Apples, Oranges, and Probabilities: Integrating Multiple Factors into Biodiversity Conservation with Consistency

We explore the problem of integrating some of the many factors involved in conservation planning by focusing on their effects on a common currency of conservation success, the probability of persistence. This approach has the potential to reduce many of the difficulties inherent in combining different pattern and process factors. For handling information expressed as probabilities, five area-selection methods are compared.     

Nitro-PAH exposures of occupationally-exposed traffic workers and associated urinary 1-nitropyrene metabolite concentrations

The assessment of occupational exposure to diesel exhaust(DE) is important from an epidemiological perspective. Urinary biomarkers of exposure have been proposed as a novel approach for measuring exposure to DE. In this study, we measured the concentrations of two urinary metabolites of 1-nitropyrene(1NP), a nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon that has been suggested as a molecular marker of diesel particulate matter. These two metabolites, 6-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene and 8-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene, were determined in urine samples(10 m L) from a small group of workers who were occupationally-exposed to vehicle exhaust in Trujillo, Peru, before and after their workshifts. Workshift exposures to1 NP, as well as PM_(2.5), 2-nitropyrene and 2-nitrofluoranthene, were also measured.Exposures to 1NP were similar in all studied workers, averaging 105 ± 57.9 pg/m~3(±standard deviation). Median urinary concentrations of the average of the pre- and post-exposure samples for 6-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene and 8-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene, were found to be 3.9 and 2.3 pg metabolite/mg creatinine, respectively in the group of occupationally-exposed subjects(n = 17) studied. A direct relationship between workshift exposure to 1NP and urinary 1NP metabolites concentrations was not observed. However,the 1NP exposures and the creatinine-corrected urinary concentrations of the hydroxynitropyrene metabolites in these Peruvian traffic workers were similar to occupationally-exposed taxi drivers in Shenyang, China, and were higher than biomarker levels in office workers from Trujillo without occupational exposure to vehicle exhaust.This study provides further evidence that urinary metabolites of 1NP are associated with exposure to DE and may serve as a useful exposure biomarker.     

Revealing the economic channels of natural impacts: an extended input–output subsystems application to GHG gases and water use

While a small set of economic activities generates most of the direct environmental burdens, the complexity of connections within an economic system requires consideration of the effects caused by the interdependences between its different agents. To date, however, the input–output (I–O) subsystems literature has been limited to uncovering the intersectoral linkages of direct and indirect environmental impacts within an economy and the connections between sectors and private consumption have thus not attracted much attention. This paper proposes an I–O subsystems model that endogenously incorporates not only production sectors but also household consumption to capture the entire channel of environmental impacts. The empirical application focuses on carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂-eq.) emissions and water use associated with production sectors and households defined in the I–O table for a Spanish region, Extremadura. The results highlight the key role of the effects induced by private consumption on the environmental burdens of services.     

Effect of fulvic acid on the photochemical degradation of methylparathion

Photochemical degradation of methylparathion (O,O,–dimethyl O-4 nitrophenylphosphorothioate) in the presence of fulvic acid (FA) between pH 2 and 7 was studied by differential pulse polarography (DPP). Fulvic acid and its photoproducts were not electro-active under the experimental conditions used in this study, and only the pesticide exhibited polarographic signals. Photolysis of methylparathion in acid media was sensitized by fulvic acid since the pesticide did not degrade in the absence of this compound. Methylparathion degradation was observed at each of the studied pHs. The reaction was first-order with rate constant values ranging from 3.3 × 10^?3 to 8.8 × 10^?3min^?1.     

Application of ANN and ANFIS models for reconstructing missing flow data

Hydrological yearbooks, especially in developing countries, are full of gaps in flow data series. Filling missing records is needed to make feasibility studies, potential assessment, and real-time decision making. In this research project, it was tried to predict the missing data of gauging stations using data from neighboring sites and a relevant architecture of artificial neural networks (ANN) as well as adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). To be able to evaluate the results produced by these new techniques, two traditionally used methods including the normal ratio method and the correlation method were also employed. According to the results, although in some cases all four methods presented acceptable predictions, the ANFIS technique presented a superior ability to predict missing flow data especially in arid land stations with variable and heterogeneous data. Comparing the results, ANN was also found as an efficient method to predict the missing data in comparison to the traditional approaches.     

