Field Validation of Helium as a Tracer Gas During Soil Vapor Sample Collection

This paper reports the results of a field study to evaluate the use of helium as a tracer gas during soil vapor sampling. The authors found that the helium tracer method recommended in regulatory guidance can detect atmospheric leakage. However, the degree of leakage can be underestimated due to: 1) losses of helium from the tracer reservoir during sampling; 2) the entry of atmospheric air from an area outside the tracer reservoir; 3) temporal variability of leakage; and 4) flow-related reduction in helium detector response. Frequent leakage was observed in soil vapor probes installed using conventional direct push techniques. Probes installed at a depth of 8 ft exhibited less leakage than those installed at 4 ft. Probes installed in glacial till exhibited greater and more frequent leakage than those installed in sandy loam. Based on the frequency of observed leakage, refinement and standardization of tracer methods, with routine incorporation of tracers and in-line pressure and flow monitoring, is recommended.     

Water deficit in field-grown Gossypium hirsutum primarily limits net photosynthesis by decreasing stomatal conductance,increasing photorespiration,and increasing the ratio of dark respiration to gross photosynthesis

Much effort has been expended to improve irrigation efficiency and drought tolerance of agronomic crops; however, a clear understanding of the physiological mechanisms that interact to decrease source strength and drive yield loss has not been attained. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms contributing to inhibition of net carbon assimilation under drought stress, three cultivars of Gossypium hirsutum were grown in the field under contrasting irrigation regimes during the 2012 and 2013 growing season near Camilla, Georgia, USA. Physiological measurements were conducted on three sample dates during each growing season (providing a broad range of plant water status) and included, predawn and midday leaf water potential (Ψ_PD and Ψ_MD), gross and net photosynthesis, dark respiration, photorespiration, and chlorophyll a fluorescence. End-of-season lint yield was also determined. Ψ_PD ranged from −0.31 to −0.95 MPa, and Ψ_MD ranged from −1.02 to −2.67 MPa, depending upon irrigation regime and sample date. G. hirsutum responded to water deficit by decreasing stomatal conductance, increasing photorespiration, and increasing the ratio of dark respiration to gross photosynthesis, thereby limiting P_N and decreasing lint yield (lint yield declines observed during the 2012 growing season only). Conversely, even extreme water deficit, causing a 54% decline in P_N, did not negatively affect actual quantum yield, maximum quantum yield, or photosynthetic electron transport. It is concluded that P_N is primarily limited in drought-stressed G. hirsutum by decreased stomatal conductance, along with increases in respiratory and photorespiratory carbon losses, not inhibition or down-regulation of electron transport through photosystem II. It is further concluded that Ψ_PD is a reliable indicator of drought stress and the need for irrigation in field-grown cotton.     

青藏高原东缘亚高山针叶林和采伐迹地中藓类生长速率及其影响因子

利用红油漆标记法,对青藏高原东缘地区壤塘林业局二林场亚高山采伐迹地和云杉(Picea)原始林中的6种藓类近一个生长季的生长速率进行了研究。结合原地同时进行的微气候观测,分析了气候因子和藓类生长速率之间的相关度。这6种藓类中,有5种在原始林和采伐迹地都出现,只有绢藓(Entodon conncinus)仅在采伐迹地出现。不同物种和不同生境条件下藓类的生长速率都不相同。塔藓(Hylocomium splendens)的茎生长速率最大,而阿萨姆曲尾藓(Dicranum assamicum)生长速率最小。生境对塔藓、阿萨姆曲尾藓和细叶羽藓(Thuidium lepidoziaceum)的生长速率影响很大,它们在林内比在采伐迹地生长快。锦丝藓(Actinothuidium hookeri)和垂枝藓(Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus)的生长速率中等并且对生境不敏感。据此可以将藓类分成生境敏感型和不敏感型。微气候5~7月分析显示林内比采伐迹地的辐射通量低,并且更为干燥。但是早上林内的蒸汽压亏缺(Vapor pressure deficit, VPD)一直比采伐迹地低。林内较低的蒸汽压亏缺和较低的辐射通量使其成为更有利于藓类的生长场所。对于那些生境类型不敏感的藓类,微地形的效应也许抵消了这种大生境的效应。藓类的生理生态特征如变水(Poikilohydry)特征等对其在严酷气候条件下的生存和生长起着重要的作用。如同积温一样,藓类的生长速率同样可以指示生境的适宜度, 因为其生长和蒸汽压亏缺紧密相关,是温度和湿度的函数,而这两个因素对于川西亚高山地区森林人工更新时幼苗的建植极为关键。因此藓类的生长状况可以作为指示适宜植树生境的指标。     

Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori bacterial infections using a voltammetric biosensor

The voltammetric assay of Helicobacter pylori DNA was investigated using a bismuth-immobilized carbon nanotube electrode (BCNE). The analytical cyclic voltammetry (CV) peak potential was obtained at a 0.4 V reduction scan, where the diagnostic optimum square-wave (SW) stripping working range was achieved at 0.72-7.92 μg/mL H. pylori DNA (11 points). A relative standard deviation of 1.68% (RSD, n = 5) was obtained with 3.2 mg/mL H. pylori DNA using a 240 s accumulation time. Under optimum conditions, detection limit was 0.06 μg/mL. The developed sensors can be used for clinical application in the 15th doubted human gastric tissues, since the patient's peak current increased a hundred times more than the negative healthy tissue did. The sensing time obtained was only two minutes, and the process was simpler compared to common PCR amplification and electrophoresis photometric detection systems.     

