A practical application of Driscoll's equation for predicting the acid-neutralizing capacity in acidic natural waters equilibria with the mineral phase gibbsite

A practical application of Driscoll's equation for predicting the acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC) in acidic waters equilibria with the mineral phase gibbsite is reported in this paper. Theoretical predication values of ANC are compared with the experimental data obtained from different literatures. The effect of aluminum (Al) on the value of ANC is investigated. It indicates that Al plays an important role in regulating the buffering effects in acidic natural waters. Failure to consider Al in acidic waters may bias assessment results in certain situations so as to overestimate the ANC values in response to increase in atmospheric deposition.     

Dynamics of aluminum speciation in forest-well drainage waters from the Rhode River watershed, Maryland

This paper reports an investigation of the dynamics of aluminum (Al) speciation in the forest-well waters from study site 110 of the Rhode River watershed, a representative sub-unit of Chesapeake Bay. Seasonal changes of Al speciation are evaluated by a modified MINEQL computer model using chemical equilibrium calculation. It was found that Al-F and Al-Org complexes were the dominate forms, whereas toxic forms of Al3+ and Al-OH were not significant. This indicates that Al toxicity is not very serious in the Rhode River area due to the high concentrations of fluoride and organic materials, even though sometimes pH is very low (approximately 4). Increased H+ or some other associated factors may be responsible for the decline in fish and amphibian population on the watershed.     

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in South China maternal and fetal blood and breast milk

Twenty-one-paired human fetal and maternal serum and 27 breast milk samples at South China were analyzed for concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Seven PBDE congeners (BDE-28, -47, -99, -100, -153, -154, and -183) were quantified using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). This is the first report to present the residue levels of PBDEs in human samples of China. The concentrations of total PBDEs ranged from 1.5 to 17 ng/g in the samples and were within the range reported in European samples for a similar population, but lower than human tissue levels in North America. BDE-47 and -153 were the dominant PBDE congeners in all samples and accounted for 60% of the total PBDEs. Further research is needed to determine the exposure route of PBDEs and their health effects.     

丰沛平原浅层地下水化学特征分析

为研究丰沛平原浅层地下水化学特征及主要离子来源,采集浅层地下水样品27组,采用数理统计、舒卡列夫分类、Gibbs图和离子比例系数等方法,对丰沛平原浅层地下水化学特征及形成作用进行了研究。结果表明：研究区地下水中的阳离子以Na⁺和Ca²⁺为主,阴离子以HCO^-₃为主,HCO^-₃、Mg²⁺和Ca²⁺的空间变异系数相对较小,NO^-₃变异系数较大。根据沉积环境不同,浅层地下水化学类型具有明显的水平分布过渡带,浅层地下水在黄淮海冲积平原沿着浅层地下水流向自西南向北东方向水化学类型阴离子从HCO₃→HCO₃-Cl→HCO₃-SO₄→SO₄-HCO₃型过渡,阳离子从Ca-Na-Mg→Na-Mg-Ca→Na-Mg型过渡,微山湖沿岸冲湖积平原主要分布HCO<...     

Environmental factors and spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of the global outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1

The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has posed a major threat to global public health. Understanding the spatiotemporal outbreak characteristics and environmental factors of H5N1 outbreaks is of great significance for the establishment of effective prevention and control systems. The time and location of H5N1 outbreaks in poultry and wild birds officially confirmed by the World Organization for Animal Health from 2005 to 2019 were collected. Spatial autocorrelation analysis and multidistance spatial agglomeration analysis methods were used to analyze the global outbreak sites of H5N1. Combined with remote sensing data, the correlation between H5N1 outbreaks and environmental factors was analyzed using binary logistic regression methods. We analyzed the correlation between the H5N1 outbreak and environmental factors and finally made a risk prediction for the global H5N1 outbreaks. The results show that the peak of the H5N1 outbreaks occurs in winter and spring. H5N1 outbreaks exhibit aggregation, and a weak aggregation phenomenon is noted on the scale close to 5000 km. Water distance, road distance, railway distance, wind speed, leaf area index (LAI), and specific humidity were protective factors for the outbreak of H5N1, and the odds ratio (OR) were 0.985, 0.989, 0.995, 0.717, 0.832, and 0.935, respectively. Temperature was a risk factor with an OR of 1.073. The significance of these ORs was greater than 95%. The global risk prediction map was obtained. Given that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is spreading globally, the methods and results of this study can provide a reference for studying the spread of COVID-19.

     

Spatiotemporal development of land use systems,influences and climate variability in Southwestern Ghana (1970–2020)

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This study assesses the spatiotemporal development of land use systems and climate variability in Southwestern Ghana over the past five decades using...     

High-expression and characterization of a novel serine protease from Ornithinibacillus caprae L9T with eco-friendly applications

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the current work, a novel thermophilic serine protease gene (P3862) from Ornithinibacillus caprae L9T was functionally expressed in Bacillus...     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization increases plant above-belowground feedback in a northwest Chinese coal mining–degraded soil by increasing photosynthetic carbon assimilation and allocation to maize

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A three-compartment culture system was used to study the mechanism by which the AM fungus Funneliformis mosseae influences host plant growth and soil...