耐冷菌在低温下处理污水的研究进展

低温污水的生物处理一直是水处理领域的难点和热点,由于耐冷菌对温度的适应范围较宽,且在低温下仍然保持较高的代谢活性,因此在污水处理和污染环境生物修复领域中的应用逐渐受到重视。本文介绍了耐冷菌在环境中的分布、主要种类以及适冷机理,概述了耐冷菌在工业废水和生活污水处理中的主要研究进展。指出应进一步开发环境中耐冷菌菌种资源,揭示耐冷菌的冷适应特性和功能表达之间的关系,加强耐冷菌在水体修复与净化领域的理论和应用研究,从而为我国北方尤其是东北地区的水环境保护提供行之有效的新途径。     

Time perspective balance and team adaptation in dynamic task contexts

The concept of time perspective balance has attracted increased attention from scholars in the past decade, reflected in published evidence suggesting positive outcomes ranging from enhanced mood to life satisfaction for those individuals possessing balance among their past, present, and future time perspectives, and assumedly able to shift their time perspective to match situational demands. In this paper, we consider the notion of time perspective balance in an organizational setting within which much consequential adaptation often occurs—the team environment—and explore different configurations of time perspective balance in teams facing dynamic task contexts. Drawing from work on situational awareness, we first consider the mechanism by which time perspective balance likely influences individual adaptation in dynamic task-focused situations. Next, we postulate what types of team configurations—ones with more balanced time perspective uniformity or ones with more time perspective variety—might be more appropriate in dynamic contexts given key team conditions. We illustrate our analysis with examples from healthcare team settings and offer ideas for future research.     

Evolution of tolerance to PCBs and susceptibility to a bacterial pathogen (Vibrio harveyi) in Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) from New Bedford (MA, USA) harbor

A population of the non-migratory estuarine fish Fundulus heteroclitus (Atlantic killifish) resident to New Bedford (NB), Massachusetts, USA, an urban harbor highly contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), demonstrates recently evolved tolerance to some aspects of PCB toxicity. PCB toxicology, ecological theory, and some precedence supported expectations of increased susceptibility to pathogens in NB killifish. However, laboratory bacterial challenges of the marine pathogen Vibrio harveyi to wild fish throughout the reproductive season and to their mature laboratory-raised progeny demonstrated comparable survival by NB and reference killifish, and improved survival by NB males. These results are inconsistent with hypothesized trade-offs of adaptation, and suggest that evolved tolerance in NB killifish may include mechanisms that minimize the immunosuppressive effects of PCBs. Compensatory strategies of populations persisting in highly contaminated environments provide a unique perspective for understanding the long-term ecological effects of toxic chemicals.     

Integral assessment of estrogenic potentials in sediment-associated samples

Background, aim, and scope  The enzyme-linked receptor assay (ELRA) detects estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects at the molecular level of receptor binding and is a useful tool for the integrative assessment of ecotoxicological potentials caused by hormonally active agents (HAA) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC). The main advantage of the ELRA is its high sample throughput and its robustness against cytotoxicity and microbial contamination. After a methodological adaptation to salinity of the ELRA, according to the first part of this study, which increased its salinity tolerance and sensitivity for 17-β-estradiol, the optimised ELRA was used to investigate 13 native sediments characterised by different levels of salinity and chemical contamination. The applicability of the ELRA for routine analysis in environmental assessment was evaluated. Salinity is often a critical factor for bioassays in ecotoxicological sediment assessment. Therefore, salinity of the samples was additionally adjusted to different levels to characterise its influence on elution and binding processes of receptor-binding substances. Materials and methods  The ELRA was carried out with the human estrogen receptor α (ER) in a 96-well microplate format using the experimental setup known from the competitive immunoassay based on ligand–protein interaction. It is an important improvement that a physiologically relevant receptor was used as a linking protein instead of an antibody. The microplates were coated with a 17-β-estradiol-BSA conjugate, and dilution series of estradiol and of native sediment samples were added and incubated with the ER. After a washing step, a biotinylated mouse anti-ER antibody was added to each well. Receptor binding to estradiol, agonistic and antagonistic receptor binding, were determined by a streptavidin-POD-biotin complex with subsequent measurement of the peroxidase activity at the wavelength of 450 nm using a commercial ELISA multiplate reader. The sediment elutriates and pore water samples of sediments were tested in a dilution series to evaluate at which dilution step the receptor-binding potential ends. In the elution process (see Section 2.1 to 2.2), a method was developed to adjust the salinity to the levels of the reference testings, which offers an appropriate option to adjust the salinity in both directions. Statistical evaluation was made with a combination of the Mann–Whitney U test and the pT-method. Results  This part of the study characterised the environmental factor ‘salinity’ for prospective applications of the ELRA. Using reference substances such as 17-β-estradiol, the ELRA showed sigmoid concentration-effect relations over a broad range from 0.05 μg/l to 100 μg/l under physiological conditions. After methodological optimisation, both sensitivity and tolerance of the assay against salinity could be significantly raised, and the ELRA became applicable under salinity conditions up to concentrations of 20.5‰. The mean relative inter-test error (n = 3) was around 11% with reference substances and below 5% for single sediments elutriates in three replicates each. For sediment testings, the pore water and different salinity-adjusted elutriates of 13 sediments were used. A clear differentiation of the receptor-binding potential could be reached by application of the pT-method. Thereby, pT-values from one to six could be assigned to the sediments, and the deviation caused by the different salinity conditions was one pT-value. The mean standard deviation in the salinity adaptation procedure of the elutriates was below 5%. Discussion  Although the ELRA has already been used for assessments of wastewater, sludge and soil, its applicability for samples to different salinity levels has not been investigated so far. Even if the ELRA is not as sensitive as the E-screen or the YES-assay, with regard to reference substances like 17-β-estradiol, it is a very useful tool for pre-screening, because it is able to integrate both estrogenic as well as anti-estrogenic receptor-binding effects. According to the results of sediment testing, and given the integrative power to detect different directions of effects, the ELRA shows sufficient sensitivity and salinity tolerance to discriminate receptor-binding potentials in environmental samples. Conclusions  The optimised ELRA assay is a fast, cost-effective, reliable and highly reproducible tool that can be used for high-throughput screening in a microplate format in detecting both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects. Additionally, the ELRA is robust against microbial contaminations, and is not susceptible towards cytotoxic interferences like the common cell-culture methods. The general applicability and sufficient sensitivity of the ELRA was shown in freshwater environments. Marine and brackish samples can be measured up to salinity levels of 20.5‰. Recommendations and perspectives  In view of the proven sensitivity, functionality and the fastness of the ELRA, it is recommendable to standardise the test method. At the moment, no adequate in vitro test procedure exists which is standardised to DIN or ISO levels. The E-screen and the yeast estrogen/androgen screens (YES/YAS) sometimes underlie strong cytotoxic effects, as reported in the first part of this study. Further development of an ELRA assay using human androgen receptors appears to be very promising to gain information about androgenic and anti-androgenic effects, too. This would offer a possibility to use the ELRA as a fast and reliable pre-screening tool for the detection of endocrine potentials, thus minimising time and cost-expensive animal experiments.     

