Linolenic acid-modified chitosan for formation of self-assembled nanoparticles

Chitosan was modified by coupling with linolenic acid through the 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyyl)carbodiimide-mediated reaction. The degree of substitution was measured by 1H NMR, and it was 1.8%, i.e., 1.8 linolenic acids group per 100 anhydroglucose units. The critical aggregation concentration (CAC) of the self-aggregate of hydrophobically modified chitosan was determined by measuring the fluorescence intensity of the pyrene as a fluorescent probe. The CAC value in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution (pH 7.4) was 5 x 10(-2) mg/mL. The average particle size of self-aggregates of hydrophobically modified chitosan in PBS solution (pH 7.4) was 210.8 nm with a unimodal size distribution ranging from 100 to 500 nm. A transmission electron microscopy study showed that the formation of near spherical shape nanoparticles had enough structural integrity. The loading ability of hydrophobically modified chitosan (LA-chitosan) was investigated by using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein. Self-aggregated nanoparticles exhibited an increased loading capacity (19.85 +/- 0.04 to 37.57 +/- 0.25%) with an increasing concentration of BSA (0.1-0.5 mg/mL).     

Direct determination of p-nitrophenyl substituent organophosphorus nerve agents using a recombinant Pseudomonas putida JS444-modified Clark oxygen electrode

A microbial biosensor for rapid, sensitive, selective, and cost-effective determination of the total content of organophosphorus nerve agents with p-nitrophenyl substituent is reported. The biosensor consisted of genetically engineered PNP-degrader Pseudomonas putida JS444 expressing organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH) on its cell surface immobilized on a dissolved oxygen electrode. Surface-expressed OPH catalyzed the hydrolysis of organophosphorus pesticides with p-nitrophenyl substituent such as paraoxon, methyl parathion, and parathion to release p-nitrophenol that was oxidized by the enzymatic machinery of Pseudomonas putida JS444 to carbon dioxide while consuming oxygen. The oxygen consumption was measured and correlated to the concentration of organophosphates. The sensor signal and response time were optimized with 0.086 mg dry weight of cell and operating in 50 mM pH 7.5 citrate-phosphate buffer with 50 microM CoCl(2) at room temperature. When operated at optimized conditions, the biosensor measured as low as 55 ppb of paraoxon, 53 ppb of methyl parathion, and 58 ppb of parathion without interference from most phenolic compounds and other commonly used pesticides, such as atrazine, coumaphos, sutan, sevin, and diazinon. The operational life of the microbial biosensor was approximately 5 days when stored in the operating buffer at 4 degrees C.     

Anarwia工艺处理猪场废水节能效果的研究

分析比较了厌氧-加原水-间隙曝气(Anarwia)工艺、SBR(序批式反应器)以及厌氧-SBR工艺处理猪场废水的效果。比较三种工艺处理效果表明：厌氧-SBR工艺处理猪场废水，污染物去除效率低，出水污染物浓度高，不适于猪场废水的处理。Anarwia工艺处理效果与SBR工艺相当，污染物去除率高，出水COD和NH₃-N浓度低。在此基础上，以一个日处理1200 t猪场废水处理工程为例，分析比较了Anarwia与SBR工艺的能耗。就能量消耗有关的工艺参数——污泥量和需氧量而言，Anarwia工艺分别比SBR工艺减少16.4%和95.9%，此外Anarwia工艺每天可产生2784 m³沼气。Anarwia工艺增加了废水提升能耗，但减少了曝气、污泥处理、滗水和搅拌的能耗，结果Anarwia工艺总电耗比SBR工艺低81.0%。Anarwia工艺产生的沼气用于发电能完全补偿消耗的能量，并有剩余。     

长汀县退化劣质"老头松"改造效果分析

采用挖穴施肥和条沟草带2种方法,在2个不同的地点对劣质马尾林进行改造试验,从林木年抽梢、材积、覆盖和地表草灌多样性进行分析.结果表明:经过3年改造的马尾松抽梢总长在1.6m以上,比对照0.95m增长0.65m以上,年均多增长0.22m;材积增长12.7m3/hm2,比对照3.4增长9.3m3/hm2,年均增加3.1m3/hm2;覆盖度也增加32%～47%,比对照分别增加19%和32%;同时促进了生物多样性,草灌植被均增加10种以上.     

