Field calibrations for a neutron probe and a capacitance sensor (Diviner 2000) for measuring the soil water content of a shrinking–swelling clay soil were substantially different from commonly used default values. Using our field calibrations, the two instruments estimated similar changes in the cumulative water content of a soil profile (0–1 m depth) over one growing season. 相似文献
Porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) are integrated in the genome of all pig breeds. Since some of them are able to infect human cells, they might represent a risk for xenotransplantation using pig cells or organs. However, the expression and biological role of PERVs in healthy pigs as well as in porcine tumours is largely unknown. Since we and others have recently shown overexpression of a human endogenous retrovirus, HERV-K, in human melanomas, we studied the expression of PERVs in melanomas of selectively bred Munich miniature swine (MMS) Troll. This breeding herd of MMS Troll is characterised by a high prevalence of melanomas, which histologically resemble various types of cutaneous melanomas in humans. Several genetic factors have been defined when studying inheritance of melanomas and melanocytic nevi in MMS Troll. Here we show that the polytropic PERV-A and PERV-B as well as the ecotropic PERV-C are present in the genome of all melanoma bearing MMS Troll investigated. Most interestingly, in the spleen, but not in other organs, recombinant PERV-A/C proviruses were found. PERV expression was found elevated in melanomas when compared to normal skin and viral proteins were expressed in melanomas and pulmonary metastasis-derived melanoma cell cultures. During passaging of these cells in vitro the expression of PERV mRNA and protein increased and virus particles were released as shown by RT activity in the supernatant and by electron microscopy. Genomic RNA of PERV-A, -B and -C were found in pelleted virus particles. Although PERV expression was elevated in melanomas and pulmonary metastasis-derived cell cultures, the function of the virus in tumour development is still unclear. 相似文献
This study examined the effects of different hydraulic loading rates on the treatment efficiency of subsurface flow (SSF) constructed wetlands treating effluents from trout farming over a period of 6 months. Six identical wetland cells with a pre-sedimentation zone of 9.6 m2 and a root zone of 23.6 m2 were loaded with effluents from intensive trout farming (> 2.1 kg feeding stuff per L/s and day). The total runoff of 13.2 L/s was treated in the wetland cells, where two duplicate cells received equal hydraulic loads of 3.9, 1.8 and 0.9 L/s. All examined wetland cells had significant treatment effects on the nutrient fractions containing particulate matter [total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorous (TP), biological oxygen demand in 5 days (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total suspended solids (TSS)].
Efficiency was between 5.5% for TN and 90.1% for TSS. The SSF wetland also had a high treatment effect on total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), with efficiencies of 61.2 to 87.8%. Nitrate nitrogen (NO3–N) and phosphate phosphorous (PO4–P) showed a significant increase in the wetland effluent by 8.4 to 209%. Nitrite nitrogen (NO2–N), had no significant, or significant effluent increase depending on the inflow rate. Treatment efficiency for particulate nutrients and TAN increased with decreasing hydraulic load, while the differences between 1.8 and 0.9 L/s were not significant. The treatment efficiency for TP was constant for all cells, at around 40%. The wetland receiving 3.9 L/s was over-flooded after 10 to 12 weeks due to colmatation. Nevertheless, the wetland still showed high treatment efficiencies. For commercial trout farms, SSF wetlands are a highly effective method of effluent treatment. A hydraulic load of 1 L/s on 13.3 m2 wetland area (1.8 L/s on the examined wetland) seems most suitable. Higher loads lead to accelerated wetland colmatation, while lower loads waste space. 相似文献
The dependency of the retention of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on mineral phase properties in soils remains uncertain especially at neutral pH. To specifically elucidate the role of mineral surfaces and pedogenic oxides for DOC retention at pH 7, we sorbed DOC to bulk soil (illitic surface soils of a toposequence) and corresponding clay fraction (< 2 μm) samples after the removal of organic matter and after removal of organic matter and pedogenic oxides. The DOC retention was related to the content of dithionite‐extractable iron, specific surface area (SSA, BET‐N2 method) and cation exchange capacity (pH 7). The reversibility of DOC sorption was determined by a desorption experiment. All samples sorbed 20–40 % of the DOC added. The DOC sorption of the clay fractions explained the total sorption of the bulk soils. None of the mineral phase properties investigated was able to solely explain the DOC retention. A sorption of 9 to 24 μg DOC m–2 indicated that DOC interacted only with a fraction of the mineral surface, since loadings above 500 μg m–2 would be expected for a carbon monolayer. Under the experimental conditions used, the surface of the silicate clay minerals seemed to be more important for the DOC sorption than the surface of the iron oxides. The desorption experiment removed 11 to 31 % of the DOC sorbed. Most of the DOC was strongly sorbed. 相似文献
The soil animal food web has become a focus of recent ecological research but trophic relationships still remain enigmatic for many taxa. Analysis of stable isotope ratios of N and C provides a powerful tool for disentangling food web structure. In this study, animals, roots, soil and litter material from a temperate deciduous forest were analysed. The combined measurement of δ15N and δ13C provided insights into the compartmentalization of the soil animal food web. Leaf litter feeders were separated from animals relying mainly on recent belowground carbon resources and from animals feeding on older carbon. The trophic pathway of leaf litter-feeding species appears to be a dead end, presumably because leaf litter feeders (mainly diplopods and oribatid mites) are unavailable to predators due to large size and/or strong sclerotization. Endogeic earthworms that rely on older carbon also appear to exist in predator-free space. The data suggest that the largest trophic compartment constitutes of ectomycorrhizal feeders and their predators. Additionally, there is a smaller trophic compartment consisting of predators likely feeding on enchytraeids and potentially nematodes. 相似文献
Dwarf shrub litter is thought to be of poor quality and palatability for macro-decomposers. In laboratory feeding experiments, however, it was found that this litter type represents a potential food source for earthworms and millipedes. Here we tested whether this is true under natural conditions by conducting a 1 year field experiment on an abandoned alpine pasture in Tyrol (Austria). As the natural isotopic signatures of plant litter do not allow discriminating between different plant species, dwarf shrub litter, artificially enriched in 15N, was offered in experimental plots to the macro-decomposer community. Both the earthworm Lumbricus rubellus and the millipede Cylindrojulus fulviceps fed on dwarf shrub litter as indicated by their increased δ15N signatures, but IsoError analysis indicated a clear preference for grass litter for all macro-decomposer species investigated.Soil δ15N signatures were only marginally affected by the experimental provision of 15N-enriched dwarf shrub litter, whereas litter from other, unlabelled, plants became enriched by the isotopic tracer to some extent. Except for one grass species, plants harvested at the end of the experiment were not enriched in 15N, suggesting that the N-uptake from decomposing litter material by plants on abandoned alpine pastureland is slow. 相似文献