Simple tools for assessing water quality and trophic status in transitional water ecosystems

In this study we have developed an index for assessing trophic status and water quality in transitional aquatic ecosystems of Southern Europe. The index has been developed from the water quality index of the U.S. National Sanitation Foundation and integrates the main causal factors (inorganic nutrients), the key biological elements (primary producers) and indicator of effects (oxygen) of eutrophication. Six main variables have been used: relative coverage of benthic phanerogams and opportunistic macroalgae species, and concentrations of dissolved oxygen, phytoplankton chlorophyll-a, dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus. Non-linear functions are used to transform each measured variable into its quality value. Each quality value is then multiplied by a weighting factor, to take into account the relative contribution of each variable to the overall water quality. Finally, the index value is calculated as the sum of the weighted quality values, ranging from 0 (poorest state) to 100 (best condition). The index has been tested and validated in six transitional water ecosystems which differ in anthropogenic pressures and eutrophication levels, for which data sets were available from 1989 to 2004: Sacca di Goro (Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy), Lesina Lagoon (Southern Adriatic Sea, Italy), Ria Formosa (Algarve, Southern Portugal), Mar Menor (Murcia, Southern Spain), Etang de Thau (Herault, Southern France) and Gulf of Gera (Lesvos Island, Greece). The index assessments have been compared with evaluations from the IFREMER (French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea) classification scheme (France) and the trophic index TRIX (Italy), which are currently used for national monitoring of coastal waters and lagoons. Based on the conclusions of this study we suggest to use the index for monitoring water quality in shallow coastal transitional waters, where benthic vegetation controls primary productivity, which makes indices based on phytoplankton only (e.g., TRIX) unsuitable.     

An integrated approach for assessing the bioreceptivity of glazed tiles to phototrophic microorganisms

A laboratory-based methodology was designed to assess the bioreceptivity of glazed tiles. The experimental set-up consisted of multiple steps: manufacturing of pristine and artificially aged glazed tiles, enrichment of phototrophic microorganisms, inoculation of phototrophs on glazed tiles, incubation under optimal conditions and quantification of biomass. In addition, tile intrinsic properties were assessed to determine which material properties contributed to tile bioreceptivity. Biofilm growth and biomass were appraised by digital image analysis, colorimetry and chlorophyll a analysis. SEM, micro-Raman and micro-particle induced X-ray emission analyses were carried out to investigate the biodeteriorating potential of phototrophic microorganisms on the glazed tiles. This practical and multidisciplinary approach showed that the accelerated colonization conditions allowed different types of tile bioreceptivity to be distinguished and to be related to precise characteristics of the material. Aged tiles showed higher bioreceptivity than pristine tiles due to their higher capillarity and permeability. Moreover, biophysical deterioration caused by chasmoendolithic growth was observed on colonized tile surfaces.     

An approach to quantifying the exploitability of human ecosystems

Patterns of ecosystem resiliency and differential exploitability by man exist, but they have not yet been worked out in detail This article presents a systematic approach for quantifying the responses of different ecosystems to various levels of human exploitation. It presents a model of the operations of natural ecosystems and suggests a useful analogue between exploitation ecosystems and different stages in ecological succession. This analogue enables us to define a coefficient of exploitability which relates the intensity of ecosystem responses to the intensity of management. The coefficient should prove useful in elucidating a number of types of man-environment interactions. It can be calculated from empirical data. Since it is a function of independent ecosystem variables such as climate, we can also suggest its probable global distribution patterns. Sample values of are calculated from two different types of data. The range of values is greater than one order of magnitude, and their trends are entirely consistent with their predicted distribution.     

