A review of plant–pharmaceutical interactions: from uptake and effects in crop plants to phytoremediation in constructed wetlands

Pharmaceuticals are commonly found both in the aquatic and the agricultural environments as a consequence of the human activities and associated discharge of wastewater effluents to the environment. The utilization of treated effluent for crop irrigation, along with land application of manure and biosolids, accelerates the introduction of these compounds into arable lands and crops. Despite the low concentrations of pharmaceuticals usually found, the continuous introduction into the environment from different pathways makes them ‘pseudo-persistent’. Several reviews have been published regarding the potential impact of veterinary and human pharmaceuticals on arable land. However, plant uptake as well as phytotoxicity data are scarcely studied. Simultaneously, phytoremediation as a tool for pharmaceutical removal from soils, sediments and water is starting to be researched, with promising results. This review gives an in-depth overview of the phytotoxicity of pharmaceuticals, their uptake and their removal by plants. The aim of the current work was to map the present knowledge concerning pharmaceutical interactions with plants in terms of uptake and the use of plant-based systems for phytoremediation purposes.     

不同磷源及浓度对利玛原甲藻生长和产毒的影响研究

探讨了不同磷源条件下利玛原甲藻的生长情况,分析了碱性磷酸酶在营养盐利用方面的作用,对不同营养盐条件下腹泻性贝毒(diarrhetic shellfish poison,DSP)的合成情况进行了比较和分析.结果显示,以NaH2 PO4、β-甘油磷酸钠和ATP分别作为唯一磷源时,NaH2PO4组和ATP组最大生长速率(βms)差异不大,β-甘油磷酸钠组稍低;ATP组最大生物量(X)明显高于NaH2PO4组和β-甘油磷酸钠组.实验浓度范围内,β-甘油磷酸钠组碱性磷酸酶活性均比较低,而ATP组活性较高.NaH2PO4组因其浓度的变化而有较大的差异.浓度>2μmol/L时,活性比较低,<2 μmol/L时,活性明显增高.μ-甘油磷酸钠组大田软海绵酸(okadaic acid,OA)总含量和单位藻细胞OA含量最高,NaH2O4组次之,ATP组最低.这些结果表明,利玛原甲藻町吸收利用无机磷NaH2PO4和有机磷β-甘油磷酸钠及ATP.其中,NaH2PO4和ATP的营养价值基本等效,而β-甘油磷酸钠的营养价值较低.ATP较NaH2PO4和β-甘油磷酸钠更有利于维持利玛原甲藻的生长.利玛原甲藻可以直接利用β-甘油磷酸钠;而ATP则需要碱性磷酸酶水解后才能利用.利玛原甲藻毒素的合成与营养盐的形态有关,不同营养盐条件下DSP的合成不同.β-甘油磷酸钠为磷源时,DSP合成量最多.磷盐对DSP合成的影响与该磷盐条件下利玛原甲藻的生理状态有关.     

升温速率对医疗垃圾热解机理的影响

用TGA-DTA差热失重联用分析仪研究升温速率对输液瓶、一次性医用手套、敷料内心和白鼠肌肉4种典型医疗垃圾热解过程的影响规律.结果表明:在其他试验条件都相同的情况下,随着升温速率的提高,热解反应起始温度、终止温度、峰温升高,反应区间ΔT变宽,发生最大热失重速率的温度也升高,热失重峰的峰高也随之增加;升温速率对热失重率的影响随医疗垃圾种类而不同,对较难分解的医疗垃圾（如敷料内心和白鼠肌肉等）影响大,对容易分解的医疗垃圾（如输液瓶和一次性医用手套等）影响较小.      

斜发沸石在废水处理中的应用研究进展

天然斜发沸石是一种廉价矿物,经改性后可有效去除废水中氨氮、有机物、重金属离子、砷及放射性物质,并可用作杀菌剂。文章简述了天然斜发沸石的主要改性技术,并着重论述了近年来天然斜发沸石及各种改性斜发沸石在废水处理中的应用研究动态。同时,展望了其应用前景,探讨了目前应用斜发沸石处理废水时仍亟待解决的一些问题。     

Runoff and sediment losses from 27 upland catchments in Southeast Asia: Impact of rapid land use changes and conservation practices

Rapid changes in upland farming systems in Southeast Asia generated predominantly by increased population pressure and ‘market forces’ have resulted in widespread land degradation that has been well documented at the plot scale. Yet, the links between agricultural activities in the uplands and downstream off-site effects remain largely unknown because of the difficulties in transferring results from plots to a larger scale. Many authors have thus pointed out the need for long-term catchment studies. The objective of this paper is to summarize the results obtained by the Management of Soil Erosion Consortium (MSEC) over the last 5 years from 27 catchments in five countries (Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). The purpose of the study was to assess the impacts of cultivation practices on annual runoff and erosion rates. Initial surveys in each catchment included topography, soils and land use. Monitoring included climatic, hydrologic and erosion (total sediment yield including bed load and suspended sediment load) data, land use and crop yields, and farmers’ income. In addition, new land management options were introduced through consultations with farmers and evaluated in terms of runoff and erosion. These included tree plantations, fruit trees, improved fallow with legumes, maize intercropped with legumes, planted fodder, native grass strips and agro-ecological practices (direct sowing and mulch-based conservation agriculture). Regressions analyses showed that runoff during the rainy season, and normalized runoff flow coefficient based on erosive rainfall during the rainy season (rainfall with intensity exceeding 25 mm h⁻¹) increase with the percentage of the catchment covered by maize. Both variables decrease with increasing soil depth, standard deviation of catchment slope (that reflects terrain roughness), and the percentages of the catchment covered by fallow (regular and improved), tree plantations and planted fodder. The best predictors of sediment yield were the surface percentages of maize, Job's tears, cassava and footpaths. The main conclusions generated from this study were: (i) soil erosion is predominantly influenced by land use rather than environmental characteristics not only at the plot scale but also at the catchment scale; (ii) slash-and-burn shifting cultivation with sufficiently long rotations (1 year of cultivation, 8 years of fallow) is too often unjustly blamed for degradation; (iii) in its place, continuous cropping of maize and cassava promotes high rates of soil erosion at the catchment scale; (iv) conservation technologies are efficient in reducing runoff and total sediment yield at the catchment scale; (v) the adoption of improved soil management technologies by upland farmers is not a function of the degree of intensification of their farming system and/or of their incomes. The results suggest that if expansion of maize and cassava into already degraded upland systems were to occur due to increased demand for biofuels, there is a risk of higher runoff and sediment generation. A failure to adopt appropriate land use management strategies will result in further rapid resource degradation with negative impacts to downstream communities.     

