Assessing the impact of episodic pollution

The increased tightening of controls on industrial and municipal wastewater discharges has resulted in steady improvements in the quality of many important rivers over recent years. However, episodic pollution, particularly from farm wastes and combined sewer overflows continues to pose a major problem, and is one of the main causes of poor quality rivers today. Despite our acknowledgement of this continuing problem, very little is known of the mechanistic basis of responses and recovery of aquatic organisms and communities exposed to intermittent pulses of common pollutants. The majority of ecotoxicological studies to date have been concerned with the effects of continuous exposure. Although such studies may provide a means of predicting the impact of episodic pollution events, a more appropriate test design would be to assess toxicity under pulsed and fluctuating exposure. Studies should also include a post-exposure observation period and should consider recovery of individuals and communities. This paper reviews the results of reported studies relevant to the investigation of episodic pollution and pays particular attention to the effects of magnitude, duration and frequency of exposure. Results of field investigations using an in situ bioassay technique are also presented to emphasize the importance of field validation of proposed water quality criteria for intermittent pollution events.     

Insight into Trichoderma reesei's genome content, organization and evolution revealed through BAC library characterization

Trichoderma reesei is an important industrial fungus known for its ability to efficiently secrete large quantities of protein as well as its wide variety of biomass degrading enzymes. Past research on this fungus has primarily focused on extending its protein production capabilities, leaving the structure of its 33 Mb genome essentially a mystery. To begin to address these deficiencies and further our knowledge of T. reesei's secretion and cellulolytic potential, we have created a genomic framework for this fungus. We constructed a BAC library containing 9216 clones with an average insert size of 125 kb which provides a coverage of 28 genome equivalents. BAC ends were sequenced and annotated using publicly available software which identified a number of genes not seen in previously sequenced EST datasets. Little evidence was found for repetitive sequence in T. reesei with the exception of several copies of an element with similarity to the Podospora anserina transposon, PAT. Hybridization of 34 genes involved in biomass degradation revealed five groups of co-located genes in the genome. BAC clones were fingerprinted and analyzed using fingerprinted contigs (FPC) software resulting in 334 contigs covering 28 megabases of the genome. The assembly of these FPC contigs was verified by congruence with hybridization results.     

Ultrasound-assisted liquid-state fermentation of soybean meal with Bacillus subtilis: Effects on peptides content,ACE inhibitory activity and biomass

This work studied the effects of ultrasound-assisted liquid-state fermentation on the content of peptides and bioactivity of fermented soybean meal (FSBM) with Bacillus subtilis. Based on the optimization of basic ultrasonic parameters, effects of the main parameters including power density, incubation temperature and ultrasonic time on in vitro ACE inhibitory activity, peptides content and biomass of B. subtilis were investigated via Box-Behnken experimental design. Three mathematical models were determined to show the effects of each variable and their combinatorial interactions on dependent variables. A set of preferred condition was determined to be at power density of 0.08 W/mL for 1 h with an initial incubation temperature of 36.7 °C, according to the desirability function analyses. Under these conditions, the experimental values of in vitro ACE inhibitory activity, peptides content and biomass increased by 26.4%, 36.2% and 55.0% compared to those of the control, respectively, accompanied by the improvement of the peptides yield, purity and conversion rate in varying degrees. Additionally, FSBM resulted in a significant decrease of systolic blood pressure by 20.7 ± 1.8 mmHg in spontaneously hypertensive rats at 3 h. These results suggest that ultrasonication is an efficient solution for enhancing fermentation to produce bioactive components from agroindustrial by-products.     

The response of Puccinellia maritima to burial: A key to understanding its role in salt‐marsh dynamics?

Abstract. The plant and sediment dynamics in salt marshes are strongly interrelated, but few data are available to document their interaction. Puccinellia maritima is a perennial grass that occurs widely in salt marshes and this study examines its role in the stabilization or trapping of sediment in the pioneer zone and its response to burial, a characteristic phenomenon in accreting salt marshes. Puccinellia not only appears to limit erosion but also to significantly enhance accretion. The functional role of this species is largely dependent on the local disturbance regime. The response of Puccinellia to burial was studied in a series of burial treatments. Growth performance of Puccinellia was stimulated by burial of 4 mm sediment and reduced by burial of 8 mm/month. Burial under 12 mm of sediment led to high mortality of up to 97%. Response was determined by the instantaneous thickness of sediment rather than by the total quantity. Morphological response to burial consisted mainly of stem elongation. Plants collected from accretion zones in the field also produced tillers with adventitious roots at successive soil layers. The range of burial tolerances found for Puccinellia fits well with its occurrence in locations with up to 8 mm sediment accretion per tidal cycle, a common situation in the salt marsh studied.     

