Broadband continuous-wave differential absorption lidar for atmospheric remote sensing of water vapor.

What we believe to be a novel low-cost broadband continuous-wave water vapor differential absorption lidar (CW-DIAL) technique has been proposed and implemented by combing the Scheimpflug principle and the differential absorption method. The broadband CW-DIAL technique utilizes an 830-nm high-power multimode laser diode with 3-W output power as a tunable light source and a CMOS image sensor tilted at 45° as the detector. A retrieval algorithm dedicated for the broadband CW-DIAL technique has been developed to obtain range-resolved water vapor concentration from the DIAL signal. Atmospheric remote sensing of water vapor has been carried out on a near-horizontal water vapor path to validate the performance of the broadband CW-DIAL system. The retrieved water vapor concentration showed a good consistency with those measured by an air quality monitoring station, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9669. The fitting error of the water vapor concentration is found to be less than 10%. Numerical simulation studies have revealed that the aerosol-induced error on the water vapor concentration is below 5% with a background water vapor concentration of 5 g/m3 for most atmospheric conditions. The experimental results have successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the present broadband CW-DIAL technique for range-resolved water vapor remote sensing.

Full C- and L-band covered second-order OAM mode generator based on a thinned helical long-period fiber grating.

A full C- and L-band covered second-order orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) mode generator has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated, which is realized by using a helical long-period fiber grating (HLPG) but inscribed in a thinned four-mode fiber. By optimizing the design of grating period and fiber diameter of the proposed HLPG, an ultra-broadband rejection filter with a depth of ∼23 dB, a bandwidth of ∼156 nm @-10 dB (ranging from 1522 nm to 1678 nm) and a bandwidth of ∼58 nm @-20 dB (ranging from 1574 nm to 1632 nm), has been successfully obtained as a typical sample. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of such ultra-broadband second-order OAM mode generator by using only one fiber component, i.e., the thinned HLPG. In addition, the proposed generator is less polarization-dependent and less temperature-sensitive than those of the conventional HLPGs, which is believed to be considerably helpful to find potential applications of the device itself in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and OAM mode division multiplexing (MDM) optical fiber communication systems.

Enhancing nitrogen and phosphorus removal in plant-biochar-pyrite stormwater bioretention systems: Impact of temperature and high-frequency heavy rainfall.

Global climate change and rapid urbanization have resulted in more frequent and intense rainfall events in urban areas, raising concerns about the effectiveness of stormwater bioretention systems. In this study, we optimized the design by constructing a multi-layer filler structure, including plant layer, biochar layer, and pyrite layer, and evaluated its performance in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) removal under different temperatures (5-18 °C and 24-43 °C), rainfall intensity (47.06 mm rainfall depth), and frequency (1-5 days rainfall intervals) conditions. The findings indicate that over 775 days, the plant system consistently removed 62.3% of total nitrogen (TN) and 97.0% of total phosphorus (TP) from 103 intense rainfall events. Temperature fluctuations had minimal impact on nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) and TP removal, with differences in removal rates of only 1.0% and 0.6%, respectively, among plant groups. Across the multi-layer structure, plant roots mitigated the impact of temperature differences on NO3--N removal, while high-frequency rainfall fluctuated the stability of NO3--N removal. Dense plant roots reinforced N and P removal by facilitating denitrification in the vadose zone (biochar) and strengthening denitrification processes. Biochar and pyrite contributed to stable microenvironments and diverse ecological functions, enhancing NO3--N and PO43- removal. In summary, the synergistic effects of the multi-layer filler structure improved and stabilized N and P removal, providing valuable insights for addressing runoff pollution in bioretention systems amidst rapid urbanization and climate change challenges.

Acteoside ameliorates learning and memory impairment in APP/PS1 transgenic mice by increasing Aß degradation and inhibiting tau hyperphosphorylation.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease. Senile plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles are pathological hallmarks of AD. Recent studies have described the improved cognitive and neuroprotective functions of acteoside (AS). This study aimed to investigate whether the improved cognition of AS was mediated by Aß degradation and tau phosphorylation in APP/PS1 mice. The open field, Y maze, and novel object recognition tests were used to assess cognitive behavioral changes. We evaluated the levels of Aß40 and Aß42 in serum, cortex, and hippocampus, and Aß-related scavenging enzymes, phosphorylated GSK3ß and hyperphosphorylated tau in the cortex and hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice by western blotting. Our results revealed that AS treatment ameliorated anxious behaviors, spatial learning, and memory impairment in APP/PS1 mice and significantly reduced Aß deposition in their serum, cortex, and hippocampus. AS significantly increased Aß degradation, inhibited the hyperphosphorylation of tau, and significantly decreased the activity of GSK3ß, which is involved in tau phosphorylation. Altogether, these findings indicated that the beneficial effects of AS on AD-associated anxious behaviors and cognitive impairments could be attributed to promoting Aß degradation and inhibiting tau hyperphosphorylation, which might be partly mediated by GSK3ß.

