Natural Products: Seasonal Variation in Trichome Counts and Contents in Lycopersicum hirsutum f. glabratum

Abstract

Wild tomato leaves possess a pest-resistance mechanism in their glandular trichomes and the exudates they produce. Type IV and VI glandular trichomes on the leaves of five wild tomato accessions of Lycopersicum hirsutum f. glabratum (PI 126449, PI 134417, PI 134418, PI 251304, and LA 407) grown under greenhouse conditions were counted. Major chemical compounds from glandular leaf trichomes of the accessions tested were extracted, purified, and quantified at different periods during the growing seasons by gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The toxicity of two methylketones (2-undecanone and 2-tridecanone), the major constituents of the accessions tested, to adults of the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and fourth instar larvae of the Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), was determined using no-choice bioassays. 2-undecanone caused 80% mortality of the fourth instar larvae of the CPB at the highest concentration tested (100 mg 2-undecanone mL^{? 1} of acetone) while 2-tridecanone caused 72% mortality of whiteflies at 20 mg 2-tridecanone mL^{? 1} of 65% ethanol. The concentration of 2-undecanone and 2-tridecanone on the leaves of each of the five accessions of L. hirsutum f. glabratum and the mass spectra of 2-undecanone and 2-tridecanone are presented. Overall, the concentration of 2-undecanone on the leaves was significantly higher than 2-tridecanone. Concentration of the two methylketones varied among accessions and sampling season. Plants produced the highest concentration of 2-undecanone during the month of August. On average, each plant of accession PI 251304 provided 354 g fresh leaves (averaging about 52,353 cm² exposed leaf surface area) and produced 32.5 and 8.7 mg of 2-undecanone and 2-tridecanone, respectively. L. hirsutum f. glabratum accessions may become a valuable source of natural products, which could minimize reliance on synthetic pesticides.     

Parental phenols exposure and spontaneous abortion in Chinese population residing in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

Widespread use of phenols has led to ubiquitous exposure to phenols. In experimental animals, phenols increased resorptions, reduced live litter size and fetal body weights. However, there are limited epidemiological evidences of the relationships between exposure to phenols and pregnancy outcomes. We evaluated the associations between parental urinary levels of various phenols and spontaneous abortion in a Chinese population residing in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. A case-control study was conducted that included 70 case couples with medically unexplained spontaneous abortion and 180 control couples who did not have a history of spontaneous abortion and had at least one living child. Both parental urinary phenols were measured by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry including bisphenol A (BPA), benzophenone-3 (BP-3), 2,3,4-trichlorophenol (2,3,4-TCP), pentachlorophenol (PCP), 4-n-octylphenol (4-n-OP) and 4-n-nonylphenol (4-n-NP). Compared with the low exposure group, there was an increased risk of spontaneous abortion with high paternal urinary PCP concentration [odds ratio (OR) = 2.09, 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.05–4.14], and maternal exposure to 4-n-OP and alkylphenol(s) also significantly increased the risk of spontaneous abortion (OR = 2.21, 95% CI, 1.02–4.80; OR = 2.81, 95% CI, 1.39–5.65, respectively). Our study firstly provides the evidence that paternal PCP exposure, maternal 4-n-OP and alkylphenol(s) exposure are associated with spontaneous abortion in humans.     

Evaluation of phenanthrene toxicity on earthworm (Eisenia fetida): An ecotoxicoproteomics approach

The goal of this study was to identify promising new biomarkers of phenanthrene by identifying differentially expressed proteins in Eisenia fetida after exposure to phenanthrene. Extracts of earthworm epithelium collected at days 2, 7, 14, and 28 after phenanthrene exposure were analyzed by two dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and quantitative image analysis. Comparing the intensity of protein spots, 36 upregulated proteins and 45 downregulated proteins were found. Some of the downregulated and upregulated proteins were verified by MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS and database searching. Downregulated proteins in response to phenanthrene exposure were involved in glycolysis, energy metabolism, chaperones, proteolysis, protein folding and electron transport. In contrast, oxidation reduction, oxygen transport, defense systems response to pollutant, protein biosynthesis and fatty acid biosynthesis were upregulated in phenanthrene-treated E. fetida. In addition, ATP synthase b subunit, lysenin-related protein 2, lombricine kinase, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, actinbinding protein, and extracellular globin-4 seem to be potential biomarkers since these biomarker were able to low levels (2.5 mg kg⁻¹) of phenanthrene. Our study provides a functional profile of the phenanthrene-responsive proteins in earthworms. The variable levels and trends in these spots could play a potential role as novel biomarkers for monitoring the levels of phenanthrene contamination in soil ecosystems.     

