Cloning of biologically active genomes from a Helicoverpa armigera single-nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus isolate by using a bacterial artificial chromosome

Purification of genotypes from baculovirus isolates provides understanding of the diversity of baculoviruses and may lead to the development of better pesticides. Here, we report the cloning of different genotypes from an isolate of Helicoverpa armigera single-nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (HaSNPV) by using a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC). A transfer vector (pHZB10) was constructed which contained an Escherichia coli mini-F replicon cassette within the upstream and downstream arms of HaSNPV polyhedrin gene. Hz2e5 cells were co-transfected with wild-type HaSNPV DNA and pHZB10 to generate recombinant viruses by homologous recombination. The DNA of budded viruses (BVs) was used to transform E. coli. One of the bacmid colonies, HaBacHZ8, has restriction enzyme digestion profiles similar to an in vivo cloned strain HaSNPV-G4, the genome of which has been completely sequenced. For testing the oral infectivity, the polyhedrin gene of HaSNPV was reintroduced into HaBacHZ8 to generate the recombinant bacmid HaBacDF6. The results of one-step growth curves, electron microscopic examination, protein expression analysis and bioassays indicated that HaBacDF6 replicated as well as HaSNPV-G4 in vitro and in vivo. The biologically functional HaSNPV bacmids obtained in this research will facilitate future studies on the function genomics and genetic modification of HaSNPV. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental threats to children's health in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific

The Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions contain half of the world's children and are among the most rapidly industrializing regions of the globe. Environmental threats to children's health are widespread and are multiplying as nations in the area undergo industrial development and pass through the epidemiologic transition. These environmental hazards range from traditional threats such as bacterial contamination of drinking water and wood smoke in poorly ventilated dwellings to more recently introduced chemical threats such as asbestos construction materials; arsenic in groundwater; methyl isocyanate in Bhopal, India; untreated manufacturing wastes released to landfills; chlorinated hydrocarbon and organophosphorous pesticides; and atmospheric lead emissions from the combustion of leaded gasoline. To address these problems, pediatricians, environmental health scientists, and public health workers throughout Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific have begun to build local and national research and prevention programs in children's environmental health. Successes have been achieved as a result of these efforts: A cost-effective system for producing safe drinking water at the village level has been devised in India; many nations have launched aggressive antismoking campaigns; and Thailand, the Philippines, India, and Pakistan have all begun to reduce their use of lead in gasoline, with resultant declines in children's blood lead levels. The International Conference on Environmental Threats to the Health of Children, held in Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2002, brought together more than 300 representatives from 35 countries and organizations to increase awareness on environmental health hazards affecting children in these regions and throughout the world. The conference, a direct result of the Environmental Threats to the Health of Children meeting held in Manila in April 2000, provided participants with the latest scientific data on children's vulnerability to environmental hazards and models for future policy and public health discussions on ways to improve children's health. The Bangkok Statement, a pledge resulting from the conference proceedings, is an important first step in creating a global alliance committed to developing active and innovative national and international networks to promote and protect children's environmental health.

Xenobiotics removal from polluted water by a multifunctional constructed wetland

Removal efficiencies on xenobiotics from polluted water in a twin-shaped constructed wetland consisting of a vertical flow chamber with the crop plant Colocasia esculenta L. Schott and a reverse vertical flow one with Ischaemum aristatum var. glaucum Honda, were assessed by chemical analysis and bioassays. After a four-month period of application, removal efficiencies of the applied pesticides parathion and omethoate were 100%, with no detectable parathion and omethoate in the effluent. For the applied herbicides, the decontamination was less efficient with removal efficiencies of 36% and 0% for 4-chloro-2-methyl-phenoxyacetic acid and dicamba, respectively. As shown by toxicity assay with duckweed Lemna minor L., growth retardation may occur if the water treated for herbicide removal is used in irrigation of sensitive cultivars in agriculture or horticulture. In contrast to I. aristatum var. glaucum Honda, the crop C esculenta L. Schott has a high yield in biomass production as a valuable source of renewable energy. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

