Effect of canopy cover,seeding depth,and soil moisture on emergence of Centaurea maculosa and C. diffusa*

The effects of canopy cover, seeding depth, and soil moisture on emergence of Centaurea maculosa Lam. and C. diffusa Lam. were studied. Canopy cover had no effect on ermergence rate (seedlings/day/100 seeds) of either species. Seeds of both species emerged faster when placed on the soil surface. Emergence rate decreased as seeding depth increased. Both species required more than 55% initial soil moisture to initiate emergence, with 65–70% being optimum. Percentage emergence followed exactly the same trend as emergence rate. C. maculosa had better emergence characteristics over a wider range of conditions than C. diffusa, possibly being some of the reasons for the former having a wider geographical distribution in the United States and Canada.     

Fuels from biomass: integration with food and materials systems

The development of fuels from biomass can lead naturally to dispersed facilities that incorporate food or materials production (or both) with fuel production, forming adaptive systems that can be modified to meet evolving needs and constraints. The technology that is appropriate to each system needs to be worked out, taking into account associated food and materials opportunities in order to decrease the ultimate cost of energy delivered to the consumer. I analyze possible systems based on sugarcane, corn, and guayule.     

Stability of abdominal fat and meat of broilers: Effect of duration of feeding antioxidants 1

1. The α‐tocopherol (AT) content of abdominal fat and fat stability increased as a function of the duration of α‐tocopheryl acetate (ATA) feeding in broilers fed on diets containing either 40 g acidulated soyabean‐oil soapstock (ASS) or tallow/kg. A linear relationship was observed between AT content of the adipose tissue and its stability with both types of fat supplements.

2. The stabilities of carcass fat and meat of 9‐week‐old broilers fed on diets containing ASS with 300 mg ethoxyquin (EQ)/kg or diets containing tallow with 20 mg ATA/kg from weeks 5 to 9 were comparable with those obtained by feeding these antioxidants and fats throughout the growth period.

3. ATA added to a diet containing ASS, and EQ, added to a diet containing tallow did not improve meat stability despite such an effect on adipose tissue when fed for 9 weeks. The results emphasise the importance of using the dietary antioxidant appropriate to the fat supplement to improve carcass stability.     

Mercury residues in breast muscle of wild ducks, 1970-71.

Samples of breast muscle from 327 ducks collected from October 1970 to March 1971 in the conterminous United States were analyzed for total mercury by flameless atomic absorption spectrometry. Mercury levels for the entire collection ranged from less than 0.01 to 3.91 ppm wet weight with a median of 0.10 ppm. Twenty-five ducks had levels equalling or exceeding the 0.5 ppm guideline for fish and shellfish established by the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Dabbling ducks, which are shallow-water feeders and mostly vegetarian in fall, winter, and spring, usually had lower levels than diving and sea ducks. Levels were generally higher in ducks collected in areas where environmental mercury levels were known to be greater than in ducks from nonsuspect areas. Despite the mobility of the ducks, levels seemed more closely linked to local environmental contamination than to various factors associated with large geographic areas.     

The effects of ultraviolet-B (UV-B: 290–320 nm) radiation on blister blight disease of tea (Camellia sinensis)

Sunlight is known to reduce the incidence of blister blight disease of tea, caused by Exobasidium vexans . The effects of the ultraviolet-B (UV-B: 290–320 nm) component of solar radiation on the disease and the development of E. vexans were studied in the field in Sri Lanka using UV-screening filter materials held over a commercial crop. Exclusion of UV-B radiation by Polyester, which reduces fluxes in the UV-B region by approximately 75–85%, increased both the number of translucent spots (immature sites of infection) and number of sporulating blisters (mature sites of infection), but it had little or no effect on the sporulation of the pathogen. When basidiospores were artificially inoculated on leaves, and were exposed to full or filtered solar radiation, their survival and germination increased when UV-B wavelengths were removed; significant differences were found 62 h after inoculation. However, UV-B did not affect the extension of germ tubes. This study indicates that the UV-B component of solar radiation plays an important role in the natural regulation of blister blight disease in the field.     

玉米秸秆水热生物炭施用对土壤重金属Cd生物有效性和微生物群落的影响

为了探究玉米秸秆水热生物炭（简称水热炭）施用对镉（Cd）污染土壤的修复效果及作用机制,通过盆栽试验,分析了不同水热炭在不同添加率下（1%和 3%）对土壤 Cd生物有效性和作物吸收的影响,并探究了不同条件下的微生物群落结构。结果表明：与对照相比,水热炭施用显著提高了土壤有机质和溶解性有机碳含量,土壤中二乙烯三胺五乙酸提取的Cd（DTPA-Cd）和油菜叶片 Cd含量分别降低了 5.01%~20.98%和 10.82%~34.16%。提高水热温度和水热炭添加率有助于降低土壤 DTPA-Cd含量。此外,施用水热炭显著增强了根际土壤细菌的多样性和丰度,且明显改变了微生物群落结构。与对照组相比,施用水热炭显著降低了根际土壤中Actinobacteriota的相对丰度,提高了Proteobacteria和Bacteroidota的相对丰度。冗余分析表明土壤溶解性有机碳含量是影响根际土壤细菌群落结构的关键因素。因此,水热炭对重金属污染土壤有很大的修复潜力,但其对土壤重金属的长期效应有待进一步研究。     

