A novel proton-gradient-transfer acid complexes as an efficient and reusable catalyst for fatty acid esterification

In this work, a series of novel proton-gradient-transfer acid complexes (PGTACs) were developed. Their physicochemical properties, including thermal stability, melting point, and Hammett acidity, were measured. The effects of catalyst loading, reaction temperature, and substrate expansion on the catalytic performance were systematically studied. It is found that the combination of bidentate N-heterocycle and H2SO4 (1:2 M ratio) could form simultaneously N–H covalent bond and N…H hydrogen bond, which makes the PGTACs excellent catalysts integrate the advantages of strong acids (high catalytic activity) and ionic liquids (phase separation) in the esterification reaction. Moreover, these PGTACs can be reused by convenient phase separation without obvious diminution of catalytic activity. It is concluded that these PGTACs are potential alternative candidates for esterification reaction in the process of industrial catalysis.     

Sperm traits of the quacking frog, Crinia georgiana: intra- and interpopulation variation in a species with a high risk of sperm competition

Sperm traits often show extreme variation both between and within species. Between-species variation may often be interpreted in the context of a sperm competition theory, but within-species variation has remained unexplained. Previous studies on intraspecific variation in sperm traits have focused on a limited set of variables and may have failed to explain observed variation because of potential trade-offs between different sperm traits. We report on variation in number, size, motility and longevity of sperm in the frog Crinia georgiana, a species where sperm competition is common. We found intrapopulation variation in sperm size and motility and interpopulation variation in relative sperm number and size. When we combined relative sperm number and size into one variable, and motility and longevity into another, we found significant interpopulation variation in these variables as well. We also detected considerable intra- and significant interpopulation variation in cumulative sperm quality, a combination of all four sperm traits. Furthermore, a significant effect of the interaction between population origin and male size on sperm characteristics indicated interpopulation variation in the strength of selection acting on sperm traits of males adopting different mating strategies. We discuss heterogeneity in the reproductive environment, a complex genetic background in the determination of sperm characteristics and varying levels of developmental noise as potential contributors to the observed variation in sperm traits.     

NF-κB and AP-1 as molecular targets for chemoprevention with EGCG, a review

There are multiple lines of compelling evidence, mostly from population-based studies, supporting that green tea consumption is associated with reduced risk of several human malignancies. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a major antioxidant present in green tea. Chemopreventive effects of EGCG have been extensively investigated and well documented. These include inhibition of metabolic activation of carcinogens and/or stimulation of their detoxification, scavenging of reactive oxygen species, induction of apoptosis or differentiation of malignant or transformed cells, suppression of tumor promotion, inhibition of angiogenesis or metastasis, etc. EGCG targets many intracellular signaling molecules and events responsible for malignant transformation or abnormal cell proliferation, and NF-κB and AP-1 appear to be two of most potential targets of EGCG in its exerting chemopreventive activities.     

Brown marine algae turbinaria conoides as biosorbent for Malachite green removal: Equilibrium and kinetic modeling

In this study, the biosorption of Malachite green (MG) onto Turbinaria conoides, brown marine algae, was studied with respect to initial pH, temperature, initial dye concentration, and sorbent dosage. The optimum initial pH and temperature values for MG removal were found to be 8.0 and 30°C, respectively. Sorbent dosage was found to strongly influence the removal of MG. Equilibrium studies were carried out to test the validity of the Langmuir (q _max = 66.6 mg/g and b = 0.526 mL mol/L) and the Freundlich (n = 1.826 and K = 3.751 mg/g) isotherms. The kinetic studies indicated the validity of the pseudo first-order and second-order equation.     

Conflict-involvement of male guinea pigs (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cavia aperea</Emphasis> f. <Emphasis Type="Italic">porcellus</Emphasis>) as a criterion for partner preference

