Estrogenicity and acute toxicity of selected anilines using a recombinant yeast assay

Suspected estrogen modulators include industrial organic chemicals (i.e., xenoestrogens), and have been shown to consist of alkylphenols, bisphenols, biphenylols, and some hydroxy-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The most prominent structural feature identified to be important for estrogenic activity is a polar group capable of donating hydrogen bonds (i.e., hydroxyl) on an aromatic system. The present study was undertaken to explore the estrogenic activity and acute toxicity of chemicals containing a weaker hydrogen bond donor group on aromatic systems, i.e., the amino substituent. There is a great deal of chemical similarity between aromatic amines (anilines) and aromatic alcohols (phenols). The chemicals chosen for the current study contained an amino-substituted benzene ring with hydrophobic constituents varying in size and shape. Thus, 37 substituted aromatic amines were assayed for estrogenic activity EC50 and acute toxicity LC50 using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae recombinant yeast assay. While the EC50 of 17-beta-estradiol occurs at the 10(-10) range, the aniline with the greatest activity had an EC50 of 10(-6) M. Thus, anilines, in general, are capable only of very weak estrogenic activity in this assay. A comparison of estrogenic potency between the present group of anilines and a set of previously tested analogous phenols indicated that anilines are consistently less estrogenic than phenols. A comparison of hazard indices (EC50/LC50) of these chemicals revealed that, for the vast majority of anilines, the EC50 and LC50 were in the same order of magnitude. More specifically, estrogenic activity of para-substituted alkylanilines increases with alkyl group size up to 5 carbons in length, after which the acute toxicity of the larger alkyl-substituents precluded the ability of the compound to induce the estrogenic response.     

Ce掺杂纳米TiO2光催化剂的制备及降解甲醛的研究

介绍了溶胶-凝胶法制备Ce离子掺杂纳米TiO2的工艺流程.采用X射线衍射(XRD)、紫外可见分光光度法(UV-Vis)等方法表征了Ce掺杂TiO2的相组成、紫外可见漫反射率与掺杂量的关系.结果表明,掺杂的TiO2在520℃、650℃焙烧2 h呈锐钛矿结构,在520℃焙烧2 h的TiO2的晶粒尺寸大约为20 nm,而掺杂Ce后其晶粒尺寸均减小,大约为12nm.UV-Vis吸光度分析表明,掺Ce后吸收带边明显发生红移,但随着Ce掺杂浓度的增大,其对可见光的吸收影响不大.光催化降解反应表明,未掺杂Ce的TiO2反应2 h后对甲醛的没有降解作用,而Ce掺杂TiO2反应2 h后甲醛降解率达15%.     

用于干式脱污的CaO蒸汽活化实验研究

利用小型活化转炉实验台对以CaO为主要成分的钙基脱污剂在300～650℃的温度范围内进行蒸汽活化处理,结合X射线衍射和压汞仪的分析结果,初步探讨了蒸汽活化的机理.研究表明,蒸汽活化温度在600℃以上时,脱污剂孔隙结构有显著的改善,比孔容积和比表面积有着显著的增加,微孔(＜100nm)的数量大量增加,而低温下蒸汽活化的效果不是十分明显;研究还发现高温下延长活化时间有利于改善脱污剂的孔隙结构.     

错流式动态膜-生物反应器中污泥活性的研究

应用错流式动态膜-生物反应器(CDMBR)对己内酰胺废水进行了180 d的实验,实验过程中测定反应器的膜出水和上清液的水质,并对污泥进行了耗氧呼吸速率测定.结果表明,上清液COD一直保持在100mg/L以下,而膜出水的则保持在50 mg/L以下,膜对上清液的COD去除率达50%,而对氮的去除没有贡献.可溶性细胞产物(SMP)在反应器内容易积累,停留足够的时间后能被生物降解.通过投加抑制剂测定耗氧呼吸速率,发现异养菌、硝化细菌和亚硝化细菌的活性由于F/M的降低和SMP积累受到一定的抑制,但不影响系统的处理效率.跨膜压力、膜面流速越大,通量衰减得也就越快.     

纳米级铁粉脱氯降解四氯化碳

四氯化碳的生产和使用,给人类带来了较大危害.为此,采用纳米铁粉这一新方法对其进行脱氯处理.试验以纳米级铁粉对四氯化碳的脱氯率为考察指标,选用L25(56)正交试验方案,考察了降解介质的初始pH值、纳米铁粉的质量、降解温度、摇床转速和脱氯时间5个影响因素.结果表明,pH值这一因素有极显著影响;在得出的纳米铁粉对四氯化碳脱氯的最佳工艺条件下,获得了99.5%的脱氯率,为有机氯化物脱氯开辟了一条新途径.     