Metabolic Profiling and In Vitro Assessment of the Biological Activities of the Ethyl Acetate Extract of Penicillium chrysogenum “Endozoic of Cliona sp. Marine Sponge” from the Red Sea (Egypt)

Marine sponge-derived endozoic fungi have been gaining increasing importance as promising sources of numerous and unique bioactive compounds. This study investigates the phytochemical profile and biological activities of the ethyl acetate extract of Penicillium chrysogenum derived from Cliona sp. sponge. Thirty-six compounds were tentatively identified from P. chrysogenum ethyl acetate extract along with the kojic acid (KA) isolation. The UPLC-ESI-MS/MS positive ionization mode was used to analyze and identify the extract constituents while 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy were used for kojic acid (KA) structure confirmation. The antimicrobial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities were assessed in vitro. Both the extract and kojic acid showed potent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with MIC 250 ± 0.82 µg/mL. Interestingly, the extract showed strong antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans with MIC 93.75 ± 0.55 and 19.53 ± 0.48 µg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, KA showed the same potency against Fusarium oxysporum and Cryptococcus neoformans with MIC 39.06 ± 0.85 and 39.06 ± 0.98 µg/mL, respectively. Ultimately, KA showed strong antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ 33.7 ± 0.8 µg/mL. Moreover, the extract and KA showed strong cytotoxic activity against colon carcinoma (with IC₅₀ 22.6 ± 0.8 and 23.4 ± 1.4 µg/mL, respectively) and human larynx carcinoma (with equal IC₅₀ 30.8 ± 1.3 and ± 2.1 µg/mL, respectively), respectively. The current study represents the first insights into the phytochemical profile and biological properties of P. chrysoenum ethyl acetate extract, which could be a promising source of valuable secondary metabolites with potent biological potentials.     

热解温度对玉米芯生物炭碳结构、灰分与吸附四环素的影响

生物炭灰分和碳结构在抗生素吸附过程中的影响尚不明确。本文以玉米芯为原料,在300~800 ℃下热解制备生物炭（CBCs）及除灰分生物炭（CBCs_AW）,研究热解温度对生物炭灰分和碳结构的影响,探究灰分和碳形态与四环素（TC）吸附行为之间的关系。结果表明,随着热解温度升高,生物炭的碳结构由未完全碳化有机质（300 ℃）逐渐转化为石墨碳结构（800 ℃）,吸附实验结果显示CBC800_AW的吸附量最大,证实石墨碳结构是促进TC吸附量增加的重要因素。CBCs_AW对TC吸附量高于CBCs,说明灰分对TC吸附有一定抑制作用。分析TC吸附性能与生物炭理化性质的相关性,结果显示吸附量与生物炭比表面积、孔体积、芳香性和石墨化程度相关性较高,推测TC的主要吸附机理为孔隙填充作用和π-π电子供体-受体相互作用。研究结果可为生物质资源化利用和抗生素污染修复提供科学依据。     

基于复杂种植结构多情景分析的灌区多目标多水源优化配置

为改善多水源灌区农业用水供需矛盾,通过合理调整种植结构,优化灌区水资源配置,该研究以河北省邯郸市漳滏河灌区为研究对象,将农业灌溉缺水量最小和农作物经济效益最大作为目标函数,兼顾灌区生态安全约束,构建了基于种植结构优化的多目标多水源优化配置模型,针对作物熟制、作物种类、种植制度以及灌溉方式设置了8种不同的种植结构优化情景,通过自主改进的基于精英策略并协遗传算法（NSGAⅡ-S）对模型求解,获得不同情景下的水资源优化配置方案。结果表明：应用模型进行水资源配置后,各情景配水总量均有所减少,其中水库配水量高于其他水源的配水量,水库水、引黄水和引江水均达到用水总量控制目标,民有分区的各计算单元间的配水量变化明显,总配水量高于滏阳河分区;适当压减主要依靠抽取地下水灌溉的冬小麦的播种面积,变灌溉农业为旱作雨养农业,可以极大地减少地下水用量,增加灌区经济效益;最佳的种植结构优化方案为CS₄（削减冬小麦的种植面积,种植苜蓿,灌溉方式采取管灌或喷灌）,该方案冬小麦播种面积压减17.10%,地下水开采量减少了16.42%,灌区的经济效益增加了26.41%,在保证配水总量最小的同时,具有更高的经济效益。该研究所构建的多目标多水源优化配置模型和作物配水结果可为类似地区的水资源配置提供参考。