Assessing the aerodynamic effects of tail elongations in the house martin (Delichon urbica): implications for the initial selection pressures in hirundines

Of the three species of hirundine that breed sympatrically across the U.K., one, the barn swallow, has outer tail feathers elongated into streamers, whereas the other two species, the house martin and the sand martin, do not. The tail streamer of the barn swallow is regarded as a classic example of a sexually selected trait. Recent evidence, however, has suggested that streamers may have evolved largely through natural selection for enhanced flight performance and increased maneuverability. We tested the hypotheses that small streamers (1) increase performance in turning flight, but (2) decrease performance in flight variables related to velocity. We manipulated the lengths of house martin outer tail feathers and measured changes in their free-flight performance, using stereo-video to reconstruct the birds" three-dimensional flight paths. Five flight variables were found to best describe individual variation in flight performance. Of these five, the three variables determining maneuverability predicted that flight performance would be optimized by a 6- to 10-mm increase in the length of the outer tail feathers. In contrast, for mean velocity and mean acceleration, extension of the outer tail feathers appears to have a detrimental effect on flight performance. We suggest that the initial selection pressure for streamers in ancestral short-tailed "barn swallows" was via natural selection for increased maneuverability. In addition, we propose that the benefits of increased maneuverability have differed between hirundines in the past, such that the cost of increasing the length of the outer tail feather has, to date, outweighed the benefits of doing so in streamerless hirundines. Received: 14 February 2000 / Revised: 2 July 2000 / Accepted 18 July 2000     

Compressibility of municipal solid waste codisposed with fly ash

If a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill is used as the foundation for a construction site, the change in the loading conditions may cause considerable compression of the landfill. Therefore, reinforcement to compensate for the loose compression nature of a MSW landfill is a very important design factor for geotechnical engineers when considering the end-use of the landfill. In this study, we discuss a possible technique for stabilizing MSW landfills through the codisposal of municipal solid waste and fly ash. To estimate the stabilization based on the compression characteristics of the codisposed landfill, we performed tests using a large compression set and experimental cells. According to the test results, if the proportion of fly ash is increased, initial and long-term compression could be reduced.     

Human pharmaceuticals, antioxidants, and plasticizers in wastewater treatment plant and water reclamation plant effluents.

The primary objective of this study was to determine the presence of unregulated organic chemicals in reclaimed water using complementary targeted and broad spectrum approaches. Eleven of 12 targeted human pharmaceuticals, antioxidants, and plasticizers, and 27 tentatively identified non-target organic chemicals, were present in secondary effluent entering tertiary treatment trains at a wastewater treatment plant and two water reclamation facilities. The removal of these compounds by three different tertiary treatment trains was investigated: coagulant-assisted granular media filtration (California Title-22 water, 22 CCR 60301-60357; Barclay [2006]), lime clarification/reverse osmosis (lime/ RO), and microfiltration-reverse osmosis (MF/RO). Carbamazepine, clofibric acid, gemfibrozil, ibuprofen, p-toluenesulfonamide, caffeine, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and N-butyl benzenesulfonamide (N-BBSA) were present at low to high nanogram-per-liter levels in Title 22 water. The lime/RO product waters contained lower concentrations of clofibric acid, ibuprofen, caffeine, BHA, and N-BBSA (<10 to 71 ng/L) than their Title 22 counterparts. The MF/RO treatment reduced concentrations to levels below their detection limits, although BHT was present in MF/RO product water from one facility. The presence of the target analytes in two surface waters used as raw drinking water sources and a recharged groundwater was also examined. Surface waters used as raw drinking water sources contained caffeine, BHA, BHT, and N-BBSA, while recharged groundwater contained BHT, BHA, and N-BBSA. Nontarget compounds in recharged groundwater appeared to be attenuated with increased residence time in the aquifer.     

Estimating maximum concentrations for open path monitoring along a fixed beam path

Researchers have applied open path optical sensing techniques to a variety of workplace and environmental monitoring problems. Usually these data are reported in terms of a path-average (or path-integrated) concentration. When assessing potential human exposures along a beam path, this path-average value is not always informative, since concentrations along the path can vary substantially from the beam average. The focus of this research is to arrive at a method for estimating the upper-bound in contaminant concentrations over a fixed open beam path. The approach taken here uses a statistical model to estimate an upper-bound concentration based on a combination of the path-average and a measure of the spatial variability computed from point samples along the beam path. Results of computer simulations and experimental testing in a controlled ventilation chamber indicate that the model produced conservative estimates for the maximum concentration along the beam path. This approach may have many applications for open path monitoring in workplaces or wherever maximum concentrations are a concern.     

