微生物燃料电池藻阴极性能比较及膜污染分析

为考察藻种类及阴极材料对藻阴极型微生物燃料电池性能的影响,以微藻及水绵为阴极生物,分别采用碳毡,碳纸,载铂碳纸为阴极材料,构建了微生物燃料电池。结果显示,以碳毡作为阴极材料时,2种藻阴极微生物燃料电池最大功率密度均高于以碳纸为阴极材料时相应的功率密度。采用载铂碳纸为阴极材料、天然湖水为阴极液,微生物燃料电池最大功率密度分别达到165.1 mW/m2(微藻阴极)和119.9 mW/m2(水绵阴极)。电化学测试表明,藻类生长形态影响了阴极的电化学特征,进而影响到了微生物燃料电池的性能。藻阴极MFC长期运行时,膜污染是藻阴极微生物燃料电池功率密度下降的关键因素之一。SEM-EDS分析显示,膜两侧污染主要原因分别是微生物生长和磷酸盐晶体沉积。     

Synergistic increase in cell lethality by dieldrin and H2O2 in rat thymocytes: Effect of dieldrin on the cells exposed to oxidative stress

Dieldrin, one of persistent pesticides, is highly resistant to biotic and abiotic degradation. It is accumulated in organisms. Recent studies suggest that dieldrin exerts a potent cytotoxic action on cells exposed to oxidative stress. In this study, the effect of dieldrin on rat thymocytes exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced oxidative stress was examined. Dieldrin at 5 μM and H₂O₂ at 300 μM slightly increased cell lethality from a control value of 5.4 ± 0.5% (mean ± standard deviation of four experiments) to 7.8 ± 1.3% and 9.0 ± 0.3%, respectively. Simultaneous application of dieldrin and H₂O₂ significantly increased cell lethality to 46.2 ± 1.8%. The synergistic increase in cell lethality was dependent on dieldrin concentration (0.3–5 μM) but not on H₂O₂ concentration (30–300 μM). Dieldrin accelerated H₂O₂-induced cell death, which was estimated with the help of annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide. Presence of either dieldrin or H₂O₂ decreased the cellular content of nonprotein thiol and increased intracellular Zn²⁺ concentration. The combination of dieldrin and H₂O₂ further pronounced these effects. TPEN, a chelator of intracellular Zn²⁺, significantly attenuated the synergistic increase in cell lethality induced by dieldrin and H₂O₂. It is, therefore, suggested that dieldrin augments the cytotoxicity of H₂O₂ in a Zn²⁺-dependent manner.     

A chemometric approach to the evaluation of atmospheric and fluvial pollutant inputs in aquatic systems: the Guadalquivir River estuary as a case study

To establish the quality of waters it is necessary to identify both point and non-point pollution sources. In this work, we propose the combination of clean analytical methodologies and chemometric tools to study discrete and diffuse pollution caused in a river by tributaries and precipitations, respectively.During a two-year period, water samples were taken in the Guadalquivir river (selected as a case study) and its main tributaries before and after precipitations. Samples were characterized by analysing nutrients, pH, dissolved oxygen, total and volatile suspended solids, carbon species, and heavy metals. Results were used to estimate fluvial and atmospheric inputs and as tracers for anthropic activities.Multivariate analysis was used to estimate the background pollution, and to identify pollution inputs. Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis were used as data exploratory tools, while box-whiskers plots and Linear Discriminant Analysis were used to analyse and distinguish the different types of water samples.