Cadmium-induced DNA damage and mutations in Arabidopsis plantlet shoots identified by DNA fingerprinting

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) test is a feasible method to evaluate the toxicity of environmental pollutants on vegetal organisms. Herein, Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) plantlets following Cadmium (Cd) treatment for 26 d were screened for DNA genetic alterations by DNA fingerprinting. Four primers amplified 20-23 mutated RAPD fragments in 0.125-3.0 mg L⁻¹ Cd-treated Arabidopsis plantlets, respectively. Cloning and sequencing analysis of eight randomly selected mutated fragments revealed 99-100% homology with the genes of VARICOSE-Related, SLEEPY1 F-box, 40S ribosomal protein S3, phosphoglucomutase, and noncoding regions in Arabidopsis genome correspondingly. The results show the ability of RAPD analysis to detect significant genetic alterations in Cd-exposed seedlings. Although the exact functional importance of the other mutated bands is unknown, the presence of mutated loci in Cd-treated seedlings, prior to the onset of significant physiological effects, suggests that these altered loci are the early events in Cd-treated Arabidopsis seedlings and would greatly improve environmental risk assessment.     

Volatile Organic Compounds in Ambient Air at Four Residential Locations in Seoul, Korea

To investigate the environmental behavior of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urban areas, their concentrations were measured at four urban monitoring sites (namely, N, S, E, and W) in Seoul, Korea (February to December 2009). A total of 27 compounds were quantified that consist of four chemical groups: aromatic (AR), halogenated aromatic, halogenated paraffin, and halogenated olefin. Results were evaluated by focusing on these four functional groups just mentioned and their summation term as total VOC (TVOC) along with several individual species (mainly AR species, that is, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene). The highest concentration of chemical groups was found from AR (71.1±42.1?ppbC), while that for individual species confirmed the dominance of toluene (7.48±3.88?ppb). The analysis of spatial distribution indicated that high TVOC levels were recorded at sites N and W, while it was not so significant such as S and E in terms of TVOC budget. Seasonal variation of these VOCs was characterized by the peak values in December to reflect the combined effects of pronounced source activities and meteorological conditions. Analysis of spatial variations in VOC levels between the four urban sites indicated that their distributions are tightly affected by local source processes in each area.     

Can Labor Out-Migration Reduce Firewood Consumption by Rural Households in Western Mountainous China

The relationship between out-migration of labor in the Qinling mountain area and households’ firewood consumption is explored. Migration and remittances reduce households’ firewood consumption due to increases in both income and opportunity cost of firewood collection. Previous studies have been equivocal because they ignored uncertainty in household economy, which is widespread in forest areas of less developed countries. This study provides additional insight by considering vulnerability and subjective assessment of poverty generated by unstable income and an uncertain future. We provide evidence that the amount of firewood consumed depends on income and opportunity cost of firewood collection, but also on a prudent consumption strategy, due to farmers’ subjective assessment of their future possible poverty. We also find out-migration of labor can reduce per capita firewood consumption but subjective poverty also acts against reduction of firewood consumption.     

Toward long solids retention time of activated sludge processes: benefits in energy saving, effluent quality, and stability

The activated sludge process is the most common method of secondary municipal wastewater treatment; solids retention time (SRT) is the key control parameter for this process. Typically, operating at long SRT is considered only for nitrification, but there are additional benefits of high SRT operation. This paper presents experimental and literature evidence to demonstrate three major additional benefits of long SRT operation: increased oxygen transfer efficiency; improved biomass particle size distribution, which results in more efficient clarification with fewer effluent particles and suspended solids; and enhanced removal of many emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and endocrine disrupting compounds. This paper presents experimental results from several treatment plants that showed increasing oxygen transfer efficiency and particle size with increasing SRT, and evidence documenting improved removal of emerging contaminants and biodegradable organic carbon. A long-term survey of three treatment plants concludes that operating at higher SRT is not as energy intensive as typically assumed.     

Commuter Exposures to VOCs in Boston,Massachusetts

This study examines the commuter’s exposure to six gasoline-related volatile organic compounds (VOCs): benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m-/p-xylene, o-xylene, and formaldehyde. The VOC concentrations to which commuters were exposed in four different commuting modes (driving, subway, walking, and biking) in Boston, Massachusetts, are compared. The VOC concentrations in participants’ homes and offices were also measured. Factors that could influence in-vehicle VOC concentrations, such as different traffic patterns, car model and vehicle ventilation conditions, were also evaluated. Driving a private car was associated with higher VOC concentrations and commuting on urban roadways resulted in the highest VOC concentrations. The use of car heaters resulted in higher in-vehicle VOC concentrations. The longer the subway commuters stayed underground, the higher their VOC exposures. The home-to-work car or subway commute represented about 10 to 20 percent of an individual’s total VOC exposure for these compounds.     

