Quality assessment of groundwater from the south-eastern Arabian Peninsula

Assessment of groundwater quality plays a significant role in the utilization of the scarce water resources globally and especially in arid regions. The increasing abstraction together with man-made contamination and seawater intrusion have strongly affected groundwater quality in the Arabia Peninsula, exemplified by the investigation given here from the United Arab Emirates, where the groundwater is seldom reviewed and assessed. In the aim of assessing current groundwater quality, we here present a comparison of chemical data linked to aquifers types. The results reveal that most of the investigated groundwater is not suitable for drinking, household, and agricultural purposes following the WHO permissible limits. Aquifer composition and climate have vital control on the water quality, with the carbonate aquifers contain the least potable water compared to the ophiolites and Quaternary clastics. Seawater intrusion along coastal regions has deteriorated the water quality and the phenomenon may become more intensive with future warming climate and rising sea level.     

Effects of prenatal exposure to bisphenols on newborn leucocyte telomere length: a prospective birth cohort study in China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Telomere length (TL) at birth is related to diseases that may arise in the future and long-term health. Bisphenols exhibit toxic effects and can cross...     

Low-temperature caproate production,microbial diversity,and metabolic pathway in xylose anaerobic fermentation

● Converting xylose to caproate under a low temperature of 20 °C by MCF was verified. ● Final concentration of caproate from xylose in a batch reactor reached 1.6 g/L. ● Changing the substrate to ethanol did not notably increase the caproate production. ● Four genera, including Bifidobacterium , were revealed as caproate producers. ● The FAB pathway and incomplete RBO pathway were revealed via metagenomic analysis. Mixed culture fermentation (MCF) is challenged by the unqualified activity of enriched bacteria and unwanted methane dissolution under low temperatures. In this work, caproate production from xylose was investigated by MCF at a low temperature (20 °C). The results showed that a 9 d long hydraulic retention time (HRT) in a continuously stirred tank reactor was necessary for caproate production (~0.3 g/L, equal to 0.6 g COD/L) from xylose (10 g/L). The caproate concentration in the batch mode was further increased to 1.6 g/L. However, changing the substrate to ethanol did not promote caproate production, resulting in ~1.0 g/L after 45 d of operation. Four genera, Bifidobacterium, Caproiciproducens, Actinomyces, and Clostridium_sensu_stricto_12, were identified as the enriched caproate-producing bacteria. The enzymes in the fatty acid biosynthesis (FAB) pathway for caproate production were identified via metagenomic analysis. The enzymes for the conversion of (C_n+2)-2,3-Dehydroxyacyl-CoA to (C_n+2)-Acyl-CoA (i.e., EC 1.3.1.8 and EC 1.3.1.38) in the reverse β-oxidation (RBO) pathway were not identified. These results could extend the understanding of low-temperature caproate production.     

Physiological responses involved in cadmium tolerance in a high-cadmium-accumulating rice (Oryza sativa L.) line

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The disparity of tolerance in plants in response to Cd stress is associated with multiple physiological processes. A pot experiment was conducted to...     

基于压力响应关系法的湖泊营养物基准制定

湖泊富营养化与氮、磷及有机物含量过高密切相关,建立数字型营养物基准能够防止富营养化对水体指定用途造成影响.太湖流域是我国华东地区经济腹地,近年来流域内湖泊水质每况愈下,对其基准研究可为湖泊治理提供依据.详细介绍了压力响应关系法制定湖泊营养物基准的步骤,并将此方法运用到太湖流域营养物基准制定研究中.为满足大多数水体指定用途,研究中将该流域湖泊基本功能确定为娱乐、永生生物栖息地及饮用水,以此构建流域概念模型.选择压力变量为总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)和有机物,响应变量为叶绿素a(chl-a).用非参数分析法和线性回归法分别建立压力-响应模型,通过2种方法相互验证得到TN、TP和CODMn基准分别为0.593、0.067和4.092 mg/L.     

页岩对污泥氨气挥发的抑制作用

氨气是城市污水污泥产生的恶臭气体之一,控制或抑制其产生是资源化利用甚至处置过程中至关重要的.通过改进氨气测量方法定量分析外掺页岩对污泥氨气挥发的抑制作用和机理,实验研究了页岩掺量、陈放形式以及环境温度对污泥氨气挥发浓度的影响.结果表明,外掺页岩对污泥氨气挥发具有明显的抑制作用,随温度升高、陈放时间延长抑制效果有所减弱但仍具有明显作用;页岩对污泥氨气挥发的抑制作用主要为对氨气的吸附作用.     

CaO2及H2O2类Fenton降解土壤石油烃污染

采用H_2O_2/Fe(Ⅲ)/柠檬酸类Fenton体系和CaO_2/Fe(Ⅲ)/柠檬酸类Fenton体系修复土壤石油污染,考察了氧化剂种类、氧化剂投加量、 Fe(Ⅲ)浓度和柠檬酸浓度对柴油降解效果的影响,并进一步研究比较了CaO_2/Fe(Ⅲ)/柠檬酸和H_2O_2/Fe(Ⅲ)/柠檬酸2种修复方式对土壤原著微生物群落变化及豌豆植株生长所带来的生态毒性效应。单因素实验结果表明:在其他条件相同的情况下,CaO_2类Fenton降解柴油效果优于H_2O_2类Fenton降解效果;柴油降解率随着氧化剂投加量、Fe(Ⅲ)和柠檬酸浓度的增大呈现先增后降的趋势。当CaO_2浓度为166.67 mmol·L~(-1)、Fe(Ⅲ)浓度为27.78 mmol·L~(-1)、柠檬酸浓度为27.78 mmol·L~(-1)时,反应24 h后,土壤中柴油降解率达到44.14%。生态毒性实验表明:CaO_2类Fenton处理后土壤微生物群落的丰富度和多样性指数均有所提高,H_2O_2类Fenton处理后均有所降低,2种处理方式均在不同程度上改变了土壤微生物群落的优势菌门构成;CaO_2及H_2O_2类Fenton处理均抑制了豌豆植株的生长,发芽率、植株干重、株高、叶绿素含量等测试指标均下降,其中H_2O_2类Fenton处理的抑制效果更为明显。进一步分析可知,CaO_2类Fenton处理技术比H_2O_2类Fenton处理技术更适用于石油污染土壤修复。     

表面印迹聚合物吸附复杂基质中的土霉素

为了研究表面分子印迹聚合物对基质复杂的环境样品中的土霉素的吸附分离效果,以应用最为广泛的土霉素(OTC)为研究对象,利用甲基丙烯酸和甲基丙烯酸甲酯为双功能单体、在二氧化硅基质上制备了表面分子印迹聚合物,并对其吸附鸡粪中的四环素类抗生素进行了研究。以聚合物的吸附容量和印迹因子为考核指标,对两种单体的投加比例和二氧化硅的用量进行了优化,确定其合成最佳条件:二氧化硅用量为15 mmol、单体总量一定时各物质的摩尔比为OTC∶MAA∶MMA∶EGDMA=0.08∶2.0∶2.0∶8.0。在此条件下合成的表面印迹聚合物对鸡粪基质中的OTC的最大吸附量可达到9.67 mg/g,印迹因子4.69,可见该表面印迹聚合物对复杂环境样品中的OTC也有良好的吸附性能和识别性能。