In vitro thyroid disrupting effects of organic extracts from WWTPs in Beijing

It is generally known that there are many endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Most research has focused on the occurrence of estrogenic or androgenic activities, while ignoring that there are environmental chemicals disrupting thyroid system, which is essential for growth and development in both humans and animals. In the present work, a two-hybrid yeast assay was conducted to evaluate the removal efficiencies of agonistic or antagonistic thyroid receptor (TR) mediated effects in different treatment processes of three WWTPs located in Beijing. We found no TR agonistic, but TR antagonistic activities in all processes from the WWTPs. The TR antagonistic activities in organic extracts of water samples were then calibrated regarding to a known TR-inhibitor, amiodarone hydrochloride (AH). The observed concentration of TR disrupting substances ranged from 2.35 × 10-8 to 6.19 × 10-7 mol/L AH in Gaobeidian WWTP, 3.76 × 10-s to 8.75 x 10-s mol/L AH in Lugouqiao WWTP,and 4.80 × 10-9 to 2.55 × 10-s mol/L AH in Beixiaohe WWTP. Of the three WWTPs, the removal rates were 92.7%, 42.2%, and 23.1% respectively. Industrial sewage may contain more TR disrupting substances compared with domestic sewage. The recipient waters were found to contain considerable concentrations of TR disrupting substances that may cause adverse effects on the exposed organisms.     

苯并噻唑类污染物对青海弧菌Q67毒性效应

以青海弧菌Q67为指示生物,结合96微孔板高通量检测技术,测定了10种环境中常见苯并噻唑类污染物对发光菌的毒性效应。结果表明,10种苯并噻唑化合物均对发光菌具有毒性效应,其EC50在1.17×10-6~5.43×10-3mol·L-1之间。对其进行毒性效应排序,发现巯基取代氨基2羟苯基羧酸乙酯溴氟甲基氯甲硫基苯并噻唑。利用结构化学描述符和偏最小二乘法,构建了苯并噻唑类化合物对Q67发光菌毒性的定量构效关系模型(QSAR),结果发现,氢键供体数量(ND)和极性溶剂可及分子表面积(PSASA)对其毒性具有重要意义。本研究为苯并噻唑类污染物毒性效应评价及其环境风险评价提供了参考。     

水环境中2，4，6－三氯酚的光化学降解研究

研究了2,4,6－三氯酚（TCP）在水中不同存在形态、水体pH值、溶解氧、藻类对其光化学降解行为的影响。先用孔雀绿无色氰化物（MGLC）,计算天津海河、北排污河两个自然水体,底泥悬浮物引起的光分散衰减系数,再用RG.Zeep公式预测出天津海河水中TCP的光解速率高于天津北排污河。天津污水土地处理系统进口水中TCP的光解速率常数：在夏季,kd＝0.059（h^-1）;在冬季kd＝0.011（b^-1）;光解半衰期为19.8h^-1。实验结果为处理后污水的安全回用提供了科学依据。     

海南岛儿童发钙量与土壤交换性钙关系的探讨

通过对海南岛上万名学龄前儿童头发钙含量以及所处地域农耕旱地土壤交换性钙的调查与分析发现：土壤钙与儿童头发钙含量呈极显著正相关;海南岛儿童头发钙均值低于国内其它地方的报道值;土壤环境钙含量的高低,能间接反映人体钙的营养状况。     

Sea-level rise and coastal vulnerability: an assessment of Andhra Pradesh coast,India through remote sensing and GIS

The eustatic sea-level rise due to global warming is predicted to be about 18 to 59 cm by the 2100 (IPCC 2007), which necessitates identification and protection of vulnerable sections of coasts. Assessment of vulnerability level of Andhra Pradesh (AP) coast as an example is demonstrated in this study using five physical variables, namely coastal geomorphology, coastal slope, shoreline change, mean spring tide range, and significant wave height. A coastal vulnerability index was prepared by integrating the differentially weighted rank values of the five variables, based on which the coastline is segmented into low-, moderate-, high-, and very high risk categories. About 43% of the 1,030-km-long AP coast is under very high-risk, followed by another 35% under high-risk if the sea level rises by ~0.6 m displacing more than 1.29 million people living within 2.0 m elevation in 282 villages in the region.     

Influence of endosulfan and monocrotophos exposure on the activity of NADPH cytochrome C reductase (NCCR) of Labeo rohita (Ham)

The response of NADPH cytochrome C reductase (NCCR) activity in liver of Labeo rohita fish exposed to the pesticides, 0.25 microgl(-1) endosulfan and 2 mg/l monocrotophos was studied. In terms of specific enzyme activity (mU/mg protein) a significant level of NCCR was observed in the liver tissues of Labeo rohita exposed to the pesticides, when compared to the control fish (2.460 mU/mg protein). Increase of NCCR activity was more in the liver of the fish exposed to monocrotophos (4.595 mU/mg protein) than those exposed to endosulfan (2.850 mU/mg protein). The results demonstrate that the pesticides, endosulfan and monocrotophos, interfere with NADPH dependent monoxygenase mechanism and are effective inducers of NADPH cytochrome C reductase. The activity of NCCR in the liver tissue of Labeo rohita may serve as a useful tool for monitoring aquatic pollution.     

Stingless bee response to spider webs is dependent on the context of encounter

In the course of their foraging bouts, bees frequently encounter spider webs among the vegetation. The ability to see and avoid these webs is vital for the success of the individual bee’s foraging bout. In this study, we report on the response of stingless bees (Trigona carbonaria) towards the webs of the St. Andrew’s Cross spider (Argiope keyserlingi). We studied the ability of bees to avoid webs in different contexts: when bees were on their foraging path or when they were returning to the hive as well as when they were flying North or South. We show that the probability of a bee being able to avoid a web depends on the context of the bee’s flight rather than the visual appearance of the web. Furthermore, the presence of the spider seems to alert the bee to the web, resulting in bees being more able to avoid capture. We show, specifically, that the probability of being captured is higher when the bee is returning to the hive compared with when the bee is foraging. The likelihood of avoiding a web is also influenced by the compass direction of the flight, although to a lesser extent. Our results indicate that the context of the predator–prey encounter has a significant influence on a bee’s ability to escape interception by a spider web.     

Modulating effect of Phyllanthus fruit extract against lead genotoxicity in germ cells of mice

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the protective effect of Phyllanthus emblica against clastogenicity induced by lead nitrate on the incidence of sperm head abnormalities in the germ cells of mice. At higher concentration of lead, a significant increase in the percentage of sperm head abnormalities was noted but when animals primed with Phyllanthus fruit extract (PFE), a reduction in the frequency of sperm head abnormalities was observed. It can be suggested from the above study that Phyllanthus emblica plays a key role in inhibition of heavy metal mutagenesis in mammals.     

青鳉鱼的行为特征提取研究

采用生物行为传感器获取青鳉鱼的行为数据时,青鳉鱼个体差异会导致采集到的原始电信号在时空特性下完全不同。重要的行为特征往往被隐藏在原始信号中,传统的信号处理方法无法实时而有效地提取到这些特征。针对这个问题,观察并记录了暴露实验前后青鳉鱼的行为变化,提出了一种可以高效表征行为特征的直方图统计算法。实验结果表明,该方法能够准确对应人眼观测到的暴露实验前后鱼的行为变化趋势,同时也为后续异常行为识别提供一定的支持和参考。