The great metals boom: A retrospective

The metals boom that ran from 2003 to 2008 represented the most powerful and sustained such boom since the Second World War. As the boom gathered momentum, the notion began to emerge that commodities were at the beginning of a multi-year ‘super cycle’ driven by demand growth in the emerging economies and, in particular, China. The persistence of the boom helped sustain this belief right up to the point when metal prices collapsed in the second half of 2008. Looking back over the period, much of what occurred can be readily explained by the unusual strength of the demand shock and the lagged response of the supplying industry, with prices receiving an additional boost from the activities of commodity investors. There is, however, some evidence to suggest that the combination of downward pressure on the costs of manufactured goods and upward pressure on the costs of mineral commodities which accompanied the boom marked a shift in the terms of trade between these two product groups. This in turn seems to have brought to an end the sustained decline in real terms metal prices that occurred in the years following the boom of the 1970s. In sum, the key structural change taking place may not have been on the demand side of the industry as the super cyclists maintained, but on the supply side.     

Elevated atmospheric CO2 and drought effects on leaf gas exchange properties of barley

Atmospheric CO₂ concentration (C_a) is rising, predicted to cause global warming, and alter precipitation patterns. During 1994, spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Alexis) was grown in a strip-split-plot experimental design to determine the effects that the main plot C_a treatments [A: Ambient at 370 μmol (CO₂) mol⁻¹; E: Enriched with free-air CO₂ enrichment (FACE) at ∼550 μmol (CO₂) mol⁻¹] had on several gas exchange properties of fully expanded sunlit primary leaves. The interacting strip-split-plot irrigation treatments were Dry or Wet [50% (D) or 100% (W) replacement of potential evapotranspiration] at ample nitrogen (261 kg N ha⁻¹) and phosphorous (29 kg P ha⁻¹) fertility. Elevated C_a facilitated drought avoidance by reducing stomatal conductance (g_s) by 34% that conserved water and enabled stomata to remain open for a longer period into a drought. This resulted in a 28% reduction in drought-induced midafternoon depression in net assimilation rate (A). Elevated C_a increased A by 37% under Dry and 23% under Wet. Any reduction in A under Wet conditions occurred because of nonstomatal limitations, whereas under Dry it occurred because of stomatal limitations. Elevated C_a increased the diurnal integral of A (A′) that resulted in an increase in the seasonal-long integral of A′ (A″) for barley leaves by 12% (P = 0.14) under both Dry and Wet - 650, 730, 905 and 1020 ± 65 g (C) m⁻² y⁻¹ for AD, ED, AW and EW treatments, respectively. Elevated C_a increased season-long average dry weight (DW_S; crown, shoots) by 14% (P = 0.02), whereas deficit irrigation reduced DW_S by 7% (P = 0.06), although these values may have been affected by a short but severe pea aphid [Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris)] infestation. Hence, an elevated-C_a-based improvement in gas exchange properties enhanced growth of a barley crop.     

基于大肠杆菌细胞阵列法对典型杀菌剂三氯异氰脲酸的毒理机制探究

三氯异氰脲酸（C₃O₃N₃Cl₃,TCCA）作为一种在循环冷却水系统中广泛使用的杀菌剂,具有高效、快速、低成本等众多优势.但由于其毒性较强,在循环排污水进入受纳水体与废水处理厂过程中,会对生态系统及人体健康造成潜在风险.然而其毒性数据较为缺乏,目前研究仅表明其可能造成强烈的氧化应激反应.因此,本研究采用基于毒理基因组学的大肠杆菌全细胞微阵列测试法对TCCA的毒性作用机制进行深入探究.选用含有多种调控不同生理功能的相关生物标记物基因,从分子层面揭示其毒性效应,并使用转录效应水平指数（TELI值）量化其毒性水平.结果表明,TCCA能够诱导产生多种未知的应激反应/修复途径,且其毒性随浓度增加而增大.在暴露浓度达到1×10^-3 mg·L^-1时,TELI_total值可达到1.77.此外,研究发现TCCA经紫外处理后毒性显著增加,尤其是DNA应激出现突增,TELI_DNA由原先的1.66增加到2.68.     

