Spatial and seasonal distribution of nitrogen in marsh soils of a typical floodplain wetland in Northeast China

Horizontal and profile distributions of nitrogen in marsh soils in different seasons were studied in a typical site within the Erbaifangzi wetland in Northeast China. Results showed that there was higher spatial heterogeneity for nitrate nitrogen (NO₃^--_{3}^{-}-N) and ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺_{4}^{+}–N), as well as available nitrogen (AN), in surface soils in July compared to that in September. Relative to July, the mean nitrogen contents in surface soils were slightly higher in September; however, in November, soils contained significantly lower NO₃^--_{3}^{-}-N and NH₄⁺_{4}^{+}–N, higher AN, organic nitrogen (Org-N), and total nitrogen (TN). Except for mineral nitrogen, no significant differences were observed between Org-N and TN contents in September and November. Nitrogen contents generally declined exponentially with depth along soil profiles in three sampling dates (July, September, and November), except for a significant accumulation peak of NO₃^--_{3}^{-}-N at the 20–30 cm depth in September. However, NH₄⁺_{4}^{+}–N contents showed a vertical alternation of “increasing and decreasing” in both July and September, while nearly kept constant with depth in November. The depth ranking of nitrogen showed the shallowest distribution for AN, followed by Org-N and TN, while deeper distributions for NO₃^--_{3}^{-}-N and NH₄⁺_{4}^{+}–N. TN, Org-N, and AN were significantly correlated with soil organic matter and total phosphorus. Soil pH values were significantly correlated with TN and AN contents in surface soils. Clay contents showed significant correlations with nitrogen contents except for NO₃^--_{3}^{-}-N in surface soils and NH₄⁺_{4}^{+}–N in profile soils. However, soil moisture was not significantly correlated with nitrogen contents among all soil samples.     

A mini review of fluoride-induced apoptotic pathways

Fluorine or fluoride can have toxic effects on bone tissue and soft tissue at high concentrations. These negative effects include but not limited to cytotoxicity, immunotoxicity, blood toxicity, and oxidative damage. Apoptosis plays an important role in fluoride-induced toxicity of kidney, liver, spleen, thymus, bursa of Fabricius, cecal tonsil, and cultured cells. Here, apoptosis activated by high level of fluoride has been systematically reviewed, focusing on three pathways: mitochondrion-mediated, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated, and death receptor-mediated pathways. However, very limited reports are focused on the death receptor-mediated apoptosis pathways in the fluoride-induced apoptosis. Therefore, understanding and discovery of more pathways and molecular mechanisms of fluoride-induced apoptosis may contribute to designing measures for preventing fluoride toxicity.     

Sb release characteristics of the solid waste produced in antimony mining smelting process

Sb release characteristics of blast furnace slag, mining waste rock and tailing sand were investigated in static immersion and dynamic leaching test. These three kinds of waste samples were collected from the antimony mine in Lengshuijiang, China, produced in mining smelting process. Effects of solid/liquid ratio, sample size and pH of leaching solution on Sb release characteristics were inspected based on the analysis of scanning electron microscope, pH and EC of leachate. The optimal parameters for Sb leaching of each sample were analyzed. For blast furnace slag and mining waste rock, Sb release contents increased along with the decline of solid/liquid ratio. The maximum accumulative release contents were 42.13, 34.26 mg/kg at the solid/liquid ratio of 1:20. While Sb release content for tailing sand decreased first and then increased with the reduction of solid/liquid ratio. When the solid/liquid ratio was 1:5, the accumulative Sb release content reached the most (24.30 mg/kg). Sb release content of mining waste rock increased with the drop of leaching solution pH, with the highest accumulative release content of 26.01 mg/kg at pH 2.0. Sb release contents of blast furnace slag and tailing sand showed positive correlation with the variation of leaching solution pH. The maximum accumulative release contents of these two samples were 215.91 and 147.83 mg/kg, respectively, when leaching solution pH was 7.0. In summary, Sb release capacity of the three samples in descending order was tailing sand, blast furnace slag and mining waste rock. pH and EC of the leachate in dynamic test varied independently with the initial pH of leaching solution while showing close relationship with mineral hydrolysis in the waste.     

Depth perception,dark adaptation,vigilance and accident proneness of Chinese coal mine workers

To explore the relationships between human factors and accident proneness of coal mine workers, the depth perception, dark adaptation and vigilance abilities of 239 Chinese coal mine workers were tested and their accident proneness was surveyed with an accident proneness questionnaire. The results indicated that dark adaptation and vigilance abilities of the mine workers declined with increasing age. Vigilance had a significant negative relationship with accident proneness. There were significant differences in vigilance between coal mine workers doing different types of work. Individual difference in vigilance was relevant to the type of work that an individual did in a coal mine. The dark adaptation index had a significant positive relationship with accident proneness. Coal mine workers with weaker dark adaptation ability were also more accident prone. Some ergonomics recommendations concerning coal mine safety management in China are proposed.     

