Biodegradation of Methoxychlor and Its Metabolites by the White Rot Fungus Stereum hirsutum Related to the Inactivation of Estrogenic Activity

The white rot fungus Stereum hirsutum was used to degrade methoxychlor [2,2,2-trichloro-1,1-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)ethane] in culture and the degraded products were extensively determined. The estrogenic activity of the degraded products of methoxychlor was examined using cell proliferation and pS2 gene expression assays in MCF-7 cells. S. hirsutum showed high resistance to methoxychlor 100 ppm, and the mycelial growth was fully completed within 8 days of incubation at 30°C. Methoxychlor in liquid culture medium was gradually converted into 2,2-dichloro-1,1-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)ethane, 2,2-dichloro-1,1-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)ethylene, 2-chloro-1,1-bis(4-methoxyphenyl) ethane, 2-chloro-1,1-bis(4-methoxyphenyl) ethylene, and 1,1-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)ethylene, indicating that methoxychlor is dominantly degraded by dechlorination and dehydrogenation. MCF-7 cells were demonstrated to proliferate actively at the 10^?5 M concentration of methoxychlor. However, cell proliferation was significantly inhibited by the incubation with methoxychlor culture media containing S. hirsutum. In addition, the expression level of pS2 mRNA was increased at the concentration (10^?5 M) of methoxychlor. The reductive effect of S. hirsutum for methoxychlor was clear but not significant as in the proliferation assay.     

Estimation of Body‐Size Traits by Photogrammetry in Large Mammals to Inform Conservation

Abstract: Photography, including remote imagery and camera traps, has contributed substantially to conservation. However, the potential to use photography to understand demography and inform policy is limited. To have practical value, remote assessments must be reasonably accurate and widely deployable. Prior efforts to develop noninvasive methods of estimating trait size have been motivated by a desire to answer evolutionary questions, measure physiological growth, or, in the case of illegal trade, assess economics of horn sizes; but rarely have such methods been directed at conservation. Here I demonstrate a simple, noninvasive photographic technique and address how knowledge of values of individual‐specific metrics bears on conservation policy. I used 10 years of data on juvenile moose (Alces alces) to examine whether body size and probability of survival are positively correlated in cold climates. I investigated whether the presence of mothers improved juvenile survival. The posited latter relation is relevant to policy because harvest of adult females has been permitted in some Canadian and American jurisdictions under the assumption that probability of survival of young is independent of maternal presence. The accuracy of estimates of head sizes made from photographs exceeded 98%. The estimates revealed that overwinter juvenile survival had no relation to the juvenile's estimated mass (p < 0.64) and was more strongly associated with maternal presence (p < 0.02) than winter snow depth (p < 0.18). These findings highlight the effects on survival of a social dynamic (the mother‐young association) rather than body size and suggest a change in harvest policy will increase survival. Furthermore, photographic imaging of growth of individual juvenile muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) over 3 Arctic winters revealed annual variability in size, which supports the idea that noninvasive monitoring may allow one to detect how some environmental conditions ultimately affect body growth.     

以一种黏土矿物材料为非均相类芬顿催化剂对甲基橙的降解

为实现以甲基橙为代表的偶氮类染料的高效降解,采用一种黏土矿物材料——Quantum Energy? Radiating Material（下称QE）为催化剂,系统分析了其在非均相类芬顿反应中的催化剂协同静态吸附作用,并考察了不同因素对甲基橙去除效果的影响,同时基于降解过程中Fe2+和总Fe析出量（以ρ计）、·OH等的变化过程,探讨了QE降解甲基橙的作用机制.结果表明,QE对甲基橙具有良好的吸附作用,同时,其作为非均相类芬顿催化剂对甲基橙的降解受到pH、温度、c（H₂O₂）、催化剂投加量等因素的影响.优化后的降解条件:初始ρ（甲基橙）为50 mg/L、QE投加量为5 g/L、c（H₂O₂）为100 mmol/L、pH为2、温度为60℃,在该条件下反应40 min后,甲基橙的去除率可达到99%.以叔丁醇作为·OH淬灭剂,随着c（叔丁醇）的增高,反应体系中甲基橙的去除率随之下降,说明·OH在该体系甲基橙降解中起重要作用;对在反应过程中Fe2+和总Fe析出量的监测数据表明,体系中QE对甲基橙的降解为均相芬顿反应、非均相芬顿反应和吸附作用协同作用的结果.研究显示,以QE为催化剂,通过吸附协同催化氧化作用可以有效处理含甲基橙的染料废水.      

Urea hydrolysis and recovery of nitrogen and phosphorous as MAP from stale human urine

Laboratory-scale tests for magnesium ammonium phosphate(MAP)precipitation following urea hydrolysis of human urine were conducted using orthogonal experiment design.The effects of initial pH,temperature and the volumetric ratios of stale urine to fresh urine,on urea hydrolysis in urine were studied to determine the final hydrolysis time to recover most nitrogen from separated human urine by MAP.With a volumetric ratio of stale to fresh urine>10% and at temperature≥20℃,urea hydrolysis could be completed i...     

Effects of low temperature on aluminum(III) hydrolysis: Theoretical and experimental studies

In this study, the effects of low temperature on aluminum(III) (Al) hydrolysis were examined both theoretically and experimentally by constructing a solubility diagram for amorphous aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)3(am)) and a distribution diagram of hydrolyzed Al species. First, thermodynamic data of Al species at 4 degrees C were calculated from that at 25 degrees C. A well confirmed polymeric Al species, AlO4Al12(OH)24(7+)(Al13), was involved in building the diagrams and, correspondingly, the non-linear simultaneous equations with 13 degrees were resolved. Secondly, polarized Zeeman atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS), 27Al nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and ferron-based spectrophotometry were applied for constructing the practical diagrams. The results show that a decrease of temperature from 25 to 4 degrees C caused the Al(OH)3(am) boundary on the solubility diagram to shift toward the alkaline side by about 1.0 pH unit and the minimum solubility of Al(OH)3(am) to reduce by 1.0 log unit. The distribution diagram indicates that the monomeric Al, Al13, and solid-phase Al(OH)3 were alternately the predominant species with the increase of pH value during Al hydrolysis. At 25 degrees C, Al13 was the dominant species in a pH range of 4.0 to 4.5, whereas at 4 degrees C, All3 was the leading species in a pH range spaced from 4.5 to 6.3. The predominant species changed from the monomeric Al to the solid-phase Al(OH)3 over the range of 1.8 pH units at 4 degrees C in comparison with the range of 0.5 pH unit at 25 degrees C.     

Effects of low temperature on aluminum(Ⅲ) hydrolysis:Theoretical and experimental studies

In this study,the effects of low temperature on aluminum(Ⅲ)(Al)hydrolysis were examined both theoretically and experimentally by constructing a solubility diagram for amorphous aluminum hydroxide(Al(OH)_3(am))and a distribution diagram of hydrolyzed Al species.First,thermodynamic data of Al species at 4℃were calculated from that at 25℃.A well confirmed polymeric Al species, AlO_4Al_(12)(OH)_(24)~(7+)(Al_(13)),was involved in building the diagrams and,correspondingly,the non-linear simultaneous equations ...