Polygynous mating systems can inflict considerable costs on males, often causing the emergence of alternative mating strategies to ensure reproductive success. These strategies can lead to different morphs of color, size, or behavior. The present work was done on guinea pigs, a polygynous rodent species. Some males can show a reduced readiness for conflict, perhaps employing an alternative mating strategy. To test this hypothesis, a two-stage experiment was set up, with males (N = 16) and females (N = 16) initially living in isosexual groups. Visual and olfactory contact was possible through a wire mesh. Male agonistic behavior was observed for 15 days, confirming the existence of less-conflict-involved (LCI, N = 7) and more-conflict-involved males (MCI, N = 9). Significant differences were found for a conditional parameter, body mass, and a morphometric one, testis width: LCI consistently surpassed MCI. Hormonally, cortisol was comparable, while testosterone was distinctly higher in MCI. Next, males and females were joined and observed for further 24 days. Males initially lost weight but reached original mass towards the end of the experiment. Testis width patterns were similar. Again, LCI had higher body mass. Cortisol was comparable, but testosterone release 3 days after merging was significantly higher in LCI. Behaviorally, LCI exhibited significantly less male–male aggression and more socio-sexual behavior than MCI. The former were more successful, with 57% capable of accessing females, in contrast to 11% of MCI. The existence of two distinct behavioral phenotypes in guinea pig males suggests that different reproductive strategies may exist in this species.     

Challenges for a sustainable resource use: Uncertainty,trade, and climate policies

We integrate new challenges to thinking about resource markets and sustainable resource use policies in a general framework. The challenges, emerging from six papers that JEEM publishes in a special issue, are (i) demand uncertainty and stockpiling, (ii) international trade and resource dependence, (iii) deforestation, and (iv) intertemporal effects of climate change policies (“Green Paradox”). We discuss new insights and results on these issues by fitting them into the Hotelling model of non-renewable resource depletion.     

The Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) as a tool for the assimilation of high frequency water quality data

The Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) was applied to the analysis of high frequency field measurements of dissolved oxygen (DO), water temperature, salinity, collected by multiparametric sensors in the lagoon of Venice. This paper focuses on the practical aspects of the implementation of the EKF as a data assimilation technique and does not deal with the problems associated with the identification of the model. In this regard, the EKF has proved to be a useful tool for the updating of the estimates of the parameters of a simple DO-chlorophyll model, which can be used for linking the high frequency data to meteorological forcings, such as solar radiation and wind, and to other low frequency measurements of water quality parameters, such as the concentrations of Chlorophyll a and nutrients. The model can subsequently be used as a tool for checking the consistency of all this data, and may also be employed for controlling the quality of the data collected by the multiparametric sensors.     

Adaptive introgression as a resource for management and genetic conservation in a changing climate

Current rates of climate change require organisms to respond through migration, phenotypic plasticity, or genetic changes via adaptation. We focused on questions regarding species’ and populations’ ability to respond to climate change through adaptation. Specifically, the role adaptive introgression, movement of genetic material from the genome of 1 species into the genome of another through repeated interbreeding, may play in increasing species’ ability to respond to a changing climate. Such interspecific gene flow may mediate extinction risk or consequences of limited adaptive potential that result from standing genetic variation and mutation alone, enabling a quicker demographic recovery in response to changing environments. Despite the near dismissal of the potential benefits of hybridization by conservation practitioners, we examined a number of case studies across different taxa that suggest gene flow between sympatric or parapatric sister species or within species that exhibit strong ecotypic differentiation may represent an underutilized management option to conserve evolutionary potential in a changing environment. This will be particularly true where advanced‐generation hybrids exhibit adaptive traits outside the parental phenotypic range, a phenomenon known as transgressive segregation. The ideas presented in this essay are meant to provoke discussion regarding how we maintain evolutionary potential, the conservation value of natural hybrid zones, and consideration of their important role in adaptation to climate.     

Conservation as Virtue: a Scientific and Social Process for Conservation Ethics

Abstract:  Most scientists take ethical arguments for conservation as given and focus on scientific or economic questions. Although nature conservation is often considered a just cause, it is given little further consideration. A lack of attention to ethical theory raises serious concerns for how conservation scientists conceive and practice ethics. I contrast two common ways scientists approach ethics, as demonstrated in the writings of Stephen Jay Gould and E. O. Wilson. Gould casts severe doubt as to whether any ethics are possible from science, whereas Wilson proposes science as the only path to ethics. I argue these two methods ultimately limit popular support for conservation and offer Alasdair MacIntyre's "virtue ethics" as an alternative. Unlike Gould and Wilson, MacIntyre provides an ethical theory that reconciles scientific inquiry and social traditions. Recent studies of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States affirm MacIntyre's claims and provide important insights for conservation today. These accounts argue that social solidarity and political success against segregation were possible only as rooted in the particular language, logic, and practices of a robust cultural tradition. If correct, conservation science should attend to several questions. On what basis can conservation achieve widespread cultural legitimacy? What are the particular social currencies for a conservation ethic? What role does science play in such a scheme? MacIntyre's careful positioning of scientific and social traditions provides a hopeful ethical direction for conservation.     

