Removal of humic substances by biosorption

Fungal pellets of Aspergillus niger 405,Aspergillus ustus 326,and Stachybotrys sp.1103 were used for the removal of humic substances from aqueous solutions.Batchwise biosorption,carried out at pH 6 and 25°C,was monitored spectrophotometrically and the process described with Freundlich’s model.Calculated sorption coeffcients Kf and n showed that A.niger exhibited the highest effciency.A good match between the model and experimental data and a high correlation coeffcient(R2)pointed out to judicious choice of ...     

Transport and fate of mercury under different hydrologic regimes in polluted stream in mining area

Seepage from Hg mine wastes and calcines contains high concentrations of mercury (Hg). Hg pollution is a major environmental problem in areas with abandoned mercury mines and retorting units. This study evaluates factors, especially the hydrological and sedimentary variables, governing temporal and spatial variation in levels and state of mercury in streams impacted by Hg contaminated runo . Samples were taken during di erent flow regimes in theWanshan Hg mining area in Guizhou Province, China. In its headwaters the sampled streams/rivers pass by several mine wastes and calcines with high concentration of Hg. Seepage causes serious Hg contamination to the downstream area. Concentrations of Hg in water samples showed significant seasonal variations. Periods of higher flow showed high concentrations of total Hg (THg) in water due to more particles being re-suspended and transported. The concentrations of major anions (e.g., Cl??, F??, NO3?? and SO4 2??) were lower during higher flow due to dilution. Due to both sedimentation of particles and dilution from tributaries the concentration of THg decreased from 2100 ng/L to background levels (< 50 ng/L) within 10 km distance downstream. Sedimentation is the main reason for the fast decrease of the concentration, it accounts for 69% and 60% for higher flow and lower flow regimes respectively in the upper part of the stream. Speciation calculation of the dissolved Hg fraction (DHg) (using Visual MINTEQ) showed that Hg(OH)2 associated with dissolved organic matter is the main form of Hg in dissolved phase in surface waters in Wanshan (over 95%).     

Contribution of precursor compounds to the release of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) from waste water treatment plants (WWTPs)

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances(PFASs) are ubiquitous in sludge and water from waste water treatment plants, as a result of their incorporation in everyday products and industrial processes. In this study, we measured several classes of persistent PFASs,precursors, transformation intermediates, and newly identified PFASs in influent and effluent sewage water and sludge from three municipal waste water treatment plants in Sweden, sampled in 2015. For sludge, samples from 2012 and 2014 were analyzed as well.Levels of precursors in sludge exceeded those of perfluoroalkyl acids and sulfonic acids(PFCAs and PFSAs), in 2015 the sum of polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric acid esters(PAPs) were 15–20 ng/g dry weight, the sum of fluorotelomer sulfonic acids(FTSAs) was 0.8–1.3 ng/g,and the sum of perfluorooctane sulfonamides and ethanols ranged from non-detected to 3.2 ng/g. Persistent PFSAs and PFCAs were detected at 1.9–3.9 ng/g and 2.4–7.3 ng/g dry weight, respectively. The influence of precursor compounds was further demonstrated by an observed substantial increase for a majority of the persistent PFCAs and PFSAs in water after waste water treatment. Perfluorohexanoic acid(PFHxA), perfluorooctanoic acid(PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid(PFHxS), and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid(PFOS)had a net mass increase in all WWTPs, with mean values of 83%, 28%, 37% and 58%,respectively. The load of precursors and intermediates in influent water and sludge combined with net mass increase support the hypothesis that degradation of precursor compounds is a significant contributor to PFAS contamination in the environment.     

