Laboratory and Field Assessment of Arsenic Testing Field Kits in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India

High concentrations of arsenic in ground waters in West Bengal and Bangladeshhave become a major cause for concern in recent years. Given the enormity and the severity of the problemof arsenic poisoning, a task of evaluating the commercially available arsenic detection field kits for their capabilities was undertaken. In the light of the findings, generic specificationswere recommended which could form the basis forindigenous manufacture of these kits in the arsenic affected countries. This article presents the results of the laboratory and fieldevaluation conducted in Bangladesh and West Bengalof five arsenic testing field kits. The salient features of the kits, their merits and limitationshave been brought out. Based on the criteria of kitdesign, quality of chemicals used, colourcomparator charts, detection range, time required for analysis, cost etc., a comparative ranking ofthe kits has been made to facilitate the choice of the kit to meet specific requirements.     

Determination of arsenic in grain and soil by hydride nondispersive atomic fluorescence method

Quantity of trace arsenic in grain and soil was determined by hydride nondispersive atomic fluorescence method.Optimum conditions of measurement were selected in the experiment including the pH of the medium, reductive agent, the concentration and flowing velocity of KBH4, rate of carrier gas and atomized temperature. The reference sample of rice C was determined and the linear relationship of the calibration curve was plotted, indicating that the method was highly precise. In the experiment of recovery rate, the method was quite satisfactory.Based on the determination of hundreds of samples, it is proved that atomic fluorescence method is rapid, sensitive and low in interference. It is very efficient on determination of trace arsenic in soils and grains, especially in grains.     

New method for determination of arsenic contentin tail gases during semiconductor processing

ＮｅｗｍｅｔｈｏｄｆｏｒｄｅｔｅｒｍｉｎａｔｉｏｎｏｆａｒｓｅｎｉｃｃｏｎｔｅｎｔｉｎｔａｉｌｇａｓｅｓｄｕｒｉｎｇｓｅｍｉｃｏｎｄｕｃｔｏｒｐｒｏｃｅｓｓｉｎｇＷｅｎＲｕｉｍｅｉ，ＰｅｎｇＹｏｎｇｑｉｎ（Ｉｎｓｔｉｔｕｔｅｏｆｍｉｃｒｏｃｏｎｄｕｃ...     

三价砷和五价砷对活性污泥几种酶活性的影响

应用静态试验,研究了As(Ⅲ),As(Ⅴ)对活性污泥脱氢酶活性、脲酶活性、蛋白酶活性的影响。其结果:抑制10%脱氢酶、脲酶、蛋白酶活性的As(Ⅲ)浓度分别为10.0mg/gMLSS,13.4mg/gMLSS,2.6mg/gMLSS;As(Ⅴ)的浓度则分别为552.6mg/gMLSS,464.4mg/gMLSS,193.7mg/gMLSS。As(Ⅲ)对活性污泥的毒性比As(Ⅴ)平均大53倍。     

Sex‐specific and dose‐response relationships of urinary cobalt and molybdenum levels with glucose levels and insulin resistance in U.S. adults

Growing studies have linked metal exposure to diabetes risk. However, these studies had inconsistent results. We used a multiple linear regression model to investigate the sex-specific and dose-response associations between urinary metals (cobalt (Co) and molybdenum (Mo)) and diabetes-related indicators (fasting plasma glucose (FPG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and insulin) in a cross-sectional study based on the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The urinary metal concentrations of 1423 eligible individuals were stratified on the basis of the quartile distribution. Our results showed that the urinary Co level in males at the fourth quartile (Q4) was strongly correlated with increased FPG (β = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.17–1.04), HbA1c (β = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.09–0.54), insulin (β = 8.18, 95% CI: 2.84–13.52), and HOMA–IR (β = 3.42, 95% CI: 1.40–5.44) when compared with first quartile (Q1). High urinary Mo levels (Q4 vs. Q1) were associated with elevated FPG (β = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.17–0.75) and HbA1c (β = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.11–0.42) in the overall population. Positive linear dose-response associations were observed between urinary Co and insulin (P_nonlinear = 0.513) and HOMA–IR (P_nonlinear = 0.736) in males, as well as a positive linear dose-response relationship between urinary Mo and FPG (P_nonlinear = 0.826) and HbA1c (P_nonlinear = 0.376) in the overall population. Significant sex-specific and dose-response relationships were observed between urinary metals (Co and Mo) and diabetes-related indicators, and the potential mechanisms should be further investigated.     

