Impact of global warming on agricultural product markets: stochastic world food model analysis

Climatic change through global warming and drought is a major issue for agricultural production. Most researchers who discuss the effects of such changes on agriculture report estimated yield changes based on crop process models. However, studies focusing on the impact of climatic change on agricultural product markets are very rare. This paper examines the relationship between climatic change and world food markets, i.e., the supply and demand of crops, by using a stochastic version of a world food model, the International Food and Agricultural Policy Simulation Model. The results suggest that variations in the production of maize and soybeans in some major producing countries will be large, and variations in the producer prices of all crops will increase. Countries that suffer higher price risk because of high sensitivity to temperature fluctuations may need to consider changes in cropping patterns.     

Stability of the conjugated species of environmental phenols and parabens in human serum

In humans, the metabolism of environmental phenols may include the formation of conjugated species (e.g., glucuronides and sulfates), but the free species—not the conjugated forms—are considered biologically active. Therefore, information on the concentration of these free species in blood or urine could be helpful for risk assessment. Because conjugates could hydrolyze to their corresponding free forms during collection, handling, and storage of biological specimens, information on the temporal stability of the conjugates is of interest. Previously, we reported the temporal stability of urinary conjugates of several environmental phenols, but data on the stability of phenols' conjugated species in serum, albeit critical if concentrations of free and conjugated species are compared, are largely unknown. In the present study, we investigate the stability of the conjugates of four phenols—bisphenol A, benzophenone-3, triclosan, and 2,5-dichlorophenol—and two parabens—methyl paraben and propyl paraben—in 16 human serum samples for 30 days at above-freezing temperature storage conditions (4 °C, room temperature, and 37 °C). These conditions reflect the worst-case scenarios that could occur during the short-term storage of biological samples before their long-term storage at controlled subfreezing temperatures. We found that the percentage of the conjugated species of the four detected compounds (2,5-dichlorophenol, triclosan, and methyl and propyl parabens) in these serum specimens even when stored at 37 °C for at least 30 days did not vary significantly. These preliminary data suggest that the phenols' serum conjugates appear to be more stable than their corresponding urinary conjugates, some of which started to hydrolyze within 24 h under similar storage conditions. The reported stability of these conjugated species in human serum also suggests that the free species are unlikely to have resulted from the hydrolysis of their corresponding conjugates. This information could be important for interpreting the low concentrations of free phenol species detected in serum samples of nonoccupationally exposed populations. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report on the stability of conjugated species in serum, and as such requires replication.     

分段进水A/O工艺流量分配方法与策略研究

分段进水缺氧/好氧(A/O)工艺是一种高效的污水生物脱氮工艺。但原水多点投配给该工艺带来诸多好处的同时, 也为其优化运行带来一定困难。其中,可行的流量分配方法的建立是分段进水工艺发挥其优势并高效运行的瓶颈问题。提出3种不同的流量分配方法并进行相应的理论分析: (1) 采用等负荷流量分配法,其遵循的原则是保证各段硝化菌负荷相同, 以利于硝化菌生长,优先满足系统硝化, 最大程度地降低出水氨氮浓度; (2)采用流量分配系数, 原则是各缺氧段进水有机物质恰好可以为上段好氧区产生的硝酸盐氮反硝化提供充足的电子供体。 利用该方法可以充分利用原水中碳源,发挥缺氧区反硝化潜力,并保证最后一段进水量最少, 降低出水硝酸盐氮含量; (3)末端集中进水,用于暴雨等产生洪峰流量时, 将进水点向系统末端移动, 并加大末端进水量, 以减小二沉池固体负荷, 避免污泥冲刷流失。3种流量分配方法的提出,可以应对水厂不同的进水水质和出水要求,增强分段进水A/O生物脱氮工艺的实际可操作性,提高处理效率,为目前采用分段进水A/O工艺的污水厂的优化运行管理提供可靠的理论借鉴。     

满江红干体对锌离子的生物吸附

以满江红干体为生物吸附剂,研究了不同条件下对废水中Zn²⁺的净化作用。结果表明,满江红干体对Zn²⁺的吸附是一个快速的过程,前5 min的吸附量达到最大吸附量的62.9%,30 min达到吸附平衡;初始pH值对Zn²⁺的吸附有显著的影响,最适pH值为6;随着干体量的增加,吸附率逐渐提高而吸附量则降低;随着Zn²⁺初始浓度的增加,吸附率逐渐降低而吸附量则提高。满江红干体对Zn²⁺的吸附符合Langmuir吸附等温线方程,最大吸附容量达57.5 mg/g。5次吸附解吸循环实验数据表明,重复次数和再生处理对满江红干体的吸附能力没有产生显著影响。因此,满江红干体在处理含Zn²⁺废水中的重复使用是可行的。     

一体化A/O移动床生物膜反应器中DO、TN分布及脱氮效果研究

采用一体化A/O移动床生物膜法工艺,以模拟生活污水研究了该工艺的除碳脱氮效果,并对一体化移动床生物膜反应器的好氧区和缺氧区各纵向断面的COD、DO、NH₃-N、TN、NO^-₃-N和NO^-₂-N进行了检测,通过对缺氧区各断面的DO和TN浓度分布情况,分析了脱氮的产生过程。试验结果表明: 在水力停留时间HRT＝12 h,好氧区DO保持5 mg/L左右,COD进水浓度处于250～400 mg/L时,COD的去除率均在90%以上,且出水COD均在40 mg/L以下;TN进水浓度为20～50 mg/L时,NH₃-N去除率高于90%,其出水浓度可达到5 mg/L以下,脱氮效率也较高,TN去除率可达到65%～85%。COD和NH₃-N的浓度分布状况表明该一体化A/O移动床生物膜反应器的流态趋于全混式。     

