Source Apportionment and Identification of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Sediment Cores of Selected Creeks in Delta State,Nigeria

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) seasonal variation and sources in Ubeji, Ifie, and Egbokodo Creeks of the Niger Delta, Nigeria, were predicted using diagnostic ratios (DRs) of parent PAHs (Phe/Phe + Ant; Flu/Flu + Pyr; BaA/BaA + Chry, and Ind/Ind + BghiP) and principal component analysis (PCA). A total of 222 sediment core samples were collected during the wet (August 2010) and the dry seasons (January 2011). The samples were dried and Soxhlet extracted; sample extracts were fractionated and analyzed by gas chromatography/flame ionization detection (GC/FID) to identify individual PAHs. The diagnostic PAH ratios revealed that PAHs in the sediment cores at the three creeks, in both seasons, mainly stemmed from the combustion process (pyrogenic sources). Principal component analysis further confirmed that wood-burning, coal combustion, diesel, gasoline-powered vehicular emissions, and petroleum combustion were the dominant contributors of PAHs sources at the sampling location. This study provided information on the origin and sources of PAHs in sediment cores, which may be useful for regulatory actions, environmental quality management, contamination history, and environmental forensic studies.     

The association between maternal nonylphenol exposure and parity on neonatal birth weight: A cohort study in Taiwan

Background

The aim of this study was to explore the association between NP exposure and parity and their effect on neonatal birth weight.

Methods

A cohort of pregnant women was established in a medical center in North Taiwan. Urinary NP concentration was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescent detection and adjusted using creatinine. A multivariable regression model was fit to determine the association between the maternal NP level in each trimester and neonatal birth weight. The odds ratios (ORs) of infant birth weight below the 10th, 25th, and 50th percentiles, comparing pregnant women with the different NP exposure levels, was estimated using a logistic regression.

Results

Of the 162 pregnant women in the study, 99 were multiparas and 63 were primiparas. After adjusting for other covariates, the NP level in the second trimester had a significant association with birth weight in the primiparas (β = −182.49 g, p value = 0.02). The OR of low infant birth weight, comparing pregnant women with different NP levels, was increased by decreasing the cutoff percentile for birth weight (OR = 1.18 for the 50th percentile, 2.12 for the 25th percentile, and 7.81 for the 10th percentile). The odds of primiparas with high NP level having a low neonatal birth weight increased to 3.87, 11.77, and 9.40 for the three different percentiles (p value < 0.05).

Conclusion

Maternal NP exposure level is associated with an increased risk of low neonatal weight. Primiparas are especially at risk, and the second trimester of pregnancy may be the critical stage of exposure.     

南极大气气溶胶中铅同位素比值的研究

通过对电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)的工作条件和参数进行优化,建立了ICP-MS测定铅同位素比值的精确方法,测量了2007—2009年南极中山站采集到的气溶胶样品中208Pb/206Pb、207Pb/206Pb和206Pb/207Pb的比值。结果表明,南极大气气溶胶中铅同位素比值在逐年缓慢地发生线性变化,线性相关系数为0.996 2;气溶胶铅同位素示踪揭示南极附近国家(除南非)释放的铅可能成为南极大气中铅的重要来源。     

Birth sex ratios in toque macaques and other mammals: integrating the effects of maternal condition and competition

Mammalian life histories suggest that maternal body condition and social dominance (a measure of resource-holding potential) influence the physical and social development of offspring, and thereby their reproductive success. Predictably, a mother should produce that sex of offspring which contributes most to her fitness (as measured by the number of her grandchildren) and that she is best able to raise within the constraints imposed by her condition, social rank, and environment. Such combined effects were investigated by monitoring variations in body condition (weight) and behavior of female toque macaques, Macaca sinica of Sri Lanka, in a changing forest environment over 18 years. Maternal rank, by itself, had no influence on offspring sex, but did affect maternal body condition. The combined effects of rank and condition indicated the following: mothers in robust condition bore more sons, whereas those in moderate condition bore more daughters, but both effects were expressed most strongly among mothers of high rank. Where the consequences of low rank were felt most acutely, as shown by poor condition, mothers underproduced daughters. Environmental quality directly influenced rank and condition interactions, and thus sex ratios. These relationships, and data from other mammals suggest an empirically and theoretically consistent pattern of sex allocation in mammals. New predictions integrate effects, proposed by Trivers and Willard, that are rooted in male mate competition, which is universal among polygynous mammals, with those of local resource competition (and/or female reproductive competition), which are not universal and differ in intensity between the socioecologies and local environments of different species. Received: 30 May 1998 / Accepted after revision: 29 August 1998     

蛤蟆通河流域地下水化学特征及控制因素

为研究蛤蟆通河流域水化学特征及主要离子来源,2017年先后采集地下水样品59组,综合运用数理统计、Piper三线图、Gibbs模型和离子比等方法,分析了蛤蟆通流域地下水的水文地球化学特征,并探讨了蛤蟆通流域的水化学演化规律及主要离子来源.结果表明,该区地下水阳离子以Ca~(2+)为主,占阳离子总量的质量分数为22. 1%～72. 4%,平均为48. 7%;阴离子以HCO_3~-为主,占阴离子总量的质量分数为35. 3%～97. 5%,平均为80%; TDS介于93. 3～521. 1 mg·L~(-1),平均值为219. 1 mg·L~(-1),均为淡水;地下水类型以HCO_3-Ca、HCO_3-Ca·Mg和HCO_3-Ca·Na型水为主;地下水样品均分布在Gibbs模型左中部,说明该流域水化学离子组成受岩石风化作用控制;通过离子来源分析,该区主要离子来源于硅酸盐岩和碳酸盐岩的风化溶解.     

