改性大豆荚吸附剂对甲基蓝废水吸附性能研究

将天然大豆荚分别用氢氧化钠,硫酸,乙醇,过氧化氢进行改性,制备一系列改性大豆荚吸附剂,研究了改性大豆荚吸附阴离子染料甲基蓝废水的适宜条件及吸附机理.经筛选,采用氢氧化钠作为大豆荚的改性剂.结果表明:当甲基蓝溶液初始浓度300 mg·L-1,pH=10.0,吸附剂投加量为5 g·L-1,吸附时间为40 min时,改性大豆荚对甲基蓝废水的去除率达到96.30%,最大吸附量为57.53 mg·g-1.此吸附过程符合准二级动力学方程,以化学吸附为主;Langmuir方程能较好的拟合等温吸附过程.     

挥发性甲基硅氧烷的体外代谢行为

挥发性甲基硅氧烷(volatile methyl siloxanes,VMSs)的高产量、环境广泛存在性和毒性使其成为备受关注的新型环境污染物.VMSs在生物体中的代谢速率是决定其生物富集性的关键因子,但是目前还没有此类物质代谢速率的测试和报道.利用了鲈鱼和鹌鹑肝微粒体的体外代谢体系,测定了16种常见VMSs(D3~D6和L3~L14)的固有清除率.VMSs在鲈鱼肝微粒体中的固有清除率为0~0.031 m L·(h·mg)-1.D5在鲈鱼肝微粒体中难以代谢,与其在水生食物网中呈现显著生物放大性相一致;L4~L14均难以代谢,表明链状VMSs可能具有较高的生物富集性.VMSs在鹌鹑肝微粒体中的固有清除率[0.25~1.7m L·(h·mg)-1]显著高于鲈鱼,较快的代谢速率表明D3~D6和L3~L14在鸟类中可能不存在明显的生物放大现象;应用B[a]P作为基准物质校正代谢速率的测定误差,分析VMSs代谢速率的构效关系,发现影响VMSs在鸟类肝微粒体中代谢速率的主要因素为疏水性和电性参数.     

关于水生生态系统中汞的国内外研究进展评述

本文介绍了国内外对于水生生态系统中汞的生物地球化学循环研究的各项进展,从汞对水生动植物的毒性、汞的迁移转化、甲基汞的形成以及甲基汞对食物链及人体健康的影响等几方面进行评述。     

气相色谱法同时测定废气中的丙酮和丁酮

建立了用气相色谱法测定废气中丙酮和丁酮的方法。废气中丙酮和丁酮活性炭吸附,二硫化碳解吸,NNOWAX毛细管柱分离,直接进样分析,氢火焰离子化检测器检测,时间定性,峰面积定量,其丙酮回收率为91.6%～103.5%,丁酮回收率为90.2%～104.3%,当采样体积为30L,丙酮和丁酮最低检出质量浓度为0.001mg/m3。本方法前处理简便,分离度好干扰少,分析灵敏度高,有机试剂使用量少,满足环境分析要求。     

Use of molecular and In Silico bioinformatic tools to investigate pesticide binding to insect (Lepidoptera) phenoloxidases (PO): Insights to toxicological aspects

In the present work, the promising bioinformatic tools, based on structure–affinity analysis, allowed to screen several pesticides supposed to bind to the insect immune Phenoloxidases (PO). First, the binding of aminoparathion, a reference compound, to the PO was structurally (3D) validated in accordance with previous reports. Second, using the same docking conditions, a range of pesticides was checked for their binding ability to the crystal 3D structure (PDB 3HSS) of the insect Manduca sexta (Lepidoptera) PO. The obtained data showed that many of the tested pesticides were able to bind, in silico, to M. sexta PO. The combination of in vitro (chemical and biochemical) and in silico (automated docking) approaches was found advantageous to elucidate the behavior of phenolic pesticides as substrate-analogues when binding to the active site of insect POs. Our findings emphasize new ecotoxicological aspects of pesticide residues in the agro-chemical and environmental circles.     

Genotoxic fungicide methyl thiophanate as an oxidative stressor inducing 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′ -deoxyguanosine adducts in DNA and mutagenesis

Dimethyl 4,4′ -(O-phenylene)bis(3-thioallophanate), commonly known as methyl thiophanate (MT), is a systemic fungicide and suspected carcinogen to humans. In this study, the oxidative potential of this category-III acute toxicant has been ascertained based on its capacity of inducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and promutagenic 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′ -deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) adducts in DNA. The discernible MT dose-dependent reduction in fluorescence intensity of a cationic dye rhodamine (Rh-123) in human lymphocytes and increased fluorescence intensity of 2′,7′-Dichlorodihydro fluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) treated cells signifies decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (Δ Ψ m) due to intracellular ROS generation. The ³²P-post-labeling assay demonstrated the MT-induced 8-oxodG adduct formation in calf thymus DNA. Thus, it is concluded that MT, as a potent oxidative stressor, produces ROS leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative DNA damage and mutagenesis.     

