Bacterial decomposition of detritus in a tropical seagrass (Syringodium isoetifolium) ecosystem, measured with (Methyl- super-3H)thymidine

1993 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 155 ◽  
Author(s):  
PC Pollard ◽  
K Kogure

The bacterial decomposition of detritus was measured in a tropical seagrass meadow (Syringodium isoetifolium) off Dravuni Island, Fiji, and compared with the seagrass and algal productivity. Our estimates of bacterial decomposition of organic matter was based on the rate at which the bacteria divided, and this was measured by the rate at which [methyl-3H]thymidine was incorporated into the bacterial DNA. Bacterial activity was greatest in the top 1 cm of the seagrass sediments. The number of bacteria, their specific growth rate, and their productivity were 6.3 � 0.3 × 109 cells cm-3 , 0.04� 0.005 h-1, and 0.671 g C day-1 m-2 (depth-integrated over 30 cm), respectively. At the sediment surface, bacterial activity coincided with the daily light intensities during the day. Benthic microalgal production seemd to be coupled to the heterotrophic bacterial activity. However, the amount of organic carbon passing through the bacterial decomposition process was small compared with the total autotrophic production. The net bacterial productivity was only between 4 and 6% of that of microalgae and 6% of that of the seagrass. The bacteria appeared to play a minor role in the transfer of organic carbon between the primary producers and the higher trophic groups. Much of the microalgal production could have been directly consumed by the benthic infauna, whereas the seagrass production may have been translocated, via the seagrass roots and rhizomes, to other parts of the plant and/or converted into more refractory or storage compounds.

1993 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
PC Pollard ◽  
K Kogure

The overall aim of this study, which was part of a multidisciplinary investigation, was to evaluate the role of epiphytic and epibenthic algae in a tropical seagrass, Syringodium isoetifoliurn (Aschers.) Dandy, community. Algal biomass (chlorophyll a) and productivity were determined over 20 days. The rates of photosynthesis were measured with both gas (oxygen) release and H14CO3 incorporation techniques. The photosynthetic characteristics of the algal community are described by the relationship between the rates of photosynthesis and irradiance (PI curve). The saturating light intensity (Ik), determined in the laboratory, was 240 �E m-2 s-1 (1 �E= 1 �mol). However, the maximum rate of net epibenthic production (Pmax) in situ of 2 g C g chla-1.h-1 was reached only at light intensities above the leaf canopy of more than 480 �E m-2 s-1 because of shading. The photoperiod (the period when algae were at Pmax was determined from the daily light profiles and used to calculate the mean net productivity of the epibenthic (4.2 g C m-2 day-1) and epiphytic (11.5 g C m-2 day-1.) algae during the study. The net epiphytic and seagrass productivities were equal and positively correlated (slope = 1.0; r2 = 0.92). However, the net seagrass leaf production was only 25% of the total seagrass net production. Most of the seagrass production appeared to be directed elsewhere, possibly into the below-ground tissue. Epiphytic algae accounted for more than four times the above-ground primary production. Compared with the bare sediment surface, the dense seagrass stand afforded 27�4 (s.d.) times more surface area on which the epiphyton could colonize. Thus, seagrasses provided the surfaces essential for maintaining the substantial epiphytic primary productivity, a passive but nonetheless important role. We compare our findings with other results of the multidisciplinary study and construct a carbon budget from which we infer a model of carbon transfer through this ecosystem. The algae were quantitatively the most important of the primary producers, seeming to provide most of the organic carbon to the higher trophic groups, at least for the period of this study.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1722
Author(s):  
Zhiyong Guo ◽  
Tianyi Chen ◽  
Xinzhou Wang ◽  
Liwen Zhang ◽  
Liting Wang ◽  
...  

