Effect of high-strength ammonia nitrogen acclimation on sludge activity in sequencing batch reactor

The effect of high-strength ammonia nitrogen acclimation on sludge activity in sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was investigated. Two batch experiments, RUN1 and RUN2, were conducted with the influent ammonia nitrogen concentrations 60 and 500 mg/L, respectively. The sludges inoculated from RUN1 and RUN2 were used to treat a series of influent with ammonia nitrogen concentrations of 59, 232, 368, 604 and 1152 mg/L. It is found that the activated sludge acclimated to higher ammonia nitrogen concentrations revealed higher COD and NH4 +-N removal efficiencies, and slower DHA decrease. The results confirmed that the activities of the bacteria in activated sludge in SBR were inhibited by high-strength ammonia nitrogen, whereas the activated sludge acclimated to high-strength ammonia nitrogen showed substantial resistance to inhibition by influents containing high levels of ammonia nitrogen.     

Ecotoxicological effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles on soil microorganisms

The widespread production and use of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) in recent years have posed potential threat to the ecosystem. This study aimed to investigate the ecotoxicological effect of ZnO-NPs on soil microorganisms using laboratory microcosm test. Respiration, ammonification, dehydrogenase (DH) activity, and fluorescent diacetate hydrolase (FDAH) activity were used as ecotoxicological parameters. The results showed that in the neutral soil treated with 1 mg ZnO-NPs per g soil (fresh, neutral), ammonification was significantly inhibited during the study period of three months, but the inhibition rate decreased over increasing time. Inhibition in respiration was observed in the first month of the test. In various ZnO-NPs treatments (1 mg, 5 mg, and 10 mg ZnO-NPs per g soil), DH activity and FDAH activity were inhibited during the study period of one month. For both enzyme activities, there were positive dose–response relationships between the concentration of ZnO-NPs and the inhibition rates, but the curves changed over time due to changes of ZnO-NPs toxicity. Soil type affected the toxicity of ZnO-NPs in soil. The toxicity was highest in the acid soil, followed by the neutral soil. The toxicity was relatively low in the alkaline soil. The toxicity was not accounted for by the Zn²⁺ released from the ZnO-NPs. Direct interaction of ZnO-NPs with biologic targets might be one of the reasons. The adverse effect of ZnO-NPs on soil microorganisms in neutral and acid soils is worthy of attention.     

Dehydrogenase activity as an indicator of different microbial responses to pesticide-treated soils

A laboratory study was conducted to assess the impacts of diazinon, linuron or a fungicidal preparation of mancozeb supplemented with dimethomorph on dehydrogenase activity (DHA) in loamy sand (LS) and sandy loam (SL) soils with different features. The pesticides were applied at the maximum predicted environmental concentrations (PEC) under field conditions and at 5 or 100 times the PEC. More distinct effects were observed in LS than SL soils at all sampling times. For PEC, a significant decrease in DHA was found in LS soil treated with diazinon or the fungicidal preparation on day 1 and during the incubation period, respectively. However, DHA did not decrease in SL soil treated with the pesticides at this dosage. For the higher concentrations, decreased DHA was ascertained in LS soil treated with diazinon and the fungicidal preparation at all sampling times, whereas for linuron this effect was evident on days 14 and 28. By contrast, only 100-fold PEC significantly decreased DHA in SL soil amended with diazinon or linuron, compared with the fungicidal preparation that decreased DHA at five-fold PEC. Our results indicate that DHA was particularly sensitive to the fungicidal preparation in both soils, whereas linuron was less harmful than diazinon.     

Anti-implantation and anti-fertility potentials of Anethum graveolens L. extracts in rats

Ovarian hormones affected some enzymes in reproductive tissues. Previous studies revealed Anethum graveolens (dill) seed extract elevated ovarian hormones. In this study, we compared the effects of dill seed and leaf extracts on some enzymes activities and infertility potential. Female Wistar rats were divided into three groups of control, dill seed and dill leaf aqueous extracts treated groups. Experimental groups received 1 mL of 0.5 g kg^?1 of each extract orally for 25 days (five estrous cycles). Estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone concentrations were determined. Uterus and ovaries were removed and their glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, and alkaline phosphatase activities were measured. Female rats of three groups were mated with untreated males. Fetuses were extracted in the 20th gestational day and their weights and crown rump lengths were measured. Anti-fertility and anti-implantation activities and fertility indices were calculated. Glucose-6-phosphate activity of dill seed treated group increased 1.6 times in the endometrium and 1.7 times in the myometrium. Progesterone concentration and lactate dehydrogenase activity of serum increased in the dill seed treated group compared to the control and dill leaf treated group. A significant decrease was observed in weights and crown rump lengths of fetuses, weights of placenta, and fertility index of the dill seed treated group compared to the control and dill leaf treated group, but its anti-implantation and anti-fertility indices increased. We suggested that high level of glucose-6-phosphate could entail increased oxidative stress in uterus and ovary. High lactate dehydrogenase activity in serum may affect cell membranes. Higher secretion of progesterone caused hormonal imbalance and produced estrous cycle irregularity. It was concluded that dill seed but not dill leaf extract could induce infertility in an animal model.     

