Occurrence of methylated arsenic species in parts of plants growing in polluted soils

Arsenic compounds were determined in extracts of branches, leaves and roots from plants growing in a mining contaminated area. The selected species were Dryopteris filix-max, Quercus pubescens, Dipsacus fullonum, Alnus glutinosa, Buxus sempervirens and Brachythecium cf. reflexum. Total arsenic content in the subsamples was analysed by ICPMS after acidic digestion. In general, concentrations in the plant parts followed the gradient roots?>?branches?>?leaves indicating that they are arsenic-resistant plants. Arsenic species were determined in water/methanol (9?+?1, v/v) extracts by HPLC-ICPMS. Different levels of organoarsenicals were found depending on plant part and plant species. Higher percentages of organoarsenic compounds were recorded in branches and leaves (up to 35% in the boxtree sample), than in roots (0.7–5.2% in the same plant species). The absence of organic arsenic species in the soil where the plants were collected and the low levels of organoarsenicals found in the roots, indicate that the studied plants have the ability to accumulate or synthesise organoarsenic compounds in relatively high percentages, and this information contributes to enlarge the knowledge of arsenic uptake and speciation in plants.     

QuEChERS and solid phase extraction methods for the determination of energy crop pesticides in soil,plant and runoff water matrices

QuEChERS and solid phase extraction (SPE) methods were applied for determining four herbicides (metazachlor, oxyfluorfen, quizalofop-p-ethyl, quinmerac) and one insecticide (α(±)-cypermethrin) in runoff water, soil, sunflower and oilseed rape plant matrices. Determination was performed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), whereas high-pressure liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was used for quinmerac. In all substrates linearity was evaluated using matrix-matched calibration samples at five concentration levels (50–1000 ng L^?1 for water, 5–500 μg kg^?1 for soil and 2.5–500 μg kg^?1 for sunflower or oilseed rape plant). Correlation coefficient was higher than 0.992 for all pesticides in all substrates. Acceptable mean recovery values were obtained for all pesticides in water (65.4–108.8%), soil (70.0–110.0%) and plant (66.1–118.6%), with intra- and inter-day RSD% below 20%. LODs were in the range of 0.250–26.6 ng L^?1 for water, 0.10–1.8 μg kg^?1 for soil and 0.15–2.0 μg kg^?1 for plants. The methods can be efficiently applied for field dissipation studies of the pesticides in energy crop cultivations.     

复合软模板法可控制备红毛丹状AlOOH/Al2O3纳米材料

以Al(NO₃)₃为铝源,尿素为均相沉淀剂, 在聚乙二醇400(PEG4000)-DL-天冬氨酸形成的复合软模板体系中, 通过简单的常压回流方式成功合成出形貌和尺寸较为均一的红毛丹状γ-AlOOH纳米结构, 继而考察了反应物和添加剂用量对前驱体形貌和尺寸的影响, 并对γ-AlOOH纳米结构可能的形成机理进行了探讨. 实验结果表明, 所合成的红毛丹状γ-AlOOH具有球中球的核壳结构, 统计得内球直径约为400 nm, 外壳外径约为600 nm, 密集状态的壳层厚度约为15 nm, 毛刺状凸出物长度可达60 nm以上. 前驱体样品经600℃煅烧5 h后即转变为具有良好形貌继承性的γ-Al₂O₃, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) N₂-吸附实验表明其比表面积高达299.97 m²·g^-1.     

固态研磨-燃烧法制CuO-ZnO-ZrO2/HZSM-5二甲醚合成催化剂

以柠檬酸为燃烧剂,采用固态研磨-燃烧法和机械混合法制备了CuO-ZnO-ZrO2/HZSM-5CO2加氢一步合成二甲醚双功能催化剂.采用固定床反应器,在反应温度270℃、压力为3.0 MPa、空速4 200 h-1条件下,考察了催化剂对CO2加氢一步合成二甲醚的反应性能,并采用XRD、BET、H2-TPR、NH3-TPD及XPS对催化剂的结构进行了表征.评价结果表明:随柠檬酸量的增加,二甲醚选择性和收率呈峰形变化趋势;当柠檬酸的量等于化学计量比的100%时,制备的催化剂具有较好的催化性能:CO2单程转化率为24.8%、二甲醚(DME)的选择性和收率分别为35.3%和8.7%.表征结果表明:柠檬酸的量影响催化剂的比表面积、还原性能以及CuO和ZnO的晶粒尺寸等,进而影响催化剂反应性能.     

