Comparative purification methods for determination of triadimenol residues in plant material

Two procedures are described for the determination of residues of triadimenol and compared on cereal material. After extraction, purification is carried out by Florisil column chromatography in method I and by semi-preparative High-Performance Liquid Chromatography in method II. Triadimenol residues are quantified by gas chromatography with a thermoionic detector. With method I, interference was observed but not with method II. This specific procedure has been tested on other plant materials. Recoveries in the range of 90–98% indicate that this procedure is suitable for residue analysis of this fungicide with detection limits of 0·008 mg kg^?1 in wheat grains, 0·03 mg kg^?1 in wheat straw and 0·004–0·008 mg kg^?1 in other plants. Maximum residue limits in France are: 0·1 mg kg^?1 in grain, 2·0 mg kg^?1 in straw and 1·0 mg kg^?1 in other vegetables and fruit.     

Marine spatial plans focusing on biodiversity conservation: The case of the Aegean Sea

1. The expansion and intensification of marine uses have severe cumulative impacts on marine ecosystems and human well-being, unless they are properly managed with an ecosystem-based management approach.
2. A systematic conservation planning approach, using marxan with zones , was applied to generate alternative marine spatial plans for the Aegean Sea. Relevant human uses were included and their cumulative impact on a wide set of key biodiversity features was considered in the analysis. Different cost scenarios were developed to gain insight on the effects of the approaches used to assess socio-economic factors, and their potential impact on spatial plans.
3. The spatial plans generated differed greatly depending on the method used to estimate opportunity costs and evaluate human activities in monetary terms.
4. The vulnerability weights (the relative vulnerability of ecological features to specific human activities and their impacts) that were estimated based on a cumulative impact assessment, allowed the assessment of each zone in contributing to the achievement of conservation targets, through a transparent planning approach.
5. Results indicate that special care should be given to how socio-economic activities, their impact on the ecosystems, and related costs are incorporated into planning.
6. The proposed approach demonstrates how EU member states may effectively comply with the new Biodiversity Strategy 2030 targets, while planning for the sustainable use of their marine resources.

     

CoRoT measures solar-like oscillations and granulation in stars hotter than the Sun

Oscillations of the Sun have been used to understand its interior structure. The extension of similar studies to more distant stars has raised many difficulties despite the strong efforts of the international community over the past decades. The CoRoT (Convection Rotation and Planetary Transits) satellite, launched in December 2006, has now measured oscillations and the stellar granulation signature in three main sequence stars that are noticeably hotter than the sun. The oscillation amplitudes are about 1.5 times as large as those in the Sun; the stellar granulation is up to three times as high. The stellar amplitudes are about 25% below the theoretic values, providing a measurement of the nonadiabaticity of the process ruling the oscillations in the outer layers of the stars.     

Management of human health risk in the context of kitchen gardens polluted by lead and cadmium near a lead recycling company

Purpose

At the global scale, gardening activities are often performed in urban areas with a historical background of pollution. In this study, a participatory program was developed with citizens concerned by gardening activities near a 50-year-old regulated lead recycling company, with the aim of co-constructing the tools for the assessment and management of potential sanitary risks induced by historic pollution with persistent (eco) toxic metals: lead and cadmium.

Materials and methods

Soils and vegetables (lettuce, leek, celery, carrot, chard, pumpkin, and celeriac) samples were collected from four kitchen gardens neighboring a 50-year-old secondary lead smelter. Both total and in vitro human bioaccessible metal concentrations in the cultivated plants were measured in relation to soil characteristics.

Results and discussion

The results showed that the soils of these gardens were slightly contaminated by metals (Pb, 77 to 236 mg kg^?1; and Cd, 0.5 to 1 mg kg^?1) in comparison with the natural geologic background. However, significant pollution of vegetables can occur especially with lead (Pb up to 9.8 mg kg^?1 in lettuce) and certainly as a result of direct foliar transfer. The washing of plants before consumption is therefore recommended in the context of atmospheric fallout of ultrafine particles enriched with metals.

Conclusions

Metal bioaccessibility measure integrates the influence of metal type, plant type, and soil physico-chemical properties. Based on the results, it is proposed that human bioaccessible fraction of metals may also be currently taken into account as well as total metal quantities and bioaccumulation factors in risk assessment studies performed in gardens. Overall, this study has led to reflections and functional recommendations aimed at reducing human exposure and to finally developing sustainable gardening practices.

