Marine ecological risk assessment for the herbicide sulfometuron-methyl based on species sensitivity distribution approach

In recent years,herbicide sulfometuron-methyl(SM)has been used to kill the invasive plant Spartina alterniflora in some coastal areas of China,which may lead to the toxic effects on non-target marine organisms.The 96-h median effective concentrations(96-h EC50)of SM on six species of marine microalgae were measured in growth inhibition tests,and were then compared with other published toxicity data,based on which a method of species sensitivity distribution(SSD)was built to estimate the hazardous concentration of SM for 5%of species(HC5)and potentially affected fraction(PAF)for a certain concentration.Results indicate that SM exhibited a high toxicity to two species of green algae(Chlorella pacifica and Dunaliella salina)with a 96-h EC50 of 0.11 and 0.13 mg/L respectively,had a medium toxicity to two species of golden algae(Diacronema viridis and Isochrysis galbana)with a 96-h EC50 of 14.24 and 21.48 mg/L respectively,and showed a low toxicity to two species of diatoms(Skeletonema costatum and Phaeodactylum tricornutum)with a 96-h EC50 of 148.99 and>100 mg/L,respectively.The estimated values of HC5 and the predicted no-effect concentrations(PNEC)for SM were 0.077 and 0.015 mg/L,respectively.According to the current dosage for killing S.alterniflora in tidal flats in Fujian Province,China,SM entering the sea by spraying might cause the acute injury or death of 14%of marine species.This hazard could last for about a month for those sensitive species.Therefore,on the premise of inhibiting the growth of this invasive plant,the dosage of SM should be reduced as much as possible to avoid severe damage to the marine ecosystem.The results provide a valuable information for marine ecological risk assessment on SM and for marine environmental management.

Effect of head model on Monte Carlo modeling of spatial sensitivity distribution for functional near-infrared spectroscopy

Modeling Light propagation within human head to deduce spatial sensitivity distribution(SSD)is important for Near-infrared spectroscopy(NIRS)/imaging(NIRI)and diffuse correlation tomography.Lots of head models have been used on this issue,including layered head model,artificial simplified head model,MRI slices described head model,and visible human head model.Hereinto,visible Chinese human(VCH)head model is considered to be a most faithful presentation of anatomical structure,and has been highlighted to be employed in modeling light propagation.However,it is not practical for all researchers to use VCH head models and actually increasing number of people are using magnet resonance imaging(MRI)head models.Here,all the above head models were simulated and compared,and we focused on the effect of using di®erent head models on predictions of SSD.Our results were in line with the previous reports on the effect of cerebral cortex folding geometry.Moreover,the in fluence on SSD increases with thefidelity of head models.And surprisingly,the SSD percentages in scalp and gray matter(region of interest)in MRI head model were found to be 80%and 125%higher than in VCH head model.MRI head models induced nonignorable discrepancy in SSD estimation when compared with VCH head model.This study,as we believe,is the first to focus on comparison among full serials of head model on estimating SSD,and provided quantitative evidence for MRI head model users to calibrate their SSD estimation.

Down-regulation of Hsp90 could change cell cycle distribution and increase drug sensitivity of tumor cells

