An approach to determination of phenolic compounds in seawater using SPME-GC-MS based on SWCNTs coating

Phenolic compounds have become one kind of the important pollutants of the marine environment. Single-walled Carbon nanotubes, as one-dimensional nano materials, have light weight and perfect hexagonal structure of connections, with many unusual mechanical, chemical and electrical properties. In recent years, with the research of carbon nanotubes and other nano materials, the application prospect is also constantly discussed. In this paper, homemade single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWCNTs) coating was used for establishing an analytical approach to the determination of five kinds of phenolic compounds in seawater using SPME-GC-MS. Optimal conditions: After saturation was conducted with Na Cl, and p H was adjusted to 2.0 with H_2SO_4, the extract was immersed in a water bath at 40 for GC℃-MS determination through 40-min agitating extraction at 500 rmin~(-1) and 3-min desorption at 280℃. The liniearities ranged between 0.01-100 μg L~(-1), and the determination limits ranged between 1.5-10 ngL~(-1). The relative standard deviation(RSD, n = 5) was less than 6.5%. For the phenolic compounds obtained from the spiked recovery test for actual seawater samples, the rates of recovery were 87.5%-101.7%, and the RSDs were less than 8.8%, which met the requirements of determination. Due to its simplicity, high efficiency and low consumption, this approach is suitable for the analysis of trace amounts of phenolic compounds in marine waters.     

Effect of stocking density on water quality and (Growth,Body Composition and Plasma Cortisol Content) performance of pen-reared rainbow trout (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oncorhynchus mykiss</Emphasis>)

The goal of the study was to examine the effect of stocking density on the water quality of culture area, as well as the growth, body composition and cortisol content of rainbow trout（Oncorhynchus mykiss）. Pen-reared trout were stocked in densities of 40, 60, 80 fish individuals m^-3(4.6, 6.6, 8.6 kg m^-3, SD1, SD2 and SD3 groups, respectively) for 300 days. Compared to the water from SD1 and SD2, that from SD3 exhibited significantly higher NH₄⁺-N content and COD（chemical-oxygen-demand）, and a significant reduction of dissolved oxygen in day 180(40.6 kg m^-3). Stocking density was significantly associated with body weight, standard length, VSI（viscerosomatic index）, CF（condition factor） and FC（food coefficient） in group SD3, particularly in day 240 and day 300(45 or 49.3 kg m^-3). Increased crude fat and decreased crude protein were displayed in high density group when the density reached to 36 kg m^-3. As a cumulative effect of density-related stress, VSI, CF, FC, moisture, and crude protein content varied over time in each density group（SD1, SD2, and SD3）. In summary, trout exhibited a better growth performance in low density(26.3 kg m^-3) than those reared in high densities(36 and 45 kg m^-3). The results indicate that rainbow trout（114.44 g ± 6.21 g, 19.69 cm ± 0.31 cm） initially stocked in 6.6 or 8.6 kg m^-3 should be lightened to less than 36 kg m^-3 after an intensive rearing for 240 days.     

Study on biogenic amines in various dry salted fish consumed in China

This study was carried out to investigate the biogenic amines（BAs）, physicochemical property and microorganisms in dry salted fish, a traditional aquatic food consumed in China. Forty three samples of dry salted fish were gathered from retail and wholesale markets and manufacturers, which had been produced in various regions in China. Cadaverine（CAD） and putrescine（PUT） were quantitatively the most common biogenic amines. About 14% of the samples exceeded the histamine content standards established by the FDA and/or EU. The highest histamine content was found in Silver pomfret（Pampus argenteus）(347.79 mg kg^-1). Five of forty three samples exceeded the acceptable content of TYR(100 mg kg^-1), and 23.26% of dried-salted fish contained high contents of biogenic amines(above 600 mg kg^-1). In addition, species, regions, pickling processes and drying methods made the physicochemical property, microorganisms and biogenic amines in dry salted fish to be different to some extents. The total plate count（TPC） was much higher than that of total halophilic bacteria in all samples. The biogenic amines, physicochemical property and microbiological counts exhibited large variations among samples. Furthermore, no significant correlation between biogenic amines and physicochemical property and TPC was observed. This study indicated that dry salted fish may still present healthy risk for BAs, depending on the processing methods, storage conditions among others.     

