Assessment of the endocrine disruption potential of an advanced tertiary treated sewage effluent using multiple lines of evidence

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Science.In Australia, due to increased uncertainties over security of water supply because of unpredictable drought and flood cycles, alternative water sources are being investigated for commercial, agricultural, industrial and domestic supply, including the option of reusing treated sewage effluents. However, sewage effluent is a known source of estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the environment. Exposure to sewage effluents containing steroid estrogens and xenoestrogens can cause developmental and behavioural reproductive abnormalities in fish and other aquatic animals. As such, risk of endocrine disruption is one of the water quality issues that needs to be evaluated when assessing the appropriate level of treatment required for reuse applications. The Gerringong-Gerroa sewage treatment plant (GGSTP), currently employs advanced tertiary treatment technology to treat domestic sewage from two small coastal towns (Gerringong and Gerroa), which receive large seasonal influxes of holiday makers. In this study, the efficacy of the treatment at the GGSTP in removing estrogenically active chemicals was assessed using a multi-tiered assessment approach, incorporating chemical analysis, in vitro bioassays and in vivo fish exposure studies. The raw sewage influent was found to contain steroidal estrogens; 17βestradiol (E2), estrone (E1) and estriol (E3) as well as synthetic phenolic xenoestrogens; 4-tertoctylphenol, Bisphenol A and technical nonylphenol at concentrations commonly found in sewage influents. The influent also displayed high levels of activity in the two-hybrid yeast in vitro bioassay. However, the final effluent had no detectable concentrations of steroidal estrogens, no estrogenic activity in the two-hybrid yeast assay and only infrequent occurrence of low concentrations of synthetic phenols. Biodegradation by activated sludge treatment provided significant, but incomplete removal of measured EDCs and estrogenic activity, with the in-line combination of ozone oxidation and biologically activated carbon filtration reducing the remaining estrogenic activity to undetectable levels. EDCs in both the dissolved and particulate phases of the effluent were removed by the treatment process and the efficacy of treatment was not compromised by increases in influent flow during the peak holiday seasons. Treatment of the effluent at the GGSTP was also successful at reducing retinoic acid receptor (RAR) activity and genotoxicity to below detection limits and greatly reducing arylhydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activity. On-site real-time exposure tests using the mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) and rainbowfish (Melanotaenia fluviatilis) demonstrated that the final effluent did not elicit up-regulation of vitellogenin, a well known biomarker of exposure to estrogenic EDCs. Despite the presence of residual concentrations of E1 and the in vitro activity in effluent after being processed through activated sludge treatment, clarification and sandfiltration, vitellogenin up-regulation was not detected in fish exposed to this partially treated effluent. Overall, the results provide evidence that the application of advanced tertiary treatment technology to domestic sewage can produce a final effluent that is unlikely to pose an endocrine disruption risk to the aquatic biota

Optical nonlinear dynamics with cold atoms in a cavity

This paper presents the nonlinear dynamics of laser cooled and trapped cesium atoms placed inside an optical cavity and interacting with a probe light beam slightly detuned from the 6S1/2(F=4) to 6P3/2(F=5) transition. The system exhibits very strong bistability and instabilities. The origin of the latter is found to be a competition between optical pumping and non-linearities due to saturation of the optical transition.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, LaTe

Dislocation Emission around Nanoindentations on a (001) fcc Metal Surface Studied by STM and Atomistic Simulations

We present a combined study by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and atomistic simulations of the emission of dissociated dislocation loops by nanoindentation on a (001) fcc surface. The latter consist of two stacking-fault ribbons bounded by Shockley partials and a stair-rod dislocation. These dissociated loops, which intersect the surface, are shown to originate from loops of interstitial character emitted along the directions and are usually located at hundreds of angstroms away from the indentation point. Simulations reproduce the nucleation and glide of these dislocation loops.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Creative processes of impact making: Advancing an American Pragmatist methodology

