Humic substances

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: Freshwater bodies which chemistry is dominated by dissolved humic substances (HS) seem to be the major type on Earth, due to huge non-calcareous geological formations in the Northern Hemisphere and in the tropics. Based on the paradigm of the inertness of being organic, direct interactions of dissolved HS with freshwater organisms are mostly neglected. However, dissolved organic carbon, the majority of which being HS, are natural environmental chemicals and should therefore directly interact with organisms. Major results that widened our perspective on humic substance ecology come from experiments with the compost nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, which behaved contradictorily to textbook knowledge and provoked an in-depth re-consideration of some paradigms. APPROACH: To overcome old paradigms on HS and their potential interactions with organisms, we reviewed recent international literature, as well as 'grey' literature. We also include results from own ongoing studies. RESULTS: This review focuses on direct interactions of dissolved HS with freshwater organisms and disregards indirect effects, such as under-water light quenching. Instead we show with some macrophyte and algal species that HS adversely interfere with photosynthesis and growth, whereby closely related algal species show different response patterns. In addition to this, HS suppress cyanobacteria more than eukaryotic algae. Quinones in the HS appear to be the effective structure. Furthermore, HS can modulate the offspring numbers in the nematode C. elegans and cause feminization of fish and amphibians--they possess hormone-like properties. The ecological consequences of this potential remain obscure at present. HS also have the potential to act as chemical attractants as shown with C. elegans and exert a mild chemical stress upon aquatic organisms in many ways: induction of molecular chaperons (stress proteins), induction and modulation of biotransformation and anti-oxidant enzymes. Furthermore, they produce an oxidative stress with lipidperoxidation as one clear symptom or even stress defense strategy. Stronger chemical stresses by HS may even lead to teratogenic effects as shown with fish embryos; all physiological responses to HS-mediated stress require energy, which were compensated on the expense of yolk as shown with zebra fish embryos. One Finnish field survey supports the view of a strong chemical stress, as the weight yield in fish species decreases with increasing HS content in the lakes. DISCUSSION: HS exert a variety of stress symptoms in aquatic and compost organisms. According to current paradigms of ecotoxicology, these symptoms have to be considered adverse, because their compensation consumes energy which is deducted from the main metabolism. However, the nematode C. elegans looks actively for such stressful environments, and this behavior is only understandable in the light of new paradigms of aging mechanisms, particularly the Green Theory of Aging. In this respect, we discuss the mild HS-mediated stress to aquatic and compost organisms. New empirical findings with HS themselves and HS building blocks appear to be consistent with this emerging paradigm and show that the individual lifespan may be expanded. At present the ecological consequences of these findings remain obscure. However, a multiple-stress resistance may be acquired which improves the individual fitness in a fluctuating environment. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that dissolved HS have to be considered abiotic ecological driving forces, somewhat less obvious than temperature, nutrients, or light. PERSPECTIVES: The understanding of the ecological control by dissolved humic substances is still fragmentary and needs to be studied in more details.     

Review of the effects of in-stream pipeline crossing construction on aquatic ecosystems and examination of Canadian methodologies for impact assessment

Pipeline crossing construction alters river and stream channels, hence may have detrimental effects on aquatic ecosystems. This review examines the effects of crossing construction on fish and fish habitat in rivers and streams, and recommends an approach to monitoring and assessment of impacts associated with these activities. Pipeline crossing construction is shown to not only compromise the integrity of the physical and chemical nature of fish habitat, but also to affect biological habitat (e.g., benthic invertebrates and invertebrate drift), and fish behavior and physiology. Indicators of effect include: water quality (total suspended solids TSS), physical habitat (substrate particle size, channel morphology), benthic invertebrate community structure and drift (abundance, species composition, diversity, standing crop), and fish behavior and physiology (hierarchy, feeding, respiration rate, loss of equilibrium, blood hematocrit and leukocrit levels, heart rate and stroke volume). The Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) approach, which is often applied in Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM), is recommended as a basis for impact assessment, as is consideration of site-specific sensitivities, assessment of significance, and cumulative effects.     

Comparison of forest edge effects on throughfall deposition in different forest types

This study examined the influence of distance to the forest edge, forest type, and time on Cl⁻, SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, and NH₄⁺ throughfall deposition in forest edges. The forests were dominated by pedunculate oak, silver birch, or Corsican/Austrian pine, and were situated in two regions of Flanders (Belgium). Along transects, throughfall deposition was monitored at distances of 0-128 m from the forest edge. A repeated-measures analysis demonstrated that time, forest type, and distance to the forest edge significantly influenced throughfall deposition of the ions studied. The effect of distance to the forest edge depended significantly on forest type in the deposition of Cl⁻, SO₄²⁻, and NO₃⁻: the edge effect was significantly greater in pine stands than in deciduous birch and oak stands. This finding supports the possibility of converting pine plantations into oak or birch forests in order to mitigate the input of nitrogen and potentially acidifying deposition.     

