Characterization of the organic fraction of an uncomposted and composted sewage sludge by isoelectric focusing and gel filtration

Summary Isoelectric focusing was used to characterize the organic matter of composted and uncomposted sewage sludge. The technique was applied to organic matter extracts and to three fractions, obtained by ultrafiltration, with different molecular weights (<10³, 10³–10⁴, >10⁴). The elution curves of the extracts through Sephadex G-50 revealed a loss in the proportion of organic matter of low molecular weight as composting progressed, together with an enrichment of the high-molecular-weight proportion. Separation into fractions by controlled ultrafiltration proved to be valid, as deduced from the chromatograms obtained by Sephadex G-50 filtration. The extracts of uncomposted sludge showed a greater number of bands with a low isoelectric point than the composted extract, because there were more acidic molecules in the samples that had not undergone humification. The spectrum corresponding to the extract of the 210-day compost showed greater homogeneity with a lower number of bands. A great part of the organic matter extracted with 0.1 M Na₄P₂O₇ at pH 7.1 corresponded to an intermediate molecular weight. The ampholytes at pH 4–6 gave better resolution than those at pH 3.5–10, in the focusing of fractions with the lowest and the greatest molecular weight. A more homogeneous spectrum was observed for the high-molecular-weight fractions from extracts of the 210-day composted sample; in addition, the bands were displaced towards higher isoelectric points, which indicated that the molecules were more condensed, with a minor content of negatively charged groups and a spectrum similar to that of relative fractions of true humic acids.     

Treatment of Waters Containing the Thiocarbamate Herbicide Molinate through an Adsorption/Bio-Regeneration System using a Low-Cost Adsorbent

The feasibility of using recycled granular tire rubber (GTR) to remove molinate from contaminated water bodies was evaluated in this study. Adsorption equilibrium data was well described by a linear isotherm, and the adsorption was completely reversible. Breakthrough curves showed column efficiencies of approximately 40%, based on total capacity, and complete bed regeneration was achieved using clean water. The effluent from the regeneration step was successfully decontaminated using a defined bacterial mixed culture, capable of molinate mineralization. It was shown that this treated water can be used for regenerating a subsequently saturated bed. The GTR adsorbent showed two important features: complete reversibility towards molinate adsorption and stability along successive adsorption/bio-regeneration cycles. Common adsorbents, such as activated carbons and resins, loose performance very quickly under the same conditions, due to irreversible adsorption.     

Ibuprofen Genotoxicity in Aquatic Environment: An Experimental Model Using Oreochromis niloticus

Medicines and their metabolites have been found as water contaminants at very low concentrations; moreover, there is no extensive toxicological data to determine the risks associated with their occurrence in water resources. The ibuprofen genotoxicity potential to the Oreochromis niloticus fish (Tilapia), due to nanograms per liter exposure, was evaluated using the micronucleus test. Acute (48 h) and sub-chronic assays (10 days) were carried out at 300 ng/L ibuprofen aquatic concentration comparing with the negative control group (without treatment), with eight animals per group. The results were assessed from the average of triplicate analyses. The micronucleus frequency in peripheral blood of fish was determined using a sample size of 3,000 erythrocytes per animal. Significance was defined using t test (p????0.05). The bioassay results showed a statistically significant increase in the frequency of micronuclei for both exposure times in comparison to the negative control. The micronucleus frequency observed for the sub-chronic tests was higher than the one identified in the acute assays. The observed ibuprofen genotoxic effects demonstrated an aquatic environmental risk of this pharmaceutical, which occurs for the used fish experimental model in lower concentration than previously described for other aquatic organisms.     

