Histopathological changes in zebrafish embryos exposed to DLPCBs extract from Zhanjiang coastal sediment

Dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DLPCBs) are ubiquitous persistent pollutants that cause adverse effects in many environmental organisms. DLPCBs in marine sediments can be absorbed by benthic organisms, bioaccumulate, and biomagnify through the food chain and threaten animal and human health. There are no reports of DLPCBs concentrations in the Zhanjiang Gulf seabed. This study was designed to investigate the concentration of DLPCBs in the Zhanjiang coastal sediment and histopathological changes in zebrafish (Diano rerio) embryos exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of DLPCBs. Of the five sites selected, two sites TS and JSW contained DLPCBs at concentrations of 0.08 and 22.54 ng/g dry sediment, respectively. Two groups of zebrafish embryos were used. One group was exposed to 3.75, 7.5, 15, 30, and 60 mg/ml of DLPCBs extracted from the sediments sampled from the TS site and the second group to 4.375, 8.75, 17.5, 35, and 70 mg/ml of DLPCBs from JSW site from 0.75 h post-fertilization (hpf) to 96 hpf. The zebrafish exposed to 60 and 70 mg/ml of DLPCBs at 96 hpf displayed gross histopathological changes with cardiac lesions including pericardial edema being the most deleterious. Other changes observed were hydropic degeneration of gill filaments and hepatocytes, loss of intestinal folds, and uninflated swim bladder. It appears that only a few sites of the Zhanjiang gulf are contaminated with DLPCBs. This is the first report of histopathological changes in the gills, hepatocytes, intestines, heart, and the swim bladder in zebrafish embryos exposed to DLPCBs from a coastal sediment. Further studies with sampling at different stages of development are required to identify which organ/tissue is most sensitive to DLPCBs.     

Assessment of tap water quality and corrosion scales from the selected distribution systems in northern Pakistan

Corrosion deposits formed within drinking water distribution systems deteriorate drinking water quality and resultantly cause public health consequences. In the present study, an attempt was made to investigate the concurrent conditions of corrosion scales and the drinking water quality in selected water supply schemes (WSS) in districts Chitral, Peshawar, and Abbottabad, northern Pakistan. Characterization analyses of the corrosion by-products revealed the presence of α-FeOOH, γ-FeOOH, Fe₃O₄, and SiO₂ as major constituents with different proportions. The constituents of all the representative XRD peaks of Peshawar WSS were found insignificant as compared to other WSS, and the reason could be the variation of source water quality. Well-crystallized particles in SEM images indicated the formation of dense oxide layer on corrosion by-products. A wider asymmetric vibration peak of SiO₂ appeared only in Chitral and Abbottabad WSS, which demonstrated higher siltation in the water source. One-way ANOVA analysis showed significant variations in pH, turbidity, TDS, K, Mg, PO₄, Cl, and SO₄ values, which revealed that these parameters differently contributed to the source water quality. Findings from this study suggested the implementation of proper corrosion prevention measures and the establishment of international collaboration for best corrosion practices, expertise, and developing standards.     

Quality assessment of groundwater from the south-eastern Arabian Peninsula

Assessment of groundwater quality plays a significant role in the utilization of the scarce water resources globally and especially in arid regions. The increasing abstraction together with man-made contamination and seawater intrusion have strongly affected groundwater quality in the Arabia Peninsula, exemplified by the investigation given here from the United Arab Emirates, where the groundwater is seldom reviewed and assessed. In the aim of assessing current groundwater quality, we here present a comparison of chemical data linked to aquifers types. The results reveal that most of the investigated groundwater is not suitable for drinking, household, and agricultural purposes following the WHO permissible limits. Aquifer composition and climate have vital control on the water quality, with the carbonate aquifers contain the least potable water compared to the ophiolites and Quaternary clastics. Seawater intrusion along coastal regions has deteriorated the water quality and the phenomenon may become more intensive with future warming climate and rising sea level.     

