Epidemiological risk assessment using linked network and grid based modelling: Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora kernoviae in the UK

We developed a stochastic simulation model incorporating most processes likely to be important in the spread of Phytophthora ramorum and similar diseases across the British landscape (covering Rhododendron ponticum in woodland and nurseries, and Vaccinium myrtillus in heathland). The simulation allows for movements of diseased plants within a realistically modelled trade network and long-distance natural dispersal. A series of simulation experiments were run with the model, representing an experiment varying the epidemic pressure and linkage between natural vegetation and horticultural trade, with or without disease spread in commercial trade, and with or without inspections-with-eradication, to give a 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 factorial started at 10 arbitrary locations spread across England. Fifty replicate simulations were made at each set of parameter values. Individual epidemics varied dramatically in size due to stochastic effects throughout the model. Across a range of epidemic pressures, the size of the epidemic was 5–13 times larger when commercial movement of plants was included. A key unknown factor in the system is the area of susceptible habitat outside the nursery system. Inspections, with a probability of detection and efficiency of infected-plant removal of 80% and made at 90-day intervals, reduced the size of epidemics by about 60% across the three sectors with a density of 1% susceptible plants in broadleaf woodland and heathland. Reducing this density to 0.1% largely isolated the trade network, so that inspections reduced the final epidemic size by over 90%, and most epidemics ended without escape into nature. Even in this case, however, major wild epidemics developed in a few percent of cases. Provided the number of new introductions remains low, the current inspection policy will control most epidemics. However, as the rate of introduction increases, it can overwhelm any reasonable inspection regime, largely due to spread prior to detection.     

Assessing the impact of nano- and micro-scale zerovalent iron particles on soil microbial activities: particle reactivity interferes with assay conditions and interpretation of genuine microbial effects

The effects of nano-scale and micro-scale zerovalent iron (nZVI and mZVI) particles on general (dehydrogenase and hydrolase) and specific (ammonia oxidation potential, AOP) activities mediated by the microbial community in an uncontaminated soil were examined. nZVI (diameter 12.5 nm; 10 mg g⁻¹ soil) apparently inhibited AOP and nZVI and mZVI apparently stimulated dehydrogenase activity but had minimal influence on hydrolase activity. Sterile experiments revealed that the apparent inhibition of AOP could not be interpreted as such due to the confounding action of the particles, whereas, the nZVI-enhanced dehydrogenase activity could represent the genuine response of a stimulated microbial population or an artifact of ZVI reactivity. Overall, there was no evidence for negative effects of nZVI or mZVI on the processes studied. When examining the impact of redox active particles such as ZVI on microbial oxidation-reduction reactions, potential confounding effects of the test particles on assay conditions should be considered.     

The performance of passive flow monitors and phosphate accumulating passive samplers when exposed to pulses in external water flow rate and/or external phosphate concentrations

Passive samplers are typically calibrated under constant flow and concentration conditions. This study assessed whether concentration and/or flow pulses could be integrated using a phosphate passive sampler (P-sampler). Assessment involved three 21-day experiments featuring a pulse in flow rate, a pulse of filterable reactive phosphate (FRP) concentration and a simultaneous concentration and flow pulse. FRP concentrations were also determined by parallel grab sampling and the P-sampler calibrated with passive flow monitors (PFMs) and direct measurement of flow rates. The mass lost from the PFM over the deployment periods predicted water velocity to within 5.1, 0.48 and 7.1% when exposed to a flow rate pulse (7.5-50 cm s⁻¹), concentration pulse (5-100 μg P L⁻¹), or both simultaneously. For the P-sampler, good agreement was observed between the grab and passive measurements of FRP concentration when exposed to a pulse in flow (6% overestimation) or concentration (2% underestimation).     

Nitrate Dynamics in Two Streams Impacted by Wastewater Treatment Plant Discharge: Point Sources or Sinks?

