大气汞源解析受体模型研究进展

大气汞循环演化对全球汞的生物地球化学循环起着极其重要的作用。人为活动(化石燃料燃烧、水泥生产、氯碱制造以及金属冶炼与加工等)已成为大气汞的重要来源。在一定条件下,大气中的汞会发生干湿沉降而对某一局部环境——受体产生很大的影响。大气汞沉降在城市和工业区呈现出很强的空间梯度现象,排放源附近的汞沉降量明显较强。利用对受体的研究开展大气汞的源解析工作,是大气汞研究的一个重要领域。本文综述了污染物源解析的受体模型的研究及应用,介绍了化学质量平衡法、因子分析法、正交矩阵因子分解法、多元线性回归法等方法,概括了源解析在大气汞方面的应用成果,对我国区域大气汞源解析受体模型的建立及应用进行了探讨。     

大气和土壤对蔬菜汞的贡献

通过田间观测和盆栽试验 ,研究了蔬菜富集Hg的特性及土壤、大气对蔬菜Hg的贡献 .对田间 11种蔬菜的研究发现 ,蔬菜根和叶的含Hg浓度高于茎和果 ;在自然条件下 ,蔬菜所吸收的Hg 6 0 %以上分布于地上部的可食部分 .盆栽试验结果表明 ,在气Hg浓度为 5 7 6± 14 7ng·m-3 条件下 ,红萝卜、莴苣叶 (可食部分 )的含Hg浓度超过了食品卫生标准 ;气Hg、土壤Hg对蔬菜Hg的贡献率分别为 70 4 %～ 90 7%和9 3%～ 2 9 6 % ,气Hg较土壤Hg是蔬菜更为重要的Hg源     

酸沉降地区大气汞对土壤-植物系统汞累积影响的调查研究

按酸沉降危害程度的差异及不同功能区,进行了大气、植物、土壤汞的同步调查采样分析。结果表明,大气汞对土壤－植物系统汞累积的影响非常明显,土壤、植物含汞量均随大气汞浓度的升高而升高,土壤－植物系统汞累积与大气汞浓度有显著的相关（相关系数分别为ｒ植＝０．８８２＊＊,ｎ＝５３;ｒ土＝０．７４１＊＊,ｎ＝５２）。调查还发现,当大气汞浓度大于３０ｎｇ／ｍ３时,土壤－植物系统汞累积较为明显,因此把３０ｎｇ（Ｈｇ）／ｍ３作为本地区大气汞对土壤－植物系统造成二次污染的临界浓度     

贵阳市大气降水中汞的分布特征

于2008年7-9月对贵阳市中心城区采集的21个大气降水进行了总汞、甲基汞及阴、阳离子浓度的测定,分析了大气降水中总汞与阴阳离子间的相互关系.结果表明:大气降水中总汞的平均含量为18 ng·L-1,变化范围为0.4～57.4 ng·L-1;甲基汞的平均含量为0.07 ng·L-1,变化范围为0.02～0.2 ng·L-1.大气降水中的阴离子以SO2-4和NO-3为主,其浓度平均值分别为151和145 mol·L-1;阳离子主要以Ca2+为主,平均浓度达到了123 mol·L-1,变化范围为3.7～560 mol·L-1,其次是NH4+和Mg2+,其浓度平均值分别为52.2和20.4 mol·L-1.通过分析降水中总汞和阴阳离子之间的相互关系,发现总汞和阴离子SO2-4具有显著的相关性,与F-有一定的相关性,而与NO-3不具有相关性.由此初步判定,大气降水中的总汞主要来源于燃煤等人为释放源.     

汞矿山环境汞污染研究进展

汞矿山开采对周边环境的汞污染一直受到关注,尽管全球多数汞矿山已经相继停产、闭坑,但这些废弃的汞矿山仍然通过采矿所遗留的尾矿等固体废弃物、坑道废水和污染的土壤等对当地的环境和居民健康产生着持续的影响和危害.本文总结了环境样品中各形态汞的分析方法,评述了全球范围内汞矿的分布以及汞矿山开采和冶炼过程所造成的环境影响,提出了对于污染治理和风险评价的展望.     

