Uranium groundwater contamination due to U mining and processing affects numerous sites globally. Bioreduction of soluble, mobile U(VI) to U(IV)-bearing solids is potentially a very effective ...remediation strategy. Uranium isotopes (238U/235U) have been utilized to track the progress of microbial reduction, with laboratory and field studies finding a ∼1‰ isotopic fractionation, with the U(IV) product enriched in 238U. However, the isotopic fractionation produced by adsorption may complicate the use of 238U/235U to trace microbial reduction. A previous study found that adsorption of U(VI) onto Mn oxides produced a −0.2‰ fractionation with the adsorbed U(VI) depleted in 238U. In this study, adsorption to quartz, goethite, birnessite, illite, and aquifer sediments induced an average isotopic fractionation of −0.15‰ with the adsorbed U(VI) isotopically lighter than coexisting aqueous U(VI). In bicarbonate-bearing matrices, the fractionation depended little on the nature of the sorbent, with only birnessite producing an atypically large fractionation. In the case of solutions with ionic strengths much lower than those of typical groundwater, less isotopic fractionation was produced than U(VI) solutions with greater ionic strength. Studies using U isotope data to assess U(VI) reduction must consider adsorption as a lesser, but significant isotope fractionation process.
With changes in legislation and consumer demand, alternatives to synthetic acaricides to manage the poultry red mite
Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer) in laying hen flocks are increasingly needed. These ...mites may cause losses in egg production, anaemia and even death of hens. It may be possible to use plant-derived products as
D. gallinae repellents, especially if such products have a minimal impact on non-target organisms. An experiment was conducted with
D. gallinae to assess the repellence of a range of plant essential oils, previously found to be of varying toxicity (relatively highly toxic to non-toxic) to this pest. Experiments were also undertaken to assess the toxicity of these products to mealworm beetles (
Tenebrio molitor L.), a non-target invertebrate typical of poultry production systems. Results showed that all seven essential oils tested (manuka, thyme, palmarosa, caraway, spearmint, black pepper and juniper leaf) were repellent to
D. gallinae at 0.14
mg oil/cm
3 (initial concentration) during the first 2 days of study. Thyme essential oil appeared to be the most effective, where repellence lasted until the end of the study period (13 days). At the same concentration toxicity to
T. molitor differed, with essential oils of palmarosa and manuka being no more toxic to adult beetles than the control. There was neither a significant association between the rank toxicity and repellence of oils to
D. gallinae, nor the toxicity of oils to
D. gallinae (as previously determined) and
T. molitor.
This paper describes a series of experiments to examine the mode of action and toxicity of three plant essential oils (thyme, manuka and pennyroyal) to the poultry red mite,
Dermanyssus gallinae (De ...Geer), a serious ectoparasitic pest of laying hens. All three oils were found to be toxic to
D. gallinae in laboratory tests with LC
50, LC
90 and LC
99 values below 0.05, 0.20 and 0.30
mg/cm
3, respectively, suggesting that these products may make for effective acaricides against this pest. Further experiments demonstrated that when mites were exposed to only the vapour phase of the essential oil without contact with the oil itself, mortality was consistently higher in closed arenas than in arenas open to the surrounding environment, or in control arenas. This suggests that all three essential oils were toxic to
D. gallinae by fumigant action. In addition, in an experiment where mites were allowed contact with the essential oil in either open or closed arenas, mortality was always reduced in the open arenas where this was comparable to control mortality for thyme and pennyroyal essential oil treatments. This supports the findings of the previous experiment and also suggests that, with the possible exception of manuka, the selected essential oils were not toxic to
D. gallinae on contact.
Statistical comparisons were made between the toxicity of the selected essential oils to
D. gallinae in the current work and in a previous study conducted in the same laboratory. The results demonstrated considerable variation in LC
50, LC
90 and LC
99 values. Since both the essential oils and the mites were obtained from identical sources in the two studies, it is hypothesized that this variation resulted from the use of different ‘batches’ of essential oil, which could have varied in chemistry and hence acaricidal activity.
