Biochar reduces antibiotic transport by altering soil hydrology and enhancing antibiotic sorption.

The performance of biochar (BC) in reducing the transport of antibiotics under field conditions has not been sufficiently explored. In repacked sloping boxes of a calcareous soil, the effects of different BC treatments on the discharge of three relatively weakly sorbing antibiotics (sulfadiazine, sulfamethazine, and florfenicol) via runoff and drainage were monitored for three natural rain events. Surface application of 1 % BC (1 %BC-SA) led to the most effective reduction in runoff discharge of the two sulfonamide antibiotics, which can be partly ascribed to the enhanced water infiltration.

Microplastics addition reduced the toxicity and uptake of cadmium to Brassica chinensis L.

The coexistence of microplastics (MPs) and toxic metal contaminants in soils is becoming increasingly common, thereby posing serious threat to soil-plant systems. Cadmium (Cd) is the most common metal contaminant in soil and can easily combine with MPs, thereby altering its bioavailability. However, few studies have focused on the co-pollution of MPs and Cd, particularly the complex phytotoxicity caused by their interaction and the effect of co-exposure on Cd uptake in plants.

Spectroscopic investigation of conformational changes in urease caused by interaction with humic acid.

Urease in soil interacts with humic acid (HA), which results in a change of the enzymatic activity and stability. However, knowledge on the conformational change of urease in the presence of HA is still lacking. Therefore, the structure of urease (net zero charge at pH 5.

Effect of humic acid on lysozyme interaction with montmorillonite and kaolinite.

Humic acid (HA) as a soil natural organic matter (NOM) can participate in the interaction between proteins and clay minerals, depending on clay type, HA and protein content, and solution conditions. The effect of HA on the interaction of lysozyme (LSZ) with kaolinite (Kao) and montmorillonite (Mont) was investigated at (initial) pH 5 and 8. In the solutions containing both HA and LSZ, HA/LSZ complexes were formed with a net charge density depending on pH and HA/LSZ mass ratio f.

Stable Isotope Effects of Biogas Slurry Applied as an Organic Fertilizer to Rice, Straw, and Soil.

Biogas slurry (BS) is now increasingly used for organic rice production in China. However, the isotopic response and fractionation of different BS application rates to characterize organic rice cultivation have not yet been investigated. In this study, different fertilizer treatments were applied to rice paddy soil including urea, BS with five different application rates and a control with no fertilizer added.

Treating carbon-limited wastewater by DWTR and woodchip augmented floating constructed wetlands.

Floating constructed wetlands (FCWs) have attained tremendous popularity for water purification purposes. However, FCW functions establishment in nutrients removal from carbon-limited wastewater, especially in cold weather, is still a challenge. Here, two drinking water treatment residual (DWTR) based biocarriers (B-I: DWTR cakes, B-II: DWTR cakes combined with woodchips) have been augmented into FCW to enhance the nutrients (N and P) removal performance.

Conformational modifications of lysozyme caused by interaction with humic acid studied with spectroscopy.

Modification of enzyme/protein conformation will affect the activities and functionality of enzymes. Previous studies have shown that the activity of lysozyme (LSZ) in the presence of humic acid (HA) is largely determined by the mass ratio of HA/LSZ (f = mHA/mLSZ), pH and ionic strength. Here the interaction and conformation of LSZ in HA/LSZ-complex/aggregate (HA/LSZ-c/a) were investigated by spectroscopic techniques at (initial) pH 5 and 8 and ionic strength 5 mmol/L.

Agro-industrial waste recycling by Trichosporon fermentans: conversion of waste sweetpotato vines alone into lipid.

Agro-industrial waste can be used to replace traditional carbohydrates, such as sucrose, starch, and glucose in many industrial fermentation processes. This study investigated the conversion of pre-treated waste sweetpotato vines (SV) into lipid by Trichosporon fermentans under the separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) and the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) processes. The results showed that SV autoclaving significantly increased the lipid accumulation of T.

Excellent waste biomass-degrading performance of Trichoderma asperellum T-1 during submerged fermentation.

The random disposal and incineration of agricultural residues cause resources waste and environmental pollution. The potential of waste biomass for the production of alternative liquid fuels is increasing and the bioconversion of lignocellulose to fermentable monomeric sugars is essential for second-generation biofuel production. Here, natural and pretreated switch grass or rice straw were fermented by both Trichoderma asperellum T-1 and Trichoderma reesei QM6a, with the fermentation results highlighted the potential of T.

Comparative genome analysis of the oleaginous yeast Trichosporon fermentans reveals its potential applications in lipid accumulation.

In this work, Trichosporon fermentans CICC 1368, which has been shown to accumulate cellular lipids efficiently using industry-agricultural wastes, was subjected to preliminary genome analysis, yielding a genome size of 31.3 million bases and 12,702 predicted protein-coding genes. Our analysis also showed a high degree of gene duplications and unique genes compared with those observed in other oleaginous yeasts, with 3-4-fold more genes related to fatty acid elongation and degradation compared with those in Rhodosporidium toruloides NP11 and Yarrowia lipolytica CLIB122.

