Effects of Selenium Supplementation on Arsenism: An Intervention Trial in Inner Mongolia

This paper reports the effects of a placebo-controlled Se-enriched yeast supplementation trial, conducted for 14 months, on arsenism in adult farmers living in a rural community in Inner Mongolia, China. The farmers had been naturally exposed to elevated concentrations of As in drinking water from tube-wells since 1983 but changed to arsenic-free drinking water when the trial began in June 1996. Blood and hair Se and As concentrations were analysed pre-intervention and at the end of the 3rd, 9th and 14th month, while skin lesions were assessed pre-intervention, as well as at the end of the 14th month, using the Arsenism Clinical Criteria established by the Ministry of Health, China. As the trial was a voluntary one, a number of farmers did not routinely have their blood and hair samples taken for analysis. Consequently, the data have been analysed in two categories. Fifty-four farmers from the Se-group and 29 from the placebo-group who were sampled on each occasion were considered as one group, which has been compared with the second group comprising up to a total of 100 farmers in the Se-group and 86 in the placebo-group. Results calculated for those farmers who were sampled on each occasion, showed that at the end of the trial, blood and hair Se concentrations of the Se-group increased from 0.130 to 0.186 µg ml^–1 and from 0.431 to 0.502 µg g^–1, respectively, while those of the placebo-groups remained constant. Blood and hair As concentrations of the Se-group decreased from 0.051 to 0.015 µg ml^–1 and from 2.57 to 0.680 µg g^–1, respectively, a greater reduction than those in the placebo-group that went from 0.064 to 0.024 µg ml^–1 and from 2.62 to 1.25 µg g^–1, respectively. When the data from all patients were examined, the analytical trends were similar. An evaluation of skin lesions in the category who were sampled for hair and blood on each occasion showed that 41.2% of hyperkeratosis, 50.0% of depigmentation and 44.7% of pigmentation in the Se-group improved one or more degrees, while those in the placebo-group improved by only 7.1, 12.0 and 6.7%, respectively. A total of 61.1% of the adults in Se-group improved in one or more type of skin lesion, but only 17.2% improved in the placebo-group. Comparable results were obtained when all the data from both categories of farmers were examined. Results from the trial showed that Se supplementation was more effective for the improvement of adults who were affected by double or triple skin lesions. In the placebo-group, most of the severely affected adults improved in only one kind of skin lesion, but in the Se-group, more adults improved in two or three kinds of skin lesions. Although the trial was limited by its relatively small size, the results have provided some evidence of the usefulness of Se supplementation for people affected by arsenism.     

Arsenism Clinical Stages and their Relation with Hair Arsenic Concentration of Residents of Bayinmaodao Rural District, Inner Mongolia, China

The clinical skin lesions of arsenism in men and women in Bayinmaodao rural district in Inner Mongolia, Peoples Republic of China, have been examined by doctors, and their hair and drinking water samples analysed for arsenic by hydride generation and ICP-AES. Altogether 311 arsenism patients with a 15.53% prevalence rate for the district were recorded. The disease prevalence rate was positively related to population, age, and their exposure to elevated arsenic concentrations in the drinking water from 1983 when new wells were dug and drinking of surface water was abandoned. Hyperkeratosis was the most serious skin lesion with the highest occurrence rate, then depigmentation and pigmentation in decreasing order. With increasing severity of the disease, ranging from skin lesion with single hyperkeratosis 1° to hyperkeratosis 3° with depigmentation 3° and pigmentation 3°, the results showed that arsenic concentrations in head hair had increased. Arsenic concentrations in hair were positively correlated with the arsenic concentrations in drinking water obtained from local wells.     

中国农业水土环境存在的问题及对策探讨

中国农业水土环境问题十分严重。水土流失、土地沙漠化、水资源日显短缺、水体过度开采和污染加剧、土壤污染和次生盐渍化是水土环境恶化的根本原因。积极恢复植被、实施虚拟水土战略、对水土资源进行优化调控、构建节约型水土资源综合体系提高水土利用效率、通过国家生态税收建立生态补偿机制等,是解决农业水土环境问题的根本途径。     

