Macdonaldortega8693

The total PAE content in peppers decreased as the service life of plastic film greenhouses increased. Correlation analysis suggested that the difference in distribution and accumulation behaviors of individual PAEs in greenhouse systems was correlated with their physicochemical properties. The non-cancer and carcinogenic risks of priority PAEs show low risks of PAEs detected in pepper and soil samples from the suburban plastic film greenhouses to human health. Large molecular weight pig biogas slurry (L-PBS) and small molecular weight pig biogas slurry (S-PBS) were separated from original pig biogas slurry (O-PBS) using a 100 kDa membrane. The original bioavailability and biosafety of L-PBS was very low. In order to enhance the total bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen (TB-DON) and total bioavailable dissolved organic phosphorus (TB-DOP), optimum catalytic ozonation of L-PBS conditions were determined using Box-behnken design models (P  less then  0.0001) and intersection tests. The optimal values for ozone concentration, pH value, active catalyst concentration and reaction time were 2.63 mg·L-1, 6.48, 1.43 g·L-1 and 40 min, respectively. Catalytic ozonation can effectively decompose and transform 68.07% of L-PBS into S-PBS to improve content organic bioavailability, with a molecular weight distribution of 0-1 kDa (13.53%), 1-5 kDa (16.62%), 5-10 kDa (11.16%), 10-30 kDa (11.73%), 30-100 kDa (15.04%). Catalytic ozonation of L-PBS can reduce protein levels from 85.28% to 47.18%, but increases the proportion of fulvic and humic components from 10.22% to 32.67% and 4.51%-20.15%, respectively. Because catalytic ozonation changes the internal components and molecular weights of L-PBS, both saw increases in TB-DON and TB-DOP from 3.33% to 41.12% and 2.43%-37.88%, respectively, with a large number of TB-DON and TB-DOP derived from hydrophilic organic components during catalytic ozonation. These important internal mechanisms changed by catalytic ozonation can effectively reduce the ecotoxicity (IR, from 76.5% to 33.1%) and phytotoxicity (GI, enhanced from 35.4% to 70.3%) of L-PBS. Therefore, catalytic ozonation combined with membrane separation is a choice technology in improving the nutrition of biogas slurry and reduce its ecological risk. The use of phytoremediation was an efficient strategy for the restoration of mine slag and the addition of modifier was favorable for improving the phytoremediation efficiency. Herein, spent mushroom compost (SMC) was added in manganese (Mn) slag to reveal the phytoremediation potential of Paulownia fortunei seedlings. The transportation, subcellular distribution and chemical forms of Mn in P. fortunei, the diurnal variation of photosynthesis and antioxidant enzyme activities in P. fortunei leaves were measured to reveal the effect of SMC (mass ratios of 10%, M+) on the phytoremediation of Mn slag. Results showed that the addition of SMC increased the accumulation content of Mn by 408.54% due to the increased biomass of P. fortunei seedlings. After SMC amendment, the maximum net photosynthetic rate (Pn) increased and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities decreased significantly (p  less then  0.05), which was beneficial to the tolerance of leaves to Mn stress. SMC amendment maintained the cell structural integrity of P. fortunei seedlings observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Additionally, SMC amendment decreased the damage level of Mn to the cell of P. fortunei seedlings by using function groups (-CH3 and -COOH) to bond Mn in the cell walls and vacuoles. SMC amendment reduced the Mn toxicity to P. fortunei seedlings and improved the phytoremediation capacity. The low nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of fertilizers and aluminum toxicity are major limiting factors for crop development in red soil (acidic soil) of China. Biochar is a promising material for improving soil quality, alleviating aluminum and acidic toxicity. The present study was conducted on maize to evaluate the effects of biochar on NUE and soil quality under different applications of nitrogen fertilizer. Biochar was used in the following five levels in each pot; C0 (0 g), C1 (7.5 g), C2 (15 g), C3 (30 g), C4 (45 g), in combination with δ15N at two N levels N0 (0 g kg-1) and N1 (0.2 g kg-1). The biochar increased soil nutrients, exchangeable cation, and SOM. Compared with C0, the K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ were increased by 31.58%, 95.87%, and 463.75% while total Al3+ content of C4 treatment was decreased by 91.98%-93.30% in soil, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) showed that Al2SiO5 was adsorbed on the surface of biochar in the soil due to the special physical structure of biochar. Besides, the results showed that root and shoot biomass increased by 44.5% and 89.6%, respectively under biochar treatment. The nitrogen utilization rate of the plant was increased by 11.08% after the amendment of biochar to soil. The δ15N content was increased from 11.97 to 21.32 for root and from 50.84 to 82.33 mg kg-1 for the shoot. The use of biochar with N fertilizer showed a more positive effect on improving NUE of maize and facilitating soil quality. Our results suggest that biochar could be used to improve soil available nutrients, alleviate aluminum toxicity and acidic toxicity. Therefore, biochar could also increase the NUE of maize by adjusting soil quality. On two rat cell lines, pheochromocytoma PC12 and ascites hepatoma AS-30D, and on rat liver mitochondria we studied action of paxilline (lipophilic mycotoxin from fungus Penicillium paxilli which is blocker of large-conductance potassium channels) against harmful