Advanced glycation endproducts in 35 types of seafood products consumed in eastern China

Advanced glycation endproducts(AGEs) have been recognized as hazards in processed foods that can induce chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and diabetic nephropathy. In this study, we investigated the AGEs contents of 35 types of industrial seafood products that are consumed frequently in eastern China. Total fluorescent AGEs level and Nε-carboxymethyl-lysine(CML) content were evaluated by fluorescence spectrophotometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS), respectively. The level of total fluorescent AGEs in seafood samples ranged from 39.37 to 1178.3 AU, and was higher in canned and packaged instant aquatic products that were processed at high temperatures. The CML content in seafood samples ranged from 44.8 to 439.1 mg per kg dried sample, and was higher in roasted seafood samples. The total fluorescent AGEs and CML content increased when seafood underwent high-temperature processing, but did not show an obvious correlation. The present study suggested that commonly consumed seafood contains different levels of AGEs, and the seafood processed at high temperatures always displays a high level of either AGEs or CML.     

Local Spatiotemporal Modeling of House Prices: A Mixed Model Approach

The real estate market has long provided an active application area for spatial–temporal modeling and analysis and it is well known that house prices tend to be not only spatially but also temporally correlated. In the spatial dimension, nearby properties tend to have similar values because they share similar characteristics, but house prices tend to vary over space due to differences in these characteristics. In the temporal dimension, current house prices tend to be based on property values from previous years and in the spatial–temporal dimension, the properties on which current prices are based tend to be in close spatial proximity. To date, however, most research on house prices has adopted either a spatial perspective or a temporal one; relatively little effort has been devoted to situations where both spatial and temporal effects coexist. Using ten years of house price data in Fife, Scotland (2003–2012), this research applies a mixed model approach, semiparametric geographically weighted regression (GWR), to explore, model, and analyze the spatiotemporal variations in the relationships between house prices and associated determinants. The study demonstrates that the mixed modeling technique provides better results than standard approaches to predicting house prices by accounting for spatiotemporal relationships at both global and local scales.     

Glacier changes in the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range of Tibetan Plateau from 1975 to 2013

Maritime-type glaciers in the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range, located in the southeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau, are an important water source for downstream residents and ecological systems. To better understand the variability of glaciers in this region, we used the band ratio threshold(TM3/TM5 for the Landsat TM /ETM+ and TM4/TM6 for Landsat OLI) to extract glacier outlines in ~1999 and ~2013. After that, we also generated a series of glacier boundaries and monitored glacier variations in the past 40 years with the help of the Chinese Glacier Inventory data(1975) and Landsat TM, ETM+ and OLI data. The total glacier area decreased by 37.69 ± 2.84% from 1975 to 2013. The annual percentage area change(APAC) was ~1.32% a-1 and ~1.29% a-1 in the periods 1975-1999 and 1999-2013, respectively. According to the lag theory, the reaction time is probably about 10 years and we discuss the variations of temperature and precipitation between 1965 and 2011. Temperature and precipitation increased between 1965 and 2011 at a rate of 0.34°C /10 a and 15.4 mm/10 a, respectively. Extensive meteorological data show that the glacier shrinkage rate over the period may be mainly due to increasing air temperature, while the increasing precipitation partly made up for the mass loss of glacier ice resulting from increasing temperature may also lead to the low APAC between 1999 and 2013. The lag theory suggests that glacier shrinkage may accelerate in the next 10 years. Small glaciers were more sensitive to climate change, and there was a normal distribution between glacier area and elevation. Glaciers shrank in all aspects, and south aspects diminished faster than others.     

Preliminary studies on the dynamic prediction method of rainfall-triggered landslide

Rainfall-triggered landslides have posed significant threats to human lives and property each year in China. This paper proposed a meteorologicalgeotechnical early warning system GRAPES-LFM(GRAPES: Global and Regional Assimilation and Pr Ediction System; LFM: Landslide Forecast Model),basing on the GRAPES model and the landslide predicting model TRIGRS(Transient Rainfall Infiltration and Grid-based Regional Slope-Stability Model) for predicting rainfall-triggered landslides.This integrated system is evaluated in Dehua County,Fujian Province, where typhoon Bilis triggered widespread landslides in July 2006. The GRAPES model runs in 5 km×5 km horizontal resolution, and the initial fields and lateral boundaries are provided by NCEP(National Centers for Environmental Prediction) FNL(Final) Operational Global Analysis data. Quantitative precipitation forecasting products of the GRAPES model are downscaled to 25 m×25 m horizontal resolution by bilinear interpolation to drive the TRIGRS model. Results show that the observed areas locate in the high risk areas, and the GRAPES-LFM model could capture about 74% of the historical landslides with the rainfall intense 30mm/h. Meanwhile, this paper illustrates the relationship between the factor of safety(FS) and different rainfall patterns. GRAPES-LFM model enables us to further develop a regional, early warning dynamic prediction tool of rainfall-induced landslides.     