极地雪衣藻的研究进展

综述了富含类胡萝卜素(虾青素)的极地雪衣藻(Chlamydomonas nivalis)研究的最新进展,并对其研究前景作了分析。     

极地和深海环境中低温噬菌体研究进展

极地和深海是地球上较为独特的生态系统,生活在其中的生物由于长期处于低温、寡营养和黑暗封闭的环境中,大多缺乏基本的光合作用,而被认为是研究生命进化和地球环境演化等问题的＂活化石＂。在这样的极端环境中,低温噬菌体的丰度却很高,越来越多的证据表明它们在维持这类环境的生态平衡和调控生物地球化学循环等方面扮演着非常重要的角色。对极地与深海中低温噬菌体的研究进行简要综述。     

高山和极地植物功能生态学研究进展

由于环境条件恶劣,所以高山地区（特别是树木分布线以上区域）和极地地区通常被认为是陆地上最为极端的生境之一,但是高山和极地区域却也拥有众多极具价值的生物资源。因此自1896年以来,作为生物进化研究中的热点和难点。高山和极地植物对生境的适应机制和策略一直倍受研究者们的关注。本文以植物生态学、植物生理学、气象学等学科资料,分析了高山和北极植物的特有生活型,并认为它是一种主要的适应机制。通过对全球主要高山和极地植物生长地的局部气候特点的分析,作者肯定了植物的特化适应现象与极端环境各因素间存在的密切关系。     

青藏高原东南缘贡嘎山地区大气总汞时间序列分析及其影响因子

使用Tekran 2537A大气汞自动分析仪对中国科学院贡嘎山高山生态系统观测试验站磨西基地站(102°72′E29°92′N)进行了为期1a的大气总汞(TGM)高时间分辨率观测。研究区域的平均TGM浓度为(4±1.38)ng m-3(N=57310),高于全球大气总汞背景值1.5~2.0ng m-3。不同季节表现出相似的日变化模式,即白天相对夜晚具有较高的TGM浓度,最大TGM浓度出现在中午,最小值出现在日出前,春季和夏季日变化高峰值出现时间比秋季和冬季早1~2h。以冬季TGM浓度最高,为(6.13±1.78)ng m-3;夏季最低,为(3.17±0.67)ng m-3。观测期间不同风向间TGM浓度无显著差异。相关分析表明,TGM浓度与温度、饱和水汽压、降水量、紫外辐射、大气压有显著相关性,这种相关性随季节而变化。贡嘎山地区大气汞浓度主要受局地源的影响和调节。     

贵阳市大气气态总汞:Lumex RA-915AM与Tekran2537A的对比观测水

2010年5月12日-2010年6月19日,采用俄罗斯生产的Lumex RA-915AM和加拿大生产的Tekran 2537A对贵阳市城区的大气气态总汞进行了连续高时间分辨率的观测.结果表明:尽管2种仪器采用的方法原理不同,但其测量结果在总体含量分布、变化规律上均具有很好的一致性,说明二者均能准确测定大气气态总汞含量.贵阳市大气气态总汞含量显著高于全球背景区浓度,同时也高于欧美同类型地区的观测结果.污染源识别表明,贵阳市居民生活活动的面源汞释放是影响该地区大气气态总汞分布的一个重要因素;此外,位于贵阳市东部的大型工矿企业也是该地区大气汞的重要来源.     

Mercury (micro)biogeochemistry in polar environments

The contamination of polar regions with mercury that is transported as inorganic mercury from lower latitudes has resulted in the accumulation of methylmercury in the food chain of polar environments, risking the health of humans and wildlife. This problem is likely to be particularly severe in coastal marine environments where active cycling occurs. Little is currently known about how mercury is methylated in polar environments. Relating observations on mercury deposition and transport through polar regions to knowledge of the microbiology of cold environments and considering the principles of mercury transformations as have been elucidated in temperate aquatic environments, we propose that in polar regions (1) variable pathways for mercury methylation may exist, (2) mercury bioavailability to microbial transformations may be enhanced, and (3) microbial niches within sea ice are sites where active microorganisms are localized in proximity to high concentrations of mercury. Thus, microbial transformations, and consequently mercury biogeochemistry, in the Arctic and Antarctic are both unique and common to these processes in lower latitudes, and understanding their dynamics is needed for the management of mercury-contaminated polar environments.     

