Characterization of the extracellular biodemulsifiers secreted by Bacillus cereus LH-6 and the enhancement of demulsifying efficiency by optimizing the cultivation conditions

A highly efficient demulsifying strain, LH-6, was isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil and identified as Bacillus cereus by 16S rDNA gene analysis. It achieved 95.61 and 95.40 % demulsifying ratios within 12 h for water-in-oil (W/O) and oil-in-water (O/W) model emulsions, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thin-layer chromatography (TLC) detections indicated that the LH-6’s extracellular biodemulsifiers were different types of lipopeptides for the W/O and O/W emulsions. Optimization of the culture medium composition was conducted to improve the biosynthesis and demulsifying efficiency of the biodemulsifier. The optimal carbon source was liquid paraffin, while waste frying oil could also be an alternative carbon source. The optimal nitrogen sources were ammonium sulfate and yeast extract. To further enhance the biodemulsifier efficiency, the optimal cultivation conditions were determined using response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite rotation design (CCRD). Using the optimized cultivation conditions, the demulsifying ratios increased to 98.23 and 97.65 % for the W/O and O/W model emulsions, respectively.     

An integrated approach to model the biomagnification of organic pollutants in aquatic food webs of the Yangtze Three Gorges Reservoir ecosystem using adapted pollution scenarios

The impounding of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) at the Yangtze River caused large flooding of urban, industrial, and agricultural areas, and profound land use changes took place. Consequently, substantial amounts of organic and inorganic pollutants were released into the reservoir. Additionally, contaminants and nutrients are entering the reservoir by drift, drainage, and runoff from adjacent agricultural areas as well as from sewage of industry, aquacultures, and households. The main aim of the presented research project is a deeper understanding of the processes that determines the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of organic pollutants, i.e., mainly pesticides, in aquatic food webs under the newly developing conditions of the TGR. The project is part of the Yangtze-Hydro environmental program, financed by the German Ministry of Education and Science. In order to test combinations of environmental factors like nutrients and pollution, we use an integrated modeling approach to study the potential accumulation and biomagnification. We describe the integrative modeling approach and the consecutive adaption of the AQUATOX model, used as modeling framework for ecological risk assessment. As a starting point, pre-calibrated simulations were adapted to Yangtze-specific conditions (regionalization). Two exemplary food webs were developed by a thorough review of the pertinent literature. The first typical for the flowing conditions of the original Yangtze River and the Daning River near the city of Wushan, and the second for the stagnant reservoir characteristics of the aforementioned region that is marked by an intermediate between lake and large river communities of aquatic organisms. In close cooperation with German and Chinese partners of the Yangtze-Hydro Research Association, other site-specific parameters were estimated. The MINIBAT project contributed to the calibration of physicochemical and bathymetric parameters, and the TRANSMIC project delivered hydrodynamic models for water volume and flow velocity conditions. The research questions were firstly focused on the definition of scenarios that could depict representative situations regarding food webs, pollution, and flow conditions in the TGR. The food webs and the abiotic site conditions in the main study area near the city of Wushan that determine the environmental preconditions for the organisms were defined. In our conceptual approach, we used the pesticide propanil as a model substance.     

Solution by dilution?—A review on the pollution status of the Yangtze River

The Yangtze River has been a source of life and prosperity for the Chinese people for centuries and is a habitat for a remarkable variety of aquatic species. But the river suffers from huge amounts of urban sewage, agricultural effluents, and industrial wastewater as well as ship navigation wastes along its course. With respect to the vast amounts of water and sediments discharged by the Yangtze River, it is reasonable to ask whether the pollution problem may be solved by simple dilution. This article reviews the past two decades of published research on organic pollutants in the Yangtze River and several adjacent water bodies connected to the main stream, according to a holistic approach. Organic pollutant levels and potential effects of water and sediments on wildlife and humans, measured in vitro, in vivo, and in situ, were critically reviewed. The contamination with organic pollutants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/polychlorinated dibenzofurans, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and others, of water and sediment along the river was described. Especially Wuhan section and the Yangtze Estuary exhibited stronger pollution than other sections. Bioassays, displaying predominantly the endpoints mutagenicity and endocrine disruption, applied at sediments, drinking water, and surface water indicated a potential health risk in several areas. Aquatic organisms exhibited detectable concentrations of toxic compounds like PCBs, OCPs, PBDEs, and PFCs. Genotoxic effects could also be assessed in situ in fish. To summarize, it can be stated that dilution reduces the ecotoxicological risk in the Yangtze River, but does not eliminate it. Keeping in mind an approximately 14 times greater water discharge compared to the major European river Rhine, the absolute pollution mass transfer of the Yangtze River is of severe concern for the environmental quality of its estuary and the East China Sea. Based on the review, further research needs have been identified.     

