Can body-size patterns of ciliated zooplankton be used for assessing marine water quality? A case study on bioassessment in Jiaozhou Bay, northern Yellow Sea

Introduction

In order to reveal the potential relationships between body-size patterns of microzooplankton and environmental status, the spatial patterns in body-size spectra of ciliated zooplanktons were studied based on an annual dataset in a bay of the Yellow Sea, northern China.

Materials and methods

A total of 120 samples were collected at a depth of 1?m from each of five sampling sites with a spatial gradient of environmental stress from June 2007 to May 2008. A range of physico-chemical variables were measured synchronously for comparison with biotic parameters.

Results

The spatial body-size patterns of ciliated zooplankton represented significant differences among the five sites, and were significantly correlated with the changes of physico-chemical parameters, especially salinity, dissolved oxygen and nutrients. Two paired indices, the average body-size distinctness (AvBSD) and the variation in body-size distinctness (VarBSD), were proposed based on the trait resemblances among ciliate species in body-size pattern. The paired measures showed a clear decreasing trend of departure from the expected body-size spectra in response to water quality status.

Conclusion

These results suggest that the body-size pattern of ciliated zooplankton might be used as a potential indicator of marine water quality.     

Heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange in schwertmannite/oxalate suspension under UV irradiation

Introduction

Schwertmannite was synthesized through an oxidation of FeSO₄ by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans LX5 cell suspension at an initial pH?2.5 and 28°C for 3?days and characterized using X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope. The schwertmannite photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) by oxalate was investigated at different initial pH values, concentrations of schwertmannite, oxalate, and MO.

Results

The results demonstrated that photodegradation of MO in the presence of schwertmannite or oxalate alone was very weak. However, the removal of MO was significantly enhanced when schwertmannite and oxalate coexisted in the reaction system. Low pH (4 or less) was beneficial to the degradation of MO. The optimal doses of schwertmannite and oxalate were 0.2?g?L^?1 and 2?mM, respectively. Hydroxyl radicals (·OH) and Fe(II), the intermediate products, were also examined during the reaction to explore their correlation with the degradation of MO.

Conclusion

A possible mechanism for the photocatalytic decomposition of MO in the study was proposed. The formation of Fe(III)-oxalate complexes on the surface of schwertmannite was a precursor of H₂O₂ and Fe(II) production, further leading to the yield of ·OH responsible for the decomposition of MO.     

Biosorption of Basic Violet 5BN and Basic Green by waste brewery’s yeast from single and multicomponent systems

Background and aim  

The biosorption of Basic Violet 5BN (BV) and Basic Green (BG) by waste brewery’s yeast (WBY) from single and binary systems was investigated.     

高分子量高纯度阳离子聚丙烯酰胺的合成

以丙烯酰胺与丙烯酰氧乙基三甲基氯化铵为单体,在复合引发剂的作用下,选择水溶液共聚法合成高分子量与高纯度阳离子型聚丙烯酰胺(CPAM)。实验表明,有机偶氮引发剂A用量0.5‰、氧化还原引发剂用量0.45‰、还原剂与氧化剂摩尔比2∶1、反应体系pH为4与反应时间5 h条件下,CPAM分子量为1 042万,且溶解性好。通过对聚合物残单含量影响因素添加剂用量、反应时间的研究,结果表明,添加剂EDTA和增溶剂D对残留AM含量影响小,而苯甲酸钠对聚合物残留AM的含量影响显著;延长反应时间至7 h,残单含量可降低至0.27%,CPAM的纯度高。通过与国内外3种同类型产品进行对比,结果表明,自制产品的分子量明显高于其他产品,且残单含量比国内产品降低了50%～75%。     

