Concentrations, transport, fate, and releases of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in sewage treatment plants in the Pearl River Delta, South China

Wastewater has proved to be a significant source of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the environment. Seventeen congeners from tri- to deca-BDEs were determined to characterize the occurrence, fate, and transport of PBDEs in two sewage treatment plants in the Pearl River Delta, South China. The PBDE concentrations varied substantially from 13.3 to 2496.4 ng L(-1) in the raw wastewater, depending on the wastewater types and contents of the suspended particulate matter (SPM). The concentrations declined to 0.9 to 4.4 ng L(-1) in the treated effluent and were closely associated with SPM contents. BDE-209 was the predominant congener in the wastewater and sewage sludge. Most of PBDEs might have ended up in the sewage sludge, with <4.7% being discharged with the treated effluent. The results revealed that PBDEs were not significantly degraded by biological treatment and chlorination in the STPs. An annual release of PBDEs was estimated at 2280 kg/year through wastewater from the Pearl River Delta.     

Applying Zonation Methods and Tabu Search to Improve the Ground‐Water Modeling1

Abstract: An optimization procedure combining zonation methods with the Tabu Search method is proposed to identify the spatial distribution of hydraulic conductivity field. Three zonation methods, Voronoi diagram (VD), multiplicatively weighted Voronoi diagram (MWVD), and pattern zonation are adopted for the parameterization purposes. With the consideration of the homogeneity and the heterogeneity, there are four spatial distributions of hydraulic conductivity designed to test whether the parameter structure can be successfully identified. The fitting residual error is first considered to determine an adequate number of zones without over parameterization. Then, the parameter uncertainty is evaluated the decision of the number of zones. The results indicate that the MWVD performs better than other two methods because the MWVD has better flexibility in describing the zonal boundaries with small number of decision variables.     

Alternative immunofluorescent labeling of Cryptosporidium parvum in water samples using semiconductor quantum dots

The application of immunofluorescent labeling using quantum dots for detection of inactivated Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in spiked water samples (reservoir water, treated wastewater effluent, permeate of a membrane bioreactor, and tap water) provided more consistent results compared with the organic fluorophores label. The varying degree of particles present in the different water samples (with turbidity ranging from 0.2 to 6.1 NTU) in nonconcentrated water samples had insignificant interference on the labeled counts (2-sample t-tests, p > 0.236) using the quantum dot label, while the quantum dot label provided an advantage of approximately 50% lower interference in concentrated water samples compared with the organic fluorophores label.     

钢渣吸附剂吸附机理的研究

采用间歇振荡法,研究了钢渣吸附模式、选择性以及等温吸附方程。结果表明,钢渣对阳离子的吸附容量远远大于对阴离子的吸附容量,其吸附模式属于离子交换;其对重金属离子具有一定的吸附选择性,其选择性能与离子的电性、电价、离子半径和水化热等因素有关;钢渣吸附Pb²⁺是单层吸附,符合Langmuir等温吸附方程。     

Trichoderma atroviride F6 improves phytoextraction efficiency of mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Coss. var. foliosa Bailey) in Cd, Ni contaminated soils

Trichoderma atroviride F6, isolated from decaying feather and resistant to 100 mg l(-1) Cd2+ and 250 mg l(-1) Ni2+, was applied for rhizoremediation of Cd, Ni and Cd-Ni combination contaminated soils through association with Brassica juncea (L.) Coss. var. foliosa. The strain significantly alleviated the cellular toxicity of cadmium and nickel to plants. Inoculation of B. juncea (L.) Coss. var. foliosa with T. atroviride F6 resulted a 110%, 40% and 170% increase in fresh weight in Cd, Ni and Cd-Ni contaminated soils, respectively (P<0.05). The translocation factors and metal bioconcentration factors calculated for the inoculated plant were increased compared to the noninoculated plants. The results indicated that the efficiency of phytoextraction for B. juncea (L.) Coss. var. foliosa enhanced after inoculating with T. atroviride F6. The fungal treated plants grown in Cd-Ni combination contaminated soils showed higher phytoextraction efficiency than those in Cd or Ni contaminated soils. Thus, it is suggested that the fungus T. atroviride F6 endowed with organic-degrading capabilities could be exploited for fungi-assisted phytoremediation of mixed organic-metal contaminated soils.     

全氟辛酸(PFOA)对菲律宾蛤仔体内酶活性的影响

采用半静态毒性实验方法,将菲律宾蛤仔(Ruditapes philippinarum)分别暴露于0.2、2、20μg·L-1的全氟辛酸(perfluorooctanoic acid,PFOA)中,在处理后第1、3、6、10、15、21天分别取样,测定整体组织中超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)、过氧化物酶(POD)、谷胱甘肽-S-转移酶(GST)、7-乙氧基异吩噁唑酮脱乙基酶(EROD)活性和过氧化脂质(LPO)含量。酶活性分析结果显示:PFOA对菲律宾蛤仔组织SOD、CAT和POD活性均呈现先促进后抑制的作用;低浓度组SOD活性在暴露第1天达到最高,显著高于对照组(P<0.01);中高浓度组SOD活性在暴露第6天达到最低;暴露1~15 d,低浓度组CAT活性均显著高于对照组(P<0.05);高浓度组CAT活性在暴露第6天得到显著诱导,其余时间基本处于抑制状态;中浓度组POD活性在暴露第3天即达到最高,高浓度组POD活性基本一直处于抑制状态;随着PFOA暴露时间的延长,菲律宾蛤仔组织LPO含量呈现了先降低后升高的趋势;各浓度组中EROD的活力都显著被诱导(P<0.01),与处理浓度呈正相关;中高浓度组的GST活性在胁迫期间变化比较显著,呈现诱导-抑制的变化规律。研究表明,PFOA暴露能够引起菲律宾蛤仔组织抗氧化酶和生物转化酶的变化,可以与其他敏感性指标一起作为指示早期海洋PFOA污染的生物标志物。     

