蛋白组学技术的发展及在水生态毒理学中的应用

作为后基因组时代重要的研究工具,蛋白组学技术的发展对水生态毒理学研究产生了巨大的促进作用。对近年来应用于水生态毒理学研究中的蛋白组学技术的发展历程和应用现状进行了全面的阐述。从蛋白提取、蛋白分离和鉴定、蛋白定量等方面对蛋白组学研究技术的发展进行了系统的介绍,重点介绍和比较了蛋白分离和鉴定技术中的基于胶的技术和非胶技术。在简介蛋白组学技术发展的基础上,以蛋白的识别和定量,特定功能蛋白的研究,蛋白相互作用研究这3个蛋白组学的研究方向为切入点,详细阐述了各类技术在水生态毒理学研究中的应用,如蛋白组学在阐明各种污染物对水生生物的毒性作用机制方面的应用,以及在水体污染状况的监测和评价方面的应用等。最后,指出了目前蛋白组学研究的不足,并有针对性地提出了水生态毒理学研究中蛋白组学的发展方向。     

固-液异相催化剂在环境科学领域中的应用

异相催化是催化反应的重要组成部分，其应用十分广泛。固一液异相催化作为环境科学领域中的一项比较新颖的技术，在研究污染物在多介质环境中的迁移转化行为、开发受污染环境修复及污废水处理新技术等诸多方面都具有很大的发展潜力。因此，对不同类型固一液异相催化剂在环境科学领域的应用研究逐渐成为国内外环境科学领域的研究热点之一。其中，金属和金属氧化物因对某些氧化一还原反应具有较好的催化作用，在饮用水脱氮、污废水脱卤及深度氧化处理等水处理领域的应用较为广泛；固态酸催化剂能催化聚合、裂化、水解反应，因此与某些有机污染物的降解密切相关；将同相催化剂固定化为异相催化剂，同样成为新技术开发的方向之一；天然催化剂对污染物在多介质环境中行为影响的研究近年来也屡有发表。此外，载体因对催化剂的活性及应用具有重要影响，也日益受到关注。文章对环境科学领域中固一液异相催化剂的应用研究进行了综述。     

Sensitivity and Vulnerability in Marine Environments: an Approach to Identifying Vulnerable Marine Areas

Abstract:  Marine environments have suffered from a lack of quantitative methods for delineating areas that are sensitive or vulnerable to particular stresses, natural and anthropogenic. We define sensitivity as the degree to which marine features respond to stresses, which are deviations of environmental conditions beyond the expected range. Vulnerability can then be defined as the probability that a feature will be exposed to a stress to which it is sensitive. Using these definitions, we provide a quantitative methodology for identifying vulnerable marine areas based on valued ecological features, defined as biological or physical features, processes, or structures deemed by humans to have environmental, social, cultural, or economic significance. The vulnerability of the valued ecological features is a function of their sensitivity to particular stresses and their vulnerability to those stresses. We used the methodology to demonstrate how vulnerable marine areas for two groups of endangered whale species (inshore and offshore) could be identified with a predictive habitat model and acoustic stress surfaces. Acoustic stress surfaces were produced for ferry traffic, commercial shipping traffic, potential offshore oil production, and small-boat traffic. The vulnerabilities of the two whale groups to the four stressors considered in this example were relatively similar; however, inshore species were more sensitive to on-shelf, coastal activities such as offshore hydrocarbon production, ferry traffic, and small-boat traffic. Our approach demonstrates how valued features can be associated with stresses and the likelihood of encountering these stresses (vulnerability) in order to identify geographic areas for management and conservation purposes. The method can be applied to any combination of valued ecological features and stressors.     

环境蛋白组学及污染物分子毒性检测技术

环境蛋白组学是蛋白组学与环境科学交叉融合的新兴学科,研究污染环境与蛋白组之间的相互作用规律与检测技术方法.环境蛋白组学的发展,取决于双向凝胶电泳、质谱、蛋白质芯片和生物信息学等技术的完善与应用.综述环境蛋白组学的主流技术,介绍环境蛋白组学技术在污染物分子毒性检测中的应用,探索污染物与蛋白组之间的相互作用机理,是人体与环境健康科技发展的起步过程.     

氯/溴稳定同位素分析技术及其在环境科学研究中的应用

稳定同位素分析被认为是环境污染物溯源和转化途径探究的有效工具.针对氯/溴稳定同位素研究已经开发了一些较为可靠的分析技术,被广泛应用于氯乙烯、氯苯、溴酚、多溴二苯醚和有机氯农药等有机污染物的研究.本文综述了近年来氯/溴同位素分析技术的最新进展,介绍了稳定同位素分析技术在含氯/溴有机污染物的溯源分析和降解途径识别等方面的应用实例,分析了现有分析技术在仪器测定、分析策略、理论知识等方面的不足,展望了该技术的发展方向及其在环境科学领域内的应用前景.     