Study of integrated risk regionalisation method for soil contamination in industrial and mining area

Industrial and mining areas have been included as key governance plots of China’s soil management and protection. In this study, we developed an assessment method for soil integrated risk in industrial and mining areas, with a comprehensive consideration of pollution risk, pollution sources and receptors of soil risk. The method consists of four parts, including soil risk assessment, vulnerability assessment of soil risk receptors, risk level assessment of pollution sources and integrated risk assessment. Using this method, we could produce a complete soil risk regionalisation map that presents the total factor risk level of soil contamination of industrial and mining areas in ArcGIS. This study also took a typical industrial and mining area in China as a case and quantitatively and spatially assessed the integrated soil contamination risk. Results showed: (1) the integrated risk of the study area ranged from moderate level to high level; (2) the risk of pollution sources in the study area ranged from moderate level to high level; (3) vulnerability of soil risk receptors in streets was lower than that in the towns.     

An insect model for assessing oxidative stress related to arsenic toxicity

The potential usefulness of an insect model to evaluate oxidative stress induced by environmental pollutants was examined with trivalent arsenic (As³⁺, NaAsO₂) and pentavalent arsenic (As⁵⁺, Na₂HAsO₄) in adult female house flies, Musca domestica, and fourth-instar cabbage loopers, Trichoplusia ni. M. domestica was highly susceptible to both forms of arsenic following 48 h exposure in the drinking water with LC₅₀s of 0.008 and 0.011% w/v for As³⁺ and As⁵⁺, respectively. T. ni larvae were susceptible to dietary As³⁺ with an LC₅₀ of 0.032% w/w but seem to tolerate As⁵⁺ well with an LC₅₀ of 0.794% concentration after 48 h exposure. The minimally acute LC₅ dose of both As³⁺ and As⁵⁺ varied considerably but averaged 0.005% for both insects. The potential of both valencies of arsenic for inducing oxidative stress in the insects exposed ad libitum to approximately LC₅ levels was assessed. The parameters examined were the alterations of the antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione transferase (GST), the peroxidase activity of glutathione transferase (GSTPX), and glutathione reductase (GR), and increases in lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation. SOD (1.3-fold), GST (1.6-fold), and GR (1.5-fold) were induced by As³⁺ in M. domestica but CAT and GSTPX were not affected. As⁵⁺ had no effect on M. domestica. In T. ni, the antioxidant enzyme activities were not affected by As³⁺ except for SOD which was suppressed by 29.4% and GST which was induced by 1.4-fold. As⁵⁺ had no effect except the suppression of SOD by 41.2%. Lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation, which represent stronger indices of oxidative stress, were elevated in both insects by up to 2.9-fold. However, based on the antioxidant enzyme response to the arsenic anions, the mode of action of arsenic induced oxidative stress may differ between the two insects. Until this aspect is further clarified, evidence at this time favors the prospect of As³⁺ as a pro-oxidant, especially for M. domestica. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Heavy metals contamination in shallow groundwater of a coal-mining district and a probabilistic assessment of its human health risk

To manage public health and make better use of groundwater resources, the concentration characteristics and a health risk assessment of eight heavy metals in shallow groundwater were studied. Besides this, this paper introduced triangular fuzzy numbers into the USEPA health risk assessment model to assess the health risk posed to local children and adults through different exposure pathways. The results showed that Mn levels exceeded the WHO’s guideline values of 100?µg/L with the proportion of 27.98% and Sr were over the health reference level (HRL) of 1500?µg/L with the proportion of 56.25%, while other heavy metals were below the corresponding standard. The results of the HRA showed that the non-carcinogenic risks from Sr and Mn in the district were relatively higher, while those from the remaining six heavy metals were relatively lower. All hazard index (HI) values did not exceed the safety level of 1 for either age group. The average carcinogenic risk from Cr was slightly higher than the acceptable level of 1?×?10^?6 for adults. Sensitivity analyses conducted using Monte Carlo simulation indicated that Sr and Cr concentrations were the most influential variables contributing to the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk values, respectively, while body weight had a minor contribution.     

