Quality of roof runoff waters from an urban region (Gda sk, Poland)

The paper presents the results of testing of roof runoff waters from buildings in the city of Gda sk (Poland), carried out as a part of a broader research project aimed at the determination of pollutant levels in precipitation. The analytes determined included volatile organohalogen compounds, petroleum hydrocarbons, Na⁺, K⁺, NH₄⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, F⁻, Cl⁻, NO₂⁻, NO₃⁻, PO₄³⁻, SO₄²⁻ ions, as well as organonitrogen, organophosphorus and organochlorine pesticides. In addition, the toxicity and pH of the samples were examined. The samples were collected over a period of six months, during or immediately following precipitation events. More than half of the samples (25) were found to be toxic, with inhibition exceeding 20%. The toxicity was weakly correlated to the levels of organonitrogen and organophosphorus pesticides in runoff waters. It was established that at least in some cases the roofing material affected the levels of the pollutants found in the samples.     

Evaluation of the persistence of micropollutants through pure-oxygen activated sludge nitrification and denitrification.

The persistence of pharmaceuticals, hormones, and household and industrial chemicals through a pure-oxygen activated sludge, nitrification, denitrification wastewater treatment facility was evaluated. Of the 125 micropollutants that were tested in this study, 55 compounds were detected in the untreated wastewater, and 27 compounds were detected in the disinfected effluent. The persistent compounds included surfactants, fire-retardant chemicals, pesticides, fragrance compounds, hormones, and one pharmaceutical. Physical-chemical properties of micropollutants that affected partitioning onto wastewater solids included vapor pressure and octanol-water partition coefficients.     

Effect of water pH and total dissolved solids on the species diversity of pelagic zooplankton in lakes: A statistical analysis

Statistical analysis of the combined influence of lake surface area (S), water pH, and total dissolved solids (TDS) on the formation of zooplankton communities in lakes has been made on the basis of available data on the number of species (N _sp ) of pelagic zooplankton in 256 lakes of the temperate zone of Europe, Asia, and North America. Graphic analysis and analysis of variance have shown that extremely high or extremely low values of pH and TDS inhibit lake zooplankton. If the value of one of these factors is extremely high, any increase in the other factor is favorable for the inhibited zooplankton, and this second factor determines the value of N _sp .     

Role of amniotic fluid interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis in patient management

We retrospectively reviewed 309 amniotic fluid interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses performed from October 1995 to June 1999 to assess the role of interphase FISH in the management of patients at increased risk for fetal aneuploidies. Gestational age and indications for amniocentesis, clinical interventions after FISH results, as well as interventions after final culture reports were analyzed. There were 244 (79%) normal, 50 (16%) abnormal and 15 (5%) inconclusive FISH results. There were no false-positive or false-negative results, but there were nine (3%) clinically significant chromosomal abnormalities not detectable by FISH. Of the 50 women with abnormal FISH results, 26 (52%) elected to terminate the pregnancy prior to the availability of the standard chromosome analysis. In two of the fetuses with trisomy 21 no abnormalities were reported by ultrasound examination. Our experience indicates that interphase FISH results played an important role in decision making, especially for pregnancies close to 24 weeks' gestation. Standard karyotype analysis is still required for detection of chromosome abnormalities not detectable by interphase FISH techniques and for clarification of unusual or inconclusive FISH results. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rural women and agrotourism in the context of sustainable rural development: A case study from Turkey

As in many developing countries also in Turkey, agriculture is on the center of rural development and rural women are on the center of agriculture. Although they are main part as a major labor force at every stage of agricultural activity and undertake responsibilities such as domestic task and childcare, women do not profit from social and economic benefits proportionate to the responsibilities they have undertaken. Agrotourism is an alternative activity in the rural development process, which combines agriculture and tourism, improves natural resources, contributes the rural area socially and economically. The aim of this study is to examine the participation conditions of rural women to the agrotourism activities, which is considered as an option in the context of sustainable rural development, and to identify the possible social and economic implications of agrotourism on the rural women’s life, after determining the situation and importance of rural women in the agricultural activity. This research was carried out in three villages of Kalecik district of Ankara and data gathered from group meetings and surveys.     

Trinkwasserschutzgebiete

Conflict are frequently observed when drinking water protection areas are to be defined and when many variants of how to protect these area are to be found. Using ten potential scenarios, a method is presented here which shows how such conflicts concerning these variants may be handled in a systematic manner. The technique is derived from the use of partially ordered sets and their visualization by Hasse diagrams. The first step is to define rankings of different variants according to each aim of protection. A further step is to define an appropriate relationship of order. It is then possible to visualize the extent of consensus and of dissension through the use of a Hasse diagram. The final step is to quantify the importance of each protection aim and the initialization of an iteration. Should a complete consensus be found, this would result in a chain of (connected) variants. Should a complete dissension be found on the other hand, an antichain would then result (i.e. where all variants are isolated).     

Germination,Growth, and Nodulation of Sesbania rostrata Grown in Pb/Zn Mine Tailings

Sesbania rostrata in pure and amended Pb/Zn tailings. About 90% of seeds of S. rostrata germinated in pure Pb/Zn tailings, which contained high concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cd. Although seedling growth suffered from the adverse environment of Pb/Zn tailings, they became established on tailings stands, in the greenhouse, as well as on the actual tailings dam, and completed their life cycle in 4 months. Dry matter production and nitrogen accumulation was 3200 kg/ha and 69.4 kg/ha, respectively in the actual tailings dam. Applying inorganic fertilizer to Pb/Zn tailings led to no obvious improvement in growth and nodulation of S. rostrata, while tailings amended by river sediment or domestic refuse rich in organic matter improved the growth and nodulation of the species. Azorhizobium caulinodans survived and formed N-fixing stem and root nodules in S. rostrata grown in pure Pb/Zn tailings with a nodule biomass exceeding 300 mg fresh matter per plant.