Comparative role of animal manure and vegetable waste induced compost for polluted soil restoration and maize growth

Soil amendment with two types of composts: animal manure (AC) and vegetable waste (VC) induced composts have potential to alleviate Cd toxicity to maize in contaminated soil. Therefore, Cd mobility in waste water irrigated soil can be addressed through eco-friendly and cost effective organic soil amendments AC and VC that eventually reduces its translocation from polluted soil to maize plant tissues. The comparative effectiveness of AC and VC at 3% rate were evaluated on Cd solubility, its accumulation in maize tissues, translocation from root to shoot, chlorophyll contents, plant biomass, yield and soil properties (pH, NPK, OM). Results revealed that the addition of organic soil amendments significantly minimized Cd mobility and leachability in soil by 58.6% and 47%, respectively in VC-amended soil over control. While, the reduction was observed by 61.7% and 57%, respectively when AC was added at 3% over control. Comparing the control soil, Cd uptake effectively reduced via plants shoots and roots by 50%, 46% respectively when VC was added in polluted soil. However, Cd uptake was decreased in maize shoot and roots by 58% and 52.4% in AC amended soil at 3% rate, respectively. Additionally, NPK contents were significantly improved in polluted soil as well as in plant tissues in both composts amended soil Comparative to control, the addition of composts significantly improved the maize dry biomass and chlorophyll contents at 3% rate. Thus, present study confirmed that the addition of animal manure derived compost (AC) at 3% rate performed well and might be consider the suitable approach relative to vegetable compost for maize growth in polluted soil.     

Ecological effects of cow manure compost on soils contaminated by landfill leachate

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of cow manure compost (CMC) application on leaching toxicity of leachate polluted soils by using Tetrahymena pyriformis (TP). Soils treated with various levels of leachate (0, 12.5 ml, 25 ml, 37.5 ml, and 50 ml leachate per 300 g soil) were amended with 0, 25 g and 50 g CMC, respectively. The results showed CMC application resulted in 7–18% lower leaching toxicity while excessive CMC has no significant benefit for decreasing leaching toxicity further. The alleviating effect of CMC on biotoxicity of soil extract was mainly attributed to either pH increase, high content of P and organic matter, or promotion on soil microbial metabolism and especially pH played an important role in alleviating effect. And the observations indicated that death rate (DR) of TP was more sensitive to leachate level respect to other biological parameters above and TP was effective as the test organism for leaching toxicity. Further studies are needed to unambiguously determine in-deep mechanism of toxicity impacts on TP posed by leachate pollutants.     

Discrimination of higher plant calluses based on embryogenic capacity and taxonomic classification by pyrolysis mass spectrometry

Pyrolysis mass spectrometry (PyMS) is a rapid, simple, high-resolution analytical method based on thermal degradation of complex material in a vacuum, and has been widely applied to the discrimination of closely related microbial strains. Minimally prepared samples of embryogenic and non-embryogenic calluses derived from various higher plants (sweet potato, morning glory, Korean ginseng, Siberian ginseng, and balloon flower) were subjected to PyMS for spectral fingerprinting. A dendrogram based on the unweighted pair group method, with arithmetic mean of pyrolysis mass spectra, divided the calluses into Siberian ginseng embryogenic callus and the others, which were subsequently divided into embryogenic and non-embryogenic callus groups, regardless of plant species from which the calluses were derived. In the non-embryogenic callus group, the dendrogram was in agreement with the known taxonomy of the plants. These results indicate that PyMS analysis could be applied for discriminating plant calluses based on embryogenic capacity and taxonomic classification.     

