Environmental monitoring in the Mar Grande basin (Ionian Sea,Southern Italy)

Hydrodynamic and water quality data has been recorded since February 2014 by a meteo-oceanographic station installed in the inner part of the Gulf of Taranto, in the northeastern part of the Ionian Sea (Southern Italy). This monitoring action, managed by the research unit of the Technical University of Bari, DICATECh Department, could play a pivotal role in a vulnerable and sensitive area, affected by massive chemical and biological pollutant discharges due to the presence of heavy industry and intense maritime traffic. Monthly trends of winds, waves, currents, and biochemical parameters, such as dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, and turbidity, are analyzed and discussed. The analysis exhibits that the wave regime is slightly controlled by wind forcing; rather, topography strongly affects the wave propagation direction. Surface currents appear wind induced in the measuring station, while near the bottom a quasi-steady current directed towards southwest is formed. The selected water quality indicators show monthly trends consistent with the typical seasonal convective fluxes and mixing.     

Interactive effects of impression management and organizational politics on job performance

The purpose of this research was to explore the interactive effect of organizational politics and impression management on supervisor ratings of employee performance. We hypothesized that the negative relationship between organizational politics and supervisor‐rated performance is weaker among employees who are high in impression management than among those low in impression management. Data were collected from a matched sample of 112 white‐collar employees and their supervisors. Results indicated that the interaction of organizational politics and impression management explained a significant incremental amount of variance in supervisor ratings of employee performance. These findings demonstrated that the extent to which an individual engaged in impression management in a non‐political atmosphere may have been a key component to receiving favorable performance ratings. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Safeguarding Wetlands and Their Connections within Wetlandscapes to Improve Conservation Outcomes for Threatened Amphibian Species

Wetlands should not be considered as independent objects but as dynamically connected objects, collectively known as wetlandscapes. We developed a framework that analyzes the influences of wetland suitability and connectivity on amphibian distributions. We defined two indices: a Wetland Suitability Index describing wetland quality and a Movement Permeability Index characterizing wetland connectivity for amphibian population dynamics. These indices were calculated from raster datasets and time‐varying inundation estimates. The indices were used to define a wetlandscape and an amphibian model was used to simulate population dynamics within the wetlandscape. The framework was applied to the Nose Creek watershed, a highly modified wetlandscape in Alberta, Canada. Two amphibian species were selected with different habitat preferences: the Northern Leopard Frog that prefers wet habitats and has high mobility over land, and the Great Plains Toad that prefers terrestrial habitats and has low mobility over land. We found each amphibian species had a “preferred” wetlandscape, reflecting their life cycle traits and migration strategies which in turn were dependent on the hydrological and ecological connections within the wetlandscape. This study highlights the importance of investigating both individual wetlands and the wetlandscape and considering both wetland habitat quality and connectivity as non‐substitutable properties that act jointly, but differently, on population dynamics.     

Evaluating Flow Metric‐Based Stream Classification Systems to Support the Determination of Ecological Flows in North Carolina

Hydroecological classification systems are typically based on an assemblage of streamflow metrics and seek to divide streams into ecologically relevant classes. Assignment of streams to classes is suggested as an initial step in the process of establishing ecological flow standards. We used two distinct hydroecological river classification systems available within North Carolina to evaluate the ability of a hydrologic model to assign the same classes as those determined by observed streamflows and to assess the transferability of such systems to ungaged streams. Class assignments were examined by rate of overall matches, rate of class matches, spatial variability in matches, and time period used in class assignment. The findings of this study indicate assignments of stream class: (1) are inconsistent among different classification systems; (2) differ between observed and modeled data; and (3) are sensitive to the period of record within observed data. One clear source of inconsistency/sensitivity in class assignments lies with the use of threshold values for metrics that distinguish stream classes, such that even small changes in metric values can result in different class assignments. Because these two hydroecological classification systems are representative of other classification systems that rely on quantitative decision thresholds, it can be surmised that the use of such systems based on stream flow metrics is not a reliable approach for guiding ecological flow determinations.     

The effect of nitrogen additions on oak foliage and herbivore communities at sites with high and low atmospheric pollution

To evaluate plant and herbivore responses to nitrogen we conducted a fertilization study at a low and high pollution site in the mixed conifer forests surrounding Los Angeles, California. Contrary to expectations, discriminant function analysis of oak herbivore communities showed significant response to N fertilization when atmospheric deposition was high, but not when atmospheric deposition was low. We hypothesize that longer-term fertilization treatments are needed at the low pollution site before foliar N nutrition increases sufficiently to affect herbivore communities. At the high pollution site, fertilization was also associated with increased catkin production and higher densities of a byturid beetle that feeds on the catkins of oak. Leaf nitrogen and nitrate were significantly higher at the high pollution site compared to the low pollution site. Foliar nitrate concentrations were positively correlated with abundance of sucking insects, leafrollers and plutellids in all three years of the study.     

