Danube Delta: Water Management on the Sulina Channel in the Frame of Environmental Sustainability

The Danube Delta is the newest land formed by both transporting sediments brought by Danube River, which flows into the Black Sea and by traversing an inland region where water spreads and deposits sediments. Diurnal tidal action is low (only 8–9 cm), therefore the sediments would wash out into the water body faster than the river deposits it. However, a seasonal fluctuation of water level of 20 cm was observed in the Black Sea, contributing to alluvial landscape evolution in the Danube Delta. The Danube Delta is a very low flat plain, lying 0.52 m above Mean Black Sea Level with a general gradient of 0.006 m/km and only 20% of the delta area is below zero level. The main control on deposition, which is a combination of river, wind-generated waves, and tidal processes, depends on the strength of each one. The other two factors that play a major role are landscape position and the grain size distribution of the source sediment entering the delta from the river. The Danube Delta is a natural protected area in the South-Eastern part of Romania, declared a Biosphere Reserve through the UNESCO “Man and Biosphere” Programme. Water is a determining factor for all the human settlements in the Biosphere Reserve, the whole Danube Delta being structured by the three branches of the Danube (Chilia, Sulina and Sfantu Gheorghe (Saint George)). Our case study is focused on the Sulina branch, also named Sulina Channel, which offers the shortest distance between the Black Sea (trough Sulina Port) and Tulcea (the most important city of the Danube Delta from economic, social and cultural points of view) for both fluvial and marine ships. The improvement of water resources management is the main topic of this chapter, in terms of water quality indicators, which will be presented in twenty-nine monitoring points, starting since a few years ago and updated to nowadays. During the study period, significant exceedances of the limit value were detected in case of nitrate-N (3.9–4.6 mg/L) at the confluence (CEATAL 2) with the Saint George branch and in the Sulina Channel after the Wastewaters Treatment Plant (WWTP) discharge area, as well as near two settlements, namely Gorgova and Maliuc. The higher concentrations of Nitrogen-based nutrients were caused by the leakage from the old sewage systems (where these exist) and the diffuse loads

Changes in ecosystem services from wetland loss and restoration: An ecosystem assessment of the Danube Delta (1960–2010)

Deltaic flood plains provide critically important ecosystem services, including food production, fresh water, flood control, nutrient cycling, spiritual values and opportunities for recreation. Despite growing recognition of their societal and ecological importance, deltaic flood plains are declining worldwide at alarming rates. Loss of wetland ecosystem services bears socio-environmental costs overlooked in land-use planning. Conversely, wetland restoration can deliver important long-term benefits. This paper examines effects of different land use policies on ecosystem services provided by the Danube Delta, one of Europe’s largest and most outstanding wetlands. First, we identify, characterize and measure the most important ecosystem services provided by the Danube Delta. Second, we assess trends between 1960 and 2010, contrasting periods of economic development (1960–1989) and ecological restoration (1990–2010). Our results indicate that i) the Danube Delta provides important services with benefits accrue from local communities to humanity at large, ii) that two thirds of the Delta’s ecosystem services have declined over the studied period and iii) that ongoing restoration efforts have so far been unable to reverse trends in ecosystem service decline. Benefits from ecological restoration policies are already becoming apparent, but at a scale not yet comparable to the costs from ecosystem decline incurred over previous decades. Ecosystem assessment Socio-environmental costs Wetlands Restoration Danube Delta RomaniaacceptedVersio

I-BAR protein antagonism of endocytosis mediates directional sensing during guided cell migration

The I-BAR domain–containing protein, missing-in-metastasis, directs cell motility by opposing the endocytic activity of the endophilin–CD2AP–cortactin complex

Specific techniques of extraction for organic pollutents analyzed with gaschromatoraphy

The proper choice of a measurement technique is only one step in the development of a sucessful application. All steps leading up to the measurement are equally important. The sampling and the samplepreparation process begins at the point of collection and extends to the measurement step. The sample preparation method used to convert the sample into a form suitable for the measurement step can have a greater effect on the overall accuracy and reability of the results and the measurement itself. Sample preparation is one of theimportant problem in analytical process

The assessment of the nutrient pollution in Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve’s surface water and proposal for risk evaluation of failing the environmental quality objective

The authors performed an assessment of the frequencies of quality classes and degrees of eutrophication of various waters from the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, in the 2001 – 2007. For theanalyses there were taken into account the following elements: concentration of phosporus, concentration ofammonium and characteristics of algal blooms

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 and Methamphetamine-Mediated Mitochondrial Damage and Neuronal Degeneration in Human Neurons.

