Natural radionuclide content in building materials and gamma dose rate in dwellings in Cuba

An extensive research project to investigate the radioactive properties of Cuban building materials was carried out because there is a lack of information on the radioactivity of such materials in Cuba. In the framework of this project 44 samples of commonly used raw materials and building products were collected in five Cuban provinces. The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides were determined by gamma ray spectrometry using a p-type coaxial high purity germanium detector and their mean values were in the ranges: 9-857Bqkg(-1) for (40)K; 6-57Bqkg(-1) for (226)Ra; and 1.2-22Bqkg(-1) for (232)Th. The radium equivalent activity in the 44 samples varied from 4Bqkg(-1) (wood) to 272Bqkg(-1) (brick). A high pressure ionisation chamber was used to measure the indoor absorbed dose rate in 543 dwellings and workplaces in five Cuban provinces. The average absorbed dose rates in air ranged from 43nGyh(-1) (Holguín) to 73nGyh(-1) (Camagüey) and the corresponding population-weighted annual effective dose due to external gamma radiation was estimated to be 145+/-40microSv. This value is 51% lower than the effective dose due to internal exposure from inhalation of decay products of (222)Rn and (220)Rn and it is 16% higher than the calculated value for the typical room geometry of a Cuban house.     

Anthropogenic subsidies alter stream consumer-resource stoichiometry, biodiversity, and food chains.

Urbanization is dramatically changing nutrient and organic matter regimes in streams, yet the community and ecosystem implications often remain obscure. We assessed the consequences of sewage-derived particulate organic matter (SDPOM) for invertebrate community structure and function in a headwater stream. Using stable isotope analyses, we found assimilation of organic SDPOM to double community secondary production, and stoichiometric analyses revealed SDPOM enriched in phosphorus (P) to foster putatively fast-growing, P-rich consumers in the subsidized reach. This altered consumer-resource stoichiometry impacted both community structure and nutrient fluxes through the invertebrate community. Community structure shifted toward significantly reduced diversity and evenness in the subsidized reach and consequently toward shorter food chains. Our integration of ecological stoichiometry with stable isotope analyses and food web ecology expands the previous focus of traditional ecotoxicology and ecophysiology to an ecosystem-level appreciation of pollutant ecology.     

Digenean trematodes infecting the tropical abalone <Emphasis Type="Italic">Haliotis asinina</Emphasis> have species-specific cercarial emergence patterns that follow daily or semilunar spawning cycles

Approximately 1–2% of the tropical abalone Haliotis asinina inhabiting Heron Island Reef are infected with opecoelid digeneans. These largely inhabit the haemocoel surrounding the cerebral ganglia and digestive gland–gonad complex, and infected abalone typically have significantly reduced or ablated gonads. Observations of infected abalone reveal two distinct cercarial emergence patterns, one which correlates tightly with the abalone’s highly regular and synchronous fortnightly spawning cycle, and the other which occurs in a circadian pattern. The former appears to be a novel emergence strategy not previously observed in digeneans. While the cercariae in all abalone are morphologically indistinguishable, comparison of sequences from the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS 2) region of the ribosomal DNA reveals a 5.7% difference between cercariae displaying different emergence patterns, indicating these are two distinct species that probably belong to the same genus. The ITS 2 sequences of the species with the daily emergence pattern are identical to that of an undescribed adult opecoelid from the gut of the barramundi cod, Cromileptes altivelis. Combined molecular, morphological and emergence data suggest that while these opecoelid cercariae use the same first intermediate host and are closely related species—members of the genus Allopodocotyle—they fill different ecological niches that are likely to include different definitive hosts.     

Are blue eggs a sexually selected signal of female collared flycatchers? A cross-fostering experiment

Impressive variation in egg colouration among birds has puzzled evolutionary biologists for a long time. The most frequently studied selective forces moulding egg colouration—predation and brood parasitism—have either received little empirical support or may play a role in only a minority of species. A novel hypothesis has suggested that egg colour may be significantly influenced by sexual selection. Females may deposit a blue-green pigment biliverdin into eggshells instead of using it for themselves as a powerful antioxidant. By this handicap, females may signal their quality to males, which are then hypothesized to increase their paternal effort. We experimentally tested the hypothesis in the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), a species laying blue-green eggs. We cross-fostered clutches between nests to disentangle effects of female/territory quality and egg colour on paternal effort and nestling quality. The results supported two assumptions of sexual signalling through egg colour hypothesis: Blue pigment seems to be a limited resource for females, and female quality is positively correlated with the intensity of the blue-green colour. However, we did not find support for the main prediction of the hypothesis, as male parental effort parameters (feeding frequencies to nestlings and intensity of nest defence) were unrelated to egg colour. We discuss possible reasons for the discrepancy between our results and previous correlative analyses that supported the hypothesis that blue egg colour may be a postmating, sexually selected signal in females.     

Some Interpolation Estimators in Environmental Risk Assessment for Spatially Misaligned Health Data

Ecological regression studies are widely used in geographical epidemiology to assess the relationships between health hazard and putative risk factors. Very often, health data are measured at an aggregate level because of confidentiality restrictions, while putative risk factors are measured on a different grid, i.e., independent (exposure) variable and response (counts) variable are spatially misaligned. To perform a regression of risk on exposure, one needs to realign the spatial support of the variables. Bayesian hierarchical models constitute a natural approach to the problem because of their ability to model the exposure field and the relationship between exposure and relative risk at different levels of the hierarchy, taking proper account of the variability induced by the covariate estimation. In the current paper, we propose two fully Bayesian solutions to the problem. The first one is based on the kernel-smoothing technique, while the second one is built on the tessellation of the study region. We illustrate our methods by assessing the relationship between exposure to uranium in drinkable waters and cancer incidence, in South Carolina (USA).     

