Nitrogen fertility and abiotic stresses management in cotton crop: a review

This review outlines nitrogen (N) responses in crop production and potential management decisions to ameliorate abiotic stresses for better crop production. N is a primary constituent of the nucleotides and proteins that are essential for life. Production and application of N fertilizers consume huge amounts of energy, and excess is detrimental to the environment. Therefore, increasing plant N use efficiency (NUE) is important for the development of sustainable agriculture. NUE has a key role in crop yield and can be enhanced by controlling loss of fertilizers by application of humic acid and natural polymers (hydrogels), having high water-holding capacity which can improve plant performance under field conditions. Abiotic stresses such as waterlogging, drought, heat, and salinity are the major limitations for successful crop production. Therefore, integrated management approaches such as addition of aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), the film antitranspirant (di-1-p-menthene and pinolene) nutrients, hydrogels, and phytohormones may provide novel approaches to improve plant tolerance against abiotic stress-induced damage. Moreover, for plant breeders and molecular biologists, it is a challenge to develop cotton cultivars that can tolerate plant abiotic stresses while having high potential NUE for the future.     

Fate of caffeine in mesocosms wetland planted with Scirpus validus

Uptake, accumulation and translocation of caffeine by Scirpus validus grown in hydroponic condition were investigated. The plants were cultivated in Hoagland’s nutrient solution spiked with caffeine at concentrations of 0.5–2.0 mg L^?1. The effect of photodegradation on caffeine elimination was determined in dark controls and proved to be negligible. Removal of caffeine in mesocosms without plants showed however that biodegradation could account for about 15–19% of the caffeine lost from solutions after 3 and 7 d. Plant uptake played a significant role in caffeine elimination. Caffeine was detected in both roots and shoots of S. validus. Root concentrations of caffeine were 0.1–6.1 μg g^?1, while the concentrations for shoots were 6.4–13.7 μg g^?1. A significant (p < 0.05) positive correlation between the concentration in the root and the initial concentrations in the nutrient solution was observed. The bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) of caffeine for roots ranged from 0.2 to 3.1, while BAFs for shoots ranged from 3.2 to 16.9. Translocation from roots to shoots was the major pathway of shoot accumulation. The fraction of caffeine in the roots as a percentage of the total caffeine mass in solution was limited to 0.2–4.4% throughout the whole experiment, while shoot uptake percentage ranged from 12% to 25% for caffeine at the initial concentration of 2.0 mg L^?1 to 50–62% for caffeine at the initial concentration of 0.5 mg L^?1. However, a marked decrease in the concentration of caffeine in the shoots between d-14 and d-21 suggests that caffeine may have been catabolized in the plant tissues subsequent to plant uptake and translocation.     

化学沉淀法强化常规工艺应急去除水中的镉

在常规工艺基础上,通过投加氢氧化钠,实验进行了应急去除重金属镉的研究。实验结果表明,该方法能有效去除饮用水水源的镉,效果稳定,可进行应急处理。对pH、镉初始浓度和混凝剂投加量3个影响因素的灰色关联分析表明,3个因素对镉去除效果影响的大小排序为:滤后水pH>混凝剂投加量>镉初始浓度。在水源镉突发污染时,在原有常规水处理工艺基础上,通过控制滤后水pH可实现对重金属镉的去除,pH的控制值与水源水质有关。     

碳源及反硝化芽孢杆菌强化低C/N比景观水体的生物脱氮

实验探讨了添加碳源及投加反硝化细菌对低碳氮比景观水体生物脱氮的影响。结果表明,有机碳源及B.subtilis FS05均能显著促进实验水体的生物脱氮作用,实验水体在28℃静置72 h后,乙醇添加组的TN、氨氮、硝酸盐及亚硝酸盐的去除率分别达到了62.7%、67.0%、69.8%和29.4%,而同样条件下,B.subtilis FS05投加组的去除率分别达到了66.9%、73.4%、66.0%和82.2%。从水质变化趋势可以看出,投加B.subtilis FS05能在更短时间内完成生物脱氮过程,其中,硝酸盐和亚硝酸盐去除速率最快,分别仅需要18 h和12 h。     

Agricultural pesticide residues of farm runoff in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

The objectives of this study were to determine environmental occurrence and concentrations of selected currently-used-pesticides and some transformation products in agricultural farms in the Okanagan Valley (OKV), and to conduct a simple risk assessment of environmental pesticides levels detected in OKV on non-target aquatic organisms. The OKV is the tree fruit country of the Province of British Columbia where considerable amount of pesticides are applied annually. Water, sediment and soil samples were collected at eleven sites in early June and late September following rainfall events and/or extended periods of irrigation from drainage ditches and/or from small streams. Undisturbed reference sites were also sampled. Study results showed that forty of the eighty chemicals analyzed, including organochlorine, nitrogen-containing and organophosphate pesticides commonly used for OKV crops, were detected in runoff and small stream water samples. Among which, endosulfan-sulfate was the most frequently detected chemical. Also, azinophos-methyl (0.699-25.5 ng/L), diazinon (0.088-214 ng/L) exceeded, and α-, β- endosulfan, endosulfan sulphate approached the guidelines for the protection of aquatic life.     

