Seaweed sex pheromones and their degradation products frequently suppress amphipod feeding but rarely suppress sea urchin feeding

Summary. A diverse group of brown seaweeds produce bouquets of C₁₁ metabolites, some of which act as pheromones that cue gamete release or attract sperm to eggs following release. We demonstrate that these C₁₁ metabolites and their degradation products also frequently and strongly deter feeding by the herbivorous amphipod Ampithoe longimana, but rarely by the herbivorous sea urchin Arbacia punctulata. Across the range of concentrations tested, seven of twelve C₁₁ metabolites or mixtures that we tested deterred feeding by the amphipod, but only two of eleven deterred the sea urchin. For those compounds where we could rigorously contrast the magnitude of deterrence against the amphipod with the magnitude of deterrence against the urchin, the amphipod was deterred significantly more than the urchin by five of six metabolites. Thus, C₁₁ compounds were more frequently and more strongly deterrent to the amphipod than to the sea urchin. These findings for C₁₁ metabolites conflict with previous investigations, where other classes of seaweed chemical defenses have been shown to deter feeding by large mobile herbivores like urchins and fishes but to be relatively ineffective against mesograzers, especially the species of amphipod that we used here. Our results suggest that C₁₁ metabolites are unusual among the known seaweed chemical defenses in that they are especially effective against mesograzers, which often consume seaweed spores, zygotes, and juveniles. The high concentrations of C₁₁ metabolites in brown algal eggs could allow these defenses to be especially important in defending gametes, zygotes, or young sporelings from herbivorous mesograzers. Received 26 February 1998; accepted 9 April 1998.     

生活垃圾堆肥工艺条件及其反应动力学研究

为了改善堆肥微环境 ,提高生活垃圾堆肥速率 ,研究堆肥工艺条件及其反应动力学是非常必要的。通过控制堆肥工艺条件 ,如初始温度、含水率、C/N比及堆料颗粒大小 ,研究生活垃圾堆肥过程中生物、化学及物理因素的变化。试验结果表明 ,生活垃圾堆肥反应符合一级反应动力学 ;合理控制堆肥初始反应条件 ,能明显提高堆肥效率。     

封闭垃圾填埋场通过地表向大气释放汞的测定

利用动力学通量箱及自动测汞仪联用技术,于2004年3月中旬对贵阳市的一座封闭生活垃圾填埋场汞通过地表向大气释放的过程进行了研究。3个采样点的汞释放通量日均值分别为559.1、88.2、53.6ng·m-2·h-1,汞释放通量强度与表层基质中的汞含量密切相关,该测定值高于世界背景地区通量的1~2个数量级,说明封闭垃圾填埋场也是大气汞的潜在来源。汞释放通量呈现明显的昼夜变化规律,白天较高并在午间前后达到最大,而夜间降至最低。气相因子中光照强度与汞的释放过程相关性最高,其次分别是气温、相对湿度、地温和风速。氧化态汞的光致还原作用是可能垃圾填埋场Hg0生成的主要途径,降雨初期能促进地表汞的释放。     

Experimental evaluation of emission factors of cement kilns burning hazardous wastes

Cement industry is an interesting way to eliminate combustible wastes. Thermal valorization is maximal, conditions of combustion are especially favorable to the destruction and the trapping of pollutants, and there are neither ultimate residues (slag) nor aqueous rejects. Moreover the properties of the cement are not modified. Nevertheless the increased use of substitution fuel may lead to deal with unusual amounts of heavy metals. Tests were realized on several rotary cement kilns with varying substitution ratios of fossil fuels by wastes. Mass balances were fitted over the whole plant, and emission factors were explained.     

Thermodynamic investigation of the effect of oxygen and hydrogen chloride potential upon generation and decomposition behavior of dioxins

The thermodynamic equilibrium of the C‐H‐O‐Cl system has been calculated to elucidate the generation and decomposition behavior of dioxins, and is discussed from the viewpoint of the oxygen and hydrogen chloride potential. The dioxins behavior is greatly dependent on the oxygen potential, i.e. higher temperature and oxygen potential lead to the complete decomposition of dioxins, while low hydrogen chloride potential under insufficient oxygen condition leads to an increase of multi‐chlorine displacement of dioxins.     

Hydroxyl radical generation by redox cycling of some chemotherapeutic antibiotics

The anticancer drugs: adriamycin, farmorubicin and mitomycin C greatly enhance the generation of hydroxyl radicals (HO^.) from H₂O₂ in the presence of Co(II) ions (CoCl2) at pH 7.4 and 8, as measured by the deoxyribose assay. Catalase, hydroxyl radical scavengers (mannitol, cysteine, glutathione, thiourea, lactic dehydrogenase) inhibited the degradation of deoxyribose confirming that HO‐radicals are responsible for the degradation of the carbohydrate.     

