Mussel transplantation and biomarkers as useful tools for assessing water quality in the NW Mediterranean

Mussels, coming from an aquaculture farm located in a clean open bay, were transplanted to several stations of the bays of Nice and Cannes (NW Mediterranean) including a reference site for one month at three periods. Several biomarkers: activities of glutathione S-transferase (GST; exposure to organics), of catalase (exposure to oxidative stress) and of acetylcholinesterase (inhibited by some pesticides) and the lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances: TBARS) were measured in transplanted mussels. Cd, Cu and Zn concentrations were also measured as well as their condition index. The results demonstrated some seasonal variations in GST and catalase activities with higher levels in June compared to October. The condition index was also higher in June than in October. Principal component analyses performed with the whole set of data allowed to separate stations or groups of stations according to their responses. The mussels from the harbour of Nice were characterized by high TBARS levels and catalase activity in October 1999 whereas in the harbour of Cannes, animals presented very high copper concentrations and GST activities in June 2000. At the reference site, mussels generally presented low enzymatic activities (except AChE activity) and peroxidation levels and low heavy metal concentrations.     

Vibration and jarring as a cause of back injury in the NSW coal mining industry

Head neck and back injury represents 32% of injuries in the NSW coal mining industry. There is considerable hearsay evidence that rough rides in vehicles are a significant cause of such injuries but no objective studies have been carried out.Analysis of workers compensation data showed that overexertion and slips and falls were the most significant causes of head neck and back injuries but approximately 11% of all head neck and back injuries were reported to be due to vehicle jarring. Two types of underground vehicles accounted for 53% of all injuries. These were Shuttlecars and Underground Transporters.There was no evidence from the compensation data that whole body vibration was a significant factor in head neck and back injuries.     

Preparation and characterization of diesel exhaust particles for biological experiments

Bioassays of diesel engine exhaust components are being conducted at IITRI to determine toxic and carcinogenic potentials of the exhaust. The bioassay method, intracheal instillation of saline suspensions of test materials in hamsters, requires preparation of stable suspensions of test materials. A method to prepare suspensions of whole particle diesel exhaust in saline has been developed. The diesel exhaust particle material was supplied to IITRI as a dry, loose powder by the U.S. EPA from a light duty diesel test engine. Preliminary characterizations of the powders indicated aggregation of exhaust particles had occurred both before and during capture on collection substrates. Flake-like sheets and hollow spheres of aggregated particles up to 150 μm in sie present in the powders. Therefore, the powder were ball-milled to geometric particle sizes more amenable to the animal administration technique to be employed. Grinding, suspension preparation and particle concentration assaying methods have been developed. Particle (geometric) size and morphological characterizations have also been performed on the as-received powders and prepared suspensions. A method to prepare emulsions (liquid-liquid suspensions) of the dichloromethane extracts of whole particle diesel exhaust has also been developed.     

Effects of organic and soil conservation management on specialist bird species

Bird abundance was assessed on a total of 58 farms across the Seine-et-Marne department, France (12 organic, 19 conservation-tillage and 27 conventional farms). Local abundance variations among the three farming systems were related to two species traits, i.e. habitat specialisation and diet, considering both farmland and non-farmland species. It was found that organic farming favoured specialist birds, either considering the whole community or non-farmland birds only. On the opposite, specialist farmland species were found to be less abundant in conservation-tillage farms than in conventional ones. Invertebrate-feeders were found to benefit from conservation-tillage practices compared to omnivorous species but not compared to granivorous ones; an interaction between species diet and the species specialisation level was also found. Granivorous species tended to increase with the conservation-tillage duration and in particular specialist birds.     

Traffic safety in the U.S.: re-examining major opportunities

INTRODUCTION: This article examines five major road-safety risk factors: exceeding posted speed limits, not using safety belts, driving while intoxicated, nighttime driving, and young drivers. METHOD: The importance of each of these factors is documented, known effective countermeasures (both policy and technology based) are discussed, and impediments to the implementation of these countermeasures in the United States are examined. RESULTS: Based on current understanding of the five major risk factors, and of the available countermeasures, there appear to be a variety of opportunities to make substantial gains in road safety using existing knowledge. The limited implementation of a variety of known countermeasures therefore appears to be inconsistent with high-level, strategic goals to improve road safety. Consequently, a recommendation is made to comprehensively re-examine the balance between the countermeasures discussed in this article and economic, mobility, and privacy concerns. IMPACT ON PUBLIC SAFETY: Such a re-examination is likely to result in broad support for these countermeasures, with a consequent major improvement in road safety.     

添加生物炭对西北黄土吸附克百威的影响

研究了不同温度下制得的生物炭对西北黄土吸附农药克百威的影响,并对溶液p H值和初始浓度对吸附的影响进行了探讨.结果表明,克百威在添加生物炭黄土上的动力学吸附过程较好地符合准二级吸附动力学模型;热力学吸附较好地符合Freundlich等温吸附模型;随着系统温度的升高,添加生物炭的黄土对克百威的吸附量增大,且其对克百威的吸附自由能变(ΔGθ)小于0,吸附焓变(ΔHθ)及吸附熵变(ΔSθ)均大于0,表明吸附是一个自发吸热且体系混乱程度增大的等温吸附过程.溶液p H值和克百威的初始浓度对添加生物炭的土样吸附影响较明显.当p H值为4~7时,添加生物炭的土样饱和吸附量随p H升高呈缓慢降低,当p H值大于7时,吸附容量随p H升高呈明显降低趋势.克百威初始浓度从20 mg·L-1增至50 mg·L-1的过程中,吸附量快速上升,初始浓度大于50 mg·L-1时,吸附量随初始浓度的升高而缓慢增加并逐渐趋于平衡.