Integrative Risk Assessment of Endocrine Disruptors in Switzerland

The objective of the project was to develop an environmental fate model for various substances with endocrine-disrupting potential for the Glattal/Greifensee region in Switzerland and to assess the concentration levels. The model provides an estimate of environmental concentrations based on mass flow calculations from the source of the emissions to the final fate in the environmental compartments. Based on the chemical properties of 20 substances studied in the NRP50 program, the estimated quantities of the substances used and their respective applications, the model predicts mass flows on a local level. Taking into account the respective water flows, these mass flows result in predicted environmental concentrations in surface water and groundwater. These concentrations can be interpreted as averaged levels with geographical resolution in the local scenario. The estrogenic equivalent concentration was assessed by estrogenic equivalence factor-weighted addition of the individual substance concentrations for four different toxicological endpoints. From the 20 substances modelled in this project only a few substantially contribute to the overall endocrine disruption potential. For three of the endpoints used the steroid hormones dominate the endocrine potential. Only the application of the yeast estrogen system (YES) assay predicts a dominant endocrine potential for the degradation products of nonylphenol-poly-ethoxylates (NPnEO) in the year 2004, which was expected to decrease significantly in the year 2007 due to new legislation (almost complete application ban of NPnEO-based detergents as of August 2006). On the basis of the model's geographical resolution it is possible to identify 'hot spots' in terms of high endocrine-disruption potential in the modelled region. For the densely populated and industrialised Glattal/Greifensee region sewage treatment plants discharging into relatively small receiving water systems show the highest endocrine disruption potential (estradiol equivalence concentration of up to 2 ng/l for the vitellogenin synthesis induction endpoint). In addition to modelling the status quo with respect to endocrine disruption possible future risk reduction measures have been assessed for one identified hot-spot. Whereas an increase in sludge retention time in the existing STP had a moderate effect on the overall endocrine potential, an additional ozonation step showed significant reduction for most endocrine-disrupting substances

Einfluss von Betonzusatzmitteln auf die Energieund CO2-Bilanz von Beton

The energy consumption and the C02 emissions during the production of two different concrete mixes with identical concrete properties were compared. The two concrete samples were prepared with and without the addition of a superplasticizer. Less energy was consumed and less C02 was emitted for the case of concrete production including a superplasticizer as compared to the case of concrete production without a superplasticizer. This is due to the fact, that when a superplasticizer is used, less cement is needed to produce concrete with the same properties as those of concrete without superplasticizers. However, the relatively small dijferences in the energy consumption and in the C02 emissions become insignificant, if the entire life cycle of a building is considered. Effects like durability and the need for maintenance are expected to have a much higher influence on the life cycle assessment of concrete building

Size and Composition Distribution of Atmospheric Particles in Southern California

Continuous measurements of single particle size and chemical composition in the atmosphere are made using aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometers (ATOFMS) operated alongside more conventional reference air sampling instruments at a network of three urban air monitoring sites in southern California. Electrical aerosol analyzers and optical particle counters are employed to acquire continuous particle size distribution data, and inertial impactor and bulk filter samples with 4-h resolution are taken for determination of particle size and chemical composition. Filter and impactor samples also are taken upwind of the air basin at Santa Catalina Island in order to characterize background air quality. The airborne particle size and composition distribution as measured by the cascade impactors at inland sites differ from that over the ocean principally due to depletion of sea salt particles accompanied by the addition of fine carbon-containing particles and secondary aerosol nitrate. Data from the ATOFMS systems create a continuous time series of sodium-, ammonium-, nitrate-, and carbon-containing particle counts that provide a high-resolution view of differences in particle composition as a function of location in the air basin. Results show that the characteristic peak in the Los Angeles area aerosol mass distribution in the 0.2−0.3-μm size range observed during the 1987 SCAQS experiments has been reduced, consistent with reductions in diesel soot and elemental carbon emissions since that time

Size and Composition Distribution of Atmospheric Particles in Southern California

Continuous measurements of single particle size and chemical composition in the atmosphere are made using aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometers (ATOFMS) operated alongside more conventional reference air sampling instruments at a network of three urban air monitoring sites in southern California. Electrical aerosol analyzers and optical particle counters are employed to acquire continuous particle size distribution data, and inertial impactor and bulk filter samples with 4-h resolution are taken for determination of particle size and chemical composition. Filter and impactor samples also are taken upwind of the air basin at Santa Catalina Island in order to characterize background air quality. The airborne particle size and composition distribution as measured by the cascade impactors at inland sites differ from that over the ocean principally due to depletion of sea salt particles accompanied by the addition of fine carbon-containing particles and secondary aerosol nitrate. Data from the ATOFMS systems create a continuous time series of sodium-, ammonium-, nitrate-, and carbon-containing particle counts that provide a high-resolution view of differences in particle composition as a function of location in the air basin. Results show that the characteristic peak in the Los Angeles area aerosol mass distribution in the 0.2−0.3-μm size range observed during the 1987 SCAQS experiments has been reduced, consistent with reductions in diesel soot and elemental carbon emissions since that time

