Enantioselective aquatic toxicity of current chiral pesticides

Chiral pesticides are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment, and their enantioselectivities in aquatic toxicity are known to be complicated. The difference in enantioselective effects between enantiomers may sometimes differ by approximately 100-fold or more, which makes it important to incorporate enantioselective effects into the risk assessment of chiral pesticides. In this paper, we reviewed relevant work on the aquatic toxicity of chiral pesticides with an emphasis on the enantioselective aquatic toxicity under both chronic and acute exposure conditions. We provided a personal account of the importance of studies on molecular mechanisms of developmental toxicity and specific endpoints such as vitellogenin, yolk sac edema and pericardial edema in future research. Given the widespread use of chiral pesticides, we suggest that a more comprehensive understanding of the significance of enantioselective aquatic toxicity will be very helpful in improving risk assessment and regulation of chiral pesticides.     

Characteristics of plankton Hg bioaccumulations based on a global data set and the implications for aquatic systems with aggravating nutrient imbalance

• Hg bioaccumulation by phytoplankton varies among aquatic ecosystems. • Active Hg uptake may exist for the phytoplankton in aquatic ecosystems. • Impacts of nutrient imbalance on food chain Hg transfer should be addressed. The bioaccumulation of mercury (Hg) in aquatic ecosystem poses a potential health risk to human being and aquatic organism. Bioaccumulations by plankton represent a crucial process of Hg transfer from water to aquatic food chain. However, the current understanding of major factors affecting Hg accumulation by plankton is inadequate. In this study, a data set of 89 aquatic ecosystems worldwide, including inland water, nearshore water and open sea, was established. Key factors influencing plankton Hg bioaccumulation (i.e., plankton species, cell sizes and biomasses) were discussed. The results indicated that total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in plankton in inland waters were significantly higher than those in nearshore waters and open seas. Bioaccumulation factors for the logarithm of THg and MeHg of phytoplankton were 2.4–6.0 and 2.6–6.7 L/kg, respectively, in all aquatic ecosystems. They could be further biomagnified by a factor of 2.1–15.1 and 5.3–28.2 from phytoplankton to zooplankton. Higher MeHg concentrations were observed with the increases of cell size for both phyto- and zooplankton. A contrasting trend was observed between the plankton biomasses and BAF_MeHg, with a positive relationship for zooplankton and a negative relationship for phytoplankton. Plankton physiologic traits impose constraints on the rates of nutrients and contaminants obtaining process from water. Nowadays, many aquatic ecosystems are facing rapid shifts in nutrient compositions. We suggested that these potential influences on the growth and composition of plankton should be incorporated in future aquatic Hg modeling and ecological risk assessments.     

A fast antibiotic detection method for simplified pretreatment through spectra-based machine learning

• A spectral machine learning approach is proposed for predicting mixed antibiotic. • Pretreatment is far simpler than traditional detection methods. • Performance of the model is compared in different influencing factors. • Spectral machine learning is promising in the detection of complex substances. Antibiotics are widely used in medicine and animal husbandry. However, due to the resistance of antibiotics to degradation, large amounts of antibiotics enter the environment, posing a potential risk to the ecosystem and public health. Therefore, the detection of antibiotics in the environment is necessary. Nevertheless, conventional detection methods usually involve complex pretreatment techniques and expensive instrumentation, which impose considerable time and economic costs. In this paper, we proposed a method for the fast detection of mixed antibiotics based on simplified pretreatment using spectral machine learning. With the help of a modified spectrometer, a large number of characteristic images were generated to map antibiotic information. The relationship between characteristic images and antibiotic concentrations was established by machine learning model. The coefficient of determination and root mean squared error were used to evaluate the prediction performance of the machine learning model. The results show that a well-trained machine learning model can accurately predict multiple antibiotic concentrations simultaneously with almost no pretreatment. The results from this study have some referential value for promoting the development of environmental detection technologies and digital environmental management strategies.     

Functional flax fiber with UV-induced switchable wettability for multipurpose oil-water separation

● A PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber with UV-induced switchable wettability was developed. ● The property of flax fiber could be switched from hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity. ● The mechanism of the acquired UV-induced switchable wettability was discussed. ● The developed flax fiber was successfully used for multipurpose oil-water separation. The large number of oily wastewater discharges and oil spills are bringing about severe threats to environment and human health. Corresponding to this challenge, a functional PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber with UV-induced switchable wettability was developed for efficient oil-water separation in this study. The developed flax fiber was obtained through PAA grafted polymerization and then ZnO-HDTMS nanocomposite immobilization. The as-prepared PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber was hydrophobic initially and could be switched to hydrophilic through UV irradiation. Its hydrophobicity could be easily recovered through being stored in dark environment for several days. To optimize the performance of the PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber, the effects of ZnO and HDTMS concentrations on its switchable wettability were investigated. The optimized PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber had a large water contact angle (~130°) in air and an extremely small oil contact angle (~0°) underwater initially. After UV treatment, the water contact angle was decreased to 30°, while the underwater oil contact angle was increased to more than 150°. Based on this UV-induced switchable wettability, the developed PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber was applied to remove oil from immiscible oil-water mixtures and oil-in-water emulsion with great reusability for multiple cycles. Thus, the developed flax fiber could be further fabricated into oil barrier or oil sorbent for oil-water separation, which could be an environmentally-friendly alternative in oil spill response and oily wastewater treatment.     

