Metabolic response under different salinity and temperature conditions for glass eel Anguilla japonica

Diadromous fish often enter freshwater directly from seawater via fish ladders or channels built in estuarine dams. The oxygen consumption rates (OCR) of glass eel, Anguilla japonica, were determined using an automatic intermittent flow respirometer under various salinity and temperature regimes to physiologically explain this direct movement. The endogenous rhythm of the OCR in wild glass eels, freshly collected from estuaries, was nearly synchronous with the tidal pattern at the estuarine collection site. When the salinity was changed from 20 psu (12°C) at a constant temperature to that of freshwater, the OCR of the glass eels decreased by 21.6±7.0% (mean ± SD) (P<0.05), showing a dampened rhythm for about 48 h. After this period of impediment, the glass eels resumed normal metabolic activity. Direct migration from seawater to freshwater under constant temperature would result in a severe physiological stress for these glass eels for about two days. When the glass eels were exposed to a cyclic change in water temperature of 2°C 26 h⁻¹, as they encounter in estuaries, and then were introduced to freshwater abruptly, the OCR rhythm corresponded to the cyclic changes in water temperature after exposure to freshwater. Under these conditions, the mean OCR of the glass eels had a small difference before and after exposure to freshwater. These data explained how glass eels can directly move from sea water into the freshwater without any apparent metabolic stress in the estuaries showing cyclic change in water temperature (Δt=2°C).     

Characterization of PM2.5 aerosols dominated by local pollution and Asian dust observed at an urban site in Korea during aerosol characterization experiments (ACE)--Asia Project

Daily fine particulate matter (PM2.5) samples were collected at Gwangju, Korea, during the Aerosol Characterization Experiments (ACE)-Asia Project to determine the chemical properties of PM2.5 originating from local pollution and Asian dust (AD) storms. During the study period, two significant events occurred on April 10-13 and 24-25, 2001, and a minor event occurred on April 19, 2001. Based on air mass transport pathways identified by back-trajectory calculation, the PM2.5 dataset was classified into three types of aerosol populations: local pollution and two AD aerosol types. The two AD types were transported along different pathways. One originated from Gobi desert area in Mongolia, passing through Hunshandake desert in Northern Inner Mongolia, urban and polluted regions of China (AD1), and the other originated in sandy deserts located in the Northeast Inner Mongolia Plateau and then flowed southward through the Korean peninsula (AD2). During the AD2 event, a smoke plume that originated in North Korea was transported to our study site. Mass balance closures show that crustal materials were the most significant species during both AD events, contributing -48% to the PM2.5 mass; sulfate aerosols (19.1%) and organic matter (OM; 24.6%) were the second greatest contributors during the AD1 and AD2 periods, respectively, indicating that aerosol properties were dependent on the transport pathway. The sulfate concentration constituted only 6.4% (4.5 microg/m3) of the AD2 PM2.5 mass. OM was the major chemical species in the local pollution-dominated PM2.5 aerosols, accounting for 28.7% of the measured PM2.5 mass, followed by sulfate (21.4%), nitrate (15%), ammonium (12.8%), elemental carbon (8.9%), and crustal material (6.5%). Together with substantial enhancement of the crustal elements (Mg, Al, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, Mn, Fe, Sr, Zr, Ba, and Ce), higher concentrations of pollution elements (S, V, Ni, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb) were observed during AD1 and AD2 than during the local pollution period, indicating that, in addition to crustal material, the AD dust storms also had a significant influence on anthropogenic elements.     

Prenatal diagnosis in two cases of de novo complex balanced chromosomal rearrangements. Three-year follow-up in one case

We report two cases of apparently balanced complex de novo chromosomal rearrangements (BCCR) detected prenatally at 17 weeks and 10 weeks of gestation, respectively. Chromosomes were studied using GTG-banding and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). In one case four chromosomes and in the other case three chromosomes were involved in the rearrangements. One of the pregnancies was terminated and no external or internal abnormalities were detected at autopsy. The other pregnancy continued to term. Level III ultrasound examination showed no abnormalities. The child is now 3 years old and has neither congenital anomalies nor evidence of delayed psychomotor development.     

A Framework for Monitoring and Evaluating Carbon Mitigation by Farm Forestry Projects: Example of a Demonstration Project in Chiapas,Mexico

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - In Mexico an estimated 4.5 × 106ha are available for farm forestry, while up to 6.1 × 106 ha could be saved from deforestation by...     

Distribution features of biological hazardous pollutants in residential environments in Korea

This research has been conducted continuously since 2009 as part of a cohort of studies examining relationships between asthma and genetic factors, dietary habits, and environmental factors. Based on data from environmental research on house dust mites and endotoxins, which are widely known as pollutants in bedding that cause asthma in pregnant women and children, this work was conducted to obtain basic data that can be used in future cohort studies that analyze links between distribution of biological hazards and physical features of residential environments. The detection rates of house dust mite allergens, Der p1 and Der f1, were 52.7 and 86.5 %, respectively, indicating that Der f1 is a dominant species in domestic indoor environments. According to comparisons between concentrations of house dust mites and endotoxins in bedding of pregnant women and children, Der p1 and endotoxins showed significantly lower concentrations in bedding of pregnant women compared with those in bedding of children, whereas Der f1 showed no significant difference in concentration according to bedding.     