Evolution of toxicity upon hydrolysis of fenoxaprop-p-ethyl

Hydrolysis of fenoxaprop-p-ethyl (FE), a widely used herbicide, was studied in aqueous buffer solutions at pH ranging from 4.0 to 10.0. The degradation kinetics, strongly dependent on pH values, followed first-order kinetics. FE was relatively stable in neutral media, whereas it degraded rapidly with decreasing or increasing pH. In acidic conditions (pH = 4, 5), the benzoxazolyl-oxy-phenyl ether linkage of FE was cleaved to form ethyl 2-(4-hydroxyphenoxy)propanoate (EHPP) and 6-chloro-2,3-dihydrobenzoxazol-2-one (CDHB). While in basic conditions (pH = 8, 9, 10), herbicidal activity fenoxaprop-p (FA) was formed via breakdown of the ester bond of the herbicide. Both the two pathways were concurrent in neutral conditions (pH = 6, 7). Toxicity studies on Daphnia magna showed that FE was most toxic to D. magna with 48 h EC(50) of 14.3 micromol/L, followed by FA (43.8 micromol/L), CDHB (49.8 micromol/L), and EHPP (333.1 micromol/L). Mode of toxic action analysis indicated that EHPP exhibited toxicity via polar narcosis, whereas CDHB belonged to reactive acing compound. The mixture toxicity of CDHB and EHPP was nonadditive and can be predicted by a response addition model. Therefore, the evaluation of overall FE toxicity to D. magna in the aquatic systems needs to consider the degradation of FE.     

Protein recovery from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) processing byproducts via isoelectric solubilization/precipitation and its gelation properties as affected by functional additives

Solubility of rainbow trout proteins was determined between pH 1.5 and 13.0 and various ionic strengths (IS). Minimum solubility occurred at pH 5.5; however, when IS = 0.2, the minimum solubility shifted toward more acidic pH. Isoelectric solubilization/precipitation was applied to trout processing byproducts (fish meat left over on bones, head, skin, etc.), resulting in protein recovery yields (Kjeldahl, dry basis) between 77.7% and 89.0%, depending of the pH used for solubilization and precipitation. The recovered protein contained 1.4-2.1% ash (dry basis), while the trout processing byproducts (i.e., starting material) 13.9%. Typical boneless and skinless trout fillets contain 5.5% ash, and therefore, the isoelectric solubilization/precipitation effectively removed impurities such as bones, scales, skin, etc., from the trout processing byproducts. The recovered proteins retained gel-forming ability as assessed with dynamic rheology, torsion test, and texture profile analysis (TPA). However, the recovered proteins failed to gel unless beef plasma protein (BPP) was added. Even with BPP, the recovered protein showed some proteolysis between 40 and 55 degrees C. Addition of potato starch, transglutaminase, and phosphate to the recovered proteins resulted in good texture of trout gels as confirmed by torsion test and TPA. Higher ( P < 0.05) shear stress and strain were measured for gels developed from basic pH treatments than the acidic counterparts. However, proteins recovered from acidic treatments had higher ( P < 0.05) lipid content than the basic treatments. This is probably why the gels from acidic treatments were whiter ( L* - 3 b*) ( P < 0.05) than those from the basic ones. Our study demonstrates that functional proteins can be efficiently recovered from low-value fish processing byproducts using isoelectric solubilization/precipitation and subsequently be used in value-added human foods.     