Characterization of the redox-active extracellular polymeric substances in an anaerobic methanotrophic consortium.

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is a microbial process of importance in the global carbon cycle. AOM is predominantly mediated by anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME), the physiology of which is still poorly understood. Here we present a new addition to the current physiological understanding of ANME by examining, for the first time, the biochemical and redox-active properties of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of an ANME enrichment culture. Using a 'Candidatus Methanoperedens nitroreducens'-dominated methanotrophic consortium as the representative, we found it can produce an EPS matrix featuring a high protein-to-polysaccharide ratio of ∼8. Characterization of EPS using FTIR revealed the dominance of protein-associated amide I and amide II bands in the EPS. XPS characterization revealed the functional group of C-(O/N) from proteins accounted for 63.7% of total carbon. Heme-reactive staining and spectroscopic characterization confirmed the distribution of c-type cytochromes in this protein-dominated EPS, which potentially enabled its electroactive characteristic. Redox-active c-type cytochromes in EPS mediated the EET of 'Ca. M. nitroreducens' for the reduction of Ag+ to metallic Ag, which was confirmed by both ex-situ experiments with extracted soluble EPS and in-situ experiments with pristine EPS matrix surrounding cells. The formation of nanoparticles in the EPS matrix during in-situ extracellular Ag + reduction resulted in a relatively lower intracellular Ag distribution fraction, beneficial for alleviating the Ag toxicity to cells. The results of this study provide the first biochemical information on EPS of anaerobic methanotrophic consortia and a new insight into its physiological role in AOM process.

Theoretical and experimental investigation of the molecular depolarization ratio for broadband polarization lidar techniques.

The molecular depolarization ratio (MDR) is of great significance for polarization lidar techniques in terms of validating the measurement accuracy, etc. However, previous studies mainly focused on cases with narrowband laser linewidths, and the transmittance of the Cabannes line in the receiver has been assumed constant. In this work, the narrowband theoretical model of MDR has been re-examined by taking the transmittance of the Cabannes line into account. A large relative deviation of beyond 200% has been found if the wavelength-shift reaches up to 0.5 nm for a receiving bandwidth of 0.5 nm at 532 nm, which is much larger than the case without considering the transmittance of the Cabannes line, i.e., only 15%, reported in previous studies. Besides, a broadband theoretical model has been proposed to evaluate the MDR for polarization lidar using high-power multimode laser diodes as light sources. Simulation studies have revealed that the MDR is highly related to the laser linewidth, the receiving bandwidth, as well as the wavelength-shift between the laser wavelength and the center wavelength of the receiver. The MDR at 520 nm calculated by the broadband theoretical model is about 21% larger than the value evaluated without considering the laser linewidth, when the receiving bandwidth is equivalent to the laser linewidth (e.g., 2 nm). Validation measurements, employing a 520-nm imaging-based polarization lidar with a 3.4-nm laser linewidth and a 10-nm receiving bandwidth, illustrated that the volume depolarization ratio in a clean atmospheric region (0.129±0.0025) was highly consistent with the theoretical MDR (0.132). The good agreement between theoretical and experimental results demonstrated a high measurement accuracy of the imaging-based polarization lidar and excellent feasibility of the broadband theoretical model.

Insights into the transport and bio-degradation of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in the biochar-pyrite amended stormwater biofilter using dynamic modeling.

The stormwater biofilter is a prevailing green infrastructure for urban stormwater management, but it is less effective in dissolved nitrogen removal, especially for nitrate. The mechanism that governs the nitrate leaching and performance stability of stormwater biofilters is poorly understood. In this study, a water quality model was developed to predict the ammonium and nitrate dynamics in a biochar-pyrite amended stormwater biofilter. The transport of dissolved nitrogen species was described by advection-dispersion models. The kinetics of adsorption and pyrite-based autotrophic denitrification are included in the model and simulated with a steady-state saturated flow. The model was calibrated and validated using eleven storm events. The modeling results reveal that the contribution of pyrite-based autotrophic denitrification to nitrate leaching alleviation improves with the increased drying duration. The nitrate removal efficiency was affected by a series of design parameters. Pyrite filling rate has a minor effect on nitrate removal promotion. Service area ratio and submerged zone depth are the key parameters to prevent nitrate leaching, as they influence the emergence and discharge time of nitrate breakthrough. The high inflow volume (high service area ratio) and small submerged zone can lead to earlier and increased discharge of peak nitrate otherwise the peak nitrate could be retained in the submerged zone and denitrified during the drying period. The developed mechanistic model provides a useful tool to evaluate the treatment ability of stormwater biofilters under varying conditions and offers a guideline for biofilter design optimization.