微生物生理群在猪粪秸秆高温堆肥碳氮转化中的作用

在自制的强制通风静态堆肥反应箱中,猪粪与秸秆以鲜重7∶1的比例进行了堆肥化实验,在堆制的23 d里根据堆温变化分阶段采集堆肥样品,利用MPN法测定了堆料中纤维素分解菌和氮素微生物生理群的数量变化,同时测定了相应的碳、氮含量。结果表明,纤维素分解菌在稳定腐熟阶段较多,对于后期有机碳的降解和腐殖质含量的增大起了很大的作用,在堆制的23 d里,腐殖质增加了2.4%。整个堆制过程中,氨化细菌的数量最大且与氨气释放浓度和铵态氮含量呈显著正相关,都在高温期增加,降温期后减少,氨化细菌的数量在高温期的增加率远高于降温期后的减少率,而铵态氮在高温期的增加率远低于在降温后期的减少率,铵态氮总体上减少了74.1%;亚硝化细菌数量与硝态氮呈正相关;反硝化细菌数量在降温期上升幅度较大,堆制结束时为堆制初期的13倍,且与堆肥中硝态氮含量呈正相关;硝态氮含量增加了87.5%;堆肥后期硝态氮的增加可能与堆肥中存在能进行硝化作用的反硝化细菌有关。固氮菌数量在堆制结束时达堆制初期的2.61倍,主要在降温期增加较多,对堆肥中有机氮的形成起很大作用。     

水滑石与磷酸银可见光催化剂的活性对比研究

本文合成了具备水滑石结构(LDH)的Zn-Cr LDH、Zn-Ti LDH以及Ag3PO43种半导体光催化剂,并对它们的催化性能进行对比研究。XRD和SEM分析表明,Zn-Cr LDH、Zn-Ti LDH具有层状结构而Ag3PO4呈纳米球状结构。UV-Vis分析表明,Ag3PO4和Zn-Cr LDH能够吸收可见光(>420 nm)。在可见光照射与添加AgNO3作为电子受体的条件下,Zn-TiLDH几乎没有光催化活性,而Ag3PO4的光催化活性高于Zn-Cr LDH。Ag3PO4在光解水实验中180 min内氧气产量约1.2mL,而Zn-Cr LDH约为0.65 mL。光催化降解有机污染物实验中,在Ag3PO4催化作用下,120 min内亚甲基蓝(MB)被完全降解,在240 min内46%的对硝基酚(PNP)被降解,而Zn-Cr LDH相应的去除率分别为61%和27%。     

利用二维表对活性污泥工艺模拟时的流量进行平衡的方法

多点进水和多重回流成为提高活性污泥工艺去除污染物能力的常用方法,这导致活性污泥工艺流程较为复杂。对工艺进行模拟计算时,由于模拟池体数量比实际池体数量更多,流量平衡较为困难。根据工艺流程特征提出了主流线、副流线等概念,结合流量分配比、循环流量等参数,利用二维表进行流量平衡计算,简捷明了,便于检验,大大提高了进行流量平衡的准确性和效率。     

Influence of UV radiation on chlorophyll,and antioxidant enzymes of wetland plants in different types of constructed wetland

A surface- and vertical subsurface-flow-constructed wetland were designed to study the response of chlorophyll and antioxidant enzymes to elevated UV radiation in three types of wetland plants (Canna indica, Phragmites austrail, and Typha augustifolia). Results showed that (1) chlorophyll content of C. indica, P. austrail, and T. augustifolia in the constructed wetland was significantly lower where UV radiation was increased by 10 and 20 % above ambient solar level than in treatment with ambient solar UV radiation (p?C. indica, P. australis, and T. angustifolia by elevated UV radiation of 10 % was higher in vertical subsurface-flow-constructed wetland than in surface-flow-constructed wetland. The sensitivity of MDA, SOD, POD, and CAT activities of C. indica, P. austrail, and T. augustifolia to the elevated UV radiation was lower in surface-flow-constructed wetland than in the vertical subsurface-flow-constructed wetland, which was related to a reduction in UV radiation intensity through the dissolved organic carbon and suspended matter in the water. C. indica had the highest SOD and POD activities, which implied it is more sensitive to enhanced UV radiation. Therefore, different wetland plants had different antioxidant enzymes by elevated UV radiation, which were more sensitive in vertical subsurface-flow-constructed wetland than in surface-flow-constructed wetland.     

