Phylogenetic analysis of epiphytic marine bacteria on Hole-Rotten diseased sporophytes of Laminaria japonica

During an occurrence of Hole-Rotten Disease of Laminaria japonica in a cultivating farm in Ma Shan Shandong province, China, 42 Gram-negative epiphytic marine bacteria were isolated and purified on Zobell 2216E marine agar medium. Morphological and biochemical characteristics of each isolated bacterium were studied, and molecular identification of bacterial strains was conducted with polymerase chain reaction amplification to 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Based on nearly full length of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the isolated strains were bacteria that belong to genus Pseudoalteromonas, Vibrio, Halomonas and Bacillus. The percentage of each group was 61.9%, 28.6%, 7.1% and 2.4% respectively. The results of pathogenicity assay showed that 12 strains could cause the disease symptoms in sporophytes of L. japonica. They belonged to the genera Pseudoalteromonas, Vibrio and Halomonas with 58.3%, 33.3%, 8.3% respectively. The results suggest that these bacteria are the dominant marine bacteria on diseased sporophytes of L. japonica and may be the potential pathogenic bacteria associated with Hole-Rotten Disease of L. japonica.

History and variability of Asian interior aridity recorded by eolian flux in the Chinese Loess Plateau during the past 7 Ma

Eolian flux in the Chinese Loess Plateau was reconstructed by measuring the dry bulk density and CaCO3 content of the late Cenozoic loess-paleosol-red clay sequences in the Lingtai profile. Comparison of eolian flux variation between the Lingtai profile and the ODP sites 885/886 in the North Pacific shows a significant wet-dry variability in addition to a gradual drying trend in the dust source regions in interior Asia. Especially, the increase of eolian fluxes from both continental and pelagic eolian sediments indicates a sharp drying of the dust source regions between 3.6 and 2.6 MaBP, which might be attributed to the tectonic uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, which cut down the moisture input to the interior Asia. The average value and variability of eolian flux are higher after 2.6 MaBP than before, which may be related to the Quaternary climatic fluctuations on the glacial-interglacial timescale after the commencement of major Northern Hemisphere Glaciations. The eolian fluxes of the Lingtai profile and Core V21-146 in northwest Pacific show a synchronous variation on the 10(4)-10(5) a timescale, indicating that the flux variations from both continental and marine records are closely correlated to the Quaternary climatic fluctuation forced by the ice volume changes on a global scale.

Development of the East Asian monsoon: Mineralogical and sedimentologic records in the northern South China Sea since 20 Ma

We here reconstruct the past change of the East Asian monsoon since 20 Ma using samples from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1146 in the northern South China Sea based On a multi-proxy approach including a monomineralic quartz isolation procedure, identification of clay minerals by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and grain-size analysis of isolated terrigenous materials. Terrigenous supply to ODP Site 1146 was dominated by changes in the strength of multiple sources and transport processes. Grain-size data modeled by an end-member modeling algorithm indicate that eolian dust from the and Asian inland and fluvial input have contributed on average 20% and 80% of total terrigenous material to ODP Site 1146, respectively. Specifically, about 40-53% of the total (quartz+feldspar) and only 6-11% of the total clay is related to eolian supply at the study site. Detailed analysis of the sedimentary environment, and clay minerals combined with previous studies shows that smectite originates mainly from Luzon, kaolinite from the Pearl River and illite and chlorite from the Pearl River, Taiwan and/or the Yangtze River. The proportion and mass accumulation rate (MAR) of the coarsest end-member EM1 (interpreted as eolian dust), ratios of (illite+chlorite)/smectite, (quartz+feldspar)% and mean grain-size of terrigenous materials at ODP Site 1146 were adopted as proxies for East Asian monsoon evolution. The consistent variation of these independent proxies since 20 Ma shows three profound shifts in the intensity of East Asian winter monsoon relative to summer monsoon, as well as aridity of the Asian continent, occurred at similar to 15 Ma, similar to 8 Ma and the youngest at about 3 Ma. In comparison, the summer monsoon intensified contemporaneously with the winter monsoon at 3 Ma. The phased uplift of the Himalaya-Tibetan plateau may have played a significant role in strengthening the Asian monsoon at similar to 15 Ma, 8 Ma and 3 Ma. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Grain-size records at ODP site 1146 from the northern South China sea: Implications on the east Asian monsoon evolution since 20 Ma

