The Combined Effects of Moss-Dominated Biocrusts and Vegetation on Erosion and Soil Moisture and Implications for Disturbance on the Loess Plateau,China

Biological soil crusts (BSCs, or biocrusts) have important positive ecological functions such as erosion control and soil fertility improvement, and they may also have negative effects on soil moisture in some cases. Simultaneous discussions of the two-sided impacts of BSCs are key to the rational use of this resource. This study focused on the contribution of BSCs while combining with specific types of vegetation to erosion reduction and their effects on soil moisture, and it addressed the feasibility of removal or raking disturbance. Twelve plots measuring 4 m × 2 m and six treatments (two plots for each) were established on a 15° slope in a small watershed in the Loess Plateau using BSCs, bare land (as a control, BL), Stipa bungeana Trin. (STBU), Caragana korshinskii Kom. (CAKO), STBU planted with BSCs (STBU+BSCs) and CAKO planted with BSCs (CAKO+BSCs). The runoff, soil loss and soil moisture to a depth of 3 m were measured throughout the rainy season (from June to September) of 2010. The results showed that BSCs significantly reduced runoff by 37.3% and soil loss by 81.0% and increased infiltration by 12.4% in comparison with BL. However, when combined with STBU or CAKO, BSCs only made negligible contributions to erosion control (a runoff reduction of 7.4% and 5.7% and a soil loss reduction of 0.7% and 0.3%). Generally, the soil moisture of the vegetation plots was lower in the upper layer than that of the BL plots, although when accompanied with a higher amount of infiltration, this soil moisture consumption phenomenon was much clearer when combining vegetation with BSCs. Because of the trivial contributions from BSCs to erosion control and the remaining exacerbated consumption of soil water, moderate disturbance by BSCs should be considered in plots with adequate vegetation cover to improve soil moisture levels without a significant erosion increase, which was implied to be necessary and feasible.     

Epizootic characteristics of hepatic and renal lesions in English sole, Parophrys vetulus, from Puget Sound

English sole, Parophrys vetulus , from eight locations within Puget Sound, U.S.A. were examined for histological abnormalities of the liver and kidney. A total of 1083 fish were collected between February 1979 and June 1984 in nine separate sampling periods. Idiopathic lesions, i.e. lesions of unknown cause, were classified into eight hepatic and four renal lesion categories. The significance of certain potential risk factors associated with lesion prevalences, including age, gender, site of capture, season of capture and year of capture, were assessed by logistic regression. The odds ratios for the significant risk factors were also calculated. Site of capture and age of the examined fish were found to be the most important factors for most of the observed lesion types, e.g., hepatic neoplasms and foci of cellular alteration, whereas year and season of capture were significant influences for only a few lesion types, e.g., specific and nonspecific degenerative/necrotic lesions of the liver. Gender of examined fish was not found to be a significant factor for any of the lesion types. These results emphasize the importance of including certain potential influences, such as age and season of capture, in the analysis of field-collected organ pathology data.     

Embryo survival and smolt to adult survival in second‐generation outbred coho salmon

Outbreeding depression was not detectable in observations of embryonic survival and of survival of smolts to adulthood relative to controls in coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch experimentally outbred over two generations by crossing fish from three widely separated populations. Survival in outbred coho salmon was not detectably less than that in second‐generation hybrid controls or second‐generation parental controls. Variation of embryonic survival was affected by the maternal source population and by individual females but not by the paternal source population or by individual males. Survival of smolts to adulthood at sea was greater in one second‐generation control group than in two others, but survival in second‐generation outbred groups was no less than in parental controls or hybrid controls.     

