Environmental pollution by antibiotics and by antibiotic resistance determinants

Antibiotics are among the most successful drugs used for human therapy. However, since they can challenge microbial populations, they must be considered as important pollutants as well. Besides being used for human therapy, antibiotics are extensively used for animal farming and for agricultural purposes. Residues from human environments and from farms may contain antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes that can contaminate natural environments. The clearest consequence of antibiotic release in natural environments is the selection of resistant bacteria. The same resistance genes found at clinical settings are currently disseminated among pristine ecosystems without any record of antibiotic contamination. Nevertheless, the effect of antibiotics on the biosphere is wider than this and can impact the structure and activity of environmental microbiota. Along the article, we review the impact that pollution by antibiotics or by antibiotic resistance genes may have for both human health and for the evolution of environmental microbial populations.     

真空紫外光降解五氯酚钠以及过硫酸盐对反应的促进作用

研究了真空紫外光(VUV,185 am)对于水溶液中五氯酚钠的降解,反应2 h后,初始浓度为10 mg/L的五氯酚钠的去除率达到99%以上,有机氯的脱除率达到70%以上,有效地实现了五氯酚钠的脱毒.溶液初始pH值对五氯酚钠的真空紫外光解有很大影响,pH=10.9时的降解速率常数是pH=3.1时的3倍.表观一级反应速率常数随初始浓度的增加而线性下降.在反应溶液中加入过硫酸盐,可有效提高五氯酚钠的真空紫外光降解速率和矿化速率,过硫酸盐和五氯酚钠摩尔比为24时,降解速率提高3倍,反应4 h后TOC去除率达到95%.     

Bioaccumulation and elimination of tetrachlorobenzyltoluene (TCBT) by the rat and by fish

A comparative study has been made of the bioaccumulation and elimination by fish and the rat of (i) tetrachlorobenzyltoluene (TCBT), a substance recently proposed as a substitute for polychlorobiphenyl (PCB), and (ii) DP5, a pentachlorobiphenyl mixture (PCB-5 C1).

The study relating to fish (Brachydanio Rerio) comprised a 30-day accumulation period followed by a 30-day elimination period. Nominal concentrations of TCBT and PCB-5 C1, respectively, in the water, were 1mg/litre in both cases.

The study relating to the rat comprised a 90-day treatment period followed by a 30-day elimination period. The animals were exposed by oral (gavage) to doses of 0, 5, 30, and 200 mg/kg/day in the case of TCBT and to the single dose of 5 mg/kg/day in the case of PCB-5 Cl.

Concentrations of TCBT and PCB-5 Cl in rat liver and fats, in whole body tissues of fish and in water were measured by gas chromatography, using an electron capture detector.

Results showed a clear difference between TCBT and PCB-5 Cl: in fish, bioaccumulation of TCBT was relatively slight and the 50% depuration time was approximately 26 days; in rat liver and fats, TCBT was also only weakly accumulated and rapidly eliminated. This contrasted sharply with the findings for PCB-5 Cl, viz: high accumulation potential and slow elimination.

Observed rates of bioaccumulation and elimination of TCBT and PCB-5 Cl by the rat were in good agreement with the toxicological findings for the same species.     

Copper and Zn uptake by radish and pakchoi as affected by application of livestock and poultry manures

Environmental safety of agricultural utilization of livestock and poultry manures from intensive farming is attracting great attention because the manures often contain high concentrations of heavy metals and organic pollutants. Pot experiments, in which a pig manure (PM), a chicken manure (CM) and a commercial organic manure (OM) with different concentrations of Cu and Zn to simulate soil metal accumulation by manure application for different times were utilized in a garden soil at a rate of 2% (W/W), were conducted to study the effect of application of these livestock and poultry manures on growth of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) and pakchoi (Brassica chinensis L.) as well as their Cu and Zn uptake. The results exhibit that the manures except the PM improved the growth of radish and pakchoi. The difference of biomass among the same manure treatments containing different concentrations of Cu and Zn, however, was insignificant. In addition, application of the livestock and poultry manures significantly increased soil pHs and electric conductivities (EC) compared with the control, which is ascribed that these manures had high pH and contained large amounts of inorganic ions. The available soil Zn concentrations in the PM were higher than that in the CM and OM, and the extractable soil Cu concentrations in the three manures were almost the same after radish growth in the garden soil but were different after pakchoi growth. Zinc and Cu concentrations in the radish and pakchoi tissues increased when the soil Zn and Cu concentrations increased by manures application, but were still within a safe value. An except is the treatment PM4 in which the Zn concentration of the above-ground part of radish was 28.7 mg kg-1, exceeding the Chinese Food Hygiene Standard of 20 mg kg-1 based on fresh weight. Good correlation was obtained between the extractable soil Zn (or Cu) concentrations extracted by 1.0 mol l-1 NH4NO3 and the Zn (or Cu) concentrations in radish and pakchoi tissues, which was expected to be effective in forecasting Cu and Zn availability to radish and pakchoi in manure agronomic utilization.     

