Sample records for saline control capacity

  1. Salinity Trends in the Upper Colorado River Basin Upstream From the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit, Colorado, 1986-2003

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Leib, Kenneth J.; Bauch, Nancy J.

    2008-01-01

    In 1974, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act was passed into law. This law was enacted to address concerns regarding the salinity content of the Colorado River. The law authorized various construction projects in selected areas or 'units' of the Colorado River Basin intended to reduce the salinity load in the Colorado River. One such area was the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit in western Colorado. The U. S. Geological Survey has done extensive studies and research in the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit that provide information to aid the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service in determining where salinity-control work may provide the best results, and to what extent salinity-control work was effective in reducing salinity concentrations and loads in the Colorado River. Previous studies have indicated that salinity concentrations and loads have been decreasing downstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit, and that the decreases are likely the result of salinity control work in these areas. Several of these reports; however, also document decreasing salinity loads upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit. This finding was important because only a small amount of salinity-control work was being done in areas upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit at the time the findings were reported (late 1990?s). As a result of those previous findings, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey to investigate salinity trends in selected areas bracketing the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit and regions upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit. The results of the study indicate that salinity loads were decreasing upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit from 1986 through 2003, but the rates of decrease have slowed during the last 10 years. The average rate of decrease in salinity load upstream from the Grand Valley

  2. Phosphorus sorption capacity of biochars varies with biochar type and salinity level.

    PubMed

    Dugdug, Abdelhafid Ahmed; Chang, Scott X; Ok, Yong Sik; Rajapaksha, Anushka Upamali; Anyia, Anthony

    2018-02-10

    Biochar is recognized as an effective material for recovering excess nutrients, including phosphorus (P), from aqueous solutions. Practically, that benefits the environment through reducing P losses from biochar-amended soils; however, how salinity influences P sorption by biochar is poorly understood and there has been no direct comparison on P sorption capacity between biochars derived from different feedstock types under non-saline and saline conditions. In this study, biochars derived from wheat straw, hardwood, and willow wood were used to compare P sorption at three levels of electrical conductivity (EC) (0, 4, and 8 dS m -1 ) to represent a wide range of salinity conditions. Phosphorus sorption by wheat straw and hardwood biochars increased as aqueous solution P concentration increased, with willow wood biochar exhibiting an opposite trend for P sorption. However, the pattern for P sorption became the same as the other biochars after the willow wood biochar was de-ashed with 1 M HCl and 0.05 M HF. Willow wood biochar had the highest P sorption (1.93 mg g -1 ) followed by hardwood (1.20 mg g -1 ) and wheat straw biochars (1.06 mg g -1 ) in a 25 mg L -1 P solution. Although the pH in the equilibrium solution was higher with willow wood biochar (~ 9.5) than with the other two biochars (~ 6.5), solution pH had no or minor effects on P sorption by willow wood biochar. The high sorption rate of P by willow wood biochar could be attributed to the higher concentrations of salt and other elements (i.e., Ca and Mg) in the biochar in comparison to that in wheat straw and hardwood biochars; the EC values were 2.27, 0.53, and 0.27 dS m -1 for willow wood, wheat straw, and hardwood biochars, respectively. A portion of P desorbed from the willow wood biochar; and that desorption increased with the decreasing P concentration in the aqueous solution. Salinity in the aqueous solution influenced P sorption by hardwood and willow wood but not by wheat straw

  3. 75 FR 25877 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-05-10

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control [[Page 25878

  4. 76 FR 24515 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-02

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) will meet as detailed below. The meeting of the... INFORMATION: The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council was established by the Colorado River...

  5. 78 FR 70574 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-26

    ...] Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of public meeting. SUMMARY: The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L.93-320) (Act) to...

  6. 77 FR 61784 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-10-11

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal agencies on...

  7. 77 FR 23508 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal agencies on...

  8. 78 FR 23784 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal agencies on...

  9. 75 FR 66389 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal agencies on...

  10. 75 FR 27360 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-05-14

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory... River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal agencies on...

  11. 76 FR 61382 - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-10-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory...: The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal...

  12. Quantifying specific capacity and salinity variability in Amman Zarqa Basin, Central Jordan, using empirical statistical and geostatistical techniques.

    PubMed

    Shaqour, F; Taany, R; Rimawi, O; Saffarini, G

    2016-01-01

    Modeling groundwater properties is an important tool by means of which water resources management can judge whether these properties are within the safe limits or not. This is usually done regularly and in the aftermath of crises that are expected to reflect negatively on groundwater properties, as occurred in Jordan due to crises in neighboring countries. In this study, specific capacity and salinity of groundwater of B2/A7 aquifer in Amman Zarqa Basin were evaluated to figure out the effect of population increase in this basin as a result of refugee flux from neighboring countries to this heavily populated basin after Gulf crises 1990 and 2003. Both properties were found to exhibit a three-parameter lognormal distribution. The empirically calculated β parameter of this distribution mounted up to 0.39 m(3)/h/min for specific capacity and 238 ppm for salinity. This parameter is suggested to account for the global changes that took place all over the basin during the entire period of observation and not for local changes at every well or at certain localities in the basin. It can be considered as an exploratory result of data analysis. Formal and implicit evaluation followed this step using structural analysis and construction of experimental semivariograms that represent the spatial variability of both properties. The adopted semivariograms were then used to construct maps to illustrate the spatial variability of the properties under consideration using kriging interpolation techniques. Semivariograms show that specific capacity and salinity values are spatially dependent within 14,529 and 16,309 m, respectively. Specific capacity semivariogram exhibit a nugget effect on a small scale (324 m). This can be attributed to heterogeneity or inadequacies in measurement. Specific capacity and salinity maps show that the major changes exhibit a northwest southeast trend, near As-Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant. The results of this study suggest proper management

  13. Salinity controls on plant transpiration and soil water balance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perri, S.; Molini, A.; Suweis, S. S.; Viola, F.; Entekhabi, D.

    2017-12-01

    Soil salinization and aridification represent a major threat for the food security and sustainable development of drylands. The two problems are deeply connected, and their interplay is expected to be further enhanced by climate change and projected population growth. Salt-affected land is currently estimated to cover around 1.1 Gha, and is particularly widespread in semi-arid to hyper-arid climates. Over 900 Mha of these saline/sodic soils are potentially available for crop or biomass production. Salt-tolerant plants have been recently proposed as valid solution to exploit or even remediate salinized soils. However the effects of salinity on evapotranspiration, soil water balance and the long-term salt mass balance in the soil, are still largely unexplored. In this contribution we analyze the feedback of evapotranspiration on soil salinization, with particular emphasis on the role of vegetation and plant salt-tolerance. The goal is to introduce a simple modeling framework able to shed some light on how (a) soil salinity controls plant transpiration, and (b) salinization itself is favored/impeded by different vegetation feedback. We introduce at this goal a spatially lumped stochastic model of soil moisture and salt mass dynamics averaged over the active soil depth, and accounting for the effect of salinity on evapotranspiration. Here, the limiting effect of salinity on ET is modeled through a simple plant response function depending on both salt concentration in the soil and plant salt-tolerance. The coupled soil moisture and salt mass balance is hence used to obtain the conditional steady-state probability density function (pdf) of soil moisture for given salt tolerance and salinization level, Our results show that salinity imposes a limit in the soil water balance and this limit depends on plant salt-tolerance mainly through the control of the leaching occurrence (tolerant plants exploit water more efficiently than the sensitive ones). We also analyzed the

  14. The influence of cadmium contamination and salinity on the survival, growth and phytoremediation capacity of the saltmarsh plant Salicornia ramosissima.

    PubMed

    Pedro, Carmen A; Santos, Márcia S S; Ferreira, Susana M F; Gonçalves, Sílvia C

    2013-12-01

    The major aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of Salicornia ramosissima on Cadmium phytoremediation under distinct salinities and, consequently, the toxic effects on the plant's development. A greenhouse experiment was performed, using two Cd concentrations (50 and 100 μg l(-1)) in different salinities (0, 5 and 10). Mortality and weight variation, observed at the end of the experiment, showed significant differences between some treatments, meaning that these variables were affected by the salinity and Cd concentrations. The highest Cd accumulation was detected in the roots, and decreased with the increase of salinity and Cd concentration. S. ramosissima is a potential candidate for Cd phytoremediation at salinities close to 0 and its capabilities in Cd phytoaccumulation and phytoestabilization proved to be quite interesting. The optimization of phytoremediation processes by S. ramosissima could turn possible the use of this plant in the recovery of contaminated ecosystems. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Potassium deficiency alters growth, photosynthetic performance, secondary metabolites content, and related antioxidant capacity in Sulla carnosa grown under moderate salinity.

    PubMed

    Hafsi, Chokri; Falleh, Hanen; Saada, Mariem; Ksouri, Riadh; Abdelly, Chedly

    2017-09-01

    Salinity and K + deficiency are two environmental constraints that generally occur simultaneously under field conditions, resulting in severe limitation of plant growth and productivity. The present study aimed at investigating the effects of salinity, either separately applied or in combination with K + deficiency, on growth, photosynthetic performance, secondary metabolites content, and related antioxidant capacity in Sulla carnosa. Seedlings were grown hydroponically under sufficient (6000 μM) or low (60 μM) K + supply with 100 mM NaCl (C + S and D + S treatments, respectively). Either alone or combined with K + deficiency, salinity significantly restricted the plant growth. K + deficiency further increased salt impact on the photosynthetic activity of S. carnosa, but this species displayed mechanisms that play a role in protecting photosynthetic machinery (including non photochemical quenching and antioxidant activity). In contrast to plants subjected to salt stress alone, higher accumulation of phenolic compounds was likely related to antioxidative defence mechanism in plants grown under combined effects of two stresses. As a whole, these data suggest that K + deficiency increases the deleterious effects of salt stress. The quantitative and qualitative alteration of phenolic composition and the enhancement of related antioxidant capacity may be of crucial significance for S. carnosa plants growing under salinity and K + deficient conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  16. Dietary supplementation of Haematococcus pluvialis improved the immune capacity and low salinity tolerance ability of post-larval white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei.

    PubMed

    Xie, Shiwei; Fang, Weiping; Wei, Dan; Liu, Yongjian; Yin, Peng; Niu, Jin; Tian, Lixia

    2018-06-20

    A 25-days experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary Haematococcus pluvialis on growth, survival, immune response and stress tolerance ability of post-larval Litopenaeus vannamei. Post-larval white shrimp (mean initial weight 2.1 mg) were fed five isoenergic and isonitrogenous diets containing grade levels of Haematococcus pluvialis (0, 1.7, 3.3, 6.7 and 13.3 g kg -1 diet, respectively). Results indicated that 3.3 g Haematococcus pluvialis kg -1 diet increased the survival rate of post-larval white shrimp. Specific growth rate (SGR) and weight gain (WG) showed no difference among each groups. After the acute salinity stress (salinity decreased rapidly from 28‰ to 5‰), survival of shrimp fed 6.7 g Haematococcus pluvialis kg -1 diet significant higher than the control (P < 0.05), and the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) was increased with the increasing dietary Haematococcus pluvialis levels. The malonaldehyde (MDA) contents in whole body decreased with the increasing dietary Haematococcus pluvialis levels before and after the salinity stress. Before the salinity stress, relative mRNA levels of Caspase 3, Rho and Janus kinase (JAK) decreased in shrimp fed diets contain Haematococcus pluvialis. After the salinity stress, relative mRNA levels of anti-oxidative related genes and immune related genes decreased with the dietary Haematococcus pluvialis level increased to 3.3 g kg -1 . Based on the effect of Haematococcus pluvialis on survival, salinity stress tolerance ability and the immune response of post-larval L. vannamei, the optimal level of Haematococcus pluvialis was 3.3-6.7 g kg -1 diet (100-200 mg astaxanthin kg -1 diet). Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  17. Using Pressure and Volumetric Approaches to Estimate CO2 Storage Capacity in Deep Saline Aquifers

    DOE PAGES

    Thibeau, Sylvain; Bachu, Stefan; Birkholzer, Jens; ...

    2014-12-31

    Various approaches are used to evaluate the capacity of saline aquifers to store CO 2, resulting in a wide range of capacity estimates for a given aquifer. The two approaches most used are the volumetric “open aquifer” and “closed aquifer” approaches. We present four full-scale aquifer cases, where CO 2 storage capacity is evaluated both volumetrically (with “open” and/or “closed” approaches) and through flow modeling. These examples show that the “open aquifer” CO 2 storage capacity estimation can strongly exceed the cumulative CO 2 injection from the flow model, whereas the “closed aquifer” estimates are a closer approximation to themore » flow-model derived capacity. An analogy to oil recovery mechanisms is presented, where the primary oil recovery mechanism is compared to CO 2 aquifer storage without producing formation water; and the secondary oil recovery mechanism (water flooding) is compared to CO 2 aquifer storage performed simultaneously with extraction of water for pressure maintenance. This analogy supports the finding that the “closed aquifer” approach produces a better estimate of CO 2 storage without water extraction, and highlights the need for any CO 2 storage estimate to specify whether it is intended to represent CO 2 storage capacity with or without water extraction.« less

  18. Hydrologic evaluation of salinity control and reclamation projects in the Indus Plain, Pakistan--A summary

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mundorff, Maurice John; Carrigan, P.H.; Steele, T.D.; Randall, A.D.

    1976-01-01

    This report summarizes the observations and findings of a team of four specialists from the U.S. Geological Survey assigned to Pakistan under the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development during May to August 1972 for a hydrologic evaluation of Salinity Control and Reclamation Projects in the Indus Plain Individual members of the team undertook comprehensive studies related to climatology, surface-water hydrology, and the canal system; streamflow and sediment yields of the rivers; computer applications to hydrologic data; aquifer characteristics; hydrologic evaluation of Salinity Control and Reclamation Projects (SCARPs); tubewell performance; hydrology of shallow versus deep tubewells; well and well-screen design in the Indus Plain; evaluation of observed and anticipated trends in both private and public tubewell development; evaluation of water-quality programs, data analysis, and records, and computer coding of special water-quality data; and evaluation of water-level data, well discharge and specific-capacity tests and aquifer tests. The reclamation program, by pumping from tubewells, has been notably successful in lowering the water table, in providing supplemental water for irrigation and for leaching of salinized soils, and in improving crop production. Some changes in water quality have been observed in SCARP-I and the Mona Scheme of SCARP-II, but these have not as yet (1972) significantly affected the utility of the water for irrigation. Problems associated with reclamation include control of deterioration in performance of tubewells and their rehabilitation, local brackish or saline-water encroachment, and maintenance of a favorable salt balance in the ground-water system. Rapid and as yet (1972) unregulated growth of shallow private tubewell development in the past decade has introduced complicating factors to the reclamation planning of the early 1960's which had emphasized public tubewell development through the SCARP program. In

  19. Capacity of humic substances to complex with iron at different salinities in the Yangtze River estuary and East China Sea.

    PubMed

    Yang, Rujun; Su, Han; Qu, Shenglu; Wang, Xuchen

    2017-05-03

    The iron binding capacities (IBC) of fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA) were determined in the salinity range from 5 to 40. The results indicated that IBC decreased while salinity increased. In addition, dissolved iron (dFe), FA and HA were also determined along the Yangtze River estuary's increasing salinity gradient from 0.14 to 33. The loss rates of dFe, FA and HA in the Yangtze River estuary were up to 96%, 74%, and 67%, respectively. The decreases in dFe, FA and HA, as well as the change in IBC of humic substances (HS) along the salinity gradient in the Yangtze River estuary were all well described by a first-order exponential attenuation model: y(dFe/FA/HA, S) = a 0 × exp(kS) + y 0 . These results indicate that flocculation of FA and HA along the salinity gradient resulted in removal of dFe. Furthermore, the exponential attenuation model described in this paper can be applied in the major estuaries of the world where most of the removal of dFe and HS occurs where freshwater and seawater mix.

  20. Genome interrogation for novel salinity tolerant Arabidopsis mutants.

    PubMed

    van Tol, Niels; Pinas, Johan; Schat, Henk; Hooykaas, Paul J J; van der Zaal, Bert J

    2016-12-01

    Soil salinity is becoming an increasingly large problem in agriculture. In this study, we have investigated whether a capacity to withstand salinity can be induced in the salinity sensitive plant species Arabidopsis thaliana, and whether it can be maintained in subsequent generations. To this end, we have used zinc finger artificial transcription factor (ZF-ATFs) mediated genome interrogation. Already within a relatively small collection Arabidopsis lines expressing ZF-ATFs, we found 41 lines that were tolerant to 100 mM NaCl. Furthermore, ZF-ATF encoding gene constructs rescued from the most strongly salinity tolerant lines were indeed found to act as dominant and heritable agents for salinity tolerance. Altogether, our data provide evidence that a silent capacity to withstand normally lethal levels of salinity exists in Arabidopsis and can be evoked relatively easily by in trans acting transcription factors like ZF-ATFs. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. On the relative roles of hydrology, salinity, temperature, and root productivity in controlling soil respiration from coastal swamps (freshwater)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Krauss, Ken W.; Whitbeck, Julie L.; Howard, Rebecca J.

    2012-01-01

    Background and aims Soil CO2 emissions can dominate gaseous carbon losses from forested wetlands (swamps), especially those positioned in coastal environments. Understanding the varied roles of hydroperiod, salinity, temperature, and root productivity on soil respiration is important in discerning how carbon balances may shift as freshwater swamps retreat inland with sea-level rise and salinity incursion, and convert to mixed communities with marsh plants. Methods We exposed soil mesocosms to combinations of permanent flooding, tide, and salinity, and tracked soil respiration over 2 1/2 growing seasons. We also related these measurements to rates from field sites along the lower Savannah River, Georgia, USA. Soil temperature and root productivity were assessed simultaneously for both experiments. Results Soil respiration from mesocosms (22.7-1678.2 mg CO2 m-2 h-1) differed significantly among treatments during four of the seven sampling intervals, where permanently flooded treatments contributed to low rates of soil respiration and tidally flooded treatments sometimes contributed to higher rates. Permanent flooding reduced the overall capacity for soil respiration as soils warmed. Salinity did reduce soil respiration at times in tidal treatments, indicating that salinity may affect the amount of CO2 respired with tide more strongly than under permanent flooding. However, soil respiration related greatest to root biomass (mesocosm) and standing root length (field); any stress reducing root productivity (incl. salinity and permanent flooding) therefore reduces soil respiration. Conclusions Overall, we hypothesized a stronger, direct role for salinity on soil respiration, and found that salinity effects were being masked by varied capacities for increases in respiration with soil warming as dictated by hydrology, and the indirect influence that salinity can have on plant productivity.

  2. The effect of salinity increase on the photosynthesis, growth and survival of the Mediterranean seagrass Cymodocea nodosa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sandoval-Gil, José M.; Marín-Guirao, Lázaro; Ruiz, Juan M.

    2012-12-01

    There are major concerns in the Mediterranean Sea over the effects of hypersaline effluents from seawater desalination plants on seagrass communities. However, knowledge concerning the specific physiological capacities of seagrasses to tolerate or resist salinity increases is still limited. In this study, changes in the photosynthetic characteristics, pigment content, leaf light absorption, growth and survival of the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa were examined across a range of simulated hypersaline conditions. To this end, large plant fragments were maintained under salinities of 37 (control ambient salinity), 39, 41 and 43 (practical salinity scale) in a laboratory mesocosm system for 47 days. At the end of the experimental period, net photosynthesis exhibited a modest, but significant, decline (12-17%) in all tested hypersaline conditions (39-43). At intermediate salinity levels (39-41), the decline in photosynthetic rates was mainly accounted for by substantial increases in respiratory losses (approximately 98% of the control), the negative effects of which on leaf carbon balance were offset by an improved capacity and efficiency of leaves to absorb light, mainly through changes in accessory pigments, but also in optical properties related to leaf anatomy. Conversely, inhibition of gross photosynthesis (by 19.6% compared to the control mean) in the most severe hypersaline conditions (43) reduced net photosynthesis. In this treatment, the respiration rate was limited in order to facilitate a positive carbon balance (similar to that of the control plants) and shoot survival, although vitality would probably be reduced if such metabolic alterations persisted. These results are consistent with the ecology of Mediterranean C. nodosa populations, which are considered to have high morphological and physiological plasticity and a capacity to grow in a wide variety of coastal environments with varying salinity levels. The results from this study support the premise that C

  3. Glutamate dehydrogenase and Na+-K+ ATPase expression and growth response of Litopenaeus vannamei to different salinities and dietary protein levels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Erchao; Arena, Leticia; Lizama, Gabriel; Gaxiola, Gabriela; Cuzon, Gerard; Rosas, Carlos; Chen, Liqiao; van Wormhoudt, Alain

    2011-03-01

    Improvement in the osmoregulation capacity via nutritional supplies is vitally important in shrimp aquaculture. The effects of dietary protein levels on the osmoregulation capacity of the Pacific white shrimp ( L. vannamei) were investigated. This involved an examination of growth performance, glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and Na+-K+ ATPase mRNA expression,, and GDH activity in muscles and gills. Three experimental diets were formulated, containing 25%, 40%, and 50% dietary protein, and fed to the shrimp at a salinity of 25. After 20 days, no significant difference was observed in weight gain, though GDH and Na+-K+ ATPase gene expression and GDH activity increased with higher dietary protein levels. Subsequently, shrimp fed diets with 25% and 50% dietary protein were transferred into tanks with salinities of 38 and 5, respectively, and sampled at weeks 1 and 2. Shrimp fed with 40% protein at 25 in salinity (optimal conditions) were used as a control. Regardless of the salinities, shrimp fed with 50% dietary protein had significantly higher growth performance than other diets; no significant differences were found in comparison with the control. Shrimp fed with 25% dietary protein and maintained at salinities of 38 and 5 had significantly lower weight gain values after 2 weeks. Ambient salinity change also stimulated the hepatosomatic index, which increased in the first week and then recovered to a relatively normal level, as in the control, after 2 weeks. These findings indicate that in white shrimp, the specific protein nutrient and energy demands related to ambient salinity change are associated with protein metabolism. Increased dietary protein level could improve the osmoregulation capacity of L. vannamei with more energy resources allocated to GDH activity and expression.

  4. Rhizophoraceae Mangrove Saplings Use Hypocotyl and Leaf Water Storage Capacity to Cope with Soil Water Salinity Changes

    PubMed Central

    Lechthaler, Silvia; Robert, Elisabeth M. R.; Tonné, Nathalie; Prusova, Alena; Gerkema, Edo; Van As, Henk; Koedam, Nico; Windt, Carel W.

    2016-01-01

    Some of the most striking features of Rhizophoraceae mangrove saplings are their voluminous cylinder-shaped hypocotyls and thickened leaves. The hypocotyls are known to serve as floats during seed dispersal (hydrochory) and store nutrients that allow the seedling to root and settle. In this study we investigate to what degree the hypocotyls and leaves can serve as water reservoirs once seedlings have settled, helping the plant to buffer the rapid water potential changes that are typical for the mangrove environment. We exposed saplings of two Rhizophoraceae species to three levels of salinity (15, 30, and 0–5‰, in that sequence) while non-invasively monitoring changes in hypocotyl and leaf water content by means of mobile NMR sensors. As a proxy for water content, changes in hypocotyl diameter and leaf thickness were monitored by means of dendrometers. Hypocotyl diameter variations were also monitored in the field on a Rhizophora species. The saplings were able to buffer rapid rhizosphere salinity changes using water stored in hypocotyls and leaves, but the largest water storage capacity was found in the leaves. We conclude that in Rhizophora and Bruguiera the hypocotyl offers the bulk of water buffering capacity during the dispersal phase and directly after settlement when only few leaves are present. As saplings develop more leaves, the significance of the leaves as a water storage organ becomes larger than that of the hypocotyl. PMID:27446125

  5. The Photosynthesis, Na+/K+ Homeostasis and Osmotic Adjustment of Atriplex canescens in Response to Salinity

    PubMed Central

    Pan, Ya-Qing; Guo, Huan; Wang, Suo-Min; Zhao, Bingyu; Zhang, Jin-Lin; Ma, Qing; Yin, Hong-Ju; Bao, Ai-Ke

    2016-01-01

    Atriplex canescens (fourwing saltbush) is a C4 perennial fodder shrub with excellent resistance to salinity. However, the mechanisms underlying the salt tolerance in A. canescens are poorly understood. In this study, 5-weeks-old A. canescens seedlings were treated with various concentrations of external NaCl (0–400 mM). The results showed that the growth of A. canescens seedlings was significantly stimulated by moderate salinity (100 mM NaCl) and unaffected by high salinity (200 or 400 mM NaCl). Furthermore, A. canescens seedlings showed higher photosynthetic capacity under NaCl treatments (except for 100 mM NaCl treatment) with significant increases in net photosynthetic rate and water use efficiency. Under saline conditions, the A. canescens seedlings accumulated more Na+ in either plant tissues or salt bladders, and also retained relatively constant K+ in leaf tissues and bladders by enhancing the selective transport capacity for K+ over Na+ (ST value) from stem to leaf and from leaf to bladder. External NaCl treatments on A. canescens seedlings had no adverse impact on leaf relative water content, and this resulted from lower leaf osmotic potential under the salinity conditions. The contribution of Na+ to the leaf osmotic potential (Ψs) was sharply enhanced from 2% in control plants to 49% in plants subjected to 400 mM NaCl. However, the contribution of K+ to Ψs showed a significant decrease from 34% (control) to 9% under 400 mM NaCl. Interestingly, concentrations of betaine and free proline showed significant increase in the leaves of A. canescens seedlings, these compatible solutes presented up to 12% of contribution to Ψs under high salinity. These findings suggest that, under saline environments, A. canescens is able to enhance photosynthetic capacity, increase Na+ accumulation in tissues and salt bladders, maintain relative K+ homeostasis in leaves, and use inorganic ions and compatible solutes for osmotic adjustment which may contribute to the

  6. Saline as a vehicle control does not alter ventilation in male CD-1 mice.

    PubMed

    Receno, Candace N; Glausen, Taylor G; DeRuisseau, Lara R

    2018-05-01

    Saline (0.9% NaCl) is used in clinical and research settings as a vehicle for intravenous drug administration. While saline is a standard control in mouse studies, there are reports of hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis in high doses. It remains unknown if metabolic acidosis occurs in mice and/or if compensatory increases in breathing frequency and tidal volume accompany saline administration. It was hypothesized that saline administration alters blood pH and the pattern of breathing in conscious CD-1 male mice exposed to air or hypoxia (10% O 2 , balanced N 2 ). Unrestrained barometric plethysmography was used to quantify breathing frequency (breaths/min; bpm), tidal volume (VT; mL/breath/10 g body weight (BW)), and minute ventilation (VE; mL/min/10 g BW) in two designs: (1) 11-week-old mice with no saline exposure (n = 11) compared to mice with 7 days of 0.9% saline administration (intraperitoneal, i.p.; 10 mL/kg body mass; n = 6). and (2) 17-week-old mice tested before (PRE) and after 1 day (POST1, n = 6) or 7 days (POST7, n = 5) of saline (i.p.; 10 mL/kg body mass). There were no differences when comparing frequency, VT, or VE between groups for either design with room air or hypoxia exposures. Hypoxia increased frequency, VT, and VE compared to room air. Moreover, conscious blood sampling showed no differences in pH, p a CO 2 , p aO2 , or HCO3- in mice without or with 7 days of saline. These findings reveal no differences in ventilation following 1 and/or 7 days of saline administration in mice. Therefore, the use of 0.9% saline as a control is supported for studies evaluating the control of breathing in mice. © 2018 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.

  7. Will inundation and salinity levels associated with projected sea level rise reduce the survival, growth, and reproductive capacity of Sarcocornia pacifica (pickleweed)?

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Woo, I.; Takekawa, John Y.

    2012-01-01

    In the San Francisco Bay Estuary, CA, USA, sea level rise (SLR) is projected to increase by 1.4 m during the next 90 years resulting in increased inundation and salt water intrusion up-estuary. Since inundation and salinity are critical factors that drive vegetation structure and composition in coastal wetlands, we asked whether inundation and salinity levels associated with SLR would reduce the survival, growth, and reproductive capacity of a dominant halophyte, Sarcocornia pacifica (pickleweed). We conducted a 4 × 4 factorial greenhouse experiment to examine the effects of a range of inundation periods (25, 50, 75, and 100%) and water salinities (0, 10, 20, 30 psu) on individual S. pacifica adults and seedlings. We found that inundation and salinity treatments affected the height of adults and seedlings combined. When examined separately, adult height was negatively affected by inundation ≥75%, while seedling height was affected by the interaction of both inundation and salinity. Adult belowground biomass was negatively affected by complete inundation. Seedling aboveground biomass decreased 46% at the highest salinity (30 psu) and belowground biomass decreased at salinities ≥20 psu. Adult flower production was not affected by treatments but was reduced by 38% at 30 psu salinity for seedlings. While adult survival was 99%, seedling survival was 56% with greatest mortality at low (25%) inundation, possibly because their roots were more susceptible to desiccation. Vegetation structure of the marsh platform comprised of S. pacifica adults will be susceptible to greater inundation rates associated with SLR. Our results suggest that adults may grow less tall, thus altering the vegetation structure and likely the tidal marsh wildlife that rely on these habitats.

  8. Effects on the metabolism, growth, digestive capacity and osmoregulation of juvenile of Sub-Antarctic Notothenioid fish Eleginops maclovinus acclimated at different salinities.

    PubMed

    Vargas-Chacoff, L; Saavedra, E; Oyarzún, R; Martínez-Montaño, E; Pontigo, J P; Yáñez, A; Ruiz-Jarabo, I; Mancera, J M; Ortiz, E; Bertrán, C

    2015-12-01

    In this study we assessed the influence of three different environmental salinities (5, 15 and 31 psu during 90 days) on growth, osmoregulation, energy metabolism and digestive capacity in juveniles of the Notothenioid fish Eleginops maclovinus. At the end of experimental time samples of plasma, liver, gill, intestine, kidney, skeletal muscle, stomach and pyloric caeca were obtained. Growth, weight gain, hepatosomatic index and specific growth rate increased at 15 and 31 psu and were lower at 5 psu salinity. Gill Na(+), K(+)-ATPase (NKA) activity presented a "U-shaped" relationship respect to salinity, with its minimum rates at 15 psu, while this activity correlated negatively with salinity at both anterior and posterior intestinal portions. No significant changes in NKA activity were observed in kidney or mid intestine. Large changes in plasma, metabolite levels and enzymatic activities related to energy metabolism in liver, gill, intestine, kidney and muscle were generally found in the groups exposed to 5 and 31 psu compared to the 15 psu group. Only the pepsin activity (digestive enzymes) assessed enhanced with environmental salinity, while pyloric caeca trypsin/chymotrypsin ratio decreased. This study suggests that juvenile of E. maclovinus presents greater growth near its iso-osmotic point (15 psu) and hyperosmotic environment (31 psu). Acclimation to low salinity increased the osmoregulatory expenditure as seen by the gill and anterior intestine results, while at high salinity, branchial osmoregulatory activity was also enhanced. This requires the mobilization of lipid stores and amino acids, thereby holding the growth of fish back. The subsequent reallocation of energy sources was not sufficient to maintain the growth rate of fish exposed to 5 psu. Thus, E. maclovinus juveniles present better growth efficiencies in salinities above the iso-osmotic point and hyperosmotic environment of this species, showing their best performance at 15 psu as seen by the main

  9. Effects of dietary chlorogenic acid on growth performance, antioxidant capacity of white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei under normal condition and combined stress of low-salinity and nitrite.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yun; Li, Zheng; Li, Jian; Duan, Ya-Fei; Niu, Jin; Wang, Jun; Huang, Zhong; Lin, Hei-Zhao

    2015-04-01

    An eight-week feeding trial followed by an acute combined stress test of low-salinity and nitrite were performed to evaluate effects of chlorogenic acid (CGA) on growth performance and antioxidant capacity of white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. Shrimp were randomly allocated in 12 tanks (30 shrimp per tank) and triplicate tanks were fed with a control diet or diets containing different levels of CGA (100, 200 and 400 mg kg(-1) feed) as treatment groups. Growth performance including weight gain (WG), biomass gain (BG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and feed intake were determined after feeding for 56 days. Antioxidant capacity were evaluated by determining the activity of total antioxidant status (TAS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT) as well as the gene expression of GSH-Px and CAT in the hepatopancreas of shrimp at the end of feeding trial and again at the end of the combined stress test. The results indicated that supplemention of CGA had no significant effects on the growth performance and the activities of TAS, SOD, GSH-Px and CAT in hepatopancreas of shrimp cultured under normal conditions for 56 days. However, compared with the control group, CGA (200, 400 mg kg(-1) feed) significantly improved the resistance of L. vannamei against the combined stress of low-salinity and nitrite, as indicated by the significant (P < 0.05) higher survival, higher activities of TAS, GSH-Px and CAT, as well as higher transcript levels of GPx and CAT gene in shrimp treated with CGA in the combined tress test. Our findings suggested that CGA possessed dual-modulatory effects on antioxidant capacity of L. vannamei and could be a potential feed additive that can enhance shrimp resistance against environmental stresses. The recommended application dosage is 200 mg kg(-1) and further studies are needed to clarify the action model of CGA efficiency. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Interactive effects of chemical and biological controls on food-web composition in saline prairie lakes.

    PubMed

    Cooper, Ryan N; Wissel, Björn

    2012-11-27

    Salinity is restricting habitatability for many biota in prairie lakes due to limited physiological abilities to cope with increasing osmotic stress. Yet, it remains unclear how salinity effects vary among major taxonomic groups and what role other environmental parameters play in shaping food-web composition. To answer these questions, we sampled fish, zooplankton and littoral macroinvertebrates in 20 prairie lakes (Saskatchewan, Canada) characterized by large gradients in water chemistry and lake morphometry. We showed that salinity thresholds differed among major taxonomic groups, as most fishes were absent above salinities of 2 g L-1, while littoral macroinvertebrates were ubiquitous. Zooplankton occurred over the whole salinity range, but changed taxonomic composition as salinity increased. Subsequently, the complexity of fish community (diversity) was associated with large changes in invertebrate communities. The directional changes in invertebrate communities to smaller taxa indicated that complex fish assemblages resulted in higher predation pressure. Most likely, as the complexity of fish community decreased, controls of invertebrate assemblages shifted from predation to competition and ultimately to productivity in hypersaline lakes. Surprisingly, invertebrate predators did not thrive in the absence of fishes in these systems. Furthermore, the here identified salinity threshold for fishes was too low to be a result of osmotic stress. Hence, winterkill was likely an important factor eliminating fishes in low salinity lakes that had high productivity and shallow water depth. Ultimately, while salinity was crucial, intricate combinations of chemical and biological mechanisms also played a major role in controlling the assemblages of major taxonomic groups in prairie lakes.

  11. Interactive effects of chemical and biological controls on food-web composition in saline prairie lakes

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Salinity is restricting habitatability for many biota in prairie lakes due to limited physiological abilities to cope with increasing osmotic stress. Yet, it remains unclear how salinity effects vary among major taxonomic groups and what role other environmental parameters play in shaping food-web composition. To answer these questions, we sampled fish, zooplankton and littoral macroinvertebrates in 20 prairie lakes (Saskatchewan, Canada) characterized by large gradients in water chemistry and lake morphometry. We showed that salinity thresholds differed among major taxonomic groups, as most fishes were absent above salinities of 2 g L-1, while littoral macroinvertebrates were ubiquitous. Zooplankton occurred over the whole salinity range, but changed taxonomic composition as salinity increased. Subsequently, the complexity of fish community (diversity) was associated with large changes in invertebrate communities. The directional changes in invertebrate communities to smaller taxa indicated that complex fish assemblages resulted in higher predation pressure. Most likely, as the complexity of fish community decreased, controls of invertebrate assemblages shifted from predation to competition and ultimately to productivity in hypersaline lakes. Surprisingly, invertebrate predators did not thrive in the absence of fishes in these systems. Furthermore, the here identified salinity threshold for fishes was too low to be a result of osmotic stress. Hence, winterkill was likely an important factor eliminating fishes in low salinity lakes that had high productivity and shallow water depth. Ultimately, while salinity was crucial, intricate combinations of chemical and biological mechanisms also played a major role in controlling the assemblages of major taxonomic groups in prairie lakes. PMID:23186395

  12. Seasonal/Yearly Salinity Variations in San Francisco Bay

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Peterson, David H.; Cayan, Daniel R.; Dettinger, Michael D.; DiLeo, Jeanne Sandra; Hager, Stephen E.; Knowles, Noah; Nichols, Frederic H.; Schemel, Laurence E.; Smith, Richard E.; Uncles, Reginald J.

    1995-01-01

    The ability of resource agencies to manage fish, wildlife and freshwater supplies of San Francisco Bay estuary requires an integrated knowledge of the relations between the biota and their physical environment. A key factor in these relations is the role of salinity in determining both the physical and the biological character of the estuary. The saltiness of the water, and particularly its seasonal and interannual patterns of variability, affects which aquatic species live where within the estuary. Salinity also determines where water can and cannot be diverted for human consumption and irrigated agriculture, and plays a role in determining the capacity of the estuary to cleanse itself of wastes. In short, salinity is a fundamental property of estuarine physics and chemistry that, in turn, determines the biological characteristics of each estuary. Freshwater is a major control on estuarine salinity. Most freshwater supplied to the Bay is from river flow through the Delta, which is primarily runoff from the Sierra Nevada. Most contaminants in San Francisco Bay are from the Sacramento/San Joaquin Valley and the local watershed around the Bay rather than the sea or atmosphere. Land is the primary source of freshwater and freshwater serves as a tracer of land-derived substances such as the trace metals (copper, lead and selenium), pesticides and plant nutrients (nitrate and phosphate). The U.S. Geological Survey is collaborating with other agencies and institutions in studying San Francisco Bay salinity using field observations and numerical simulations to define the physical processes that control salinity. The issues that arise from salinity fluctuations, however, differ in the northern and southern parts of the bay. In North Bay we need to know how salinity responds to freshwater flow through the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta; this knowledge will benefit water managers who determine how much delta flow is needed a) to protect freshwater supplies for municipal water

  13. Does increased salinity influence the competitive outcome of two producer species?

    PubMed

    Venâncio, C; Anselmo, E; Soares, A; Lopes, I

    2017-02-01

    Within the context of global climate changes, it is expected that low-lying coastal freshwater ecosystems will face seawater intrusion with concomitant increase in salinity levels. Increased salinity may provoke disruption of competitive relationships among freshwater species. However, species may be capable of acclimating to salinity, which, in turn, may influence the resilience of ecosystems. Accordingly, this work aimed at assessing the effects of multigenerational exposure to low levels of salinity in the competitive outcome of two species of green microalgae: Raphidocelis subcapitata and Chlorella vulgaris. To attain this, three specific objectives were delineated: (1) compare the toxicity of natural seawater (SW) and NaCl (as a surrogate of SW) to the two microalgae, (2) determine the capacity of the two microalgae species to acclimate to low salinity levels, and (3) assess the influence of exposure to low salinity levels in the competitive outcome of the two microalgae. Results revealed SW to be slightly less toxic than NaCl for the two microalgae. The EC 25,72 h for growth rate was 4.63 and 10.3 mS cm -1 for R. subcapitata and 6.94 and 15.4 mS cm -1 for C. vulgaris, respectively for NaCl and SW. Both algae were capable of acclimating to low levels of salinity, but C. vulgaris seemed to acclimate faster than R. subcapitata. When exposed in competition, under control conditions, the growth rates of C. vulgaris were lower than those of R. subcapitata. However, C. vulgaris was capable of acquiring competitive advantage equaling or surpassing the growth rate of R. subcapitata with the addition of NaCl or SW, respectively. The multigenerational exposure to low levels of salinity influenced the competitive outcome of the two algae both under control and salinity exposure. These results suggest that long-term exposure to low salinity stress can cause shifts in structure of algae communities and, therefore, should not be neglected since algae are at the basis

  14. Integration of herbicides with manual weeding for controlling the weeds in rice under saline environment.

    PubMed

    Hakim, M A; Juraimi, Abdul Shukor; Hanafi, M M; Rafii, Mohd Y; Ismail, Mohd Razi; Karim, S M Rezaul; Kausar, H

    2015-11-01

    The pot experiment was conducted to select appropriate integrated weed management method in rice under different salinity levels (0, 4 and 8 dS m(-1)). All the parameters including rice and weed measured were significantly influenced by weed control treatments at all salinity levels. Treatments including weed-free condition, Pretilachlor @0.375 kg ai ha(-1) + hand weeding, Propanil + Thiobencarb @ 0.9 kg ai ha(-1) and 1.8 kg ai ha(-1)+ hand weeding performed better under all salinity levels. Pretilachlor @ 0.375 kg ai ha(-1) with one round of hand weeding and propanil + thiobencarb 0.9 kg ai ha(-1) + 1.8 kg ai ha(-1) with one round of hand weeding were comparable to weed-free yields, and were superior to other treatments under salinity condition. Considering all the parameters, pretilachlor @ 0.375 kg ai ha(-1) + one round of hand weeding (at 65 DAT), propanil + thiobencarb 0.9 kg ai ha(-1) +1.8 kg ai ha(-1) + one round of hand weeding (at 65 DAT) gave the most effective control of weeds in rice under saline environments.

  15. Quantitative safety assessment of air traffic control systems through system control capacity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Jingjing

    Quantitative Safety Assessments (QSA) are essential to safety benefit verification and regulations of developmental changes in safety critical systems like the Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems. Effectiveness of the assessments is particularly desirable today in the safe implementations of revolutionary ATC overhauls like NextGen and SESAR. QSA of ATC systems are however challenged by system complexity and lack of accident data. Extending from the idea "safety is a control problem" in the literature, this research proposes to assess system safety from the control perspective, through quantifying a system's "control capacity". A system's safety performance correlates to this "control capacity" in the control of "safety critical processes". To examine this idea in QSA of the ATC systems, a Control-capacity Based Safety Assessment Framework (CBSAF) is developed which includes two control capacity metrics and a procedural method. The two metrics are Probabilistic System Control-capacity (PSC) and Temporal System Control-capacity (TSC); each addresses an aspect of a system's control capacity. And the procedural method consists three general stages: I) identification of safety critical processes, II) development of system control models and III) evaluation of system control capacity. The CBSAF was tested in two case studies. The first one assesses an en-route collision avoidance scenario and compares three hypothetical configurations. The CBSAF was able to capture the uncoordinated behavior between two means of control, as was observed in a historic midair collision accident. The second case study compares CBSAF with an existing risk based QSA method in assessing the safety benefits of introducing a runway incursion alert system. Similar conclusions are reached between the two methods, while the CBSAF has the advantage of simplicity and provides a new control-based perspective and interpretation to the assessments. The case studies are intended to investigate the

  16. Effects of salinity on cadmium toxicity to the bay mysid, Mysidopsis bahia Molenock

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    De Lisle, P.F.

    1988-01-01

    The effects of salinity on cadmium toxicity to the bay mysid, Mysidopsis bahia Molenock were studied in a series of experiments examining salinity tolerance, effect of salinity on intermolt period, osmoregulatory capacity, interaction of salinity with acute cadmium toxicity, role of changes in cadmium speciation, modification due to calcium antagonism and effects of cadmium on osmoregulatory ability.

  17. New techniques to control salinity-wastewater reuse interactions in golf courses of the Mediterranean regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beltrao, J.; Costa, M.; Rosado, V.; Gamito, P.; Santos, R.; Khaydarova, V.

    2003-04-01

    Due to the lack water around the Mediterranean regions, potable water luxurious uses - as in golf courses - are increasingly contested. In order to solve this problem, non conventional water resources (effluent, gray, recycled, reclaimed, brackish), like treated wastewater, for irrigation gained increasing role in the planning and development of additional water supplies in golf courses. In most cases, the intense use of effluent for irrigation attracted public awareness in respect of contaminating pathogens and heavy metals. The contaminating effect of salinity in soil and underground water is very often neglected. The objective of this work is to present the conventional techniques to control salinity of treated wastewater and to present some results on new clean techniques to solve this problem, in the framework of the INCO-COPERNICUS project (no. IC-15CT98-0105) "Adaptation of Efficient Water Use Criteria in Marginal Regions of Europe and Middle Asia with Scarce Sources Subject to Environmental Control, Climate Change and Socio-Economic Development" and of the INCO-DC project (no. IC18-CT98-0266) "Control of Salination and Combating Desertification Effects in the Mediterranean Region. Phase II". Saline water is the most common irrigation water in arid climates. Moreover, for each region treated wastewater is always more saline than tap water, and therefore, when treated wastewater is reused in golf courses, more salinity problems occur. Conventional techniques to combat the salination process in golf courses can be characterized by four generations: 1) Problem of root zone salination by soil leaching - two options can occur - when there is an impermeable layer, salts will be concentrated above this layer; on the other hand, when there is no impermeable layer, aquifers contamination can be observed; 2) Use of subsurface trickle irrigation - economy of water, and therefore less additional salts; however the problem of groundwater contamination due to natural rain

  18. Osmoregulation and muscle water control in vitro facing salinity stress of the Amazon fish Oscar Astronotus ocellatus (Cichlidae)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gutierre, Silvia M. M.; Schulte, Jessica M.; Schofield, Pam; Prodocimo, Viviane

    2017-01-01

    Specimens of Oscar Astronotus ocellatus from a fish farm were abruptly submitted to salt stress of 14 ppt and 20 ppt, for 3 and 8 h to determine their plasma osmolality. Muscle wet body mass change in vitro was analyzed from control freshwater animals. Fish in 14 ppt presented no osmolality distress even after 8 h. In 20 ppt, a slight increase (10%) in plasma osmolality was observed for both times of exposure when compared to control fish. Muscle slices submitted in vitro to hyper-osmotic saline displayed decreased body mass after 75 min, and slices submitted to hypo-osmotic saline displayed increased body mass after 45 min when compared to control (isosmotic saline). These results reinforce A. ocellatus’s euryhalinity. The fish were able to regulate its internal medium and tolerate 14 ppt, but presented an intense osmotic challenge and low muscle hydration control when facing salinities of 20 ppt.

  19. Capacity value of energy storage considering control strategies.

    PubMed

    Shi, Nian; Luo, Yi

    2017-01-01

    In power systems, energy storage effectively improves the reliability of the system and smooths out the fluctuations of intermittent energy. However, the installed capacity value of energy storage cannot effectively measure the contribution of energy storage to the generator adequacy of power systems. To achieve a variety of purposes, several control strategies may be utilized in energy storage systems. The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of different energy storage control strategies on the generation adequacy. This paper presents the capacity value of energy storage to quantitatively estimate the contribution of energy storage on the generation adequacy. Four different control strategies are considered in the experimental method to study the capacity value of energy storage. Finally, the analysis of the influence factors on the capacity value under different control strategies is given.

  20. Urban development control based on transportation carrying capacity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miharja, M.; Sjafruddin, A. H.

    2017-06-01

    Severe transportation problems in Indonesian urban areas are stimulated by one fundamental factor, namely lack of awareness on transportation carrying capacity in these areas development control. Urban land use development towards more physical coverage is typically not related with the capability of transportation system to accommodate additional trips volume. Lack of clear connection between development permit with its implication on the transportation side has led to a phenomenon of exceeding transport demand over supply capacity. This paper discusses the concept of urban land use development control which will be related with transport carrying capacity. The discussion would cover both supply and demand sides of transportation. From supply side, the analysis regarding the capacity of transport system would take both existing as well as potential road network capacity could be developed. From demand side, the analysis would be through the control of a maximum floor area and public transport provision. Allowed maximum floor area for development would be at the level of generating traffic at reasonable volume. Ultimately, the objective of this paper is to introduce model to incorporate transport carrying capacity in Indonesian urban land use development control.

  1. Population specific sperm production in European flounder Platichthys flesus: adaptation to salinity at spawning.

    PubMed

    Nissling, A; Larsson, R

    2018-06-07

    Marine teleosts inhabiting the brackish Baltic Sea have adapted to the less saline water with activation of spermatozoa at low salinity hypo-osmotic conditions but with shorter longevity and lower swimming speed that affect the fertilization capacity. Aiming to elucidate if the fertilization capacity may be maintained by increasing the number of spermatozoa produced, testis size for the euryhaline flounder Platichthys flesus with external fertilization was assessed along a salinity gradient; with spawning at a salinity of c. 7, 10-18 and 30-35. Fulton's condition factor K = 0.881 ± 0.085 (mean ± S.D.), 0.833 ± 0.096 and 0.851 ± 0.086, for fish spawning at salinities of c. 7, 10-18 and 30-35, respectively, with no difference between areas, i.e. analysed fish were in similar nutritional condition. A general linear model, with testes dry mass as the dependent variable and somatic mass as covariate resulted in a significant difference between areas-populations with larger testes for P. flesus spawning at a salinity of c. 7 but no difference between fish spawning at a salinity of 10-18 and 30-35. The result suggests that adaptation by increasing the number of spermatozoa produced may be a key mechanism for marine teleosts spawning in areas with low salinities to sustain the fertilization capacity as shown here for the euryhaline P. flesus. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  2. Phytoremediation of cadmium by the facultative halophyte plant Bolboschoenus maritimus (L.) Palla, at different salinities.

    PubMed

    Santos, Márcia S S; Pedro, Carmen A; Gonçalves, Sílvia C; Ferreira, Susana M F

    2015-10-01

    The cadmium phytoremediation capacity of the halophyte plant Bolboschoenus maritimus (L.) Palla and the influence of water salinity were assessed in a greenhouse experiment, in order to better understand the bioremediation capacity of this plant. Three concentrations of cadmium (0, 50 and 100 μg l(-1)) and four salinity conditions (0, 5, 10 and 20) were chosen to evaluate the cadmium accumulation, in order to test these plants as a potential phytoremediation tool in brackish environments. The cadmium content in water and plants (underground organs, stems and leaves) was analysed with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. All the plants submitted to salinity 20 and in the three cadmium treatments died. The plants' survival was highest in the lowest salinities, where highest growth and biomasses were also obtained. The plants presented more cadmium content in the rhizomes, followed by stems and even less in leaves. The salt stress of the plants interfered with their cadmium accumulation capacity. The highest cadmium accumulation in the rhizomes occurred at salinity 0, while the salinities 0 and 5 were the most adequate for stems and leaves. The experiment pointed out that B. maritimus represents a good possible intervenient for cadmium bioremediation in freshwater and low salinity brackish water environments, but its use is limited in the habitats of higher salinity.

  3. Capacity value of energy storage considering control strategies

    PubMed Central

    Luo, Yi

    2017-01-01

    In power systems, energy storage effectively improves the reliability of the system and smooths out the fluctuations of intermittent energy. However, the installed capacity value of energy storage cannot effectively measure the contribution of energy storage to the generator adequacy of power systems. To achieve a variety of purposes, several control strategies may be utilized in energy storage systems. The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of different energy storage control strategies on the generation adequacy. This paper presents the capacity value of energy storage to quantitatively estimate the contribution of energy storage on the generation adequacy. Four different control strategies are considered in the experimental method to study the capacity value of energy storage. Finally, the analysis of the influence factors on the capacity value under different control strategies is given. PMID:28558027

  4. CO2 storage capacity estimation: Methodology and gaps

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bachu, S.; Bonijoly, D.; Bradshaw, J.; Burruss, R.; Holloway, S.; Christensen, N.P.; Mathiassen, O.M.

    2007-01-01

    Implementation of CO2 capture and geological storage (CCGS) technology at the scale needed to achieve a significant and meaningful reduction in CO2 emissions requires knowledge of the available CO2 storage capacity. CO2 storage capacity assessments may be conducted at various scales-in decreasing order of size and increasing order of resolution: country, basin, regional, local and site-specific. Estimation of the CO2 storage capacity in depleted oil and gas reservoirs is straightforward and is based on recoverable reserves, reservoir properties and in situ CO2 characteristics. In the case of CO2-EOR, the CO2 storage capacity can be roughly evaluated on the basis of worldwide field experience or more accurately through numerical simulations. Determination of the theoretical CO2 storage capacity in coal beds is based on coal thickness and CO2 adsorption isotherms, and recovery and completion factors. Evaluation of the CO2 storage capacity in deep saline aquifers is very complex because four trapping mechanisms that act at different rates are involved and, at times, all mechanisms may be operating simultaneously. The level of detail and resolution required in the data make reliable and accurate estimation of CO2 storage capacity in deep saline aquifers practical only at the local and site-specific scales. This paper follows a previous one on issues and development of standards for CO2 storage capacity estimation, and provides a clear set of definitions and methodologies for the assessment of CO2 storage capacity in geological media. Notwithstanding the defined methodologies suggested for estimating CO2 storage capacity, major challenges lie ahead because of lack of data, particularly for coal beds and deep saline aquifers, lack of knowledge about the coefficients that reduce storage capacity from theoretical to effective and to practical, and lack of knowledge about the interplay between various trapping mechanisms at work in deep saline aquifers. ?? 2007 Elsevier Ltd

  5. Keeping the lights on for global ocean salinity observation

    DOE PAGES

    Durack, Paul J.; Lee, Tong; Vinogradova, Nadya T.; ...

    2016-02-24

    Here, insights about climate are being uncovered thanks to improved capacities to observe ocean salinity, an essential climate variable. However, cracks are beginning to appear in the ocean observing system that require prompt attention if we are to maintain the existing, hard-won capacity into the near future.

  6. Keeping the lights on for global ocean salinity observation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Durack, Paul J.; Lee, Tong; Vinogradova, Nadya T.

    Here, insights about climate are being uncovered thanks to improved capacities to observe ocean salinity, an essential climate variable. However, cracks are beginning to appear in the ocean observing system that require prompt attention if we are to maintain the existing, hard-won capacity into the near future.

  7. Role of warm saline mouth rinse in prevention of alveolar osteitis: a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Osunde, Otasowie Daniel; Bassey, Godwin Obi

    2015-01-01

    The present study was aimed at determining the role warm saline rinse in the prevention of alveolar osteitis following dental extractions. Apparently patients aged 16 and above who were referred to the Oral Surgery Clinic of our institution, with an indication for non-surgical extraction of pathologic teeth were prospectively and uniformly randomized into warm saline group and control. The experimental group (n = 80) were instructed to gargle 6 times daily with warm saline and no such instructions were given to the second group (n = 80) to serve as controls. Information on demographic, indications for extraction, and development of alveolar osteitis were obtained and analyzed. Comparative statistics were done using Pearson's chi square or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. The demographic and other baseline parameters such as indications for extractions were comparable among the study groups (p > 0.05). The overall prevalence of alveolar osteitis was 13.7%. There was a statistical significant difference between the study groups with respect to development of alveolar osteitis (X2 = 15.00, df = 1, p = 0.001).The risk of development of alveolar osteitis was 4 times higher in the control group (OR = 4.33, P = 0.001). Warm saline mouth rinse instruction is beneficial in the prevention of development of alveolar osteitis after dental extractions.

  8. Salinity reduces 2,4-D efficacy in Echinochloa crusgalli by affecting redox balance, nutrient acquisition, and hormonal regulation.

    PubMed

    Islam, Faisal; Xie, Yuan; Farooq, Muhammad A; Wang, Jian; Yang, Chong; Gill, Rafaqat A; Zhu, Jinwen; Zhou, Weijun

    2018-05-01

    Distinct salinity levels have been reported to enhance plants tolerance to different types of stresses. The aim of this research is to assess the interaction of saline stress and the use of 2,4-D as a means of controlling the growth of Echinochloa crusgalli. The resultant effect of such interaction is vital for a sustainable approach of weed management and food production. The results showed that 2,4-D alone treatment reduces the chlorophyll contents, photosynthetic capacity, enhanced MDA, electrolyte leakage, and ROS production (H 2 O 2 , O 2 ·- ) and inhibited the activities of ROS scavenging enzymes. Further analysis of the ultrastructure of chloroplasts indicated that 2,4-D induced severe damage to the ultrastructure of chloroplasts and thylakoids. Severe saline stress (8 dS m -1 ) followed by mild saline stress treatments (4 dS m -1 ) also reduced the E. crusgalli growth, but had the least impact as compared to the 2,4-D alone treatment. Surprisingly, under combined treatments (salinity + 2,4-D), the phytotoxic effect of 2,4-D was reduced on saline-stressed E. crusgalli plants, especially under mild saline + 2,4-D treatment. This stimulated growth of E. crusgalli is related to the higher activities of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants and dynamic regulation of IAA, ABA under mild saline + 2,4-D treatment. This shows that 2,4-D efficacy was affected by salinity in a stress intensity-dependent manner, which may result in the need for greater herbicide application rates, additional application times, or more weed control operations required for controlling salt-affected weed.

  9. Salinization and Saline Environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vengosh, A.

    2003-12-01

    One of the most conspicuous phenomena of water-quality degradation, particularly in arid and semi-arid zones, is salinization of water and soil resources. Salinization is a long-term phenomenon, and during the last century many aquifers and river basins have become unsuitable for human consumption owing to high levels of salinity. Future exploitation of thousands of wells in the Middle East and in many other water-scarce regions in the world depends, to a large extent, on the degree and rate of salinization. Moreover, every year a large fraction of agricultural land is salinized and becomes unusable.Salinization is a global environmental phenomenon that affects many different aspects of our life (Williams, 2001a, b): changing the chemical composition of natural water resources (lakes, rivers, and groundwater), degrading the quality of water supply to the domestic and agriculture sectors, contribution to loss of biodiversity, taxonomic replacement by halotolerant species ( Williams, 2001a, b), loss of fertile soil, collapse of agricultural and fishery industries, changing of local climatic conditions, and creating severe health problems (e.g., the Aral Basin). The damage due to salinity in the Colorado River Basin alone, for example, ranges between 500 and 750 million per year and could exceed 1 billion per year if the salinity in the Imperial Dam increases from 700 mg L-1 to 900 mg L-1 (Bureau of Reclamation, 2003, USA). In Australia, accelerating soil salinization has become a massive environmental and economic disaster. Western Australia is "losing an area equal to one football oval an hour" due to spreading salinity ( Murphy, 1999). The annual cost for dryland salinity in Australia is estimated as AU700 million for lost land and AU$130 million for lost production ( Williams et al., 2002). In short, the salinization process has become pervasive.Salinity in water is usually defined by the chloride content (mg L-1) or total dissolved solids content (TDS, mg L-1or g

  10. Salinity controls on Na incorporation in Red Sea planktonic foraminifera

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mezger, E. M.; de Nooijer, L. J.; Boer, W.; Brummer, G. J. A.; Reichart, G. J.

    2016-12-01

    Whereas several well-established proxies are available for reconstructing past temperatures, salinity remains challenging to assess. Reconstructions based on the combination of (in)organic temperature proxies and foraminiferal stable oxygen isotopes result in relatively large uncertainties, which may be reduced by application of a direct salinity proxy. Cultured benthic and planktonic foraminifera showed that Na incorporation in foraminiferal shell calcite provides a potential independent proxy for salinity. Here we present the first field calibration of such a potential proxy. Living planktonic foraminiferal specimens from the Red Sea surface waters were collected and analyzed for their Na/Ca content using laser ablation quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Using the Red Sea as a natural laboratory, the calibration covers a broad range of salinities over a steep gradient within the same water mass. For both Globigerinoides ruber and Globigerinoides sacculifer calcite Na/Ca increases with salinity, albeit with a relatively large intraspecimen and interspecimen variability. The field-based calibration is similar for both species from a salinity of 36.8 up to 39.6, while values for G. sacculifer deviate from this trend in the northernmost transect. It is hypothesized that the foraminifera in the northernmost part of the Red Sea are (partly) expatriated and hence should be excluded from the Na/Ca-salinity calibration. Incorporation of Na in foraminiferal calcite therefore provides a potential proxy for salinity, although species-specific calibrations are still required and more research on the effect of temperature is needed.

  11. Building capacity for tobacco control research and policy

    PubMed Central

    Stillman, F; Yang, G; Figueiredo, V; Hernandez‐Avila, M; Samet, J

    2006-01-01

    The Fogarty International Center (FIC) initiative, “International Tobacco and Health Research Capacity Building Program” represents an important step in US government funding for global tobacco control. Low‐ and middle‐income countries of the world face a rising threat to public health from the rapidly escalating epidemic of tobacco use. Many are now parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and capacity development to meet FCTC provisions. One initial grant provided through the FIC was to the Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) to support capacity building and research programmes in China, Brazil, and Mexico. The initiative's capacity building effort focused on: (1) building the evidence base for tobacco control, (2) expanding the infrastructure of each country to deliver tobacco control, and (3) developing the next generation of leaders as well as encouraging networking throughout the country and with neighbouring countries. This paper describes the approach taken and the research foci, as well some of the main outcomes and some identified challenges posed by the effort. Individual research papers are in progress to provide more in‐depth reporting of study results. PMID:16723670

  12. Physiological and leaf metabolome changes in the xerohalophyte species Atriplex halimus induced by salinity.

    PubMed

    Bendaly, Alia; Messedi, Dorsaf; Smaoui, Abderrazak; Ksouri, Riadh; Bouchereau, Alain; Abdelly, Chedly

    2016-06-01

    Atriplex halimus is a xerohalophyte plant, which could be used as cash crops. This plant was integrated in Tunisian government programs the aim of which is to rehabilitate saline areas and desert. To investigate its strategies involved in salt tolerance, A. halimus was grown hydroponically under controlled conditions with increasing salinity. Plants were harvested and analyzed after 60 days of treatment. The biomass of A. halimus increased by moderate salinity and decreased significantly at high salinity compared to control plants at 400 mM. Despite of the large amounts of Na(+) observed in the leaves of Atriplex plants, leaf water contents and leaf succulence kept on increasing in treated plants and decreased over 150 mM NaCl. This confirmed the compartmentation and the efficient contribution of Na(+) in the osmotic adjustment. Analysis of the metabolic profiles showed an accumulation of carbohydrates and amino acids. The leaf tissues preferentially stored proline, α alanine and sucrose. Increasing NaCl levels were also accompanied by a significant accumulation of malate in leaves. Involvement of these solutes in osmotic adjustment was considered low. Nevertheless, they seemed to have an important role in controlling photosynthesis which capacity was enhanced by low salinity and decreased with increasing salinity (evaluated by actual photochemical efficiency of photosystem II and chlorophyll contents). The unchanged maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II accompanied by the increase of the non-photochemical quenching, the enhancement of the total antioxidant activity and the decrease of the malondialdehyde contents in leaves showed efficient protection of membranes and photosystem II from photo-oxidative damage. This protection seemed to be attributed to proline and sucrose largely accumulated in leaves treated with salt. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  13. Could high salinity be used to control bullfrogs in small ponds?

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ward, David L.; Finch, Colton; Blasius, Heidi

    2015-01-01

    We examined survival of bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) eggs and tadpoles at 3 ppt and 6 ppt salinity in the laboratory to determine if low-level salinity could be used to eradicate bullfrogs from small ponds that contain native fishes. Bullfrog eggs and tadpoles <10 days old experienced 100% mortality when held at 6 ppt salinity for 10 days. Bullfrog tadpoles 10–15 days old experienced significantly reduced survival when exposed to salinity of 6 ppt for 10 days. Older bullfrog tadpoles (>9 months old) appeared unaffected by 14 days of 6 ppt salinity. Salinity of 3 ppt did not impact survival of bullfrog tadpole eggs or tadpoles at any of the life stages we tested. Adding salt to ponds in the early spring to increase salinity to 6 ppt may be a cost effective way to eradicate bullfrogs from small ponds without harming native fishes.

  14. Ecophysiological response of Crambe maritima to airborne and soil-borne salinity

    PubMed Central

    de Vos, Arjen C.; Broekman, Rob; Groot, Maartje P.; Rozema, Jelte

    2010-01-01

    Background and Aims There is a need to evaluate the salt tolerance of plant species that can be cultivated as crops under saline conditions. Crambe maritima is a coastal plant, usually occurring on the driftline, with potential use as a vegetable crop. The aim of this experiment was to determine the growth response of Crambe maritima to various levels of airborne and soil-borne salinity and the ecophysiological mechanisms underlying these responses. Methods In the greenhouse, plants were exposed to salt spray (400 mm NaCl) as well as to various levels of root-zone salinity (RZS) of 0, 50, 100, 200 and 300 mm NaCl during 40 d. The salt tolerance of Crambe maritima was assessed by the relative growth rate (RGR) and its components. To study possible salinity effects on the tissue and cellular level, the leaf succulence, tissue Na+ concentrations, Na+ : K+ ratio, net K+/Na+ selectivity, N, P, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, proline, soluble sugar concentrations, osmotic potential, total phenolics and antioxidant capacity were measured. Key Results Salt spray did not affect the RGR of Crambe maritima. However, leaf thickness and leaf succulence increased with salt spray. Root zone salinities up to 100 mm NaCl did not affect growth. However, at 200 mm NaCl RZS the RGR was reduced by 41 % compared with the control and by 56 % at 300 mm NaCl RZS. The reduced RGR with increasing RZS was largely due to the reduced specific leaf area, which was caused by increased leaf succulence as well as by increased leaf dry matter content. No changes in unit leaf rate were observed but increased RZS resulted in increased Na+ and proline concentrations, reduced K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations, lower osmotic potential and increased antioxidant capacity. Proline concentrations of the leaves correlated strongly (r = 0·95) with RZS concentrations and not with plant growth. Conclusions Based on its growth response, Crambe maritima can be classified as a salt spray tolerant plant that is sensitive to root

  15. Salinity Management in Agriculture

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Existing guidelines and standards for reclamation of saline soils and management to control salinity exist but have not been updated for over 25 years. In the past few years a looming water scarcity has resulted in questioning of the long term future of irrigation projects in arid and semi arid regi...

  16. Nasal saline for chronic sinonasal symptoms: a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Pynnonen, Melissa A; Mukerji, Shraddha S; Kim, H Myra; Adams, Meredith E; Terrell, Jeffrey E

    2007-11-01

    To determine if isotonic sodium chloride (hereinafter "saline") nasal irrigations performed with large volume and delivered with low positive pressure are more effective than saline sprays at improving quality of life and decreasing medication use. A prospective, randomized controlled trial. Community. A total of 127 adults with chronic nasal and sinus symptoms. Patients were randomly assigned to irrigation performed with large volume and delivered with low positive pressure (n = 64) or spray (n = 63) for 8 weeks. Change in symptom severity measured by mean 20-Item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20) score; change in symptom frequency measured with a global question; and change in medication use. A total of 121 patients were evaluable. The irrigation group achieved lower SNOT-20 scores than the spray group at all 3 time points: 4.4 points lower at 2 weeks (P = .02); 8.2 points lower at 4 weeks (P < .001); and 6.4 points lower at 8 weeks (P = .002). When symptom frequency was analyzed, 40% of subjects in the irrigation group reported symptoms "often or always" at 8 weeks compared with 61% in the spray group (absolute risk reduction, 0.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.02-0.38 (P = .01). No significant differences in sinus medication use were seen between groups. Nasal irrigations performed with large volume and delivered with low positive pressure are more effective than saline sprays for treatment of chronic nasal and sinus symptoms in a community-based population.

  17. De Novo Transcriptional Analysis of Alfalfa in Response to Saline-Alkaline Stress.

    PubMed

    An, Yi-Min; Song, Li-Li; Liu, Ying-Rui; Shu, Yong-Jun; Guo, Chang-Hong

    2016-01-01

    Saline-alkaline stress, caused by high levels of harmful carbonate salts and high soil pH, is a major abiotic stress that affects crop productivity. Alfalfa is a widely cultivated perennial forage legume with some tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, especially to saline-alkaline stress. To elucidate the mechanism underlying plant saline-alkaline tolerance, we conducted transcriptome analysis of whole alfalfa seedlings treated with saline-alkaline solutions for 0 day (control), 1 day (short-term treatment), and 7 days (long-term treatment) using ion torrent sequencing technology. A transcriptome database dataset of 53,853 unigenes was generated, and 2,286 and 2,233 genes were differentially expressed in the short-term and long-term treatment, respectively. Gene ontology analysis revealed 14 highly enriched pathways and demonstrated the differential response of metabolic pathways between the short-term and long-term treatment. The expression levels of 109 and 96 transcription factors were significantly altered significantly after 1 day and 7 days of treatment, respectively. Specific responses of peroxidase, flavonoids, and the light pathway component indicated that the antioxidant capacity was one of the central mechanisms of saline-alkaline stress tolerance response in alfalfa. Among the 18 differentially expressed genes examined by real time PCR, the expression levels of eight genes, including inositol transporter, DNA binding protein, raffinose synthase, ferritin, aldo/keto reductase, glutathione S-transferase, xyloglucan endotrans glucosylase, and a NAC transcription factor, exhibited different patterns in response to saline and alkaline stress. The expression levels of the NAC transcription factor and glutathione S-transferase were altered significantly under saline stress and saline-alkaline stress; they were upregulated under saline-alkaline stress and downregulated under salt stress. Physiology assays showed an increased concentration of reactive oxygen

  18. De Novo Transcriptional Analysis of Alfalfa in Response to Saline-Alkaline Stress

    PubMed Central

    An, Yi-Min; Song, Li-Li; Liu, Ying-Rui; Shu, Yong-Jun; Guo, Chang-Hong

    2016-01-01

    Saline-alkaline stress, caused by high levels of harmful carbonate salts and high soil pH, is a major abiotic stress that affects crop productivity. Alfalfa is a widely cultivated perennial forage legume with some tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, especially to saline-alkaline stress. To elucidate the mechanism underlying plant saline-alkaline tolerance, we conducted transcriptome analysis of whole alfalfa seedlings treated with saline-alkaline solutions for 0 day (control), 1 day (short-term treatment), and 7 days (long-term treatment) using ion torrent sequencing technology. A transcriptome database dataset of 53,853 unigenes was generated, and 2,286 and 2,233 genes were differentially expressed in the short-term and long-term treatment, respectively. Gene ontology analysis revealed 14 highly enriched pathways and demonstrated the differential response of metabolic pathways between the short-term and long-term treatment. The expression levels of 109 and 96 transcription factors were significantly altered significantly after 1 day and 7 days of treatment, respectively. Specific responses of peroxidase, flavonoids, and the light pathway component indicated that the antioxidant capacity was one of the central mechanisms of saline-alkaline stress tolerance response in alfalfa. Among the 18 differentially expressed genes examined by real time PCR, the expression levels of eight genes, including inositol transporter, DNA binding protein, raffinose synthase, ferritin, aldo/keto reductase, glutathione S-transferase, xyloglucan endotrans glucosylase, and a NAC transcription factor, exhibited different patterns in response to saline and alkaline stress. The expression levels of the NAC transcription factor and glutathione S-transferase were altered significantly under saline stress and saline-alkaline stress; they were upregulated under saline-alkaline stress and downregulated under salt stress. Physiology assays showed an increased concentration of reactive oxygen

  19. Geochemical processes controlling water salinization in an irrigated basin in Spain: identification of natural and anthropogenic influence.

    PubMed

    Merchán, D; Auqué, L F; Acero, P; Gimeno, M J; Causapé, J

    2015-01-01

    Salinization of water bodies represents a significant risk in water systems. The salinization of waters in a small irrigated hydrological basin is studied herein through an integrated hydrogeochemical study including multivariate statistical analyses and geochemical modeling. The study zone has two well differentiated geologic materials: (i) Quaternary sediments of low salinity and high permeability and (ii) Tertiary sediments of high salinity and very low permeability. In this work, soil samples were collected and leaching experiments conducted on them in the laboratory. In addition, water samples were collected from precipitation, irrigation, groundwater, spring and surface waters. The waters show an increase in salinity from precipitation and irrigation water to ground- and, finally, surface water. The enrichment in salinity is related to the dissolution of soluble mineral present mainly in the Tertiary materials. Cation exchange, precipitation of calcite and, probably, incongruent dissolution of dolomite, have been inferred from the hydrochemical data set. Multivariate statistical analysis provided information about the structure of the data, differentiating the group of surface waters from the groundwaters and the salinization from the nitrate pollution processes. The available information was included in geochemical models in which hypothesis of consistency and thermodynamic feasibility were checked. The assessment of the collected information pointed to a natural control on salinization processes in the Lerma Basin with minimal influence of anthropogenic factors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. The Role of Bolus Injection of Saline with Arm Elevation on Rocuronium onset Time: A Randomized Control Study

    PubMed Central

    Kulkarni, Malavika; Chuchendra, L. S.; Bhavya, P. J.

    2018-01-01

    Background: The onset time of neuromuscular blockade is a crucial time associated with the risk of hypoxia and pulmonary aspiration. Various strategies have been undertaken to shorten this onset time. Therefore, we investigated the effects of bolus of 20 ml saline followed by limb elevation after administration of rocuronium in a dose of 0.6 mg/kg to study the onset time. Methodology: Thirty patients were randomly allocated to the bolus saline group or control group. General anesthesia was induced and maintained with fentanyl and propofol. Rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg intravenous (IV) was administered followed by 20 ml saline bolus and limb elevation in the study group compared to administration of 0.6 mg/kg in a running drip only in the control. Onset of neuromuscular block was assessed by acceleromyography at the adductor pollicis muscle with train-of-four stimulation. Results: The lag time was shorter in bolus group (34 s median) than in control group (45 s median), P < 0.017. The onset time was shorter in bolus group (55 s median) than in control group (110 s median), P < 0.001. The T1 recovery to 25% was longer in bolus group (42 min median) than in control group (39 min median) which was statistically not significant. Conclusion: Rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg IV followed by bolus 20 ml saline and concomitant limb elevation resulted in shorter lag time, faster onset of neuromuscular blockade, good intubating conditions without prolonging clinical duration of action when compared to the control. PMID:29628555

  1. Ecophysiological adaptations to variable salinity environments in the crab Hemigrapsus crenulatus from the Southeastern Pacific coast: Sodium regulation, respiration and excretion.

    PubMed

    Urzúa, Ángel; Urbina, Mauricio A

    2017-08-01

    The estuarine crab Hemigrapsus crenulatus is a key benthic species of estuarine and intertidal ecosystems of the South Pacific, habitats that experience wide fluctuations in salinity. The physiological strategies that allow this crab to thrive under variable salinities, and how they change during the benthic stages of their life cycle, were evaluated under laboratory conditions. Oxygen consumption, ammonia excretion and the regulatory capacity of Na + through the normal range of environmental salinities (i.e. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30) were evaluated in three size classes, ranging from juveniles to adults. In all sizes, the oxygen consumption, ammonia excretion and regulatory capacity of Na + decreased as salinity increased, with the highest values at 5 and the lowest values at 30 salinity. Bigger crabs showed a higher capacity to regulate Na + , as well as higher respiration and excretion rates compared to smaller crabs, suggesting that they are better equipped to exploit areas of the estuary with low salinity. Regardless of its size, H. crenulatus is a strong hyper regulator in diluted media (i.e. 5-20) while a conformer at salinities higher than 20. The regulatory capacity of Na + was positively related with oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion rates. These relationships between sodium regulation, respiration and excretion are interpreted as adaptive physiological mechanisms that allow H. crenulatus to maintain the osmotic and bioenergetic balance over a wide range of environmental salinities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. [Soil sandy desertification and salinization and their interrelationships in Yanghuang irrigated area of Hongsipu, Ningxia of northwest China].

    PubMed

    Yang, Xin-guo; Song, Nai-ping

    2011-09-01

    By the methods of controlled and typical sampling, this paper analyzed the texture, salinization characteristics, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and their correlations in the 0-40 cm soil profiles of corn land, medlar land, and non-utilized land in Yanghuang irrigated area of Hongsipu, Northwest China. Under controlled sampling, the salt content in the soil profiles was 0.69-1.30 g x kg(-1) (except in non-utilized land where the 0-10 cm soil salt content was up to 1.74 g x kg(-1)), with no obvious salinization. The sodium adsorption ratio and exchangeable sodium percentage in the 20-40 cm soil layer of medlar land were 12.18 and 14.1%, respectively, and the total content of clay and silt in the 0-40 cm soil profile of medlar land was up to 37.3% whereas that in the 0-20 cm soil layer of corn land was only 13.5%. In the 20-40 cm soil layer of corn land, the indices of sandy desertification and salinization had significant correlations under controlled sampling but no correlations under typical sampling, while the CEC and the sandy desertification and salinization indices had significant correlations under typical sampling. In different land use types in the study area, soil sandy desertification and salinization had complicated interrelationships, and CEC could be used as the indicator for the changes in soil environmental quality.

  3. Control of Sulfide Production in High Salinity Bakken Shale Oil Reservoirs by Halophilic Bacteria Reducing Nitrate to Nitrite.

    PubMed

    An, Biwen A; Shen, Yin; Voordouw, Gerrit

    2017-01-01

    Microbial communities in shale oil fields are still poorly known. We obtained samples of injection, produced and facility waters from a Bakken shale oil field in Saskatchewan, Canada with a resident temperature of 60°C. The injection water had a lower salinity (0.7 Meq of NaCl) than produced or facility waters (0.6-3.6 Meq of NaCl). Salinities of the latter decreased with time, likely due to injection of low salinity water, which had 15-30 mM sulfate. Batch cultures of field samples showed sulfate-reducing and nitrate-reducing bacteria activities at different salinities (0, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.5 M NaCl). Notably, at high salinity nitrite accumulated, which was not observed at low salinity, indicating potential for nitrate-mediated souring control at high salinity. Continuous culture chemostats were established in media with volatile fatty acids (a mixture of acetate, propionate and butyrate) or lactate as electron donor and nitrate or sulfate as electron acceptor at 0.5 to 2.5 M NaCl. Microbial community analyses of these cultures indicated high proportions of Halanaerobium, Desulfovermiculus, Halomonas , and Marinobacter in cultures at 2.5 M NaCl, whereas Desulfovibrio, Geoalkalibacter , and Dethiosulfatibacter were dominant at 0.5 M NaCl. Use of bioreactors to study the effect of nitrate injection on sulfate reduction showed that accumulation of nitrite inhibited SRB activity at 2.5 M but not at 0.5 M NaCl. High proportions of Halanaerobium and Desulfovermiculus were found at 2.5 M NaCl in the absence of nitrate, whereas high proportions of Halomonas and no SRB were found in the presence of nitrate. A diverse microbial community dominated by the SRB Desulfovibrio was observed at 0.5 M NaCl both in the presence and absence of nitrate. Our results suggest that nitrate injection can prevent souring provided that the salinity is maintained at a high level. Thus, reinjection of high salinity produced water amended with nitrate maybe be a cost effective method

  4. Precessional control of Sr ratios in marginal basins during the Messinian Salinity Crisis?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Topper, R. P. M.; Lugli, S.; Manzi, V.; Roveri, M.; Meijer, P. Th.

    2014-05-01

    Based on 87Sr/86Sr data of the Primary Lower Gypsum (PLG) deposits in the Vena del Gesso basin—a marginal basin of the Mediterranean during the Messinian Salinity Crisis—a correlation between 87Sr/86Sr values and precessional forcing has recently been proposed but not yet confirmed. In this study, a box model is set up to represent the Miocene Mediterranean deep basin and a connected marginal basin. Measurements of 87Sr/86Sr in the Vena del Gesso and estimated salinity extrema are used to constrain model results. In an extensive analysis with this model, we assess whether coeval 87Sr/86Sr and salinity fluctuations could have been forced by precession-driven changes in the fresh water budget. A comprehensive set of the controlling parameters is examined to assess the conditions under which precession-driven 87Sr/86Sr variations occur and to determine the most likely setting for PLG formation. Model results show that precession-driven 87Sr/86Sr and salinity fluctuations in marginal basins are produced in settings within a large range of marginal basin sizes, riverine strontium characteristics, amplitudes of precessional fresh water budget variation, and average fresh water budgets of both the marginal and deep basin. PLG deposition most likely occurred when the Atlantic-Mediterranean connection was restricted, and the average fresh water budget in the Mediterranean was significantly less negative than at present day. Considering the large range of settings in which salinities and 87Sr/86Sr fluctuate on a precessional timescale, 87Sr/86Sr variations are expected to be a common feature in PLG deposits in marginal basins of the Mediterranean.

  5. Ocean acidification narrows the acute thermal and salinity tolerance of the Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata.

    PubMed

    Parker, Laura M; Scanes, Elliot; O'Connor, Wayne A; Coleman, Ross A; Byrne, Maria; Pörtner, Hans-O; Ross, Pauline M

    2017-09-15

    Coastal and estuarine environments are characterised by acute changes in temperature and salinity. Organisms living within these environments are adapted to withstand such changes, yet near-future ocean acidification (OA) may challenge their physiological capacity to respond. We tested the impact of CO 2 -induced OA on the acute thermal and salinity tolerance, energy metabolism and acid-base regulation capacity of the oyster Saccostrea glomerata. Adult S. glomerata were acclimated to three CO 2 levels (ambient 380μatm, moderate 856μatm, high 1500μatm) for 5weeks (24°C, salinity 34.6) before being exposed to a series of acute temperature (15-33°C) and salinity (34.2-20) treatments. Oysters acclimated to elevated CO 2 showed a significant metabolic depression and extracellular acidosis with acute exposure to elevated temperature and reduced salinity, especially at the highest CO 2 of 1500μatm. Our results suggest that the acute thermal and salinity tolerance of S. glomerata and thus its distribution will reduce as OA continues to worsen. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Effects of Soil Salinity on the Expression of Bt Toxin (Cry1Ac) and the Control Efficiency of Helicoverpa armigera in Field-Grown Transgenic Bt Cotton.

    PubMed

    Luo, Jun-Yu; Zhang, Shuai; Peng, Jun; Zhu, Xiang-Zhen; Lv, Li-Min; Wang, Chun-Yi; Li, Chun-Hua; Zhou, Zhi-Guo; Cui, Jin-Jie

    2017-01-01

    An increasing area of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton is being planted in saline-alkaline soil in China. The Bt protein level in transgenic cotton plants and its control efficiency can be affected by abiotic stress, including high temperature, water deficiency and other factors. However, how soil salinity affects the expression of Bt protein, thus influencing the control efficiency of Bt cotton against the cotton bollworm (CBW) Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) in the field, is poorly understood. Our objective in the present study was to investigate the effects of soil salinity on the expression of Bt toxin (Cry1Ac) and the control efficiency of Helicoverpa armigera in field-grown transgenic Bt cotton using three natural saline levels (1.15 dS m-1 [low soil-salinity], 6.00 dS m-1 [medium soil-salinity] and 11.46 dS m-1 [high soil-salinity]). We found that the Bt protein content in the transgenic Bt cotton leaves and the insecticidal activity of Bt cotton against CBW decreased with the increasing soil salinity in laboratory experiments during the growing season. The Bt protein content of Bt cotton leaves in the laboratory were negatively correlated with the salinity level. The CBW populations were highest on the Bt cotton grown in medium-salinity soil instead of the high-salinity soil in field conditions. A possible mechanism may be that the relatively high-salinity soil changed the plant nutritional quality or other plant defensive traits. The results from this study may help to identify more appropriate practices to control CBW in Bt cotton fields with different soil salinity levels.

  7. Effects of Soil Salinity on the Expression of Bt Toxin (Cry1Ac) and the Control Efficiency of Helicoverpa armigera in Field-Grown Transgenic Bt Cotton

    PubMed Central

    Luo, Jun-Yu; Zhang, Shuai; Peng, Jun; Zhu, Xiang-Zhen; Lv, Li-Min; Wang, Chun-Yi; Li, Chun-Hua; Zhou, Zhi-Guo; Cui, Jin-Jie

    2017-01-01

    An increasing area of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton is being planted in saline-alkaline soil in China. The Bt protein level in transgenic cotton plants and its control efficiency can be affected by abiotic stress, including high temperature, water deficiency and other factors. However, how soil salinity affects the expression of Bt protein, thus influencing the control efficiency of Bt cotton against the cotton bollworm (CBW) Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) in the field, is poorly understood. Our objective in the present study was to investigate the effects of soil salinity on the expression of Bt toxin (Cry1Ac) and the control efficiency of Helicoverpa armigera in field-grown transgenic Bt cotton using three natural saline levels (1.15 dS m-1 [low soil-salinity], 6.00 dS m-1 [medium soil-salinity] and 11.46 dS m-1 [high soil-salinity]). We found that the Bt protein content in the transgenic Bt cotton leaves and the insecticidal activity of Bt cotton against CBW decreased with the increasing soil salinity in laboratory experiments during the growing season. The Bt protein content of Bt cotton leaves in the laboratory were negatively correlated with the salinity level. The CBW populations were highest on the Bt cotton grown in medium-salinity soil instead of the high-salinity soil in field conditions. A possible mechanism may be that the relatively high-salinity soil changed the plant nutritional quality or other plant defensive traits. The results from this study may help to identify more appropriate practices to control CBW in Bt cotton fields with different soil salinity levels. PMID:28099508

  8. Effects of Methane-Rich Saline on the Capability of One-Time Exhaustive Exercise in Male SD Rats

    PubMed Central

    Xin, Lei; Sun, Xuejun; Lou, Shujie

    2016-01-01

    Purpose To explore the effects of methane-rich saline (CH4 saline) on the capability of one-time exhaustive exercise in male SD rats. Methods Thirty rats were equally divided into to three groups at random: control group (C), placebo group (P) and methane saline group (M). Rats in M group underwent intraperitoneal injection of CH4 saline, and the other two groups simultaneously underwent intraperitoneal injection of normal saline. Then, the exercise capability of rats was tested through one-time exhaustive treadmill exercise except C group. Exercise time and body weight were recorded before and after one-time exhaustive exercise. After exhaustive exercise, the blood and gastrocnemius samples were collected from all rats to detect biochemical parameters in different methods. Results It was found that the treadmill running time was significantly longer in rats treated with CH4 saline. At the same time, CH4 saline reduced the elevation of LD and UN in blood caused by one-time exhaustive exercise. The low level of blood glucose induced by exhaustive exercise was also normalized by CH4 saline. Also CH4 saline lowered the level of CK in plasma. Furthermore, this research indicated that CH4 saline markedly increased the volume of T-AOC in plasma and alleviated the peak of TNF-α in both plasma and gastrocnemius. From H&E staining, CH4 saline effectively improved exercise-induced structural damage in gastrocnemius. Conclusions CH4 saline could enhance exercise capacity in male SD rats through increase of glucose aerobic oxidation, improvement of metabolic clearance and decrease of exhaustive exercise-induced gastrocnemius injury. PMID:26942576

  9. Salinity management in the Rio Grande Bosque

    Treesearch

    Jan M. H. Hendrickx; J. Bruce J. Harrison; Jelle Beekma; Graciela Rodriguez-Marin

    1999-01-01

    This paper discusses management options for salinity control in the Rio Grande Bosque. First, salt sources are identified and quantified. Capillary rise of ground water is the most important cause for soil salinization in the bosque. Next, a riparian salt balance is presented to explain the different mechanisms for soil salinization. Finally, the advantages and...

  10. Numerical Study of Groundwater Flow and Salinity Distribution Cycling Controlled by Seawater/Freshwater Interaction in Karst Aquifer Using SEAWAT

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Z.; Hu, B.

