Cadmium in soybeans and the relevance to human exposure

Introduction Cadmium is considered a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer（IARC,1993）and the US National Toxicology Program（NTP,1997）.Cadmium contamination of food crops is a persistent issue for both the agricultural industry as well as consumers.This is an issue for agriculture because cadmium can be present in soils naturally or as a result of industrial processes and can contaminate foods that are consumed by humans.Industrial

Modelling sulphate-enhanced cadmium uptake by Zea mays from nutrient solution under conditions of constant free Cd^(2+) ion activity

A controlled hydroponic experiment was undertaken to investigate Cd uptake in relation to the activity of Cd species in solution other than the free ion （Cd^2＋） by maintaining a constant Cd^2＋ activity under variable SO4^2- and Cl^- concentrations exposed to maize （Zea mays vat. Cameron） plants. The objectives of these experiments were： （1） to distinguish and quantify the different uptake rates of free and inorganic-complexed Cd from nutrient solution, and （2） to model the uptake of Cd by maize with a Biotic Ligand Model （BLM） in a system which facilitates the close examination of root characteristics. Results of the current experiments suggest that, in addition to the free ion, CdSO4^0 complexes are important factors in determining Cd uptake in nutrient solution by maize plants. Higher nominal SO4^2- concentrations in solution generally resulted in a greater Cd accumulation by maize plants than predicted by the Cd^2＋ activity. A better integration of the complete dataset for the 3 harvest times （6, 9 and 11 days after treatment） was achieved by including consideration of both the duration of Cd exposure and especially the root surface area to express Cd uptake. Similarly, the fit of the BLM was also improved when taking into account exposure time and expressing uptake in terms of root morphological parameters.

Bioaccumulation and effects of sediment-associated gold-and graphene oxide nanoparticles on Tubifex tubifex

With the development of nanotechnology,gold（Au） and graphene oxide（GO） nanoparticles have been widely used in various fields,resulting in an increased release of these particles into the environment.The released nanoparticles may eventually accumulate in sediment,causing possible ecotoxicological effects to benthic invertebrates.However,the impact of Au-NPs and GO-NPs on the cosmopolitan oligochaete,Tubifex tubifex,in sediment exposure is not known.Mortality,behavioral impact（GO-NP and Au-NP） and uptake（only Au-NP） of sediment-associated Au-NPs（4.9±0.14 nm） and GO-NPs（116±0.05 nm） to T.tubifex were assessed in a number of 5-day exposure experiments.The results showed that the applied Au-NP concentrations（10 and 60 μg Au/g dry weight sediment） had no adverse effect on T.tubifex survival,while Au bioaccumulation increased with exposure concentration.In the case of GO-NPs,no mortality of T.tubifex was observed at a concentration range of 20 and180 μg GO/g dry weight sediment,whereas burrowing activity was significantly reduced at 20 and 180 μg GO/g dry weight sediment.Our results suggest that Au-NPs at 60 μg Au/g or GO-NPs at 20 and 180 μg GO/g were detected by T.tubifex as toxicants during short-term exposures.