273 samples from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1146 in the northern South China Sea (SCS) were analyzed for grain-size distributions using grain-size class vs. standard deviation method and end-member modeling algorithm (EMMA) in order to investigate the evolution of the East Asian mon-soon since about 20 Ma. 10-19 mu m/1.3-2.4 mu m, the ratio of two grain-size populations with the highest variability through time was used to indicate East Asian winter monsoon intensity relative to summer monsoon. The mass accumulation rate of the coarsest end member EM1 (eolian), resulting from EMMA, can be used as a proxy of winter monsoon strength and Asian inland aridity, and the ratio of EM1/(EM2+EM3) as a proxy of winter monsoon intensity relative to summer monsoon. The combined proxies show that a profound enhancement of East Asian winter monsoon strength and winter monsoon intensity relative to summer monsoon occurred at about 8 Ma, and it is possible that the summer monsoon simultaneously intensified with winter monsoon at 3 Ma. Our results are well consistent with the previous studies in loess, eolian deposion in the Pacifc, radiolarians and planktonic foraminifera in the SCS. The phased uplift of the Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau may have played a significant role in strengthening the Asian monsoon at 8 Ma and 3 Ma.

Development of the East Asian summer monsoon: Evidence from the sediment record in the South China Sea since 8.5 Ma

128 samples from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1143 in the southern South China Sea were analyzed for grain size, clay minerals, biogenic opal content and quartz in order to reconstruct changes in East Asian monsoon climate since 8.5 Ma. An abrupt change of terrigenous mass accumulation rate (MAR), clay mineral assemblage, median grain size and biogenic opal MAR about 5.2 Ma suggests that between 8.5-5.2 Ma the source of terrigenous sediment was mainly in the region of surface uplift and basaltic volcanism in southern Vietnam. A simple model of East Asian summer monsoon evolution was based on the clay/feldspar ratio, kaolinite/chlorite ratio and biogenic opal MAR. The summer monsoon has two periods of maximum strength at 8.5-7.6 Ma and 7.1-6.2 Ma. Subsequently, there was a relatively stable period at 6.2-3.5 Ma, continued intensification about 3.5-2.5 Ma, and gradually weakening after 2.5 Ma. Since I Ma the monsoon has intensified, with remarkable high-frequency and amplitude variability. Simultaneous increase in sedimentation rates at ODP Sites 1143, 1146 and 1148, as well as in MAR of terrigenous materials, quartz, feldspar and clay minerals at ODP Site 1143 at 3.5-2.5 Ma, may be the erosional response to both global climatic deterioration and the strengthening of the East Asian summer monsoon after about 3-4 Ma. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sources and preservation of organic matter in Plum Island salt marsh sediments (MA, USA): long-chain n-alkanes and stable carbon isotope compositions

Elemental (TOC, TN, C/N) and stable carbon isotopic (delta(13)C) compositions and n-alkane (nC(16-38)) concentrations were measured for Spartina alterniflora, a C-4 marsh grass, Typha latifolia, a C-3 marsh grass, and three sediment cores collected from middle and upper estuarine sites from the Plum Island salt marshes. Our results indicated that the organic matter preserved in the sediments was highly affected by the marsh plants that dominated the sampling sites. delta(13)C values of organic matter preserved in the upper fresh water site sediment were more negative (-23.0+/-0.3) as affected by the C-3 plants than the values of organic matter preserved in the sediments of middle (-18.9+/-0.8) and mud flat sites (-19.4+/-0.1) as influenced mainly by the C4 marsh plants. The distribution of n-alkanes measured in all sediments showed similar patterns as those determined in the marsh grasses S. alterniflora and T. latifolia, and nC(21) to nC(33) long-chain n-alkanes were the major compounds determined in all sediment samples. The strong odd-to-even carbon numbered n-alkane predominance was found in all three sediments and nC(29) was the most abundant homologue in all samples measured. Both delta(13)C compositions of organic matter and n-alkane distributions in these sediments indicate that the marsh plants could contribute significant amount of organic matter preserved in Plum Island salt marsh sediments. This suggests that salt marshes play an important role in the cycling of nutrients and organic carbon in the estuary and adjacent coastal waters. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Community structure of macrobenthos in coastal water off Rushan, southern Shandong Peninsula, and the relationships with environmental factors

