Upgrading food wastes by means of bromelain and papain to enhance growth and immunity of grass carp (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ctenopharyngodon idella</Emphasis>)

The fast growing of global aquaculture industry accompanied with increasing pressure on the supply and price of traditional feed materials (e.g., fish meal and soy bean meal). This circumstance has urged the need to search alternative sources of feed stuff. Food waste was used as feed stuff in rearing fish which possess substantial protein and lipid. Grass carp are major species reared in Hong Kong with lower nutritional requirements; it is also an ideal species for investigating the feasibility of using food waste as fish feeds for local aquaculture industry. The growth and immunity, reflected by total protein, total immunologlobulin (IgI), and nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) activity of grass carp blood, were depressed when feeding with food waste feeds without enzymes. However, the supplementation of bromelain and papain in fish feed enhanced the efficient use of food waste by grass carp, which in turn improved the fish immunity. The present results indicated that the addition of those enzymes could enhance the feed utilization by fish and hematological parameters of grass carp, and the improvement on growth and immunity superior to the control (commercial feed) was observed with the addition of bromelain and papain supplement. Addition of 1 and 2 % mixture of bromelain and papain could significantly enhance the lipid utilization in grass carp.     

Glyphosate input modifies microbial community structure in clear and turbid freshwater systems

Since it was commercially introduced in 1974, glyphosate has been one of the most commonly used herbicides in agriculture worldwide, and there is growing concern about its adverse effects on the environment. Assuming that glyphosate may increase the organic turbidity of water bodies, we evaluated the effect of a single application of 2.4?±?0.1 mg l^?1 of glyphosate (technical grade) on freshwater bacterioplankton and phytoplankton (pico, micro, and nanophytoplankton) and on the physical and chemical properties of the water. We used outdoor experimental mesocosms under clear and oligotrophic (phytoplanktonic chlorophyll a?=?2.04 μg l^?1; turbidity?=?2.0 NTU) and organic turbid and eutrophic (phytoplanktonic chlorophyll a?=?50.3 μg l^?1; turbidity?=?16.0 NTU) scenarios. Samplings were conducted at the beginning of the experiment and at 1, 8, 19, and 33 days after glyphosate addition. For both typologies, the herbicide affected the abiotic water properties (with a marked increase in total phosphorus), but it did not affect the structure of micro and nanophytoplankton. In clear waters, glyphosate treatment induced a trend toward higher bacteria and picoeukaryotes abundances, while there was a 2 to 2.5-fold increase in picocyanobacteria number. In turbid waters, without picoeukaryotes at the beginning of the experiment, glyphosate decreased bacteria abundance but increased the number of picocyanobacteria, suggesting a direct favorable effect. Moreover, our results show that the impact of the herbicide was observed in microorganisms from both oligo and eutrophic conditions, indicating that the impact would be independent of the trophic status of the water body.     

Proteomic changes in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Corbicula fluminea</Emphasis> exposed to wastewater from a psychiatric hospital

The increase use of pharmaceutical compounds in veterinary practice and human population results in the ubiquitous presence of these compounds in aquatic ecosystems. Because pharmaceuticals are highly bioactive, there is concern about their toxicological effects in aquatic organisms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the effects of an effluent from a psychiatric hospital (containing a complex mixture of 25 pharmaceutical compounds from eleven therapeutic classes) on the freshwater clam Corbicula fluminea using a proteomic approach. The exposure of C. fluminea to this complex effluent containing anxiolytics, analgesics, lipid regulators, beta blockers, antidepressants, antiepileptics, antihistamines, antihypertensives, antiplatelets and antiarrhythmics induced protein changes after 1 day of exposure in clam gills and digestive gland more evident in the digestive gland. These changes included increase in the abundance of proteins associated with structural (actin and tubulin), cellular functions (calreticulin, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), T complex protein 1 (TCP1)) and metabolism (aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), alcohol dehydrogenase, 6 phosphogluconate dehydrogenase). Results from this study indicate that calreticulin, PCNA, ALDH and alcohol dehydrogenase in the digestive gland and T complex protein 1 (TCP1)) and 6 phosphogluconate dehydrogenase in the gills represent useful biomarkers for the ecotoxicological characterization of psychiatric hospital effluents in this species.     