BSA体系中2,4-D和阿特拉津对性激素的干扰机理

在2,4-D和阿特拉津以及天然性激素(雌二醇、睾酮)中加入牛血清白蛋白(BSA),通过紫外吸收峰的变化、温度与体系荧光强度的关系、以及计算扩散碰撞猝灭常数Kq等方法确定2,4-D和阿特拉津均可以发生类似天然性激素和BSA间的基态络合.并通过双倒数公式计算出各自二元体系的结合常数.2,4-D、阿特拉津、雌二醇、睾酮与BSA的结合常数(K)均在104数量级,可以认为2,4-D和阿特拉津具有与天然性激素相近的对BSA结合能力,并可通过竞争占据结合位点的方式干扰正常性激素与BSA的结合.     

多氯联苯(PCBs)胁迫下鲫鱼肝脏EROD酶活性与血清性激素含量的相关性研究

以鲫鱼(Carassius auratus)为试验鱼类,研究其暴露于不同浓度的PCBs(多氯联苯)后鱼肝组织中EROD酶活性和血清性激素含量的动态变化,探讨了2者间的相关性。结果表明,鲫鱼在PCBs中暴露后,其肝脏组织中EROD酶被诱导,酶活性随PCBs浓度增大而增强,呈明显的剂量-效应关系;EROD酶活性随暴露时间延长而上升,10 d后达平衡;鲫鱼血清中睾酮含量随PCBs浓度增大和暴露时间延长呈下降趋势,但雌二醇含量则显著上升,表明PCBs对鱼类具有环境雌激素效应;在一定浓度范围内,EROD酶活性与血清睾酮含量呈负相关,与血清雌二醇含量呈正相关。因此可用鱼肝EROD酶和血清性激素含量的协同变化作为污染生物标志物来评价PCBs的早期污染生态效应。     

Derivation of predicted no effect concentrations (PNEC) for 2,4,6-trichlorophenol based on Chinese resident species

2,4,6-Trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) is a common chemical intermediate and a by-product of water chlorination and combustion processes, and is a priority pollutant of the aquatic environment in many countries. Although information on the toxicity of 2,4,6-TCP is available, there is a lack of information on the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) of 2,4,6-TCP, mainly due to the shortage of chronic and site-specific toxicity data. In the present study, acute and sub-chronic toxicity of 2,4,6-TCP on six different resident Chinese aquatic species were determined. PNEC values were calculated and compared by use of two approaches: assessment factor (AF) and species sensitivity distribution (SSD). Values for acute toxicity ranged from 1.1 mg L⁻¹ (Plagiognathops microlepis) to 42 mg L⁻¹ (Corbicula fluminea) and the sub-chronic no observed effect concentrations (NOECs) ranged from 0.05 mg L⁻¹ (Mylopharyngodon piceus) to 2.0 mg L⁻¹ (C. fluminea). PNECs obtained by the assessment factor approach with acute (AF = 1000, 0.001 mg L⁻¹) or chronic (AF = 10, 0.005 mg L⁻¹) toxicity data were one order of magnitude less than those from SSD methods (0.057 mg L⁻¹). PNEC values calculated using SSD methods with a 50% certainty for 2,4,6-TCP was less than those obtained by use of the USEPA recommend final chronic value (FCV) method (0.097 mg L⁻¹) and the one obtained by use of the USEPA recommend acute-to-chronic (ACR) methods (0.073 mg L⁻¹). PNECs derived using AF methods were more protective and conservative than that derived using SSD methods.     

棉铃虫灾害的长期性及性信息素的减灾控害作用

简要分析了我国棉铃虫灾害的长期性,并较全面地介绍了性信息素在减灾控害中的作用。这些作用可分为：帮助识别对象害虫、监测种群状态、迅速普及虫情信息、直接诱杀雄虫以及提前1周开展减灾行动等。直接诱杀雄虫后,引起雌雄比上升,雌蛾产卵量下降,孵化率降低,幼虫及为害量减少,其中幼虫量一般减少20％－50％。根据在新疆、山东等地的试用经验,作者在首次指出性信息帮助识别害虫和迅速普及虫情信息对减灾的关键作用,并讨论了性信息素的干扰交配和诱杀雌虫的可能作用,以及使用性信息素与农业可持续发展的关系。     

Sex Structure of Scotch Pine Populations in the Dry Steppe

it has been determined that the sex structure of the population is of great importance for pine adaptation to extreme environmental conditions. As environmental conditions deteriorate, differentiation of populations with respect to sex becomes more apparent, the proportion of trees of mixed type decreases, and the number of male trees increases. A tendency toward correlation between tree habitus, needle and shoot sizes, and the sex structure of population is noted. The prevalence of male trees in populations exposed to increasing stress reflects the rearrangement of such populations aimed at the more efficient use of natural resources.