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.     

Spatial analysis of resources and environmental carrying capacity in Iran

Urbanization and mass movement of the population from rural areas and small cities to megacities have led to environmental, economic, and social problems in Iran. In dealing with these challenges, assessing resource and environmental carrying capacity (RECC) is considered an effective method to leverage space and capital to achieve sustainable development. This study aimed to rank the provincial RECC in Iran. Toward this purpose, environmental indices were generated from remotely sensed and statistical census data. Then, the provinces were scored in terms of environmental, economic, and infrastructural carrying capacities, and RECC using the mean variance analysis method. Results demonstrated that in most areas, there is no relationship between economic and infrastructural capacities and development. Statistically, a correlation coefficient of −0.53 between economic and environmental carrying capacities indicated excessive use of environmental capacities. Moreover, the spatial distribution pattern of environmental, economic, and infrastructural carrying capacity was entirely heterogeneous between the provinces; there was a northeast–southwest pattern in terms of infrastructural capacity and an economic pattern from north to south. The distribution pattern of RECC is most consistent with the environmental capacity, pointing at the high weight of the indicators of the RECC model. In conclusion, this research offers a new vision for policymakers and provides a theoretical and applicable framework for implementing sustainable strategies in land-use planning. It is recommended that the RECC concept and tools can be used not only for planning but also for measuring the efficiency of spatial development programs and establishing land balances in the region.     

Considering science needs to deliver actionable science

Conservation practitioners, natural resource managers, and environmental stewards often seek out scientific contributions to inform decision-making. This body of science only becomes actionable when motivated by decision makers considering alternative courses of action. Many in the science community equate addressing stakeholder science needs with delivering actionable science. However, not all efforts to address science needs deliver actionable science, suggesting that the synonymous use of these two constructs (delivering actionable science and addressing science needs) is not trivial. This can be the case when such needs are conveyed by people who neglect decision makers responsible for articulating a priority management concern and for specifying how the anticipated scientific information will aid the decision-making process. We argue that the actors responsible for articulating these science needs and the process used to identify them are decisive factors in the ability to deliver actionable science, stressing the importance of examining the provenance and the determination of science needs. Guided by a desire to enhance communication and cross-literacy between scientists and decision makers, we identified categories of actors who may inappropriately declare science needs (e.g., applied scientists with and without regulatory affiliation, external influencers, reluctant decision makers, agents in place of decision makers, and boundary organization representatives). We also emphasize the importance of, and general approach to, undertaking needs assessments or gap analyses as a means to identify priority science needs. We conclude that basic stipulations to legitimize actionable science, such as the declaration of decisions of interest that motivate science needs and using a robust process to identify priority information gaps, are not always satisfied and require verification. To alleviate these shortcomings, we formulated practical suggestions for consideration by applied scientists, decision makers, research funding entities, and boundary organizations to help foster conditions that lead to science output being truly actionable.     

China’s carbon neutrality: an extensive and profound systemic reform

● China has pledged ambitious carbon peak and neutrality goals for mitigating global climate change. ● Major challenges to achieve carbon neutrality in China are summarized. ● The new opportunities along the pathway of China’s carbon neutrality are discussed from four aspects. ● Five policy suggestions for China are provided. China is the largest developing economy and carbon dioxide emitter in the world, the carbon neutrality goal of which will have a profound influence on the mitigation pathway of global climate change. The transition towards a carbon-neutral society is integrated into the construction of ecological civilization in China, and brings profound implications for China’s socioeconomic development. Here, we not only summarize the major challenges in achieving carbon neutrality in China, but also identify the four potential new opportunities: namely, the acceleration of technology innovations, narrowing regional disparity by reshaping the value of resources, transforming the industrial structure, and co-benefits of pollution and carbon mitigation. Finally, we provide five policy suggestions and highlight the importance of balancing economic growth and carbon mitigation, and the joint efforts among the government, the enterprises, and the residents.     

基于环境监测实验室的高校实验室安全准入制度信息系统功能优化研究

梳理了高校实验室环境-安全-健康准入制度包含的管理内容,从人员管理、设备管理、试剂管理、实验环境管理角度进行了分析。根据现有实验室安全信息化系统运行情况,探讨了将实验室安全信息化系统与实验室信息化系统、设备管理信息化系统进行数据融合和功能优化的要点,重点分析了设备采购及管理系统、实验室安全教育与考试系统、实验室安全检查系统、试剂管理平台、实验室门禁管理系统在功能上的内在关联,从而通过试剂管理平台、实验室门禁控制系统、设备采购系统实现实验室环境-安全-健康准入制度的强制执行。研究发现,高校与环境监测实验室、院系实验室安全管理部门联合促进实验室安全信息化系统、实验室信息化系统、设备管理信息化系统的数据共享与功能升级,可以丰富实验室安全准入制度的内涵和管理手段,加强实验室安全准入制度的强制执行力,提高实验室安全管理效率。     

基于微型无人机遥感数据的城市水环境信息提取初探

近年来,黑臭水体整治已经成为各级政府的重要工作内容。为更好地开展黑臭水体筛查和监管工作,提出基于多旋翼无人机搭载多光谱相机的遥感监测方案,尝试采用影像特征变换结合面向对象分类方法提取黑臭水体的遥感信息。结果表明:(1)无人机影像上地物具有更加丰富的色彩和纹理;(2)与主成分变换和纹理分析方法相比,光谱指数对典型地物具有较好的判别能力;(3)采用标准最邻近分类法提取城市水环境信息,能够获得较高分类精度。     

