Fate of dispersants associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of American Chemical Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Environmental Science & Technology 45 (2011):1298–1306, doi:10.1021/es103838p.Response actions to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill included the injection of ~771,000 gallons (2,900,000 L) of chemical dispersant into the flow of oil near the seafloor. Prior to this incident, no deepwater applications of dispersant had been conducted and thus no data exists on the environmental fate of dispersants in deepwater. We used ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) to identify and quantify one key ingredient of the dispersant, the anionic surfactant DOSS (dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate), in the Gulf of Mexico deepwater during active flow and again after flow had ceased. Here we show that DOSS was sequestered in deepwater hydrocarbon plumes at 1000-1200m water depth and did not intermingle with surface dispersant applications. Further, its concentration distribution was consistent with conservative transport and dilution at depth and it persisted up to 300 km from the well, 64 days after deepwater dispersant applications ceased. We conclude that DOSS was selectively associated with the oil and gas phases in the deepwater plume, yet underwent negligible, or slow, rates of biodegradation in the affected waters. These results provide important constraints on accurate modeling of the deepwater plume and critical geochemical contexts for future toxicological studies.The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the National Science Foundation’s RAPID program (OCE-1045811 to EBK, OCE-1042097 to DLV, OCE-1042650 to J. D. Kessler for R/V Cape Hatteras cruise) and from the WHOI Director of Research. Instrumentation in the WHOI FT-MS facility was funded by the National Science Foundation MRI program (OCE-0619608) and by the Gordon and Betty T. Moore Foundation. Stipend support for A. Boysen was provided by the WHOI Summer Student Fellow Program

Long-term age-dependent behavioral changes following a single episode of fetal N-methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor blockade

BACKGROUND: Administration of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist ketamine during the perinatal period can produce a variety of behavioral and neuroanatomical changes. Our laboratory has reported reliable changes in learning and memory following a single dose of ketamine administered late in gestation. However, the nature of the drug-induced changes depends on the point during embryonic development when ketamine is administered. Embryonic day 18 (E18) rat fetuses pre-treated with ketamine (100 mg/kg, i.p. through the maternal circulation) and taught a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) learn and remember the CTA, whereas E19 fetuses do not. The current study sought to determine if long-term behavioral effects could be detected in animals that received ketamine or a saline control injection on either E18 or E19. Rat behavior was evaluated on two different measures: spontaneous locomotion and water maze learning. Measurements were collected during 2 periods: Juvenile test period [pre-pubertal locomotor test: Postnatal Day 11 (P11); pre-pubertal water maze test: P18] or Young-adult test period [post-pubertal locomotor test: P60; post-pubertal water maze test: P81]. RESULTS: Water maze performance of ketamine-treated rats was similar to that of controls when tested on P18. Likewise, the age of the animal at the time of ketamine/saline treatment did not influence learning of the maze. However, the young-adult water maze test (P81) revealed reliable benefits of prenatal ketamine exposure – especially during the initial re-training trial. On the first trial of the young adult test, rats treated with ketamine on E18 reached the hidden platform faster than any other group – including rats treated with ketamine on E19. Swim speeds of experimental and control rats were not significantly different. Spontaneous horizontal locomotion measured during juvenile testing indicated that ketamine-treated rats were less active than controls. However, later in development, rats treated with ketamine on E18 were more active than rats that received the drug on E19. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that both the day in fetal development when ketamine is administered and the timing of post-natal behavioral testing interact to influence behavioral outcomes. The data also indicate that the paradoxical age-dependent effects of early ketamine treatment on learning, previously described in fetuses and neonates, may also be detected later in young adult rats

Treatment of trichomoniasis in pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa does not appear to be associated with low birth weight or preterm birth

Objectives. To determine whether treatment of trichomoniasis increases the risk of prematurity. Design. Sub-analysis of a randomised trial. Setting. We analysed data from HPTN 024, a randomised trial of antenatal and intrapartum antibiotics to reduce chorioamnionitis-related perinatal HIV transmission. Subjects. Pregnant women from four sites in Africa. Outcome measures. Gestational age at the time of delivery or mean birth weight. Results. Of 2 428 women-infant pairs included, 428 (18%) had trichomoniasis at enrolment. There were no differences in infant age or birth weight between women with or without trichomoniasis. By randomisation group, there were no differences in gestational age at birth or birth weight. Of the 428 women diagnosed with trichomoniasis, 365 (83%) received antibiotics and 63 (15%) did not. In analysis of actual use of antibiotics, women with trichomoniasis who received no treatment were more likely to deliver a preterm infant when the symphysis-fundal height was used to estimate gestational age (36% v. 23%; p=0.03), but not when the Ballard score was used (16% v. 21%; p=0.41). There were no differences in mean birth weight between groups. Conclusions. In pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, most of whom were HIV-infected, neither trichomoniasis nor its treatment appears to influence the risk of preterm birth or a low-birth-weight infant

Marine climate and hydrography of the Coralline Crag (early Pliocene, UK): isotopic evidence from 16 benthic invertebrate taxa.