Land use/land cover change and statistical modelling of cultivated land change drivers in Nigeria

Regional Environmental Change - In recent decades, human activities have significantly influenced land use/land cover. Identifying pattern changes in regional land use/land cover and their drivers...     

苏丹红I对小鼠卵巢的损伤作用及对Caspase-3和Ki-67表达的影响

苏丹红是一种人工合成偶氮染料,可引起肝脏及泌尿系统等多个脏器的肿瘤,但苏丹红对生殖系统的毒性研究较少。本研究以昆明小鼠为受试对象,探讨苏丹红I对小鼠卵巢组织Caspase-3和Ki-67表达的影响。将24只昆明小鼠随机分为:对照组、低剂量(60 mg·kg~(-1))、中剂量(120 mg·kg~(-1))、高剂量(240 mg·kg~(-1))4组,6只/组。胃灌4周,4周末处死。HE染色观察各组卵巢组织病理变化,免疫组化法检测卵巢组织Caspase-3和Ki-67表达,Real time PCR检测卵巢组织Caspase-3和Ki-67 m RNA表达,Western blotting检测卵巢组织中Ki-67及Caspase-3蛋白表达。与对照组比较,实验组卵巢中Caspase-3阳性细胞率显著升高(P0.05),而Ki-67阳性细胞率显著降低(P0.05),Real time PCR及Western blotting结果与免疫组化法结果一致。本实验发现苏丹红染毒后颗粒细胞的Caspase-3表达增加,且Caspase-3表达呈剂量依赖性,但Ki-67表达受到抑制。     

Field crops (Ipomoea aquatica Forsk. and Brassica chinensis L.) for phytoremediation of cadmium and nitrate co-contaminated soils via rotation with Sedum alfredii Hance

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Phytoremediation coupled with crop rotation (PCC) is a feasible strategy for remediation of contaminated soil without interrupting crop production....     

Characteristics of PM<Subscript>2.5</Subscript>, CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and particle-number concentration in mass transit railway carriages in Hong Kong

Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) levels, carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels and particle-number concentrations (PNC) were monitored in train carriages on seven routes of the mass transit railway in Hong Kong between March and May 2014, using real-time monitoring instruments. The 8-h average PM_2.5 levels in carriages on the seven routes ranged from 24.1 to 49.8 µg/m³, higher than levels in Finland and similar to those in New York, and in most cases exceeding the standard set by the World Health Organisation (25 µg/m³). The CO₂ concentration ranged from 714 to 1801 ppm on four of the routes, generally exceeding indoor air quality guidelines (1000 ppm over 8 h) and reaching levels as high as those in Beijing. PNC ranged from 1506 to 11,570 particles/cm³, lower than readings in Sydney and higher than readings in Taipei. Correlation analysis indicated that the number of passengers in a given carriage did not affect the PM_2.5 concentration or PNC in the carriage. However, a significant positive correlation (p < 0.001, R ² = 0.834) was observed between passenger numbers and CO₂ levels, with each passenger contributing approximately 7.7–9.8 ppm of CO₂. The real-time measurements of PM_2.5 and PNC varied considerably, rising when carriage doors opened on arrival at a station and when passengers inside the carriage were more active. This suggests that air pollutants outside the train and passenger movements may contribute to PM_2.5 levels and PNC. Assessment of the risk associated with PM_2.5 exposure revealed that children are most severely affected by PM_2.5 pollution, followed in order by juveniles, adults and the elderly. In addition, females were found to be more vulnerable to PM_2.5 pollution than males (p < 0.001), and different subway lines were associated with different levels of risk.     

CuO / 过硫酸氢钾体系催化氧化苯酚简

本论文通过直接沉淀法制备了CuO催化剂,结合过硫酸氢钾,在常温常压下催化氧化处理苯酚模拟废水。采用电子显微镜（SEM）、X射线粉末衍射（XRD）对催化剂进行了表征,并研究了反应过程中各影响因素对降解效率的影响。实验结果表明,在催化剂用量为0.2 g/L,氧化剂浓度为0.25 g/L,pH值为7,反应时间为60 min的条件下,浓度为50 mg/L的苯酚降解率可达100%,TOC去除率达84%。进一步实验表明,催化剂具有良好的重复使用能力。最后,通过自由基捕捉实验,考察了体系中的自由基种类,并根据实验结果,讨论了CuO/过硫酸氢钾体系的催化降解机理。