Microcystis aeruginosa/Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes interaction effects on off-flavors in algae/bacteria co-culture system under different temperatures

We conducted an experiment to study the interaction effects of Microcystis aeruginosa and Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes on off-flavors in an algae/bacteria co-culture system at three temperatures (24, 28 and 32°C). Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was applied to measure off-flavor compounds dimethyl sulfide (DMS), dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS), 2-methylisoborneol, geosmin (GEO) and β-cyclocitral. During the lag phase of co-cultured M. aeruginosa (first 15 days), P. pseudoalcaligenes significantly increased the production of DMS, DMTS and β-cyclocitral at all three temperatures. In the exponential phase of co-cultured M. aeruginosa (after 15 days), M. aeruginosa became the main factor on off-flavors in the co-culture system, and β-cyclocitral turned to the highest off-flavor compound. These results also indicated that DMS, DMTS and β-cyclocitral were the main off-flavor compounds in our M. aeruginosa/P. pseudoalcaligenes co-culture system. Univariate analysis was applied to investigate the effects of M. aeruginosa and P. pseudoalcaligenes on the production of off-flavors. The results demonstrated that both M. aeruginosa and P. pseudoalcaligenes could increase the production of DMS and DMTS, while β-cyclocitral was mainly determined by M. aeruginosa. Our results also provide some insights into understanding the relationship between cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria.     

Risk assessment of Giardia from a full scale MBR sewage treatment plant caused by membrane integrity failure

Membrane bioreactors (MBR) are highly efficient at intercepting particles and microbes and have become an important technology for wastewater reclamation. However, many pathogens can accumulate in activated sludge due to the long residence time usually adopted in MBR, and thus may pose health risks when membrane integrity problems occur. This study presents data from a survey on the occurrence of water-borne Giardia pathogens in reclaimed water from a full-scale wastewater treatment plant with MBR experiencing membrane integrity failure, and assessed the associated risk for green space irrigation. Due to membrane integrity failure, the MBR effluent turbidity varied between 0.23 and 1.90 NTU over a period of eight months. Though this turbidity level still met reclaimed water quality standards (≤5 NTU), Giardia were detected at concentrations of 0.3 to 95 cysts/10 L, with a close correlation between effluent turbidity and Giardia concentration. All β-giardin gene sequences of Giardia in the WWTP influents were genotyped as Assemblages A and B, both of which are known to infect humans. An exponential dose-response model was applied to assess the risk of infection by Giardia. The risk in the MBR effluent with chlorination was 9.83 × 10^-3, higher than the acceptable annual risk of 1.0 × 10^-4. This study suggested that membrane integrity is very important for keeping a low pathogen level, and multiple barriers are needed to ensure the biological safety of MBR effluent.     

Microcystis aeruginosa/Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes interaction effects on off-flavors in algae/bacteria co-culture system under different temperatures

We conducted an experiment to study the interaction effects of Microcystis aeruginosa and Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes on off-flavors in an algae/bacteria co-culture system at three temperatures(24, 28 and 32℃). Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was applied to measure off-flavor compounds dimethyl sulfide(DMS), dimethyl trisulfide(DMTS),2-methylisoborneol, geosmin(GEO) and β-cyclocitral. During the lag phase of co-cultured M. aeruginosa(first 15 days), P. pseudoalcaligenes significantly increased the production of DMS, DMTS and β-cyclocitral at all three temperatures. In the exponential phase of co-cultured M. aeruginosa(after 15 days), M. aeruginosa became the main factor on off-flavors in the co-culture system, and β-cyclocitral turned to the highest off-flavor compound. These results also indicated that DMS, DMTS and β-cyclocitral were the main off-flavor compounds in our M. aeruginosa/P. pseudoalcaligenes co-culture system. Univariate analysis was applied to investigate the effects of M. aeruginosa and P. pseudoalcaligenes on the production of off-flavors. The results demonstrated that both M. aeruginosa and P. pseudoalcaligenes could increase the production of DMS and DMTS, while β-cyclocitral was mainly determined by M. aeruginosa. Our results also provide some insights into understanding the relationship between cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria.     

Pollution levels and characteristics of phthalate esters in indoor air of offices

The pollution status and characteristics of PAEs(phthalate esters) were investigated in indoor air of offices, and PAEs of both gas-phase and particulate-phase were detected in all the samples. The concentration(sum of the gas phase and the particulate phase) was4748.24 ng/m3, ranging between 3070.09 and 6700.14 ng/m3. Diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate were the most abundant compounds, together accounting for 70% of the ∑ 6PAEs. Dividing the particulate-phase PAEs into four size ranges( 2.5, 2.5–5, 5–10, 10 μm), the result indicated that PAEs in PM2.5were the most abundant,with the proportion of 72.64%. In addition, the PAE concentration in PM2.5correlated significantly with the total particulate-phase PAEs(R2= 0.85). Thus, the amount of PAEs in PM2.5can be estimated from the total amount of particulate-phase PAEs using this proportion. In a comparison between the offices and a newly decorated study room, it was found that pollution characteristics were similar between these two places. Thus, it is implied that the PAE concentration decreased by 50% 2 yr after decorating.     

