The toxicity of petroleum oils to birds

1993 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick A. Leighton
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Water Repellency ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Oxidant Damage ◽  
Egg Shell ◽  
The Many ◽  
Petroleum Oils

Mortality of aquatic birds occurs regularly as a consequence of spills of petroleum oils. There are three different ways in which such oils can affect birds. (i) External contamination of feathers is the most common form of exposure, and the effect of oils on feathers is the single most devastating effect of oil on birds. Feathers absorb oil, become matted, and lose the critical properties of water repellency, insulation, and flight. Death results from combinations of hypothermia, starvation, and drowning. (ii) Avian embryos are highly sensitive to oil that contaminates the egg shell; amounts as little as 1–10 μL are lethal to embryos during the first half of incubation. (iii) Birds ingest oil when preening oiled plumage or ingesting oiled nutrients. At least three toxic effects of ingested oil are well documented: a nonspecific response as a stressor that is additive or synergistic with those of other stressors, impairments in reproduction ranging from lowered fertility to abandonment of reproductive effort, and severe oxidant damage to red blood cells. The effect of oil pollution on bird populations is very difficult to document and is likely to remain uncertain because of the many ecological factors that may occur in association with an oil-spill event.Key words: oil, petroleum, pollution, bird, toxicity, poison.

scholarly journals Interphotoreceptor coupling: an evolutionary perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Cangiano ◽  
Sabrina Asteriti
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Electrical Coupling ◽  
Physiological Role ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Contact Points ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn the vertebrate retina, signals generated by cones of different spectral preference and by highly sensitive rod photoreceptors interact at various levels to extract salient visual information. The first opportunity for such interaction is offered by electrical coupling of the photoreceptors themselves, which is mediated by gap junctions located at the contact points of specialised cellular processes: synaptic terminals, telodendria and radial fins. Here, we examine the evolutionary pressures for and against interphotoreceptor coupling, which are likely to have shaped how coupling is deployed in different species. The impact of coupling on signal to noise ratio, spatial acuity, contrast sensitivity, absolute and increment threshold, retinal signal flow and colour discrimination is discussed while emphasising available data from a variety of vertebrate models spanning from lampreys to primates. We highlight the many gaps in our knowledge, persisting discrepancies in the literature, as well as some major unanswered questions on the actual extent and physiological role of cone-cone, rod-cone and rod-rod communication. Lastly, we point toward limited but intriguing evidence suggestive of the ancestral form of coupling among ciliary photoreceptors.

scholarly journals Laboratory experiment on the nano-TiO2 photocatalytic degradation effect of road surface oil pollution

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 922-933
Author(s):  
Qing’e Wang ◽  
Kai Zheng ◽  
Huanan Yu ◽  
Luwei Zhao ◽  
Xuan Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Photocatalytic Degradation ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Road Surface ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Driving Safety ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Surfaces ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Degradation Effect

AbstractOil leak from vehicles is one of the most common pollution types of the road. The spilled oil could be retained on the surface and spread in the air voids of the road, which results in a decrease in the friction coefficient of the road, affects driving safety, and causes damage to pavement materials over time. Photocatalytic degradation through nano-TiO2 is a safe, long-lasting, and sustainable technology among the many methods for treating oil contamination on road surfaces. In this study, the nano-TiO2 photocatalytic degradation effect of road surface oil pollution was evaluated through the lab experiment. First, a glass dish was used as a substrate to determine the basic working condition of the test; then, a test method considering the impact of different oil erosion degrees was proposed to eliminate the effect of oil erosion on asphalt pavement and leakage on cement pavement, which led to the development of a lab test method for the nano-TiO2 photocatalytic degradation effect of oil pollution on different road surfaces.

LA Psychiatrie Familiale, Les Systemes Transactionnels, Et Les Frontieres De La Pedopsychiatrie

1975 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-155
Author(s):  
Martin L. Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Child Psychiatry ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Open Systems ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
General System ◽  
Psychiatric Training ◽  
Communications Theory ◽  
Integrated Concept ◽  
The Many

Family therapists, seen as emphasizing interventions leading to change in family structure and in sequences of behaviour, have been searching for an integrated concept which transactional systems theory seems to offer. It takes into account small group theory, social role theory, communications theory, and general system theory, which are linked to psychic, somatic, socio-cultural, politico-economic, and ecological factors. This idea of interlinked, open systems which influence each other is used as a viewpoint for examining the frontiers of child psychiatry. Adult patients often have children who are affected by their parents’ treatment, and child psychiatrists often intervene with adults. Similarly, the boundaries between psychiatry and the paramedical professions have grown less distinct as we have become aware of more elements to assess in each case, and as the number of therapeutic techniques and possible interventions increase. The problem of defining child psychiatry is discussed, as is psychiatric training, in terms of the difficulty in integrating the many theoretical and practical levels.

