Anticancer drugs in surface waters: what can we say about the occurrence and environmental significance of cytotoxic, cytostatic and endocrine therapy drugs?

This study considers the implications and research needs arising from anticancer (also referred to as antineoplastic) drugs being released into the aquatic environment, for the entire therapeutic classes used: cytotoxic, cytostatic and endocrine therapy drugs.A categorization approach, based on French consumption amounts, allowed to highlight parent molecules and several metabolites on which further occurrence and ecotoxicological studies should be conducted.Investigations of consumption trends at a national and a local scale show an increase in the use of anticancer drugs between 2004 and 2008, thus leading to increased levels released in the environment. It therefore appears necessary to continue surveying their presence in surface waters and in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents.Furthermore, due to the rise of anticancer home treatments, most of the prescribed molecules are now available in town pharmacies. Consequently, hospital effluents are no longer the main expected entry route of anticancer drugs into the aquatic environment.Concerning ecotoxicological risks, current knowledge remains insufficient to support a definitive conclusion. Risk posed by cytotoxic molecules is still not well documented and it is not possible to conclude on their long-term effects on non-target organisms. To date, ecotoxicological effects have been assessed using standardized or in vitro assays. Such tests however may not be suitable for anticancer drugs, and further work should focus on full-life cycle or even multigenerational tests.Environmental significance (i.e. occurrence and effects) of cytostatics (protein kinases inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies), if any, is not documented. Protein kinases inhibitors, in particular, deserve further investigation due to their universal mode of action.Finally, concerning endocrine therapy drugs, molecules such as antiestrogen Tamoxifen and its active metabolites, could be of concern.Overall, to accurately assess the ecotoxicological risk of anticancer drugs, we discuss the need to break away from tests on isolated molecules and to test effects of mixtures at the low ng.l^− 1 range.     

Climatic drivers of potential hazards in Mediterranean coasts

This paper studies climatic drivers (air and water temperature, precipitation rates, river discharge, sea level and storm patterns) in four Mediterranean regions: the Catalan-Valencia Coast (Spain), the Oran (Algeria) and Gabès (Tunisia) Gulfs and the western Nile Delta (Egypt). The paper also considers the potential hazards that these drivers can induce. It first analyses climatic trends in the drivers, taking into account the available time series of recorded and simulated meteo-oceanographic data from different sources. Next, it presents the general framework to assess biogeophysical hazards (flooding, erosion, droughts and water quality), followed by a simple and yet robust evaluation of those hazards for the four studied coastal sites. Assuming climate change projections under different scenarios and considering the observed trends in drivers, the resulting erosion rates due to sea-level rise and wave storm effects have been estimated. The Nile and Ebro Deltas, together with the Oran Gulf, are more vulnerable than the Gulfs of Valencia and Gabès. Regarding water quality in terms of (a) precipitation and dissolved oxygen in the water column and (b) sea surface temperature, the results show that the most vulnerable zones for the projected conditions (a) are the Gulfs of Oran, Valencia and Gabès, while the Nile Delta is the region where the decrease in water quality will be less pronounced. For the projected conditions (b), the most vulnerable zone is the Ebro Delta, while the impact in the other three cases will be smaller and of comparable magnitude. Finally, the overall future impact of these hazards (associated to climatic change) in the four sites is discussed in comparative terms, deriving some conclusions.     

基于模糊聚类的中国分省碳排放初步研究

探索低碳发展的道路,既要注意到发展模式的普适性,也要考虑模式的适应性.在中国,从1980年开始CO2的排放总量就不断上涨.但是由于地区之间经济发展水平、生活水平以及环境状况之间存在很大差异,沿海与内陆、东中西部碳排放的驱动因素差异较大,因此在实施低碳发展时,必须考虑影响区域碳排放驱动因素的差异,从而有针对性地制定减排策略.本文从环境经济学角度出发,基于碳排放的驱动因素,利用Kaya模型研究分析例如影响中国碳排放的主要因素--人口、人均国民生产总值和单位国民生产总值碳排放量,并将此三项指标作为模糊聚类指标,将中国按碳排放驱动因素分为4大区域,并针对各区域提出实现低碳发展的相关政策建议.最后,本文对应用该方法将中国按照碳排放驱动因素进行区划的优点与不足做了进一步的讨论.     