Accumulation of aluminum and iron by bryophytes in streams affected by acid-mine drainage

Accumulation of two heavy metals (Al and Fe) by bryophytes was examined in a northern Pennsylvania stream system affected by acid-mine drainage. Four sites within one watershed were selected on the basis of their pH and dissolved metal concentrations. Significant differences among sites were found with regard to bioaccumulation of Al and Fe. A negative relationship between pH and Fe concentrations in bryophyte tissues was found, with the highest accumulation of Fe observed at the most acidic site (pH 3.5), whereas accumulation of Al was highest at a site with an intermediate pH of 5.2. Bryophytes transplanted from a circum-neutral site to acidic sites showed highly significant increases in Fe and Al concentrations in tissues after 6 weeks, and transplants from more acidic sites to a circum-neutral site generally showed highly significant declines in Fe and Al concentrations in tissues after the incubation period.     

开放体系下稻草-白腐菌对染料的吸附脱色与降解

在开放体系下,研究了稻草-白腐菌对孔雀绿和结晶紫的吸附脱色与降解.结果表明,稻草能有效地对孔雀绿和结晶紫进行吸附脱色,其中稻草用量、粒径和pH对稻草吸附染料有一定的影响,在合适条件下稻草对孔雀绿和结晶紫的最大吸附量分别可达到31.89、52.98mg/g;在吸附孔雀绿和结晶紫的稻草中接入白腐菌,发现开放体系下白腐菌能对两种染料进行降解,6d后,孔雀绿和结晶紫的脱色率分别达到93.67%和80.OO%;再生后的稻草基质对孔雀绿和结晶紫也有较好的吸附,最大再生率分别达到74.45%和43.34%.降解过程中白腐菌分泌酶的酶活力与染料及稻草基质降解没有直接的联系.     

Pyrene degradation by yeasts and filamentous fungi

The saprotrophic soil fungi Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc., Cylindrocarpon didymum (Hartig) Wollenw, Penicillium variabile Sopp. and the yeasts Rhodotorula glutinis (Fresenius) Harrison and Rhodotorula minuta (Saito) Harrison were cultured in mineral medium with pyrene. The remaining pyrene concentrations were periodically determined during 20 incubation days, using HPLC. To assess the metabolism of pyrene degradation we added 0.1 microCi of [4,5,9,10] 14C-pyrene to each fungi culture and measured the radioactivity in the volatile organic substances, extractable, aqueous phase, biomass and 14CO2 fractions. The assays demonstrated that F. solani and R. glutinis metabolized pyrene as a sole source of carbon. Differences in their activities at the beginning of the cultures disappeared by the end of the experiment, when 32 and 37% of the original pyrene concentration was detected, for the soil fungi and yeasts, respectively. Among the filamentous fungi, F. solani was highly active and oxidized pyrene; moreover, small but significant degradation rates were observed in C. didymum and P. variahile cultures. An increase in the 14CO2 evolution was observed at the 17th day with cosubstrate. R. glutinis and R. minuta cultures showed similar ability to biotransform pyrene, and that 35% of the initial concentration was consumed at the end of the assay. The same results were obtained in the experiments with or without glucose as cosubstrate.     

Earthworm contamination by PCBs and heavy metals

A comparison is made of soil and earthworm contamination by PCBs and heavy metals between a nature reserve and two sites conditioned by the addition of sewage sludge and compost.The tissues and gut content of the earthworms shows a higher PCB concentration than that of the surrounding soil and also a difference in the fingerprint of some single PCB compounds.Earthworms display a selective accumulation of cadmium and zinc in their tissues and gut content.     