粤西海域浮游植物群落结构特征的多元分析与评价

根据1998-1999年对粤西海域浮游植物的周年调查资料,本文采用主成分分析和聚类分析等多元统计分析方法研究该海域浮游植物的主要种类组成和群落结构的基本特征。研究结果表明,中肋骨条藻（Skeletonema costatum）、伏氏海毛藻（Thalassiothrix fauenfeldii）、小舟形藻（Navicula subminuscula）、颤藻（Oscillatoria sp．）、菱形海线藻（Thalassionema nitzschioides）、细弱海链藻（Thalassiosira subtilis）、齿角毛藻（Chaetoceros denticulatus）、北方劳德藻（Lauderia borealis）、中华盒形藻（Biddulphia sinensis）、纺锤角藻（Ceratium fusus）、翼根管藻（Rhizosolenia alata）、斯氏根管藻（Rhizosolenia stolterforthii）、短角弯角藻（Eucampia zoodiacu）、笔尖形根管藻（Rhizosolenia styliformis）、拟弯角毛藻（Chaetoceros pseudocurvisetus）等种类构成了粤西海域浮游植物的主体。春季、夏季和秋季该海域浮游植物可明显划分为近岸类群和近外海类群2个群落,冬季群落结构分化不显著,不形成明显的类群。各主要种类的季节演替现象十分明显。     

Bivariate versus multivariate allometry: A note on a paper by Jungers and German

Jungers and German (1981) found differences when they compared 1) coefficients of allometry from bivariate plots of log measurements versus log body weight with 2) those coefficients from the first principal component of the log measurements excluding body weight. It is argued here that an arbitrary choice of unit for “internal size” is all that separates these coefficients. When the unit is chosen to make internal size isometric with body weight the coefficients agree rather well.     

Phytochemical Fingerprints of Copaiba Oils (Copaifera multijuga Hayne) Determined by Multivariate Analysis

Oils of various species of Copaifera are commonly found in pharmacies and on popular markets and are widely sold for their medicinal properties. However, the chemical variability between and within species and the lack of standardization of these oils have presented barriers to their wider commercialization. With the aim to recognize patterns for the chemical composition of copaiba oils, 22 oil samples of C. multijuga Hayne species were collected, esterified with CH₂N₂, and characterized by GC‐FID and GC/MS analyses. The chromatographic data were processed using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). In total, 35 components were identified in the oils, and the multivariate analyses (MVA) allowed the samples to be divided into three groups, with the sesquiterpenes β‐caryophyllene and caryophyllene oxide as the main components. These sesquiterpenes, which were detected in all the samples analyzed in different concentrations, were the most important constituents in the differentiation of the groups. There was a prevalence of sesquiterpenes in all the oils studied. In conclusion, GC‐FID and GC/MS analyses combined with MVA can be used to determine the chemical composition and to recognize chemical patterns of copaiba oils.     

Effect of fungal consortium and animal manure amendments on phosphorus fractions of paddy-straw compost

The study was conducted to reveal the type of phosphorus (P) fractions present in mature compost prepared by co-composting paddy straw (P.S) with cattle manure (CM), farm yard manure (FYM) and poultry manure (PM), each added separately as nitrogen (N) and P source. A consortium of phytate mineralizing fungi developed by including Aspergillus niger ITCC 6719, Aspergillus flavus ITCC 6720 and Trichoderma harzianum ITCC 6721 was applied for recovery of P from plant and animal residues. Chemical evaluation of compost after 4 months of aerobic decomposition revealed that inoculation improved the sodium bicarbonate-extractable P content of CM and FYM supplemented P.S compost by 32.3% and 23.5% respectively compared with their respective un-inoculated control. However, the peak values for water soluble-P fractions were recorded in CM–straw compost followed by PM–straw compost. Fungal inoculation also improved the agronomic quality of PM–straw compost as the latter had the highest total P content and lowest C:N and E4/E6 ratio of 18:1 and 5.36:1 respectively. The recovery of organic P from agricultural residue has the potential to reduce the application of synthetic P fertilizer. P-enriched organic manure can offer potential environment and economic benefits to farmers under sustainable agriculture.     

