Protective effects of dietary betaine on intestinal barrier function and cecal microbial community in indigenous broiler chickens exposed to high temperature environment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - High temperature environment causes reduction in productivity in broilers by disrupting the intestinal barrier function. This study aimed to...     

Biomonitoring of testate amoebae (protozoa) as toxic metals absorbed in aquatic bryophytes from the Hg-Tl mineralized area (China)

A new method has been developed for the determination of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in pulping effluent using chemometrics-assisted spectrophotometry. Two calibration models were established by inducing UV-visible spectroscopy (model 1) and derivative spectroscopy (model 2), combined with the chemometrics software Smica-P. Correlation coefficients of the two models are 0.9954 (model 1) and 0.9963 (model 2) when COD of samples is in the range of 0 to 405 mg/L. Sensitivities of the two models are 0.0061 (model 1) and 0.0056 (model 2) and method detection limits are 2.02?C2.45 mg/L (model 1) and 2.13?C2.51 mg/L (model 2). Validation experiment showed that the average standard deviation of model 2 was 1.11 and that of model 1 was 1.54. Similarly, average relative error of model 2 (4.25%) was lower than model 1 (5.00%), which indicated that the predictability of model 2 was better than that of model 1. Chemometrics-assisted spectrophotometry method did not need chemical reagents and digestion which were required in the conventional methods, and the testing time of the new method was significantly shorter than the conventional ones. The proposed method can be used to measure COD in pulping effluent as an environmentally friendly approach with satisfactory results.     

Ecology of hemiepiphytism in fig species is based on evolutionary correlation of hydraulics and carbon economy

Woody hemiepiphytic species (Hs) are important components of tropical rain forests, and they have been hypothesized to differ from non-hemiepiphytic tree species (NHs) in adaptations relating to water relations and carbon economy; but few studies have been conducted comparing ecophysiological traits between the two growth forms especially in an evolutionary context. Using common-garden plants of the genus Ficus, functional traits related to plant hydraulics and carbon economy were compared for seven NHs and seven Hs in their adult terrestrial "tree-like" growth phase. We used phylogenetically independent contrasts to test the hypothesis that differences in water availability selected for contrasting suites of traits in Hs and NHs, driving evolutionary correlations among functional traits including hydraulic conductivity and photosynthetic traits. Species of the two growth forms differed in functional traits; Hs had substantially lower xylem hydraulic conductivity and stomatal conductance, and higher instantaneous photosynthetic water use efficiency. Leaf morphological and structural traits also differed strikingly between the two growth forms. The Hs had significantly smaller leaves, higher leaf mass per area (LMA), and smaller xylem vessel lumen diameters. Across all the species, hydraulic conductivity was positively correlated with leaf gas exchange indicating high degrees of hydraulic-photosynthetic coordination. More importantly, these correlations were supported by correlations implemented on phylogenetic independent contrasts, suggesting that most trait correlations arose through repeated convergent evolution rather than as a result of chance events in the deep nodes of the lineage. Vatiation in xylem hydraulic conductivity was also centrally associated with a suite of other functional traits related to carbon economy and growth, such as LMA, water use efficiency, leaf nutrient concentration, and photosynthetic nutrient use efficiency, indicating important physiological constraints or trade-offs among functional traits. Shifts in this trait cluster apparently related to the adaptation to drought-prone canopy growth during the early life cycle of Hs and clearly affected ecophysiology of the later terrestrial stage of these species. Evolutionary flexibility in hydraulics and associated traits might be one basis for the hyper-diversification of Ficus species in tropical rain forests.     

Antimony (Sb) – pollution and removal techniques – critical assessment of technologies

In view of increasing emissions of antimony (Sb) into the environment due to industrialization and consequent carcinogenicity, it is essential to remove this metal from the ecosystem. Antimony and arsenic (As) are analogs. Although numerous studies examined arsenic removal, few reports are available on Sb removal. In this review, various Sb removal techniques are described to understand how this process occurs and what research gaps are needed to improve efficiency. At present, surface adsorption technique is the most widely used for Sb removal. Biological treatment namely phytoremediation is also a promising method and more investigations are required in this regard. The selection of a suitable technique for a given area depends on the conditions including economic, environmental, and social conditions.     

Heat stress alters serum lipid metabolism of Chinese indigenous broiler chickens-a lipidomics study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Heat stress (HS) by high-temperature environment reduced the production performance of poultry and caused losses to the breeding industry. The present...     

酸性矿山废水区域沉积物中嗜酸菌多样性研究

采集了酸性矿山废水区域酸性沉积物样品,运用16S rDNA克隆文库技术和变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)技术,研究了沉积物中的嗜酸菌类群以及它们的群落结构.结果表明,沉积物中的嗜酸菌类型较新,大多数16S rDNA序列与已知序列的相似性均在97%以下.这些嗜酸菌主要为Acidobacteria,β/-γProteobacteria,δ-Proteobacteria,Nitrospira,Candidate Division TM7,low G+C Gram-positive类微生物.在这一酸性生态系统中,δ-Proteobacteria类细菌占据主导地位.对酸性沉积物中嗜酸菌多样性的研究有利于发现高效处理酸性矿山废水的方法.     

Constitutional tolerance and chlorophyll fluorescence of Boehmeria nivea L in response to the antimony (Sb) and arsenic (As) co-contamination

The metal tolerance and metabolic changes in Boehmeria nivea colonized in mining areas are not well known. A hydroponic experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of antimony (Sb)+arsenic (As) in following combinations (control (no metal), 20+0, 10+10, 40+0, 20+20, and 40+40 mg/L) on phytotoxicity, metal tolerance index (MTI), and chlorophyll fluorescence in B. nivea. This constitutes an initial investigation of metal tolerance and chlorophyll fluorescence in Sb and Sb+As contaminated B. nivea. The high Sb+As 40+40 mg/L produced significant phytotoxicity and MTI in the plant. Progressive higher Sb and Sb+As levels resulted in decreased chlorophyll fluorescence of B. nivea. Exposure to intermediate and high Sb+As levels induced damage in the photosynthesis apparatus of the plant.     

活性炭吸附处理锂电池厂含酯废水及微波再生实验

采用活性炭吸附的方法对锂电池产生的含酯废水进行预处理,研究了吸附时间、初始pH值和活性炭投加量对废水COD去除的影响.吸附饱和后的活性炭用微波进行再生,考察了辐照时间、微波功率及再生次数对活性炭再生效果的影响.结果表明,当活性炭投加量为10g/L时,吸附60min,含酯废水的COD去除率为69.5%,可生化性从原水的0.05提高到0.25.当微波功率为420W、辐照时间为6min时,活性炭可被有效地再生,再生效率高达98.0%,活性炭损失率约为5.2%.再生前后活性炭的红外光谱图表明,活性炭表面官能团发生了变化,促进活性炭对污染物质的吸附.