MOVEMENT BEHAVIOUR OF MEDAKA (Oryzias latipes) IN RESPONSE TO SUBLETHAL TREATMENTS OF DIAZINON AND CHOLINESTERASE ACTIVITY IN SEMI-NATURAL CONDITIONS

Behavioural changes of medaka (Oryzias latipes) treated with an anticholinesterase insecticide, diazinon (0.1 mg L^{- 1}), were continuously observed for 4 days in semi-natural conditions. Although variations occurred in individual specimens, the movement tracks appeared differently with typical short-range movement with irregular turns and shaking after the treatments. Eight movement patterns frequently observed before and after the treatments were selected, and the variables characterising the movement patterns were compared quantitatively. The variables were clearly differentiated when the movement patterns were correspondingly matched before and after the treatments (e.g., vertical movements, horizontal movements, etc). Meander and stop duration were highly different among the selected movement patterns. Additionally, different degree of toxic response behaviours could also be detected by quantitative characterisation of the variables. Response behaviour was confirmed with toxicological experiments that show the decrease in the acetylcholine esterase activity in the head and body of specimens. Quantitative investigations on the variables of the movement tracks suggested the usefulness of response behaviour as a monitoring tool for environmental assessment.     

裂解温度对新疆棉秆生物炭物理化学性质的影响

生物质的裂解温度影响其所生产的生物炭炭的物理和化学性质,进而影响其田间应用效果。棉花秸秆是干旱区特别是新疆地区的主要农业生物质资源,其生物炭利用途径有望克服现有秸秆利用途径的不足,但对棉秆生物炭理化性质及其变化的认识还很缺乏。本文在不同的裂解温度下对新疆棉秆生物炭物理和化学性质进行研究,发现随着裂解温度的升高,生物炭的产率、阳离子交换量、O/C和H/C值降低,p H、电导和持水性能提高,Na+、K+趋势不明显,Cl-和SO2-4等盐碱化离子以及Ca~(2+)、Mg~(2+)营养元素含量随温度的升高降低;C、N、S、C/N和灰分等均提高,NH+4-N在550℃碳化条件下含量最高。因此在田间应用中,应针对土壤特点和解决的问题,调控碳化温度,从而达到趋利避害的目的。     

Effect of Agricultural Antibiotics on the Persistence and Transformation of 17β-Estradiol in a Sequatchie Loam

A laboratory incubation study was conducted to investigate the effect of agricultural antibiotics (sulfamethazine, tylosin, and chlortetracycline) on the persistence and transformation of 17β-estradiol in Sequatchie loam. We measured concentrations of 17β-estradiol and its primary metabolite (estrone) in soils spiked with antibiotics and 17β-estradiol. Dehydrogenase activity (DHA) was also measured as an indicator of the total microbial activity of the soils. The presence of antibiotics significantly decreased transformation of 17β-estradiol to estrone. There was a positive correlation between the DHA and the concentrations of estrone in soil spiked with 17β-estradiol only, implying that the reaction is mainly catalyzed by dehydrogenases. However, the positive correlation was weakened in soil spiked with 17β-estradiol and antibiotics together. We recommend that any study evaluating the fate and transport of estrogenic hormones in soil should include the effect of agricultural antibiotics because antibiotics and estrogenic hormones are commonly excreted together in environmental samples.     

水汽源地和局地蒸发对大气降水氢氧稳定同位素组分的影响

降水氢氧稳定同位素组分是一种良好的示踪剂,对水汽循环的研究有重要意义.本研究基于2016年在南京、溧阳、宜兴和东山这4个站点按降水事件采集的降水样品,测定了降水HDO和H_2~(18)O组分,分析了降水HDO、H_2~(18)O组分以及过量氘的时间变化特征;探讨了水汽源地和局地蒸发对降水稳定同位素组分的影响.结果表明:(1)冬夏季风期间水汽源地的差异使4个站点降水HDO、H_2~(18)O组分及过量氘有明显的季节变化,主要表现为HDO和H_2~(18)O组分夏季风期间贫化,冬季风期间富集;过量氘夏季风期间小于冬季风期间;(2)夏季风期间,太湖蒸发补给使下游地区的降水过量氘变大,局地大气降水线方程的截距变高;冬季风期间,局地蒸发对降水同位素影响很小,降水HDO、H_2~(18)O组分以及过量氘的空间变化不明显;(3) 4个站点局地大气降水线方程的斜率和截距均较高,原因可能是冬夏季风期间的降水水汽来源的差异和冬季风期间水汽再循环过程的影响.     