Animal manure application and soil organic carbon stocks: a meta‐analysis

The impact of animal manure application on soil organic carbon (SOC) stock changes is of interest for both agronomic and environmental purposes. There is a specific need to quantify SOC change for use in national greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories. We quantified the response of SOC stocks to manure application from a large worldwide pool of individual studies and determined the impact of explanatory factors such as climate, soil properties, land use and manure characteristics. Our study is based on a meta‐analysis of 42 research articles totaling 49 sites and 130 observations in the world. A dominant effect of cumulative manure‐C input on SOC response was observed as this factor explained at least 53% of the variability in SOC stock differences compared to mineral fertilized or unfertilized reference treatments. However, the effects of other determining factors were not evident from our data set. From the linear regression relating cumulative C inputs and SOC stock difference, a global manure‐C retention coefficient of 12% ± 4 (95% Confidence Interval, CI) could be estimated for an average study duration of 18 years. Following an approach comparable to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we estimated a relative SOC change factor of 1.26 ± 0.14 (95% CI) which was also related to cumulative manure‐C input. Our results offer some scope for the refinement of manure retention coefficients used in crop management guidelines and for the improvement of SOC change factors for national GHG inventories by taking into account manure‐C input. Finally, this study emphasizes the need to further document the long‐term impact of manure characteristics such as animal species, especially pig and poultry, and manure management systems, in particular liquid vs. solid storage.     

Assessing the impact of plant invasions on soil seed bank communities: use of univariate and multivariate statistical approaches

Questions: Are soil seed banks affected by invasions of alien plants? How can we rigorously assess alterations in seed bank communities associated with invasive species and account for the high spatial variability of seed bank data? How do multivariate approaches compare with more traditional approaches based on analysis of variance? Location: Three riparian sites, Ireland. Methods: A protocol based on a combination of multivariate techniques was used to characterize soil seed bank communities associated with the herbaceous invasive species Heracleum mantegazzianum in May and October. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) was used to test the effects of the factors “invasion”, “site”, “plot” and “depth” on the soil seed bank, while multivariate analysis of dispersion (PERMDISP) provided a measure of the variability of seed bank data at different spatial scales. Similarity percentages analysis (SIMPER) was used to identify the species that contributed most to the differences between invaded and uninvaded communities. A comparison between the results of PERMANOVA and ANOVA analyses was also made. Results: The composition of seed bank communities invaded by H. mantegazzianum differed significantly from that of uninvaded seed banks. Invaded seed banks were less diverse and had reduced abundance, and were dominated by only a few species, such as Urtica dioica and Juncus effusus. Such patterns were recorded at each of three depth categories, indicating that invasive plants can affect both the transient and the more persistent component of the soil seed bank. Seed bank variability was significantly higher within uninvaded areas, supporting the notion that invasions tend to lead to more homogeneous communities. Conclusion: The analytical protocol used in this study was effective in quantifying the effect of plant invasions, at different spatial scales, providing a statistically robust analysis of alterations in soil seed bank communities. Compared to ANOVA, this protocol provided more biological information and was more appropriate for analysis of the data. This approach is therefore recommended in soil seed bank and invasion ecological studies.     

Graphical exploration of gene expression data: a comparative study of three multivariate methods

This article describes three multivariate projection methods and compares them for their ability to identify clusters of biological samples and genes using real-life data on gene expression levels of leukemia patients. It is shown that principal component analysis (PCA) has the disadvantage that the resulting principal factors are not very informative, while correspondence factor analysis (CFA) has difficulties interpreting distances between objects. Spectral map analysis (SMA) is introduced as an alternative approach to the analysis of microarray data. Weighted SMA outperforms PCA, and is at least as powerful as CFA, in finding clusters in the samples, as well as identifying genes related to these clusters. SMA addresses the problem of data analysis in microarray experiments in a more appropriate manner than CFA, and allows more flexible weighting to the genes and samples. Proper weighting is important, since it enables less reliable data to be down-weighted and more reliable information to be emphasized.     

