Microplastics removal strategies: A step toward finding the solution

• Physical, chemical and biological methods are explored for MPs removal. • Physical methods based on adsorption/filtration are mostly used for MPs removal. • Chemical methods of MPs removal work on coagulation and flocculation mechanism. • MBR technology has also shown the removal of MPs from water. • Global policy on plastic control is lacking. Microplastics are an emerging threat and a big challenge for the environment. The presence of microplastics (MPs) in water is life-threatening to diverse organisms of aquatic ecosystems. Hence, the scientific community is exploring deeper to find treatment and removal options of MPs. Various physical, chemical and biological methods are researched for MPs removal, among which few have shown good efficiency in the laboratory. These methods also have a few limitations in environmental conditions. Other than finding a suitable method, the creation of legal restrictions at a governmental level by imposing policies against MPs is still a daunting task in many countries. This review is an effort to place all effectual MP removal methods in one document to compare the mechanisms, efficiency, advantages, and disadvantages and find the best solution. Further, it also discusses the policies and regulations available in different countries to design an effective global policy. Efforts are also made to discuss the research gaps, recent advancements, and insights in the field.     

Forecasting the outbreak of moorland wildfires in the English Peak District

Warmer, drier summers brought by climate change increase the potential risk of wildfires on the moorland of the Peak District of northern England. Fires are costly to fight, damage the ecosystem, harm water catchments, cause erosion scars and disrupt transport. Fires release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Accurate forecasts of the timing of fires help deployment of fire fighting resources.     

外源有机酸添加对风化煤矸石污染释放及重金属有效性的影响

为评价不同类型有机酸对风化煤矸石污染释放的影响,通过在风化煤矸石中添加不同种类的外源有机酸(腐殖酸、柠檬酸、草酸、水杨酸)进行处理,分析稳定7d后煤矸石浸出液的特征污染组分及TCLP提取态重金属含量。结果表明:对照处理组的风化煤矸石浸出液具有典型的酸性矿山废水特征。添加少量柠檬酸、草酸和水杨酸能显著(p0.05)降低风化煤矸石浸出液的pH和Eh值、明显增加浸出液的盐度、亚铁、总铁和硫酸盐含量,然而腐殖酸处理对浸出液pH、EC、Eh无明显影响,且可降低浸出液硫酸盐含量。少量外源有机酸添加均能不同程度促进风化煤矸石中Fe、Mn、Cu、Zn元素溶出,其中水杨酸处理对4种金属元素的溶出量较大。然而4种外源有机酸处理则能有效抑制Pb溶出,其中柠檬酸、水杨酸处理抑制效果最明显。有机酸添加对风化煤矸石的重金属有效性影响表现为4种外源有机酸处理均能明显增加风化煤矸石中Mn元素的有效性,降低Zn元素的有效性,但对Fe元素的有效性影响不明显。4种外源有机酸添加对煤矸石中Cu元素有效性具有不同程度的影响,其中腐殖酸、草酸处理能明显降低Cu元素有效性,而柠檬酸和水杨酸处理则明显增加Cu的有效性。     

地质高背景区富Se耕地可利用性研究及区划建议

为了促进土地质量地球化学调查成果服务于特色土地资源开发,实现地质高背景区富Se资源的安全利用,以重庆市黔江区五里镇为研究对象,通过评价土壤-农作物的富Se水平及重金属含量,开展地质高背景区富Se耕地区划及可利用性方法研究,以期提高富Se资源利用效率,为地质高背景区富Se资源的安全利用提供思路.结果表明,研究区土壤及农作物中Se含量丰富,具备开发富Se资源的潜力,但部分样品存在Cd超标的问题.土壤pH是影响农作物Se和Cd含量的关键因素,碱性条件下有利于富Se资源安全利用.A～E(A表示可利用富硒耕地,B表示农作物不富硒但农作物安全,C表示农作物富硒但农作物不安全,D表示农作物不富硒且农作物不安全,E表示土壤硒含量小于富硒阈值且土壤重金属不超标)类耕地面积分别为0.72、0.75、0.28、0.13和0.56 km²,建议在A类耕地分布区开展安全富Se资源开发,在C和D类耕地分布区开展土壤酸化调理及作物低累积品种等农艺措施,降低农作物重金属超标风险,并加强全区耕地保护力度,防止新增污染物输入.     