Technological advance and the conservation of resources

SUMMARY

This paper reviews the nature of technological changes in forestry and the forest industries and their impacts on forest conservation and deforestation. While noting that technological changes have made available substantially more forest products to consumers, with higher quality and/or at lower prices than would otherwise have been possible, not all impacts have been positive.

The authors take a long-term perspective of how changes in technologies, markets and transportation are likely to affect the management and conservation of tropical forests. The paper defines a research challenge to direct and harness science and innovation towards increasing the productivity of forests and reducing the environmental costs associated with forest industries and products.     

海洋环境基因组学在海洋生态研究中的应用

海洋环境基因组学是功能基因组学的一个分支学科,它将基因组学的最新技术引入到海洋生态环境的研究当中,得到了许多有价值的研究成果,显示出巨大的发展潜力。文章总结了海洋环境基因组学所开展的工作和已取得的成果,指出目前海洋环境基因组学的工作主要集中在三个领域:海洋生物基因资源文库的建立与完善;海洋生物对环境胁迫的应激反应及生理机制的研究;探索不同生物种群的基因表达谱是否与生物地理分布相关联。并着重讨论了利用基因组学技术研究环境胁迫对海洋生物物种的分布、生物物种间的相互作用以及水生物疾病的影响。如海洋环境基因组学通过测定基因表达谱的变化,研究海洋生物对环境温度的生理响应,绘制出生物地理图谱;通过测定基因转录水平的变化,更深入地了解温度变化所造成的生理支出,从而预测热气候漂移可能给海洋生态环境所造成的影响。在水生物疾病的研究方面,海洋环境基因组学用DNA微阵列技术分析染病生物的基因表达谱,筛选出发生变化的基因表达,为理解病毒感染机制提供了大量信息。还可以深入研究环境胁迫因子与微生物种群群落的组成关系,并由此找到通过维持水体的微生态平衡来消除某些病害发生的环境条件。     

Recovery of rare and precious metals from urban mines—A review

Urban mining is essential for continued natural resource extraction. The recovery of rare and precious metals (RPMs) from urban mines has attracted increasing attention from both academic and industrial sectors, because of the broad application and high price of RPMs, and their low content in natural ores. This study summarizes the distribution characteristics of various RPMs in urban mines, and the advantages and shortcomings of various technologies for RPM recovery from urban mines, including both conventional (pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical, and biometallurgical processing), and emerging (electrochemical, supercritical fluid, mechanochemical, and ionic liquids processing) technologies. Mechanical/physical technologies are commonly employed to separate RPMs from nonmetallic components in a pre-treatment process. A pyrometallurgical process is often used for RPM recovery, although the expensive equipment required has limited its use in small and medium-sized enterprises. Hydrometallurgical processing is effective and easy to operate, with high selectivity of target metals and high recovery efficiency of RPMs, compared to pyrometallurgy. Biometallurgy, though, has shown the most promise for leaching RPMs from urban mines, because of its low cost and environmental friendliness. Newly developed technologies—electrochemical, supercritical fluid, ionic liquid, and mechanochemical—have offered new choices and achieved some success in laboratory experiments, especially as efficient and environmentally friendly methods of recycling RPMs. With continuing advances in science and technology, more technologies will no doubt be developed in this field, and be able to contribute to the sustainability of RPM mining.

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The Effectiveness of Surrogate Taxa for the Representation of Biodiversity

