Phosphorus (P) is a limiting nutrient regulating productivity in both freshwater and marine ecosystems. A full knowledge of the sources and pathways of the P cycle is essential for understanding aquatic ecosystem function and for managing eutrophication. However, two significant pathways are poorly understood or remain uncharacterized. First, aquatic metazoans represent a significant internal regenerative pathway of P through the mineralization, translocation (i.e., benthic pelagic coupling) and excretion of nutrients. Rates of P excreted are expected to vary across taxa (i.e., zooplankton vs. mussels vs. benthic macroinvertebrates vs. fish), yet the significance of any one group of taxa in supplying P to bacteria and algae is unknown. Therefore, I developed the first comprehensive set of empirical models of nutrient release for aquatic metazoans (zooplankton, mussels, other benthic macroinvertebrates, and detritivorous and non-detritivorous fish) and compared inter-taxonomic differences in P excretion. I demonstrated that detritivorous fish excrete P at rates greater than all other taxa (as a function of individual organism mass); whereas, mussels generally excreted P at rates less than other taxa. Significant differences in the rate of P excretion between zooplankton and non-detritivorous fish were not observed [i.e., the allometry of P excretion was similar between zooplankton and non-detritivorous fish (as a function of individual body mass)]. I subsequently applied the models to assemblage biomass and abundance data to examine and compare the relative contribution of each taxa to the internal supply of P, and to examine the turnover time of P bound in metazoan biomass. I clearly demonstrated a hierarchy in the contribution by different metazoan assemblages to P cycling (zooplankton > benthic macroinvertebrates > mussels > fish) and clarified the significance of different metazoan taxa in P cycling. Moreover, I demonstrated that the slow turnover time of P bound in fish biomass (relative to other metazoans) indicates that fish are important as sinks rather than sources of P. A second potentially significant P pathway is through the influence of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on P cycling. UVR may alter P cycling abiotically through changes in P availability and biotically through changes in the acquisition and regeneration of dissolved P by plankton. However, the significance of P released from the photodecomposition of dissolved organic P compounds (DOP), and the effect of UVR on the uptake and regeneration of dissolved P, the turnover of particulate P, and on ambient phosphate (PO43-) concentration has not been investigated and remains unknown. Therefore, my initial experiments applied the novel use of radiophosphate uptake assays to quantify the significance of the photodecomposition of DOP to PO43-. I concluded that the liberation of PO43- through the photodecomposition of DOP is not a significant pathway. However, the photochemical liberation of PO43- from suspended sediments was evident and should be an important pathway supplying PO43- to plankton in shallow polymictic lakes. This represents the first study to identify this P pathway in lakes. The turnover time of the PO43- pool increased under UVR irradiance (i.e., uptake of P by plankton decreased), while the regeneration rate of dissolved P and turnover rate of planktonic P were generally not affected. The net effect of UVR was an increase in steady state PO43- concentration (ssPO43-). Alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) in the dissolved and particulate fractions was significantly reduced in UVR treatments, but unrelated to changes in P uptake as proposed in the literature. This is the first study to comprehensively investigate the biotic effects of UVR on P cycling and represents a major advancement in the field of photobiology. In summary, I have characterized several poorly understood pathways in the P cycle of lakes. With the models I have developed, aquatic metazoans can now be integrated into the P cycle of lakes, for example, with other internal and external sources of P (e.g., from inlets, lake sediments and the atmosphere). This will advance our knowledge of P cycling, and will provide researchers with a better understanding of the nutrient pathways supporting primary production.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the applied use of a commercial UV unit for air sanitation in the cold storage rooms of a local supermarket chain. On-site testing was performed in four supermarkets (two control stores without UV units and two experimental stores) and one warehouse employing UV units. Meat processing, meat storage, and produce storage rooms were randomly sampled by the open plate and swab methods. Commonly occurring "representative microorganisms" were then selected and identified as Pseudomonas sp., Flavobacterium sp., Bacillus sp., Rhodotorula sp., and Penicillium sp. which were taken into the laboratory for UV testing. Representative microorganisms were effectively killed by UV when tested in the laboratory. Exposure to UV was conducted on agar streaked plates and aerosol suspensions of the microorganisms. The effectiveness of the commercial UV unit in the applied setting was less easily determined due to a complexity of changing variables between rooms and between stores. In general, the UV unit appeared to be of noticeable benefit where airborne yeasts and molds were predominant. This occurred in produce rooms. Regular maintenance of the UV unit was necessary for maximum efficiency. The meat processing room presented unique problems relating to procedural habits of the personnel. In all supermarket cold rooms, good "housecleaning" remained the key to controlling microorganisms.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