Ground state solution for differential equations with left and right fractional derivatives

In this work, we study the existence of positive solutions for a class of fractional differential equation given by (1) where . Using the mountain pass theorem and comparison argument, we prove that (1) at least has one nontrivial solution. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Diffusiophoresis in suspensions of highly charged soft particles

Diffusiophoresis phenomenon of aoft particles suspended in binary electrolyte solutions is explored theoretically in this study based on the spherical cell model, focusing on the chemiphoresis component in absence of diffusion potential. Both the electrostatic and hydrodynamic aspects of the boundary confinement, or steric effect, due to the presence of neighboring particles are examined extensively under various electrokinetic conditions. Significant local extrema are found in mobility profiles expressed as functions of the Debye length in general, synchronized with the strength of the motion-inducing double layer polarization. Moreover, a seemingly peculiar phenomenon is observed that the soft particles may move faster in more concentrated suspensions. The competition between the simultaneous enhancement of the motion-inducing electric driving force and the motion-retarding hydrodynamic drag force from the boundary confinement effect of the neighboring particles is found to be responsible for it. The above findings are also demonstrated experimentally in a very recent study on the diffusiophoretic motion of soft particles through porous collagen hydrogels. The results presented here are useful in various practical applications of soft particles like drug delivery.     

基于元素指纹的白术产地溯源及其与土壤的相关性研究

本研究主要采用电感耦合等离子体质谱仪(ICP-MS)等手段测定5个产地白术41种矿质元素含量和土壤41种化学成分指标, 结合聚类分析法、偏最小二乘判别分析(PLS-DA)法和Pearson相关性分析研究了不同产区白术矿质元素特征以及不同产区土壤因子的差异, 并对它们的相关性进行了探讨. 结果表明, 采用无监督的聚类分析和有监督的PLS-DA均能正确判别不同产地的白术和土壤, 其中稀土元素在浙江白术与土壤间呈正相关. 另外, Li、V、Mn、Co、Cu、Rb、Cd、Cs、Ba等微量元素是白术产地溯源的关键因素. 研究发现在白术生产实践中可以通过适量控制种植地的土壤湿度、增施特定肥料等措施调控白术矿质元素含量. 本研究将为解释道地白术的品质形成机制, 保证白术药效质量的有效性提供一定帮助.     

Ornamental Plant Efficiency for Heavy Metals Phytoextraction from Contaminated Soils Amended with Organic Materials

Accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) by ornamental plants (OPs) from contaminated agriculture soils is a unique technique that can efficiently reduce the metal load in the food chain. Amaranthus tricolor L. has attractive characteristics acquiring a higher growth rate and large biomass when grown at heavy metal contaminated soils. Site-specific detailed information is not available on the use of A. tricolor plant in metal phytoremediation from the polluted sites. The study aimed to enhance the uptake of HMs (Pb, Zn, and Cu) via amending poultry litter extract (PLE), vinasse sugarcane (VSC), and humic acid (HA) as natural mobilized organic materials compared to ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), as a common mobilized chemical agent by A. tricolor plant. The studied soils collected from Helwan, El-Gabal El-Asfar (Cairo Governorate), Arab El-Madabeg (Assiut Governorate), Egypt, and study have been conducted under pot condition. Our results revealed all organic materials in all studied soils, except EDTA in EL-Gabal El-Asfar soil, significantly increased the dry weight of the A. tricolor plant compared to the control treatment. The uptake of Pb and Zn significantly (p > 0.05) increased due to applying all organic materials to the studied soils. HA application caused the highest uptake as shown in Pb concentration by more than 5 times in Helwan soil and EDTA by 65% in El-Gabal El-Asfar soil while VSC increased it by 110% in El-Madabeg soil. Also, an increase in Zn concentration due to EDTA application was 58, 42, and 56% for Helwan, El-Gabal El-Asfar, and El-Madabeg soil, respectively. In all studied soils, the application of organic materials increased the remediation factor (RF) than the control. El-Madabeg soil treated with vinasse sugarcane gave the highest RF values; 6.40, 3.26, and 4.02% for Pb, Zn, and Cu, respectively, than the control. Thus, we identified A. tricolor as a successful ornamental candidate that, along with organic mobilization amendments, most efficiently develop soil health, reduce metal toxicity, and recommend remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils. Additionally, long-term application of organic mobilization amendments and continued growth of A. tricolor under field conditions could be recommended for future directions to confirm the results.     

