Are yolk androgens and carotenoids in barn swallow eggs related to parental quality?

Recently, evidence is mounting that females can adaptively engineer the quality of their offspring via the deposition of yolk compounds, including carotenoids and androgens. In this study, we simultaneously consider how both carotenoids and androgens in egg yolk relate to parental quality in barn swallows (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster). First, we found no relationship between concentrations or amounts of yolk androgens and carotenoids. Yolk carotenoids decreased with laying order, whereas we found no relationship between yolk androgens and laying order. Second, we tested the Investment Hypothesis, which predicts that high-quality females or females paired to high quality mates, allocate differentially more of these yolk compounds to their offspring. For carotenoids, we mostly found evidence to counter predictions of the Investment hypothesis: (1) Carotenoid concentrations varied among females, (2) heavier eggs contained lower carotenoid concentrations, although heavier yolks contained greater amounts of carotenoids, (3) eggs of earlier-laying females had lower concentrations in their eggs, and (4) yolk carotenoids were not correlated with clutch size or male plumage ornamentation. For androgens, we found weak support for the Investment Hypothesis: (1) Yolk androgens varied among females, (2) heavier eggs and yolks contained greater amounts, although not concentrations of androgens, (3) females paired to more colorful males laid eggs with greater concentrations of androgens, and (4) no effects of laying date or morphological correlates of female quality on androgen concentrations in egg yolks. Overall, these findings suggest that each yolk compound may have different functions and therefore may be regulated by different mechanisms.     

Endocrine modulation, inhibition of ovarian development and hepatic alterations in rainbow trout exposed to polluted river water

Under laboratory conditions, female rainbow trout were exposed to graded concentrations of water from the River Lambro, a polluted tributary of the River Po, and to the effluent of a large wastewater treatment plant which flows into the River Lambro. In field exposures, trout were held in cages in the River Po upstream and downstream from the confluence of the River Lambro. After 10-day (laboratory) and 30-day (laboratory and field) exposures, trout were examined for several chemical, biochemical and histological endpoints. The results indicated that exposure to complex mixtures of chemicals, including estrogen receptor agonists, aryl-hydrocarbon receptor agonists, and probably antiandrogens, had occurred. Exposure altered the plasma levels of 17β-estradiol and testosterone, and some treatments also enhanced the activity of hepatic ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase. Gonadal histology showed varying levels of degenerative processes characterised by oocyte atresia, haemorrhages, melano-macrophage centres (MMCs), and oogonia proliferation. Liver histology showed less severe effects.     

电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定地下水中痕量元素

采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法(ICP-MS)同时测定地下水中痕量元素。结果表明,ICP-MS可同时测定地下水中的16种元素,方法检出限为0.02~0.2μg/L,元素的精密度(RSD,n=5)为1.46%~4.36%,加标回收率为96.6%~105.6%,符合环境监测无机组份测试质量控制的要求。该方法应用于直接测定元素浓度范围在ng/L~mg/L级的实际地下水样品,具有样品前处理简单、干扰少、测定快速、元素同时分析、省时省力等优点。     

微波消解-ICP-OES法测定蔬菜中的镉

采用微波消解-ICP-OES法测定蔬菜中的镉,选择了最佳微波消解条件,确定了分析线.方法检出限为0.002 μg/L,相对标准偏差为1.1%,加标回收率为100%～104%,与干灰化法作对照试验,测定结果经t检验无显著差异.     

Direct observation of microcirculatory parameters in rat brain after local exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic field

A cranial window method modified for our experiment enabled to observe the cerebral microcirculation including the blood-brain barrier permeability after a local expose to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields with a monopole antenna in rats. The present report reviews our recent publications that reported no noticeable changes in the cerebral microcirculatory parameters due to RF-EMF exposure.     

Production of high quality syngas from argon/water plasma gasification of biomass and waste

Extremely hot thermal plasma was used for the gasification of biomass (spruce sawdust, wood pellets) and waste (waste plastics, pyrolysis oil). The plasma was produced by a plasma torch with DC electric arc using unique hybrid stabilization. The torch input power of 100–110 kW and the mass flow rate of the gasified materials of tens kg/h was set up during experiments. Produced synthetic gas featured very high content of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (together approximately 90%) that is in a good agreement with theory. High quality of the produced gas is given by extreme parameters of used plasma – composition, very high temperature and low mass flow rate.     