Acid resistance of methanogenic bacteria in a two-stage anaerobic process treating high concentration methanol Wastewater

In this study, the two-stage upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) system and batch experiments were employed to evaluate the performance of anaerobic digestion for the treatment of high concentration methanol wastewater. The acid resistance of granular sludge and methanogenic bacteria and their metabolizing activity were investigated. The results show that the pH of the first UASB changed from 4.9 to 5.8 and 5.5 to 6.2 for the second reactor. Apparently, these were not the advisable pH levels that common methanogenic bacteria could accept. The methanogenic bacteria of the system, viz. Methanosarcina barkeri, had some acid resistance and could still degrade methanol at pH 5.0. If the methanogenic bacteria were trained further, their acid resistance would be improved somewhat. Granular sludge of the system could protect the methanogenic bacteria within its body against the impact of the acidic environment and make them degrade methanol at pH 4.5. The performance of granular sludge was attributed to its structure, bacteria species, and the distribution of bacterium inside the granule. Translated from Acta Scientiae Circumstantiae, 2004, 24(4): 633–636 [译自: 环境科学学报]     

氢化物发生一原子荧光光谱法测定气田废水中的痕量砷

采用氢化物发生－原子荧光光谱法测气田废水中的痕量砷。方法有取样量少，操作简单、灵敏度高、准确度高、重现性好等优点。砷的测定线性范围为1～200ng/mL，方法的检出限为0．0453ng/mL，相对标准偏差小于等于1．6％，加标回收率在96．0％～97．7％范围内。测定密码标样与气田废水中的痕量砷，获得了满意的结果。     

Effect of sodium arsenite on adrenocortical activity in immature female rats: evidence of dose dependent response

ｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＡｒｓｅｎｉｃ，ａｍｅｔａｌｌｏｉｄ，ｉｓａｎｏｎｅｓｓｅｎｔｉａｌｔｒａｃｅｅｌｅｍｅｎｔ，ｈａｓｂｅｅｎｃｌａｉｍｅｄｔｏｂｅｏｆｃｌｉｎｉｃａｌｂｅｎｅｆｉｔｉｎｔｈｅｔｒｅａｔｍｅｎｔｏｆｓｙｐｈｉｌｉｓ，ａｍｏｅｂｉａｓｉｓａｎｄｏｔｈｅｒｔｒｏｐｉｃａｌｄｉｓｅａｓｅｓ（Ｋｌａａｓｓｅｎ，１９９０；Ｋｏｗａｇｕｃｈｉ，１９８１）．Ｂｅｓｉｄｅｉｔｓｃｌｉｎｉｃａｌｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｃｅ，ａｒｓｅｎｉｃｉｓｒｅｐｏｒｔｅｄｔｏｂｅａｎｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔｗａｔｅｒｐｏ…     

污染生态学的新发展—污染进化生态学

污染胁迫的最显著效应是消除敏感物种或个体，导致植物居群进化。突变是进化的原料，选择是进化的手段，隔离是进化的条件，控制抗性性状的基因因物种及污染物的种类不同而异，但也会出现植物同时具有对某两种或几种污染物的抗性，即所谓协同抗性；污染除使植物衰退外，还可能导致一些遗传信息丧失，使抗性种群内物种单一，降低其适合度，对其它环境胁迫因素的抵抗力下降，即所谓适应代价。