A discrete model for estimating the development time from egg to infecting larva of Ostertagia ostertagi parametrized using a fuzzy rule-based system

Ostertagia ostertagi is a nematode, predominantly affecting cattle in the Pampean region of Argentina. A mathematical model parametrized using fuzzy rule-based systems of the Takagi-Sugeno-Kant type (FTSK) for estimating the development time from egg to infecting larval stage L3 of the gastrointestinal parasite O. ostertagi is here proposed. The estimation of development time of O. ostertagi is essential for the generation of appropriate control mechanisms, since this provides information about the time when parasites are ready to migrate to pastures. For the purpose of reflecting the natural environmental conditions, the mean daily temperature is taken as the main and only regulator of the development time. Humidity conditions are considered to be sufficient for the normal development of the larvae. Hence the individual's daily growth is a function of its length and the mean temperature recorded on the previous day. It is expressed in terms of a difference equation with fuzzy parameters, which are defined using laboratory data. Model outputs are tested against results of field experiments. Simulation results are very satisfactory, yielding a mean estimation error (MEE) of 0.64 weeks, with variance 0.34, and a determination coefficient R² = 0.74. The model clearly exhibits an inverse relationship between development time and temperature both in controlled and in field conditions. It also exhibits a very sensitive response both to the order in which the temperature sequence occurs, - reproducing the differences observed between spring and autumn - and to the amplitude of the temperature range.     

Facilitating biodiversity conservation through partnerships to achieve transformative outcomes

Conservation biology is a mission-driven discipline that must navigate a new relationship between conservation and science. Because conservation is a social and political as well as an ecological project, conservation biologists must practice interdisciplinarity and collaboration. In a comparative study of 7 cases (Jaguars in the Chaco, Grevy's zebra in Kenya, Beekeeping in Tanzania, Andean cats in Argentina, Jaguars in Mexico, Lobster fishing, and Black bears in Mexico), we examined motivations for collaboration in conservation, who can collaborate in conservation, and how conservation professionals can work well together. In 5 case studies, successful conservation outcomes were prioritized over livelihood benefits. In the other 2 cases, livelihoods were prioritized. All case studies employed participatory approaches. There were multiple external actors, including local and Indigenous communities, nongovernmental organizations, agencies, regional and national governments, and international organizations, which enhanced conservation and wider sustainability outcomes. Key collaboration aspects considered across the case studies were time (mismatch between relationship building and project schedules), trust required for meaningful partnerships, tools employed, and transformative potential for people, nature, and the discipline of conservation biology. We developed guidelines for successful collaboration, including long-term commitment, knowledge integration, multiscalar and plural approaches, cultivation of trust, appropriate engagement, evaluation, supporting students, and efforts for transformation.     

不同年龄夜鹭卵中有机氯农药污染的生物指示

通过对太湖鼋头渚 2 0 0 0年采集的二龄、三龄和四龄夜鹭卵以及相应年龄组夜鹭的捕食物中有机氯残留的检测 ,发现捕食物中HCH和DDT的平均残留量随年龄增加而增加 .除γ HCH外 ,其它 15种有机氯农药在卵样中均有检出 ,残留水平最高的为p ,p′ DDE ,占有机氯农药残留总量的 85 %以上 .β HCH是六六六类中持留性最强的组分 ,其残留量仅次于p ,p′ DDE .研究发现 ,p ,p DDT和 β HCH检出率为 10 0 % ,而其它类型农药只有很低的检出率 ,这与我国有机氯农药使用的历史情况相吻合 .随着亲鸟年龄增加 ,卵中 β HCH残留量有所提高 ,p ,p′ DDE残留量似有先升后稍降的趋势 .统计结果表明 :各年龄组有机氯残留量差异不明显 ,因此在用夜鹭卵作有机氯污染的生物指示时可以不考虑年龄差异所带来的影响 .     

鼋头渚不同年龄夜鹭卵中多氯联苯污染状况及分布特征

通过对太湖鼋头渚2000年采集的2龄、3龄和4龄夜鹭所产卵中15种多氯联苯同系物残留状况的研究,发现所有样品中均检出多氯联苯,残留量最高的为PCB₁₁₈,PCB₈₇,PCB₁₀₁和PCB₁₅₃,占PCBs残留量的75%～85%.含5～6个氯原子的同系物在夜鹭卵中的PCBs残留量明显高于其它类型的同系物.同时,多氯联苯残留量随亲鸟年龄增加而明显增加.4龄卵样分别比3龄、2龄卵样中PCBs残留量高出47.5%和60.9%.统计处理结果表明:多氯联苯残留总量与亲鸟年龄呈正相关(p=0.05).PCBs总量与亲鸟年龄呈正相关(p=0.05).与欧美日等国家同类研究结果中PCB₁₅₃残留量最高的情况略有不同,本研究在夜鹭卵中发现残留量最高的是PCB₁₁₈,占PCBs残留总量的30%左右,PCB₁₅₃含量仅为PCBs残留总量的17%左右.     

