A brief discussion on the effect of temperature on the reaction of inorganic ions with soil

Published reports on the effect of temperature on the sorption of ions by soil, or soil constituents, are in conflict with regard to the direction of the effect and its interpretation. It is argued that, in many cases, increased sorption with increased temperature is due to an increased rate of the reaction that follows adsorption. The effects of temperature on the adsorption reaction itself are complex because of separate effects on the ions in solution, on the charge on the surface, and on the affinity of the ions for the surface. On balance, adsorption of anions should decrease with increasing temperature, and adsorption of cations should increase. However, decreased adsorption of cations is possible, particularly at high pH. With one exception, these conclusions are consistent for all published reports seen.     

The effect of time on the competition between anions for sorption

Solutions of phosphate and of selenite were gently mixed with a soil, both separately and in combination, for periods ranging from 15 min to 30 days. For both anions, the solution concentration continued to decrease throughout the period, but the decrease was more marked for phosphate. Competitive effects were smallest after brief periods of mixing, and increased with time. Phosphate was a more effective competitor for sorption than selenite, and its competitive advantage increased with time. The observed effects were closely described by a mechanistic model. According to the model, competition was largely through changes in the electric potential of the surface rather than through decreases in the number of vacant adsorption sites. This explained why competition effects were initially small. This was especially so for phosphate, which was modelled as having a marked continuing diffusive penetration of the surface. The decrease in electric potential associated with that penetration decreased the surface concentration of selenite and so decreased the rate of penetration of selenite. By the end of the experiment this was the most important aspect of the competitive effect of phosphate on selenite.     

On the reversibility of phosphate sorption by soils

Sorption of phosphate was induced by incubating phosphate with samples of two soils. Both desorption and further sorption of phosphate were then measured on separate subsamples of the incubated soils. The effects of varying the amount of phosphate incubated with the soil and of period of desorption, or of further sorption, were measured on one soil; the effect of period of incubation was measured on the other. Plots of desorbed phosphate versus concentration were continuous with plots of newly sorbed phosphate versus concentration. Neither of these coincided with the plots of the original additions of phosphate. These results were compatible with a model for the reaction between soil and phosphate in which phosphate is initially adsorbed and subsequently diffuses beneath the adsorbing surfaces. Sorption is reversible in the sense that a continuous curve of sorbed and desorbed phosphate is obtained when these are measured in opposite directions by increasing, or decreasing, the solution concentration of phosphate. However, because dynamic processes are involved, an earlier position of a plot of sorbed phosphate against concentration is not retraced when the concentration is changed.     

Testing a mechanistic model. II. The effects of time and temperature on the reaction of zinc with a soil

Samples of a soil were mixed with zinc nitrate solutions and incubated from 1 to 30 days at temperatures from 4 to 60°C. The solution concentration of zinc, which would not have changed on brief mixing with the soil at 25°C, was measured. Background electrolytes for this measurement of null-point concentration were both calcium and sodium nitrate. The effect of the temperature at which null-point concentration was measured was also investigated. After incubation with zinc nitrate, desorption of zinc, and sorption of further zinc, were measured. Null-point concentration of zinc decreased with increasing period of incubation, with the rate of decrease greatest at high temperatures of incubation. The effects of both temperature and time were closely described by a model which postulated an initial rapid adsorption of ZnOH⁺ ions onto heterogenous charged surfaces, followed by a diffusive penetration. Increasing the temperature of incubation increased the rate of diffusive penetration and led to low solution concentrations. In contrast, increasing the temperature at which null-points were measured increased the concentration of ZnOH⁺ ions. This was shown to be consistent with a change in position of the equilibrium of the initial, rapid, adsorption reaction. Curves for desorption of zinc were continuous with curves for sorption of further zinc, but neither desorption nor further sorption coincided with the position of the curves relating retention of previously added zinc to concentration. This result was consistent with the model and occurred because desorption must reverse diffusive penetration. However, the model under-predicted the magnitude of both desorption and sorption of further zinc. Desorption in calcium solutions was greater than in sodium solutions, even when the solution concentration of zinc approached zero. This was consistent with exchange diffusion of calcium ions for some of the penetrated zinc.     

Polymorphism of the Melatonin Receptor Genes and its Relationship with Seasonal Reproduction in the Gulin Ma Goat Breed

Melatonin is thought to be the main molecule that transmits the signal of seasonal change to the neuroendocrine system in seasonal breeding species. Melatonin exerts its effects through specific melatonin receptors, MTNR1A and MTNR1B. In the present study, six native goat breeds in China and one introduced goat breed were analysed to investigate the relationship between the genetic polymorphism of receptor genes and seasonal reproduction. Sequencing results showed that there were five polymorphic mutations in the MTNR1A gene and two in the MTNR1B gene. In the MTNR1A gene, genotypes AA, AB and BB for 424C>T and genotypes CC, CD and DD for 589C>A were observed in these goat breeds. In all six native goat breeds, only genotype AA was detected. In the MTNR1B gene, genotypes EE, EF and FF for 1179G>A and genotypes GG, GH and HH for 1529A>G were detected. However, in Gulin Ma goats, the genotypes EE and HH were not found. Moreover, the base of G at position 1179 and A at position 1529 were linked (By Arlequin ver 3.1, Zoological Institute, Berne, Switzerland, http://cmpg.unibe.ch/software/arlequin3 ,D′ = 0.7496, r² = 0.4421, χ² = 489.8679, p = 0.000). Among these mutations, no amino acid change was found in MTNR1A, while both of the mutations in MTNR1B gene caused amino acid changes of R222H and S339G, respectively. The structural analysis showed that the R222H mutation occurred in the first amino acid residue of the third cytoplasmic loop, and the S339G mutation was located in the carboxyl terminus of the protein. In terms of seasonal breeding, all the genotypes we detected showed a similar kidding frequency distribution trend with a higher frequency in May–August than in January–April and in September–December. This suggests that the relationship between the polymorphisms in the MTNR1A and MTNR1B genes and seasonal breeding could not be established.