Spectrochemical Analysis of Bottled and Tap Water from Selected Counties of Middle Tennessee, USA

A total of 37 elements were determined in tap and bottled water samples from six counties of Middle Tennessee (USA) by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The overarching goal of the study is to dispel the myth that bottled water is better than tap water or vice versa. Other parameters analyzed were pH, conductivity, and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). The results were compared with the Maximum Contaminant Limit (MCL) reported by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA). The concentrations of phosphorus, silicon, fluoride, and chloride conformed to the established values by US-EPA maximum contaminant level corresponding value. The level of Aluminum (Al), Boron (B), Chromium (Cr), Cobalt (Co), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Lithium (Li), Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni), Titanium (Ti), Vanadium (V), and Zinc (Zn) conformed to the established values by governmental agencies (USEPA). Heavy metals such as Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Cobalt (Co), Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), and Silver (Ag) were detected in the tap water of the urban (Davidson) and urbanizing (Rutherford and Williamson) counties;suggesting that rural counties had a less heavy metal concentration in their drinking water sources than urban counties (P < 0.05). However, the values were below the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs).

Cloning and Characterization of Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 4E (eIF4E) Gene Family in Ipomoea batatas L. (Lam) for Understanding Hexaploid Sweetpotato-Virus Interactions

Characterization of genes related to sweetpotato viral disease resistance is critical for understanding plant-pathogen interactions, especially with feathery mottle virus infection. For example, genes encoding eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF)4E, its isoforms, eIF(iso)4E, and the cap-binding protein (CBP) in plants, have been implicated in viral infections aside from their importance in protein synthesis. Full-length cDNA encoding these putative eIF targets from susceptible/resistant and unknown hexaploid sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam) were amplified based on primers designed from the diploid wild-type relative Ipomoea trifida consensus sequences, and designated IbeIF4E, IbeIF(iso)4E and IbCBP. Comparative analyses following direct-sequencing of PCR-amplified cDNAs versus the cloned cDNA sequences identified multiple homeoalleles: one to four IbeIF4E, two to three IbeIF(iso)4E, and two IbCBP within all cultivars tested. Open reading frames were in the length of 696 bp IbeIF4E, 606 bp IbeIF(iso)4E, and 675 bp IbCBP. The encoded single polypeptide lengths were 232, 202, and 225 amino acids for IbeIF4E, IbeIF(iso)4E, and IbCBP, with a calculated protein molecular mass of 26 kDa, 22.8 kDa, and 25.8 kDa, while their theoretical isoelectric points were 5.1, 5.57, and 6.6, respectively. Although the homeoalleles had similar sequence lengths, single nucleotide polymorphisms and multi-allelic variations were detected within the coding sequences. The multi-sequence alignment performed revealed a 66.9% - 96.7% sequence similarity between the predicted amino acid sequences obtained from the homeoalleles and closely related species. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis revealed ancestral relationships between the eIF4E homeoalleles and other species. The outcome herein on the eIF4E superfamily and its correlation in sequence variations suggest opportunities to decipher the role of eIF4E in hexaploid sweetpotato feathery mottle virus infection.

Effect of Boron Soil Application on Nutrients Efficiency in Tobacco Leaf

The present study was based on the general hypothesis that boron may affect the accumulation and utilization of other nutrients in plant. For this purpose a field experiment was carried out to find out the influence of boron on the different nutrients content in FCV tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) at TRS Khan Garhi, Mardan, during 2010-2011. Two varieties TM-2008 and Speight G-28 were tested and six levels of boron (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 5 kg&middotha-1) were applied in the form of boric acid, in randomized complete block design in split plot arrangement and replicated thrice. Results indicated that the yield of tobacco crop increased with 1 kg&middotB&middotha-1 and then decreased sequence wise in both varieties. N and P concentrations were significantly affected by applied boron. Similarly, potassium was increased which is a good indication for a better quality of tobacco crop. Application of boron significantly increased the concentrations of boron nutrients ratios such as K/B;Cl/B and Mn/Fe were decreased while K/Cl and Zn/Cu ratios were increased at lower boron concentrations but decreased at higher concentrations of boron. The fertilizer use efficiency of both the cultivars showed similar trend;however, Speight G-28 was more efficient than TM-2008 in boron accumulation. The overall results revealed that the application of boron should be encouraged for balancing nutrients concentration, thus getting higher yield in the prevailing conditions.