Typical CCD digital imaging sensors are insensitive to ultraviolet ( UV ) radiation by virtue of the very shallow ( 2 nm ) penetration depth in silicon. This warrants the use of a post-packaging coating to up-covert the UV radiation to longer wavelengths. In this thesis, A light-converting inorganic coating has been developed to improve the responsivity of gated CCD image sensors in the UV ( from 250 - 400 nm ). The coating consists of a plastic acrylic layer doped with inorganic phosphors. The coating is deposited using a spin-coater typically used by the IC fabrication industry. Inorganic phosphors were selected over organic phosphors since they are quite well established and are typically used to coat light bulbs, an application that requires a long lifetime. In contrast, organic phosphors rapidly degrade upon exposure to UV radiation. The parameters associated with the coating and coated sensor are presented here. They include coating conversion effciency, penetration depth, photostability; and coated sensor quantum effciency, contrast transfer function and photo-response non-uniformity. The coatings presented here are a viable, cost-effective alternative to other UV response CCD designs.

Phosphorus (P) is a limiting nutrient regulating productivity in both freshwater and marine ecosystems. A full knowledge of the sources and pathways of the P cycle is essential for understanding aquatic ecosystem function and for managing eutrophication. However, two significant pathways are poorly understood or remain uncharacterized. First, aquatic metazoans represent a significant internal regenerative pathway of P through the mineralization, translocation (i.e., benthic pelagic coupling) and excretion of nutrients. Rates of P excreted are expected to vary across taxa (i.e., zooplankton vs. mussels vs. benthic macroinvertebrates vs. fish), yet the significance of any one group of taxa in supplying P to bacteria and algae is unknown. Therefore, I developed the first comprehensive set of empirical models of nutrient release for aquatic metazoans (zooplankton, mussels, other benthic macroinvertebrates, and detritivorous and non-detritivorous fish) and compared inter-taxonomic differences in P excretion. I demonstrated that detritivorous fish excrete P at rates greater than all other taxa (as a function of individual organism mass); whereas, mussels generally excreted P at rates less than other taxa. Significant differences in the rate of P excretion between zooplankton and non-detritivorous fish were not observed [i.e., the allometry of P excretion was similar between zooplankton and non-detritivorous fish (as a function of individual body mass)]. I subsequently applied the models to assemblage biomass and abundance data to examine and compare the relative contribution of each taxa to the internal supply of P, and to examine the turnover time of P bound in metazoan biomass. I clearly demonstrated a hierarchy in the contribution by different metazoan assemblages to P cycling (zooplankton > benthic macroinvertebrates > mussels > fish) and clarified the significance of different metazoan taxa in P cycling. Moreover, I demonstrated that the slow turnover time of P bound in fish biomass (relative to other metazoans) indicates that fish are important as sinks rather than sources of P. A second potentially significant P pathway is through the influence of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on P cycling. UVR may alter P cycling abiotically through changes in P availability and biotically through changes in the acquisition and regeneration of dissolved P by plankton. However, the significance of P released from the photodecomposition of dissolved organic P compounds (DOP), and the effect of UVR on the uptake and regeneration of dissolved P, the turnover of particulate P, and on ambient phosphate (PO43-) concentration has not been investigated and remains unknown. Therefore, my initial experiments applied the novel use of radiophosphate uptake assays to quantify the significance of the photodecomposition of DOP to PO43-. I concluded that the liberation of PO43- through the photodecomposition of DOP is not a significant pathway. However, the photochemical liberation of PO43- from suspended sediments was evident and should be an important pathway supplying PO43- to plankton in shallow polymictic lakes. This represents the first study to identify this P pathway in lakes. The turnover time of the PO43- pool increased under UVR irradiance (i.e., uptake of P by plankton decreased), while the regeneration rate of dissolved P and turnover rate of planktonic P were generally not affected. The net effect of UVR was an increase in steady state PO43- concentration (ssPO43-). Alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) in the dissolved and particulate fractions was significantly reduced in UVR treatments, but unrelated to changes in P uptake as proposed in the literature. This is the first study to comprehensively investigate the biotic effects of UVR on P cycling and represents a major advancement in the field of photobiology. In summary, I have characterized several poorly understood pathways in the P cycle of lakes. With the models I have developed, aquatic metazoans can now be integrated into the P cycle of lakes, for example, with other internal and external sources of P (e.g., from inlets, lake sediments and the atmosphere). This will advance our knowledge of P cycling, and will provide researchers with a better understanding of the nutrient pathways supporting primary production.

