Gliding arc plasma processing for decomposition of chloroform

The decomposition of chloroform (CHCl₃) diluted in air was studied. The experiment was carried out by using a gliding arc plasma. Different values of initial concentrations of chloroform, total gas flow rates, and input power frequencies have been used to investigate this effects on the conversion reaction products both qualitatively and quantitatively. Experimental results indicate that the maximum conversion of chloroform was 97% at a total gas flow rate of 180?L?h^?1 containing 1% chloroform. Using air as carrier gas, decomposition of CHCl₃ produces CCl₄, CO₂, CO, and Cl₂ as the main products. Small amounts of HCl and COCl₂ are also detected. Liquid products were also produced.     

Royal jelly inhibited N-acetylation and metabolism of 2-aminofluorene in human liver tumor cells (J5)

The present study was carried out to evaluate the question of whether or not royal jelly affects N-acetylation and metabolism of 2-aminofluorene (2-AF) in the human liver tumor cell line (J 5). N-acetylation and metabolism of 2-AF in intact J5 cells was determined by using high performance liquid chromatography for the amounts of acetylated and nonacetylated 2-AF and profile of 2-AF metabolism. The results indicated that royal jelly displayed a dose-dependent inhibition of N-acetylation of 2-AF in J5 cells. Royal jelly also decreased the profile of 2-AF metabolites in J5 cells. This report is the first demonstration which showed that royal jelly affects N-acetylation of 2-AF in human liver tumor cells (J5).     

Screening for acute ocular toxicity of commercialized products of cartap,an insecticide,and correlation to blood concentrations in rabbits

Cartap is an insecticide known to produce contraction and damage to mouse and rabbit diaphragms, and plays a pivotal role in respiratory paralysis and mortality in rabbits. The aim of this study was conducted to screen for the toxic properties and blood concentrations of commercialized cartap products in New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits. Five granular formulations (GRs) with different concentrations (4, 6, 6.5, 6.66 or 10%) and seven water-soluble powders (SPs, 50%) of commercialized cartap products were chosen to study toxicity following ocular instillation. Furthermore, ocular instillation (5, 12.5, 25 or 50 mg kg^?1) and oral administration (25 mg kg^?1) of the technical material (TC) cartap was also performed to compare blood concentration changes in rabbits. There was no death or eye irritation with all GR products; however, soluble powder (SP) products produced severe toxicity and mortality in rabbits. The blood concentration of TC cartap in rabbits started to increase from 2 min and reached peak levels at 7–9 min after ocular instillation in a dose-related pattern. For comparison of the blood distribution of cartap via different administration routes, oral exposure exhibited a higher absorption of cartap than ocular instillation. It was suggested that the commercialized GR products of cartap were safe but 50% SP products were highly toxic to rabbits following ocular exposure. This study provides valuable data to screen for potential acute toxicity of cartap to farmers and animals in the field.     

Pah characteristics in ambient air within a steel industrial complex

Ambient air samples at ten sites in an iron and steel industrial complex were collected from June to December for analyzing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Sixteen species of PAH components in air samples were identified. The results indicate that both gaseous phase and particle‐bound PAHs at the top of the cokemaking plants are unusually high. The profiles of particle‐bound PAHs indicate that the predominant species at the top of, the coke oven batteries are those of high molecular weight components. The major components of particle‐bound PAHs at sampling sites near the fenceline, however, include the medium molecular weight components. The PAH profiles of air samples within the industrial complex show a strong similarity to those of cokemaking plant samples. The concentrations and the specific content of benzo(a)pyrene in the iron and steel industrial complex are higher than those values measured in urban area, petrochemical industry park, and open‐air burning area.     

Control of chlorinated aromatic compounds from a municipal solid waste incinerator using limestone addition

In this study, limestone powder was directly added to synthetic MSW, which was fed into a small‐scale fluidized bed incinerator. The concentration of CBzs and CPs in the flue gas were measured before and after a secondary combustion air injection. Finally, the PCDDs and PCDFs concentrations were also measured in the flue gas after the secondary combustion zone. The CaCO₃ added to synthetic MSW not only controls HCl in the flue gas, but suppresses the formation of chlorinated aromatic compounds like CBzs, CPs, PCDDs, and PCDFs. The main mechanisms to control the formation of chlorinated aromatic compounds was more likely related to the suppression of catalytic capability of flyash than the HCl reduction in the flue gas. However, the NO concentration was increased by catalytic reaction of limestone in the fluidized bed.     

Are Lévy flight patterns derived from the Weber–Fechner law in distance estimation?