Germanium sulfide and germanium selenide bulk crystals were prepared using a melt growth technique. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine ionisation potentials of 5.74 and 5.48 ...eV for GeS and GeSe respectively. These values were used with the previously-measured band gaps to establish the natural band alignments with potential window layers for solar cells and to identify CdS and TiO
2
as sensible choices. The ionisation potential of GeS is found to be smaller than in comparable materials. Using XPS and hard X-ray photoemission (HAXPES) measurements in conjunction with density-functional theory calculations, we demonstrate that stereochemically active Ge 4s lone pairs are present at the valence-band maxima. Our work thus provides direct evidence for active lone pairs in GeS and GeSe, with important implications for the applications of these and related materials such as Ge-based perovskites.
GeS and GeSe with Ge 4s
2
lone pairs shown in the structure and observed at the top of the valence band using hard and soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy combined with density functional theory.
The poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer), is the most important ectoparasitic pest of layer hens worldwide and difficult to control through ‘conventional’ synthetic acaricides. The ...present study aimed to identify a suitable predator of D. gallinae that could potentially form the basis of biological control in commercial poultry systems. From four selected predatory mite species (Hypoaspis miles (Berlese), Hypoaspis aculeifer (Canestrini), Amblyseius degenerans (Berlese) and Phytoseiulus persimilis (Athias-Henriot)), Hypoaspis mites demonstrated the greatest potential as predators of D. gallinae. Experiments were also conducted to assess the effect of environmental (temperature and dust), physical (presence of harbourages) and biological (presence of alternative prey) factors on the predatory efficacy of H. miles. Predation of D. gallinae per se was observed under all conditions tested, though was found to be temperature-dependant and reduced by the presence of alternative prey.
The toxicity of a range of plant essential oils to the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer) (Acari: Dermanyssidae), a serious ectoparasitic pest of laying hens throughout Europe and ...elsewhere, was assessed in the laboratory. Dermanyssus gallinae may cause losses in egg production, anaemia and, in extreme cases, death of hens. With changes in legislation and consumer demand, alternatives to synthetic acaricides are needed to manage this pest. Fifty plant essential oils were selected for their toxicity to arthropods reported in the literature. Twenty-four of these essential oils were found to kill > 75% of adult D. gallinae in contact toxicity tests over a 24-h period at a rate of 0.21 mg/cm². Subsequent testing at lower rates showed that the essential oils of cade, manuka and thyme were especially toxic to adult D. gallinae. The toxicity of the seven most acaricidal essential oils was found to be stable at different temperatures likely to be encountered in commercial poultry housing (15°C, 22°C and 29°C), although results suggest that humidity and dust might influence the toxicity of some of the oils tested. The toxicity of clove bud essential oil to D. gallinae, for example, was increased at high humidity and dust levels compared with ambient levels. The results suggest that certain essential oils may make effective botanical pesticides for use against D. gallinae, although it is likely that issues relating to the consistency of the toxic effect of some oils will determine which oils will be most effective in practice.
Abstract Nutrition is integral to the care of individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). Better nutritional status is associated with improved pulmonary function. In some individuals with CF, enteral ...tube feeding can be useful in achieving optimal nutritional status. Current nutrition guidelines do not include detailed recommendations for enteral tube feeding. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation convened an expert panel to develop enteral tube feeding recommendations based on a systematic review of the evidence and expert opinion. These guidelines address when to consider enteral tube feeding, assessment of confounding causes of poor nutrition in CF, preparation of the patient for placement of the enteral feeding tube, management of the tube after placement and education about enteral feeding. These recommendations are intended to guide the CF care team, individuals with CF, and their families through the enteral tube feeding process.