Currently in Taiwan¡¦s textile-dying industry, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is popularly used as a decolorization oxidant. In order to surely meet the effluent color regulation of 550 ADMI (American Dye Manufactures Institute), excessive dosage of sodium hyperchlorite is commonly used, which results in the increase of residual chloride and the accumulation of toxic chlorinated compound in the environment. This study probes into the characteristics of substitute oxidant for sodium hypochlorite to avoid the production of toxic products. The study includes decolorization efficiency evaluation, economical analysis and feasibility of commercial application. This study adopts ozone as an oxidant and ultraviolet light as the oxidant enhancer for the purpose of preventing the occurrence of secondary pollution products like trihalomethane from the sodium hyperchlorite application. Literature review indicates that there are several studies for reaction mechanisms of oxidation and disinfection of ozone and ultraviolet light for decolorization and the conclusions reveal much promising results. There are three topics in this study, which are: Topic 1: Feasibility study. This study focuses on whether the effluent color concentration of the treatment process meets the color effluent standard or not. A 3.5 L volume reactor was used in this section. Topic 2: Influencing factor analysis. A 14 L volume reactor was adopted for analyzing the influencing factors for decolorization and for comparing the differences in treatment efficiencies between a dye finishing plant effluent and two commercial dyestuff samples. Topic 3: Economic analysis. The analysis focuses on economic comparison between NaOCl and UV/Ozone processes for effluent decolorization. Analysis results of the investment cost, operation/maintenance expense, and investment return duration are presented in this section. A 50 L volume reactor was used to achieve the evaluation for this part. First topic of this study examined some operating parameters for treating effluent from the biological and chemical coagulation units of a dye-finishing wastewater treatment plant using the UV/Ozone technique to meet an effluent regulation of 550 ADMI values could be reduced from approximately 4,000 to 200 ADMI in an hour using the UV/Ozone technique. The results show that higher color removal efficiency could be achieved at pH values around 3 as compared with higher pH values of around 7 and 10. This might be due to the fact that the predominant ozone molecules at lower pH values are more selective to certain chromophore molecules in wastewater, despite the fact that hydroxyl radicals are predominant at higher pH values and have a stronger oxidation capability than ozone. The UV light used in this study emitted from the experimental lamp can excite oxygen and water molecules to produce ozone molecules and hydroxyl radicals that can then increase decolorization rate. The findings of this investigation reveal that the proposed UV/Ozone treatment scheme has potential for development into an environmentally friendly decolorization approach for dye finishing wastewater treatment. The second topic is to investigate the feasibility of applying UV/Ozone techniques to reduce color content caused by two commercial reactive dyes (Orange-13 and Blue-19). Bench experiments were performed using a 14-L reactor. Controlling factors including pH value, dosage of ozone, reaction time, and UV intensity were evaluated to obtain the optimal operating parameters. Results from this study show that the ozone dosage and pH value dominated the effects on the decolorization process. However, UV intensity shows relatively insignificant effects. Results also indicate that the color content could be reduced from 2,000 to 200 ADMI within a reaction time of 30 minutes with a total ozone dosage of 100 mg/L. This study shows that pH values of approximately 3 and 10 favored the decolorization of the studied Dye Blue-19 and Orange-13, respectively. This was due to the effects that molecular ozone and hydroxyl radicals had significant oxidative power at low and high pH, respectively. Moreover, molecular ozone was more selective to certain dye structures during its oxidation process. This also caused the effect that pH value played an important role on color removal. Kinetic analyses show that the decolorization reactions of Dye Orange-13 and Blue-19 followed a first-order decolorization model. Experimental results also indicate that the degree of decolorization was primarily proportional to the ozone dosage. Results from this study provide us an insight into the characteristics and mechanisms of decolorization by UV/ozone technique. Results will also aid in designing a system for field application of dye finishing plants. According to the results from the third topic, for a dye finishing plant of wastewater flow rate of 800CMD (m3/day), the capital cost of equipment and related establishment as well as amendment is about US$ 116,300, and the monthly operation and maintenance cost is US$ 4,030. In this study, ozone was used as a substitute decolorizing oxidant to treat the effluent from the secondary biological and physical/chemical treatment plant. Because the current cost for the decolorization oxidant (NaOCl) is approximately US$ 5,700 per month, the monthly saving, adopting the decolorization system using UZ/Ozone, will be US$ 1,670. The investment return period will be over 7 years and is not attractive to the plant owners. However, to prevent the accumulated toxicity of chloride compounds in the environment and to promote the desires of investment on the advanced decolorization technique, a favorable tax deduction policy needs to be applied.

