Context dependency and generality of fever in insects

Fever can reduce mortality in infected animals. Yet, despite its fitness-enhancing qualities, fever often varies among animals. We used several approaches to examine this variation in insects. Texas field crickets (Gryllus texensis) exhibited a modest fever (1 °C increase in preferred body temperature, T _pref) after injection of prostaglandin, which putatively mediates fever in both vertebrates and invertebrates, but they did not exhibit fever during chronic exposure to heat-killed bacteria. Further, chronic food limitation and mating status did not affect T _pref or the expression of behavioural fever, suggesting limited context dependency of fever in G. texensis. Our meta-analysis of behavioural fever studies indicated that behavioural fever occurs in many insects, but it is not ubiquitous. Thus, both empirical and meta-analytical results suggest that the fever response in insects ‘is widespread, although certainly not inevitable’ (Moore 2002). We highlight the need for future work focusing on standardizing an experimental protocol to measure behavioural fever, understanding the specific mechanism(s) underlying fever in insects, and examining whether ecological or physiological costs often outweigh the benefits of fever and can explain the sporadic nature of fever in insects.     

改性凹凸棒土吸附地下水中硝基苯的实验研究

从凹凸棒土(以下简称凹土)的有机改性入手,研究凹土的十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(CTAB)、十八烷基三甲基氯化铵(OTAC)改性及吸附模拟硝基苯(nitrobenzene,NB)污染地下水的影响因素及性能。结果表明:采用超声改性法制得的CTAB、OTAC改性凹土对地下水中NB具有较强的吸附能力,每100g凹土改性剂最佳用量为30 mmol。在NB浓度为20mg/L、投加量为4%、吸附时间30 min的条件下,NB吸附去除率分别达45.68%、55.40%;改性凹土的静态吸附行为符合Langmuir吸附等温方程。     

我国城市垃圾处理现状及问题分析

随着人口的增长和人们生活城市生活垃圾产量的增长,成分日趋复杂,危害也日益显露和突出,这种危害不是单方面的因素,而是全方面的因素所引起的,如生活水平质量的提高,消费观的改变,人们总体环保意识的欠缺等等,本文通过分析我国城市垃圾处理现状,提出一些切实可行的方法,一起规范和提高我国垃圾处理水平。     

试论加强环境保护对促进人与自然和谐发展的影响

人与自然的关系,一直是人类关注的焦点。人类对于自身在自然界的地位以及二者之间关系的认识经历了漫长而曲折的过程。大家都非常重视人与自然的和谐相处。随着生产力的发展,人类对自然的征服力量越来越强,但人类从未停止对自然界的保护。党的十六届四中全会提出的构建社会主义和谐社会,不仅对人与人、人与社会的和谐提出了要求,还包括人与自然的和谐共处。显然,人与自然的和谐已成为构建和谐社会的有机组成部分。     

长三角区域城市间一次污染跨界影响

长三角城市群作为我国三大经济圈之一,高强度的能源消耗致使区域大气污染问题十分突出.为了定量弄清城市之间一次污染传输情况,以长三角15个城市的污染排放清单、MM5气象场为基础,利用CALPUFF空气质量模型,模拟测算了长三角区域内城市间一次污染跨界输送影响.结果显示,环太湖地区的上海、苏州、无锡和常州等地由于自身排放强度...     

