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Transmission is a key process affecting the stability and dynamics of host–parasite systems and thus driving infections. Efficient management of potentially harmful parasites, such as monogeneans, is essential in aquaculture and requires an understanding of their transmission in changing environments. This study analysed the effect of larval age and water temperature on the swimming behaviour and transmission of Sparicotyle chrysophrii , a pathogenic monogenean commonly found in gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata , from the western Mediterranean Sea. Three experiments were designed to assess the effects of both factors on (1) irregular (i.e. forward, irregular, conspicuous and fast movements) and vertical swimming periods, (2) swimming speed in a thin water layer and (3) upward and downward swimming behaviour. Increasing age reduced the vertical swimming speed and the number of larvae swimming vertically, thus increasing the number of larvae at the bottom of the test tube, when oncomiracidia were added at the top. Increasing water temperature also minimized the number of vertical movements per larva as well as the vertical swimming speed, while shortening the duration of irregular and vertical swimming patterns. The loss of vertical swimming performance of S. chrysophrii with increasing age suggests that active dispersal processes can be compromised after 24 h, especially at higher water temperatures where the infection window is even shorter. Therefore, passive dispersion of the infective stages is likely to contribute substantially to parasite transmission, especially when hosts are not nearby. • Temperature and age affect swimming behaviour of Sparicotyle chrysophrii. • Temperature increase reduces swimming periods, speed and vertically swimming larvae. • Increasing age compromises the vertical swimming performance of oncomiracidia. • Active transmission is constrained after 24 h posthatching and at high temperatures. • The 18–22 °C range improves swimming performance, which is crucial in host finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Earth's history is documented in human civilizations, soil layers, river movement, and quiet sediments throughout millennia. This investigation explores the significant legacy of environmental toxins in these key planet components. Understanding how ancient activity shaped the terrain is crucial as mankind faces environmental issues. This interdisciplinary study uses environmental science, archaeology, and geology to uncover Earth's mysteries. It illuminates the dynamic processes that have built our globe by studying pollutants and soil, water, and sediments. This research follows human actions, both intentional and unintentional, from ancient civilizations through contemporary industrialization and their far-reaching effects. Environmental destiny examines how contaminants affect ecosystems and human health. This study of past contamination helps solve modern problems including pollution cleanup, sustainable land management, and water conservation. This review studies reminds us that our previous activities still affect the ecosystem in a society facing rapid urbanisation and industrialization. It emphasises the importance of environmental stewardship and provides a framework for making educated choices to reduce toxins in soil, water, and sediments. Discovery of Earth's secrets is not only a historical curiosity; it's a necessary step towards a sustainable and peaceful cohabitation with our home planet. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the effects of environmental conditions in cooperatively breeding species helps reveal the nature of evolutionary forces leading to this type of social system. In particular, environmental variability may affect demographic processes such as mortality and dispersal which can ultimately define the fine-scale genetic structure of cooperatively breeding populations, including direct and indirect fitness opportunities for individuals. We investigated the population genetic structure and dispersal patterns of obligately cooperative white-winged choughs, Corcorax melanorhamphos , exploring within-group relatedness and genetic differentiation among groups sampled over several years of above average rainfall. We compared our results with data from a previous study in the surrounding area, conducted during a drought period. White-winged chough groups showed similar significant genetic differentiation among groups during both drought and nondrought periods. However, we found female-biased dispersal during abundant rainfall years, which contrasts with the previous study conducted during a drought. We also examined differences in genetic structure in the present study, between groups breeding in suburbs versus native woodlands, finding higher within-group relatedness in woodland birds. Dispersal was female biased in both suburban and woodland habitat but subadult females in suburban habitat were more likely to disperse than adult females. We suggest that higher mortality in chough populations (both during a drought and in suburban habitats) led to more breeding opportunities, resulting in higher dispersal, and reflecting lower group stability. Our study suggests ecological conditions are important drivers of social structure in a cooperatively breeding bird, which are likely to be impacted by environmental change, including climate and