Heavy metal spatial distribution, source analysis, and ecological risks in the central hilly area of Hainan Island, China: results from a high-density soil survey.

The presence of heavy metals in soil has gained considerable attention due to their potential risks to ecosystems and human health. In this study, a thorough soil investigation was performed in the hilly region of central Hainan, which was formerly regarded as an area with the highest ecological environmental quality. A total of 7094 soil samples were systematically collected with high density over a large area. Simultaneously, a detailed investigation was conducted on the surrounding environment of each sampling point, including environmental factors such as soil, land use and crop types. The soil samples were analysed for heavy metals, pH, organic matter, and other parameters. The soil heavy metal pollution level, ecological risk and health risk were evaluated using the geo-accumulation index and the potential ecological risk index. The findings showed that the average contents of the heavy metals As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn in the soil were 1.68, 0.042, 24.2, 6.49, 0.0319, 7.06, 29.6 and 49.8 mg·kg-1 respectively. Except for Hg, the mean values of the other heavy metals were either lower than or similar to the background values of Hainan. Also, only a few localised areas showed contamination by heavy metals. The primary sources of heavy metals, identified by a positive matrix factorisation model, could be categorised into four types: natural sources related to the soil formation process from acidic intrusive rocks (such as granite); natural sources primarily influenced by atmospheric deposition; anthropogenic sources associated with agricultural activities; and natural sources related to the soil formation process from middle-mafic intrusive rocks and black shales. The correlation analysis and variance analysis findings suggested that the content of heavy metals in the soil was primarily associated with the parent rock. The study area generally had low heavy metal levels and was not significantly polluted. However, agricultural activities still affected the enrichment of heavy metals. Therefore, it is imperative to remain vigilant about the ecological risks linked to soil heavy metals while continuing land development and expanding agricultural activities in the future. These findings indicate that conducting high-density soil surveys can enhance our understanding of regional soil heavy metals and enable reliable recommendations for agricultural planning. Whether in areas with low pollution risk or potential pollution risk, it is recommended that high-density soil surveys be conducted provide scientific guidance for further agricultural development.

Differentiating environmental scenarios to establish geochemical baseline values for heavy metals in soil: A case study of Hainan Island, China.

Soil heavy metal distributions exhibit regional heterogeneity due to the complex characteristics of parent materials and soil formation processes, emphasizing the need for appropriate regional standards prior to assessing soil risks. This study focuses on Hainan Island and employs the Multi-purpose Regional Geochemical Survey dataset to establish heavy metal geochemical baseline and background values for soil using an iterative method. Geographical detector analysis reveals that parent materials are the primary factor influencing heavy metal distribution, followed by soil types and land use. Heavy metal geochemical baseline values are established for the island's three environments and administrative regions. Notably, a universal geochemical baseline value cannot adequately represent regional variations in heavy metal distribution, with parent materials playing a crucial role in various scenarios. Locally applicable values based on parent material are the most representative for Hainan Island. This study provides a reference framework for developing region-specific environmental baseline values for soil heavy metal assessments.

Contamination and source of metals in surface sediments from the Nandu River of Hainan Island, China.

Concentrations of eight metals, organic carbon (Corg), and eight oxides were measured in 33 river sediment samples from the Nandu River. Sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) showed no severe pollution at all stations. However, according to the geo-accumulation index (Igeo), enrichment factor (EF), and potential ecological risk index (EI and RI), As and Cd were the primary pollutants in the survey area and caused low to moderate potential ecological risk. The positive correlations between Al2O3, TFe2O3, Mn, Corg, and metals indicated that clay, FeMn oxides, and organic carbon content were the main factors for metal accumulation in the study area. From the results of correlation (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA), we inferred that Cr, Ni, Cu, and Zn were mainly from natural sources, while As, Cd, Hg, and Pb were from anthropogenic activities in the Nandu River basin. This was the first study of metal pollution in the surface sediments of the Nandu River, which will serve as a reference for future research.

Heavy metal pollution in agricultural soils of a typical volcanic area: Risk assessment and source appointment.

