The condition of coral reefs in South Florida (2000) using coral disease and bleaching as indicators

The destruction of coral reef habitats has occurred at unprecedented levels during the last three decades. Coral disease and bleaching in the Caribbean and South Florida have caused extensive coral mortality with limited recovery, often coral reefs are being replaced with turf algae. Acroporids were once dominant corals and have diminished to the state where they are being considered as endangered species. Our survey assessed the condition of reef corals throughout South Florida. A probability-based design produced unbiased estimates of the spatial extent of ecological condition, measured as the absence or presence and frequency or prevalence of coral diseases and bleaching intensity over large geographic regions. This approach allowed us to calculate a quantifiable level of uncertainty. Coral condition was estimated for 4100 hectares (ha) (or 41.0 km²) of coral reefs in South Florida, including reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), New Grounds, Dry Tortugas National Park (DTNP), and Biscayne National Park (BNP). The absence or presence of coral disease, causal coral bleaching, partial bleaching and coral paling were not good indicators of overall coral condition. It was more useful to report the prevalence of anomalies that indicated a compromised condition at both the population and community levels. For example, 79% of the area in South Florida had less than 6% of the coral colonies diseased, whereas only 2.2% (97.15 ha) of the sampled area had a maximum prevalence of 13% diseased coral colonies at any single location. The usefulness of causal bleaching might be more important when considering the prevalence of each of the three different states at a single location. For example, paling was observed over the entire area, whereas bleaching and partial bleaching occurred at 19 and 41% of the area, respectively. An index for coral reef condition might integrate the prevalence and species affected by each bleaching state at individual locations. By establishing these baselines, future surveys can examine changes and trends in the spatial distribution of coral conditions in South Florida and able to score the reefs as to their health status.     

Biological effects of indoor sunlight in ruraldweling houses

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Detoxification of 4-chlorophenol in TiO2 sunlight system: effect of raw and treated solution on seed germination and plants growth of various sensitive vegetables

The mineralization and detoxification of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) were studied using a TiO₂-paper/sunlight system. The possibility of reusing the photocatalyst was examined to determine the cost effectiveness of the method. Experiments were performed to establish optimum conditions for 4-CP removal. Phytotoxicity of photo-treated and raw 4-CP (100 mg L^?1) solutions on seed germination and plant growth were carried out with the aim of water reuse and environment protection. The seeds irrigated with raw 4-CP solution showed lower sprout length while increase in sprout length was observed with the photo-treated solution for tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), onion (Allium cepa), and turnip (Brassica rapa). Plant growth tests with the photo-treated 4-CP solution did not affect the leaf numbers compared to those irrigated with tap water. Photo-treated 4-CP solution can be used for irrigation in agriculture.     

Phototransformation of chlorimuron-ethyl on leaf surface

Chlorimuron-ethyl, a post-emergent herbicide selectively used in soybean and maize, degrades mainly through chemical hydrolysis. Photolysis has also an important role in the degradation of this compound. Phototransformation of chlorimuron-ethyl takes place through the cleavage of the sulfonylurea bridge, dechlorination, de-esterification and cyclization. Enzymatic de-esterification usually takes place in plant system to liberate the free acid, chlorimuron, which, in fact, inhibits the acetolactate synthase enzyme. In the non-enzymatic environment, de-esterification generally does not occur at normal pH and in moisture-free medium. But on the leaf surface of maize crop de-esterification of chlorimuron-ethyl takes place. The moisture deposited on leaf surfaces by virtue of evapo-transpirational loss of water may cause the de-esterification of chlorimuron-ethyl to the free acid, chlorimuron.     

The role of the cloud optical thickness in the attenuation of the solar ultraviolet radiation reaching the ground: Implications to the human health impacts

Cloud optical depth, as it is derived from the King's method, is compared with that deduced from the simple two stream approximation for the greater Athens, Greece area. The results show that King's method overestimates the cloud optical thickness, in comparison to the two stream approximation. These estimations were also compared with satellite observations provided by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project. This comparison showed that there are large deviations between ground‐based and satellite observations. These deviations are probably due to the uncertainty introduced by the integration procedure of the satellite spatial analyzing resolution (distinctness). Furthermore, values of the simple scattering albedo were calculated by employing a recently proposed theoretical method and using the solar ultraviolet irradiance measurements performed at the Athens University on a routine basis. These results are of great importance for the densely populated areas like Athens, in a sense of health impacts, from enhanced incident solar ultraviolet radiation.     

太阳跟踪反射聚能户外加速曝晒方法的对比研究

目的 找出太阳跟踪反射聚能户外加速曝晒方法的特点和价值。方法 基于几种典型的透明高分子材料试样,分别在佛罗里达典型亚热带潮湿环境自然曝晒、汽车外饰实验室氙灯加速耐候试验及亚利桑那太阳跟踪反射聚能户外加速曝晒黄变结果相关性、加速性和区分度的对比分析,来比较这几种试验方法的特点。结果 户外加速曝晒和自然曝晒的相关性高于氙灯加速试验和自然曝晒的相关性。与自然曝晒相比,户外加速曝晒的平均加速倍率及不同试样的加速倍率的相对差异明显小于氙灯加速试验。自然曝晒和户外加速曝晒的区分度也明显大于实验室氙灯加速试验。结论 户外加速曝晒方法较好地均衡了相关性、加速性、加速一致性及区分度,适合高分子材料的验证性试验。     

自然光和UV辐照下二级出水DOM及毒性的变化

为了探明自然光和紫外光(UV)对二级处理出水中溶解性有机物(DOM)及其毒性效应的削减特性,研究了在自然光和UV两种不同光源的辐照条件下,二级处理出水中DOM的光谱特性、遗传毒性和植物毒性变化,阐明了毒性效应变化的成因.结果表明:相比于自然光照,UV辐照可以明显降低二级处理出水的UV254,并达到21％矿化.自然光和U...     

两种铝盐处理纸浆CEH漂白废水的混凝特性的研究

运用Ｚｅｔａ电位测定技术研究了聚合铝ＰＡＣ、聚硅铝ＰＳＡ两种不同形态铝盐对漂白废水絮凝反应特性，通过絮凝过程中Ｚｅｔａ电位及傅立叶红外光谱对原水及两种铝盐沉淀物进行了分析，结果表明：吸附架桥为其反应的主要机理，两种铝盐与漂白废水中污染物之间反应均以铝的羟基化合物与漂白废水中氯化木素氢键缔合的形式相结合