How does population structure affect pollutant discharge in China? Evidence from an improved STIRPAT model

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - China is the most populous country in the world, and the pollution caused by the excessive population should not be underestimated. In recent years,...     

A fragment constant QSAR model for evaluating the EC50 values of organic chemicals to Daphnia magna.

The quantitative relationship between the median effective concentration (EC50) of organic chemicals to Daphnia magna and the number of molecular fragments was investigated based on experimental EC50 values for 217 chemicals derived from the literature. A fragment constant model was developed based on a multivariate linear regression between the number of fragments and the logarithmically transformed reciprocal values of EC50. Functional correction factors were introduced into the model. The model was verified using an independent set of randomly selected data. The mean residual of the final model was 0.4 log-units. The robustness of the model was discussed based on the results of three jackknife tests.     

Design and validation of a practical index for trauma assessment

In the past 20 years a variety of indices have been suggested for measuring the severity of trauma, however none of them meets the requirement of being a simple and objective instrument that can be utilized efficiently by lay persons and providers of health services without previous experience in triaging. A new system has been proposed which meets this requirement and which has been validated with 197 injured persons at the emergency ward of the Valle University Hospital in Call, Colombia. The instrument showed a high level of concordance with the conventional triaging method and classifies victims into four categories: critical with recovery unlikely, critical but recoverable, moderately serious, and ambulatory. There is discussion on the reliability of this instrument and it is recommended that it be validated with victims from larger disasters. Regardless, it has the advantage of being specific and free of the subjectivity that characterizes other indices.     

Inorganic nitrogen metabolism inUlva rigida illuminated with blue light

Inorganic nitrogen metabolism in blue light was studied for the green algaUlva rigida C. Agardh collected in the south of Spain (Punta Carnero, Algeciras) in the winter of 1987. NH₄ ⁺ has been reported to inhibit NO₃ ^- uptake; however,U. rigida showed a net NO₃ ^- uptake even when the NH₄ ⁺ concentration of the external medium was three or four times greater than the concentration of NO₃ ^-. NO₃ ^- uptake rates were similar in both darkness and in blue light of various photon fluence rates (PFR) ranging from 17 to 160 mol m^-2 s^-1. Since NO₃ ^- uptake is an active mechanism involving the consumption of ATP, respiratory metabolism can provide enough ATP to maintain the energetic requirement of NO₃ ^- transport even in darkness. In contrast, NO₃ ^- reduction inU. rigida was highly dependent on the net photosynthetic rate. After 7 h in blue light, intracellular NO₃ ^- concentrations ([NO₃ ^-] _i ) were higher in specimens exposed to intensities below the light compensation point (LCP) than in those incubated at a PFR above the LCP. When PFR is below the light compensation point, NO₃ ^- reduction is low, probably because all the NADH produced by the cells is oxidized in the respiratory chain in order to produce ATP to maintain a steady NO₃ ^- transport rate. The total nitrogen (TN) and carbon (TC) contents decreased from darkness to 33 mol m^-2 s^-1 in blue light. In this range, catabolic processes prevailed over anabolic ones. In contrast, increases in TN and TC contents were observed above the light compensation point. The C : N ratio increased with light intensity, reaching a stable value of 17 at 78 mol m^-2 s^-1 in blue light. Intracellular NO₃ ^- concentration and NO₃ ^- reduction appear to be directly controlled by light intensity. This external control of [NO₃ ^-]_i and the small capacity ofU. rigida to retain incorporated NO₃ ^-, NO₂ ^- and NH₄ ⁺ ions may explain its nitrophilic character.     

海水入侵指标对比分析与评价—以珠江口地下水含水层为例

合理评价海水入侵对于地下水含水层管理和居民生活健康有着重要的意义。当前海水入侵评价应用较广泛的为包含单一因子和基于统计分析的多种水化学方法。本文综合阐述了海水入侵评价中所用的水化学指标、原理与方法,包括在国内评价体系中少见的一些方法,并以珠江口地下水含水层为例,对比了各种指标的有效性,评价了各类方法的优缺点以及在实际应用中可能产生的问题。结果显示,以Cl-和TDS作为简单直接的单因子可以快速评价海水入侵,尤其对于大范围的海水入侵评价十分有效。而和Ca2+,HCO₃-,SO₄2-等变化有关的指标具有地域性,在研究区对海水入侵的指示并不是十分敏感。在复杂评价因子中,与离子交换有关SAR,BEX以及GQI_SWI与Cl-相关性较高,可以较好的指示海水入侵及水岩相互作用。经过分析,受到地下含水层和地表水道双重介质入侵的影响,研究区海水入侵范围在过去几个年代有向北推进的趋势。本研究对于高速经济发展下的沿海地下水含水层管理和评价有重要的指导意义。     

