Soleidae macroparasites along the Portuguese coast: latitudinal variation and host–parasite associations

Parasite assemblages are increasingly being used as indicators of their hosts’ biology and ecology, especially for economically important marine species such as the Soleidae. In this study, seven species inhabiting Portuguese coastal waters were examined for external and internal macroparasite infections using standard procedures: Dicologlossa cuneata, Microchirus azevia, Microchirus variegatus, Solea lascaris, Solea senegalensis, Solea solea and Synaptura lusitanica. Despite being closely related, these species present different life history patterns and ecological preferences which were expected to be mirrored by their macroparasite assemblages. The aim of the study was, therefore, to study the variation of these assemblages, within and between host species, along the Portuguese coast in order to evaluate the importance of the hosts’ features and environmental factors in the assemblage compositions. Flatfish were obtained seasonally from commercial fishing vessels operating in three areas (northern, central and southern) along the Portuguese coast. Prevalence and mean abundance were calculated and tested for differences between host sex, areas and seasons. The host specificity index and the importance of the host–parasite relationship were computed based on mean abundance. The total number of parasite individuals, species richness, total prevalence, total mean abundance, diversity and evenness were also calculated. A canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was performed using prevalence and mean abundance data. A total of 44 macroparasite species were found. No significant differences were observed in prevalence and mean abundance between sexes and sampling seasons but, for three of the parasite species, significant differences were found between areas. The highest values of the parasitological and ecological indices were generally registered in the hosts S. lascaris and S. senegalensis and in the southern area. The CCA using the prevalence data revealed the differentiation of S. lascaris samples, which was mainly related to the total prevalence and to the number of important species of macroparasites. When using mean abundance data, the CCA revealed the differentiation of D. cuneata from the south, S. lascaris from the three areas and S. senegalensis from the south, mainly related to total prevalence and richness. The differences found between infection levels and assemblages’ composition were mainly due to differences in hosts’ diet, namely prey type consumption, given that most macroparasites found were transmitted through the food web. However, environmental factors were also important given that they regulate the distribution of ectoparasites and the availability of prey, and therefore the infections’ pattern. These findings were in agreement with the ones from similar studies performed in other species, revealing the importance of parasites as indicators of their hosts’ ecology.     

A new report of mesomelic camptomelia,polydactyly and Dandy–Walker complex in siblings

Two male siblings with several malformations are reported. The anomalies detected in both fetuses were mesomelic camptomelia, postaxial hexadactyly and Dandy–Walker complex. There was only one similar previous report in the literature. This combination could represent a specific pattern of malformation or a new syndrome, with different variants. The parents' consanguinity and the recurrence in a subsequent pregnancy suggest an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A side-by-side comparison of two systems of sequencing coupled reactors for anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste.

The objective of this work was to compare the performance of two laboratory-scale, mesophilic systems aiming at the anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (OFMSW). The first system consisted of two coupled reactors packed with OFMSW (PBR1.1-PBR1.2) and the second system consisted of an upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactor (UASB) coupled to a packed reactor (UASB2.1-PBR2.2). For the start-up phase, both reactors PBR 1.1 and the UASB 2.1 (also called leading reactors) were inoculated with a mixture of non-anaerobic inocula and worked with leachate and effluent full recirculation, respectively. Once a full methanogenic regime was achieved in the leading reactors, their effluents were fed to the fresh-packed reactors PBR1.2 and PBR2.2, respectively. The leading PBR 1.1 reached its full methanogenic regime after 118 days (Tm, time to achieve methanogenesis) whereas the other leading UASB 2.1 reactor reached its full methanogenesis regime after only 34 days. After coupling the leading reactors to the corresponding packed reactors, it was found that both coupled anaerobic systems showed similar performances regarding the degradation of the OFMSW. Removal efficiencies of volatile solids and cellulose and the methane pseudo-yield were 85.95%, 80.88% and 0.109 NL CH4 g(-1) VS(fed) in the PBR-PBR system; and 88.75%, 82.61% and 0.115 NL CH4 g(-1) VS(fed0 in the UASB-PBR system [NL, normalized litre (273 degrees K, 1 ata basis)]. Yet, the second system UASB-PBR system showed a faster overall start-up.     

Environmental performance evaluation of agro-industrial innovations – Part 2: methodological approach for performing vulnerability analysis of watersheds

Environmental vulnerability analysis has been sparsely used in environmental performance evaluation (EPE) of technological innovations. The present paper proposes a methodological approach to carry out vulnerability analysis of watersheds and to integrate this analysis into methods of environmental performance evaluation of agro-industrial innovations. This approach is applied to the Ambitec-Life Cycle method, described in Part 1 (this issue) of this study. The case study of green coconut substrate compared to ripe coconut substrate, also described in Part 1 (this issue), is now presented considering the vulnerability analysis of the watersheds where the life cycle stages of these products occur. The integration of vulnerability analysis in Ambitec-Life Cycle contributes to a better understanding of the environmental aspects of agro-industrial technological innovations with potential to cause significant impacts in watersheds where these innovations are implemented.     

Simulation and life cycle assessment of process design alternatives for biodiesel production from waste vegetable oils

This study uses the process simulator ASPEN Plus^® and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to compare three process design alternatives for biodiesel production from waste vegetable oils that are: the conventional alkali-catalyzed process including a free fatty acids (FFAs) pre-treatment, the acid-catalyzed process, and the supercritical methanol process using propane as co-solvent. Results show that the supercritical methanol process using propane as co-solvent is the most environmentally favorable alternative. Its smaller steam consumption in comparison with the other process design alternatives leads to a lower contribution to the potential environmental impacts (PEI’s). The acid-catalyzed process generally shows the highest PEI’s, in particular due to the high energy requirements associated with methanol recovery operations.     

The effect of copper sulphate on some biochemical parameters of rainbow trout

Copper sulphate has an adverse effect on some biochemical parameters of trout Salmo gairdneri. The main targets of damage are: (a)Tissue necrosis as demonstrated by increased ASAT and ALAT levels in blood plasma. (b)Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity. There is also a general stress effect as reflected by an elevated blood glucose level.