Ammonia production and kinetic properties of glutamate dehydrogenase in the sipinculid Phascolosoma arcuatum exposed to anoxia

The amounts of total NH ₄ ⁺ detected in the external media in which Phascolosoma arcuatum had been exposed to various periods of anoxia were significantly greater than those in which the worms were exposed to normoxia for a similar period. The increased NH ₄ ⁺ production by P. arcuatum during anoxic exposure was unlikely to be due to an increased catabolism of adenine nucleotides or urea. In contrast, there were significant decreases in the concentrations of several free amino acids in the coelomic plasma and body tissues of individuals during the 48 h of anoxic exposure. The amount of NH ₄ ⁺ produced by the anoxic P. arcuatum could be accounted for by the decreases in the concentrations of aspartate or glycine. Increases in the catabolism of free amino acids (FAA), leading to the increased production of NH ₄ ⁺ , in P. arcuatum during anoxia were supported by the detection of significant changes in the kinetic properties of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), in the deaminating direction, from worms exposed to anoxia for 48 h. The apparent increase in the affinity of GDH from the anoxic worm to glutamate would bring about a greater deaminating activity at physiological concentrations of ths substrate. P. arcuatum used in these experiments were collected from the mangrove swamp at Mandai, Singapore between 1990 and 1993.     

Global and Regional Distribution of Carbon Monoxide from MOPITT: Seasonal Distribution at 700 hPa

The Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument is an eight-channel gas correlation radiometer, which was launched on the Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra satellite in 1999. Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the important trace gases because its concentration in the troposphere directly influences the concentrations of tropospheric hydroxyl (OH), which controls the lifetimes of tropospheric trace gases. CO traces the transport of global and regional pollutants from industrial activities and large scale biomass burning. The global and regional distributions of CO were analyzed using the MOPITT data for East Asia, which were compared with the ozone distributions. In general, seasonal CO variations are characterized by a peak in the spring, which decrease in the summer. This work also revealed that the seasonal cycles for CO are at a maximum in the spring and a minimum in the summer, with average concentrations ranging from 118 to 170 ppbv. The monthly average for CO shows a similar profile to that for O3. This fact clearly indicates that the high concentration of CO in the spring is possibly due to one of two causes: the photochemical production of CO in the troposphere, or the transport of the CO into East Asia. The seasonal cycles for CO and O3 in East Asia are extensively influenced by the seasonal exchanges of different air mass types due to the Asian monsoon. The continental air masses contain high concentrations of O3 and CO, due to the higher continental background concentrations, and sometimes to the contribution from regional pollution. In summer this transport pattern is reversed, where the Pacific marine air masses that prevail over Korea bring low concentrations of CO and O3, which tend to give the apparent summer minimums.     

Risk assessment of particulate matter by considering time-activity-pattern and major microenvironments for preschool children living in Seoul,South Korea

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Preschool children aged 3–6 years are vulnerable to exposed to particulate matter (“PM10” and “PM2.5”). It is required...     

Assessment of the Streptomyces-plant system to mitigate the impact of Cr(VI) and lindane in experimental soils

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Phytoremediation techniques have been proposed as ecological methods to clean up contaminated sites. This study is aimed to evaluate the effect of the...     

Presence of Torque Teno Virus (TTV) in Tap Water in Public Schools from Southern Brazil

Torque teno virus (TTV) was surveyed in tap water collected in schools from three municipalities located in the south of Brazil. TTV genomes were found in 11.7 % (4/34) of the samples. TTV DNA was detected in 10.5 % (2/19) of the samples collected at the city of Caxias do Sul and in 25 % (2/8) of the samples from Pelotas. Those cities have a low rate of sewage treatment. All samples from Santa Cruz do Sul, which has nearly 92 % of its sewage treated, were negative. These results suggest that the amount of sewage treated may have an effect on the detection rates of TTV DNA in drinking water in a given urban area, showing a mild negative correlation (r = ?0.76), when comparing the percentage of sewage treatment to the detection of TTV genomes. The detection rate of TTV was also compared with Escherichia coli, showing a strong correlation (r = 0.97), indicating that TTV may be a suitable marker of fecal contamination.     

Effects of calibration on L-THIA GIS runoff and pollutant estimation

Urbanization can result in alteration of a watershed's hydrologic response and water quality. To simulate hydrologic and water quality impacts of land use changes, the Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment (L-THIA) system has been used. The L-THIA system estimates pollutant loading based on direct runoff quantity and land use based pollutant coefficients. The accurate estimation of direct runoff is important in assessing water quality impacts of land use changes. An automated program was developed to calibrate the L-THIA model using the millions of curve number (CN) combinations associated with land uses and hydrologic soil groups. L-THIA calibration for the Little Eagle Creek (LEC) watershed near Indianapolis, Indiana was performed using land use data for 1991 and daily rainfall data for six months of 1991 (January 1-June 30) to minimize errors associated with use of different temporal land use data and rainfall data. For the calibration period, the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient was 0.60 for estimated and observed direct runoff. The calibrated CN values were used for validation of the model for the same year (July 1-December 31), and the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient was 0.60 for estimated and observed direct runoff. The Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient was 0.52 for January 1, 1991 to December 31, 1991 using uncalibrated CN values. As shown in this study, the use of better input parameters for the L-THIA model can improve accuracy. The effects on direct runoff and pollutant estimation of the calibrated CN values in the L-THIA model were investigated for the LEC. Following calibration, the estimated average annual direct runoff for the LEC watershed increased by 34%, total nitrogen by 24%, total phosphorus by 22%, and total lead by 43%. This study demonstrates that the L-THIA model should be calibrated and validated prior to application in a particular watershed to more accurately assess the effects of land use changes on hydrology and water quality.     

