Assessment of deep aquifer groundwater quality in a geographically unique climatic region of Southern Western Ghats,India using water quality indices

Water quality index (WQI) models are generally used in hydrochemical studies to simplify complex data into single values to reflect the overall quality. In this study, deep groundwater quality in the Chittur and Palakkad Taluks of the Bharathapuzha river basin of Kerala, India, was assessed by employing the WQI method developed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). The assessment of overall water quality is indispensable due to the specific characteristics of the study area, such as geography, climate, over-drafting, and prevalent agricultural practices. Forty representative samples were collected from the study area for monsoon (MON) and pre-monsoon (PRM) seasons. The results showed a general increase of contents from MON to PRM. The major cations were spread in the order Ca²⁺>Na+>Mg²⁺>K⁺ and the anions HCO₃⁻>Cl⁻>CO₃²⁻ based on their relative abundance. Among various parameters analysed, alkalinity and bicarbonate levels during MON were comparatively high, which is indicative of carbonate weathering, and 90% of the samples failed to meet the World Health Organization (WHO, 2017)/Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS, 2012) drinking water guidelines. The CCME WQI analysis revealed that nearly 50% of the samples during each season represented good and excellent categories. The samples in the poor category comprised 10% in MON and 15% in PRM. The overall WQI exhibited 15% of poor category samples as well. The spatial depiction of CCME WQI classes helped to expose zones of degraded quality in the centre to eastward parts. The spatial and temporal variations of CCME WQI classes and different physicochemical attributes indicated the influence of common factors attributing to the deep groundwater quality. The study also revealed inland salinity at Kolluparamba and Peruvamba stations, where agricultural activities were rampant with poor surface water irrigation.     

Effect of ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nicotine on the structure of Aβ42 protein

● B[a]P, nicotine and phenanthrene molecules altered the secondary structure of Aβ₄₂. ● β-content of the peptide was significantly enhanced in the presence of the PAHs. ● Nicotine made stable cluster with Aβ₄₂ peptide via hydrogen bonds. ● Phenanthrene due to its small size, interfered with the Aβ₄₂ monomer more strongly. Recent studies have correlated the chronic impact of ambient environmental pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with the progression of neurodegenerative disorders, either by using statistical data from various cities, or via tracking biomarkers during in-vivo experiments. Among different neurodegenerative disorders, PAHs are known to cause increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, related to the development of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide oligomers. However, the complex molecular interactions between peptide monomers and organic pollutants remains obscured. In this work, we performed an atomistic molecular dynamics study via GROMACS to investigate the structure of Aβ₄₂ peptide monomer in the presence of benzo[a]pyrene, nicotine, and phenanthrene. Interestingly the results revealed strong hydrophobic, and hydrogen-bond based interactions between Aβ peptides and these environmental pollutants that resulted in the formation of stable intermolecular clusters. The strong interactions affected the secondary structure of the Aβ₄₂ peptide in the presence of the organic pollutants, with almost 50 % decrease in the α-helix and 2 %–10 % increase in the β-sheets of the peptide. Overall, the undergoing changes in the secondary structure of the peptide monomer in the presence of the pollutants under the study indicates an enhanced formation of Aβ peptide oligomers, and consequent progression of Alzheimer’s disease.     

钙钛矿型催化剂催化湿式氧化处理煤气化废水纳滤浓缩液

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了Mn掺杂钙钛矿型催化剂LaFexMn1-xO3，并以其为催化剂催化湿式双氧水氧化处理煤气化废水纳滤浓缩液。采用XRD，SEM，FTIR技术对催化剂进行了表征。表征结果显示：制备的催化剂均具有标准的钙钛矿型结构，其中，LaFe0.9Mn0.1O3的结构稳定，比表面积大。实验结果表明：制备的催化剂中LaFe0.9Mn0.1O3的催化活性最高，且稳定性好，连续使用5次后催化活性未见明显减弱；在H2O2投加量3.0 g/L、n（H2O2）∶n（LaFe0.9Mn0.1O3）=12∶1、反应温度160 ℃、反应压力1 MPa、浓缩液pH 3、反应时间60 min的最优条件下，COD、UV254和TOC的去除率分别达到80.9%、95.2%和68.0%，BOD5/COD由0.02提升至0.40，可生化性大幅提高。     

渤海湾入海溶解无机氮总量控制研究

基于渤海湾近岸海域的实际调查结果,采取生态物理耦合模型,对渤海湾的主要污染物-溶解无机氮(DIN)的基准环境容量和极小剩余海洋环境容量进行了计算。结果表明,渤海湾DIN的极小剩余海洋环境容量在Ⅰ类和Ⅱ类水质标准下均为负值,渤海湾的DIN已经超标。结合实际的海水功能区水质管理目标,应重点控制非点源的排放,加强上游携带入境污染物的处理,从总量上控制DIN入海污染通量,改善渤海湾水质。     