urbanization. • Chough groups show significant genetic variation in drought and nondrought years. • In nondrought years, in both suburbs and woodland, dispersal is female biased. • Among suburban females, subadults are more likely to disperse than adults. • In drought years dispersal is not sex biased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Impact testing was done under simulated environmental and operational conditions. • Different conditions generated significant variation in impact generated lamb waves. • Using known Normalised Threshold method gives inconsistent Time of Arrival due to variation. • Proposed Normalised Smoothed Envelope method gave more consistent Time of Arrival. • Proposed method resulted in better localisation accuracy under real life variation. A novel feature extraction method is developed for impact localisation based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) in sensorized composite structures subjected to environmental and operational conditions. Impact induced lamb waves are investigated for the first time for different impact scenarios (angle, mass and energy) on flat and curved plates under environmental (temperature range) and operational (vibration) conditions. The Time of Arrival (TOA) is significantly influenced by these conditions hence complicating the impact localisation. To overcome this complication, a novel and robust TOA extraction method is proposed. It is based on Normalised Smoothed Envelope Threshold (NSET) coupled with a high pass filter to remove vibration noise prior to TOA extraction. Localisation ANNs were trained with data from a single baseline impact condition and were tested under impacts with varying conditions. It was shown that by using the proposed method for TOA extraction, the trained ANN is able to better predict the location of impacts compared to an ANN trained with data from common TOA extraction methods (detection area 0.99–56.08% of sensing region versus 0.28–1.55% for NSET). The developed method gives consistent accuracy and significantly reduces the required training data, making ANN based impact localisation more feasible for real life application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A Novel multifidelity method is proposed for impact location and severity estimation. • The approach combines low fidelity simulation data with limited experimental data. • The cokriging approach highlights the possibility to fuse various sources of data. Data driven methods for impact location and severity estimation have great potential for real life application due to their ability to construct meta models that are not affected by changes in structural complexity (e.g. stiffeners and cut-outs). However, to do so, an initial reference database containing known input and output pairs is required to form an accurate meta model. The requirement to collect this data (mainly in the form of experimental tests) is considered by many to be not feasible and hinders the application of data driven methods in large scale, real life structures. Here a new multifidelity approach is presented to reduce the "cost" of constructing the reference database necessary for data driven impact location and severity estimation methods. The proposed cokriging approach is used to combined "cheap" low fidelity FE (Finite Element) simulation data with a limited amount of accurate but "expensive" experimental data to construct a reference database that requires less experimental data sampling (thus lower "cost") but with similar levels of accuracy compared to reference databases that were constructed from pure experimental data. Using previously developed impact location (kriging based localisation) and maximum force estimation (maximum impact force gradient method) methods, the effect of different reference databases with varying amounts of experimental data samples are tested. The results obtained on a CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic) coupon and stiffened panel showed that using pure FE data for the reference database yielded poor results. By adding a limited number of experimental points, it was shown that the accuracy increases significantly approaching levels achieved using pure experimental data with significantly less samples. The wider context of data fusion is also explored, highlighting the possibility to combine various sources of data (including inspection history as well as data from sister assets) which can possibly be used to create a data driven framework that requires less initial data whilst also being robust and self-improving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Duddingtonia flagrans is a natural strain of Nematophagous-Fungi isolated around the world. It has demonstrated efficacy and ease of use in laboratory as well as in field conditions. The fungus contributes to the prophylactic control of the worms by reducing the number of L 3 on pasture. The aims of this study were to test and analyze the predatory effect of D. flagrans under sunny and shaded conditions on the L 3 in the faeces, and to verify the reduction of translation to pasture during summer and winter seasons. Faecal Mass Units (FMUs) were assigned to two treated groups (groups treated with D. flagrans chlamydospores, TG) and two untreated groups (without D. flagrans chlamydospores, UG), in summer and winter, under sunny and shaded conditions. FMUs and herbage samples were taken for parasitological workup. Predatory activity of D. flagrans