FISH EMBRYOS: PRACTICAL INDICATORS OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF SIGNWICANCE TO FISHERIES1

ABSTRACT: Cyto-embryological analyses of fish eggs collected in nature can be a more sensitive indicator of environmental pollution than more typical assays conducted on artificially-spawned eggs. This is because uncertainties associated with artificial spawning and rearing are dispensed with, as well as because of the sensitivity of some cellular and subcellular analyses. At the same time, such measures can provide information on interannual differences in egg viability of importance in elucidating great, unexplained variability in fisheries recruitment. Extensive experience with fish embryos from ocean plankton has led to the choice of a particularly useful, practical suite of observations for different developmental stages. This includes measures of embryo mortality, mutagenicity, teratogenicity, abnormal cell differentiation, and development rate. Atlantic mackerel egg mortality has been determined to be greater in the surface waters of the New York Bight apex and along the New Jersey coast than in less polluted portions of the Bight. Chromosome abnormality of mid-stage embryos was also greater in more impacted areas of the same water mass, as well as in the somatic cells of adult mackerel and winter flounder, and in juvenile and adult windowpane flounder caught in more impacted areas. Mortality and abnormality of the mackerel embryos showed statistical associations with toxic hydrocarbons as measured in plankton, and with heavy metals as measured in sea surface waters. The sensitivity, practicality, and relevance of the cytoembryological studies to population dynamics of resource species make this an important means of monitoring environmental quality.     

超声对连续流活性污泥系统污泥减量化研究

在运行稳定的连续流活性污泥系统中采用超声处理剩余污泥并将其返回系统中．研究在不影响出水水质的前提下实现污泥减量化的条件。试验表明：在声能密度0．8W／mL、超声作用时间60s,系统运行稳定后,出水CODCr质量浓度为46mg／L,单位MLSS的SVI为82．6mL／g。此时,系统出水达到CB18918--2002《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》一级排放标准,污泥沉降性良好,污泥减量效果明显。     

An analysis of the causes and circumstances of flood disaster deaths

The objective of this paper is to investigate and to improve understanding of the causes and circumstances of flood disaster deaths. A standardised method of classifying flood deaths is proposed and the difficulties associated with comparing and assessing existing information on flood deaths are discussed. Thirteen flood cases from Europe and the United States, resulting in 247 flood disaster fatalities, were analysed and taken as indicative of flood disaster deaths. Approximately two-thirds of the deaths occurred through drowning. Thus, a substantial number of flood disaster fatalities are not related to drowning. Furthermore, males are highly vulnerable to dying in floods and unnecessary risk-taking behaviour contributes significantly to flood disaster deaths. Based on these results, recommendations are made to prevent loss of life in floods. To provide a more solid basis for the formulation of prevention strategies, better systematic recording of flood fatalities is suggested, especially those caused by different types of floods in all countries.     

Effect of sodium alginate on phosphorus recovery by vivianite precipitation

There are good prospects for phosphorus recovery from excess sludge by vivianite crystallization while a large number of extracellular polymeric substances in sludge will have impact on vivianite precipitation. In this study, as a representative of extracellular polymeric substance, the effect of sodium alginate (SA) on phosphorus recovery by vivianite precipitation under different initial SA concentrations (0–800 mg/L), pH values (6.5–9.0) and Fe/P molar ratios (1:1–2.4:1) was investigated using synthetic wastewater. The results showed that SA in low concentrations (≤400 mg/L) had little inhibitory effect on the phosphorus recovery rate. However, when the concentration of SA was larger than 400 mg/L, the phosphorus recovery rate decreased significantly with increasing SA concentrations. The inhibition rate of 800 mg/L SA was about 3 times as large as that of 400 mg/L SA. It was worth noting that the inhibitory effect of SA on vivianite precipitation decreased with increasing initial pH and Fe/P molar ratios. Additionally, SA has no obvious influence on the composition of products, but the morphology of harvested crystals was transformed from branches to plates or rods in uneven sizes.     

