Detection of DNA damage in mussels and sea urchins exposed to crude oil using comet assay

The single-cell microgel electrophoresis assay or the comet assay was used to evaluate DNA damage of dispersed crude oil on sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) and mussels (Mytilus edulis L.). Sea urchins were exposed to 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L dispersed crude oil in a continuous flow system, while the mussels were exposed to 0.015, 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L dispersed crude oil. Sea urchin coelomocytes and mussel haemocytes were sampled after 4 and 5 weeks exposure, respectively. In the sea urchin coelomocytes, there was a significant concentration-related increase in the percentage of DNA in comet tail. In mussel haemocytes, there was a significantly higher percentage of DNA in comet tail for all treatments compared to the control. The responses were concentration-related up to 0.06 mg/L oil. The two highest exposure concentrations of mussels were not significantly different from each other. These results indicate that the comet assay can be used for biomonitoring of DNA damage in marine invertebrates following oil contamination.     

邻苯二甲酸二甲酯及其异构体的好氧微生物降解

3种苯二甲酸二甲酯异构体(邻、间和对苯二甲酸二甲酯)主要应用于化学工业,作为增塑剂和生产聚酯的原料。用邻苯二甲酸二丁酯为惟一碳源,从红树林底泥中驯化、富集、培养、分离得到的微生物对邻苯二甲酸二甲酯(Dimethylphthalate,DMP)及其异构体对苯二甲酸二甲酯(Terephthalate,DMT)和间苯二甲酸二甲酯(Isophthalate,DMI)具有较强的降解作用。此菌株16SrDNA分子生物学的鉴定为Rhodococcusruber1k。实验得出该菌能够在苯二甲酸二甲酯作为惟一碳源和能源的培养基中生长。浓度为50mg·L-1的DMP、DMI和DMT分别在6、10、11d内可以完全被降解;DMP能够在好氧条件下被该菌快速降解,生成邻苯二甲酸一甲酯(monomethylphthalate,MMP)和邻苯二甲酸(phthalicacid,PA)2种主要中间产物,最终可以完全矿化成CO2和H2O;该菌对DMI和DMT的降解速度则比DMP慢。两者的降解中间产物间苯二甲酸一甲酯(MMI)和对苯二甲酸一甲酯(MMT)却不能被Rhodococcusruber1k继续降解而在培养基中积累。结果表明苯二甲酸二甲基酯的3种异构体能够被红树林底泥中的土著微生物降解。降解速度及降解途径与底物的化学结构有密切关系。     

Molecular identification of ascaridoid nematodes from the deep-sea onion-eye grenadier (Macrourus berglax) from the East Greenland Sea

Macrourus berglax from the East Greenland Sea was studied for the presence of ascaridoid nematodes in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The fishes were collected between 278 and 413 m water depth using a benthopelagic net. Based on the amplification of the internal transcribed spacer ITS-1, 5.8S, ITS-2 and flanking sequences (=ITS+), three ascaridoid nematode species were identified. The prevalence of infestation during the 3 years ranged from 42.9% to 62.9% and 22.9% to 40.0% for the anisakids Anisakis simplex (s.s.) and Pseudoterranova decipiens (s.s.), respectively, and from 28.6% to 60.0% for the raphidascarid Hysterothylacium aduncum. A total of 18 specimens, two of each species and examination year, revealed no sibling species, suggesting a limited distribution of other ascaridoid siblings into the deep sea. The ITS-1, 5.8S and ITS-2 sequences of A. simplex (s.s.) from the East Greenland Sea did not differ from previously published sequence data (GenBank) from other regions in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The sequences of P. decipiens (s.s.) corresponded most closely to those of specimens from Richardson Bay, western Pacific, and differed in four positions (0.5%). They corresponded least to those of specimens from Japan (1.5%). The sequence data for H. aduncum differed in two positions in the ITS-1 (0.2%) and three positions in the ITS-2 (0.3%) from sequences from Japan. A high genetic similarity between the regions can be explained by (a) extensive final host migration in the case of A. simplex (s.s.), (b) an overlapping distribution of final host populations along the continental shelves for P. decipiens (s.s.) and (c) a low host specificity and large population size in the intermediate and final hosts for H. aduncum. The occurrence of the identified species in the macrourid fish underlines the potential of cosmopolitan ascaridoid nematodes to distribute not only horizontally but also vertically in the deep sea.     

红枫湖夏季分层期间pCO2分布规律的研究

在夏季分层期间对红枫湖南、北湖湖心的水样进行分层采集,同时测定了分层水样的温度、pH、HCO₃-浓度、溶解氧(DO)、叶绿素a(Chl-a)及铵根离子(NH₄+)、硝酸根离子(NO₃-)、磷酸根离子(PO₄3-)的浓度,水体中CO₂的分压(pCO₂)由化学平衡及亨利定律求得。研究结果表明:光合作用、有机质降解及水体热分层是影响红枫湖夏季pCO₂分布的主要因素。其中,温水层CO₂欠饱和是光合作用吸收CO₂引起的,温跃层中pCO₂的急剧增加是光合产物降解产生CO₂引起的。静水层沉积物附近pCO₂最高并且还有持续增加的趋势,说明沉积物中有机质降解是静水层中CO₂增加的主要原因,夏季湖底水温较高加快了沉积物中有机质的降解。分层现象使pCO₂在水体中的分布差别明显,并且使静水层中CO₂得到积累。此外,夏季红枫湖水体中pCO₂的变化与NH₄+、PO₄3-的变化密不可分,表现为温水层中光合作用消耗NH₄+、PO₄3-,有机质降解过程伴随NH₄+、PO₄3-的释放。     

Pumping decisions for sustainable development of groundwater resources in areas of grassland degradation: a case study in Lanqi Banner, Inner Mongolia, China

