Evaluation of bioaugmentation and biostimulation on arsenic remediation in soil through biovolatilization

Arsenic (As) removal through microbially driven biovolatilization can be explored as a potential method for As bioremediation. However, its effectiveness needs to be improved. Biostimulation with organic matter amendment and bioaugmentation with the inoculation of genetic engineered bacteria could be potential strategies for As removal and site remediation. Here, the experiments were conducted to evaluate the impacts of rice straw and biochar amendment, inoculation of genetic engineered Pseudomonas putida KT2440 (GE P. putida) with high As volatilization activity, on microbial mediated As volatilization and removal from three different arseniferous soils. In general, the addition of rice straw (5%) significantly enhanced As methylation and volatilization in comparison with corresponding non-amended soils. Biochar amendments and inoculation of the GE P. putida increased As methylation and volatilization, respectively, but less than that of rice straw addition. The effectiveness of As volatilizations are quite different in the various paddy soils. The combined amendments of rice straw and GE P. putida exhibited the highest As removal efficiency (483.2 μg/kg/year) in Dayu soil, with 1.2% volatilization of the total As annually. The highest water-soluble As concentration (0.73 mg/kg) in this soil could be responsible for highest As volatilization besides the rice straw and bacteria in this soil.     

Air pollution and hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections among children in Ningbo,China: A time-series analysis

Acute upper and lower respiratory infections are main causes of mortality and morbidity in children. Air pollution has been recognized as an important contributor to development and exacerbation of respiratory infections. However, few studies are available in China. In this study, we investigated the short-term effect of air pollution on hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections among children under 15 years in Ningbo, China. Poisson generalized models were used to estimate the associations between air pollution and hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections adjusted for temporal, seasonal, and meteorological effects. We found that four pollutants (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂, and SO₂) were significantly associated with hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections. The effect estimates for acute upper respiratory infections tended to be higher (PM_2.5 ER = 3.46, 95% CI 2.18, 4.76; PM₁₀ ER = 2.81, 95% CI 1.93, 3.69; NO₂ ER = 11.27, 95% CI 8.70, 13.89; SO₂ ER = 15.17, 95% CI 11.29, 19.19). Significant associations for gaseous pollutants (NO₂ and SO₂) were observed after adjustment for particular matter. Stronger associations were observed among older children and in the cold period. Our study suggested that short-term exposure to outdoor air pollution was associated with hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections in Ningbo.     

Antibiotic resistance genes in an urban river as impacted by bacterial community and physicochemical parameters

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in urban rivers are a serious public health concern in regions with poorly planned, rapid development. To gain insights into the predominant factors affecting the fate of ARGs in a highly polluted urban river in eastern China, a total of 285 ARGs, microbial communities, and 20 physicochemical parameters were analyzed for 17 sites. A total of 258 unique ARGs were detected using high-throughput qPCR, and the absolute abundance of total ARGs was positively correlated with total organic carbon and total dissolved nitrogen concentrations (P < 0.01). ARG abundance and diversity were greatly altered by microbial community structure. Variation partitioning analysis showed that the combined effects of multiple factors contributed to the profile and dissemination of ARGs, and variation of microbial communities was the major factor affecting the distribution of ARGs. The disparate distribution of some bacteria, including Bacteroides from mammalian gastrointestinal flora, Burkholderia from zoonotic infectious diseases, and Zoogloea from wastewater treatment, indicates that the urban river was strongly influenced by point-source pollution. Results imply that microbial community shifts caused by changes in water quality may lead to the spread of ARGs, and point-source pollution in urban rivers requires greater attention to control the transfer of ARGs between environmental bacteria and pathogens.

     

Promotional effect of rare earth-doped manganese oxides supported on activated semi-coke for selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A composite catalyst for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH3 is investigated, in which the rare earth (RE, including La, Ce, Pr,...     

The dissipation and risk assessment of 2,4-D sodium,a preharvest anti-fruit-drop plant hormone in bayberries

Preharvest fruit-drop is a challenge to bayberry production. 2,4-D sodium as a commonly used anti-fruit-drop hormone on bayberry can reduce the yield loss caused by preharvest fruit-drop. The persistence and risk assessment of 2,4-D sodium after applying on bayberries were investigated. A method for determining 2,4-D sodium in bayberry was established based on LC-MS-MS. The average recoveries of 2,4-D sodium were at the range of 93.7–95.8% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 0.9 to 2.8%. The dissipation rates of 2,4-D sodium were described using first-order kinetics, and its half-life ranged from 11.2 to 13.8 days. A bayberry consumption survey was carried out for Chinese adults for the first time. The safety assessments of 2,4-D sodium were conducted by using field trail data as well as monitoring data. Results showed that the chronic risk quotient and the acute risk quotient were calculated to be 0.23–0.59 and 0.02–0.05%, respectively, for Chinese adults, indicating low dietary risk for adults and children. In the end, the household cleaning steps were compared, and results showed that water rinsing for 1 min can remove 49.9% 2,4-D sodium residue, which provides pesticide removal suggestion for consumers.

