Solution by dilution?—A review on the pollution status of the Yangtze River

The Yangtze River has been a source of life and prosperity for the Chinese people for centuries and is a habitat for a remarkable variety of aquatic species. But the river suffers from huge amounts of urban sewage, agricultural effluents, and industrial wastewater as well as ship navigation wastes along its course. With respect to the vast amounts of water and sediments discharged by the Yangtze River, it is reasonable to ask whether the pollution problem may be solved by simple dilution. This article reviews the past two decades of published research on organic pollutants in the Yangtze River and several adjacent water bodies connected to the main stream, according to a holistic approach. Organic pollutant levels and potential effects of water and sediments on wildlife and humans, measured in vitro, in vivo, and in situ, were critically reviewed. The contamination with organic pollutants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/polychlorinated dibenzofurans, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and others, of water and sediment along the river was described. Especially Wuhan section and the Yangtze Estuary exhibited stronger pollution than other sections. Bioassays, displaying predominantly the endpoints mutagenicity and endocrine disruption, applied at sediments, drinking water, and surface water indicated a potential health risk in several areas. Aquatic organisms exhibited detectable concentrations of toxic compounds like PCBs, OCPs, PBDEs, and PFCs. Genotoxic effects could also be assessed in situ in fish. To summarize, it can be stated that dilution reduces the ecotoxicological risk in the Yangtze River, but does not eliminate it. Keeping in mind an approximately 14 times greater water discharge compared to the major European river Rhine, the absolute pollution mass transfer of the Yangtze River is of severe concern for the environmental quality of its estuary and the East China Sea. Based on the review, further research needs have been identified.     

曝气对潜流人工湿地中木本植物的影响

为了增加人工湿地植物的多样性,本文将花叶冬青(Ilex aquifolium)、月季(Rosa chinensis)和八角金盘(Fatsia japonica)3种木本植物引入潜流人工湿地,比较曝气前后系统对污水处理效果,植物的生物量与对TN、TP负荷减少的贡献率,根系形态与内部结构、根际微生物与基质酶活性的比较研究。结果表明,木本植物潜流人工湿地系统曝气后可以提高COD、NH4+-N、TN、TP的去除率,分别为6.99%、4.91%、10.25%、8.09%。湿地曝气有利于3种木本植物的生长,在曝气后比曝气前生物量增加了381.75、606.25和896.88 g/m2。曝气会促使木本植物长出大量须根,且曝气后的根系具有大量由薄壁细胞组成的通气组织的水生根特征。同时,曝气后增加了硝化菌数量,各处理单元中硝化菌增量分别为A:0.28 MPN×104/g,B:4.23 MPN×104/g,C:7.7 MPN×104/g。另外,曝气后植物根际基质中磷酸酶和尿酶的含量增加量大约在50%以上,这与系统中N和P的去除率提高的规律一致。     

成渝地区双城经济圈人口-经济-环境系统协调发展时空演化

人口、经济和环境协调发展是成渝地区双城经济圈协调发展及高质量发展的重要途径和关键点.本研究基于成渝地区双城经济圈36个市（区、县）面板数据,构建了人口-经济-环境系统协调发展指标体系,利用综合指标评价法、耦合模型、耦合协调模型等测算了2010—2019年成渝地区双城经济圈人口-经济-环境复合系统综合发展水平、耦合度及耦合协调度,据此分析研究时段内三元系统耦合协调的时空演变特征及规律,并对子系统发展差异性进行初探.结果表明：整体上,成渝地区双城经济圈耦合协调度和经济、环境子系统发展水平呈不断升高趋势;时序上各市（区、县）人口-经济-环境耦合协调发展关系呈良性向上发展趋势;空间上呈现“两核突出、中部塌陷,外围高于内部”的分布格局和“外围包围中部、由西向东推进”演变特征;研究时段内成渝地区双城经济圈各市（区、县）子系统滞后问题得到极大改善,呈“无序-有序、同步滞后-局部滞后”发展演变趋势和“U”型发展空间格局,但发展过程中人口子系统依旧存在较严重滞后问题.     

