A 1-Year Study on the Detection of Human Enteric Viruses in New Caledonia

Human enteric viruses occur in high concentrations in wastewater and can contaminate receiving environmental waters. Due to the lack of data on the prevalence of enteric viruses in New Caledonia, the presence and the concentrations of enteric viruses in wastewater and seawater were determined. Untreated wastewater and seawater samples were collected monthly for 1 year from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and from the WWTP’s outlet, located directly on a popular recreational beach. Samples were tested for norovirus genogroups I and II (NoV GI and GII), astroviruses (AsV), sapoviruses (SaV), enteroviruses (EV), hepatitis A viruses (HAV), rotaviruses (RoV), human adenoviruses (HAdV) and human polyomaviruses (HPyV). To support these data, faecal samples from cases of gastroenteritis were tested for the first time for NoV and detected in the population. NoV GI, NoV GII, EV, SaV, HAdV and HPyV were detected in all wastewaters, RoV in 75 % and AsV in 67 %. HAV were not detected in wastewater. Overall, 92 % of seawater samples were positive for at least one virus. HPyV were detected most frequently in 92 % of samples and at concentrations up to 7.7 × 10³ genome copies/L. NoV GI, NoV GII, EV, SaV, RoV and HAdV were found in 33, 66, 41, 33, 16 and 66 % of seawater samples, respectively. AsV were not detected in seawater. This study reports for the first time the presence of NoV and other enteric viruses in New Caledonia and highlights the year-round presence of enteric viruses in the seawater of a popular beach.     

Methods development and use of macroinvertebrates as indicators of ecological conditions for streams in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands Region

The Mid-Atlantic Highlands Assessment (MAHA) included the sampling of macroinvertebrates from 424 wadeable stream sites to determine status and trends, biological conditions, and water quality in first through third order streams in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands Region (MAHR) of the United States in 1993–1995. We identified reference and impaired sites using water chemistry and habitat criteria and evaluated a set of candidate macroinvertebrate metrics using a stepwise process. This process examined several metric characteristics, including ability of metrics to discriminate reference and impaired sites, relative scope of impairment, correlations with chemical and habitat indicators of stream disturbance, redundancy with other metrics, and within-year variability. Metrics that performed well were compared with metrics currently being used by three states in the region: Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Some of the metrics used by these states did not perform well when evaluated using regional data, while other metrics used by all three states in some form, specifically number of taxa, number of EPT taxa, and Hilsenhoff Biotic Index, performed well overall. Reasons for discrepancies between state and regional evaluations of metrics are explored. We also provide a set of metrics that, when used in combination, may provide a useful assessment of stream conditions in the MAHR.     

Scent of a nest: discrimination of own-nest odours in Antarctic prions,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Pachyptila desolata</Emphasis>

Petrels and albatrosses evolved well-developed olfactory anatomical structures comparable to those of mammals. To date it has been demonstrated that petrels are attracted by food-related odours, and that some hypogean species have decreased homing performances if anosmic. The ability to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar odours had not been demonstrated. Here we show that the Antarctic prion, Pachyptila desolata, is able to distinguish between its own nest and that of a conspecific, relying on olfactory cues only. When tested in a maze, only prions with an intact sense of smell made a choice and recognized their own burrow whereas anosmic birds did not. In the absence of leading odours in the maze prions behaved similarly to anosmic birds. These results suggest the mechanism used in the short-range homing process of this species as an olfactory beaconing and suggest the skill of recognising individually distinctive odours. Evolving an efficient identification system in the dark allowed these hypogean petrels to return to their colony at night and recognise their own burrow without singing. This behaviour protects them from predation by skuas, Catharacta skua lönnbergi, that hunt petrels by vision and hearing.     

An integrated environmental approach to investigate biomarker fluctuations in the blue mussel Mytilus edulis L. in the Vilaine estuary, France

Estuarine areas represent complex and highly changing environments at the interface between freshwater and marine aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, the aquatic organisms living in estuaries have to face highly variable environmental conditions. The aim of this work was to study the influence of environmental changes from either natural or anthropogenic origins on the physiological responses of Mytilus edulis. Mussels were collected in the Vilaine estuary during early summer because this season represents a critical period of active reproduction in mussels and of increased anthropogenic inputs from agricultural and boating activities into the estuary. The physiological status of the mussel M. edulis was evaluated through measurements of a suite of biomarkers related to: oxidative stress (catalase, malondialdehyde), detoxication (benzopyrene hydroxylase, carboxylesterase), neurotoxicity (acetylcholinesterase), reproductive cycle (vitelline, condition index, maturation stages), immunotoxicity (hemocyte concentration, granulocyte percentage, phagocytosis, reactive oxygen species production, oxidative burst), and general physiological stress (lysosomal stability). A selection of relevant organic contaminant (pesticides, (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorobiphenyls) was measured as well as environmental parameters (water temperature, salinity, total suspended solids, turbidity, chlorophyll a, pheopigments) and mussel phycotoxin contamination. Two locations differently exposed to the plume of the Vilaine River were compared. Both temporal and inter-site variations of these biomarkers were studied. Our results show that reproduction cycle and environmental parameters such as temperature, organic ontaminants, and algal blooms could strongly influence the biomarker responses. These observations highlight the necessity to conduct integrated environmental approaches in order to better understand the causes of biomarker variations.     

