Mercury pollution in the Tapajos River basin, Amazon: mercury level of head hair and health effects.

There is increasing concern about the potential neurotoxic effects of exposure to methylmercury for the 6 million people living in the Amazon, even in regions situated far away from the gold mines (garimpos), considered to be the major source of mercury pollution. In November 1998, a spot investigation on mercury contamination was conducted in three fishing villages (Barreiras, Rainha, and Sao Luiz do Tapajos) on the Tapajos River, an effluent of the Amazon, situated several hundred kilometers downstream from the gold-mining areas. A total of 132 fishermen and their families volunteered for the current study. As was anticipated, the total mercury levels in the head hair collected from the fishing villages were relatively high (14.1-20.8 ppm on the average) and the number of subjects with a high total mercury level over 10 ppm (the least upper bound of a normal value) was 103 (78.0%) in total, along with various symptoms, thereby suggesting wide mercury contamination in the Tapajos River basin. Moreover, in view of the absence of other diseases (e.g., alcoholism or malaria), a high intake of fish containing a methylmercury level, and high hair mercury levels in addition to the various symptoms such as sensory disturbance (especially glove-and-stocking type, which is characteristic of Minamata disease), tremor, failure in two-point discrimination, and slight balancing failure, several subjects examined were diagnosed with mild Minamata disease. The findings obtained suggest, thus, that the mercury pollution in the Amazon should be crucially observed for head hair mercury level and health in a much broader region.     

Occurrence of Norovirus GIV in Environmental Water Samples from Belém City,Amazon Region,Brazil

Noroviruses are the major cause of non-bacterial acute gastroenteritis outbreaks in humans, with few reports about the occurrence of the norovirus GIV strain. We investigated the presence of norovirus GIV in surface water (river, bay, and stream) and untreated sewage, and we determined a positivity rate of 9.4 % (9/96). The strains genotyped were GIV.1. To our knowledge, this is the first report of GIV in Brazil.     

一种用于尾矿库干滩长度在线监测的新方法

通过分析当前常用干滩长度在线监测方法所适应的条件及其存在的问题,提出了一种可用于干滩长度在线监测的新方法——渗流反推法,其基本原理是通过在干滩面上依次布置一定数量的渗压计,以获取实时的浸润线,然后通过建立浸润线的库长-坝高坐标系,再结合库水位,通过解算浸润线与库水位方程组,计算出尾矿库的干滩长度。该方法具有适应性强,监测准确,费用低、操作与维护简单、抗雷电能力强等优点,为干滩长度在线监测新方法的探索提供了参考。     

Differences in diet composition and foraging patterns between sexes of the Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) during the non-breeding period as revealed by δ13C and δ15N values in feathers and bone

In diving seabirds, sexual dimorphism in size often results in sex-related differences of foraging patterns. Previous research on Magellanic penguins, conducted during the breeding season, failed to reveal consistent differences between the sexes on foraging behavior, despite sexual dimorphism. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that male and female Magellanic penguins differ in diet and foraging patterns during the non-breeding period when the constraints imposed by chick rearing activities vanish. We used stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in feather and bone to characterize the diet and foraging patterns of male and female penguins in the South Atlantic at the beginning of the 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 post-breeding seasons (feathers) and over several consecutive breeding and migratory seasons (bone). The mean δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of feathers showed no differences between the sexes in any of the three regions considered or in the diet composition between the sexes from identical breeding regions; however, Bayesian ellipses showed a higher isotopic niche width in males at the beginning of the post-breeding season. Stable isotope ratios in bone revealed the enrichment of males with δ¹³C compared with females across the three regions considered. Furthermore, the Bayesian ellipses were larger for males and encompassed those of females in two of the three regions analyzed. These results suggest a differential use of winter resources between the sexes, with males typically showing a larger diversity of foraging/migratory strategies. The results also show that dietary differences between male and female Magellanic penguins may occur once the constraints imposed by chick rearing activities cease at the beginning of the post-breeding season.     