Penicisimpins A⿿C,three new dihydroisocoumarins from Penicillium simplicissimum MA-332, a marine fungus derived from the rhizosphere of the mangrove plant Bruguiera sexangula var. rhynchopetala

Three new dihydroisocoumarin derivatives, penicisimpins A⿿C (1⿿3), were isolated and identified from Penicillium simplicissimum MA-332, a fungus derived from the rhizosphere of the marine mangrove plant Bruguiera sexangula var. rhynchopetala. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods in combination with X-ray diffraction experiment. Compounds 1⿿3 exhibited brine shrimp (Artemia salina) lethality as well as broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities.     

Identification of Key Factors Involved in the Biosorption of Patulin by Inactivated Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) Cells

The purpose of this study was to identify the key factors involved in patulin adsorption by heat-inactivated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cells. For preventing bacterial contamination, a sterilization process was involved in the adsorption process. The effects of various physical, chemical, and enzymatic pre-treatments, simultaneous treatments, and post-treatments on the patulin adsorption performances of six LAB strains were evaluated. The pre-treated cells were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results showed that the removal of patulin by viable cells was mainly based on adsorption or degradation, depending on the specific strain. The adsorption abilities were widely increased by NaOH and esterification pre-treatments, and reduced by trypsin, lipase, iodate, and periodate pre-treatments. Additionally, the adsorption abilities were almost maintained at pH 2.2–4.0, and enhanced significantly at pH 4.0–6.0. The effects of sodium and magnesium ions on the adsorption abilities at pH 4 were slight and strain-specific. A lower proportion of patulin was released from the strain with higher adsorption ability. Analyses revealed that the physical structure of peptidoglycan was not a principal factor. Vicinal OH and carboxyl groups were not involved in patulin adsorption, while alkaline amino acids, thiol and ester compounds were important for patulin adsorption. Additionally, besides hydrophobic interaction, electrostatic interaction also participated in patulin adsorption, which was enhanced with the increase in pH (4.0–6.0).     

Amphidoma languida (Amphidomatacea,Dinophyceae) with a novel azaspiracid toxin profile identified as the cause of molluscan contamination at the Atlantic coast of southern Spain

Azaspiracids (AZA) are a group of food poisoning phycotoxins that are known to accumulate in shellfish. They are produced by some species of the planktonic dinophycean taxon Amphidomataceae. Azaspiracids have been first discovered in Ireland but are now reported in shellfish from numerous global sites thus showing a wide distribution. In shellfish samples collected in 2009 near Huelva (Spain), AZA was also found along the Andalusian Atlantic coast for the first time. Analysis using LC–MS/MS revealed the presence of two different AZA analogues in different bivalve shellfish species (Chamelea gallina, Cerastoderma edule, Donax trunculus, and Solen vagina). In a number of samples, AZA levels exceeded the EU regulatory level of 160 μg AZA-1 eq. kg⁻¹ (reaching maximum levels of >500 μg AZA-1 eq. kg⁻¹ in Chamelea gallina and >250 μg AZA-1 eq. kg⁻¹ in Donax trunculus) causing closures of some local shellfish production areas. One dinophyte strain established from the local plankton during the AZA contamination period and determined as Amphidoma languida was in fact toxigenic, and its AZA profile disclosed it as the causative species: it contained AZA-2 as the main compound and the new compound AZA-43 initially detected in the shellfish. AZA-43 had the same mass as AZA-3, but produced different collision induced dissociation (CID) spectra. High resolution mass spectrometric measurements indicated that there is an unsaturation in the H, I ring system of AZA-43 distinguishing it from the classical AZA such as AZA-1, -2, and -3. Furthermore, the Spanish strain was different from the previously reported AZA profile of the species that consist of AZA-38 and AZ-39. In molecular phylogenetics, the Andalusian strain formed a monophyletic group together with other strains of Am. languida, but ITS sequences data revealed surprisingly high intragenomic variability. The first Andalusian case of AZA contamination of shellfish above the EU regulatory limit reported here clearly revealed the risk of azaspiracid poisoning (AZP) for this area and also for the Atlantic coast of Iberia and North Africa. The present study underlines the need for continuous monitoring of AZA and the organisms producing such toxins.