scholarly journals Low Genetic Connectivity of Strongly Inbred Ruppia brevipedunculata in Aquaculture Dominated Lagoons (Viet Nam)

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludwig Triest ◽  
Jasper Dierick ◽  
Thi Thuy Hang Phan ◽  
Quang Doc Luong ◽  
Nguyen Quang Huy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Surface ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Survival Strategies ◽  
Genetic Connectivity ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Gene Pools ◽  
Aquaculture Ponds ◽  
Genetic Differentiation Of Populations ◽  
The Many ◽  
Private Alleles

Lagoonal environments exhibit high levels of instability depending on hydrological, climatic and ecological factors, thereby influencing the distribution and structure of submerged plant communities. Conditions typically fluctuate widely due to the interaction of freshwater from rivers with saltwater from the sea, as well as from aquaculture activities that together influence submerged hydrophyte community spatial and temporal variability depending on plant survival strategies. Ruppia species feature either underwater pollination mediated by an air bubble or by the release of pollen floating at the water surface, the former promoting self-pollination. Tropical Asian Ruppia brevipedunculata Yu and den Hartog was assumed to pollinate below the water surface and identified as a separate lineage among selfed Ruppia taxa. We used nine nuclear microsatellites to estimate inbreeding levels and connectivity of R. brevipedunculata within a large SE Asian lagoon complex. Ruppia brevipedunculata meadows were strongly inbred as could be derived from the many monomorphic or totally fixed loci for unique alleles in different parts of the lagoon, which appears consistent with selfing behavior. Those from aquaculture ponds were highly inbred (FIS = 0.620), though less than open lagoon sites that showed nearly total inbreeding (FIS = 0.942). Ruppia brevipedunculata from two major lagoon parts were highly differentiated with spatially structured gene pools and a strong barrier between parts of the lagoon over a 30 km distance. Migration-n analysis indicated unidirectional though limited gene flow and following potential hydrological connectivity. Overall, private alleles under homozygote conditions explained a stronger genetic differentiation of populations situated inside aquaculture ponds than of open lagoon populations. Kinship values were only relevant up to 5 km distance in the open lagoon. Within a confined area of aquaculture ponds featuring dense vegetation in stagnant water, there would be opportunity for mixed pollination, thereby explaining the higher diversity of unique multilocus genotypes of aquaculture pond habitats. Low connectivity prevents gene pools to homogenize however promoted sites with private alleles across the lagoon. Complex hydrodynamic systems and human-made habitats enclosed by physical structures impose barriers for propagule dispersal though may create refugia and contribute to conserving regional genetic diversity.

scholarly journals Evidence-gathering in police interviews

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luna Filipović
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Investigative Interviewing ◽  
Police Interviews ◽  
Legal Context ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Communication Difficulties ◽  
Evidence Gathering ◽  
Police Interrogations ◽  
The Many

Abstract In this paper I discuss the many complexities that police officers have to deal with in their communication with suspects. Investigative interviewing is a very complex communicative situation in itself, with a number of different psychological and sociological variables at play during each interview. In addition, suspect interviews bring about an additional dimension of complexity, which is driven by the fact that a basic principle of conversation, cooperation (Grice 1975) is often not respected and is sometimes severely and purposefully violated, for example when suspects are guilty and want to obscure that very fact or when they believe that their situation would worsen if they cooperated with the police. A further layer of complexity is added when the interviews are carried out via an interpreter, where the fact that the officer and the suspect speak different languages during the interview creates additional barriers to straightforward communication. In the present paper, I identify a number of points at which communication difficulties are encountered in this highly sensitive legal context. For this purpose, I analyse authentic interview datasets provided by two UK police constabularies, and also make comparisons with examples from transcripts of authentic US police interrogations. In addition, I highlight the issues that arise when professional interpretation is not available and when bilingual police officers assume the dual role of investigator-interpreter. Finally, I suggest possible solutions that can help remove the hurdles standing in the way of efficient and accurate gathering of communication evidence.

