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.     

Inexact Fuzzy-Stochastic Programming for Water Resources Management Under Multiple Uncertainties

In this study, an interval-parameter fuzzy-stochastic two-stage programming (IFSTP) approach is developed for irrigation planning within an agriculture system under multiple uncertainties. A concept of the distribution with fuzzy-interval probability (DFIP) is defined to address multiple uncertainties expressed as integration of intervals, fuzzy sets, and probability distributions. IFSTP integrates the interval programming, two-stage stochastic programming, and fuzzy-stochastic programming within a general optimization framework. IFSTP incorporates the pre-regulated water resources management policies directly into its optimization process to analyze various policy scenarios; each scenario has different economic penalty when the promised amounts are not delivered. IFSTP is applied to an irrigation planning in a water resources management system. Solutions from IFSTP provide desired water allocation patterns, which maximize both the system’s benefits and feasibility. The results indicate that reasonable solutions are generated for objective function values and decision variables; thus, a number of decision alternatives can be generated under different levels of stream flows.     

趋势分析法评价苯系物标准气体的时间稳定性

根据GB/T 15000.3—2008设计了苯系物标准气体的时间稳定性研究方案,制备了4瓶苯系物标准气体,随着时间的推移进行测定并将结果制图,结果显示量值随时间没有显著的变化趋势。以线性关系为模型,计算线性直线的斜率和斜率的标准偏差,用t检验判断斜率是否显著来评价标准气体的稳定性。计算结果显示,所有斜率均不显著,因此该研究制备的苯系物标准气体能够稳定保存22个月。根据时间稳定性数据计算由不稳定性引起的不确定度,并讨论了这种计算不稳定性引起不确定度的方法对结果有放大的可能性。     

燃放烟花爆竹对城区和背景点气溶胶中高氯酸盐的污染研究

除夕夜至大年初一零时前后,是燃放烟花爆竹最多最集中的时段。作者分别同步采集了2007年春节期间在城区和环境背景点的大气气溶胶粗、细颗粒物样品,并对其中的高氯酸盐进行了比较研究。结果显示,燃放烟花爆竹时产生的高氯酸盐对大气气溶胶产生了非常严重的污染。城区气溶胶粗颗粒中的高氯酸盐较非燃放期平均值(2.154ng/m3)上升1 718.01%;细颗粒中的高氯酸盐较非燃放期平均值(1.640 ng/m3)上升503.04%。在环境背景点气溶胶粗颗粒中的高氯酸盐较非燃放期的平均值(0.653 ng/m3)上升了425.25%;细颗粒中的高氯酸盐较非燃放期平均值(0.317 ng/m3)上升了1 467.82%。     

Sustainable Use of Coffee Husks For Reinforcing Polyethylene Composites

The utilization of the coffee husk fiber (CHF) from the coffee industry as a reinforcing filler in the preparation of a cost-effective thermoplastic based composite was explored in this study. The chemical composition and thermal properties of the CHF were investigated and compared with those of wood fiber (WF). CHF proved to be mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, and exhibited similar thermal behavior to WF. High density polyethylene (HDPE) composites with CHF loadings of from 40 to 70% were prepared using melt processing and extrusion. The processing properties, mechanical behavior, water absorption and thermal performance of these composites were investigated. The effect of maleated polyethylene (MAPE) used as a coupling agent on the composite was explored. The experimental results showed that increasing the CHF loading in the HDPE matrix resulted in an increase in the modulus and thermal properties of the composites, but resulted in poor water resistance. The addition of a 4% MAPE significantly improved the interfacial behavior of the hydrophilic lignocellulosic fiber and the hydrophobic polymer matrix.     

Disinfection and removal of human pathogenic bacteria in arctic waste stabilization ponds

Wastewater stabilization ponds (WSPs) are commonly used to treat municipal wastewater in Arctic Canada. The biological treatment in the WSPs is strongly influenced by climatic conditions. Currently, there is limited information about the removal of fecal and pathogenic bacteria during the short cool summer treatment season. With relevance to public health, the objectives of this paper were to determine if treatment in arctic WSPs resulted in the disinfection (i.e., removal of fecal indicator bacteria, Escherichia coli) and removal of selected human bacterial pathogens from the treated effluent. The treatment performance, with focus on microbial removal, was assessed for the one-cell WSP in Pond Inlet (Nunavut [NU]) and two-cell WSP in Clyde River (NU) over three consecutive (2012–2014) summer treatment seasons (late June-early September). The WSPs provided a primary disinfection treatment of the wastewater with a 2–3 Log removal of generic indicator E. coli. The bacterial pathogens Salmonella spp., pathogenic E. coli, and Listeria monocytogenes, but not Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter pylori, were detected in the untreated and treated wastewater, indicating that human pathogens were not reliably removed. Seasonal and annual variations in temperature significantly (p < 0.05) affected the disinfection efficiency. Improved disinfection and pathogen removal was observed for the two-cell system in Clyde River as compared to the one-cell system in Pond Inlet. A quantitative microbial risk assessment should be performed to determine if the release of low levels of human pathogens into the arctic environment poses a human health risk.     

Comparisons of three plant species in accumulating polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the atmosphere: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Plant leaves play a key role in the accumulation of PAHs, as they are able to capture PAHs from the air. In this paper, the mechanism, including...     

Larval and Juvenile Fish Assemblage Structure of Inshore Habitats in the Middle Reaches of Li River,China: Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Relation to Abiotic Factors

To evaluate the effect of abiotic factors on larval and juvenile fish assemblage in shallow waters of middle reaches of Li River, Guilin, China. Samplings were taken monthly at 7 stations in the mainstream and 2 stations in 3 tributaries from May 2014 to April 2015. Synchronously, temperature, pH, turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen rainfall and discharge were obtained. In all, 11.886 larval and juvenile fish from 18 species belonging to 8 families, 16 genera was captured. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed obvious significant difference between the environmental variables across sampling areas and months. The results of Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicated that water temperature, turbidity, discharge and rainfall were dominant factors on larval and juvenile fish assemblage.     

Nutrients Availability Shapes Fungal Community Composition and Diversity in the Rare Earth Mine Tailings of Southern Jiangxi,China

Russian Journal of Ecology - The present study characterized the nutrients availability of three rare earth tailings deserted in different time stages in Southern Jiangxi of China, and revealed the...     

煤与瓦斯共采在错层位巷道布置中的机理研究及应用构想

为了完善现有煤与瓦斯共采技术,创新煤与瓦斯共采方法,对错层位巷道布置下的煤与瓦斯共采系统展开研究,利用相似模拟试验,分析错层位巷道布置覆岩运动情况,预测其开采围岩裂隙发育和瓦斯运移形式,提出了创新煤与瓦斯共采技术构想。研究结果表明:采空区覆岩三带高度随接续工作面的增加而增大,相邻采空区垮落矸石压实区呈现“O-L-O”形变化,多个相邻采空区覆岩出现大“O”形圈裂隙带;相邻采空区内瓦斯可实现相互运移,大“O”形圈裂隙带内赋存大量瓦斯气体;研究提出了地面钻井抽采瓦斯、走向高位瓦斯抽采巷和外错尾巷穿层钻孔3种煤与瓦斯共采技术,比传统巷道布置情况下的煤与瓦斯共采技术在安全、经济等方面更具优势。