Some observations on heavy metal concentrations in soils of the Mendip region of north Somerset

Topsoiis in the Mendip Hills of north Somerset are strongly enriched in Pb, Zn and Cd. While much of this enrichment is the result of pollution stemming from previous base metal mining, analyses of soil profile samples reveals that, in several cases, there is considerable enrichment of heavy metals with depth. This, together with relatively high levels of base metals in samples of the limestone and sandstone bedrocks, suggests that some of the enrichment in soil of heavy metals is due to natural processes.     

Spatial variance in abundance and occupancy of corals across broad geographic scales

Species assemblages vary in structure due to a wide variety of processes operating at ecological and much broader biogeographical scales. Cross-scale studies of assemblage structure are necessary to fully understand this variability. Here, we evaluate the abundance and occupancy patterns of hierarchically sampled coral assemblages in three habitats (reef flat, crest, and slope) and five regions (Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, American Samoa, and the Society Islands) across the west-central Pacific Ocean. Specifically, we compare two alternative models that unify spatial variance and occupancy via the negative binomial distribution. The first assumes a power-law scaling between the mean and variance of abundance; the second assumes a quadratic variance-mean relationship and a constant abundance-invariant aggregation parameter. Surprisingly, the well-established power-law model performs worse than the model assuming abundance-invariant aggregation, for both variance-mean and occupancy-abundance relationships. We also find strong evidence for regional and habitat variation in these relationships and in the levels of aggregation estimated by the abundance-invariant aggregation model. Among habitats, corals on reef flats exhibited lower occupancy and higher levels of aggregation compared to reef crests and slopes. Among regions, low occupancy and high aggregation were most pronounced across all habitats in American Samoa. These patterns may be related to habitat and regional differences in disturbance and recovery processes. Our results suggest that the spatial scaling of abundance and occupancy is sensitive to processes operating among these habitats and at regional scales. However, the consistency of these relationships across species within assemblages suggests that a theoretical unification of spatial variance and occupancy patterns is indeed possible.     

Bacterial reduction of selenium in coal mine tailings pond sediment

Sediment from a storage facility for coal tailings solids was assessed for its capacity to reduce selenium (Se) by native bacterial community. One Se(6+)-reducing bacterium Enterobacter hormaechei (Tar11) and four Se(4+)-reducing bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniae (Tar1), Pseudomonas fluorescens (Tar3), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (Tar6), and Enterobacter amnigenus (Tar8) were isolated from the sediment. Enterobacter hormaechei removed 96% of the added Se(6+) (0.92 mg L(-1)) from the effluents when Se(6+) was determined after 5 d of incubation. Analysis of the red precipitates showed that Se(6+) reduction resulted in the formation of spherical particles (<1.0 microm) of Se(0) as observed under scanning electron microscope (SEM) and confirmed by EDAX. Selenium speciation was performed to examine the fate of the added Se(6+) in the sediment with or without addition of Enterobacter hormaechei cells. More than 99% of the added Se(6+) (approximately 2.5 mg L(-1)) was transformed in the nonsterilized sediment (without Enterobacter hormaechei cells) as well as in the sterilized (heat-killed) sediment (with Enterobacter hormaechei cells). The results of this study suggest that the lagoon sediments at the mine site harbor Se(6+)- and Se(4+)-reducing bacteria and may be important sinks for soluble Se (Se(6+) and Se(4+)). Enterobacter hormaechei isolated from metal-contaminated sediment may have potential application in removing Se from industrial effluents.     

Achieving the Kyoto Protocol in the U.S.: How Great are the Needed Changes?

The Kyoto Protocol requires the U.S.to reduce the rate of emissions of six greenhousegases (GHG) to 93% of their 1990 rate and to achievethis target by the 2008 to 2012 commitment period. This study assesses the magnitude of change needed inthe U.S. economy and, specifically, in the U.S. energysector, to achieve and maintain the target establishedby the Kyoto Protocol. A simple carbon (C)emissions-energy model is explained in this analysisusing four key variables. Current and future trendsin C emissions are explained by: the carbon/energy(C/E) ratio, Gross Domestic Product growth, energyprices and an energy trend variable. Potential GHGmitigation policy actions affect C emissionsindirectly by affecting at least one of these keyvariables. The analysis concludes that reducingfossil energy use in the U.S. to meet the Kyoto GHGemissions reduction target would be very costly. Technological progress that reduces C emissions wouldnot be fully sufficient without prematurely abandoningproductive capital equipment. Energy price increasesof about 14% per year, or declines in economic growthof almost 5% per year, could reduce energy demand andassociated C emissions enough to achieve the terms ofthe Kyoto Protocol.     

Impact of minimum winter temperatures on the population dynamics of Dendroctonus frontalis.

Predicting population dynamics is a fundamental problem in applied ecology. Temperature is a potential driver of short-term population dynamics, and temperature data are widely available, but we generally lack validated models to predict dynamics based upon temperatures. A generalized approach involves estimating the temperatures experienced by a population, characterizing the demographic consequences of physiological responses to temperature, and testing for predicted effects on abundance. We employed this approach to test whether minimum winter temperatures are a meaningful driver of pestilence from Dendroctonus frontalis (the southern pine beetle) across the southeastern United States. A distance-weighted interpolation model provided good, spatially explicit, predictions of minimum winter air temperatures (a putative driver of beetle survival). A Newtonian heat transfer model with empirical cooling constants indicated that beetles within host trees are buffered from the lowest air temperatures by approximately 1-4 degrees C (depending on tree diameter and duration of cold bout). The life stage structure of beetles in the most northerly outbreak in recent times (New Jersey) were dominated by prepupae, which were more cold tolerant (by >3 degrees C) than other life stages. Analyses of beetle abundance data from 1987 to 2005 showed that minimum winter air temperature only explained 1.5% of the variance in interannual growth rates of beetle populations, indicating that it is but a weak driver of population dynamics in the southeastern United States as a whole. However, average population growth rate matched theoretical predictions of a process-based model of winter mortality from low temperatures; apparently our knowledge of population effects from winter temperatures is satisfactory, and may help to predict dynamics of northern populations, even while adding little to population predictions in southern forests. Recent episodes of D. frontalis outbreaks in northern forests may have been allowed by a warming trend from 1960 to 2004 of 3.3 degrees C in minimum winter air temperatures in the southeastern United States. Studies that combine climatic analyses, physiological experiments, and spatially replicated time series of population abundance can improve population predictions, contribute to a synthesis of population and physiological ecology, and aid in assessing the ecological consequences of climatic trends.     

