钙对李氏禾富集和耐受铬的调控作用

通过水培实验,研究钙对铬胁迫下李氏禾幼苗生理生化、草酸分泌及铬吸收量的影响,考察钙对李氏禾体内草酸合成的调控,进而促进李氏禾的铬耐性富集能力的作用。结果显示,不同浓度Cr³⁺胁迫下缺钙处理,李氏禾生长受抑制及质膜过氧化作用加剧,体内总草酸含量为对照处理的113%~169%,且主要表现为水溶性草酸含量显著高于对照,水溶性草酸含量为对照处理的135%~197%;高钙处理,李氏禾细胞膜透性、丙二醛（MDA）含量低于对照,李氏禾叶部总草酸含量为对照处理的125%~155%,且主要表现为不溶性草酸含量显著高于对照,其含量为对照处理的181%~270%。低浓度（0.2、0.4 mmol/L）铬胁迫下,高钙处理总铬含量分别为对照处理的175%和215%,高浓度（0.8、1.0 mmol/L）铬胁迫下,总铬含量与对照处理无显著差异（P>0.05）。可见,添加Ca²⁺能在一定Cr³⁺浓度胁迫下,有效缓解铬对李氏禾的毒害,且能通过提高植物体内不溶性草酸含量达到促进植物富集和耐受铬的能力。     

几种印染助剂对壳聚糖稳定纳米铁去除酸性品红的影响

以氯化铁为铁源,硼氢化钠为还原剂,壳聚糖为稳定剂,采用液相还原法制备壳聚糖稳定纳米铁（CS-nZⅥ）;研究了印染废水中常见助剂NaNO₃、Na₂SO₄、NaH₂PO₄、K₂Cr₂O₇、EDTA二钠盐存在下,超声波辅助CS-nZⅥ对酸性品红（AF）降解的影响。结果表明,反应15 min,0.01 g CS-nZⅥ对25 mL、100 mg/L AF的去除率高达99.9%;各种助剂的存在使得纳米铁表面不同程度失活,阻碍反应的进行,使得AF的去除率下降。NaNO₃、K₂Cr₂O₇、EDTA二钠盐与纳米铁发生反应,与AF存在明显的竞争作用。重复利用实验表明,CS-nZⅥ重复利用7次仍具有一定的反应活性。此外,CS-nZⅥ对加标（50 mg/L）实际废水中AF的去除率达到99%以上,表明CS-nZⅥ是一种潜在的环境修复材料。     

堇青石负载Pd和过渡金属氧化物催化剂的表征及其对CO的催化氧化活性

以堇青石蜂窝陶瓷(CC)为载体,采用浸渍法制备了堇青石负载Pd和过渡金属混合氧化物催化剂,记作Pd-M-Mn(M=Cu,Co,Fe,Ni)/CC。实验结果表明:Pd-Co-Mn/CC催化剂的催化活性最高;随着Pd负载量的增加,CO转化率提高;当Pd负载量为1.00%时,反应温度为150℃时CO转化率达到98%,200℃时CO转化率达到100%;在反应温度150℃条件下,Pd-Co-Mn/CC催化剂(Pd负载量1.00%)的CO转化率在前30h内小幅度下降,随后稳定在90%以上,反应100h后,催化剂表面颜色由黑色变为棕褐色。     

Phthalate exposure in pregnant women and their children in central Taiwan

Phthalate exposure was found to be associated with endocrine disruption, respiratory effects, reproductive and developmental toxicity. The intensive use of plastics may be increasing the exposure to phthalates in Taiwanese population, particularly for young children.We studied phthalate metabolites in pregnant women and their newborns in a prospective cohort from a medical center in Central Taiwan. One hundred maternal urine samples and 30 paired cord blood and milk samples were randomly selected from all of participants (430 pregnant women). Eleven phthalate metabolites (MEHP, 5OH-MEHP, 2cx-MEHP, 5cx-MEPP, 5oxo-MEHP, MiBP, MnBP, MBzP, OH-MiNP, oxo-MiNP, and cx-MiNP) representing the exposure to five commonly used phthalates (DEHP, di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP), DnBP, BBP, DiNP) were measured in urine of pregnant women, cord serum and breast milk after delivery, and in urine of their children. Exposure was estimated with excretion factors and correlation among metabolites of the same parent compound. Thirty and 59 urinary samples from 2 and 5 years-old children were randomly selected from 185 children successfully followed.Total urinary phthalate metabolite concentration (geometric mean, μg L⁻¹) was found to be higher in 2-years-olds (398.6) and 5-years-olds (333.7) than pregnant women (205.2). Metabolites in urine are mainly from DEHP. The proportion of DiNP metabolites was higher in children urine (4.39 and 8.31%, ages 2 and 5) than in adults (0.83%) (p < 0.01). Compared to urinary levels, phthalate metabolite levels are low in cord blood (37.45) and milk (14.90). DEHP metabolite levels in women’s urine and their corresponding cord blood are significantly correlated. Compared to other populations in the world, DEHP derived metabolites in maternal urine were higher, while phthalate metabolite levels in milk and cord blood were similar. The level of phthalate metabolites in milk and cord blood were comparable to those found in other populations. Further studies of health effects related to DEHP and DiNP exposure are necessary for the children.     