卡拉胶、膨润土改性PVA包埋小球

对PVA+卡拉胶包埋小球和PVA+海藻酸钠包埋小球的性能进行比较,并首次使用PVA+卡拉胶+膨润土混合包埋材料制作包埋小球.结果表明,PVA+海藻酸钠包埋小球在制作过程中有一定的拖尾现象,红墨水到达小球中心的时间为80 min,6d可去除50％的COD;PVA+卡拉胶包埋小球更容易成球,而且红墨水到达小球中心的时间为50 min,6d可去除56％的COD.此外,在PVA+卡拉胶包埋材料中添加适量的膨润土可以将红墨水到达小球中心的时间由50 min缩短到30 min.因此,使用PVA+卡拉胶+膨润土的混合材料制作包埋小球是可行的.最后,通过包埋小球处理抗生素废水的正交实验,得出包埋材料中各组分的最佳配比:PVA浓度11％、卡拉胶浓度0.5％、膨润土浓度2.5％.在这种配比下,包埋小球对抗生素废水中COD的去除率可以达到65％左右.     

选煤脱除氟、砷的研究

研究了采自西南3省、1市17个选煤厂的原煤和洗精煤样品,分析了灰分、氟和砷含量,探讨了选煤脱除氟、砷的机理和影响因素。结果表明,选煤能有效降低煤中氟、砷的含量,应用前景广阔。     

Microalgae cultured by sewage and organic constituents

The microalgae could be multiplied by supplying only sewage influent or effluent without any additional microalgal stock or nutrient salt. In a semicontinuous culture, the N:P weight ratios consumed were 14:1 and 18:1 for the sewage influent and effluent, respectively. The total cell number and green algae ratio of microalgae cultivated by semicontinuous culture exceeded those of batch culture. No cyanobacterial cells were observed in the semicontinuous culture using the sewage effluent. The organic components in the cultured microalgae using sewage effluent, eluted by n-hexane, were determined. The ratio of unsaturated fatty acid exceeded that of saturated fatty acid, which was possibly attributable to the fluidity of the cell membrane. The squalene was also obtained by the culture using sewage alone, free of any external stock or nutrient salt. The higher heating value of the microalgae of semicontinuous culture using the sewage influent was 25 MJ kg⁻¹, corresponding to the heating value of lignite and showing the potential of the sewage culture microalgae as a means of power generation and combustion aid.     

生物膜电极法降解氯苯、二氯苯的研究

研究证实,氯苯和二氯苯在生物膜电极下降解速率显著快于常规方法.质谱分析可知,氯苯的中间产物存在苯酚、乙酸,二氯苯的3种同分异构体中间产物均存在氯酚、苯酚和乙酸.中间产物表明,氯苯、二氯苯的生物膜电极降解途径完全不同于常规生物降解途径,而阴极的还原气氛对脱氯起到关键性影响.     

Accumulation and excretion of chloroanilines by carp

Accumulation and excretion of chloroanilines were studied for carp ( L.). The average bioconcentration factors (BCF) in the whole body of the fish after 24 – 336 hr exposure were 2.0 and 3.7 for o-chloroaniline. 0.8 and 2.2 for m-chloroaniline and 0.8 and 1.7 for p-chloroaniline at high and low concentrations of the chemicals, respectively. The excretion rate constants (k) from the whole body of the fish were 0.19 hr⁻¹ for o-chloroaniline, 0.21 hr⁻¹ for m-chloroaniline and 0.16 hr⁻¹ for p-chloroaniline. The experimental data on the accumulation and excretion of the chloroanilines were consistent with the field data.     

