism.

Typescript (Photocopy) / xxx, 296 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Agricultural Biochemistry, 1983

Thesis project (D. Min.)--Denver Seminary, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 208-218).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Agricultural Biochemistry, 1983. / Typescript (Photocopy).

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2005. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-61). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis project (D. Min.)--Denver Seminary, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 208-218).

Abstract The thesis consists of regional forest condition studies, using different biomonitors. Heavy metal deposition was investigated in 1985–2000 on the basis of the heavy metal concentrations (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) in mosses in Finland. A comparison on the suitability of mosses, epiphytic lichens and pine bark as biomonitors of heavy metals was also carried. Bark was also used to study the dispersal of emissions from the Kola Peninsula into northern Finland. The occurrence of green algae on conifers in Finland was investigated in 1985 and 1995. Regional and temporal differences were found in the heavy metal concentrations of mosses in Finland. The concentrations of most metals were the highest in southern Finland, and they decreased towards the north. Some of the major emission source had a noticeable effect on the Cu, Ni and Cr concentrations of mosses in the surroundings of the emission sources. The Pb, Cd and V concentrations decreased the most during the study period. Mosses, lichens and bark gave a relatively similar result for heavy metal deposition in Finland. However, the comparisons indicated that mosses are better suited as biomonitors for regional surveys than epiphytic lichens, because the regional differences in heavy metal deposition were more readily reflected by concentrations in mosses than in lichens. Bark is relatively unsuitable for regional surveys due to the small range of variation in the concentrations. Emissions from the Kola Peninsula had a clear effect on the sulphur and heavy metal concentrations of pine bark. The concentrations in bark were at very high levels close to the smelters, but they rapidly decreased on moving towards the west. The effects of emissions were still clearly visible in north-eastern Lapland. There was strong increase in the abundance of green algae on conifers in southern and central Finland during the period 1985–1995. The increase is probably due to following factors: climate warming, and an increase in nitrogen and a decrease in sulphur in their habitats. Half of each biomonitor sample collected in the surveys has been stored in the specimen bank at Paljakka. The storage of samples offers advantages for monitoring purposes. The availability of long-term sample series makes it possible to construct retrospective time series of the pollutants. The specimen bank is to be further developed in the future by establishing a reputation as a storage facility for samples related to forest ecosystems.