Remediation of cadmium-contaminated paddy soils by washing with chemicals: effect of soil washing on cadmium uptake by soybean

We conducted a pot experiment to evaluate the effect of soil washing with CaCl(2) on Cd absorption by two soybean cultivars. The results were as follows: (1) Soybean growth was not significantly different in washed and unwashed soils, but the seed Cd concentration for both cultivars decreased significantly, up to 25%, in the washed soils compared with the unwashed soils. (2) In the washed soils, the Cd concentration in the soil solution indicated an obviously lower value from sowing to the flowering stage; however, the change in Cd speciation was not evident in the CaCl(2)-washed soil solution. Consequently, the effect of soil washing using CaCl(2) on Cd-contaminated paddy soils can be expected to continue after a CaCl(2)-washed paddy field is converted to an upland field.     

Capability development of local communities for project sustainability in afforestation/reforestation clean development mechanism

It has been recognized that the involvement of local community is essential to ensure the sustainability of A/R CDM (afforestation/reforestation clean development mechanism) project. This study verifies if the risks of non-permanence and leakage are addressed in a registered small scale A/R CDM project in Vietnam. Workshops, interviews, and a questionnaire survey of local villagers revealed that the project has caused a shortage of land for conventional activities such as grazing, fuel wood collection and shifting cultivation, and consequently posed the risks of project non-permanence and leakage. It is suggested that participation of all stakeholders in the community to the A/R CDM project beyond existing land tenure and adequate carbon benefit sharing according to the level of contribution to the project are required to reduce the risk of non permanence. To ensure the participation, the community should have capability such as consensus building and collective action. Leakage would be minimized if the community has alternative measures to the conventional activities before starting the project. We argue that it is necessary to first develop a community’s capabilities in the readiness phase of any A/R CDM project in order to reduce the risks for the project sustainability, and that new sources of funding are needed for this purpose.     

Municipal solid waste composition and food loss reduction in Kyoto City

For 35 years, Kyoto City has conducted detailed household waste composition surveys under the guidance of Kyoto University by dividing household waste into approximately 400 categories. In addition, the city has conducted detailed composition surveys of commercial waste generated by businesses. These surveys show that food loss accounts for approximately 40% of total waste, of which leftovers and untouched food account for about 40% in both households and business facilities. Consequently, the annual generation of household and commercial food loss is estimated at about 30,000 tons. Various efforts have been made to reduce waste, including food loss, but further reduction in environmental burden is needed. Thus, Kyoto City revised the ordinance for waste reduction, and in March 2015, formulated a new municipal waste management plan. The plan not only includes the 2Rs (reduce, reuse), but also, for the first time in Japan, sets quantitative targets for reducing food loss. Kyoto City must ensure that the necessary waste reduction measures are clearly explained to the residents and business operators. To ensure that this plan is successful, it is important to clarify concrete actions that residents and business operators should implement, along with their effects.     

Estrogen equivalent concentration of 13 branched para-nonylphenols in three technical mixtures by isomer-specific determination using their synthetic standards in SIM mode with GC-MS and two new diasteromeric isomers

Thirteen isomers of branched para-nonylphenols (para-NP) in three technical mixtures were isomer-specifically determined using their synthesized standards by SIM of structurally specific ions, m/z 135, 149 or 163 with GC–MS. Of the 13 isomers, four isomers, 4-(2,4-dimethylheptan-4-yl)phenol, 4-(4-methyloctan-4-yl)phenol, 4-(3-ethyl-2-methylhexan-2-yl)phenol (3E22NP) and 4-(2,3-dimethylheptan-2-yl)phenol synthesized for their determinations were first used as standard substances. The 13 isomers in the technical mixtures individually occurred at mass percent portion of more than 2%. The total mass percent portions in the mixtures from Tokyo Chemical Industry (TCI), Aldrich, and Fluka covered with 89 ± 2%, 75 ± 4% and 77 ± 2%, respectively. The abundance of 4-(3,6-dimethylheptan-3-yl)phenol in the three mixtures was the largest with 11.1 ± 2% to 9.9 ± 0.3%, while that of 4-(2-methyloctan-2-yl)phenol was the smallest with 2.9 ± 0.3% to 3.0 ± 0.2%. Additionally, structures of four new isomers of more than 1% portion present in a technical mixture were elucidated as two pairs of diastereomeric isomers: two types of 4-(3,4-dimethylheptan-4-yl)phenol (344NP) and those of 4-(3,4-dimethylheptan-3-yl)phenol (343NP). By estrogenic assay of 13 isomers with yeast estrogen screen system, the activity of 3E22NP was the highest, while that of 4-(3-methyloctan-3-yl)phenol was the least. Their relative activities to that of 3E22NP were individually calculated. Estrogenic equivalent concentrations of the three technical mixtures were predictively evaluated. The ratio of the EEC to the conventional concentration, total mass percent portions of the 13 isomers in technical mixtures were 0.208 for TCI, 0.206 for Aldrich and 0.205 for Fluka. The predicted estrogenic activity of measured concentration of para-NP in technical mixtures was approximately 5-fold greater than the measured estrogen agonist activity.     

