Soil pH effects on the interactions between dissolved zinc,non-nano- and nano-ZnO with soil bacterial communities

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are used in an array of products and processes, ranging from personal care products to antifouling paints, textiles, food additives, antibacterial agents and environmental remediation processes. Soils are an environment likely to be exposed to manmade nanoparticles due to the practice of applying sewage sludge as a fertiliser or as an organic soil improver. However, understanding on the interactions between soil properties, nanoparticles and the organisms that live within soil is lacking, especially with regards to soil bacterial communities. We studied the effects of nanoparticulate, non-nanoparticulate and ionic zinc (in the form of zinc chloride) on the composition of bacterial communities in soil with a modified pH range (from pH 4.5 to pH 7.2). We observed strong pH-dependent effects on the interaction between bacterial communities and all forms of zinc, with the largest changes in bacterial community composition occurring in soils with low and medium pH levels (pH 4.8 and 5.9). The high pH soil (pH 7.2) was less susceptible to the effects of zinc exposure. At the highest doses of zinc (2500 mg/kg dw soil), both nano and non-nano particulate zinc applications elicited a similar response in the soil bacterial community, and this differed significantly to the ionic zinc salt treatment. The results highlight the importance of considering soil pH in nanotoxicology studies, although further work is needed to determine the exact mechanisms controlling the toxicity and fate and interactions of nanoparticles with soil microbial communities.     

Integrated emergy,energy and economic evaluation of rice and vegetable production systems in alluvial paddy fields: Implications for agricultural policy in China

China is the largest rice producing and consuming country in the world, but rice production has given way to the production of vegetables during the past twenty years. The government has been trying to stop this land-use conversion and increase the area in rice-vegetable rotation. Important questions that must be answered to determine what strategy is best for society are, “What is the reason behind this conversion?”; “Which system is more productive and which is more sustainable?”; and “How can economic policy be used to adjust the pattern of farmland use to attain sustainable development?” To answer these questions, a combined evaluation of these agricultural production systems was done using emergy, energy and economic methods. An economic analysis clearly showed that the reason for this conversion was simply that the economic output/input ratio and the benefit density of the vegetable production system were greater than that of rice. However, both energy and emergy evaluations showed that long-term rice was the best choice for sustainable development, followed by rotation systems. The current price of rice is lower than the em-value of rice produced from the long-term rice system, but higher than that of rice produced from the rotation system. Scenario analysis showed that if the government increases the price of rice to the em-value of rice produced from the long-term rice system, US$0.4/kg, and takes the value of soil organic matter into account, the economic output/input ratios of both the rice and rotation systems will be higher than that of the vegetable system. The three methods, energy, emergy and economics, are different but complementary, each revealing a different aspect of the same system. Their combined use shows not only the reasons behind a system’s current state or condition, but also the way to adjust these systems to move toward more sustainable states.     

REAL-TIME SNOW SIMULATION MODEL FOR THE MONONGAHELA RIVER BASIN1

ABSTRACT: The Pittsburgh District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is responsible for operating two multipurpose reservoirs in the 7384 square mile (19198 square kilometer) Monongahela Basin. A third reservoir, presently under construction, will soon be operating. The real-time forecasting of runoff for operational purposes requires simulation of snow accumulation and snowmelt throughout the Basin during the winter season. This article describes capabilities of SNOSIM, a model being developed for performing such simulation. The application of this model as part of a comprehensive system of water control software, and some initial simulation results are presented.     

