Analysis of metabolic changes in Trichoderma asperellum TJ01 at different fermentation time-points by LC-QQQ-MS

Trichoderma spp. are among the most widely recognized biocontrol fungi used to inhibit pathogens and promote plant growth. These functions are related to primary and secondary metabolites. This study investigated the different metabolites in Trichoderma asperellum TJ01 cultured for 24 and 72?h using liquid chromatography with triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry. Compared to the 24?h culture of T. asperellum TJ01, the 72?h culture with amino acid metabolism tended to decrease while sugar and lipid metabolisms tended to increase. Furthermore, the 72?h culture had a higher proportion of upregulated flavonoids, in combination with a higher proportion of downregulated alkaloids, and equal proportions of upregulated and downregulated polyphenols and hormones. This study also identified a few valuable medicinal substances such as trigonelline and 5-hydroxytryptophan in T. asperellum TJ01 fermentation cultures.     

Dissipation,residues, and risk assessment of imidacloprid in Zizania latifolia and purple sweet potato under field conditions using LC-MS/MS

A shortened version of Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe method (QuEChERS) for determining the dissipation and residue of imidacloprid present in Zizania latifolia and purple sweet potato was established by using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The average recoveries of imidacloprid in the two crops ranged from 82.12 to 113.79%, with relative standard deviation (RSD) of <7.32%. The dissipation dynamics of imidacloprid in Z. latifolia plants and purple sweet potato plants followed first-order kinetics, with half-lives of 3.2–5.5?days in each of sampling locations. The terminal imidacloprid residues in Z. latifolia and purple sweet potato at each of location were <0.005–0.120?mg kg^?1. According to the risk assessment results, both the acute dietary risk quotient and chronic dietary risk quotient values were <1, indicating that imidacloprid is unlikely to pose health risks to humans with normal recommended use. The present study may serve as a valuable reference for the safe and reasonable use of imidacloprid in Z. latifolia and purple sweet potato fields.     

Global trends and development of energy services industry in China

Energy service is an effective way to promote energy conservation by market mechanisms, including energy saving services, energy procurement, supply of many varieties of energy, supply of renewable energy technologies, energy-related consulting services, risk management, etc. China is a major energy consumer but energy is in short supply, and the efficiency of energy use is low. China’s energy service industry has expanded rapidly, in terms of both the number of new Energy Service Companies entering the market and amount of capital invested in Energy Performance Contracting projects, but the energy service sector in China is still at an early stage of development. Developed countries began early in developing the energy service sector and their energy service market is mature, and the experience of developed countries shows that energy services play a significant role in advancing energy saving and emission reduction. Under the new situation, China needs combine energy services experience of developed countries, and take following measures to accelerate China’s energy services rapid and healthy development, including the long-term aspects of policy planning, energy-saving core technology, finance and capital investment, public sector reductions, personnel training, and so on.     

Biofiltration treatment of odors from municipal solid waste treatment plants

An in situ compost biofilter was established for the treatment of odors from biostabilization processing of municipal solid waste. The concentrations of total volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in odors and their components were measured. Biofilter media was characterized in terms of total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), organic matter (OM), pH value and determination of bacterial colony structure. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis showed that the main components of the produced gas were benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) along with other alkanes, alkenes, terpenes, and sulphur compounds. The compost biofilter had remarkable removal ability for alkylated benzenes (>80%), but poor removal for terpenes (～30%). Total VOC concentrations in odors during the biostabilization process period ranged from 0.7 to 87 ppmv, and the VOC removal efficiency of the biofilter varied from 20% to 95%. After about 140 days operation, TN, TC, TP and OM in compost were kept almost stable, but the dissolved N, NH₄–N and NO₃–N experienced an increase of 44.5%, 56.2% and 76.3%, respectively. Dissolved P decreased by 27.3%. The pH value experienced an increase in the early period and finally varied from 7.38 to 8.08. Results of bacterial colony in packing material indicated that bacteria and mold colony counts increased, but yeasts and actinomyces decreased along with biofilter operation, which were respectively, 3.7, 3.4, 0.04 and 0.07 times of their initial values.     