草甘膦的土壤酶效应研究

为了探讨当今世界使用量最大的除草剂——草甘膦的土壤环境效应,本文采用室内模拟方法,较为系统地研究了我国4类土壤:褐土、黄绵土、风沙土和红壤,共11个土样中4种主要酶类(脲酶、转化酶、磷酸酶以及脱氢酶)活性与草甘膦间的关系,计算并得到了能够表征土壤轻度污染的生态剂量值ED10。结果表明:非缓冲液法较好地反映了土壤酶的实际情况;草甘膦总体上激活土壤脲酶、转化酶和脱氢酶活性,最大增幅分别为190%、1372%和42%;抑制磷酸酶活性,最大幅度为35%;磷酸酶与草甘膦间为完全抑制作用机理;激活脱氢酶活性揭示出草甘膦导致了土壤中微生物活性增强,从侧面反映出草甘膦是一种毒性较低的农药。计算获得4类供试土壤褐土、黄绵土、风沙土和红壤ED10值分别为168.3、438.5、35.1和141.4mg·kg-1;在一定程度上用土壤酶活性比生物来表征土壤污染程度更敏感。土壤性质对草甘膦的毒性有重要影响。

辽北农田土壤农药残留特征及其对农产品安全影响

农药对产地环境，特别是对土壤的广泛污染严重威胁农产品安全和人类健康。因此，本文采用建立的除草剂和有机氯农药（OCPs）残留分析方法，开展了辽北地区土壤农药残留特征、阿特拉津和乙草胺田间消解动力学、土壤农药残留对农产品安全影响等方面研究。主要研究结果如下： 1. 分别建立了土壤、大米、蔬菜、玉米中3种除草剂和8种OCPs多残留分析方法。方法检出限介于0.04~1.30 ng•g-1之间；11种农药在0.01 (0.02)~1.0 (2.0) mg•L-1范围内线性良好，相关系数介于0.9963-0.9998之间；平均回收率介于71%-117%之间、相对标准偏差小于14.4%。 2. 阿特拉津和乙草胺在辽北农田土壤普遍残留；丁草胺、六氯苯、狄氏剂和艾氏剂在部分土壤有残留；乙草胺和丁草胺相对其它农药残留较高；阿特拉津、六氯苯、狄氏剂和艾氏剂残留量与相关报道和标准相比较低。除艾氏剂外，检出农药残留量经Box-Cox变换后，均服从正态分布。阿特拉津、乙草胺、丁草胺、六氯苯在不同土壤利用类型之间存在显著差异（P<0.05）。 3. 玉米地土壤中阿特拉津和乙草胺消解动态符合一级反应动力学模式，阿特拉津消解半衰期在12.2~59.8d之间，乙草胺在18.5~54.6d之间。喷施地阿特拉津和乙草胺消解速率约为对照地的2~5倍，且喷施量越大，消解越快。 4. 11种农药在辽北蔬菜、大米、玉米中残留较低，仅阿特拉津、六氯苯、乙草胺和丁草胺在部分农产品中有残留，其在土壤中残留通过蔬菜、大米和玉米给消费者带来的总膳食风险较低。大田试验进一步说明在试验区域喷施4倍最大推荐剂量阿特拉津或乙草胺也不会对玉米安全产生影响。

铜-农药污染的土壤生态化学脱毒行为研究

通过开展Cu与农药甲胺磷、草甘嶙吸附／解吸试验、Cu和甲胺磷的大豆根际行为试验，以及农药脱毒生态化学指示（土壤酶、有效P）试验，对东北地区典型土壤—黑土与棕壤污染物的化学脱毒行为进行研究，为东北地区农业清洁生产提供理论参考。污染物的吸附／解吸行为是土壤物理化学脱毒的体现。试验结果表明，Cu2＋的吸附／解吸等温线与Freundiich方程有较好的拟合性。黑土对cu2＋的吸附脱毒能力高于棕壤，且解吸率更低。Cu2＋的解吸量与吸附量之间呈二次幂函数关系。描述Cu2＋吸附／解吸动力学过程的最优模型为双常数方程。两种农药在土壤原胶体及去有机质土壤上的吸附仍符合Freundllch方程，但有机质去除后吸附量大为降低。无机矿物是甲胺磷吸附的主要载体，而有机质对草甘麟的吸附脱毒则更为重要。在土壤一农药-Cu2＋共存体系中，Cu2+的吸附量降低，解吸量增加。由于较强的络合能力，草甘麟对Cu2+吸附确军吸行为的影响大于甲胺磷。根际和土壤酶通过生物化学机制对污染物进行脱毒。大豆根系通过将Cu2＋转化为铁锰氧化物结合态和有机质结合态而减少吸收。同时，甲胺磷在大豆根际环境中的降解速率显著加快。土壤脱氢酶对农药反应敏感，多数情况表现出抑制作用。酸性磷酸酶在甲胺磷加入初期被刺激，随后被部分抑制；随着草甘磷浓度的升高，酸性磷酸酶的抑制作用增强。农药的施入增加了土壤有效P含量，但对有效P的贡献率仍较低。

