A growing body of research indicates that the most biologically active PCB congeners and organochlorines are not the most abundant components in human and wildlife samples. As researchers attempt measurement on a wider pool of less abundant compounds, they inevitably face quantification problems. To address this problem and enhance comparability across studies, we propose a standardized approach to report organochlorines that is based on a reproducible method to determine the limit of quantification (LQ). Two statistical methods are incorporated into our approach, one by Gibbons termed the Alternative Minimum Level (AML), and one based on determining a region of stable relativestandard deviation in instrument response (RSD). We illustrate our approach using historical samples collected during the 1960s from a cohort of pregnant women enrolled in the Child Health and Development Study. The results are applicable to determining the LQ of any method, and are of utmost importance to environmental scientists conducting trace organic analyses of complex mixtures. Our results demonstrate that: (1) precision as measured by RSD is the most important criterion in determining LQ; (2) the AML routinely isolates a region of constant RSD; and (3) the precision of the instrument detector response as measured with pure standards locates the LQ applicable for real samples - that is, the true limits of quantification reside in the detector, not the matrix effects or analyte recoveries associated with real samples. A corollary of these findings is that bias due to matrix effects and analyte recoveries can be assessed separately from precision and LQdetermination. Previous approaches involved spiking matrix blanks to determine LQ, a problematic strategy for real world, complex matrices. We have now validated the use of pure standards in LQ determination, an approach that is practical and accessible to most analysts. 相似文献
A laboratory scale method is proposed in order to establish the advantages and disadvantages of reclaimed wastewater irrigation. Data on possible environmental impact (on groundwater and soils) of such irrigation practices are obtained by using lysimetric columns. At the same time it is possible to gather data about treated wastewater nutrient content. Global results of percolating ions and vegatative growth on columns data are shown. 相似文献
Species interactions can induce morphological changes in organisms that affect their subsequent growth and survival. In Moorea,
French Polynesia, epibiotic gammaridean amphipods induce the formation of long, branch-like coral “fingers” on otherwise flat,
encrusting, or plating Montipora coral colonies. The fingers form as corals encrust tubes built by the amphipods and lead to significant changes in colony
morphology. This study examines the costs and benefits of this association to the amphipods and corals and demonstrates that
the interaction is a mutualism. Amphipods gain protection from predators by living within corals, and corals benefit by enhanced
growth and survival. Benefits to the coral arise through direct effects due to the amphipods’ presence as well as through
benefits derived from the altered colony morphology. This study demonstrates that induced morphological plasticity can be
a mechanism for facilitation, adding to our knowledge of the roles mutualism, and phenotypic plasticity play in ecology. 相似文献
Factorial design plan was experimented in Perna perna in order to find out the contribution of day exposure, Cd and Cu concentrations in water, and their interactions on metallothioneins (MT), Cd, and Cu (the dependent measured variables) in the gills. The picture obtained is more adequate than by studying the factor effect separately. Compared with the control group, the MT concentration after 22?days exposure period in the mixture of 100?μg/mL Cu and Cd is increased almost two times, showing that P. perna might be used as a biomonitor. Cd showed stronger effect than Cu on MT inducing. 相似文献
Polylactic acid (PLA) and thermoplastic starch (TPS) are biodegradable polymers of biological origin, and the mixture of these polymers has been studied due to the desirable mechanical properties of PLA and the low processing cost of TPS. However, the TPS/PLA combination is thermodynamically immiscible due to the poor interfacial interaction between the hydrophilic starch granules and the hydrophobic PLA. To overcome these limitations, researchers studied the modification, processing, and properties of the mixtures as a strategy to increase the compatibility between phases. This review highlights recent developments, current results, and trends in the field of TPS/PLA-based compounds during the last two decades, with the main focus of improving the adhesion between the two components. The TPS/PLA blends were classified as plasticized, compatible, reinforced and with nanocomposites. This article presents, based on published research, TPS/PLA combinations, considering different methods with significant improvements in mechanical properties, with promising developments for applications in food packaging and biomedicine.