Abstract: Biodiversity is too complex to measure directly, so conservation planning must rely on surrogates to estimate the biodiversity of sites. The species richness of selected taxa is often used as a surrogate for the richness of other taxa. Surrogacy values of taxa have been evaluated in diverse contexts, yet broad trends in their effectiveness remain unclear. We reviewed published studies testing the ability of species richness of surrogate taxa to capture the richness of other (target) taxa. We stratified studies into two groups based on whether a complementarity approach (surrogates used to select a combination of sites that together maximize total species richness for the taxon) or a richness‐hotspot approach (surrogates used to select sites containing the highest species richness for the taxon) was used. For each comparison of one surrogate taxon with one target, we used the following predictor variables: biome, spatial extent of study area, surrogate taxon, and target taxon. We developed a binary response variable based on whether the surrogate taxon provided better than random representation of the target taxon. For studies that used an evaluation approach that was not based on better than random representation of target taxa, we based the response variable on the interpretation of results in the original study. We performed a categorical regression to elucidate trends in the effectiveness of surrogate taxa with regard to each of the predictor variables. A surrogate was 25% more likely to be effective with a complementarity approach than with a hotspot approach. For hotspot‐based approaches, biome, extent of study, surrogate taxon, and target taxon significantly influenced effectiveness of the surrogate. For complementarity‐based approaches, biome, extent, and surrogate taxon significantly influenced effectiveness of the surrogate. For all surrogate evaluations, biome explained the greatest amount of variation in surrogate effectiveness. From most to least, extent, surrogate taxon, and target taxon explained the most variation after biome. Surrogate taxa were most effective in grasslands and in some cases boreal zones, deserts, and tropical forests; surrogate taxa also were more effective in studies examining larger areas. Herpetofauna were the most effective taxon as both surrogate and target when a richness‐hotspot approach was used; however, herpetofauna were analyzed in fewer studies, so this result is tentative. For complementarity approaches, taxa that are easy to measure and tend to have a large number of habitat specialists distributed collectively across broad environmental gradients (e.g., plants, birds, and mammals) were the most effective surrogates.     

Chromosome damage in individuals exposed to heavy metals†

Testing the mutagenic activity of environmental pollutants has become an important area of modern environmental science and prophylactic medicine. The most suitable method for short‐term mutagenicity testing on man, at present, are chromosome studies on somatic cells of exposed individuals. Mutation types analyzed by such studies are of high practical relevance as indicator system of genetic damage induced in man under in vivo conditions. A rather large series of such studies has been dedicated to the action of heavy metals on individuals contacted with these metals under therapeutic, ecological or occupational conditions or by intoxication. Lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel, mercury, zinc and other metals as well as their compounds have been under study. Analyses of that kind, of course, are hampered by difficulties with the distinct estimation of the actual load as well as unclear conditions of exposition, e.g. simultaneous exposition to different metals.

Results obtained till now arouse some suspicion of a direct or indirect mutagenic activity in man by certain chromium and platinum compounds, arsenic, mercury, and combinations of lead with other heavy metals (cadmium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, etc.). Life style, above all smoking habits, well may act comutagenic. In most cases, however, mutagenic activity of metals and metal compounds apparently is clearly superposed by their toxic activity. In specific cases, chromosome studies also may contribute to discover sources of ecological exposition and to monitor occupational load by heavy metals.     

Taking the Conservation Biology Perspective to Secondary School Classrooms

Abstract: The influence of conservation biology can be enhanced greatly if it reaches beyond undergraduate biology to students at the middle and high school levels. If a conservation perspective were taught in secondary schools, students who are not interested in biology could be influenced to pursue careers or live lifestyles that would reduce the negative impact of humans on the world. We use what we call the ecology‐disrupted approach to transform the topics of conservation biology research into environmental‐issue and ecology topics, the major themes of secondary school courses in environmental science. In this model, students learn about the importance and complexity of normal ecological processes by studying what goes wrong when people disrupt them (environmental issues). Many studies published in Conservation Biology are related in some way to the ecological principles being taught in secondary schools. Describing research in conservation biology in the language of ecology curricula in secondary schools can help bring these science stories to the classroom and give them a context in which they can be understood by students. Without this context in the curriculum, a science story can devolve into just another environmental issue that has no immediate effect on the daily lives of students. Nevertheless, if the research is placed in the context of larger ecological processes that are being taught, students can gain a better understanding of ecology and a better understanding of their effect on the world.     

On allegations of invasive species denialism

Science denialism retards evidenced-based policy and practice and should be challenged. It has been a particular concern for mitigating global environmental issues, such as anthropogenic climate change. But allegations of science denialism must also be well founded and evidential or they risk eroding public trust in science and scientists. Recently, 77 published works by scholars, scientists, and science writers were identified as containing invasive species denialism (ISD; i.e., rejection of well-supported facts about invasive species, particularly the global scientific consensus about their negative impacts). We reevaluated 75 of these works but could find no examples of refutation of scientific facts and only 5 articles with text perhaps consistent with one of the 5 characteristics of science denialism. We found, therefore, that allegations of ISD were misplaced. These accusations of science denialism may have arisen because invasion biology defines its subjects—invasive species—based on multiple subjective and normative judgments. Thus, more than other applied sciences its consensus is one of shared values as much as agreed knowledge. Criticisms of invasion biology have largely targeted those subjective and normative judgments and their global imposition, not the knowledge on which the discipline is based. Regrettably, a few invasion biologists have misinterpreted the critique of their values-based consensus as a denial of their science when it is not. To make invasion biology a more robust and widely accepted science and to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and conflicts, invasion biologists could be more accepting of perspectives originating from other disciplines and more open to values-based critique from scholars and scientists outside their field. This recommendation applies to all conservation sciences, especially those addressing global challenges, because these sciences must serve and be relevant to communities with an extraordinary diversity of cultures and values.     

