Monitoring metal stress in Puget Sound using metallothionein production in mussels in the nearshore

Toxic metals are common contaminants in sediments near industrial ports and in stormwater from urban areas throughout the Salish Sea. Although pollutant concentrations have been mapped in the sediments, waters and biota of Puget Sound for decades, equating these contaminant levels to biological impacts has been attempted infrequently. Moreover, many of these attempts at studying metal toxicity have not been applied to the ecologically and economically important nearshore area. As part of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) 2012-2013 MusselWatch Pilot Expansion Project, an effort to develop a nearshore biomonitoring protocol for Puget Sound, mussels of the same age and reared in the same location were transplanted to over 100 locations throughout Puget Sound in November 2012. Mussels were secured in quadruplicate batches in nylon netting suspended in 16x16x16 inch cages and anchored in the low intertidal by volunteers. The mussels were allowed to equilibrate with their surroundings for two months and retrieved in January 2013. All mussels were measured and weighed by WDFW staff and supervised volunteers, shucked and homogenized, and then frozen to await analysis. A portion of each homogenized sample was delivered to the University of Washington Tacoma for analysis of metallothioneins, cysteine-rich proteins used in the metal detoxification mechanism of mussels and other bivalves. Metallothioneins were derivatized with monobromobimane, separated by reverse phase high-pressure liquid chromatography, and analyzed with a fluorescence detector. Our results and correlations with parameters measured by other WDFW collaborators, including metal concentrations and growth characteristics, will be presented. With limited funding available for toxics remediation it is imperative to develop monitoring tools that measure biological impacts specific to metal stress, and to apply those tools to understanding ecological health in the nearshore

A coupled human–natural system analysis of freshwater security under climate and population change

Limited water availability, population growth, and climate change have resulted in freshwater crises in many countries. Jordan's situation is emblematic, compounded by conflict-induced population shocks. Integrating knowledge across hydrology, climatology, agriculture, political science, geography, and economics, we present the Jordan Water Model, a nationwide coupled human-natural-engineered systems model that is used to evaluate Jordan's freshwater security under climate and socioeconomic changes. The complex systems model simulates the trajectory of Jordan's water system, representing dynamic interactions between a hierarchy of actors and the natural and engineered water environment. A multiagent modeling approach enables the quantification of impacts at the level of thousands of representative agents across sectors, allowing for the evaluation of both systemwide and distributional outcomes translated into a suite of water-security metrics (vulnerability, equity, shortage duration, and economic well-being). Model results indicate severe, potentially destabilizing, declines in freshwater security. Per capita water availability decreases by approximately 50% by the end of the century. Without intervening measures, >90% of the low-income household population experiences critical insecurity by the end of the century, receiving <40 L per capita per day. Widening disparity in freshwater use, lengthening shortage durations, and declining economic welfare are prevalent across narratives. To gain a foothold on its freshwater future, Jordan must enact a sweeping portfolio of ambitious interventions that include large-scale desalinization and comprehensive water sector reform, with model results revealing exponential improvements in water security through the coordination of supply- and demand-side measures

EFOMP's protocol quality controls in PET/CT and PET/MR

This article presents the protocol on Quality Controls in PET/CT and PET/MRI published online in May 2022 by the European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (EFOMP), which was developed by the Working group for PET/CT and PET/MRI Quality Control (QC) protocol. The main objective of this protocol was to comprehensively provide simple and practical procedures that may be integrated into clinical practice to identify changes in the PET/CT/MRI system's performance and avoid short- and long-term quality deterioration. The protocol describes the quality control procedures on radionuclide calibrators, weighing scales, PET, CT and MRI systems using selected and measurable parameters that are directly linked to clinical images quality. It helps to detect problems before they can impact clinical studies in terms of safety, image quality, quantification accuracy and patient radiation dose. CT and MRI QCs are described only in the context of their use for PET (attenuation correction and anatomical localization) imaging. Detailed step-by-step instructions have been provided, limiting any misinterpretations or interpersonal variations as much as possible. This paper presents the main characteristics of the protocol illustrated together with a brief summary of the content of each chapter. A regular QC based on the proposed protocol would guarantee that PET/CT and PET/MRI systems operate under optimal conditions, resulting in the best performance for routine clinical tasks

Status of coral reef resources in Micronesia and American Samoa: 2008

Coral reefs in Micronesia and American Samoa appear to be amongst the most resilient in the world, despite numerous on-going threats;\ud \ud There has been considerable recovery of reefs in western Micronesia (especially Palau) that were devastated during the massive coral bleaching in 1998;\ud \ud The more remote islands support thriving communities of large reef fishes due to limited fishing pressures and habitat degradation;\ud \ud Fish populations around major population centres show clear signs of over-fishing with few large fish observed because of fishing pressure, particularly spear-fishers using scuba;\ud \ud Management and monitoring efforts are on-going throughout the region and numerous effective initiatives are promoting recovery of damaged coral reefs as well as the conservation of healthy ones;\ud \ud Lack of enforcement continues to be one of the major hindrances to effective resource management outcomes and more support is necessary