The Waigang River, a major tributary of the Qinhuai River system, has suffered from long-standing pollution because of lack of management. Restoration was commenced in April 2006 to reduce pollutants and improve water quality. Four ecological areas and ten surface carriers were constructed for the culture of plants (mainly water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)) for phytoremediation. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus, total nitrogen (TN), ammonia–nitrogen (NH3–N), water transparency, and variations in phytoplankton population were investigated to evaluate the effects of restoration. Over 36 months, TSS, COD, TN, and NH3–N levels decreased by 91.1, 55.3, 91.5, and 86.5 %, respectively. Transparency increased from 25 cm in 2006 to 165 cm in 2009. Improvements in water quality significantly enhanced the diversity of phytoplankton, which were harmed by pollution stress. Our results show that the water hyacinth and ryegrass cultured in the ecological areas and the surface carriers can be used to restore other heavily polluted rivers with conditions similar to those of the Waigang River, especially in the initial stages of restoration.

Carbonic anhydrase II (CA II) can catalyze the reversible hydration reaction of CO2 at a maximum of 1.4 × 106 molecules of CO2 per second. The crude intracellular enzyme extract containing CA II was derived from Chlorella vulgaris. A successful CO2 capture experiment with the presence of calcium had been conducted on the premise that the temperature was conditioned at a scope of 30–40 °C, that the biocatalyst-nurtured algal growth period lasted 3 days, and that pH ranged from7.5 to 8.5. Ions of K+, Na+, Ca2+, Co2+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Mg2+, Mn2+, and Zn2+ at 0.01, 0.1, and 0.5 M were found to exhibit no more than 30 % inhibition on the residual activity of the biocatalyst. It is reasonable to expect that calcification catalyzed by microalgae presents an alternative to geological carbon capture and sequestration through a chain of fundamental researches carried on under the guidance of sequestration technology.

PURPOSE: The aim of this work was to assess the levels of copper and zinc in fish from the main freshwater ecosystems of Moldova, in relation with species, habitat, age, sex, season, and development stage. METHODS: Fish from Cyprinidae and Percidae families (Cyprinus carpio, Carassius auratus gibelio, Rutilus rutilus heckeli, Abramis brama, Aristichthys nobilis, Hypophtalmichthys molitrix, Sander lucioperca) were collected from Prut and Dniester rivers, Cuciurgan, Dubasari, and Costesti-Stanca reservoirs, and ponds of farms in the Dniester delta. The Cu and Zn content of fish tissues (skeletal muscles, liver, gonads, gills, skin, and scales) was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer AAS-3, of water by graphite furnace HGA 900 of AAnalist 400. RESULTS: The level of heavy metals accumulation in muscles of immature fish follows their dynamics in water. The highest concentration of zinc was registered in the gonads of mature fish, and of copper—in the liver. The lowest Cu and Zn contents were recorded in the muscles and are in the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization safety-permissible levels for human consumption. Cu and Zn contents in muscles of fish depend on specimen age. Their level in fish gonads was sharply increasing during pre-spawning period. During the early developmental stages, the metal concentration in fish eggs and larvae varies within wide limits, but the accumulation pattern is similar in the investigated species. CONCLUSIONS: The fish represent one of the most indicative factors for the estimation of trace metals pollution in freshwater systems and this is important not only for monitoring purposes, but also for the fish culture ones.

INTRODUCTION: This study relates to use of zerovalent iron to generate hydroxyl free radicals and undergo subsequent oxidation to destroy 4-nonylphenol (NP) by mild process in aqueous solution and activation of oxygen gas (O2) at room temperature. This technology is based on a novel oxidative mechanism mediated by zerovalent iron rather than commonly used reduction mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A laboratory scale device consisting of a 250 ml pyrex serum vials fixed to a Vortex agitator was used. Different amounts of zerovalent iron powder (ZVI; 1, 10, and 30 g/l) at pH 4 and room temperature with bubbling of oxygen gas were investigated. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Experiments showed an observed degradation rate k (obs) directly proportional to the amount of iron. 4-Nonylphenol degradation reactions demonstrated first-order kinetics with a half-life of about 10.5 ± 0.5 and 3.5 ± 0.2 min when experiments were conducted at [ZVI] = 1 and 30 g/l respectively. Three analytical techniques were employed to monitor 4-nonylphenol degradation and mineralization: (1) spectrofluorimetry; (2) high-performance liquid chromatography; (3) total organic carbon meter (TOC meter). Results showed a complete disappearance of 4-nonylphenol after 20 min of contact with ZVI. The intermediate by-products of the reaction were not identified but the disappearance of NP was monitored by the three above-mentioned techniques.

