Characterization of bacterial contaminants in the air of a duck hatchery by cultivation based and molecular methods

Today's large-scale poultry production is often accompanied by high concentrations of airborne microorganisms at working places. However, the microbial communities in those bioaerosols are rarely characterised. In this study, we investigated the bacterial population in bioaerosols from a duck hatchery by both cultivation based and molecular methods and compared the results. Depending on used media, concentrations of airborne culturable bacteria varied between 6 × 10(1) and 7 × 10(6) CFU per m(3) air. The corresponding total cell count of DAPI stained cells was 2 × 10(7) cells per m(3) air. 16S rRNA gene analyses of bacterial isolates and clone libraries revealed a low species richness in hatcheries air, respectively. More than 50% of bacterial isolates were phylogenetically most closely related to bacterial species of the risk group 2 (German TRBA). The sequence composition in clone libraries supported the result of cultivation based approaches, whereby sequences assigned to Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter and Enterococcus are the most common. The high concentration of airborne bacteria which are most closely related to species of potential health risk requires further detailed investigations for these bacterial species.     

Die Umsetzung des EU Weißbuches zur Chemikalienpolitik

Background

Aim and Scope. Implementation of the European Union White Paper on chemicals policy shall provide more safety and more transparency in chemicals use. In the past, when assessing existing commercial substances there was often a lack of information in the fields of application of the chemicals and the exposures arising in those contexts. The White Paper therefore calls for ‘shared responsibility’. Processors and commercial users of substances are to be involved much more closely in the risk evaluation process than has hitherto been the case. They are to provide data on substance applications and exposures, and, to some extent, they are also to carry out exposure assessments and risk assessments themselves. By analysing case studies, the paper highlights the consequences of this approach.

Results and Discussion

Fear has often been voiced that these new tasks will completely overburden small and medium-sized enterprises. It is assumed that many chemicals are no longer available for smallvolume applications, as — for cost reasons — producers do not include these applications in their registration. The wording of the White Paper is not precise enough to be able to appraise the costs that will be associated with the required intensified communication. In this situation, it is essential to analyse prototypical substances and their applications in order to gain an improved understanding of the principle of shared responsibility.

Conclusions

The concrete study of several product chains has shown that the flow of information required between producers and users is very likely feasible within the context of the REACH system. For the producers of chemicals, the intensified communication will presumably make it simpler to procure information in the fields of application and exposures. However, in order to avoid users being overburdened, it will be important that registration requirements and focuses are shaped in a manner doing justice to practical realities. Users will need to undertake community-wide efforts on an industry federation and branch level. In this context, the protection of company know-how also needs to be ensured.

Recommendation and Outlook

In practice, implementation of the principle of shared responsibility can lead to intensified communication among the producers and users of chemicals. This can greatly facilitate exposure assessments and risk assessments. There is a need to develop manageable procedures that can also be implemented by small and medium-sized enterprises. Numerous proposals have been made in this context, and extensive reference material is now available.     

Chemisch-analytische Untersuchung von Arsenkampfstoffen und ihren Metaboliten

Arsenic containing chemical warfare agents (cwa) are persistent in the environment and continue to contaminte soil and ground water. In this paper the chemical rections of the cwa diphenylarsine chloride (CLARK I), phenylarsine dichloride (PFIFFIKUS), ethylarsine dichloride (DICK) and of chlorovinyl arsenic compounds (LEWISITE) are shown. The posibilities of the detection and determination of this cwa and their metabolites are presented.     

Growth of the salt marsh periwinkleLittoraria irrorata on fungal and cordgrass diets

The growth of the salt marsh periwinkleLittoraria irrorata (collected from Sapelo Island, Georgia in 1991, initial shell length 6.2 to 11.5 mm) on various diets was measured. Growth was highest on a diet of standing-dead leaves ofSpartina alterniflora. Periwinkles provided with marsh sediment, yellow-green, sterile, or bacteria-colonized leaves lost organic mass. Fungal-colonized leaves and pure mycelia of fungi common on standing-dead leaves allowed intermediate growth. Growth onS. alterniflora-based diets was negatively correlated with the phenolics content of the food, and positively correlated with its lipid content. No correlation was found between growth and protein content. The digestibility ofS. alterniflora leaves, estimated with the acid-insoluble ash technique, was highest when yellow-green leaves were used. Colonization by fungi or bacteria caused it to decline. ForS. alterniflora-based diets, growth rates were positively correlated with the amount of time spent on the food.     

Solar energy for electricity and fuels

Solar energy conversion into electricity by photovoltaic modules is now a mature technology. We discuss the need for materials and device developments using conventional silicon and other materials, pointing to the need to use scalable materials and to reduce the energy payback time. Storage of solar energy can be achieved using the energy of light to produce a fuel. We discuss how this can be achieved in a direct process mimicking the photosynthetic processes, using synthetic organic, inorganic, or hybrid materials for light collection and catalysis. We also briefly discuss challenges and needs for large-scale implementation of direct solar fuel technologies.     

Climate change,multiple stressors and human vulnerability: a systematic review

We systematically reviewed current climate change literature in order to examine how multiple processes that affect human vulnerability have been studied. Of the 125 reviewed articles, 79 % were published after 2009. There are numerous concepts that point out to stressors other than climate change that were used in reviewed studies. These different concepts were used interchangeably, and they illustrate processes that act on different scales. Most widely used concepts included non-climatic (40 % of the articles), multiple stressors (38 %) and other factors (37 %). About 75 % of the studies either acknowledged or carefully analyzed the social and environmental context in which vulnerability is experienced. One-third of the studies recognized climate change-related stressors as the most important, one-third argued that stressors other than climate are more important, and the rest of the studies did not analyze the relative importance of the different processes. Interactions between different stressors were mentioned in 76 % and analyzed explicitly in 28 % of the articles. Our review shows that there are studies that analyze the social context of vulnerability within climate change-related literature and this literature is rapidly expanding. Reviewed studies point out that there are multiple interacting stressors, whose interlinkages need to be carefully analyzed and targeted by policies, which integrate adaptation to climate change and other stressors. In conclusion, we suggest that future studies should include analytical frameworks that reflect dissimilarities between different types of stressors, methodological triangulation to identify key stressors and analysis of interactions between multiple stressors across different scales.     

Radiation doses of Swiss population from external sources

The outdoor radiation exposure of the population in Switzerland from external sources results from cosmic background as well as from natural and artificial ground radiation. The geographical distribution of these components and of the total dose rate are represented on maps consisting of 2 kmx2 km grid cells. The average dose rate on Swiss territory outdoors is 147 nSv/h (1.29 mSv/a). The distributions are then related to the population density distribution by GIS application. The population is exposed to an average dose rate of 108 nSv/h (0.95 mSv/a) per capita which is just below the threshold for man-made dose rate given by national regulation. The lower value (relative to the country average 147 nSv/h) arises from the fact that most of the population lives north of the Alps where the lithology is dominated by rocks of relatively low radioactivity and where the cosmic radiation is low relative to the Alps.     

Growth of northern deciduous trees under increasing atmospheric humidity: possible mechanisms behind the growth retardation

Regional Environmental Change - Increasing atmospheric humidity—a climate trend predicted for northern Europe—will reduce water flux through vegetation. Diminished transpirational water...