Environmental lead pollution threatens the children living in the Pearl River Delta region, China

Introduction and purpose

The objective of this study is to determine children??s blood lead levels and identify sources of lead exposure. Childhood lead exposure constitutes a major pediatric health problem today in China. A blood lead screening survey program for children in the age group of 2?C12?years residing in Pearl River Delta region, south of China, was carried out from Dec 2007 to Jan 2008.

Methods

Blood lead levels and lead isotope ratios of a total of 761 participants were assessed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. Measurements of urban environmental samples for source identification of children lead exposure were also performed.

Results and conclusions

The geometric mean value of the children??s blood lead levels was 57.05???g/L, and 9.6% of them were higher than 100???g/L. The blood lead levels were still much higher than those in developed countries. Based on the data of environmental lead source inventories, lead isotopic tracing revealed that there is about 6.7% past used gasoline Pb embedded in Shenzhen residential dust and about 15.6% in Guangzhou dust, respectively.     

改性TiO_2光催化降解三苯甲烷类污染物

以硫酸钛为原料采用水热法制备了掺Fe3＋TiO2晶体粉末,采用X射线衍射仪（XRD）对样品的结构进行了表征。在可见光条件下,用溴酚蓝、甲基绿、甲基蓝、孔雀石绿、甲基紫和碱性品红等6种典型三苯甲烷类化合物为目标降解物,研究了以自制的掺Fe3＋TiO2晶体粉末对它们的催化降解作用。实验结果表明,制备的掺Fe3＋TiO2晶体属于锐钛矿型。6种化合物的光催化降解反应遵循拟一级动力学规律,且可用Langmuir-Hinshelwood（L-H）动力学模型描述,其表观反应速度常数（k）的大小顺序为：溴酚蓝〈甲基绿〈甲基蓝〈孔雀石绿〈甲基紫〈碱性品红,大小变化次序与其半衰期t1/2成反比,并从分子结构上对它们的降解规律进行定性解释。     

新型活性污泥的培养及其处理高盐有机废水

在好氧反应器中,将海泥通过海水和营养物质培养成新型的活性污泥,在处理含盐废水时有较好的活性和沉降性能,对这种新型的活性污泥我们称其为海洋活性污泥。通过10周的培养,海泥的污泥体积指数（SVI）从最初的19 mL/g升高到70 mL/g,对有机废水处理12 h后高锰酸盐指数（CODMn）降解率达到90%,氨氮降解率达到45%。在污泥培养时,营养物质投加频率为一日一次最有利于污泥的培养,又葡萄糖比淀粉更有利于污泥的培养。对于含盐有机废水的处理,海洋活性污泥也比传统活性污泥有优势,甚至对于含盐量6%的高盐有机废水,处理12 h后能达到CODMn降解率达为70%,氨氮降解率达到30%。当NaCl浓度高于6%,海洋活性污泥仍具有一定的活性,但仍能观察到明显的抑制作用。此外,海洋活性污泥具有比传统活性污泥更强的盐度变化抗性,甚至在低盐度下盐浓度变化时,海洋活性污泥的氨氮降解稳定性也优于传统活性污泥。     

Biodegradability of Epoxidized Soybean Oil Based Thermosets in Compost Soil Environment

In this study, bio-thermoset from epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) was prepared in the presence of methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride curing agent and 2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole catalyst. The crosslink densities of the synthesized ESO are ranged from 0.109 × 10^?3 to 0.308 × 10^?3 mol/cm³. The ESO bio-thermosets were exposed to the soil-burial test for 8 months. Weight change and morphology of the degraded ESO specimens were assessed. It was found that the weight loss of ESO was governed by the materials compositions, crosslink density and the soil-burial exposure time. The 3 mm thickness ESO bio-thermosets with crosslink density of 0.109 × 10^?3 mol/cm³ had fully biodegraded after soil-burial for 6 months. In addition, 16S rDNA sequencing was carried out to identify the soil microorganisms. It was suggested that Comamonas sp., Bacillus sp., Streptomyces sp. and Acinetobacter sp. are the possible soil microbes that degrade the ESO bio-thermosets in the compost soil environment.     

新型吸附材料AGS在油气回收中的应用

考查了自制疏水性硅胶吸附材料AGS在加油站模拟油气回收装置及某油库现场油气回收装置的应用效果,并与常用的柱状活性炭进行了比较。实验结果表明：与活柱状性炭相比,AGS对油气的吸附速率和吸附量较小,但是油气脱附效果更好;将二者混合得到的吸附材料同时具备二者的优点,既具有较高的油气吸附量又具有良好的脱附性能,使油气回收装置具有更大的油气吸附量和更好的回收效果。