The combined effect of uranium and gamma radiation on biological responses and oxidative stress induced in Arabidopsis thaliana

Uranium never occurs as a single pollutant in the environment, but always in combination with other stressors such as ionizing radiation. As effects induced by multiple contaminants can differ markedly from the effects induced by the individual stressors, this multiple pollution context should not be neglected. In this study, effects on growth, nutrient uptake and oxidative stress induced by the single stressors uranium and gamma radiation are compared with the effects induced by the combination of both stressors. By doing this, we aim to better understand the effects induced by the combined stressors but also to get more insight in stressor-specific response mechanisms. Eighteen-day-old Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings were exposed for 3 days to 10 μM uranium and 3.5 Gy gamma radiation. Gamma radiation interfered with uranium uptake, resulting in decreased uranium concentrations in the roots, but with higher transport to the leaves. This resulted in a better root growth but increased leaf lipid peroxidation. For the other endpoints studied, effects under combined exposure were mostly determined by uranium presence and only limited influenced by gamma presence. Furthermore, an important role is suggested for CAT1/2/3 gene expression under uranium and mixed stressor conditions in the leaves.     

昆山市22年来耕地流失研究

以昆山市1985～2006年共22a间的耕地面积变化及与之相关的总户籍人口、非农业人口、第一产业从业人口、地区生产总值、人均地区生产总值、第一产业生产总值、第二产业生产总值、粮食总产量和社会固定资产投资等9种社会经济指标为研究对象,采用变化率相关分析、主成分阶段分类等新方法对目前耕地流失研究中常用的相关分析、主成分分析等数学方法进行改进。研究结果表明:(1)新方法在耕地流失主要驱动因素分析和阶段划分方面具有独特的优势,同时能够通过回归方程的验证,所得结论可信度较高;(2)昆山市耕地流失的首要驱动因素为以人均地区生产总值为代表的社会经济水平的提高,同时人口增长和第二产业的发展加剧了耕地流失状况;(3)昆山市耕地流失按照所受压力对农业发展的影响可以分为3个阶段,分别为1985～1994年的未限制阶段、1995～1997年制约平衡阶段和1998～2006年限制阻碍阶段。     

中置生物活性炭滤池的选炭

实验通过对传统臭氧-生物活性炭工艺的调整,采用臭氧-曝气生物活性炭滤池-砂滤池工艺,对比研究了4mm柱状炭、4 mm破碎炭和1.5 mm柱状炭3种不同类型活性炭用于给水深度处理的运行效果。结果表明,粒径为1.5 mm的柱状炭对有机物和氨氮的去除效果以及出水浊度方面优于其他2种活性炭,但炭滤池水头损失偏大,且不够稳定,适当增加柱状炭的粒径可稳定和降低滤池的水头损失。     

西南喀斯特区域生态环境敏感性评价及其空间分布

西南喀斯特区域生态环境本身的脆弱性再加上不合理的人类活动的影响,生态环境问题突出,识别易发生生态环境问题的区域,为西南喀斯特地区生态环境保护和恢复提供科学依据十分必要。在ArcGIS支持下,选取影响西南喀斯特区生态环境的4个敏感性因子（水土流失、石漠化、酸雨及生境生物多样性）作为评价因子,采用层次分析法和综合指标法,评价西南喀斯特区域生态环境敏感性程度及空间分布情况。结果表明：西南喀斯特地区水土流失、石漠化、酸雨敏感性很高,前二者的中度敏感以上区域均占西南喀斯特区域总面积的60%以上,酸雨中度敏感以上区域达50%以上;生境生物多样性敏感性相对较低,不敏感区占西南喀斯特区总面积的40%。西南喀斯特区生态环境综合敏感度极高,中度敏感以上区域占整个研究区总面积的80%以上,不敏感和轻度敏感区主要分布在湘中南、鄂东南、广西中部喀斯特峰林平原区及云南、贵州山间盆地及河谷地区。地质背景、地形及气候是西南喀斯特区域生态环境敏感性的主导因素     

污泥用量对生活垃圾堆肥氮素转化与损失的影响

为了探讨生活垃圾堆肥的氮素损失问题,对生活垃圾（A组）、污泥和生活垃圾混合B组（w/w=1∶6）、C组（w/w=1∶4）组等3组物料进行高温好氧堆肥,研究污泥用量对生活垃圾堆肥化过程中温度、pH值、各氮素转化与损失的影响。结果表明：投加污泥会影响生活垃圾的通风性能,减慢物料的升温速率,延长堆肥周期。污泥用量对生活垃圾堆...     

