Combined effects of mercury and hexachlorobenzene in the rat

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to assess the potential interactive effects of two Great Lakes chemical contaminants, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and mercury (HgCl₂). Groups of 10 female Sprague‐Dawley rats were administered by gavage single doses of HCB (400, 600 mg/kg b.w. in corn oil), HgCl₂ (10.0, 12.5 mg/kg b.w. aqueous) or combinations of both followed by observation for clinical signs of toxicity for 14 days. Five animals from treatment groups died before the termination of the study; one animal each in 600 mg HCB, 400 mg HCB + 10 mg HgCl₂, and 600 mg HCB + 10 mg HgCl₂, and two animals in 600 mg HCB + 12.5 mg HgCl₂. The surviving animals were necropsied at the termination of the study, and hematological, clinical chemistry, histopathological and tissue residue analyses were performed. Relative liver weights were increased in both low and high dose groups of HCB but not in animals treated with HgCl₂ alone. Co‐administration of HgCl₂ did not alter the HCB effects on the liver weight of the animals. Serum cholesterol levels were increased in all the groups receiving HCB but not HgCl₂. No interactive effects on other serum parameters were seen in animals administered with both chemicals. Mild to moderate morphological changes occurred in the liver, thyroid, thymus, ovary and bone marrow of rats exposed to HCB or HCB + HgCl₂, and in the kidney of HgCl₂ or HgCl₂ + HCB treated animals. More severe histological changes occurred in the groups receiving both chemicals. The histological effects appeared to be additive. It was concluded that co‐administration with HCB and HgCl₂ resulted in additive effects in some of the endpoints measured but no synergism or antagonism was observed.     

Toxicological response and its reversibility in rats fed Lake Ontario or pacific coho salmon for 13 weeks

Abstract

Lake Ontario coho salmon were known to contain a mixture of chemical contaminants. A previous study demonstrated that rats fed the Lake Ontario fish‐supplemented diet for 28 days exhibited mild biochemical and histological changes. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects due to a longer term of exposure and the reversibility of these effects. Growth rate and food consumption were not affected by feeding the animals with Lake Ontario or Pacific fish‐supplemented diets for 13 weeks. No deaths were observed. Decreased spleen weights were observed in groups of males fed 1.45%, 5.8% Lake Ontario and 2.9% Pacific diet. After a 13 week recovery the spleen weights returned to normal. Decreased serum potassium was observed in male rats fed 2.9% Lake Ontario diet, and all levels of Pacific diet for 13 weeks, and was not evident following maintenance on normal diet. Serum glucose was not affected by the 13‐week period of treatment, however; a reduction in this parameter occurred in male rats fed the two highest doses of Lake Ontario diet and all doses of Pacific diet following the 13‐week recovery period. Minor hematological changes occurred only in the male rats fed either Lake Ontario or Pacific diet following a 13 week recovery period and included reduced marrow myeloid cells and myeloid/erythroid ratio. Hepatic microsomal ethoxyresorufin deethylase activity was significantly increased in rats ingesting Lake Ontario diet. Mild histological changes occurred in the liver and thyroid of the treated males, and in the liver and kidney of the treated females. These changes were attributed to the chemical residues and/or the fish diet. Data presented here indicated that the Lake Ontario fish‐supplemented diet can cause mild biochemical, hematological and histological changes but most of these were reversible when exposure was terminated.     

长江干支流输沙量减少趋势及其影响因素浅析

通过对长江干支流各主要水文控制站的多年径流量、输沙量、含沙量、中值粒径等水沙基本特征值的统计分析，表明在过去的近50年时间内，长江干支流的年径流量中心趋势不存在具有显著统计意义的变化，而输沙量、含沙量、中值粒径值均有明显的下降态势。以水库建设和水土保持为主的人类活动是长江干支流泥沙输移量减少趋势的重要影响因素，在20世纪90年代以前长江输沙量的减少主要是水库建设的影响，之后随着“长治”工程的展开则兼具了水库建设和水土保持的影响，未来水土保持工作对长江保水减沙的长期效益将更为显著。     

Effects of typical algae species (Aphanizomenon flosaquae and Microcystis aeruginosa) on photoreduction of Hg2+ in water body

Photoreduction characteristics of divalent inorganic mercury(Hg~(2+)) in the presence of specific algae species are still not well known. Laboratory experiments were conducted in the present study to identify the effects of different concentrations of living/dead algae species, including Aphanizomenon flosaquae(AF) and Microcystis aeruginosa(MA), on the photoreduction rate of Hg~(2+)under various light conditions. The experimental results showed that percentage reduction of Hg~(2+)was significantly influenced by radiation wavelengths, and dramatically decreased with the presence of algae. The highest percentage reduction of Hg~(2+)was induced by UV-A, followed by UV-B, visible light and dark for both living and dead AF, and the order was dark UV-A UV-B visible light for both living and dead MA. There were two aspects, i.e., energy and attenuation rate of light radiation and excrementitious generated from algae metabolisms, were involved in the processes of Hg~(2+)photoreduction with the presence of algae under different light conditions. The percentage reduction of Hg~(2+)decreased from 15% to 11% when living and dead AF concentrations increased by 10 times(from 106 to 105 cells/mL), and decreased from 11% to ～ 9% in the case of living and dead MA increased. Algae can adsorb Hg~(2+)and decrease the concentration of free Hg~(2+), thus inhibiting Hg~(2+)photoreduction, especially under the conditions with high concentrations of algae. No significant differences were found in percentage reduction of Hg~(2+)between living and dead treatments of algae species.The results are of great importance for understanding the role of algae in Hg~(2+)photoreduction.     

