Solid beef cattle manure application impacts on soil properties and 17β-estradiol fate in a clay loam soil

Livestock manure applied to agricultural land is one of the ways natural steroid estrogens enter soils. To examine the impact of long-term solid beef cattle (Bos Taurus) manure on soil properties and 17β-estradiol sorption and mineralization, this study utilized a soil that had received beef cattle manure over 35 years. The 17β-estradiol was strongly sorbed and sorption significantly increased (P < 0.05) with increasing soil organic carbon content (SOC) and with an increasing annual rate of beef cattle manure. The 17β-estradiol mineralization half-life was significantly negatively correlated, and the total amount of 17β-estradiol mineralized at 90 days (MAX) was significantly positively correlated with 17β-estradiol sorption. The long-term rate of manure application had no significant effect on MAX, but the addition of fresh beef cattle manure in the laboratory resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) smaller MAX values. None of the treatments showed MAX values exceeding one-third of the 17β-estradiol applied.     

Comparative effect of thymol or its glucose conjugate,thymol-β-d-glucopyranoside,on Campylobacter in avian gut contents

Campylobacter jejuni is an important human food-borne pathogen that can contaminate meat and poultry during processing. Consequently, strategies are sought to reduce the carriage of C. jejuni in food animals before they arrive at the abattoir. Thymol is a natural product that reduces survivability of Campylobacter in vitro, but its rapid absorption from the proximal alimentary tract limits its bactericidal efficacy in vivo. Thymol-β-d-glucopyranoside is more resistant to absorption than free thymol, but its administration to chickens has not been reported. In the present studies, 1 mM thymol-β-d-glucopyranoside was shown to exhibit near equal anti-Campylobacter activity as 1 mM thymol when incubated anaerobically in avian crop or cecal contents in vitro, resulting in reductions of 1.10–2.32 log₁₀ colony forming units mL^?1 in C. jejuni concentrations after 24 h incubation. In a follow-up live animal study, oral administration of thymol-β-d-glucopyranoside, but not free thymol, significantly lowered (>10-fold) recovery of Campylobacter from the crop of market-aged broilers when compared to placebo-treated controls (n = 6 broilers/treatment). Neither thymol-β-d-glucopyranoside nor thymol affected recovery of Campylobacter from cecal contents of the treated broilers. These results indicate that rapid absorption or passage of free thymol from the crop precluded its anti-Campylobacter activity at this site and throughout the entire gastrointestinal tract. Conversely, lower recovery of Campylobacter from the crop of birds treated with thymol-β-d-glucopyranoside indicates this conjugate was retained and able to be hydrolyzed to biologically active free thymol at this site as intended, yet was not sufficiently protected to allow passage of efficacious amounts of the intact glycoside to the lower gut. Nevertheless, these results warrant further research to see if higher doses or encapsulation of thymol-β-d-glucopyranoside or similar glycosides may yield an efficacious additive to reduce carriage of Campylobacter as well as other pathogens throughout the avian gut.     

Risk assessment of xenoestrogens in a typical domestic sewage-holding lake in China

Release of domestic sewage leads to accumulation of xenoestrogens in holding waters, especially in closed or semi-enclosed waters such as lakes. In the study, the occurrence, distribution, estrogenic activity and risk of eight xenoestreogens were evaluated in Lake Donghu, China. Nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP), and bisphenol A (BPA) were identified as the main xenoestrogens ranging from tens of ng L⁻¹ (in the surface water) or ng g⁻¹ dw (in the suspended particles and sediment) to tens of μg L⁻¹ or μg g⁻¹ dw. The sum of 17β-estradiol equivalents (∑EEQs) ranged from 0.32 to 45.02 ng L⁻¹ in the surface water, 0.53 to 71.86 ng g⁻¹ dw in the suspended particles, and 0.09 to 24.73 ng g⁻¹ dw in the sediment. Diethylstilbestrol (DES) was determined as the main contributor to ∑EEQs followed by NP. The risk assessment showed a higher risk in the surface water than in the suspended particles and sediment in such domestic sewage-holding lake.     