新烟碱类杀虫剂呋虫胺对意大利蜜蜂的安全性评价

呋虫胺作为新一代烟碱类农药,究竟会给蜜蜂造成何种影响尚不清楚。本研究选取意大利蜜蜂为研究对象,分别测定呋虫胺对蜜蜂的急性毒性、慢性毒性以及幼虫发育毒性,并通过其危害商值(hazard quotient,HQ)初步评价呋虫胺对蜜蜂的生态风险,综合评价呋虫胺对蜜蜂的安全性。结果表明,急性经口毒性48 h半数致死剂量(48 h-LD50)为0.033μg·蜂-1,对蜜蜂高毒;慢性毒性10 d半数致死剂量(10 d-LDD50)为0.010μg·蜂-1,慢性毒作用带比值为3.5,存在慢性中毒的风险;幼虫7 d半数致死剂量为577 ng·幼虫-1,高剂量呋虫胺对蜜蜂幼虫存活率、化蛹率和羽化率均存在影响,处理剂量越高,存活率、化蛹率和羽化率越低,呈高度负相关(r=-0.98,-0.89,-0.80)。风险评价结果表明,呋虫胺对蜜蜂为中等风险到高风险。研究可为呋虫胺的合理使用提供科学参考。     

毒死蜱对紫金山森林土壤酶活力及微生物毒性影响研究

毒死蜱是有机磷类农药,对乙酰胆碱酯酶具有抑制作用,在农业虫害防治中应用广泛。为掌握毒死蜱对森林土壤酶活力和土壤微生物生态效应,选择紫金山森林土作为受试土壤,采用室内培养法,研究了毒死蜱对土壤蔗糖酶、脲酶、酸性磷酸酶和过氧化氢酶,以及土壤呼吸强度和氮素硝化作用的影响。结果表明:试验期间,1.25 mg a.i.·kg-1、12.5 mg a.i.·kg-1和125 mg a.i.·kg-1毒死蜱对土壤脲酶、酸性磷酸酶总体表现为抑制作用;对土壤蔗糖酶和过氧化氢酶的影响与暴露剂量和暴露时间有关,在60 d时,Z1低剂量处理组(1.25 mg a.i.·kg-1)蔗糖酶和过氧化氢酶可恢复,Z100高剂量处理组(125 mg a.i.·kg-1)抑制作用不能解除。试验初期,毒死蜱对土壤呼吸强度有一定刺激作用随后逐渐恢复;对土壤氮硝化作用影响表现为先促进后抑制,且抑制作用有长期影响。由此可知,毒死蜱使用对紫金山森林土的土壤酶活性和土壤微生物产生毒性效应,具有一定生态风险。     

Endocrine stress response in Oreochromis sp. from exposure to waterborne cadmium: the plasma cortisol analysis

Cadmium (Cd) is known as one of the most dangerous environmental and industrial pollutants. It has no biological function and accumulates mainly in metabolically active tissue even at low concentrations, which in turn may cause tissue damage. The effect of Cd on the endocrine systems of fish is not well known. To test the hypothesis that Cd is a chemical stressor, Oreochromis sp. were exposed to waterborne cadmium chloride and their endocrine stress response (plasma cortisol) was investigated after 4 days and 20 days. The plasma cortisol levels were analyzed using reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (λ = 250 nm) after liquid–liquid extraction. The detection limit of the method was found to be 0.87 ng/mL plasma. This study provides evidence that Cd probably causes exhaustion of endocrine systems. Oreochromis sp. exposure to Cd resulted in a 15%–53% and 52%–91% suppression of cortisol release after 4 days and 20 days of exposure, respectively, in comparison with the control group. The results suggest that Cd still activates the endocrine system at 20 days and the interrenal cells of Oreochromis sp. were not impaired after 20 days of exposure to Cd.     

Allelopathic interactions between Skeletonema costatum and Alexandrium minutum

Potential allelopathic interactions between Skeletonema costatum and Alexandrium minutum were investigated using mixed cultures and culture filtrate in nutrient-replete medium. A. minutum growth was inhibited when grown in S. costatum filtrate, with the inhibitory effect directly proportional to the percentage of filtrate added. This demonstrates that the release of allelopathic compounds caused the growth inhibition. In contrast, the filtrate of A. minutum exerted no allelopathic activity on S. costatum. An autoinhibitory compound (15(S)-HEPE) extracted and purified from S. costatum culture was added to cultures of both S. costatum and A. mintum. This substance could depress S. costatum growth, but showed no significant inhibitory activity on A. minutum. This documented a second type of allelochemical interaction, termed auto-allelopathy, caused by a different compound from the one or ones that affected A. minutum in the co-cultures with added crude filtrate. Further studies are needed to explore the relative importance of these two types of allelopathy as factors influencing the competition between S. costatum and A. minutum in the field. Furthermore, given the observed decrease in diatom dominance relative to dinoflagellates with increasing eutrophication, one can predict that toxic species like A. minutum might become more prevalent in the future in the East China Sea if the trend of increasing pollution of coastal waters continues.