2014年于桥水库浮游植物群落与环境因子的关系

为研究于桥水库浮游植物群落结构及其与环境因子的关系,于2014年春夏季进行采样分析。两季共鉴定出浮游植物6门99种,其中绿藻门(Chlorophyta)62种,硅藻门(Diatoms)21种,蓝藻门(Cyanophyta)7种,裸藻门(Euglenophyta)4种,甲藻门(Pyrrophyta)2种,隐藻门(Cryptophyta)2种。春季浮游植物6门86种,第一优势种为绿藻门的四尾栅藻(Scenedesmus quadricauda);夏季浮游植物5门62种,第一优势种为蓝藻门的铜绿微囊藻(Microcystis aeruginosa)。春季浮游植物密度低于夏季,于桥水库浮游植物群落结构具有明显的季节变化规律。RDA分析结果表明,春季采样点的相似性高于夏季,透明度、水温、溶解氧和营养盐是影响于桥水库浮游植物群落组成的关键环境因子。     

二维平流扩散模型下的集合卡尔曼滤波模拟同化研究

为提高环境数值预报水平,构建了一个针对污染物扩散的模拟数据同化系统。采用集合卡尔曼滤波方法对二维平流扩散模型的状态变量进行了实时校正,实现污染物浓度的实时模拟预报,完成了敏感性实验中集合数目变化、观测方差变化和同化窗口长度变化研究。比较考察观测点位置与污染源距离不同时的预报效果,探讨了优化条件下的同化策略,提出一种根据距离远近动态调节卡尔曼增益权重的方法。在集合数目较小时,可降低计算代价,得到优化的同化效果。     

低温浓缩-气质联用分析污染源废气中环氧氯丙烷

建立了气袋采样-液氮低温浓缩-气质联用分析污染源废气中环氧氯丙烷的方法,优化了相关监测参数。优化后的方法在环氧氯丙烷质量浓度10~500μg/m~3范围内线性良好,相关系数0.999,加标回收率为72.1%~85.7%,相对标准偏差5%,气体进样量为5.0 mL时,检出限为4.37μg/m~3,可以满足废气中环氧氯丙烷监测的要求。     

Effect of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, and As) on the ultrastructure of Sargassum pallidum in Daya Bay, China

Concentrations of Cu, Pb, and As were determined in seawater, surface sediment, Sargassum pallidum collected from the Daya Bay, China. The influence of metal contamination on the marine alga was investigated at chemical and ultrastructural level. Mean concentrations of Cu (19.44 mg kg^?1) and Pb (33.99 mg kg^?1) were found to be high in sediment, whereas concentration of As (122.29 mg kg^?1) in S. pallidum was higher than that in water and sediment. The ultrastructure of S. pallidum cells was anomalous and aberrant. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopic analysis revealed that the nanometal particles in the form of comparatively high-electron density substance diffused in the cell structures constituted by Cu, Pb, As, etc. There is a remarkable similarity or correspondence in the anomalous elements between the geochemistry and the botanic cell, and the heavy metals have potential hazardous effect on the ocean ecology system in Daya Bay.     

The dynamics of toxic and nontoxic Microcystis during bloom in the large shallow lake,Lake Taihu,China

Lake Taihu is a large shallow freshwater lake (surface area 2,338 km², mean depth 1.9 m) in China, which has experienced toxic cyanobacterial bloom dominated by Microcystis annually during the last few decades. In the present study, the dynamics of toxic and nontoxic Microcystis in three sampling stations (Meiliang Bay (site N2), Gonghu Bay (site N4), and the lake center area (site S4)) were quantified using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) during bloom periods from April to September, 2010. Our data showed that the abundance of toxic Microcystis and the toxic proportion gradually increased from April to August in water samples and reached the peak in August. During the study period, toxic Microcystis genotypes comprised between 26.2 and 64.3, between 4.4 and 22.1, and between 10.4 and 20.6 % of the total Microcystis populations in the three sampling sites, respectively. Correlation analysis suggested that there was a strong positive relationship between total Microcystis, toxic Microcystis and the toxic proportion. Chlorophyll a, total phosphorus, and water temperature were positively correlated with the abundances of total Microcystis and toxic Microcystis. Furthermore, the toxic proportion was positively correlated with total phosphorus (P?<?0.05) and water temperature (P?<?0.01), showing that global warming together with eutrophication could promote more frequent toxic blooms.