Medicating the environment: assessing risks of pharmaceuticals to wildlife and ecosystems

Global pharmaceutical consumption is rising with the growing and ageing human population and more intensive food production. Recent studies have revealed pharmaceutical residues in a wide range of ecosystems and organisms. Environmental concentrations are often low, but pharmaceuticals typically are designed to have biological effects at low doses, acting on physiological systems that can be evolutionarily conserved across taxa. This Theme Issue introduces the latest research investigating the risks of environmentally relevant concentrations of pharmaceuticals to vertebrate wildlife. We take a holistic, global view of environmental exposure to pharmaceuticals encompassing terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems in high- and low-income countries. Based on both field and laboratory data, the evidence for and relevance of changes to physiology and behaviour, in addition to mortality and reproductive effects, are examined in terms of the population- and community-level consequences of pharmaceutical exposure on wildlife. Studies on uptake, trophic transfer and indirect effects of pharmaceuticals acting via food webs are presented. Given the logistical and ethical complexities of research in this area, several papers focus on techniques for prioritizing which compounds are most likely to harm wildlife and how modelling approaches can make predictions about the bioavailability, metabolism and toxicity of pharmaceuticals in non-target species. This Theme Issue aims to help clarify the uncertainties, highlight opportunities and inform ongoing scientific and policy debates on the impacts of pharmaceuticals in the environment.     

Antibiotic resistance in surface water ecosystems: Presence in the aquatic environment,prevention strategies,and risk assessment

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) have gained increased notoriety due to their continued detection in environmental media and consequently their threat to human and animal health. The continuing spread of antibiotic resistance throughout the environment is of growing environmental and public health concern, making it difficult to treat harmful resistant diseases. This paper examines the presence of antibiotics, ARB, and antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) in aquatic environments; the effectiveness of current water treatment strategies to remove them; and risk assessment methods available that can be used to evaluate the risk from antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics, ARB, and ARGs have been reported at varying levels in wastewater treatment plants, hospital wastewater, irrigation water, recreational water, and drinking water. There are many different water treatments capable of reducing antibiotic resistance (including chlorination, UV, and ozone); however, no one method can fully eliminate it with much variation in the reported effects. Risk assessment models can be used for interpreting field data into the risk to human health from antibiotic resistance. Currently, there is no gold standard risk assessment method for evaluating antibiotic resistance. Methods in this area need further development to reflect evolving risk assessment methodologies and dynamic data as it emerges.     

Assessment of human contamination of estrogenic endocrine-disrupting chemicals and their risk for human reproduction

There is broad human exposure to estrogenic endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), but the data sets that exist are primarily for various environmental media such as food and water rather than the most relevant internal exposure. We have detected various kind of EDC contamination in humans including dioxin and bisphenol A (BPA) widely used for the production of plastic products. BPA was present in serum and follicular fluid at approximately 1–2 ng/ml, as well as in fetal serum and full-term amniotic fluid, confirming passage through the placenta. An approximately five-fold higher concentration, 8.3 ± 8.7 ng/ml, was revealed in amniotic fluid at 15–18 weeks of gestation, compared to other fluids showing increased exposure at the critical developmental period in humans. Interestingly, serum BPA concentrations were significantly higher in normal men and in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) compared with normal women possibly due to differences in the androgen-related metabolism of BPA. These findings may provide some insight into the metabolism of EDCs in human and the pathophysiology of endocrine disorders such as PCOS. Dioxin contamination in relationship to development of endometriosis is also discussed.     

细河河水及其沿岸地下水水质的有机污染特征

调查了沈阳市细河河水及其沿岸地下水水质中石油类和美国环保局(USEPA)"黑名单"上的16种优先控制多环芳烃(PAHs)的有机污染现状,评价细河污染带来的生态风险。结果表明:细河河水中石油类浓度和16种PAHs总浓度范围分别为0.031～1.819mg.L-1和0.026～0.384μg.L-1,平均浓度分别为1.007mg.L-1和0.151μg.L-1;细河沿岸地下水中石油类浓度和16种PAHs总浓度范围分别为0.020～0.987mg.L-1和0.051～0.389μg.L-1,平均浓度分别为0.364mg.L-1和0.133μg.L-1;细河河水和地下水中的石油类污染严重;河水中的PAHs浓度在流经规模较大的城镇或乡镇处出现高值点,苯并(b)荧蒽和苯并(k)荧蒽在河水与地下水中的检出率较高,对水生生态系统健康构成了潜在的威胁。     

