Comparative study on indoor air quality in Japan and China: Characteristics of residential indoor and outdoor VOCs

We conducted a comparative study on the indoor air quality for Japan and China to investigate aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor microenvironments (living room, bedroom, and kitchen) and outdoors in summer and winter during 2006–2007. Samples were taken from Shizuoka in Japan and Hangzhou in China, which are urban cities with similar latitudes. Throughout the samplings, the indoor and outdoor concentrations of many of the targeted VOCs (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, and trimethylbenzenes) in China were significantly higher than those in Japan. The indoor concentrations of VOCs in Japan were somewhat consistent with those outdoors, whereas those in China tended to be higher than those outdoors. Here, we investigated the differences in VOC concentrations between Japan and China. Compositional analysis of indoor and outdoor VOCs showed bilateral differences; the contribution of benzene in China was remarkably higher than that in Japan. Significant correlations (p < 0.05) for benzene were observed among the concentrations in indoor microenvironments and between the outdoors and living rooms or kitchens in Japan. In China, however, significant correlations were observed only between living rooms and bedrooms. These findings suggest differences in strengths of indoor VOC emissions between Japan and China. The source characterizations were also investigated using principal component analysis/absolute principal component scores. It was found that outdoor sources including vehicle emission and industrial sources, and human activity could be significant sources of indoor VOC pollution in Japan and China respectively. In addition, the lifetime cancer risks estimated from unit risks and geometric mean indoor concentrations of carcinogenic VOCs were 2.3 × 10^?5 in Japan and 21 × 10^?5 in China, indicating that the exposure risks in China were approximately 10 times higher than those in Japan.     

Enantioselectivity in toxicity and degradation of dichlorprop-methyl in algal cultures

Enantioselectivity in the toxicity and degradation of the herbicide dichlorprop-methyl (2,4-DCPPM) in algal cultures was studied. Enantioselectivity was clearly observed in the toxicity of racemic 2,4-DCPPM and its two enantiomers. R-2,4-DCPPM showed low toxicity to Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Chlorella vulgaris, but higher toxicity to Scenedesmus obliquus. The observed toxicity was ranked: R-2,4-DCPPM > S-2,4-DCPPM ? Rac-2,4-DCPPM; the toxicity of R-2,4-DCPPM was about 8-fold higher than that of Rac-2,4-DCPPM. Additionally, 2,4-DCPPM was quickly degraded, in the initial 12 h, and different algae cultures had different enantioselectivity for the 2,4-DCPPM enantiomers. There was no significant enantioselectivity for 2,4-DCPPM in Chlorella vulgaris in the initial 7 h. However, racemic 2,4-DCPPM was degraded by Scenedesmus obliquus quickly, in the initial 4 h, much quicker, in fact, than the S- or R-enantiomers (racemate > R- > S-), indicating that the herbicide 2,4-DCPPM was absorbed enantioselectively by Scenedesmus obliquus. The rapid formation of 2,4-DCPP suggested that 2,4-DCPPM adsorbed by algal cells was catalytically hydrolyzed to the free acid, a toxic metabolite. The production rates of 2,4-DCPP were as follows: Scenedesmus obliquus > Chlorella pyrenoidosa > Chlorella vulgaris, consistent with the degradability of 2,4-DCPPM. Scenedesmus obliquus had quick, but different, degradative and uptake abilities for R-, S-, and Rac-2,4-DCPPM. The R- and S- enantiomers were not hydrolyzed in the first 12 h, while both enantiomers were hydrolyzed slowly after that. These results indicate that some physical and chemical properties of compounds are of importance in determining their enantioselective toxicity and degradation. The ester and its metabolite likely played an important role in enantioselective toxicity to the three algae.     

阳离子絮凝剂P(AM-DMC)的合成及其对活性染料废水的絮凝脱色

以K2S2O8-脲为引发剂,通过自由基聚合法合成了丙烯酰胺-2-甲基丙烯酰氧乙基三甲基氯化铵P（AM—DMC）絮凝剂,并研究了其对4种活性染料模拟废水的脱色效果,考察了P（AM—DMC）加入量、阳离子度、特性粘数、染料溶液pH等因素对脱色效果的影响。实验结果表明：最佳P（AM—DMC）加入量随染料分子中磺酸基数目的增加而增加,随絮凝剂阳离子度的增大而减少;阳离子度大于52％时,最高脱色率基本相同;特性粘数对脱色效果影响很小;在染料溶液为弱酸性及中性条件下,P（AM—DMC）的脱色效果较好。P（AM—DMC）对活性染料废水的脱色机理是,P（AM—DMC）中的-N^＋（CH3）3与染料分子中的-SO3^-结合,生成-N^＋（CH3）3SO3^-,同时也形成了分子间氢键,通过键合作用使染料分子聚集沉降。     

