Determination of OCPs and PCBs in environmental water samples by GC-DLLME optimized by Response Surface Methodology

A new sample preparation procedure to determine seven organochlorine pesticides and seven polychlorinated biphenyls in environmental water samples by using a combination of ultrasonic-assisted solvent extraction and dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction was established, and the extracted analytes were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with electron capture detector. Some parameters influencing the extraction efficiency were studied and optimized utilizing response surface methodology. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the method showed wide linear ranges with r2 > 0.9989 and low limits of detection and quantification between 0.16 ~ 2.17 μg/L and 0.53 ~ 7.16 μg/L, respectively. Enrichment factors (EF) were high and ranged from 63 to 116. Relative standard deviations (RSDs) for the extraction of 25 μg/L of each selected OCPs and PCBs were less than 10.2 %. The proposed method was successfully used for targets contaminations determination in different water samples. α-HCH, β-HCH and p,p’-DDE were found in lake water closed to farmland with concentrations of 2.56 μg/L, 4.44 μg/L and 4.74 μg/L, respectively, and other OCPs and PCBs were not found in the corresponding water samples. The relative recoveries of OCPs and PCBs from tap water, river water and lake water at spiking levels of 10 μg/L were in the range of 81.9 ~ 109.7 %, within a relative standard deviation of 1.7 ~ 11.8 %. The results revealed that the proposed method was well suited for the determination of trace amounts of target contaminations in liquid samples

Residual characteristics of HCHs and DDTs in soil and dust of some parks in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

The residual characteristics of HCHs and DDTs in park soils and dusts in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia were determined by GC-ECD to evaluate their potential pollution risk. The residual concentrations of total HCHs and DDTs in the park soil samples were ranged in 11.36-53.14 ng·g-1 and 11.96-24.70 ng·g-1 while it was ranged in 32.28-92.68 ng·g-1 and 13.45-24.41 ng·g-1 in the park dust samples, respectively. We have studied the ratio of α-HCH/γ-HCH in order to determine pollution sources which may come from either technical HCHs or lindane. The study revealed that concentration of DDTs in soil has direct correlation on usage rate of the dicofol and technical DDT in the sampling area. The soil pollution assessments based on the single pollution index of HCHs and DDTs indicated that Ulaanbaatar city’s park soil and dust were not polluted with these compounds.The single pollution index of HCHs reached to 1.85 in A park dust samples，indicating the park dust environment was potentially polluted. DOI: http://doi.dx.org/10.5564/mjc.v15i0.315 Mongolian Journal of Chemistry 15 (41), 2014, p15-2

Effects of Environmental Factors on Nutrients Release at Sediment-Water Interface and Assessment of Trophic Status for a Typical Shallow Lake, Northwest China

Surface sediment and water samples were collected from Daihai Lake to study the biogeochemical characteristics of nitrogen and phosphorus, to estimate the loads of these nutrients, and to assess their effects on water quality. The contents and spatial distributions of total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and different nitrogen forms in sediments were analyzed. The results showed that concentrations of TN and TP in surface sediments ranged from 0.27 to 1.78 g/kg and from 558.31 to 891.29 mg/kg, respectively. Ratios of C : N ranged between 8.2 and 12.1, which indicated that nitrogen accumulated came mainly from terrestrial source. Ratios of N : P in all sampling sites were below 10, which indicated that N was the limiting nutrient for algal growth in this lake. Effects of environment factors on the release of nitrogen and phosphorus in lake sediments were also determined; high pH values could encourage the release of nitrogen and phosphorus. Modified Carlson’s trophic state index (TSIM) and comprehensive trophic state index (TSIC) were applied to ascertain the trophic classification of the studied lake, and the values of TSIM and TSIC ranged from 53.72 to 70.61 and from 47.73 to 53.67, respectively, which indicated that the Daihai Lake was in the stage of hypereutropher

Failure Of Hearing Acquisition in Mice With Reduced Expression of Connexin 26 Correlates With the Abnormal Phasing of Apoptosis Relative to Autophagy and Defective ATP-Dependent Ca2+ Signaling in Kölliker’s Organ

Mutations in the GJB2 gene that encodes connexin 26 (Cx26) are the predominant cause of prelingual hereditary deafness, and the most frequently encountered variants cause complete loss of protein function. To investigate how Cx26 deficiency induces deafness, we examined the levels of apoptosis and autophagy in Gjb2loxP/loxP; ROSA26CreER mice injected with tamoxifen on the day of birth. After weaning, these mice exhibited severe hearing impairment and reduced Cx26 expression in the cochlear duct. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) positive cells were observed in apical, middle, and basal turns of Kölliker’s organ at postnatal (P) day 1 (P1), associated with increased expression levels of cleaved caspase 3, but decreased levels of autophagy-related proteins LC3-II, P62, and Beclin1. In Kölliker’s organ cells with decreased Cx26 expression, we also found significantly reduced levels of intracellular ATP and hampered Ca2+ responses evoked by extracellular ATP application. These results offer novel insight into the mechanisms that prevent hearing acquisition in mouse models of non-syndromic hearing impairment due to Cx26 loss of function