Effects of metsulfuron‐methyl on microbial biomass and populations in soils

Abstract

Effects of the herbicide metsulfuron‐methyl on soil microorganisms and their activities in two soils were evaluated under laboratory conditions. Measurements included their populations, soil respiration, and microbial biomass. In the clay soil, bacterial populations decreased with increasing concentration of metsulfuron‐methyl during the first 9 days of incubation but exceeded that of the control soil from day 27 onward. In the sandy loam soil, the herbicide reduced bacterial populations during the first 3 days after application, but these increased to the level of untreated controls after 9 days’ incubation. Fungal populations in both soils increased with increasing metsulfuron‐methyl concentrations, especially in the sandy loam soil. CO₂ evolution was stimulated in both soils in the presence of the herbicide initially, but decreased during days 3 to 9 of the incubation period before increasing again afterward. The presence of metsulfuron‐methyl in the soil increased microbial biomass, except in sandy loam soil at the first day of incubation.     

Behavioral and electrophysiological responses of the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis, to induced volatiles of Manchurian ash, Fraxinus mandshurica

Summary. We investigated the volatile emissions of Manchurian ash seedlings, Fraxinus mandshurica, in response to feeding by the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis, and to exogenous application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Feeding damage by adult A. planipennis and MeJA treatment increased volatile emissions compared to unexposed controls. Although the same compounds were emitted from plants damaged by beetles and treated with MeJA, quantitative differences were found in the amounts of emissions for individual compounds. Adult virgin female A. planipennis were similarly attracted to volatiles from plants damaged by beetles and those treated with MeJA in olfactometer bioassays; males did not respond significantly to the same volatiles. Coupled gas chromatographic-electroantennogram detection (GC-EAD) revealed at least 16 antennally-active compounds from F. mandshurica, including: hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, 3-methyl-butylaldoxime, 2-methyl-butylaldoxime, (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl acetate, hexyl acetate, (E)-β-ocimene, linalool, 4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, and E,E-α-farnesene. Electroantennogram (EAG) dose–response curves using synthetic compounds revealed that females had a stronger EAG response to linalool than males; and male responses were greater to: hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, 3-methyl-butylaldoxime, 2-methyl-butylaldoxime, and hexyl acetate. These results suggest that females may use induced volatiles in long-range host finding, while their role for males is unclear. If attraction of females to these volatiles in an olfactometer is upheld by field experiments, host plant volatiles may find practical application in detection and monitoring of A. planipennis populations.     

Life improvement programme of producer gas–biodiesel operated dual fuel engines

Biomass fuels have attracted an increase in interest due to the alarming rise in global greenhouse gases and the rapid rise of petroleum prices. Energy security on a sustainable basis can come only with the responsible use of home-sourced resources and not from imported fossil fuels such as coal or crude petroleum products. Partial combustion of biomass in the downdraft gasifier generates producer gas that can be used as the sole fuel or as a supplementary fuel for internal combustion engines. A dual fuel mode of operation, in which producer gas is used as a supplementary inducted fuel along with injected pilot fuels of Honge or Jatropha biodiesels, can be a promising alternative to diesel only usage. Two different carburettors were designed and fabricated to facilitate gas entry at 45° and 90° to the engine cylinder. The engine was experimentally optimised using Honge or Jatropha biodiesels–producer gas combinations with respect to maximum pilot fuel savings in the dual fuel mode operation, optimum air and gas mixing with different tested carburettors. The performance, combustion and emission characteristics of these dual fuel combinations were compared at different load conditions. The results showed that biodiesels of Honge or Jatropha oils–Producer gas combinations with carburettor of 90° gas entry resulted in better performance.     

Effect of mixing chamber venturi,injection timing,compression ratio and EGR on the performance of dual-fuel engine operated with HOME and CNG

Stringent environmental policies and the ever increasing demand for energy have triggered interest in novel combustion technologies that use alternative fuels as energy sources. Of these, pilot-ignited compressed natural gas (CNG) engines that employ small biodiesel pilot to ignite a premixed natural gas–air mixture have received considerable attention. This paper discusses the effect of mixing chamber venturi, injection timing, compression ratio and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on the performance of dual-fuel engine operated on biodiesel derived from honge oil and is called honge oil methyl ester (HOME) and CNG. The proposed study mainly focuses on the manifold induction of CNG along with HOME injection. However, CNG can also be injected using port or direct gas injector (Lakshmanan and Nagarajan 2010, Energy 35, pp. 3172–3178). The future study will involve these methods of CNG injection. From this study, it is concluded that an advanced injection timing and an increased compression ratio resulted in increased brake thermal efficiency and reduced smoke, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide emissions. However, nitrogen oxides (NO _x ) emission increased significantly. The increased NO _x emission was effectively reduced with EGR method. A mixing chamber venturi of 3 mm size, injection timing of 27° before top dead centre (BTDC), compression ratio of 17.5 and 10% EGR were found to be optimum for the modified compression ignition engine that was operated on CNG–HOME dual-fuel mode.