Characterization of the airborne bacteria community at different distances from the rotating brushes in a wastewater treatment plant by 16S rRNA gene clone libraries

Biological risks of bioaerosols emitted from wastewater treatment processes have attracted wide attention in the recent years. However, the culture-based analysis method has been mostly adopted for detecting the bacterial community in bioaerosols, which may result in the underestimation of total microorganism concentration as not all microorganisms are cultivable. In this study, oligonucleotide fingerprinting of 16S rRNA genes was applied to reveal the composition and structure of the bacterial community in bioaerosols from an Orbal oxidation ditch in a Beijing wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Bioaerosols were collected at different distances from the aerosol source, rotating brushes, and the sampling height was 1.5 m which is the common respiratory height of a human being. The bacterial communities of bioaerosols were diverse, and the lowest bacterial diversity was found at the sampling site just after the rotating brush rotating brush. A large proportion of bacteria in bioaerosols were affiliated with Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Numerous bacteria present in the bioaerosols also emerged in water, indicating that the bacterial community in the bioaerosols was related to that of the aerosols’ sources. The forced aeration of rotating brushes brought about observably distinct bacterial communities between sampling sites situated before and after the rotating brush. Isolation sources of closest relatives in bioaerosols clone libraries were associated with the aqueous environment in the WWTP. Common potential pathogens in bioaerosols as well as those not reported in previous research were also analyzed in this study. Measures should be adopted to reduce the emission of bioaerosols and prevent their exposure to workers.     

中央环保专项资金项目监管存在的主要问题及对策探讨

本文重点对现有中央环保专项资金项目监管方面存在的主要问题及其原因进行了分析探讨,并提出相关对策建议。     

密切值法在污水土地处理工程选址中的应用

本文对密切值法在污水土地处理工程选址中的应用进行了探讨，通过实例分分析看出该方法科学可行且简易。     

莒山煤矿塌陷土地整治及效益分析

在莒山煤矿土地破坏状况调查的基础上,通过对全矿塌陷土地适宜性评价及矿区自然、社会经济条件和上地破坏特点的综合分析,把塌陷地整治方法和利用方式有机地结合起来,提出了整治塌陷地的具体模式,并对不同模式的投入——产出及社会生态效益进行了初步分析,为山西煤矿区塌陷土地的综合整治和土地复垦工程设计提供参考。     

高通量测序技术应用于污水处理厂细菌气溶胶群落结构分析

由于污水及其处理设施中细菌气溶胶的逸散作用,导致污水处理厂细菌气溶胶的群落结构较为复杂,因此,选择适宜的采样和分析方法对其多样性的认识和风险评估具有重要意义.本研究以某城市污水厂为研究对象,采用"总悬浮颗粒物采样器+高通量测序技术"分别对污水处理全过程进行细菌气溶胶的收集与分析;作为对照,采用"Andersen六级采样器+克隆文库技术"进行同步采样和分析.结果表明,前者对各采样点气溶胶中细菌的多样性、总体群落组成、优势群落的解析均明显优于后者,分析更简便快捷,数据更全面、更接近其真实的分布状态.本研究结果可为污水处理厂细菌气溶胶的采样和分析方法的选择提供科学依据.     

Dioxin induces expression of hsa-miR-146b-5p in human neuroblastoma cells

Dioxin can cause a series of neural toxicological effects. Micro RNAs(mi Rs) play important roles in regulating nervous system function and mediating cellular responses to environmental pollutants, such as dioxin. Hsa-mi R-146 b-5 p appears to be involved in neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors. However, little is known about effects of dioxin on the expression of hsa-mi R-146 b-5 p. We found that the hsa-mi R-146 b-5 p expression and its promoter activity were significantly increased in dioxin treated SK-N-SH cells, a human-derived neuroblastoma cell line. Potential roles of hsa-mi R-146 b-5 p in mediating neural toxicological effects of dioxin may be due to the regulation of certain target genes. We further confirmed that hsa-mi R-146 b-5 p significantly suppressed acetylcholinesterase(ACh E) activity and targeted the3′-untranslated region of the ACh E T subunit, which has been down-regulated in dioxin treated SK-N-SH cells. Functional bioinformatic analysis showed that the known and predicted target genes of hsa-mi R-146 b-5 p were involved in some brain functions or cyto-toxicities related to known dioxin effects, including synapse transmission, in which ACh E may serve as a responsive gene for mediating the effect.     