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are regularly faced with the task of navigating back to their hives from remote food sources. They have evolved several methods to do this, including compass-directed “vector” flights and the use of landmarks. If these hive-centered mechanisms are disrupted, bees revert to searching for the hive, using an optimal Lévy flight searching strategy. The same strategy is adopted when a food source at a known location ceases to be available. Here, we show that the programming for this Lévy strategy does not need to be very sophisticated or clever on the bee’s part, as Lévy flight patterns can be derived from the Weber–Fechner law in a bee’s odometer. Odometry errors of a different kind occur in desert ants (Cataglyphis spp., Melophorus bagoti). The searching behaviors of these ants are very similar in overall structure to that of honeybees but do not display any Lévy flight characteristics. We suggest that errors in the estimation of distance can be implicitly involved in shaping the structure of systematic search behavior and should not be regarded as merely deficiencies in the odometer.     

利用甘油脱水酶基因构建产3-羟基丙醛工程菌及其表达比较

3-羟基丙醛(3-HPA)是一种重要的化工产品,可由甘油经甘油脱水酶作用后生成.为获得产3-HPA基因工程菌,在已构建含甘油脱水酶基因及其激活因子大亚基质粒pEtac-dhaB-gdrA的基础上,构建了包含小亚基gdrB激活因子的重组质粒pEtac-dhaB-gdrA-gdrB.利用大肠杆菌通用tac启动子将该质粒在不同Escherichia coli BL21、DH5a及JM109中进行表达.阳性转化子经IPTG诱导后,提取总RNA,以cDNA为模板进行RT-PCR发现,目标基因在不同宿主都能较好转录.SDS-PAGE、酶活测定和3-HPA浓度测定结果表明,目标蛋白表达存在差异;酶活分别为4.7(±0.44)、3.5(±0.95)、8.1(±0.66)U/mg;发酵液中3-HPA的含量分别为0.012(±0.0044)、0.014(±0.003)、0.375(±0.018)g L-1,重组E.coli JM109/pEtac-dhaB-gdrA-gdrB具有较好的甘油脱水酶基因表达和产3-HPA性能.该基因工程菌与克雷伯氏菌(Klebsiella pneumoniae)相比,发酵副产物明显较少,有利于后期提取,为生产3-HPA提供了一条新思路.     

太湖北部不同湖区春、夏季溶解性酸性多糖分布

为研究太湖dAPS(dissolved acidic polysaccharides,溶解性酸性多糖)的时空变化,探讨湖泊水体中dAPS对有机碳的贡献和重要性,于2012年春、夏季调查了太湖北部不同湖区(竺山湾、梅梁湾、贡湖湾、湖心区)水体中ρ(dAPS),分析了其时空变化特征及其与ρ(Chla)之间的关系,并探讨了不同湖湾中dAPS对DOC(溶解性有机碳)的贡献率. 结果表明,太湖北部水体中ρ(dAPS)春、夏季变化范围为3.02~9.93mg/L,平均值为(6.10±1.59) mg/L. 夏季太湖北部各湖区之间ρ(dAPS)没有显著性差异,春季梅梁湾中ρ(dAPS)显著高于湖心区(P<0.05),其他湖区并没有显著性差异. 春、夏两季ρ(dAPS)的最低值均出现在湖心区. 除贡湖湾外,夏季太湖北部各湖区ρ(dAPS)与ρ(Chla)都存在显著线性正相关,而春季各湖区则无显著线性关系. 这说明春、夏季dAPS的受控因素不一样,夏季ρ(dAPS)受藻类影响较大. 夏季各湖区dAPS对DOC的贡献率以贡湖湾最高,平均值高达46.7%±7.7%,春季则以梅梁湾的贡献率较高,平均值为68.6%±5.9%,这意味着dAPS在太湖水体有机碳循环中起着重要的作用.      

Crediting uncertain ecosystem services in a market

The margin of safety (MOS) approach is an increasingly prevalent tool for ensuring the integrity of market-based programs for providing ecosystem services. Over-crediting is reduced by setting aside mean estimates of uncertain services in favor of a more conservative estimate. Like many environmental policy problems, ecosystem service markets involve the aggregation of uncertainty over multiple scales, e.g. from landowners to market intermediaries to the overall market. We examine how the MOS instrument affects, and is affected by, an ecosystem services market. We show that the common bottom-up approach of imposing risk preferences at a local, disaggregated level—held over from earlier development in the context of toxics and command and control-style health risk regulation—leads to several unintended consequences. Furthermore, discounting landowner services can actually increase their profits, conditional on the elasticity of credit demand. We illustrate theoretical insights with an empirical application to greenhouse gas offset crediting in agriculture.     

钢铁企业资源综合利用与绿色发展

把生态理论引入太钢,将企业生产过程中的资源、能源、产品、废弃物等全部视为钢铁生态链中的一个物种,通过循环利用和产业链延伸实现了全流程的清洁、高效和企业的绿色发展。