Use of a 6-steps microcosm for studying a wastewater discharge in a freshwater ecosystem: a multidisciplinary study

An experimental microcosm has been designed for simulating and studying impacts of a wastewater treatment plant (WTP) discharge on a freshwater/sediment ecosystem. The study was focused on the changes in biodiversity of benthic populations, especially bacteria and oligochaetes. Effluents were discharged in the Saône river, near Lyon (France) from a small treatment plant which treated domestic raw water by an activated sludge process. Freshwater and sediments were sampled in the Saône river upstream of the discharge point and placed in microcosms. Following the WTP discharge, physicochemical parameters of the overlying water column and sediments exhibited only a slight change, as compared to a reference. Characterization of the sediment bacterial populations was conducted with the Biolog and API systems. Strain identification and interpretation of data was difficult using thesetwo systems. Bacterial taxa in the sediments increased slightly below the WTP discharge. Gram negative strains dominated in the effluents, but G+ and G- bacteria were balanced in the sediments. Pseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp., were the dominant strains. Invertebrate populations indicated an effect of the WTP discharge, with increasing of pollution resistant strains (Tubificidae) and disappearance of pollution intolerant strains such as Limnodrilus udekemianus and Quistadrilus multicoetosus. Taken as a whole, biological parameters indicated an environmental changes despite only slight changes in the physicochemistry of water. This experimental microcosm has proven to be a useful tool for studying impact of wastewater discharge on benthic populations.     

Determination of ochratoxin a with a DNA aptamer

This work describes the identification of an aptamer that binds with high affinity and specificity to ochratoxin A (OTA), a mycotoxin that occurs in wheat and other foodstuffs, and a quantitative detection method for OTA based on the use of this aptamer. Aptamers are single-stranded oligonucleotides selected in vitro to bind to molecular targets. The aptamer selected in this work exhibited a dissociation constant in the nanomolar range and did not bind compounds with structures similar to OTA such as N-acetylphenylalanine or warfarin. The aptamer bound with a 100-fold less affinity to ochratoxin B. The selected aptamers could be used for the determination of ppb quantities of OTA in naturally contaminated wheat samples. Further work is ongoing to broaden the application demonstrated here with the development of sensors, affinity columns, and other analytical systems for field and laboratory determination of this toxin in food and agricultural products.     

Structural characteristics of clay-dominated soils of a marsh and a palaeosol in a crossed diagram

Although the shrink‐swell phenomenon of clays has been thoroughly studied, the in situ relation of the shrinkage curve to the structure profile is rarely presented from the shrinkage limit to the liquid limit. We studied the consolidated structure of clay‐dominated (<2 μm) soils formed on ‘pseudo‐liquid’ marsh sediments in the ‘Marais de l’Ouest’ (France). The profiles were studied in a grassland field and in a sunflower field from unsaturated surface soils down to deeper, saturated, levels characterized by a very large water content (100% by weight). The consolidation states were quantified recording cone resistance (Qd) profiles using a dynamic penetrometer in successive seasons. These Qd profiles were compared with the associated wet density and gravimetric water‐content profiles. Two consolidation depths were evident, the surface soil and a 130‐cm deep palaeosol. The seasonal Qd profiles demonstrate the partial irreversibility of the consolidation peaks associated with the surface soil and with the palaeosol. The shrinkage properties were established through drying curves of undisturbed test samples. In the void ratio (e)‐water content (W) and water content (W)‐saturation index (Sr) diagrams, the profiles as a whole exhibit only one clay soil behaviour from their pseudo‐liquid to plastic to solid states. Each Qd profile is represented by a hyperbolic curve in the e/Qd diagram. Represented in a (e – W – Qd —Sr) crossed diagram, the vertical evolution of the successive profiles shows the soil structure behaviour from the initial pseudo‐liquid sediment to the consolidated soil. A simple cone resistance recording associated with gravimetric water‐content profiles, characterizes the evolution of structural layers of soils for the seasonal drying‐wetting cycles, for the over‐consolidation associated with the palaeosol, and also for the effect of ploughing.     

