Chromium speciation in the blood of metal-on-metal hip implant patients

The objective of this study was to determine the valence state of chromium (Cr) in the blood of individuals with Cr-containing metal hip implants. Serum and red blood cell (RBC) Cr concentrations from 52 patients with Cr-containing total hip arthroplasties were measured preoperatively and at 3, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. Geometric mean and median pre-surgery serum Cr concentrations were consistently below 0.2 µg/L, while geometric mean and median pre-op RBC Cr concentrations were typically about four- to six-fold higher than the serum values. A significant 5- to 13-fold increase was found in the mean and median serum Cr concentrations three months post-surgery, with an 8- to 18-fold rise at 12 and 24 months, respectively. Steady-state serum concentrations were reached between 3 and 12 months. In contrast, there were no marked differences in mean and median RBC Cr concentrations pre- and post-surgery. Slope regression analysis for our data was similar to those reported for Cr(III) in spiked blood samples. The analysis showed that Cr released from hip implants preferentially distributed into serum and not RBC, indicating that the form of Cr present in blood of hip implant patients was in the form of non-toxic Cr(III). Our findings indicate that blood Cr concentrations Cr(III) associated with metal implants do not pose an adverse health risk to patients, which is in agreement with findings published by most investigators.     

应用体内和体外方法评价原油水溶性组分和原油污染的地表水对淡水生物的内分泌干扰潜力

目前关于原油对淡水水生脊椎动物内分泌信号的潜在影响的认知有限。本文以非洲爪蟾(爪蟾属,X. laevis)蝌蚪和莫桑比克罗非鱼幼鱼(口孵非鲫属,O. mossambicus)为研究对象,选择风化原油和未风化提炼后的原油这2种原油的水溶性组分(WAFs)进行暴露实验,选择出可作为内分泌信号改变的生物标志物的基因,对其表达进行了研究。此外,将X. laevis蝌蚪暴露于靠近地下石油库的地表水中,对上述基因表达做了定量分析。利用重组酵母对原油、原油水溶性组分和地表水的(抗)雌激素和(抗)雄激素性进行了评价。在X. laevis对2种原油WAFs的响应中,甲状腺激素受体β表达均显著下调,而另一种与甲状腺相关的基因,2型脱碘酶,在O. mossambicus暴露于高浓度的原油WAF时被上调。此外,这2种WAFs都改变了与脂肪生成相关的过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体γ在X. laevis中的表达。原油和WAFs在体外表现出抗雌激素和抗雄性激素的活性。然而,O. mossambicus雄激素受体2作为唯一一个代表生殖系统的基因,受到WAF暴露的影响显著。在地表水样品中发现了雌激素、抗雌激素和抗雄激素的作用;但是,在暴露于地表水的X. laevis中没有观察到任何基因表达的明显变化。在所用的2种模式生物以及2种原油中,响应各不相同。尽管如此,这些数据提供了证据证明原油污染可能会因内分泌信号转变对淡水鱼和两栖动物的健康造成不利影响。
精选自Truter, J. C., van Wyk, J. H., Oberholster, P. J., Botha, A.-M. and Mokwena, L. M. (2017), An evaluation of the endocrine disruptive potential of crude oil water accommodated fractions and crude oil contaminated surface water to freshwater organisms using in vitroand in vivo approaches. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 36: 1330–1342. doi: 10.1002/etc.3665
详情请见http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.3665/full
     

Ashes from fluidized bed combustion of residual forest biomass: recycling to soil as a viable management option

Although bottom ash (BA) [or mixtures of bottom and fly ash (FA)] from clean biomass fuels is currently used as liming agent, additive for compost, and fertilizer on agricultural and forest soils in certain European countries, in several other countries most of the ashes are currently disposed in landfills. This is due to both a lack of a proper classification of the materials and of regulatory barriers.Chemical characterization including analysis of an array of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) proved that over 100,000 tons of BA currently landfilled every year in Portugal actually complied with legal limits for PTEs for soil fertilizers applied in other countries. Pot experiments were conducted, testing three dosages of BA and FA (1, 2.5, and 5%, in weight) in three mining soils with different properties. Additions of ash materials to soils led to an increase in the pore water pH relative to control pots (0% of ash added) and had a clear impact on DOC and on the solubilization of both macro- and micronutrients (notably Cu).The results from the case study using BA and FA from a Portuguese biomass thermal power plant demonstrate that it is imperative to further develop a regulatory framework to alleviate technological and environmental barriers for biomass ash utilization as raw material for fertilizers and/or soil liming agent, in accordance with the goals of the circular economy. A more harmonized view on how to assess the merits and risks of the re-use of these materials is also needed.     