Perceived support in a dual organizational environment: Union participation in a university setting

There is extensive research on employee attitudes regarding employers and unions, but these studies have underemphasized social and affective forces. Most studies also examine attitudes toward either the union or the employer without considering how these attitudes might relate to one another. The present study of faculty (N = 306) at a large public research university demonstrated that perceptions of union support were positively related to union participation and perceptions of administration support were negatively related to union participation. Subjective norms and general union attitudes were related to perceptions of union support, and subjective norms were related to perceived organizational support. Taken together, an individual's participation in a union recognition effort depends not only on union instrumentality, but also upon social relationships with the union and administration. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediments as a sink for UV filters and benzotriazoles: the case study of Upper Iguaçu watershed,Curitiba (Brazil)

Ingredients in home and personal care products, including UV filters and benzotriazoles, are high production volume chemicals extensively used in our daily life, despite several studies revealed their potential eco-toxicity and endocrine-disrupting capacity. Due to some features, such as high lipophilicity, low degradability, and persistence of many of these compounds, sediments can be considered a sink for them in the aquatic environment. In the present study, nine organic UV filters and three benzotriazoles were investigated for the first time in sediments from four urban rivers in Brazil. The contaminants were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The results revealed that octocrylene (OC), etylhexyl-methoxycinnamate (EHMC), benzophenone-3 (oxybenzone, BP3), and benzotriazole (BZT) were the predominant compounds adsorbed on the sediments, with concentrations ranging from 5.6 to 322.2 ng g⁻¹ dry weight. The results reported in this work constitute the first data on the accumulation of polar benzotriazoles and lipophilic organic UV filters in sediments from Brazil.

     

Mining,water and human rights: making the connection

The minerals industry interacts with water in many different ways that can affect the environment and communities. In the context of emerging debates about the status of access to water as a distinct human right and the mining industry’s engagement with human rights discourses, this article highlights points of disconnection between technical, scientific and engineering-based approaches to water management on the one hand and human rights perspectives on the other. We argue that greater understanding and emphasis on the intersecting nature of water and human rights is important from a sustainable development perspective. Better connections will increase the likelihood that mining companies will respect human rights, avoid or mitigate adverse social and environmental risks that occur through their interaction with water and collaboratively identify water-related development opportunities. Discursive, organisational, political and conceptual barriers of these various disconnects are considered and strategies for strengthening points of connection provided.     

Prenatal diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency by steroid analysis in the amniotic fluid of mid-pregnancy: Comparison with HLA typing in 17 pregnancies at risk for CAH

Amniotic fluid (AF) levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP) and testosterone (T) were determined at 16–17 weeks in 17 pregnancies at risk for CAH and results compared to 75 normal controls. The fetus was predicted to be unaffected in 12 cases on the findings of normal AF levels of both 17OHP and T and the latter allowed a correct prediction of fetal sex in all instances. HLA typing confirmed normality in 12 cases revealing 5 carriers, 5 homozygous normal and 2 indeterminate. Steroid levels of the 2 groups were similar. Three fetuses were predicted to be CAH affected on unambiguously high levels of 17OHP and T (in female only). HLA typing was in agreement, and the diagnosis was confirmed in 2 abortuses and a female newborn by physical and hormonal studies. In the last 2 cases AF levels of OHP and T were normal but HLA (A/B/C) genotypes were identical to the CAH affected siblings. Normal physical and hormonal findings in the 2 aborted fetuses would exclude the possibility of an in utero virilizing form of CAH. The discrepancy could be explained on the basis that the fetuses had an allelic form of 21-hydroxylase deficiency or on the basis of recombination (not fully tested). It is concluded that a fully informative prenatal diagnosis of CAH should not rely entirely on HLA typing but on hormonal studies.     

A moving target—incorporating knowledge of the spatial ecology of fish into the assessment and management of freshwater fish populations

