Neural stem cell-based in vitro bioassay for the assessment of neurotoxic potential of water samples

Intensive agriculture activities, industrialization and growing numbers of wastewater treatment plants along river banks collectively contribute to the elevated levels of neurotoxic pollutants in natural water reservoirs across Europe. We established an in vitro bioassay based upon neural stem cells isolated from the subventricular zone of the postnatal mouse to evaluate the neurotoxic potential of raw wastewater, treated sewage effluent, groundwater and drinking water. The toxic potential of water samples was evaluated employing viability, proliferation, differentiation and migration assays. We found that raw wastewater could reduce the viability and proliferation of neural stem cells, and decreased the neuronal and astrocyte differentiation, neuronal neurite growth, astrocyte growth and cell migration. Treated sewage water also showed inhibitory effects on cell proliferation and migration. Our results indicated that relatively high concentrations of nitrogenous substances, pesticides, mercuric compounds, bisphenol-A, and phthalates, along with some other pollutants in raw wastewater and treated sewage water, might be the reason for the neuroinhibitory effects of these water samples. Our model successfully predicted the neurotoxicity of water samples collected from different sources and also revealed that the incomplete removal of contaminants from wastewater can be problematic for the developing nervous system. The presented data also provides strong evidence that more effective treatments should be used to minimize the contamination of water before release into major water bodies which may be considered as water reservoirs for human usage in the future.     

油田水处理系统过滤器性能分析

核桃壳过滤器是渤海曹妃甸油田生产水处理系统的关键设备,本文对其运行现状进行了全面分析,针对目前滤料再生困难和除油效率偏低等问题,采取了相应的改造措施,并对滤器的安装调试和日常维修保养给出了具体建议。可供石油石化行业类似设备操作与维修提供借鉴。     

Nationwide Air Pollution Control Training Efforts: Status Quo vs. Needs

This paper briefly reviews the historical development of air pollution training activities in the U. S. It describes the various types of training programs currently available, such as short courses, specialized programs, and university training at the graduate level. The level of financial support and the number of individuals enrolled in these programs are discussed. The paper concludes with an outline of future needs in terms of changes in existing training programs, extension into new areas, and the critical problem of recruitment of qualified candidates for training.     

Estimation of Additive Effects from Multiple Sources

Using meteorological diffusion equations, a computer program has been developed to calculate the distribution of pollutants in an area affected by multiple sources, such as in a typical industrial district. Using rapid printout on a teletype terminal, data processing costs can be as low as two to three dollars for a printout showing distribution of pollutants over a distance of several miles and illustrating additive effects from multiple sources in the area. By integrating this method of data processing into a monitoring network and an emission inventory, the usefulness of monitoring data could be greatly increased to provide a much more realistic evaluation of ambient air quality within the area.     

Estimating the hydraulic properties of the fracture network in a sandstone aquifer

The potential hydraulic behaviour of the fracture network in a major Triassic sandstone aquifer in the UK has been evaluated. The properties of the fracture network were determined using results from detailed scan line surveys at 10 sites, television and geophysical borehole logging, and packer testing. Six sets of discontinuities common to all sites were identified and statistically characterised (dip, strike, orientation, density, size, and estimated transmissivity). A discrete fracture network model was then used stochastically to investigate the properties of the network. In general, the network is poorly connected: it is estimated that 9% of the discontinuities intersecting boreholes are transmissive. The hydraulic behaviour of the network is generally dominated by one sub-horizontal bedding plane fracture set, although when present, a relatively infrequent north-south striking, sub-vertical set modifies the bulk flow properties significantly. Ignoring this latter set, the network's minimum representative volume is about 35 x 35 x 35 m. The upscaled permeability is anisotropic, being typically 23 times greater in the horizontal than in the vertical. Tortuosity in the north-south direction is around 1.6.     

Advancing objectives-based,integrated ocean management through marine spatial planning: current and future directions on the Scotian Shelf off Nova Scotia,Canada

The national legislative and policy context for integrated ocean management in Canada is provided by the Oceans Act (1996) and the supporting policy statement, Canada’s Oceans Strategy. Under the Oceans Act, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is the lead federal authority for ocean affairs and is charged with leading and facilitating the development and implementation of integrated management plans for all marine waters. Integrated management efforts in Canada are being undertaken through an area-based approach that enables marine planning, management and decision making to occur at appropriate spatial scales, from regional to site-specific. This article focuses on the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management (ESSIM) process, an offshore-focused effort to develop an integrated ocean management plan for a large portion of the Scotian Shelf, off Nova Scotia. The resulting Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Ocean Management Plan (the ESSIM plan) has been developed through a collaborative process involving all interested and affected government departments and ocean stakeholders, and provides an objectives-based approach to ocean management. The ESSIM plan contains a set of long-term, overarching goals for collaborative governance and integrated management, sustainable human use, and healthy ecosystems. These goals are supported by more specific objectives that express desired outcomes and conditions for the marine region. The objectives-based approach seeks to ensure that interrelationships among ecosystem and human use objectives are recognized and reflected in the identification of management strategies and supporting actions. This article considers the role of marine spatial planning within the context of the integrated ocean management process underway for the Scotian Shelf. The policy and management context for integrated ocean management in Canada is briefly described and a summary of the ESSIM plan is provided. The current and potential role for marine spatial planning in implementing the objectives and strategies of the ESSIM plan is highlighted using examples related to multiple ocean use and marine conservation and protected area planning. The article concludes by drawing out key lessons learned to date through the ESSIM process for marine spatial planning and looks to the future in terms of the development of tools and approaches for this integral aspect of integrated ocean management.     

