Projections of SO2, NOx,NH3 and VOC Emissions in East Asia Up to 2030

Starting from an inventory of SO₂, NO_x, VOC and NH₃ emissions for the years 1990 and 1995 in East Asia (Japan, South and North Korea, China, Mongolia and Taiwan), the temporal development of the emissions of the four air pollutants is projected to the year 2030 based on scenarios of economic development. The projections are prepared at a regional level (prefectures or provinces of individual countries) and distinguish more than 100 source categories for each region. The emission estimates are presented with a spatial resolution of 1×1 degree longitude/latitude. First results suggest that, due to the emission control legislation taken in the region, SO₂ emissions would only grow by about 46 percent until 2030. Emissions of NO_x and VOC may increase by 95 and 65 percent, respectively, mainly driven by the expected increase in road traffic volume. Ammonia, mainly emitted from agriculture, is projected to double by 2030.     

Cholesterol and triglyceride reduction in rats fed Matthiola incana seed oil rich in (n-3) fatty acids

Seeds of Matthiola incana contain oil rich (55-65%) in (n-3) linolenic acid. Selected lines were developed and evaluated for their agronomic and chemical parameters. Extracted oil was fed for 6 weeks to rats, which were compared with rats fed a diet containing coconut oil or sunflower oil. Cholesterol levels were significantly lowest in rats fed diets rich in M. incana oil (27% reduction), and triglycerides were significantly lower in rats receiving either M. incana or sunflower oil (36% reduction). The contents of arachidonic acid and other (n-6) fatty acids were significantly the lowest in the liver and plasma of rats that had received M. incana oil. The levels of (n-3) fatty acids were significantly greater in both the liver and plasma of rats fed M. incana oil. The ratio of (n-3)/(n-6) long-chain fatty acids in the plasma was 7 times higher in rats fed with M. incana oil than in those fed with sunflower oil and 6 times higher than in those fed coconut oil. The results demonstrate for the first time a beneficial effect of dietary M. incana oil in reducing cholesterol levels and increasing (n-3) fatty acid levels in the plasma. This new, terrestrial plant source of (n-3) fatty acids could replace marine oils and thereby contribute beneficially to the human diet.     

Diurnal migration and responses to simulated rainfall in desert soil microarthropods and nematodes

Diurnal patterns of microarthropod abundance in surface leaf litter were related to its moisture content. Leaf litter moisture was nearly 7% by weight at 0800h but fell to less than 1% by mid-day. Oribatid and tydeid mites moved into litter in the early morning and back into the soil before mid-day. There were no significant differences in numbers of nematodes in litter or soil and 78–98% of the nematodes were anhydrobiotic (coiled) in soil and litter at all times sampled.Following simulated rainfall there were fewer microarthropods in litter at mid-day in the absence of marked decreases in soil and litter moisture content. During drying, there were gradual reductions in numbers and species diversity of litter microarthropods. Nematode numbers did not change as litter dried. Anhydrobiotic nematodes in the soil increased from 14% on day 1 to 85% on day 4. Between 24 and 36 h after simulated rainfall, the proportion of anhydrobiotic litter nematodes increased from 35 to 80%,.Within 1 h after simulated rainfall, there were marked increases in numbers and diversity of microarthropods in surface litter. No collembolans were extracted from dry litter controls but the wet litter was dominated by isotomid, sminthurid and onychiurid collembolans. There were increases in numbers and diversity of oribatid, tydeid and gamasid mites in the wet surface litter within l h after wetting compared to controls.     

Metabolic characteristics of microbial communities of Aeolian sandy soils induced by saline water drip irrigation in shelter forests

The microbial metabolic activities of soils sampled at eight depths (0–5, 5–15, 15–30, 30–50, 50–70, 70–100, 100–150 and 150–200 cm) in shelter forests (comprising the tree species, Haloxylon sp.) along the Tarim Desert Highway under drip irrigation with different saline waters were investigated by using Biolog technology. Variance analysis and principal component analysis were conducted. The average well colour development (AWCD) values for single carbon source use by microorganisms increased with the incubation time. The microorganisms reached a lag phase within 24 hours of incubation and entered exponential and stationary phases after 48 and 216 hours of incubation, respectively; however, the death phase was not obvious. As the salinity of drip irrigation water increased, the AWCD values significantly decreased; the AWCD value in the land drip‐irrigated with lowest saline water (S8) was roughly 20% larger than that of the land drip‐irrigated with highest saline water (S1), which was mainly caused by the differences in the use of carboxylic acids, amino acids and phenolic compounds by soil microorganisms. The vertical differences in carbon source utilization by soil microbial communities were obvious: these may be caused by the vertical differences in soil organism abundance associated with distribution of roots in the shelter forest. The largest and smallest AWCD values were noted in the 70–100‐cm soil layer and 0–5‐cm topsoil layer, respectively. The correlation coefficients between the AWCD values and soil organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, available potassium, available phosphorus, pH, cation exchange capacity and bulk density were > 0.85. Thus, the differences in carbon source metabolism activities of soil microorganisms were caused mainly by the soil chemical properties, with total nutrients being the main driving factor. Furthermore, the amounts of carboxylic acids, amino acids and polymers provided sensitive markers for distinguishing the ability of soil microorganisms to use carbon sources under drip irrigation with different saline waters. Saline water irrigation affected the soil microbial community in shelter forest and produced obvious differences among the shelter forests irrigated with different saline waters.     

