Using 15N to determine a budget for effluent-derived nitrogen applied to forest

Using stable N isotopes, the fate of effluent-derived N has been determined within a land based municipal effluent irrigation scheme. Over 900 metric tonnes(t) of effluent-derived N have been applied to 192 ha of production conifer forest near Rotorua (NZ) over the past 11 years. The effluent N has a natural isotopic signal, generated by the treatment process, allowing it to be traced into various components of the system. Using this isotopic signal, a realistic approximation of storage capacity of various components of the system has been generated, including a calculation of the contribution of effluent N exiting the catchment via stream flow.Forest storage accounts for 50% of the applied N with a considerable proportion of that immobilized in wood and soil. The wetland, although not intensively sampled, retains 115 t, (13%) of the applied N. Denitrification, including that occurring within the wetland, accounts for 23 t (3%). Nitrogen isotope data confirm that the rise in NO3 concentrations is directly attributable to effluent N. Currently 88% of NO3-N in the stream is effluent-derived. Using current N isotope values for the stream and extrapolating over the discharge period, export of effluent N via the stream is estimated as 263 t (29%) of the applied N. Overall the forest and wetland ecosystem has intercepted or denitrified 65% of applied N, with 29% lost to the stream, and 50 t (5%) unaccounted for.The forest ecosystem is currently over-supplied with N and a number of management implications flows from these findings. In the long term the continued application of effluent N to the current irrigation area is not sustainable.     

Iterative methods for stabilized mixed velocity–pressure finite elements

This paper is concerned with iterative techniques for the solution of the linear system of equations arising from a finite element approximation of an elliptic partial differential equation by a mixed method. Three types of iterative algorithms are investigated. Applications to the Stokes equations are discussed and the results of numerical experiments given.     

Exploring recent developments on 1,2,4-triazole: Synthesis and biological applications

Triazoles are nitrogen-bearing heterocycles. In the last few decades, researchers have focused on fused heterocycles, as they have better pharmacological effect compared to triazoles alone. Among the two isomers of triazole, this article aims to explore the work carried out on 1,2,4-triazole and N-bridged heterocycles derived from 1,2,4-triazole in last 18 years, highlight different synthetic pathways, and present a brief summary of the different biological activities possessed by 1,2,4-triazole derivatives. The information collected in this article is expected to help researchers to discover novel therapeutic agents for better applications in the field of pharmaceutical science.     

Weighted complex network analysis of travel routes on the Singapore public transportation system

The structure and properties of public transportation networks have great implications for urban planning, public policies and infectious disease control. We contribute a complex weighted network analysis of travel routes on the Singapore rail and bus transportation systems. We study the two networks using both topological and dynamical analyses. Our results provide additional evidence that a dynamical study adds to the information gained by traditional topological analysis, providing a richer view of complex weighted networks. For example, while initial topological measures showed that the rail network is almost fully connected, dynamical measures highlighted hub nodes that experience disproportionately large traffic. The dynamical assortativity of the bus networks also differed from its topological counterpart. In addition, inspection of the weighted eigenvector centralities highlighted a significant difference in traffic flows for both networks during weekdays and weekends, suggesting the importance of adding a temporal perspective missing from many previous studies.