Comparison of Three Extraction Methods for 17 β-Estradiol in Sand,Bentonite, and Organic-Rich Silt Loam

Extraction is an important procedure for samples that contain soil because other compounds in soil may affect analysis of estrogens. This study was conducted to evaluate three different extraction methods for 17β-estradiol in soil. Sand, bentonite, and organic-rich silt loam were spiked with 1 mg kg^{? 1} of 17β-estradiol as a model compound of estrogens. 17β-estradiol and its metabolites, estrone and estriol, were extracted using (i) a modified Bligh and Dyer extraction, (ii) a pressurized fluid extraction, and (iii) a diethyl ether extraction, and measured by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. There were significant differences in the extraction efficiency for 17β-estradiol among the extraction methods and the soils: the efficiencies ranged from 10% to 97%. Overall, the diethyl ether extraction method had the largest efficiency of 17β-estradiol with 45% and 57% for bentonite and silt loam, respectively. Transformation of 17β-estradiol to estrone and estriol in the different extraction methods was less than 3.6% during the extraction procedures. This study underlined the importance of sample preparation for estrogen analysis in soil samples.     

利用N-乙酰-β-D-氨基葡萄糖苷酶含量评价农药对花翅摇蚊种群发育的影响

为了进一步探索种群水平的生态风险评估方法,本文利用β-N-Acetyl-D-glucosaminidase(NAGase)的变化量来监测农药对摇蚊种群发育的影响。从花翅摇蚊Chironomus kiiensis体内分离纯化得到电泳纯的NAGase,并通过免疫大白兔制得NAGase的多克隆抗体。运用间接非竞争ELISA法检测抗体特异性,结果表明其与共同存在于水体的一些生物的NAGase的交叉反应率为隆线溞4.41%、老年低额溞3.12%、多刺裸腹溞3.40%、中华薄壳介4.17%、日本沼虾3.23%、白纹伊蚊7.50%、小球藻0.5%。运用抗体测得毒死蜱、氰戊菊酯和阿维菌素3种杀虫剂对于摇蚊NAGase释放量的12 d-EC50分别为1.2012、0.0043和0.6281μg·L-1,以NAGase活力作为测试终点,测得相应的12 d-EC50:1.4765、0.0051和0.6756μg·L-1,两者差异不显著,但均显著低于以死亡作为测试终点的12 d-LC50:4.8171、0.0954和2.1340μg·L-1,且毒力大小均为氰戊菊酯阿维菌素毒死蜱。上述结果表明,利用NAGase多克隆抗体可以特异性地检测农药对花翅摇蚊种群发育的影响。     

An approach to preimplantation diagnosis of β-thalassaemia

Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), it was possible to amplify a single copy fragment of the β-globin gene from 2–32 human embryonic cells obtained from arrested preimplantation embryos. For the detection of β-thalassaemia mutations, allele specific priming of the PCR using nested primers was employed using approximately 10 pg of DN A from individuals known to carry these mutations. This approach was successful in detecting the presence or absence of five Asian Indian β-thalassaemia mutations that were selected for this study. In spite of meticulous precautions against contamination, false-positive amplification was observed, a problem that will have to be overcome before this approach can be used in clinical practice.     

17β-雌二醇在水体中的分布水平及去除方法研究现状

17β-雌二醇(E2)是一种常见的天然雌激素,普遍存在于各类水体环境,在水环境分布水平已经达到干扰鱼类内分泌系统的水平,被认为是作用最强烈、最具潜在影响的环境内分泌干扰物之一。文章重点介绍了17β-雌二醇在水体环境中的分布水平及去除方法,指出由于传统的污水处理工艺和净水工艺无法将其完全去除,增加深度处理工序已经迫在眉睫。针对E2的特点,现有水处理工艺宜增加能够生成强氧化剂.OH的工序。