Performance of different macrophytes in the decontamination of and electricity generation from swine wastewater via an integrated constructed wetland-microbial fuel cell process

Plants constitute a major element of constructed wetlands(CWs).In this study,a coupled system comprising an integrated vertical flow CW(IVCW) and a microbial fuel cell(MFC) for swine wastewater tre atment was developed to research the effects of macrophytes commonly employed in CWs,Canna indica,Acorus calamus,and Ipomoea aquatica,on decontamination and electricity production in the system.Because of the different root types and amounts of oxygen released by the roots,the rates of chemical oxygen demand(COD) and ammonium nitrogen(NH_4~+-N) removal from the swine wastewater differed as well.In the unplanted,Canna indica,Acorus calamus,and Ipomoea aquatica systems,the COD removal rates were 80.20%,88.07%,84.70%,and 82.20%,respectively,and the NH_4~+-N removal rates were 49.96%,75.02%,70.25%,and 68.47%,respectively.The decontamination capability of the Canna indica system was better than those of the other systems.The average output voltages were 520±42,715±20,660±27,and 752±26 mV for the unplanted,Canna indica,Acorus calamus,and Ipomoea aquatica systems,respectively,and the maximum power densities were 0.2230,0.4136,0.3614,and0.4964 W/m~3,respectively.Ipomoea aquatica had the largest effect on bioelectricity generation promotion.In addition,electrochemically active bacteria,Geobacter and Desulfuromonas,were detected in the anodic biofilm by high-throughput sequencing analysis,and Comamonas(Proteobacteria),which is widely found in MFCs,was also detected in the anodic biofilm.These results confirmed the important role of plants in IVCW-MFCs.     

Development of a static test apparatus for evaluating the performance of three PM2.5 separators commonly used in China

PM_(2.5) separator directly affects the accuracy of PM_(2.5) sampling.The specification testing and evaluation for PM_(2.5) separator is particularly important,especially under China's wide variation of terrain and climate.In this study,first a static test apparatus based on polydisperse aerosol was established and calibrated to evaluate the performance of the PM_(2.5) separators.A uniform mixing chamber was developed to make particles mix completely.The aerosol concentration relative standard deviations of three test points at the same horizontal chamber position were less than 0.57%,and the particle size distribution obeyed logarithmic normal distribution with an R~2 of 0.996.The flow rate deviation between the measurement and the set point flow rate agreed to within ± 1.0% in the range of -40 to 50℃.Secondly,the separation,flow and loading characteristics of three cyclone separators(VSCC-A,SCC-A and SCC112) were evaluated using this system.The results showed that the 50% cutoff sizes(D_(50)) of the three cyclones were 2.48,2.47 and 2.44 μm when worked at the manufacturer's recommended flow rates,respectively.The geometric standard deviation(GSD) of the capture efficiency of VSCCA was 1.23,showed a slightly sharper than SCC-A(GSD = 1.27),while the SCC112 did not meet the relevant indicator(GSD = 1.2 ± 0.1) with a GSD = 1.44.The flow rate and loading test had a great effect on D_(50),while the GSD remained almost the same as before.In addition,the maintenance frequency under different air pollution conditions of the cyclones was summarized according to the loading test.     

Effect of graphene oxide exposure on intestinal Wnt signaling in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Exposure to engineered nanomaterials(ENMs), such as graphene oxide(GO), can potentially induce the response of various molecular signaling pathways, which can mediate the protective function or the toxicity induction.Wnt signaling pathway is conserved evolutionarily in organisms.Using Caenorhabditis elegans as an in vivo assay model, we investigated the effect of GO exposure on intestinal Wnt signaling.In the intestine, GO exposure dysregulated Frizzled receptor MOM-5, Disheveled protein DSH-2, GSK-3(a component of APC complex), and two β-catenin proteins(BAR-1 and HMP-2), which mediated the induction of GO toxicity.In GO exposed nematodes, a Hox protein EGL-5 acted as a downstream target of BAR-1, and fatty acid transport ACS-22 acted as a downstream target of HMP-2.Functional analysis on HMP-2 and ACS-22 suggested that the dysregulation of these two proteins provides an important basis for the observed deficit in functional state of intestinal barrier.Our results imply the association of dysregulation in physiological and functional states of intestinal barrier with toxicity induction of GO in organisms.     

