Splenocyte apoptotic pathway in mice following oral exposure to cerium trichloride

With their widespread application in agriculture, industry, culture, medicine, and daily life, lanthanide compounds are being brought into the ecological environment and human body through food chains. It is important to know the acute and chronic effects of lanthanides on the environment, nature balance, and the human body after their entry into bodies and the environment. Lanthanides have been demonstrated to cause spleen apoptosis and decreased immunity of mice, but very little is known about the molecular aspects of these mechanism. In order to understand the spleen apoptotic mechanism induced by intragastric administration of 2, 10 and 20 mg kg(-1) body weight CeCl(3) for consecutive 60 d, we investigated the cerium accumulation, apoptosis, the expression levels of the apoptosis-related cytokines into apoptosis-related genes and proteins. The results demonstrated that cerium had obvious accumulation in the mouse spleen, leading to the significant increase of the spleen indices and splenocyte apoptosis. Furthermore, CeCl(3) could effectively activate caspase-3 and -9, decrease the Bcl-2 the levels of gene and protein, and increase the levels of Bax, and cytochrome c genes and their protein expressions, and promote reactive oxygen species production. It implied CeCl(3)-induced apoptosis in the mouse spleen via intrinsic pathway. Our findings suggest the need for great caution to handle the lanthanides for workers and consumers.     

PBDD/F impurities in some commercial deca-BDE

The study presented the concentrations and distributions of polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polybrominated dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs) as impurities in some commercial decabromodiphenyl ether (DBDE) mixtures that were produced by several manufacturers. The total concentrations of 12 2,3,7,8-substituted tetra- to octa-BDD/F congeners were found to be in the range of 3.4-13.6 (mean 7.8) μg/g, averagely accounting for 99% of total PBDD/Fs. OBDF was the prevailing congener, followed by 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpBDF. In addition, OBDD and 1,2,3,4,7,8-HxBDF were also obviously detectable. The total concentrations of PBDD/Fs varied both between the manufacturers and between the lots. On the basis of the global demand for the commercial DBDE in 2001, the annual potential emissions of PBDD/Fs were calculated coarsely to be 0.43 (range: 0.21-0.78) tons. The major dioxin congeners, OBDF and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpBDF, presenting in DBDE, were estimated to be formed from BDE-209, BDE-206, and/or BDE-207 via an intra-molecular elimination of Br₂/HBr.     

The behaviors and fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a coking wastewater treatment plant

The occurrence, behaviors and fate of 18 PAHs were investigated in a coking wastewater treatment plant in Songshan coking plant, located in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province of China. It was found that the target compounds occurred widely in raw coking wastewater, treated effluent, sludge and gas samples. In raw coking wastewater, high molecular weight (MW) PAHs were the dominant compounds, while 3-6 ring PAHs predominated in the final effluent. The dominant compounds in gas samples were phenathrene, fluoranthene and pyrene, while they were fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene and benzo[k]fluoranthene for sludge. The process achieved over 97% removal for all the PAHs, 47-92% of eliminations of these target compounds in liquid phase were achieved in biological stage. Different behaviors of PAHs were observed in the primary tank, anaerobic tank, aerobic tank, hydrolytic tank and coagulation tank units, while heavier and lower ones were mainly removed in anaerobic tank and aerobic tanks, respectively. Regarding the fate of PAHs, calculated fractions of mass losses for low MW PAHs due to transformation and adsorption to sludge accounted for 15-50% and 24-49%, respectively, while the rest was less than 1%. For high MW PAHs, the mass losses were mainly due to adsorption to sludge and separation with tar (contributing 56-76% and 22-39%, respectively), and the removal through transformation was less.     

含锌离子模拟废水沉淀研究及污泥表征

采用氢氧化钙、碳酸钠和硫化钠处理含锌废水,在溶液pH、锌离子浓度、颗粒粒径、颗粒Zeta电位、上清液浊度和污泥体积等指标测定的基础上,结合沉淀产物表征,探讨了沉淀剂用量对锌离子去除率的影响及沉淀机理。研究结果表明,n(Ca(OH)2∶n(Zn)=1.5,去除率达到最大值99.65%,n(Na2CO3)∶n(Zn)=1.5,去除率达到最大值99.89%,n(Na2S)∶n(Zn)=2.5,去除率达到最大值99.95%。X-射线衍射和热重分析表明,氢氧化钙与废水生成的沉淀物为碳酸钙和氧化锌,碳酸钠与废水生成的沉淀物为氧化锌和碱式碳酸锌,硫化钠与废水生成的沉淀物为硫化锌,这对污泥处理处置以及回收利用有指导意义。     

臭氧气泡大小对分散染料废水氧化处理效果的影响

采用臭氧氧化法处理实际分散染料废水,研究了初始pH、臭氧投加量、反应时间、臭氧气泡大小(气体洗瓶和自制的砂芯鼓泡反应柱分别作反应器)对处理效果的影响,采用动态显微高速摄影仪对反应器内的臭氧气泡进行了表征.结果表明,反应体系的初始pH、臭氧投加量越高,反应速率越快,染料废水的脱色及矿化效果越好;染料废水的臭氧氧化处理过程符合拟二级动力学方程;自制的砂芯鼓泡反应柱改善了臭氧分散效果,缩小了气泡直径,提高了臭氧传质速率和效率,强化了臭氧氧化能力.     