中国寒区水文学研究的新阶段——记我国杰出寒区水文学家叶柏生研究员的创新与贡献

我国杰出的寒区水文学家叶柏生研究员不幸因公殉职.选取了叶柏生研究员若干代表性研究成果,包括与他人的合作研究成果,重点从冰川水文、冻土水文和区域水文变化三方面总结了其对寒区水文学发展所做的创新与贡献.文章列出了每项研究成果的核心内容,并给予了简要评述.所选成果中,冰川水文方面研究涉及冰川对河川径流的调节作用、冰川径流对气候变化的响应机理等;冻土水文研究着重介绍了多年冻土变化对流域径流过程及其变化影响方面的系统性成果;区域水文变化研究方面,选取了降水观测误差修正、气候变化对区域径流的影响等方面的创新成果.这些研究成果极大地提高了我国在世界寒区水文学研究的地位,对认识寒区水文过程及气候变化对水资源的影响具有重要科学意义.

Contributions of climate and human activities to changes in runoff of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers from 1950 to 2008

Runoffs in the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins,China,have been changing constantly during the last half century.In this paper,data from eight river gauging stations and 529 meteorological stations,inside and adjacent to the study basins,were analyzed and compared to quantify the hydrological processes involved,and to evaluate the role of human activities in changing river discharges.The Inverse Distance Weighted(IDW)interpolation method was used to obtain climatic data coverage from station observations.According to the runoff coefficient equation,the effect of human activities and climate can be expressed by changes in runoff coefficients and changes in precipitation,respectively.Annual runoff coefficients were calculated for the period 1950-2008,according to the correlation between respective hydrological series and regional precipitation.Annual precipitation showed no obvious trend in the upper reaches of the Yellow River but a marked downward trend in the middle and downstream reaches,with declines of 8.8 and 9.8 mm/10 a,respectively.All annual runoff series for the Yellow River basin showed a significant downward trend.Runoff declined by about 7.8 mm/10 a at Sanmenxia and 10.8 mm/10 a at Lijin.The series results indicated that an abrupt change occurred in the late 1980s to early 1990s.The trend of correlations between annual runoff and precipitation decreased significantly at the Yellow River stations,with rates ranging from 0.013/10 a to 0.019/10 a.For the hydrologic series,all precipitation series showed a downward trend in the Yangtze River basin with declines ranging from about 24.7 mm/10 a at Cuntan to 18.2 mm/10 a at Datong.Annual runoff series for the upper reaches of the Yangtze River decreased significantly,at rates ranging from 9.9 to 7.2 mm/10 a.In the middle and lower reaches,the runoff series showed no significant trend,with rates of change ranging from 2.1 to 2.9 mm/10 a.Human activities had the greatest influence on changes in the hydrological series of runoff,regardless of whether the effect was negative or positive.During 1970-2008,human activities contributed to 83% of the reduction in runoff in the Yellow River basin,and to 71% of the increase in runoff in the Yangtze River basin.Moreover,the impacts of human activities across the entire basin increased over time.In the 2000s,the impact of human activities exceeded that of climate change and was responsible for 84% of the decrease and 73% of the increase in runoff in the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins,respectively.The average annual runoff from 1980 to 2008 fell by about 97%,83%,83%,and 91%,compared with 1951-1969,at the Yellow River stations Lanzhou,Sanmenxia,Huayuankou and Lijin,respectively.Most of the reduction in runoff was caused by human activities.Changes in precipitation also caused reductions in runoff of about 3%,17%,17%,and 9% at these four stations,respectively.Falling precipitation rates were the main explanation for runoff changes at the Yangtze River stations Cuntan,Yichang,Hankou,and Datong,causing reductions in runoff of 89%,74%,43%,and 35%,respectively.Underlying surface changes caused decreases in runoff in the Yellow River basin and increases in runoff in the Yangtze River basin.Runoff decreased in arid areas as a result of increased water usage,but increased in humid and sub-humid areas as a result of land reclamation and mass urbanization leading to decreases in evaporation and infiltration.

