Respective contributions of point and non-point sources of E. coli and enterococci in a large urbanized watershed (the Seine river, France)

Because the large rivers of the Seine watershed have a low microbiological water quality, the main sources of fecal contamination were investigated in the present study. The inputs of the point (wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) effluents) and non-point sources (surface runoff and soil leaching) of fecal bacteria were quantified for Escherichia coli and intestinal enteroccoci used as bacterial indicators. In order to assess the contamination through non-point sources, fecal indicators abundance was estimated in samples collected in small streams located in rural areas upstream from all point sources; these small rivers were characterized by the land use of their watershed. Bacterial indicator numbers were also measured in effluents of WWTPs, some using classical treatment (settling followed by activated sludge process) and some using an additional disinfection stage (UV irradiation). These data were used to estimate the respective importance of each type of source at the scale of the whole Seine river watershed taking into account the land use and the population density. It shows the predominant importance of the point sources of fecal indicator bacteria at the scale of the whole watershed. In a scenario in which activated sludge treatment would be complemented with UV in all WWTPs located in this watershed, the non-point sources of fecal indicator bacteria would be dominant.     

MoS2 quantum dots based MoS2/HKUST-1 composites for the highly efficient catalytic oxidation of elementary mercury

Due to the ever-tightening regulation on mercury emission in recent decades, there is an urgent need to develop novel materials for the removal of elemental mercury at coal-fired power plants. In this study, a series of MoS₂ quantum dots (QDs)-based MoS₂/HKUST-1 composite materials were prepared. It is found that MoS₂ QDs were encapsulated by HKUST-1 and enhanced the crystallinity and specific surface area of HKUST-1. The MoS₂/HKUST-1 showed excellent performance in catalytic oxidation of Hg⁰ as compared with pristine HKUST-1. It is found that surface layer of lattice oxygens is active and participates in Hg⁰ oxidation, while the consumption of surface oxygens then leads to the formation of oxygen vacancies on the surface. These vacancies are effective in the adsorption and dissociation of O₂, which subsequently participates in the oxidation of Hg⁰. Moreover, the study on the influence of commonly seen gas components, such as SO₂, NO, NH₃ and H₂O, etc., on Hg⁰ oxidation demonstrated that synergistic effects exist among these gas species. It is found that the presence of NO promotes the oxidation of Hg⁰ using oxygen as the oxidant.     

Antibiotics along an alpine river and in the receiving lake with a catchment dominated by grazing husbandry

The livestock breeding industries face overuse of antibiotics, which has been intensively studied in recent years. However, the occurrence and fate of antibiotics as well as their potential threats to the aquatic environments in alpine and arid regions remain unclear. This study investigated the relationship of the occurrence and concentrations of antibiotics between the Kaidu River and Bosten Lake in a typical alpine basin in China. Hot spots with antibiotic pollution source were explored. The antibiotic concentrations in river water and suspended sediment (SPS) were 2.20-99.4 ng/L and 1.03-176 ng/g. The dominant antibiotics were tetracyclines, sulphacetamide, and ofloxacin in river water and sulfonamides, clarithromycin, roxithromycin, and ofloxacin in SPS. The apparent differences in pollution sources and landscapes in different reaches led to the obvious spatial patterns of antibiotics in the Kaidu River. Higher partition coefficient of antibiotic between SPS and water phases for sulfonamides than tetracyclines was because that tetracyclines strongly responded to clay contents while sulfonamides significantly responded to organic carbon contents in SPS. There were significant differences in detected antibiotic categories between the river and the lake. Fluoroquinolones (especially ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin) were detected in the lake while sulphacetamide was only detected in the river. Therefore, the surrounding husbandry and aquaculture around the Bosten Lake was an important antibiotic pollution source in addition to inputs from the Kaidu River. This research suggested that alpine lakes could be an important sink of antibiotics in alpine dry regions, and thus impose greater threats to the aquatic ecosystem.     