The binding, synergistic and structural characteristics of BsEXLX1 for loosening the main components of lignocellulose: Lignin, xylan, and cellulose.

The bacterial expansin, BsEXLX1, has been studied as a model to understand the synergistic effect of expansins on lignocellulose degradation and the structure-function relationships of expansins. However, the specific mechanism is still poorly understood. In this study, the binding, synergistic and structural characteristics of BsEXLX1 for loosening the main components of lignocellulose: lignin, xylan, and cellulose, were further characterized.

Revealing the characteristics of a novel bioflocculant and its flocculation performance in Microcystis aeruginosa removal.

In the present work, a novel bioflocculant, EPS-1, was prepared and used to flocculate the kaolin suspension and Microcystis aeruginosa. We focused on the characteristics and flocculation performance of EPS-1, especially with regard to its protein components. An important attribute of EPS-1 was its protein content, with 18 protein types identified that occupied a total content of 31.

Wheat Bran Enhances the Cytotoxicity of Immobilized Alcaligenes aquatilis F8 against Microcystis aeruginosa.

Algicidal bacteria offer a promising option for killing cyanobacteria. Therefore, a new Alcaligenes aquatilis strain F8 was isolated to control Microcystis aeruginosa in this study. The algicidal activity of strain F8 was dependent on the cell density of M.

Characterization of cellulase secretion and Cre1-mediated carbon source repression in the potential lignocellulose-degrading strain Trichoderma asperellum T-1.

Trichoderma asperellum, a traditional bio-control species, was demonstrated to be an excellent candidate for lignocellulose degradation in this work. Comparing to the representatively industrial strain of Trichoderma reeseiQM6a, T. asperellum T-1 showed more robust growth, stronger spore production, faster secretion of lignocellulose-decomposing enzymes and better pH tolerance.

Preparation of a new-style composite containing a key bioflocculant produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa ZJU1 and its flocculating effect on harmful algal blooms.

A novel composite consisting of clay, bioflocculant, and inorganic flocculant was designed, and its flocculating effect on harmful algal blooms (HABs) was studied in this study. The extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), produced with a yield of 3.58±0.

Sweetpotato vines hydrolysate promotes single cell oils production of Trichosporon fermentans in high-density molasses fermentation.

This study investigated the co-fermentation of molasses and sweetpotato vine hydrolysate (SVH) by Trichosporon fermentans. T. fermentans showed low lipid accumulation on pure molasses; however, its lipid content increased by 35% when 10% SVH was added.

Engineering Aspergillus oryzae A-4 through the chromosomal insertion of foreign cellulase expression cassette to improve conversion of cellulosic biomass into lipids.

A genetic modification scheme was designed for Aspergillus oryzae A-4, a natural cellulosic lipids producer, to enhance its lipid production from biomass by putting the spotlight on improving cellulase secretion. Four cellulase genes were separately expressed in A-4 under the control of hlyA promoter, with the help of the successful development of a chromosomal genetic manipulation system. Comparison of cellulase activities of PCR-positive transformants showed that these transformants integrated with celA gene and with celC gene had significantly (p<0.

Effects of combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers plus nitrification inhibitor DMPP on nitrogen runoff loss in vegetable soils.

The application of nitrogen fertilizers leads to various ecological problems such as large amounts of nitrogen runoff loss causing water body eutrophication. The proposal that nitrification inhibitors could be used as nitrogen runoff loss retardants has been suggested in many countries. In this study, simulated artificial rainfall was used to illustrate the effect of the nitrification inhibitor DMPP (3,4-dimethyl pyrazole phosphate) on nitrogen loss from vegetable fields under combined organic and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application.

Soil microbial systems respond differentially to tetracycline, sulfamonomethoxine, and ciprofloxacin entering soil under pot experimental conditions alone and in combination.

This study investigated soil microbial responses to the application of tetracycline (TC), sulfamonomethoxine (SMM), and ciprofloxacin (CIP) alone and in combination in a soil culture pot experiment conducted at Hangzhou, China. Multiple approaches were applied for a better and complete depiction. Among the three antibiotics, SMM has a lowest dissipation and shows a most dramatic inhibition on microbial community and metabolism diversity.

Influences of nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethyl pyrazole phosphate on nitrogen and soil salt-ion leaching.

An undisturbed heavy clay soil column experiment was conducted to examine the influence of the new nitrification inhibitor, 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP), on nitrogen and soil salt-ion leaching. Regular urea was selected as the nitrogen source in the soil. The results showed that the cumulative leaching losses of soil nitrate-N under the treatment of urea with DMPP were from 57.