The Effects of Social Distance and Asymmetric Reward and Punishment on Individual Cooperative Behavior in Dilemma Situations.

The behavior decisions in social dilemmas are highlighted in sociological, economic, and social psychological studies. Across two studies, the iterated prisoner's dilemma is used as a basic paradigm to explore the effects of social distance and asymmetric reward and punishment on an individual's cooperative behavior. Experiment 1 (N = 80) used a 2 (social distance: intimacy vs. strangeness) × 2 (symmetry of rewards: symmetric rewards vs. asymmetric rewards) within-subject design and demonstrated that when there were only two options, namely, cooperation and defection, cooperative behavior was influenced by social distance and symmetry of rewards, respectively, and the interaction was not significant. Experiment 2 (N = 80) used a 2 (social distance: intimacy vs. strangeness) × 2 (symmetry of punishment: symmetric punishment vs. asymmetric punishment) within-subject design and showed that the cooperative behavior of participants decreased when the punishment option was added, and the two levels of symmetry and asymmetry were set. Specifically, compared with the symmetric punishment group, the asymmetric punishment group was more likely to choose a defection strategy and less likely to use a punishment strategy. Moreover, there was a marginal interaction effect between social distance and symmetry of punishment, and symmetry of punishment was a significant mediator in the relationship between social distance and individual cooperation. Specifically, asymmetric punishment reduced only the cooperation rate (CR) between participants and their friends. In conclusion, in dilemma situations, asymmetric reward did not influence individual cooperative behavior at different social distances, while asymmetric punishment did, because the sense of loss was more likely to awaken an individual's social comparison motives.

How Interpersonal Justice Shapes Legitimacy Perceptions: The Role of Interpersonal Justice Trajectories and Current Experience.

Despite a growing body of research on the relationship between justice and perceptions of an authority's legitimacy, few studies have addressed the effects of changes in justice on perceived legitimacy. In the present study, we tested a dynamic model emphasizing the interactive influences of both interpersonal justice trajectories and current experience predicting perceived legitimacy. We tested the trajectory of interpersonal justice over time as a predictor of perceived legitimacy (Study 1) and the current experience of justice as a moderator of this link (Study 2). In Study 1 participants were randomly assigned to receive either improving or declining feedback from an anonymous tutor over the course of four days. Results showed that participants with an improving trajectory perceived the authority to have higher legitimacy. In Study 2 participants rated the tutor's fairness on 3 consecutive weeks, which were used to identify naturally interpersonal trajectories; we then manipulated the current interpersonal justice experience in the fourth week. Results showed that the trajectory effect was significant when the current experience was just, but not when it was unjust.

Fabrication of bean dreg-derived carbon with high adsorption for methylene blue: Effect of hydrothermal pretreatment and pyrolysis process.

This study explored the cooperative effects of hydrothermal or activators pretreatment and pyrolysis process on the chemical composition of bean dreg (BD)-derived carbon materials and its adsorption characteristics for methylene blue (MB) further. The results showed that hydrothermal assisted pyrolysis carbon with or without activator (HBK and HB) possess higher BET surface area than no hydrothermal assisted carbon (BKs and B, respectively). But surface area alone was not a critical factor contributing to MB adsorption, it also depends on strong electrostatic interaction and the hydrogen bonding interaction between N+ in MB combines with OH and COO- group of adsorbent surface by pH-dependent adsorption and pseudo-second-order model. Additionally, BK800 (pyrolysis at 800 °C) was identified as the most efficient adsorbent due to maximum adsorption capacity (434.78 mg g-1), and BDP (BD-derived polymer composite hydrogel), possessing excellent adsorption property and high reusability, made BK800 easier to separate from the regenerated dye solution.

Alterations of Sub-cortical Gray Matter Volume and Their Associations With Disease Duration in Patients With Restless Legs Syndrome.