Health risks of gold miners: a synoptic review

Health problems of gold miners who worked underground include decreased life expectancy; increased frequency of cancer of the trachea, bronchus, lung, stomach, and liver; increased frequency of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), silicosis, and pleural diseases; increased frequency of insect-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever; noise-induced hearing loss; increased prevalence of certain bacterial and viral diseases; and diseases of the blood, skin, and musculoskeletal system. These problems are briefly documented in gold miners from Australia, North America, South America, and Africa. In general, HIV infection or excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption tended to exacerbate existing health problems. Miners who used elemental mercury to amalgamate and extract gold were heavily contaminated with mercury. Among individuals exposed occupationally, concentrations of mercury in their air, fish diet, hair, urine, blood, and other tissues significantly exceeded all criteria proposed by various national and international regulatory agencies for protection of human health. However, large-scale epidemiological evidence of severe mercury-associated health problems in this cohort was not demonstrable.     

Plant vintage, technology, and environmental regulation

We use data on productivity and pollution abatement costs at individual pulp and paper mills to test whether the impact of environmental regulation on productivity differs by plant vintage and technology. Plants with higher pollution abatement costs have significantly lower productivity levels. This relationship differs greatly based on a plant's technology, with productivity at integrated mills being greatly affected by abatement costs, while the impact at non-integrated mills is negligible. Plant vintage does not seem to matter, with older and newer plants showing similar impacts. Reported abatement costs appear to substantially understate the true costs of abatement. Accounting for the impact of technology differences makes some difference in the estimated overall impact of environmental regulation.     

Chemical defense of a rare mint plant

Summary Analyses of leaf extracts ofDicerandra frutescens, a highly aromatic mint plant from central Florida listed as an endangered species, revealed presence of 12 closely related monoterpenes. The principal of these, (+)—trans-pulegol, is a new natural product, the synthesis of which is described. The terpenes are produced in glandular capsules that release their contents upon injury of the leaf. Data from bioassays with ants and cockroaches indicate that the terpenes serve for defense against insects.Dicerandra does, however, have a leaf-eating enemy, the caterpillar of a pyralid moth,Pyrausta panopealis. The discovery of a new natural product from an endangered species raises questions about the chemical implications of species extinction.     

土壤理化特性对稻田CH4排放的影响

为了研究土壤理化特性对稻田CH4 排放的影响 ,室外盆栽试验于 2 0 0 0年水稻生长季在南京农业大学实施 ,1 8个供试水稻土分别取自江苏宜兴、江宁、六合、仪征及宝应等地 .所有供试土壤的季节性CH4 平均排放通量为 6 42± 2 70mg·(m2 ·h) - 1,最低和最高值分别为 1 96mg·(m2 ·h) - 1和 1 1 0 6mg·(m2 ·h) - 1,两者相差约 5 6倍 .单相关分析结果表明 :影响CH4 排放的主要土壤参数为质地、氮素状况及铜含量 .CH4 排放与土壤砂粒含量呈正相关 (r =0 5 2 8,p =0 0 2 4) ,与粘粒含量呈负相关 (r =-0 484,p =0 0 42 ) .氮素含量高的土壤CH4 排放较低 ,CH4 排放与土壤全氮、速效氮和铵态氮含量的线性相关系数分别为 -0 449(p =0 0 62 )、-0 61 1 (p =0 0 0 7)和 -0 649(p =0 0 0 4) .土壤铜含量直接影响CH4 的排放 ,CH4 排放与有效态铜和全铜含量的线性相关系数分别为 -0 5 94(p =0 0 0 9)和 -0 5 47(p =0 0 1 9) .本研究并未观测到CH4 排放与土壤有机碳含量有相关关系 ,这与前人报道的实验室培养测定结果及稻田CH4 排放随土壤有机质含量提高而增加的假设完全不同 .逐步回归分析表明 ,不同土壤间CH4 排放的变异性有 75 5 %可由土壤有效态铜含量、镁 (全量 )含量及有效铁含量与全量铁之     

First-trimester maternal serum alphafetoprotein and chorionic gonadotropin in aneuploid pregnancies

First-trimester maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) levels were measured in samples from 29 women with cytogenetically abnormal pregnancies and 145 women with cytogenetically normal pregnancies matched for gestational age, race, and sample storage time. All patients had a risk of fetal aneuploidy greater than or equal to that of a mother 35 years of age. AFP was significantly lower in samples from pregnancies affected with trisomy 21 (0.67 MoM;p <0.05), while HCG values were no different from those of matched controls. Trisomies 13 and 18 could not be distinguished from matched controls by AFP. However, levels of HCG were significantly lower in such pregnancy samples, with median values of 0.65 MoM in trisomy 13 and 0.32 MoM in trisomy 18 (p<0.05). Variations in AFP and HCG levels suggest that expressed differences between autosomal aneuploidies include differences in fetal and placenta! protein production in the first trimester.