长期饲喂钬对鲤鱼非特异性免疫酶活性的影响

以鲤鱼为研究对象,进行为期60 d的饲喂试验,研究了硝酸钬对其非特异性免疫的影响。结果表明:与对照组相比,在实验剂量范围内,超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GSH-Px)在肝脏中呈先升高后降低的趋势,SOD、GSH-Px酶活性在20 mg·kg~(-1)时,升高显著(P0.05),三者在65 mg·kg~(-1)时都被显著抑制(P0.05);在肾中都被诱导,在65 mg·kg~(-1)升高显著(P0.05)。肝肾中丙二醛(MDA)含量都变化不显著(P0.05)。抗超氧阴离子自由基、抑制羟自由基能力和单胺氧化酶(MAO)活性都降低,且在65 mg·kg~(-1)时降低显著(P0.05或P0.01)。因此,在饲料中添加稀土元素钬20、42、65 mg·kg~(-1),能够影响非特异性免疫力,且鲤鱼肝组织比肾脏反应更敏感。     

陡河水库鱼体汞的生物积累初探

为了解陡河燃煤电厂大气汞释放对毗邻的陡河水库水生生态系统中鱼体汞含量、生物积累和放大等的影响,本研究采集陡河水库野生鱼、虾和螺蛳,分别测定了鱼样等生物样品中的总汞和甲基汞,并对部分代表性样品测定稳定碳氮同位素比值。鱼汞分布特征和δ13C‰和δ15N‰同位素比值分布特征显示:鱼体(鲜样)中总汞和甲基汞平均含量分别为56.4±26.7和15.5±8.4 ng·g-1,总汞含量最高的是杂食性的白条鱼为133 ng·g-1。不同食性的鱼体δ13C和δ15N稳定同位素值变化范围分别为-28.1‰~-24.4‰和12.0‰~16.1‰,Log10[Hg]与δ15N的线性相关斜率值为负值。以上结果表明:陡河水库鱼体汞总体偏低,没有发现高生物积累和生物放大,其主要原因在于陡河水库水环境中汞含量较低,且陡河水库靠近市区,过度捕捞使可以捕获的鱼样种类和数量偏少,且鱼龄较低。     

Soil C and N changes with afforestation of grasslands across gradients of precipitation and plantation age

Afforestation, the conversion of unforested lands to forests, is a tool for sequestering anthropogenic carbon dioxide into plant biomass. However, in addition to altering biomass, afforestation can have substantial effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) pools, some of which have much longer turnover times than plant biomass. An increasing body of evidence suggests that the effect of afforestation on SOC may depend on mean annual precipitation (MAP). The goal of this study was to test how labile and bulk pools of SOC and total soil nitrogen (TN) change with afforestation across a rainfall gradient of 600-1500 mm in the Rio de la Plata grasslands of Argentina and Uruguay. The sites were all former grasslands planted with Eucalyptus spp. Overall, we found that afforestation increased (up to 1012 kg C x ha(-1) x yr(-1)) or decreased (as much as 1294 kg C x ha(-1) x yr(-1)) SOC pools in this region and that these changes were significantly related to MAP. Drier sites gained, and wetter sites lost, SOC and TN (r2 = 0.59, P = 0.003; and r2 = 0.57, P = 0.004, respectively). Labile C and N in microbial biomass and extractable soil pools followed similar patterns to bulk SOC and TN. Interestingly, drier sites gained more SOC and TN as plantations aged, while losses reversed as plantations aged in wet sites, suggesting that plantation age in addition to precipitation is a critical driver of changes in soil organic matter with afforestation. This new evidence implies that longer intervals between harvests for plantations could improve SOC storage, ameliorating the negative trends found in humid sites. Our results suggest that the value of afforestation as a carbon sequestration tool should be considered in the context of precipitation and age of the forest stand.     

