The role of chitin in the decomposition of ectomycorrhizal fungal litter

Ectomycorrhizal fungal tissues comprise a significant forest-litter pool. Ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi may also influence the decomposition of other forest-litter components via competitive interactions with decomposer fungi and by ensheathing fine roots. Because of these direct and indirect effects of ectomycorrhizal fungi, the factors that control the decomposition of EM fungi will strongly control forest-litter decomposition as a whole and, thus, ecosystem nutrient and carbon cycling. Some have suggested that chitin, a component of fungal cell walls, reduces fungal tissue decomposition because it is relatively recalcitrant. We therefore examined the change in chitin concentrations of EM fungal tissues during decomposition. Our results show that chitin is not recalcitrant relative to other compounds in fungal tissues and that its concentration is positively related to the decomposition of fungal tissues. Variation existing among EM fungal isolates in chitin concentration suggests that EM fungal community structure influences C and nutrient cycling.     

Economic feasibility of no-tillage and manure for soil carbon sequestration in corn production in northeastern Kansas

This study examined the economic potential of no-tillage versus conventional tillage to sequester soil carbon by using two rates of commercial N fertilizer or beef cattle manure for continuous corn (Zea mays L.) production. Yields, input rates, field operations, and prices from an experiment were used to simulate a distribution of net returns for eight production systems. Carbon release values from direct, embodied, and feedstock energies were estimated for each system, and were used with soil carbon sequestration rates from soil tests to determine the amount of net carbon sequestered by each system. The values of carbon credits that provide an incentive for managers to adopt production systems that sequester carbon at greater rates were derived. No-till systems had greater annual soil carbon gains, net carbon gains, and net returns than conventional tillage systems. Systems that used beef cattle manure had greater soil carbon gains and net carbon gains, but lower net returns, than systems that used commercial N fertilizer. Carbon credits would be needed to encourage the use of manure-fertilized cropping systems.     

Preparation and FT-IR characterization of metal phytate compounds

Phytic acid (inositol hexaphosphoric acid, IP6) has long been recognized as the predominant organic P form in soil and animal manure. Whereas many studies have investigated the wet chemistry of IP6, there is little information on the characterization of solid metal IP6 compounds. This information is essential for further understanding and assessing the chemical behavior of IP6 in diverse soil-plant-water ecosystems. As the first step in full characterization, we synthesized eight metal phytate compounds and investigated their structural features using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The absorption features from 900 to 1200 cm(-1) in FT-IR could be used to identify these phytates as: (i) light divalent metal (Ca and Mg) compounds with a sharp band and a broad band, (ii) heavy divalent metal (Cu and Mn) compounds with splitting broad bands, and (iii) trivalent metal (Al and Fe) compounds with a broad band and a shoulder band. Three different types of chemical structures of metal-phytate compounds were presented based on the FT-IR information. We further demonstrated that metal orthophosphates possessed different FT-IR spectral characteristics from their IP6 counterparts. The unique spectral features of metal phytates from 1000 to 700 cm(-1) could be used to distinguish phytate compounds from metal phosphate compounds. Thus, FT-IR analysis after fine tuning could provide an analytical tool to investigate the basic metal phytate chemistry in molecular levels, such as the competitive interactions between phosphate and phytate with a specific metal ion, and the conversion (or hydrolysis) of metal phytate to metal phosphate under various conditions.     

Arsenic methylation, GSTO1 polymorphisms, and metabolic syndrome in an arseniasis endemic area of southwestern Taiwan

Previous studies have shown that hair arsenic (As) levels are associated with an increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is a strong predictor for type 2 diabetes. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether urinary arsenic methylation is related to MetS in an arseniasis endemic area of southwestern Taiwan, taking genetic factors into account. Subjects were from a community-based cohort recruited in 1990 from three villages in Putai Township. In 2002-2003, we successfully followed 247 subjects and measured their urinary arsenic species including inorganic arsenic, monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), as well as the coding region polymorphisms of three genes known to involve in arsenic methylation. Results showed that subjects of MetS had a history of consuming well water of higher arsenic concentration as compared to those without MetS. We also found a significant association between urinary arsenic species and risk for MetS, where the odds ratio of MetS was increased with decreasing proportion of MMA and low rate of primary methylation (defined as MMA/inorganic As). The increased risk associated with low primary methylation rate was further modified by the GSTO1 A140D polymorphism, with the D allele carriers showing a slightly higher risk for MetS. Our results suggest that a low MMA% is associated with increased risk for MetS among As-exposed subjects and the genetic polymorphism of GSTO1, an enzyme responsible for the reduction of pentavalent arsenic species, may also play a modest modification role.     

