Water uptake of multicomponent organic mixtures and their influence on hygroscopicity of inorganic salts

The hygroscopic behaviors of atmospherically relevant multicomponent water soluble organic compounds(WSOCs) and their effects on ammonium sulfate(AS) and sodium chloride were investigated using a hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyzer(HTDMA) in the relative humidity(RH) range of 5%–90%. The measured hygroscopic growth was compared with predictions from the Extended-Aerosol Inorganics Model(E-AIM) and Zdanovskii–Stokes–Robinson(ZSR) method. The equal mass multicomponent WSOCs mixture containing levoglucosan, succinic acid, phthalic acid and humic acid showed gradual water uptake without obvious phase change over the whole RH range. It was found that the organic content played an important role in the water uptake of mixed particles.When organic content was dominant in the mixture(75%), the measured hygroscopic growth was higher than predictions from the E-AIM or ZSR relation, especially under high RH conditions. For mass fractions of organics not larger than 50%, the hygroscopic growth of mixtures was in good agreement with model predictions. The influence of interactions between inorganic and organic components on the hygroscopicity of mixed particles was related to the salt type and organic content. These results could contribute to understanding of the hygroscopic behaviors of multicomponent aerosol particles.     

改性生物炭对Ni~(2+)和Cu~(2+)的吸附

以废弃松木屑为原料制备了生物炭,采用六亚甲基四胺(HMTA)和/或CO2对其进行改性,并将其用于水中Ni2+和Cu2+的吸附。表征结果显示,以HMTA和CO2共同改性的生物炭BC1的表面积最小但表面含氧官能团含量最高。实验结果表明:生物炭经改性后,其吸附性能明显提高,且以BC1为最优;在不调节溶液p H、初始重金属离子质量浓度为50 mg/L、吸附剂加入量分别为2.0 g/L和1.0 g/L、吸附时间分别为360 min和240 min的优化条件下,BC1对Ni2+和Cu2+的去除率分别达到99.81%和95.88%;改性生物炭对Ni2+和Cu2+的吸附过程可以用Langmuir等温吸附模型来描述,而其吸附动力学具有拟二级动力学方程特征。     

Accumulation and phytotoxicity of technical hexabromocyclododecane in maize

To investigate the accumulation and phytotoxicity of technical hexabromocyclododecane(HBCD)in maize,young seedlings were exposed to solutions of technical HBCD at different concentrations.The uptake kinetics showed that the HBCD concentration reached an apparent equilibrium within 96 hr,and the accumulation was much higher in roots than in shoots.HBCD accumulation in maize had a positive linear correlation with the exposure concentration.The accumulation of different diastereoisomers followed the orderγ-HBCDβ-HBCDα-HBCD.Compared with their proportions in the technical HBCD exposure solution,the diastereoisomer contribution increased forβ-HBCD and decreased forγ-HBCD in both maize roots and shoots with exposure time,whereas the contribution ofα-HBCD increased in roots and decreased in shoots throughout the experimental period.These results suggest the diastereomer-specific accumulation and translocation of HBCD in maize.Inhibitory effects of HBCD on the early development of maize followed the order of germination rateroot biomass≥root elongationshoot biomass≥shoot elongation.Hydroxyl radical(OH)and histone H2AX phosphorylation(γ-H2AX)were induced in maize by HBCD exposure,indicative of the generation of oxidative stress and DNA double-strand breaks in maize.An OH scavenger inhibited the expression ofγ-H2AX foci in both maize roots and shoots,which suggests the involvement of OH generation in the HBCD-induced DNA damage.The results of this study will offer useful information for a more comprehensive assessment of the environmental behavior and toxicity of technical HBCD.     