典型汞污染河流生物膜和沉积物中汞的分布特征

为弄清汞污染历史河流水体、生物膜和沉积物中汞污染现状和潜在风险,本研究选择贵州省清镇市东门桥河为研究对象,采集河流水体、生物膜和沉积物样品,并测定其汞的形态含量。结果表明,东门桥河水体总汞(THg)、溶解态汞(DHg)和颗粒态汞(PHg)的平均含量分别为66.46±51.87 ng/L、10.67±5.15 ng/L和55.79±50.26 ng/L,PHg含量高达72%。生物膜中THg和MeHg的平均含量分别为9.38±12.39 mg/kg、19.58±22.21μg/kg;沉积物中THg和MeHg的平均含量分别为30.89±24.64 mg/kg、21.50±7.20μg/kg。水体和生物膜中汞的季节分布特征为夏季秋季春季。受清淤情况和市政污水排放的影响,随着采样点逐渐远离总排污口,水体汞含量呈现逐渐升高的趋势,而沉积物和生物膜的汞含量呈现出逐渐下降的趋势。     

Twenty years of stream restoration in Finland: little response by benthic macroinvertebrate communities

The primary focus of many in-stream restoration projects is to enhance habitat diversity for salmonid fishes, yet the lack of properly designed monitoring studies, particularly ones with pre-restoration data, limits any attempts to assess whether restoration has succeeded in improving salmonid habitat. Even less is known about the impacts of fisheries-related restoration on other, non-target biota. We examined how restoration aiming at the enhancement of juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) affects benthic macroinvertebrates, using two separate data sets: (1) a before-after-control-impact (BACI) design with three years before and three after restoration in differently restored and control reaches of six streams; and (2) a space-time substitution design including channelized, restored, and near-natural streams with an almost 20-year perspective on the recovery of invertebrate communities. In the BACI design, total macroinvertebrate density differed significantly from before to after restoration. Following restoration, densities decreased in all treatments, but less so in the controls than in restored sections. Taxonomic richness also decreased from before to after restoration, but this happened similarly in all treatments. In the long-term comparative study, macroinvertebrate species richness showed no difference between the channel types. Community composition differed significantly between the restored and natural streams, but not between restored and channelized streams. Overall, the in-stream restoration measures used increased stream habitat diversity but did not enhance benthic biodiversity. While many macroinvertebrates may be dispersal limited, our study sites should not have been too distant to reach within almost two decades. A key explanation for the weak responses by macroinvertebrate communities may have been historical. When Fennoscandian streams were channelized for log floating, the loss of habitat heterogeneity was only partial. Therefore, habitat may not have been limiting the macroinvertebrate communities to begin with. Stream restoration to support trout fisheries has strong public acceptance in Finland and will likely continue to increase in the near future. Therefore, more effort should be placed on assessing restoration success from a biodiversity perspective using multiple organism groups in both stream and riparian ecosystems.     

Heart rate variability and motion sickness during forklift simulator driving

The goal of the study was to determine the effect of a 1-h hour long forklift truck virtual simulator driving on the mechanism of autonomic heart rate (HR) regulation in operators. The participants were divided into 2 subgroups: subjects with no definite inclination to motion sickness (group A) and subjects with a definite inclination to motion sickness (group B). Holter monitoring of electrocardiogram (ECG) signal was carried out in all subjects during the virtual simulator driving. For 12 consecutive epochs of ECG signal, HR variability analysis was conducted in time and frequency domains. In subjects with a definite inclination to motion sickness after ~30 min of the driving, changes in parameter values were found indicating an increase in sympathetic and parasympathetic activity with parasympathetic dominance.     

Evaluation of sound exposure and risk of hearing impairment in orchestral musicians

This study aimed to assess exposure to sound and the risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in orchestral musicians. Sound pressure level was measured in 1 opera and 3 symphony orchestras; questionnaires were filled in. On the basis of that data, the risk of NIHL was assessed according to Standard No. ISO 1999:1990. Classical orchestral musicians are usually exposed to sound at equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure levels of 81?90 dB (10th?90th percentiles), for 20?45 h (10th?90th percentiles) per week. Occupational exposure to such sound levels over 40 years of employment might cause hearing loss (expressed as a mean hearing threshold level at 2, 3, 4 kHz exceeding 35 dB) of up to 26%. Playing the horn, trumpet, tuba and percussion carries the highest risk (over 20%).