Effectiveness of Disinfectants Suitable for Inactivating SARS-CoV-2 at Cold-Chain Temperature

Food and Environmental Virology - To prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in cold-chain transportation in China, we developed specific cryogenic disinfectants. Carrier tests were performed against...     

The Stakeholder Preference for Best Management Practices in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region

A qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 92 farmers and 42 policy managers in Wuxi County, the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, was conducted to identify stakeholder preferences for alternative best management practices (BMPs) and to determine the factors that affect their acceptance. Policy manager support for most of the practices was relatively stronger than support by farmers, except for the grade stabilization structure (GSS), hillside ditch (HD) and constructed wetland alternative, owing to their perceptions of soil benefits, economic advantages and environmental advantages. Farmers opposed those practices that occupied cultivated lands or changed the conventional planting methods, such as field border, conservation tillage (CT) and contour buffer strips. They tended to accept the BMPs with off-farm pollution reduction, such as GSS, riparian forest buffer and HD, and the BMPs associated with soil benefits, such as nutrient management and Terrace. The result that almost all respondents did not accept CT differed from reports in the existing literature. There is a significant correlation between the acceptance of some BMPs and the townships where the farmers lived (P ≤ 0.05). The environmental conditions and social factors would affect farmer support for BMPs, including local soil conditions, farming methods, economic income, education level and age. The economic advantages of the BMPs were the main motivation for farmers to accept the practices. Furthermore, intensive education efforts, financial incentives or economic subsidies may promote the adoption of the BMPs in our study area.     

Reuse of Fenton sludge as an iron source for NiFe2O4 synthesis and its application in the Fenton-based process

The potentially hazardous iron-containing sludge from the Fenton process requires proper treatment and disposal, which often results in high treatment cost. In this study, a novel method for the reuse of Fenton sludge as an iron source for the synthesis of nickel ferrite particles(NiFe_2O_4) is proposed. Through a co-precipitation method followed by sintering at 800°C, magnetic NiFe_2O_4 particles were successfully synthesized, which was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electronic microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy. The synthesized NiFe_2O_4 could be used as an efficient catalyst in the heterogeneous Fenton process. In phenol degradation with H_2O_2 or NiFe_2O_4 alone, the phenol removal efficiencies within the reaction time of 330 min were as low as 5.9% ± 0.1% and 13.5% ±0.4%, respectively. However, in the presence of both NiFe_2O_4 and H_2O_2, phenol removal efficiency as high as 95% ± 3.4% could be achieved, indicating the excellent catalytic performance of NiFe_2O_4 in the heterogeneous Fenton process. Notably, a rapid electron exchange between_Ni II and_Fe III ions in the NiFe_2O_4 structure could be beneficial for the Fenton reaction. In addition, the magnetic catalyst was relatively stable, highly active and recoverable, and has potential applications in the Fenton process for organic pollutant removal.     

北天山东段阜康断裂吉木萨尔段古地震事件研究

阜康断裂带是北天山东段博格达弧形推覆构造一条重要的地质地貌构造分界线,吉木萨尔段位于阜康断裂带最东部,晚第四纪以来断裂活动性明显,地表形成一系列的地质地貌现象。通过在吉木萨尔段开展详细的地质地貌调查、断裂陡坎测量以及探槽剖面分析等工作,从探槽发现8次古地震事件,由老到新发生年代分别为:E1(257±24~376±22)ka B.P.;E2(2271±193~257±24)ka B.P.;E3(155±04~227±09)ka B.P.;E4(133±04~1359±116)ka B.P.;E5(87±05~133±04)ka B.P.;E6(65±15~675±057)ka B.P.;E7(20±10~35±08)ka B.P.;E8(?~20±10)ka B.P.。最新一次古地震为距今约(20±10)ka,古地震事件复发周期为(24-745)ka。吉木萨尔东南探槽有两条平行断层陡坎F1-7-1及F1-7-2。根据测年结果显示:最新活动时代分别为(87±05)ka和(20±10)ka,F_(1-7-1)早于F_(1-7-2)形成。     

碘吸附器的脉冲式氟利昂法泄漏检测技术实验研究

目前,国内核设施碘吸附器的非放射性泄漏检测主要采用连续式氟利昂气体法,在调研并对比国内外该领域应用现状的基础上,开展了碘吸附器的脉冲式氟利昂气体泄漏检测新技术实验研究,通过进行碘吸附器在泄漏、不泄漏、穿透等几种条件下的实验表明,脉冲式泄漏检测方法可以直观地判断碘吸附器的泄漏情况,并能准确计算其机械泄漏率;与连续式方法的对比发现,两种技术在泄漏率的判断上具有一致性,脉冲式氟利昂法的示踪剂用量少,仅为连续式氟利昂法的1/3.     