PURPOSE: To investigate the significance of sources around measurement sites, assist the development of control strategies for the important sources and mitigate the adverse effects of air pollution due to particle size. METHODS: In this study, sampling was conducted at two sites located in urban/industrial and residential areas situated at roadsides along the Brisbane Urban Corridor. Ultrafine and fine particle measurements obtained at the two sites in June–July 2002 were analysed by positive matrix factorization. RESULTS: Six sources were present, including local traffic, two traffic sources, biomass burning and two currently unidentified sources. Secondary particles had a significant impact at site 1, while nitrates, peak traffic hours and main roads located close to the source also affected the results for both sites. CONCLUSIONS: This significant traffic corridor exemplifies the type of sources present in heavily trafficked locations and future attempts to control pollution in this type of environment could focus on the sources that were identified.

The air–sea gas exchange of alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (α-HCH) in the Canadian Arctic was estimated using a micrometeorological approach and the commonly used Whitman two-film model. Concurrent shipboard measurements of α-HCH in air at two heights (1 and 15 m) and in surface seawater were conducted during the Circumpolar Flaw Lead study in 2008. Sampling was carried out during eight events in the early summer time when open water was encountered. The micrometeorological technique employed the vertical gradient in air concentration and the wind speed to estimate the flux; results were corrected for atmospheric stability using the Monin–Obukhov stability parameter. The Whitman two-film model used the concentrations of α-HCH in surface seawater, in bulk air at 1 and 15 m above the surface, and the Henry’s law constant adjusted for temperature and salinity to derive the flux. Both approaches showed that the overall net flux of α-HCH was from water to air. Mean fluxes calculated using the micrometeorological technique ranged from −3.5 to 18 ng m−2 day−1 (mean 7.4), compared to 3.5 to 14 ng m−2 day−1 (mean 7.5) using the Whitman two-film model. Flux estimates for individual events agreed in direction and within a factor of two in magnitude for six of eight events. For two events, fluxes estimated by micrometeorology were zero or negative, while fluxes estimated with the two-film model were positive, and the reasons for these discrepancies are unclear. Improvements are needed to shorten air sampling times to ensure that stationarity of meteorological conditions is not compromised over the measurement periods. The micrometeorological technique could be particularly useful to estimate fluxes of organic chemicals over water in situations where no water samples are available.

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: Due to their ecological niche and insectivore nature, lizards are of increased risk of exposure to pesticides in agricultural areas. In addition to their potential direct effects on non-target species, insecticides can also result in indirect impacts on lizard population by reducing their food source. Carbaryl is a common insecticide that is widely used in areas of Turkey that are home to a variety of reptiles. However, to date, little is known about the potential effects of the exposure of reptiles such as lizards or snakes to this pesticide. The aim of the study was to investigate toxic effects of carbaryl on the testes of snake-eyed lizard, Ophisops elegans that is common to regions in Turkey where Carbaryl is applied and that it can be easily cultured in the laboratory. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Adult male lizards were exposed to carbaryl once by oral gavage in concentrations of 2.5, 25 and 250 μg/g. After 96 h, lizards were euthanized and dissected. Histopathological changes were detected by randomly counting 100 tubules in each lizard. Seminiferous tubules were categorized as normal, sloughing and disorganized tubules. Diameters of tubules were also measured. The differences in histopathological changes and tubule diameters were compared for statistical significance by one-way ANOVA, using SPSS 16.0. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Histopathological changes were more prominent in medium- (25 μg/g) and high-dose (250 μg/g) groups than in the low-dose (2.5 μg/g) group. In the medium-dose group, the hexagonal appearance of most tubules disappeared, and they took on an oval shape. Sloughing was the characteristic tubule appearance of the medium group. In the high-dose group, significant increases in the number of disorganized tubules and prominence of haemorrhages was observed. CONCLUSION: Carbaryl caused histopathological defects on the testes of O. elegans, so it is clear that carbaryl affects male fertility in O. elegans.

