Nitrated and parent PAHs in the surface water of Lake Taihu, China: Occurrence, distribution, source, and human health risk assessment

Nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) have toxic potentials that are higher than those of their corresponding parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and thus have received increasing attention in recent years. In this study, the occurrence, distribution, source, and human health risk assessment of 15 NPAHs and 16 PAHs were investigated in the surface water from 20 sampling sites of Lake Taihu during the dry, normal, and flood seasons of 2018. The ΣPAH concentrations ranged from 255 to 7298 ng/L and the ΣNPAH concentrations ranged from not-detected (ND) to 212 ng/L. Among the target analytes, 2-nitrofluorene (2-nFlu) was the predominant NPAH, with a detection frequency ranging from 85% to 90% and a maximum concentration of 56.2 ng/L. The three-ringed and four-ringed NPAHs and PAHs comprised the majority of the detected compounds. In terms of seasonal variation, the highest levels of the ΣNPAHs and ΣPAHs were in the dry season and flood season, respectively. Diagnostic ratio analysis indicated that the prime source of NPAHs was direct combustion, whereas in the case of PAHs the contribution was predominantly from a mixed pattern including pollution from unburned petroleum and petroleum combustion. The human health risk of NPAHs and PAHs was evaluated using a lifetime carcinogenic risk assessment model. The carcinogenic risk level of the targets ranged from 2.09 × 10^?7 to 5.75 × 10^?5 and some surface water samples posed a potential health risk.     

排板式介质阻挡放电等离子体降解苯的研究

考察了自制排板式等离子发生器对不同进气条件(进气浓度、进气流量和进气湿度)下含苯气的降解效果。结果表明,苯降解率随进气浓度和进气流量的提高而降低,但在高进气浓度和高进气流量下,苯降解率仍保持在50%以上。苯降解率在进气湿度约30%时达到最大值,过低和过高的进气湿度都不利于苯的降解。采用多级串联可提高等离子发生器对高进气浓度和高进气流量的适应能力,4级串联较单级时的苯降解率最高可提高39%。排板式等离子体发生器可作为未来等离子体发生器工业化的重点研发对象。     

THz波斜入射非均匀磁化等离子体的衰减特性研究

目的 研究太赫兹波在非均匀磁化等离子体中的衰减特性。方法 运用WKB近似法分析太赫兹波斜入射非均匀磁化等离子体后的衰减特征。结果 当入射角度增大时,衰减增大;当碰撞频率增大时,衰减变小;外加磁场强度增大时,衰减的最大值向着太赫兹波频率较高的方向移动;电子密度峰值增大时,衰减增大。结论 可以通过调节外加磁场强度、等离子体电子密度和碰撞频率,使得太赫兹波在等离子体中传播的过程中衰减发生变化,为太赫兹雷达反等离子体隐身技术提供重要参考。     

太赫兹波斜入射均匀非磁化等离子中传输特性研究

目的 研究太赫兹波斜入射均匀非磁化等离子体中的传输特性。方法 根据分层介质中的电磁波传播理论,给出了等离子中太赫兹波的功率反射和透射系数,分析了太赫兹波频率、入射角、等离子体的碰撞频率和电子密度对太赫兹波传输特性的影响。结果 垂直入射时,模型结果与已有文献结果一致;斜入射时,入射角度增大,反射系数增大,透射系数变小。太赫兹波频率增大,反射系数减小,透射系数起初快速增大,而后变得平缓。等离子体的电子密度增大,透射系数减小,碰撞吸收增大,太赫兹波衰减增大。结论 入射角变大,反射率增大。太赫兹波频率较低时,入射角对透射率影响明显。     

低温等离子体对复合CVOCs的降解特性

以难生物降解的氯苯和二氯乙烷为目标污染物,以低温等离子体作为VOCs处理技术,考察了不同频率电源条件下工艺参数对混合气体降解过程的影响,并对降解产物进行了分析,为后期与生物技术耦合提供理论依据.结果表明,高低频电源条件下等离子体中的能量效率均随着SIE的增大先升高后降低.在低频电源的等离子体中,SIE=7 167 J·L~(-1)时,能量效率最大;而在高频电源的等离子体中,SIE=6 111 J·L~(-1),能量效率达到最大.在两种频率电源的等离子体中,各组分的去除率都随着SIE的升高先增大后逐渐减小;去除率随着停留时间的延长而增大,但去除负荷却会出现降低,当停留时为5s时,高频和低频电源的等离子体中气体的去除负荷都达到最大,本实验选取5 s的停留时间进行后续的产物分析.经产物分析发现,CO_2的生成量和选择性随着SIE的升高而增大;臭氧浓度随SIE的升高而增大,高频电源的等离子体中O3生成量较大;TOC浓度随SIE的增大先增大后迅速减小,能量效率最大时产物水溶性最佳.     