Improving protected area effectiveness through consideration of different human-pressure baselines

Previous assessments of the effectiveness of protected areas (PAs) focused primarily on changes in human pressure over time and did not consider the different human-pressure baselines of PAs, thereby potentially over- or underestimating PA effectiveness. We developed a framework that considers both human-pressure baseline and change in human pressure over time and assessed the effectiveness of 338 PAs in China from 2010 to 2020. The initial state of human pressure on PAs was taken as the baseline, and changes in human pressure index (HPI) were further analyzed under different baselines. We used the random forest models to identify the management measures that most improved effectiveness in resisting human pressure for the PAs with different baselines. Finally, the relationships between the changes in the HPI and the changes in natural ecosystems in PAs were analyzed with different baselines. Of PAs with low HPI baselines, medium HPI baselines, and high HPI baselines, 76.92% (n=150), 11.11% (n=12), and 22.86% (n=8) , respectively, showed positive effects in resisting human pressure. Overall, ignoring human-pressure baselines somewhat underestimated the positive effects of PAs, especially for those with low initial human pressure. For PAs with different initial human pressures, different management measures should be taken to improve effectiveness and reduce threats to natural ecosystems. We believe our framework is useful for assessing the effectiveness of PAs globally, and we recommend it be included in the Convention on Biological Diversity Post-2020 Strategy.     

沉井加桩复合基础水平动力响应特性

沉井加桩复合基础是一种结合沉井及群桩各自优点形成的新型跨江海桥梁深水基础型式。在复杂的江海环境下,基础将承受强风、波浪及地震等引起的水平动荷载作用,其水平动力特性研究是复合基础合理设计施工和推广应用的重要保证。基于动力Winkler模型分别提出了沉井加桩基础的频域非线性及时域非线性计算方法,并同有限元对比验证了简化方法的正确性。通过算例进一步分析了冲刷对沉井加桩基础动力特性的影响规律,结果表明,土体应力历史及土体非线性对复合基础动力阻抗、共振幅值及频率均有显著影响。     

Effects of alkyl polyglycoside (APG) on composting of agricultural wastes

Composting is the biological degradation and transformation of organic materials under controlled conditions to promote aerobic decomposition. To find effective ways to accelerate composting and improve compost quality, numerous methods including additive addition, inoculation of microorganisms, and the use of biosurfactants have been explored. Studies have shown that biosurfactant addition provides more favorable conditions for microorganism growth, thereby accelerating the composting process. However, biosurfactants have limited applications because they are expensive and their use in composting and microbial fertilizers is prohibited. Meanwhile, alkyl polyglycoside (APG) is considered a “green” surfactant. This study aims to determine whether APG addition into a compost reaction vessel during 28-day composting can enhance the organic matter degradation and composting process of dairy manure. Samples were periodically taken from different reactor depths at 0, 3, 5, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. pH levels, electrical conductivity (EC), ammonium and nitrate nitrogen, seed germination indices, and microbial population were determined. Organic matter and total nitrogen were also measured.Compared with the untreated control, the sample with APG exhibited slightly increased microbial populations, such as bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. APG addition increased temperatures without substantially affecting compost pH and EC throughout the process. After 28 days, APG addition increased nitrate nitrogen concentrations, promoted matter degradation, and increased seed germination indices. The results of this study suggest that the addition of APG provides more favorable conditions for microorganism growth, slightly enhancing organic matter decomposition and accelerating the composting process, improving the compost quality to a certain extent.     

The influence of low-dose cadmium on the laryngeal microstructure and ultrastructure of Pelophylax nigromaculata

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Cadmium (Cd) is one of the common heavy metals dispersed throughout the modern environment that disrupts the development of aquatic organisms....     

排水管道内湍动能分布特性及影响因素

污水中的污染物在管道输送过程中由于管道壁生物膜的微生物作用而发生降解,生化反应过程取决于物质从水相到生物膜之间的传质过程,传质过程受管道中流态特别是湍流作用的影响较大。采用PIV技术和FLUENT软件模拟下水道流态,重点研究充满度为0.1、0.2、0.3、0.4、0.5和坡度为0.003、0.005、0.008、0.01、0.03时水相中湍动能和湍动耗散率的沿程变化。结果表明,在充满度一定时管壁处的湍动能及湍动耗散率最大,且其随着坡度的增大而逐渐增大;坡度一定时,充满度越大管壁处湍动能及湍动耗散率越大。