Analysis of pesticide residues using the Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) pesticide multiresidue method in traditional Chinese medicine by gas chromatography with electron capture detection

The Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged and Safe multiresidue method (QuEChERS) has been validated for the extraction of 15 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in completely different matrices of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The method employed a rapid, simple and cost-effective procedure. The spiking levels for the recovery experiments were 0.1, 0.5 and 2.0 mg kg⁻¹. Mean recoveries mostly ranged between 76.0% and 114.0% (96.0% on average), and relative standard deviations (RSD) were generally below 10% (4.72% on average). Based on these results, the methodology has been proven to be highly efficient and robust and thus suitable for monitoring the MRL compliance of a wide range of commodity. The contamination status of 15 OCPs on 80 different TCMs marketed in China, and a total of 400 samples were also performed using a previously validated method. 15 OCPs were benzene hexachloride (BHC, including α-BHC, β-BHC, γ-BHC, δ-BHC), hexachlorobenzene, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, aldrin, p, p′-DDE, p, p′-DDD, o, p′-DDT, p, p′-DDT, mirex, endrin, dieldrin. This study indicates that the proposed method is useful for analyzing OCPs in TCM.     

Motility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in saturated granular media as affected by chemoattractant

To examine and quantify the effects of glass beads and chemoattractant on bacterial motility in granular media, we examined the motile behavior of P. aeruginosa in a saturated granular medium and quantified the effects of glass beads and the presence of a chemoattractant. By recording individual cell trajectories in microfluidic channels under a high-speed confocal microscope, we directly measured the cell's run direction and corresponding run-length, speed and turn angle. Bacterial run speed increased in the presence of chemoattractant in both aqueous and granular media. But it decreased in glass-beads compared to in aqueous media due to the restricted pore geometry and interactions between bacteria and grain surfaces. Notably, the relatively higher frequency distribution at turn angles of 170° decreased dramatically, while the smaller peak at 70° increased and became dominant on a bimodal distribution, showing more bacteria changed directions at smaller turn angles rather than reverse their swimming directions. Additionally, the presence of glass beads also decreased the chemotactic velocity and random motility by similar proportions due to the restrictive geometry and the interactions between bacteria and glass beads surface. Our study indicates that the swimming parameters measured from aqueous media cannot be directly adopted in models for predicting bacteria travel in granular media.     

Effects of pH and ionic strength on sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin transport in saturated porous media

Many antibiotics regarded as emerging contaminants have been frequently detected in soils and groundwater; however, their transport behaviors in soils remain largely unknown. This study examined the transport of two antibiotics, sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) and ciprofloxacin (CIP), in saturated porous media. Laboratory columns packed with quartz sand was used to test the effects of solution pH and ionic strength (IS) on their retention and transport. The results showed that these two antibiotics behaved differently in the saturated sand columns. In general, SMZ manifested a much higher mobility than CIP for all experimental conditions tested. Almost all SMZ transported through the columns within one pore volume in deionized water (i.e., pH=5.6, IS=0), but no CIP was detected in the effluents under the same condition after extended column flushing. Perturbations in solution pH (5.6 and 9.5) and IS (0 and 0.1M) showed no effect on SMZ transport in the saturated columns. When pH increased to 9.5, however, ~93% of CIP was eluted from the sand columns. Increase of IS from 0 to 0.1M also slightly changed the distribution of adsorbed CIP within the sand column at pH 5.6, but still no CIP was detected in the effluents. A mathematical model based on advection-dispersion equation coupled with equilibrium and kinetic reactions successfully simulated the transport of the antibiotics in water-saturated porous media with R(2)=0.99.     