树木水分胁迫和抗旱性机理研究进展

本文从植物对干旱胁迫的反应和抗旱指标、光合作用和蒸腾作用和水分利用效率等研究途径,以及人工采取的抗旱措施等方面阐述了森林植物的抗旱性机理研究现状,并提出了今后研究的重点方向。     

Health risks of heavy metals in contaminated soils and food crops irrigated with wastewater in Beijing, China

Consumption of food crops contaminated with heavy metals is a major food chain route for human exposure. We studied the health risks of heavy metals in contaminated food crops irrigated with wastewater. Results indicate that there is a substantial buildup of heavy metals in wastewater-irrigated soils, collected from Beijing, China. Heavy metal concentrations in plants grown in wastewater-irrigated soils were significantly higher (P相似文献   

A directional passive air sampler for monitoring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in air mass

A passive air sampler was developed for collecting polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in air mass from various directions. The airflow velocity within the sampler was assessed for its responses to ambient wind speed and direction. The sampler was examined for trapped particles, evaluated quantitatively for influence of airflow velocity and temperature on PAH uptake, examined for PAH uptake kinetics, calibrated against active sampling, and finally tested in the field. The airflow volume passing the sampler was linearly proportional to ambient wind speed and sensitive to wind direction. The uptake rate for an individual PAH was a function of airflow velocity, temperature and the octanol-air partitioning coefficient of the PAH. For all PAHs with more than two rings, the passive sampler operated in a linear uptake phase for three weeks. Different PAH concentrations were obtained in air masses from different directions in the field test.     

Functionally relevant microorganisms to enhanced biological phosphorus removal performance at full-scale wastewater treatment plants in the United States

The abundance and relevance ofAccumulibacter phosphatis (presumed to be polyphosphate-accumulating organisms [PAOs]), Competibacter phosphatis (presumed to be glycogen-accumulating organisms [GAOs]), and tetrad-forming organisms (TFOs) to phosphorus removal performance at six full-scale enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) wastewater treatment plants were investigated. Coexistence of various levels of candidate PAOs and GAOs were found at these facilities. Accumulibacter were found to be 5 to 20% of the total bacterial population, and Competibacter were 0 to 20% of the total bacteria population. The TFO abundance varied from nondetectable to dominant. Anaerobic phosphorus (P) release to acetate uptake ratios (P(rel)/HAc(up)) obtained from bench tests were correlated positively with the abundance ratio of Accumulibacter/(Competibacter +TFOs) and negatively with the abundance of (Competibacter +TFOs) for all plants except one, suggesting the relevance of these candidate organisms to EBPR processes. However, effluent phosphorus concentration, amount of phosphorus removed, and process stability in an EBPR system were not directly related to high PAO abundance or mutually exclusive with a high GAO fraction. The plant that had the lowest average effluent phosphorus and highest stability rating had the lowest P(rel)/HAc(up) and the most TFOs. Evaluation of full-scale EBPR performance data indicated that low effluent phosphorus concentration and high process stability are positively correlated with the influent readily biodegradable chemical oxygen demand-to-phosphorus ratio. A system-level carbon-distribution-based conceptual model is proposed for capturing the dynamic competition between PAOs and GAOs and their effect on an EBPR process, and the results from this study seem to support the model hypothesis.     

Spatial and temporal variations and possible sources of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites in rivers in Tianjin, China

Water, suspended solid (SS) and sediment samples were collected from nine water courses in Tianjin, China and analyzed for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites (DDXs, including o,p'-,p,p'-DDT, DDD and DDE). The average DDX concentrations in water, SS and sediment were 59+/-30 ng l(-1), 2690+/-1940 ng g(-1)dry wt. and 340+/-930 ng g(-1)dry wt., respectively. Due to the termination of the extensive agricultural application and industrial manufacture, DDXs in river sediment decreased by one order of magnitude since 1970's and low DDT fractions in these sediments were observed. Still, DDXs in the sediments near the outlets of the major manufacturers remained relatively high attributed to the historic input. DDXs in sediment were also positively correlated with organic matter content. Spatial distributions of DDXs in SS and water was different from that in sediment. For SS, a negative correlation between DDX concentration and SS content indicated a dilution effect in many rivers. Dissolved organic carbon content was the major factor affecting DDX concentrations in water phase. Wastewater discharged from dicofol manufacturers and likely illegal agricultural application were the primary reasons causing high DDT (DDE+DDD) ratios in SS and water.