肠道微生物群和水生毒理学: 环境健康的新概念

高通量测序技术极大地方便了深度考察不同种群中宿主相关微生物群的组成和功能。研究表明微生物在动物包括人类的健康和疾病发病中扮演着必要的角色。微生物已成为环境毒理学中新兴的重要研究主题。这是因为微生物在免疫系统中起着重要的交互的作用,同时在化学解毒中也有作用。污染物扰动肠道微生物,引起胃肠组织的病理生理变化,导致一系列系统效应,致使营养摄入变差和肠道发炎。本文检索了关于环境污染物对水生物种微生物影响的文献,重点关注了肠道微生物。我们强调了脊柱动物宿主中的一些已知的肠道上皮细胞的主要蛋白,这些均是化合物破坏的靶标,这些蛋白可以与微生物直接对话。我们提出了一个有害结局路径(adverse outcome pathway)的总体框架,将肠道生态失调作为有害效应终点事件的主要贡献因子。我们展示了两个案例研究,分别是(1)纳米材料;(2)碳氢化合物,我们参考了Deepwater Horizon港口的石油泄漏事件, 生态失调在案例中展示了微生物的考察如何改善有害结局的研究。最后,我们提出了一些策略以建立化合物诱导的肠道生态失调与有害结局的关联。我们通过实验建立了特定微生物与肠道生态失调的关联。对毒物与微生物关系的深入研究将成为改善动物及人类健康的重大突破。 精选自Ondrej Adamovsky, Amanda N. Buerger, Alexis M. Wormington, Naomi Ector, Robert J. Griffitt, Joseph H. Bisesi Jr., Christopher J. Martyniuk. The gut microbiome and aquatic toxicology: An emerging concept for environmental health. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry,2018,37:2758-2775.
详情请见 https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4249
     

计算机技术在环境保护信息系统中的应用

结合国内外实际环境系统信息的调研成果和客户需求分析以及环境领域自身的科学规律，论述了7种计算机技术(3S技术、在线监测技术、模型技术、多媒体和可视化技术、人工智能技术、仿真技术和互联网技术)在环境保护信息系统中的应用前景。具有辅助决策功能的综合环境保护信息系统的主要功能包括：(1)信息获取与显示；(2)信息查询；(3)环境信息的分析；(4)环境信息的表达。用计算机技术实现环境保护信息系统的主要功能关键问题在于：(1)系统的有效管理；(2)3S技术与环境模型的融合和集成；(3)专家系统(ES)与3S技术的融合；(4)仿真系统与3S技术的融合：(5)在线监测技术与3S技术的融合；(6)环境系统与Intranet/Internet的融合。     

Environmental deterioration of farmlands caused by the irrational use of agricultural technologies

Without considering the ecosystem-dependence of agricultural production, irrational use of agricultural technologies could bring only short-term economic benefits but leave long-term environmental deterioration. If some agricultural lands have to be abandoned because of these technologies such as chemical films or groundwater depletion, it will aggravate the burden of remaining lands for maintaining or enhancing production. Thus, agricultural production should be a part of public services, requiring the consideration of interests of different stakeholders and sustainability.     

Current molecular biologic techniques for characterizing environmental microbial community

Microbes are vital to the earth because of their enormous numbers and instinct function maintaining the natural balance. Since the microbiology was applied in environmental science and engineering more than a century ago, researchers desire for more and more information concerning the microbial spatio-temporal variations in almost every fields from contaminated soil to wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). For the past 30 years, molecular biologic techniques explored for environmental microbial community (EMC) have spanned a broad range of approaches to facilitate the researches with the assistance of computer science: faster, more accurate and more sensitive. In this feature article, we outlined several current and emerging molecular biologic techniques applied in detection of EMC, and presented and assessed in detail the application of three promising tools.     

