How much do PCB toxic equivalents account for PHAH toxicity in predatory birds?

Various diffuse polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAHs) exert common toxicity through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Apex predators spatially and temporally integrate diffuse contamination and simultaneous exposure can cause additive toxicity. We investigated the extent to which PCBs, still amongst the most prevalent PHAHs accumulated by predators, accounted for total PHAH toxicity in raptors and fish eating birds from Britain. We analysed egg or liver extracts from six species and compared chemically determined ΣPCB-TEQs concentrations with total AhR-mediated toxicity determined using the chemical-activated luciferase gene expression bioassay (CALUX-TEQ). Dioxin-like PCB profiles in eggs and livers were dominated by congeners 118, 105 and 167. ΣPCB-TEQ and CALUX-TEQ concentrations were positively associated but not in a 1:1 relationship. ΣPCB-TEQ were broadly similar to CALUX-TEQ concentrations in eggs and livers with CALUX-TEQ concentrations >50–80 and 160–320 pg g−1 lipid respectively, but were lower than CALUX-TEQ concentrations in less contaminated samples

ARIS-Campaign: intercomparison of three ground based 22 GHz radiometers for middle atmospheric water vapor at the Zugspitze in winter 2009

This paper presents the Alpine Radiometer Intercomparison at the Schneefernerhaus (ARIS), which took place in winter 2009 at the high altitude station at the Zugspitze, Germany (47.42° N, 10.98° E, 2650 m). This campaign was the first direct intercomparison between three new ground based 22 GHz water vapor radiometers for middle atmospheric profiling with the following instruments participating: MIRA 5 (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), cWASPAM3 (Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-Lindau) and MIAWARA-C (Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern). Even though the three radiometers all measure middle atmospheric water vapor using the same rotational transition line and similar fundamental set-ups, there are major differences between the front ends, the back ends, the calibration concepts and the profile retrieval. The spectrum comparison shows that all three radiometers measure spectra without severe baseline artifacts and that the measurements are in good general agreement. The measurement noise shows good agreement to the values theoretically expected from the radiometer noise formula. At the same time the comparison of the noise levels shows that there is room for instrumental and calibration improvement, emphasizing the importance of low elevation angles for the observation, a low receiver noise temperature and an efficient calibration scheme. <br><br> The comparisons of the retrieved profiles show that the agreement between the profiles of MIAWARA-C and cWASPAM3 with the ones of MLS is better than 0.3 ppmv (6%) at all altitudes. MIRA 5 has a dry bias of approximately 0.5 ppm (8%) below 0.1 hPa with respect to all other instruments. The profiles of cWASPAM3 and MIAWARA-C could not be directly compared because the vertical region of overlap was too small. The comparison of the time series at different altitude levels show a similar evolution of the H<sub>2</sub>O volume mixing ratio (VMR) for the ground based instruments as well as the space borne sensor MLS

The effect of depth on the morphology, bacterial clearance, and respiration of the mediterranean sponge chondrosia reniformis (Nardo, 1847)

To support the successful application of sponges for water purification and collagen production, we evaluated the effect of depth on sponge morphology, growth, physiology, and functioning. Specimens of Eastern Mediterranean populations of the sponge Chondrosia reniformis (Nardo, 1847) (Demospongiae, Chondrosiida, Chondrosiidae) were reciprocally transplanted between 5 and 20 m depth within the KaŠ-Kekova Marine Reserve Area. Control sponges at 5 m had fewer but larger oscula than their conspecifics at 20 m, and a significant inverse relationship between the osculum density and size was found in C. reniformis specimens growing along a natural depth gradient. Sponges transplanted from 20 to 5 m altered their morphology to match the 5 m control sponges, producing fewer but larger oscula, whereas explants transplanted from 5 to 20 m did not show a reciprocal morphological plasticity. Despite the changes in morphology, the clearance, respiration, and growth rates were comparable among all the experimental groups. This indicates that depth-induced morphological changes do not affect the overall performance of the sponges. Hence, the potential for the growth and bioremediation of C. reniformis in mariculture is not likely to change with varying culture depth. The collagen content, however, was higher in shallow water C. reniformis compared to deeper-growing sponges, which requires further study to optimize collagen production.This research was executed within the Connected Circularity program, financed by strategic funding of Wageningen University and Research and the knowledge base of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and FoodQuality (KB40), and was part of the ERA-NET project Biogenink (project 4195), funded by the EuropeanCommission in conjunction with the Dutch Science Foundation NWO and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (project M-ERA-NET-2/0022/2016)

Hormoonontregelaars in water opsporen met biologische effectmetingen

Uitleg over de pricipes van verschillende in-vitro testen gebruikt voor het bepalen van de oestrogene potentie van monsters oppervlaktewater en afvalwater, en enige resultaten voor verschillende locaties in Nederlan

Comparison of chemical-activated luciferase gene expression bioassay and gas chromatography for PCB determination in human serum and follicular fluid.

