Mercury exposure in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients from Ganga plain region in India: A retrospective study

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive disorder that usually runs a fatal course within 2–5 years of onset, is characterized by loss of motor neurons in the cortex, brain stem, and spinal cord. In this study mercury (Hg) concentrations were determined in blood samples of 40 ALS patients, of whom 24 ALS patients were from the Ganga plain region and their metal levels were found to be significantly higher. In contrast, Hg levels in the 16 ALS patients from non-Ganga plain regions whose levels were similar to those of the control subjects. Mercury in stream water samples and freshly deposited stream sediment were determined in the locations of patients’ native residences along the Ganga plain region and metal levels were found to be higher than the threshold guideline values for Hg in stream waters recommended by WHO. The geo-accumulation index in selected sites of freshly deposited stream sediment ranged from moderate to highly polluted. The high levels of Hg observed in ALS patients may potentially alter the redox status of neuronal cell components and induce cell-death pathways.     

多介质土壤层系统(MSL)启动性能研究

在滇池支流新运粮河河岸建立3个多介质土壤层系统(MSL),在3个不同表面负荷下,对其处理污染河水时的挂膜启动性能进行了研究,研究其运行启动周期,并对系统初期的去除机理进行了初步探讨,试验结果表明,COD的启动周期为15～20 d,TP的启动周期为7～10 d,氨氮的启动周期为25～30 d,系统的启动周期为25～30d。该系统属于复合生态系统,其对污染物的去除包括物理作用、化学电化学作用、生物作用,对其启动周期的研判不能以单一的出水稳定达标来判断,而要出水数据综合断定。     

低强度超声对短程硝化污泥活性的影响

为提高短程硝化反硝化脱氮效率,采用低强度超声对短程硝化反应进行强化,通过对比氨氧化率和亚硝酸盐生产量,考察低强度超声对短程硝化污泥活性影响。首先,通过对超声能量的优化试验,发现低强度超声能够提升短程硝化污泥反应速率,且超声能量为43.20 kJ时氨氧化率和亚硝酸盐生成量最大;然后考察超声能量与污泥浓度的关系。结果表明:1)在相同超声能量(43.20 kJ)条件下,随着污泥质量浓度(0.34~1.03 g VSS/L)增加,能量密度降低,反应速率不断提高;2)保持污泥浓度恒定,增加超声能量,发现在43.20 kJ时短程硝化污泥活性最好,氨氧化速率比对照组提高25.42%,继续增加能量后去除速率开始下降,原因是适宜的能量会增加微生物细胞壁和细胞膜的通透性,加快基质传递和反应速率,提高微生物活性,但当所施加能量超出其所能承受范围,则会对微生物内部产生损害,降低其活性;3)考察超声能量对胞外聚合物浓度和酶活性影响,在43.20 kJ条件下,多糖、蛋白质和胞外聚合物(EPS)浓度分别提高了18.32%、26.54%和22.05%,氨单加氧酶活性增加19.82%。研究表明,由于低强度超声作用加快胞外聚合物分泌,增加生物酶活性,进而促进了短程硝化污泥反应速率。     

滇池表层沉积物对磷的吸附特征

在室内模拟条件下,从滇池表层沉积物对磷的吸附动力学与热力学两个角度出发,研究了滇池沉积物对磷的吸附特征,同时探讨了不同磷形态对磷吸附特性的影响,结果表明:1滇池不同形态磷含量顺序为:有机磷钙(O-P)钙结合态磷(Ca-P)金属氧化物结合态磷(Al-P)残渣态磷(Res-P)可还原态磷(Fe-P)弱吸附态磷(NH4Cl-P);2沉积物对磷的吸附动力学过程分为2个阶段,即快吸附和慢吸附阶段.快吸附阶段主要发生在0~0.5 h内,而慢吸附阶段主要发生在0.5~4 h.滇池沉积物对磷的吸附过程主要在4 h内完成.3外海北部上覆水磷酸盐(SRP)浓度低于沉积物中磷的吸附/解吸平衡浓度(EPC0),可初步判断该区域沉积物有向上覆水体释放磷的风险.4不同区域沉积物磷的最大吸附量(Qmax)和总最大吸附量(TQmax)均以外海南部最大.5沉积物本底吸附态磷含量(NAP)与钙结合态磷(Ca-P)呈显著正相关关系(R2=0.5139,p0.05),而其他吸附特征参数与磷形态之间相关性均不显著.6与洱海、太湖等湖泊相比,滇池沉积物磷的本底吸附态磷(NAP)和最大吸附量(Qmax)均处于较高水平,磷污染较为严重.     

