A Study on the Transfer of Cadmium from Soil to Pasture Under Semi-Arid Conditions in Sargodha,Pakistan

The study was conducted on the cadmium (Cd) transfer from soil to pasture at Khizerabad Livestock Farm, District Sargodha (falling under semi-arid conditions), Pakistan. The concentrations of Cd in the soil and forage ranged from 2.80 to 6.74 mg/kg and 1.14 to 4.20 mg/kg, respectively, in different sampling periods. The higher values of Cd in pasture suggested the possible risk of entering Cd into higher food chain as these concentrations of Cd can potentially be transported from soil to different animals rearing on the farm pastures, and they should be taken into account in risk assessment of chemical toxicity. Providing region-specific mineral mixture having highly bioavailable forms of other trace elements to the ruminants like Zn, Fe, and Mn, which are known to antagonize Cd, would help in overcoming the Cd toxicity. There is an urgent need of permanent monitoring of cadmium content in the feed used in animal nutrition at livestock farm.     

不同生长时期多伞阿魏土壤养分及光合特性比较研究

以多伞阿魏(Ferula ferulaeoides)为研究对象,分别对其展叶期、成熟期、果期土壤含水量、pH、有机质、养分和叶片的净光合速率、蒸腾速率、水分利用率等光合指标的日变化进行比较研究。结果表明:土壤含水量、有机质、养分随着多伞阿魏生长呈下降趋势,而pH却有所上升,但变化幅度不大。在不同土壤深度上,土壤含水量、pH随着土层深度的加深逐渐升高,而土壤有机质、养分含量却随土层的加深逐渐减少。多伞阿魏3个时期的净光合速率日变化均为双峰曲线,在14:00出现明显的“光合午休”现象,日平均大小为展叶期>成熟期>果期;蒸腾速率日变化趋势表现为单峰曲线,在中午14:00达到最高值,日平均大小为展叶期>果期>成熟期;水分利用率日变化总体呈上升趋势,在14:00出现最低值,日平均大小为成熟期>果期>展叶期。通过对多伞阿魏净光合速率和蒸腾速率与影响因子的相关分析显示:在整个生长期气孔导度,光合有效辐射与净光合速率呈显著正相关性;光照强度与蒸腾速率有明显正相关性。     

Biosorption of Copper (II) by the Microorganisms Isolated from the Crude-Oil-Contaminated Soil

The objective of this study was to isolate and screen the highly efficient copper-removing microorganisms from the petroleum hydrocarbon (PH)-contaminated sites in the Amazonian rain forest in Ecuador. Two bacterial strains (strain UEAB3 and UEAB6) have shown 100% microbial resistance on the nutrient medium containing 100 mM of MgCl₂, FeCl₃, and Al₂(SO₄)₃ separately. Though these two strains were less tolerant of ZnCl₂ and CuSO₄.5H₂O, they have proven 100% resistance at the lower concentrations of these two metals. According to atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) analysis, the filamentous fungi (strains UEAFr and UEAFg) were significantly (p<0.05) effective at bacteria in the biosorption (97–100%) of copper (5 mg L^?1) over 7 d. As per 16/18S rDNA sequences, UEAB3, UEAB6, UEAFr, and UEAFg were Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus cereus, Geomyces pannorum, and Geomyces sp., respectively. From these results, it can be comprehensively concluded that the isolated microbial cultures had a capacity to remove the copper metal from the liquid medium.     

Reducing Soil Permeability Using Microbial Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) Method: A Case Study of Shiraz Landfill Soil

Abstract

Improvement of engineering properties of soils to meet project requirements has long been subject of interest to civil engineers. One of the environment-friendly methods that have recently been used for this purpose is the biological method. These methods that actually benefit from various sciences such as biology, biochemistry, and civil engineering, use biological products or organisms such as bacteria that are commonly found in soils. In this study, the reduction of permeability or hydraulic conductivity of Shiraz landfill base soil using microbial induced calcite precipitation (MICP) has been explored. B. sphaericus was used to treat the soil. Falling head permeability tests are conducted to measure soil samples’ permeability before and after biological treatment. The target variables were the curing time, bacterial density, optimal nutrient content, and soil unit weight. The test results demonstrated that the permeability of the samples treated with Bacillus sphaericus decreases by increasing curing time, the density of calcium chloride solution and bacterial density of samples. This study showed that the MICP can be utilized as a new environment-friendly method for reducing the soil permeability at the base and walls of the landfill to form a barrier between the waste and the groundwater and substrata.     

