Trichoderma atroviride as a bioremediator of Cu pollution: An in vitro study

Isolated Trichoderma atroviride from Cu-polluted river sediment at the Serdang Industrial Area was studied under in vitro conditions to understand the mechanisms that allowed the fungi to thrive in the Cu-polluted freshwater ecosystem. From this study, adsorption was recognized as the main mechanism of Cu tolerance with 50–85% adsorption during the in vitro experiment. The uptake capacity of the isolate in liquid medium ranged from 0.8 to 11.2 mg g^?1 in the potato dextrose broth medium with increasing Cu concentrations from 25 to 300 mg L^?1. It was found that 2.7–5.0% of Cu was lost due to washing. The high percentage of Cu adsorption and the high uptake capacity of Cu by T. atroviride suggest that it is a potential bioremediator of Cu. However, further studies are needed to confirm its practical use as a bioremediating agent for Cu under field conditions.     

Interspecific variation of heavy metal concentrations in the different tissues of tropical intertidal gastropods from Malaysia

The present study aims to determine the concentrations of Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the different tissues of five species of tropical intertidal gastropods from Malaysia. Each of the species have organs/tissues that highly accumulated certain metals. For Cu, the mantles of Cerithidea obtusa, Pugilina cochlidium, and Murex trapa; and the digestive caeca of Thais sp. and Chicoreus capucinus highly accumulated Cu. The shells of Chi. capucinus and M. trapa, the digestive caeca of P. cochlidium, and the digestive glands of Thais sp. and Chi. capucinus highly accumulated Cd. The tentacles and the digestive caeca of Cer. obtusa and P. cochlidium, respectively, highly accumulated Zn, the digestive glands of Thais sp., Chi. capucinus, and M. trapa also highly accumulated Zn. The shells of most of the gastropods accumulated high levels of Pb and Ni. The opercula of most of the gastropods, besides the digestive glands for Thais sp., accumulated high levels of Fe. The present study on interspecific variations of heavy metals in gastropods provided information on differences of metal distributions in the different tissues, which could be useful in proposing potential tissues as better biomonitoring tools of heavy metal bioavailabilities in the coastal waters of Peninsular Malaysia.     

Mercury pollution in a mining area of Guizhou,China: Fluxes over contaminated surfaces and concentrations in air,biological and geological samples

A dynamic flux chamber has been used to estimate fluxes of mercury over different types of surfaces in an abandoned open‐cut mine of Tongren prefecture, Guizhou province, China during spring and summer of 1996. The highest fluxes were obtained over cinnabar slag and contaminated soils, whereas the emissions above cinnabar ore were substantially lower. These fluxes was scaled up to estimate the contribution of mercury emissions to air from mercury wastes, compared to anthropogenic activities in the province of Guizhou, China. Atmospheric mercury concentrations measured were enhanced in the mining area (<1.3 μg m^‐3) compared to regional background sites (1.8–5.1 ng m^‐3). The spreading of mercury was estimated by using biological and geological samples. Moss bags have been employed to estimate long‐time dry‐ and wet‐deposition to this area.     

土地利用方式对紫色土丘陵区土壤剖面碳、氮影响

采取野外调查与室内分析相结合的方法研究了紫色土丘陵区林地、撂荒地、水田、旱地土壤剖面(0～40 cm)有机碳、全氮变化特征.结果表明.有机碳、全氮均随土层深度增加而逐渐减小,且林地、撂荒地有机碳递减幅度高于水田、旱地.相对于撂荒地和旱地,水田、林地更利于有机碳、全氮的积累.林地有机碳和全氮在0～5 cm土层表现出绝对优势;随土层递增,与水田、撂荒地和旱地的差异逐渐减小.水田有机碳和全氮在大于10 cm土层显示最大值.而撂荒地有机碳和全氮仅在土壤表层高于旱地.有机碳与全氮存在显著正相关关系;w(C)/w(N)随土层深度增加而降低,且林地、撂荒地降低幅度较大.因此相对于水田、旱地,林地和撂荒地w(C)/w(N)仅在0～10 cm显示较大值.可见,土地利用方式对陆地生态系统碳、氮蓄积有明显影响,通过旱地还林或撂荒可以增加土壤特别是表层土壤对碳、氮的积累.     

污泥资源化利用系列泥质标准的编制问题

为解决污泥处置问题,防止二次污染,维护良好生态环境,提高资源化利用水平,促进循环经济的发展和生态型城市的建设,建设部提出完成污泥系列泥质标准的编制工作.文章结合广州市排水监测站的泥质标准研究工作,详细阐述了国内外污泥系列泥质标准的现状以及最新的泥质标准研究工作进展,重点对八个标准--<城镇污水处理厂污泥处置:分类>、<城镇污水处理厂污泥处置:混合填埋泥质>、<城镇污水处理厂污泥泥质>、<城镇污水处理厂污泥处置:园林绿化用泥质>、<城镇污水处理厂污泥处置:农用>、<城镇污水处理厂污泥处置:焚烧用泥质>、<城镇污水处理厂污泥处置:土地改良用泥质>和<城镇污水处理厂污泥处置:制砖用泥质>中的控制项目、部分限值以及项目特点进行了研究和讨论,并对今后的研究方向进行了展望.     

