Determining the Optimal N Input to Improve Grain Yield and Quality in Winter Wheat With Reduced Apparent N Loss in the North China Plain

Excessive or improper nitrogen (N) application rates negatively affect crop production and thereby environmental quality, particularly for winter wheat production in the North China Plain. Therefore, it is very important to optimize N fertilizer input to balance grain yield, environmental risk, and benefits under irrigated conditions. Three long-term stationary field experiments including five N levels, from 0 to 300 kg ha-1 [0 (N0), 90 (N90), 180 (N180), 240 (N240), and 300 (N300) kg ha-1] were carried out to investigate the effects of N regime on wheat yield, photosynthesis, and N balance at different sites. The grain yield and protein content increased quadratically with N rate, and the maximum values were 8087 kg ha-1 and 13.9% at N application rates of 250 and 337 kg N ha-1, respectively. N application increased the photosynthetic fluorescence parameters (Pn, Gs, and Tr) and N metabolism enzyme activities (NR and GS) which then increased grain yield. The leaching of soil nitrate into the deeper soil layers ( > 100 cm) increased with higher N fertilization and experimental years. The partial factor productivity (PFPN) was decreased by N because the apparent N loss increased with N application rate. In order to balance grain yield, N use efficiency (NUE), and N loss, the recommended N rate should be 120–171 kg N ha-1, and the corresponding yields and apparent N loss were 7278–7787 ka ha-1 and 22–37 kg ha-1, respectively

Early dynamic behavior of lactate in predicting continuous renal replacement therapy after surgery for acute type A aortic dissection

BackgroundIt has been well known that hyperlactatemia is an independent risk factor for postoperative mortality in patients who received acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) surgery. Some patients may require the assistance of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) for acute postoperative renal deficiency and often associate with increased mortality rate. This study aimed to examine the association between the early dynamic change of lactate levels and postoperative CRRT in ATAAD patients who received surgical repairment.MethodsThis retrospective study included 503 patients who received ATAAD surgeries. Serum lactate levels were measured before operation and at 0, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 h post intensive care unit (ICU) admission. We examined the association between dynamic changes of lactate and CRRT.ResultsAmong all patients, 19.9% (100 patients) required CRRT. Our data showed that the lactate levels were higher in the CRRT group at all timepoints compared to the non-CRRT group. In a multivariate model, lactate levels at 12 h post ICU admission [odds ratio (OR), 1.362; p = 0.007] was identified as an independent predictor for requiring CRRT. Unsurprisingly, 30-day mortality in the CRRT group (41%) was 8.2 times higher than in the non-CRRT group (5%). To better understand the associations between CRRT and lactate levels, patients in the CRRT group were further stratified into the non-survivor group (n = 41) and survivor group (n = 59) based on the 30-day mortality. Elevated lactate levels measured upon ICU admission (OR, 1.284; p = 0.001) and decreased 24 h lactate clearance (OR, 0.237; p = 0.039) were independent risk factors for 30-day mortality in patients who received CRRT. The area under the curve to predict requirement for CRRT at 6 and 12 h post CICU admission were 0.714 and 0.722, respectively, corresponding to lactate cut-off levels of 4.15 and 2.45 mmol/L.ConclusionThe CRRT is commonly required in patients who received ATAAD surgery and often associated with worse mortality. Early dynamic changes of lactate levels can be used to predict the requirement of postoperative CRRT

Source identification and pattern study of closed coal mines water inflow in Songzao Mining Area, Chongqing City

Accurate identification of the source of water gushing in closed coal mines and correct division of water gushing modes are of great significance for scientific disposal of water resources waste and water environment pollution caused by closed coal mine drainage. A comprehensive method for water inflow characterization, source identification, and model research for closed coal mines by multivariate analysis of “water quantity–hydrochemistry–microorganism–hydrogeological conditions” is proposed. The method is based on the dynamic monitoring data of water inflow and the water chemical and microbial indexes of several closed coal mines in the Songzao mining area of Chongqing in a hydrological year. Water quality analysis methods, such as flow dynamic analysis of water inflow and flow–rainfall hydro-logical series correlation function, descriptive statistics of water chemical indexes, and the Pearson correla-tion function of water chemical indexes between mine water samples are also used as bases. The method is further coupled with the hydrogeological conditions of the mining area. Results show that there are three types of fluctuations in the response of water inflow from closed coal mines to rainfall: sudden rise and slow drop, slow rise and slow drop, and stable. The difference in water inflow source and water diversion medium is the main reason for the dynamic change in mine water inflow and the temporal and spatial differences in its response to rainfall. It also causes the characteristics of large variability in TDS, pH, chemical correlation degree, and microbial content of mine water. Based on water source identification, four types, rainfall infiltration type, aquifer release type, old empty water overflow type, and compound type, of water gushing modes of closed coal mines in mining areas are proposed. The multivariate comprehensive analysis method identifies the source of water inrush from closed coal mines in karst mining areas effectively, deepens the understanding of the characteristics of water inrush from closed coal mines, and provides theoretical support for the scientific prevention and control of closed coal mine water inrush in Songzao mining area and the coordinated development of environment and resources

