Inactivation of hepatitis A virus and murine norovirus on surfaces of plastic,steel and raspberries using steam-ultrasound treatment

Food and Environmental Virology - The leading causes of foodborne viral disease outbreaks are human norovirus and hepatitis A virus (HAV). Their environmental persistence enables contamination of...     

Der Gehalt verschiedener menschlicher Organe an Pantothensäure und β-Alanin

The Science of Nature -     

Patterns of the Remnant Cichlid Fauna in Southern Lake Victoria

During the years 1984–1987 Lake Victoria in East Africa experienced what is probably the largest mass extinction of contemporary vertebrates. Within a decade about 200 endemic species of haplochromine cichlids disappeared. The extinctions that occurred in the 1980s have been documented predominantly on species of offshore and sub-littoral waters in the Mwanza Gulf of southern Lake Victoria. Although the littoral fauna of southern Lake Victoria had not been examined in detail, their diversity seemed less affected by the changes in the ecosystem. We give results of the first comprehensive inventory of the littoral cichlid fauna in southern Lake Victoria and discuss its conservation status. We also report on new developments in the sub-littoral fauna after 1990. More than 50 littoral and 15 sub-littoral stations were sampled between the years 1991 to 1995. Of the littoral stations, 34 were sampled for the first time. One hundred sixty three species of haplochromines were collected. Of these, 102 species were previously unknown. About two thirds of them live in rocky areas that were sampled for the first time. Littoral rocky habitats harbored the highest diversity. Since 1990, however, 13 more species disappeared from established sampling stations in littoral habitats. Fishing practices, spreading of exotic fishes, water hyacinth, and eutrophication are considered important threats to the littoral fauna. Also in the upper sub-littoral the number of species declined further. On deeper sub-littoral mud bottoms individual and species numbers increased again, although they are nowhere close to those found before the Nile perch (Lates niloticus) upsurge. This fauna differs from the well studied pre-Nile perch fauna. At well-established sampling stations, the sub-littoral zone is dominated by previously unknown species, and some known species have performed dramatic habitat shifts.     

Monitoring of labile metals in turbid coastal seawater using diffusive gradients in thin-films

Diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) have been investigated for in situ monitoring of labile metals in north Australian coastal seawater. Field and experimental data showed that DGT devices provided adequate detection limits, accuracy and precision for monitoring of near-pristine levels of labile Mn, Co, Cu, Cd and Pb when deployed for periods of 3 days. However, Zn could not be adequately determined due to high blank levels. The ratio of DGT-labile to 0.45 microm-filtered metal levels in natural seawater ranged from 0.44-0.63 for Cu but was close to unity for Co and Cd. Elevated levels of suspended particulate matter up to 57.3 mg l(-1) did not have an adverse effect on the performance of DGT.     

Correction to: Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic: Can we detect trends?

Ambio - In the original published article, some of the symbols in figure 1A were modified incorrectly during the typesetting and publication process. The correct version of the figure is provided...     

Arctic terrestrial biodiversity status and trends: A synopsis of science supporting the CBMP State of Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report

Ambio - This review provides a synopsis of the main findings of individual papers in the special issue Terrestrial Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing Arctic. The special issue was developed to...     

Sorption media for stormwater treatment--a laboratory evaluation of five low-cost media for their ability to remove metals and phosphorus from artificial stormwater

Five sorption materials were studied with a focus on polishing pretreated stormwater: crushed limestone, shell-sand, zeolite, and two granulates of olivine. These materials are commercially available at comparatively low cost and have been subjected to a minimum of modification from their natural states. The sorbents were tested for phosphorus, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc at concentration and conditions relevant for typical stormwater. The materials were tested for sorption capacity and kinetics. Desorption was tested under neutral and alkaline conditions and in the presence of chloride. For most sorbent/sorbate combinations, significant sorption occurred within the first minutes of contact between sorbent and sorbate. Treatment to the low microgram per liter range could be achieved by contact times of less than 1 hour. The study indicated that sorption filters can be designed for long life expectancy at comparatively low cost by applying the materials tested.