Land‐use history as a guide for forest conservation and management

Conservation efforts to protect forested landscapes are challenged by climate projections that suggest substantial restructuring of vegetation and disturbance regimes in the future. In this regard, paleoecological records that describe ecosystem responses to past variations in climate, fire, and human activity offer critical information for assessing present landscape conditions and future landscape vulnerability. We illustrate this point drawing on 8 sites in the northwestern United States, New Zealand, Patagonia, and central and southern Europe that have undergone different levels of climate and land‐use change. These sites fall along a gradient of landscape conditions that range from nearly pristine (i.e., vegetation and disturbance shaped primarily by past climate and biophysical constraints) to highly altered (i.e., landscapes that have been intensely modified by past human activity). Position on this gradient has implications for understanding the role of natural and anthropogenic disturbance in shaping ecosystem dynamics and assessments of present biodiversity, including recognizing missing or overrepresented species. Dramatic vegetation reorganization occurred at all study sites as a result of postglacial climate variations. In nearly pristine landscapes, such as those in Yellowstone National Park, climate has remained the primary driver of ecosystem change up to the present day. In Europe, natural vegetation–climate–fire linkages were broken 6000–8000 years ago with the onset of Neolithic farming, and in New Zealand, natural linkages were first lost about 700 years ago with arrival of the Maori people. In the U.S. Northwest and Patagonia, the greatest landscape alteration occurred in the last 150 years with Euro‐American settlement. Paleoecology is sometimes the best and only tool for evaluating the degree of landscape alteration and the extent to which landscapes retain natural components. Information on landscape‐level history thus helps assess current ecological change, clarify management objectives, and define conservation strategies that seek to protect both natural and cultural elements.     

Accounting for monogastric livestock as a driver in global land use and cover change assessments

Land systems are described based on various characteristics, including land cover composition and agricultural production. However, it is uncertain to what extent livestock, particularly monogastric livestock, determines land systems. We included monogastrics in a land system classification, and statistically analyzed the land cover composition and agricultural production of otherwise similar land systems with and without monogastric livestock. The results indicate that land systems with monogastrics are statistically different from their counterparts in the classification without monogastrics in terms of grassland area and crop yields, but are less different in terms of tree area, crop area, and ruminant livestock production. We then used a land systems map that includes monogastrics in the classification and a similar map that does not include monogastrics to project future changes in a novel manner that integrates livestock as a determinant of land systems. The results show that including monogastrics in otherwise similar projections yields less cropland intensification and more cropland expansion in several world regions, including Northern Africa and the Middle East. Other regions, such as Europe and Australia, were characterized by less decrease or more increase in tree area in the application with monogastrics, mainly due to the occurrence of open forests with monogastrics. This study prompts a call for improved characterization of land systems for land use and cover change (LUCC) assessments in order to better represent LUCC driven by monogastric livestock.     

基于UML的学籍管理系统分析与设计

在当前的计算机软件设计中，大型软件系统基本上是采用面向对象方法来进行设计的，统一建模语言UML是面向对象分析和设计过程中重要的建模工具．本文以学籍管理系统的开发为实例，介绍UML如何辅助完成用例建模、静态建模和动态建模．     

An Environmental Domain Classification of New Zealand and Its Use as a Tool for Biodiversity Management

Abstract:   Successful biodiversity management, including the selection and subsequent management of protected areas, depends in large measure on classifications showing land areas with similar ecosystem character. In contrast to widely used, qualitative land-classification techniques, we used a numerical classification of explicit spatial layers describing aspects of New Zealand's climate and landforms. We chose input variables for their strong functional links with major physiological processes of trees and high statistical correlations with geographic distributions of individual tree species as determined from previous studies. Higher-level divisions of the resulting classification were dominated by macroclimatic variation associated with change in both latitude and orographic protection provided by New Zealand's main mountain ranges, but variation in landform became more important at finer scales of classification. Classification units showed marked variation in the proportional extent of both indigenous vegetation cover and land set aside for conservation purposes. Indigenous ecosystem remnants of the highest priority for increased protection occurred in warm, lowland domains, particularly in drier environments, where both indigenous cover and protected areas are of minimal geographic extent. Such results underline the considerable potential of an environmental classification to provide a landscape context for systematic conservation management, particularly in environments where the natural ecosystem pattern has been severely modified by human activity.     