PURPOSE: Exploratory data analysis (EDA) is applied in this research to study the behavior of radioactive aerosols present in the surface atmosphere of Granada, using 7Be as radiotracer. The reason for this study is to reduce the large number of parameters involved in understanding their behavior, given the complexity of the atmosphere. METHODS: Aerosol particles were collected weekly in Granada (Spain) over a 5-year period. Low-background gamma spectrometry was used to determine concentrations of 7Be-aerosol activity. The variables studied were: 7Be concentration, cosmic ray intensity, temperature, temperature interval, rainfall, relative humidity, and Saharan intrusions. Least significant difference test (LSD), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation have been applied to study the datasets. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The results of our study reveal that aerosol behavior is represented by two principal components which explain 86.23 % of total variance. Components PC1 and PC2 respectively explain 74.61 and 11.62 % of total variance. PC1 explains the cyclical and seasonal pattern of the samples, while PC2 is related to the production of 7Be. In addition, PCA and HCA show good distribution of the samples by families with two groups, summer and winter, at the extremes and spring–autumn in the middle. This result corroborates that there are no differences between spring and autumn in the climate of Granada. CONCLUSIONS: EDA has been found to be quite useful in studying the behavior of radioactive aerosols in the surface atmosphere of a city with the climate and geographical characteristics of Granada.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this work is to contribute to the understanding of the photochemical air pollution analysing the levels and temporal variations of surface ozone in two rural areas situated in central-southern Spain. METHOD: The study is based on ozone hourly data recorded during the overall period between January 2008 and November 2009. The seasonal and daily ozone cycles as well as the number of exceedances of the threshold established in the European Ozone Directive have been calculated and analysed. RESULTS: This study presents the first ozone data registered at these two rural sites in the Iberian Peninsula plateau. Ozone shows a clear seasonal variation with the lowest values in January and November. High ozone concentrations are interrelated with high radiation intensities, temperature and wind directions. The information threshold defined in the European Ozone Directives was exceeded six times, while the limit for protection of human health was exceeded more than 40 times. The limits to protect the vegetation were also exceeded. CONCLUSIONS: Porzuna (near Cabañeros National Park) presents higher ozone levels than Argamasilla during the night-time and during the daytime of the summer months. Ozone levels are lower in Argamasilla probably due to fresh emissions from the close industrial area of Puertollano. The ozone exceedances of the limits defined in the Ozone Directive point out an ozone problem in this rural region.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The biosorption of Basic Violet 5BN (BV) and Basic Green (BG) by waste brewery’s yeast (WBY) from single and binary systems was investigated. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: For the single system, the adsorption of both dyes is pH-dependent and the optimum value is 5.0. At a lower initial concentration, the kinetic data agree well with both pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models, while at a higher initial concentration the data fit better with the pseudo-second-order model. External diffusion is the rate-controlling step at initial fast adsorption, and then the intraparticle diffusion dominated the mass transfer process. Equilibrium data for BV and BG fit better with the Langmuir model. The maximum biosorption capacities of WBY onto BV and BG obtained at 303 K are 114.65 and 141.89 mg/g, respectively. Thermodynamic analysis reveals that the adsorption process for the two dyes is spontaneous and exothermic. CONCLUSIONS: The hydroxyl, amino, amide, carboxyl, and phosphate groups are responsible for the biosorption based on Fourier transform infrared analysis. The presence of BV significantly affects the biosorption of BG, but not vice versa. The P-factor model and Sheindrof–Rebhun–Sheintuch equation gave a good description of the equilibrium adsorption data at the multicomponent system.