Fate of high loads of ammonia in a pond and wetland downstream from a hazardous waste disposal site

Halls Brook (eastern Massachusetts, USA) is a significant source of total dissolved ammonia (sum of NH(3) and NH(4)(+); (NH(3))(T)) to the Aberjona River, a water body listed for NH(3) impairment on the Clean Water Act section 303(d) list. We hypothesized (1) that (NH(3))(T) in Halls Brook derived from a hazardous waste site via groundwater discharging to a two-basin pond that feeds the brook; and (2) that transport of (NH(3))(T) to the Aberjona River was controlled by lacustrine and wetland processes. To test these hypotheses we measured (NH(3))(T) levels in the brook, the pond, and a wetlands directly downstream of the pond during both dry and wet weather over a ten month period. In addition, we analyzed sediment cores and nitrogen isotopes, and performed mass balance calculations. Groundwater discharge from beneath the hazardous waste site was the major source of (NH(3))(T) (20-67 kg d(-1)) and salinity to the north basin of the pond. The salty bottom waters of the north basin were anoxic on all sampling dates, and exhibited relatively stable (NH(3))(T) concentrations between 200 and 600 mg Nl(-1). These levels were >100-times higher than typical background levels, and 8-24-times above the acute effects level for (NH(3))(T) toxicity. Bottom waters from the north basin continuously spill over into the south basin contributing approximately 50% of the (NH(3))(T) load entering this basin. The remainder comes from Halls Brook, which receives (NH(3))(T) loadings from as yet unknown sources upstream. During storm events up to 50% of the mass of (NH(3))(T) was flushed from the south basin and into the wetlands. The wetlands acted as a (NH(3))(T) sink in dry weather in the growing season and a discharge-dependent (NH(3))(T) source to the Aberjona River during rainstorms.     

Maternal exposure to polybrominated and polychlorinated biphenyls: infant birth weight and gestational age

Understanding the influence of maternal exposures on gestational age and birth weight is essential given that pre-term and/or low birth weight infants are at risk for increased mortality and morbidity. We performed a retrospective analysis of a cohort exposed to polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) through accidental contamination of cattle feed and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) through residual contamination in the geographic region. Our study population consisted of 444 mothers and their 899 infants born between 1975 and 1997. Using restricted maximum likelihood estimation, no significant association was found between estimated maternal serum PBB at conception or enrollment PCB levels and gestational age or infant birth weight in unadjusted models or in models that adjusted for maternal age, smoking, parity, infant gender, and decade of birth. For enrollment maternal serum PBB, no association was observed for gestational age. However, a negative association with high levels of enrollment maternal serum PBB and birth weight was suggested. We also examined the birth weight and gestational age among offspring of women with the highest (10%) PBB or PCB exposure, and observed no significant association. Because brominated compounds are currently used in consumer products and therefore, are increasingly prevalent in the environment, additional research is needed to better understand the potential relationship between in utero exposure to brominated compounds and adverse health outcomes.     

Mechanochemistry of ibuprofen pharmaceutical

In this paper mechanochemistry has been studied in view of possible application to detoxification of expired pharmaceuticals. The experiments have been carried out with a commercial medication containing ibuprofen ((RS)-2-(4-(2-methylpropyl)phenyl)propanoic acid) which has been submitted to prolonged milling up to 40 h. When Al(OH)₃ is used as co-reagent, the first degradation step induced by the mechanochemical treatment is an acid-base reaction with the ibuprofen carboxylic acid group. The subsequent degradation follows a complex pathway leading to 1-(4-isobutylphenyl)ethanone, 1-isobutyl-4-vinylbenzene and 2-(4-(3-methylbutan-2-yl)phenyl)propan-1-ol after 10 h milling and, in addition, 1-(4-acetylphenyl)-2-methylpropan-1-one, 1-(4-(1-hydroxy-2-methylpropyl)phenyl)ethanone and 1-(4-(2-hydroxy-2-methylpropyl)phenyl)ethanone after 40 h milling. The degradation reaction path and products have been identified by means of FT-IR spectroscopy, thin layer chromatography, NMR spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The observed ibuprofen decarboxylation makes the drug simultaneously lose both its pharmaceutical activity and toxicity.