Visible-light-driven photocatalytic inactivation of bacteriophage f2 by Cu-TiO2 nanofibers in the presence of humic acid

Pathogenic viruses in drinking water are great threats to public health. Visible-light-driven photocatalysis is a promising technology for virus inactivation. However, the existing photocatalytic antiviral research studies have mostly been carried out in single-component systems, neglecting the effect of natural organic matter, which exists widely in actual water bodies. In this paper, electrospun Cu-TiO₂ nanofibers were prepared as photocatalysts, and their photocatalytic antiviral performance in the presence of humic acid (HA) was comprehensively studied for the first time. The properties of the reaction mixture were measured during the reaction. In addition, the safety, reliability and stability of photocatalytic disinfection in the mixed system were evaluated. The results showed that the virus removal efficiency decreased with the increase of the HA concentration. The type of reaction solution, such as PBS buffer solution or water, did not affect the removal efficiency noticeably. Under acidic conditions, the electrostatic forces between photocatalysts and viruses were strengthened, leading to higher virus removal efficiency. As the reaction time went on, the pH value in the solution increased first and then tended to be stable, the conductivity remained stable, and the dissolved oxygen increased first and then decreased. The safety test showed that the concentration of Cu ions released into the solution was lower than specified by the international standards. No photoreactivation was observed, and the addition of HA significantly reduced the reutilization efficiency of the photocatalysts.     

Polymer hydrogels with enhanced stability and heterogeneous Fenton activity in organic pollutant removal

Polymer hydrogel-based materials have been shown to act as novel Fenton catalysts for water treatment, but the rational design of hydrogel-based catalysts with good stability has been a great challenge. To increase the stability and activity of polymer-based Fenton catalysts, uniform urchin-like α-Fe_2O_3 was grown in situ in a PVA carrier matrix here. PVA molecules promoted the growth of urchin-like α-Fe_2O_3, and then the PVA hydrogel acted as a barrier and carrier to reduce agglomeration. Through coordination by hydroxyl groups,PVA had good combination with Fe ions and α-Fe_2O_3. The formation of Fe–O–C bonds between iron oxides and polymers was reported for the first time, enhancing the material stability during catalysis. Under higher PVA concentrations, the resulting composite hydrogel could generate more ˙OH due to the increase in the number of active sites because of the hairy urchin-like structure. In tetracycline degradation through a heterogeneous Fenton reaction, the resulting material had good catalytic activity from pH 2 to pH 10 with low iron leaching, good reusability and remained at a level of nearly 90%after five consecutive cycles. Density functional theory calculations were used to further prove the mechanism of structural change of the iron oxides. The HOMO and LUMO energies of the iron oxides changed from 5.428 and 4.899 eV to 5.926 and 5.310 eV,indicating that the presence of PVA could influence the charge of the iron atom. The results provide new insights into the preparation of polymer hydrogel-based heterogeneous Fenton catalysts with enhanced stability for water treatment.     

Estimation and inter-comparison of dust aerosols based on MODIS, MISR and AERONET retrievals over Asian desert regions

This study presents detailed analysis of spatiotemporal variations and trend of dust optical properties i.e., Aerosol Optical Depth(AOD) and Angstrom component over Asian desert regions using thirteen years of data(i.e., 2001–2013) retrieved from Aerosol Robotic Network(AERONET), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) and Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer(MISR). These regions include Solar Village, Dunhuang and Dalangzadgad and are considered as origin of desert aerosols in Asia. Mann–Kendall trend test was used to show the trend of AOD. The relationship of AOD with weather parameters and general AOD trend over different wavelengths has also been shown. AOD's trend has been observed significant throughout the year in Solar Village, while in Dunhuang and Dalanzadgad the significant trend has been found only in peak period(March–June).Analysis show high values of AOD and low values of angstrom in Solar Village during peak period. In Chinese desert regions, high values of AOD have been found during peak period and low values in pre-peak period. Significant relationship has been observed between AOD and average temperature in Solar Village and Dalanzadgad whereas rainfall and wind speed showed no significant impact on AOD in all desert regions.     

Enzyme-electrolytic degradation of dichloromethane: Efficiency, kinetics and mechanism

Enzymatic electrolysis cell(EEC) has advantages over microbial electrolysis cell(MEC) due to the needless of microbe inoculation and high-efficiency of enzymatic reaction. In this study, an EEC was first applied to achieve the effective degradation of halogenated organic pollutants and dichloromethane(CH_2Cl_2) was utilized as a model pollutant. The results indicate that the degradation efficiency of CH_2Cl_2 after 2 hr reaction in the EEC was almost100%, which was significantly higher than that with enzyme(51.1%) or current(19.0%). The current induced the continuous regeneration of reduced glutathione(GSH), thus CH_2Cl_2 was degraded under the catalysis of GSH-dependent dehalogenase through stepwise dechlorination, and successively formed monochloromethane(CH_3Cl) and methane(CH_4). The kinetic result shows that with a current of 15 mA, the maximum specific degradation rate of CH_2Cl_2(3.77 × 10~(-3) hr~(-1)) was increased by 5.7 times. The optimum condition for CH_2Cl_2 dechlorination was also obtained with pH, current and temperature of 7.0, 15 mA and 35°C,respectively. Importantly, this study helps to understand the behavior of enzymes and the fate of halogenated organic pollutants with EEC, providing a possible treatment technology for halogenated organic pollutants.     