Isomers of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and metabolites of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) are still frequently detected worldwide in considerable amounts, even decades after their prohibition. Carbonaceous materials (CMs) have been shown to significantly reduce risks of propagation to humans by binding the hydrophobic organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) present in aquatic sediments. In the present study, black carbons extracted from natural sediments, and artificially produced black carbons, including black carbons by burning rice straw at 450 and 850 °C, and a commercial activated carbon were compared to investigate the factors affecting the sorption of γ-HCH (lindane) and p,p’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p’-DDE) on CMs. The results indicated that when the proportion of CMs to total organic carbon (ƒCM/ƒOC) was greater than 0.35, CMs played a leading role in the sorption of lindane and p,p’-DDE by the sediments. The sorption contribution rate of CMs could reach up to 64.7%. When the ratio of ƒCM/ƒOC was less than 0.10, CMs played a minor role in the sorption. In addition, the nonlinearity of the sorption isotherms was strengthened with the increasing the proportion of CMs to total organic carbon. Our findings show that ƒCM/ƒOC value is a principal parameter for assessing the sorption capacity of sediments added by CMs for OCPs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 3035-3057
Author(s):  
Christian Zdanowicz ◽  
Jean-Charles Gallet ◽  
Mats P. Björkman ◽  
Catherine Larose ◽  
Thomas Schuler ◽  
...  

Abstract. Light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosols emitted by biomass or fossil fuel combustion can contribute to amplifying Arctic climate warming by lowering the albedo of snow. The Svalbard archipelago, being near to Europe and Russia, is particularly affected by these pollutants, and improved knowledge of their distribution in snow is needed to assess their impact. Here we present and synthesize new data obtained on Svalbard between 2007 and 2018, comprising measurements of elemental (EC) and water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC) in snow from 37 separate sites. We used these data, combined with meteorological data and snowpack modeling, to investigate the variability of EC and WIOC deposition in Svalbard snow across latitude, longitude, elevation and time. Overall, EC concentrations (CsnowEC) ranged from <1.0 to 266.6 ng g−1, while WIOC concentrations (CsnowWIOC) ranged from <1 to 9426 ng g−1, with the highest values observed near Ny-Ålesund. Calculated snowpack loadings (LsnowEC, LsnowWIOC) on glaciers surveyed in spring 2016 were 0.1 to 2.6 mg m−2 and 2 to 173 mg m−2, respectively. The median CsnowEC and the LsnowEC on those glaciers were close to or lower than those found in earlier (2007–2009), comparable surveys. Both LsnowEC and LsnowWIOC increased with elevation and snow accumulation, with dry deposition likely playing a minor role. Estimated area-averaged snowpack loads across Svalbard were 1.1 mg EC m−2 and 38.3 mg WIOC m−2 for the 2015–2016 winter. An ∼11-year long dataset of spring surface snow measurements from the central Brøgger Peninsula was used to quantify the interannual variability of EC and WIOC deposition in snow. In most years, CsnowEC and CsnowWIOC at Ny-Ålesund (50 m a.s.l.) were 2–5 times higher than on the nearby Austre Brøggerbreen glacier (456 m a.s.l.), and the median EC/WIOC in Ny-Ålesund was 6 times higher, suggesting a possible influence of local EC emission from Ny-Ålesund. While no long-term trends between 2011 and 2018 were found, CsnowEC and CsnowWIOC showed synchronous variations at Ny-Ålesund and Austre Brøggerbreen. When compared with data from other circum-Arctic sites obtained by comparable methods, the median CsnowEC on Svalbard falls between that found in central Greenland (lowest) and those in continental sectors of European Arctic (northern Scandinavia, Russia and Siberia; highest), which is consistent with large-scale patterns of BC in snow reported by surveys based on other methods.


Author(s):  
Katherine Guérard ◽  
Sébastien Tremblay

In serial memory for spatial information, some studies showed that recall performance suffers when the distance between successive locations increases relatively to the size of the display in which they are presented (the path length effect; e.g., Parmentier et al., 2005) but not when distance is increased by enlarging the size of the display (e.g., Smyth & Scholey, 1994). In the present study, we examined the effect of varying the absolute and relative distance between to-be-remembered items on memory for spatial information. We manipulated path length using small (15″) and large (64″) screens within the same design. In two experiments, we showed that distance was disruptive mainly when it is varied relatively to a fixed reference frame, though increasing the size of the display also had a small deleterious effect on recall. The insertion of a retention interval did not influence these effects, suggesting that rehearsal plays a minor role in mediating the effects of distance on serial spatial memory. We discuss the potential role of perceptual organization in light of the pattern of results.


