Effects of crude oil and chemical dispersant on photosynthesis in the brain coral Diploria strigosa

An eight-hour exposure of Diploria strigosa (Dana) to a mixture of Arabian Light crude oil (19 ppm) and the chemical dispersant “Corexit 9527” (1 ppm) in a flowing seawater system reduced photosynthesis by symbiotic zooxanthellae by 85%, while either oil or dispersant alone had no effect. The greatest effect of crude oil plus dispersant occurred in the incorporation of photosynthetic products into lipids. Synthesis of was esters and triglycerides, the major storage lipids, was particularly affected. Total carbon fixation was restored within 3–5 h after treatment, and lipid synthesis was restored within 5–24 h after exposure.     

First Report of the Presence of Hepatitis E Virus in Scottish-Harvested Shellfish Purchased at Retail Level

Shellfish samples (n = 310) purchased from local supermarkets were analysed for the presence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) by nested RT-PCR and real-time qRT-PCR. Overall, 2.9% of samples tested positive for the presence of HEV. Phylogenetic analysis of HEV sequences revealed all as being genotype 3 HEV. This is the first report of the detection of HEV in commercially sold shellfish in Scotland. These findings may encourage further research that will help address the gaps in the knowledge in respect to foodborne transmission of HEV in Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom.     

A LONG‐TERM,WATERSHED‐SCALE,EVALUATION OF THE IMPACTS OF ANIMAL WASTE BMPs ON INDICATOR BACTERIA CONCENTRATIONS1

ABSTRACT: Driven by increasing concerns about bacterial pollution from agricultural sources, states such as Virginia have initiated cost sharing programs that encourage the use of animal waste best management practices (BMPs) to control this pollution. Although a few studies have shown that waste management BMPs are effective at the field scale, their effectiveness at the watershed scale and over the long term is unknown. The focus of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of BMPs in reducing bacterial pollution at the watershed scale and over the long term. To accomplish this goal, a 1,163 ha watershed located in the Piedmont region of Virginia was monitored over a ten‐year period. Fecal coliforms (FC) and fecal streptococci (FS) were measured as indicators of bacterial pollution. A pre‐BMP versus post‐BMP design was adopted. Major BMPs implemented were manure storage facilities, stream fencing, water troughs, and nutrient management. Seasonal Kendall trend analysis revealed a significant decreasing trend during the post‐BMP period for FC concentrations at the watershed outlet, but not at the subwatershed level. Implementation of BMPs also resulted in a significant reduction in the geometric mean of FS concentrations. FC concentrations in streamflow at the watershed outlet exceeded the Virginia primary standard 86 and 74 percent of the time during pre‐BMP and post‐BMP periods, respectively. Corresponding exceedances for the secondary standard were 50 and 41 percent. Violations decreased only slightly during the post‐BMP period. The findings of this study suggest that although BMP implementation can be expected to accomplish some improvement in water quality, BMP implementation alone may not ensure compliance with current water quality standards.     

Operating Experience with the Alcoa 398 Process for Fluoride Recovery

During the 1940’s, aluminum smelting installations were increased in size to provide aluminum necessary for World War II. Increased evolution of fluorides made necessary the capture and treatment of pot gases. Following the application of water scrubbers, cyclones, and electrostatic precipitators, Alcoa Research Laboratories at New Kensington, Pa., discovered that small quantities of HF gas would react at low temperature with alumina. Following a series of design efforts, the Alcoa 398 Process was developed, incorporating a fluidizedbed reactor to contact pot gases with incoming feed alumina. Bag filters are used to separate entrained solid materials from pot gases. Ninety-five percent interception of pot gases is reported with 99% recovery of fluorides from gases treated. No significant effect is observed on purity of metal produced.

Installation costs are in the range of $>28-$37 per annual ton for new installations and about 50% more for conversion of old plants. These are somewhat less than the conventional electrostatic precipitators and water scrubbers at today’s prices. Direct operating costs for the Alcoa 398 Process range from $2.90 to $4.70/ton of aluminum and recover $8 worth of fluorine, giving a net credit. This contrasts with $3.93/ton of aluminum to operate existing precipitator scrubber combinations. The Alcoa 398 Process is being rapidly extended throughout the Alcoa system.     

Living with disasters: social capital for disaster governance

This paper explores how social networks and bonds within and across organisations shape disaster operations and strategies. Local government disaster training exercises serve as a window through which to view these relations, and ‘social capital’ is used as an analytic for making sense of the human relations at the core of disaster management operations. These elements help to expose and substantiate the often intangible relations that compose the culture that exists, and that is shaped by preparations for disasters. The study reveals how this social capital has been generated through personal interactions, which are shared among disaster managers across different organisations and across ‘levels’ within those organisations. Recognition of these ‘group resources’ has significant implications for disaster management in which conducive social relations have become paramount. The paper concludes that socio‐cultural relations, as well as a people‐centred approach to preparations, appear to be effective means of readying for, and ultimately responding to, disasters.     