舟山近岸海域沉积物中重金属的生物有效性研究

对舟山附近海域沉积物中的酸可挥发性硫化物（AVS）、同步提取重金属（SEM）和5种重金属的分布进行了调查,并用（SEM-AVS）差值法对上述重金属的生物有效性进行了研究。结果表明,该海域表层沉积物中AVS和SEM含量均较低,AVS含量范围为0.005~4.21 μmol/g,平均含量为0.546 μmol/g,SEM含量范围为0.3356~1.614 μmol/g,平均含量为0.7998 μmol/g;表层沉积物中Cu、Pb、Zn、Cr和Cd的平均含量分别为24.65×10-6、27.21×10-6、114.5×10-6、58.26×10-6和0.142×10-6。（SEM-AVS）差值法的结果表明除5个站位外,其余站位沉积物中重金属对生物可能具有中等毒性。     

浅海平台油气火灾事故模拟评估应用

全球海洋油气开发重特大火灾事故频发,油气生产安全面临严峻挑战,以我国浅海某中心平台组为研究对象,对可能发生的三相分离器喷射火火灾、管线交叉处喷射火火灾、生产平台池火火灾以及储罐平台池火火灾,采用FDS软件建立该平台组的火灾动力学模型,对油气泄漏后火灾的发展态势、火场温度、热辐射强度、设备温度以及不同火灾工况的对比分析,研究火灾发生后对人员伤害,以及平台上油气管线、分离器、油气储罐、平台栈桥等重要设备安全性的影响,并提出操作人员和重要设备的安全距离。针对火灾事故风险控制提出建议措施,对海上火灾风险分析未来研究方向进行阐述。     

云南5城市道路扬尘PM2.5中重金属含量表征及健康风险

为研究云南城市道路扬尘PM_2.5中重金属含量、来源和其健康风险,分别在昆明、保山、文山、昭通和玉溪这5个典型城市区域采集道路扬尘样品,使用颗粒物再悬浮技术将尘样悬浮并采集PM_2.5,利用ICP-MS检测PM_2.5中铬(Cr)、锰(Mn)、镍(Ni)、铜(Cu)、锌(Zn)、砷(As)、镉(Cd)和铅(Pb)等8种重金属.结果表明,5城市道路扬尘Cr、 Ni、 Cu、 Zn和Pb含量均严重超过云南土壤背景值;富集因子表明,云南5城市道路扬尘PM_2.5中重金属多数表现为中度富集和强烈富集,受人为活动影响较大.相关性分析和主成分分析结果表明,云南省不同类型城市道路扬尘PM_2.5中重金属均受土壤源和交通源影响;其余来源差异性较大：昆明受钢铁冶炼源影响、保山和玉溪受有色金属冶炼源影响、昭通受燃煤源影响.健康风险分析表明：昆明、玉溪和昭通的道路扬尘PM_2.5中Cr、 Pb和As存在儿童非致癌风险,昆明市的Cr还存在终身致癌风险.     

National and Regional-Level Human-Environment (Ecosystems) Interactions: Some Empirical Evidence from China

The state of human-environment (ecosystems) interactions—ecosystems (land cover classes), population, biodiversity hotspots and protected status—is examined in the eastern coastal zones, the eastern region, the middle region, the western region and the whole of China. The analysis is based on consistent, comprehensive, geo-referenced and recent datasets and advanced analytical Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. A comparative national and regional priority ranking of the provinces was conducted using the total score of eight indicators, for the four dimensions of human-environment (ecosystems) interaction. Using, these ranks, all the provinces were grouped in low, high and medium priority provinces. The comparative ranking and categorization of provinces will be useful for designing policies and management operations for spatially-differential scientific planning and management of environment (ecosystems) at the regional and national levels in China.     

内蒙古自治区锡林郭勒盟地震的启示

2004年3月24日9时33分在内蒙古自治区东乌珠穆沁旗与西乌珠穆沁旗间(北纬45.4°,东经118.2°)发生5.9级地震。北京、辽宁朝阳、吉林白城、河北承德地区有感。自治区地震局迅速确定“三要素”,召集紧急会议确定考察队与局留守队,并迅速向灾区了解灾情,向自治区政府报告。同时启动破坏