Extra-pair paternity, offspring mortality and offspring sex ratio in the socially monogamous coal tit (Parus ater)

Females of many socially monogamous bird species commonly engage in extra-pair copulations. Assuming that extra-pair males are more attractive than the females’ social partners and that attractiveness has a heritable component, sex allocation theory predicts facultative overproduction of sons among extra-pair offspring (EPO) as sons benefit more than daughters from inheriting their father’s attractiveness traits. Here, we present a large-scale, three-year study on sex ratio variation in a passerine bird, the coal tit (Parus ater). Molecular sexing in combination with paternity analysis revealed no evidence for a male-bias in EPO sex ratios compared to their within-pair maternal half-siblings. Our main conclusion, therefore, is that facultative sex allocation to EPO is absent in the coal tit, in accordance with findings in several other species. Either there is no net selection for a deviation from random sex ratio variation (e.g. because extra-pair mating may serve goals different from striving for ‘attractiveness genes’) or evolutionary constraints preclude the evolution of precise maternal sex ratio adjustment. It is interesting to note that, however, we found broods without EPO as well as broods without mortality to be relatively female-biased compared to broods with EPO and mortality, respectively. We were unable to identify any environmental or parental variable to co-vary with brood sex ratios. There was no significant repeatability of sex ratios in consecutive broods of individual females that would hint at some idiosyncratic maternal sex ratio adjustment. Further research is needed to resolve the biological significance of the correlation between brood sex ratios and extra-pair paternity and mortality incidence, respectively.     

A general model for tagging on multiple component fisheries: an integration of age-dependent reporting rates and mortality estimation

A major objective of analyzing multiple year tag return data in fisheries is to estimate fishing and natural mortality rates which may vary by age class and calendar year. To do this one needs to be able to estimate the reporting rates for the tags recovered. Some fisheries such as that for Southern Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) have multiple components with potentially different reporting rates for the tag returns. In this paper we develop a general model for multi-cohort, multi-year tag return analyses where there are multiple components to the fishery with potentially different reporting rates. We require the assumption that one component has a reporting rate of 100% (i.e., this could be the component of a boat based fishery where scientific observers are present). We show further how it is possible to partition the overall likelihood developed into two conditionally independent components. The first component of the likelihood is the standard multinomial likelihood that allows estimation of fishing and natural mortality rates. It uses the tag return matrix summed over all the components of the fishery. It requires an average reporting rate for the tag returns (where the average reporting rate is a weighted average of the individual reporting rates of the different components). The second component is also multinomial for the individual component tag returns and allows us to estimate individual component reporting rates. However, this requires that we augment our second component tag return likelihood with a catch data likelihood for the corresponding components. The methodology is illustrated on some Southern Bluefin Tuna tagging and catch data. We also discuss important model assumptions and give suggestions for future research including the integration of tag-return and catch at age data analyses.     

亚硒酸钠对蚯蚓的毒性及蚓体富硒作用的研究

以100mgkg^-1,200mgkg^-1,300mg kg^-1等不同质量分数（w)的亚硒酸钠（NaSeO2)添加到蚯吲饵料中,研究了亚硒酸钠处理对蚯蚓生长发育及死亡的影响和蚯蚓的富硒作用,结果表明,3个w(NaSeO2)处理对蚯蚓生长发育和富硒量的影响都达到极显著水平,w(NaSeO2)越高,用其处理饲养的蚯蚓死亡率也较高,富硒量也较大,二者存在一定的正相关性,在200mg kg^-1的w(NaSeO2)处理下,当蚯蚓饲养到84d时,蚯蚓的富硒量可达到332．5mg kg^-1,同时死亡率高达90％。     

Relation Between Individual Tree Mortality and Tree Characteristics in a Polluted and Non-Polluted Environmentx