Object: The purpose of this study was to uncover the pathology of restless legs syndrome (RLS) by exploring brain structural alterations and their corresponding functional abnormality. Method: Surface-based morphometry (SBM) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) were performed to explore the alterations in cortical and sub-cortical gray matter volume (GMV) in a cohort of 20 RLS and 18 normal controls (NC). Furthermore, resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) was also performed to identify the functional alterations in patients with RLS. Results: We found significant alterations of sub-cortical GMV, especially the bilateral putamen (PUT), rather than alterations of cortical GMV in patients with RLS compared to NC using both SBM and VBM. Further sub-regional analysis revealed that GMV alterations of PUT was mostly located in the left dorsal caudal PUT in patients with RLS. In addition, altered RSFC patterns of PUT were identified in patients with RLS compared to NC. Moreover, correlation analyses showed that the GMV of the left caudate and the left ventral rostral PUT were positively correlated with disease duration in patients with RLS. Conclusions: The alterations of subcortical GMV might imply that the primarily affected areas are located in sub-cortical areas especially in the sub-region of PUT by the pathologic process of RLS, which might be used as potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of RLS.

Influence of temperature on nitrogen fate during hydrothermal carbonization of food waste.

The influence of temperature (180-260°C) on the fate of nitrogen during hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of food waste (FW) was assessed. The distribution and evolution of nitrogen in aqueous products and bio-oil, as well as hydrochar, were conducted. Results suggested that elevated temperature enhanced the deamination and the highest ammonium concentration (929.75mg/L) was acquired at 260°C. At temperatures above 220°C, the total N in the hydrochar became stable, whereas the mass percentage of N increased. Amines and heterocyclic-N compounds from protein cracking and Maillard reactions were identified as the main nitrogen-containing compounds in the bio-oil. As to the hydrochar, increasing temperature resulted in condensed nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocycles (e.g. pyridine-N and quaternary-N). In particular, remarkable Maillard reactions at 180°C and the highest temperature at 260°C enhanced nitrogen incorporation (i.e. quaternary-N) into hydrochar.

Feedwater pH affects phosphorus transformation during hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge.

In this study, the effect of feedwater pH (3-11) on phosphorus (P) transformation during the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of sewage sludge (SS) was investigated at a temperature range of 200-260°C. The HTC significantly accumulated P in the hydrochar. Different feedwater pH stimulated the transformation of various forms of P. An acidic feedwater pH promoted the transformation of apatite phosphorus (AP) to non-apatite inorganic phosphorus (NAIP), and of organic P (OP) to inorganic P (IP). The NAIP tended to transformation to AP and a small part of the IP was transformed to OP when the SS was treated in a basic environment. The combination of three P analysis methods (chemical extractive fractionation, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS)) showed that metal cations (e.g. Al and Ca) and the pH played important roles in the transformation of different forms of P during the HTC of the SS.

Traffic-related heavy metals uptake by wild plants grow along two main highways in Hunan Province, China: effects of soil factors, accumulation ability, and biological indication potential.

This study was performed to investigate pollution of traffic-related heavy metals (HMs-Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, and Cd) in roadside soils and their uptake by wild plants growing along highways in Hunan Province, China. For this, we analyzed the concentration and chemical fractionation of HMs in soils and plants. Soil samples were collected with different depths in the profile and different distances from highway edge. And leaves and barks of six high-frequency plants were collected. Results of the modified European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) showed that the mobile fraction of these HMs was in the order of Cd > Pb > Zn > Cu > Cr. A high percentage of the mobile fraction indicates Cd, Pb, and Zn were labile and available for uptake by wild plants. The total concentration and values of risk assessment code (RAC) showed that Cd was the main risk factor, which were in the range high to very high risk. The accumulation ability of HMs in plants was evaluated by the biological accumulation factor (BAF) and the metal accumulation index (MAI), and the results showed that all those plant species have good phyto-extraction ability, while accumulation capacity for most HMs plants tissues was bark > leaf. The highest MAI value (5.99) in Cinnamomum camphora (L) Presl indicates the potential for bio-monitoring and a good choice for planting along highways where there is contamination with HMs.

Nitrogen-doped porous carbon from Camellia oleifera shells with enhanced electrochemical performance.

