Understanding the environmental influence of anthropogenic and natural climate forcing on Hamilton Inlet and Lake Melville, Labrador

Recently, there has been growing interest in the climate variability in Newfoundland and Labrador and its impact on the environment. The warming temperature trend in the past two decades has driven changes in the ice thickness and characteristics of surface inland and coastal ocean waters. In the Hamilton Inlet, these changes are superimposed on the impact of hydroelectric development in Churchill River. Studies of the characteristics of regional climate change and anthropogenic factors are essential for understanding the environmental response. The main objective of this study is to assess the characteristics of climate variability and anthropogenic impact of recent hydroelectric development in Labrador. The method of the study is based on statistical analysis of observations of atmospheric and river flow characteristics. Decadal shifts in the distributions of the temperature in Newfoundland and Labrador are determined by using Kernel Density estimator. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall trend test and Sen’s methods are then applied then to determine the magnitude and significance of the trends. The first part of the study is focused on characteristics of seasonal, interannual and decadal variability of atmospheric temperature, precipitation, rain, snow and wind speed, and their spatial variations. We found in particular, that the multidecadal trend of atmospheric temperature was negative between 1970 and 1993 and changed to positive in the following period. The magnitude of this trend and its spatial variation across the province is assessed. The second part of the study presents results from an analysis of extremes of regional climate characteristics. Climate extremes are identified by calculating the 90th/10th percentiles of minimum and maximum daily temperature, which correspond to extreme warm/cold events; the 90th percentile was also calculated for total precipitation, snow and rain, to study extreme precipitation events. The final part of the study examines the relationship between climate indices and river discharge in Churchill River in Labrador. Here, river discharge volume is analyzed in the context of different climate conditions, before and after hydroelectric development in upper Churchill River

Analysis of Sewage Sludge Disposal Routes – Varazdin and Medimurje County

The aim of this paper is to analyse sewage sludge production at the level of Medimurje and Varazdin counties with economic analysis of acceptable technical/technological solutions for sludge management routes. The topic is very broad, so the focus was placed on four variants of sludge disposal, which were determined by preliminary analysis to be the most applicable for the area in question. These are: 1) disposal of sewage sludge in agriculture, 2) incineration of sludge in a central mono-incinerator, 3) composting for the area of Varazdin County and at the same time use of sludge reed beds for the area of Medimurje County, and 4) export of sludge outside the state borders. Based on the analysis carried out for the described four variants, sludge incineration in a regional mono-incinerator turned out as the economically most advantageous solution, while the variant that includes disposal of sludge in agriculture has showed as the most expensive one. The last one also showed the largest range of costs uncertainties, but the mentioned facts are greatly influenced by unfavourable legislation, the changes of which in a more rational direction would greatly contribute to the greater competitiveness of this variant. Overall, taking into account the lowest cost and uncertainties in the predicted unit costs, the sludge composting in the Varazdin County and the construction of a reed beds for the Medimurje County, turned out to be the optimal variant. This solution is also the one that was ultimately adopted in practice