Impact of a ski basin on a mountain watershed

The input of heavy metals by automobile exhaust pollution associated with the ski basin activities is the primary concern of this paper. Stream, snowpack and lichen samples were collected and analyzed for Pb, Zn, and Cu. Some lichen samples were also analyzed for Ca, Mg, Na, K, Fe, and Mn, as well as Pb, Zn, and Cu. Snowpack samples from roadside areas demonstrated increased levels of Pb and Cu in comparison to areas up to 180 m from the road, but heavy metal levels at more remote areas were comparable to roadside levels. In all snow samples the heavy metals associated with the particulate matter was the major form of all inputs. Heavy metals in streams were also highly correlated with the particulate matter content. Heavy metal inputs to the watershed were greater than stream export, indicating an accumulation of heavy metals by the system. The forest canopy appears to be the major factor in the accumulation of heavy metals, probably due to better interception and impaction of the particulate matter by the canopy.     

Macrokinetic grounds for a model of microbial growth on a substrate with a single major component

The dependency of experimental microbial growth data on the concentration of a major substrate component in phase space follows the law of a deformed bell curve and, until now, has not had a widely accepted rational. In the present work, a theoretical equation of this dependency at a fixed time was derived from the equation of the dependency of growth on time for a single concentration of a major component, which was previously obtained using a non-stationary non-equilibrium approach. The validity of the equation was established by comparison to experimental data from an independent source. The equation allows one to find intervals in the phase space of the dependency of growth on the initial concentration of the major component of the substrate that qualitatively vary by sign (plus or minus) and direction (increasing or decreasing) of the change of: a) growth, b) rates, and c) acceleration of its change in response to the change in the concentration of a major component of the substrate.     

The Control of a Small Dam in Nutrient Inputs to a Hypertrophic Estuary in a Mediterranean Climate

A two-year study was carried out in the lower part of the Palmones River to describe the role of a small dam controlling the nutrient fluxes to the estuary. Results showed an important spatial heterogeneity in the nutrient content and water properties of lowland catchment due to the effects of the small dam and the effluents of a sewage treatment work. Taking into account the values of hydraulic retention time, the dam could be considered as an optimally dimensioned pre-dam. Therefore, it removed on average more than 25% of total phosphorus (TP) while no net removal was obtained for TN during the studied period. Palmones River exported 11.3 TonsP year^?1 of TP and 72.1 TonsN year^?1 of TN to the estuary showing important seasonal differences. Less than 10% from the total amount of nutrient was exported during low flow conditions, while in four months with important flooding events, the percentage of total nitrogen exported exceeded 64%.     

脆弱刚毛藻对水体中三种苯系物的去除效果

采用L934正交设计法,研究了脆弱刚毛藻[Cladophora fracta (Dillw.) Kuetz.]对水体中3种苯系物苯、甲苯和二甲苯的去除作用.结果表明,脆弱刚毛藻对苯、甲苯和二甲苯的去除率分别为46.6写,13.6%和7.4 Yo.分析不同处理条件对脆弱刚毛藻对苯去除率的影响,各因素极差值大小依次为:温度>处理时间>藻体重量,温度是影响去除笨效果的主要因素.在刚毛藻去除甲苯的实验中,各因素R值大小依次为处理时间>藻体重量>温度,主要影响因素是处理时间.而对于二甲苯,藻体重量则是最主要的因素.     

Using a Numerical Model to Track the Discharge of a Wastewater Treatment Plant in a Tidal Estuary

Along the coast of Maine, USA, there are numerous wastewater treatment plants that discharge their treated effluents into a river estuary which is shared by commercial fishing and shellfish harvesting. Occasionally, there can be failures or bypasses of treatment plants that lead to untreated or partially treated sewage flowing into shellfish harvesting waters. To prevent any toxic contamination of harvested shellfish, a prohibitive zone is established around the treatment plant where shellfish harvesting is prohibited. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has conducted numerous dye studies on both coasts of the USA to determine these prohibitive zones, based on the guidelines of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program. In May 2010, the FDA conducted such a dye study at the Yarmouth, Maine wastewater treatment plant. The results are compared with a numerical coastal model that provides the velocity field for the currents around the treatment plant. This model includes a diffusion equation to simulate dye dispersion from a point source which is used to determine the prohibitive zone. The numerical model shows good correlation with the FDA dye study report and establishes a prohibitive zone for commercial harvesting in keeping with that of the FDA study. The benefits of the numerical model include sampling at thousands of locations simultaneously, seasonal changes in river volumes, and changes in plant discharge volumes.     

