红球菌跨膜运输荧蒽的差异膜蛋白分析

提取不同时间荧蒽诱导下红球菌BAP-1分泌的膜蛋白,利用同位素标记相对和绝对定量技术（iTRAQ技术）结合液相二级质谱对差异膜蛋白进行聚类以及生物信息学分析.旨在从蛋白质层面上研究红球菌BAP-1跨膜运输荧蒽过程中起关键作用的膜蛋白种类及其作用机制.结果共鉴定到172个差异膜蛋白.通过差异膜蛋白的COG和GO功能分析,发现荧蒽的加入主要影响了红球菌BAP-1细胞膜上与能量、转运相关的膜蛋白.ABC转运蛋白和TonB依赖转运蛋白作为微生物主要的载体蛋白对BAP-1跨膜运输荧蒽起到了重要作用.过氧化氢酶和超氧化物歧化酶在第6d有一个显著上调,作为抗氧化防御机制来保护微生物.各种膜蛋白在不同阶段发挥着各自作用,这些蛋白共同组成蛋白互作网络调控红球菌BAP-1的跨膜运输过程.     

人工智能助力臭氧催化剂SrFexZr1-xO3的开发

将人工智能应用于催化臭氧氧化催化剂SrFe_xZr_1-xO₃的开发过程,采用共沉淀法制备了50种不同配方的催化剂,考察聚乙二醇（PEG）投加量、煅烧时间、老化时间、氨水投加量和铁掺杂量对SrFe_xZr_1-xO₃催化剂催化臭氧降解间甲酚反应活性的影响.同时,利用人工神经网络（ANN）和响应面（RSM）对催化剂合成条件与TOC去除率和间甲酚转化率的关系进行拟合,训练集中ANN的R²值分别为0.91和0.97,高于RSM的R²值0.35和0.41;在4组测试集上ANN的均方误差（MSE）分别为9.87和17.67,远小于RSM的23.89和28.87.结果表明,ANN模型对催化剂制备过程的复杂体系具有更好的拟合和泛化能力.在ANN训练好的模型中通过枚举法寻找最优合成条件为：PEG投加量为19.00%,煅烧时间为1.25 h,老化时间为26.50 h,氨水投加量为6.21 mL,铁掺杂量为3.37%,所得催化剂为SrFe_0.13Zr_0.87O₃-B.最佳反应条件下,间甲酚转化率和TOC去除率分别达到98.52%和17.21%,优于空白组的73.46%和1.86%.     

金属有机骨架HKUST-1对水中微量氨基酸的吸附性能

采用溶剂热法制备金属有机骨架HKUST-1,选取水源水中检出率较高的酪氨酸（Tyr）、苯丙氨酸（Phe）和色氨酸（Trp）为目标物,开展了HKUST-1吸附微量氨基酸性能的研究.利用XRD和FTIR技术对吸附剂HKUST-1进行了表征和分析,通过吸附动力学、吸附等温线和吸附热力学的研究探讨HKUST-1吸附氨基酸的机理.结果表明,HKUST-1具有高结晶度,对酪氨酸、苯丙氨酸和色氨酸有较好的去除效果,饱和吸附容量分别可达248.65,143.67,140.09mg/g;吸附过程符合Langmuir吸附等温线模型和Lagergren准二级动力学模型;吸附热力学结果表明,HKUST-1去除氨基酸的过程为吸热反应;高吸附容量主要归因于静电相互作用、氢键和π-π相互作用.     

