Comparison of the efficacy of slide/tape and cine-loop as teaching aids for a microbiological technique

The efficacy of slide/tape and cine-loop presentations in teaching a simple manipulative skill in micro-biology were compared in a population of first-year undergraduate students in Life Sciences. No difference could be found between the two techniques. Students whose first language was not English were at a disadvantage in comparison with others even when language did not appear to be a component of the teaching technique.     

Arabica coffee and olive oils mitigate malathion-induced nephrotoxicity in rat: In silico,immunohistochemical and biochemical evaluation

Malathion (MAL) is an organophosphate insecticide that disrupts the body's antioxidant system; it is one of the earliest organophosphate insecticides extensively used as dust, emulsion, and vapor control a wide variety of insect pests under different conditions. This experimentation aims to evaluate the influence of Arabica coffee oil and olive oil on MAL-induced nephrotoxicity in male rat. 6 sets bearing the same number of animals were applied to this experiment. Each set comprised 10 rats. The first set of rats was used as the control group; rats in the second set were exposed to MAL measured at 100 mg/kg body weight for 7 weeks. Animals in the third and fourth set were treated with 400 mg/kg body weight of Arabica coffee oil and olive oil, and 100 mg/kg body weight of MAL. The fifth, together with the sixth set, were fed with a similar proportion of Arabica coffee oil and olive oil as administered to the third set of rats. After the experimental duration, rats of group 2 showed severe biochemical alterations, including significant increases of creatinine, uric acids, and urea nitrogen (BUN), resulting in marked decreases in serum albumin values and total protein (TP). Severe histopathological and immunohistochemical alterations of kidney tissues were observed in exposed MAL-intoxicated rats. Administration of these oils reduced the detected biochemical, histopathological modifications caused by MAL intoxication. Two active ingredients in Arabica coffee oil (oleic acid) and olive oil (hydroxytyrosol) showed good cyclooxygenase-2 (COX 2) interaction. Moreover, oleic acid from coffee oil and olive oil exhibited impressive association with xanthine oxidase (XO). The current finding showed that coffee oil and olive oil could be appraised as possible and a likely deterrence component against nephrotoxicity brought about by MAL.     

The branching pattern of major groups of land plants inferred from parsimony analysis of ribosomal RNA sequences

The parsimony and bootstrap branching pattern of major groups of land plants derived from relevant 5S rRNA sequence trees have been discussed in the light of paleobotanical and morphological evidences. Although 5S rRNA sequence information is not useful for dileneating angiosperm relationships, it does capture the earlier phase of land plant evolution. The consensus branching pattern indicates an ancient split of bryophytes and vascular plants from the charophycean algal stem. Among the bryophytes,Marchantia andLophocolea appear to be phylogenetically close and together withPlagiomnium form a monophyletic group.Lycopodium andPsilotum arose early in vascular land plant evolution, independent of fem-sphenopsid branch. Gymnosperms are polyphyletic; conifers, Gnetales and cycads emerge in that order with ginkgo joiningCycas. Among the conifers,Metasequoia,Juniperus andTaxus emerge as a branch independent ofPinus which joins Gnetales. The phylogeny derived from the available ss-RNA sequences shows that angiosperms are monophyletic with monocots and dicots diverging from a common stem. The nucleotide replacements during angiosperm descent from the gymnosperm ancestor which presumably arose around 370 my ago indicates that monocots and dicots diverged around 180 my ago, which is compatible with the reported divergence estimate of around 200 my ago deduced from chloroplast DNA sequences. Since deceased.     

