Molecular and physiological characterization of fluoroquinolone resistance in relation to uropathogenicity among Escherichia coli isolates isolated from Wenyu River, China

Increasing antibacterial resistance and pathogenicity in the environment is of growing concern due to its potential human risk. In the present study, 236 Escherichia coli isolates were collected from Wenyu River in China on drugless (48 isolates) and quinolone-containing plates (189 isolates). Their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined ranging from 0.125 μg mL⁻¹ to 128 μg mL⁻¹. Mutation points related to fluoroquinolone resistance were observed at S83 to L and D87 to N or Y in the GyrA subunit and S80 to R or I and E84 to G in the ParC subunit. Generally, MICs of LEV and GAT are dependent on the patterns of these mutation points. The profile with three mutation points was related to LEV-resistant E. coli isolates, and the (S83L, D87N + S80I) mutation profile was most prevalent (65.7%) in LEV-resistant isolates, while a large proportion of isolates, even those with three mutation points, were susceptive to GAT. The incidence of virulence factors in LEV-resistant isolates (44.7%, 59/132) was much higher than in nonresistant isolates (23.1%, 24/104) (χ² = 11.925, 1° of freedom, p < 0.001) indicating that fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli would pose a potential risk. A similar distribution was also found in isolates resistant to GAT (χ² = 7.843, 1° of freedom, p = 0.0079).     

Effect of liquid-to-solid ratio on semi-solid Fenton process in hazardous solid waste detoxication

The liquid-to-solid ratio (L/S) of semi-solid Fenton process (SSFP) designated for hazardous solid waste detoxication was investigated. The removal and minimization effects of o-nitroaniline (ONA) in simulate solid waste residue (SSWR) from organic arsenic industry was evaluated by total organic carbon (TOC) and ONA removal efficiency, respectively. Initially, Box-Behnken design (BBD) and response surface methodology (RSM) were used to optimize the key factors of SSFP. Results showed that the removal rates of TOC and ONA decreased as L/S increased. Subsequently, four target initial ONA concentrations including 100 mg kg⁻¹, 1 g kg⁻¹, 10 g kg⁻¹, and 100 g kg⁻¹ on a dry basis were evaluated for the effect of L/S. A significant cubic empirical model between the initial ONA concentration and L/S was successfully developed to predict the optimal L/S for given initial ONA concentration for SSFP. Moreover, an optimized operation strategy of multi-SSFP for different cases was determined based on the residual target pollutant concentration and the corresponding environmental conditions. It showed that the total L/S of multi-SSFP in all tested scenarios was no greater than 3.8, which is lower than the conventional slurry systems (L/S ? 5). The multi-SSFP is environment-friendly when it used for detoxication of hazardous solid waste contaminated by ONA and provides a potential method for the detoxication of hazardous solid waste contaminated by organics.     

Spatial variation and toxicity assessment for heavy metals in sediments of intertidal zone in a typical subtropical estuary (Min River) of China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Sediment samples were collected in five marshes (C1, Phragmites australis marsh; C2, P. australis and Cyperus malaccensis marsh; C3, C. malaccensis...     

Bio-immobilization of Cu and Zn in recirculated bioreactor landfill

Purpose  

To protect the environmental quality of soil, groundwater, and surface water near the landfill site, it is necessary to make an accurate assessment of the heavy metal mobility. This study aims to present the bio-immobilization behavior of heavy metals in landfill and provide some reference suggestion for the manipulation of heavy metal pollution control after closure.     

垃圾焚烧过程中影响重金属分布因素的研究

在转式垃圾焚烧炉和固定床加热炉中,研究了有机垃圾焚烧过程中温度、水分、无机氯及有机氯对几种重金属分布的影响。研究结果表明,焚烧垃圾过程中焚烧温度对重金属分布特性的影响特性不一,重金属锌和铅容易转移到气相中去,而重金属镍和铬大部分是以固态形式残留在底渣中;水能与重金属及其化合物发生反应,引起物质转变,影响重金属的分布;氯的存在也影响重金属的分布特性,氯的参与使重金属更易向飞灰或烟气中迁移。     

Asn57 N-glycosylation promotes the degradation of hemicellulose by β-1,3–1,4-glucanase from Rhizopus homothallicus

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - N-glycosylation alters the properties of different enzymes in different ways. Rhizopus homothallicus was first described as an environmental isolate...     

铬离子对藻类生长的影响

利用自然光照条件,在不同铬离子质量浓度下,对5种藻类的生长进行了实验研究.研究结果表明:5种藻类在不同的光波长下,其吸收光谱存在两个最强的吸收区: 420～440 nm的蓝紫光部分和660 nm 的红光部分;在不同铬离子质量浓度0～20.63 mg·L-1范围内,5种藻类生长受到不同程度的抑制,其耐受性也尽不相同,经过分析和比较后得出5种藻类对铬的耐受性大小顺序为:微囊藻(Microcystis)＞水华鱼腥藻(Anabaena flos-aquae)＞细长聚球藻(Synechococcus elongatus)＞斜生栅藻(Scenedesmus obliquus)＞蛋白核小球藻(Chlorella pyrenoidose).     

有机酸对铬超富集植物李氏禾吸收Cu的影响

许多研究表明有机酸的施加对植物吸收重金属的量具有不同的影响.文章采用盆栽试验研究了EDTA、柠檬酸、草酸和酒石酸对土壤中Cu的活化和李氏禾(Leersia hexandra Swartz)吸收Cu的影响.结果表明,当向土壤中施加质量摩尔浓度为2 mmol·kg-1的EDTA时,土壤中Cu质量分数为220.16 mg·kg-1与空白土壤中500.31 mg·kg-1相比明显减少,说明EDTA可以极显著的降低土壤中的铜质量分数,使其转化成水提取态的Cu浮于土壤表面,并大部分聚集在根部周围,同时向土壤中施加EDTA不但促进了对Cu的活化而且显著提高了李氏禾对Cu的吸收,叶中最高质量分数达到336.54 mg·kg-1是对照中80.34 mg·kg-1的四倍;而柠檬酸、草酸和酒石酸则抑制了Cu的活化,但对李氏禾地上部分的Cu质量分数影响不大.有机酸对Cu的影响相对较弱,除EDTA显著降低了土壤中Cu质量分数外,其他有机酸对Cu的活化和李氏禾吸收Cu的影响与对照均没有明显差异.     

基于ETM+图像的植被覆盖度遥感估算模型

植被覆盖度(VFC)的定量遥感是多种地表过程研究的迫切需要.文章选用南京市一幅Landsat 7 ETM 图像,经大气校正后提取了归一化植被指数(NDVI),与地面实测的植被覆盖度进行回归分析,建立了1～4次多项式关系模型.结果表明,NDVI与VFC呈极显著的正相关关系(r = 0.874, P < 0.001).在NDVI-VFC的1～4次多项式关系模型中,模型幂次越高,拟合程度越好.综合考虑模型的精度和稳定性,3次多项式模型作为最优模型推荐使用:VFC = -1.3438 NDVI 3 0.9774 NDVI 2 0.9988 NDVI 0.1507 (R2 = 0.7961, RMSE = 0.1094),该模型精度在植被中等密集区域(VFC＝0.4～0.8)最高,植被稀疏区域(VFC < 0.4)最低,植被密集区域(VFC > 0.8)居中.模型可直接用于全图像的VFC计算,并可通过植被指数的校准,进行推广使用.