The deposition and significance of an Ediacaran non-glacial iron formation.

Most Neoproterozoic iron formations (NIF) are closely associated with global or near-global "Snowball Earth" glaciations. Increasingly, however, studies indicate that some NIFs show no robust evidence of glacial association. Many aspects of non-glacial NIF genesis, including the paleo-environmental setting, Fe(II) source, and oxidation mechanisms, are poorly understood. Here, we present a detailed case study of the Jiapigou NIF, a major non-glacial NIF within a Neoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary sequence in North Qilian, northwestern China. New U-Pb geochronological data place the depositional age of the Jiapigou NIF at ~600 Ma. Petrographic and geochemical evidence supports its identification as a primary chemical sediment with significant detrital input. Major and trace element concentrations, REE + Y systematics, and εNd (t) values indicate that iron was sourced from mixed seawater and hydrothermal fluids. Iron isotopic values (δ56 Fe = -0.04‰-1.43‰) are indicative of partial oxidation of an Fe(II) reservoir. We infer that the Jiapigou NIF was deposited in a redox stratified water column, where hydrothermally sourced Fe(II)-rich fluids underwent oxidation under suboxic conditions. Lastly, the Jiapigou NIF has strong phosphorous enrichments, which in other iron formations are typically interpreted as signals for high marine phosphate concentrations. This suggests that oceanic phosphorus concentrations could have been enriched throughout the Neoproterozoic, as opposed to simply during glacial intervals.

A synthetic water-heat-vegetation biodiversity nexus approach to assess coastal vulnerability in eastern China.

Climate change pressure and biodiversity degradation in coastal regions have caused an increase in urban vulnerability. Current coastal vulnerability studies fail to consider the interactions among the perturbations. Increases in such interactions contribute to the indeterminate changes in the ecosystem productivity and impact on human well-being. Therefore, by integrating water, heat, and vegetation biodiversity (WHB) indicators using catastrophe theory in the study, the interaction among subsystems was explored to expound on the multi-effect of the urban. The results showed that (1) the overall vulnerability of China's coastal cities has increased, and high-value areas were mainly distributed in the three southern provinces; (2) the spatial-temporal pattern of vulnerability was highly heterogeneous. As low-low clusters, Shanghai and its surrounding cities exhibited spatial aggregation characteristics; (3) social, physical and financial capitals were the first three main adaptive capacity factors. The distance-based linear model (DistLM) evidenced that per capita GDP, and road density explained about 30 % and 10 % of the difference in vulnerability variation. The proposed framework could help decision-makers detect how vulnerable coastal areas exposed to WHB impacts are, with crucial implications for future sustainable management.

Environmental Health and Ecological Risk Assessment of Soil Heavy Metal Pollution in the Coastal Cities of Estuarine Bay-A Case Study of Hangzhou Bay, China.

Shanghai is the major city on the north shore of Hangzhou Bay, and the administrative regions adjacent to Hangzhou Bay are the Jinshan district, Fengxian district, and Pudong new area (Nanhui district), which are the main intersection areas of manufacturing, transportation, and agriculture in Shanghai. In this paper, we collected a total of 75 topsoil samples from six different functional areas (agricultural areas (19), roadside areas (10), industrial areas (19), residential areas (14), education areas (6), and woodland areas (7)) in these three administrative regions, and the presence of 10 heavy metals (manganese(Mn), zinc(Zn), chromium(Cr), nickel(Ni), lead(Pb), cobalt(Co), cadmium(Cd), mercury(Hg), copper(Cu), and arsenic(As)) was investigated in each sample. The Nemerow pollution index (NPI), pollution load index (PLI), and potential ecological risk index (PERI) were calculated to assess the soil pollution levels. The hazard quotient (HQ) and carcinogenic risk (CR) assessment models were used to assess the human health risks posed by the concentrations of the heavy metals. The CR and HQ for adults and children in different functional areas descended in the following order: industrial areas > roadside areas > woodland areas > residential areas > education areas > agricultural areas. The HQ of Mn for children in industrial areas was higher than 1, and the risk was within the acceptable range.

Transcriptome analysis of the effect of bisphenol A exposure on the growth, photosynthetic activity and risk of microcystin-LR release by Microcystis aeruginosa.

