The self-inhibited leaky integrator: Transfer functions and steady state relations

We analyse a model for neural activity including forgetting and self-inhibition processes. The analysis concerns the static and dynamic performances. The theoretical predictions are compared with previously published experimental data on the neural encoding in the ommatidia of the Limulus lateral eye. We conclude that the analysed model could reproduce the experimental behaviour, but different models cannot be excluded. Moreover an independent normalisation factor has to be assumed to account for the experimental gains.     

Pressure-induced effects on cytochrome oxidase: the aerobic steady state

If cytochrome c oxidase is subjected to pressure during the aerobic steady state, large spectral changes are apparent. These seem to be associated with the inhibition of electron transport within the oxidase. The volume change for the transition is about 80 mL/mol. When the oxidase in the aerobic steady state, with porphyrin cytochrome c (the iron-free derivative of cytochrome c) bound to it, is subjected to pressure, the porphyrin derivative is released. This results from a change in the dissociation constant of the complex. Whereas the dissociation constant during turnover is about 1.25 X 10(-8) M, during pressure-induced inhibition the dissociation constant appears to be about an order of magnitude greater. It appears as though the binding site of the inhibited, partially reduced enzyme more closely resembles that of the fully reduced enzyme than that of the enzyme during the aerobic steady state.     

威廉环毛蚯蚓对土壤微生物量及活性的影响

探讨威廉环毛蚯蚓（Ｐｈｅｒｅｔｉｍａ ｇｕｉｌｌｅｌｍｉ）对土壤总微生物量,活性微生物量的影响,蚯蚓处理中（土壤与蚯蚓的比例为５：１,干重：活体重,处理时间为２４ｈ）,用熏蒸提取法测定的土壤总微生物量下降,用底物诱导呼吸法测定的活性微生物量和真菌与细菌比例无显著变化;蚯蚓处理土壤促进了被微生物固持的养分的释放和土壤微生物群体年轻化,增强了微生物的代谢商和纤维素分解活性,结合对文献资料的分析,讨论了     

土壤微生物膜生理生态功能研究进展

土壤微生物膜是由土壤细菌及其分泌物积聚形成的生物群落,是生物土壤结皮的初始形态和重要组成部分。作为土壤细菌生命过程中最典型的生存形式,土壤微生物膜不仅能保护基质内细胞生存,还可黏附于土壤颗粒和植物根系表面,发挥重要的生态功能。本文在解析土壤微生物膜结构与组成的基础上,从土壤质量与植物健康两个方面总结分析了土壤微生物膜生理生态功能:土壤微生物膜代谢活性高于游离细胞,可高效分泌胞外聚合物并且具有更强的有机物质转化速率,在提升土壤肥力,吸附、固持和降解土壤污染物和促进土壤团聚体形成方面具有重要意义;土壤微生物膜可通过多种微生物间协同作用、促进分泌多种促生物质与胞外聚合物以发挥固持作用等改善植物养分利用状况,增强植物抗逆性。揭示土壤微生物膜生态功能的微观机制、筛选和应用功能性土壤微生物膜是未来重要的发展方向。     

Plant‐facilitated effects of exotic earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus on the soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics and soil microbial community in a subtropical field ecosystem

Earthworms and plants greatly affect belowground properties; however, their combined effects are more attractive based on the ecosystem scale in the field condition. To address this point, we manipulated earthworms (exotic endogeic species Pontoscolex corethrurus) and plants (living plants [native tree species Evodia lepta] and artificial plants) to investigate their combined effects on soil microorganisms, soil nutrients, and soil respiration in a subtropical forest. The manipulation of artificial plants aimed to simulate the physical effects of plants (e.g., shading and interception of water) such that the biological effects of plants could be evaluated separately. We found that relative to the controls, living plants but not artificial plants significantly increased the ratio of fungal to bacterial phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and fungal PLFAs. Furthermore, earthworms plus living plants significantly increased the soil respiration and decreased the soil NH₄⁺‐N, which indicates that the earthworm effects on the associated carbon, and nitrogen processes were greatly affected by living plants. The permutational multivariate analysis of variance results also indicated that living plants but not earthworms or artificial plants significantly changed the soil microbial community. Our results suggest that the effects of plants on soil microbes and associated soil properties in this study were largely explained by their biological rather than their physical effects.     

Biodegradation of gaseous toluene with mixed microbial consortium in a biofilter: steady state and transient operation

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - Petroleum oil refineries are massive emitters of risky volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Among the VOCs, toluene is taken into account as a significant...     

