Decolorization of azo dye reactive black B by Bacillus cereus strain HJ-1

Reactive black B (RBB) is a group of azo dyes that are widely used in the textile industry. In this study, a new microbial strain was isolated from azo dye contaminated river sediment which is capable of degrading RBB. The strain was identified as Bacillus cereus strain HJ-1 by 16S rRNA gene sequences analysis. The optimal conditions for RBB decolorization by B. cereus strain HJ-1 are: 25 °C, pH 8, 1 CMC of triton X-100, 0.15 g L^?1 of added yeast extract, 0.125 g L^?1 of added glucose and static culture. Then the toxicity of RBB on the green algae Chlorella vulgaris was determined. The results showed that the median effective concentration (EC₅₀) of RBB for C. vulgaris is 48 mg L^?1 and toxicity will really decrease after decolorization. In the end, B. cereus strain HJ-1 was amended into the origin river sediment and analyzed the whole microbial community structure of river sediment samples by PCR-DGGE technique. The result showed that B. cereus strain HJ-1 could survive in the river sediment after 12 d of incubation. Based on this work, we hope that these findings could provide some useful information for applying the decolorization of RBB in our environment.     

Air Pollution from Secondary Aluminum Production: Determining the Applicability of MACT Requirements

EPA's Maximum Achievable Control Technology rule for secondary aluminum production is intended to substantially reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants. It may also impose significant costs on affected facilities. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Terrigenous Inputs and Accumulation of Trace Metals in the Southeastern Taiwan Strait

Abstract

Terrigenous inputs and sedimentary fluxes of trace metals were studied to understand the metal sources, transport and sinks in the southeastern Taiwan Strait. the major terrigenous metals come from seven major rivers in the southwestern Taiwan, even though significant fractions of most metals were retained in estuaries. the net fluxes of river borne metals contributed from 65% (Pb) to 92% (Fe, Zn) of total inputs. the remainder was attributed to marine sewage discharges (0.6–6.9%) and atmospheric inputs (5.3–31.5%). Sedimentary fluxes of trace metals were spatially variable as a result of derivation from site-specific sedimentation rates and metal distributions in sediments. in spite of imbalance between sources and sinks of trace metals, an accumulation of metals in the sediment of southeastern Taiwan Strait was found for sites close to Taiwan Island. Surface enrichment of metals in near-shore sediments beginning around 1976 was coincident with a time of industrial boom in Taiwan. the metal enrichment hierarchy was found as (Cd, Pb < Cu < Zn < Mn, Fe).     

Air concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in 2002–2004 at a rural site in the Great Lakes

Atmospheric PBDEs were measured on a monthly basis in 2002–2004 at Point Petre, a rural site in the Great Lakes. Average air concentrations were 7.0 ± 13 pg m^?3 for Σ₁₄BDE (excluding BDE-209), and 1.8 ± 1.5 pg m^?3 for BDE-209. Concentrations of 3 dominant congeners (i.e., BDE-47, 99, and 209) were comparable to previous measurements at remote/rural sites around the Great Lakes, but much lower than those at urban areas. Weak temperature dependence and strong linear correlations between relatively volatile congeners suggest importance of advective inputs of gaseous species. The significant correlation between BDE-209 and 183 implies their transport inputs associated with particles. Particle-bound percentages were found greater for highly brominated congeners than less brominated ones. These percentages increase with decreasing ambient temperatures. The observed gas/particle partitioning is consistent with laboratory measurements and fits well to the Junge–Pankow model. Using air mass back-trajectories, atmospheric transport to Point Petre was estimated as 76% for BDE-47, 67% for BDE-99, and 70% for BDE-209 from west–northwest and southwest directions. During the same time period, similar congener profiles and concentration levels were found at Alert in the Canadian High Arctic. Different inter-annual variations between Point Petre and Alert indicate that emissions from other regions than North America could also contribute PBDEs in the Arctic. In contrast to weak temperature effect at Point Petre, significant temperature dependence in the summertime implies volatilization emissions of PBDEs at Alert. Meanwhile, episodic observations in the wintertime were likely associated with enhanced inputs through long-range transport during the Arctic Haze period.     