西南地区干旱规律与节水农业发展问题

除西藏以外的中国西南地区人口、耕地和农林牧渔总产值分别占全国的19.2%、19.1%和14.9%,是我国十分重要且潜力巨大的农产品生产基地。干旱是制约本区农业发展的重要因素。文章分析了西南地区的干旱特征,揭示出该区季节性干旱严重、区域性干旱突出、干旱类型多、连旱频率大的干旱规律,提出对农业生产危害最严重的干旱类型是春旱、夏旱和伏旱。从自然和经济开发的角度,分析了该区干旱的主要成因是降雨分布不均、水资源可利用率低、水土流失严重和水利工程滞后。在此基础上,提出了提高降雨利用率、提高水资源开发程度及大力发展生物节水技术的对策,特别是农业结构调整、抗旱作物选用、节水农耕农艺技术和发展经济植物篱(埂)等生物节水技术。     

中国黑钻鳞耳蕨组（耳蕨属）的研究

对中国黑钻鳞耳蕨组（耳蕨属）种类进行了分类处理．确认中国有12种，并报导了其中2个新种：浪穹耳蕨（Polystichumlangchungense）、洪雅耳蕨（P．pseudo-xiphophyllum）．     

东北、内蒙古东部地区煤炭中微量元素含量及分布规律

研究了东北和内蒙东部各矿区煤炭中As,Ba,Be,Cb,Co,Cr,Cu,Hg,Li,Mn,Ni,Pb,Se,Sr,V,Zn,Zr的含量水平及分布规律.煤灰灰分中多数元素含量高于克拉克值、土壤背景值及植物干物质中含量,呈富集状态.相关矩阵和聚类分析表明,煤炭中微量元素含量与基质元素有密切的依存性.由于复杂的成煤过程,煤炭中微量元素呈现独特的集散规律.     

Geochemical evidence of pollutants from coalfired generating stations in late Pleistocene palaeosols in the Dalijia Shan,northwestern China

Surface palaeosols in two tills and a diamicton from an area in northwestern China were analysed for geochemical pollutants. Elevated levels of Br, As and Sb indicate that pollution from coal-burning and/or coal-fired electricity generating stations is delivered by aeolian transport into palaeosols dating from the last glaciation. Because the climate in the field area is sub-humid (precipitation <760 mm) the relative movement of soluble elements in palaeosols dating from early and late stades of the last glaciation is not expected to be high. The glacial and aeolian parent materials of the palaeosols indicate differences that are probably related to their source areas and to the incorporation of geochemical pollutants.     

东北过伐林灌木层物种多样性与林分因子的典型相关分析

研究林分特征尤其是经营上可以控制的因子对生物多样性的影响，将有助于制定合理的经营措施来维持和保护生物多样性，本文作者以我国东北过伐林区3种典型天然林类型为对象，采用典型相关分析方法，研究影响灌木层物种多样性的主要因子。结果表明：影响灌木层物种多样性的主要因子包括土壤含水率，树种多样性和林分密度；灌木层多样性组的变异被林分组第一典型变量解释的比例为68.32%,仍有31.68%的变异不能得到解释。     

模拟氮沉降对苗圃地土壤动物群落的影响

通过人工喷施氮H4NO3建立了一个模拟氮沉降增加梯度系列,在近18个月的试验处理期间,研究了2003年7月、10月和2004年2月、5月这几个不同季度苗圃试验样地土壤动物群落对氮沉降增加的响应。实验分为5个处理组:对照、低氮、中氮、高氮和倍高氮,分别接受0、5、10、15、30g/(m2·a)的氮沉降量。土壤细菌和真菌的数量总体上随氮处理的加强而持续显著地增长,土壤有机氮含量也持续升高,土壤酸度则不断下降。采样期对土壤动物的个体数量、类群丰度和多样性存在显著的影响,总的来说,土壤动物群落随试验处理期加长而持续增长。土壤动物群落具有显著的垂直分异特征,土壤I层土壤动物个体数量、类群丰度和多样性显著高于II和III层。氮沉降增加对土壤动物群落有明显的影响,表现为施氮处理明显有利于土壤动物群落的发展,但也具有明显的阀值效应。与对照样地相比,各施氮处理样地土壤动物群落水平整体为高,而且随试验处理时间的增加这种差异有加大的趋势;氮沉降增加处理与取样期之间存在显著的交互作用,除了2月取样,中氮处理土壤动物群落水平都处于最高水平,而对照处理一般处于最低水平,这种趋势在最后一次取样中最为明显;氮沉降处理与土壤动物的垂直分布之间也有明显的交互作用:在土壤I层,从对照至倍高氮处理,土壤动物群