:AIM To construct Hsp90 antisense RNAeukaryotic expression vector, transfect it intoSGC7901 and SGC7901/VCR of MDR-type humangastric cancer cell lines, HCC7402 of humanhepatic cancer and Eel09 of human esophagealcancer cell lines, and to study the cell cycledistribution of the gene transected cells andtheir response to chemotherapeutic drugs.METHODS A I .03kb cDNA sequence of Hsp90Pwas obtained from the primary plasmid phHsp90by EcoR 1 and BamH I nuclease digestion andwas cloned to the EcoR 1 and BamH 1 site ofthe pcDNA by T4DNA ligase and an antisenseorientation of Hsp900 expression vector wasconstructed. The constructs were transfectedwith lipofectamine and positive clones wereselected with G418. The expression of RNA wasdetermined with dot blotting and RNaseprotection assay, and the expression of Hsp90protein determined with Western blot. Cell cycledistribution of the transfectants was analyzedwith flow cytometry, and the drug sensitivity ofthe transfectants to adriamycin (ADR ),vincrinstine (VCR ), mitomycin (MMC ) andcyclophosphamide (CTX ) with MTT andintracellular drug concentration of thetransfectants was determined with flowcytometry.RESULTS In EcoR 1 and BamH I restrictionanalysis, the size and the direction of the clonedsequence of Hsp900 remained what had beendesigned and the gene constructs were namedpcDNA-Hsp90. AH^SGC7901, AH^SGC7901/ VCR,AH-HCC7402 and AH-Eel09 cell clones allexpressed Hsp90 anti--sense RNA. Theexpression of Hsp90 was down--regulated in AHSGC7901, AH--SGC7901/ VCR, AH-HCC7402 andAH--Eel09 cell clones. Cell cycle distribution waschanged differently. In AH-SGC7901/ VCR andAH-Ec109 cells, G, phase cells were increased; Sphase and G, phase cells were decreased ascompared with their parental cell lines. In AHSGC7901 cell, G, phase cells were decreased, Qphase cells increased and S phase cells were notchanged, and in AH-HCC7402 cells G,, S and qphase cells remained unchanged as comparedwith their parental cell lines. The sensitivity ofAH--SGC7901, AH--SGC7901/ VCR, AH-HCC7402 andAH-Ec109 to chemotherapeutic drugs, thesensitivity ot AH--SGC7901/ VCR to ADR, VCR,MMC and CTX the sensitivity of AH-HCC7402 toADR and VCR, and the sensitivity of Eel09 toADR, VCR and CTX all increased as comparedwith their parental cell lines. The meanfluorescence intensity of ADR in AH--SGC7901,AH-SGC7901/ VCR, AH--HCC7402 and AH-Ec109was also significantly elevated (P< 0. 05).CONCLUSION Down-regulation of HsP90 couldchange cell cycle distribution and increase thedrug sensitivity of tumor cells.

Dual Channel Pricing of Large Fresh Chain Stores Considering Distribution Costs under Split Quotation

After large fresh food chain stores have opened online channels,distribution costs are a key factor affecting consumers'online buying behavior,which affects dual-channel pricing.This paper studies the dual-channel pricing strategy of large fresh food chain stores on the premise of dividing the quotation,considering the consumer's acceptance of online channels and the sensitivity to distribution costs.The research found that the optimal pricing of online channels is lower than that of retail channels.The optimal pricing of online channels is positively correlated with the acceptance of online channels,and negatively correlated with the sensitivity of consumer distribution costs.Moreover,after retailers have opened online channels,the market scale has expanded compared with traditional retail channels.Finally,numerical experiments are used to analyze the influence of various influencing factors on retailers'decision-making.

Derivation and validation of soil total and extractable cadmium criteria for safe vegetable production

Determining the appropriate soil cadmium(Cd)criteria for vegetable production is important for ensuring that the Cd concentrations of the vegetables meet food safety standards.The soil extractable Cd criteria for vegetable production are also essential for both food safety and environmental management,especially in areas with a high natural background level.In the present study,soil total and extractable Cd criteria were derived using the approach of species sensitivity distribution integrated with soil aging and bioavailability as affected by soil properties.A dataset of 90 vegetable species planted in different soils was compiled by screening the published in literature in five bibliographic databases using designated search strings.The empirical soil-plant transfer model was applied to normalize the bioaccumulation data.After normalization,the intra-species variability was reduced by 18.3 to 84.4%.The soil Cd concentration that would protect 95%(HC_(5))of the species was estimated by species sensitivity distribution curves that were fitted by the Burr III function.The soil Cd criteria derived from the added approach for risk assessment were proposed as continuous criteria based on a combination of organic carbon and pH in the soil.Criteria for total Cd and EDTA-extractable Cd in the soil ranged from 0.23 to 0.61 mg kg^(-1)and from 0.09 to 0.25 mg kg^(-1),respectively.Field experimental data were used to validate the applicability and validity of these criteria.Most of the predicted HC5 values in the field experimental sites were below the 1:1 line.These results provide a scientific basis for soil Cd criteria for vegetable production that will ensure food safety.

