The 2006 war and its inter-temporal economic impact on agriculture in Lebanon

The July 2006 war waged by Israel on Lebanon caused an estimated USD 1 billion of direct (financial) damage to infrastructure. However, it generated also significant indirect (economic/inter-temporal) costs. One sector that suffered considerably in this respect was agriculture, the main source of income for 30–40 per cent of Lebanese. This paper's main objective is to develop a methodology to estimate the total—direct and indirect—cost of the war to agricultural crop production, using an area of south Lebanon as a focal point. The indirect loss assessment viewed inter-temporal reductions in crop production values as the opportunity cost of not working fields due to the presence of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Various crops were evaluated for two scenarios (50 and 100 per cent damage due to UXO) over UXO-clearance periods of five and 10 years. The results indicate that any damage estimates that include only direct losses will under-estimate total losses by 80 and 87 per cent for the five- and 10-year periods, respectively.     

Modeling the exposure of children and adults via diet to chemicals in the environment with crop-specific models

Exposure to chemicals via diet is a major uptake pathway for many compounds but is often estimated in a rather generic way. We use a new model framework (NMF) with crop-specific models to predict the dietary intake by 4-5-year-old children and 14-75-year-old women of three environmental compounds from their background concentrations in soil and air. Calculated daily intakes of benzo(a)pyrene and 2,3,7,8-TCDD are in good agreement with measured results from diet studies. The major source of both compounds in human diet is deposition from air. Inhalation of air and ingestion of soil play a minor role. Children take up more than twice the amount than adults per kg bodyweight, due to higher consumption per kg bodyweight. Contrary, the methods for indirect human exposure suggested in the Technical Guidance Document (TGD) for chemical risk assessment in the EU lead to overprediction, due to unrealistic consumption data and a false root model.     

Platinum (IV) recovery from chloride solution by functionalized acrylic copolymers

Two acrylic adsorbents with different morphological structures and bearing amidoethylenamine and thiol groups were obtained and used for platinum sorption from chloride solution by the batch method. Physico-chemical parameters that influence adsorption such as initial Pt(IV) concentration, stirring time, pH, and adsorbent amount were investigated. The thermodynamic parameters of Pt(IV) sorption on the synthesized adsorbent were also evaluated based on Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Thermodynamic parameters estimated from Langmuir constants indicated that the adsorption is spontaneous, exothermic and there is a disordered state at the molecular level. The models used to analyze the sorption rate led to the conclusion that the most important step in the sorption of Pt(IV) could be both particle diffusion and chemical reaction of [PtCl₆]⁻ with amine functional groups. Thus, both the ion exchange and complex formation mechanisms can occur via nitrogen atoms in the recovery of Pt(IV) on the studied adsorbent.     

厌氧序批式反应器内挥发性脂肪酸积累特性研究

小试规模的厌氧序批式反应器（ASBR），通过人工配水，研究了启动3个月时间以及一个运行周期内反应器内挥发性脂肪酸（VFA）的积累情况，并通过分析期间产甲烷活性的变化说明了控制VFA积累的重要性。经过近120 d的运行，乙酸和丙酸的最大比产甲烷活性分别提高了1.8和2.2倍，说明反应器的启动过程即是微生物群落的优化和选择的过程，ASBR的抗冲击的能力较强说明随启动的进行和种群的优化，活性污泥凝聚性能增强，对VFA的降解能力增强。     

高锰酸钾降解地下水中PCE的研究

以氯代有机污染物中常见的PCE为目标污染物，以自制高锰酸钾溶液为氧化剂，采用批实验方法，探讨了高锰酸钾降解PCE的反应动力学、影响因素以及反应机理。反应结果表明，高锰酸钾降解PCE的反应符合一级动力学方程，反应活化能E为57.119 kJ/mol，在30℃条件下，反应速率常数为0.0076 min^-1，半衰期为91.20 min。在pH在3～10，离子强度在0～0.1030 mol/L之间变化时，反应速率不受明显影响。     

