Modeling of Escherichia coli Fluxes on a Catchment and the Impact on Coastal Water and Shellfish Quality1

Bougeard, Morgane, Jean‐Claude Le Saux, Nicolas Pérenne, Claire Baffaut, Marc Robin, and Monique Pommepuy, 2011. Modeling of Escherichia coli Fluxes on a Catchment and the Impact on Coastal Water and Shellfish Quality. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1‐17. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00520.x Abstract: The simulation of the impact of Escherichia coli loads from watersheds is of great interest for assessing estuarine water quality, especially in areas with shellfish aquaculture or bathing activities. For this purpose, this study investigates a model association based on the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) coupled with a hydrodynamic model (MARS 2D; IFREMER). Application was performed on the catchment and estuary of Daoulas area (France). The daily E. coli fluxes simulated by SWAT are taken as an input in the MARS 2D model to calculate E. coli concentrations in estuarine water and shellfish. Model validation is based on comparison of frequencies: a strong relationship was found between calculated and measured E. coli concentrations for river quality (r² = 0.99) and shellfish quality (r² = 0.89). The important influence of agricultural practices and rainfall events on the rapid and large fluctuations in E. coli fluxes from the watershed (reaching three orders of magnitude in <24 hours) is one main result of the study. Response time in terms of seawater quality degradation ranges from one to two days after any important rainfall event (greater than 10 mm/day) and the time for estuary to recover good water quality also mainly depends on the duration of the rainfall. In the estuary, three effects (rainfall, tidal dilution, and manure spreading) have been identified as important influences.     

北方景观水体中生态浮床的植物筛选与水质净化效果

以千屈菜(Lythrum salicaria L.)、黄菖蒲(Iris pseudacorus L.)、鸢尾(Iris tectorum Maxim.)3种植物为对象,研究了北京市朝阳区景观水体中生态浮床的植物筛选与水质净化效果.结果显示,千屈菜、黄菖蒲、鸢尾均生长迅速,且千屈菜表现最佳;移栽4个月后,3种植物的生物量分别较初始增加了15.9、8.5和13.1倍,达到945.5、489.2和585.0 g/m2.千屈菜对水体氮、磷的吸收去除能力显著(P<0.001)高于黄菖蒲和鸢尾,其总氮、总磷吸收量分别为黄菖蒲的2.2倍和2.3倍,为鸢尾的2.1倍和1.9倍.生态浮床的水质净化效果总体良好,运行60 d后,水体总氮、总磷浓度分别从16.28和0.27 mg/L降低至5.70和0.18 mg/L,二者去除率分别为65.0%和35.0%.研究表明,千屈菜、黄菖蒲、鸢尾在营造景观和净化水质方面协同作用良好,其中千屈菜表现尤为突出,可作为北方地区生态浮床的首选植物.     

Yeasts as a model for assessing the toxicity of the fungicides Penconazol, Cymoxanil and Dichlofluanid

In the present work the sensitivity of yeast strains of Kluyveromyces marxianus, Pichia anomala, Candida utilis, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to the fungicides cymoxanil, penconazol, and dichlofluanid, was evaluated. Dichlofluanid induced the most negative effects, whereas penconazol in general was not very toxic. Overall, our results show that the parameters IC50 for specific respiration rates of C. utilis and S. cerevisiae and C(D) for cell viability of S. cerevisiae can be applied to quantify the toxicity level of the above compounds in yeast. Hence, could be explored as an alternative or at least as a complementary test in toxicity studies and, therefore, its potential for inclusion in a tier testing toxicity test battery merits further research.     

有机物料对土壤中水溶性氟环境效应的影响

土壤是固、液、气三相共存体,氟在土-水-植物、动物界面的转化可通过土壤水溶性氟含量表征。试验选用典型贵州黄壤和石灰土,运用有机质进行土壤污染修复的机理,通过向模拟高氟污染土壤中添加有机物料泥炭和风化煤,采用两因素最优设计,研究两种有机物料对土壤中水溶性氟含量的影响。结果表明,泥炭和风化煤都能降低土壤中水溶性氟含量,且泥炭的处理效果更好,最佳添加量是1.258g·kg-1。同时表明,黄壤和石灰土环境下氟形态转化的化学机理不同,运用有机质修复氟污染黄壤添加适量就可达到理想效果,而氟污染石灰土还存在其它更直接有效的方法改变氟在石灰土环境下的形态及其活性。     

Modelling pesticide volatilization after soil application using the mechanistic model Volt'Air