Comprehensive Investigation and Assessment of Nutrient and Heavy Metal Contamination in the Surface Water of Coastal Bohai Sea in China

With the rapid development of industrialization and urbanization of coastal regions,eutrophication and metal pollution have caused serious environmental problems in China.To better understand the potential environmental risks associated with nutrients and heavy metals,the surface water was comprehensively investigated in the coastal Bohai Sea.A total of 150 sites were sampled from seven coastal regions,and the concentrations of nutrients(DIN and DIP)and metals(Cd,Pb,Zn,Cu,Cr,As and Hg)in the surface seawater were measured.The results showed that the DIN concentration of about 50%sites exceeded the Grade-I of Seawater Quality Standard of China.Due to high concentrations of DIN,the status of eutrophication was serious in the Bohai Bay and Shuangtaizi Estuary.According to Seawater Quality Standard of China,Pb,Zn,Hg and Cu were the main metal pollutants in the coastal Bohai Sea.There was generally low ecological risk caused by heavy metals,but certain hotspots existed near Shuangtaizi Estuary and Changxingdao Island.

An Advanced Algorithm of Electrical Capacitance Tomography

We describe a new two phase flow electrical capacitance tomography algorithm of image reconstruction which is based on 12 electrode capacitance transducers. According to the result of computer simulation, this algorithm is able to greatly increase the imaging fidelity without decreasing the imaging velocity.

A NEW QUANTITATIVE WAY FOR DETERMINING LEAF AREA INDEXAND NET PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY IN REGIONAL SCALE

An inversion of bidirectional reflection distribution fiJnedon (BRDF) wastested using NK Model and NOAA AVHRR datu. The test involVed sensitiveanalysis, optimum inversion selecting, ground simulated expenment, calibrahngmeasuremed with satellite and computer image processmg. Results of comparisonwith NDVI indicatal that inversion of BRDF will have brigh developing prospect inthe next decade.

Distributional Sensitivity for Uncertainty Quantification

In this work we consider a general notion of distributional sensitivity,which measures the variation in solutions of a given physical/mathematical system with respect to the variation of probability distribution of the inputs.This is distinctively different from the classical sensitivity analysis,which studies the changes of solutions with respect to the values of the inputs.The general idea is measurement of sensitivity of outputs with respect to probability distributions,which is a well-studied concept in related disciplines.We adapt these ideas to present a quantitative framework in the context of uncertainty quantification for measuring such a kind of sensitivity and a set of efficient algorithms to approximate the distributional sensitivity numerically.A remarkable feature of the algorithms is that they do not incur additional computational effort in addition to a one-time stochastic solver.Therefore,an accurate stochastic computation with respect to a prior input distribution is needed only once,and the ensuing distributional sensitivity computation for different input distributions is a post-processing step.We prove that an accurate numerical model leads to accurate calculations of this sensitivity,which applies not just to slowly-converging Monte-Carlo estimates,but also to exponentially convergent spectral approximations.We provide computational examples to demonstrate the ease of applicability and verify the convergence claims.

Regional moment-independent sensitivity analysis with its applications in engineering

Traditional Global Sensitivity Analysis（GSA） focuses on ranking inputs according to their contributions to the output uncertainty.However,information about how the specific regions inside an input affect the output is beyond the traditional GSA techniques.To fully address this issue,in this work,two regional moment-independent importance measures,Regional Importance Measure based on Probability Density Function（RIMPDF） and Regional Importance Measure based on Cumulative Distribution Function（RIMCDF）,are introduced to find out the contributions of specific regions of an input to the whole output distribution.The two regional importance measures prove to be reasonable supplements of the traditional GSA techniques.The ideas of RIMPDF and RIMCDF are applied in two engineering examples to demonstrate that the regional moment-independent importance analysis can add more information concerning the contributions of model inputs.

Application of the health risk assessment of acetochlor in the development of water quality criteria

Acetochlor is a widely used herbicide in agricultural production. Studies have shown that acetochlor has obvious environmental hormone effects, and long-term exposure may pose a threat to human health. To quantify the hazards of acetochlor in drinking water, a health risk assessment of acetochlor was conducted in major cities of China based on the data of acetochlor residue concentrations in drinking water. The approach of the Species Sensitivity Distributions(SSD) method is used to extrapolate from animal testing data to reflect worst case human toxicity. Results show that hazard quotients related to acetochlor residues in drinking water for different age groups range from 1.94 × 10-4 to 6.13 × 10-4, so, there are no indication of human risk. Compared to the total estimated hazard quotient from oral intake of acetochlor, the chronic exposure imputed to acetochlor residues in drinking water in China accounts for 0.4%. This paper recommends 0.02 mg/L to be the maximum acetochlor residue concentration level in drinking water and source water criteria.