Suitability of passive sampling for the monitoring of pharmaceuticals in Finnish surface waters

The occurrence of five pharmaceuticals, consisting of four anti-inflammatory and one antiepileptic drug, was studied by passive sampling and grab sampling in northern Lake Päijänne and River Vantaa. The passive sampling was performed by using Chemcatcher® sampler with a SDB-RPS Empore disk as a receiving phase. In Lake Päijänne, the sampling was conducted during summer 2013 at four locations near the discharge point of a wastewater treatment plant and in the years 2013 and 2015 at four locations along River Vantaa. The samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The concentrations of carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen in Lake Päijänne determined by passive sampling ranged between 1.4–2.9 ng L^?1, 15–35 ng L^?1, 13–31 ng L^?1, 16–27 ng L^?1, and 3.3–32 ng L^?1, respectively. Similarly, the results in River Vantaa ranged between 1.2–40 ng L^?1, 15–65 ng L^?1, 13–33 ng L^?1, 16–31 ng L^?1, and 3.3–6.4 ng L^?1. The results suggest that the Chemcatcher passive samplers are suitable for detecting pharmaceuticals in lake and river waters.     

Effect of feeding dried sweet orange (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Citrus sinensis</Emphasis>) peel and lemon grass (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cymbopogon citratus</Emphasis>) leaves on growth performance,carcass traits,serum metabolites and antioxidant status in broiler during the finisher phase

The current experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding dried sweet orange peel (SOP) and lemon grass leaves (LGL) as feed additives on broiler growth performance, serum metabolites, and antioxidant status. A total of 192-day-old (Ross 308) broiler chickens were distributed randomly into 4 dietary treatments with 4 replicates per each treatment. The dietary treatments included a control diet without any feed additive (T1), a diet containing 0.8 % SOP (T2), a diet containing 0.8 % LGL (T3), and a diet containing combination of 0.4 % SOP?+?0.4 % LGL (T4) was fed during the growth period from 22 to 42 days. Feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), carcass traits, serum components, and antioxidant status were measured. At the end of the experimental period, the results indicated that supplementation of SOP and LGL alone or in combination did not significantly (P?>?0.05) affect BWG, FI, FCR, and carcass characteristics in broiler chickens. Serum total protein was increased significantly (P?<?0.05) in T3 and T4 compared to the other treatments. Also, serum globulin increased significantly (P?<?0.05) in the treated groups. Serum glucose, low density lipoprotein, triglyceride, and very low density lipoprotein decreased significantly (P?<?0.05) in the treatment groups, while cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein decreased in T2 compared to the other groups. Significantly (P?<?0.05) higher total antioxidant status was observed in T2 compared to the other treatments. In conclusion, these results indicate that SOP, LGL, and their combination may positively modify some serum components and the antioxidant status without any beneficial effect on growth performance and carcass traits in broiler chickens.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and trace metals in mosque’s carpet dust of Riyadh,Saudi Arabia,and their health risk implications

The main objectives of this work were to identify and determine the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace metals in carpet dust samples from various mosques of the city of Riyadh and to assess the health risks associated with the exposure to these pollutants. Therefore, 31 samples of mosque’s carpet dust from Riyadh were collected. The results showed that 14 PAHs were present in the dust samples with concentrations ranged from 90 to 22,146 ng g^?1 (mean = 4096 ± 4277 ng g^?1) where low molecular weight compounds were dominant. The presence of PAHs were in the order of naphthalene > chrysene and benzo(b)fluoranthene > benzo(a)pyrene > acenaphthene and benzo(k)fluoranthene > pyrene and the absence of indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene and dibenz(a,h)anthracene. The diagnostic ratio coupled with principle component analysis (PCA) revealed mix sources of petrogenic from traffic, stack emission, and pyrogenic inputs from essence and perfumed wood burning. Trace metals were significant in the dust samples, and their concentrations decrease in the order of Zn, Mn, Cu, Cr, Pb, Ni, and V where Zn being the highest (94.4 ± 91.5 μg g^?1) and indium was the lowest (1.9 ± 9.3 μg g^?1). The trace metals were major in southern and central parts of Riyadh and followed the order of central Riyadh > southern Riyadh > western Riyadh > eastern Riyadh > northern Riyadh. Estimated risk based on the total PAHs was found to be 4.30 × 10^?11 for adult and 1.56 × 10^?11 for children. Elemental non-cancer risk for adults ranged from 7.9 × 10^?4 for Co to 7.58 × 10^?1 for Li and for children ranged from 3.70 × 10^?3 for Co to 3.54 for Li. Policy implication and mitigations of PAHs in Riyadh and Saudi Arabia were highlighted.     

