Bacterial toxicity testing and antibacterial activity of parabens

Parabens are used because of their antimicrobial effects, yet they have multiple adverse effects. The aim of this work was to evaluate the bactericidal activity and bacterial toxicity of the most common parabens: methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, isopropylparaben, butylparaben, isobutylparaben and phenylparaben. The bactericidal action was evaluated by means of the dilution-neutralization method against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and the biotest of inhibition of growth of E. coli was applied for the bacterial toxicity assay. Bactericidal concentrations were reached only for propylparaben, butylparaben and isobutylparaben. The toxicity study showed methylparaben to be the least toxic, whereas the most toxic one was phenylparaben. It can be concluded that the disinfectant activity of the parabens studied is insignificant against S. aureus and E. coli. Acute toxicity is very low, and the inhibitory effect is weak. Our results provide information about the risk–benefit balance of parabens use.     

A hybrid decision-making approach based on FCM and MOORA for occupational health and safety risk analysis

IntroductionWith the development of industries and increased diversity of their associated hazards, the importance of identifying these hazards and controlling the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) risks has also dramatically augmented. Currently, there is a serious need for a risk management system to identify and prioritize risks with the aim of providing corrective/preventive measures to minimize the negative consequences of OHS risks. In fact, this system can help the protection of employees’ health and reduction of organizational costs. Method: The present study proposes a hybrid decision-making approach based on the Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM), and Multi-Objective Optimization on the basis of Ratio Analysis (MOORA) for assessing and prioritizing OHS risks. After identifying the risks and determining the values of the risk assessment criteria via the FMEA technique, the attempt is made to determine the weights of criteria based on their causal relationships through FCM and the hybrid learning algorithm. Then, the risk prioritization is carried out using the MOORA method based on the decision matrix (the output of the FMEA) and the weights of the criteria (the output of the FCM). Results: The results from the implementation of the proposed approach in a manufacturing company reveal that the score at issue can overcome some of the drawbacks of the traditional Risk Priority Number (RPN) in the conventional FMEA, including lack of assignment the different relative importance to the assessment criteria, inability to take into account other important management criteria, lack of consideration of causal relationships among criteria, and high dependence of the prioritization on the experts’ opinions, which finally provides a full and distinct risk prioritization.     

Water saving effect on integrated water resource management

This study proposes an improved integrated water resource management (IWRM), in which water conservation was analyzed for the entire water use process. A multi-objective optimization method was applied to optimize the IWRM, which investigated the reduction of freshwater consumption and the total water supply cost. Customer's preference for saving water and an end use analysis (EUA) was applied in the water conservation analysis. Taking Tianjin as the study area, a reduction in customer's economic pressure (EP) was utilized to evaluate the degree of the customer's preference for saving water. The results revealed that agriculture had a greater preference for saving water than other sectors, where as the public had the weakest motivation for saving water. Improving the transportation method could contribute 62.1% of the total water savings in the agriculture sector. The optimization of the IWRM demonstrated that the local freshwater savings would be 21.5%, and the total cost for water supplies would decrease by 13%. However, a government subsidy of 87.5 million Yuan would be needed. Additionally, by analyzing the change in the amount of water savings affected by water price, the appropriate water price increase range was suggested to be 1.5–1.7 times the original price.     

山东省临沂市土壤有机氯农药滴滴涕残留量与空间分布特征

通过对临沂市全区表层土壤每36 km2进行样品收集,测试分析了DDTs、Org C、N等指标,主要研究了区域表层土壤DDTs的残留现状、组成和来源、影响因素、空间分布和环境质量特征.结果表明,调查区表层土壤中DDTs检出率为71.75%,平均含量为0.035μg·g-1;检出样品中p,p'-DDT和p,p'-DDE为主要残留物,平均残留分别为0.033μg·g-1和0.010μg·g-1,分别占检出样的60.99%和34.62%.DDTs降解率指示区域58%表层土壤为新近输入区,新近输入区在调查区中南部分布尤为明显;而p,p'-DDD/p,p'-DDE指示区域DDTs降解以氧化环境为主,o,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDT指示71.37%区域土壤DDTs输入可能与工业级DDTs有关.相关分析表明,影响土壤DDTs分布的外在因素包括土壤Org C、N、C和p H等指标,且DDTs中p,p'-DDT组分占比越高,影响越明显.DDTs的空间分布具明显点源特征,市县周围均出现明显浓集中心,中南部部分区域浓度明显较高.全区DDTs土壤环境质量污染程度较低,主要以一二类土壤为主,分别占78.95%和21.05%.     

