Enhanced arsenate removal from aqueous solution by Mn-doped MgAl-layered double hydroxides

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, Mn-doped MgAl-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) were successfully synthesized for efficient removal arsenate from aqueous solution. The...     

Association of exposure to multiple metals with papillary thyroid cancer risk in China

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) has inflicted huge threats to the health of mankind. Metal pollution could be a potential risk factor of PTC occurrence, but existing relevant epidemiological researches are limited. The current case-control study was designed to evaluate the relationships between exposure to multiple metals and the risk of PTC. A total of 262 histologically confirmed PTC cases were recruited. Age- and gender-matched controls were enrolled at the same time. Urine samples were used as biomarkers to reflect the levels of environmental exposure to 13 metals. Conditional logistic regression models were adopted to assess the potential association. Single-metal and multi-metal models were separately conducted to evaluate the impacts of single and co-exposure to 13 metals. The increased concentration of urinary Cd, Cu, Fe, and Pb quartiles was found significant correlated with PTC risk. We also found the decreased trends of urinary Se, Zn, and Mn quartiles with the ORs for PTC. These dose-response associations between Pb and PTC were observed in the single-metal model and remained significant in the multi-metal model (OR_25-50th=1.39, OR_50-75th=3.32, OR_>75th=7.62, p for trend <0.001). Our study suggested that PTC was positively associated with urinary levels of Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, and inversely associated with Se, Zn, and Mn. Targeted public health policies should be made to improve the environment and the recognition of potential risk factors. These findings need additional studies to confirm in other population.

     

Dissipation,residues, and risk assessment of imidacloprid in Zizania latifolia and purple sweet potato under field conditions using LC-MS/MS

A shortened version of Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe method (QuEChERS) for determining the dissipation and residue of imidacloprid present in Zizania latifolia and purple sweet potato was established by using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The average recoveries of imidacloprid in the two crops ranged from 82.12 to 113.79%, with relative standard deviation (RSD) of <7.32%. The dissipation dynamics of imidacloprid in Z. latifolia plants and purple sweet potato plants followed first-order kinetics, with half-lives of 3.2–5.5?days in each of sampling locations. The terminal imidacloprid residues in Z. latifolia and purple sweet potato at each of location were <0.005–0.120?mg kg^?1. According to the risk assessment results, both the acute dietary risk quotient and chronic dietary risk quotient values were <1, indicating that imidacloprid is unlikely to pose health risks to humans with normal recommended use. The present study may serve as a valuable reference for the safe and reasonable use of imidacloprid in Z. latifolia and purple sweet potato fields.     

膜过滤-气相色谱法测定涂料中的苯系物、环己酮和甲苯二异氰酸酯

采用膜过滤-气相色谱法测定涂料中的苯系物、环己酮和甲苯二异氰酸酯（TD I）。用7种规格的石英毛细管色谱柱对混合标准溶液和涂料试样进行了分析实验,实验结果表明,不同属性的涂料试样添加固定量的正十四烷作内标物,经膜过滤净化后,苯系物、环己酮和TD I可采用DB-1-3或DB-1-2色谱柱同时分离并测定。测试数据经多级校准曲线处理后涂料试样中苯系物、环己酮和TD I的加标回收率为98.6%～101.8%,各组分分析结果的变异系数均小于2.0%,检出限均小于1.50×10^-5g。     

聚α-烯烃合成油的清洁生产工艺

针对聚α-烯烃合成油（PAO）生产旧工艺存在的问题,介绍了以固载化AlCl3为催化剂的PAO生产新工艺,考察了各种因素对PAO收率的影响。实验结果表明,在反应温度为100℃、反应时间为8h、A1C1,与α-烯烃质量比为10：75的条件下,PAO收率为48．8％。采用新工艺后,PAO产品质量有了明显提高,黏度指数为132,碱和白土的消耗为零,且没有废渣产生,可实现清洁化生产。     

人地关系的危机和性质及协调思维

人地关系危机的本因是人类意识和社会经济行为与其生存环境的潜在利用方向、可承载量之间存在的巨大不整合和全面失衡,其核心是资源问题。人地关系的性质是多种人地关系因子共同作用的区间对应的函数关系。人类应当采取“多管齐下、本标兼治”的协调战略,树立资源中心论观念,着力于改善资源利用结构和效率,改进人地关系的关联方式和复合作用效应,建立多层次的人地协调工程,推动人与自然的根本和解和全面合作,最终实现两者的整体同一化和共生协调化。人与自然的关系是人类思考和认识的永恒主题。目前,人地关系呈现出历史性和全球性的危机,已成为人类生存和发展的根本障碍。探讨危机产生的根源,研究人地关系的性质,并从中确定调控人地关系的基本思维和方式,无疑具有重大的现实意义和理论价值。     

Regime shifts and resilience in China’s coastal ecosystems

Regime shift often results in large, abrupt, and persistent changes in the provision of ecosystem services and can therefore have significant impacts on human wellbeing. Understanding regime shifts has profound implications for ecosystem recovery and management. China’s coastal ecosystems have experienced substantial deterioration within the past decades, at a scale and speed the world has never seen before. Yet, information about this coastal ecosystem change from a dynamics perspective is quite limited. In this review, I synthesize existing information on coastal ecosystem regime shifts in China and discuss their interactions and cascading effects. The accumulation of regime shifts in China’s coastal ecosystems suggests that the desired system resilience has been profoundly eroded, increasing the potential of abrupt shifts to undesirable states at a larger scale, especially given multiple escalating pressures. Policy and management strategies need to incorporate resilience approaches in order to cope with future challenges and avoid major losses in China’s coastal ecosystem services.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0692-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Study on a new correlation between diffusion coefficient and temperature in porous building materials

The diffusion coefficient (D) and partition coefficient (K_ma) are the two important parameters used to predict the volatile organic compound (VOC) emission or sorption characteristics in porous building materials. D and K_ma may be strongly affected by temperature (T). In this study, we derived a new correlation between D and T based on the assumption that molecular diffusion is dominant, and evaluated this correlation using a series of existing experimental data. The modeling results using the new correlation agree well with the experimental data. The correlation would be useful for assessment of indoor air quality under different environmental (temperature) conditions.     

Study on Biodegradable Starch/OMMT Nanocomposites for Packaging Applications

The thermoplastic starch (TPS) and nanocomposite(TPS/OMMT) was prepared with 15% carbamide, 15% ethanolamine and different contents of organic activated montmorillonite (OMMT) by twin-screw extruder with a 130 °C barrel temperature. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy and wide angle X-ray diffraction shown that the alkylamine in dodecyl benzyl dimethyl ammonium bromide could react with MMT via cation exchange reaction. After treated, the d(001)space distance of MMT increased from 1.5 to 1.7 nm. Scanning electron microscope revealed that the lower contents of OMMT could disperse well in the matrixes of TPS. The carbamide, ethanolamine and the OMMT could destroy the crystallization behavior of starch, but only the OMMT restrained this behavior for long-term storing. Mechanical properties investigation indicated that the tensile strength and modulus of TPS/OMMT nanocomposites were better than those of TPS, while the elongation at break was descended with the increasing of OMMT contents. When the content of OMMT was 4%, the tensile strength and modulus of TPS was improved from 4.2 and 42 MPa to 6.0 and 76 MPa, respectively.