The Relationship Between Exposure to Arsenic Concentrations in Drinking Water and the Development of Skin Lesions in Farmers from Inner Mongolia, China

Associations between the concentration of arsenic naturally occurring in drinking water and the development of skin lesions in people have been documented for some years at various locations around the world. Data on the exposure-response relationship between concentrations of arsenic in drinking water and prevalence of skin lesions in farmers from five locations in Inner Mongolia, China have been collected from the original publications and re-analysed together as a meta-study. The calculated data show a positive linear exposure-response relationship without a threshold. The reasons for this linear correlation are discussed and compared with the data from Xinjiang, another arsenism area located in a different geographical area of China. Here a different relationship was recorded that involved a threshold concentration before skin lesions developed. The significance of these two different exposure-response scenarios is discussed.     

Effects of Selenium Supplementation on Arsenism: An Intervention Trial in Inner Mongolia

This paper reports the effects of a placebo-controlled Se-enriched yeast supplementation trial, conducted for 14 months, on arsenism in adult farmers living in a rural community in Inner Mongolia, China. The farmers had been naturally exposed to elevated concentrations of As in drinking water from tube-wells since 1983 but changed to arsenic-free drinking water when the trial began in June 1996. Blood and hair Se and As concentrations were analysed pre-intervention and at the end of the 3rd, 9th and 14th month, while skin lesions were assessed pre-intervention, as well as at the end of the 14th month, using the Arsenism Clinical Criteria established by the Ministry of Health, China. As the trial was a voluntary one, a number of farmers did not routinely have their blood and hair samples taken for analysis. Consequently, the data have been analysed in two categories. Fifty-four farmers from the Se-group and 29 from the placebo-group who were sampled on each occasion were considered as one group, which has been compared with the second group comprising up to a total of 100 farmers in the Se-group and 86 in the placebo-group. Results calculated for those farmers who were sampled on each occasion, showed that at the end of the trial, blood and hair Se concentrations of the Se-group increased from 0.130 to 0.186 µg ml^–1 and from 0.431 to 0.502 µg g^–1, respectively, while those of the placebo-groups remained constant. Blood and hair As concentrations of the Se-group decreased from 0.051 to 0.015 µg ml^–1 and from 2.57 to 0.680 µg g^–1, respectively, a greater reduction than those in the placebo-group that went from 0.064 to 0.024 µg ml^–1 and from 2.62 to 1.25 µg g^–1, respectively. When the data from all patients were examined, the analytical trends were similar. An evaluation of skin lesions in the category who were sampled for hair and blood on each occasion showed that 41.2% of hyperkeratosis, 50.0% of depigmentation and 44.7% of pigmentation in the Se-group improved one or more degrees, while those in the placebo-group improved by only 7.1, 12.0 and 6.7%, respectively. A total of 61.1% of the adults in Se-group improved in one or more type of skin lesion, but only 17.2% improved in the placebo-group. Comparable results were obtained when all the data from both categories of farmers were examined. Results from the trial showed that Se supplementation was more effective for the improvement of adults who were affected by double or triple skin lesions. In the placebo-group, most of the severely affected adults improved in only one kind of skin lesion, but in the Se-group, more adults improved in two or three kinds of skin lesions. Although the trial was limited by its relatively small size, the results have provided some evidence of the usefulness of Se supplementation for people affected by arsenism.     

Arsenism Clinical Stages and their Relation with Hair Arsenic Concentration of Residents of Bayinmaodao Rural District, Inner Mongolia, China

The clinical skin lesions of arsenism in men and women in Bayinmaodao rural district in Inner Mongolia, Peoples Republic of China, have been examined by doctors, and their hair and drinking water samples analysed for arsenic by hydride generation and ICP-AES. Altogether 311 arsenism patients with a 15.53% prevalence rate for the district were recorded. The disease prevalence rate was positively related to population, age, and their exposure to elevated arsenic concentrations in the drinking water from 1983 when new wells were dug and drinking of surface water was abandoned. Hyperkeratosis was the most serious skin lesion with the highest occurrence rate, then depigmentation and pigmentation in decreasing order. With increasing severity of the disease, ranging from skin lesion with single hyperkeratosis 1° to hyperkeratosis 3° with depigmentation 3° and pigmentation 3°, the results showed that arsenic concentrations in head hair had increased. Arsenic concentrations in hair were positively correlated with the arsenic concentrations in drinking water obtained from local wells.     

