Terrestrial exposure of oilfield flowline additives diminish soil structural stability and remediative microbial function

Onshore oil production pipelines are major installations in the petroleum industry, stretching many thousands of kilometres worldwide which also contain flowline additives. The current study focuses on the effect of the flowline additives on soil physico-chemical and biological properties and quantified the impact using resilience and resistance indices. Our findings are the first to highlight deleterious effect of flowline additives by altering some fundamental soil properties, including a complete loss of structural integrity of the impacted soil and a reduced capacity to degrade hydrocarbons mainly due to: (i) phosphonate salts (in scale inhibitor) prevented accumulation of scale in pipelines but also disrupted soil physical structure; (ii) glutaraldehyde (in biocides) which repressed microbial activity in the pipeline and reduced hydrocarbon degradation in soil upon environmental exposure; (iii) the combinatory effects of these two chemicals synergistically caused severe soil structural collapse and disruption of microbial degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons.     

Molecular characterization of conjugative plasmids in pesticide tolerant and multi-resistant bacterial isolates from contaminated alluvial soil

A total of 35 bacteria from contaminated soil (cultivated fields) near pesticide industry from Chinhat, Lucknow, (India) were isolated and tested for their tolerance/resistance to pesticides, heavy metals and antibiotics. Bacterial isolates were identified by 16S rDNA sequencing. Gas Chromatography analysis of the soil samples revealed the presence of lindane at a concentration of 547 ng g⁻¹ and α-endosulfan and β-endosulfan of 422 ng g⁻¹ and 421 ng g⁻¹ respectively. Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry analysis of the test sample was done and Cr, Zn, Ni, Fe, Cu and Cd were detected at concentrations of 36.2, 42.5, 43.2, 241, 13.3 and 11.20 mg kg⁻¹ respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of all the isolates were determined for pesticides and heavy metals. All the multi-resistant/tolerant bacterial isolates were also tested for the presence of incompatibility (Inc) group IncP, IncN, IncW, IncQ plasmids and for rolling circle plasmids of the pMV158-family by PCR. Total community DNA was extracted from pesticide contaminated soil. PCR amplification of the bacterial isolates and soil DNA revealed the presence of IncP-specific sequences (trfA2 and oriT) which was confirmed by dot blot hybridization with RP4-derived DIG-labelled probes. Plasmids belonging to IncN, IncW and IncQ group were neither detected in the bacterial isolates nor in total soil DNA. The presence of conjugative or mobilizable IncP plasmids in the isolates indicate that these bacteria have gene transfer capacity with implications for dissemination of heavy metal and antibiotic resistance genes. We propose that IncP plasmids are mainly responsible for the spread of multi-resistant bacteria in the contaminated soils.     

Abundance and removal of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the rearing environments of intensive shrimp aquaculture in South China

Although research regarding antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in aquaculture environments has gained increasing scientific interest, further studies are required to understand the abundances and removal mechanisms of ARGs during the entire rearing period of shrimp aquaculture. Thus, in this study, abundances, distributions and removal rates of ARGs in different environmental compartments of intensive shrimp farms in South China were investigated during the entire rearing period. The results indicated that sul1 and cmlA were the predominant ARGs in the water and sediment samples. Additionally, the total abundance of ARGs was higher in shrimp pond water than in the source water and farm effluent. Moreover, sediment samples indicated significantly higher ARG abundances than water samples from the shrimp ponds (P?<?0.05). Environmental factors were found to significantly affect the distribution of ARGs in shrimp rearing environments. Furthermore, stable ponds aided the removal of ARGs from shrimp pond water. This study accounted for temporal variations in ARG abundances as well as removal of ARGs in different environmental compartments during the entire shrimp rearing period. However, additional research is required to optimize the water treatment process for removal of ARGs from the aquaculture.     

电袋复合除尘器的滤料试验与应用

清灰周期与阻力是除尘器的主要技术性能指标。本文研究了粉尘浓度及荷电粉尘对清灰周期与阻力的影响,总结了影响电袋复合除尘器性能的主要因素,介绍了电袋复合除尘器的应用实例,并分析了电袋复合除尘器的适用性。     

长广七矿通风阻力测定及分析

矿井通风阻力测定是矿井安全管理工作的重要内容之一。本文介绍了气压计基点法的测定原理及测定步骤,并将该方法应用于长广七矿通风系统阻力的测定中,通过对测定数据的整理分析,揭示了该矿通风阻力分布和风量分配的基本情况,并针对存在的问题提出了相应的技术对策,为该矿井实现通风管理的科学化和制订合理的技术改造方案提供基本依据。     

