PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New way of removing excess nitrogen from the environment

Denitrifying bioreactors subject of workshop, special scientific journal issue

2010-11-02
(Press-News.org) Excess nitrogen from agricultural and urban lands is contaminating groundwater, streams, lakes and estuaries, where it causes harmful algal blooms and contributes to fish kills.

Cost-effective approaches to removing this nitrogen from croplands and urban stormwater runoff before it reaches sensitive water bodies have been elusive.

But simple and inexpensive technologies are on the horizon. A recent scientific workshop on denitrification brought together ecologists, engineers and policy experts to find answers.

Denitrification is a biological process carried out by soil and aquatic microorganisms, in which forms of reactive nitrogen are converted to unreactive and harmless dinitrogen gas.

Findings from the workshop, held in May, 2009, at the University of Rhode Island, are published in the November, 2010, special issue of the scientific journal Ecological Engineering.

The workshop was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Denitrification Research Coordination Network (RCN), established to enhance collaboration among researchers investigating denitrification.

"This special issue of Ecological Engineering, with its focus on managing denitrification in human-dominated landscapes, highlights our need to understand Earth's microorganisms and their processes," says Matt Kane, program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology, which funded the RCN and the workshop.

"The RCN brought together an international and interdisciplinary group of scientists and engineers to synthesize the knowledge necessary to provide pure water for generations to come."

At the workshop, more than 40 participants combined their expertise to address the goal of using ecological principles in engineering design to control nitrogen pollution.

One workshop goal was to evaluate a new and relatively inexpensive way to treat wastewater and drainage from agricultural lands using "denitrifying bioreactors."

These bioreactors use common waste products, such as wood chips, to provide a food source for naturally occurring microorganisms. The microbes convert dissolved nitrogen into harmless nitrogen gas, which is then released to the atmosphere.

Research results in Ecological Engineering are reported from New Zealand, Canada and several locations in the United States.

All confirm that denitrifying bioreactors may be used in many settings, and operate well in a range of temperatures.

The systems have been successful in the cleanup of domestic effluent from small townships, septic tank systems and wastes from dairy farms, says Louis Schipper of the University of Waikato, New Zealand, author of the lead paper in the journal.

"Denitrifying bioreactors have been integrated into agricultural fields," adds Eric Davidson of The Woods Hole Research Center in Falmouth, Mass., and co-author of the journal's lead paper.

"Underground drainage pipes there remove excess water that contains excess nitrogen. By intercepting some of this drainage water, direct inputs of nitrate to surface water can be reduced."

The largest bioreactor tested, by Schipper and colleagues Stewart Cameron and Soren Warneke at the University of Waikato, is 200 meters long by five meters wide by two meters deep. It treats effluent from greenhouse-grown tomatoes.

Research led by Will Robertson of the University of Waterloo found that bioreactors may operate for more than a decade without replacement of wood chips or substantive maintenance.

Similar longevity was confirmed in research in Iowa by Tom Moorman of the USDA-Agricultural Research Service.

Studies by D.Q. Kellogg and Art Gold of the University of Rhode Island demonstrate that recent advances in geospatial data--such as computer-based maps of geologic and land-use patterns--provide a decision-support tool for local regulatory and planning agencies.

These advances, Kellogg and Gold say, will help reduce nitrate-loading to downstream waters.

A study conducted at the University of California at Davis by Harold Leverenz and reported in the journal showed that plants may be grown on the surface of denitrifying bioreactors, providing biodiversity benefits.

"Research presented in this special issue of Ecological Engineering goes a long way toward applying a scientific understanding of the biological processes of denitrification to the engineering challenges of denitrifying bioreactors," says Davidson.

"The resulting guidelines and principles for denitrifying bioreactor design and operation are an additional option in the land manager's tool box."

### END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

NYU Courant researchers develop algebraic model to monitor cellular change

2010-11-02
Researchers at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences have developed a novel algebraic model of DNA "hybridization," a process central to most biotechnology devices that monitor changes in cell's gene expression or characterize a cell's genome. Their work, which is described in the journal Physical Review E, provides an additional tool for understanding how biological systems function and could enhance methods and designs of technologies used in cancer and genetics research. Biology researchers seek to measure cell activity, but the task is a ...

Lead poisoning maps in R.I. reveal huge disparities, guide cleanup

2010-11-02
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The rate at which lead poisoning has struck young Rhode Island children depends heavily on where they live, according to a Brown University-led geographic analysis of comprehensive health department data from across Rhode Island between 1993 and 2005. By mapping cases of lead poisoning, researchers have been able to help target cleanup resources to do the most good. During that 12-year period, some census blocks in the state had no cases of poisoning in the study group of 204,746 children, but in the hardest hit census blocks of Providence, ...

Imaging in depth: 3-dimensional microscopy featured in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols

2010-11-02
COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Mon., Nov. 1, 2010) -- Imaging has rapidly become a defining tool of the current era in biological research. But finding the right method and optimizing it for data collection can be a daunting process, even for an established imaging laboratory. Cold Spring Harbor Protocols is one of the world's leading sources for detailed technical instruction for implementation of imaging methods (http://cshprotocols.cshlp.org/cgi/collection/imaging_microscopy_general), and the November issue (http://cshprotocols.cshlp.org/TOCs/toc11_10.dtl) features articles ...

