Cytotoxicity and DNA damage of five organophosphorus pesticides mediated by oxidative stress in PC12 cells and protection by vitamin E

Previous studies have demonstrated that pesticides could induce cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in vivo and in vitro, and that oxidative stress may be an important factor involved. However, investigations comparing the capability of different organophosphorous (OP) compounds to induce cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and oxidative stress are limited. Hence, the aim of this paper was to access the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of five OPs or metabolites, Acephate (ACE), Methamidophos (MET), Chloramidophos (CHL), Malathion (MAT) and Malaoxon (MAO), and to clarify the role of oxidative stress, using PC12 cells. The results demonstrated that MET, MAT and MAO caused significant inhibition of cell viability and increased DNA damage in PC12 cells at 40 mg L^?1. MAO was more toxic than the other OPs. ACE, MET, MAT and MAO increased the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and decreased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) at 20 mg L^?1 and 40 mg L^?1 to different degrees. Pre-treatment with vitamin E(600 μM)caused a significant attenuation in the cytotoxic and genotoxic effect; pre-treatment reversed subsequent OP-induced elevation of peroxidation products and the decline of anti-oxidant enzyme activities. These results indicate that oxidative damage is likely to be an initiating event that contributes to the OP-induced cytotoxicity.     

Effect of chlorination and ultraviolet disinfection on tetA-mediated tetracycline resistance of Escherichia coli

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are an emerging threat to public health during drinking water consumption and reclaimed water reuse. Several studies have shown that the proportions of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in waters may increase when exposed to low doses of UV light or chlorine. In this study, inactivation of tetracycline-resistant Escherichia coli and antibiotic-sensitive E. coli by UV disinfection and chlorination was compared to determine the tolerance of tetracycline-resistant E. coli to UV light and chlorine, and tetracycline resistance of a tetracycline-resistant E. coli population was studied under different doses of the disinfectants. Our results showed that relative to antibiotic-sensitive E. coli, tetracycline-resistant E. coli had the same tolerance to UV light and a potentially higher tolerance to chlorination. The mortality frequency distributions of tetracycline-resistant E. coli exposed to tetracycline were shifted by both chlorination and UV disinfection. When compared to the hemi-inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀) of tetracycline-resistant E. coli with no exposure to UV or chlorination, the IC₅₀ of tetracycline-resistant E. coli treated with tetracycline was 40% lower when inactivation by UV light or chlorination reached 3-log but was 1.18 times greater when inactivation by chlorination reached 4.3-log. Chlorination applied to drinking water or reclaimed water treatment may increase the risk of selection for highly tetracycline-resistant E. coli.     

In vitro biotransformation of PBDEs by root crude enzyme extracts: Potential role of nitrate reductase (NaR) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) in their debromination

In order to investigate the enzyme transformation of PBDEs and to track the key enzymes involved in PBDE degradation in plants, in vivo exposure of plants of ryegrass, pumpkin and maize and in vitro exposure of their root crude enzyme extracts to PBDEs were conducted. Degradation of PBDEs in the root crude enzyme solutions fit well with the first order kinetics (R² = 0.52–0.97, P < 0.05), and higher PBDEs degraded faster than the lower ones. PBDEs could be transformed to lower brominated PBDEs and hydroxylated-PBDEs by the root crude enzyme extracts with debromination as the main pathway which contributed over 90% of PBDE depletion. In vitro and in vivo exposure to PBDEs produced similar responses in root enzyme activities of which the nitroreductase (NaR) and glutathione-transferase (GST) activities decreased significantly, while the peroxidase, catalase and cytochrome P-450 activities had no significant changes. Furthermore, higher enzyme concentrations of NaR and GST led to higher PBDE debromination rates, and the time-dependent activities of NaR and GST in the root crude enzyme extracts were similar to the trends of PBDE depletion. All these results suggest that NaR and GST were the key enzymes responsible for PBDE degradation. This conclusion was further confirmed by the in vitro debromination of PBDEs with the commercial pure NaR and GST.     