     

Bioaccumulation kinetics of arsenite and arsenate in Dunaliella salina under different phosphate regimes

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Dunaliella salina is a potential candidate for the phycoremediation of saline water contaminated with arsenic (As) due to its strong tolerance of salt...     

Autonomous mobile platform for monitoring air emissions from industrial and municipal wastewater ponds

Significant amounts of volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gases are generated from wastewater lagoons and tailings ponds in Alberta, Canada. Accurate measurements of these air pollutants and greenhouse gases are needed to support management and regulatory decisions. A mobile platform was developed to measure air emissions from tailings pond in the oil sands region of Alberta. The mobile platform was tested in 2015 in a municipal wastewater treatment lagoon. With a flux chamber and a CO₂/CH₄ sensor on board, the mobile platform was able to measure CO₂ and CH₄ emissions over two days at two different locations in the pond. Flux emission rates of CO₂ and CH₄ that were measured over the study period suggest the presence of aerobic and anaerobic zones in the wastewater treatment lagoon. The study demonstrated the capabilities of the mobile platform in measuring fugitive air emissions and identified the potential for the applications in air and water quality monitoring programs.

Implications: The Mobile Platform demonstrated in this study has the ability to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fugitive sources such as municipal wastewater lagoons. This technology can be used to measure emission fluxes from tailings ponds with better detection of spatial and temporal variations of fugitive emissions. Additional air and water sampling equipment could be added to the mobile platform for a broad range of air and water quality studies in the oil sands region of Alberta.     

UV_(185 nm)-H_2O_2组合工艺处理高浓度棘白菌素类抗生素发酵废水

采用UV_(185 nm)-H_2O_2组合工艺处理高浓度棘白菌素类抗生素发酵废水。结果表明:UV_(185 nm)-H_2O_2组合工艺较好地实现了高浓度棘白菌素类抗生素发酵废水的强化处理,其处理效果明显优于单独UV_(185 nm)光氧化工艺;在废水pH为2.50、光照时间为60 min、H_2O_2投加量为5 g/L、反应温度为室温的条件下,UV_(185 nm)-H_2O_2组合工艺对废水色度和COD的去除率分别高达96.4%和46.9%;该联合氧化过程需在酸性体系中进行;联合氧化过程中产生了大量蜂王浆提取物类黑褐色物质,处理出水中显色物质的种类明显减少,实现了废水的高效脱色。     

黄河流域区域发展优势与经济带生成可能

基于进化经济学和进化经济地理学的理论,文章重点讨论了黄河流域的区域发展优势和建成黄河流域经济带的可能性。研究从黄河流域发展的历史出发,论证了黄河流域经济发展的区域地理学本性(nature)条件和现实可能性:第一,黄河流域经济发展的区域地理学本性条件是,该区域已经完成了农业经济建设,出现了遍在性的工业化和经济区人口聚集,特别是经过长期聚集,黄河流域已经形成了中国的人口密集带,形成了具有区域发展优势的中原城市群。第二,在分析黄河流域区域发展优势基础上,提出建成“大中原-黄河经济带”的可能性及其发展途径,即在生态保护的前提下,坚持地理环境的鲁棒性建设,坚持城市创新发展,坚持发展新型产业。第三,地区发展政策重点应该关注中原城市群的工业化-城市化发育和一体化产业链的形成,根据新经济地理学理论,提倡城市产业专业化方向,打破省界限制,发挥经济区的地缘结构优势,在空间上与环渤海经济带融合,完成黄河流域经济带高质量发展的战略构想。     

脉冲电晕放电降解CH2Cl2的初步研究

对高压脉冲电晕放电降解ＣＨ２Ｃｌ２进行初步研究,比较了正负脉冲电晕降解的活性,正脉冲电晕优于负脉冲电晕。探讨了脉冲形成电容Ｃｐ之值及反应器的电晕线材料对降解反应活性的影响。为进一步提高室温下ＣＨ２Ｃｌ２的降解,在反应器中加入ＢａＴｉＯ３为催化剂,在高压脉冲电场下,ＢａＴｉＯ３受激产生局部电晕,增强了电晕放电流性,提高了反应活性,ＣＨ２Ｃｌ２的转化率达９０％以上。