Response of three dominant shrubs to soil water and groundwater along the oasis-desert ecotone in Northwest China

The ecotone from oasis to desert is an important area for combating sandy desertification. Three dominant desert shrubs (Nitraria tangutorum, Calligonuum mongolicum, Haloxylon ammodendrori) were selected in Minqin Oasis, Northwest China, to determine the groundwater level; soil water potential; and change of the three shrubs in density, coverage, and biomass along the natural and seminatural oasis-desert ecotone (ODE), respectively. The results indicated that traits of desert plant interaction with the topsoil water and groundwater depth along the ODE play an important role in generating complex desert vegetation spatial dynamics. Some natural desert plant species with shallow root systems will distribute themselves according to distribution of topsoil water. Thus, the distribution of Nitraria tangutorum had a decreasing trend in distribution along ODE. Calligonuum mongolicum occurs in different trends in natural and seminatural ODE due to utilizing groundwater as well as topsoil water. Some plant species with deep roots, such as Haloxylon ammodendron, will show more degradation near oases and will exhibit an ascending trend along ODE. Therefore, it is of primary importance to protect the integrity of groundwater depth in order to protect the stability of the oasis-desert ecotones. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

耕地流转补偿的影响因素实证分析

在对江西省42个县74个行政村的《耕地流转现状及农户耕地流转意识》专题调研基础上，采用向后逐步回归的分析方法，从区位条件、资源禀赋和经济发展水平3方面，对当前农村耕地流转补偿的影响因素进行了实证分析。其中，反映区位条件水平的指标包括离县城距离、离交通主干道距离、地貌；反映资源禀赋的指标包括常年在家务农的劳动力比例、耕地破碎度、人均承包耕地面积；反映经济发展水平的指标包括人均年收入、人均耕地收入、耕地收入占年收入的比重。研究表明：耕地离县城距离越近，其流转补偿额会越高；随着地貌的复杂化，〖JP2〗耕地流转补偿相对就较少；人均承包耕地面积越多，耕地流转时补偿费用就越低；家庭耕地收入比重越大，补偿费用也越高.     

Denning behaviour of the European badger (Meles meles) correlates with bovine tuberculosis infection status

Heterogeneities in behaviours of individuals may underpin important processes in evolutionary biology and ecology, including the spread of disease. Modelling approaches can sometimes fail to predict disease spread, which may partly be due to the number of unknown sources of variation in host behaviour. The European badger is a wildlife reservoir for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in Britain and Ireland, and individual behaviour has been demonstrated to be an important factor in the spread of bTB among badgers and to cattle. Radio-telemetry devices were deployed on 40 badgers from eight groups to investigate patterns of den (sett) use in a high-density population, where each group had one or two main and three to eight outlier setts in their territory. Badgers were located at their setts for 28 days per season for 1 year to investigate how patterns differed between individuals. Denning behaviour may have a strong influence on contact patterns and the transmission of disease. We found significant heterogeneity, influenced by season, sex and age. Also, when controlling for these, bTB infection status interacting with season was highly correlated with sett use. Test-positive badgers spent more time away from their main sett than those that tested negative. We speculate that wider-ranging behaviour of test-positive animals may result in them contacting sources of infection more frequently and/or that their behaviour may be influenced by their disease status. Measures to control infectious diseases might be improved by targeting functional groups, specific areas or times of year that may contribute disproportionately to disease spread.     

Production of monoclonal antibody against doxycycline for immunoassay of seven tetracyclines in bovine muscle and milk

The objective of this study was to produce a generic monoclonal antibody for multi-determination of the residues of tetracycline drugs in bovine muscle and milk. Two new immunogens of doxycycline were prepared that were used to produce the monoclonal antibodies. Results showed the obtained antibodies simultaneously recognized seven tetracycline drugs (doxycycline, tetracycline, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, minocycline, methacycline, demeclocycline). The obtained antibodies and three coating antigens were arranged into six combinations to optimize the reagents combination. After comparison of the performances of these combinations, a heterologous indirect competitive ELISA was then used to determine the seven tetracyclines in bovine muscle and milk. The crossreactivities to the seven analytes were in the range of 47%–102% and the limits of detection were in the range of 1.5–6.9 ng/mL depending on the compound. The recoveries of the seven drugs from fortified blank samples were in the range of 75.3%–106.8% with coefficients of variation lower than 10.9%. Therefore, this method could be used as a multi-analytes screen tool for routine monitoring of the residues of these tetracycline drugs in bovine muscle and milk.     

Development and application of methodology for determining 1,2‐dibromo‐3‐chloropropane (DBCP) in ambient air

Abstract

Ametpreviously described by Mann et al.¹ for the determination of hexachlorobenzene in air was modified to detect DBCP in air at the level of 0.02 ppb (by volume). The method utilizes Chromosorb 101 as a trapping medium with subsequent analysis of the eluted DBCP by electron capture ‐ gas chromatography. The procedure was tested using air flows of 1 1/min to 5 1/min for sampling periods of 30 min to 3 hr. Recoveries of greater than 90% were obtained for DBCP levels ranging from 0.07 ppb to 20 ppm. More than 90% of the DBCP stored on Chromosorb 101 at ambient temperature for one month was recovered. A one‐half acre field plot was sprayed with DBCP using the drench method. Air samples were taken from the breathing zone of the applicator during the mixingspraying and clean‐up procedures. Air samples were also taken periodically around the perimeter of the plot for up to 7 days after spraying.     