Nitrogen doped porous activated carbon was prepared by annealing treatment of Camellia oleifera shell activated carbon under NH3. We found that nitrogen content of activated carbon up to 10.43 at.% when annealed in NH3 at 800 °C. At 600 °C or above, the N-doped carbon further reacts with NH3, leads to a low surface area down to 458 m(2)/g and low graphitization degree. X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS) analysis indicated that the nitrogen functional groups on the nitrogen-doped activated carbons (NACs) were mostly in the form of pyridinic nitrogen. We discovered that the oxygen groups and carbon atoms at the defect and edge sites of graphene play an important role in the reaction, leading to nitrogen atoms incorporated into the lattice of carbon. When temperatures were lower than 600 °C the nitrogen atoms displaced oxygen groups and formed nitrogen function groups, and when temperatures were higher than 600 °C and ~4 at.% carbon atoms and part of oxygen function groups reacted with NH3. When compared to pure activated carbon, the nitrogen doped activated carbon shows nearly four times the capacitance (191 vs 51 F/g).

Co-liquefaction of sewage sludge and oil-tea-cake in supercritical methanol: yield of bio-oil, immobilization and risk assessment of heavy metals.

In this study, attention was concentrated on the yields of bio-oil and toxicities of heavy metals (HMs) in liquefaction residues (LRs). Liquefaction of sewage sludge (SS) or oil-tea-cake (OTC) or mixtures of SS and OTC were carried out under the condition of supercritical methanol (SCM). Results showed that the addition of OTC extraordinarily increased the yields of oil from 37.9% (SS) to 86.2% (SS + OTC). Furthermore, with the liquefaction of SS and OTC mixture, the bioavailable fraction (F1 + F2) of Cd and Cu (F1 + F2) was decreased from 2.47 to 1.64 mg/kg and from 98.84 to 67.48 mg/kg, respectively. However, the bioavailable fraction of Zn (F1 + F2) increased from 122.03 to 204.69 mg/kg with the liquefaction of SS. The bioavailable fraction (F1 + F2) of Pb in LRs was 0%, which did not express any changes during the liquefaction process. Risk assessments of geo-accumulation index (I(geo)), risk assessment code (RAC) and modified potential ecological risk index (MRI) were applied to evaluate the bioavailabilities, the potential ecological risks and the pollution levels of HMs. The results show that the OTC in SS can decrease the risk of HMs in LRs. Cd attracted many concerns for the highest risk to the environment among all of the HMs. Here, the good results obtained means that SCM liquefaction of mixture of SS and OTC could be a preferable method for SS treatment.

Mass concentration and health risk assessment of heavy metals in size-segregated airborne particulate matter in Changsha.

This study was performed to investigate the concentration and the health risk of heavy metals (HMs: Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni, Fe, Mn, Cr and Cu) in size-segregated airborne particulate matter (APM). APM samples were collected into 9 size fractions (>9.0 µm, 5.8-9.0 µm, 4.7-5.8 µm, 3.3-4.7 µm, 2.1-3.3 µm, 1.1-2.1 µm, 0.7-1.1 µm, 0.4-0.7 µm, <0.4 µm) by an 8 Stage Non-Viable Cascade Impactor in the campus of Hunan University in Changsha. And then 9 fractions of APM were analyzed for HMs by ICP-OES. The total size-segregated APM concentration in the campus of Hunan University ranged from 120.24 to 271.15 µg/m(3), and the concentration of HMs in APM was in the range of 38.08-13955.14 ng/m(3). The health risk of HMs in APM was evaluated by hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) and the results showed that dermal contact and ingestion of APM were the major exposure pathways to human health. The HI values of Cd, Mn, Pb and Cr for children and Cd, Mn and Pb for adults exhibited to be higher than 1 indicating that a non-carcinogenic health effect existed in the APM of the campus of Hunan University. The carcinogenic risks of Cd, Ni and Cr were all bellow the safe value.

Experimental investigation on NOx emission characteristics of a new solid fuel made from sewage sludge mixed with coal in combustion.

In this article, a new briquette fuel (SC), which was produced by the mixture of coal fines (25.9%), sewage sludge (60.6%), lignin (4.5%), tannic acid (4.5%) and elemental silicon (4.5%), was provided. Then, in a high temperature electric resistance tubular furnace, the total emissions of NO2 and NO, effects of combustion temperature, air flow rate and heating rate on NOx (NO, NO2) emissions of SC were studied during the combustion of SC; furthermore, effects of additives on hardness were also analysed, and the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was applied to investigate the reduced NOx emission mechanism. The research results showed that, compared with the characteristics of briquette fuel (SC0) produced only by the mixture of coal and sewage sludge (the ratio of coal to sewage sludge was the same as that of SC), the Meyer hardness of SC was 12.6% higher than that of SC0 and the emissions of NOx were 27.83% less than that of SC0 under the same combustion conditions. The NOx emissions of SC decreased with the adding of heating rate and increased with the rise of air flow rate. When the temperature was below 1000 °C, the emissions of NOx increased with the elevated temperature, however, further temperature extension will result in a decreasing in emissions of NOx. Furthermore, the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results proposed that the possible mechanism for the reduction of NOx emissions was nitrogen and silicon in SC to form the compounds of silicon and nitrogen at high temperatures.