Visible, near-infrared dual-polarization lidar based on polarization cameras: system design, evaluation and atmospheric measurements.

A visible, near-infrared (VIS-NIR) dual-polarization lidar technique employing laser diodes and polarization cameras has been designed and implemented for all-day unattended field measurements of atmospheric aerosols. The linear volume depolarization ratios (LVDR) and the offset angles can be retrieved from four-directional polarized backscattering signals at wavelengths of 458 nm and 808 nm without additional optical components and sophisticated system adjustments. Evaluations on the polarization crosstalk of the polarization camera and the offset angle have been performed in detail. A rotating linear polarizer (RLP) method based on the Stokes-Mueller formalism has been proposed and demonstrated for measuring extinction ratios of the polarization camera, which can be used to eliminate the polarization crosstalk between different polarization signals. The offset angles can be online measured with a precision of 0.1°, leading to negligible measurement errors on the LVDR. One-month statistical analysis revealed a small temporal variation of the offset angles, namely -0.13°±0.07° at 458 nm and 0.33°±0.09° at 808 nm, indicating good system stability for long-term measurement. Atmospheric measurements have been carried out to verify the system performance and investigate aerosol optical properties. The spectral characteristics of the aerosol extinction coefficient, the color ratio, the linear particle polarization ratio (LPDR) and the ratio of LPDR were retrieved and evaluated based on one-month continuous atmospheric measurements, from which different types of aerosols can be classified. The promising results showed great potential of employing the VIS-NIR dual-polarization lidar in characterizing aerosol optical properties, discriminating aerosol types and analyzing long-range aerosol transportation.

Development of an all-day portable polarization lidar system based on the division-of-focal-plane scheme for atmospheric polarization measurements.

A portable polarization lidar system based on the division-of-focal-plane scheme has been proposed for all-day accurate retrieval of the atmospheric depolarization ratio. The polarization lidar system has been designed as a T-shaped architecture consisting of a closed transmitter and a detachable large focal receiver, which is capable of outdoor unmanned measurements. The lidar system features low cost, low maintenance and short blind range (∼100 m) by utilizing a 450 nm multimode laser diode as the light source and a polarization image sensor with four polarized channels as the detector. Validation measurements have been carried out on a near horizontal path in ten consecutive days. The linear volume depolarization ratio (LVDR) as well as its measurement uncertainty has been theoretically and experimentally evaluated without employing additional optical components and sophisticated online calibrations. The offset angle can also be accurately retrieved (i.e., -0.06°) from the four-directional polarized lidar profiles with a standard deviation of ±0.02° during the whole measurement period, which contributes negligible influence on the retrieval of the LVDR. It has been found out that the uncertainty of the LVDR was mainly originated from the random noise, which was below 0.004 at nighttime and may reach up to 0.008 during daytime owing to the increasing sunlight background. The performance of the polarization lidar system has been further examined through atmospheric vertical measurements. The low-cost low-maintenance portable polarization lidar system, capable of detecting four-directional polarized lidar signals simultaneously, opens up many possibilities for all-day field measurements of dust, cloud, urban aerosol, oriented particles, etc.

