Effect of ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nicotine on the structure of Aβ42 protein

● B[a]P, nicotine and phenanthrene molecules altered the secondary structure of Aβ₄₂. ● β-content of the peptide was significantly enhanced in the presence of the PAHs. ● Nicotine made stable cluster with Aβ₄₂ peptide via hydrogen bonds. ● Phenanthrene due to its small size, interfered with the Aβ₄₂ monomer more strongly. Recent studies have correlated the chronic impact of ambient environmental pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with the progression of neurodegenerative disorders, either by using statistical data from various cities, or via tracking biomarkers during in-vivo experiments. Among different neurodegenerative disorders, PAHs are known to cause increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, related to the development of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide oligomers. However, the complex molecular interactions between peptide monomers and organic pollutants remains obscured. In this work, we performed an atomistic molecular dynamics study via GROMACS to investigate the structure of Aβ₄₂ peptide monomer in the presence of benzo[a]pyrene, nicotine, and phenanthrene. Interestingly the results revealed strong hydrophobic, and hydrogen-bond based interactions between Aβ peptides and these environmental pollutants that resulted in the formation of stable intermolecular clusters. The strong interactions affected the secondary structure of the Aβ₄₂ peptide in the presence of the organic pollutants, with almost 50 % decrease in the α-helix and 2 %–10 % increase in the β-sheets of the peptide. Overall, the undergoing changes in the secondary structure of the peptide monomer in the presence of the pollutants under the study indicates an enhanced formation of Aβ peptide oligomers, and consequent progression of Alzheimer’s disease.     

珠江口表层水中多环芳烃的分布特征及健康风险评估

分别于2015年2、5、8、11月在珠江八大入海口采集表层水体样品,应用固相萃取富集法对该区域表层水体中16种USEPA优控多环芳烃(PAHs)的时空分布特征进行分析,并利用终生致癌风险增量模型(ILCR)对该区域的饮水健康风险进行评价。结果表明:珠江口4个季度所采集的水样中,∑15PAHs的浓度范围为18.0~50.3 ng/L,含量处于中等水平。其中7种强致癌性∑7PAHs的浓度范围为1.53~3.73 ng/L,占∑15PAHs的5.89%~11.1%,∑15PAHs和∑7PAHs在枯水期(2、11月)样品中明显高于丰水期(5、8月)。就组成特征而言,各采样点PAHs以3、4环为主。珠江口表层水中非致癌类PAHs的危害商数值为0.99×10~(-5)~2.73×10~(-5),远低于USEPA规定的阈值(1);致癌类PAHs产生的健康风险为6.50×10~(-8)~2.37×10~(-7),其中Ba P导致的饮水途径健康风险最高,所有点位致癌类PAHs的健康风险均低于USEPA推荐的对致癌物质最大可接受风险水平(10~(-6)),表明珠江口表层水中PAHs尚不具备严重的致癌风险,但是仍然存在潜在的健康风险,需要重点控制和管理。     

新制备生物炭的特性表征及其对石油烃污染土壤的吸附效果

生物炭作为一种绿色环保的功能材料因其在污水处理和污染土壤修复方面具有显著效果而受到极大关注.采用红外光谱、元素分析仪及微孔分析对不同温度(200、300、400、500和600℃)条件下制备的木屑和麦秆生物炭进行特性表征,并采用制备的生物炭净化石油污染土壤,分别考察了污染物性质、生物质原料和热解温度对其净化效果的影响.结果表明,随着热解温度的增高,生物炭芳香化程度增加,极性降低,微孔结构逐渐发育,表面积增大.加入生物炭33 d后,污染土壤中总石油烃及其组分烷烃的浓度比对照略有降低,而PAHs浓度下降显著.随着热解温度升高,2种生物炭对PAHs的吸附强度均逐渐增大,芳香度增高、表面积增大是强吸附的主要原因.2种生物炭在400℃及以下温度制备时对PAHs的吸附强度为:木屑生物炭＞麦秆生物炭;而400℃以上温度制备的生物炭吸附强度则相反,即麦秆生物炭＞木屑生物炭,说明生物炭原料对其吸附强度也具有显著影响.     

灌河口表层土壤多环芳烃污染调查

为了解灌河口工业区表层土壤中多环芳烃的污染水平及健康风险。于2017年4月份在灌河口化工园区、火力发电厂和钢铁工业园区采集30个表层土壤样品,利用气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC-MS)对16种优控ω(PAH)进行了检测。结果表明,30个采样点16种PAH的ω(T-PAHs)总为1 212.8~12 264.5 ng/g,平均值为3 504.8 ng/g。其中单体PAH以Fl为主,平均比例高达19.4%,其次为Pyr(16.7%)和B[a]P(9.6%)。单体PAH相关性分析表明了污染物来源的一致性,主要来源于本地工业区原油、生物质和煤的燃烧过程。根据加拿大土壤环境质量标准,灌河口工业区87%的土壤PAHs污染超过了安全值,存在潜在的生态风险。     