Quantitative analysis of perfluorinated chemicals in media for in vitro fertilization and related samples

The actual standard in vitro fertilization (IVF) protocol recommends an overnight gamete co-incubation. All of the culture media used for human IVF are supplemented with serum or albumin. In the present study, we determined the concentrations of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in IVF media (IVFM) and related samples by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The results indicated that the concentrations of PFOS and PFOA in the protein source were higher than those in the IVFM samples. Compared with human plasma concentrations of PFCs, PFCs in all of the IVFM samples, such as PFBS, PFHxS and PFOA, were either not detected or present at only trace levels, even when protein source was added. LC/MS/MS could be used to determine PFCs in IVFM samples in future studies of the effects of PFC exposure on intrauterine insemination.     

Behavior and prediction of photochemical degradation of chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cyclohexane

The photochemical degradation of 11 chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (ClPAHs) and the corresponding 5 parent PAHs was examined to simulate the compound’s fate on aerosol surfaces. All the ClPAHs and PAHs decayed according to the first-order reaction rate kinetics. The photolysis rates of ClPAHs varied greatly according to the skeleton of PAHs; the rates of chlorophenanthrenes (ClPhes) and 1-chloropyrene were higher than those of corresponding parent PAHs, whereas chlorofluoranthenes, 7-chlorobenz[a]anthracene and 6-chlorobenzo[a]pyrene were more stable under irradiation compared to respective parent PAH. Considering the photoproducts of ClPhes detected, the oxidation could occur immediately at positions of the highest frontier electron density. Finally, the quantitative structure-property relationship models were developed for direct photolysis half-lives and average quantum yields of the ClPAHs and parent PAHs, in which the significant factors affecting photolysis were E_LUMO+1, total energy and surface area, and E_LUMO, E_LUMO − E_HOMO and total energy, respectively.     

Separation, synthesis and estrogenic activity of 4-nonylphenols: two sets of new diastereomeric isomers in a commercial mixture

Two sets of new diastereomeric 4-nonylphenol (NP) isomers [4-(3,4-dimethylheptan-4-yl)phenol (344NP, NP-J, L) and 4-(3,4-dimethylheptan-3-yl)phenol (343NP, NP-K, P)] were separated from a commercial NP mixture. The mixture of these diastereomers was synthesized at the same time by a single Friedel-Crafts reaction of 3,4-dimethyl-4-heptanol and phenol, and the mixture was separated into individual NPs by HPLC equipped with Hypercarb column. For the first time, in this study the stereostructure-estrogenic activity relationship of NP diastereomers was investigated. The NP isomers (NP-L and NP-P) having the beta-methyl group over the benzene ring were found to be 2-4 times more estrogenic than their diastereomers (NP-J and NP-K). In the case of the other set of diastereomer [4-(3,5-dimethylheptan-3-yl)phenol, (353NP, NP-E, G)] containing gamma-methyl group in the molecule, the gamma-methyl proton signal (delta 0.49) in the more estrogenic isomer (NP-G) also appeared in a higher field than the corresponding methyl signal (delta 0.76) of the less estrogenic isomer (NP-E).     