Heavy metals are naturally occurring elements with high natural background levels in the volcanic area. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a risk assessment and identify potential sources of heavy metals. In this study, 4488 soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected in Chengmai County, a typical volcanic area in Hainan Province, and analyzed for eight heavy metals and major oxides. Pollution level, ecological risks, and health risks were evaluated by geo-accumulation index (Igeo), pollution index (PI), potential ecological risk index (RI), hazard index (HI), and carcinogenic risks (CR). The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model was further used to determine the priority source of heavy metals. The average values of heavy metal concentrations in soil were 7.06, 0.07, 156.88, 33.43, 0.05, 72.47, 19.48, and 67.51 mg kg-1 for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn, respectively. Except for Pb, the average concentrations of all heavy metals exceeded background concentration in Hainan soils, indicating different degrees of heavy metal enrichment. The Igeo and PI showed that the main pollutant element in volcanic soils was Ni, followed by Cr and Cu. The RI shows that the percentage of soil samples with considerable or worse potential ecological risk was 44.4% of the total samples, with Hg, As, Cd, and Ni causing high ecological risks. The estimated average daily doses of heavy metals were below the tolerable limits and the HI values were below one for both adults and children, indicating that the residents had an acceptable potential non-carcinogenic risk. However, the potential carcinogenic risk of exposure to Cr, Ni, and As was unacceptable for residents, with high CR values exceeding 10-4, especially for children. Based on the PMF, five major sources of heavy metals were found in the study area: Ni, Cu, and Zn mainly from parent materials, As and Pb from daily life and vehicle emissions, Cd from agricultural activities, Hg from industrial activities, and Cr from parent materials under different environmental conditions. Significant positive correlations between Al2O3, TFe2O3, Mn, soil organic carbon (SOC), and heavy metals reflect that aluminium-rich minerals, Fe-Mn oxides, and SOC are the most critical factors affecting heavy metal accumulation in volcanic agricultural soils.

Removal of Microcystis aeruginosa by ultrasound: Inactivation mechanism and release of algal organic matter.

The efficacy of ultrasonic irradiation for removal of Microcystis aeruginosa and release of algal organic matter (AOM) was investigated under different ultrasound conditions, including ultrasonic frequency, power density, and time. Laboratory results suggested that the ultrasonic efficiency and the release of AOM were influenced by frequency, power density, and time. The mechanism of AOM algae removal by ultrasound was systematically explored. The inactivation of algae resulted from mechanical and chemical effects caused by ultrasound. Mechanical destruction and free-radical oxidation considerably affected the structure and physiological function of algal cells. The SEM and TEM images indicated that ultrasound could damage the cell membrane, wall, and organelle. Flow cell cytometry results showed decreases in the size, internal granularity, integrity, and activity of algal cells, revealing that ultrasound exerted severe damage to the structure and function of algal cells. The activity of the antioxidant system of algal cells was then studied by investigating changes in MDA, SOD, and CAT concentration after ultrasound to confirm the inactivation of the cells. The release of AOM was explored by determining changes in water quality indices (UV254, DOC, and SUVA) at 10 min and 48 h after ultrasound. This study provides information about the safety of ultrasound usage on algae removal and references for ultrasonic parameters to be selected to ensure effective and safe algae removal.

Electricity generation, salinity, COD removal and anodic biofilm microbial community vary with different anode CODs in a microbial desalination cell for high-salinity mustard tuber wastewater treatment.

A three-chamber microbial desalination cell (MDC) was constructed for high-salinity mustard tuber wastewater (MTWW) treatment. The effect of anode COD on electricity generation, salinity, COD removal and the anodic biofilm microbial community in MDC for the MTWW treatment was investigated. The results showed that electricity generation was better when the anode COD was 900 mg L-1 versus when it was 400 or 1400 mg L-1. The ionic strength and conductivity of the anolyte were higher than those at 400 mg L-1; thus, the ohmic internal resistance was lower. In addition, the mass transfer internal resistance was lower than that at 1400 mg L-1, which made the system internal resistance the lowest; consequently, the voltage and power density were the highest. The output voltage, power density and coulombic efficiency of the 1000 Ω external resistors were 555 mV, 3.03 W m-3 and 26.5% ± 0.4%, respectively. Desalination was the highest when the anode COD was 400 mg L-1. The lowest ionic strength and osmotic pressure of the anolyte resulted in the strongest osmosis, thereby producing the highest desalination rate; the desalination rate was 5.33 mg h-1. When MDC was coupled with the dual-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC), the desalinated MTWW could be used as the anode substrate of the MFC; its high COD could be removed continuously, and the COD removal values were 86.2% ± 2.5%, 83.0% ± 2.0% and 84.3% ± 2.4%. High-throughput sequencing analysis indicated that hydrolytic and fermentative bacteria were the core anode bacteria of MDC. The abundances of electrochemically active bacteria in the anode biofilms of the three groups were 11.78% (400 mg L-1 COD), 14.06% (900 mg L-1 COD) and 13.68% (1400 mg L-1 COD). Therefore, the differences in anode CODs impacted the abundance of electrochemically active bacteria, which led to differences in electricity generation performances.

A chemical defence against phage infection.

The arms race between bacteria and the phages that infect them drives the continual evolution of diverse anti-phage defences. Previously described anti-phage systems have highly varied defence mechanisms1-11; however, all mechanisms rely on protein components to mediate defence. Here we report a chemical anti-phage defence system that is widespread in Streptomyces. We show that three naturally produced molecules that insert into DNA are able to block phage replication, whereas molecules that target DNA by other mechanisms do not. Because double-stranded DNA phages are the most numerous group in the biosphere and the production of secondary metabolites by bacteria is ubiquitous12, this mechanism of anti-phage defence probably has a major evolutionary role in shaping bacterial communities.

