Little Egrets (Egretta Garzetta) and Trace-Metal Contamination in Wetlands of China

The rapidly developing Asian countries may face threatening environmental contamination, that however remains largely unassessed. We studied persistent trace elements in three wetlands, Poyang Lake, relatively unpolluted, and Tai Lake, and Pearl River Delta, selected as hotspots of pollution in Central China. We adopted as indicator the Little Egret, a widespread colonial waterbird, and during 1999 and 2000 we collected and analysed the same samples as for a parallel study we conducted in Pakistan, e.g. eggs, body feathers of chicks, prey spontaneously regurgitated by the chicks, and sediments at the areas most used by foraging egrets. The levels of trace-metals at our three study areas were similar, or within the range, of those found in the few other studies for East Asia, with few exceptions. The concentrations of the various elements were below the threshold that may affect the survival or reproduction of the birds, and even the highest concentrations relative to background, i.e. Se in eggs, and Hg in feathers at Pearl Delta, do not pose toxic hazards. In sediments, the levels of trace elements were lower than the critical levels assumed for contaminated soil, except for alarming high levels of As at Poyang. These results do not confirm our expectation, that Poyang was relatively uncontaminated, while Tai and Pearl were polluted. Although trace metal concentration differed significantly among the three study areas, these differences were minor and were not consistent among elements and samples. The bioaccumulation ratios from sediments through prey, feather and egg, were consistent with our previous findings for Pakistan. Only Hg exhibited high bioaccumulation, while Se and Zn had low accumulation, and the other elements no accumulation. This reasserts that feathers of predators such as egrets, may be more sensitive indicators of environmental contamination for the elements subject to bioaccumulation, whereas the sediments or the organisms low in the food chain are better indicators for the other elements.     

改性甘蔗渣对Cu^2＋和Zn^2＋的吸附机理

研究了均苯四甲酸二酐（PMDA）和乙二胺四乙酸二酐（EDTAD）改性甘蔗渣对重金属离子Cu^2＋和Zn^2＋的吸附性能,包括吸附动力学和吸附等温线。结果表明,改性后的甘蔗渣对重金属离子Cu^2＋和Zn^2＋的吸附容量有显著提高,对Cu^2＋和Zn^2＋吸附等温线均符合Langmuir方程,吸附为单分子层吸附。根据Langmuir方程,PMDA和EDTAD改性甘蔗渣对Cu^2＋的吸附量分别为60．21和33．45mg／g,对Zn^2＋的吸附量分别是70．53和36．53mg／g。两种改性甘蔗渣对两种金属离子的吸附在30min内均可完成,用准二级吸附动力学方程模拟动力学过程得到较好的线性相关性。以EDTA溶液为洗脱剂对吸附Cu^2＋和Zn^2＋的改性甘蔗渣进行洗脱再生,再生的吸附剂可反复使用。     

Hexabromocyclododecanes in limnic and marine organisms and terrestrial plants from Tianjin,China: Diastereomer- and enantiomer-specific profiles,biomagnification, and human exposure

To interpret the distribution of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) in various organisms, we measured the concentrations and diastereomer and enantiomer profiles of HBCDs in 21 different species of limnic and marine cohorts from Tianjin, China. The concentration ranges of HBCDs in limnic and marine organisms were 64.3–1111 ng g⁻¹ lw and 85.5–989 ng g⁻¹ lw, respectively. Living habitat and feeding habits had important impacts on HBCD diastereomer distribution. Most of the species appeared to preferentially select (+)-α-, (−)-β- and (−)-γ-HBCD. There is a tendency that the total and α-HBCDs were magnified as trophic level increased with trophic magnification factors (TMFs) around 2. The concentrations of HBCDs in the limnic and marine fishes were highest in the liver, followed by the gill, skin, and muscle. In terrestrial plants, the highest concentrations of HBCDs were observed in the leaf, followed by the root and the rhizosphere soil. Plants showed enantioselectivity for HBCD enantiomers, which varied with plant species and organs (leaf vs. root) of the same plant. Higher estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of HBCDs were observed from fish than from wheat.     

A novel use of anaerobically digested liquid swine manure to potentially control soybean cyst nematode

Experiments were carried out in two steps to determine the effect of anaerobically digested swine manure on soybean cyst nematode (SCN) egg control. In the first step, liquid swine manure underwent anaerobic digestion to search for the best digestion time for both volatile fatty acids (VFA) and ammonium nitrogen (NH₄ ⁺) enrichment. The results showed that about 17 and 28 days of incubation were needed, respectively, to reach the maximal levels of VFA and NH₄ ⁺ in the manure. In the second step, raw, VFA-enriched, and NH₄ ⁺-enriched manure were applied separately, at four different rates (25, 50, 100, and 200 mL/pot), to soil pots inoculated with nematode eggs in a greenhouse environment. Soil samples were collected 35 and 61 days after inoculation to determine the effect of such treated manure on SCN egg productivity. The data indicated that the SCN egg counts were inversely related to the manure application rates in a linear manner with correlation coefficients of 0.998, 0.967, and 0.900 for raw, NH₄ ⁺-enriched, and VFA-enriched manure for the 35-day samples. While no such relationships were found for the 61-day samples, implying that none of the treatments were still effective 61 days after application. At the four application rates, the VFA-enriched manure performed best in reducing SCN egg counts (by 18.1, 19.5, 34.3, and 18.6%) as compared to the raw manure treatment. In contrast, the NH₄ ⁺-enriched manure achieved mostly negative reductions. To achieve the best control of SCN egg growth, the VFA-enriched manure should be used and applied to soybean fields every 35 days.     

Hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-PBDEs) in biosolids from municipal wastewater treatment plants in China

Hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-PBDEs) along with methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (MeO-PBDEs) have been frequently identified as natural compounds in marine environment and also assumed as metabolites of PBDEs. In the present study, nine OH-PBDE, nine MeO-PBDE and 10 PBDE congeners were studied in the sewage sludge collected from 36 municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in 27 cities of China. The results suggest that OH-PBDEs and PBDEs are ubiquitous in sewage sludge in China, however, methoxylated PBDEs were not detectable. Composition profiles of detected OH-PBDE congeners were different depending on the sampling location. ΣOH-PBDEs in WWTPs sludge ranged from 0.04 to 2.24 ng g^?1 dry weight (mean: 0.35 ng g^?1 dry weight). The total amount of the two most prominent congeners (6-OH-BDE-47 + 2′-OH-BDE-68) accounted for about 53.3–100% of the sum of all six identified congeners. A significant linear relationship was found between 6-OH-BDE-47 and 2′-OH-BDE-68. A distinct geographical distribution of ΣOH-PBDEs was observed with greater concentrations of OH-PBDEs at coastal areas than inland regions in China.     

Biohydrogen production through fermentation using liquid swine manure as substrate

In this paper, continuous production of hydrogen through fermentation with liquid swine manure as substrate was researched using a semi-continuously fed fermenter (8 L in total volume and 4 L in working volume). The pH and temperature for the fermenter were controlled at 5.3 +/- 0.1 and 35 +/- 1 degrees C, respectively, throughout the experiment. Three hydraulic retention times (16, 20, and 24 h) were investigated for their impact on the efficiency and performance of the fermenter in terms of hydrogen yields. The results indicate that hydraulic retention time (HRT) has a strong influence on the fermenter performance. An increasing HRT would increase the variation in hydrogen concentration in the offgas. To produce hydrogen with a fairly consistent concentration, the HRT of the fermenter should not exceed 16 h, which, however, did not appear to be short enough to control methanogenesis because the offgas still contained about 5% methane. When methane content in the offgas exceeded 2%, an inverse linear relationship between hydrogen and methane was observed with a correlation coefficient of 0.9699. To increase hydrogen content in the offgas, methane production has to be limited to below 2%. Also, keeping oxygen content in the fermenter below 1.5% would increase the hydrogen concentration to over 15%. The product to substrate ratio was found to be around 50% for the fermenter system studied, evidenced by the observation that for every 6 liters of manure fermented, 3 liters of pure hydrogen were produced, which was significant and encouraging.     

Photoelectrocatalytic degradation of pentachlorophenol in aqueous solution using a TiO2 nanotube film electrode

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotube film electrodes are fabricated by the anodic oxidation method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that these tubes were well aligned and organized into high-density uniform arrays. XRD analysis showed the TiO2 nanotubes to be in the anatase crystal form. The TiO2 nanotube film electrode exhibited increased photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) capability compared to a traditional TiO2 film electrode fabricated using the anodizing method for pentachlorophenol (PCP) degradation in aqueous solution. The bias potential, pH value, and electrolyte concentration were shown to be important factors influencing the degradation of PCP by the PEC method using the TiO2 nanotube film electrode as the working electrode.     

震灾保险新制式与国内外现行制式的比较研究

本文概括分析了国外震灾保险制式的形成思路、实施准则及其局限性；指出国内大多数研究模式受传统观念的制约，只能是对国外制式的效仿和沿袭；进而介绍了一种能够有效克服一般模式弊病的新型震灾保险制式，并对其实质与科学蕴涵作了简略阐述。     

Accumulation of Fluoride and Aluminium Related to Different Varieties of Tea Plant

Samples of young shoot, mature leaf, twig, root, and litter were taken from four recently bred varieties Zhe-nong 113, Zhe-nong 121, Zi-sun, and Bi-feng grown at two tea plantations located at Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces. The results showed that the concentrations of F and Al in tea plants were significantly different among the four varieties. It is therefore possible that F and Al concentrations in tea products can be reduced through variety selection. The results also revealed that old leaves would be the major contribution to the high levels of F and Al in brick tea since it is produced mainly for old leaves. Therefore, in order to eliminate the hazard of over-exposure to F and Al derived from tea, younger shoot should be used for making tea products while mature leaves should be avoided.