Acteoside-improved streptozotocin-induced learning and memory impairment by upregulating hippocampal insulin, glucose transport, and energy metabolism.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disease, has been, by and large, correlated to insulin pathway, glucose level, and energy metabolism in the brain. Intracerebroventricular administration of streptozotocin (ICV-STZ) leads to glucose and energy metabolism dysfunction, cognitive impairment, and increased oxidative stress in the brain. Acteoside has a myriad of pharmacological effects on the brain, namely, neuroprotection and recuperation of cognitive functions. The primary focus of the current study was to examine the effect of acteoside on insulin, glucose transport, and energy metabolism in the hippocampal area of the brain. The behavioral experiments such as spatial memory, active learning, and passive memory suggested that acetoside ameliorated the ICV-STZ-induced learning and cognitive impairment. The acteoside induced increase in the protein expression of glucose transporters (Glu T1, Glu T3, and Glu T4), glucose, and insulin levels in the hippocampus for maintaining normal learning and memory function were demonstrated by Western blot. In addition, acteoside's long-term oral administration increased the the ratio of ATP content divided by ADP content (ATP/ADP) ratio, which, in turn, reduced the reactiveoxygen species (ROS) level and improved the cellular oxidative stress response. Compared with the model group, the above results show significant differences in different degrees (p < .05 or p < .01). This study suggests that acteoside can ameliorate the ICV-STZ-induced learning and memory impairment caused due to insulin receptor, insulin receptor substrate 1, Glu T1, Glu T3, and Glu T4 pathways by triggering intracerebral metabolism.

Evaluation of systematic errors for the continuous-wave NO2 differential absorption lidar employing a multimode laser diode.

The NO2-differential absorption lidar (NO2-DIAL) technique has been of great interest for atmospheric NO2 profiling. Comprehensive studies on measurement errors in the NO2-DIAL technique are vital for the accurate retrieval of the NO2 concentration. This work investigates the systematic errors of the recently developed continuous-wave (CW) NO2-DIAL technique based on the Scheimpflug principle and a high-power CW multimode laser diode. Systematic errors introduced by various factors, e.g., uncertainty of the NO2 differential absorption cross-section, differential absorption due to other gases, spectral drifting of the λon and λoff wavelengths, wavelength-dependent extinction and backscattering effect, have been theoretically and experimentally studied for the CW-DIAL technique. By performing real-time spectral monitoring on the emission spectrum of the laser diode, the effect of spectral drifting on the NO2 differential absorption cross-section is negligible. The temperature-dependent NO2 absorption cross-section in the region of 220-294 K can be interpolated by employing a linear fitting method based on high-precision absorption spectra at 220, 240, and 294 K. The relative error for the retrieval of the NO2 concentration is estimated to be less than 0.34% when employing the interpolated spectrum. The primary interference molecule is found to be the glyoxal (CHOCHO), which should be carefully evaluated according to its relative concentration in respect to NO2. The systematic error introduced by the backscattering effect is subjected to the spatial variation of the aerosol load, while the extinction-induced systematic error is primarily determined by the difference between the aerosol extinction coefficients at λon and λoff wavelengths. A case study has been carried out to demonstrate the evaluation of systematic errors for practical NO2 monitoring. The comprehensive investigation on systematic errors in this work can be of great value for future NO2 monitoring using the DIAL technique.

Mini-Scheimpflug lidar system for all-day atmospheric remote sensing in the boundary layer.

Development of a lightweight, low-cost, easy-to-use and low-maintenance lidar technique has been of great interest for atmospheric aerosol remote sensing in recent years and remains a great challenge. In this work, an 808 nm mini-Scheimpflug lidar (SLidar) system with about 450 mm separation between the transmitter and the receiver has been developed by employing a 114 mm aperture Newtonian telescope (F4). System performances, such as the beam characteristic, the range resolution, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the lidar signal, have been carefully investigated. Despite employing a small receiving aperture, all-day measurements were still feasible with about a one-minute signal averaging for both the horizontal urban area monitoring and the slant atmospheric sounding in the boundary layer. The lidar signal in the region of 29-50 m with a scattering angle less than 179.5° could be slightly underestimated due to the variation of the phase function. The extinction coefficient evaluated in the region between 29 and 2000 m according to the Klett method agreed well with the concentrations of particulate matters for both horizontal and slant measurements. The promising result demonstrated in this work has shown great potential to employ the robust mini-SLidar system for atmospheric monitoring in the boundary layer.

Three-wavelength polarization Scheimpflug lidar system developed for remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols.

Multiple-wavelength polarization lidar techniques have been of great interest for the studies of aerosol backscattering color ratio, Ångström exponent, particle size distribution, hygroscopic growth, etc. Conventional lidar techniques are mainly based on the time-of-flight principle. In this paper, a three-wavelength polarization Scheimpflug lidar (SLidar) system, based on the Scheimpflug imaging principle, has been developed for studying optical properties of atmospheric aerosols. The SLidar system utilizes low-cost, compact, multimode laser diodes as light sources and two complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors as detectors. The depolarization ratio was measured at the 808 nm band by successively detecting atmospheric backscattering signals from two orthogonally polarized laser beams with a polarization CMOS camera, while the 520 nm and the 405 nm backscattering signals were recorded by a second CMOS camera based on the time-multiplexing scheme. Atmospheric remote measurements were carried out in May and July 2019 on a near-horizontal path. The aerosol extinction coefficient, linear volume depolarization ratio, and the Ångström exponent have been retrieved and evaluated to study aerosol properties during different atmospheric conditions, which were in good agreement with optical properties reported by previous studies.