Effect of population density on growth, biomass and nickel accumulation capacity of Lemna gibba (Lemnaceae)

The effect of population densities on the growth rate and metal (nickel) accumulation capacity of Lemna gibba (Lemnaceae) was studied under laboratory conditions. At high population densities (800 or 1600 seedling per pot), we observed decreasing growth rate with increasing L. gibba density. Especially, at a density of 1600 seedling a pot the net growth rate became negative. This lower growth rate may relate to lower local temperatures and nutrients within L. gibba mats. Biomass production was inhibited by an increase in plant density. Additionally, high population densities caused decreasing nickel accumulation by L. gibba. In this study, a simple model was created according to data obtained from this study. The model has suggested that crowding is an important factor in limitation of growth of L. gibba.     

Intranasal administration of tetrabromobisphenol A bis(2-hydroxyethyl ether) induces neurobehavioral changes in neonatal Sprague Dawley rats

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and its derivatives are now being highly concerned due to their emerging environmental occurrence and deleterious effects on non-target organisms. Considering the potential neurotoxicity of TBBPA derivatives which has been demonstrated in vitro, what could happen in vivo is worthy of being studied. Tetrabromobisphenol A bis(2-hydroxyethyl ether) (TBBPA-BHEE), a representative TBBPA derivative, was selected for a 21-day exposure experiment on neonatal Sprague Dawley (SD) rats through intranasal administration. The neurobehavioral, histopathological changes, and differentially expressed genes based on RNA microarray were investigated to evaluate the neurological effects of this chemical. The results indicated that TBBPA-BHEE exposure significantly compromised the motor co-ordination performance and the locomotor activities (p < 0.05). The neurobehavioral phenotype could be attributed to the obvious histopathological changes in both cerebrum and cerebellum, such as neural cell swelling, microglial activation and proliferation. A total of 911 genes were up-regulated, whereas 433 genes were down-regulated. Gene set enrichment analysis showed multiple signaling pathways, including ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis and wingless-int (Wnt) signaling pathway etc. were involved due to TBBPA-BHEE exposure. The gene ontology enrichment analysis showed the basic cellular function and the neurological processes like synaptic transmission were influenced. The toxicological effects of TBBPA-BHEE observed in this study suggested the potential neuronal threaten from unintended exposure, which would be of great value in the biosafety evaluation of TBBPA derivatives.     

我国世界自然遗产地旅游业环境经济核算思路

目前,各级地方政府及旅游经营者对中国世界自然遗产地旅游价值的开发力度大,自然遗产地旅游经济发展异常繁荣,同时也带来了自然遗产地环境退化、资源破坏的严重后果。而用来衡量地区经济发展状况的传统旅游业经济核算结果仅体现旅游经济的增长与否及尺度,而忽略了旅游经济增长同时的环境、资源损耗。现借用SEEA 2000框架,结合中国国情,提出中国世界自然遗产地环境经济核算的框架,经过重新整合,突出优质而独具特色的自然环境部分的环境资产类在自然遗产地旅游业中的生产性资产地位,将原SEEA 2000中拆分核算的5大部分、10大步骤整合为4大部分、9大步骤,并对其当前可操作性进行了客观分析。并指出,虽然目前详尽执行世界自然遗产地环境经济核算有一定难度,但理清核算思路具有现实指导意义。     

浅议石油企业绿色采购管理

随着环境保护标准的日益严格、公众环境权益要求的不断提高,石油企业实施绿色采购已成为实施节能减排、提高竞争能力、实现又快又好发展的重要途径;这也是建设环境友好型、资源节约型企业的重要内容。石油企业应从推行物资供应各环节监管、实施物资生命周期全过程评估、加强物资产品供应商管理、强化物资流通信息化建设等方面,建立完善的企业绿色采购管理体系。     

Biodegradability of hydrocarbons in the refinery wastewater from moustorod oil refinery

The present investigation deals with the study of hydrocarbon degradation present in refinery wastewater by natural microbial flora in addition to that obtained using Ps. aeruginosa under laboratory conditions. Results indicated that Ps. aeruginosa may have a significant role in the degradation of hydrocarbons. After seven days, several of the compounds in the original wastewater were completely degraded and four compounds (n-paraffins) were partially degraded. Without Ps. aerruginosa, the same picture had been obtained after 23 days.