Instrumentation in Industrial Hygiene

1965 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G. Keenan
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Determination ◽  
Chemical Treatment ◽  
Industrial Hygiene ◽  
Metallic Elements ◽  
Chemical Substances ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
High Utility ◽  
The Many ◽  
Made In

A discussion of the many types of samples encountered in industrial hygiene studies, the techniques and instruments used for their collection, the methods used for their preliminary chemical treatment, and the spectrographic instrumentation and techniques employed for the quantitative determination of their trace metallic constituents is presented. In this paper emphasis has been placed on the need to use sharp, clean separation procedures, along with appropriate instrumentation, to meet the analytical objectives in this field, i.e., highly sensitive, precise determinations of minute amounts of chemical substances. The high utility of the emission spectrograph for the analysis of metallic elements has been illustrated with typical examples of analytical applications made in the author's laboratory.

scholarly journals Genomic variation, population history and within-archipelago adaptation between island bird populations

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 201146
Author(s):  
Claudia A. Martin ◽  
Claire Armstrong ◽  
Juan Carlos Illera ◽  
Brent C. Emerson ◽  
David S. Richardson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Genomic Variation ◽  
Population History ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Evolutionary Processes ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
A Genome

Oceanic island archipelagos provide excellent models to understand evolutionary processes. Colonization events and gene flow can interact with selection to shape genetic variation at different spatial scales. Landscape-scale variation in biotic and abiotic factors may drive fine-scale selection within islands, while long-term evolutionary processes may drive divergence between distantly related populations. Here, we examine patterns of population history and selection between recently diverged populations of the Berthelot's pipit ( Anthus berthelotii ), a passerine endemic to three North Atlantic archipelagos. First, we use demographic trees and f 3 statistics to show that genome-wide divergence across the species range is largely shaped by colonization and bottlenecks, with evidence of very weak gene flow between populations. Then, using a genome scan approach, we identify signatures of divergent selection within archipelagos at single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes potentially associated with craniofacial development and DNA repair. We did not detect within-archipelago selection at the same SNPs as were detected previously at broader spatial scales between archipelagos, but did identify signatures of selection at loci associated with similar biological functions. These findings suggest that similar ecological factors may repeatedly drive selection between recently separated populations, as well as at broad spatial scales across varied landscapes.

scholarly journals Fast and Comprehensive N- and O-glycoproteomics analysis with MSFragger-Glyco

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Polasky ◽  
Fengchao Yu ◽  
Guo Ci Teo ◽  
Alexey I. Nesvizhskii
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Search Strategies ◽  
Spectrometric Analysis ◽  
Computational Tool ◽  
Post Translational Modification ◽  
Fast Speed ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
The Many

AbstractGlycosylation is a ubiquitous and heterogeneous post-translational modification (PTM) used to accomplish a wide variety of critical cellular tasks. Recent advances in methods for enrichment and mass spectrometric analysis of intact glycopeptides have produced large-scale, high-quality glycoproteomics datasets, but interpreting this data remains challenging. In addition to being large, complex, and heterogeneous, glycans undergo fragmentation during vibrational activation, making common PTM search strategies ineffective for their identification. We present a computational tool called MSFragger-Glyco for fast and highly sensitive identification of N- and O-linked glycopeptides using open and glycan mass offset search strategies. Reanalysis of recently published N-glycoproteomics data resulted in annotation of 83% more glycopeptide-spectrum matches (glycoPSMs) than in previous results, which translated to substantial increases in the numbers of glycoproteins and glycosites that could be identified. In published O-glycoproteomics data, our method more than doubled the number of glycoPSMs annotated when searching the same peptides as the original search and resulted in up to a 6-fold increase when expanding searches to include large numbers of possible glycan compositions and other modifications. Expanded searches revealed trends in glycan composition and crosstalk with phosphorylation that remained hidden to the original search. With greatly improved spectral annotation, coupled with the fast speed of fragment ion index-based scoring, MSFragger-Glyco makes it possible to comprehensively interrogate glycoproteomics data and illuminate the many roles of glycosylation.

A REVIEW OF SOME COMMONLY USED PARAMETERS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF OIL POLLUTION

1977 ◽  
Vol 1977 (1) ◽  
pp. 487-491
Author(s):  
Michael Gruenfeld and ◽  
Uwe Frank
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Petroleum Hydrocarbons ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Biological Tissues ◽  
Biological Origin ◽  
Ultraviolet Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
Instrumental Methods ◽  
Petroleum Oils

ABSTRACT A state-of-the-art review is provided describing specific parameters of petroleum oils that are used by various investigators to demonstrate the presence of oil pollution in water, sediments, and biological tissues. Several representative publications are discussed with regard to the techniques used for distinguishing between petroleum hydrocarbons and organics that are of recent biological origin. The techniques include chromatographic procedures using alumina and silica gel for separating hydrocarbons from other organics, followed by instrumental methods such as gas chromatography, fluorescence spectroscopy, ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy, et al. The various oil parameters that are used to demonstrate the presence of petroleum oils are discussed, and the most effective ones are recommended. In addition, a recent study is also described in which several of the parameters were used to demonstrate the presence of oil pollution in sediments from a mangrove swamp in Puerto Rico.

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