Arsenic, copper, and zinc contamination in soil and wheat during coal mining, with assessment of health risks for the inhabitants of Huaibei, China

Field studies were conducted to investigate arsenic (As), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) contamination in agricultural soils and wheat crops at two areas in Huaibei, China. Area A is in the proximity of Shuoli coal mine. In area B, three coal mines and a coal cleaning plant were distributed. The potential health risk of As, Cu, and Zn exposure to the local inhabitants through consumption of wheat grains was also estimated. The results showed that significantly higher (p?<?0.05) concentrations of As, Cu, and Zn were found in soils collected from area B than in those from area A. Arsenic concentrations in wheat sampled from area A were negatively correlated with the distance from the coal mine (p?<?0.001). Concentrations of Cu and Zn in wheat seedlings and grains collected from area B were significantly higher (p?<?0.05) than in those collected from area A, with the exception of Zn in wheat seedlings. Concentrations of Cu and Zn in most wheat grain samples were above the permissible limits of Cu and Zn in edible plants set by the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization. The hazard index of aggregate risk through consumption of wheat grains was 2.3–2.4 for rural inhabitants and 1.4–1.5 for urban inhabitants. The average intake of inorganic As for rural inhabitants in Huaibei was above 10 μg day^?1. These findings indicated that the inhabitants around the coal mine are experiencing a significant potential health risk due to the consumption of locally grown wheat.     

Microbial degradation characteristics and kinetics of novel pyrimidynyloxybenzoic herbicide ZJ0273 by a newly isolated Bacillus sp. CY

ZJ0273 (propyl 4-(2-(4,6-demethoxy pyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino)benzoate) is a novel herbicide developed in China for oilseed crop. Sixteen bacteria capable of utilizing ZJ0273 as the sole carbon source were isolated from soils. One of the isolates was designated as Bacillus sp. CY based on its physiological and biochemical characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA sequences. The present study aimed to investigate the ZJ0273 degradation characteristics and kinetics by Bacillus sp. CY which has the ability to utilize ZJ0273 as the sole source of carbon and energy under aerobic conditions. The optimum biodegradation temperature, pH, and ZJ0273 initial concentration were 20–40 °C, 5.0–9.0, and 50–400 mg/l, respectively. Strain CY degraded 65 % of ZJ0273 (initial concentration of 50 mg/l) during 30 days of incubation in basal mineral medium at pH 8.0 and 35 °C. DT50 (half-life value), k (degradation rate constant of ZJ0273), and R ² are 19.20 days, 0.0361 day^?1, and 0.9464, respectively.     

臭氧微气泡深度处理染料废水生化出水

采用臭氧氧化法对某厂染料废水生化出水进行深度处理,考察了废水初始pH值和臭氧气泡大小对废水处理效果的影响,研究了臭氧微气泡对气液传质的影响。结果表明,在pH 2.5~11范围内,废水初始pH值越大,处理效果越好;加载微孔膜片后,臭氧气泡粒径变小,增大了臭氧的传质比表面积,延长了臭氧气泡在反应柱内的停留时间,强化了传质效果,处理废水的臭氧利用率可增大10%~30%,强化了臭氧氧化作用。加载5 μm孔径的膜片相比无膜片的情况,COD去除率提高了近30%,TOC去除率提高了16%。     

桂林会仙湿地沉积物中磷形态及分布特征

沉积物中磷的含量及其形态是影响水体营养化进程的重要因素,对研究湿地水体富营养化具有重要意义。应用蒋柏藩等石灰性土壤无机磷提取方法,调查了桂林会仙岩溶湿地5个典型区域柱状沉积物中的磷形态分布、垂向上的变化特征,分析了各形态磷之前的相关性。结果表明,桂林会仙湿地柱状沉积物中w(TP)为161.14~555.48 mg/kg,活性较高的Ca2-P(5.27~51.45 mg/kg)、Ca8-P(7.76~37.57 mg/kg)均较低。沉积物中的磷以Ca-P(42.92%)为主,Ca-P中的Ca10-P所占比例较高(>70.3%),导致内源磷不易释放,有利于减缓桂林会仙湿地水体富营养化进程。在空间分布上,Ca2-P、Ca8-P、Al-P、Fe-P与TP分布趋势相似,从沉积物表层至底层逐渐降低并趋于稳定。Pearson相关系数表明,TP与总氮(TN)、有机质(OM)、Ca2-P、Ca8-P、Al-P、Fe-P极显著相关,与Ca10-P显著相关。     

十溴联苯醚环境修复技术的研究进展

介绍了溴代阻燃剂十溴联苯醚（BDE-209）环境修复技术的研究进展。从光降解、零价铁降解、生物降解3个方面对BDE-209的降解机理和降解后的产物进行了介绍。BDE-209经光照、厌氧微生物、零价铁的脱溴作用后,降解成低溴代联苯醚产物;好氧微生物利用低溴代联苯醚作为生长碳源,将其在酶的作用下开环降解,进入三羧酸循环或彻底分解成CO₂和H₂O。提出应采用多种方法协同作用,更有效地降解多溴联苯醚化合物。