Volatilization of pesticides participates in atmospheric contamination and affects environmental ecosystems including human welfare. Modelling at relevant time and spatial scales is needed to better understand the complex processes involved in pesticide volatilization. Volt'Air-Pesticides has been developed following a two-step procedure to study pesticide volatilization at the field scale and at a quarter time step. Firstly, Volt'Air-NH₃ was adapted by extending the initial transfer of solutes to pesticides and by adding specific calculations for physico-chemical equilibriums as well as for the degradation of pesticides in soil. Secondly, the model was evaluated in terms of 3 pesticides applied on bare soil (atrazine, alachlor, and trifluralin) which display a wide range of volatilization rates. A sensitivity analysis confirmed the relevance of tuning to K_h. Then, using Volt'Air-Pesticides, environmental conditions and emission fluxes of the pesticides were compared to fluxes measured under 2 environmental conditions. The model fairly well described water temporal dynamics, soil surface temperature, and energy budget. Overall, Volt'Air-Pesticides estimates of the order of magnitude of the volatilization flux of all three compounds were in good agreement with the field measurements. The model also satisfactorily simulated the decrease in the volatilization rate of the three pesticides during night-time as well as the decrease in the soil surface residue of trifluralin before and after incorporation. However, the timing of the maximum flux rate during the day was not correctly described, thought to be linked to an increased adsorption under dry soil conditions. Thanks to Volt'Air's capacity to deal with pedo-climatic conditions, several existing parameterizations describing adsorption as a function of soil water content could be tested. However, this point requires further investigation. Practically speaking, Volt'Air-Pesticides can be a useful tool to make decision about agricultural practices such as incorporation or for the estimation of overall pesticide volatilization rates, and it holds promise for time specific dynamics.     

Photocatalytic degradation of 5-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-3-one NTO in aqueous suspension of TiO2. Comparison with Fenton oxidation

5-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-3-one (NTO) is a powerful insensitive explosive, present in industrial waste waters. A remediation method based on photochemical decomposition and Fenton oxidation of NTO has been evaluated by monitoring the mineralization of 14C-labelled NTO. The TiO2-catalyzed photodegradation (lambda > 290 nm, TiO2 0.4 g/l, NTO 150 mg/l)) leads to the complete mineralization of NTO in 3 hours. This degradation involves a simultaneous denitrification and ring scission of NTO leading to nitrites, nitrates and carbon dioxide. No significant photo-degradation of NTO was detected in the absence of the catalyst. Long term irradiation over one week, leads to a complete degradation of concentrated NTO (5 g/l), suggesting that this method could be useful to clean-up NTO wastes. Fenton oxidation offers an efficient cost-effective method for NTO remediation. This reaction is faster that the TiO2 catalyzed photolysis and find application on the mineralization of high concentrations of NTO (15 g/l). Fenton oxidation provokes ring cleavage and subsequent elimination of the two carbon atoms of NTO as CO2. During this reaction, the nitro group is completely transformed into nitrates.     

纳米氧化锌对羊角月牙藻毒性效应及其在藻细胞内外的分布

为研究纳米氧化锌(ZnO NP)的毒性效应及其在细胞内外分布,以羊角月牙藻(Selenastrum capricornutum)为模型藻类,研究了不同浓度ZnO NP对羊角月牙藻生长、叶绿素含量、可溶性蛋白含量、超氧化物岐化酶(SOD)及过氧化物酶(POD)活性、丙二醛(MDA)含量及细胞内外ZnO NP含量变化。结果表明,ZnO NP对羊角月牙藻的生长抑制与处理浓度呈现正相关。在45 mg·L^-1 ZnO NP暴露24 h后,其生长抑制率已达到95%。当ZnO NP处理藻细胞72 h后,羊角月牙藻细胞的叶绿素含量与处理浓度之间存在剂量-效应关系。低浓度(0.5 mg·L^-1)ZnO NP处理后藻细胞可溶性蛋白质含量、SOD和POD活性明显下降,MDA含量升高,其产生的毒性效应高于高浓度组(5 mg·L^-1、45 mg·L^-1)。细胞培养液溶出Zn²⁺量及藻细胞外吸附的ZnO NP量与ZnO NP处理浓度成正比,但是藻细胞内ZnO NP量与ZnO NP浓度没有相关性,胞内积累量基本维持不变。研究表明,各浓度组对藻细胞毒性的差异,不仅与细胞内Zn²⁺量有关,还与细胞外粘附的ZnO NP有关。     

转基因植物和食品保障

为了以可持续方式确保世界食品保障,必须解决许多与安全性、流通及其它因素有关的问题.然而,不应当忘记,生产足够的食品是至关重要的.与食品有关的世界贸易问题(包括涉及生物技术应用的问题)应当成为各国之间和各公司之间不断对话的课题.以共同商定的风险评价程序为基础的、国际和谐的质量和安全性标准,是此类讨论的最合理依据.     

Multivariate imputation in cross-sectional analysis of health effects associated with air pollution

We demonstrate a recently developed spatial interpolation methodology in a study of the chronic effects of air pollution on respiratory morbidity. Our study uses data from the Ontario Health Study, a large survey of households in Ontario conducted for the province by Statistics Canada. The interpolation procedure imputes unobserved vectors of air pollution concentrations for individual Public Health Units, from those observed at a few fixed air pollution monitoring sites. We use logistic regression methods to assess the significance of air pollution levels based on the imputed values after modelling the relationship between binary health responses and assorted covariates such as measures of life style. Our findings prove negative; no significant relationship between chronic respiratory morbidity and air pollution is found. The imputation methodology is seen to be promising and might well be used in other such analyses.