Exposure to DDT and HCH congeners and associated potential health risks through khat (Catha edulis) consumption among adults in South Wollo,Ethiopia

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Khat (Catha edulis) chewing is widespread in the region of East Africa. Even low levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in khat could induce public...     

Spatial clustering of habitat structure effects patterns of community composition and diversity

Natural ecosystems often show highly productive habitats that are clustered in space. Environmental disturbances are also often nonrandomly distributed in space and are either intrinsically linked to habitat quality or independent in occurrence. Theoretical studies predict that configuration and aggregation of habitat patch quality and disturbances can affect metacommunity composition and diversity, but experimental evidence is largely lacking. In a metacommunity experiment, we tested the effects of spatially autocorrelated disturbance and spatial aggregation of patch quality on regional and local richness, among-community dissimilarity, and community composition. We found that spatial aggregation of patch quality generally increased among-community dissimilarity (based on two measures of beta diversity) of communities containing protozoa and rotifers in microcosms. There were significant interacting effects of landscape structure and location of disturbances on beta diversity, which depended in part on the specific beta diversity measures used. Effects of disturbance on composition and richness in aggregated landscapes were generally dependent on distance and connectivity among habitat patches of different types. Our results also show that effects of disturbances in single patches cannot directly be extrapolated to the landscape scale: the predictions may be correct when only species richness is considered, but important changes in beta diversity may be overlooked. There is a need for biodiversity and conservation studies to consider the spatial aggregation of habitat quality and disturbance, as well as connectivity among spatial aggregations.     

The Effect of Nitrogen Enrichment on the Carbon Sink in Coniferous Forests: Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analyses of Three Ecosystem Models

Estimates of the global carbon sink induced by nitrogen enrichment range vary widely, from nearly zero to 2.3 Gt C year^-1. It is necessary to reduce this uncertainty if we are to make accurate predictions of the future magnitude of the terrestrial carbon sink. Here, we present a Monte Carlo approach to uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of three ecosystem models, Century,BGCand Hybrid. These models were applied to a coniferous forest ecosystem in Sweden. The best estimate of the change in total carbon content of the ecosystem with the cumulative change in nitrogen deposition over 100 years, C_total/N_deposition was 20.1 kg C (kg N)^-1 using the pooled mean, with a pooled standard deviation of 13.8 kg C (kg N)^-1. Variability in parameters accounted for 92% of the total uncertainty in C_total/N_deposition, and only 8% was attributable to differences between models. The most sensitive parameters were those which controlled the allocation of assimilate between leaves, roots and stem. In particular, an increase in allocation to fine roots led to a large reduction in C_total/N_deposition in all models, because the fine roots have a very high turnover rate, and extra carbon allocated there is soon lost through mortality and decomposition.     

中国茶叶中的氟近十年来的研究进展

主要对茶叶中氟的来源,氟含量,氟浸出率以及茶叶降氟措施研究作了详细的综述。大量的研究资料表明,土壤中的氟直接影响到茶叶中氟的含量,茶树吸收氟与土壤的pH值、有机质含量、粘粒含量、成土母质及土壤中的阳离子有关。大气污染影响茶叶氟含量主要是氟通过叶片气孔进入细胞,进而在茶树体内积累。水环境中氟的含量主要受土壤与大气环境的影响。茶叶中的氟含量随着叶片成熟度的增加而增加;茶叶等级越差,氟含量越高;原料粗老的茶类氟含量要比原料较嫩的茶类氟含量高;不同季节、茶树品种对氟吸收也存在差异性;茶树各部位氟累积强度依次为:叶>花蕾>籽>皮>细枝>骨干枝>细根>茎(主轴)>茎(主干)>主根>侧根;茶叶中氟浸出率与冲泡水温、冲泡时间、冲泡次数等有关。在茶叶加工过程中可以通过热水处理,添加化学试剂,改进生产工艺等措施来降低茶叶中的氟含量。此外,尚可以培育含氟量低的茶树品种。     

Particulate matter emissions during autopsies: a method to reduce exposure

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Particulate matter emitted during autopsies can serve as a vector for numerous viruses or bacteria and can lead to infections. Reducing the exposure...