Cytotoxicity of the soluble and insoluble fractions of atmospheric fine particulate matter

Inhaled atmospheric fine particulate matter(PM_(2.5)) includes soluble and insoluble fractions,and each fraction can interact with cells and cause adverse effects.PM_(2.5) samples were collected in Jinan,China,and the soluble and insoluble fractions were separated.According to physiochemical characterization,the soluble fraction mainly contains watersoluble ions and organic acids,and the insoluble fraction mainly contains kaolinite,calcium carbonate and some organic carbon.The interaction between PM_(2.5) and model cell membranes was examined with a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation(QCM-D) to quantify PM_(2.5) attachment on membranes and membrane disruption.The cytotoxicity of the total PM_(2.5) and the soluble and insoluble fractions,was investigated.Negatively charged PM_(2.5) can adhere to the positively charged membranes and disrupt them.PM_(2.5)also adheres to negatively charged membranes but does not cause membrane rupture.Therefore,electrostatic repulsion does not prevent PM_(2.5) attachment,but electrostatic attraction induces remarkable membrane rupture.The human lung epithelial cell line A549 was used for cytotoxicity assessment.The detected membrane leakage,cellular swelling and blebbing indicated a cell necrosis process.Moreover,the insoluble PM_(2.5) fraction caused a higher cell mortality and more serious cell membrane damage than the soluble fraction.The levels of reactive oxygen species(ROS) enhanced by the two fractions were not significantly different.The findings provide more information to better understand the mechanism of PM_(2.5) cytotoxicity and the effect of PM_(2.5) solubility on cytotoxicity.     

An investigation of changes in water quality throughout the drinking water production/distribution chain using toxicological and fluorescence analyses

Changes in water quality from source water to finished water and tap water at two conventional drinking water treatment plants(DWTPs) were monitored.Beside the routine water quality testing,Caenorhabditis elegans-based toxicity assays and the fluorescence excitation–emission matrices technique were also applied.Both DWTPs supplied drinking water that met government standards.Under current test conditions,both the investigated finished water and tap water samples exhibited stronger lethal,genotoxic and reprotoxic potential than the relative source water sample,and the tap water sample was more lethal but tended to be less genotoxic than the corresponding finished water sample.Meanwhile,the nearly complete removal of tryptophan-like substances and newly generated tyrosine-like substances were observed after the treatment of drinking water,and humic-like substances were identified in the tap water.Based on these findings,toxic pollutants,including genotoxic/reproductive toxicants,are produced in the drinking water treatment and/or distribution processes.Moreover,further studies are needed to clarify the potentially important roles of tyrosine-like and humic-like substances in mediating drinking water toxicity and to identify the potential sources of these contaminants.Additionally,tryptophan-like fluorescence may be adopted as a useful parameter to monitor the treatment performance of DWTPs.Our observations provided insights into the importance of utilizing biotoxicity assays and fluorescence spectroscopy as tools to complement the routine evaluation of drinking water.     

Identification of potential electrotrophic microbial community in paddy soils by enrichment of microbial electrolysis cell biocathodes

Electrotrophs are microbes that can receive electrons directly from cathode in a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). They not only participate in organic biosynthesis, but also be crucial in cathode-based bioremediation. However, little is known about the electrotrophic community in paddy soils. Here, the putative electrotrophs were enriched by cathodes of MECs constructed from five paddy soils with various properties using bicarbonate as an electron acceptor, and identified by 16S rRNA-gene based Illumina sequencing. The electrons were gradually consumed on the cathodes, and 25%–45% of which were recovered to reduce bicarbonate to acetic acid during MEC operation. Firmicutes was the dominant bacterial phylum on the cathodes, and Bacillus genus within this phylum was greatly enriched and was the most abundant population among the detected putative electrotrophs for almost all soils. Furthermore, several other members of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria may also participate in electrotrophic process in different soils. Soil pH, amorphous iron and electrical conductivity significantly influenced the putative electrotrophic bacterial community, which explained about 33.5% of the community structural variation. This study provides a basis for understanding the microbial diversity of putative electrotrophs in paddy soils, and highlights the importance of soil properties in shaping the community of putative electrotrophs.     

Density functional theory (DFT) studies of vanadium-titanium based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts

Based on density functional theory (DFT) and basic structure models, the chemical reactions on the surface of vanadium-titanium based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) denitrification catalysts were summarized. Reasonable structural models (non-periodic and periodic structural models) are the basis of density functional calculations. A periodic structure model was more appropriate to represent the catalyst surface, and its theoretical calculation results were more comparable with the experimental results than a non-periodic model. It is generally believed that the SCR mechanism where NH₃ and NO react to produce N₂ and H₂O follows an Eley-Rideal type mechanism. NH₂NO was found to be an important intermediate in the SCR reaction, with multiple production routes. Simultaneously, the effects of H₂O, SO₂ and metal on SCR catalysts were also summarized.     