Radon emissions from natural gas power plants at The Pennsylvania State University

Burning natural gas in power plants may emit radon (²²²Rn) into the atmosphere. On the University Park campus of The Pennsylvania State University, atmospheric radon enhancements were measured and modeled in the vicinity of their two power plants. The three-part study first involved measuring ambient outdoor radon concentrations from August 2014 through January 2015 at four sites upwind and downwind of the power plants at distances ranging from 80 m to 310 m. For each plant, one site served as a background site, while three other sites measured radon concentration enhancements downwind. Second, the radon content of natural gas flowing into the power plant was measured, and third, a plume dispersion model was used to predict the radon concentrations downwind of the power plants. These predictions are compared to the measured downwind enhancements in radon to determine whether the observed radon concentration enhancements could be attributed to the power plants’ emissions. Atmospheric radon concentrations were consistently low as compared to the EPA action level of 148 Bq m^?3, averaging 34.5 ± 2.7 Bq m^?3 around the East Campus Steam Plant (ECSP) and 31.6 ± 2.7 Bq m^?3 around the West Campus Steam Plant (WCSP). Significant concentrations of radon, ranging from 516 to 1,240 Bq m^?3, were detected in the natural gas. The measured enhancements downwind of the ECSP averaged 6.2 Bq m^?3 compared to modeled enhancements of 0.08 Bq m^?3. Measured enhancements around the WCSP averaged ?0.2 Bq m^?3 compared to the modeled enhancements of 0.05 Bq m^?3, which were not significant compared to observational error. The comparison of the measured to modeled downwind radon enhancements shows no correlation over time. The measurements of radon levels in the vicinity of the power plants appear to be unaffected by the emissions from the power plants.

Implications: Radon measurements at sites surrounding power plants that utilize natural gas did not indicate that the radon concentrations originated from the plants’ emissions. There were elevated radon concentrations in the natural gas supply flowing into the power plants, but combustion dilution puts the concentration below EPA action levels coming out of the stack, so no hazardous levels were expected downwind. Power plant combustion of natural gas is not likely to pose a radiation health hazard unless very different gas radon concentrations or combustion dilution ratios are encountered.     

Species richness,structure, and conservation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nitraria retusa</Emphasis> communities in the coastal salt marshes of Kuwait

Although the coastal salt marshes of Arabian Gulf have been altered extensively by human development activities, there is a paucity of data describing changes in the distribution and abundance of native coastal plant communities. The main objectives of this study are to determine vegetation condition, size structure, and conservation status of Nitraria retusa, a medicinal and salt-tolerant shrub, in disturbed and non-disturbed coastal salt marshes of Kuwait. Size measurements of Nitraria shrubs and nabkas, which are mounds of sediment developed around shrubs, were carried out in 50 quadrats (20 × 20 m²), randomly selected inside and outside Sabah Al-Ahmad Natural Reserve. Species richness and soil properties of nabkas and interspaces, the open areas between the nabkas, were also measured. The results revealed that nabkas of Nitraria in non-disturbed sites are more stable and rich in plant diversity than those in disturbed sites. Mean height and mean canopy diameter of Nitraria shrubs, total plant cover, and species richness are significantly higher in non-disturbed sites than disturbed sites, which indicate the positive influences of conservation for long term on vegetation structure and species richness. The results of soil analyses indicate the important role of nabkas in providing refuges for plant life and species diversity. The present study indicates that more than 50 % of the N. retusa community has been lost during the last few decades. Therefore, N. retusa should be considered an endangered species in Kuwait. The reduction in vegetation cover, a decline in species richness, and the overall degradation of salt marshes are attributed to human development activities along the coast of Kuwait. Effective conservation actions for threatened species in degraded coastal salt marshes of this region include establishment of protective enclosures, prohibitions on development that adversely affects native plant communities, and the planting native salt-tolerant shrubs to facilitate regeneration.     

Does social justice knowledge matter? Education for sustainable development and student attitudes

Recent conjecture on the potential primacy of physical environmental components in education for sustainable development (ESD) efforts serves to question the centrality of social justice education as a component of ESD. This research explores a sustainable development student’s basic knowledge of social justice conditions in their country of residence and its relationships to policy attitudes that should be of importance to ESD, including beliefs about the importance of corporate social responsibility, their endorsement of gross national product as an effective measure of progress, their overall assessment of the social fairness of current national social justice policy, and their endorsement of the goals of Occupy Wall Street. Results obtained using path-model hypothesis testing indicate that accuracy of knowledge of US standing on social justice issues is significantly related to these policy attitudes, providing support for social justice content in ESD endeavors to create students empowered for engagement in broader policy goals.