Scarcity-weighted global land and metal footprints

Resource scarcity poses an increasing threat to the supply security of modern economies. Some grand challenges ahead are the limits to agricultural expansion and the geologic scarcity of metals. To better understand the drivers behind land and metal depletion, footprint-type indicators are gaining importance. Such indicators, however, fail to differentiate between vastly different degrees of resource availability across regions. Using crop suitability areas and metal reserve base data, we calculate scarcity-weighted land and metal footprints for the major economies with the EXIOBASE global multi-regional input-output model. Scarcity-weighting causes a significant reordering of the global rankings of countries for both land and metal footprints. Land scarcity focuses mostly on cereals (∼54% from the total agricultural land used) and oil crops (∼15%), the former being notably affected by water scarcity issues in Asia and the Middle East. Metal scarcity focuses on copper ores (∼69%) and iron (∼11%), the former being a globally scarce metal impacting multiple economies. The large impact of scarcity-weighting suggests that, while non-weighted resource footprints are a valid proxy of resource use, these are not always aligned with further implications of resource depletion and supply security. In this sense, scarcity-weighting can offer an initial overview of those countries where analyses at finer scales may be more valuable. Our results also show that international trade is a major driver of land and metal depletion in some developing regions. This highlights the intersection of environmental justice and globalization, as the burden of resource depletion often falls into poorer regions which critically rely on exports.     

A spatial panel statistical analysis on cultivated land conversion and chinese economic growth

The conflict between cultivated land protection and economic development has become increasingly acute in recent years. Despite, intensive researches made on this conflict, little attention has been paid to the spatial correlation of variables. In view of this, the paper introduces the spatial panel regression model to estimate, and test whether the relationship between economic growth and cultivated land conversion conforms to Kuznets curve. Research results show that the area of converted cultivated land in China exhibits strong spatial auto-correlation; the spatial panel model with time effect and fixed effect is more stable and significant than conventional panel mode, and that the relationship between economic growth and cultivated land conversion agrees with the inverted U-shape of Kuznets curve, with inflection point occurring when average per capita GDP reaches ¥31330.93 (calculated at comparable price of 1999). On the basis of analysis, it is suggested that the government, with a view to developing economy alongside protecting cultivated land, should attach more importance to land use and planning in the future, pay more attention to the spatial correlation of cultivated land planning in adjacent areas and make greater efforts to increase the input–output ratio of land.     

Drainage history and land use pattern of a Swedish river system — their importance for understanding nitrogen and phosphorus load

During the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, approximately 300 km² of lakes and wetlands, representing 29% of the River Kavlingean catchment in Southern Sweden, were drained to make land available for agriculture. Published accounts of nutrient loads from the catchment indicated that until the mid 20th century, factories and urban point sources were the major contributors of both nitrogen and phosphorus. By the middle of the 20th century, the construction of sewage treatment plants had effectively reduced phosphorus pollution. Concurrently, the land drained in the previous century underwent a more intense cultivation, with productivity being maintained by commercial fertilizers. Subsequently, net nutrient loads from agriculture continued to increase, reaching an annual load of 2652 tons total-nitrogen and 70 tons total-phosphorus for the River Kävlingeån. Whilst high nutrient leakage from agricultural watersheds may be a problem which is only recently recognized, it had its origins in nearly a hundred years of commonly accepted agricultural policy.To assess the importance of agriculture as the major source of nutrients to the River Kävlingeån system, three tributary catchment areas, differing in terms of their land use patterns (high, medium and low intensity of agricultural use), were studied and compared with literature figures. Results indicated that agricultural nutrient loss areal coefficients were substantially higher than the literature figures, demonstrating the role of agriculture as source of nutrients to the River Kävlingeån system. The agricultural land use policies of the last fifty years were revealed to be most important with regard to this role. Of such land use policies, the cultivation of the last 10–15% of land employed for agricultural use (primarily riparian ecotones) may be of most significance. The literature indicates that intense agricultural use of this final 10–15% may account for a ca. 50% increase in nitrogen loss. This suggests that one solution to the problem of agricultural diffuse pollution may lie in the restoration and sustainable management of riparian ecotones of agricultural streams.     

Field test of an automated radio‐telemetry system: tracking local space use of aerial insectivores