Simultaneous removal of ammonia and N-nitrosamine precursors from high ammonia water by zeolite and powdered activated carbon

When adding sufficient chlorine to achieve breakpoint chlorination to source water containing high concentration of ammonia during drinking water treatment, high concentrations of disinfection by-products（DBPs） may form. If N-nitrosamine precursors are present, highly toxic N-nitrosamines, primarily N-nitrosodimethylamine（NDMA）, may also form. Removing their precursors before disinfection should be a more effective way to minimize these DBPs formation. In this study, zeolites and activated carbon were examined for ammonia and N-nitrosamine precursor removal when incorporated into drinking water treatment processes.The test results indicate that Mordenite zeolite can remove ammonia and five of seven N-nitrosamine precursors efficiently by single step adsorption test. The practical applicability was evaluated by simulation of typical drinking water treatment processes using six-gang stirring system. The Mordenite zeolite was applied at the steps of lime softening, alum coagulation, and alum coagulation with powdered activated carbon（PAC） sorption. While the lime softening process resulted in poor zeolite performance, alum coagulation did not impact ammonia and N-nitrosamine precursor removal. During alum coagulation, more than67% ammonia and 70%–100% N-nitrosamine precursors were removed by Mordenite zeolite（except 3-（dimethylaminomethyl）indole（DMAI） and 4-dimethylaminoantipyrine（DMAP））. PAC effectively removed DMAI and DMAP when added during alum coagulation. A combination of the zeolite and PAC selected efficiently removed ammonia and all tested seven N-nitrosamine precursors（dimethylamine（DMA）, ethylmethylamine（EMA）, diethylamine（DEA）, dipropylamine（DPA）, trimethylamine（TMA）, DMAP, and DMAI） during the alum coagulation process.

Effects of Silver Nanoparticles on the Activities of Soil Enzymes Involved in Carbon and Nutrient Cycling

Soils are continuously exposed to large amounts of engineered nanoparticles, especially silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which can affect the activity, stability, and specificity of microbial enzymes. Therefore, the measurement of specific enzyme activity can be used to identify major changes in soil environments. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of AgNPs on soil enzymes that play critical roles in mineralizing carbon and nutrients in soil. Soil samples (silt loam and sandy loam) were collected from the surface layer (0–15 cm) of a field at the George Washington Carver Farm, Lincoln University of Missouri, USA. The soils were then treated with AgNP solutions at 0, 1 600, or 3 200 μg Ag kg^(-1) dry soil, using either 10- or 50-nm AgNPs and a randomized complete block design, with three replicates per treatment. The AgNP-treated soil samples were homogenized and incubated for one month, and soil acid phosphatase, β-glucosaminidase, β-glucosidase, and arylsulfatase activities were measured after one hour, one week, and one month of incubation. The activities of all four enzymes were reduced by AgNP treatment after one hour and one week.However, AgNP size had no effect. After one month of incubation, the AgNP treatments had mixed effects, which suggests that soil enzymes are only affected on a short-term basis. Further studies are required to determine the mechanisms by which AgNPs reduce soil enzyme activity.

Computational Challenges in Characterization of Bacteria and Bacteria-Host Interactions Based on Genomic Data

With the rapid development of next-generation sequencing technologies, bacterial identification becomes a very important and essential step in processing genomic data, especially for metagenomic data. Many computational methods have been developed and some of them are widely used to address the problems in bacterial identification. In this article we review the algorithms of these methods, discuss their drawbacks, and propose future computational methods that use genomic data to characterize bacteria. In addition, we tackle two specific computational problems in bacterial identification, namely, the detection of host-specific bacteria and the detection of disease-associated bacteria, by offering potential solutions as a starting point for those who are interested in the area.

Effects of silver nanoparticle size,concentration and coating on soil quality as indicated by arylsulfatase and sulfite oxidase activities

Recently, the nanotechnology industry has seen a growing interest in integrating silver nanoparticles(AgNPs) into agricultural products, which increases soil exposure to these particles. This demands an investigation into the effect of AgNPs on soil health. Changes in soil enzyme activities upon exposure to AgNPs can serve as early indicators of any adverse effects that these particles may have on soil quality. This study aimed to determine the effects of AgNP size, concentration, coating, and exposure time on the activities of two sulfur cycle enzymes, arylsulfatase and sulfite oxidase. To investigate the sensitivity of soil enzyme activity to AgNP contamination, silt loam soil samples were treated with 30, 80, and 200 nm-sized AgNPs coated with citrate, lipoic acid,and polyvinylpyrrolidone at 1, 10, and 100 mg Ag kgsoil, with the changes in enzyme activities monitored at 3 h, 3 d, and 30 d after treatment. For comparison, the effects of silver(Ag) ions on the enzyme activities were studied under similar treatment conditions. For most of the concentrations tested, the inhibitory effects of AgNPs on different enzymes differed, with a much stronger effect on sulfite oxidase activity than on arylsulfatase activity. The AgNP concentration and exposure time played much important roles than coating type and particle size in the effects of AgNPs on soil enzyme activities.

