CDNA microarray assessment for ozone-stressed Arabidopsis thaliana

Various detrimental factors in the environment damage plants, resulting in growth inhibition or withering. However, it is not easy to identify causal factors by visually inspecting the damaged plants. Therefore, we have developed a sensitive and reliable method for plant diagnosis, based on measuring changes in expression of a set of genes in a DNA microarray. With this method, we have been able to detect and discriminate between plants stressed by ozone, drought, or wounding.     

Accumulation of silver in the liver of three species of pinnipeds

Silver in the three species of pinnipeds [northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus), Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), and harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)] caught in the North Pacific Ocean were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, in order to understand accumulation and distribution of silver in pinnipeds. In northern fur seals, relatively high concentrations of silver were observed in the liver and body hair. Some 70% of the silver burden was concentrated in the liver. Hepatic silver concentrations were significantly correlated to age in northern fur seals (r = 0.766, P < 0.001, n = 49) and Steller sea lions (r = 0.496, P < 0.01, n = 28). Levels of silver concentrations per wet weight (microgram g-1) in the three pinnipeds ranged from 0.04 to 0.55 for northern fur seals, from 0.1 to 1.04 for Steller sea lions and from 0.03 to 0.83 for harbor seals. Silver concentrations in liver for all pinnipeds were significantly correlated with mercury, and selenium (P < 0.001). Molar ratios between silver to selenium approximated 1:180 in northern fur seals, 1:120 in Steller sea lions, and 1:60 in harbor seals. The silver-mercury molar ratios were approximately 1:170 in northern fur seals, and 1:80 both in the other species. Increase in silver accumulation in the liver was caused by the retention in nuclei and mitochondria fraction together with mercury and selenium in the cells of northern fur seals.     

Leaching of arsenic from coal fly ashes 2. Arsenic pre‐leaching with sodium gluconate solution

The present study deals with the development of an efficient and reliable process for safe disposal of coal fly ash to remove arsenic that has been found to be the most easily leachable and hazardous heavy metal in coal fly ash. Pre‐leaching of fly ash prior to disposal by a natural chelating agent, sodium gluconate (SG), was proposed and studied. Several operational factors influencing arsenic leachability, such as concentration of SG solution, liquid to solid ratio, pH, length of leaching time and leaching temperature were examined. Arsenic was found to leach out substantially with SG, but almost no further release was observed from the ash pre‐leached by SG. After the pre‐leaching treatment, the desirable high buffering capacity of the ash was well sustained. SG solution was effectively regenerated by activated alumina adsorption so that it could be successfully reused for multiple leaching/adsorption cycles.     

Mixed land-use planning on the periphery of large Asian cities: the case of Nonthaburi Province, Thailand

Throughout Asia, rapid and uncontrolled urbanization has created serious environmental problems, and the development of sustainable urban–rural planning methods is of critical importance. To improve our understanding of mixed urban–rural land uses and provide future practical visions for regional planning, we conducted a case study of the urban fringe of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Thailand. After identifying local irrigation districts as the basic spatial unit for resource circulation, we quantified current material flows of organic wastes generated by households within each district. We then developed two different land-use scenarios for 2020: (1) a high-rise compact and (2) a low-story sprawl development scenario. These scenarios were compared in terms of efficiency of material flows and energy consumption. We found that, based on current infrastructure and technology, the latter scenario was more advantageous in terms of both material input and energy consumption than the former, thereby, identifying positive aspects of urban–rural land-use mixture. Based on these results, we propose that planners should focus on density control measures that take into account bioresource circulation within irrigation districts rather than simply drawing arbitrary land-use zoning lines. To this end, we suggest that the division between agricultural and urban planning departments must be bridged, and that research should take an interdisciplinary approach.     