A computational technique for turbulent flow of wastewater sludge.

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique applied to the turbulent flow of wastewater sludge in horizontal, smooth-wall, circular pipes is presented. The technique uses the Crank-Nicolson finite difference method in conjunction with the variable secant method, an algorithm for determining the pressure gradient of the flow. A simple algebraic turbulence model is used. A Bingham-plastic rheological model is used to describe the shear stress/shear rate relationship for the wastewater sludge. The method computes velocity gradient and head loss, given a fixed volumetric flow, pipe size, and solids concentration. Solids concentrations ranging from 3 to 10% (by weight) and nominal pipe sizes from 0.15 m (6 in.) to 0.36 m (14 in.) are studied. Comparison of the CFD results for water to established values serves to validate the numerical method. The head loss results are presented in terms of a head loss ratio, R(hl), which is the ratio of sludge head loss to water head loss. An empirical equation relating R(hl) to pipe velocity and solids concentration, derived from the results of the CFD calculations, is presented. The results are compared with published values of Rhl for solids concentrations of 3 and 6%. A new expression for the Fanning friction factor for wastewater sludge flow is also presented.     

Assessing sorbents for mercury control in coal-combustion flue gas

Sorbent injection for Hg control is one of the most promising technologies for reducing Hg emissions from power-generation facilities, particularly units that do not require wet scrubbers for SO2 control. Since 1992, EPRI has been assessing the performance of Hg sorbents in pilot-scale systems installed at full-scale facilities. The initial tests were conducted on a 5,000-acfm (142-m3/min) pilot baghouse. Screening potential sorbents at this scale required substantial resources for installation and operation and did not provide an opportunity to characterize sorbents over a wide temperature range. Data collected in the laboratory and in field tests indicate that sorbents are affected by flue gas composition and temperature. Tests carried out in actual flue gas at a number of power plants also have shown that sorbent performance can be site-specific. In addition, data collected at a field site often are different from data collected     

Application of the tracer-aerosol gradient interpretive technique to sulfur attribution for the big bend regional aerosol and visibility observational study

A simple data analysis method called the Tracer-Aerosol Gradient Interpretive Technique (TAGIT) is used to attribute particulate S and SO2 at Big Bend National Park in Texas and nearby areas to local and regional sources. Particulate S at Big Bend is of concern because of its effects on atmospheric visibility. The analysis used particulate S, SO2, and perfluorocarbon tracer data from six 6-hr sampling sites in and near Big Bend National Park. The data were collected in support of the Big Bend Regional Aerosol and Visibility Observational (BRAVO) Study; the field portion was conducted from July through October 1999. Perfluorocarbon tracer was released continuously from a tower at Eagle Pass, TX, approximately 25 km northeast of two large coal-fired power plants (Carbon I and II) in Coahuila, Mexico, and approximately 270 km east-southeast of Big Bend National Park. The perfluorocarbon tracer did not properly represent the location of the emissions from the Carbon power plants for individual 6-hr sampling periods and attributed only 3% of the particulate S and 27% of the SO2 at the 6-hr sites in and near Big Bend to sources represented by the tracer. An alternative approach using SO2 to tag "local" sources such as the Carbon plants attributed 10% of the particulate S and 75% of the SO2 at the 6-hr sites to local sources. Based on these two approaches, most of the regional (65-86%) and a small fraction (19-31%) of the local SO2 was converted to particulate S. The analysis implies that substantial reductions in particulate S at Big Bend National Park cannot be achieved by only reducing emissions from the Carbon power plants; reduction of emissions from many sources over a regional area would be necessary.     

Aerosol particle number concentration measurements in five European cities using TSI-3022 condensation particle counter over a three-year period during health effects of air pollution on susceptible subpopulations

In this study, long-term aerosol particle total number concentration measurements in five metropolitan areas across Europe are presented. The measurements have been carried out in Augsburg, Barcelona, Helsinki, Rome, and Stockholm using the same instrument, a condensation particle counter (TSI model 3022). The results show that in all of the studied cities, the winter concentrations are higher than the summer concentrations. In Helsinki and in Stockholm, winter concentrations are higher by a factor of two and in Augsburg almost by a factor of three compared with summer months. The winter maximum of the monthly average concentrations in these cities is between 10,000 cm(-3) and 20,000 cm(-3), whereas the summer min is approximately 5000-6000 cm(-3). In Rome and in Barcelona, the winters are more polluted compared with summers by as much as a factor of 4-10. The winter maximum in both Rome and Barcelona is close to 100,000 cm(-3), whereas the summer minimum is > 10,000 cm(-3). During the weekdays the maximum of the hourly average concentrations in all of the cities is detected during the morning hours between 7 and 10 a.m. The evening maxima were present in Barcelona, Rome, and Augsburg, but these were not as pronounced as the morning ones. The daily maxima in Helsinki and Stockholm are close or even lower than the daily minima in the more polluted cities. The concentrations between these two groups of cities are different with a factor of about five during the whole day. The study pointed out the influence of the selection of the measurement site and the configuration of the sampling line on the observed concentrations.