We assessed exposure to dioxin-like compounds using chemical and bioassay analysis in different matrices in a female population. A total of 106 serum and 9 follicular fluid samples were collected from infertile women attending Centers for Reproductive Medicine in Belgium from 1996 to 1998. Major polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were quantified by chemical analysis using gas chromatography with electron-capture detection, and the chemical-activated luciferase gene expression (CALUX) bioassay was used to determine the total dioxin-like toxic equivalence (TEQ) of mixtures of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons present in body fluids, such as serum and follicular fluid. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first investigation to determine TEQ values by the CALUX bioassay in follicular fluid. The TEQ levels in both matrices are well correlated (r = 0.83, p = 0.02). As the chemical and bioassay analysis executed in this study do not cover the same span of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, we did not expect totally correlated results. Moreover, the sample workup and quantification of the analytes differed completely. Nonetheless, the TEQ values in human extracts correlated well with the sum of four major PCB congeners chemically determined in both serum and follicular fluid. These results indicate that the CALUX bioassay may serve as a simple, relatively inexpensive prescreening tool for exposure assessment in epidemiologic surveys

Determining Toxic Potencies of Water-Soluble Contaminants in Wastewater Influents and Effluent Using Gene Expression Profiling in C. elegans as a Bioanalytical Tool

With chemical analysis, it is impossible to qualify and quantify the toxic potency of especially hydrophilic bioactive contaminants. In this study, we applied the nematode C. elegans as a model organism for detecting the toxic potency of whole influent wastewater samples. Gene expression in the nematode was used as bioanalytical tool to reveal the presence, type and potency of molecular pathways induced by 24-h exposure to wastewater from a hospital (H), nursing home (N), community (C), and influent (I) and treated effluent (E) from a local wastewater treatment plant. Exposure to influent water significantly altered expression of 464 genes, while only two genes were differentially expressed in nematodes treated with effluent. This indicates a significant decrease in bioactive pollutant-load after wastewater treatment. Surface water receiving the effluent did not induce any genes in exposed nematodes. A subset of 209 genes was differentially expressed in all untreated wastewaters, including cytochromes P450 and C-type lectins related to the nematode's xenobiotic metabolism and immune response, respectively. Different subsets of genes responded to particular waste streams making them candidates to fingerprint-specific wastewater sources. This study shows that gene expression profiling in C. elegans can be used for mechanism-based identification of hydrophilic bioactive compounds and fingerprinting of specific wastewaters. More comprehensive than with chemical analysis, it can demonstrate the effective overall removal of bioactive compounds through wastewater treatment. This bioanalytical tool can also be applied in the process of identification of the bioactive compounds via a process of toxicity identification evaluation. [GRAPHICS]

Radiometric Active Indoor Imaging in the W-Band

Millimeter wave passive imaging systems constitute a good compromise between resolution and penetration depth for a variety of imaging applications. In an outdoor scenario, the cold sky radiation, interacting with the reflectivity characteristics of the targets, constitutes the main source of contrast in the acquired images. In indoor applications such a source is not available, and higher thermal sensitivity is required. Alternatively, one has to provide an artificial illumination to the scene in order to increase its dynamic range. The implementation of an active source for a passive radiometer can, under certain conditions, increase the contrast of the images acquired and add extra information to the measurement. With such a setup, outdoor systems can be used for indoor observations (the absence of cold sky radiation is compensated with active illumination). The subject of our study is to better understand which kind of source and which setup can provide a diffuse illumination over the targets. This topic was investigated by conducting observations of various indoor scenes with two radiometers in the W-Band, using noise and continuous wave (CW) sources as illumination. In this paper we present the results achieved and our conclusions in order to provide an efficient illumination for indoor environment

WIRA-C: a compact 142-GHz-radiometer for continuous middle-atmospheric wind measurements