Energy and resource basis of an Italian coastal resort region integrated using emergy synthesis

Sustainable development of coastal zones must balance economic development that encourages human visitation from a larger population with desires that differ from the local residents with the need to maintain opportunities for the local resident society and conserve ecological capital, which may serve as the basis for residents.We present a case study in which the sustainability level of a coastal zone (Riviera del Beigua), located along the Ligurian coast of north-western Italy, was assessed through the lens of systems ecology using emergy synthesis to integrate across economic, social and environmental sub-systems.Our purposes were (1) to quantify the environmental sustainability level of this coastal zone, (2) to evaluate the role of tourism in affecting the economy, society and environment, and (3) to compare emergy synthesis to Butler's Tourism Area Life Cycle model (TALC). Results showed that 81% of the total emergy consumption in the coastal zone was derived from external sources, indicating that this tourist-heavy community was not sustainable. Tourism, as the dominant economic sub-system, consumed 42% of the total emergy budget, while local residents used the remaining 58%. The progressive stages of the TALC model were found to parallel the dynamic changes in the ratio of external emergy inputs to local emergy inputs, suggesting that emergy synthesis could be a useful tool for detecting a tourist region's TALC stage. Use of such a quantitative tool could expedite sustainability assessment to allow administrative managers to understand the complex relationship between a region's economy, environment and resident society so sound policies can be developed to improve overall sustainability.     

Assessment of nitrous oxide emission from cement plants: Real data measured with both Fourier transform infrared and nondispersive infrared techniques

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is the third most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane, and contributes about 6% to the greenhouse effect. Nitrous oxide is a minor component of the atmosphere, and it is a thousand times less than carbon dioxide (CO₂). Nevertheless, it is much more potent than CO₂ and methane, owing to its long stay in the atmosphere of approximately 120 yr and the high global warming potential (GWP) of 298 times that of CO₂. Although greenhouse gases are natural in the atmosphere, human activities have changed the atmospheric concentrations. Most of the values of emission of nitrous oxide are still obtained by means of emission factors and not actually measured; the lack of real data may result in an underestimation of current emissions. The emission factors used for the calculation of N₂O can be obtained from the “Guidelines for the implementation of the national inventory of emissions” of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which refer to all nations for the realization of their inventory. This study will present real data, measured in several Italian cement plants with different characteristics. The work also shows a comparison between N₂O concentration measured with in situ Fourier transform IR (FTIR) and the reference method EN ISO 21258 based on nondispersive IR (NDIR), in order to investigate the interfering compounds in the measurement with NDIR.

Implications:N₂O may arise as an unwanted by-product of nitrogen oxide (NO_x) abatement systems, in particular selective noncatalytic reduction (SNCR). Since it is applied in the cement plants, N₂O emission from cement industry is evaluated, with both FTIR and NDIR instrument. Several considerations emerged from the results. First of all, the emission from this industrial sector is not negligible, and for that reason N₂O concentration should be regulated; another observation is that the reference method based on the NDIR technique is not as selective as FTIR could be.     

Predicting dioxin-like PCBs soil contamination levels using milk of grazing animal as indicator

Dioxin-like PCBs (dl-PCBs) are ubiquitous persistent organic pollutants of recognized negative effects on human health. Assessing highly polluted areas should be an important public health issue. This study proposes to use the milk of grazing animals as a bioindicator of dl-PCB contamination in the environment. The hypothesis is that milk concentration of dl-PCBs are related to soil concentrations of these compounds, and that soils are generally reflective of a larger environmental issue of dl-PCB contamination. In this study, we evaluate the possibility of predicting soil concentrations using milk of sheep, cows and buffalos in a spatial model. For this purpose, samples of soil and milk collected in Campania (Italy) were introduced in a GIS platform to perform geostatistical analysis for building a simple predictive model. The ordinary least squares regressions (OLS) showed a statistically significant correlation (p < 0.05) between soil and milk contamination. However, this relationship was spatially variable. Thus, a geographically weighted regression (GWR) was performed, obtaining R² values of 0.91, 0.77 and 0.66 for sheep’s, buffalo’s and cow’s milk respectively. Assessed the mathematical relationships between the variables, new data was introduced to evaluate the performance of the model. Predictions of soil contamination with dl-PCBs using sheep’s, cow’s and buffalo’s milk showed a mean error of 23%, 25% and 36% respectively. According to these results the sheep’s milk can be considered the best bioindicator of dl-PCBs contamination among the three species. The results of this project evidence the potentialities of the proposed approach to assess bioindicator performance in a spatial predictive model.     