Overflow risk analysis for designing a nonpoint sources control detention

This paper presents a design method by which the overflow risk related to a detention for managing nonpoint pollutant sources in urban areas can be evaluated. The overall overflow risk of a nonpoint pollutant sources control detention can be estimated by inherent overflow risk and operational overflow risk. For the purpose of calculating overflow risk, the 3-parameter mixed exponential distribution is applied to describe the probability distribution of rainfall event depth. As a rainfall-runoff calculation procedure required for deriving a rainfall capture curve, the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service runoff curve number method is applied to consider the nonlinearity of the rainfall-runoff relation. Finally, the detention overflow risk is assessed with respect to the detention design capacity and drainage time. The proposed overflow risk assessment is expected to provide a baseline to determine quantitative parameters in designing a nonpoint sources control detention.     

Alkali borosilicate glass by fly ash from a coal-fired power plant

The possibility of using coal fly ash as a silica source for alkali borosilicate glass was investigated. Alkali borosilicate glasses were prepared from the coal fly ash mixed with 30 wt.% reagents composed of Na(2)O and B(2)O(3) by susceptor-induction heating. Their densities ranged from 2.24 to 2.55 g cm(-3) and decreased as the amount of B(2)O(3) addition increased. However, the Vickers microhardness showed a different tendency with the density since the glass network connectivity improved by boron anomaly, which was identified by a nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. The Vickers microhardness of the glass product, with the addition of 15 wt.% B(2)O(3) and 15 wt.% Na(2)O, was about 4030 MPa. Furthermore, the changes in microstructure were consistent with those in the chemical stability by the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP).     

Abundance and sources of hydrophilic and hydrophobic water-soluble organic carbon at an urban site in Korea in summer

In this study, the characteristics of total water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and isolated WSOC fractions were examined to gain a better understanding of the pathway of organic aerosol production. 24 h PM(2.5) samples were collected during the summer (July 28-August 28, 2009) at an urban site in Korea. A glass column filled with XAD7HP resin was used to separate the filtered extracts into hydrophilic (WSOC(HPI)) and hydrophobic (WSOC(HPO)) fractions. The origins of air mass pathways arriving at the sampling site were mostly classified into three types, those originating over the East Sea of Korea that passed over the eastern inland urban and industrial regions (type I); those from the marine (western/southwestern/southern marine) and passed over the national industrial complex regions (type II); and those from northeastern China that passed through North Korea and metropolitan areas of South Korea (type III). Measurements showed an increase in the average WSOC fraction of total OC from the type II to III air mass (53 to 64%) periods. Also, higher SO(4)(2-)/SO(x) (=SO(2) + SO(4)(2-)) was observed in the type III air mass (0.70) than those in the types I (0.49) and II (0.43). According to the average values of WSOC/OC and SO(4)(2-)/SO(x), measurements suggest that the aerosols collected during the type III air mass period were more aged or photo-chemically processed than those during the types I and II air mass periods. The relationship between the SO(4)(2-)/SO(x) and WSOC/OC (R(2) = 0.64) suggests that a significant fraction of the observed WSOC at the site could be formed by an oxidation process similar to SO(4)(2-) aerosols, probably the oxidation process using OH radicals, or in-cloud processing. The photochemical production of WSOC(HPO) was also observed to significantly contribute to the total OC.     

Building institutions based on information disclosure: lessons from GRI's sustainability reporting

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the best-known framework for voluntary reporting of environmental and social performance by business worldwide. Using extensive empirical data, including interviews and documentary analysis, we examine GRI's organizational field and conclude that since its modest beginnings in 1999 GRI has been by several measures a successful institutionalization project. But the institutional logic of this new entity, as an instrument for corporate sustainability management, leaves out one of the central elements of the initial vision for GRI: as a mobilizing agent for many societal actors. This emergent logic reflects GRI's dominant constituency – large global companies and financial institutions and international business management consultancies – and not the less active civil society organizations and organized labor. We attribute these developments to factors such as building GRI within the existing institutional structures; the highly inclusive multistakeholder process; and the underdeveloped base of information users. From the institutional theory perspective, this case shows how the process of institutionalization is deeply affected by initial strategies of the founders, and how it reproduces existing power relations. From the governance perspective, this case leads us to question the power of commodified information to mobilize civil society and to strengthen governance based on partnerships.     

Complex host marking in the cabbage root fly

Summary. The cabbage root fly marks an oviposition site with two different chemical messages. Plants that were exposed to ovipositing flies are less acceptable than control plants, while sand particles that were closely associated with an actual oviposition site stimulate oviposition. By combining the information from these opposing messages, the cabbage root fly may be able to optimise the size of its egg clusters in relation to the food available for the larvae. The findings might account for the aggregated oviposition observed in this species.