Chemical and biochemical studies in fetuses affected with nieman-pick disease type A

Chemical and biochemical studies were performed on two unrelated fetuses affected with Niemann-Pick disease type A, following abortion at about the 19th week of gestation. Abortion was performed as a consequence of previous findings, in amniotic fluid cell cultures, that sphingomyelinase activity was completely absent. Phospholipid analyses of various organs of the fetuses, spleen and liver were the organs mostly affected. Interestingly enough considerable accumulation of sphingomyelin was found in the placenta. The brain was the only organ in which sphingomyeiin storage could not be proved. In addition to sphingomyelin a slight accumulation of cholesterol was noticed. Deficiency of sphingomyelinase activity measured at pH 5·0 was the general characteristic of the affected tissues. It is concluded that the accumulation of sphingomyelin in various organs throughout the body of fetuses affected with Niemann-Pick disease is suggestive of the essential role of the enzyme sphingomyelinase and its biochemical maturation, even during the early stages of gestation.     

Goitre and environmental iodine deficiency in the UK — Derbyshire: A review

Endemic goitre was prevalent in the population of Derbyshire in the UK for many centuries until it declined from the 1930s. A contemporary medical survey showed that endemicity of goitre was particularly higher in the Carboniferous limestone areas of the Derbyshire-Peak District. Unlike classical goitrous areas of the world, where the distribution of goitre has been found to be related to the iodine content in the environment, there is no such relationship reported for the Derbyshire-Peak District area. The present study reviews the presence of endemic goitre in this area with reference to iodine in different environmental media using past and present data. In comparison with the world average values, the iodine contents in the soil and sediment in the Peak District are not deficient, but compared to England, Wales and Scotland averages, these levels are low. As no information on the mobility and bioavailability of iodine of this area is available, a cautious approach is necessary before any assumption is made on the aetiology of endemic goitre. The study also discusses some hypotheses relating to the possible cause of endemic goitre in the limestone areas. Further research needs are suggested depending on the land use and geochemistry of the Peak District to determine the underlying causes of the former endemic goitre in this area.     

Sexual conflict,sexual selection and sperm competition in the spawning decisions of bitterling, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhodeus</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">sericeus</Emphasis>

Sexual selection may operate through either direct selection on preference genes or indirect genetic benefits. However, in many species both direct and indirect selection may operate and can influence female mate and oviposition choice. Adaptations by males for sperm competition can also affect female mate and oviposition choice and can lead to sexual conflict. We investigated the role of direct and indirect benefits and male adaptation to sperm competition for female oviposition decisions in the bitterling, Rhodeus sericeus, a freshwater fish that spawns on the gills of living unionid mussels. Field experiments showed that females chose mussels for spawning on the basis of the number of embryos already in mussels and the body size and/or extent of red coloration of the eyes of territorial males. There was also a significant interaction between these direct and indirect benefits of oviposition choice. Territorial male bitterling avoided leading females to mussels into which rivals had already released sperm. Males also increased their rate of sperm release into mussels in response to sperm release by sneaking males. We discuss the possibility that sexual conflict in oviposition choice occurs in this species.     

Natural pollution caused by the extremely acidic crater lake Kawah Ijen, East Java, Indonesia