土壤中零价铁还原3-氯硝基苯的作用

利用零价铁在常温常压下对土壤中的3-氯硝基苯的还原，对反应物和产物随时间的变化及反应的各个影响因素进行了研究。实验结果表明，零价铁能够有效地将3-氯硝基苯还原为3-氯苯胺，反应过程中没有检测到脱氯产物。其反应速率随铁粉用量、反应体系含水量的增加以及反应温度的升高而升高，随土壤初始pH值的升高而降低。在土壤中3-氯硝基苯含量约为2.5×10^-6 mol/g，铁粉使用量为25 mg/g，反应体系中含水量为0.75 mL/g，pH值为6.8时，在恒温生化培养箱(25±1)℃反应5 h后，3-氯硝基苯的还原率达到92.75％。     

铁改性海泡石除锑的影响因素研究

选择廉价海泡石, 用氯化铁对其改性。研究铁改性海泡石对锑的吸附特性。结果表明，氯化铁浓度、吸附时间、初始锑浓度以及温度等因素对锑的吸附影响较大，溶液初始pH影响不明显。在初始锑浓度50 mg/L，pH 6.8，5%氯化铁改性海泡石投加量为2 g/L，吸附90 min, 温度35℃下，吸附量可达21.6 mg/g。海泡石对吸附锑具有缓冲特性，溶液的初始pH值在3.1～10.1范围时，吸附后溶液的最终pH值为8～8.5。IMS吸附锑是放热过程。改性后海泡石比表面积增大，表面羟基数量增加，导致其吸附能力增强。通过XRD谱图并未发现铁晶体的存在。     

生活垃圾加载介质层填埋法对初期渗滤液污染抑制效果研究

以传统卫生填埋柱R2为对照,通过往生物反应器填埋柱R1内加载可渗透反应介质层1和2进行模拟试验,主要探讨了填埋柱R1垃圾渗滤液COD、总氮、氨氮及总磷的变化趋势,探索一种新型的加载介质层垃圾填埋处理方法。试验结果表明，填埋20周后, R1柱COD浓度基本维持在40 000～45 000 mg/L间,约为R2柱的20%～30%;第24周,R1柱总氮和氨氮分别为206.5 mg/L和167.3 mg/L,在16～24周内,R1总氮和氨氮分别约为R2的14.5%～17.5%和36.2%～43.6%;18周时,R1柱总磷达最大值1.704 mg/L,至第24周降为0.673 mg/L, 整个实验过程R1柱总磷约为R2的0.15%～0.56%。     

超细粉煤灰基成型吸附剂的动态吸附实验

以粉煤灰为原料制备成型吸附剂，对水溶液中亚甲基蓝和Cr⁶⁺进行动态吸附研究，绘制穿透曲线，利用Origin软件对实验数据分析处理，得出穿透曲线的通式C_t=A₁－A₂〖〗1+(t/t₀)^p+A₁。结果表明，初始浓度C₀=25 mg/L，填料高度不同时，达到穿透点的时间随填料高度的增加而增加；填料高度h=200 mm，初始浓度不同时，达到穿透点的时间随初始浓度的增加而减小；该吸附剂对有机染料和重金属离子均有较好的吸附性能；穿透曲线通式的回归线性相关系数表明，该通式可很好地反映超细粉煤灰成型吸附剂的动态吸附过程。     

