Toxicity assessment of a common laundry detergent using the freshwater flagellate Euglena gracilis

Synthetic detergents are among the commonly used chemicals in everyday life. Detergents, reaching aquatic environments through domestic and municipal wastewater, can cause many different effects in aquatic organisms. The present study was aimed at the toxicity evaluation of a commonly used laundry detergent, Ariel, using the freshwater flagellate Euglena gracilis as a biotest organism. Different parameters of the flagellate like motility, swimming velocity, cell shape, gravitactic orientation, photosynthesis and concentration of light harvesting pigments were used as end points for the toxicity assessment. No Observed Effect Concentration (NOEC) and EC₅₀ values were calculated for the end point parameters at four different incubation times, i.e. 0, 6, 24 and 72 h. After 72 h incubation, swimming velocity of the cells was found to be the most sensitive parameter giving NOEC and EC₅₀ values of 10.8 and 34 mg L⁻¹, respectively. After 72 h exposure to the detergent, chlorophyll a and total carotenoids were significantly decreased in cultures treated with Ariel at concentrations of 50 mg L⁻¹ and above while chlorophyll b significantly decreased at concentrations above 750 mg L⁻¹. The maximum inhibitory effect on the quantum yield of photosystem II was observed after 24 h exposure and thereafter a recovery trend was observed. Motility, gravitaxis and cell shape were strongly impaired immediately upon exposure to the detergent, but with increasing exposure time these parameters showed acclimatization to the stress and thus the NOEC values obtained after 72 h were higher than those immediately after exposure.     

Water pollution in Pakistan and its impact on public health--a review

Water pollution is one of the major threats to public health in Pakistan. Drinking water quality is poorly managed and monitored. Pakistan ranks at number 80 among 122 nations regarding drinking water quality. Drinking water sources, both surface and groundwater are contaminated with coliforms, toxic metals and pesticides throughout the country. Various drinking water quality parameters set by WHO are frequently violated. Human activities like improper disposal of municipal and industrial effluents and indiscriminate applications of agrochemicals in agriculture are the main factors contributing to the deterioration of water quality. Microbial and chemical pollutants are the main factors responsible exclusively or in combination for various public health problems. This review discusses a detailed layout of drinking water quality in Pakistan with special emphasis on major pollutants, sources of pollution and the consequent health problems. The data presented in this review are extracted from various studies published in national and international journals. Also reports released by the government and non-governmental organizations are included.     

Urban mining: hibernating copper stocks in local power grids

Large technical systems serving the everyday needs of people, such as water supply systems, power grids or communication networks, are rich in accumulated metals. Over time, parts of these systems have been taken out of use without the system infrastructure being removed from its original location. Such metal stocks in hibernation thus constitute potential resource reservoirs accessible for recovery. In this paper, obsolete stocks of copper situated in the local power grids of two Swedish cities are quantified. Emphasis is also on economic conditions for extracting such “hibernating” cables. The results show that on a per customer basis, the two power grids contain similar amounts of copper, i.e. 0.04–0.05 tonnes per subscriber. However, the share of the copper stock that is in hibernation differs between the grids. In the larger grid of Gothenburg, almost 20% of the copper accumulated in the grid is no longer in use, while the obsolete share does not exceed 5% in the city of Linköping. For managers of local power grids, recovery of hibernating cables could be beneficial if integrated with other maintenance work on the grid. At the present price of copper, however, separate recovery of obsolete cables is not economically justified.     

Fine Particle (PM25) Measurement Methodology,Quality Assurance Procedures,and Pilot Results of the EXPOLIS Study

ABSTRACT

EXPOLIS is a European multicenter (Athens, Basel, Grenoble, Helsinki, Milan, and Prague) air pollution exposure study. It is the first international, population-based, large-scale study, where personal exposures to PM_{2 5} aerosol particles (together with volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide) are being monitored. EXPOLIS is performed in six different centers across Europe, the sampled aerosol concentrations vary greatly, and the mi-croenvironmental samples are not collected with the same equipment as the personal samples. Therefore careful equipment selection, methods development and testing, and thorough quality assurance and quality control (QA & QC) procedures are essential for producing reliable and comparable PM_2.5 data. This paper introduces the equipment, the laboratory test results, the pilot results, the standard operating procedures, and the QA & QC procedures of EXPOLIS. Test results show good comparability and repeatability between personal and microenvironmen-tal monitors for PM2.5 at different concentration levels measured across Europe in EXPOLIS centers.     

A Field Intercomparison and Fundamental Characterization of Various Dust Samplers with a Reference Sampler

The European Economic Community Council Directive 80/779/EEC¹ describes air quality limit values and guide values for sulfur dioxide and suspended particulates. However, article 10, paragraph 1 does not define well enough the reference method required, amongst others, for the gravimetric measurement of suspended particulates. It is explicity stated in article 10, paragraph 5 of the directive, that “the commission shall, in selected locations in the member states and in cooperation with the latter, carry out studies on the sampling…of suspended particulates. These studies shall be designed in particular to promote the harmonization of methods of sampling and analysis of these pollutants.” Therefore, in a joint research program the Umweltbundesamt (grant #104 02263), the commission of European Communities (grant #84-B-6642-11-017-11-N) and the U.S. EPA (grant #2-43211-3580) funded the development of a reference dust sampler by the Fraunhofer-lnstitute of Toxicology and Aerosol Research (FhITA, in Hannover, Federal Republic of Germany) in order: ? to study the particle size distribution of ambient air aerosol at a number of selected sites;

? to compare the results obtained with the reference dust sampler with those of particle samplers operated in Europe and the United States;

? to verify the applicability of wind tunnel results to sampling behaviour in the free atmosphere.