Mechanical Property Characterization of Plasticized Sugar Beet Pulp and Poly(Lactic Acid) Green Composites Using Acoustic Emission and Confocal Microscopy

Sorbitol and glycerol were used to plasticize sugar beet pulp-poly(lactic acid) green composites. The plasticizer was incorporated into sugar beet pulp (SBP) at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% w/w at low temperature and shear and then compounded with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) using twin-screw extrusion and injection molding. The SBP:PLA ratio was maintained at 30:70. As expected, tensile strength decreased by 25% and the elongation increased. Acoustic emission (AE) showed correlated debonding and fracture mechanisms for up to 20% w/w plasticizer and uncorrelated debonding and fracture for 30–40% sorbitol and 30% glycerol content in SBP–PLA composites. All samples had a well dispersed SBP phase with some aggregation in the PLA matrix. However, at 40% glycerol plasticized SBP–PLA composites exhibited unique AE behavior and confocal microscopy revealed the plasticized SBP and PLA formed a co-continuous two phase system.

Racemic,R-, and S-tebuconazole altered chitinase and chitobiase activity of Daphnia magna

Tebuconazole is a chiral trizole fungicide and widely used in many crops for controlling disease. Tebuconazole is potential toxic to some aquatic organisms but relative information of its isomers is scarce. To detect the endocrine disrupting effects and difference of rac-, R-, and S-tebuconazole, the chitinase activity in Daphnia magna and chitobiase activity in each test medium were used as biomonitors after a 14-day exposure. Results showed that chitinase activity was significantly reduced by rac-, R-, and S-tebuconazole. The chitobiase activity in the test medium was reduced by rac- and R-tebuconazole before day 10, and only one peak was observed at day 10 or day 12 compared with two obvious peaks in the control group (days 6 and 12). S-tebuconazole delayed and reduced the reproduction of D. magna, but did not delay the first chitobiase activity peak, whereas the second peak could not be characterized as the exposure concentration and time increased. Compared with chitinase activity, chitobiase activity can still be used as a rudimentary model for identifying molt-interfering xenobiotics, and further studies should focus on the analysis of correlations between these parameters.     

Fate of antimicrobial resistance genes in response to application of poultry and swine manure in simulated manure-soil microcosms and manure-pond microcosms

This study aimed to determine the occurrence, abundance, and fate of nine important antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) (sul1, sul2, tetB, tetM, ermB, ermF, fexA, cfr, and Intl1) in the simulated soil and pond microcosms following poultry and swine manure application. Absolute quantitative PCR method was used to determine the gene copies. The results were modeled as a logarithmic regression (N?=?mlnt?+?b) to explore the fate of target genes. Genes sul1, Intl1, sul2, and tetM had the highest abundance following the application of the two manure types. The logarithmic regression model fitted the results well (R ² values up to 0.99). The reduction rate of all genes (except for the genes fexA and cfr) in manure-pond microcosms was faster than those in manure-soil microcosms. Importantly, sul1, intl1, sul2, and tetM had the lowest reduction rates in all the samples and the low reduction rates of tetM was the first time to be reported. These results indicated that ARG management should focus on using technologies for the ARG elimination before the manure applications rather than waiting for subsequent attenuation in soil or water, particularly the ARGs (such as sul1, intl1, sul2, and tetM investigated in this study) that had high abundance and low reduction rate in the soil and water after application of manure.     

Urinary metabolomic profiling in rats exposed to dietary di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) using ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS)

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is an omnipresent environmental chemical with widespread nonoccupational human exposure through multiple ways. Although considerable efforts have been invested to investigate mechanisms of DEHP toxicity, the key metabolic biomarkers of DEHP toxicity remain to be identified. The aim of this study was to assess the urinary metabonomics of dietary DEHP in rats using the technique of ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS). Fourteen female Wistar rats were divided into two groups and given increasing dietary doses of DEHP for 30 consecutive days. The urinary metabolite profile was studied using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) enabled clusters to be clearly separated. Eleven principal urinary metabolites were identified as contributing to the clusters. The clusters in the positive electrospray ionization (ESI) mode were xanthurenic acid, kynurenic acid, nonate, N6-methyladenosine, and L-isoleucyl-L-proline. The clusters in the negative ESI mode were hippuric acid, tetrahydrocortisol, citric acid, phenylpropionylglycine, cPA(18:2(9Z, 12Z)/0:0), and LysoPC(14:1(9Z)). The urinary metabonomic changes indicated that exposure to dietary DEHP can affect energy-related metabolism, liver and renal function, fatty acid metabolism, and cause DNA damage in rats. The findings of this study on the urinary metabolites and metabolic pathways of DEHP may form the basis for future studies on the mechanisms of toxicity of this commonly found environmental chemical.