Integral assessment of estrogenic potentials in sediment-associated samples

Background, aim, and scope  The enzyme-linked receptor assay (ELRA) detects estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects at the molecular level of receptor binding and is a useful tool for the integrative assessment of ecotoxicological potentials caused by hormonally active agents (HAA) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC). The main advantage of the ELRA is its high sample throughput and its robustness against cytotoxicity and microbial contamination. After a methodological adaptation to salinity of the ELRA, according to the first part of this study, which increased its salinity tolerance and sensitivity for 17-β-estradiol, the optimised ELRA was used to investigate 13 native sediments characterised by different levels of salinity and chemical contamination. The applicability of the ELRA for routine analysis in environmental assessment was evaluated. Salinity is often a critical factor for bioassays in ecotoxicological sediment assessment. Therefore, salinity of the samples was additionally adjusted to different levels to characterise its influence on elution and binding processes of receptor-binding substances. Materials and methods  The ELRA was carried out with the human estrogen receptor α (ER) in a 96-well microplate format using the experimental setup known from the competitive immunoassay based on ligand–protein interaction. It is an important improvement that a physiologically relevant receptor was used as a linking protein instead of an antibody. The microplates were coated with a 17-β-estradiol-BSA conjugate, and dilution series of estradiol and of native sediment samples were added and incubated with the ER. After a washing step, a biotinylated mouse anti-ER antibody was added to each well. Receptor binding to estradiol, agonistic and antagonistic receptor binding, were determined by a streptavidin-POD-biotin complex with subsequent measurement of the peroxidase activity at the wavelength of 450 nm using a commercial ELISA multiplate reader. The sediment elutriates and pore water samples of sediments were tested in a dilution series to evaluate at which dilution step the receptor-binding potential ends. In the elution process (see Section 2.1 to 2.2), a method was developed to adjust the salinity to the levels of the reference testings, which offers an appropriate option to adjust the salinity in both directions. Statistical evaluation was made with a combination of the Mann–Whitney U test and the pT-method. Results  This part of the study characterised the environmental factor ‘salinity’ for prospective applications of the ELRA. Using reference substances such as 17-β-estradiol, the ELRA showed sigmoid concentration-effect relations over a broad range from 0.05 μg/l to 100 μg/l under physiological conditions. After methodological optimisation, both sensitivity and tolerance of the assay against salinity could be significantly raised, and the ELRA became applicable under salinity conditions up to concentrations of 20.5‰. The mean relative inter-test error (n = 3) was around 11% with reference substances and below 5% for single sediments elutriates in three replicates each. For sediment testings, the pore water and different salinity-adjusted elutriates of 13 sediments were used. A clear differentiation of the receptor-binding potential could be reached by application of the pT-method. Thereby, pT-values from one to six could be assigned to the sediments, and the deviation caused by the different salinity conditions was one pT-value. The mean standard deviation in the salinity adaptation procedure of the elutriates was below 5%. Discussion  Although the ELRA has already been used for assessments of wastewater, sludge and soil, its applicability for samples to different salinity levels has not been investigated so far. Even if the ELRA is not as sensitive as the E-screen or the YES-assay, with regard to reference substances like 17-β-estradiol, it is a very useful tool for pre-screening, because it is able to integrate both estrogenic as well as anti-estrogenic receptor-binding effects. According to the results of sediment testing, and given the integrative power to detect different directions of effects, the ELRA shows sufficient sensitivity and salinity tolerance to discriminate receptor-binding potentials in environmental samples. Conclusions  The optimised ELRA assay is a fast, cost-effective, reliable and highly reproducible tool that can be used for high-throughput screening in a microplate format in detecting both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects. Additionally, the ELRA is robust against microbial contaminations, and is not susceptible towards cytotoxic interferences like the common cell-culture methods. The general applicability and sufficient sensitivity of the ELRA was shown in freshwater environments. Marine and brackish samples can be measured up to salinity levels of 20.5‰. Recommendations and perspectives  In view of the proven sensitivity, functionality and the fastness of the ELRA, it is recommendable to standardise the test method. At the moment, no adequate in vitro test procedure exists which is standardised to DIN or ISO levels. The E-screen and the yeast estrogen/androgen screens (YES/YAS) sometimes underlie strong cytotoxic effects, as reported in the first part of this study. Further development of an ELRA assay using human androgen receptors appears to be very promising to gain information about androgenic and anti-androgenic effects, too. This would offer a possibility to use the ELRA as a fast and reliable pre-screening tool for the detection of endocrine potentials, thus minimising time and cost-expensive animal experiments.