Tissue-based environmental quality benchmarks and standards

Although the use of tissue concentrations (residues) of chemical contaminants as the dose metric to characterize chemical toxicity to aquatic organisms has been gaining acceptance over the past 20 years, tissue concentrations are less commonly used in water quality management and have yet to be formally adopted as benchmarks or environmental quality standards (EQS). This synthesis paper addresses advantages and disadvantages for the development and application of tissue-based EQS as an alternative and supplement to exposure-based EQS determined with water and sediment concentration data. Tissue-based EQS can be readily developed in parallel with conventional toxicity tests, and achieved by quantification of chemical concentrations in tissue alongside traditional concentration-response toxicity testing. Tissue-residue toxicity metrics can be used as benchmarks for screening and monitoring water and sediment quality, to derive equivalent water or sediment EQS, and for ecological risk assessments and weight of evidence approaches for assessing ecosystem impairment. Tissue-based toxicity metrics and associated EQS provide several advantages; however, there are some limitations to consider and key knowledge gaps to fill.     

Source apportionment of PAHs and n-alkanes in respirable particles in Tehran,Iran by wind sector and vertical profile

The vertical concentration profiles and source contributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes in respirable particle samples (PM₄) collected at 10, 100, 200 and 300-m altitude from the Milad Tower of Tehran, Iran during fall and winter were investigated. The average concentrations of total PAHs and total n-alkanes were 16.7 and 591 ng/m³, respectively. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model was applied to the chemical composition and wind data to apportion the contributing sources. The five PAH source factors identified were: ‘diesel’ (56.3 % of total PAHs on average), ‘gasoline’ (15.5 %), ‘wood combustion, and incineration’ (13 %), ‘industry’ (9.2 %), and ‘road soil particle’ (6.0 %). The four n-alkane source factors identified were: ‘petrogenic’ (65 % of total n-alkanes on average), ‘mixture of petrogenic and biomass burning’ (15 %), ‘mixture of biogenic and fossil fuel’ (11.5 %), and ‘biogenic’ (8.5 %). Source contributions by wind sector were also estimated based on the wind sector factor loadings from PMF analysis. Directional dependence of sources was investigated using the conditional probability function (CPF) and directional relative strength (DRS) methods. The calm wind period was found to contribute to 4.4 % of total PAHs and 5.0 % of total n-alkanes on average. Highest average concentrations of PAHs and n-alkanes were found in the 10 and 100 m samples, reflecting the importance of contributions from local sources. Higher average concentrations in the 300 m samples compared to those in the 200 m samples may indicate contributions from long-range transport. The vertical profiles of source factors indicate the gasoline and road soil particle-associated PAHs, and the mixture from biogenic and fossil fuel source-associated n-alkanes were mostly from local emissions. The smaller average contribution of diesel-associated PAHs in the lower altitude samples also indicates that the restriction of diesel-fueled vehicle use in the central area of Tehran has been effective in reducing the PAHs concentration.     

Levoglucosan and carbonaceous species in the background aerosol of coastal southeast China: case study on transport of biomass burning smoke from the Philippines

Introduction  

Levoglucosan and carbonaceous species in the background aerosol of coastal southeast China were measured at Jianfengling (JFL), a background mountain site in a National Reserve Park on Hainan Island, and at Hok Tsui (HT), a rural site on the southern coast of Hong Kong from April to May of 2004 during an intensive field study.     

稠油降解微生物的筛选鉴定及其降解特性

从二连油田原油和油层水中筛选驯化出3株能够降解稠油的细菌DS1、DS2和DS3,通过16S rRNA基因序列比对发现DS1、DS2和DS3分别与溶血不动杆菌(Acinetobacter haemolyticus)、鹑鸡肠球菌(Enterococcus gallinarum)和耳炎短杆菌(Brevibacterium otitidis)相似度最高,分别为99%、99%和98%。研究结果表明,DS1对温度和pH有较强耐受性,DS3对盐度的适应性较好,2株菌最适的降解条件为温度35~40℃、盐度2%~5%(W/V)、pH为7~10。在5%的原油浓度下,复合菌对原油的30 d降解率达89.2%。经GC-MS分析,微生物降解作用后,除C29其他烃类几乎被全部降解。3株菌在7d内对500 g/L粘度为1 746 mPa·s(50℃)的稠油降粘率分别为49.1%、46.6%和49.0%,而复合菌对稠油的降粘效果高于单一菌株,其降粘率达到57.0%。     

Redundant Measurements of Urban Air Monitoring Networks in Air Quality Reporting

Abstract

This paper describes a statistical method to assess site redundancy of urban air monitoring networks in reporting daily Pollutant Standards Index (PSI), average concentrations, and the number of exceedances. Such a statistical method has identified significant redundancy in monitoring sites for one-year measurements of two air monitoring networks in Taiwan. There are five redundant sites out of 15 monitoring sites in the Taipei area and eight redundant sites out of 18 monitoring sites in the Kaohsiung area. By using the statistical method presented in this paper to downsize the monitoring networks, we can determine not only the number of redundant sites but also the priority of site removals. The derived sub-networks can maintain consistency in reporting air quality without significant changes in the spatial variations of air measurements for an existing air monitoring network.     