掘进工作面贴附射流通风浓差理论研究

掘进工作面压入式通风形成的风流是贴附射流。根据流体力学和射流理论 ,通风射流体结构分为起始段和主体段。风筒出口风流是新鲜的 ,射流周围气体中污染物浓度高于射流体的浓度 ,与射流气体存在浓度差。因此 ,其通风射流为浓差射流。笔者分析了贴附射流主体段、起始段的轴心浓差和质量平均浓差 ,得出了计算模型。同时为研究压入式通风过程中污染物的分布提供了新的理论依据     

电催化氧化中的三种催化材料处理酸性红B染料的比较研究

本文采用三种不同催化机理的材料———半导体材料TiO2 、软锰矿石和混合稀土进行了电催化氧化 (ECO)染料酸性红B的研究 ,结果表明 ,稀土材料在ECO体系中呈负催化效应 ;软锰矿石的色度去除催化效果明显 ;TiO2 的催化效果最显著 ,其色度和COD去除效果可比无催化剂时效果分别提高60 %和 75% ,可以作为电催化氧化的催化剂。并进一步研究了TiO2 用量对电催化氧化 (ECO)的影响。     

Controlled-release of fluazinam from biodegradable PLGA-based microspheres

Abstract

Pesticides are biological or chemical substances used to manage pests and diseases. Encapsulation of pesticides in biodegradable carriers creates a slow-release system that can improve water dispersibility and prolong residual activity. We prepared two kinds of poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)(PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactants. These were used to encapsulate the fungicide fluazinam (Flu) against Rhizoctonia solani using the Shirasu Porous Glass (SPG) membrane emulsification method. Both nanoparticles had uniform spherical shapes with average diameters of 314.13?nm (SDS) and 612.80?nm (PVA). The slow-release microspheres had excellent sustained-release properties, resistance to UV degradation, storage stability, leaf surface coverage and antifungal efficacy compared to the commercial formulation.     

预应力混凝土连续小箱梁桥荷载试验研究

为评估鄂钢东西区连接公路桥在正常运营状态下的承载能力和安全性,选取该桥第一、三联的预应力混凝土连续小箱梁进行静、动荷载试验。在静荷载下测试最不利断面的应力和挠度,通过动荷载试验来测试该桥的自振频率、振幅和冲击系数,并与理论值进行对比。结果表明：主梁测试桥面的挠度校验系数和断面的应力校验系数的理论值大于实测值,其最大相对残余变形和残余应变率均不超过20%;第一、三联一阶竖向振动频率实测值分别为3.20、3.55 Hz,实测值均大于计算值,结构整体刚度满足要求;第一、三联实测桥梁冲击系数分别在0.12～0.16和0.15～0.18,桥梁在冲击荷载作用下能正常运营。在正常运营状态下,桥梁结构的整体刚度满足设计要求,且处于弹性工作状况,该桥的自振频率和冲击系数均在合理范围内,表明鄂钢东西区连接公路桥整体承载能力满足公路I级荷载要求。     

Enhanced 4-chlorophenol biodegradation by integrating Fe2O3 nanoparticles into an anaerobic reactor: Long-term performance and underlying mechanism

• 4-chlorophenol biodegradation could be enhanced in Fe₂O₃ coupled anaerobic system. • Metabolic activity and electron transport could be improved by Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles. • Functional microbial communities could be enriched in coupled anaerobic system. • Possible synergistic mechanism involved in enhanced dechlorination was proposed. Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles have been reported to enhance the dechlorination performance of anaerobic systems, but the underlying mechanism has not been clarified. This study evaluated the technical feasibility, system stability, microbial biodiversity and the underlying mechanism involved in a Fe₂O₃ nanoparticle-coupled anaerobic system treating 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) wastewater. The results demonstrated that the 4-CP and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiencies in the Fe₂O₃-coupled up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) were always higher than 97% and 90% during long-term operation, verifying the long-term stability of the Fe₂O₃-coupled UASB. The 4-CP and TOC removal efficiencies in the coupled UASB increased by 42.9±0.4% and 27.5±0.7% compared to the control UASB system. Adding Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles promoted the enrichment of species involved in dechlorination, fermentation, electron transfer and acetoclastic methanogenesis, and significantly enhanced the extracellular electron transfer ability, electron transport activity and conductivity of anaerobic sludge, leading to enhanced 4-CP biodegradation performance. A possible synergistic mechanism involved in enhanced anaerobic 4-CP biodegradation by Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles was proposed.     

Health risk of extreme low temperature on respiratory diseases in western China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Previous studies have reported that daily average temperature is connected with respiratory diseases (RD), but proof is limited for the influence of...     

Prenatal exposure to air pollution and the risk of eczema in childhood: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - An increasing number of studies investigated the association between air pollution during pregnancy and the risk of eczema in offspring. However, no...