Interactions between copper and cadmium modify metal organ distribution in mature tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus

Sexually mature female tilapia were exposed to sublethal concentrations of waterborne Cu and/or Cd over 6 days, and subsequent body concentrations of these metals were determined in several organs. The results show that the distribution of Cu and Cd was metal and organ specific. This is demonstrated, for example, by the observation that in tilapia, Cu exposure did not result in Cu accumulation in the liver, whereas in the intestinal wall, notably high concentrations of Cu and Cd were measured in metal exposed fish. In addition to single metal exposed fish, we also determined Cu and Cd body distribution in Cu?Cd co-exposed fish. The observed interactions in metal accumulation were most pronounced in the organs of fish exposed to low, environmentally realistic, metal concentrations.     

Afriwaste The fixation and stabilisation of hazardous waste

The disposal of hazardous and toxic wastes is an area where utmost care and responsibility needs to be exercised. A certain (and mostly acceptable) level of care and responsibility has been legislated and is in place in most developed economies (UK, USA, Canada, Europe, etc.). This is, however, generally not the case in under-developed or developing economies, South Africa being no exception. This paper reflects on various disposal methods and describes a potentially economic alternative to existing methods of the disposal of toxic and hazardous wastes. These existing methods are: Disposal in Class I landfill sites and destruction via incineration.     

Lead levels of feral pigeons (Columba livia) from Madrid (Spain)

Tissue lead data are presented for populations of feral pigeons (Columba livia) from three locations in Madrid (Spain). The lead present in the lungs and digestive tract of pigeons increased progressively with traffic density and in parallel with atmospheric and ground lead values. The contribution of the respiratory route of Pb intake to the pigeons was about three times greater than the digestive route. The highest Pb values were found in bones. It is suggested that the pigeons gave a greatly magnified picture of lead pollution in cities than indicated by atmospheric lead concentrations.     

The farmer as a landscape steward: Comparing local understandings of landscape stewardship,landscape values,and land management actions

We develop a landscape stewardship classification which distinguishes between farmers’ understanding of landscape stewardship, their landscape values, and land management actions. Forty semi-structured interviews were conducted with small-holder (<5 acres), medium-holders (5–100 acres), and large-holders (>100 acres) in South-West Devon, UK. Thematic analysis revealed four types of stewardship understandings: (1) an environmental frame which emphasized the farmers’ role in conserving or restoring wildlife; (2) a primary production frame which emphasized the farmers’ role in taking care of primary production assets; (3) a holistic frame focusing on farmers’ role as a conservationist, primary producer, and manager of a range of landscape values, and; (4) an instrumental frame focusing on the financial benefits associated with compliance with agri-environmental schemes. We compare the landscape values and land management actions that emerged across stewardship types, and discuss the global implications of the landscape stewardship classification for the engagement of farmers in landscape management.     

A review of gas-phase chemical mechanisms commonly used in atmospheric chemistry modelling

The atmospheric chemical mechanism is an essential component of airshed models used for investigating the chemical behaviors and impacts of species. Since the first tropospheric chemical mechanism was proposed in the 1960s, various mechanisms including Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM), Carbon Bond Mechanism (CBM), Statewide Air Pollution Research Center (SAPRC) and Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (RACM) have been developed for different research purposes. This work summarizes the development and applications of these mechanisms, introduces their compositions and lumping methods, and compares the ways the mechanisms treat radicals with box model simulations. CBM can reproduce urban pollution events with relatively low cost compared to SAPRC and RACM, whereas the chemical behaviors of radicals and the photochemical production of ozone are described in detail in RACM. The photolysis rates of some oxygenated compounds are low in SAPRC07, which may result in underestimation of radical levels. As an explicit chemical mechanism, MCM describes the chemical processes of primary pollutants and their oxidation products in detail. MCM can be used to investigate certain chemical processes; however, due to its large size, it is rarely used in regional model simulations. A box model case study showed that the chemical behavior of OH and HO₂ radicals and the production of ozone were well described by all mechanisms. CBM and SAPRC underestimated the radical levels for different chemical treatments, leading to low ozone production values in both cases. MCM and RACM are widely used in box model studies, while CBM and SAPRC are often selected in regional simulations.     