Pitt study finds NSAIDs cause stem cells to self-destruct, preventing colon cancer

2010-11-02
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 1 – Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) prevent colon cancer by triggering diseased stem cells to self-destruct, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Their findings, reported in the early online version of this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could lead to new strategies to protect people at high risk for the disease. Doctors have long known that NSAIDs, such as aspirin, can lower the risk of colon cancer, but it's not been ...

Rutgers, Chilean astrophysicists discover new galaxy clusters revealed by cosmic 'shadows'

Rutgers, Chilean astrophysicists discover new galaxy clusters revealed by cosmic shadows
2010-11-02
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – An international team of scientists led by Rutgers University astrophysicists have discovered 10 new massive galaxy clusters from a large, uniform survey of the southern sky. The survey was conducted using a breakthrough technique that detects "shadows" of galaxy clusters on the cosmic microwave background radiation, a relic of the "big bang" that gave birth to the universe. In a paper published in the Nov. 10 issue of Astrophysical Journal, the Rutgers scientists and collaborators at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC) describe their ...

Microfluidics-imaging platform detects cancer growth signaling in minute biopsy samples

2010-11-02
Inappropriate growth and survival signaling, which leads to the aberrant growth of cancer cells, is a driving force behind tumors. Much of current cancer research focuses on the kinase enzymes whose mutations are responsible for such disregulated signaling, and many successful molecularly targeted anti-cancer therapeutics are directed at inhibiting kinase activity. Now, UCLA researchers from the Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, the Institute for Molecular Medicine, the California NanoSystems Institute, the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the department ...

UV light nearly doubles vacuum's effectiveness in reducing carpet microbes

2010-11-02
COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research suggests that the addition of ultraviolet light to the brushing and suction of a vacuum cleaner can almost double the removal of potentially infectious microorganisms from a carpet's surface when compared to vacuuming alone. Researchers say the findings suggest that incorporating the germicidal properties of UV light into vacuuming might have promise in reducing allergens and pathogens from carpets, as well. "What this tells us is there is a commercial vacuum with UV technology that's effective at reducing surface microbes. This has promise ...

Cancer drug linked to quantum dots increases drug uptake, reduces inflammation

Cancer drug linked to quantum dots increases drug uptake, reduces inflammation
2010-11-02
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Researchers at the University at Buffalo have developed a novel technology using quantum dots that is expected to have major implications for research and treatment of tuberculosis, as well as other inflammatory lung diseases. A paper appearing online in Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine as an article-in-press describes specific delivery of a chemotherapeutic drug to specific cells in the lung, particularly the alveolar white cell, without causing acute inflammation. Quantum dots are tiny semiconductor particles generally no larger ...

Elderly women at higher risk for unnecessary urinary catheterization, study reports

2010-11-02
Washington, November 1, 2010 – Elderly women are at high risk for inappropriate urinary catheter utilization in emergency departments, according to a new study in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). The study was conducted at St John Hospital and Medical Center, a 769-bed tertiary care teaching hospital in Detroit, Mich. The authors examined 532 instances in which urinary catheters were placed in emergency room patients over a 12-week ...

Some city trees may discourage 'shady' behavior

Some city trees may discourage shady behavior
2010-11-02
Along with energy conservation and storm-water reduction, scientists may soon be adding crime-fighting to the list of benefits that urban trees provide. Researchers with the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest (PNW) and Southern Research Stations have published a new study that suggests that certain types of city trees may help lower property and violent crime rates. Their study—which is posted online in advance of its appearance in a forthcoming printed issue of the journal Environment and Behavior—is the first to examine the effects of trees and other factors on crime ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Long-sought structure of powerful anticancer natural product solved by integrated approach

World’s oldest lizard wins fossil fight

Simple secret to living a longer life

Same plant, different tactic: Habitat determines response to climate

Drinking plenty of water may actually be good for you

Men at high risk of cardiovascular disease face brain health decline 10 years earlier than women

Irregular sleep-wake cycle linked to heightened risk of major cardiovascular events

Depression can cause period pain, new study suggests

Wistar Institute scientists identify important factor in neural development

New imaging platform developed by Rice researchers revolutionizes 3D visualization of cellular structures

To catch financial rats, a better mousetrap

Mapping the world's climate danger zones

Emory heart team implants new blood-pumping device for first time in U.S.

Congenital heart defects caused by problems with placenta

Schlechter named Cancer Moonshot Scholar

Two-way water transfers can ensure reliability, save money for urban and agricultural users during drought in Western U.S., new study shows

New issue of advances in dental research explores the role of women in dental, clinical, and translational research

Team unlocks new insights on pulsar signals

Great apes visually track subject-object relationships like humans do

Recovery of testing for heart disease risk factors post-COVID remains patchy

Final data and undiscovered images from NASA’s NEOWISE

Nucleoporin93: A silent protector in vascular health

Can we avert the looming food crisis of climate change?

Alcohol use and antiobesity medication treatment

Study reveals cause of common cancer immunotherapy side effect

New era in amphibian biology

Harbor service, VAST Data provide boost for NCSA systems

New prognostic model enhances survival prediction in liver failure

China focuses on improving air quality via the coordinated control of fine particles and ozone

Machine learning reveals behaviors linked with early Alzheimer’s, points to new treatments

[Press-News.org] New way of removing excess nitrogen from the environment
Denitrifying bioreactors subject of workshop, special scientific journal issue