Tolerance of the black soldier fly,Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) to pH value,pungency, and NaCl in foodstuffs北大核心CSCD

The black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens, has been considered impressive as a saprophagous insect, for its high ability to convert organic waste to insect protein and oil. Hence, it has been regarded by the municipal administration that BSF might be used as a medium to deal with food waste. However, food waste in China has been characterized as having a high salt content, oily, and very spicy, which usually renders them unsuitable for animal feeding. In order to assess the technological reliability for BSF conversion of food waste, the tolerance of BSF for pH values, pungency, and NaCl in food were investigated in this case. Results indicated that strong acidity (pH = 3) was not good for the development of BSF, demonstrating less body weight and eclosion failure. In contrast, strong basicity (pH = 11) seemed to be beneficial for larval development with high biomass, and there is no difference in pupation, eclosion, larval biomass, and livability for BSF for pH values between 5 and 11. With regards to salinity, liner correlations were observed; the salinity strength increased along with the extension of the larval phase, but body weight, pupation rate, emerging rate, and livability were still consistent under 6% density of salinity. Influence of pungency on BSF larvae has not yet been found. In conclusion, BSF showed a high tolerance to pH value, pungency, and salinity in foodstuffs. Hence, it is expected that food waste from common environments might have a lesser possibility to cause negative effects on BSF development, which could be good news for BSF conversion technology. As for the process design, the conclusion suggested that food waste optimum for BSF is expected to be alkaline and low-salt, which would be helpful to improve the efficiency and harvest. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

Changes in the sorption and rate of 17β-estradiol biodegradation by dissolved organic matter collected from different water sources

The potential biodegradation and subsequent transformation of 17β-estradiol (E2) to estrone (E1) were examined in the presence of various dissolved organic matter (DOM) isolated from effluent, river and lake waters. In addition, estrogenicity was estimated in association with the removal of E2 via its sorption onto DOM and biodegradation. The more biodegradable lake-derived DOM promoted more extensive transformation of E2 into E1 than the effluent organic matter through a biodegradation process. Overall, under all conditions, biodegradation dominated the removal of E2 in water. The increased dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in river and lake-derived DOM (e.g. 6.5 mg C L(-1)) reduced the removal of E2 by decreasing its biodegradation due to the moderate sorption of E2 onto DOM. The effluent organic matter showed greater removal of E2 via biodegradation, as well as significantly high sorption. This was associated with a large amount of hydrophobic fulvic acid (FA)- and humic acid (HA)-like organic components, as shown by the small increase in the specific UV absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA(254)). An increase in the DOC concentration reduced the removal of E2, resulting in high estrogenicity. The present study suggests that both organic composition and DOC concentration influenced the removal of E2 and, therefore, should be fully considered when assessing estrogenicity and its impacts on the aquatic environment.     

Risk assessment of heavy metals in road and soil dusts within PM2.5, PM10 and PM100 fractions in Dongying city, Shandong Province, China

15 road and 14 soil dust samples were collected from an oilfield city, Dongying, from 11/2009-4/2010 and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) for V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb within PM(2.5), PM(10) and PM(100) fractions synchronously. Metal concentrations, sources and human health risk were studied. Results showed that both soil and road dust exhibited higher values for Mn and Zn and lower values for Co and Cd for the three fractions. Mass concentration ratios of PM(2.5)/PM(10) and PM(10)/PM(100) for metals in road and soil dust indicate that most of the heavy metals tend to concentrate in fine particles. Geoaccumulation index and enrichment factors analysis showed that Cu, Zn and Cd exhibited moderate or heavy contamination and significant enrichment, indicating the influence of anthropogenic sources. Vanadium, Cr, Mn and Co were mostly not enriched and were mainly influenced by crustal sources. For Ni, As and Pb, they ranged from not enriched to moderately enriched and were influenced by both crustal materials and anthropogenic sources. The conclusions were confirmed by multivariate analysis methods. Principle component analysis revealed that the major sources were vehicle emission, industrial activities, coal combustion, agricultural activities and crustal materials. The risk assessment results indicated that metal ingestion appeared to be the main exposure route followed by dermal contact. The most likely cause for cancer and other health risks are both the fine particles of soil and road dusts.     

