A comparison of PMT-based and CCD-based sensors for electrochemiluminescence detection of sunset yellow in soft drinks.

The use of artificial colorants in food is highly regulated due to their potential to harm human health. Thus, it is crucial to detect these substances effectively to ensure conformance with industrial standards. In this work, we prepared a photomultiplier tube (PMT)-based electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor and a charged coupled device (CCD)-based ECL sensor and compared their merits in the detection of sunset yellow (SY) dye. The sensors used C,N quantum dot-embedded g-C3N4 nanosheets (QDs@NSs) as the ECL agent and K2S2O8 as the coreactant. SY was analyzed on the basis of amplification in the QDs@NHs-K2S2O8 ECL system. The PMT-based sensor realized ultrasensitive detection using a single electrode, especially at low concentrations of SY. A CCD-based sensor imaged the ECL phenomenon of an electrode array and provided the advantages of high throughput and time savings. Under optimized conditions, both sensors exhibited high specificity, reproducibility and stability; detection limits of 20 nM with PMT detection and 5 µM with CCD detection were determined for SY, with detection ranging over at least two decades. The practical feasibilities of these systems were confirmed by satisfactory detection of SY in real drink samples.

Enhanced photoreduction CO2 efficiency by criss-crossed TiO2 nanoflakes combined with CdS under visible light.

In this paper, a novel photocatalyst CNCC with excellent visible light photocatalytic performance was successfully prepared to optimize the CO2 photoreduction performance. The results showed that the methanol formation rate of CNCC was 24.7 µmol g-1 h-1, which was 1.42 times higher than that of NCC. The enhanced photoactivity is attributed to the rapid propagation of charge carriers induced by light from the constructed composite structure.

Effects of Different Ratios of Sewage Sludge and Cattle Manure on Growth and Propagation of Eisenia Fetida.

Domestic sewage sludge and cattle manure are rich in nutrition elements, but without proper disposal, are harmful to the environment. Here with an indoor culture method, we used Eisenia fetida to dispose different ratios of sewage sludge and cattle manure, and thereby investigated the effects and acting rules of these sludge-manure mixtures on the growth and reproduction of E. fetida. We find these mixtures are food sources for E. fetida, and their physiochemical properties are significantly changed after disposal by earthworms. Paired samples t-test shows the average change after different treatments is -20.37% for total organic carbon, 85.71% for total Kjeldahl N, -6.67% for total P, 8.33% for pH, -24.78% for EC (ms·cm-1), and -57.10% for C/N ratio. The average growth rate after treatment CD-70 is 9.20 mg·worm-1·day-1; the average growth rates of E. fetida on day 0-28, day 29-56, and day 57-91 are 9.33, 11.90 and 6.95 mg·worm-1·day-1, respectively, indicating a trend of "rapid-rapidest-slow" growth. Other treatments all show this trend. Though all earthworms developed reproductive rings during the test periods, the appearing time and the cocoon production time both differed among these treatments. The cocoon production amount is maximized to 233 after treatment CD-70. The cocoon production rates are significantly different among these treatments, and the maximum and mean are 0.32 and 0.17-0.32, cocoons·worm-1· day-1, respectively. E. fetida can modestly enrich Cd, but is not very effective over Sb or other heavy metals. E. fetida can remove a part of heavy metals from sewage sludge and cattle manure. Generally, the mixtures of sewage sludge and cattle manure can largely affect the growth and propagation of E. fetida in a ratio-dependent way.

[Distribution patterns of Fraxinus mandshurica root biomass, specific root length and root length density].

Employing soil core method, an investigation in Maoershan Experiment Station was made on the root biomass, specific root length (SRL), and root length density (RLD) of Fraxinus mandshurica plantation (17 yr) within a growth season in stand level. The results showed that the total root biomass was 1,637 g x m(-2), in which, living biomass accounted for 85%, and necrotic biomass was 15%. In the living biomass, coarse roots (5 approximately 30 mm in diameter) had the highest percentage (69.95 %), followed by fine roots (< 1 mm in diameter) (13.53 %), medium roots (2 approximately 5 mm in diameter) (7.21%), and small roots (1 approximately 2 mm in diameter) (9.31%). Among the four diameter classes, fine roots had a higher SRL (32.20 m x g(-1)), while coarse roots had a lower one (0.08 m x g(-1)). The total RLD in living biomass was 6,602.54 m x m(-2) in stand level, among which, fine root accounted for 92.43%, and the others was less than 8%. Fine root biomass and RLD had a positive correlation with soil available nitrogen, while no significant correlation was found between SRL and soil available nitrogen.

