The impact of the type and position of the halogen atom on the biodegradation of halosubstituted benzyl alcohols

The biodegradation of 2‐halosubstituted and 4‐halosubstituted benzyl alcohols was studied using two sources of biodegrative micro‐organisms: mixed culture from the ?TUDA waste water treatment plant, Dom?ale, and the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium strain MZKI B‐223 (ATCC 24725). The results obtained by this study indicate the interrelationship between the types of micro‐organism used in the experiments and the type and position of the halogen element on the aromatic ring.     

Managing floodplain-forest restoration in European river landscapes combining ecological and flood-protection issues

Throughout Europe the demands for improved flood protection on the one hand and the requirements to maintain and enhance floodplain forests on the other are perceived as conflicting goals in river-basin management, revealing the urgent need for strategies to combine both issues. We developed an interdisciplinary approach for floodplain-forest restoration identifying sites suitable for reforestations from both an ecological and hydraulic point of view. In the ecological module, habitat-distribution models are developed providing information on ecologically suitable sites. In the hydraulic module, a two-dimensional hydrodynamic-numerical model (2D-HN model) delivers the requested hydraulic information. The output of the two models is intersected. Subsequently, in an iterative procedure, the potential of plantings without exceeding critical water levels can be identified by hydraulic evaluation using the 2D-HN-model. The approach is exemplified using two reforestation scenarios at the Elbe River, Germany, showing considerable potential for softwood forest establishment without negative hydraulic effects. The approach reported here provides a solution for a severe conflict in river-basin management that hampers the reestablishment of the strongly threatened floodplain forests in Europe. Alternative measures to enhance floodplain-forest regeneration feasible under certain preconditions are discussed in the context of the current state of European large rivers.     

Assessing Biodiversity

Environmental assessment and monitoring is not limited to measuringquantities of some substances that threaten our existence. Atpresent the greatest challenge is not to gain another decimal pointin assaying a certain noxious chemical. As far as technical aspectsof monitoring are concerned, we witness a steady progress. Ourconceptual development is less tangible. At the same time it ismore urgent. We are directed to assess and monitor novelcharacteristics such as biodiversity and ecosystem health. They areconsidered to be the basis of modern, ecosystem management.Specialists in wildlife, fisheries, soil scientists, agronomists,and foresters are revising the established tenets of theirdisciplines to pursue maximum biodiversity. This could be done onlyif we know what biodiversity and ecosystem health are. This paperassesses the state of our knowledge of these concepts.     

Reactive transport modelling of biogeochemical processes and carbon isotope geochemistry inside a landfill leachate plume

The biogeochemical processes governing leachate attenuation inside a landfill leachate plume (Banisveld, the Netherlands) were revealed and quantified using the 1D reactive transport model PHREEQC-2. Biodegradation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was simulated assuming first-order oxidation of two DOC fractions with different reactivity, and was coupled to reductive dissolution of iron oxide. The following secondary geochemical processes were required in the model to match observations: kinetic precipitation of calcite and siderite, cation exchange, proton buffering and degassing. Rate constants for DOC oxidation and carbonate mineral precipitation were determined, and other model parameters were optimized using the nonlinear optimization program PEST by means of matching hydrochemical observations closely (pH, DIC, DOC, Na, K, Ca, Mg, NH4, Fe(II), SO4, Cl, CH4, saturation index of calcite and siderite). The modelling demonstrated the relevance and impact of various secondary geochemical processes on leachate plume evolution. Concomitant precipitation of siderite masked the act of iron reduction. Cation exchange resulted in release of Fe(II) from the pristine anaerobic aquifer to the leachate. Degassing, triggered by elevated CO2 pressures caused by carbonate precipitation and proton buffering at the front of the plume, explained the observed downstream decrease in methane concentration. Simulation of the carbon isotope geochemistry independently supported the proposed reaction network.     

Biogeochemistry and isotope geochemistry of a landfill leachate plume

The biogeochemical processes were identified which improved the leachate composition in the flow direction of a landfill leachate plume (Banisveld, The Netherlands). Groundwater observation wells were placed at specific locations after delineating the leachate plume using geophysical tests to map subsurface conductivity. Redox processes were determined using the distribution of solid and soluble redox species, hydrogen concentrations, concentration of dissolved gases (N(2), Ar, and CH(4)), and stable isotopes (delta15N-NO(3), delta34S-SO(4), delta13C-CH(4), delta2H-CH(4), and delta13C of dissolved organic and inorganic carbon (DOC and DIC, respectively)). The combined application of these techniques improved the redox interpretation considerably. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) decreased downstream in association with increasing delta13C-DOC values confirming the occurrence of degradation. Degradation of DOC was coupled to iron reduction inside the plume, while denitrification could be an important redox process at the top fringe of the plume. Stable carbon and hydrogen isotope signatures of methane indicated that methane was formed inside the landfill and not in the plume. Total gas pressure exceeded hydrostatic pressure in the plume, and methane seems subject to degassing. Quantitative proof for DOC degradation under iron-reducing conditions could only be obtained if the geochemical processes cation exchange and precipitation of carbonate minerals (siderite and calcite) were considered and incorporated in an inverse geochemical model of the plume. Simulation of delta13C-DIC confirmed that precipitation of carbonate minerals happened.     

