The effects of autophagy on vascular endothelial cells induced by airborne PM2.5

The purpose of this study was to examine the direct toxicity of PM2.5 collected from Beijing on human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC). A Cell Counting Kit 8(CCK8) assay demonstrated that PM2.5 exposure decreased the proliferation of HUVECs in a dosedependent manner. We also found that PM2.5 exposure induced autophagy in HUVECs, as evidenced by:(1) an increased number of double-membrane vesicles;(2) enhanced conversion and punctuation of the microtubule-associated protein light chain 3(LC3); and(3) decreased levels of the selective autophagy substrate p62 in a time-dependent manner.Furthermore, promoting autophagy in PM2.5-exposed HUVECs with rapamycin increased the cell survival rate, whereas inhibiting autophagy via 3-methyladenine significantly decreased cell survival. These results demonstrate that PM2.5 exposure can induce cytotoxicity and autophagy in HUVECs and that autophagy play a protective role against PM2.5-induced cytotoxicity. The findings of the present study imply a direct toxic effect of PM2.5 on HUVECs and provide novel insight into the mechanism of cardiovascular diseases caused by PM2.5 exposure.     

Mercury flows in large-scale gold production and implications for Hg pollution control

Large-scale gold production(LSGP) is one of the five convention-related atmospheric mercury(Hg) emission sources in the Minamata Convention on Mercury. However, field experiments on Hg flows of the whole process of LSGP are limited. To identify the atmospheric Hg emission points and understand Hg emission characteristics of LSGP, Hg flows in two gold smelters were studied. Overall atmospheric Hg emissions accounted for 10%–17% of total Hg outputs and the Hg emission factors for all processes were 7.6–9.6 kg/ton. There were three dominant atmospheric Hg emission points in the studied gold smelters, including the exhaust gas of the roasting process, exhaust gas from the environmental fog collection stack and exhaust gas from the converter of the refining process. Atmospheric Hg emissions from the roasting process only accounted for 16%–29% of total emissions and the rest were emitted from the refining process. The overall Hg speciation profile(gaseous elemental Hg/gaseous oxidized Hg/particulate-bound Hg) for LSGP was 34.1/57.1/8.8. The dominant Hg output byproducts included waste acid, sulfuric acid and cyanide leaching residue. Total Hg outputs from these three byproducts were 80% in smelter A and 84% in smelter B. Our study indicated that previous atmospheric Hg emissions from large-scale gold production might have been overestimated.Hg emission control in LSGP is not especially urgent in China compared to other significant emission sources(e.g., cement plants). Instead, LSGP is a potential Hg release source due to the high Hg output proportions to acid and sludge.     

Relationship between physicochemical properties and dewaterability of hydrothermal sludge derived from different source

Sewage sludge (SS) and deinking sludge (DS) were used to comparatively study the hydrothermal dewatering of sludge with different components. For a better overview, an insight into the relationship between physicochemical properties and dewaterability of hydrothermal sludge was provided. Results found that not all kinds of sludge were suitably conditioned by hydrothermal treatment (HT) in term of the elevation of dewaterability. Higher hydrothermal temperature tended to enhance the dewaterability of SS rather than DS, which was supported by the variation of their physicochemical properties (including water distribution, bonding energy, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS), particles size, acid functional groups and zeta potential in this study). In addition, the changes in surface morphology suggested that the reverse effect of HT on sludge dewaterability was mainly due to their dewatering behavior. For SS, the destruction of EPS structure leaded to the release of bound water, thereby strengthening sludge dewatering. Conversely, “Bridging effect” generated by lignocellulose in DS was beneficial for sludge dewatering; however, the increasing hydrothermal temperature degraded part of lignocellulose and weakened “bridging effect”, finally resulting in worse dewaterability of DS.     

Seasonal variation and size distribution of biogenic secondary organic aerosols at urban and continental background sites of China

Size-resolved biogenic secondary organic aerosols(BSOA) derived from isoprene and monoterpene photooxidation in Qinghai Lake, Tibetan Plateau(a continental background site) and five cities of China were measured using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry(GC/MS). Concentrations of the determined BSOA are higher in the cities than in the background and are also higher in summer than in winter. Moreover, strong positive correlations(R2= 0.44–0.90) between BSOA and sulfate were found at the six sites,suggesting that anthropogenic pollution(i.e., sulfate) could enhance SOA formation,because sulfate provides a surface favorable for acid-catalyzed formation of BSOA. Size distribution measurements showed that most of the determined SOA tracers are enriched in the fine mode( 3.3 μm) except for cis-pinic and cis-pinonic acids, both presented a comparable mass in the fine and coarse( 3.3 μm) modes, respectively. Mass ratio of oxidation products derived from isoprene to those from monoterpene in the five urban regions during summer are much less than those in Qinghai Lake region. In addition, in the five urban regions relative abundances of monoterpene oxidation products to SOA are much higher than those of isoprene. Such phenomena suggest that BSOA derived from monoterpenes are more abundant than those from isoprene in Chinese urban areas.     