Comparison studies of the Scheimpflug lidar technique and the pulsed lidar technique for atmospheric aerosol sensing.

The Scheimpflug lidar (SLidar) technique has been recently developed for various remote sensing applications, where the lidar signal is detected by an image sensor according to the Scheimpflug principle instead of the time-of-flight principle. Comparison studies between the SLidar technique and the conventional pulsed lidar technique are crucial for understanding the principle as well as the measurement results of the SLidar technique. In this work, a 520-nm Scheimpflug lidar system and a 532-nm pulsed lidar system have been developed for comparison studies. Atmospheric remote measurements as well as statistical analysis have been carried out on a near-horizontal path and on a slant direction with an elevation angle of 30$^\circ $∘. The temporal-spatial variations of the atmospheric backscattering maps measured by the 520-nm SLidar system and the 532-nm pulsed lidar system generally agreed well. The median extinction coefficient measured by the SLidar and the pulsed techniques has shown similar temporal evolution during the near-horizontal comparison study, and a correlation coefficient of 0.99 has been achieved through statistical analysis on all lidar measurements. Moreover, the root-mean-square error (RMSE) ratio for each extinction coefficient profile has also been evaluated, and the mean value of the RMSE ratio for all lidar measurements was about 11% in homogeneous atmospheric conditions. During slant comparison studies, the RMSE ratio between the SLidar curve and the pulsed lidar curve was less than 5% in the region of 0.5-2 km, and it generally increased with the increase of measurement distance, primarily due to the decreased range resolution of the SLidar technique. The promising results suggested that the SLidar technique, featuring a short blind range, could be suitable for aerosol sensing, particularly in the planetary boundary layer.

Dual-wavelength Mie-scattering Scheimpflug lidar system developed for the studies of the aerosol extinction coefficient and the Ångström exponent.

A dual-wavelength Scheimpflug lidar system, utilizing a 4-W 808-nm and 1-W 407-nm multimode laser diodes as light sources and two CMOS sensors as detectors, is developed for the studies of the aerosol extinction coefficient and the Ångström exponent. The system performance has been successfully validated by a two-week continuous measurement campaign on a near horizontal path in May 2018 at Dalian, which is a coastal city in Northern China. The aerosol extinction coefficients retrieved by the Fernald method show good correlations with particle concentrations and relative humidities (RHs). It has been found that the enhancement factor of the backscattering coefficient at the short wavelength due to hygroscopic growth is larger than that at the long wavelength for the aerosol particles off the coast of the Yellow Sea. The Ångström exponent obtains from the aerosol extinction coefficients at the two wavelengths, varies between 0 and 2, and is found to relate with the mass concentration fraction of fine mode particles, specifically PM2.5 particles. Moreover, the Ångström exponent has a positive correlation with the RH, implying a bimodal or multimodal size distribution of aerosol particles in the measurement season.

Implementation of a violet Scheimpflug lidar system for atmospheric aerosol studies.

A violet Scheimpflug lidar system employing a 1-W 407-nm multimode laser diode is developed for remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols. The laser beam of the laser diode that is transmitted into atmosphere has been investigated in detail and a cylindrical lens pair is designed to improve the geometrical transmission efficiency. A measurement scheme with automatic exposure as well as a generalized signal processing method are established to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio of lidar signals. The performance of the violet Scheimpflug lidar system has been evaluated during a six-day continuous measurement campaign on a near horizontal path. The maximum measurement distance can reach up to 7 km in sunny clean weathers and to about 2 km during haze with an aerosol extinction coefficient of about 0.9 km. The aerosol extinction coefficient retrieved by the Fernald method is promising and shows good correlation with particle concentrations measured by a local national pollution monitoring station. This work promotes the development of all-time Scheimpflug lidar systems operating at other wavelengths or multiple wavelengths for various atmospheric applications.

Atmospheric Pollution Monitoring in Urban Area by Employing a 450-nm Lidar System.