等离子体技术降解茜素红水溶液的机理研究

研究了等离子体在内电极通氧条件下降解水相中茜素红的机理。研究表明:茜素红溶液的降解率与电极位置有关,且在0和22.5mm处出现2个高值。在0和22.5mm 2种电极位置时,茜素红的降解率与等离子体电压、茜素红的浓度、溶液初始pH值、处理时间的变化规律不完全相同。在0处时,茜素红溶液经等离子体放电处理后产物主要是含氧和羟基的小分子物质;在22.5mm时,产物主要是含-CO和含-OH的芳香类物质。研究认为:在内电极位置为0处时主要是高能电子的作用,而在22.5mm处时则是O2被解离产生氧原子,氧原子和高能电子与O2和H2O溶液作用产生O3、OH·、O2-和eaq-等活性物种与茜素红作用而引起其降解。这些结果为等离子体降解有机废水的实际应用提供了信息。     

等离子体技术应用于气相污染物治理综述

近年来利用等离子体技术对气态污染物的氧化分解研究受到了广泛的关注.介绍了等离子体概念、分类及产生方法,简述了非平衡等离子体技术对气体污染物的降解原理,较全面地介绍了等离子体技术在脱硫、脱硝以及降解挥发性有机物(VOCs)等方面的研究.最后指出了今后等离子体处理废气的应用研究方向.     

Intra-specific interactions influence egg composition in the lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus)

Egg composition, which is under maternal control, can have a profound effect on offspring fitness. The presence of maternal testosterone and carotenoids in avian egg yolk, for example, is thought to enhance the development and competitive ability of the offspring and protect the hatching and growing chick against oxidative stress. Egg quality often differs between females and such variation can be due to differences in maternal social environment, e.g. breeding density. However, this is confounded by the possibility that the quality of individuals breeding in high- or low-density areas may vary. We tested if maternal social environment influences egg composition in a colonial seabird, the lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus). To control for confounding effects of female quality, we experimentally manipulated maternal social environment during egg formation. We increased the frequency of intra-specific interactions (i.e. aggressive encounters with conspecifics other than nest mates) in which the females were involved, by placing an elevated platform in their territory. Females that took part in more intra-specific interactions produced a heavier last egg, but the yolk testosterone concentration in eggs laid by control and experimental females did not differ. Differences in yolk testosterone concentration in relation to embryo sex were found neither in the control nor in the experimental group. In contrast, within the control group, eggs with a male embryo contained more carotenoids than eggs with a female embryo. Moreover, experimental females that had been involved in more intra-specific interactions produced female eggs with higher carotenoid levels compared to female eggs of control birds. An experimental increase in carotenoid levels was not observed in eggs containing a male embryo. Our results suggest that intra-specific interactions experienced by female birds during egg formation can influence conditions for embryonic development.Communicated by J. Graves     

PCB accumulation in osprey exposed to local sources in lake sediment

We examined the accumulation of PCBs in ospreys (Pandion haleaetus) that were exposed to local sediment sources. Eggs, chick plasma, and sediment samples were collected over a range of 14 km (0.2-14.2 km) from a PCB source in Sturgeon Lake, ON. Sum PCB concentrations declined in chick plasma (range 422.5-58.3 ng/g) as distance from the PCB source increased, but there was a poor relationship with sum PCBs in eggs. Both tissues indicated an Aroclor 1248/1254 source. Aroclor 1254 comprised an average of 66.9% of sum PCBs in chick plasma from Sturgeon Lake, but comprised only from 27.0 to 44.4% in plasma from other Great Lake colonies. Dietary differences among osprey colonies were not sufficient to explain the PCB patterns observed. There was weak evidence that the ability to metabolize PCBs may differ between juveniles and adults, based upon the PCB profile in eggs and chick plasma.