Heavy metal leaching from coal fly ash amended container substrates during Syngonium production

Coal fly ash has been proposed to be an alternative to lime amendment and a nutrient source of container substrates for ornamental plant production. A great concern over this proposed beneficial use, however, is the potential contamination of surface and ground water by heavy metals. In this study, three fly ashes collected from Florida, Michigan, and North Carolina and a commercial dolomite were amended in a basal substrate. The formulated substrates were used to produce Syngonium podophyllum Schott 'Berry Allusion' in 15-cm diameter containers in a shaded greenhouse. Leachates from the containers were collected during the entire six months of plant production and analyzed for heavy metal concentrations. There were no detectable As, Cr, Hg, Pb, and Se in the leachates; Cd and Mo were only detected in few leachate samples. The metals constantly detected were Cu, Mn, Ni, and Zn. The total amounts of Cu, Mn, Ni, and Zn leached during the six-month production period were 95, 210, 44, and 337 microg per container, indicating that such amounts in leachates may contribute little to contamination of surface and ground water. In addition, plant growth indices and fresh and dry weights of S. podophyllum 'Berry Allusion' produced from fly ash and dolomite-amended substrates were comparable except for the plants produced from the substrate amended with fly ash collected from Michigan which had reduced growth indices and fresh and dry weights. Thus, selected fly ashes can be alternatives to commercial dolomites as amendments to container substrates for ornamental plant production. The use of fly ashes as container substrate amendments should represent a new market for the beneficial use of this coal combustion byproduct.     

中部地区碳排放时空演变及其影响因素分析

为实现碳达峰、碳中和目标,研究我国中部地区的碳排放时空演变及其影响因素有着重要的意义.使用2012—2019年NPP-VIIRS夜光遥感数据计算中部地区的碳排放量,结合地理探测器对碳排放时空变化及其影响因子进行分析.分析结果显示：①山西省碳排放量居中部地区首位,河南省次之,安徽省碳排放量位居第三,后为湖北省和湖南省,江西省碳排放最低;②2012—2019年在中部地区碳排放量聚集程度逐年减弱,高高聚集面积从210742.9 km²减少到153999.3 km²,低低聚集面积由148249.2 km²减少到103804.0 km²;③通过地理探测器分析的结果得到：对中部地区各省份碳排放影响因子解释力较大的为经济要素：地区生产总值和第二生产总值;中部地区各省份碳排放因子解释力较高的双因子交互多为经济要素.研究显示,中部地区各个省份碳排放分布及影响因素存在一定的差异,在制定碳达峰、碳中和行动方案时应考虑到不同地区碳排放的差异,本研究为中部地区制定节能减排政策提供数据支撑.     

Embryonic exposure to low concentration of bisphenol A affects the development of Oryzias melastigma larvae

The prevalence of bisphenol A (BPA) in the environment has attracted increasing attention because of the toxicity of this manmade pollutant. However, the toxicity related to cardiac development remains largely unknown. In the present paper, we investigated the cardiac toxicity of BPA using marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) embryos. At 2?days postfertilization (dpf), the embryos were continuously exposed to a low concentration of BPA (200?μg/L) for the whole embryonic stage. Heart rate and sinus venosus (SV)-bulbus arteriosus (BA) distance were measured under microscopy. The mRNA expression levels of genes were quantified by SYBR real-time RT-PCR, and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used to examine the histology of fish larvae hearts. Neither the heart rate nor the SV-BA distance of the embryos was affected by BPA exposure. However, the mRNA expression levels of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, BMP4, COX-1, FGF8, GATA4, and NKX2.5 were all downregulated at the critical developmental stages (6 and 10?dpf). Interestingly, the mRNA expression levels of COX-2 and LERP were significantly upregulated at 10?dpf. The mRNA expressions of inflammation-related genes (TNFα, IL1β, SOD, and CCL11) were all significantly upregulated after exposure. Moreover, we found that both the body length and the body width decreased in the larvae after embryonic exposure to BPA. The distributed foci of inflammation were observed in the juveniles after 2?weeks' depuration. Exposure to BPA at embryonic stages could alter the expression of heart development-related genes and inflammation-related genes of O. melastigma. The larvae hatched from exposed embryos showed the foci of inflammation in the heart ventricles and the decrease of the body length and width.     

