ALAD genotypes and blood lead levels of neonates and children from e-waste exposure in Guiyu,China

Extensive e-waste recycling activity in Guiyu, China, has been conducted using primitive techniques for the last 20 years, resulting in serious heavy metal environmental contamination. A polymorphic variant of the δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) gene has been found to influence lead uptake and, thus, may influence an individual’s susceptibility to lead toxicity. We therefore explored whether the ALAD gene polymorphism affects blood lead levels of newborns and children in Guiyu. A total of 273 newborns and 504 children, and a combination of 2004/2005 and 2006 independent recruitments were used for this study. Umbilical cord blood from newborns (Guiyu/exposed group 189 vs. Chaonan/reference group 84) and venous blood from children (exposed group, 319 vs. Chendian/reference group 185) were collected. Blood lead levels (BLLs) were measured via graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) for all samples, while ALAD genotyping was performed using PCR-RFLP for 273 neonate cord blood and 246 children’s blood. The median BBLs of neonates in exposed group vs. the reference group were 10.50 (2.36–40.78) vs. 7.79 (0.8–19.51) for 2004/2005 and 9.41 (9.28–47.60) vs. 5.49 (0.35–18.68) for 2006, while child mean BLLs were 15.31?±?5.79 vs. 9.94?±?4.05 for 2004/2005 and 13.17?±?5.98 vs. 10.04?±?4.85 for 2006. The genotype frequencies in newborns were 98.90 % for the ALAD-1/ALAD-1 homozygote and 1.10 % for the ALAD-1/ALAD-2 heterozygotes, while the values were 95.93 and 4.07 %, respectively, in children. The allele frequencies of the ALAD-1 and ALAD-2 were 99.45 and 0.55 % for newborns, but 97.97 and 2.03 % for children, respectively. No significant differences in blood lead levels were found between ALAD-1/ALAD-1 and ALAD-1/ALAD-2 either in newborns or in children. The frequency distribution of the ALAD-2 allele in newborns from the exposed group was lower than that of the reference group. There were no significant differences, between the two different ALAD genotypes in the lead load of newborns and children. The frequency distribution of ALAD gene does not influence the blood lead levels of newborns and children in this case, which means that the higher lead burden in the exposed children was possibly influenced by e-waste recycling, but not ALAD genotypes.     

空速和二氧化碳对沼气脱硫剂硫容确定的影响

为了弄清空速与二氧化碳含量对氧化铁脱硫剂硫容确定的影响,分别在实验气源为纯硫化氢,空速为40、80、120和160 h-1以及实验气源为二氧化碳含量分别在0%、20%、40%和80%,其余为硫化氢,空速为80 h-1条件下,对T502(粗脱硫剂)和HXT-2(精脱硫剂)2种氧化铁脱硫剂进行了不同测试条件对氧化铁硫容确定影响的研究。研究结果表明,T502和HXT-2氧化铁脱硫剂硫容测试结果随着空速和二氧化碳含量增加而减少,结果显示了在空速较低条件下(120h-1),二氧化碳含量在40%以下时对氧化铁脱硫剂硫容测试结果影响不大,但二氧化碳含量在40%以上时,对氧化铁脱硫剂硫容测试结果影响显著。     

A 100-year sedimentary record of natural and anthropogenic impacts on a shallow eutrophic lake, Lake Chaohu, China

In this study, the sediment profiles of total organic carbon, total nitrogen, C/N ratios, total phosphorus, N/P ratios, C/P ratios, particle sizes, and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes (δ(13)C and δ(15)N) were used to investigate natural and anthropogenic impacts on Lake Chaohu over the past 100 years. Before 1960, Lake Chaohu experienced low productivity and a relatively steady and low nutrient input. The increasing concentration and fluxes of total organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, together with changes in the δ(13)C and δ(15)N of organic material in the sediment cores, suggested that the anthropogenic effects on trophic status first started because of an increase in nutrient input caused by a population increase in the drainage area. With the construction of the Chaohu Dam, an increase in the utilization of fertilizer and the population growth which occurred since 1960, stable depositional conditions and increasing nutrient input resulted in a dominantly algae-derived organic matter source and high productivity. Nutrient input increased most significantly around 1980 following the rapidly growing population, with concomitant urbanization, industrial and agricultural development. This study also revealed that the concentration and distribution of nutrients varied between different areas of sediment within Lake Chaohu because of the influence of different drainage basins and pollution sources.     