Pd/silicalite-1: An highly active catalyst for the oxidative removal of toluene

Catalytic combustion is thought as an efficient and economic pathway to remove volatile organic compounds, and its critical issue is the development of high-performance catalytic materials. In this work, we used the in situ synthesis method to prepare the silicalite-1 (S-1)-supported Pd nanoparticles (NPs). It is found that the as-prepared catalysts displayed a hexagonal prism morphology and a surface area of 390−440 m²/g. The sample (0.28Pd/S-1-H) derived after reduction at 500°C in 10 vol% H₂ showed the best catalytic activity for toluene combustion (T_50% = 180°C and T_90% = 189°C at a space velocity of 40,000 mL/(g·hr), turnover frequency (TOF_Pd) at 160°C = 3.46 × 10⁻³ sec⁻¹, and specific reaction rate at 160°C = 63.8 µmol/(g_Pd·sec)), with the apparent activation energy (41 kJ/mol) obtained over the best-performing 0.28Pd/S-1-H sample being much lower than those (51−70 kJ/mol) obtained over the other samples (0.28Pd/S-1-A derived from calcination at 500°C in air, 0.26Pd/S-1-im derived from the impregnation route, and 0.27Pd/ZSM-5-H prepared after reduction at 500°C in 10 vol% H₂). Furthermore, the 0.28Pd/S-1-H sample possessed good thermal stability and its partial deactivation due to CO₂ or H₂O introduction was reversible, but SO₂ addition resulted in an irreversible deactivation. The possible pathways of toluene oxidation over 0.28Pd/S-1-H was toluene → p-methylbenzoquinone → maleic anhydride, benzoic acid, benzaldehyde → carbon dioxide and water. We conclude that the good dispersion of Pd NPs, high adsorption oxygen species concentration, large toluene adsorption capacity, strong acidity, and more Pd⁰ species were responsible for the good catalytic performance of 0.28Pd/S-1-H.     

Effect of hybridization with genome exclusion on extinction risk

Human‐induced habitat changes may lead to the breakdown of reproductive barriers between distantly related species. This phenomenon may result in fertile first‐generation hybrids (F₁) that exclude the genome of one parental species during gametogenesis, thus disabling introgression. The species extinction risk associated with hybridization with genome exclusion is largely underappreciated because the phenomenon produces only F₁ hybrid phenotype, leading to the misconception that hybrids are sterile and potentially of minor conservation concern. We used a simulation model that integrates the main genetic, demographic, and ecological processes to examine the dynamics of hybridization with genome exclusion. We showed that this mode of hybridization may lead to extremely rapid extinction when the process of genome exclusion is unbalanced between the interbreeding species and when the hybridization rate is not negligible. The coexistence of parental species was possible in some cases of asymmetrical genome exclusion, but show this equilibrium was highly vulnerable to environmental variation. Expanding the exclusive habitat of the species at risk allowed its persistence. Our results highlight the extent of possible extinction risk due to hybridization with genome exclusion and suggest habitat management as a promising conservation strategy. In anticipation of serious threats to biodiversity due to hybridization with genome exclusion, we recommend a detailed assessment of the reproductive status of hybrids in conservation programs. We suggest such assessments include the inspection of genetic content in hybrid gametes.     

Wrestling with the complexity of evaluation for organizations at the boundary of science,policy, and practice

Boundary organizations are situated between science, policy, and practice and have a goal of supporting communication and collaboration among these sectors. They have been promoted as a way to improve the effectiveness of conservation efforts by building stronger relationships between scientists, policy makers, industry, and practitioners (Cook et al. 2013). Although their promise has been discussed in theory, the work of and expectations for boundary organizations are less defined in practice. Biodiversity conservation is characterized by complexity, uncertainty, dissent, and tight budgets, so boundary organizations face the challenging task of demonstrating their value to diverse stakeholders. We examined the challenges boundary organizations face when seeking to evaluate their work and thus aimed to encourage more productive conversations about evaluation of boundary organizations and their projects. Although no off‐the‐shelf solution is available for a given boundary organization, we identified 4 principles that will support effective evaluation for boundary organizations: engage diverse stakeholders, support learning and reflection, assess contribution to change, and align evaluation with assumption and values.     

