Nanomaterials for environmental burden reduction, waste treatment, and nonpoint source pollution control: a review

Nanomaterials are applicable in the areas of reduction of environmental burden, reduction/treatment of industrial and agricultural wastes, and nonpoint source (NPS) pollution control. First, environmental burden reduction involves green process and engineering, emissions control, desulfurization/denitrification of nonrenewable energy sources, and improvement of agriculture and food systems. Second, reduction/treatment of industrial and agricultural wastes involves converting wastes into products, groundwater remediation, adsorption, delaying photocatalysis, and nanomembranes. Third, NPS pollution control involves controlling water pollution. Nanomaterials alter physical properties on a nanoscale due to their high specific surface area to volume ratio. They are used as catalysts, adsorbents, membranes, and additives to increase activity and capability due to their high specific surface areas and nano-sized effects. Thus, nanomaterials are more effective at treating environmental wastes because they reduce the amount of material needed.     

广州市生活饮用水地表水源地微量元素调查

对广州市秀全、巴江、江村、石门、西村、刘屋洲、南洲和沙湾等主要生活饮用水地表水源地中钼、钴、铍、硼、锑、镍、钒、钛、锡、银和钡等微量元素含量水平进行了调查,并采用单因子污染指数法和内梅罗综合污染指数法对微量元素水质进行了评价。结果表明,硼和锡在所有地表水源地均未检出,铍在部分地表水源地有检出,其他检测项目在所有地表水源地均有检出。整体而言,微量元素含量水平不高,地表水源地由北往南微量元素内梅罗指数呈逐渐降低态势,南部水源地水质优于北部水源地。巴江和西部水源地镍含量相对较高,电镀企业排污监管力度有待进一步加强。     

Fire ant venom alkaloids act as key attractants for the parasitic phorid fly, Pseudacteon tricuspis (Diptera: Phoridae)

The phorid fly, Pseudacteon tricuspis Borgmeier, is an introduced parasitoid of imported fire ants, Solenopsis spp., in the USA. Although the assumption that phorid flies use fire ant alarm pheromones for host location is probably true, we demonstrated in a previous study the possible involvement of other ant semiochemicals in the response of P. tricuspis to fire ants. This study was conducted to determine the glandular sources and identity of the semiochemicals mediating this interaction. First, we tested the electroantennogram response of P. tricuspis to extracts of key body parts and glands of workers of the red imported fire ant, S. invicta Buren. The results confirm that the poison (venom) gland/sac is the key source of compounds which elicited strong antennal activity in P. tricuspis. Follow-up studies were conducted by using a combination of bioassay-guided fractionation and behavioral bioassays to test the hypothesis that attraction of this parasitoid to fire ants is mediated by venom alkaloids. The results confirm the response of P. tricuspis to physiologically relevant amounts of the two venom alkaloid fractions (cis and trans alkaloid fractions) of S. invicta. Further analysis by coupled gas chromatography–electroantennogram detection revealed nine venom alkaloid components including two novel 2,6-dialkylpiperideines that elicited significant antennal activity in P. tricuspis. This is the first demonstration of the role of venom alkaloids of ants as attractants for their natural enemies. We propose a semiochemical-mediated host location mechanism for P. tricuspis involving both alarm pheromones and venom alkaloids. The ecological significance of these findings, including the attraction of male P. tricuspis to fire ant venom alkaloids, possibly for mate location, is discussed.     

Error Assessment for Height Above the Nearest Drainage Inundation Mapping

Real‐time flood inundation mapping is vital for emergency response to help protect life and property. Inundation mapping transforms rainfall forecasts into meaningful spatial information that can be utilized before, during, and after disasters. While inundation mapping has traditionally been conducted on a local scale, automated algorithms using topography data can be utilized to efficiently produce flood maps across the continental scale. The Height Above the Nearest Drainage method can be used in conjunction with synthetic rating curves (SRCs) to produce inundation maps, but the performance of these inundation maps needs to be assessed. Here we assess the accuracy of the SRCs and calculate statistics for comparing the SRCs to rating curves obtained from hydrodynamic models calibrated against observed stage heights. We find SRCs are accurate enough for large‐scale approximate inundation mapping while not as accurate when assessing individual reaches or cross sections. We investigate the effect of terrain and channel characteristics and observe reach length and slope predict divergence between the two types of rating curves, and SRCs perform poorly for short reaches with extreme slope values. We propose an approach to recalculate the slope in Manning’s equation as the weighted average over a minimum distance and assess accuracy for a range of moving window lengths.     

Motorcycle safety among motorcycle taxi drivers and nonoccupational motorcyclists in developing countries: A case study of Maoming,South China

Objective: An increasing number of motorcycle taxis have been involved in traffic crashes in many developing countries. This study examines the characteristics of both motorcycle taxi drivers and nonoccupational motorcyclists, investigates the risks they pose to road safety, and provides recommendations to minimize their risks.

Methods: Based on the data collected from a questionnaire survey of 867 motorcycle taxi drivers and 2,029 nonoccupational motorcyclists in Maoming, South China, comparisons were made to analyze differences of personal attributes, attitudes toward road safety, and self-reported behavior of the 2 groups.