Threats to Riparian Ecosystems in Western North America: An Analysis of Existing Literature1

Poff, Boris, Karen A. Koestner, Daniel G. Neary, and Victoria Henderson, 2011. Threats to Riparian Ecosystems in Western North America: An Analysis of Existing Literature. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(6):1241–1254. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00571.x Abstract: A total of 453 journal articles, reports, books, and book chapters addressing threats to riparian ecosystems in western North America were analyzed to identify, quantify, and qualify the major threats to these ecosystems as represented in the existing literature. Publications were identified either as research, policy, literature review, historical comparison, or management papers. All papers were evaluated based on year of publication, area of interest, and type(s) of threats addressed. Research papers, however, were assessed in more depth. The publications ranged from the 1930s to 2010 and addressed the following threats: dams, pollution (point and nonpoint), grazing, land use change, timber harvesting, water diversion, road construction, recreation, mining, groundwater pumping, invasive species, climate change, salinity, fire, insect and diseases, woody encroachment, watershed degradation, elimination of native vegetation, beavers, fire suppression, and fuel management. While the types of threats vary on spatial and temporal scales, some persist through decades in western North America. This analysis shows that grazing has been perceived as a dominant threat since the 1980s, but has been diminishing in the past decade, while invasive species, dams and, in recent years, climate change are increasingly represented in the literature as threats to riparian ecosystems in western North America.     

Antecedents of work–family conflict: A meta‐analytic review

This study provides and meta‐analytically examines an organizing framework and theoretical model of work–family conflict. Results, based on 1080 correlations from 178 samples, indicate that work role stressors (job stressors, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, time demands), work role involvement (job involvement, work interest/centrality), work social support (organizational support, supervisor support, coworker support), work characteristics (task variety, job autonomy, family friendly organization), and personality (internal locus of control, negative affect/neuroticism) are antecedents of work‐to‐family conflict (WFC); while family role stressors (family stressors, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, time demands, parental demands, number of children/dependents), family social support (family support, spousal support), family characteristics (family climate), and personality (internal locus of control, negative affect/neuroticism) are antecedents of family‐to‐work conflict (FWC). In addition to hypothesized results, a revised model based on study findings indicates that work role stressors (job stressors, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload) and work social support (organizational support, supervisor support, coworker support) are predictors of FWC; while family role stressors (family stressors, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload), family involvement (family interest/centrality), family social support (family support, spousal support), and family characteristics (family climate) are predictors of WFC. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Human and crab exposure to mercury in the Caribbean coastal shoreline of Colombia: impact from an abandoned chlor-alkali plant

Human hair samples from male and female people aged 6-85 years, as well as muscle of crabs (Callinectes sapidus and Callinectes bocourti) were collected from different fishing places along the Caribbean coastal shoreline of Colombia and analyzed for total mercury (T-Hg) in order to establish the impact of mercury-polluted sediments in Cartagena bay on the ecosystem. Hair T-Hg in inhabitants varied between 0.1 and 21.8 microg/g, with average and median of 1.52 microg/g and 1.1 microg/g, respectively. Differences between sampling locations were significant (P<0.01) and median values decreased in the order: Ca?o del Oro (1.5 microg/g)相似文献   

Perfluorooctanesulfonate and related fluorochemicals in biological samples from the north coast of Colombia

Perfluorinated compounds are widespread pollutants of toxicological importance that have been detected in environmental matrices. However, little is known on their distribution in South America. In this study, distribution of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS), and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA) was determined in the bile of mullet, Mugil incilis, and in tissues of pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) collected from North Colombia. Analysis was performed by HPLC mass spectrometry after ion-pair extraction. PFOS was found in all bile samples and PFOA and PFHxS were detected at lower frequency. Average concentrations of PFOS, PFOA, and PFHxS in bile of fish from Cartagena Bay, an industrialized site, and Totumo marsh, a reference site, were 3673, 370, 489 and 713, 47.4, 1.27 ng/mL, respectively. PFOS concentrations in pelican organs decreased in the order of spleen>liver>lung>kidney>brain>heart>muscle. These results suggest, for the first time, that perfluorinated compounds are also found in wildlife from Latin American countries.