Jurassic reef events in the Moroccan Atlas: A review

In the Moroccan Atlas, sedimentary deposits provide important data on reef events that characterize the Jurassic period. Recent work allows us to enhance knowledge of the Jurassic reefs in the Atlas, in particular their age, character and palaeogeographic distribution. Numerous localities with sponge-microbial mud mounds, coral reefs, and lithiotid bioherms are recorded from the Middle and High Atlas regions. These different biogenic constructions occupy different palaeogeographic settings: on the top of tilted blocks within the basin center; in slightly deeper positions, at the basin platform junction; and on adjacent platforms in the middle of the coastal area. The main episodes of reef building span nearly 30 million years, as follows: (1) Sinemurian, (2) early Pliensbachian, (3) late Toarcian, (4) Aalenian–early Bajocian (pars), and (5) late Bajocian. These five distinct reef events can be linked with general fluctuations of sea level and tectonism, and have palaeoclimatic implications.     

Bipolar distributions in vascular plants: A review

Bipolar disjunct distributions are a fascinating biogeographic pattern exhibited by about 30 vascular plants, whose populations reach very high latitudes in the northern and southern hemispheres. In this review, we first propose a new framework for the definition of bipolar disjunctions and then reformulate a list of guiding principles to consider how to study bipolar species. Vicariance and convergent evolution hypotheses have been argued to explain the origin of this fragmented distribution pattern, but we show here that they can be rejected for all bipolar species, except for Carex microglochin. Instead, human introduction and dispersal (either direct or by mountain‐hopping)—facilitated by standard and nonstandard vectors—are the most likely explanations for the origin of bipolar plant disjunctions. Successful establishment after dispersal is key for colonization of the disjunct areas and appear to be related to both intrinsic (e.g., self‐compatibility) and extrinsic (mutualistic and antagonistic interactions) characteristics. Most studies on plant bipolar disjunctions have been conducted in Carex (Cyperaceae), the genus of vascular plants with the largest number of bipolar species. We found a predominant north‐to‐south direction of dispersal, with an estimated time of diversification in agreement with major cooling events during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Bipolar Carex species do not seem to depend on specialized traits for long‐distance dispersal and could have dispersed through one or multiple stochastic events, with birds as the most likely dispersal vector.     

Ascorbate promotes the cellular accumulation of doxorubicin and reverses the multidrug resistance in breast cancer cells by inducing ROS-dependent ATP depletion

Chemotherapy is the most effective strategy for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. However, P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated multidrug resistance severely limits the efficacy of chemotherapy and is a major cause of the failure during chemotherapeutic treatment. In this study, we investigated the anticancer effects of combining chemotherapeutic drugs with ascorbate (AA) in human breast cancer cells. We found that combined administration of AA can improve the sensitivity of both MCF-7 and doxorubicin (Dox)-resistant MCF-7/Adr cells to Dox in vitro and in vivo by a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent mechanism. Further studies proved that AA can promote the accumulation of Dox in MCF-7/Adr cells when combined with doxorubicin. AA had no effect on the expression of P-gp at the mRNA and protein levels, but could decrease its activity as demonstrated by an obvious inhibition of efflux of P-gp substrate Rh 123. AA reduced ATP levels in both MCF-7 and MCF-7/Adr cells, and pretreating AA-stimulating cells with catalase completely rescued ATP levels. With ATP reduction, we observed an increased cellular calcium and the appearance of vacuoles and micropores on the cell surface, indicating the increased cell membrane permeability in AA-treated MCF-7/Adr cells. The above results suggest that AA could promote the cellular accumulation of doxorubicin by inducing ROS-dependent ATP depletion. Clinically, a combination of AA with doxorubicin would be a novel strategy for reversal of the multidrug resistance in human breast cancer cells during chemotherapy.     