Anogenital distance and its application in environmental health research

Anogenital distance (AGD), a useful anthropometric measurement for genital development in both animals and humans, was originally found by reproductive toxicologists in rodent experiments. As an easy-to-measure and sensitive marker, AGD has become a bioassay of fetal androgen action and a well-established reproductive toxicity endpoint in animals. It is generally accepted that AGD is sexually dimorphic in many mammals, with males having longer AGD than females. Exposure to proposed endocrine disruptors may result in reduced AGD; thus, it has been used to measure health effects of compounds with endocrine-altering properties or endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in environmental toxicology. Moreover, AGD is an important clinical measure to address endocrine-sensitive endpoints in the first year of life and to assess the adverse impact of in utero exposure to environmental EDCs. Recently, AGD has been identified as one of the endpoints in the US Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for reproductive toxicity studies in humans, but use of AGD in human studies is still rare, and the results remain mixed and inconclusive due to many reasons. In order to achieve a breakthrough, researchers are endeavoring to standardize the measurement of AGD, normalize age-specific population data in different ethnic groups, and conduct more in-depth human researches in this field.     

城市的发展与火灾防治

随着经济的快速增长，火灾将会成为一个突出的灾害问题。作为经济发展中心的城市，火灾危险因素大大增加，因此，在城市的发展和改造过程中，应当同时抓好防火安全保障体系的建设，大力发展消防科技，并应加强防火安全教育，以便把火灾危害减少到最低限度     

光纤传输在地震台信号传输中的应用

深圳地震台处于强雷电干扰地区,雷电干扰的破坏给深圳地震台的各类设备带来严重的损害,造成较大的经济损失,后来在信号传输线路上改用了光纤传输,起到了明显的效果。作者将深圳台在应用光纤传输地震信号的实践工作进行简要总结,供一线台站的同行参考。     

南岭及其邻区多金属成矿条件与开发方向

本文在前人工作的基础之上,对南岭及其邻区的地层、岩浆岩、变质岩和构造综合研究与对比分析后认为,该区成矿条件优越,成矿条件复杂,表现出多金属矿产的共生性与伴生性。开发方向应该充分利用这两个特性,依靠科技,实行投资倾斜,减少资金沉淀,加强综合找矿、综合开采、综合冶炼、综合加工。在提高资源增值率,扩大经济效益的同时保护生态环境,完善产业结构与生产力布局,尽快地把该地区建成有色、稀有、黑色金属工业基地。     

用粉煤灰及贮灰场系统处理化纤和棉浆造纸污水

研究了利用粉煤灰及贮灰场系统大规模处理化纤和棉浆造纸污水,试验结果表明,这一方法可行的。对污水中COD,BOD_5、Zn、SS的去除率分别可达69.0％、81.7％、93.7％和51.3％。     

居住区生活环境质量影响因素的多元统计分析与评价

对杭州、厦门、南京及温州市１７个居住区共１２９７户居民进行生活环境质量调查，在计算机上建立了数据库并进行平均值分析、相关分析、主成分分析及因子分析。结果表明，有３－５个独立因子共同决定居住环境的主观评价，它们是景观因子、设施因子、安全和交通因子。分析还表明，居民对居住区总感受的评分主要由居住区可视环境因素，如景观，绿化、三废污染防治及环境卫生所决定。     

抽水对地壳形变观测影响的研究

抽水引起地面沉降问题早已引起世界各国的关注，是目前世界上许多取用地下水的国家共同面临的严重环境保护问题。我国地面沉降研究工作的开展已有10多年的历史，主要方法是利用沉降模型进行模拟推测，其弊端较多。由于缺少地下水水位和地面沉降的实际观测资料，难以进行细致的研究．蓟县地震台进行地形变监测已有十几年的历史，在长期的地形变观测中，不仅能监视到抽水引起地面倾角的地变化（经换算可得地面垂直方向的变化），还能监视地面因抽水引起地面水平方向的变化．为具体研究人工抽水与地壳形变的关系进行抽水实验。