辽河三角洲地区土地利用及生态服务价值变化研究

以辽河三角洲地区为例,利用修正的生态服务价值当量因子表结合服务价值评估方法,分析了3个时期土地利用格局时空动态变化特征及其服务价值变化状况。结果表明:研究区土地利用以水田为主,占56.76%,其次为湿地和建设用地,分别占15.29%和14.77%,3种土地利用类型占总面积的86.82%;1986~2000年土地利用格局变化较大,而2000~2010年土地利用格局变化程度较小,两个时段内建设用地面积都稳步增加,湿地面积均逐渐下降;研究区土地利用服务的总价值逐年减少,湿地服务价值对总服务价值的贡献度最大,占总服务价值的60%以上。     

人工湿地植物水体净化效能研究进展

通过检索近20年来人工湿地植物在净化水质方面代表性文献,筛选出50种常见人工湿地植物,包括水生植物(挺水植物、浮水植物及浮叶植物、沉水植物)、湿生植物、旱生植物,对该50种常见植物的净化效能进行分析比较;指出湿地植物在净化水体时可能受物种、环境因子、种类配置模式三方面的影响;提出未来人工湿地植物选择应用方面发展方向为:应进一步扩大其种类的选择范围,加强探究维持其生长代谢的机理,加强与微生物的耦合作用完成水体污染物净化的效能研究,根据不同人工湿地和水体污染物类型进行配置等4个方面。     

带缝金属腔体内包含非线性组件的耦合效应分析

目的对带缝金属腔体内连接非线性组件的系统级耦合效应进行分析。方法在外界电磁激励源的作用下,采用全波混合算法解决腔体内部场强分布问题,并利用高阶FDTD方法求解线缆上的感应电压和电流,得到流入非线性组件的信号,然后建立非线性组件的频域黑箱模型,结合S-参数,得到非线性组件端口的功率响应,最后通过仿真实验验证方法的有效性。结果通过系统耦合效应分析建模,建立仿真模型,得到了非线性组件的响应曲线。结论该系统级的耦合效应分析方法可以分析得到非线性组件作为二端口或多端口时的输出功率响应,对系统级的耦合研究具有重要意义。     

基于SD-CA-GIS的环境累积效应时空分析模型及应用

环境累积效应分析强调环境变化的时空放大作用,突出环境要素之间的时空交互作用,从而对环境分析方法的能力提出了挑战.因此,本文在对传统环境分析方法归纳、分析和总结的基础上,以地理信息系统(GIS)为基础平台,集成系统动力学(SD)和元胞自动机(CA)的优点,建立了能够分析时间累积、空间累积效应的SD-CA-GIS模型.以山西潞安矿区作为研究区域,在分析矿区社会、经济、工程和环境等因子之间时空交互作用的基础上,构建了SD-CA-GlS模型.考虑到矿区土地利用变化的特殊性,从影响矿区土地利用变化的驱动因子出发,预测和模拟了矿区2006-2030年土地利用变化的累积状况.结果发现,由于煤炭资源开采等人类干扰活动的影响,研究区在研究时段内,工矿用地、居民用地和交通用地呈现累积性增加,其它土地利用类型累积性减少.同时,由于不同阶段人类活动干扰的种类和强度变化,使得不同土地利用类型的空间扩展变化存在一定的差异.上述研究表明,该模型能够同时考虑时间累积效应和空间累积效应的动态变化,能为环境累积效应的分析和评价提供有效的帮助.     

UV和H2 O2联合消毒灭活饮用水中大肠杆菌研究

以大肠杆菌为研究对象,对单独紫外线(UV)、H2O2及两者不同组合方式的灭活效果进行了分析.结果表明,单独H2O2对大肠杆菌基本无灭活效果,加入浓度为20 mg·L-1的H2O2接触时间为30 min时,灭活率仅为0.02个对数级;单独UV工艺可在一定程度上灭活大肠杆菌,紫外线剂量为10 mJ·cm-2时,灭活率可达到4.51个对数级.紫外线和H2O2联合消毒在一定程度上提高了消毒效果,且不同的组合方式对灭活效果有很大的影响.先UV后H2O2消毒效果优于先H2O2后UV,当紫外线剂量为5 mJ·cm-2时,加入H2O2分别反应2.5、5、10、20 min后,两者的灭活率分别较单独UV消毒增加0.09、0.35、0.38、0.68和0.01、0.07、0.14、0.53个对数级.而UV与H2O2同时消毒效果优于UV与H2O2顺序消毒,当紫外线剂量为5 mJ·cm-2时,加入H2O2反应20 min后,灭活率较UV-H2O2和H2O2-UV工艺分别增加了0.43和0.58个对数级.随着紫外线强度的增加,大肠杆菌的灭活效果不断提高.     

Characterization of typical taste and odor compounds formed by Microcystis aeruginosa

Production and characteristics of typical taste and odor (T&O) compounds by Microcystis aeruginosa were investigated. A few terpenoid chemicals, including 2-MIB, β-cyclocitral, and β-ionone, and a few sulfur compounds, such as dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl trisulfide, were detected. β-Cyclocitral and β-carotene concentrations were observed to be relevant to the growth phases of Microcystis. During the stable growth phase, 41-865 fg/cell of β-cyclocitral were found in the laboratory culture. β-Cyclocitral concentrations correlated closely with β-carotene concentrations, with the correlation coefficient R2 = 0.96, as it is formed from the cleavage reaction of β-carotene. For dead cell cases, a high concentration of dimethyl trisulfide was detected at 3.48-6.37 fg/cell. Four T&O compounds, including β-cyclocitral, β-ionone, heptanal and dimethyl trisulfide, were tested and found to be able to inhibit and damage Microcystis cells to varying degrees. Among these chemicals, β-cyclocitral has the strongest ability to quickly rupture cells.