Parental phenols exposure and spontaneous abortion in Chinese population residing in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

Widespread use of phenols has led to ubiquitous exposure to phenols. In experimental animals, phenols increased resorptions, reduced live litter size and fetal body weights. However, there are limited epidemiological evidences of the relationships between exposure to phenols and pregnancy outcomes. We evaluated the associations between parental urinary levels of various phenols and spontaneous abortion in a Chinese population residing in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. A case-control study was conducted that included 70 case couples with medically unexplained spontaneous abortion and 180 control couples who did not have a history of spontaneous abortion and had at least one living child. Both parental urinary phenols were measured by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry including bisphenol A (BPA), benzophenone-3 (BP-3), 2,3,4-trichlorophenol (2,3,4-TCP), pentachlorophenol (PCP), 4-n-octylphenol (4-n-OP) and 4-n-nonylphenol (4-n-NP). Compared with the low exposure group, there was an increased risk of spontaneous abortion with high paternal urinary PCP concentration [odds ratio (OR) = 2.09, 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.05–4.14], and maternal exposure to 4-n-OP and alkylphenol(s) also significantly increased the risk of spontaneous abortion (OR = 2.21, 95% CI, 1.02–4.80; OR = 2.81, 95% CI, 1.39–5.65, respectively). Our study firstly provides the evidence that paternal PCP exposure, maternal 4-n-OP and alkylphenol(s) exposure are associated with spontaneous abortion in humans.     

液相色谱-质谱法测定土壤中四溴双酚A和六溴环十二烷

文章建立了液相色谱-串联四级杆质谱仪同时测定土壤中四溴双酚A及3种六溴环十二烷同分异构体的分析方法。土壤样品经快速溶剂仪萃取，全自动凝胶净化系统净化后，使用液相色谱-串联四级杆质谱仪，负离子电喷雾多反应监测模式监测，内标法定量分析。结果表明，土壤中四溴双酚A、α-六溴环十二烷、β-六溴环十二烷和γ-六溴环十二烷的检出限为0.1~1.2 pg/g，加标回收率为81.8%~113%，相对标准偏差小于10%。该方法分析时间短，灵敏度高，操作简单，对电子固废拆解场地中的179个土壤样品进行分析，取得满意结果。     

The importance of ammonium mobility in nitrogen-impacted unfertilized grasslands: A critical reassessment

The physico-chemical absorption characteristics of ammonium-N for 10 soils from 5 profiles in York, UK, show its high potential mobility in N deposition-impacted, unfertilized, permanent grassland soils. Substantial proportions of ammonium-N inputs were retained in the solution phase, indicating that ammonium translocation plays an important role in the N cycling in, and losses from, such soils. This conclusion was further supported by measuring the ammonium-N leaching from intact plant/soil microcosms. The ammonium-N absorption characteristics apparently varied with soil pH, depth and soil texture. It was concluded for the most acid soils especially that ammonium-N leached from litter horizons could be seriously limiting the capacity of underlying soils to retain ammonium. Contrary to common opinion, more attention therefore needs to be paid to ammonium leaching and its potential role in biogeochemical N cycling in semi-natural soil systems subject to atmospheric pollution.     

Kinetics study of fermentative hydrogen production from liquid swine manure supplemented with glucose under controlled pH

Kinetics of H₂ production from liquid swine manure supplemented with glucose by mixed anaerobic cultures was investigated using batch experiments under four different pH conditions (4.4, 5.0, 5.6, and uncontrolled). The temperature for the experiments was controlled at 37 ± 1°C and the length of experiments varied between 50 and 120 hours, depending upon the time needed for completion of each individual experiment. The modified Gompertz model was evaluated for its suitability for describing the H₂ production potential, H₂ production rate, and substrate consumption rate for all the experiments. The results showed that the Gompertz model could adequately fit the experimental results. The effect of pH was significant on all kinetic parameters for H₂ production including yield, production rate and lag time, and the substrate utilization rate. The optimal pH was found to be 5.0, at which a maximum H₂ production rate (0.64 L H₂/h) was obtained, and deviation from the optimal pH could result in substantial reductions in H₂ production rate (0.32 L H₂/h for pH 4.0 and 0.43 L H₂/h for pH 5.6). The results also showed that if pH was not controlled for the batch fermentation process, the substrate utilization efficiency could steeply decrease from 98.8% to 33.7%.     

液固比对含重金属水泥熟料制品中重金属释放的影响

通过模拟煅烧试验制取水泥熟料，参照JGJ 55-2000（《普通混凝土配比设计规程》）制取混凝土样品，参考SR003.1和NEN 7375浸出试验，分别研究液固比对粒状及块状混凝土样品中重金属（Cr、Ni和As）释放的影响。结果表明，在不同液固比条件下粒状混凝土中的重金属浸出浓度为Cr>Ni>As，Cr、As浸出浓度基本保持不变，分别为2 500 μg/L左右和5～6 μg/L，Ni在液固比（L∶S）<6时，浸出浓度随着液固比的增加而降低，在L∶S>6时，浸出浓度较稳定，为35.7～41.5 μg/L；浸出量均随着液固比的增加而增大。液固比（L∶S）<10时，块状混凝土中重金属累积释放量及扩散系数均随液固比的增加而增大，当L∶S>10时两者基本保持不变。     

