New ecological and ultrastructural data on the dinoflagellate Dinophysis sp. from the French coast

In situ phytoplankton sampling over 24h was carried out in July 1985 during part of a monitoring program established by the Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) to survey the blooming of toxic dinoflagellates off the French coast. Analysis of the data suggested a vertical migration of Dinophysis sp. (acuminata?) populations through the sea-water column. These diurnal displacements should be taken into account in the course of monitoring surveys of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP). Culture assays which were performed in parallel remained unsuccessful. However, Dinophysis sp. survived in an enriched sea-water medium for 4 to 5 wk under low light intensity (8 to 10 W m^-2) and constant temperature (16° to 18 °C). Cell ultrastructure, in pariticular the organization of chloroplasts, is described. All the combined results tend to confirm the photosynthetic capacity of this species.     

Physical variability among nest foundresses in the polygynous social wasp,Polistes annularis

Summary An individual's rank in a dominance hierarchy is often based on size or weight, especially in insects. Foundresses of the social wasp, Polistes annularis, vary greatly in size as measured by wing length, dry weight, fat weight, and residue weight after fat has been extracted. Females that emerged from the same nest are much more similar in size to each other than they are to females that emerged from other nests. Within nests however queens are usually larger than their subordinates. Queens that emerged from one nest may be smaller than subordinates that emerged from another nest. We found no evidence of a group of females that are forced into being subordinates because of inadequate feeding as larvae. Females are also probably not attempting to begin new nests with females as different in size as possible from themselves since means and variances of winglength of females on new nests do not differ from those of all females emerging from that natal nest.     

Prenatal diagnosis of Crigler–Najjar syndrome type I by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP)

Crigler–Najjar syndrome type I (CN-I) is a rare and severe inherited disorder of bilirubin metabolism, caused by the total deficiency of bilirubin-UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) activity. Enzymatic diagnosis cannot be performed in chorionic villi or amniocytes as UGT is not active in these tissues. The cloning of the UGT1 gene and the identification of disease-causing mutations have led to the possibility of performing DNA-based diagnosis. Here we report DNA-based prenatal diagnosis of CN-I in two Tunisian families in whom CN-I patients were diagnosed. As we had previously shown that CN-I was, in Tunisia, associated with homozygosity for the Q357R mutation within the UGT1 gene, we were able to detect this mutation in both families and to show that it was easily recognized by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. In both cases, SSCP analysis of fetal DNA showed that the fetus was heterozygous for the Q357R mutation. In one family, the pregnancy was carried to term and a healthy baby was born, whereas, in the other family, the pregnancy is still continuing. Thus the prenatal diagnosis of CN-I is possible, provided disease-causing mutations have been identified. SSCP analysis of DNA prepared either from amniocytes or from chorionic villi is a simple, reliable and fast method for prenatal diagnosis. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

废旧计算机CRT监视器的管理和资源化技术

分析了废旧计算机CRT监视器的材料组成 ,并且阐明了它对环境和人体健康的潜在危害 ,同时比较了国内外相关管理现状 ,总结了目前已有的资源化技术 ,主要是拆解技术 ,并且介绍了目前国内外的资源化实践 ,并提出有关建议。     

An evaluation of ozone exposure metrics for a seasonally drought-stressed ponderosa pine ecosystem

Ozone stress has become an increasingly significant factor in cases of forest decline reported throughout the world. Current metrics to estimate ozone exposure for forest trees are derived from atmospheric concentrations and assume that the forest is physiologically active at all times of the growing season. This may be inaccurate in regions with a Mediterranean climate, such as California and the Pacific Northwest, where peak physiological activity occurs early in the season to take advantage of high soil moisture and does not correspond to peak ozone concentrations. It may also misrepresent ecosystems experiencing non-average climate conditions such as drought years. We compared direct measurements of ozone flux into a ponderosa pine canopy with a suite of the most common ozone exposure metrics to determine which best correlated with actual ozone uptake by the forest. Of the metrics we assessed, SUM0 (the sum of all daytime ozone concentrations > 0) best corresponded to ozone uptake by ponderosa pine, however the correlation was only strong at times when the stomata were unconstrained by site moisture conditions. In the early growing season (May and June). SUM0 was an adequate metric for forest ozone exposure. Later in the season, when stomatal conductance was limited by drought. SUM0 overestimated ozone uptake. A better metric for seasonally drought-stressed forests would be one that incorporates forest physiological activity, either through mechanistic modeling, by weighting ozone concentrations by stomatal conductance, or by weighting concentrations by site moisture conditions.     