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide new insights into the social impact of creative research methods. Design/methodology/approach Using the new methodology of cultural animation (CA), the authors highlight how knowledge can be co-produced between academics, community members and organisational practitioners. Drawing on the UK Connected Communities programme, the authors explore examples of immersive and performative techniques including arts and crafts, drama and poetry. Findings The authors showcase the practical and theoretical benefit of such exercises to generate impact and influence. Empirically, the authors demonstrate the potential of CA to bring together researchers and community members in useful partnerships that foster dialogical exchange. Theoretically, the authors extend and develop the value of American Pragmatism by highlighting how democratic, iterative and practical learning plays out through the materials, networks and processes of cultural animation. Social implications Exploration of the examples leads us to propose and explore impact as a form of legacy which captures the temporal, processual and performative nature of knowledge sharing and co-production. Originality/value The methodology of CA is innovative and has not been tested widely to date although, as the authors illustrate, it is particularly useful for encouraging interaction between academics and the wider world by developing and nurturing interactions and relationships. It carries potential to contribute new insights to the theorisation and lived experience of organisation

Artefacts: a multi-voiced collection of paraphernalia, documentation and reflection on the space and words for dancers work-week

Artefacts is a multi-voiced collection of paraphernalia, documentation and reflection relating to a week-long event (July 2015) that revolved around the work of dancers and poets Julyen Hamilton (Spain) and Billie Hanne (Belgium). Hosted by Chisenhale Dance Space, London, and curated by dance-artist Antonio de la Fe and artist/scholar Robert Vesty, the Space and Words for Dancers event consisted of a six-day workshop for 25 dancers led by Hamilton and Hanne that focused on the use of space and words in performance; two solo performances by Hamilton (Play) and Hanne (Deep Brown Sea); an Evening Talk event with Hamilton and Hanne talking in-depth about their work and the making of poetry and dance; as well as an open-to-the-public Discussion Day that used Open Space Technology (OST) as an organizing tool to discuss the question ‘What skills are required of the dancer and poet to produce poetry and dance in performance?’. Artefacts is a collaboration with graphic designer Tomas Di Giovanni and includes Billie’s Outline, a rationale for bringing words and dance together in the workshop, written by Hanne; poetry by Hamilton and Hanne composed especially for this Words and Dance issue of Choreographic Practices; programme notes from Play and Deep Brown Sea; a reflective piece by Antonio de la Fe on the nature of work for the dance artist as performer entitled That You Took the Workshop Doesn’t Mean You Have Done the Work; a photo-essay by resident photographer Maria Andrews; extracts from the transcript of Evening Talk collated around the headings On Poetry and Dance, On Space, On Making Pieces, On Repeating Pieces and On How it Works; and finally, a nod to the discussion day. Overall, the aim of Artefacts is to pull together some coordinates of the different and multifarious strands of activity that went into and came out of the Space and Words for Dancers work-week, which inspired this special Words and Dance edition of Choreographic Practices, but to do so in a way that might begin to perform and applaud the aesthetic quality of the work with space and words

The vertical flux of rare earth elements in the northwestern Mediterranean

Rare earth element (REE) composition of sinking particles was examined in time-series sediment trap samples collected from four depths (200, 500, 1000, 2000 m) in the Gulf of Lions. Vertical flux profiles showed the occurrence of a sedimentation pulse which resulted in the rapid sinking of phytoplankton aggregates to 2000 m depth. These particles were characterized by REE patterns similar to those in the upper 200 m indicating that little, if any, additional REE scavenging occurred during the sedimentation event. In contrast, after the sedimentation pulse, particles from deep waters showed an enrichment of light-REE (LREE) relative to heavy-REE (HREE) and a positive Ce anomaly. Comparing REE patterns in particles from the upper water column (200 m) with those from depth (1000, 2000 m) during and following the sedimentation pulse indicates that time is a key factor in determining REE scavenging by sinking particles. This is particularly evident for the preferential scavenging of Ce (IV) which is most pronounced in the finer, slowly sinking, and presumably older particles. These findings are consistent with REE patterns in sea water from the northwestern Mediterranean which show a strong negative Ce anomaly and gradual enrichment of REE with increasing atomic number. The enrichment of LREE relative to HREE in particles from deep waters results either preferential scavenging of LREE on particles, analogous to the enrichment of Ce, or selective dissolution of HREE in association with particle remineralization processes, or both; this aspect of REE behaviour merits further study