1958 ◽  
Vol 02 (05/06) ◽  
pp. 462-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Verstraete ◽  
Patricia A. Clark ◽  
Irving S. Wright

SummaryAn analysis of the results of prothrombin time tests with different types of thromboplastins sheds some light on the problem why the administration of coumarin is difficult to standardize in different centers. Our present ideas on the subject, based on experimental data may be summarized as follows.Several factors of the clotting mechanism are influenced by coumarin derivatives. The action of some of these factors is by-passed in the 1-stage prothrombin time test. The decrease of the prothrombin and factor VII levels may be evaluated in the 1-stage prothrombin time determination (Quick-test). The prolongation of the prothrombin times are, however, predominantly due to the decrease of factor VII activity, the prothrombin content remaining around 50 per cent of normal during an adequate anticoagulant therapy. It is unlikely that this degree of depression of prothrombin is of major significance in interfering with the coagulation mechanism in the protection against thromboembolism. It may, however, play a minor role, which has yet to be evaluated quantitatively. An exact evaluation of factor VII is, therefore, important for the guidance of anticoagulant therapy and the method of choice is the one which is most sensitive to changes in factor VII concentration. The 1-stage prothrombin time test with a rabbit lung thromboplastin seems the most suitable method because rabbit brain preparations exhibit a factor VII-like activity that is not present in rabbit lung preparations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (185) ◽  
pp. 621-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Siefkes

The ‘Fragment on Machines’ from Marx’s Grundrisse is often cited as an argument that the internal forces of capitalism will lead to its doom. But the argument that the progressive reduction of labor must doom capitalism lacks a proper foundation, as a comparison with the ‘Schemes of Reproduction’ given in Capital II shows. The latter, however, aren’t fully convincing either. In reality, more depends on the private consumption of capitalists than either model recognizes. Ultimately, most can be made of the ‘Fragment on Machines’ by reading it not as an exposure of capitalism’s internal contractions, but as a discussion of a possible communist future where labor (or work) will play but a minor role.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvatore Benvenga ◽  
Antonio Micali ◽  
Giovanni Pallio ◽  
Roberto Vita ◽  
Consuelo Malta ◽  
...  

Background: Cadmium (Cd) impairs gametogenesis and damages the blood-testis barrier. Objective: As the primary mechanism of Cd-induced damage is oxidative stress, the effects of two natural antioxidants, myo-inositol (MI) and seleno-L-methionine (Se), were evaluated in mice testes. Methods: Eighty-four male C57 BL/6J mice were divided into twelve groups: 0.9% NaCl (vehicle; 1 ml/kg/day i.p.); Se (0.2 mg/kg/day per os); Se (0.4 mg/kg/day per os); MI (360 mg/kg/day per os); MI plus Se (0.2 mg/kg/day); MI plus Se (0.4 mg/kg/day); CdCl2 (2 mg/kg/day i.p.) plus vehicle; CdCl2 plus MI; CdCl2 plus Se (0.2 mg/kg/day); CdCl2 plus Se (0.4 mg/kg/day); CdCl2 plus MI plus Se (0.2 mg/kg/day); and CdCl2 plus MI plus Se (0.4 mg/kg/day). After 14 days, testes were processed for biochemical, structural and immunohistochemical analyses. Results: CdCl2 increased iNOS and TNF-α expression and Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, lowered glutathione (GSH) and testosterone, induced testicular lesions, and almost eliminated claudin-11 immunoreactivity. Se administration at 0.2 or 0.4 mg/kg significantly reduced iNOS and TNF-α expression, maintained GSH, MDA and testosterone levels, structural changes and low claudin-11 immunoreactivity. MI alone or associated with Se at 0.2 or 0.4 mg/kg significantly reduced iNOS and TNF-α expression and MDA levels, increased GSH and testosterone levels, ameliorated structural organization and increased claudin-11 patches number. Conclusion: We demonstrated a protective effect of MI, a minor role of Se and an evident positive role of the association between MI and Se on Cd-induced damages of the testis. MI alone or associated with Se might protect testes in subjects exposed to toxicants, at least to those with behavior similar to Cd.


