Dietary antioxidants (selenium and N-acetylcysteine) modulate paraoxonase 1 (PON1) in PCB 126-exposed rats

Environmental pollutants polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), especially dioxin-like PCBs, cause oxidative stress and associated toxic effects, including cancer and possibly atherosclerosis. We previously reported that PCB 126, the most potent dioxin-like PCB congener, not only decreases antioxidants such as hepatic selenium (Se), Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione (GSH) but also increases levels of the antiatherosclerosis enzyme paraoxonase 1 (PON1) in liver and serum. To probe the interconnection of these three antioxidant systems, Se, GSH, and PON1, we examined the influence of varying levels of dietary Se and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and precursor for GSH synthesis, on PON1 in the absence and presence of PCB 126 exposure. Male Sprague–Dawley rats, fed diets with differing Se levels (0.02, 0.2, or 2 ppm) or NAC (1 %), were treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of corn oil or various doses of PCB 126 and euthanized 2 weeks later. PCB 126 significantly increased liver PON1 mRNA, protein level and activity, and serum PON1 activity in all dietary groups but did not consistently increase thiobarbituric acid levels (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS), an indicator of lipid oxidation and oxidative stress, in liver or serum. Inadequate (high or low) dietary Se decreased baseline and PCB 126-induced aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) expression but further increased PCB 126-induced cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) expression, the enzyme believed to be the cause for PCB 126-induced oxidative stress. In addition, a significant inverse relationship was observed not only between dietary Se levels and PON1 mRNA and PON1 activity but also with TBARS levels in the liver, suggesting significant antioxidant protection from dietary Se. NAC lowered serum baseline TBARS levels in controls and increased serum PON1 activity but lowered liver PON1 activities in animals treated with 1 μmol/kg PCB 126, suggesting antioxidant activity by NAC primarily in serum. These results also show an unexpected predominantly inverse relationship between Se or NAC and PON1 during control and PCB 126 exposure conditions. These interactions should be further explored in the development of dietary protection regimens.     

重庆主城区建设用地扩展的时空特征及驱动因子分析

以多时相的遥感影像为基础,选用归一化裸露指数（NDBI）、重归一植被指数（RDVI）和改进的归一化水体指数（修改后的NDWI）,通过阈值分割、掩膜处理提取建设用地信息,结合重庆主城区的社会经济数据,利用扩展速度指数、扩展强度指数、扩展弹性指数、紧凑度指数、建设用地扩展系数及扩展方向分析研究了不同阶段建设用地扩展的时空动态特征,并运用灰色关联分析,对建设用地扩展的驱动因子进行探讨。结果表明：1988～2011年重庆主城区建设用地扩展了39332 km2,扩展速度和扩展强度呈现增大的趋势;扩展弹性系数、建设用地扩展系数波动变化,反映了重庆主城区建设用地逐渐由粗放型向集约型转变;建设用地扩展的空间分析表明重庆主城区的城市形态由非紧凑型向紧凑型发展,同时扩展方向具有明显的分异性,主要向正北和西北方向扩展;人口增长,尤其是城市人口的增长是重庆主城区建设用地扩展最主要的驱动因子;经济发展、产业结构变化与建设用地的扩展也有明显的相关性     

Photocatalytic degradation kinetics and mechanism of phenobarbital in TiO2 aqueous solution

5-Ethyl-5-phenylpyrimidine-2,4,6(1H, 3H, 5H)-trione is an anti-convulsant used to treat disorders of movement, e.g. tremors. This work deals with the transformation of phenobarbital by UV/TiO₂ heterogeneous photocatalysis, to assess the decomposition of the pharmaceutical compound, to identify intermediates, as well as to elucidate some mechanistic details of the degradation. The photocatalytic removal efficiency of 100 μm phenobarbital is about 80% within 60 min, while the degradation efficiency of phenobarbital was better in alkaline solution. The study on contribution of reactive oxidative species (ROSs) has shown that OH is responsible for the major degradation of phenobarbital, while the photohole, photoelectrons and the other ROSs have the minor contribution to the degradation. Finally, based on the identification of degradation intermediates, two main photocatalytic degradation pathways have been tentatively proposed, including the hydroxylation and cleavage of pyrimidine ring in the phenobarbital molecule respectively. Certainly, the phenobarbital can be mineralized when the photocatalytic reaction time prolongs.     

基于改进熵值法的城市“精明增长”综合测度——以长江三角洲16市为例

“精明增长”是资源环境约束下中国城市可持续增长的必然选择,该理论的中国化与适应性研究至关重要。将理论内涵与中国城市增长实际需求相结合,构建包含城市规模、城市福利、城市空间和城市消耗四增长维度的城市“精明增长”综合测评模型,并运用改进熵值算法,对1999~2008年长江三角洲地区从时序变动与截面比较进行实证研究。结果表明：长三角16市在考察期内增长逐年更为精明;上海、南京、杭州城市增长更为精明,其余城市熵值评分考察期内波动较大,且空间分布有两极分化的趋势;四增长维度影响综合评价的权重由高至低分别为福利维度、规模维度、消耗维度与空间维度,城市福利和规模增长是影响城市增长精明程度的主要方面,两维度中反映城市环境、产业结构、就业结构、城市化水平的指标贡献较大;城市消耗和空间维度权重较低,其中反映土地与生活能源消耗的指标作用明显,需要加大城市消耗的控制和内涵空间增长的拓展     