家居室内设计及新进展的思考

在对传统室内设计基本观点阐述与理解的基础上分析其整体性、可持续发展,并着重探讨在物质文明和精神文明高度发展的今天,现代室内设计在个性化、自然性、现代性、艺术性等方面发展的新趋势.通过对现代室内设计特点和发展趋势的分析,创造出一个适合人们现代生活的理想空间.     

Different reaction mechanisms of diphenylether and 4-bromodiphenylether with nitrous acid in the 355 nm laser flash photolysis of mixed aqueous solution

The microscopic reaction mechanisms of diphenylether (DPE) and 4-bromodiphenylether (4-BrDPE) with nitrous acid (HNO(2)) in the absence of O(2) have been explored by the 355nm laser flash photolysis. It was proposed that OH radical, from the photolysis of HNO(2), added to DPE forms the C(12)H(10)O-OH adduct while added to 4-BrDPE forms the 4-BrDPE-OH and 4-BrOH-DPE adducts. The first-order decay rate constants of the C(12)H(10)O-OH adduct, 4-BrDPE-OH adduct and 4-BrOH-DPE adduct were measured to be (1.86+/-0.14)x10(5)s(-1), (2.19+/-0.04)x10(5)s(-1) and (1.56+/-0.03)x10(5)s(-1), respectively. The final photolysis products of DPE and HNO(2) identified by GC/MS analysis were phenol, o-hydroxydiphenylether, p-hydroxydiphenylether and p-nitrodiphenylether, while the final photolysis product of 4-BrDPE and HNO(2) identified by LC/MS analysis was mainly the dimer.     

Spatial–temporal dynamics of NDVI and Chl-a concentration from 1998 to 2009 in the East coastal zone of China: integrating terrestrial and oceanic components

Annual normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration are the most important large-scale indicators of terrestrial and oceanic ecosystem net primary productivity. In this paper, the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor level 3 standard mapped image annual products from 1998 to 2009 are used to study the spatial–temporal characters of terrestrial NDVI and oceanic Chl-a concentration on two sides of the coastline of China by using the methods of mean value (M), coefficient of variation (CV), the slope of unary linear regression model (Slope), and the Hurst index (H). In detail, we researched and analyzed the spatial–temporal dynamics, the longitudinal zonality and latitudinal zonality, the direction, intensity, and persistency of historical changes. The results showed that: (1) spatial patterns of M and CV between NDVI and Chl-a concentration from 1998 to 2009 were very different. The dynamic variation of terrestrial NDVI was much mild, while the variation of oceanic Chl-a concentration was relatively much larger; (2) distinct longitudinal zonality was found for Chl-a concentration and NDVI due to their hypersensitivity to the distance to shoreline, and strong latitudinal zonality existed for Chl-a concentration while terrestrial NDVI had a very weak latitudinal zonality; (3) overall, the NDVI showed a slight decreasing trend while the Chl-a concentration showed a significant increasing trend in the past 12 years, and both of them exhibit strong self-similarity and long-range dependence which indicates opposite future trends between land and ocean.     

提高“项目教学”实效性的实践研究

"项目教学法"是实施探究式教学模式的一种教学方法,适用于各类实践性和操作性较强的专业知识、技能的学习,可以帮助学习者提高学习效率,加强职业角色的塑造与职业能力的培养。"项目教学"被普遍认为是能将专业学科体系与职业行业体系紧密结合的教学模式,"项目捆绑教学模式"是实现高等职业教育"四个合作"的有效途径。研究影响这种教学模式开展的教师、学生、工程项目、教学管理等方面因素,以及总结该种模式在教学运行过程中的实效性手段,有利于提高高等职业教育的教学质量。     

城市环境水文问题分析

城市化对水环境污染是一个具有普遍性和严重性的问题.城市水环境污染分为点污染和面污染两类.本文针对城市降雨径流污染(城市面源污染)作了系统分析.其内容包括城市化对降雨径流的影响,城市面污染的积累和暴雨径流的冲刷,以及推求城市暴雨径流污染负荷过程的模拟途径.