蚯蚓和秸秆对铜污染土壤微生物类群和活性的影响

试验设置4个Cu浓度水平：0、100、200和400 mg·kg^-1 Cu²⁺,每个Cu浓度水平设置4个处理：对照(CK)、表施秸秆(M)、接种蚯蚓(E)、同时加入蚯蚓和秸秆(ME),研究了在Cu污染土壤中加入蚯蚓和秸秆对土壤微生物数量及活性的影响.结果表明：Cu污染、秸秆和蚯蚓均明显影响土壤微生物类群; Cu污染对细菌、放线菌具有抑制作用,而对真菌没有影响;秸秆显著提高了真菌数量;蚯蚓使土壤细菌、放线菌数量显著增加,而对真菌数量影响不大.Cu污染浓度＞200 mg·kg^-1处理对微生物量碳具有抑制作用;加入秸秆或蚯蚓,可显著提高土壤微生物量碳,而且同时加蚯蚓和秸秆处理土壤微生物量碳增加最显著.加入蚯蚓和秸秆后,土壤呼吸值显著增高.Cu<200 mg·kg^-1时,蚯蚓处理土壤呼吸值最大,平均比对照高3.06～5.58倍;Cu≥200mg·kg^-1时,蚯蚓、秸秆同时加入处理土壤呼吸值最高.4个处理土壤代谢商大小顺序为：ME>E>M>CK.蚯蚓和秸秆处理对土壤NH₄⁺-N没有影响,而对土壤NO₃^--N影响各异.接种蚯蚓,可显著提高土壤NO₃^--N含量;加入秸秆,可显著降低土壤NO₃^--N含量;同时加入蚯蚓和秸秆处理NO₃^--N含量最低.相关分析表明,土壤有效态Cu(DTPA-Cu)与土壤放线菌、细菌呈显著负相关,而与土壤呼吸、土壤NO₃^--N、NH₄⁺-N含量呈显著正相关.引入秸秆和蚯蚓,可在一定程度上减缓Cu污染对微生物数量和活性的影响.     

Linear and non-linear impacts of a non-native plant invasion on soil microbial community structure and function

Biological invasions can alter ecosystem functions such as litter decomposition and nutrient cycling, but little is known about how invader abundance influences the impact on the ecosystem. It is often assumed that impacts are proportional to invasion density, but this assumption has never been tested and has little justification. We tested the hypothesis that the microbial community structure and function of a mixed hardwood forest soil changed after invasion by Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), an invasive shrub commonly found in eastern hardwood forests, and that changes were proportional to the density of invasion. We constructed microcosms with mixtures of native and invasive leaf litter, and measured microbial community structure (phospholipid fatty acids) and function (litter decomposition). Decomposition was linearly related to the degree of invasion (R ²?=?0.945), but the ratio of bacteria to fungi exhibited a strongly non-linear, threshold response (R ²?=?0.513). These results indicate that impacts of Japanese barberry invasion are not always proportional to invasion density. This finding has implications for the study of biological invasions as well as practical implications for the management of exotic invasive species.     

Influence of microbial growth kinetics on steady state multiplicity and stability of a two-step nitrification (SHARON) model

In this paper, the influence of microbial growth kinetics on the number and the stability of steady states for a nitrogen removal process is addressed. A two-step nitrification model is studied, in which the maximum growth rate of ammonium oxidizers is larger than the one of nitrite oxidizers. This model describes the behavior of a SHARON reactor for the treatment of wastewater streams with high ammonium concentrations. Steady states are identified through direct calculation using a canonical state space model representation, for several types of microbial kinetics. The stability of the steady states is assessed and the corresponding phase portraits are analyzed. Practical operation of a SHARON reactor aims at reaching ammonium conversion to nitrite while suppressing further conversion to nitrate. Regions in the input space are identified that result in this desired behavior, with only nitrite formation. It is demonstrated that not only the dilution rate plays a role, as is commonly known, but also the influent ammonium concentration. Besides, the type of microbial (inhibition) kinetics has a nonnegligible influence. While the results indicate that product inhibition does not affect the number of steady states of a (bio)reactor model, it is shown that substrate inhibition clearly yields additional steady states. Particular attention is devoted to the physical interpretation of these phenomena.     

The steady state kinetics of some biological systems: II

Steady state kinetic relations previously developed forclosed, homogeneous systems are extended toopen systems consisting of geometrically confined regions of arbitrary shape. The generalized system of consecutive reactions is considered to occur within the cell, and the cell plus environment are treated as an open system. The diffusion condition is imposed upon the kinetic solution for various special cases and the method ofgeneral solution when all products, reactants and intermediates, may enter and leave the cell is indicated. This work was done while the author was a Senior Research Fellow of the National Institute of Health.     