Nutrient uptake,physiological responses and growth of tobacco(Nicotiana tabacum L.)in soil under composite salt stress

High soil salinity imposes osmotic stress and ion toxicity in plants,leading to substantial crop yield loss worldwide.Understanding of the quantitative and dynamic physiological responses to composite soil salt stress is limited and needs to be expanded.In this study,physiological,nutritional,and biomass yield parameters of tobacco(Nicotiana tabacum L.)grown in soil with five levels of composite soil salinity(CSS),basal CSS level(control,CK)and 3(T_(1)),6(T_(2)),9(T_(3)),and 12(T_(4))times the basal CSS level,under greenhouse were determined at days 30,60,and 90 after transplanting.Leaf dry biomass significantly(P<0.05)increased at the low salinity levels applied(T_(1) and T_(2))at all three time points,whereas it progressively declined as the CSS level further increased.The leaf physiological and photosynthetic responses were more adversely affected by CSS at the early growth stage(day 30).A path coefficient analysis demonstrated that leaf proline content had the largest direct effect(-0.66),and leaf Cu content had the most significant indirect effect(0.49)on leaf dry biomass of plants.The results suggest that lower CSS levels(T_(1) and T_(2))could stimulate tobacco growth(leaf biomass yield,in particular),and higher leaf proline and Cu levels at the early growth stage may potentially increase the ability of tobacco plants to withstand the adverse effects of salinity,which could be considered for future research and development of salinity management strategies.

Artificial neural network (ANNs) and mathematical modelling of hydration of green chickpea

The present study was aimed to model the hydration characteristics of green chickpea(GC)using mathematical modelling and examine predictive ability of artificial neural network(ANN)modelling.Hydration of GC was performed at different temperatures 25,35,45,55 and 65℃.Different mathematical models were tested for the hydration at different temperatures.In ANN modelling,the hydration time and hydration temperature were used as input variables and moisture ratio,moisture content and hydration ratio were taken as output variables.Peleg model best described the hydration behavior at 25℃;while hydration at high-temperature was better described by Page model and Ibarz et al.model.The optimum temperature obtained for hydration was 35℃.Effective mass diffusion coefficient(D_(e))increased from 1.5510^(-11)-1.7910^(-9) m^(2)/s with the increase in the hydration temperature.The low activation energy(39.66 kJ/moL)shows the low-temperature sensitiveness of GC.Low temperature hydration(25℃)required higher time(>200 min)to achieve the equilibrium moisture content(EMC),however high temperature hydration(35–65℃)reduced the EMC time(150 min).ANN was used to predict the hydration behavior and K fold cross validation was performed to check the over fitting of ANN model.Results show that the LOGSIGMOID transfer function showed better performance when used at the hidden layer input node in conjunction to both PURELIN and TANSIGMOID.TANSIGMOID was found suitable for moisture ratio(MR)and hydration ratio(HR)prediction,as opposed to PURELIN for moisture content(MC)data.Satisfactory model prediction was obtained when the number of neurons in the hidden layer for MC,MR and HR was 12,8 and 15,respectively.Mathematical and ANN modelling results are useful to improve/predict the MC,MR and HR during hydration process of GC at different temperature and other similar process.

Greenhouse gases fluxes and soil thermal properties in a pasture in central Missouri

Fluctuations of greenhouse gases emissions and soil properties occur at short spatial and temporal scales, however, results are often reported for larger scales studies. We monitored CO2, CH4, and N2O fluxes and soil temperature （T）, thermal conductivity （K）, resistivity （R） and thermal diffusivity （D） from 2004 to 2006 in a pasture. Soil air samples for determination of CO2, CH4 and N2O concentrations were collected from static and vented chambers and analyzed within two hours of collection with a gas chromatograph. T, K, R and D were measured in-situ using a KD2 probe. Soil samples were also taken for measurements of soil chemical and physical properties. The pasture acted as a sink in 2004, a source in 2005 and again a sink of CH4 in 2006. CO2 and CH4 were highest, but N2O as well as T, K and D were lowest in 2004. Only K was correlated with C02 in 2004 while T correlated with both N2O （r = 0.76, p = 0.0001） and CO2 （r = 0.88, p = 0.0001） in 2005. In 2006, all gases fluxes were significantly correlated with T, K and R when the data for the entire year were considered. However, an in-depth examination of the data revealed the existence of month-to-month shifts, lack of correlation and differing spatial structures. These results stress the need for further studies on the relationship between soil properties and gases fluxes. K and R offer a promise as potential controlling factors for greenhouse gases fluxes in this pasture.

