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Intercropping a Cd-accumulator with economically valuable crops is common in slightly or moderately Cd-polluted farmland soils. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of water-soluble chitosan (WSC) on the growth and Cd uptake of the Cd-accumulator Hylotelephium spectabile and soybean (Glycine max) during a co-cultivation in Cd-contaminated agricultural soil (WSC, 0 and 10 g·m−2). The results indicated that soybean yields were highest in response to the intercropping and WSC treatment. The results from the field trials generally showed that intercropping and WSC treatments significantly decreased Cd concentrations in inedible parts of soybean by 42.9–72.1% (except for stems), in the meantime, increased 95.8%–334.6% in shoot and root tissues of H. spectabile compared with the control (p < 0.05). The data revealed that Cd uptake was highest for H. spectabile during the intercropping and WSC treatment. The application of WSC in the intercropping system significantly increased the uptake of Cd by H. spectabile, but not by soybean. The findings of this study suggest that combining an intercropping system with a WSC treatment may be better for remediating Cd-contaminated soils than other methods involving the growth of a single hyperaccumulator. This paper clearly focused on the accumulation and uptake of Cd in the system of intercropping of Cd-accumulator (Hylotelephium spectable) and soybean (Glycine max) grown in Cd-polluted farmland soils supplied with water-soluble chitosan (WSC) under field conditions. Some studies mainly focused on active agent to promote remediation efficiency of (hyper) accumulators. This study indicated that combining the intercropping system with WSC may be better for remediating Cd-contaminated soils than the methods involving a single hyperaccumulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selection studies on wild plants resistant to leafcuttter ants lead to the isolation of two new five-membered cyclic neo- clerodane diterpenoids from Cornutia grandifolia leaves. The compounds, cornutin A and B, are marked by an ether oxygen linking the C-1 and C-12 carbons. Bioassays confirm their repellent potency against the leafcutter ant Acromyrmex octospinosus. The same plant yields two other simpler neo-clerodanes characterized by a series of spectral studies as the carboxylic acids of ajugarin-IV and deacetylajugarin-IV, but these prove to have little ant repellent potency.

Air in concentrated animal feeding operations contains antibiotic resistance genes and airborne pathogens, with potential threat to human and animal health. In this study, air was sampled in the living area, outside, and inside of a fattening pig house in a pig farm for 24 and 48 hours. Feedstuffs, drinking water additives, and feces in the pig house were collected. Three kinds of antibiotic resistance genes (macrolide, β-lactam, and tetracycline) and seven pathogenic microorganisms (Campylobacter, Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus, Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica, Staphylococcus spp., and Streptococcus suis) were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Six genes with high detection rates were selected, with their concentrations being determined by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Results showed that three macrolide and two tetracycline resistance genes were detected in all air samples. Enterococcus, Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Staphylococcus spp. were detected in air samples and drinking water additive. The concentrations of most target genes were above 104 copies·m-3. The gene concentrations near the pig house were much higher than those in the living area. Main sources of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens in the air were pig manure and drinking water additive. Sampling time of 24 h in the pig farm met the requirements for PCR detection. Sampling time of 48 h had a higher sampling efficiency than that of 24 h in the living area of the pig farm, whereas sampling time of 24 h was more appropriate than that of 48 h in high bioaerosol concentration area such as the pig house. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve problems of bulking agents shortage for sewage sludge (SS) composting and of disposal of cassava distillery residues (CDR) in the alcohol industry, the effects of using CDR instead of maize straw as bulking agents were investigated at full scale in Rizhao, China. This was done by comparing CDR-added and straw-added piles. Both CDR and straw promoted sanitation achievement of SS composts. CDR was effective at increasing fermentation temperature, whereas straw was superior in maintaining the thermophilic phase. The free air space (FAS) of matrices provided by CDR or straw were sufficient (>30%) for fermentation, and showed rising trends during composting. Extensive mass reduction was also accomplished in composting even after considering the weight of added straw or CDR. Compared with straw-added piles, CDR-added piles showed less average FAS (51.42%), water removal (49.68%), and organic matter (OM) loss (21.51%), but greater volume reduction (16.34%). The time-dependence of OM loss varied between the CDR-added (which followed zero-order kinetics) and straw-added (first-order kinetics) piles. After fermentation, the composts were phytotoxin-free in both treatments. The CDR-added piles had lower EC (2,221 μS cm−1) and C/N (13.29) than straw-added piles. A smaller germination index (73.59%) for CDR-added piles, combined with higher pH (7.33) and oxygen consumption rate (4.33 mL L−1min−1), suggests that SS composting with CDR requires a longer time to reach maturity than with straw. However, CDR can be used instead of maize straw as a bulking agent for full-scale SS composting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An integrated model was developed to simulate the temporal change and spatial variation of temperature and spatial distribution ofTM(total mass) andMC(moisture content) of the final compost for composting process of sewage sludge. The model included biodegradation kinetics of organic matter and balance equations of energy and mass. First-order assumption was applied to describe the biodegradation process with correction functions of temperature, oxygen,MC, andFAS(free air space). The transfer process was considered in balance equations of energy and mass. A finite difference method was used to solve the model. Two trials of 0.21 m3were run to estimate parameters and evaluate the simulation. The model could predictTMandVS(volatile solid) of the final compost well, temporal trend of oxygen concentration and water removal, and also a good fitting of the temporal and spatial change of temperature.Hrx(reaction enthalpy of biodegradable volatile solid) andηBVS(mass fraction of biodegradable volatile solid) were considered the most sensitive parameters based on the sensitivity analysis. Future research was suggested to focus on reasonable humidity assumption, measuring accurate value of thermodynamics and kinetics parameters of sewage sludge, and simulating the composting process with different aeration modes and turning of the pile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]