Surface-bound phosphatase activity in ectomycorrhizal fungi: a comparative study between a colorimetric and a microscope-based method

For the quantification of surface-bound phosphomonoesterase activity (SBPA) of fungi, roots, or mycorrhiza, a colorimetric method based on p-nitrophenyl phosphate (pNPP) is widely used. Unfortunately, this method does not reveal information about the localization of the surface-bound phosphomonoesterase (SBP). We introduce a method that localizes and quantifies SBPA in living hyphae of ectomycorrhizal fungi using confocal laser scanning microscopy of the hydrophilic substrate enzyme-labelled fluorescence (ELF-97) and compare it to the pNPP assay. ELF-97 turns into a strongly fluorescent precipitate upon activation by SBPA and forms bright fluorescent centres on the outer cell wall of the hyphae. Our data show that the enzymatic reaction is not substrate-limited during an incubation period of 15 min in fungal hyphae of Pisolithus tinctorius, Cenococcum geophilum, and Paxillus involutus. Image-processing routines determined the total intensity and the average number of the fluorescent ELF-97 centres per micrometre fungal hyphae of C. geophilum and Paxillus involutus. ELF-97 and pNPP detected similar variations of the SBPA at different pH values (3–7) during the measurement and different phosphorus (P) concentrations during the growth period of the fungi. The ELF-97 method revealed that C. geophilum and Paxillus involutus adapt in different ways to the variation of the P concentrations during the growth period by varying the number, the activity, or both properties of the SBP centres. The phosphatases show peak activities at different pH values, so the response of the fungal mycelium to varying P concentrations in soils is pH selective. In conclusion, ELF-97 is a promising substrate to reveal SBPA and adaptation strategies on a structural–physiological level.     

Heterogeneous solute flow in a sandy soil under a pine forest: evaluation of a modeling concept

This study investigated the heterogeneous water characteristic functions and hydraulic conductivities for a gleyic podzol under a coniferous forest 40 km northeast of Hannover, Germany. The hydraulic properties were parameterized with the van Genuchten model. Reference functions and sets of scaling factors were derived for every horizon. The scaling factors showed correlation lengths of about 0.2 m. Along a 10 m long transect the spatially variable rain throughfall as the upper boundary and the groundwater level as the lower boundary was measured. A tracer experiment was conducted for the period of main groundwater recharge. Using the independent measurements of heterogeneous hydraulic properties, we simulated the solute transport for this period with a conventional model that solves the Richards' equation for water flow and the convective dispersive equation for solute transport. We found qualitative agreement between some features of the measured and modeled solute transport such as its channel‐like structure. However, the partly preferential flow of solutes and the correspondingly large dispersivities could not be modeled.     

Remediation of a long-term copper-contaminated soil using a polyacrylate polymer

Abstract. We investigated whether a polyacrylate polymer could be used to remediate a soil which had been contaminated with copper for many years. Perennial ryegrass was grown in a loamy sand containing 230 mg ammonium-acetate-EDTA extractable Cu kg⁻¹ and amended with 0, 0.1 and 0.2% of polymer. Growth of perennial ryegrass was stimulated in the polymer-amended soil, especially in the soil with 0.1% of polymer. After plant growth for 177 days, the amount of water extractable copper present in the unamended soil was 17 times that of the original soil. In the soil amended with 0.1% of polymer the level of copper after plant growth was only 0.11 times the amount present in the unamended soil. When the soil was incubated with polymer in the absence of plants, the level of water extractable copper was not reduced. The polymer seems to compete with plants for copper, and to prevent the increase of copper in soil solution brought about by root exudates.     

