Biotransformation of p-toluic acid in anoxic estuarine sediments under a CO2 or N2/H2 atmosphere.

The composition of the headspace gas affected the growth dynamics of microbial populations and the biotransformation pattern of p-toluic acid in anoxic estuarine sediments. Under CO2 atmosphere, p-toluic acid was transformed by the sediment microorganisms without a lag period, while under N2/H2 atmosphere, p-toluic acid was transformed after a lag period of 55 days. Under the N2/H2 atmosphere, the methanogen population, following a rapid increase of almost two orders of magnitude, remained at a high level until just before the onset of biotransformation. We hypothesize that during the lag period, the hydrogenotrophic methanogens were removing the H2, a step which is essential before the reaction can be exergonic. Acetogenic bacteria did not initiate decarboxylation as the first step of biotransformation under either atmosphere. Neither the methanogens nor the acetogenic bacteria appeared to be directly involved in the biotransformation of p-toluic acid under either atmosphere. Under the CO2 atmosphere, biotransformation of p-toluic acid involved sulfate-reducing bacteria, while under N2/H2, both sulfate-reducing bacteria and other eubacteria were involved.     

Late-onset growth restriction in Galloway–Mowat syndrome: a case report

Galloway–Mowat syndrome (GMS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder and is characterized by marked intrauterine growth retardation, central nervous system anomalies, and early onset nephrotic syndrome. Of the reported cases in the literature, all were diagnosed postnatally. We describe a case of GMS in which only late-onset intrauterine growth restriction was detected by prenatal ultrasound. In her fourth pregnancy, the mother had delivered a male baby with clinical features of GMS who died at seven months of age due to early onset of nephrotic syndrome. In her fifth pregnancy, serial ultrasound examinations were normal during the first and second trimester of pregnancy. Growth restriction and microcephaly were not detectable until 28 to 32 weeks' gestation. At 40 weeks' gestation, a female baby was born with dysmorphic features of GMS. Nephrotic syndrome developed after birth and renal biopsy revealed minimal change nephrotic syndrome. The prenatal course of this case suggests GMS may not be diagnosed in early pregnancy and the only abnormality detected before birth was intrauterine growth restriction. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study on safe air transporting velocity of nanograde aluminum,iron, and titanium

The process of delivering nanograde metal powders by a high-speed carrier gas is often subject to high explosion risks. This study adopted initial flow rates of 13.1, 8.5, 6.5, and 3.5 m/s for air transporting 30-nm titanium powder, 35-nm iron powder, and 35-nm aluminum powder to gauge the impact on a pipe bend in a 20-l-apparatus. The test results revealed that the 30-nm titanium powder caused an explosion at all initial flow rates; the 35-nm iron powder also caused an explosion, but dust explosion and sintering were eliminated when the flow rate was adjusted to less than 3.5 m/s; and the 35-nm aluminum powder exhibited no explosion or sintering at all flow rates. When pure nitrogen was used for transporting nanograde metal powders, no explosions occurred for all the three types of metal powders. The minimum ignition energy for these three types of nanograde metal powders was less than 1 mJ.     

Associations of long-term ambient air pollution and traffic-related pollution with blood pressure and hypertension defined by the different guidelines worldwide: the CHCN-BTH study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The assessment of the generalization of the strict hypertension definition in the 2017 ACC/AHA Hypertension Guideline from environmental condition...     

