虹鳟鱼鳃及肝脏多种CYP1基因表达模式作为生物标志物监测海河水污染状况

以虹鳟鱼为受试生物,以鳃与肝脏多种CYP1基因为生物标志物,在天津境内开展了野外监测实验,分析多种CYP1转录物的表达量变化及它们在不同监测位点的表达模式.实验通过鱼类吊网在特定水域进行野外监测.结果表明,葛沽与海河入海口的6种CYP1基因表达模式很相近,但表达量不同,表明两地的污染成分相近似但水中污染物负荷不同.除了在马厂减河外,CYP1C1/C3在葛沽与入海口受到明显诱导作用,表明马厂减河中存在的污染物种类不同于其它监测位点.因此,利用虹鳟鱼鳃与肝脏中多种CYP1基因表达模式作为生物标志物监测污染物有着很好的前景,不仅可以作为研究环境污染物对水环境和鱼类健康影响的重要手段,还可以为进一步解释化学混合物成分与多种生物反应之间关系提供理论基础.     

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from waste and biomass to energy plants.

Following the Kyoto protocol with respect to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases emissions, and EU energy policy and sustainability in waste management, there has been an increased interest in the reduction of emissions from waste disposal operations. From the point of view of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, waste incineration and waste co-combustion are very acceptable methods for waste disposal. In order to achieve very low N2O emissions from waste incineration, particularly for waste with higher nitrogen content (e.g. sewage sludge), two factors are important: temperature of incineration over 900 degrees C and avoiding the selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) de-NO(X) method based on urea or ammonia treatments. The more modern selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems for de-NO(X) give rise to negligible sources of N2O.     

An ethnobotanic garden

With the help of local schools and the Mount Subasio Park Community, the Assisi Nature Council has created a small ethnobotanic garden in the centre of the ancient city of Assisi, Italy. This short paper describes the opening of the garden and the philosophy which promoted its construction.     

The legal frameworks that govern fetal surgery in the United Kingdom,European Union,and the United States

The specialty of fetal surgery or fetal intervention is one of the most exciting emerging fields of modern medicine. It is made possible by decades of major developments in antenatal imaging, obstetric anaesthesia, fetal medicine, paediatric surgery, and of course by the bold and novel practitioners willing to take new steps to advance the field. Beginning in the 1970s, it has now reached a stage of maturity where there are several established in utero procedures and countless clinical trials and studies to develop more. But what is the legal situation that fetal surgeons find themselves in? What are the rights and legal protections for the fetus and the mother, both of which are arguably the patient? This article will address this question, discussing and summarising the current legal frameworks governing fetal surgery in the jurisdictions of the United Kingdom, European Court of Human Rights, and the United States of America as well as discuss what the future may hold and how researchers and physicians in the specialty can best navigate the legal environment.     

Environmental performance evaluation of agro-industrial innovations – Part 2: methodological approach for performing vulnerability analysis of watersheds

Environmental vulnerability analysis has been sparsely used in environmental performance evaluation (EPE) of technological innovations. The present paper proposes a methodological approach to carry out vulnerability analysis of watersheds and to integrate this analysis into methods of environmental performance evaluation of agro-industrial innovations. This approach is applied to the Ambitec-Life Cycle method, described in Part 1 (this issue) of this study. The case study of green coconut substrate compared to ripe coconut substrate, also described in Part 1 (this issue), is now presented considering the vulnerability analysis of the watersheds where the life cycle stages of these products occur. The integration of vulnerability analysis in Ambitec-Life Cycle contributes to a better understanding of the environmental aspects of agro-industrial technological innovations with potential to cause significant impacts in watersheds where these innovations are implemented.     

Decomposition of benzo (a) pyrene deposited on glass fiber filters and exposed to sunlight

Measurements of Benzo (a) Pyrene deposited on glass fiber filters exposed to solar radiation indicate a time dependent exponential decrease. Possible impl$\text{i}$ cations of this phenomenon in the measurements of B(a)P in particulate samples are discussed.