A model for cost-benefit analysis of construction and demolition waste management throughout the waste chain

Economic instrument is indubitably perceived as effective for encouraging or forcing contractors to conduct environmentally friendly construction practices. Previous studies in relation to this topic mainly put emphasis on economic analysis of construction and demolition (C&D) waste management from a static point of view, which failed to consider its dynamics nature by integrating all essential activities throughout the waste chain. This paper is thus intended to highlight the dynamics and interrelationships of C&D waste management practices and analyze the cost-benefit of this process using a system dynamics approach. Data related to concrete and aggregate of a construction project in Shenzhen was collected for the application of the proposed model. The findings reveal that net benefits from conducting C&D waste management will occur, but a higher landfill charge will lead to a higher net benefit, as well as an earlier realization of the net benefit. In addition, the general public under a higher landfill charge will suffer from a higher environmental cost caused by illegal dumping. The simulation results also suggest that current regulation in Shenzhen should be promoted to facilitate a dramatic increase in net benefit from the implementation of C&D waste management. This research is of value in facilitating better understanding on the dynamics of C&D waste management activities throughout the waste chain, as well as providing a tool for simulating the cost-benefit of C&D waste management practices over the project duration.     

京杭大运河江南城镇段表层沉积物重金属富集水平及潜在生态风险评价

以京杭大运河9个江南城镇段表层沉积物为研究对象,研究具城镇源特征的重金属（Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd和Cr）在表层沉积物中的富集水平及其潜在生态风险.结果表明,Cu、Pb、Zn和Cd在大运河城镇段表层沉积物中显著富集,分别为所属长江沉积物相应背景值的1.2—6.4、1.8—5.8、2.6—18.7和7.1—22.7倍,Cr...     

Monoclonal antibody-based broad-specificity immunoassay for monitoring organophosphorus pesticides in environmental water samples

The development of easy-to-use and rapid-monitoring immunoassay methods for organic environmental pollutants in a class-selective manner is a topic of considerable environmental interest. In this work, a heterologous competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ciELISA) based on a monoclonal antibody (MAb) with broad-specificity for organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) was applied to the detection of O,O-diethyl and O,O-dimethyl OPs in water samples. The ciELISA conditions were carefully optimized to obtain a three to five-fold improvement of sensitivity for most OPs, and thirteen OPs were determined at concentrations ranging from 0.017 to 30 ng mL(-1). The determination of spiked environmental water samples showed average recoveries from 81.5% to 115.1%, with the coefficient of variation (CV) ranging from 6.1% to 20.9%, which showed satisfactory reproducibility of the developed ciELISA. To overcome the negative aspect of broad-specificity immunoassays not providing qualitative and quantitative analysis of individual OPs in blind samples, we used "percent inhibition rate" to make the developed ciELISA a semi-quantitative method, which allows the monitoring of positive samples from hundreds of negative samples. The determination of OPs in blind water samples by the developed ELISA with confirmation by HPLC-MS/MS analysis demonstrated that the assay is ideally suited as a screening method for OP residues prior to chromatographic analysis.     

Magnetic microsphere confined ionic liquid as a novel sorbent for the determination of chlorophenols in environmental water samples by liquid chromatography

Magnetic microsphere confined ionic liquid was synthesized by covalently bonding N-methylimidazolium on magnetic microspheres. The functionalized magnetic microspheres were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The prepared material was used for the preconcentration of three chlorophenols (CPs) in water combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Several conditions that probably affected the extraction efficiency such as standing time, eluent and its volume, sample pH and volume, were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, good recoveries (70.3-88.8%) were achieved with satisfactory relative standard deviations (RSDs) of less than 6.0%. The limits of detection for the three CPs were 0.20-0.35 μg L(-1). The results indicated that the ionic liquid-functionalized magnetic microspheres show significant promise for the analysis of CPs in environmental samples.     

Assessment of heavy metals in sediments from a typical catchment of the Yangtze River, China

An intensive investigation was conducted to study the accumulation, speciation, and distribution of various heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in sediments from the Yangtze River catchment of Wuhan, China. The potential ecological risks posed by these heavy metals also were estimated. The median concentrations of most heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were higher than the background values of soils in Wuhan and were beyond the threshold effect level (TEL), implying heavy metal contamination of the sediments. Carbonate-bound Cd and exchangeable Cd, both of which had high bioavailability, were 40.2% and 30.5% of the total for Cd, respectively, demonstrating that Cd poses a high ecological risk in the sediments. The coefficients of the relationship among Pb, Hg, and Cu were greater than 0.797 using correlation analysis, indicating the highly positive correlation among these three elements. Besides, total organic carbon content played an important role in determining the behaviors of heavy metals in sediments. Principal component analysis was used to study the distribution and potential origin of heavy metals. The result suggested three principal components controlling their variability in sediments, which accounted for 36.72% (factor 1: Hg, Cu, and Pb), 28.69% (factor 2: Cr, Zn, and Ni), and 19.45% (factor 3: As and Cd) of the total variance. Overall, 75% of the studied sediment samples afforded relatively low potential ecological risk despite the fact that generally higher concentrations of heavy metals relative to TEL were detected in the sediments.