Ecological plasticity of nest-building behavior of the redwing (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Turdus iliacus</Emphasis> L.) in Karelia according to individual marking data

The placement of 1918 redwing nests has been analyzed, including 214 nests of 90 marked females (2–8 known nests per female). A high level of intraspecific and individual variation in utilization of different types of nest supports is described. It is shown that redwings choose nest sites without regard to previous experience (either positive or negative) or to the placement of their parent nest. Under conditions of the northern taiga, such behavior provides for significant reduction of chick mortality by the end of the season. This is con- firmed by comparison with the song thrush (T. philomelos), which nests mainly on spruce trees.     

Response of the pigment system of conifers to long-term industrial air pollution

To estimate the response of conifers to long-term industrial air pollution at the pigment system level, the dynamics of photosynthetic pigments have been studied in needles of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Ledeb.) growing at different distances from the emission source (a pulp and paper mill). It has been shown that the pigment apparatus of spruce. The results show that in spruce, unlike in pine, the pigment apparatus remains unchanged under the effect of weak pollution. Long-term exposure at high levels of industrial emission results in suppression of chlorophyll and carotenoid syntheses in pine but stimulates pigment production in spruce. An increase in the contents of pigments in the needles of conifers growing in the impact zone of the pulp and paper mill reflects a compensatory mechanism of adaptation of their pigment system to long-term stress exposure.     

The role of floods in the Long-term dynamics of geobiont and chortobiont communities on islands of the Kuibyshev Reservoir

Interannual changes in geobiont and chortobiont abundance on the islands of Kuibyshev Reservoir are largely determined by flood conditions, because the seasonal average abundance of many taxa is negatively correlated to the water level in May and June. Floods influence the abundance of these animals both directly and indirectly, through biocenotic connections and some aspects of behavior. Long-term positive trends are observed in the abundance of many species. The hypothesis is proposed that this increase in the abundance of geobionts and chortobionts is a consequence of adaptation processes in these communities, which are stimulated by the flood regime of the reservoir.     

Adaptation Scenarios of Agriculture in Poland to Future Climate Changes

This paper demonstrates the ability of Polish agriculture to adapt to predicted climate change according to GISS and GFDL scenarios. Both climate-change scenarios will significantly affect farming conditions in Poland through water deficit, shifts in planting and harvesting seasons, changes in crop yields and crop structure. Neither scenario seems to endanger the self-sufficiency of Poland as long as preventative measures are taken. Moreover, the realization of GISS creates the possibility of a surplus in production. It must be emphasized that regardless of the scenario, the adaptation of agriculture to an expected climate change cannot be handled by the farming community itself.     

Impact of Global Climate Change on China's Water Resources

It is indicated that up to the year 2030, the annual average temperatures in China will increase by 0.88 to 1.2°C, with increments in the south less than in the north. Annual average precipitation would raise slightly, but the increment could be 4% in northeastern China. The increment of annual mean runoff could rise over 6% in the northeastern area, and decrease in the other regions 1.4 to 10.5%. The increased water shortage due to climate change could achieve 160 to 5090 million m³ in some areas of China. Financial loss due to the lack of water could reach 1300 million yuan, and up to 4400 million yuan in serious drought years in the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan area.     

Depoliticizing adaptation: a critical analysis of EU climate adaptation policy

The ways in which climate adaptation is understood in the European Union is examined via three key policy documents: the Strategy on adaptation and the Green and White Papers that preceded it. Drawing on Poststructuralist Discourse Theory, light is shed on the implicit values and assumptions that underpin this recent policy initiative. The findings demonstrate a tension between the declared ambition to act on adaptation and implicit suggestions that nothing really has to change, and the challenge can be addressed by market and technological innovations, and by mainstreaming adaptation into existing sectoral policies. The policy discourse effectively serves to depoliticize choices societies make in response to climate change, presenting adaptation as a non-political issue. Insight into European adaptation discourse enables deeper understanding of recent policy developments and opens up possible entry points for critique.