[Effects of cutting intensity on spatial heterogeneity of topsoil temperature in secondary forest in Maoershan region of Heilongjian Province].

This paper studied the effects of different cutting intensity on the spatial heterogeneity of topsoil (3 - 5 cm) temperature in the secondary forest in Maoershan region of Heilongjiang Province. Three treatments were installed, i.e., no cutting (treatment A), 50% of randomly cutting (treatment B), and clear cutting (treatment C). Based on the requirements of geostatistic analysis, there were 160, 154 and 154 sampling points with a spatial distance of 0.5 - 56 m in the treatments A, B and C, respectively. Topsoil temperature was measured by thermometer in spring and summer during the two years after cutting, and the spatial heterogeneity of the temperature was analyzed by semivariogram and Kriging arithmetic. The results showed that after cutting, the mean value of topsoil temperature had an increase of 0.6 - 4.2 degrees C (P < 0.001), and correlated positively with cutting intensity. The spatial heterogeneity and variation degree of topsoil temperature also increased with the increasing intensity of cutting. As for the small scale spatial heterogeneity of topsoil temperature, it was also increased after cutting, but the scale was mainly within the range of < 20 m and the composition of spatial heterogeneity was slightly affected. The comparison of Kriging maps suggested that in treatments B and C, the spatial pattern strength of topsoil temperature was enhanced, and the difference between treatments B and C and treatment A was larger in spring than in summer. In treatments B and C, topsoil temperature fluctuated and had similar distribution patterns in the same seasons; while in treatment A, the temperature had a relatively even distribution within the year.

[Response of fine roots to soil nutrient spatial heterogeneity].

The spatial heterogeneity is the complexity and variation of systems or their attributes, and the heterogeneity of soil nutrients is ubiquitous in all natural ecosystems. The scale of spatial heterogeneity varies considerably among different ecosystems, from tens of centimeters to hundred meters. Some of the scales can be detected by individual plant. Because the growth of individual plants can be strongly influenced by soil heterogeneity, it follows that the inter-specific competition should also be affected. During the long process of evolution, plants developed various plastic responses with their root system, including morphological, physiological and mycorrhizal plasticity, to maximize the nutrient acquisition from heterogeneous soil resources. Morphological plasticity, an adjustment in root system spatial allocation and architecture in response to spatial heterogeneous distribution of available soil resources, has been most intensively studied, and root proliferation in nutrient rich patches has been certified for many species. The species that do respond may have an increased rate of nutrient uptake, leading to a competitive advantage. Scale and precision are two important features employed in describing the size and foraging behavior of root system. It was hypothesized that scale and precision is negatively related, i. e., the species with high scale of root system tend to be a less precise forager. The outcomes of different research work have been diverse, far from reaching a consensus. Species with high scale are not necessarily less precise in fine root allocation, and vice versa. The proliferation of fine root in enriched micro-sites is species dependent, and also affected by other factors, such as patch attributes (size and nutrients concentration), nutrients, and overall soil fertility. Beside root proliferation in nutrient enriched patches, plants can also adapt themselves to the heterogeneous soil environment by altering other root characteristics such as fine root diameter, branch angle, length, and spatial architecture of root system. Physiological and mycorrhizal plasticity can add some influence on the morphological plasticity to some extent, but they are less studied. Roots located in different patches can quickly regulate their nutrient uptake kinetics within different nutrient patches, and increase overall nutrient uptake. Physiological response may, to certain extent, reduce morphological response, and is meaningful for plant growth on soils with frequently changing spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Mycorrhizal plasticity has been least studied so far. Some researches revealed that mycorrhiza, rather than fine root, proliferated in enriched patches. But, it is not the case with other studies. The proliferation of mycorrhiza within enriched patches is more profitable in term of carbon invest. The effect of fine root proliferation on nutrient uptake is complex, depending on ion mobility and whether or not neighboring plant exists. The influence of root plasticity on the growth of plants is species specific. Some species (sensitive species) gain growth benefit, while others don't. The ability of an individual plant to response to heterogeneous resources has significant effect on its competitive ability and its fate within the community, and eventually shapes the composition and structure of the community.