The bacterium<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Xenorhabdus nematophila</Emphasis> inhibits phospholipases A<Subscript>2</Subscript> from insect,prokaryote, and vertebrate sources

The bacterium, Xenorhabdus nematophila, is a virulent insect pathogen. Part of its pathogenicity is due to impairing cellular immunity by blocking biosynthesis of eicosanoids, the major recognized signal transduction system in insect cellular immunity. X. nematophila inhibits the first step in eicosanoid biosynthesis, phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂). Here we report that the bacterium inhibits PLA₂ from two insect immune tissues, hemocytes and fat body, as well as PLA₂s selected to represent a wide range of organisms, including prokaryotes, insects, reptiles, and mammals. Our finding on a bacterial inhibitor of PLA₂ activity contributes new insight into the chemical ecology of microbe–host interactions, which usually involve actions rather than inhibitors of PLA₂s.     

Simultaneous Measurements of Atmospheric Pollutants and Visibility with a Long-Path DOAS System in Urban Areas

In this paper, the applicability of a Long-Path Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (LP-DOAS) system was checked for the feasibility of the simultaneous measurement of trace gases (such as O₃, NO₂, SO₂, and HCHO) and atmospheric visibility (light extinction by aerosols) in Asian urban areas. Field studies show that an LP-DOAS system can simultaneously measure the key pollutants (such as O₃, NO₂, SO₂, and HCHO) at detection limits in the ppb/sub-ppb range as well as the Mie extinction coefficient with an uncertainty of 0.1 km^–1 at time resolution of a few minutes. It is thus concluded that the use of LP-DOAS system is feasible for simultaneous measurement of gaseous pollutants as well as an atmospheric extinction coefficient which is tightly bound to fine particulate concentration.     

Surface measurements of global warming causing atmospheric constituents in Korea

The expansion of the industrial economy and the increase of population in Northeast Asian countries have caused much interestin climate monitoring related to global warming. However, new techniques and better platforms for the measurement of globalwarming and regional databases are still old-fashioned and arenot being developed sufficiently. With respect to this agenda,since 1993, at the request of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), to monitor functions of global warming, theKorea Meteorological Administration (KMA) has set up a Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) Station on the western coast of Korea(Anmyun-do) and has been actively monitoring global warming overNortheast Asia. In addition, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) has been measured for a similar KMA global warmingprogram at Kosan, Cheju Island since 1990. Aerosol and radiationhave also been measured at both sites as well as in Seoul. Theobservations have been analyzed using diagnostics of climate change in Northeast Asia and also have been internationally compared. Results indicate that greenhouse gases are in good statistic agreement with the NOAA/Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory (CMDL) long-term trends of monthly meanconcentrations and seasonal cycles. Atmospheric particulatematter has also been analyzed for particular Asian types interms of optical depth, number concentration and size distribution.     

Comparison of epidemiology and injury profile between vulnerable road users and motor vehicle occupants in road traffic fatalities

Objective: Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a major global health issue causing a global burden of mortality and morbidity. Half of all fatalities on the world’s roads are vulnerable road users (VRUs). The targeted intervention strategies based on fatality analysis focusing on VRUs can effectively contribute to reducing RTIs. This study aimed to compare VRUs and motor vehicle occupants (MVOs) in terms of epidemiology and injury profile.

Methods: We utilized a nationwide, prospective database of RTI-related mortality cases for patients who visited 23 emergency departments between January 2011 and December 2015. All fatalities due to RTIs in the prehospital phase or in-hospital were eligible, excluding patients with unknown mode of transport and those admitted to general wards. The primary and secondary outcomes were fracture injuries and visceral injuries diagnosed using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). We compared fracture injuries between VRUs and MVOs using Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 2? and 2+ classification.

Results: Among a total 3,694 road traffic fatalities (RTFs), 43.3% were pedestrians, followed by MVOs (27.0%), motorcyclists (18.9), bicyclists (6.6%), and agricultural vehicle users (4.2%). The elderly (>60 years old) accounted for 54.9% of VRU fatalities. RTFs occurred most frequently in the autumn and the VRU group and the MVO group showed significant differences in weekly and diurnal variation in RTFs. The injury severities (AIS 2+) of the head, neck, and thorax were significantly different between the 2 groups (P?Conclusions: Elderly pedestrians should be targeted for decreases in RTFs, and road traffic safety interventions for VRUs should be made based on the analysis of temporal epidemiology and injury profiles of RTFs.     

Biogas productivity of algal residues from bioethanol production

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The purpose of this study was to investigate biogas productivity of algal residues from bioethanol production. Pre-treatment based on enzyme was...