Relationship between carbonaceous materials and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the sediments of the Danshui River and adjacent coastal areas, Taiwan

Persistent organic pollutants, POPs (e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls) can seriously and deleteriously affect environmental quality and human health. These organic pollutants are exhibiting high affinities to solid phases and thus, quickly end up in sediments. To better understand the role of carbonaceous materials in the transport and distributions of POPs in terrestrial and near-shore environments, concentrations of PCBs and carbonaceous materials (including total organic carbon, black carbon and total carbohydrates), were determined in surface sediments of the Danshui River and nearby coastal areas, Taiwan. Total concentrations of PCBs in the sediments ranged from non-detectable to 83.9 ngg(-1), dry weight, with the maximum value detected near the discharge point of the marine outfall from the Pali Sewage Treatment Plant. These results suggest that the sewage treatment plant has discharged PCBs in the past and the concentrations are still high due to their persistence; alternatively, PCBs are still being discharged in the estuarine and near-shore environment of the Danshui River. Organic carbon and black carbon concentrations correlated well with those of total PCBs in the sediments, suggesting that both organic carbon and black carbon significantly affect the distribution of trace organic pollutants through either post-depositional adsorption, or by co-transport of similar source materials. The field results demonstrate that black carbon and plays an important role in the general distribution of PCBs, while concentrations of some specific PCBs are affected by both black carbon and organic carbon concentrations.     

Thermocoagulation of fetal sacrococcygeal teratoma

Fetal sacrococcygeal teratoma can lead to a high output cardiac failure resulting in hydrops fetalis. One of the prenatal therapeutic options is to occlude the feeding vessels by radiofrequency ablation. We present a case of fetal sacrococcygeal teratoma diagnosed at 13 weeks of gestation. The tumour increased in size more than 100-fold over 5 weeks causing polyhydramnios and cardiac and placental enlargement. Thermocoagulation was performed at 18 weeks' gestation by passing an insulated electric wire through an 18-gauge needle placed close to the feeding vessels of the tumour at its neck. Blood supply to the tumour was successfully reduced. However, fetal death was diagnosed 2 days after the procedure. We speculate that it may be safer to limit the extent of coagulation in one attempt but to repeat the procedure at a later stage when necessary. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of the hyperlipidemia risk for residents exposed to potential emitted metals in the vicinity of a petrochemical complex

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Hyperlipidemia, which is associated with certain environmental factors, is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Heavy metals are important...     

Linearized and nonlinearized modellings for comparative uptake assessment of metal-organic framework-derived nanocomposite towards sulfonamide antibiotics

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The emergent occurrence of sulfonamide species involving sulfadiazine (SDZ) and sulfamethazine (SMZ) in aquatic systems can cause a wide range of...     

Insights of healthcare waste management practices in Vietnam

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Nowadays, together with the economic development, public health activities have gained substantial attention with increasing number of hospitals...     

Rapid prenatal diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy with gene duplications by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with competitive multiplex polymerase chain reaction strategy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) are caused by various mutations in the dystrophin gene. Rapid prenatal diagnosis of DMD with gene duplications is difficult due to limitation in gene dosage determination and the requirement for a known disease-causing mutation in the pedigree to achieve a rapid and accurate diagnosis. We report, here, a case with rapid prenatal diagnosis of DMD-affected male with gene duplications in the absence of a known disease-causing variation in the pedigree by using ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (IP-RP-HPLC) coupled with competitive multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol. In cases with clinical diagnosis of DMD/BMD, this test should identify greater than 92% of disease-causing DNA variants. The postnatal genetic diagnosis of this case and the same disease-causing mutations subsequently identified in other members of the pedigree confirmed the accuracy of competitive multiplex PCR/IP-RP-HPLC assay in direct prenatal diagnosis of DMD. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.