was evident under both conditions for the summer experiment but was not manifest for the winter experiment. In summer, an interaction between sunny and shaded conditions and predatory activity of D. flagrans was found. Environmental conditions on predatory activity should be considered when designing strategies for the implementation of D. flagrans in grazing systems to smooth the infectivity curve of L 3. Graphical abstract Image Highlights • The aim was to test Duddingtonia flagrans under different environmental conditions. • Predatory activity of Duddingtonia flagrans was evident in summer. • Predatory activity of Duddingtonia flagrans was not manifest in winter. • Predatory activity of D. flagrans was affected by the environment conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damage detection techniques have been widely explored over the last years driven by the advances of computational intelligence technologies. To understand the structure's dynamic behavior, some studies use modal-based methods, which are traditionally applied to reflect changes caused by damage. More recently, strategies using raw vibration measurements have gained notoriety and are proving to be a promising approach. In this context, the aim of this paper is to present a novel automated methodology for damage localization based on the extraction of features from dynamic data using domain knowledge and on an unsupervised filtering process. Feature extraction is performed simultaneously in time, frequency, and quefrency domains to diversify information retrieval. In machine learning (ML), this filtering procedure is called feature selection (FS) and is applied herein with the goal to decrease redundancy and increase the relevance of the feature set by eliminating a portion of it in view of a predefined criterion. The main concept is that the proposed method can customize its features concerning the structure, providing generality about any type of geometry, material, and excitation it encounters. The damage-sensitive index is computed through an outlier analysis, where percentile intervals are created based on the filtered features from the structure's healthy state. Thus, any anomalies surrounding this initial state should be automatically located. The method was successfully tested in five applications, two of them being full-scale bridges, which shows a promising performance for real-world monitoring situations. Some of its significant achievements are single and multiple damage location, structural reinforcement detection, quantification of severity in progressive damage scenarios, and robustness to noise due to varying traffic and/or environmental conditions. Such a reliability is tied to an efficient default parameters setup, enabling an automated damage localization algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current protected area management is becoming more challenging with advancing climate change and current park management techniques may not be adequate to adapt for effective management into the future. The framework presented here provides an adaptive management decision making process to assist protected area managers with adapting on-park management to climate change. The framework sets out a 4 step process. One, a good understanding of the park's context within climate change. Secondly, a thorough understanding of the park management systems including governance, planning and management systems. Thirdly, a series of management options set out as an accept/prevent change style structure, including a systematic assessment of those options. The adaptive approaches are defined as acceptance of anthropogenic climate change impact and attempt to adapt to a new climatic environment or prevention of change and attempt to maintain current systems under new climatic variations. Last, implementation and monitoring of long term trends in response to ecological responses to management interventions and assessing management effectiveness. The framework addresses many issues currently with park management in dealing with climate change including the considerable amount of research focussing on ‘off-reserve’ strategies, and threats and stress focused in situ park management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Salada coastal lagoon is located in Veracruz (Mexico) near the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant (LVNPP). Currently, the lagoon receives the cooling waters used in the LVNPP. To evaluate the fluxes and mobilization of trace elements due to human activities in the area, two sediment cores from the coastal flood plains of Salada Lagoon were analysed. Cores were collected using PVC tubes. Sediments cores were analysed every centimetre for dating ( 210 Pb by alpha detector) and trace metal analysis using ICP-Mass Spectrometry. The dating of both sediment cores covers the period from 1900 to 2013, which includes the construction of the LVNPP (1970's). The Normalized Enrichment Factor shows enrichment of Ag, As and Cr in both sediment cores. These enrichments correspond to the extent of mining activity (which reached a maximum in the 1900's) and to the geological setting of the coastal zone. The profiles of the element fluxes in both sediment cores reflected the construction and operation of the LVNPP; however, the elements content did not show evidence of pollution coming from the LVNPP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Marano-Grado Lagoon (MGL) is