Diverse migration strategies in hoopoes (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Upupa epops</Emphasis>) lead to weak spatial but strong temporal connectivity

The annual cycle of migrating birds is shaped by their seasonal movements between breeding and non-breeding sites. Studying how migratory populations are linked throughout the annual cycle—migratory connectivity, is crucial to understanding the population dynamics of migrating bird species. This requires the consideration not only of spatial scales as has been the main focus to date but also of temporal scales: only when both aspects are taken into account, the degree of migratory connectivity can be properly defined. We investigated the migration behaviour of hoopoes (Upupa epops) from four breeding populations across Europe and characterised migration routes to and from the breeding grounds, location of non-breeding sites and the timing of key migration events. Migration behaviour was found to vary both within and amongst populations, and even though the spatial migratory connectivity amongst the populations was weak, temporal connectivity was strong with differences in timing amongst populations, but consistent timing within populations. The combination of diverse migration routes within populations and co-occurrence on the non-breeding grounds between populations might promote exchange between breeding populations. As a result, it might make hoopoes and other migrating bird species with similar strategies more resilient to future habitat or climatic changes and stabilise population trends.     

Enhanced aminophenols monitoring using in-channel amperometric detection with dual-channel microchip capillary electrophoresis

Improved techniques are needed to monitor toxic aminophenols in industrial wastewater. Microchip capillary electrophoresis (CE)-electrochemical detection (ECD) can be used to develop miniaturized system providing on-site monitoring. Here, a dual-channel microchip CE-ECD has been applied for the monitoring of aminophenols. The effect of conductance and capacitance between a working electrode and a reference electrode has been studied to minimize the noise that was generated in the amperometric detection. A mixture of aminophenols dissolved in a running buffer has been monitored. A separation efficiency with a plate number of 4770 and a high linear concentration dependence from 100 nM to 1 mM have been achieved for p-aminophenol. As a result, the analysis system has been applied for the monitoring of the pollutants with low detection limits of p-aminophenol (14.6 nM), o-aminophenol (10.6 nM) and m-aminophenol (15.3 nM). Here, we show that a wastewater sample from a natural gas refinery can be monitored using the microchip CE-ECD system.     

Digital PCR: a powerful new tool for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis?

Recent reports have indicated that digital PCR may be useful for the noninvasive detection of fetal aneuploidies by the analysis of cell-free DNA and RNA in maternal plasma or serum. In this review we provide an insight into the underlying technology and its previous application in the determination of the allelic frequencies of oncogenic alterations in cancer specimens. We also provide an indication of how this new technology may prove useful for the detection of fetal aneuploidies and single gene Mendelian disorders. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organohalogen contaminants and metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid and cerebellum gray matter in short-beaked common dolphins and Atlantic white-sided dolphins from the western North Atlantic

Concentrations of several congeners and classes of organohalogen contaminants (OHCs) and/or their metabolites, namely organochlorine pesticides (OCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hydroxylated-PCBs (OH-PCBs), methylsulfonyl-PCBs (MeSO₂-PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, and OH-PBDEs, were measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of short-beaked common dolphins (n = 2), Atlantic white-sided dolphins (n = 8), and gray seal (n = 1) from the western North Atlantic. In three Atlantic white-sided dolphins, cerebellum gray matter (GM) was also analyzed. The levels of OCs, PCBs, MeSO₂-PCBs, PBDEs, and OH-PBDEs in cerebellum GM were higher than the concentrations in CSF. 4-OH-2,3,3′,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl (4-OH-CB107) was the only detectable OH-PCB congener present in CSF. The sum (Σ) OH-PCBs/Σ PCB concentration ratio in CSF was approximately two to three orders of magnitude greater than the ratio in cerebellum GM for dolphins.     

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF DAILY WATER QUALITY DATA1

ABSTRACT. The stochastic nature of some water quality time series were examined. These time series include nine years of daily observations in: (1) the stream flow (Q), (2) the water temperature (T), (3) the dissolved oxygen (DO), and (4) the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of the Passaic River at Little Falls, New Jersey. It was found that the random component contributes more than 60 per cent of the variance in the BOD series, but only 30 per cent or less in the DO series. Autocorrelation analysis suggest that DO and BOD residual series have a persistence of about 30 days. Significant crosscorrelation between DO and temperature T was found when DO lags T for up to 30 days, which indicates that the critical DO probably lags the critical temperature. Also, spectral anlaysis shows multiple peaks in the BOD series, reflecting effects of storm runoff and other non-point source pollution on river water quality.