Risk analysis in research environment – Part II: Weighting Lab Criticity Index using the Analytic Hierarchy Process

A new methodology for risk analysis, namely Laboratory Assessment and Risk Analysis – LARA, is proposed in the companion paper to assess risks in research/academia environment. The core of this methodology relies on defining the adequate role player factors to assess risks in research environment and their mathematical combination to quantify and assess the risk. Quantitative outcome of the analysis results in a Lab Criticity Index – LCI, constructed as a rather comprehensive function of probability, severity, risk worsening factors, research specificities and Hazard Detectability. Even though the LCI model can be used at this stage, its “surjective” and “linear” properties were outlined; the non differentiation between LCI factors remains to be solved.The present article addresses this problematic, bringing a solution based on a Multicriteria Decision Making – MCDM modeling, namely Analytic Hierarchy Process – AHP. This leads to a refined criticity index being “bijective” and unique for every combination of factors.A preliminary risk assessment based on the LARA methodology is discussed for a research lab working with lasers.     

Prenatal molecular diagnosis in RASA1-related disease

RASA1-related disease is a rare autosomal dominant disease characterized by capillary malformations, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), and/or arteriovenous fistulas (AFVs). Penetrance is nearly complete and vascular malformations may cause serious complications such as organ injury due to oxygenation disorder, brain abscess, hemorrhage, and stroke. Early diagnosis is useful in order to discuss optimal management, including AVMs/AVFs embolization or surgical procedures, and try to prevent some of the complications. In this context, molecular testing of RASA1 gene mutation in relatives may help to better manage the family. All arteriovenous malformations are however not accessible to such procedures. In addition, these therapeutic procedures may result in potential side effects and complications. A couple was referred to our genetics unit and asked us for prenatal genetic testing about a RASA1 mutation. Here, we discuss about arguments that led our team to accept prenatal testing. To the best of our knowledge, no molecular prenatal diagnosis was reported until now in RASA1-related diseases. This first report of prenatal diagnosis in RASA1-related diseases may also offer perspectives for a more general discussion in the field of inherited arteriovenous malformations.     

Automatic continuous river monitoring of nitrate using a novel ion-selective electrode

On-site continuous measurement of nitrate in the River Taw situated in Devon (UK) was performed automatically for two months using a recently developed ion-selective electrode (ISE). A non-submersible electrode support system was developed and a field instrument was constructed comprising the nitrate-ISEs, a reference electrode and a temperature probe connected through a pre-amplifier to a data-logger and battery supply. The nitrate-ISE was constructed using a commercially available electrode body with a membrane incorporated into the tip. This rubbery membrane contained the sensor molecule (N,N,N-triallylleucine betaine chloride, 6.5% m/m) covalently bound to polystyrene-block-polybutadiene-block-polystyrene, SBS, (43.5% m/m), with 2-nitrophenyloctyl ether (2-NPOE) as mediator (40% m/m). The Nernstian slope was -59.1 mV per decade over a linear range of 1400-0.07 mg L(-1) nitrate-N. The limit of detection was 0.007 mg L(-1) nitrate-N with a selectivity coefficient for nitrate against chloride (k(pot)NO3-, Cl-) of 3.4 x 10(-3). The speed of response was less than a minute over the linear Nernstian range. The lifetime in the laboratory exceeded 5 months with no potentiometric drift over the linear Nernstian range. A temperature correction algorithm was also used to accomodate the temperature changes encountered in the river. The river nitrate results obtained with the ISEs at hourly intervals compared very favourably (R2 = 0.9) with those obtained with laboratory automated chemical determinations made on contemporaneous river samples over a concentration range 0.55-2.00 mg L(-1) nitrate-N. The ISEs did not require re-calibration and no deterioration in performance or fouling of the membrane surface was observed during 40 days.     

Devising Local Sustainable Development Indicators: from technical issues to bureaucratic stakes. The Greater Lyons experience

The paper will draw on the experience of Greater Lyons (France) in the development and implementation of air quality indicators in the framework of an environmental monitoring body, created in 1992. The analysis shows a patent discrepancy between the strength of the political support enjoyed by the monitoring body at its creation and its gradual confinement within the administrative structure of Greater Lyons. In fact, developing and using indicators raises not only technical issues but also political and bureaucratic stakes. The experience provides food for thought as regards the emergence of sustainable development issues within large and complex structures such as that of Greater Lyons. The paper points out that if indicators are hybrid objects, monitoring bodies, which are supposed to devise and promote them, are hybrid as well: their management, in terms of aims, means and position within the administrative body, is at least as important as their so-called 'technical' function.     

Mediterranean forests,land use and climate change: a social-ecological perspective

Regional Environmental Change - Mediterranean forests are found in the Mediterranean basin, California, the South African Cape Province, South and southwestern Australia and parts of Central Chile....     