extensively contaminated by mercury (Hg) from local sources and long-term (500 years) tidally delivered inputs from the Idrija Hg mine (Slovenia) through Isonzo River suspended loads. A multibox WASP-7 (Water Analysis Simulation Program) model was used to simulate the long-term dynamics of the mercury cycle in the MGL. Scenario simulations were used to compute changes in the system over 100 years. Present and future Hg concentrations in water, sediment, and Hg budgets were compared, including evasion and MeHg inputs to the Mediterranean Sea, based on climate changes and mercury capping in tributary rivers. Using the Ref baseline scenario, the model computes a general decrease in Hg T of 13% in the water column and of 80% in sediment and a strong MeHg increase in sediment (+73%). The net sea export of Hg T decreases by 57% to up to 48 kg/y while MeHg increases by 10% to up to 0.63 kg/y. The lagoon sediment recovery time of Hg T up to a target level of 0.3 mg/kg is computed over 570 years for surface sediments (1750 for subsurface sediments). When removing Hg from boundaries, the same target value for surface sediments is reached within 110 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meiofauna are ubiquitous but poorly-studied components of soft-bottom marine habitats around the world, including mangroves. The dynamic environmental conditions and heterogeneous sediments of mangroves present challenges to understanding the structure of mangrove meiofaunal assemblages at various spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we investigated the meiofaunal assemblage structure of sediments colonised by three mangrove species, namely, Avicennia marina, Rhizophora stylosa and Aegiceras corniculatum , at three locations in subtropical eastern Australia. Spatial and temporal variations were tested by sampling at the three mangrove locations (i.e. Tallebudgera, Currumbin and Terranora) in autumn, with samplings repeated at Tallebudgera at two other times broadly representing during dry/cool winter and wet/hot summer seasons. We examined the variability of the sediment environments within each of the different mangrove species, and investigated how meiofaunal assemblages would respond to the particular changes in their habitats to result in differences in assemblage structure between and within sites. Total meiofaunal density was highest in Tallebudgera and Currumbin and lowest in Terranora (mean density of 424, 393 and 239 ind.10 cm −2 , respectively). In Tallebudgera, the density was higher in winter and summer (mean density of 546 and 530 ind.10 cm −2 , respectively). The meiofaunal assemblage in this study shows a trend and association with the environmental variables. High availability of food proxies such phaeopigments, Chl a or TOC, with moderate tannin content and appropriate habitat structure (sediment particle size, belowground root biomass and/or moisture content provide the best condition for the meiofauna to achieve the highest density. However, given the complex dynamic habitats and the spatial heterogeneity of the mangrove environments across different locations and seasons, no clear generalization could be made regarding the key environmental variables that predominantly shape the meiofaunal assemblages’ structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of Scotland's saline lagoons are located on the low-lying coastlines of the Western Isles and the northern archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland, where recorded annual relative sea level rise rates are among the highest in Scotland. The sediment-impounded lagoons of Orkney and Shetland will either lose their impoundment and become incorporated in marine coastal waters, or become increasingly saline, as relative sea levels rise. The rock-basin lagoons of the Western Isles will retain their restricted exchange with the sea but will also become more saline with rising sea level. Specialist lagoonal organisms tend to have wide salinity tolerances but may succumb to competition from marine counterparts. In all areas, there are sufficient fresh-water inland water bodies with potential to be captured as lagoons to compensate for loss of extent and number, but the specialist lagoon biota tend to have limited dispersal powers. It is thus possible that they will be unable to transfer to their analogue sites before existing lagoons become fully marine, giving conservation managers the problem of deciding on management options: leave natural processes to operate without interference, manage the saline inflow to maintain the current salinity regime, or translocate lagoon organisms perceived as threatened by rising salinities. Timing of conversion and capture is unpredictable due to local topography and complications caused by variable stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mangrove rehabilitation programs received much attention in the past decades as a response to widespread global degradation. While the documented successes and failures of mangrove rehabilitation accomplishments were varied, the objective and scheme is common, mainly focused on planting and creating monospecific plantations. This study assessed the structural development and complexity of the large-scale plantations in the central part of Philippines and compared it with the adjacent natural stand as reference. Our study showed that planted forest in both sites had lower structural complexity than the reference natural forest. Between