Present forest biodiversity patterns in france related to former Roman agriculture

Combined archaeological and ecological investigations in a large ancient oak forest in Central France have revealed a dense network of ancient human settlements dating from the Roman period. We demonstrate a strong correlation between present-day forest plant diversity patterns and the location of Roman farm buildings. Plant species richness strongly increases toward the center of the settlements, and the frequency of neutrophilous and nitrogen-demanding species is higher. This pattern is paralleled by an increase in soil pH, available P, and delta(15)N, indicating the long-term impact of former agricultural practices on forest biogeochemical cycles. These extensive observations in a forested region on acid soils complement and confirm previous results from a single Roman settlement on limestone. Ancient Roman agricultural systems are increasingly being identified in contemporary French forests; the broad extent and long-lasting effects of previous cultivation shown in this study require that land-use history be considered as a primary control over biodiversity variations in many forest landscapes, even after millennia of abandonment.     

Partial purification and anti-leukemic activity of L-asparaginase enzyme of the actinomycete strain LA-29 isolated from the estuarine fish, Mugil cephalus (Linn.)

The actinomycete strain LA-29 isolated from the gut contents of the fish, Mugil cephalus of the Vellar estuary showed excellent L-asparaginase activity The enzyme was purified 18-fold and the final recovery of protein was 1.9%, which exhibited an activity of 13.57 IU/mg protein. The partially purified L-asparaginase inhibited the growth of leukemia cells in male wistar rats. Average survival period of the rats was more in an optimum enzyme dose of 100 units and the survival period was less when the dosages were increased and at the same time the enzyme became less effective when the dosages were decreased. Higher survival of 17.2 days was recorded when 100 units of the enzyme was given in three intermittent doses (50/25/25 units) at the interval of 24 hr. Analysis of cell components of the strain LA-29 has revealed the wall type-I which is the characteristic of the genus Streptomyces. Further the morphological, physiological and biochemical features along with the micromorphological results obtained for the strain LA-29 were compared with that of the Streptomyces species found in Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology and the strain LA-29 has been tentatively identified as Streptomyces canus.     

Partitioning diversity into independent alpha and beta components

Existing general definitions of beta diversity often produce a beta with a hidden dependence on alpha. Such a beta cannot be used to compare regions that differ in alpha diversity. To avoid misinterpretation, existing definitions of alpha and beta must be replaced by a definition that partitions diversity into independent alpha and beta components. Such a unique definition is derived here. When these new alpha and beta components are transformed into their numbers equivalents (effective numbers of elements), Whittaker's multiplicative law (alpha x beta = gamma) is necessarily true for all indices. The new beta gives the effective number of distinct communities. The most popular similarity and overlap measures of ecology (Jaccard, Sorensen, Horn, and Morisita-Horn indices) are monotonic transformations of the new beta diversity. Shannon measures follow deductively from this formalism and do not need to be borrowed from information theory; they are shown to be the only standard diversity measures which can be decomposed into meaningful independent alpha and beta components when community weights are unequal.     

Pollution status and conservation strategies of Moirang River, Manipur with a note on its aquatic bio-resources

An attempt has been made to evaluate pollution status and aquatic bio-resources of the Moirang river near its mouth in the Loktak Lake. The river water is considered polluted as it has high concentration of free CO2 (14.8 mg/l), nitrite-nitrogen (0.040 mg/l), inorganic phosphorus (0.107 mg/l and faecal coliform bacteria (162/100 ml). Aquatic bio-resources of the river include 24 species of fishes representing 20 genera of 13 families and 16 species of macrophytes representing 14 genera of 9 families. The floral and faunal compositions of the river were mostly widely distributed forms that can survive in polluted environments. Fishery potential and conservation strategies of the river are discussed.     

Antimicrobial activity of methanol extract of Origanum majorana L. (Sweet marjoram)

In-vitro microbicidal activity of the methanol extract of Origanum majorana L. was tested against seven fungi (Fusarium solani, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, A. parasiticus, Rhizopus oryzae, Rhizoctonia otyzae-sativae and Altemaria brassicicola) and six bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, B. megaterium, Escherichia coil, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus). The methanol extract of O. majorana can be used as an effective herbal protectant against different pathogenic bacteria and fungi. High toxicity against the growth of Aspergillus niger was diagnosed.     

Adsorption of Pb, Cd to Fe, Mn oxides in natural freshwater surface coatings developed in different seasons

Metal oxides( Fe, Mn oxides) in natural surface coatings(biofilms and associated minerals) are believed to play a significant role n the fate and transport of trace metal in aquatic environments. Seasonal variation of Fe, Mn oxides and organic materials in surface oatings, which were developed periodically on glass slides in Nanhu Lake, Jilin Province, China over the time frame of three seasons,was investigated in order to understand the influence of metal oxides on Pb and Cd adsorption to heterogeneous surface coating materials(biofilm). Pb and Cd adsorption was measured under controlled laboratory conditions( mineral salts solution with defined speciation, ionic trength 0.05 mol/L, 25~C and pH 6.0). The classical Langmuir adsorption isotherm was applied to estimate equilibrium coefficients of Pb nd Cd adsorption to the surface coatings. In general, components in the surface coatings varied greatly with seasons altering and btained higher concentrations in summer while the content of iron oxides always exceeded that of manganese oxides. Correlation nalyses between the maximum adsorption of Pb and Cd and components in the surface coatings developed periodically indicated that Pb hase association with Mn oxides and Cd phase association with Fe oxides as well as Mn oxides were statistically significant. Effect of Mn xides on Cd adsorption was confirmed in view of its higher content in the surface coatings. The importance of ferromanganese oxides for b and Cd adsorption to the natural surface coatings developed in different seasons was evidenced.     