Documenting local space use of birds that move rapidly, but are too small to carry GPS tags, such as swallows and swifts, can be challenging. For these species, tracking methods such as manual radio‐telemetry and visual observation are either inadequate or labor‐ and time‐intensive. Another option is use of an automated telemetry system, but equipment for such systems can be costly when many receivers are used. Our objective, therefore, was to determine if an automated radio‐telemetry system, consisting of just two receivers, could provide an alternative to manual tracking for gathering data on local space use of six individuals of three species of aerial insectivores, including one Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), one Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), and four Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica). We established automated radio‐telemetry systems at three sites near the city of Peterborough in eastern Ontario, Canada, from May to August 2015. We evaluated the location error of our two‐receiver system using data from moving and stationary test transmitters at known locations, and used telemetry data from the aerial insectivores as a test of the system's ability to track rapidly moving birds under field conditions. Median location error was ~250 m for automated telemetry test locations after filtering. More than 90% of estimated locations had large location errors and were removed from analysis, including all locations > 1 km from receiver stations. Our automated telemetry receivers recorded 17,634 detections of the six radio‐tagged birds. However, filtering removed an average of 89% of bird location estimates, leaving only the Cliff Swallow with enough locations for analysis of space use. Our results demonstrate that a minimal automated radio‐telemetry system can be used to assess local space use by small, highly mobile birds, but the resolution of the data collected using only two receiver stations was coarse and had a limited range. To improve both location accuracy and increase the percentage of usable location estimates collected, we suggest that, in future studies, investigators use receivers that simultaneously record signals detected by all antennas, and use of a minimum of three receiver stations with more antennas at each station.     

植被类型变化对土壤微生物碳利用效率的影响研究进展

植被类型变化强烈影响着土壤碳循环。土壤微生物碳利用效率（CUE）是微生物将从环境中获取的碳分配给自身生长的比例，是土壤碳循环的综合指标。研究植被类型变化对CUE的影响有助于从微生物视角理解该过程中的土壤碳动态，可以为评估植被类型变化对土壤质量及生态系统碳循环的影响提供基础，具有重要的理论及实际价值。通过系统查阅相关文献，综述了植被类型变化导致的CUE变化情况，以及该过程中影响CUE的因子与机制。目前，相关研究主要涉及以林地、草地和农业用地为起点或终点的植被变化类型。天然林（原生林、次生林）变化为人工林、林地变化为草地后CUE普遍下降，随终点植被的发展CUE可能恢复至起点水平。植被成熟度越高，发生转变时CUE变化越剧烈。植被类型变化以农业用地为起点或终点时，CUE变化方向的不确定性及幅度的变异性均增加。植被类型变化导致的CUE变化主要受到植被、土壤、微生物因子及其交互作用的驱动，指示CUE的指标、采样季节和土层也会一定程度上影响CUE的变化。今后相关研究应采用直接的CUE测定方法，拓宽研究气候区及植被变化类型，关注植被变化过程中CUE变化的土层差异及动态监测，深入对植被类型变化导致的生态环境因子变化与CUE的关系及作用机制的研究。     

基于城市微气候模拟软件的城市道路绿化带对PM2.5消减作用的研究

随着经济的快速发展及机动车保有量的持续增长，车辆造成的道路污染问题日益严重。广州作为中国重要的经济发展城市，交通源排放问题高度集中，机动车排放是城市PM2.5的主要来源之一，开展减缓城市道路污染危害的研究具有重要意义。本研究为调查绿化带对广州城市道路PM2.5的影响，运用实测与城市微气候模拟软件（ENVI-met）模拟结合的研究方法，实测并分析城市道路空间PM2.5的浓度分布及其影响因素，使用实测数据对模拟软件进行验证分析，模拟研究理想道路模型下不同高宽比、风向等因素及绿化带植配类型对PM2.5的消减作用。研究表明：（1）城市道路空间PM2.5浓度分布受污染源、街道高宽比、风速风向、绿化带等综合影响，自然消减情况下，其主要受风速风向和高宽比双因素影响；（2）通常街道高宽比越大，越有利于道路空间PM2.5的扩散；（3）城市道路空间PM2.5自然沉降最小距离为12 m，0-12 m范围内应保持无障碍物的开敞环境，PM2.5消减的关键范围是12-24 m，此范围内可以利用生态手段沉降颗粒物；（4） PM2.5消减率受绿化带和风向的双控制，应根据主导风向选择绿化带植配方式。在主导风平行面和垂直迎风面绿化带对PM2.5有正消减效应，建议植配类型为"乔-乔+灌+草"；在主导风垂直背风面绿化带对PM2.5呈负消减效应，植配类型为"乔-灌"绿化带消减率接近于自然消减率，而植配类型为"乔-灌+草"和"乔-乔+灌+草"的绿化带加重了颗粒物在该区域的积聚。