Temporally Adaptive Sampling: A Case Study in Rare Species Survey Design with Marbled Salamanders (Ambystoma opacum)

Improving detection rates for elusive species with clumped distributions is often accomplished through adaptive sampling designs. This approach can be extended to include species with temporally variable detection probabilities. By concentrating survey effort in years when the focal species are most abundant or visible, overall detection rates can be improved. This requires either long-term monitoring at a few locations where the species are known to occur or models capable of predicting population trends using climatic and demographic data. For marbled salamanders (Ambystoma opacum) in Massachusetts, we demonstrate that annual variation in detection probability of larvae is regionally correlated. In our data, the difference in survey success between years was far more important than the difference among the three survey methods we employed: diurnal surveys, nocturnal surveys, and dipnet surveys. Based on these data, we simulate future surveys to locate unknown populations under a temporally adaptive sampling framework. In the simulations, when pond dynamics are correlated over the focal region, the temporally adaptive design improved mean survey success by as much as 26% over a non-adaptive sampling design. Employing a temporally adaptive strategy costs very little, is simple, and has the potential to substantially improve the efficient use of scarce conservation funds.     

在旱化土壤条件下来自不同生境的20种植物幼苗 根系的形态反应的比较

Rooting depth and root and shoot biomass were measured for seedlings of 20 species in both watered and unwatered sand columns. The species were from habitats of widely varying moisture status, ranging from marsh to desert. Moisture status of the species' habitats was quantified as Ellenberg moisture number. Seedlings were allowed to grow in moist sand for 21 days and were then exposed to the treatments (watered and unwatered) for a further 21 days. Rooting depth of control plants was not correlated with Ellenberg number. Riit depth of plants from dry habitats tended to increase in drying sand, while roots of plants from wet habitats decreased in depth. Plasticity of rooting depth (depth in unwatered/depth in watered sand) was significantly correlated with Ellenberg number (r2=0.56). Plasticity of shoot/root ratio was also correlated with Ellenberg number, but the relationship was weaker than for rooting depth plasticity. Species that showed the greatest pasticity in rooting depth also showed the greatest ability to sustain shoot growth in unwatered sand. There was some evidence that growth of plants from very dry habitats was reduced in the watered treatment. Results of this study suggest that a major, although not the only, adaptation of plants of dry habitats is the ability of their seedlings to exploit deeply buried water resources.     

不同后熟期‘菊水’梨果实对外源乙烯和1-MCP处理的生理响应

用80uL·L-1外源乙烯和1.0 uL·L-11-甲基环丙烯(1-MCP)处理不同后熟期'菊水'梨果实,分析处理后果实品质和生理指标在(25±1)℃贮藏温度下的变化特征.结果显示:在采收当天(采后0 d)和呼吸跃变初期(采后4 d),外源乙烯处理能明显促进果实硬度和可溶性同形物含量(SSC)的下降,降低活性氧清除酶(SOD、CAT和APX)的活性,提高呼吸速率和乙烯释放速率,促进果实后熟,1-MCP处理却表现出与乙烯相反的效应,且采收当天比呼吸跃变初期的作用效果更明显;在呼吸跃变中期(采后12 d),外源乙烯和1-MCP处理效果均不明显.研究发现,外源乙烯能促进果实后熟而1-MCP却抑制果实后熟,其效果因处理果实后熟期的不同而存在显著差异,果实后熟程度越高,其处理的效果越不明显.     