Occupational exposure to formaldehyde in an institute of morphology in Brazil: a comparison of area and personal sampling

Background, aims, and scope

Formaldehyde (FA) is a harmful chemical, which is classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Solutions of FA that are used to preserve cadavers in research and education morphological institutes represent a risk to occupational health of professionals and students. During the dissection of cadavers in the anatomy laboratories, FA vapors are emitted, resulting in the exposure of students and their instructors to elevated levels of FA. The World Health Organization recommends an air quality guideline value of 0.1 mg m^?3 for exposure to FA. The limit of occupational exposure adopted by the Brazilian legislation (2.3 mg m^?3) is markedly higher than those adopted by institutions of other countries around the world. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of personal exposure and the area concentration of FA in the morphology department of the Federal Fluminense University, Brazil, and investigate and compare the relationship between them.

Methods

Four rooms distributed in the three floors of the Morphology Department were evaluated: the embalming laboratory, the anatomy laboratories, the corridor of the teachers?? rooms, and the entrance hall. Thirty-six samples in total were collected in the second semester of 2010 and first semester of 2011. The air sampling and FA analysis were performed according to the EPA TO-11A Protocol, using a diffusive sampling device for carbonyl compounds. Personal samples were collected from monitors using a sampling device pinned on each person??s lapel. The samples were analyzed using rapid resolution liquid chromatography with UV-DAD detection at 360 nm.

Results and discussion

The concentrations of FA ranged from 0.20 and 0.18 mg m^?3 in the corridor between the teachers?? rooms, 0.03 to 0.37 mg m^?3 in the entrance hall, 0.22 to 2.07 mg m^?3 in the anatomy laboratory, 2.21 to 2.52 mg m^?3, in the embalming room. The levels found in the corridor between the teachers?? rooms and in the entrance hall were lower than in other compartments because of their large distances to the sources of FA and better ventilation. The other rooms presented higher levels of FA because of the activities carried there (embalming and dissection procedures). Even in the rooms that showed the lowest levels of FA, the values found were higher than those established by all international guideline limits, except the Brazilian legislation limit, although, the concentration level in the embalming room was even greater than the Brazilian guideline. These concentrations are 100?C1,000-fold higher than those reported in an FA outdoor study. The exposure levels of monitors and students ranged from 1.89 to 4.82 mg m^?3, indicating that current practices at the Morphology Department at the university would represent a health risk. The simultaneous monitoring of area concentrations and personal exposure showed that the characteristics of classes and of cadavers?? parts, the number of students in the room and even the activities of the monitors influence the FA concentrations.

Conclusion

This study revealed that the concentration of FA was low in the ventilated areas of the Morphology Department, and that the personal exposure when the person was close to the cadavers during the dissection procedure was higher than the mean FA concentration. This should be considered in the risk assessment of FA during these activities without effective protection equipment. It is suggested that the Brazilian legislation of exposure to formaldehyde requires an urgent update considering international legislation.     

The effect of anaerobic digestion and storage on indicator microorganisms in swine and dairy manure

The aim of this experimental study was to evaluate the influence of anaerobic digestion and storage on indicator microorganisms in swine and dairy excreta. Samples were collected every 90 days for 15 months at eight farms, four pig, and four dairy farms, four of them having a biogas plant. Moreover, to evaluate storage effects on samples, 20 l of manure and slurry taken at each farm (digested manure only in farms with a biogas plant) were stored in a controlled climatic chamber at 18 °C, for 6 months. The bacterial load and the chemical-physical characteristics of excreta were evaluated at each sampling time, stored slurry, and manure were sampled and analyzed every 2 months. A high variability of the concentration of bacteria in the different excreta types was observed during the experiment, mainly depending on the type and time of treatment. No sample revealed either the presence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 or of Salmonella, usually linked to the temporary rearing of infected animals in facilities. Anaerobic digestion and storage affected in a significant way the reduction of indicator bacteria like lactobacilli, coliforms, and streptococci. Anaerobic digestion lowered coliforms in pig slurry (? 2.80 log, P < 0.05), streptococci in dairy manure (? 2.44 log, P < 0.001) and in pig slurry (? 1.43 log, P < 0.05), and lactobacilli in pig slurry (? 3.03 log, P < 0.05). Storage lowered coliforms and the other indicators counts, in particular in fresh wastes, while clostridia did not show a reduction in concentration.