The dualistic approach of FCA: a further insight into Ontario Lake sediments

The investigation of object-by-attribute matrices is very common in statistics and data analysis with the aim of uncovering every possible relationship among objects and/or attributes. Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) is a method, which stems directly from partial order and lattice theory, which provides an efficient tool to symmetrically uncover linkages among objects and attributes whenever a relation stands among the two sets. It provides efficacious graphical representation and computes association rules between attributes, thus helping in the detection of possible synergism or antagonism of attributes. In this paper, FCA potentialities are discussed and described by means of a case study already investigated by other partial order techniques: the case of Lake Ontario sediment samples. Data derive from a ‘test battery’ for a simultaneous analysis of degradation of Lake Ontario samples, which are basically of two typologies: hygienic and toxicity tests. A multi-valued approach is adopted to cope with the ordinal feature of data. Results highlight interesting interaction among hygienic compounds and a synergism between the two toxicity tests.     

Fourth WHO-coordinated survey of human milk for persistent organic pollutants (POPs): Belgian results

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemicals that accumulate in the food chain and are toxic to humans and wildlife. The fourth World Health Organization (WHO) survey on POP levels in human milk (2006-2009) aims to provide baseline and trend information on human exposure to POPs. So far Belgium participated in all three previous rounds (1988, 1992, 2001). Whereas the first three rounds focused on determination of dioxins and PCBs in pooled (mixed) samples, the fourth survey comprised the analyses of individual milk samples for nine "basic POPs" (chlorinated pesticides and indicator PCBs) and of pooled milk samples for "basic POPs", "advanced POPs" (dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs) and "optional POPs" (polybrominated diphenylethers [PBDEs], polybrominated dioxins and dibenzofurans [PBrDD/F], mixed halogenated dioxins and dibenzofurans [PXDD/F] and hexabromocyclododecane [HBCD]). For the Belgian participation human milk samples were collected during the summer of 2006 from 197 women between 18 and 30 years old distributed over all Belgian provinces. The individual samples were analyzed in a Belgian Laboratory for "basic" POPs. A pooled sample was made from 178 individual samples and analyzed by the WHO Reference Laboratory for the "basic, advanced and optional" POPs. The results indicate that most organochlorinated pesticides banned 25-30 years ago were below or around detection limits in Belgian human milk samples although DDE was still found at low levels in all samples. Over the last five years the levels of marker PCBs and PCDD/Fs in Belgian human milk decreased, respectively, by 58% and 39%. For some of the other emerging or older compounds recent international data are needed to allow comparison. This shows the importance of international studies as run by WHO.     

Plant uptake of trace elements on a Swiss military shooting range: uptake pathways and land management implications

Over 400tons of Pb enters Swiss soils annually at some 2000 military shooting ranges (MSRs). We measured elements in the leaves of 10 plant species and associated rhizospheric soil on the stop butt of a disused MSR. The geometric mean concentrations of Pb, Sb, Cu, Ni in rhizospheric soils were 10,171mg/kg, 5067mg/kg, 4125mg/kg and 917mg/kg. Some species contained Pb, Cu and Ni, above concentrations (30mg/kg, 25mg/kg and 50mg/kg) shown to be toxic to livestock. Most contaminants in leaves resulted from surface deposition. However, at soil Pb concentrations >60,000mg/kg, Equisetum arvense and Tussilago farfara took up >1000mg/kg Pb into the leaves. These plants are not hyperaccumulators, having <100mg/kg Pb in leaves at lower soil concentrations. Removal of soil with more than 30,000 Pb, from which one could smelt this metal to offset remediation costs, followed by revegetation, would minimise dust and hence leaf-borne contaminants.     

Effects-directed analysis of organic toxicants in wastewater effluent from Zagreb, Croatia

The organic toxicants present in the effluent of the main sewer of the city of Zagreb, Croatia were isolated and identified through the use of effects-directed characterisation techniques. At the time of investigation, the wastewater effluent received no treatment and was comprised of a mixture of effluent from domestic and industrial sources. The organic load of the wastewater was isolated by solid phase extraction and toxicity profiles obtained using reverse-phase HPLC. All procedures were evaluated through the analysis of a series of reference compounds of widely differing polarity. Toxicity profiles for EROD activity (CYP1A induction), vitellogenin induction (estrogenic activity), cytotoxicity (membrane stability and metabolic inhibition) were obtained using a rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) primary hepatocyte bioassay. The suite of bioassays showed biological responses after exposure to the raw extracts for all the endpoints tested. However, a combination of mixture toxicity and cytotoxicity in the complex raw extract had some masking effect on the sub-lethal responses of vitellogenin and EROD induction. Bioassay testing of the fine fractions obtained by HPLC produced a range of endpoint-specific toxicity profiles for each sample. A number of compounds were identified by the use of GC-MS and LC-MS/MS as responsible for the observed effects. The steroid estrogens 17 beta-estradiol and estriol were identified by LC-MS/MS as estrogen receptor agonists in two of the estrogenic fractions. In addition, GC-MS analysis identified different alkylphenols, benzophenone and methylparaben which also contributed to the estrogenic activity of the sample. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkyl substituted PAHs, nitro-polycyclic aromatic compounds (nitro-PACs), carbazoles and alkyl substituted carbazoles and other known CYP1A inducers were identified by GC-MS analysis as responsible for some of the observed EROD activity. Some active compounds remain unidentified.     