    2017-12-01

    The interest to predict seawater intrusion and salinity distribution in Woodville Karst Plain (WKP) has increased due to the huge challenge on quality of drinkable water and serious environmental problems. Seawater intrudes into the conduit system from submarine karst caves at Spring Creek Spring due to density difference and sea level rising, nowadays the low salinity has been detected at Wakulla Spring which is 18 km from coastal line. The groundwater discharge at two major springs and salinity distribution in this area is controlled by the seawater/freshwater interaction under different rainfall conditions: during low rainfall periods, seawater flow into the submarine spring through karst windows, then the salinity rising at the submarine spring leads to seawater further intrudes into conduit system; during high rainfall periods, seawater is pushed out by fresh water discharge at submarine spring. The previous numerical studies of WKP mainly focused on the density independent transport modeling and seawater/freshwater discharge at major karst springs, in this study, a SEAWAT model has been developed to fully investigate the salinity distribution in the WKP under repeating phases of low rainfall and high rainfall periods, the conduit system was simulated as porous media with high conductivity and porosity. The precipitation, salinity and discharge at springs were used to calibrate the model. The results showed that the salinity distribution in porous media and conduit system is controlled by the rainfall change, in general, the salinity distribution inland under low rainfall conditions is much higher and wider than the high rainfall conditions. The results propose a prediction on the environmental problem caused by seawater intrusion in karst coastal aquifer, in addition, provide a visual and scientific basis for future groundwater remediation.

  11. Higher Self-Control Capacity Predicts Lower Anxiety-Impaired Cognition during Math Examinations.

    PubMed

    Bertrams, Alex; Baumeister, Roy F; Englert, Chris

    2016-01-01

    We assumed that self-control capacity, self-efficacy, and self-esteem would enable students to keep attentional control during tests. Therefore, we hypothesized that the three personality traits would be negatively related to anxiety-impaired cognition during math examinations. Secondary school students (N = 158) completed measures of self-control capacity, self-efficacy, and self-esteem at the beginning of the school year. Five months later, anxiety-impaired cognition during math examinations was assessed. Higher self-control capacity, but neither self-efficacy nor self-esteem, predicted lower anxiety-impaired cognition 5 months later, over and above baseline anxiety-impaired cognition. Moreover, self-control capacity was indirectly related to math grades via anxiety-impaired cognition. The findings suggest that improving self-control capacity may enable students to deal with anxiety-related problems during school tests.

  12. Higher Self-Control Capacity Predicts Lower Anxiety-Impaired Cognition during Math Examinations

    PubMed Central

    Bertrams, Alex; Baumeister, Roy F.; Englert, Chris

    2016-01-01

    We assumed that self-control capacity, self-efficacy, and self-esteem would enable students to keep attentional control during tests. Therefore, we hypothesized that the three personality traits would be negatively related to anxiety-impaired cognition during math examinations. Secondary school students (N = 158) completed measures of self-control capacity, self-efficacy, and self-esteem at the beginning of the school year. Five months later, anxiety-impaired cognition during math examinations was assessed. Higher self-control capacity, but neither self-efficacy nor self-esteem, predicted lower anxiety-impaired cognition 5 months later, over and above baseline anxiety-impaired cognition. Moreover, self-control capacity was indirectly related to math grades via anxiety-impaired cognition. The findings suggest that improving self-control capacity may enable students to deal with anxiety-related problems during school tests. PMID:27065013

  13. Causal mechanisms of soil organic matter decomposition: Deconstructing salinity and flooding impacts in coastal wetlands

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stagg, Camille L.; Schoolmaster, Donald; Krauss, Ken W.; Cormier, Nicole; Conner, William H.

    2017-01-01

    Coastal wetlands significantly contribute to global carbon storage potential. Sea-level rise and other climate change-induced disturbances threaten coastal wetland sustainability and carbon storage capacity. It is critical that we understand the mechanisms controlling wetland carbon loss so that we can predict and manage these resources in anticipation of climate change. However, our current understanding of the mechanisms that control soil organic matter decomposition, in particular the impacts of elevated salinity, are limited, and literature reports are contradictory. In an attempt to improve our understanding of these complex processes, we measured root and rhizome decomposition and developed a causal model to identify and quantify the mechanisms that influence soil organic matter decomposition in coastal wetlands that are impacted by sea-level rise. We identified three causal pathways: 1) a direct pathway representing the effects of flooding on soil moisture, 2) a direct pathway representing the effects of salinity on decomposer microbial communities and soil biogeochemistry, and 3) an indirect pathway representing the effects of salinity on litter quality through changes in plant community composition over time. We used this model to test the effects of alternate scenarios on the response of tidal freshwater forested wetlands and oligohaline marshes to short- and long-term climate-induced disturbances of flooding and salinity. In tidal freshwater forested wetlands, the model predicted less decomposition in response to drought, hurricane salinity pulsing, and long-term sea-level rise. In contrast, in the oligohaline marsh, the model predicted no change in response to sea-level rise, and increased decomposition following a drought or a hurricane salinity pulse. Our results show that it is critical to consider the temporal scale of disturbance and the magnitude of exposure when assessing the effects of salinity intrusion on carbon mineralization in coastal

  14. Causal mechanisms of soil organic matter decomposition: deconstructing salinity and flooding impacts in coastal wetlands.

    PubMed

    Stagg, Camille L; Schoolmaster, Donald R; Krauss, Ken W; Cormier, Nicole; Conner, William H

    2017-08-01

    Coastal wetlands significantly contribute to global carbon storage potential. Sea-level rise and other climate-change-induced disturbances threaten coastal wetland sustainability and carbon storage capacity. It is critical that we understand the mechanisms controlling wetland carbon loss so that we can predict and manage these resources in anticipation of climate change. However, our current understanding of the mechanisms that control soil organic matter decomposition, in particular the impacts of elevated salinity, are limited, and literature reports are contradictory. In an attempt to improve our understanding of these complex processes, we measured root and rhizome decomposition and developed a causal model to identify and quantify the mechanisms that influence soil organic matter decomposition in coastal wetlands that are impacted by sea-level rise. We identified three causal pathways: (1) a direct pathway representing the effects of flooding on soil moisture, (2) a direct pathway representing the effects of salinity on decomposer microbial communities and soil biogeochemistry, and (3) an indirect pathway representing the effects of salinity on litter quality through changes in plant community composition over time. We used this model to test the effects of alternate scenarios on the response of tidal freshwater forested wetlands and oligohaline marshes to short- and long-term climate-induced disturbances of flooding and salinity. In tidal freshwater forested wetlands, the model predicted less decomposition in response to drought, hurricane salinity pulsing, and long-term sea-level rise. In contrast, in the oligohaline marsh, the model predicted no change in response to drought and sea-level rise, and increased decomposition following a hurricane salinity pulse. Our results show that it is critical to consider the temporal scale of disturbance and the magnitude of exposure when assessing the effects of salinity intrusion on carbon mineralization in coastal

  15. Control of Sulfide Production in High Salinity Bakken Shale Oil Reservoirs by Halophilic Bacteria Reducing Nitrate to Nitrite

    PubMed Central

    An, Biwen A.; Shen, Yin; Voordouw, Gerrit

    2017-01-01

    Microbial communities in shale oil fields are still poorly known. We obtained samples of injection, produced and facility waters from a Bakken shale oil field in Saskatchewan, Canada with a resident temperature of 60°C. The injection water had a lower salinity (0.7 Meq of NaCl) than produced or facility waters (0.6–3.6 Meq of NaCl). Salinities of the latter decreased with time, likely due to injection of low salinity water, which had 15–30 mM sulfate. Batch cultures of field samples showed sulfate-reducing and nitrate-reducing bacteria activities at different salinities (0, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.5 M NaCl). Notably, at high salinity nitrite accumulated, which was not observed at low salinity, indicating potential for nitrate-mediated souring control at high salinity. Continuous culture chemostats were established in media with volatile fatty acids (a mixture of acetate, propionate and butyrate) or lactate as electron donor and nitrate or sulfate as electron acceptor at 0.5 to 2.5 M NaCl. Microbial community analyses of these cultures indicated high proportions of Halanaerobium, Desulfovermiculus, Halomonas, and Marinobacter in cultures at 2.5 M NaCl, whereas Desulfovibrio, Geoalkalibacter, and Dethiosulfatibacter were dominant at 0.5 M NaCl. Use of bioreactors to study the effect of nitrate injection on sulfate reduction showed that accumulation of nitrite inhibited SRB activity at 2.5 M but not at 0.5 M NaCl. High proportions of Halanaerobium and Desulfovermiculus were found at 2.5 M NaCl in the absence of nitrate, whereas high proportions of Halomonas and no SRB were found in the presence of nitrate. A diverse microbial community dominated by the SRB Desulfovibrio was observed at 0.5 M NaCl both in the presence and absence of nitrate. Our results suggest that nitrate injection can prevent souring provided that the salinity is maintained at a high level. Thus, reinjection of high salinity produced water amended with nitrate maybe be a cost effective

  16. Effects of Smoking on Respiratory Capacity and Control

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Awan, Shaheen N.; Alphonso, Vania A.

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to provide information concerning the possible early effects of smoking on measures of respiratory capacity and control in young adult female smokers vs. nonsmokers. In particular, maximum performance test results (vital capacity and maximum phonation time) and measures of air pressures and airflows during voiceless,…

  17. Vacuolar Chloride Fluxes Impact Ion Content and Distribution during Early Salinity Stress1

    PubMed Central

    Baetz, Ulrike; Tohge, Takayuki; Martinoia, Enrico; De Angeli, Alexis

    2016-01-01

    The ability to control the cytoplasmic environment is a prerequisite for plants to cope with changing environmental conditions. During salt stress, for instance, Na+ and Cl− are sequestered into the vacuole to help maintain cytosolic ion homeostasis and avoid cellular damage. It has been observed that vacuolar ion uptake is tied to fluxes across the plasma membrane. The coordination of both transport processes and relative contribution to plant adaptation, however, is still poorly understood. To investigate the link between vacuolar anion uptake and whole-plant ion distribution during salinity, we used mutants of the only vacuolar Cl− channel described to date: the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) ALMT9. After 24-h NaCl treatment, almt9 knock-out mutants had reduced shoot accumulation of both Cl− and Na+. In contrast, almt9 plants complemented with a mutant variant of ALMT9 that exhibits enhanced channel activity showed higher Cl− and Na+ accumulation. The altered shoot ion contents were not based on differences in transpiration, pointing to a vacuolar function in regulating xylem loading during salinity. In line with this finding, GUS staining demonstrated that ALMT9 is highly expressed in the vasculature of shoots and roots. RNA-seq analysis of almt9 mutants under salinity revealed specific expression profiles of transporters involved in long-distance ion translocation. Taken together, our study uncovers that the capacity of vacuolar Cl− loading in vascular cells plays a crucial role in controlling whole-plant ion movement rapidly after onset of salinity. PMID:27503602

  18. Refrigerator with variable capacity compressor and cycle priming action through capacity control and associated methods

    DOEpatents

    Gomes, Alberto Regio; Litch, Andrew D.; Wu, Guolian

    2016-03-15

    A refrigerator appliance (and associated method) that includes a condenser, evaporator and a multi-capacity compressor. The appliance also includes a pressure reducing device arranged within an evaporator-condenser refrigerant circuit, and a valve system for directing or restricting refrigerant flow through the device. The appliance further includes a controller for operating the compressor upon the initiation of a compressor ON-cycle at a priming capacity above a nominal capacity for a predetermined or calculated duration.

  19. Evaluation of the functional roles of fungal endophytes of Phragmites australis from high saline and low saline habitats

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Soares, Marcos Antonio; Li, Hai-Yan; Kowalski, Kurt P.; Bergen, Marshall; Torres, Monica S.; White, James F.

    2016-01-01

    Non-native Phragmites australis decreases biodiversity and produces dense stands in North America. We surveyed the endophyte communities in the stems, leaves and roots of collections of P. australis obtained from two sites with a low and high salt concentration to determine differences in endophyte composition and assess differences in functional roles of microbes in plants from both sites. We found differences in the abundance, richness and diversity of endophytes between the low saline collections (18 species distributed in phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Stramenopiles (Oomycota); from orders Dothideales, Pleosporales, Hypocreales, Eurotiales, Cantharellales and Pythiales; Shannon H = 2.639; Fisher alpha = 7.335) and high saline collections (15 species from phylum Ascomycota; belonging to orders Pleosporales, Hypocreales, Diaporthales, Xylariales and Dothideales; Shannon H = 2.289; Fisher alpha = 4.181). Peyronellaea glomerata, Phoma macrostoma and Alternaria tenuissima were species obtained from both sites. The high salt endophyte community showed higher resistance to zinc, mercury and salt stress compared to fungal species from the low salt site. These endophytes also showed a greater propensity for growth promotion of rice seedlings (a model species) under salt stress. The results of this study are consistent with the ‘habitat-adapted symbiosis hypothesis’ that holds that endophytic microbes may help plants adapt to extreme habitats. The capacity of P. australis to establish symbiotic relationships with diverse endophytic microbes that enhance its tolerance to abiotic stresses could be a factor that contributes to its invasiveness in saline environments. Targeting the symbiotic associates of P. australis could lead to more sustainable control of non-native P. australis.

  20. The role of floridoside in osmoadaptation of coral-associated algal endosymbionts to high-salinity conditions

    PubMed Central

    Ochsenkühn, Michael A.; Röthig, Till; D’Angelo, Cecilia; Wiedenmann, Jörg; Voolstra, Christian R.

    2017-01-01

    The endosymbiosis between Symbiodinium dinoflagellates and stony corals provides the foundation of coral reef ecosystems. The survival of these ecosystems is under threat at a global scale, and better knowledge is needed to conceive strategies for mitigating future reef loss. Environmental disturbance imposing temperature, salinity, and nutrient stress can lead to the loss of the Symbiodinium partner, causing so-called coral bleaching. Some of the most thermotolerant coral-Symbiodinium associations occur in the Persian/Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea, which also represent the most saline coral habitats. We studied whether Symbiodinium alter their metabolite content in response to high-salinity environments. We found that Symbiodinium cells exposed to high salinity produced high levels of the osmolyte 2-O-glycerol-α-d-galactopyranoside (floridoside), both in vitro and in their coral host animals, thereby increasing their capacity and, putatively, the capacity of the holobiont to cope with the effects of osmotic stress in extreme environments. Given that floridoside has been previously shown to also act as an antioxidant, this osmolyte may serve a dual function: first, to serve as a compatible organic osmolyte accumulated by Symbiodinium in response to elevated salinities and, second, to counter reactive oxygen species produced as a consequence of potential salinity and heat stress. PMID:28835914

  1. Microdensitometry to identify saline rangelands on 70-mm color-infrared aerial film

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Everitt, J. H.; Gerbermann, A. H.; Alaniz, M. A.

    1981-01-01

    Many of the world's rangelands are affected by salinity. The detection of these areas is important to range and resource managers who are concerned with productivity, condition, and animal carrying capacity. The reported study was conducted along a north-to-south flight line 24 km long and 1.6 wide in Starr County, TX. Everitt et al. (1977) described seven different native range sites (four nonsaline and three saline) along this flight line. The study showed that photointerpretation by microdensitometry could be used to identify saline range sites quantitatively on CIR (0.50 to 0.90 micrometers) aerial film (scales 1:19,000, 1:42,000, and 1:80,000) exposed in May 1976, June 1976, and June 1979. Microdensitometer readings made on CIR film using white or blue light generally gave the best separation between saline and nonsaline range sites. The differences in microdensitometry readings among saline and nonsaline range sites were caused by less plant cover on the saline sites.

  2. Potential Use of Halophytes to Remediate Saline Soils

    PubMed Central

    Hasanuzzaman, Mirza; Nahar, Kamrun; Alam, Md. Mahabub; Bhowmik, Prasanta C.; Hossain, Md. Amzad; Rahman, Motior M.; Prasad, Majeti Narasimha Vara; Ozturk, Munir; Fujita, Masayuki

    2014-01-01

    Salinity is one of the rising problems causing tremendous yield losses in many regions of the world especially in arid and semiarid regions. To maximize crop productivity, these areas should be brought under utilization where there are options for removing salinity or using the salt-tolerant crops. Use of salt-tolerant crops does not remove the salt and hence halophytes that have capacity to accumulate and exclude the salt can be an effective way. Methods for salt removal include agronomic practices or phytoremediation. The first is cost- and labor-intensive and needs some developmental strategies for implication; on the contrary, the phytoremediation by halophyte is more suitable as it can be executed very easily without those problems. Several halophyte species including grasses, shrubs, and trees can remove the salt from different kinds of salt-affected problematic soils through salt excluding, excreting, or accumulating by their morphological, anatomical, physiological adaptation in their organelle level and cellular level. Exploiting halophytes for reducing salinity can be good sources for meeting the basic needs of people in salt-affected areas as well. This review focuses on the special adaptive features of halophytic plants under saline condition and the possible ways to utilize these plants to remediate salinity. PMID:25110683

  3. Freshwater salinization syndrome on a continental scale

    PubMed Central

    Likens, Gene E.; Pace, Michael L.; Utz, Ryan M.; Haq, Shahan; Gorman, Julia; Grese, Melissa

    2018-01-01

    Salt pollution and human-accelerated weathering are shifting the chemical composition of major ions in fresh water and increasing salinization and alkalinization across North America. We propose a concept, the freshwater salinization syndrome, which links salinization and alkalinization processes. This syndrome manifests as concurrent trends in specific conductance, pH, alkalinity, and base cations. Although individual trends can vary in strength, changes in salinization and alkalinization have affected 37% and 90%, respectively, of the drainage area of the contiguous United States over the past century. Across 232 United States Geological Survey (USGS) monitoring sites, 66% of stream and river sites showed a statistical increase in pH, which often began decades before acid rain regulations. The syndrome is most prominent in the densely populated eastern and midwestern United States, where salinity and alkalinity have increased most rapidly. The syndrome is caused by salt pollution (e.g., road deicers, irrigation runoff, sewage, potash), accelerated weathering and soil cation exchange, mining and resource extraction, and the presence of easily weathered minerals used in agriculture (lime) and urbanization (concrete). Increasing salts with strong bases and carbonates elevate acid neutralizing capacity and pH, and increasing sodium from salt pollution eventually displaces base cations on soil exchange sites, which further increases pH and alkalinization. Symptoms of the syndrome can include: infrastructure corrosion, contaminant mobilization, and variations in coastal ocean acidification caused by increasingly alkaline river inputs. Unless regulated and managed, the freshwater salinization syndrome can have significant impacts on ecosystem services such as safe drinking water, contaminant retention, and biodiversity. PMID:29311318

  4. [Investigation and canonical correspondence analysis of salinity contents in secondary salinization greenhouse soils in Shanghai suburb].

    PubMed

    Tang, Dong; Mao, Liang; Zhi, Yue-e; Zhang, Jin-Zhong; Zhou, Pei; Chai, Xiao-Tong

    2014-12-01

    The salinity characteristics of greenhouse soils with cropping obstacles in Shanghai suburb were investigated and analyzed. The salinity contents of the salinization greenhouse soils showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing with the increasing cropping duration. The salinized soils mainly included slightly salted, mildly salted and salted soils, which accounted for 17.39%, 56.52% and 13.04%, respectively. Among them, the degree of salinity in greenhouse soil planted with asparagus in Chongming County was the highest. Among the salt ions in greenhouse soils, the cations were mainly Ca2+ and Na+, while the anions were mainly NO3- and SO4(2-). The degree of salinity was mainly influenced by fertilization mode, cropping duration, crop type and management level, which led to the great variation in the salinity contents and salt ions. Canonical correspondence analysis found that the contents of Ca2+, Mg2+ and NO3- in greenhouse soils were greatly affected by cropping duration, and the degree of salinity would be enhanced and attenuated with long-term application of single fertilizer and mixed application of chemical fertilizer and organic manure, respectively. The greenhouse soils in Shanghai suburb could be classified as four patterns influenced by the relationship between salinity ions and samples, and the most soils were influenced by Ca2+, Mg2+, NO3- and Cl-, which required to be primarily controlled.

  5. The role of postural control in the association between aerobic capacity and walking capacity in chronic stroke: a cross-sectional analysis.

    PubMed

    Outermans, Jacqueline C; van de Port, Ingrid; Kwakkel, Gert; Visser-Meily, Johanna M; Wittink, Harriet

    2018-03-12

    Reports on the association between aerobic capacity and walking capacity in people after stroke show disparate results. To determine (1) if the predictive validity of peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) for walking capacity post stroke is different from that of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and (2) if postural control, hemiplegic lower extremity muscle strength, age and gender distort the association between aerobic capacity and walking capacity. Cross-sectional study. General community in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Community-dwelling people more than three months after stroke. Measurement of aerobic capacity were performed with cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and differentiated between the achievement of VO2peak or VO2max. Measurement of walking capacity with the Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT), postural control with the Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA) and hemiplegic lower extremity muscle strength with the Motricity Index (MI-LE). Fifty-one out of 62 eligible participants, aged 64.7 (±12.5) years were included. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed a nonsignificant difference between the predictive validities of VO2max (N = 22, β = 0.56; 95%CI 0.12 - 0.97) and VO2peak (N = 29, β = 0.72; 95%CI 0.38 - 0.92). Multiple regression analysis of the pooled sample showed a significant decrease in the β value of VO2peak (21.6%) for the 6MWT when adding the POMA as a covariate in the association model. VO2peak remained significantly related to 6MWT after correcting for the POMA (β = 0.56 (95%CI 0.39 - 0.75)) CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest similar predictive validity of aerobic capacity for walking capacity in participants achieving VO2max compared to those only achieving VO2peak. Postural control confounds the association between aerobic capacity and walking capacity. Aerobic capacity remains a valid predictor of walking capacity. Aerobic capacity is an important factor associated with walking capacity after stroke. However, to understand this

  6. Aquatic Plant Control Research Program: Effects of Salinity and Irradiance Conditions on the Growth, Morphology and Chemical Composition of Submersed Aquatic Macrophytes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-07-01

    L , AQUATIC PLANT CONTROL RESEARCH PROGRAM * * TECHNICAL REPORT A-90-5 EFFECTS OF SALINITY AND IRRADIANCE CONDITIONS ON THE GROWTH, MORPHOLOGY AND...UNIT ELEMENT NO. NO. NO. ACCESSION NO. 11. TITLE (Indude Security Classification) Effects of Salinity and Irradiance Conditions on the Growth...Dr. Robert W. Whalin. This report should be cited as follows: Twilley, Robert R., and Barko, John W. 1990. " Effects of Salinity and Irradiance

  7. Freshwater salinization syndrome on a continental scale.

    PubMed

    Kaushal, Sujay S; Likens, Gene E; Pace, Michael L; Utz, Ryan M; Haq, Shahan; Gorman, Julia; Grese, Melissa

    2018-01-23

    Salt pollution and human-accelerated weathering are shifting the chemical composition of major ions in fresh water and increasing salinization and alkalinization across North America. We propose a concept, the freshwater salinization syndrome, which links salinization and alkalinization processes. This syndrome manifests as concurrent trends in specific conductance, pH, alkalinity, and base cations. Although individual trends can vary in strength, changes in salinization and alkalinization have affected 37% and 90%, respectively, of the drainage area of the contiguous United States over the past century. Across 232 United States Geological Survey (USGS) monitoring sites, 66% of stream and river sites showed a statistical increase in pH, which often began decades before acid rain regulations. The syndrome is most prominent in the densely populated eastern and midwestern United States, where salinity and alkalinity have increased most rapidly. The syndrome is caused by salt pollution (e.g., road deicers, irrigation runoff, sewage, potash), accelerated weathering and soil cation exchange, mining and resource extraction, and the presence of easily weathered minerals used in agriculture (lime) and urbanization (concrete). Increasing salts with strong bases and carbonates elevate acid neutralizing capacity and pH, and increasing sodium from salt pollution eventually displaces base cations on soil exchange sites, which further increases pH and alkalinization. Symptoms of the syndrome can include: infrastructure corrosion, contaminant mobilization, and variations in coastal ocean acidification caused by increasingly alkaline river inputs. Unless regulated and managed, the freshwater salinization syndrome can have significant impacts on ecosystem services such as safe drinking water, contaminant retention, and biodiversity. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  8. Estuarine Salinity Mapping From Airborne Radiometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Walker, J. P.; Gao, Y.; Cook, P. L. M.; Ye, N.

    2016-12-01

    Estuaries are critical ecosystems providing both ecological habitat and human amenity including boating and recreational fishing. Salinity gradients, caused by the mixing of fresh and salt water, exert an overwhelming control on estuarine ecology and biogeochemistry as well as being a key tracer for model calibration. At present, salinity monitoring within estuaries typically uses point measurements or underway boat-based methods, which makes sensing of localised phenomena such as upwelling of saline bottom water difficult. This study has pioneered the use of airborne radiometry (passive microwave) sensing as a new method to remotely quantify estuarine salinity, allowing rapid production of high resolution surface salinity maps. The airborne radiometry mapping was conducted for the Gippsland Lakes, the largest estuary in Australia, in February, July, October and November of 2015, using the Polarimetric L-band Microwave Radiometer (PLMR). Salinity was retrieved from the brightness temperature collected by PLMR with results validated against boat sampling conducted concurrently with each flight. Results showed that the retrieval accuracy of the radiative transfer model was better than 5 ppt for most flights. The spatial, temporal and seasonal variations of salinity observed in this study are also analysed and discussed.

  9. Alleviation of the effects of saline-alkaline stress on maize seedlings by regulation of active oxygen metabolism by Trichoderma asperellum.

    PubMed

    Fu, Jian; Liu, Zhihua; Li, Zuotong; Wang, Yufeng; Yang, Kejun

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the influence of Trichoderma asperellum on active oxygen production in maize seedlings under saline-alkaline stress conditions. Two maize cultivars were tested: 'Jiangyu 417' ('JY417'), which can tolerate saline-alkaline stress; and, 'Xianyu 335' ('XY335'), which is sensitive to saline-alkaline stress. The seedlings were grown on natural saline-alkaline soil (pH 9.30) in plastic pots. To each liter of saline-alkaline soil, 200 mL of T. asperellum spore suspension was applied; three fungal suspensions were used, namely, 1 × 103, 1 × 106, and 1 × 109 spores/L. A control with only the vehicle applied was also established, along with a second control in which untreated meadow soil (pH 8.23) was used. Root and leaf samples were collected when the seedlings had three heart-shaped leaves and the fourth was in the developmental phase. Physical and biochemical parameters related to oxidation resistance were assessed. The results indicated that the 'JY417' and 'XY335' seedlings showed different degrees of oxidative damage and differences in their antioxidant defense systems under saline-alkaline stress. As the spore density of the fungal suspension increased, the K+ and Ca2+ contents in the seedlings increased, but Na+ content decreased. Moreover, fungal treatment promoted the synthesis or accumulation of osmolytes, which enhanced the water absorbing capacity of the cells, increased antioxidant enzyme activities, enhanced the content of non-enzyme antioxidants, and reduced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Fungal treatment alleviated oxidative damage caused by the saline-alkaline stress in roots and leaves of the seedlings. The application of T. asperellum overcame the inhibitory effect of saline-alkaline soil stress on the growth of maize seedlings. In the present experiment, application with 1 × 109 spores/L gave the optimal results.

  10. Intravenous versus intramuscular cobinamide compared to intravenous saline (control) in the treatment of acute, survivable, mitochondrial toxins in swine (Sus Scrofa): a pilot study

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2018-04-10

    Type of Research: Animal Research 3. Title: Intravenous versus intramuscular cobinamide compared to intravenous saline ( control ) in the treatment...the hyperkalemia under control and in our upcoming protocol we feel we will finally be able to induce apnea with the toxin and calcium channel...intramuscular cobinamide compared to intravenous saline ( control ) in the treatment of acute, survivable, mitochondrial toxins in swine (Sus Scrofa): a pilot

  11. Wetland Flow and Salinity Budgets and Elements of a Decision Support System toward Implementation of Real-Time Seasonal Wetland Salinity Management

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Quinn, N.W.T.; Ortega, R.; Rahilly, P.

    2011-12-17

    The project has provided science-based tools for the long-term management of salinity in drainage discharges from wetlands to the San Joaquin River. The results of the project are being used to develop best management practices (BMP) and a decision support system to assist wetland managers adjust the timing of salt loads delivered to the San Joaquin River during spring drawdown. Adaptive drainage management scheduling has the potential to improve environmental compliance with salinity objectives in the Lower San Joaquin River by reducing the frequency of violation of Vernalis salinity standards, especially in dry and critically dry years. The paired approachmore » to project implementation whereby adaptively managed and traditional practices were monitored in a side-by-side fashion has provided a quantitative measure of the impacts of the project on the timing of salt loading to the San Joaquin River. The most significant accomplishments of the project has been the technology transfer to wetland biologists, ditch tenders and water managers within the Grasslands Ecological Area. This “learning by doing” has build local community capacity within the Grassland Water District and California Department of Fish and Game providing these institutions with new capability to assess and effectively manage salinity within their wetlands while simultaneously providing benefits to salinity management of the San Joaquin River.« less

  12. Oscillating Adriatic temperature and salinity regimes mapped using the Self-Organizing Maps method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matić, Frano; Kovač, Žarko; Vilibić, Ivica; Mihanović, Hrvoje; Morović, Mira; Grbec, Branka; Leder, Nenad; Džoić, Tomislav

    2017-01-01

    This paper aims to document salinity and temperature regimes in the middle and south Adriatic Sea by applying the Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) method to the available long-term temperature and salinity series. The data were collected on a seasonal basis between 1963 and 2011 in two dense water collecting depressions, Jabuka Pit and Southern Adriatic Pit, and over the Palagruža Sill. Seasonality was removed prior to the analyses. Salinity regimes have been found to oscillate rapidly between low-salinity and high-salinity SOM solutions, ascribed to the advection of Western and Eastern Mediterranean waters, respectively. Transient salinity regimes normally lasted less than a season, while temperature transient regimes lasted longer. Salinity regimes prolonged their duration after the major basin-wide event, the Eastern Mediterranean Transient, in the early 1990s. A qualitative relationship between high-salinity regimes and dense water formation and dynamics has been documented. The SOM-based analyses have a large capacity for classifying the oscillating ocean regimes in a basin, which, in the case of the Adriatic Sea, beside climate forcing, is an important driver of biogeochemical changes that impacts trophic relations, appearance and abundance of alien organisms, and fisheries, etc.

  13. Palaeohydrological evolution of the late Cenozoic saline lake in the Qaidam Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau: Tectonic vs. climatic control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Pei; Liu, Chiyang; Huang, Lei; Yu, Mengli; Wang, Peng; Zhang, Guoqing

    2018-06-01

    As the largest Cenozoic terrestrial intermountain basin on the Tibetan Plateau, the Qaidam Basin is an ideal setting to understand the coupled controls of tectonics and climate on hydrological evolution. In this study, we used 47,846 data of carbonate and chloride contents from 146 boreholes to reconstruct the Neogene-Quaternary basin-wide hydrological evolution of the Qaidam Basin. Our results show that during the early Miocene (22-15 Ma), the palaeolake in the Qaidam Basin was mainly situated in the southwestern part of the basin, and its water was mostly brackish. From then on, this palaeolake progressively migrated southeastward, and its salinity increased from late Miocene saline water to Quaternary brines. This generally increasing trend of the water palaeosalinity during the late Cenozoic corresponded with regional and global climate changes at that time, suggesting the dominance of climatic control. However, the paces of the salinity increase from sediments in front of the three basin-bounding ranges were not the same, indicating that extra tectonic controls occurred. Sediments in front of the Eastern Kunlun Shan to the southwest and the Altyn Shan to the northwest showed an abrupt, dramatic increase in salinity at 15 Ma and 8 Ma, respectively; sediments in front of the Qilian Shan to the northeast showed steady increase without prominent, abrupt changes, indicating the occurrence of asynchronous tectonic controls from the basin-bounding ranges. The late Miocene depocentre migration was synchronous with the hydrological changes in front of the Altyn Shan, while the more significant migration during the Quaternary was consistent with the pulsing, intense extrabasinal and intrabasinal tectonic movements along the Tibetan Plateau.

  14. Climate controls photosynthetic capacity more than leaf nitrogen contents

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ali, A. A.; Xu, C.; McDowell, N. G.

    2013-12-01

    Global vegetation models continue to lack the ability to make reliable predictions because the photosynthetic capacity varies a lot with growth conditions, season and among species. It is likely that vegetation models link photosynthetic capacity to concurrent changes in leaf nitrogen content only. To improve the predictions of the vegetation models, there is an urgent need to review species growth conditions and their seasonal response to changing climate. We sampled the global distribution of the Vcmax (maximum carboxylation rates) data of various species across different environmental gradients from the literature and standardized its value to 25 degree Celcius. We found that species explained the largest variation in (1) the photosynthetic capacity and (2) the proportion of nitrogen allocated for rubisco (PNcb). Surprisingly, climate variables explained more variations in photosynthetic capacity as well as PNcb than leaf nitrogen content and/or specific leaf area. The chief climate variables that explain variation in photosynthesis and PNcb were radiation, temperature and daylength. Our analysis suggests that species have the greatest control over photosynthesis and PNcb. Further, compared to leaf nitrogen content and/or specific leaf area, climate variables have more control over photosynthesis and PNcb. Therefore, climate variables should be incorporated in the global vegetation models when making predictions about the photosynthetic capacity.

  15. Neural mechanisms of interference control in working memory capacity.

    PubMed

    Bomyea, Jessica; Taylor, Charles T; Spadoni, Andrea D; Simmons, Alan N

    2018-02-01

    The extent to which one can use cognitive resources to keep information in working memory is known to rely on (1) active maintenance of target representations and (2) downregulation of interference from irrelevant representations. Neurobiologically, the global capacity of working memory is thought to depend on the prefrontal and parietal cortices; however, the neural mechanisms involved in controlling interference specifically in working memory capacity tasks remain understudied. In this study, 22 healthy participants completed a modified complex working memory capacity task (Reading Span) with trials of varying levels of interference control demands while undergoing functional MRI. Neural activity associated with interference control demands was examined separately during encoding and recall phases of the task. Results suggested a widespread network of regions in the prefrontal, parietal, and occipital cortices, and the cingulate and cerebellum associated with encoding, and parietal and occipital regions associated with recall. Results align with prior findings emphasizing the importance of frontoparietal circuits for working memory performance, including the role of the inferior frontal gyrus, cingulate, occipital cortex, and cerebellum in regulation of interference demands. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Fever control and application of hypothermia using intravenous cold saline

    PubMed Central

    Fink, Ericka L.; Kochanek, Patrick M.; Clark, Robert S. B.; Bell, Michael J.

    2013-01-01

    Objective To describe the use and feasibility of cold saline to decrease body temperature in pediatric neurocritical care. Design Retrospective chart review. Setting Pediatric tertiary care university hospital. Patients Children between 1 week and 17 yrs of age admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit with acute brain injury and having received intravenous cold saline between June-August 2009. Intervention(s) None. Measurements and Main Results Eighteen subjects accounted for 20 infusions with mean infusion volume 18 ± 10 cc/kg. Eight subjects had traumatic brain injury (TBI), 2 had intracranial hemorrhage, 6 had cardiac arrest, and one each had ischemic stroke and status epilepticus. The mean age was 9.5 ± 4.8 yrs. Temperature decreased from 38.7 ± 1.1°C to 37.7 ± 1.2°C and 37.0 ± 2.0 to 35.3 ± 1.6°C one h after infusion for fever (n=14, p<.05) or hypothermia (HT) induction (n=6, p=.05), respectively. Cold saline was not bolused, rather infused over 10–15 minutes. Mean arterial blood pressure and oxygenation parameters (PaO2/FiO2 ratio, mean airway pressure) were unchanged, but heart rate decreased in HT subjects (121 ± 4 vs. 109 ± 12; p<.05). Serum sodium concentration and International normalized ratio were significantly increased after cold saline infusion. There were no differences between pre- and post-infusion serum glucose and hematocrit, nor cerebral perfusion pressure or intracranial pressure in TBI patients. Conclusions Cold saline was an effective method of reducing temperature in children with acute brain injury. This approach can be considered to treat fever or to induce HT. Prospective study comparing safety and efficacy versus other cooling measures should be considered. PMID:21037507

  17. Functional Tradeoffs Underpin Salinity-Driven Divergence in Microbial Community Composition

    PubMed Central

    Yooseph, Shibu; Ininbergs, Karolina; Goll, Johannes; Asplund-Samuelsson, Johannes; McCrow, John P.; Celepli, Narin; Allen, Lisa Zeigler; Ekman, Martin; Lucas, Andrew J.; Hagström, Åke; Thiagarajan, Mathangi; Brindefalk, Björn; Richter, Alexander R.; Andersson, Anders F.; Tenney, Aaron; Lundin, Daniel; Tovchigrechko, Andrey; Nylander, Johan A. A.; Brami, Daniel; Badger, Jonathan H.; Allen, Andrew E.; Rusch, Douglas B.; Hoffman, Jeff; Norrby, Erling; Friedman, Robert; Pinhassi, Jarone; Venter, J. Craig; Bergman, Birgitta

    2014-01-01

    Bacterial community composition and functional potential change subtly across gradients in the surface ocean. In contrast, while there are significant phylogenetic divergences between communities from freshwater and marine habitats, the underlying mechanisms to this phylogenetic structuring yet remain unknown. We hypothesized that the functional potential of natural bacterial communities is linked to this striking divide between microbiomes. To test this hypothesis, metagenomic sequencing of microbial communities along a 1,800 km transect in the Baltic Sea area, encompassing a continuous natural salinity gradient from limnic to fully marine conditions, was explored. Multivariate statistical analyses showed that salinity is the main determinant of dramatic changes in microbial community composition, but also of large scale changes in core metabolic functions of bacteria. Strikingly, genetically and metabolically different pathways for key metabolic processes, such as respiration, biosynthesis of quinones and isoprenoids, glycolysis and osmolyte transport, were differentially abundant at high and low salinities. These shifts in functional capacities were observed at multiple taxonomic levels and within dominant bacterial phyla, while bacteria, such as SAR11, were able to adapt to the entire salinity gradient. We propose that the large differences in central metabolism required at high and low salinities dictate the striking divide between freshwater and marine microbiomes, and that the ability to inhabit different salinity regimes evolved early during bacterial phylogenetic differentiation. These findings significantly advance our understanding of microbial distributions and stress the need to incorporate salinity in future climate change models that predict increased levels of precipitation and a reduction in salinity. PMID:24586863

  18. Functional tradeoffs underpin salinity-driven divergence in microbial community composition.

    PubMed

    Dupont, Chris L; Larsson, John; Yooseph, Shibu; Ininbergs, Karolina; Goll, Johannes; Asplund-Samuelsson, Johannes; McCrow, John P; Celepli, Narin; Allen, Lisa Zeigler; Ekman, Martin; Lucas, Andrew J; Hagström, Åke; Thiagarajan, Mathangi; Brindefalk, Björn; Richter, Alexander R; Andersson, Anders F; Tenney, Aaron; Lundin, Daniel; Tovchigrechko, Andrey; Nylander, Johan A A; Brami, Daniel; Badger, Jonathan H; Allen, Andrew E; Rusch, Douglas B; Hoffman, Jeff; Norrby, Erling; Friedman, Robert; Pinhassi, Jarone; Venter, J Craig; Bergman, Birgitta

    2014-01-01

    Bacterial community composition and functional potential change subtly across gradients in the surface ocean. In contrast, while there are significant phylogenetic divergences between communities from freshwater and marine habitats, the underlying mechanisms to this phylogenetic structuring yet remain unknown. We hypothesized that the functional potential of natural bacterial communities is linked to this striking divide between microbiomes. To test this hypothesis, metagenomic sequencing of microbial communities along a 1,800 km transect in the Baltic Sea area, encompassing a continuous natural salinity gradient from limnic to fully marine conditions, was explored. Multivariate statistical analyses showed that salinity is the main determinant of dramatic changes in microbial community composition, but also of large scale changes in core metabolic functions of bacteria. Strikingly, genetically and metabolically different pathways for key metabolic processes, such as respiration, biosynthesis of quinones and isoprenoids, glycolysis and osmolyte transport, were differentially abundant at high and low salinities. These shifts in functional capacities were observed at multiple taxonomic levels and within dominant bacterial phyla, while bacteria, such as SAR11, were able to adapt to the entire salinity gradient. We propose that the large differences in central metabolism required at high and low salinities dictate the striking divide between freshwater and marine microbiomes, and that the ability to inhabit different salinity regimes evolved early during bacterial phylogenetic differentiation. These findings significantly advance our understanding of microbial distributions and stress the need to incorporate salinity in future climate change models that predict increased levels of precipitation and a reduction in salinity.

  19. Effects of the recombinant crustacean hyperglycemic hormones rCHH-B1 and rCHH-B2 on the osmo-ionic regulation of the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei exposed to acute salinity stress.

    PubMed

    Camacho-Jiménez, Laura; Díaz, Fernando; Sánchez-Castrejón, Edna; Ponce-Rivas, Elizabeth

    2018-03-26

    The Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei is a euryhaline organism that copes with salinity fluctuations in the environment; therefore, its osmotic and ionic regulation abilities are vital. Osmoregulation may be controlled by the crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH), a neuropeptide mainly expressed in the eyestalks. In L. vannamei, CHH-B1 and CHH-B2 are CHH isoforms isolated from the eyestalks whose expression is influenced by environmental salinity. It has been suggested that they are involved in the response to salinity stress. To clarify this, we investigated the effect of the recombinant peptides, rCHH-B1 and rCHH-B2, on the osmo-ionic regulation of shrimp acutely exposed to different salinity conditions (8, 26 and 45‰). Both rCHHs promoted differential effects on the osmoregulatory capacity (OC) and the ionoregulatory capacity (IC) for hemolymph Na + and Cl - during iso-osmotic (26‰) and hyper-osmotic (45‰) transfers. These changes were linked to the changes observed in Na + /K + ATPase and carbonic anhydrase gene expression in gills, especially under high salinity conditions, suggesting that the hormones may regulate the expression of these genes. Glucose and protein levels measured during acute salinity transfer suggest their roles as sources of metabolic energy for osmotic regulation or as organic osmolytes. These results taken together suggest that both the CHH-B1 and CHH-B2 peptides are important regulators of the physiological response of L. vannamei to acute salinity fluctuations.

  20. Photosynthesis, growth and survival of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica in response to simulated salinity increases in a laboratory mesocosm system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marín-Guirao, Lázaro; Sandoval-Gil, José M.; Ruíz, Juan M.; Sánchez-Lizaso, José L.

    2011-04-01

    This study aims to examine the effect of increased salinity on the photosynthetic activity of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica in a laboratory mesocosm system. To do this, large rhizome fragments were transplanted in a mesocosm laboratory system and maintained at 37 (ambient salinity, control treatment), 39, 41 and 43 (hypersaline treatments) for 47 days. Pigment content, light absorption, photosynthetic characteristics (derived from P vs. E curves and fluorescence parameters), and shoot size, growth rates and net shoot change were determined at the end of the experimental period. Both net and gross photosynthetic rates of plants under hypersaline conditions were significantly reduced, with rates some 25-33% and 13-20% lower than in control plants. The pigment content (Chl a, Chl b, Chl b:Chl a molar ratio, total carotenoids and carotenoids:Chl a ratio), leaf absorptance and maximum quantum yield of PSII ( F v/ F m) of control plants showed little or no changes under hypersaline conditions, which suggests that alterations to the capacity of the photosynthetic apparatus to capture and process light were not responsible for the reduced photosynthetic rates. In contrast, dark respiration rates increased substantially, with mean values up to 98% higher than in control leaves. These results suggest that the respiratory demands of the osmoregulatory process are likely to be responsible for the observed decrease in photosynthetic rates, although alterations to photosynthetic carbon assimilation and reduction could also be involved. As a consequence, leaf carbon balance was considerably impaired and leaf growth rates decreased as salinity increased above the ambient (control) salinity. No significant differences were found in the percentage of net shoot change, but mean values were clearly negative at salinity levels of 41 and 43. Results presented here indicate that photosynthesis of P. oceanica is highly sensitive to hypersaline stress and that it likely

  1. Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Lavandula angustifolia to Salinity Under Mineral Foliar Application

    PubMed Central

    Chrysargyris, Antonios; Michailidi, Evgenia; Tzortzakis, Nikos

    2018-01-01

    Saline water has been proposed as a solution to partially cover plant water demands due to scarcity of irrigation water in hot arid areas. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) plants were grown hydroponically under salinity (0–25–50–100 mM NaCl). The overcome of salinity stress was examined by K, Zn, and Si foliar application for the plant physiological and biochemical characteristics. The present study indicated that high (100 mM NaCl) salinity decreased plant growth, content of phenolics and antioxidant status and essential oil (EO) yield, while low-moderate salinity levels maintained the volatile oil profile in lavender. The integrated foliar application of K and Zn lighten the presumable detrimental effects of salinity in terms of fresh biomass, antioxidant capacity, and EO yield. Moderate salinity stress along with balanced concentration of K though foliar application changed the primary metabolites pathways in favor of major volatile oil constituents biosynthesis and therefore lavender plant has the potential for cultivation under prevalent semi-saline conditions. Zn and Si application, had lesser effects on the content of EO constituents, even though altered salinity induced changings. Our results have demonstrated that lavender growth/development and EO production may be affected by saline levels, whereas mechanisms for alteration of induced stress are of great significance considering the importance of the oil composition, as well. PMID:29731759

  2. Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Lavandula angustifolia to Salinity Under Mineral Foliar Application.

    PubMed

    Chrysargyris, Antonios; Michailidi, Evgenia; Tzortzakis, Nikos

    2018-01-01

    Saline water has been proposed as a solution to partially cover plant water demands due to scarcity of irrigation water in hot arid areas. Lavender ( Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) plants were grown hydroponically under salinity (0-25-50-100 mM NaCl). The overcome of salinity stress was examined by K, Zn, and Si foliar application for the plant physiological and biochemical characteristics. The present study indicated that high (100 mM NaCl) salinity decreased plant growth, content of phenolics and antioxidant status and essential oil (EO) yield, while low-moderate salinity levels maintained the volatile oil profile in lavender. The integrated foliar application of K and Zn lighten the presumable detrimental effects of salinity in terms of fresh biomass, antioxidant capacity, and EO yield. Moderate salinity stress along with balanced concentration of K though foliar application changed the primary metabolites pathways in favor of major volatile oil constituents biosynthesis and therefore lavender plant has the potential for cultivation under prevalent semi-saline conditions. Zn and Si application, had lesser effects on the content of EO constituents, even though altered salinity induced changings. Our results have demonstrated that lavender growth/development and EO production may be affected by saline levels, whereas mechanisms for alteration of induced stress are of great significance considering the importance of the oil composition, as well.

  3. One-dimensional transient finite difference model of an operational salinity gradient solar pond

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hicks, Michael C.; Golding, Peter

    1992-01-01

    This paper describes the modeling approach used to simulate the transient behavior of a salinity gradient solar pond. A system of finite difference equations are used to generate the time dependent temperature and salinity profiles within the pond. The stability of the pond, as determined by the capacity of the resulting salinity profile to suppress thermal convection within the primary gradient region of the pond, is continually monitored and when necessary adjustments are made to the thickness of the gradient zone. Results of the model are then compared to measurements taken during two representative seasonal periods at the University of Texas at El Paso's (UTEP's) research solar pond.

  4. The estimation of adaptive capacity of plants - halophytes, depending on the varying degrees of soil salinity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kononova, Natalia; Pechurkin, Nickolay

    2012-07-01

    The high osmotic pressure of soil solution and toxic salts restrict the possible growth of the most plant species. However, the plant halophytes are able to grow on soil with a very high degree of salinity. The object of this study is a halophytic vegetation located near the coastal zone of the Lake Kurinka (the South Siberia, Khakasia). The total lake mineralization varies from 72 to 108 g / l. Type of salinity - sulfate-soda (the content of SO42-- 0,086%; HCO3-- 1,74%). It was observed that each plant communitie are located on soils with the different soil salinity degree (0.2 - 7.16 g / l). That is why, they have a different species richness and structural organization. It is shown that the average values of above-ground dry phytomass of plant communities (over five years of research) changed to a limited extent by changing the size of a projective cover of the dominant species. It is noted that in Suaeda plant community (dominant Suaeda corniculata) productivity ranges from 100 to 210 g/m2. It was calculated the possible accumulation of plant community phytomass (taking into account changes in soil salinity) so if in this territory grows only one species, that in a real community was a dominant. Estimated phytomass of the monodominant (Sueda corniculata) in 2004 and 2008 (143 and 188 g/m2 for years, respectively) was comparable with the real growth of the community (174 and 201 g/m2 for years, respectively). For Puccinellia tenuissima, that is subdominant in this plant communities, characterized by a small increasing of phytomass and in the likely absence of competition, the total phytomass this plant communities are amounted to 54 and 111 g/m2, respectively, over the years. This values are almost two times lower than the actual value. It is obvious that the existing conditions of salinity are sufficiently extreme to Puccinellia tenuissima and its monospecific community would be able to compete with the real dominant - Suaeda corniculata.

  5. Control of xylem Na+ loading and transport to the shoot in rice and barley as a determinant of differential salinity stress tolerance.

    PubMed

    Ishikawa, Tetsuya; Shabala, Sergey

    2018-05-15

    Control of xylem Na + loading has often been named as the essential components of salinity tolerance mechanism. However, it is less clear to what extent the difference in this trait may determine differential salinity tolerance between species. In this study barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. CM72) and rice (Oryza sativa L. cv Dongjin) plants were grown under two levels of salinity. Na + and K + concentrations in the xylem sap, and shoot and root tissues were measured at different time points after stress onset. Salt-exposed rice plants prevented xylem Na + loading for several days, but failed to control this process in the longer term, ultimately resulting in a massive Na + shoot loading. Barley plants quickly increased xylem Na + concentration and its delivery to the shoot (most likely for the purpose of osmotic adjustment) but were able to reduce this process later on, keeping most of accumulated Na + in the root, thus maintaining non-toxic shoot Na + level. Rice plants increased shoot K + concentration, while barley plants maintained higher root K + concentration. Control of xylem Na + loading is remarkably different between rice and barley; this difference may differentiate the extent of the salinity tolerance between species. This trait should be investigated in more details to be used in the breeding programs aimed to improve salinity tolerance in crops. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  6. Updates on Water Use of Pistachio Orchards Grown in the San Joaquin Valley of California on Saline Soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zaccaria, Daniele; Marino, Giulia; Whiting, Michael; Sanden, Blake; Ferguson, Louise; Lampinen, Bruce; Kent, Eric; Snyder, Richard; Grattan, Stephen; Little, Cayle

    2017-04-01

    Pistachio acreage is rapidly expanding in California thanks to its economic profitability and capacity to grow and produce in salt-affected soils. Our team at University of California is updating information on actual water use (ET) of mature pistachio orchards grown on saline soils under micro-irrigation methods. Actual Evapotranspiration (ETa) and Crop Coefficients (Ka) were determined for the 2015 and 2016 crop seasons on four pistachio orchards grown in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) on grounds with increasing levels of soil-water salinity, using the residual of energy balance method with a combination of eddy covariance and surface renewal equipment. Tree canopy cover, light interception, and plant water status across the orchards were also measured and evaluated. Our preliminary results show that salinity strongly affects the tree water use, resulting in 10-30% less ET for medium to high salt-affected soils. Salinity also showed a strong effect on tree water status and light interception, as suggested by values of the Midday Stem Water Potential (ΨSWP) around 10 to 15-bar lower in salt-affected than in the control orchard, and by the intercepted Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) decreasing from 75% in the control orchard to 25% in the severely salt affected grounds. The crop coefficient values we observed in this study are lower than those commonly used for irrigation scheduling in the SJV, suggesting that pistachio growers could better tailor irrigation management to the actual site-specific orchard conditions (e.g. canopy features and soil-water salinity) if they are provided updated information. Improved irrigation practices could likely lead to significant water savings and thus improve the resource-efficiency and competitiveness of pistachio production in the SJV. Keywords: Pistacia vera L., salinity, stem water potential, surface renewal, canopy cover.

  7. Umbilical vein injection of misoprostol versus normal saline for the treatment of retained placenta: intrapartum placebo-controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Rajab, Sheelan S; Alalaf, Shahla K

    2014-01-21

    The third stage of labour may be complicated by retained placenta, which should be managed promptly because it may cause severe bleeding and infection, with a potentially fatal outcome. This study evaluated the effectiveness of umbilical vein injection of misoprostol for the treatment of retained placenta in a hospital setting. This hospital-based placebo-controlled trial was conducted at the Maternity Teaching Hospital, Erbil City, Kurdistan region, Northern Iraq from April 2011 to February 2012. The inclusion criteria were: gestational age of at least 28 weeks, vaginal delivery, and failure of the placenta to separate within 30 minutes after delivery of the infant despite active management of the third stage of labour. Forty-six women with retained placentas were eligible for inclusion. After informed consent was obtained, the women were alternately allocated to receive umbilical vein injection of either 800 mcg misoprostol dissolved in 20 mL of normal saline (misoprostol group) or 20 mL of normal saline only (saline group). The women were blinded to the group allocation, but the investigator who administered the injection was not. The trial was registered by the Research Ethics Committee of Hawler Medical University. After umbilical vein injection, delivery of the placenta occurred in 91.3% of women in the misoprostol group and 69.5% of women in the saline group, which was not a significant difference between the two groups. The median vaginal blood loss from the time of injection until delivery of the placenta was significantly less in the misoprostol group (100 mL) than in the saline group (210 mL) (p value < 0.001). Umbilical vein injection of misoprostol is an effective treatment for retained placenta, and reduces the volume of vaginal blood loss with few adverse effects. Current Controlled Trial HMU: N252.1.2011.

  8. Umbilical vein injection of misoprostol versus normal saline for the treatment of retained placenta: intrapartum placebo-controlled trial

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background The third stage of labour may be complicated by retained placenta, which should be managed promptly because it may cause severe bleeding and infection, with a potentially fatal outcome. This study evaluated the effectiveness of umbilical vein injection of misoprostol for the treatment of retained placenta in a hospital setting. Methods This hospital-based placebo-controlled trial was conducted at the Maternity Teaching Hospital, Erbil City, Kurdistan region, Northern Iraq from April 2011 to February 2012. The inclusion criteria were: gestational age of at least 28 weeks, vaginal delivery, and failure of the placenta to separate within 30 minutes after delivery of the infant despite active management of the third stage of labour. Forty-six women with retained placentas were eligible for inclusion. After informed consent was obtained, the women were alternately allocated to receive umbilical vein injection of either 800 mcg misoprostol dissolved in 20 mL of normal saline (misoprostol group) or 20 mL of normal saline only (saline group). The women were blinded to the group allocation, but the investigator who administered the injection was not. The trial was registered by the Research Ethics Committee of Hawler Medical University. Results After umbilical vein injection, delivery of the placenta occurred in 91.3% of women in the misoprostol group and 69.5% of women in the saline group, which was not a significant difference between the two groups. The median vaginal blood loss from the time of injection until delivery of the placenta was significantly less in the misoprostol group (100 mL) than in the saline group (210 mL) (p value < 0.001). Conclusion Umbilical vein injection of misoprostol is an effective treatment for retained placenta, and reduces the volume of vaginal blood loss with few adverse effects. Clinical Trial Registration Current Controlled Trial HMU: N252.1.2011 PMID:24444360

  9. A case control study of association between cognition and functional capacity in schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Narayanan, Sreelatha S; Bhatia, Triptish; Velligan, Dawn I; Nimgaonkar, Vishwajit L; Deshpande, Smita N

    2015-12-01

    Cognitive functions are important prognostic factors for schizophrenia (SZ), while ability to perform activities of daily living are important measures of functional capacity. The relationship between cognition and functional capacity has not been tested extensively in India. To compare persons with SZ with controls on measures of cognition and functional capacity, and evaluate correlations between cognitive performance and functional capacity. Schizophrenia outpatients and controls without psychiatric illness (DSM IV) who completed the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery and Functional Assessment Battery comprised of two tests from University of California San Diego (UCSD) Performance Based Skill Assessment (UPSA), one Test of Adaptive Behavior in Schizophrenia (TABS) and one test from University of California San Diego Performance Based Skill Assessment Brief edition (UPSA-B). Cognitive and functional domains were examined using regression analyses, with relevant covariates. Cases (N=51) though younger, were more educated than controls (N=41). Adjusting for education, controls performed better than cases in 3/7 cognitive and 4/5 domains of functional capacity but similarly in 'household management'. Among both cases and controls, cognitive measures of verbal learning and speed of processing overlapped with functional capacity (3 domains). Working memory was associated with one functional domain. Consistent with other studies, Indian patients with schizophrenia performed worse than controls on several domains of cognition and functional capacity; these domains were correlated. Speed of processing and verbal learning are most frequently associated with functional capacity indices and should be targeted to improve skills of daily living among persons with SZ. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  10. Working memory capacity and the scope and control of attention.

    PubMed

    Shipstead, Zach; Harrison, Tyler L; Engle, Randall W

    2015-08-01

    Complex span and visual arrays are two common measures of working memory capacity that are respectively treated as measures of attention control and storage capacity. A recent analysis of these tasks concluded that (1) complex span performance has a relatively stronger relationship to fluid intelligence and (2) this is due to the requirement that people engage control processes while performing this task. The present study examines the validity of these conclusions by examining two large data sets that include a more diverse set of visual arrays tasks and several measures of attention control. We conclude that complex span and visual arrays account for similar amounts of variance in fluid intelligence. The disparity relative to the earlier analysis is attributed to the present study involving a more complete measure of the latent ability underlying the performance of visual arrays. Moreover, we find that both types of working memory task have strong relationships to attention control. This indicates that the ability to engage attention in a controlled manner is a critical aspect of working memory capacity, regardless of the type of task that is used to measure this construct.

  11. Hurricane-induced failure of low salinity wetlands

    PubMed Central

    Howes, Nick C.; FitzGerald, Duncan M.; Hughes, Zoe J.; Georgiou, Ioannis Y.; Kulp, Mark A.; Miner, Michael D.; Smith, Jane M.; Barras, John A.

    2010-01-01

    During the 2005 hurricane season, the storm surge and wave field associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita eroded 527 km2 of wetlands within the Louisiana coastal plain. Low salinity wetlands were preferentially eroded, while higher salinity wetlands remained robust and largely unchanged. Here we highlight geotechnical differences between the soil profiles of high and low salinity regimes, which are controlled by vegetation and result in differential erosion. In low salinity wetlands, a weak zone (shear strength 500–1450 Pa) was observed ∼30 cm below the marsh surface, coinciding with the base of rooting. High salinity wetlands had no such zone (shear strengths > 4500 Pa) and contained deeper rooting. Storm waves during Hurricane Katrina produced shear stresses between 425–3600 Pa, sufficient to cause widespread erosion of the low salinity wetlands. Vegetation in low salinity marshes is subject to shallower rooting and is susceptible to erosion during large magnitude storms; these conditions may be exacerbated by low inorganic sediment content and high nutrient inputs. The dramatic difference in resiliency of fresh versus more saline marshes suggests that the introduction of freshwater to marshes as part of restoration efforts may therefore weaken existing wetlands rendering them vulnerable to hurricanes. PMID:20660777

  12. Maternal emotion and cognitive control capacities and parenting: A conceptual framework

    PubMed Central

    Crandall, AliceAnn; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Riley, Anne W.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose Emerging evidence suggests that maternal emotion and cognitive control capacities are critical to the development and maintenance of parenting practices and may be related to parents’ ability to seek and use parenting help. The purpose of this paper is to present a cohesive conceptual framework on the intersection of maternal emotion and cognitive control capacities and parenting based on a review of literature. Methods We conducted a comprehensive literature review of articles published between 2000 and February 2014 that addressed maternal emotion and cognitive control and parenting. The 35 articles identified were assigned a methodological quality score. Results Low maternal emotion and cognitive control capacity is associated with increased risk of engaging in child maltreatment, whereas higher maternal emotion and cognitive regulation is associated with sensitive, involved parenting. Contextual factors, such as SES and household organization, play a complex and not clearly understood role on the association between maternal cognitive control and parenting. A conceptual framework was developed based on the results of the literature review. Conclusions The conceptual framework developed can be used to inform future research and practice. Longitudinal studies that assess the temporal relationship of maternal emotion and cognitive control and parenting are necessary to establish causality. Research that addresses how maternal emotion regulation and cognitive control capacities are related to mothers’ enrollment and participation in parenting and early intervention programs is an important next step to strengthening policy and intervention work. PMID:26028796

  13. The effects of acute salinity challenges on osmoregulation in Mozambique tilapia reared in a tidally changing salinity.

    PubMed

    Moorman, Benjamin P; Lerner, Darren T; Grau, E Gordon; Seale, Andre P

    2015-03-01

    This study characterizes the differences in osmoregulatory capacity among Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus, reared in freshwater (FW), in seawater (SW) or under tidally driven changes in salinity. This was addressed through the use of an abrupt exposure to a change in salinity. We measured changes in: (1) plasma osmolality and prolactin (PRL) levels; (2) pituitary expression of prolactin (PRL) and its receptors, PRLR1 and PRLR2; (3) branchial expression of PRLR1, PRLR2, Na(+)/Cl(-) co-transporter (NCC), Na(+)/K(+)/2Cl(-) co-transporter (NKCC), α1a and α1b isoforms of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase (NKA), cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), aquaporin 3 (AQP3) and Na(+)/H(+) exchanger 3 (NHE3). Mozambique tilapia reared in a tidal environment successfully adapted to SW while fish reared in FW did not survive a transfer to SW beyond the 6 h sampling. With the exception of CFTR, the change in the expression of ion pumps, transporters and channels was more gradual in fish transferred from tidally changing salinities to SW than in fish transferred from FW to SW. Upon transfer to SW, the increase in CFTR expression was more robust in tidal fish than in FW fish. Tidal and SW fish successfully adapted when transferred to FW. These results suggest that Mozambique tilapia reared in a tidally changing salinity, a condition that more closely represents their natural history, gain an adaptive advantage compared with fish reared in FW when facing a hyperosmotic challenge. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  14. Direct and indirect controls on organic matter decomposition in four coastal wetland communities along a landscape salinity gradient

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stagg, Camille L.; Baustian, Melissa M.; Perry, Carey L.; Carruthers, Tim J.B.; Hall, Courtney T.

    2018-01-01

    Coastal wetlands store more carbon than most ecosystems globally. As sea level rises, changes in flooding and salinity will potentially impact ecological functions, such as organic matter decomposition, that influence carbon storage. However, little is known about the mechanisms that control organic matter loss in coastal wetlands at the landscape scale. As sea level rises, how will the shift from fresh to salt-tolerant plant communities impact organic matter decomposition? Do long-term, plant-mediated, effects of sea-level rise differ from direct effects of elevated salinity and flooding?We identified internal and external factors that regulated indirect and direct pathways of sea-level rise impacts, respectively, along a landscape-scale salinity gradient that incorporated changes in wetland type (fresh, oligohaline, mesohaline and polyhaline marshes). We found that indirect and direct impacts of sea-level rise had opposing effects on organic matter decomposition.Salinity had an indirect effect on litter decomposition that was mediated through litter quality. Despite significant variation in environmental conditions along the landscape gradient, the best predictors of above- and below-ground litter decomposition were internal drivers, initial litter nitrogen content and initial litter lignin content respectively. Litter decay constants were greatest in the oligohaline marsh and declined with increasing salinity, and the fraction of litter remaining (asymptote) was greatest in the mesohaline marsh. In contrast, direct effects of salinity and flooding were positive. External drivers, salinity and flooding, stimulated cellulytic activity, which was highest in the polyhaline marsh.Synthesis. Our results indicate that as sea level rises, initial direct effects of salinity will stimulate decay of labile carbon, but over time as plant communities shift from fresh to polyhaline marsh, litter decay will decline, yielding greater potential for long-term carbon storage

  15. Storage Capacity Explains Fluid Intelligence but Executive Control Does Not

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chuderski, Adam; Taraday, Maciej; Necka, Edward; Smolen, Tomasz

    2012-01-01

    We examined whether fluid intelligence (Gf) is better predicted by the storage capacity of active memory or by the effectiveness of executive control. In two psychometric studies, we measured storage capacity with three kinds of task which required the maintenance of a visual array, the monitoring of simple relations among perceptually available…

  16. Organic matter and salinity modify cadmium soil (phyto)availability.

    PubMed

    Filipović, Lana; Romić, Marija; Romić, Davor; Filipović, Vilim; Ondrašek, Gabrijel

    2018-01-01

    Although Cd availability depends on its total concentration in soil, it is ultimately defined by the processes which control its mobility, transformations and soil solution speciation. Cd mobility between different soil fractions can be significantly affected by certain pedovariables such as soil organic matter (SOM; over formation of metal-organic complexes) and/or soil salinity (over formation of metal-inorganic complexes). Phytoavailable Cd fraction may be described as the proportion of the available Cd in soil which is actually accessible by roots and available for plant uptake. Therefore, in a greenhouse pot experiment Cd availability was observed in the rhizosphere of faba bean exposed to different levels of SOM, NaCl salinity (50 and 100mM) and Cd contamination (5 and 10mgkg -1 ). Cd availability in soil does not linearly follow its total concentration. Still, increasing soil Cd concentration may lead to increased Cd phytoavailability if the proportion of Cd 2+ pool in soil solution is enhanced. Reduced Cd (phyto)availability by raised SOM was found, along with increased proportion of Cd-DOC complexes in soil solution. Data suggest decreased Cd soil (phyto)availability with the application of salts. NaCl salinity affected Cd speciation in soil solution by promoting the formation of CdCl n 2-n complexes. Results possibly suggest that increased Cd mobility in soil does not result in its increased availability if soil adsorption capacity for Cd has not been exceeded. Accordingly, chloro-complex possibly operated just as a Cd carrier between different soil fractions and resulted only in transfer between solid phases and not in increased (phyto)availability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Effect of temperature and salinity on phosphate sorption on marine sediments.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Jia-Zhong; Huang, Xiao-Lan

    2011-08-15

    Our previous studies on the phosphate sorption on sediments in Florida Bay at 25 °C in salinity 36 seawater revealed that the sorption capacity varies considerably within the bay but can be attributed to the content of sedimentary P and Fe. It is known that both temperature and salinity influence the sorption process and their natural variations are the greatest in estuaries. To provide useful sorption parameters for modeling phosphate cycle in Florida Bay, a systematic study was carried out to quantify the effects of salinity and temperature on phosphate sorption on sediments. For a given sample, the zero equilibrium phosphate concentration and the distribution coefficient were measured over a range of salinity (2-72) and temperature (15-35 °C) conditions. Such a suite of experiments with combinations of different temperature and salinity were performed for 14 selected stations that cover a range of sediment characteristics and geographic locations of the bay. Phosphate sorption was found to increase with increasing temperature or decreasing salinity and their effects depended upon sediment's exchangeable P content. This study provided the first estimate of the phosphate sorption parameters as a function of salinity and temperature in marine sediments. Incorporation of these parameters in water quality models will enable them to predict the effect of increasing freshwater input, as proposed by the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, on the seasonal cycle of phosphate in Florida Bay.

  18. Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) vessel architecture is linked to chilling and salinity tolerance in the Gulf of Mexico

    PubMed Central

    Madrid, Eric N.; Armitage, Anna R.; López-Portillo, Jorge

    2014-01-01

    Over the last several decades, the distribution of the black mangrove Avicennia germinans in the Gulf of Mexico has expanded, in part because it can survive the occasional freeze events and high soil salinities characteristic of the area. Vessel architecture may influence mangrove chilling and salinity tolerance. We surveyed populations of A. germinans throughout the Gulf to determine if vessel architecture was linked to field environmental conditions. We measured vessel density, hydraulically weighted vessel diameter, potential conductance capacity, and maximum tensile fracture stress. At each sampling site we recorded mangrove canopy height and soil salinity, and determined average minimum winter temperature from archived weather records. At a subset of sites, we measured carbon fixation rates using a LI-COR 6400XT Portable Photosynthesis System. Populations of A. germinans from cooler areas (Texas and Louisiana) had narrower vessels, likely reducing the risk of freeze-induced embolisms but also decreasing water conductance capacity. Vessels were also narrower in regions with high soil salinity, including Texas, USA and tidal flats in Veracruz, Mexico. Vessel density did not consistently vary with temperature or soil salinity. In abiotically stressful areas, A. germinans had a safe hydraulic architecture with narrower vessels that may increase local survival. This safe architecture appears to come at a substantial physiological cost in terms of reduction in conductance capacity and carbon fixation potential, likely contributing to lower canopy heights. The current distribution of A. germinans in the Gulf is influenced by the complex interplay between temperature, salinity, and vessel architecture. Given the plasticity of A. germinans vessel characters, it is likely that this mangrove species will be able to adapt to a wide range of potential future environmental conditions, and continue its expansion in the Gulf of Mexico in response to near-term climate change

  19. Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) vessel architecture is linked to chilling and salinity tolerance in the Gulf of Mexico.

    PubMed

    Madrid, Eric N; Armitage, Anna R; López-Portillo, Jorge

    2014-01-01

    Over the last several decades, the distribution of the black mangrove Avicennia germinans in the Gulf of Mexico has expanded, in part because it can survive the occasional freeze events and high soil salinities characteristic of the area. Vessel architecture may influence mangrove chilling and salinity tolerance. We surveyed populations of A. germinans throughout the Gulf to determine if vessel architecture was linked to field environmental conditions. We measured vessel density, hydraulically weighted vessel diameter, potential conductance capacity, and maximum tensile fracture stress. At each sampling site we recorded mangrove canopy height and soil salinity, and determined average minimum winter temperature from archived weather records. At a subset of sites, we measured carbon fixation rates using a LI-COR 6400XT Portable Photosynthesis System. Populations of A. germinans from cooler areas (Texas and Louisiana) had narrower vessels, likely reducing the risk of freeze-induced embolisms but also decreasing water conductance capacity. Vessels were also narrower in regions with high soil salinity, including Texas, USA and tidal flats in Veracruz, Mexico. Vessel density did not consistently vary with temperature or soil salinity. In abiotically stressful areas, A. germinans had a safe hydraulic architecture with narrower vessels that may increase local survival. This safe architecture appears to come at a substantial physiological cost in terms of reduction in conductance capacity and carbon fixation potential, likely contributing to lower canopy heights. The current distribution of A. germinans in the Gulf is influenced by the complex interplay between temperature, salinity, and vessel architecture. Given the plasticity of A. germinans vessel characters, it is likely that this mangrove species will be able to adapt to a wide range of potential future environmental conditions, and continue its expansion in the Gulf of Mexico in response to near-term climate change.

  20. Toxicity and accumulation of mercury in three species of crabs with different osmoregulatory capacities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bianchini, A.; Gilles, R.

    1996-07-01

    Synergism between mercury and salinity has been shown in invertebrates. Two authors have tied to correlate salinity effects with a higher or lower accumulation of mercury. Zauke, demonstrated lower mercury levels in several benthic invertebrates from limnic regions of the Elbe estuary when compared to those from Marine regions. On the other hand, Kendall did not report any significant difference in mercury concentrations in benthic macroinvertebrates throughout a salinity gradient in two estuaries from Georgia. In species hyperosmoregulating in diluted media, it could, however, be considered that the high water turnover would favor mercury accumulation. In this context, one couldmore » also expect a relationship between environmental salinity and mercury toxicity in different euryhaline species depending on their osmoregulatory capacities. We have tested this hypothesis analyzing the toxic effects and accumulation of mercury in three euryhaline crabs presenting different osmoregulatory capacities: Eriocheir sinensis (strong hyperosmoregulator), Carcinus maenas (weak hyperosmoregulator) and Cancer pagurus (osmoconformer). 16 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.« less

  1. Zeta potential in oil-brine-sandstone system and its role in oil recovery during controlled salinity waterflooding

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, S.; Jackson, M.

    2017-12-01

    Wettability alteration is widely recognised as a primary role in improved oil recovery (IOR) during controlled salinity waterflooding (CSW) by modifying brine composition. The change of wettability of core sample depends on adsorption of polar oil compounds into the mineral surface which influences its surface charge density and zeta potential. It has been proved that zeta potentials can be useful to quantify the wettability and incremental oil recovery in natural carbonates. However, the study of zeta potential in oil-brine-sandstone system has not investigated yet. In this experimental study, the zeta potential is used to examine the controlled salinity effects on IOR in nature sandstone (Doddington) aged with two types of crude oils (Oil T and Oil D) over 4 weeks at 80 °C. Results show that the zeta potential measured in the Oil T-brine-sandstone system following primary waterflooding decreases compared to that in fully water saturation, which is consistent with the negative oil found in carbonates study, and IOR response during secondary waterflooding using diluted seawater was observed. In the case of negative oil, the injected low salinity brine induces a more repulsive electrostatic force between the mineral-brine interface and oil-brine interface, which results in an increase disjoining pressure and alters the rock surface to be more water-wet. For Oil D with a positive oil-brine interface, the zeta potential becomes more positive compared to that under single phase condition. The conventional waterflooding fails to observe the IOR in Oil D-brine-sandstone system due to a less repulsive electrostatic force built up between the two interfaces. After switching the injection brine from low salinity brine to formation brine, the IOR was observed. Measured zeta potentials shed some light on the mechanism of wettability alteration in the oil-brine-sandstone system and oil recovery during CSW.

  2. Gas Exchange and Carbon Partitioning in the Leaves of Celery (Apium graveolens L.) at Various Levels of Root Zone Salinity.

    PubMed Central

    Everard, J. D.; Gucci, R.; Kann, S. C.; Flore, J. A.; Loescher, W. H.

    1994-01-01

    Both mannitol and sucrose (Suc) are primary photosynthetic products in celery (Apium graveolens L.). In other biological systems mannitol has been shown to serve as a compatible solute or osmoprotectant involved in stress tolerance. Although mannitol, like Suc, is translocated and serves as a reserve carbohydrate in celery, its role in stress tolerance has yet to be resolved. Mature celery plants exposed to low (25 mM NaCl), intermediate (100 mM NaCl), and high (300 mM NaCl) salinities displayed substantial salt tolerance. Shoot fresh weight was increased at low NaCl concentrations when compared with controls, and growth continued, although at slower rates, even after prolonged exposure to high salinities. Gas-exchange analyses showed that low NaCl levels had little or no effect on photosynthetic carbon assimilation (A), but at intermediate levels decreases in stomatal conductance limited A, and at the highest NaCl levels carboxylation capacity (as measured by analyses of the CO2 assimilation response to changing internal CO2 partial pressures) and electron transport (as indicated by fluorescence measurements) were the apparent prevailing limits to A. Increasing salinities up to 300 mM, however, increased mannitol accumulation and decreased Suc and starch pools in leaf tissues, e.g. the ratio of mannitol to Suc increased almost 10-fold. These changes were due in part to shifts in photosynthetic carbon partitioning (as measured by 14C labeling) from Suc into mannitol. Salt treatments increased the activity of mannose-6-phosphate reductase (M6PR), a key enzyme in mannitol biosynthesis, 6-fold in young leaves and 2-fold in fully expanded, mature leaves, but increases in M6PR protein were not apparent in the older leaves. Mannitol biosynthetic capacity (as measured by labeling rates) was maintained despite salt treatment, and relative partitioning into mannitol consequently increased despite decreased photosynthetic capacity. The results support a suggested role for

  3. Saline in acute bronchiolitis RCT and economic evaluation: hypertonic saline in acute bronchiolitis - randomised controlled trial and systematic review.

    PubMed

    Everard, Mark L; Hind, Daniel; Ugonna, Kelechi; Freeman, Jennifer; Bradburn, Mike; Dixon, Simon; Maguire, Chin; Cantrill, Hannah; Alexander, John; Lenney, Warren; McNamara, Paul; Elphick, Heather; Chetcuti, Philip Aj; Moya, Eduardo F; Powell, Colin; Garside, Jonathan P; Chadha, Lavleen Kumar; Kurian, Matthew; Lehal, Ravinderjit S; MacFarlane, Peter I; Cooper, Cindy L; Cross, Elizabeth

    2015-08-01

    Acute bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospitalisation in infancy. Supportive care and oxygen are the cornerstones of management. A Cochrane review concluded that the use of nebulised 3% hypertonic saline (HS) may significantly reduce the duration of hospitalisation. To test the hypothesis that HS reduces the time to when infants were assessed as being fit for discharge, defined as in air with saturations of > 92% for 6 hours, by 25%. Parallel-group, pragmatic randomised controlled trial, cost-utility analysis and systematic review. Ten UK hospitals. Infants with acute bronchiolitis requiring oxygen therapy were allocated within 4 hours of admission. Supportive care with oxygen as required, minimal handling and fluid administration as appropriate to the severity of the disease, 3% nebulised HS every ± 6 hours. The trial primary outcome was time until the infant met objective discharge criteria. Secondary end points included time to discharge and adverse events. The costs analysed related to length of stay (LoS), readmissions, nebulised saline and other NHS resource use. Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated using an existing utility decrement derived for hospitalisation in children, together with the time spent in hospital in the trial. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and other databases from inception or from 2010 onwards, searched ClinicalTrials.gov and other registries and hand-searched Chest, Paediatrics and Journal of Paediatrics to January 2015. We included randomised/quasi-randomised trials which compared HS versus saline (± adjunct treatment) or no treatment. We used a fixed-effects model to combine mean differences for LoS and assessed statistical heterogeneity using the I (2) statistic. The trial randomised 158 infants to HS (n = 141 analysed) and 159 to standard care (n = 149 analysed). There was no difference between the two arms in the time to being declared fit for

  4. Working Memory and Fluid Intelligence: Capacity, Attention Control, and Secondary Memory Retrieval

    PubMed Central

    Unsworth, Nash; Fukuda, Keisuke; Awh, Edward; Vogel, Edward K.

    2015-01-01

    Several theories have been put forth to explain the relation between working memory (WM) and gF. Unfortunately, no single factor has been shown to fully account for the relation between these two important constructs. In the current study we tested whether multiple factors (capacity, attention control, and secondary memory) would collectively account for the relation. A large number of participants performed multiple measures of each construct and latent variable analyses were used to examine the data. The results demonstrated that capacity, attention control, and secondary memory were uniquely related to WM storage, WM processing, and gF. Importantly, the three factors completely accounted for the relation between WM (both processing and storage) and gF. Thus, although storage and processing make independent contributions to gF, both of these contributions are accounted for by variation in capacity, attention control and secondary memory. These results are consistent with the multifaceted view of WM, suggesting that individual differences in capacity, attention control, and secondary memory jointly account for individual differences in WM and its relation with gF. PMID:24531497

  5. Effectiveness of a publicly-funded demonstration program to promote management of dryland salinity.

    PubMed

    Robertson, M J; Measham, T G; Batchelor, G; George, R; Kingwell, R; Hosking, K

    2009-07-01

    Community and catchment-based approaches to salinity management continue to attract interest in Australia. In one such approach, Catchment Demonstration Initiative (CDI) projects were established by the Western Australian (WA) Government in 2000 for targeted investment in large-scale catchment-based demonstrations of integrated salinity management practices. The aim was to promote a process for technically-informed salinity management by landholders. This paper offers an evaluation of the effectiveness of one CDI project in the central wheatbelt of WA, covering issues including: its role in fostering adoption of salinity management options, the role of research and the technical requirements for design and implementation of on-ground works, the role of monitoring and evaluation, the identification and measurement of public and private benefits, comparison and identification of the place and value of plant-based and engineering-based options, reliance on social processes and impacts of constraints on capacity, management of governance and administration requirements and an appreciation of the value of group-based approaches. A number of factors may reduce the effectiveness of CDI-type approaches in facilitating landholder action to address salinity, many of these are socially-based. Such approaches can create considerable demands on landholders, can be expensive (because of the planning and accountability required) on the basis of dollars per hectare impacted, and can be difficult to garner ownership from all involved. An additional problem could be that few community groups would have the capacity to run such programs and disseminate the new knowledge so that the CDI-type projects can impact outside the focus catchment. In common with many publicly-funded approaches to salinity, we found that direct benefits on public assets are smaller than planned and that results from science-based requirements of monitoring and evaluation have long lead times, causing farmers

  6. Alkalinity-salinity relationship in the Chesapeake Bay

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cintrón Del Valle, S. M.; Najjar, R.; Herrmann, M.; Goldberger, S.; Stets, E.

    2016-12-01

    Estuaries are a significant source of atmospheric CO2, a major greenhouse gas. However, it is not known whether the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States, is a source or sink of CO2. Extensive pH measurements in the Bay offer the possibility of estimating the air-water CO2 flux if robust relationships between alkalinity, the acid neutralizing capacity of a water body, and salinity can be established. Here we conduct a comprehensive analysis of the alkalinity-salinity relationship in the Chesapeake Bay based on more than 18,000 alkalinity measurements made between 1985 and 2015. It was found that seven segments of the Bay could be grouped into three different linear functions, suggesting that alkalinity is conserved in the Bay and has properties that change depending on the freshwater endmember (the riverine source). The highest freshwater endmember was 1.21 mol m-3 for the Potomac River, the lowest one was 0.41 mol m-3 for the York and Rappahannock Rivers, and an intermediate freshwater endmember was 0.79 mol m-3 for the remaining four segments. For some segments, most notably the Potomac River, the scatter of the data increases with decreasing salinity, which is due, in part, to seasonal and interannual variations in the freshwater endmember.

  7. Muscle water control in crustaceans and fishes as a function of habitat, osmoregulatory capacity, and degree of euryhalinity.

    PubMed

    Freire, Carolina A; Amado, Enelise M; Souza, Luciana R; Veiga, Marcos P T; Vitule, Jean R S; Souza, Marta M; Prodocimo, Viviane

    2008-04-01

    This study aimed at detecting possible patterns in the relationship between Anisosmotic Extracellular Regulation (AER) and Isosmotic Intracellular Regulation (IIR) in crustaceans and teleost fish from different habitats and evolutionary histories in fresh water (FW), thus different osmoregulatory capabilities, and degrees of euryhalinity. Crustaceans used were the hololimnetic FW Aegla schmitti, and Macrobrachium potiuna, the diadromous FW Macrobrachium acanthurus, the estuarine Palaemon pandaliformis and the marine Hepatus pudibundus; fishes used were the FW Corydoras ehrhardti, Mimagoniates microlepis, and Geophagus brasiliensis, and the marine-estuarine Diapterus auratus. The capacity for IIR was assessed in vitro following wet weight changes of isolated muscle slices incubated in anisosmotic saline (~50% change). M. potiuna was the crustacean with the highest capacity for IIR; the euryhaline perciforms G. brasiliensis and D. auratus displayed total capacity for IIR. It is proposed that a high capacity for IIR is required for invading a new habitat, but that it is later lost after a long time of evolution in a stable habitat, such as in the FW anomuran crab A. schmitti, and the Ostariophysian fishes C. ehrhardti and M. microlepis. More recent FW invaders such as the palaemonid shrimps (M. potiuna and M. acanthurus) and the cichlid G. brasiliensis are euryhaline and still display a high capacity for IIR.

  8. Mechanisms Controlling Variability of Lake Salinity in Dune Environments in a Semi-arid Climate: The Nebraska Sand Hills (Invited)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zlotnik, V. A.; Ong, J. T.; Swinehart, J. B.; Fritz, S. C.; Lenters, J. D.; Schmieder, J. U.; Lane, J. W.; Halihan, T.

    2010-12-01

    Shallow endorheic saline lakes are common in semi-arid environments in North America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. These lakes receive minimal surface runoff and are supported by groundwater seepage. A combination of hydrologic and geologic factors (regional groundwater flow, evaporation, precipitation, lake size, groundwater recharge, and geologic setting) may preclude seepage out of these lakes, even in the presence of ambient regional flow. Solutes from groundwater are captured by these lakes and become enriched over time by evaporation. The importance of understanding lake dynamics in these arid and semi-arid systems is increasing with societal concerns, including water availability and quality, the use of aquatic ecosystems by waterfowl and other biota, and dangers of dust emissions associated with lake desiccation. We consider the salinity of shallow lakes as a useful indicator of hydroclimatic factors operating at centennial and millennial scales. The Nebraska Sand Hills cover 58 000 km2 of the central Great Plains and are the largest dunefield in the Western Hemisphere. The grass-stabilized dunes attain heights up to 130 m and have been modified by soil development and erosion. In an area <7000 km2, there are ~400 lakes with surface areas >4 ha and depths <1 m. Annual lake evaporation exceeds precipitation by 600 mm, according to some estimates. The salinity of natural lakes in the Nebraska Sand Hills ranges from fresh (~0.3 g L-1) to hypersaline (>100 g L-1), with pH values as high as ~10. We assess the mechanisms that control lake salinity in a group of lakes with different subsurface flow regimes. Our methods combine aquifer coring, electromagnetic and electrical resistivity tomography geophysics, hydraulic testing, lakebed dating using 14C and optically stimulated luminescence, energy and water balance analysis, and salt crust and dust collection. Our theory and results show that terrain and water-table topography, lithology, and climate control the

  9. Implications of salinity pollution hotspots on agricultural production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Floerke, Martina; Fink, Julia; Malsy, Marcus; Voelker, Jeanette; Alcamo, Joseph

    2016-04-01

    Salinity pollution can have many negative impacts on water resources used for drinking, irrigation, and industrial purposes. Elevated concentrations of salinity in irrigation water can lead to decreased crop production or crop death and, thus, causing an economic problem. Overall, salinity pollution is a global problem but tends to be more severe in arid and semi-arid regions where the dilution capacity of rivers and lakes is lower and the use of irrigation higher. Particularly in these regions agricultural production is exposed to high salinity of irrigation water as insufficient water quality further reduces the available freshwater resources. According to the FAO, irrigated agriculture contributes about 40 percent of the total food production globally, and therefore, high salinity pollution poses a major concern for food production and food security. We use the WaterGAP3 modeling framework to simulate hydrological, water use, and water quality conditions on a global scale for the time period 1990 to 2010. The modeling framework is applied to simulate total dissolved solids (TDS) loadings and in-stream concentrations from different point and diffuse sources to get an insight on potential environmental impacts as well as risks to agricultural food production. The model was tested and calibrated against observed data from GEMStat and literature sources. Although global in scope, the focus of this study is on developing countries, i.e., in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as these are most threatened by salinity pollution. Furthermore, insufficient water quality for irrigation and therefore restrictions in irrigation water use are examined, indicating limitations to crop production. Our results show that elevated salinity concentrations in surface waters mainly occur in peak irrigation regions as irrigated agriculture is not only the most relevant water use sector contributing to water abstractions, but also the dominant source of salinity pollution. Additionally

  10. Working memory and fluid intelligence: capacity, attention control, and secondary memory retrieval.

    PubMed

    Unsworth, Nash; Fukuda, Keisuke; Awh, Edward; Vogel, Edward K

    2014-06-01

    Several theories have been put forth to explain the relation between working memory (WM) and gF. Unfortunately, no single factor has been shown to fully account for the relation between these two important constructs. In the current study we tested whether multiple factors (capacity, attention control, and secondary memory) would collectively account for the relation. A large number of participants performed multiple measures of each construct and latent variable analyses were used to examine the data. The results demonstrated that capacity, attention control, and secondary memory were uniquely related to WM storage, WM processing, and gF. Importantly, the three factors completely accounted for the relation between WM (both processing and storage) and gF. Thus, although storage and processing make independent contributions to gF, both of these contributions are accounted for by variation in capacity, attention control and secondary memory. These results are consistent with the multifaceted view of WM, suggesting that individual differences in capacity, attention control, and secondary memory jointly account for individual differences in WM and its relation with gF. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Groundwater-saline lakes interaction - The contribution of saline groundwater circulation to solute budget of saline lakes: a lesson from the Dead Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kiro, Yael; Weinstein, Yishai; Starinsky, Abraham; Yechieli, Yoseph

    2013-04-01

    Saline lakes act as base level for both surface water and groundwater. Thus, a change in lake levels is expected to result in changes in the hydrogeological system in its vicinity, exhibited in groundwater levels, location of the fresh-saline water interface, sub-lacustrine groundwater discharge (SGD) and saline water circulation. All these processes were observed in the declining Dead Sea system, whose water level dropped by ~35 meters in the last 50 years. This work focuses mainly on the effect of circulation of Dead Sea water in the aquifer, which continues even in this very rapid base level drop. In general, seawater circulation in coastal aquifers is now recognized as a major process affecting trace element mass balances in coastal areas. Estimates of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) vary over several orders of magnitude (1-1000000 m3/yr per meter shoreline). These estimates are sensitive to fresh-saline SGD ratios and to the temporal and spatial scales of the circulation. The Dead Sea system is an excellent natural field lab for studying seawater-groundwater interaction and large-scale circulation due to the absence of tides and to the minor role played by waves. During Dead Sea water circulation in the aquifer several geochemical reactions occur, ranging from short-term adsorption-desorption reactions and up to long-term precipitation and dissolution reactions. These processes affect the trace element distribution in the saline groundwater. Barite and celestine, which are supersaturated in the lake water, precipitate during circulation in the aquifer, reducing barium (from 5 to 1.5 mg/L), strontium (from 350 to 300 mg/L) and the long-lived 226Ra (from 145 to 60 dpm/L) in the saline groundwater. Redox-controlled reactions cause a decrease in uranium from 2.4 to 0.1 μg/L, and an increase in iron from 1 to 13 mg/L. 228Ra (t1/2=5.75 yr) activity in the Dead Sea is ~1 dpm/L and increase gradually as the saline water flows further inland until reaching

  12. Factors controlling the configuration of the fresh-saline water interface in the Dead Sea coastal aquifers: Synthesis of TDEM surveys and numerical groundwater modeling

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Yechieli, Y.; Kafri, U.; Goldman, M.; Voss, C.I.

