Isolation of a novel yeast strain Candida digboiensis TERI ASN6 capable of degrading petroleum hydrocarbons in acidic conditions

A novel yeast species Candida digboiensis TERI ASN6 was isolated from soil samples contaminated with acidic oily sludge (pH 1–3) from the Digboi refinery (Northeast India). The strain TERI ASN6 could degrade 73% of the total petroleum hydrocarbons present in the medium at pH 3 in a week. This strain presents a dimorphic behaviour and showed mycelia morphology when grown under stressed conditions such as low pH and in a medium containing petroleum hydrocarbons. The C. digboiensis strain could efficiently degrade the aliphatic and aromatic fractions of the acidic oily sludge at pH 3 as confirmed by gas chromatography. During the growth of TERI ASN6 in dibenzothiophene (DBT), DBT-sulfone and biphenyl-2-ol were detected. An active cytochrome P450 system, implicated in hydrocarbon oxidation, was also detected in this yeast using degenerated primers based on its conserved regions. This yeast is a potential candidate for petroleum bioremediation treatment of hydrocarbon contaminated acidic soils. Its physiological behaviour allows the strain to work efficiently where other hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria may not survive.     

SF6的发展、使用及回收再利用

回顾了SF6的历史沿革,介绍了SF6的特性和生产应用,阐述了加快SF6回收再利用工作、削减SF6使用量以及优化SF6治理模式的重要性和紧迫性,从而倡导提高环保意识、增强社会责任感。     

江苏及其南黄海6级地震与日本地震的相关性

吴佳翼等研究华北地震同日本地震的相关性 ,提出日本地震活动的 3个区 :日本海沟地震活动区(A区 )、日本海西部的深源地震区 (B区 )和日本浅源地震区 (C区 )如果相继发生地震活动 ,则中国华北地区 (D区 )将发生 6级以上响应地震。作者用 1 979年以来江苏及其黄海的 3个 6级震例 ,说明D区应扩大到江苏及其附近地区 ,并对历史地震进行检验。如果把D区改为大华北东部范围 ,在地球自转减速段 ,响应震将发生在华北东部 35°N～ 39°N地区 ;在地球自转加速段 ,响应震将发生在 φN≤ 35°或 φN>39°的地区。江苏及南黄海 6级响应地震发生的时间 ,可以用东北深震区与黄海地震带的相关性来估计     

Dissipation,half-lives,and mass spectrometric identification of chlorpyrifos and its two metabolites on field-grown collard and kale

The persistence and fate of chlorpyrifos and its two metabolites, chlorpyrifos-oxon and the 3, 5, 6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP) break-down product were investigated on kale and collard leaves under field conditions. A simultaneous extraction and quantification procedure was developed for chrorpyrifos and its two main metabolites. Residues of chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos oxon, and TCP were determined using a gas chromatograph (GC) equipped with an electron capture detector (GC/ECD). Chlorpyrifos metabolites were detectable up to 23 days following application. Residues were confirmed using a GC equipped with a mass selective detector (GC/MSD) in total ion mode. Initial residues of chlorpyrifos were greater on collard (14.5 µg g^?1) than kale (8.2 µg g^?1) corresponding to half-lives (T_1/2) values of 7.4 and 2.2 days, respectively. TCP, the hydrolysis product, was more persistent on collards with an estimated T_1/2 of 6.5 days compared to kale (T_1/2 of 1.9 days).     

Characterisation of an extracellular polysaccharide produced by Bacillus mucilaginosus MY6-2 and its application in metal biosorption

A novel extracellular bioflocculant from Bacillus mucilaginosus MY6-2 was obtained by alcohol precipitation, dialysis and lyophilisation. The chemical analysis indicated that the bioflocculant was mainly composed of extracellular polysaccharide (named EPS MY6-2). Monosacchride composition result analysed by Gas chromatography indicated that EPS MY6-2 was mainly composed of Man, Glc, Gal, GlcA and GalA. The result of flocculating characteristics indicated that pH, EPS dosage and cation supplement had evident effect on flocculating activity of EPS MY6-2. The biosorption of iron ions from aqueous solution was tested with respect to pH, initial metal ion concentration and EPS dosage. The optimum biosorption conditions were as follows: pH 5.0, initial ion concentration from 200 to 800 mg/L and EPS dosage of 60 mg/L ion solution. The adsorption rates are maintained above 95% under these conditions. The adsorption data provided an excellent fit to both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, implying that the binding of the iron ions took place as a monolayer on the surface of the EPS.     

Development on whose terms?: CSR discourse and social realities in Papua New Guinea's extractive industries sector

The emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the extractive industries represents a bid to legitimize the sector after decades of environmental disasters and the trampling of indigenous rights. But whilst the rise in CSR has meant safer technologies and better stakeholder engagement, there is little evidence of any real socio-economic development at the grassroots. This paper examines the uneasy relationship existing between the strategic ‘business model’ of CSR and the brand of development it delivers. Using evidence from two multinational extractive industries in Papua New Guinea, we show how weaknesses in CSR practice come from greater emphasis on meeting global ‘performance standards’ than on the specificities of the social contexts in which strategies are implemented. These weaknesses, we argue, lead to ill-conceived and inappropriate development programmes that generate inequality, fragmentation, and social and economic insecurity. We conclude that greater engagement with affected communities will facilitate the development of more mutually beneficial and appropriate CSR strategies.     

