Contamination characteristics of trace metals in dust from different levels of roads of a heavily air-polluted city in north China

Concentrations of eight trace metals (TMs) in road dust (RD) (particles?<?25 μm) from urban areas of Xinxiang, China, were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The geometric mean concentrations of Zn, Mn, Pb, As, Cu, Cr, Ni and Cd were 489, 350, 114, 101, 60.0, 39.7, 31.6, and 5.1 mg kg^?1, respectively. When compared with TM levels in background soil, the samples generally display elevated TM concentrations, except for Cr and Mn, and for Cd the enrichment value was 69.6. Spatial variations indicated TMs in RD from park path would have similar sources with main roads, collector streets and bypasses. Average daily exposure doses of the studied TMs were about three orders of magnitude higher for hand-to-mouth ingestion than dermal contact, and the exposure doses for children were 9.33 times higher than that for adults. The decreasing trend of calculated hazard indexes (HI) for the eight elements was As?>?Pb?>?Cr?>?Mn?>?Cd?>?Zn?>?Ni?>?Cu for both children and adults.     

Assessment using CFD of the wind direction on the air discharges caused by natural ventilation of a poultry house

Air inside poultry houses must be removed on a regular basis to prevent excess of heat, particles and noxious gases that can imperil animals. To cope with this issue, natural ventilation could be an effective method when assisted by accurate predictions. This study investigates air discharges caused by natural ventilation of a poultry house by means of a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. It solves the governing equations of momentum, heat and mass transport, radiative transfers and animal-generated heat. Wind directions of 0°, 36° and 56° (0° corresponds to a wind blowing perpendicular to the ridgeline) were investigated; the CFD model predictions achieved a RMSE of 1.2 °C and 0.6 g[H₂O] kg^?1 [dry air] for internal temperature and absolute humidity, respectively, when air blew with an angle of 36°. Air renewal rates (ARR) were 39.5 (±?1.9), 34.9 (±?2.2) and 33.6 (±?1.7) volumes of the building per hour, when air blew at 0°, 36° and 56°, respectively. Such ARR predictions served to know how the gases contained in air would likely spread downstream from the building in order to define regions of potentially high gas concentration that could endanger neighbouring habitable facilities.     

Effects of Topographical Heterogeneity and Dispersal Limitation on Species Turnover in a Temperate Mountane Ecosystem: a Case Study in the Henan Province,China

Species turnover patterns can be inconsistent due to differences in the dispersal ability of different growth forms. Here, species of trees, shrubs, herbs, and bryophytes in the Xiaoqinling National Nature Reserve in China were analyzed to determine patterns of species turnover along an elevation and spatial gradient. Variance partitioning was used to assess the relative contribution of topographic heterogeneity and dispersal limitation to species turnover. Our results suggest that the effect of dispersal limitation is more important than topographic heterogeneity on species turnover in temperate mountane ecosystems in the study area. Dispersal limitation has a greater effect on trees species turnover than on shrubs, herbs or bryophytes species turnover.     

Difference in the net value of ecological services between natural and artificial forests in China

Land degradation is a global problem that seriously threatens human society. However, in China and elsewhere, ecological restoration still largely relies on a traditional approach that focuses only on ecological factors and ignores socioeconomic factors. To improve the effectiveness of ecological restoration and maximize its economic and ecological benefits, a more efficient approach is needed that provides support for policy development and land management and thereby promotes environmental conservation. We devised a framework for assessing the value of ecosystem services that remain after subtracting costs, such as the opportunity costs, costs of forest protection, and costs for the people who are affected by the program; that is, the net value of ecosystem services (NVES). To understand the difference between the value of a resource and the net value of the ecosystem service it provides, we used data on VES, timber sales, and afforestation costs from China's massive national afforestation programs to calculate the net value of forest ecosystem services in China. Accounting for the abovementioned costs revealed an NVES of ¥6.1 × 10¹² for forests in 2014, which was 35.9% less than the value calculated without accounting for costs. As a result, the NVES associated with afforestation was 55.9% less than the NVES of natural forests. In some regions, NVES was negative because of the huge costs of human-made plantations, high evapotranspiration rates (thus, high water opportunity costs), and low forest survival rates. To maximize the ecological benefits of conservation, it is necessary to account for as many costs as possible so that management decisions can be based on NVES, thereby helping managers choose projects that maximize both economic and ecological benefits.     

