模拟黑麦草根系有机酸参与下炼锌废渣对斑马鱼抗氧化酶和神经毒性的影响

为评价多金属矿山废渣堆场生态修复过程中,废渣在先锋修复植物根系分泌的机酸参与下浸出液对周边环境生物的影响.以斑马鱼（Danio rerio）为受试生物,通过模拟添加典型先锋植物（黑麦草）根系分泌的有机酸（草酸和酒石酸）处理贵州威宁土法炼锌废渣,以废渣浸出液对受试生物抗氧化酶和乙酰胆碱酯酶（AchE）的不同响应为评价指标,研究各处理组对斑马鱼抗氧化系统、神经系统及组织学的影响.结果表明,两种有机酸的参与均会不同程度地降低炼锌废渣浸出液的pH,并导致废渣释放出更多重金属;暴露于有机酸参与的废渣浸出液14 d后,受试生物组织中的抗氧化酶受到显著影响,并因无法克服长时间的氧化应激最终引起丙二醇（MDA）在组织中累积;有机酸参与下废渣浸出液对斑马鱼具有明显的神经毒性,长时间暴露后受试生物出现游动迟缓、呼吸慢和鳃盖张合频率降低的现象;鳃组织存在上皮细胞水肿、增生或脱落、鳃丝充血和鳃小片扭曲或断裂的现象,而肌肉组织中出现更多肌纤维核增大、固缩和碎裂的现象.综上,选用适生性和耐受性较强、根系发达且有机酸分泌量较大的先锋植物来修复多金属废渣场地将可能促进废渣中重金属的释放并引起环境生物抗氧化系统和神经系...     

低温下废铁屑对厌氧氨氧化系统的影响

考察了在低温条件下(<20℃)废铁屑及其投加方式对厌氧氨氧化反应器脱氮性能和微生物群落的影响.结果表明,当废铁屑投加量为10g/L时,直接(R2)和间接(R3)投加方式均会对厌氧氨氧化反应造成短期抑制,总氮去除率分别降低4.7%和3.4%;30d连续运行后,2组反应器总氮去除率均提升至70%左右;反应器稳定运行阶段,R2的R_s(NO₂^--N与NH₄⁺-N去除量之比)和R_p(NO₃^--N生成量与NH₄⁺-N去除量之比)为1.57和0.22, R3的R_s和R_p为1.49和0.23,比R2更接近厌氧氨氧化反应理论值.废铁屑在水中发生腐蚀,降低DO并提高pH值,且R2,R3污泥中铁含量分别为对照组的1.64倍和1.93倍,废铁屑不仅改善了厌氧氨氧菌的生境,还满足了其对铁元素的需求.高通量测序结果显示,在20~50d的运行过程中, R1,R2,R3中优势厌氧氨氧化菌属Candidatus_Kuenenia的相对丰度分别增加-1.05%,0.14%和0.96%,废铁屑的投加促进了厌氧氨氧化菌在低温下的生长,且间接投加促进效果更为显著.     

Dosing low-level ferrous iron in coagulation enhances the removal of micropollutants, chlorite and chlorate during advanced water treatment

Drinking water utilities are interested in upgrading their treatment facilities to enhance micropollutant removal and byproduct control. Pre-oxidation by chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) followed by coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) is one of the promising solutions. However, the chlorite (ClO₂^–) formed from the ClO₂ pre-oxidation stage cannot be removed by the conventional coagulation process using aluminum sulfate. ClO₂^– negatively affects the post-UV/chlorine process due to its strong radical scavenging effect, and it also enhances the formation of chlorate (ClO₃^–). In this study, dosing micromolar-level ferrous iron (Fe(II)) into aluminum-based coagulants was proposed to eliminate the ClO₂^– generated from ClO₂ pre-oxidation and benefit the post-UV/chlorine process in radical production and ClO₃^– reduction. Results showed that the addition of 52.1-µmol/L FeSO₄ effectively eliminated the ClO₂^– generated from the pre-oxidation using 1.0 mg/L (14.8 µmol/L) of ClO₂. Reduction of ClO₂^– increased the degradation rate constant of a model micropollutant (carbamazepine) by 55.0% in the post-UV/chlorine process. The enhanced degradation was verified to be attributed to the increased steady-state concentrations of HO^· and ClO^· by Fe(II) addition. Moreover, Fe(II) addition also decreased the ClO₃^– formation by 53.8% in the UV/chlorine process and its impact on the formation of chloro-organic byproducts was rather minor. The findings demonstrated a promising strategy to improve the drinking water quality and safety by adding low-level Fe(II) in coagulation in an advanced drinking water treatment train.     