ASE-气相色谱法测定油田区土壤中多种石油烃

采用气相色谱法测定油田区土壤中C_(10)～C_(40)的石油烃,通过优化加速溶剂萃取的条件,使方法在62 mg/L～3 100 mg/L范围内线性良好,方法检出限为4.8 mg/kg。用该方法测定石油区短期、中期、长期油井污染土壤样品,5次测定结果的RSD为1.3%～5.2%,加标回收率为84.8%～98.5%,有证标准样品测定结果在可信区间内。     

高效石油烃降解菌的筛选及其对原油污染土壤的修复

从陕北原油污染土壤中筛选出7株高效石油烃降解菌,其中黄杆菌属CC-2、不动细菌属SC-5、假单胞菌属SC-6表现出较强的石油烃降解能力。通过单因素试验和正交试验考察总石油烃(TPH)降解效果的影响因素,得出各因素对TPH降解率影响程度的大小次序为:溶液p H降解温度降解菌接种量摇床转速,且在降解菌接种量为7%(φ)、溶液p H为7、降解温度为30℃、摇床转速为150 r/min的最适处理条件下,菌株SC-6的TPH降解率可达61.23%。原油污染土壤生物修复实验结果表明:高效石油烃降解菌的投加有利于土壤TPH降解率和酶活性的提高;"菌株SC-6+营养剂"组修复处理42 d后的TPH降解率可达57.59%。     

气相色谱-串联质谱法测定沉积物中多环芳烃

采用ASE法提取沉积物中16种多环芳烃,以固相萃取法净化提取液,用气相色谱-串联质谱法测定。通过优化测定条件,使方法在5.00μg/L~1 600μg/L范围内线性良好,方法检出限为0.15μg/kg~0.66μg/kg。空白石英砂的加标回收率为61.9%~121%,7次测定结果的RSD为2.6%~11.1%。     

民用燃煤源中多环芳烃排放因子实测及其影响因素研究

民用燃煤是我国目前关注较多的多环芳烃(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,PAHs)排放源.根据我国民用燃煤所涉及的煤种、燃烧方式和炉灶类型,利用全流稀释采样系统对5种不同成熟度的煤种,分别以散块煤和蜂窝煤形式在3种炉灶类型中燃烧产生的烟气进行了采样和分析,初步获取了我国民用燃煤烟气中PAHs排放因子(EFPAHs)的实测数据.结果表明,烟煤的EFPAHs在块煤燃烧方式下的变化范围为1.1～3.9 mg.kg-1,在蜂窝煤燃烧方式下的变化范围为2.5～21.1 mg.kg-1,无烟煤的EFPAHs在块煤与蜂窝煤燃烧方式下分别为0.2 mg.kg-1与0.6 mg.kg-1.在民用燃煤的EFPAHs的各种影响因素中,煤的地质成熟度起主导作用,不同成熟度煤种的EFPAHs差异幅度高达1～2个数量级.其次是燃烧形态(块煤/蜂窝煤),主要表现为同一种地质成熟度的煤在蜂窝煤燃烧方式下排放的PAHs比块煤高2～6倍.炉灶类型的影响最小.     

佛山高明河水环境多环芳烃的分布特征与通量研究

利用液液萃取法和气相色谱-质谱方法对佛山境内高明河水环境多环芳烃（PAHs）进行了测定,并对PAHs的分布特征与通量进行了初步研究.结果表明高明河水环境中16种优控PAHs的浓度范围在41.6～375.6 ng/l之间,从上游到下游总体呈递增的趋势,其下游浓度偏高可能与荷城街道较为密集的工业和人口分布有关.高明河水环境PAHs的总含量高于欧美一些低污染水域,但低于国内一些主要河流.高明河PAHs年通量约为333.8 kg.     

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from aqueous solution by raw and modified plant residue materials as biosorbents

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs）, e.g., naphthalene, acenaphthene, phenanthrene and pyrene, from aqueous solution by raw and modified plant residues was investigated to develop low cost biosorbents for organic pollutant abatement. Bamboo wood, pine wood, pine needles and pine bark were selected as plant residues, and acid hydrolysis was used as an easily modification method. The raw and modified biosorbents were characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The sorption isotherms of PAHs to raw biosorbents were apparently linear, and were dominated by a partitioning process. In comparison, the isotherms of the hydrolyzed biosorbents displayed nonlinearity, which was controlled by partitioning and the specific interaction mechanism. The sorpfion kinetic curves of PAHs to the raw and modified plant residues fit well with the pseudo second-order kinetics model. The sorption rates were faster for the raw biosorbents than the corresponding hydrolyzed biosorbents, which was attributed to the latter having more condensed domains （i.e., exposed aromatic core）. By the consumption of the amorphous cellulose component under acid hydrolysis, the sorption capability of the hydrolyzed biosorbents was notably enhanced, i.e., 6-18 fold for phenanthrene, 6-8 fold for naphthalene and pyrene and 5-8 fold for acenaphthene. The sorpfion coefficients （Kd） were negatively correlated with the polarity index [（O＋N）/C], and positively correlated with the aromaticity of the biosorbents. For a given biosorbent, a positive linear correlation between logKoc and logKow for different PAHs was observed. Interestingly, the linear plots of logKoc-logKow were parallel for different biosorbents. These observations suggest that the raw and modified plant residues have great potential as biosorbents to remove PAHs from wastewater.