Characterization and source analysis of indoor/outdoor culturable airborne bacteria in a municipal wastewater treatment plant

The potential health risks of airborne bacteria emission from a wastewater treatment process have been concerned. However, few studies have investigated the differences in community structure between indoor and outdoor bacteria. In this work, the characterization of airborne bacteria was studied in a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Beijing, China. Two indoor (i.e., fine screen room and sludge dewatering house) and two outdoor (i.e., aeration tank and control site) sampling sites were selected. An Andersen six-stage impactor was used for collecting culturable airborne bacteria in the air, and Illumina MiSeq sequencing was conducted to track the emission source of the culturable airborne bacteria. The results indicate that, compared with the outdoor aeration tank site, the concentrations of culturable airborne bacteria in the indoor fine screen room with poor ventilation were more than ten times higher and the particle size was about twice as large. The community structures of indoor and outdoor culturable airborne bacteria were obviously different. Enterobacteriaceae and opportunistic pathogens were detected in indoor culturable airborne bacteria, with wastewater and sludge dewatering machine identified as the primary sources. Conversely, Enterobacteriaceae and opportunistic pathogens were not detected in outdoor culturable airborne bacteria. Outdoor high wind speed might have resulted in rapid dilution and mixing of culturable airborne bacteria generated from the aeration tank with the ambient air. The results of the present research suggest that covering pollution sources, increasing ventilation rates, and using protective measures for personnel should be implemented to decrease the exposure risk to indoor culturable airborne bacteria.     

垃圾填埋场中硝酸还原酶测定条件优化

作为垃圾填埋场中氮素转化的关键酶之一,硝酸还原酶在填埋场氮素转移的过程中起着重要的作用。以生物反应器填埋场中的垃圾样品为研究对象,以土壤酶学测定方法为基础,对填埋场中硝酸还原酶的测定条件进行了优化研究。结果表明,填埋场中硝酸还原酶的最佳测定条件为：垃圾样品的风干温度为30℃,分别加入1%的KNO₃溶液2.0 mL和1%的葡萄糖溶液0.5 mL,抽气7 min后,置于20℃的培养箱中培养36 h。在该条件下对填埋场中硝酸还原酶活性进行测定,RSD小于1.66％,说明该分析方法结果可靠,精密度高。     

Assessing genetic structure, diversity of bacterial aerosol from aeration system in an oxidation ditch wastewater treatment plant by culture methods and bio-molecular tools

Airborne bacteria emissions from oxidation ditch with rotating aeration brushes were investigated in a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Beijing, China. Microbial samples were collected at different distances from the rotating brushes, different heights above the water surface, and different operation state over a 3-month period (April, May, and June) in order to estimate the seasonal variation and site-related distribution characteristics of the microorganisms present. The concentration of bacterial aerosol was analyzed by culture methods, while their dominant species, genetic structure and diversity were assayed using bio-molecular tools. Results showed that total microbial concentrations were highest in June and lowest in April. The mechanical rotation caused remarkable variation in concentration and diversity of culturable airborne bacteria before and after the rotating brushes. The highest concentration was observed near the rotating brushes (931?±?129–3,952?±?730 CFU/m³), with concentration decreasing as distance and height increased. Bacterial community polymerase chain reaction and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis indicated that diversity decreased gradually with increasing height above the water surface but remained relatively constant at the same height. All dominant bacteria identified by DNA sequence analysis belonged to Firmicutes. Pathogenic species such as Moraxella nonliquefaciens and Flavobacterium odoratum were isolated from the bioaerosols. Due to the serious health risks involved, exposure of sewage workers to airborne microorganisms caused by brush aerators should be monitored and controlled.