高效液相色谱法测定稻米和稻田水土中多菌灵残留

采用高效液相色谱法测定稻米和稻田水土中的多菌灵残留，用稀盐酸溶液提取，经液液分配净化，外标法定量。多菌灵的峰面积与进样质量在0．15ng-220ng范围内呈线性相关，在稻田水、土壤和稻米中的最低检出质量比分别为0．01mg／kg、0．01mg／kg和0．02mg／kg。3个质量水平的加标回收试验结果表明，多菌灵在稻田水样中的平均回收率为87．1％～93．0％，RSD为3．3％～3．8％；在土壤中的平均回收率为84．8％-91．9％，RSD为1．4％～4．1％；在稻米中的平均回收率为83．9％～89．6％，RSD为1．8％-5．5％。     

Biodegradation of chlorpyrifos by either single or combined cultures of some soilborne plant pathogenic fungi

Abstract

Biodegradation of chlorpyrifos was studied in liquid culture media amended with either single or combined eight different plant pathogenic fungi isolated from the continuous cropping wheat fields. The average recovery of chlorpyrifos from the liquid media was found to be 86.1%. The detection limit of chlorpyrifos by the analytical method used was 19 ppb. Data showed that the growth of mixed fungi at concentrations up to 200 ppm of chlorpyrifos was higher than in the control treatment. Chlorpyrifos concentrations declined in the medium of combined fungi more than it did in the medium of any single fungus with increase in the incubation period. The amount of chlorpyrifos recovered was 79.8 ppm (39.9%) in the combined fungal cultures after 21 days. However, those recovered from the media of Fusarium graminearum, F. oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, Cladosporhim cladosporiodes, Cephalosporium sp., Trichoderma viridi, Alternaria alternata, and Cladorrhinum brunnescens, ranged from 48.0 to 74.8%. The half‐life value (T_1/2) for chlorpynfos was 15.8 day in the medium amended with mixed fungi. However, for the single cultures it ranged from 19.3 to 33.0 day.     

Mapping of tritium emissions using absorption vapour samplers

Püspökszilágy Radioactive Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility (RWTDF) is a typical near-surface engineered repository designated to store low- and intermediate-level wastes from various institutes, research facilities and hospitals in Hungary. Two automatic combined ¹⁴C–tritium sampling units installed at the facility sample the air 2 m above surface. The one installed near the vaults detects tritium (T) activities two orders of magnitude higher than the far reference sampling unit. To localize the T emissions, 19 small absorption vapour samplers filled with silica gel were settled onto the ground surface. After the saturation of the silica gel, the water was recovered and its T concentration was measured with a low-background liquid scintillation counter. The absorption vapour samplers are cheap, simple and easy-to-use. We present the samplers and the T distribution map constructed from the data, which helps to localize the T emission.     

Kinetics of carbon dioxide absorption into mixed aqueous solutions of MDEA and MEA using a laminar jet apparatus and a numerically solved 2D absorption rate/kinetics model

New comprehensive numerically solved 1D and 2D absorption rate/kinetics models have been developed, for the first time, to interpret the experimental kinetic data obtained with a laminar jet apparatus for the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in CO₂ loaded mixed solutions of mixed amine system of methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and monoethanolamine (MEA). Three MDEA/MEA weight ratios ranging from 27/03 to 23/07, over a concentration range of 2.316–1.996 kmol/m³ for MDEA and of 0.490–1.147 kmol/m³ for MEA were studied. The models take into account the coupling between chemical equilibrium, mass transfer, and the chemical kinetics of all possible chemical reactions involved in the CO₂ reaction with MDEA/MEA solvent. The partial differential equations of the 1D model were solved by two numerical techniques; the finite difference method (FDM) based on in-house coded Barakat–Clark scheme and the finite element method (FEM) based on COMSOL software. The FEM comprehensive model was then used to solve the set of partial differential equations in the 2D cylindrical coordinate system setting. Both FDM and FEM produced very accurate results for both the 1D and 2D models, which were much better than our previously published simplified model. The reaction rate constant obtained for MEA blended into MDEA at 298–333 K was k_MEA = 5.127 × 10⁸ exp(−3373.8/T). In addition, the 2D model, for the first time, has provided the concentration profiles of all the species in both the radial and axial directions of the laminar jet, thereby enabling an understanding of the correct sequence in which the reaction steps involved in the reactive absorption of CO₂ in aqueous mixed amines occur.     

Liquid household hazardous wastes in the United States: Identification,disposal, and management plan

Present methods of disposal of today's hazardous household chemicals in the United States are frequently not acceptable because of pathways to groundwater, surface water, and the atmosphere. This report identifies potentially hazardous liquid waste in the household, notes current disposal practices, and recommends an improved management plan that utilizes consumer education, manufacturer cooperation, and governmental intervention. Laws requiring uniform disposal labeling on packaging are critical. Local, county, and state governments must be encouraged to coordinate the necessary infrastructure. Managing hazardous household wastes now will mitigate potential disposal problems.