Morphology-dependent interfacial interactions of Fe2O3 with Ag nanoparticles for determining the catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol

In this work,we fabricated three kinds of Ag/Fe_2O_3 model catalysts with different morphologies to study the interfacial interactions between Ag and Fe_2O_3,and how they affected the catalytic activity in hydrogenation of p-nitrophenol was explored.The hydrothermal method was used to synthesize the metal oxide supported silver catalyst,with various morphologies including nanoplates(NPs),nanospheres(NSs),and nanocubes(NCs).The crystal structure,morphology and surface elements of the composite were investigated by various measurements,such as X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The catalytic activity was also evaluated by the reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol.It was found that the activities of the above catalysts varied with the morphology of the support.Among them,Ag/Fe_2O_3 NPs promoted the highest performance,Ag/Fe_2O_3 NSs were slightly inferior,and Ag/Fe_2O_3 NCs were the worst.At last,we ascribed the remarkable activity of Ag/Fe_2O_3 NPs to the strong metal-support interactions between Ag and Fe_2O_3.     

精神活性物质在北京市某污水处理厂中的污染特征与生态风险

为了解污水处理厂对精神活性物质的去除特征及总出水对受纳水体的生态风险,采用固相萃取-高效液相色谱-串联质谱法调查了北京市某污水处理厂中13种精神活性物质的浓度水平与负荷量变化,并运用RQ（risk quotient,风险熵）对总出水中精神活性物质进行风险评估.结果表明:①13种精神活性物质在总进水与总出水中均能检出,总质量浓度平均值分别为2 395.10和63.59 ng/L,其中ρ（EPH）（EPH表示麻黄碱）占比分别为93.9%和67.9%,其次为COD（可待因）与METH（甲基苯丙胺）.污水处理厂上游地表水中ρ（EPH）、ρ（METH）与ρ（KET）（KET为氯胺酮）均高于总出水及其下游地表水,说明上游沿河可能有新的污染源输入.②污水处理厂对NK（去甲氯胺酮）、BE（苯甲酰爱康宁）和MTD（美沙酮）均呈负去除,其他精神活性物质的去除主要发生在二级生物处理与三级处理（超滤膜与UV消毒）阶段.③污水处理厂服务区域内精神活性物质的周内负荷量存在一定波动,AMP（苯丙胺）、METH、MDA（3,4-亚甲二氧基苯丙胺）、MDMA（3,4-亚甲二氧基甲基苯丙胺）、KET与HER（海洛因）的负荷量均在周末升高.④污水处理厂总出水中精神活性物质的生态风险均较低（RQ < 0.10）.研究显示,污水处理厂不能完全去除污水中的精神活性物质,总出水中残留精神活性物质对受纳河流生态系统产生的长期混合效应不容忽视.      

Metabolomic modulations in a freshwater microbial community exposed to the fungicide azoxystrobin

An effective broad-spectrum fungicide, azoxystrobin (AZ), has been widely detected in aquatic ecosystems, potentially affecting the growth of aquatic microorganisms. In the present study, the eukaryotic alga Monoraphidium sp. and the cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena sp. were exposed to AZ for 7 days. Our results showed that 0.2–0.5 mg/L concentrations of AZ slightly inhibited the growth of Monoraphidium sp. but stimulated Pseudanabaena sp. growth. Meanwhile, AZ treatment effectively increased the secretion of total organic carbon (TOC) in the culture media of the two species, and this phenomenon was also found in a freshwater microcosm experiment (containing the natural microbial community). We attempted to assess the effect of AZ on the function of aquatic microbial communities through metabolomic analysis and further explore the potential risks of this compound. The metabonomic profiles of the microcosm indicated that the most varied metabolites after AZ treatment were related to the citrate cycle (TCA), fatty acid biosynthesis and purine metabolism. We thereby inferred that the microbial community increased extracellular secretions by adjusting metabolic pathways, which might be a stress response to reduce AZ toxicity. Our results provide an important theoretical basis for further study of fungicide stress responses in aquatic microcosm microbial communities, as well as a good start for further explorations of AZ detoxification mechanisms, which will be valuable for the evaluation of AZ environmental risk.