Trace monitoring of water-borne phenolics in the Klang River Basin

The Klang River Basin is located in the most densely populated region in Malaysia, with its heavy concentration of industries and population. A systematic study of the pollution to this river system caused by phenolic compounds have been carried out under this project. Analyses of water samples from the Klang River by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with an ultraviolet (UV) detector at 280 nm have shown the presence of some priority phenolic pollutants.     

Diffusive gradients in thin films using molecularly imprinted polymer binding gels for in situ measurements of antibiotics in urban wastewaters

• Selective molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) binding gel was prepared. • MIP-DGT showed excellent uptake performance for antibiotics. • In situ measurement of antibiotics in wastewaters via MIP-DGT was developed. • The MIP-DGT method was robust, reliable, and highly sensitive. Urban wastewater is one of main sources for the introduction of antibiotics into the environment. Monitoring the concentrations of antibiotics in wastewater is necessary for estimating the amount of antibiotics discharged into the environment through urban wastewater treatment systems. In this study, we report a novel diffusive gradient in thin films (DGT) method based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for in situ measurement of two typical antibiotics, fluoroquinolones (FQs) and sulfonamides (SAs) in urban wastewater. MIPs show specific adsorption toward their templates and their structural analogs, resulting in the selective uptake of the two target antibiotics during MIP-DGT deployment. The uptake performance of the MIP-DGTs was evaluated in the laboratory and was relatively independent of solution pH (4.0–9.0), ionic strength (1–750 mmol/L), and dissolved organic matter (DOM, 0–20 mg/L). MIP-DGT samplers were tested in the effluent of an urban wastewater treatment plant for field trials, where three SA (sulfamethoxazole, sulfapyridine, and trimethoprim) and one FQ (ofloxacin) antibiotics were detected, with concentrations ranging from 25.50 to 117.58 ng/L, which are consistent with the results measured by grab sampling. The total removal efficiency of the antibiotics was 80.1% by the treatment plant. This study demonstrates that MIP-DGT is an effective tool for in situ monitoring of trace antibiotics in complex urban wastewaters.     

Toxicities and tolerances of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in a primary producer (Isochrysis galbana) and in a primary consumer (Perna viridis)

Studies on toxicities and tolerances of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) in the brown alga Isochrysis galbana and in the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis were conducted by short-term bioassays using endpoints growth production and mortality, respectively. The 5-day EC(50) and 24-h LC(50) of these heavy metals were determined in the brown alga and mussel, respectively. The EC(50) values calculated for the alga were 0.74 mg/l for Cd, 0.91 mg/l for Cu, 1.40 mg/l for Pb and 0.60 mg/l for Zn. The LC(50) values for the mussels were 1.53 mg/l for Cd, 0.25 mg/l for Cu, 4.12 mg/l for Pb and 3.20 mg/l for Zn. These LC(50) values were within the concentration ranges as reported by other authors who used P. viridis as the test organism. Based on these EC(50) and LC(50) values, the alga was most sensitive to Zn, followed by Cd, Cu and Pb while the mussel was most sensitive to Cu, followed by Cd, Zn and Pb. Differences in the trophic levels, metal handling strategies, biology and ecology of the primary producer (brown alga) and the primary consumer (mussel) are believed to be the plausible causes for the different toxicities and tolerances of the metals studied.     

生态足迹的实证分析--中国经济增长中的生态制约

本文通过中国生态足迹的实证分析，讨论了生态系统资源供给方面对经济增长的制约，资源生态足迹是生态足迹的主要部分，反映了经济系统的资源消费，计算发现，1961-1999年中国资源生态足迹持续增长，从1961年的3.3亿hm^2年递增到1999年的16.8亿hm^2年平均增长率为4.4%，资源生态足迹的增长支持了同期的经济增长，但是，实证比较发展资源生态承载力大大低于资源生态足迹，这些实证结果表晨；一方面，中国经济持续增长造成了资源消费持续增加，而另一方面，中国生态系统资源供给能力有限，不能支持当前的资源消费及其增长，由于自然资源是经济系统进行生产的特质基础，其供给不足必然成为经济增长的制约因素。     

Application of SO(4)(2-)/TiO2 solid superacid in decontaminating radioactive pollutants

Polyaniline doped with SO(4)(2-)/TiO(2) superacid shows good conductive ability. When used in a strippable coating film for decontaminating radioactive pollutants, the SO(4)(2-)/TiO(2) solid superacid replacing HCl exhibits higher electrical conductivity (7.01 s/cm) and a decontamination ratio higher than 97%. Coating and electrolyzing the film in solution or in dry medium were effective methods, the latter was more promising for decontaminating radioactive pollutants which were attached to the surface or within the body of equipments used in nuclear industry.