乌鲁木齐树木叶片汞浓度时空特征及环境意义

城市大气环境由于受人为活动影响,具有较高大气汞浓度和时空分布不均一特征。植被叶片虽具有较强富集大气汞的能力,但能否指示城市大气汞时空变化,目前尚有存疑。本文通过连续监测新疆乌鲁木齐市区内6个采样点5种常见树种叶片,在生长季（2019年5～10月）内的汞浓度,分析树叶汞浓度的时空分布变化特征,进而寻找潜在的最优树种叶片,反演乌鲁木齐大气汞污染程度。结果表明,城市内的局地污染能够显著提高叶片汞浓度;树种叶片对大气汞浓度的敏感性存在明显差异（P<0.01）;落叶阔叶树的叶汞浓度与叶片生长时间呈显著正相关关系（P<0.01）,即叶片在整个生长期不断积累大气汞;而针叶汞浓度一年之内与生长时间无显著关系。考虑到圆冠榆叶片对大气汞浓度敏感性较高且分布范围更广,圆冠榆作为乌鲁木齐城市大气汞的生物监测器较为合适。本研究为研究城市大气汞浓度生物监测提供了典型的案例与借鉴。     

土壤环境汞污染现状及其影响因素研究进展

土壤重金属污染导致土壤环境质量显著降低,影响食品安全、水源水质和空气质量等,严重威胁人类的生存和发展。汞（Hg）作为一种全球性的重金属污染物,广泛分布于多种环境介质中,其中土壤是全球汞最大的储存库。土壤中的汞可通过多种暴露途径进入人体,危害人类健康。伴随着全球气候变暖和人为活动加剧,全球土壤汞污染问题日益严重。然而,目前有关土壤汞污染的基础数据较为缺乏,大范围的土壤汞污染空间分布特征分析相对较少,对于土壤汞污染主控因子的分析方法缺乏系统的阐述。因此,本文基于文献调研的方法,分析了全球的土壤汞污染分布特征,发现全球土壤汞污染主要集中在矿区及工业聚集区,阐述了人为因素、气候条件和土壤环境因素等对土壤汞含量变化的影响,并总结了可应用于土壤汞污染主控因子分析的常用方法及其优缺点。同时,本文对未来土壤汞污染调查和研究进行了3方面的展望,以期为更加科学合理的解决土壤汞污染问题做出贡献。     

乌江流域梯级水库入出库河流中总汞和甲基汞的时空分布

2006年1~12月，每月采集乌江流域梯级水库入出库河流水样，用两次金汞齐-冷原子荧光光谱法和蒸馏-乙基化结合GC CVAFS法测定了水中总汞和甲基汞的浓度。结果表明：（1）入出库河流中总汞年均加权浓度分别为317和 2.34 ng/L，甲基汞为014和 0.18 ng/L。（2）不同水库入出库河流中总汞和甲基汞的时空分布特征不同，位于上游第一级的普定和洪家渡水库入库河流中总汞有明显的季节变化趋势，且显著低于出库河流；而甲基汞的季节变化在出库河流中较为明显，而且库龄大的普定、东风、乌江渡水库出库河流中甲基汞浓度显著高于入库河流。（3）相关分析发现水库入库河流中总汞、甲基汞浓度主要受悬浮颗粒物的影响，而与水量间的相关性因水库所处位置的不同而有差异，上游的普定和洪家渡水库中呈显著正相关，其它水库中呈负相关。     