The use of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) in disinfection of airborne bacteria

Contamination of indoor air by microbial pollutants has been increasingly recognized as a public health problem, and may be responsible for building-related illness (BRI) and sick-building syndrome (SBS). Bioaerosols such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses in indoor air can cause allergic and irritant responses, infectious diseases, respiratory problems, and hypersensitivity reactions. People sensitive to indoor environmental problems complain of a wide variety of symptoms ranging from headache, fatigue, nausea, sinus congestion, to eye, nose, and throat irritations.Although ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) with a predominant wavelength of 254 nm has been used for air disinfection for many years to minimize microbial numbers in the air, few quantitative data are available on the radiation susceptibilities of individual airborne microbes. There have been a number of UVGI studies documenting the effectiveness of UVGI for the control of microbes in controlled settings. Many of these studies documented the effectiveness of UVGI against airborne tuberculosis organisms.The studies described here used commercial type fan-powered shielded UVGI-containing fixtures to evaluate their effectiveness in air disinfection. Aerosolization tests were done in the contained environment of a negative pressure bioaerosol stainless steel testing chamber 0.75 m wide·3.7 m long. The chamber was designed so that microbes could be safely aerosolized and contained while traversing the chamber through the UVGI-containing fix-tures. Four commercial (Purair UV Germicidal Systems, Mount Vernon, N.Y.) fan-powered UVGI-containing fix-tures placed in the chamber were individually evaluated for their ability to disinfect individual bioaerosols of air-borne bacteria.Air samples were taken at the inlet and outlet of the UVGI-containing units positioned in the bioaerosol chamber, using Ace Glass all-glass impingers (AGI-30). Five bacterial species were individually aerosolized to evaluate their kill. The bacteria used to test all of the UVGI-containing units were vegetative cells of Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Staphylococcus aureus, and endospores of Bacillus subtilis. Based upon the concentration of bioaerosols collected at the inlet and outlet of the fixtures tested, the total overall microbial kills for the four fixtures with the filters in place and the UVGI units on were more than 99% for all the airborne vegetative bacteria tested, and a mean of over 75% for the B. subtilis endospores.All of the fixtures were efficient in the kill of the test vegetative bacteria used, even the more UVGI-resistant M. luteus vegetative cells and endospores of B. subtilis. Units such as these may provide an economical way to supplement existing air cleaning procedures used in indoor environments, and to kill airborne bacteria effectively without human exposure to UV light.     

Carbon mitigation potential and costs of forestry options in Brazil,China, India,Indonesia, Mexico,the Philippines and Tanzania

This paper summarizes studies of carbon (C) mitigation potential and costs of about 40 forestry options in seven developing countries. Each study uses the same methodological approach – Comprehensive Mitigation Assessment Process (COMAP) – to estimate the above parameters between 2000 and 2030. The approach requires the projection of baseline and mitigation land-use scenarios. Coupled with data on a per ha basis on C sequestration or avoidance, and costs and benefits, it allows the estimation of monetary benefit per Mg C, and the total costs and carbon potential. The results show that about half (3.0 Pg C) the cumulative mitigation potential of 6.2 Petagram (Pg) C between 2000 and 2030 in the seven countries (about 200× 10⁶ Mg C yr^-1) could be achieved at a negative cost and the remainder at costs ranging up to $100 Mg C^-1. About 5 Pg C could be achieved, at a cost less than $20 per Mg C. Negative cost potential indicates that non-carbon revenue is sufficient to offset direct costs of these options. The achievable potential is likely to be smaller, however, due to market, institutional, and sociocultural barriers that can delay or prevent the implementation of the analyzed options.     

Cytogenetic analysis of trophoblasts by comparative genomic hybridization in embryo-fetal development anomalies

Cytogenetic studies of spontaneous abortions or intrauterine fetal death depend on conventional tissue culturing and karyotyping. This technique has limitations such as culture failure and selective growth of maternal cells. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) using specific probes permits diagnosis of aneuploidies but is limited to one or a few chromosomal regions. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) provides an overview of chromosomal gains and losses in a single hybridization directly from DNA samples. In a prospective study, we analyzed by CGH trophoblast cells from 21 fetuses in cases of spontaneous abortions, intrauterine fetal death or polymalformed syndrome. Six numerical chromosomal abnormalities including one trisomy 7, one trisomy 10, three trisomies 18, one trisomy 21 and one monosomy X have been correctly identified by CGH. One structural abnormality of the long arm of chromosome 1 has been characterized by CGH. One triploidy and two balanced pericentromeric inversions of chromosome 9 have not been identified by CGH. Sexual chromosomal constitutions were concordant by both classical cytogenetic technique and CGH. Contribution of trophoblast analysis by CGH in embryo-fetal development anomalies is discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.