Soil microbial recolonisation after a fire in a Mediterranean forest

The capacity of different microbial groups to recolonise soil after a fire event will be decisive in determining the microbial community after the fire. Microbial recovery after a wildfire that occurred in Sierra la Grana (Alicante province, southeast Spain) was tracked for 32 months after the fire. Colony forming units (CFUs) of different microbial groups, microbial biomass, soil respiration, bacterial growth (leucine incorporation) and changes in the microbial community structure (phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis) were determined directly after the fire and four times during the recovery period. Direct effects were reflected by low values of most microbiological variables measured immediately after the fire. Microbial biomass increased during the first year after the fire but was below the unburned reference site 32 months after the fire. Bacterial activity and soil respiration showed the highest values immediately after the fire, but decreased to values similar to that of the unburned reference site or even lower (respiration) 32 months after the fire. Colony forming units of bacterial groups estimated by the plate count method peaked 8 months after the fire, but then decreased, showing values similar to the unburned reference site at the end of the study, with the exception of spore formers, which were 20 times higher than the reference site 32 months after the fire. Fungal CFUs were more sensitive to the fire and recovered more slowly than bacteria. Fungi recovering less rapidly than bacteria were also indicated by the PLFA pattern, with PLFAs indicative of fungi being less common after the fire. The recovery of microbial biomass and activity was mirrored by the initially very high levels of dissolved organic carbon being consumed and decreasing within 8 months after the fire. The wildfire event had thus resulted in a decrease in microbial biomass, with a more bacteria-dominated microbial community.     

Characterization of a phosphodiesterase component in a forest soil extract

Summary A bis-(p-nitrophenyl) phosphatase (BPN-Pase) was extracted from a forest soil and fractionated by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography into seven fractions (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7). The main fraction (fraction 5) was further fractionated into 3 subfraction (fractions 1, 2 and 3) by affinity chromatography for nuclease. The properties of the BPNPase in subfraction 3 were characterized and the results are reported in this article. Subfraction 3, which had a peak at about 278 run in the UV absorption spectrum, hydrolyzed 2,3-cyclic-nucleotides more readily than 3,5-cyclicnucleotides, adenylyl-(3 5)uridine, uridylyl-(3 5)adenosine, thymidine 3-p-nitrophenyl phosphate, thymidine 5-p-nitrophenyl phosphate, p-nitrophenyl phosphate and BPNP. Subfraction 3 hydrolyzed BPNP into 2 mol p-nitrophenyl and 1 mol inorganic phosphate during incubation. Apparent molecular weight of the BPNPase was estimated to be about 58 000 by gel filtration. The BPNPase activity had a pH optimum at 5.0 and was inhibited by Hg²⁺ and slightly inhibited by F^– and PO ₄ ^3– .These observations suggest that the BPNPase is subfraction 3 has been constituted mainly with 2,3cyclic-nucleotide 2-phosphodiesterase [EC 3.1.4.16] or 2,3-cyclic-nucleotide 3-phosphodiesterase [EC 3.1.4.37].     

Evaluation of a Quasi-steady-state Respiration Test in a Full-scale Biopile

A quasi steady state respiration test based on Fick’s law with a correction term for advective flux, for estimating petroleum hydrocarbon degradation rates, was evaluated in a full-scale (3,000 m³) biopile study. A contaminated clayey sand soil with an average TPH content of 1,421?±?260 mg kg^?1 soil was treated in a biopile with a fixed venting and heating system. Temperature in the biopile ranged from 12.1 to 36.6°C and soil water content from 15.2 to 35.8 m³ H₂O m^?3 soil. Oxygen concentrations in the biopile showed a rapid decrease with depth, before venting and reached constant atmospheric concentration during venting. Measured oxygen consumption in the biopile ranged from ?0.04 to ?0.68 mol O₂ m^?3 soil day^?1. Average oxygen consumption rates calculated with the quasi-steady-state method were significantly (P?<?0.05) lower then the oxygen consumption rates calculated with the transient method. It was suggested that the oxygen diffusion was underestimated by the diffusivity models used and that further research is needed to determine relative effective diffusion coefficients in biopiles. Although both respiration testing and petroleum hydrocarbon concentration showed a decrease of oxygen consumption in time, the estimated degradation rate was low compared to the actual decrease in petroleum hydrocarbon concentration. Additional work will have to be done to acquire a more precise knowledge of the relationship between respirometrically determined degradation rates and the actual change in petroleum hydrocarbon concentration in the soil.     