Biological methane production coupled with sulfur oxidation in a microbial electrosynthesis system without organic substrates

Methane is produced in a microbial electrosynthesis system (MES) without organic substrates. However, a relatively high applied voltage is required for the bioelectrical reactions. In this study, we demonstrated that electrotrophic methane production at the biocathode was achieved even at a very low voltage of 0.1 V in an MES, in which abiotic HS⁻ oxidized to SO₄²⁻ at the anodic carbon-cloth surface coated with platinum powder. In addition, microbial community analysis revealed the most probable pathway for methane production from electrons. First, electrotrophic H₂ was produced by syntrophic bacteria, such as Syntrophorhabdus, Syntrophobacter, Syntrophus, Leptolinea, and Aminicenantales, with the direct acceptance of electrons at the biocathode. Subsequently, most of the produced H₂ was converted to acetate by homoacetogens, such as Clostridium and Spirochaeta 2. In conclusion, the majority of the methane was indirectly produced by a large population of acetoclastic methanogens, namely Methanosaeta, via acetate. Further, hydrogenotrophic methanogens, including Methanobacterium and Methanolinea, produced methane via H₂.     

Identification and characterization of Fe3O4/peroxodisulfate advanced oxidation products from sulfameter

Sulfonamides (SAs) are one of the most widely used antibiotics and their residuals in the environment could cause some negative environmental issues. Advanced oxidation such as Fenton-like reaction has been widely applied in the treatment of SAs polluted water. Degradation rates of 95%-99.7% were achieved in this work for the tested 8 SAs, including sulfisomidine, sulfameter (SME), phthalylsulfathiazole, sulfamethoxypyridazine, sulfamonomethoxine, sulfisoxazole, sulfachloropyridazine, and sulfadimethoxine, in the Fe₃O₄/peroxodisulfate (PDS) oxidation system after the optimization of PDS concentration and pH. Meanwhile, it was found that a lot of unknown oxidation products were formed, which brought up the uncertainty of health risks to the environment, and the identification of these unknown products was critical. Therefore, SME was selected as the model compound, from which the oxidation products were never elucidated, to identify these intermediates/products. With liquid chromatography-high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS), 10 new products were identified, in which 2-amino-5-methoxypyrimidine (AMP) was confirmed by its standard. The investigation of the oxidation process of SME indicated that most of the products were not stable and the degradation pathways were very complicated as multiple reactions, such as oxidation of the amino group, SO₂ extrusion, and potential cross-reaction occurred simultaneously. Though most of the products were not verified due to the lack of standards, our results could be helpful in the evaluation of the treatment performance of SAs containing wastewater.     

植物细胞对环境胁迫的适应性应答Ⅰ:水杨酸对大蒜培养细胞中超氧化物歧化酶的增效诱导

大蒜培养细胞对水杨酸的应答比对温度和水分胁迫的应答更为强烈，其主要特征是抗氧化酶类超氧化物歧化酶的大量生成，同时还观察到水杨酸对冷胁迫或热休克介导的酶诱导作用的强化．上述结果暗示着自由基的生成是环境胁迫作用于植物细胞的机制之一，水杨酸诱导产生的抗氧化活性高于冷胁迫或热休克．这表明化学胁迫可能以一种与物理胁迫不同的方式诱导超氧化物歧化酶同工酶的生成     

A conceptual framework: Redefining forest soil's critical acid loads under a changing climate

Federal agencies of several nations have or are currently developing guidelines for critical forest soil acid loads. These guidelines are used to establish regulations designed to maintain atmospheric acid inputs below levels shown to damage forests and streams. Traditionally, when the critical soil acid load exceeds the amount of acid that the ecosystem can absorb, it is believed to potentially impair forest health. The excess over the critical soil acid load is termed the exceedance, and the larger the exceedance, the greater the risk of ecosystem damage. This definition of critical soil acid load applies to exposure of the soil to a single, long-term pollutant (i.e., acidic deposition). However, ecosystems can be simultaneously under multiple ecosystem stresses and a single critical soil acid load level may not accurately reflect ecosystem health risk when subjected to multiple, episodic environmental stress. For example, the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina receive some of the highest rates of acidic deposition in the eastern United States, but these levels are considered to be below the critical acid load (CAL) that would cause forest damage. However, the area experienced a moderate three-year drought from 1999 to 2002, and in 2001 red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) trees in the area began to die in large numbers. The initial survey indicated that the affected trees were killed by the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis Zimm.). This insect is not normally successful at colonizing these tree species because the trees produce large amounts of oleoresin that exclude the boring beetles. Subsequent investigations revealed that long-term acid deposition may have altered red spruce forest structure and function. There is some evidence that elevated acid deposition (particularly nitrogen) reduced tree water uptake potential, oleoresin production, and caused the trees to become more susceptible to insect colonization during the drought period. While the ecosystem was not in exceedance of the CAL, long-term nitrogen deposition pre-disposed the forest to other ecological stress. In combination, insects, drought, and nitrogen ultimately combined to cause the observed forest mortality. If any one of these factors were not present, the trees would likely not have died. This paper presents a conceptual framework of the ecosystem consequences of these interactions as well as limited plot level data to support this concept. Future assessments of the use of CAL studies need to account for multiple stress impacts to better understand ecosystem response.     