We examined nitrate processing in headwater stream reaches downstream of two wastewater treatment plant outfalls during low streamflow. Our objectives were to quantify nitrate mass flux before and after effluent discharge and to use field and laboratory techniques to assess the mechanism of nitrate uptake. Microcosm experiments were utilized to determine the location of nitrate processing, and molecular biomarkers were used to detect and quantify microbial denitrification. At one site, downstream nitrate mass flux was significantly (p = 0.01) lower than sum of upstream and wastewater effluent fluxes, indicating rapid stream assimilation of incoming nitrate in the vicinity of the point source. Microcosm experiments supported the theory that nitrate processing occurs in sediments. Molecular assays for denitrifcation‐associated functional genes nosZ, nirS, and nirK, provided evidence that effluent contained enriched denitrifying communities relative to ambient stream water. Nitrate loss at the site with greater uptake was correlated with sulfate loss (p < 0.01; r² = 0.86), suggesting a possible link between sulfate reducing bacteria and denitrifying bacterial communities. Results suggest there is an opportunity to better understand nitrate dynamics in cases where point sources may act as point sinks under specific sets of conditions.     

Distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in Japanese autopsy tissue and body fluid samples

Brominated flame retardants are components of many plastics and are used in products such as cars, textiles, televisions, and personal computers. Human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants has increased exponentially during the last three decades. Our objective was to measure the body burden and distribution of PBDEs and to determine the concentrations of the predominant PBDE congeners in samples of liver, bile, adipose tissue, and blood obtained from Japanese autopsy cases. Tissues and body fluids obtained from 20 autopsy cases were analyzed. The levels of 25 PBDE congeners, ranging from tri- to hexa-BDEs, were assessed. The geometric means of the sum of the concentrations of PBDE congeners having detection frequencies >50 % (ΣPBDE) in the blood, liver, bile, and adipose tissue were 2.4, 2.6, 1.4, and 4.3 ng/g lipid, respectively. The most abundant congeners were BDE-47 and BDE-153, followed by BDE-100, BDE-99, and BDE-28+33. These concentrations of PBDE congeners were similar to other reports of human exposure in Japan but were notably lower than concentrations than those reported in the USA. Significant positive correlations were observed between the concentrations of predominant congeners and ΣPBDE among the samples analyzed. The ΣPBDE concentration was highest in the adipose tissue, but PBDEs were distributed widely among the tissues and body fluids analyzed. The PBDE levels observed in the present study are similar to those reported in previous studies in Japan and significantly lower than those reported in the USA.     

Anaerobic degradation of five polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from river sediment in Taiwan

This study investigated the anaerobic degradation of five polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from Erren River sediment in southern Taiwan. The degradation rates of PAH were in the order: acenaphthene > fluorene > phenanthrene > anthracene > pyrene. The degradation rate was enhanced when the five compounds were present simultaneously in river sediment. Comparison of the PAH degradation rates under three reducing conditions showed the following order: sulfate-reducing conditions > methanogenic conditions > nitrate-reducing conditions. The addition of electron donors (acetate, lactate and pyruvate) enhanced PAH degradation under methanogenic and sulfate-reducing conditions. However, the addition of acetate, lactate or pyruvate inhibited PAH degradation under nitrate-reducing conditions. The addition of heavy metals, nonylphenol and phthalate esters (PAEs) inhibited PAH degradation. Our results show that sulfate-reducing bacteria, methanogen and eubacteria are involved in the degradation of PAH; sulfate-reducing bacteria constitute a major microbial component in PAH degradation. Of the microorganism strains isolated from the sediment samples, we found that strain ER9 expressed the greatest biodegrading ability.     

