In this study, three subsurface wastewater infiltration systems (SWISs) at different aeration were set up to study the transport of pore-water oxygen and quantify the amount of trapped gas. Bromide and dissolved oxygen were introduced into SWISs as partitioning tracer and non-partitioning tracer, respectively. A model named CXTFIT based on the convection diffusion equation was used to describe the shape of breakthrough curves for bromide and dissolved air in column experiments. In CXTFIT code, the parameter β obtained from the bromide test ranging from 0.2940 to 0.7600 indicates that the physical non-equilibrium model was relatively suitable for dissolved air transport. Retardation factors obtained by CXTFIT code indicate 2-20% porosity filled with gas. Tracing the transport of air and determining the percentage of porosity filled with trapped gas has lain a foundation for further study on gas clogging in SWISs.

To explore whether an environment of weightlessness will cause damage to the reproductive system of animals, we used the tail-suspension model to simulate microgravity, and investigated the effect of microgravity on the tissue structure and function of the testis in sexually mature male rats. Forty-eight male Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g were randomly assigned to three groups (N = 16 each): control, tail traction, and tail suspension. After the rats were suspended for 7 or 14 days, morphological changes of testis were evaluated by histological and electron microscopic methods. The expression of HSP70, bax/bcl-2 and AR (androgen receptor) in testis was measured by immunohistochemistry. Obvious pathological lesions were present in the testis after the rats were suspended for 7 or 14 days. We detected overexpression of HSP70 and an increase of apoptotic cells, which may have contributed to the injury to the testis. The expression of AR, as an effector molecule in the testis, was significantly decreased in the suspended groups compared to control (P < 0.01). We also observed that, with a longer time of suspension, the aforementioned pathological damage became more serious and some pathological injury to the testis was irreversible. The results demonstrated that a short- or medium-term microgravity environment could lead to severe irreversible damage to the structure of rat testis.