Crossing the frontier: vertical transit rates of deep diving cormorants reveal depth zone of neutral buoyancy

Knowing the depth zone of neutral buoyancy of divers is important because buoyancy can determine how animals manage their energy budget. In this study, we estimate the depth zone of neutral buoyancy of free-ranging cormorants for the first time, using time-depth recorders. We discovered that vertical ascent rates of 12 Crozet and 15 Kerguelen diving blue-eyed shags (respectively Phalacrocorax melanogenis and P. verrucosus) slowed down considerably at the 50–60 m depth zone. We suggest this was due to birds trying to reach the surface from that point upwards using reduced locomotor activity because the force of buoyancy becomes greater than the force of gravity at that depth. The results show a shift of this depth zone in relation to maximum targeted dive depth, suggesting cormorants may control buoyancy through respiratory air volume adjustment. Interestingly, 60 m is close to the maximum depth zone reached by these two species during dives lasting 4 min, their estimated behavioural aerobic dive limit. This suggests that the decision to swim deeper has a direct consequence on the energy budget, with time spent recovering at the surface (time thus lost to foraging) strongly increasing relative to the preceding time of submergence. Resources found in deeper waters must be of sufficient quantity or quality to justify crossing the frontier of physical neutral buoyancy.     

Copper smelting and refining

Detailed research by the Commodities Research Unit (CRU) reveals a wide variation in direct operating costs at copper smelters and refineries. The cost curve for smelters is almost a straight line, indicating that so far there has been no levelling of costs as there has been in the mining industry. Operating costs at smelters using reverberatory furnaces are well below costs at plants using modern technology, but this apparent paradox is shown to be a reflection of location. CRU argues that costs are an important determinant of smelter/refinery competitiveness, but that other factors such as location and tariffs are also significant. Operating margins world-wide show enormous variations, but companies' increasing interest in their processing operations, coupled with changes in tariffs, are predicted to lead to a much more competitive market.     

Environmental issues in the post-communist Ukraine

The Ukraine, which gained independence in 1991, faces serious problems related to environmental degradation. Environmental problems contribute to a deterioration in human health and a negative trend in population growth. Both form part of a raft of socio-economic problems encountered during the country's transition to a free market economy. The most serious problems are found in cities and areas near the Black and Azov Seas, the Dnipro river basin and in the Polissya region. This paper provides an overview of the situation. Social and managerial implications of environmental management are considered alongside associated environmental and human health problems in the country. It is concluded that a desired change in the mindset of policy makers and, indeed, the population at large, is required in parallel with legal and technocratic instruments, while real improvements can only be achieved through economic development, which can be facilitated by Western assistance.     

Nitrate Vulnerable Zones and Nitrate Sensitive Areas: A Policy and Technical Analysis of Groundwater Source Protection in England and Wales

The Nitrate Sensitive Area (NSA) scheme and the more recent Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) scheme are responses by the British Government to the growing demands of European legislation on water quality. Both are designed to check nitrate contamination from agriculture at source, with 'polluting' activities being changed or prohibited in areas forming the catchment of waters where the 1980 European Commission (EC) limit of 50 mg/l nitrate (N) is exceeded, or is likely to be exceeded. The NVZ scheme provides protection to surface and ground water,whereas the NSA scheme relates directly to the latter. Furthermore, action programmes to reduce nitrate pollution within NVZs are mandatory and uncompensated, whilst the more strict but voluntary measures of the NSA scheme are compensated. This paper sets out to critically analyse the NVZ scheme, with reference to the NSA scheme and further makes recommendations for an improved nitrate pollution land use control policy in relation to ground water protection. The study area is Minster NVZ on the Isle of Thanet in north east Kent.     

Demographic antecedents and performance consequences of structural holes in work teams

This paper addresses two important questions concerning social fragmentation in work teams. First, from where do disconnections between team members, measured in terms of the proportion of structural holes within the work team, derive? Second, what are the consequences for team performance of having more or less structural holes between team members? In answering the first question, the research investigated whether demographic diversity in teams played a role in predicting the proportion of structural holes in team friendship networks. For 19 teams at a wood products company, there were no effects of ethnic and gender diversity on structural hole proportions. However, age diversity significantly reduced the extent of structural ‘holeyness.’ In investigating the second question, two countervailing tendencies were considered. In the absence of structural holes, teams are likely to be at low risk for new ideas. But fragmented teams in which team members are separated by many structural holes are likely to have difficulty coordinating. The researchers demonstrated a curvilinear effect: a moderate level of structural diversity in teams was positively associated with team performance. Thus, the research suggested that it is structural diversity (measured in terms of the proportion of structural holes) rather than demographic diversity that matters in the prediction of team performance. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.