Immediate one-step lime precipitation process for the valorization of winery wastewater to agricultural purposes

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The winery wastewater (WW) of the Village of Vidigueira, in south of Portugal, presented an acid pH (4.26 ± 0.029), a high content of chemical...     

Photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen and caffeine using magnetite–hematite combined nanoparticles: kinetics and mechanisms

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The increased use of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) has contributed to the contamination of water systems and put pressure on the...     

Exposure to 17β estradiol causes erosion of sexual dimorphism in Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Estrogenic compounds including 17β estradiol (or E2) are known to negatively affect the reproductive system of many animals, including fish,...     

AN Amazon Perspective on the Forest-Climate Connection: Opportunity for Climate Mitigation, Conservation and Development?

Amazonia contains more carbon (C) than a decade of global, human-induced CO₂ emissions (60–80 billion tons). This C is gradually being released to the atmosphere through deforestation. Projected increases in Amazon deforestation associated with investments in road paving and other types of infra-structure may increase these C emissions. An increase of 25–40% in Amazon deforestation due to projected road paving could counterbalance nearly half of the reductions in C emissions that would be achieved if the Kyoto Protocol were implemented. Forecasted emission increases could be curtailed if development strategies aimed at controlling frontier expansion and creating economic alternatives were implemented. Given ancillary benefits and relative low costs, reducing deforestation in Amazonia and other tropical areas could be an attractive option for climate mitigation. Projects that help contain deforestation and reduce frontier expansion can play an important role in climate change mitigation but currently are not allowed as an abatement strategy under the climate regime. Creating incentives for forest conservation and decreased deforestation can be a unique opportunity for both forest conservation and climate mitigation.     

Sonographic markers of exencephaly below 10 weeks' gestation

We report two cases of exencephaly diagnosed by transvaginal ultrasonography at 8 weeks 4 days and at 9 weeks 3 days of gestation. Both cases presented an irregular cephalic pole, and, in the case seen at 8 weeks 4 days, brain vesicles were also absent, whereas in the case seen at 9 weeks 3 days, the midline echo was indistinguishable with disorganized choroid plexuses. In both cases, anencephaly was evident at 11 and 12 weeks' gestation and the postmortem confirmed the diagnosis. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Importance of legislation for maintaining forests on private properties in the Brazilian Cerrado

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This paper evaluates compliance with environmental laws in the municipality of Sorriso and the impact of changing legislation on vegetation. To verify...     

Behavior of pesticides in sediment/water systems in outdoor mesocosms

The distribution of eight pesticides between sediment and water held in 1-m square outdoor stainless-steel mesocosms was studied, simulating both spring and autumn applications. Pesticide behavior was largely independent of rate of application, chosen in the first three experiments to be 4% or 40% of the normal field rate so as to simulate spray drift or partial overspray. Following application by spray to the water surface, all compounds were uniformly distributed in the 30 cm of overlying water within 24 h. The lipophilic pesticides (chlorpyrifos, pendimethalin, and permethrin) moved into the sediment within 30 d but with little penetration below 2.5 cm depth, and only chlorpyrifos persisted beyond 30 d. The mass balance of these lipophilic pesticides at 1 d was only 26.3% to 61%, with these initial losses attributed to processes such as volatilization. Isoproturon and chlorotoluron persisted for around 120 d, remaining largely in the overlying water with a maximum of 15% in the sediment. Permethrin and difenoconazole were much less persistent in these mesocosms, with very little ever found in the sediment in contrast to previous findings in laboratory-scale stirred systems as used in registration tests. The polar mecoprop remained almost entirely in the water phase and was rapidly degraded. Two further experiments examined also the influence of the submerged plant Lagarosiphon major in the mesocosms, the first experiment simulating a full-rate overspray with chlorpyrifos and linuron and the second a repeat in spring of the earlier main autumn experiment. Both chlorpyrifos and linuron applied in the autumn were quite persistent over the winter period, with about 20% still remaining after 152 d. Uptake into L. major was correlated with pesticide lipophilicity, but was only a small factor compared to uptake by sediment and degradation in these lightly vegetated systems.     

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia coli isolated from shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and pond environment in northeastern Brazil

This study aimed to test the susceptibility of Escherichia coli strains isolated from the water, bottom sediments and individuals cultivated in shrimp farm ponds, to antibiotics belonging to different families, namely B-Lactams: Imipenem (IPM; 10 μ g), Ampicillin (AMP; 10 μ g), Cephalothin (CEP; 30 μ g), Cefoxitin (FOX; 30 μ g), Ceftriaxone (CRO; 30 μ g); Tetracycline: Tetracycline (TCY; 30 μ g); Aminoglycosides: Gentamicin (GEN; 10 μ g), Amikacin (AMK; 30 μ g); Chloramphenicol: Chloramphenicol (CHO; 30 μ g); Fluoroquinolones: Ciprofloxacin (CIP; 5 μ g); Nitrofurans: Nitrofurantoin (NIT; 300 μ g); Sulfonamides: Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole (SXT; 30 μ g); Quilononas: Nalidixic Acid (NAL; 30 μ g). In the laboratory, the method of dissemination (Test Kirby-Bauer) was performed in order to fulfill the antibiogram tests. The results showed high indices of resistance to Imipenem, Cephalothin and Ampicillin. Chloramphenicol, Nitrofurantoin, Cefoxitin, Ceftiaxone and Ciprofloxacin have displayed the highest index of sensitive strains. The antibiotic resistance index (ARI) and the multiple resistance index (MAR) varied within the ranges of 0.068–0.077 and 0.15–0.39, respectively. More than 90.5% of strains of Escherichia coli showed a variety of resistance profiles to the tested antibiotics. The high indices of resistance may be a consequence of indiscriminate use of antibiotics, but also the transfer of resistance through mobile genetic elements found in shrimp farms.