     

Sperm competition affects sex allocation but not sperm morphology in a flatworm

Sperm competition has been shown to be an important evolutionary agent affecting the behaviour, physiology, and morphology of both males and females. One morphological trait that is particularly likely to be affected by sperm competition is sperm size because it is thought to influence the competitiveness of sperm by determining sperm longevity, motility, and/or their ability to displace competing sperm. Most comparative studies across taxa have found a positive relationship between the level of sperm competition and sperm length, but very few studies have tested for a phenotypically plastic adjustment of sperm morphology in response to sperm competition. In this study, we experimentally tested for an effect of sperm competition on phenotypic plasticity in sperm morphology in an obligately outcrossing simultaneous hermaphrodite, the free-living flatworm Macrostomum lignano, by either raising worms in monogamous pairs (no sperm competition) or in promiscuous groups (intense sperm competition). Worms in groups produced larger testes and smaller ovaries as predicted by sex allocation theory and as previously documented in this species. However, we found no evidence for an effect of group size on sperm morphology, measured as total sperm length, sperm body length, and the length of two different sperm appendages. We conclude that M. lignano may either be incapable of adjusting the sperm morphology in a phenotypically plastic way and/or that there might be no benefit of phenotypic plasticity in sperm traits in this species.     

Distribution,fate and formation of non-extractable residues of a nonylphenol isomer in soil with special emphasis on soil derived organo-clay complexes

Anthropogenic contaminants like nonylphenols (NP) are added to soil, for instance if sewage-sludge is used as fertilizer in agriculture. A commercial mixture of NP consists of more than 20 isomers. For our study, we used one of the predominate isomers of NP mixtures, 4-(3,5-dimethylhept-3-yl)phenol, as a representative compound. The aim was to investigate the fate and distribution of the isomer within soil and soil derived organo-clay complexes. Therefore, ¹⁴C- and ¹³C-labeled NP was added to soil samples and incubated up to 180 days. Mineralization was measured and soil samples were fractionated into sand, silt and clay; the clay fraction was further separated in humic acids, fulvic acids and humin. The organo-clay complexes pre-incubated for 90 or 180 days were re-incubated with fresh soil for 180 days, to study the potential of re-mobilization of incorporated residues. The predominate incorporation sites of the nonylphenol isomer in soil were the organo-clay complexes. After 180 days of incubation, 22 % of the applied ¹⁴C was mineralized. The bioavailable, water extractable portion was low (9 % of applied ¹⁴C) and remained constant during the entire incubation period, which could be explained by an incorporation/release equilibrium. Separation of organo-clay complexes, after extraction with solvents to release weakly incorporated, bioaccessible portions, showed that non-extractable residues (NER) were preferentially located in the humic acid fraction, which was regarded as an effect of the chemical composition of this fraction. Generally, 27 % of applied ¹⁴C was incorporated into organo-clay complexes as NER, whereas 9 % of applied ¹⁴C was bioaccessible after 180 days of incubation. The re-mobilization experiments showed on the one hand, a decrease of the bioavailability of the nonylphenol residues due to stronger incorporation, when the pre-incubation period was increased from 90 to 180 days. On the other hand, a shift of these residues from the clay fraction to other soil fractions was observed, implying a dynamic behavior of incorporated residues, which may result in bioaccessibility of the NER of nonylphenol.     

Educating the next generation of atmospheric scientists within a European Network of Excellence

In order to promote the next generation of atmospheric scientists, the task Training and Education (T&E) in ACCENT, the European Network of Excellence in Atmospheric Composition Change (www.accent-network.org) has developed and implemented an Integrated Learning Environment (ILE). For school teachers and their students, the Internet-based “Global Change Magazine” provides up-to-date and freely accessible scientific material in English and five other languages. Additionally, T&E has produced online teaching material for early-career scientists. These e-learning modules are now being used in University Master's courses across Europe. T&E also organised training events for early-career scientists, combining scientific content with development in transferable skills, to focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, interaction with senior scientists, communication with stakeholders, and dissemination to the general public. Evaluation based on participant feedback evidences the effectiveness of these events, e.g., in terms of motivation to remain in the field. Methodologies and materials from T&E are being published in a Handbook on Best Practice, intended for both educators and scientists around the globe who are involved in education in the field of air quality and climate change science.     

Quantifying the effects of trampling and habitat edges on forest understory vegetation – A field experiment

We investigated the effects of human trampling on boreal forest understory vegetation on, and off paths from suburban forest edges towards the interiors and on the likelihood of trampling-aided dispersal into the forests for three years by carrying out a trampling experiment. We showed that the vegetation was highly sensitive to trampling. Even low levels of trampling considerably decreased covers of the most abundant species on the paths. Cover decreased between 10 and 30% on paths which had been trampled 35 times, and at least by 50% on those trampled 70–270 times. On-path vegetation cover decreased similarly at forest edges and in the interiors. However, some open habitat plant species that occurred outside the forest patches and at forest edges dispersed into the forests, possibly through the action of trampling. A higher cover percentage of an open habitat species at the forest edge line increased its probability to disperse into the forest interior. The vegetation community on, next to, and away from lightly trampled paths remained the same throughout the trampling experiment. For heavily trampled paths, the community changed drastically on the paths, but stayed relatively similar next to and away from the paths. As boreal vegetation is highly sensitive to the effects of trampling, overall ease of access throughout the forest floor should be restricted to avoid the excessive creation of spontaneous paths. To minimize the effects of trampling, recreational use could be guided to the maintained path network in heavily used areas.