Spatial distribution and ecological risk assessment of sediment metals in a highly industrialized coastal zone southwestern Taiwan

Spatial variations of Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the surface sediments from 34 stations of the Kaohsiung coastal zone southwestern Taiwan were studied to address the current pollution status, sediment quality, and potential ecological risk. The study revealed that the concentrations of sediment metals in Kaohsiung Harbor were alarmingly high compared to the other region of Kaohsiung coast. The concentrations of Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the harbor sediments were as high as 351, 247, 1.93, 61.8, 60.9, and 940 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. The current situation of metal pollution was assessed by different pollution indices and results showed moderate to severe enrichment of Cu, Hg, and Zn in the harbor sediments. According to the degree of contamination, pollution load index, and contamination severity index, the sediments from the inner Kaohsiung Harbor show high degree and high severity of metal contamination, while the rest of Kaohsiung coastal areas show uncontaminated or low-level pollution. Results of mean ERM quotient and potential ecological risk index also indicated that the harbor sediments posed a 49% probability of biological toxicity and very high ecological risk. The toxic units indicated that the negative biological effects of the six metals in the harbor sediments were Zn > Cu > Cr > Ni > Hg > Pb. In contrast to Kaohsiung Harbor as a trap where considerable amount of anthropogenic metal loadings accumulated in sediments, low metal concentrations were observed in most Kaohsiung coastal sediments. It probably resulted from the limited fine-grained sediment deposition. In the wave-dominated Kaohsiung coastal zone, fine-grained sediments associated with polluted metals tend to be easily resuspended and transported offshore via waves and wave-induced currents. The results of this study can provide valuable information for river and coastal zone management.

     

A framework for understanding climate change impacts on coral reef social–ecological systems

Corals and coral-associated species are highly vulnerable to the emerging effects of global climate change. The widespread degradation of coral reefs, which will be accelerated by climate change, jeopardizes the goods and services that tropical nations derive from reef ecosystems. However, climate change impacts to reef social–ecological systems can also be bi-directional. For example, some climate impacts, such as storms and sea level rise, can directly impact societies, with repercussions for how they interact with the environment. This study identifies the multiple impact pathways within coral reef social–ecological systems arising from four key climatic drivers: increased sea surface temperature, severe tropical storms, sea level rise and ocean acidification. We develop a novel framework for investigating climate change impacts in social–ecological systems, which helps to highlight the diverse impacts that must be considered in order to develop a more complete understanding of the impacts of climate change, as well as developing appropriate management actions to mitigate climate change impacts on coral reef and people.     

Chemical, biological, and ecotoxicological assessment of pesticides and persistent organic pollutants in the Bahlui River, Romania

Background, aim, and scope  

Current knowledge on environmental impacts of industrial activities in Romania, particularly persistent organic pollutants (POPs), indicates that environmental standards of the European Union are not systematically met. In our study area, additional sources of POPs are agriculture and domestic wastes. Very scarce information is available upon environmental contaminations and effects. In the present study, we investigated the chemical pollution and their eventual impact on the ecosystem by measuring POPs and by using biological indicators of pollution.     

Reliable evidences that the removal mechanism of hexavalent chromium by natural biomaterials is adsorption-coupled reduction

For the last few decades, over 200 papers have been published in the Cr(VI) biosorption research field. Most early studies have claimed that Cr(VI) was removed from aqueous phase through an anionic adsorption, but this approach has been lost old original position. It has been newly explained that these findings were misinterpreted due to errors in measuring the concentrations of different chromium species in the aqueous phase, insufficient contact time required for equilibrium and the lack of information about the oxidation state of the chromium bound to biomaterials. Although 'adsorption-coupled reduction' is now widely accepted as the mechanism of Cr(VI) biosorption by natural biomaterials, a number of researchers still believe that Cr(VI) is removed by anionic adsorption onto the biomaterials. Therefore, the objective of this study was to show reliable evidences that the removal mechanism of Cr(VI) by natural biomaterials is 'adsorption-coupled reduction'. Sixteen natural biomaterials were used to study the Cr(VI) biosorption. Not only Cr(VI) but also total Cr in the aqueous phase were analyzed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscope was also used to verify the oxidation state of the chromium bound to the biomaterials. Finally, the removal behavior of Cr(VI) by each biomaterial was described by a kinetic model based on a redox reaction.