Characterization and role of carbonic anhydrase in the calcification process of the azooxanthellate coral <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tubastrea aurea</Emphasis>

In zooxanthellate corals, the photosynthetic fixation of carbon dioxide and the precipitation of CaCO₃ are intimately linked both spatially and temporally making it difficult to study carbon transport mechanisms involved in each pathway. When studying Tubastrea aurea, a coral devoid of zooxanthellae, we can focus on carbon transport mechanisms involved only in the calcification process. We performed this study to characterize T. aurea carbonic anhydrase and to determine its role in the calcification process. We have shown that inhibition of tissular carbonic anhydrase activity affects the calcification rate. We have measured the activity of this enzyme both in the tissues and in the organix matrix extracted from the skeleton. Our results indicate that organic matrix proteins, which are synthesized by the calcifying tissues, are not only structural proteins, but they also play a crucial catalytic role by eliminating the kinetic barrier to interconversion of inorganic carbon at the calcification site. By immunochemistry we have demonstrated the presence of a protein both in the tissues and in the organic matrix, which shares common features with prokaryotic carbonic anhydrases.     

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。     

Improving the health and safety of 911 emergency call centre agents: an evaluability assessment of a knowledge transfer strategy

A knowledge transfer (KT) strategy was implemented by the IRSST, an occupational health and safety research institute established in Québec (Canada), to improve the prevention of psychological and musculoskeletal problems among 911 emergency call centre agents. An evaluability assessment was conducted in which each aspect of the KT approach was documented systematically to determine whether the strategy had the potential to be evaluated in terms of its impact on the targeted population. A review of the literature on KT in occupational health and safety and on the evaluation of such KT programmes, along with the development of a logic model based on documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, indicated that the KT strategy was likely to have had a positive impact in the 911 emergency call centre sector. Implications for future research are discussed.     

New ternary water-soluble support from self-assembly of β-cyclodextrin-ionic liquid and an anionic polymer for a dialysis device

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - We developed a new hybrid material resulting from an innovative supramolecular tripartite association between an ionic liquid covalently immobilized...     

Photocatalytic degradation of methylbutandioic acid (MBA) in aqueous TiO2 suspension: influences of MBA adsorption on the solid semi-conductor

In the present work we describe the photocatalytic degradation of methylbutandioic acid (MBA), focusing particularly on adsorption of the MBA on TiO₂ surface. We observe a very fast surface carboxylate formation, a decrease of the surface carboxylates during the reaction and an apparent zero order kinetic for the degradation of MBA. We conclude that the main way of MBA degradation is its reaction in the solution, and not on the surface of TiO₂. The influence of the surface carboxylates on the efficiency of the catalyser is under study.     

Factors affecting the detection distances of reef fish: implications for visual counts

Detection patterns of coral reef fish were assessed from the meta-analysis of distance sampling surveys performed by visual census in New Caledonia and French Polynesia, from 1986 to 1999. From approximately 100,000 observations relating to 593 species, the frequency distributions of fish detection distances perpendicular to the transect line were compared according to species characteristics and sampling conditions. The shape and extension of these detection profiles varied markedly with fish size, shyness, and crypticity, indicating strong differences of detectability across species. Detection of very small and cryptic fish decreased strongly 1 m away from the line. Conversely, sightings of shy and large species were excessively low in the first meters due to diver avoidance prior to detection. The larger the fish, the greater the fleeing distance. Distance data underscore how inconsistent detectability biases across species and sites can affect the accuracy of visual censuses when assessing coral reef fish populations.     

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...