Heavy metal exposure in large game from a lead mining area: Effects on oxidative stress and fatty acid composition in liver

The Pb mining area of the valley of Alcudia and the Sierra Madrona mountains (S. Spain) has been exploited intermittently for over 2100 years, since Roman occupation and up until the late 1900s. Red deer (n = 168) and wild boar (n = 58) liver and bone (metacarpus) were analyzed for Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, As and Se. Lipid peroxidation, total and oxidized glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), GSH peroxidase (GPX) and fatty acid composition were studied in liver of red deer. The concentrations of Pb in liver and bone of red deer and wild boar were higher in the mining area than in the control area, and higher in the wild boar than red deer, but well below the level associated with clinical signs of Pb poisoning. Liver levels of Cu, Cd and Se were also higher in red deer from the mining area. Red deer from the mining area had 39% less total GSH than in the control area. The percentage of docosahexaenoic acid in liver of red deer from the mining area was 16% lower than in the control area.     

Determination of seventeen endocrine disruptor compounds and their spatial and seasonal distribution in Ria Formosa Lagoon (Portugal)

In spite of its outstanding ecological and touristic importance the Ria Formosa Lagoon shows signs of anthropogenic pollution. Nonetheless, until the present survey no studies had ever documented the measurement of natural and pharmaceutical estrogens (17β-estradiol, estrone, and 17α-ethynylestradiol), xenoestrogenic industrial pollutants (4-octylphenol, 4-nonylphenol, and their mono and diethoxylates and bisphenol A), phytoestrogens (formononetin, biochanin A, daidzein, genistein), and sitosterol in this area. The 17 compounds measured herein are known as endocrine disrupters (EDCs) and act over the endocrine system even in few amounts (ng L^?1–μg L^?1). Thus to conclude about the influx of EDCs in the lagoon, water samples were taken every 2 months, during 1 year (2010), in low tide at nine sites distributed along the coastline. Water samples (1 L) were preconcentrated in the Oasis HLB cartridges and cleaned in silica cartridges before their analysis by GC-MS. Data showed the ubiquitous presence of potentially hazardous amounts of estrogens (particularly of ethynylestradiol, up to 24.3 ng L^?1), nonylphenol (up to 547 ng L^?1), and sitosterol (up to 12,300 ng L^?1), mainly in summer, suggesting that the increase of the local number of inhabitants (tourists), the rise of the water temperature (up to 26 °C), and the blooming of local flora may interfere with the water quality parameters. This makes the lagoon a potential model to study. Taking into account the data, it was concluded that there are conditions for the occurrence of endocrine disruption in aquatic animals, even in areas included in the natural park of the Formosa. Besides, both the high amounts of un-ionized ammonia (up to 0.3 mg L^?1) and phosphates (up to 1.6 mg L^?1) my pose risks for local fauna and humans.     

Laboratory study on the leaching potential of spent alkaline batteries using a MSW landfill leachate

Two leaching tests were carried out, one with whole batteries and another with cross-cut batteries. In both cases, NEN 7343 (a Nederland’s Standard) procedure was followed using a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill leachate as extraction solution. Seven fractions were collected corresponding to cumulative liquid/solid (L/S) ratio from 0.1 to 10.0. Those fractions were separately characterized in terms of pH, conductivity, redox potential, density, sulphate, chloride, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Tl and Zn. Results showed that the influence of the alkaline batteries in the landfill leachate composition varies with their physical integrity and with the L/S ratio, and several variations were observed throughout the tests. The leachate pH and redox potential increased as result of the contact with batteries, particularly pH in the test with the cross-cut batteries. The leachate density and conductivity did not change significantly with the whole batteries, in contrast with the test with cross-cut batteries.