Characteristics of nitrate horizontal transport in a paddy field of the Tai Lake region,China

The characteristics of nitrate horizontal transport in a major paddy soil, Wu Shan soil in the Tai Lake region, were studied. The concentration of nitrate during horizontal movement decreased with the increasing in distance from the tracer source, the change following a logarithmic function. The concentration of the nitrate was strongly correlated with the soil moisture content, as an exponential function. The horizontal transport velocity of nitrate was significantly correlated with the distance of the tracer source as power function. Therefore, the velocity of nitrate horizontal transport was controlled by the concentration gradient of nitrate, and soil water potential gradient from beginning to the 20 cm mark in the horizontal column. However, the velocity of nitrate horizontal was stable beyond 20 cm, where it was controlled by soil matric potential.     

Validation of germination rate and root elongation as indicator to assess phytotoxicity with Cucumis sativus

Germination rate and root elongation, as a rapid phytotoxicity test method, possess several advantages, such as sensitivity, simplicity, low cost and suitability for unstable chemicals or samples. These advantages made them suitable for developing a large-scale phytotoxicity database and especially applicable for developing quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) to study mechanisms of phytotoxicity. In this paper, the comparative inhibition of germination rate and root elongation of Cucumis sativus by selected halogen-substituted phenols and anilines were determined. The suitability of germination rate and root elongation as phytotoxicity endpoints was evaluated. Excellent reproducibility and stability of germination rate and root elongation in the control test, relatively greater sensitivity and similar dose–response relations for all tested compounds were observed. These results together with those of a 2-day test were used to demonstrate the suitability of this phytotoxicity test method. A QSAR was developed for the phytotoxicity mode of action of the tested compounds to C. sativus seeds. Models that combined the logarithm of 1-octanol/water partition coefficient (log K_ow) and the energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (E_lumo) were developed for both germination rate inhibition and root elongation inhibition. The results of these studies indicate that phytotoxicity of substituted phenols and anilines to C. sativus seeds could be explained by a polar narcosis mechanism. This paper will promote the application of germination rate and root elongation method and the development of large-scale phytotoxicity database, which will provide the fundamental data for QSAR and ecological risk assessment of organic pollutants.     

Effects of dissolved organic matter from animal waste effluent on chlorpyrifos sorption by soils

The increased use of animal waste-derived effluents for irrigation could result in the enhanced movement of pesticides through complexation with dissolved organic materials. Batch equilibrium studies were conducted to measure the interaction among soil, chlorpyrifos [O,O-diethyl O-(3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridyl) phosphorothioate], and dissolved organic matter (DOM) from poultry, swine, and cow waste-derived lagoon effluents. All DOM was found to have a strong affinity for chlorpyrifos, resulting in reduced sorption of chlorpyrifos by soil, thus the potential for DOM-enhanced mobility. Effluent DOM was observed to sorb to soils. Thus, for increasingly higher soil mass to solution volume ratios, the effect of chlorpyrifos association with water-borne DOM on sorption decreases significantly. For high soil mass to solution volume ratios typical of soil profiles in the landscape, the potential for DOM-enhanced transport will be greatly attenuated. Dissolved organic matter concentration and the nonpolar nature of DOM in the lagoon effluent decreased with increasing residence time in the cells of the lagoon system, thus reducing the potential for DOM-enhanced transport.     

Adsorption of phenol on inorganic-organic pillared montmorillonite in polluted water

Both inorganic- and organic-pillared montmorillonites (PMts) were used to adsorb phenol to study suitable conditions for adsorption and adsorption isotherms. The adsorbing capacity of modified clays depends not only surface area, but mainly on micropore structure and surface components. After incandescing at 500 degrees C, the pillar structure and the basal interlayer spacing (1.83 nm) remained stable. Using modified PMt with surfactant can improve adsorbing capacity greatly. The PMt can be recycled, and it is a potential substance for adsorption of environmental pollutants.     

Indoor air exposure to coal and wood combustion emissions associated with a high lung cancer rate in Xuan Wei, China

Residents of Xuan Wei County in China have unusually high lung cancer mortality that cannot be attributed to tobacco use or occupational exposure. They are exposed to smoke from unvented, open pit coal or wood fires (often used for cooking and heating). The variation in lung cancer rates among communes within the county suggests that indoor combustion of smoky coal may be the prime determinant of lung cancer. To characterize the air in Xuan Wei homes, samples of air particles and semivolatile organic compounds were collected from homes located in two communes; one commune has a high rate of lung cancer, and the other has a low rate. Samples collected in the commune where the lung cancer rate is high and where smoky coal is the predominant fuel contained high concentrations of small particles with high organic content; organic extracts of these samples were mutagenic. Samples from homes in the wood-burning commune, which has a low rate of lung cancer, consisted mostly of larger particles of lower organic content and mutagenicity. The smoky coal sample was a mouse skin carcinogen and was a more potent initiator of skin tumors in comparison to the wood or smokeless coal sample.     