Despite much discussion about the utility of remote sensing for effective conservation, the inclusion of these technologies in species recovery plans remains largely anecdotal. We developed a modeling approach for the integration of local, spatially measured ecosystem functional dynamics into a species distribution modeling (SDM) framework in which other ecologically relevant factors are modeled separately at broad scales. To illustrate the approach, we incorporated intraseasonal water-vegetation dynamics into a cross-scale SDM for the Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), which is highly dependent on water and vegetation dynamics. The Common Snipe is an Iberian grassland waterbird characteristic of European agricultural meadows and a member of one of the most threatened bird guilds. The intraseasonal dynamics of water content of vegetation were measured using the standard deviation of the normalized difference water index time series computed from bimonthly images of the Sentinel-2 satellite. The recovery plan for the Common Snipe in Galicia (northwestern Iberian Peninsula) provided an opportunity to apply our modeling framework. Model accuracy in predicting the species’ distribution at a regional scale (resulting from integration of downscaled climate projections with regional habitat–topographic suitability models) was very high (area under the curve [AUC] of 0.981 and Boyce's index of 0.971). Local water-vegetation dynamic models, based exclusively on Sentinel-2 imagery, were good predictors (AUC of 0.849 and Boyce's index of 0.976). The predictive power improved (AUC of 0.92 and Boyce's index of 0.98) when local model predictions were restricted to areas identified by the continental and regional models as priorities for conservation. Our models also performed well (AUC of 0.90 and Boyce's index of 0.93) when projected to updated water-vegetation conditions. Our modeling framework enabled incorporation of key ecosystem processes closely related to water and carbon cycles while accounting for other factors ecologically relevant to endangered grassland waterbirds across different scales, allowed identification of priority areas for conservation, and provided an opportunity for cost-effective recovery planning by monitoring management effectiveness from space. 相似文献
From simultaneous air and water polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) measurements collected in September 2010, we re-evaluated the direction and magnitude of net air-water exchange of PCBs in southwest Lake Michigan and compared them with estimations made using similar approaches 15 years prior. Air and water samples were collected during a research expedition on Lake Michigan at 5 km off the coast of Chicago, with prevailing winds from the southwest of our location. Gas-phase ΣPCB concentrations ranged from 190 to 1100 pg m?3 with a median of 770 pg m?3, which is similar to the concentrations measured in the City of Chicago at the same time and similar to concentrations measured in this part of the lake over the last 20 years. Water dissolved-phase ΣPCB concentrations ranged from 150 to 170 pg L?1 with a median of 160 pg L?1, which is one-tenth of that measured in the 1990s. ?PCB net fluxes showed a slightly absorptive behavior, with a median of (?) 21 ng m?2 day?1 and an interquartile range of (?) 47 to (+) 5 ng m?2 day?1, where (?) and (+) fluxes indicate absorption and volatilization, respectively. Airborne PCB concentrations were higher when the winds were coming from Chicago and drive the deposition. Our fluxes are not significantly different from estimations from 1994 and 1995 and suggest that absorption of PCBs into the waters is slightly more prevalent than 15 years ago. It was confirmed that Chicago remains an important atmospheric source of PCBs to Lake Michigan.
When the frenzied and irregular food-recruitment dances of bumblebees were first discovered, it was thought that they might
represent an evolutionary prototype to the honeybee waggle dance. It later emerged that the primary function of the bumblebee
dance was the distribution of an alerting pheromone. Here, we identify the chemical compounds of the bumblebee recruitment
pheromone and their behaviour effects. The presence of two monoterpenes and one sesquiterpene (eucalyptol, ocimene and farnesol)
in the nest airspace and in the tergal glands increases strongly during foraging. Of these, eucalyptol has the strongest recruitment
effect when a bee nest is experimentally exposed to it. Since honeybees use terpenes for marking food sources rather than
recruiting foragers inside the nest, this suggests independent evolutionary roots of food recruitment in these two groups
of bees. 相似文献