The Effects of Peatland Restoration on Water‐Table Depth,Elemental Concentrations,and Vegetation: 10 Years of Changes

We studied the effects of restoration on water‐table depth (WTD), element concentrations of peat and vegetation composition of peatlands drained for forestry in southern Finland. The restoration aimed to return the trajectory of vegetation succession toward that of undisturbed systems through the blockage of ditches and the removal of trees. Permanent plots established on a bog and a fen were sampled 1 year before, and 1, 2, 3, and 10 years after the restoration. The restoration resulted in a long‐term rise of the water‐table in both peatlands. Ten years after restoration, the mineral element concentrations (Ca, K, Mg, Mn, and P) of peat corresponded to those reported from comparable pristine peatlands. In particular, the increase of K and Mn concentrations at both sites suggests the recovery of ecosystem functionality in terms of nutrient cycling between peat and plants. The restoration resulted in the succession of plant communities toward the targeted peatland vegetation of wetter condition at both sites. This was evident from the decreased abundance of species benefiting from drainage and the corresponding increase of peatland species. However, many species typical of pristine peatlands were missing 10 years after restoration. We conclude that the restoration led to a reversal of the effects of drainage in vegetation and studied habitat conditions. However, due to the slow recovery of peatland ecosystems and the possibility that certain failures in the restoration measures may become apparent only after extended time periods, long‐term monitoring is needed to determine whether the goals of restoration will be met.     

Establishment and dispersal of the biological control weevil Rhinoncomimus latipes on mile-a-minute weed, Persicaria perfoliata

Mile-a-minute weed, Persicaria perfoliata (L.) H. Gross (Polygonaceae), is an annual vine from Asia that has invaded the eastern US where it can form dense monocultures and outcompete other vegetation in a variety of habitats. The host-specific Asian weevil Rhinoncomimus latipes Korotyaev (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) was first released in the US in 2004 as part of a classical biological control program. The weevil was intensively monitored in three release arrays over 4 years, and field cages at each site were used to determine the number of generations produced. The weevil established at all three sites and produced three to four generations before entering a reproductive diapause in late summer. Weevils dispersed at an average rate of 1.5–2.9 m wk⁻¹ through the 50 m diameter arrays, which had fairly contiguous mile-a-minute cover. Weevils dispersing in the broader, more variable landscape located both large monocultures and small isolated patches of mile-a-minute 600–760 m from the release within 14 months. Weevil density ranged from fewer than 10 to nearly 200 weevils m⁻² mile-a-minute weed. Mile-a-minute cover decreased at the site with the highest weevil density. The production of P. perfoliata seed clusters decreased with increasing weevil populations at two sites, and seedling production declined over time at two sites by 75% and 87%. The ability of the weevil to establish, produce multiple generations per season, disperse to new patches, and likelihood of having an impact on plants in the field suggests that R. latipes has the potential to be a successful biological control agent.     

Assessment of the range of attraction of pheromone traps to Agriotes lineatus and Agriotes obscurus

• 1 The range of attraction of YATLOR pheromone traps was studied to gain information on the number of traps needed for mass trapping of males of two Agriotes species.
• 2 Male click beetles of the species Agriotes lineatus (L.) and Agriotes obscurus (L.) (25–30 individuals per release point) were marked and released at a distance of 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 60 m from a pheromone trap both along and opposite to the known prevailing wind direction. Traps were regularly inspected over approximately 1 month. The percentage of recaptured beetles was calculated and analyzed using analysis of variance. Maximum sampling ranges and effective sampling areas were calculated.
• 3 Averaged over all five trials and distances, approximately 40% of the released beetles (A. lineatus and A. obscurus) were recaptured. The percentage recapture of male adults was significantly affected by release distance, whereas no differences were found for species and release direction.
• 4 Males were recaptured from all release points and the percentage recapture decreased (in part significantly) with increasing distance from 76% (2 m) to 35% (15 m) and 9% (60 m), respectively. Most of the beetles were recaptured within the first 3 days after release, independent of the distance, except 60 m. The effective sampling area for A. lineatus was 1089 m² after 12 days and increased to 1735 m² after 30 days. Corresponding values for A. obscurus were considerably higher: 1518 m² for 12 days and 2633 m² for 30 days.
• 5 We conclude that the range of attraction of the pheromone traps for A. lineatus and A. obscurus is comparatively low, providing high percentage recapture only for release distances up to 10 m. Accordingly, any approach targeted on preventing mating by male mass trapping would require a dense network of pheromone traps.

