Dynamic simulation of urban water metabolism under water environmental carrying capacity restrictions

A revised concept for urban water metabolism (UWM) is presented in this study to address the inadequacies in current research on UWM and the problems associated with the traditional urban water metabolic process. Feedback loops can be analyzed to increase the water environmental carrying capacity (WECC) of the new urban water metabolism system (UWMS) over that of a traditional UWMS. An analysis of the feedback loops of an UWMS was used to construct a system dynamics (SD) model for the system under a WECC restriction. Water metabolic processes were simulated for different scenarios using the Tongzhou District in Beijing as an example. The results for the newly developed UWM case showed that a water environment of Tongzhou District could support a population of 1.1926 × 10⁶, an irrigation area of 375.521 km², a livestock of 0.7732 × 10⁶, and an industrial value added of ¥193.14 × 10⁹ (i.e. about US$28.285× 10⁹) in 2020. A sensitivity analysis showed that the WECC could be improved to some extent by constructing new sewage treatment facilities or by expanding the current sewage treatment facilities, using reclaimed water and improving the water circulation system.     

铜和镉对珠江天然仔鱼和幼鱼的毒性效应及其潜在生态风险

以静水实验法探讨珠江流域主要金属污染物铜和镉对当地天然仔鱼和幼鱼的急性毒性效应。结果显示,铜对西江赤眼鳟和鲴仔鱼(48 h)和广东鲂幼鱼(96 h)的LC50分别为0.066、0.055和0.10 mg·L-1,对应的安全浓度分别为0.006、0.010和0.010 mg·L-1;镉对赤眼鳟和鲴仔鱼(48 h)以及广东鲂幼鱼(96 h)的LC50分别为1.29、0.83和3.20 mg·L-1,对应的安全浓度分别为0.163、0.077和0.320 mg·L-1。其中,铜对上述受试鱼的安全浓度低于或接近我国《渔业水质标准》及《地表水环境质量标准》Ⅱ类水对铜的规定,而镉对这些受试鱼的安全浓度则高于相关标准对镉的规定。研究结果表明,珠江流域铜污染可能会对当地天然仔鱼、幼鱼群体的补充构成一定程度的威胁,但镉污染暂不会对该区域主要鱼类早期群体补充带来严重的生态风险。     

硝酸铊对浮萍(Lemna gibba L.)的生长抑制及其氧自由基损伤作用

为了探讨硝酸铊(Tl(I)-nitrate)对浮萍(Lemna gibba L.)的生长抑制作用及其可能的氧化损伤机制,设置了Tl(I)-nitrate的8个处理组(0.005、0.01、0.02、0.04、0.08、0.1、0.5和1.0 mg·L-1)和对照组(0.0 mg·L-1),进行96 h急性毒性实验,测定96 h内超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)和过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性及丙二醛含量。结果表明:96 h暴露时间下,浮萍生长受抑制程度与Tl(I)浓度之间呈正相关,Tl(I)-nitrate对浮萍的96 h EC50为0.076 mg·L-1,NOEC为0.01 mg·L-1。CAT活性随着Tl(I)-nitrate浓度升高逐渐降低,在0.5和1 mg·L-1时,有极显著差异(p0.01)产生,SOD活性在0.1 mg·L-1时显著升高(46%),POD活性和MDA含量在Tl(I)浓度0.5 mg·L-1时明显上升。当Tl(I)-nitrate胁迫超出浮萍抗氧化酶系统清除活性氧的能力时,活性氧积累导致浮萍受到不可逆转的氧化损伤。Tl(I)-nitrate对浮萍生长产生明显的抑制作用     

Spent rechargeable lithium batteries in e-waste: composition and its implications

The amount of spent rechargeable lithium batteries （RLBs） is growing rapidly owing to wide application of these batteries in portable electronic devices and electric vehicles, which obliges that spent RLBs should be handled properly. Identification of spent RLBs can supply fundamental information for spent RLBs recycling. This study aimed to determine the differences of physical components and chemical compositions among various spent RLBs. All the samplings of RLBs were rigorously dismantled and measured by an inductive coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer. The results indicate that the average of total weight of the separator, the anode and the cathode accounted for over 60% of all the RLBs. The weight ratio of valuable metals ranged from 26% to 76%, and approximately 20% of total weight was Cu and Al. Moreover, no significant differences were found among different manufacturers, applications, and electrolyte types. And regarding portable electronic devices, there is also no significant difference in the Co-Li concentration ratios in the leaching liquid of RLBs.     

Application of k-means clustering to environmental risk zoning of the chemical industrial area

The homogeneous risk characteristics within a sub-area and the heterogeneous from one sub-area to another are unclear using existing environmental risk zoning methods. This study presents a new zoning method by determining and categorizing the risk characteristics using the k-means clustering data mining technology. The study constructs indices and develops index quantification models for environmental risk zoning by analyzing the mechanism of environmental risk occurrence. We calculate the source risk index, air risk field index, water risk field index, and target vulnerability of the study area with Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park using a 100 m - 100 m mesh grid as the basic zoning unit, and then use k-means clustering to analyze the environmental risk in the area. We obtain the optimal clustering number with the largest average silhouette coefficient by calculating the average silhouette coefficients of clustering at different k-values. The clustering result with the optimal clustering number is then used for the environmental risk zoning, and the zoning result is mapped using the geographic information system. The study area is divided into five sub-areas. The common environmental risk characteristics within the same sub-area, as well as the differences between sub- areas, are presented. The zoning is helpful in risk management and is convenient for decision makers to distribute limited resources to different sub-areas in the design of risk reducing intervention.     

