Critical problems associated with climate change: a systematic review and meta-analysis of Philippine fisheries research

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper proposes to analyze the scientific production on climate change and fisheries in the Philippine context. This research theme was chosen...     

Adsorption mechanism of Zn2+, Ni2+, Cd2+, and Cu2+ ions by carbon-based adsorbents: interpretation of the adsorption isotherms via physical modelling

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A theoretical physicochemical and thermodynamic investigation of the adsorption of heavy metals Zn2+, Cd2+, Ni2+, and Cu2+on carbon-based adsorbents...     

On the elemental composition of the Mediterranean euhalophyte Salicornia patula Duval-Jouve (Chenopodiaceae) from saline habitats in Spain (Huelva,Toledo and Zamora)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A complete survey is presented on the inorganic composition of the euhalophyte annual succulent species Salicornia patula (Chenopodiaceae), including...     

Assessment of the Streptomyces-plant system to mitigate the impact of Cr(VI) and lindane in experimental soils

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Phytoremediation techniques have been proposed as ecological methods to clean up contaminated sites. This study is aimed to evaluate the effect of the...     

三峡库区消落带土壤邻苯二甲酸二丁酯静态释放特征

为了解特大型水库消落带优先有机污染物迁移转化规律,以邻苯二甲酸二丁酯(DBP)为代表性优先污染物,采用静态淹水法研究了土壤中DBP浓度、上覆水离子强度、有机质含量等因素对三峡库区消落带土壤中DBP静态释放规律的影响.结果表明,消落带土壤中DBP在淹水前期由土壤向上覆水中迁移释放,该过程分为短暂但是释放速率较快的快速释放阶段和释放时间较长但释放速率较慢的慢速释放阶段,此过程可以很好地用二室一级动力模型拟合.随着土壤中添加的DBP浓度的增大,DBP向上覆水快速释放速率加快,而快速释放比例则减小;慢释放速率和慢速释放比例则正好相反.随着上覆水离子强度的增加,快速释放比例增加,使DBP向上覆水释放量增加.上覆水高浓度的DBP在淹水初期会抑制土壤DBP的释放而且使DBP释放达到最大值的时间延迟.上覆水添加腐殖酸后,快速释放速率、慢速释放速率和快速释放比例均增大,从而使DBP向上覆水的释放量也增加.     

Norovirus GII.Pe Genotype: Tracking a Foodborne Outbreak on a Cruise Ship Through Molecular Epidemiology,Brazil, 2014

Norovirus (NoV) is recognized as the most common cause of foodborne outbreaks. In 2014, an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis occurred on a cruise ship in Brazil, and NoV became the suspected etiology. Here we present the molecular identification of the NoV strains and the use of sequence analysis to determine modes of virus transmission. Food (cream cheese, tuna salad, grilled fish, orange mousse, and vegetables soup) and clinical samples were analyzed by ELISA, conventional RT-PCR, qRT-PCR, and sequencing. Genogroup GII NoV was identified by ELISA and conventional RT-PCR in fecal samples from 5 of 12 patients tested (41.7%), and in the orange mousse food sample by conventional RT-PCR and qRT-PCR. Two fecal GII NoV samples and the orange mousse GII NoV sample were successfully genotyped as GII.Pe (ORF 1), revealed 98.0–98.8% identities among them, and shared phylogenetically distinct cluster. Establishing the source of a NoV outbreak can be a challenging task. In this report, the molecular analysis of the partial RdRp NoV gene provided a powerful tool for genotyping (GII.Pe) and tracking of outbreak-related samples. In addition, the same fast and simple extraction methods applied to clinical samples could be successfully used for complex food matrices, and have the potential to be introduced in routine laboratories for screening foods for presence of NoV.     

Use of Preservative Agents and Antibiotics for Increased Poliovirus Survival on Positively Charged Filters

Environmental surveillance of poliovirus (PV) and other non-enveloped viruses can help identify silent circulation and is necessary to certify eradication. The bag-mediated filtration system is an efficient method to filter large volumes of environmental waters at field sites for monitoring the presence of viruses. As filters may require long transit times to off-site laboratories for processing, viral inactivation or overgrowth of bacteria and fungi can interfere with virus detection and quantification (Miki and Jacquet in Aquatic Microb Ecol 51(2):195–208, 2008). To evaluate virus survival over time on ViroCap^? filters, the filters were seeded with PV type 1 (PV1) and/or MS2 and then dosed with preservatives or antibiotics prior to storage and elution. These filters were stored at various temperatures and time periods, and then eluted for PV1 and MS2 recovery quantification. Filters dosed with the preservative combination of 2% sodium benzoate and 0.2% calcium propionate had increased virus survival over time when stored at 25 °C, compared to samples stored at 25 °C with no preservatives. While elution within 24 h of filtration is recommended, if storage or shipping is required then this preservative mixture can help preserve sample integrity. Addition of an antibiotic cocktail containing cephapirin, gentamicin, and Proclin^? 300 increased recovery after storage at 4 and 25 °C, when compared to storage with no antibiotics. The antibiotic cocktail can aid sample preservation if access to appropriate antibiotics storage is available and sample cold chain is unreliable. This study demonstrated that the use of preservatives or antibiotics is a simple, cost-effective method to improve virus detection from ViroCap cartridge filters over time.     

Surface lipids of queen-laid eggs do not regulate queen production in a fission-performing ant

In animal societies, most collective and individual decision making depends on the presence of reproductive individuals. The efficient transmission of information among reproductive and non-reproductive individuals is therefore a determinant of colony organization. In social insects, the presence of a queen modulates multiple colonial activities. In many species, it negatively affects worker reproduction and the development of diploid larvae into future queens. The queen mostly signals her presence through pheromone emission, but the means by which these chemicals are distributed in the colony are still unclear. In several ant species, queen-laid eggs are the vehicle of the queen signal. The aim of this study was to investigate whether queen-laid eggs of the ant Aphaenogaster senilis possess queen-specific cuticular hydrocarbons and/or Dufour or poison gland compounds, and whether the presence of eggs inhibited larval development into queens. Our results show that the queen- and worker-laid eggs shared cuticular and Dufour hydrocarbons with the adults; however, their poison gland compounds were not similar. Queen-laid eggs had more dimethylalkanes and possessed a queen-specific mixture of cuticular hydrocarbons composed of 3,11?+?3,9?+?3,7-dimethylnonacosane, in higher proportions than did worker-laid eggs. Even though the queen-laid eggs were biochemically similar to the queen, their addition to experimentally queenless groups did not prevent the development of new queens. More studies are needed on the means by which queen ant pheromones are transmitted in the colony, and how these mechanisms correlates with life history traits.     

Serous cutaneous glands in anurans: Fourier transform analysis of the repeating secretory granule substructure

A combined transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform analysis has been performed on the secretory granules storing active peptides/proteins in serous cutaneous glands of n?=?12 anuran species. Previous TEM investigation showed that the granules are provided with remarkable repeating substructures based on discrete subunits, arranged into a consistent framework. Furthermore, TEM findings revealed that this recurrent arrangement is acquired during a prolonged post-Golgian (or maturational) processing that affects the secretory product. Maturation leads to a variety of patterns depending on the degree of subunit clustering. This variety of recurrent patterns has been plotted into a range of frequency spectra. Through this quantitative approach, we found that the varying granule substructure can be reduced to a single mechanism of peptide/protein aggregation.