3种兽药及饲料添加剂对鱼类的毒理效应

采用斑马鱼、鲤鱼作为生物材料,通过斑马鱼急性毒性试验、胚胎发育试验和鲤鱼肾细胞单细胞凝胶电泳试验,分别从生物个体水平、细胞水平和分子水平,对兽药及饲料添加剂喹乙醇、阿散酸和土霉素进行了生态毒理学效应研究。急性毒性试验结果表明,3种兽药及饲料添加剂在有生态学意义的浓度范围内对斑马鱼的急性毒性均不大;胚胎发育试验结果表明,喹乙醇和阿散酸对斑马鱼胚胎发育72 h的EC50值分别为221.20和239.54 mg.L-1,具有明显的致畸效应;单细胞凝胶电泳试验结果表明,喹乙醇和土霉素均具有一定的遗传毒性,能引起鲤鱼肾细胞DNA的明显损伤,并呈现出一定的剂量-效应关系。     

基坑开挖与邻近高层建筑施工耦合模拟研究

以一邻近在建观光楼的基坑工程为背景,采用有限元软件MIDAS GTS-NX对其进行基坑开挖及邻近观光楼全过程数值模拟分析,结合模拟计算分析了邻近在建高层建筑的基坑开挖的耦合作用.模拟结果表明:在邻近在建建筑物的基坑开挖情况下,两者间的耦合作用明显;在邻近在建高层建筑物影响下,基坑支护结构水平位移差为10.1 mm;土体...     

Ecological principles,biodiversity, and the electric utility industry

The synthetic field of conservation biology uses principles derived from many different disciplines to address biodiversity issues. Many of these principles have come from ecology, and two simple ones that seem to relate to many issues involving the utility industry are: (1) Everything is interconnected (and should usually stay that way), and (2) We can never do merely one thing. The first principle can be applied to both the biotic and physical environments that are impacted by industrial activities. Habitat fragmentation and the loss of physical and biotic connectedness that results are frequently associated with transmission rights-of-way. These problems can be reduced—or even turned into conservation benefits—by careful planning and creative management. The second principle applies to the utility industry's programs to deal with carbon released by burning fossil fuels. Ecological knowledge can allow these programs to contribute to the preservation of biodiversity in addition to addressing a pollution problem. Without careful ecological analyses, industry could easily create new problems while implementing solutions to old ones.     

噪声对不同人格类型被试者视觉功能的不同影响

采用龚耀先修订的“艾克森人格问卷”中的调查方法,将华东师范大学的３６名大学生分为外向稳定、内向稳定、外向不稳定、内向不稳定等４个人格类型组,通过噪声暴露试验,研究其对不同人格类型式者视觉功能的影响。结果表明,噪声对内向不稳定定型被试乾的视觉影响最大,对外向稳定型影响最小;噪声对视深、视长和视野的影响程序也不相同,４种人格类型被试者在视深知觉和视野上均存在显著性差异,在视长智觉上未见任何显著性差异;     

森林与雾露水关系研究进展

论文从雾露水的形成机制、森林对雾露水的截留量、雾露水对森林分布的影响及雾露水的生态效应方面,阐述了国外在该领域的研究动态和取得的成果,以期推动我国在该领域的研究工作。国外的大量研究表明,雾露水对于植物的生长、分布具有重要的生态意义,是森林生态系统水分平衡、养分循环不可忽视的输入项,其生态效应是多方面的。因而,进一步深入研究雾露水与森林的关系是必要的。     

活性碳纤维修饰PbO2电极的制备及其对阿莫西林的降解解毒研究

采用电沉积法将活性碳纤维（ACF）修饰于PbO₂阳极表面，通过扫描电镜（SEM）、X射线衍射仪（XRD）、电化学工作站等对其进行表征分析与优选.并以优选电极对典型抗生素阿莫西林（AMX）进行电催化降解，同时探究AMX在电催化过程中的降解效果与毒性演变规律.结果表明，ACF以"镶嵌"的方式被修饰于电极表层，且修饰后的电极析氧过电位、电荷传输速率、产·OH速率、稳定性等均有所提高.电催化降解结果显示，经120 min电催化处理，AMX去除率和矿化率分别达到70.69%、58.61%.基因毒理学测试结果表明，AMX毒性水平随电催化降解时间延长呈逐渐下降趋势，转录效应指数TELI_total数值由最初的1.96降至1.72.同时AMX经电催化处理后氧化应激、膜应激与一般应激表达均由强烈转为温和.     

植物根系内活性氧清除酶对铅胁迫的反应

本文研究了Pb胁迫对多年生黑麦草(Lolium perenne)、匍匐翦股颖(Agrostis stolonifera)幼苗根系内SOD、CAT、POD三种清除酶活性水平的影响。结果表明，在低浓度的Pb胁迫下植物根系内活性氧清除酶活性水平普遍增加，且随胁迫时间延长其水平逐渐上升。而在高浓度时，酶活性急剧增加，但随胁迫时间的延长，酶活性则急剧下降，铅毒害效应增加，清除酶消除氧自由基的作用逐渐消失，其中，SOD、CAT酶活性变化较为敏感，而POD相对稳定。匍匐剪股颖对Pb胁迫的抵抗作用大于多年生黑麦草。