Student’s Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds While Commuting by Motorcycle and Bus in Taipei City

This study examined student’s exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) while commuting by bus and motorcycle in Taipei, Taiwan in the winter of 1992. A total of 19 target G5-C10 VOCs on three most frequently used commuting routes were collected on Tenax-GC adsorbent tubes. The VOCs were desorbed by thermal desorption method and analyzed by GCMS. The most abundant VOC exposure experienced by commuters was to toluene. Several alkylated benzenes, such as propyl benzenes, ethyl-methyl-benzenes and trimethyl-benzenes, were relatively abundant on the roads in Taipei. The mean benzene concentration measured in buses was 173 µg/m³ and 379.7 µg/m³ on motorcycles. On the average, the commuters in Taipei experienced about three to eight times higher VOC concentrations than the commuters in Los Angeles, California. Higher VOC concentrations were measured on motorcycles than in buses. The VOC concentrations were not significantly different between morning and afternoon commutes, nor among the three commuting routes. VOC concentrations measured in classrooms at three schools in downtown Taipei did not vary significantly on each sampling day. However, at each school the in-classroom VOC concentrations varied significantly over the six consecutive sampling days. The VOC concentrations measured on the roads were about five times higher than those measured in the school classrooms in the city. Moderate to high correlations were found among most of the measurements of the 19 VOCs. The survey questionnaire indicated that daily commuting time ranged from 45 minutes for elementary school students to 95 minutes for vocational school students. The projected upper-bound cancer risks associated with student’s exposure to benzene ranged from 7.5 x 10^-3 to 1.8 x 10^-5 during their commutes in Taipei.     

Artificial and enhanced humification of soil organic matter using microwave irradiation

Microwave (MW) irradiation, a less energy-intensive irradiation technique, was employed to promote the changes in physicochemical properties of soil organic matter (SOM). MW was irradiated to forest soils for 10 min. Then, the physical and chemical properties of the SOM were analyzed with UV absorbance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and size exclusion chromatography. Also, the SOM was fractionated into biopolymer, fulvic acid, and humic acid, and each fraction was analyzed quantitatively. These analyses revealed that the SOM became more aromatic and nonpolar, highly condensed, and macromolecular organic substances that possess a higher amount of functional groups found in highly humified substances than the original SOM as a result of the MW irradiation. The humification-like alteration of SOM property was attributable to the thermal cracking and to the radical reaction, particularly when the MW was irradiated along with activated carbon under the aerobic condition. The results of this study suggest that the artificial and enhanced property changes of SOM can be accomplished by MW irradiation on an engineering time scale, which can contribute to the successful soil and groundwater remediation practice.     

Biological response of high-back crucian carp (Carassius auratus) during different life stages to wastewater treatment plant effluent

This study presents the adverse effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in effluent of wastewater treatment plants (WwTPs) on fish health. A study of chronic exposure to WwTPs effluent for 10 months was undertaken in high-back crucian carp (Carassius auratus) during different life stages, covering early-life-stage (ELS), prespawning period, and postspawning period. Condition factor (CF), gonadosomatic index (GSI), hepatosomatic index (HSI), and plasma vitellogenin (VTG) levels were employed as indicators to assess biological effects of effluent on this gynogenesis species. Meanwhile, some high-back crucian carp were caged in Demonstration Base of Biological Purification for Filter-feeding Fish (hereinafter, Demonstration Base), as WwTPs effluent exposure controls. In the meantime, a depuration study was carried out to determine whether or not the estrogenic effects caused by effluent exposure could be reduced after moving fish into EDCs-free water. CF, HSI, GSI, and plasma Vtg levels of high-back crucian carp caged in Demonstration Base were generally in accordance with seasonal change. Effluent exposure inhibited gonadal growth, reducing GSI in ELS while increasing it around spawning, sharpened liver burdens, increasing HSI, and induced abnormal Vtg expression in juvenile high-back crucian carp, augmenting Vtg concentrations in plasma. Around spawning period, Vtg in high-back crucian carp were mainly induced by endogenous estrogens, and EDCs in effluent had less influence on them. Staying in EDCs-free water for 30 days made high-back crucian carp recover from effects of previous effluent exposure, relieving inhibition of gonadal development and hypertrophy of liver as well as reducing Vtg induced by EDCs in effluent. The results revealed that high-back crucian carp in ELS are more sensitive to WwTPs effluent exposure. Additionally, the depuration study showed a clearance of the estrogenic effects caused by effluent.     

Optimal heat rejection pressure for transcritical CO2 refrigeration cycle with an expander

Heat rejection pressure plays an important role in designing a transcritical CO₂ refrigeration system, and it has an optimal value to maximize the system’s coefficient of performance (COP). With a thermodynamic simulation model, the optimal heat rejection pressure is studied in the paper for an expander cycle, as well as conventional throttle valve cycle. The effects of compressor efficiency, expander efficiency, gas cooler outlet temperature, and evaporation temperature on the optimal heat rejection pressure are analyzed. It is the first time for a transcritical CO₂ expander cycle that the optimal heat rejection pressure is correlated with the gas cooler outlet temperature and the evaporation temperature at given compressor efficiency and expander efficiency. The average deviation from the correlation to simulation results is less than 1.0%. The correlation provides a guideline to system development and performance optimization of a transcritical CO₂ expander cycle.