Persistence of the herbicide butachlor in soil after repeated applications and its effects on soil microbial functional diversity

Effects of repeated applications of the herbicide butachlor (N-(butoxymethyl)-2-chloro -N-2′,6′-dimethyl acetanilide) in soil on its persistence and soil microbial functional diversity were investigated under laboratory conditions. The degradation half-lives of butachlor at the recommended dosage in soil were calculated to be 12.5, 4.5, and 3.2 days for the first, second, and third applications, respectively. Throughout this study, no significant inhibition of the Shannon-Wiener index H′ was observed. However, the Simpson index 1/D and McIntosh index U were significantly reduced (P ≤ 0.05) during the initial 3 days after the first application of butachlor, and thereafter gradually recovered to a similar level to that of the control soil. A similar variation but faster recovery in 1/D and U was observed after the second and third Butachlor applications. Therefore, repeated applications of butachlor led to more rapid degradation of the herbicide, and more rapid recovery of soil microorganisms. It is concluded that repeated butachlor applications in soil had a temporary or short-term inhibitory effect on soil microbial communities.     

Enhanced removal of arsenic from a highly laden industrial effluent using a combined coprecipitation/nano-adsorption process

Effective arsenic removal from highly laden industrial wastewater is an important but challenging task. Here, a combined coprecipitation/nano-adsorption process, with ferric chloride and calcium chloride as coprecipitation agents and polymer-based nanocomposite as selective adsorbent, has been validated for arsenic removal from tungsten-smelting wastewater. On the basis of operating optimization, a binary FeCl₃ (520 mg/L)–CaCl₂ (300 mg/L) coprecipitation agent could remove more than 93 % arsenic from the wastewater. The resulting precipitate has proved environmental safety based on leaching toxicity test. Fixed-bed column packed with zirconium or ferric-oxide-loaded nanocomposite was employed for further elimination of arsenic in coprecipitated effluent, resulting in a significant decrease of arsenic (from 0.96 to less than 0.5 mg/L). The working capacity of zirconium-loaded nanocomposite was 220 bed volumes per run, much higher than that of ferric-loaded nanocomposite (40 bed volumes per run). The exhausted zirconium-loaded nanocomposite could be efficiently in situ regenerated with a binary NaOH–NaCl solution for reuse without any significant capacity loss. The results validated the combinational coprecipitation/nano-adsorption process to be a potential alternative for effective arsenic removal from highly laden industrial effluent.     

侧沟式一体化OCO工艺中DO和C/N对同步硝化反硝化的影响

以自配模拟生活污水为处理对象,研究了不同DO和C/N对侧沟式一体化OCO反应器同步硝化反硝化和COD降解效果的影响。实验结果表明,维持进水COD均值约为300 mg/L,TN约为40 mg/L,MLSS约为2 600 mg/L,进水流量为20 L/h时,COD去除率随着DO的增大逐步提高,当好氧区DO均值约为2.0 mg/L时,同步硝化反硝化效果最好,TN去除率达到了80%以上;维持好氧区DO均值约为2.0 mg/L,MLSS约为2 600 mg/L,进水流量为20 L/h时,不同C/N对COD去除率影响不大,当进水C/N约为8时,同时硝化反硝化效果最好,TN去除率均值达到了82%。     

碳酰肼对烧结过程二噁英生成的抑制作用

研究了碳酰肼对钢铁厂烧结工序产生的二噁英的抑制效果。结果表明,添加了0.01%(质量分数,下同)、0.02%、0.05%、0.10%的碳酰肼之后,二噁英的排放质量浓度降为0.560、0.506、0.270、0.174ng-TEQ/m3,相对于基准值(0.821ng-TEQ/m3)大幅减少。碳酰肼对二噁英的从头合成以及前驱物生成都能起到一定的抑制效果。碳酰肼与Cu2+结合生成稳定的氮化物,削弱Cu2+的催化活性;与HCl反应,减少了生成二噁英的氯源;对FeCl3、CuCl2的催化活性也会产生影响。碳酰肼添加后,对多氯代二苯并呋喃(PCDFs)生成中高氯代二噁英的脱氯行为也有明显的抑制。     

Water, heat, and airborne pollutants effects on transpiration of urban trees

Transpiration rates of six urban tree species in Beijing evaluated by thermal dissipation method for one year were correlated to environmental variables in heat, water, and pollutant groups. To sort out colinearity of the explanatory variables, their individual and joint contributions to variance of tree transpiration were determined by the variation and hierarchical partitioning methods. Majority of the variance in transpiration rates was associated with joint effects of variables in heat and water groups and variance due to individual effects of explanatory group were in comparison small. Atmospheric pollutants exerted only minor effects on tree transpiration. Daily transpiration rate was most affected by air temperature, soil temperature, total radiation, vapor pressure deficit, and ozone. Relative humidity would replace soil temperature when factors influencing hourly transpiration rate was considered.