Evidence of reproductive disturbance in Astyanax lacustris (Teleostei: Characiformes) from the Doce River after the collapse of the Fundão Dam in Mariana,Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The Fundão Dam collapsed, on November 5th, 2015, dumping more than 50 million/m3 of iron ore tailings, enriched with metals, into the Doce River...     

Deployment of parabolic trough concentrated solar power plants in North Africa – a case study for Libya

The study addresses the potential of using concentrated solar power plants (CSPs) as a sustainable alternative of clean energy generation in the Mediterranean region and, in particular, in its North Africa shore. This location presents attractive conditions for the installation of CSPs, in particular high solar irradiation, good manpower concentration, and proximity and availability of water resources for condenser cooling. Energetic, exergetic, and economic analyses were conducted taking into consideration a particular type of CSPs - the parabolic trough concentrated solar power plant, which incorporates the most proven technology and it is already used in Southern Europe (Spain). In addition, the study considered the impact of project financing and incentives on the cost of energy. The combination of higher values for performance and potentially lower levelized cost of electricity (LCE) for the North Africa Mediterranean Rim than the South of Spain region can yield a very favorable return for the invested capital. Tripoli compared to Almeria presented superior performance and potentially lower LCE values ($0.18/kWh versus $0.22/kWh). This is significant, even when it is taken into consideration the fact that the plant in Tripoli, despite a relatively modest capacity factor of 34%, has a large gross power output of 173,886 MWhe. In addition, the implementation at the Tripoli location of a plant similar to the Anadsol plant has a slight advantage (2–3%) in terms of overall efficiency.     

Faecal Coliform Bacteria in Febros River (Northwest Portugal): Temporal Variation, Correlation with Water Parameters, and Species Identification

Febros river water was sampled weekly, during 35 successive weeks, and analyzed for microbiological (total coliforms, faecal coliforms, faecal streptococci and enterococci) and chemical-physical (ammonia and temperature) parameters. All microbiological parameters were highly correlated with each other and with ammonia, suggesting that the simultaneous determination of all variables currently in use in the evaluation of the microbiological quality of waters is probably redundant, and could be simplified, and that ammonia should be tested as a sentinel parameter of the microbiological pollution load of Febros river. From the strains isolated from positive tubes of the faecal coliforms test (multiple tube fermentation technique) and retested in this assay, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytoca and Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae strains were positive, indicating that the faecal coliforms test is not totally specific for Escherichia coli, and can detect other bacteria. Considering that these Klebsiella spp. are not necessarily of faecal origin, it was concluded that the faecal coliforms test can overestimate true faecal pollution. From the strains isolated from positive tubes of the faecal coliforms procedure, only Escherichia coli strains were clearly positive in the β-D-glucuronidase test. All other species were negative or very weakly positive, suggesting that the assay of the β-D-glucuronidase activity is less prone to false positives than the faecal coliforms test in the quantification of Escherichia coli in environmental waters.     

库里提巴市的可持续性与规划程序

可持续性是一个关于人与自然或社会与环境平衡的概念。根据自身历史、地理或社会文化背景的不同，每个人或社会对这一概念的理解也不相同。虽然在理论上缺乏一致性，但是可持续发展概念一直存在于社会的自然与人为空间适应和变化过程中，以及以生存和发展为目的的生产过程中。当涉及到城市或城市空间时，这些过程反映了一个社会认可、支配和确定保证满足基本需求范围的方式，同时确保城市随着时间的发展而生存下来。     

Forecasting model to assess the potential of secondary lead production from lead acid battery scrap

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Lead acid battery (LAB) scrap management is an important issue both environmentally and economically. The recovery of lead from battery scrap leads to...     

Differential timing and latitudinal variation in sex ratio of Aquatic Warblers during the autumn migration

Differential migration has been extensively reported in spring, but less so in autumn, particularly in relation to sex in monomorphic bird species. Here, we analysed the autumn passage of a monomorphic, globally threatened passerine, the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola throughout Western Europe, with regard to age and sex. We showed that, overall, adults migrated earlier than first-year birds, and males migrated earlier than females during the autumn migration. This may be caused by an overall social dominance of adults over immatures, and differentiated migration strategy of males and females. In addition, we found male-skewed sex proportions, with a tendency to an equalised ratio in more southern stopover sites. This may indicate a male bias in the global population or different migration strategies of the sexes. Differential migration may cause the age and sex classes to be exposed differently to various threats affecting demographic structure of the species.     

Methanotrophs and methanotrophic activity in engineered landfill biocovers

The dynamics and changes in the potential activity and community structure of methanotrophs in landfill covers, as a function of time and depth were investigated. A passive methane oxidation biocover (PMOB-1) was constructed in St-Nicéphore MSW Landfill (Quebec, Canada). The most probable number (MPN) method was used for methanotroph counts, methanotrophic diversity was assessed using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting of the pmoA gene and the potential CH₄ oxidation rate was determined using soil microcosms. Results of the PMOB-1 were compared with those obtained for the existing landfill cover (silty clay) or a reference soil (RS). During the monitoring period, changes in the number of methanotrophic bacteria in the PMOB-1 exhibited different developmental phases and significant variations with depth. In comparison, no observable changes over time occurred in the number of methanotrophs in the RS. The maximum counts measured in the uppermost layer was 1.5 × 10⁹ cells g dw^?1 for the PMOB-1 and 1.6 × 10⁸ cells g dw^?1 for the RS. No distinct difference was observed in the methanotroph diversity in the PMOB-1 or RS. As expected, the potential methane oxidation rate was higher in the PMOB-1 than in the RS. The maximum potential rates were 441.1 and 76.0 μg CH₄ h^?1g dw^?1 in the PMOB and RS, respectively. From these results, the PMOB was found to be a good technology to enhance methane oxidation, as its performance was clearly better than the starting soil that was present in the landfill site.     

Water quality assessment of the Tubarão River through chemical analysis and biomarkers in the Neotropical fish Geophagus brasiliensis

The Tubarão River rises in Santa Catarina, Brazil, and has been historically affected by coal mining activities around its springhead. To evaluate its water conditions, an investigation regarding a possible decontamination gradient associated with the increased river flow toward the estuary, as well as the influence of seasonality over this gradient was performed through a series of biomarkers (vitellogenin, comet assay, lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, gluthatione, gluthatione S-transferase, acetylcholinesterase, light microscopy in liver, and scanning electron microscopy in gills) and chemical analysis (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in bile and metal analysis in sediment) in the cichlid Geophagus brasiliensis. Two collections (summer and winter) were made in four distinct sites along the river, while sediments were sampled between those seasons. As expected, the contamination linked exclusively to mining activities was not observed, possibly due to punctual inputs of contaminants. The decontamination gradient was not observed, although seasonality seemed to have a critical role in the responses of biomarkers and availability of contaminants. In the summer, the fish presented higher histopathological damages and lower concentrations of PAHs, while in the winter they showed both higher genetic damage and accumulation of PAHs. The Tubarão suffers impacts from diverse activities, representing health risks for wild and human populations.