Fifty Shades of Green? Political differences between elites,members and supporters of Europe Ecologie Les Verts

In recent years, many political parties have created new forms of affiliation and have justified the blurring of membership boundaries with claims that sympathisers would be more representative of the electorate and less radical. Such claims are based on ‘popular wisdom’ inspired by John May’s ‘special law of curvilinearity’, which states that activists hold more extreme views than voters and elites. When this expectation has been tested, results have been at best inconclusive; but testing has so far never used a single survey to compare different groups. Using an online survey of Europe Ecologie Les Verts party members and their extended networks (affiliated supporters, lapsed members, sympathisers), relationships between ideological differences and degree of investment in party activities and decision-making are analysed. The results, contradicting May’s special law along all ideological dimensions other than intra-party democracy, can be explained if May’s narrowly instrumental assumptions about preference formation are rejected.     

Occurrence of 1,1′-dimethyl-4,4′-bipyridinium (Paraquat) in irrigated soil of the Lake Chad Basin,Niger

Increased use of agrochemical products to improve yields for irrigated crops in sub-Saharan Africa has been accompanied by a significant increase in the risk of environmental contamination. Detailed examples of the fate of pesticides after initial spreading on crop fields are scarce in tropical regions, where safe practices and related health risks are poorly understood by smallholder farmers. In the semi-arid environment of the Lake Chad Basin, SE Niger, both intrinsic properties of pesticides and extrinsic factors such as soil and climate helped to characterize processes leading to an accumulation of pesticides in soils. Analysis by HPLC-UV of a 6 m deep soil profile showed the presence of Paraquat at concentrations from 953?±?102 μg kg^?1 to 3083?±?175 μg kg^?1 at depths between 0.80 and 2.75 m below the land surface. Soil analysis revealed that up to approximately 15 % of the total soil matrix consists of smectites, a clay mineral capable of retaining cationic pesticides such as Paraquat, and a very low content of organic matter (<0.15 wt.% TOC). Paraquat could be stored and not bioavailable in a clayey barrier at approximately 2-m depth and therefore does not represent an immediate risk for populations or environment in this form. However, if the Paraquat application rate remains constant, the clayey barrier could reach a saturation limit within 150–200 years and 180–220 years if we consider a DT50 in soil of ~1,000 days (FAO). Consequently, it could lead to a deeper infiltration and so a pollution of groundwater. Such a scenario can represent a health risk for drinking water and for the Lake Chad, which is a major resource for this densely populated region of semi-arid Africa. Further analyses should focus on deeper layers and groundwater Paraquat contents to validate or invalidate the hypothesis of storage in this clay-rich layer.     

Impact of peri-urban landscape on the organic and mineral contamination of pond waters and related risk assessment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Ponds are important for their ecological value and for the ecosystem services they provide to human societies, but they are strongly affected by human...     

Magnetic fields of induction heaters in the framework of directive 2004/40/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.

The spectrum and the polarization of the magnetic flux density (B-field) of 6 induction heaters and 1 arc oven were measured by means of a PMM (Italy) spectrum analyser. The spectrum analysis showed that no substantial harmonics were observed while the polarization analysis revealed that the operator's exposure was non-homogeneous within a distance of 1.5 m from the heater. When the distance was larger, the body was homogeneously exposed. In general we can state that the B-field strongly varied between heaters and that exposure exceeded the occupational reference levels recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) (1998) and European Directive 2004/40/EC in 5 of the 7 heaters. Within the framework of the Directive some protection actions should be taken. Whereas mitigation of existing/old induction ovens is difficult, the design of new induction heaters and their housing should be based, among others, on electromagnetic reducing engineering concepts.     

Seasonal variation and diversity of rotifers in Ehoma lake, Nigeria

The zooplankton and physicochemistry of Ehoma lake were studied from March 2005 to August 2006 in order to evaluate seasonal trend in species composition and abundance in relation to water quality. Forty two (42) species of rotifers dominated by Keratella tropica tropica were encountered. Species richness declined by nearly 50% from dry season values during the rainy season. Species richness was higher in the littoral zone during the dry season, the reverse was the case during the rainy season. Species abundance followed similar trend as species richness. Abundance was closely associated with dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand and width of the lake and these in turn varied significantly between seasons. Shannon-Weaver diversity varied from 2.2 to 3.8 bit ind(-1) and significantly between seasons (p<0.05). Anuraeopsis navicula navicula and Euchlanis dilatata dilatata Ehrenbreg were the only species gained during the flood periods.     

Trajectory variability: Road geometry difficulty indicator

The analysis of the variability of vehicle trajectories can reveal important information about how situational constraints influence drivers’ behaviour (e.g., lateral position and/or speed). Variability in the lateral position using a driving simulator was examined. Forty-two participants had to drive on two road environments: a 3 km straight road with a crest vertical curve (CVC) with perceptual treatments and narrowed lane width with subsequent provision of a hard shoulder, by relocation of the road markings. The results showed that, on the one hand the lateral position variability was greater when driving on the test CVC, before meeting oncoming vehicle and on the narrowed lane width; and on the other hand it was limited according to the perceptual treatment used. The lateral position variability would be a difficulty indicator of road geometry which would inform road managers of the presence of a risk zone on their road network.