Simple and Equipment-Free Paper-Based Device for Determination of Mercury in Contaminated Soil

This work presents a simple and innovative protocol employing a microfluidic paper-based analytical device (µPAD) for equipment-free determination of mercury. In this method, mercury (II) forms an ionic-association complex of tetraiodomercurate (II) ion (HgI₄²⁻_(aq)) using a known excess amount of iodide. The residual iodide flows by capillary action into a second region of the paper where it is converted to iodine by pre-deposited iodate to liberate I_2(g) under acidic condition. Iodine vapor diffuses across the spacer region of the µPAD to form a purple colored of tri-iodide starch complex in a detection zone located in a separate layer of the µPAD. The digital image of the complex is analyzed using ImageJ software. The method has a linear calibration range of 50–350 mg L⁻¹ Hg with the detection limit of 20 mg L⁻¹. The method was successfully applied to the determination of mercury in contaminated soil and water samples which the results agreed well with the ICP-MS method. Three soil samples were highly contaminated with mercury above the acceptable WHO limits (0.05 mg kg⁻¹). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first colorimetric µPAD method that is applicable for soil samples including mercury contaminated soils from gold mining areas.     

Crassolide Suppresses Dendritic Cell Maturation and Attenuates Experimental Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the production of β2-glycoprotein I (β2GPI)-dependent autoantibodies, with vascular thrombosis or obstetrical complications. Around 20% of APS patients are refractory to current treatments. Crassolide, a cembranoid diterpene extracted from soft corals, is a potential therapeutic candidate. Here, to examine the anti-inflammatory properties of crassolide, we first determined its effects on bone marrow-derived and splenic dendritic cells (DC). Specifically, we applied lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or β2GPI stimulation and measured the expressions of CD80 and CD86, and secretions of cytokines. We also determined in the OT-II mice, if bone marrow-derived DC was able to stimulate antigen-specific T cells. Moreover, we examined the therapeutic potential of crassolide postimmunization in a murine model of APS that depended on active immunization with β2GPI. The vascular manifestations were evaluated in terms of fluorescein-induced thrombi in mesenteric microvessels, whereas the obstetric manifestations were evaluated based on the proportion of fetal loss after pregnancy. We also measured blood titers of anti-β2GPI antibody, splenic cell proliferative responses and cytokine secretions after β2GPI stimulation ex vivo. Finally, we determined in these mice, hematological, hepatic and renal toxicities of crassolide. Crassolide after LPS stimulation suppressed DC maturation and secretion of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12 and IL-23, and downstream T cell activation. Crassolide could partially ameliorate both the vascular and obstetric manifestations of APS in BALB/c mice. Both blood titers of anti-β2GPI antibody and splenic cell proliferation after β2GPI stimulation were reduced. Splenic Th1 and Th17 responses were also lowered after β2GPI stimulation. Finally, within therapeutic doses of crassolide, we found no evidence of its toxicity. In conclusion, we showed the ability of crassolide to suppress DC and downstream T cell responses. Crassolide is therefore a potential candidate for adjunctive therapy in APS.