Photodegradation of gaseous acetaldehyde and methylene blue in aqueous solution with titanium dioxide-loaded activated carbon fiber polymer materials and aquatic plant ecotoxicity tests

TiO₂-supported activated carbon felts (TiO₂–ACFTs) were prepared by dip coating of felts composed of activated carbon fibers (ACFs) with either polyester fibers (PS-A20) and/or a polyethylene pulp (PE-W15) in a TiO₂ aqueous suspension followed by calcination at 250 °C for 1 h. The as-prepared TiO₂–ACFTs with 29–35 wt.% TiO₂ were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and N₂ adsorption. The TiO₂–ACFT(PS-A20) samples with 0 and 29 wt.% TiO₂ were microporous with specific surface areas (S _BET) of 996 and 738 m²/g, respectively, whereas the TiO₂–ACFT(PE-W15) samples with 0 and 35 wt.% TiO₂ were mesoporous with S _BET of 826 and 586 m²/g, respectively. Adsorption and photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared samples were evaluated by measuring adsorption in the dark and photodegradation of gaseous acetaldehyde (AcH) and methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution under UV light. The TiO₂ loading caused a considerable decrease in the S _BET and MB adsorption capacity along with an increase in MB photodegradation and AcH mineralization. Lemna minor was chosen as a representative aquatic plant for ecotoxicity tests measuring detoxification of water obtained from the MB photodegradation reaction with the TiO₂–ACFT samples under UV light.     

A level change in mutagenicity of Japanese tap water over the past 12 yr

A relative comparison study of mutagenicity in Japanese tap water was conducted for 1993 and 2005 surveys. It intended to assess the effects of advanced water treatment installations to water works, improvement of raw water quality and improvement of residual HOCl concentration controlling. Sampling points (taps) were the same in both surveys. The results of 245 samples obtained by the Ames Salmonella mutagenicity test (Ames test) were analyzed. The Ames tests were conducted by using Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 strains with and without exogenous activation (S9). With the exception of TA100-S9, the other conditions needed no discussion as a factor in the mutagenicity level change. The average mutagenicity in 1993 and 2005 under the conditions of TA100-S9 were 2600 and 1100 net revertant L⁻¹, respectively. This indicated that the mutagenicity level of Japanese tap water decreased during the 12-yr period. Particularly a remarkable decrease in mutagenicity was observed in the water works where the advanced water treatments were installed during the 12-yr period. The advanced water treatments were effective in decreasing the mutagenicity of tap water. Mutagenicity also decreased in the water works with conventional water treatments; the improvement of residual HOCl concentration controlling was also considered to be effective in decreasing the mutagenicity of tap water.     

Advantages and risks of using steel slag in preparing composts from raw organic waste

It had been reported that iron and manganese oxides in steel slag enhanced the production of humic acid (HA) from low-molecular-weight compounds, such as phenolic acids, amino acids, and saccharides. In the present study, this function of steel slag was applied to the composting of raw organic wastes (ROWs). The degree of humification of HAs is an important factor in evaluating compost quality. Thus, HAs were extracted from the prepared composts and the humification parameters were determined, in terms of elemental compositions, acidic functional group contents, molecular weights, spectroscopic parameters from UV–vis absorption and ¹³C NMR spectra. The timing for adding steel slag affected the degree of humification of HAs in the composts. The weight average molecular weight of a HA when slag was added initially (29 kDa) was significantly higher than when slag was added after elevating the temperature of the compost pile (17–18 kDa). These results show that ROWs are decomposed to low-molecular-weight compounds after the pile temperature is elevated and the presence of slag enhances the polycondensation of these compounds to produce HAs with a higher degree of humification. Because the slag used in the present study contained several-tens ng g^?1 to several μg g^?1 of toxic elements (B, Cu, Cr, and Zn), leaching tests for these elements from the prepared composts were carried out. Levels for leaching boron from composts prepared by adding slag (0.2–0.4 mg L^?1) were obviously higher than the corresponding levels without slag (0.05 mg L^?1).     