Nematode-based biomarkers as critical risk indicators on assessing the impact of silver nanoparticles on soil ecosystems

Soil contamination caused by silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) released from sewage treatment plants (STPs) is of great public concern. Understanding the relationships between the physicochemical properties of AgNPs and their toxicity is critical for environmental and health risk analysis. Here we presented an approach for rapidly screening and assessing the potential toxicity risk of AgNPs in general and sludge-treated soils based on the nematode Caenhorhabditis elegans-based probabilistic risk assessment framework. The soil environmental risks were estimated depending on the characteristics of AgNPs and geographic regions. We assessed the risk for soils exceeding a threshold of C. elegans neurotoxicity based on the statistical models. Our results indicated that locomotion inhibition of C. elegans was depending on surface properties, diameter, and exposure time of AgNPs. Here we showed that the overall sewage sludge-released AgNPs-associated soil contamination risk was very low among Europe, U.S., and Switzerland. However, large production and widespread use of AgNPs are highly likely to pose long-term ecotoxicity risk on general and sludge-treated soils, particularly for 26 nm citrate-coated AgNPs. Our approach of integrating probabilistic risk model and C. elegans-based ecological indicator provides an effective tool to rapidly screen and assess the impacts of STPs-released AgNPs on soil environment. We suggest that C. elegans as a proxy for estimating soil risk metrics can help develop methods of management for mitigating the metal NPs-induced toxicity on terrestrial ecosystems.     

An integrated scheduling and control model for multi-mode projects

In today’s highly competitive uncertain project environments, it is of crucial importance to develop analytical models and algorithms to schedule and control project activities so that the deviations from the project objectives are minimized. This paper addresses the integrated scheduling and control in multi-mode project environments. We propose an optimization model that models the dynamic behavior of projects and integrates optimal control into a practically relevant project scheduling problem. From the scheduling perspective, we address the discrete time/cost trade-off problem, whereas an optimal control formulation is used to capture the effect of project control. Moreover, we develop a solution algorithm for two particular instances of the optimal project control. This algorithm combines a tabu search strategy and nonlinear programming. It is applied to a large scale test bed and its efficiency is tested by means of computational experiments. To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first application of optimal control theory to multi-mode project networks. The models and algorithms developed in this research are targeted as a support tool for project managers in both scheduling and deciding on the timing and quantity of control activities.     

An integrated physical and biological model for anaerobic lagoons

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model that integrates physical and biological processes for anaerobic lagoons is presented. In the model development, turbulence is represented using a transition k-ω model, heat conduction and solar radiation are included in the thermal model, biological oxygen demand (BOD) reduction is characterized by first-order kinetics, and methane yield rate is expressed as a linear function of temperature. A test of the model applicability is conducted in a covered lagoon digester operated under tropical climate conditions. The commercial CFD software, ANSYS-Fluent, is employed to solve the integrated model. The simulation procedures include solving fluid flow and heat transfer, predicting local resident time based on the converged flow fields, and calculating the BOD reduction and methane production. The simulated results show that monthly methane production varies insignificantly, but the time to achieve a 99% BOD reduction in January is much longer than that in July.     

