Chemical structure and biological activities of lipid A's from various bacterial families

The endotoxic principle of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) is localized in their lipid A component. Biological effects of LPS on, for instance, body temperature, blood pressure, and blood picture, are also induced by free lipid A. In contrast to the great variability of the 0-specific chains, the chemical structure of lipid A is much more constant. It is common for Salmonella and similar for other genera of the Enterobacteriaceae. Recently, a number of lipid A's have been recognized that exhibited distinct structural features compared with Enterobacteriaceae. These lipid A's were found to be also distinct with regard to some of their biological properties.     

Ritter’s dry-bed dam-break flows: positive and negative wave dynamics

Dam-break flood waves are associated with major environmental disasters provoked by the sudden release of water stored in reservoirs. Ritter found in 1892 an analytical solution to the wave structure of an ideal fluid released during an instantaneous dam failure, propagating over initially dry horizontal terrain. This solution, though ideal, hence frictionless, is widely used to test numerical solutions of the Shallow Water Equations (SWE), and as educational tool in courses of fluid mechanics, given that it is a peculiar case of the Riemann problem. However, the real wave structure observed experimentally differs in a major portion of the wave profile, including the positive and negative fronts. Given the importance of an accurate prediction of the dam break wave, the positive and negative wave portions originating from the breaking of a dam with initially dry land on the tailwater reach are revisited in this work. First, the propagation features of the dry-front are investigated using an analytical boundary-layer type model (Whitham/Dressler/Chanson model) constructed matching an (outer) inviscid dynamic wave to an (inner) viscous diffusive wave. The analytical solution is evaluated using an accurate numerical solution of the SWE produced using the MUSCL-Hancock finite-volume method, which is tested independently obtaining the solution based on the discontinuous Galerkin finite-element method. The propagation features of the negative wave are poorly reproduced by the SWE during the initial stages of dam break flows, and, thus, are then investigated using the Serre–Green–Naghdi equations for weakly-dispersive fully non-linear water waves, which are solved using a finite volume-finite difference scheme.     

Post-fire surface water quality: comparison of fire retardant versus wildfire-related effects

An understanding of the environmental effects of the use of wildland fire retardant is needed to provide informed decision-making regarding forest management. We compiled data from all post-fire surface water monitoring programs where the fire retardant constituents ammonia, phosphorus, and cyanide were measured, and data were available in the public domain. For streams near four major wildfires, we evaluated whether these chemicals originated primarily from fire or from retardant use. We compared measured concentrations in streams where chemical wildland fire retardant was applied with concentrations in streams draining areas where retardant was not used. Correlations with calcium provided an additional line of evidence, because calcium concentrations in ash are much higher than in retardant. Ammonia, phosphorus, and total cyanide were found in streams in burned areas where retardant was not used, at concentrations similar to those found in areas where retardant was applied. Concentrations of weak acid dissociable cyanide were generally non-detected or very low, whether or not wildland fire retardant was used in the watershed. These results indicate that the application of wildland fire retardant had minimal effects on proximate surface water quality. Cyanide concentrations in post-fire stormwater runoff were not affected by the presence of ferrocyanide in the retardant formulas and were due to pyrogenic sources.     

Method for determining minimum pool requirements to maintain and enhance salmonid fisheries in small Wyoming reservoirs

Methods for determination of minimum pool levels in reservoirs that consider sport fishery values are being sought by managers. We developed a technique for assessing the effects of incremental changes in minimum pool levels on potential salmonid abundance in small (<100 surface hectares at full pool) reservoirs in Wyoming managed for irrigation and municipal water supplies. The method has two components. One component is used to determine the minimum pool level needed to eliminate the risk of overwinter loss of salmonids due to low dissolved oxygen concentrations. The other component predicts the potential biomass of salmonids in reservoirs as a function of water depth and total dissolved solids concentration of the reservoir water. Application of the method is demonstrated for two reservoirs in Wyoming. The unit is jointly supported by the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.     

APPLICATION OF BOREHOLE GEOPHYSICS TO THE INVESTIGATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF GROUNDWATER RESOURCES1

Borehole geophysics comprises the execution of physical measurements in boreholes and the interpretation of the results in terms of rock properties and other data useful in subsurface investigations. This article briefly reviews the borehole geophysical methods that have found acceptance in hydrology and their main applications.     

Aquatic ecological risks due to cyanide releases from biomass burning

Aquatic toxicity due to the creation and mobilization of chemical constituents by fire has been little studied, despite reports of post-fire fish kills attributed to unspecified pyrogenic toxicants. We examined releases of cyanides from biomass burning and their effect on surface runoff water. In laboratory test burns, available cyanide concentrations in leachate from residual ash were much higher than in leachate from partially burned and unburned fuel and were similar to or higher than the 96-h median lethal concentration (LC50) for rainbow trout (45 microg/l). Free cyanide concentrations in stormwater runoff collected after a wildfire in North Carolina averaged 49 microg/l, again similar to the rainbow trout LC50 and an order of magnitude higher than in samples from an adjacent unburned area. Pyrogenic cyanide inputs, together with other fire-related stressors, may contribute to post-fire fish mortalities, particularly those affecting salmonids.     

Culture and the environment in Ghana

The traditional culture of Ghana stressed a strong relationship with the environment, and a culturally acceptable environmental management resulted from strictures and taboos related to the land. Following its independence in 1957, Ghana has enacted laws that reflect an enlightened environmental policy. These are especially important because of the difficulties Ghana has had in its economic development using Western technology that has damaged the fragile tropical ecosystem. A key aspect of Ghana's policy is the attempt to marry scientific knowledge and traditional beliefs for environmentally sound management of Ghana's resources.