Landfill leachate treatment in assisted landfill bioreactor

Landfill is the major disposal route of municipal solid waste（MSW） in most Asian countries. Leachate from landfill presents a strong wastewater that needs intensive treatment before discharge. Direct recycling was proposed as an effective alternative for leachate treatment by taking the landfill as a bioreactor. This process was proved not only considerably reducing the pollution potential of leachate, but also enhancing organic degradation in the landfill. However, as this paper shows, although direct leachate recycling was effective in landfilled MSW with low food waste fraction （3.5%, w/w）, it failed in MSW containing 54% food waste, as normally noted in Asian countries. The initial acid stuck would inhibit methanogenesis to build up, hence strong leachate was yielded from landfill to threaten the quality of receiving water body. We demonstrated the feasibility to use an assisted bioreactor landfill, with a well-decomposed refuse layer as ex-situ anaerobic digester to reducing COD loading in leachate. By doing so, the refuse in simulated landfill column （2.3 m high） could be stabilized in 30 weeks while the COD in leachate reduced by 95%（61000 mg/L to 3000 mg/L）. Meanwhile, the biogas production was considerably enhanced, signaling by the much greater amount and much higher methane content in the biogas.     

Experimental and modeling study of de novo formation of PCDD/PCDF on MSW fly ash

The effect of sulfur dioxide （SO2） on the formation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins （PCDDs） and polychlorinated dibenzofurans （PCDFs） has been studied in an entrained-flow reactor （EFR） under simulated waste combustion conditions. A chlorination model based on conditional probability was employed to evaluate the homologue patterns of PCDDs and PCDFs. Results revealed that the presence of SO2 did not alter the formation pathway although SO2 suppressed PCDD/F formation. The prediction model of PCDF showed good agreement with the experimental data （R--0.95）, whereas the prediction for PCDDs did not correlate well with the experimental data. This may be explained because potential chlorination pathways play a significant role in PCDF formation, whereas PCDDs are mainly formed through condensation reactions. Furthermore, the result indicated that the steric hindrance during formation has more effects on PCDD than on PCDF due to the symmetric molecular structures of PCDDs.     

Isolation and characterization of Pseudomonas otitidis WL-13 and its capacity to decolorize triphenylmethane dyes

Pseudomonas otitidis WL-13, which has a high capacity to decolorize triphenylmethane dyes, was isolated from activated sludge obtained from a wastewater treatment plant of a dyeing industry. This strain exhibited a remarkable color-removal capability when tested against several triphenylmethane dyes under both shaking and static conditions at high concentrations of dyes. More than 95% of Malachite Green and Brilliant Green was removed within 12 h at 500 μmol/L dye concentration under shaking conditions. Cry...     

A reactor system combining reductive dechlorination with cometabolic oxidation for complete degradation of tetrachloroentylene

A laboratory sequential anaerobic-aerobic bioreactor system, which consisted of an anaerobic fixed film reactor and two aerobic chemostats, was set up to degrade tetrachloroethylene (PCE) without accumulating highly toxic degradation intermediates. A soil enrichment culture, which could reductively dechlorinate 900/zM ( ca. 150 mg/L) of PCE stoichiometrically into cis-l, 2-dichloroethylene ( cis-DCE), was attached to ceramic media in the anaerobic fixed film reactor. A phenol degrading strain, Alcaligenes sp. 115, which can efficiently degrade cis-DCE by co-metabolic oxidation, was used as inocuhim for the aerobic chemostats consisted of a transformation reactor and a growth reactor.The anaerobic fixed film bioreactor showed more than 99 % of PCE transformation into cis-DCE in the range of influent PCE concentration from 5μM to 35μM at hydraulic retention time of 48h. On the other hand, efficient degradation of the resultant cis-DCE by strain R5 in the following aerobic system could not be achieved due to oxygen limitation. However, 54% of the maximum cis-DCE degradation was obtained when 10μmol of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 ) was supplemented to the transformation reactor as an additional oxygen source. Further studies are needed to achieve more efficient co-metabolic degradation of cis-DCE in the aerobic reactor.