The Effect of Organic-cr Dietary Supplementation on Stress Response in Transport-stressed Beef Cattle

Transportation over long distances resulted in stress at animal. Under these circumstances, animalusually manifest depression and the impact on physiological condition changes and loss of body weight.The objectives of the research were to examine effect supplementation of organic-Cr type into diets intransport-stress beef cattle on physiological condition, haematochemical (included were haematologicalcondition and blood chemical) and body weight changes. The experiment was conducted using 16 beefcattle those were transported by truck for a distance of 400 km from Malangbong to Tangerang. Theexperiment was arranged by Completely Randomized Design with four treatments and four replications.The dietary treatments consisted of R0 (basal diet without Cr supplemented), R1 (R0+3ppm organic-Crresulted of alkali hydrolysis), R2 (R0+3 ppm organic-Cr resulted from bioprocess), R3 (R0+3 ppmorganic-Cr resulted from bioremediation). The result indicated that type of organic-Cr supplementationat 3 ppm in diet did not influence physiological condition, haematochemical and body weight at beefcattle transported for seven hours. There was indication that beef cattle fed on control diet (without Cr)showed a stress symptom, their loss of body weight were higher (5.41%) compared to beef given dietcontains organic-Cr (3.72%, 5.04% and 4.83%, respectively for R1, R2 and R3)

Binary interactions on the calibrations of star formation rate

Using the evolutionary population synthesis (EPS) models with and without binary interactions (BIs), we present L_Ha, L_[OII], L_{i,UV} and L_FIR for Burst, S0, Sa-Sd and Irr galaxies, and present the calibrations of star formation rate (SFR) in terms of these diagnostics. By comparison, we find that BIs lower the SFR.vs.L_Ha and SFR.vs.L_[OII] conversion factors by ~0.2 dex. Moreover, BIs do not significantly vary the calibrations of SFR in terms of L_{i,UV}. In addition, BIs have little effect on the flux at 2800A. At last, the calibration of SFR from L_FIR is almost unaffected by BIs. This is caused by the fact that BIs almost do not affect the bolometric magnitudes of SPs. We also discuss the effects of initial mass function (IMF), gas-recycle assumption (GRA) and EPS models on these SFR calibrations. Comparing the results by using Salpeter (S55) IMF with those by using Miller & Scalo (MS79) IMF, we find that the SFR.vs.L_Ha and SFR.vs.L_[OII] conversion factors by using S55 IMF are greater by 0.4 and 0.2 dex than those by using MS79 IMF for the models with and without BIs, respectively. The SFR.vs.L_{i,UV} and SFR.vs.L_FIR conversion factors by using S55 IMF are larger by an amount of 0.2 dex than the corresponding ones by using MS79 IMF. The inclusion of GRA only lowers these SFR calibrations at faint SFR. Moreover, comparing the results when using different EPS models, we find that the differences in the SFR.vs.L_Ha and SFR.vs.L_[OII] conversion factors reach ~ 0.7 and 0.9 dex, the difference in the SFR.vs.L_FIR conversion factor reaches 0.4 and 0.8 dex, and the differences in the SFR.vs.L_{i,UV} conversion factors reach 0.3 and 0.2 dex when using S55 and NON-S55 IMF (including Cha03, K01, K93' and MS79 IMFs, partly caused by the difference in the IMF), respectively. At last, we give the conversion coefficients between SFR and these diagnostics for all models.Comment: 17 pages, 21 figures, 5 tables, accepted by MNRAS; 201

Air pollution exposure and lung function in highly exposed subjects in Beijing, China: a repeated-measure study