Evaluation of bacterial pathogen diversity, abundance and health risks in urban recreational water by amplicon next-generation sequencing and quantitative PCR

The microbial quality of urban recreational water is of great concern to public health.The monitoring of indicator organisms and several pathogens alone is not sufficient to accurately and comprehensively identify microbial risks.To assess the levels of bacterial pathogens and health risks in urban recreational water,we analyzed pathogen diversity and quantified four pathogens in 46 water samples collected from waterbodies in Beijing Olympic Forest Park in one year.The pathogen diversity revealed by 16 S r RNA gene targeted next-generation sequencing(NGS) showed that 16 of 40 genera and 13 of 76 reference species were present.The most abundant species were Acinetobacter johnsonii,Mycobacterium avium and Aeromonas spp.Quantitative polymerase chain reaction(q PCR) of Escherichia coli(uid A),Aeromonas(aer A),M.avium(16S r RNA),Pseudomonas aeruginosa(oaa) and Salmonella(inv A) showed that the aer A genes were the most abundant,occurring in all samples with concentrations of 10~(4–6) genome copies/100 m L,followed by oaa,inv A and M.avium.In total,34.8% of the samples harbored all genes,indicating the prevalence of these pathogens in this recreational waterbody.Based on the q PCR results,a quantitative microbial risk assessment(QMRA) showed that the annual infection risks of Salmonella,M.avium and P.aeruginosa in five activities were mostly greater than the U.S.EPA risk limit for recreational contacts,and children playing with water may be exposed to the greatest infection risk.Our findings provide a comprehensive understanding of bacterial pathogen diversity and pathogen abundance in urban recreational water by applying both NGS and q PCR.     

The effects of chemical protective suits on human performance

Workers in the chemical industry are often required to wear protective suits while performing tasks. While these suits can be life saving, they increase the difficulty and discomfort faced by the wearer. This research explores the performance of individuals wearing the highly cumbersome Level A suit. The suits are heat-retentive and can cause fatigue that affects performance by increasing response time and decreasing accuracy. Members of Missouri’s Civil Support Team (CST) served as subjects for this research. They conducted fine and gross motor tests. Their completion time and accuracy were evaluated both out-of-suit and in-suit for the Level A chemical protective suits.A t-test was conducted to evaluate the effect of the Level A suits on performance. Results showed a significant increase in completion time and errors for gross motor tasks. This type of task had up to a 103% increase in time required and up to a 34% decrease in accuracy. The suit’s impact on fine motor skill was also significant, but to a lesser extent. Repeated measures test was performed to evaluate any potential time-in-suit effect. A decrease in mean task completion time was observed for some of the tasks. There was a corresponding decrease in accuracy but no consistent time-in-suit effect was identified.The results indicate the need for care when designing procedures and equipement to be used by humans wearing restrictive PPE. It is important to take human limitations into consideration in the design phase in order to decrease the need for human adaptation and increase system safety. To achieve this, understanding human factors is imperative when designing equipment, tasks, or procedures for workers wearing PPE.     

The influence of place attachment, and moral and normative concerns on the conservation of native vegetation: A test of two behavioural models

This study examines the influence of place attachment, values, beliefs and personal norms about environmental action on the conservation of native vegetation in two primary production settings in South Australia. We use regression and multiple mediation analyses to test a base model of pro-environmental behaviour which includes variables from value-belief-norm (VBN) theory and then compare it to an expanded model which includes the same variables and five dimensions of place attachment. The expanded model including place attachment explained up to twice the amount of variance in native vegetation planting than the base model when controlling for all variables preceding behaviour, but the overall explanatory power was low (<22%). Place attachment had a stronger influence on the antecedents of behaviour compared with the behaviour itself, particularly nature bonding which was a significant moderate predictor of both personal norms and awareness of consequences in the two study regions. We assert that place attachment has statistically significant direct and indirect effects on variables included in VBN theory. Future studies may reveal stronger effects in settings where there are fewer resource and monetary costs associated with pro-environmental behaviour.     

Lake area changes in the middle Yangtze region of China over the 20th century

The Jianghan Plain and the Dongting lake area, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River are famous for their abundant freshwater lakes. The lakes have undergone changes in size and number over thousands of years due to natural causes and human activities. The 20th century particularly, witnessed dramatic changes in the freshwater resources of this region. This paper traces and analyzes lake evolution in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River over the past century. Lakes greater than 0.1 km(2) in size are mapped using Geographic Information System. Data is acquired and integrated from drainage network maps, relief maps, historical maps and remotely sensed images for different time periods. The results indicate that while there has been little change in the number of lakes over the past century, the lake area has experienced a dramatic decrease of 58.06%. The paper also examines the natural processes and human activities that may have contributed to the decrease in lake area. The results show that the decrease in total lake area appears to coincide with periods of rapid land reclamation in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Moreover, uncontrolled land reclamation activities can create an increase in sediment deposition in lakes thereby further reducing the lake size. Reduction of the lake area directly affects flood-control and has a negative ecological impact on the environment and on human life and property.     

典型娱乐场所火灾期间人员行为分析

建筑火灾的频发,引起人们对火灾过程中人员行为的极大关注。利用视频信息提取典型公共娱乐场所火灾过程中不同人员在火灾迹象觉察和确认时间的差异,又结合FDS模拟得到的火灾温度场变化规律,分析了人员在火灾期间的不同行为表现以及相应的非理性心理状态,指出了相关的主客观原因,有利于加强人们的火灾灾害意识和安全逃生意识;同时文中的相关结论也可以为建筑物消防性能化设计、人员安全疏散提供参考。