Comparison of gas chromatography and immunoassay methods in quantifying fenitrothion residues in grape juice processed into alcoholic drinks.

Wine and Arak, the national alcoholic drink in Lebanon, were prepared from grape juice fortified with fenitrothion to a concentration of 20ppm. Samples of the 11 fractions produced by the fermentation and distillation steps were analyzed for fenitrothion residues using gas chromatography (GC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results of residue analyses showed that the two techniques were highly correlated (r = 0.978) and indicated that fenitrothion was stable during the fermentation steps but not during distillation. The clarified wine 35 days later contained about 85% (15.3 ppm) of the fenitrothion concentration found in the juice as determined by GC analysis. Arak was prepared by a two-steps distillation of the clarified wine. The alcohol distillate and undistilled fraction from the first distillation contained 2.5 ppm and 5.8 ppm of fenitrothion, respectively. No fenitrothion residues were detected by both techniques in the four fractions collected from the second distillation step.     

MANAGING THE NATION'S WATER IN A CHANGING CLIMATE1

ABSTRACT: Among the many concerns associated with global climate change, the potential effects on water resources are frequently cited as the most worrisome. In contrast, those who manage water resources do not rate climatic change among their top planning and operational concerns. The difference in these views can be associated with how water managers operate their systems and the types of stresses, and the operative time horizons, that affect the Nation's water resources infrastructure. Climate, or more precisely weather, is an important variable in the management of water resources at daily to monthly time scales because water resources systems generally are operated on a daily basis. At decadal to centennial time scales, though, climate is much less important because (1) forecasts, particularly of regional precipitation, are extremely uncertain over such time periods, and (2) the magnitude of effects due to changes in climate on water resources is small relative to changes in other variables such as population, technology, economics, and environmental regulation. Thus, water management agencies find it difficult to justify changing design features or operating rules on the basis of simulated climatic change at the present time, especially given that reservoir-design criteria incorporate considerable buffering capacity for extreme meteorological and hydro-logical events.     

The velocity of DNAPL fingering in water-saturated porous media: laboratory experiments and a mobile–immobile–zone model

Dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) are immiscible with water and can give rise to highly fingered fluid distributions when infiltrating through water-saturated porous media. In this paper, a conceptual mobile–immobile–zone (MIZ) model is presented to describe the structure of a DNAPL finger in water-saturated porous media and the velocity of finger propagation. A finger is composed of a finger body and a tip. The finger body has a mobile core and an immobile sheath. All the DNAPL within the tip of a finger is mobile. Lab experiments utilizing image analyses of a DNAPL (PCE) penetrating into water-saturated homogeneous glass beads were carried out in a two-dimensional transparent chamber. The results show that the fingers elongated almost linearly with time. The fingers did not grow laterally after the tip of the finger had passed. The average finger diameters were between 3.9 and 5.4 mm for PCE propagation in water-saturated glass bead porous media with mean particle diameters from 0.32 to 1.36 mm. The estimated mobile core diameters were 51–60% of the average finger diameters.     

Progress of the scientific expedition and research on farmland ecosystem and food security in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau北大核心CSCD

介绍第二次青藏高原综合科学考察研究任务三生态系统与生态安全专题三“农田生态系统与粮食安全”科学考察背景、总体思路、研究内容、研究目标和取得的阶段性进展.该专题针对青藏高原地区农业生产中逐渐出现的局部农田生态系统结构失稳、功能失衡、地力衰退、作物品质下降、农残渐增等问题,在区域尺度上,从耕地肥力和土壤生物、农田植被、农业生产经营管理、作物产量品质和利用、农业气象条件等方面开展科学考察研究,在青藏高原农田生态系统相关生态环境参数的时空特征、分布规律与作物开发利用等考察研究方面取得阶段性重要进展,可为青藏高原农业生态系统可持续经营管理和粮食安全提供数据及科技支撑.(图1参90)     

Incorporating uncertainty in a chemical leaching assessment

Pesticide leaching models are being used to assist in the regulation and management of pesticides by indicating their potential for leaching to groundwater. Uncertainty in model input data is not, regrettably, included in most pesticide leaching assessments. In the work described here, we use logarithmic transformations of the attenuation factor (AF), a simple process-based index model, to represent uncertainty in a pesticide leaching assessment. Characterization of a wide range of pesticides as `leachers' or `non-leachers' for a specific Hawaii hydrogeological setting is facilitated by comparing the log-transformed AF, designated AFR, for each chemical with two reference chemicals for which leaching behavior in Hawaii is known. Defining a mean and uncertainty interval for the AFR index of each chemical being ranked provides a practical method of incorporating data uncertainty into a regulatory protocol.     

Fractionation of heavy metals in surface sediments of Taihu Lake, East China

The BCR (European Communities Bureau of Reference) three-step sequential extraction procedure was applied to fractionate heavy metals in the sediment of Taihu Lake. For the determination of total metal concentration of the sediments, sample digestion was achieved by using HF/H2O2/HNO3 (2/1/1) acid mixture in a microwave-irradiated closed vessel system. The concentrations of Cd, Ni, Cr, Zn, Cu and Pb in various extracts solutions were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES). The results obtained from the BCR three-step sequential extraction indicated relatively high mobility of Zn, Cu, Pb and Ni in the sediments while Cd and Cr were poorly mobile. Enrichment of heavy metals was found in the sediments collected in the northern parts of Taihu Lake. In the sediments collected in the southern and western sides of the Lake, heavy metal concentrations were relatively low. The relationship between total organic carbon (TOC) and heavy metals concentrations in the sediments is discussed.     

Effects of different concentrations of tetracycline and oxytetracycline on the growth and ecotoxicity in lettuce北大核心CSCD

四环素类抗生素(TCs)是目前我国应用广泛、用量最大的一类抗生素,畜禽粪便和土壤中存在TCs残留,影响蔬菜作物的生长发育. TCs因水溶性较高更容易被植物转运和积累,植物对TCs耐受性机理研究仍不足.为更全面探究土壤TCs对蔬菜的毒性作用,研究不同浓度四环素(TC)和土霉素(OTC)分别对生菜的抗生素残留、生长特征及抗氧化酶系统的影响.结果显示,在0(对照)、2、10、50、250 mg/kg 5个施用水平下,生菜叶片抗生素含量逐渐增加,且土霉素含量始终大于四环素含量.与对照相比,抗生素浓度在50 mg/kg以上时对生菜生长具有显著抑制作用,其中,株高、根长、地上部和地下部鲜重与叶片TC残留量具显著负相关.生菜叶片的脯氨酸含量随浓度增加呈先增加后降低的趋势,在10 mg/kg时达到最大.并且低浓度(2 mg/kg)促进抗氧化酶基因SOD、POD21和CAT的表达,高浓度抗生素(50、250 mg/kg)对其产生抑制作用,10 mg/kg的抗生素处理对SOD、POD21和CAT基因表达的影响在抗生素种类上存在差异.本研究表明抗生素浓度超过50 mg/kg对生菜生长产生抑制作用,脯氨酸和抗氧化酶SOD、POD、CAT的转录水平及其酶活性能快速响应抗生素胁迫,可作为生菜对抗生素抗性的辅助评价指标.(图8表3参19)