采用稳定碳同位素法分析白羊草在不同干旱胁迫下的水分利用效率

本研究以黄土高原乡土草种白羊草(Bothriochloa ischaemum(L.)Keng.)为研究对象,采用盆栽控制实验,比较白羊草在3个水分处理(CK80%FC、MS60%FC和SS 40%FC)下的生物量积累和分配模式、瞬时水分利用效率(WUE)、不同部位(新叶、老叶、茎、细根、粗根)的稳定碳同位素组成(δ~(13)C)和碳同位素分辨率(Δ~(13)C)及其相互关系,以及干旱胁迫下影响水分利用效率的主导环境因子。结果表明:1)重度干旱胁迫显著降低植物整体生物量,显著增加根冠比和细根生物量比例;2)随着干旱胁迫加剧,白羊草各器官的δ~(13)C均呈上升趋势,Δ~(13)C呈减小趋势,SS处理不同器官δ~(13)C和Δ~(13)C没有显著差异,CK和MS处理的各器官δ~(13)C均值表现分别为细根粗根老叶新叶茎、细根新叶老叶粗根茎,CK和MS处理Δ~(13)C的值总体呈根叶茎。3)新叶的δ~(13)CNL和Δ~(13)CNL与WUE的相关系数均最大,说明利用稳定碳同位素方法测定白羊草水分利用效率具有可行性。4)不同水分处理的WUE的主导影响因子不同,CK、MS、SS水分处理WUE分别受到叶面温度、大气水汽压亏缺和空气温度的影响最大。为采用稳定碳同位素方法指示白羊草水分利用效率可行性及阐明植物的胁迫响应机制提供理论依据。     

Allelopathic impact of artificially applied coumarin on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium oxysporum</Emphasis> f.sp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">niveum</Emphasis>

Watermelon production is threatened by fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. niveum (FON) in continuous cultivation system. Some elements, mainly allelochemicals, released from living roots or decayed plants might be associated with the disease. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the possible impact of coumarin, one kind of watermelon allelochemical, on FON. Furthermore, possible new mechanisms might be investigated during the ecological interactions of plant-microbe. Results showed that coumarin strongly inhibited growth of FON leading to a decrease in its biomass, dry weight of mycelia of FON in a liquid culture. The dry weight was decreased by 62.9% compared with control. The hyphal growth of FON on plates was stopped at high (>400 mg l⁻¹) concentrations of coumarin. At 320 mg l⁻¹, sporulation and enzyme activities of FON were also severely suppressed by coumarin. The yield of conidia, and the activities of proteinase, cellulase, and amylase were reduced by 98.9%, 79.7%, 29.8% and 15.9% respectively. However, conidial germination and mycotoxin (MT) production of FON were greatly stimulated, being increased by 55.7% and 14.9 fold at 320 mg l⁻¹ respectively. We conclude that coumarin acted as an allelochemical substance to inhibit growth and pathogenic enzyme activities of FON but to stimulate mycotoxin production and conidial germination. It was suggested that coumarin acted as a signal transduction element bridging plant and pathogen in the process of plant-microbe interactions.     

Evaluation of Integrated Anaerobic Digestion and Hydrothermal Carbonization for Bioenergy Production

Lignocellulosic biomass is one of the most abundant yet underutilized renewable energy resources. Both anaerobic digestion (AD) and hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) are promising technologies for bioenergy production from biomass in terms of biogas and HTC biochar, respectively. In this study, the combination of AD and HTC is proposed to increase overall bioenergy production. Wheat straw was anaerobically digested in a novel upflow anaerobic solid state reactor (UASS) in both mesophilic (37 °C) and thermophilic (55 °C) conditions. Wet digested from thermophilic AD was hydrothermally carbonized at 230 °C for 6 hr for HTC biochar production. At thermophilic temperature, the UASS system yields an average of 165 L_CH4/kg_VS (VS: volatile solids) and 121 L _CH4/kg_VS at mesophilic AD over the continuous operation of 200 days. Meanwhile, 43.4 g of HTC biochar with 29.6 MJ/kg_{dry_biochar} was obtained from HTC of 1 kg digestate (dry basis) from mesophilic AD. The combination of AD and HTC, in this particular set of experiment yield 13.2 MJ of energy per 1 kg of dry wheat straw, which is at least 20% higher than HTC alone and 60.2% higher than AD only.     

白水江自然保护区糙花箭竹天然林生物量与生产力的初步研究

 本文根据样方上测定糙花箭竹的地径、茎高、密度、茎重、枝条重、叶重和鞭系重资料,研究竹林生物量和生产力,并建立回归数学模型为：茎重Ws=160.942+0.227(D2NH) p<0.001 枝条重WB=76.008+0.039(D2NH) p<0.001 叶重WL＝80.643+0.051(D2NH) p<0.001 鞭系重WR=285.554+0.074(D2NH) p<0.001由方程估测出天然糙花箭竹林的各器官干重分别为茎7.558,枝条1.782,叶2.143,鞭系4.795t／ha。总生物量为16.278t／ha,平均净生产量为3.256t／ha。     

Valorisation of a leguminous specie, Sesbania grandiflora, by means of hydrothermal fractionation

For the purpose of hydrolysing hemicelluloses to oligomers and monomers, Sesbania grandiflora samples were subjected to isothermal autohydrolysis in the temperatures ranging from 145 °C to 190 °C, using a solid to liquid ratio of 8 and reaction times up to 7.5 h. Kinetic models based on sequential pseudo-homogeneous first order Kinetics with Arrhenius type temperature dependence were employed for describing the time course of the main hemicelluloses compounds and their degradation products. The hydrothermal treatment results show that Sesbania grandiflora can be employed as an alternative raw material for the production of XOS leading to high concentrations of XOS (14.1 g/L in the experiment carried out at 190 °C and 0.1 h) and xylan to XOS conversion (62.6% in the experiment carried out at 190 °C and 6 min). The model proposed provides a satisfactory interpretation of the experimental data obtained in the hydrothermal treatments of this study.