Analysis of sewage sludge disposal routes - Varaždin and Međimurje County

Otpadne vode prikupljene sustavom javne odvodnje odvode se na uređaj za pročišćavanje otpadnih voda te se nakon postizanja tražene razine pročišćavanja ispuštaju u recipijent. Nusproizvod svakog tehnološkog postupka obrade komunalnih otpadnih voda je mulj koji zahtijeva daljnju obradu i zbrinjavanje na tehnički i ekološki najpogodniji i istovremeno najekonomičniji način. Cilj rada je analiza produkcije mulja na razini Međimurske i Varaždinske županije te analiza ekonomski prihvatljivih tehničko – tehnoloških rješenja obrade i zbrinjavanja mulja. Tema je vrlo široka pa je fokus stavljen na četiri varijante zbrinjavanja mulja za koje je preliminarnim analizama utvrđeno da su najprimjenjivije za predmetno područje. Analizirane su mogućnosti zbrinjavanja mulja u poljoprivredi, spaljivanje mulja u centralnoj monospalionici, varijanta s istovremenim kompostiranjem za područje Varaždinske županije i ozemljavanja mulja na području Međimurske županije te varijanta koja uključuje odvoz mulja izvan granica Republike Hrvatske. Temeljem provedenih analiza za opisane četiri varijante spaljivanje mulja u regionalnoj monospalionici predstavljeno je kao ekonomski najpovoljnije rješenje, dok je varijanta koja uključuje zbrinjavanje mulja u poljoprivredi prikazana kao najskuplja, no ona također predviđa i najširi raspon troškova te prikazuje da se uz donošenje racionalnije zakonske regulative, odnosno smanjenjem troškova uzorkovanja i analiza mulja i tla može očekivati i daleko bolja ekonomska isplativost ove varijante. Također je dan pregled zakonske regulative vezane uz obradu i zbrinjavanje mulja s uređaja za pročišćavanje otpadnih voda, prikazane su opće informacije o sadržaju mulja, obradi i metodama zbrinjavanja, ali i informacije o aktualnim postupcima zbrinjavanja mulja u ostalim europskim zemljama.The wastewater collected by the public sewage system is taken to the wastewater treatment plant and after reaching the required level of treatment, it is discharged into the recipient. The by-product of every technological process of municipal wastewater treatment is sludge, which requires further treatment and disposal in the most technically and ecologically appropriate and at the same time most economical way. The aim of this paper is the analysis of sludge production at the level of Međimurje and Varaždin counties and the analysis of economically acceptable technical and technological solutions for sludge treatment and disposal routes. The topic is very broad, so the focus was placed on four variants of sludge disposal, which were determined by preliminary analyzes to be the most applicable for the area in question. The possibilities of disposal of sludge in agriculture, incineration of sludge in a central mono-incinerator, a variant with simultaneous composting for the area of Varaždin County and use of sludge reed beds for the area of Međimurje County and a variant that includes the export of sludge outside the state borders were analyzed. Based on the analyzes carried out for the described four variants, sludge incineration in a regional mono-incinerator is presented as the most economically advantageous solution, while the variant that includes disposal of sludge in agriculture is shown as the most expensive, but it also predicts the largest range of costs and shows that with the adoption of more rational legislation, that is, by reducing the costs of sampling and analysis of sludge and soil, a much better economic profitability of this variant can be expected. An overview of the legal regulations related to the treatment and disposal of sludge from wastewater treatment plants is also given. Also, general information on sludge content, treatment and disposal methods are presented, as well as information on current sludge disposal procedures in other European countries

Analysis of sewage sludge disposal routes - Varaždin and Međimurje County

Otpadne vode prikupljene sustavom javne odvodnje odvode se na uređaj za pročišćavanje otpadnih voda te se nakon postizanja tražene razine pročišćavanja ispuštaju u recipijent. Nusproizvod svakog tehnološkog postupka obrade komunalnih otpadnih voda je mulj koji zahtijeva daljnju obradu i zbrinjavanje na tehnički i ekološki najpogodniji i istovremeno najekonomičniji način. Cilj rada je analiza produkcije mulja na razini Međimurske i Varaždinske županije te analiza ekonomski prihvatljivih tehničko – tehnoloških rješenja obrade i zbrinjavanja mulja. Tema je vrlo široka pa je fokus stavljen na četiri varijante zbrinjavanja mulja za koje je preliminarnim analizama utvrđeno da su najprimjenjivije za predmetno područje. Analizirane su mogućnosti zbrinjavanja mulja u poljoprivredi, spaljivanje mulja u centralnoj monospalionici, varijanta s istovremenim kompostiranjem za područje Varaždinske županije i ozemljavanja mulja na području Međimurske županije te varijanta koja uključuje odvoz mulja izvan granica Republike Hrvatske. Temeljem provedenih analiza za opisane četiri varijante spaljivanje mulja u regionalnoj monospalionici predstavljeno je kao ekonomski najpovoljnije rješenje, dok je varijanta koja uključuje zbrinjavanje mulja u poljoprivredi prikazana kao najskuplja, no ona također predviđa i najširi raspon troškova te prikazuje da se uz donošenje racionalnije zakonske regulative, odnosno smanjenjem troškova uzorkovanja i analiza mulja i tla može očekivati i daleko bolja ekonomska isplativost ove varijante. Također je dan pregled zakonske regulative vezane uz obradu i zbrinjavanje mulja s uređaja za pročišćavanje otpadnih voda, prikazane su opće informacije o sadržaju mulja, obradi i metodama zbrinjavanja, ali i informacije o aktualnim postupcima zbrinjavanja mulja u ostalim europskim zemljama.The wastewater collected by the public sewage system is taken to the wastewater treatment plant and after reaching the required level of treatment, it is discharged into the recipient. The by-product of every technological process of municipal wastewater treatment is sludge, which requires further treatment and disposal in the most technically and ecologically appropriate and at the same time most economical way. The aim of this paper is the analysis of sludge production at the level of Međimurje and Varaždin counties and the analysis of economically acceptable technical and technological solutions for sludge treatment and disposal routes. The topic is very broad, so the focus was placed on four variants of sludge disposal, which were determined by preliminary analyzes to be the most applicable for the area in question. The possibilities of disposal of sludge in agriculture, incineration of sludge in a central mono-incinerator, a variant with simultaneous composting for the area of Varaždin County and use of sludge reed beds for the area of Međimurje County and a variant that includes the export of sludge outside the state borders were analyzed. Based on the analyzes carried out for the described four variants, sludge incineration in a regional mono-incinerator is presented as the most economically advantageous solution, while the variant that includes disposal of sludge in agriculture is shown as the most expensive, but it also predicts the largest range of costs and shows that with the adoption of more rational legislation, that is, by reducing the costs of sampling and analysis of sludge and soil, a much better economic profitability of this variant can be expected. An overview of the legal regulations related to the treatment and disposal of sludge from wastewater treatment plants is also given. Also, general information on sludge content, treatment and disposal methods are presented, as well as information on current sludge disposal procedures in other European countries