Methylobacterium Genome Sequences: A Reference Blueprint to Investigate Microbial Metabolism of C1 Compounds from Natural and Industrial Sources

Methylotrophy describes the ability of organisms to grow on reduced organic compounds without carbon-carbon bonds. The genomes of two pink-pigmented facultative methylotrophic bacteria of the Alpha-proteobacterial genus Methylobacterium, the reference species Methylobacterium extorquens strain AM1 and the dichloromethane-degrading strain DM4, were compared. Methodology/Principal Findings The 6.88 Mb genome of strain AM1 comprises a 5.51 Mb chromosome, a 1.26 Mb megaplasmid and three plasmids, while the 6.12 Mb genome of strain DM4 features a 5.94 Mb chromosome and two plasmids. The chromosomes are highly syntenic and share a large majority of genes, while plasmids are mostly strain-specific, with the exception of a 130 kb region of the strain AM1 megaplasmid which is syntenic to a chromosomal region of strain DM4. Both genomes contain large sets of insertion elements, many of them strain-specific, suggesting an important potential for genomic plasticity. Most of the genomic determinants associated with methylotrophy are nearly identical, with two exceptions that illustrate the metabolic and genomic versatility of Methylobacterium. A 126 kb dichloromethane utilization (dcm) gene cluster is essential for the ability of strain DM4 to use DCM as the sole carbon and energy source for growth and is unique to strain DM4. The methylamine utilization (mau) gene cluster is only found in strain AM1, indicating that strain DM4 employs an alternative system for growth with methylamine. The dcm and mau clusters represent two of the chromosomal genomic islands (AM1: 28; DM4: 17) that were defined. The mau cluster is flanked by mobile elements, but the dcm cluster disrupts a gene annotated as chelatase and for which we propose the name “island integration determinant” (iid).Conclusion/Significance These two genome sequences provide a platform for intra- and interspecies genomic comparisons in the genus Methylobacterium, and for investigations of the adaptive mechanisms which allow bacterial lineages to acquire methylotrophic lifestyles.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Den Farben auf der Spur. Entwicklung einer Unterrichtsreihe im Gestaltungsunterricht für die 3. Klasse

Bildnerisches Gestalten nimmt oft einen nebensächlichen Platz im Grundschulunterricht ein. Dies, obwohl Kunst für die Entwicklung der Kinder von zentraler Bedeutung ist und einen gleichwertigen Stellenwert wie akademischen Fächer erhalten sollte. Diese Arbeit setzte sich zum Ziel, die Bedeutung vom Thema „Farben“ aufzuzeigen, indem eine Unterrichtsreihe er-stellt wird, welche im Unterricht ab der dritten Klasse vielfältig umsetzbar ist. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit wird die Wichtigkeit des Themas ausreichend begründet und mit aussagekräftiger Theorie verdeutlicht. Das Produkt orientiert sich am Lehrplan 21, weshalb es auch in Zukunft relevant sein wird. Es wird erläutert, wie gute und motivierende Aufgaben im Gestaltungsunterricht aufgebaut sind und eine mögliche, sinnvolle Struktur für eine Unterrichtsreihe gezeigt. Zudem sollen möglichst viele gestalterische Verfahren zum Einsatz kommen, welche anhand einer Umfrage festgelegt werden. Im zweiten Teil wird das Produkt analysiert, ausgewertet und reflektiert. Durch den klaren Aufbau der Unterrichtsreihe und die darin enthaltene, einfache Beschreibung lässt sich die Unterrichtsreihe von jeder Lehrperson umsetzen, welche sich näher mit dem Thema „Farben“ befassen möchte

Test composition with example objects and example methods

While assertions of Design by Contract from Eiffel [6] found its way into the language-definitions of Python and of Java SDK 1.4, current object-oriented languages do not make the concepts of unit-testing[2] explicit in their definitions or meta-models. Not having support of unit-testing in a programming language makes it harder to compose and re-compose test-scenarios and tests. We propose, that an object-oriented language should include explicit concepts for example objects, example methods and instance-specific assertions. This concepts ease the composition of complex test-scenarios, they help to refactor the program with the tests and also to keep the duration of the tests as low and the coverage of the tests as high as possible.