Screening for acute ocular toxicity of commercialized products of cartap,an insecticide,and correlation to blood concentrations in rabbits

Cartap is an insecticide known to produce contraction and damage to mouse and rabbit diaphragms, and plays a pivotal role in respiratory paralysis and mortality in rabbits. The aim of this study was conducted to screen for the toxic properties and blood concentrations of commercialized cartap products in New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits. Five granular formulations (GRs) with different concentrations (4, 6, 6.5, 6.66 or 10%) and seven water-soluble powders (SPs, 50%) of commercialized cartap products were chosen to study toxicity following ocular instillation. Furthermore, ocular instillation (5, 12.5, 25 or 50 mg kg^?1) and oral administration (25 mg kg^?1) of the technical material (TC) cartap was also performed to compare blood concentration changes in rabbits. There was no death or eye irritation with all GR products; however, soluble powder (SP) products produced severe toxicity and mortality in rabbits. The blood concentration of TC cartap in rabbits started to increase from 2 min and reached peak levels at 7–9 min after ocular instillation in a dose-related pattern. For comparison of the blood distribution of cartap via different administration routes, oral exposure exhibited a higher absorption of cartap than ocular instillation. It was suggested that the commercialized GR products of cartap were safe but 50% SP products were highly toxic to rabbits following ocular exposure. This study provides valuable data to screen for potential acute toxicity of cartap to farmers and animals in the field.     

Oxidative stress and genotoxicity of 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride on loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus)

This study was a preliminary step to evaluate the acute toxicity of 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride ([C₈mim]Cl) on loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) by determining the effects on hepatic antioxidant enzyme activities and by the comet assay. The results showed that [C₈mim]Cl had acute toxicity at concentrations above 20 mg L^?1, inducing oxidative stress and genotoxicity on fish liver cells. In respect to enzyme activities, [C₈mim]Cl induced changes in the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione content the livers of fish exposed at 20–80 mg L^?1. [C₈mim]Cl at the same exposure level caused a remarkable increase in malondialdehyde level. The comet assay indicated that [C₈mim]Cl at 20–80 mg L^?1 induced genotoxicity in liver cells. With increased exposure concentration and time, the two comet parameters trailing rate and tail moment were significantly increased, with significant differences (P < 0.05) observed between control group and each treatment group. The present study shows that ionic liquids can be a threat to the health of aquatic organism when accidentally released to aquatic ecosystems.     

Smoke alleviates adverse effects induced by stress on rice

Smoke and salinity are environmental hazards. Smoke produced DNA damage, inflammatory, and oxidative stress in humans while salinity reduced plant yield. However, smoke from plants is beneficial towards plant growth. In this study, smoke of two plants, Buhania varegata (1:1000 and 1:5000 dilutions (v/v)) and Cymbopogon jwarancusa (1:500 and 1:1000), were used to determine effects on different physiological and biochemical parameters in rice Basmati-385 (B-385) and Shaheen Basmati under different saline concentrations (control: 50, 100, and 150 mM). With increasing salinity, germination%, seedling growth, K⁺, Ca⁺, cell membrane stability, and total nitrogen and protein contents were decreased while Na⁺ content increased. However, seeds primed with different dilution of smoke significantly diminished the adverse effects of salinity and shown to produce positive responses in all of the above parameters. The most effective dilutions were 1:5000 for Buhania varegata and C-500 for Cymbopogon jwarancusa. It seems that priming with plant smoke solution is a potent stimulant for plant growth exerting a significant role in physiology and biochemistry of rice plants under saline condition.     

Metal removal with two biochars made from municipal organic waste: adsorptive characterization and surface complexation modeling

The adsorptive characteristics of biochar produced from garden green waste (S-char) and a mixture of food waste and garden green waste (FS-char) were investigated. Adsorption of Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Mn²⁺ onto the two biochars reached equilibrium within 48 hours. The metal adsorption was effectively described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Freundlich isotherm models which suggest heterogeneous chemisorption. The initial solution pH influenced adsorption of Zn²⁺ and Mn²⁺ but not of Cu²⁺. Simulation via a surface complexation model showed that the fraction of XOCu⁺ adsorbed onto biochar was increased with increasing pH until it reached the adsorption maximum at pH 8.5, while the endpoint for the maximum of XOMn⁺ was higher than pH 12.     

The estimation of bioconcentration factors of aromatic hydrocarbons by high‐performance liquid chromatography

The determination of Bioconcentration Factors (BCF) via HPLC capacity factors (k') has been studied, including the effect of column type and mobile phase composition on the correlation between log BCF and log k’. Values of BCF correlate well with the phenylsilica column capacity factors. The phenylsilica column followed by C18 column give better correlations than either C8 or C2 column. The use of HPLC with phenylsilica as stationary phase and methanol‐water as mobile phase in the prediction of BCF can be at least as good or better than the use of n‐octanol/water partitioning system. There are no significant differences in the correlations between log k’ and log BCF with the changes of methanol concentration in the mobile phase, and it seems that a high proportion of methanol in the eluent is required to obtain good results.     

Determination and QSPR analysis of log Kow and log Koc for fluorine containing benzene derivatives

Octanol‐water partition coefficients (Kow) and soil organic carbon sorption coefficients (Koc) were determined for 14 fluorinated benzene derivatives. Quantitative structure‐property relationships were developed using molecular connectivity indices and quantum chemical parameters to analyze the most significant factors influencing these physico‐chemical properties of the compounds. The substitution by F in benzene derivatives has greater influence on Koc than on Kow.     

Ecological issues and risk assessment in China

As a result of economic development and population explosion, global ecological environments have been severely disturbed and markedly changed. An ecological crisis involving desertification, soil erosion, degradation of land quality, loss of biodiversity and global climate change has been brought about all over the world. In order to manage ecosystems efficiently, it is necessary to assess ecological risk at multiple scales. Ecological risk is the probability that a region and/or site will experience defined ecological or environmental problems. In this paper, the ecological risks of soil erosion, desertification, and acid deposition have been assessed on a national scale according to natural and human factors, such as topography, soil, vegetation and climate. This assessment has provided very useful information for ecological environmental management in China.     

Temporal and spatial assessment of natural resource use in China using ecological footprint method

China has about 20% of the world's population. With rapid economic development and substantial population increase, China is now faced with severe conflicts between limited natural resources and increasing resource requirements. In this study, we used the ecological footprint method to assess the resource demand and supply conditions of each land use in China between 1978 and 2003. In order to provide insight into the spatial heterogeneity of resource demand and supply conditions, we also assessed the ecological footprint at provincial level in 2002. An ecological footprint curve method was introduced to compare differences in natural resource use, economic development and technological progress among different countries and provinces. The results showed that the ecological footprint, biocapacity and ecological deficit per capita for China have all been increasing during 1978–2003. The ecological footprints per person in northern and eastern China were larger than those in southern and western China. The ecological deficits per person in southern and eastern China were more severe than those in northern and western China. Though the resource use efficiency has increased considerably during 1978–2003, it was still much lower than those of the Netherlands, France, South Korea, Mexico, the Philippines and India.