In past decades, lidar techniques have become main tools for atmospheric remote sensing. However, traditional pulsed lidar systems are relatively expensive and require considerable maintenance. These shortcomings may be overcome by the development of a blue band Scheimpflug lidar system in Dalian, Northern China. Atmospheric remote measurements were carried out for 10 days in an urban area to validate the feasibility and performance of a 450-nm Scheimpflug lidar system. A 24-h continuous measurement was achieved in winter on a near horizontal path with an elevation angle of about 6.4°. The aerosol extinction coefficient retrieved by the Fernald-inversion algorithm shows good agreement with the variation of PM10/PM2.5 concentrations recorded by a national pollution monitoring station. The experimental result reveals that the linear ratio between the aerosol extinction coefficient and the PM10 concentration under high relative humidity (75⁻90%) is about two-times that in low relative humidity (≤75%) when the PM10 concentrations are less than 100 µg/m³.

Remote sensing of atmospheric NO2 by employing the continuous-wave differential absorption lidar technique.

Differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique employed for remote sensing has been so far based on the sophisticated narrow-band pulsed laser sources, which require intensive maintenance during operation. In this work, a continuous-wave (CW) NO2 DIAL system based on the Scheimpflug principle has been developed by employing a compact high-power CW multimode 450 nm laser diode as the light source. Laser emissions at the on-line and off-line wavelengths of the NO2 absorption spectrum are implemented by tuning the injection current of the laser diode. Lidar signals are detected by a 45° tilted area CCD image sensor satisfying the Scheimpflug principle. Range-resolved NO2 concentrations on a near-horizontal path are obtained by the NO2 DIAL system in the range of 0.3-3 km and show good agreement with those measured by a conventional air pollution monitoring station. A detection sensitivity of ± 0.9 ppbv at 95% confidence level in the region of 0.3-1 km is achieved with 15-minute averaging and 700 m range resolution during hours of darkness, which allows accurate concentration measurement of ambient NO2. The low-cost and robust DIAL system demonstrated in this work opens up many possibilities for field NO2 remote sensing applications.

Atmospheric extinction coefficient retrieval and validation for the single-band Mie-scattering Scheimpflug lidar technique.

An 808 nm single-band Mie scattering Scheimpflug lidar system is developed in Dalian, Northern China, for real-time, large-area atmospheric aerosol/particle remote sensing. Atmospheric measurement has been performed in urban area during a typical haze weather condition, and time-range distribution of atmospheric backscattering signal is recorded from March 18th to 22nd, 2017, by employing the Scheimpflug lidar system. Atmospheric extinction coefficient is then retrieved according to the Klett-inversion algorithm, while the boundary value is obtained by the slope-method in the far end where the atmosphere is homogeneous in a subinterval region. The correlation between the extinction coefficients retrieved from the Scheimpflug lidar technique and the PM10/PM2.5 concentrations measured by a conventional air pollution monitoring station is also studied. The good agreement between the measurement results, i.e., a correlation coefficient of 0.85, successfully demonstrates the feasibility and great potential of the Scheimpflug lidar technique for atmospheric studies and applications.

Significant in situ sludge yield reduction in an acidic activated sludge system.

Minimizing sludge generation in activated sludge systems is critical to reducing the operational cost of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), particularly for small plants where bioenergy is not recovered. This study introduces a novel acidic activated sludge technology for in situ sludge yield reduction, leveraging acid-tolerant ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (Candidatus Nitrosoglobus). The observed sludge yield (Yobs) was calculated based on the cumulative sludge generation and COD removal during 400 d long-term operation. The acidic process achieved a low Yobs of 0.106 ± 0.004 gMLSS/gCOD at pH 4.6 to 4.8 and in situ free nitrous acid (FNA) of 1 to 3 mg/L, reducing sludge production by 58 % compared to the conventional neutral-pH system (Yobs of 0.250 ± 0.003 gMLSS/gCOD). The acidic system also maintained effective sludge settling and organic matter removal over long-term operation. Mechanism studies revealed that the acidic sludge displayed higher endogenous respiration, sludge hydrolysis rates, and higher soluble microbial products and loosely-bounded extracellular polymer substances, compared to the neutral sludge. It also selectively enriched several hydrolytic genera (e.g., Chryseobacterium, Acidovorax, and Ottowia). Those results indicate that the acidic pH and in situ FNA enhanced sludge disintegration, hydrolysis, and cryptic growth. Besides, a lower intracellular ATP content was observed for acidic sludge than neutral sludge, suggesting potential decoupling of catabolism and anabolism in the acidic sludge. These findings collectively demonstrate that the acidic activated sludge technology could significantly reduce sludge yield, contributing to more cost- and space-effective wastewater management.