     

实验动物细菌学监测工作中存在的问题及建议

实验动物细菌学质量控制标准是评价实验动物质量的重要指标,本文在分析发达国家实验动物质量标准的基础上,结合目前的检测现状,对我国实验动物细菌学监测标准在检测项目、检测方法、检测频率、取样要求等方面存在的问题进行了分析并提出建议。     

鱼类应激生物学研究与应用

近年来,随着应激医学和动物应激生物学的发展,鱼类应激生物学的研究越来越为人们所关注。该文阐述了应激的概念、鱼类应激的发生及危害,主要从生理、行为方面介绍了目前国内外鱼类应激生物学最新的研究技术和方法,从苗种培育和改良、药物缓解、改善养殖环境、科学管理与规范化操作等方面介绍了相应的缓解措施。文章最后分析了鱼类应激生物学研究存在的问题,并对其发展前景进行了展望,旨在总结鱼类应激生物学的研究状况,为其在水产健康养殖及鱼类保护生物学等方面的研究与应用提供参考。     

老年患者24小时食管pH监测的护理

目的：探讨和总结老年人24小时食管pH监测的有效的护理方法。方法：我病区自2010年6月到2010年12月接受24小时食管pH监测的患者共50例,分为老年组（≥60岁）和非老年组,采用使用电池的动态pH监测仪进行监测。结果：本研究的50例老年患者中,46例置管一次成功,4例因咽部敏感给予2%的利多卡因10ml咽下后第二次均置管成功。本组检查后无一例造成咽部及胃部的损伤,无误吸等并发症发生。结论：24小时食管pH监测是一种安全、简便、无创伤、客观的检查技术,通过动态pH监测,可检测有无胃食管反流,并算出食管真正接触到反流胃酸的时间。正确的操作方法及细致到位的护理可减少老年患者检查时的痛苦,并有效预防并发症的发生。     

Optical diagnostic test of stress conditions of aquatic organisms

Global climate change has become a dire reality and its impact is expected to rise dramatically in the near future. Combined with the day‐to‐day human activities the climatic changes heavily affect the environment. In particular, a global temperature increase accompanied by a number of anthropogenic chemicals falling within the freshwater ecosystem results in a dramatic enhancement of the overall stress for most aquatic organisms. This leads to a significant shift in the species inventory and potential breakdown of the water ecosystem with severe consequences for local economies and water supply. In order to understand and predict the influence of climatic changes on the physiological and biochemical processes that take place in living aquatic organisms we explore the application of optical spectroscopy for monitoring and quantitative assessment of antioxidant enzymes activity in benthic amphipods of Lake Baikal. We demonstrate that the changes of the enzymes activity in Baikal amphipods undergoing thermal and/or hypoxia stress can be observed and documented by UV and optical spectroscopy both in vivo and in vitro. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Assessment of the manufacturability of Escherichia coli high cell density fermentations

The physical and biological conditions of the host cell obtained at the end of fermentation influences subsequent downstream processing unit operations. The ability to monitor these characteristics is central to the improvement of biopharmaceutical manufacture. In this study, we have used a combination of techniques such as adaptive focus acoustics (AFA) and ultra scale-down (USD) centrifugation that utilize milliliter quantities of sample to obtain an insight into the interaction between cells from the upstream process and initial downstream unit operations. This is achieved primarily through an assessment of cell strength and its impact on large-scale disc stack centrifugation performance, measuring critical attributes such as viscosity and particle size distribution. An Escherichia coli fed-batch fermentation expressing antibody fragments in the periplasm was used as a model system representative of current manufacturing challenges. The weakening of cell strength during cultivation time, detected through increased micronization and viscosity, resulted in a 2.6-fold increase in product release rates from the cell (as measured by AFA) and approximately fourfold decrease in clarification performance (as measured by USD centrifugation). The information obtained allows for informed harvest point decisions accounting for both product leakages during fermentation and potential losses during primary recovery. The clarification performance results were verified at pilot scale. The use of these technologies forms a route to the process understanding needed to tailor the host cell and upstream process to the product and downstream process, critical to the implementation of quality-by-design principles.