The steady state kinetics of some biological systems: I

The steady state kinetics of some typical catalytic systems of biological importance have been formulated. The conditions for the existence of a maximum or limiting velocity are examined and discussed. In particular it is shown that the limiting velocity for a given component is simply the rate expression for a given number of steps of theoverall process; from the general condition for a limiting velocity these steps may be specified. The stringency of the conditions which must be imposed upon the steady state solution in order that it may be assumed that one or more steps are essentially at equilibrium is pointed out. The application of the general method to coupled or branched systems and to cyclic systems is briefly discussed. This work was done while the author was a Senior Research Fellow of the National Institute of Health.     

耕作方式对紫色水稻土有机碳和微生物生物量碳的影响

以位于西南大学的农业部紫色土生态环境重点野外科学观测试验站始于1990年的长期定位试验田为对象,研究了冬水田平作(DP)、水旱轮作(SH)、垄作免耕(LM)及垄作翻耕(LF)等4种耕作方式对紫色水稻土有机碳(SOC)和微生物生物量碳(SMBC)的影响。结果表明,4种耕作方式下SOC和SMBC均呈现出在土壤剖面垂直递减趋势,翻耕栽培下其降低较均匀,而免耕栽培下其富集在表层土壤中。同一土层不同耕作方式间SOC和SMBC的差异在表层最大,随着土壤深度的增加,各处理之间的差异逐渐减小。在0—60 cm剖面中,SOC含量依次为:LM(17.6 g/kg)>DP(13.9 g/kg)>LF(12.5 g/kg)>SH(11.3 g/kg),SOC储量也依次为:LM(158.52 Mg C/hm2)>DP(106.74 Mg C/hm2)>LF(93.11 Mg C/hm2)>SH(88.59 Mg C/hm2),而SMBC含量则依次为:LM(259 mg/kg)>SH(213 mg/kg)>LF(160 mg/kg)>DP(144 mg/kg)。与其它3种耕作方式比较,LM处理显著提高SOC含量和储量以及SMBC含量。对土壤微生物商(SMBC/SOC)进行分析发现,耕作方式对SOC和SMBC的影响程度并不一致。SMBC与SOC、全氮、全磷、全硫、碱解氮、有效磷均呈现极显著正相关(P<0.01),与有效硫呈显著正相关(P<0.05);表明SMBC可以作为表征紫色水稻土土壤肥力的敏感因子。     

黄顶菊对不同入侵地植物群落及土壤微生物群落的影响

为明确不同入侵地植物群落和土壤生态对黄顶菊入侵的反馈机制,选取天津静海(JH)、河北沧州(CZ)、河北衡水(HS)及河南安阳(AY)4个黄顶菊入侵典型区域,研究黄顶菊对不同入侵地植物群落多样性、土壤理化及土壤微生物群落结构的影响,并进一步揭示植物群落、土壤养分和土壤微生物之间的相关关系。结果表明,黄顶菊入侵显著降低了JH、CZ和HS的植物群落多样性指数(P0.05),改变了四个地区的土壤理化性质,显著升高了不同入侵地真菌PLFA的含量、总PLFA的含量、真菌/细菌和革兰氏阴性菌/革兰氏阳性菌(P0.05),降低了土壤微生物的Margalef丰富度指数(P0.05),但均存在地区间差异;RDA和相关分析的结果表明,硝态氮、全氮的含量对植物群落的影响较大,而铵态氮的含量对土壤微生物群落结构的影响较大,除丰富度指数外,植物群落与土壤微生物群落的多样性指数之间存在显著的负相关关系(P0.05)。总之,黄顶菊改变了入侵地植物群落多样性,并且对入侵地土壤理化性质和土壤微生物群落结构产生了显著影响,且存在地区差异。本研究将为更好的理解外来植物的入侵机制及制定相应的防控策略提供理论依据。     

