Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations, compositions, sources, and associated carcinogenic risks to humans in farmland soils and riverine sediments from Guiyu, China

The concentrations of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) were measured in 23 farmland soil samples and 10 riverine sediment samples from Guiyu, China, and the carcinogenic risks associated with PAHs in the samples were evaluated. Guiyu is the largest electronic waste(EW) dismantling area globally, and has been well known for the primitive and crude manner in which EWs are disposed, such as by open burning and roasting. The total PAH concentrations were 56–567 ng/g in the soils and 181–3034 ng/g in the sediments.The Shanglian and Huamei districts were found to be more contaminated with PAHs than the north of Guiyu. The soils were relatively weakly contaminated but the sediments were more contaminated, and sediments in some river sections might cause carcinogenic risks to the groundwater system. The PAHs in the soils were derived from combustion sources,but the PAHs in the sediments were derived from both combustion and petroleum sources.     

Effect of pretreatment techniques on food waste solubilization and biogas production during thermophilic batch anaerobic digestion

The purpose of this study was to optimize the alkaline, ultrasonication, and thermal pretreatment in order to enhance the solubilization of food waste (FW) for the production of volatile fatty acids, hydrogen, and methane in thermophilic batch anaerobic digestion. Initially, the effect of pretreatment techniques in the acidogenic phase was studied, and the optimal combinations of different conditions were determined. It was found that each pretreatment technique affected food waste solubilization differently. Alkaline pretreatment increased hydrogen yield in the acidogenic sludge by four times over control. COD solubilization was increased by 47 % when FW pre-heated at 130 °C for 60 min. Ultrasonication at 20 kHz and 45 min reduced processing time to 38 h from the 60–80 h needed in normal operation. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize a combination of alkaline, ultrasonication, and thermal pretreatment. Optimized conditions were applied to methanogenic single-stage thermophilic AD process, and their impact on biogas production was monitored. Results showed that FW heated at 130 °C for 50 min geminates biogas production compared to control experiment. In conclusion, a short thermal pretreatment regime could significant affect biogas production in single-stage thermophilic AD.     

New Institutional Mechanism in China Facilitating the Global Sustainability—Environment to Be Counted in Officials' Performance Rating

Abstract

Having argued the importance of China's sustainable development in global sustainability, the authors review the achievements of China in sustainable development, especially its institutional construction. Environment to be counted in official's political performance rating system is thought of as a new institutional mechanism in China facilitating its sustainable development and then global sustainability. Then its significance is narrated and visions in future are envisioned. In the end, certain concrete suggestions for the rating system are given in a practical way.     

Atmospheric oxidation capacity in the summer of Houston 2006: Comparison with summer measurements in other metropolitan studies

Both similarities and differences in summertime atmospheric photochemical oxidation appear in the comparison of four field studies: TEXAQS2000 (Houston, 2000), NYC2001 (New York City, 2001), MCMA2003 (Mexico City, 2003), and TRAMP2006 (Houston, 2006). The compared photochemical indicators are OH and HO₂ abundances, OH reactivity (the inverse of the OH lifetime), HO_x budget, OH chain length (ratio of OH cycling to OH loss), calculated ozone production, and ozone sensitivity. In terms of photochemical activity, Houston is much more like Mexico City than New York City. These relationships result from the ratio of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to nitrogen oxides (NO_x), which are comparable in Houston and Mexico City, but much lower in New York City. Compared to New York City, Houston and Mexico City also have higher levels of OH and HO₂, longer OH chain lengths, a smaller contribution of reactions with NO_x to the OH reactivity, and NO_x-sensitivity for ozone production during the day. In all four studies, the photolysis of nitrous acid (HONO) and formaldehyde (HCHO) are significant, if not dominant, HO_x sources. A problematic result in all four studies is the greater OH production than OH loss during morning rush hour, even though OH production and loss are expected to always be in balance because of the short OH lifetime. The cause of this discrepancy is not understood, but may be related to the under-predicted HO₂ in high NO_x conditions, which could have implications for ozone production. Three photochemical indicators show particularly high photochemical activity in Houston during the TRAMP2006 study: the long portion of the day for which ozone production was NO_x-sensitive, the calculated ozone production rate that was second only to Mexico City's, and the OH chain length that was twice that of any other location. These results on photochemical activity provide additional support for regulatory actions to reduce reactive VOCs in Houston in order to reduce ozone and other pollutants.     

Protective role of a methanolic extract of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) against Pb toxicity in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings: beneficial effects for a plant of a nutraceutical used with animals

Spinach extracts contain powerful natural antioxidants and have been used to improve the response of animal cells to various stress factors. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of a methanolic extract of spinach (SE) used at two concentrations (21.7 and 217 ppm) on the growth, certain enzymes and antioxidant systems in wheat seedlings under lead stress. When wheat seedlings were grown for 7 days in a solution containing Pb(NO₃)₂ (3 mM), germination and growth were impaired, while signs of oxidative stress were observed. SE (217 ppm) pretreatment was able to protect seedlings from Pb toxicity by both reducing Pb uptake and Pb-induced oxidative stress. As a consequence, almost normal germination, elongation, biomass and α-amylase activity were restored by SE (217 ppm) pretreatment of wheat seedlings, in spite of the presence of Pb. Our results support the protective role and the antioxidant effect of SE against Pb. These results show an amazing similarity to the effects of SE in animals, which suggests that providing “nutraceuticals” to plants could improve their “health” status.     