太湖地区几种水稻土团聚体颗粒组中PAHs的分布及其环境意义

以太湖地区代表性的青紫泥、黄泥土、白土等3种水稻土为研究对象,采用低能量分离-分散法提取得到不同粒径的团聚体颗粒组,用HPLC测定了本土和分离得到的团聚体颗粒组中16种PAHs的含量.结果表明,供试水稻土不同粒径的团聚体颗粒组中PAHs含量分布存在差异,PAHs总含量以＜2μm粒径的团聚体颗粒组最高,其次是200～2000μm粒径的团聚体颗粒组,PAHs在这2个团聚体颗粒组有明显富集现象(富集系数为1.25～3.92);而20～200μm和2～20 μm粒径的团聚体颗粒组中PAHs含量小于本土,呈现亏缺现象(富集系数为0.64～0.88).考虑到不同粒径团聚体颗粒组的相对组成,水稻土中PAHs主要分布于20～200μm和200～2000μm 2个团聚体颗粒组中,而在＜2μm粒径的团聚体颗粒组中最少.PAHs在不同粒径的团聚体颗粒组中的含量分布与其总有机碳、腐殖质碳、胡敏酸碳的含量有关,并在很大程度上受芳构化疏水性有机物含量的控制.因此,水稻土不同粒径团聚体颗粒中有机碳及其组分的性质影响着这些团聚体颗粒组分对PAHs的吸持与固定.     

电子垃圾回收地得克隆的污染水平及分布特征

对浙江某电子垃圾回收地水体、沉积物、土壤以及大气中得克隆（DP）的污染水平及分布特征进行了调查。结果表明,水、沉积物、土壤和大气样品中均检测出了 DP,分别为0．843～1．56 ng/L,0．185～7．03 ng/g干重,0．115～26．4 ng/g干重和11．2 pg/m3;该区域 DP分布特征表明电子垃圾的拆解和焚烧是环境中 DP的重要来源。     

污水河道污泥中大肠杆菌抗生素抗性与金属耐受性的耦合分析

城市污水河道受人为活动的影响,可能作为抗性细菌与抗性基因的储库,给人类生产生活带来巨大的威胁.本研究以中国寒区城市污水河道污泥为取样点,研究大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)的抗生素与金属的耐药现状,以评估中国寒区城市水环境受抗性细菌污染的情况与传播抗性的风险.利用选择性培养基从河道淤泥中分离出455株肠杆菌,并从中筛选出110株E.coli.抗生素表型结果显示:69.1%的E.coli分离株对至少1种抗生素具有抗性,其中,抗性最高的是氧四环素(42.7%);所有的E.coli对亚胺培南和呋喃妥因没有抗性;分离株E.coli DL27对检测的17种抗生素中的13种具有抗性,分离株E.coli DL18、分离株E.coli DL46对12种抗生素具有抗性.金属抗性表型检测结果显示:40.9%的E.coli对银(Ag)具有耐受性,3.6%的分离株对汞(Hg)、锌(Zn)具有耐受性,所有菌株对铜(Cu)无耐受性;且发现分离株E.coli DL35对9种抗生素和2种金属具有抗性.对E.coli群体15种抗生素抗性基因(Antibiotic Resistance Genes,ARGs)...     

氯氰菊酯对小鼠肾组织的氧化损伤

以昆明小鼠为受试动物,随机分为6组,包括1个阴性对照组、3个氯氰菊酯染毒组、1个维生素E组和1个高剂量氯氰菊酯加维生素E组,染毒组按10,20,40mg/kg水平,维生素E的剂量为100mg/kg,灌胃染毒小鼠7d.以肾组织匀浆测定活性氧(ROS)、还原型谷胱甘肽(GSH)、丙二醛(MDA)和8-羟基脱氧鸟苷(8-OHdG)的含量;以肾组织细胞测定DNA-蛋白质交联(DPC)系数.随着氯氰菊酯染毒剂量的升高,肾组织的ROS、MDA、8-OHdG含量和DPC系数逐渐上升,GSH含量逐渐降低,各指标呈一定的剂量-效应关系.染毒剂量为20mg/kg时,MDA和8-OHdG含量差异有统计学意义(P< 0.05);染毒剂量为40mg/kg时, ROS(F=3.7044)、GSH(F=3.4908)、MDA(F=3.5851)、8-OHdG含量(F=11.7934)和DPC系数(F=6.9165)差异均有统计学意义(P< 0.05, P< 0.01).病理学观察可见20,40mg/kg剂量组小鼠肾小球增生肥大,肾小管上皮细胞水肿,管腔变小.与高剂量染毒组相比较,高剂量染毒加维生素E组肾组织的ROS、MDA含量、8-OHdG含量和DPC系数均有下降,GSH含量上升(P< 0.05, P< 0.01).高剂量(320mg/kg)的氯氰菊酯能造成小鼠肾组织的氧化损伤,维生素E有抗氧化作用.