Influence of solution acidity and CaCl2 concentration on the removal of heavy metals from metal-contaminated rice soils

Soil washing is considered a useful technique for remediating metal-contaminated soils. This study examined the release edges of Cd, Zn, Ni, Cr, Cu or Pb in two contaminated rice soils from central Taiwan. The concentrations exceeding the trigger levels established by the regulatory agency of Taiwan were Cu, Zn, Ni and Cr for the Ho-Mei soil and Pb for the Nan-Tou soil. Successive extractions with HCl ranging from 0 to 0.2 M showed increased release of the heavy metals with declining pH, and the threshold pH value below which a sharp increase in the releases of the heavy metals was highest for Cd, Zn, and Ni (pH 4.6 to 4.9), intermediate for Pb and Cu (3.1 to 3.8) and lowest for Fe (2.1), Al (2.2) and Cr (1.7) for the soils. The low response slope of Ni and Cr particularly for the rice soils make soil washing with the acid up to the highest concentration used ineffective to reduce their concentrations to below trigger levels. Although soil washing with 0.1 M HCl was moderately effective in reducing Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd, which brought pH of the soils to 1.1+/-0.1 (S.D.), the concurrent release of large quantities of Fe and Al make this remediation technique undesirable for the rice soils containing high clay. Successive washings with 0.01 M HCl could be considered an alternative as the dissolution of Fe and Al was minimal, and between 46 to 64% of Cd, Zn, and Cu for the Ho-Mei soil and 45% of Pb in the Na-Tou soil were extracted after four successive extractions with this dilute acid solution. The efficacy of Cd extraction improved if CaCl2 was added to the acid solution. The correlation analysis revealed that Cr extracted was highly correlated (P < 0.001) with Fe extracted, whereas the Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd or Pb extracted was better correlated (P < 0.001) with Al than with Fe extracted. It is possible that the past seasonal soil flooding and drainage in the soils for rice production was conducive to incorporating Cr within the structure of Fe oxide, thereby making them extremely insoluble even in 0.2 M HCl solution. The formation of solid solution of Ni with Al oxide was also possible, making it far less extractable than Cd, Zn, Cu, or Pb with the acid concentrations used.     

A Web‐Based Decision Support System for Assessing Regional Water‐Quality Conditions and Management Actions1

Booth, Nathaniel L., Eric J. Everman, I‐Lin Kuo, Lori Sprague, and Lorraine Murphy, 2011. A Web‐Based Decision Support System for Assessing Regional Water‐Quality Conditions and Management Actions. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(5):1136‐1150. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00573.x Abstract: The U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Program has completed a number of water‐quality prediction models for nitrogen and phosphorus for the conterminous United States as well as for regional areas of the nation. In addition to estimating water‐quality conditions at unmonitored streams, the calibrated SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models can be used to produce estimates of yield, flow‐weighted concentration, or load of constituents in water under various land‐use condition, change, or resource management scenarios. A web‐based decision support infrastructure has been developed to provide access to SPARROW simulation results on stream water‐quality conditions and to offer sophisticated scenario testing capabilities for research and water‐quality planning via a graphical user interface with familiar controls. The SPARROW decision support system (DSS) is delivered through a web browser over an Internet connection, making it widely accessible to the public in a format that allows users to easily display water‐quality conditions and to describe, test, and share modeled scenarios of future conditions. SPARROW models currently supported by the DSS are based on the modified digital versions of the 1:500,000‐scale River Reach File (RF1) and 1:100,000‐scale National Hydrography Dataset (medium‐resolution, NHDPlus) stream networks.     

中国东北主要河流沉积物中多溴二苯醚的含量状况及生态风险分析

为揭示多溴二苯醚(PBDEs)在东北主要河流流域内的污染现状,通过采集该地区流域内表层沉积物样品,采用GC-NCIMS技术对沉积物中41种PBDEs同类物进行分析.结果发现沉积物中BDE209含量低于检出限,其它40种PBDEs同类物总含量(不包含BDE209)范围(干重)为0.91~17.67 ng·g-1.其中第二松花江吉林市上游和下游沉积物样品中PBDEs的检出含量最高,分别为15.86 ng·g-1、17.67 ng·g-1,以BDE207和BDE47为主,分别占PBDEs总量的86.5%和76.6%;其它河流沉积物中各同族体含量差异并不明显.实验结果与国内外最近的文献报道值相比较,再结合生态风险分析显示,东北主要河流沉积物中PBDEs的含量处于低污染水平,目前不存在生态风险.     