Seasonal variation and size distribution of biogenic secondary organic aerosols at urban and continental background sites of China

Size-resolved biogenic secondary organic aerosols(BSOA) derived from isoprene and monoterpene photooxidation in Qinghai Lake, Tibetan Plateau(a continental background site) and five cities of China were measured using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry(GC/MS). Concentrations of the determined BSOA are higher in the cities than in the background and are also higher in summer than in winter. Moreover, strong positive correlations(R2= 0.44–0.90) between BSOA and sulfate were found at the six sites,suggesting that anthropogenic pollution(i.e., sulfate) could enhance SOA formation,because sulfate provides a surface favorable for acid-catalyzed formation of BSOA. Size distribution measurements showed that most of the determined SOA tracers are enriched in the fine mode( 3.3 μm) except for cis-pinic and cis-pinonic acids, both presented a comparable mass in the fine and coarse( 3.3 μm) modes, respectively. Mass ratio of oxidation products derived from isoprene to those from monoterpene in the five urban regions during summer are much less than those in Qinghai Lake region. In addition, in the five urban regions relative abundances of monoterpene oxidation products to SOA are much higher than those of isoprene. Such phenomena suggest that BSOA derived from monoterpenes are more abundant than those from isoprene in Chinese urban areas.     

A study on the interactions among several plant secondary compounds and aphids

The research, focused on the specific interactions among seven plant secondary compounds and aphids, was carried out and the preliminary results showed: (1) "T-typed tube method" was regarded as the best method compared with others designed to observe the interactions. (2) Cabbage aphid was able to be attracted by laurolene while it was not susceptible to α-pinene, β-pinene and diamylene. (3) Gossypol, a major secondary substance in cotton, was able to be implicated as feeding attractant to cotton aphid. (4) Rutin might be implicated repellent to cotton aphid.     

Application of cryofocusing hydride generation and atomic fluorescence detection for dissolved mercury species determination in natural water samples

The concentration levels of mercury (Hg) species in natural water samples are usually low. Consequently, accurate analysis with low detection limits is still a major problem. In this work, a method was applied for the simultaneous direct determination of dissolved mercury species in water samples by on-line hydride generation (HG), cryogenic trapping (CT), gas chromatography (GC) and detection by atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS). The suitability of the method for real samples with different organic matter and chloride contents was evaluated by recovery experiments in synthetic and natural spiked water samples. The HG method was compared with other current available methods for mercury analysis with respect to the different fraction of mercury analysed, i.e. 'reactive', 'reducible' or total. HG derivatization and SnCl2 reduction (with and without previous oxidation with BrCl) were applied to synthetic and natural (spiked and non-spiked) water samples. The influence of chloride and dissolved organic matter concentrations was studied. The results suggest that the HG procedure is suitable for the simultaneous determination of Hg2+ and MeHg+ in surface water samples. Inorganic mercury analysed by HG (i.e. reducible) is close to the total inorganic mercury.     

Speciation of arsenic using solid phase extraction cartridges

Various solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridges were investigated for speciation of arsenite [As(III)], arsenate [As(v)], monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA). Cartridges containing different types of sorbent materials were tested for arsenic retention and elution characteristics. Alumina cartridges were found to completely retain all the four target arsenic species, and are suitable for removal and preconcentration purposes. For speciation analysis, different arsenic species were separated on the basis of their selective retention on and elution from specific cartridges. DMA was retained on a resin-based strong cation exchange cartridge and eluted with 1.0 M HCl. MMA and As(v) were both retained on a silica-based strong anion exchange cartridge and sequentially eluted with 60 mM acetic acid (for MMA) and 1.0 M HCl [for As(v)]. As(III) was not retained on either cartridge and remained in solution. Arsenic species in solution and those eluted from the cartridges were subsequently quantified by using flow injection with hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (FI-HGAFS) and hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (FI-HGAAS). A detection limit of 0.05 microg L(-1) arsenic in water sample was achieved using HGAFS. An application of the method was demonstrated at a drinking water treatment facility. As(III) and As(v) species were determined in water at various stages of treatment. The method is suitable for routine determination of trace levels of arsenic in drinking water to comply with more stringent environmental regulations.