Variation in immune function, body condition, and feather corticosterone in nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) on reclaimed wetlands in the Athabasca oil sands, Alberta, Canada

In the Athabasca oil sands region of northern Alberta, mining companies are evaluating reclamation using constructed wetlands for integration of tailings. From May to July 2008, reproductive performance of 40 breeding pairs of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), plus growth and survival of nestlings, was measured on three reclaimed wetlands on two oil sands leases. A subset of nestlings was examined for i) feather corticosterone levels, ii) delayed-type hypersensitivity response, and iii) innate immune function. Nestlings on one of two wetlands created with oil sands process affected material (OSPM) were heavier and had greater wing-lengths, and mounted a stronger delayed-type hypersensitivity response compared those on the reference wetland. Corticosterone was significantly higher in male nestlings on one of two OSPM-containing wetland compared to the reference wetland. Body condition of 12-day-old female nestlings was inversely related to feather corticosterone. Under ideal weather conditions, reclaimed wetlands can support healthy populations of aerially-insectivorous birds.     

Effects of temperature and fertilization on total vs. active bacterial communities exposed to crude and diesel oil pollution in NW Mediterranean Sea

The dynamics of total and active microbial communities were studied in seawater microcosms amended with crude or diesel oil at different temperatures (25, 10 and 4 °C) in the presence/absence of organic fertilization (Inipol EAP 22). Total and hydrocarbon-degrading microbes were enumerated by fluorescence microscopy and Most Probable Number (MPN) method, respectively. Total (16S rDNA-based) vs. active (16S rRNA) bacterial community structure was monitored by Capillary-Electrophoresis Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism (CE-SSCP) fingerprinting. Hydrocarbons were analyzed after 12 weeks of incubation by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Total and hydrocarbon-degrading microbial counts were highly influenced by fertilization while no important differences were observed between temperatures. Higher biodegradation levels were observed in fertilized microcosms. Temperature and fertilization induced changes in structure of total bacterial communities. However, fertilization showed a more important effect on active bacterial structure. The calculation of Simpson's diversity index showed similar trends among temperatures whereas fertilization reduced diversity index of both total and active bacterial communities.     

Can oil prices help estimate commodity futures prices? The cases of copper and silver

There is an extensive literature on modeling the stochastic process of commodity futures. It has been shown that models with several risk factors are able to adequately fit both the level and the volatility structure of observed transactions with reasonable low errors.     

Optimization-Based Atmospheric Plume Source Identification

This work applies optimization and an Eulerian inversion approach presented by Bagtzoglou and Baun in 2005 in order to reconstruct contaminant plume time histories and to identify the likely source of atmospheric contamination using data from a real test site for the first time. Present-day distribution of an atmospheric contaminant plume as well as data points reflecting the plume history allow the reconstruction and provide the plume velocity, distribution, and probable source. The method was tested to a hypothetical case and with data from the Forest Atmosphere Transfer and Storage (FACTS) experiment in the Duke experimental forest site. In the scenarios presented herein, as well as in numerous cases tested for verification purposes, the model conserved mass, successfully located the peak of the plume, and managed to capture the motion of the plume well but underestimated the contaminant peak.     

集中排烟公路隧道入口段火灾下诱导风速研究

为研究集中排烟模式下公路隧道入口段发生火灾时的合理诱导风速,以某公路隧道为背景,运用火灾动力学模拟软件FDS对隧道人口段火灾时不同坡度、不同诱导风速的16组火灾工况进行模拟研究,通过对各工况下隧道内的温度场分布及烟气控制效果模拟结果的分析,得到了各工况下的合理诱导风速,研究结果可为公路隧道集中排烟系统关键设计参数提供参考.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cigarette sidestream smoke particulates from a Taiwanese brand and their carcinogenic relevance

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) adsorbed on cigarette sidestream smoke particulates (CSSPs) have been regarded as important contributors to lung carcinogenesis in never smokers. However, limited information is available on PAH levels in cigarette sidestream smoke. Here we determine the concentrations of 22 PAHs, including 16 US EPA priority PAHs, in CSSPs generated from a high market-share domestic brand in Taiwan. Five of the 22 PAHs are undetectable. The remaining 17 PAHs constitute about 0.022% of the total mass of CSSPs. Near one fifth of the PAH mass come from IARC group 1 and group 2 carcinogens. Carcinogenic potency is equivalent to 144 ng benzo[a]pyrene per cigarette converted according to potency equivalency factors (PEFs). The CSSP condensate could activate AhR activity and induce AhR target gene expression. High concentrations of CSSPs also exhibited AhR-independent cytotoxicity. However, mixing the 17 PAHs as the composition in the CSSP condensate could not reconstitute either capacity. Since AhR activation and cytotoxicity are important mechanisms underlying carcinogenic potency, the results suggest that other component compounds play a more active role in carcinogenesis. The approach of individual PAH profiling plus PEF conversion commonly used in risk assessment is likely to underestimate the risk caused by environmental cigarette smoke exposure.     

Terrestrial exposure of oilfield flowline additives diminish soil structural stability and remediative microbial function

Onshore oil production pipelines are major installations in the petroleum industry, stretching many thousands of kilometres worldwide which also contain flowline additives. The current study focuses on the effect of the flowline additives on soil physico-chemical and biological properties and quantified the impact using resilience and resistance indices. Our findings are the first to highlight deleterious effect of flowline additives by altering some fundamental soil properties, including a complete loss of structural integrity of the impacted soil and a reduced capacity to degrade hydrocarbons mainly due to: (i) phosphonate salts (in scale inhibitor) prevented accumulation of scale in pipelines but also disrupted soil physical structure; (ii) glutaraldehyde (in biocides) which repressed microbial activity in the pipeline and reduced hydrocarbon degradation in soil upon environmental exposure; (iii) the combinatory effects of these two chemicals synergistically caused severe soil structural collapse and disruption of microbial degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons.     

烟草烟雾对室内空气颗粒物浓度的影响

采用电称冲击低压系统(ELPI)将无烟室和吸烟室内的空气颗粒物(0.03～10.00 μm)分成12级,对其粒子数和质量浓度进行测定.结果表明,吸烟室PM0.03～10.00的日平均粒子数和质量浓度分别是无烟室的1.50、1.13倍.烟草烟雾对室内颗粒物粒子数的影响集中在0.03～1.00 μm粒径段;对室内颗粒物质量浓度的影响表现为双模态结构,峰值分别在0.20～0.70、5.00～8.20 μm粒径段.烟草烟雾颗粒物的粒子数和质量浓度随烟雾消散时间的增加而减少,粒径越小,减小的越明显;烟草烟雾颗粒物在室内消散缓慢,会在长时间内造成影响,应引起足够关注.     

基于工业以太网的烟粉尘在线监测系统的研究

为实现工厂矿山的烟粉尘浓度的实时在线监测,提出了在废气排放监测装置中引入工业以太网技术。以嵌入式S3C2410芯片为核心,扩展相应的外围电路,实现对废气中烟粉尘浓度等参数监测功能,集显示、信息处理、监测和通讯等功能于一体。文章给出了烟粉尘浓度的采样原理和系统的软硬件设计方案,详细给出了以太网控制芯片CS8900A与ARM硬件接口方法与软件实现方案。