Incorporating Climate Science in Applications of the U.S. Endangered Species Act for Aquatic Species

Aquatic species are threatened by climate change but have received comparatively less attention than terrestrial species. We gleaned key strategies for scientists and managers seeking to address climate change in aquatic conservation planning from the literature and existing knowledge. We address 3 categories of conservation effort that rely on scientific analysis and have particular application under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA): assessment of overall risk to a species; long‐term recovery planning; and evaluation of effects of specific actions or perturbations. Fewer data are available for aquatic species to support these analyses, and climate effects on aquatic systems are poorly characterized. Thus, we recommend scientists conducting analyses supporting ESA decisions develop a conceptual model that links climate, habitat, ecosystem, and species response to changing conditions and use this model to organize analyses and future research. We recommend that current climate conditions are not appropriate for projections used in ESA analyses and that long‐term projections of climate‐change effects provide temporal context as a species‐wide assessment provides spatial context. In these projections, climate change should not be discounted solely because the magnitude of projected change at a particular time is uncertain when directionality of climate change is clear. Identifying likely future habitat at the species scale will indicate key refuges and potential range shifts. However, the risks and benefits associated with errors in modeling future habitat are not equivalent. The ESA offers mechanisms for increasing the overall resilience and resistance of species to climate changes, including establishing recovery goals requiring increased genetic and phenotypic diversity, specifying critical habitat in areas not currently occupied but likely to become important, and using adaptive management. Incorporación de las Ciencias Climáticas en las Aplicaciones del Acta Estadunidense de Especies en Peligro para Especies Acuáticas     

Supramolecular complex formation,a possible antigenotoxic mechanism of glucomannan against aflatoxin B1

Abstract

Glucomannan is a highly branched polysaccharide with glycosidic linkages, constituted of mannoses and glucoses. In recent years, its usefulness due to its immunological, antioxidant and antimutagenic activity has been recognized. The aim of the study was to determine the antigenotoxic ability of glucomannan extracted from Candida utilis orally administered (100–700?mg/kg) to mice, which subsequently received 1?mg/kg aflatoxin B₁. Hepatocytes obtained from these animals 4–16?h post administration were examined by means of the comet assay. The antigenotoxic effect was found to be higher than that observed in previous studies with α-mannan and β-D-glucan isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae., In order to explore the possibility of formation of a supramolecular complex between glucomannan and aflatoxin B₁, both compounds were co-crystallized, their melting points determined, and the complex analyzed through ultraviolet spectroscopy. The spectroscopy data suggest that the protective effect of glucomannan is related to the formation of a supramolecular complex between the two compounds.     

Managing conflicts between economic activities and threatened migratory marine species toward creating a multiobjective blue economy

Harnessing the economic potential of the oceans is key to combating poverty, enhancing food security, and strengthening economies. But the concomitant risk of intensified resource extraction to migratory species is worrying given these species contribute to important ecological processes, often underpin alternative livelihoods, and are mostly already threatened. We thus sought to quantify the potential conflict between key economic activities (5 fisheries and hydrocarbon exploitation) and sea turtle migration corridors in a region with rapid economic development: southern and eastern Africa. We satellite tracked the movement of 20 loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and 14 leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles during their postnesting migrations. We used movement‐based kernel density estimation to identify migration corridors for each species. We overlaid these corridors on maps of the distribution and intensity of economic activities, quantified the extent of overlap and threat posed by each activity on each species, and compared the effects of activities. These results were compared with annual bycatch rates in the respective fisheries. Both species’ 3 corridors overlapped most with longline fishing, but the effect was worse for leatherbacks: their bycatch rates of approximately 1500/year were substantial relative to the regional population size of <100 nesting females/annum. This bycatch rate is likely slowing population growth. Artisanal fisheries may be of greater concern for loggerheads than for leatherbacks, but the population appears to be withstanding the high bycatch rates because it is increasing exponentially. The hydrocarbon industry currently has a moderately low impact on both species, but mining in key areas (e.g., Southern Mozambique) may undermine >50 years of conservation, potentially affecting >80% of loggerheads, 33% of the (critically endangered) leatherbacks, and their nesting beaches. We support establishing blue economies (i.e., generating wealth from the ocean), but oceans need to be carefully zoned and responsibly managed in both space and time to achieve economic (resource extraction), ecological (conservation, maintenance of processes), and social (maintenance of alternative livelihood opportunities, alleviate poverty) objectives.