河北省某大型焦化厂地下水中多环芳烃的污染特点、源解析及生态风险评价

为研究焦化厂地下水中美国EPA优先控制的16种多环芳烃(PAHs)的分布特点和污染来源,本研究联合使用统计技术、正定矩阵因子分析(PMF)模型和风险商值法,深入分析了焦化厂地下水中PAHs的分布规律,定量解析了PAHs的污染来源,并且对其生态风险进行了科学评价.结果表明,焦化厂地下水中16种PAHs的总检出率较高,达到46.7%.地下水中∑₁₆PAHs的浓度范围是n.d.～444.9μg·L^-1,均值为1.88μg·L^-1.不同生产车间地下水中PAHs的浓度存在明显差异,其中污染最重的车间位于焦油精制区,地下水中∑₁₆PAHs的浓度为444.92μg·L^-1.应用PMF源解析模型,识别出该焦化厂地下水中PAHs有二类污染源：一是石油的燃烧源,二是煤和生物质燃烧以及石油类的泄漏,二种污染源对焦化厂地下水中PAHs的贡献率分别为38.6%和61.4%.焦化厂地下水中∑₁₆PAHs处在高生态风险等级,且有53.4%的地下水采样点单体PAHs的生态风险处在高风险等...     

Mercuric chloride effects on adult rat oval cells-induced apoptosis

In the present investigation, the toxicity of mercuric chloride (HgCl₂) was evaluated in adult oval cells isolated from rat utilizing the 2-acetylaminofluorene/partial hepatectomy technique. Isolated oval cells were incubated with 5 μM of HgCl₂ for 8 hr to elucidate in vitro cytotoxic responses. Recently, autophagic cell death was found in rat hepatocytes in vitro within 30 min of incubation with 5 μM of mercury (Hg) which triggered apoptosis and necroptosis in a time-dependent manner. Nuclear degradation occurred within 30 min of incubation and progressed with time until 8 hr. Apoptosis evidenced by activation of caspase-dependent pathway between 30 min to 8 hr of incubation was mediated via interchange of death domain signaling pathways. Receptor-interacting protein played a positive role to modulate the death domain receptors in the scenario of apoptotic death of oval cells until 6 hr. Autophagic marker proteins ATG12 and LC3B exerted a significant role in triggering apoptosis in 5 μM Hg-treated oval cells. No apparent expression of apoptosis-inducing-factor (AIF) and HMGB1 indicated absence of caspase-independent apoptosis and necrosis in the rat oval cells between 30 min and 8 hr. Thus a low concentration of Hg modulates programmed cell death in adult rat oval cells by altering expression of proteins involved in the molecular mechanisms of cellular functions.     

Combined effects of mercury and hexachlorobenzene in the rat

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to assess the potential interactive effects of two Great Lakes chemical contaminants, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and mercury (HgCl₂). Groups of 10 female Sprague‐Dawley rats were administered by gavage single doses of HCB (400, 600 mg/kg b.w. in corn oil), HgCl₂ (10.0, 12.5 mg/kg b.w. aqueous) or combinations of both followed by observation for clinical signs of toxicity for 14 days. Five animals from treatment groups died before the termination of the study; one animal each in 600 mg HCB, 400 mg HCB + 10 mg HgCl₂, and 600 mg HCB + 10 mg HgCl₂, and two animals in 600 mg HCB + 12.5 mg HgCl₂. The surviving animals were necropsied at the termination of the study, and hematological, clinical chemistry, histopathological and tissue residue analyses were performed. Relative liver weights were increased in both low and high dose groups of HCB but not in animals treated with HgCl₂ alone. Co‐administration of HgCl₂ did not alter the HCB effects on the liver weight of the animals. Serum cholesterol levels were increased in all the groups receiving HCB but not HgCl₂. No interactive effects on other serum parameters were seen in animals administered with both chemicals. Mild to moderate morphological changes occurred in the liver, thyroid, thymus, ovary and bone marrow of rats exposed to HCB or HCB + HgCl₂, and in the kidney of HgCl₂ or HgCl₂ + HCB treated animals. More severe histological changes occurred in the groups receiving both chemicals. The histological effects appeared to be additive. It was concluded that co‐administration with HCB and HgCl₂ resulted in additive effects in some of the endpoints measured but no synergism or antagonism was observed.