Nanotechnology comprises of the understanding and control of materials and processes at the nanoscale. Among various nanostructured materials, semiconducting nanowires attract much interest for their novel physical properties and potential device applications. The unique properties of these nanowires are based on their high surface to volume ratio and quantum confinement effect. Zinc oxide, having a direct, wide bandgap and large exciton binding energy, is highly appealing for optoelectronic devices. Due to excellent optical and electrical properties, zinc oxide nanowires have been utilized to fabricate various devices such as solar cells, light emitting diodes, transistors and photodetectors. Furthermore, zinc oxide, in its natural state exhibits n-type conductivity. Addition of impurities often leads to remarkable changes in their electrical and optical properties, which open up new application areas. Among the many synthesis methods for zinc oxide nanowires, hydrothermal method is an attractive one due to its easy procedure, simple equipment and low temperature requirements. In this thesis, zinc oxide nanowires were grown and doped by hydrothermal method. Different metal dopants such as copper, silver and aluminum were used for this purpose. These metals were selected as dopants due to their effect on magnetic properties, p-type conduction and electrical conductivity of ZnO nanowires, respectively. Doped nanowires were fully characterized and the changes in their physical properties were investigated. In addition, hydrothermally synthesized pure and aluminum doped zinc oxide nanowires were used as the electrically active components in ultraviolet photodetectors. Silver nanowires were utilized as transparent electrodes. Optoelectronic properties of the detectors were examined. Effect of in-situ annealing and nanowire length was investigated. Short recovery time, around 4 seconds, with a decent on/off ratio of 2600 was obtained. This design provides a simple and cost effective approach for the fabrication of high performance ultraviolet photodetectors.

The photoprotect compound mycosporine-like amino acids ( MAAs ) are a family of secondary metabolites can protect organisms exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation ( UVR ), only produced in the algae. Analyzed by HPLC, only Alexandrium minutum Halim ( Dinophyceae ) produces MAAs among seven marine microalgae species. The strains named AM-2¡BAM-3¡BAM-4 and AM-6 showed the positive results for producing the MAAs, but not AM-5. Researches on the stability the MAAs extracts from algal powder ( AM-3 ) hold at 4¢J, 25¢J and 50¢J for 35 days and light expose. The results showed the MAAs gradually decayed after 35 days at 50¢J, after exposed to UVR but decreased 48 % in one day and disappeared in two days. The growth and the MAAs produced in A. minutum ( AM-4, AM-6 ) under different salinity, nitrate concentration and UVR were analyzed to find their relationships. When the salinity increased ( 15 psu¡B25 psu¡B35 psu¡B45 psu ), the cell densities of both strain decreased significantly, but with similar MAAs composition and contents. In higher nitrate nutrient ( 2 N ), the cells produced more MAAs than those cultivated in lower nitrate ( N / 10¡BN / 2 ). Under the UV treatment with the deficient nitrate nutrient, the concentration of MAAs in A. minutum decreased after exposed to UVR for 14 hours. However, provided enough nitrate nutrient ( 2 N ), UVR can induced A. minutum to produce higher concentration of MAAs. These results showed MAAs may serve as a nitrogenous compound for intracellular storage, and not as a substance for osmotic adjustment. UVR is an important factor which induce MAAs produced in A. minutum.

Thèse de doctorat : Instrumentation et analyses avancées : Lille 1 : 2001. / N° d'ordre (Lille) : 3070. Résumé en français et en anglais. Bibliogr. p. 122-125.

Thesis--University of Oklahoma. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 25-26).

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Laurie Grubbs, Florida State University, School of Nursing. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed 6/16/04). Includes bibliographical references.