施用有机肥对棕壤和草甸土固钾作用的影响研究

通过室内恒湿和干湿交替培养试验,研究了沈阳地区耕地棕壤和草甸土的固钾特征,及其施用有机肥后对土壤固钾作用的影响。结果表明,在保持土壤处于田间持水量的恒湿条件下,两种土壤对外源钾都能够产生快速固定作用,经过1d培养土壤的固钾作用就可以达到平衡,但干湿交替培养可以提高土壤固钾量26．80％～33．27％;土壤施用有机肥后,在恒湿和干湿交替培养条件下均可以降低土壤的固钾强度,其中,施用有机肥6％处理的恒湿培养15d后,棕壤和草甸土的固钾量分别降低了25．71％和36．62％。     

Study of the composting process of winery and distillery wastes using multivariate techniques

Physico-chemical, chemical and biological parameters were studied throughout the composting process of four winery and distillery composts and the data set of compost characteristics was analysed using multivariate techniques: factorial analysis (FA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), in order to classify the different parameters studied and thus, to establish those that better describe the composting process of this type of wastes. Through factorial analysis (FA) of the parameters studied throughout the composting process, four components that explained 85.6% of the variability were established. The parameters associated to compost maturity, agronomic character, water-soluble fraction and ammonia and temperature increment were grouped in the components F1, F2, F3 and F4, respectively, which can reduce the number of determinations needed to ascertain the maturity and quality of the composts. In addition, the linear discriminant analysis on the factorial components makes possible to classify the four composts with a percentage of success around 95%.     

Application of multivariate resolution methods to the study of biochemical and biophysical processes

Multivariate resolution methods make up a set of mathematical tools that may be applied to the analysis and interpretation of spectroscopic data recorded when monitoring a physical or chemical process with multichannel detectors. The goal of resolution methods is the recovery of chemical and/or physical information from the experimental data. Such data include, for example, the number of intermediates present in a reaction, the rate or equilibrium constants, and the spectra for each one of those intermediates. Multivariate resolution methods have been shown to be useful for the study of biophysical and biochemical processes such as folding/unfolding of proteins or nucleic acids. The present article reviews the most frequently used resolution methods, the limitations on their use, and their latest applications in protein and nucleic acid research.     

燕麦种质资源主要农艺性状的遗传多样性分析

燕麦种质资源是燕麦育种的重要基础,对燕麦遗传多样性的研究不仅有助于种质资源的搜集、管理和利用,也有利于进行核心种质的研究。为了解不同地区燕麦种质资源在农艺性状上的遗传多样性,对74份皮、裸燕麦种质资源13个性状的遗传多样性进行了聚类分析与主成分分析。结果表明:各性状的遗传多样性指数较大,多样性指数最高的是主穗粒重,其次是千粒重和穗长;性状变异系数最大的是单株分蘖数,其后依次为单株粒重和主穗粒重,最小的为株高;根据品种间各性状的遗传差异,通过聚类分析将74份资源材料划分为5类,其中36份皮燕麦资源被分为2类,26份裸燕麦资源被分为2类,7份皮燕麦和5份裸燕麦被分为一类,其中,类群Ⅰ可作为高产育种目标的亲本,类群Ⅲ可作为粒型育种目标的亲本,类群Ⅳ、Ⅴ可作为株高和小穗等育种目标的亲本;8个数量性状主成分分析的结果表明,前4个主成分对变异的累计贡献率达86.27%,第一主成分反应产量,第二主成分反应粒型,第三、第四主成分分别反应分蘖数和株高。     

Characterization of a mobile and multiple resistance plasmid isolated from swine manure and its detection in soil after manure application

Aims: To isolate and characterize multiple antibiotic resistance plasmids found in swine manure and test for plasmid‐associated genetic markers in soil following manure application to an agricultural field. Methods and Results: Plasmids were isolated from an erythromycin enrichment culture that used liquid swine manure as an inoculant. Plasmids were transformed into Escherichia coli DH10β for subsequent characterization. We isolated and DNA sequenced a 22 102‐bp plasmid (pMC2) that confers macrolide, and tetracycline resistances, and carries genes predicted to code for mercury and chromium resistance. Conjugation experiments using an pRP4 derivative as a helper plasmid confirm that pMC2 has a functional mobilization unit. PCR was used to detect genetic elements found on pMC2 in DNA extracted from manure amended soil. Conclusions: The pMC2 plasmid has a tetracycline‐resistant core and has acquired additional resistance genes by insertion of an accessory region (12 762 bp) containing macrolide, mercury and chromium resistance genes, which was inserted between the truncated DDE motifs within the Tn903/IS102 mobile element. Significance and Impact of the Study: Liquid swine manure used for manure spreading contains multiple antibiotic resistance plasmids that can be detected in soil following manure application.     