Seven essential oils with potential as acaricides for use against the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer) (Acari: Dermanyssidae), were selected for study. These products (essential oils ...of manuka, cade, pennyroyal, thyme, garlic, clove bud and cinnamon bark) were deployed against different life stages of D. gallinae in laboratory tests at the (lethal concentration) LC₅₀ level for adult mites. For all essential oils tested, toxicity to D. gallinae juveniles was as high as toxicity to adults, if not higher. However, at the LC₅₀ level determined for adults, some oils were ineffective in preventing hatching of D. gallinae eggs. The essential oils were also tested under laboratory conditions at their LC₉₀ levels for D. gallinae adults on two model non-target species, the brine shrimp, Artemia salina (L.), and the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor (L.). Results showed that not all essential oils were as toxic to A. salina and T. molitor as they were to D. gallinae, suggesting that it may be possible to select certain oils for development as acaricides against D. gallinae that would have minimal impact on non-target organisms. However, the level of toxicity to A. salina and T. molitor was not consistent across the selected essential oils.
We conducted a detailed investigation of U isotopes in conjunction with a broad geochemical investigation during field-scale biostimulation and desorption experiments. This investigation was carried ...out in the uranium-contaminated alluvial aquifer of the Rifle field research site. In this well-characterized setting, a more comprehensive understanding of U isotope geochemistry is possible. Our results indicate that U isotope fractionation is consistently observed across multiple experiments at the Rifle site. Microbially-mediated reduction is suggested to account for most or all of the observed fractionation as abiotic reduction has been demonstrated to impart much smaller, often near-zero, isotopic fractionation or isotopic fractionation in the opposite direction. Data from some time intervals are consistent with a simple model for transport and U(VI) reduction, where the fractionation factor (ε=+0.65‰ to +0.85‰) is consistent with experimental studies. However, during other time intervals the observed patterns in our data indicate the importance of other processes in governing U concentrations and 238U/235U ratios. For instance, we demonstrate that departures from Rayleigh behavior in groundwater systems arise from the presence of adsorbed species. We also show that isotope data are sensitive to the onset of oxidation after biostimulation ends, even in the case where reduction continues to remove contaminant uranium downstream. Our study and the described conceptual model support the use of 238U/235U ratios as a tool for evaluating the efficacy of biostimulation and potentially other remedial strategies employed at Rifle and other uranium-contaminated sites.
The DeLong Mountain Transportation System (DMTS) haul road links the Red Dog Mine-one of the world's largest zinc mines-with a shipping port on the Chukchi Sea in northwest Alaska, USA. The road ...traverses 32 km of National Park Service (NPS) lands managed by Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR). Fugitive dusts from ore concentrate transport and mining operations have dispersed zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and metal sulfides onto NPS lands since the mine began operating in 1989. This study assessed the effects of metal-enriched road dusts on the diversity and community structure of lichens, bryophytes, and vascular plants in dwarf-shrub tundra within CAKR. In a Bayesian posterior predictions model, lichen species richness (LSR) was highly correlated to distance from the haul road and was distributed on the landscape consistently with the spatial patterns of Zn, Pb and Cd patterns published earlier in this journal. The mean modeled LSR of the 3000-4000 m distance class was 41.3, and LSR decreased progressively down to 9.4 species in the 0-50 m class. An ordination of 93 lichen species by 91 plots revealed strong community patterns based on distance from the haul road. The major community gradient was highly correlated (r = 0.99) with LSR and negatively correlated with Cd, Pb and Zn (-0.79 < r < -0.74). Ordinations of bryophyte classes showed less response than lichens to distance from the road and heavy metals values, and vascular plant ordination showed less still. Measures of bryophyte health such as the midrib blackening and frond width of Hylocomium splendens were positively correlated with distance from the haul road and negatively correlated with this same suite of elements. A total area of approximately 55 km2 showed moderate to strong impacts on lichens from fugitive dusts. This is equivalent to an area of almost 1 km on both sides of the haul road running 32 km through CAKR.
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