Estrus cycle asynchrony in wild female chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii

Although estrous synchrony has been reported in a number of mammalian species, most often among primates, methodological and analytical problems make it difficult to interpret these results. We developed a novel estrous synchrony index and employed a randomization procedure to analyze long-term observations of female chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) estrous cycles at the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania. Our results revealed that female chimpanzees at Mahale avoid synchronizing their estrous periods with each other. We also found that birthrates decreased as the breeding sex ratio increased. We suggest that estrous asynchrony decreases female–female competition for mates. Asynchrony may also reduce the potential for male sexual coercion by nonpreferred mating partners.     

Bioleaching of metal from municipal waste incineration fly ash using a mixed culture of sulfur-oxidizing and iron-oxidizing bacteria

We investigated the behavior and characteristics of metal leaching from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash among pure cultures of a sulfur-oxidizing bacterium (SOB) and an iron-oxidizing bacterium (IOB) and a mixed culture. The IOB has a high metal-leaching ability, though its tolerability against the ash addition is low. The SOB might better tolerate an increase in ash addition than the IOB, though metal leaching ability of the SOB is limited. Mixed culture could compensate for these deficiencies, and high metal leachability was exhibited in the 1% ash culture, i.e., 67% and 78% of leachabilities for Cu and Zn, respectively, and 100% for Cr and Cd. Furthermore, comparably high leachabilities such as 42% and 78% for Cu and Zn were observed even in the 3% ash cultures. Characterization of metal leaching by the mixed culture revealed that the acidic and oxidizing condition had remained stable thorough the experimental period. Ferric iron remained in the mixed culture, and the metal leaching was enhanced by redox mechanisms coupling with the leaching by sulfate. An increase of ferrous iron enhanced the Cr, Cu, and As leaching. The optimum concentration of sulfur existed for As and Cr (5 gl(-1)) and Cu (2 gl(-1)). The presence of the degradable and non-degradable organic compound that must be existed in the natural environment or waste landfills made no significant change in the leachability of metals other than Zn. These results suggested that bioleaching using a mixed culture of SOB and IOB is a promising technology for recovering the valuable metals from MSWI fly ash.     

The degradability of biodegradable plastics in aerobic and anaerobic waste landfill model reactors

Degradabilities of four kinds of commercial biodegradable plastics (BPs), polyhydroxybutyrate and hydroxyvalerate (PHBV) plastic, polycaprolactone plastic (PCL), blend of starch and polyvinyl alcohol (SPVA) plastic and cellulose acetate (CA) plastic were investigated in waste landfill model reactors that were operated as anaerobically and aerobically. The application of forced aeration to the landfill reactor for supplying aerobic condition could potentially stimulate polymer-degrading microorganisms. However, the individual degradation behavior of BPs under the aerobic condition was completely different. PCL, a chemically synthesized BP, showed film breakage under the both conditions, which may have contributed to a reduction in the waste volume regardless of aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Effective degradation of PHBV plastic was observed in the aerobic condition, though insufficient degradation was observed in the anaerobic condition. But the aeration did not contribute much to accelerate the volume reduction of SPVA plastic and CA plastic. It could be said that the recalcitrant portions of the plastics such as polyvinyl alcohol in SPVA plastic and the highly substituted CA in CA plastic prevented the BP from degradation. These results indicated existence of the great variations in the degradability of BPs in aerobic and anaerobic waste landfills, and suggest that suitable technologies for managing the waste landfill must be combined with utilization of BPs in order to enhance the reduction of waste volume in landfill sites.     

Adsorbable organic halides (AOX), AOX formation potential, and PCDDs/DFs in landfill leachate and their removal in water treatment processes

Adsorbable organic halides (AOX) and AOX formation potential (AOXFP) were investigated in 46 landfill lea-chates as potentially toxic parameters. AOX in landfill leachate was within the range <10–2200 μg Cl/l, and AOXFP was within 51–15 000 μg Cl/l. AOX and AOXFP correlated with chemical oxygen demand (COD). AOX discharge from closed landfills was generally lower than that from operating landfills. The molar ratio of AOXFP/total organic carbon (TOC) suggested that organic compounds in a leachate have a double bond every 15–190 carbons under the supposition that one chlorine would add to one double bond. The five landfills discharging high-level AOXFP (>4000 μg Cl/l) were all landfills where sludge had been dumped. The removal efficiencies of three parameters through leachate treatment processes were as follows: polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins/dibenzo-furans (PCDDs/DFs) > TOC > AOX. PCDDs/DFs were substantially removed at p.p.t. levels, while AOX was hardly removed at relatively low levels. Received: February 14, 2000 / Accepted: January 9, 2001     

A practical and simple method in fractional determination of ambient forms of mercury in air

A collecting method to prepare a fractional determination of ambient forms of mercury in air is proposed. Particulate mercury is collected by a glass fiber filter. Sequential trap tubes consist of four long and slender quartz tubes, in which the Chromosorb W treated with HC$\text{l}$ gas for Hg(II), the Chromosorb W treated with 0.1 M NaOH for methylmercury, the silver-wire tip for metallic mercury and the gold plate tip for dimethylmercury are packed. The collection efficiency for these trap tubes was in the range of about 85 ～ 100% at the μg or ng concentration level. With this method, the air was collected by suction at the rate of 1.5 $\text{l}$/min. for about five hours, the detection limit being 0.2 ng Hg/m³. The results indicate that the regional distribution of total mercury in air was considerably greater in the volcanic and hot spring regions. Mercury species was found to be mostly Hg(II), followed by metallic mercury, methylmercury, dimethylmercury and particulate mercury in this order.     