Growth of Lygeum spartum in acid mine tailings: response of plants developed from seedlings, rhizomes and at field conditions

Lygeum spartum is a native species in semiarid Mediterranean areas that grows spontaneously on acid mine tailings. We aimed to study the suitability of this plant for phytostabilization. L. spartum was grown from both seeds and rhizomes in acid mine tailings with various fertilizer and lime treatments. Untreated soils had a solution pH of 2.9 with high concentrations of dissolved salts (Electrical Conductivity 25 dS m(-1)) and Zn (3100 mg L(-1)). Plants grown on untreated soil had high shoot metal concentrations (>4000 mg kg(-1)Zn). Liming increased the solution pH to 5.5 and reduced the dissolved salts by more than 75%, resulting in lower shoot metal accumulation. Plants grown from rhizomes accumulated less metal than those grown from seeds. Plants collected in the field had metal concentrations an order of magnitude less than plants raised in the growth chamber. These differences may be due to the higher moisture content and homogeneous nature of the soils used in the pot experiment.     

Effects of the 2008 flood on economic performance and food security in Yemen: a simulation analysis

Extreme weather events such as floods and droughts can have devastating consequences for individual well being and economic development, in particular in poor societies with limited availability of coping mechanisms. Combining a dynamic computable general equilibrium model of the Yemeni economy with a household‐level calorie consumption simulation model, this paper assesses the economy‐wide, agricultural and food security effects of the 2008 tropical storm and flash flood that hit the Hadramout and Al‐Mahrah governorates. The estimation results suggest that agricultural value added, farm household incomes and rural food security deteriorated long term in the flood‐affected areas. Due to economic spillover effects, significant income losses and increases in food insecurity also occurred in areas that were unaffected by flooding. This finding suggests that while most relief efforts are typically concentrated in directly affected areas, future efforts should also consider surrounding areas and indirectly affected people.     

Size-exclusion high performance liquid chromatography of the dodecameric and hexameric forms of hemocyanin from Callinectes sapidus

The relationship between the polymeric composition of hemocyanin and environmental conditions could be described more thoroughly if there were a simple method for separating the dodecameric and hexameric forms of the protein. Such a method for the separation of these two forms of hemocyanin from Callinectes sapidus Rathbun using size-exclusion high performance liquid chromatography has been developed. The method uses columns with an exclusion limit of 1x10⁶ daltons and monitors the binuclear copper moiety by its absorbance at 337 nm. The application of the method was demonstrated by obtaining the dodecamer to hexamer ratios for 20 hemocyanin samples from freshly caught adult intermolt male C. sapidus. The ratios ranged from 1.9:1 to 7.3:1 and appeared to be normally distributed. This variation in the polymeric composition of hemocyanin (much greater than that attributable to the reproducibility of the assay) is apparently occurring in nature, contrary to previous reports that have indicated the ratio to lie within a narrow band for a given species.New address effective May 1, 1992: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92717, USA     

Bewertungsansatz von Umweltmonitoring-Informationssystemen in Ballungsräumen

Comprehensive data on environmental monitoring programs concerned with air pollutants like ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), nitrogen oxide (NO), carbon dioxide (CO₂) und carbon monoxide (CO), and occassionally suspended dust, benzene and other environmental chemicals, are available on the free Internet. As different monitoring information systems exist in most states or big cities of the Federal Republic of Germany, a comparison of these systems with their pros and cons is of great interest to the public. Environmental air pollutant monitoring systems in 16 states of Germany are listed and evaluated by applying 5 evaluation criteria for the differentiation of these systems. Different data-analysis methods will be applied, the Hasse diagram technique, a method derived from discrete mathematics and the partially Ordered Scalogram Analysis with Coordinates (POSAC) method, a multivariate statistical approach. The important objects, the so-called maximal or minimal objects, are detected in both methods. The Internet-based environmental monitoring systems of the states of Berlin, Bremen, Saxony-Anhalt, Baden-Wurttemberg are rated good in the evaluation approaches, whereas the information systems of the states of Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony received a rather poor ranking. The attributes of DA, way of data presentation on the Internet, and ME, type and length of measurements, were pointed out in the data-analysis methods. Multivariate explorative statistical methods offer a comprehensive tool for the graphical analysis of data-matrices. The ranking of objects is given in an effective and graphically comprehensible manner using the Hasse diagram technique. The choice and preference of the methods is problem-driven. A combination of these different methods is envisaged in the authors’ future research.     

The genesis of Lofer cycles of the Dachstein Limestone, Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria

Peritidal carbonate platform Lofer cycles have been regarded as a record of sea-level oscillations driven by variations in the earth's orbit. Fresh analysis of a newly measured 700?m thick section from the Steinernes Meer is presented here. Estimation of stratigraphic completeness indicates that this sequence is only 0.75–9.5% complete, strongly suggesting that Milankovitch patterns are not preserved. Analysis of cycle thickness-frequency distributions reveals an exponential pattern, strongly suggestive of aperiodic, random deposition rather than periodic deposition in response to orbital forcing. Evidence for the importance of autocyclic processes (e.g. lateral migration of inter- to supratidal mudbanks and subtidal areas) and syn-sedimentary tectonic downfaulting events within this already active Late Triassic extensional zone is presented.