Evaluation of corn plant as potential banker plant for supporting predatory gall midge, Feltiella acarisuga (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) against Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) in greenhouse vegetable production

The twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), is one of the most important and highly polyphagous pests of vegetables and other crops worldwide. Experiments were conducted in the laboratory and greenhouse to evaluate corn (Zea mays L.) as a banker plant for the predatory gall midge, Feltiella acarisuga (Vallot) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) to potentially control T. urticae. Choice and no-choice experiments were carried out to determine the host plant preference of an alternative prey, Oligonychus pratensis (Banks)(Acari: Tetranychidae) to corn and green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Results showed that O. pratensis adults strongly preferred corn as a host plant and posed no risk to green bean. F. acarisuga was found to fly at least 7.0 m to search for new preys on green bean plants, and over 176 F. acarisuga larvae per leaf were recorded at 14 d after dispersal. F. acarisuga proved to be an excellent predator of both T. urticae and O. pratensis. The predation by F. acarisuga to T. urticae and O. pratensis ranged from 43.7 to 67.9% and 59.2 to 90.3%, respectively, under laboratory conditions. In a non-cage study, 81.2% of T. urticae population was suppressed by F. acarisuga in reference to the control (cage treatment). The results showed that this banker plant system has potential for controlling T. urticae in greenhouse vegetable production.     

An analysis method of thermodynamic cycle for Stirling engine

The second-order analysis approach for the cycle of Stirling engine is amended on the basis of mechanical loss and the temperature check of heater and radiator. Stirling engine is taken as the object, the alternating flow and heat exchange process of GPU-3 Stirling engine is simulated, and the changing rules of its internal pressure, temperature, velocity, power and efficiency are obtained. The simulation results are identical to the test results of NASA. The amended second-order analysis approach is used to analyze the effect of engine’s rotating speed, working substance and average pressure on the engine’s output performance. The error of the amended approach is less than 20%. The approach may be useful for the optimization design and the characteristic analysis of Stirling engine.     

间伐对杉木人工林土壤酶和活性有机碳的短期影响

为了明确杉木人工林间伐后短期内土壤酶和活性有机碳的变化,在浙江开化开展了3种间伐强度（对照、中度和强度）下2年后土壤酶活性、活性有机碳含量以及碳库管理指数变化的研究。结果表明：相对于未间伐林地,间伐处理增加了0~20 cm土壤过氧化氢酶、脲酶、磷酸酶和转化酶活性,其中中度间伐仅增加了表层(0~10 cm)土壤酶活性,而强度间伐处理可以显著增加0~20 cm土壤酶活性。间伐处理增加了0~20 cm土层土壤活性有机碳含量,土壤非活性有机碳含量没有显著变化。0~10 cm土层土壤碳库活度、碳库活度指数、碳库指数和碳库管理指数均随间伐强度增加而增大,10~20 cm土层强度间伐处理碳库管理指数显著高于对照。20 cm以下土层土壤酶、活性有机碳及碳库管理指数在不同间伐处理之间均无显著差异。这4种土壤酶与活性有机碳和碳库管理指数呈显著正相关。这些试验结果说明杉木人工林间伐2年后,增加了浅层土壤酶活性和活性有机碳含量,将促进土壤碳释放。     

Seasonal and spatial variations of the food web structure in a shallow eutrophic lake assessed by stable isotope analysis

Stable isotope analysis was used to investigate seasonal and spatial variations of the food web structure in a large eutrophic lake ecosystem (Lake Taihu, China). Basal food sources, invertebrates and fish were sampled in two lake regions with different environmental conditions and spatial variations in the isotopic composition of lake food webs were found. Overall, more depleted δ¹³C and enriched δ¹⁵N isotope values of organic matter sources and consumers were found in the phytoplankton-dominated lake region than in the macrophyte-dominated region. Wide seasonal variations in the isotopic ratios were also observed in the lake biota, with a general trend towards enriched δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values in summer and depleted values in winter. This pattern could be explained by a combination of environmental (e.g., irradiance and nutrient inputs) and biotic (e.g., availability of food sources and plasticity in prey item choice) features. Results of isotope mass balance suggest that macrophytes provide some trophic support in the macrophyte-dominated area, but in both lake regions it is more likely that aquatic food webs are phytoplankton based rather than macrophyte based under eutrophic conditions.     