    2001-01-01

    TDEM (time domain electromagnetic) traverses in the Dead Sea (DS) coastal aquifer help to delineate the configuration of the interrelated fresh-water and brine bodies and the interface in between. A good linear correlation exists between the logarithm of TDEM resistivity and the chloride concentration of groundwater, mostly in the higher salinity range, close to that of the DS brine. In this range, salinity is the most important factor controlling resistivity. The configuration of the fresh-saline water interface is dictated by the hydraulic gradient, which is controlled by a number of hydrological factors. Three types of irregularities in the configuration of fresh-water and saline-water bodies were observed in the study area: 1. Fresh-water aquifers underlying more saline ones ("Reversal") in a multi-aquifer system. 2. "Reversal" and irregular residual saline-water bodies related to historical, frequently fluctuating DS base level and respective interfaces, which have not undergone complete flushing. A rough estimate of flushing rates may be obtained based on knowledge of the above fluctuations. The occurrence of salt beds is also a factor affecting the interface configuration. 3. The interface steepens towards and adjacent to the DS Rift fault zone. Simulation analysis with a numerical, variable-density flow model, using the US Geological Survey's SUTRA code, indicates that interface steep- ening may result from a steep water-level gradient across the zone, possibly due to a low hydraulic conductivity in the immediate vicinity of the fault.

  13. 5-Aminolevulinic Acid (ALA) Alleviated Salinity Stress in Cucumber Seedlings by Enhancing Chlorophyll Synthesis Pathway.

    PubMed

    Wu, Yue; Jin, Xin; Liao, Weibiao; Hu, Linli; Dawuda, Mohammed M; Zhao, Xingjie; Tang, Zhongqi; Gong, Tingyu; Yu, Jihua

    2018-01-01

    5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a common precursor of tetrapyrroles as well as a crucial growth regulator in higher plants. ALA has been proven to be effective in improving photosynthesis and alleviating the adverse effects of various abiotic stresses in higher plants. However, little is known about the mechanism of ALA in ameliorating the photosynthesis of plant under abiotic stress. In this paper, we studied the effects of exogenous ALA on salinity-induced damages of photosynthesis in cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.) seedlings. We found that the morphology (plant height, leave area), light utilization capacity of PS II [qL, Y(II)] and gas exchange capacity (Pn, gs, Ci, and Tr) were significantly retarded under NaCl stress, but these parameters were all recovered by the foliar application of 25 mg L -1 ALA. Besides, salinity caused heme accumulation and up-regulation of gene expression of ferrochelatase ( HEMH ) with suppression of other genes involved in chlorophyll synthesis pathway. Exogenously application of ALA under salinity down-regulated the heme content and HEMH expression, but increased the gene expression levels of glutamyl-tRNA reductase ( HEMA1 ), Mg-chelatase ( CHLH ), and protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase ( POR ). Moreover, the contents of intermediates involved in chlorophyll branch were increased by ALA, including protoporphyrin IX (Proto IX), Mg-protoporphyrin IX (Mg-Proto IX, protochlorophyllide (Pchlide), and chlorophyll (Chl a and Chl b ) under salt stress. Ultrastructural observation of mesophyll cell showed that the damages of photosynthetic apparatus under salinity were fixed by ALA. Collectively, the chlorophyll biosynthesis pathway was enhanced by exogenous ALA to improve the tolerance of cucumber under salinity.

  14. Load controller and method to enhance effective capacity of a photovoltaic power supply

    DOEpatents

    Perez, Richard

    2000-01-01

    A load controller and method are provided for maximizing effective capacity of a non-controllable, renewable power supply coupled to a variable electrical load also coupled to a conventional power grid. Effective capacity is enhanced by monitoring power output of the renewable supply and loading, and comparing the loading against the power output and a load adjustment threshold determined from an expected peak loading. A value for a load adjustment parameter is calculated by subtracting the renewable supply output and the load adjustment parameter from the current load. This value is then employed to control the variable load in an amount proportional to the value of the load control parameter when the parameter is within a predefined range. By so controlling the load, the effective capacity of the non-controllable, renewable power supply is increased without any attempt at operational feedback control of the renewable supply. The renewable supply may comprise, for example, a photovoltaic power supply or a wind-based power supply.

  15. Physiological short-term response to sudden salinity change in the Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis).

    PubMed

    Herrera, Marcelino; Aragão, Cláudia; Hachero, Ismael; Ruiz-Jarabo, Ignacio; Vargas-Chacoff, Luis; Mancera, Juan Miguel; Conceição, Luis E C

    2012-12-01

    The physiological responses of Senegalese sole to a sudden salinity change were investigated. The fish were first acclimated to an initial salinity of 37.5 ppt for 4 h. Then, one group was subjected to increased salinity (55 ppt) while another group was subjected to decreased salinity (5 ppt). The third group (control group) remained at 37.5 ppt. We measured the oxygen consumption rate, osmoregulatory (plasma osmolality, gill and kidney Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activities) and stress (plasma cortisol and metabolites) parameters 0.5 and 3 h after transfer. Oxygen consumption at both salinities was higher than for the control at both sampling times. Gill Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity was significantly higher for the 55 ppt salinity at 0.5 h. Plasma osmolality decreased in the fish exposed to 5 ppt at the two sampling times but no changes were detected for high salinities. Plasma cortisol levels significantly increased at both salinities, although these values declined in the low-salinity group 3 h after transfer. Plasma glucose at 5 ppt salinity did not vary significantly at 0.5 h but decreased at 3 h, while lactate increased for both treatments at the first sampling time and returned to the control levels at 3 h. Overall, the physiological response of S. senegalensis was immediate and involved a rise in oxygen consumption and plasma cortisol values as well as greater metabolite mobilization at both salinities.

  16. Salinity Improves Performance and Alters Distribution of Soybean Aphids.

    PubMed

    Eichele-Nelson, Jaclyn; DeSutter, Thomas; Wick, Abbey F; Harmon, Erin L; Harmon, Jason P

    2018-05-24

    We know numerous abiotic factors strongly influence crop plants. Yet we often know much less about abiotic effects on closely interacting organisms including herbivorous insects. This lack of a whole-system perspective may lead to underestimating the threats from changing factors. High soil salinity is a specific example that we know threatens crop plants in many places, but we need to know much more about how other organisms are also affected. We investigated how salinity affects the soybean aphid (SBA; Aphis glycines Matsumura; Hemiptera: Aphididae) on soybean plants (Glycine max [L.] Merr.; Fabales: Fabaceae) grown across a range of saline conditions. We performed four complementary greenhouse experiments to understand different aspects of how salinity might affect SBA. We found that as salinity increased both population size and fecundity of SBA increased across electrical conductivity values ranging from 0.84 to 8.07 dS m-1. Tracking individual aphids we also found they lived longer and produced more offspring in high saline conditions compared to the control. Moreover, we found that salinity influenced aphid distribution such that when given the chance aphids accumulated more on high-salinity plants. These results suggest that SBA could become a larger problem in areas with higher salinity and that those aphids may exacerbate the negative effects of salinity for soybean production.

  17. The influence of salinity on the effects of Multi-walled carbon nanotubes on polychaetes.

    PubMed

    De Marchi, Lucia; Neto, Victor; Pretti, Carlo; Figueira, Etelvina; Chiellini, Federica; Morelli, Andrea; Soares, Amadeu M V M; Freitas, Rosa

    2018-06-05

    Salinity shifts in estuarine and coastal areas are becoming a topic of concern and are one of the main factors influencing nanoparticles behaviour in the environment. For this reason, the impacts of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) under different seawater salinity conditions were evaluated on the common ragworm Hediste diversicolor, a polychaete species widely used as bioindicator of estuarine environmental quality. An innovative method to assess the presence of MWCNT aggregates in the sediments was used for the first time. Biomarkers approach was used to evaluate the metabolic capacity, oxidative status and neurotoxicity of polychaetes after long-term exposure. The results revealed an alteration of energy-related responses in contaminated polychaetes under both salinity conditions, resulting in an increase of metabolism and expenditure of their energy reserves (lower glycogen and protein contents). Moreover, a concentration-dependent toxicity (higher lipid peroxidation, lower ratio between reduced and oxidized glutathione and activation of antioxidant defences and biotransformation mechanisms) was observed in H. diversicolor, especially when exposed to low salinity. Additionally, neurotoxicity was observed by inhibition of Cholinesterases activity in organisms exposed to MWCNTs at both salinities.

  18. Pore fluids and the LGM ocean salinity-Reconsidered

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wunsch, Carl

    2016-03-01

    Pore fluid chlorinity/salinity data from deep-sea cores related to the salinity maximum of the last glacial maximum (LGM) are analyzed using estimation methods deriving from linear control theory. With conventional diffusion coefficient values and no vertical advection, results show a very strong dependence upon initial conditions at -100 ky. Earlier inferences that the abyssal Southern Ocean was strongly salt-stratified in the LGM with a relatively fresh North Atlantic Ocean are found to be consistent within uncertainties of the salinity determination, which remain of order ±1 g/kg. However, an LGM Southern Ocean abyss with an important relative excess of salt is an assumption, one not required by existing core data. None of the present results show statistically significant abyssal salinity values above the global average, and results remain consistent, apart from a general increase owing to diminished sea level, with a more conventional salinity distribution having deep values lower than the global mean. The Southern Ocean core does show a higher salinity than the North Atlantic one on the Bermuda Rise at different water depths. Although much more sophisticated models of the pore-fluid salinity can be used, they will only increase the resulting uncertainties, unless considerably more data can be obtained. Results are consistent with complex regional variations in abyssal salinity during deglaciation, but none are statistically significant.

  19. Improved statistical method for temperature and salinity quality control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gourrion, Jérôme; Szekely, Tanguy

    2017-04-01

    Climate research and Ocean monitoring benefit from the continuous development of global in-situ hydrographic networks in the last decades. Apart from the increasing volume of observations available on a large range of temporal and spatial scales, a critical aspect concerns the ability to constantly improve the quality of the datasets. In the context of the Coriolis Dataset for ReAnalysis (CORA) version 4.2, a new quality control method based on a local comparison to historical extreme values ever observed is developed, implemented and validated. Temperature, salinity and potential density validity intervals are directly estimated from minimum and maximum values from an historical reference dataset, rather than from traditional mean and standard deviation estimates. Such an approach avoids strong statistical assumptions on the data distributions such as unimodality, absence of skewness and spatially homogeneous kurtosis. As a new feature, it also allows addressing simultaneously the two main objectives of an automatic quality control strategy, i.e. maximizing the number of good detections while minimizing the number of false alarms. The reference dataset is presently built from the fusion of 1) all ARGO profiles up to late 2015, 2) 3 historical CTD datasets and 3) the Sea Mammals CTD profiles from the MEOP database. All datasets are extensively and manually quality controlled. In this communication, the latest method validation results are also presented. The method has already been implemented in the latest version of the delayed-time CMEMS in-situ dataset and will be deployed soon in the equivalent near-real time products.

  20. Salinity tolerance is related to cyanide-resistant alternative respiration in Medicago truncatula under sudden severe stress.

    PubMed

    Del-Saz, Néstor Fernández; Florez-Sarasa, Igor; Clemente-Moreno, María José; Mhadhbi, Haytem; Flexas, Jaume; Fernie, Alisdair R; Ribas-Carbó, Miquel

    2016-11-01

    Salt respiration is defined as the increase of respiration under early salt stress. However, the response of respiration varies depending on the degree of salt tolerance and salt stress. It has been hypothesized that the activity of the alternative pathway may increase preventing over-reduction of the ubiquinone pool in response to salinity, which in turn can increase respiration. Three genotypes of Medicago truncatula are reputed as differently responsive to salinity: TN1.11, A17 and TN6.18. We used the oxygen-isotope fractionation technique to study the in vivo respiratory activities of the cytochrome oxidase pathway (COP) and the alternative oxidase pathway (AOP) in leaves and roots of these genotypes treated with severe salt stress (300 mM) during 1 and 3 days. In parallel, AOX capacity, gas exchange measurements, relative water content and metabolomics were determined in control and treated plants. Our study shows for first time that salt respiration is induced by the triggered AOP in response to salinity. Moreover, this phenomenon coincides with increased levels of metabolites such as amino and organic acids, and is shown to be related with higher photosynthetic rate and water content in TN6.18. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Effects of salinity and short-term elevated atmospheric CO2 on the chemical equilibrium between CO2 fixation and photosynthetic electron transport of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni.

    PubMed

    Hussin, Sayed; Geissler, Nicole; El-Far, Mervat M M; Koyro, Hans-Werner

    2017-09-01

    The effect of water salinity on plant growth and photosynthetic traits of Stevia rebaudiana was investigated to determine its level and mechanisms of salinity tolerance. It was also attempted to assess how short-term elevated CO 2 concentration would influence the boundaries and mechanisms of its photosynthetic capacity. The plants were grown in gravel/hydroponic system under controlled greenhouse conditions and irrigated with four different salinity levels (0, 25, 50 and 100 mol m -3 NaCl). Low salinity did not significantly alter the plant fresh weight, which was substantially decreased by 67% at high salinity treatment. Salinity tolerance threshold was reached at 50 mol m -3  NaCl while C50 was between 50 and 100 mol m -3  NaCl, indicating that S. rebaudiana is a moderate salt tolerant species. Salt-induced growth reduction was apparently linked to a significant decline of about 47% in the photosynthetic rates (A net ) at high salinity treatment, leading consequently to a disequilibrium between CO 2 -assimilation and electron transport rates (indicated by enhanced ETR max /A gross ratio). Elevated atmospheric CO 2 enhanced CO 2 assimilation rates by 65% and 80% for control and high-salt-stressed plants respectively, likely due to significant increases in intercellular CO 2 concentration (indicated by enhanced C i /C a ). The priority for Stevia under elevated atmospheric CO 2 was not to save water but to maximize photosynthesis so that the PWUE was progressively improved and the threat of oxidative stress was diminished (decline in ETR max /A gross ). The results imply that elevated CO 2 level could ameliorate some of the detrimental effects of salinity, conferring higher tolerance and survival of S. rebaudiana, a highlydesired feature with the forthcoming era of global changes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  2. SPURS-2: Multi-month and multi-scale observations of upper ocean salinity in a rain-dominated salinity minimum region.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rainville, L.; Farrar, J. T.; Shcherbina, A.; Centurioni, L. R.

    2017-12-01

    The Salinity Processes in the Upper-ocean Regional Study (SPURS) is a program aimed at understanding the patterns and variability of sea surface salinity. Following the first SPURS program in an evaporation-dominated region (2012-2013), the SPURS-2 program targeted wide range of spatial and temporal scales associated with processes controlling salinity in the rain-dominated Eastern Pacific Fresh Pool. Autonomous instruments were delivered in August and September 2016 using research vessels conducted observations over one complete annual cycle. The SPURS-2 field program used coordinated observations from many different autonomous platforms, and a mix of Lagrangian and Eulerian approaches. Here we discuss the motivation, implementation, and the early of SPURS-2.

  3. Regenerative capacity of mdx mouse muscles after repeated applications of myo-necrotic bupivacaine.

    PubMed

    Itagaki, Y; Saida, K; Iwamura, K

    1995-01-01

    We injected bupivacaine (BPVC), which produces muscle fiber necrosis, repeatedly into the soleus muscles of mdx mice, which represent a model of human Duchenne muscular dystrophy, over a 12-month period. Cytological and morphometric analysis revealed that the regenerative capacity of repeatedly BPVC-injected mdx muscles was almost equal to that of the saline-injected mdx muscles. At 9 months of age the endomysial collagen content of mdx muscles was 4.6 times that of control mice muscles, and was 7.2 times that of control mice muscle at 12 months. These results suggest that the regenerative capacity of the mdx muscle is quite large and that myo-necrosis induced by an extrinsic cause, such as BPVC, may not be an important factor in the disease progress. However, endomysial collagen, for which the mechanism of increase may be related to the defect of dystrophin, may play an important role in gradual decline of regeneration.

  4. Surface-water salinity in the Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, water years 1989 through 2007

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Schaffrath, Keelin R.

    2012-01-01

    Elevated levels of dissolved solids in water (salinity) can result in numerous and costly issues for agricultural, industrial, and municipal water users. The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-320) authorized planning and construction of salinity-control projects in the Colorado River Basin. One of the first projects was the Lower Gunnison Unit, a project to mitigate salinity in the Lower Gunnison and Uncompahgre River Basins. In cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a study to quantify changes in salinity in the Gunnison River Basin. Trends in salinity concentration and load during the period water years (WY) 1989 through 2004 (1989-2004) were determined for 15 selected streamflow-gaging stations in the Gunnison River Basin. Additionally, trends in salinity concentration and load during the period WY1989 through 2007 (1989-2007) were determined for 5 of the 15 sites for which sufficient data were available. Trend results also were used to identify regions in the Lower Gunnison River Basin (downstream from the Gunnison Tunnel) where the largest changes in salinity loads occur. Additional sources of salinity, including residential development (urbanization), changes in land cover, and natural sources, were estimated within the context of the trend results. The trend results and salinity loads estimated from trends testing also were compared to USBR and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) estimates of off-farm and on-farm salinity reduction from salinity-control projects in the basin. Finally, salinity from six additional sites in basins that are not affected by irrigated agriculture or urbanization was monitored from WY 2008 to 2010 to quantify what portion of salinity may be from nonagricultural or natural sources. In the Upper Gunnison area, which refers to Gunnison River Basin above the site located on the Gunnison River below the Gunnison Tunnel, estimated mean annual

  5. Protective Effects of Hydrogen-Rich Saline Against Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Alveolar Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Pulmonary Fibrosis.

    PubMed

    Dong, Wen-Wen; Zhang, Yun-Qian; Zhu, Xiao-Yan; Mao, Yan-Fei; Sun, Xue-Jun; Liu, Yu-Jian; Jiang, Lai

    2017-05-19

    BACKGROUND Fibrotic change is one of the important reasons for the poor prognosis of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The present study investigated the effects of hydrogen-rich saline, a selective hydroxyl radical scavenger, on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pulmonary fibrosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS Male ICR mice were divided randomly into 5 groups: Control, LPS-treated plus vehicle treatment, and LPS-treated plus hydrogen-rich saline (2.5, 5, or 10 ml/kg) treatment. Twenty-eight days later, fibrosis was assessed by determination of collagen deposition, hydroxyproline, and type I collagen levels. Development of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was identified by examining protein expressions of E-cadherin and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 content, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were determined. RESULTS Mice exhibited increases in collagen deposition, hydroxyproline, type I collagen contents, and TGF-β1 production in lung tissues after LPS treatment. LPS-induced lung fibrosis was associated with increased expression of α-SMA, as well as decreased expression of E-cadherin. In addition, LPS treatment increased MDA levels but decreased T-AOC, CAT, and SOD activities in lung tissues, indicating that LPS induced pulmonary oxidative stress. Hydrogen-rich saline treatment at doses of 2.5, 5, or 10 ml/kg significantly attenuated LPS-induced pulmonary fibrosis. LPS-induced loss of E-cadherin in lung tissues was largely reversed, whereas the acquisition of α-SMA was dramatically decreased by hydrogen-rich saline treatment. In addition, hydrogen-rich saline treatment significantly attenuated LPS-induced oxidative stress. CONCLUSIONS Hydrogen-rich saline may protect against LPS-induced EMT and pulmonary fibrosis through suppressing oxidative stress.

  6. Absolute Salinity, ''Density Salinity'' and the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale: present and future use in the seawater standard TEOS-10

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wright, D. G.; Pawlowicz, R.; McDougall, T. J.; Feistel, R.; Marion, G. M.

    2011-01-01

    Salinity plays a key role in the determination of the thermodynamic properties of seawater and the new TEOS-101 standard provides a consistent and effective approach to dealing with relationships between salinity and these thermodynamic properties. However, there are a number of practical issues that arise in the application of TEOS-10, both in terms of accuracy and scope, including its use in the reduction of field data and in numerical models. First, in the TEOS-10 formulation for IAPSO Standard Seawater, the Gibbs function takes the Reference Salinity as its salinity argument, denoted SR, which provides a measure of the mass fraction of dissolved material in solution based on the Reference Composition approximation for Standard Seawater. We discuss uncertainties in both the Reference Composition and the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale on which Reference Salinity is reported. The Reference Composition provides a much-needed fixed benchmark but modified reference states will inevitably be required to improve the representation of Standard Seawater for some studies. However, the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale should remain unaltered to provide a stable representation of salinity for use with the TEOS-10 Gibbs function and in climate change detection studies. Second, when composition anomalies are present in seawater, no single salinity variable can fully represent the influence of dissolved material on the thermodynamic properties of seawater. We consider three distinct representations of salinity that have been used in previous studies and discuss the connections and distinctions between them. One of these variables provides the most accurate representation of density possible as well as improvements over Reference Salinity for the determination of other thermodynamic properties. It is referred to as "Density Salinity" and is represented by the symbol SAdens; it stands out as the most appropriate representation of salinity for use in dynamical physical

  7. Absolute Salinity, "Density Salinity" and the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale: present and future use in the seawater standard TEOS-10

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wright, D. G.; Pawlowicz, R.; McDougall, T. J.; Feistel, R.; Marion, G. M.

    2010-08-01

    Salinity plays a key role in the determination of the thermodynamic properties of seawater and the new TEOS-101 standard provides a consistent and effective approach to dealing with relationships between salinity and these thermodynamic properties. However, there are a number of practical issues that arise in the application of TEOS-10, both in terms of accuracy and scope, including its use in the reduction of field data and in numerical models. First, in the TEOS-10 formulation for IAPSO Standard Seawater, the Gibbs function takes the Reference Salinity as its salinity argument, denoted SR, which provides a measure of the mass fraction of dissolved material in solution based on the Reference Composition approximation for Standard Seawater. We discuss uncertainties in both the Reference Composition and the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale on which Reference Salinity is reported. The Reference Composition provides a much-needed fixed benchmark but modified reference states will inevitably be required to improve the representation of Standard Seawater for some studies. The Reference-Composition Salinity Scale should remain unaltered to provide a stable representation of salinity for use with the TEOS-10 Gibbs function and in climate change detection studies. Second, when composition anomalies are present in seawater, no single salinity variable can fully represent the influence of dissolved material on the thermodynamic properties of seawater. We consider three distinct representations of salinity that have been used in previous studies and discuss the connections and distinctions between them. One of these variables provides the most accurate representation of density possible as well as improvements over Reference Salinity for the determination of other thermodynamic properties. It is referred to as "Density Salinity" and is represented by the symbol SAdens; it stands out as the most appropriate representation of salinity for use in dynamical physical

  8. In vitro antioxidant capacities of eight different kinds of apples and their effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced oxidative damage in mice.

    PubMed

    Guo, Shuang; Wang, Yuehua; Chou, Shurui; Cui, Huijun; Li, Dongnan; Li, Bin

    2018-01-01

    In the present study, the DPPH and ABTS+ radical scavenging activity of eight types of apples decreased (P < 0.05) during the 70-day storage at 4°C. The Fushi (F2) apples from Xin Jiang showed the highest radical scavenging activity. For in vivo study, 40 male Kunming mice (body weight 20-25 g) were selected and randomly assigned to four groups (10 mice per group). The F2 groups (F2S, F2 + sterile saline and F2L, F2 + lipopolysaccharide) were administered with 0.3 mL F2 filtrate via gastric intubation daily for 28 days. The control groups (CS, CON + sterile saline and CL, CON + lipopolysaccharide) were treated with sterile saline at the same volume. At day 29, mice of F2L and CL groups were injected with 100 μg/kg body weight of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intraperitoneally, while those of F2S and CS groups were injected equal volume of sterile saline. In comparison to the CS group, the CL group showed a decrease (P < 0.05) in serum, liver, and hepatic mitochondrial antioxidant capacity, reduction (P < 0.05) in the expression of hepatic antioxidant-related genes, and an increase (P < 0.05) in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl (PC), and reactive oxygen species (ROS). In comparison to the CL group, the F2L group showed lower (P < 0.05) levels of serum ALT, AST, and ROS, higher (P < 0.05) level of serum, liver, and hepatic mitochondrial antioxidant capacity, increased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and enhanced (P < 0.05) expression of hepatic antioxidant-related genes. These results suggest that F2 may exert protective effect against LPS-induced oxidative damage by improving the antioxidant capacity.

  9. Indicators: Salinity

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Salinity is the dissolved salt content of a body of water. Excess salinity, due to evaporation, water withdrawal, wastewater discharge, and other sources, is a chemical sterssor that can be toxic for aquatic environments.

  10. Reconstructing Past Ocean Salinity ((delta)18Owater)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Guilderson, T P; Pak, D K

    2005-11-23

    Temperature and salinity are two of the key properties of ocean water masses. The distribution of these two independent but related characteristics reflects the interplay of incoming solar radiation (insolation) and the uneven distribution of heat loss and gain by the ocean, with that of precipitation, evaporation, and the freezing and melting of ice. Temperature and salinity to a large extent, determine the density of a parcel of water. Small differences in temperature and salinity can increase or decrease the density of a water parcel, which can lead to convection. Once removed from the surface of the ocean where 'local'more » changes in temperature and salinity can occur, the water parcel retains its distinct relationship between (potential) temperature and salinity. We can take advantage of this 'conservative' behavior where changes only occur as a result of mixing processes, to track the movement of water in the deep ocean (Figure 1). The distribution of density in the ocean is directly related to horizontal pressure gradients and thus (geostrophic) ocean currents. During the Quaternary when we have had systematic growth and decay of large land based ice sheets, salinity has had to change. A quick scaling argument following that of Broecker and Peng [1982] is: the modern ocean has a mean salinity of 34.7 psu and is on average 3500m deep. During glacial maxima sea level was on the order of {approx}120m lower than present. Simply scaling the loss of freshwater (3-4%) requires an average increase in salinity a similar percentage or to {approx}35.9psu. Because much of the deep ocean is of similar temperature, small changes in salinity have a large impact on density, yielding a potentially different distribution of water masses and control of the density driven (thermohaline) ocean circulation. It is partly for this reason that reconstructions of past salinity are of interest to paleoceanographers.« less

  11. Salinity fluctuation influencing biological adaptation: growth dynamics and Na+ /K+ -ATPase activity in a euryhaline bacterium.

    PubMed

    Yang, Hao; Meng, Yang; Song, Youxin; Tan, Yalin; Warren, Alan; Li, Jiqiu; Lin, Xiaofeng

    2017-07-01

    Although salinity fluctuation is a prominent characteristic of many coastal ecosystems, its effects on biological adaptation have not yet been fully recognized. To test the salinity fluctuations on biological adaptation, population growth dynamics and Na + /K + -ATPase activity were investigated in the euryhaline bacterium Idiomarina sp. DYB, which was acclimated at different salinity exposure levels, exposure times, and shifts in direction of salinity. Results showed: (1) bacterial population growth dynamics and Na + /K + -ATPase activity changed significantly in response to salinity fluctuation; (2) patterns of variation in bacterial growth dynamics were related to exposure times, levels of salinity, and shifts in direction of salinity change; (3) significant tradeoffs were detected between growth rate (r) and carrying capacity (K) on the one hand, and Na + /K + -ATPase activity on the other; and (4) beneficial acclimation was confirmed in Idiomarina sp. DYB. In brief, this study demonstrated that salinity fluctuation can change the population growth dynamics, Na + /K + -ATPase activity, and tradeoffs between r, K, and Na + /K + -ATPase activity, thus facilitating bacterial adaption in a changing environment. These findings provide constructive information for determining biological response patterns to environmental change. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. [Effects of Suaeda glauca planting and straw mulching on soil salinity dynamics and desalination in extremely heavy saline soil of coastal areas.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Jiao; Cui, Shi You; Feng, Zhi Xiang

    2018-05-01

    To elucidate the seasonal variations in soil salinity and its driving factors, and to explore the effects of planting Suaeda glauca and straw mulching on soil desalination and salinity controlling, a field experiment was conducted in extremely heavy saline soil of coastal areas in Rudong, Jiangsu Province. There were four treatments: control (bare land, CK), planting S. glauca (PS), straw mulching A (at 15 t·hm -2 , SM-A), straw mulching 2A (at 30 t·hm -2 , SM-2A). Climate factors (including rainfall, atmospheric temperature, sunshine duration, and atmospheric evaporation) and soil salinity dynamic changes were determined from May 2014 to May 2015. Results showed that: (1) The seasonal variation of soil salinity was obvious in the bare ground (CK), with the lowest (8.69 g·kg -1 ) during June-August and the highest (26.66 g·kg -1 ) during September-December. The changes of soil salinity in topsoil (0-20 cm) were more intense than that in sub-topsoil (20-40 cm), with the changes in sub-topsoil having somewhat time lag compared the topsoil. (2) Soil salinity in CK treatment had a significantly linear correlation with the cumulative rainfall and evaporation-precipitation ratio of the fifteen-day before sampling. The results from multifactor and interphase analysis indicated that the increases of rainfall would promote soil desalinization. The rise of atmospheric temperature could exacerbate soil salt accumulation in surface soil. The interaction between rainfall and atmospheric temperature would have a positive effect on soil salt accumulation. (3) PS treatment did not alter the seasonal variation in soil salinity, but it reduced soil salinity in topsoil. (4) In SM-A and SM-2A treatments, the relationship of soil desalinization rate (%, Y) and treatment time (days, X) was expressed as Logistic curve equation. Moreover, the soil desalination rate was over 95.0% in the topsoil after 90-100 days of straw mul-ching treatment and was over 92.0% in sub-topsoil after 120

  13. Salinity control in a clay soil beneath an orchard irrigated with treated waste water in the presence of a high water table: A numerical study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Russo, David; Laufer, Asher; Bardhan, Gopali; Levy, Guy J.

    2015-12-01

    A citrus orchard planted on a structured, clay soil associated with a high water table, irrigated by drip irrigation system using treated waste water (TWW) and local well water (LWW) was considered here. The scope of the present study was to analyze transport of mixed-ion, interacting salts in a combined vadose zone-groundwater flow system focusing on the following issues: (i) long-term effects of irrigation with TWW on the response of the flow system, identifying the main factors (e.g., soil salinity, soil sodicity) that control these effects, and (ii) salinity control aiming at improving both crop productivity and groundwater quality. To pursue this two-fold goal, 3-D numerical simulations of field-scale flow and transport were performed for an extended period of time, considering realistic features of the soil, water table, crop, weather and irrigation, and the coupling between the flow and the transport through the dependence of the soil hydraulic functions, K(ψ) and θ(ψ), on soil solution concentration C, and sodium adsorption ratio, SAR. Results of the analyses suggest that in the case studied, the long-term effect of irrigation with TWW on the response of the flow system is attributed to the enhanced salinity of the TWW, and not to the increase in soil sodicity. The latter findings are attributed to: (i) the negative effect of soil salinity on water uptake, and the tradeoff between water uptake and drainage flux, and, concurrently, solute discharge below the root zone; and, (ii) the tradeoff between the effects of C and SAR on K(ψ) and θ(ψ). Furthermore, it was demonstrated that a data-driven protocol for soil salinity control, based on alternating irrigation water quality between TWW and desalinized water, guided by the soil solution salinity at the centroid of the soil volume active in water uptake, may lead to a substantial increase in crop yield, and to a substantial decrease in the salinity load in the groundwater.

  14. Saline infusion sonohysterography.

    PubMed

    2004-01-01

    Saline infusion sonohysterography consists of ultrasonographic imaging of the uterus and uterocervical cavity, using real-time ultrasonography during injection of sterile saline into the uterus. When properly performed, saline infusion sonohysterography can provide information about the uterus and endometrium. The most common indication for sonohysterography is abnormal uterine bleeding. sonohysterography should not be performed in a woman who is pregnant or could be pregnant or in a woman with a pelvic infection or unexplained pelvic tenderness. Physicians who perform or supervise diagnostic saline infusion sonohysterograpy should have training, experience, and demonstrated competence in gynecologic ultrasonography and saline infusion sonohysterography. Portions of this document were developed jointly with the American College of Radiology and the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

  15. Microbial community succession in alkaline, saline bauxite residue: a cross-refinery study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Santini, T.; Malcolm, L. I.; Tyson, G. W.; Warren, L. A.

    2015-12-01

    Bauxite residue, a byproduct of the Bayer process for alumina refining, is an alkaline, saline tailings material that is generally considered to be inhospitable to microbial life. In situ remediation strategies promote soil formation in bauxite residue by enhancing leaching of saline, alkaline pore water, and through incorporation of amendments to boost organic matter content, decrease pH, and improve physical structure. The amelioration of chemical and physical conditions in bauxite residue is assumed to support diversification of microbial communities from narrow, poorly functioning microbial communities towards diverse, well-functioning communities. This study aimed to characterise microbial communities in fresh and remediated bauxite residues from refineries worldwide, to identify (a) whether initial microbial communities differed between refineries; (b) major environmental controls on microbial community composition; and (c) whether remediation successfully shifts the composition of microbial communities in bauxite residue towards those found in reference (desired endpoint) soils. Samples were collected from 16 refineries and characterised using 16S amplicon sequencing to examine microbial community composition and structure, in conjunction with physicochemical analyses. Initial microbial community composition was similar across refineries but partitioned into two major groups. Microbial community composition changes slowly over time and indicates that alkalinity and salinity inhibit diversification. Microbially-based strategies for in situ remediation should consider the initial microbial community composition and whether the pre-treatment of chemical properties would optimise subsequent bioremediation outcomes. During in situ remediation, microbial communities become more diverse and develop wider functional capacity, indicating progression towards communities more commonly observed in natural grassland and forest soils.

  16. Warming and Inhibition of Salinization at the Ocean's Surface by Cyanobacteria

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wurl, O.; Bird, K.; Cunliffe, M.; Landing, W. M.; Miller, U.; Mustaffa, N. I. H.; Ribas-Ribas, M.; Witte, C.; Zappa, C. J.

    2018-05-01

    This paper describes high-resolution in situ observations of temperature and, for the first time, of salinity in the uppermost skin layer of the ocean, including the influence of large surface blooms of cyanobacteria on those skin properties. In the presence of the blooms, large anomalies of skin temperature and salinity of 0.95°C and -0.49 practical salinity unit were found, but a substantially cooler (-0.22°C) and saltier skin layer (0.19 practical salinity unit) was found in the absence of surface blooms. The results suggest that biologically controlled warming and inhibition of salinization of the ocean's surface occur. Less saline skin layers form during precipitation, but our observations also show that surface blooms of Trichodesmium sp. inhibit evaporation decreasing the salinity at the ocean's surface. This study has important implications in the assessment of precipitation over the ocean using remotely sensed salinity, but also for a better understanding of heat exchange and the hydrologic cycle on a regional scale.

  17. Saline irrigation for the management of skin extravasation injury in neonates.

    PubMed

    Gopalakrishnan, P N; Goel, N; Banerjee, Sujoy

    2012-02-15

    Extravasation injury is a common complication of neonatal intensive care and can result in scarring with cosmetic and functional sequelae. A wide variety of treatments are used in practice including subcutaneous irrigation with saline (with or without hyaluronidase), liposuction, use of specific antidotes, different topical applications and normal wound care with dry or wet dressings. All such treatments aim to prevent or reduce the severity of complications. To determine the efficacy and safety of saline irrigation or saline irrigation with prior hyaluronidase infiltration on tissue healing in neonates with extravasation injury when compared to no intervention or normal wound care. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 2), MEDLINE (1950 to June 2011), EMBASE (Jan 1980 to June 2011), CINAHL (Jan 1988 to June 2011) and the Web of Science (up to July 2011). Randomised controlled trials (RCT) and quasi-randomised controlled trials comparing saline irrigation with or without hyaluronidase infiltration with no intervention or normal wound care in the management of extravasation injury in neonates. Three review authors independently reviewed and identified articles for possible inclusion in this review. No eligible studies were found. There were a few case reports and case series describing successful outcomes with different interventions in this condition. To date, no randomised controlled trial is available that examines the effects of saline irrigation with or without prior hyaluronidase infiltration in the management of extravasation injury in neonates. Saline irrigation is a frequently reported intervention in the literature that is used in the management of extravasation injury in neonates. Research should be initially directed at evaluating the efficacy and safety of this intervention through randomised controlled trials. It will also be important to determine the size of the effect according to

  18. Postprocedural pain in shoulder arthrography: differences between using preservative-free normal saline and normal saline with benzyl alcohol as an intraarticular contrast diluent.

    PubMed

    Storey, Troy F; Gilbride, George; Clifford, Kelly

    2014-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the effect of benzyl alcohol, a common preservative in normal saline, on postprocedural pain after intraarticular injection for direct shoulder MR arthrography. From April 2011 through January 2013, 138 patients underwent direct shoulder MR arthrography. Using the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale, patients were asked to report their shoulder pain level immediately before and immediately after the procedure and then were contacted by telephone 6, 24, and 48 hours after the procedure. Fourteen patients did not receive the prescribed amount of contrast agent for diagnostic reasons or did not complete follow-up. Sixty-two patients received an intraarticular solution including preservative-free normal saline (control group) and 62 patients received an intraarticular solution including normal saline with 0.9% benzyl alcohol as a contrast diluent (test group). Patients were randomized as to which intraarticular diluent they received. Fluoroscopic and MR images were reviewed for extracapsular contrast agent administration or extravasation, full-thickness rotator cuff tears, and adhesive capsulitis. The effect of preservative versus control on pain level was estimated with multiple regression, which included time after procedure as the covariate and accounted for repeated measures over patients. Pain scale scores were significantly (p = 0.0382) higher (0.79 units; 95% CI, 0.034-1.154) with benzyl alcohol preservative compared with control (saline). In both study arms, the pain scale scores decreased slightly after the procedure, increased by roughly 1 unit over baseline for the test group and 0.3 unit over baseline for the control group by 6 hours after the procedure, were 0.50 unit over baseline for the test group and 0.12 unit over baseline for the control group at 24 hours, then fell to be slightly greater than baseline at 48 hours with benzyl alcohol and slightly less than baseline without benzyl alcohol. These trends

  19. Combined effects of seawater acidification and salinity changes in Ruditapes philippinarum.

    PubMed

    Velez, Catia; Figueira, Etelvina; Soares, Amadeu M V M; Freitas, Rosa

    2016-07-01

    Due to human activities, predictions for the coming years indicate increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events (rainy and drought periods) and pollution levels, leading to salinity shifts and ocean acidification. Therefore, several authors have assessed the effects of seawater salinity shifts and pH decrease on marine bivalves, but most of these studies evaluated the impacts of both factors independently. Since pH and salinity may act together in the environment, and their impacts may differ from their effects when acting alone, there is an urgent need to increase our knowledge when these environmental changes act in combination. Thus, the present study assessed the effects of seawater acidification and salinity changes, both acting alone and in combination, on the physiological (condition index, Na and K concentrations) and biochemical (oxidative stress related biomarkers) performance of Ruditapes philippinarum. For that, specimens of R. philippinarum were exposed for 28days to the combination of different pH levels (7.8 and 7.3) and salinities (14, 28 and 35). The results obtained showed that under control pH (7.8) and low salinity (14) the physiological status and biochemical performance of clams was negatively affected, revealing oxidative stress. However, under the same pH and at salinities 28 and 35 clams were able to maintain/regulate their physiological status and biochemical performance. Moreover, our findings showed that clams under low pH (7.3) and different salinities were able to maintain their physiological status and biochemical performance, suggesting that the low pH tested may mask the negative effects of salinity. Our results further demonstrated that, in general, at each salinity, similar physiological and biochemical responses were found in clams under both tested pH levels. Also, individuals under low pH (salinities 14, 28 and 25) and exposed to pH 7.8 and salinity 28 (control) tend to present a similar response pattern. These

  20. Visual working memory capacity increases between ages 3 and 8 years, controlling for gains in attention, perception, and executive control.

    PubMed

    Pailian, Hrag; Libertus, Melissa E; Feigenson, Lisa; Halberda, Justin

    2016-08-01

    Research in adults has aimed to characterize constraints on the capacity of Visual Working Memory (VWM), in part because of the system's broader impacts throughout cognition. However, less is known about how VWM develops in childhood. Existing work has reached conflicting conclusions as to whether VWM storage capacity increases after infancy, and if so, when and by how much. One challenge is that previous studies did not control for developmental changes in attention and executive processing, which also may undergo improvement. We investigated the development of VWM storage capacity in children from 3 to 8 years of age, and in adults, while controlling for developmental change in exogenous and endogenous attention and executive control. Our results reveal that, when controlling for improvements in these abilities, VWM storage capacity increases across development and approaches adult-like levels between ages 6 and 8 years. More generally, this work highlights the value of estimating working memory, attention, perception, and decision-making components together.

  1. Preoperative hydration with 0.9% normal saline to prevent acute kidney injury after major elective open abdominal surgery: A randomised controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Serrano, Ana B; Candela-Toha, Angel M; Zamora, Javier; Vera, Jorge; Muriel, Alfonso; Del Rey, Jose M; Liaño, Fernando

    2016-06-01

    Postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) is the second leading cause of hospital-acquired AKI. Although many preventive strategies have been tested, none of them has been totally effective. We investigated whether preoperative intravenous hydration with 0.9% normal saline could prevent postoperative AKI. Randomised controlled trial. University Ramón y Cajal Hospital, Spain, from June 2006 to February 2011. Total 328 inpatients scheduled for major elective open abdominal surgery. 0.9% normal saline at a dose of 1.5 ml kg h for 12 h before surgery. The primary outcome was the overall postoperative AKI incidence during the first week after surgery defined by risk, injury, failure, loss, end-stage kidney disease (RIFLE) and AKI network (AKIN) creatinine criteria. Secondary endpoints were the need for ICU admission, renal replacement therapy during the study period and adverse events and hospital mortality during hospital admission. There was no difference in the incidence of AKI between groups: 4.7% in the normal saline group versus 5.0% in the control group and 11.4% in the 0.9% normal saline group versus 7.9% in the control group as assessed by the RIFLE and AKIN creatinine criteria, respectively. Absolute risk reductions (95% confidence interval) were -0.3% (-5.3 to 4.7%) for RIFLE and 3.5% (-10.2 to 3.6%) for AKIN. ICU admission after surgery was required in 44.5% of all participants. Only 2 (0.7%) patients required renal replacement therapy during the first week after surgery. The analysis of adverse events did not show statistically significant differences between the groups except for pain. In our population, 8 (2.4%) patients died during their hospital admission. Intravenous hydration with 0.9% normal saline before major open abdominal surgery was not effective in preventing postoperative AKI. No safety concerns were identified during the trial. Clinical trials.gov: NCT00953940 and EUDRA CT: 2005-004755-35.

  2. Furfural and its biochar improve the general properties of a saline soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Y.; Xu, G.; Shao, H. B.

    2014-07-01

    Organic materials (e.g., furfural residue) are generally believed to improve the physical and chemical properties of saline soils with low fertility. Recently, biochar has been received more attention as a possible measure to improve the carbon balance and improve soil quality in some degraded soils. However, little is known about their different amelioration of a sandy saline soil. In this study, 56 d incubation experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of furfural and its biochar on the properties of saline soil. The results showed that both furfural and biochar greatly reduced pH, increased soil organic carbon (SOC) content and cation exchange capacity (CEC), and enhanced the available phosphorus (P) in the soil. Furfural is more efficient than biochar in reducing pH: 5% furfural lowered the soil pH by 0.5-0.8 (soil pH: 8.3-8.6), while 5% biochar decreased by 0.25-0.4 due to the loss of acidity in pyrolysis process. With respect to available P, furfural addition at a rate of 5% increased available P content by 4-6 times in comparison to 2-5 times with biochar application. In reducing soil exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), biochar is slightly superior to furfural because soil ESP reduced by 51% and 43% with 5% furfural and 5% biochar at the end of incubation. In addition, no significant differences were observed between furfural and biochar about their capacity to retain N, P in leaching solution and to increase CEC in soil. These facts may be caused by the relatively short incubation time. In general, furfural and biochar exhibited a different effect depending on the property: furfural was more effective in decreasing pH and increasing available P, whereas biochar played a more important role in increasing SOC and reducing ESP of saline soil.

  3. Building capacity for implementation of the framework convention for tobacco control in Vietnam: lessons for developing countries

    PubMed Central

    Stillman, Frances A.; David, Annette M.; Kibria, Naseeb; Phan, Hai Thi

    2014-01-01

    Effective implementation of the WHO international Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is the key to controlling the tobacco epidemic. Within countries, strong national tobacco control capacity is the primary determinant for successful implementation of the FCTC. This case study of tobacco control policy describes the experience of building national tobacco control capacity in Vietnam under the Reduce Smoking in Vietnam Partnership project within a national capacity-building framework. In the Vietnam experience, four components of tobacco control capacity emerged as especially important to achieve ‘quality’ outputs and measurable outcomes at the implementation level: (i) organizational structure/infrastructure; (ii) leadership and expertise; (iii) partnerships and networks and (iv) data and evidence from research. The experience gained in this project helps in adapting our tobacco control capacity-building model, and the lessons that emerged from this country case study can provide guidance to global funders, tobacco control technical assistance providers and nations as governments endeavor to meet their commitment to the FCTC. PMID:23411160

  4. The Contribution of Working Memory to Fluid Reasoning: Capacity, Control, or Both?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chuderski, Adam; Necka, Edward

    2012-01-01

    Fluid reasoning shares a large part of its variance with working memory capacity (WMC). The literature on working memory (WM) suggests that the capacity of the focus of attention responsible for simultaneous maintenance and integration of information within WM, as well as the effectiveness of executive control exerted over WM, determines…

  5. Carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in deep saline aquifers and formations: Chapter 3

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rosenbauer, Robert J.; Thomas, Burt

    2010-01-01

    Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and sequestration in geologic media is one among many emerging strategies to reduce atmospheric emissions of anthropogenic CO2. This chapter looks at the potential of deep saline aquifers – based on their capacity and close proximity to large point sources of CO2 – as repositories for the geologic sequestration of CO2. The petrochemical characteristics which impact on the suitability of saline aquifers for CO2 sequestration and the role of coupled geochemical transport models and numerical tools in evaluating site feasibility are also examined. The full-scale commercial CO2 sequestration project at Sleipner is described together with ongoing pilot and demonstration projects.

  6. Mechanisms of Mixed-Layer Salinity Seasonal Variability in the Indian Ocean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Köhler, Julia; Serra, Nuno; Bryan, Frank O.; Johnson, Benjamin K.; Stammer, Detlef

    2018-01-01

    Based on a joint analysis of an ensemble mean of satellite sea surface salinity retrievals and the output of a high-resolution numerical ocean circulation simulation, physical processes are identified that control seasonal variations of mixed-layer salinity (MLS) in the Indian Ocean, a basin where salinity changes dominate changes in density. In the northern and near-equatorial Indian Ocean, annual salinity changes are mainly driven by respective changes of the horizontal advection. South of the equatorial region, between 45°E and 90°E, where evaporation minus precipitation has a strong seasonal cycle, surface freshwater fluxes control the seasonal MLS changes. The influence of entrainment on the salinity variance is enhanced in mid-ocean upwelling regions but remains small. The model and observational results reveal that vertical diffusion plays a major role in precipitation and river runoff dominated regions balancing the surface freshwater flux. Vertical diffusion is important as well in regions where the advection of low salinity leads to strong gradients across the mixed-layer base. There, vertical diffusion explains a large percentage of annual MLS variance. The simulation further reveals that (1) high-frequency small-scale eddy processes primarily determine the salinity tendency in coastal regions (in particular in the Bay of Bengal) and (2) shear horizontal advection, brought about by changes in the vertical structure of the mixed layer, acts against mean horizontal advection in the equatorial salinity frontal regions. Observing those latter features with the existing observational components remains a future challenge.

  7. Lung function and functional capacity among foundry workers using effective risk control measures.

    PubMed

    Bernardes, Rosane Andrea Bretas; Chiavegato, Luciana Dias; de Moraes, Mônica Vasconcelos; Negreiros, Alexandher; Padula, Rosimeire Simprini

    2015-01-01

    Inhaled dust in the environment can trigger specific reactions in the airways and cause various respiratory diseases. Evaluate the lung function and functional capacity of foundry workers who are exposed to metals and use effective control measures. A cross-sectional study was realized with 108 workers at a bronze foundry and machining plant and in maintenance at a private university, both in Brazil. The workers were divided into two groups: the study group exposed to metals but using risk control measues and a control group not exposed to metal work. The Medical Research Council Questionnaire on Respiratory Symptoms and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire were administered, and lung function and functional capacity were evaluated. Comparative statistics were used to identify differences in the outcome measures between the two groups. The groups had similar personal and anthropometric characteristics and time on the job. Spirometry and peak expiratory flow presented no significant differences between the groups. And there was also no statistically significant difference between groups in functional capacity as assessed by performance on the six-minute walk test. Foundry industry workers in Brazil who were exposed to metal but used risk control measures had similar lung function and functional capacity when compared to the control group who were not exposed to metal. This is a positive results and maybe related to age, time exposure and control of occupational hazards. However, these workers need to continue being monitored in longitudinal studies.

  8. Moving forward on remote sensing of soil salinity at regional scale

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Soil salinity undermines global agriculture by reducing crop yield and soil quality. Irrigation management can help control salinity levels within the root-zone. To best allocate water resources, accurate regional-scale inventories are needed. Two remote sensing approaches are currently used to moni...

  9. Pulp tissue dissolution capacity of QMix 2in1 irrigation solution.

    PubMed

    Arslan, Dilara; Guneser, Mehmet Burak; Kustarci, Alper; Er, Kursat; Siso, Seyda Herguner

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the tissue dissolution efficacy of four root canal irrigation solutions (sodium hypochlorite [NaOCl], chlorhexidine gluconate [CHX], Octenidine [OCT], and QMix 2in1) on bovine pulp tissue. Fifty bovine pulp tissue samples, each weighing 6.55 mg, were prepared and randomly divided into four experimental groups and one control group (n = 10) according to the dissolution irrigants used: (1) 5.25% NaOCl group; (2) 2% CHX group; (3) OCT group; (4) QMix 2in1 group; and (5) control group (saline solution). These samples were then placed into special bovine dentin reservoir models and immersed for 1 h with each test solution (0.1 mL of each) at room temperature. The pulp samples were then blotted dry and weighed again. The percentage of weight loss was calculated. Statistically analyzed with one-way analysis of variance and post-hoc Tukey tests (P = 0.05). Saline solution did not dissolve the bovine pulp tissue. All groups, except OCT, dissolved pulp samples more effectively than the control group (P < 0.05). The highest tissue dissolution was observed in 5.25% NaOCl group (P < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between the tissue-dissolving effect between QMix 2in1 and those of 2% CHX. Within the limitations of this in vitro study, NaOCl exhibited the best tissue-dissolving effect out of all solutions tested. CHX and QMix 2in1 were able to dissolve pulp tissue but less than NaOCl. OCT and saline solutions could not exhibit significantly tissue-dissolving effectiveness. This study shown that QMix 2in1 has little capacity to dissolve pulp tissue therefore used alone is not sufficient for this purpose.

  10. Pulp tissue dissolution capacity of QMix 2in1 irrigation solution

    PubMed Central

    Arslan, Dilara; Guneser, Mehmet Burak; Kustarci, Alper; Er, Kursat; Siso, Seyda Herguner

    2015-01-01

    Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the tissue dissolution efficacy of four root canal irrigation solutions (sodium hypochlorite [NaOCl], chlorhexidine gluconate [CHX], Octenidine [OCT], and QMix 2in1) on bovine pulp tissue. Materials and Methods: Fifty bovine pulp tissue samples, each weighing 6.55 mg, were prepared and randomly divided into four experimental groups and one control group (n = 10) according to the dissolution irrigants used: (1) 5.25% NaOCl group; (2) 2% CHX group; (3) OCT group; (4) QMix 2in1 group; and (5) control group (saline solution). These samples were then placed into special bovine dentin reservoir models and immersed for 1 h with each test solution (0.1 mL of each) at room temperature. The pulp samples were then blotted dry and weighed again. The percentage of weight loss was calculated. Statistically analyzed with one-way analysis of variance and post-hoc Tukey tests (P = 0.05). Results: Saline solution did not dissolve the bovine pulp tissue. All groups, except OCT, dissolved pulp samples more effectively than the control group (P < 0.05). The highest tissue dissolution was observed in 5.25% NaOCl group (P < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between the tissue-dissolving effect between QMix 2in1 and those of 2% CHX. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this in vitro study, NaOCl exhibited the best tissue-dissolving effect out of all solutions tested. CHX and QMix 2in1 were able to dissolve pulp tissue but less than NaOCl. OCT and saline solutions could not exhibit significantly tissue-dissolving effectiveness. This study shown that QMix 2in1 has little capacity to dissolve pulp tissue therefore used alone is not sufficient for this purpose. PMID:26430374

  11. Effectiveness of a decision-training aid on referral prioritization capacity: a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Harries, Priscilla; Tomlinson, Christopher; Notley, Elizabeth; Davies, Miranda; Gilhooly, Kenneth

    2012-01-01

    In the community mental health field, occupational therapy students lack the capacity to prioritize referrals effectively. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a clinical decision-training aid on referral prioritization capacity. A double-blind, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial was conducted using a judgment analysis approach. Each participant used the World Wide Web to prioritize referral sets at baseline, immediate posttest, and 2-wk follow-up. The intervention group was provided with training after baseline testing; control group was purely given instructions to continue with the task. One hundred sixty-five students were randomly allocated to intervention (n = 87) or control (n = 81). Intervention. Written and graphical descriptions were given of an expert consensus standard explaining how referral information should be used to prioritize referrals. Participants' prioritization ratings were correlated with the experts' ratings of the same referrals at each stage of testing, as well as to examine the effect on mean group scores, regression weights, and the lens model indices. At baseline, no differences were found between control and intervention on rating capacity or demographic characteristics. Comparison of the difference in mean correlation baseline scores of the control and intervention group compared with immediate posttest showed a statistically significant result that was maintained at 2-wk follow-up. The effect size was classified as large. At immediate posttest and follow-up, the intervention group improved rating capacity, whereas the control group's capacity remained poor. The results of this study indicate that the decision-training aid has a positive effect on referral prioritization capacity. This freely available, Web-based decision-training aid will be a valuable adjunct to the education of these novice health professionals internationally.

  12. Potential role of salinity in ENSO and MJO predictions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, J.; Kumar, A.; Murtugudde, R. G.; Xie, P.

    2017-12-01

    Studies have suggested that ocean salinity can vary in response to ENSO and MJO. For example, during an El Niño event, sea surface salinity decreases in the western and central equatorial Pacific, as a result of zonal advection of low salinity water by anomalous eastward surface currents, and to a lesser extent as a result of a rainfall excess associated with atmospheric convection and warm water displacements. However, the effect of salinity on ENSO and MJO evolutions and their forecasts has been less explored. In this analysis, we explored the potential role of salinity in ENSO and MJO predictions by conducting sensitivity experiments with NCEP CFSv2. Firstly, two forecasts experiments are conducted to explore its effect on ENSO predictions, in which the interannual variability of salinity in the ocean initial states is either included or excluded. Comparisons suggested that the salinity variability is essential to correctly forecast the 2007/08 La Niña starting from April 2007. With realistic salinity initial states, the tendency to decay of the subsurface cold condition during the spring and early summer 2007 was interrupted by positive salinity anomalies in the upper central Pacific, which working together with the Bjerknes positive feedback, contributed to the development of the La Niña event. Our study suggests that ENSO forecasts will benefit from more accurate sustained salinity observations having large-scale spatial coverage. We also assessed the potential role of salinity in MJO by evaluating a long coupled free run that has a relatively realistic MJO simulation and a set of predictability experiment, both based on CFSv2. Diagnostics of the free run suggest that, while the intraseasonal SST variations lead convections by a quarter cycle, they are almost in phase only with changes in barrier layer thickness, thereby suggesting an active role of salinity on SST. Its effect on MJO predictions is further explored by controlling the surface salinity

  13. Practical salinity management for leachate irrigation to poplar trees.

    PubMed

    Smesrud, Jason K; Duvendack, George D; Obereiner, James M; Jordahl, James L; Madison, Mark F

    2012-01-01

    Landfill leachate can be beneficially reused for irrigation of fiber crops with appropriate attention to nutrient and salinity management. The Riverbend Landfill in Western Oregon has been effectively practicing irrigation of landfill leachate to poplar trees since 1993. Over that time, the site has been adaptively managed to control salinity impacts to the tree crop while beneficially utilizing the applied water and nutrients during each growing season. Representative leachate irrigation water has ranged in concentration of total dissolved solids from 777 to 6,940 mg/L, chloride from 180 to 1,760 mg/L and boron from 3.2 to 7.3 mg/L. Annual leachate irrigation applications have also ranged between 102 and 812 mm/yr. Important conclusions from this site have included: 1) Appropriate tree clone selection and tree stand spacing, thinning, and harvest rotations are critical to maintaining a productive tree stand that is resilient and resistant to salt stress. The most effective combinations have included clones DN-34, OP-367, 184-411, 49-177, and 15-29 planted at spacing of 3.7-m x 1.8-m to 3.7-m x 3.7-m; 2) Leaf tissue boron levels are closely correlated to soil boron levels and can be managed with leaching. When leaf tissue boron levels exceed 200 to 250 mg/kg, signs of salt stress may emerge and should be monitored closely; 3) Salinity from leachate irrigation can be managed to sustain a healthy tree crop by controlling mass loading rates and providing appropriate irrigation blending if necessary. Providing freshwater irrigation following each leachate irrigation and targeting freshwater irrigation as 30 percent of total irrigation water applied has successfully controlled salt impacts to vegetation; and 4) Drip irrigation generally requires more careful attention to long-term soil salinity management than spray irrigation. Moving drip irrigation tubes periodically to prevent the formation of highly saline zones within the soil profile is important. In this paper, a

  14. Plasma osmolality and oxygen consumption of perch Perca fluviatilis in response to different salinities and temperatures.

    PubMed

    Christensen, E A F; Svendsen, M B S; Steffensen, J F

    2017-03-01

    The present study determined the blood plasma osmolality and oxygen consumption of the perch Perca fluviatilis at different salinities (0, 10 and 15) and temperatures (5, 10 and 20° C). Blood plasma osmolality increased with salinity at all temperatures. Standard metabolic rate (SMR) increased with salinity at 10 and 20° C. Maximum metabolic rate (MMR) and aerobic scope was lowest at salinity of 15 at 5° C, yet at 20° C, they were lowest at a salinity of 0. A cost of osmoregulation (SMR at a salinity of 0 and 15 compared with SMR at a salinity of 10) could only be detected at a salinity of 15 at 20° C, where it was 28%. The results show that P. fluviatilis have capacity to osmoregulate in hyper-osmotic environments. This contradicts previous studies and indicates intraspecific variability in osmoregulatory capabilities among P. fluviatilis populations or habitat origins. An apparent cost of osmoregulation (28%) at a salinity of 15 at 20° C indicates that the cost of osmoregulation in P. fluviatilis increases with temperature under hyperosmotic conditions and a power analysis showed that the cost of osmoregulation could be lower than 12·5% under other environmental conditions. The effect of salinity on MMR is possibly due to a reduction in gill permeability, initiated to reduce osmotic stress. An interaction between salinity and temperature on aerobic scope shows that high salinity habitats are energetically beneficial during warm periods (summer), whereas low salinity habitats are energetically beneficial during cold periods (winter). It is suggested, therefore, that the seasonal migrations of P. fluviatilis between brackish and fresh water is to select an environment that is optimal for metabolism and aerobic scope. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  15. Differences in salinity tolerance of genetically distinct Phragmites australis clones

    PubMed Central

    Achenbach, Luciana; Eller, Franziska; Nguyen, Loc Xuan; Brix, Hans

    2013-01-01

    Different clones of the wetland grass Phragmites australis differ in their morphology and physiology, and hence in their ability to cope with environmental stress. We analysed the responses of 15 P. australis clones with distinct ploidy levels (PLs) (4n, 6n, 8n, 10n, 12n) and geographic origins (Romania, Russia, Japan, Czech Republic, Australia) to step-wise increased salinity (8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 56 and 72 ppt). Shoot elongation rate, photosynthesis and plant part-specific ion accumulation were studied in order to assess if traits associated with salinity tolerance can be related to the genetic background and the geographic origin of the clones. Salt stress affected all clones, but at different rates. The maximum height was reduced from 1860 mm in control plants to 660 mm at 40 ppt salinity. The shoot elongation rate of salt-exposed plants varied significantly between clones until 40 ppt salinity. The light-saturated photosynthesis rate (Pmax) was stimulated by a salinity of 8 ppt, but decreased significantly at higher salinities. The stomatal conductance (gs) and the transpiration rate (E) decreased with increasing salinity. Only three clones survived at 72 ppt salinity, although their rates of photosynthesis were strongly inhibited. The roots and basal leaves of the salt-exposed plants accumulated high concentrations of water-extractable Na+ (1646 and 1004 µmol g−1 dry mass (DM), respectively) and Cl− (1876 and 1400 µmol g−1 DM, respectively). The concentrations of water-extractable Mg2+ and Ca2+ were reduced in salt-exposed plants compared with controls. The variation of all the measured parameters was higher among clones than among PLs. We conclude that the salinity tolerance of distinct P. australis clones varies widely and can be partially attributed to their longitudinal geographic origin, but not to PL. Further investigation will help in improving the understanding of this species' salt tolerance mechanisms and their connection to genetic factors.

  16. Pretreated cheese whey wastewater management by agricultural reuse: chemical characterization and response of tomato plants Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. under salinity conditions.

    PubMed

    Prazeres, Ana R; Carvalho, Fátima; Rivas, Javier; Patanita, Manuel; Dôres, Jóse

    2013-10-01

    The agricultural reuse of pretreated industrial wastewater resulting from cheese manufacture is shown as a suitable option for its disposal and management. This alternative presents attractive advantages from the economic and pollution control viewpoints. Pretreated cheese whey wastewater (CWW) has high contents of biodegradable organic matter, salinity and nutrients, which are essential development factors for plants with moderate to elevated salinity tolerance. Five different pretreated CWW treatments (1.75 to 10.02 dS m(-1)) have been applied in the tomato plant growth. Fresh water was used as a control run (average salinity level=1.44 dS m(-1)). Chemical characterization and indicator ratios of the leaves, stems and roots were monitored. The sodium and potassium leaf concentrations increased linearly with the salinity level in both cultivars, Roma and Rio Grande. Similar results were found in the stem sodium content. However, the toxic sodium accumulations in the cv. Roma exceeded the values obtained in the cv. Rio Grande. In this last situation, K and Ca uptake, absorption, transport and accumulation capacities were presented as tolerance mechanisms for the osmotic potential regulation of the tissues and for the ion neutralization. Consequently, Na/Ca and Na/K ratios presented lower values in the cv. Rio Grande. Na/Ca ratio increased linearly with the salinity level in leaves and stems, regardless of the cultivar. Regarding the Na/K ratio, the values demonstrated competition phenomena between the ions for the cv. Rio Grande. Despite the high chloride content of the CWW, no significant differences were observed for this nutrient in the leaves and stems. Thus, no nitrogen deficiency was demonstrated by the interaction NO3(-)/Cl(-). Nitrogen also contributes to maintain the water potential difference between the tissues and the soil. Na, P, Cl and N radicular concentrations were maximized for high salinity levels (≥2.22 dS m(-1)) of the pretreated CWW. © 2013

  17. Building capacity for implementation of the framework convention for tobacco control in Vietnam: lessons for developing countries.

    PubMed

    Stillman, Frances A; David, Annette M; Kibria, Naseeb; Phan, Hai Thi

    2014-09-01

    Effective implementation of the WHO international Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is the key to controlling the tobacco epidemic. Within countries, strong national tobacco control capacity is the primary determinant for successful implementation of the FCTC. This case study of tobacco control policy describes the experience of building national tobacco control capacity in Vietnam under the Reduce Smoking in Vietnam Partnership project within a national capacity-building framework. In the Vietnam experience, four components of tobacco control capacity emerged as especially important to achieve 'quality' outputs and measurable outcomes at the implementation level: (i) organizational structure/infrastructure; (ii) leadership and expertise; (iii) partnerships and networks and (iv) data and evidence from research. The experience gained in this project helps in adapting our tobacco control capacity-building model, and the lessons that emerged from this country case study can provide guidance to global funders, tobacco control technical assistance providers and nations as governments endeavor to meet their commitment to the FCTC. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press.

  18. Preovulatory uterine flushing with saline as a treatment for unexplained infertility: a randomised controlled trial protocol.

    PubMed

    Maheux-Lacroix, Sarah; Dodin, Sylvie; Moore, Lynne; Bujold, Emmanuel; Lefebvre, Jessica; Bergeron, Marie-Ève

    2016-01-06

    In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is the treatment of choice for unexplained infertility. Preovulatory uterine flushing could reduce intrauterine debris and inflammatory factors preventing pregnancy and constitute an alternative to IVF. Our objective is to assess the efficacy of preovulatory uterine flushing with physiological saline for the treatment of unexplained infertility. We will perform a randomised controlled trial based on consecutive women aged between 18 and 37 years consulting for unexplained infertility for at least 1 year. On the day of their luteinising hormone surge, 192 participants will be randomised in two equal groups to either receive 20 mL of physiological saline by an intrauterine catheter or 10 mL of saline intravaginally. We will assess relative risk of live birth (primary outcome), as well as pregnancy (secondary outcome) over one cycle of treatment. We will report the side effects, complications and acceptability of the intervention. This project was approved by the Ethics committee of the Centre Hospitatlier Universitaire de Quebec (no 2015-1146). Uterine flushing is usually well tolerated by women and would constitute a simple, affordable and minimally invasive treatment for unexplained infertility. We plan to communicate the results of the review by presenting research abstracts at conferences and by publishing the results in a peer-reviewed journal. NCT02539290; Pre-results. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  19. Bulk Moisture and Salinity Sensor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nurge, Mark; Monje, Oscar; Prenger, Jessica; Catechis, John

    2013-01-01

    Measurement and feedback control of nutrient solutions in plant root zones is critical to the development of healthy plants in both terrestrial and reduced-gravity environments. In addition to the water content, the amount of fertilizer in the nutrient solution is important to plant health. This typically requires a separate set of sensors to accomplish. A combination bulk moisture and salinity sensor has been designed, built, and tested with different nutrient solutions in several substrates. The substrates include glass beads, a clay-like substrate, and a nutrient-enriched substrate with the presence of plant roots. By measuring two key parameters, the sensor is able to monitor both the volumetric water content and salinity of the nutrient solution in bulk media. Many commercially available moisture sensors are point sensors, making localized measurements over a small volume at the point of insertion. Consequently, they are more prone to suffer from interferences with air bubbles, contact area of media, and root growth. This makes it difficult to get an accurate representation of true moisture content and distribution in the bulk media. Additionally, a network of point sensors is required, increasing the cabling, data acquisition, and calibration requirements. measure the dielectric properties of a material in the annular space of the vessel. Because the pore water in the media often has high salinity, a method to measure the media moisture content and salinity simultaneously was devised. Characterization of the frequency response for capacitance and conductance across the electrodes was completed for 2-mm glass bead media, 1- to 2-mm Turface (a clay like media), and 1- to 2-mm fertilized Turface with the presence of root mass. These measurements were then used to find empirical relationships among capacitance (C), the dissipation factor (D), the volumetric water content, and the pore water salinity.

  20. Controls on the chemical composition of saline surface crusts and emitted dust from a wet playa in the Mojave Desert (USA)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Goldstein, Harland L.; Breit, George N.; Reynolds, Richard L.

    2017-01-01

    Saline-surface crusts and their compositions at ephemeral, dry, and drying lakes are important products of arid-land processes. Detailed understanding is lacking, however, about interactions among locally variable hydrogeologic conditions, compositional control of groundwater on vadose zone and surface salts, and dust composition. Chemical and physical data from groundwater, sediments, and salts reveal compositional controls on saline-surface crusts across a wet playa, Mojave Desert, with bearing on similar settings elsewhere. The compositions of chemically and isotopically distinctive shallow (<3 m) water masses are recorded in the composition of associated salts. In areas with deeper and more saline groundwater, however, not all ions are transported through the vadose zone. Retention of arsenic and other elements in the vadose zone diminishes the concentrations of potentially toxic elements in surface salts, but creates a reservoir of these elements that may be brought to the surface during wetter conditions or by human disturbance. Selective wind-erosion loss of sulfate salts was identified by the compositional contrast between surface salt crusts and underlying groundwater. At the sub-basin scale, compositional links exist among groundwater, salt crusts, and dust from wet playas. Across the study basin, however, lateral variations in groundwater and solid-salt compositions are produced by hydrogeologic heterogeneity.

  1. Microbial Fuel Cells under Extreme Salinity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Monzon del Olmo, Oihane

    I developed a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) that unprecedentedly works (i.e., produces electricity) under extreme salinity (≈ 100 g/L NaCl). Many industries, such as oil and gas extraction, generate hypersaline wastewaters with high organic strength, accounting for about 5% of worldwide generated effluents, which represent a major challenge for pollution control and resource recovery. This study assesses the potential for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to treat such wastewaters and generate electricity under extreme saline conditions. Specifically, the focus is on the feasibility to treat hypersaline wastewater generated by the emerging unconventional oil and gas industry (hydraulic fracturing) and so, with mean salinity of 100 g/L NaCl (3-fold higher than sea water). The success of this novel technology strongly depends on finding a competent and resilient microbial community that can degrade the waste under extreme saline conditions and be able to use the anode as their terminal electron acceptor (exoelectrogenic capability). I demonstrated that MFCs can produce electricity at extremely high salinity (up to 250 g/l NaCl) with a power production of 71mW/m2. Pyrosequencing analysis of the anode population showed the predominance of Halanaerobium spp. (85%), which has been found in shale formations and oil reservoirs. Promoting Quorum sensing (QS, cell to cell communication between bacteria to control gene expression) was used as strategy to increase the attachment of bacteria to the anode and thus improve the MFC performance. Results show that the power output can be bolstered by adding 100nM of quinolone signal with an increase in power density of 30%, for the first time showing QS in Halanaerobium extremophiles. To make this technology closer to market applications, experiments with real wastewaters were also carried out. A sample of produced wastewater from Barnet Shale, Texas (86 g/L NaCl) produced electricity when fed in an MFC, leading to my discovery of another

  2. Hypertonic saline or mannitol for treating elevated intracranial pressure in traumatic brain injury: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

    PubMed

    Gu, Jiajie; Huang, Haoping; Huang, Yuejun; Sun, Haitao; Xu, Hongwu

    2018-06-15

    Hyperosmolar therapy is regarded as the mainstay for treatment of elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) in traumatic brain injury (TBI). This still has been disputed as application of hypertonic saline (HS) or mannitol for treating patients with severe TBI. Thus, this meta-analysis was performed to further compare the advantages and disadvantages of mannitol with HS for treating elevated ICP after TBI. We conducted a systematic search on PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Wan Fang Data, VIP Data, SinoMed, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. Studies were included or not based on the quality assessment by the Jadad scale and selection criteria. Twelve RCTs with 438 patients were enrolled for the meta-analysis. The comparison of HS and mannitol indicated that they were close in field of improving function outcome (RR = 1.17, 95% CI 0.89 to 1.54, p = 0.258) and reducing intracranial pressure (MD = - 0.16, 95% CI: - 0.59 to 0.27, p = 0.473) and mortality (RR = 0.78, 95% CI 0.53 to 1.16, p = 0.216). The pooled relative risk of successful ICP control was 1.06 (95% CI: 1.00 to 1.13, p = 0.044), demonstrating that HS was more effective than mannitol in ICP management. Both serum sodium (WMD = 5.30, 95% CI: 4.37 to 6.22, p < 0.001) and osmolality (WMD = 3.03, 95% CI: 0.18 to 5.88, p = 0.037) were increased after injection of hypertonic saline. The results do not lend a specific recommendation to select hypertonic saline or mannitol as a first-line for the patients with elevated ICP caused by TBI. However, for the refractory intracranial hypertension, hypertonic saline seems to be preferred.

  3. Effects of spatiotemporal variation of soil salinity on fine root distribution in different plant configuration modes in new reclamation coastal saline field.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Hong; Du, Hongyu; Bai, Yingying; Hu, Yue; Rao, Yingfu; Chen, Chong; Cai, Yongli

    2016-04-01

    In order to study the effects of salinity on plant fine roots, we considered three different plant configuration modes (tree stand model (TSM), shrub stand model (SSM), and tree-shrub stand model (TSSM)). Soil samples were collected with the method of soil drilling. Significant differences of electrical conductivity (EC) in the soil depth of 0-60 cm were observed among the three modes (p < 0.05). In the above three modes, the variation of soil salinity among various soil layers and monthly variation of soil salinity were the highest in SSM and reached 2.30 and 2.23 mS/cm (EC1:5), respectively. Due to the effect of salinity, fine root biomass (FRB) showed significant differences in different soil depths (p < 0.05). More than 60% of FRB was concentrated in the soil depth above 30 cm. FRB showed exponential decline with soil depth (p < 0.05). FRB showed spatial heterogeneity in the 40-cm soil depth. In the above three modes, compared with FRB, specific root length (SRL) and fine root length density (FRLD) showed the similar changing trend. Fine roots showed significant seasonal differences among different modes (p < 0.05). FRB showed the bimodal variation and was the highest in July. However, we found that the high content of salts had obvious inhibitory effect on the distribution of FRB. Therefore, the salinity should be below 1.5 mS/cm, which was suitable for the growth of plant roots. Among the three modes, TSSM had the highest FRB, SRL, and FRLD and no obvious soil salt accumulation was observed. The results indicated that fine root biomass was affected by high salt and that TSSM had the strong effects of salt suppression and control. In our study, TSSM may be the optimal configuration mode for salt suppression and control in saline soil.

  4. Osmolality/salinity-responsive enhancers (OSREs) control induction of osmoprotective genes in euryhaline fish

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Xiaodan; Kültz, Dietmar

    2017-01-01

    Fish respond to salinity stress by transcriptional induction of many genes, but the mechanism of their osmotic regulation is unknown. We developed a reporter assay using cells derived from the brain of the tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus (OmB cells) to identify osmolality/salinity-responsive enhancers (OSREs) in the genes of O. mossambicus. Genomic DNA comprising the regulatory regions of two strongly salinity-induced genes, inositol monophosphatase 1 (IMPA1.1) and myo-inositol phosphate synthase (MIPS), was isolated and analyzed with dual luciferase enhancer trap reporter assays. We identified five sequences (two in IMPA1.1 and three in MIPS) that share a common consensus element (DDKGGAAWWDWWYDNRB), which we named “OSRE1.” Additional OSREs that were less effective in conferring salinity-induced trans-activation and do not match the OSRE1 consensus also were identified in both MIPS and IMPA1.1. Although OSRE1 shares homology with the mammalian osmotic-response element/tonicity-responsive enhancer (ORE/TonE) enhancer, the latter is insufficient to confer osmotic induction in fish. Like other enhancers, OSRE1 trans-activates genes independent of orientation. We conclude that OSRE1 is a cis-regulatory element (CRE) that enhances the hyperosmotic induction of osmoregulated genes in fish. Our study also shows that tailored reporter assays developed for OmB cells facilitate the identification of CREs in fish genomes. Knowledge of the OSRE1 motif allows affinity-purification of the corresponding transcription factor and computational approaches for enhancer screening of fish genomes. Moreover, our study enables targeted inactivation of OSRE1 enhancers, a method superior to gene knockout for functional characterization because it confines impairment of gene function to a specific context (salinity stress) and eliminates pitfalls of constitutive gene knockouts (embryonic lethality, developmental compensation). PMID:28289196

  5. Impact of Nutrition and Salinity Changes on Biological Performances of Green and White Sturgeon

    PubMed Central

    Vaz, Pedro G.; Kebreab, Ermias; Hung, Silas S. O.; Fadel, James G.; Lee, Seunghyung; Fangue, Nann A.

    2015-01-01

    Green and white sturgeon are species of high conservational and economic interest, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Delta (SFBD) for which significant climate change-derived alterations in salinity and nutritional patterns are forecasted. Although there is paucity of information, it is critical to test the network of biological responses underlying the capacity of animals to tolerate current environmental changes. Through nutrition and salinity challenges, climate change will likely have more physiological effect on young sturgeon stages, which in turn may affect growth performance. In this study, the two species were challenged in a multiple-factor experimental setting, first to levels of feeding rate, and then to salinity levels for different time periods. Data analysis included generalized additive models to select predictors of growth performance (measured by condition factor) among the environmental stressors considered and a suite of physiological variables. Using structural equation modeling, a path diagram is proposed to quantify the main linkages among nutrition status, salinity, osmoregulation variables, and growth performances. Three major trends were anticipated for the growth performance of green and white sturgeon in the juvenile stage in the SFBD: (i) a decrease in prey abundance will be highly detrimental for the growth of both species; (ii) an acute increase in salinity within the limits studied can be tolerated by both species but possibly the energy spent in osmoregulation may affect green sturgeon growth within the time window assessed; (iii) the mechanism of synergistic effects of nutrition and salinity changes will be more complex in green sturgeon, with condition factor responding nonlinearly to interactions of salinity and nutrition status or time of salinity exposure. Green sturgeon merits special scientific attention and conservation effort to offset the effects of feed restriction and salinity as key environmental stressors in the

  6. Impact of nutrition and salinity changes on biological performances of green and white sturgeon.

    PubMed

    Vaz, Pedro G; Kebreab, Ermias; Hung, Silas S O; Fadel, James G; Lee, Seunghyung; Fangue, Nann A

    2015-01-01

    Green and white sturgeon are species of high conservational and economic interest, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Delta (SFBD) for which significant climate change-derived alterations in salinity and nutritional patterns are forecasted. Although there is paucity of information, it is critical to test the network of biological responses underlying the capacity of animals to tolerate current environmental changes. Through nutrition and salinity challenges, climate change will likely have more physiological effect on young sturgeon stages, which in turn may affect growth performance. In this study, the two species were challenged in a multiple-factor experimental setting, first to levels of feeding rate, and then to salinity levels for different time periods. Data analysis included generalized additive models to select predictors of growth performance (measured by condition factor) among the environmental stressors considered and a suite of physiological variables. Using structural equation modeling, a path diagram is proposed to quantify the main linkages among nutrition status, salinity, osmoregulation variables, and growth performances. Three major trends were anticipated for the growth performance of green and white sturgeon in the juvenile stage in the SFBD: (i) a decrease in prey abundance will be highly detrimental for the growth of both species; (ii) an acute increase in salinity within the limits studied can be tolerated by both species but possibly the energy spent in osmoregulation may affect green sturgeon growth within the time window assessed; (iii) the mechanism of synergistic effects of nutrition and salinity changes will be more complex in green sturgeon, with condition factor responding nonlinearly to interactions of salinity and nutrition status or time of salinity exposure. Green sturgeon merits special scientific attention and conservation effort to offset the effects of feed restriction and salinity as key environmental stressors in the

  7. Survival and growth of invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish at low salinities

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Schofield, Pamela J.; Huge, Dane H.; Rezek, Troy C.; Slone, Daniel H.; Morris, James A.

    2015-01-01

    Invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish [Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) and P. miles (Bennett, 1828)] are now established throughout the Western North Atlantic. Several studies have documented negative effects of lionfish on marine fauna including significant changes to reef fish community composition. Established populations of lionfish have been documented in several estuaries, and there is concern that the species may invade other low-salinity environments where they could potentially affect native fauna. To gain a better understanding of their low-salinity tolerance, we exposed lionfish to four salinities [5, 10, 20 and 34 (control)]. No lionfish mortality was observed at salinities of 34, 20 or 10, but all fish died at salinity = 5 within 12 days. Lionfish survived for at least a month at a salinity of 10 and an average of about a week at 5. Fish started the experiment at an average mass of 127.9 g, which increased at a rate of 0.55 g per day while they were alive, regardless of salinity treatment. Our research indicated lionfish can survive salinities down to 5 for short periods and thus may penetrate and persist in a variety of estuarine habitats. Further study is needed on effects of salinity levels on early life stages (eggs, larvae).

  8. Influence of increasing temperature and salinity on herbicide toxicity in estuarine phytoplankton.

    PubMed

    DeLorenzo, Marie E; Danese, Loren E; Baird, Thomas D

    2013-07-01

    Ecological risk assessments are, in part, based on results of toxicity tests conducted under standard exposure conditions. Global climate change will have a wide range of effects on estuarine habitats, including potentially increasing water temperature and salinity, which may alter the risk assessment of estuarine pollutants. We examined the effects of increasing temperature and salinity on the toxicity of common herbicides (irgarol, diuron, atrazine, and ametryn) to the phytoplankton species Dunaliella tertiolecta. Static 96-h algal bioassays were conducted for each herbicide under four exposure scenarios: standard temperature and salinity (25°C, 20 ppt), standard temperature and elevated salinity (25°C, 40 ppt), elevated temperature and standard salinity (35°C, 20 ppt), and elevated temperature and elevated salinity (35°C, 40 ppt). The endpoints assessed were algal cell density at 96 h, growth rate, chlorophyll a content, lipid content, and starch content. Increasing exposure temperature reduced growth rate and 96-h cell density but increased the cellular chlorophyll and lipid concentrations of the control algae. Exposure condition did not alter starch content of control algae. Herbicides were found to decrease growth rate, 96 h cell density, and cellular chlorophyll and lipid concentrations, while starch concentrations increased with herbicide exposure. Herbicide effects under standard test conditions were then compared with those observed under elevated temperature and salinity. Herbicide effects on growth rate, cell density, and starch content were more pronounced under elevated salinity and temperature conditions. To encompass the natural variability in estuarine temperature and salinity, and to account for future changes in climate, toxicity tests should be conducted under a wider range of environmental conditions. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Remote Sensing Monitoring of Changes in Soil Salinity: A Case Study in Inner Mongolia, China.

    PubMed

    Wu, Jingwei; Vincent, Bernard; Yang, Jinzhong; Bouarfa, Sami; Vidal, Alain

    2008-11-07

    This study used archived remote sensing images to depict the history of changes in soil salinity in the Hetao Irrigation District in Inner Mongolia, China, with the purpose of linking these changes with land and water management practices and to draw lessons for salinity control. Most data came from LANDSAT satellite images taken in 1973, 1977, 1988, 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2006. In these years salt-affected areas were detected using a normal supervised classification method. Corresponding cropped areas were detected from NVDI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) values using an unsupervised method. Field samples and agricultural statistics were used to estimate the accuracy of the classification. Historical data concerning irrigation/drainage and the groundwater table were used to analyze the relation between changes in soil salinity and land and water management practices. Results showed that: (1) the overall accuracy of remote sensing in detecting soil salinity was 90.2%, and in detecting cropped area, 98%; (2) the installation/innovation of the drainage system did help to control salinity; and (3) a low ratio of cropped land helped control salinity in the Hetao Irrigation District. These findings suggest that remote sensing is a useful tool to detect soil salinity and has potential in evaluating and improving land and water management practices.

  10. Re-Assessing Leaching Requirements for the Salinity Control under New Irrigation Regimes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Laosheng; Yang, Ting; Šimůnek, Jirka

    2017-04-01

    Irrigation is essential to sustain agricultural production, but it adds dissolved salts (or salinity) to croplands. Leaching is thus necessary to keep the average rootzone salinity below the plant threshold EC levels in order to sustain crop production. Current leaching requirement (LR) calculation is based on steady-state, one-dimensional (1D), and water balance approaches, which often overestimates the LRs under transient field conditions. While in recent years, surface and sprinkler irrigated fields have been largely converted to drip or micro-spray systems and deficit irrigation has become more popular, currently accepted LRs may not be appropriate for these irrigation systems. Under point or line irrigation sources (e.g., drips or drip-lines), water and salts move both downwards and laterally, which may lead to highly saline areas on the edges of the wetted area. Under such circumstances, processes such as precipitation/dissolution of mineral phases and/or cation exchange may significantly affect the leaching requirement. The overall objective of this research was to use computer simulation models (i.e., Hydrus-2D and UnsatChem) to evaluate LRs under transient conditions and new irrigation regimes. Simulations were carried out using parameters for soils, climate zones, and major crops and their corresponding fertilization practices typical for California to: (1) Assess the effects of salt precipitation/dissolution on the leaching requirement (LR); (2) Evaluate localized water movement on average rootzone salinity and the leaching requirement (LR); (3) Evaluate leaching requirements for soils under deficit irrigation; and (4) Assess the effects of rainfall on the leaching requirement. Information from this research could significantly impact water management practices in irrigated croplands.

  11. Intravenous versus intramuscular cobinamide compared to intravenous saline (control) in the treatment of acute, survivable, hydrogen sulfide toxicity in swine (Sus Scrofa).