Data on individual tree mortality in relatively healthy (Berezinskiy biosphere reserve) and damaged (surroundings of the mineral fertilizer plant ‘Achema’) even-aged Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands are presented. Tree size and competition intensity were found to be the most significant predictors of individual tree mortality in all age groups of the relatively healthy Scots pine stands, however, an essential reduction in the closeness of relations between the tree mortality rate and these variables was determined with the aging of stands. An exponential decrease in tree mortality probability with an increase of tree size is characteristic for trees suffering different competition intensity, however, this decrease becomes much more pronounced as the competition pressure increases. The relations of different tree and stand variables with tree mortality probability have been found to become much weaker in the polluted environment. An exponential increase in tree mortality probability with an increase of crown defoliation was characteristic of damaged Scots pine stands, however, the rate of the increase was different in different age and diameter classes. The impact of crown defoliation on tree mortality rate increased with the aging of stands. At the same defoliation level, individual tree mortality probability was much higher for smaller suppressed trees, however, a relative increase in tree mortality probability along with an increase of crown defoliation was more pronounced for dominant trees. Conclusion: a higher mortality of damaged (defoliated) trees should be considered while assessing losses in forest productivity in a polluted environment.     

Potentially preventable prehospital deaths from motor vehicle collisions

Background: In 2011, about 30,000 people died in motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) in the United States. We sought to evaluate the causes of prehospital deaths related to MVCs and to assess whether these deaths were potentially preventable.

Methods: Miami–Dade Medical Examiner records for 2011 were reviewed for all prehospital deaths of occupants of 4-wheeled motor vehicle collisions. Injuries were categorized by affected organ and anatomic location of the body. Cases were reviewed by a panel of 2 trauma surgeons to determine cause of death and whether the death was potentially preventable. Time to death and hospital arrival times were determined using the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data from 2002 to 2012, which allowed comparison of our local data to national prevalence estimates.

Results: Local data revealed that 39% of the 98 deaths reviewed were potentially preventable (PPD). Significantly more patients with PPD had neurotrauma as a cause of death compared to those with a nonpreventable death (NPD) (44.7% vs. 25.0%, P =.049). NPDs were significantly more likely to have combined neurotrauma and hemorrhage as cause of death compared to PPDs (45.0% vs. 10.5%, P <.001). NPDs were significantly more likely to have injuries to the chest, pelvis, or spine. NPDs also had significantly more injuries to the following organ systems: lung, cardiac, and vascular chest (all P <.05). In the nationally representative FARS data from 2002 to 2012, 30% of deaths occurred on scene and another 32% occurred within 1 h of injury. When comparing the 2011 FARS data for Miami–Dade to the remainder of the United States in that year, percentage of deaths when reported on scene (25 vs. 23%, respectively) and within 1 h of injury (35 vs. 32%, respectively) were similar.

Conclusions: Nationally, FARS data demonstrated that two thirds of all MVC deaths occurred within 1 h of injury. Over a third of prehospital MVC deaths were potentially preventable in our local sample. By examining injury patterns in PPDs, targeted intervention may be initiated.     

我国臭氧短期暴露与人群死亡风险的Meta分析

为评价中国臭氧短期暴露对人群死亡率的影响,获取臭氧污染与人群死亡的暴露-反应关系.检索了Pub Med、SCI(Science Ciation Index)、Ebsco、Ovid、中国生物医学文献数据库、维普中文科技期刊全文数据库、万方数据库和中国知网等,检索时间均为1990年1月1日至2014年12月31日,以"O3or ozone"、"mortality"、"China"、"臭氧"及"死亡"为关键词查找关于臭氧短期暴露对人群死亡率影响的文献.依据文献纳入和排除标准,进行文献筛选和质量评价.纳入文献后分别提取臭氧的暴露反应关系,采用Stata12.0软件进行Meta分析,根据异质性结果选择相应的效应模型合并效应值,并对结果进行敏感性分析、发表偏倚检验与校正.结果显示,大气中臭氧浓度每增加10μg·m-3,人群非意外总死亡率、心血管系统疾病和呼吸系统疾病死亡率分别增加0.40%(95%可信限(CI):0.303%~0.498%)、0.448%(95%CI:0.171%~0.724%)和0.461%(95%CI:0.225%~0.697%).与国外其它未纳入中国研究文献的Meta分析结果进行比较发现,中国的臭氧短期暴露对死亡风险影响的暴露-反应关系系数较高.大气中臭氧浓度的上升会导致我国人群非意外总死亡率、心血管系统疾病死亡率和呼吸系统疾病死亡率的增加.