一例特殊inv(Y)形成机理的研究

应用双色荧光原位杂交的方法,国内首次报道一例特殊inv(Y)异常的性质,探讨Y染色体倒位结构异常的形成机理以及与习惯性流产临床表型的关系。应用 Biotin-11-dUTP标记的Y染色体短臂断裂点Yp11.3探针（编号889）和CY3标记的Y染色体长臂断裂点Yq12远端异染色质区探针(编号PY3.4),对1例G显带核型分析为[46, XY(90%) / 46, X, inv(Y)(p11.3;q12)]的平衡易位携带者进行双色荧光原位杂交研究。双色FISH结果显示,该易位携带者异常核型比例为22%,稍高于G显带分析中确定的比例。而且,除G显带检测出的倒位类型外,又有两种类型的倒位,其中涉及到常规显带技术难以检测出的染色单体型倒位。3种倒位类型的存在说明该患者inv(Y)断裂点呈不均一性。FISH技术是一种能准确可靠检测出染色体倒位形成的重要手段。      

赤水桫椤自然保护区土壤甲螨多样性的初步研究

对赤水桫椤自然保护区内旅游点的土壤甲螨进行了调查。调查共获1216号标本,分属31科、43属,其中,盖甲螨属Tectocepheus为优势属。调查区内土壤甲螨的种类多,群落的异质性高,多样性指数高,全区甲螨在MGP分析Ⅰ中为O型,分析Ⅱ中为G型。     

DNA Barcoding of Rhodiola (Crassulaceae): A Case Study on a Group of Recently Diversified Medicinal Plants from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

DNA barcoding, the identification of species using one or a few short standardized DNA sequences, is an important complement to traditional taxonomy. However, there are particular challenges for barcoding plants, especially for species with complex evolutionary histories. We herein evaluated the utility of five candidate sequences — rbcL, matK, trnH-psbA, trnL-F and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) — for barcoding Rhodiola species, a group of high-altitude plants frequently used as adaptogens, hemostatics and tonics in traditional Tibetan medicine. Rhodiola was suggested to have diversified rapidly recently. The genus is thus a good model for testing DNA barcoding strategies for recently diversified medicinal plants. This study analyzed 189 accessions, representing 47 of the 55 recognized Rhodiola species in the Flora of China treatment. Based on intraspecific and interspecific divergence and degree of monophyly statistics, ITS was the best single-locus barcode, resolving 66% of the Rhodiola species. The core combination rbcL+matK resolved only 40.4% of them. Unsurprisingly, the combined use of all five loci provided the highest discrimination power, resolving 80.9% of the species. However, this is weaker than the discrimination power generally reported in barcoding studies of other plant taxa. The observed complications may be due to the recent diversification, incomplete lineage sorting and reticulate evolution of the genus. These processes are common features of numerous plant groups in the high-altitude regions of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.     

New species of the genus Chelopistes (Ischnocera: Philopteridae) from Pakistan

A new species of Chelopistes Kéler from common turkey fowl Meleagris gallopavo L. from Karachi, Pakistan is described in detail with reference to morphology and genitalia. The new species is also compared with its closest known ally, Chelopistes meleagridis, a common cosmopolitan parasite previously described from common turkey fowl.     

Maintaining Resources for Traditional Medicine: A Global Overview and a Case Study from Buganda (Uganda)

 Presentations at a session of the 13th Congress of the International Society for Ethnobiology (ISE, May 2012) provided a global overview of ‘maintaining resources for traditional medicine’. Two themes received special attention, transmission of traditional medical knowledge and conservation of medicinal plants. The consensus at the well attended session was that traditional medicine can play a useful role in primary healthcare, including for chronic complaints and spiritual problems. However, the use of traditional medicine is declining in many places. Some practical efforts at maintaining resources for traditional medicine are described. A case study for Buganda (Uganda), given in greater detail, shows that progress in maintaining resources for traditional medicine can be impeded by forces not directly related to its intrinsic merits. The value of making efforts to maintain resources for traditional medicine is discussed in relation to its contribution to biocultural conservation, much needed today to counter balance the homogenising and ecologically destabilising influences of globalisation.     