PVC废物及其处理技术

PVC广泛应用于工业和日常生活中 ,PVC废物的产生量将会在将来一段时间内持续增长 ,对PVC废物处理处置问题研究成为固体废物处理处置的一个方向。目前 ,PVC废物还缺乏系统、完善的管理手段和处理技术。本文在分析PVC废物特点其环境潜在危害特性的基础上 ,比较分析各种PVC废物处理技术的优势和存在的问题 ,及国内外在PVC废物处理处置方面的具体实践 ,以期探讨PVC废物的处理对策并提出今后PVC废物处理的发展趋势和研究方向     

Leaching of glyphosate and amino-methylphosphonic acid from Danish agricultural field sites

Pesticide leaching is an important process with respect to contamination risk to the aquatic environment. The risk of leaching was thus evaluated for glyphosate (N-phosphonomethyl-glycine) and its degradation product AMPA (amino-methylphosphonic acid) under field conditions at one sandy and two loamy sites. Over a 2-yr period, tile-drainage water, ground water, and soil water were sampled and analyzed for pesticides. At a sandy site, the strong soil sorption capacity and lack of macropores seemed to prevent leaching of both glyphosate and AMPA. At one loamy site, which received low precipitation with little intensity, the residence time within the root zone seemed sufficient to prevent leaching of glyphosate, probably due to degradation and sorption. Minor leaching of AMPA was observed at this site, although the concentration was generally low, being on the order of 0.05 microg L(-1) or less. At another loamy site, however, glyphosate and AMPA leached from the root zone into the tile drains (1 m below ground surface [BGS]) in average concentrations exceeding 0.1 microg L(-1), which is the EU threshold value for drinking water. The leaching of glyphosate was mainly governed by pronounced macropore flow occurring within the first months after application. AMPA was frequently detected more than 1.5 yr after application, thus indicating a minor release and limited degradation capacity within the soil. Leaching has so far been confined to the depth of the tile drains, and the pesticides have rarely been detected in monitoring screens located at lower depths. This study suggests that as both glyphosate and AMPA can leach through structured soils, they thereby pose a potential risk to the aquatic environment.     

Environmental Racism in the Sunbelt? A Cross-Cultural Analysis

/ Sociologist Robert Bullard challenged the prevailing paradigm of environmentalism as a consensual issue in the United States by developing the concept of environmental racism. As he claims, ethnic minorities have been put "at greater environmental risk" than has the Caucasian majority in most areas of the country. This study of the Tucson metropolitan area examines this proposition by utilizing data from several sources: interviews with elected officials and other opinion leaders, GIS-generated socioeconomic data, articles in the press, and a literature review. We conclude that Bullard's concept has validity for this metropolitan area but that there also exist widely divergent differences of opinion on the subject. We explain why this is so. We further conclude that the allegation of "environmental racism" made by the Hispanic community in the 1980s and 1990s has had a transformative effect on local politics.KEY WORDS: Environment; Racism; Tucson; Garbage dumps; County government; Pollution; Equity; Justice     

A／BAC－SRB工艺对有机磷农药生产废水处理的研究

采用Ａ／ＢＡＣ－ＳＲＢ工艺对有机磷农药生产废水的处理进行了研究。按正交试验优选的工艺参数操作，当进水化学需氧量（ＣＯＤｃｒ）为２０１２ｍｇ／Ｌ生化需氧量（ＢＯＤ５）为３４４ｍｇ／Ｌ，总磷（Ｔ－Ｐ）为２５０ｍｇ／Ｌ，有机磷（Ｏ－Ｐ）为１３２ｍｇ／Ｌ时，其总去除率分别为９５％、８０％、７０％和５５％。该工艺最大的优点是耐毒能力强，剩余污泥少，处理效率高。