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The toxic effects of 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) on the marine alga Skeletonema costatum were studied, including the population dynamics, chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics, pigment content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and morphology. High doses (200–600 μg L−1) of BDE-47 significantly suppressed the population growth of S. costatum, with a 96 h EC50 value of 293 μg L−1. Photosynthetic parameters (Fv/Fm, rETRmax and ΦPSⅡ) of photosystem II (PSII) were significantly inhibited with increasing BDE-47 concentrations. The chlorophyll c (chl c) concentration was also inhibited by exposure to BDE-47. In contrast, chl a and carotenoid concentrations were elevated after exposure to high concentrations of BDE-47 for 72 and 96 h. The SOD activity was generally higher at concentrations of 100–600 μg L−1 than those of the control when the exposure time was less than 48 h. With increasing time, the SOD activity generally decreased, and significantly higher SOD activity only occurred in the treatment with high doses of BDE-47. High MDA contents occurred after exposure for 96 h in all BDE-47 treatments. With increasing BDE-47 concentrations, drastic deformation of the silicious valve and detachment of the strutted processes were found. In addition, drastic decreases in the BDE-47 concentration in culture medium indicated the bioaccumulation of BDE-47 by S. costatum. Our results revealed multiple responses of S. costatum to BDE-47 exposure, and indicated the potential risk of BDE-47 in the East China Sea based on these responses.

Unfortunately for all articles of Vol. 35 No. 1 the future journal title “Journal of Oceanology and Limnology” was used instead of the current journal title “Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology”. All articles in the issue are aff ected. Please make sure to cite the articles with the following Vol. and No. info: Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, Vol. 35 No. 1, [page range].

An analytical methods based on the solid-phase extraction (SPE) with in situ derivatization followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has been developed for the determination of alkylphenols (APs) in water samples. Two important APs, 4-n-nonylphenol and 4-t-octylphenol, were selected as the target compounds for method development. The SPE extraction was conducted on a C18 extraction cartridges with on column silylation by bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide. Operationasl parameters including silylation reagent silylation time, pH value, concentration of salts, and eluent, which are expected to impact on the recoveries of analytes were optimized by orthogonal experimental design. It is shown that the acetone is the best silylation reagent while DCM was efficient in eluting APs from SPE cartridges. The recovery of APs increases slightly with increasing concnetration of NaCl in the range of 0–1.5% of NaCl, beyond the concentration of 1.5%, the recovery of APs starts to decrease. But the recovery of APs reduced by increasing pH value. The optimised method was further verified by performing spiking experiments in ultrapure water and seawater matrices, with good recovery and reproducibility for all the selected compounds. The method showed better performance in terms of analytical speed, procedural simplicity, and recovery than that of liquid-liquid extraction-derivatization method reported.

Education is an important process that brings about true equality, peace, and development. Women's education is necessary so that women may procure knowledge, the cornerstone of which is to lead to equality. Moreover, women's education is directly related to the value of the entire nation and the overall development of the country. As the new century approaches, humanity is faced with rapid developments in information technology and in the economy. This complex, ever-changing world, where countries compete and are mutually interdependent, women must comprehensively raise their own value by grasping knowledge and harnessing their hidden talents to face life's challenges, realize their own value and improve their status in society. Education is the precondition needed to bring these goals to reality. Therefore the serious question of women's education is the major concern of the whole community.

Currently, an obvious difference is evident in the areas of specialization of female students compared to that of male students. The former have patently fewer opportunities to study in the fields of science, math, engineering, environmental science and technology, information, and hi-tech. Most women students concentrate in arts such as Chinese and foreign languages. Clearly women students' studies are restricted to a limited field of disciplines. In an effort to be enlightened on the subject, we explored the factors affecting women students' choice of a specialty. Our survey was conducted mainly through questionnaires. Taking into account the differences among various types of institutions of higher learning, we selected for our survey women students from three universities: Huanan Teachers' University, Jinan University, and Huanan University of Science and Engineering. The students who are chosen are from different educational levels: junior college, college, and graduate school. The questions asked in...