1985 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 581-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Vaňura ◽  
Emanuel Makrlík

Extraction of microamounts of Sr2+ and Ba2+ (henceforth M2+) from the aqueous solutions of perchloric acid (0.0125-1.02 mol/l) by means of the nitrobenzene solutions of dicarbolide (0.004-0.05 mol/l of H+{Co(C2B9H11)2}-) was studied in the presence of monoglyme (only Ba2+), diglyme, triglyme, and tetraglyme (CH3O-(CH2-CH2O)nCH3, where n = 1, 2, 3, 4). The distribution of glyme betweeen the aqueous and organic phases, the extraction of the protonized glyme molecule HL+ together with the extraction of M2+ ion and of the glyme complex with the M2+ ion, i.e., ML2+ (where L is the molecule of glyme), were found to be the dominating reactions in the systems under study. In the systems with tri- and tetraglymes the extraction of H+ and M2+ ions solvated with two glyme molecules, i.e., the formation of HL2+ and ML22+ species, can probably play a minor role. The values of the respective equilibrium constants, of the stability constants of complexes formed in the organic phase, and the theoretical separation factors αBa/Sr were determined. The effect of the ligand structure on the values of extraction and stability constants in the organic phase is discussed.


1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 731-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
S H Hansen ◽  
K Sandvig ◽  
B van Deurs

The transfer of molecules from the cell surface to the early endosomes is mediated by preendosomal vesicles. These vesicles, which have pinched off completely from the plasma membrane but not yet fused with endosomes, form the earliest compartment along the endocytic route. Using a new assay to distinguish between free and cell surface connected vesicle profiles, we have characterized the preedosomal compartment ultrastructurally. Our basic experimental setup was labeling of the entire cell surface at 4 degrees C with Con A-gold, warming of the cells to 37 degrees C to allow endocytosis, followed by replacing incubation medium with fixative, all within either 30 or 60 s. Then the fixed cells were incubated with anti-Con A-HRP to distinguish truly free (gold labeled) endocytic vesicles from surface-connected structures. Finally, analysis of thin (20-30 nm) serial sections and quantification of vesicle diameters were carried out. Based on this approach it is shown that the preendosomal compartment comprises both clathrin-coated and non-coated endocytic vesicles with approximately the same frequency but with distinct diameter distributions, the average noncoated vesicle being smaller (95 nm) than the average coated one (110 nm). In parallel experiments, using an anti-transferrin receptor gold-conjugate as a specific marker for clathrin-dependent endocytosis it is also shown that uncoating of coated vesicles plays only a minor role for the total frequency of noncoated vesicles. Furthermore, after perturbation of clathrin-dependent endocytosis by potassium depletion where uptake of transferrin is blocked, noncoated endocytic vesicles with Con A-gold, but not coated vesicles, exist already after 30 and 60 s. Finally, it is shown that the existence of small, free vesicles in the short-time experiments cannot be ascribed to recycling from the early endosomes.


Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 668
Author(s):  
Tatiana Görig ◽  
Corinna Södel ◽  
Annette B. Pfahlberg ◽  
Olaf Gefeller ◽  
Eckhard W. Breitbart ◽  
...  

Seeking shade, the use of textile sun protection and sunscreen, and protecting one’s eyes by wearing sunglasses are recommended sun protection measures in children. We aimed to quantify the use of these measures as well as the prevalence of sunburn in children aged 1 to 10 years in Germany and to identify their determinants. Data collected via telephone interviews in a nationwide sample of 554 parents or caregivers in family were analyzed. Use of sunscreen was the most common measure applied (77.8%), while sunglasses were least frequently used (12.5%). The prevalence of sunburn during the past year was 21.8%, and it was positively associated with children’s age. The use of sun protection measures was significantly associated with the age and skin color of the child, while characteristics and tanning behaviors of the caregivers only played a minor role. The use of sun protection measures was higher when caregivers perceived themselves as a role model (Odds Ratio (OR) = 4.33, p < 0.001). Our nationwide data show that there remains a need for the improved use of sun protection measures, especially in children aged 7 to 10 years. In educational material, parents should be encouraged to become positive role models for their children regarding sun protection.


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