Inhibition of thrombin by functionalized C60 nanoparticles revealed via in vitro assays and in silico studies

The studies on the human toxicity of nanoparticles (NPs) are far behind the rapid development of engineered functionalized NPs. Fullerene has been widely used as drug carrier skeleton due to its reported low risk. However, different from other kinds of NPs, fullerene-based NPs (C₆₀ NPs) have been found to have an anticoagulation effect, although the potential target is still unknown. In the study, both experimental and computational methods were adopted to gain mechanistic insight into the modulation of thrombin activity by nine kinds of C₆₀ NPs with diverse surface chemistry properties. In vitro enzyme activity assays showed that all tested surface-modified C₆₀ NPs exhibited thrombin inhibition ability. Kinetic studies coupled with competitive testing using 3 known inhibitors indicated that six of the C₆₀ NPs, of greater hydrophobicity and hydrogen bond (HB) donor acidity or acceptor basicity, acted as competitive inhibitors of thrombin by directly interacting with the active site of thrombin. A simple quantitative nanostructure-activity relationship model relating the surface substituent properties to the inhibition potential was then established for the six competitive inhibitors. Molecular docking analysis revealed that the intermolecular HB interactions were important for the specific binding of C₆₀ NPs to the active site canyon, while the additional stability provided by the surface groups through van der Waals interaction also play a key role in the thrombin binding affinity of the NPs. Our results suggest that thrombin is a possible target of the surface-functionalized C₆₀ NPs relevant to their anticoagulation effect.     

Mercury in soil, vegetable and human hair in a typical mining area in China: Implication for human exposure

Concentrations of total mercury(T-Hg) and methylmercury(MeHg) in soil, vegetables, and human hair were measured in a mercury mining area in central China. T-Hg and MeHg concentrations in soil ranged from 1.53 to 1054.97 mg/kg and 0.88 to 46.52 μg/kg, respectively.T-Hg concentrations was correlated with total organic carbon(TOC) content(R~2= 0.50, p0.01)and pH values(R~2= 0.21, p0.05). A significant linear relationship was observed between MeHg concentrations and the abundance of sulfate-reducing bacteria(SRB)(R~2= 0.39, p0.05) in soil.Soil incubation experiments amended with specific microbial stimulants and inhibitors showed that Hg methylation was derived from SRB activity. T-Hg and MeHg concentrations in vegetables were 24.79 – 781.02 μg/kg and 0.01 – 0.18 μg/kg, respectively; levels in the edible parts were significantly higher than in the roots(T-Hg: p0.05; MeHg: p0.01). Hg species concentrations in rhizosphere soil were positively correlated to those in vegetables(p0.01), indicating that soil was an important source of Hg in vegetables. Risk assessment indicated that the consumption of vegetables could result in higher probable daily intake(PDI) of T-Hg than the provisional tolerable daily intake(PTDI) for both adults and children. In contrast, the PDI of MeHg was lower than the reference dose. T-Hg and MeHg concentrations in hair samples ranged from 1.57 to 12.61 mg/kg and 0.04 to 0.94 mg/kg, respectively, and MeHg concentration in hair positively related to PDI of MeHg via vegetable consumption(R~2= 0.39, p0.05), suggesting that vegetable may pose health risk to local residents.     

Characterization and acid-mobilization study for typical iron-bearing clay mineral

In this study, iron speciation in five standard clay samples was characterized. Iron mobilization from these clays was then measured in acidic media. For comparison, a commercially available Arizona test dust (ATD) was also observed. The results showed that the free-Fe contents of clays were commonly lower than that of dust aerosols. The components of clays were dominant by the structural Fe held in the aluminosilicate lattice. The iron solubility of the clays were in the order of KGa-2?>?SWy-2?>?CCa-2?>?IMt-2?>?NAu-2. Based upon the Mössbauer spectrum and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, the Fe(II) fraction and the Fe/Si ratio of clay particles changed after dissolution, suggesting the total Fe solubility depended on the Fe atom states existing within the aluminosilicate lattice. The Fe in KGa-2 and SWy-2 was most likely substituted for alkaline elements as the interlayer ions held by ionic bonds in the aluminosilicate, which are more liable to dissolution. However, the Fe in NAu-2 was more likely to be bound by strong covalent bonds in aluminosilicate mineral, which is less soluble. The much highly soluble Fe in ATD was not only linked to the dissolution of an appreciable fraction of Fe(II), but also could be attributed to the fact that the Fe bonds in the clay fraction of ATD were mainly present as ionic bonds. The TEM images showed that reacted clay particles displayed less aggregate particles, with nanoparticle aggregates and the Fe/S-rich tiny particles attached to the remains.     