Chlorpyrifos acute exposure induces hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in rats

In this study we evaluated the hyperglycemic and hyperlipidemic effects of chlorpyrifos (CPF) after an acute exposure in rats. The mechanisms involved in hyperglycemia induced by CPF were studied. A single dose of CPF (50 mg kg⁻¹, subcutaneous, s.c.) was administered to overnight-fasted rats. Glucose and corticosterone levels, lipid status and paraoxonase (PON1) activity were determined in plasma of rats. Cardiovascular risk factors and the atherogenic index were calculated. Glycogen levels, tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) activities were determined in livers of rats. Cerebral acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was also determined. CPF caused an increase in glucose and glycogen levels as well as in TAT and G6Pase activities. The CPF exposure caused an increase in corticosterone levels, an inhibition of AChE activity and a reduction of PON1 activity. Regarding the lipid status, CPF induced an increase in triglycerides (TG) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL) levels and a decrease in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels associated with an increase of cardiovascular risk factors and the atherogenic index. The present study demonstrated that a single CPF administration caused hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in rats. The activation of the gluconeogenesis pathway, probably elicited by hypercorticosteronemia, is involved in the hyperglycemic effect of CPF in rats.     

Links among nitrification, nitrifier communities, and edaphic properties in contrasting soils receiving dairy slurry

Soil biotic and abiotic factors strongly influence nitrogen (N) availability and increases in nitrification rates associated with the application of manure. In this study, we examine the effects of edaphic properties and a dairy (Bos taurus) slurry amendment on N availability, nitrification rates and nitrifier communities. Soils of variable texture and clay mineralogy were collected from six USDA-ARS research sites and incubated for 28 d with and without dairy slurry applied at a rate of ~300 kg N ha(-1). Periodically, subsamples were removed for analyses of 2 M KCl extractable N and nitrification potential, as well as gene copy numbers of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA). Spearman coefficients for nitrification potentials and AOB copy number were positively correlated with total soil C, total soil N, cation exchange capacity, and clay mineralogy in treatments with and without slurry application. Our data show that the quantity and type of clay minerals present in a soil affect nitrifier populations, nitrification rates, and the release of inorganic N. Nitrogen mineralization, nitrification potentials, and edaphic properties were positively correlated with AOB gene copy numbers. On average, AOA gene copy numbers were an order of magnitude lower than those of AOB across the six soils and did not increase with slurry application. Our research suggests that the two nitrifier communities overlap but have different optimum environmental conditions for growth and activity that are partly determined by the interaction of manure-derived ammonium with soil properties.     

Evaluating the Management Effectiveness of Five Protected Areas in Taiwan Using WWF’s RAPPAM

This study adopts and modifies the WWF Rapid assessment and prioritization of protected areas management methodology (RAPPAM) to evaluate the management effectiveness of five protected areas in Taiwan. The results indicate that, unlike the situation in most developing countries, the threats and pressures faced by protected areas in Taiwan come mainly from the outside-with pollution as the most common pressure and threat, and difficult for their management authorities to deal with effectively. The categories and extent of these pressures and threats are related to remoteness and geographic location of the protected areas. All five cases under study reveal a similar management approach, clear management goals, adequate basic infrastructure and clear management decision-making; on the down side, however, all of them suffer from the lack of an effective comprehensive management plan, inadequate or poor quality human resources and insufficient funding. The present study suggests that first priority should be given to strengthening management planning in order to improve management effectiveness of protected areas in Taiwan. The adjustment made to RAPPAM in this study was to amend and take the format of the management plan as the basis for evaluation material preparations and open the discussion to encourage stakeholders' participation to open the dialogue among them. The results indicate that, although the system evaluation design still has some constraints, the quality of information collected is improved and can respond more directly to the specific demands of the respective areas.     

Approaches to eliminate waste and reduce cost for recycling glass

In recent years, the issue of environmental protection has received considerable attention. This paper adds to the literature by investigating a scheduling problem in the manufacturing of a glass recycling factory in Taiwan. The objective is to minimize the sum of the total holding cost and loss cost. We first represent the problem as an integer programming (IP) model, and then develop two heuristics based on the IP model to find near-optimal solutions for the problem. To validate the proposed heuristics, comparisons between optimal solutions from the IP model and solutions from the current method are conducted. The comparisons involve two problem sizes, small and large, where the small problems range from 15 to 45 jobs, and the large problems from 50 to 100 jobs. Finally, a genetic algorithm is applied to evaluate the proposed heuristics. Computational experiments show that the proposed heuristics can find good solutions in a reasonable time for the considered problem.     

Diphenyl diselenide attenuates hepatic and hematologic toxicity induced by chlorpyrifos acute exposure in rats

Purpose

In this study, we investigated the effect of diphenyl diselenide [(PhSe)₂] on chlorpyrifos (CPF)-induced hepatic and hematologic toxicity in rats.

Methods

Rats were pre-treated with (PhSe)₂ (5?mg/kg) via the oral route (oral gavage) once a day for 7?days. On the eighth and ninth days, rats were treated with (PhSe)₂ (5?mg/kg) 30?min prior to CPF (50?mg/kg, by subcutaneous route). The aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase activities were determined in plasma of rats. Lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyl, and non-protein thiol levels as well as catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and gluthatione S-transferase activities were determined in livers of rats. Hematological parameters were also determined.

Results

The results showed that CPF caused hepatic oxidative damage, as demonstrated by an increase in lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl levels which was associated with a decrease in antioxidant defenses. CPF exposure caused a reduction in the leukocyte, indicating hematologic toxicity. (PhSe)₂ was effective in attenuating these toxic effects caused by CPF exposure in rats.

Conclusions

The results indicated that (PhSe)₂ was effective in protecting the hepatic and hematologic toxicity induced by acute CPF exposure in rats.