Long-range precipitation forecasts using paleoclimate reconstructions in the western United States

Long-range precipitation forecasts are useful when managing water supplies.Oceanicatmospheric oscillations have been shown to influence precipitation.Due to a longer cycle of some of the oscillations,a short instrumental record is a limitation in using them for long-range precipitation forecasts.The influence of oscillations over precipitation is observable within paleoclimate reconstructions;however,there have been no attempts to utilize these reconstructions in precipitation forecasting.A data-driven model,KStar,is used for obtaining long-range precipitation forecasts by extending the period of record through the use of reconstructions of oscillations.KStar is a nearest neighbor algorithm with an entropy-based distance function.Oceanic-atmospheric oscillation reconstructions include the El Nino-Southern Oscillation(ENSO),the Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO),the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO),and the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation(AMO).Precipitation is forecasted for 20 climate divisions in the western United States.A 10-year moving average is applied to aid in the identification of oscillation phases.A lead time approach is used to simulate a one-year forecast,with a 10-fold cross-validation technique to test the models.Reconstructions are used from 1658-1899,while the observed record is used from 1900-2007.The model is evaluated using mean absolute error(MAE),root mean squared error(RMSE),RMSE-observations standard deviation ratio(RSR),Pearson’s correlation coefficient(R),NashSutcliffe coefficient of efficiency(NSE),and linear error in probability space(LEPS) skill score(SK).The role of individual and coupled oscillations is evaluated by dropping oscillations in the model.The results indicate ’good’ precipitation estimates using the KStar model.This modeling technique is expected to be useful for long-term water resources planning and management.     

Effect of benzo[a]pyrene on detoxification and the activity of antioxidant enzymes of marine microalgae

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of benzo[a]pyrene(Ba P) on the detoxification and antioxidant systems of two microalgae,Isochrysis zhanjiangensis and Platymonas subcordiformis.In our study,these two algae were exposed to Ba P for 4 days at three different concentrations including 0.5 μg~(L-1)(low),3 μg~(L-1)(mid) and 18 μg~(L-1)(high).The activity of detoxification enzymes,ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase(EROD) and glutathione S-transferase(GST) increased in P.subcordiformis in all Ba P-treated groups.In I.zhanjiangensis,the activity of these two enzymes increased at the beginning of exposure,and then decreased in the groups treated with mid-and high Ba P.The activity of antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase(SOD) increased in I.zhanjiangensis in all Ba P-treated groups,and then decreased in high Ba P-treated group,while no significant change was observed in P.subcordiformis.The activity of antioxidant enzyme catalase(CAT) increased in I.zhanjiangensis and P.subcordiformis in all Ba Ptreated groups.The content of malondialdehyde(MDA) in Isochrysis zhanjiangensis increased first,and then decreased in high Ba P-treated group,while no change occurred in P.subcordiformis.These results demonstrated that Ba P significantly influenced the activity of detoxifying and antioxidant enzymes in microalgae.The metabolic related enzymes(EROD,GST and CAT) may serve as sensitive biomarkers of measuring the contamination level of Ba P in marine water.     

Development of three multiplex PCR primer sets for ark shell (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Scapharca broughtonii</Emphasis>) and their validation in parentage assignment

Scapharca broughtonii is a commercially important and over-exploited species. In order to investigate its genetic diversity and population structure, 43 novel polymorphic microsatellites were isolated and characterized. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 22 with an average of 6.93, and the observed and expected heterozygosities varied between 0.233 and 1.000, and 0.250 and 0.953, with an average of 0.614 and 0.707, respectively. Three highly informative multiplex PCRs were developed from nine of those microsatellites for S. broughtonii. We evaluated and validated these multiplex PCRs in 8 full-sib families. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.539. The frequency of null alleles was estimated as 3.13% of all the alleles segregation based on a within-family analysis of Mendelian segregation patterns. Parentage analysis of real offspring demonstrated that 100% of all offspring were unambiguously allocated to a pair of parents based on 3 multiplex sets. Those 43 microsatellite loci with high variability will be helpful for the analysis of population genetics and conservation of wild stock of S. broughtonii. The 3 sets of multiplex PCRs could be an important tool of pedigree reconstruction, population genetic analysis and brood stock management.