Genotoxicity of vegetables irrigated by industrial wastewater

IntroductionPollution of natural waters with waste effluentsarising from various industries has become a seriousproblem in India.In Rajasthan particularly,textilemills represent an important economic sector.Effluents from these textile and other dye-relat…     

Evaluation of the Fertilization Capability of Paracentrotus Lividus Sea Urchin Storaged Gametes by the Exposure to Different Aqueous Matrices

Several experiments were performed to evaluate the fertilization capability of Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin gametes, which are usually used in fertilization tests, but which, until now, were employed only for few hours after spawning.The aim of this work is to evaluate the possibility of performing the bioassay for longer periods, employing ‘conserved' gametes. As far as the method, the sperm was stored ‘dry' at 4 ^∘C; eggs were conserved in an antibiotic solution at 4 ^∘C, and they were exposed both to copper solutions as reference toxicant and to aqueous matrices.The use of conserved gametes in the fertilization bioassay lead to EC50 values which were acceptable for about 3 days. Moreover, these experiments permitted to identify the limiting factor: the male gamete.     

钙对酸雨胁迫下甜瓜幼苗质膜透性的影响

报道钙对酸雨协迫下甜瓜幼苗质膜透性的影响,实验结果表明,钙可明显降低质膜透性,具有防护质膜酸致损伤的良好作用,在本实验条件下,以３０ｍｍｏｌ／ＬＣａ（ＮＯ３）２连续处理２次（２４ｈ１次）的防护作用最佳,可能与钙能稳定质膜结构,提高ＣＡＴ的活力等多重生理作用有关。     

Influences of Climatic Change on Some Ecological Processes of an Insect Outbreak System in Canada's Boreal Forests and the Implications for Biodiversity

Insect outbreaks are a major disturbance factor in Canadian forests. If global warming occurs, the disturbance patterns caused by insects may change substantially, especially for those insects whose distributions depend largely on climate. In addition, the likelihood of wildfire often increases after insect attack, so the unpredictability of future insect disturbance patterns adds to the general uncertainty of fire regimes. The rates of processes fundamental to energy, nutrient, and biogeochemical cycling are also affected by insect disturbance, and through these effects, potential changes in disturbance patterns indirectly influence biodiversity. A process-level perspective is advanced to describe how the major insect outbreak system in Canadian forests, that of the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem. [Lepidoptera: Tortricidae]), might react to global warming. The resulting scenarios highlight the possible importance of natural selection, extreme weather, phenological relationships, complex feedbacks, historical conditions, and threshold behavior. That global warming already seems to be affecting the lifecycles of some insects points to the timeliness of this discussion. Some implications of this process-level perspective for managing the effects of global warming on biodiversity are discussed. The value of process-level understanding and high-resolution, long-term monitoring in attacking such problems is emphasized. It is argued that a species-level, preservationist approach may have unwanted side-effects, be cost-ineffective, and ecologically unsustainable.     

Determination of sulfosulfuron residues in soil under wheat crop by a novel and cost-effective method and evaluation of its carryover effect

A novel and cost-effective method of sulfosulfuron extraction has been developed using distilled water as an extraction solvent. Using this method, the environmental fate of sulfosulfuron was investigated in soil under wheat crop. Studies were conducted under natural field conditions in randomized block design and herbicide (75% water dispersible granules (WG)) was applied after 24 days of sowing. The rates of applications were 25 and 50 g of active ingredient (a.i.) per hectare. Soil samples were collected at predetermined intervals and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The minimum detection limit was found to be 0.001 μ g g^{? 1}. The dissipation of sulfosulfuron followed first-order rate kinetics and dissipated with a half-life of 5.4–6.3 days. After harvest, field soil was used for conducting a pot experiment with bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) as test plants to study the carry over effect of sulfosulfuron. No phytotoxicity was observed to bottle gourd in pot experiment with harvest soil.     

用幼苗法指示污泥和土壤中重金属的植物有效性

利用小麦幼苗与黑麦幼苗研究了污泥和土壤中重金属的植物有效性,并对二者进行了比较。结果表明, 在两种污灌区土壤、四种污泥以及一种污泥施用于两种清洁土壤中,黑麦和小麦测定的Cd,Pb,Cu,Zn,Ni五种重金属有效性的顺序,以及有效性大小的数量级上是一致的;除了在污泥中,二者的茎Pb,Ni及根Zn相关不显著,以及在Lou土中施用污泥后,两种植物各部位相关不好外,在污泥及污泥施于赤红壤各处理中黑麦与小麦相关均匀为极显著。上述结果表明,应用小麦幼苗可以替代黑麦幼苗指标土壤中重金属的植物有效性,但同时也应考虑不同植物间的差异。     