Oral administration of potassium bromate, a major water disinfection by-product, induces oxidative stress and impairs the antioxidant power of rat blood

Potassium bromate (KBrO₃) is a widely used food additive, a water disinfection by-product and a known nephrotoxic agent. The effect of KBrO₃ on rat blood, especially on the anti-oxidant defense system, was studied in this work. Animals were given a single oral dose of KBrO₃ (100 mg/kg body weight) and sacrificed 12, 24, 48, 96 and 168 h after this treatment. Blood was collected from the animals and separated into plasma and erythrocytes. KBrO₃ administration resulted in increased lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, hydrogen peroxide levels and decreased the reduced glutathione content indicating the induction of oxidative stress in blood. Methemoglobin levels and methemoglobin reductase activity were significantly increased while the total anti-oxidant power was greatly reduced upon KBrO₃ treatment. Nitric oxide levels were enhanced while vitamin C concentration decreased in KBrO₃ treated animals. The activities of major anti-oxidant enzymes were also altered upon KBrO₃ treatment. The maximum changes in all these parameters were 48 h after the administration of KBrO₃ and then recovery took place. These results show for the first time that KBrO₃ induces oxidative stress in blood and impairs the anti-oxidant defense system. Thus impairment in the anti-oxidant power and alterations in the activities of major anti-oxidant enzymes may play an important role in mediating the toxic effects of KBrO₃ in the rat blood. The study of such biochemical events in blood will help elucidate the molecular mechanism of action of KBrO₃ and also for devising methods to overcome its toxic effects.     

Assessment of the TRMM 3B42 Precipitation Product in Southern Brazil

The increase in the use of satellite‐derived precipitation products generated by different methods and algorithms emphasizes the need for a deeper analysis of their quality and accuracy. Using the contingency table method, we evaluated the accuracy of versions 6 and 7 of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Precipitation (TRMM) 3B42 product in southern Brazil by comparing daily precipitation over 13 years (V6 was tested for historical context). The interpolated data from 25 rain gauges were compared with both versions of TRMM. The V7 product tended to produce a slight increase in PC (proportion correct). V7 also showed a slight increase in the correlation coefficient (CC) and a significant increase in the H (hit rate) and CSI (critical success) indexes. However, the upgraded version shows an undesirable increase in the false alarm ratio. When the rainfall volumes were compared, V6 clearly underestimated the total rainfall over the entire period, but the V7 product slightly overestimated the cumulative volume (11%) which still represented a more reliable estimate than from V6. Furthermore, the main improvement in V7 was a large increase in the quantitative recognition of extreme precipitation events: V6 detected only 1% of the daily rainfalls above 60 mm, whereas V7 detected 57% of the events.     

稳定态纳米零价铁-厌氧菌联合处理法降解2,4,6-三氯苯酚

利用SEM、XRD、FTIR等手段对稳定态纳米零价铁（NH₂-SiO₂@NZVI）进行表征,并考察NH₂-SiO₂@NZVI-厌氧菌体系对2,4,6-三氯苯酚（2,4,6-TCP）的降解效果。实验结果表明：NH₂-SiO₂@NZVI具有较强的抗氧化能力及较好的分散性;当2,4,6-TCP质量浓度 50 mg/L、NH₂-SiO₂@NZVI加入量1 g/L、初始 pH 7.00、反应120 h时,2,4,6-TCP的去除率为34.76%,一级降解速率常数为0.022 1,均远大于普通纳米零价铁颗粒;在NH₂-SiO₂@NZVI-厌氧菌体系中,2,4,6-TCP的去除率可达82.70%,NH₂-SiO₂@NZVI与厌氧微生物之间表现出明显的协同效应,能有效缓解2,4,6-TCP对厌氧微生物的抑制作用,稳定体系pH,提高微生物的降解活性和产甲烷活性。     

Junge relationships in measurement data for cyclic siloxanes in air

In 1974, Junge postulated a relationship between variability of concentrations of gases in air at remote locations and their atmospheric residence time, and this Junge relationship has subsequently been observed empirically for a range of trace gases. Here, we analyze two previously-published datasets of concentrations of cyclic volatile methyl siloxanes (cVMS) in air and find Junge relationships in both. The first dataset is a time series of concentrations of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D₅) measured between January and June, 2009 at a rural site in southern Sweden that shows a Junge relationship in the temporal variability of the measurements. The second dataset consists of measurements of hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane (D₃), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D₄) and D₅ made simultaneously at 12 sites in the Global Atmospheric Passive Sampling (GAPS) network that shows a Junge relationship in the spatial variability of the three cVMS congeners. We use the Junge relationship for the GAPS dataset to estimate atmospheric lifetimes of dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D₆), 8:2–fluorotelomer alcohol and trichlorinated biphenyls that are within a factor of 3 of estimates based on degradation rate constants for reaction with hydroxyl radical determined in laboratory studies.