Evaluation of commercial landscaping mulch for possible contamination from CCA

Wood treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) is found in construction and demolition (C&D) debris, and a common use for wood recycled from C&D debris is the production of mulch. Given the high metals concentrations in CCA-treated wood, a small fraction of CCA-treated wood can increase the metal concentrations in the mulch above regulatory thresholds. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of contamination of CCA-treated wood in consumer landscaping mulch and to determine whether visual methods or rapid X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology can be used to identify suspect mulch. Samples were collected throughout the State of Florida (USA) and evaluated both visually and chemically. Visual analysis focused on documenting wood-chip size distribution, whether the samples were artificially colored, and whether they contained plywood chips which is an indication that the sample was, in part, made from recycled C&D wood. Chemical analysis included measurements of total recoverable metals, leachable metals as per the standardized synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP), and XRF analysis. Visual identification methods, such as colorant addition or presence of plywood, were found effective to preliminarily screen suspect mulch. XRF analysis was found to be effective for identifying mulch containing higher than 75 mg/kg arsenic. For mulch samples that were not colored and did not contain evidence of C&D wood, none exceeded leachable metal concentrations of 50 microg/L and only 3% exceeded 10 mg/kg for recoverable metals. The majority of the colored mulch made from recycled C&D wood contained from 1% to 5% CCA-treated wood (15% maximum fraction) resulting in leachable metals in excess of 50 microg/L and total recoverable metals in excess of 10 mg/kg. The maximum arsenic concentration measured in the mulch samples evaluated was 230 mg/kg, which was above the Florida residential direct exposure regulatory guideline of 2.1 mg/kg.     

Identification and estrogenic characterization of impurities in commercial bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE)

A sample of commercial BADGE was fractioned by HPLC and eight impurities including novel propyl derivatives (2), (5) and (6) were identified by NMR spectrometry, FAB-MS and GC-MS. The estrogenicity, both agonist and antagonist, of fractions containing these impurities was measured with a yeast two-hybrid assay incorporating the human (hER alpha) and a competitive binding assay for hER alpha (ELISA). In the yeast two-hybrid assay, estrogenic antagonist activity was found in two fractions, while estrogenic agonist activity was not found in any. In the ELISA method, the binding affinity to hER alpha was found in three fractions. It is probable that a comprehensive assessment of the estrogenic properties of commercial BADGE, and their implications for human health, will require examination of all its components as described here.     

Sugar compound products of the periphytic diatom <Emphasis Type="Italic">Navicula ramosissima</Emphasis> induce larval settlement in the barnacle, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Amphibalanus amphitrite</Emphasis>

This study investigated the response of cyprids of the barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite to 23 strains of laboratory cultured periphytic diatoms isolated from microbial biofilms that formed on glass slides immersed in Tachibana bay, Nagasaki, and those from mass-production tanks in the Fisheries Center of Nagasaki City, Japan. In addition, periphytic diatoms were subjected to various treatments, in order to investigate the nature of the chemical cue in periphytic diatoms. Cyprids of A. amphitrite responded differently to the 23 different periphytic diatom strains and settled in high percentages on Cocconeis sp. and Navicula ramosissima strain A. On the other hand, nine strains of diatoms significantly inhibited settlement. The settlement inducing activity of N. ramosissima strain A increased linearly with diatom density, and its activity was enhanced by culturing the diatom under a bacteria-free condition, suggesting that specific diatom species, i.e., N. ramosissima strain A, may play an important role on larval settlement of the barnacle. Subjecting N. ramosissima strain A biofilm to hydrochloric acid (HCl) and ethanol (EtOH) treatments or heating it at 100°C did not inactivate the film, indicating that the settlement cue was a stable surface bound compound that did not decompose from the above treatments. Moreover, of the various lectins, enzymes, and drugs [H₅IO₆ and sodium dodecyl sulfate or (SDS)] used, only Lentil Agglutinin (LCA) treatment of N. ramosissima strain A biofilm resulted in the reduction its settlement inducing activity. A positive correlation was observed between the settlement inducing activity and the amount of LCA conjugated fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC-LCA) of N. ramosissima strain A. On the other hand, subjecting biofilms of N. ramosissima strain B, an inactive strain, to various types of treatments resulted in the induction of A. amphitrite larval settlement but LCA treatment also reduced the activity of these treated N. ramosissima strain B biofilms. These findings suggest that a cue containing an LCA-binding sugar chain is present in both A and B strains of N. ramosissima but the large amount of mucous substance covering N. ramosissima strain B biofilm probably makes the sugar chain containing active subunit in strain B unavailable to A. amphitrite cyprids. In conclusion, periphytic diatoms such as N. ramosissima play an important role in larval settlement of the barnacle A. amphitrite. The cue in the diatom was an LCA-binding sugar chain(s) compound that may have similarities to the settlement inducing protein complex (SIPC) from adult shell of the barnacle.