The relationship between mercury and autism: A comprehensive review and discussion

The brain pathology in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) indicates marked and ongoing inflammatory reactivity with concomitant neuronal damage. These findings are suggestive of neuronal insult as a result of external factors, rather than some type of developmental mishap. Various xenobiotics have been suggested as possible causes of this pathology. In a recent review, the top ten environmental compounds suspected of causing autism and learning disabilities were listed and they included: lead, methyl-mercury, polychorinated biphenyls, organophosphate pesticides, organochlorine pesticides, endocrine disruptors, automotive exhaust, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and perfluorinated compounds. This current review, however, will focus specifically on mercury exposure and ASD by conducting a comprehensive literature search of original studies in humans that examine the potential relationship between mercury and ASD, categorizing, summarizing, and discussing the published research that addresses this topic. This review found 91 studies that examine the potential relationship between mercury and ASD from 1999 to February 2016. Of these studies, the vast majority (74%) suggest that mercury is a risk factor for ASD, revealing both direct and indirect effects. The preponderance of the evidence indicates that mercury exposure is causal and/or contributory in ASD.     

Docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-3): A review of its biological effects

This article summarizes the current knowledge available on metabolism and the biological effects of n-3 docosapentaenoic acid (DPA). n-3 DPA has not been extensively studied because of the limited availability of the pure compound. n-3 DPA is an elongated metabolite of EPA and is an intermediary product between EPA and DHA. The literature on n-3 DPA is limited, however the available data suggests it has beneficial health effects. In vitro n-3 DPA is retro-converted back to EPA, however it does not appear to be readily metabolised to DHA. In vivo studies have shown limited conversion of n-3 DPA to DHA, mainly in liver, but in addition retro-conversion to EPA is evident in a number of tissues. n-3 DPA can be metabolised by lipoxygenase, in platelets, to form ll-hydroxy-7,9,13,16,19- and 14-hydroxy-7,10,12,16,19-DPA. It has also been reported that n-3 DPA is effective (more so than EPA and DHA) in inhibition of aggregation in platelets obtained from rabbit blood. In addition, there is evidence that n-3 DPA possesses 10-fold greater endothelial cell migration ability than EPA, which is important in wound-healing processes. An in vivo study has reported that n-3 DPA reduces the fatty acid synthase and malic enzyme activity levels in n-3 DPA-supplemented mice and these effects were stronger than the EPA-supplemented mice. Another recent in vivo study has reported that n-3 DPA may have a role in attenuating age-related decrease in spatial learning and long-term potentiation. However, more research remains to be done to further investigate the biological effects of this n-3 VLCPUFA.     

Methyl mercury uptake and associations with the induction of chromosomal aberrations in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells

In order to evaluate possible health effects of environmental exposure of humans towards methyl mercury species, relevant exposure experiments using methyl mercury chloride in aqueous solution and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were performed. The solution was monitored for the presence of monomethyl, dimethyl and elemental mercury by several analytical techniques including chromatographic as well as atomic absorption and mass spectrometric methods. Methyl mercury induces structural chromosomal aberrations (CA) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) in CHO cells. At a concentration of methyl mercury in the culture medium of 1.0 x 10(-6) M where the frequencies of CA and SCE are significantly elevated, the intracellular concentration was 1.99 x 10(-16) mol/cell. Possible biochemical processes leading to the cytogenetic effects are discussed together with toxicological consequences, when humans (e.g. workers at waste deposits) are exposed to environmental concentrations of methyl mercury.     

Physical and genetic map of the organomercury resistance (Omr) and inorganic mercury resistance (Hgr) loci of the IncM plasmid R831b

Tn7 insertion mutagenesis has been used to facilitate the generation of a physical (restriction endonuclease) and genetic map of the IncM plasmid, R831b. The only selectable phenotypes carried by this 90-kb conjugative plasmid are resistances to inorganic mercury [Hg(II)] and to organomercury compounds. Mutants in the Hgr locus of R831b complemented previously described mutants in the mer operon of the IncFII plasmid R100, indicating functional homology of the locus in each of these different plasmids. However, the R831b Hgr locus is not notably similar in restriction site pattern to either the mer operon of R100 or the mercury resistance transposon, Tn501. Although the enzymes they encode are co-ordinately regulated, the Omr locus of R831b maps approx. 13.5 kb away from the Hgr locus. Three insertions which affect neither phenotype lie between the Hgr and Omr loci; thus, the loci are separated both physically and genetically. One mutant was obtained which tentatively identifies the position of the Tra locus of R831b as adjacent to the Hgr locus.