Racemic,R-, and S-tebuconazole altered chitinase and chitobiase activity of Daphnia magna

Tebuconazole is a chiral trizole fungicide and widely used in many crops for controlling disease. Tebuconazole is potential toxic to some aquatic organisms but relative information of its isomers is scarce. To detect the endocrine disrupting effects and difference of rac-, R-, and S-tebuconazole, the chitinase activity in Daphnia magna and chitobiase activity in each test medium were used as biomonitors after a 14-day exposure. Results showed that chitinase activity was significantly reduced by rac-, R-, and S-tebuconazole. The chitobiase activity in the test medium was reduced by rac- and R-tebuconazole before day 10, and only one peak was observed at day 10 or day 12 compared with two obvious peaks in the control group (days 6 and 12). S-tebuconazole delayed and reduced the reproduction of D. magna, but did not delay the first chitobiase activity peak, whereas the second peak could not be characterized as the exposure concentration and time increased. Compared with chitinase activity, chitobiase activity can still be used as a rudimentary model for identifying molt-interfering xenobiotics, and further studies should focus on the analysis of correlations between these parameters.     

Effects of Topographical Heterogeneity and Dispersal Limitation on Species Turnover in a Temperate Mountane Ecosystem: a Case Study in the Henan Province,China

Species turnover patterns can be inconsistent due to differences in the dispersal ability of different growth forms. Here, species of trees, shrubs, herbs, and bryophytes in the Xiaoqinling National Nature Reserve in China were analyzed to determine patterns of species turnover along an elevation and spatial gradient. Variance partitioning was used to assess the relative contribution of topographic heterogeneity and dispersal limitation to species turnover. Our results suggest that the effect of dispersal limitation is more important than topographic heterogeneity on species turnover in temperate mountane ecosystems in the study area. Dispersal limitation has a greater effect on trees species turnover than on shrubs, herbs or bryophytes species turnover.     

The regulatory role of endogenous iron on greenhouse gas emissions under intensive nitrogen fertilization in subtropical soils of China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Anaerobic batch experiments were conducted to study the regulatory role of endogenous iron in greenhouse gas emissions under intensive nitrogen...     

A comparative study of vocational education and occupational safety and health training in China and the UK

In order to enhance Chinese workers’ occupational safety awareness, it is essential to learn from developed countries’ experiences. This article investigates thoroughly occupational safety and health (OSH) in China and the UK; moreover, the article performs a comparison of Chinese and British OSH training-related laws, regulations and education system. The following conclusions are drawn: China’s work safety continues to improve, but there is still a large gap compared with the UK. In China a relatively complete vocational education and training (VET) system has been established. However, there exist some defects in OSH. In the UK, the employer will not only pay attention to employees’ physiological health, but also to their mental health. The UK’s VET is characterized by classification and grading management, which helps integrate OSH into the whole education system. China can learn from the UK in the development of policies, VET and OSH training.     

Health risk assessment of heavy metals in Cyprinus carpio (Cyprinidae) from the upper Mekong River

The purposes of this research are to quantify the concentration of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, As, Pb, Cd, and Hg) in the water and fish tissues of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in the upper Mekong River and to thereby elucidate the potential dietary health risks from fish consumption of local residents. Surface water and fish tissues (gill, muscle, liver, and intestine) from four representative sample areas (influence by a cascade of four dams) along the river were analyzed for heavy metal concentrations. Results revealed that the levels of heavy metals in fish were tissue-dependent. The highest Cu and As levels were found in the liver; the highest Zn and Pb levels occurred in the intestine, and the highest Hg level was found in the muscle. The total target hazard quotient (THQ) value for residents is > 1 for long-term fish consumption, and local residents are, therefore, exposed to a significant health risk. Results from the current study provide an overall understanding of the spatial and tissue distribution of heavy metals in water and fish body along the upper Mekong River under the influence of cascade dams and highlight the potential health risk of As for the local residents of long-term fish consumption.

     

Vallisneria natans decomposition rates and associated macroinvertebrates,microbes and microalgae along a vertical depth gradient in an urban lake (Nanhu Lake,China)

Knowledge on aquatic macrophyte decomposition has well developed, yet the decomposition and associated biotic factors along a vertical gradient in waters remain less examined. Here, we used Vallianeria natans leaves to investigate the decomposition rate and associated decomposers and microalgae at different vertical depths, by placing V. natans leaves into litterbags (0.5 and 5?mm meshes) and incubating them at the air–water interface (AW), sediment-water (SW) interface, and 10?cm (B10) or 20?cm (B20) burial in sediment over 60 days in a littoral zone of lake. Decomposition rates decreased with increased depths in each mesh size, with significant differences among and between AW (0.028?d^?1), SW (0.022?d^?1), B10 (0.014?d^?1) and B20 (0.011?d^?1) treatments in 0.5?mm litterbags and no significant difference between B10 (0.027?d^?1) and B20 (0.025?d^?1) in 5?mm litterbags. The average contribution of macroinvertebrates to biomass loss was highest in B20 (44.66%), lowest in AW (22.66%) and midst in both SW (25.35%) and B10 (38.78%), and was much less than that of both microbes and microalgae at each location. We show the importance of macroinvertebrates, microbes and microalgae in mediating macrophyte decomposition rate in response to different vertical locations in freshwaters.     

Elevation of biochar application as regulator on denitrification/NH3 volatilization in saline soils

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Denitrification and NH3 volatilization are the main removal processes of nitrogen in coastal saline soils. In this incubation study, the effects of...     

Synthesis of branched allylic sulfones by regioselective boron-catalysed hydrosulfonylation

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Branched allylic sulfones are scaffolds widely distributed in bioactive molecules and organic functional materials. The synthesis of allylic sulfones has been...     

一种基于蚯蚓学习行为的神经毒性实验方法研究

土壤生物的学习行为是一种综合性的神经高级活动,对土壤中的神经毒性污染物生态风险监测具有重要价值.本研究设计了一套试验装置,基于蚯蚓对白光刺激的厌恶本性,通过振动-白光配对刺激,对蚯蚓进行学习训练,使蚯蚓领会借助加速移动阻止白光刺激的策略,通过蚯蚓到达移动位移阈值的时间测定,对蚯蚓的学习行为进行测试,建立了蚯蚓的学习行为测试方法.采用建立的测试方法,对土壤中东莨菪碱和毒死蜱诱导下蚯蚓的学习行为进行了测试,结果表明,1～3 mg·kg-1东莨菪碱与4～12 mg·kg-1毒死蜱污染处理均对蚯蚓的学习能力造成了损伤,污染浓度越高,蚯蚓的学习能力损伤越严重.该测试方法可以快速有效地检测土壤污染导致的蚯蚓学习行为变化,有望用于低浓度神经毒性农药污染土壤的神经毒性快速诊断.     

山东省主要河流中抗生素污染组成及空间分布特征

采用固相萃取-液相色谱/串联质谱法研究了山东省境内四大流域主要河流中抗生素污染组成及空间分布特征,涉及我国用量最大的6类共20种抗生素。结果表明:20种抗生素均有检出,且大环内酯类、喹诺酮类和四环素类抗生素整体检出浓度较高。就流域而言,半岛诸河流域抗生素污染较小,平均总质量浓度61.4 ng/L;海河流域、小清河流域和淮河流域相对较为严重,平均总质量浓度分别为232、175、118 ng/L。抗生素空间分布呈现一定的规律,检出浓度较高的点位主要集中在人口密集区下游,抗生素污染与周边生活污水、养殖企业废水和城市污水处理厂排水密切相关,而且抗生素组成可从一定程度上反映出污染来源。