Causes and implications of codon usage bias in RNA viruses.

Choice of synonymous codons depends on nucleotide/dinucleotide composition of the genome (termed mutational pressure) and relative abundance of tRNAs in a cell (translational pressure). Mutational pressure is commonly simplified to genomic GC content; however mononucleotide and dinucleotide frequencies in different genomes or mRNAs may vary significantly, especially in RNA viruses. A series of in silico shuffling algorithms were developed to account for these features and analyze the relative impact of mutational pressure components on codon usage bias in RNA viruses. Total GC content was a poor descriptor of viral genome composition and causes of codon usage bias. Genomic nucleotide content was the single most important factor of synonymous codon usage. Moreover, the choice between compatible amino acids (e.g., leucine and isoleucine) was strongly affected by genomic nucleotide composition. Dinucleotide composition at codon positions 2-3 had additional effect on codon usage. Together with mononucleotide composition bias, it could explain almost the entire codon usage bias in RNA viruses. On the other hand, strong dinucleotide content bias at codon position 3-1 found in some viruses had very little effect on codon usage. A hypothetical innate immunity sensor for CpG in RNA could partially explain the codon usage bias, but due to dependence of virus translation upon biased host translation machinery, experimental studies are required to further explore the source of dinucleotide bias in RNA viruses

CpG content at different codon positions in RNA viruses.

<p>(A) Relative CpG dinucleotide content at codon positions 2-3 and 3-1 in RNA viruses (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0056642#pone-0056642-t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>) was calculated as a ratio of the observed CpG content to the expected, calculated as the product of genomic nucleotide frequencies at the corresponding codon positions, e.g. £ [C₂]×£ [G₃] for CpG₂₃ dinucleotide. (B) Mean relative CpG dinucleotide content in extended datasets of five RNA viruses. White, codon positions 2-3; gray, codon positions 3-1. Error bars indicate standard errors of the mean. Virus name acronyms are provided in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0056642#pone-0056642-t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>.</p

Correlation between sequence content at synonymous positions and sequence content at non synonymous positions/encoded protein content.

<p>Correlation between C content at codon positions 1+2 vs. 3 (A); ratio of isoleucine to leucine to third-position A content (B); ratio of arginine to glycine content to third-position G content (C) in 29 animal RNA viruses (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0056642#pone-0056642-t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>).</p

Plots of ENC vs. sequence content in 29 RNA viruses indicated in Table 1 (black dots) and in 1000 simulated sequences with random third-position nucleotide content (gray circles).

<p>Plot of ENC against GC content (A), variance of third-position GC content (B), variance of third-position nucleotide frequencies (D) and variance of dinucleotide frequencies at codon position 2-3 (D). Solid line in panel (a) indicates theoretical prediction of ENC as a function of GC content bias <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0056642#pone.0056642-Wright1" target="_blank">[31]</a>.</p