Geochemistry,mineralogy, solid-phase fractionation and oral bioaccessibility of lead in urban soils of Lisbon

An urban survey of Lisbon, the largest city in Portugal, was carried out to investigate its environmental burden, emphasizing metallic elements and their public health impacts. This paper examines the geochemistry of lead (Pb) and its influence on human health data. A total of 51 soil samples were collected from urban recreational areas used by children to play outdoors. The semi-quantitative analysis of Pb was carried out by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after an acid digestion. X-ray diffraction was used to characterize the soil mineralogy. The solid-phase distribution of Pb in the urban soils was investigated on a subset of 7 soils, out of a total of 51 samples, using a non-specific sequential extraction method coupled with chemometric analysis. Oral bioaccessibility measurements were obtained using the Unified BARGE Method developed by the Bioaccessibility Research Group of Europe. The objectives of the study are as follows: (1) investigation of Pb solid-phase distribution; (2) interpretation of Pb oral bioaccessibility measurements; (3) integration of metal geochemistry with human health data; and (4) understanding the influence of geochemistry and mineralogy on oral bioaccessibility. The results show that the bioaccessible fraction of Pb is lower when major metal fractions are associated with less soluble soil phases such as Fe oxyhydroxides, and more increased when the metal is in the highly soluble carbonate phase. However, there is some evidence that the proportion of carbonates in the soil environment is also a key control over the oral bioaccessibility of Pb, irrespective of its solid-phase fractionation.     

黄颡鱼黑色素细胞原代培养及迁移相关基因克隆分析

黑素皮质素受体-1(MC1R)在鱼体中对黑色素细胞的分化及迁移起主要的调控作用,而且在神经系统和免疫系统中均表现出重要的生理功能。本研究对黄颡鱼表皮黑色素细胞的培养条件进行探索,并在此基础上对MC1R基因进行克隆,为后续研究黄颡鱼黑色素异常的细胞及分子机理研究提供基础。结果表明,黄颡鱼表皮黑色素细胞在27℃培养条件下,72 h开始贴壁生长,培养基中添加20%小牛血清培养效果比添加10%小牛血清好。此外,我们对黄颡鱼MC1R基因进行克隆。MC1R基因克隆方面,黄颡鱼MC1R基因全长为936 bp,编码312个氨基酸,与剑尾鱼(Xiphophorus maculates)、孔雀鱼(Poecilia reticulata)、条斑星鲽(Verasper moseri)、海鲈(Dicentrarchus labrax)、大菱鲆(Psetta maxima)等5种鱼类MC1R基因的同源性分别为97%、96%、90%、90%、90%,系统分析结果显示,黄颡鱼MC1R基因在进化树上的位置与黄颡鱼的分类所处位置基本吻合。黄颡鱼表皮黑色素细胞原代培养的条件为:27℃,添加20%小牛血清,所克隆基因为黄颡鱼MC1R基因。本研究为后续研究黄颡鱼黑色素异常的细胞及分子机理研究提供基础。     

A spatial scan statistic for zero-inflated Poisson process

The scan statistic is widely used in spatial cluster detection applications of inhomogeneous Poisson processes. However, real data may present substantial departure from the underlying Poisson process. One of the possible departures has to do with zero excess. Some studies point out that when applied to data with excess zeros, the spatial scan statistic may produce biased inferences. In this work, we develop a closed-form scan statistic for cluster detection of spatial zero-inflated count data. We apply our methodology to simulated and real data. Our simulations revealed that the Scan-Poisson statistic steadily deteriorates as the number of zeros increases, producing biased inferences. On the other hand, our proposed Scan-ZIP and Scan-ZIP+EM statistics are, most of the time, either superior or comparable to the Scan-Poisson statistic.     

Nation‐building policies in Timor‐Leste: disaster risk reduction,including climate change adaptation

Few studies have explored the relationships between nation‐building, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Focusing on small island developing states, this paper examines nation‐building in Timor‐Leste, a small island developing state that recently achieved independence. Nation‐building in Timor‐Leste is explored in the context of disaster risk reduction, which necessarily includes climate change adaptation. The study presents a synopsis of Timor‐Leste's history and its nation‐building efforts as well as an overview of the state of knowledge of disaster risk reduction including climate change adaptation. It also offers an analysis of significant gaps and challenges in terms of vertical and horizontal governance, large donor presence, data availability and the integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation for nation‐building in Timor‐Leste. Relevant and applicable lessons are provided from other small island developing states to assist Timor‐Leste in identifying its own trajectory out of underdevelopment while it builds on existing strengths.     

Ti/TiO2NTs/PANI/PbO2-CNTs电极的制备及煤气管道水封水的预处理

利用阳极氧化法和电化学沉积法,在传统Ti/PbO2电极中引入二氧化钛纳米管(TiO2NTs)和导电聚苯胺(PANI)新型复合中间层,并在PbO2表层掺杂改性碳纳米管(CNTs),成功制备了Ti/TiO2NTs/PANI/PbO2-CNTs电极,并将其用于煤气管道水封水的预处理.实验结果表明:TiO2NTs/PANI复合...