We evaluated the genotoxicity of dichloromethane (DCM) extracts of PCB-contaminated soil before and after the soil had been treated by a base-catalyzed dechlorination process. The treatment process involves heating a mixture of the soil, polyethylene glycol (or hydrocarbons with boiling points of 310–387°C), and sodium hydroxide to 250–350°C. Dechlorination reduced by >99% the PCB concentration of the soil, which was initially 2,200 ppm. The DCM extracts of both control and treated soils were not mutagenic in strain TA100 of Salmonella, but they were mutagenic in strain TA98. Based on results in strain TA98, the base-catalyzed dechlorination process reduced the mutagenic potency of the soil by approximately one-half. The DCM extracts of the soils before and after treatment were equally genotoxic in a prophage-induction assay in
.
, which detects some chlorinated organic carcinogens that are not detected by the Salmonella mutagenicity assay. These results suggest that treatment of PCB-contaminated soil by base-catalyzed dechlorination reduced the mutagenicity of the soil slightly. 相似文献
The recent dispute over the impact of economic growth on the environment relative to the (predicted) physical limits imposed by the ecological system hinges on the role of pollution-preventive technology. This paper attempts a cost-effectiveness evaluation of alternative methods of preventing the largest source of marine oil pollution. The first major result of the analysis is that the technology which minimizes internal costs (and is favored by the oil companies) does not minimize the social costs of pollution prevention. The second is that relative to the price of oil the cost of pollution-prevention processes is very small indeed. 相似文献
Objective: Road accidents are an important public health concern, and speeding is a major contributor. Although flow theory (FLT) is a valid model for understanding behavior, currently the nature of the roles and interplay of FLT constructs within the theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework when attempting to explain the determinants of motivations for intention to speed and speeding behavior of car drivers is not yet known. The study aims to synthesize TPB and FLT in explaining drivers of advanced vehicles intentions to speed and speed violation behaviors and evaluate factors that are critical for explaining intention and behavior.
Method: The hypothesized model was validated using a sample collected from 354 fully licensed drivers of advanced vehicles, involving 278 males and 76 females on 2 occasions separated by a 3-month interval. During the first of the 2 occasions, participants completed questionnaire measures of TPB and FLT variables. Three months later, participants' speed violation behaviors were assessed.
Results: The study observed a significant positive relationship between the constructs. The proposed model accounted for 51 and 45% of the variance in intention to speed and speed violation behavior, respectively. The independent predictors of intention were enjoyment, attitude, and subjective norm. The independent predictors of speed violation behavior were enjoyment, concentration, intention, and perceived behavioral control.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that safety interventions for preventing speed violation behaviors should be aimed at underlying beliefs influencing the speeding behaviors of drivers of advanced vehicles. Furthermore, perceived enjoyment is of equal importance to driver's intention, influencing speed violation behavior. 相似文献
Calcium carbonate often precipitates in anaerobic reactors treating wastewater with high calcium content. The aim of this
paper is to study the effect of wastewater composition on calcium carbonate precipitation in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket
(UASB) reactors. Two laboratory-scale UASB reactors were operated with calcium-containing influents using acetate and carbohydrate
as substrate, respectively. There was an obvious accumulation of inorganic precipitate observed in the biogranules. Observations
via scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) showed that the acclimated biogranules in
the two reactors differed in microstructure. Calcium carbonate was found to have precipitated on the surface of acetate-degrading
biogranules, but precipitated at the core of the carbohydrate-degrading biogranules. The results indicated that substrates
had significant influence on the location of calcium carbonate precipitation in anaerobic granular sludge, which was expected
due to the different methanogens distribution and pH gradient within the granular sludge degrading various substrates. Moreover,
the location of calcium carbonate precipitation substantially affected the specific methanogenic activity (SMA) of the granular
sludge. The SMA of the acetate-degrading biogranules dropped from $
1.96 gCOD_{CH_4 } \cdot gVSS^{ - 1} \cdot d^{ - 1}
$
1.96 gCOD_{CH_4 } \cdot gVSS^{ - 1} \cdot d^{ - 1}
to $
0.61 gCOD_{CH_4 } \cdot gVSS^{ - 1} \cdot d^{ - 1}
$
0.61 gCOD_{CH_4 } \cdot gVSS^{ - 1} \cdot d^{ - 1}
after 180-d of operation in the reactor. However, the SMA of the carbohydrate-degrading biogranules was not adversely affected
by calcium carbonate precipitation. 相似文献
Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) is the most important fodder crop in smallholder dairy production systems in East Africa, characterized by small zero-grazing units. It is also an important trap crop used in the management of cereal stemborers in maize in the region. However, production of Napier grass in the region is severely constrained by Napier stunt disease. The etiology of the disease is known to be a phytoplasma, 16SrXI strain. However, the putative insect vector was yet unknown. We sampled and identified five leafhopper and three planthopper species associated with Napier grass and used them as candidates in pathogen transmission experiments. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), based on the highly conserved 16S gene, primed by P1/P6-R16F2n/R16R2 nested primer sets was used to diagnose phytoplasma on test plants and insects, before and after transmission experiments. Healthy plants were exposed for 60 days to insects that had fed on diseased plants and acquired phytoplasma. The plants were then incubated for another 30 days. Nested PCR analyses showed that 58.3% of plants exposed to Recilia banda Kramer (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) were positive for phytoplasma and developed characteristic stunt disease symptoms while 60% of R. banda insect samples were similarly phytoplasma positive. We compared the nucleotide sequences of the phytoplasma isolated from R. banda, Napier grass on which these insects were fed, and Napier grass infected by R. banda, and found them to be virtually identical. The results confirm that R. banda transmits Napier stunt phytoplasma in western Kenya, and may be the key vector of Napier stunt disease in this region. 相似文献
