Grab and passive sampling applied to pesticide analysis in the São Lourenço river headwater in Campo Verde – MT,Brazil

In this study, the quality of surface water in the headwaters of São Lourenço River in Mato Grosso, Brazil, was evaluated in relation to contamination by pesticides. For this purpose, samples were collected between December 2015 and June 2016 by grab sampling and by passive sampling using an integrative polar organic compound sampler installed in the field during four 14-day cycles between March and June 2016. The analyses were performed by gas chromatography (CG/MS) and by liquid chromatography (UPLC-MS/MS). The results showed the detection of two pesticides (atrazine and pyraclostrobin) of the five analyzed by passive sampling and eight active principles among the 20 analyzed (malathion, diuron, carbofuran, carbendazim, trifluralin, imidacloprid, metolachlor, and acetamiprid) by grab sampling. The detection of 10 pesticides, even almost a decade after the beginning of a recovery process of the ciliary forest, confirms the headwaters' vulnerability to these contaminants and passive sampling proved to be an important tool in capturing small concentrations of pesticides constituting an interesting complement to grab sampling.     

Horizontal lifelines – review of regulations and simple design method considering anchorage rigidity

Among the many occupational risks construction workers encounter every day falling from a height is the most dangerous. The objective of this article is to propose a simple analytical design method for horizontal lifelines (HLLs) that considers anchorage flexibility. The article presents a short review of the standards and regulations/acts/codes concerning HLLs in Canada the USA and Europe. A static analytical approach is proposed considering anchorage flexibility. The analytical results are compared with a series of 42 dynamic fall tests and a SAP2000 numerical model. The experimental results show that the analytical method is a little conservative and overestimates the line tension in most cases with a maximum of 17%. The static SAP2000 results show a maximum 2.1% difference with the analytical method. The analytical method is accurate enough to safely design HLLs and quick design abaci are provided to allow the engineer to make quick on-site verification if needed.     

Biodegradation of anthracene and different PAHs by a yellow laccase from Leucoagaricus gongylophorus

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Laccases produced by Leucoagaricus gongylophorus act in lignocellulose degradation and detoxification processes. Therefore, the use of L....     

应用人工湿地技术处理屠宰废水:设计与运行探讨

污水分散式处理有独特的优点,人工湿地是其中主要的方法,特别适合在农村地区因地制宜地处理生活污水,具有运行费用低、处理效果好的特点,在新农村环境建设中发挥了很大作用。但人工湿地用于污染程度高的行业废水处理国内比较少见。该文依据一项中德环保合作项目——人工湿地技术处理蕲春某屠宰厂废水的示范工程,对人工湿地建造有关的设计及运行管理问题进行总结与探讨。     

On-Scene Injury Severity Prediction (OSISP) Algorithm for Truck Occupants

Objective: The aim of this study is to develop an on-scene injury severity prediction (OSISP) algorithm for truck occupants using only accident characteristics that are feasible to assess at the scene of the accident. The purpose of developing this algorithm is to use it as a basis for a field triage tool used in traffic accidents involving trucks. In addition, the model can be valuable for recognizing important factors for improving triage protocols used in Sweden and possibly in other countries with similar traffic environments and prehospital procedures.

Methods: The scope is adult truck occupants involved in traffic accidents on Swedish public roads registered in the Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition (STRADA) database for calendar years 2003 to 2013. STRADA contains information reported by the police and medical data on injured road users treated at emergency hospitals. Using data from STRADA, 2 OSISP multivariate logistic regression models for deriving the probability of severe injury (defined here as having an Injury Severity Score [ISS] > 15) were implemented for light and heavy trucks; that is, trucks with weight up to 3,500 kg and ??16,500 kg, respectively. A 10-fold cross-validation procedure was used to estimate the performance of the OSISP algorithm in terms of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).

Results: The rate of belt use was low, especially for heavy truck occupants. The OSISP models developed for light and heavy trucks achieved cross-validation AUC of 0.81 and 0.74, respectively. The AUC values obtained when the models were evaluated on all data without cross-validation were 0.87 for both light and heavy trucks. The difference in the AUC values with and without use of cross-validation indicates overfitting of the model, which may be a consequence of relatively small data sets. Belt use stands out as the most valuable predictor in both types of trucks; accident type and age are important predictors for light trucks.