患红体病的凡纳滨对虾外壳膜NAGase基本性质的改变

分别以健康和患红体病的凡纳滨对虾(Litopenaeus vanname)外壳膜为材料,抽提其N-乙酰-β-D-氨基葡萄糖苷酶(EC 3.2.1.52,简称NAGase),测定分析两种来源对虾的外壳膜NAGase的活力和性质的差异.测得健康对虾NAGase的活力为 34.80 U mg-1,而患红体病对虾的活力为 38.32 U mg-1.结果表明:两种来源对虾的NAGase活力、基本酶学性质等均存在差异.表明对虾患红体病后,外壳膜NAGase的活力、催化反应动力学常数Km和Vm值、活化能均较高,但其最适温度较低, pH稳定性及热稳定性较差.     

邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基己)酯(DEHP)和邻苯二甲酸单乙基己基酯(MEHP)长期暴露对海洋青鳉(Oryzias melastigma)内分泌干扰效应的评价

为探讨邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基己)酯(DEHP)和邻苯二甲酸单乙基己基酯(MEHP)长期暴露对海水生物的内分泌干扰效应及机制,将孵化后1周的海洋青鳉(Oryzias melastigma)分别暴露于DEHP(0.1 mg·L-1和0.5 mg·L-1)和MEHP(0.1 mg·L-1和0.5 mg·L-1)6个月。结果显示:DEHP显著增加了雌性和雄性海洋青鳉的肝指数,而MEHP只在高剂量时显著增加雄性青鳉的肝指数。对于雌性青鳉,DEHP暴露后肝脏雌激素相关基因ERα、ERβ、ERγ、VTG1、VTG2、ChgH和ChgL的表达水平显著上调,而对于雄性青鳉,DEHP暴露后,只有肝脏ERβ的表达水平显著上调。相比之下,MEHP暴露对雌性和雄性青鳉肝VTG和Chg基因表达无显著影响。DEHP激活了雌性和雄性青鳉的肝过氧化物增殖激活受体PPARα和PPARγ,而MEHP只在低剂量时上调了雄性青鳉PPARγ的表达。在雌性和雄性青鳉体内,VTG和Chg的表达与ERα和ERγ的表达显著相关,并且ER与PPAR也显著相关。研究表明,DEHP长期暴露可通过激活肝性激素受体调控肝雌激素响应基因(VTG和Chg)和过氧化物增殖激活受体(PPARα和PPARγ)的表达而对海洋青鳉产生内分泌干扰效应,并且显示出性别特异性。MEHP对海洋青鳉的内分泌干扰效应弱于DEHP。     

Environmental risk assessment of selected organic chemicals based on TOC test and QSAR estimation models

Environmental risks of organic chemicals have been greatly determined by their persistence,bioaccumulation, and toxicity(PBT) and physicochemical properties. Major regulations in different countries and regions identify chemicals according to their bioconcentration factor(BCF) and octanol–water partition coefficient(Kow), which frequently displays a substantial correlation with the sediment sorption coefficient(Koc). Half-life or degradability is crucial for the persistence evaluation of chemicals. Quantitative structure activity relationship(QSAR) estimation models are indispensable for predicting environmental fate and health effects in the absence of field-or laboratory-based data. In this study, 39 chemicals of high concern were chosen for half-life testing based on total organic carbon(TOC) degradation,and two widely accepted and highly used QSAR estimation models(i.e., EPI Suite and PBT Profiler) were adopted for environmental risk evaluation. The experimental results and estimated data, as well as the two model-based results were compared, based on the water solubility, Kow, Koc, BCF and half-life. Environmental risk assessment of the selected compounds was achieved by combining experimental data and estimation models. It was concluded that both EPI Suite and PBT Profiler were fairly accurate in measuring the physicochemical properties and degradation half-lives for water, soil, and sediment.However, the half-lives between the experimental and the estimated results were still not absolutely consistent. This suggests deficiencies of the prediction models in some ways, and the necessity to combine the experimental data and predicted results for the evaluation of environmental fate and risks of pollutants.     