Leaf n‐Alkanes as Characters Differentiating Coastal and Continental Juniperus deltoides Populations from the Balkan Peninsula

The composition of the cuticular n‐alkanes isolated from the leaves of nine populations of Juniperus deltoides R.P.Adams from continental and coastal areas of the Balkan Peninsula was characterized by GC‐FID and GC/MS analyses. In the leaf waxes, 14 n‐alkane homologues with chain‐lengths ranging from C₂₂ to C₃₅ were identified. n‐Tritriacontane (C₃₃) was dominant in the waxes of all populations, but variations between the populations in the contents of all n‐alkanes were observed. Several statistical methods (ANOVA, principal component, discriminant, and cluster analyses) were used to investigate the diversity and variability of the cuticular‐leaf‐n‐alkane patterns of the nine J. deltoides populations. This is the first report on the n‐alkane composition for this species. The multivariate statistical analyses evidenced a high correlation of the leaf‐n‐alkane pattern with the geographical distribution of the investigated samples, differentiating the coastal from the continental populations of this taxon.     

Essential‐Oil Composition of Daucus carota ssp. major (Pastinocello Carrot) and Nine Different Commercial Varieties of Daucus carota ssp. sativus Fruits

The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the pastinocello carrot, Daucus carota ssp. major (Vis.) Arcang . (flowers and achenes), and from nine different commercial varieties of D. carota L. ssp. sativus (achenes) was investigated by GC/MS analyses. Selective breeding over centuries of a naturally occurring subspecies of the wild carrot, D. carota L. ssp. sativus, has produced the common garden vegetable with reduced bitterness, increased sweetness, and minimized woody core. On the other hand, the cultivation of the pastinocello carrot has been abandoned, even if, recently, there has been renewed interest in the development of this species, which risks genetic erosion. The cultivated carrot (D. carota ssp. sativus) and the pastinocello carrot (D. carota ssp. major) were classified as different subspecies of the same species. This close relationship between the two subspecies urged us to compare the chemical composition of their essential oils, to evaluate the differences. The main essential‐oil constituents isolated from the pastinocello fruits were geranyl acetate (34.2%), α‐pinene (12.9%), geraniol (6.9%), myrcene (4.7%), epi‐α‐bisabolol (4.5%), sabinene (3.3%), and limonene (3.0%). The fruit essential oils of the nine commercial varieties of D. carota ssp. sativus were very different from that of pastinocello, as also confirmed by multivariate statistical analyses.     

Spatial variability and exploratory inference of abiotic factors in barn compost confinement for cattle in the semiarid

The assessment of environmental conditions in the creation of dairy cattle in feedlots must be carried out to identify possible causes of stress and assist producers in the decision-making process. The objective was to characterize the abiotic factors and bed temperature, in the comfort conditions of dairy cows, through geostatistics and exploratory data inference, in a Compost Barn System in the Brazilian semiarid region. The data were obtained in a milk production unit, located in the municipality of Lajedo, Pernambuco, Brazil. The variables air temperature (Tair), relative humidity (RH), wind speed (WS), illuminance (Lux), skin temperature (Ts), bed temperature (Tb) were recorded and the temperature index was determined and humidity (THI). Data were recorded at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 03:00 p.m., over 5 days in the summer season. For geostatistical analysis, the classic semivariances were determined. The principal component analysis was performed to establish an index that characterized the condition of animal comfort. The variables Tair, RH, Tb, and THI showed a low coefficient of variation for all times. The best fit to the models of the semivariograms was the Gaussian at 9:00 a.m. and 03:00 p.m., and the spherical at 12:00 p.m. The Tb spatial variability was low for all studied hours. Tair showed a strong correlation with Tb, due to the process of heat transfer by convection from the floor to the environment. Geostatistics and exploratory data analysis allowed the establishment of a comfort index for Compost Barn production systems in the Brazilian semiarid region (R² = 0.996; p < 0.0001).