Using coloured roots to study root interaction and competition in intercropped legumes and non-legumes

Aims Root interactions between neighbour plants represent a fundamental aspect of the competitive dynamics in pure stand and mixed cropping systems.The comprehension of such phenomena places big methodological challenges,and still needs clarification.The objectives of this work were(i)to test if a species with coloured roots can be used to examine the interaction in a legume-non-legume intercropping system;(ii)to verify the importance of initial root growth on the successive root development ofmixture component plants;(iii)to test if the root interaction in the shallowlayers has consequences for deep root growth and(iv)to compare the effect of intraspecific and interspecific competition on root development and biomass growth.Methods A detailed study on root growth and interaction was carried out using rhizotron tubes where two legume species were grown in pure stands or were intercropped with red beet,a variety of Beta vulgaris L.with clear red roots.Within the rhizotrons,the three species were grown either without competitors,with two plants of the same species to measure intraspecific competition or with one legume and one red beet plant to study interspecific competition.The use of mixtures where one component has clearly coloured roots,together with several scalar measurements of root depth and proliferation,allowed the measurement of the root system of each species when grown in the mixtures.Important findings The use of rhizotron tubes coupled with species with coloured roots represented a valuable method to study the belowground interaction in mixed cropping systems.The initial root growth was a very important feature for the subsequent dominance of a species and it was not related to seed dimension.Initial root growth was also important because the root interactions in the shallower soil layers were found to influence the root growth in deeper soil.The root system of the red beet showed much faster and deeper growth than that of the legumes,and made red beet the dominant component in the mixtures while the legume root system was confined to the shallower soil layer.Intraspecific competition was well tolerated by the legumes,but it was limiting for the highly competitive red beet.The outcome of root interaction between neighbour plants was confirmed to be speciesspecific as it changed according to the intensity of the competitive effect/response of each species of the mixture:both legumes were slightly affected by the intraspecific and highly affected by interspecific competition while red beet was more affected by intraspecific competition but strongly dominant when intercropped with legumes.

黄河与长江流域水资源变化原因

利用1951～2008年黄河与长江流域逐月降水和径流资料,对流域年径流变化进行趋势性检验,分析年降水量和径流量的相关关系变化,比较不同时段流域降水和径流的变化趋势和双累积曲线,以及径流对降水的敏感性变化.结果表明,黄河干流上游年降水量微弱下降,中下游降水减少趋势显著,为8.8～9.8mm/10a;而全流域径流量均呈现显著递减的趋势,为7.8～10.8mm/10a(通过95%置值度检验);径流系数也明显下降,下降范围为0.013～0.019/10a,流域产流能力下降,径流减少趋势在20世纪80年代末至90年代初发生突变.长江流域大部降水减少趋势显著,为18.2～24.7mm/10a;上游(寸滩站,宜昌站)径流减少趋势显著,为9.9～7.2mm/10a,中游(汉口站)和下游(大通站)径流呈微弱下降趋势,为2.9～2.1mm/10a;长江流域上游径流系数增加不显著,中下游径流系数呈显著增加趋势,速率分别0.005/10a和0.005/10a,表明中下游产流能力增强.根据水文参数公式计算,与1951～1969年相比,1970～2008年,降水减少和人类活动引起的下垫面变化对黄河流域径流减少量的贡献率分别为11%和83%;在长江流域,降水减少对径流量变化的贡献占29%,人类活动引起的径流量增加占71%.1980～2008年,黄河流域由于下垫面变化造成径流量减少的比例在兰州、三门峡、花园口、利津分别为97%,83%,83%和91%,降水引起的径流量减少比例分别为3%,17%,17%和9%.长江流域降水减少对寸滩、宜昌、汉口、大通径流量减少的贡献分别为89%,74%,43%和35%,下垫面变化对径流增量的贡献分别为11%,26%,57%和65%.人类活动的作用强度逐年增大,2000年之后,下垫面变化对黄河、长江流域径流变化量的贡献率上升到84%和73%.下垫面变化引起了黄河下游径流减少和长江下游径流增加,在干旱区和湿润区对径流变化的作用相反.造成这一现象的原因是:黄河流域人类的活动用水量的增加直接造成径流减少;长江流域因太阳辐射下降引起实际蒸发量下降,同时湖泊面积减少,下垫面硬化也在一定程度上造成产流能力增加.