Organics Wastewater Degradation by a Mesoporous Chromium-Functionalized γ-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> with H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> Assistance

In this study, a mesoporous chromium-functionalized γ-Al₂O₃ (Cr/γ-Al₂O₃) catalyst was prepared by an impregnation method, and the catalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of organics wastewater. The prepared catalyst was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption experiments, and scanning electron microscopy. The characterization results confirmed that the pores in the Cr/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst distributed broadly in the mesoporous region, and the active chromium species were highly dispersed on the catalyst surface. The catalytic activity tests showed that the Cr/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst exhibited a superior performance for the degradation of organics wastewater with H₂O₂ assistance. And the methylene blue (MB) disappeared within 20 min and the COD removal reached 76.5% within 40 min for the MB-simulated wastewater; for the phenol-simulated wastewater, the phenol removal was above 95% and the corresponding COD removal reached 71% within 40 min. Such an excellent catalytic performance demonstrates that the Cr/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst has a potential application in the degradation of complex organics wastewater simultaneously.     

Isolation and Characterization of the Tellurite-Reducing Photosynthetic Bacterium, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhodopseudomonas palustris</Emphasis> Strain TX618

A novel tellurite-resistant photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain TX618, was isolated from wastewater and reduction of tellurite by this strain was investigated. The results showed that Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain TX618 could reduce tellurite to elemental tellurium, both anaerobically and aerobically. During anaerobic and illuminated growth, strain TX618 possessed a high-level resistance and removal efficiency to tellurite, that it could resist up to 180 mg/L Na₂TeO₃ in the medium and removed 91.9% of 90 mg/L Na₂TeO₃ over 8 days. The high efficiency in the removal of tellurite could sustain wide variations in pH (5.0–9.0), temperature (20–40 °C), light intensity (1500–3000 lx), and initial tellurium concentration (30–180 mg/L Na₂TeO₃). It could be observed by scanning electron micrograph (SEM), transmission electron micrograph (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis that the cells suffered serious deformation due to the toxicity of tellurite, and the less toxic black precipaite (Te⁰) generated by bioreduction of tellurite mostly located in the central cytoplasm. This is the first study to observe that Rhodopseudomonas palustris can reduce tellurite to elemental tellurium, which will provide a new microbial species for bioremediation and biotransformation of toxic tellurite.     

Semi-Analytical Solutions for Two-Dimensional Transport and Transformation of Contaminants in Soil Medias Associated with Large-Strain Deformation

For the understanding of contaminant transport and transformation through landfill liner soils, most models are proposed with one-dimensional solutions. However, for large-scale contamination analysis, the one-dimensional analytical equations are not valid owing to the restriction of contaminants moving in horizontal direction. Thus, semi-analytical solutions for two-dimensional transport and transformation of contaminants through soil media with the consideration of large-strain deformation have been developed. To achieve this, Gibson’s large-strain consolidation theory is applied to capture the deformation of soil media under loading, with self-weight effects being taken into account. Transport and transformation of dissolved or sorbed contaminates in fully saturated finite soil medias are captured by extending a well-developed advection-dispersion model in two-dimensional space. The proposed analytical solutions are validated through simulating the process of coupled transport-transformation process of contaminants and consolidation of a finite soil layer. Profiles of contaminant concentration for different cases have been compared and discussed. The resulting simulation shows that large-strain deformation would restrict the transport and transformation of contaminants significantly, in both horizontal and vertical directions. Parameter studies also indicate that, with the increasing depth of soil layer, the breakthrough time for contaminants increases dramatically; diffusion coefficients affect the two-dimensional distributions of contaminant concentration and fate of contaminant in layered soil significantly. The numerical findings of this study can provide proper suggestions for the design of landfill liners.     