固化土结构沼气池试验研究初报

固化土结构沼气池是在传统以砖砌体沼气池和混凝土现浇沼气池建造基础上，利用土壤固化技术建造的一种新型户用水压式沼气池。将固化土作为池底结构材料和池壁材料，在冲积土、紫色土、黏土等3种土壤条件下建造了不同组合模式的固化土结构沼气池。经破坏性极限压力试验表明，所建沼气池均符合国家《户用沼气池质量检验验收规范GB/T4751-2002》标准。对固化土结构沼气池与传统沼气池建造成本进行详细分析，结果表明，由于部分建池材料实现就地取材，商品建材的使用量和运输量减少，建池成本降低，具有显著的经济效益和广阔的推广前景。     

Soil colloids-bound plasmid DNA: Effect on transformation of E. coli and resistance to DNase I degradation

The adsorption and binding of plasmid p34S DNA on four different colloidal fractions from a Brown soil and clay minerals in the presence of various Ca²⁺ concentrations, the ability of bound DNA to transform competent cells of CaCl₂-treated Escherichia coli, and the resistance of bound DNA to degradation by DNase I were studied. DNA adsorption on soil colloids and clay minerals was promoted in the presence of Ca²⁺. Kaolinite exhibited the highest adsorption affinity for DNA among the examined soil colloids and clay minerals. In comparison with organo-mineral complexes (organic clays) and fine clays (<0.2 μm), DNA was tightly adsorbed by H₂O₂-treated clays (inorganic clays) and coarse clays (0.2-2 μm). The transformation efficiency of bound DNA increased with increasing concentrations of Ca²⁺ at which soil colloid or clay mineral-DNA complexes were formed. DNA bound by kaolinite showed the lowest transformation efficiency, and especially no transformants were observed with kaolinite-DNA complex prepared at 5-100 mM Ca²⁺. Compared to organic clays and fine clays, DNA bound on inorganic clays and coarse clays showed a lower capacity to transform E. coli at different Ca²⁺ concentrations. The presence of soil colloids and minerals provided protection to DNA against degradation by DNase I. Montmorillonite, organic clays and fine clays showed stronger protective effects for DNA than inorganic clays and coarse clays. The protection mechanisms as well as the differences in transforming efficiency of plasmid DNA molecules bound on various soil colloidal particles are discussed. The information obtained in this study is of fundamental significance for the understanding of the horizontal dissemination of recombinant DNA and the fate of extracellular DNA in soil environments.     

The effect of land cover/vegetation on soil water dynamic in the hilly area of the loess plateau,China

Severe soil and water loss has lead to widespread land degradation in China's loess plateau. During the past decades, a great deal of effort was made on vegetation restoration to reduce soil and water loss in the loess plateau. However, due to water shortage the efficiency of vegetation restoration was not as satisfactory as expected. As part of a vegetation restoration project, we conducted research aiming to understand the relationship between vegetation pattern and soil water dynamics. The goal was to find vegetation types appropriate for the loess plateau with scarce water resources. In 1986, fifteen plots of land were planted with five vegetation types: pine woodland, shrubland, sloping cropland, alfalfa and semi-natural grassland. Soil water content, runoff, soil erosion were measured for each plot. Environmental variables, such as rainfall, evaporation and temperature, were recorded simultaneously by an automated meteorological station. The relationship between land cover pattern and soil water dynamic was evaluated by using statistical models. We found that: (1) soil water loss occurred during the growing season, and it reached the maximum in the second half of July; (2) soil water was not fully replenished from rainfall during the rainy season; (3) pine woodland induced the largest water loss to surface runoff, followed by sloping cropland, alfalfa, semi-natural grassland and shrubland; the poor capability of pine woodland for water conservation may be attributed to soil compaction and poor ground coverage under the tree; (4) in most cases, soil water of the five vegetation types was low except for shrubland and semi-natural grassland where it was moderate-high during a few periods. These conditions inhibit sustainable vegetation growth in the semi-arid loess hilly area of the loess plateau, China.     

三峡库区庭院生态模式及其效益分析

三峡库区生态环境脆弱，人地矛盾突出，农业经济发展水平不高。因此，探索一种适合三峡库区农村实际，可以防止水土流失，有利于生态环境保护和人民生活水平提高的庭院生态模式尤为迫切。以农业庭院生产为例，结合库区农业、农村发展实际，在分析庭院经济发展条件和影响因子的基础上，提出了建立在不同技术基础上的庭院经济发展模式，探讨了庭院生态模式所产生的生态、经济和社会效益，并提出了行之有效的建议。