Comparative toxicity of rac- and S-tebuconazole to Daphnia magna

Tebuconazole is a chiral triazole fungicide used as raceme in a variety of agricultural applications. Earlier studies showed that tebuconazole is toxic to many non-target aquatic organisms but relative data for tebuconazole enantiomers are lacking. Thus, goal of this study was to evaluate and compare the toxicity of rac- and S-tebuconazole with Daphnia magna at both acute and chronic levels according to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines 202 and 211 respectively, to provide some guidelines for optimizing chiral pesticides application and management. The exposure concentrations were 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 10 mg L^?1 for both rac- and S-tebuconazole and their 48-h EC₅₀ values to D. magna were 3.53 (3.32–3.78) and 2.74 (2.33–3.10) mg L^?1 respectively, indicating that these both are medium toxic to D. magna with no significant toxicity difference at acute level. In chronic test, <24-h old D. magna were exposed to 0.01, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, and 0.40 mg L^?1 of rac- and S-tebuconazole with one blank and one solvent control for 21 days according to OECD guideline 211. Four developmental (molting rate, days to the 1st and 3rd brood, and body length) and five reproductive (size of the 1st and 3rd brood, number of broods, and number of neonates) parameters for each D. magna were determined. Results showed that both rac- and S-tebuconazole significantly reduced the reproduction and impacted the development of D. magna at concentrations of 0.05 mg L^?1 or higher. Furthermore, S-tebuconazole was more toxic than raceme, and the difference between effects on the same parameters induced by rac- and S-tebuconazole was statistically significant. These results demonstrated that the chronic toxicity of S-tebuconazole might be underestimated in general use, and further studies should focus more on the biological behaviors of enantiomers and not just the raceme of tebuconazole and other chiral pesticides in the environment.     

Kinetics of acetaminophen degradation by Fenton oxidation in a fluidized-bed reactor

Acetaminophen (ACT), an analgesic and antipyretic substance, is one of the most commonly detected pharmaceutical compound in surface waters and wastewaters. In this study, fluidized-bed Fenton (FB-Fenton) was used to decompose ACT into its final degradation products. The 1.45-L cylindrical glass reactor had inlet, outlet and recirculating sections. SiO₂ carrier particles were supported by glass beads with 2–4 mm in diameter. ACT concentration was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). During the first 40 min of reaction, a fast initial ACT removal was observed and the “two-stage” ACT degradation conformed to a pseudo reaction kinetics. The effects of ferrous ion dosage and [Fe²⁺]/[H₂O₂] (FH ratio) were integrated into the derived pseudo second-order kinetic model. A reaction pathway was proposed based on the intermediates detected through SPME/GC–MS. The aromatic intermediates identified were hydroquinone, benzaldehydes and benzoic acids while the non-aromatic substances include alcohols, ketones, aldehydes and carboxylic acids. Rapid initial ACT degradation rate can be accomplished by high initial ferrous ion concentration and/or low FH ratio.     

Modeling groundwater flow and its associated environmental problem in a lowland coastal plain: a first step towards a sustainable development plan

Groundwater is an important resource in the alluvial coastal lowland plains. In the Shiroishi lowland plain, southwestern Kyushu Island of Japan, land subsidence due to groundwater development has long been recognized as an environmental issue. Land subsidence can have several negative economic and social implications. In this study, an integrated numerical groundwater and land subsidence model, which combines a three-dimensional numerical groundwater flow model and a one-dimensional soil consolidation model, was used to simulate the dynamic groundwater flow and ground subsidence due to pumping. On the other hand, a groundwater optimization model was also formulated to search for an optimal safe yield of groundwater pumping without violating physical, environmental, social-economic constraints. The model results reveal that groundwater levels in the aquifers greatly vary from season to season in response to varying climatic and pumping conditions. Consequently, land subsidence has rapidly occurred throughout the area with the central prone in Shiroishi plain. The study also proposes a countermeasure against subsiding process in the area by means of numerical models. The optimization model result suggests that pumping can be increased in the northern part of the study area without leading to significant land subsidence.     