Preparation of stir bars for sorptive extraction using sol-gel technology

A sol-gel coating method for the preparation of extractive phase on bars used in sorptive microextraction is described. The extraction phase of poly(dimethylsiloxane) is partially crosslinked with the sol-gel network, and the most part is physically incorporated in the network. Three aging steps at different temperatures are applied to complete the crosslinking process. Thirty-micrometer-thick coating layer is obtained by one coating process. The improved coating shows good thermal stability up to 300degreesC. Spiked aqueous samples containing n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organophosphorus pesticides were analyzed by using the sorptive bars and GC. The results demonstrate that it is suitable for both aploar and polar analytes. The detection limit for chrysene is 7.44 ng/L, 0.74 ng/L for C-19 and 0.9 ng/L for phorate. The extraction equilibration can be reached in less than 15 min by supersonic extraction with the bars of 30 mum coating layer. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Controlled release of urea encapsulated by starch-g-poly(L-lactide)

This paper presented a new approach for preparing a new type of slow-release membrane-encapsulated urea fertilizer with starch-g-PLLA as biodegradable carrier materials. By solution-casting and washing rapidly with water the urea was individually encapsulated within the starch matrix modified by L-lactide through in situ graft-copolymerization.

Quantitative structure-property relationships for colour reagents and their colour reactions with cerium using computational neural networks

Quantitative structure-activity/property relationships (QSAR/QSPR) studies have been exploited extensively in the designs of drugs and pesticides, but few such studies have been applied to the design of colour reagents. In this work, the topological indices A(x1)-A(x3) suggested in this laboratory were applied to multivariate analysis in structure-property studies. The topological indices of 43 phosphone bisazo derivatives of chromotropic acid were calculated. The structure-property relationships between colour reagents and their colour reactions with cerium were studied using A(x1-Ax3) indices with satisfactory results. The purpose of this work was to establish whether QSAR can be used to predict the contrasts of colour reactions and in the longer term to be a helpful tool in colour reagent design.

东海沿岸贝类体内石油烃和有机氯农药的分布特征及评价

本研究分别于2006、2007年5月在东海沿岸海域22个站位采集牡蛎、贻贝、四角蛤蜊、文蛤、花蛤5种贝类样品，采用荧光分光光度法和气相色谱法检测贝类体内的石油烃（TPHs）和有机氯农药(HCHs和DDTs) 含量，分析东海沿岸海域贝类体内的TPHs、HCHs和DDTs的时空分布特征和HCHs、DDTs的组分特征，比较不同贝类体内污染物含量的差异，探讨HCHs和DDTs的来源，并对贝类进行初步海洋生物质量评价和人体健康风险评价。研究结果表明： （1）东海沿岸海域贝类体内TPHs含量范围为0.40 74.40 mg kg-1，平均含量为9.42 mg kg-1；HCHs含量为ND～5.42×10-3mg kg-1，平均含量为1.47×10-3 mg kg-1；DDTs含量为2.09×10-3～197.66×10-3mg kg-1，平均含量为38.05×10-3 mg kg-1。其中，TPHs含量在长江口及邻近海域较高， HCHs和DDTs含量在江苏省的如东、海门和浙江省的各海域含量较高。与2006年相比，2007年贝类体内TPHs含量与2006年基本持平，HCHs含量有稍微降低，但是DDTs含量有明显升高趋势。 （2）HCHs和DDTs组分分析表明，α-HCH和β-HCH占HCHs总量的绝大多数，γ-HCH和δ-HCH仅有极少量检出，大多数区域的α-HCH/γ-HCH比值在4-7之间，说明研究区域内有新的HCHs污染源； DDTs 中O,P’-DDT/P,P'-DDT的比值远高于工业DDTs中O,P’-DDT/P,P'-DDT的比值，分析认为其与周围区域使用三氯杀螨醇密切有关。 （3）贝类体内的TPHs、HCHs和DDTs与水体、沉积物中的相应有机物存在正相关性。相对于TPHs和HCHs，DDTs更容易在贝类体内富集；牡蛎对TPHs和HCHs、DDTs的累积能力明显高于四角蛤蜊和贻贝。 （4）质量评价显示TPHs在局部海域超标，HCHs未超标，DDTs含量超标严重。人体健康风险评估结果显示，东海沿岸海域贝类体内HCHs和DDTs的致癌风险和暴露风险均在可接受的范围之内，消费者因食用监测海域的贝类而受到HCHs和DDTs危害的可能性不大。 （5）与世界其他海域比较表明，东海海域贝类TPHs和HCHs含量处于中等水平， DDTs含量处于比较高的水平。