Genetic and phenotypic parameters in common bean segregant populations from intra and inter-gene pool crosses of elite lines

This study aimed compare segregating populations of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) derived from intra and inter-gene pool crosses of elite lines by estimates of some genetic and phenotypic parameters. Four elite lines highly adapted to Brazilian conditions were used (ESAL 686 and BRS Radiante: Andean gene pool; BRSMG Majestoso and BRS Valente: Mesoamerican gene pool). Two intra-gene pool (“A”: ESAL 686 × BRS Radiante; “B”: BRS Valente × BRSMG Majestoso) and two inter-gene pool segregant populations (“C”: BRS Radiante × BRSMG Majestoso and “D”: ESAL 686 × BRS Valente) were obtained. The parental lines, the cultivar Pérola and fifty-five F_2:3 progenies of each population were evaluated in the rainy season 2010/2011, and afterwards (F_2:4) in dry season of 2011. Estimates of genetic variance ( $\hat{\sigma }_{G}^{2}$ ), heritability on a progeny mean basis ( $\hat{h}_{p}^{2}$ ), heritability realized ( $\hat{h}_{R}^{2}$ ) and gain expected from selection (GS) were obtained at joint analysis, in each population, for the traits number of days to flowering (DTF), 100 seed weight (100SW) and seed yield (SYD). It was observed that for all traits, inter-gene pool crosses (“C” and “D”) showed higher estimates of $\hat{\sigma }_{G}^{2}$ , $\hat{h}_{p}^{2}$ , $\hat{h}_{R}^{2}$ and GS than intra-gene pool crosses (“A” and “B”), which indicates more genetic variability. However, for SYD, the higher variability was associated to lower average of seed yield, showing that even utilizing adapted parents the inter-gene pool crosses are inferior to crosses between lines of the same gene pool.     

Characterization of Open-Pollinated Maize Varieties from Rio Grande do Sul State

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - The morphological characterization allows one to estimate and evaluate the genetic distance among different varieties, identifying heterotrophic groups...     

贯流式水轮机固液两相数值模拟

为了研究不同泥沙直径对贯流式水轮机全流道磨损情况,基于雷诺时均N-S方程,采用欧拉-拉格朗日法并结合多面体网格技术、Realizable k-εTwo-layer湍流模型对贯流式水轮机全流道进行三维非定常固液两相流数值模拟.结果表明:同一泥沙浓度下随着泥沙直径的增大,进水管道上端面磨损较小而下端面磨损较大,当泥沙直径为...     

Evaluation of spatial and temporal variability of pasture based on topography and the quality of the rainy season

Yield and botanical composition of a given dry-land pasture are heavily influenced by rainfall distribution, and vary according to topography. Through analyzing these parameters, it is possible to identify patterns of spatial distribution, related to topographic characteristics, which can be used to improve spatial management of pasture. The main objective of this project was to assess the role of rainfall, temperature and topography in the spatial and temporal variability of pasture and establish models for predicting the spatial distribution and yield of certain plant species, based on its topographic characteristics. This study was carried out over three years, 2004 to 2006, in a dry-land pasture located in Southern Portugal. The data obtained were analyzed as a function of distance to flow lines and the results demonstrate that certain topographical characteristics, associated with agronomic information, can be very useful in explaining the spatial and temporal variability of yield and the botanical composition of the pasture. The slope of the linear regression of the variables mentioned can be used to estimate the spatial variation of yield and the botanical composition as a function of distance to flow lines. The regression coefficient can be estimated from the annual rainfall, given the strong correlation between the two.     

Pyogenic bacterial infections in humans with MyD88 deficiency

MyD88 is a key downstream adapter for most Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and interleukin-1 receptors (IL-1Rs). MyD88 deficiency in mice leads to susceptibility to a broad range of pathogens in experimental settings of infection. We describe a distinct situation in a natural setting of human infection. Nine children with autosomal recessive MyD88 deficiency suffered from life-threatening, often recurrent pyogenic bacterial infections, including invasive pneumococcal disease. However, these patients were otherwise healthy, with normal resistance to other microbes. Their clinical status improved with age, but not due to any cellular leakiness in MyD88 deficiency. The MyD88-dependent TLRs and IL-1Rs are therefore essential for protective immunity to a small number of pyogenic bacteria, but redundant for host defense to most natural infections.     

Effectiveness of parks in protecting tropical biodiversity

We assessed the impacts of anthropogenic threats on 93 protected areas in 22 tropical countries to test the hypothesis that parks are an effective means to protect tropical biodiversity. We found that the majority of parks are successful at stopping land clearing, and to a lesser degree effective at mitigating logging, hunting, fire, and grazing. Park effectiveness correlates with basic management activities such as enforcement, boundary demarcation, and direct compensation to local communities, suggesting that even modest increases in funding would directly increase the ability of parks to protect tropical biodiversity.