臭气强度在恶臭污染物环境空气影响中的应用研究

以兰州某石化公司化工污水处理厂恶臭治理项目为例,在确定恶臭气体的污染源源强的基础上,采用AERMOD模式预测污染物扩散情况。结果表明,添置除臭装置后,NH3的臭气浓度减少了90%,VOCs的臭气浓度减少了88%。同时,当恶臭污染物浓度达到环境质量浓度标准时,NH3的臭气强度为1．40级,VOCs的臭气强度为0．82级,人们仍能感觉到气味。因此石化企业在进行恶臭治理过程中需综合考虑污染物的环境空气质量浓度标准和臭气强度,以期改善环境空气质量。     

Relative Importance of Water‐Quality Stressors in Predicting Fish Community Responses in Midwestern Streams

Fish, habitat, and water chemistry data were collected from 98 streams in the midwestern United States, an area dominated by intense cultivation of row crops, in order to identify important water‐quality stressors to fish communities. We focused on 10 stressors including riparian disturbance, riparian vegetative cover, instream fish cover, streambed sedimentation, streamflow variability, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, minimum dissolved oxygen, pesticides, and bed sediment contaminants. Fish community response variables included a measure of observed/expected taxonomic completeness; species‐specific tolerances to nitrogen, phosphorus, dissolved oxygen, and water temperature; the percent of species classified as macrohabitat generalists; and an index of pesticide toxicity to fish. Multivariate analysis indicated that total nitrogen was the most important stressor, signifying that fish communities were responding to total nitrogen despite relatively high levels common to an agricultural setting. Individually, fish taxonomic completeness decreased with increasing streambed sedimentation, whereas fish community tolerance to total phosphorus increased with increasing streambed sedimentation, riparian disturbance, and total nitrogen. These findings underscore the importance of multiple biological response metrics to better understand the effects of water‐quality stressors on fish communities and highlight the complex relations between total phosphorus and fish communities.     

Development of community of practice to support quantitative risk assessment for synthetic biology products: contaminant bioremediation and invasive carp control as cases

Synthetic biology has the potential for a broad array of applications. However, realization of this potential is challenged by the paucity of relevant data for conventional risk assessment protocols, a limitation due to to the relative nascence of the field, as well as the poorly characterized and prioritized hazard, exposure, and dose–response considerations associated with the development and use of synthetic biology-derived organisms. Where quantitative risk assessment approaches are necessarily to fulfill regulatory requirements for review of products containing genetically modified organisms, this paper reviews one potential avenue for early-stage quantitative risk assessment for biosafety considerations of synthetic biology organism deployment into the environment. Building from discussion from a March 2018 US Army Engineer Research and Development Center workshop on developing such quantitative risk assessment for synthetic biology, this paper reviews the findings and discussion of workshop participants. This paper concludes that, while synthetic biology risk assessment and governance will continue to refine and develop in the coming years, a quantitative framework that builds from existing practice is one potentially beneficial option for risk assessors that must contend with the technology’s limited hazard characterization or exposure assessment considerations in the near term.     

Forb,Insect, and Soil Response to Burning and Mowing Wyoming Big Sagebrush in Greater Sage-Grouse Breeding Habitat

Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata wyomingensis A. t. Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle and Young) communities provide structure and forbs and insects needed by greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) for growth and survival. We evaluated forb, insect, and soil responses at six mowed and 19 prescribed burned sites compared to 25, paired and untreated reference sites. Sites were classified by treatment type, soil type, season, and decade of treatment (sites burned during 1990–1999 and sites burned or mowed during 2000–2006). Our objective was to evaluate differences in ten habitat attributes known to influence sage-grouse nesting and brood rearing to compare responses among treatment scenarios. Contrary to desired outcomes, treating Wyoming big sagebrush through prescribed burning or mowing may not stimulate cover or increase nutrition in food forbs, or increase insect abundance or indicators of soil quality compared with reference sites. In some cases, prescribed burning showed positive results compared with mowing such as greater forb crude protein content (%), ant (Hymenoptera; no./trap), beetle (Coleoptera/no./trap), and grasshopper abundance (Orthoptera; no./sweep), and total (%) soil carbon and nitrogen, but of these attributes, only grasshopper abundance was enhanced at burned sites compared with reference sites in 2008. Mowing did not promote a statistically significant increase in sage-grouse nesting or early brood-rearing habitat attributes such as cover or nutritional quality of food forbs, or counts of ants, beetles, or grasshoppers compared with reference sites.     

Association between population density and infection rate suggests the importance of social distancing and travel restriction in reducing the COVID-19 pandemic

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Currently, 2019-nCoV has spread to most countries of the world. Understanding the environmental factors that affect the spread of the disease COVID-19...