Effects of O<Subscript>3</Subscript> stress on physico-chemical and biochemical properties and composition of main microbial groups of a soil cropped to soybean

Tropospheric O₃ (ozone) stress can negatively affect forest productivity and crop yields. Yet, relatively little attention has been paid to the effects of O₃ stress on belowground system. Here, a pot experiment was conducted in open top chambers to monitor the response of physico-chemical properties, main microbial groups, and potential enzyme activities of a soil cropped to soybean (Glycine max; a highly sensitive species to O₃) and exposed to background O₃ concentration (45?±?5 ppb, control) and O₃ stress (80?±?10 ppb, O₃+ and 110?±?10 ppb, O₃++) with sampling at branching, flowering, and podding stages. The growth of soybean was significantly inhibited by O₃ stress, which showed significant effects on soil microbial biomass C and pH during the whole growth of soybean at the highest concentration. The O₃++ stress significantly decreased soil pH at flowering stage, and increased soil pH at podding stage; the O₃+ stress and growth stage?×?O₃+ stress showed significant influences on the potential activities of acid phosphomonoesterase, invertase, and amylase. The O₃ stress significantly reduced the abundances of total PLFAs (phospholipid fatty acid), bacterial PLFAs, and AMF (arbuscular mycorrhizal) PLFAs at branching and podding stages. Our results suggest that the main soil microbial groups might be indirectly affected by the O₃ stress through the alteration of soil physico-chemical properties with changes in the potential enzyme activities of soil.     

混流式转轮叶片数对鱼类撞击死亡率的影响

鱼类在通过水轮机流道时会受到其内部高速旋转的转轮叶片撞击而出现伤亡。为了优化某电站混流式转轮的鱼类通过生存率,综合计算流体动力学分析方法与鱼类-叶片撞击的数学模型,研究了不同优化转轮方案下的鱼类撞击死亡率及机组能量性能,获得了混流式水轮机过流量及转轮叶片数对鱼类死亡率的影响规律。研究结果表明,在额定水头下,鱼类通过转轮的撞击死亡率与转轮的流量以及叶片数呈正相关关系;对于原始转轮,当流量增加到额定流量时,鱼类通过转轮的撞击死亡率达到了16.85%;而叶片数为13和11的两个优化转轮则使额定流量下的鱼类撞击死亡率比原始转轮分别降低了2.93和5.3个百分点。最后,通过分析两个优化转轮的鱼类生态性能与能量性能,选择采用13叶片的优化转轮作为最终方案。     

基于137Cs的新疆准东地区不同土地利用类型 土壤风蚀特征研究

风力侵蚀是准东干旱与半干旱地区土地沙漠化的关键因素,通过野外考察和土壤~(137)Cs取样分析,对准东地区不同土地利用类型下土壤~(137)Cs分布特征及风力侵蚀进行了初步研究。研究表明,不同土地利用类型土壤~(137)Cs剖面分布特征不同,~(137)Cs基本分布在0~20 cm,甚至更浅,~(137)Cs活度值介于0~65.50 Bq/kg;各样点~(137)Cs总量介于0~1 698.29Bq/m~2,其中背景值为1 698.29 Bq/m~2,不同地类~(137)Cs总量排序为:低平地草甸(背景值样点)灌丛沙堆荒漠草地砾石戈壁盐碱地耕地固定沙地半固定沙地风蚀裸地;估算出耕地和非耕地各样点的风蚀速率,耕地平均风蚀速率为744.50 t/(km~2·a),非耕地风蚀速率介于945.06~4 404.01 t/(km~2·a)之间,平均值为2 589.96 t/(km~2·a)。