Determination of anti-anxiety and anti-epileptic drugs in hospital effluent and a preliminary risk assessment

In this study, an analytical methodology was developed for the determination of psycho-active drugs in the treated effluent of the University Hospital at the Federal University of Santa Maria, RS – Brazil. Samples were collected from point A (Emergency) and point B (General effluent). The adopted methodology included a pre-concentration procedure involving the use of solid phase extraction and determination by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The limit of detection for bromazepam and lorazepam was 4.9 ± 1.0 ng L⁻¹ and, for carbamazepine, clonazepam and diazepam was 6.1 ± 1.5 ng L⁻¹. The limit of quantification was 30.0 ± 1.1 ng L⁻¹, for bromazepam, clonazepam and lorazepam; for carbamazepine was 50.0 ± 1.8 ng L⁻¹ and was 40.0 ± 1.0 ng L⁻¹ for diazepam. The mean concentrations in the Emergency and General effluent treated currents were as follows: for bromazepam, 195 ± 6 ng L⁻¹ and 137 ± 7 ng L⁻¹; for carbamazepine, 590 ± 6 ng L⁻¹ and 461 ± 10 ng L⁻¹; for diazepam, 645 ± 1 ng L⁻¹ and 571 ± 10 ng L⁻¹; for lorazepam, 96 ± 7 ng L⁻¹ and 42 ± 4 ng L⁻¹; and for clonazepam, 134 ± 10 ng L⁻¹ and 57 ± 10 ng L⁻¹. A preliminary risk assessment was conducted: carbamazepine and diazepam require considerable attention owing to their environmental toxicity. The occurrence of these psychoactive-drugs and the environmental risks that they pose demonstrated the need for a more efficient treatment system. As far we are aware, there have been no comparable studies to this on the hazards of hospital effluents in Brazil, and very few that have carried out a risk assessment of psycho-active drugs in hospital effluent in general.     

Factors influencing on the bioaccessibility of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in size-specific dust from air conditioner filters

Size-specific concentrations and bioaccessibility of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in dust from air conditioner filters were measured, and the factors influencing the PBDE bioaccessibility were determined. Generally, the PBDE concentrations increased with decreasing dust particle size, and BDE209 (deca-BDE) was generally the predominant congener. The bioaccessibility ranged from 20.3% to 50.8% for tri- to hepta-BDEs, and from 5.1% to 13.9% for BDE209 in dust fractions of varied particle size. The bioaccessibility of most PBDE congeners decreased with increasing dust particle size. The way of being of PBDE (adsorbed to dust surface or incorporated into polymers) in dust significantly influenced the bioaccessibility. There was a significant negative correlation between the tri- to hepta-BDE bioaccessibility and organic matter (OM) contents in dust. Furthermore, tri- to hepta-BDE bioaccessibility increased with increasing polarity of OMs, while with decreasing aromaticity of OMs. The tri- to hepta-BDE bioaccessibility significantly positively correlated with the surface areas and pore volumes of dust. Using multiple linear regression analysis, it was found that the OM contents and pore volumes of dust were the most important factors to influence the tri- to hepta-BDE bioaccessibility and they could be used to estimate the bioaccessibility of tri- to hepta-BDEs according to the following equation: bioaccessibility (%) = 45.05 − 0.49 × OM% + 1.79 × pore volume. However, BDE209 bioaccessibility did not correlate to any of these factors.     

Development and application of LC–APCI–MS method for biomonitoring of animal and human exposure to imidacloprid

Imidacloprid (IMI) is a relatively new neuro-active neonicotinoid insecticide and nowadays one of the largest selling insecticides worldwide. In the present study a LC–APCI–MS based method was developed and validated for the quantification of imidacloprid and its main metabolite 6-chloronicotinic acid (6-CINA) in urine and hair specimens. The method was tested in biomonitoring of intentionally exposed animals and subsequently applied for biomonitoring of Cretan urban and rural population.     