sites, secondary succession in the monospecific plantation in Banacon Island was inhibited as reflected by low regeneration potential, whereas recruitment and colonization of non-planted species was promoted in Olango Island. Even 60 years after the forest was created in Banacon Island, it still lacked the understory of young cohorts which together comprise the regeneration potential that can supposedly add to the structural complexity. Although a potential seed source from adjacent natural forest is available, recruitment and colonization of non-planted species did not progress. MDS analysis of tree density data showed clustering of planted forest from the natural stand. The average SIMPER dissimilarity was 79.9% and the species with highest contributions were R. stylosa (74.6%), S. alba (11.1%) and A. marina (10.6%). Within the natural forest, the same species had the highest dissimilarity contribution, whereas in the planted forest, only R. stylosa contributed the highest dissimilarity. The same trend was also revealed in the MDS ordination analysis of diameter at breast height (DBH). A one-way ANOSIM permutation test of the density and DBH showed a significant difference between the planted and natural forests. Thus, as part of silviculture management intervention, the current practices of mangrove reforestation needs to be reviewed and evaluated to determine the trajectories of its conservation objectives to achieve the best outcome and functionality of the restored habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper proposes a novel cluster-based method, named as agglomerative concentric hypersphere (ACH), to detect structural damage in engineering structures. Continuous structural monitoring systems often require unsupervised approaches to automatically infer the health condition of a structure. However, when a structure is under linear and nonlinear effects caused by environmental and operational variability, data normalization procedures are also required to overcome these effects. The proposed approach aims, through a straightforward clustering procedure, to discover automatically the optimal number of clusters, representing the main state conditions of a structural system. Three initialization procedures are introduced to evaluate the impact of deterministic and stochastic initializations on the performance of this approach. The ACH is compared to state-of-the-art approaches, based on Gaussian mixture models and Mahalanobis squared distance, on standard data sets from a post-tensioned bridge located in Switzerland: the Z-24 Bridge. The proposed approach demonstrates more efficiency in modeling the normal condition of the structure and its corresponding main clusters. Furthermore, it reveals a better classification performance than the alternative ones in terms of false-positive and false-negative indications of damage, demonstrating a promising applicability in real-world structural health monitoring scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River bends are distinguished by high biodiversity and elevated rates of biogeochemical activities due to complex hydromorphological processes that form diverse geomorphic units, making it challenging to elucidate the impact of trophic interactions on community assembly and biogeochemical processes. Here, we clarify the effect of trophic interactions in determining the assembly of multi-trophic microbial communities and the impact on nitrogen transformation potential by distinguishing the direct and cascading effects of environmental conditions based on 32 samples collected from a typical urban river bends. It was found that both bacterial and micro-eukaryotic communities were determined by homogeneous selection (indicated by β-nearest taxon index, accounted for 85% and 48.3%, respectively), whereas the dominant environmental factors were different, being sediment particle size (P < 0.05) and nitrogen (P < 0.05), respectively. Both the microbial co-occurrence network and the significant association (P < 0.05) between β-nearest taxon index and trophic transfer efficiency changes showed that the trophic interactions strongly shaped microbial communities in the urban river bends. The path modeling suggested that environmental conditions resulted in an increase in abundance of multi-trophic microbial communities via direct effects (mean standardized effects = 0.21), but reductions in abundance of bacteria via cascading effects, i.e., trophic interaction (mean standardized effects = −0.1). When considering direct and cascading effects together, environmental conditions in urban river bends were found to enhance the abundance of microbial communities, with decreasing magnitude at the higher trophic level. Analogously, the path modeling also indicated the nitrogen transformation potential enhanced by environmental conditions via direct effects, but partly counteracted by trophic interactions via cascading effects. The obtained results could provide a theoretical basis for the regulation and restoration of urban rivers. [Display omitted] • Benthic microbiota distribution and assembly in urban river bends was analyzed. • Co-occurrence network reveals the trophic interactions among multi-species. • Trophic interaction, nitrogen, and particle size govern the deterministic processes. • Nitrogen transformation potential partly counterbalanced by trophic interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expansion of dicamba-resistant crops increased