基于CFD的两种紫外消毒模型的比较研究

为了预测紫外反应器的消毒效率,提高模拟的准确度,对两种紫外光强模型进行了比较分析。利用CFD技术,采用数值模拟的方法,对线源和柱源两种光强模型进行了光强分布以及消毒效率的模拟,并采用生物实验进行了验证。结果表明:与柱源模型相比,线源模型在近灯管处强度高42.3%,在1.2 cm处二者趋于一致;针对同一管式紫外反应器,透光率为95%时,线源模型的模拟结果偏大,柱源结果偏小;透光率为80%时,线源及柱源模型的模拟结果都偏大,流量及模型影响较小,透光率成为主要影响因素。综合比较,柱源模型适用于小型管式紫外灯消毒数值模型的开发。     

A rapid and high-throughput quantum dots bioassay for monitoring of perfluorooctane sulfonate in environmental water samples

Currently HPLC/MS is the state of the art tool for environmental/drinking water perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) monitoring. PFOS can bind to peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARα), which forms heterodimers with retinoid X receptors (RXRs) and binds to PPAR response elements. In this bioassay free PFOS in water samples competes with immobilized PFOS in ELISA plates for a given amount of PPARα-RXRα. It can be determined indirectly by immobilizing PPARα-RXRα-PFOS complex to another plate coated with PPARα antibody and subsequent measuring the level of PPARα-RXRα by using biotin-modified PPARα-RXRα probes-quantum dots-streptavidin detection system. The rapid and high-throughput bioassay demonstrated a detection limit of 2.5 ng L⁻¹ with linear range between 2.5 ng L⁻¹ and 75 ng L⁻¹. Detection results of environmental water samples were highly consistent between the bioassay and HPLC/MS.     

Assessment of toxicity of a glyphosate-based formulation using bacterial systems in lake water

A new Aeromonas bioassay is described to assess the potential harmful effects of the glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup^®, in the Albufera lake, a protected area near Valencia. Viability markers as membrane integrity, culturability and β-galactosidase production of Aeromonas caviae were studied to determine the influence of the herbicide in the bacterial cells. Data from the multifactor analysis of variance test showed no significant differences (P > 0.05) between A. caviae counts of viability markers at the studied concentrations (0, 50 and 100 mg l⁻¹ of glyphosate).

The effects of Roundup^® on microbial biota present in the lake were assessed by measuring the number of indigenous mesophilic Aeromonas in presence of different amounts of the herbicide at 0, 50 and 100 mg l⁻¹ of glyphosate. In samples containing 50 and 100 mg l⁻¹ of glyphosate a significant (P < 0.05) increase in Aeromonas spp. counts and accompanying flora was observed.

The acute toxicity of Roundup^® and of Roundup^® diluted with Albufera lake water to Microtox^® luminescent bacterium (Vibrio fischeri) also was determined. The EC₅₀ values obtained were 36.4 mg l⁻¹ and 64.0 mg l⁻¹ of glyphosate respectively. The acidity (pH 4.5) of the herbicide formulation was the responsible of the observed toxicity.     

Long Term Effects of Acid Irrigation at the Höglwald on Seepage Water Chemistry and Nutrient Cycling

In order to test the hypothesis of aluminium toxicity induced by acid deposition, an experimental acid irrigation was carried out in a mature Norway spruce stand in Southern Germany (Höglwald). The experiment comprised three plots: no irrigation, irrigation (170 mm a^?1), and acid irrigation with diluted sulphuric acid (pH of 2.6–2.8). During the seven years of acid irrigation (1984–1990) water containing 0.43 mol_c m^?2 a^?1 of protons and sulphate was added with a mean pH of 3.2 (throughfall?+?acid irrigation water) compared to 4.9 (throughfall) on both control plots. Most of the additional proton input was consumed in the organic layer and the upper mineral soil. Acid irrigation resulted in a long lasting elevation of sulphate concentrations in the seepage water. Together with sulphate both aluminium and appreciable amounts of base cations were leached from the main rooting zone. The ratio between base cations (Ca?+?Mg?+?K) and aluminium was 0.79 during acid irrigation and 0.92 on the control. Neither tree growth and nutrition nor the pool of exchangeable cations were affected significantly. We conclude that at this site protection mechanisms against aluminium toxicity exist and that additional base cation runoff can still be compensated without further reduction of the supply of exchangeable base cations in the upper mineral soil.