The taxonomic composition of the biota of the Coralline Crag Formation (early Pliocene, eastern England) provides conflicting evidence of seawater temperature during deposition, some taxa indicating cool temperate conditions by analogy with modern representatives or relatives, others warm temperate to subtropical/tropical conditions. Previous isotopic (δ18O) evidence of seasonal seafloor temperatures from serial ontogenetic sampling of bivalve mollusk shells indicated cool temperate winter (< 10 °C) and/or summer (< 20 °C) conditions but was limited to nine profiles from two species, one ranging into and one occurring exclusively in cool temperate settings at present. We supplement these results with six further profiles from the species concerned and supply seven more from three other taxa (two supposedly indicative of warm waters) to provide an expanded and more balanced database. We also supply isotopic temperature estimates from 81 spot and whole-shell samples from these five taxa and 11 others, encompassing ‘warm’, ‘cool’ and ‘eurythermal’ forms by analogy with modern representatives or relatives. Preservation tests show no shell alteration. Subject to reasonable assumptions about water δ18O, the shell δ18O data either strongly indicate or are at least consistent with cool temperate seafloor conditions. The subtropical/tropical conditions suggested by the presence of the bryozoan Metrarabdotos did not exist. Microgrowth-increment and δ13C evidence indicate summer water-column stratification during deposition of the Ramsholt Member, unlike in the adjacent southern North Sea at present (well mixed due to shallow depth and strong tidal currents). Summer maximum surface temperature was probably about 5 °C above seafloor temperature and thus often slightly higher than now (17–19 °C rather than 16–17 °C), but only sometimes in the warm temperate range. Winter minimum surface temperature was below 10 °C and possibly the same as at present (6–7 °C). An expanded surface temperature range compared to now may reflect withdrawal of oceanic heat supply in conjunction with higher global temperature.British Geological Survey (BUFI S157), NERC Isotope Geoscience Facilities (IP-1155- 1109

You Look Familiar: How Malaysian Chinese Recognize Faces

East Asian and white Western observers employ different eye movement strategies for a variety of visual processing tasks, including face processing. Recent eye tracking studies on face recognition found that East Asians tend to integrate information holistically by focusing on the nose while white Westerners perceive faces featurally by moving between the eyes and mouth. The current study examines the eye movement strategy that Malaysian Chinese participants employ when recognizing East Asian, white Western, and African faces. Rather than adopting the Eastern or Western fixation pattern, Malaysian Chinese participants use a mixed strategy by focusing on the eyes and nose more than the mouth. The combination of Eastern and Western strategies proved advantageous in participants' ability to recognize East Asian and white Western faces, suggesting that individuals learn to use fixation patterns that are optimized for recognizing the faces with which they are more familiar

Population Attributable Fractions for Late Postnatal Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV-1 in Sub-Saharan Africa

Assess population attributable fractions (PAFs) for late postnatal transmission (LPT) of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) in a cohort of HIV-1-exposed infants

Morbidity and Mortality Among a Cohort of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Infected and Uninfected Pregnant Women and Their Infants From Malawi, Zambia, and Tanzania

Morbidity and mortality patterns among pregnant women and their infants (before antiretroviral therapy was widely available) determines HIV-1 diagnostic, monitoring, and care interventions

Biodiversity of the Deep-Sea Continental Margin Bordering the Gulf of Maine (NW Atlantic): Relationships among Sub-Regions and to Shelf Systems

Background: In contrast to the well-studied continental shelf region of the Gulf of Maine, fundamental questions regarding the diversity, distribution, and abundance of species living in deep-sea habitats along the adjacent continental margin remain unanswered. Lack of such knowledge precludes a greater understanding of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem and limits development of alternatives for conservation and management. Methodology/Principal Findings: We use data from the published literature, unpublished studies, museum records and online sources, to: (1) assess the current state of knowledge of species diversity in the deep-sea habitats adjacent to the Gulf of Maine (39–43uN, 63–71uW, 150–3000 m depth); (2) compare patterns of taxonomic diversity and distribution of megafaunal and macrofaunal species among six distinct sub-regions and to the continental shelf; and (3) estimate the amount of unknown diversity in the region. Known diversity for the deep-sea region is 1,671 species; most are narrowly distributed and known to occur within only one sub-region. The number of species varies by sub-region and is directly related to sampling effort occurring within each. Fishes, corals, decapod crustaceans, molluscs, and echinoderms are relatively well known, while most other taxonomic groups are poorly known. Taxonomic diversity decreases with increasing distance from the continental shelf and with changes in benthic topography. Low similarity in faunal composition suggests the deep-sea region harbours faunal communities distinct from those of the continental shelf. Non-parametric estimators of species richness suggest a minimum of 50% of the deep-sea species inventory remains to be discovered. Conclusions/Significance: The current state of knowledge of biodiversity in this deep-sea region is rudimentary. Our ability to answer questions is hampered by a lack of sufficient data for many taxonomic groups, which is constrained by sampling biases, life-history characteristics of target species, and the lack of trained taxonomists

Unhealthy Gambling Amongst New Zealand Secondary School Students: An Exploration of Risk and Protective Factors

This study sought to determine the prevalence of gambling and unhealthy gambling behaviour and describe risk and protective factors associated with these behaviours amongst a nationally representative sample of New Zealand secondary school students (n = 8,500). Factor analysis and item response theory were used to develop a model to provide a measure of ‘unhealthy gambling’. Logistic regressions and multiple logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between unhealthy gambling behaviour and selected outcomes. Approximately one-quarter (24.2 %) of students had gambled in the last year, and 4.8 % had two or more indicators of unhealthy gambling. Multivariate analyses found that unhealthy gambling was associated with four main factors: more accepting attitudes towards gambling (pp = 0.0061); being worried about and/or trying to cut down on gambling (p p = 0.0009). Unhealthy gambling is a significant health issue for young people in New Zealand. Ethnic and social inequalities were apparent and these disparities need to be addressed