铍青铜弹簧片应力腐蚀断裂研究

目的研究传感器微动开关弹簧片应力腐蚀的机理,找到断裂原因。方法对弹簧片进行断口形貌观察、能谱成分分析,并进行产品模拟腐蚀实验。结果传感器内部意外进入雨水,在工作温度下形成湿热环境,开关盒中的游离氨在此环境下释放出来,在开关盒内部形成潮湿氨气氛,铍青铜弹簧片工作时凹面一侧承受静拉应力作用,从而在潮湿氨和拉应力共同作用下发生应力腐蚀开裂。结论通过采用无氨酚醛塑料制备开关盒,弹簧片的应力腐蚀得到了有效预防。     

重庆九龙坡城区和城郊大气污染物浓度特征研究

为了解重庆市九龙坡区城区和城郊大气污染物浓度特征,分析了城区和城郊国控空气站点2014年3月~2015年2月典型污染物的浓度变化。结果表明,除O_3表现出夏高冬低的季节变化趋势外,其它污染物均表现出冬高夏低的季节变化趋势。PM_(2.5)污染最严重,城区和郊区日均值超标率分别为31.4%和33.4%。城区和城郊的PM_(2.5)浓度之间没有显著性差异(p0.05),城郊O_3浓度显著高于城区(p0.01),NO_2、SO_2、CO和PM_(10)则是城区显著高于城郊(p0.01)。     

基于环境温度传感的节水调节器设计研究

传统节水调节器使用半自动机械控制,能够实现部分水资源节约,但在新疆等温度交替变化明显地区,无法根据温度变化情况实现自动控制节水调节,从而造成部分水资源浪费。为此提出基于环境温度传感的节水调节器设计。采用concise结构设计,在阻挠蝶板上增加环境温度传感装置,依托沿程阻力系数判定温度传感器节水调节系数ξ,通过不同ξ值的反馈,针对性的采取相应调节措施;使用调节Accurate检验机制,对温度变化幅度k进行测定,确定调节幅度有效取值,完成节水调节器的自动调节控制,实现基于环境温度传感的节水调节器设计。     

大豆过敏原P34蛋白基因检测技术与环境污染的关系研究

环境污染易引起大豆种植区域出现过敏原P34蛋白基因变异情况,当前蛋白基因检测方法不能满足检测需求,提出基于探针引物的大豆过敏原P34蛋白基因荧光PCR定量检测技术,针对大豆过敏原特异性基因P34蛋白基因序列进行设计;通过DNA提取、浓度测定,荧光定量PCR检测,实现大豆过敏原P34蛋白基因检测。实验结果表明,所提方法能够准确检测出包括环境污染区域在内的大豆食品过敏原P34蛋白基因成分,具有很好的应用前景,满足市场监督检测的需要。     

Microbiological characteristics in a zero-valent iron reactive barrier

Zero-valent iron (Fe⁰)-based permeable reactive barriertreatment has been generating great interest for passivegroundwater remediation, yet few studies have paid particularattention to the microbial activity and characteristics withinand in the vicinity of the Fe⁰-barrier matrix. The presentstudy was undertaken to evaluate the microbial population andcommunity composition in the reducing zone of influence byFe⁰ corrosion in the barrier at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plantsite. Both phospholipid fatty acids and DNA analyses were usedto determine the total microbial population and microbialfunctional groups, including sulfate-reducing bacteria,denitrifying bacteria, and methanogens, in groundwater andsoil/iron core samples. A diverse microbial community wasidentified in the strongly reducing Fe⁰ environment despitea relatively high pH condition within the Fe⁰ barrier (up topH 10). In comparison with those found in the backgroundsoil/groundwater samples, the enhanced microbial populationranged from 1 to 3 orders of magnitude and appeared to increase from upgradient of the barrier to downgradient soil. Inaddition, microbial community composition appeared to change overtime, and the bacterial types of microorganismsincreased consistently as the barrier aged. DNA analysisindicated the presence of sulfate-reducing and denitrifyingbacteria in the barrier and its surrounding soil. However, theactivity of methanogens was found to be relatively low,presumably as a result of the competition by sulfate/metal-reducing bacteria and denitrifying bacteria because of the unlimited availability of sulfate and nitrate in the site groundwater. Results of this study provide evidenceof a diverse microbial population within and in the vicinity ofthe iron barrier, although the important roles of microbial activity, either beneficially or detrimentally, on the longevityand enduring efficiency of the Fe⁰ barriers are yet to be evaluated.     

螯合树脂在线富集——火焰原子吸收光度法测定水中微量Cu,Pb,Zn,Cd

对螯合树脂在线富集，火焰原子吸收光度法进行了条件试验。试验证实方法对Ｃｕ、Ｐｂ、Ｚｎ、Ｃｄ４个元素检出浓度可达μｇ／Ｌ级，校准曲线性、样品重现性及准确度可满足测定要求。