Observations on mineral transformations and potential environmental consequences during the oxidation of iron sulphide‐rich materials in incubation experiments

This paper attempts to acquire a good understanding of the formation and evolution of acid sulphate soils (ASS), as well as to assess the consequent environmental impacts. An incubation experiment to simulate the development of ASS under various weathering scenarios was set up. Fresh monosulphidic black ooze (MBO) material was divided into three parts and each was subjected to different drying and rewetting regimes by controlling an artificial water table in an incubation cell. The observations focused on the changes in mineralogy of the material and reflectance spectral changes during the oxidation process, and the ionic composition and chemical status of the solutions generated. Mineralogical investigations with hyperspectral and XRD analysis showed that frequent inundation produced extensive surface oxidation and a change from iron sulphide minerals to stable end members such as goethite. For the material experiencing moderate or occasional inundation, oxidation was less advanced and a different secondary mineral suite, with iron sulphate minerals such as jarosite, was present. Solutions generated from all the incubation cells were generally acidic with pH around 3.5, indicating that sulphide oxidation occurred rapidly in all cells. Sulphate concentrations in solutions from the different cells were calculated from the measurements of SO₄^2? and other anions in solutions and may approximate the rates of sulphide oxidation. Potential environmental impacts were illustrated in terms of soil acidity, salinity and trace metal release, and the effects of the different wetting/drying regimes on the oxidative process also provided insight into potential weathering effects in a changing climate.     

Multi‐element stable isotopic dilution and multi‐surface modelling to assess the speciation and reactivity of cadmium and copper in soil

Chemical extraction, multi‐element stable isotopic dilution (ID) and multi‐surface modelling were used to investigate the lability of cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu) in nine types of soil with different properties and contaminated or not with Cd and Cu. The chemical extraction and ID analyses both showed that Cd was more labile than Cu in all the soil types studied. From the ID results, 32.8–93.3% of total Cd and 14.7–71.8% of total Cu were isotopically exchangeable after 3 days of equilibration. A single extraction in 0.43 m HNO₃ gave similar results to the 3‐day ID assay for Cu in most of the soils and for Cd in the non‐calcareous soils. However, an eight‐step selective sequential extraction (SSE) procedure gave different results from the ID assay for both metals. Predictions of the multi‐surface model for the amounts of Cd and Cu adsorbed, based on measured metal ion activities in the soil solution and the concentrations of reactive surfaces in the soil, agreed with the ID results. The model predicted that soil organic matter was the predominant sorbent for Cd and Cu in the soils and that manganese oxide was the least important sorbent. The contributions of iron oxides to sorption were predicted to be small except in soil with a high pH and little organic matter. The predicted sorption on different soil components did not match SSE measurements.     

“矮败”小麦回交群体若干重要性状的相关分析

用矮败小麦不育株为母体，40个普通小麦品种（系）为父本连续回交三次，共衍生出120份后代群体，通过对各群体的不育株，可育株的株高，穗长，千粒重等性状的相关分析，探讨了“矮败”基因回交转育的效应。不育株：连续注入父本遗传种质，对其各性状素现影响较小。其株高一般45cm左右，回交几代后，高秆父本衍生的后代略高于中矮秆父本的后代。与可育株相比，其穗子较长，小穗数多，但千粒重较低，开花一般迟2－14d，而早花父本衍生的后代花期也早，迟花父本后代花期较迟。可育株：性状表现与父本关系密切，并随回交世代的增加而逐渐接近父本，其F1，BC1F1，BC2F1各世代群体株高依父本株高的直线回归方程分别为：YF1＝56.210 0.3194X,YBC1F1=40.435 0.5119X,YBC2F1=21.F687 0.7759X.大穗多花多粒的父本衍生的可育株一般也是大穗多花多粒，千粒重大都表现超父优势，早花父本衍生的可育株花期早于迟花父本后代。     

Growth Environment Influences Grain Protein Composition and Dough Functional Properties in Three Australian Wheat Cultivars

The objectives of this study were to assess how functional properties of proteins in whole meal wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) flour vary across different growth environments. Grain from three commercial Australian Hard milling wheat cultivars was analyzed from four growth locations in 2008 and from two of the corresponding cultivars and locations in 2009. The protein content of the grain, soluble and insoluble extractable protein fractions, swelling index of glutenin (SIG), glutenin‐to‐gliadin ratio (Glu:Gli), percent unextractable polymeric protein (%UPP), and dough properties including force at maximum resistance (Rmax) and extensibility were measured. Based on analysis of variance of aggregated data for the cultivars, growth locations, and seasons, growth environment factors made significant contributions to variability in the total grain protein, Glu:Gli ratio, %UPP, SIG, Rmax, and extensibility of the wheat flour. Variability of protein content of the soluble and insoluble extractable protein fractions was mostly owing to genotype.