Molecular detection and comparison of Acanthamoeba genotypes in different functions of watersheds in Taiwan

The protistan genus Acanthamoeba is a free-living amoeba existing in various environments. Within this protistan genus, there are some species recognized as potential human pathogens, which may cause granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, Acanthamoeba keratitis and chronic granulomatous lesions of the skin. In this study, 211 water samples were collected from two watersheds in southern Taiwan. We detected Acanthamoeba based on the PCR amplification with a genus-specific primer pair and investigation of Acanthamoeba in Puzih River and Kaoping River in southern Taiwan. Acanthamoeba species were detected in 34 (16.1%) samples. The presence or absence of Acanthamoeba within the water samples showed significant difference with the levels of water temperature and total coliforms. The most frequently identified Acanthamoeba genotype was T4 (n = 19), followed by T5 (n = 8), and then T15 (n = 3). Genotype T6, T7/T8, T11 and T12 were all detected once. Genotype T4, T5, T6, T11 and T15 of Acanthamoeba are responsible for Acanthamoeba keratitis and should be considered a potential health threat associated with human activities in environmental surface water watersheds.     

新安江水库浮游植物群落特征及影响因素分析

为了解新安江水库浮游植物群落特征及影响因素,于2008年1月—2009年12月,对其浮游植物和相关理化因子进行了单月1次的采样。共检测到浮游植物103种(属),浮游植物密度为1.46×106~2.55×107cells/L,年平均密度为6.09×106cells/L,春、秋季出现2个密度峰值;浮游植物组成随季节变化有所不同,春、冬季硅藻、隐藻占优势,夏季蓝藻、绿藻占优势,秋季蓝藻、硅藻占优势;浮游植物密度与TP、Chl-a及上月降水量均呈显著正相关,与透明度呈显著负相关,与TN相关性不明显;水库的水文形势季节性变化显著影响浮游植物结构和密度的变化,浮游植物生长短期效应明显受流域降水和温度双重影响;从大尺度生态效应角度看,食物网的下行效应可能是目前影响新安江水库浮游植物密度的主导因素,大规模滤食性的杂食性鱼类对浮游动物造成较高的捕食压力,间接促进了浮游植物种群的增长;磷是关键的营养盐因子,保持水体低磷浓度和氮磷比大于100,对降低浮游植物密度有现实意义。     

Determination of Steroid Estrogens in Wastewater Treatment Plant of A Controceptives Producing Factory

Steroid estrogens such as estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) have been suspected to be the main contaminants, which can affect the endocrine system of animals. Many authors have investigated these chemicals in the domestic wastewater treatment plants (WTP). However, wastewater from industries producing steroid contraceptives has not got ample attention. From the environmental point of view, the four steroids are very significant because even very low concentrations (ng/L) can cause reproductive disturbances in human, livestock and wildlife. The main purpose of the present investigation was to develop an analytical method for the determination of the four steroid estrogens present in WTP of a pharmacy factory, mainly producing contraceptive medicine in Beijing, China. Analysis was performed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) system and liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The average recoveries from effluent samples ranged from 88% to 103% and the precision of the method ranged from 9% to 4%. Based on 0.5-L wastewater samples, the limit of quantification (LOQ) was determined at 0.7 ng/L for E1, 0.8 for E2, 0.9 ng/L for E3, and 0.5 ng/L for EE2 in influent, and 1.0 ng/L for E2 and EE2, and 2.0 ng/L for E1 and E3 in effluent. In the influent samples, average concentrations of 80, 85, 73 and 155 ng/L were determined for E1, E2, E3 and EE2, respectively, showing that they were removed in this WTP to the extent of 79, 73, 85 and 67%, respectively.     

长江河口水体有机污染物现状分析

对枯水期和丰水期长江河口区5个断面不同深度水样进行检测,共检出有机物200余种,其中定量检出的有机物达53种,有36种属美国EPA控制的有毒有机化合物,列入中国环境优先控制污染物黑名单的有16种.枯水期N-二甲基亚硝胺含量较高,最高值约为1.2 mg·L-1.丰水期2,4-二硝基酚、邻苯二甲酸二丁基苯基酯含量较高,最高值分别约为1.3和1.0 mg·L-1.底层水中有机污染物浓度高于表层和中层.