Background: Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) has been associated with reduced lung function. Elemental components of PM have been suggested to have critical roles in PM toxicity, but their contribution to respiratory effects remains under-investigated. We evaluated the effects of traffic-related PM2.5 and its elemental components on lung function in two highly exposed groups of healthy adults in Beijing, China. Methods: The Beijing Truck Driver Air Pollution Study (BTDAS) included 60 truck drivers and 60 office workers evaluated in 2008. On two days separated by 1-2 weeks, we measured lung function at the end of the work day, personal PM2.5, and nine elemental components of PM2.5 during eight hours of work, i.e., elemental carbon (EC), potassium (K), sulfur (S), iron (Fe), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca), and titanium (Ti). We used covariate-adjusted mixed-effects models including PM2.5 as a covariate to estimate the percentage change in lung function associated with an inter-quartile range (IQR) exposure increase. Results: The two groups had high and overlapping exposure distributions with mean personal PM2.5 of 94.6 μg/m3 (IQR: 48.5-126.6) in office workers and 126.8 μg/m3 (IQR: 73.9-160.5) in truck drivers. The distributions of the nine elements showed group-specific profiles and generally higher levels in truck drivers. In all subjects combined, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) did not significantly correlate with PM2.5. However, FEV1 showed negative associations with concentrations of four elements: Si (-3.07%, 95% CI: -5.00; -1.11, IQR: 1.54), Al (-2.88%, 95% CI: -4.91; -0.81, IQR: 0.86), Ca (-1.86%, 95% CI: -2.95; -0.76, IQR: 1.33), and Ti (-2.58%, 95% CI: -4.44; -0.68, IQR: 0.03), and FVC showed negative associations with concentrations of three elements: Si (-3.23%, 95% CI: -5.61; -0.79), Al (-3.26%, 95% CI: -5.73; -0.72), and Ca (-1.86%, 95% CI: -3.23; -0.47). In stratified analysis, Si, Al, Ca, and Ti showed associations with lung function only among truck drivers, and no significant association among office workers. Conclusion: Selected elemental components of PM2.5 showed effects on lung function that were not found in analyses of particle levels alone. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12989-014-0051-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

An insight into the different responses to salt stress in growth characteristics of two legume species during seedling growth

Legumes play a crucial role in the restoration and utilization of salinized grassland. To explore the physiological response mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus and Medicago sativa seedlings to salt stress, salt stress culture experiments with five NaCl concentration treatments (0 mmol/L, 50 mmol/L, 100 mmol/L, 200 mmol/L, and 300 mmol/L) were conducted on these two legume seedlings. Morphological characteristics, physiological features, biomass, and the protective enzyme system were measured for both seedlings. Correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and membership function analysis (MFA) were conducted for each index. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the salt stress pathways of plants. The results indicated that number of primary branches (PBN), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity in stems and leaves, catalase (CAT) activity in roots, etc. were identified as the primary indicators for evaluating the salt tolerance of A. membranaceus during its seedling growth period. And CAT and peroxidase (POD) activity in roots, POD and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in stems and leaves, etc. were identified as the primary indicators for evaluating the salt tolerance of M. sativa during its growth period. Plant morphological characteristics, physiological indexes, and underground biomass (UGB) were directly affected by salinity, while physiological indexes indirectly affected the degree of leaf succulence (LSD). Regarding the response of the protective enzyme system to salt stress, the activity of POD and APX increased in A. membranaceus, while the activity of CAT increased in M. sativa. Our findings suggest that salt stress directly affects the growth strategies of legumes. Furthermore, the response of the protective enzyme system and potential cell membrane damage to salinity were very different in the two legumes

Development of energy plants from hybrids between Miscanthus sacchariflorus and M. lutarioriparius grown on reclaimed mine land in the Loess Plateau of China

Miscanthus, a promising bioenergy plant, has a high biomass yield with high cellulose content suitable for biofuel production. However, harsh climatic and poor soil conditions, such as barren lands or abandoned mines, pose a challenge to the survival and yield of Miscanthus feedstock on the marginal land. The selection from the interspecific hybrids of Miscanthus might combine high survival rates and high yield, which benefits energy crop development in multi-stressful environments. A total of 113 F1 hybrids between Miscanthus sacchariflorus and M. lutarioriparius together with the parents were planted and evaluated for multiple morphological and physiological traits on the mine land of the Loess Plateau of China. The majority of hybrids had higher establishment rates than M. sacchariflorus while M. lutarioriparius failed to survive for the first winter. Nearly all hybrid genotypes outperformed M. lutarioriparius for yield-related traits including plant height, tiller number, tiller diameter, and leaf area. The average biomass of the hybrids was 20 times higher than that of surviving parent, M. sacchariflorus. Furthermore, the photosynthetic rates and water use efficiency of the hybrids were both significantly higher than those of the parents, which might be partly responsible for their higher yield. A total of 29 hybrids with outstanding traits related to yield and stress tolerance were identified as candidates. The study investigated for the first time the hybrids between local individuals of M. sacchariflorus and high-biomass M. lutarioriparius, suggesting that this could be an effective approach for high-yield energy crop development on vast of marginal lands