Background. Aims and Scope Lakes developing in volcano craters can become highly acidic through the influx of volcanic gases, yielding one of the chemically most extreme natural environments on earth. The Kawah Ijen crater lake in East Java (Indonesia) has a pH 〈 0.3. It is the source of the extremely acid and metal-polluted river Banyupahit (45 km). The lake has a significant impact on the river ecosystem as well as on a densely populated area downstream, where agricultural fields are irrigated with water with a pH between 2.5 and 3.5. The chemistry of the river water seemed to have changed over the past decade and the negative effect in the irrigation area increased. A multidisciplinary approach was used to investigate the altered situation and to get insight in the water chemistry and the hydrological processes influencing these alterations. Moreover, a first investigation of the effects of the low pH on ecosystem health and human health was performed. Methods Water samples were taken at different sites along the river and in the irrigation area. Sampling for macroinvertebrates was performed at the same sites. Samples of soil and crop were taken in the irrigation area. All samples were analysed for metals (using ICP-AES) and other elements, and concentrations were compared to local and international standards. Results and Discussion The river carries a very high load of SO4, NH4, PO4, Cl, F, Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Al and other potentially toxic elements. Precipitation and discharge data over the period of 1980 – 2000 clearly show that the precipitation on the Ijen plateau influences water chemistry of the downstream river. Metal concentrations in the river water exceed the concentrations mentioned in Indonesian and international quality guidelines, even in the downstream river and the irrigation area. Some metal concentrations are extremely high, especially iron (up to 1600 mg/l) and aluminium (up to 3000 mg/l). The food-webs in the acidic parts of the river are highly underdeveloped. No invertebrates were present in the extremely acid water and, at pH 2.3, only chironomids were found. This also holds true for the river water with pH 3.3 in the downstream area. Agricultural soils in the irrigation area have a pH of 3.9 compared to a pH of 7.0 for soils irrigated with neutral water. Decreased yields of cultivated crops are probably caused by the use of Al containing acid irrigation water. Increased levels of metals (especially Cd, Co, Ni and Mn) are found in different foodstuffs, but still remain within acceptable ranges. Considering local residents” diets, Cd levels may lead to an increased risk for the human health. Fluoride exposure is of highest concern, with levels in drinking water exceeding guideline values and a lot of local residents suffering from dental fluorosis. Conclusions, Recommendations and Outlook In short, our data indicate that the Ijen crater lake presents a serious threat to the environment as well as human health and agricultural production.     

Monitoring and modelling of biosphere/atmosphere exchange of gases and aerosols in Europe

Monitoring and modelling of deposition of air pollutants is essential to develop and evaluate policies to abate the effects related to air pollution and to determine the losses of pollutants from the atmosphere. Techniques for monitoring wet deposition fluxes are widely applied. A recent intercomparison experiment, however, showed that the uncertainty in wet deposition is relatively high, up to 40%, apart from the fact that most samplers are biased because of a dry deposition contribution. Wet deposition amounts to about 80% of the total deposition in Europe with a range of 10-90% and uncertainty should therefore be decreased. During recent years the monitoring of dry deposition has become possible. Three sites have been operational for 5 years. The data are useful for model development, but also for model evaluation and monitoring of progress in policy. Data show a decline in SO(2) dry deposition, whereas nitrogen deposition remained constant. Furthermore, surface affinities for pollutants changed leading to changes in deposition. Deposition models have been further developed and tested with dry deposition measurements and total deposition measurements on forests as derived from throughfall data. The comparison is reasonable given the measurement uncertainties. Progress in ozone surface exchange modelling and monitoring shows that stomatal uptake can be quantified with reasonable accuracy, but external surface uptake yields highest uncertainty.     

Organochlorine residues in harbour porpoises from Southwest Greenland

During the 1995 hunting season, 75 harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) were sampled in three locations in West Greenland: Maniitsoq, Nuuk, and Paamiut. Sex, age, morphometrics, reproductive condition, and organochlorine compound (OC) levels in blubber were determined for each individual. OC levels were extremely low and, therefore considered unlikely to affect the population adversely: mean blubber concentrations, expressed on lipid weight basis were 1.98 (S.D.=1.1) mg/kg for PCBs, 2.76 (S.D.=1.66) mg/kg for tDDT and 0.21 (S.D.=0.11) mg/kg for HCB. No statistical differences were observed among individuals caught in the various locations. OC concentrations showed statistically significant positive associations with age in males but negative in females; consequently, mature females presented lower pollutant loads than their male counterparts. Juveniles did not show differences between sexes. A higher proportion of less chlorinated and more metabolizable polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) compared to tPCBs was found in calves (age< or =1) than in mature females, indicating that the feeding habits of these two groups differ and that a greater transfer of less chlorinated compounds is passed from females to their pups through lactation and parturition. Harbour porpoises significantly contribute to the dietary intake of OCs by local Inuit populations. This contribution could be reduced if mature males were selectively avoided; however, current hunting procedures make this selection impracticable.     