Heavy metal availability and impact on activity of soil microorganisms along a Cu/Zn contamination gradient

All the regulations that define a maximum concentration of metals in the receiving soil are based on total soil metal concentration. However, the potential toxicity of a heavy metal in the soil depends on its speciation and availability. We studied the effects of heavy metal speciation and availability on soil microorganism activities along a Cu/Zn contamination gradient. Microbial biomass and enzyme activity of soil contaminated with both Cu and Zn were investigated. The results showed that microbial biomass was negatively affected by the elevated metal levels. The microbial biomass-C （Cmic）/organic C （Corg） ratio was closely correlated to heavy metal stress. There were negative correlations between soil microbial biomass, phosphatase activity and NH4NO3 extractable heavy metals. The soil microorganism activity could be predicted using empirical models with the availability of Cu and Zn. We observed that 72% of the variation in phosphatase activity could be explained by the NH4NO3-extractable and total heavy metal concentration. By considering different monitoring approaches and different viewpoints, this set of methods applied in this study seemed sensitive to site differences and contributed to a better understanding of the effects of heavy metals on the size and activity of microorganisms in soils. The data presented demonstrate the relationship between heavy metals availability and heavy metal toxicity to soil microorganism along a contamination gradient.     

巢湖沉积物有效磷的原位高分辨分析研究

将两种原位被动采样技术——高分辨平衡式间隙水(HR-Peeper)与氧化锆薄膜梯度扩散技术(Zr-oxide DGT)相结合,分别对巢湖西半湖7个点位溶解态反应性磷(cPW)和有效磷(cDGT)进行原位测定分析,cPW和cDGT在大部分沉积物剖面的分布相似或局部相似,说明不同深度沉积物固相有效磷组分对间隙水SRP的缓冲能力较接近.利用界面扩散通量和cDGT/cPW比值(R)表征沉积物磷的活性,从巢湖湖心向南淝河入湖口方向,界面以下6 mm的cPW、cDGT和扩散通量的变化基本一致,均呈递增趋势,表明沉积物磷的污染水平在增加;R值变化较小,说明沉积物界面处的缓冲能力差异不明显.     

南岳森林群落生物多样性研究(Ⅲ)广济寺森林群落植物物种相对多度分布格局

本文选用几何级数分布、分割线段、对数级数分布和对数正态分布等模型研究了南岳广济寺森林群落植物物种相对多度的分布格局。结果表明,对数级分布模型适于拟合南岳广济寺森林群落乔木层和灌木层物种相对多度的分布格局;分割线段中的序列一多度模型仅适合于乔木层;对数正态分布模型仅适合于草本层;几何级数分布模型完全适合于拟合任何层次。此外,α指数值亦显示出本群落接近山地季雨林的多样性水平。     

Effects of lindane on the photosynthetic apparatus of the cyanobacterium<Emphasis Type="Italic">anabaena</Emphasis>