Phosalone applied to cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.): its deposition and persistence on foliages, soils and final residues in seeds

Phosalone, O,O-diethyl-S-(6-chloro-1,3-benzoxazol-2(3H)-onyl)methyl phosphorodithioate, was field-applied by ground equipment to cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) at the rates of 1050 and 2100 g a.i./ha, respectively, to determine its dissipation on leaves and soils and the residues in seeds at harvest. The insecticide concentrations on cotton leaves and soils were measured periodically for 14 days following its application. It was found that the half lives of the insecticide on cotton leaves at the dosages of 1050 and 2100 g a.i./ha were 6.8 and 6.3 days, respectively. And the half lives on soils for the 2 dosages were 7 and 5.8 days, respectively. The residues remaining in soils at harvest time were 0.072 and 0.121 mg/kg 14 days post-application and the residues in cotton seeds were relatively low (less than 0.02-0.12 mg/kg).     

Prenatal diagnosis of werdnig-hoffmann disease: DNA analysis of a mummified umbilical cord using closely linked microsatellite markers

We present a case of prenatal diagnosis of Werdnig-Hoffmann disease, the most severe type of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). DNA obtained from a mummified umbilical cord of a deceased affected brother of the index case was analysed with four closely linked microsatellite markers [EF1/2a and EF13/14 (D5S125), MAP1B, and JK53CA (D5S112)], flanking the SMA gene, on chromosome 5q11·2-13·3. The fetus was diagnosed as homozygous for the deleterious SMA gene.     

Location of toxicity within the Mediterranean sponge Crambe crambe (Demospongiae: Poecilosclerida)

Within-specimen location of toxicity in Crambe crambe (Schmidt) has been addressed by complementary procedures on specimens collected in north-east Spain (Western Mediterranean) in winter of 1993. The toxicity of the distal (ectosome) and basal (choanosome) sponge parts have been analysed and the main cellular types present in these two layers have been studied by light and electron microscopy. The toxicity of the three main cell types, separated by the gradient-density method, has also been analysed. Three main fractions, each of them enriched in a different cellular type, were obtained: Fraction 1 (interface between 2 and 5% Ficoll) contained 90±0.9% (mean±SE) of spherulous cells and 10% of different cell types consisting of choanocytes (5±0.54%), and unidentified cells or cell debris (5±0.84%); Fraction 2 (interface between 5 and 8% Ficoll) was enriched in choanocytes (70±0.95%), and also contained spherulous cells (11.8±0.73%), archeocytes (6.2±0.74%) and unidentified sponge cells (12±0.74%); Fraction 3 (interface between 8 and 11% Ficoll) mainly consisted of archeocytes and archeocyte-like cells (75±0.66%), together with spherulous cells (7±0.74%) and other unidentified sponge cells and cell aggregates mainly formed by choanocytes (18±0.41%). Toxicity [measured in toxicity units, TU, using the Microtox^® procedure] was significantly higher in the sponge ectosome (12.45±1.4 TU) than in the choanosome (2.58±0.92 UT). Only the abundance of spherulous cells in the sponge tissues correlated well with the pattern of toxicity observed, and this was corroborated by the toxic behaviour of the three cellular fractions obtained: the one enriched in spherulous cells was highly toxic (9.08 UT), whereas those enriched in choanocytes and in archeocytes were almost inactive (0.48 UT) or totally innocuous, respectively. All these results point to the spherulous cells being responsible for the storage (and possibly production) of the toxic compounds in C. crambe. Toxicity is concentrated in the sponge periphery. Spherulous cells are also concentrated in this area and can also be observed outside the sponge exopinacoderm. These results correlate well with the assumption of a defensive role of toxicity, since encounters with potential epibionts, predators and competitive neighbours take place through this peripheral zone. However, we found two types of spherulous cells (orange and colourless, respectively) coexisting in the same sponge zones as well as in Cell Fraction 1. Thus, we cannot at present determine whether one or both types are responsible for the toxicity encountered, although it is likely that the two correspond to different states of the same cell type.