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-11-09

    FWH20140070A, “Intravenous versus intramuscular // compared to intravenous saline ( control ) in the treatment of acute, survivable, hydrogen sulfide toxicity... control ) in the treatment of acute, survivable, hydrogen sulfide toxicity in swine (Sus Scrofa). 4. Principal Investigator (PI): Name Rank Date...remainder of the study. Animals were treated with IV HOC, IV Cobinamide or control (no treatment) 1 minute post apnea. There were no significant

  12. Effects of Aerobic Capacity on Thrombin-Induced Hydrocephalus and White Matter Injury.

    PubMed

    Ni, Wei; Gao, Feng; Zheng, Mingzhe; Koch, Lauren G; Britton, Steven L; Keep, Richard F; Xi, Guohua; Hua, Ya

    2016-01-01

    We have previously shown that intracerebral hemorrhage-induced brain injury is less in rats bred for high aerobic capacity (high capacity runners; HCR) compared with those bred for low aerobic capacity (low capacity runners; LCRs). Thrombin, an essential component in the coagulation cascade, is produced after cerebral hemorrhage. Intraventricular injection of thrombin causes significant hydrocephalus and white matter damage. In the present study, we examined the effect of exercise capacity on thrombin-induced hydrocephalus and white matter damage. Mid-aged (13-month-old) female LCRs (n = 13) and HCRs (n = 12) rats were used in this study. Rats received an intraventricular injection of thrombin (3 U, 50 μl). All rats underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 24 h and were then euthanized for brain histology and Western blot. The mortalities were 20 % in LCRs and 33 % in HCRs after thrombin injection (p > 0.05). No rats died after saline injection. Intraventricular thrombin injection resulted in hydrocephalus and periventricular white matter damage as determined on MRI. In LCR rats, thrombin induced significant ventricle enlargement (23.0 ± 2.3 vs12.8 ± 1.9 mm(3) in LCR saline group; p < 0.01) and white matter lesion (9.3 ± 7.6 vs 0.6 ± 0.5 mm(3) in LCR saline group, p < 0.05). In comparison, in HCR rats thrombin induced less ventricular enlargement (17.3 ± 3.9 vs 23.0 ± 2.3 mm(3) in LCRs, p < 0.01) and smaller white matter lesions (2.6 ± 1.2 mm(3) vs 9.3 ± 7.6 mm(3) in LCRs, p < 0.05). In LCR rats, there was also upregulation of heat shock protein-32, a stress marker, and microglial activation in the periventricular white matter. These changes were significantly reduced in HCR rats. Intraventricular injection of thrombin caused more white matter damage and hydrocephalus in rats with low aerobic capacity. A differential effect of thrombin may contribute to differences in the effects of cerebral

  13. Growth and Photosynthetic Responses to Salinity of the Salt-marsh Shrub Atriplex portulacoides

    PubMed Central

    Redondo-Gómez, Susana; Mateos-Naranjo, Enrique; Davy, Anthony J.; Fernández-Muñoz, Francisco; Castellanos, Eloy M.; Luque, Teresa; Figueroa, M. Enrique

    2007-01-01

    mainly through stomatal conductance and hence intercellular CO2 concentration, rather than by effects on PSII; moderate salinity might stimulate carboxylation capacity. This is in contrast to more extreme halophytes, for which an ability to maintain leaf area can partially offset declining rates of carbon assimilation at high salinity. PMID:17684026

  14. White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection in shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) exposed to low and high salinity.

    PubMed

    Ramos-Carreño, Santiago; Valencia-Yáñez, Ricardo; Correa-Sandoval, Francisco; Ruíz-García, Noé; Díaz-Herrera, Fernando; Giffard-Mena, Ivone

    2014-09-01

    White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) has a worldwide distribution and is considered one of the most pathogenic and devastating viruses to the shrimp industry. A few studies have explored the effect of WSSV on shrimp acclimated to low (5 practical salinity units [psu]) or high ([40 psu) salinity conditions. In this work, we analysed the physiological response of WSSV-infected Litopenaeus vannamei juveniles that were acclimated to different salinities (5, 15, 28, 34 and 54 psu). We evaluated the osmotic response and survival of the shrimp at different times after infection (0 to 48 hours), and we followed the expression levels of a viral gene (vp664) in shrimp haemolymph using real-time PCR. Our results indicate that the susceptibility of the shrimp to the virus increased at extreme salinities (5 and 54 psu), with higher survival rates at 15 and 28 psu, which were closer to the iso-osmotic point (24.7 psu, 727.5 mOsmol/kg). Acute exposure to the virus made the haemolymph less hyperosmotic at 5 and 15 psu and less hypo-osmotic at higher salinities ([28 psu). The capacity of white shrimp to osmoregulate, and thus survive, significantly decreased following WSSV infection. According to our results, extreme salinities (5 or 54 psu) are more harmful than seawater.

  15. Salinity induced effects on the growth rates and mycelia composition of basidiomycete and zygomycete fungi.

    PubMed

    Venâncio, C; Pereira, R; Freitas, A C; Rocha-Santos, T A P; da Costa, J P; Duarte, A C; Lopes, I

    2017-12-01

    Soil salinization, as the combination of primary and secondary events, can adversely affect organisms inhabiting this compartment. In the present study, the effects of increased salinity were assessed in four species of terrestrial fungi: Lentinus sajor caju, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Rhizopus oryzae and Trametes versicolor. The mycelial growth and biochemical composition of the four fungi were determined under three exposure scenarios: 1) exposure to serial dilutions of natural seawater (SW), 2) exposure to serial concentrations of NaCl (potential surrogate of SW); and 3) exposure to serial concentrations of NaCl after a period of pre-exposure to low levels of NaCl. The toxicity of NaCl was slightly higher than that of SW, for all fungi species: the conductivities causing 50% of growth inhibition (EC 50 ) were within 14.9 and 22.0 mScm -1 for NaCl and within 20.2 and 34.1 mScm -1 for SW. Phanerochaete chrysosporium showed to be the less sensitive species, both for NaCl and SW. Exposure to NaCl caused changes in the biochemical composition of fungi, mainly increasing the production of polysaccharides. When fungi were exposed to SW this pattern of biochemical response was not observed. Fungi pre-exposed to low levels of salinity presented higher EC 50 than fungi non-pre-exposed, though 95% confidence limits overlapped, with the exception of P. chrysosporium. Pre-exposure to low levels of NaCl also induced changes in the biochemical composition of the mycelia of L. sajor caju and R. oryzae, relatively to the respective control. These results suggest that some terrestrial fungi may acquire an increased tolerance to NaCl after being pre-exposed to low levels of this salt, thus, suggesting their capacity to persist in environments that will undergo salinization. Furthermore, NaCl could be used as a protective surrogate of SW to derive safe salinity levels for soils, since it induced toxicity similar or higher than that of SW. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All

  16. Formulation Development of High Strength Gel System and Evaluation on Profile Control Performance for High Salinity and Low Permeability Fractured Reservoir

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Chengli; Qu, Guodong

    2017-01-01

    For the large pores and cracks of reservoirs with low temperatures, high salinity, and low permeability, a new type of high strength gel ABP system is developed in this paper. The defects of conventional gels such as weak gel strength, no gelling, and easy dehydration are overcome under the conditions of low temperature and high salinity. The temperature and salt resistance, plugging characteristics, and EOR of the gel system are studied. Under the condition of 32°C and 29500 mg/L salinity, the ABP system formulation is for 0.3% crosslinking agent A + 0.09% coagulant B + 3500 mg/L polymer solution P. The results show that when the temperature was increased, the delayed crosslinking time of the system was shortened and the gel strength was increased. The good plugging characteristics of the ABP system were reached, and the plugging rate was greater than 99% in cores with different permeability. A good profile control performance was achieved, and the recovery rate was improved by 19.27% on the basis of water flooding. In the practical application of the gel system, the salinity of formation water and the permeability of fractures are necessary to determine the appropriate formulation. PMID:28592971

  17. Environmental sustainability control by water resources carrying capacity concept: application significance in Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Djuwansyah, M. R.

    2018-02-01

    This paper reviews the use of Water Resources carrying capacity concept to control environmental sustainability with the particular note for the case in Indonesia. Carrying capacity is a capability measure of an environment or an area to support human and the other lives as well as their activities in a sustainable manner. Recurrently water-related hazards and environmental problems indicate that the environments are exploited over its carrying capacity. Environmental carrying capacity (ECC) assessment includes Land and Water Carrying Capacity analysis of an area, suggested to always refer to the dimension of the related watershed as an incorporated hydrologic unit on the basis of resources availability estimation. Many countries use this measure to forecast the future sustainability of regional development based on water availability. Direct water Resource Carrying Capacity (WRCC) assessment involves population number determination together with their activities could be supported by available water, whereas indirect WRCC assessment comprises the analysis of supply-demand balance status of water. Water resource limits primarily environmental carrying capacity rather than the land resource since land capability constraints are easier. WRCC is a crucial factor known to control land and water resource utilization, particularly in a growing densely populated area. Even though capability of water resources is relatively perpetual, the utilization pattern of these resources may change by socio-economic and cultural technology level of the users, because of which WRCC should be evaluated periodically to maintain usage sustainability of water resource and environment.

  18. Remote Sensing of Salinity: The Dielectric Constant of Sea Water

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    LeVine, David M.; Lang, R.; Utku, C.; Tarkocin, Y.

    2011-01-01

    Global monitoring of sea surface salinity from space requires an accurate model for the dielectric constant of sea water as a function of salinity and temperature to characterize the emissivity of the surface. Measurements are being made at 1.413 GHz, the center frequency of the Aquarius radiometers, using a resonant cavity and the perturbation method. The cavity is operated in a transmission mode and immersed in a liquid bath to control temperature. Multiple measurements are made at each temperature and salinity. Error budgets indicate a relative accuracy for both real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant of about 1%.

  19. Ion Homeostasis in Chloroplasts under Salinity and Mineral Deficiency 1

    PubMed Central

    Schröppel-Meier, Gabriele; Kaiser, Werner M.

    1988-01-01

    Spinach (Spinacia oleracea var “Yates”) plants in hydroponic culture were exposed to stepwise increased concentrations of NaCl or NaNO3 up to a final concentration of 300 millimoles per liter, at constant Ca2+-concentration. Leaf cell sap and extracts from aqueously isolated spinach chloroplasts were analyzed for mineral cations, anions, amino acids, sugars, and quarternary ammonium compounds. Total osmolality of leaf sap and photosynthetic capacity of leaves were also measured. For comparison, leaf sap from salt-treated pea plants was also analyzed. Spinach plants under NaCl or NaNO3 salinity took up large amounts of sodium (up to 400 millimoles per liter); nitrate as the accompanying anion was taken up less (up to 90 millimoles per liter) than chloride (up to 450 millimoles per liter). Under chloride salinity, nitrate content in leaves decreased drastically, but total amino acid concentrations remained constant. This response was much more pronounced (and occurred at lower salt concentrations) in leaves from the glycophyte (pea, Pisum sativum var “Kleine Rheinländerin”) than from moderately salt-tolerant spinach. In spinach, sodium chloride or nitrate taken up into leaves was largely sequestered in the vacuoles; both salts induced synthesis of quarternary ammonium compounds, which were accumulated mainly in chloroplasts (and cytosol). This prevented impairment of metabolism, as indicated by an unchanged photosynthetic capacity of leaves. PMID:16666232

  20. Role of xylo-oligosaccharides in protection against salinity-induced adversities in Chinese cabbage.

    PubMed

    Chen, Weiwei; Guo, Chen; Hussain, Saddam; Zhu, Bingxin; Deng, Fang; Xue, Yan; Geng, Mingjian; Wu, Lishu

    2016-01-01

    Soil salinity is a stringent abiotic constraint limiting crop growth and productivity. The present study was carried out to appraise the role of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOSs) in improving the salinity tolerance of Chinese cabbage. Salinity stress (0.5% NaCl solution) and four levels (0, 40, 80, 120 mg L(-1)) of XOSs were imposed on 20-day-old plants cultured under controlled conditions. Salinity stress decreased the aboveground fresh biomass, photosynthesis, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, internal CO2 concentration, water use efficiency, and chlorophyll contents but increased the stomatal limitation value of Chinese cabbage compared with control. Such physiological interferences, disturbances in plant water relations, and visually noticeable growth reductions in Chinese cabbage were significantly alleviated by the addition of XOSs under salinity stress. Under salinity stress, application of XOSs significantly enhanced the activities of enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase) and non-enzymatic (ascorbate, carotene) antioxidants and reduced the malondialdehyde content in the leaves of Chinese cabbage. The XOS-applied plants under salinity stress also recorded higher soluble sugars, proline, and soluble protein content in their leaves. Exposure of salinity stress increased the ratio of Na(+)/K(+), Na(+)/Ca(2+), and Na(+)/Mg(2+) in shoot as well as root of Chinese cabbage, however, XOS application significantly reduced these ratios particularly in shoot. Lower levels of XOSs (40 or 80 mg L(-1)) were more effective for most of the studied attributes. The greater salinity tolerance and better growth in these treatments were related with enhanced antioxidative defense system, reduced lipid peroxidation, increased osmolyte accumulation, and maintenance of ionic balance.

  1. A randomised controlled trial investigating the benefits of adaptive working memory training for working memory capacity and attentional control in high worriers.

    PubMed

    Hotton, Matthew; Derakshan, Nazanin; Fox, Elaine

    2018-01-01

    The process of worry has been associated with reductions in working memory capacity and availability of resources necessary for efficient attentional control. This, in turn, can lead to escalating worry. Recent investigations into working memory training have shown improvements in attentional control and cognitive performance in high trait-anxious individuals and individuals with sub-clinical depression. The current randomised controlled trial investigated the effects of 15 days of adaptive n-back working memory training, or an active control task, on working memory capacity, attentional control and worry in a sample of high worriers. Pre-training, post-training and one-month follow-up measures of working memory capacity were assessed using a Change Detection task, while a Flanker task was used to assess attentional control. A breathing focus task was used as a behavioural measure of worry in addition to a number of self-report assessments of worry and anxiety. Overall there was no difference between the active training and the active control condition with both groups demonstrating similar improvements in working memory capacity and worry, post-training and at follow-up. However, training-related improvements on the n-back task were associated with gains in working memory capacity and reductions in worry symptoms in the active training condition. These results highlight the need for further research investigating the role of individual differences in working memory training. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  2. Dual capacity compressor with reversible motor and controls arrangement therefor

    DOEpatents

    Sisk, Francis J.

    1980-12-02

    A hermetic reciprocating compressor such as may be used in heat pump applications is provided for dual capacity operation by providing the crankpin of the crankshaft with an eccentric ring rotatably mounted thereon, and with the end of the connecting rod opposite the piston encompassing the outer circumference of the eccentric ring, with means limiting the rotation of the eccentric ring upon the crankpin between one end point and an opposite angularly displaced end point to provide different values of eccentricity depending upon which end point the eccentric ring is rotated to upon the crankpin, and a reversible motor in the hermetic shell of the compressor for rotating the crankshaft, the motor operating in one direction effecting the angular displacement of the eccentric ring relative to the crankpin to the one end point, and in the opposite direction effecting the angular displacement of the eccentric ring relative to the crankpin to the opposite end point, this arrangement automatically giving different stroke lengths depending upon the direction of motor rotation. The mechanical structure of the arrangement may take various forms including at least one in which any impact of reversal is reduced by utilizing lubricant passages and chambers at the interface area of the crankpin and eccentric ring to provide a dashpot effect. In the main intended application of the arrangement according to the invention, that is, in a refrigerating or air conditioning system, it is desirable to insure a delay during reversal of the direction of compressor operation. A control arrangement is provided in which the control system controls the direction of motor operation in accordance with temperature conditions, the system including control means for effecting operation in a low capacity direction or alternatively in a high capacity direction in response to one set, and another set, respectively, of temperature conditions and with timer means delaying a restart of the compressor

  3. Ion homeostasis, osmoregulation, and physiological changes in the roots and leaves of pistachio rootstocks in response to salinity.

    PubMed

    Akbari, Mohammad; Mahna, Nasser; Ramesh, Katam; Bandehagh, Ali; Mazzuca, Silvia

    2018-03-12

    Pistachio, one of the important tree nuts, is cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions where salinity is the most common abiotic stress encountered by this tree. However, the mechanisms underlying salinity tolerance in this plant are not well understood. In the present study, five 1-year-old pistachio rootstocks (namely Akbari, Badami, Ghazvini, Kale-Ghouchi, and UCB-1) were treated with four saline water regimes (control, 8, 12, and 16 dS m -1 ) for 100 days. At high salinity level, all rootstocks showed decreased relative water content (RWC), total chlorophyll content (TCHC), and carotenoids in the leaf, while ascorbic acid (AsA) and total soluble proteins (TSP) were reduced in both leaf and root organs. In addition, the total phenolic compounds (TPC), proline, glycine betaine, total soluble carbohydrate (TSC), and H 2 O 2 content increased under salinity stress in all studied rootstocks. Three different ion exclusion strategies were observed in the studied rootstocks: (i) Na + exclusion in UCB-1, because most of its Na + is retained in the roots; (ii) Cl - exclusion in Badami, in which most of its Cl - remained in the roots; and (iii) similar concentrations of Na + and Cl - were observed in the leaves and roots of Ghazvini, Akbari, and Kale-Ghouchi. Transport capacity (ST value) of K + over Na + from the roots to the leaves was more observable in UCB-1 and Ghazvini. Overall, the root system cooperated more effectively in UCB-1 and Badami for retaining and detoxifying an excessive amount of Na + and Cl - . The results presented here provide important inputs to better understand the salt tolerance mechanism in a tree species for developing more salt-tolerant genotypes. Based on the results obtained here, the studied rootstocks from tolerant to susceptible are arranged as follows: UCB-1 > Badami > Ghazvini > Kale-Ghouchi > Akbari.

  4. Carbon Dioxide Sealing Capacity: Textural or Compositional Controls?

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cranganu, Constantin; Soleymani, Hamidreza; Sadiqua, Soleymani

    2013-11-30

    This research project is aiming to assess the carbon dioxide sealing capacity of most common seal-rocks, such as shales and non-fractured limestones, by analyzing the role of textural and compositional parameters of those rocks. We hypothesize that sealing capacity is controlled by textural and/or compositional pa-rameters of caprocks. In this research, we seek to evaluate the importance of textural and compositional parameters affecting the sealing capacity of caprocks. The conceptu-al framework involves two testable end-member hypotheses concerning the sealing ca-pacity of carbon dioxide reservoir caprocks. Better understanding of the elements controlling sealing quality will advance our knowledge regarding the sealingmore » capacity of shales and carbonates. Due to relatively low permeability, shale and non-fractured carbonate units are considered relatively imper-meable formations which can retard reservoir fluid flow by forming high capillary pres-sure. Similarly, these unites can constitute reliable seals for carbon dioxide capture and sequestration purposes. This project is a part of the comprehensive project with the final aim of studying the caprock sealing properties and the relationship between microscopic and macroscopic characteristics of seal rocks in depleted gas fields of Oklahoma Pan-handle. Through this study we examined various seal rock characteristics to infer about their respective effects on sealing capacity in special case of replacing reservoir fluid with super critical carbon dioxide (scCO{sub 2}). To assess the effect of textural and compositional properties on scCO{sub 2} maximum reten-tion column height we collected 30 representative core samples in caprock formations in three counties (Cimarron, Texas, Beaver) in Oklahoma Panhandle. Core samples were collected from various seal formations (e.g., Cherokee, Keys, Morrowan) at different depths. We studied the compositional and textural properties of the core samples using several

  5. Assessing secondary soil salinization risk based on the PSR sustainability framework.

    PubMed

    Zhou, De; Lin, Zhulu; Liu, Liming; Zimmermann, David

    2013-10-15

    Risk assessment of secondary soil salinization, which is caused in part by the way people manage the land, is an essential challenge to agricultural sustainability. The objective of our study was to develop a soil salinity risk assessment methodology by selecting a consistent set of risk factors based on the conceptual Pressure-State-Response (PSR) sustainability framework and incorporating the grey relational analysis and the Analytic Hierarchy Process methods. The proposed salinity risk assessment methodology was demonstrated through a case study of developing composite risk index maps for the Yinchuan Plain, a major irrigation agriculture district in northwest China. Fourteen risk factors were selected in terms of the three PSR criteria: pressure, state, and response. The results showed that the salinity risk in the Yinchuan Plain was strongly influenced by the subsoil and groundwater salinity, land use, distance to irrigation canals, and depth to groundwater. To maintain agricultural sustainability in the Yinchuan Plain, a suite of remedial and preventative actions were proposed to manage soil salinity risk in the regions that are affected by salinity at different levels and by different salinization processes. The weight sensitivity analysis results also showed that the overall salinity risk of the Yinchuan Plain would increase or decrease as the weights for pressure or response risk factors increased, signifying the importance of human activities on secondary soil salinization. Ideally, the proposed methodology will help us develop more consistent management tools for risk assessment and management and for control of secondary soil salinization. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Factors Controlling Superelastic Damping Capacity of SMAs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heller, L.; Šittner, P.; Pilch, J.; Landa, M.

    2009-08-01

    In this paper, questions linked to the practical use of superelastic damping exploiting stress-induced martensitic transformation for vibration damping are addressed. Four parameters, particularly vibration amplitude, prestrain, temperature of surroundings, and frequency, are identified as having the most pronounced influence on the superelastic damping. Their influence on superelastic damping of a commercially available superelastic NiTi wire was experimentally investigated using a self-developed dedicated vibrational equipment. Experimental results show how the vibration amplitude, frequency, prestrain, and temperature affect the capacity of a superelastic NiTi wire to dissipate energy of vibrations through the superelastic damping. A special attention is paid to the frequency dependence (i.e., rate dependence) of the superelastic damping. It is shown that this is nearly negligible in case the wire is in the thermal chamber controlling actively the environmental temperature. In case of wire exposed to free environmental temperature in actual damping applications, however, the superelastic damping capacity significantly decreases with increasing frequency. This was explained to be a combined effect of the heat effects affecting the mean wire temperature and material properties with the help of simulations using the heat equation coupled phenomenological SMA model.

  7. Study of the water transportation characteristics of marsh saline soil in the Yellow River Delta.

    PubMed

    He, Fuhong; Pan, Yinghua; Tan, Lili; Zhang, Zhenhua; Li, Peng; Liu, Jia; Ji, Shuxin; Qin, Zhaohua; Shao, Hongbo; Song, Xueyan

    2017-01-01

    One-dimensional soil column water infiltration and capillary adsorption water tests were conducted in the laboratory to study the water transportation characteristics of marsh saline soil in the Yellow River Delta, providing a theoretical basis for the improvement, utilization and conservation of marsh saline soil. The results indicated the following: (1) For soils with different vegetation covers, the cumulative infiltration capacity increased with the depth of the soil layers. The initial infiltration rate of soils covered by Suaeda and Tamarix chinensis increased with depth of the soil layers, but that of bare soil decreased with soil depth. (2) The initial rate of capillary rise of soils with different vegetation covers showed an increasing trend from the surface toward the deeper layers, but this pattern with respect to soil depth was relatively weak. (3) The initial rates of capillary rise were lower than the initial infiltration rates, but infiltration rate decreased more rapidly than capillary water adsorption rate. (4) The two-parameter Kostiakov model can very well-simulate the changes in the infiltration and capillary rise rates of wetland saline soil. The model simulated the capillary rise rate better than it simulated the infiltration rate. (5) There were strong linear relationships between accumulative infiltration capacity, wetting front, accumulative capillary adsorbed water volume and capillary height. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Nanoscale Controls on CO2-water-rock Interactions in Saline Reservoirs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deyoreo, J.; Depaolo, D. J.

    2009-12-01

    It is becoming increasingly widely recognized that geologic sequestration of CO2, when combined with economical means of capture, may be one of the most effective approaches to reducing net CO2 emissions to the atmosphere over the next century. Injection of CO2 into saline geologic formations involves forcing a buoyant, low-viscosity fluid into a more dense, higher viscosity fluid. The difference in wetting properties of the two fluids, their partial miscibility, the fact that CO2 and H2O form an acid, and the heterogeneity of geologic formations combine to make the flow and transport details fascinating but difficult to fully characterize and predict. A major question is whether the flow of CO2 into subsurface formations, the efficiency of pore space filling, and the trapping efficiency can be not only predicted but controlled over the decades of injection that might be associated with the life of a power plant. The major technological gaps to controlling and ultimately sequestering subsurface CO2 can be traced to far-from-equilibrum processes that originate at the molecular and nanoscale, but are expressed as complex emergent behavior at larger scales. Essential knowledge gaps involve the effects of nanoscale confinement on material properties, flow and chemical reactions, the effects of nanoparticles, mineral surface dynamics, and microbiota on mineral dissolution/precipitation and fluid flow, and the dynamics of fluid-fluid and fluid-mineral interfaces. To address these scientific and technical challenges, the Energy Frontier Research Center recently established, involving collaboration between LBNL, ORNL, MIT, UC Berkeley, UC Davis and LLNL, will attempt to bring new approaches to the study of nanoscale phenomena in fluid-rock systems to bear on the problem of CO2 behavior in saline formations. The stated goal is to use molecular, nanoscale, and pore-network scale approaches to control flow, dissolution, and precipitation in deep subsurface rock formations to

  9. Flamingos and drought as drivers of nutrients and microbial dynamics in a saline lake.

    PubMed

    Batanero, Gema L; León-Palmero, Elizabeth; Li, Linlin; Green, Andy J; Rendón-Martos, Manuel; Suttle, Curtis A; Reche, Isabel

    2017-09-22

    Waterbird aggregations and droughts affect nutrient and microbial dynamics in wetlands. We analysed the effects of high densities of flamingos on nutrients and microbial dynamics in a saline lake during a wet and a dry hydrological year, and explored the effects of guano on prokaryotic growth. Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, total phosphorus and total nitrogen in the surface waters were 2-3 fold higher during the drought and were correlated with salinity. Flamingos stimulated prokaryotic heterotrophic production and triggered cascading effects on prokaryotic abundance, viruses and dissolved nitrogen. This stimulus of heterotrophic prokaryotes was associated with soluble phosphorus inputs from guano, and also from sediments. In the experiments, the specific growth rate and the carrying capacity were almost twice as high after guano addition than in the control treatments, and were coupled with soluble phosphorus assimilation. Flamingo guano was also rich in nitrogen. Dissolved N in lake water lagged behind the abundance of flamingos, but the causes of this lag are unclear. This study demonstrates that intense droughts could lead to increases in total nutrients in wetlands; however, microbial activity is likely constrained by the availability of soluble phosphorus, which appears to be more dependent on the abundance of waterbirds.

  10. Salinity Tolerance Mechanism of Economic Halophytes From Physiological to Molecular Hierarchy for Improving Food Quality

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Chongzhi; Tang, Xiaoli; Shao, Hongbo; Wang, Hongyan

    2016-01-01

    Soil salinity is becoming the key constraints factor to agricultural production. Therefore, the plant especially the crops possessing capacities of salt tolerance will be of great economic significance. The adaptation or tolerance of plant to salinity stress involves a series of physiological, metabolic and molecular mechanisms. Halophytes are the kind of organisms which acquire special salt tolerance mechanisms to respond to the salt tress and ensure normal growth and development under saline conditions in their lengthy evolutionary adaptation, so understanding how halophytes respond to salinity stress will provide us with methods and tactics to foster and develop salt resistant varieties of crops. The strategies in physiological and molecular level adopted by halophytes are various including the changes in photosynthetic and transpiration rate, the sequestration of Na+ to extracellular or vacuole, the regulation of stomata aperture and stomatal density, the accumulation and synthesis of the phytohormones as well as the relevant gene expression underlying these physiological traits, such as the stress signal transduction, the regulation of the transcription factors, the activation and expression of the transporter genes, the activation or inhibition of the synthetases and so on. This review focuses on the research advances of the regulating mechanisms in halophytes from physiological to molecular, which render the halophytes tolerance and adaption to salinity stress. PMID:27252587

  11. A kinetic approach to evaluate salinity effects on carbon mineralization in a plant residue-amended soil*

    PubMed Central

    Nourbakhsh, Farshid; Sheikh-Hosseini, Ahmad R.

    2006-01-01

    The interaction of salinity stress and plant residue quality on C mineralization kinetics in soil is not well understood. A laboratory experiment was conducted to study the effects of salinity stress on C mineralization kinetics in a soil amended with alfalfa, wheat and corn residues. A factorial combination of two salinity levels (0.97 and 18.2 dS/m) and four levels of plant residues (control, alfalfa, wheat and corn) with three replications was performed. A first order kinetic model was used to describe the C mineralization and to calculate the potentially mineralizable C. The CO2-C evolved under non-saline condition, ranged from 814.6 to 4842.4 mg CO2-C/kg in control and alfalfa residue-amended soils, respectively. Salinization reduced the rates of CO2 evolution by 18.7%, 6.2% and 5.2% in alfalfa, wheat and corn residue-amended soils, respectively. Potentially mineralizable C (C 0) was reduced significantly in salinized alfalfa residue-treated soils whereas, no significant difference was observed for control treatments as well as wheat and corn residue-treated soils. We concluded that the response pattern of C mineralization to salinity stress depended on the plant residue quality and duration of incubation. PMID:16972320

  12. Transcriptome analysis of salinity responsiveness in contrasting genotypes of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) through RNA-sequencing.

    PubMed

    Rahman, Hifzur; Jagadeeshselvam, N; Valarmathi, R; Sachin, B; Sasikala, R; Senthil, N; Sudhakar, D; Robin, S; Muthurajan, Raveendran

    2014-07-01

    Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) is a hardy cereal known for its superior level of tolerance against drought, salinity, diseases and its nutritional properties. In this study, attempts were made to unravel the physiological and molecular basis of salinity tolerance in two contrasting finger millet genotypes viz., CO 12 and Trichy 1. Physiological studies revealed that the tolerant genotype Trichy 1 had lower Na(+) to K(+) ratio in leaves and shoots, higher growth rate (osmotic tolerance) and ability to accumulate higher amount of total soluble sugar in leaves under salinity stress. We sequenced the salinity responsive leaf transcriptome of contrasting finger millet genotypes using IonProton platform and generated 27.91 million reads. Mapping and annotation of finger millet transcripts against rice gene models led to the identification of salinity responsive genes and genotype specific responses. Several functional groups of genes like transporters, transcription factors, genes involved in cell signaling, osmotic homeostasis and biosynthesis of compatible solutes were found to be highly up-regulated in the tolerant Trichy 1. Salinity stress inhibited photosynthetic capacity and photosynthesis related genes in the susceptible genotype CO 12. Several genes involved in cell growth and differentiation were found to be up-regulated in both the genotypes but more specifically in tolerant genotype. Genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis were found to be down-regulated specifically in the salinity tolerant Trichy 1. This study provides a genome-wide transcriptional analysis of two finger millet genotypes differing in their level of salinity tolerance during a gradually progressing salinity stress under greenhouse conditions.

  13. White willow sexual regeneration capacity under estuarine conditions in times of climate change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Markus-Michalczyk, Heike; Hanelt, Dieter; Denstorf, Julian; Jensen, Kai

    2016-10-01

    Tidal wetlands provide both habitats for coastal populations and wildlife, and ecosystem services for human welfare. Building with nature regarding cost-effective coastal protection is of increasing interest. Much research has been carried out on plant reproduction capacities in mangroves and salt marshes, but less is known on this issue in tidal freshwater wetlands. Willows are being successfully used for bank stabilization in riverine habitats, however, today white willow softwood forests in tidal wetlands are highly fragmented, and restoration is required e.g. by the European Habitats Directive. Recently, tolerance to increasing salinity and tidal flooding was found for vegetative propagules of floodplain willows. However, the establishment of autochthonous sexual recruits is necessary to conserve the genetic diversity of local populations, and thus may be preferable in restoration. The germination and early seedling establishment of Salix alba (white willow) was experimentally studied under simulated estuarine conditions. The species tolerance to increasing salinity (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2) was tested in a climate chamber, and its tolerance to flooding at different tidal treatments (control, spring tide, daily tide 15 min and 2 h flooding) in the greenhouse. Germination was neither affected by increasing salinity nor by tidal flooding. Salix seedlings established up to salinity 1.5, but cotyledon performance and radicle growth was largely reduced at salinity 2. Under tidal flooding, seedling growth was similar in all treatments. However, in the treatments with daily tides seedling anchorage in the substrate took more than two weeks, and fewer seedlings reached a suitable length to approach the high water line. We assess S. alba sexual regeneration under estuarine conditions as generally possible. Further studies are needed on the effects of sedimentation-erosion processes on willow establishment in the field, especially on feedbacks between Salix survival and

  14. Soil Porewater Salinity Response to Sea-level Rise in Tidal Freshwater Forested Wetlands: A Modeling Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stagg, C. L.; Wang, H.; Krauss, K.; Conrads, P. A.; Swarzenski, C.; Duberstein, J. A.; DeAngelis, D.

    2017-12-01

    There is a growing concern about the adverse effects of salt water intrusion via tidal rivers and creeks into tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFWs) due to rising sea levels and reduction of freshwater flow. The distribution and composition of plant species, vegetation productivity, and biogeochemical functions including carbon sequestration capacity and flux rates in TFFWs have been found to be affected by increasing river and soil porewater salinities, with significant shifts occurring at a porewater salinity threshold of 3 PSU. However, the drivers of soil porewater salinity, which impact the health and ecological functions of TFFWs remains unclear, limiting our capability of predicting the future impacts of saltwater intrusion on ecosystem services provided by TFFWs. In this study, we developed a soil porewater salinity model for TFFWs based on an existing salt and water balance model with modifications to several key features such as the feedback mechanisms of soil salinity on evapotranspiration reduction and hydraulic conductivity. We selected sites along the floodplains of two rivers, the Waccamaw River (SC, USA) and the Savannah River (GA and SC, USA) that represent landscape salinity gradients of both surface water and soil porewater from tidal influence of the Atlantic Ocean. These sites represent healthy, moderately and highly salt-impacted forests, and oligohaline marshes. The soil porewater salinity model was calibrated and validated using field data collected at these sites throughout 2008-2016. The model results agreed well with field measurements. Analyses of the preliminary simulation results indicate that the magnitude, seasonal and annual variability, and duration of threshold salinities (e.g., 3 PSU) tend to vary significantly with vegetation status and type (i.e., healthy, degraded forests, and oligohaline marshes), especially during drought conditions. The soil porewater salinity model could be coupled with a wetland soil biogeochemistry

  15. Holocene oscillations in temperature and salinity of the surface subpolar North Atlantic.

    PubMed

    Thornalley, David J R; Elderfield, Harry; McCave, I Nick

    2009-02-05

    The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) transports warm salty surface waters to high latitudes, where they cool, sink and return southwards at depth. Through its attendant meridional heat transport, the AMOC helps maintain a warm northwestern European climate, and acts as a control on the global climate. Past climate fluctuations during the Holocene epoch ( approximately 11,700 years ago to the present) have been linked with changes in North Atlantic Ocean circulation. The behaviour of the surface flowing salty water that helped drive overturning during past climatic changes is, however, not well known. Here we investigate the temperature and salinity changes of a substantial surface inflow to a region of deep-water formation throughout the Holocene. We find that the inflow has undergone millennial-scale variations in temperature and salinity ( approximately 3.5 degrees C and approximately 1.5 practical salinity units, respectively) most probably controlled by subpolar gyre dynamics. The temperature and salinity variations correlate with previously reported periods of rapid climate change. The inflow becomes more saline during enhanced freshwater flux to the subpolar North Atlantic. Model studies predict a weakening of AMOC in response to enhanced Arctic freshwater fluxes, although the inflow can compensate on decadal timescales by becoming more saline. Our data suggest that such a negative feedback mechanism may have operated during past intervals of climate change.

  16. Oxidative stress responses in gills of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) at different salinities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Handayani, Kiki Syaputri; Novianty, Zahra; Saputri, Miftahul Rohmah; Irawan, Bambang; Soegianto, Agoes

    2017-08-01

    The objective of present study is to evaluate the impact of different salinities on the levels of CAT, GSH and MDA of the gills of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Nile tilapia was treated by exposure to salinities concentration 0 ‰, 5 ‰ and 10 ‰. Research models were weakened and sacrificed, then took the left and right sides of the gills. The result of gills homogenity was centrifuged for supernatan, then supernatan was proceed with testing levels of CAT, GSH and MDA by ELISA assay methods. The levels of CAT in gills were significantly higher at 10 ‰ than at 5 ‰ and 0 ‰. The levels of GSH in gills were significantly higher at 0 ‰ than 5 ‰. The levels of GSH in gills at 5 ‰ and 10 ‰ salinities were not significantly different. The levels of MDA in gills at salinity 10 ‰ and 5 ‰ were higher than in control gills at 0 ‰ salinities. This occurs because the salinity of 10 ‰ salinity was optimal for live of fish tilapia. In conclusion, salinity impact the increasing of CAT, GSH, and MDA levels in gills of Nile tilapia.

  17. Adopting adequate leaching requirement for practical response models of basil to salinity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Babazadeh, Hossein; Tabrizi, Mahdi Sarai; Darvishi, Hossein Hassanpour

    2016-07-01

    Several mathematical models are being used for assessing plant response to salinity of the root zone. Objectives of this study included quantifying the yield salinity threshold value of basil plants to irrigation water salinity and investigating the possibilities of using irrigation water salinity instead of saturated extract salinity in the available mathematical models for estimating yield. To achieve the above objectives, an extensive greenhouse experiment was conducted with 13 irrigation water salinity levels, namely 1.175 dS m-1 (control treatment) and 1.8 to 10 dS m-1. The result indicated that, among these models, the modified discount model (one of the most famous root water uptake model which is based on statistics) produced more accurate results in simulating the basil yield reduction function using irrigation water salinities. Overall the statistical model of Steppuhn et al. on the modified discount model and the math-empirical model of van Genuchten and Hoffman provided the best results. In general, all of the statistical models produced very similar results and their results were better than math-empirical models. It was also concluded that if enough leaching was present, there was no significant difference between the soil salinity saturated extract models and the models using irrigation water salinity.

  18. Adaptive evolution of osmoregulatory-related genes provides insight into salinity adaptation in Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis.

    PubMed

    Wang, Zhengfei; Bai, Yuze; Zhang, Daizhen; Tang, Boping

    2018-06-01

    Osmoregulation is an important mechanism by which euryhaline crustaceans regulate osmotic and ionic concentrations. The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is a strong osmoregulating animal model among crustacean species, as it can maintain its hemolymph composition and survives well in either seawater or freshwater. Osmoregulation by E. sinensis during physiological adaptation has been studied extensively. However, the genetic basis of osmoregulation in E. sinensis for acclimating to changing salinities remains unclear. The current study investigated five genes involved in E. sinensis osmoregulation and compared them with a representative marine crab Portunus trituberculatus to test whether adaptive evolution has occurred changing salinity conditions. The results showed that carbonic anhydrase (CA), cytochrome P450 4C (CYP4C), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), and the Na + /H + exchanger (NHE) have undergone positive selection (i.e., directional selection) in E. sinensis. Thus, the positive selection in CA and NHE suggests that E. sinensis has enhanced capacity for maintaining systemic acid-base balance and ion regulation. GDH and CYP4C also demonstrated positive selection in E. sinensis, suggesting that E. sinensis might have acquired an enhanced capacity to metabolize glutamate and synthesize ecdysteroids in response to a change in osmotic concentration. The present study provides new insight into the molecular genetic basis of salinity adaption in E. sinensis.

  19. NMR Profiling of Metabolites in Larval and Juvenile Blue Mussels (Mytilus edulis) under Ambient and Low Salinity Conditions

    PubMed Central

    Bishop, Karl D.; Rawson, Paul D.

    2017-01-01

    Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) are ecologically and economically important marine invertebrates whose populations are at risk from climate change-associated variation in their environment, such as decreased coastal salinity. Blue mussels are osmoconfomers and use components of the metabolome (free amino acids) to help maintain osmotic balance and cellular function during low salinity exposure. However, little is known about the capacity of blue mussels during the planktonic larval stages to regulate metabolites during osmotic stress. Metabolite studies in species such as blue mussels can help improve our understanding of the species’ physiology, as well as their capacity to respond to environmental stress. We used 1D 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and 2D total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY) experiments to describe baseline metabolite pools in larval (veliger and pediveliger stages) and juvenile blue mussels (gill, mantle, and adductor tissues) under ambient conditions and to quantify changes in the abundance of common osmolytes in these stages during low salinity exposure. We found evidence for stage- and tissue-specific differences in the baseline metabolic profiles of blue mussels, which reflect variation in the function and morphology of each larval stage or tissue type of juveniles. These differences impacted the utilization of osmolytes during low salinity exposure, likely stemming from innate physiological variation. This study highlights the importance of foundational metabolomic studies that include multiple tissue types and developmental stages to adequately evaluate organismal responses to stress and better place these findings in a broader physiological context. PMID:28684716

  20. Identification and characterization of miRNAs and targets in flax (Linum usitatissimum) under saline, alkaline, and saline-alkaline stresses.

    PubMed

    Yu, Ying; Wu, Guangwen; Yuan, Hongmei; Cheng, Lili; Zhao, Dongsheng; Huang, Wengong; Zhang, Shuquan; Zhang, Liguo; Chen, Hongyu; Zhang, Jian; Guan, Fengzhi

    2016-05-27

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in responses to biotic and abiotic stress and have been characterized in a large number of plant species. Although flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is one of the most important fiber and oil crops worldwide, no reports have been published describing flax miRNAs (Lus-miRNAs) induced in response to saline, alkaline, and saline-alkaline stresses. In this work, combined small RNA and degradome deep sequencing was used to analyze flax libraries constructed after alkaline-salt stress (AS2), neutral salt stress (NSS), alkaline stress (AS), and the non-stressed control (CK). From the CK, AS, AS2, and NSS libraries, a total of 118, 119, 122, and 120 known Lus-miRNAs and 233, 213, 211, and 212 novel Lus-miRNAs were isolated, respectively. After assessment of differential expression profiles, 17 known Lus-miRNAs and 36 novel Lus-miRNAs were selected and used to predict putative target genes. Gene ontology term enrichment analysis revealed target genes that were involved in responses to stimuli, including signaling and catalytic activity. Eight Lus-miRNAs were selected for analysis using qRT-PCR to confirm the accuracy and reliability of the miRNA-seq results. The qRT-PCR results showed that changes in stress-induced expression profiles of these miRNAs mirrored expression trends observed using miRNA-seq. Degradome sequencing and transcriptome profiling showed that expression of 29 miRNA-target pairs displayed inverse expression patterns under saline, alkaline, and saline-alkaline stresses. From the target prediction analysis, the miR398a-targeted gene codes for a copper/zinc superoxide dismutase, and the miR530 has been shown to explicitly target WRKY family transcription factors, which suggesting that these two micRNAs and their targets may significant involve in the saline, alkaline, and saline-alkaline stress response in flax. Identification and characterization of flax miRNAs, their target genes, functional annotations, and gene

  1. Salinity Gradients for Sustainable Energy: Primer, Progress, and Prospects.

    PubMed

    Yip, Ngai Yin; Brogioli, Doriano; Hamelers, Hubertus V M; Nijmeijer, Kitty

    2016-11-15

    Combining two solutions of different composition releases the Gibbs free energy of mixing. By using engineered processes to control the mixing, chemical energy stored in salinity gradients can be harnessed for useful work. In this critical review, we present an overview of the current progress in salinity gradient power generation, discuss the prospects and challenges of the foremost technologies - pressure retarded osmosis (PRO), reverse electrodialysis (RED), and capacitive mixing (CapMix) and provide perspectives on the outlook of salinity gradient power generation. Momentous strides have been made in technical development of salinity gradient technologies and field demonstrations with natural and anthropogenic salinity gradients (for example, seawater-river water and desalination brine-wastewater, respectively), but fouling persists to be a pivotal operational challenge that can significantly ebb away cost-competitiveness. Natural hypersaline sources (e.g., hypersaline lakes and salt domes) can achieve greater concentration difference and, thus, offer opportunities to overcome some of the limitations inherent to seawater-river water. Technological advances needed to fully exploit the larger salinity gradients are identified. While seawater desalination brine is a seemingly attractive high salinity anthropogenic stream that is otherwise wasted, actual feasibility hinges on the appropriate pairing with a suitable low salinity stream. Engineered solutions are foulant-free and can be thermally regenerative for application in low-temperature heat utilization. Alternatively, PRO, RED, and CapMix can be coupled with their analog separation process (reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, and capacitive deionization, respectively) in salinity gradient flow batteries for energy storage in chemical potential of the engineered solutions. Rigorous techno-economic assessments can more clearly identify the prospects of low-grade heat conversion and large-scale energy storage

  2. Finding a solution: Heparinised saline versus normal saline in the maintenance of invasive arterial lines in intensive care.

    PubMed

    Everson, Matthew; Webber, Lucy; Penfold, Chris; Shah, Sanjoy; Freshwater-Turner, Dan

    2016-11-01

    We assessed the impact of heparinised saline versus 0.9% normal saline on arterial line patency. Maintaining the patency of arterial lines is essential for obtaining accurate physiological measurements, enabling blood sampling and minimising line replacement. Use of heparinised saline is associated with risks such as thrombocytopenia, haemorrhage and mis-selection. Historical studies draw variable conclusions but suggest that normal saline is at least as effective at maintaining line patency, although recent evidence has questioned this. We conducted a prospective analysis of the use of heparinised saline versus normal saline on unselected patients in the intensive care of our hospital. Data concerning duration of 471 lines insertion and reason for removal was collected. We found a higher risk of blockage for lines flushed with normal saline compared with heparinised saline (RR = 2.15, 95% CI 1.392-3.32, p  ≤ 0.001). Of the 56 lines which blocked initially (19 heparinised saline and 37 normal saline lines), 16 were replaced with new lines; 5 heparinised saline lines and 11 normal saline lines were reinserted; 5 of these lines subsequently blocked again, 3 of which were flushed with normal saline. Our study demonstrates a clinically important reduction in arterial line longevity due to blockages when flushed with normal saline compared to heparinised saline. We have determined that these excess blockages have a significant clinical impact with further lines being inserted after blockage, resulting in increased risks to patients, wasted time and cost of resources. Our findings suggest that the current UK guidance favouring normal saline flushes should be reviewed.

  3. Achieving the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control's potential by investing in national capacity.

    PubMed

    Wipfli, H; Stillman, F; Tamplin, S; da Costa e Silva, V Luiza; Yach, D; Samet, J

    2004-12-01

    May 2003 marked a critical achievement in efforts to stem the global tobacco epidemic, as the member states of the World Health Organization unanimously endorsed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). However, the adoption of the FCTC signifies only the end of the beginning of effective global action to control tobacco. Over the next several years the utility of the FCTC process and the treaty itself will be tested as individual countries seek to ratify and implement the treaty's obligations. Significant barriers to the treaty's long term success exist in many countries. It is crucial that the international tobacco control community now refocuses its efforts on national capacity building and ensures that individual countries have the knowledge, tools, data, people, and organisations needed to implement the convention and develop sustained tobacco control programmes. This paper provides a model of national tobacco control capacity and offers a prioritised agenda for action.

  4. Managing salinity in Upper Colorado River Basin streams: Selecting catchments for sediment control efforts using watershed characteristics and random forests models

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tillman, Fred; Anning, David W.; Heilman, Julian A.; Buto, Susan G.; Miller, Matthew P.

    2018-01-01

    Elevated concentrations of dissolved-solids (salinity) including calcium, sodium, sulfate, and chloride, among others, in the Colorado River cause substantial problems for its water users. Previous efforts to reduce dissolved solids in upper Colorado River basin (UCRB) streams often focused on reducing suspended-sediment transport to streams, but few studies have investigated the relationship between suspended sediment and salinity, or evaluated which watershed characteristics might be associated with this relationship. Are there catchment properties that may help in identifying areas where control of suspended sediment will also reduce salinity transport to streams? A random forests classification analysis was performed on topographic, climate, land cover, geology, rock chemistry, soil, and hydrologic information in 163 UCRB catchments. Two random forests models were developed in this study: one for exploring stream and catchment characteristics associated with stream sites where dissolved solids increase with increasing suspended-sediment concentration, and the other for predicting where these sites are located in unmonitored reaches. Results of variable importance from the exploratory random forests models indicate that no simple source, geochemical process, or transport mechanism can easily explain the relationship between dissolved solids and suspended sediment concentrations at UCRB monitoring sites. Among the most important watershed characteristics in both models were measures of soil hydraulic conductivity, soil erodibility, minimum catchment elevation, catchment area, and the silt component of soil in the catchment. Predictions at key locations in the basin were combined with observations from selected monitoring sites, and presented in map-form to give a complete understanding of where catchment sediment control practices would also benefit control of dissolved solids in streams.

  5. Variable salinity responses of 12 alfalfa genotypes and comparative expression analyses of salt-response genes

    PubMed Central

    Sandhu, Devinder; Cornacchione, Monica V.; Ferreira, Jorge F. S.; Suarez, Donald L.

    2017-01-01

    Twelve alfalfa genotypes that were selected for biomass under salinity, differences in Na and Cl concentrations in shoots and K/Na ratio were evaluated in this long-term salinity experiment. The selected plants were cloned to reduce genetic variability within each genotype. Salt tolerance (ST) index of the genotypes ranged from 0.39 to 1. The most salt-tolerant genotypes SISA14-1 (G03) and AZ-90ST (G10), the top performers for biomass, exhibited the least effect on shoot number and height. SISA14-1 (G03) accumulated low Na and Cl under salinity. Most genotypes exhibited a net reduction in shoot Ca, Mg, P, Fe, and Cu, while Mn and Zn increased under salinity. Salinity reduced foliar area and stomatal conductance; while net photosynthetic rate and transpiration were not affected. Interestingly, salinity increased chlorophyll and antioxidant capacity in most genotypes; however neither parameter correlated well to ST index. Salt-tolerant genotypes showed upregulation of the SOS1, SOS2, SOS3, HKT1, AKT1, NHX1, P5CS1, HSP90.7, HSP81.2, HSP71.1, HSPC025, OTS1, SGF29 and SAL1 genes. Gene expression analyses allowed us to classify genotypes based on their ability to regulate different components of the salt tolerance mechanism. Pyramiding different components of the salt tolerance mechanism may lead to superior salt-tolerant alfalfa genotypes. PMID:28225027

  6. Effect of salinity changes on olfactory memory-related genes and hormones in adult chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta.

    PubMed

    Kim, Na Na; Choi, Young Jae; Lim, Sang-Gu; Jeong, Minhwan; Jin, Deuk-Hee; Choi, Cheol Young

    2015-09-01

    Studies of memory formation have recently concentrated on the possible role of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NRs). We examined changes in the expression of three NRs (NR1, NR2B, and NR2C), olfactory receptor (OR), and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) during salinity change (seawater→50% seawater→freshwater). NRs were significantly detected in the diencephalon and telencephalon and OR was significantly detected in the olfactory epithelium. The expression of NRs, OR, and ACTH increased after the transition to freshwater. We also determined that treatment with MK-801, an antagonist of NRs, decreased NRs in telencephalon cells. In addition, a reduction in salinity was associated with increased levels of dopamine, ACTH, and cortisol (in vivo). Reductions in salinity evidently caused NRs and OR to increase the expression of cortisol and dopamine. We concluded that memory capacity and olfactory imprinting of salmon is related to the salinity of the environment during the migration to spawning sites. Furthermore, salinity affects the memory/imprinting and olfactory abilities, and cortisol and dopamine is also related with olfactory-related memories during migration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Remote sensing of salinity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thomann, G. C.

    1975-01-01

    The complex dielectric constant of sea water is a function of salinity at 21 cm wavelength, and sea water salinity can be determined by a measurement of emissivity at 21 cm along with a measurement of thermodynamic temperature. Three aircraft and one helicopter experiments using two different 21 cm radiometers were conducted under different salinity and temperature conditions. Single or multiple ground truth measurements were used to calibrate the data in each experiment. It is inferred from these experiments that accuracies of 1 to 2%/OO are possible with a single surface calibration point necessary only every two hours if the following conditions are met--water temperatures above 20 C, salinities above 10%/OO, and level plane flight. More frequent calibration, constraint of the aircraft's orientation to the same as it was during calibration, and two point calibration (at a high and low salinity level) rather than single point calibration may give even better accuracies in some instances.

  8. Saline instillation before tracheal suctioning decreases the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

    PubMed

    Caruso, Pedro; Denari, Silvia; Ruiz, Soraia A L; Demarzo, Sergio E; Deheinzelin, Daniel

    2009-01-01

    To compare the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) with or without isotonic saline instillation before tracheal suctioning. As a secondary objective, we compared the incidence of endotracheal tube occlusion and atelectasis. Randomized clinical trial. The study was conducted in a medical surgical intensive care unit of an oncologic hospital. We selected consecutive patients needing mechanical ventilation for >72 hrs. Patients were allocated into two groups: a saline group that received instillation of 8 mL of saline before tracheal suctioning and a control group which did not. VAP was diagnosed based on clinical suspicion and confirmed by bronchoalveolar lavage quantitative culture. The incidence of atelectasis on daily chest radiography and endotracheal tube occlusions were recorded. The sample size was calculated to a power of 80% and a type I error probability of 5%. One hundred thirty patients were assigned to the saline group and 132 to the control group. The baseline demographic variables were similar between groups. The rate of clinically suspected VAP was similar in both groups. The incidence of microbiological proven VAP was significantly lower in the saline group (23.5% x 10.8%; p = 0.008) (incidence density/1.000 days of ventilation 21.22 x 9.62; p < 0.01). Using the Kaplan-Meier curve analysis, the proportion of patients remaining without VAP was higher in the saline group (p = 0.02, log-rank test). The relative risk reduction of VAP in the saline instillation group was 54% (95% confidence interval, 18%-74%) and the number needed to treat was eight (95% confidence interval, 5-27). The incidence of atelectases and endotracheal tube occlusion were similar between groups. Instillation of isotonic saline before tracheal suctioning decreases the incidence of microbiological proven VAP.

  9. Distribution and significance of long-chain alkenones as salinity and temperature indicators in Spanish saline lake sediments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pearson, Emma J.; Juggins, Steve; Farrimond, Paul

    2008-08-01

    We investigated relationships between sedimentary solvent-extractable long-chain alkenone (LCA) concentration and composition and environmental factors in a suite of endorheic lakes from inland Spain. LCAs were found in 14 of the 54 lakes examined, with concentrations comparable with those from previously published lacustrine settings. The composition of LCAs in our sites, however, contrast from the majority of those previously reported from lake environments; in our study the tri-unsaturated component is the most abundant component at most sites where LCAs are detected, and C 38:3 is the most abundant LCA in the majority of sites. LCA occurrence appears to be restricted to brackish-hypersaline sites and C 37 LCAs are absent above a salinity of ˜40 g L -1 suggesting a salinity control on LCA-producing organisms in these sites. Low concentrations of C 37 LCA components means U37k and U37k temperature indices are generally not applicable. Instead we find good relationships between C 38 components and (in particular mean autumn) temperature and the strongest LCA-temperature relationships are found when using a combination of all C 37 and C 38 compounds. We propose a new alkenone temperature index for lakes with elevated salinity and where the C 38 components dominate the LCA distributions. This is expressed as U3738k=0.0464×MAutAT-0.867 ( r2 = 0.80, n = 13). In this paper, we provide the first account of sedimentary LCA distributions from lakes in inland Spain, extending the range of environments within which these compounds have been found and highlighting their significance as indicators of both salinity and temperature in saline, endorheic lake environments. This has important implications for extending the potential role of LCAs as palaeoclimatic indicators in lacustrine environments.

  10. Stochastic Modeling of Soil Salinity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suweis, Samir; Rinaldo, Andrea; van der Zee, Sjoerd E. A. T. M.; Maritan, Amos; Porporato, Amilcare

    2010-05-01

    Large areas of cultivated land worldwide are affected by soil salinity. Estimates report that 10% of arable land in over 100 countries, and nine million km2 are salt affected, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. High salinity causes both ion specific and osmotic stress effects, with important consequences for plant production and quality. Salt accumulation in the root zone may be due to natural factors (primary salinization) or due to irrigation (secondary salinization). Simple (e.g., vertically averaged over the soil depth) coupled soil moisture and salt balance equations have been used in the past. Despite their approximations, these models have the advantage of parsimony, thus allowing a direct analysis of the interplay of the main processes. They also provide the ideal starting point to include external, random hydro-climatic fluctuations in the analysis of long-term salinization trends. We propose a minimalist stochastic model of primary soil salinity, in which the rate of soil salinization is determined by the balance between dry and wet salt deposition and the intermittent leaching events caused by rainfall events. The long term probability density functions of salt mass and concentration are found by reducing the coupled soil moisture and salt mass balance equation to a stochastic differential equation driven by multiplicative Poisson noise. The novel analytical solutions provide insight on the interplay of the main soil, plant and climate parameters responsible for long-term soil salinization. In fact, soil salinity statistics are obtained as a function of climate, soil and vegetation parameters. These, in turn, can be combined with soil moisture statistics to obtain a full characterization of soil salt concentrations and the ensuing risk of primary salinization. In particular, the solutions show the existence of two quite distinct regimes, the first one where the mean salt mass remains nearly constant with increasing rainfall frequency, and the

  11. Biogeochemical and hydrological controls in mobilizing Se in a saline wetland environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Datta, S.; Hettiarachchi, G. M.; Crawford, M.; Karna, R.; Allmendinger, N. E.; Khatiwada, R.

    2010-12-01

    Selenium (Se) contamination in watersheds remains a challenge to water and land and wildlife managers throughout the west and mid west of US. In that sense, understanding the fundamentals of Se mobilization, fixation and bioconcentration is the current research endeavor. The challenge for Se research is developing watershed-geochemical models that are well founded in Se geochemical/biologcial principles that can be applied in a wide range of situations to inform decisions. Pariette Wetlands, a 9000 acre Bureau of Land Management controlled wetland system composed of 20 ponds located at the confluence of Pariette Draw and the Green River is the present location of this study. The agricultural and irrigation practices and the water-rock interactions leading to salinization can be associated with changes in Se chemistry in the rivers. Since its inception Pariette Wetlands has been home to a rich and diverse wetland ecosystem located in the arid Uintah Basin of Northeastern Utah. Detailed sampling of surficial sediments (0-1 m) from stream banks, channel beds and for water sampling have been undergone in 2 separate field trips throughout the entire reach of the wetland. To establish Pariette Draw’s contribution of Se to the Green river, water and sediments were also sampled from the Green River up and downstream of its confluence with Pariette Draw. In situ measurements of water parameters within the wetland suggest a clear trend of increased pH from upstream, 8, to downstream, 9.2 and combined with TDS suggest a pH controlled saline environment system. The headwaters near Flood Control Dam have an added input of Se from a possible irrigation source upstream in Pleasant Valley area while Se drastically decreases downstream towards the Red Head Pond. Se fractionation in sediments is being analyzed via a sequential extraction procedure to locate the labile fractions of mostly inorganic bound Se. Solid state speciation of Se via μ-XRF aided μ-XANES is being combined

  12. Enhanced laboratory capacity development: a boost for effective tuberculosis control in resource-limited settings.

    PubMed

    Alabi, Abraham Sunday; Traoré, Afsatou Ndama; Loembe, Marguerite Massinga; Ateba-Ngoa, Ulysse; Frank, Matthias; Adegnika, Ayola Akim; Lell, Bertrand; Mahoumbou, Jocelyn; Köhler, Carsten; Kremsner, Peter Gottfried; Grobusch, Martin Peter

    2017-03-01

    Both routine and research tuberculosis (TB) laboratory capacity urgently need to be expanded in large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2009, the Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL) took a strategic decision to expand its activities by building TB laboratory capacity to address research questions and to improve routine diagnostic and treatment capacity. Over the past 7 years, a standard laboratory has been developed that is contributing significantly to TB diagnosis, treatment, and control in Gabon; training has also been provided for TB research staff in Central Africa. CERMEL has a cordial relationship with the Gabon National TB Control Programme (PNLT), which has culminated in a successful Global Fund joint application. This endeavour is considered a model for similar developments needed in areas of high TB prevalence and where TB control remains poor to date. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  13. [Assessment on the capacity for programs regarding chronic non-communicable diseases prevention and control, in China].

    PubMed

    Si, Xiang; Zhai, Yi; Shi, Xiaoming

    2014-06-01

    To assess the policies and programs on the capacity of prevention and control regarding non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) at all levels and grass roots health care institutions, in China. On-line questionnaire survey was adopted by 3 352 CDCs at provincial, city and county levels and 1 200 grass roots health care institutions. 1) On policies: 75.0% of the provincial governments provided special funding for chronic disease prevention and control, whereas 19.7% city government and 11.3% county government did so. 2) Infrastructure:only 7.1% county level CDCs reported having a department taking care of NCD prevention and control. 8 263 staff members worked on NCDs prevention and control, accounting for 4.2% of all the CDCs' personnel. 40.2% CDCs had special funding used for NCDs prevention and control. 3)Capacity on training and guidance:among all the CDCs, 96.9% at provincial level, 50.3% at city level and 42.1% at county level had organized training on NCDs prevention and control. Only 48.3% of the CDCs at county level provided technical guidance for grass-roots health care institutions. 4) Capacities regarding cooperation and participation: 20.2% of the CDCs had experience in collaborating with mass media. 5) Surveillance capacity: 64.6% of the CDCs at county level implemented death registration, compare to less than 30.0% of CDCs at county level implemented surveillance programs on major NCDs and related risk factors. In the grass roots health care institutions, 18.6% implemented new stroke case reporting system but only 3.0% implemented program on myocardial infarction case reporting. 6) Intervention and management capacity: 36.1% and 32.2% of the CDCs conducted individualized intervention on hypertension and diabetes, while less than another 20% intervened into other NCDs and risk factors. More than 50% of the grass roots health care institutions carried follow-up survey on hypertension and diabetes. Rates

  14. Comparison of white spot syndrome virus infection resistance between Exopalaemon carinicauda and Litopenaeus vannamei under different salinity stresses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ge, Qianqian; Yu, Ge; Sun, Ming; Li, Jitao; Li, Jian

    2017-12-01

    Exopalaemon carinicauda is one of the important economic shrimp species in China, and can tolerate a wide range of salinities. However, its disease resistance remains to be unclear in comparison with other shrimp species under salinity stress. In this study, the resistance to white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) of E. carinicauda and Litopenaeus vannamei was determined by comparing their hemocyanin (Hc) and phenoloxidase (PO) activities under different salinity stresses. In E. carinicauda, the PO activity and Hc gene transcript abundance showed a coherent pattern of increase and decrease while Hc content showed a slightly decrease with Vibrio anguillarum and WSSV infections. For both E. carinicauda and L. vannamei under salinity stress, the PO activity showed a positive correlation with the salinity while the Hc content and expression level of its gene increased significantly in salinities of 5, 15 and 25 g L-1. The survival rate of E. carinicauda with WSSV infection was higher than that of L. vannamei in the first 24 h under different salinity stresses. Drastic mortality of E.carinicauda and L. vannamei appeared at 48 h and 3 h post-injection, respectively. Furthermore, compared with L. vannamei, E. carinicauda displayed higher PO activity, Hc content and abundance of Hc gene mRNA. The results collectively indicated that Hc and PO have obviously functional connection in resisting pathogens and tolerating salinity stress, and PO activity and Hc gene mRNA abundance may reflect the resistance of shrimp to disease. E. carinicauda has higher level of immune potential than L. vannamei, suggesting its greater capacity in resisting pathogens under salinity stresses.

  15. Freshwater prokaryote and virus communities can adapt to a controlled increase in salinity through changes in their structure and interactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marine, Combe; Thierry, Bouvier; Olivier, Pringault; Emma, Rochelle-Newall; Corinne, Bouvier; Martin, Agis; The Thu, Pham; Jean-Pascal, Torreton; Van Thuoc, Chu; Bettarel, Yvan

    2013-11-01

    Little information exists on the ecological adaptive responses of riverine microorganisms to the salinity changes that typically occur in transitional waters. This study examined the precise effects of a gradual increase in salinity (+3 units per day for 12 days) on freshwater virus and prokaryote communities collected in the Red River Delta (northern Vietnam). The abundance, activity, morphology and diversity of both communities were examined along this simulated salinity gradient (0-36). Three main successive ecological stages were observed: (1) a continuous decline in prokaryotic and viral abundance from the start of the salinization process up to salinity 12-15 together with a strong decrease in the proportion of active cells, (2) a shift in both community compositions (salinity 9-15) and (3) a marked prevalence of lysogenic over lytic cycles up to salinity 21 followed by a collapse of both types of viral infection. Finally, after salinity 21, and up to seawater salinities (i.e. 36) the prokaryotic community showed multiple signs of recovery with their abundance and function even reaching initial levels. These results suggest that most of the physiological and phylogenetic changes that occurred within the salinity range 10-20 seemed to favor the installation of osmotically adapted prokaryotes accompanied by a specific cortege of viral parasites which might both be able to survive and even proliferate in saltwater conditions.

  16. Influence of temperature, oxygen and salinity on the metabolism of the European sea bass

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Claireaux, G.; Lagardère, J.-P.

    1999-09-01

    Standard (SMR) and routine (RMR) metabolic rates of groups (4 to 5 individuals) of European sea bass ( Dicentrarchus labrax) were measured at combinations of the following factors: temperature (10, 15, 20 and 25°C), oxygenation level (air saturation to 1.5 mg dm -3) and salinity (30, 20, 10 and 5‰). The influence of these environmental conditions on fish metabolic demand was then analysed through ANOVA. At 10, 15, 20 and 25°C, standard metabolic rates were 36, 65, 89, and 91 mg O 2 kg -1 h -1, respectively, while routine oxygen consumptions covered most of the metabolic range accessible. Osmoregulatory costs are linked to metabolic activity through ventilation. This relationship was highlighted by the observed interaction between environmental salinity and temperature. We were, however, unable to detect interactions between salinity and routine metabolic rate, or between salinity and oxygenation level. In order to delineate more precisely the restrictions imposed by water oxygenation on fish metabolic performance we determined the limiting oxygen concentration curves at each experimental temperature. We followed up by modelling the bass active metabolic rate (AMR) and metabolic scope (MS) as functions of both ambient temperature and oxygenation. These mathematical models allowed the characterisation of the controlling and limiting effects of water temperature and oxygen content on the metabolic capacity of the species. Thus, AMR at 10, 15 and 20°C were estimated at 65, 160 and 360 mg O 2 kg -1 h -1, respectively. However, at higher temperature (25°C) AMR dropped slightly (to 340 mg O 2 kg -1 h -1). Bass MS increased by a factor of 9 between 10 and 20°C, but diminished at higher temperatures. The present study contributes to our current understanding of the influences of environmental factors on the metabolism of sea bass and provides a bioenergetic basis for a study of how environmental constraints govern the spatial and temporal distribution pattern of this

  17. Effects of saline drinking water on early gosling development

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stolley, D.S.; Bissonette, J.A.; Kadlec, J.A.; Coster, D.

    1999-01-01

    Relatively high levels of saline drinking water may adversely affect the growth, development, and survival of young waterfowl. Saline drinking water was suspect in the low survival rate of Canada goose (Branta canadensis) goslings at Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge (FSNWR) in western Utah. Hence, we investigated the effects of saline drinking water on the survival and growth of captive, wild-strain goslings from day 1-28 following hatch. We compared survival and growth (as measured by body mass, wing length, and culmen length) between a control group on tap water with a mean specific conductivity of 650 ??S/cm, and 2 saline water treatments: (1) intermediate level (12,000 ??S/cm), and (2) high level (18,000 ??S/cm). Gosling mortality occurred only in the 18,000 ??S/cm treatment group (33%; n = 9). Slopes of regressions of mean body mass, wing length, and culmen length on age were different from each other (P < 0.05), except for culmen length for the intermediate and high treatment levels. We predict that free-ranging wild goslings will experience mortality at even lower salinity levels than captive goslings because of the combined effects of depressed growth and environmental stresses, including hot desert temperatures and variable food quality over summer.

  18. Investigation of Lake Water Salinity by Using Four-Band Salinity Algorithm on WorldView-2 Satellite Image for a Saline Industrial Lake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Budakoǧlu, Murat; Karaman, Muhittin; Damla Uça Avcı, Z.; Kumral, Mustafa; Geredeli (Yılmaz), Serpil

    2014-05-01

    Salinity of a lake is an important characteristic since, these are potentially industrial lakes and the degree of salinity can significantly be used for determination of mineral resources and for the production management. In the literature, there are many studies of using satellite data for salinity related lake studies such as determination of salinity distribution and detection of potential freshwater sources in less salt concentrated regions. As the study area Lake Acigol, located in Denizli (Turkey) was selected. With it's saline environment, it's the major sodium sulphate production resource of Turkey. In this study, remote sensing data and data from a field study was used and correlated. Remote sensing is an efficient tool to monitor and analyze lake properties by using it complementary to field data. Worldview-2 satellite data was used in this study which consists of 8 bands. At the same time with the satellite data acquisition, a field study was conducted to collect the salinity values in 17 points of the laker with using YSI 556 Multiparametre for measurements. The values were measured as salinity amount in grams per kilogram solution and obtained as ppt unit. It was observed that the values vary from 34 ppt - 40.1 ppt and the average is 38.056 ppt. In Thalassic serie, the lake was in mixoeuhaline state in the time of issue. As a first step, ATCOR correction was performed on satellite image for atmospheric correction. There were some clouds on the lake field, hence it was decided to continue the study by using the 12 sampling points which were clear on the image. Then, for each sampling point, a spectral value was obtained by calculating the average at a 11*11 neighborhood. The relation between the spectral reflectance values and the salinity was investigated. The 4-band algorithm, which was used for determination of chlorophyll-a distribution in highly turbid coastal environment by Wei (2012) was applied. Salinity α (Λi-1 / Λj-1) * (Λk-1 / Λm-1) (i

  19. Geologic effects on groundwater salinity and discharge into an estuary

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Russonielloa, Christopher J.; Fernandeza, Cristina; Bratton, John F.; Banaszakc, Joel F.; Krantzc, David E.; Andresd, Scott; Konikow, Leonard F.; Michaela, Holly A.

    2013-01-01

    Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) can be an important pathway for transport of nutrients and contaminants to estuaries. A better understanding of the geologic and hydrologic controls on these fluxes is critical for their estimation and management. We examined geologic features, porewater salinity, and SGD rates and patterns at an estuarine study site. Seismic data showed the existence of paleovalleys infilled with estuarine mud and peat that extend hundreds of meters offshore. A low-salinity groundwater plume beneath this low-permeability fill was mapped with continuous resistivity profiling. Extensive direct SGD measurements with seepage meters (n = 551) showed fresh groundwater discharge patterns that correlated well with shallow porewater salinity and the hydrogeophysical framework. Small-scale variability in fresh and saline discharge indicates influence of meter-scale geologic heterogeneity, while site-scale discharge patterns are evidence of the influence of the paleovalley feature. Beneath the paleovalley fill, fresh groundwater flows offshore and mixes with saltwater before discharging along paleovalley flanks. On the adjacent drowned interfluve where low-permeability fill is absent, fresh groundwater discharge is focused at the shoreline. Shallow saltwater exchange was greatest across sandy sediments and where fresh SGD was low. The geologic control of groundwater flowpaths and discharge salinity demonstrated in this work are likely to affect geochemical reactions and the chemical loads delivered by SGD to coastal surface waters. Because similar processes are likely to exist in other estuaries where drowned paleovalleys commonly cross modern shorelines, the existence and implications of complex hydrogeology are important considerations for studies of groundwater fluxes and related management decisions.

  20. The Plasma-Lyte 148 v Saline (PLUS) study protocol: a multicentre, randomised controlled trial of the effect of intensive care fluid therapy on mortality.

    PubMed

    Hammond, Naomi E; Bellomo, Rinaldo; Gallagher, Martin; Gattas, David; Glass, Parisa; Mackle, Diane; Micallef, Sharon; Myburgh, John; Saxena, Manoj; Taylor, Colman; Young, Paul; Finfer, Simon

    2017-09-01

    0.9% sodium chloride (saline) is the most commonly administered resuscitation fluid on a global basis but emerging evidence suggests that its high chloride content may have important adverse effects. To describe the study protocol for the Plasma- Lyte 148 v Saline study, which will test the hypothesis that in critically ill adult patients the use of Plasma-Lyte 148 (a buffered crystalloid solution) for fluid therapy results in different 90-day all-cause mortality when compared with saline. We will conduct this multicentre, blinded, randomised controlled trial in approximately 50 intensive care units in Australia and New Zealand. We will randomly assign 8800 patients to either Plasma-Lyte 148 or saline for all resuscitation fluid, maintenance fluid and compatible drug dilution therapy while in the ICU for up to 90 days after randomisation. The primary outcome is 90-day all-cause mortality; secondary outcomes include mean and peak creatinine concentration, incidence of renal replacement therapy, incidence and duration of vasoactive drug treatment, duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU and hospital length of stay, and quality of life and health services use at 6 months. The PLUS study will provide high-quality data on the comparative safety and efficacy of Plasma-Lyte 148 compared with saline for resuscitation and compatible crystalloid fluid therapy in critically ill adult patients.

  1. Salinity of the Delaware Estuary

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cohen, Bernard; McCarthy, Leo T.

    1962-01-01

    The purpose of this investigation was to obtain data on and study the factors affecting the salinity of the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pa., to the Appoquinimink River, Del. The general chemical quality of water in the estuary is described, including changes in salinity in the river cross section and profile, diurnal and seasonal changes, and the effects of rainfall, sea level, and winds on salinity. Relationships are established of the concentrations of chloride and dissolved solids to specific conductance. In addition to chloride profiles and isochlor plots, time series are plotted for salinity or some quantity representing salinity, fresh-water discharge, mean river level, and mean sea level. The two major variables which appear to have the greatest effect on the salinity of the estuary are the fresh-water flow of the river and sea level. The most favorable combination of these variables for salt-water encroachment occurs from August to early October and the least favorable combination occurs between December and May.

  2. Responses of prophenoloxidase system and related defence parameters of Litopenaeus vannamei to low salinity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pan, Luqing; Xie, Peng; Hu, Fawen

    2010-09-01

    In this study, we investigated the effects of low salinity (26 and 21) on the prophenoloxidase (proPO) system and related defence parameters in the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. The results showed that low salinity induced a significant increase of dopamine (DA) concentration in haemolymph at 6 h of the experiment; on the other hand, total haemocyte count (THC), differential haemocyte count (DHC) and PO activity decreased over time to the lowest level at 24 h and remained low thereafter. Serine Protease (SP) and Proteinase Inhibitor (PI) activity in the two lower salinity treatments decreased to the lowest level at 12 and 24 h, respectively, and both recovered to the control level at 72 h. In contrast, α2- macroglobulin (α2M) activity in the two lower salinity treatments peaked at 24 h and then decreased to the control level at 72 h. Therefore, it may be concluded that stress-induced DA plays an important temporary role in neurotransmission and causes immune response in L. vannamei in adapting to salinity changes.

  3. Measuring Salinity by Conductivity.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lapworth, C. J.

    1981-01-01

    Outlines procedures for constructing an instrument which uses an electrode and calibration methods to measure the salinity of waters in environments close to and affected by a saline estuary. (Author/DC)

  4. Effect of salinity stress on phenotypic plasticity, yield stability, and signature of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in safflower.

    PubMed

    Hussain, Muhammad Iftikhar; Al-Dakheel, Abdullah J

    2018-06-05

    Salinity is one of the major factors contributing in land degradation, disturbance of soil biology, a structure that leads to unproductive land with low crop yield potential especially in arid and semiarid regions of the world. Appropriate crops with sufficient stress tolerance capacity and non-conventional water resources should have to be managed in a sustainable way to bring these marginal lands under cultivation for future food security. The goal of the present study was to evaluate salinity tolerant potential (0, 7, and 14 dS m -1 ) of six safflower genotypes that can be adapted to the hyper arid climate of UAE and its marginal soil. Several agro-morphological and physiological traits such as plant dry biomass (PDM), number of branches (BN), number of capitula (CN), seed yield (SY), stable isotope composition of nitrogen (δ 15 N) and carbon (δ 13 C), intercellular CO 2 concentration from inside to ambient air (Ci/Ca), intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE), carbon (C%) and nitrogen (N %), and harvest index (HI) were evaluated as indicative of the functional performance of safflower genotypes under salt stress. Results indicated that salinity significantly affected the seed yield at all levels and varied significantly among genotypes. The BN, PDM, CN, and δ 13 C attributes showed clear differentiation between tolerant and susceptible genotypes. The δ 13 C results indicate that the tolerant genotypes suffer less from stress, may be due to better rooting. Tolerant genotypes showed lower iWUE values but possess higher yield. Safflower genotypes (PI248836 and PI167390) proved to be salt tolerant, stable, and higher seed and biomass yielder. There was no G × E interaction but the genotypes that produce higher yield under control were still best even under salt stress conditions. Although salinity reduced crop yield, some tolerant genotypes demonstrate adaptation and good yield potential under saline marginal environment.

  5. APPARATUS FOR EXPOSING ESTUARINE AQUATIC ORGANISMS TO TOXICANTS IN CONSTANT AND FLUCTUATING SALINITY REGIMES

    EPA Science Inventory

    A programmable control system for salinity has been developed and coupled with a flow-through toxicant exposure system. The resulting apparatus allow study of influences of constant and fluctuating salinity regimes on responses of One organisms exposed to selected pollutants. Con...

  6. Experimentally derived salinity tolerance of hatchling Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) from the Everglades, Florida (USA)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hart, Kristen M.; Schofield, Pamela J.; Gregoire, Denise R.

    2012-01-01

    In a laboratory setting, we tested the ability of 24 non-native, wild-caught hatchling Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) collected in the Florida Everglades to survive when given water containing salt to drink. After a one-month acclimation period in the laboratory, we grouped snakes into three treatments, giving them access to water that was fresh (salinity of 0, control), brackish (salinity of 10), or full-strength sea water (salinity of 35). Hatchlings survived about one month at the highest marine salinity and about five months at the brackish-water salinity; no control animals perished during the experiment. These results are indicative of a "worst-case scenario", as in the laboratory we denied access to alternate fresh-water sources that may be accessible in the wild (e.g., through rainfall). Therefore, our results may underestimate the potential of hatchling pythons to persist in saline habitats in the wild. Because of the effect of different salinity regimes on survival, predictions of ultimate geographic expansion by non-native Burmese pythons that consider salt water as barriers to dispersal for pythons may warrant re-evaluation, especially under global climate change and associated sea-level-rise scenarios.

  7. Experimentally derived salinity tolerance of hatchling Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) from the Everglades, Florida (USA)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hart, K.M.; Schofield, P.J.; Gregoire, D.R.

    2012-01-01

    In a laboratory setting, we tested the ability of 24 non-native, wild-caught hatchling Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) collected in the Florida Everglades to survive when given water containing salt to drink. After a one-month acclimation period in the laboratory, we grouped snakes into three treatments, giving them access to water that was fresh (salinity of 0, control), brackish (salinity of 10), or full-strength sea water (salinity of 35). Hatchlings survived about one month at the highest marine salinity and about five months at the brackish-water salinity; no control animals perished during the experiment. These results are indicative of a "worst-case scenario", as in the laboratory we denied access to alternate fresh-water sources that may be accessible in the wild (e.g., through rainfall). Therefore, our results may underestimate the potential of hatchling pythons to persist in saline habitats in the wild. Because of the effect of different salinity regimes on survival, predictions of ultimate geographic expansion by non-native Burmese pythons that consider salt water as barriers to dispersal for pythons may warrant re-evaluation, especially under global climate change and associated sea-level-rise scenarios. ?? 2011.

  8. Configuration of freshwater/saline-water interface and geologic controls on distribution of freshwater in a regional aquifer system, central lower peninsula of Michigan

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Westjohn, David B.; Weaver, T.L.

    1996-01-01

    Electrical-resistivity logs and water-quality data were used to delineate the fresh water/saline-water interface in a 22,000-square-mile area of the central Michigan Basin, where Mississippian and younger geologic units form a regional system of aquifers and confining units.Pleistocene glacial deposits in the central Lower Peninsula of Michigan contain freshwater, except in a 1,600-square-mile area within the Saginaw Lowlands, where these deposits typically contain saline water. Pennsylvanian and Mississippian sandstones are freshwater bearing where they subcrop below permeable Pleistocene glacial deposits. Down regional dip from subcrop areas, salinity of ground water progressively increases in Early Pennsylvanian and Mississippian sandstones, and these units contain brine in the central part of the basin. Freshwater is present in Late Pennsylvanian sandstones in the northern and southern parts of the aquifer system. Typically, saline water is present in Pennsylvanian sandstones in the eastern and western parts of the aquifer system.Relief on the freshwater/saline-water interface is about 500 feet. Altitudes of the interface are low (300 to 400 feet above sea level) along a north-south-trending corridor through the approximate center of the area mapped. In isolated areas in the northern and western parts of the aquifer system, the altitude of the base of freshwater is less than 400 feet, but altitude is typically more than 400 feet. In the southern and northern parts of the aquifer system where Pennsylvanian rocks are thin or absent, altitudes of the base of freshwater range from 700 to 800 feet and from 500 to 700 feet above sea level, respectively.Geologic controls on distribution of freshwater in the regional aquifer system are (1) direct hydraulic connection of sandstone aquifers and freshwater-bearing, permeable glacial deposits, (2) impedance of upward discharge of saline water from sandstones by lodgement tills, (3) impedance of recharge of freshwater to

  9. An Insight into microRNA156 Role in Salinity Stress Responses of Alfalfa.

    PubMed

    Arshad, Muhammad; Gruber, Margaret Y; Wall, Ken; Hannoufa, Abdelali

    2017-01-01

    Salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting alfalfa productivity. Developing salinity tolerant alfalfa genotypes could contribute to sustainable crop production. The functions of microRNA156 (miR156) have been investigated in several plant species, but so far, no studies have been published that explore the role of miR156 in alfalfa response to salinity stress. In this work, we studied the role of miR156 in modulating commercially important traits of alfalfa under salinity stress. Our results revealed that overexpression of miR156 increased biomass, number of branches and time to complete growth stages, while it reduced plant height under control and salinity stress conditions. We observed a miR156-related reduction in neutral detergent fiber under non-stress, and acid detergent fiber under mild salinity stress conditions. In addition, enhanced total Kjeldahl nitrogen content was recorded in miR156 overexpressing genotypes under severe salinity stress. Furthermore, alfalfa genotypes overexpressing miR156 exhibited an altered ion homeostasis under salinity conditions. Under severe salinity stress, miR156 downregulated SPL transcription factor family genes, modified expression of other important transcription factors, and downstream salt stress responsive genes. Taken together, our results reveal that miR156 plays a role in mediating physiological and transcriptional responses of alfalfa to salinity stress.

  10. Leaf gas films delay salt entry and enhance underwater photosynthesis and internal aeration of Melilotus siculus submerged in saline water.

    PubMed

    Teakle, Natasha Lea; Colmer, Timothy David; Pedersen, Ole

    2014-10-01

    A combination of flooding and salinity is detrimental to most plants. We studied tolerance of complete submergence in saline water for Melilotus siculus, an annual legume with superhydrophobic leaf surfaces that retain gas films when under water. M. siculus survived complete submergence of 1 week at low salinity (up to 50 mol m(-3) NaCl), but did not recover following de-submergence from 100 mol m(-3) NaCl. The leaf gas films protected against direct salt ingress into the leaves when submerged in saline water, enabling underwater photosynthesis even after 3 d of complete submergence. By contrast, leaves with the gas films experimentally removed suffered from substantial Na(+) and Cl(-) intrusion and lost the capacity for underwater photosynthesis. Similarly, plants in saline water and without gas films lost more K(+) than those with intact gas films. This study has demonstrated that leaf gas films reduce Na(+) and Cl(-) ingress into leaves when submerged by saline water - the thin gas layer physically separates the floodwater from the leaf surface. This feature aids survival of plants exposed to short-term saline submergence, as well as the previously recognized beneficial effects of gas exchange under water. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Promoting public health through state cancer control plans: a review of capacity and sustainability.

    PubMed

    Ory, Marcia G; Sanner, Brigid; Vollmer Dahlke, Deborah; Melvin, Cathy L

    2015-01-01

    The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control's National Comprehensive Cancer Control (CCC) Program oversee CCC programs designed to develop and implement CCC plans via CCC coalitions, alliances, or consortia of program stakeholders. We reviewed 40 up-to-date plans for states and the District of Columbia in order to assess how capacity building and sustainability, two evidence-based practices necessary for organizational readiness, positive growth, and maintenance are addressed. We employed an electronic key word search, supplemented by full text reviews of each plan to complete a content analysis of the CCC plans. Capacity is explicitly addressed in just over half of the plans (53%), generally from a conceptual point of view, with few specifics as to how capacity will be developed or enhanced. Roles and responsibilities, timelines for action, and measurements for evaluation of capacity building are infrequently mentioned. Almost all (92%) of the 40 up-to-date plans address sustainability on at least a cursory level, through efforts aimed at funding or seeking funding, policy initiatives, and/or partnership development. However, few details as to how these strategies will be implemented are found in the plans. We present the Texas plan as a case study offering detailed insight into how one plan incorporated capacity building and sustainability into its development and implementation. Training, technical assistance, templates, and tools may help CCC coalition members address capacity and sustainability in future planning efforts and assure the inclusion of capacity building and sustainability approaches in CCC plans at the state, tribal, territorial, and jurisdiction levels.

  12. Constitutive expression of a salinity-induced wheat WRKY transcription factor enhances salinity and ionic stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Qin, Yuxiang, E-mail: yuxiangqin@126.com; Tian, Yanchen; Han, Lu

    Highlights: •A class II WRKY transcription factor, TaWRKY79 was isolated and characterized. •TaWRKY79 was induced by NaCl or abscisic acid. •843 bp regulatory segment was sufficient to respond to ABA or NaCl treatment. •TaWRKY79 enhanced salinity and ionic tolerance while reduced sensitivity to ABA. •TaWRKY79 increased salinity and ionic tolerance in an ABA-dependent pathway. -- Abstract: The isolation and characterization of TaWRKY79, a wheat class II WRKY transcription factor, is described. Its 1297 bp coding region includes a 987 bp long open reading frame. TaWRKY79 was induced by stressing seedlings with either NaCl or abscisic acid (ABA). When a fusionmore » between an 843 bp segment upstream of the TaWRKY79 coding sequence and GUS was introduced into Arabidopsis thaliana, GUS staining indicated that this upstream segment captured the sequence(s) required to respond to ABA or NaCl treatment. When TaWRKY79 was constitutively expressed as a transgene in A. thaliana, the transgenic plants showed an improved capacity to extend their primary root in the presence of either 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM LiCl or 2 μM ABA. The inference was that TaWRKY79 enhanced the level of tolerance to both salinity and ionic stress, while reducing the level of sensitivity to ABA. The ABA-related genes ABA1, ABA2 ABI1 and ABI5 were all up-regulated in the TaWRKY79 transgenic plants, suggesting that the transcription factor operates in an ABA-dependent pathway.« less

  13. Effects of Low Salinity on Adult Behavior and Larval Performance in the Intertidal Gastropod Crepipatella peruviana (Calyptraeidae)

    PubMed Central

    Montory, Jaime A.; Pechenik, Jan A.; Diederich, Casey M.; Chaparro, Oscar R.

    2014-01-01

    Shallow-water coastal areas suffer frequent reductions in salinity due to heavy rains, potentially stressing the organisms found there, particularly the early stages of development (including pelagic larvae). Individual adults and newly hatched larvae of the gastropod Crepipatella peruviana were exposed to different levels of salinity stress (32(control), 25, 20 or 15), to quantify the immediate effects of exposure to low salinities on adult and larval behavior and on the physiological performance of the larvae. For adults we recorded the threshold salinity that initiates brood chamber isolation. For larvae, we measured the impact of reduced salinity on velar surface area, velum activity, swimming velocity, clearance rate (CR), oxygen consumption (OCR), and mortality (LC50); we also documented the impact of salinity discontinuities on the vertical distribution of veliger larvae in the water column. The results indicate that adults will completely isolate themselves from the external environment by clamping firmly against the substrate at salinities ≤24. Moreover, the newly hatched larvae showed increased mortality at lower salinities, while survivors showed decreased velum activity, decreased exposed velum surface area, and decreased mean swimming velocity. The clearance rates and oxygen consumption rates of stressed larvae were significantly lower than those of control individuals. Finally, salinity discontinuities affected the vertical distribution of larvae in the water column. Although adults can protect their embryos from low salinity stress until hatching, salinities <24 clearly affect survival, physiology and behavior in early larval life, which will substantially affect the fitness of the species under declining ambient salinities. PMID:25077484

  14. Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus, L.) maintains high inulin, tuber yield, and antioxidant capacity under moderately-saline irrigation waters

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The scarcity of good quality water in semiarid regions of the world is the main limiting factor for increased irrigated agriculture in those regions. Saline water is generally widely available in arid regions at reduced costs, and can be a viable alternative for crop irrigation. However, the literat...