Bisphenol A (BPA), one of the most abundant endocrine-disrupting compounds, is frequently detected in diverse aquatic environments, which imposes a substantial burden on the aquatic ecosystem. However, the correlation between BPA levels and the outbreak of a cyanobacterial bloom remains largely unknown. In this study, the cellular and transcriptomic responses to BPA exposure were investigated. Exposure to a high concentration of BPA (50 µM) significantly inhibited the growth of cyanobacterial cells, with the highest inhibition ratio of 51.3%, photosynthesis, and the release of extracellular microcystin-LR (MC-LR) (p < 0.05). However, exposure to low concentrations of BPA (0.1 and 1 µM) also affected these indicators, but the differences were closely related to the growth phase of the cyanobacterial cells. In addition, an imbalance between the antioxidant system and oxidative stress was observed in cyanobacteria under BPA stress. Folate biosynthesis, ABC transporters and ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis were the central metabolic pathways triggered by BPA stress. The up-regulated genes, including queC, VTE3 and PsbO were the controller of cellular growth and photosynthesis. The down-regulated genes, including VET4, MlaE and DnaA were potential biomarkers of oxidative damage. The up- and down-regulated genes, including CA, Ppc and CyoE were the main regulators of energy generation. The findings will provide important insights into the role of endocrine disruptors in the frequent outbreak of cyanobacterial blooms.

Quantitative measurement of carbon isotopic composition in CO2 gas reservoir by Micro-Laser Raman spectroscopy.

The use of Micro-Laser Raman spectroscopy technology for quantitatively determining gas carbon isotope composition is presented. In this study, 12CO2 and 13CO2 were mixed with N2 at various molar fraction ratios to obtain Raman quantification factors (F12CO2 and F13CO2), which provide a theoretical basis for calculating the δ13C value. And the corresponding values were 0.523 (0

Comparative analysis of essential oils from eight herbal medicines with pungent flavor and cool nature by GC-MS and chemometric resolution methods.

Systematic comparative research was conducted on essential oils from eight traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) of pungent flavor and cool nature because the essential oils are the main active ingredients of herbs of this kind. The work was based on their component analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), on their retention indices, as well as on chemometric resolution methods. A total of 144 compounds were tentatively identified, accounting for 69.0% to 91.8% of the total essential oils. It is worth noting that there are 67 compounds in at least three of these eight essential oils. Moreover, many biologically active compounds, such as hexanal, alpha-pinene, camphene, beta-pinene, p-cymene, limonene, eucalyptol, (Z)-ocimene, gamma-terpinene, camphor, p-menthone, 4-terpineol, alpha-terpineol, carvone, eugenol, caryophyllene, beta-farnesene, alpha-curcumene, beta-selinene, delta-cadinene, caryophyllene oxide, cedrol, n-hexadecanoic acid, benzaldehyde, benzeneacetaldehyde, phthalic acid diisobutyl ester, linoleic acid, tetradecanoic acid, (Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid, eucalyptol, pentadecanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid methyl ester, linoleic acid methyl ester, exist in at least four of the eight essential oils. These results might help us to understand why the eight herbs are all of pungent flavor and cool nature according to the theory of TCM, and may provide a useful chemical basis for future research on herbs of this kind.

Removal of triazophos pesticide from wastewater with Fenton reagent.

The catalytic oxidation of triazophos pesticide from wastewater using Fenton reagent was investigated at bench-scale in this study. Synthesized wastewater and actual industrial triazophos pesticide wastewater taken from a pesticide company were examined sequentially. The COD values of the synthesized and actual industrial triazophos pesticide wastewater samples were 3242 and 3418 mg/L, respectively, and the triazophos concentration in these wastewater samples was 0.06% by weight. The effects of reaction conditions including the dosages of FeSO(4).7H(2)O and H(2)O(2), the pH value of the environment, and the stirring time on COD removal from the synthesized wastewater were evaluated, and COD removal efficiency of 96.3% with a corresponding effluent COD value of 120 mg/L was achieved under optimal reaction conditions of a pH value of 4, a dosage of 2.5 g/L of FeSO(4).7H(2)O and 100 mL/L of 30% H(2)O(2) solution, and a stirring time of 90 min. Results also showed that 71.2% of nitrogen and 68.5% of phosphorous in the synthesized triazophos wastewater were converted to NO(3)(-) and PO(4)(3-), respectively, at the optimal reaction condition. When the actual industrial wastewater was treated at a pH value of 4, COD removal efficiency of 85.4% with a corresponding effluent COD value of 499 mg/L were reached at optimal condition of a dosage of 5.0 g/L of FeSO(4).7H(2)O and 75 mL/L of 30% H(2)O(2) solution, and a stirring time of 90 min. The results of this study can be referred for the design of a treatment process for the actual industrial triazophos wastewater.