煤与瓦斯共采在错层位巷道布置中的机理研究及应用构想

为了完善现有煤与瓦斯共采技术，创新煤与瓦斯共采方法，对错层位巷道布置下的煤与瓦斯共采系统展开研究，利用相似模拟试验，分析错层位巷道布置覆岩运动情况，预测其开采围岩裂隙发育和瓦斯运移形式，提出了创新煤与瓦斯共采技术构想。研究结果表明:采空区覆岩三带高度随接续工作面的增加而增大，相邻采空区垮落矸石压实区呈现“O-L-O”形变化，多个相邻采空区覆岩出现大“O”形圈裂隙带；相邻采空区内瓦斯可实现相互运移，大“O”形圈裂隙带内赋存大量瓦斯气体；研究提出了地面钻井抽采瓦斯、走向高位瓦斯抽采巷和外错尾巷穿层钻孔3种煤与瓦斯共采技术，比传统巷道布置情况下的煤与瓦斯共采技术在安全、经济等方面更具优势。     

The place of nature in conservation conflicts

Conservation conflicts are gaining importance in contemporary conservation scholarship such that conservation may have entered a conflict hype. We attempted to uncover and deconstruct the normative assumptions behind such studies by raising several questions: what are conservation conflicts, what justifies the attention they receive, do conservation-conflict studies limit wildlife conservation, is scientific knowledge stacked against wildlife in conservation conflicts, do conservation-conflict studies adopt a specific view of democracy, can laws be used to force conservation outcomes, why is flexibility needed in managing conservation conflicts, can conservation conflicts be managed by promoting tolerance, and who needs to compromise in conservation conflicts? We suggest that many of the intellectual premises in the field may defang conservation and prevent it from truly addressing the current conservation crisis as it accelerates. By framing conservation conflicts as conflicts between people about wildlife or nature, the field insidiously transfers guilt, whereby human activities are no longer blamed for causing species decline and extinctions but conservation is instead blamed for causing social conflicts. When the focus is on mitigating social conflicts without limiting in any powerful way human activities damaging to nature, conservation-conflict studies risk keeping conservation within the limits of human activities, instead of keeping human activities within the limits of nature. For conservation to successfully stop the biodiversity crisis, we suggest the alternative goal of recognizing nature's right to existence to maintenance of ecological functions and evolutionary processes. Nature being a rights bearer or legal person would imply its needs must be explicitly taken into account in conflict adjudication. If, even in conservation, nature's interests come second to human interests, it may be no surprise that conservation cannot succeed.     

Determination of 27 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in water: The benefit of isotope dilution

• Isotope dilution method was developed for the determination of 27 PPCPs in water. • The established method was successfully applied to different types of water samples. • The correction effect of corresponding 27 ILSs over 70 d was investigated. • Benefit of isotopic dilution method was illustrated for three examples. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a unique group of emerging and non-persistent contaminants. In this study, 27 PPCPs in various water samples were extracted by solid phase extraction (SPE), and determined by isotope dilution method using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem triple quadruple mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). A total of 27 isotopically labeled standards (ILSs) were applied to correct the concentration of PPCPs in spiked ultrapure water, drinking water, river, effluent and influent sewage. The corrected recoveries were 73%–122% with the relative standard deviation (RSD)<16%, except for acetaminophen. The matrix effect for all kinds of water samples was<22% and the method quantitation limits (MQLs) were 0.45–8.6 ng/L. The developed method was successfully applied on environmental water samples. The SPE extracts of spiked ultrapure water, drinking water, river and wastewater effluent were stored for 70 days, and the ILSs-corrected recoveries of 27 PPCPs were obtained to evaluate the correction ability of ILSs in the presence of variety interferences. The recoveries of 27 PPCPs over 70 days were within the scope of 72%–140% with the recovery variation<37% in all cases. The isotope dilution method seems to be of benefit when the extract has to be stored for long time before the instrument analysis.     

Enhanced debromination of 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) by zero-valent zinc with ascorbic acid

• Highly efficient debromination of BDE-47 was achieved in the ZVZ/AA system. • BDE-47 debromination by the ZVZ/AA can be applied to a wide range of pH. • AA inhibits the formation of (hydr)oxide and accelerates the corrosion of ZVZ. • Reduction mechanism of BDE-47 debromination by the ZVZ/AA system was proposed. A new technique of zero-valent zinc coupled with ascorbic acid (ZVZ/AA) was developed and applied to debrominate the 2,2′,4,4′-Tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47), which achieved high conversion and rapid debromination of BDE-47 to less- or non-toxic forms. The reaction conditions were optimized by the addition of 100 mg/L ZVZ particles and 3 mmol/L AA at original solution pH= 4.00 using the solvent of methanol/H₂O (v:v= 4:6), which could convert approximately 94% of 5 mg/L BDE-47 into lower-brominated diphenyl ethers within a 90 min at the ZVZ/AA system. The high debromination of BDE-47 was mainly attributed to the effect of AA that inhibits the formation of Zn(II)(hydr)oxide passivation layers and promotes the corrosion of ZVZ, which leads to increase the reactivity of ZVZ. Additionally, ion chromatography and gas chromatography mass spectrometry analyses revealed that bromine ion and lower-debromination diphenyl ethers formed during the reduction of BDE-47. Furthermore, based on the generation of the intermediates products, and its concentration changes over time, it was proposed that the dominant pathway for conversion of BDE-47 was sequential debromination and the final products were diphenyl ethers. These results suggested that the ZVZ/AA system has the potential for highly efficient debromination of BDE-47 from wastewater.