再论自然灾害风险的定义

系统地总结了现有自然灾害风险的定义,并指出其存在的问题。重新甄别了自然灾害系统的组成要素及其作用机制,深入分析了自然灾害风险的核心内涵,据此提出了自然灾害风险的新定义,即自然灾害风险是由自然灾害系统自身演化而导致未来损失的不确定性。结合定义的相关规则,对自然灾害风险新定义进行了符合性验证。新定义不仅深化了人们对自然灾害风险本身的认识,而且明确了自然灾害风险评估的内容。     

Analysis of the toxicogenomic effects of exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Slovakian girls: correlations between gene expression and disease risk

The chemical composition of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment is not uniform throughout the world, and these contaminants contain many structurally different lipophilic compounds. In a well-defined study cohort in the Slovak Republic, the POP chemicals present in the peripheral blood of exposed children were chemically analyzed. The chemical analysis data revealed that the relative concentration and profile of structurally different organic pollutants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 2,2′-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE), 2,2′-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloro-ethane (p,p′-DDT), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH), may vary from individual to individual, even within the same exposure area. These chemicals can be broadly classified into two groups. The first group, the PCB congeners, primarily originated from industrial compounds and their byproducts. The second group of compounds originated from or was commonly used in the agricultural sector (e.g., DDT, HCB). The objective of this study was to examine the effects of the two POP exposure profiles on gene expression. For the study population, we selected pre-pubertal girls (mean age of 46.2 ± 1.4 months) with high POP concentrations in their blood (> 75% tile of total POP) and classified them in the high ‘PCB’ group when the total PCB concentration was significantly higher than the total concentration of other POP components and in the ‘Other Than PCB’ (OTP) group, when the total PCB concentration was significantly lower than the concentration of the other major POP constituents. A matched control group of girls (< 25% tile of total POP) was selected for comparison purpose (n = 5 per group). Our aims were to determine whether there were any common effects of high POP exposure at a toxicogenomic level and to investigate how exposure may affect physiological functions of the children in two different exposure scenarios. Global gene expression analysis using a microarray (Affymetrix Gene Chip Human genome U133 Plus 2.0 Array) platform was conducted on the total RNA of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from the girls. The results were analyzed by Partek GS, Louis, MI, which identified twelve genes (ATAD2B, BIVM, CD96, CXorf39, CYTH1 ETNK1, FAM13A, HIRA, INO80B, ODG1, RAD23B, and TSGA14) and two unidentified probe sets, as regulated differentially in both the PCB and OTP groups against the control group. The qRT-PCR method was used to validate the microarray results. The Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software package identified the possible molecular impairments and disease risks associated with each gene set. Connective tissue disorders, genetic disorders, skeletal muscular disorders and neurological diseases were associated with the 12 common genes. The data therefore identified the potential molecular effects of POP exposure on a genomic level. This report underscores the importance of further study to validate the results in a random population and to evaluate the use of the identified genes as biomarkers for POP exposure.     

三峡库首地区土壤养分状况与年际变化

三峡库区长期以来人地矛盾突出,蓄水和移民搬迁使土地资源进一步减少,过度开发引起的土壤肥力下降和生态退化问题日趋严重。通过布点调查和土壤取样,对秭归县水田坝乡区域不同海拔高度和农业土地利用管理方式土壤养分状况及其变化趋势进行分析。结果表明: 研究区域内山地农业已普遍采用梯田进行保护性耕作,海拔600~700 m区域主要开辟为脐橙园,700~900 m区域山地主要种植常规作物;研究区域土壤有明显粗骨化和沙质化特性,其肥力特征是蓄水力偏弱,持水保肥性较差,但通气和透水性好,易耕作;研究区域土壤有机质含量偏低,中高海拔区域土壤有机质、全氮含量相对较高,而低海拔区域土壤全磷、全钾含量较高;坡改梯有利于改善土壤肥力状况,提高土壤氮磷养分含量;根据2005~2010年研究结果,研究区域土壤肥力退化趋势仍未得到控制,同时因水土流失和化肥大量使用,该区域大多数土壤有机质含量、全氮、全磷和全钾含量呈降低趋势,而土壤速效养分含量有增高趋势     

Shoreline development and degradation of coastal fish reproduction habitats

Coastal development has severely affected habitats and biodiversity during the last century, but quantitative estimates of the impacts are usually lacking. We utilize predictive habitat modeling and mapping of human pressures to estimate the cumulative long-term effects of coastal development in relation to fish habitats. Based on aerial photographs since the 1960s, shoreline development rates were estimated in the Stockholm archipelago in the Baltic Sea. By combining shoreline development rates with spatial predictions of fish reproduction habitats, we estimated annual habitat degradation rates for three of the most common coastal fish species, northern pike (Esox lucius), Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) and roach (Rutilus rutilus). The results showed that shoreline constructions were concentrated to the reproduction habitats of these species. The estimated degradation rates, where a degraded habitat was defined as having ≥3 constructions per 100 m shoreline, were on average 0.5 % of available habitats per year and about 1 % in areas close to larger population centers. Approximately 40 % of available habitats were already degraded in 2005. These results provide an example of how many small construction projects over time may have a vast impact on coastal fish populations.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0522-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.