the frequency of off-target movement issues, especially in the midsouthern United States. Six field trials were conducted over two growing seasons with the purpose to determine the contribution of volatilization and physical suspension of particles to the off-target movement of dicamba when applied with glyphosate and imazethapyr - a non-volatile herbicide used as a tracer for physical off-target movement. Applications included dicamba at 560 g ha−1, glyphosate at 1260 g ha−1, and imazethapyr at 105 g ha−1. Applicators include glyphosate with dicamba to increase the spectrum of weed control from these applications; however, this addition increases potential for dicamba volatilization. Following application of the mixture, air samplers were placed in the field to collect dicamba and imazethapyr. Results showed there was at least 50 times more dicamba than imazethapyr detected even though the dicamba:imazethapyr ratio applied was 5.3:1. Dicamba was detected in the treated area and the off-site locations and all intervals of air sampling, ranging from 126 to 5990 ng. No more than 37.5 ng of imazethapyr was detected during the first 24-h after application (HAA) inside the treated area. Imazethapyr was only detected in 9 of the 20 sampling combinations during these experiments, and most of these detections (6) occurred during the first 24 HAA and inside the treated area. While some movement from the suspension of particles occurred based on the detection of imazethapyr in air samples, results show that most dicamba detection was due to the volatilization of the herbicide. [Display omitted] • Imazethapyr was used as a tracer to determine the sources of off-target movement of dicamba. • Low imazethapyr detections during trials indicated the presence of suspended spray particles. • Suspension of spray particles in air had a minor impact on the overall dicamba detection. • The detection of dicamba was at least 50 times greater than imazethapyr in air samples. • Volatility was the main source for the detection of dicamba in air samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents four kernel-based algorithms for damage detection under varying operational and environmental conditions, namely based on one-class support vector machine, support vector data description, kernel principal component analysis and greedy kernel principal component analysis. Acceleration time-series from an array of accelerometers were obtained from a laboratory structure and used for performance comparison. The main contribution of this study is the applicability of the proposed algorithms for damage detection as well as the comparison of the classification performance between these algorithms and other four ones already considered as reliable approaches in the literature. All proposed algorithms revealed to have better classification performance than the previous ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first permanent occupation in the micro-region localized around Janowice, in the middle valley of the Dunajec river in the Polish Carpathian Foothills, begun at the turn of the Middle Bronze Age and the Late Bronze Age. Different landscape forms were settled, in which the highest part of the hills or areas located in the proximity of the river were especially chosen for stable settlement. All of them were characterized by the presence of fertile loess and alluvial soils. Macroscopic plant remains found in different occupational phases of six archaeological sites represent cultivated and wild plants. The remains of cultivated plants confirmed that plant resources formed an important part of the past subsistence strategies. It was observed that the same spectrum of cultivated species was utilized during about one millennium of occupation in the forelands, from the beginning of the occupation until the end of the Early Iron Age. Hordeum vulgare , Triticum diccocon , Triticum spelta and Panicum miliaceum were the dominant cereal crops. A consistent choice of varied cereal species, along with pulses, may indicate that both winter and summer crops were cultivated and the works dedicated to crop farming were distributed along various months. This strategy could also provide higher and more reliable yields. In addition, the edaphic requirements of weed remains may confirm that people used rich and moderately moist soils for cereal cultivation. Overall, a relatively early cultivation of spelt wheat and millet should be emphasized in the Carpathian Foothills since the oldest phase can be dated back to ca. 1500–1300 cal. BC. A relatively high abundance and ubiquity of spelt wheat resulted very interesting in the context of other cereal remains found in the Late Bronze Age in Poland. In addition, an Agricultural Predictive Model was prepared for the closest regions of the settlements in order to demonstrate areas with optimal environmental conditions for agricultural practices. Altogether, macroscopic plant remains are related mainly to synanthropic habitats from fields to ruderal ones. Moreover, human activities could be also responsible for the development of steppe-like plant communities, which are inferred after the finding of feather grass ( Stipa sp.). The remains of wood preserved as charcoals represent a separate group of plants. They were associated to firewood collections and therefore their analysis may be used for the reconstruction of local woodlands. A major formation is the oak-hornbeam forest. Interestingly, at the