Growth, photosynthesis and antioxidant responses of two microalgal species, Chlorella vulgaris and Selenastrum capricornutum, to nonylphenol stress

The effect of nonylphenol (NP) on growth, photochemistry and biochemistry of two green microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris and Selenanstrum capricornutum, and their ability to degrade NP were compared. The 96 h EC₅₀ of C. vulgaris and S. capricornutum were greater than 4.0 and 1.0 mg L⁻¹ NP, respectively, suggesting that the former species was more tolerant to NP. Both microalgae acclimated to NP stress through down-regulating their photosynthetic activities, including antenna size (chlorophyll a content), maximal photochemistry (Fv/Fm) and the light absorbed by PSII (ABS/CS₀), but the dissipation of energy from reaction centres (DI₀/RC) increased with the increase of NP concentrations. In C. vulgaris, the changes of these parameters were more significant than in S. capricornutum and recovered completely after a 96 h exposure. The antioxidant responses, such as GSH content, CAT and POD activities in C. vulgaris increased with the increase of NP concentrations after a 24 h exposure, but these changes disappeared with exposure time and recovered to the control levels after 96 h. In S. capricornutum, although GSH content, CAT and POD activities also increased when exposed to low- to moderate-NP concentrations, these values were significantly reduced at a high concentration (4 mg L⁻¹) even after a 96 h exposure, indicating its antioxidant responses were significantly delayed. It is clear that the more NP-tolerant species, C. vulgaris, acclimated better with a faster recovery of its photosynthetic activity from the NP-induced damage, and exhibited more efficient and rapid responses to NP-induced oxidative stress. C. vulgaris also had a higher NP degradation ability than S. capricornutum.     

Derivation of aquatic predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) for 2,4-dichlorophenol: comparing native species data with non-native species data

2,4-Dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) is known as an important chemical intermediate and an environmental endocrine disruptor. There is no paper dealing with the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) of 2,4-DCP, mainly due to shortage of chronic and site-specific toxicity data. In the present study, toxicity data was obtained from the tests using six Chinese native aquatic species. The HC₅ (hazardous concentration for 5% of species) was derived based on the constructed species sensitivity distribution (SSD), which was compared with that derived from literature toxicity data of non-native species. For invertebrates, the survival no-observed effect concentrations (NOECs) were 0.05 and 1.00 mg L⁻¹ for Macrobrachium superbum and Corbicula fluminea, respectively. NOECs based on fishes’ growth were 0.10, 0.20 and 0.40 mg L⁻¹ for Mylopharyngodon piceus, Plagiognathops microlepis and Erythroculter ilishaeformis, respectively. For aquatic plant Soirodela polyrhiza, NOEC based on concentration of chlorophyll was 1.00 mg L⁻¹. A final PNEC calculated using the SSD approach with a 50% certainty based on different taxa ranged between 0.008 and 0.045 mg L⁻¹. There is no significant difference between HC₅ derived from native and that from non-native taxa.     

Quantitative assessment of the toxic effects of heavy metals on 1,2-dichloroethane biodegradation in co-contaminated soil under aerobic condition

1,2-Dichloroethane (1,2-DCA) is one of the most hazardous pollutant of soil and groundwater, and is produced in excess of 5.44 × 10⁹ kg annually. Owing to their toxicity, persistence and potential for bioaccumulation, there is a growing interest in technologies for their removal. Heavy metals are known to be toxic to soil microorganisms at high concentrations and can hinder the biodegradation of organic contaminants. In this study, the inhibitory effect of heavy metals, namely; arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead, on the aerobic biodegradation of 1,2-DCA by autochthonous microorganisms was evaluated in soil microcosm setting. The presence of heavy metals was observed to have a negative impact on the biodegradation of 1,2-DCA in both soil samples tested, with the toxic effect being more pronounced in loam soil, than in clay soil. Generally, 75 ppm As³⁺, 840 ppm Hg²⁺, and 420 ppm Pb²⁺ resulted in 34.24%, 40.64%, and 45.94% increase in the half live (t_½) of 1,2-DCA, respectively, in loam soil, while concentrations above 127.5 ppm Cd²⁺, 840 ppm Hg²⁺ and 420 ppm of Pb²⁺ and less than 75 ppm As³⁺ was required to cause a >10% increase in the t_½ of 1,2-DCA in clay soil. A dose-dependent relationship between degradation rate constant (k₁) of 1,2-DCA and metal ion concentrations was observed for all the heavy metals tested, except for Hg²⁺. This study demonstrated that different heavy metals have different impacts on the degree of 1,2-DCA degradation. Results also suggest that the degree of inhibition is metal specific and is also dependent on several factors including; soil type, pH, moisture content and available nutrients.     

