Comparison of four different methods for reliability evaluation of ecotoxicity data: a case study of non-standard test data used in environmental risk assessments of pharmaceutical substances

Part 2 presents measures at the city scale, which are distinguished into object- and area-related means. The former ones include emission reduction, energy gaining and saving, as well as the climate-improving impact of rooftop and façade greening. Area-related means refer to the reduction of radiation temperature through shading and transpiration as well as impact of urban green areas of different size on the urban climate. Furthermore the opportunities to use subsurface urban heat island as an energy-reservoir for cooling or heating are discussed.     

Application of a Screening Method in Assessing Occupational Safety and Health of Computer Workstations

Employers and workers need concrete guidance to plan and implement changes in the ergonomics of computer workstations. The Näppärä method is a screening tool for identifying problems requiring further assessment and corrective actions. The aim of this study was to assess the work of occupational safety and health (OSH) government inspectors who used Näppärä as part of their OSH enforcement inspections (430 assessments) related to computer work. The modifications in workstation ergonomics involved mainly adjustments to the screen, mouse, keyboard, forearm supports, and chair. One output of the assessment is an index indicating the percentage of compliance items. This method can be considered as exposure assessment and ergonomics intervention used as a benchmark for the level of ergonomics. Future research can examine whether the effectiveness of participatory ergonomics interventions should be investigated with Näppärä.     

Effects of bleached kraft mill effluents on the swimming activity of Monoporeia affinis (crustacea, amphipoda) lindström

The crustacean Monoporeia affinis Lindström was exposed to two different concentrations of bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME) containing, originally, 8.3 mg/g organic chlorine determined as adsorbable organic halogen (AOX). The swimming activity of the animals was recorded by pairs of infra-red sensitive photocells attached to 5.6 1 aquaria having a seawater inflow rate of 12 ml/min. The test sequence included a control phase, an exposure phase and a recovery phase. During the exposure phase the total swimming activity decreased in three of the four test aquaria containing effluent, indicating that the animals had retreated into the sediment. Total activity increased during the recovery phase and, in the case of the lower organic chlorine concentration, activity almost achieved the original control-phase level. Statistical differences in swimming activity changes during experiment were evaluated using ANOVA. Experimental methods are explained in detail.     

Interactions between fangblennies (Plagiotremus rhinorhynchus) and their potential victims: fooling the model rather than the client?

Lepidophagous (scale-eating) blue-striped fangblennies (Plagiotremus rhinorhynchus Bleeker 1852) are often found sympatrically with the bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus Valenciennes 1839). They have some resemblance to the juvenile L. dimidiatus and have previously been reported as aggressive cleaner wrasse mimics. We observed 14 P. rhinorhynchus on a small area in the barrier reef near Hoga Island, Indonesia to assess the effects of client size on the behaviour and attack success of fangblennies: our results suggest that fangblennies are selective with regard to victim size; fish avoided by the fangblennies are significantly larger than those not avoided and attack success is significantly higher at intermediate victim size classes. The behaviour of the victims also has a significant direct effect on the foraging success of the fangblennies; where the potential victim posed, 63.6% were ignored by the fangblenny and only 7.4% of attacks were successful on posing fish as opposed to a surprise attack success rate of 71.6%. Overall, victims which exhibited the pose behaviour were significantly smaller in size. It appears likely that the predatory strategy of these fangblennies varies with victim size and that mimicry plays a minor role in attracting potential victims. We suggest that in common with other mimetic fish the resemblance of fangblennies to juvenile bluestreak cleaner wrasse allows them to actively hunt in areas where adult cleaners are common thus, indirectly improving their feeding opportunities.     

Novel mutations in the human CYP21 gene

The great majority of genetic defects underlying steroid 21-hydroxylase deficiency appear to result from intergenic recombinations between the homologous CYP21 and CYP21P genes. For a minority, novel sporadic point mutations have been detected. De novo mutations in CYP21 have also been reported, but only a few studies have systematically screened their occurrence. We here describe a population-based patient sample in order to estimate the rate of single-family (i.e. sporadic) and de novo germline mutations in the human CYP21 locus. Among 76 Finnish families were observed three single-family mutations and two de novo mutations in CYP21. The rates obtained, ∼5% and ∼2% for novel and de novo mutations, respectively, indicate that they are not rare and that their occurrence should not be ignored in genetic diagnostics of this disorder. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A bioassay approach to determine the dioxin-like activity in sediment extracts from the Danube River: ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase induction in gill filaments and liver of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.)

