[Adsorption of Pb2+ and Cd2+ from Aqueous Solution Using Vermicompost Derived from Cow Manure and Its Biochar].

Using vermicompost (CV) as raw material, its biochar (CVC350) was prepared at 350℃ and then their physio-biochemical properties were characterized. Furthermore, adsorption studies were performed in a batch system for removing Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions from solution. The characterization results revealed much higher surface area, smaller pore size, greater aromaticity and nonpolarity of CVC350 as compared to CV. Batch adsorption experiments revealed that both the adsorption of Pb2+ and Cd2+ onto CV or CVC350 fitted Langmuir isotherm model very well, and the maximum adsorption capacity of Pb2+ was in the order of CVC350>CV, but no difference was observed for the adsorption capacity of Cd2+ between CV and CVC350. The desorption studies showed that both CV and CVC350 had much higher adsorption rate for Pb2+ than that for Cd2+, and the Cd2+ adsorbed could be more easily desorbed from CV and CVC350 compared with that for the Pb2+ adsorbed. Both the dynamic adsorption process of Pb2+ onto CV and CVC350 was a rapid process, however, the adsorption process of Cd2+ onto CV and CVC350 could be separated into the first rapid step and the second slower step. The adsorption capacity of Pb2+ or Cd2+ onto CV and CVC350 was only affected by the much lower initial pH of the solution, besides, the adsorption capacity of Cd2+ onto CV and CVC350 was relatively more influenced by the initial pH compared with that of Pb2+. Moreover, FTIR analysis showed that the adsorption of Pb2+ and Cd2+on CV depended on the active sites such as aliphatic alcohol, aliphatic acid,carbonates as well as phosphate while that on CVC350 mainly relied on aromatic alcohol, aromatic acid and carbonates.

[Promotion effects of vitamin B12 on the degradation of 2, 4, 4'-trichlorobiphenyl by Nostoc PD-2].

Polychlorinated biphenyls are typical persistent chlorinated organic compounds in the environment. Bioremediation of PCB-contaminated environment has become one of the hot issues. In this study, vitamin B12 (VB12) and chlorine-free culture medium were applied to study the effects of VB12 on the degradation of 2,4,4'-trichlorobiphenyl (PCB28) by Nostoc PD-2 and the gene expression during the PCB-degradation process. Results showed that addition of different concentrations of vitamin B12 could improve the PCB-biodegradation rates by Nostoc PD-2. Compared with the control group, the 7-day degradation rate in 10 microg x L(-1), 100 microg x L(-1), and 1 000 microg x L(-1) VB12-treated groups increased by 11.0%, 19.7%, and 21.9% , respectively. The degradation half-time decreased from 5.53 days (treated with 10 microg x L(-1) VB12) to 3.08 days (treated with 100 microg x L(-1) VB12). The expression of cytochrome b6f complex iron-sulfur protein gene and dioxygenase gene showed significant correlation with PCB28-degradation by Nostoc PD-2. While the expression of iron-sulfur protein gene showed more significant correlation with PCB28-degradation. Results in this study indicated that adding VB12 could promote PCB28-degradation by Nostoc PD-2. Moreover, VB12 addition improved the PCB-degradation activity of Nostoc PD-2 at the gene level. The above conclusions could provide a new choice for developing efficient bioremediation technology for PCB-contaminated environment and a new insight into the PCB-biodegradation mechanism by Nostoc PD-2.

[Joint effects of apoptosis induced by microcystins and bacterial lipopolysaccharides on grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) lymphocytes].

In this study, grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) lymphocytes were used as the vitro test object to demonstrate the joint effects of microcystins (MC-LR) and bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) on fish immune system. The results showed that MC-LR and LPS in the single and combined exposure groups could both induce grass carp lymphocytes apoptosis with typical ladder-like DNA electrophoresis characteristics. However, comparing the apoptosis rate of the combined and single exposure groups, it was suggested that bacterial LPS could cooperate with MC-LR causing a higher rate of fish lymphocytes apoptosis (2.1 and 3.3-fold of that for the single exposure group I (MC-LR) and II (LPS), respectively), and there existed a significant dose-response relationship. The MC-LR cooperating with bacterial LPS decreased the activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST), increased the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), resulted in DNA damage and cell arrest in G0 phase, which inhibited cell proliferation and accelerated apoptosis. It was proved that MC-LR exacerbated fish immunotoxicity by collaborating with LPS, which had a serious adverse effect on aquaculture industry.

[Toxic effect of nodularin on the apoptosis of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) lymphocytes and related mechanisms].

Nodularin is a new kind of cyanobacterial toxins found in water blooms worldwide, and fish is very easily to suffer from the negative effects induced by this toxin. This study found that nodularin could induce the apoptosis of Ctenopharyngodon idellus lymphocytes in vitro. The observation of transmission electron microscopy showed that under the impacts of nodularin, the lymphocytes presented typical apoptosis features, such as obvious cytoplasm condensation and nuclear chromatin agglutination and marginalization. The DNA ladder fragmentation further confirmed the occurrence of the apoptosis of the lymphocytes. After incubated with 1, 10, and 100 microg x L(-1) of nodularin for 12 h, the percentages of apoptotic lymphocytes reached 19.4%, 31.6%, and 71.6%, respectively, suggesting a dose-dependent manner. The nodularin-induced apoptosis was related to the increase of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), decline of mitochondrial transmembrane electric potential, up-regulation of intracellular Ca2+, down-regulation of Bcl-2, and up-regulation of Bax. Meanwhile, the activation of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 were involved in the process of apoptosis. These results strongly indicated that nodularin could induce the apoptosis of fish lymphocytes via mitochondria pathway.