Sorption and desorption of Cu and Cd by macroalgae and microalgae

The sorption and desorption of Cu and Cd by two species of brown macroalgae and five species of microalgae were studied. The two brown macroalgae, Laminaria japonica and Sargassum kjellmanianum, were found to have high capacities at pHs between 4.0 and 5.0 while for microalgae, optimum pH lay at 6.7. The presence of other cations in solution was found to reduce the sorption of the target cation, suggesting a competition for sorption sites on organisms. Sorption isotherms obeyed the Freundlich equation, suggesting involvement of a multiplicity of mechanisms and sorption sites. For the microalgae tested, Spirulina platensis had the highest capacity for Cd, followed by Nannochloropsis oculata, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Platymonas cordifolia and Chaetoceros minutissimus. The reversibility of metal sorption by macroalgae was examined and the results show that both HCl and EDTA solutions were very effective in desorbing sorbed metal ions from macroalgae, with up to 99.5% of metals being recovered. The regenerated biomass showed undiminished sorption performance for the two metals studied, suggesting the potential of such material for use in water and wastewater treatment.     

Comparison of naphthalene bioavailability determined by whole-cell biosensing and availability determined by extraction with Tenax

A rapid biological method for the determination of the bioavailability of naphthalene was developed and its value as an alternative to extraction-based chemical approaches demonstrated. Genetically engineered whole-cell biosensors are used to determine bioavailable naphthalene and their responses compared with results from Tenax extraction and chemical analysis. Results show a 1:1 correlation between biosensor results and chemical analyses for naphthalene-contaminated model materials and sediments, but the biosensor assay is much faster. This work demonstrates that biosensor technology can perform as well as standard chemical methods, though with some advantages including the inherent biological relevance of the response, rapid response time, and potential for field deployment. A survey of results from this work and the literature shows that bioavailability under non-equilibrium conditions nonetheless correlates well with K_oc or K_d. A rationale is provided wherein chemical resistance is speculated to be operative.     

The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue by green semiconductor films that is induced by irradiation by a light-emitting diode and visible light

This study develops a low-energy rotating photocatalytic contactor (LE-RPC) that has Cu-doped TiO₂ films coated on stainless-steel rotating disks, to experimentally evaluate the efficiency of the degradation and decolorization of methylene blue (MB) under irradiation from different light sources (visible 430 nm, light-emitting diode [LED] 460 nm, and LED 525 nm). The production of hydroxyl radicals is also examined. The experimental results show that the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ that is doped with Cu²⁺ is induced by illumination with visible light and an LED. More than 90% of methylene blue at a 10 mg/L concentration is degraded after illumination by visible light (430 nm) for 4 hr at 20 rpm. This study also demonstrates that the quantity of hydroxyl radicals produced is directly proportional to the light energy intensity. The greater the light energy intensity, the greater is the number of hydroxyl radicals produced.

Implications: The CuO-doped anatase TiO₂ powder was successfully synthesized in this study by a sol–gel method. The catalytic abilities of the stainless-steel film were enhanced in the visible light regions. This study has successfully modified the nano-photocatalytic materials to drop band gap and has also successfully fixed the nano-photocatalytic materials on a substratum to effectively treat dye wastewater in the range of visible light. The results can be useful to the development of a low-energy rotating photocatalytic contactor for decontamination purposes.     

Cadmium uptake by tobacco as affected by liming, N form, and year of cultivation

Tobacco is able to accumulate cadmium and reduction of cadmium content can reduce health hazards to smokers. Soil pH and form of N fertilizers are among the factors affecting Cd uptake by tobacco. This hypothesis was tested in an acid soil in northern Greece by a four year field experiment. The variability of Cd uptake by tobacco was attributed to the variation of soil Cd availability as affected by soil pH. Liming with 3000 kg Ca(OH)(2) ha(-1) increased soil pH by 0.8 units and decreased extractable with DTPA soil and leaf Cd by 40% and 35%, respectively. The ammonium fertilizer caused the opposite, but weaker, effects. Liming reduced soil Cd more in the ammonium treatment than in nitrate or combined N treatments. The year of cultivation strongly affected soil and leaf Cd. Four years after tobacco cultivation, soil pH was reduced by 0.5 units, whereas soil and leaf Cd reduction was more than 60% in the limed treatments. Liming affected Cd uptake only in the first three years of cultivation.     

光催化-臭氧氧化降解H酸的研究

采用光催化一臭氧氧化技术（催化膜／UV／O3）降解H酸。研究结果表明，光催化与臭氧氧化相结合具有明显的协同作用。实验进一步讨论了臭氧投加量、废水初始pH值和H酸初始浓度对光催化一臭氧氧化降解H酸的影响。降解后的H酸，萘环结构被破坏，可生化性提高。