Contribution of sociodemographic characteristics, occupation, diet and lifestyle to DDT and DDE concentrations in serum and adipose tissue from a Bolivian cohort

The organochlorine pesticide p,p′-Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was widely used in the early 1960s-70s for vector control in tropical and subtropical areas of South America. Due to its persistence, DDT has a high potential to bioaccumulate in the food chain and living organisms and is a major public health concern, especially in South America.The main purpose of the present study was to investigate predictors of serum and adipose tissue concentrations of p,p′-DDT and its main metabolite, p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE), in an adult cohort (n = 112) from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, using multiple linear regression models. These models explained 29.3-47.8% of the variability in adipose tissue concentrations of p,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDE, respectively, and 32.9-47.0% of that in serum. Main exposure predictors included age, occupational class, residence, diet, smoking habit, and accumulated breastfeeding time.This is one of the few studies to explore predictors of human exposure to these chemicals using a multivariate approach in a South American population. Results show that predictors of human exposure to p,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDE in Santa Cruz de la Sierra may diverge from those found in other populations of the world, due to particular sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics of this region.     

Natural Products: Seasonal Variation in Trichome Counts and Contents in Lycopersicum hirsutum f. glabratum

Abstract

Wild tomato leaves possess a pest-resistance mechanism in their glandular trichomes and the exudates they produce. Type IV and VI glandular trichomes on the leaves of five wild tomato accessions of Lycopersicum hirsutum f. glabratum (PI 126449, PI 134417, PI 134418, PI 251304, and LA 407) grown under greenhouse conditions were counted. Major chemical compounds from glandular leaf trichomes of the accessions tested were extracted, purified, and quantified at different periods during the growing seasons by gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The toxicity of two methylketones (2-undecanone and 2-tridecanone), the major constituents of the accessions tested, to adults of the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and fourth instar larvae of the Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), was determined using no-choice bioassays. 2-undecanone caused 80% mortality of the fourth instar larvae of the CPB at the highest concentration tested (100 mg 2-undecanone mL^{? 1} of acetone) while 2-tridecanone caused 72% mortality of whiteflies at 20 mg 2-tridecanone mL^{? 1} of 65% ethanol. The concentration of 2-undecanone and 2-tridecanone on the leaves of each of the five accessions of L. hirsutum f. glabratum and the mass spectra of 2-undecanone and 2-tridecanone are presented. Overall, the concentration of 2-undecanone on the leaves was significantly higher than 2-tridecanone. Concentration of the two methylketones varied among accessions and sampling season. Plants produced the highest concentration of 2-undecanone during the month of August. On average, each plant of accession PI 251304 provided 354 g fresh leaves (averaging about 52,353 cm² exposed leaf surface area) and produced 32.5 and 8.7 mg of 2-undecanone and 2-tridecanone, respectively. L. hirsutum f. glabratum accessions may become a valuable source of natural products, which could minimize reliance on synthetic pesticides.     

A process integration approach to industrial water conservation: a case study for a Chinese steel plant

A systematic approach to optimizing water network has traditionally been utilized to exam and plan water conservation in industrial processes. In the present case study, water-pinch technology was used to analyze and optimize the water network of a steel plant near China's Zhangjiakou city. A system design was developed and a limiting constraint (Cl(-) concentration) was identified based on investigations of water quality then the minimum freshwater and wastewater targets were determined without considering water losses. The analysis was then extended by calculating the additional input of freshwater required to balance the actual water losses. A nearest-neighbor algorithm (NNA) was used to distribute the freshwater and recycled water among each of the plant's operations. The results showed that with some reconstruction of the water network, the flow rates of freshwater and wastewater could be decreased by 57.5% and 81.9%, respectively.     

Risk assessment and prioritisation of contaminated sites on the catchment scale

Contaminated sites pose a significant threat to groundwater resources worldwide. Due to limited available resources a risk-based prioritisation of the remediation efforts is essential. Existing risk assessment tools are unsuitable for this purpose, because they consider each contaminated site separately and on a local scale, which makes it difficult to compare the impact from different sites. Hence a modelling tool for risk assessment of contaminated sites on the catchment scale has been developed. The CatchRisk screening tool evaluates the risk associated with each site in terms of its ability to contaminate abstracted groundwater in the catchment. The tool considers both the local scale and the catchment scale. At the local scale, a flexible, site specific leaching model that can be adjusted to the actual data availability is used to estimate the mass flux over time from identified sites. At the catchment scale, a transport model that utilises the source flux and a groundwater model covering the catchment is used to estimate the transient impact on the supply well. The CatchRisk model was tested on a groundwater catchment for a waterworks north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Even though data scarcity limited the application of the model, the sites that most likely caused the observed contamination at the waterworks were identified. The method was found to be valuable as a basis for prioritising point sources according to their impact on groundwater quality. The tool can also be used as a framework for testing hypotheses on the origin of contamination in the catchment and for identification of unknown contaminant sources.     