Characterization of bio-oil and biochar from high-temperature pyrolysis of sewage sludge.

The influence of temperature (550-850°C) on the characteristics of bio-oil and biochar from the pyrolysis of sewage sludge (SS) in a horizontal tube reactor was investigated. Results showed that when the pyrolysis temperature increased from 550°C to 850°C, the yield of bio-oil decreased from 26.16% (dry ash-free basis) to 20.78% (dry ash-free basis). Main components of bio-oil were phenols, esters, cholests, ketones, amides, indoles, and nitriles. Besides, the elevated heating rate of 25°C/min was demonstrated to favour the complete combustion of bio-oil. Moreover, caused by the increase in temperature, the yield of biochar decreased from 54.9 to 50.6 wt%, Brunauer-Emmet-Teller surface area increased from 48.51 to 81.28 m2/g. Furthermore, pH was increased from 5.93 of SS to 7.15-8.96 of biochar. The negative ζ-potential was also strengthened (-13.87 to -11.30 mV) and principal functional groups on the surface of biochar were -OH, C=O, C=C, -NO2, and S=O.

Glutamate transporter 1-mediated antidepressant-like effect in a rat model of chronic unpredictable stress.

In recent years, more attention has been paid to the role of the glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1, EAAT2) in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, experimental data on brain GLT-1 levels are, to some extent, inconsistent in human postmortem and animal studies. These discrepancies imply that the role of GLT-1 in the pathophysiology of MDD and the action of antidepressants remain obscure. This work was designed to study the impact of chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) for 2 sessions per day for 35 days and four weeks of fluoxetine (FLX) on depressive-like behaviors in rats, as well as the concomitant expression of the GLT-1 protein in the hippocampus. Behavioral changes were assessed by the sucrose preference and open field tests. GLT-1 levels were detected by immunohistchemistry and Western blot analysis. Our study demonstrated that the animals exposed to CUS showed depressive-like behaviors and exhibited a significant decrease in GLT-1 expression in the hippocampus. Chronic FLX treatment reversed the behavioral deficits and the CUS-induced decrease in GLT-1 levels. Taken together, our results support the reduction of GLT-1 in human postmortem studies in MDD and suggest that GLT-1 may be involved in the antidepressant activity of FLX. Our studies further support the notion that GLT-1 is an attractive candidate molecule associated with the fundamental processes of MDD and may be a potential, and novel pharmacological target for the treatment of MDD.

Recovery of phosphorus from sewage sludge in combination with the supercritical water process.

In this paper, the fraction transformation and recovering of phosphorus (P) from sewage sludge (SS) residues, derived from supercritical water process, was investigated by extraction and precipitation processes. In addition, the form of heavy metals existing during the recovery process is also discussed. First, P in the solid residues was recovered by acid leaching with HCl, and then the derived P was adsorbed by activated alumina (Al(2)O(3)). Finally, the Al2O3 was desorbed with low concentration of NaOH. Results showed that 80% organic P was converted into HCl-P. The total P (the chief ingredient of HCl-P) in solid residue increased from 86.1 to 95.6% as temperature increased from 350 to 400 °C. The amount of P in the solid residue that was dissolved by 1 M HCl was 97.8%, and over 95% of P in the leaching solution (15 mg/L for P concentration) was adsorbed after 5.0 g of Al(2)O(3) powder was added. The amount of P desorbed from Al(2)O(3) with 0.1 M NaOH was 98.7%. Ultimately, over 85% of TP in SS was recovered. Moreover, the proportion of Cu, Zn and Pb in the extracted P products was lower than 5%.