Persistent organic pollutant residues in the sediments and mollusks from the Bohai Sea coastal areas, North China: An overview

The Bohai Sea costal area is one of the most developed zones of China and the sewage water from populous and developed cities, including Beijing, Tianjin. Qinhuangdao and Dalian is discharged into the Bohai Sea. Additionally, its semi-enclosed characteristic restricts water exchange, which leads to high accumulation of pollutants in the environment. This overview presents the residues of 6 classes of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). including PAHs, DDTs. HCHs, PCBs and PCDD/Fs. in the sediments and mollusks of the Bohai Sea through analyzing previous literatures. In the sediments. the highest PAH concentrations were detected in the vicinities of Qinhuangdao, while the northeast corner of the Bohai Bay possessed the highest levels of DDTs and PCBs. The investigations on HCHs and PCDD/Fs distributions on the whole sea scale have not been reported. In mollusks, PAH concentrations were in the same order of magnitude in the whole Bohai Sea, so were DDTs. HCHs and PCBs, while the outlier maximum values of PCDDs and PCDFs occurred in Yingkou. In general, the POPs residues in mollusks collected from Shandong Province were higher than the other areas. The compositions of DDTs, HCHs and PCBs in sediments indicated their recent usage. By comparing POP concentrations in sediments with the recommended criterions, it was shown that some individual PAH compounds occasionally associated with adverse biological effects in the vicinities of the Liaodong Bay and Qinhuangdao, and the Liaohe River Estuary were heavily contaminated with DDTs, but PCBs were all below the thresholds. In order to reveal the transference and transformation of POPs in the environment, further studies concerning with their behavior, fate and bioaccumulation in the different trophic levels should be programmed. Moreover, laws and regulations should be enforced to ban the illegal usage of POPs-containing pesticides to guarantee health of the environment and human. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Meat characteristics of Qinghai yak and semi-wild yak

Six domestic yaks aged 6 years, comprising three culling male and three culling female yaks, from the Qinghai Lake area and three male semi-wild yaks aged 6 months from Datong Yak Farm were used to detect the levels of amino acids, mineral elements, residual heavy metals and pesticides in yak meat. The results showed that there was little difference in amino acid levels for different types of yak by age and sex. The meat of the adult male yak was 7.35 mg/kg higher in calcium (P < 0.05) and 124 mg/kg higher in phosphorus (P < 0.01) than that of the adult female yak. There was an obvious difference in zinc content, and there was also a significant difference for copper and sulfur between adult male and female yaks (P < 0.01). Iron was 8.85 mg/kg higher in semi-wild yaks than in domestic yaks, but there were no differences for other minerals. The levels of residual heavy metals and residual pesticides were well within those allowed by the National Standard of China. Furthermore, the data showed that introducing wild yak's blood did not result in a quality change in the domestic yak meat. Yak meat from Qinghai Plateau has the characteristics of being non-polluted and rich in amino acids in comparison with local yellow cattle meat.

Computer-assisted automatic peak recognition and result evaluation for analysis of chlorinated hydrocarbons in environmental samples

A data manipulation method has been developed for automatic peak recognition and result evaluation in the analysis of organic chlorinated hydrocarbons with dual-column gas chromatography. Based on the retention times of two internal standards, pentachlorotoluene and decachlorobiphenyl, the retention times of chlorinated hydrocarbons can be calibrated automatically and accurately. It is very convenient to identify the peaks by comparing the retention times of samples with the calibrated retention times calculated from the relative retention indices of standards. Meanwhile, with a suggested two-step evaluation method the evaluation coefficients and the suitable quantitative results of each component can be automatically achieved for practical samples in an analytical system using two columns with different polarities and two internal standards. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.