Characteristics of the pollutant emissions in a tunnel of Shanghai on a weekday

Tunnel displays a typical semi-closed environment, and multitudes of the pollutants tend to accumulate. The samples of gaseous pollutants and particulate matter(PM) were collected from the Xiangyin tunnel at Shanghai to investigate the characteristics of the pollutant emissions. The results indicated that both gaseous pollutants and PM exhibited much higher concentrations during the rush hours in the morning and at night due to vehicle emission. Two peaks of the PM concentration were observed in the scope of 0.7‐1.1 and 3.3–4.7 μm, accounting for 14.6% and 20.3% of the total concentrations, respectively.Organic matter(OM), EC, and many water-soluble ions were markedly higher at the rush hours in the morning than those at night, implicating comprehensive effects of vehicle types and traffic volume. The particle number concentrations exhibited two peaks at Aitken mode(25 nm and 100 nm) and accumulation mode(600 nm), while the particle volume concentration displayed high values at the accumulation mode(100–500 nm) and coarse mode(2.5–4.0 μm). The peak around 100 nm was detected in the morning rush hours, but it diminished with the decrease of the traffic volume. Individual-particle analysis revealed that main particles in the tunnel were Fe-rich particles, K-rich particles, mineral particles,Ca–S rich particles and Al–Si particles. The particles collected at the rush hours displayed marked different morphologies, element concentrations and particle sizes compared to the ones collected at the non-rush period. The data presented herein could shed a light on the feature of vehicle emissions.     

舟山群岛海域资源开发利用研究

舟山群岛是我国第一大群岛,自然资源丰富,区位条件优越。本文分析了舟山海域资源特征、优势及资源开发利用的限制因素,对岛屿资源、海洋资源、港口航道等优势资源的开发利用提出了科学与合理的建议,以提高舟山市社会、经济和生态三大效益,促进海岛区域的持续发展。     

美术颜料废水治理技术

针对美术颜料生产过程中产生的废水特点，通过实验研究，有针对性地开发出美术颜料废水治理技术，并在示范工程中得到应用，进一步验证了此项技术的可行性。     

Chemical Tracking and Marine Environmental Impact of Ocean Disposal of Calcium Carbonate Residue in the North Yellow Sea

The objective of this study is to determine the sedimentation rate and dispersion area of calcium carbonate residue dumped at sea and the impact to marine environment of dumping by a laboratory simulation experiment; chemical tracking in the field with the help of acoustic and optical tracking; and a comparative study of baseline conditions and marine environmental impact after dumping. Turbidity, pH and phosphate are selected as the chemical tracers to be monitored.

Results show that in the dumping area of 15 square miles with water depth of 50 m, if 217 t calcium carbonate residue is dumped (spot dumping) in the presence of a pycnocline with a current velocity of 60 cm/s (close to the maximum) the maximum dispersion distance of the calcium carbonate residue plume front is less than 2100 m; the dispersion area is less than 0.56 km²; and the maximum dispersion time is about 60 min when the turbidity and pH in the whole dispersion area return to background level. Therefore, the ocean disposal of calcium carbonate residue is feasible.     

液膜法处理含酚废水的研究

本文研究了蓝１１３Ｂ－煤油－ＮａＯＨ液膜体系处理苯酚废水的最佳操作条件，并对高浓度含酚废水（浓度５％以上）进行了二级处理，实验结果表明，除酚效率可达９９％以上。对内相ＮａＯＨ的最佳浓度的确定也给出了估算方法。     

Free synthetic and natural estrogen hormones in influent and effluent of three municipal wastewater treatment plants.

Three municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in southeastern Pennsylvania were sampled to determine the presence and concentrations of 12 natural and synthetic estrogen hormones in the wastewater influent and effluent. The target estrogens were 17alpha-estradiol, estrone, estriol, equilin, 17alpha-dihydroequilin, 17beta-estradiol, 17alpha-ethinyl estradiol, gestodene, norgestrel, levonorgestrel, medrogestone, and trimegestone. One WWTP uses a biofilm reactor (packed-bed trickling filter),and the other two use suspended-growth media (continuously stirred activated sludge reactor and sequential batch reactor). Estrone was detected in all the three plants; estriol and estradiol were detected at two WWTPs; and 17 alpha-dihydroequilin and 17 alpha-ethinyl estradiol were detected at one WWTP. The concentration of estrogens in the influent and effluent of the three treatment plants ranged from 1.2 to 259 ng/L and 0.5 to 49 ng/L, respectively. The percentage removal of estrogens from the aqueous phase ranged from 41 to 99%, except in the case of 17alpha-dihydroequilin; the removal of 17alpha-dihydroequilin was negligible. The suspended-growth media systems showed higher removal efficiencies for estrogens than the biofilm system. The analytical method uses a Varian C-18 solid-phase extraction (Varian Inc., Palo Alto, California), followed by a derivatization with bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide. The detection limits for the estrogen compounds ranged from 0.1 to 10 ng/L using a sample size of 1 L. The method recoveries ranged from 71 to 120%, and the relative standard deviation ranged from 6 to 14% for all the hormones.     

低温下膜-生物活性炭工艺深度处理回用水的试验研究

开展低温下膜-生物活性炭工艺深度处理回用水的试验研究，探讨该工艺低温运行的可行性及作用机制。结果表明，采用HRT为3h的膜-生物活性炭反应器对回用水中有机物具有良好的去除效果，CODcr，UV254、UV410的去除率分别稳定在33％、35％、40％；对NH3-N的去除效果不明显，其平均去除率在15％左右，主要受原水浓度过高的影响。同时与其他工艺进行对比研究，结果表明，由于该工艺结合了膜分离、活性炭吸附、生物降解三者的综合作用而表现出明显的优势。