Fate and risk assessment of heavy metals in residue from co-liquefaction of Camellia oleifera cake and sewage sludge in supercritical ethanol.

The fate and risk assessment of heavy metals (HMs) in solid residue from co-liquefaction of sewage sludge (SS) and Camellia oleifera cake (COC) in supercritical ethanol (SCE) were investigated. SCE effectively stabilized HMs in solid residues and a better stabilization was presented on Zn than Cd. Moreover, SCE significantly transformed Cd, Cu and Zn into F4, which reduced the risk to the environment. Furthermore, risk assessments of Igeo, Er(i), RI and RAC demonstrated that the addition of COC was beneficial to the contamination decrement of HMs since pollution levels of HMs all decreased after treatment, and the lowest pollution level was obtained with SC-350. Therefore, SS treated by SCE with the addition of COC could be a promising technology for disposal of SS, especially considering the safety of COC as regards HMs problem.

Source identification and potential ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in PM2.5 from Changsha.

The probable sources and potential ecological risks of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in PM2.5 in Changsha were analyzed. The intelligent medium-flow total suspended particle sampler was used to collect the PM2.5 samples from Yuelu (YL), Kaifu (KF), and Yuhua (YH) districts of Changsha in March-April of 2013. The total concentration of heavy metals (HMs) in PM2.5 was used for source identification by correlation coefficients and principal component analysis (PCA). Otherwise the potential ecological risks indices (RIs) were calculated based on the bioavailable fractions of HMs which were obtained through BCR sequential extraction. Almost 50% of Cu, Cd and Pb in PM2.5 of all sites were accumulated in soluble and reducible fractions by speciation analysis. The correlation coefficients and PCA analysis showed that HMs in PM2.5 of Changsha in spring were mainly from vehicular emissions, fuel combustion, resuspension of dust and other pollution sources. The average potential ecological RIs of HMs in PM2.5 of Changsha were 6193.80 which suggests that HMs in PM2.5 was extremely serious. These results would be a good reference for health studies and formulation of environmental regulations.

Biogeochemical processes governing natural pyrite oxidation and release of acid metalliferous drainage.

The oxidative dissolution of sulfide minerals (principally pyrite) is responsible for the majority of acid metalliferous drainage from mine sites, which represents a significant environmental problem worldwide. Understanding the complex biogeochemical processes governing natural pyrite oxidation is critical not only for solving this problem but also for understanding the industrial bioleaching of sulfide minerals. To this end, we conducted a simulated experiment of natural pyrite oxidative dissolution. Pyrosequencing analysis of the microbial community revealed a distinct succession across three stages. At the early stage, a newly proposed genus, Tumebacillus (which can use sodium thiosulfate and sulfite as the sole electron donors), dominated the microbial community. At the midstage, Alicyclobacillus (the fifth most abundant genus at the early stage) became the most dominant genus, whereas Tumebacillus was still ranked as the second most abundant. At the final stage, the microbial community was dominated by Ferroplasma (the tenth most abundant genus at the early stage). Our geochemical and mineralogical analyses indicated that exchangeable heavy metals increased as the oxidation progressed and that some secondary sulfate minerals (including jarosite and magnesiocopiapite) were formed at the final stage of the oxidation sequence. Additionally, we propose a comprehensive model of biogeochemical processes governing the oxidation of sulfide minerals.

Influence of sewage sludge-based activated carbon and temperature on the liquefaction of sewage sludge: yield and composition of bio-oil, immobilization and risk assessment of heavy metals.

The influence of sewage sludge-based activated carbons (SSAC) on sewage sludge liquefaction has been carried out at 350 and 400°C. SSAC increased the yield and energy density of bio-oil at 350°C. The metallic compounds were the catalytic factor of SSAC obtained at 550°C (SSAC-550), while carbon was the catalytic factor of SSAC obtained at 650°C. Liquefaction with SSAC redistributed the species of heavy metals in solid residue (SR). With the addition of SSAC, the risk of Cu, Zn and Pb decreased at 350°C, while at 400°C the risk of Cd, Cu, and Zn were decreased. Ecological risk index indicated that 400°C was preferable for the toxicity decrement of SR, while risk assessment code indicated that SR obtained at 350°C contained lower risk. Considering the bio-oil yield, liquefaction at 350°C with SSAC-550 was preferable.