覆盖条件下旱作春玉米农田土壤细菌群落结构分析

秸秆和地膜覆盖会改变农田土壤碳氮循环等理化条件,而覆盖对参与碳氮循环的土壤微生物的影响还鲜有报道。本研究通过高通量测序,分析了黄土高原旱作玉米农田无覆盖、秸秆覆盖、地膜覆盖下土壤细菌群落组成,探讨了细菌介导的碳氮循环对覆盖的响应。结果表明秸秆覆盖增加了土壤细菌群落丰富度和多样性,且显著增加了分解纤维素的细菌(纤维弧菌属Cellvibrio)及介导固氮(根瘤菌属Rhizomicrobium、Chryseolinea)和硝化过程的细菌(亚硝化螺菌属Nitrosospira)丰度(p0.05);地膜覆盖增加了土壤细菌丰富度,但降低了细菌多样性,且显著增加了介导土壤硝化作用的硝化螺菌属Nitrospira的丰度(p0.05)。本结果为土壤中微生物介导的碳氮循环研究提供了理论依据。     

Construction of chimaeric gardens through fungal intercropping: a symbiont choice experiment in the leafcutter ant Atta texana (Attini, Formicidae)

Interspecies or intraspecies cooperation can be stabilized evolutionarily if choosing partners favor beneficial partners and discriminate against non-beneficial partners. We quantified such partner choice (symbiont choice) in the leafcutter ant Atta texana (Attini, Formicidae) by presenting the ants in a cafeteria-style preference assay with genotypically distinct fungal cultivars from A. texana and Acromyrmex versicolor. Symbiont choice was measured as the ants' tendency to choose one or more cultivar(s) from several pure (axenic) cultivar fragments and convert a given fungal fragment into a garden. Microsatellite DNA fingerprinting enabled us to identify the cultivars chosen by the ants for their gardens. In 91% of the choice tests, A. texana workers combined multiple cultivars into a single intercropped, chimaeric garden, and the cultivars coexisted in such chimaeric gardens for as long as 4 months. Coexistence of distinct fungal genotypes in chimaeric gardens appears to contradict a recent model of cultivar competition postulating that each cultivar secretes incompatibility compounds harming other cultivars, which presumably would preclude the intercropped polyculture observed in our experiments. Although we found no clear evidence of novel, recombinant genotypes in the experimental chimaeric gardens, the intercropping of cultivar genotypes may occasionally lead under natural conditions to exchange of genetic material between coexisting cultivars, thus introducing novel cultivar genotypes into the leafcutter symbiosis. Symbiont choice by ants and any competition between coexisting cultivar strains in chimaeric gardens do not appear to operate fast enough in our laboratory assay to convert chimaeric gardens into the monocultures observed for A. texana under natural conditions.     

城市工业区周边土壤-水稻系统中重金属的迁移累积特征

对H市工业区土壤-稻米-谷壳体系中重金属的迁移累积特征进行分析,结果显示,不同重金属元素的迁移累积特征不同,Cd易于从土壤中向稻谷籽实迁移,而Cu,Zn,Cr,Ni,As和Hg等迁移能力则较弱.水稻籽实中不同重金属在稻米和谷壳之间的分配规律不同.营养元素Cu和Zn有向稻米迁移累积的趋势,而有毒有害重金属Pb,Cd,Cr,Ni和As则主要累积于谷壳中,Cr和Nj在稻米和谷壳之间的分配较均衡.重金属在稻米中的累积能力为:Cd>Zn>Ni>Cu>Pb>Cr>Hg>As,而在谷壳中则为:Cd>Pb>Ni>Zn>Cr>Cu>As>Hg.     

Determination of 7-ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase (EROD) induction in leaping mullet (Liza saliens) from the highly contaminated Aliaga Bay, Turkey

Pollution of the aquatic environment is a global concern owing to the devastating effects of contaminants whose levels are growing at an alarming rate, and it has become a major threat for marine organisms, as well as to humans as consumers. This study has been carried out on leaping mullet obtained from Aliaga Bay, which is located on the west coast of the Aegean Sea near Izmir and hosts the world’s fifth largest shipyard, plus a broad range of industrial activities, including an oil refinery and a paper factory. The waste from these industries, combined with municipal sewer discharges, is the main cause of pollution in this region. There is no national documentation or research on the determination of pollution resulting from the industrial activities in this area. In the present study, the degree of induction of CYP4501A-associated 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity and immunochemical detection of CYP1A1 in the liver of leaping mullet (Lisa saliens) were used as biomarkers for the assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-type organic pollutants in Aliaga Bay. Mullet caught from different locations of the bay had approximately 52 times more EROD activity than the feral fish sampled from a clean reference site near Foca, Izmir. The results of this study indicate that Aliaga Bay is highly contaminated with PAH-type organic pollutants.     

Environmental repercussions of cane-sugar industries on the Chhoti Gandak river basin, Ganga Plain, India

Chhoti Gandak river basin, situated in the Ganga Plain, is one of India’s most productive cane-sugar industrial belts. Soil and groundwater samples were collected to investigate the impacts of these industries on the environment of the Chhoti Gandak river basin with special reference to soil and water. The results show that concentration of most metals are affected by industrial activities and surrounding agricultural practices. It is evidenced by increased heavy metal concentration in the soils as well as in the aquifers. Metals such as Pb, Cu, and Zn in the soil around the industrial sets are found significantly higher than their normal values in the soil. Metals like Fe and Mn in the groundwater are more than the permissible limit prescribed by the World Health Organization. In this study, an attempt was made to distinguish between the naturally occurring and anthropogenically induced metals in the soil. Analysis of geochemical properties, disposal of industrial wastes, inadequate application of agrochemicals, and their impact on environment indicate the sustainable implementation of integrated wastewater management plan in these industrial sets and also in similar situations.