The best planting alternatives for satisfying high water use demands of forage and fodder crops in a region of Inner Mongolia, China, were determined by a multiobjective distributed-parameter groundwater management model. These alternatives took account of different cropping patterns and pumping decisions associated with both temporal and spatial aspects of water allocation. The model was developed for phreatic, homogenous, and isotropic aquifers using the response matrix technique of quadratic programming theory and, in this case, using the alternative direction implicit (ADI) scheme. Model solutions using effective rainfall with a probability of 50%, show that average water table drawdown in the planning period (2006–2017) is 0.22 m and the groundwater fluctuation in each pumping well is very low. In order to evaluate the pumping decisions under an effective rainfall with a probability of 75%, a sensitive analysis was also conducted. Analysis shows that it is useful to apply the results from the proposed model to control the landscape degradation due to overgrazing and overpumping activities.     

Micro-spectroscopic investigations of highly heterogeneous waste repository materials

Assuring safe disposal and long-term storage of radioactive and toxic wastes corresponds to a primary environmental task of present societies. To improve any technical limitation, a mechanistic understanding of the processes governing the binding of heavy metals and radionuclides is required. In this study, the significance of synchrotron-based X-ray microprobes for elucidating the spatial distribution and the speciation of radionuclides in highly heterogeneous waste repository materials will be outlined. A case study on the uptake process of Co in cementitious engineered barrier materials exposed to microbial degradation will be presented.     

Soil quality changes in land degradation as indicated by soil chemical, biochemical and microbiological properties in a karst area of southwest Guizhou, China

Not only the nutritional status and biological activity but also the soil ecological functioning or soil health has been impacted profoundly by land degradation in the karst area of southwest China where the karst ecosystems are generally considered as extremely vulnerable to land degradation under intensified land-use changes. The objectives of this study are to elucidate the changes in overall soil quality by a holistic approach of soil nutritional, biological activity, and soil health indicators in the karst area as impacted by intense cultivation and vegetation degradation. Topsoil samples were collected on selected eco-tesserae in a sequence of land degradation in a karst area of southwest Guizhou in 2004. The soil nutrient pools of organic carbon (C_org), extractable extracellular carbon (C_ext), total soil nitrogen (N_t), alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (N_ah), total phosphorus (P_t), available phosphorus (P_a) were analyzed by wet soil chemistry. The soil biological properties were studied by means of measurements of microbial biomass carbon (both by fumigation–extraction, FE-C_mic, and by calculation from substrate-incubation respiration, SIR-C_mic) of respiration [respiration without addition of substrates, basal respiration (BR), and potential respiration (PR) with substrate-incubation] and of soil enzyme activities (invertase, urease, and alkaline phosphatase). Soil health status was assessed by simple indices of C_mic/C_org and BR/C_mic in conjunction with bacterial community structures determined by polymerase chain reaction and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. While the nutritional pool parameters, such as C_org and C_ext, described basically the changes in soil life-supporting capacity with cultivation interference and vegetation declined, those parameters of biological activity such as FE-C_mic, SIR, and SIR-C_mic as well as bacterial community structures measured by molecular method evidenced well the changes in soil functioning for ecosystem health with the land degradation.     

科尔沁沙地土地利用与耕作方式对土壤风蚀的影响

土壤风蚀造成的直接生态后果是土地资源的退化。在春播前两次沙尘暴事件中,对科尔沁沙地几种具有代表性的土地类型的土壤风蚀量及土壤特性进行了野外测定、分析,结果表明:(1)在同一沙尘暴天气下,由于土地利用和耕作方式的不同,土壤风蚀量存在着差异,新垦农地和翻耕农地的风蚀量显著高于未垦草地、免耕农地和麻黄地;免耕农地则与未垦草地的风蚀量相差不大,风蚀危害较轻;麻黄地几乎不受风蚀侵害。新垦农地、翻耕农地、免耕农地、未垦草地、麻黄地两次观测的土壤风蚀量平均值依次为24.59、15.60、2.26、1.46和0.22 g/h.cm2。(2)基于土壤特性计算的土壤退化指数结果表明,新垦农地和翻耕农地发生了较为严重的退化。     

ZnS柱撑高岭石-蒙脱石混层矿物纳米复合材料的制备及其光降解伊红-B的研究

以硫尿和乙酸锌为前驱物,通过离子交换和溶液热反应的方法在有机高岭石蒙脱石混层矿物(高蒙混层矿物)层间原位合成了ZnS纳米粒子,得到ZnS柱撑高岭石蒙脱石混层矿物纳米复合材料。X射线粉末衍射分析(XRD)表明高蒙混层矿物的d001从原来的0.98nm被柱撑到1.95nm,表明层间被插入了直径小于1nm的ZnS纳米颗粒。扫描电镜(SEM)观察发现,原高蒙混层矿物的有序片层结构部分被破坏,在被剥离的片层上面均匀覆盖了ZnS颗粒聚集体,粒径在25nm左右。透射电镜(TEM)显示,ZnS颗粒聚集体是由3～5nm的颗粒堆积而成,夹杂在被剥离的高蒙混层矿物层中。选区电子衍射(SAED)和能量散射谱(EDS)测定表明形成的ZnS属于六方晶系,结晶度较低。光降解伊红_B(eosion_B)实验表明该纳米复合物具有极高的反应活性,紫外可见吸收光谱(UV_Vis)跟踪反应历程,表明降解过程中没有其他中间产物生成,20min之内降解率达到99.1%。本方法制备的ZnS柱撑高蒙混层矿物纳米复合材料与前人制备的ZnS纳米粒子相比具有更高的催化活性,方法更简单,原料较便宜,可重复利用。