Evaluation of photolysis and hydrolysis of pyraclostrobin in aqueous solutions and its degradation products in paddy water

This study evaluated the hydrolysis and photolysis kinetics of pyraclostrobin in an aqueous solution using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array detection and identified the resulting metabolites of pyraclostrobin by hydrolysis and photolysis in paddy water using high-resolution mass spectrometry coupled with liquid chromatography. The effect of solution pH, metal ions and surfactants on the hydrolysis of pyraclostrobin was explored. The hydrolysis half-lives of pyraclostrobin were 23.1–115.5?days and were stable in buffer solution at pH 5.0. The degradation rate of pyraclostrobin in an aqueous solution under sunlight was slower than that under UV photolysis reaction. The half-lives of pyraclostrobin in a buffer solution at pH 5.0, 7.0, 9.0 and in paddy water were less than 12?h under the two light irradiation types. The metabolites of the two processes were identified and compared to further understand the mechanisms underlying hydrolysis and photolysis of pyraclostrobin in natural water. The extracted ions obtained from paddy water were automatically annotated by Compound Discoverer software with manual confirmation of their fragments. Two metabolites were detected and identified in the pyraclostrobin hydrolysis, whereas three metabolites were detected and identified in the photolysis in paddy water.     

Variations in exposure to in-vehicle particle mass and number concentrations in different road environments

Road environments significantly affect in cabin concentration of particulate matter (PM). This study conducted measurements of in-vehicle and on-road concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, PM1, and particle number (PN) in size of 0.02–1 µm, under six ventilation settings in different urban road environments (tunnels, surface roads and elevated roads). Linear regression was then used to analyze the contributions of multiple predictor variables (including on-road concentrations, temperature, relative humidity, time of day, and ventilation settings) to measured variations. On-road measurements of PM2.5, PM1, and PN concentrations from the open surface roads were 5.5%, 3.7%, and 16% lower, respectively, than those measured in tunnels, but 7.6%, 7.1% and 24% higher, respectively, than those on elevated roads. The highest on-road PM10 concentration was observed on surface roads. The time series pattern of in-vehicle particle concentrations closely tracked the on-road concentrations outside of the car and exhibited a smoother profile. Irrespective of road environment, the average I/O ratio of particles was found to be the lowest when air conditioning was on with internal recirculation, the highest purification efficiency via ventilation was obtained by switching on external air recirculation and air conditioning. Statistical models showed that on-road concentration, temperature, and ventilation setting are common factors of significance that explained 58%-80%, 64%-97%, and 87%-98% of the variations in in-vehicle PM concentrations on surface roads, on elevated roads, and in tunnels, respectively.

Implications: Inside vehicles, both driver and passengers will be exposed to elevated particle concentrations. However, for in-vehicle particles, there has been no comprehensive comparative study of the three-dimensional traffic environment including tunnels surface roads and elevated roads. This study focuses on the analysis of the trends and main influencing factors of particle concentrations in different road environments. The results can provide suggestions for the driver's behavior, and provide data support for the environmental protection department to develop pollutant concentration limits within the vehicle.     

Airborne foliar transfer of particular metals in Lactuca sativa L.: translocation,phytotoxicity, and bioaccessibility

The uptake, translocation, and human bioaccessibility of metals originating from atmospheric fine particulate matters (PM) after foliar exposure is not well understood. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plants were exposed to micronic PbO, CuO, and CdO particulate matters (PMs) by the foliar pathway and mature plants (6 weeks old) were analyzed in terms of: (1) metal accumulation and localization on plant leaf surface, and metal translocation factor (TF) and global enrichment factor (GEF) in the plants; (2) shoot growth, plant dry weight (DW), net photosynthesis (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), and fatty acid ratio; (3) metal bioaccessibility in the plants and soil; and (4) the hazard quotient (HQ) associated with consumption of contaminated plants. Substantial levels of metals were observed in the directly exposed edible leaves and newly formed leaves of lettuce, highlighting both the possible metal transfers throughout the plant and the potential for human exposure after plant ingestion. No significant changes were observed in plant biomass after exposure to PbO, CuO, and CdO-PMs. The Gs and fatty acid ratio were increased in leaves after metal exposure. A dilution effect after foliar uptake was suggested which could alleviate metal phytotoxicity to some degree. However, plant shoot growth and Pn were inhibited when the plants are exposed to PbO, and necrosis enriched with Cd was observed on the leaf surface. Gastric bioaccessibility of plant leaves is ranked: Cd?>?Cu?>?Pb. Our results highlight a serious health risk of PbO, CuO, and CdO-PMs associated with consumption of vegetables exposed to these metals, even in newly formed leaves in the case of PbO and CdO exposure. Finally, the study highlights the fate and toxicity of metal rich-PMs, especially in the highly populated urban areas which are increasingly cultivated to promote local food.

     

Dechlorination and conversion mechanism of trichlorobenzene as a model compound of chlorine-containing wastes by different base-catalyzed combinations

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Chlorine-containing organic waste (COWs) is a big threat for the waste incineration because of the dioxin generation and equipment corrosion....     

Control of NOx emissions by air staging in small- and medium-scale biomass pellet boilers

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The effect of air staging strategies on NOx control was investigated on a 210-kW small-scale biomass boiler (SBB) and a 1.4-MW medium-scale biomass...