EVALUATION OF THE GROUNDWATER QUALITY IN A CLOSED INDUSTRIAL LANDFILL

The study parameters: pH, conductivity, salinity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Turbidity, Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of groundwater in a closed industrial landfill, subject to the waste discharges of city of Bacau (East Romania), shows that the water quality of the different sampling points is variable. This difference is noted at the level of conductivity, TDS, turbidity, TSS and COD. These differences, however parameters are substantially higher compared the value of the legislation in groundwater Romania. Salinity remains relatively high at the point of sample P1 (0.7). The pH values are comprising in the range of reference values (6.5 to 7.4). The results also showed very strong correlations (r> 0.8) between Conductivity-Salinity, Conductivity -TDS, Salinity, TDS, Turbidity.-TSS, COD and TSS-Turbidity-COD. The strong correlation (0.5 0.8) were noted between Turbidity- Conductivity, Turbidity-Salinity, Turbidity, TDS, TSS conductivity, TSS-Salinity, TSS, TDS, COD, conductivity, salinity, COD, COD-TDS. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) also highlighted groundwater mineralization events of this landfill and possible pollution by organic matter

EVALUATION OF THE GROUNDWATER QUALITY IN A CLOSED INDUSTRIAL LANDFILL

The study parameters: pH, conductivity, salinity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Turbidity, Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of groundwater in a closed industrial landfill, subject to the waste discharges of city of Bacau (East Romania), shows that the water quality of the different sampling points is variable. This difference is noted at the level of conductivity, TDS, turbidity, TSS and COD. These differences, however parameters are substantially higher compared the value of the legislation in groundwater Romania. Salinity remains relatively high at the point of sample P1 (0.7). The pH values are comprising in the range of reference values (6.5 to 7.4). The results also showed very strong correlations (r> 0.8) between Conductivity-Salinity, Conductivity -TDS, Salinity, TDS, Turbidity.-TSS, COD and TSS-Turbidity-COD. The strong correlation (0.5 0.8) were noted between Turbidity- Conductivity, Turbidity-Salinity, Turbidity, TDS, TSS conductivity, TSS-Salinity, TSS, TDS, COD, conductivity, salinity, COD, COD-TDS. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) also highlighted groundwater mineralization events of this landfill and possible pollution by organic matter

Multiple Invasions into Freshwater by Pufferfishes (Teleostei: Tetraodontidae): A Mitogenomic Perspective

Pufferfishes of the Family Tetraodontidae are the most speciose group in the Order Tetraodontiformes and mainly inhabit coastal waters along continents. Although no members of other tetraodontiform families have fully discarded their marine lives, approximately 30 tetraodontid species spend their entire lives in freshwaters in disjunct tropical regions of South America, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia. To investigate the interrelationships of tetraodontid pufferfishes and thereby elucidate the evolutionary origins of their freshwater habitats, we performed phylogenetic analysis based on whole mitochondrial genome sequences from 50 tetraodontid species and closely related species (including 31 newly determined sequences). The resulting phylogenies reveal that the family is composed of four major lineages and that freshwater species from the different continents are independently nested in two of the four lineages. A monophyletic origin of the use of freshwater habitats was statistically rejected, and ancestral habitat reconstruction on the resulting tree demonstrates that tetraodontids independently entered freshwater habitats in different continents at least three times. Relaxed molecular-clock Bayesian divergence time estimation suggests that the timing of these invasions differs between continents, occurring at 0–10 million years ago (MA) in South America, 17–38 MA in Central Africa, and 48–78 MA in Southeast Asia. These timings are congruent with geological events that could facilitate adaptation to freshwater habitats in each continent

The Leiognathus splendens complex (Perciformes: Leiognathidae) with the description of a new species, Leiognathus kupanensis Kimura and Peristiwady

Taxonomic analysis of a group of morphologically similar ponyfishes (Perciformes: Leiognathidae) establishes the Leiognathus splendens complex comprising four valid species: L. jonesi James, 1971, widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, from Mauritius to Papua New Guinea, north to Hainan I. (China), and south to Brisbane, Australia; L. kupanensis sp. nov., currently known only from Kupang, Timor, Indonesia; L. rapsoni Munro, 1964, currently known only from India, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea, and L. splendens Cuvier, 1829, widely distributed in the eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans, from India to Papua New Guinea, and from southern Japan to northern Australia. The L. splendens complex can be defined by the following combination of characters: body depth 42–60% of standard length; mouth protruding downward; slender, minute teeth uniserially on jaws; lower margin of orbit above the horizontal through the gape when mouth closed; breast almost completely scaled; lateral line complete, and a dark blotch on top of spinous dorsal fin. Diagnostic characters of the members are as follows: L. jonesi —anterior dorsolateral body surface with a semicircular naked area on nape, and a paler dark blotch on spinous dorsal fin; L. kupanensis —anterior dorsolateral body surface widely naked; L. rapsoni —cheek scaled; L. splendens —anterior dorsolateral body surface completely scaled and a jet black blotch on spinous dorsal fin.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41595/1/10228_2005_Article_283.pd

Visualisation of thyroid hormone synthesis by ion imaging

The main function of the thyroid gland is to make hormones, T4 and T3, which are essential for the regulation of metabolic processes throughout the body. Caveolae harbour is the key enzymes involved in this iodide organification. The analyses of thyroids from normal mice and caveolin-1 Knockout mice (mice deficient in caveolin) have been performed using the SIMS imaging. In the thyroid of control mice, the epithelium is homogeneous and iodine (I-127) is observed in the follicle lumen. In Knockout mice, we observe an accumulation of intracellular vesicles and apoptotic nuclei resulting from oxidative stress due to H2O2 overproduction also inducing apical lesions of the thyrocytes, at the site of iodine organification and H2O2 generation. We also observe in the Knockout mice an accumulation of I-127 in the cellular cytoplasm and an absence of the iodine in some follicular lumina, indicating a problem at the level of iodine organification. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved

Hybridisation among butterflyfishes

[Extract] Hybridisation is defined as the interbreeding of individuals from two distinct populations (sensu stricto species), which are distinguishable on the basis of one or more heritable characters, following Harrison (1993). Hybrids have been recognised, based on intergrading of characteristic features from parent species, since at least the 1700's and have been documented among plants, corals, gastropods, crustaceans, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and fish (Barton and Hewitt, 1985; Schwenk, 1993; Bieme et al., 2003; van Oppen and Gates, 2006). At least 10% of animals and 25% of plant species are known to hybridise, although the true proportion is probably higher because hybridisation often goes unnoticed (Mallet, 2005, 2007). The fact that hybridisation is not a rare phenomenon but occurs in a considerable proportion of species, presents a significant challenge to the fundamental biological definition of a species (Barton and Hewitt, 1985; Mallet, 2005)