Estrogenic Compounds Downstream from Three Small Cities in Eastern Nebraska: Occurrence and Biological Effect

Recent studies have detected estrogenic compounds in surface waters in North America and Europe. Furthermore, the presence of estrogenic compounds in surface waters has been attributed, in some cases, to the discharge of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. The primary objective of the current study was to determine if WWTP effluent contributes estrogens to the surface waters of Nebraska. A second objective of this study was to determine if estrogens were found in concentrations sufficient enough to manifest feminizing effects on fish. These objectives were satisfied by deploying polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) and caged fathead minnows at eight field sites. Deployment sites included: three reference sites (Pawnee Creek, the Little Blue River, and the Middle Loup River), two sites upstream of the WWTPs at Grand Island and Columbus, and three sites downstream of the WWTPs at Grand Island, Columbus, and Hastings. Following the seven day deployments, POCIS extracts were analyzed for estrone, 17β-estradiol, estriol and 17α-ethinylestradiol using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). 17β-estradiol was detected in POCIS from six of the eight field sites with the greatest quantities recovered in POCIS deployed downstream from the Grand Island and Hastings WWTPs. Estrone was detected only in the POCIS deployed downstream from the Grand Island and Hastings WWTPs. Estrogenic effects were detected in caged minnows analyzed for the hepatic mRNA expression of two estrogen- responsive genes, vitellogenin (vg1) and estrogen receptor α (ERα). Fish deployed at the site where the greatest quantities of estrogens were recovered (Hastings) had significantly higher expression of both vg1 and ERα than fish deployed at any of the other sites. These results confirm that WWTP effluent contributes biologically significant levels of estrogens to Nebraska surface waters

Neutron/gamma pulse shape discrimination in EJ-299-34 at high flux

The effect of scintillator geometry on the quality of neutron/γ pulse shape discrimination (PSD) in EJ-299 plastic scintillator, using a digital charge integration PSD algorithm has been studied. It is shown that the PSD Figure of Merit (FOM) reduces as the geometry of the scintillator moves from a cube-like shape towards a flat panel shape. The PSD performance in this material at high flux irradiation is investigated with performance deteriorating at rates of ∼107 photons/s. The use of EJ-299 for security applications, with a focus on active interrogation environments is explored in conjunction with a system capable of neutron/γ separation and localisation

RadICAL stack: A localisation method for dynamic gamma/neutron fields

A variation of the RadICAL (Radiation Imaging Cylinder Activity Locator) system capable of operating in a dynamic environment, such as that created by active interrogation techniques, has been developed. RadICAL is a novel method for locating a radiological source using a rotating detector element. The detector geometry is that of a thin sheet and is rotated to present a constantly changing surface area to the source; it therefore generates a characteristic temporal response which can be used to determine the source direction. The time required to determine the direction of a source make it unsuitable for dynamic environments and so an alternative method is presented that uses a stack of identical scintillator slabs positioned at fixed horizontal angles around a central axis. By comparing count rates from each slab to a standard response curve, using a specially developed algorithm, the direction of a source can be determined without the need to rotate the detector. EJ-299-33 plastic scintillator was used to allow detection of separate neutron and gamma events in a mixed field through pulse shape discrimination. A four element detector was built and shown to achieve a positional accuracy of approximately 4.4 degrees when exposed to a 1.44MBq 137 Cs source at distances of up to 2m. The same detector was used to discriminate separate neutron and gamma events in a mixed field, which allows for the possibility of locating a neutron source within a gamma rich environment

A practical guide for assessing respiratory burst and phagocytic cell activity in the fathead minnow, an emerging model for immunotoxicity

Article is a study with the goal of optimizing and validating the use of a colorimetric plate-based respiratory burst and fluorometric plate-based phagocytic cell activity assays for use with kidney cells from the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), an emerging immunotoxicity model

Three-dimensional electron microscopy reveals the evolution of glomerular barrier injury

Open access articleGlomeruli are highly sophisticated filters and glomerular disease is the leading cause of kidney failure. Morphological change in glomerular podocytes and the underlying basement membrane are frequently observed in disease, irrespective of the underlying molecular etiology. Standard electron microscopy techniques have enabled the identification and classification of glomerular diseases based on two-dimensional information, however complex three-dimensional ultrastructural relationships between cells and their extracellular matrix cannot be easily resolved with this approach. We employed serial block face-scanning electron microscopy to investigate Alport syndrome, the commonest monogenic glomerular disease, and compared findings to other genetic mouse models of glomerular disease (Myo1e−/−, Ptpro−/−). These analyses revealed the evolution of basement membrane and cellular defects through the progression of glomerular injury. Specifically we identified sub-podocyte expansions of the basement membrane with both cellular and matrix gene defects and found a corresponding reduction in podocyte foot process number. Furthermore, we discovered novel podocyte protrusions invading into the glomerular basement membrane in disease and these occurred frequently in expanded regions of basement membrane. These findings provide new insights into mechanisms of glomerular barrier dysfunction and suggest that common cell-matrix-adhesion pathways are involved in the progression of disease regardless of the primary insult

Electric-octupole and pure-electric-quadrupole effects in soft-x-ray photoemission

Second-order [O(k^2), k=omega/c] nondipole effects in soft-x-ray photoemission are demonstrated via an experimental and theoretical study of angular distributions of neon valence photoelectrons in the 100--1200 eV photon-energy range. A newly derived theoretical expression for nondipolar angular distributions characterizes the second-order effects using four new parameters with primary contributions from pure-quadrupole and octupole-dipole interference terms. Independent-particle calculations of these parameters account for a significant portion of the existing discrepancy between experiment and theory for Ne 2p first-order nondipole parameters.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

First generation immigrant judgements of offence seriousness: evidence from the crime survey for England and Wales

This exploratory paper delves into differences and similarities in the rated seriousness of offences suffered by victims of different national origin. The issue is important because a mismatch between police and victim assessments of seriousness is likely to fuel discord. It was found that first generation immigrants did not differ in their rating of the seriousness of offences against the person from either the indigenous population or according to region of birth. However those of Asian origin rated vehicle and property crime they had suffered as more serious than did other groups about crimes they suffered. The anticipated higher seriousness rating of offences reported to the police r was observed for all groups. People of Asian origin reported to the police a smaller proportion of offences they rated trivial than did people in other groups. Analysis of seriousness judgements in victimization surveys represents a much-underused resource for understanding the nexus between public perceptions and criminal justice responses

An Integrated and Novel Approach to Estimating the Conveyance Capacity of the River Blackwater

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv