Translocation of metals and its effects in the tomato plants grown on various amendments of tannery waste: evidence for involvement of antioxidants

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different amendments of tannery sludge on physiological and biochemical parameters of tomato plant (Lycopersicon esculentum L. Mill). The accumulation of metals (Cr, Fe) in different parts of tomato plants grown on tannery sludge amended soil increased in a concentration and duration-dependent manner. The accumulation of both the metals was found lowest in the fruits of the plant. The statistical analysis of the results showed an increase in chlorophyll and protein contents in lower sludge amendment ratio at all exposures followed by a decrease at highest (100%) sludge amendment ratio. Lipid peroxidation enhanced in both root and leaves of sludge grown plants of tomato at all the sludge amendments and exposure periods, which is evidenced by increased malondialdehyde content, however the maximum increase was found in the roots (43.63%) and leaves (56.66%) of the plant grown on 100% tannery sludge at 60 d, over respective controls. The level of antioxidants, cysteine, non-protein thiol and ascorbic acid increased in the sludge grown plants of tomato to cope up with stress induced by the excess amount of the heavy metals present in the tannery sludge. The maximum increase was found in cysteine content (75.53% in the leaves), non-protein thiol content (92.68% in the roots) and ascorbic acid content (29.66% in the roots) of the plant at 75% tannery sludge after 30 d. The tomato plants were found well adopted for minimizing damage induced by reactive oxygen species, when grown on tannery sludge amendments in the present study.     

Analysis of extinction in ultraviolet and visible spectra of water bodies of the Paraguay and Brazil wetlands

The extinction spectra in ultraviolet and visible radiation were analyzed using filtered and unfiltered water samples obtained in 11 open water bodies in the Neembucù (Paraguay) and Pantanal (Brazil) wetlands. The role of dissolved and suspended matter in the total extinction was analyzed between 260 nm and 700 nm. The chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) was the major component in extinction of considered ultraviolet radiation (260-400 nm). The differences in CDOM concentrations explained the main pattern of extinction of the ultraviolet radiation in the samples. Nevertheless, differences between the studied water bodies were found also to depend on the rate of photodegradation and photobleaching. The methodology developed in the present study was to distinguish "humic optic waters" according to quantity and quality of dissolved and suspended matter present. In the "humic optic water", the penetration of 10% of incident UV radiation and the photoactive layer are estimated. The influence of particulate matter increases in the total extinction of the wavelengths higher than 400 nm. The integral of the extinction curve of suspended matter in the visible wavelengths (400-700 nm) was found to relate with the total suspended solids and chlorophyll concentrations.     

Cellular energy allocation in zebra mussels exposed along a pollution gradient: linking cellular effects to higher levels of biological organization

Organisms exposed to suboptimal environments incur a cost of dealing with stress in terms of metabolic resources. The total amount of energy available for maintenance, growth and reproduction, based on the biochemical analysis of the energy budget, may provide a sensitive measure of stress in an organism. While the concept is clear, linking cellular or biochemical responses to the individual and population or community level remains difficult. The aim of this study was to validate, under field conditions, using cellular energy budgets [i.e. changes in glycogen-, lipid- and protein-content and mitochondrial electron transport system (ETS)] as an ecologically relevant measurement of stress by comparing these responses to physiological and organismal endpoints. Therefore, a 28-day in situ bioassay with zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) was performed in an effluent-dominated stream. Five locations were selected along the pollution gradient and compared with a nearby (reference) site. Cellular Energy Allocation (CEA) served as a biomarker of cellular energetics, while Scope for Growth (SFG) indicated effects on a physiological level and Tissue Condition Index and wet tissue weight/dry tissue weight ratio were used as endpoints of organismal effects. Results indicated that energy budgets at a cellular level of biological organization provided the fastest and most sensitive response and energy budgets are a relevant currency to extrapolate cellular effects to higher levels of biological organization within the exposed mussels.     

Characterization of atmospheric aerosol (PM10 and PM2.5) from a medium sized city in São Paulo state, Brazil

Air pollution causes deleterious effects on human health with aerosols being among the most polluting agents.The objective of this work is the characterization of the PM_(2.5) and PM_(10) aerosol mass in the atmosphere.The methods of analysis include WD-XRF and EDS.Data were correlated with meteorological information and air mass trajectories(model HYSPLIT)by multivariate analysis.A morphological structural analysis was also carried out to identify the probable sources of atmospheric aerosols in the city of Sao Jose do Rio Preto,Brazil.The mean mass concentration values obtained were 24.54 μg/m~3 for PM_(10),above the WHO annual standard value of 20 μg/m~3 and 10.88 μg/m~3 for PM_(2.5) whose WHO recommended limit is10 μg/m~3.WD-XRF analysis of the samples revealed Si and Al as major components of the coarse fraction.In the fine fraction,the major elements were Al and S.The SEM-FEG characterization allowed identifying the morphology of the particles in agglomerates,ellipsoids and filaments in the PM_(10),besides spherical in the PM_(2.5).The analysis by EDS corroborated WD-XRF results,identifying the crustal elements,aluminosilicates and elements of anthropogenic origin in the coarse fraction.For the fine fraction crustal elements were also identified;aluminosilicates,black carbon and spherical particles(C and O) originating from combustion processes were predominant.The use of multivariate analysis to correlate air mass trajectories with the results of the morpho-structural characterization of the particulate matter allowed confirmation of the complex composition of the particles resulting from the combination of both local and long-distance sources.     

城市高层建筑防火监督检查要点研究

在当前社会发展阶段,随着经济的增长与城市的不断建设,城市内部土地资源越发紧缺。为了更好地优化土地资源短缺所带来的影响,高层建筑的应用受到了社会各界的广泛关注,高层建筑的建设数量不断增加。这种情况的存在,虽然能够有效满足社会居民对于居住面积与居住条件的需求,但也带来了许多的安全隐患。从现阶段的城市建设上来看,高层建筑在建设过程中,依然存在有诸多防火安全隐患,因此,需要对高层建筑防火监督检查要点进行分析。     

Occurrence and distribution of pharmaceuticals in surface water, suspended solids and sediments of the Ebro river basin, Spain

The occurrence of 43 pharmaceuticals belonging to predominant therapeutic classes and their distribution in surface water, suspended solids and sediments has been investigated in the Ebro river basin in the Northeast of Spain. WWTP effluents were found to be a main source of contamination and the spatial distribution was affected by the river flow at the sampling point and corresponding dilution factor, resulting in higher concentrations and higher loads in small tributary rivers than in the Ebro river. The study showed that some compounds are preferentially found bound to suspended solids and not detected in river water. Generally, compounds with basic characteristics (pKa > 7) showed higher tendency to bind to suspended solids. The sediment samples generally presented lower concentrations than suspended solids.     

基于轨迹模型的和田绿洲沙尘移动轨迹及气象特征分析

以塔克拉玛干沙漠南缘的和田绿洲为研究区域,使用HYSPLIT后向轨迹模型和NCEP的GDAS全球气象要素数据,将和田绿洲西北部的墨玉县城作为模拟受点(79.72°E,37.26°N),对2004—2018年墨玉县发生的2 891次沙尘天气进行36 h的后向轨迹模拟,并通过k-means聚类分析法,定量分析沙尘天气期间气流的传输路径及气象特征。结果表明：2004—2018年,研究区沙尘天气的发生频率变化幅度不大,没有明显的增减趋势;年内沙尘天气主要集中在春季和夏季（3—7月）,占全年沙尘天气总数的70.23%,5、6月是强沙尘暴最活跃期。在沙尘天气期间气流的移动高度和轨迹相差较大,按照气流的起源地和到达墨玉县的方向将沙尘暴分为NW-W簇、N-N簇、NE-E簇和E-ES簇4簇轨迹类型,其发生天数占比分别为18.9%、12.3%、60.1%和7.8%。由东向西的沙尘天气发生天数占比最高（60.1%）,但主要以浮尘天气为主;由西北向东南方向的沙尘发生频率不高,但移动速度最快,强沙尘暴和扬沙主要来自西北和西部方向;由北向南的沙尘暴速度最慢（1.36 m/s）,空气湿度最低（26.4%）,但气温最高（292.58 K）。定量印证了墨玉县沙尘暴不同传输路径,可为绿洲区沙尘暴研究提供参考。

     

Metals, non-metals and PCB in electrical and electronic waste--actual levels in Switzerland

The chemical composition of waste of small electrical and electronic equipment (s-WEEE), a rapidly growing waste stream, was determined for selected metals (Cu, Sb, Hg etc.) and non-metals (Cl, Br, P) and PCBs. During a 3-day experiment, all output products and the s-WEEE input mass flows in a WEEE recycling plant were measured. Only output products were sampled and analyzed. Material balances were established, applying substance flow analysis (SFA). Transfer coefficients for the selected substances were also determined. The results demonstrate the capability of SFA to determine the composition of the highly heterogeneous WEEE for most substances with rather low uncertainty (2 sigma +/- 30%). The results confirm the growing importance of s-WEEE regarding secondary resource metals and potential toxic substances. Nowadays, the thirty times smaller s-WEEE turns over larger flows for many substances, compared to municipal solid waste. Transfer coefficient results serve to evaluate the separation efficiency of the recycling process and confirm--with the exception of PCB and Hg--the limitation of hand-sorting and mechanical processing to separate pollutants (Cd, Pb, etc.) out of reusable fractions. Regularly applied SFA would serve to assess the efficacy of legislative, organizational and technical measures on the WEEE.     

Performance of a low cost MBT prior to landfilling: study of the biological treatment of size reduced MSW without mechanical sorting

In France, the interest in Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) prior to landfilling is actually growing. In the absence of acceptance criteria for the waste to be landfilled, an alternative to the intensive, high-technology MBT can only find its place in the French context if it shows substantial benefits from an environmental, economic or operational point of view. This paper presents an experiment of low-cost MBT of size reduced MSW without material splitting. The performance of an experimental, pilot-scale mechanical and biological treatment process has been studied on 37.5 Mg of raw municipal solid waste. The mechanical process has been kept simple with only coarse shredding and no material recovery. The biological treatment, which was a low-cost forced aeration process, was monitored for 25 weeks. The biogas production potential of the waste was reduced by 90% to 19 NL kgDM(-1). The initial AT4 index of 82.9 mg O2 gDM(-1) decreased to 16.0 mg O2 gDM(-1). After 25 weeks of aerobic treatment, the dry mass loss reached 37%, while the mass of waste going to landfill was reduced by 28%. The average performances of the process were explained by the biological process itself, which was not optimal, and also by the characteristics of the input waste. The high particle size of the treated waste and the high content of slowly biodegradable matter (such as paper and cardboard) may both be significant drawbacks for the biological stabilisation of waste.