青海省近20年森林植被碳储量变化及其现状分析

基于林业生态功能和青海省森林资源清查数据,采用森林植被生物量换算因子连续函数法,系统估算与分析青海省森林植被碳储量、碳密度,研究其近20 a碳储量变化并进行现状分析。结果表明：(1)青海省森林碳储量为11 182 64222 t,占同时期全国总碳储量的198%,青海省森林生态系统中面积占较大比重的中龄林,其碳储量尚未达到最大,有较大发展空间;(2)青海省近20 a天然林类型中碳储量较大的前4种分别是：柏木（Cupressus funebris）、桦木（Betula）、杨树（Populus）、云杉（Picea asperata）天然林,表明这几种天然林在青海省森林植被中占有重要的地位,其集中分布对区域生态功能的发挥起主导作用;(3)所采用的碳储量估算方法尚存不足,在以后计算中应考虑根据不同林分类型的含碳量进行计算     

不同溃坝条件下尾矿库溃坝试验与灾害影响研究*

为探究不同溃坝条件下尾砂流的演进规律与灾害影响,提高应对尾矿库溃坝灾害的防灾减灾能力。以四川某尾矿库为研究背景,采用模型试验与数值模拟相结合的方法,研究不同溃坝条件下溃坝砂流的演进和沉积规律,并预估溃坝灾害影响。研究结果表明:溃坝方式对溃坝砂流的演进过程、尾砂的沉积分布情况与致灾程度有显著影响;与漫顶溃坝相比,瞬时溃坝砂流的淹没范围更广、破坏性更强;砂流在流动过程中存在水-砂分层流动与沉淀的动态变化过程,其淹没面积大于尾砂的沉积面积;试验与数值模拟结果的一致性较高,采用两者相结合的方法研究溃坝砂流流动规律及灾害影响具有一定的可靠性。     

Porous carbon derived from waste corrugated paper board using different activators

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Porous carbon with a large specific surface area (maximum was 1600 m2/g) was successfully prepared from waste corrugated paper board. The plant...     

双酚类化合物污染现状和内分泌干扰效应研究进展

双酚类化合物(bisphenols, BPs)是合成碳酸聚酯、环氧树脂和聚丙烯酸酯等高分子聚合物的主要原料,在商业制造中广泛使用。经过度排放污染环境,并能通过食物链放大作用在动物和人体内蓄积。已经在水体、底泥、室内灰尘、食品以及动物和人体内检测到双酚A(bisphenol A, BPA)及其替代品或衍生物等多种BPs。BPs对性激素、甲状腺素和神经内分泌系统具有干扰效应,能影响机体生殖功能、性腺发育、神经行为和激素依赖性疾病的发展,已经成为危害人体健康的风险因子。多种BPA替代品的内分泌干扰效应甚至比BPA更强,但缺乏全面的内分泌干扰效应评估数据和对作用机制的深入研究。本文对BPs种类来源、污染现状及其内分泌干扰效应进行综述。     

Methods to control harmful algal blooms: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The recent rise of red tide harmful algal blooms has induced ecosystem degradation, economic losses, and aquaculture damage, yet little is known on prevention and...     

High-performance Si-Containing anode materials in lithium-ion batteries:A superstructure of Si@Co–NC composite works effectively

To mitigate the massive volume expansion of Si-based anode during the charge/discharge cycles, we synthesized a superstructure of Si@Co–NC composite via the carbonization of zeolite imidazolate frameworks incorporated with Si nanoparticles. The Si@Co–NC is comprised of Si-nanoparticle core and N-doped/Co-incorporated carbon shell, and there is void space between the core and the shell. When using as anode material for LIBs, Si@Co–NC displayed a super performance with a charge/discharge capacity of 191.6/191.4 mA h g-1 and a coulombic efficiency of 100.1％ at 1000 mA g-1 after 3000 cycles, and the capacity loss rate is 0.022％ per cycle only. The excellent electrochemical property of Si@Co–NC is because its electronic conductivity is enhanced by doping the carbon shell with N atoms and by incorporating with Co particles, and the pathway of lithium ions transmission is shortened by the hollow structure and abundant mesopores in the carbon shell. Also, the volume expansion of Si nanoparticles is well accommodated in the void space and suppressed by the carbon host matrix. This work shows that, through designing a superstructure for the anode materials, we can synergistically reduce the work function and introduce the confinement effect, thus significantly enhancing the anode materials' electrochemical performance in LIBs.     

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...