Assessing benzene-induced toxicity on wild type Euglena gracilis Z and its mutant strain SMZ

Benzene is a representative member of volatile organic compounds and has been widely used as an industrial solvent. Groundwater contamination of benzene may pose risks to human health and ecosystems. Detection of benzene in the groundwater using chemical analysis is expensive and time consuming. In addition, biological responses to environmental exposures are uninformative using such analysis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to employ a microorganism, Euglena gracilis (E. gracilis) as a putative model to monitor the contamination of benzene in groundwater. To this end, we examined the wild type of E. gracilis Z and its mutant form, SMZ in their growth rate, morphology, chlorophyll content, formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA damage in response to benzene exposure. The results showed that benzene inhibited cell growth in a dose response manner up to 48 h of exposure. SMZ showed a greater sensitivity compared to Z in response to benzene exposure. The difference was more evident at lower concentrations of benzene (0.005–5 μM) where growth inhibition occurred in SMZ but not in Z cells. We found that benzene induced morphological changes, formation of lipofuscin, and decreased chlorophyll content in Z strain in a dose response manner. No significant differences were found between the two strains in ROS formation and DNA damage by benzene at concentrations affecting cell growth. Based on these results, we conclude that E. gracilis cells were sensitive to benzene-induced toxicities for certain endpoints such as cell growth rate, morphological change, depletion of chlorophyll. Therefore, it is a potentially suitable model for monitoring the contamination of benzene and its effects in the groundwater.     

不同草皮构建的湖泊缓冲带对污染物的净化效果研究

选择宜兴地区常见的3种草皮百慕大(Cynodon dactylon)、白花三叶草(Trifolium repens)、高羊茅(Festuca arundinacea),利用自行设计的实验装置模拟构建草皮缓冲带,并模拟宜兴地区降雨时产生的汇流过程和雨量进行太湖缓冲带对陆域面源污染物的净化效果研究.结果表明,草皮缓冲带能有效地截留径流中的SS,3种草皮缓冲带的径流对SS的去除率为百慕大缓冲带＞三叶草缓冲带＞高羊茅缓冲带＞空白对照(不种植草皮的空白土壤),且沿程去除效果增强;草皮缓冲带的渗流对TN、NH3-N、TP净化效果均显著(p＜0.05)高于径流;3种草皮缓冲带在试验槽前0.9m处的污染物去除效果最为明显,湖泊缓冲带的宽度与其污染物截留效果呈正比;总体来说,草皮生物量与其构建的湖泊缓冲带的污染物去除率呈正相关,三叶草和百慕大有较大的地上生物量,其构建的缓冲带表现出较高的污染物去除率,而高羊茅的地上生物量相对较小,其构建的缓冲带污染物去除率也相对较低.     

Bioconversion of dairy manure by black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) for biodiesel and sugar production

Modern dairies cause the accumulation of considerable quantity of dairy manure which is a potential hazard to the environment. Dairy manure can also act as a principal larval resource for many insects such as the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens. The black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are considered as a new biotechnology to convert dairy manure into biodiesel and sugar. BSFL are a common colonizer of large variety of decomposing organic material in temperate and tropical areas. Adults do not need to be fed, except to take water, and acquired enough nutrition during larval development for reproduction. Dairy manure treated by BSFL is an economical way in animal facilities. Grease could be extracted from BSFL by petroleum ether, and then be treated with a two-step method to produce biodiesel. The digested dairy manure was hydrolyzed into sugar. In this study, approximately 1248.6 g fresh dairy manure was converted into 273.4 g dry residue by 1200 BSFL in 21 days. Approximately 15.8 g of biodiesel was gained from 70.8 g dry BSFL, and 96.2 g sugar was obtained from the digested dairy manure. The residual dry BSFL after grease extraction can be used as protein feedstuff.     

Impacts of invasive plants on ecosystems in natural reserves in Jiangsu of China

To estimate the impacts of invasive plants on ecosystems, a survey has been conducted in three sites including both buffer zones and core zones. 13, 19 species are found in the Yuntai Mountain and Longchi Mountain natural reserve respectively, and 23 in the Purple Mountain Natural Park. Altogether 25 species belonging to 12 families, the majority of which are native to North America, some of them have set up stable reproducible populations. Among them, Solidago canadensis is found in Longchi Mountain and Purple Mountain. Communities of Galinsoga parviflora, Gynura crepidioides, Ageratum conyzoides, and Ambrosia artemisiifolia pose a serious threat to local biodiversity.     

北京市人口老龄化的时空变化特征

人口老龄化现已成为当今主要的人口问题之一,并引起越来越多的关注,人口老龄化进程与老年人口空间分布特征研究是未来人口问题研究的一个重要分支.本文基于ESDA全局和局部空间自相关分析,利用北京市第四次和第五次人口普查数据以及1995和2005年1％人口抽样调查数据,对北京市县域尺度老龄人口分布总体和局部空间差异的变化趋势、特征进行了初步探索.结果表明,北京市老龄人口空间分布各区县差异较大,且呈现出明显的圈层结构特征,中心四城区老龄人口比重较高,近郊区老龄人口比重较全市平均水平低,远郊区老年人口比重又有所回升;同时,北京地区老年人口各区县的空间分布差异随着时间的推移而不断扩大,中心老城区呈现不断增强的集聚趋势,而远郊区的老年人口扩散效应明显大于集聚效应.     

吉林省“十二五”环保政策措施研究

十二五期间,吉林省将处在经济高速发展时期,完善环境保护政策措施,是有效实施十二五环保规划的关键。通过全省环境保护政策措施的回顾,科学预测新时期环境保护工作形势,研究全省十二五时期环境保护法规体系、协调机制、经济政策、环保投入、科技创新等方面的对策措施。     

基于多态模糊BN的石化动设备故障概率定量风险评估

石化行业的压缩机、泵等动设备故障模式多样,故障概率的不确定性较大,常用的风险评估方法无法实现对石化行业动设备失效概率的定量评估,限制了设备安全管理的准确性和有效性.基于贝叶斯网络(BN)可定量计算复杂系统失效概率的特点,利用故障模式与影响分析(FMEA)方法获取动设备风险事件的因果关系,将其映射为BN,并利用BN中节点...     

我国旅游业扩展带来的环境问题及对策

近年来,我国的旅游业得到了飞速发展,已经成为了一些地方的支柱产业.但由于经验缺乏和人们的一些错误观念,致使我国旅游业在扩展过程中带来了很多环境问题.在分析了这些环境问题的基础上,提出用环境管理学中的冲突协同理论来指导旅游业的环境管理工作,并对具体环境管理对策进行了讨论.