Characterization of ACC deaminase-producing endophytic bacteria isolated from copper-tolerant plants and their potential in promoting the growth and copper accumulation of Brassica napus

One hundred Cu-resistant-endophytic bacteria were isolated from Cu-tolerant plants grown on Cu mine wasteland, of which, eight Cu-resistant and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase-producing endophytic bacteria were obtained based on the ACC deaminase activity of the bacteria and characterized with respect to metal resistance, production of ACC deaminase, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) as well as siderophores and mineral phosphate solubilization. Ralstonia sp. J1-22-2, Pantoea agglomerans Jp3-3, and Pseudomonas thivervalensis Y1-3-9 with higher ACC deaminase activity (ranging from 213 to 370 μM α-ketobutyrate mg(-1)h(-1)) were evaluated for promoting plant growth and Cu uptake of rape grown in quartz sand containing 0, 2.5, and 5 mg kg(-1) of Cu in pot experiments. The eight bacteria were found to exhibit different multiple heavy metal resistance characteristics, to show different levels of ACC deaminase activity and to produce indole acetic acid. Seven bacteria produced siderophores and solubilized inorganic phosphate. Pot experiments showed that inoculation with the strains (J1-22-2, Jp3-3, and Y1-3-9) was found to increase the biomass of rape. Increases in above-ground tissue Cu contents of rape cultivated in 2.5 and 5 mg kg(-1) of Cu-contaminated substrates varied from 9% to 31% and from 3 to 4-fold respectively in inoculated-rape plants compared to the uninoculated control. The maximum Cu uptake of rape was observed after inoculation with P. agglomerans Jp3-3. The results show that metal-resistant and plant growth promoting endophytic bacteria play an important role in plant growth and Cu uptake which may provide a new endophytic bacterial-assisted phytoremediation of Cu-contaminated environment.     

Trade-offs between elimination and detoxification in rainbow trout and common bivalve molluscs exposed to metal stressors

The purpose of this paper was to examine trade-offs between elimination and detoxification in rainbow trout and three common bivalve molluscs (clam, oyster, and scallop) exposed to cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) based on recent reported experimental data. We incorporated metal influx threshold with subcellular partitioning to estimate rate constants of detoxification (k_d) and elimination (k₂). We found that the relationships between k₂ and k_d were negative for rainbow trout and positive for bivalve molluscs. However, the relationships between k_d and % metal in metabolically detoxified pool were found positive for rainbow trout and negative for bivalve molluscs. Our results also indicated that rainbow trout had higher accumulation (∼60-90%) in metabolically active pool when exposed to essential metals of Cu and Zn and had only 10-50% accumulation in response to non-essential metal of Cd. Based on a cluster analysis, this study indicated that similarity of physiological regulations among study species was found between Cd and Zn. Our study suggested that detoxification can be predicted by an elimination-detoxification scheme with the known elimination rate constant. We concluded that quantification of trade-offs between subcellular partitioning and detoxification provides valuable insights into the ecotoxicology of aquatic organisms and enhances our understanding of the subcellular biology of trace metals.     

Effects of compositional heterogeneity and nanoporosity of raw and treated biomass-generated soot on adsorption and absorption of organic contaminants

A biomass-generated soot was sequentially treated by HCl-HF solution, organic solvent, and oxidative acid to remove ash, extractable native organic matter (EOM), and amorphous carbon. The compositional heterogeneity and nano-structure of the untreated and treated soot samples were characterized by elemental analysis, thermal gravimetric analysis, BET-N₂ surface area, and electron microscopic analysis. Sorption properties of polar and nonpolar organic pollutants onto the soot samples were compared, and individual contributions of adsorption and absorption were quantified. The sorption isotherms for raw sample were practically linear, while were nonlinear for the pretreated-soot. The removal of EOM enhanced adsorption and reduced absorption, indicating that EOM served as a partitioning phase and simultaneously masked the adsorptive sites. By drastic-oxidation, the outer amorphous carbon and the inner disordered core of the soot particles were completely removed, and a fullerene-like nanoporous structure (aromatic shell) was created, which promoted additional π-π interaction between phenanthrene and the soot.