南京地区污水厂、自来水厂及长江水域MCR-1和NDM-1携带菌耐药特征

为了研究以多粘菌素耐药基因(MCR-1)和新德里金属β-内酰胺酶-1基因(NDM-1)携带菌为代表的"超级细菌"在地表水中的环境行为,以长江南京段典型水域及邻近城市污水厂和自来水厂为研究对象,考察了MCR-1和NDM-1携带菌的耐药特性及其变化特征。结果发现,污水厂进水和生物处理单元2种细菌耐药能力均处于较高水平,随处理流程呈降低趋势,至消毒出水中不再被检出。长江中MCR-1携带菌耐粘菌素的半抑制浓度(EC50)较高,平均达37.89 mg·L-1,顺水流方向无显著降低。仅在下游朱家山河汇入口和长江大桥附近滨江公园检出较高耐药水平的NDM-1携带菌。2种细菌耐药水平受水体污染程度和人类活动影响较明显。自来水厂MCR-1携带菌数目较少,但其EC50平均可达32.75 mg·L~(-1),常规处理单元中未检出NDM-1携带菌。水处理工艺显著降低了细菌耐药水平,但排泥水中2种细菌均检出,且耐药水平相比进水显著提高。本研究可为评价水介质中超级抗性基因及其携带菌的环境风险提供参考。     

磷酸三苯酯(TPP)和磷酸三(2-氯异丙基)酯(TCPP)诱导人胚肾细胞HEK293凋亡的机制研究

磷系阻燃剂对人体的潜在毒性作用引起了国内外研究者的广泛关注。肾脏是机体重要的排毒器官,若肾脏细胞受损,可能影响肾脏功能的正常发挥。本研究以人胚肾细胞HEK293为研究对象,结合传统毒理学实验,筛选出磷酸三苯酯(TPP)及磷酸三(2-氯异丙基)酯(TCPP)诱导人胚肾细胞HEK293凋亡的关键靶标基因p53。在此基础上采用分子对接模拟和光谱法分析发现,TPP和TCPP分别以嵌插方式和沟槽方式结合p53-DNA,改变基因片段的框架结构,启动分子起始事件,通过影响相关基因(Bax、Hrk、Bcl-2和Bad)的表达量,导致线粒体途径释放cyt c,最终激活Caspase 7实现细胞凋亡。研究结果阐明了此类污染物诱导凋亡的作用机制,为毒害化学品的污染防控提供理论依据。     

乙草胺对蛋白核小球藻的毒性效应研究

乙草胺是我国使用量最大的除草剂之一,在水体中广泛存在。已有研究证明,乙草胺对人类、老鼠和鱼类具有毒害效应,而关于其对浮游植物影响的研究较少。以蛋白核小球藻(Chlorella pyrenoidosa)为模型,使用1～10 000μg·L~(-1)的乙草胺对其进行7 d的暴露实验,考察小球藻生长性能、叶绿素含量、光合作用产氧量以及光合作用相关基因(pbsA、rbcL和rbcS)表达的变化。结果表明,较低浓度的乙草胺可刺激蛋白核小球藻生长,而较高浓度乙草胺则会抑制其生长;并且乙草胺会通过影响小球藻叶绿素的含量而影响光合作用产氧量;小球藻光合作用相关基因pbsA、rbcL和rbcS表达大多显著上升,这可能是对乙草胺胁迫响应的反馈调节。研究表明,乙草胺会对蛋白核小球藻的生长及光合作用产生影响。     

Characteristics analysis of near-field and far-field aerodynamic noise around high-speed railway bridge

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aerodynamic noise around the high-speed railway bridge is studied by the train-bridge-flow field numerical model and theory analysis. With the...     

Phosphorus adsorption by functionalized biochar: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Phosphorus is essential element for agricultural production, yet phosphorus ore resources are non-renewable and become depleted. Moreover, phosphate release from...     

Systematic review of conservation interventions to promote voluntary behavior change

Understanding human behavior is vital to developing interventions that effectively lead to proenvironmental behavior change, whether the focus is at the individual or societal level. However, interventions in many fields have historically lacked robust forms of evaluation, which makes it hard to be confident that these conservation interventions have successfully helped protect the environment. We conducted a systematic review to assess how effective nonpecuniary and nonregulatory interventions have been in changing environmental behavior. We applied the Office of Health Assessment and Translation systematic review methodology. We started with more than 300,000 papers and reports returned by our search terms and after critical appraisal of quality identified 128 individual studies that merited inclusion in the review. We classified interventions by thematic area, type of intervention, the number of times audiences were exposed to interventions, and the length of time interventions ran. Most studies reported a positive effect (n = 96). The next most common outcome was no effect (n = 28). Few studies reported negative (n = 1) or mixed (n = 3) effects. Education, prompts, and feedback interventions resulted in positive behavior change. Combining multiple interventions was the most effective. Neither exposure duration nor frequency affected the likelihood of desired behavioral change. Comparatively few studies tested the effects of voluntary interventions on non-Western populations (n = 17) or measured actual ecological outcome behavior (n = 1). Similarly, few studies examined conservation devices (e.g., energy-efficient stoves) (n = 9) and demonstrations (e.g., modeling the desired behavior) (n = 5). There is a clear need to both improve the quality of the impact evaluation conducted and the reporting standards for intervention results.