Dynamics of a black bear population within a desert metapopulation

Understanding metapopulation dynamics in large carnivores with naturally fragmented populations is difficult because of the large temporal and spatial context of such dynamics. We coupled a long-term database of visitor sighting records with an intensive 3-year telemetry study to describe population dynamics of recolonization by black bears (Ursus americanus) of Big Bend National Park in Texas during 1988-2002. This population, which occurs within a metapopulation in western Texas and northern Mexico, increased from a single pair of known breeding-age animals in 1988 to 29 bears (including 6 females of breeding age) in March 2000 (λ = 1.25/year). A migration and dispersal event in August-December 2000 reduced the population to 2 adult females and as few as 5-7 individuals. One-way movement distances from the study area during this event averaged 76 km for females (n = 7) and 92 km for males (n = 4), and 3 animals conducted migrations of at least 154, 178, and 214 km, respectively. Our observations exemplify the importance of stochastic events on demographics of small populations and highlight the potential scale of bear movement among montane islands of southwestern North America. They also provide insight into the use of dispersal data in parameterizing metapopulation models for large carnivores.     

Kriging a soil variable with a simple nonstationary variance model

Kriging is a standard tool in the environmental sciences for spatial prediction from limited sample data, subject to the assumption of intrinsic stationarity, made about the underlying spatially correlated random function. It is generally well understood how the assumption of stationarity in the mean can be relaxed within the linear mixed model framework, using residual maximum likelihood to estimate variance parameters for the random effects. The Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (BLUP) is equivalent to the kriging predictor in these circumstances. However, nonstationarity in the variance is a harder problem to solve. Stationarity assumptions are necessary if the spatial covariance of a random process is to be estimated from the single realization which nature provides. However, they are not always plausible for variables arising from processes in complex landscapes across contrasting topography and geology.     

ALES: a framework for land evaluation using a microcomputer

Abstract. ALES , the Automated Land Evaluation System, is a microcomputer program that allows land evaluators to build their own knowledge-based systems with which they can compute the physical and economic suitability of land map units, in accordance with the FAO's Framework for Land Evaluation. The economic suitability of a land mapping unit for a land utilization type is determined from the predicted annual gross margin per unit area. Increasing limitations result in increased costs of production, decreased yields, or both. Evaluators build decision trees to express inferences from land characteristics to land qualities, from land qualities to predicted yields, and from land qualities to overall physical suitability. A representative model is described.     

Characterization of a chitosanase isolated from a commercial ficin preparation

A chitosanolytic enzyme was purified from a commercial ficin preparation by affinity chromatographic removal of cysteine protease on pHMB-Sepharose 4B and cystatin-Sepharose 4B and gel filtration on Superdex 75 HR. The purified enzyme exhibited both chitinase and chitosanase activities, as determined by SDS-PAGE and gel activity staining. The optimal pH for chitosan hydrolysis was 4.5, whereas the optimal temperature was 65 degrees C. The enzyme was thermostable, as it retained almost all of its activity after incubation at 70 degrees C for 30 min. A protein oxidizing agent, N-bromosuccinimide (0.25 mM), significantly inhibited the enzyme's activity. The molecular mass of the enzyme was 16.6 kDa, as estimated by gel filtration. The enzyme showed activity toward chitosan polymers exhibiting various degrees of deacetylation (22-94%), most effectively hydrolyzing chitosan polymers that were 52-70% deacetylated. The end products of the hydrolysis catalyzed by this enzyme were low molecular weight chitosan polymers and oligomers (11.2-0.7 kDa).     

生物表面活性剂及Tween-80在一株菲降解菌降解过程中的作用研究

Numerous studies have been devoted to the physical-chemical weathering processes leading to the creation of unique soil formations having their own history that induce soil-biotic diversity. However, the extent to which unique geomorphic formations influence soil biotic seasonal variation is not clear. Our aim was to define seasonal variations of soil biota in soils of different-aged terraces of the Makhtesh Ramon anticline erosional cirque in southern Israel. The strong effect of Makhtesh Ramon (Ramon Crater) erosional fluvial terrace age initiated by climatic changes during the Late Pleistocene–Early Holocene period on seasonal variations in both soil properties and the abundance and composition of soil biota were demonstrated. However, age dependence was not constant and values for observed soil properties and microbial activity were negligible between younger and older terraces for certain seasons, while free-living nematodes along with bacteria-feeding group were strongly dependent on the geomorphic features of the ages throughout the study period.