Occurrence, distribution, and sources of six phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals in the 22 river estuaries around Dianchi Lake in China

The objectives of this study are to track the occurrence, distribution, and sources of phenolic endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the 22 rivers around Dianchi Lake in China, to estimate the input and output amounts of phenolic EDCs in the water system, and to provide more comprehensive fundamental data for risk assessment and contamination control of phenolic EDCs in aquatic environment. Six phenolic EDCs were systematically evaluated in water and surface sediment in the estuaries of those rivers. The water and sediment samples were preconcentrated by solid-phase extraction system and microwave-assisted extraction system, respectively. Phenolic EDCs were analyzed by GC-MS (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) after derivatization. Phenolic EDCs were found ubiquitously in the aquatic environment. The total concentrations ranged from 248 to 4,650 ng/L in water, and 113 to 3,576 ng/g dry weight in surface sediment. The residue amount of phenolic EDCs in Dianchi Lake was 258 kg/a. Concentrations of the phenolic EDCs in the Lake decreased with increase in distance to the estuaries of those rivers which run through urban and industrial areas. The rivers seriously contaminated by phenolic EDCs were Xin River, Yunliang River, Chuanfang River, Cailian River, Jinjia River, Zhengda River, and Daqing River which run through the old area of Kunming City. Satisfying correlations were observed between the concentrations of the target compounds in water and in surface sediment. NP1EO, NP2EO, and BPA were identified as the three predominant phenolic EDCs. There were significant correlations between phenolic EDCs and many basic water quality parameters. Urban and industrial areas are the major contributors for phenolic EDCs, especially in Kunming City. Compositional profiles of phenolic EDCs in surface sediment were similar to those in river water. The concentrations of phenolic EDCs in the rivers located in the northwest part of the valley were very high, and posed a potential risk to aquatic organisms and even human. The concentrations of NP2EO, NP1EO, and BPA were at moderate levels of other areas. The basic water quality parameters (TOC, TN, DO, and pH) play important roles on the distribution, fate, and behavior of phenolic EDCs in the valley.     

Spatial and temporal trend of Chinese manure nutrient pollution and assimilation capacity of cropland and grassland

Dynamics of livestock and poultry manure nutrient was analyzed at a provincial scale from 2002 to 2008. The nutrient capacity of 18 kinds of croplands and grasslands to assimilate nutrients was assessed in the same temporal–spatial scale. Manure nitrogen (N) had increased from 5.111 to 6.228 million tons (MT), while manure phosphorus (P) increased from 1.382 to 1.607 MT. Manure N and P share similar spatial patterns of yields, but proportion of specialized livestock husbandry and contribution of leading livestock categories (swine, cattle, cow, sheep, layer chicken, broiler chicken) were different. The nutrients generated from dominant seven provinces took more than about half of total manure N in China. After subtracting the chemical fertilizers, there were some manure nutrient capacities in western part of China. Risk analysis of manure nutrient pollution overload in eastern and southern parts of China was serious, which should restrict livestock's developments. Amount of chemical fertilizers applied should be reduced to make room for manure nutrients. For the sake of greenhouse effects, the emission of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (NO _x ) emissions in China is serious for the global change, thus merits further statistics and studies. The spatial and temporal pattern of Chinese manure nutrient pollution from livestock and the assimilation capacity of cropland and grassland can provide useful information for policy development on Chinese soil environment and livestock.     