Ground-based microwave wind radiometry provides a method to measure horizontal wind speeds at altitudes between 35 and 75&thinsp;km as has been shown by various previous studies. No other method is capable of continuously delivering wind measurements in this altitude region. As opposed to lidar systems, microwave radiometers operate autonomously and independent of daylight and clouds.In this paper, we present the WIRA-C (Wind Radiometer for Campaigns) instrument that observes the 142.17504&thinsp;GHz rotational transition line of ozone with a high spectral resolution using a low noise single side band heterodyne receiver. Because the emitting molecules are drifting with the wind, the line is Doppler shifted. Together with the pressure broadening effect, this allows the retrieval of altitude resolved wind profiles.The novel WIRA-C instrument represents the newest development in microwave wind radiometry and implements many improvements over its predecessor, the WIRA instrument. The main improvements include the compact structure, lower noise and an advanced retrieval setup. This paper describes the instrument and the data processing with a focus on the retrieval that takes into account a three-dimensional atmosphere and has never been used in ground-based radiometry before. The retrieval yields profiles of horizontal wind speeds with a 12&thinsp;h time resolution and a vertical resolution of 10&thinsp;km for zonal and 10 to 15&thinsp;km for meridional wind speeds. We give an error estimate that accounts for the thermal noise on the measured spectra and additionally estimate systematic errors using Monte Carlo methods.WIRA-C has been continuously measuring horizontal wind speeds for 1 year at the Maïdo observatory on Réunion (21.4°&thinsp;S, 55.9°&thinsp;E). We present the time series of this campaign and compare our measurements to model data from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and coincident measurements of the co-located Rayleigh–Mie Doppler wind lidar. We find a good agreement between our measurements and the ECMWF operational analysis for the time series, where many features are present in both datasets. The wind profiles of the coincident WIRA-C and lidar observations are consistent and agree within their respective uncertainties for the lidar measurements with long integration times.</p

Transformation at ZABTech; an institute of technical and vocational education (iTVE)

Abstract   Subject Area of the Teaching Case.   Managing Organizational Change, A Multiple Perspective Approach 3rd Edition Student level (e.g., BA level) and proposed courses the teaching case can be used on.   This case could be helpful to discover, build, design and sustain the change and innovation in organizations for both undergraduates and graduates' students of BBA and MBA.   Brief overview of the teaching case.   This case-based on change managing organizational change course, i.e. appreciative inquiry 4D-cycle. This case could be helpful to discover, Dream (build), design and Destiney to sustain the change and innovation in organizations for both undergraduate and graduate students in their elective course. This case can be used as a motivational story in a short seminar to bring and sustain the change effectively and efficiently.   Expected learning outcomes.   To highlight the major issues which need to be discovered or appreciation for the best of what is current practice in technical and vocational institute in developing country; such as Pakistan. Based on the available knowledge students need to envision (or dream) about what the future could be. To explore the influence of leader in designing or co-constructing (through collective dialogue) and overcome the specified issues in ZABTech (iTVE). Students should identify the actions taken by leader to sustaining the organization's destiny or future

Estrogenic activity of estradiol and its metabolites in the ER-CALUX assay with human T47D breast cells

A number of metabolites of 17β-estradiol were tested for their estrogenic activity using the ER-CA-LUX assay based on the increased expression of luciferase in exposed T47D breast cancer cells. E2β and estrone showed similar potencies in the test, whereas E2α was 100 times less active. Incubation of cells with estrone (0.35 μM) resulted in the formation of E2β, whereas the reverse reaction was observed for E2β. The resulting equilibrium may explain the similar estrogenic potency of estrone in the test. The synthetic 17-hydroxy benzoate ester of E2β was 3 times less active than the parent compound. The 17-hydroxy palmitate and oleate esters of E2β, were respectively 25 and 200 times less active than the parent compound. The 2-hydroxy metabolites of E2β and estrone showed a 5,000 to 10,000 fold lower activity. The 4-hydroxy metabolites were more potent than the 2-hydroxy metabolites, showing only a 20-200 times lower activity. The 2- and 4-methoxyesters of estrone were 700 times less active. It is concluded that the estrogenic potency of metabolites formed in cattle after treatment with E2β, like estrone, E2α and especially the esters of E2β, may be significant with respect to the potential risk of the use of estradiol for growth promotion in domestic animals in certain countries