Real time alteration of a nuclear waste glass and remobilization of lanthanide into an interphase

The development of predictive models for the long term evolution of nuclear waste glass requires the complete knowledge of the glass dissolution at the laboratory scale. A new approach was developed to determine the initial reaction during the first steps of experience, a new concept was developed, based on the combination of dynamic leaching test and the characterization of the altered materials. With this experimental set-up it is possible to follow in real time the glass alteration process at a fine temporal scale. The results put in evidence a singular behaviour of the lanthanide, shown by a concentration peak of La, Nd and Ce after 2 h and a quick decrease of their concentration measured on line in the solution during the leaching test. This fact is directly linked to the development of an interphase (altered layer which differs from the initial solid by its texture, structure and chemical composition) at the interface of the glass surface and the leaching solution. This work is an attempt to integrate the formation of the alteration products (here the interphase) during leaching into the dissolution mechanisms of a nuclear waste glass. A model is proposed and discussed.     

五种水生植物对水中铀的去除作用

采用水培实验,研究了浮叶植物野生水葫芦(Eichhornia crassipes)、漂浮植物浮萍(Lemna minor L)、满江红(Azolla imbircata)、沉水植物菹草(Potamogeton crispus)、挺水植物空心莲子草(Alligator Alternanthera Herb)在初始铀浓度分别为0.15、1.50和15.00 mg·L^-1水中的生长状况及它们对水中铀的去除能力.结果表明,在21 d的水培试验期内,满江红对铀表现出了最强的抗性,0.15、1.50和15.00 mg·L^-1的铀对满江红的生长抑制率分别只有4.56%、2.48%和6.79%,而满江红对水中铀的去除率分别达到了94%、97%和92%.进一步的试验表明,每1 L水中种植7.5 g满江红,可以获得最大的铀去除率,将初始铀浓度为1.25、2.50、5.00和10.00 mg·L^-1的水体降至国家排放标准(GB 23727—2009)规定值(0.05 mg·L^-1)以下分别需要17、19、23和25 d.研究结果为进一步开展铀污染水体植物修复的研究打下了基础.     

改性生物质电厂灰钝化修复南方镉污染土壤及其长效性研究

选取我国南方生物质发电厂的灰渣为原料,经物理和化学改性制成重金属钝化剂,针对我国南方重金属Cd污染的土壤开展钝化修复研究.底灰中Cd等重金属含量明显低于其对应的飞灰,这是选择底灰作原料的重要原因.用其制备的BFA型钝化剂在水中对Cd的吸附量可达16mg/g以上.室内盆栽试验中,添加土壤干重1%的钝化剂,第一季稻米Cd含量降低80%以上,从超标2.8倍降至达标;第二季小麦籽粒Cd降低70%,从超标0.9倍降至达标.在我国南方Cd重度污染的农田中开展的原位修复试验表明,添加1%的钝化剂,稻米和小麦籽粒中Cd降低70%~90%,其中稻米Cd持续降低,2017年降低率相较2016年继续提升10%~20%,最终从超标20倍降至达标;Ni降低60%以上,且保留有益的Cu、Zn元素不受明显影响;此BFA型钝化剂还能促进作物生长,第一季稻米产量提高40%~60%,第二季仍有一定的增长效果.综合安全性考虑,我国南方生物质电厂的灰渣重金属含量很低,经过改性加工可制成安全高效的重金属钝化剂.可为钝化修复我国南方重金属污染农田提供一种经济有效的方法,也为现阶段难以处置的灰渣提供一个重要的利用途径.     

植物根系质外体溶液的提取方法研究:以多环芳烃为例

根系质外体溶液中多环芳烃(PAHs)的分析对于阐明植物根系PAHs吸收运移机制及阻控意义重大.然而,迄今鲜有便捷成熟的植物根系质外体溶液提取方法的报道.为此,本研究以小麦为材料,菲为PAHs的代表,探究了植物根系质外体溶液的真空渗透离心提取方法.结果表明,小麦根系质外体菲提取量随真空度、真空时间、离心速率、离心时间的增加而增大;小麦根系质外体六磷酸葡萄糖脱氢酶(G6PDH)活性随真空度、真空时间、离心速率、离心时间的增加而升高.依据质外体溶液受原生质污染程度小于1%且尽量提取完全的原则,真空渗透离心提取法的最佳真空度为70 k Pa,最佳真空时间为10 min,最佳离心速率为3 068 r·min-1,最佳离心时间为15 min.研究结果可为污染物的植物根系质外体运输研究提供有效、简便的方法支撑.     