多孔镁铝复合氧化物对水溶液中Cr（VI）的吸附性能

摘要以镁盐、铝盐、纯碱和烧碱为原料制备了一种多孔镁铝复合氧化物（P—Mg3.1AlO4.6）,其比表面积、平均孔径和总孔容分别为206．3m2／g、8．961nm和0．4208cm3／g。研究了这种多孑L材料对水溶液中cr（VI）的吸附性能,在25～45qC时,静态吸附量为82．32～141．7mg／g;当初始浓度100mg／L、流速5mL／min、床层高度10cm和pH=6时,半穿透时间、半穿透吸附量和饱和吸附量分别为406rain、49．28ing／g和51．30Ing／g;拟合参数及误差分析表明,cr（Ⅵ）在P—M敬。AIO4.6上的静态吸附过程符合Freundlich等温方程式和伪二级动力学方程,Yoon·Nelson模型能很好地预测cr（Ⅵ）在P—Mg3.1A104.6上的动态穿透曲线。     

微米Cu／Fe对污染土壤洗脱液中有机氯农药的降解

以表面活性剂TritonX-100（TX-100）为洗脱剂,某有机氯农药（organochlorinepesticides,OCPs）污染场地土壤为对象,七氯、氯丹和灭蚁灵为目标污染物,研究微米Cu／Fe双金属对污染土壤洗脱液中OCPs的降解效果。考察了洗脱液中OCPs初始浓度、洗脱液pH值、微米零价铁加入量和cu负载量对Cu／Fe去除OCPs效果的影响。结果表明,微米Cu／Fe可以有效的去除土壤洗脱液中目标污染物。当微米零价铁加入量为1．0g（25g／L）,cu负载量为1．0％,洗脱液pH值为6．89时,Cu／Fe对2号土壤洗脱液中七氯、γ-氯丹、α-氯丹和灭蚁灵的去除效果最好,去除率分别为100．0％、99．3％、80．8％和71．1％。洗脱液中OCPs初始浓度越低,微米零价铁加入量越大,Cu／Fe对OCPs去除率越高;偏酸性条件有利于Cu／Fe对γ-氯丹和灭蚁灵的去除,而α-氯丹在中性条件下去除效果最好;1号土壤和2号土壤洗脱液的最佳铜负载量分别为2．O％和1．0％。     

碳源及反硝化芽孢杆菌强化低C/N比景观水体的生物脱氮

实验探讨了添加碳源及投加反硝化细菌对低碳氮比景观水体生物脱氮的影响。结果表明,有机碳源及B.subtilis FS05均能显著促进实验水体的生物脱氮作用,实验水体在28℃静置72 h后,乙醇添加组的TN、氨氮、硝酸盐及亚硝酸盐的去除率分别达到了62.7%、67.0%、69.8%和29.4%,而同样条件下,B.subtilis FS05投加组的去除率分别达到了66.9%、73.4%、66.0%和82.2%。从水质变化趋势可以看出,投加B.subtilis FS05能在更短时间内完成生物脱氮过程,其中,硝酸盐和亚硝酸盐去除速率最快,分别仅需要18 h和12 h。     

不同流量分配比对多级A/O工艺去除有机物及脱氮的影响

采用三级A/O工艺分段进水工艺处理低碳源生活污水,考察了进水流量分配比对系统去除有机物、硝化反硝化能力以及去除TN的影响。通过对水质指标沿程监测结果表明,不同流量分配比(4∶3∶3,5∶3∶2,6∶3∶1)对系统去除有机物及硝化效率影响不大,出水COD、氨氮分别均在30 mg/L、1 mg/L以下。但反硝化效果受流量分配比的影响较大,在流量比为5∶3∶2时,有效利用原水中碳源进行反硝化,反硝化效果最好。在流量比为5∶3∶2的情况下,TN出水为5.7 mg/L去除率为82.9%,优于流量分配比为6∶3∶1和4∶3∶3时的脱氮效果。总体而言,分段进水工艺在对碳源的有效利用及能耗节省方面优于单点进水。