Freshwater fish move vertically and horizontally through the aquatic landscape for a variety of reasons, such as to find and exploit patchy resources or to locate essential habitats (e.g., for spawning). Inherent challenges exist with the assessment of fish populations because they are moving targets. We submit that quantifying and describing the spatial ecology of fish and their habitat is an important component of freshwater fishery assessment and management. With a growing number of tools available for studying the spatial ecology of fishes (e.g., telemetry, population genetics, hydroacoustics, otolith microchemistry, stable isotope analysis), new knowledge can now be generated and incorporated into biological assessment and fishery management. For example, knowing when, where, and how to deploy assessment gears is essential to inform, refine, or calibrate assessment protocols. Such information is also useful for quantifying or avoiding bycatch of imperiled species. Knowledge of habitat connectivity and usage can identify critically important migration corridors and habitats and can be used to improve our understanding of variables that influence spatial structuring of fish populations. Similarly, demographic processes are partly driven by the behavior of fish and mediated by environmental drivers. Information on these processes is critical to the development and application of realistic population dynamics models. Collectively, biological assessment, when informed by knowledge of spatial ecology, can provide managers with the ability to understand how and when fish and their habitats may be exposed to different threats. Naturally, this knowledge helps to better evaluate or develop strategies to protect the long-term viability of fishery production. Failure to understand the spatial ecology of fishes and to incorporate spatiotemporal data can bias population assessments and forecasts and potentially lead to ineffective or counterproductive management actions.     

Protease production by the keratinolytic Bacillus sp. CL18 through feather bioprocessing

Bacillus sp. CL18 was investigated to propose a bioprocess for protease production using feathers as organic substrate. In feather broth (FB), containing feathers as sole organic substrate (1–100 g l^?1), maximal protease production was observed at 30 g l^?1 (FB30) after 6 days of cultivation, whereas increased feather concentrations negatively affected protease production and feather degradation. Protease production peaks were always observed earlier during cultivations than maximal feather degradation. In FB30, 80% of initial feathers mass were degraded after 7 days. Addition of glucose, sucrose, starch, yeast extract (2 g l^?1), CaCl₂, or MgCl₂ (10 mmol l^?1) to FB30 decreased protease production and feather degradation. FB30 supplementation with NH₄Cl (1 g l^?1) resulted in less apparent negative effects on protease production, whereas peptone (2 g l^?1) increased protease yields earlier during cultivations (3 days). Through a central composite design employed to investigate the effects of peptone and NH₄Cl (0.5–4.5 g l^?1) on protease production and feather degradation, FB30 supplementation with peptone and NH₄Cl (0.5–1.1 g l^?1) increased protease production within a shorter cultivation time (5 days) and hastened complete feather degradation (6 days). Feather bioconversion concurs with sustainable production of value-added products.

     

Do yellow-bellied marmots respond to predator vocalizations?

We conducted four experiments to determine whether yellow-bellied marmots, Marmota flaviventris, discriminate among predator vocalizations, and if so, whether the recognition mechanism is learned or experience-independent. First, we broadcast to marmots the social sounds of coyotes, Canis latrans, wolves, Canis lupus, and golden eagles, Aquila chrysaetos, as well as conspecific alarm calls. Coyotes and eagles are extant predators at our study site, while wolves have been absent since the mid-1930s. In three follow-up experiments, we reversed the eagle call and presented marmots with forward and reverse calls to control for response to general properties of call structure rather than those specifically associated with eagles, we tested for novelty by comparing responses to familiar and unfamiliar birds, and we tested for the duration of predator sounds by comparing a wolf howl (that was much longer than the coyote in the first experiment) with a long coyote howl of equal duration to the original wolf. Marmots suppressed foraging and increased looking most after presentation of the conspecific alarm call and least after that of the coyote in the first experiment, with moderate responses to wolf and eagle calls. Marmots responded more to the forward eagle call than the reverse call, a finding consistent with a recognition template. Marmots did not differentiate vocalizations from the novel and familiar birds, suggesting that novelty itself did not explain our results. Furthermore, marmots did not differentiate between a wolf howl and a coyote howl of equal duration, suggesting that the duration of the vocalizations played a role in the marmots’ response. Our results show that marmots may respond to predators based solely on acoustic stimuli. The response to currently novel wolf calls suggests that they have an experience-independent ability to identify certain predators acoustically. Marmots’ response to predator vocalizations is not unexpected because 25 of 30 species in which acoustic predator discrimination has been studied have a demonstrated ability to respond selectively to cues from their predators.