Proton Probability Distribution in the O···H···O Low-Barrier Hydrogen Bond: A Combined Solid-State NMR and Quantum Chemical Computational Study of Dibenzoylmethane and Curcumin.

We report a combined solid-state (1H, 2H, 13C, 17O) NMR and plane-wave density functional theory (DFT) computational study of the O···H···O low-barrier hydrogen bonds (LBHBs) in two 1,3-diketone compounds: dibenzoylmethane (1) and curcumin (2). In the solid state, both 1 and 2 exist in the cis-keto-enol tautomeric form, each exhibiting an intramolecular LBHB with a short O···O distance (2.435 Å in 1 and 2.455 Å in 2). Whereas numerous experimental (structural and spectroscopic) and computational studies have been reported for the enol isomers of 1,3-diketones, a unified picture about the proton location within an LBHB is still lacking. This work reports for the first time the solid-state 17O NMR data for the O···H···O LBHBs in 1,3-diketones. The central conclusion of this work is that detailed information about the probability density distribution of the proton (nuclear zero-point motion) across an LBHB can be obtained from a combination of solid-state NMR and plane-wave DFT computations (both NMR parameter calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations). We propose that the precise proton probability distribution across an LBHB should provide a common basis on which different and sometimes seemingly contradicting experimental results obtained from complementary techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, and solid-state NMR, can be reconciled.

Drought-stimulated activity of plasma membrane nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase and its catalytic properties in rice.

The activity of plasma membrane (PM) nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase and its catalytic properties in rice was investigated under drought stress conditions. Drought stress led to decreased leaf relative water content (RWC) and, as a result of drought-induced oxidative stress, the activities of antioxidant enzymes increased significantly. More interestingly, the intensity of applied water stress was correlated with increased production of H2O2 and O2 (-) and elevated activity of PM NADPH oxidase, a key enzyme of reactive oxygen species generation in plants. Histochemical analyses also revealed increased H2O2 and O2 (-) production in drought-stressed leaves. Application of diphenylene iodonium (DPI), an inhibitor of PM NADPH oxidase, did not alleviate drought-induced production of H2O2 and O2 (-). Catalysis experiments indicated that the rice PM NADPH oxidase was partially flavin-dependent. The pH and temperature optima for this enzyme were 9.8 and 40 degrees C, respectively. In addition, drought stress enhanced the activity under alkaline pH and high temperature conditions. These results suggest that a complex regulatory mechanism, associated with the NADPH oxidase-H2O2 system, is involved in the response of rice to drought stress.

Anatomical and chemical alterations but not photosynthetic dynamics and apoplastic transport changes are involved in the brittleness culm mutation of rice.

Brittleness culm is an important agronomic trait that has a potential usefulness in agricultural activity as animal forage although the developmental mechanism is not clear yet. In the present study, the anatomical and chemical characteristics as well as some ecophysiological features in the brittleness culm mutation of rice (Oryza sativa L.) were investigated. Compared with the wild type (WT), the brittleness culm mutant (bcm) exhibited higher culm vascular bundle distance and lower culm wall thickness, leaf interveinal distance and leaf thickness. Ratio of bundle sheath cell/whole bundle and areas of whole vascular bundles and bundle sheath of leaves were reduced while ratios of xylem and phloem to whole bundles were elevated in bcm. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy analysis and further histochemical and physiological measurements revealed that the different contents and depositions of cell wall components such as pectins, lignin, suberin and cellulose all participated in the mutation of brittleness. However, the mutant presented no significant changes in leaf photosynthetic dynamics and apoplastic transport ability. These results strongly indicate that the alterations in anatomical and chemical characteristics, rather than changes in major ecophysiological features such as photosynthesis and apoplastic transport were involved in the brittleness mutation of rice.

Continuous representation of human portraits and natural scenery in human ventral temporal cortex: evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become a powerful tool for tracking human brain activity in vivo. This technique is mainly based on blood oxygenation level dependence (BOLD) contrast. In the present study, we employed this newly developed technique to characterize the neural representations of human portraits and natural sceneries in the human brain.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Nine subjects were scanned with a 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner using gradient-recalled echo and echo-planar imaging (GRE-EPI) pulse sequence while they were visually presented with 3 types of white-black photographs: natural scenery, human portraits, and scrambled nonsense pictures. Multiple linear regression was used to identify brain regions responding preferentially to each type of stimulus and common regions for both human portraits and natural scenery. The relative contributions of each type of stimulus to activation in these regions were examined using linear combinations of a general linear test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Multiple linear regression analysis revealed two distinct but adjacent regions in both sides of the ventral temporal cortex. The medial region preferentially responded to natural scenery, whereas the lateral one preferentially responded to the human portraits. The general linear test further revealed a distribution gradient such that a change from portraits to scenes shifted areas of activation from lateral to medial.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The boundary between portrait-associated and scenery-associated areas is not as clear as previously demonstrated. The representations of portraits and scenes in ventral temporal cortex appear to be continuous and overlap.</p>