Destruction of Ammophila breviligulata by pedestrian traffic: Quantification and control

Ammophila breviligulata is the most common grass stabilising dunes north of Cape Hatteras on the eastern shore of the United States. Various levels and types of pedestrian traffic were tested to determine their effects on the standing crop of A. breviligulata. Levels of use as low as 200 shod passages in 45 days significantly reduced plant mass. The results of these tests are used to develop both formulae for predicting visitor impact and recommendation for controlling it.     

Molecular phylogeny and species identification of sardines

The DNA sequence diversity of Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792) and some closely related species of Clupeomorpha was investigated using the mitochondrial DNA gene encoding cytochrome b. The nucleotide sequences of complete and partial mtDNA cytochrome b were determined in numerous specimens. Sequence divergence between species and genera was evenly distributed in the cytochrome b gene but rather high compared to reports for other fish species. Phylogenetic analyses on complete cytochrome b were used to study the relationships among the considered species. S. pilchardus was easily differentiated, showing a genetic distance of 0.25 with respect to Clupeidae species and 0.26 with respect to the other species. A species-specific short fragment (<150 bp) was isolated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers designed for Clupeomorpha. A rapid and reliable PCR method using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) with two restriction enzymes (MnlI/HinfI) was optimized for unambiguous differentiation of S. pilchardus from the other species tested (raw and canned products).     

Rapid analysis of methanol in grape-derived distillation products using near-infrared transmission spectroscopy

Samples of distillates derived from the production of wine-fortifying spirit were analyzed for methanol by gas chromatography (GC) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). NIRS calibration models were developed which could accurately predict methanol concentrations in samples of fortifying spirit that had been produced over a period of three years from four different commercial distillation facilities. The best accuracy of the predictive models, as measured by the standard error of prediction value, was 0.06 g/L methanol. Other distillation fractions, produced during preparation of commercial fortifying spirit, were also examined. The most useful NIRS calibration models used partial least squares regression on continuous spectra from a scanning instrument, but it was demonstrated that calibrations could also be developed with a smaller number of fixed wavelengths, using multiple linear regression models. NIRS offers the advantages of rapid analysis, with simple routine operation, and may offer the potential for in-line process control in the operation of a commercial distillation facility.     

Heavy metal uptake by blue grama growing in a degraded semiarid soil amended with sewage sludge

Sewage sludge application to semiarid grassland may represent a beneficial means of utilizing this waste product for restoration of degraded sites. Consequently, dried municipal sewage sludge was applied at three rates (22.5, 45, and 90 Mg ha^–1) to a degraded semiarid grassland soil in order to determine the effects of sludge amendments on forage productivity, soil heavy metal content, and metal uptake by blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis).Soil and plant properties in control and amended plots were measured after 1, 2, and 5 growing seasons.Soil nutrients increased linearly with increased sludge application in the first two growing seasons. Consequently, forage quality and total production of blue grama improved significantly over the unamended control as the tissue levels of N, P, K, and crude protein increased. Cadmium and Pb in the sludge-treated plots did not increase significantly over the control after 1 and 2 growing seasons. Levels of DTPA-extractable soil micronutrients (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) increased linearly with increased sludge application rate to soil concentrations recommended for adequate plant growth. Soil N, P, and K concentrations remained higher in the sludge-amended soils after 5 growing seasons, while Cu and Cd increased to slightly above desireable limits as the soil pH decreased to 7.4 and 7.0 in the 45 and 90 Mg ha^–1 treatments, respectively. However, with the exception of Mn which remained within desirable limits, metal concentrations (including Cu and Cd) in blue grama tissue were not significantly different from the control treatment after five growing seasons. Based on soil and plant tissue metal concentrations, it appears that sludge applied at rates between 22.5 and 45 Mg ha^–1 will maintain the most favorable nutrient levels coupled with significant improvements in forage production in this semiarid grassland environment.     

Effects of acidic precipitation and acidity on soil microbial processes

Effects of soil acidity on microbial decomposition of organic matter and transformation of N in an acid forest soil were investigated. In the oak-leaf-amended pH-adjusted acid soils, CO₂ production in 14-and 150-day preincubated samples decreased by about 6 and 37%, respectively. In the control (unamended) acidified soils, reductions in CO₂ production of 14% in 14-day preincubated samples and of 52% in 150-day samples were observed. Ammonia formation in the pH-adjusted acid soil was about 50% less than in the naturally acid soil. Increased rates of ammonification and nitrification were observed in the pH-adjusted neutral soil. Little autotrophic and heterotrophic nitrifying activity was detected in naturally acid and acidified forest soils. The rate of denitrification was rather slow in acid soils, and at greater acidities N₂O was the predominant end product. The abundance of N-fixing free-living bacteria was very low in acidic and acidified forest soils, and N gains by asymbiotic bacterial fixation in an acid forest ecosystem may be insignificant. These results suggest that further acidification of acid forest soils by addition of H₂SO₄ or by acid precipitation may lead to significant reductions in the leaf litter decomposition, ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification and thus reduce nutrient recycling in the forest ecosystem.     