Microbial ecotoxicity and mutagenicity of 1-hydroxypyrene and its photoproducts.

1-Hydroxypyrene (1-HP) is a carcinogenic and slightly water-soluble polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. Ecotoxicity and mutagenicity of 1-HP and its photoproducts, and the effect of Mn2+ and Cu2+ on their mutagenicity were measured with microbial assay in this study. The assay includes spread plate counting, direct counting, microbial mineralization of 14C-UL-D-glucose and Mutatox Test. At the concentration examined (0.8 microM), the photoproducts (after 1.5 h solar irradiation) of 1-HP inhibited microbial glucose mineralization activity (by 64%) after microbial assemblages of a local reservoir site were exposed for 1 day. However, heterotrophic bacteria were able to utilize 1-HP photoproducts as the growth substrates and increase viability counts by up to 4.75-folds. 1-HP exhibited positive response to Mutatox Test in both direct medium and S-9 medium, with the lowest observable effective concentration of 0.625 microM in the test with direct medium. After photolysis, 1-HP decreased its mutagenicity. Mn2+ (312.5 microM-5 mM) and Cu2+ (6.25-100 microM) themselves are not mutagenic. However, addition of the metal ions before or after photolysis modifies the light readings of 1-HP during the test. Therefore, presence of metal ions could affect the genotoxicity of 1-HP in aquatic environments, depending on timing of the addition.     

Anaerobic co-digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste with FOG waste from a sewage treatment plant: Recovering a wasted methane potential and enhancing the biogas yield

Anaerobic digestion is applied widely to treat the source collected organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (SC-OFMSW). Lipid-rich wastes are a valuable substrate for anaerobic digestion due to their high theoretical methane potential. Nevertheless, although fat, oil and grease waste from sewage treatment plants (STP-FOGW) are commonly disposed of in landfill, European legislation is aimed at encouraging more effective forms of treatment. Co-digestion of the above wastes may enhance valorisation of STP-FOGW and lead to a higher biogas yield throughout the anaerobic digestion process. In the present study, STP-FOGW was evaluated as a co-substrate in wet anaerobic digestion of SC-OFMSW under mesophilic conditions (37 °C). Batch experiments carried out at different co-digestion ratios showed an improvement in methane production related to STP-FOGW addition. A 1:7 (VS/VS) STP-FOGW:SC-OFMSW feed ratio was selected for use in performing further lab-scale studies in a 5 L continuous reactor. Biogas yield increased from 0.38 ± 0.02 L g VS_feed^?1 to 0.55 ± 0.05 L g VS_feed^?1 as a result of adding STP-FOGW to reactor feed. Both VS reduction values and biogas methane content were maintained and inhibition produced by long chain fatty acid (LCFA) accumulation was not observed. Recovery of a currently wasted methane potential from STP-FOGW was achieved in a co-digestion process with SC-OFMSW.     

Editorial: Effect of root anatomy and apoplastic barrier development on cadmium uptake in rice

<正>Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal with high mobility from soil and known translocation into plants (Song et al., 2015).Because the main source of human exposure to Cd is from food consumption, there has been increased research examining Cd uptake in agricultural plants (Li et al., 2014; Rizwan et al., 2016; Song et al., 2015). Rice (Oryza sativa L.) has been identified as a major crop that contains relatively high     

Trends in space occupation by the encrusting sponge Crambe crambe: variation in shape as a function of size and environment

The relationship between sponge size, habitat and shape was studied in the encrusting sponge Crambe crambe (Schmidt, 1862), which is distributed widely throughout the shallow Mediterranean littoral. Examination of sponge patches in shaded and well-illuminated habitats showed that the degree of peripheral irregularity of the edges of a patch is directly related to patch size. This relationship is valid only for sponges of >100 mm² in area. Photophilic and sciaphilous sponges display different growth forms. The pattern of growth is interpreted in terms of competition for space. The directional growth of sciaphilous sponges may be due to the presence of dominant neighbours that are good space competitors, and the irregular growth of photophilic sponges to the absence of such neighbours.     

Medium scale spatial structures of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the topsoil of Tianjin area

The spatial distribution patterns of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil are important to regional environmental assessment. In this paper, the spatial structural features of sixteen prior PAH compounds in the topsoil of Tianjin area, as well as soil properties, were studied. Results shown that medium scale spatial autocorrelations were well revealed. Spherical models with sills could be used to fit all experimental variograms. The spatial structures of PAHs contents demonstrated significant anisotropy. Air precipitation caused by the combustion of coal was the key factor in the formation of the spatial structural patterns of PAHs in the topsoil of Tianjin area.