Pollution levels and characteristics of phthalate esters in indoor air in hospitals

The concentrations of phthalate esters(PAEs) in Chinese hospitals were investigated by simultaneously determining concentrations of gas- and particle-phase PAEs. PAEs were detected in two third-class first-grade hospitals, two second-class first-grade hospitals, and a community health service center. Hospital drugstores had the highest concentration(24.19 μg/m3), which was 1.54 times that of newly decorated houses. The second highest concentration was found in the transfusion rooms, averaging 21.89 μg/m3; this was followed by the concentrations of PAEs in the nurse's workstations, the wards, and the doctor's offices, with mean concentrations of 20.66, 20.0, and 16.92 μg/m3, respectively. The lowest concentrations were found in the hallways(16.30 μg/m3). Of the six different kinds of PAEs found, major pollutants included diethyl phthalates, dibutyl phthalates, butylbenzyl phthalates and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalates, comprising more than 80% of all PAEs present.Meanwhile, a comparison between different wards showed that PAE concentrations in the maternity wards were 1.63 times higher than in the main wards. Based on known health hazards, our results suggest that the PAEs seriously influence the health of the pregnant women and babies; therefore, it is of great importance to take the phthalate concentrations in hospitals into consideration. In addition, hospital indoor air was more seriously contaminated than the air of newly decorated houses.     

Excretion of manure-borne estrogens and androgens and their potential risk estimation in the Yangtze River Basin

The Yangtze River is the longest river in China, and the river basin spans one fifth of the area of the whole country. Based on statistical data, the excretion of manure-borne steroid hormones, including steroid estrogens(SEs) and steroid androgens(SAs), in 10 provinces of China within the region has been estimated. The potential environmental and ecological risk of manure-borne steroid estrogens to the surface water in this region was also assessed. The manure-borne SE and SA excretions in the 10 provinces and municipalities vary in the order: Sichuan Hunan Hubei Yunnan Jiangsu Anhui Jiangxi Chongqing Qinghai Shanghai. The highest increase of manure-borne SEs(1434.3 kg)and SAs(408.5 kg) was found in Hunan and Hubei provinces, respectively, and the total excretion in 2013 was 65% more than 15 years earlier in these two provinces. However, the emissions in Anhui and Shanghai decreased in this 15 year period of time. Swine urine,chicken feces, cattle urine, and laying hen feces were considered the dominant sources of manure-borne E1, βE2, αE2, and SAs, respectively. Although Jiangsu province did not have the largest excretion of manure-borne SEs, it had the highest level of predicted17β-estradiol equivalency(EEQs) value of 16.65 ng/L in surface water because of the limited surface water resources. According to the lowest observable effect level of 10 ng/L for17β-estradiol, the manure-borne SEs in Jiangsu province might potentially pose ecological risk to its wild aquatic organisms.     

基于QSAR和ICE模型的磺胺类药物的水质基准研究

药物水环境污染是一个严重的环境问题,引起了人们越来越多的关注。磺胺类药物是一类广泛使用的药物。文章应用水质毒性快速检测仪测定一系列磺胺类药物的发光菌毒性,建立发光菌毒性QSAR模型,从而解决ICE模型的基准物种毒性数据缺失的问题。基于发光菌毒性测试和QSAR、ICE毒性估算方法获得更多毒性数据,初步推导了保护水生生物的磺胺类化合物的水质基准,并为建立更加具有生态统计学意义的物种敏感性分布(SSD)模型提供一定的数据支撑。同时,结合国内外水环境中磺胺类药物的暴露水平,对我国磺胺类药物的风险水平做了初步评估,其中磺胺甲恶唑、磺胺嘧啶和磺胺喹恶林的风险较高。     

基尼系数法在全球碳排放权分配中的应用研究

文章剖析了现有碳排放权分配方法在分配指标的选取、适用性、可行性、减排责任分担等方面存在的不足。在前期研究中提出的"生存权平等,发展权有别"的思想和多角度衡量CO2排放公平性的评价指标体系的基础上,提出了滚动规划的分配理念和基于基尼系数法的全球CO2排放权优化分配方法及相应的数学模型。在VC平台上开发了求解该优化分配模型的计算机算法和软件。通过全球各国CO2排放配额的实例计算,结果显示:基于基尼系数法的CO2排放权分配方法可以更好地提高碳减排分配方案的公平性,滚动规划理念可以更好地兼容未来的各种变化和不确定性,从而提高分配方案的可行性。     

典型污灌区水体中有机氯农药分布及来源分析

在干旱与半干旱地区,工业废水和生活污水灌溉农田作为一种有效的资源一直被广泛利用,但污水中有害成分也对灌区生态环境造成了很大影响。文章以太原小店污灌区为例,根据灌区灌渠和地下水流场分布,分别采集地表水样10个和地下水样20个,利用液液萃取-气相色谱法分析水样中有机氯农药(OCPs)含量。研究结果表明,地表水中OCPs浓度范围为32.21~671.82 ng/L(均值为184.21ng/L);所有地下水中OCPs浓度均未超过《地下水环境质量标准》中Ⅲ类标准,浓度范围为9.44~84.01 ng/L;污水回灌对地下水中OCPs分布具有一定的影响,不同灌溉方式区域中OCPs浓度依次为:污灌区清灌区背景点;经过污染物源解析,研究区水环境中,OCPs中滴滴涕主要来源于历史残留,六六六主要来源于林丹的近期使用。     

闸控河段水质浓度影响关键因子识别

由于闸门调度对河道内的水环境要素具有强烈的扰动作用,故闸控河段的水质变化过程较常规河道更为复杂。为了探析引起闸控河段水质浓度变化的主要制约因素,以槐店闸为研究对象,结合笔者进行的2次实验和其他时期的监测数据,通过偏相关分析和主成分分析的方法识别影响闸控河段水质浓度变化的关键因子,并利用多元线性回归方法分析得到闸控河段水质浓度变化与其关键因子的多元线性回归方程。经过分析初步得到,与高锰酸盐指数浓度变化率有关的关键因子为闸门开度、开启个数、高锰酸盐指数来水浓度、溶解氧含量、流速和水深;与氨氮浓度变化率有关的关键因子为闸门开度、开启个数、氨氮来水浓度、溶解氧含量和p H值。