面向区域二次污染风险控制的臭氧及其前体物卫星遥感监测

日益突出的臭氧(O_3)污染已成为继PM2. 5之后我国大气污染防治的又一艰巨任务。由于氮氧化物(NO_x)、挥发性有机物(VOCs)这2种前体物的减排难度较大,且与O_3浓度存在复杂的非线性关系,准确获取O_3及NO_x、VOCs的时空分布对制定有效的防控措施至关重要。基于卫星遥感可定量反演O_3及2种前体物的代表性物种——二氧化氮(NO_2)、甲醛(HCHO)及乙二醛(C_2H_2O_2)的时空分布信息。面向区域O_3污染分析和防控应用,综述了卫星遥感对O_3及NO_2、HCHO、C_2H_2O_2的探测能力,以及利用遥感手段分析区域O_3及其前体物的传输。进而从O_3与NO_x、VOCs关系的角度,分析了利用卫星反演的前体物表征O_3生成风险的可行性。最后对卫星在区域O_3及其前体物监测方面的前景趋势提出了思考。     

火灾发生率空间分异及影响因素研究

为了探究我国火灾空间聚集特征与影响因素的空间异质性，采用全局莫兰指数、局部莫兰指数、逐步回归模型、地理加权回归模型、地理探测器方法对我国地级市单元进行研究。研究结果表明:我国火灾发生率具有显著的聚集性；我国火灾发生率较低的“冷点”区域有1个，火灾发生率较高的“热点”区域有4个；人均GDP、城镇居民人均可支配收入、人口密度、年平均气温4 个因素的影响效应具有空间异质性。人均GDP与火灾发生率为正相关，另外3影响因素对火灾发生率的作用表现出正负2种相关关系；2因素交互作用要比单因素作用于火灾发生率时影响力更显著，各影响因素的交互作用类型有非线性增强型和双因子增强型2种。     

Packed in-tube solid phase microextraction with graphene oxide supported on aminopropyl silica: Determination of target triazines in water samples

On-line in-tube solid phase microextraction (in-tube SPME) coupled to high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was successfully applied to the determination of selected triazines in water samples. The method based on the employment of a packed column containing graphene oxide (GO) supported on aminopropyl silica (Si) showed that the extraction phase has a high potential for triazines extraction aiming to its physical-chemical properties including ultrahigh specific surface area, good mechanical and thermal stability and high fracture strength. Injection volume and loading time were both investigated and optimized. The method validation using Si-GO to extract and concentrate the analytes showed satisfactory results, good sensitivity, good linearity (0.2–4.0 µg L^?1) and low detection limits (1.1–2.9 ng L^?1). The high extraction efficiency was determined with enrichment factors ranging from 1.2–2.9 for the lowest level, 1.3–4.9 intermediate level and 1.2–3.0 highest level (n = 3). Although the analytes were not detected in the real samples evaluated, the method has demonstrated to be efficient through its application in the analysis of spiked triazines in ground and mineral water samples.     

纳米铁氧化物吸附处理重金属废水的研究进展

概述了用于吸附重金属的主要纳米铁氧化物的种类及其吸附效果,介绍了常见的纳米铁氧化物制备方法及改性方法,讨论了影响纳米铁氧化物吸附重金属的主要因素,并对纳米铁氧化物在水环境保护领域中的研究方向提出了展望:如发展绿色、高效的纳米铁氧化物制备工艺,探讨纳米铁氧化物结构调控和表面功能化对其吸附性能的影响等。     

300MW锅炉低NOx燃烧系统改造效果分析

针对日益严重的环境污染、锅炉热效率低等问题，阐述了燃煤锅炉炉内空间分级燃烧技术、煤粉浓淡高效分离技术改造项目和特点，提出了对燃烧器系统、一次风管道、二次风系统和空预器系统等系统进行具体的低氮改造措施。分析了300 MW燃煤锅炉低氮改造后的热经济性和安全性。经试验验证，1号锅炉低氮改造后，锅炉NOx 排放量大幅减少，排放浓度降到了280 mg／m3。     

Using environmental and geographic data to optimize ex situ collections and preserve evolutionary potential

Maintenance of biodiversity through seed banks and botanical gardens, where the wealth of species’ genetic variation may be preserved ex situ, is a major goal of conservation. However, challenges can persist in optimizing ex situ collections if trade-offs exist among cost, effort, and conserving species evolutionary potential, particularly when genetic data are not available. We evaluated the genetic consequences of population preservation informed by geographic (isolation by distance [IBD]) and environmental (isolation by environment [IBE]) distance for ex situ collections for which population provenance is available. We used 19 genetic and genomic data sets from 15 plant species to assess the proportion of population genetic differentiation explained by geographic and environmental factors and to simulate ex situ collections prioritizing source populations based on pairwise geographic distance, environmental distance, or both. Specifically, we tested the impact prioritizing sampling based on these distances may have on the capture of neutral, functional, or putatively adaptive genetic diversity and differentiation. Individually, IBD and IBE explained limited population genetic differences across all 3 genetic marker classes (IBD, 10–16%; IBE, 1–5.5%). Together, they explained a substantial proportion of population genetic differences for functional (45%) and adaptive (71%) variation. Simulated ex situ collections revealed that inclusion of IBD, IBE, or both increased allelic diversity and genetic differentiation captured among populations, particularly for loci that may be important for adaptation. Thus, prioritizing population collections based on environmental and geographic distance data can optimize genetic variation captured ex situ. For the vast majority of plant species for which there is no genetic information, these data are invaluable to conservation because they can guide preservation of genetic variation needed to maintain evolutionary potential within collections.