Possible maternal offloading of metals in the plasma,uterine and capsule fluid of pregnant ragged-tooth sharks (Carcharias taurus) on the east coast of South Africa

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - We studied the possible metal offloading onto the progeny of three pregnant female ragged-tooth sharks (Carcharias taurus) (C. taurus). The presences...     

A free,open-source tool for identifying urban agglomerations using polygon data

This paper describes the function of a software tool for identifying urban agglomerations in low-information settings using free, open data. The framework outlined here is designed to work using polygon data. This paper describes the advantages and disadvantages of using polygon-based geographies in regional analysis, discusses the practical and ethical challenges of distinguishing urban from rural regions, and discusses the relevance of this tool in the analysis of global city regions. It also describes the logical structure of our polygon-based software tool and directs interested readers to the source code. We finally examine the agglomeration results for Sri Lanka and compare them with published urbanization figures. We conclude that there are very large disparities between our model’s outputs and the urbanization estimates from the United Nations and that our tools can be used as a less discretionary way to identify actual levels of urbanization. We hope that other analysts will continue to refine the progression toward a less discretionary model of identifying urban regions.     

Emissions from Burning Grass Stubble and Straw

The emissions from burning the residue following grass-seed harvest were determined by means of a combined laboratory-field study. Samples of the straw and stubble residue were burned in the laboratory burning tower at the University of California at Riverside. Complete analyses were determined for gaseous and particulate emissions for the important grass species from the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Particulate emissions averaged 15.6 lb/ton of fuel burned. Carbon monoxide averaged 101 lb/ton of fuel burned. Hydrocarbon emission averages, in pounds per ton of fuel burned, were 1.74 for saturates plus acetylene, 2.80 for defines, and 1.68 for ethylene. The NO_x emission, at the temperature peak during the burn, averaged 29.3 ppm. Field studies, conducted by personnel from Oregon State University, measured only particulate emissions, carbon dioxide, and temperature over the burn. The carbon dioxide values were found to be similar to those obtained on the burning table at UCR and it was therefore concluded that the other gaseous emissions were similar and could be used as reasonably accurate for emission inventories. The temperature values obtained in the laboratory and field were also similar and further justifies extrapolating the burning table data to field situations. The particulate matter collected in the field studies averaged 15.55 lb of particulate per ton of fuel burned. This is the same average obtained for the burning table data which again serves to validate the emissions reported from Riverside. Much more variability was found in the particulate emissions obtained in the field which reflects the wider range of environmental conditions encountered in the field.     

The Recovery of Selenious Acid Aerosols on Glass Fiber Filters

Previous workers have shown that selenium is only partially trapped on a filter during air sampling. In some cases, these losses have been attributed to volatilization of selenium dioxide. Our results demonstrate that selenium dioxide, In the presence of moist air, is completely recovered (apparently as selenious acid aerosols) and that the previous shortfalls must be due to other selenium species as yet unidentified. Selenious acid aerosols In our study were formed by volatilizing selenium dioxide (≈3 mg) Into a stream of moist ambient air (relative humidity, >50%), and trapped on glass fiber filters using a high-volume air sampler. Selenium(IV) was ultrasonlcally extracted from the filter with water and analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry. Selenious acid aerosols were trapped on the filters with high efficiency (105 ± 5 percent) using a 50 minute sampling period. With an extended sampling period (24 hours) the recovery was 103 ± 6 percent.     

Aerobic degradation of diuron by aquatic microorganisms

Abstract

Degradation of diuron [3‐(3,4‐dichlorophenyl)‐l,1‐dimethyl‐urea] by microorganisms obtained from pond water and sediment was determined under aerobic conditions. Enrichment procedures were used to isolate cultures capable of degrading the herbicide. Several mixed fungal/bacterial and mixed bacterial cultures were isolated that could degrade diuron. The mixed cultures degraded 67–99% of the added diuron forming from six to seven products which were separated via TLC. The major degradation product detected in most culture extracts was 3,4‐dichloroaniline. Other identified products formed were 3‐(3,4‐dichlorophenyl)‐1‐methylurea and 3‐(3,4‐dichlorophenyl)urea.     

Estimating chemical biotransformation rates from food web concentrations

Biotransformation is widely recognized as the most important and most uncertain determinant of bioaccumulation. A step-wise method for estimating organism-specific biotransformation half-lives from field observations and using established food web modeling is developed. As a proof of concept, the method is applied to the case of nine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a well-studied food web in Bohai Bay, China. The estimated half-lives are in good agreement with the existing literature. The proposed biotransformation estimation method, through data mining, for sufficiently defined ecosystems, may greatly reduce the necessary animal testing involved in chemical assessments by providing useful guidance to experimentalists and regulators.     

Assessing the impact of VOC-contaminated groundwater on surface water at the city scale

This study is believed to be one of the first to assess the impact of urban VOC-(volatile organic compound) contaminated groundwater on river-water quality at the city scale. A network of riverbed piezometers was used to study the 7.4-km urbanised reach of the River Tame that flows across the groundwater-effluent unconfined Triassic sandstone aquifer underlying the city of Birmingham (UK). Aquifer groundwater contained significant chlorinated VOC contamination due to the city's industrial heritage. Chlorinated VOC-contaminated baseflow was widespread along the reach with trichloroethene (TCE) dominant. VOC concentrations in riverbed piezometers were in the range 0.1-100 microg/l with typical regulatory limits occasionally exceeded by an order of magnitude. Although anaerobic biodegradation products such as cis-dichloroethene were widespread, they were unlikely to have formed in the generally aerobic riverbed. The lack of anaerobic conditions was ascribed to insufficient accumulation of low-permeability, organic-carbon rich riverbed sediments in this medium-high energy river. Assumptions a priori that natural attenuation of chlorinated VOCs will occur via reductive dechlorination in urban riverbeds are likely in error, particularly where deposits of medium-high permeability exist transmitting much of the baseflow. Surface-water quality impacts were nevertheless still low with in-river TCE increasing by just 2 microg/l over the 7.4-km reach. Agreement of baseflow contaminant flux estimates based on five flow-concentration product methods was achieved to within an order of magnitude with 22-200 kg/yr of TCE estimated to discharge to the 7.4-km reach (equivalent to 0.8-7.5 mg/d/m2 of riverbed). Such uncertainty was not regarded as unreasonable when the large measurement scale and geological and chemical heterogeneities are considered. Improved flux estimation methods and greater monitoring densities are nevertheless warranted. Considering Birmingham's long industrial history and known incidence of VOC-contaminated groundwater, the city-scale impact of VOC-contaminated groundwater upon surface-water quality was judged to be relatively modest.