Evaluation of vitamin E and calcium effects on fluoride toxicity-induced fertility impairment

Chronic fluoride (Fl) toxicity is a serious public health problem globally where drinking water contains more than 1 ppm of Fl. Sodium fluoride (NaF) produced male reproductive system toxicity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the amelioration of Fl toxicity-induced fertility impairment by vitamin E and calcium during the withdrawal period. The study was carried out on 70 adult male albino rats divided into five main groups: group I control; subdivided into group Ia (maintained on standard diet and water ad libitum for 60 days) and group Ib (maintained on standard diet and water ad libitum for 120 days), group II was administered NaF and subdivided into group IIa (administered NaF for 60 day and sacrificed) and group IIb (administered NaF for 60 day then maintained on standard diet and water ad libitum for a further 60 days), and treated groups III, IV, and V were administered NaF. Rats were maintained during withdrawal from NaF, on vitamin E (10 mg kg^?1 day^?1 for 60 days), calcium (50 mg kg^?1 day^?1 orally for 60 days), and both vitamin E and calcium, respectively. The duration of NaF administration was 60 days at a dose 20 mg kg^?1 day^?1 for all treated groups. The following parameters were determined: body and organ weights, sperm motility, sperm morphology, sperm viability, fertility test, and hormone assays: testosterone, in vitro testosterone production, luteinizing hormone, and follicular stimulating hormone. The combined administration of vitamin E and calcium during withdrawal from NaF showed significant improvement from chronic FL-induced toxicity on male reproductive organs.     

Estimating the uncertainty of pesticide residue analysis from mango using multi-residue analysis and validation of method

Validation of method was performed for various pesticides on mango matrix involving the processing of sample at ambient and cryogenic conditions. The linearity, limits of detection, repeatability, matrix effect, and recovery were studied as the aspects of method validation. The effect of matrix on recovery was found to be medium (20–50%) and strong (>50%). After correction by matrix-matched calibration curves, the recovery was calculated to be in the range of 80–107% and 80–105% at ambient and cryogenic processing, respectively. The precision estimated for the recovery of pesticides obtained from both solvent- and matrix-matched calibration curves and at both the processing conditions was determined to be >20% except for chlorpyrifos and atrazine. The uncertainty established for the methodology was >20%, which substantiates the efficiency and reliability of methodology used for pesticide residue analysis in mango in this study.     

A simple and robust method for determination of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) oil in neem oil coated urea

The production of neem oil coated urea (NOCU), a technology developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, has been grown to over 2.0 million tons per year. The estimation of neem oil content in NOCU is important due to its significance in ensuring agronomic efficiency. Therefore, this study was taken up to develop a simple method for the determination of neem oil in NOCU. The procedure involves extraction of neem oil from NOCU; saponification of extracted oil; oxidation of released glycerol to formaldehyde, and subsequent conversion of formaldehyde to a dihydrolutidine derivative. Its concentration was determined spectrophotometrically. The recoveries of neem oil from NOCU with oil load of 500 and 1000?ppm were 87.6?±?3.0% and 90.0?±?4.8% respectively with direct method; and improved to 92.6?±?4.0% and 96.7?±?3.8% after including the in situ purification. A simple method based on the Hantzsch reaction was developed for the determination of neem oil in NOCU. This method is superior to earlier methods in terms of sensitivity, simplicity, and time required.     

Smoke alleviates adverse effects induced by stress on rice

Smoke and salinity are environmental hazards. Smoke produced DNA damage, inflammatory, and oxidative stress in humans while salinity reduced plant yield. However, smoke from plants is beneficial towards plant growth. In this study, smoke of two plants, Buhania varegata (1:1000 and 1:5000 dilutions (v/v)) and Cymbopogon jwarancusa (1:500 and 1:1000), were used to determine effects on different physiological and biochemical parameters in rice Basmati-385 (B-385) and Shaheen Basmati under different saline concentrations (control: 50, 100, and 150 mM). With increasing salinity, germination%, seedling growth, K⁺, Ca⁺, cell membrane stability, and total nitrogen and protein contents were decreased while Na⁺ content increased. However, seeds primed with different dilution of smoke significantly diminished the adverse effects of salinity and shown to produce positive responses in all of the above parameters. The most effective dilutions were 1:5000 for Buhania varegata and C-500 for Cymbopogon jwarancusa. It seems that priming with plant smoke solution is a potent stimulant for plant growth exerting a significant role in physiology and biochemistry of rice plants under saline condition.     

两栖动物监测方法和国外监测计划研究

两栖动物是生物多样性的重要组成部分,对环境变化非常敏感,可被用作环境监测的指示物种.介绍了两栖动物监测的指标、时间、频次以及监测的主要方法,包括目视遇测法、样线（带）法、繁殖区调查法、鸣叫调查法、围栏陷阱法、人工庇护所法、人工隐蔽物法和标志重捕法,分析了各种方法的适用性和局限性;还详细介绍了国外比较成熟的2个两栖动物监测计划——美国两栖动物监测计划和英国两栖爬行动物监测计划.     

