Evaluating the Effects of Metals on Microorganisms in Flooded Paddy Soils Using the SEM/AVS-Based Approach and Measurements of Exchangeable Metal Concentrations.

We examined possible adverse effects of heavy metals on microbial activity, biomass, and community composition using the simultaneously extracted metals (SEM)/acid-volatile sulfide (AVS)-based approach and measurements of exchangeable metal concentrations in three paddy soils (wastewater-contaminated soil, mine-contaminated soil, and noncontaminated soil) incubated for 60 days under flooded conditions. Incubation under flooding increased pH and decreased Eh in all samples. AVS increased when Eh decreased to approximately -200 mV for the mine-contaminated and noncontaminated soils, while the wastewater-contaminated soil originally had a high concentration of AVS despite its air-dried condition. Addition of rice straw or alkaline material containing calcium carbonate and gypsum increased AVS levels under flooded conditions. We observed no apparent relationship between soil enzyme activity (ß-D-glucosidase and acid phosphatase) and concentrations of SEM, [∑SEM - AVS], and exchangeable metals. Bacterial and fungal community composition, assessed using polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis targeting rRNA genes, was largely influenced by site of collection and incubation time, but metal contamination did not influence community composition. We observed significant negative correlations between biomass C and [∑SEM - AVS] and between biomass C and ∑SEM, suggesting that [∑SEM - AVS] and ∑SEM might reflect the bioavailability of organic matter to microorganisms in these soils.

Effect of Tris-HCl buffer on DNA adsorption by a variety of soil constituents.

We investigated the effect of tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane hydrochloride (Tris-HCl) buffer (pH 7.0) as a bulk solution on the adsorption of DNA by gibbsite, goethite, montmorillonite, kaolinite, synthetic and natural allophanes, two humic acids and two andosols. The natural allophane, gibbsite, kaolinite and an andosol adsorbed significantly more DNA in a 0.1 M Tris-HCl buffer than in a 0.1 M NaCl solution (t-test, P<0.005). In contrast, montmorillonite adsorbed significantly less DNA in the Tris-HCl than NaCl solution (P<0.05). Care should be taken when using Tris-HCl in studies on the adsorption of extracellular DNA molecules by soil particles.

Removal of aqueous chromate [Cr(VI)] through photocatalysis by using TiO2-coated silica granules.

The aim of this study was to determine the optimal conditions for the treatment of chromate [Cr(VI)]- contaminated water by UV photocatalysis using synthesized TiO(2)-coated silica granules (phi 1.7-4.0 mm) containing 12.4% of TiO(2) in a batch method. The effect of the volume of the solution on Cr(VI) removal was investigated in the photocatalysis process by using 10 g of TiO(2)-coated silica granules in water samples with a constant initial Cr(VI) concentration of 5 mg L(-1). In a 10-mL solution, Cr(VI) concentrations were observed to decrease below the detection limit (< 0.05 mg L(-1)) in 300 min. Furthermore, Cr(VI) concentrations gradually decreased with time in other solutions with larger volumes. The capacity of the UV photocatalysis process to remove Cr(VI) using 10 g of TiO(2)-coated granules did not fluctuate with the solution volume for samples with a constant initial Cr(VI) concentration. The lower the initial pH of the solution, the greater was the amount of Cr(VI) removed from the solution. The addition of chloride ions to the solutions accelerated the removal of Cr(VI) by UV photocatalysis. Ten grams of TiO(2)-coated silica granules were repeatedly used to the 300-min treatment of the Cr(VI) solution (10 mL, 6 mg L(-1)) till seven cycles. After four cycles of UV photocatalysis, Cr(VI) was completely removed from all the solutions. After the fifth cycle, the Cr(VI) removal capacity of the UV photocatalysis process decreased with the repeated use of the catalyst.

The influence of soil organic matter on DNA adsorptions on andosols.

The influence of soil organic matter on DNA adsorption in andosols was investigated using various andosol samples including hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2))-treated, heated (400°C), and slurry-added soils. Remarkably less DNA was adsorbed in the slurry-added soil than the original soil. The increase in soil organic matter with the addition of slurry had an obvious negative influence on the adsorption. The decrease in organic matter with H(2)O(2) treatment slightly raised DNA adsorption per unit weight. Adsorption maxima estimated from a simple Langmuir equation were higher in the samples removed of organic matter by the H(2)O(2) treatment and heating at 400°C than in the untreated soil, although surface area was greatly decreased by both treatments. There was no correlation between the total carbon (T-C) content and the estimated DNA adsorption maxima of any of the soil samples. These results suggest little contribution of soil organic matter to DNA adsorption in andosols.

