Distribution of nickel in the roach (Rutilus rutilus L.) after exposure to lethal and sublethal concentrations

In order to evaluate the eventual impact of nickel in fish kills occuring in the river Meuse in Belgium, a series of experiments were performed in which the uptake and distribution of nickel in Rutilus rutilus L., one of the dominant species in the river was studied after administration of nickel alone and in combination with other metals. In decreasing order the highest nickel concentrations were found in gill, opercle, kidney, liver and muscle. After exposure to nickel in combination with copper or chromium nickel levels in gill tissue increased significantly compared to levels encountered when fish were exposed to the same concentration of nickel alone. When the pH of the test solution was lowered from 8.0 to 6.5, the lethal action and the accumulation of nickel in gill tissue increased. Control fish collected from a surface water storage reservoir and from the river Meuse had higher nickel levels in the opercle than in gill tissue.     

Genetic Variation and Outcrossing Rate in Relation to Population Size in Gentiana pneumonanthe L

The amount of genetic variation in the rare perennial herb Gentiana pneumonanthe L. was determined to explore its relation to population size. Differences in isozyme variation between maternal plants and their offspring were used to investigate the relationship between population size and outcrossing rate. In 25 populations in The Netherlands, differing in size from 1 to more than 50,000 flowering individuals, 16 allozyme loci were analyzed on leaves of maternal plants and offspring grown in a greenhouse. Population size was significantly positively correlated with the proportion of polymorphic loci, but only marginally with heterozygosity and the mean effective number of alleles. Most of the studied populations were characterized by a complete absence of rare alleles, and F -statistics suggest relatively high levels of genetic differentiation among populations and thus a low level of gene flow. Leaf samples (maternal) were mostly in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, while several offspring samples showed an excess of homozygotes, which suggests selection favoring heterozygotes. Because most small populations consist only of adult survivors from formerly larger populations, this may partly explain the absence of a clear relationship between genetic variation of the maternal plants and population size. A significant positive correlation was found between the level of cross-fertilization and population size. From these results, we conclude that, to some degree, small populations have a reduced level of genetic variation, while their present isolation in nature reserves has resulted in a very limited interpopulational gene flow level. At present a higher level of inbreeding in small populations contributes to a further loss of genetic variation and may also result in reduced offspring fitness.     

Steps in the construction of underwater coral nursery, an essential component in reef restoration acts

Many coral reefs worldwide are rapidly declining, but efficient restoration techniques are not yet available. Here, we evaluate methodologies for reef restoration based on the “gardening concept”. A floating mid-water prototype nursery was placed at 6 m depth (14 m above sea-bottom) within the nutrient-enriched environment of a fish farm (Eilat, Red Sea). Ten colonies from five branching coral species provided 6,813 fragments (0.5–3 cm height). The fragments, each attached to a plastic pin, were inserted into plastic nets that were tied to a rope-net floating nursery. After 144 nursery days, only 13.1% of the fragments died and 21.2% were detached by mechanical forces. Small colonies ready for transplantation developed within 144–200 days. Ramets’ ecological volumes increased 13–46 folds and their heights by a factor of 3.5. After 306 days, the ecological volumes of the colonies increased 147–163 fold as compared to original volumes (revealing a daily growth rate constant of 1.67% during the first 5–10 months) and height values by a factor of six. Building and maintenance costs of the nursery were low. This nursery prototype demonstrates the feasibility of the coral “gardening concept” by fulfilling several important needs, namely, mass production of coral colonies at low costs, high survivorship, fast growth, short nursery phase and improved methodologies for handling farmed colonies.     

Strategies for prenatal and preimplantation genetic diagnosis in Marfan syndrome (MFS)

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is an autosomal dominant disorder with a prevalence of 2–3 per 10 000 individuals. Symptoms range from skeletal overgrowth, cutaneous striae to ectopia lentis and aortic dilatation leading to dissection. Prenatal diagnosis was until recently mainly performed in familial cases by linkage analysis. However, mutation detection has become available with thorough screening methods. The phenotypic variability observed in MFS makes reproductive options difficult, as molecular diagnosis cannot predict clinical severity of the disease. Data are presented on 15 prenatal and/or preimplantation genetic diagnoses (PGD) in nine families, originating from Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and France. In four families data from linkage analysis were used, whereas in five other families the causative FBN1 mutation was characterised. Four PGD cycles in two couples led to one ongoing pregnancy. In addition, two amniocenteses and nine chorionic villus (CV) samplings were performed. In five pregnancies an affected fetus was diagnosed. In one of them, the couple chose to continue the pregnancy and an affected child was born, whereas the other four couples decided to terminate the pregnancy. It is expected that the greater availability of mutation testing of the FBN1 gene will increase requests for prenatal diagnosis. PGD appears to be an acceptable alternative for couples facing ethical reproductive dilemmas. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Increase in membrane thickness during development compensates for eggshell thinning due to calcium uptake by the embryo in falcons