Enhanced removal of high-As(Ⅲ) from Cl(-Ⅰ)-diluted SO4(-Ⅱ)-rich wastewater at pH 2.3 via mixed tooeleite and(Cl(-Ⅰ)-free) ferric arsenite hydroxychloride formation

An advanced cost-saving method of removal of high-As(Ⅲ) from SO₄(-Ⅱ)-rich metallurgi cal wastewater has been developed by diluting the SO₄(-Ⅱ) content with As(Ⅲ)-Cl(-Ⅰ)-rich metallurgical wastewater and then by the direct precipitation of As(Ⅲ) with Fe(Ⅲ) at pH2.3.As(Ⅲ) removal at various SO₄(-Ⅱ)/Cl(-Ⅰ) molar ratios and temperatures was investigated The results showed that 65.2–98.2%of As(III) immobilization into solids occurred at the SO₄(Ⅱ)/Cl(-Ⅰ) mo...     

山地:自上而下的变化

山地不仅为全球60多亿人口提供了必需的生境和包括水资源在内的各种资源,而且可以使我们深入地了解全球人类的生境是如何发展的、全球气候发生变化时它又是如何响应的、以及气候突变是如何引起全球生物退化和经济衰退等这样的环境问题.在全世界60多亿人口中,至少有6亿人生活在山区.山区同时又是世界上哺育其他数十亿人口的主要河流的发源地.在河谷流域中,至少有一半人的生活用水部分或者全部依赖于山区的冰雪融水.由于人类活动致使大气组成成分发生变化,引起全球气候不断变暖,从而导致冰川的不断退缩.许多冰川已经或正在消失,这将严重威胁全球城市用水需求.全球温度升高在高纬地区表现得最为明显,从而使得像格陵兰和南极大陆的一些大冰盖变得非常脆弱.北半球冰川的剧烈消融又产生了许多其他的问题:如挪威海湾流的减弱,斯堪的纳维亚半岛和北欧气候的大规模变化等.在生物海洋中,山地是一些生物岛,特有的物种生态型很多.全球气候变暖,使环境的变化已超出了这些山地物种特有生态型的适应范围,致使这些物种特有生态型不能适应环境的改变而对所有类型的病害都很脆弱.这一过程是系统性的衰退,在越来越多暴露于极端气候条件下的山坡上表现得非常明显.现在我们注意到,随着气候变化的累积,植物的死亡率与发病率也不断增加.山区尤其清楚地反映出全球气候突变的严重性.尽管目前的美国政府对一些建设性的建议和措施持强硬立场,但我们还是能够而且必须对此做出应对.     

Inventory of emissions from major air pollutant categories in Turkey

In this study, an inventory of air pollutant emission estimates from major air polluting sources in Turkey for period between 1985 and 2005 with 5-year intervals were estimated. Inventory covers anthropogenic sources of five major air pollutants of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and non-methane volatile organic compounds. Their break-down with respect to main activity sectors were shown and their distribution by the largest industrial source categories were worked out as annual estimates. This inventory and its analysis point to serious environmental implications of air pollutants and a need to develop a policy plan for reducing these emissions.     

Interactive effects of ozone and powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca fuliginea) on bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)

Interacting effects of ozone at 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 ppm and powdery mildew infection were studied with respect to the growth, flowering and fruit-setting of bottle gourd, and ozone injury, fungal colonization, conidia size and germination. Intermittent exposure in closed-top chambers to ozone at 0.1 or 0.2 ppm, and infection by Sphaerotheca fulginea, each caused significant suppressions of plant growth, flowering and fruit-setting. Fungal colonization was increased by exposures to 0.05 ppm ozone, but decreased by 0.2 ppm ozone. Less browning and necrosis (symptoms of ozone phytotoxicity) appeared on the leaves of mildew-inoculated plants exposed to ozone at 0.1 and 0.2 ppm. Conidia collected from plants exposed to 0.1 and 0.2 ppm were smaller, contained fewer fibrosin bodies and showed poor germination in-vitro. Fumigations with ozone at 0.05 ppm increased the germination of conidia collected from the exposed plants or of the conidia directly exposed to ozone on glass slides in microgas exposure cabinets. Distortion and wall rupturing of the conidia were induced by exposure to ozone at 0.2 ppm for 12 h. Ozone at 0.05 ppm and S. fuliginea jointly suppressed the root and shoot growth of bottle gourd significantly more than the sum of individual effects (synergistic interaction). The fungus infection partially protected the plants from injury by ozone at 0.2 ppm, and exposure to ozone at 0.2 ppm inhibited fungal development. Antagonistic reductions of damage to bottle gourd growth by simultaneous mildew infection and ozone at 0.2 ppm were observed. The study revealed that powdery mildew infection may become severe on bottle gourd grown in areas polluted with mild level of ozone (0.05 ppm) whereas, at 0.1 ppm O₃ or more, the disease will be suppressed.