Leptospirosis risk increases with changes in species composition of rat populations

Rats are major reservoirs of leptospirosis and considered as a main threat to biodiversity. A recent introduction of Rattus rattus to the island of Futuna (Western Polynesia) provided the opportunity to test if a possible change in species composition of rat populations would increase the risk of leptospirosis to humans. We trapped rodents on Wallis and Futuna and assessed Leptospira carriage in 357 rodents (Rattus norvegicus, R. rattus, Rattus exulans, and Mus domesticus) from 2008 to 2012. While Leptospira prevalence in rodents and the composition of rat populations on Futuna fluctuated with rainfall, the biomass of Leptospira-carrying rodents has been continuously rising from 2008 to 2012. Our results suggest that the introduction of R. rattus increases the risk to humans being infected with leptospirosis by rats.     

Fossil evidence for the early ant evolution

Ants are one of the most studied insects in the world; and the literature devoted to their origin and evolution, systematics, ecology, or interactions with plants, fungi and other organisms is prolific. However, no consensus yet exists on the age estimate of the first Formicidae or on the origin of their eusociality. We review the fossil and biogeographical record of all known Cretaceous ants. We discuss the possible origin of the Formicidae with emphasis on the most primitive subfamily Sphecomyrminae according to its distribution and the Early Cretaceous palaeogeography. And we review the evidence of true castes and eusociality of the early ants regarding their morphological features and their manner of preservation in amber. The mid-Cretaceous amber forest from south-western France where some of the oldest known ants lived, corresponded to a moist tropical forest close to the shore with a dominance of gymnosperm trees but where angiosperms (flowering plants) were already diversified. This palaeoenvironmental reconstruction supports an initial radiation of ants in forest ground litter coincident with the rise of angiosperms, as recently proposed as an ecological explanation for their origin and successful evolution.     

Bioluminescent yeast assays for detecting estrogenic and androgenic activity in different matrices

In this paper we describe the construction and use of a set of bioluminescent yeast strains for the detection of compounds that can affect androgen or estrogen receptor mediated hormonal signalling. The set includes Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains expressing human androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) or estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta), along with firefly luciferase controlled by a respective hormone responsive promoter. A constitutively luminescent strain was included in the set for determining the cytotoxicity of the sample. Yeast cells were incubated with pure chemicals or complex samples for 2.5 h, after which the signal could be detected from the cell-sample mixture after simply adding the D-luciferin substrate. The assays could be completed in one day and they required no cell lysis or centrifugation steps, which makes them suitable for high-throughput analysis of samples. Due to a short incubation time the assays are directly applicable to different sample matrices, requiring no pretreatment of the samples. The assays were used to assess the hormonal activity in moisturizing lotions as an example of a complex sample matrix known to contain endocrine disrupting chemicals. Six out of eight tested moisturisers showed high estrogenic activity, whereas no androgenic activity was observed in the samples.     

Detection of trisomy 21 by quantitative fluorescent–polymerase chain reaction in uncultured amniocytes

Prenatal diagnosis of fetal trisomy 21 is usually performed by cytogenetic analysis. This requires lengthy laboratory procedures, high costs and is unsuitable for large-scale screening of pregnant women. Today, trisomy 21 can be rapidly diagnosed within 24 h by molecular analysis of uncultured fetal cells using the semi-quantification of fluorescent PCR products from short tandem repeat (STR) polymorphic markers. The aim of our study was to test a chromosome quantification method on the basis of the analysis of fluorescent PCR products derived from non-polymorphic target genes. Co-amplification of a portion of DSCR1 (Down syndrome Critical Region 1) and the reference gene, CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator) enabled molecular detection of trisomy 21. Our method was successfully tested on a total of 154 amniotic fluids in a blind prospective study. Calculation of the DSCR1/CFTR ratio allowed us to distinguish between 152 normal amniotic fluids (mean ratio 0.99) and 2 amniotic fluids presenting a trisomy 21 status (DSCR1/CFTR ratio of 1.53 and 1.61, respectively). The results obtained by conventional cytogenetic analysis and our quantitative PCR method were concordant in every case. Our gene-based fluorescent PCR approach represents an alternative molecular method for rapid and reliable detection of trisomy 21, which can be helpful in the prenatal diagnosis of women at high risk of fetal trisomy 21. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

磷石膏废渣对小麦生长及麦田N_2O排放影响与经济环境效益分析

磷化工业产生的大量废渣磷石膏污染环境、占用土地,尚未得到很好的治理和利用。文章研究磷石膏废渣资源化利用,探索其对小麦田氧化亚氮(N_2O)排放以及小麦生长以及产量的影响。结果表明:施用不同量的磷石膏废渣对小麦生长、产量以及麦田N_2O的排放量的影响有所不同。施用磷石膏2 100 kg/hm~2对小麦千粒重以及产量等都有显著影响,可增产达48.11%。同时在整个小麦生长季,与单施有机肥处理相比,施用磷石膏废渣2 100 kg/hm~2可减少麦田N_2O排放量达30.14%,且减排作用具有持续性,在小麦的拔节期、抽穗期以及灌浆期的减排效果尤为显著。与之相比施用磷石膏1050 kg/hm~2的各项效果都比较微弱。研究还表明施用45%复合肥900 kg/hm~2虽然也促进小麦生长,增加小麦产量,但在整个生长季会显著增加N_2O的排放54.70%。在施用磷石膏条件下,小麦的鲜重和产量与麦田N_2O排放呈现显著负相关,与麦田N_2O排放强度呈现显著正相关,即磷石膏在显著促进小麦生长的同时可以显著降低麦田N_2O的排放。以碳交易背景为基础,分析磷石膏减排剂的田经济环境效益,结果表明,施用磷石膏废渣2 100 kg/hm~2,麦田的收入与产出比由1∶9.93提高到1∶17.82,产出增加约79.46%,同时还能够累计减少N_2O的排放达161.71 kg/hm~2。每吨磷石膏废渣可以减少N_2O排放76.48 kg,折合减少CO_2排放22 944 kg,环境收益达到1 140.55元。磷石膏作为减排剂施用,不仅可以减少环境污染,还能促进小麦生长,减少N_2O排放,对发展生态农业并缓解温室效应具有重要的应用价值。     

Analysis of a population of magnetotactic bacteria of the Gulf of Gabès,Tunisia

The occurrence of magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) on a Tunisian marine coast exposed to heavy metals pollution (Sfax, Gulf of Gabès, Mediterranean Sea) was investigated. The MTB population of this Southern Mediterranean coast was compared to the MTB populations previously investigated on the French Northern Mediterranean coast. A dominant MTB coccus morphotype was observed by microscopy analysis. By pyrosequencing technology, the analysis of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rDNA) revealed as much as 33 operational taxonomic sequence units (OTUs) close to sequences of MTB accessible in the databases. The majority were close to MTB sequences of the “Med group” of α-Proteobacteria. Among them, a dominant OTU_001 (99 % of the MTB sequences) affiliated within the Magnetococcales order was highlighted. Investigating the capacities of this novel bacterium to be used in bioremediation and/or depollution processes could be envisaged.     

Supporting evidences for vegetation-enhanced stormwater infiltration in bioretention systems: a comprehensive review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Stormwater mitigation efficiency of bioretention systems relies for a large part on their capacity to infiltrate rapidly received runoff. Within this...