An overview of experimental results and dispersion modelling of nanoparticles in the wake of moving vehicles

Understanding the transformation of nanoparticles emitted from vehicles is essential for developing appropriate methods for treating fine scale particle dynamics in dispersion models. This article provides an overview of significant research work relevant to modelling the dispersion of pollutants, especially nanoparticles, in the wake of vehicles. Literature on vehicle wakes and nanoparticle dispersion is reviewed, taking into account field measurements, wind tunnel experiments and mathematical approaches.Field measurements and modelling studies highlighted the very short time scales associated with nanoparticle transformations in the first stages after the emission. These transformations strongly interact with the flow and turbulence fields immediately behind the vehicle, hence the need of characterising in detail the mixing processes in the vehicle wake. Very few studies have analysed this interaction and more research is needed to build a basis for model development. A possible approach is proposed and areas of further investigation identified.     

Geographic variation in tissue accumulation of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in grazing sheep

Muscle tissue was collected from ewes and lambs derived from farms throughout Scotland and sample concentrations of five endocrine disrupting compound groups were determined. Farms of origin were categorised according to geographic region. There were few statistically-significant differences with region or distance from cities. However, the magnitude of the difference between the highest and lowest mean values in ewe muscle from different regions exceeded 30% for 13 of the 15 compounds that were consistently detected in muscle, with animals derived from the industrialised region having the highest mean values for 11 of the 13 compounds. A less marked trend was apparent in the lamb muscle (8 of 13 highest were in the industrialised region). The physiological effects of such small differences in exposure to mixtures of pollutants remain to be determined.     

同步硝化反硝化工艺中DO浓度对N2O产生量的影响

采用序批式生物膜反应器(SBBR),在连续曝气全程好氧的运行条件下,考察不同溶解氧浓度对同步硝化反硝化脱氮性能及N2O产量的影响.控制溶解氧浓度恒定在1、2、2.5和3 mg/L.结果表明,DO为2 mg/L和2.5 mg/L时,氨氮去除率分别为97.9%和98.5%,同步硝化反硝化率均为99%.DO为2 mg/L时,...     

计算流体动力学在火电厂SCR系统流场优化中应用及研究进展

作为一种设计和分析的工具,计算流体力学（CFD）技术已成功应用于火电厂选择性催化还原（SCR）系统设计中,提供了大量物理模型或现场试验不能得到的数据。介绍了近年来国内外CFD技术在选择性催化还原（SCR）中的研究及应用进展,指出该研究目前存在的问题及发展方向。     

环境规制会影响产业集中度吗?:一个经验研究

作为刻画产业结构的重要指标之一——产业集中度,一直受到国内外学者的广泛重视,但鲜见有学者研究环境规制会对产业集中度带来何种影响。为了对此进行研究,本文以我国工业部门1996-2006年的数据为样本,首先计算出产业集中度(CR4和CR8)水平,并运用面板数据分析方法,在控制相关变量的基础上,研究了环境规制对产业集中度带来的影响,得到以下结论:(1)在不考虑其他控制变量时,环境规制变量对产业集中度产生不显著的正向促进作用,但随着控制变量的逐步引入,环境规制变量的显著性水平逐步提高,模型总体拟合效果趋于优化;(2)同时,进入退出壁垒、利润率水平、经济干预政策和规模经济程度四个控制变量也会对产业集中度产生显著的正向推动作用。因此,适度强化环境规制水平,不仅有利于保护环境,优化资源配置,淘汰落后产能,解决结构性产能过剩,而且有利于提升产业集中度,增强我国企业在国际上的竞争力。     

临安区域本底站大气甲烷浓度变化特征

通过分析2006年8月～2009年7月临安区域大气本底站Flask瓶采样获得的CH4浓度特征,结合地面风向、后向轨迹、排放清单,研究了CH4浓度变化特征和长三角地区排放源对CH4浓度的影响作用。结果表明,临安区域大气本底站的CH4浓度分布在1 7584×10-9~1 9700×10-9,具有较明显的季节波动变化特征,浓度季节变化幅度为737×10-9;CH4浓度平均年增幅达176×10-9,增速较快。东北风和东南风时,CH4浓度较高;西南风时CH4浓度较低。导致CH4高浓度分布的气团主要来自临安站的东北、偏东方向;导致CH4低浓度分布的气团集中在西南 偏南     

中国FDI区位选择的时空格局演进及影响因素分析

随着中国改革开放的深化和经济全球化的加剧,以全球经济首要“推动者与塑造者”的跨国公司为主体的外商直接投资（FDI）成为中国经济增长和区域发展不平衡的重要催化剂。引入空间自相关和空间自回归模型,用面板数据研究了1995～2009年中国FDI时空集聚特征及其动因。结果表明：各省份实际利用FDI的过程存在较强的空间自相关性,且相关性日渐增强。从总量上来看,仍主要集中在上海、广东、江苏等东部沿海经济发达地区,但是从增速来看,呈现向沿江的重庆、四川等投资条件相对较好的中西部内陆省份转移的趋势。从局部上看,呈现由外资集聚程度较高的省份向周边相邻省份扩散的趋势。空间滞后回归模型也进一步印证了空间依赖性对FDI区位选择的重要影响