     

Evolution of Bacterial Community in Experimental Sand Filters: Physiological and Molecular Fingerprints

Stability and transport of As species in soils were investigated in three contaminated Central European regions in the Czech Republic; one of them represents naturally contaminated area, the others are results of a former mining activity. Total As content varied from 60 to <18,000 ppm depending on locality and sampling layer. Sequential extraction procedure (SEP) enabled to distinguish five main fractions of As in soils based on different chemical and binding properties. Non-specifically and weakly sorbed As, as well as As remained in solid rests of samples did not exceed 10% of total As; specifically bounded As varied from 5 to 15%. The substantial portion of As was bound to hydrated Fe oxides (HFO) in amorphous and poorly-crystalline forms (10–30% of the total As) and/or to a well-crystallized forms of the same phases (50–80%). As sorption on HFO surface, particularly on well-crystallized phases represented the most significant and stable As bond in soils. Model leaching experiments illustrated the increased mobility of As species at pH ≈ 7.0 in the soil–groundwater–surface water systems.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of carbendazim residues in crops,grains, and wines with fluorescent detection

A normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination of carbendazim in wine, cereals and fruits. Residues are extracted from samples with methanol. Preliminary liquid partitioning into hexane may be necessary, according to the crops, followed by liquid partitioning from aqueous solution into dichloromethane. Purification is performed by silica-column chromatography or with a silica solid-phase extraction cartridge. Determination and quantification are made by HPLC using an aminobonded stationary phase with fluorescent detection at 285/315 nm. Recoveries range from 80 to 95% for various fortification levels. The method provides a minimum detectable amount below 0.1 ng and quantification limits for various samples are between 0.01 mg kg_-1 and 0.1 mg kg_-1.     

Fast virtual histology using X-ray in-line phase tomography: application to the 3D anatomy of maize developing seeds

Background

Despite increasing demand, imaging the internal structure of plant organs or tissues without the use of transgenic lines expressing fluorescent proteins remains a challenge. Techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging, optical projection tomography or X-ray absorption tomography have been used with various success, depending on the size and physical properties of the biological material.

Results

X-ray in-line phase tomography was applied for the imaging of internal structures of maize seeds at early stages of development, when the cells are metabolically fully active and water is the main cell content. This 3D imaging technique with histology-like spatial resolution is demonstrated to reveal the anatomy of seed compartments with unequalled contrast by comparison with X-ray absorption tomography. An associated image processing pipeline allowed to quantitatively segment in 3D the four compartments of the seed (embryo, endosperm, nucellus and pericarp) from 7 to 21 days after pollination.

Conclusion

This work constitutes an innovative quantitative use of X-ray in-line phase tomography as a non-destructive fast method to perform virtual histology and extends the developmental stages accessible by this technique which had previously been applied in seed biology to more mature samples.

     

Could European marine conservation policy benefit from systematic conservation planning?

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pcaH, a molecular marker for estimating the diversity of the protocatechuate-degrading bacterial community in the soil environment

Microorganisms degrading phenolic compounds play an important role in soil carbon cycling as well as in pesticide degradation. The pcaH gene encoding a key ring-cleaving enzyme of the beta-ketoadipate pathway was selected as a functional marker. Using a degenerate primer pair, pcaH fragments were cloned from two agricultural soils. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) screening of 150 pcaH clones yielded 68 RFLP families. Comparison of 86 deduced amino acid sequences displayed 70% identity to known PcaH sequences. Phylogenetic analysis results in two major groups mainly related to PcaH sequences from Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria phyla. This confirms that the developed primer pair targets a wide diversity of pcaH sequences, thereby constituting a suitable molecular marker to estimate the response of the pca community to agricultural practices.     

Tracking solar gravity modes: the dynamics of the solar core

Solar gravity modes have been actively sought because they directly probe the solar core (below 0.2 solar radius), but they have not been conclusively detected in the Sun because of their small surface amplitudes. Using data from the Global Oscillation at Low Frequency instrument, we detected a periodic structure in agreement with the period separation predicted by the theory for gravity dipole modes. When studied in relation to simulations including the best physics of the Sun determined through the acoustic modes, such a structure favors a faster rotation rate in the core than in the rest of the radiative zone.