Short-term leaching study of heavy metals from LD slag of important steel industries in Eastern India

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Considering Linz-Donawitz (LD) slag as a waste material for its bulk utilisation, there is a possibility that heavy metals will leach to...     

Stability consistency and trend mapping of seasonally inundated wetlands in Moribund deltaic part of India

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The Ganga-Padma moribund deltaic zone contains plenty of small seasonal wetlands. In this paper we mapped the temporal hydrological dynamics of...     

Status and drivers of food insecurity and adaptation responses under a changing climate among smallholder farmers households in Bagmati Province,Nepal

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Like other low-income countries in Asia and Africa, Nepal still suffers from food insecurity with a large proportion of food-insecure households being...     

气-质和液-质联用分析杀菌剂配方的组成、污染物及杂质

利用气-质和液相／电喷雾-质谱联用仪对商用杀菌剂进行了分析．其中,气-质联用可用于分析杀菌剂中的挥发性化合物,但是对于活性化合物,如嗪氨灵,却不能分析．电喷雾／液质联用可以分析嗪氨灵和不挥发的表面活性剂及污染物．本文介绍了气-质和液相／电喷雾-质谱联用仪用于分析商用杀菌剂,结果表明,两种技术具有互补性．     

The Impact of Scrubber Sludge on Ground Water Quality at an Abandoned Mine Site

A sulfate-rich flue gas desulfurization scrubber sludge was used as a substitute backfill material in reclamation of an abandoned coal strip mine. The site was surrounded by monitor wells and the material was characterized for leaching behavior using open column experiments. A drain was placed directly beneath the 45 000 ton fill to enable sampling before dilution or attenuation. The column studies indicated that the scrubber sludge would adsorb manganese, iron, aluminium, cobalt, nickel, thallium and zinc contaminants from the water. Changes in pH appear inadequate to explain the removal by precipitation. The groundwater cleaning phenomenon has been confirmed on a field scale by the drain samples. Boron and molybdenum leach from the fly ash was used to fix the scrubber sludge and serve as marker elements enabling calibration of the dispersivity in computer models of the groundwater system at the site. The leachate front appears to be diluted by a factor of 8 : 1 within the first 15 meters. Since boron and molybdenum release are associated only with the first flush, environmental impacts will be minimal. Columns appear to create a time compression effect on the duration of leaching phenomenon. The effect for this site appears to be at least 5 : 1. The columns were effective in predicting which elements would leach or adsorb in the field and in predicting the actual source concentrations. Other shake tests such as the TCLP and the ASTM shake test were found to be less effective at predicting which elements would leach and were not helpful in predicting field concentrations.     

Prototyping a Vision for Inter-Agency Terrestrial Inventory and Monitoring: a Statistical Perspective

A demonstration project in Oregon examined the feasibility of combining Federal environmental monitoring surveys. An integrated approach should remove duplication of effort and reduce the possibility of providing apparently conflicting information to policy makers and the public. Data collection teams made photo interpretation measurements and on-site soil/vegetation/animal observations at locations that were selected from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA), National Forest System (NFS) Region 6, and National Resource Inventory (NRI) surveys in a six-county area in Northern Oregon. The project demonstrated the feasibility of conducting a combined FIA/NFS/NRI survey and suggests an approach that will preserve the utility of the critical historical information from these surveys. We suggest a framework for estimating the extent of forest and range land that explains FIA/NRI differences and provides a common basis for both surveys. We suggest indicator and protocol criteria that will allow consistent national and regional estimates over all vegetation types, and stress the importance of including measurement repeatability in the design of the combined survey.