蚯蚓对土壤微生物残留物的影响研究评述与展望

蚯蚓如何影响土壤有机碳的固持是土壤生态学的关键科学问题之一。蚯蚓能同时促进土壤有机碳分解和稳定,这种两面作用带来的不确定性被研究者称为"蚯蚓困境"。研究证据和新兴的"土壤微生物碳泵"概念模型表明土壤微生物残留物是土壤有机质的主要贡献者。为系统了解蚯蚓对土壤微生物残留物的影响与可能的机制,研究分析和总结了已有的国内外蚯蚓与微生物残留物（氨基糖）的相关研究成果,表明：（1）过往的研究忽略了蚯蚓对微生物残留物的影响,导致这一方向的研究严重滞后;（2）蚯蚓对土壤微生物残留物影响的方向和大小仍有很大的不确定性,可供量化分析其驱动机制的研究还很缺乏。研究尝试将蚯蚓整合到"土壤微生物碳泵"概念框架中,分析蚯蚓影响土壤微生物残留物3个方面的可能机制,即：（1）改变土壤微生物量、群落结构,（2）改变微生物生理特性,（3）改变土壤团聚体结构等,影响土壤有机碳的积累。同时,本文提出了未来相关研究的6个重点方向,包括：（1）蚯蚓对微生物的选择性取食,（2）肠道介导的微生物"涨落"现象,（3）蚯蚓对矿质结合有机物的"破坏"与"重组",（4）蚯蚓引起的"激发"和"续埋"效应,（5）多生态型相互作用,（6）全球变化背景下的蚯蚓生态学等,以期为进一步揭示蚯蚓-微生物相互作用影响土壤有机碳累积与稳定性的机制提供参考。     

Use of a microbial sensor: a new approach to the measurement of inhibitory effects on the microbial activity of activated sludge

This paper presents a new method for the measurement of inhibitory effects in wastewater treatment plants on the basis of a continuous measurement of the microbial respiration product (CO(2)). The microbial sensor developed for this purpose consists of a small conical fluidized bed reactor connected to a cylindrical chamber that comprises part of the sample recirculation system. Activated sludge microbes are immobilized on spherical (diameter=1-2 mm) reticulated sinter glass carriers. Pure oxygen is supplied via the cylindrical chamber in order to sustain a highly dense population of microbial mass. The mean hydraulic retention time in the microbial sensor ranges between 30 and 40 min, while temperature is maintained at 30 degrees C, and pH 6.4. Carbon dioxide in the off-gas, which reflects the microbial activity, is continuously analyzed by means of an infrared analyzer. Inhibition of microbial activity (toxicity) can be determined as the mean percent reduction in carbon dioxide concentration. Several substances were tested and proved toxic to the microbes. With this microbial sensor, early detection of toxic substances becomes feasible, preventing them from entering an activated sludge unit operation.     

Legacy effects overwhelm the short-term effects of exotic plant invasion and restoration on soil microbial community structure,enzyme activities,and nitrogen cycling

Plant invasions can have substantial consequences for the soil ecosystem, altering microbial community structure and nutrient cycling. However, relatively little is known about what drives these changes, making it difficult to predict the effects of future invasions. In addition, because most studies compare soils from uninvaded areas to long-established dense invasions, little is known about the temporal dependence of invasion impacts. We experimentally manipulated forest understory vegetation in replicated sites dominated either by exotic Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), native Viburnums, or native Vacciniums, so that each vegetation type was present in each site-type. We compared the short-term effect of vegetation changes to the lingering legacy effects of the previous vegetation type by measuring soil microbial community structure (phospholipid fatty acids) and function (extracellular enzymes and nitrogen mineralization). We also replaced the aboveground litter in half of each plot with an inert substitute to determine if changes in the soil microbial community were driven by aboveground or belowground plant inputs. We found that after 2 years, the microbial community structure and function was largely determined by the legacy effect of the previous vegetation type, and was not affected by the current vegetation. Aboveground litter removal had only weak effects, suggesting that changes in the soil microbial community and nutrient cycling were driven largely by belowground processes. These results suggest that changes in the soil following either invasion or restoration do not occur quickly, but rather exhibit long-lasting legacy effects from previous belowground plant inputs.     

Nutritional effects of non-steady state soil salinity on a salt-tolerant wheat cultivar

Summary Biological nitrogen fixation is considered an important trait of cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. var. California Blackeye No. 5) for economical production yet the process does not alone provide the quantity of nitrogen required by the plant for maximum productivity. Two experiments were undertaken to determine the potential of an increase in nodule mass and number of bacteroids resulting in increased nitrogen fixation. Cowpeas were grown in a glasshouse for 7 weeks under conditions forcing near total dependence on biological nitrogen fixation for growth. Nodule mass on the roots was varied by inoculating seeds with various ratios of effective and ineffective rhizobia that could be identified serologically and by the color of nodule formed. The results of both experiments demonstrated a linear relationship between total nodule mass formed by the effective rhizobia and quantity of nitrogen fixed. The regression coefficients were high in both experiments (r=0.99^** and 0.91^**). The relationship between total nitrogen fixed and total number of bacteroids of the effective strain was not consistent. In one experiment the regression coefficient was 0.93^** but in the other experiment it was 0.65^**. From these results it appears that there is good potential for increasing nitrogen fixation in cowpeas by increasing nodule mass. An increase in nodule mass would also result in an increase in the number of bacteroids.