乌鲁木齐市不同区域大气降尘中重金属污染及来源分析

为进一步了解城市不同区域间大气降尘中重金属含量及其差异性,沿城市走向梯度布设降尘采样点采集样品。采用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱(ICP-AES)仪测定样品中Cu、Cr、Mn、Fe、Ni、Zn、Cd、Pb和As等重金属含量,并计算富集因子来判断不同区域间的污染源类型,通过因子分析方法探讨污染的来源。结果显示,所测重金属元素中除Mn外,均受到人为源的影响,且十分严重。从贡献率来看,不同区域间第一因子的贡献率虽有差异,但均为来自土壤的风沙扬尘造成;第二因子的贡献率也不尽相同,主要是燃煤产生的污染;第三因子出现了差异,市南区和市北区主要是受金属冶炼的影响,而市中区的影响可能来自垃圾焚烧;市南区未出现第四因子,而市中区和市北区的污染源也不相同。分析表明,城市大气降尘污染依然严重,做好防控风沙和建筑扬尘,减少煤炭消耗,调整能源结构和产业布局是整体减少大气降尘的关键。     

Outdoor fine and ultrafine particle measurements at six bus stops with smoking on two California arterial highways—Results of a pilot study

As indoor smoking bans have become widely adopted, some U.S. communities are considering restricting smoking outdoors, creating a need for measurements of air pollution near smokers outdoors. Personal exposure experiments were conducted with four to five participants at six sidewalk bus stops located 1.5–3.3 m from the curb of two heavily traveled California arterial highways with 3300–5100 vehicles per hour. At each bus stop, a smoker in the group smoked a cigarette. Gravimetrically calibrated continuous monitors were used to measure fine particle concentrations (aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 µm; PM_2.5) in the breathing zones (within 0.2 m from the nose and mouth) of each participant. At each bus stop, ultrafine particles (UFP), wind speed, temperature, relative humidity, and traffic counts were also measured. For 13 cigarette experiments, the mean PM_2.5 personal exposure of the nonsmoker seated 0.5 m from the smoker during a 5-min cigarette ranged from 15 to 153 µg/m³. Of four persons seated on the bench, the smoker received the highest PM_2.5 breathing-zone exposure of 192 µg/m³. There was a strong proximity effect: nonsmokers at distances 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m from the smoker received mean PM_2.5 personal exposures of 59, 40, and 28 µg/m³, respectively, compared with a background level of 1.7 µg/m³. Like the PM_2.5 concentrations, UFP concentrations measured 0.5 m from the smoker increased abruptly when a cigarette started and decreased when the cigarette ended, averaging 44,500 particles/cm³ compared with the background level of 7200 particles/cm³. During nonsmoking periods, the UFP background concentrations showed occasional peaks due to traffic, whereas PM_2.5 background concentrations were extremely low. The results indicate that a single cigarette smoked outdoors at a bus stop can cause PM_2.5 and UFP concentrations near the smoker that are 16–35 and 6.2 times, respectively, higher than the background concentrations due to cars and trucks on an adjacent arterial highway.

Implications: Rules banning smoking indoors have been widely adopted in the United States and in many countries. Some communities are considering smoking bans that would apply to outdoor locations. Although many measurements are available of pollutant concentrations from secondhand smoke at indoor locations, few measurements are available of exposure to secondhand smoke outdoors. This study provides new data on exposure to fine and ultrafine particles from secondhand smoke near a smoker outdoors. The levels are compared with the exposure measured next to a highway. The findings are important for policies that might be developed for reducing exposure to secondhand smoke outdoors.