An integrated method for the rapid dewatering and solidification/stabilization of dredged contaminated sediment with a high water content

• An integrated method, called PHDVPSS, was proposed for treating DCS. • The PHDVPSS method showed superior performance compared to conventional method. • Using the method, water content (%) of DCS decreased from 300 to<150 in 3 days. • The 56-day UCS from this method is 12‒17 times higher than conventional method. • Relative to PC, GGBS-MgO binder yielded greater reduction in the leachability. To more efficiently treat the dredged contaminated sediment (DCS) with a high water content, this study proposes an integrated method (called PHDVPSS) that uses the solidifying/stabilizing (S/S) agents and prefabricated horizontal drain (PHD) assisted by vacuum pressure (VP). Using this method, dewatering and solidification/stabilization can be carried out simultaneously such that the treatment time can be significantly shortened and the treatment efficacy can be significantly improved. A series of model tests was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Experimental results indicated that the proposed PHDVPSS method showed superior performance compared to the conventional S/S method that uses Portland cement (PC) directly without prior dewatering. The 56-day unconfined compressive strength of DCS treated by the proposed method with GGBS-MgO as the binder is 12‒17 times higher than that by the conventional S/S method. DCS treated by the PHDVPSS method exhibited continuous decrease in leaching concentration of Zn with increasing curing age. The reduction of Zn leachability is more obvious when using GGBS-MgO as the binder than when using PC, because GGBS-MgO increased the residual fraction and decreased the acid soluble fraction of Zn. The microstructure analysis reveals the formation of hydrotalcite in GGBS-MgO binder, which resulted in higher mechanical strength and higher Zn stabilization efficiency.     

Place‐based and data‐rich citizen science as a precursor for conservation action

Environmental education strategies have customarily placed substantial focus on enhancing ecological knowledge and literacy with the hope that, upon discovering relevant facts and concepts, participants will be better equipped to process and dissect environmental issues and, therefore, make more informed decisions. The assumption is that informed citizens will become active citizens––enthusiastically lobbying for, and participating in, conservation‐oriented action. We surveyed and interviewed and used performance data from 432 participants in the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), a scientifically rigorous citizen science program, to explore measurable change in and links between understanding and action. We found that participation in rigorous citizen science was associated with significant increases in participant knowledge and skills; a greater connection to place and, secondarily, to community; and an increasing awareness of the relative impact of anthropogenic activities on local ecosystems specifically through increasing scientific understanding of the ecosystem and factors affecting it. Our results suggest that a place‐based, data‐rich experience linked explicitly to local, regional, and global issues can lead to measurable change in individual and collective action, expressed in our case study principally through participation in citizen science and community action and communication of program results to personal acquaintances and elected officials. We propose the following tenets of conservation literacy based on emergent themes and the connections between them explicit in our data: place‐based learning creates personal meaning making; individual experience nested within collective (i.e., program‐wide) experience facilitates an understanding of the ecosystem process and function at local and regional scales; and science‐based meaning making creates informed concern (i.e., the ability to discern both natural and anthropogenic forcing), which allows individuals to develop a personalized prioritization schema and engage in conservation action.     

Equation for isotope accumulation in products and biomass as a way to reveal the pathways in mesophilic methanol methanization by microbial community

Isotope-labelling of substrate is used to reveal the methabolic pathways of substrate transformation by microbial community. In this paper, in order to describe the batch mesophilic anaerobic methanization of ¹³C-labelled methanol and microbial ecology analysis (Li et al., 2008), an equation for the isotope accumulation in products and biomass was included into the basic mathematical model based on stoichiometric chemical reactions. The higher was the isotope level in substrate, the larger fraction of ¹³C accumulated in products and biomass. Acetate, total organic and inorganic carbon (TOC, TIC) concentrations and methane production were used for the model calibration, whereas ¹³C enrichment of acetate, TIC and biomass were used for model validation. In the model, chemical transformations including methanol and acetate oxidation, homoacetogenesis, hydrogenotrophic and aceticlastic methanogenesis were considered. The rate-limiting reactions were methanol and acetate consumption. According to the model, homoacetogens performing acetate formation and oxidation were competed with hydrogenotrophic methanogens for hydrogen. Biphasic methane production was due to hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis in the first phase and due to acetiticlastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis following acetate oxidation in the second phase.     

