Seasonal ecology of hydrocarbon-utilizing microbes in the surface Waters of a river

Seasonal changes in the microbial communities of the New Calabar Riverwater have been investigated. Analyses of the BOD, pH, salinity, oil and grease levels of effluents of industries sited along the river were also conducted. High hydrocarbon-utilizing microbial populations were found. The percentage of hydrocarbon-utilizing heterotrophic bacteria ranged between 0–98% and 0–68% in the rainy and dry months, respectively. Counts of hydrocarbon-utilizing actinomycetes in the rainy months ranged between 0–95% and 2–55% in the dry months. The hydrocarbon-utilizing yeast population ranged between 1–95% and 2–85% for the rainy and dry months, respectively. Rainy month values for hydrocarbon-utilizing mould population ranged from 0–17% while dry month values ranged from 0–47%. The hydrocarbon-utilizing cyanobacterial population ranged between 0–95% and 0–33% in the rainy and dry months, respectively. Our results suggest that the heterotrophic bacterial and cyanobacterial populations are higher in the rainy months than in the dry months. However, the hydrocarbon-utilizing yeast, mould and actinomycete populations did not show seasonal variation.     

FUTURE SOURCES OF COOLING WATER FOR POWER PLANTS IN ARID REGIONS1

ABSTRACT: Electric generation facility water requirement will increase substantially in the future in the Western United States because new power plants are to be constructed at inland sites rather than on the coast. At the inland locations, power plants will have to compete with agriculture and public users for fresh water supplies, and will be constrained by environmental legislation to dispose of cooling waste water in lined evaporation ponds. The various options for power plant cooling are analyzed in respect to cost, water consumption, and environmental hazard, and also in respect to their compatibility with existing state and federal regulations. Several proposals for balancing the water requirements of various users in water-scarce areas are reviewed and criticized.     

Amniocentesis rate and the detection of down syndrome and other chromosomal anomalies in Israel

We investigated the contribution of different screening criteria to the prenatal detection of Down syndrome (DS) as well as other chromosomal anomalies in the Jewish population in Israel during 1990 and 1992. There was a significant decrease (P<0·03) in the incidence of DS live-births during 1992 (40:78 442) compared with 1990 (69:73 751) which paralleled a marked increase in total prenatal testing and in DS cases detected prenatally. Private laboratories, which perform amniocenteses mostly for women with a low risk of DS and without genetic counselling, had a significantly lower detection rate (1:917) compared with that of the genetic institutes, which following genetic counselling test both women ≥ 37 years of age (1:91) and women younger than 37 years (1:113). The detection of chromosomal anomalies other than DS was less affected by the reason for amniocentesis. Amniocentesis indicated by maternal serum marker screening of women younger than 37 years identified a greater number of chromosomal anomalies other than DS than amniocentesis based on age (≥37 years) alone (111:9604 versus 94:9810; P<0·06). Prenatal detection of DS is most effective when the indication for amniocentesis follows genetic counselling. The increasing use of maternal serum marker screening leads to a significant improvement in the positive detection rate of chromosomal anomalies other than DS in young women.     

Taxing Emissions: A Theoretical Note

This report contains a short theoretical proof for the non-optima lity of a uniform emission tax. A method recently suggested for finding the optimal level of a uniform tax is criticized. An alternative tax system that could be either uniform or non-uniform that is gradually increasing over time is suggested instead. The paper is aimed at stimulating discussions on theoretical and empirical grounds on the feasibility and efficiency of the suggested tax.     

Late-onset isolated cystic hygroma: The obstetrical significance,management, and outcome

We add two cases of prenatally diagnosed late-onset isolated cystic hygroma to the eight cases reported previously in the English literature. The obstetrical significance, management, and outcome of this entity are reviewed. A retrospective study of late-onset isolated cystic hygromas delivered in one medical centre between 1978 and 1992 was made. The medical records of these newborns served as the basis of the present report. A Medline search of the English literature was carried out. Over a period of 15 years, we observed 11 cases of late-onset congenital isolated cystic hygroma, two of whom had prenatal sonographic diagnosis. In one case, a Caesarean section was performed due to a huge lesion. All cases underwent surgical excision with a favourable outcome. Of the eight prenatally diagnosed cases reported previously, one died at birth due to inability to ventilate and two required a tracheostomy. Late-onset isolated cystic hygroma should be differentiated from the early-onset nuchal cystic hygroma. The differential diagnosis is important, as late-onset isolated cystic hygroma does not require any prenatal intervention, but special awareness during labour and Caesarean section in extreme cases. Transport to a perinatal centre with expert neonatal, respiratory, and paediatric surgical care is recommended. The prognosis in general is favourable.     