Methamphetamine, a potent psychostimulant, is a highly addictive drug commonly used by persons living with HIV (PLWH), and its use can result in cognitive impairment and memory deficits long after its use is discontinued. Although the mechanism(s) involved with persistent neurological deficits is not fully known, mitochondrial dysfunction is a key component in methamphetamine neuropathology. Specific mitochondrial autophagy (mitophagy) and mitochondrial fusion and fission are protective quality control mechanisms that can be dysregulated in HIV infection, and the use of methamphetamine can further negatively affect these protective cellular mechanisms. Here, we observed that treatment of human primary neurons (HPNs) with methamphetamine and HIV gp120 and Tat increase dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1)-dependent mitochondrial fragmentation and neuronal degeneration. Methamphetamine and HIV proteins increased microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta-II (LC3B-II) lipidation and induced sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1, p62) translocation to damaged mitochondria. Additionally, the combination inhibited autophagic flux, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial damage, and reduced microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) dendrites in human neurons. N-Acetylcysteine (NAC), a strong antioxidant and ROS scavenger, abrogated DRP1-dependent mitochondrial fragmentation and neurite degeneration. Thus, we show that methamphetamine combined with HIV proteins inhibits mitophagy and induces neuronal damage, and NAC reverses these deleterious effects on mitochondrial function.IMPORTANCE Human and animal studies show that HIV infection, combined with the long-term use of psychostimulants, increases neuronal stress and the occurrence of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). On the cellular level, mitochondrial function is critical for neuronal health. In this study, we show that in human primary neurons, the combination of HIV proteins and methamphetamine increases oxidative stress, DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fragmentation, and neuronal injury manifested by a reduction in neuronal network and connectivity. The use of NAC, a potent antioxidant, reversed the neurotoxic effects of HIV and methamphetamine, suggesting a novel approach to ameliorate the effects of HIV- and methamphetamine-associated cognitive deficits

Bucureºti) ♦ 60♦ Nr

In this study, the influence of pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen on the heavy metals distribution in fish Despite the fact that important progress was achieved in developing countries for environmental management, heavy metals remains a huge bane on human health of flora and fauna (biota) According to Rose KA (1993) a biotic factors are defined as variables that exert a direct effect on each individual of a population. Temperature is an important factor which influence metal toxicity because the most aquatic organisms are poikiloterme Some studies show that increasing the water temperature leads to the increasing of most substances toxicity, substances that are toxic even in low concentrations and can cause the death of the fish Internal organization of the metal can play a role in their transfer from high trophic levels by affecting the assimilation efficiency of consumers. Although these ways of eliminating the metals are more abundant than those of absorption, the metal accumulation installs faster than the removal, because of the presence of some proteins that retain metals in aquatic organism tissues [8]. * email: [email protected] In Romania, the carp (Cyprinus carpio) is widespread in the Danube river and its swamps, hilly areas and lowland rivers of larger lakes and canals, dam lakes, ponds. Carp undertake local migrations throughout the year, from the Danube in plashy, when the river is rising and vice versa when the level of stagnant waters decreases and when their temperature increases. The carp prefers clean water, but he adapted also in suspensions and even eutrophic waters. During the winter, carp is in dormancy both in flowing waters and lakes and in the deepest channels. For breeding, carp seeks areas with low levels and clear water, rich in vegetable substrate. Reproduction is triggered at the water temperature about 14-16 0 C during the April to May period. Regarding of diet, carp is omnivorous. He prefers animal food consisting of molluscs. In the Danube, having in mind that in the last decades clam Dreissena has multiplied and intensely spread, carp is localized in areas populated mostly by these shellfish colonies. In the DDBR area, carp was and remains an important species for fishing industry, although in recent decades due to the processes of eutrophication and the intensive fisheries the herds have dwindled The silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys militrix) was brought from China in the form of alevini in 1960 and 1962, in order to grow in ponds for human consumption. Many natural lakes were populated. From here, the species was propagated in the Danube and many other large rivers. The silver carp is the most productive species for aquaculture. He prefers slow flowing freshwaters and stagnant, with glossy and stretched free of vegetation, rich in organic micro algae and suspensions, which feed by filtering. In warm seasons he spends most of the time filtering, when he is slowly moving mass of water in/or near the surface water in groups larger or smaller, usually formed by age. Silver carp retain by the gills filter, for feeding particles from 8 to 10 μm, mostly consisting of plankton algae in all categories, including blue, zooplankton and organic detritus. The silver carp is the most productive and economic species because of his better pace of growth than carp and is no need to be feed, consuming phytoplankton mas