气田低浓度含醇废水处理工艺试验研究

基于紫外催化氧化技术处理气田低浓度含醇废水具有降解率高、无二次污染的优势,研究以该技术为主体的处理工艺是探索提升处理后水质的有效途径。针对气田低浓度含醇废水处理工艺进行了试验研究,得出了处理该类废水的关键控制指标,确定了混凝沉淀、膜过滤、紫外催化氧化为主体技术的工艺参数,通过对五种不同浓度含醇废水进行处理,处理后水色度可控制在5倍左右,催化氧化90min后甲醇含量可降至0.1%左右,试验验证了该套处理工艺的处理效果,为进一步现场中试试验提供了研究依据。     

A Comparison of Bayesian Methods for Uncertainty Analysis in Hydraulic and Hydrodynamic Modeling

We evaluate and compare the performance of Bayesian Monte Carlo (BMC), Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), and the Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) for uncertainty analysis in hydraulic and hydrodynamic modeling (HHM) studies. The methods are evaluated in a synthetic 1D wave routing exercise based on the diffusion wave model, and in a multidimensional hydrodynamic study based on the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code to simulate estuarine circulation processes in Weeks Bay, Alabama. Results show that BMC and MCMC provide similar estimates of uncertainty. The posterior parameter densities computed by both methods are highly consistent, as well as the calibrated parameter estimates and uncertainty bounds. Although some studies suggest that MCMC is more efficient than BMC, our results did not show a clear difference between the performance of the two methods. This seems to be due to the low number of model parameters typically involved in HHM studies, and the use of the same likelihood function. In fact, for these studies, the implementation of BMC results simpler and provides similar results to MCMC. The results of GLUE are, on the other hand, less consistent to the results of BMC and MCMC in both applications. The posterior probability densities tend to be flat and similar to the uniform priors, which can result in calibrated parameter estimates centered in the parametric space.     

扰动和加藻共同作用下太湖沉积物中形态磷变化规律

为了阐明反复扰动下,不同初始浓度藻对沉积物中各形态磷释放的影响.以太湖梅梁湾沉积物和上覆水作为研究材料,探讨了扰动和藻类共同作用下沉积物中各形态磷的变化规律.结果表明,无扰动状态下,NH4Cl-P和Res-P均有所降低,而Fe/Al-P和Ca-P则有所增加.其中,Ca-P随藻类初始浓度增加而增加,分别增加48%、66%、74%.但是,扰动状态下,NH4Cl-P和Res-P也明显降低.Fe/Al-P明显增加,其占总磷的百分比为66.2%(3组试验的平均值)高于不扰动状态(53.4%,3组试验的平均值);此外,Ca-P占总磷的百分比为24.1%(3组扰动试验的平均值)明显低于不扰动状态(33.0%,3组试验的平均值).这暗示了扰动和藻类共同作用下促进了Fe/Al-P的形成,而无扰动下藻类却促进了Ca-P的形成.     

短链氯化石蜡暴露对HepG2细胞代谢的影响

短链氯化石蜡(short-chain chlorinated paraffins,SCCPs)是一组成分复杂的氯代正构烷烃,在环境中普遍存在。然而有关其毒性机理的信息十分有限,限制了对其健康风险的评估。本研究采用液相色谱–串联质谱(LC-MS/MS)分析技术,研究了不同剂量的SCCPs暴露(0、1.0、10.0和100.0μg·L-1;C13-CPs;55.0%Cl)对人体肝癌细胞Hep G2的糖代谢、氨基酸代谢和脂肪酸代谢的影响。通过偏最小二乘判别分析(PLS-DA)鉴别各组代谢产物谱差异,发现3个SCCPs暴露剂量组均能够与对照组完全分开,表明SCCPs短期暴露能够引起细胞代谢活动的显著改变。SCCPs的低剂量暴露可明显刺激Hep G2细胞对氨基酸的吸收。与对照组相比,SCCPs低剂量暴露组(1.0μg·L-1)培养基中谷氨酰胺、色氨酸和丝氨酸的含量显著(P0.05)降低。而高剂量SCCPs(100.0μg·L-1)暴露抑制了细胞对氨基酸和葡萄糖吸收,但促进了乳酸、丙氨酸、半胱氨酸的生成。氨基酸吸收的抑制不可避免地会影响蛋白质的合成。同时,SCCPs的暴露使饱和脂肪酸代谢紊乱,使不饱和脂肪酸水平上调。为确定SCCPs的毒性作用方式,有必要从转录组和蛋白组层面进一步研究其毒性机制。