effects of Cd(II) - one of the most dangerous toxic metals and environmental pollutants. We investigated an influence of paxilline on cell viability and mitochondrial function in the presence and in the absence of Cd2+. As found, paxilline protected partially from the Cd2+-induced cytotoxicity, namely taken in concentration of 1 μM it decreased the Cd2+-induced cell necrosis in average by 10-14 or 13-23% for AS-30D and PC12 cells, respectively. Nevertheless, paxilline did not affect the Cd2+-induced apoptosis of AS-30D cells. The alleviating concentration of paxilline reduced an intracellular production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in PC12 cells intoxicated by Cd2+ and enhanced the ROS production in control AS-30D cells; however, it weakly affected mitochondrial membrane potential of the cells in the absence and in the presence of Cd2+. The ameliorative concentration of paxilline decreased the maximal respiration rates of control cells of both types after short-term (3-5 h) treatment with it while the rates reached their control levels after long-term (24-48 h) incubation with the drug. Paxilline was not protective against the Cd2+-induced membrane permeability and respiration rate changes in isolated rat liver mitochondria. selleck screening library As result, the mitochondrial electron transport chain was concluded to contribute in the mitigating effect of paxilline against the Cd2+-produced cell injury. Although there are numerous studies on bisphenol A (BPA) on the testis and spermatozoa, the effect of BPA on the physiological link between the testis and maturation of spermatozoa has not been studied. To provide an optimal environment (acidic pH) for sperm maturation in the epididymis, clear cells secrete protons and principal cells reabsorb bicarbonate and the secreted proton. Because of its crucial role in sperm maturation and fertility, functional changes in the epididymis following BPA exposure must be considered to fully understand the mechanisms of BPA on male fertility. Here, we identified the adverse effects of BPA exposure during puberty in male mice. CD-1 male mice were gavaged daily with vehicle (corn oil) and 50 mg BPA/kg-BW for 6 weeks. We determined the changes in epididymis, functional sperm parameters including motility, capacitation status, tyrosine phosphorylation, and fertility-related protein expression and in vitro and in vivo fertility rate following BPA exposure. Expression of vacuolar-type H + -ATPase is necessary for the secretion of protons by clear cells of the caput epididymis and was directly down-regulated following BPA exposure, while there were no changes in the other epithelial cell types in the epididymis. Also, pERK 1/2 signaling pathway was increased significantly in the caput epididymis following BPA exposure. Consequently, the luminal pH slightly increased, resulting in premature capacitation of spermatozoa. Moreover, there was a significant loss of the acrosomal membrane following an increase of protein tyrosine phosphorylation, while PKA activity decreased during sperm capacitation. Fertility-related proteins also showed aberrant expression upon BPA exposure. These modifications resulted in decreased male fertility in vitro and in vivo. The aim of this study was to (i) gain an overview of the protocols of food preference tests in cats through a systematic review, (ii) assess the effects of test duration, time of day, and sex, and (iii) propose a statistical approach based on power analysis to determine sample size and analyze the results. The manuscripts included in this review had marked variations in the number of days (2-56), sample size (9-60 cats), feeding times (2.5-1440 min), and number of meals per day (1-2) during the test. Additionally to the literature review, three palatability tests (lasting 10 days each) were conducted with 40 cats (22 males and 18 females, 1.8 ± 0.16 years, 3.73 ± 0.90 kg) to assess the effects of test duration, time of day, and gender on the results. From the second day of the test, the sensitivity of the results was higher, because on the first day the results in one of the tests differed from the others (p = .0058). There was no difference (p > .05) between times of day (morning vs afternoon) or gender (males vs females) on the results of the feed intake ratio. For a SD of 0.20, p  less then  .05, and delta of 0.10, the minimum number of cats for two-bowl assays is 23 (test power higher than 0.75).The sample size and test duration are critical factors in the decision making by the investigators about the design of food preference tests in cats. The use of a power test is recommended upon planning a food preference test protocol in cats. Previous studies show that the amplitude of pupillary light response (PLR) depends on the corneal flux density (CFD), which is the product of stimulus area by luminance. However, the contribution of CFD has been investigated only when the stimulus was centered on the fovea, whereas perceived luminance to pupillary response would reduce with stimulus eccentricity. Additionally, it has been shown recently that attentional state modulates pupillary response. In this study, we aimed to clarify the complete mechanisms of PLR by manipulating the stimulus size, eccentricity, luminance, and the participants' attentional states. We focused on four indices to examine PLR, that is, pupillary latency (PL), maximum constriction velocity (MCV), maximum constriction (MC), and mean pupil change (MPC). Results showed that PL was a function of CFD, whereas MCV, MC, and MPC were functions of both CFD and stimulus eccentricity. Furthermore, the magnitude of effect due to stimulus eccentricity for MCV and MC was different from that for MPC.