Field validation of an active sampling cartridge as a passive sampler for long-term carbonyl monitoring

A carbonyl sampler originally designed for the active sampling method (Sep-Pak XPoSure) was used for long-term passive sampling, and its applicability as a passive sampler was examined through field experiments. The uptake rates of passive sampling were determined experimentally from collocated passive and active samplings for various sampling periods. The obtained uptake rates of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acetone were 1.48, 1.23, and 1.08 mL/min, respectively. These uptake rates were consistent for a wide range of the sampling term (12 hr-2 weeks). Uptake rates of each carbonyl were proportional to the diffusion coefficients of each. Therefore, the ratios of diffusion coefficients were used to calculate the uptake rates of carbonyls for which the rates were not determined experimentally. Lower limits of determination were 2.16-17.5 microg/m3 for 2-week sampling. It was confirmed that 2-week monitoring of carbonyl concentrations up to 118-229 microg/m3 was possible. Relative standard deviations of the passive method generated from the repeatability test were 2-12.3% error for five samplings, and the recovery efficiencies were larger than 90%. Thus, the passive sampler was found to be highly suitable for long-term monitoring of carbonyl compounds.     

An Urban Atmospheric Diffusion Model for Traffic-Related Emission Based on Mass-Conservation and Advection-Diffusion Equations

This paper proposes an atmospheric diffusion model for traffic-related emission in urban areas within a few hundred meters from relevant roads. The model adopts the mass-conservation (MC) principle for the velocity calculation and the advection-diffusion (AD) equation for the concentration calculation. This MC+AD combination was chosen to achieve fast calculation for complex geometries. To compensate for the inherent deficiencies of MC and AD, as many known properties possible of turbulent boundary-layer flow over obstacles are incorporated into the MC calculation, and the diffusivity in AD is derived from the velocity spectrum as a function of distance from the emission source. The model is evaluated against wind-tunnel experiments ranging from point-source emission in uniform urban canopy to along-road emission in real city geometries. The model performs well in relatively simple configurations, but the performance deteriorates considerably as the complexity increases. However, in real city geometries, the model exhibits distinctly better performance in terms of statistical indices than a conventional Gaussian-plume model that neglects the effect of individual buildings. The model is therefore a viable option for environmental assessment.     

Basic Research on the Emission of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons caused by Waste Incineration

The emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) caused by municipal waste incineration varies according to waste composition and operating parameters such as furnace temperature and excess air. However, to obtain a sample sufficient to measure the emission of PAH at trace levels, it is necessary to operate the incinerator for many hours. Since during these lengthy periods it has not always been possible to maintain stable conditions, it is very difficult to determine the relationship between the emission and waste composition.

In our basic research, therefore, we used municipal waste with an artificially regulated composition for our combustion experiments, and by using an experimental Incinerator we examined the emission behavior of PAH with respect to changes in waste composition and combustion conditions. The following facts were revealed by the results: ? The PAH found in the flue gas were predominantly the more volatile compounds.

? When municipal waste was incinerated at over 850 °C, the concentration of PAH in the flue gas increased rapidly as the proportion of plastics in the waste increased from 0 to 24 percent.

? The elimination of plastics from municipal waste by separate collection and the improvement of combustion conditions can effectively diminish the emission of PAH.

     

Behavior of PCNs, PCDDs, PCDFs, and dioxin-like PCBs in the thermal destruction of wastes containing PCNs

In the first known study to characterize the emissions of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) from the thermal treatment of wastes containing PCNs, the formation and decomposition behavior of these pollutants was investigated both at laboratory scale and at plant scale. Exhaust gas measurements from laboratory-scale combustion of rubber belts containing PCNs (FB belts) were used as the basis for calculations predicting that the incremental dioxin toxic equivalency (TEQ) emissions from municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerators would be less than 0.1 ng/m3 N. In order to directly examine co-incineration of FB belts with MSW and to address potential differences between the laboratory experiment and full-scale MSW incinerators, experiments were conducted using a larger scale thermal treatment test facility with sampling and analysis at several points in the thermal treatment process. Congener specific analysis of PCNs clearly showed that both destruction and synthesis simultaneously occurred during combustion in the kiln. Most of the PCNs were destroyed by secondary combustion, and almost all PCNs were removed after flue gas treatment. Almost all PCDDs/DFs were synthesized as by-products of kiln combustion, most of them were destroyed by the secondary combustion, and almost all dioxins (PCDDs/DFs and dl-PCBs) were removed after flue gas treatment. The TEQ emission levels were less than 0.1 ng/m3 N for all plant-scale tests, and differences in TEQ emission levels were very small. Adding wastes containing PCNs to MSW will not influence thermal treatment emissions to the environment from modern solid waste incinerators.     

Extraction and cleanup methods of dioxins in house dust from two cities in Japan using accelerated solvent extraction and a disposable multi-layer silica-gel cartridge

A simple and rapid method for the extraction and cleanup of dioxins from house dust was developed using an accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) method and a multi-layer silica-gel cartridge. It was found that the WHO-TEQ levels of dioxins extracted from the house dust obtained by both a conventional soxhlet extraction and the ASE were almost equal, when the data obtained by both methods were compared. As for the cleanup method, a multi-layer silica-gel cartridge yielded higher dioxin recoveries than the alkaline digestion method. The average values of the dioxins in house dust from Kumagaya city and Sendai city in Japan (Sendai city is bigger than Kumagaya city with respect to the population and industry), were 15.6 pg TEQ/g (8.6-26.0 pg TEQ/g, n=5, Kumagaya city) and 16.0 pg TEQ/g (5.9-30.5 pg TEQ/g, n=5, Sendai city), respectively.