Thin-layer chromatographic determination of sterigmatocystin in cheese: interlaboratory study

A collaborative study of a method for the determination of sterigmatocystin in cheese was conducted by 10 laboratories. The study included control samples and samples spiked at levels of 5, 10, and 25 ppb, in coded blind pairs. Recoveries were 60.0, 90.7, and 59.3%, outliers excluded, for the respective levels. The mean reproducibilities, outliers excluded, were 81.97, 17.13, and 52.77%, respectively. Mean repeatabilities, outliers excluded, were 77.66, 17.13, and 46.40%, respectively. Results of this collaborative study indicate that the method, modified as described in this report, is applicable to the determination of sterigmatocystin in cheese at low levels (5-50 ppb) for the purpose of surveys. With regard to the difficulty with thin-layer chromatography in this study, it is recommended that a more satisfactory determinative step be developed. Recommendation for official first action status is deferred.     

Acidic precipitation: Considerations for an air quality standard

Acidic precipitation, wet or frozen precipitation with a H⁺ concentration greater than 2.5 μeq l^?1, is a significant air pollution problem in the United States. The chief anions accounting for the H⁺ in rainfall are nitrate and sulfate. Agricultural systems may derive greater net nutritional benefits from increasing inputs of acidic rain than do forest systems when soils alone are considered. Agricultural soils may benefit because of the high N and S requirements of agricultural plants. Detrimental effects to forest soils may result if atmospheric H⁺ inputs significantly add to or exceed H⁺ production by soils. Acidification of fresh waters of southern Scandinavia, southwestern Scotland, southeastern Canada, and northeastern United States is caused by acid deposition. Areas of these regions in which this acidification occurs have in common, highly acidic precipitation with volume weighted mean annual H⁺ concentrations of 25 μeq l^?1 or higher and slow weathering of granitic or precambrian bedrock with thin soils deficient in minerals which would provide buffer capacity. Biological effects of acidification of fresh waters are detectable below pH 6.0. As lake and stream pH levels decrease below pH 6.0, many species of plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates are progressively eliminated. Generally, fisheries are severely impacted below pH 5.0 and are completely destroyed below pH 4.8. At the present time studies documenting effects of acidic precipitation on terrestrial vegetation are insufficient to establish an air quality standard. It must be demonstrated that current levels of precipitation acidity alone significantly injure terrestrial vegetation. For aquatic ecosystems, current research indicates that establishing a maximum permissible value for the volume weighted annual H⁺ concentration of precipitation at 25 μeq l^?1 may protect the most sensitive areas from permanent lake acidification. Such a standard would probably protect other systems as well.     

Similarity of fine specificity of IgA anti-gliadin antibodies between patients with celiac disease and humanized α1KI mice

Gliadins, and primarily α-gliadins containing several sequences such as aa 31-49, aa 56-88 (33-mer), aa 57-68, and aa 69-82, are critical in the induction of immune response or toxic reaction leading to the development of celiac disease (CLD). The role of IgA anti-gliadin antibodies (IgA AGA) is unknown. To this end, we prepared several humanized monoclonal IgA AGA using transgenic α1KI mice. Employing Pepscan with overlapping decapeptides of α-gliadin we observed a robust similarity between the specificity of humanized mouse monoclonal IgA AGA and IgA AGA from patients with florid CLD. The common immunodominant region included several sequential epitopes localized in the N-terminal part of α-gliadin (QFQGQQQPFPPQQPYPQPQPFP, aa 29-50, and QPFPSQQPYLQL, aa 47-58). Notably, IgA AGA produced by clones 8D12, 15B9, 9D12, and 18E2 had significant reactivity against sequences localized in the 33-mer, LQLQPFPQPQ (aa 56-65) and PQLPYPQPQPFL (aa 69-80). Humanized mouse monoclonal IgA AGA that have a known specificity are suitable as standard in ELISAs to detect serum IgA AGA of CLD patients and for studying the AGA pathogenic role in CLD, especially for analyzing the translocation of complex of specific IgA antibodies and individual gliadin peptides through enterocyte barrier.     

Fat but slim: Criteria of seed attractiveness for earthworms

Earthworms were shown to significantly affect seeds and seedlings survival via their ingestion and digestion for nutritive purposes. Such selective feeding of earthworms on plant seeds is likely to favour certain plant species and to affect seed bank composition, plant recruitment and plant community structure. Relationships between earthworms and seeds, particularly seed traits that determine attractiveness of seeds for earthworms, are yet to be determined. In this study, the influence of six seed traits was tested on the ingestion, digestion and germination of seeds by two earthworm species (Lumbricus terrestris, anecic and Satchellius mammalis, epigeic). The seed traits tested were their length, width, weight, shape, oil content and the presence of trichomes on their surface. Each earthworm species was introduced into a microcosm with eleven seed species from a chalk grassland that represented those different traits. Ingested, digested and germinated seeds were counted after voiding the guts of the earthworms. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that seed length, width, weight and seed oil content could significantly affect the ingestion of seeds for both earthworm species. Seed width and seed oil content were the two traits that influenced the digestion of seeds the most, but only for L. terrestris. We also found that seed ingestion was earthworm species-specific but we found no correlation between earthworm traits and number of ingested or digested seeds. Few seeds germinated from L. terrestris casts and no seeds germinated from S. mammalis casts. Implications in terms of plant evolution strategies are further discussed.