水华束丝藻对汞的吸附-解吸特征

通过室内模拟实验,探究不同丰度的活、死水华束丝藻对Hg²⁺的吸附动力学特征和等温吸附模型以及解吸特征。结果表明,水华束丝藻对Hg²⁺有较好的吸附效果,能在短时间内吸附大量Hg²⁺,120 min左右达到吸附平衡,且活藻对Hg²⁺的吸附效果比死藻好;活藻和死藻吸附Hg²⁺的动力学过程符合准一级、准二级动力学模型,且准二级动力学模型拟合效果更好;活、死水华束丝藻对Hg²⁺的吸附分别符合Langmuir模型、D-R模型,最大吸附量分别为2.07×10^-2 ng/（10⁶ cells）、3.56×10^-2 ng/（10⁶ cells）;水华束丝藻对Hg²⁺的单位吸附量随着藻丰度的增加而减少,吸附总量随着藻丰度的增加而增加。反应初期（0～5 min）,活、死水华束丝藻对Hg²⁺进行生物吸附,吸附速度快且效率高;随后活藻依靠新陈代谢将Hg²⁺转移至细胞内进行生物富集,因而活藻的单位吸附量高于死藻。活藻和死藻对Hg²⁺的解吸量随藻丰度的增加而增加,且死藻变化更明显。     

我国东部沿海地区差距状况以及经济低谷地区的崛起

我国是区域发展差异巨大的大国之一，存在着多种尺度的区域发展差异。从中小尺工区域差异的角度，分析了我国东部沿海地区内部发展差距扩大趋势有其影响，可以看出，东部沿海地区在经济快速发展的同时，也存在着经济相对落后的低谷地区。沿海经济低谷地区分布相对集中于香港－－珠江三角洲、上海－长江三角洲、京津唐－环渤海三个经济隆起带之间，处于省际交界处。按照类型可以分为黄泛平原区、丘陵山区和沿海库区。东部经济低谷地区区位条件相对比较落后，交通可达性较差，产业结构单一，城市化水平发展严重滞后，社会经济发展比较缓慢，这些不利因素制约着该地区经济和社会的发展。根据崛起机制和途径，低谷地区发展呵以分为资源转换型、非国有经济推动型和外资推动型。建议国家修筑贯穿沿海经济低谷地区的东部沿海铁路大通道，降低沿海经济低谷地区设定标准，加快农业产业化发展，对特殊贫困地区实行特殊优惠政策，从而促进东部沿海地区经济协调发展。     

Optimizing the specific surface area of fly ash-based sorbents for flue gas desulfurization

High performance sorbents for flue gas desulfurization can be synthesized by hydration of coal fly ash, calcium sulfate, and calcium oxide. In general, higher desulfurization activity correlates with higher sorbent surface area. Consequently, a major aim in sorbent synthesis is to maximize the sorbent surface area by optimizing the hydration conditions. This work presents an integrated modeling and optimization approach to sorbent synthesis based on statistical experimental design and two artificial intelligence techniques: neural network and genetic algorithm. In the first step of the approach, the main and interactive effects of three hydration variables on sorbent surface area were evaluated using a full factorial design. The hydration variables of interest to this study were hydration time, amount of coal fly ash, and amount of calcium sulfate and the levels investigated were 4-32 h, 5-15 g, and 0-12 g, respectively. In the second step, a neural network was used to model the relationship between the three hydration variables and the sorbent surface area. A genetic algorithm was used in the last step to optimize the input space of the resulting neural network model. According to this integrated modeling and optimization approach, an optimum sorbent surface area of 62.2m(2)g(-1) could be obtained by mixing 13.1g of coal fly ash and 5.5 g of calcium sulfate in a hydration process containing 100ml of water and 5 g of calcium oxide for a fixed hydration time of 10 h.     

The many benefits of employee well‐being in organizational research

We undertake three objectives in this Incubator. We begin with a discussion of how well‐being has been considered in organizational research. Second, we provide an overview of the relationship between employee well‐being and such workplace outcomes as job performance, employee retention, and cardiovascular health. Third, we introduce exciting research directions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitative health risk assessment of inhalation exposure to automobile foundry dust

With a growing awareness of environmental protection, the dust pollution caused by automobile foundry work has become a serious and urgent problem. This study aimed to explore contamination levels and health effects of automobile foundry dust. A total of 276 dust samples from six types of work in an automobile foundry factory were collected and analysed using the filter membrane method. Probabilistic risk assessment model was developed for evaluating the health risk of foundry dust on workers. The health risk and its influencing factors among workers were then assessed by applying the Monte Carlo method to identify the most significant parameters. Health damage assessment was conducted to translate health risk into disability-adjusted life year (DALY). The results revealed that the mean concentration of dust on six types of work ranged from 1.67 to 5.40 mg/m³. The highest health risks to be come from melting, cast shakeout and finishing, followed by pouring, sand preparation, moulding and core-making. The probability of the risk exceeding 10⁻⁶ was approximately 85%, 90%, 90%, 75%, 70% and 45%, respectively. The sensitivity analysis indicated that average time, exposure duration, inhalation rate and dust concentration (C) made great contribution to dust health risk. Workers exposed to cast shakeout and finishing had the largest DALY of 48.64a. These results can further help managers to fully understand the dust risks on various types of work in the automobile foundry factories and provide scientific basis for the management and decision-making related to health damage assessment.

     

Environmental demand effects on the energy generation of Karkheh reservoir: Base and climate change conditions

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Reservoir is a hydraulic structure that regulates river water to supply different sectors’ demands such as municipal, agricultural, and...