INTENTION, GOAL, SCOPE, BACKGROUND: Cyanobacteria have the natural ability to degrade moderate amounts of organic pollutants. However, when pollutant concentration exceeds the level of tolerance, bleaching of the cells and death occur within 24 hours. Under stress conditions, cyanobacterial response includes the short-term adaptation of the photosynthetic apparatus to light quality, named state transitions. Moreover, prolonged stresses produce changes in the functional organization of phycobilisomes and in the core-complexes of both photosystems, which can result in large changes in the PS II fluorescence yield. The localization of ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR) at the ends of some peripheral rods of the cyanobacterial phycobilisomes, makes this protein a useful marker to check phycobilisome integrity. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this work is to improve the knowledge of the mechanism of action of a very potent pesticide, lindane (gamma-hexaclorociclohexane), in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp., which can be considered a potential candidate for bioremediation of pesticides. We have studied the effect of lindane on the photosynthetic apparatus of Anabaena using fluorescence induction studies. As ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase plays a key role in the response to oxidative stress in several systems, changes in synthesis, degradation and activity of FNR were analyzed. Immunolocalization of this enzyme was used as a marker of phycobilisome integrity. The knowledge of the changes caused by lindane in the photosynthetic apparatus is essential for rational further design of genetically-modified cyanobacteria with improved biorremediation abilities. METHODS: Polyphasic chlorophyll a fluorescence rise measurements (OJIP) have been used to evaluate the vitality and stress adaptation of the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7119 in the presence of increasing concentrations of lindane. Effects of the pesticide on the ultrastructure have been investigated by electron microscopy, and FNR has been used as a marker of phycobilisome integrity. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Cultures of Anabaena sp. treated with moderate amounts of lindane showed a decrease in growth rate followed by a recovery after 72 hours of pesticide treatment. Concentrations of lindane below 5 ppm increased the photosynthetic performance and activity of the cells. Higher amounts of pesticide caused a decrease in these activities which seems to be due to a non-competitive inhibition of PS II. Active PS II units are converted into non-QA reducing, so called heat sink centers. Specific activity and amount of FNR in lindane-treated cells were similar to the values measured in control cultures. Release of FNR from the thylakoid after 48 hours of exposure to 5 ppm of lindane towards the cytoplasm was detected by immunogold labeling and electron microscopy. CONCLUSIONS: From these results, we conclude that the photosynthetic performance and activity of the cells are slightly increased in the presence of lindane up to 5 ppm. Moreover, in those conditions, lindane did not produce significant changes in the synthesis, degradation or activity of FNR. The high capability of Anabaena to tolerate lindane makes this cyanobacterium a good candidate for phytoremediation of polluted areas. RECOMMENDATION AND OUTLOOK: The results of this study show that cultures of Anabaena PCC 7119 tolerate lindane up to 5 ppm, without significant changes in the photosynthetic vitality index of the cells. However, a slight increase in phycobiliprotein synthesis is observed, which is related to total protein content. This change might be due to degradation of proteins less stable than phycobiliproteins. An identification of the proteins with altered expression pattern in the presence of the pesticide remains the subject of further work and will provide valuable information for the preparation of strains which are highly tolerant to lindane.     

南岳森林群落生物多样性研究(Ⅴ)上封寺森林群落植物物种多样性测定

本文根据对南岳上封寺森林群落野外实地考察以及研究结果,选用了24个有代表性的物种多样性测定公式,并采用重要值、株数或鲜重、优势度或盖度作为测度指标对南岳上封寺森林群落植物物种多样性进行了研究。结果表明,南岳上封寺森林群落植物物种多样性水平较高,但又低于南岳广济寺。此外,不同测度指标对物种多样性指数的结果并无明显的规律性变化。     

离体培养植物细胞的表面与细胞粘连

对离体培养的胡萝卜（Ｄａｕｃｕｓｃａｒｏｔａ）细胞和普通烟草（Ｎｉｃｏｔｉａｎａｔａｂａｃｕｍ）细胞的表面进行了扫描电镜观察．观察表明，细胞的自由表面上有很多疣突和纤丝．疣突的大小不同、形状各异，主要含果胶质；有些细胞表面出现小坑，坑中集中有许多微小颗粒．疣突相互可融合成更大的疣突或连成桥；纤丝常与疣突结合．纤丝－纤丝的交织，纤丝－疣突的交联，及疣突－疣突的融合，在细胞壁外表面构成交织的网络．同种细胞之间及异种细胞之间均可通过纤丝、疣突的交织融合而粘连．疣突分布不均一，且与细胞的分散性有关．与疏松烟草愈伤组织比较，致密烟草愈伤组织细胞的自由表面上疣突显著较多．在分化再生时，烟草愈伤组织首先致密变绿，然后才见到芽的分化及植株再生．对疣突出现、壁物质沉积与细胞粘连、细胞分化、形态建成几者之间的关系进行了讨论．