  15. Identification of saline soils with multi-year remote sensing of crop yields

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lobell, D; Ortiz-Monasterio, I; Gurrola, F C

    2006-10-17

    Soil salinity is an important constraint to agricultural sustainability, but accurate information on its variation across agricultural regions or its impact on regional crop productivity remains sparse. We evaluated the relationships between remotely sensed wheat yields and salinity in an irrigation district in the Colorado River Delta Region. The goals of this study were to (1) document the relative importance of salinity as a constraint to regional wheat production and (2) develop techniques to accurately identify saline fields. Estimates of wheat yield from six years of Landsat data agreed well with ground-based records on individual fields (R{sup 2} = 0.65).more » Salinity measurements on 122 randomly selected fields revealed that average 0-60 cm salinity levels > 4 dS m{sup -1} reduced wheat yields, but the relative scarcity of such fields resulted in less than 1% regional yield loss attributable to salinity. Moreover, low yield was not a reliable indicator of high salinity, because many other factors contributed to yield variability in individual years. However, temporal analysis of yield images showed a significant fraction of fields exhibited consistently low yields over the six year period. A subsequent survey of 60 additional fields, half of which were consistently low yielding, revealed that this targeted subset had significantly higher salinity at 30-60 cm depth than the control group (p = 0.02). These results suggest that high subsurface salinity is associated with consistently low yields in this region, and that multi-year yield maps derived from remote sensing therefore provide an opportunity to map salinity across agricultural regions.« less

  16. Effect of organic materials on the chemical properties of saline soil in the Yellow River Delta of China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Yan; Liu, Jie; Liu, Chunmeng; Zong, Shuang; Lu, Zhaohua

    2015-06-01

    A 180-day incubation experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different organic materials on the chemical properties of coastal soil with high salinity and relatively low pH. Four organic materials (three kinds of plant residues: straw, composted straw, and fresh reed; and one kind of poultry manure: chicken manure) were applied at a ratio of 15 g·kg-1 to samples of costal saline soil from the Yellow River Delta of China. The results showed that the soil pH and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) decreased, whereas soil cation exchangeable capacity (CEC) and macronutrient concentrations increased, regardless of the type of organic material used. All treatments showed a remarkable increase in soil soluble organic carbon (SOC) during the 180-day incubation. The peak values of SOC in descending order were chicken manure, reed, composted straw, straw, and control soil. At the end of incubation, the highest level of SOC occurred in the straw-amended soil, followed by composted straw, reed, and chicken manureamended soils. Soil respiration rate and available nitrogen were significantly influenced by the type of material used. Although reed-amended soil had a relatively high SOC and respiration rate, the ESP was reduced the least. Considering the possible risk of heavy metals caused by chicken manure, it is proposed that straw and composted straw are the more efficient materials to use for reclaiming costal saline soil and improving the availability of macronutrients.

  17. Saline irrigation for the management of skin extravasation injury in neonates.

    PubMed

    Gopalakrishnan, P N; Goel, Nitin; Banerjee, Sujoy

    2017-07-19

    Extravasation injury, a complication commonly seen in the neonatal intensive care unit, can result in scarring with cosmetic and functional sequelae. A wide variety of treatments are available, including subcutaneous irrigation with saline (with or without hyaluronidase), liposuction, use of specific antidotes, topical applications, and normal wound care with dry or wet dressings. All such treatments aim to prevent or reduce the severity of complications. Primary objective To compare the efficacy and safety of saline irrigation or saline irrigation with prior hyaluronidase infiltration versus no intervention or normal wound care for tissue healing in neonates with extravasation injury. Secondary objectives To evaluate by subgroup analysis of controlled trials the influence of type of extravasate, timing of irrigation following extravasation, and postmenstrual age (PMA) of the neonate at the time of injury on outcomes and adverse effects.Specifically, we planned to perform subgroup analysis for the primary outcome, if appropriate, by examining:1. time to irrigation from identified extravasation injury (< 1 hour or ≥ 1 hour);2. type of extravasate (parenteral nutrition fluid or other fluids or medications);3. amount of saline used (< 500 mL or ≥ 500 mL); and4. PMA at injury (< 37 completed weeks or ≥ 37 completed weeks). We used the standard search strategy of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group to search the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; 2017, Issue 1), MEDLINE via PubMed (1966 to 2 February 2017), Embase (1980 to 2 February 2017), and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL; 1982 to 2 February 2017). We also searched clinical trial databases, conference proceedings, and reference lists of retrieved articles for randomised controlled trials and quasi-randomised trials. We used the Google Scholar search tool for reverse citations of relevant articles. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi

  18. [Assessment of capacity for chronic noncommunicable diseases prevention and control of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Organizations in China].

    PubMed

    Yin, Xiang-jun; Shi, Xiao-ming; Si, Xiang; Gao, Xin; Zhai, Yi

    2010-10-01

    To evaluate the capacity for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) prevention and control in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) in China. All CDCs in China, including provincial, city and county CDCs were surveyed by questionnaires designed by China CDC including resource provided, capacity and efforts for NCDs. (1) RESOURCE: 7483 staff members worked on NCDs prevention and control, only accounting for 4.0% of all the CDCs' personnel; 23.6% of the staff members devoted their time to NCDs control less than 6 months in 2008. Fundings for NCDs prevention and control only accounted for 2.29%, 1.70% and 2.69% of the total funds of provincial, city and county CDCs, respectively. (2) Capacity: The proportions of CDCs that had professional institutes of NCD at provincial, city and county level were 100.0%, 62.8% and 43.7% respectively. CDCs mainly cooperated with health agencies regarding NCDs prevention and control programs. 34.7% of the staff members had educational background of college undergraduate or higher, 12.1% had senior professional titles, 61.7% of them worked for NCDs less than 5 years. The average person-times of continuing education in NCDs were 21.90, 4.60 and 1.68 at the provincial, city and county CDCs respectively. 8.7% of the CDCs sent their staff members for advanced studies on NCDs. All provincial CDCs carried out surveillance but only 4.2% of them published reports of NCDs in all the CDCs during the past three years. (3) Efforts: 43.5% and 30.8% of the county CDCs carried out surveillance and intervention of NCDs respectively in 2008. RESOURCEs for NCDs prevention and control were quite limited in CDCs. Fundings and staff members for NCDs were not enough, compared to the heavy disease burden of NCDs. Capacity for NCDs prevention and control need to be improved.

  19. Effects of imidacloprid on soil microbial communities in different saline soils.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Qingming; Xue, Changhui; Wang, Caixia

    2015-12-01

    The effects of imidacloprid in the soil environment are a worldwide concern. However, the impact of imidacloprid on soil microorganisms under salt stress is almost unknown. Therefore, an indoor incubation test was performed, and the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) approach was used to determine the response of different saline soil bacterial and fungal community structures to the presence of imidacloprid (0.4, 2, 10 mg kg(-1)). The results showed that the soil bacterial diversity slightly declined with increasing imidacloprid concentration in soils with low salinity. In moderately saline soils, a new band in the DGGE profile suggested that imidacloprid could improve the soil bacterial diversity to some degree. An analysis of variance indicated that the measured soil bacterial diversity parameters were significantly affected by dose and incubation time. Compared with the control, the soil fungal community structure showed no obvious changes in low and moderately saline soils treated with imidacloprid. The results of these observations provide a basic understanding of the potential ecological effects of imidacloprid on different microorganisms in saline soils.

  20. Effects of salinity and ascorbic acid on growth, water status and antioxidant system in a perennial halophyte

    PubMed Central

    Hameed, Abdul; Gulzar, Salman; Aziz, Irfan; Hussain, Tabassum; Gul, Bilquees; Khan, M. Ajmal

    2015-01-01

    Salinity causes oxidative stress in plants by enhancing production of reactive oxygen species, so that an efficient antioxidant system, of which ascorbic acid (AsA) is a key component, is an essential requirement of tolerance. However, antioxidant responses of plants to salinity vary considerably among species. Limonium stocksii is a sub-tropical halophyte found in the coastal marshes from Gujarat (India) to Karachi (Pakistan) but little information exists on its salt resistance. In order to investigate the role of AsA in tolerance, 2-month-old plants were treated with 0 (control), 300 (moderate) and 600 (high) mM NaCl for 30 days with or without exogenous application of AsA (20 mM) or distilled water. Shoot growth of unsprayed plants at moderate salinity was similar to that of controls while at high salinity growth was inhibited substantially. Sap osmolality, AsA concentrations and activities of AsA-dependant antioxidant enzymes increased with increasing salinity. Water spray resulted in some improvement in growth, indicating that the growth promotion by exogenous treatments could partly be attributed to water. However, exogenous application of AsA on plants grown under saline conditions improved growth and AsA dependent antioxidant enzymes more than the water control treatment. Our data show that AsA-dependent antioxidant enzymes play an important role in salinity tolerance of L. stocksii. PMID:25603966

  1. Changes in biomechanical properties of glenohumeral joint capsules with adhesive capsulitis by repeated capsule-preserving hydraulic distensions with saline solution and corticosteroid.

    PubMed

    Koh, Eun S; Chung, Sun G; Kim, Tae Uk; Kim, Hee Chan

    2012-12-01

    To investigate whether capsule-preserving hydraulic distension with saline solution and corticosteroid for adhesive capsulitis induces biomechanical alterations in glenohumeral joint capsules along with clinical improvements. A case series. University outpatient clinic of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Eighteen patients with unilateral adhesive capsulitis. INTERVENTION AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Three hydraulic distensions with saline solution and corticosteroid were performed with 1-month intervals. To avoid rupturing capsules, all distensions were monitored by using real-time pressure-volume curves. Stiffness, maximal volume capacity, and pressure at the maximal volume capacity of the capsule were measured at each intervention. Clinical parameters, such as pain and range of motion, were recorded before, 3 days after, and 1 month after each distension. Stiffness decreased (47.6 ± 27.1 mm Hg/mL to 31.7 ± 18.4 mm Hg/mL to 24.2 ± 14.0 mm Hg/mL, mean SD) and maximal volume capacity increased (18.8 ± 7.3 mL to 20.5 ± 7.5 mL to 24.2 ± 7.0 mL, mean SD) significantly (P = .001 for both) at each repeated hydraulic distension. Pressure at the maximal volume capacity tended to decrease, but the decrements were not statistically significant (P = .662). The clinical parameters were significantly improved throughout and 1 month after the 3 repeat procedures (P < .05 for all). Capsule-preserving hydraulic distension changed the biomechanical properties of the glenohumeral joint capsule, lessening the stiffness and enlarging the volume capacity. These alterations were accompanied by improved range of motion and relief of pain. Repeated capsule-preserving hydraulic distension with saline solution and corticosteroid would be useful to treat adhesive capsulitis and to evaluate the treatment results. Copyright © 2012 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Proteomics, metabolomics, and ionomics perspectives of salinity tolerance in halophytes

    PubMed Central

    Kumari, Asha; Das, Paromita; Parida, Asish Kumar; Agarwal, Pradeep K.

    2015-01-01

    Halophytes are plants which naturally survive in saline environment. They account for ∼1% of the total flora of the world. They include both dicots and monocots and are distributed mainly in arid, semi-arid inlands and saline wet lands along the tropical and sub-tropical coasts. Salinity tolerance in halophytes depends on a set of ecological and physiological characteristics that allow them to grow and flourish in high saline conditions. The ability of halophytes to tolerate high salt is determined by the effective coordination between various physiological processes, metabolic pathways and protein or gene networks responsible for delivering salinity tolerance. The salinity responsive proteins belong to diverse functional classes such as photosynthesis, redox homeostasis; stress/defense, carbohydrate and energy metabolism, protein metabolism, signal transduction and membrane transport. The important metabolites which are involved in salt tolerance of halophytes are proline and proline analog (4-hydroxy-N-methyl proline), glycine betaine, pinitol, myo-inositol, mannitol, sorbitol, O-methylmucoinositol, and polyamines. In halophytes, the synthesis of specific proteins and osmotically active metabolites control ion and water flux and support scavenging of oxygen radicals under salt stress condition. The present review summarizes the salt tolerance mechanisms of halophytes by elucidating the recent studies that have focused on proteomic, metabolomic, and ionomic aspects of various halophytes in response to salinity. By integrating the information from halophytes and its comparison with glycophytes could give an overview of salt tolerance mechanisms in halophytes, thus laying down the pavement for development of salt tolerant crop plants through genetic modification and effective breeding strategies. PMID:26284080

  3. Chronic exposure to soil salinity in terrestrial species: Does plasticity and underlying physiology differ among specialized ground-dwelling spiders?

    PubMed

    Renault, D; Puzin, C; Foucreau, N; Bouchereau, A; Pétillon, J

    2016-07-01

    In salt marshes, the alternation of low and high tides entails rapid shifts of submersion and aerial exposure for terrestrial communities. In these intertidal environments, terrestrial species have to deal with an osmotic loss in body water content and an increase in sodium chloride concentration when salt load increases. In salt marshes, spiders represent an abundant arthropod group, whose physiological ecology in response to variations of soil salinity must be further investigated. In this study, we compared the effect of salinity on the survival and physiology of three species of Lycosidae; two salt marsh species (Arctosa fulvolineata and Pardosa purbeckensis) and one forest species (P. saltans). Spiders were individually exposed at three salinity conditions (0‰, 35‰ and 70‰) and survival, changes in body water content, hemolymph ions (Na(+), Ca(2+), Mg(2+), K(+); ICP-MS technique) and metabolites (mainly amino acids, polyols, sugars; LC and GC techniques) were assessed. The survival of the forest species P. saltans was very quickly hampered at moderate and high salinities. In this spider, variations of hemolymph ions and metabolites revealed a quick loss of physiological homeostasis and a rapid salt-induced dehydration of the specimens. Conversely, high survival durations were measured in the two salt-marsh spiders, and more particularly in A. fulvolineata. In both P. purbeckensis and A. fulvolineata, the proportion of Na(+), Ca(2+), Mg(2+), K(+) remained constant at the three experimental conditions. Accumulation of hemolymph Na(+) and amino acids (mainly glutamine and proline) demonstrated stronger osmoregulatory capacities in these salt-marsh resident spiders. To conclude, even if phylogenetically close (belonging to the same, monophyletic, family), we found different physiological capacities to cope with salt load among the three tested spider species. Nevertheless, physiological responses to salinity were highly consistent with the realized

  4. Physical and economic potential of geological CO2 storage in saline aquifers.

    PubMed

    Eccles, Jordan K; Pratson, Lincoln; Newell, Richard G; Jackson, Robert B

    2009-03-15

    Carbon sequestration in sandstone saline reservoirs holds great potential for mitigating climate change, but its storage potential and cost per ton of avoided CO2 emissions are uncertain. We develop a general model to determine the maximum theoretical constraints on both storage potential and injection rate and use it to characterize the economic viability of geosequestration in sandstone saline aquifers. When applied to a representative set of aquifer characteristics, the model yields results that compare favorably with pilot projects currently underway. Over a range of reservoir properties, maximum effective storage peaks at an optimal depth of 1600 m, at which point 0.18-0.31 metric tons can be stored per cubic meter of bulk volume of reservoir. Maximum modeled injection rates predict minima for storage costs in a typical basin in the range of $2-7/ ton CO2 (2005 U.S.$) depending on depth and basin characteristics in our base-case scenario. Because the properties of natural reservoirs in the United States vary substantially, storage costs could in some cases be lower or higher by orders of magnitude. We conclude that available geosequestration capacity exhibits a wide range of technological and economic attractiveness. Like traditional projects in the extractive industries, geosequestration capacity should be exploited starting with the low-cost storage options first then moving gradually up the supply curve.

  5. Cognitive control in context: working memory capacity and proactive control.

    PubMed

    Redick, Thomas S

    2014-01-01

    Working memory is important for maintaining critical information in an active state to guide future behavior. The executive-attention theory of working memory capacity (WMC; Engle & Kane, 2004) argues that goal maintenance is important for response selection when stimuli are associated with competing responses. Braver, Burgess, and Gray (2007) have labeled this type of preparatory activity proactive control. Previous WMC studies have not allowed individuals to use goal information to prepare a specific response in advance of the stimulus. The current experiment used different versions of a cue-probe task to examine the relationship between individual differences in WMC and proactive control. Across three versions of the AX version of the Continuous Performance Test, the proportion of targets was manipulated to affect both the predictive validity of the A cue and the prepotency of the target response to X probes. The results indicated that the high-WMC individuals used the cue information to prepare responses in advance only when a specific probe was likely to occur. In contrast, the performance of the low-WMC individuals was less dependent upon the cue and more contingent upon overall response frequencies. The results indicate that individual differences in WMC are related to proactive control and anticipation, and important for translating cognition into action. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Saline Sinus Rinse Recipe

    MedlinePlus

    ... Menu Search Main navigation Skip to content Conditions & Treatments Allergies Asthma Primary Immunodeficiency Disease Related Conditions Drug Guide ... Expert Search Search AAAAI Breadcrumb navigation Home ▸ Conditions & Treatments ▸ Library ▸ Allergy Library ▸ Saline Sinus Rinse Recipe Share | Saline Sinus ...

  7. Durum wheat seedlings in saline conditions: Salt spray versus root-zone salinity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spanò, Carmelina; Bottega, Stefania

    2016-02-01

    Salinity is an increasingly serious problem with a strong negative impact on plant productivity. Though many studies have been made on salt stress induced by high NaCl concentrations in the root-zone, few data concern the response of plants to saline aerosol, one of the main constraints in coastal areas. In order to study more in depth wheat salinity tolerance and to evaluate damage and antioxidant response induced by various modes of salt application, seedlings of Triticum turgidum ssp. durum, cv. Cappelli were treated for 2 and 7 days with salt in the root-zone (0, 50 and 200 mM NaCl) or with salt spray (400 mM NaCl + 0 or 200 mM NaCl in the root-zone). Seedlings accumulated Na+ in their leaves and therefore part of their ability to tolerate high salinity seems to be due to Na+ leaf tissue tolerance. Durum wheat, confirmed as a partially tolerant plant, shows a higher damage under airborne salinity, when both an increase in TBA-reactive material (indicative of lipid peroxidation) and a decrease in root growth were recorded. A different antioxidant response was activated, depending on the type of salt supply. Salt treatment induced a depletion of the reducing power of both ascorbate and glutathione while the highest contents of proline were detected under salt spray conditions. In the short term catalase and ascorbate peroxidase co-operated with glutathione peroxidase in the scavenging of hydrogen peroxide, in particular in salt spray-treated plants. From our data, the durum wheat cultivar Cappelli seems to be sensitive to airborne salinity.

  8. Impact of salinity on element incorporation in two benthic foraminiferal species with contrasting magnesium contents

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Geerken, Esmee; de Nooijer, Lennart Jan; van Dijk, Inge; Reichart, Gert-Jan

    2018-04-01

    Accurate reconstructions of seawater salinity could provide valuable constraints for studying past ocean circulation, the hydrological cycle and sea level change. Controlled growth experiments and field studies have shown the potential of foraminiferal Na / Ca as a direct salinity proxy. Incorporation of minor and trace elements in foraminiferal shell carbonate varies, however, greatly between species and hence extrapolating calibrations to other species needs validation by additional (culturing) studies. Salinity is also known to impact other foraminiferal carbonate-based proxies, such as Mg / Ca for temperature and Sr / Ca for sea water carbonate chemistry. Better constraints on the role of salinity on these proxies will therefore improve their reliability. Using a controlled growth experiment spanning a salinity range of 20 units and analysis of element composition on single chambers using laser ablation-Q-ICP-MS, we show here that Na / Ca correlates positively with salinity in two benthic foraminiferal species (Ammonia tepida and Amphistegina lessonii). The Na / Ca values differ between the two species, with an approximately 2-fold higher Na / Ca in A. lessonii than in A. tepida, coinciding with an offset in their Mg content ( ˜ 35 mmol mol-2 versus ˜ 2.5 mmol mol-1 for A. lessonii and A. tepida, respectively). Despite the offset in average Na / Ca values, the slopes of the Na / Ca-salinity regressions are similar between these two species (0.077 versus 0.064 mmol mol-1 change per salinity unit). In addition, Mg / Ca and Sr / Ca are positively correlated with salinity in cultured A. tepida but show no correlation with salinity for A. lessonii. Electron microprobe mapping of incorporated Na and Mg of the cultured specimens shows that within chamber walls of A. lessonii, Na / Ca and Mg / Ca occur in elevated bands in close proximity to the primary organic lining. Between species, Mg banding is relatively similar, even though Mg content is 10 times lower and

  9. Effect of Salinity on Biomass Yield and Physiological and Stem-Root Anatomical Characteristics of Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) Accessions

    PubMed Central

    Juraimi, Abdul Shukor; Rafii, M. Y.; Abdul Hamid, Azizah

    2015-01-01

    13 selected purslane accessions were subjected to five salinity levels 0, 8, 16, 24, and 32 dS m−1. Salinity effect was evaluated on the basis of biomass yield reduction, physiological attributes, and stem-root anatomical changes. Aggravated salinity stress caused significant (P < 0.05) reduction in all measured parameters and the highest salinity showed more detrimental effect compared to control as well as lower salinity levels. The fresh and dry matter production was found to increase in Ac1, Ac9, and Ac13 from lower to higher salinity levels but others were badly affected. Considering salinity effect on purslane physiology, increase in chlorophyll content was seen in Ac2, Ac4, Ac6, and Ac8 at 16 dS m−1 salinity, whereas Ac4, Ac9, and Ac12 showed increased photosynthesis at the same salinity levels compared to control. Anatomically, stem cortical tissues of Ac5, Ac9, and Ac12 were unaffected at control and 8 dS m−1 salinity but root cortical tissues did not show any significant damage except a bit enlargement in Ac12 and Ac13. A dendrogram was constructed by UPGMA based on biomass yield and physiological traits where all 13 accessions were grouped into 5 clusters proving greater diversity among them. The 3-dimensional principal component analysis (PCA) has also confirmed the output of grouping from cluster analysis. Overall, salinity stressed among all 13 purslane accessions considering biomass production, physiological growth, and anatomical development Ac9 was the best salt-tolerant purslane accession and Ac13 was the most affected accession. PMID:25802833

  10. Hydrogen saline prevents selenite-induced cataract in rats

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Chun-xiao; Ding, Tian-bing

    2013-01-01

    Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the potential antioxidative effect and mechanism for the protective effects of hydrogen saline on selenite-induced cataract in rats. Methods Sprague-Dawley rat pups were divided into the following groups: control (Group A), selenite induced (Group B), and selenite plus hydrogen saline treated (Group C). Rat pups in Groups B and C received a single subcutaneous injection of sodium selenite (25 μmol/kg bodyweight) on postnatal day 12. Group C also received an intraperitoneal injection of H2 saline (5 ml/kg bodyweight) daily from postnatal day 8 to postnatal day 17. The development of cataract was assessed weekly by slit-lamp examination for 2 weeks. After sacrifice, extricated lenses were analyzed for activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione S-transferase, levels of malondialdehyde, reduced glutathione (GSH), and total sulfhydryl contents. Results The magnitude of lens opacification in Group B was significantly higher than in Group A (p<0.05), while Group C had less opacification than Group B (p<0.05). Compared with Group B, the mean activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione S-transferase, levels of GSH, and total sulfhydryl contents were higher, whereas the level of malondialdehyde was lower following treatment with hydrogen saline(p<0.05). Conclusions This is an initial report showing that hydrogen saline can prevent selenite-induced cataract in rats. It acts via maintaining antioxidant enzymes and GSH, protecting the sulfhydryl group, and inhibiting lipid peroxidation. PMID:23922487

  11. Aquatic insects in a multistress environment: cross-tolerance to salinity and desiccation.

    PubMed

    Pallarés, Susana; Botella-Cruz, María; Arribas, Paula; Millán, Andrés; Velasco, Josefa

    2017-04-01

    Exposing organisms to a particular stressor may enhance tolerance to a subsequent stress, when protective mechanisms against the two stressors are shared. Such cross-tolerance is a common adaptive response in dynamic multivariate environments and often indicates potential co-evolution of stress traits. Many aquatic insects in inland saline waters from Mediterranean-climate regions are sequentially challenged with salinity and desiccation stress. Thus, cross-tolerance to these physiologically similar stressors could have been positively selected in insects of these regions. We used adults of the saline water beetles Enochrus jesusarribasi (Hydrophilidae) and Nebrioporus baeticus (Dytiscidae) to test cross-tolerance responses to desiccation and salinity. In independent laboratory experiments, we evaluated the effects of (i) salinity stress on the subsequent resistance to desiccation and (ii) desiccation stress (rapid and slow dehydration) on the subsequent tolerance to salinity. Survival, water loss and haemolymph osmolality were measured. Exposure to stressful salinity improved water control under subsequent desiccation stress in both species, with a clear cross-tolerance (enhanced performance) in N. baeticus In contrast, general negative effects on performance were found under the inverse stress sequence. The rapid and slow dehydration produced different water loss and haemolymph osmolality dynamics that were reflected in different survival patterns. Our finding of cross-tolerance to salinity and desiccation in ecologically similar species from distant lineages, together with parallel responses between salinity and thermal stress previously found in several aquatic taxa, highlights the central role of adaption to salinity and co-occurring stressors in arid inland waters, having important implications for the species' persistence under climate change. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  12. Developing cancer control capacity in state and local public health agencies.

    PubMed

    Meissner, H I; Bergner, L; Marconi, K M

    1992-01-01

    In 1986, the National Cancer Institute began a major grant program to enhance the technical capabilities of public health departments in cancer prevention and control. This effort, commonly referred to as "capacity building" for cancer control, provided funding to support eight State and one local health department. The program focused on developing the knowledge and skills of health department personnel to implement intervention programs in such areas as smoking cessation, diet modification, and breast and cervical cancer screening. The grants ranged from 2 to 5 years in length, with funding of $125,000 to $1.6 million per grant. The total for the program was $7.4 million. While the priorities set for these grants were nominally similar, their capacity building activities in cancer prevention and control evolved into unique interventions reflecting the individual needs and priorities of each State or locality. Their experiences illustrate that technical development for planning, implementing, and evaluating cancer prevention and control programs is a complex process that must occur at multiple levels, regardless of overall approach. Factors found to contribute to successful implementation of technical development programs include* commitment of the organization's leadership to provide adequate support for staff and activities and to keep cancer prevention and control on the organizational agenda,* the existence of appropriate data to monitor and evaluate programs,* appropriately trained staff,* building linkages with State and community agencies and coalitions to guide community action,* an established plan or process for achieving cancer control objectives,* access to the advice of and participation of individual cancer and health experts,* an informed State legislature,* diffusion of cancer prevention and control efforts,and* the ability to obtain funds needed for future activities.

  13. Modelling soil salinity in Oued El Abid watershed, Morocco

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mouatassime Sabri, El; Boukdir, Ahmed; Karaoui, Ismail; Arioua, Abdelkrim; Messlouhi, Rachid; El Amrani Idrissi, Abdelkhalek

    2018-05-01

    Soil salinisation is a phenomenon considered to be a real threat to natural resources in semi-arid climates. The phenomenon is controlled by soil (texture, depth, slope etc.), anthropogenic factors (drainage system, irrigation, crops types, etc.), and climate factors. This study was conducted in the watershed of Oued El Abid in the region of Beni Mellal-Khenifra, aimed at localising saline soil using remote sensing and a regression model. The spectral indices were extracted from Landsat imagery (30 m resolution). A linear correlation of electrical conductivity, which was calculated based on soil samples (ECs), and the values extracted based on spectral bands showed a high accuracy with an R2 (Root square) of 0.80. This study proposes a new spectral salinity index using Landsat bands B1 and B4. This hydro-chemical and statistical study, based on a yearlong survey, showed a moderate amount of salinity, which threatens dam water quality. The results present an improved ability to use remote sensing and regression model integration to detect soil salinity with high accuracy and low cost, and permit intervention at an early stage of salinisation.

  14. A global algorithm for estimating Absolute Salinity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McDougall, T. J.; Jackett, D. R.; Millero, F. J.; Pawlowicz, R.; Barker, P. M.

    2012-12-01

    The International Thermodynamic Equation of Seawater - 2010 has defined the thermodynamic properties of seawater in terms of a new salinity variable, Absolute Salinity, which takes into account the spatial variation of the composition of seawater. Absolute Salinity more accurately reflects the effects of the dissolved material in seawater on the thermodynamic properties (particularly density) than does Practical Salinity. When a seawater sample has standard composition (i.e. the ratios of the constituents of sea salt are the same as those of surface water of the North Atlantic), Practical Salinity can be used to accurately evaluate the thermodynamic properties of seawater. When seawater is not of standard composition, Practical Salinity alone is not sufficient and the Absolute Salinity Anomaly needs to be estimated; this anomaly is as large as 0.025 g kg-1 in the northernmost North Pacific. Here we provide an algorithm for estimating Absolute Salinity Anomaly for any location (x, y, p) in the world ocean. To develop this algorithm, we used the Absolute Salinity Anomaly that is found by comparing the density calculated from Practical Salinity to the density measured in the laboratory. These estimates of Absolute Salinity Anomaly however are limited to the number of available observations (namely 811). In order to provide a practical method that can be used at any location in the world ocean, we take advantage of approximate relationships between Absolute Salinity Anomaly and silicate concentrations (which are available globally).

  15. Effects of Bacillus subtilis on some physiological and biochemical parameters of Triticum aestivum L. (wheat) under salinity.

    PubMed

    Lastochkina, Oksana; Pusenkova, Ludmila; Yuldashev, Ruslan; Babaev, Marat; Garipova, Svetlana; Blagova, Dar'ya; Khairullin, Ramil; Aliniaeifard, Sasan

    2017-12-01

    Endophytic strain Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) 10-4, producing indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and siderofores but not active in phosphate solubilization, exerted a protective effect on Triticum aestivum L. (wheat) plant grown under salinity (2% NaCl) stress. Exposure to salt stress resulted in an essential increase of proline (Pro) and malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the seedlings. At the same time the seedlings inoculated with B. subtilis 10-4 were characterized by decreased level of stress-induced Pro and MDA accumulation. It was revealed that both B. subtilis 10-4 and salinity caused increase in the content of endogenous salicylic acid (SA) in wheat seedlings as compared to SA content in the control, while B. subtilis 10-4 suppressed stress-induced SA accumulation. Water storage capacity (WSC) in leaf tissues was increased and stress-induced hydrolysis of statolite starch in root cap cells of the germinal roots was reduced by B. subtilis 10-4. The obtained data indicated that the activation of the defense reactions induced by B. subtilis 10-4 induced defense reactions may be connected with their ability to decrease the level of stress-induced oxidative and osmotic stress in seedlings and with the increase of endogenous SA level that can make a significant contribution to the implementation of the protective effect of B. subtilis 10-4 and is manifested in the improvement of plant growth, WSC of leaves and slowing down of the process of statolite starch hydrolysis under salinity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  16. Active CO2 Reservoir Management: A Strategy for Controlling Pressure, CO2 and Brine Migration in Saline-Formation CCS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buscheck, T. A.; Sun, Y.; Hao, Y.; Court, B.; Celia, M. A.; Wolery, T.; Tompson, A. F.; Aines, R. D.; Friedmann, J.

    2010-12-01

    CO2 capture and sequestration (CCS) in deep geological formations is regarded as a promising means of lowering the amount of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere and thereby mitigate global warming. The most promising systems for CCS are depleted oil reservoirs, particularly those suited to CO2-based Enhanced Oil Recovery (CCS-EOR), and deep saline formations, both of which are well separated from the atmosphere. For conventional, industrial-scale, saline-formation CCS, pressure buildup can have a limiting effect on CO2 storage capacity. To address this concern, we analyze Active CO2 Reservoir Management (ACRM), which combines brine extraction and residual-brine reinjection with CO2 injection, comparing it with conventional saline-formation CCS. We investigate the influence of brine extraction on pressure response and CO2 and brine migration using the NUFT code. By extracting brine from the lower portion of the storage formation, from locations progressively further from the center of injection, we can counteract buoyancy that drives CO2 to the top of the formation, which is useful in dipping formations. Using “push-pull” manipulation of the CO2 plume, we expose less of the caprock seal to CO2 and more of the storage formation to CO2, with more of the formation utilized for trapping mechanisms. Plume manipulation can also counteract the influence of heterogeneity. We consider the impact of extraction ratio, defined as net extracted brine volume (extraction minus reinjection) divided by injected CO2 volume. Pressure buildup is reduced with increasing extraction ratio, which reduces CO2 and brine migration, increases CO2 storage capacity, and reduces other risks, such as leakage up abandoned wells, caprock fracturing, fault activation, and induced seismicity. For a 100-yr injection period, a 10-yr delay in brine extraction does not diminish the magnitude of pressure reduction. Moreover, it is possible to achieve pressure management with just a few brine-extraction wells

  17. Impact of the water salinity on the hydraulic conductivity of fen peat

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gosch, Lennart; Janssen, Manon; Lennartz, Bernd

    2017-04-01

    Coastal peatlands represent an interface between marine and terrestrial ecosystems; their hydrology is affected by salt and fresh water inflow alike. Previous studies on bog peat have shown that pore water salinity can have an impact on the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) of peat because of chemical pore dilation effects. In this ongoing study, we are aiming at quantifying the impact of higher salinities (up to 3.5 %) on Ks of fen peat to get a better understanding of the water and solute exchange between coastal peatlands and the adjacent sea. Two approaches differing in measurement duration employing a constant-head upward-flow permeameter were conducted. At first, Ks was measured at an initial salinity for several hours before the salinity was abruptly increased and the measurement continued. In the second approach, Ks was measured for 15 min at the salt content observed during sampling. Then, samples were completely (de)salinized via diffusion for several days/weeks before a comparison measurement was carried out. The results for degraded fen peats show a decrease of Ks during long-term measurements which does not depend on the water salinity. A slow, diffusion-controlled change in salinity does not modify the overall outcome that the duration of measurements has a stronger impact on Ks than the salinity. Further experiments will show if fen peat soils differing in their state of degradation exhibit a different behavior. A preliminary conclusion is that salinity might have a less important effect on hydraulic properties of fen peat than it was observed for bog peat.

  18. Saline-water resources of Texas

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Winslow, Allen George; Kister, Lester Ray

    1956-01-01

    Most of the aquifers in Texas contain saline water in some parts, and a few are capable of producing large quantities of saline water. Of the early Paleozoic formations, the Hickory sandstone member of the Riley formation of Cambrian age and the Ellenburger group of Ordovician age are potential sources of small to moderate supplies of saline water in parts of central and west-central Texas.

  19. Salinity tolerance and mycorrhizal responsiveness of native xeroriparian plants in semi-arid western USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Beauchamp, Vanessa B.; Walz, C.; Shafroth, P.B.

    2009-01-01

    Restoration of salt-affected soils is a global concern. In the western United States, restoration of salinized land, particularly in river valleys, often involves control of Tamarix, an introduced species with high salinity tolerance. Revegetation of hydrologically disconnected floodplains and terraces after Tamarix removal is often difficult because of limited knowledge regarding the salinity tolerance of candidate native species for revegetation. Additionally, Tamarix appears to be non-mycorrhizal. Extended occupation of Tamarix may deplete arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the soil, further decreasing the success of revegetation efforts. To address these issues, we screened 42 species, races, or ecotypes native to southwestern U.S. for salinity tolerance and mycorrhizal responsiveness. As expected, the taxa tested showed a wide range of responses to salinity and mycorrhizal fungi. This variation also occurred between ecotypes or races of the same species, indicating that seed collected from high-salinity reference systems is likely better adapted to harsh conditions than seed originating from less saline environments. All species tested had a positive or neutral response to mycorrhizal inoculation. We found no clear evidence that mycorrhizae increased salinity tolerance, but some species were so dependent on mycorrhizal fungi that they grew poorly at all salinity levels in pasteurized soil. ?? 2009 Elsevier B.V.

  20. Transcriptome Exploration in Leymus chinensis under Saline-Alkaline Treatment Using 454 Pyrosequencing

    PubMed Central

    Sun, Yepeng; Wang, Fawei; Wang, Nan; Dong, Yuanyuan; Liu, Qi; Zhao, Lei; Chen, Huan; Liu, Weican; Yin, Hailong; Zhang, Xiaomei; Yuan, Yanxi; Li, Haiyan

    2013-01-01

    Background Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel. is a high saline-alkaline tolerant forage grass genus of the tribe Gramineae family, which also plays an important role in protection of natural environment. To date, little is known about the saline-alkaline tolerance of L. chinensis on the molecular level. To better understand the molecular mechanism of saline-alkaline tolerance in L. chinensis, 454 pyrosequencing was used for the transcriptome study. Results We used Roche-454 massive parallel pyrosequencing technology to sequence two different cDNA libraries that were built from the two samples of control and under saline-alkaline treatment (optimal stress concentration-Hoagland solution with 100 mM NaCl and 200 mM NaHCO3). A total of 363,734 reads in control group and 526,267 reads in treatment group with an average length of 489 bp and 493 bp were obtained, respectively. The reads were assembled into 104,105 unigenes with MIRA sequence assemable software, among which, 73,665 unigenes were in control group, 88,016 unigenes in treatment group and 57,576 unigenes in both groups. According to the comparative expression analysis between the two groups with the threshold of “log2 Ratio ≥1”, there were 36,497 up-regulated unegenes and 18,218 down-regulated unigenes predicted to be the differentially expressed genes. After gene annotation and pathway enrichment analysis, most of them were involved in stress and tolerant function, signal transduction, energy production and conversion, and inorganic ion transport. Furthermore, 16 of these differentially expressed genes were selected for real-time PCR validation, and they were successfully confirmed with the results of 454 pyrosequencing. Conclusions This work is the first time to study the transcriptome of L. chinensis under saline-alkaline treatment based on the 454-FLX massively parallel DNA sequencing platform. It also deepened studies on molecular mechanisms of saline-alkaline in L. chinensis, and constituted a

  1. Evaluating dispersal potential of an invasive fish by the use of aerobic scope and osmoregulation capacity

    PubMed Central

    Behrens, Jane W.; van Deurs, Mikael; Christensen, Emil A. F.

    2017-01-01

    Non-indigenous species (NIS) can impact marine biodiversity and ecosystem structure and function. Once introduced into a new region, secondary dispersal is limited by the physiology of the organism in relation to the ambient environment and by complex interactions between a suite of ecological factors such as presence of predators, competitors, and parasites. Early prediction of dispersal potential and future ‘area of impact’ is challenging, but also a great asset in taking appropriate management actions. Aerobic scope (AS) in fish has been linked to various fitness-related parameters, and may be valuable in determining dispersal potential of aquatic invasive species in novel environments. Round goby, Neogobius melanostomus, one of the most wide-ranging invasive fish species in Europe and North America, currently thrives in brackish and fresh water, but its ability to survive in high salinity waters is unknown to date. We show that AS in round goby is reduced by 30% and blood plasma osmolality increased (indicating reduced capacity for osmoregulation) at salinities approaching oceanic conditions, following slow ramping (5 PSU per week) and subsequent long-term acclimation to salinities ranging between 0 and 30 PSU (8 days at final treatment salinities before blood plasma osmolality measurements, 12–20 additional days before respirometry). Survival was also reduced at the highest salinities yet a significant proportion (61%) of the fish survived at 30 PSU. Reduced physiological performance at the highest salinities may affect growth and competitive ability under oceanic conditions, but to what extent reduced AS and osmoregulatory capacity will slow the current 30 km year-1 rate of advance of the species through the steep salinity gradient from the brackish Baltic Sea and into the oceanic North Sea remains speculative. An unintended natural experiment is in progress to test whether the rate of advance slows down. At the current rate of advance the species will

  2. ABA, GA(3), and nitrate may control seed germination of Crithmum maritimum (Apiaceae) under saline conditions.

    PubMed

    Atia, Abdallah; Debez, Ahmed; Barhoumi, Zouhaier; Smaoui, Abderrazak; Abdelly, Chedly

    2009-08-01

    Impaired germination is common among halophyte seeds exposed to salt stress, partly resulting from the salt-induced reduction of the growth regulator contents in seeds. Thus, the understanding of hormonal regulation during the germination process is a main key: (i) to overcome the mechanisms by which NaCl-salinity inhibit germination; and (ii) to improve the germination of these species when challenged with NaCl. In the present investigation, the effects of ABA, GA(3), NO(-)(3), and NH(+)(4) on the germination of the oilseed halophyte Crithmum maritimum (Apiaceae) were assessed under NaCl-salinity (up to 200 mM NaCl). Seeds were collected from Tabarka rocky coasts (N-W of Tunisia). The exogenous application of GA(3), nitrate (either as NaNO(3) or KNO(3)), and NH(4)Cl enhanced germination under NaCl salinity. The beneficial impact of KNO(3) on germination upon seed exposure to NaCl salinity was rather due to NO(-)(3) than to K(+), since KCl failed to significantly stimulate germination. Under optimal conditions for germination (0 mM NaCl), ABA inhibited germination over time in a dose dependent manner, but KNO(3) completely restored the germination parameters. Under NaCl salinity, the application of fluridone (FLU) an inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis, stimulated substantially seed germination. Taken together, our results point out that NO(-)(3) and GA(3) mitigate the NaCl-induced reduction of seed germination, and that NO(-)(3) counteracts the inhibitory effect of ABA on germination of C. maritimum.

  3. Salinity in drinking water and the risk of (pre)eclampsia and gestational hypertension in coastal Bangladesh: a case-control study.

    PubMed

    Khan, Aneire Ehmar; Scheelbeek, Pauline Franka Denise; Shilpi, Asma Begum; Chan, Queenie; Mojumder, Sontosh Kumar; Rahman, Atiq; Haines, Andy; Vineis, Paolo

    2014-01-01

    Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are among the leading causes of maternal and perinatal death in low-income countries, but the aetiology remains unclear. We investigated the relationship between salinity in drinking water and the risk of (pre)eclampsia and gestational hypertension in a coastal community. A population-based case-control study was conducted in Dacope, Bangladesh among 202 pregnant women with (pre)eclampsia or gestational hypertension, enrolled from the community served by the Upazilla Health Complex, Dacope and 1,006 matched controls from the same area. Epidemiological and clinical data were obtained from all participants. Urinary sodium and sodium levels in drinking water were measured. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios, and 95% confidence intervals. Drinking water sources had exceptionally high sodium levels (mean 516.6 mg/L, S.D 524.2). Women consuming tube-well (groundwater) were at a higher disease risk than rainwater users (p<0.001). Adjusted risks for (pre)eclampsia and gestational hypertension considered together increased in a dose-response manner for increasing sodium concentrations (300.01-600 mg/L, 600.1-900 mg/L, >900.01 mg/L, compared to <300 mg/L) in drinking water (ORs 3.30 [95% CI 2.00-5.51], 4.40 [2.70-7.25] and 5.48 [3.30-9.11] (p-trend<0.001). Significant associations were seen for both (pre)eclampsia and gestational hypertension separately. Salinity in drinking water is associated with increased risk of (pre)eclampsia and gestational hypertension in this population. Given that coastal populations in countries such as Bangladesh are confronted with high salinity exposure, which is predicted to further increase as a result of sea level rise and other environmental influences, it is imperative to develop and evaluate affordable approaches to providing water with low salt content.

  4. Salinity in Drinking Water and the Risk of (Pre)Eclampsia and Gestational Hypertension in Coastal Bangladesh: A Case-Control Study

    PubMed Central

    Khan, Aneire Ehmar; Scheelbeek, Pauline Franka Denise; Shilpi, Asma Begum; Chan, Queenie; Mojumder, Sontosh Kumar; Rahman, Atiq; Haines, Andy; Vineis, Paolo

    2014-01-01

    Background Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are among the leading causes of maternal and perinatal death in low-income countries, but the aetiology remains unclear. We investigated the relationship between salinity in drinking water and the risk of (pre)eclampsia and gestational hypertension in a coastal community. Methods A population-based case-control study was conducted in Dacope, Bangladesh among 202 pregnant women with (pre)eclampsia or gestational hypertension, enrolled from the community served by the Upazilla Health Complex, Dacope and 1,006 matched controls from the same area. Epidemiological and clinical data were obtained from all participants. Urinary sodium and sodium levels in drinking water were measured. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios, and 95% confidence intervals. Findings Drinking water sources had exceptionally high sodium levels (mean 516.6 mg/L, S.D 524.2). Women consuming tube-well (groundwater) were at a higher disease risk than rainwater users (p<0.001). Adjusted risks for (pre)eclampsia and gestational hypertension considered together increased in a dose-response manner for increasing sodium concentrations (300.01–600 mg/L, 600.1–900 mg/L, >900.01 mg/L, compared to <300 mg/L) in drinking water (ORs 3.30 [95% CI 2.00–5.51], 4.40 [2.70–7.25] and 5.48 [3.30–9.11] (p-trend<0.001). Significant associations were seen for both (pre)eclampsia and gestational hypertension separately. Interpretation Salinity in drinking water is associated with increased risk of (pre)eclampsia and gestational hypertension in this population. Given that coastal populations in countries such as Bangladesh are confronted with high salinity exposure, which is predicted to further increase as a result of sea level rise and other environmental influences, it is imperative to develop and evaluate affordable approaches to providing water with low salt content. PMID:25268785

  5. Spectral Discrimination of Salinity and Fertilizer Stress in Wheat (Triticum Sativa L.) using Photosynthesis Parameters and Hpyerspectral Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shah, S. H.; Houborg, R.; Tester, M.; McCabe, M. F.

    2014-12-01

    Multidisciplinary research has long sought the ability to estimate the parameters of plant functions such as photosynthetic capacity under stress conditions from remotely sensed data. Yet, the main goal has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the effects of saline water irrigation and the rate of fertilizer application on the photosynthetic response of wheat in a greenhouse based experiment. After two weeks of germination, the plants were subjected to irrigation with sea water blended with high quality reverse osmosis (RO) water. Three levels of water salinity having electrical conductivities (EC) of 0.3, 7.0, 14.0 dSm-1 were obtained by mixing sea water with RO water and plants were irrigated to approximately 70% of field capacity without excess drainage. Three levels of NPK fertilizer at the rate of null, half and full recommended doses were also employed in the experiment. The two key determinants of photosynthetic capacity, the maximum rates of RuBP carboxylation (Vcmax) and the maximum rate of photosynthetic electron transport based on NADPH requirement (Jmax), were obtained through standard gas exchange technique.CO2 response curves of net CO2 assimilation (An) against variable CO2 concentrations in the intracellular spaces (Ci) at constant environmental conditions were drawn and a Sharkey model was fit to the obtained data. Hyperspectral reflectance (λ = 350-2500 nm) of fresh leaves were obtained and the hyperspectral characteristics and their correlations with the photosynthetic parameters were drawn. Unique contributions from different spectral regions of the hyperspectral data were analyzed. Our results revealed that saline irrigation adversely affects some of the biochemical photosynthetic parameters while favors others and it can be reflected in shifts in patterns at various regions of the hyperspectral data. These results suggest a promising strategy for developing remote sensing methods to characterize photosynthetic activity of

  6. Differential DNA methylation and transcription profiles in date palm roots exposed to salinity

    PubMed Central

    Al-Harrasi, Ibtisam; Al-Yahyai, Rashid

    2018-01-01

    As a salt-adaptive plant, the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) requires a suitable mechanism to adapt to the stress of saline soils. There is growing evidence that DNA methylation plays an important role in regulating gene expression in response to abiotic stresses, including salinity. Thus, the present study sought to examine the differential methylation status that occurs in the date palm genome when plants are exposed to salinity, and to identify salinity responsive genes that are regulated by DNA methylation. To achieve these, whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) was employed and mRNA was sequenced from salinity-treated and untreated roots. The WGBS analysis included 324,987,795 and 317,056,091 total reads of the control and the salinity-treated samples, respectively. The analysis covered about 81% of the total genomic DNA with about 40% of mapping efficiency of the sequenced reads and an average read depth of 17-fold coverage per DNA strand, and with a bisulfite conversion rate of around 99%. The level of methylation within the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) was significantly (p < 0.05, FDR ≤ 0.05) increased in response to salinity specifically at the mCHG and mCHH sequence contexts. Consistently, the mass spectrometry and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that there was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the global DNA methylation in response to salinity. mRNA sequencing revealed the presence of 6,405 differentially regulated genes with a significant value (p < 0.001, FDR ≤ 0.05) in response to salinity. Integration of high-resolution methylome and transcriptome analyses revealed a negative correlation between mCG methylation located within the promoters and the gene expression, while a positive correlation was noticed between mCHG/mCHH methylation rations and gene expression specifically when plants grew under control conditions. Therefore, the methylome and transcriptome relationships vary based on the methylated

  7. Differential DNA methylation and transcription profiles in date palm roots exposed to salinity.

    PubMed

    Al-Harrasi, Ibtisam; Al-Yahyai, Rashid; Yaish, Mahmoud W

    2018-01-01

    As a salt-adaptive plant, the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) requires a suitable mechanism to adapt to the stress of saline soils. There is growing evidence that DNA methylation plays an important role in regulating gene expression in response to abiotic stresses, including salinity. Thus, the present study sought to examine the differential methylation status that occurs in the date palm genome when plants are exposed to salinity, and to identify salinity responsive genes that are regulated by DNA methylation. To achieve these, whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) was employed and mRNA was sequenced from salinity-treated and untreated roots. The WGBS analysis included 324,987,795 and 317,056,091 total reads of the control and the salinity-treated samples, respectively. The analysis covered about 81% of the total genomic DNA with about 40% of mapping efficiency of the sequenced reads and an average read depth of 17-fold coverage per DNA strand, and with a bisulfite conversion rate of around 99%. The level of methylation within the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) was significantly (p < 0.05, FDR ≤ 0.05) increased in response to salinity specifically at the mCHG and mCHH sequence contexts. Consistently, the mass spectrometry and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that there was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the global DNA methylation in response to salinity. mRNA sequencing revealed the presence of 6,405 differentially regulated genes with a significant value (p < 0.001, FDR ≤ 0.05) in response to salinity. Integration of high-resolution methylome and transcriptome analyses revealed a negative correlation between mCG methylation located within the promoters and the gene expression, while a positive correlation was noticed between mCHG/mCHH methylation rations and gene expression specifically when plants grew under control conditions. Therefore, the methylome and transcriptome relationships vary based on the methylated

  8. Happiness increases verbal and spatial working memory capacity where sadness does not: Emotion, working memory and executive control.

    PubMed

    Storbeck, Justin; Maswood, Raeya

    2016-08-01

    The effects of emotion on working memory and executive control are often studied in isolation. Positive mood enhances verbal and impairs spatial working memory, whereas negative mood enhances spatial and impairs verbal working memory. Moreover, positive mood enhances executive control, whereas negative mood has little influence. We examined how emotion influences verbal and spatial working memory capacity, which requires executive control to coordinate between holding information in working memory and completing a secondary task. We predicted that positive mood would improve both verbal and spatial working memory capacity because of its influence on executive control. Positive, negative and neutral moods were induced followed by completing a verbal (Experiment 1) or spatial (Experiment 2) working memory operation span task to assess working memory capacity. Positive mood enhanced working memory capacity irrespective of the working memory domain, whereas negative mood had no influence on performance. Thus, positive mood was more successful holding information in working memory while processing task-irrelevant information, suggesting that the influence mood has on executive control supersedes the independent effects mood has on domain-specific working memory.

  9. Salinity Effects on Photosynthesis, Carbon Allocation, and Nitrogen Assimilation in the Red Alga, Gelidium coulteri.

    PubMed

    Macler, B A

    1988-11-01

    The long-term effects of altered salinities on the physiology of the intertidal red alga Gelidium coulteri Harv. were assessed. Plants were transfered from 30 grams per liter salinity to media with salinities from 0 to 50 grams per liter. Growth rate, agar, photosynthesis, respiration, and various metabolites were quantified after 5 days and 5 weeks adaptation. After 5 days, growth rates were lower for plants at all altered salinities. Growth rates recovered from these values with 5 weeks adaptation, except for salinities of 10 grams per liter and below, where tissues bleached and died. Photosynthetic O(2) evolution was lower than control values at both higher and lower salinities after 5 days and did not change over time. Carbon fixation at the altered salinities was unchanged after 5 days, but decreased below 25 grams per liter and above 40 grams per liter after 5 weeks. Respiration increased at lower salinities. Phycobili-protein and chlorophyll were lower for all altered salinities after 5 days. These decreases continued at lower salinities, then were stable after 5 weeks. Chlorophyll recovered over time at higher salinities. Decreases in protein at lower salinities were quantitatively attributable to phycobili-protein loss. Total N levels and C:N ratios were nearly constant across all salinities tested. Carbon flow into glutamate and aspartate decreased with both decreasing and increasing salinities. Glycine, serine, and glycolate levels increased with both increasing and decreasing salinity, indicating a stimulation of photorespiration. The cell wall component agar increased with decreasing salinity, although biosynthesis was inhibited at both higher and lower salinities. The storage compound floridoside increased with increasing salinity. The evidence suggests stress responses to altered salinities that directly affected photosynthesis, respiration, and nitrogen assimilation and indirectly affected photosynthate flow. At low salinities, respiration and

  10. [Learning and Memory Capacity and NMDA Receptor Expression in Shen Deficiency Constitution Rats].

    PubMed

    Sun, Yu-ru; Sun, Yao-guang; Zhang, Qi; Wang, Xiao-di; Wang, Xing; Sun, Li-jun

    2016-05-01

    To explore material bases and neurobiological mechanisms of "Shen storing will" by observing learning and memory capacities and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor expressions in Shen deficiency constitution (SDC) rats. Totally 40 SD rats were randomly divided into the model group, the Zuogui Pill (ZP) group, the Yougui Pill (YP) group, the blank control group (consisting of normal pregnant rats), 10 in each group. SDC young rat model (inherent deficiency and postnatal malnutrition) was prepared by the classic way of "cat scaring rat". Medication started when they were scared by cat. Rats in the ZP group and the YP group were administered by gastrogavage with ZP suspension 0.1875 g/mL and YP suspension 0.0938 g/mL respectively. Equal volume of normal saline was administered to rats in the blank control group and the model group by gastrogavage. All medication was given once per day, 5 days in a week for 2 consecutive months. Learning and memory capacities were detected by Morris water maze test. Expressions of NMDA receptor subunits NR2A and NR2B in hippocamus were detected by immunohistochemical method. Compared with the blank control group, the latency period, total distance in Morris water maze test were longer in the model group (P < 0.05). All the aforesaid indices all decreased in the ZP group and the YP group, with statistical difference when compared with the model group (P < 0.05). The protein expressions of NR2A and NR2B in hippocamus were lower in the model group than in the blank control group (P < 0.05). But when compared with the model group, they were obviously higher in the ZP group and the YP group (P < 0.05). SDC rats had degenerated learning and memory capacities and lowered NMDA receptor expressions. ZP and YP could up-regulate learning and memory capacities and NMDA receptor expressions, thereby improving deterioration of brain functions in SDC rats.

  11. Jerusalem artichoke decreased salt content and increased diversity of bacterial communities in the rhizosphere soil in the coastal saline zone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shao, Tianyun; Li, Niu; Cheng, Yongwen; Long, Xiaohua; Shao, Hongbo; Zed, Rengel

    2017-04-01

    Soil salinity is one of the main environmental constraints that restrict plant growth and agricultural productivity; however, utilization of salt-affected land can bring substantial benefits. This study used an in-situ remediation method by planting Jerusalem artichoke in naturally occurring saline alkali soils with different salinity (high salinity (H, >4.0 g•salt kg-1 soil), moderate salinity (M, 2.0-4.0 g•salt kg-1 soil) and low salinity (L, 1.0-2.0 g•salt kg-1 soil) in the coastal saline zone in southeast China in comparison with the respective controls without Jerusalem artichoke planting (undisturbed soil). Soil pH and salinity increased sequentially from the rhizosphere to the bulk soil and the unplanted controls. The activity of neutral phosphatase and invertase decreased in the order L > M > H, whereas that of catalase was reverse. The minimum content of calcite, muscovite and quartz, and maximum content of chlorite and albite, were found in the control soils. Planting of Jerusalem artichoke enhanced bacterial microflora in saline alkali soil. Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes were the dominant phyla in all samples, accounting for more than 80% of the reads. The number of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU) in the rhizosphere soil was, respectively, 1.27, 1.02 and 1.25 times higher compared with the bulk soil, suggesting that Jerusalem artichoke played a significant role in increasing abundance and diversity of soil microbial populations. The study showed that Jerusalem artichoke could be used to improve saline alkali soil by enriching bacterial communities, enhancing the activity of phosphatase and invertase, and decreasing soil salinity.

  12. Simulation of CO2 Sequestration at Rock Spring Uplift, Wyoming: Heterogeneity and Uncertainties in Storage Capacity, Injectivity and Leakage

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Deng, Hailin; Dai, Zhenxue; Jiao, Zunsheng

    2011-01-01

    Many geological, geochemical, geomechanical and hydrogeological factors control CO{sub 2} storage in subsurface. Among them heterogeneity in saline aquifer can seriously influence design of injection wells, CO{sub 2} injection rate, CO{sub 2} plume migration, storage capacity, and potential leakage and risk assessment. This study applies indicator geostatistics, transition probability and Markov chain model at the Rock Springs Uplift, Wyoming generating facies-based heterogeneous fields for porosity and permeability in target saline aquifer (Pennsylvanian Weber sandstone) and surrounding rocks (Phosphoria, Madison and cap-rock Chugwater). A multiphase flow simulator FEHM is then used to model injection of CO{sub 2} into the target salinemore » aquifer involving field-scale heterogeneity. The results reveal that (1) CO{sub 2} injection rates in different injection wells significantly change with local permeability distributions; (2) brine production rates in different pumping wells are also significantly impacted by the spatial heterogeneity in permeability; (3) liquid pressure evolution during and after CO{sub 2} injection in saline aquifer varies greatly for different realizations of random permeability fields, and this has potential important effects on hydraulic fracturing of the reservoir rock, reactivation of pre-existing faults and the integrity of the cap-rock; (4) CO{sub 2} storage capacity estimate for Rock Springs Uplift is 6614 {+-} 256 Mt at 95% confidence interval, which is about 36% of previous estimate based on homogeneous and isotropic storage formation; (5) density profiles show that the density of injected CO{sub 2} below 3 km is close to that of the ambient brine with given geothermal gradient and brine concentration, which indicates CO{sub 2} plume can sink to the deep before reaching thermal equilibrium with brine. Finally, we present uncertainty analysis of CO{sub 2} leakage into overlying formations due to heterogeneity in both the target

  13. Growth responses of Phragmites karka - a candidate for second generation biofuel from degraded saline lands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zaheer Ahmed, Muhammad; Shoukat, Erum; Abideen, Zainul; Aziz, Irfan; Gulzar, Salman; Ajmal Khan, M.

    2017-04-01

    Global changes like rapidly increasing population, limited fresh water resources, increasing salinity and aridity are the major causes of land degradation. Increasing feed production for bioenergy through direct and indirect land use cause major threat to biodiversity besides competing with food resources. Growing halophytes on saline lands would provide alternate source of energy without compromising food and cash crop farming. Phragmites karkahas recently emerged as a potential bio-fuel crop, which maintains optimal growth at 100 mM NaCl with high ligno-cellulosic biomass. However, temporal and organ specific plant responses under salinity needs to be understood for effective management of degraded saline lands. This study was designed to investigate variation in growth, water relations, ion-flux, damage markers, soluble sugars, stomatal stoichiometry and photosynthetic responses of P. karka to short (0-7 days) and long (15-30 days) term exposure with 0 (control), 100 (moderate) and 300 (high) mM NaCl. A reduced shoot growth ( 45%) during earlier (within 7 days) phase was observed in 300 mM NaCl compared to control and moderate salinity. Reduced leaf elongation rate and leaf senescence from 7th day in 300 mM NaCl (and later in moderate salinity) correspond to increasing hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde contents. Leaf turgor loss represents the osmotic effect of NaCl at both concentrations, however turgor recovered completely in moderate salinity within a week. Plant appeared to use both organic solutes (soluble sugars) and ions (Na++K++Cl-) for osmotic adjustment along with improved water use efficiency under saline conditions. Turgor loss in high salinity (300 mM NaCl) was related to increased bulk elastic modulus and decreased hydraulic capacitance which ultimately resulted in low water potential. Leaf Na+ and Cl- accumulation increased earlier (from 7th day) in 300 mM NaCl and later in 100 mM. Higher ion sequestration in different organs was found in the

  14. Effects of salinity on upstream-migrating, spawning sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus

    PubMed Central

    Ferreira-Martins, D.; Coimbra, J.; Antunes, C.; Wilson, J. M.

    2016-01-01

    The sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, is an anadromous, semelparous species that is vulnerable to endangered in parts of its native range due in part to loss of spawning habitat because of man-made barriers. The ability of lampreys to return to the ocean or estuary and search out alternative spawning river systems would be limited by their osmoregulatory ability in seawater. A reduction in tolerance to salinity has been documented in migrants, although the underlying mechanisms have not been characterized. We examined the capacity for marine osmoregulation in upstream spawning migrants by characterizing the physiological effects of salinity challenge from a molecular perspective. Estuarine-captured migrants held in freshwater (FW) for ∼1 week (short-term acclimation) or 2 months (long-term acclimation) underwent an incremental salinity challenge until loss of equilibrium occurred and upper thresholds of 25 and 17.5, respectively, occurred. Regardless of salinity tolerance, all lamprey downregulated FW ion-uptake mechanisms [gill transcripts of Na+:Cl− cotransporter (NCC/slc12a3) and epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC/scnn1) and kidney Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA) protein and activity but not transcript]. At their respective salinity limits, lamprey displayed a clear osmoregulatory failure and were unable to regulate [Na+] and [Cl−] in plasma and intestinal fluid within physiological limits, becoming osmocompromised. A >90% drop in haematocrit indicated haemolysis, and higher plasma concentrations of the cytosolic enzymes alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase indicated damage to other tissues, including liver. However, >80% of short-term FW-acclimated fish were able to osmoregulate efficiently, with less haemolysis and tissue damage. This osmoregulatory ability was correlated with significant upregulation of the secretory form of Na+:K+:2Cl− cotransporter (NKCC1/slc12a2) transcript levels and the re-emergence of seawater

  15. Working memory capacity and controlled serial memory search.

    PubMed

    Mızrak, Eda; Öztekin, Ilke

    2016-08-01

    The speed-accuracy trade-off (SAT) procedure was used to investigate the relationship between working memory capacity (WMC) and the dynamics of temporal order memory retrieval. High- and low-span participants (HSs, LSs) studied sequentially presented five-item lists, followed by two probes from the study list. Participants indicated the more recent probe. Overall, accuracy was higher for HSs compared to LSs. Crucially, in contrast to previous investigations that observed no impact of WMC on speed of access to item information in memory (e.g., Öztekin & McElree, 2010), recovery of temporal order memory was slower for LSs. While accessing an item's representation in memory can be direct, recovery of relational information such as temporal order information requires a more controlled serial memory search. Collectively, these data indicate that WMC effects are particularly prominent during high demands of cognitive control, such as serial search operations necessary to access temporal order information from memory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Influence of intramuscular granisetron on experimentally induced muscle pain by acidic saline.

    PubMed

    Louca, S; Ernberg, M; Christidis, N

    2013-06-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate whether intramuscular administration of the 5-HT(3) receptor antagonist granisetron reduces experimental muscle pain induced by repeated intramuscular injections of acidic saline into the masseter muscles. Twenty-eight healthy and pain-free volunteers, fourteen women and fourteen men participated in this randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study. After a screening examination and registration of the baseline pressure-pain threshold (PPT), the first simultaneous bilateral injections of 0·5 mL acidic saline (9 mg mL(-1) , pH 3·3) into the masseter muscles were performed. Two days later, PPT and pain (VAS) were re-assessed. The masseter muscle was then pre-treated with 0·5 mL granisetron (Kytril(®) 1 mg mL(-1) pH 5·3) on one side and control substance (isotonic saline, 9 mg mL(-1) pH 6) on the contralateral side. Two minutes thereafter a bilateral simultaneous injection of 0·5 mL acidic saline followed. The evoked pain intensity, pain duration, pain area and PPT were assessed. The volunteers returned 1 week later to re-assess VAS and PPT. On the side pre-treated with granisetron, the induced pain had significantly lower intensity and shorter duration (P < 0·05) compared with the side pre-treated with control. A subgroup analysis showed that the effect of granisetron on pain duration was significant only in women (P < 0·001), while the effect on peak pain and pain area were significant in both sexes. The results showed no significant change in PPT. In conclusion, these results indicate that granisetron has a pain-reducing effect on experimentally induced muscle pain by repeated acidic saline injection. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Hydrogen-Saturated Saline Protects Intensive Narrow Band Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Guinea Pigs through an Antioxidant Effect

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Liwei; Yu, Ning; Lu, Yan; Wu, Longjun; Chen, Daishi; Guo, Weiwei; Zhao, Lidong; Liu, Mingbo; Yang, Shiming; Sun, Xuejun; Zhai, Suoqiang

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of the current study was to evaluate hydrogen-saturated saline protecting intensive narrow band noise-induced hearing loss. Guinea pigs were divided into three groups: hydrogen-saturated saline; normal saline; and control. For saline administration, the guinea pigs were given daily abdominal injections (1 ml/100 g) 3 days before and 1 h before narrow band noise exposure (2.5–3.5 kHz 130 dB SPL, 1 h). The guinea pigs in the control group received no treatment. The hearing function was assessed by the auditory brainstem response (ABR) and distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) recording. The changes of free radicals in the cochlea before noise exposure, and immediately and 7 days after noise exposure were also examined. By Scanning electron microscopy and succinate dehydrogenase staining, we found that pre-treatment with hydrogen-saturated saline significantly reduced noise-induced hair cell damage and hearing loss. We also found that the malondialdehyde, lipid peroxidation, and hydroxyl levels were significantly lower in the hydrogen-saturated saline group after noise trauma, indicating that hydrogen-saturated saline can decrease the amount of harmful free radicals caused by noise trauma. Our findings suggest that hydrogen-saturated saline is effective in preventing intensive narrow band noise-induced hearing loss through the antioxidant effect. PMID:24945316

  18. Effects of normal saline and selenium-enriched hot spring water on experimentally induced rhinosinusitis in rats.

    PubMed

    Kim, Dong-Hyun; Yeo, Sang Won

    2013-01-01

    This prospective, randomized, and controlled study examined the effects of normal saline and selenium-enriched hot spring water on experimentally induced rhinosinusitis in rats. The study comprised two control groups (untreated and saline-treated) and three experimental groups of Sprague Dawley rats. The experimental groups received an instillation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) only, LPS+normal saline (LPS/saline), or LPS+selenium-enriched hot spring water (LPS/selenium). Histopathological changes were identified using hematoxylin-eosin staining. Leakage of exudate was identified using fluorescence microscopy. Microvascular permeability was measured using the Evans blue dye technique. Expression of the Muc5ac gene was measured using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Mucosal edema and expression of the Muc5ac gene were significantly lower in the LPS/saline group than in the LPS group. Microvascular permeability, mucosal edema, and expression of the Muc5ac gene were significantly lower in the LPS/selenium group than in the LPS group. Mucosal edema was similar in the LPS/selenium group and LPS/saline group, but capillary permeability and Muc5ac expression were lower in the LPS/selenium group. This study shows that normal saline and selenium-enriched hot spring water reduce inflammatory activity and mucus hypersecretion in LPS-induced rhinosinusitis in rats. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Nebulized hypertonic-saline vs epinephrine for bronchiolitis; proof of concept study of cumulative sum (CUSUM) analysis.

    PubMed

    Gupta, Neeraj; Puliyel, Ashish; Manchanda, Ayush; Puliyel, Jacob

    2012-07-01

    To apply cumulative sum (CUSUM) to monitor a drug trial of nebulized hypertonic-saline in bronchiolitis. To test if monitoring with CUSUM control lines is practical and useful as a prompt to stop the drug trial early, if the study drug performs significantly worse than the comparator drug. Prospective, open label, controlled trial using standard therapy (epinephrine) and study drug (hypertonic-saline) sequentially in two groups of patients. Hospital offering tertiary-level pediatric care. Children, 2 months to 2 years, with first episode of bronchiolitis, excluding those with cardiac disease, immunodeficiency and critical illness at presentation. Nebulized epinephrine in first half of the bronchiolitis season (n = 35) and hypertonic saline subsequently (n = 29). Continuous monitoring of response to hypertonic-saline using CUSUM control charts developed with epinephrine-response data. Clinical score, tachycardia and total duration of hospital stay. In the epinephrine group, the maximum CUSUM was +2.25 (SD 1.34) and minimum CUSUM was -2.26 (SD 1.34). CUSUM score with hypertonic saline group stayed above the zero line throughout the study. There was no statistical difference in the post-treatment clinical score at 24 hours between the treatment groups {Mean (SD) 3.516 (2.816): 3.552 (2.686); 95% CI: -1.416 to 1.356}, heart rate {Mean (SD) 136 (44): 137(12); 95% CI: -17.849 to 15.849) or duration of hospital stay (Mean (SD) 96.029 (111.41): 82.914 (65.940); 95% CI: -33.888 to 60.128}. The software we developed allows for drawing of control lines to monitor study drug performance. Hypertonic saline performed as well or better than nebulized epinephrine in bronchiolitis.

  20. Enhancing capacity among faith-based organizations to implement evidence-based cancer control programs: a community-engaged approach.

    PubMed

    Leyva, Bryan; Allen, Jennifer D; Ospino, Hosffman; Tom, Laura S; Negrón, Rosalyn; Buesa, Richard; Torres, Maria Idalí

    2017-09-01

    Evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to promote cancer control among Latinos have proliferated in recent years, though adoption and implementation of these interventions by faith-based organizations (FBOs) is limited. Capacity building may be one strategy to promote implementation. In this qualitative study, 18 community key informants were interviewed to (a) understand existing capacity for health programming among Catholic parishes, (b) characterize parishes' resource gaps and capacity-building needs implementing cancer control EBIs, and (c) elucidate strategies for delivering capacity-building assistance to parishes to facilitate implementation of EBIs. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted. Key informants concurred about the capacity of Catholic parishes to deliver health programs, and described attributes of parishes that make them strong partners in health promotion initiatives, including a mission to address physical and mental health, outreach to marginalized groups, altruism among members, and existing engagement in health programming. However, resource gaps and capacity building needs were also identified. Specific recommendations participants made about how existing resources might be leveraged to address challenges include to: establish parish wellness committees; provide "hands-on" learning opportunities for parishioners to gain program planning skills; offer continuous, tailored, on-site technical assistance; facilitate relationships between parishes and community resources; and provide financial support for parishes. Leveraging parishes' existing resources and addressing their implementation needs may improve adoption of cancer control EBIs.

  1. Influence of seasonal variations in sea level on the salinity regime of a coastal groundwater-fed wetland.

    PubMed

    Wood, Cameron; Harrington, Glenn A

    2015-01-01

    Seasonal variations in sea level are often neglected in studies of coastal aquifers; however, they may have important controls on processes such as submarine groundwater discharge, sea water intrusion, and groundwater discharge to coastal springs and wetlands. We investigated seasonal variations in salinity in a groundwater-fed coastal wetland (the RAMSAR listed Piccaninnie Ponds in South Australia) and found that salinity peaked during winter, coincident with seasonal sea level peaks. Closer examination of salinity variations revealed a relationship between changes in sea level and changes in salinity, indicating that sea level-driven movement of the fresh water-sea water interface influences the salinity of discharging groundwater in the wetland. Moreover, the seasonal control of sea level on wetland salinity seems to override the influence of seasonal recharge. A two-dimensional variable density model helped validate this conceptual model of coastal groundwater discharge by showing that fluctuations in groundwater salinity in a coastal aquifer can be driven by a seasonal coastal boundary condition in spite of seasonal recharge/discharge dynamics. Because seasonal variations in sea level and coastal wetlands are ubiquitous throughout the world, these findings have important implications for monitoring and management of coastal groundwater-dependent ecosystems. © 2014, National Ground Water Association.

  2. [Effects of clipping on nitrogen allocation strategy and compensatory growth of Leymus chinensis under saline-alkali conditions].

    PubMed

    Zheng, Cong Cong; Wang, Yong Jing; Sun, Hao; Wang, Xin Yu; Gao, Ying Zhi

    2017-07-18

    Soil salinization and overgrazing are two main factors limiting animal husbandry in the Songnen Grassland. Leymus chinensis is a dominant rhizome grass, resistant to grazing as well as to-lerant to salt stress. Foliar labeled with 15 N-urea was used to study the nitrogen allocation strategy and compensatory growth response to clipping under saline-alkali conditions. The results showed that the total absorbed 15 N allocated to the aboveground part was more than 60%. Compared with the control treatment (no saline-alkali, no clipping), saline-alkali increased the distribution of 15 N by 5.1% in root; the 15 N distribution into aboveground in the moderate clipping and saline-alkali treatment was 11.6% higher than that of the control, exhibiting over-compensatory growth of aboveground biomass and total biomass, however, 15 N allocated to stem base was significantly increased by 9.5% under severe clipping level and saline-alkali addition, showing under-compensatory growth of shoot, root and total biomass. These results suggested that L. chinensis adapted to mode-rate clipping by over-compensatory growth under salt-alkali stress condition. However, L. chinensis would take a relatively conservative growth strategy through the enhanced N allocation to stem base for storage under severe saline-alkali and clipping conditions.

  3. Development of remote sensing techniques for assessment of salinity induced plant stresses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stong, Matthew Harold

    Salinity has been shown to reduce vegetative growth, crop quality, and yield in agricultural crops. Remote sensing is capable of providing data about large areas. This project was designed to induce salinity stress in a crop, pak choi, and thereafter monitor the response of the crop as expressed by its spectral reflectances. The project was conducted in the National Taiwan University Phytotron, and spectral data was collected using a GER 2600. Yield and soil salinity (ECe) were also measured. After three seasons of data were collected, wavelengths sensitive to salinity were selected. These wavelengths, which are within the spectral response of biochemicals produced by plants as a response to soil salinity, were used to create two indices, the Salinity Stress Index (SSI) and the Normalized Salinity Stress Index (NSSI). After creating the indices tests were conducted to determine the efficacy of these indices in detecting salinity and drought stresses as compared to existing indices (SRVI and NDVI). This project induced salinity and drought stress in a crop, pak choi, and thereafter monitored the response of the crop as expressed by its spectral reflectances. The SSI and NSSI correlated well to both ECe and marketable yield. Additionally the SSI and NSSI were found to provide statistical differences between salinity stressed treatments and the control treatment. Drought stress was not detected well by any of the indices reviewed although the SSI and NSSI indices tended to increase with drought stress and decrease with salinity stress. As a final test, specific ion toxicities of sodium and chloride were tested against the developed indices (SSI and NSSI) and existing indices (NDVI, SRVI, and NDWI). There were no differences in SSI and NSSI responses to specific ion concentration in the high salinity treatments. These results indicated that the SSI and NSSI are not sensitive to the specific ion concentration in irrigation water. However, the SSI and NSSI were higher

  4. Variation in working memory capacity and cognitive control: goal maintenance and microadjustments of control.

    PubMed

    Unsworth, Nash; Redick, Thomas S; Spillers, Gregory J; Brewer, Gene A

    2012-01-01

    Variation in working memory capacity (WMC) and cognitive control was examined in four experiments. In the experiments high- and low-WMC individuals performed a choice reaction time task (Experiment 1), a version of the antisaccade task (Experiment 2), a version of the Stroop task (Experiment 3), and an arrow version of the flanker task (Experiment 4). An examination of response time distributions suggested that high- and low-WMC individuals primarily differed in the slowest responses in each experiment, consistent with the notion that WMC is related to active maintenance abilities. Examination of two indicators of microadjustments of control (posterror slowing and conflict adaptation effects) suggested no differences between high- and low-WMC individuals. Collectively these results suggest that variation in WMC is related to some, but not all, cognitive control operations. The results are interpreted within the executive attention theory of WMC.

  5. Salinity stress response in estuarine fishes from the Murray Estuary and Coorong, South Australia.

    PubMed

    Hossain, Md Afzal; Aktar, Shefali; Qin, Jian G

    2016-12-01

    Estuaries are unstable ecosystems and can be changed by the environmental and anthropogenic impact. The Murray Estuary and Coorong were degraded by drought and low freshwater input in the last decade and therefore transformed into the largest hyper-saline lagoon in Australia. This study evaluates the physiological stress of two estuarine fish species (small-mouthed hardyhead Atherinosoma microstoma and Tamar goby Afurcagobius tamarensis) to the induced salinity change in captivity. The test fishes were collected from the Coorong and transported to the laboratory in the water from the Coorong. Each fish species was exposed to different levels of salinity, and a number of enzymes were assessed to measure the stress response of fish to salinity change. The activity of reactive oxygen species was significantly increased with the salinity change in both fish species compared with the fish in the control. Significant salinity effect on superoxide dismutase activity was observed on Tamar goby but not on small-mouthed hardyhead. Conversely, the impact of salinity on catalase activity was detected on small-mouthed hardyhead but not on Tamar goby. The study reveals that the induction of physical stress by salinity changes occurred in both Tamar goby and small-mouthed hardyhead despite the varying response of antioxidant enzymes between fish species. The study provides an insight into the understanding of physiological adaptation in estuarine fish to salinity change. The results could improve our knowledge on stress response and resilience of estuarine fish to hypo- and hyper-salinity stress.

  6. Effects of salinity on baldcypress seedlings: Physiological responses and their relation to salinity tolerance

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Allen, J.A.; Chambers, J.L.; Pezeshki, S.R.

    1997-01-01

    Growth and physiological responses of 15 open-pollinated families of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum var. distichum) subjected to flooding with saline water were evaluated in this study. Ten of the families were from coastal sites in Louisiana and Alabama, USA that have elevated levels of soil-water salinity. The other five families were from inland, freshwater sites in Louisiana. Seedlings from all families tolerated flooding with water of low (2 g l-1) salinity. Differences in biomass among families became most apparent at the highest salinity levels (6 and 8 g l-1). Overall, increasing salinity reduced leaf biomass more than root biomass, which in turn was reduced more than stem biomass. A subset of seedlings from the main greenhouse experiment was periodically placed indoors under artificial light, and measurements were made of gas exchange and leaf water potential. Also, tissue concentrations of Cl-, Na+, K+, and Ca2+ were determined at the end of the greenhouse experiment. Significant intraspecific variation was found for nearly all the physiological parameters evaluated, but only leaf concentrations of Na+ and Cl- were correlated with an index of family-level differences in salt tolerance.

  7. Evolution of Planetary Ice-Ocean Systems: Effects of Salinity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Allu Peddinti, D.; McNamara, A. K.

    2015-12-01

    Planetary oceanography is enjoying renewed attention thanks to not only the detection of several exoplanetary ocean worlds but also due to the expanding family of ocean worlds within our own star system. Our solar system is now believed to host about nine ocean worlds including Earth, some dwarf planets and few moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Amongst them, Europa, like Earth is thought to have an ice Ih-liquid water system. However, the thickness of the Europan ice-ocean system is much larger than that of the Earth. The evolution of this system would determine the individual thicknesses of the ice shell and the ocean. In turn, these thicknesses can alter the course of evolution of the system. In a pure H2O system, the thickness of the ice shell would govern if heat loss occurs entirely by conduction or if the shell begins to convect as it attains a threshold thickness. This switch between conduction-convection regimes could determine the longevity of the subsurface ocean and hence define the astrobiological potential of the planetary body at any given time. In reality, however, the system is not pure water ice. The detected induced magnetic field infers a saline ocean layer. Salts are expected to act as an anti-freeze allowing a subsurface ocean to persist over long periods but the amount of salts would determine the extent of that effect. In our current study, we use geodynamic models to examine the effect of salinity on the evolution of ice-ocean system. An initial ocean with different salinities is allowed to evolve. The effect of salinity on thickness of the two layers at any time is examined. We also track how salinity controls the switch between conductive-convective modes. The study shows that for a given time period, larger salinities can maintain a thick vigorously convecting ocean while the smaller salinities behave similar to a pure H2O system leading to a thick convecting ice-shell. A range of salinities identified can potentially predict the current state

  8. Groundwater seepage controls salinity in a hydrologically terminal basin of semi-arid northwest Australia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Skrzypek, Grzegorz; Dogramaci, Shawan; Rouillard, Alexandra; Grierson, Pauline F.

    2016-11-01

    Very small groundwater outflows have the potential to significantly impact the hydrochemistry and salt accumulation processes of notionally terminal basins in arid environments. However, this limited groundwater outflow can be very difficult to quantify using classical water budget calculations due to large uncertainties in estimates of evaporation and evapotranspiration rates from the surface of dry lake beds. In this study, we used a dimensionless time evaporation model to estimate the range of groundwater outflow required to maintain salinity levels observed at the Fortescue Marsh (FM), one of the largest wetlands of semi-arid northwest Australia (∼1100 km2). The groundwater outflow from aquifers underlying the FM to the Lower Fortescue catchment is constrained by an extremely low hydraulic gradient of <0.0001 and a small 'alluvial outlet' of 0.35 km2 because of relatively high bedrock elevation. However, FM groundwater salinity is far below saturation with respect to halite (TDS < 160 g/L), episodic flood water is fresh to brackish, and salt efflorescences are very sparse and evident only when the FM is dry. We show that if the FM was 100% "leakage free" i.e., a true terminal basin, groundwater would have achieved halite saturation (>300 g/L) after ∼45 ka. We calculated that only a very small seepage of ∼2G L/yr (∼0.03% of the FM water volume) is sufficient to maintain current salinity conditions. The minimum time required to develop the current hydrochemical groundwater composition under the FM ranges from ∼60 to ∼165 ka. We conclude that a dimensionless time evaporation model versus inflow over outflow ratio model is likely more suitable than classical water budget calculations for determining outflow from large saline lakes and to estimate groundwater seepage from hydrologically terminal basins.

  9. Working memory capacity as controlled attention in tactical decision making.

    PubMed

    Furley, Philip A; Memmert, Daniel

    2012-06-01

    The controlled attention theory of working memory capacity (WMC, Engle 2002) suggests that WMC represents a domain free limitation in the ability to control attention and is predictive of an individual's capability of staying focused, avoiding distraction and impulsive errors. In the present paper we test the predictive power of WMC in computer-based sport decision-making tasks. Experiment 1 demonstrated that high-WMC athletes were better able at focusing their attention on tactical decision making while blocking out irrelevant auditory distraction. Experiment 2 showed that high-WMC athletes were more successful at adapting their tactical decision making according to the situation instead of relying on prepotent inappropriate decisions. The present results provide additional but also unique support for the controlled attention theory of WMC by demonstrating that WMC is predictive of controlling attention in complex settings among different modalities and highlight the importance of working memory in tactical decision making.

  10. Rainfall and irrigation controls on groundwater rise and salinity risk in the Ord River Irrigation Area, northern Australia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, Anthony J.

    2008-09-01

    Groundwater beneath the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) in northern Australia has risen in elevation by 10-20 m during the past 40 years with attendant concerns about water logging and soil salinization. Persistent groundwater accession has been attributed to excessive irrigation and surface water leakage; however, analysis of daily water-table records from the past 10 years yielded a contrary result. On a seasonal basis, water-table elevation typically fell during irrigation (dry) seasons and rose during fallow (wet) seasons, conflicting with the conventional view that irrigation and not rainfall must be the dominant control on groundwater accession. Previous investigations of unexpectedly large infiltration losses through the cracking clay soils provide a plausible explanation for the apparent conundrum. Because rainfall is uncontrolled and occurs independently of the soil moisture condition, there is greater opportunity for incipient ponding and rapid infiltration through preferred flow pathways. In contrast, irrigation is scheduled when needed and applications are stopped after soil wetting is achieved. Contemporary groundwater management in the ORIA is focused on improving irrigation efficiency during dry seasons but additional opportunities may exist to improve groundwater conditions and salinity risk through giving equal attention to the wet-season water balance.

  11. Interrelationship of salinity shift with oxidative stress and lipid metabolism in the monogonont rotifer Brachionus koreanus.

    PubMed

    Lee, Min-Chul; Park, Jun Chul; Kim, Duck-Hyun; Kang, Sujin; Shin, Kyung-Hoon; Park, Heum Gi; Han, Jeonghoon; Lee, Jae-Seong

    2017-12-01

    Salinity is a critical key abiotic factor affecting biological processes such as lipid metabolism, yet the relationship between salinity and lipid metabolism has not been studied in the rotifer. To understand the effects of salinity on the monogonont rotifer B. koreanus, we examined high saline (25 and 35psu) conditions compared to the control (15psu). In vivo life cycle parameters (e.g. cumulative offspring and life span) were observed in response to 25 and 35psu compared to 15psu. In addition, to investigate whether high salinity induces oxidative stress, the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and glutathione S-transferase activity (GST) were measured in a salinity- (15, 25, and 35psu; 24h) and time-dependent manner (3, 6, 12, 24h; 35psu). Furthermore composition of fatty acid (FA) and lipid metabolism-related genes (e.g. elongases and desaturases) were examined in response to different salinity conditions. As a result, retardation in cumulative offspring and significant increase in life span were demonstrated in the 35psu treatment group compared to the control (15psu). Furthermore, ROS level and GST activity have both demonstrated a significant increase (P<0.05) in the 35psu treatment. In general, the quantity of FA and mRNA expression of the lipid metabolism-related genes was significantly decreased (P<0.05) in response to high saline condition with exceptions for both GST-S4 and S5 demonstrated a significant increase in their mRNA expression. This study demonstrates that high salinity induces oxidative stress, leading to a negative impact on lipid metabolism in the monogonont rotifer, B. koreanus. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Role of solute-transport models in the analysis of groundwater salinity problems in agricultural areas

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Konikow, Leonard F.

    1981-01-01

    Undesirable salinity increases occur in both groundwater and surface water and are commonly related to agricultural practices. Groundwater recharge from precipitation or irrigation will transport and disperse residual salts concentrated by evapotranspiration, salts leached from soil and aquifer materials, as well as some dissolved fertilizers and pesticides. Where stream salinity is affected by agricultural practices, the increases in salt load usually are attributable mostly to a groundwater component of flow. Thus, efforts to predict, manage, or control stream salinity increases should consider the role of groundwater in salt transport. Two examples of groundwater salinity problems in Colorado, U.S.A., illustrate that a model which simulates accurately the transport and dispersion of solutes in flowing groundwater can be (1) a valuable investigative tool to help understand the processes and parameters controlling the movement and fate of the salt, and (2) a valuable management tool for predicting responses and optimizing the development and use of the total water resource. ?? 1981.

  13. The effects of salinity in the soil water balance: A Budyko's approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perri, S.; Viola, F.; Molini, A.