血清中二噁英测定方法的优化

以国内外文献及标准方法为基础,优化了血清中17种2、3、7、8位取代的PCDD/Fs的测定方法,建立了同位素内标稀释-索式萃取一段法层析柱净化-高分辨气质联用分析方法.实验结果表明,17种2、3、7、8位取代的PCDD/Fs的方法检出限范围为3.72—14.74 pg.基质加标实验中目标化合物回收率为94.61%—117.14%,标准参考物质SRM1958中PCDD/Fs的多数单体测定结果也在参考值范围内.实际样品同位素内标回收率为66.2%—95.2%,RSD是4.0%—9.0%.该分析方法准确可靠、灵敏、操作简便,适用于血清中二噁英的测定.     

基于灰色聚类法的地铁运营安全趋势分析

为评估地铁运营安全水平,掌握地铁运营风险变化趋势,采用灰色聚类法对某地铁线路运营一年以来每个月份的安全水平进行了分级评价。选取对地铁日常运营具有重要影响的设备设施故障作为评价指标,评价方法挖掘地铁运营以来的历史数据信息,体现了设备设施故障变化的时间特性,减少了安全评价中的主观性。将地铁运营安全水平分为五个安全等级,选取15%、35%、50%、65%、85%作为各安全等级的累积百分频率特征点,建立白化权函数得到各评价指标的灰类白化值。结合各设备设施的指标权重,得到了地铁线路运营一年来每个月份的安全等级情况。该方法为分析地铁运营安全趋势提供了参考。     

省域旅游发展的错位现象及旅游资源相对效率评价——以中国大陆31省市区2000—2009年面板数据为例

以中国大陆31 个省级区域2000—2009 年的面板数据(因资料有限,未计算香港、澳门和台湾地区)为例,运用熵值法对各地区旅游资源禀赋状况进行评价,进一步构建错位指数,对各地区旅游业发展的“错位(诅咒) ”现象进行定量分析,同时结合旅游资源相对效率,对各地区旅游资源开发提出相应的建议。研究表明,总体上大陆旅游资源存在着一定程度的负向错位现象,正向错位的地区主要位于东部地区,且集中分布在长三角、珠三角、京津地区;发生负向错位现象的地区主要位于广大中西部地区。不同区域效率的驱动模式各不相同,东部地区旅游资源总效率主要受纯技术效率驱动,西部地区旅游资源总效率主要受规模效率驱动。效率排名与错位指数排名表现出很强的正相关性,结合两者的关系为未来省域旅游资源开发利用提供相应的建议。     

影响中国碳排放绩效的区域特征研究——基于熵值法的聚类分析

论文选择影响碳排放绩效的主要指标,基于熵值法确定各指标权重,采用系统聚类分析的方法,以中国省域为研究对象,将全国分为7类区域。分析结果显示:区域分工特征是造成目前中国省级碳排放绩效区域差异的主要影响因素,其次是高碳产业工艺特征和能源结构特征,而经济结构对解释省级碳排放绩效区域差异的贡献有限。北方地区高碳产品生产份额高且工艺水平相对低,能源消费中极高的煤炭比例加重了负面影响,造成其二氧化碳排放绩效水平低,特别是华北地区;近年来东南沿海地区高碳产业也逐步增加,但由于其工艺先进,在一定程度上抵消了高碳产品份额高的负面影响;中西部地区目前高碳产品份额虽然低于东部地区,但工艺水平也低,造成了其低水平的二氧化碳排放绩效。由于各省历史发展、自然资源禀赋、区域分工角色等因素不同,且遵从经济宏观发展客观规律和经济区位理论,除了少数发达地区之外,中国其他区域短时间内很难改变其经济和能源结构,低碳政策制定的重点应放在提高高碳产业工艺水平方面。     

土壤种子库研究方法评述

土壤种子库（soil seed bank,SSB）是指存在于土壤表面和土壤中的全部存活种子的总和。开展对土壤种子库的研究,对于分析了解过去地上植被植物群落和预示未来植被发展方向具有重要的指导意义,而对于土壤种子库研究方法的探讨则是开展土壤种子库基础实验研究的基础和支撑。本文从土壤种子库的取样时间、取样方法、取样大小和数量、鉴定方法四个方面归纳了土壤种子库的研究方法,理论分析了同位素应用于土壤种子库中种子年龄结构测定的可行性,以及植冠种子库的研究方法,并探讨了提高土壤种子库中种子萌发率的新方法。综合分析来看：（1）土壤种子库的取样时间、取样方法、取样大小和数量、鉴定方法是土壤种子库研究方法需要关注的四大关键问题,对土壤种子库的实验结果具有显著的直接影响。不同的取样时间代表的土壤种子库的内容和意义不同,取样方法、大小和数量则应根据研究区和研究内容来确定,鉴定方法也应根据具体实验区研究的物种数来考量;（2）理论上在利用同位素来测定土壤种子库中种子年龄结构是可行的,但若想广泛应用于实验中仍需进一步的深入研究;（3）目前对植冠种子库的研究方法也仅仅局限于直接计数法和间接计数法,对植冠种子库的研究方法的探讨则急需加强;（4）同时总结和提出了4种提高土壤种子库中种子萌发率的方法,未来在利用种子萌发法时,应加强注意和应用这4种方法来测定土壤种子库。