AMMONIA STRIPPING AS A PRETREATMENT FOR LANDFILL LEACHATE

Water, Air, &; Soil Pollution - The effectiveness of ammonia stripping at different air flow rates (0, 1 and 5 L min?1) and lime dosages (0 and 10 000 mg L?1 calcium hydroxide) was...     

Immunological detection of cardiac glycosides in plants

Summary Australian native and introduced plants were examined, using digoxin immunoassays, to detect the presence of cross-reacting cardiac glycosides. These compounds were found in 27 species from 20 genera. The assay technique can also be used on serum samples to confirm cardiac glycoside ingestion.     

Studies on cryptocaryoniasis in marine fish: effect of temperature and salinity on the reproductive cycle of Cryptocaryon irritans Brown, 1951

Abstract. Trophonts of Cryptocaryon irritans Brown from infected three-spot damselfish, Dascyllus trimaculatus Ruppell, were kept at temperatures ranging from 7 to 37°C to observe encystment and development of the tomites. At 30, 25 and 20°C, the percentage of trophonts that had encysted in 16 h were 70, 77 and 64% respectively; at 37°C, 44% encysted and at 7°C only 10% had encysted.
The optimum temperature for excystment was 30°C; 50% excysted in 5 days and 100% in 7 days. At 25°C, 60% of the tomites started to excyst on the eighth day, and 70% on the ninth day. At 20°C, 10% started to excyst on the ninth day, reaching 40% on the tenth day. No excystment occurred at 37 and 7°C.
Newly encysted tomonts were placed in various dilutions of sea water (31 %₀) and kept at temperatures ranging from 7 to 37°C. Low salinities, i.e. 16%₀ and lower caused tomonts to rupture. At 37, 20 and 7°C, 35% of the tomonts started to rupture immediately in 50% sea water, while at 30 and 25 C, 30% of the tomonts ruptured in 25% seawater. However, none of the cysts developed normally at these dilutions. The percentage rupturing increased with decreasing salinity.     

植物修复金属污染土壤上丛枝菌根真菌与植物之间的交互作用

Metal contamination in the environment is a global concern due to its high toxicity to living organisms and its worldwide distribution.The principal goal of this review is to examine the current strategies and technologies for the remediation of metalcontaminated soils by metal-accumulating plants and assess the roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal(AM)fungi in remediation of soils under hyperaccumulator or non-accumulator plants.The use of plants to remove metals from the environment or reduce the toxicity,known as phytoremediation,is an environmentally sustainable and low cost remediation technology.The mechanisms of the use of hyperaccumulator plants for phytoremediation included solubilization of the metal in the soil matrix,the plant uptake of the metal,detoxification/chelation and sequestration,and volatilization.Recently,some ecologists have found that phytoremediation with the aids of mycorrhizae can enhance efciency in the removal of toxic metals.AM fungi can facilitate the survival of their host plants growing on metal-contaminated land by enhancing their nutrient acquisition,protecting them from the metal toxicity,absorbing metals,and also enhancing phytostabilization and phytoextraction.Such information may be useful for developing phytoremediation program at metal-contaminated sites.     

Relationship between estrogen and C-type natriuretic peptide-induced pubertal linear growth

AIM：To explore the association between estrogen and C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP)-induced endochondral ossification in pubertal girls, and to investigate the relationship between CNP signaling pathway and the gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa)-associated linear growth reduction in girls with idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP). METHODS：Serum levels of estradiol (E2), N-terminal propeptide of CNP (NT-proCNP), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and N-terminal mid-fragment of osteocalcin (N-MID OC) were measured in 56 healthy girls at different pubertal stages, and in 13 girls with ICPP at the beginning, the end of the 6th and 12th months of GnRHa treatment. Height velocity (HV) was also calculated. RESULTS：(1) Serum NT-proCNP, IGF-1, E2 and N-MID OC levels in the 56 healthy girls increased at early puberty compared with prepubertal levels (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Serum NT-proCNP level remained high at middle puberty and peaked at late puberty (P<0.05). Serum IGF-1 and E2 levels continued to increase at middle puberty (P<0.01) and peaked at late puberty (P<0.01). Serum N-MID OC level peaked at middle puberty (P<0.05) and decreased at late puberty (P<0.05). (2) The HV and serum levels of NT-proCNP and N-MID OC in the 13 ICPP girls decreased at the end of the 6th month of GnRHa treatment compared with those at the beginning of GnRHa treatment (P<0.05), and remained low at the end of the 12th month of GnRHa treatment. Serum IGF-1 level at the end of the 6th and 12th months of GnRHa treatment remained as the same as that at the beginning. Serum E2 returned to the prepubertal level after GnRHa treatment (P<0.05). CONCLUSION：Serum NT-proCNP level increases across female pubertal process and peaks at late puberty, in parallel with serum E2 and IGF-1 levels. Elevated estrogen in female puberty may be associated with CNP-mediated adolescent growth spurt. Serum NT-proCNP level in ICPP girls decreases during GnRHa treatment, in parallel with linear growth velocity and bone formation. Linear growth reduction in girls with ICPP treated with GnRHa is partly due to decreased CNP-mediated long bone growth after estrogen inhibition.     

Studies on the morphology of Uronema marinum Dujardin (Ciliatea: Uronematidae) with a description of the histopathology of the infection in marine fishes

Abstract. A normally free-living hymenostomatid ciliate was found to be the cause of heavy infections of gills, viscera and body muscle in Atlantic and Pacific marine fishes kept in the New York Aquarium. Of special interest is the fact that the parasites, usually with food vacuoles filled with blood cells and cellular debris, caused extensive damage to the body muscle; the other infected organs showed no characteristic tissue reactions. The immediate cause of death is attributed to the exceptional load of the parasite on the gills, thus interfering with normal respiratory function.
The ciliate, isolated from a recent outbreak, is described in detail, and shows many characteristics of Uronema marinum Dujardin, a species that has been reported as free-living in salt water; the form reported here differs from the type and other members included in this species, by the presence of less than three rows of bipolar meridians. This facultative parasite is described in detail and compared with other genera.