Cadmium tolerance in six poplar species

Selection of poplar species with greater Cd tolerance and exploiting the physiological mechanisms involved in Cd tolerance are crucial for application of these species to phyto-remediation. The aim of this study is to investigate variation in Cd tolerance among the six poplar species and its underlying physiological mechanisms. Cuttings of six Populus species were cultivated for 10 weeks before exposure to either 0 or 200 μM CdSO₄ for 20 days. Gas exchange in mature leaves was determined by a portable photosynthesis system. Cd concentrations in tissues were analyzed by a flame atomic absorbance spectrometry. Subsequently, Cd amount per plant, bio-concentration factor (BCF) and translocation factor (T _f) were calculated. Nonenzymatic compounds and activities of antioxidative enzymes in tissues were analyzed spectrophotometrically. Cd exposure caused decline in photosynthesis in four poplar species including Populus cathayana (zhonghua 1). Among the six species, P. cathayana (zhonghua 1) displayed the highest Cd concentrations in tissues, the largest Cd amount in aerial parts, the highest BCF in aerial parts and T _f under Cd exposure. Under Cd stress, increases in total soluble sugars in roots but decreases in starch in roots, wood, and leaves of P. cathayana (zhonghua 1) were found. Induced O ₂ ^?? and H₂O₂ production in roots and leaves, and increases in free proline, soluble phenolics, and activities of antioxidative enzymes were observed in P. cathayana (zhonghua 1). Based on results of this pot experiment, it is concluded that P. cathayana (zhonghua 1) is superior to other five species for Cd phyto-remediation, and its well-coordinated physiological changes under Cd exposure confer the great Cd tolerance of this species.     

Bioaccessibility of polychlorinated biphenyls in workplace dust and its implication for risk assessment

Human exposure to bioaccessible PCBs via indoor dust is limited around the world. In the present study, the workplace dust sample from commercial office, hospital, secondary school, shopping mall, electronic factory and manufacturing plant were collected from Hong Kong for PCBs analyses. Total PCBs concentrations ranged from 46.8 to 249 ng g⁻¹, with a median of 107 ng g⁻¹. Manufacturing plant showed the highest concentration among all of sampling sites. PCB 77 was found as the dominant congeners. The bioaccessibility of PCBs in small intestinal juice ranging from 8.3% to 26.0% was significantly higher than that in gastric condition, ranging from 4.8% to 12.4%. In addition, significant negative correlations (p < 0.05) were observed between K_OW and bioaccessibility for all workplace dust samples. Risk assessment indicated that the averaged daily dose of dioxin-like PCBs via non-dietary intake of workplace dust, considering the bioaccessibility of PCBs, were much lower than the TDI of dioxins (2.3 pg WHO-TEQ kg bw⁻¹ d⁻¹) established by Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.     

影响煤矿作业人员不安全行为的因素

本文论述了如何预防和消除煤矿作业人员的不安全行为,克服职工不健康的心理状态,改善作业环境,实行作业标准化和对作业人员的技能培训。     

双负载双金属催化剂催化有机卤化物水相脱卤研究

通过把起相转移作用的聚乙二醇链固载在硅胶上（SiO2-PEG600）,再将聚乙稀吡咯烷酮（PVP）络合双金属Pd-Cu(PVP-PdCl2-CuCl2)后负载其中,制成一种新型双负载双金属水相脱卤催化剂PVP－PdCl2-CuCl2/SiO2-PEG600。以甲酸钠为氢转移试制,在水相中催化有机卤化物脱卤,研究结果表明：反应温度为800℃,Pd∶Cu=2∶1（摩尔比）,反应介质pH≈11.7左右时,该催化剂对芳香氯化物及α－氯代酮、酯具有良好的催化脱氯和重复使用性能。     

固相微萃取-气相色谱/质谱联用法测定饮用水中苯类化合物

用固相微苹取(ＳＰＭＥ)－气相色谱/质谱联用法测定饮用水中苯类化合物,以１００μｍ ＰＤＭＳ(聚二甲基硅氧烷)萃取针提取、浓缩、分离与测定九种目标化合物．萃取时间经优化选定为８ｍｉｎ,而热解析时间设定为２ｍｉｎ． 本方法的相对标准偏差小于５%,线性范围宽(２０ｎｇ·ｍｌ－１－１００００ｎｇ·ｍｌ－１),多数化合物的检测限低于５μｇ·ｌ－１．饮用水样品检测显示,样品加标回收率范围在８４%至１１０%内．     