城市化对河流着生硅藻物种和功能多样性的影响——以深圳市河流为例

着生藻类是河流生态系统的主要初级生产者,了解城市化对着生藻类多样性的影响对于城市河流管理具有重要意义.本研究以深圳市河流为例,研究了河流着生硅藻性状及物种、功能多样性对城市干扰的响应.研究发现城区和郊区的水质状况差异显著.城区样点的NH₄⁺-N、NO₂-N、TN、TP和DOC浓度是郊区的3～20倍不等.水环境的巨大变化也导致了河流着生藻类生物多样性的变化.城区组物种丰富度、Pielou指数和Simpson指数均显著高于郊区组,而功能均匀度则显著低于郊区组.并且在21个硅藻性状中,有15个性状在城区和郊区组间存在显著差异.进一步用随机森林模型拟合着生藻类生物多样性与水质指标的关系,结果发现硅藻性状对城市化反应较其他指标更为敏感.特别是小型、可动、低共位群和运动群这4个性状指标,构建的随机森林模型解释率能达到40%～60%,而生物多样性指数构建的模型解释率只有15%～25%左右.总体来说,TP和TN是影响城市河流着生硅藻多样性的主要水质指标.在营养水平高的城市样点.个体较大、能够移动的硅藻占有主导地位;而在营养水平较低的郊区...     

Analysis of injury mechanism of the elderly and non-elderly groups in minor motor vehicle accidents

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the injury patterns of noncatastrophic accidents by individual age groups.

Methods: Data were collected from the Korean In-Depth Accident Study database based on actual accident investigation. The noncatastrophic criteria were classified according to U.S. experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for field triage guidelines of high-risk automobile crash criteria by vehicle intrusions more than 12 in. on occupant sites (including the roof) and more than 18 in. on any site. The Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) was used to determine injury patterns for each body region. Severely injured patients were classified as Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) 3 or higher.

Results: In this study, the most significant injury regions were the head and neck, extremities, and thorax. In addition, the incidence of severe injury among elderly patients was nearly 1.6 times higher than that of non-elderly patients. According to age group, injured body regions among the elderly were the thorax, head and neck, and extremities, in that order. For the non-elderly groups, these were head and neck, extremities, and thorax. Severe injury rates were slightly different for the elderly group (head and neck, abdomen) and non-elderly group (thorax, head and neck).

Conclusions: In both age groups, the rate of severe injury is proportional to an increase in crush extent zone. Front airbag deployment may have a relatively significant relationship to severe injuries.     

The effects of driver factors and sign design features on the comprehensibility of traffic signs

PROBLEM: This paper addresses the effects of driver factors and sign design features on the comprehensibility of traffic signs. METHODS: A survey was designed to capture subjects' personal particulars, ratings on sign features, and comprehension scores, and then administered to 109 Hong Kong full driving license holders. RESULTS: Years with driving license and education level were significant predictors of sign comprehensibility. Contrary to expectation, the driver factors of age group, years of active driving, hours of driving, last time driving, driving frequency, and non-local driving experience had no effect on comprehension performance. Sign familiarity was correlated with comprehension score for licensed drivers, whereas sign concreteness, simplicity, and meaningfulness were not. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The results of this study provide useful guidelines for designing more user-friendly traffic signs in the future. It identified particular driver groups who lacked good understanding of traffic signs, and this information may assist the relevant organizations to better allocate traffic training resources, and better target future studies of traffic sign comprehension.     

Bioaccessibility of polychlorinated biphenyls in different foods using an in vitro digestion method

Bioaccessibility of organic pollutants in food is important for exposure estimation and risk assessment. An in vitro enzyme digestion experiment was carried out to analyze the bioaccessibility of PCBs in different foods including freshwater fish (bighead carp and oriental weather fish) and vegetables (spinach and cabbage). The results indicated that the bioaccessibility of PCBs in freshwater fish (3%) was much lower than that in leafy vegetables (25%). Based on field survey, the daily exposure TEQ value from these two types of food was 17.9 pg/kg bw/day. However, when bioaccessibility was taken into consideration, the value decreased to 0.61 pg/kg bw/day. Therefore, the forms of PCBs existing in food strongly influenced the bioavailability for humans, which may have important implications on dietary exposure. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to illustrate the bioaccessibility of PCBs in different foods using an in vitro digestion method.     

VE生产废水的短程硝化反硝化研究

应用短程硝化 反硝化工艺在维生素E废水生物脱氮处理中的实验研究。结果表明 ,当溶解氧浓度为 0 85mg L时的亚硝化率 (NO-2 N NO-x N)为 18 9% ,远远 >溶解氧 2 6 5mg L时的 1 13% ;通过对回流污泥 12h的缺氧选择处理 ,出水中的NO-2 由原来的 2 5mg L上升到 2 5 6mg L ,相应的污泥中亚硝化细菌与硝化细菌的数量比值由 0 4 5提高到 2 4 4 ;在进水中投加 5～ 10mg L的ClO-3能够使污泥中硝酸细菌的活性受到明显抑制 ,但污泥中硝酸细菌的数量却增加了。在停止向进水中投加氯酸根离子后硝酸细菌活性可以缓慢恢复 ,15d后系统的亚硝化率稳定在 5 5 %～ 5 8%。