基于最小二乘支持向量机的农田水汽通量建模

支持向量机是在统计学习理论基础上发展起来的一种新型的机器学习方法,已在模式识别、非线性建模等领域中得到了应用．本文将最小二乘支持向量机方法应用于农田水汽通量的建模中,并同前馈反向传播神经网络的建模性能进行了比较．结果表明,最小二乘支持向量机方法具有可调参数少、学习速度较快等优点,具有更好的推广能力,以更高的精度建立农田水汽通量模型．模型的敏感性分析进一步显示,用最小二乘支持向量机方法建立的农田水汽通量模型是合理可行的．     

基于树干液流测定值进行尺度扩展的马占相思林段蒸腾和冠层气孔导度

应用Granier热消散探针,长期监测华南丘陵地马占相思(Acacia mangium)林14棵样树的树干液流(Sap flow),由此计算整树和林段的蒸腾速率,结合同步记录的环境因子,求算冠层平均气孔导度(G_c)。Granier探针的灵敏度较高,能精确测定即使是微弱的液流活动。观测结果显示,树木个体之间的液流密度(J_s)和整树蒸腾(E_t)受树形特征影响较大。马占相思林径级大的树木个体数较少,但占据林段边材总面积和林段蒸腾的比例较大。J_s和E_t的日变化主要受光合有效辐射(Q_o)和空气水蒸气压亏缺(D)的控制,土壤含水量(θ)对较大胸径树木E_t的影响大于胸径较小的树木,个体之间J_s和E_t的差异随θ的下降而缩小。一年中,林段蒸腾(E)在光照和水热条件较好的7月最高,9~12月,由于土壤水分供应的减少致使E值降低,E对D的敏感性下降。G_c与主要环境因子的关系与E相似,如果θ长期偏低,G_c会明显下降,是造成E降低的主要原因。成熟马占相思林在光照充足、水热条件较好的情况下的蒸腾活动旺盛,但对土壤水分胁迫的忍受力较低。     

Environmental controls on the light use efficiency of terrestrial gross primary production

Gross primary production (GPP) by terrestrial ecosystems is a key quantity in the global carbon cycle. The instantaneous controls of leaf-level photosynthesis are well established, but there is still no consensus on the mechanisms by which canopy-level GPP depends on spatial and temporal variation in the environment. The standard model of photosynthesis provides a robust mechanistic representation for C₃ species; however, additional assumptions are required to “scale up” from leaf to canopy. As a consequence, competing models make inconsistent predictions about how GPP will respond to continuing environmental change. This problem is addressed here by means of an empirical analysis of the light use efficiency (LUE) of GPP inferred from eddy covariance carbon dioxide flux measurements, in situ measurements of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and remotely sensed estimates of the fraction of PAR (fAPAR) absorbed by the vegetation canopy. Focusing on LUE allows potential drivers of GPP to be separated from its overriding dependence on light. GPP data from over 100 sites, collated over 20 years and located in a range of biomes and climate zones, were extracted from the FLUXNET2015 database and combined with remotely sensed fAPAR data to estimate daily LUE. Daytime air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, diffuse fraction of solar radiation, and soil moisture were shown to be salient predictors of LUE in a generalized linear mixed-effects model. The same model design was fitted to site-based LUE estimates generated by 16 terrestrial ecosystem models. The published models showed wide variation in the shape, the strength, and even the sign of the environmental effects on modeled LUE. These findings highlight important model deficiencies and suggest a need to progress beyond simple “goodness of fit” comparisons of inferred and predicted carbon fluxes toward an approach focused on the functional responses of the underlying dependencies.     

Carbonaceous Resin Capsule for Vapor-phase Monitoring of Volatile Monoaromatic Hydrocarbons in Soil

Soil and groundwater contamination by organic substances is a major environmental and health concern, but methods of direct, in situ evaluation of quantities and forms of these contaminants are generally highly limited. The resin capsule system (RCS) has been developed for use in the laboratory or in the field for inorganic chemicals, and its application has been extended to include organic chemicals by incorporation of carbonaceous, hydrophobic adsorbers in the capsules. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of carbonaceous resin capsules for detecting benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) vapors diffusing through a soil column, and to investigate sensitivity to environmental factors that influence vapor phase diffusion. Results show that the RCS can serve as a trap for organic vapors, and that quantities of BTEX accumulated are influenced by soil texture and water content during extended adsorption times. The nature of these effects, as measured by the RCS, was similar to expectations, based on previously reported results from studies involving direct measurements. These results provide evidence that the RCS could be developed to serve as a simple, inexpensive, direct, in situ methodology for monitoring volatile organic chemicals in soils.     

Modification of a Reaction Vessel for the Determination of Total Mercury in Hair by Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A classical cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometric (CVAAS) method for the determination of total mercury in blood has been previously adapted for application to samples of human hair. The reaction vessel specified in the original adaptation was, however, large and difficult to use with small hair samples. In the present study, the reaction vessel has been modified and reduced in size and the protocols have been optimized in order to provide an analytical method that is more efficient, less time-consuming, and gives lower blank values than the original adaptation. The optimized method was validated by multiple, independent, replicated assays of certified reference hair samples, and the mean recovery obtained (98.7%) indicated an efficient performance of the digestion and detection processes. The method was applied to the assay of 144 hair samples derived from populations that had or had not been exposed to mercury from environmental sources. The results from all of the samples analyzed were consistent with those published previously for similar samples.