O3浓度升高对麦田土壤碳、氮含量和酶活性的影响

近地层O₃作为全球最重要的大气污染物之一,其对作物的生长发育、土壤酶活性、土壤碳、氮的影响机制已成为人们关注的重要问题。采用开顶式气室(OTCs)法模拟研究O₃浓度升高对冬小麦土壤碳、氮含量和酶活性的影响。结果表明,O₃浓度升高导致麦田0~10 cm和10~20 cm土层的全碳(TC)和全氮(TN)含量呈现出下降的趋势。O₃浓度升高对土壤酶活性也有影响。在冬小麦灌浆期,O₃胁迫可促进土壤脱氢酶活性提高。当O₃浓度为120 nL·L^-1时,0~10 cm、10~20 cm和20~40 cm土层的脱氢酶活性分别比对照处理提高59.4%、51.5%和22.2%。O₃胁迫对土壤转化酶活性的影响随着冬小麦生长期和土壤采样深度的不同而发生变化。在冬小麦拔节期,O₃处理对不同土层脲酶活性的影响没有达到显著差异水平,但是在灌浆期,20~40 cm土层的脲酶活性随着O₃浓度的增加而提高,在120 nL·L^-1浓度O₃处理下脲酶活性比对照处理提高24.6%。在O₃胁迫条件下土壤转化酶活性与土壤全碳含量、土壤脲酶活性与土壤全氮含量均呈现出显著的正相关关系。     

铜胁迫对农田土壤酶活性、细菌和古菌数量的影响

为了研究铜矿周边农田土壤中不同Cu含量对土壤酶活性、细菌和古菌基因拷贝数的影响,在铜矿周边农田土壤中采集了8个不同Cu含量的土壤,测定土壤的酶活性、细菌和古菌基因拷贝数,结果表明,土壤总Cu含量为28.30~1 019.27mg·kg~(-1),酸可提取态Cu含量为335~415.11 mg·kg~(-1),细菌16S rRNA基因拷贝数在每克干土3.10×10~(10)~1.84×10~(11)个之间,古茵16S rRNA基因拷贝数在每克干土737×10~8~6.82×10~9个之间。土壤总Cu和酸可提取态Cu含量对土壤脲酶活性影响较大,但对土壤脱氢酶和转化酶活性影响不显著。土壤细菌基因拷贝数均与总Cu含量、各形态Cu含量呈极显著的负相关关系,同样土壤古菌基因拷贝数与总Cu含量、各形态Cu含量也均呈极显著的负相关关系,说明Cu胁迫对土壤细菌和古菌活性具有较大的抑制作用。     

温度对提高活性污泥法处理含酚废水效率的研究

从生化反应动力学理论出发,讨论了温度与生化反应速率的相关作用,重点研究了温度对脱氢酶活性的影响,并回归出脱氢酶反应速度的Arrhenius表达式。实验结果表明温度对脱氢酶活性的影响是显著的,当水温由20～25℃（升至50～55℃时,出口水含酚合格率由88％提高至100％,COD去除率由68％提高至85％。     

土壤脲酶和脱氢酶对活性X-3B红污染暴露的耐受性及机理研究

采用微宇宙实验方法,研究了棕壤、褐土、红壤等3种我国典型土壤中脲酶和脱氢酶对染料活性X-3B红污染的耐受性及其机理.实验结果表明,3种土壤中的脲酶和脱氢酶活性在试验较低浓度的活性X-3B红污染的环境中均被促进,但被促进的程度有所差异,具体表现为棕壤脲酶活性被促进的效果最为明显,其次红壤,褐土最弱;较低浓度的活性X-3B红污染对褐土脱氢酶活性的促进作用最强,其次红壤,棕壤最弱.3种土壤的脲酶和脱氢酶活性被促进的效果随着时间的推移逐渐减弱.3种土壤的脲酶和脱氢酶活性对高浓度的活性X-3B红污染并没有显示受抑制的趋势.相反,二者基本维持在未受染料活性X-3B红污染的对照土壤的活性水平.因此可以初步认为,土壤脲酶和脱氢酶对染料活性X-3B红的污染暴露毒性有耐受作用.基于实验结果,还就2种酶对活性X-3B红污染暴露的耐受机理进行了分析与探讨.     

SBR法过程动力学研究

对ＳＢＲ法的基质降解过程动力学进行了分析和讨论，推导出一级反应动力学关系式，确定了其常数的求定方法，并提出了一种求定不可生物降ＣＯＤ的新方法，继之以试验结果为动力学关系式进行了拟合，对体系的脱氢酶活性变化过程进行了研究，探讨了基质脱氢酶活性与基质浓度的关系。