We compared membrane thickness of fully developed eggs with those of non-developed eggs in different endangered falcon taxa. To our knowledge, membrane thickness variation during development has never been examined before in falcons or any other wild bird. Yet, the egg membrane constitutes an important protective barrier for the developing embryo. Because eggshell thinning is a general process that occurs during bird development, caused by calcium uptake by the embryo, eggs are expected to be less protected and vulnerable to breakage near the end of development. Thus, egg membranes could play an important protective role in the later stages of development by getting relatively thicker. We used linear mixed models to explore the variation in membrane thickness (n = 378 eggs) in relation to developmental stage, taxon, female age, mass and identity (73 females), egg-laying sequence (105 clutches) and the study zone. Our results are consistent with the prediction that egg membranes are thicker in fully developed eggs than in non-developed eggs, suggesting that the increase in membrane thickness during development may compensate for eggshell thinning. In addition, our data shown that thicker membranes are associated with larger, heavier and relatively wider eggs, as well as with eggs that had thinner eggshells. Egg-laying sequence, female age and the study zone did not explain the observed variation of membrane thickness in the falcon taxa studied. As we provide quantitative data on membrane thickness variation during development in falcons not subjected to contamination or food limitation (i.e. bred under captive conditions), our data may be used as a reference for studies on eggs from natural populations. Considering the large variation in membrane thickness and the multiple factors affecting on it and its importance in the protection of the embryo, we encourage other researchers to include measurements on membranes in studies exploring eggshell thickness variation.     

Integration of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell in a sugar-ethanol factory: analysis of the efficiency and the environmental profile of the products

The effect of the integration of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology in a sugar-ethanol factory on the environmental profile/footprint of the products (sugar, ethanol, electricity) is evaluated. The sugarcane is the primary feedstock and sugar, ethanol and electricity are the main products of the system, where the functional unit is defined as 9.86 ton/h of sugar, 2.195 ton/h of hydrated ethanol (96% w/w) and 847 kWh of electricity. A detailed set of material and energy inputs and outputs was obtained from a local factory and was completed using simulation data by Aspen Plus^®.The environmental impacts (greenhouse gases and air pollution), exergy efficiency and a renewability parameter have been considered as indicators for the comparative assessment with conventional sugar, ethanol and electricity production technologies. The results show that the use of a SOFC technology involves a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (52-55%) and non-renewable resources (60-64%) when compared with the conventional integrated sugar and ethanol plant. The higher renewability index (0.93) and exergy efficiency (38%) are noticed for the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell technology integrated in the sugar-ethanol factory than conventional sugar-ethanol plant.     

FloodProBE: technologies for improved safety of the built environment in relation to flood events

The FloodProBE project started as a FP7 research project in November 2009.Floods, together with wind related storms, are considered the major natural hazard in the EU in terms of risk to people and assets. In order to adapt urban areas (in river and coastal zones) to prevent flooding or to be better prepared for floods, decision makers need to determine how to upgrade flood defences and increasing flood resilience of protected buildings and critical infrastructure (power supplies, communications, water, transport, etc.) and assess the expected risk reduction from these measures.The aim of the FloodProBE-project is to improve knowledge on flood resilience and flood protection performance for balancing investments in flood risk management in urban areas. To this end, technologies, methods and tools for assessment purposes and for the adaptation of new and existing buildings and critical infrastructure are developed, tested and disseminated.Three priority areas are addressed by FloodProBE. These are: (i) vulnerability of critical infrastructure and high-density value assets including direct and indirect damage, (ii) the assessment and reliability of urban flood defences including the use of geophysical methods and remote sensing techniques and (iii) concepts and technologies for upgrading weak links in flood defences as well as construction technologies for flood proofing buildings and infrastructure networks to increase the flood resilience of the urban system.The primary impact of FloodProBE in advancing knowledge in these areas is an increase in the cost-effectiveness (i.e. performance) of new and existing flood protection structures and flood resilience measures.     

Formation,antimicrobial activity,and biomedical performance of plant-based nanoparticles: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Because many engineered nanoparticles are toxic, there is a need for methods to fabricate safe nanoparticles such as plant-based nanoparticles. Indeed, plant...     

Impact of Covid-19 partial lockdown on PM2.5, SO2, NO2, O3, and trace elements in PM2.5 in Hanoi,Vietnam

Covid-19 lockdowns have improved the ambient air quality across the world via reduced air pollutant levels. This article aims to investigate the effect of the partial lockdown on the main ambient air pollutants and their elemental concentrations bound to PM_2.5 in Hanoi. In addition to the PM_2.5 samples collected at three urban sites in Hanoi, the daily PM_2.5, NO₂, O₃, and SO₂ levels were collected from the automatic ambient air quality monitoring station at Nguyen Van Cu street to analyze the pollution level before (March 10th–March 31st) and during the partial lockdown (April 1st–April 22nd) with “current” data obtained in 2020 and “historical” data obtained in 2014, 2016, and 2017. The results showed that NO₂, PM_2.5, O₃, and SO₂ concentrations obtained from the automatic ambient air quality monitoring station were reduced by 75.8, 55.9, 21.4, and 60.7%, respectively, compared with historical data. Besides, the concentration of PM_2.5 at sampling sites declined by 41.8% during the partial lockdown. Furthermore, there was a drastic negative relationship between the boundary layer height (BLH) and the daily mean PM_2.5 in Hanoi. The concentrations of Cd, Se, As, Sr, Ba, Cu, Mn, Pb, K, Zn, Ca, Al, and Mg during the partial lockdown were lower than those before the partial lockdown. The results of enrichment factor (EF) values and principal component analysis (PCA) concluded that trace elements in PM_2.5 before the partial lockdown were more affected by industrial activities than those during the partial lockdown.

     

Energy crop as an environmentally sustainable reclamation option for post-mining sites: a life cycle assessment of cassava planting in Vietnam

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Using post-mining areas for planting energy crops has emerged as a promising and sustainable reclamation solution due to its potential contributions...