    2017-12-01

    Soil degradation and water scarcity pose important constraints on productivity and development of arid and semi-arid countries. Among the main causes of loss of soil fertility, aridification and soil salinization are deeply connected threats enhanced by climate change. Assessing water availability is fundamental for a large number of applications especially in arid regions. An approach often adopted to estimate the long-term rainfall partitioning into evapotranspiration and runoff is the Budyko's curve. However, the classical Budyko framework might not be able to properly reproduce the water balance in salt affected basins, especially under elevated soil salinization conditions. Salinity is a limiting factor for plant transpiration (as well as growth) affecting both short and long term soil moisture dynamics and ultimately the hydrologic balance. Soluble salts cause a reduction of soil water potential similar to the one arising from droughts, although plant adaptations to soil salinity show extremely different traits and can vary from species to species. In a similar context, the salt-tolerance plants are expected to control the amount of soil moisture lost to transpiration in saline soils, also because salinity reduces evaporation. We propose a simple framework to include the effects of salinization on the surface energy and water balance within a simple Budyko approach. By introducing the effects of salinity in the stochastic water balance we are able to include the influence of vegetation type (i.e. in terms of salt-tolerance) on evapotranspiration-runoff partitioning under different climatic conditions. The water balance components are thus compared to data obtained from arid salt-affected regions.

  14. Effects of saline or albumin resuscitation on standard coagulation tests.

    PubMed

    Bellomo, Rinaldo; Morimatsu, Hiroshi; Presneill, Jeff; French, Craig; Cole, Louise; Story, David; Uchino, Shigehiko; Naka, Toshio; Finfer, Simon; Cooper, D James; Myburgh, John

    2009-12-01

    To explore whether fluid resuscitation with normal saline or 4% albumin is associated with differential changes in routine clinical coagulation tests. Substudy from a large double-blind randomised controlled trial, the SAFE (Saline versus Albumin Fluid Evaluation) study. Three general intensive care units. Cohort of 687 critically ill patients. We randomly allocated patients to receive either 4% human albumin or normal saline for fluid resuscitation, and collected demographic and haematological data. Albumin was administered to 338 patients and saline to 349. At baseline, the two groups had similar mean activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) of 37.2 s (albumin) v 39.1 s (saline); mean international normalised ratio (INR) of 1.38 v 1.34, and mean platelet count of 244 x 10(9)/L v 249 x 10(9)/L. After randomisation, during the first day of treatment, the APTT in the albumin group was prolonged by a mean of 2.7 s, but shortened slightly by a mean of -0.9 s in the saline group. The INR did not change in either group, while the platelet count decreased transiently in both groups. Using multivariate analysis of covariance to account for baseline coagulation status, albumin fluid resuscitation (P = 0.01) and a greater overall volume of resuscitation (P = 0.03) were independently associated with prolongation of APTT during the first day. Administration of albumin or of larger fluid volumes is associated with a prolongation of APTT. In ICU patients, the choice and amount of resuscitation fluid may affect a routinely used coagulation test.

  15. Potassium Retention under Salt Stress Is Associated with Natural Variation in Salinity Tolerance among Arabidopsis Accessions

    PubMed Central

    Sun, Yanling; Kong, Xiangpei; Li, Cuiling; Liu, Yongxiu; Ding, Zhaojun

    2015-01-01

    Plants are exposed to various environmental stresses during their life cycle such as salt, drought and cold. Natural variation mediated plant growth adaptation has been employed as an effective approach in response to the diverse environmental cues such as salt stress. However, the molecular mechanism underlying this process is not well understood. In the present study, a collection of 82 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions (ecotypes) was screened with a view to identify variation for salinity tolerance. Seven accessions showed a higher level of tolerance than Col-0. The young seedlings of the tolerant accessions demonstrated a higher K+ content and a lower Na+/K+ ratio when exposed to salinity stress, but its Na+ content was the same as that of Col-0. The K+ transporter genes AtHAK5, AtCHX17 and AtKUP1 were up-regulated significantly in almost all the tolerant accessions, even in the absence of salinity stress. There was little genetic variation or positive transcriptional variation between the selections and Col-0 with respect to Na+-related transporter genes, as AtSOS genes, AtNHX1 and AtHKT1;1. In addition, under salinity stress, these selections accumulated higher compatible solutes and lower reactive oxygen species than did Col-0. Taken together, our results showed that natural variation in salinity tolerance of Arabidopsis seems to have been achieved by the strong capacity of K+ retention. PMID:25993093

  16. Effects of Soil Salinity on Sucrose Metabolism in Cotton Leaves

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Lei; Luo, Junyu; Dong, Helin; Ma, Yan; Zhao, Xinhua; Chen, Binglin; Sui, Ning; Zhou, Zhiguo; Meng, Yali

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated sucrose metabolism of the youngest fully expanded main-stem leaf (MSL) and the subtending leaf of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) boll (LSCB) of salt-tolerant (CCRI-79) and salt-sensitive (Simian 3) cultivars and its relationship to boll weight under low, medium and high soil salinity stress in Dafeng, China, in 2013 and 2014. The results showed that with increased soil salinity, 1) both the chlorophyll content and net photosynthetic rate (Pn) decreased, while the internal CO2 concentration firstly declined, and then increased in the MSL and LSCB; 2) carbohydrate contents in the MSL reduced significantly, while sucrose and starch contents in the LSCB increased, as did the activities of sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) and sucrose synthase (SuSy) in both the MSL and LSCB; 3) but invertase activity in both the MSL and LSCB did not change significantly. Our study also showed that the LSCB was more sensitive to soil salinity than was the MSL. Of the measured physiological indices, higher SPS activity, mainly controlled by sps3, may contribute to adaption of the LSCB to soil salinity stress because SPS is beneficial for efficiently sucrose synthesis, reduction of cellular osmotic potential and combined actions of Pn, and sucrose transformation rate and SPS may contribute to the reduction in boll weight under soil salinity stress. PMID:27228029

  17. Case study on combined CO₂ sequestration and low-salinity water production potential in a shallow saline aquifer in Qatar.

    PubMed

    Ahmed, Tausif Khizar; Nasrabadi, Hadi

    2012-10-30

    CO₂ is one of the byproducts of natural gas production in Qatar. The high rate of natural gas production from Qatar's North Field (world's largest non-associated gas field) has led to the production of significant amounts of CO₂. The release of CO₂ into the atmosphere may be harmful from the perspective of global warming. In this work, we study the CO₂ sequestration potential in Qatar's Aruma aquifer. The Aruma aquifer is a saline aquifer in the southwest of Qatar. It occupies an area of approximately 1985 km₂ on land (16% of Qatar's total area). We have developed a compositional model for CO₂ sequestration in the Aruma aquifer on the basis of available log and flow test data. We suggest water production at some distance from the CO₂ injection wells as a possible way to control the pore pressure. This method increases the potential for safe sequestration of CO₂ in the aquifer without losing integrity of the caprock and without any CO₂ leakage. The water produced from this aquifer is considerably less saline than seawater and could be a good water source for the desalination process, which is currently the main source of water in Qatar. The outcome of the desalination process is water with higher salinity than the seawater that is currently discharged into the sea. This discharge can have negative long-term environmental effects. The water produced from the Aruma aquifer is considerably less saline than seawater and can be a partial solution to this problem. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Controlled replication: reduce the capacity occupied by redundant replicas in tiled chip multiprocessors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Hao; Xie, Lunguo

    2013-03-01

    The design of cache system for Chip Multiprocessor (CMP) face many challenges because future CMPs will have more cores and greater on-chip cache capacity. There are two base design schemes about L2 cache: private scheme in which each L2 slice is treated as a private L2 cache and shared scheme in which all L2 slices are treated as a large L2 cache shared by all cores. Private caches provide the lowest hit latency but reduce the total effective cache capacity. A shared L2 cache increases the effective cache capacity but has long hit latencies when data is on a remote tile. This paper present a new Controlled Replication (CR) policy to reduce the capacities occupied by redundant shared replicas. the new CR policy increases the effective capacity than victim replication scheme and has lower hit latency than shared scheme. We evaluate the various schemes using full-system simulation of parallel applications. Results show that CR reduces the average memory access latency of shared scheme by an average of 13%, providing better overall performance than victim replication and shared schemes.

  19. The effect of saline lock on phlebitis rates of patients in cardiac care units.

    PubMed

    Eghbali-Babadi, Maryam; Ghadiriyan, Raziyeh; Hosseini, Sayed Mohsen

    2015-01-01

    Despite advances in the field of intravenous therapy, phlebitis is still a common complication of peripheral venous catheter and finding an appropriate solution to prevent and reduce the incidence of this complication remains challenging. One of the methods used in reducing the incidence of phlebitis is the use of saline lock, which is forgotten in most hospitals. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate its impact on the incidence and severity of phlebitis. In a single-blind (the researcher) clinical trial, 88 patients with peripheral venous catheter admitted in cardiac care units in selected hospitals of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, were selected through convenient sampling method. They were randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control groups using random number table. The intervention group received 3 ml of 0.9% normal saline sterilized before and after each intravenous drug or every 12 h. However, in the control group, the intravenous drugs were given as routine and saline lock was not used. The evaluation of intravenous catheter regarding the incidence of phlebitis and its degrees using Jackson's Visual Infusion Phlebitis Scale was performed 6 times within 72 h (every 12 h). Results were evaluated by SPSS software using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, t-test, and Mann-Whitney test. Results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding the degree of phlebitis (P = 0.003). The percentage of phlebitis incidence in the control group was 88.6% and in the intervention group was 43.2%. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.001). The risk of incidence of phlebitis in the group without saline lock (control), compared to the intervention group, was 10.3 times greater (CI = 95%). The incidence of phlebitis in both groups increased with increase in the duration of catheter placement. The results of this study showed that the use of saline lock

  20. The effect of saline lock on phlebitis rates of patients in cardiac care units

    PubMed Central

    Eghbali-Babadi, Maryam; Ghadiriyan, Raziyeh; Hosseini, Sayed Mohsen

    2015-01-01

    Background: Despite advances in the field of intravenous therapy, phlebitis is still a common complication of peripheral venous catheter and finding an appropriate solution to prevent and reduce the incidence of this complication remains challenging. One of the methods used in reducing the incidence of phlebitis is the use of saline lock, which is forgotten in most hospitals. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate its impact on the incidence and severity of phlebitis. Materials and Methods: In a single-blind (the researcher) clinical trial, 88 patients with peripheral venous catheter admitted in cardiac care units in selected hospitals of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, were selected through convenient sampling method. They were randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control groups using random number table. The intervention group received 3 ml of 0.9% normal saline sterilized before and after each intravenous drug or every 12 h. However, in the control group, the intravenous drugs were given as routine and saline lock was not used. The evaluation of intravenous catheter regarding the incidence of phlebitis and its degrees using Jackson's Visual Infusion Phlebitis Scale was performed 6 times within 72 h (every 12 h). Results were evaluated by SPSS software using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, t-test, and Mann–Whitney test. Results: Results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding the degree of phlebitis (P = 0.003). The percentage of phlebitis incidence in the control group was 88.6% and in the intervention group was 43.2%. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.001). The risk of incidence of phlebitis in the group without saline lock (control), compared to the intervention group, was 10.3 times greater (CI = 95%). The incidence of phlebitis in both groups increased with increase in the duration of catheter placement. Conclusions

  1. Combination of Foot Stimulation and Tramadol Treatment Reverses Irritation Induced Bladder Overactivity in Cats

    PubMed Central

    Mally, Abhijith D.; Zhang, Fan; Matsuta, Yosuke; Shen, Bing; Wang, Jicheng; Roppolo, James R.; de Groat, William C.; Tai, Changfeng

    2013-01-01

    Purpose We determined whether transcutaneous electrical foot stimulation combined with a low dose of tramadol (Sigma-Aldrich®) could completely suppress bladder overactivity. Materials and Methods Repeat cystometrograms were performed in 18 α-chloralose anesthetized cats by infusing the bladder with saline or 0.25% acetic acid. Transcutaneous electrical stimulation (5 Hz) of the cat hind foot at 2 to 4 times the threshold intensity needed to induce observable toe movement was applied to suppress acetic acid induced bladder overactivity. Tramadol (1 to 3 mg/kg intravenously) was administered to enhance foot inhibition. Results Acetic acid irritated the bladder, induced bladder overactivity and significantly decreased bladder capacity to a mean ± SE of 26% ± 5% of saline control capacity (p <0.01). Without tramadol, foot stimulation at 2 and 4 threshold intensity applied during acetic acid cystometrograms significantly increased bladder capacity to a mean of 47% ± 5% and 62% ± 6% of saline control capacity, respectively (p <0.05). Without foot stimulation, tramadol (1 mg/kg) only slightly changed bladder capacity to a mean of 39% ± 2% of saline control capacity (p >0.05), while 3 mg/kg significantly increased capacity to 85% ± 14% that of control (p <0.05). However, 1 mg/kg tramadol combined with foot stimulation increased bladder capacity to a mean of 71% ± 18% (2 threshold intensity) and 84% ± 14% (4 threshold intensity), respectively, which did not significantly differ from saline control capacity. In addition, long lasting (greater than 1.5 to 2 hours) post-stimulation inhibition was induced by foot stimulation combined with 3 mg/kg tramadol treatment. Conclusions This study suggests a new treatment strategy for overactive bladder by combining foot stimulation with a low dose of tramadol, which is noninvasive and has potentially high efficacy and fewer adverse effects. PMID:23088991

  2. Effect of irrigation water salinity on the organic carbon mineralization in soil (laboratory incubation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mancer, Halima; Bouhoun, Mustapha Daddi

    2018-05-01

    In a laboratory study, the impact of salts on mineralization of organic carbon of soil was examined through the monitoring of the amount of CO2-C released from soil. The soil used was classified as a nonsaline soil which has been irrigated with artificially salinized water, a factorial combination of three types of salts (NaCl, MgCl2, CaCl2) with three levels of electrical conductivities (3, 6, and 9 dS.m-1) was used to assess the Carbon mineralization. The incubation was carried out under aerobic conditions and at a constant temperature of 28 °C during 70 days with moisture adjusted to 2/3 of the field capacity. No significant (P > 0.05) variation in the amount of CO2-C release from soil was observed until day 56 of the incubation, but it was significantly different due to the irrigation with salt solutions during the days: 70 (p ≤ 0.05). The results suggest that the rate of C-CO2 evolution decreased with the increase in water salinity compared to the control. Also this decrease of C-mineralization in the soils irrigated by the salts solutions of NaCl was the greatest compared to the other two salts (CaCl2, and MgCl2). These results suggest that C mineralization depended on the type of salts as well as the duration of incubation.

  3. Polymer tensiometers in a saline environment.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van der Ploeg, Martine; Gooren, H. P. A.; Bakker, G.; Russell, W.; Hoogendam, C. W.; Huiskes, C.; Shouse, P.; de Rooij, G. H.

    2010-05-01

    It is estimated that 20% of all cultivated land and nearly half of the irrigated land is salt-affected, which pose major economic and environmental problems. Salinity may be the result of two processes; dryland and irrigation salinity. Dryland salinity is caused by a rise in the groundwater table, which occurs as a result of the replacement of deep-rooted, perennial native vegetation by shallow-rooted annual species meant for production. Irrigation salinity may occur as a result of poor water quality, poor drainage, or inefficient use of water. Consequently, new strategies to enhance crop yield stability on saline soils represent a major research priority (Botella et al. 2005). At the same time, native vegetation is capable of thriving under saline and/or dry conditions. The plant physiology of such vegetation has been investigated thoroughly, but the relation with in situ soil properties (soil moisture and salinity) may be more difficult to unravel as soil moisture sensors are less sensitive in dry soil, and the signal of most soil moisture content sensors is strongly attenuated by soil salinity. Recently, polymer tensiometer were developed that are able to measure matric potentials (closely related to a soil's moisture status) in dry soils. Polymer tensiometers consist of a solid ceramic, a stainless steel cup and a pressure transducer. The ceramic consist of a support layer and a membrane with 2 nm pore-size to prevent polymer leakage. Between the ceramic membrane and the pressure transducer a tiny chamber is located, which contains the polymer solution. The polymer's osmotic potential strongly reduces the total water potential inside the polymer tensiometer, which causes build-up of osmotic pressure. Polymer tensiometers would thus be an ideal instrument to measure in dry soil, if the polymer inside the tensiometer is not affected by the salts in the soil solution. We will address some key issues regarding the use of POTs in saline environments by showing

  4. Additive effects of Na+ and Cl– ions on barley growth under salinity stress

    PubMed Central

    Tavakkoli, Ehsan; Fatehi, Foad; Coventry, Stewart; Rengasamy, Pichu; McDonald, Glenn K.

    2011-01-01

    Soil salinity affects large areas of the world's cultivated land, causing significant reductions in crop yield. Despite the fact that most plants accumulate both sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl–) ions in high concentrations in their shoot tissues when grown in saline soils, most research on salt tolerance in annual plants has focused on the toxic effects of Na+ accumulation. It has previously been suggested that Cl– toxicity may also be an important cause of growth reduction in barley plants. Here, the extent to which specific ion toxicities of Na+ and Cl– reduce the growth of barley grown in saline soils is shown under varying salinity treatments using four barley genotypes differing in their salt tolerance in solution and soil-based systems. High Na+, Cl–, and NaCl separately reduced the growth of barley, however, the reductions in growth and photosynthesis were greatest under NaCl stress and were mainly additive of the effects of Na+ and Cl– stress. The results demonstrated that Na+ and Cl– exclusion among barley genotypes are independent mechanisms and different genotypes expressed different combinations of the two mechanisms. High concentrations of Na+ reduced K+ and Ca2+ uptake and reduced photosynthesis mainly by reducing stomatal conductance. By comparison, high Cl– concentration reduced photosynthetic capacity due to non-stomatal effects: there was chlorophyll degradation, and a reduction in the actual quantum yield of PSII electron transport which was associated with both photochemical quenching and the efficiency of excitation energy capture. The results also showed that there are fundamental differences in salinity responses between soil and solution culture, and that the importance of the different mechanisms of salt damage varies according to the system under which the plants were grown. PMID:21273334

  5. Rain Impact Model Assessment of Near-Surface Salinity Stratification Following Rainfall

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Drushka, K.; Jones, L.; Jacob, M. M.; Asher, W.; Santos-Garcia, A.

    2016-12-01

    Rainfall over oceans produces a layer of fresher surface water, which can have a significant effect on the exchanges between the surface and the bulk mixed layer and also on satellite/in-situ comparisons. For satellite sea surface salinity (SSS) measurements, the standard is the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM), but there is a significant difference between the remote sensing sampling depth of 0.01 m and the typical range of 5-10 m of in-situ instruments. Under normal conditions the upper layer of the ocean is well mixed and there is uniform salinity; however, under rainy conditions, there is a dilution of the near-surface salinity that mixes downward by diffusion and by mechanical mixing (gravity waves/wind speed). This significantly modifies the salinity gradient in the upper 1-2 m of the ocean, but these transient salinity stratifications dissipate in a few hours, and the upper layer becomes well mixed at a slightly fresher salinity. Based upon research conducted within the NASA/CONAE Aquarius/SAC-D mission, a rain impact model (RIM) was developed to estimate the change in SSS due to rainfall near the time of the satellite observation, with the objective to identify the probability of salinity stratification. RIM uses HYCOM (which does not include the short-term rain effects) and a NOAA global rainfall product CMORPH to model changes in the near-surface salinity profile in 0.5 h increments. Based upon SPURS-2 experimental near-surface salinity measurements with rain, this paper introduces a term in the RIM model that accounts for the effect of wind speed in the mechanical mixing, which translates into a dynamic vertical diffusivity; whereby a Generalized Ocean Turbulence Model (GOTM) is used to investigate the response to rain events of the upper few meters of the ocean. The objective is to determine how rain and wind forcing control the thickness, stratification strength, and lifetime of fresh lenses and to quantify the impacts of rain-formed fresh lenses

  6. Leaf gas exchange and nutrient use efficiency help explain the distribution of two Neotropical mangroves under contrasting flooding and salinity

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cardona-Olarte, Pablo; Krauss, Ken W.; Twilley, Robert R.

    2013-01-01

    Rhizophora mangle and Laguncularia racemosa co-occur along many intertidal floodplains in the Neotropics. Their patterns of dominance shift along various gradients, coincident with salinity, soil fertility, and tidal flooding. We used leaf gas exchange metrics to investigate the strategies of these two species in mixed culture to simulate competition under different salinity concentrations and hydroperiods. Semidiurnal tidal and permanent flooding hydroperiods at two constant salinity regimes (10 g L−1 and 40 g L−1) were simulated over 10 months. Assimilation (A), stomatal conductance (gw), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), instantaneous photosynthetic water use efficiency (PWUE), and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE) were determined at the leaf level for both species over two time periods. Rhizophora mangle had significantly higher PWUE than did L. racemosa seedlings at low salinities; however, L. racemosa had higher PNUE and stomatal conductance and gw, accordingly, had greater intercellular CO2 (calculated) during measurements. Both species maintained similar capacities for assimilation at 10 and 40 g L−1 salinity and during both permanent and tidal hydroperiod treatments. Hydroperiod alone had no detectable effect on leaf gas exchange. However, PWUE increased and PNUE decreased for both species at 40 g L−1 salinity compared to 10 g L−1. At 40 g L−1 salinity, PNUE was higher for L. racemosa than R. mangle with tidal flooding. These treatments indicated that salinity influences gas exchange efficiency, might affect how gases are apportioned intercellularly, and accentuates different strategies for distributing leaf nitrogen to photosynthesis for these two species while growing competitively.

  7. Improved characterization of heterogeneous permeability in saline aquifers from transient pressure data during freshwater injection

    DOE PAGES

    Kang, Peter K.; Lee, Jonghyun; Fu, Xiaojing; ...

    2017-05-31

    Managing recharge of freshwater into saline aquifers requires accurate estimation of the heterogeneous permeability field for maximizing injection and recovery efficiency. Here we present a methodology for subsurface characterization in saline aquifers that takes advantage of the density difference between the injected freshwater and the ambient saline groundwater. We combine high-resolution forward modeling of density-driven flow with an efficient Bayesian geostatistical inversion algorithm. In the presence of a density difference between the injected and ambient fluids due to differences in salinity, the pressure field is coupled to the spatial distribution of salinity. This coupling renders the pressure field transient: themore » time evolution of the salinity distribution controls the density distribution which then leads to a time-evolving pressure distribution. We exploit this coupling between pressure and salinity to obtain an improved characterization of the permeability field without multiple pumping tests or additional salinity measurements. We show that the inversion performance improves with an increase in the mixed convection ratio—the relative importance between viscous forces from injection and buoyancy forces from density difference. Thus, our work shows that measuring transient pressure data at multiple sampling points during freshwater injection into saline aquifers can be an effective strategy for aquifer characterization, key to the successful management of aquifer recharge.« less

  8. Improved characterization of heterogeneous permeability in saline aquifers from transient pressure data during freshwater injection

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kang, Peter K.; Lee, Jonghyun; Fu, Xiaojing

    Managing recharge of freshwater into saline aquifers requires accurate estimation of the heterogeneous permeability field for maximizing injection and recovery efficiency. Here we present a methodology for subsurface characterization in saline aquifers that takes advantage of the density difference between the injected freshwater and the ambient saline groundwater. We combine high-resolution forward modeling of density-driven flow with an efficient Bayesian geostatistical inversion algorithm. In the presence of a density difference between the injected and ambient fluids due to differences in salinity, the pressure field is coupled to the spatial distribution of salinity. This coupling renders the pressure field transient: themore » time evolution of the salinity distribution controls the density distribution which then leads to a time-evolving pressure distribution. We exploit this coupling between pressure and salinity to obtain an improved characterization of the permeability field without multiple pumping tests or additional salinity measurements. We show that the inversion performance improves with an increase in the mixed convection ratio—the relative importance between viscous forces from injection and buoyancy forces from density difference. Thus, our work shows that measuring transient pressure data at multiple sampling points during freshwater injection into saline aquifers can be an effective strategy for aquifer characterization, key to the successful management of aquifer recharge.« less

  9. Environmental and Groundwater Controls on Evaporation Rates of A Shallow Saline Lake in the Western Sandhills Nebraska, USA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peake, C.; Riveros-Iregui, D.; Lenters, J. D.; Zlotnik, V. A.; Ong, J.

    2013-12-01

    The western Sand Hills of Nebraska exhibit many shallow saline lakes that actively mediate groundwater-lake-atmospheric exchanges. The region is home to the largest stabilized dune field in the western hemisphere. Most of the lakes in the western Sand Hills region are saline and support a wide range of ecosystems. However, they are also highly sensitive to variability in evaporative and groundwater fluxes, which makes them a good laboratory to examine the effects of climate on the water balance of interdunal lakes. Despite being semiarid, little is known about the importance of groundwater-surface water interactions on evaporative rates, or the effects of changes in meteorological and energy forcings on the diel, and seasonal dynamics of evaporative fluxes. Our study is the first to estimate evaporation rates from one of the hundreds of shallow saline lakes that occur in the western Sand Hills region. We applied the energy balance Bowen ratio method at Alkali Lake, a typical saline western Sand Hills lake, over a three-year period (2007-2009) to quantify summer evaporation rates. Daily evaporation rates averaged 5.5 mm/day from July through September and were largely controlled by solar radiation on a seasonal and diel scales. Furthermore, the range of annual variability of evaporation rates was low. Although less pronounced, groundwater level effects on evaporation rates were also observed, especially from August through October when solar radiation was lower. The lake exhibits significant fluctuation in lake levels and combined with a shallow lake bed, large changes in lake surface area are observed. Our findings also show that with the onset of summer conditions, lake surface area can change very rapidly (e.g. 24% of its surface area or ~16.6 hectares were lost in less than ~2 months). In every year summer evaporation exceeded annual rainfall by an average of 28.2% suggesting that groundwater is a significant component of the lake water balance, it is important

  10. Spatial variability of soil salinity in coastal saline soil at different scales in the Yellow River Delta, China.

    PubMed

    Wang, Zhuoran; Zhao, Gengxing; Gao, Mingxiu; Chang, Chunyan

    2017-02-01

    The objectives of this study were to explore the spatial variability of soil salinity in coastal saline soil at macro, meso and micro scales in the Yellow River delta, China. Soil electrical conductivities (ECs) were measured at 0-15, 15-30, 30-45 and 45-60 cm soil depths at 49 sampling sites during November 9 to 11, 2013. Soil salinity was converted from soil ECs based on laboratory analyses. Our results indicated that at the macro scale, soil salinity was high with strong variability in each soil layer, and the content increased and the variability weakened with increasing soil depth. From east to west in the region, the farther away from the sea, the lower the soil salinity was. The degrees of soil salinization in three deeper soil layers are 1.14, 1.24 and 1.40 times higher than that in the surface soil. At the meso scale, the sequence of soil salinity in different topographies, soil texture and vegetation decreased, respectively, as follows: depression >flatland >hillock >batture; sandy loam >light loam >medium loam >heavy loam >clay; bare land >suaeda salsa >reed >cogongrass >cotton >paddy >winter wheat. At the micro scale, soil salinity changed with elevation in natural micro-topography and with anthropogenic activities in cultivated land. As the study area narrowed down to different scales, the spatial variability of soil salinity weakened gradually in cultivated land and salt wasteland except the bare land.

  11. Overview of the Nordic Seas CARINA data and salinity measurements

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Olsen, Are; Key, Robert; Jeansson, Emil

    2009-01-01

    Water column data of carbon and carbon relevant hydrographic and hydrochemical parameters from 188 previously non-publicly available cruises in the Arctic, Atlantic, and Southern Ocean have been retrieved and merged into a new database: CARINA (CARbon IN the Atlantic). The data have been subject to rigorous quality control (QC) in order to ensure highest possible quality and consistency. The data for most of the parameters included were examined in order to quantify systematic biases in the reported values, i.e. secondary quality control. Significant biases have been corrected for in the data products, i.e. the three merged files with measured, calculatedmore » and interpolated values for each of the three CARINA regions; the Arctic Mediterranean Seas (AMS), the Atlantic (ATL) and the Southern Ocean (SO).With the adjustments the CARINA database is consistent both internally as well as with GLODAP (Key et al., 2004) and is suitable for accurate assessments of, for example, oceanic carbon inventories and uptake rates and for model validation. The Arctic Mediterranean Seas include the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic Seas, and the quality control was carried out separately in these two areas. This contribution provides an overview of the CARINA data from the Nordic Seas and summaries the findings of the QC of the salinity data. One cruise had salinity data that were of questionable quality, and these have been removed from the data product. An evaluation of the consistency of the quality controlled salinity data suggests that they are consistent to at least 0.005.« less

  12. Importance of plasticity and local adaptation for coping with changing salinity in coastal areas: a test case with barnacles in the Baltic Sea

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Salinity plays an important role in shaping coastal marine communities. Near-future climate predictions indicate that salinity will decrease in many shallow coastal areas due to increased precipitation; however, few studies have addressed this issue. The ability of ecosystems to cope with future changes will depend on species’ capacities to acclimatise or adapt to new environmental conditions. Here, we investigated the effects of a strong salinity gradient (the Baltic Sea system – Baltic, Kattegat, Skagerrak) on plasticity and adaptations in the euryhaline barnacle Balanus improvisus. We used a common-garden approach, where multiple batches of newly settled barnacles from each of three different geographical areas along the Skagerrak-Baltic salinity gradient were exposed to corresponding native salinities (6, 15 and 30 PSU), and phenotypic traits including mortality, growth, shell strength, condition index and reproductive maturity were recorded. Results We found that B. improvisus was highly euryhaline, but had highest growth and reproductive maturity at intermediate salinities. We also found that low salinity had negative effects on other fitness-related traits including initial growth and shell strength, although mortality was also lowest in low salinity. Overall, differences between populations in most measured traits were weak, indicating little local adaptation to salinity. Nonetheless, we observed some population-specific responses – notably that populations from high salinity grew stronger shells in their native salinity compared to the other populations, possibly indicating adaptation to differences in local predation pressure. Conclusions Our study shows that B. improvisus is an example of a true brackish-water species, and that plastic responses are more likely than evolutionary tracking in coping with future changes in coastal salinity. PMID:25038588

  13. Elevated CO2 and salinity are responsible for phenolics-enrichment in two differently pigmented lettuces.

    PubMed

    Sgherri, Cristina; Pérez-López, Usue; Micaelli, Francesco; Miranda-Apodaca, Jon; Mena-Petite, Amaia; Muñoz-Rueda, Alberto; Quartacci, Mike Frank

    2017-06-01

    Both salt stress and high CO 2 level, besides influencing secondary metabolism, can affect oxidative status of plants mainly acting in an opposite way with salinity provoking oxidative stress and elevated CO 2 alleviating it. The aim of the present work was to study the changes in the composition of phenolic acids and flavonoids as well as in the antioxidant activity in two differently pigmented lettuce cvs (green or red leaf) when submitted to salinity (200 mM NaCl) or elevated CO 2 (700 ppm) or to their combination in order to evaluate how a future global change can affect lettuce quality. Following treatments, the red cv. always maintained higher levels of antioxidant secondary metabolites as well as antioxidant activity, proving to be more responsive to altered environmental conditions than the green one. Overall, these results suggest that the application of moderate salinity or elevated CO 2 , alone or in combination, can induce the production of some phenolics that increase the health benefits of lettuce. In particular, moderate salinity was able to induce the synthesis of the flavonoids quercetin, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide and quercitrin. Phenolics-enrichment as well as a higher antioxidant capacity were also observed under high CO 2 with the red lettuce accumulating cyanidin, free chlorogenic acid, conjugated caffeic and ferulic acid as well as quercetin, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, rutin, quercitrin and kaempferol. When salinity was present in combination with elevated CO 2 , reduction in yield was prevented and a higher presence of phenolic compounds, in particular luteolin, was observed compared to salinity alone. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  14. Protein-sparing effect of carbohydrate in diets for juvenile turbot Scophthalmus maximus reared at different salinities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeng, Lin; Lei, Jilin; Ai, Chunxiang; Hong, Wanshu; Liu, Bin

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the protein-sparing effect of carbohydrate in diets for juvenile turbot ( Scophthalmus maximus) reared at five salinities (12, 18, 24, 30, and 36). The fish were fed three isocaloric and isolipidic diets for 60 days. The results show that specific growth rate (SGR) and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) were higher in fish reared at salinities of 18 and 36, but lower at 12. Fish fed with diet C25P40 (25% carbohydrate and 40% protein) had lower SGR and FCE values compared with those fed with the C5P52 (5% carbohydrate and 52% protein) and C15P46 (15% carbohydrate and 46% protein) diets; however, there was no statistical difference between diet C5P52 and C15P46. SGR and FCE values were unaffected by diet composition in fish reared at salinity 36. Hepatic lipogenic enzyme activities were higher in fish reared at 18 and 36, but lower at 12, while glucokinase (GK) activity was higher in fish reared at 12, and lower at 18 and 36. Dietary starch enhanced GK activity while depressing lipogenic enzyme activity. However, lipogenic enzyme activity increased with increasing dietary starch in fish reared at 36. It is recommended that salinity should be maintained >12 in the farming of juvenile turbot. In addition, an increase in gelatinized starch from 5% to 15% could spare 6% dietary protein in fish reared at salinities of 18-30, while higher salinity (36) could improve dietary carbohydrate use and enhance the protein-sparing effect, which is linked with the induction of lipogenic capacities.

  15. In Situ Global Sea Surface Salinity and Variability from the NCEI Global Thermosalinograph Database

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Z.; Boyer, T.; Zhang, H. M.

    2017-12-01

    Sea surface salinity (SSS) plays an important role in the global ocean circulations. The variations of sea surface salinity are key indicators of changes in air-sea water fluxes. Using nearly 30 years of in situ measurements of sea surface salinity from thermosalinographs, we will evaluate the variations of the sea surface salinity in the global ocean. The sea surface salinity data used are from our newly-developed NCEI Global Thermosalinograph Database - NCEI-TSG. This database provides a comprehensive set of quality-controlled in-situ sea-surface salinity and temperature measurements collected from over 340 vessels during the period 1989 to the present. The NCEI-TSG is the world's most complete TSG dataset, containing all data from the different TSG data assembly centers, e.g. COAPS (SAMOS), IODE (GOSUD) and AOML, with more historical data from NCEI's archive to be added. Using this unique dataset, we will investigate the spatial variations of the global SSS and its variability. Annual and interannual variability will also be studied at selected regions.

  16. Molecular mechanisms underlying the protective effects of hydrogen-saturated saline on noise-induced hearing loss.

    PubMed

    Chen, Liwei; Han, Mingkun; Lu, Yan; Chen, Daishi; Sun, Xuejun; Yang, Shiming; Sun, Wei; Yu, Ning; Zhai, Suoqiang

    2017-10-01

    This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanism of the protective effects of hydrogen-saturated saline on NIHL. Guinea pigs were divided into three groups: hydrogen-saturated saline; normal saline; and control. For saline administration, the guinea pigs were given daily abdominal injections 3 d before and 1 h before noise exposure. ABR were tested to examine cochlear physiology changes. The changes of 8-hydroxy-desoxyguanosine (8-HOdG), interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and high mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1) in the cochlea were also examined. The results showed that pre-treatment with hydrogen-saturated saline could significantly attenuate noise-induced hearing loss. The concentration of 8-HOdG was also significantly decreased in the hydrogen-saturated saline group compared with the normal saline group. After noise exposure, the concentrations of IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, and ICAM-1 in the cochlea of guinea pigs in the hydrogen-saturated saline group were dramatically reduced compared to those in the normal saline group. The concentrations of HMGB-1 and IL-10 in the hydrogen-saturated saline group were significantly higher than in those in the normal saline group immediately and at 7 d after noise exposure. This study revealed for the first time the protective effects of hydrogen-saturated saline on noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) are related to both the anti-oxidative activity and anti-inflammatory activity.

  17. Study of the buffering capacity, pH and salivary flow rate in type 2 well-controlled and poorly controlled diabetic patients.

    PubMed

    Bernardi, Maria José; Reis, Alessandra; Loguercio, Alessandro Dourado; Kehrig, Ruth; Leite, Mariana Ferreira; Nicolau, José

    2007-01-01

    This study measured the flow rate, pH and buffering capacity of saliva from well- and poorly metabolically controlled Type 2 diabetic patients in three cities of the southern part of Brazil, compared with healthy individuals from the same cities. Whole saliva was collected by mechanical stimulation and buffering capacity and glucose level were measured. Blood was collected after 12 hours fasting and glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin concentrations were determined. The data were analysed by one-way ANOVA and Student-Newman-Keuls (alpha= 0.05). The flow rate was lower in the Type 2 diabetic patients, regardless of whether they were well or poorly metabolically controlled, compared with healthy individuals (p < 0.05). Salivary glucose concentration was higher in both diabetic patient groups, i.e. well and poorly metabolically controlled, than in the control (p < 0.05). The metabolic control of hyperglycaemia was not sufficient to improve the salivary flow rate or the salivary glucose concentration.

  18. Electrocapillary Phenomena at Edible Oil/Saline Interfaces.

    PubMed

    Nishimura, Satoshi; Ohzono, Takuya; Shoji, Kohei; Yagihara, Shin; Hayashi, Masafumi; Tanaka, Hisao

    2017-03-01

    Interfacial tension between edible oil and saline was measured under applied electric fields to understand the electrocapillary phenomena at the edible oil/saline interfaces. The electric responses of saline droplets in edible oil were also observed microscopically to examine the relationship between the electrocapillary phenomena and interfacial polarization. When sodium oleate (SO) was added to edible oil (SO-oil), the interfacial tension between SO-oil and saline decreased. However, no decrease was observed for additive-free oil or oleic acid (OA)-added oil (OA-oil). Microscopic observations suggested that the magnitude of interfacial polarization increased in the order of additive-free oil < OA-oil < SO-oil. The difference in electrocapillary phenomena between OA- and SO-oils was closely related to the polarization magnitude. In the case of SO-oil, the decrease in interfacial tension was remarkably larger for saline (pH 5.4~5.6) than that for phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.2~7.4). However, no difference was observed between the electric responses of PBS and saline droplets in SO-oil. The difference in electrocapillary phenomena for PBS and saline could not be simply explained in terms of polarization magnitude. The ratio of ionized and non-ionized OA at the interfaces changed with the saline pH, possibly leading to the above difference.

  19. Effects of non-uniform root zone salinity on water use, Na+ recirculation, and Na+ and H+ flux in cotton

    PubMed Central

    Kong, Xiangqiang; Luo, Zhen; Dong, Hezhong; Eneji, A. Egrinya

    2012-01-01

    A new split-root system was established through grafting to study cotton response to non-uniform salinity. Each root half was treated with either uniform (100/100 mM) or non-uniform NaCl concentrations (0/200 and 50/150 mM). In contrast to uniform control, non-uniform salinity treatment improved plant growth and water use, with more water absorbed from the non- and low salinity side. Non-uniform treatments decreased Na+ concentrations in leaves. The [Na+] in the ‘0’ side roots of the 0/200 treatment was significantly higher than that in either side of the 0/0 control, but greatly decreased when the ‘0’ side phloem was girdled, suggesting that the increased [Na+] in the ‘0’ side roots was possibly due to transportation of foliar Na+ to roots through phloem. Plants under non-uniform salinity extruded more Na+ from the root than those under uniform salinity. Root Na+ efflux in the low salinity side was greatly enhanced by the higher salinity side. NaCl-induced Na+ efflux and H+ influx were inhibited by amiloride and sodium orthovanadate, suggesting that root Na+ extrusion was probably due to active Na+/H+ antiport across the plasma membrane. Improved plant growth under non-uniform salinity was thus attributed to increased water use, reduced leaf Na+ concentration, transport of excessive foliar Na+ to the low salinity side, and enhanced Na+ efflux from the low salinity root. PMID:22200663

  20. Comparison of Leaf Sheath Transcriptome Profiles with Physiological Traits of Bread Wheat Cultivars under Salinity Stress

    PubMed Central

    Trittermann, Christine; Berger, Bettina; Roy, Stuart J.; Seki, Motoaki; Shinozaki, Kazuo; Tester, Mark

    2015-01-01

    Salinity stress has significant negative effects on plant biomass production and crop yield. Salinity tolerance is controlled by complex systems of gene expression and ion transport. The relationship between specific features of mild salinity stress adaptation and gene expression was analyzed using four commercial varieties of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) that have different levels of salinity tolerance. The high-throughput phenotyping system in The Plant Accelerator at the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility revealed variation in shoot relative growth rate and salinity tolerance among the four cultivars. Comparative analysis of gene expression in the leaf sheaths identified genes whose functions are potentially linked to shoot biomass development and salinity tolerance. Early responses to mild salinity stress through changes in gene expression have an influence on the acquisition of stress tolerance and improvement in biomass accumulation during the early “osmotic” phase of salinity stress. In addition, results revealed transcript profiles for the wheat cultivars that were different from those of usual stress-inducible genes, but were related to those of plant growth. These findings suggest that, in the process of breeding, selection of specific traits with various salinity stress-inducible genes in commercial bread wheat has led to adaptation to mild salinity conditions. PMID:26244554

  1. Salinity Effects on Photosynthesis, Carbon Allocation, and Nitrogen Assimilation in the Red Alga, Gelidium coulteri1

    PubMed Central

    Macler, Bruce A.

    1988-01-01

    The long-term effects of altered salinities on the physiology of the intertidal red alga Gelidium coulteri Harv. were assessed. Plants were transfered from 30 grams per liter salinity to media with salinities from 0 to 50 grams per liter. Growth rate, agar, photosynthesis, respiration, and various metabolites were quantified after 5 days and 5 weeks adaptation. After 5 days, growth rates were lower for plants at all altered salinities. Growth rates recovered from these values with 5 weeks adaptation, except for salinities of 10 grams per liter and below, where tissues bleached and died. Photosynthetic O2 evolution was lower than control values at both higher and lower salinities after 5 days and did not change over time. Carbon fixation at the altered salinities was unchanged after 5 days, but decreased below 25 grams per liter and above 40 grams per liter after 5 weeks. Respiration increased at lower salinities. Phycobili-protein and chlorophyll were lower for all altered salinities after 5 days. These decreases continued at lower salinities, then were stable after 5 weeks. Chlorophyll recovered over time at higher salinities. Decreases in protein at lower salinities were quantitatively attributable to phycobili-protein loss. Total N levels and C:N ratios were nearly constant across all salinities tested. Carbon flow into glutamate and aspartate decreased with both decreasing and increasing salinities. Glycine, serine, and glycolate levels increased with both increasing and decreasing salinity, indicating a stimulation of photorespiration. The cell wall component agar increased with decreasing salinity, although biosynthesis was inhibited at both higher and lower salinities. The storage compound floridoside increased with increasing salinity. The evidence suggests stress responses to altered salinities that directly affected photosynthesis, respiration, and nitrogen assimilation and indirectly affected photosynthate flow. At low salinities, respiration and

  2. Visual imaging capacity and imagery control in Fine Arts students.

    PubMed

    Pérez-Fabello, Maria José; Campos, Alfredo; Gómez-Juncal, Rocío

    2007-06-01

    This study investigated relationships between visual imaging abilities (imaging capacity and imagery control) and academic performance in 146 Fine Arts students (31 men, 115 women). Mean age was 22.3 yr. (SD= 1.9; range 20-26 yr.). All of the participants who volunteered for the experiment regularly attended classes and were first, second, or third year students. For evaluation of imaging abilities, the Spanish versions of the Gordon Test of Visual Imagery Control, the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire, the Verbalizer-Visualizer Questionnaire, and Betts' Questionnaire Upon Mental Imagery were used. Academic performance was assessed in four areas, Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, and Complementary Subjects, over a three-year period. The results indicate that imagery control was associated with academic performance in Fine Arts. These findings are discussed in the context of previous studies, and new lines of research are proposed.

  3. The Benefits of Working Memory Capacity on Attentional Control under Pressure.

    PubMed

    Luo, Xiaoxiao; Zhang, Liwei; Wang, Jin

    2017-01-01

    The present study aimed to examine the effects of working memory capacity (WMC) and state anxiety (SA) on attentional control. WMC was manipulated by (a) dividing participants into low- and high-WMC groups (Experiment 1), and (b) using working memory training to improve WMC (Experiment 2). SA was manipulated by creating low- and high-SA conditions. Attentional control was evaluated by using antisaccade task. Results demonstrated that (a) higher WMC indicated better attentional control (Experiments 1 and 2); (b) the effects of SA on attentional control were inconsistent because SA impaired attentional control in Experiment 1, but favored attentional control in Experiment 2; and (c) the interaction of SA and WMC was not significant (Experiments 1 and 2). This study directly manipulated WMC by working memory training, which provided more reliable evidence for controlled attention view of WMC and new supportive evidence for working memory training (i.e., far transfer effect on attentional control). And the refinement of the relationship between anxiety and attentional control proposed by Attentional Control Theory was also discussed.

  4. The Benefits of Working Memory Capacity on Attentional Control under Pressure

    PubMed Central

    Luo, Xiaoxiao; Zhang, Liwei; Wang, Jin

    2017-01-01

    The present study aimed to examine the effects of working memory capacity (WMC) and state anxiety (SA) on attentional control. WMC was manipulated by (a) dividing participants into low- and high-WMC groups (Experiment 1), and (b) using working memory training to improve WMC (Experiment 2). SA was manipulated by creating low- and high-SA conditions. Attentional control was evaluated by using antisaccade task. Results demonstrated that (a) higher WMC indicated better attentional control (Experiments 1 and 2); (b) the effects of SA on attentional control were inconsistent because SA impaired attentional control in Experiment 1, but favored attentional control in Experiment 2; and (c) the interaction of SA and WMC was not significant (Experiments 1 and 2). This study directly manipulated WMC by working memory training, which provided more reliable evidence for controlled attention view of WMC and new supportive evidence for working memory training (i.e., far transfer effect on attentional control). And the refinement of the relationship between anxiety and attentional control proposed by Attentional Control Theory was also discussed. PMID:28740472

  5. Last Glacial Maximum Salinity Reconstruction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Homola, K.; Spivack, A. J.

    2016-12-01

    It has been previously demonstrated that salinity can be reconstructed from sediment porewater. The goal of our study is to reconstruct high precision salinity during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Salinity is usually determined at high precision via conductivity, which requires a larger volume of water than can be extracted from a sediment core, or via chloride titration, which yields lower than ideal precision. It has been demonstrated for water column samples that high precision density measurements can be used to determine salinity at the precision of a conductivity measurement using the equation of state of seawater. However, water column seawater has a relatively constant composition, in contrast to porewater, where variations from standard seawater composition occur. These deviations, which affect the equation of state, must be corrected for through precise measurements of each ion's concentration and knowledge of apparent partial molar density in seawater. We have developed a density-based method for determining porewater salinity that requires only 5 mL of sample, achieving density precisions of 10-6 g/mL. We have applied this method to porewater samples extracted from long cores collected along a N-S transect across the western North Atlantic (R/V Knorr cruise KN223). Density was determined to a precision of 2.3x10-6 g/mL, which translates to salinity uncertainty of 0.002 gms/kg if the effect of differences in composition is well constrained. Concentrations of anions (Cl-, and SO4-2) and cations (Na+, Mg+, Ca+2, and K+) were measured. To correct salinities at the precision required to unravel LGM Meridional Overturning Circulation, our ion precisions must be better than 0.1% for SO4-/Cl- and Mg+/Na+, and 0.4% for Ca+/Na+, and K+/Na+. Alkalinity, pH and Dissolved Inorganic Carbon of the porewater were determined to precisions better than 4% when ratioed to Cl-, and used to calculate HCO3-, and CO3-2. Apparent partial molar densities in seawater were

  6. Atlantic Ocean CARINA data: overview and salinity adjustments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tanhua, T.; Steinfeldt, R.; Key, R. M.; Brown, P.; Gruber, N.; Wanninkhof, R.; Perez, F.; Körtzinger, A.; Velo, A.; Schuster, U.; van Heuven, S.; Bullister, J. L.; Stendardo, I.; Hoppema, M.; Olsen, A.; Kozyr, A.; Pierrot, D.; Schirnick, C.; Wallace, D. W. R.

    2009-08-01

    Water column data of carbon and carbon-relevant hydrographic and hydrochemical parameters from 188 previously non-publicly available cruise data sets in the Arctic, Atlantic and Southern Ocean have been retrieved and merged into a new database: CARINA (CARbon IN the Atlantic). The data have gone through rigorous quality control procedures to assure the highest possible quality and consistency. The data for the pertinent parameters in the CARINA database were objectively examined in order to quantify systematic differences in the reported values, i.e. secondary quality control. Systematic biases found in the data have been corrected in the data products, i.e. three merged data files with measured, calculated and interpolated data for each of the three CARINA regions, i.e. Arctic, Atlantic and Southern Ocean. Ninety-eight of the cruises in the CARINA database were conducted in the Atlantic Ocean, defined here as the region south of the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland Ridge and north of about 30° S. Here we present an overview of the Atlantic Ocean synthesis of the CARINA data and the adjustments that were applied to the data product. We also report details of the secondary QC for salinity for this data set. Procedures of quality control - including crossover analysis between stations and inversion analysis of all crossover data - are briefly described. Adjustments to salinity measurements were applied to the data from 10 cruises in the Atlantic Ocean region. Based on our analysis we estimate the internal accuracy of the CARINA-ATL salinity data to be 4.1 ppm. With these adjustments the CARINA database is consistent both internally as well as with GLODAP data, an oceanographic data set based on the World Hydrographic Program in the 1990s (Key et al., 2004), and is now suitable for accurate assessments of, for example, oceanic carbon inventories and uptake rates and for model validation.

  7. Attenuation of Cigarette Smoke-Induced Airway Mucus Production by Hydrogen-Rich Saline in Rats

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Jingxi; Dong, Yuchao; Xu, Wujian; Li, Qiang

    2013-01-01

    Background Over-production of mucus is an important pathophysiological feature in chronic airway disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Cigarette smoking (CS) is the leading cause of COPD. Oxidative stress plays a key role in CS-induced airway abnormal mucus production. Hydrogen protected cells and tissues against oxidative damage by scavenging hydroxyl radicals. In the present study we investigated the effect of hydrogen on CS-induced mucus production in rats. Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: sham control, CS group, hydrogen-rich saline pretreatment group and hydrogen-rich saline control group. Lung morphology and tissue biochemical changes were determined by immunohistochemistry, Alcian Blue/periodic acid-Schiff staining, TUNEL, western blot and realtime RT-PCR. Results Hydrogen-rich saline pretreatment attenuated CS-induced mucus accumulation in the bronchiolar lumen, goblet cell hyperplasia, muc5ac over-expression and abnormal cell apoptosis in the airway epithelium as well as malondialdehyde increase in the BALF. The phosphorylation of EGFR at Tyr1068 and Nrf2 up-regulation expression in the rat lungs challenged by CS exposure were also abrogated by hydrogen-rich saline. Conclusion Hydrogen-rich saline pretreatment ameliorated CS-induced airway mucus production and airway epithelium damage in rats. The protective role of hydrogen on CS-exposed rat lungs was achieved at least partly by its free radical scavenging ability. This is the first report to demonstrate that intraperitoneal administration of hydrogen-rich saline protected rat airways against CS damage and it could be promising in treating abnormal airway mucus production in COPD. PMID:24376700

  8. Corrosion of dental aluminium bronze in neutral saline and saline lactic acid.

    PubMed

    Tibballs, J E; Erimescu, Raluca

    2006-09-01

    To compare the corrosion behaviours of two aluminium bronze, dental casting alloys during a standard immersion test and for immersion in neutral saline. Cast specimens of aluminium bronzes with 1.4 wt% Fe (G) and 4 wt% Fe (N) were subject to progressively longer periods (up to in total 7 days) immersed in 0.1 M saline, 0.1 M lactic acid solutions and examined by scanning electron microscopy with EDX analysis. Immersion in 0.1M neutral saline was for 7 days. In the acidic solution, exposed interdendritic volumes in alloy N corroded completely away in 7 days with dissolution of Ni-enriched precipitate species as well as the copper-rich matrix. Alloy G begins to corrode more slowly but by a similar mechanism. The number density of an Fe-enriched species is insufficient to maintain a continuous galvanic potential to the copper matrix, and dissolution becomes imperceptible. In neutral saline solution, galvanic action alone caused pit-etching, without the dissolution of either precipitate species. The upper limit for the total dissolution of metallic ions in the standard immersion test can be set at 200 microg cm(-2). Aluminium bronze dental alloys can be expected to release both copper and nickel ions into an acidic oral environment.

  9. Evaluating physiological responses of plants to salinity stress

    PubMed Central

    Negrão, S.; Schmöckel, S. M.; Tester, M.

    2017-01-01

    Background Because soil salinity is a major abiotic constraint affecting crop yield, much research has been conducted to develop plants with improved salinity tolerance. Salinity stress impacts many aspects of a plant’s physiology, making it difficult to study in toto. Instead, it is more tractable to dissect the plant’s response into traits that are hypothesized to be involved in the overall tolerance of the plant to salinity. Scope and conclusions We discuss how to quantify the impact of salinity on different traits, such as relative growth rate, water relations, transpiration, transpiration use efficiency, ionic relations, photosynthesis, senescence, yield and yield components. We also suggest some guidelines to assist with the selection of appropriate experimental systems, imposition of salinity stress, and obtaining and analysing relevant physiological data using appropriate indices. We illustrate how these indices can be used to identify relationships amongst the proposed traits to identify which traits are the most important contributors to salinity tolerance. Salinity tolerance is complex and involves many genes, but progress has been made in studying the mechanisms underlying a plant’s response to salinity. Nevertheless, several previous studies on salinity tolerance could have benefited from improved experimental design. We hope that this paper will provide pertinent information to researchers on performing proficient assays and interpreting results from salinity tolerance experiments. PMID:27707746

  10. Effect of hypersaline cooling canals on aquifer salinization

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hughes, Joseph D.; Langevin, Christian D.; Brakefield-Goswami, Linzy

    2010-01-01

    The combined effect of salinity and temperature on density-driven convection was evaluated in this study for a large (28 km2) cooling canal system (CCS) at a thermoelectric power plant in south Florida, USA. A two-dimensional cross-section model was used to evaluate the effects of hydraulic heterogeneities, cooling canal salinity, heat transport, and cooling canal geometry on aquifer salinization and movement of the freshwater/saltwater interface. Four different hydraulic conductivity configurations, with values ranging over several orders of magnitude, were evaluated with the model. For all of the conditions evaluated, aquifer salinization was initiated by the formation of dense, hypersaline fingers that descended downward to the bottom of the 30-m thick aquifer. Saline fingers reached the aquifer bottom in times ranging from a few days to approximately 5 years for the lowest hydraulic conductivity case. Aquifer salinization continued after saline fingers reached the aquifer bottom and coalesced by lateral movement away from the site. Model results showed that aquifer salinization was most sensitive to aquifer heterogeneity, but was also sensitive to CCS salinity, temperature, and configuration.

  11. Detoxification and protein quality control markers in the mussel Mytilus edulis (Linnaeus) exposed to crude oil: Salinity-induced modulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lysenko, Liudmila; Sukhovskaya, Irina; Borvinskaya, Ekaterina; Krupnova, Marina; Kantserova, Nadezda; Bakhmet, Igor'; Nemova, Nina

    2015-12-01

    Marine and coastal ecosystems are influenced by oil from chronic contamination or sporadic oil spills. An oil spill was simulated in an aquarium-based experiment designed to reproduce interactions of crude oil with inert environmental components, particularly adhesion on shore gravel and dissolution in sea water. Total experimental oil concentrations were in the range of comparable hydrocarbon concentrations following an oil spill. Furthermore, the possible interaction of a chemical (anthropogenic) stressor, such as oil PAHs, and a "natural" stressor like desalination, was simulated. In order to assess the biological effects of crude oil contamination and desalination (each individually and in combination) on the blue mussel Mytilus edulis L., biochemical responses were estimated including: detoxification capacity by glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity, reduced glutathione (GSH) level, and protein quality control by autophagy-related proteases cathepsin B (CatB), cathepsin D (CatD), and calcium-dependent calpain-like proteases. Oil treatment stimulated defense system response in the mussels with primary effects on GST and protease-mediated reactions such as the activation of CatB, CatD, and calpains. Most of biomarkers responded to oil in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Additional environmental stress, such as desalination, promoted the oil-induced activation of GST and CatD while resulting in a delay or impairement of the defense response to oil by GSH and proteases CatB and calpains. Thus, biomarker data shows that combined effects of oil compounds and desalination can be realized in both a synergistic and an antagonistic manner. The evaluated interaction between oil pollution effects and sub-optimal salinity on M. edulis indicates the potential risk of maladaptation to the biota of estuaries.

  12. Microstrip Patch Sensor for Salinity Determination.

    PubMed

    Lee, Kibae; Hassan, Arshad; Lee, Chong Hyun; Bae, Jinho

    2017-12-18

    In this paper, a compact microstrip feed inset patch sensor is proposed for measuring the salinities in seawater. The working principle of the proposed sensor depends on the fact that different salinities in liquid have different relative permittivities and cause different resonance frequencies. The proposed sensor can obtain better sensitivity to salinity changes than common sensors using conductivity change, since the relative permittivity change to salinity is 2.5 times more sensitive than the conductivity change. The patch and ground plane of the proposed sensor are fabricated by conductive copper spray coating on the masks made by 3D printer. The fabricated patch and the ground plane are bonded to a commercial silicon substrate and then attached to 5 mm-high chamber made by 3D printer so that it contains only 1 mL seawater. For easy fabrication and testing, the maximum resonance frequency was selected under 3 GHz and to cover salinities in real seawater, it was assumed that the salinity changes from 20 to 35 ppt. The sensor was designed by the finite element method-based ANSYS high-frequency structure simulator (HFSS), and it can detect the salinity with 0.01 ppt resolution. The designed sensor has a resonance frequency separation of 37.9 kHz and reflection coefficients under -20 dB at the resonant frequencies. The fabricated sensor showed better performance with average frequency separation of 48 kHz and maximum reflection coefficient of -35 dB. By comparing with the existing sensors, the proposed compact and low-cost sensor showed a better detection capability. Therefore, the proposed patch sensor can be utilized in radio frequency (RF) tunable sensors for salinity determination.

  13. Response of Stream Biodiversity to Increasing Salinization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hawkins, C. P.; Vander Laan, J. J.; Olson, J. R.

    2014-12-01

    We used a large data set of macroinvertebrate samples collected from streams in both reference-quality (n = 68) and degraded (n = 401) watersheds in the state of Nevada, USA to assess relationships between stream biodiversity and salinity. We used specific electrical conductance (EC)(μS/cm) as a measure of salinity, and applied a previously developed EC model to estimate natural, baseflow salinity at each stream. We used the difference between observed and predicted salinity (EC-Diff) as a measure of salinization associated with watershed degradation. Observed levels of EC varied between 22 and 994 μS/cm across reference sites and 22 to 3,256 uS/cm across non-reference sites. EC-Diff was as high as 2,743 μS/cm. We used a measure of local biodiversity completeness (ratio of observed to expected number of taxa) to assess ecological response to salinity. This O/E index decreased nearly linearly up to about 25% biodiversity loss, which occurred at EC-Diff of about 300 μS/cm. Too few sites had EC-Diff greater than 300 μS/cm to draw reliable inferences regarding biodiversity response to greater levels of salinization. EC-Diff increased with % agricultural land use, mine density, and % urban land use in the watersheds implying that human activities have been largely responsible for increased salinization in Nevada streams and rivers. Comparison of biological responses to EC and other stressors indicates that increased salinization may be the primary stressor causing biodiversity loss in these streams and that more stringent salinity water quality standards may be needed to protect aquatic life.

  14. Atlantic Ocean CARINA data: overview and salinity adjustments

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tanhua, T.; Steinfeldt, R.; Key, Robert

    2010-01-01

    Water column data of carbon and carbon-relevant hydrographic and hydrochemical parameters from 188 previously non-publicly available cruise data sets in the Arctic Mediterranean Seas, Atlantic and Southern Ocean have been retrieved and merged into a new database: CARINA (CARbon dioxide IN the Atlantic Ocean). The data have gone through rigorous quality control procedures to assure the highest possible quality and consistency. The data for the pertinent parameters in the CARINA database were objectively examined in order to quantify systematic differences in the reported values, i.e. secondary quality control. Systematic biases found in the data have been corrected in the threemore » data products: merged data files with measured, calculated and interpolated data for each of the three CARINA regions, i.e. the Arctic Mediterranean Seas, the Atlantic and the Southern Ocean. These products have been corrected to be internally consistent. Ninety-eight of the cruises in the CARINA database were conducted in the Atlantic Ocean, defined here as the region south of the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland Ridge and north of about 30 S. Here we present an overview of the Atlantic Ocean synthesis of the CARINA data and the adjustments that were applied to the data product. We also report the details of the secondary QC (Quality Control) for salinity for this data set. Procedures of quality control including crossover analysis between stations and inversion analysis of all crossover data are briefly described. Adjustments to salinity measurements were applied to the data from 10 cruises in the Atlantic Ocean region. Based on our analysis we estimate the internal consistency of the CARINA-ATL salinity data to be 4.1 ppm. With these adjustments the CARINA data products are consistent both internally was well as with GLODAP data, an oceanographic data set based on the World Hydrographic Program in the 1990s, and is now suitable for accurate assessments of, for example, oceanic carbon

  15. Atlantic Ocean CARINA data: overview and salinity adjustments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tanhua, T.; Steinfeldt, R.; Key, R. M.; Brown, P.; Gruber, N.; Wanninkhof, R.; Perez, F.; Körtzinger, A.; Velo, A.; Schuster, U.; van Heuven, S.; Bullister, J. L.; Stendardo, I.; Hoppema, M.; Olsen, A.; Kozyr, A.; Pierrot, D.; Schirnick, C.; Wallace, D. W. R.

    2010-02-01

    Water column data of carbon and carbon-relevant hydrographic and hydrochemical parameters from 188 previously non-publicly available cruise data sets in the Arctic Mediterranean Seas, Atlantic and Southern Ocean have been retrieved and merged into a new database: CARINA (CARbon dioxide IN the Atlantic Ocean). The data have gone through rigorous quality control procedures to assure the highest possible quality and consistency. The data for the pertinent parameters in the CARINA database were objectively examined in order to quantify systematic differences in the reported values, i.e. secondary quality control. Systematic biases found in the data have been corrected in the three data products: merged data files with measured, calculated and interpolated data for each of the three CARINA regions, i.e. the Arctic Mediterranean Seas, the Atlantic and the Southern Ocean. These products have been corrected to be internally consistent. Ninety-eight of the cruises in the CARINA database were conducted in the Atlantic Ocean, defined here as the region south of the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland Ridge and north of about 30° S. Here we present an overview of the Atlantic Ocean synthesis of the CARINA data and the adjustments that were applied to the data product. We also report the details of the secondary QC (Quality Control) for salinity for this data set. Procedures of quality control - including crossover analysis between stations and inversion analysis of all crossover data - are briefly described. Adjustments to salinity measurements were applied to the data from 10 cruises in the Atlantic Ocean region. Based on our analysis we estimate the internal consistency of the CARINA-ATL salinity data to be 4.1 ppm. With these adjustments the CARINA data products are consistent both internally as well as with GLODAP data, an oceanographic data set based on the World Hydrographic Program in the 1990s, and is now suitable for accurate assessments of, for example, oceanic carbon

  16. Root and shoot responses of Taxodium distichum seedlings subjected to saline flooding

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Krauss, K.W.; Chambers, J.L.; Allen, J.A.; Luse, B.P.; DeBosier, A.S.

    1999-01-01

    Variation among progeny of five half-sib family collections of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) from three freshwater and two brackish-water seed sources subjected to saline flooding was evaluated Mini-rhizotrons (slant tubes) were used to monitor root elongation for a period of 99 days. Salinity level produced significant effects across all baldcypress half-sib families, with root elongation averaging 1594.0, 956.8, and 382.1 mm, respectively, for the 0, 4, and 6 g l-1 treatments. Combined mean root elongation for families from brackish-water seed sources was greater (1236.7 mm) than for families from freshwater seed sources (794.6 mm). Considerable variation occurred at the highest salinity treatment, however, with one freshwater family maintaining more than 28% more root growth than the average of the two brackish-water collections. Hence, results indicate that short-term evaluation of root elongation at these salinity concentrations may not be a reliable method for salt tolerance screening of baldcypress. Species-level effects for height and diameter, which were measured at day 62, were significant for both parameters. Height increment in the control (7.4 cm), for example, was approximately five times greater than height increment in the 6 g l-1 salinity treatment (1.5 cm). Family-level variation was significant only for diameter, which had an incremental range of 0.2 to 1.5 mm across all salinity levels.

  17. Simultaneous Expression of PDH45 with EPSPS Gene Improves Salinity and Herbicide Tolerance in Transgenic Tobacco Plants

    PubMed Central

    Garg, Bharti; Gill, Sarvajeet S.; Biswas, Dipul K.; Sahoo, Ranjan K.; Kunchge, Nandkumar S.; Tuteja, Renu; Tuteja, Narendra

    2017-01-01

    To cope with the problem of salinity- and weed-induced crop losses, a multi-stress tolerant trait is need of the hour but a combinatorial view of such traits is not yet explored. The overexpression of PDH45 (pea DNA helicase 45) and EPSPS (5-enoylpruvyl shikimate-3-phosphate synthase) genes have been reported to impart salinity and herbicide tolerance. Further, the understanding of mechanism and pathways utilized by PDH45 and EPSPS for salinity and herbicide tolerance will help to improve the crops of economical importance. In the present study, we have performed a comparative analysis of salinity and herbicide tolerance to check the biochemical parameters and antioxidant status of tobacco transgenic plants. Collectively, the results showed that PDH45 overexpressing transgenic lines display efficient tolerance to salinity stress, while PDH45+EPSPS transgenics showed tolerance to both the salinity and herbicide as compared to the control [wild type (WT) and vector control (VC)] plants. The activities of the components of enzymatic antioxidant machinery were observed to be higher in the transgenic plants indicating the presence of an efficient antioxidant defense system which helps to cope with the stress-induced oxidative-damages. Photosynthetic parameters also showed significant increase in PDH45 and PDH45+EPSPS overexpressing transgenic plants in comparison to WT, VC and EPSPS transgenic plants under salinity stress. Furthermore, PDH45 and PDH45+EPSPS synergistically modulate the jasmonic acid and salicylic acid mediated signaling pathways for combating salinity stress. The findings of our study suggest that pyramiding of the PDH45 gene with EPSPS gene renders host plants tolerant to salinity and herbicide by enhancing the antioxidant machinery thus photosynthesis. PMID:28392794

  18. Transcriptomic response to low salinity stress in gills of the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei.

    PubMed

    Hu, Dongxu; Pan, Luqing; Zhao, Qun; Ren, Qin

    2015-12-01

    The Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei (L. vannamei), is one of the most farmed species. Salinity is an important environmental factor that affects its growth and distribution. However, the molecular mechanism of the shrimp in response to salinity stress remains largely unclear. High-throughput sequencing is a helpful tool to analyze the molecular response to salinity challenge in shrimp. In the present study, the transcriptomic responses of the gills in L. vannamei under low salinity stress were detected by Illumina's digital gene expression system. A total of 10,725,789 and 10,827,411 reads were generated from the non-changed and low salinity changed groups, respectively. 64,590 Unigenes with an average length of 764 bp were generated. Compared with the control, 585 genes were differentially expressed under low salinity. GO functional analysis and KEGG pathway analysis indicated some vital genes in response to the challenge. Ten genes related to osmoregulation and ambient salinity adaption were selected to validate the DGE results by RT-qPCR. This work provides valuable information to study the mechanism of salinity adaption in L. vannamei. Genes and pathways from the results will be beneficial to reveal the molecular basis of osmoregulation. It also gives an insight into the response to the salinity challenge in L. vannamei. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Early growth stages salinity stress tolerance in CM72 x Gairdner doubled haploid barley population

    PubMed Central

    Angessa, Tefera Tolera; Zhang, Xiao-Qi; Zhou, Gaofeng; Broughton, Sue; Zhang, Wenying

    2017-01-01

    A doubled haploid (DH) population of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) generated from salinity tolerant genotype CM72 and salinity sensitive variety Gairdner was studied for salinity stress tolerance at germination, seedling emergence and first leaf full expansion growth stages. Germination study was conducted with deionized water, 150 mM and 300 mM NaCl treatments. Seedling stage salinity tolerance was conducted with three treatments: control, 150 mM NaCl added at seedling emergence and first leaf full expansion growth stages. Results from this study revealed transgressive phenotypic segregations for germination percentage and biomass at seedling stage. Twelve QTL were identified on chromosomes 2H–6H each explaining 10–25% of the phenotypic variations. A QTL located at 176.5 cM on chromosome 3H was linked with fresh weight per plant and dry weight per plant in salinity stress induced at first leaf full expansion growth stage, and dry weight per plant in salinity stress induced at seedling emergence. A stable QTL for germination at both 150 and 300 mM salinity stress was mapped on chromosome 2H but distantly located from a QTL linked with seedling stage salinity stress tolerance. QTL, associated markers and genotypes identified in this study play important roles in developing salinity stress tolerant barley varieties. PMID:28640858

  20. Proteomics of contrasting rice genotypes: Identification of potential targets for raising crops for saline environment.

    PubMed

    Lakra, Nita; Kaur, Charanpreet; Anwar, Khalid; Singla-Pareek, Sneh Lata; Pareek, Ashwani

    2018-05-01

    High salinity is one of the major problems in crop productivity, affecting seed germination as well as yield. In order to enhance tolerance of crops towards salinity, it is essential to understand the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms. In this endeavor, study of contrasting genotypes of the same species differing in their response towards salinity stress can be very useful. In the present study, we have investigated temporal differences in morphological, physiological and proteome profiles of two contrasting genotypes of rice to understand the basis of salt tolerance. When compared to IR64 rice, Pokkali, the salt-tolerant wild genotype, has enhanced capacity to cope with stress, better growth rate and possesses efficient antioxidant system, as well as better photosynthetic machinery. Our proteome studies revealed a higher and an early abundance of proteins involved in stress tolerance and photosynthesis in Pokkali in comparison with IR64, which, in contrast, showed greater changes in metabolic machinery even during early duration of stress. Our findings suggest important differences in physicochemical and proteome profiles of the two genotypes, which may be the basis of observed stress tolerance in the salt-tolerant Pokkali. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Exercise therapy for functional capacity in chronic diseases: an overview of meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials.

    PubMed

    Pasanen, Tero; Tolvanen, Samppa; Heinonen, Ari; Kujala, Urho M

    2017-10-01

    To summarise all meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials that have evaluated the effects of exercise therapy on functional capacity in patients with chronic diseases. Umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials. We systematically searched the CENTRAL, CINAHL, DARE, Medline, OTSeeker, PEDro, SPORTDiscus, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Database, Web of Science, Scopus, OpenGrey and BMC Proceedings from database inception to 1 September 2016. We included meta-analyses that compared the effects of exercise therapy with no treatment or usual care in adults with non-communicable chronic diseases and included outcomes related to functional capacity. We excluded meta-analyses with less than 100 patients. Eighty-five meta-analyses with 22 different chronic diseases were included. The exercise interventions resulted in statistically significant (p<0.05) improvements for 126 of 146 (86%) functional capacity outcomes, compared with the control group. The standardised mean differences were small in 64 (44%), moderate in 54 (37%) and large in 28 (19%) of the 146 functional capacity outcomes. The results were similar for aerobic exercise, resistance training, and aerobic and resistance training combined. There were no significant differences in serious adverse effects between the intervention and control groups in any of the meta-analyses. Exercise therapy appears to be a safe way to improve functional capacity and reduce disability in individuals with chronic disease. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  2. Agreement of measured and calculated serum osmolality during the infusion of mannitol or hypertonic saline in patients after craniotomy: a prospective, double-blinded, randomised controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Li, Qian; Chen, Han; Hao, Jing-Jing; Yin, Ning-Ning; Xu, Ming; Zhou, Jian-Xin

    2015-10-07

    Mannitol and hypertonic saline are used to ameliorate brain edema and intracranial hypertension during and after craniotomy. We hypothesized that the agreement of measured and calculated serum osmolality during the infusion of hypertonic saline would be better than mannitol. The objective was to determine the accuracy of serum osmolality estimation by different formulas during the administration of hyperosmolar agent. A prospective, randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial was conducted in a 30-bed neurosurgical intensive care unit at a university hospital. Thirty-five adult patients requiring the use of hyperosmolar agents for prevention or treatment of brain edema after elective craniotomy were enrolled, and randomly assigned 1:1 to receive 125 mL of either 20 % mannitol (mannitol group) or 3.1 % sodium chloride solution (hypertonic saline group) in 15 min. Serum osmolality, serum sodium and potassium concentration, blood urea nitrogen and blood glucose concentration were measured during the study period. The primary outcome was the agreement of measured and estimated serum osmolality during the infusion of the two experimental agents. We used Bland and Altman's limits of agreement analysis to clarify the accuracy of estimated serum osmolality. Bias and upper and lower limits of agreement of bias were calculated. For each formula, the bias was statistically lower in hypertonic saline group than mannitol group (p < 0.001). Within group comparison showed that the lowest bias (6.0 [limits of agreement: -18.2 to 30.2] and 0.8 [-12.9 to 14.5] mOsml/kg in mannitol group and hypertonic saline group, respectively) was derived from the formula '2 × ([serum sodium] + [serum potassium]) + [blood urea nitrogen] + [blood glucose]'. Compared to mannitol, a better agreement between measured and estimated serum osmolality was found during the infusion of hypertonic saline. This result indicates that, if hypertonic saline is chosen to prevent or treat brain edema

  3. Effects of salinity on baldcypress seedlings: responses and their relation to salinity tolerance physiological

    Treesearch

    James A. Allen; Jim L. Chambers; S. Reza Pezeshki

    1997-01-01

    Taxodium distichum var.distichum) subjected to flooding with saline water were evaluated in this study. Ten of the families were from coastal sites in Louisiana and Alabama, USA that have elevated levels of soil-water salinity. The other five families were from inland, freshwater sites in Louisiana. Seedlings from all families...

  4. Microbial response to salinity stress in a tropical sandy soil amended with native shrub residues or inorganic fertilizer.

    PubMed

    Sall, Saïdou Nourou; Ndour, Ndèye Yacine Badiane; Diédhiou-Sall, Siré; Dick, Richard; Chotte, Jean-Luc

    2015-09-15

    Soil degradation and salinization caused by inappropriate cultivation practices and high levels of saltwater intrusion are having an adverse effect on agriculture in Central Senegal. The residues of Piliostigma reticulatum, a local shrub that coexists with crops, were recently shown to increase particulate organic matter and improve soil quality and may be a promising means of alleviating the effects of salinization. This study compared the effects of inorganic fertilizer and P. reticulatum residues on microbial properties and the ability of soil to withstand salinity stress. We hypothesized that soils amended with P. reticulatum would be less affected by salinity stress than soils amended with inorganic fertilizer and control soil. Salinity stress was applied to soil from a field site that had been cultivated for 5 years under a millet/peanut crop rotation when microbial biomass, phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) community profile, catabolic diversity, microbial activities were determined. Microbial biomass, nitrification potential and dehydrogenase activity were higher by 20%, 56% and 69% respectively in soil with the organic amendment. With salinity stress, the structure and activities of the microbial community were significantly affected. Although the biomass of actinobacteria community increased with salinity stress, there was a substantial reduction in microbial activity in all soils. The soil organically amended was, however, less affected by salinity stress than the control or inorganic fertilizer treatment. This suggests that amendment using P. reticulatum residues may improve the ability of soils to respond to saline conditions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Bioerosion structures in high-salinity marine environments: Evidence from the Al-Khafji coastline, Saudi Arabia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    El-Sorogy, Abdelbaset S.; Alharbi, Talal; Richiano, Sebastián

    2018-05-01

    Salinity is one the major stress factors that controls the biotic activities in marine environments. In general, the mixture with fresh-water has been mention as a great stress factor, but the opposite, i.e. high-salinity conditions, is less developed in the ichnological literature. Along the Al-Khafji coastline, Saudi Arabia, hard substrates (constituted by gastropods, bivalves and coral skeletons) contain diverse and abundant bioerosion traces and associated encrusters. Field and laboratory observations allowed the recognition of eight ichnospecies belong to the ichnogenera Gastrochaenolites, Entobia, Oichnus, Caulostrepsis and Trypanites, which can be attributed to various activities produced by bivalves, sponges, gastropods and annelids. The borings demonstrate two notable ichnological boring assemblages, namely, Entobia-dominated and Gastrochaenolites-dominated assemblages. The highly diversified bioerosion and encrustation in the studied hard organic substrate indicate a long exposition period of organic substrate with slow to moderate rate of deposition in a restricted (high-salinity) marine environment. This bioerosion study shows that high-salinity, at least for the study area, is not an important controlling factor for ichnology.

  6. Does salinity change determine zooplankton variability in the saline Qarun Lake (Egypt)?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    El-Shabrawy, Gamal M.; Anufriieva, Elena V.; Germoush, Mousa O.; Goher, Mohamed E.; Shadrin, Nickolai V.

    2015-11-01

    Zooplankton and 14 abiotic variables were studied during August 2011 at 10 stations in Lake Qarun, Egypt. Stations with the lowest salinity and highest nutrient concentrations and turbidity were close to the discharge of waters from the El-Bats and El-Wadi drainage systems. A total of 15 holozooplankton species were identified. The salinity in Lake Qarun increased and fluctuated since 1901: 12 g/L in 1901; 8.5 g/L in 1905; 12.0 g/L in 1922; 30.0 g/L in 1985; 38.7 g/L in 1994; 35.3 g/L in 2006, and 33.4 g/L in 2011. The mean concentration of nutrients (nitrate, nitrite and orthophosphate) gradually increased from 35, 0.16 and 0.38 µg/L, respectively, in 1953-1955 to 113, 16.4, and 30.26 µg/L in 2011. From 1999-2003 some decrease of species diversity occurred. Average total zooplankton density was 30 000 ind./m3 in 1974-1977; 356 125 ind./m3 in 1989; 534 000 ind./m3 in 1994-1995; from 965 000 to 1 452 000 ind./m3 in 2006, and 595 000 ind./m3 in 2011. A range of long-term summer salinity variability during the last decades was very similar to a range of salinity spatial variability in summer 2011. There is no significant correlation between zooplankton abundance and salinity in spatial and long-term changes. We conclude that salinity fluctuations since at least 1955 did not directly drive the changes of composition and abundance of zooplankton in the lake. A marine community had formed in the lake, and it continues to change. One of the main drivers of this change is a regular introduction and a pressure of alien species on the existent community. Eutrophication also plays an important role. The introduction of Mnemiopsis leidyi, first reported in 2014, may lead to a start of a new stage of the biotic changes in Lake Qarun, when eutrophication and the population dynamics of this ctenophore will be main drivers of the ecosystem change.

  7. Episodic Salinization of Urban Rivers: Potential Impacts on Carbon, Cation, and Nutrient Fluxes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haq, S.; Kaushal, S.

    2017-12-01

    -nutrient interactions, and on underlying mechanisms and controls. The magnitude/frequency of salt pulses may increase in the future due to the interactive effect of climate change and urbanization. An improved understanding of the salinization-nutrients interactions is necessary to better manage aquatic resources.

  8. Dornase alpha compared to hypertonic saline for lung atelectasis in critically ill patients.

    PubMed

    Youness, Houssein A; Mathews, Kathryn; Elya, Marwan K; Kinasewitz, Gary T; Keddissi, Jean I

    2012-12-01

    Despite the lack of randomized trials, nebulized Dornase alpha and hypertonic saline are used empirically to treat atelectasis in mechanically ventilated patients. Our objective was to determine the clinical and radiological efficacy of these medications as an adjunct to standard therapy in critically ill patients. Mechanically ventilated patients with new onset (<48 h) lobar or multilobar atelectasis were randomized into three groups: nebulized Dornase alpha, hypertonic (7%) saline or normal saline every 12 h. All patients received standard therapy, including chest percussion therapy, kinetic therapy, and bronchodilators. The primary endpoint was the change in the daily chest X-ray atelectasis score. A total of 33 patients met the inclusion criteria and were randomized equally into the three groups. Patients in the Dornase alpha group showed a reduction of 2.18±1.33 points in the CXR score from baseline to day 7, whereas patients in the normal saline group had a reduction of 1.00±1.79 points, and patients in the hypertonic saline group showed a score reduction of 1.09±1.51 points. Pairwise comparison of the mean change of the CXR score showed no statistical difference between hypertonic saline, normal saline, and dornase alpha. Airway pressures as well as oxygenation, expressed as PaO(2)/F(I)O(2) and time to extubation also were similar among groups. During the study period the rate of extubation was 54% (6/11), 45% (5/11), and 63% (7/11) in the normal saline, hypertonic saline, and Dornase alpha groups, respectively (p=0.09). No treatment related complications were observed. There was no significant improvement in the chest X-ray atelectasis score in mechanically ventilated patients with new onset atelectasis who were nebulized with Dornase alpha twice a day. Hypertonic saline was no more effective than normal saline in this population. Larger randomized control trials are needed to confirm our results.

  9. Mechanisms for Seasonal and Interannual Sea Surface Salinity Variability in the Indian Ocean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Köhler, J.; Stammer, D.; Serra, N.; Bryan, F.

    2016-12-01

    Space-borne salinity data in the Indian Ocean are analyzed over the period 2000-2015 based on data from the European Space Agency's (ESA) "Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity" (SMOS) and the National Aeronautical Space Agency's (NASA) "Aquarius/SAC-D" missions. The seasonal variability is the dominant mode of sea surface salinity (SSS) variability in the Indian Ocean, accounting for more than 50% of salinity variance. Through a combined analysis of the satellite and ARGO data, dominant forcing terms for seasonal salinity changes are identified. It is found, that E-P controls seasonal salinity tendency in the western Indian Ocean, where the ITCZ has a strong seasonal cycle. In contrast, Ekman advection is the dominant term in the northern and eastern equatorial Indian Ocean. The influence of vertical processes on the salinity tendency is enhanced in coastal upwelling regions and south of the equator due to mid-ocean upwelling. Jointly those processes can explain most of the observed seasonal cycle with a correlation of 0.85 and an RMS difference of 0.07/month. However, the detailed composition of driving terms depends on underlying data products. In general, our study confirms previous results from Lisan Yu (2011); however, in the eastern Indian Ocean contrasting results indicate the leading role of meridional Ekman advection to the seasonal salinity tendency instead of surface external forces due to precipitation. The inferred dominant salinity budget terms are confirmed by results obtained from a high resolution NCAR Core model run driven by NCEP forcing fields. From an EOF analysis of the salinity fields after substracting the annual and semiannual cycle we found that the first EOF mode explains more than 20% of salinity variance. The first principal component of SSS EOF is correlated with the Indian Ocean Dipole Mode Index. Nevertheless the EOF pattern shows a meridional tripole structure, while the IOD describes a zonal SST dipole (Saji et al, 1999).

  10. Host–microbe interactions as a driver of acclimation to salinity gradients in brown algal cultures

    PubMed Central

    Dittami, Simon M; Duboscq-Bidot, Laëtitia; Perennou, Morgan; Gobet, Angélique; Corre, Erwan; Boyen, Catherine; Tonon, Thierry

    2016-01-01

    Like most eukaryotes, brown algae live in association with bacterial communities that frequently have beneficial effects on their development. Ectocarpus is a genus of small filamentous brown algae, which comprises a strain that has recently colonized freshwater, a rare transition in this lineage. We generated an inventory of bacteria in Ectocarpus cultures and examined the effect they have on acclimation to an environmental change, that is, the transition from seawater to freshwater medium. Our results demonstrate that Ectocarpus depends on bacteria for this transition: cultures that have been deprived of their associated microbiome do not survive a transfer to freshwater, but restoring their microflora also restores the capacity to acclimate to this change. Furthermore, the transition between the two culture media strongly affects the bacterial community composition. Examining a range of other closely related algal strains, we observed that the presence of two bacterial operational taxonomic units correlated significantly with an increase in low salinity tolerance of the algal culture. Despite differences in the community composition, no indications were found for functional differences in the bacterial metagenomes predicted to be associated with algae in the salinities tested, suggesting functional redundancy in the associated bacterial community. Our study provides an example of how microbial communities may impact the acclimation and physiological response of algae to different environments, and thus possibly act as facilitators of speciation. It paves the way for functional examinations of the underlying host–microbe interactions, both in controlled laboratory and natural conditions. PMID:26114888

  11. Estuarine turbidity, flushing, salinity, and circulation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pritchard, D. W.

    1972-01-01

    The effects of estuarine turbidity, flushing, salinity, and circulation on the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay are discussed. The sources of fresh water, the variations in salinity, and the circulation patterns created by temperature and salinity changes are analyzed. The application of remote sensors for long term observation of water temperatures is described. The sources of sediment and the biological effects resulting from increased sediments and siltation are identified.

  12. On the role of inter-basin surface salinity contrasts in global ocean circulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seidov, D.; Haupt, B. J.

    2002-08-01

    The role of sea surface salinity (SSS) contrasts in maintaining vigorous global ocean thermohaline circulation (TOC) is revisited. Relative importance of different generalizations of sea surface conditions in climate studies is explored. Ocean-wide inter-basin SSS contrasts serve as the major controlling element in global TOC. These contrasts are shown to be at least as important as high-latitudinal freshwater impacts. It is also shown that intra-basin longitudinal distribution of sea surface salinity, as well as intra- and inter-basin longitudinal distribution of sea surface temperature, is not crucial to conveyor functionality if only inter-basin contrasts in sea surface salinity are retained. This is especially important for paleoclimate and future climate simulations.

  13. Three Years of Aquarius Salinity Measurements: Algorithm, Validation and Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meissner, T.; Wentz, F. J.; Le Vine, D. M.; Lagerloef, G. S. E.

    2014-12-01

    Aquarius is an L-band radiometer/scatterometer (i.e. active/passive) system designed to provide monthly salinity maps at 150 km spatial scale to an accuracy of 0.2 psu. The sensor was launched on June 10, 2011 as part of the Aquarius/SAC-D mission and has been collecting data since August 25, 2011. Version 3 of the data product was released in June 2014 and provides a major milestone towards reaching the mission requirement of 0.2 psu. This presentation reports the status of the Aquarius salinity retrieval algorithm highlighting the advances that have been made for and since the Version 3 release. The most important ones are: 1) An improved surface roughness correction that is based on Aquarius scatterometer observations; 2) A reduction in ascending/descending differences due to galactic background radiation reflected from the ocean surface; 3) A refinement of the quality control flags and masks that indicate degradation under certain environmental conditions. The Aquarius salinity algorithm also retrieves wind speed as part of the roughness correction with an accuracy comparable to the products from other satellites such as WindSat, SSMIS, ASCAT, and QuikSCAT. Validation of the salinity retrievals is accomplished using measurements from ARGO drifters measuring at 5 m depth and in the tropics also from moored buoys measuring at 1 m depth which are co-located with the nearest Aquarius footprint. In the most recent work an effort has also been made to identify areas with frequent rain to isolate potential issues with rain freshening in the upper ocean layer. Results in rain-free regions indicate that on monthly basis and 150 km grid, the V3 Aquarius salinity maps have an accuracy of about 0.13 psu in the tropics and 0.22 psu globally. Comparing Aquarius with ARGO and moored buoy salinity measurements during and after rain events permits a quantitative assessment of the effect of salinity stratification within the first 5 m of the upper ocean layer.

