Use of hematological and plasma biochemical parameters to assess the chronic effects of a fungicide propiconazole on a freshwater teleost

Blood is an indicator of physiological condition of an animal. Therefore, the chronic effects of propiconazole, a triazole fungicide present in aquatic environment, on hematology of rainbow trout were investigated in this study. Fish were exposed at various concentrations of PCZ (0.2, 50 and 500 μg L(-1)) for 7, 20 and 30 d. Multiple biomarkers were measured, including hematological indices (hemoglobin concentration, red blood cells count, hematocrit, leukocyte count, mean erythrocyte hemoglobin, mean erythrocyte volume and mean color concentration) and plasma biochemical parameters (ammonia, glucose, total proteins, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase). Through principal component analysis and integrated biomarker response assessment, influence extent induced by PCZ-stress of each test group was distinguished. Additional, all parameters measured in this study displayed different dependent patterns to PCZ concentrations and exposure time by two-way ANOVA. The results of this study indicate that chronic exposure of PCZ has altered multiple physiological indices in fish hematology and CK activity may be an early biomarker of PCZ toxicity; however, before these parameters are used as special biomarkers for monitoring residual PCZ in aquatic environment, more detailed experiments in laboratory need to be performed in the future.     

Robust Regression with Data-Dependent Regularization Parameters and Autoregressive Temporal Correlations

We introduce robust procedures for analyzing water quality data collected over time. One challenging task in analyzing such data is how to achieve robustness in presence of outliers while maintaining high estimation efficiency so that we can draw valid conclusions and provide useful advices in water management. The robust approach requires specification of a loss function such as the Huber, Tukey’s bisquare and the exponential loss function, and an associated tuning parameter determining the extent of robustness needed. High robustness is at the cost of efficiency loss in parameter loss. To this end, we propose a data-driven method which leads to more efficient parameter estimation. This data-dependent approach allows us to choose a regularization (tuning) parameter that depends on the proportion of “outliers” in the data so that estimation efficiency is maximized. We illustrate the proposed methods using a study on ammonium nitrogen concentrations from two sites in the Huaihe River in China, where the interest is in quantifying the trend in the most recent years while accounting for possible temporal correlations and “irregular” observations in earlier years.     

基于生态服务价值的多目标水源地土地利用结构优化

为探讨首都水源地最佳水土资源优化配置模式,选取北京山区怀柔水库流域为研究对象,基于研究区5期(1990、1995、2000、2005 和2008)卫星遥感影像数据,分析了怀柔水库流域1990~2008年间土地利用时空变化特征,并基于生态服务价值理论、灰参数线性规划理论和CLUE-S模型对怀柔水库流域土地利用进行空间优化配置模式研究.结果表明:现有土地利用结构在优化配置后流域生态系统服务功能价值较2008年增加1795.4万元,增幅5.4%.其中,流域涵养水源功能价值量增加最多,为560.9万元,净化大气的价值增长幅度最大,增长率达到9.3%.研究结果可为该区域水土地资源的可持续利用、开发和管理提供科学依据.     

褐煤脱水及水质净化研究

为实现褐煤提质并缓解褐煤产区缺水现状,采用微波及水热脱水方法对褐煤进行脱水改性并回收褐煤所脱水分.通过检测水分化学需氧量、氨氮、总磷、硬度、离子、有机化合物等各项指标,对褐煤中水分进行深入分析,并比较两种脱水方法的脱水、净化效果.结果表明微波方式脱水率可达70%~80%,除化学需氧量外,其它水质指标均符合工业用水标准,且杂质含量随微波功率增加而降低,利于净化回收.水热方式可有效改善褐煤煤质,脱水率最高可达87.44%,但各项水质指标均大大超出标准范围,且杂质含量在250℃工况下达到最大.两种冷凝水均检测到微量有毒金属元素、有毒致癌的多环芳烃及酚类化合物,将成为后续净化的主要脱除对象.     

纳米银对小球藻光合作用和呼吸作用的影响

使用硼氢化钠还原硝酸银,聚乙烯醇(PVA)作为分散剂,制备出粒径为(7 ± 3)nm的纳米银,分别使用计数法和溶解氧法,研究了纳米银对小球藻(Chlorella vulgaris)生长、光合作用和呼吸作用的影响,并调查了对叶绿素a的抑制状况.结果显示,黑暗条件下加入3mg/L的纳米银,基本抑制了小球藻的呼吸作用,当暴露于4mg/L的纳米银时,小球藻生长的抑制率为93%;而光照条件下加入10mg/L纳米银时,才能抑制其光合作用,此时对小球藻生长的抑制率达到90%.光照时,叶绿素a在10mg/L纳米银的作用下,抑制率达到77%.研究表明了纳米银对小球藻呼吸作用有很强的抑制作用,对光合作用的影响可能通过抑制叶绿素a的合成或破坏叶绿体的结构来完成;光照能够明显减弱纳米银的毒性.     

A fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) approach to eco-environmental vulnerability assessment for the danjiangkou reservoir area,China

The Danjiangkou reservoir lies in the upper Hanjiang basin and is the source of water for the Middle Route Project (MRP) under the South-to-North Water Transfer Scheme (SNWT) in China. The eco-environment of water resource areas plays an important role in water conservation and purification and would have significant implications for the economic prosperity in Hanjiang basin as well as for the SNWT. Focusing on the Danjiangkou Reservoir Area (DRA), this study established an environmental information system database. Based on the database, an eco-environmental vulnerability assessment method using integrated fuzzy AHP (FAHP) and GIS was developed for the DRA. According to eco-environmental conditions and anthropic effects, vulnerability was classified into five levels: potential, light, medium, heavy and very heavy. The eco-environmental vulnerability distribution and major problems of the eco-environment were analysed and discussed. The results indicated that eco-environmental vulnerability in the DRA was moderate overall. Regions with lower eco-environmental vulnerability were located in Qinling Mountain area in the northwest, Daba Mountain area in the south and the area immediately surrounding Danjiangkou Reservoir in the east. Two regions with very high eco-environmental vulnerability were located in the north of Danjiangkou Reservoir in Henan province and in the western part of Shanxi province. On the basis of analysis of distribution of the different factors of eco-environmental vulnerability, different environmental protection measures were proposed for different areas. This study demonstrated that the proposed method was an effective approach for the assessment of environmental vulnerability. The results gained closely reflected the reality of the eco-environmental vulnerability of the DRA.     

Regulation of glutathione-dependent antioxidant defense system of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella under the combined stress of mercury and temperature

In this study, we investigated the combined effects of temperatures fluencies and mercury (Hg) on glutathione-dependent antioxidant system in fish, by measuring the oxidative stress indicator (LPO, lipid peroxidation) and the parameters involved in the glutathione-related antioxidant defense system (GPx, glutathione peroxidase; GR, glutathione reductase; GST, glutathione S-transferase; GSH, reduced glutathione), as well as the expression of related genes in grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella. Fish (45.37?±?3.58 g) were exposed to 10 test groups, e.g., 15 °C with/without Hg, 20 °C with/without Hg, 25 °C with/without Hg, 30 °C with/without Hg, 35 °C with/without Hg for 4 weeks. Three-way ANOVA was used to analyze the correlation between the measured parameters and experimental conditions (water temperature, Hg exposure, exposure time, and their interactions.). Our results show that there is no interaction between mercury and low temperature, but the combined effect at high temperature has been confirmed, which indicated the glutathione-dependent enzyme system in grass carp has a complex regulatory mechanism with temperature fluctuations. In the actual field monitoring, it is necessary to consider the impact of extreme temperature on the toxicity of pollutants in the aquatic ecosystem.

     

丹江口水库新增淹没区农田土壤潜在风险评估

通过野外调查与室内模拟实验,采用综合评价指数法对丹江口水库新增淹没区农田土壤进行了潜在风险评估,结果表明:新增淹没区土壤背景总氮为0.3~3.8g/kg,平均值1.1g/kg;总磷为0.2~2.4g/kg,平均值0.8g/kg,入库支流区域土壤背景氮磷含量较高,新增淹没区的含量较低;土壤模拟淹水浸泡的溶出总氮为0.2~11.8mg/L、总磷为0.006~2.2mg/L,平均值分别为4.1,0.3mg/L.空间分布上,土壤溶出氮磷与新增淹没区土壤氮磷背景值变化相似.新增淹没区潜在风险评估等级由低到高的面积分别占整个新增淹没区总面积的3.3%、21.2%、56.9%、15.9%、2.7%,表明大部分新增淹没区处于中低风险等级,其中高风险区域主要集中在入库支流区域.     

A latest review on the application of microcosm model in environmental research

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Microcosms are used experimentally to simulate ecosystems. This technology has received increasing attention and is widely used for environmental...     

Spatial/temporal variations of elemental carbon, organic carbon, and trace elements in PM10 and the impact of land-use patterns on community air pollution in Paterson, NJ

An urban community PM10 (particulate matter < or = 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter) air pollution study was conducted in Paterson, NJ, a mixed land-use community that is interspersed with industrial, commercial, mobile, and residential land-use types. This paper examines (1) the spatial/temporal variation of PM10, elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and nine elements; and (2) the impact of land-use type on those variations. Air samples were collected from three community-oriented locations in Paterson that attempted to capture industrial, commercial, and mobile source-dominated emissions. Sampling was conducted for 24 hr every 6 days from November 2005 through December 2006. Samples were concurrently collected at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection-designated air toxics background site in Chester, NJ. PM10 mass, EC, OC, and nine elements (Ca, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, S, Ti, and Zn) that had more than 50% of samples above detection and known sources or are toxic were selected for spatial/temporal analysis in this study. The concentrations of PM10, EC, OC, and eight elements (except S) were significantly higher in Paterson than in Chester (P < 0.05). The concentrations of these elements measured in Paterson were also found to be higher during winter than the other three seasons (except S), and higher on weekdays than on weekends (except Pb). The concentrations of EC, Cu, Fe, and Zn at the commercial site in Paterson were significantly higher than the industrial and mobile sites; however, the other eight species were not significantly different within the city (P > 0.05). These results indicated that anthropogenic sources of air pollution were present in Paterson. The source apportionment confirmed the impact of vehicular and industrial emissions on the PM10 ambient air pollution in Paterson. The multiple linear regression analysis showed that categorical land-use type was a significant predictor for all air pollution levels, explaining up to 42% of the variability in concentration by land-use type only.