Pilot study of the polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans level in agricultural soil in Shanghai, China

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) were analyzed in agricultural soil samples from Shanghai to determine levels and to identify possible dioxin sources. The dioxin level was measured by an enzyme immunoassay method, US EPA 4025 (modified), which provides results as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) equivalents. The Method 4025m results obtained from 60 soil samples displayed a normal distribution, ranging from 2.8 to 23.4 pg/g 2378-TCDD-equvalents, with an average of 11.0 pg/g. The result also revealed a similar PCDD/Fs concentration among crop usage patterns, but differences by geographic region, low in the southwest of Shanghai and considerably higher in the northwest region. In contrast, the dioxin concentrations on Chongming Island were fairly homogeneous, with a range 10–15 pg/g. This immunoassay method is an effective high throughput screening tool which helps to minimize the need for more expensive analyses.     

Effects of adsorption onto silica sand particles on the hydrolysis of tetracycline antibiotics

Due to high usage of tetracycline antibiotics, concerns have been raised about their environmental fate. In this study, potential changes in the pseudo-first-order hydrolysis rate constants for three tetracyclines, tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC) and chlortetracycline (CTC), were evaluated by measuring the rate constants in batch and column leaching experiments. The first-order hydrolysis rate constants were measured at pH 5, 7, and 9 using batch tests. The values were highest at pH 7 for all three tetracyclines (0.0030 ± 0.0004, 0.0042 ± 0.0001, and 0.0323 ± 0.0003 h(-1) for TC, OTC, and CTC, respectively), indicating relatively short environmental half-lives of tetracyclines. Interestingly, it was found that the rates of degradation of the parent tetracyclines were much faster when silica sand was present in a batch solution or when the solution was passed through a silica column. For example, the ratios of the first-order degradation rate constants obtained in the column experiments to those in batch experiments were 13.2, 2.1, and 2.0 for TC, OTC, and CTC at a volumetric flow rate of 0.08 mL h(-1), with an observed tendency for this ratio to increase with an increased flow rate. This indicates that the silica surface may serve as a catalyst for hydrolysis and that the actual environmental half-lives of tetracycline antibiotics could be shorter than those estimated from laboratory hydrolysis rate constants using the standard batch protocol. Furthermore, the toxicity of the column effluent containing hydrolysis metabolites was assessed using bioluminescence inhibition in Vibrio fischeri. It was estimated that the toxicity of the metabolites of CTC was lower than that of their parent compound, whereas the toxicity of metabolites of TC and OTC was as high as or higher than that of their parent compounds.     

Assessment of trace element contamination in sediment cores from the Pearl River and estuary,South China: geochemical and multivariate analysis approaches

Twenty-four major and trace elements and the mineralogical composition of four sediment cores along the Pearl River and estuary were analyzed using ICP-AES, ICP-MS, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to evaluate contamination levels. The dominant minerals were quartz, kaolinite, and illite, followed by montmorillonite and feldspars, while small amounts of halite and calcite were also observed in a few samples. Cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed to identify the element sources. The highest metal concentrations were found at Huangpu, primarily due to wastewater treatment plant discharge and/or the surreptitious dumping of sludge, and these data differed from those of other sources. Excluding the data from Huangpu, the PCA showed that most elements could be considered as lithogenic; few elements are the combination of lithogenic and anthropogenic sources. An antagonistic relationship between the anthropogenic source metals (K, Ba, Zn, Pb, Cd, Ag, Tl, and U) and marine source metals (Na, Mg, Ti, V, and Ca) was observed. The resulting normalized Al enrichment factor (EF) indicated very high or significant pollution of Cd, Ag, Cu, Zn, Mo, and Pb at Huangpu, which may cause serious environmental effects. Conflicting results between the PCA and EF can be attributed to the background values used, indicating that background values must be selected carefully.     

Geochemistry of tin (Sn) in Chinese coals

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Based on 1625 data collected from the published literature, the geochemistry of tin (Sn) in Chinese coals, including the abundance, distribution, modes of...