Plutonium as a chronomarker in Australian and New Zealand sediments: a comparison with Cs

The construction of high resolution chronologies of sediment profiles corresponding to the last 50-100 years usually entails the measurement of fallout radionuclides ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs. The anthropogenic radionuclide, ¹³⁷Cs, originating from atmospheric nuclear weapons testing can provide an important “first appearance” horizon of known age (1954-1955), providing much-needed validation for the sometimes uncertain interpretations associated with ²¹⁰Pb geochronology. However, while ¹³⁷Cs usually provides a strong signal in sediment in the northern hemisphere, total fallout of ¹³⁷Cs in the southern hemisphere was only 25% that of the north and the low activities of ¹³⁷Cs seen in Australian and New Zealand sediments can make its horizon of first appearance somewhat arguable. Low ¹³⁷Cs fallout also limited the size of the 1963-1964 fallout peak, a peak that is usually seen in northern hemisphere sediment profiles but is often difficult to discern south of the equator.This paper shows examples of the use of nuclear weapons fallout Pu as a chronomarker in sediment cores from Australia (3 sites) and New Zealand (1 site). The Pu profiles of five cores are examined and compared with the corresponding ¹³⁷Cs profiles and ²¹⁰Pb geochronologies. We find that Pu has significant advantages over ¹³⁷Cs, including greater measurement sensitivity using alpha spectrometry and mass spectrometric techniques compared to ¹³⁷Cs measurements by gamma spectrometry. Moreover, Pu provides additional chronomarkers associated with changes in the Pu isotopic composition of fallout during the 1950s and 1960s. In particular, the ²³⁸Pu/^239+240Pu activity ratio shows distinct shifts in the early 1950s and the mid to late 1960s, providing important known-age horizons in southern hemisphere sediments. For estuarine and near-shore sediments Pu sometimes has another significant advantage over ¹³⁷Cs due to its enrichment in bottom sediment relative to ¹³⁷Cs resulting from the more efficient scavenging of dissolved Pu in seawater by sediment particles.     

Hemoglobin (Hb) immobilized on amino-modified magnetic nanoparticles for the catalytic removal of bisphenol A

Catalytic removal of bisphenol A from aqueous solution with hemoglobin immobilized on amino-modified magnetic nanoparticles as an enzyme catalyst was reported. The amino-modified magnetite nanoparticles were firstly prepared by the coprecipitation of Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ with NH₃·H₂O and then modified by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. The immobilization process was optimized by examining enzyme concentration, glutaraldehyde concentration, cross-link time, and immobilization time. The optimum conditions for the removal of bisphenol A with immobilized hemoglobin were also investigated. Under the optimality conditions, the removal efficiency of bisphenol A was about 80.3%. The immobilization had a beneficial effect on the stability of hemoglobin and conversions of bisphenol A. According to the proposed breakdown pathway and the intermediates, the enzyme-catalytic removal of bisphenol A by the immobilized hemoglobin is considered to be an effective method.     

Assessment of typical pollutants in waterborne by combining active biomonitoring and integrated biomarkers response

Organic pollutants, heavy metals and pharmaceuticals are continuously dispersed into the environment and have become a relevant environmental emerging concern. In this study, a situ assay to assess ecotoxicity of mixed pollutants was carried out in three typical sites with different priority contaminations in Guangzhou, China. Chemical analysis of organic pollutants, metals and quinolones in three exposure sites were determined by GC-ECD/MS, ICP-AES and HPLC, as well as, a combination of biomarkers including: ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD); aminopyrine N-demethylase (APND); erythromycin N-demethylase (ERND); glutathione S-transferase (GST); malondialdehyde (MDA); CYP1A; and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) mRNA expressions were evaluated in Mugilogobius abei. Results of chemical analysis in sediment samples revealed that the dominant chemicals were organic pollutants and heavy metals in Huadi River while quinolones in the pond. Bioassays indicated that differences among sites were in relation to some specific biomarkers. EROD and GST activities significantly increased after 72 h in situ exposure, but no difference was observed among the exposure sites. APND, ERND and MDA exhibited dissimilar change patterns for different priority pollutants. CYP1A and P-gp mRNA expressions were significantly induced at all exposure sites, whilst P-gp activity was typical for S2 with the highest levels of quinolones. The molecular biomarkers seemed to be more susceptible than enzyme activities. These assays confirmed the usefulness of applying a large array of various combined biomarkers at different levels, in assessing the toxic effects of mixed pollutants in a natural aquatic environment.     

沸石强化A/O生物脱氮工艺氨氮去除机理研究

沸石强化A/O生物脱氮实验研究表明,沸石对配水氨氮具有良好的吸附性能,其吸附特征可以通过Frend lich和Langmu ir吸附等温线表征,但对污水中氨氮的吸附较配水吸附要复杂。由于沸石能与微生物构成沸石-生物复合体,从而增加了系统的硝化细菌和反硝化细菌数量,改善了A段的反硝化作用和O段的硝化作用。吸附饱和的铵沸石在硝化细菌和电导率的协同作用下,经好氧曝气4.5 h,能再生69.8%。在A段,进水氨氮浓度较高,沸石吸附氨氮,提高污水碳氮比,促进生物反硝化;进入O段,在盐度和微生物的协同作用下,混合液氨氮浓度因为生物降解而逐渐降低,不断打破铵沸石的吸附-脱附平衡,铵沸石不断释放氨氮而得到充分的再生。     

A股市场环保脱硫类上市公司经营情况分析

分析对比了国内A股市场环保脱硫类上市公司的经营情况,包括市场占有率、业务收入、实现利润、集团综合收入结构、业务成本结构等。