基于灰关联分析的天津市气溶胶消光特征研究

根据天津市秋季(2006年10月10日～20日)消光系数(bext)、PM2.5、SO2、NOX、NO2、O3质量浓度及相对湿度监测结果,利用灰色关联分析法分析大气消光系数同空气中的几种主要污染要素的相关性。结果表明,与消光系数有关的几种主要指标的灰关联度序为PM2.5NOXRHNO2O3,其中PM2.5与消光系数的灰关联系数达到0.905,远高于其他相关指标。同时对PM2.5和消光系数相关分析表明,监测期间天津市PM2.5质量消光系数为6.04m2/g。     

电感耦合等离子体质谱法同时测定地下水中钴和钼

建立了一种用电感耦合等离子体质谱法同时测定水源地地下水中微量元素钴和钼的方法。与常规的元素测试方法相比,该方法可以同时快速有效地完成钴和钼测试,测试方法简单,结果准确可靠。     

直接进样-高效液相色谱-串联质谱分析水中微囊藻毒素

建立了直接进样-高效液相色谱-串联四极杆质谱分析环境水样中微囊藻毒素-LR的分析方法。方法使用C18反相柱为分离柱,柱温40℃,流速0.7 mL/min,乙腈和甲酸水溶液(0.1%)作流动相,采用梯度洗脱,保留时间4.13 min。串联质谱采用多反应监测模式,使用ESI(+)源电离水样。在上述条件下,水样过粒径为0.45μm的滤头后可直接进样,进样体积25μL时检出限可达0.04μg/L,在0.10~200μg/L范围内线性良好(R=0.999 8);样品加标回收率为96.6%~106%,相对标准偏差为1.3%~5.6%。同时方法应用到实际环境水样分析中也具有令人满意的结果。该方法灵敏度高,快速简单,适用于环境水样中MC-LR的分析。     

Application of GIS in the study of mass transport of pollutants by Adyar and Cooum Rivers in Chennai, Tamilnadu

Residential, industrial, commercial, institutional and recreational activities discharge degradable and non-degradable wastes that reach the coastal water through rivers and cause coastal pollution. In the present study, mass transport of pollutants by Adyar and Cooum Rivers to the coastal water as a result of land-based discharges was estimated during low tide. The lowest and the highest flow recorded in Adyar varied from 514.59 to 2,585.08×10⁶ litres/day. Similarly, the flow in Cooum River fluctuated between 266.45 and 709.34×10⁶ litres/day. The present study revealed that the Adyar River transported 53.89–454.11 t/d of suspended solids, 0.06–19.64 t/d of ammonia, 15.95–123.24 t/d of nitrate and 0.4–17.86 t/d of phosphate, 0.004–0.09 kg/d of cadmium, 0.15–1.29 kg/d of lead and 3.03–17.58 kg/d of zinc to the coastal water owing to its high discharge. Similarly, the Cooum River transported 11.87–120.06 t/d of suspended solids, 0.08–58.7 t/d of ammonia, 6.11–29.25 t/d of nitrate and 0.66–10.73 t/d of phosphate, 0.003–0.021 kg/d of cadmium, 0.02–0.44 kg/d of lead and 1.36–3.87 kg/d of zinc. A higher concentration of suspended solids was noticed in post monsoon and summer months. An increase in the mass transport of ammonia, nitrate, phosphate in summer months (April and May) and an increase in the mass transport of cadmium, lead and zinc were observed in monsoon months (October–December) in both the rivers. Thus mass transport of pollutants study reveal that Cooum and Adyar Rivers in Chennai contribute to coastal pollution by transporting inorganic and trace metals significantly through land drainage.     

利用MALDI-TOF MS技术简便、快速检测水华蓝藻的方法研究

以水华蓝藻为研究对象,用基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱(MALDI-TOF MS)技术对其进行测定分析并获得了蛋白质指纹图谱。对铜绿微囊藻标准株(NIES-843)样品通过3种前处理方法得到的质谱图进行对比,确定了质谱分析的样品前处理方法,建立了利用MALDI-TOF MS技术简便、快速检测水华蓝藻的方法。对在水华中出现的4种不同蓝藻进行MALDI-TOF MS分析,结果表明各种蓝藻具有其特征性波谱,可据此对水华蓝藻进行区分和鉴定。该方法快速、简便、精确、可程序化,具有广泛的应用前景。     

Hypsographs: Basic tools for lake management and monitoring

Hypsographs are graphic depictions of the vertical distributions of volumes or masses of water in lakes, ponds, or reservoirs. Quantitative limnological science or engineering must use a hypsograph, or a more complex equivalent system, to undertake calculations of water constituent concentration data by mathematical weighting. Construction of the graph is simple and described. Exemplary uses of the hypsograph are presented.