  14. Hypoaigic influences on groundwater flux to a seasonally saline river

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trefry, M. G.; Svensson, T. J. A.; Davis, G. B.

    2007-03-01

    SummaryHypoaigic zones are aquifer volumes close to and beneath the shores of saline surface water bodies, and are characterized by the presence of time-dependent natural convection and chemical stratification. When transient and cyclic processes are involved there is significant potential for complex flow and reaction in the near-shore aquifer, presenting a unique challenge to pollutant risk assessment methodologies. This work considers the nature of some hypoaigic processes generated by the seasonally saline Canning River of Western Australia near a site contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons. A dissolved hydrocarbon plume migrates within the shallow superficial aquifer to the nearby bank of the Canning River. Beneath the river bank a zone of complex fluid mixing is established by seasonal and tidal influences. Understanding this complexity and the subsequent ramifications for local biogeochemical conditions is critical to inferring the potential for degradation of advecting contaminants. A range of modelling approaches throws light on the overall topographic controls of discharge to the river, on the saline convection processes operating under the river bank, on the potential for fluid mixing, and on the various important time scales in the system. Saline distributions simulated within the aquifer hypoaigic zone are in at least qualitative agreement with previous field measurements at the site and are strongly affected by seasonal influences. Groundwater seepage velocities at the shoreline are found to be positively correlated with river salinity. Calculations of fluid age distributions throughout the system show sensitivity to dispersivity values; however, maximum fluid ages under the river appear to be diffusion limited to a few decades. The saline convection cell in the aquifer defines a zone of strong dispersive dilution of aged (many decades) deep aquifer fluids with relatively young (several months) riverine fluids. Seasonal recharge and river salinity

  15. Magnitude and Variability of Controllable Charge Capacity Provided by Grid Connected Plug-in Electric Vehicles

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Scoffield, Don R; Smart, John; Salisbury, Shawn

    2015-03-01

    As market penetration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) increases over time, the number of PEVs charging on the electric grid will also increase. As the number of PEVs increases, their ability to collectively impact the grid increases. The idea of a large body of PEVs connected to the grid presents an intriguing possibility. If utilities can control PEV charging, it is possible that PEVs could act as a distributed resource to provide grid services. The technology required to control charging is available for modern PEVs. However, a system for wide-spread implementation of controllable charging, including robust communication between vehicles andmore » utilities, is not currently present. Therefore, the value of controllable charging must be assessed and weighed against the cost of building and operating such as system. In order to grasp the value of PEV charge control to the utility, the following must be understood: 1. The amount of controllable energy and power capacity available to the utility 2. The variability of the controllable capacity from day to day and as the number of PEVs in the market increases.« less

  16. Saline Systems highlights for 2005

    PubMed Central

    2006-01-01

    On the 4th of July, 2005, the Saline Systems editorial group launched the new online open access journal, Saline Systems, with BioMed Central as the publisher. The scope of the journal includes both basic and applied research on halophilic organisms and saline environments, from gene systems to ecosystems. The stated goal of the journal is to meet publication needs for researchers working in coastal and inland saline environments and provide an interdisciplinary and readily accessible forum for scientists worldwide. The inaugural volume of the journal contains a significant number of high quality original research papers and reviews on a wide range of relevant topics. At the end of the launch period, from January 1, 2006 onwards, the journal will be introducing article-processing charges to cover the cost of publication. Charges will be partly or completely waived for authors from BioMed Central institutional subscribers and in cases of financial hardship. PMID:16417635

  17. Salt exclusion and mycorrhizal symbiosis increase tolerance to NaCl and CaCl2 salinity in ‘Siam Queen’ basil

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of salinity on growth and nutrient uptake in basil (Ocimum basilicum L.). Plants were fertilized with a complete nutrient solution and exposed to no, low, or moderate levels of salinity from NaCl or CaCl2. Plants in the control and moderate salinity tre...

  18. Intra-abdominal saline irrigation at cesarean section: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    PubMed

    Eke, Ahizechukwu Chigoziem; Shukr, Ghadear Hussein; Chaalan, Tina Taissir; Nashif, Sereen Khaled; Eleje, George Uchenna

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the evidence guiding intraoperative saline irrigation at cesarean sections. We searched "cesarean sections", "pregnancy", "saline irrigation" and "randomized clinical trials" in ClinicalTrials.gov, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, AJOL, MEDLINE, LILACS and CINAHL from inception of each database to April 2015. The primary outcomes were predefined as intraoperative nausea and emesis. The pooled results were reported as relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Three randomized trials including 862 women were analyzed. Intraoperative saline irrigation was associated with a 68% increased risk of developing intraoperative nausea (RR = 1.68, 95% CI 1.36-2.06), 70% increased risk of developing intraoperative emesis (RR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.28-2.25), 92% increased risk of developing post-operative nausea and 84% increased risk of using anti-emetics post-operatively (RR = 1.84, 95% CI 0.21-2.78) when compared with controls. There were no significant differences between intraoperative saline irrigation and no treatment for post-operative emesis (RR = 1.65, 95% CI 0.74-3.67), estimated blood loss, time to return of gastrointestinal function, postpartum endometritis (RR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.64-1.40), urinary tract infection and wound infection. Intraoperative saline irrigation at cesarean delivery increases intraoperative and post-operative nausea, requiring increasing use of anti-emetics without significant reduction in infectious, intraoperative and postpartum complications. Routine abdominal irrigation at cesarean section is not supported by current data.

  19. Influence of Forecast Accuracy of Photovoltaic Power Output on Capacity Optimization of Microgrid Composition under 30 min Power Balancing Control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sone, Akihito; Kato, Takeyoshi; Shimakage, Toyonari; Suzuoki, Yasuo

    A microgrid (MG) is one of the measures for enhancing the high penetration of renewable energy (RE)-based distributed generators (DGs). If a number of MGs are controlled to maintain the predetermined electricity demand including RE-based DGs as negative demand, they would contribute to supply-demand balancing of whole electric power system. For constructing a MG economically, the capacity optimization of controllable DGs against RE-based DGs is essential. By using a numerical simulation model developed based on a demonstrative study on a MG using PAFC and NaS battery as controllable DGs and photovoltaic power generation system (PVS) as a RE-based DG, this study discusses the influence of forecast accuracy of PVS output on the capacity optimization. Three forecast cases with different accuracy are compared. The main results are as follows. Even with no forecast error during every 30 min. as the ideal forecast method, the required capacity of NaS battery reaches about 40% of PVS capacity for mitigating the instantaneous forecast error within 30 min. The required capacity to compensate for the forecast error is doubled with the actual forecast method. The influence of forecast error can be reduced by adjusting the scheduled power output of controllable DGs according to the weather forecast. Besides, the required capacity can be reduced significantly if the error of balancing control in a MG is acceptable for a few percentages of periods, because the total periods of large forecast error is not so often.

  20. Carbon Dioxide-Based versus Saline Tissue Expansion for Breast Reconstruction: Results of the XPAND Prospective, Randomized Clinical Trial.

    PubMed

    Ascherman, Jeffrey A; Zeidler, Kamakshi; Morrison, Kerry A; Appel, James Z; Berkowitz, R L; Castle, John; Colwell, Amy; Chun, Yoon; Johnson, Debra; Mohebali, Khashayar

    2016-12-01

    AeroForm is a new type of remote-controlled, needle-free, carbon dioxide-based expander involving a potentially faster method of tissue expansion. Results are presented here from the AirXpanders Patient Activated Controlled Tissue Expander pivotal trial comparing AeroForm to saline tissue expanders. Women undergoing two-stage breast reconstruction were randomized at 17 U.S. sites in this U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved investigational device exemption trial. Expansion in the investigational arm was performed by the patient in 10-cc increments up to 30 cc/day of carbon dioxide and in the control arm by the physician with periodic bolus injections of saline. Safety endpoints, expansion and reconstruction times, pain, and satisfaction were assessed. One hundred fifty women were treated: 98 with carbon dioxide expanders (n = 168) and 52 with saline expanders (n = 88). The treatment success rate (all breasts exchanged successfully excluding non-device-related failures) was 96.1 percent for carbon dioxide and 98.8 percent for saline. Median time to full expansion and completion of the second-stage operation was 21.0 and 108.5 days (carbon dioxide) versus 46.0 and 136.5 days (saline), respectively, with a similar rate of overall complications. Ease of use for the carbon dioxide expander was rated high by patients (98 percent) and physicians (90 percent). The AirXpanders Patient Activated Controlled Tissue Expander trial results demonstrate that a carbon dioxide-based expander is an effective method of tissue expansion with a similar overall adverse event rate compared to saline expanders, and provides a more convenient and expedient expansion. Therapeutic, I.

  1. Salinity: Electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The measurement of soil salinity is a quantification of the total salts present in the liquid portion of the soil. Soil salinity is important in agriculture because salinity reduces crop yields by reducing the osmotic potential making it more difficult for the plant to extract water, by causing spe...

  2. Salty or Sweet: Exploring the Challenges of Groundwater Salinization Within a Sustainability Framework

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Basu, N. B.; Van Meter, K. J.; Tate, E.

    2012-12-01

    availability as well as socio-economic factors related to the capacity to deal with water stress. This metric allows us to evaluate and compare water-driven sustainability at the village, block, and district levels in Northern India based on a combination of readily available census and water resource data. Further, we utilize a pressure-response framework that considers monsoonal dynamics and effectively evaluates the effects of intervention efforts over time. Our results indicate that in arid to semi-arid regions, where problems of groundwater salinity are paramount, scaling factors corresponding to salinity levels as well as the relative size of the saline zone must be incorporated into indicators of water access and availability to accurately reflect overall sustainability. More importantly, the results point towards the value of incorporating dynamic, multi-dimensional sustainability metrics into decision-analysis frameworks used to aid in resource prioritization and the evaluation of intervention efforts.

  3. Control of invasive marine invertebrates: an experimental evaluation of the use of low salinity for managing pest corals (Tubastraea spp.).

    PubMed

    Moreira, Patrícia L; Ribeiro, Felipe V; Creed, Joel C

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated the use of low salinity as a killing agent for the invasive pest corals Tubastraea coccinea and Tubastraea tagusensis (Dendrophylliidae). Experiments investigated the efficacy of different salinities, the effect of colony size on susceptibility and the influence of length of exposure. Experimental treatments of colonies were carried out in aquaria. Colonies were then fixed onto experimental plates and monitored in the field periodically over a period of four weeks. The killing effectiveness of low salinity depended on the test salinity and the target species, but was independent of colony size. Low salinity was fast acting and prejudicial to survival: discoloration, necrosis, fragmenting and sloughing, exposure of the skeleton and cover by biofoulers occurred post treatment. For T. tagusensis, 50% mortality (LC50) after three days occurred at eight practical salinity units (PSU); for T. coccinea the LC50 was 2 PSU. Exposure to freshwater for 45-120 min resulted in 100% mortality for T. tagusensis, but only the 120 min period was 100% effective in killing T. coccinea. Freshwater is now routinely used for the post-border management of Tubastraea spp. This study also provides insights as to how freshwater may be used as a routine biosecurity management tool when applied pre-border to shipping vectors potentially transporting non-indigenous marine biofouling species.

  4. Load controller and method to enhance effective capacity of a photovoltaic power supply using a dynamically determined expected peak loading

    DOEpatents

    Perez, Richard

    2005-05-03

    A load controller and method are provided for maximizing effective capacity of a non-controllable, renewable power supply coupled to a variable electrical load also coupled to a conventional power grid. Effective capacity is enhanced by monitoring power output of the renewable supply and loading, and comparing the loading against the power output and a load adjustment threshold determined from an expected peak loading. A value for a load adjustment parameter is calculated by subtracting the renewable supply output and the load adjustment parameter from the current load. This value is then employed to control the variable load in an amount proportional to the value of the load control parameter when the parameter is within a predefined range. By so controlling the load, the effective capacity of the non-controllable, renewable power supply is increased without any attempt at operational feedback control of the renewable supply.

  5. Continuous salinity and temperature data from san francisco estuary, 19822002: Trends and the salinity-freshwater inflow relationship

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Shellenbarger, G.G.; Schoellhamer, D.H.

    2011-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey and other federal and state agencies have been collecting continuous temperature and salinity data, two critical estuarine habitat variables, throughout San Francisco estuary for over two decades. Although this dynamic, highly variable system has been well studied, many questions remain relating to the effects of freshwater inflow and other physical and biological linkages. This study examines up to 20 years of publically available, continuous temperature and salinity data from 10 different San Francisco Bay stations to identify trends in temperature and salinity and quantify the salinityfreshwater inflow relationship. Several trends in the salinity and temperature records were identified, although the high degree of daily and interannual variability confounds the analysis. In addition, freshwater inflow to the estuary has a range of effects on salinity from -0.0020 to -0.0096 (m3 s-1) -1 discharge, depending on location in the estuary and the timescale of analyzed data. Finally, we documented that changes in freshwater inflow to the estuary that are within the range of typical management actions can affect bay-wide salinities by 0.61.4. This study reinforces the idea that multidecadal records are needed to identify trends from decadal changes in water management and climate and, therefore, are extremely valuable. ?? 2011 Coastal Education & Research Foundation.

  6. Algal derivatives may protect crops from residual soil salinity: a case study on a tomato-wheat rotation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Di Stasio, Emilio; Raimondi, Giampaolo; Van Oosten, Michael; Maggio, Albino

    2017-04-01

    In coastal areas, summer crops are frequently irrigated with saline water. As a consequence, salts may accumulate in the root zone with detrimental effects on the following winter crops if the rainfall is insufficient to leach them. Two field experiments were performed in 2015-2016 on a field used for tomato (summer) wheat (winter) rotation cropping. The spring-summer experiment was carried in order to evaluate the effect of two algal derivatives (Ascophyllum nodosum), Rygex and Super Fifty, on a tomato crop exposed to increasing salinity and reduced nutrient availability. In the autumn-winter experiment we investigated the effect of residual salts from the previous summer irrigations on plant growth and yield of wheat treated with the same two algal extracts. The salt treatment for the irrigated summer crop was 80 mM NaCl plus a non-salinized control. The nutrient regimes were 100% and 50% of the tomato nutritional requirements. With both the seaweeds applications the salt stressed plants were demonstrated improved Relative Water Content and water potential. Nevertheless the total fresh biomass and the fruit fresh weight were enhanced only in the non salinized controls. Application of algal derivatives increased the total fresh weight over controls in the non salinized plants. The seaweed treatments enhanced the fruit fresh weight with an increase of 30% and 46% for Rygex and Super Fifty, respectively. Preliminary analysis of the ion profile in roots, shoots and leaves, indicates that the seaweed extracts may enhance the assimilation of ions in fruits affecting their nutritional value. The residual salinity of the summer experiment reduced the wheat biomass production. However, the seaweed extracts treatments improved growth under salinity. In the salt stressed plants the Super Fifty application increased shoots and ears by 34% and 23% respectively, compared to the non treated plants. Plant height was increased by application of seaweeds extracts for both the

  7. Nutritional Status as the Key Modulator of Antioxidant Responses Induced by High Environmental Ammonia and Salinity Stress in European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax).

    PubMed

    Sinha, Amit Kumar; AbdElgawad, Hamada; Zinta, Gaurav; Dasan, Antony Franklin; Rasoloniriana, Rindra; Asard, Han; Blust, Ronny; De Boeck, Gudrun

    2015-01-01

    Salinity fluctuation is one of the main factors affecting the overall fitness of marine fish. In addition, water borne ammonia may occur simultaneously with salinity stress. Additionally, under such stressful circumstances, fish may encounter food deprivation. The physiological and ion-osmo regulatory adaptive capacities to cope with all these stressors alone or in combination are extensively addressed in fish. To date, studies revealing the modulation of antioxidant potential as compensatory response to multiple stressors are rather lacking. Therefore, the present work evaluated the individual and combined effects of salinity challenge, ammonia toxicity and nutritional status on oxidative stress and antioxidant status in a marine teleost, European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Fish were acclimated to normal seawater (32 ppt), to brackish water (20 ppt and 10 ppt) and to hypo-saline water (2.5 ppt). Following acclimation to different salinities for two weeks, fish were exposed to high environmental ammonia (HEA, 20 mg/L representing 50% of 96h LC50 value for ammonia) for 12 h, 48 h, 84 h and 180 h, and were either fed (2% body weight) or fasted (unfed for 7 days prior to HEA exposure). Results show that in response to decreasing salinities, oxidative stress indices such as xanthine oxidase activity, levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde, MDA) increased in the hepatic tissue of fasted fish but remained unaffected in fed fish. HEA exposure at normal salinity (32 ppt) and at reduced salinities (20 ppt and 10 ppt) increased ammonia accumulation significantly (84 h-180 h) in both feeding regimes which was associated with an increment of H2O2 and MDA contents. Unlike in fasted fish, H2O2 and MDA levels in fed fish were restored to control levels (84 h-180 h); with a concomitant increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), components of the glutathione redox cycle (reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and

  8. Nutritional Status as the Key Modulator of Antioxidant Responses Induced by High Environmental Ammonia and Salinity Stress in European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

    PubMed Central

    Zinta, Gaurav; Dasan, Antony Franklin; Rasoloniriana, Rindra; Asard, Han; Blust, Ronny; De Boeck, Gudrun

    2015-01-01

    Salinity fluctuation is one of the main factors affecting the overall fitness of marine fish. In addition, water borne ammonia may occur simultaneously with salinity stress. Additionally, under such stressful circumstances, fish may encounter food deprivation. The physiological and ion-osmo regulatory adaptive capacities to cope with all these stressors alone or in combination are extensively addressed in fish. To date, studies revealing the modulation of antioxidant potential as compensatory response to multiple stressors are rather lacking. Therefore, the present work evaluated the individual and combined effects of salinity challenge, ammonia toxicity and nutritional status on oxidative stress and antioxidant status in a marine teleost, European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Fish were acclimated to normal seawater (32 ppt), to brackish water (20 ppt and 10 ppt) and to hypo-saline water (2.5 ppt). Following acclimation to different salinities for two weeks, fish were exposed to high environmental ammonia (HEA, 20 mg/L representing 50% of 96h LC50 value for ammonia) for 12 h, 48 h, 84 h and 180 h, and were either fed (2% body weight) or fasted (unfed for 7 days prior to HEA exposure). Results show that in response to decreasing salinities, oxidative stress indices such as xanthine oxidase activity, levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde, MDA) increased in the hepatic tissue of fasted fish but remained unaffected in fed fish. HEA exposure at normal salinity (32 ppt) and at reduced salinities (20 ppt and 10 ppt) increased ammonia accumulation significantly (84 h–180 h) in both feeding regimes which was associated with an increment of H2O2 and MDA contents. Unlike in fasted fish, H2O2 and MDA levels in fed fish were restored to control levels (84 h–180 h); with a concomitant increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), components of the glutathione redox cycle (reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and

  9. The U.S. Salinity Laboratory (USDA-ARS) guidelines for assessing multi-scale soil salinity with proximal and remote sensing

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Soil salinity is a major threat to sustainable agriculture, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Updated and accurate inventories of salinity in agronomically and environmentally relevant ranges (i.e., <20 dS/m, when salinity is measured as electrical conductivity of the saturation extract, ECe...

  10. Soil salinity decreases global soil organic carbon stocks.

    PubMed

    Setia, Raj; Gottschalk, Pia; Smith, Pete; Marschner, Petra; Baldock, Jeff; Setia, Deepika; Smith, Jo

    2013-11-01

    Saline soils cover 3.1% (397 million hectare) of the total land area of the world. The stock of soil organic carbon (SOC) reflects the balance between carbon (C) inputs from plants, and losses through decomposition, leaching and erosion. Soil salinity decreases plant productivity and hence C inputs to the soil, but also microbial activity and therefore SOC decomposition rates. Using a modified Rothamsted Carbon model (RothC) with a newly introduced salinity decomposition rate modifier and a plant input modifier we estimate that, historically, world soils that are currently saline have lost an average of 3.47 tSOC ha(-1) since they became saline. With the extent of saline soils predicted to increase in the future, our modelling suggests that world soils may lose 6.8 Pg SOC due to salinity by the year 2100. Our findings suggest that current models overestimate future global SOC stocks and underestimate net CO2 emissions from the soil-plant system by not taking salinity effects into account. From the perspective of enhancing soil C stocks, however, given the lower SOC decomposition rate in saline soils, salt tolerant plants could be used to sequester C in salt-affected areas. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Effectiveness of T. harzianum and Humate Amendment in Soil Salinity Restoration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Apostolakis, Antonios; Daliakopoulos, Ioannis; Tsanis, Ioannis

    2017-04-01

    Soil salinity is a major soil degradation threat, especially for the water stressed parts of the Mediterranean region, where it hinders soil fertility and thus agricultural productivity. Soil salinity management can be complex and expensive, often resorting to the use of chemical amendments thus risking soil and aquifer pollution. This study quantifies the beneficial effects of (a) a commercial strain of the beneficial fungus Trichoderma harzianum (TH), and (b) a commercial humate fertilizer enhancer (HFE) approved for organic farming, against soil salinization. The treatments are tested in the context of a Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) greenhouse simulation of the cultivation conditions typical for the semi-arid coastal Timpaki basin in south-central Crete. 20 vigorous 20-day-old Solanum lycopersicum L. cv Elpida seedlings are treated either with TH or HFE, using soil substrates and irrigation treatments of two degradation states. 20 additional plants serve either as controls or guard rows. All plants are transplanted into 35 L pots under greenhouse conditions. Preliminary analysis of soil salinity and crop yield indicators suggest that both treatments are beneficial for the soil-plant system, each to a different extent depending on initial soil conditions.

  12. Banana NAC transcription factor MusaNAC042 is positively associated with drought and salinity tolerance.

    PubMed

    Tak, Himanshu; Negi, Sanjana; Ganapathi, T R

    2017-03-01

    Banana is an important fruit crop and its yield is hampered by multiple abiotic stress conditions encountered during its growth. The NAC (NAM, ATAF, and CUC) transcription factors are involved in plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present study, we studied the induction of banana NAC042 transcription factor in drought and high salinity conditions and its overexpression in transgenic banana to improve drought and salinity tolerance. MusaNAC042 expression was positively associated with stress conditions like salinity and drought and it encoded a nuclear localized protein. Transgenic lines of banana cultivar Rasthali overexpressing MusaNAC042 were generated by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of banana embryogenic cells and T-DNA insertion was confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analysis. Our results using leaf disc assay indicated that transgenic banana lines were able to tolerate drought and high salinity stress better than the control plants and retained higher level of total chlorophyll and lower level of MDA content (malondialdehyde). Transgenic lines analyzed for salinity (250 mM NaCl) and drought (Soil gravimetric water content 0.15) tolerance showed higher proline content, better Fv/Fm ratio, and lower levels of MDA content than control suggesting that MusaNAC042 may be involved in responses to higher salinity and drought stresses in banana. Expression of several abiotic stress-related genes like those coding for CBF/DREB, LEA, and WRKY factors was altered in transgenic lines indicating that MusaNAC042 is an efficient modulator of abiotic stress response in banana.

  13. The role of salinity in the trophic transfer of 137Cs in euryhaline fish.

    PubMed

    Pouil, Simon; Oberhänsli, François; Swarzenski, Peter W; Bustamante, Paco; Metian, Marc

    2018-09-01

    In order to better understand the influence of changing salinity conditions on the trophic transfer of 137 Cs in marine fish that live in dynamic coastal environments, its depuration kinetics was investigated in controlled aquaria. The juvenile turbot Scophthalmus maximus was acclimated to three distinct salinity conditions (10, 25 and 38) and then single-fed with compounded pellets that were radiolabelled with 137 Cs. At the end of a 21-d depuration period, assimilation efficiencies (i.e. AEs = proportion of 137 Cs ingested that is actually assimilated by turbots) were determined from observational data acquired over the three weeks. Our results showed that AEs of 137 Cs in the turbots acclimated to the highest salinity condition were significantly lower than for the other conditions (p < 0.05). Osmoregulation likely explains the decreasing AE observed at the highest salinity condition. Indeed, observations indicate that fish depurate ingested 137 Cs at a higher rate when they increase ion excretion, needed to counterbalance the elevated salinity. Such data confirm that ambient salinity plays an important role in trophic transfer of 137 Cs in some fish species. Implications for such findings extend to seafood safety and climate change impact studies, where the salinity of coastal waters may shift in future years in response to changing weather patterns. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Improving an Atlantic Fisheries DSS using Sea Surface Salinity Data from NASA's Aquarius Mission

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Guest, DeNeice

    2007-01-01

    This report assesses the capacity of incorporating NASA#s Aquarius SSS (sea surface salinity) data into the SMAST (School of Marine Science and Technology) DSS for Fisheries Science. This data will enhance the SMAST DSS by providing SSS over a large area. Aquarius is a focused satellite mission designed to measure global SSS. SSS mapping is limited because conventional in situ SSS sampling is too sparse to give a large-scale view of the salinity variability. Aquarius will resolve missing physical processes that link the water cycle, the climate, and the ocean. The SMAST Fisheries program provides a DSS for fisheries science. It collects fisheries and environmental data, integrates them into a suite of data assimilation ocean models, and provides hindcasts, nowcasts, and forecasts for fisheries research, fisheries management, and the fishery industry. Currently, SMAST is using SSS data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration#s National Data Buoy Center. The SMAST DSS would be enhanced with SSS data from the Aquarius mission.

  15. Quantitative Molecular Phenotyping of Gill Remodeling in a Cichlid Fish Responding to Salinity Stress*

    PubMed Central

    Kültz, Dietmar; Li, Johnathon; Gardell, Alison; Sacchi, Romina

    2013-01-01

    A two-tiered label-free quantitative (LFQ) proteomics workflow was used to elucidate how salinity affects the molecular phenotype, i.e. proteome, of gills from a cichlid fish, the euryhaline tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). The workflow consists of initial global profiling of relative tryptic peptide abundances in treated versus control samples followed by targeted identification (by MS/MS) and quantitation (by chromatographic peak area integration) of validated peptides for each protein of interest. Fresh water acclimated tilapia were independently exposed in separate experiments to acute short-term (34 ppt) and gradual long-term (70 ppt, 90 ppt) salinity stress followed by molecular phenotyping of the gill proteome. The severity of salinity stress can be deduced with high technical reproducibility from the initial global label-free quantitative profiling step alone at both peptide and protein levels. However, an accurate regulation ratio can only be determined by targeted label-free quantitative profiling because not all peptides used for protein identification are also valid for quantitation. Of the three salinity challenges, gradual acclimation to 90 ppt has the most pronounced effect on gill molecular phenotype. Known salinity effects on tilapia gills, including an increase in the size and number of mitochondria-rich ionocytes, activities of specific ion transporters, and induction of specific molecular chaperones are reflected in the regulation of abundances of the corresponding proteins. Moreover, specific protein isoforms that are responsive to environmental salinity change are resolved and it is revealed that salinity effects on the mitochondrial proteome are nonuniform. Furthermore, protein NDRG1 has been identified as a novel key component of molecular phenotype restructuring during salinity-induced gill remodeling. In conclusion, besides confirming known effects of salinity on gills of euryhaline fish, molecular phenotyping reveals novel insight into

  16. Shifts in the community structure and activity of anaerobic ammonium oxidation bacteria along an estuarine salinity gradient

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, Yanling; Jiang, Xiaofen; Hou, Lijun; Liu, Min; Lin, Xianbiao; Gao, Juan; Li, Xiaofei; Yin, Guoyu; Yu, Chendi; Wang, Rong

    2016-06-01

    Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is a major microbial pathway for nitrogen (N) removal in estuarine and coastal environments. However, understanding of anammox bacterial dynamics and associations with anammox activity remains scarce along estuarine salinity gradient. In this study, the diversity, abundance, and activity of anammox bacteria, and their potential contributions to total N2 production in the sediments along the salinity gradient (0.1-33.8) of the Yangtze estuarine and coastal zone, were studied using 16S rRNA gene clone library, quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay, and isotope-tracing technique. Phylogenetic analysis showed a significant change in anammox bacterial community structure along the salinity gradient (P < 0.01), with the dominant genus shifting from Brocadia in the freshwater region to Scalindua in the open ocean. Anammox bacterial abundance ranged from 3.67 × 105 to 8.22 × 107 copies 16S rRNA gene g-1 and related significantly with salinity (P < 0.05). The anammox activity varied between 0.08 and 6.46 nmol N g-1 h-1 and related closely with anammox bacterial abundance (P < 0.01). Contributions of anammox activity to total N loss were highly variable along the salinity gradient, ranging from 5 to 77% and were significantly negatively correlated with salinity (P < 0.01). Sediment organic matter was also recognized as an important factor in controlling the relative role of anammox to total N2 production in the Yangtze estuarine and coastal zone. Overall, our data demonstrated a biogeographical distribution of anammox bacterial diversity, abundance, and activity along the estuarine salinity gradient and suggested that salinity is a major environmental control on anammox process in the estuarine and coastal ecosystems.

  17. Difference in Yield and Physiological Features in Response to Drought and Salinity Combined Stress during Anthesis in Tibetan Wild and Cultivated Barleys

    PubMed Central

    Ahmed, Imrul Mosaddek; Cao, Fangbin; Zhang, Mian; Chen, Xianhong; Zhang, Guoping; Wu, Feibo

    2013-01-01

    Soil salinity and drought are the two most common and frequently co-occurring abiotic stresses constraining crop growth and productivity. Greenhouse pot experiments were conducted to investigate the tolerance potential and mechanisms of Tibetan wild barley genotypes (XZ5, drought-tolerant; XZ16, salinity/aluminum tolerant) during anthesis compared with salinity-tolerant cv CM72 in response to separate and combined stresses (D+S) of drought (4% soil moisture, D) and salinity (S). Under salinity stress alone, plants had higher Na+ concentrations in leaves than in roots and stems. Importantly, XZ5 and XZ16 had substantially increased leaf K+ concentrations; XZ16 was more efficient in restricting Na+ loading in leaf and maintained a lower leaf Na+/K+ ratio. Moreover, a significant decrease in cell membrane stability index (CMSI) and an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) were accompanied by a dramatic decrease in total biomass under D+S treatment. We demonstrated that glycine-betaine and soluble sugars increased significantly in XZ5 and XZ16 under all stress conditions, along with increases in protease activity and soluble protein contents. Significant increases were seen in reduced ascorbate (ASA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) contents, and in activities of H+K+-, Na+K+-, Ca++Mg++-, total- ATPase, and antioxidant enzymes under D+S treatment in XZ5 and XZ16 compared to CM72. Compared with control, all stress treatments significantly reduced grain yield and 1000-grain weight; however, XZ5 and XZ16 were less affected than CM72. Our results suggest that high tolerance to D+S stress in XZ5 and XZ16 is closely related to the lower Na+/K+ ratio, and enhanced glycine-betaine and soluble protein and sugar contents, improved protease, ATPase activities and antioxidative capacity for scavenging reactive oxygen species during anthesis. These results may provide novel insight into the potential responses associated with increasing D+S stress in wild barley genotypes. PMID:24205003

  18. Efficacy and Safety of Continuous Micro-Pump Infusion of 3% Hypertonic Saline combined with Furosemide to Control Elevated Intracranial Pressure.

    PubMed

    Li, Yuqian; Li, Zhihong; Li, Min; Yang, Yanlong; Wang, Bao; Gao, Li; Zhang, Xingye; Cheng, Hongyu; Fang, Wei; Zhao, Bo; Wang, Boliang; Gao, Guodong; Li, Lihong

    2015-06-17

    Elevated intracranial pressure is one of the most common problems in patients with diverse intracranial disorders, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Effective management for increased intracranial pressure is based mainly on surgical and medical techniques with hyperosmolar therapy as one of the core medical treatments. The study aimed to explore the effects of continuous micro-pump infusions of 3% hypertonic saline combined with furosemide on intracranial pressure control. We analyzed data on 56 eligible participants with intracranial pressure >20 mmHg from March 2013 to July 2014. The target was to increase and maintain plasma sodium to a level between 145 and 155 mmol/L and osmolarity to a level of 310 to 320 mOsmol/kg. Plasma sodium levels significantly increased from 138±5 mmol/L at admission to 151±3 mmol/L at 24 h (P<0.01). Osmolarity increased from 282±11 mOsmol/kg at baseline to 311±8 mOsmol/kg at 24 h (P<0.01). Intracranial pressure significantly decreased from 32±7 mmHg to 15±6 mmHg at 24 h (P<0.01). There was a significant improvement in CPP (P<0.01). Moreover, central venous pressure, mean arterial pressure, and Glasgow Coma Scale slightly increased. However, these changes were not statistically significant. Continuous infusion of 3% hypertonic saline + furosemide is effective and safe for intracranial pressure control.

  19. Salinity Energy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schmitt, Walter R.

    1987-01-01

    Discussed are the costs of deriving energy from the earth's natural reserves of salt. Argues that, as fossil fuel supplies become more depleted in the future, the environmental advantages of salinity power may prove to warrant its exploitation. (TW)

  20. Saline Flush After Rocuronium Bolus Reduces Onset Time and Prolongs Duration of Effect: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

    PubMed

    Ishigaki, Sayaka; Masui, Kenichi; Kazama, Tomiei

    2016-03-01

    Circulatory factors modify the onset time of neuromuscular-blocking drugs. Therefore, we hypothesized that infusion of a saline flush immediately after rocuronium administration would shorten the onset time without influencing the duration of the rocuronium effect. Forty-eight patients were randomly allocated to the control or saline flush group. Anesthesia was induced and maintained with propofol and remifentanil, and all patients received 0.6 mg/kg rocuronium in 10 mL of normal saline. In the saline flush group, 20 mL normal saline was immediately infused after rocuronium administration. Neuromuscular blockade was assessed using acceleromyography at the adductor pollicis muscle with train-of-four (TOF) stimulation. The neuromuscular indices for rocuronium were calculated as follows: the latent onset time, defined as the time from the start of rocuronium infusion until first occurrence of depression of the first twitch of the TOF (T1) ≥5%; onset time, defined as the time from the start of rocuronium infusion until first occurrence of depression of the T1 ≥95%; clinical duration, defined as the time from the start of rocuronium administration until T1 recovered to 25% of the final T1 value; recovery index, defined as the time for recovery of T1 from 25% to 75% of the final T1 value; and the total recovery time, defined as the time from the start of rocuronium administration until reaching a TOF ratio of 0.9. Significance was designated at P <0.05. The measured latent onset time and onset time were significantly shorter in the saline flush group than the control group by 15 seconds (95.2% confidence interval, 0-15, P = 0.007) and 15 seconds (0-30, P = 0.018), respectively. Saline flush significantly depressed the T1 height at 30, 45, and 60 seconds after the rocuronium bolus by 17%, 24%, and 14%, respectively. In addition, the recovery phase was significantly prolonged in the saline flush group. The mean clinical duration (5th-95th percentile range) in the

  1. Phytoremediation potential of some halophytic species for soil salinity.

    PubMed

    Devi, S; Nandwal, A S; Angrish, R; Arya, S S; Kumar, N; Sharma, S K

    2016-01-01

    Phytoremediation potential of six halophytic species i.e. Suaeda nudiflora, Suaeda fruticosa, Portulaca oleracea, Atriplex lentiformis, Parkinsonia aculeata and Xanthium strumarium was assessed under screen house conditions. Plants were raised at 8.0, 12.0, 16.0, and 20.0 dSm(-1) of chloride-dominated salinity. The control plants were irrigated with canal water. Sampling was done at vegetative stage (60-75 DAS). About 95 percent seed germination occurred up to 12 dSm(-1) and thereafter declined slightly. Mean plant height and dry weight plant(-1) were significantly decreased from 48.71 to 32.44 cm and from 1.73 to 0.61g plant(-1) respectively upon salinization. Na(+)/K(+) ratio (0.87 to 2.72), Na(+)/ Ca(2+) + Mg(2+) (0.48 to 1.54) and Cl(-)/SO4(2-) (0.94 to 5.04) ratio showed increasing trend. Salinity susceptibility index was found minimum in Suaeda fruticosa (0.72) and maximum in Parkinsonia aculeata (1.17). Total ionic content also declined and magnitude of decline varied from 8.51 to 18.91% at 8 dSm(-1) and 1.85 to 7.12% at 20 dSm(-1) of salinity. On the basis of phytoremediation potential Suaeda fruticosa (1170.02 mg plant(-1)), Atriplex lentiformis (777.87 mg plant(-1)) were the best salt hyperaccumulator plants whereas Xanthium strumarium (349.61 mg plant(-1)) and Parkinsonia aculeata (310.59 mg plant(-1)) were the least hyperaccumulator plants.

  2. The Arabidopsis thaliana HAK5 K+ transporter is required for plant growth and K+ acquisition from low K+ solutions under saline conditions.

    PubMed

    Nieves-Cordones, Manuel; Alemán, Fernando; Martínez, Vicente; Rubio, Francisco

    2010-03-01

    K(+) uptake in the high-affinity range of concentrations and its components have been widely studied. In Arabidposis thaliana, the AtHAK5 transporter and the AtAKT1 channel have been shown to be the main transport proteins involved in this process. Here, we study the role of these two systems under two important stress conditions: low K(+) supply or the presence of salinity. T-DNA insertion lines disrupting AtHAK5 and AtAKT1 are employed for long-term experiments that allow physiological characterization of the mutant lines. We found that AtHAK5 is required for K(+) absorption necessary to sustain plant growth at low K(+) in the absence as well as in the presence of salinity. Salinity greatly reduced AtHAK5 transcript levels and promoted AtAKT1-mediated K(+) efflux, resulting in an important impairment of K(+) nutrition. Although having a limited capacity, AtHAK5 plays a major role for K(+) acquisition from low K(+) concentrations in the presence of salinity.

  3. Effects of periodical salinity fluctuation on the growth, molting, energy homeostasis and molting-related gene expression of Litopenaeus vannamei

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Dan; Guo, Xiantao; Wang, Fang; Dong, Shuanglin

    2016-10-01

    To determine the response of Litopenaeus vannamei to periodical salinity fluctuation, a 30-day experiment was conducted in laboratory. In this experiment, two salinity fluctuation amplitudes of 4 (group S4) and 10 (group S10) were designed. The constant salinity of 30 (group S0) was used as the control. Levels of shrimp growth, molting frequency (MF), cellular energy status (ATP, ADP and AMP), as well as the expression of genes encoding molt-inhibiting hormone (MIH), crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH), ecdysteroid-regulated protein (ERP), and energy-related AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) were determined. The results showed that periodical salinity fluctuation significantly influenced all indicators except MF which ranged from 13.3% in group S10 to15.4% in group S4. In comparison with shrimps cultured at the constant salinity of 30, those in group S4 showed a significant elevation in growth rate, food conversion efficiency, cellular energy status, ERP and MIH gene transcript abundance, and a significant reduction in CHH and AMPK transcript abundance ( P < 0.05). However, salinity fluctuation of 10 only resulted in a significant variation in MIH and CHH gene expression when compared to the control ( P < 0.05). According to our findings, L. vannamei may be highly capable of tolerating salinity fluctuation. When ambient salinity fluctuated at approx. 4, the increased MF and energy stores in organisms may aid to promoting shrimp growth.

  4. The changes of proteins and polysaccharides in extracellular polymeric substance for Spirogyra fluviatilis under different salinity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Yichao; Chang, Shuiping

    2017-05-01

    Spirogyra is a genus of widely distributed, large green fresh water algae. This study discovered that changes in salinity can induce Spirogyra fluviatilis to produce amounts of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) when controlling other environmental conditions. If culturing S. fluviatilis with salinity greater than a 3.0‰ medium for 4 hours, the secretion EPS will be changed. And the level of polysaccharides and proteins, the primary components of EPS, is slightly increased in accordance with the increase in the salinity. But the proteins to polysaccharides ratio changes are not significantly

  5. Treatment of high salinity brines by direct contact membrane distillation: Effect of membrane characteristics and salinity.

    PubMed

    Li, Jianfeng; Guan, Yunshan; Cheng, Fangqin; Liu, Yu

    2015-12-01

    Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) is one of the attractive technologies for high salinity brine treatment. In this study, four polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes were examined in treating highly concentrated salt solutions. Results showed that non-supported membranes generally have a higher overall mass transfer coefficient but porosity seems to be the most important parameter controlling membrane flux and thermal efficiency. Supported membranes with large thickness had relatively higher thermal efficiency than small thickness. This can be attributed to their reduced heat loss through heat condition. In addition, KCl, NaCl and MgCl2 solutions showed distinct trends over flux decline at high salt concentrations (⩾2.0M). The difference in flux was largely due to the discrepancy in water activities of these solutions (KCl>NaCl>MgCl2). However, the effect of viscosity on permeate flux could not be neglected for MgCl2 at high salt concentrations as the suddenly increased viscosity could lead to serious temperature polarization. This study indicates that membrane distillation is a promising technology for high salinity brine treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Salinity affects behavioral thermoregulation in a marine decapod crustacean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reiser, Stefan; Mues, Annika; Herrmann, Jens-Peter; Eckhardt, André; Hufnagl, Marc; Temming, Axel

    2017-10-01

    Thermoregulation in aquatic ectotherms is a complex behavioral pattern that is affected by various biotic and abiotic factors with one being salinity. Especially in coastal and estuarine habitats, altering levels of salinity involve osmoregulatory adjustments that affect total energy budgets and may influence behavioral responses towards temperature. To examine the effect of salinity on behavioral thermoregulation in a marine evertebrate ectotherm, we acclimated juvenile and sub-adult common brown shrimp (Crangon crangon, L.) to salinities of 10, 20 and 30 PSU and investigated their thermal preference in an annular chamber system using the gravitational method for temperature preference determination. Thermal preference of individual brown shrimp was considerably variable and brown shrimp selected a wide range of temperatures in each level of salinity as well as within individual experimental trials. However, salinity significantly affected thermal preference with the shrimp selecting higher temperatures at 10 and 20 PSU when compared to 30 PSU of salinity. Body size had no effect on thermal selection and did not interact with salinity. Temperature preference differed by sex and male shrimp selected significantly higher temperatures at 10 PSU when compared to females. The results show that salinity strongly affects thermal selection in brown shrimp and confirms the strong interrelation of temperature and salinity on seasonal migratory movements that has been previously derived from observations in the field. In the field, however, it remains unclear whether salinity drives thermal selection or whether changes in temperature modify salinity preference.

  7. Influence of thermally activated paper sludge on the behaviour of blended cements subjected to saline and non-saline environments.

    PubMed

    García, Rosario; Rubio, Virginia; Vegas, Iñigo; Frías, Moisés

    2009-05-01

    One of the problems to affect Portland cement matrices is low resistance to aggressive agents, due principally to the presence of a high content of portlandite in the hydrated cements. Pozzolanic materials have played an important role in the improving the durability of cement-based materials for decades. This work studies the behaviour of cement mortar matrices blended with 10% calcined paper sludge (source for metakaolinite) and exposed to different environmental conditions (saline and non-saline environments) after 6 and 12 months of exposure. Two cements were studied: an ordinary Portland cement (CEM 1, 42.5R), acting as reference cement, and a blended cement formulated by mixing 90% (by mass) of CEM 1, 42.5R with 10% (by mass) of paper sludge calcined at 700 degrees C for 2 h. The specimens were exposed 1 year to saline and non-saline environments. All the mineralogy samples were studied through X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyser. The in-depth study on ionic mobility was performed on samples subjected to natural exposure (coast and tableland) for 6 and 12 months. Portland cement was composed of quartz, calcite, calcium hydroxide and tobermorite gels. The pozzolanic cement (10% calcined paper sludge) is of the same composition but a high calcite concentration and barium carbonate. SEM analysis from coastline show deposits of variable composition. The deposits are identified on the surface of different mineral components. The minerals from tableland are much fractured, i.e. calcite and feldspars. Inside the fractures, the deposits and the ions are located and trapped superficially. SEM analysis of control cement Portland and 10% calcined paper sludge shows deposits on quartz and calcite with a very high concentration of Pb, Zn, Cl and barium sulphate. A very porous aspect is due to the presence of the different aggregate types. This porous configuration permits retention of the ion

  8. Plasma and salivary total antioxidant capacity in healthy controls compared with aggressive and chronic periodontitis patients.

    PubMed

    Baser, Ulku; Gamsiz-Isik, Hikmet; Cifcibasi, Emine; Ademoglu, Evin; Yalcin, Funda

    2015-07-01

    To evaluate the plasma and salivary total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) in patients with generalized chronic periodontitis (CP), generalized aggressive periodontitis (AgP), and periodontally healthy controls. This cross-sectional study includes of 88 individuals seeking dental treatment at the Faculty of Dentistry, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey between January 2011 and March 2012. Fifteen AgP patients were compared with 21 healthy controls (C1), while 36 CP patients were compared with 16 healthy controls (C2). Clinical periodontal measurements were recorded, and plasma and saliva samples were collected. The TAOC of the plasma and saliva samples were determined using a commercially available colorimetric kit. The plasma TAOC of both AgP and CP patients was significantly lower for C1 and C2. The salivary TAOC of CP patients was significantly lower for C2, but there was no significant difference between AgP patients and C1. Our results demonstrate that severe periodontitis may be associated with a lower plasma antioxidant capacity. The reduced antioxidant capacity in patients with severe periodontitis, especially with aggressive forms may be an important contributing factor to severe tissue destruction.

  9. Saline-filled laparoscopic surgery: A basic study on partial hepatectomy in a rabbit model.

    PubMed

    Shimada, Masanari; Kawaguchi, Masahiko; Ishikawa, Norihiko; Watanabe, Go

    2015-01-01

    There is still a poor understanding of the effects of pneumoperitoneum with insufflation of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) on malignant cells, and pneumoperitoneum has a negative impact on cardiopulmonary responses. A novel saline-filled laparoscopic surgery (SAFLS) is proposed, and the technical feasibility of performing saline-filled laparoscopic partial hepatectomy (LPH) was evaluated in a rabbit model. Twelve LPH were performed in rabbits, with six procedures performed using an ultrasonic device with CO2 pneumoperitoneum (CO2 group) and six procedures performed using a bipolar resectoscope (RS) in a saline-filled environment (saline group). Resection time, CO2 and saline consumption, vital signs, blood gas analysis, complications, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured. The effectiveness of the resections was evaluated by the pathological findings. LPH was successfully performed with clear observation by irrigation and good control of bleeding by coagulation with RS. There were no significant differences in all perioperative values, IL-1βand CRP levels between the two groups. All pathological specimens of the saline group showed that the resected lesions were coagulated and regenerated as well as in the CO2 group. SAFLS is feasible and provides a good surgical view with irrigation and identification of bleeding sites.

  10. High-Capacity Conductive Nanocellulose Paper Sheets for Electrochemically Controlled Extraction of DNA Oligomers

    PubMed Central

    Razaq, Aamir; Nyström, Gustav; Strømme, Maria; Mihranyan, Albert; Nyholm, Leif

    2011-01-01

    Highly porous polypyrrole (PPy)-nanocellulose paper sheets have been evaluated as inexpensive and disposable electrochemically controlled three-dimensional solid phase extraction materials. The composites, which had a total anion exchange capacity of about 1.1 mol kg−1, were used for extraction and subsequent release of negatively charged fluorophore tagged DNA oligomers via galvanostatic oxidation and reduction of a 30–50 nm conformal PPy layer on the cellulose substrate. The ion exchange capacity, which was, at least, two orders of magnitude higher than those previously reached in electrochemically controlled extraction, originated from the high surface area (i.e. 80 m2 g−1) of the porous composites and the thin PPy layer which ensured excellent access to the ion exchange material. This enabled the extractions to be carried out faster and with better control of the PPy charge than with previously employed approaches. Experiments in equimolar mixtures of (dT)6, (dT)20, and (dT)40 DNA oligomers showed that all oligomers could be extracted, and that the smallest oligomer was preferentially released with an efficiency of up to 40% during the reduction of the PPy layer. These results indicate that the present material is very promising for the development of inexpensive and efficient electrochemically controlled ion-exchange membranes for batch-wise extraction of biomolecules. PMID:22195031

  11. Difference in responses of two coastal species to fluctuating salinities and temperatures: Potential modification of specific distribution areas in the context of global change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trancart, Thomas; Feunteun, Eric; Lefrançois, Christel; Acou, Anthony; Boinet, Christophe; Carpentier, Alexandre

    2016-05-01

    In the past several years, all numerical models have forecasted an increase in extreme climatic events linked to global change. Estuarine waters at the interface of marine and freshwater bodies are among the most volatile ecosystems, particularly for aquatic species, and will be strongly influenced by the temperature with extreme flooding events. This study aimed to quantify the acclimation capacity of coastal fish species to estuarine plume modifications. The thicklip mullet (Chelon labrosus) and European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) were selected as representative species of estuarine ecological guilds. These fish were subjected to an experiment mimicking a brief freshwater intrusion (35-5). These experiments were conducted at two different temperatures that these two species would encounter during their incursion from the sea through estuarine waters to freshwater habitats. The experimental results confirmed the high capacity for acclimation of both species to changes in salinity and temperature. Interspecific differences were observed. For example, the salinity has a greater effect on the metabolism of the seabass than on that of the mullets. Meanwhile, the temperature has a greater effect on the mullets. These differences in metabolic responses to fluctuating salinities and temperatures may modify the use of estuarine waters by these species and should be considered when predicting future specific distribution areas in the context of global change.

  12. Flow dynamics in hyper-saline aquifers: hydro-geophysical monitoring and modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haaken, Klaus; Piero Deidda, Gian; Cassiani, Giorgio; Deiana, Rita; Putti, Mario; Paniconi, Claudio; Scudeler, Carlotta; Kemna, Andreas

    2017-03-01

    Saline-freshwater interaction in porous media is a phenomenon of practical interest particularly for the management of water resources in arid and semi-arid environments, where precious freshwater resources are threatened by seawater intrusion and where storage of freshwater in saline aquifers can be a viable option. Saline-freshwater interactions are controlled by physico-chemical processes that need to be accurately modeled. This in turn requires monitoring of these systems, a non-trivial task for which spatially extensive, high-resolution non-invasive techniques can provide key information. In this paper we present the field monitoring and numerical modeling components of an approach aimed at understanding complex saline-freshwater systems. The approach is applied to a freshwater injection experiment carried out in a hyper-saline aquifer near Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy). The experiment was monitored using time-lapse cross-hole electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). To investigate the flow dynamics, coupled numerical flow and transport modeling of the experiment was carried out using an advanced three-dimensional (3-D) density-driven flow-transport simulator. The simulation results were used to produce synthetic ERT inversion results to be compared against real field ERT results. This exercise demonstrates that the evolution of the freshwater bulb is strongly influenced by the system's (even mild) hydraulic heterogeneities. The example also highlights how the joint use of ERT imaging and gravity-dependent flow and transport modeling give fundamental information for this type of study.

  13. Impact of topography on groundwater salinization due to ocean surge inundation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Xuan; Yang, Jie; Graf, Thomas; Koneshloo, Mohammad; O'Neal, Michael A.; Michael, Holly A.

    2016-08-01

    Sea-level rise and increases in the frequency and intensity of ocean surges caused by climate change are likely to exacerbate adverse effects on low-lying coastal areas. The landward flow of water during ocean surges introduces salt to surficial coastal aquifers and threatens groundwater resources. Coastal topographic features (e.g., ponds, dunes, barrier islands, and channels) likely have a strong impact on overwash and salinization processes, but are generally highly simplified in modeling studies. To understand topographic impacts on groundwater salinization, we modeled a theoretical overwash event and variable-density groundwater flow and salt transport in 3-D using the fully coupled surface and subsurface numerical simulator, HydroGeoSphere. The model simulates the coastal aquifer as an integrated system considering overland flow, coupled surface and subsurface exchange, variably saturated flow, and variable-density groundwater flow. To represent various coastal landscape types, we simulated both synthetic fields and real-world coastal topography from Delaware, USA. The groundwater salinization assessment suggested that the topographic connectivity promoting overland flow controls the volume of aquifer that is salinized. In contrast, the amount of water that can be stored in surface depressions determines the amount of seawater that infiltrates the subsurface and the time for seawater to flush from the aquifer. Our study suggests that topography has a significant impact on groundwater salinization due to ocean surge overwash, with important implications for coastal land management and groundwater vulnerability assessment.

  14. Is bacteriostatic saline superior to normal saline as an echocardiographic contrast agent?

    PubMed

    Cardozo, Shaun; Gunasekaran, Prasad; Patel, Hena; McGorisk, Timothy; Toosi, Mehrdad; Faraz, Haroon; Zalawadiya, Sandip; Alesh, Issa; Kottam, Anupama; Afonso, Luis

    2014-12-01

    Objective data on the performance characteristics and physical properties of commercially available saline formulations [normal saline (NS) vs. bacteriostatic normal saline (bNS)] are sparse. This study sought to compare the in vitro physical properties and in vivo characteristics of two commonly employed echocardiographic saline contrast agents in an attempt to assess superiority. Nineteen patients undergoing transesophageal echocardiograms were each administered agitated regular NS and bNS injections in random order and in a blinded manner according to a standardized protocol. Video time-intensity (TI) curves were constructed from a representative region of interest, placed paraseptally within the right atrium, in the bicaval view. TI curves were analyzed for maximal plateau acoustic intensity (Vmax, dB) and dwell time (DT, s), defined as time duration between onset of Vmax and decay of video intensity below clinically useful levels, reflecting the duration of homogenous opacification of the right atrium. To further characterize the physical properties of the bubbles in vitro, fixed aliquots of similarly agitated saline were injected into a glass well slide-cover slip assembly and examined using an optical microscope to determine bubble diameter in microns (µm) and concentration [bubble count/high power field (hpf)]. A higher acoustic intensity (a less negative dB level), higher bubble concentration and longer DT were considered properties of a superior contrast agent. For statistical analysis, a paired t test was conducted to evaluate the differences in means of Vmax and DT. Compared to NS, bNS administration was associated with superior opacification (video intensity -8.69 ± 4.7 vs. -10.46 ± 4.1 dB, P = 0.002), longer DT (17.3 ± 6.1 vs. 10.2 ± 3.7 s) in vivo and smaller mean bubble size (43.4 vs. 58.6 μm) and higher bubble concentration (1,002 vs. 298 bubble/hpf) in vitro. bNS provides higher intensity and more sustained opacification of the right atrium

  15. Distinct kinetics and mechanisms of mZVI particles aging in saline and fresh groundwater: H2 evolution and surface passivation.

    PubMed

    Xin, Jia; Tang, Fenglin; Zheng, Xilai; Shao, Haibing; Kolditz, Olaf; Lu, Xin

    2016-09-01

    Application of microscale zero-valent iron (mZVI) is a promising technology for in-situ contaminated groundwater remediation; however, its longevity is negatively impacted by surface passivation, especially in saline groundwater. In this study, the aging behavior of mZVI particles was investigated in three media (milli-Q water, fresh groundwater and saline groundwater) using batch experiments to evaluate their potential corrosion and passivation performance under different field conditions. The results indicated that mZVI was reactive for 0-7 days of exposure to water and then gradually lost H2-generating capacity over the next hundred days in all of the tested media. In comparison, mZVI in saline groundwater exhibited the fastest corrosion rate during the early phase (0-7 d), followed by the sharpest kinetic constant decline in the latter phases. The SEM-EDS and XPS analyses demonstrated that in the saline groundwater, a thin and compact oxide film was immediately formed on the surface and significantly shielded the iron reactive site. Nevertheless, in fresh groundwater and milli-Q water, a passive layer composed of loosely and unevenly distributed precipitates slowly formed, with abundant reactive sites available to support continuous iron corrosion. These findings provide insight into the molecular-scale mechanism that governs mZVI passivation and provide implications for long-term mZVI application in saline contaminated groundwater. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Factorial effects of salinity, dietary carbohydrate and moult cycle on digestive carbohydrases and hexokinases in Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931).

    PubMed

    Gaxiola, Gabriela; Cuzon, Gerard; García, Tomás; Taboada, Gabriel; Brito, Roberto; Chimal, María Eugenia; Paredes, Adriana; Soto, Luis; Rosas, Carlos; van Wormhoudt, Alain

    2005-01-01

    Litopenaeus vannamei were reared in close cycle over seven generations and tested for their capacity to digest starch and to metabolise glucose at different stages of the moulting cycle. After acclimation with 42.3% of carbohydrates (HCBH) or 2.3% carbohydrates (LCBH) diets and at high salinity (40 g kg(-1)) or low salinity (15 g kg(-1)), shrimp were sampled and hepatopancreas (HP) were stored. Total soluble protein in HP was affected by the interaction between salinity and moult stages (p<0.05). Specific activity of alpha-amylase ranged from 44 to 241 U mg protein(-1) and a significant interaction between salinity and moult stages was observed (p<0.05), resulting in highest values at stage C for low salinity (mean value 196.4 U mg protein(-1)), and at D0 in high salinity (mean value 175.7 U mg protein(-1)). Specific activity of alpha-glucosidase ranged between 0.09 and 0.63 U mg protein(-1), an interaction between dietary CBH and salinity was observed for the alpha-glucosidase (p<0.05) and highest mean value was found in low salinity-LCBH diet treatment (0.329 U mg protein(-1)). Hexokinase specific activity (range 9-113 mU mg protein(-1)) showed no significant differences when measured at 5 mM glucose (p>0.05). Total hexokinase specific activity (range 17-215 mU mg protein(-1)) showed a significant interaction between dietary CBH and salinity (p<0.05) with highest value (mean value 78.5 mU mg protein(-1)) found in HCBH-high salinity treatment, whereas in the other treatments the activity was not significantly different (mean value 35.93 mU mg protein(-1)). A synergistic effect of dietary CBH, salinity and moult stages over hexokinase IV-like specific activity was also observed (p<0.05). As result of this interaction, the highest value (135.5+/-81 mU mg protein(-1)) was observed in HCBH, high salinity at D0 moult stage. Digestive enzymes activity is enhanced in the presence of high starch diet (HCBH) and hexokinase can be induced at certain moulting stages under

  17. What are the effects of hypertonic saline plus furosemide in acute heart failure?

    PubMed

    Zepeda, Patricio; Rain, Carmen; Sepúlveda, Paola

    2015-08-27

    In search of new therapies to solve diuretic resistance in acute heart failure, the addition of hypertonic saline has been proposed. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening 30 databases, we identified two systematic reviews including nine pertinent randomized controlled trials. We combined the evidence and generated a summary of findings following the GRADE approach. We concluded hypertonic saline associated with furosemide probably decrease mortality, length of hospital stay and hospital readmission in patients with acute decompensated heart failure.

  18. Assessing the Impact of Topography on Groundwater Salinization Due to Storm Surge Inundation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, X.; Yang, J.; Graf, T.; Koneshloo, M.; O'Neal, M. A.; Michael, H. A.

    2015-12-01

    The sea-level rise and increase in the frequency and intensity of coastal storms due to climate change are likely to exacerbate adverse effects of storm surges on low-lying coastal areas. The landward flow of water during storm surges introduces salt to surficial coastal aquifers and threatens groundwater resources. Coastal topography (e.g. ponds, dunes, canals) likely has a strong impact on overwash and salinization processes, but is generally highly simplified in modeling studies. To understand the topographic impacts on groundwater salinization, we modeled overwash and variable-density groundwater flow and salt transport in 3D using the fully coupled surface and subsurface numerical simulator, HydroGeoSphere. The model simulates the coastal aquifer as an integrated system considering processes such as overland flow, coupled surface and subsurface exchange, variably saturated flow, and variable-density flow. To represent various coastal landscape types, we started with realistic coastal topography from Delaware, USA, and then generated synthetic fields with differing shore-perpendicular connectivity and surface depressions. The groundwater salinization analysis suggested that the topographic connectivity promoting overland flow controls the volume of aquifer that is salinized. In contrast, depression storage of surface water mainly controls the time for infiltrated salt to flush from the aquifer. The results indicate that for a range of synthetic conditions, topography increases the flushing time of salt by 20-300% relative to an equivalent "simple slope" in which topographic variation is absent. Our study suggests that topography have a significant impact on overwash salinization, with important implications for land management at local scales and groundwater vulnerability assessment at regional to global scales.

  19. Population and osmoregulatory responses of a euryhaline fish to extreme salinity fluctuations in coastal lagoons of the Coorong, Australia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wedderburn, Scotte D.; Bailey, Colin P.; Delean, Steven; Paton, David C.

    2016-01-01

    River flows and salinity are key factors structuring fish assemblages in estuaries. The osmoregulatory ability of a fish determines its capacity to tolerate rising salt levels when dispersal is unfeasible. Estuarine fishes can tolerate minor fluctuations in salinity, but a relatively small number of species in a few families can inhabit extreme hypersaline waters. The Murray-Darling Basin drains an extensive area of south-eastern Australia and river flows end at the mouth of the River Murray. The system is characterized by erratic rainfall and highly variable flows which have been reduced by intensive river regulation and water extraction. The Coorong is a coastal lagoon system extending some 110 km south-eastwards from the mouth. It is an inverted estuary with a salinity gradient that typically ranges from estuarine to triple that of sea water. Hypersalinity in the southern region suits a select suite of biota, including the smallmouth hardyhead Atherinosoma microstoma - a small-bodied, euryhaline fish with an annual life cycle. The population response of A. microstoma in the Coorong was examined during a period of considerable hydrological variation and extreme salinity fluctuations (2001-2014), and the findings were related to its osmoregulatory ability. Most notably, the species was extirpated from over 50% of its range during four continuous years without river flows when salinities exceeded 120 (2007-2010). These salinities exceeded the osmoregulatory ability of A. microstoma. Substantial river flows that reached the Coorong in late 2010 and continued into 2011 led salinities to fall below 100 throughout the Coorong by January 2012. Subsequently, A. microstoma recovered to its former range by January 2012. The findings show that the consequences of prolonged periods of insufficient river flows to temperate inverted estuaries will include substantial declines in the range of highly euryhaline fishes, which also may have wider ecological consequences.

  20. Long Term Surface Salinity Measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schmitt, Raymond W.; Brown, Neil L.

    2005-01-01

    Our long-term goal is to establish a reliable system for monitoring surface salinity around the global ocean. Salinity is a strong indicator of the freshwater cycle and has a great influence on upper ocean stratification. Global salinity measurements have potential to improve climate forecasts if an observation system can be developed. This project is developing a new internal field conductivity cell that can be protected from biological fouling for two years. Combined with a temperature sensor, this foul-proof cell can be deployed widely on surface drifters. A reliable in-situ network of surface salinity sensors will be an important adjunct to the salinity sensing satellite AQUARIUS to be deployed by NASA in 2009. A new internal-field conductivity cell has been developed by N Brown, along with new electronics. This sensor system has been combined with a temperature sensor to make a conductivity - temperature (UT) sensor suitable for deployment on drifters. The basic sensor concepts have been proven on a high resolution CTD. A simpler (lower cost) circuit has been built for this application. A protection mechanism for the conductivity cell that includes antifouling protection has also been designed and built. Mr. A.Walsh of our commercial partner E-Paint has designed and delivered time-release formulations of antifoulants for our application. Mr. G. Williams of partner Clearwater Instrumentation advised on power and communication issues and supplied surface drifters for testing.

  1. Fructans of the saline world.

    PubMed

    Kırtel, Onur; Versluys, Maxime; Van den Ende, Wim; Öner, Ebru Toksoy

    2018-06-20

    Saline and hypersaline environments make up the largest ecosystem on earth and the organisms living in such water-restricted environments have developed unique ways to cope with high salinity. As such these organisms not only carry significant industrial potential in a world where freshwater supplies are rapidly diminishing, but they also shed light upon the origins and extremes of life. One largely overlooked and potentially important feature of many salt-loving organisms is their ability to produce fructans, fructose polymers widely found in various mesophilic Eubacteria and plants, with potential functions as storage carbohydrates, aiding stress tolerance, and acting as virulence factors or signaling molecules. Intriguingly, within the whole archaeal domain of life, Archaea possessing putative fructan biosynthetic enzymes were found to belong to the extremely halophilic class of Halobacteria only, indicating a strong, yet unexplored link between the fructan syndrome and salinity. In fact, this link may indeed lead to novel strategies in fighting the global salinization problem. Hence this review explores the unknown world of fructanogenic salt-loving organisms, where water scarcity is the main stress factor for life. Within this scope, prokaryotes and plants of the saline world are discussed in detail, with special emphasis on their salt adaptation mechanisms, the potential roles of fructans and fructosyltransferase enzymes in adaptation and survival as well as future aspects for all fructanogenic salt-loving domains of life. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  2. Toxicity of antifouling biocides to the intertidal harpacticoid copepod Tigriopus japonicus (Crustacea, Copepoda): effects of temperature and salinity.

    PubMed

    Kwok, K W H; Leung, K M Y

    2005-01-01

    Intertidal harpacticoid copepods are commonly used in eco-toxicity tests worldwide. They predominately live in mid-high shore rock pools and often experience a wide range of temperature and salinity fluctuation. Most eco-toxicity tests are conducted at fixed temperature and salinity and thus the influence of these environmental factors on chemical toxicity is largely unknown. This study investigated the combined effect of temperature and salinity on the acute toxicity of the copepod Tigriopus japonicus against two common biocides, copper (Cu) and tributyltin (TBT) using a 2 x 3 x 4 factorial design (i.e. two temperatures: 25 and 35 degrees C; three salinities: 15.0 per thousand, 34.5 per thousand and 45.0 per thousand; three levels of the biocide plus a control). Copper sulphate and tributyltin chloride were used as the test chemicals while distilled water and acetone were utilised as solvents for Cu and TBT respectively. 96 h-LC50s of Cu and TBT were 1024 and 0.149 microg l(-1) respectively (at 25 degrees C; 34.5 per thousand) and, based on these results, nominal biocide concentrations of LC0 (i.e. control), LC30, LC50 and LC70 were employed. Analysis of Covariance using 'concentration' as the covariate and both 'temperature' and 'salinity' as fixed factors, showed a significant interaction between temperature and salinity effects for Cu, mortality increasing with temperature but decreasing with elevated salinity. A similar result was revealed for TBT. Both temperature and salinity are, therefore, important factors affecting the results of acute eco-toxicity tests using these marine copepods. We recommend that such eco-toxicity tests should be conducted at a range of environmentally realistic temperature/salinity regimes, as this will enhance the sensitivity of the test and improve the safety margin in line with the precautionary principle.

  3. Remote sensing and GIS for mapping groundwater recharge and discharge areas in salinity prone catchments, southeastern Australia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tweed, Sarah O.; Leblanc, Marc; Webb, John A.; Lubczynski, Maciek W.

    2007-02-01

    Identifying groundwater recharge and discharge areas across catchments is critical for implementing effective strategies for salinity mitigation, surface-water and groundwater resource management, and ecosystem protection. In this study, a synergistic approach has been developed, which applies a combination of remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) techniques to map groundwater recharge and discharge areas. This approach is applied to an unconfined basalt aquifer, in a salinity and drought prone region of southeastern Australia. The basalt aquifer covers ~11,500 km2 in an agriculturally intensive region. A review of local hydrogeological processes allowed a series of surface and subsurface indicators of groundwater recharge and discharge areas to be established. Various remote sensing and GIS techniques were then used to map these surface indicators including: terrain analysis, monitoring of vegetation activity, and mapping of infiltration capacity. All regions where groundwater is not discharging to the surface were considered potential recharge areas. This approach, applied systematically across a catchment, provides a framework for mapping recharge and discharge areas. A key component in assigning surface and subsurface indicators is the relevance to the dominant recharge and discharge processes occurring and the use of appropriate remote sensing and GIS techniques with the capacity to identify these processes.

  4. Trajectory Specification for High-Capacity Air Traffic Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Paielli, Russell A.

    2004-01-01

    In the current air traffic management system, the fundamental limitation on airspace capacity is the cognitive ability of human air traffic controllers to maintain safe separation with high reliability. The doubling or tripling of airspace capacity that will be needed over the next couple of decades will require that tactical separation be at least partially automated. Standardized conflict-free four-dimensional trajectory assignment will be needed to accomplish that objective. A trajectory specification format based on the Extensible Markup Language is proposed for that purpose. This format can be used to downlink a trajectory request, which can then be checked on the ground for conflicts and approved or modified, if necessary, then uplinked as the assigned trajectory. The horizontal path is specified as a series of geodetic waypoints connected by great circles, and the great-circle segments are connected by turns of specified radius. Vertical profiles for climb and descent are specified as low-order polynomial functions of along-track position, which is itself specified as a function of time. Flight technical error tolerances in the along-track, cross-track, and vertical axes define a bounding space around the reference trajectory, and conformance will guarantee the required separation for a period of time known as the conflict time horizon. An important safety benefit of this regimen is that the traffic will be able to fly free of conflicts for at least several minutes even if all ground systems and the entire communication infrastructure fail. Periodic updates in the along-track axis will adjust for errors in the predicted along-track winds.

  5. Characterization of hydrology and salinity in the Dolores project area, McElmo Creek Region, southwest Colorado, 1978-2006

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Richards, Rodney J.; Leib, Kenneth J.

    2011-01-01

    Increasing salinity loading in the Colorado River has become a major concern for agricultural and municipal water supplies. The Colorado Salinity Control Act was implemented in 1974 to protect and enhance the quality of water in the Colorado River Basin. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Colorado River Salinity Control Forum, summarized salinity reductions in the McElmo Creek basin in southwest Colorado as a result of salinity-control modifications and flow-regime changes that result from the Dolores Project, which consists of the construction of McPhee reservoir on the Dolores River and salinity control modifications along the irrigation water delivery system. Flow-adjusted salinity trends using S-LOADEST estimations for a streamgage on McElmo Creek (site 1), that represents outflow from the basin, indicates a decrease in salinity load by 39,800 tons from water year 1978 through water year 2006, which is an average decrease of 1,370 tons per year for the 29-year period. Annual-load calculations for a streamgage on Mud Creek (site 6), that represents outflow from a tributary basin, indicate a decrease of 7,300 tons from water year 1982 through water year 2006, which is an average decrease of 292 tons per year for the 25-year period. The streamgage Dolores River at Dolores, CO (site 17) was chosen to represent a background site that is not affected by the Dolores Project. Annual load calculations for site 17 estimated a decrease of about 8,600 tons from water year 1978 through water year 2006, which is an average decrease of 297 tons per year for the 29-year period. The trend in salinity load at site 17 was considered to be representative of a natural trend in the region. Typically, salinity concentrations at outflow sites decreased from the pre-Dolores Project period (water years 1978-1984) to the post-Dolores Project period (water years 2000-2006). The median salinity concentration for site 1 (main basin outflow

  6. Influence of drinking water salinity on carcass characteristics and meat quality of Santa Inês lambs.

    PubMed

    Castro, Daniela P V; Yamamoto, Sandra M; Araújo, Gherman G L; Pinheiro, Rafael S B; Queiroz, Mario A A; Albuquerque, Ítalo R R; Moura, José H A

    2017-08-01

    This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different salinity levels in drinking water on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of lamb carcass and meat. Ram lambs (n = 32) were distributed in a completely randomized design with four levels of salinity in the drinking water (640 mg of total dissolved solids (TDS)/L of water, 3188 mg TDS/L water, 5740 mg TDS/L water, and 8326 mg TDS/L water). After slaughter, blending, gutting, and skinning the carcass, hot and biological carcass yields were obtained. Then, the carcasses were cooled at 5 °C for 24 h, and then, the morphometric measurements and the cold carcass yield were determined and the commercial cuts made. In the Longissimus lumborum muscle color, water holding capacity, cooking loss, shear force, and chemical composition were determined. The yields of hot and cold carcass (46.10 and 44.90%), as well as losses to cooling (2.40%) were not affected (P > 0.05) by the salinity levels in the water ingested by the lambs. The meat shear force was 3.47 kg/cm 2 and moisture, crude protein, ether extract, and ash were 73.62, 22.77, 2.5, and 4.3%, respectively. It is possible to supply water with salinity levels of up to 8326 mg TDS/L, because it did not affect the carcass and meat characteristics of Santa Inês lambs.

  7. Salinity alters the protein composition of rice endosperm and the physicochemical properties of rice flour.

    PubMed

    Baxter, Graeme; Zhao, Jian; Blanchard, Christopher

    2011-09-01

    Salinity is one of the major threats to production of rice and other agricultural crops worldwide. Although numerous studies have shown that salinity can severely reduce rice yield, little is known about its impact on the chemical composition, processing and sensory characteristics of rice. The objective of the current study was to investigate the effect of salinity on the pasting and textural properties of rice flour as well as on the protein content and composition of rice endosperm. Rice grown under saline conditions had significantly lower yields but substantially higher protein content. The increase in protein content was mainly attributed to increases in the amount of glutelin, with lesser contributions from albumin. Salinity also altered the relative proportions of the individual peptides within the glutelin fraction. Flours obtained from rice grown under saline conditions showed significantly higher pasting temperatures, but lower peak and breakdown viscosities. Rice gels prepared from the flour showed significantly higher hardness and adhesiveness values, compared to the freshwater controls. Salinity can significantly affect the pasting and textural characteristics of rice flour. Although some of the effects could be attributed to changes in protein content of the rice flour, especially the increased glutelin level, the impact of salinity on the physicochemical properties of rice is rather complex and may involve the interrelated effects of other rice components such as starch and lipids. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

  8. Is the Taklimakan Desert Highway Shelterbelt Sustainable to Long-Term Drip Irrigation with High Saline Groundwater?

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Jianguo; Xu, Xinwen; Li, Shengyu; Zhao, Ying; Zhang, Afeng; Zhang, Tibin; Jiang, Rui

    2016-01-01

    Freshwater resources are scarce in desert regions. Highly saline groundwater of different salinity is being used to drip irrigate the Taklimakan Desert Highway Shelterbelt with a double-branch-pipe system controlling the irrigation cycles. In this study, to evaluate the dynamics of soil moisture and salinity under the current irrigation system, soil samples were collected to a 2-m depth in the shelterbelt planted for different years and irrigated with different groundwater salinities, and soil moisture and salinity were analyzed. The results showed that both depletion of soil moisture and increase of topsoil salinity occurred simultaneously during one irrigation cycle. Soil moisture decreased from 27.4% to 2.4% for a 15-day irrigation cycle and from 26.4% to 2.7% for a 10-day-cycle, respectively. Topsoil electrical conductivity (EC) increased from 0.64 to 3.32 dS/m and 0.70 to 3.99 dS/m for these two irrigation cycles. With increased shelterbelt age, profiled average soil moisture (0–200 cm) reduced from 12.8% (1-year) to 7.1% (10-year); however, soil moisture in 0–20-cm increased, while topsoil salinity decreased. In addition, irrigation salinity mainly affected soil salinity in the 0–20-cm range. We conclude that water supply with the double-branch-pipe is a feasible irrigation method for the Taklimakan Desert Highway Shelterbelt, and our findings provide a model for shelterbelt construction and sustainable management when using highly saline water for irrigation in analogous habitats. PMID:27711244

  9. Capacity of Commune Health Stations in Chi Linh District, Hai Duong Province, for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases.

    PubMed

    Thi Thuy Nga, Nguyen; Thi My Anh, Bui; Nguyen Ngoc, Nguyen; Minh Diem, Dang; Duy Kien, Vu; Bich Phuong, Tran; Quynh Anh, Tran; Van Minh, Hoang

    2017-07-01

    The primary health care system in Vietnam has been playing an important role in prevention and control of diseases. This study aimed to describe the capacity of commune health stations in Chi Linh district, Hai Duong province for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). A mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative approaches) approach was applied to collect data in 20 commune health stations. The participants, including health workers, stakeholders, and patients with NCDs, were selected for the study. The findings reported that the main activities of prevention and control of NCDs at commune health stations (CHSs) still focused on information-education-community (IECs), unqualified for providing screening, diagnosis, and treatments of NCDs. The capacity for prevention and control of NCDs in CHSs was inadequate to provide health care services related to prevention and control of NCDs and unmet with the community's demands. In order to ensure the role and implementation of primary care level, there is an urgent need to improve the capacity of CHSs for prevention and control of NCDs, particularly a national budget for NCDs prevention and control, the essential equipment and medicines recommended by the World Health Organization should be provided and available at the CHSs.

  10. Improving attention control in dysphoria through cognitive training: transfer effects on working memory capacity and filtering efficiency.

    PubMed

    Owens, Max; Koster, Ernst H W; Derakshan, Nazanin

    2013-03-01

    Impaired filtering of irrelevant information from working memory is thought to underlie reduced working memory capacity for relevant information in dysphoria. The current study investigated whether training-related gains in working memory performance on the adaptive dual n-back task could result in improved inhibitory function. Efficacy of training was monitored in a change detection paradigm allowing measurement of a sustained event-related potential asymmetry sensitive to working memory capacity and the efficient filtering of irrelevant information. Dysphoric participants in the training group showed training-related gains in working memory that were accompanied by gains in working memory capacity and filtering efficiency compared to an active control group. Results provide important initial evidence that behavioral performance and neural function in dysphoria can be improved by facilitating greater attentional control. Copyright © 2013 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  11. Herbivore Impacts on Marsh Production Depend upon a Compensatory Continuum Mediated by Salinity Stress

    PubMed Central

    Long, Jeremy D.; Porturas, Laura D.

    2014-01-01

    Plant communities are disturbed by several stressors and they are expected to be further impacted by increasing anthropogenic stress. The consequences of these stressors will depend, in part, upon the ability of plants to compensate for herbivory. Previous studies found that herbivore impacts on plants can vary from negative to positive because of environmental control of plant compensatory responses, a.k.a. the Compensatory Continuum Hypothesis. While these influential studies enhanced our appreciation of the dynamic nature of plant-herbivore interactions, they largely focused on the impact of resource limitation. This bias limits our ability to predict how other environmental factors will shape the impact of herbivory. We examined the role of salinity stress on herbivory of salt marsh cordgrass, Spartina foliosa, by an herbivore previously hypothesized to influence the success of restoration projects (the scale insect, Haliaspis spartinae). Using a combination of field and mesocosm manipulations of scales and salinity, we measured how these factors affected Spartina growth and timing of senescence. In mesocosm studies, Spartina overcompensated for herbivory by growing taller shoots at low salinities but the impact of scales on plants switched from positive to neutral with increasing salinity stress. In field studies of intermediate salinities, scales reduced Spartina growth and increased the rate of senescence. Experimental salinity additions at this field site returned the impact of scales to neutral. Because salinity decreased scale densities, the switch in impact of scales on Spartina with increasing salinity was not simply a linear function of scale abundance. Thus, the impact of scales on primary production depended strongly upon environmental context because intermediate salinity stress prevented plant compensatory responses to herbivory. Understanding this context-dependency will be required if we are going to successfully predict the success of

  12. Salinity reduction benefits European eel larvae: Insights at the morphological and molecular level.

    PubMed

    Politis, Sebastian N; Mazurais, David; Servili, Arianna; Zambonino-Infante, Jose-Luis; Miest, Joanna J; Tomkiewicz, Jonna; Butts, Ian A E

    2018-01-01

    European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a euryhaline species, that has adapted to cope with both, hyper- and hypo-osmotic environments. This study investigates the effect of salinity, from a morphological and molecular point of view on European eel larvae reared from 0 to 12 days post hatch (dph). Offspring reared in 36 practical salinity units (psu; control), were compared with larvae reared in six scenarios, where salinity was decreased on 0 or 3 dph and in rates of 1, 2 or 4 psu/day, towards iso-osmotic conditions. Results showed that several genes relating to osmoregulation (nkcc2α, nkcc2β, aqp1dup, aqpe), stress response (hsp70, hsp90), and thyroid metabolism (thrαA, thrαB, thrβB, dio1, dio2, dio3) were differentially expressed throughout larval development, while nkcc1α, nkcc2β, aqp3, aqp1dup, aqpe, hsp90, thrαA and dio3 showed lower expression in response to the salinity reduction. Moreover, larvae were able to keep energy metabolism related gene expression (atp6, cox1) at stable levels, irrespective of the salinity reduction. As such, when reducing salinity, an energy surplus associated to reduced osmoregulation demands and stress (lower nkcc, aqp and hsp expression), likely facilitated the observed increased survival, improved biometry and enhanced growth efficiency. Additionally, the salinity reduction decreased the amount of severe deformities such as spinal curvature and emaciation but also induced an edematous state of the larval heart, resulting in the most balanced mortality/deformity ratio when salinity was decreased on 3 dph and at 2 psu/day. However, the persistency of the pericardial edema and if or how it represents an obstacle in further larval development needs to be further clarified. In conclusion, this study clearly showed that salinity reduction regimes towards iso-osmotic conditions facilitated the European eel pre-leptocephalus development and revealed the existence of highly sensitive and regulated osmoregulation processes at such

  13. SMAP Salinity Artifacts Associated With Presence of Rain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jacob, M. M.; Santos-Garcia, A.; Jones, L.

    2016-02-01

    The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite carries an L-band radiometer, which measures sea surface salinity (SSS) over a swath of 1000 km @ 40 km resolution. SMAP can extend the Aquarius (AQ) salinity data record with improved temporal/spatial sampling. Previous studies [see references] have demonstrated significant differences between satellite and in-situ salinity measurements during rain. In the presence of precipitation, salinity stratification exists near the sea surface, which nullifies the presumption of a well-mixed salinity. In general, these salinity gradients last only a few hours and the upper layer becomes slightly fresher in salinity. This paper describes the Rain Impact Model (RIM) that simulates the effects of rain accumulation on the SSS [Santos-Garcia et al., 2014] applied to SMAP. This model incorporates rainfall information for the previous 24 hours to the measurement sample (in this case SMAP) and uses as initialization the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) data. Given the better resolution of SMAP, the goal of this paper is to continue the analysis previously done with AQ to better understand the effects of the instantaneous and accumulated rain on the salinity measurements. Boutin, J., N. Martin, G. Reverdin, X. Yin, and F. Gaillard (2013), Sea surface freshening inferred from SMOS and ARGO salinity: Impact of rain, Ocean Sci., 9(1), 183-192, doi:10.5194/os-9-183-2013. Santos-Garcia, A., M. Jacob, L. Jones, W. Asher, Y. Hejazin, H. Ebrahimi, and M. Rabolli (2014), Investigation of rain effects on Aquarius Sea Surface Salinity measurements, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 119, 7605-7624, doi:10.1002/2014JC010137. Tang, W., S.H Yueh, A. Hayashi, A.G. Fore, W.L. Jones, A. Santos-Garcia, and M.M. Jacob, (2015), Rain-Induced Near Surface Salinity Stratification and Rain Roughness Correction for Aquarius SSS Retrieval, in Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, IEEE Journal of, 8(99), 1-11, doi: 10.1109/JSTARS.2015.2463768.

  14. Effects of a Storm-Surge Related Salinity Decrease on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Tidal Salt Marsh Mesocosms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Capooci, M.; Barba, J.; Seyfferth, A.; Vargas, R.

    2017-12-01

    Salt marshes, along with mangrove forests and seagrass beds, are capable of sequestering large quantities of carbon. Additionally, salt marshes are resilient ecosystems, capable of quickly recovering from disturbances. However, very little is known about how carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ammonia (NH3) fluxes from wetland soils, in addition to pore water chemistry, change with a disturbance event such as a storm surge. Using soil mesocosms from St. Jones Reserve, a National Estuarine Research Reserve, and site-specific water salinity data, we conducted a laboratory experiment that recreated the changes in salinity associated with a storm event and compared them to soils flooded with the mean annual salinity of the St. Jones River. Control and treatment were done in triplicate. We controlled for variations in temperature (set at 21°C) and all cores maintained similar flooded conditions. Treatment included a decrease in salinity based on historic values during storm events (i.e. Hurricane Joaquin). Greenhouse gas (GHG; CO2, CH4, N2O, NH3) emissions were measured hourly using automated chambers. Pore water was collected every day to every other day and analyzed for a variety of parameters, including Fe2+, S2-, SO42-, and NO3-. Auxiliary measurements, such as soil temperature, moisture, and oxygen levels, in addition to pore water salinity, were also taken to ensure that proper conditions were maintained. We found significant increases in CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions when comparing the treatment (lowered salinity) to the control. We found also differences in pore water chemistry between treatment phases, particularly in Fe2+. The results of this experiment have implications for GHG dynamics in salt marsh ecosystems, showcasing the need to measure GHG emissions during and after storm events. This study provides insights into how changes in salinity affect GHG emissions in salt marshes, as well as how ecosystem dynamics respond to a

  15. How Minimal Grade Goals and Self-Control Capacity Interact in Predicting Test Grades

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bertrams, Alex

    2012-01-01

    The present research examined the prediction of school students' grades in an upcoming math test via their minimal grade goals (i.e., the minimum grade in an upcoming test one would be satisfied with). Due to its significance for initiating and maintaining goal-directed behavior, self-control capacity was expected to moderate the relation between…

  16. The density-salinity relation of standard seawater

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmidt, Hannes; Seitz, Steffen; Hassel, Egon; Wolf, Henning

    2018-01-01

    The determination of salinity by means of electrical conductivity relies on stable salt proportions in the North Atlantic Ocean, because standard seawater, which is required for salinometer calibration, is produced from water of the North Atlantic. To verify the long-term stability of the standard seawater composition, it was proposed to perform measurements of the standard seawater density. Since the density is sensitive to all salt components, a density measurement can detect any change in the composition. A conversion of the density values to salinity can be performed by means of a density-salinity relation. To use such a relation with a target uncertainty in salinity comparable to that in salinity obtained from conductivity measurements, a density measurement with an uncertainty of 2 g m-3 is mandatory. We present a new density-salinity relation based on such accurate density measurements. The substitution measurement method used is described and density corrections for uniform isotopic and chemical compositions are reported. The comparison of densities calculated using the new relation with those calculated using the present reference equations of state TEOS-10 suggests that the density accuracy of TEOS-10 (as well as that of EOS-80) has been overestimated, as the accuracy of some of its underlying density measurements had been overestimated. The new density-salinity relation may be used to verify the stable composition of standard seawater by means of routine density measurements.

  17. Salinity tolerance and osmotic response of the estuarine hermit crab Pagurus maclaughlinae in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rhodes-Ondi, Sarah E.; Turner, Richard L.

    2010-01-01

    Pagurus maclaughlinae is the most common hermit in the Indian River Lagoon System. Wide variations in lagoonal salinity make it likely that P. maclaughlinae is euryhaline and that other hermit species in the area are more stenohaline, at least in some stages of their life histories. In a study of salinity tolerance, crabs were held unfed at salinities of 5-50 (25 control) for up to 30 days. Based on survivorship curves, P. maclaughlinae tolerated acute exposure to salinities of 10-45 for up to 18 days, and survivorship up to 30 days at 20-45 equaled or exceeded survivorship of the control. In a study of acclimation, the osmotic pressure of hemolymph was measured after crabs were held in the laboratory for 12, 48, and 96 h acutely exposed to salinities of 10-45. Paired t-tests revealed that the crabs weakly hyperregulated their hemolymph at 45-154 mOsmol above the external medium at all salinities and sampling times, and the osmotic differential of their hemolymph was fully acclimated by 96 h. In a third study, acclimatization of hemolymph was studied on crabs at four field sites that differed in their recent salinity histories. Field-collected crabs weakly regulated their hemolymph 72-84 mOsmol above the external medium at all sites sampled. Performance did not differ by site. The range of salinity tolerance and acclimation of hemolymph of P. maclaughlinae partly explain their wide distribution, and the consistent osmotic differential of its hemolymph indicates that the osmoregulatory ability of this small-bodied species is conserved in populations throughout the lagoon. Although some other larger-bodied hermit species in the region are euryhaline as adults, their tendency to hyperregulate strongly at low salinities possibly adds an energetic burden that, along with their less euryhaline long-lived larvae, might exclude them from the lagoon. Salinity tolerance of larval P. maclaughlinae has yet to be studied.