无定型纳米TiO2吸附去除饮用水中的低浓度As(Ⅲ)

研究了纳米无定型TiO2颗粒对饮用水中低浓度的三价砷As(Ⅲ)吸附行为。纳米TiO2颗粒吸附剂的BET表面积为205 m2/g,计算的BJH吸附平均孔径为4.02 nm(4 V/A)。对起始As(Ⅲ)浓度为150μg/L的模拟含砷水,经过5h的吸附处理后残余浓度不足4μg/L,As(Ⅲ)去除率达到97%。反应起始阶段吸附速率较快,84%的As(Ⅲ)能够在20min内去除。As(Ⅲ)吸附动力学较好地符合拟二级动力学模式。最佳As(Ⅲ)吸附pH为9.3,低于此值,随酸性增加吸附速率有所降低;而高于此值的强碱性pH对吸附有强烈抑制作用。在平衡浓度较低的情形下(10～220μg/L),Lang-muir,Freundlich和Dubinin-Radushkevich(D-R)吸附等温式均可较好拟合吸附行为,但中性和弱碱性条件下更符合Fre-undlich吸附等温式;平衡浓度大于220μg/L,吸附容量随平衡浓度增加而迅速增加,最大吸附容量在低浓度下达到4.79 mg/g。     

剩余污泥对活性黑KN-B的吸附性能

用剩余污泥对活性黑KN-B进行吸附研究,考察了pH、吸附时间、温度、盐类和污泥量等对活性黑KN-B吸附的影响.结果表明,剩余污泥对活性黑KN-B的吸附是一个快速过程,吸附时间可控制在30 min;其吸附过程可以用准二级动力学模型进行描述和预测;温度对污泥吸附活性黑KN-B产生的影响较小;其吸附等温线,25℃、35℃时与Freundlich方程拟合良好,45℃时则可以由Langmuir方程更好地描述.未调pH的剩余污泥,对pH≤2的废水中活性黑KN-B吸附性能良好;剩余污泥pH为1时,对pH＜12的废水中活性黑KN-B均可有效吸附;氯化钠浓度低于500 mg/L或氯化钠和硫酸钠的混合盐浓度低于100 mg/L时,有利于吸附;氯化钠浓度高于500 mg/L、混合盐浓度高于100 mg/L或单独加入硫酸钠后,随盐浓度的增加,吸附量呈下降趋势.     

碘掺杂Ti02可见光光催化性能研究

在低于100℃温度条件下,采用溶胶一凝胶法以钛酸正丁酯为钛源,碘酸钾为碘源,制备了I掺杂纳米TiO2催化剂（I-TiO2）,运用x-射线衍射（XRD）、透射电镜（TEM）及x-射线光电子能谱（XPS）等对催化剂进行表征,结果表明,TiO2及I-TiO2催化剂均为锐钛矿,I吸附并包裹在TiO2表面或以间隙进入的形式存在,并未进入TiO2晶格。通过在可见光照射下（A〉420nm）以罗丹明B（RhodamineB,RhB）的光催化降解为探针反应研究了在不同条件下制备催化剂的催化性能,结果表明,掺杂比为n1：n^ti=0．05：l,焙烧温度为400℃,降解介质条件pH=7时,l-TiO2光催化活性明显优于未掺杂的TiO2。光催化降解过程通过红外光谱（IR）,总有机碳（TOC）跟踪测定,比较了TiO2掺杂前后降解RhB和对氯苯酚（4-CP）的光催化特性差异;同时采用苯甲酸荧光光度法跟踪测定体系中的氧化物种,表明在可见光下,I-TiO2光催化体系中产生·OH高活性氧化物种从而氧化降解目标化合物。     

3种载体固定化菌藻共生系统脱氮除磷效果的对比

采用3种不同载体（海藻酸钠、聚乙烯醇、复合载体）,分别将小球藻和栅藻与活性污泥固定成菌藻共生系统,制成菌藻凝胶小球,单独菌、单独藻的凝胶小球,用于处理人工污水。结果表明,（1）复合载体固定的菌藻共生系统氮磷去除效果最好,PVA载体的脱氮除磷效果次于复合载体优于海藻酸钠;（2）固定化菌藻共生系统的脱氮除磷效果明显优于单独固定菌和单独固定藻,固定菌的效果较差;（3）3种载体包埋下的固定化小球藻的脱氮除磷效果均较相同载体固定化的栅藻效果好。