Response of phase II detoxification enzymes in Phragmites australis plants exposed to organochlorines

Mixed pollution is a characteristic of many industrial sites and constructed wetlands. Plants possessing an enzymatic detoxifying system that is able to handle xenobiotics seems to be a viable option for the removal of mixed persistent contaminants such organochlorines (OCs: monochlorobenzene (MCB), 1,4-dichlorobenzene (DCB), 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB), γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH)). In this study, Phragmites australis plants were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of OCs (7 days), in single-exposure (0.8 to 10 mg?l^?1) and in mixture of OCs (0.2 mg?l^?1 MCB?+?0.2 mg?l^?1 DCB?+?2.5 mg?l^?1 TCB?+?0.175 mg?l^?1 HCH). Studies were conducted on the detoxification phase II enzymes; glutathione S-transferases (GST), and glucosyltransferases (UGT). Measurements of GST and UGT activities revealed that OCs may be buffered by glutathione and glucose conjugation. There appeared to be a correlation between the effects on phase II enzymes and the degree of chlorination of the benzene ring with, for example, the greatest effects being obtained for HCH exposure. In the case of mixed pollution, the induction of some GST isoenzymes (CDNB, 35 % non-significant) and UGT (118 %) in leaves and the inhibition of phase II enzymes in the other organs were measured. UGTs appear to be key enzymes in the detoxification of OCs.     

Biliary PAH metabolites, EROD activity and DNA damage in dab (Limanda limanda) from Seine Estuary (France)

The Seine Estuary is well known to be widely contaminated by organic pollutants and especially by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Fish are known to metabolize PAHs, leading to different toxic effects at both cellular and sub-cellular levels. In this work, we studied the relationships between the 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity in the liver, the level of DNA strand breaks in blood cells and the concentration of PAH metabolites in the bile of the sentinel flatfish species Limanda limanda. Muscle and liver samples were analysed for parent PAH levels. Female and male dabs of two size classes (juveniles and adults) were collected by trawling in two sites with different degrees of pollution during March and September 2005 and 2006. Significant effects of sex, age, site and season were demonstrated on EROD activity and the level of strand breaks. Parent PAH concentrations in dabs did not allow discriminating of the two sampling sites. However, for PAH metabolites, significant differences were observed with sites and seasons. Dabs collected at the mouth of the estuary appeared to be the most impacted when looking at the results obtained with the three selected markers. The significant correlations observed between the level of PAH metabolites and the level of DNA lesions showed the importance of a combined analysis of chemical and biochemical markers to correctly assess the contribution of chemical contamination to the toxic effects measured in situ in fish.     

Histopathological lesions and DNA adducts in the liver of European flounder (Platichthys flesus) collected in the Seine estuary versus two reference estuarine systems on the French Atlantic coast

An epidemiological survey was conducted in the Seine estuary and in two smaller and relatively preserved estuaries on the French Atlantic coast in order to estimate the occurrence of liver lesions in European flounder, Platichthys flesus, and also to seek putative risk factors for the recorded pathologies. Four hundred and seventy-eight fish of both sexes and of different size ranges were sampled in the three studied areas, 338 of which in the Seine estuary. All fish were examined for histopathological liver lesions, while DNA adducts and otoliths were analyzed on a subsample. Five categories of hepatic lesions were recorded with the following prevalence for the Seine estuary: 36.7 % inflammations, 8 % parasites (mainly encysted nematodes), 6.5 % foci of cellular alteration (FCA), 5.3 % foci of necrosis or regeneration (FNR), and 1.5 % tumors. Inflammation occurrence increased according to age, contrary to parasitic infestations and FCA which were more prevalent in young fish, notably those of <1 year old (group 0). Tumors were only observed in females of more than two winters. Females exhibited a higher prevalence of tumors (3.0 %) and FCA (6.5 %) than males (0 and 2.6 %, respectively). Parasitic and infectious lesions and FNR were equally distributed in males and females. The prevalence of FNR was also shown to vary according to sampling season, with significantly more occurrences of liver necrosis in the fish collected in summer than in spring. Spatial differences were observed with a higher occurrence of encysted parasites in flounders from the upper Seine estuary, while inflammations predominated in flounders living downstream. Temporal trends were also noted, with an increased prevalence of parasitic infestations, inflammations, and FCA in the 2002–2003 period in comparison to the 1996–1997 one. The three flounder populations from the Seine estuary (Normandy), Ster estuary (Brittany), and Bay of Veys (Normandy) showed different spectra of hepatic lesions. Flounders from the Bay of Veys had relatively few liver lesions as compared to flounders from the two other estuaries. Flounders from the Ster estuary exhibited the highest prevalence of parasites (37.2 %) and inflammations (51.1 %). Finally, FCA and liver tumors occurred at very similar levels in both flounder populations from the Seine and the Ster estuaries. Group 0 flounders inhabiting the upper Seine estuary were more prone to parasitic and pre-neoplastic hepatic lesions and had higher levels of liver DNA adducts than the older ones living downstream. It was postulated that group 0 European flounders may serve as valuable bioindicators for assessing the quality of estuarine waters and the health status of euryhaline fish populations.