不同种类有机肥施用对稻田CH4和N2O排放的综合影响

以麦茬稻田为对象,研究基肥施用不同有机肥对稻田CH4和N2O排放的综合影响.结果表明:有机肥施用对稻田CH4和N2O排放的季节变化模式无明显影响,但影响其排放量.与施用化肥(化肥处理)相比,施用菜饼+化肥(菜饼处理)促进CH4和N2O的排放,其季节排放总量分别增加了252%和22%;施用小麦秸秆+化肥(秸秆处理)和牛厩肥+化肥(牛厩肥处理)明显增加CH4排放,增加量分别为250%和45%,同时却减少N2O排放,分别减少18%和21%;施用猪厩肥+化肥(猪厩肥处理)降低CH4和N2O的排放,分别降低4%和18%.对CH4和N2O排放的综合温室效应分析表明,菜饼和秸秆处理的全球增温潜势(GWP)约为化肥处理的2.5倍,牛厩肥和化肥处理基本持平,但施用猪厩肥可减少10%～15%.各处理的GWP从高到低依次为菜饼、秸秆、牛厩肥、化肥和猪厩肥.单位产量的GWP以秸秆处理最高,菜饼次之,牛厩肥比化肥处理略高,猪厩肥处理最低.从本生长季来看,猪厩肥的施用对于实现环境效益与生产效益的协调发展具有一定作用.     

Degradation and removal methods of antibiotics from aqueous matrices--a review

Over the past few years, antibiotics have been considered emerging pollutants due to their continuous input and persistence in the aquatic ecosystem even at low concentrations. They have been detected worldwide in environmental matrices, indicating their ineffective removal from water and wastewater using conventional treatment methods. To prevent this contamination, several processes to degrade/remove antibiotics have been studied. This review addresses the current state of knowledge concerning the input sources, occurrence and mainly the degradation and removal processes applied to a specific class of micropollutants, the antibiotics. In this paper, different remediation techniques were evaluated and compared, such as conventional techniques (biological processes, filtration, coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation), advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), adsorption, membrane processes and combined methods. In this study, it was found that ozonation, Fenton/photo-Fenton and semiconductor photocatalysis were the most tested methodologies. Combined processes seem to be the best solution for the treatment of effluents containing antibiotics, especially those using renewable energy and by-products materials.     

Modeling porosity reductions caused by mineral fouling in continuous-wall permeable reactive barriers

A study was conducted to assess key factors to include when modeling porosity reductions caused by mineral fouling in permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) containing granular zero valent iron. The public domain codes MODFLOW and RT3D were used and a geochemical algorithm was developed for RT3D to simulate geochemical reactions occurring in PRBs. Results of simulations conducted with the model show that the largest porosity reductions occur between the entrance and mid-plane of the PRB as a result of precipitation of carbonate minerals and that smaller porosity reductions occur between the mid-plane and exit face due to precipitation of ferrous hydroxide. These findings are consistent with field and laboratory observations, as well as modeling predictions made by others. Parametric studies were conducted to identify the most important variables to include in a model evaluating porosity reduction. These studies showed that three minerals (CaCO3, FeCO3, and Fe(OH)2 (am)) account for more than 99% of the porosity reductions that were predicted. The porosity reduction is sensitive to influent concentrations of HCO3-, Ca2+, CO3(2-), and dissolved oxygen, the anaerobic iron corrosion rate, and the rates of CaCO3 and FeCO3 formation. The predictions also show that porosity reductions in PRBs can be spatially variable and mineral forming ions penetrate deeper into the PRB as a result of flow heterogeneities, which reflects the balance between the rate of mass transport and geochemical reaction rates. Level of aquifer heterogeneity and the contrast in hydraulic conductivity between the aquifer and PRB are the most important hydraulic variables affecting porosity reduction. Spatial continuity of aquifer hydraulic conductivity is less significant.     

Effect of chromium on the fatty acid composition of two strains of Euglena gracilis

The effect of hexavalent chromium on fatty acid composition was studied in two strains of Euglena gracilis; UTEX 753 (from the Culture Collection of Algae of Texas University, USA) and MAT (isolated from a highly polluted River). Both were grown in photoauxotrophic and photoheterotrophic conditions and exposed to two metal concentrations, one below and one above IC50. The high malondialdehyde (MDA) levels (3 to 7-fold) obtained with chromium concentration above IC50, suggested the existence of metal-induced lipid peroxidation. Total lipid content increased only with concentration below IC50, whereas it was inhibited by higher metal concentration. Photoheterotrophic control strains exhibited a significantly higher proportion of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Polyunsaturated acids were most affected by chromium, especially those related to chloroplast structures. Ultra-structure studies showed clear thylakoid disorganization in all treated cells. The results indicate that hexavalent chromium affects levels of fatty acids, especially those related to photosynthetic activity.