Effect of microbial seeding of crude oil in seawater in a model system

The adding of a mixed culture of marine hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria to petroleum polluted seawater did not increase the hydrocarbon degradation capability of the water. All the strains of the mixed culture disappeared from the dominant microflora while the autochthonous bacteria showed a capacity for adaptation to petroleum degradation about four days after the oil spill. This confirms the advantage of natural bacterial communities. The oil spilled on the sea surface evolved very quickly under the influence of abiotic factors such as sunlight. Aromatic petroleum fractions were oxidized and polymerized. This chemical evolution causes a drastic decrease of the biodegradability of crude oil.     

Importance of physical and biological settlement cues used at different spatial scales by the larvae of Semibalanus balanoides

The settling cues used by larvae of Semibalanus balanoides (L.) were examined at large (1 m), medium (1 mm), and small (<300 m) spatial scales, corresponding roughly to choices made during broad and close exploration and final inspection within the settling zone. The experiments were carried out at two locations in Canada in May and June 1984. Samples of substratum surfaces from above (n=87 sites unselected by cyprids) and below (n=84 sites selected by cyprids) the upper limit of the barnacle zone were characterized according to 13 quantitative and semi-quantitative variables (diatom cover, macroalgae, detritus) using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The data were analysed using a stepwise logistic regression. At the large scale, the presence of an alga (Urospora wormskjoldii Mertens) in the upper uncolonized zone and a diatom (Achnantes parvula Kützing) within the settling zone are potential settlement cues. At the medium scale in the settling zone, larvae select clean sites, devoid of detritus and diatoms or on which detrital matter, when present, is of finer texture than on the unchosen sites within the settling zone. At the smallest scale (<300 m, equal to the average maximum width of the larvae), we tested the hypothesis that the larva seeks optimal microheterogeneity (presumably providing good adhesion). Microheterogeneity of the surface was measured immediately under the larva, around the settling organs, the antennules. Our results show that such surface microheterogeneity is significantly greater and the vertical center of gravity of the surface significantly lower on the sites selected by the cyprids than on the unselected contiguous sites. Fractal measurements carried out on selected and contiguous unselected surfaces indicate that larvae discriminate microheterogeneity levels below a step length of 35 m, a value approximately the size of the diameter of the antennular discs (40 m), which are used to explore the substratum and attach.Contribution to the programme of GIROQ (Groupe interuniversitaire de recherches océanographiques du Québec)     

Hormetic protection of Drosophila melanogaster middle-aged male flies from heat stress by mildly stressing them at young age

Previous studies have shown that exposing flies to hypergravity (3g or 5g) for the first 2 weeks of adult life slightly increases longevity of male flies and survival time at 37°C for both sexes, and delays an age-linked behavioral change. The present experiment tested whether the hypergravity could also protect flies from four successive deleterious non-lethal heat shocks at 4 and 5 weeks of age. Males that lived in hypergravity for the first 2 weeks of adult life lived slightly longer (ca. +15% or 1.2 day) after heat shocks (30 min or 45 min at 37°C) than flies that always lived at 1g, but this positive effect of hypergravity was not observed in females. Therefore, hypergravity exposure at young age can help the male flies recovering from a heat shock at older ages.     

Specialization of the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema scapterisci with its mutualistic Xenorhabdus symbiont

The level of specialization of the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema scapterisci with its native Xenorhabdus symbiont was investigated by testing (1) the influence of non-native bacterial strains on nematode fitness within an insect-host (Galleria mellonella) and (2) specificity of the association between the nematode infective juveniles and non-native bacteria. All non-native Xenorhabdus spp. or Photorhabdus spp. strains tested were mutualistically associated with other entomopathogenic nematodes in nature. We showed that most of the Xenorhabdus spp. strains tested led to an insignificant difference of the nematode's fitness compared to the one obtained with the native bacterium. Conversely, Photorhabdus spp. strains almost entirely abolished nematode reproduction. The phylogenetic analysis of bacterial strains tested, showed that there was a negative correlation between S. scapterisci's reproduction rate with a bacterial strain and the genetic distance of this bacterial strain from the native one. We also showed that the native bacterium was the only one which was transmitted by S. scapterisci's infective juveniles. All these results, suggested a specialization between S. scapterisci and its native Xenorhabdus. As the same phenomenon was already demonstrated in the association between S. carpocapsae and X. nematophila, specialization between partners would not be an exception in entomopathogenic nematode-bacteria interactions. Nevertheless, S. scapterisci showed a dramatically higher compatibility with non-native Xenorhabdus spp. strains than did S. carpocapsae, suggesting differences in the co-evolutionary processes between nematodes and bacteria in these two model systems.Table 1 List of the bacterial strains, native nematode species with their geographical origin, accession numbers of bacterial 16S rDNA partial sequences and number of combination experiments for each bacterium tested