Elimination kinetics of perfluorohexanoic acid in humans and comparison with mouse,rat and monkey

Major fluorinated chemical manufacturers have developed new short-chain per- and polyfluorinated substances with more favorable environmental, health and safety profiles. This study provides the first evaluation of the elimination half-life of perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) from the blood of humans. PFHxA biomonitoring data were obtained from a recently published study of professional ski wax technicians. These data were analyzed to provide estimates of the apparent half-life of PFHxA from humans, and comparisons were made with kinetic studies of PFHxA elimination from mice, rats and monkeys. The apparent elimination half-life of PFHxA in highly exposed humans ranged between 14 and 49 d with a geomean of 32 d. The half-lives of PFHxA in mice, rats, monkeys and humans were proportional to body weight with no differences observed between genders, indicating similar volumes of distribution and similar elimination mechanisms among mammalian species. Compared to long-chain perfluoroalkyl acid analogs, PFHxA is rapidly cleared from biota. The consistent weight-normalized elimination half-lives for PFHxA in mammalian species indicates that results obtained from animal models are suitable for establishment of PFHxA benchmark dose and reference dose hazard endpoints for use in human risk assessments.     

Antioxidants in Hot Pepper: Variation Among Accessions

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pepper (Capsicum spp.) germplasm collection contains several thousand members or accessions. Many of these species and cultivars have not been analyzed for their concentrations of ascorbic acid, capsaicin, and total phenolic compounds, which are important antioxidants having a number of benefits for human health. The objective of this investigation was to select candidate accessions of hot pepper having high concentrations of ascorbic acid, capsaicin, free sugars, and total phenols for use as parents in breeding for these compounds. Seventeen accessions of pepper from the core Capsicum germplasm collection (four accessions of Capsicum chinense; five accessions of C. baccatum; six accessions of C. annuum; and two of C. frutescens) were field grown and their mature fruits were analyzed for their antioxidant composition. Concentrations of these compounds tended to be higher in C. chinense and C. baccatum, than in C. annuum and C. frutescens. Across all accessions the concentration of total phenols was correlated with ascorbic acid (r = 0.97) and free sugars (r = 0.80). Concentrations of total phenols (1.4, 1.3, and 1.3 mg g^?1 fruit) and ascorbic acid (1.6, 1.2, and 1.3 mg g^?1 fruit) were significantly greater in PI-633757, PI-387833, and PI-633754, respectively, compared to other accessions analyzed. Total capsaicinoids concentrations were greatest (1.3 mg g^?1 fruit) in PI-438622 and lowest (0.002 mg g^?1 fruit) in Grif-9320. The great variability within and among Capsicum species for these phytochemicals suggests that these selected accessions may be useful as parents in hybridization programs to produce fruits with value-added traits.     

H2O2 treatment boosts activity of NiFe layered double hydroxide for electro-catalytic oxidation of urea

Urea oxidation reaction (UOR) provides a method for hydrogen production besides wastewater treatment, but the current limited catalytic activity has prevented the application. Herein, we develop a novel H₂O₂ treatment strategy for tailoring the surface oxygen ligand of NiFe-layered double hydroxides (NiFe-LDH). The sample after H₂O₂ treatment (NiFeO-LDH) shows significant enhancement on UOR efficiency, with the potential of 1.37 V (RHE) to reach a current density of 10 mA/cm². The boost is attributed to the richness adsorption O ligand on NiFeO-LDH as revealed by XPS and Raman analysis. DFT calculation indicates formation of two possible types of oxygen ligands: adsorbed oxygen on the surface and exposed from hydroxyl group, lowered the desorption energy of CO₂ product, which lead to the lowered onset potential. This strategy is further extended to NiFe-LDH nano sheet on Ni foam to reach a higher current density of 440 mA/cm² of UOR at 1.8 V (RHE). The facile surface O ligand manipulation is also expected to give chance to many other electro-catalytic oxidations.