矿冶区周边水稻对不同来源重金属污染的指示作用

有色金属开采与冶炼可对周边环境造成严重的重金属污染,查明重金属污染来源对于矿冶周边重金属污染管理与控制具有重要意义.为探索利用矿冶周边水稻对As、Cd、Pb、Zn和Cu的富集与水稻体内元素的含量平衡特征指示重金属污染来源的可行性,选择了我国著名的水口山Pb-Zn矿山开采与冶炼周边区,根据重金属污染排放和迁移扩散特征,结合当地气象和地貌条件,确定了3个典型采样区,其中两个采样区分别邻近冶炼厂和尾砂库,另一处为位于两者之间的过渡区.采用蛇形采样法在稻田内采集33个成熟水稻及土壤样品,分析水稻不同部位(包括根、茎叶、籽粒)及土壤中As、Cd、Pb、Zn、Cu5种重金属和其他16种元素的含量.结果表明,3个采样区之间土壤中的As、Cd、Pb、Zn和Cu含量均存在显著性差异;各采样区水稻中除根际和籽粒中Cd含量外,各部位重金属含量也均有显著差异.靠近冶炼厂的水稻茎叶中As、Pb含量高于离冶炼厂较远的采样区水稻茎叶.尽管As、Pb在靠近尾砂库采样区土壤中含量最高,但在该区水稻茎叶中的含量却最低;在除As、Cd、Pb、Zn、Cu5种重金属以外的其他16种元素中,水稻根部仅有5种元素含量在各采样区之间存在差异,指示相同的土地利用类型及土壤母质条件;而在茎叶和籽粒中则分别有多达11和10种元素含量出现采样区差异,指示重金属污染来源影响水稻茎叶及籽粒中元素的含量平衡.多元统计分析结果显示,3个采样区水稻茎叶中元素含量平衡存在显著的分异,显示出明显的采样区属性.结合采样区域空间位置、污染物来源、水稻对重金属的富集与转运特征分析,3个采样区重金属主要污染特征可分别确定为水-气混合来源型、大气来源型和尾砂来源型.论文结果证明利用水稻茎叶指示矿冶周边重金属污染来源是可行的.     

Temporal limitations in the use of potassium dichromate as a blood preservative for the analysis of organohalogenated contaminants including polybrominated diphenyl ethers,dioxins and PCBs

Previous studies described the use of potassium dichromate (K₂Cr₂O₇) to successfully preserve whole blood for up to 34 days at room temperature (20–22°C) for analysis of chlorinated dioxins, dibenzofurans and PCBs. Potassium dichromate has been successfully employed as a preservative for cows’ milk and in a World Health Organization study of human milk. The use of two 100?mg tablets in 40 to 100?mL of whole blood in anticoagulant was found to provide almost identical levels of dioxins, dibenzofurans, PCBs and lipids as found in frozen comparison blood at??70°C which is generally regarded as the gold standard for blood preservation. Potassium dichromate was found to be preferable to 20 and 40% ethyl alcohol for this preservation. This finding opens opportunities for preservation under field conditions in developing countries where neither electricity nor dry ice is available. Not having to use dry ice for shipping also allows more flexibility in the choice of commercial carriers for transporting blood to an analytical laboratory. It is recommended considering a number of compounds in addition to those studied in our first report and extending the time beyond 34 days in order to determine if longer storage might also be feasible. Data on polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), as well as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and selected polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are reported. For the present study 3 and 6 months were chosen in potassium dichromate at room temperature compared to freezing at ?70°C. Data indicate that these times exceed the limits of efficacy of potassium dichromate for whole blood preservation. This was attributed to degradation of the lipid component of the blood. Since dioxins and closely related structural analogues are traditionally reported as lipid normalized blood levels, this degradation of lipids provides erroneous results. Therefore, potassium dichromate is not recommended for long-term storage beyond 34 days at room temperature. It is planned to study the time period between one and three months and higher temperature preservation for shorter time periods, simulating conditions in tropical countries, to attempt to extend further the ease and convenience of chemical preservation of blood.