Anaerobic biodegradation of DDT residues (DDT, DDD, and DDE) in estuarine sediment.

The potential for anaerobic biodegradation of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bischlorophenylethane (DDT), 1,1-dichloro-2,2,-bischlorophenylethane (DDD), and dichlorodiphenylchloroethylene (DDE) in anoxic sediment slurries collected from the Keelung River was investigated in this study. o,p'- and p,p'-DDT were dechlorinated to o,p'- and p,p'-DDD, respectively, and then transformed to other compound(s). 1-Chloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (DDMU) and trace amount of dichlorobenzophenone (DBP) were detected in sediment slurries amended with p,p'-DDT or p,p'-DDD. DDMU was also detected in sediment slurries amended with p,p'-DDE. The relative transformation rates for both o,p'- and p,p'-isomers of DDT, DDD, and DDE were DDT>DDD>DDE. Re-addition of DDT, DDD, or DDE to the sediment slurries after initial removal enhanced the respective dechlorination rates. The transformation rates of the p,p'-isomers of both DDT and DDD were faster than those of the respective o,p'-isomers. p,p'-DDT dechlorination in the p,p'-DDT-adapted sediment slurries were inhibited by the addition of molybdate, or molybdate plus sulfate, but not inhibited by the addition of sulfate. Addition of bromoethane-sulfonic acid (BESA) slightly inhibited p,p'-DDT dechlorination. Non-adapted sediment slurries lost the ability to dechlorinate pentachlorophenol during adaptation to p,p'-DDT. p,p'-DDD was the major transformation product of p, p'-DDT in 3,4,4',5-tetrachlorobiphenyl-adapted sediment slurries, which suggested that the microbial community in the 3,4,4',5-CB-adapted sediment was unable to remove chlorine from the aromatic rings of p,p'-DDT.     

广西典型碳酸盐岩区农田土壤-作物系统重金属生物有效性及迁移富集特征

为揭示碳酸盐岩地质高背景区土壤重金属生态风险,选择广西典型的成土母岩为碳酸盐岩的土壤重金属高背景区,采集水稻籽实及对应根系土样品68套,在分析测试土壤、农作物籽实样品中砷(As)、镉(Cd)、铬(Cr)、铜(Cu)、汞(Hg)、镍(Ni)、铅(Pb)和锌(Zn)这8种重金属含量及土壤中重金属赋存形态的基础上,采用统计学、地累积指数、生物富集系数及相关性分析等方法开展土壤重金属生态风险研究.结果表明,研究区土壤中8种重金属平均含量明显高于全国和广西表层土壤的平均水平,其中Cd、As和Cr超过农用地土壤污染筛选值的比例分别达95. 6%、86. 8%和69. 1%,超过土壤污染管控值的比例分别为27. 9%、17. 6%和5. 9%.区内土壤中As、Cr、Cu、Ni、Pb和Zn主要以残渣态为主(残渣态占比 80%),显示出较低的生物活性; Cd的生物活性相对较高,生物有效态组分占20. 99%,但仍明显低于全国其它非碳酸盐岩地区的土壤; Hg的潜在生物有效态组分占44. 04%,然而土壤中Hg全量较低,因此其潜在生物有效态的绝对含量较低.与土壤相比,研究区水稻籽实中重金属超标率明显较低,仅部分样品中Cd、Cr、Pb超过国家食品限量标准,超标率分别为8. 8%、2. 9%和23. 5%.相关性分析显示,研究区土壤重金属全量与对应的水稻籽实中重金属含量不存在显著正相关关系.水稻籽实重金属生物富集能力普遍较低,8种重金属生物富集系数(BCF)的均值均小于0. 1,其中As、Cr、Hg、Ni和Pb的BCF均值小于0. 05.上述结果表明,对于碳酸盐岩等地质高背景区,相关部门在制定污染土壤管控政策时不能仅以土壤重金属全量作为衡量标准,应综合考虑金属赋存形态、生物活性及农作物超标率等因素.