Adsorption sequence of toxic inorganic anions on a soil.

The adsorption of six anions (arsenate(As(V)), chromate(Cr(VI)), fluoride(F(-I)), molybdate(Mo(VI)), selenate(Se(VI)), and selenite(Se(IV))) on an andosol and the concomitant H(+) consumptions together with the sorption were investigated to understand the behaviors of toxic inorganic anions in environment. Based on the estimated adsorption maximum by the simple Langmuir equation, the order of adsorption affinity to the andosol at a suspension pH of 5.0 was F(-I) > > phosphate(P(V)) > Se(IV) > Mo(VI) >or= As(V) > > Se(VI) >or= Cr(VI) >or= nitrate(N(V)). The order of the concomitant H(+) consumptions together with the adsorption was F(-I) > > P(V) > Se(IV) > Mo(VI) >or= As(V), while they were not observed in the adsorption of Se(VI), Cr(VI) and N(V).

The contribution of soil constituents to adsorption of extracellular DNA by soils.

The adsorption of DNA by an andosol was much greater than that by a fluvisol or acrisol. The decrease in soil organic matter on treatment with hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) little affected DNA adsorption per weight of the particles, implying that the organic matter is not involved in the adsorption. The acid oxalate treatment of the H(2)O(2)-treated soils decreased DNA adsorption. Among soil constituents, acid oxalate-extractable materials such as allophane and noncrystalline Al and Fe oxides are likely to make a major contribution to the adsorption of DNA.

The stability of butyltin compounds in a dredged heavily-contaminated sediment.

A treatment process for marine sediment heavily contaminated with tributyltin (TBT) was designed that included dehydrating, sunlight drying and dumping processes. The time course in butyltin (BTs) compounds, TBT, dibutyltin (DBT) and monobutyltin concentrations were investigated in the sediment treated under various conditions (light (UV, sunlight and light exclusion), moisture (air-drying and water saturation) and wetting and drying cycles). Significant changes in all the BT compound concentrations with time were not found regardless of the sediment conditions for light and moisture. The results indicated the high stabilities of TBT and DBT in the sediments versus light and moisture condition changes, probably taking place in the treatment process. It is also estimated that the BTs in the sediment are resistant to photo-degradation and biochemical degradation and their half lives are relatively long. In contrast, the decreases in the TBT and DBT were observed during the wetting and drying cycle treatment for the water saturated sediment both during exposure to sunlight and under a dark condition. This result suggested the hypothesis that the TBT degradation could be accelerated by the high microbial activity induced by the moisture changing treatments.

Specific accumulation of 20 trace elements in great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) from Japan.

This study is to elucidate the specific accumulation of 20 trace elements in tissues/organs of great cormorants from two different colonies (Lake Biwa and Mie) in Japan. In the body distribution of trace elements, some elements revealed tissue-specific accumulation such as most of the burden of Mo, Ag and Cd in liver, Tl and Cd in kidney, Cu, Rb and Cs in muscle, and V, Sr and Ba in bone. Gender-related variation was not observed in both populations for most of the trace elements, except for higher hepatic Sr in males from Lake Biwa. Hepatic V, muscular Hg and Tl, and Cd in liver, kidney and muscle increased with growth. Comparison of trace element levels in tissues between the two colonies showed that Cr, Rb, Sr, Cd, Cs, Ba and Tl levels were higher in Lake Biwa than in Mie, whereas Zn, Co and Hg in Mie samples were greater than Lake Biwa. Variations of elemental levels in stomach contents also showed similar patterns, thus, showing that dietary sources tended to be the main factor for these regional variations. Toxic Hg and Cd concentrations in the liver of cormorants from the two colonies were lower than those from other areas, implying relatively low exposure to these metals in the present study sites. Concentrations of V, Co, Ag, Cd, Cs, Hg, Tl, Pb and Bi in liver remained more or less at the same level between 1993 and 2003, while hepatic Cr, Mn, Cu, Zn, Se, Rb, Sr and Ba showed apparent decrease, which might be related to the biological factors.