In terrain analysis and hydrological modeling, surface depressions (or sinks) in a digital elevation model (DEM) are commonly treated as artifacts and thus filled and removed to create a depressionless DEM. Various algorithms have been developed to identify and fill depressions in DEMs during the past decades. However, few studies have attempted to delineate and quantify the nested hierarchy of actual depressions, which can provide crucial information for characterizing surface hydrologic connectivity and simulating the fill‐merge‐spill hydrological process. In this paper, we present an innovative and efficient algorithm for delineating and quantifying nested depressions in DEMs using the level‐set method based on graph theory. The proposed level‐set method emulates water level decreasing from the spill point along the depression boundary to the lowest point at the bottom of a depression. By tracing the dynamic topological changes (i.e., depression splitting/merging) within a compound depression, the level‐set method can construct topological graphs and derive geometric properties of the nested depressions. The experimental results of two fine‐resolution Light Detection and Ranging‐derived DEMs show that the raster‐based level‐set algorithm is much more efficient (~150 times faster) than the vector‐based contour tree method. The proposed level‐set algorithm has great potential for being applied to large‐scale ecohydrological analysis and watershed modeling. 相似文献
Streams, riparian areas, floodplains, alluvial aquifers, and downstream waters (e.g., large rivers, lakes, and oceans) are interconnected by longitudinal, lateral, and vertical fluxes of water, other materials, and energy. Collectively, these interconnected waters are called fluvial hydrosystems. Physical and chemical connectivity within fluvial hydrosystems is created by the transport of nonliving materials (e.g., water, sediment, nutrients, and contaminants) which either do or do not chemically change (chemical and physical connections, respectively). A substantial body of evidence unequivocally demonstrates physical and chemical connectivity between streams and riparian wetlands and downstream waters. Streams and riparian wetlands are structurally connected to downstream waters through the network of continuous channels and floodplain form that make these systems physically contiguous, and the very existence of these structures provides strong geomorphologic evidence for connectivity. Functional connections between streams and riparian wetlands and their downstream waters vary geographically and over time, based on proximity, relative size, environmental setting, material disparity, and intervening units. Because of the complexity and dynamic nature of connections among fluvial hydrosystem units, a complete accounting of the physical and chemical connections and their consequences to downstream waters should aggregate over multiple years to decades. 相似文献
The goal of this study was to better quantify the degree of viral contamination of tomato and cucumber in relationship to
virus type, soil type, and irrigation method. Tomatoes and cucumbers were grown in ten-gallon (37.8 L) buckets filled with
Pima clay loam or Brazito sandy loam soils. Plants were irrigated with secondary wastewater effluent using surface drip irrigation
or subsurface drip irrigation. At specified time intervals irrigation water was seeded with bacteriophages MS-2 and P22, poliovirus
type 1 (PV1), enteric adenovirus 40 (Ead 40), and hepatitis A virus. Surface drip irrigation always resulted in viral contamination
of both the above and below ground parts of both crops. The roots showed the greatest level of contamination, followed by
leaves and fruits. In contrast, with subsurface drip irrigation no viruses were detected in any of the above ground plant
surfaces. It was found that under similar soil type and irrigation method, risk of crop contamination was similar for all
of the viruses studied. It can be concluded that method of irrigation is the single most critical factor in the contamination
trend of different parts of crop plants. Plant parts can be categorized into three groups (root, stem, and leaf/fruit) based
on the risk of viral contamination from irrigation water. 相似文献
The purpose of this study was to quantify the transfer of viral and bacterial pathogens in water used to dilute pesticides
sprayed onto the surfaces of cantaloupe, iceberg lettuce, and bell peppers. The average percent transfer of bacteria was estimated
to range from 0.00021 to 9.4%, while average viral transfer ranged from 0.055 to 4.2%, depending on the type of produce. Based
on these values the concentrations of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and Salmonella in water necessary to achieve a 1:10,000 annual risk of infection were calculated. Under worst case scenario assumptions,
in which a pesticide is applied on the same day that the produce is harvested and when maximum transfer values are used, concentrations
of 1.5 × 10−3 CFU Salmonella or 2.7 × 10−7 MPN HAV per 100 ml of the water used for application would result in 1:10,000 annual infection risk to anyone who consumes
the fresh produce. If harvesting does not occur until at least 14 days after the application, to produce the same risk of
infection, the numbers of Salmonella in 100 ml of water used to dilute the pesticides will be greater by up to five orders of magnitude, while the HAV numbers
will have increased by up to two orders of magnitude. Based on the reported concentrations of enteric viruses in surface and
ground waters in the United States, a 1:10,000 annual risk of infection could easily be exceeded with some groundwater sources
used in the United States. To reduce the risks associated with the consumption of fresh produce, water used to prepare pesticides
in spray applications should be evaluated for its microbiological quality. 相似文献