浑河河水及其沿岸地下水污染特征

选择沈阳地区重要河流浑河及其沿岸地下水进行定量分析,研究并探讨了包括无机物和有机物在内的水质综合污染特征。结果表明,浑河河水中氨氮、硝氮、亚硝氮和酚超过了地表水环境质量标准,最大超标倍数分别为15.8、1.5、82.4和1.8倍,检测出的11种卤代烃、氯苯和六六六等有机物均未超标。浑河沿岸地下水中氨氮、硝氮、亚硝氮、化学需氧量、酚和铅超过地下水质量标准,超标率分别为31.6%、10.5%、26.3%、36.8%、47.4%和26.8%,检测出的4种卤代烃和六六六等有机物均未超标。河水及其沿岸地下水中的污染物,尤其是有机污染物种类和浓度高值基本出现在城西的谟家—大祝断面之间。浑河水质主要受城市工业废水、居民生活污水排放的影响,沿岸地下水的污染来源包括工业生产或农村居民生活造成的地表污染物垂直入渗式的点源污染、浑河水侧向渗透补给式的线源污染以及农药化肥使用产生的面源污染,而有机污染物主要通过点源污染地下水。浑河各区段的使用功能、包气带岩性及沿岸水源地开采井布局等因素都为受污染的河水对沿岸几百米范围内的浅层地下水的补给提供了条件,造成浅层地下水的污染,对当地生态系统及人类健康构成潜在威胁。     

An integrated epigenetic and genetic approach to common human disease

Epigenetic information is heritable during cell division but is not contained within the DNA sequence itself. Despite increasing evidence for and interest in the role of epigenetics in human disease, particularly in cancer, virtually no epigenetic information is routinely or systematically measured at the genome level. The current population-based approach to common disease relates common DNA sequence variants to either disease status or incremental quantitative traits contributing to disease. Although this purely genetic approach is powerful and general, there is currently no conceptual framework to integrate epigenetic information. In this article, we propose an approach to common human disease that incorporates epigenetic variation into genetic studies. Epigenetic variation might also help to explain the late onset and progressive nature of most common diseases, the quantitative nature of complex traits and the role of environment in disease development, which a purely sequence-based approach might not.     

The ecosystems approach to water management. The main features of the ecosystems concept

This paper summarizes the conceptual basis for ecosystemic water management, principally as it is discernible through a series of discussion papers contributed to the UN/ECE Seminar held in Oslo in May, 1991. The ecosystems approach seeks the objective management of water quality in lakes and river catchments, the sustainable exploitation of water resources (sensu lato) and the maintenance of biodiversity within aquatic catchments. It also seeks an attitude founded upon the sharing of habitat with other ecosystem components and the minimization of human impact. Moreover, there is no final condition: rather, there is an ethos always to improve performance. Emphasis is nevertheless placed on the unevolved, subclimactic state in which many ecosystems find themselves and the elasticity of structure which this imparts and which may, within limits, be exploited. Methods for assessing environmental quality and for measuring the performance of corrective management are briefly discussed. Future progress is suggested to be less than easy but proper ecosystemic attitudes and approaches are seen to be essential ingredients if past mistakes are to be overcome.     

An integrated metabolic model for the aerobic and denitrifying biological phosphorus removal

In this work, an integrated metabolic model for biological phosphorus removal is presented. Using a previously proposed mathematical model it was shown to be possible to describe the two known biological phosphorus removal processes, under aerobic and denitrifying conditions, with the same biochemical reactions, where only the difference in electron acceptor (oxygen and nitrate) is taken into account. Though, apart from the ATP/NADH ratio, the stoichiometry in those models is identical, different kinetic parameters were found. Therefore, a new kinetic structure is proposed that adequately describes phosphorus removal under denitrifying and aerobic conditions with the same kinetic equations and parameters. The ATP/NADH ratio (delta) is the only model parameter that is different for aerobic and denitrifying growth. With the new model, simulations of anaerobic/aerobic and anaerobic/denitrifying sequencing batch reactors (A(2) SBR and A/O SBR) were made for verification of the model. Not only short-term behavior, but also steady state, was simulated. The results showed very good agreement between model predictions and experimental results for a wide range of dynamic conditions and sludge retention times. Sensitivity analysis shows the influence of the model parameters and the feed substrate concentrations on both systems. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 54: 434-450, 1997.