The sorption of heavy metal species by sediments in soakaways receiving urban road runoff

Infiltration facilities are designed for both the retention of non-point pollutants and the replenishment of groundwater in urban areas. In this study, sorption tests were conducted to evaluate the speciation of heavy metals and their behaviour in infiltration facilities receiving urban road runoff containing high DOC concentrations and stable heavy metal organic complexes. Road dust and three soakaway sediments were collected from heavy traffic areas and a residential area with an infiltration-type sewerage system in Tokyo, Japan. Sequential multiple batch tests were conducted by adding prepared road dust leachate (artificial road runoff) or deionised water to soakaway sediment to obtain soakaway sediment leachate (artificial percolating water from soakaway sediment), which mimicked the sorption by sediments in soakaways receiving urban road runoff. Heavy metal speciation was assessed by means of a combination of anion-exchange resin measurements and MINTEQA2 model calculations, and further validated by chelating resin measurements. In road dust leachates and soakaway sediment leachates, Cu predominantly existed as organic complexes and carbonates, whereas most Mn, Zn and Cd were found to exist in the form of free ions and carbonate complexes. Stable organic complexes of Cu in road dust leachates were strongly adsorbed by soakaway sediments despite the limited adsorption of DOC. On the other hand, desorption of free Mn, Zn and Cd ions from the sediment receiving road dust leachates was observed, indicating that heavy metals such as Mn, Zn and Cd may ultimately reach groundwater as free ions.     

Laboratory longitudinal diffusion tests: 2. Parameter estimation by inverse analysis

This study focuses on the verification of test interpretations for different state analyses of diffusion experiments. Part 1 of this study identified that steady, quasi-steady and equilibrium state analyses for the through- and in-diffusion tests with solution reservoirs are generally feasible where the tracer is not highly sorptive. In Part 2 we investigate parameter identifiability in transient-state analysis of reservoir concentration variation using a numerical approach. For increased generality, the analytical models, objective functions and Jacobian matrix necessary for inverse analysis of transient-state data are reformulated using unified dimensionless parameters. In these dimensionless forms, the number of unknown parameters is reduced and a single dimensionless parameter represents the sorption property. The dimensionless objective functions are evaluated for individual test methods and parameter identifiability is discussed in relation to the sorption property. The effects of multiple minima and measurement error on parameter identifiability are also investigated. The main findings are that inverse problems for inlet and outlet reservoir concentration analyses are generally unstable and well-posed, respectively. Where the tracer is sorptive, the inverse problem for the inlet reservoir concentration analysis may have multiple minima. When insufficient measurement data is collected, multiple solutions may result and this should be taken into consideration when inversely analyzing data including that of inlet reservoir concentration. Verification of test interpretation by cross-checking different state analyses is feasible where the tracer is not highly sorptive. In an actual experiment, test interpretation validity is demonstrated through consistency between theory and practice for different state analyses.     

Trace metal speciation during dry and wet weather flows in the Tama River, Japan, by using diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT)

The labile species of Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb in the Tama River, an urban river in Tokyo, Japan, were measured using diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) method under dry and wet weather conditions, and the results were compared with total dissolved concentrations in hourly samples collected in parallel. A total of 10 DGT deployments were made and 251 hourly samples were collected during 2 rounds of sampling, conducted between August and October, 2006. Two types of diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) devices-DGT-RG for labile inorganic and DGT-APA for total (inorganic and organic) labile species-were applied throughout the samplings. The proportions of metals measured by DGT, compared with the dissolved metal concentrations (filtered using a membrane of 0.5 microm pore size), were 38 +/- 5% (RG) and 45 +/- 8% (APA) for Ni and 45 +/- 22% (RG) and 53 +/- 23% (APA) for Zn. No labile Cu was detected throughout the sampling; Cu was assumed to be in stable complexed forms. Labile Pb was detected in 3 out of 10 deployments only; the rest were lower than the detection limit. Dissolved and labile Cd concentrations were below the detection limits. Three rain events encountered during the sampling periods were evaluated. Rains brought considerably higher loads of metals in dissolved form, and DGT measurements indicated that labile metal loads also increased. Selected DGT measurements were compared with the WHAM 6 speciation model and found to be similar to the model-computed results.