自吸过滤式呼吸器对人体呼吸模式的影响

测定了在中等（100W）和高等（155W）劳动强度下,8名受试者佩戴5种自吸过滤式呼吸器（呼吸阻力及死腔不同）从事踏车运动时的呼吸模式变化。结果表明：口腔压力波动和外呼吸功因呼吸器而显著增加;随着呼吸负荷的增加,呼气压及吸气压相应增大;在呼吸负荷较大的情况下,呼气压及吸气压的增大更加显著;随运动负荷的增加,呼吸负荷对呼吸压的影响更加明显。     

Environmental pollutants and type 2 diabetes: a review of human studies

The incidence of diabetes has increased dramatically in recent decades and become one of the leading health problems worldwide. Lifestyle and dietary changes alone cannot account for the dramatic rise of diabetes, while an increasing number of publications have reported the possible relationships between exposure to environmental pollutants and risk of diabetes. In the present review, our objective was to summarize the human studies on environmental pollutants, which includes persistent organic pollutants, pesticides (not on the Stockholm Convention list), bisphenol A, and phthalates, and the risk of diabetes. Currently published results suggest a positive relationship between certain persistent organic pollutants (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, hexachlorobenzene, and polychlorinated biphenyls) and bisphenol A exposure and risk of diabetes. For pyrethroids, organophosphates, carbamates, and phthalates, there are insufficient studies to reach conclusions and therefore more studies, especially prospective studies, are needed along with in vivo and in vitro studies to understand the underlying mechanisms.     

气溶胶中抗生素抗性基因研究进展:以养殖场和医院为例

抗生素在医药和养殖业的大量使用导致耐药菌的出现,加速了抗生素抗性基因(antibiotic resistance genes,ARGs)在不同环境介质中的传播扩散,抗生素耐药性已成为目前全球卫生、食品安全和发展的最大威胁之一。气溶胶作为ARGs的潜在储存库缺乏系统的研究数据,而通过空气传播具有较高抗生素抗性水平的细菌可能是引起重要疾病的主要传播途径。本文针对养殖场和医院2个抗生素大量使用的典型场所,对气溶胶中ARGs的污染现状、样品采集与检测技术进行综述,并探讨了这一环境污染的潜在风险,表明开展气溶胶中ARGs研究的必要性,并为以后需开展的工作提出几点建议。     

Detection of Class I and II integrons for the assessment of antibiotic and multidrug resistance among Escherichia coli isolates from agricultural irrigation waters in Bulacan,Philippines

Contaminated irrigation water may greatly affect not only the quality of produce but also the people exposed to it. In this study, agricultural irrigation waters in Bulacan, Philippines were assessed and found to be contaminated with Escherichia coli (E. coli) ranging from 0.58 to 4.51 log₁₀ CFU/mL. A total of 79 isolates of E. coli were confirmed through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifying the uidA gene and were tested for phenotypic resistance using 10 antimicrobials through the Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method. Forty-six isolates (58.22%) were noted to be multidrug resistant (MDR) with high resistance rate to cephalothin, tetracycline, streptomycin, ampicillin, trimethoprim, nalidixic acid, and chloramphenicol. Moreover, this study also examined the prevalence of Class I and II integrons accounting to 67.39% and 17.39%, respectively, of the MDR E. coli strains using multiplex PCR. The results imply that the agricultural water used in Bulacan is contaminated with the fecal material of man or other animals present in the area, and the presence of MDR bacteria, which pose a potential threat to individuals in these areas, is alarming. In addition, detection of integrons could be a good marker for the identification of MDR isolates. Lastly, this study could develop strategies for the proper management of farming sites leading to the detection of food-borne pathogens and prevention of infectious diseases.     

Application of Forensic Techniques for Age Dating and Source Identification in Environmental Litigation

A multitude of forensic techniques are available for age dating and source identification, including corrosion models for underground storage tanks, the commercial availability of a compound, chemical associations with discrete types of manufacturing processes, chemical profiling, proprietary additives, stable isotope analysis, degradation models, biomarkers and contaminant transport models. The selection and use of these techniques in environmental litigation must be thoroughly understood and applied to be effective as forensic evidence. When introduced as scientific evidence, the governing assumptions and quality of the data are critically evaluated and frequently successfully challenged. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of commonly used environmental forensic techniques and their possible applications so that a user can decide which technique or combination of methods is most appropriate for their case.