Conclusions: The OSISP models achieve good discriminating capability for light truck occupants and a reasonable performance for heavy truck occupants. The prediction accuracy may be increased by acquiring more data. Belt use was the strongest predictor of severe injury for both light and heavy truck occupants. There is a need for behavior-based safety programs and/or other means to encourage truck occupants to always wear a seat belt.     

Integrated spatial health assessment of yellow perch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Perca flavescens</Emphasis>) populations from the St. Lawrence River,Quebec, Canada) part A: physiological parameters and pathogen assessment

A multi-disciplinary approach was used to evaluate the health of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in the St. Lawrence River (Quebec, Canada), which is experiencing a severe population decline in the downstream portion of the river. Physiological parameters, liver alterations, trace metal concentrations, parasite prevalence and abundance, stable isotope composition, and the presence/absence of the viral hemorragic septicemia virus (VHSV) were evaluated in perch collected at six sites along the river: Lake St. François, Lake St. Louis (north and south), Beauregard Island, and Lake St. Pierre (north and south). Trace metal concentrations in surface water were higher in Lake St. Louis and downstream of a major urban wastewater treatment plant discharge, indicating that this effluent was a significant source of Cu, As, Ag, Zn, and Cd. Levels of Pb in surface water exceeded thresholds for the protection of aquatic life in Lake St. Louis and were negatively correlated with body condition index in this lake. In Lake St. Pierre, Cu, Ag, and Cd bioaccumulated significantly in perch liver and lower body condition index and greater liver damage were observed compared to upstream sites. Parasite analyses indicated a higher abundance of metacercariae of the trematodes Apophallus brevis and Diplostomum spp. in Lake St. Louis, and VHSV was not detected in the liver of yellow perch for all studied sites. Overall, results suggested that the global health of yellow perch from Lake St. Pierre is lower compared to upstream studied sites, which could contribute to the documented population collapse at this site.     

Soil erosion vulnerability under scenarios of climate land-use changes after the development of a large reservoir in a semi-arid area

Climate and land-use/cover changes (LUCC) influence soil erosion vulnerability in the semi-arid region of Alqueva, threatening the reservoir storage capacity and sustainability of the landscape. Considering the effect of these changes in the future, the purpose of this study was to investigate soil erosion scenarios using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model. A multi-agent system combining Markov cellular automata with multi-criteria evaluation was used to investigate LUCC scenarios according to delineated regional strategies. Forecasting scenarios indicated that the intensive agricultural area as well as the sparse and xerophytic vegetation and rainfall-runoff erosivity would increase, consequently causing the soil erosion to rise from 1.78 Mg ha^?1 to 3.65 Mg ha^?1 by 2100. A backcasting scenario was investigated by considering the application of soil conservation practices that would decrease the soil erosion considerably to an average of 2.27 Mg ha^?1. A decision support system can assist stakeholders in defining restrictive practices and developing conservation plans, contributing to control the reservoir's siltation.     

Pesticide residue removal in classic domestic processing of tomato and its effects on product quality

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of several household practices (washing with water or acidic, alkaline, and oxidizing solutions, and peeling) in minimizing pesticide residue contamination of tomatoes, as well as the impact on the quality of the treated fruit. Tests were performed using two systemic fungicides (azoxystrobin and difenoconazole) and one contact fungicide (chlorothalonil). Solid-liquid extraction with low temperature partition (SLE/LTP) and liquid-liquid extraction with low temperature partition (LLE/LTP) were used to prepare the samples for pesticides determination by gas chromatography. Washing the tomatoes with water removed approximately 44% of chlorothalonil, 26% of difenoconazole, and 17% of azoxystrobin. Sodium bicarbonate (5%) and acetic acid (5%) solutions were more efficient, removing between 32 and 83% of the residues, while peeling removed from 68 to 88% of the pesticides. The washing solutions altered some fruit quality parameters, including acidity and chroma, and also caused weight loss. Acetic acid (0.15 and 5%) and hypochlorite (1%) solutions had the greatest effect on these parameters.