Environmental effects on mineral accumulation in rice grains and identification of ecological specific QTLs

Optimizing the beneficial mineral elements in rice grains is of interest for rice breeders. To study the environmental effects on mineral accumulation in rice grains, we grew a double-haploid (DH) population derived from the cross between cultivars Chunjiang 06 (CJ06, a japonica rice) and TN1 (an indica rice) under two different ecological environments (Lingshui and Hangzhou, China) and determined the content of Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, P, and Zn in brown rice. These contents show transgressive variation among the DH lines. Subsequently, the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for mineral accumulation in rice grain were mapped on the chromosomes using CJ06/TN1 population. For the 7 mineral elements investigated, 23 and 9 QTLs were identified for Lingshui and Hangzhou, respectively. Of these, 24 QTLs were reported for the first time in this study and 8 QTLs are consistent with previous reports. Only 2 QTLs for Mg accumulation have been detected in both environments, indicating that mineral accumulation QTLs in rice grains are largely environment dependent. Additionally, co-localizations of QTLs for Mn and Zn, Mg and P, and Mg and Mn accumulation have been observed, implying that these loci might be involved in the accumulation of different elements. Furthermore, the QTLs for the accumulation of Fe, K, Mg, Mn, P, and Zn were mapped to a region close to each other on chromosomes 8 and 9, suggesting that clusters of genes exist on chromosomes 8 and 9. Further characterization of these QTLs will provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanism responsible for mineral accumulation in rice grains.     

An arsenic-contaminated field trial to assess the uptake and translocation of arsenic by genotypes of rice

Compared to other cereals, rice has particular strong As accumulation. Therefore, it is very important to understand As uptake and translocation among different genotypes. A field study in Chenzhou city, Hunan province of China, was employed to evaluate the effect of arsenic-contaminated soil on uptake and distribution in 34 genotypes of rice (including unpolished rice, husk, shoot, and root). The soil As concentrations ranged from 52.49 to 83.86 mg kg^?1, with mean As concentration 64.44 mg kg^?1. The mean As concentrations in rice plant tissues were different among the 34 rice genotypes. The highest As concentrations were accumulated in rice root (196.27–385.98 mg kg^?1 dry weight), while the lowest was in unpolished rice (0.31–0.52 mg kg^?1 dry weight). The distribution of As in rice tissue and paddy soil are as follows root ? soil > shoot > husk > unpolished rice. The ranges of concentrations of inorganic As in all of unpolished rice were from 0.26 to 0.52 mg kg^?1 dry weight. In particular, the percentage of inorganic As in the total As was more than 67 %, indicating that the inorganic As was the predominant species in unpolished rice. The daily dietary intakes of inorganic As in unpolished rice ranged from 0.10 to 0.21 mg for an adult, and from 0.075 to 0.15 mg for a child. Comparison with tolerable daily intakes established by FAO/WHO, inorganic As in most of unpolished rice samples exceeded the recommended intake values. The 34 genotypes of rice were classified into four clusters using a criteria value of rescaled distance between 5 and 10. Among the 34 genotypes, the genotypes II you 416 (II416) with the lowest enrichment of As and the lowest daily dietary intakes of inorganic As could be selected as the main cultivar in As-contaminated field.     

Degradation of trace nitrobenzene in water by microwave-enhanced H2O2-based process

To evaluate possible use of microwave-enhanced H₂O₂-based (MW/H₂O₂) process to degrade trace nitrobenzene (NB) in water, a series of batch experiments were conducted. The results showed that 2450MHz microwave irradiation significantly enhanced oxidative decomposition of nitrobenzene (NB) in a H₂O₂ system. About 90% NB was degraded by the MW/ H₂O₂ process in 30 min. Moreover, the MW/ H₂O₂ process could enhanced the oxidative degradation of NB even at relatively low temperature (50°C). When the initial concentration of NB was 300??g/L, the optimum ratio of H₂O₂ to NB and MW power were 70 and 300W respectively. The presence of humic acid significantly increased H₂O₂ dosage. The ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (UV₂₅₄) indicated degradation of NB was stepwise and some intermediates were produced. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis showed that main intermediates were nitrophenolic and carbonyl compounds.     

不同强度冷刺激对大鼠心脏、大脑、睾丸和肺脏中CIRP表达的影响

采用Western blot和实时荧光定量RT-PCR方法,研究不同强度不同时间冷刺激后大鼠心脏、大脑、睾丸和肺脏中冷诱导RNA结合蛋白(CIRP)的表达情况.结果表明:常温(20℃±1℃)下大鼠4种组织中均存在一定的CIRP的表达;急性冷刺激组(-10℃±1℃、-4℃±1℃、0℃±1℃、4℃±1℃)心脏、大脑和睾丸中CIRP mRNA表达在冷刺激0～6 h呈上升趋势,6 h时达到最高值,随后呈下降趋势,肺脏中CIRP mRNA表达在0～6 h呈下降趋势,在6 h时达到最低值,随后呈上升趋势;慢性冷应激组(10℃±1℃)大鼠心脏、大脑和睾丸3种组织中CIRP mRNA在不同时间点(1周、2周、3 W周)的表达均高于正常对照组(P>0.05),肺脏CIRP mRNA表达均低于对照组(P>0.05),并且同一组织不同时间点之间差异不显著(P>0.05).可见冷刺激后CIRP的表达存在一定规律并且表现出组织特异性,可能与组织保护特异性有关.     

全国首例由地震设防引发的"官告官案"

地震,对人类是一大灾难。2003年11月24日,国务院总理温家宝在《中华人民共和国防震减灾法》的基础上又签署国务院《地震灾害防治条例》第394号令,把地震灾害防治的组织协调、指导和监督工作,纳入了各级党委、政府的议事日程。可是,在河南省南阳市一家大型建设工程中,业主视人类共同的灾难如儿戏,竟不进行地震安全性评价工作,不设置地震设