Occurrence, variations, and risk assessment of neonicotinoid insecticides in Harbin section of the Songhua River, northeast China

Neonicotinoid insecticides(NNIs)have been intensively used and exploited,resulting in their presence and accumulation in multiple environmental media.We herein investigated the current levels of eight major NNIs in the Harbin section of the Songhua River in northeast China,providing the first systematic report on NNIs in this region.At least four NNIs in water and three in sediment were detected,with total concentrations ranging from 30.8 to 135 ng L^(-1) and from 0.61 to 14.7 ng g^(-1) dw,respectively.Larger spatial variations in surface water NNIs concentrations were observed in tributary than mainstream(p<0.05)due to the intensive human activities(e.g.,horticulture,urban landscaping,and household pet flea control)and the discharge of wastewater from many treatment plants.There was a significant positive correlation(p<0.05)between the concentrations of residual imidacloprid(IMI),clothianidin(CLO),and S4NNIs in the sediment and total organic carbon(TOC).Due to its high solubility and low octanol-water partition coefficient(Kow),the sediment-water exchange behavior shows that NNIs in sediments can re-enter into the water body.Human exposure risk was assessed using the relative potency factor(RPF),which showed that infants have the highest exposure risk(estimated daily intake(SIMIeq EDI):31.9 ng kg^(-1) bw$d^(-1)).The concentration thresholds of NNIs for aquatic organisms in the Harbin section of the Songhua River were determined using the species sensitivity distribution(SSD)approach,resulting in a value of 355 ng L^(-1) for acute hazardous concentration for 5%of species(HC5)and 165 ng L^(-1) for chronic HC5.Aquatic organisms at low trophic levels were more vulnerable to potential harm from NNIs.

Research trends of microplastics in the soil environment: Comprehensive screening of effects

We collated and synthesized previous studies that reported the impacts of microplastics on soil parameters.The data were classified and integrated to screen for the proportion of significant effects,then we suggest several directions to alleviate the current data limitation in future experiments.We compiled 106 datasets capturing significant effects,which were analyzed in detail.We found that polyethylene and pellets(or powders)were the most frequently used microplastic composition and shape for soil experiments.The significant effects mainly occurred in broad size ranges(0.1–1 mm)at test concentrations of 0.1%–10%based on soil dry weight.Polyvinyl chloride and film induced significant effects at lower concentrations compared to other compositions and shapes,respectively.We adopted a species sensitivity distribution(SSD)and soil property effect distribution(SPED)method using available data from soil biota,and for soil properties and enzymes deemed relevant for microplastic management.The predicted-no-effect-concentration(PNEC)-like values needed to protect 95%of soil biota and soil properties was estimated to be between 520 and 655 mg kg^(-1).This study was the first to screen microplastic levels with a view toward protecting the soil system.Our results should be regularly updated(e.g.,quarterly)with additional data as they become available.

Effect of atmospheric parameters on fine particulate concentration in suburban Shanghai

A study was conducted on the effect of atmospheric parameters, including temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity, on fine particulate mass concentrations measured in Jiading District of Shanghai, China, during the period from January 2009 to January 2010. A sensitivity analysis was applied to investigate the interaction between atmospheric parameters and particulate mass concentration. The experiment revealed that the concentration of particulates increased with particle size from 0.1 to 1.0 μm, and decreased with the increase of particle size from 1.0 to 2.5 μm. The effects of atmospheric parameters on fine mass concentrations were significantly particle size-dependent. The PM1.0-2.5 may come from the size increase of smaller particulates after moisture absorption, And the variation of concentrations of PM0.1-l.0 was mainly attributed to the accumulation of PM0.1. The ventilation index and dilution index were calcu- lated on the basis of data collected in December 2009. A correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant relation between these two indexes and the particulate concentration by examining the three particle size ranges, 0.0-0.1, 0.1-1.0, and 1,0-2.5 μm. The Spearman correlation coefficients that related the ventilation index to the concentration for the three particle size ranges were -0.45, -0.56 and -0.47, respectively, while the coefficients that related the dilution index to the concentration were -0.36, -0.42 and -0.45, respectively.