To understand the present actuality of the marine ecosystem in the southern coastal water region of the Shandong Peninsula and the impact of the global change and the human activities to the marine ecosystem of the region, the macrobenthic community structure was researched based on data from 26 sampling stations carried out on four seasonal cruises from December 2006 to November 2007. The data was analyzed using PRIMER 6.0 and SPSS 15.0 software packages. The results showed that 236 macrobenthic species in total were collected from the research region by the field works. Most of the species belong to Polychaeta (76 species), Mollusca (75) and Crustacea (60). Of which, 33 species were common species by the four cruises. The dominant species were different among the four seasons, however, the polychaete species Nephtys oligobranchia and Sternaspis scutata were always dominant in the four seasons. The abundances and biomasses of the macrobenthos from the research region were variable in tire four seasons. The results of CLUSTER and MDS analysis showed that the similarities of macrobenthic structures among the stations were low, most of the similarities were at about 40% of similarity values, only that of two stations were up to 60%. In accordance with the similarity values of the macrobenthic structures, the 26 stations were clustered as six groups at arbitrary similarity level of 30%. The ABC curve indicated that the marcofauna communities in the research region had riot been disturbed distinctly. The results of BIOENV and BVSTEP (Spearman) analysis implied that the concentrations of organic matter in bottom water and heavy metal copper in sediment, water depth and temperature of bottom were the most significant environmental factors to affect the macrobentic community.

A high coking-resistance catalyst for methane aromatization

Steaming-dealuminated HZSM-5-supported molybdenum catalysts have been found to be high coking-resistance catalysts for methane aromatization reactions; compared with conventional catalysts, they give a much higher selectivity towards aromatics.

Estimativa do fator de bioconcentração de pesticidas em maçã.

Com o objetivo de indicar pesticidas que devem ser monitorados em frutas, foi estimado o fator de bioconcentração (BCF) de 36 pesticidas em maçã selecionados do sistema de produção integrada de maçã (PIM). O BCF é um indicador da afinidade de substâncias por organismos. Para estimar o BCF foi utilizado o modelo FTM-p (Fruit Tree Model to Pesticide) [PARAÍBA, L.C. Pesticide bioconcentration modelling for fruit trees. Chemosphere, v.66, p.1468-1475, 2007] e um cultivo hipotético de macieiras. No modelo FTM-p, o valor do BCF foi correlacionado com características fisiológicas da planta e com propriedades físico-químicas dos pesticidas. Na estimativa foram utilizados os tempos de meia-vida no solo e na planta de cada um dos pesticidas. Da planta foram utilizados a biomassa seca, a taxa de transpiração de água e o volume do fluxo de água necessário para produzir um quilo de fruta fresca por planta. O coeficiente de partição tronco-água e o fator de concentração no fluxo de transpiração foram calculados por meio de expressões que correlacionam cada um desses parâmetros com o coeficiente de partição octanol-água do pesticida.

Sintomas e diagnose de toxicidade herbicida na cultura da maçã.

2003

Produção e mercado da maçã brasileira: panorama 2005.

2006

Evolução e dinâmica da produção de maçã no Brasil no período de 1975 a 2003.

2007

Desempenho da irrigacao por microaspersao com diafragma autocompensante em bananeira no projeto de colonizacao gerais de Balsas - MA.

Atendendo a demanda da CAMPO (Cia. de Producao Agricola) delineou-se este trabalho com o proposito de avaliar o desempenho de um sistema de irrigacao por microaspersao no Projeto de Colonizacao Gerais de Balsas - MA. Com base nas medidas da vazao da agua aplicada e da pressao, determinou-se a uniformidade da emissao do sistema, objetivando estabelecer seu grau de aceitabilidade. Testes em microaspersores isolados permitiam comparar perfis de distribuicao de agua em condicoes variaveis de vento. Foram ainda determinados o percentual de area molhada, o perfil de umidade do solo, a superficie de aspersao e a tensao de agua no solo na zona de raizes e nas condicoes locais de operacao. Observando-se os resultados, verificou-se elevada uniformidade de emissao de 97,5%, classificando o sistema como excelente. A eficiencia da aplicacao da agua foi de 87,8%, superando o minimo recomendavel que e de 80%. O percentual da area molhada foi adequado, atingindo 63,5% de area umida. Ate 2 metros do microaspersor, a 20 cm de profundidade do solo, as tensoes, variaveis de 30 a 85 kPa, sao apropriadas as boas produtividades da bananeira. Alem dessas distancias, as tensoes atingem valores limitantes de 400 a 500 kPa.