White tail markings are an indicator of quality and affect mate preference in rock sparrows

In birds, colourful and elaborate feathers are important traits in mate choice. Distinct tail white patches are present in many species of birds, but they remain little studied. Tail markings may indeed have a signal function because in many species males spread the tail offering a good view of these markings to females during courtship behaviour. Here, we investigated whether white tail spots in male rock sparrow, Petronia petronia, play a role in mate choice. In a free-living population of rock sparrows, we found a reduction in white tail spots size as the breeding season progressed due to abrasion, which was expected if tail spots act as a reliable quality indicator (i.e. a handicap). The same reduction was found under captive conditions, and males in worse condition (individuals that lost more weight) abraded a bigger part of white. This suggests that white tail markings are an indicator of male quality. In captivity, we measured female preference for males differing in white patch size in a mate choice experiment. The experimental reduction of the size of the males’ white spots resulted in a lower sexual interest by females. During courtship display, male rock sparrow shows a yellow breast patch (a carotenoid-based, sexually selected ornament) together with the white spots in the tail. The sizes of these two traits are positively correlated, but only the abraded white area in the tail correlates with a surrogate of individual quality (lost of weight). In conclusion, we can assert that the size of the white spots is preferred by female rock sparrows and it is a part of a multiple signal system.     

Normal fetal growth in women with antiphospholipid syndrome treated with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG)

Antiphospholid antibodies are associated with fetal distress and fetal death. Although different therapeutic regimens have been used, the incidence of fetal growth retardation varies between 30 and 60 per cent of reported cases. We report the evolution of fetal growth in patients with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome treated with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG). Fourteen patients with a history of recurrent spontaneous abortion and immunological diagnosis of antiphospholipid syndrome were followed longitudinally. Intravenous immunoglobulin at a dose of 0.5 g/kg body weight for two consecutive days was started from the fifth week of pregnancy and repeated every 4 weeks until the 33rd week of gestation. Fetal biometry was evaluated longitudinally from the appearance of the gestational sac at 4 weekly intervals. In the period between 26 and 34 weeks, the frequency of evaluation was increased to every 14 days. Data obtained were compared with a control group of 70 fetuses with uneventful pregnancies matched for gestational age. Neonatal weight is shown in relation to the centiles for the normal population. One patient out of 14 (7.1 per cent) developed gestational hypertension and abruptio placentae. No other pregnancy complications were seen. No proteinuria was found. The mean maternal age was 31.2±3.8 years. Median birth weight was 3433 g±287. The median centile of the birth weight was 65.3±18.6. Mean gestational age at delivery was 1.3 weeks. No fetal or neonatal growth retardation was seen. No significant differences were found in the biometrical parameters investigated in the various gestational ages vs. the control group (Student's t-test not significant); a significant increase in head circumference (P< 0.001) and abdominal circumference (P< 0.05) was found at 36–37 weeks gestational age in the IVIG-treated fetuses. The presence of antiphospholipid antibodies is considered detrimental for pregnancy outcome because of their negative effects on placental vascular perfusion and fetal transfer of metabolites. The use of IVIG seems to avoid or inhibit the reduced availability of nutrients for the fetal anabolic functions, as the expected reduction in fetal growth was not seen in our series.     

Water Quality Functions of a 15-Year-Old Riparian Forest Buffer System1

Newbold, J. Denis, Susan Herbert, Bernard W. Sweeney, Paul Kiry, and Stephen J. Alberts, 2010. Water Quality Functions of a 15-Year-Old Riparian Forest Buffer System. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):299-310. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00421.x Abstract: We monitored long-term water quality responses to the implementation of a three-zone Riparian Forest Buffer System (RFBS) in southeastern Pennsylvania. The RFBS, established in 1992 in a 15-ha agricultural (row crop) watershed, consists of: Zone 1, a streamside strip (∼10 m wide) of permanent woody vegetation for stream habitat protection; Zone 2, an 18- to 20-m-wide strip reforested in hardwoods upslope from Zone 2; and Zone 3, a 6- to 10-m-wide grass filter strip in which a level lip spreader was constructed. The monitoring design used paired watersheds supplemented by mass balance estimates of nutrient and sediment removal within the treated watershed. Tree growth was initially delayed by drought and deer damage, but increased after more aggressive deer protection (1.5 m polypropylene shelters or wire mesh protectors) was instituted. Basal tree area increased ∼20-fold between 1998 and 2006, and canopy cover reached 59% in 2006. For streamwater nitrate, the paired watershed comparison was complicated by variations in both the reference stream concentrations and in upslope groundwater nitrate concentrations, but did show that streamwater nitrate concentrations in the RFBS watershed declined relative to the reference stream from 2002 through the end of the study in early 2007. A subsurface nitrate budget yielded an average nitrate removal by the RFBS of 90 kg/ha/year, or 26% of upslope subsurface inputs, for the years 1997 through 2006. There was no evidence from the paired watershed comparison that the RFBS affected streamwater phosphorus concentration. However, groundwater phosphorus did decline within the buffer. Overland flow sampling of 23 storms between 1997 and 2006 showed that total suspended solids concentration in water exiting the RFBS to the stream was on average 43% lower than in water entering the RFBS from the tilled field. Particulate phosphorus concentration was lower by 22%, but this removal was balanced by a 26% increase in soluble reactive phosphorus so that there was no net effect on total phosphorus.