Analysis of household energy consumption and related CO2 emissions in the disregarded villages of Lijiang City,China

Energy is one of the most important elements required for poverty alleviation and socioeconomic development, and it has a particularly strong impact on households in rural areas. An extensive survey on household energy consumption patterns that interrelates socioeconomic and demographic factors was conducted in the disregarded villages of Lijiang City by using the stratified random sampling technique for 120 households. This study focuses on household energy consumption and the related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the study area. Firewood, biogas, and electricity were identified as the main energy sources of the rural households. This study demonstrates that 100% of the households use firewood, 52% use biogas, and 95% use electricity as fuel types. On average, each household consumed 1752 kg of firewood, 280 m³ of biogas, and 392 kWh of electricity annually. All households generated an annual average amount of CO₂ emissions of 3851 kg, of which 85.08% come from firewood, 7.66% from biogas, and 7.26% from electricity. Family size, income, and educational level were found to be the major factors that influence CO₂ emissions. The results of this study may be useful in explaining the energy consumption characteristics in the rural areas of Lijiang City and are expected to be useful in policy formulation for energy consumption and environmental protection.     

Does low N-mineralisation rate in soils under grass help limit nitrate leaching in summer?

This paper aimed to confirm the hypothesis that rates of ammonification and net mineral-N production in soils under grass in summer are low and this, rather than nitrate uptake by plants, reduces mineral leaching from soils in summer. Six sets of soil samples were collected from under mown grass on the University of York campus in the UK. Samples were taken from two depths in late summer (August) and late autumn (November) to compare seasonal differences in N species transformations when field-moist soils were incubated for a week at ambient outdoor temperatures after prior removal of vegetation. Ammonification and net mineral-N production rates were low in August in spite of warm temperatures. Net mineral-N production rates were also low in November. The results agreed with those of an earlier study in a different year after considering weather differences between years. They support the hypothesis that litter accumulated over autumn/winter will be minimally mineralised and retain N before the temperature rises in spring. The study shows the merit of measuring concentrations of mineral-N species in both fresh soils and soils incubated at ambient outdoor temperatures after removing plant material to eliminate plant N uptake effects. The results suggest that soil C% and N% are more important than soil C:N ratio alone in understanding controls on N transformations.     

δ13C and fatty acid composition of mesopelagic fishes in the South China Sea and their influence factors

Study of the ecology of mesopelagic fishes is central for assessing the active biological pump in the ocean, especially in the mesopelagic layers. The use of δ¹³C and fatty acid analysis can help to analysis the ecology of mesopelagic fishes. Here, we analysed the fatty acid composition of mesopelagic fishes from the continental northern slope of the South China Sea (NSSCS) and compared with nearshore SCS fishes and mesopelagic fishes collected from the Southern Ocean. The mesopelagic fishes had unusually high lipids, which resulted in Δδ¹³C values exceeding 1‰, more than the enrichment factor in the food web. The mesopelagic fishes had higher C18:1n-9/C18:1n-7 and C20:1n-9/ C18:1n-7 ratios compared with other fishes in the SCS, which confirmed that plankton were their main dietary source. The mesopelagic fishes from SCS and Southern Ocean had different ratios of C20:5n-3/C22:6n-3 (EPA/DHA), suggesting geographical locations and diet sources had obvious influence on their fatty acid composition. The SCS mesopelagic fishes had higher C20:4n-6/C22:6n-3 (ARA/DHA) and C20:4n-6/C20:5n-3 (ARA/EPA) ratios than mesopelagic fishes in the Southern Ocean, indicating the influence of physical factors on fatty acid composition. Thus, future studies of the fatty acids in mesopelagic fishes should consider both dietary sources and physical environments.     

大气高CO2浓度对油菜氮素同化累积与植株生长的影响

为了指导高CO2浓度条件下甘蓝型油菜Brassica napus L.合理施氮、创建油菜高产高效以及进一步探明油菜氮代谢的调节机制提供理论依据,本研究采用微区试验,研究2个油菜品种（沪油15-33号和742-2）在2个CO2浓度水平（自然CO2摩尔分数400μmol·mol-1和高CO2摩尔分数（800±20）μmol·mol-1）和2个氮素水平（施氮与不施氮）条件下,氮素同化酶（NR和GS）活性和可溶性蛋白含量的变化,以及油菜地上部干物质量和氮素累积量的响应。试验结果表明,高CO2浓度会提高NR和GS活性;在氮素处理的影响方面,NR活性的变化与油菜的品种和生育时期不同有关：在高CO2浓度条件下,品种A在各时期的施氮处理的酶活性高于不施氮处理;品种B只在抽薹期的施氮处理低于不施氮处理,其他时期则升高;对于GS酶活性,在自然CO2浓度条件下施氮会提高GS酶活性,高CO2浓度条件下施氮则降低其活性（苗期除外）。CO2浓度升高会降低叶片中可溶性蛋白含量（盛花期除外）;在正常CO2浓度下,增施氮肥会提高叶片中可溶性蛋白含量,而在高CO2浓度下,增施氮肥会降低叶片中可溶性蛋白含量。CO2浓度升高和增施氮肥都会提高油菜地上部干物质量与氮素累积量,油菜干物质量与氮素累积量总体上与上述测定指标呈极显著相关。