Sediment samples from the upper Danube River in Germany have previously been characterized as ecotoxicologically hazardous and contaminants in these sediments may contribute to the observed decline of fish populations in this river section. For the investigation of sediment toxicity there is a need for development, standardization and implementation of in vivo test systems using vertebrates. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to apply and evaluate a recently established fish gill EROD assay as a biomarker in sediment toxicity assessment by using extracts of well characterised sediment samples from the upper Danube River. This to our knowledge is the first application of this novel assay to sediment extracts. Sediments from four different sites along the upper Danube River were Soxhlet-extracted with acetone and dissolved in DMSO. Three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) were exposed for 48 h to various concentrations of the extracts, to the positive control beta-naphthoflavone or to the solvent. Measurements of EROD activity in gill filaments and liver microsomes followed the exposure. Concentration-dependent induction of EROD in both gill and liver was found for all sediment extracts. The highest EROD-inducing potency was determined for extracts of sediments from the sites "Opfinger See" and "Sigmaringen" and the EROD activities in gill and liver correlated well. The results from the gill and liver assays were in accordance with in vitro results of previous investigations. The EROD activities measured in the present study corresponded with the concentrations of PAHs, PCBs and PCDD/Fs in the sediment samples derived in a previous study. The sticklebacks in this study were in the reproductive phase and a stronger EROD induction was obtained in the females than in the males. Implementation of the EROD assay in testing of sediment extracts gave highly reliable results which make this assay an ecotoxicologically relevant method for assessment of contamination with Ah receptor agonists in sediments.     

Enteric Viruses in a Large Waterborne Outbreak of Acute Gastroenteritis in Finland

In Nokia city about 450,000 l of treated sewage water was for 2 days allowed to run into the drinking water supplies of the city due to a personal error of one employee. Within the next 5 weeks about 1,000 people sought care at the municipal health centre or regional hospital because of gastroenteritis. Here we report the results of viral analyses performed by gene amplification assays from the earliest water and sewage samples as well as from close to 300 patient samples. The contaminating treated sewage was shown to harbour several enteric viruses known to cause acute gastroenteritis. Likewise, the drinking water sample was positive for noro-, astro-, rota-, entero- and adenoviruses. Noroviruses were also found in 29.8% of stool samples from affected patients, while astro-, adeno-, rota- and enteroviruses were detected in 19.7, 18.2, 7.5 and 3.7% of the specimens, respectively. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Population level risk assessment: practical considerations for evaluation of population models from a risk assessor's perspective

Population models are increasingly being considered as a tool for pesticide risk assessment in order to evaluate how potential effects act on the population level and population recovery. While the importance and difficulties of such models have been discussed by various authors during the past decade, mainly with a focus on how to describe or develop such models, several biological and methodological aspects have never been addressed so far, which are relevant for the application of models in risk assessment. These include a critical review of our knowledge of a species, the use of field data by taking methodological constraints into account, how to include uncertainty in model validation or how to measure effects. Although these aspects will be critical for the acceptance of population models by authorities, most of them apply not only to population models, but also to standard risk assessment. In the present article, we give practical recommendations for addressing these questions in population level risk assessments.     

Reversed parasite-mediated selection in sticklebacks from eutrophied habitats

Sexual selection is often assumed to increase the viability of populations by increasing the quality of offspring produced. Presently, human-induced environmental changes are altering the process of sexual selection by influencing male–male interactions and female mate choice. Here, we show that increased density of filamentous algae due to eutrophication reverses parasite-mediated selection during reproduction in threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). When we manipulated the density of artificial algae in a breeding area in the Baltic Sea, more males nested in dense than in sparse vegetation, but the males in dense vegetation were more parasitized. Interestingly, heavily parasitized males acquired more eggs than less parasitized males in dense vegetation but not in sparse vegetation. The higher probability of reproduction for parasitized males in dense algae growth could be due to impaired visibility relaxing male–male competition or reducing female choosiness. This could favour males in poor condition that often invest more in attracting females than males in good condition. In sparse vegetation, parasitized males may have a lower reproductive success due to intense male–male competition, careful female choice and high predation rate selecting against parasitized males. The results suggest that eutrophication could alter the fraction of the population that reproduces, which could have long-term evolutionary consequences.     

Sequentielle Schwermetallextraktion aus Staubniederschlägen und Stra\ensedimenten

For the application of our method for the sequential extraction of heavy metals from microsamples presented in part 1 (“Sequentielle Schwermetallextraktion von Mikroproben” — “Sequential Extraction of Heavy Metals from Micro Samples”) an investigation was carried out to evaluate airborne dust fallout and street sediments at two urban sites where different heavy metal immission rates occur due to traffic influence. In the street sediments the total concentrations of zinc, copper and lead was three to fivefold higher in the silt and clay fraction (< 63 μm) than in the particle size fraction (< 1,12 mm), but showed nearly the same mobilisation behaviour. The dust samples showed equal mobilisation behaviour as the street sediments for copper and lead, while zinc was considerably more mobile in the dust samples: In extraction steps I–IV (I: mobile fraction; II: easily deliverable fraction; III: fraction bound to manganese oxides; IV: fraction bound organic to matter) zinc, copper and lead in street sediments, as well as copper and lead in dust samples, were dissolved to 40–70%, whereas about 80% of zinc in the dust samples was already dissolved in extraction step I.