  18. The scope and control of attention: Sources of variance in working memory capacity.

    PubMed

    Chow, Michael; Conway, Andrew R A

    2015-04-01

    Working memory capacity is a strong positive predictor of many cognitive abilities, across various domains. The pattern of positive correlations across domains has been interpreted as evidence for a unitary source of inter-individual differences in behavior. However, recent work suggests that there are multiple sources of variance contributing to working memory capacity. The current study (N = 71) investigates individual differences in the scope and control of attention, in addition to the number and resolution of items maintained in working memory. Latent variable analyses indicate that the scope and control of attention reflect independent sources of variance and each account for unique variance in general intelligence. Also, estimates of the number of items maintained in working memory are consistent across tasks and related to general intelligence whereas estimates of resolution are task-dependent and not predictive of intelligence. These results provide insight into the structure of working memory, as well as intelligence, and raise new questions about the distinction between number and resolution in visual short-term memory.

  19. Salinity affects compositional traits of epibacterial communities on the brown macroalga Fucus vesiculosus.

    PubMed

    Stratil, Stephanie B; Neulinger, Sven C; Knecht, Henrik; Friedrichs, Anette K; Wahl, Martin

    2014-05-01

    Epibiotic biofilms have the potential to control major aspects of the biology and ecology of their hosts. Their composition and function may thus be essential for the health of the host. We tested the influence of salinity on the composition of epibacterial communities associated with the brown macroalga Fucus vesiculosus. Algal individuals were incubated at three salinities (5, 19, and 25) for 14 days and nonliving reference substrata (stones) were included in the experiment. Subsequently, the composition of their surface-associated bacterial communities was analyzed by 454 pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene sequences. Redundancy analysis revealed that the composition of epiphytic and epilithic communities significantly differed and were both affected by salinity. We found that 5% of 2494 epiphytic operational taxonomic units at 97% sequence similarity were responsible for the observed shifts. Epibacterial α-diversity was significantly lower at salinity 5 but did not differ between substrata. Our results indicate that salinity is an important factor in structuring alga-associated epibacterial communities with respect to composition and/or diversity. Whether direct or indirect mechanisms (via altered biotic interactions) may have been responsible for the observed shifts is discussed. © 2014 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Oxygation enhances growth, gas exchange and salt tolerance of vegetable soybean and cotton in a saline vertisol.

    PubMed

    Bhattarai, Surya P; Midmore, David J

    2009-07-01

    Impacts of salinity become severe when the soil is deficient in oxygen. Oxygation (using aerated water for subsurface drip irrigation of crop) could minimize the impact of salinity on plants under oxygen-limiting soil environments. Pot experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of oxygation (12% air volume/volume of water) on vegetable soybean (moderately salt tolerant) and cotton (salt tolerant) in a salinized vertisol at 2, 8, 14, 20 dS/m EC(e). In vegetable soybean, oxygation increased above ground biomass yield and water use efficiency (WUE) by 13% and 22%, respectively, compared with the control. Higher yield with oxygation was accompanied by greater plant height and stem diameter and reduced specific leaf area and leaf Na+ and Cl- concentrations. In cotton, oxygation increased lint yield and WUE by 18% and 16%, respectively, compared with the control, and was accompanied by greater canopy light interception, plant height and stem diameter. Oxygation also led to a greater rate of photosynthesis, higher relative water content in the leaf, reduced crop water stress index and lower leaf water potential. It did not, however, affect leaf Na+ or Cl- concentration. Oxygation invariably increased, whereas salinity reduced the K+ : Na+ ratio in the leaves of both species. Oxygation improved yield and WUE performance of salt tolerant and moderately tolerant crops under saline soil environments, and this may have a significant impact for irrigated agriculture where saline soils pose constraints to crop production.

  1. The effect of nebulized salbutamol or isotonic saline on exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in elite skaters following a 1,500-meter race: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Driessen, Jean M M; Gerritsma, Margryt; Westbroek, Jaap; ten Hacken, Nick H T; de Jongh, Frans H C

    2013-07-09

    Prevalence of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is high in elite athletes, especially after many years training in cold and dry air conditions. The primary treatment of EIB is inhaling a short-acting beta-2-agonist such as salbutamol. However, professional speed skaters also inhale nebulized isotonic saline or tap water before and after a race or intense training. The use of nebulized isotonic saline or tap water to prevent EIB has not been studied before, raising questions about safety and efficacy. The aim of this study is to analyze the acute effect of nebulized isotonic saline or salbutamol on EIB in elite speed skaters following a 1,500-meter race. This randomized controlled trial compares single dose treatment of 1 mg nebulized salbutamol in 4 mL of isotonic saline, or with 5 mL of isotonic saline. A minimum of 13 participants will be allocated in each treatment group. Participants should be between 18 and 35 years of age and able to skate 1,500 m in less than 2 min 10 s (women) or 2 min 05 s (men). Repeated measurements of spirometry, forced oscillation technique, and electromyography will be performed before and after an official 1,500-m race. Primary outcome of the study is the difference in fall in FEV1 after exercise in the different treatment groups. The trial is currently enrolling participants. Elite athletes run the risk of pulmonary inflammation and remodeling as a consequence of their frequent exercise, and thus increased ventilation in cold and dry environments. Although inhalation of nebulized isotonic saline is commonplace, no study has ever investigated the safety or efficacy of this treatment. This trial protocol was registered with the Dutch trial registration for clinical trials under number NTR3550.

  2. Effect of salinity on regulation mechanism of neuroendocrine-immunoregulatory network in Litopenaeus vannamei.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Qun; Pan, Luqing; Ren, Qin; Wang, Lin; Miao, Jingjing

    2016-02-01

    The effects of low salinity (transferred from 31‰ to 26‰, 21‰, and 16‰) on the regulation pathways of neuroendocrine-immunoregulatory network were investigated in Litopenaeus vannamei. The results showed that the hormones (corticotrophin-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone) and biogenic amines (dopamine, noradrenaline, 5-hydroxytryptamine) concentrations in lower salinity groups increased significantly within 12 h. The gene expression of biogenic amine receptors showed that dopamine receptor D4 and α2 adrenergic receptor in lower salinity groups decreased significantly within 12 h, whereas the 5-HT7 receptor significantly increased within 1d. The second messenger synthetases (adenylyl cyclase, phospholipase C) and the second messengers (cyclic adenosine monophosphate, cyclic guanosine monophosphate) of lower salinity groups shared a similar trend in which adenylyl cyclase and cyclic adenosine monophosphate reached the maximum at 12 h, whereas phospholipase C and cyclic guanosine monophosphate reached the minimum. The immune parameters (total hemocyte count, phenoloxidase activity, phagocytic activity, crustin expression, antibacterial activity, C-type lectin expression, hemagglutinating activity) in lower salinity groups decreased significantly within 12 h. Except for the total hemocyte count, all the parameters recovered to the control levels afterwards. Therefore, it may be concluded that the neuroendocrine-immunoregulatory network plays a principal role in adapting to salinity changes as the main center for sensing the stress and causes immune response in L. vannamei. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Load controller and method to enhance effective capacity of a photovotaic power supply using a dynamically determined expected peak loading

    DOEpatents

    Perez, Richard

    2003-04-01

    A load controller and method are provided for maximizing effective capacity of a non-controllable, renewable power supply coupled to a variable electrical load also coupled to a conventional power grid. Effective capacity is enhanced by monitoring power output of the renewable supply and loading, and comparing the loading against the power output and a load adjustment threshold determined from an expected peak loading. A value for a load adjustment parameter is calculated by subtracting the renewable supply output and the load adjustment parameter from the current load. This value is then employed to control the variable load in an amount proportional to the value of the load control parameter when the parameter is within a predefined range. By so controlling the load, the effective capacity of the non-controllable, renewable power supply is increased without any attempt at operational feedback control of the renewable supply. The expected peak loading of the variable load can be dynamically determined within a defined time interval with reference to variations in the variable load.

  4. Effects of high salinity from desalination brine on growth, photosynthesis, water relations and osmolyte concentrations of seagrass Posidonia australis.

    PubMed

    Cambridge, M L; Zavala-Perez, A; Cawthray, G R; Mondon, J; Kendrick, G A

    2017-02-15

    Highly saline brines from desalination plants expose seagrass communities to salt stress. We examined effects of raised salinity (46 and 54psu) compared with seawater controls (37psu) over 6weeks on the seagrass, Posidonia australis, growing in tanks with the aim of separating effects of salinity from other potentially deleterious components of brine and determining appropriate bioindicators. Plants survived exposures of 2-4weeks at 54psu, the maximum salinity of brine released from a nearby desalination plant. Salinity significantly reduced maximum quantum yield of PSII (chlorophyll a fluorescence emissions). Leaf water potential (Ψ w ) and osmotic potential (Ψ π ) were more negative at increased salinity, while turgor pressure (Ψ p ) was unaffected. Leaf concentrations of K + and Ca 2+ decreased, whereas concentrations of sugars (mainly sucrose) and amino acids increased. We recommend leaf osmolarity, ion, sugar and amino acid concentrations as bioindicators for salinity effects, associated with brine released in desalination plant outfalls. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Simplified spatiotemporal electromagnetic induction - salinity multi-field calibration

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Salinity-affected farmlands are common in arid and semi-arid regions. To assure long-term sustainability of farming practices in these areas, soil salinity (ECe) should be routinely mapped and monitored. Salinity can be measured through soil sampling directed by geospatial measurements of apparent s...

  6. Characterization and Expression of Glutamate Dehydrogenase in Response to Acute Salinity Stress in the Chinese Mitten Crab, Eriocheir sinensis

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Yueru; Li, Erchao; Yu, Na; Wang, Xiaodan; Cai, Chunfang; Tang, Boping; Chen, Liqiao; Van Wormhoudt, Alain

    2012-01-01

    Background Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) is a key enzyme for the synthesis and catabolism of glutamic acid, proline and alanine, which are important osmolytes in aquatic animals. However, the response of GDH gene expression to salinity alterations has not yet been determined in macro-crustacean species. Methodology/Principal Findings GDH cDNA was isolated from Eriocheir sinensis. Then, GDH gene expression was analyzed in different tissues from normal crabs and the muscle of crabs following transfer from freshwater (control) directly to water with salinities of 16‰ and 30‰, respectively. Full-length GDH cDNA is 2,349 bp, consisting of a 76 bp 5′- untranslated region, a 1,695 bp open reading frame encoding 564 amino acids and a 578 bp 3′- untranslated region. E. sinensis GDH showed 64–90% identity with protein sequences of mammalian and crustacean species. Muscle was the dominant expression source among all tissues tested. Compared with the control, GDH expression significantly increased at 6 h in crabs transferred to 16‰ and 30‰ salinity, and GDH expression peaked at 48 h and 12 h, respectively, with levels approximately 7.9 and 8.5 fold higher than the control. The free amino acid (FAA) changes in muscle, under acute salinity stress (16‰ and 30‰ salinities), correlated with GDH expression levels. Total FAA content in the muscle, which was based on specific changes in arginine, proline, glycine, alanine, taurine, serine and glutamic acid, tended to increase in crabs following transfer to salt water. Among these, arginine, proline and alanine increased significantly during salinity acclimation and accounted for the highest proportion of total FAA. Conclusions E. sinensis GDH is a conserved protein that serves important functions in controlling osmoregulation. We observed that higher GDH expression after ambient salinity increase led to higher FAA metabolism, especially the synthesis of glutamic acid, which increased the synthesis of proline and

  7. Drought-induced recharge promotes long-term storage of porewater salinity beneath a prairie wetland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levy, Zeno F.; Rosenberry, Donald O.; Moucha, Robert; Mushet, David M.; Goldhaber, Martin B.; LaBaugh, James W.; Fiorentino, Anthony J.; Siegel, Donald I.

    2018-02-01

    Subsurface storage of sulfate salts allows closed-basin wetlands in the semiarid Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America to maintain moderate surface water salinity (total dissolved solids [TDS] from 1 to 10 g L-1), which provides critical habitat for communities of aquatic biota. However, it is unclear how the salinity of wetland ponds will respond to a recent shift in mid-continental climate to wetter conditions. To understand better the mechanisms that control surface-subsurface salinity exchanges during regional dry-wet climate cycles, we made a detailed geoelectrical study of a closed-basin prairie wetland (P1 in the Cottonwood Lake Study Area, North Dakota) that is currently experiencing record wet conditions. We found saline lenses of sulfate-rich porewater (TDS > 10 g L-1) contained in fine-grained wetland sediments 2-4 m beneath the bathymetric low of the wetland and within the currently ponded area along the shoreline of a prior pond stand (c. 1983). During the most recent drought (1988-1993), the wetland switched from a groundwater discharge to recharge function, allowing salts dissolved in surface runoff to move into wetland sediments beneath the bathymetric low of the basin. However, groundwater levels during this time did not decline to the elevation of the saline lenses, suggesting these features formed during more extended paleo-droughts and are stable in the subsurface on at least centennial timescales. We hypothesize a "drought-induced recharge" mechanism that allows wetland ponds to maintain moderate salinity under semiarid climate. Discharge of drought-derived saline groundwater has the potential to increase the salinity of wetland ponds during wet climate.

  8. Salinity stress inhibits bean leaf expansion by reducing turgor, not wall extensibility

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Neumann, P. M.; Van Volkenburgh, E.; Cleland, R. E.

    1988-01-01

    Treatment of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) seedlings with low levels of salinity (50 or 100 millimolar NaCl) decreased the rate of light-induced leaf cell expansion in the primary leaves over a 3 day period. This decrease could be due to a reduction in one or both of the primary cellular growth parameters: wall extensibility and cell turgor. Wall extensibility was assessed by the Instron technique. Salinity did not decrease extensibility and caused small increases relative to the controls after 72 hours. On the other hand, 50 millimolar NaCl caused a significant reduction in leaf bulk turgor at 24 hours; adaptive decreases in leaf osmotic potential (osmotic adjustment) were more than compensated by parallel decreases in xylem tension potential and the leaf apoplastic solute potential, resulting in a decreased leaf water potential. It is concluded that in bean seedlings, mild salinity initially affects leaf growth rate by a decrease in turgor rather than by a reduction in wall extensibility. Moreover, long-term salinization (10 days) resulted in an apparent mechanical adjustment, i.e. an increase in wall extensibility, which may help counteract reductions in turgor and maintain leaf growth rates.

  9. Salinity and Temperature Constraints on Microbial Methanogenesis in the Lei-Gong-Huo Mud Volcano of Eastern Taiwan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, W.; Lin, L.; Wang, P.

    2012-12-01

    Terrestrial mud volcano is thought to be one of the most important natural sources of methane emission. Previous studies have shown that methane cycling in terrestrial mud volcanoes involves a complex reaction network driven by the interactions between subsurface and surface abiotic and microbial processes. In situ methanogenesis appears to produce methane at quantities exceeding those of deeply-sourced thermogenic methane and the capacities of anaerobic methanotrophy at shallow depth levels, thereby contributing significantly to the methane emission. Various degrees of evaporation at surface also lead to the enhancement of chloride concentrations in pore water, favoring the proliferation of halo-tolerant and/or halophilic methanogens. The goal of this study is to investigate the extent of methanogenesis in terrestrial mud volcanoes by incubating mud slurries with various precursors (H2/CO2, acetate, methanol, and methylamine) at different salinities (up to 2000 mM) and temperatures (up to 50 oC). Methane concentrations were monitored through time and molecular analyses were applied to investigate the changes of methanogenic communities. Methanogenesis was stimulated by any investigated precursor at room temperature. However, the methanogenic response to salinity varied. Of the investigated precursors, H2/CO2 and methyl-compounds (methanol and methylamine) stimulated methanogenesis at all investigated salinities. The rates and yields of hydrogen- and methyl-utilizing methanogenesis declined significantly at salinities greater than 1500 mM. Acetate-utilizing methanogenesis proceeded at salinities less than 700 mM. At 40 oC, methanogenesis was stimulated by all investigated precursors at the in situ salinity (~400 mM). At 50 oC, only H2-utilizing methanogenesis was stimulated. Analyses of terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) for 16S rRNA genes revealed various patterns upon different precursors and salinities. The TRFLP results combined with

  10. Salinity signature of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Overland, James E.; Salo, Sigrid; Adams, Jennifer Miletta

    Three sites in the North Pacific have temperature and salinity observations in most months for several years before and after 1977. The Gulf of Alaska station (57°N, 148°W) showed a 2°C warming and a 0.6 freshening in salinity at 10 m depth in the 1980s compared to the 1970s. OWS PAPA (50°N, 145°W) and PAPA line station 7 (49.1°N, 132.4°W) show warming of 0.6°C and 0.9°C, with no major salinity change. The decrease in density and increase in stratification in the Gulf of Alaska after 1977 corresponds primarily to a decrease in salinity in the upper 150 m. We propose that while the Pacific Decadal Oscillation has an east/west character in temperature, the salinity signature will have a NNW/SSE character, similar to the pattern of interannual variability in precipitation.

  11. Analysis of environmental factors influencing salinity patterns, oyster growth, and mortality in lower Breton Sound Estuary, Louisiana using 20 years of data

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    LaPeyre, Megan K.; Geaghan, James; Decossas, Gary A.; La Peyre, Jerome F.

    2016-01-01

    Freshwater inflow characteristics define estuarine functioning by delivering nutrients, sediments, and freshwater, which affect biological resources and ultimately system production. Using 20 years of water quality, weather, and oyster growth and mortality data from Breton Sound Estuary (BSE), Louisiana, we examined the relationship of riverine, weather, and tidal influence on estuarine salinity, and the relationship of salinity to oyster growth and mortality. Mississippi River discharge was found to be the most important factor determining salinity patterns over oyster grounds within lower portions of BSE, with increased river flow associated with lowered salinities, while easterly winds associated with increased salinity were less influential. These patterns were consistent throughout the year. Salinity and temperature (season) were found to critically control oyster growth and mortality, suggesting that seasonal changes to river discharge affecting water quality over the oyster grounds have profound impacts on oyster populations. The management of oyster reefs in estuaries (such as BSE) requires an understanding of how estuarine hydrodynamics and salinity are influenced by forcing factors such as winds, river flow, and by the volume, timing, and location of controlled releases of riverine water.

  12. [PROTEOMIC ANALYSIS OF ADAPTIVE MECHANISMS TO SALINITY STRESS IN MARINE GASTROPODS LITTORINA SAXATILIS].

    PubMed

    Muraeva, O A; Maltseva, A L; Mikhailova, N A; Granovitch, A I

    2015-01-01

    Salinity is one of the most important abiotic environmental factors affecting marine animals. If salinity deviate from optimum, adaptive mechanisms switch on to maintain organism's physiological activity. In this study, the reaction of the snails Littorina saxatilis from natural habitats and in response to experimental salinity decreasing was analyzed on proteomic level. The isolation of all snails inside their shells and gradually declining mortality was observed under acute experimental salinity decrease (down to 10 per hundred). Proteomic changes were evaluated in the surviving experimental mollusks compared to control individual using differential 2D gel-electrophoresis (DIGE) and subsequent LC-MS/MS-identification of proteins. Approximately 10% of analyzed proteins underwent up- or down regulation during the experiment. Proteins of folding, antioxidant response, intercellular matrix, cell adhesion, cell signaling and metabolic enzymes were identified among them. Proteome changes observed in experimental hypoosmotic stress partially reproduced in the proteomes of mollusks that live in conditions of natural freshening (estuaries). Possible mechanisms involved in the adaptation process of L. saxatilis individuals to hypo-osmotic stress are discussed.

  13. Salinity tolerance ecophysiology of Equisetum giganteum in South America: a study of 11 sites providing a natural gradient of salinity stress

    PubMed Central

    Husby, Chad E.; Delatorre, José; Oreste, Vittorio; Oberbauer, Steven F.; Palow, Danielle T.; Novara, Lázaro; Grau, Alfredo

    2011-01-01

    Background and aims The basic set of adaptations necessary for salinity tolerance in vascular plants remains unknown. Although much has been published on salinity stress, almost all studies deal with spermatophytes. Studies of salinity tolerance in pteridophytes are relatively rare but hold promise for revealing the fundamental adaptations that all salt-tolerant vascular plants may share. The most basal pteridophytes to exhibit salinity tolerance are members of the genus Equisetum, including the giant horsetail, Equisetum giganteum, the only pteridophyte to occur in salinity-affected regions of the Atacama Desert valleys of northern Chile. Here it can constitute a significant vegetation component, forming dense stands of shoots >4 m high. Methodology Physiological parameters (stomatal conductances; efficiency of photosystem II; sap osmotic potential) were measured in E. giganteum populations in northern Chile across a range of groundwater salinities at 11 sites. In addition, Na, K, electrical conductivity and total plant water potential were measured in the plants and groundwater from each site. Principal results Equisetum giganteum exhibits similar stomatal conductances and photochemical efficiencies of photosystem II across a wide range of groundwater salinities. It lowers cell sap osmotic potential with increasing salinity and produces positive root pressure, as evidenced by guttation, at the full range of salinities experienced in the Atacama Desert. Equisetum giganteum maintains low Na concentrations in its xylem fluid and cell sap when soil water Na is high. It also maintains high K/Na ratios in xylem fluid and cell sap when soil water has low K/Na ratios. Conclusions Equisetum giganteum is well adapted to salinity stress. Efficient K uptake and Na exclusion are important adaptations and closely similar to those of the facultative halophyte fern Acrostichum aureum. PMID:22476492

  14. Multi-stage rescheduling of generation, load shedding and short-term transmission capacity for emergency state control

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Krogh, B.; Chow, J.H.; Javid, H.S.

    1983-05-01

    A multi-stage formulation of the problem of scheduling generation, load shedding and short term transmission capacity for the alleviation of a viability emergency is presented. The formulation includes generation rate of change constraints, a linear network solution, and a model of the short term thermal overload capacity of transmission lines. The concept of rotating transmission line overloads for emergency state control is developed. The ideas are illustrated by a numerical example.

  15. Effects of wetland management on carrying capacity of diving ducks and shorebirds in a coastal estuary

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brand, L. Arriana; Takekawa, John Y.; Shinn, Joel; Graham, Tanya; Buffington, Kevin; Gustafson, K. Benjamin; Smith, Lacy M.; Spring, Sarah E.; Miles, A. Keith

    2014-01-01

    With global loss of natural wetlands, managed wetlands increasingly support energy requirements for wintering shorebirds and waterfowl. Despite numerous studies of avian bioenergetics in freshwater systems, less is known of the energetic capacity of estuarine systems. In San Francisco Bay, managed saline ponds converted from former commercial salt evaporation ponds form part of the largest wetland restoration project on the Pacific coast of North America. A daily-ration model was applied to assess carrying capacity for diving ducks and shorebirds during four winter seasons (2007–2010) in seasonal and circulation ponds, each in two salinity classes. Diving ducks comprised an estimated 35,450 ± 1,559 (x ± SE) in average years and 45,458 ± 1,653 in peak years with > 95% in circulation ponds. Shorebirds comprised 64,253 ± 14,838 (x ± SE) in average years and 108,171 ± 4,854 in peak years with > 64% in seasonal ponds. Macroinvertebrate energy density was highest in mesohaline (5–30 ppt) circulation ponds and lowest in seasonal ponds for both guilds. Energy requirements for diving ducks in mesohaline followed by low-hyperhaline (30–80 ppt) circulation ponds were mostly met by available prey energy. Available energy for shorebirds was substantially less than they required in seasonal ponds but exceeded their needs in mesohaline circulation ponds. Mesohaline circulation ponds supported 9,443 ± 1,649 (x ± SE) shorebird use-days·ha-1 of accessible habitat and 2,297 ± 402 diving duck use-days·ha-1 of accessible habitat, twice the capacity of low-hyperhaline circulation ponds and greater than five times that of seasonal ponds for both guilds. Our results indicated that reducing salinity to mesohaline levels and altering water depth to increase accessibility substantially increased energy available for these species in estuarine managed ponds.

  16. Effects of wetland management on carrying capacity of diving ducks and shorebirds in a coastal estuary

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brand, Arianna L.; Takekawa, John Y.; Shinn, Joel; Graham, Tanya R.; Buffington, Kevin J.; Gustafson, K. Ben; Smith, Lacy M.; Spring, Sarah E.; Miles, A. Keith

    2014-01-01

    With global loss of natural wetlands, managed wetlands increasingly support energy requirements for wintering shorebirds and waterfowl. Despite numerous studies of avian bioenergetics in freshwater systems, less is known of the energetic capacity of estuarine systems. In San Francisco Bay, managed saline ponds converted from former commercial salt evaporation ponds form part of the largest wetland restoration project on the Pacific coast of North America. A daily-ration model was applied to assess carrying capacity for diving ducks and shorebirds during four winter seasons (2007–2010) in seasonal and circulation ponds, each in two salinity classes. Diving ducks comprised an estimated 35,450 ± 1,559 ( ± SE) in average years and 45,458 ± 1,653 in peak years with > 95% in circulation ponds. Shorebirds comprised 64,253 ± 14,838 ( ± SE) in average years and 108,171 ± 4,854 in peak years with > 64% in seasonal ponds. Macroinvertebrate energy density was highest in mesohaline (5–30 ppt) circulation ponds and lowest in seasonal ponds for both guilds. Energy requirements for diving ducks in mesohaline followed by low-hyperhaline (30–80 ppt) circulation ponds were mostly met by available prey energy. Available energy for shorebirds was substantially less than they required in seasonal ponds but exceeded their needs in mesohaline circulation ponds. Mesohaline circulation ponds supported 9,443 ± 1,649 ( ± SE) shorebird use-days·ha-1 of accessible habitat and 2,297 ± 402 diving duck use-days·ha-1 of accessible habitat, twice the capacity of low-hyperhaline circulation ponds and greater than five times that of seasonal ponds for both guilds. Our results indicated that reducing salinity to mesohaline levels and altering water depth to increase accessibility substantially increased energy available for these species in estuarine managed ponds.

  17. Mapping deep aquifer salinity trends in the southern San Joaquin Valley using borehole geophysical data constrained by chemical analyses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gillespie, J.; Shimabukuro, D.; Stephens, M.; Chang, W. H.; Ball, L. B.; Everett, R.; Metzger, L.; Landon, M. K.

    2016-12-01

    The California State Water Resources Control Board and the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources are collaborating with the U.S. Geological Survey to map groundwater resources near oil fields and to assess potential interactions between oil and gas development and groundwater resources. Groundwater resources having salinity less than 10,000 mg/L total dissolved solids may be classified as Underground Sources of Drinking Water (USDW) and subject to protection under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. In this study, we use information from oil well borehole geophysical logs, oilfield produced water and groundwater chemistry data, and three-dimensional geologic surfaces to map the spatial distribution of salinity in aquifers near oil fields. Salinity in the southern San Joaquin Valley is controlled primarily by depth and location. The base of protected waters occurs at very shallow depths, often < 300 meters, in the western part of the valley where aquifer recharge is low in the rain shadow of the Coast Ranges. The base of protected water is much deeper, often >1,500 meters, in the eastern part of the San Joaquin Valley where higher runoff from the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada provide relatively abundant aquifer recharge. Stratigraphy acts as a secondary control on salinity within these broader areas. Formations deposited in non-marine environments are generally fresher than marine deposits. Layers isolated vertically between confining beds and cut off from recharge sources may be more saline than underlying aquifers that outcrop in upland areas on the edge of the valley with more direct connection to regional recharge areas. The role of faulting is more ambiguous. In some areas, abrupt changes in salinity may be fault controlled but, more commonly, the faults serve as traps separating oil-bearing strata that are exempt from USDW regulations, from water-bearing strata that are not exempt.

  18. Salinity tolerance of non-native suckermouth armoured catfish (Loricariidae: Pterygoplichthys sp.) from Kerala, India

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kumar, A. Biju; Schofield, Pam; Raj, Smrithy; Satheesh, Sima

    2018-01-01

    Loricariid catfishes of the genus Pterygoplichthys are native to South America and have been introduced in many localities around the world. They are freshwater fishes, but may also use low-salinity habitats such as estuaries for feeding or dispersal. Here we report results of a field survey and salinity-tolerance experiments for a population of Pterygoplichthys sp. collected in Kerala, India. In both chronic and acute salinity-tolerance trials, fish were able to withstand salinities up to 12 ppt with no mortality; however, fish transferred to salinities > 12 ppt did not survive. The experimental results provide evidence that nonnative Pterygoplichthys sp. are able to tolerate mesohaline conditions for extended periods, and can easily invade the brackish water ecosystems of the state. Further, Pterygoplichthys sp. from Kerala have greater salinity tolerance than other congeners. These data are vital to predicting the invasion of non-native fishes such as Pterygoplichthys spp. into coastal systems in Kerala and worldwide. This is particularly important as estuarine ecosystems are under threat of global climate change and sea-level rise. In light of the results of the present study and considering the reports of negative impacts of the species in invaded water bodies, management authorities may consider controlling populations and/or instituting awareness programmes to prevent the spread of this nuisance aquatic invasive species in Kerala.

  19. Effects of Salinity on Oil Spill Dispersant Toxicity in Estuarine Organisms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eckmann, C. A.

    2016-02-01

    Chemical dispersants can be a useful tool to mitigate oil spills, but the potential risks to sensitive estuarine species should be carefully considered. To improve the decision making process, more information is needed regarding the effects of oil spill dispersants on the health of coastal ecosystems under variable environmental conditions such as salinity. The two oil dispersants used in this study were Corexit ® 9500 and Finasol ® OSR 52. Corexit ® 9500 was the primary dispersant used during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill event, while Finasol® OSR 52 is another dispersant approved for oil spill response in the U.S., yet considerably less is known regarding its toxicity to estuarine species. The grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, was used as a model estuarine species. It is a euryhaline species that tolerates salinities from brackish to full strength seawater. Adult and larval life stages were tested with each dispersant at three salinities, 5ppt, 20ppt, and 30ppt. Median acute lethal toxicity thresholds were calculated. Lipid peroxidation assays were conducted on surviving shrimp to investigate sublethal effects. The toxicity of both dispersants was significantly influenced by salinity, with greatest toxicity observed at the lowest salinity tested. Larval shrimp were significantly more sensitive than adult shrimp to both dispersants, and both life stages were significantly more sensitive to Finasol than to Corexit. Furthermore, significant sublethal effects were seen at higher concentrations of both dispersants compared to the control. These data will enable environmental managers to make informed decisions regarding dispersant use in future oil spills.

  20. Effects of Salinity on Oil Spill Dispersant Toxicity in Estuarine Organisms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eckmann, C. A.

    2015-12-01

    Chemical dispersants can be a useful tool to mitigate oil spills, but the potential risks to sensitive estuarine species should be carefully considered. To improve the decision making process, more information is needed regarding the effects of oil spill dispersants on the health of coastal ecosystems under variable environmental conditions such as salinity. The two oil dispersants used in this study were Corexit ® 9500 and Finasol ® OSR 52. Corexit ® 9500 was the primary dispersant used during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill event, while Finasol® OSR 52 is another dispersant approved for oil spill response in the U.S., yet considerably less is known regarding its toxicity to estuarine species. The grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, was used as a model estuarine species. It is a euryhaline species that tolerates salinities from brackish to full strength seawater. Adult and larval life stages were tested with each dispersant at three salinities, 5ppt, 20ppt, and 30ppt. Median acute lethal toxicity thresholds were calculated. Lipid peroxidation assays were conducted on surviving shrimp to investigate sublethal effects. The toxicity of both dispersants was significantly influenced by salinity, with greatest toxicity observed at the lowest salinity tested. Larval shrimp were significantly more sensitive than adult shrimp to both dispersants, and both life stages were significantly more sensitive to Finasol than to Corexit. Furthermore, significant sublethal effects were seen at higher concentrations of both dispersants compared to the control. These data will enable environmental managers to make informed decisions regarding dispersant use in future oil spills.

  1. Climatic and Landscape Controls on Storage Capacity of Urban Stormwater Control Measures (SCMs): Implications for Stormwater-Stream Connectivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fanelli, R. M.; Prestegaard, K. L.; Palmer, M.

    2015-12-01

    Urbanization alters watershed hydrological processes; impervious surfaces increase runoff generation, while storm sewer networks increase connectivity between runoff sources and streams. Stormwater control measures (SCMs) that enhance stormwater infiltration have been proposed to mitigate these effects by functioning as stormwater sinks. Regenerative stormwater conveyances structures (RSCs) are an example of infiltration-based SCMs that are placed between storm sewer outfalls and perennial stream networks. Given their location, RSCs act as critical nodes that regulate stormwater-stream connectivity. Therefore, the storage capacity of a RSC structure may exert a major control on the frequency, duration, and magnitude of these connections. This project examined both hydrogeological and hydro-climatic factors that could influence storage capacity of RSC structures. We selected three headwater (5-48 ha) urban watersheds near Annapolis, Maryland, USA. Each watershed is drained by first-order perennial streams and has been implemented with a RSC structure. We conducted high-frequency precipitation and stream stage monitoring below the outlet of each RSC structure for a 1-year period. We also instrumented one of the RSC structures with groundwater wells to monitor changes in subsurface storage over time. Using these data, we 1) identified rainfall thresholds for RSC storage capacity exceedance; 2) quantified the frequency and duration of connectivity when the storage capacity of each RSC was exceeded; and 3) evaluated both event-scale and seasonal changes in groundwater levels within the RSC structure. Precipitation characteristics and antecedent precipitation indices influenced the frequency and duration of stormwater-stream connections. We hypothesize both infiltration limitations and storage limitations of the RSCs contributed to the temporal patterns we observed in stormwater-stream connectivity. We also observed reduced storage potential as contributing area and

  2. The partial root-zone saline irrigation system and antioxidant responses in tomato plants.

    PubMed

    Alves, Rita de Cássia; de Medeiros, Ana Santana; Nicolau, Mayara Cristina Malvas; Neto, Antônio Pizolato; de Assis Oliveira, Francisco; Lima, Leonardo Warzea; Tezotto, Tiago; Gratão, Priscila Lupino

    2018-06-01

    Salinity is a limiting factor that can affect plant growth and cause significant losses in agricultural productivity. This study provides an insight about the viability of partial root-zone irrigation (PRI) system with saline water supported by a biochemical approach involving antioxidant responses. Six different irrigation methods using low and high salt concentrations (S1-0.5 and S2-5.0 dS m -1 ) were applied, with or without PRSI, so that one side of the root-zone was submitted to saline water while the other side was low salinity water irrigated. The results revealed different responses according to the treatments and the PRSI system applied. For the treatments T1, T2 and T3, the PRSI was not applied, while T4, T5 and T6 treatments were applied with PRSI system. Lipid peroxidation, proline content, and activities of SOD, CAT, APX, GR and GSH in tomato plants subjected to PRSI system were analyzed. Plant growth was not affected by the salt concentrations; however, plants submitted to high salt concentrations showed high MDA content and Na + accumulation when compared to the control plants. Plants submitted to treatments T4, T5 and T6 with PRSI system exhibited lower MDA compared to the control plants (T1). Proline content and activities of SOD, CAT, APX, GR and GSH content were maintained in all treatments and tissues analyzed, with only exception for APX in fruits and GSH content, in roots. The overall results showed that PRSI system could be an applicable technique for saline water supply on irrigation since plants did not show to be vulnerable to salt stress, supported by a biochemical approach involving antioxidant responses. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  3. The effects of mercury on developing larvae of Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould) . I. Interactions of temperature, salinity and mercuryon larval development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McKenney, C. L.; Costlow, J. D.

    1982-02-01

    Larvae of the estuarine xanthid crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii were reared inthe laboratory from hatch through completion of metamorphosis to postlarva in 64 combinations of temperature (20-35°C), salinity (10-40‰) and mercury (0-20 parts 10 -9 Hg 2+). Multiple linear regression analysis and response surface methodology were used to determine and visually display the individual and interactive effects of the various constant temperature-salinity-mercury combinations on both survival and developmental rates of developing larvae throughout total larval development and for zoeae and megalopae separately, to distinguish any differential sensitivity between the two larval forms. Survival capacity of larvae under a broad range of salinities and temperatures characteristic of temperate estuarine conditions was progressively reduced upon continual exposure to mercury ranging from 5 to 20 parts 10 -9 Hg 2+. Exposure concentrations as low as 5 parts 10 -9 Hg 2+ reduced the salinity and temperature plasciticity of the normally euryhalinic and eurythermal larvae. Larval survival from hatch to postlarva was affected by both mercury-salinity and mercury-temperature interactions with mercury toxicity increasing under suboptimal temperatures and salinities. Viability of early zoeal stages proved more sensitive to mercury exposure than the final megalopa stage. Exposure to mercury concentrations from 5-20 parts 10 -9, Hg 2+ prolonged complete developmental duration by 3 to 4 days with zoeal developmental rates retarded more than megalopal rates. Developmental rates of the megalopa were more reduced by mercury at higher salinities, and both zoeal and megalopal developmental rates were more retarded by mercury at lower temperatures. The reduced plasticity of larvae to estuarine conditions, and retarded developmental rates by low mercury concentrations may reduce recruitment into adult benthic populations and alter the distributional patterns of pelagic R. harrisii larvae.

  4. Growth responses of the mangrove Avicennia marina to salinity: development and function of shoot hydraulic systems require saline conditions

    PubMed Central

    Nguyen, Hoa T.; Stanton, Daniel E.; Schmitz, Nele; Farquhar, Graham D.; Ball, Marilyn C.

    2015-01-01

    Background and Aims Halophytic eudicots are characterized by enhanced growth under saline conditions. This study combines physiological and anatomical analyses to identify processes underlying growth responses of the mangrove Avicennia marina to salinities ranging from fresh- to seawater conditions. Methods Following pre-exhaustion of cotyledonary reserves under optimal conditions (i.e. 50 % seawater), seedlings of A. marina were grown hydroponically in dilutions of seawater amended with nutrients. Whole-plant growth characteristics were analysed in relation to dry mass accumulation and its allocation to different plant parts. Gas exchange characteristics and stable carbon isotopic composition of leaves were measured to evaluate water use in relation to carbon gain. Stem and leaf hydraulic anatomy were measured in relation to plant water use and growth. Key Results Avicennia marina seedlings failed to grow in 0–5 % seawater, whereas maximal growth occurred in 50–75 % seawater. Relative growth rates were affected by changes in leaf area ratio (LAR) and net assimilation rate (NAR) along the salinity gradient, with NAR generally being more important. Gas exchange characteristics followed the same trends as plant growth, with assimilation rates and stomatal conductance being greatest in leaves grown in 50–75 % seawater. However, water use efficiency was maintained nearly constant across all salinities, consistent with carbon isotopic signatures. Anatomical studies revealed variation in rates of development and composition of hydraulic tissues that were consistent with salinity-dependent patterns in water use and growth, including a structural explanation for low stomatal conductance and growth under low salinity. Conclusions The results identified stem and leaf transport systems as central to understanding the integrated growth responses to variation in salinity from fresh- to seawater conditions. Avicennia marina was revealed as an obligate halophyte

  5. Hydrogen-rich saline inhibits tobacco smoke-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by alleviating airway inflammation and mucus hypersecretion in rats.

    PubMed

    Liu, Zibing; Geng, Wenye; Jiang, Chuanwei; Zhao, Shujun; Liu, Yong; Zhang, Ying; Qin, Shucun; Li, Chenxu; Zhang, Xinfang; Si, Yanhong

    2017-09-01

    Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease induced by tobacco smoke has been regarded as a great health problem worldwide. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the protective effect of hydrogen-rich saline, a novel antioxidant, on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and explore the underlying mechanism. Sprague-Dawley rats were made chronic obstructive pulmonary disease models via tobacco smoke exposure for 12 weeks and the rats were treated with 10 ml/kg hydrogen-rich saline intraperitoneally during the last 4 weeks. Lung function testing indicated hydrogen-rich saline decreased lung airway resistance and increased lung compliance and the ratio of forced expiratory volume in 0.1 s/forced vital capacity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease rats. Histological analysis revealed that hydrogen-rich saline alleviated morphological impairments of lung in tobacco smoke-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease rats. ELISA assay showed hydrogen-rich saline lowered the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-8 and IL-6) and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and serum of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease rats. The content of malondialdehyde in lung tissue and serum was also determined and the data indicated hydrogen-rich saline suppressed oxidative stress reaction. The protein expressions of mucin MUC5C and aquaporin 5 involved in mucus hypersecretion were analyzed by Western blot and ELISA and the data revealed that hydrogen-rich saline down-regulated MUC5AC level in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lung tissue and up-regulated aquaporin 5 level in lung tissue of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease rats. In conclusion, these results suggest that administration of hydrogen-rich saline exhibits significant protective effect on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease through alleviating inflammation, reducing oxidative stress and lessening mucus hypersecretion in tobacco smoke-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease rats

  6. Geochemical modeling of trivalent chromium migration in saline-sodic soil during Lasagna process: impact on soil physicochemical properties.

    PubMed

    Lukman, Salihu; Bukhari, Alaadin; Al-Malack, Muhammad H; Mu'azu, Nuhu D; Essa, Mohammed H

    2014-01-01

    Trivalent Cr is one of the heavy metals that are difficult to be removed from soil using electrokinetic study because of its geochemical properties. High buffering capacity soil is expected to reduce the mobility of the trivalent Cr and subsequently reduce the remedial efficiency thereby complicating the remediation process. In this study, geochemical modeling and migration of trivalent Cr in saline-sodic soil (high buffering capacity and alkaline) during integrated electrokinetics-adsorption remediation, called the Lasagna process, were investigated. The remedial efficiency of trivalent Cr in addition to the impacts of the Lasagna process on the physicochemical properties of the soil was studied. Box-Behnken design was used to study the interaction effects of voltage gradient, initial contaminant concentration, and polarity reversal rate on the soil pH, electroosmotic volume, soil electrical conductivity, current, and remedial efficiency of trivalent Cr in saline-sodic soil that was artificially spiked with Cr, Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, phenol, and kerosene. Overall desirability of 0.715 was attained at the following optimal conditions: voltage gradient 0.36 V/cm; polarity reversal rate 17.63 hr; soil pH 10.0. Under these conditions, the expected trivalent Cr remedial efficiency is 64.75%.

  7. Geochemical Modeling of Trivalent Chromium Migration in Saline-Sodic Soil during Lasagna Process: Impact on Soil Physicochemical Properties

    PubMed Central

    Bukhari, Alaadin; Al-Malack, Muhammad H.; Mu'azu, Nuhu D.; Essa, Mohammed H.

    2014-01-01

    Trivalent Cr is one of the heavy metals that are difficult to be removed from soil using electrokinetic study because of its geochemical properties. High buffering capacity soil is expected to reduce the mobility of the trivalent Cr and subsequently reduce the remedial efficiency thereby complicating the remediation process. In this study, geochemical modeling and migration of trivalent Cr in saline-sodic soil (high buffering capacity and alkaline) during integrated electrokinetics-adsorption remediation, called the Lasagna process, were investigated. The remedial efficiency of trivalent Cr in addition to the impacts of the Lasagna process on the physicochemical properties of the soil was studied. Box-Behnken design was used to study the interaction effects of voltage gradient, initial contaminant concentration, and polarity reversal rate on the soil pH, electroosmotic volume, soil electrical conductivity, current, and remedial efficiency of trivalent Cr in saline-sodic soil that was artificially spiked with Cr, Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, phenol, and kerosene. Overall desirability of 0.715 was attained at the following optimal conditions: voltage gradient 0.36 V/cm; polarity reversal rate 17.63 hr; soil pH 10.0. Under these conditions, the expected trivalent Cr remedial efficiency is 64.75 %. PMID:25152905

  8. The Importance of Arousal for Variation in Working Memory Capacity and Attention Control: A Latent Variable Pupillometry Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Unsworth, Nash; Robison, Matthew K.

    2017-01-01

    A great deal of prior research has examined the relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and attention control. The current study explored the role of arousal in individual differences in WMC and attention control. Participants performed multiple WMC and attention control tasks. During the attention control tasks participants were…

  9. Controlled, cross-sectional, multi-center study of physical capacity and associated factors in women with fibromyalgia.

    PubMed

    Larsson, Anette; Palstam, Annie; Bjersing, Jan; Löfgren, Monika; Ernberg, Malin; Kosek, Eva; Gerdle, Björn; Mannerkorpi, Kaisa

    2018-04-19

    Health and physical capacity are commonly associated with disease, age, and socioeconomic factors. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the degree to which physical capacity, defined as muscle strength and walking ability, is decreased in women with fibromyalgia (FM), as compared to healthy women, who are matched for age and level of education. The secondary aim was to investigate whether muscle strength and walking ability are associated with age, symptom duration, activity limitations and, Body Mass Index (BMI) in women with FM and control subjects. This controlled, cross-sectional, multi-center study comprised 118 women with FM and 93 age- and education-level-matched healthy women. The outcome measures were isometric knee-extension force, isometric elbow-flexion force, isometric hand-grip force, and walking ability. Differences between the groups were calculated, and for the women with FM analyses of correlations between the measures of physical capacity and variables were performed. The women with FM showed 20% (p < 0.001) lower isometric knee-extension force, 36% (p < 0.001) lower isometric elbow-flexion force, 34% (p < 0.001) lower isometric hand-grip force, and 16% lower walking ability (p < 0.001), as compared to the healthy controls. All measures of muscle strength in women with FM showed significant weak to moderate relationship to symptom duration (r s  = - 0.23-0.32) and walking ability (r s  = 0.25-0.36). Isometric knee-extension force correlated with activity limitations, as measured using the SF-36 Physical function subscale (r s= 0.23, p = 0.011). Physical capacity was considerably decreased in the women with FM, as compared to the age- and education-level-matched control group. All measures of physical capacity showed a significant association with symptom duration. Knee-extension force and walking ability were significantly associated with activity limitations, age, and BMI. It seems important to

  10. Exogenous spermidine is enhancing tomato tolerance to salinity-alkalinity stress by regulating chloroplast antioxidant system and chlorophyll metabolism.

    PubMed

    Li, Jianming; Hu, Lipan; Zhang, Li; Pan, Xiongbo; Hu, Xiaohui

    2015-12-29

    capacities for responding to salinity-alkalinity stress. Exogenous spermidine triggers effective protection against damage induced by salinity-alkalinity stress in tomato seedlings, probably by maintaining chloroplast structural integrity and alleviating salinity-alkalinity-induced oxidative damage, most likely through regulation of chlorophyll metabolism and the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems in chloroplast. Exogenous spermidine also exerts positive effects at the transcription level, such as down-regulation of the expression of the chlorophyllase gene and up-regulation of the expression of the porphobilinogen deaminase gene.

  11. Do catheter washouts extend patency time in long-term indwelling urethral catheters? A randomized controlled trial of acidic washout solution, normal saline washout, or standard care.

    PubMed

    Moore, Katherine N; Hunter, Kathleen F; McGinnis, Rosemary; Bacsu, Chasta; Fader, Mandy; Gray, Mikel; Getliffe, Kathy; Chobanuk, Janice; Puttagunta, Lakshmi; Voaklander, Donald C

    2009-01-01

    Blockage of long-term indwelling catheters with mineral deposit is an ongoing management issue, but evidence on optimal management is lacking. Our purpose was to examine whether catheter washouts prevent or reduce catheter blockage. A multisite randomized controlled trial. Adults with long-term indwelling catheters that required changing every 3 weeks or less, living in the community, and requiring supportive or continuing care were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: control (usual care, no washout), saline washout, or commercially available acidic washout solution (Contisol Maelor Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Wrexham, UK). At baseline visit, the catheter was changed and participants were followed weekly for 8 weeks, with checks for catheter patency and urine pH. Participants randomized to saline or commercial solution had a weekly washout with the appropriate solution. Endpoints were 8 weeks (completion data), 3 or more catheter changes in the 8-week period, or symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI) requiring antibiotics. The study hypothesis was that catheter life would be extended by 25% in the commercial solution group. It was not possible to blind participants or research nurses to washout versus no intervention, but participants in the saline and washout solution groups were blinded to solution type. One hundred twelve potential participants were screened; 73 were enrolled, randomized, and included in the final analysis. Of these, 53 completed the full 8 weeks of data collection; 16 terminated early because of 3 catheter changes or self-reported 'UTI'. Other reasons for termination were hematuria, latex sensitivity, deceased/severe illness, or personal choice. Analysis of variance was used to analyze mean differences on demographic variables and mean number of weeks in study. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed no statistical difference between the groups in time to first catheter change. At this time, the evidence is

  12. Salinity anomaly as a trigger for ENSO events

    PubMed Central

    Zhu, Jieshun; Huang, Bohua; Zhang, Rong-Hua; Hu, Zeng-Zhen; Kumar, Arun; Balmaseda, Magdalena A.; Marx, Lawrence; Kinter III, James L.

    2014-01-01

    According to the classical theories of ENSO, subsurface anomalies in ocean thermal structure are precursors for ENSO events and their initial specification is essential for skillful ENSO forecast. Although ocean salinity in the tropical Pacific (particularly in the western Pacific warm pool) can vary in response to El Niño events, its effect on ENSO evolution and forecasts of ENSO has been less explored. Here we present evidence that, in addition to the passive response, salinity variability may also play an active role in ENSO evolution, and thus important in forecasting El Niño events. By comparing two forecast experiments in which the interannually variability of salinity in the ocean initial states is either included or excluded, the salinity variability is shown to be essential to correctly forecast the 2007/08 La Niña starting from April 2007. With realistic salinity initial states, the tendency to decay of the subsurface cold condition during the spring and early summer 2007 was interrupted by positive salinity anomalies in the upper central Pacific, which working together with the Bjerknes positive feedback, contributed to the development of the La Niña event. Our study suggests that ENSO forecasts will benefit from more accurate salinity observations with large-scale spatial coverage. PMID:25352285

  13. Salinity anomaly as a trigger for ENSO events.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Jieshun; Huang, Bohua; Zhang, Rong-Hua; Hu, Zeng-Zhen; Kumar, Arun; Balmaseda, Magdalena A; Marx, Lawrence; Kinter, James L

    2014-10-29

    According to the classical theories of ENSO, subsurface anomalies in ocean thermal structure are precursors for ENSO events and their initial specification is essential for skillful ENSO forecast. Although ocean salinity in the tropical Pacific (particularly in the western Pacific warm pool) can vary in response to El Niño events, its effect on ENSO evolution and forecasts of ENSO has been less explored. Here we present evidence that, in addition to the passive response, salinity variability may also play an active role in ENSO evolution, and thus important in forecasting El Niño events. By comparing two forecast experiments in which the interannually variability of salinity in the ocean initial states is either included or excluded, the salinity variability is shown to be essential to correctly forecast the 2007/08 La Niña starting from April 2007. With realistic salinity initial states, the tendency to decay of the subsurface cold condition during the spring and early summer 2007 was interrupted by positive salinity anomalies in the upper central Pacific, which working together with the Bjerknes positive feedback, contributed to the development of the La Niña event. Our study suggests that ENSO forecasts will benefit from more accurate salinity observations with large-scale spatial coverage.

  14. Hydraulic redistribution: limitations for plants in saline soils.

    PubMed

    Bazihizina, Nadia; Veneklaas, Erik J; Barrett-Lennard, Edward G; Colmer, Timothy D

    2017-10-01

    Hydraulic redistribution (HR), the movement of water from wet to dry patches in the soil via roots, occurs in different ecosystems and plant species. By extension of the principle that HR is driven by gradients in soil water potential, HR has been proposed to occur for plants in saline soils. Despite the inherent spatial patchiness and salinity gradients in these soils, the lack of direct evidence of HR in response to osmotic gradients prompted us to ask the question: are there physical or physiological constraints to HR for plants in saline environments? We propose that build-up of ions in the root xylem sap and in the leaf apoplast, with the latter resulting in a large predawn disequilibrium of water potential in shoots compared with roots and soil, would both impede HR. We present a conceptual model that illustrates how processes in root systems in heterogeneous salinity with water potential gradients, even if equal to those in non-saline soils, will experience a dampened magnitude of water potential gradients in the soil-plant continuum, minimizing or preventing HR. Finally, we provide an outlook for understanding the relevance of HR for plants in saline environments by addressing key research questions on plant salinity tolerance. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Plant responses to heterogeneous salinity: growth of the halophyte Atriplex nummularia is determined by the root-weighted mean salinity of the root zone

    PubMed Central

    Bazihizina, Nadia

    2012-01-01

    Soil salinity is generally spatially heterogeneous, but our understanding of halophyte physiology under such conditions is limited. The growth and physiology of the dicotyledonous halophyte Atriplex nummularia was evaluated in split-root experiments to test whether growth is determined by: (i) the lowest; (ii) the highest; or (iii) the mean salinity of the root zone. In two experiments, plants were grown with uniform salinities or horizontally heterogeneous salinities (10–450mM NaCl in the low-salt side and 670mM in the high-salt side, or 10mM NaCl in the low-salt side and 500–1500mM in the high-salt side). The combined data showed that growth and gas exchange parameters responded most closely to the root-weighted mean salinity rather than to the lowest, mean, or highest salinity in the root zone. In contrast, midday shoot water potentials were determined by the lowest salinity in the root zone, consistent with most water being taken from the least negative water potential source. With uniform salinity, maximum shoot growth was at 120–230mM NaCl; ~90% of maximum growth occurred at 10mM and 450mM NaCl. Exposure of part of the roots to 1500mM NaCl resulted in an enhanced (+40%) root growth on the low-salt side, which lowered root-weighted mean salinity and enabled the maintenance of shoot growth. Atriplex nummularia grew even with extreme salinity in part of the roots, as long as the root-weighted mean salinity of the root zone was within the 10–450mM range. PMID:23125356

  16. Plant responses to heterogeneous salinity: growth of the halophyte Atriplex nummularia is determined by the root-weighted mean salinity of the root zone.

    PubMed

    Bazihizina, Nadia; Barrett-Lennard, Edward G; Colmer, Timothy D

    2012-11-01

    Soil salinity is generally spatially heterogeneous, but our understanding of halophyte physiology under such conditions is limited. The growth and physiology of the dicotyledonous halophyte Atriplex nummularia was evaluated in split-root experiments to test whether growth is determined by: (i) the lowest; (ii) the highest; or (iii) the mean salinity of the root zone. In two experiments, plants were grown with uniform salinities or horizontally heterogeneous salinities (10-450 mM NaCl in the low-salt side and 670 mM in the high-salt side, or 10 mM NaCl in the low-salt side and 500-1500 mM in the high-salt side). The combined data showed that growth and gas exchange parameters responded most closely to the root-weighted mean salinity rather than to the lowest, mean, or highest salinity in the root zone. In contrast, midday shoot water potentials were determined by the lowest salinity in the root zone, consistent with most water being taken from the least negative water potential source. With uniform salinity, maximum shoot growth was at 120-230 mM NaCl; ~90% of maximum growth occurred at 10 mM and 450 mM NaCl. Exposure of part of the roots to 1500 mM NaCl resulted in an enhanced (+40%) root growth on the low-salt side, which lowered root-weighted mean salinity and enabled the maintenance of shoot growth. Atriplex nummularia grew even with extreme salinity in part of the roots, as long as the root-weighted mean salinity of the root zone was within the 10-450 mM range.

  17. Sea Surface Salinity: The Next Remote Sensing Challenge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lagerloef, Gary S. E.; Swift, Calvin T.; LeVine, David M.

    1995-01-01

    A brief history of salinity remote sensing is presented. The role of sea surface salinity (SSS) in the far north Atlantic and the influence of salinity variations on upper ocean dynamics in the tropics are described. An assessment of the present state of the technology of the SSS satellite remote sensing is given.

  18. Effects of dietary Lactobacillus plantarum in different treatments on growth performance and immune gene expression of white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei under normal condition and stress of acute low salinity.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Xiaoting; Duan, Yafei; Dong, Hongbiao; Zhang, Jiasong

    2017-03-01

    A 45-day feeding trial followed by an acute stress test of low salinity was done to evaluate effects of Lactobacillus plantarum on growth performance and anti-stress capability of white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Shrimp were randomly allocated in 15 tanks (100 shrimp per tank) and divided into 5 treatments with 3 replicates. Triplicate tanks were fed with a control diet or diets containing different treatments of L. plantarum (fermentation supernatant (FS), live bacteria (LB), dead bacteria (DB) and cell-free extract (CE) of L. plantarum) as treatment groups. Growth performance including weight gain (WGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and specific growth rate (SGR) were determined after feeding 45 days. Anti-stress capacity was evaluated by determining the gene expression of ProPO, SOD and Lys in gut of shrimp at the end of feeding trial and again at 96 h post-stress test. Results indicated that supplementation of L. plantarum into diet had significantly improved growth performance of L. vannamei. On the other hand, L. plantarum supplementation had no significant effects on the gene expression of SOD and Lys in gut of shrimp cultured under normal condition for 45 days. Supplementation of L. plantarum had increased survivability of L. vannamei having higher survival rates compared to the control group. However, statistical analysis showed no significant difference between the control group and treatments. Compared with the control group, supplementation of L. plantarum significantly improved the resistance of L. vannamei against the stress of acute low salinity, as indicated by higher survival rate as well as higher transcript levels of ProPo, SOD and Lys gene. Our findings suggested that L. plantarum, especially cell-free extract of L. plantarum has improved the anti-stress capacity of L. vannamei and could serve as a potential feed additive that helps shrimp to overcome environmental stresses. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Aerobic Capacity and Cognitive Control in Elementary School-Age Children

    PubMed Central

    Scudder, Mark R.; Lambourne, Kate; Drollette, Eric S.; Herrmann, Stephen; Washburn, Richard; Donnelly, Joseph E.; Hillman, Charles H.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose The current study examined the relationship between children’s performance on the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) subtest of the FitnessGram® and aspects of cognitive control that are believed to support academic success. Methods Hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted on a sample of 2nd and 3rd grade children (n = 397) who completed modified versions of a flanker task and spatial n-back task to assess inhibitory control and working memory, respectively. Results Greater aerobic fitness was significantly related to shorter reaction time and superior accuracy during the flanker task, suggesting better inhibitory control and the facilitation of attention in higher fit children. A similar result was observed for the n-back task such that higher fit children exhibited more accurate target detection and discrimination performance when working memory demands were increased. Conclusion These findings support the positive association between aerobic fitness and multiple aspects of cognitive control in a large sample of children, using a widely implemented and reliable field estimate of aerobic capacity. Importantly, the current results suggest that this relationship is consistent across methods used to assess fitness, which may have important implications for extending this research to more representative samples of children in a variety of experimental contexts. PMID:24743109

  20. Effects of Salinity and Nutrient Addition on Mangrove Excoecaria agallocha

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Yaping; Ye, Yong

    2014-01-01

    Effects of salinity on seed germination and growth of young (1 month old) and old (2-year old) seedlings of Excoecaria agallocha were investigated. Combined effects of salinity and nutrient level were also examined on old seedlings. Seed germination was best at 0 and 5 psu salinity. 15 psu salinity significantly delayed root initiation and decreased final establishment rate. All seeds failed to establish at 25 psu salinity. Young seedlings performed best at 0 and 5 psu, but growth was stunned at 15 psu, and all seedlings died within 90 days at 25 psu. Old seedlings grew best at salinities below 5 psu and they survived the whole cultivation at 25 psu. This indicated that E. agallocha increased salt tolerance over time. Gas exchange was significantly compromised by salinities above 15 psu but evidently promoted by high nutrient. Proline accumulated considerably at high nutrient, and its contents increased from 0 to 15 psu but decreased at 25 psu salinity. Lipid peroxidation was aggravated by increasing salinity beyond 15 psu but markedly alleviated by nutrient addition. These responses indicated that E. agallocha was intolerant to high salinity but it can be greatly enhanced by nutrient addition. PMID:24691495

  1. Global scale environmental control of plant photosynthetic capacity

    DOE PAGES

    Ali, Ashehad; Xu, Chonggang; Rogers, Alistair; ...

    2015-12-01

    Photosynthetic capacity, determined by light harvesting and carboxylation reactions, is a key plant trait that determines the rate of photosynthesis; however, in Earth System Models (ESMs) at a reference temperature, it is either a fixed value for a given plant functional type or derived from a linear function of leaf nitrogen content. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis that considered correlations of environmental factors with photosynthetic capacity as determined by maximum carboxylation (V c,m) rate scaled to 25°C (i.e., V c,25; μmol CO 2·m –2·s –1) and maximum electron transport rate (Jmax) scaled to 25°C (i.e., J 25;more » μmol electron·m –2·s –1) at the global scale. Our results showed that the percentage of variation in observed Vc,25 and J25 explained jointly by the environmental factors (i.e., day length, radiation, temperature, and humidity) were 2–2.5 times and 6–9 times of that explained by area-based leaf nitrogen content, respectively. Environmental factors influenced photosynthetic capacity mainly through photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency, rather than through leaf nitrogen content. The combination of leaf nitrogen content and environmental factors was able to explain ~56% and ~66% of the variation in V c,25 and J 25 at the global scale, respectively. As a result, our analyses suggest that model projections of plant photosynthetic capacity and hence land–atmosphere exchange under changing climatic conditions could be substantially improved if environmental factors are incorporated into algorithms used to parameterize photosynthetic capacity in ESMs.« less

  2. Influence of constant and fluctuating salinity on responses of 'mysidopsis bahia' exposed to cadmium in a life-cycle test

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Voyer, R.A.; McGovern, D.G.

    1991-01-01

    Two 28-day, life-cycle tests were conducted to evaluate effects of constant and fluctuating salinities on chronic toxicity of cadmium to Mysidopsis bahia at 27C. Salinities of 10 to 32% and cadmium concentrations of 1 to 9 micrograms/l were examined. Estimated median tolerance concentrations at day 28 ranged from 4.8 to 6.3 micrograms Cd/l over the salinity range of 13 to 29%. Size and fecundity of exposed and unexposed females were predicted to be comparable when cadmium was equal or greater than 5.0 micrograms Cd/l and salinities equal or less than 20% and at concentrations of less than 5 micrograms/l atmore » lower salinities. At higher cadmium levels both responses were impaired regardless of salinity. Reproduction in control treatments was an order of magnitude lower in low (10 and 13%) as compared to high (21, 29, 32%) salinity treatments. This effect of salinity on reproduction was not moderated by periodic exposure to higher, more suitable salinities. Survival, growth and reproduction were not impacted by addition of 5 micrograms Cd/l under fluctuating salinity conditions. The no-effect concentration is 4-5 micgrogram Cd/1 regardless of salinity. Changes in survival, growth and reproduction observed are consistent with the principal distribution of M. bahia in estuaries relative to salinity. Comparison of these data with previously reported acute responses suggests that the acute water quality criterion for cadmium should be salinity-dependent whereas the chronic criterion need not be.« less

  3. Sensor-Based Assessment of Soil Salinity during the First Years of Transition from Flood to Sprinkler Irrigation.

    PubMed

    Casterad, Mª Auxiliadora; Herrero, Juan; Betrán, Jesús A; Ritchie, Glen

    2018-02-17

    A key issue for agriculture in irrigated arid lands is the control of soil salinity, and this is one of the goals for irrigated districts when changing from flood to sprinkling irrigation. We combined soil sampling, proximal electromagnetic induction, and satellite data to appraise how soil salinity and its distribution along a previously flood-irrigated field evolved after its transformation to sprinkling. We also show that the relationship between NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) and ECe (electrical conductivity of the soil saturation extracts) mimics the production function between yield and soil salinity. Under sprinkling, the field had a double crop of barley and then sunflower in 2009 and 2011. In both years, about 50% of the soil of the entire studied field-45 ha-had ECe < 8 dS m-1, i.e., allowing barley cultivation, while the percent of surface having ECe ≥ 16 dS m-1 increased from 8.4% in 2009 to 13.7% in 2011. Our methodology may help monitor the soil salinity oscillations associated with irrigation management. After quantifying and mapping the soil salinity in 2009 and 2011, we show that barley was stunted in places of the field where salinity was higher. Additionally, the areas of salinity persisted after the subsequent alfalfa cropping in 2013. Application of differential doses of water to the saline patches is a viable method to optimize irrigation water distribution and lessen soil salinity in sprinkler-irrigated agriculture.

  4. Sensor-Based Assessment of Soil Salinity during the First Years of Transition from Flood to Sprinkler Irrigation

    PubMed Central

    Herrero, Juan; Betrán, Jesús A.; Ritchie, Glen

    2018-01-01

    A key issue for agriculture in irrigated arid lands is the control of soil salinity, and this is one of the goals for irrigated districts when changing from flood to sprinkling irrigation. We combined soil sampling, proximal electromagnetic induction, and satellite data to appraise how soil salinity and its distribution along a previously flood-irrigated field evolved after its transformation to sprinkling. We also show that the relationship between NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) and ECe (electrical conductivity of the soil saturation extracts) mimics the production function between yield and soil salinity. Under sprinkling, the field had a double crop of barley and then sunflower in 2009 and 2011. In both years, about 50% of the soil of the entire studied field—45 ha—had ECe < 8 dS m−1, i.e., allowing barley cultivation, while the percent of surface having ECe ≥ 16 dS m−1 increased from 8.4% in 2009 to 13.7% in 2011. Our methodology may help monitor the soil salinity oscillations associated with irrigation management. After quantifying and mapping the soil salinity in 2009 and 2011, we show that barley was stunted in places of the field where salinity was higher. Additionally, the areas of salinity persisted after the subsequent alfalfa cropping in 2013. Application of differential doses of water to the saline patches is a viable method to optimize irrigation water distribution and lessen soil salinity in sprinkler-irrigated agriculture. PMID:29462981

  5. Developing operator capacity estimates for supervisory control of autonomous vehicles.

    PubMed

    Cummings, M L; Guerlain, Stephanie

    2007-02-01

    This study examined operators' capacity to successfully reallocate highly autonomous in-flight missiles to time-sensitive targets while performing secondary tasks of varying complexity. Regardless of the level of autonomy for unmanned systems, humans will be necessarily involved in the mission planning, higher level operation, and contingency interventions, otherwise known as human supervisory control. As a result, more research is needed that addresses the impact of dynamic decision support systems that support rapid planning and replanning in time-pressured scenarios, particularly on operator workload. A dual screen simulation that allows a single operator the ability to monitor and control 8, 12, or 16 missiles through high level replanning was tested on 42 U.S. Navy personnel. The most significant finding was that when attempting to control 16 missiles, participants' performance on three separate objective performance metrics and their situation awareness were significantly degraded. These results mirror studies of air traffic control that demonstrate a similar decline in performance for controllers managing 17 aircraft as compared with those managing only 10 to 11 aircraft. Moreover, the results suggest that a 70% utilization (percentage busy time) score is a valid threshold for predicting significant performance decay and could be a generalizable metric that can aid in manning predictions. This research is relevant to human supervisory control of networked military and commercial unmanned vehicles in the air, on the ground, and on and under the water.

  6. The Role of Ethylene in Plants Under Salinity Stress

    PubMed Central

    Tao, Jian-Jun; Chen, Hao-Wei; Ma, Biao; Zhang, Wan-Ke; Chen, Shou-Yi; Zhang, Jin-Song

    2015-01-01

    Although the roles of ethylene in plant response to salinity and other stresses have been extensively studied, there are still some obscure points left to be clarified. Generally, in Arabidopsis and many other terrestrial plants, ethylene signaling is indispensable for plant rapid response and tolerance to salinity stress. However, a few studies showed that functional knock-out of some ACSs increased plant salinity-tolerance, while overexpression of them caused more sensitivity. This seems to be contradictory to the known opinion that ethylene plays positive roles in salinity response. Differently, ethylene in rice may play negative roles in regulating seedling tolerance to salinity. The main positive ethylene signaling components MHZ7/OsEIN2, MHZ6/OsEIL1, and OsEIL2 all negatively regulate the salinity-tolerance of rice seedlings. Recently, several different research groups all proposed a negative feedback mechanism of coordinating plant growth and ethylene response, in which several ethylene-inducible proteins (including NtTCTP, NEIP2 in tobacco, AtSAUR76/77/78, and AtARGOS) act as inhibitors of ethylene response but activators of plant growth. Therefore, in addition to a summary of the general roles of ethylene biosynthesis and signaling in salinity response, this review mainly focused on discussing (i) the discrepancies between ethylene biosynthesis and signaling in salinity response, (ii) the divergence between rice and Arabidopsis in regulation of salinity response by ethylene, and (iii) the possible negative feedback mechanism of coordinating plant growth and salinity response by ethylene. PMID:26640476

  7. Gene expression plasticity in response to salinity acclimation in threespine stickleback ecotypes from different salinity habitats.

    PubMed

    Gibbons, Taylor C; Metzger, David C H; Healy, Timothy M; Schulte, Patricia M

    2017-05-01

    Phenotypic plasticity is thought to facilitate the colonization of novel environments and shape the direction of evolution in colonizing populations. However, the relative prevalence of various predicted patterns of changes in phenotypic plasticity following colonization remains unclear. Here, we use a whole-transcriptome approach to characterize patterns of gene expression plasticity in the gills of a freshwater-adapted and a saltwater-adapted ecotype of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) exposed to a range of salinities. The response of the gill transcriptome to environmental salinity had a large shared component common to both ecotypes (2159 genes) with significant enrichment of genes involved in transmembrane ion transport and the restructuring of the gill epithelium. This transcriptional response to freshwater acclimation is induced at salinities below two parts per thousand. There was also differentiation in gene expression patterns between ecotypes (2515 genes), particularly in processes important for changes in the gill structure and permeability. Only 508 genes that differed between ecotypes also responded to salinity and no specific processes were enriched among this gene set, and an even smaller number (87 genes) showed evidence of changes in the extent of the response to salinity acclimation between ecotypes. No pattern of relative expression dominated among these genes, suggesting that neither gains nor losses of plasticity dominated the changes in expression patterns between the ecotypes. These data demonstrate that multiple patterns of changes in gene expression plasticity can occur following colonization of novel habitats. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. RNA-seq for gene identification and transcript profiling in relation to root growth of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) under salinity stress.

    PubMed

    Hu, Longxing; Li, Huiying; Chen, Liang; Lou, Yanhong; Amombo, Erick; Fu, Jinmin

    2015-08-04

    Soil salinity is one of the most significant abiotic stresses affecting plant shoots and roots growth. The adjustment of root architecture to spatio-temporal heterogeneity in salinity is particularly critical for plant growth and survival. Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) is a widely used turf and forage perennial grass with a high degree of salinity tolerance. Salinity appears to stimulate the growth of roots and decrease their mortality in tolerant bermudagrass. To estimate a broad spectrum of genes related to root elongation affected by salt stress and the molecular mechanisms that control the positive response of root architecture to salinity, we analyzed the transcriptome of bermudagrass root tips in response to salinity. RNA-sequencing was performed in root tips of two bermudagrass genotypes contrasting in salt tolerance. A total of 237,850,130 high quality clean reads were generated and 250,359 transcripts were assembled with an average length of 1115 bp. Totally, 103,324 unigenes obtained with 53,765 unigenes (52 %) successfully annotated in databases. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that major transcription factor (TF) families linked to stress responses and growth regulation (MYB, bHLH, WRKY) were differentially expressed in root tips of bermudagrass under salinity. In addition, genes related to cell wall loosening and stiffening (xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolases, peroxidases) were identified. RNA-seq analysis identified candidate genes encoding TFs involved in the regulation of lignin synthesis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis controlled by peroxidases, and the regulation of phytohormone signaling that promote cell wall loosening and therefore root growth under salinity.

  9. Changes of hypertonic saline-induced masseter muscle pain characteristics, by an infusion of the serotonin receptor type 3 antagonist granisetron.

    PubMed

    Christidis, Nikolaos; Ioannidou, Kiriaki; Milosevic, Milena; Segerdahl, Märta; Ernberg, Malin

    2008-10-01

    This study aimed to investigate whether granisetron reduces masseter muscle pain and allodynia induced by hypertonic saline. Fifteen healthy women and 15 age-matched healthy men participated in this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study. They first received bilateral injections of hypertonic saline into the masseter muscles (internal control). The evoked pain intensity and the pressure-pain threshold (PPT) were recorded during 30 minutes. Granisetron was then injected on one side and placebo (normal saline) on the contralateral side. Two minutes thereafter, the hypertonic saline injections were repeated. Pain and PPT were again recorded. The first injection of hypertonic saline induced pain of similar intensity, duration, and pain area on both sides, but with larger pain area in the women (P = .017). The PPT did not change significantly. The second injection of hypertonic saline induced considerably less pain (62.5%), of shorter duration (44.1%), and of smaller area (77.4%) on the side pretreated with granisetron (P = .005). The PPT was increased on the granisetron side in the men (P = .002). The results of this study show that local injection of a single dose of granisetron attenuates masseter muscle pain induced by hypertonic saline. This article presents the changes of hypertonic saline-induced masseter muscle pain characteristics by infusion of granisetron. It appears that the pain-inducing effect in this experimental pain model is partly due to activation of 5-HT3-receptors. Hence, the results indicate that granisetron might offer a new treatment approach for localized myofascial pain.

  10. Salinity and temperature tolerance of brown-marbled grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Sha-Yen; Chen, Chih-Sung; Chen, Jiann-Chu

    2013-04-01

    Grouper have to face varied environmental stressors as a result of drastic changes to water conditions during the storm season. We aimed to test the response of brown-marbled grouper to drastic and gradual changes in temperature and salinity to understand the grouper's basic stress response. The results can improve the culture of grouper. Brown-marbled grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (6.2 ± 0.8 g) were examined for temperature and salinity tolerances at nine different environmental regimes (10, 20, and 33 ‰ combined with 20, 26 and 32 °C), in which the fish were subjected to both gradual and sudden changes in temperature and salinity. The critical thermal maximum (50 % CTMAX) and the upper incipient lethal temperature (UILT) were in the ranges of 35.9-38.3 and 32.7-36.5 °C, respectively. The critical thermal minimum (50 % CTMIN) and the lower incipient lethal temperature (LILT) were in the ranges of 9.8-12.2 and 14.9-22.3 °C, respectively. The critical salinity maximum (50 % CSMAX) and the upper incipient lethal salinity (UILS) were in the ranges of 67.0-75.5 and 54.2-64.8 ‰, respectively. Fish at temperature of 20 °C and a salinity of 33 ‰ tolerated temperatures as low as 10 °C when the temperature was gradually decreased. Fish acclimated at salinities of 10-33 ‰ and a temperature of 32 °C tolerated salinities of as high as 75-79 ‰. All fish survived from accumulating salinity after acute transfer to 20, 10, 5, and 3 ‰. But all fish died while transferred to 0 ‰. Relationships among the UILT, LILT, 50 % CTMAX, 50 % CTMIN, UILS, 50 % CSMAX, salinity, and temperature were examined. The grouper's temperature and salinity tolerance elevated by increasing acclimation temperature and salinity. On the contrary, the grouper's temperature and salinity tolerance degraded by decreasing acclimation temperature and salinity. The tolerance of temperature and salinity on grouper in gradual changes were higher than in drastic changes.

  11. Comparative sensitivity of Crassostrea angulata and Crassostrea gigas embryo-larval development to As under varying salinity and temperature.

    PubMed

    Moreira, Anthony; Figueira, Etelvina; Libralato, Giovanni; Soares, Amadeu M V M; Guida, Marco; Freitas, Rosa

    2018-06-07

    Oysters are a diverse group of marine bivalves that inhabit coastal systems of the world's oceans, providing a variety of ecosystem services, and represent a major socioeconomic resource. However, oyster reefs have become inevitably impacted from habitat destruction, overfishing, pollution and disease outbreaks that have pushed these structures to the break of extinction. In addition, the increased frequency of climate change related events promise to further challenge oyster species survival worldwide. Oysters' early embryonic development is likely the most vulnerable stage to climate change related stressors (e.g. salinity and temperature shifts) as well as to pollutants (e.g. arsenic), and therefore can represent the most important bottleneck that define populations' survival in a changing environment. In light of this, the present study aimed to assess two important oyster species, Crassostrea angulata and Crassostrea gigas embryo-larval development, under combinations of salinity (20, 26 and 33), temperature (20, 24 and 28 °C) and arsenic (As) exposure (0, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, 960 and 1920 μg. As L -1 ), to infer on different oyster species capacity to cope with these environmental stressors under the eminent threat of climate change and increase of pollution worldwide. Results showed differences in each species range of salinity and temperature for successful embryonic development. For C angulata, embryo-larval development was successful at a narrower range of both salinity and temperature, compared to C. gigas. Overall, As induced higher toxicity to C. angulata embryos, with calculated EC50 values at least an order of magnitude lower than those calculated for C. gigas. The toxicity of As (measured as median effective concentration, EC50) showed to be influenced by both salinity and temperature in both species. Nonetheless, salinity had a greater influence on embryos' sensitivity to As. This pattern was mostly noticed for C. gigas, with lower salinity

  12. Production of consistent pain by intermittent infusion of sterile 5% hypertonic saline, followed by decrease of pain with cryotherapy.

    PubMed

    Long, Blaine C; Knight, Kenneth L; Hopkins, Ty; Parcell, Allen C; Feland, J Brent

    2012-08-01

    It is suggested that postinjury pain is difficult to examine; thus, investigators have developed experimental pain models. To minimize pain, cryotherapy (cryo) is applied, but reports on its effectiveness are limited. To investigate a pain model for the anterior knee and examine cryo in reducing the pain. Controlled laboratory study. Therapeutic modality laboratory. 30 physically active healthy male subjects who were free from any lower extremity orthopedic, neurological, cardiovascular, or endocrine pathologies. Perceived pain was measured every minute. Surface temperature was also assessed in the center of the patella and the popliteal fossa. There was a significant interaction between group and time (F68,864 = 3.0, P = .0001). At the first minute, there was no difference in pain between the 3 groups (saline/cryo = 4.80 ± 4.87 mm, saline/sham = 2.80 ± 3.55 mm, no saline/cryo = 4.00 ± 3.33 mm). During the first 5 min, pain increased from 4.80 ± 4.87 to 45.90 ± 21.17 mm in the saline/cryo group and from 2.80 ± 3.55 to 31.10 ± 20.25 mm in the saline/sham group. Pain did not change within the no-saline/cryo group, 4.00 ± 3.33 to 1.70 ± 1.70 mm. Pain for the saline/sham group remained constant for 17 min. Cryo decreased pain for 16 min in the saline/cryo group. There was no difference in preapplication surface temperature between or within each group. No change in temperature occurred within the saline/sham. Cooling and rewarming were similar in both cryo groups. Ambient temperature fluctuated less than 1°C during data collection. Intermittent infusion of sterile 5% hypertonic saline may be a useful experimental pain model in establishing a constant level of pain in a controlled laboratory setting. Cryotherapy decreased the induced anterior knee pain for 16 min.

  13. Natural and management influences on freshwater inflows and salinity in the San Francisco Estuary at monthly to interannual scales

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Knowles, Noah

    2002-01-01

    Understanding the processes controlling the physics, chemistry, and biology of the San Francisco Estuary and their relation to climate variability is complicated by the combined influence on freshwater inflows of natural variability and upstream management. To distinguish these influences, alterations of estuarine inflow due to major reservoirs and freshwater pumping in the watershed were inferred from available data. Effects on salinity were estimated by using reconstructed estuarine inflows corresponding to differing levels of impairment to drive a numerical salinity model. Both natural and management inflow and salinity signals show strong interannual variability. Management effects raise salinities during the wet season, with maximum influence in spring. While year‐to‐year variations in all signals are very large, natural interannual variability can greatly exceed the range of management effects on salinity in the estuary.

  14. Dynamic changes in water and salinity in saline-alkali soils after simulated irrigation and leaching.

    PubMed

    Wang, Shutao; Feng, Qian; Zhou, Yapeng; Mao, Xiaoxi; Chen, Yaheng; Xu, Hao

    2017-01-01

    Soil salinization is a global problem that limits agricultural development and impacts human life. This study aimed to understand the dynamic changes in water and salinity in saline-alkali soil based on an indoor soil column simulation. We studied the changes in the water and salt contents of soils with different degrees of salinization under various irrigation conditions. The results showed that after seven irrigations, the pH, conductivity and total soluble salt content of the percolation samples after irrigation generally increased initially then decreased with repeated irrigation. The soil moisture did not change significantly after irrigation. The pH, conductivity, and total soluble salt content of each layer of the soil profile exhibited general declining trends. In the soil profile from Changguo Township (CG), the pH decreased from 8.21-8.35 to 7.71-7.88, the conductivity decreased from 0.95-1.14 ms/cm to 0.45-0.68 ms/cm, and the total soluble salt content decreased from 2.63-2.81 g/kg to 2.28-2.51 g/kg. In the soil profile from Zhongjie Industrial Park (ZJ), the pH decreased from 8.36-8.54 to 7.73-7.96, the conductivity decreased from 1.58-1.68 ms/cm to 1.45-1.54 ms/cm, and the total soluble salt decreased from 2.81-4.03 g/kg to 2.56-3.28 g/kg. The transported salt ions were primarily K+, Na+ and Cl-. After several irrigations, a representative desalination effect was achieved. The results of this study can provide technical guidance for the comprehensive management of saline-alkali soils.

  15. Working Memory Capacity: Attention Control, Secondary Memory, or Both? A Direct Test of the Dual-Component Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Unsworth, Nash; Spillers, Gregory J.

    2010-01-01

    The current study examined the extent to which attention control abilities, secondary memory abilities, or both accounted for variation in working memory capacity (WMC) and its relation to fluid intelligence. Participants performed various attention control, secondary memory, WMC, and fluid intelligence measures. Confirmatory factor analyses…

  16. Water and mineral relations of Atriplex canescens and A. cuneata on saline processed oil shale

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Richardson, S.G.

    1979-01-01

    Growth, mineral uptake and water relations of Atriplex canescens and A. cuneata, both native to the arid oil shale region of northeastern Utah, were studied in the greenhouse and laboratory as affected by various salinity levels and specific ions in processed oil shale. Salinity of the shale was manipulated by moistening leached processed oil shale to near field capacity (20% H/sub 2/O by weight) with solutions of shale leachate, sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate or sodium chloride at equiosmotic concentrations ranging from 0 to -30 bars. Although shale salinity did not affect osmotic adjustment, zero turgor points of A. canescens becamemore » more negative with reductions in shale moisture percentage. Differences in plant growth due to differet ions in the soil solution could not be explained by effects on osmotic adjustment. However, greater growth of A. canescens in Na/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ treated than MgSO/sub 4/ treated leached shale was associated with greater leaf succulence, greater lamina lengths and lamina widths and lower diffusive leaf resistances. Potassium added to leached and unleached processed oil shale increased shoot and root biomass production, shoot/root ratio, leaf K content, and water use efficiency of a sodium-excluding Atriplex canescens biotype but did not increase growth of a sodium-accumulating biotype.« less

  17. Use of constructed wetland systems with Arundo and Sarcocornia for polishing high salinity tannery wastewater.

    PubMed

    Calheiros, Cristina S C; Quitério, Paula V B; Silva, Gabriela; Crispim, Luís F C; Brix, Hans; Moura, Sandra C; Castro, Paula M L

    2012-03-01

    Treatment of tannery wastewater is problematic due to high and variable concentrations of complex pollutants often combined with high salinity levels. Two series of horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands (CWs) planted with Arundo donax and Sarcocornia fruticosa were set up after a conventional biological treatment system operating at a tannery site. The aim of the CWs was polishing organics and nitrogen from the high salinity effluent (2.2-6.6 g Cl(-) L(-1)). Both plant species established and grew well in the CW. Arundo, however, had more vigorous growth and a higher capacity to take up nutrients. The CWs were efficient in removing COD and BOD(5) with removal efficiencies varying between 51 and 80% for COD (inlet: 68-425 mg L(-1)) and between 53 and 90% for BOD(5) (inlet: 16-220 mg L(-1)). Mass removal rates were up to 615 kg COD ha(-1) d(-1) and 363 BOD(5) kg ha(-1) d(-1). Removal efficiencies were 40-93% for total P, 31-89% for NH(4)(+) and 41-90% for Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen. CW systems planted with salt tolerant plant species are a promising solution for polishing saline secondary effluent from the tannery industry to levels fulfilling the discharge standards. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Contrasting microbial functional genes in two distinct saline-alkali and slightly acidic oil-contaminated sites.

    PubMed

    Liang, Yuting; Zhao, Huihui; Zhang, Xu; Zhou, Jizhong; Li, Guanghe

    2014-07-15

    To compare the functional gene structure and diversity of microbial communities in saline-alkali and slightly acidic oil-contaminated sites, 40 soil samples were collected from two typical oil exploration sites in North and South China and analyzed with a comprehensive functional gene array (GeoChip 3.0). The overall microbial pattern was significantly different between the two sites, and a more divergent pattern was observed in slightly acidic soils. Response ratio was calculated to compare the microbial functional genes involved in organic contaminant degradation and carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur cycling. The results indicated a significantly low abundance of most genes involved in organic contaminant degradation and in the cycling of nitrogen and phosphorus in saline-alkali soils. By contrast, most carbon degradation genes and all carbon fixation genes had similar abundance at both sites. Based on the relationship between the environmental variables and microbial functional structure, pH was the major factor influencing the microbial distribution pattern in the two sites. This study demonstrated that microbial functional diversity and heterogeneity in oil-contaminated environments can vary significantly in relation to local environmental conditions. The limitation of nitrogen and phosphorus and the low degradation capacity of organic contaminant should be carefully considered, particularly in most oil-exploration sites with saline-alkali soils. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Investigations in Marine Chemistry: Salinity II.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schlenker, Richard M.

    Presented is a science activity in which the student investigates methods of calibration of a simple conductivity meter via a hands-on inquiry technique. Conductivity is mathematically compared to salinity using a point slope formula and graphical techniques. Sample solutions of unknown salinity are provided so that the students can sharpen their…

  20. Vegetable and fruit juice enhances antioxidant capacity and regulates antioxidant gene expression in rat liver, brain and colon

    PubMed Central

    Yuan, Linhong; Liu, Jinmeng; Zhen, Jie; Xu, Yao; Chen, Shuying; Halm-Lutterodt, Nicholas Van; Xiao, Rong

    2017-01-01

    Abstract To explore the effect of fruit and vegetable (FV) juice on biomarkers of oxidative damage and antioxidant gene expression in rats, 36 adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control, low FV juice dosage or high FV juice dosage treatment groups. The rats were given freshly extracted FV juice or the same volume of saline water daily for five weeks. After intervention, serum and tissues specimens were collected for biomarker and gene expression measurement. FV juice intervention increased total antioxidant capacity, glutathione, vitamin C, β-carotene, total polyphenols, flavonoids levels andglutathione peroxidaseenzyme activity in rat serum or tissues (p < 0.05). FV juice intervention caused reduction of malondialdehyde levels in rat liver (p < 0.05) and significantly modulated transcript levels of glutamate cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC) and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase l (NQO1)in rat liver and brain (p < 0.05). The results underline the potential of FV juice to improve the antioxidant capacity and to prevent the oxidative damage in liver, brain and colon. PMID:28323302