The impact of air pollution on COVID-19 pandemic varied within different cities in South America using different models

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - There is a rising concern that air pollution plays an important role in the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the results were not consistent on the...     

In situ combined chemical and biological assessment of estrogenic pollution in a water recycling system

Estrogenic pollution and its control in aquatic systems have drawn substantial attention around the world. The chemical and biological assessment approaches currently utilized in the laboratory or field cannot give an integrated assessment of the pollution when used separately. In this study, in situ chemical and biological methods were combined to detect pollution in a water recycling system. Data for the water quality index(WQI) demonstrated that the water treatment resulted in the decline of pollution from upstream to downstream.Wild male Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, was sampled in June and September. The concentrations of four common endocrine disrupting chemicals(EDCs) were determined in the tilapia liver by chromatographic analysis methods. The level of 17β-estradiol(E2) declined from upstream to downstream in both months. In contrast, the levels of bisphenol A(BPA),di-(2-ethylhcxyl) phthalate(DEHP), and perfluorooctane sulfonate(PFOS) did not display this declining tendency. The highest relative expression of vitellogenin 1(VTG1) was observed in tilapia from upstream, then the level significantly decreased along the water system. The relative expression levels of CYP1A1 in the water system were also significantly higher than that of the control. However, no declining trend could be observed along the water system. The change of VTG1 expression corresponded well with that of E2 levels in the tilapia liver. Overall,our study assessed the pollution by endocrine disruptors using chemical and biological data with good correspondence. This study also demonstrated the effectiveness of the water recycling system in eliminating estrogen pollution in municipal sewage.     

Di (2-ethylhesyl)(DEHP)和Monoethylphthalate(MEHP)长期暴露对海洋青鳉(Oryzias melastigma)内分泌干扰效应的评价

为探讨邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基己)酯(DEHP)和邻苯二甲酸单乙基己基酯(MEHP)长期暴露对海水生物的内分泌干扰效应及机制,将孵化后1周的海洋青鳉(Oryzias melastigma)分别暴露于DEHP(0.1 mg·L^-1和0.5 mg·L^-1)和MEHP(0.1 mg·L^-1和0.5 mg·L^-1)6个月。结果显示：DEHP显著增加了雌性和雄性海洋青鳉的肝指数,而MEHP只在高剂量时显著增加雄性青鳉的肝指数。对于雌性青鳉,DEHP暴露后肝脏雌激素相关基因ERα、ERβ、ERγ、VTG1、VTG2、ChgH和ChgL的表达水平显著上调,而对于雄性青鳉,DEHP暴露后,只有肝脏ERβ的表达水平显著上调。相比之下,MEHP暴露对雌性和雄性青鳉肝VTG和Chg基因表达无显著影响。DEHP激活了雌性和雄性青鳉的肝过氧化物增殖激活受体PPARα和PPARγ,而MEHP只在低剂量时上调了雄性青鳉PPARγ的表达。在雌性和雄性青鳉体内,VTG和Chg的表达与ERα和ERγ的表达显著相关,并且ER与PPAR也显著相关。研究表明,DEHP长期暴露可通过激活肝性激素受体调控肝雌激素响应基因(VTG和Chg)和过氧化物增殖激活受体(PPARα和PPARγ)的表达而对海洋青鳉产生内分泌干扰效应,并且显示出性别特异性。MEHP对海洋青鳉的内分泌干扰效应弱于DEHP。