白菜叶绿体DNA快速提取及分析

采用SDS-蛋白酶法提取了白菜的叶绿体DNA.琼脂糖电泳及紫外分光光度分析表明,所提取的叶绿体DNA质量高,除cpDNA主环外,在胞质雄性不育新种质及原不育系中还存在约1375bp和831bp的两条质粒分子.用所提取的叶绿体DNA作为模板进行RAPD扩增,获得了清晰的扩增图谱.该方法与传统的提取方法相比省时、高效、无污染.图2表1参14     

开发沸石矿用于农业的经济评价

我国沸石矿资源丰富。开发利用沸石矿于农业,可增产粮食400亿公斤,加上节约化肥和用作饲料添加剂等方面,年经济效益为496.25亿元。因此,开发利用沸石矿于农业具有重大的经济意义,从促进我国粮食生产上新台阶的角度考虑,则具有重大的战略意义。     

生物化学协同除磷研究

采用聚合硅酸铝和聚合硅酸铁两种混凝剂,比较了将混凝剂直接投加到反应器中和对生物反应器出水再进行混凝沉淀2种工艺的除磷效果,并对2种混凝剂的除磷效果进行了比较.结果表明:对于聚合硅酸铝,没有生物协同作用;对于聚合硅酸铁,投加量在40 mg/L以下时具有生物协同作用,30 mg/L时协同作用最明显;而且聚合硅酸铁的除磷效果好于聚合硅酸铝.     

一体化间歇曝气完全混合活性污泥法

一体化间歇曝气完全混合活性污泥法处理装置采取特殊的沉淀区构造,改变了活性污泥的循环流动方式,通过间歇曝气,反应区交替处于好氧/缺氧状态,达到了有机物高效去除、高效硝化反硝化及控制污泥膨胀的效果.该方法具有出水水质好、运行稳定、能耗低、流程简洁和操作管理方便的特点,是一种很有发展潜力的一体化中小型生活污水、城市污水处理系统.     

一体化间歇曝气完全混合活性污泥法

一体化间歇曝气完全混合活性污泥法处理装置采取特殊的沉淀区构造,改变了活性污泥的循环流动方式,通过间歇曝气,反应区交替处于好氧/缺氧状态,达到了有机物高效去除、高效硝化反硝化及控制污泥膨胀的效果.该方法具有出水水质好、运行稳定、能耗低、流程简洁和操作管理方便的特点,是一种很有发展潜力的一体化中小型生活污水、城市污水处理系统.     

介质特性对DBD降解苯的影响

为了提高介质阻挡放电(dielectric barrier discharge,DBD)等离子体的处理效率,研究了内外介质组成分别为:(1)石英 石英;(2)陶瓷 石英;(3)陶瓷 陶瓷这3种情况下苯的降解情况.试验结果表明,在处理低浓度含苯废气时,陶瓷 陶瓷效果最好;陶瓷(内管) 石英(外管)在处理高浓度含苯废气时显示出优势.通过对气相产物和固相结焦产物的分析验证了DBD能有效降解苯,降解产物不会带来新的污染.进一步分析了实验条件和介质材料的变化对DBD降解苯的影响机理.     

超声波技术处理微污染水的实验研究

通过实验,对使用超声波技术处理微污染水的效果、机理进行了初步研究,实验结果表明,超声波对微污染水的细菌和色度去除效果明显,细菌的去除符合一级反应动力学方程,对COD和浊度去除有一定效果,但不显著。结果还发现,水体pH值随时间呈上升趋势。