Studies on the Energy Transfer from Phycobilisome to Thylakoid Membrane of Cyanobacteria

Ultrasonic treatment has been introduced to obtain photosynthetic vesicles with hound phycobilisome (PBS). the PBS-thylakoid fraction, from Myxosarcina concinna Printz. The maximal oxygen evolving rate of PBS-thylakoid membrane was around 60 μmol O2/ (mg Chl.h) and the optimum temperature was about 34 ℃. Absorption peaks of the eomplex were located at 680, 628, 490, 438 and 420 nm. When the phyeobiliprotein of the complex was excited by light at 580 nm, the fluorescence emission spectrum at room temperature exhibited a peak at 660 nm and a shoulder at 680 nm, while at liquid nitrogen temperature the peaks were resolved to 664, 695 and 718 nm, The PBS bound with thylakoid membrane depolymerized and the energy transfer from PBS to thylakoid membrane decreased when the complex was put into a solution of low ion intensity. As the PBS was mixed with the PBS desociated thylakoid membrane, by contact with the thylakoid membrane the PBS could again transfer the energy trapped in itself to thylakoid membrane.     

硬覆盖对土壤水热传输及作物生长发育影响的试验研究

河北省盐渍区农业水资源非常紧缺 ,农业节水势在必行。覆盖保摘技术是农田节水管理的重要措施之一 ,国内外对此有过不少研究报道。但多集中在地膜、秸秆、砂砾和化学喷涂等覆盖材料上 ,这些覆盖材料在使用中有种种不理想之处 ,如地膜覆盖容易造成残膜的“白色污染” ,并且使用年限短 ,降水不易入渗 ,中耕、除草、施肥困难 ,使作物抗病力差等[1 ] ;秸秆覆盖容易使秸秆中的毒素物质与作物间发生生化它感现象 ,影响作物生长[2 ] 。化学喷涂除了不利于农事作业外 ,还可能造成土壤污染。为此 ,我们在中国科学院南皮试区盐渍土上试用了一种新型覆…     

Balancing Theory and Practice in Respondent-Driven Sampling: A Case Study of Innovations Developed to Overcome Recruitment Challenges

Introduction

Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) offers a recruitment strategy for hard-to-reach populations. However, RDS faces logistical and theoretical challenges that threaten efficiency and validity in settings worldwide. We present innovative adaptations to conventional RDS to overcome barriers encountered in recruiting a large, representative sample of men who have sex with men (MSM) who travel internationally.

Methods

Novel methodological adaptations for the “International Travel Research to Inform Prevention” or “I-TRIP” study were offering participants a choice between electronic and paper coupons referrals for recruitment and modifying the secondary incentives structure from small cash amounts to raffle entries for periodic large cash prize raffle drawings. Staged referral limit increases from 3 to 10 referrals and progressive addition of 70 seeds were also implemented.

Results

There were 501 participants enrolled in up to 13 waves of growth. Among participants with a choice of referral methods, 81% selected electronic referrals. Of participants who were recruited electronically, 90% chose to remain with electronic referrals when it was their turn to recruit. The mean number of enrolled referrals was 0.91 for electronic referrals compared to 0.56 for paper coupons. Median referral lag time, i.e., the time interval between when recruiters were given their referrals and when a referred individual enrolled in the study, was 20 days (IQR 10–40) for electronic referrals, 20 days (IQR 8–58) for paper coupons, 20 days (IQR 10–41) for raffle entries and 33 days (IQR 16–148) for small cash incentives.

Conclusions

The recruitment of MSM who travel internationally required maximizing known flexible tools of RDS while at the same time necessitating innovations to increase recruitment efficiency. Electronic referrals emerged as a major advantage in recruiting this hard-to-reach population who are of high socio-economic status, geographically diffuse and highly mobile. These enhancements may improve the performance of RDS in target populations with similar characteristics.