中国环境基准研究重点方向探讨

环境基准是环境标准的科学依据,在国家环境质量评价和风险管理体系中处于基础地位。它主要是依据特定对象在环境介质中的暴露数据,以及与环境要素的剂量效应关系数据,通过科学判断得出的,涉及环境化学、毒理学、生态学、流行病学、生物学和风险评估等前沿学科领域。国家环境基准研究是一个长期的系统工程,本文基于环境基准研究的学科特点和国际前沿,结合国家科技需求和相关领域的研究现状,综合分析并提出了未来中国环境基准研究的重点研究方向:1)环境基准的理论与方法学;2)环境基准基础数据库;3)基准目标污染物的筛选甄别和优先排序技术;4)水体营养物基准;5)生物测试与毒性评价技术;6)人体暴露评价理论与相关技术;7)环境基准的审核和校对;8)环境基准与标准转化理论及其对环境管理支撑技术。本文从环境基准学科发展的角度,阐述了与环境基准研究紧密相关的8个重点研究方面的国内外研究进展、关键科学问题以及未来重点研究内容。同时指出,这些重要的研究方向是环境基准研究的根本,未来环境基准的长期战略发展必将是建立在各个重要方向长足发展的基础之上,环境基准研究也必带动这些方向的共同蓬勃发展,为环境地球化学、毒理学、生态学等学科领域发展注入活力。     

Interactions of Endocrine-active environmental chemicals with the nuclear receptor PXR

There is growing concern about the human-health impact of environmental chemicals that have the potential to disrupt normal endocrine function. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) include structurally diverse organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), plasticizers, fungicides, herbicides and pharmaceutical compounds, and can have a profound impact on development, and on reproductive, neurological and immune system functions. While many studies have focused on the role of androgen receptor, estrogen receptor and aryl hydrocarbon receptor in mediating the effects of EDCs, other nuclear receptors that regulate steroid hormone action and metabolism may also serve as targets of EDC action. This review focuses on two classes of EDCs, PCBs and phthalate monoesters, both of which have been shown to interact with pregnane X receptor (PXR), a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily that regulates a large number of target genes, many of which have important roles in steroid metabolism and transport. Recent findings on the ability of PCBs and phthalate monoesters to activate PXR are discussed and the potential role of PXR and other intracellular receptor proteins in mediating toxicities associated with EDC exposure is considered. Finally, we discuss several gaps in our knowledge regarding the actions of EDCs and the difficulties associated with the evaluation of risks associated with exposure to these endocrine active environmental chemicals.     

Practical Science Communication Strategies for Graduate Students

Development of skills in science communication is a well‐acknowledged gap in graduate training, but the constraints that accompany research (limited time, resources, and knowledge of opportunities) make it challenging to acquire these proficiencies. Furthermore, advisors and institutions may find it difficult to support graduate students adequately in these efforts. The result is fewer career and societal benefits because students have not learned to communicate research effectively beyond their scientific peers. To help overcome these hurdles, we developed a practical approach to incorporating broad science communication into any graduate‐school time line. The approach consists of a portfolio approach that organizes outreach activities along a time line of planned graduate studies. To help design the portfolio, we mapped available science communication tools according to 5 core skills essential to most scientific careers: writing, public speaking, leadership, project management, and teaching. This helps graduate students consider the diversity of communication tools based on their desired skills, time constraints, barriers to entry, target audiences, and personal and societal communication goals. By designing a portfolio with an advisor's input, guidance, and approval, graduate students can gauge how much outreach is appropriate given their other commitments to teaching, research, and classes. The student benefits from the advisors’ experience and mentorship, promotes the group's research, and establishes a track record of engagement. When graduate student participation in science communication is discussed, it is often recommended that institutions offer or require more training in communication, project management, and leadership. We suggest that graduate students can also adopt a do‐it‐yourself approach that includes determining students’ own outreach objectives and time constraints and communicating these with their advisor. By doing so we hope students will help create a new culture of science communication in graduate student education. Estrategias Prácticas para la Comunicación Científica para Estudiantes de Posgrado     

Revisiting two dogmas of conservation science

Conservation science is a morally motivated field, with implicit and explicit values built into its practice. As such, conservationists must engage with conservation ethics to interrogate underlying values. We examine cutting-edge ecological science and contemporary ethics to revisit two conservation norms that have become dogmatic in the field: ecological collectives, but not individual animals, are valuable and anthropomorphism should be staunchly avoided. Emerging studies demonstrate that individuals and their intraspecific variation can be instrumentally valuable for conservation science, and there is an emerging consensus within environmental philosophy around the moral worth of individuals. Thus, we suggest conservation science should explicitly recognize the value of individuals. We also argue that avoiding anthropomorphism is detrimental to conservation because critical anthropomorphism enables a more nuanced scientific approach—allowing conservationists to ask enlightened questions with creativity and compassion. We provide evidence that both dogmatic norms are scientifically and morally outdated and propose new normative values to push conservation towards more robust science and ethical practice.