Are perseverance and self‐efficacy costless? Assessing entrepreneurs' regretful thinking

New business formation is a formidable and daunting task, which may require personal perseverance and self‐efficacy. If this is indeed the case, will entrepreneurs and non‐entrepreneurs differ on such attributes? Also, if high levels of perseverance and self‐efficacy help entrepreneurs to overcome setbacks, snags, and obstacles, do these positive attributes co‐occur with significant personal costs, such as the tendency to experience regretful thinking? This study uses a random sample of 217 patent inventors in the medical industry (surgery devices) to address these questions. Results indicate that entrepreneurs score significantly higher on self‐efficacy and on two distinct aspects of perseverance—perceived control over adversity and perceived responsibility regarding outcome of adversity—than did non‐entrepreneurs. Also, although entrepreneurs report the same number of regrets, their regrets are stronger and are qualitatively different from those reported by non‐entrepreneurs. These findings suggest that perseverance and self‐efficacy do indeed co‐occur with regretful thinking. Finally, post hoc analysis reveals that the higher the overall perseverance scores of patent inventors, the higher their annual earnings. We conclude by examining the implications for theory, researcher, and practice. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Importance of timely metadata curation to the global surveillance of genetic diversity

Genetic diversity within species represents a fundamental yet underappreciated level of biodiversity. Because genetic diversity can indicate species resilience to changing climate, its measurement is relevant to many national and global conservation policy targets. Many studies produce large amounts of genome-scale genetic diversity data for wild populations, but most (87%) do not include the associated spatial and temporal metadata necessary for them to be reused in monitoring programs or for acknowledging the sovereignty of nations or Indigenous peoples. We undertook a distributed datathon to quantify the availability of these missing metadata and to test the hypothesis that their availability decays with time. We also worked to remediate missing metadata by extracting them from associated published papers, online repositories, and direct communication with authors. Starting with 848 candidate genomic data sets (reduced representation and whole genome) from the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration, we determined that 561 contained mostly samples from wild populations. We successfully restored spatiotemporal metadata for 78% of these 561 data sets (n = 440 data sets with data on 45,105 individuals from 762 species in 17 phyla). Examining papers and online repositories was much more fruitful than contacting 351 authors, who replied to our email requests 45% of the time. Overall, 23% of our email queries to authors unearthed useful metadata. The probability of retrieving spatiotemporal metadata declined significantly as age of the data set increased. There was a 13.5% yearly decrease in metadata associated with published papers or online repositories and up to a 22% yearly decrease in metadata that were only available from authors. This rapid decay in metadata availability, mirrored in studies of other types of biological data, should motivate swift updates to data-sharing policies and researcher practices to ensure that the valuable context provided by metadata is not lost to conservation science forever.     

Relationships between exposure to polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine pesticides and the risk for developing type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and a meta-analysis of exposures to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)

A systematic review was performed to evaluate the association between environmental exposures to polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAHs) and organochlorine (OC) pesticides and the risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D). Searches of EMbase, Google Scholar, Medline, and Scopus were performed. Reports were included if they were original human studies whose design included a control group and if the sample size was larger than 10 participants per group. The articles were excluded if the type of diabetes was unknown or Type 1. Odds ratios (OR), 95% confidence intervals (CI), and modified Naranjo scores for the effects of environmental contaminants were determined for each study. Of the 35 eligible studies, six were included in the meta-analysis; these focused specifically on 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Meta-analysis of these studies showed no significant increased OR for the development of T2D from exposure to TCDD. However, subgroup analysis showed significant elevated OR for the development of T2D if exposure is repeated and accompanied by exposure to other persistent pesticides (OR?=?1.48; 1.10–1.90) but a decreased odds for T2D with exposure resulting from accidental exposure (OR?=?0.46; 0.39–0.52). Our results suggest that there are significant risks of developing T2D in populations with recurring exposures to TCDD in concert with other persistent chlorinated pesticides. A mean Naranjo score of 2.0 was determined for all 35 articles; this score was 2.5 when examining only TCDD studies and 2.1 when examining studies that looked only at T2D. Each of these Naranjo scores suggests a possible association between the prevalence of T2D and exposure to PHAHs or OC pesticides.     

TRICKLE IRRIGATION OF WHEAT APPLYING RENOVATED WASTEWATER1

ABSTRACT: A preliminary field experiment was conducted for trickle irrigation of winter wheat raised for grain production under arid conditions. Treated waste water was applied for trickle irrigation via a trickle system. Mean total amount of effluent applied was about 5700 m³/ha. In one of the experimental treatments, which was irrigated once a week, a grain yield of over 10,000 kg/ha was obtained, whereas in the other treatments the yields were about 8,500 kg/ha, which are above the mean yield obtained under sprinkler irrigation.