Comparison of anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities of Curcuma wenyujin Y.H. Chen et C. Ling and Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi.

The study aimed to compare the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities of Curcuma wenyujin Y.H. Chen et C. Ling (Curcuma wenyujin) and Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Scutellaria baicalensis). This study used three parts to compare the two herbs. Firstly, animals were randomly divided into a Scutellaria baicalensis group, a Curcuma wenyujin group, an indomethacin group, and a model-control group to perform an ear edema test, a carrageenin-induced paw edema test, a cotton pellet-induced granuloma formation test, and an acetic acid-induced writhing test. Secondly, model rats with pelvic inflammation were established, and the serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in each group was detected with the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Thirdly, pharmacokinetics analysis of Scutellaria baicalensis and Curcuma wenyujin was conducted on the model rats. The ear edema test, carrageenin-induced paw edema test, cotton pellet-induced granuloma formation test, and acetic acid-induced writhing test all showed that Curcuma wenyujin had stronger anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects than Scutellaria baicalensis. There is significant difference between the effects of Curcuma wenyujin and Scutellaria baicalensis on the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 for the model rats. Curcuma wenyujin decreased the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 more than Scutellaria baicalensis. The pharmacokinetics analysis showed that curcumol's Tmax, Cmax, and the area under the curve (AUC) were all higher than baicalin's. This study indicated that for pelvic inflammation, Curcuma wenyujin had better anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects than Scutellaria baicalensis.

[Apoptosis of grass carp (Ctenopharngodon idellus) lymphocytes induced by the combination of microcystins and disinfection by-products in drinking water].

Aiming at the combined pollution of low dose microcystins (MCs) and disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in drinking water, the individual and combined cytotoxic effects of two MCs (MCLR and MCRR) and two DBP compounds (CHClBr1 and CHCl2Br) on the apoptosis of isolated grass carp (Ctenopharngodon idellus) lymphocytes were examined by using in vitro bioassays. The results showed that after 2 hours exposure to the four pollutants within the range of test concentrations, the apoptosis of isolated lymphocyte occurred, and there existed significant dose-effect relationship. The combined cytotoxic effects of 1 nmol x L(-1) MCLR or MCRR and 1-100 nmol x L(-1) CHClr2 or CHCl2Br were all of additive, and the apoptosis percent was highly correlated with the exposure dose. It was suggested that the apoptosis percent of grass carp lymphocytes could be used as an effective indicator to evaluate the cytotoxicity caused by the combined pollution of MCs and DBPs.

Evaluation of organ distribution of microcystins in the freshwater phytoplanktivorous fish Hypophthalmichthys molitrix.

To evaluate the public health risk of exposure to microcystins in fish food in China, the distribution pattern of microcystin-LR and microcystin-RR in various organs (liver, intestine, kidney, muscle and lipid) of the dominant freshwater phytoplanktivorous fish Hypophthalmichthys molitrix in Hangzhou, China's Tiesha River was investigated with the method of HPLC-ESI-MS analysis. The distribution of microcystins was different in the fish organs and the major total microcystins (microcystin-LR and microcystin-RR) were present in the intestines (6.49 micro g/g fresh weight), followed by the livers (4.52 micro g/g fresh weight) and the muscles (2.86 micro g/g fresh weight). Microcystins were detected in kidneys (1.35 micro g/g fresh weight), but not detected in lipid. The results suggested that the mean daily intake from fish was 0.03 micro g/kg body weight which was very close to the recommended WHO tolerable daily intake (TDI) level of 0.04 micro g/kg body weight per day, and local people were warned they may have health risk if they consumed fish from the river.

[Research on microcystins in freshwaters with relation to environmental factors].

This research investigated the concentrations of microcystins and environmental factors in three freshwaters of Zhejiang such as Taihu Lake (Huzhou section), Tiesha River and a blooming lagoon. The relativities between microcystins and environmental factors were studied by the methods of correlation analysis, principal components analysis, cluster analysis and stepwise multiple linear regression. The results show that the concentrations of MCLR and MCRR range from 0.049 microg/L. to 12.30 microg/L and from 0.032 microg/L to 7.90 microg/L, respectively, and the concentrations of microcystins at the bottom of the waters are higher than the aquatic surface. Significant positive relationships (p < 0.01) were observed between MCLR and TN, NH4+ -N, NO21- -N and TP, and also between MCRR and NO3- -N, N:P ratio; Significant negative relationships (p < 0.01) were observed between MCLR and water temperature, DO and N: P ratio (p < 0.01), and between MCRR and pH, DOC, permanganate index and optical density. Our research indicated TP and NO2- -N possibly be the main factors for the biosynthesis of MCLR, while NO3- -N and N:P ratio would be important for MCRR. NO2- -N and NO3- -N are possible the mainnitrogen resources for the biosynthesis of MCLR and MCRR, respectively.