Limestone surfaces in built-up environment as indicators of atmospheric pollution

The concentration of sulphate on limestone surfaces of the external walls of churches in Malta is shown to be related to their position and distance from a power station, the main local point source of sulphur dioxide pollution. Limestone powder collected from these surfaces was examined for the presence of particles which, under low-power optical microscopy, appear as shiny black amorphous bodies which were interpreted as soot particles; the abundance of these bodies was expressed as a black particle count (BPC). The degree of sulphation and BPC were shown to be correlated with each other and both appeared to be strongly dependent on the prevailing wind. The BPC contour map indicated an important contribution to the parameter from vehicular traffic. It is suggested that the degree of sulphation and BPC of limestone surfaces from the built environment should function as environmental indicators of the relative air quality with respect to SO₂ and soot pollution. This data is possibly more accurately representative of the relative long-term air-quality status of different areas of habitation than that deduced from single or episodic measurements of atmospheric pollutant levels.     

Public Discourses of Climate Change in Hong Kong

The changing political environment in Hong Kong is likely to accelerate the transition in environmental policy discourse. Opportunities for critical public involvement are increasing and new environmental discourses are emerging. Yet, previous social surveys did not explore the range of these discourses and few focused on climate change. The paper outlines the public discourses of climate change in Hong Kong. Using Q-methodology, four distinctive discourses were identified, namely Pure Environmentalism, Political Pragmatism, Popular Optimism, and Fair Rationalism. While the first one is climate-centric, the other three are political or social in nature and do not indicate a clear or coherent climate orientation. This suggests that the climate change concern of the Hong Kong public is not tightly embedded into a coherent narrative of social and institutional transformation. Effective climate change governance and policies require strengthening the link between such concern and the public desires for social and institutional transformation. Bringing together the ongoing social movements and environmental campaigns will be instrumental to nurture an active climate citizenry.     

Community partnered projects: a case study of a collaborative effort to improve sanitation in a marginalized community in northwest Mexico

There is a growing recognition in developing countries that community participation in water and sanitation projects is a necessary strategy in sustainable development. The main advantage of following such an approach is that, if participation can encourage a sense of ownership of the projects, the benefits of the project are more likely to extend over the long term. The case study at hand focuses on the challenges faced in implementing a wastewater treatment system to solve an environmental and public health problem in a rural community, Rosario de Tesopaco, in northwest Mexico. Until recently, the community has been unable to implement an effective plan to treat the wastewater generated in the community. The problems faced by the community can be attributed to the political arrangement of water and sanitation decentralization in Mexico that occurred in the mid 1980’s, whereby communities were required to meet wastewater treatment standards, but were not given the technical and political guidance needed to achieve this goal. However, in this instance, cooperation between the authorities in Rosario de Tesopaco, the federal agency for social development, and an academic institution has led to the successful design and approval of a wastewater treatment project. This achievement can be attributed to the use of an effective collaborative strategy, tailoring the project to the needs and capacity of the local community, positioning the community as the leaders and owners of the project. A model for following this strategy for developing rural sanitation projects in Mexico is proposed. Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Eigenbehaviors: identifying structure in routine

Longitudinal behavioral data generally contains a significant amount of structure. In this work, we identify the structure inherent in daily behavior with models that can accurately analyze, predict, and cluster multimodal data from individuals and communities within the social network of a population. We represent this behavioral structure by the principal components of the complete behavioral dataset, a set of characteristic vectors we have termed eigenbehaviors. In our model, an individual’s behavior over a specific day can be approximated by a weighted sum of his or her primary eigenbehaviors. When these weights are calculated halfway through a day, they can be used to predict the day’s remaining behaviors with 79% accuracy for our test subjects. Additionally, we demonstrate the potential for this dimensionality reduction technique to infer community affiliations within the subjects’ social network by clustering individuals into a “behavior space” spanned by a set of their aggregate eigenbehaviors. These behavior spaces make it possible to determine the behavioral similarity between both individuals and groups, enabling 96% classification accuracy of community affiliations within the population-level social network. Additionally, the distance between individuals in the behavior space can be used as an estimate for relational ties such as friendship, suggesting strong behavioral homophily amongst the subjects. This approach capitalizes on the large amount of rich data previously captured during the Reality Mining study from mobile phones continuously logging location, proximate phones, and communication of 100 subjects at MIT over the course of 9 months. As wearable sensors continue to generate these types of rich, longitudinal datasets, dimensionality reduction techniques such as eigenbehaviors will play an increasingly important role in behavioral research. This contribution is part of the special issue “Social Networks: new perspectives” (Guest Editors: J. Krause, D. Lusseau and R. James). An erratum to this article can be found at