Enhancement of nitric oxide decomposition efficiency achieved with lanthanum-based perovskite-type catalyst

Direct decompositions of nitric oxide (NO) by La_0.7Ce_0.3SrNiO₄, La_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄, and Pr_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄ are experimentally investigated, and the catalysts are tested with different operating parameters to evaluate their activities. Experimental results indicate that the physical and chemical properties of La_0.7Ce_0.3SrNiO₄ are significantly improved by doping with Ba and partial substitution with Pr. NO decomposition efficiencies achieved with La_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄ and Pr_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄ are 32% and 68%, respectively, at 400 °C with He as carrier gas. As the temperature is increased to 600 °C, NO decomposition efficiencies achieved with La_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄ and Pr_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄, respectively, reach 100% with the inlet NO concentration of 1000 ppm while the space velocity is fixed at 8000 hr^?1. Effects of O₂, H₂O_(g), and CO₂ contents and space velocity on NO decomposition are also explored. The results indicate that NO decomposition efficiencies achieved with La_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄ and Pr_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄, respectively, are slightly reduced as space velocity is increased from 8000 to 20,000 hr^?1 at 500 °C. In addition, the activities of both catalysts (La_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄ and Pr_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄) for NO decomposition are slightly reduced in the presence of 5% O₂, 5% CO₂, or 5% H₂O_(g). For durability test, with the space velocity of 8000 hr^?1 and operating temperature of 600 °C, high N₂ yield is maintained throughout the durability test of 60 hr, revealing the long-term stability of Pr_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄ for NO decomposition. Overall, Pr_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄ shows good catalytic activity for NO decomposition.

Implications: Nitrous oxide (NO) not only causes adverse environmental effects such as acid rain, photochemical smog, and deterioration of visibility and water quality, but also harms human lungs and respiratory system. Pervoskite-type catalysts, including La_0.7Ce_0.3SrNiO₄, La_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄, and Pr_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄, are applied for direct NO decomposition. The results show that NO decomposition can be enhanced as La_0.7Ce_0.3SrNiO₄ is substituted with Ba and/or Pr. At 600 °C, NO decomposition efficiencies achieved with La_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄ and Pr_0.4Ba_0.4Ce_0.2SrNiO₄ reach 100%, demonstrating high activity and good potential for direct NO decomposition. Effects of O₂, H₂O_(g), and CO₂ contents on catalytic activities are also evaluated and discussed.     

An Investigation of Odors and Volatile Organic Compounds Released during Composting

ABSTRACT

The emissions of odors and volatile organic compounds produced from a commercial composting operation have been studied using a laboratory-scale composting system. The composting activity of a typical commercial compost feed was followed by monitoring the composting temperature, as well as the respiratory rate. Using a controlled aeration system, the gaseous volatiles produced were tested for odors using the "dilution-to-threshold" method, as well as gas composition, as determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

The results indicated that while there may be a reasonable correlation between the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and odors, care has to be taken when trying to identify offensive odors with specific chemical species. However, the data obtained suggests that offensive odors formed during commercial composting may be due to sulfurous and nitrogenous compounds, although their concentrations in the compost gases may not be very high.

The major release of VOCs occurred during the first two weeks of composting, after which the gaseous releases fell dramatically as the composting process proceeded and temperatures started to fall.     

Jumps in Euribor and the effect of ECB monetary policy announcements

The main tool that the ECB uses to influence monetary policy is through the short-term refinancing rate, a change in the short-term interest rate can in turn cause the whole yield curve to shift. In addition to central bank announcements, interbank rates such as Euribor are also influenced by, forward guidance from the ECB, various macroeconomic events, liquidity in the money markets and the perceived credit worthiness of financial institutions. Forward rates are usually used by policy makers and market practitioners to examine expectations, but options provide additional information about the uncertainty of these expectations, particularly future jump expectations. This research examines the jump characteristics of the 3-month Euribor futures contract and its corresponding futures option contracts using both a jump diffusion model with a Bernoulli jump distribution and option-implied parameters using a jump diffusion process with Poisson distribute. We find that both the Bernoulli jump analysis of historical data and implied jump diffusion model succinctly capture diffusion volatility, jumps and jump size. Using a regression analysis to examine the effect of ECB refinancing rate monetary policy announcements on the 3-month Euribor and the associated jump parameters, we find a significant relationship between ECB announcements and the probability of a jump in Euribor. Regression coefficients on the implied jump amplitude parameters suggest that the market correctly anticipates the direction of the rate announcement suggesting option-implied jump parameters can predict, to some extent, ECB announcements. However, our results also show that there is significant uncertainty before the announcements, and this implies that monetary policy communication is not having the full desired effect.