Results: Results of the chi-square tests show that not only motorcycle taxi drivers but also nonoccupational motorcyclists in Maoming held poor attitudes toward road safety and both groups reported unsafe driving behavior. There is much room for improving local road safety education among all motorcyclists in Maoming. Yet, motorcycle taxi drivers were more likely to pose road safety risks than nonoccupational motorcyclists under some circumstances, such as speeding late at night or early in the morning, not requiring passengers to wear helmets, and running a red light. The results of the binary logistic regression model show that possessing a vehicle license for a motorcycle or not was the common significant predictor for unsafe driving behavior of motorcycle taxi drivers and nonoccupational motorcyclists. Therefore, enforcement against all motorcyclists not showing vehicle licenses for their motorcycles should be stepped up.

Conclusion: Motorcycle safety is largely poor in Maoming. Therefore, efforts to improve motorcycle safety should be strengthened by targeting not only motorcycle taxi drivers but also nonoccupational motorcyclists.     

粉煤灰-铝土矿改性制备铝铁复合混凝剂的除磷性能及混凝机理研究

化学混凝法是城市污水处理深度除磷的有效方法,目前常用混凝剂主要存在成本高、除磷效率低且用量大等缺点.本研究采用常压酸浸法,以低成本的铝土矿和粉煤灰为主要原料制备无机复合混凝剂,并对其进行除磷应用及机理研究,结果表明:1自制混凝剂对生活污水中TP去除率达99.58%,出水TP含量为0.012 mg·L-1,优于GB18918—2002一级A标准.2 X-射线衍射和红外光谱结果显示,混凝剂中的Fe—OH、Al—OH、H—OH等基团能与水中的磷酸根作用生成沉淀达到除磷目的,该沉淀在沉降过程中还能吸附不易沉淀的含磷悬浮物,发挥网捕卷扫作用.3采用Ferron逐时络合比色法分析铝铁形态结果显示,混凝剂含有64.14%低聚态铝铁,能中和水中胶体的表面电荷致使胶体脱稳;11.27%中聚态铝铁可吸附在胶体表面,降低其表面电荷,同时以较高的分子量发挥吸附架桥作用;24.59%高聚态铝铁在沉淀过程中可包夹部分胶体粒子,以较大表面积发挥卷扫作用.4分形维数研究结果显示,絮体分形维数在1.2~2.8之间,分形特征较好,能有效发挥絮体的吸附架桥作用.5 Zeta电位分析结果显示,混凝剂本身带正电荷,能与水中带负电荷的胶体物质发生中和,从而压缩双电子层,使胶体粒子脱稳而从水中去除.混凝剂除磷过程是压缩双电层、电中和、吸附架桥和网捕卷扫多种机制共同作用的动态变化过程.     

Application of Pesticide Sprays to Fresh Produce: A Risk Assessment for Hepatitis A and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmonella</Emphasis>

The purpose of this study was to quantify the transfer of viral and bacterial pathogens in water used to dilute pesticides sprayed onto the surfaces of cantaloupe, iceberg lettuce, and bell peppers. The average percent transfer of bacteria was estimated to range from 0.00021 to 9.4%, while average viral transfer ranged from 0.055 to 4.2%, depending on the type of produce. Based on these values the concentrations of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and Salmonella in water necessary to achieve a 1:10,000 annual risk of infection were calculated. Under worst case scenario assumptions, in which a pesticide is applied on the same day that the produce is harvested and when maximum transfer values are used, concentrations of 1.5 × 10⁻³ CFU Salmonella or 2.7 × 10⁻⁷ MPN HAV per 100 ml of the water used for application would result in 1:10,000 annual infection risk to anyone who consumes the fresh produce. If harvesting does not occur until at least 14 days after the application, to produce the same risk of infection, the numbers of Salmonella in 100 ml of water used to dilute the pesticides will be greater by up to five orders of magnitude, while the HAV numbers will have increased by up to two orders of magnitude. Based on the reported concentrations of enteric viruses in surface and ground waters in the United States, a 1:10,000 annual risk of infection could easily be exceeded with some groundwater sources used in the United States. To reduce the risks associated with the consumption of fresh produce, water used to prepare pesticides in spray applications should be evaluated for its microbiological quality.     

成核方式对诱导结晶工艺处理含铜废水的影响

研究了诱导结晶过程中成核方式对诱导结晶工艺处理含铜废水的影响.在2组严格控制的实验条件下,分别考察均相成核和非均相成核下诱导结晶工艺运行效果,并利用扫描电镜（SEM）、X射线能谱分析（EDS）等手段考察了2种成核方式下回收的结晶产物的生长状态以及纯度.结果表明,当废水中铜的浓度为50 mg.L-1时,均相成核条件下,结...     

全国排污申报登记系统的研究与开发

简要介绍全国排污申报登记系统的指标体系设计,信息分类偏码,重点污染源筛选和系统结构设计、功能,程序设计等主要技术方法,并结合系统开发经验阐述了全国排污申报统一软件的研究成果及其功能特点。