end of the Subboreal period, woodlands were dominated by late-arriving species to the Polish territory, such as Carpinus betulus and Fagus sylvatica . Abies alba is also well represented, especially in settlements located on the hills. It seems that forest formations were also subjected to anthropization and the main changes included the presence of more open forests and appearance of unstable stands in different successional stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There is widespread interest in the conservation of native Artemia biodiversity. In Portugal, only two known populations of native Artemia remain: one in the Rio Maior salina, the other in the Aveiro salina complex, both of the diploid Artemia parthenogenetica species. All other Portuguese hypersaline environments where Artemia can be found have been invaded by Artemia franciscana, which has eradicated the native strains. Invasiveness and resilience of, respectively, exotic and indigenous species are thought to depend on strain-specific traits and adaptation to local conditions. This work evaluates the reproductive performance of the two Portuguese native strains and the invasive species exposed to different salinities, temperatures, photoperiods and food supplies. Reproduction periods, quantity and quality of offspring varied significantly, depending on both the Artemia strain and environmental conditions. A. parthenogenetica from Rio Maior reproduced better than A. franciscana at high salinity (150) and low food supply, which may reflect an adaptation to its biotope that aids its resistance to invasion. But A. parthenogenetica form Aveiro performed much worse than its invasive competitor, under most of the conditions tested. It is unlikely that A. franciscana has not been introduced in this salina by chance alone. Other biological traits of the local A. parthenogenetica or adaptation to unstudied local factors (e.g. pollution) are probably responsible for this strain's survival. Further knowledge on specific local conditions and trait-specific tolerances to biotic and abiotic conditions are needed to understand (non-)invasion patterns and preserve the remaining native populations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Biofilm matrices are formed largely of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). This study was conducted to investigate biofilm formation and EPS production by Cronobacter sakazakii under various conditions (media, nutrition, and relative humidity (RH)) by quantification of EPS and cell populations, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), and colony observation. Various agar media conditions (TSA without dextrose (W/D), M9 minimum salt medium (MSM) agar, and M9 MSM agar with 3% glucose, 3% NaCl, 3% Tween 80, 3% sucrose, and adjusted to pH 5 with HCl) were prepared. C. sakazakii biofilm formed on the surface of stainless steel coupons (SSCs) immersed in TSB W/D and M9 MSM with or without 0, 1, 3, and 5% sucrose and subsequently exposed to various RH levels (23, 43, 68, 85, and 100%). EPS production by C. sakazakii on TSA W/D was significantly higher than that on other media after 1 and 2 days. However, C. sakazakii ATCC 12868 produced the highest levels of EPS (209.18 ± 16.13 and 207.22 ± 4.14 μg/mL after 1 and 2 days, respectively) on M9 MSM agar with 3% sucrose. Regarding C. sakazakii ATCC 12868 biofilm formed on the surface of SSCs immersed in M9 MSM with 0, 1, 3, and 5% sucrose and subsequently exposed to various RHs, populations were significantly different among the various RHs and sucrose concentrations, and EPS production was significantly higher (4.69 mg/L) compared to other sucrose concentrations (0%:0.71 mg/L and 1%:0.98 mg/L), except for M9 MSM with 3% sucrose (2.97 mg/L) (P ≤ 0.05). From these results, biofilm formation and EPS production by C. sakazakii differed depending on the nutrient or environmental conditions provided to the cells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Statistical models are key for estimating fish distributions based on environmental variables, and validation is generally advocated as indispensable but seldom applied. Generalized Linear Models were applied to distributions of juvenile Solea solea, Solea senegalensis, Platichthys flesus and Dicentrarchus labrax in response to environmental variables throughout Portuguese estuaries. Species-specific Delta models with two sub-models were used: Binomial (presence/absence); Gamma (density when present). Models were fitted and tested on separate data sets to estimate the accuracy and robustness of predictions. Temperature, salinity and mud content in sediment were included in most models for presence/absence; salinity and depth in most models for density (when present). In Binomial models (presence/absence), goodness-of-fit, accuracy and robustness varied concurrently among species, and fair to high accuracy and robustness were attained for all species, in models with poor to high goodness-of-fit. But in Gamma models (density when present), goodness-of-fit was not indicative of accuracy and robustness. Only for Platichthys flesus were Gamma and also coupled Delta models (density) accurate and robust, despite some moderate bias and inconsistency in predicted density. The accuracy and robustness of final density estimations were defined by the accuracy and robustness of the estimations of presence/absence and density (when present) provided by the sub-models. The mismatches between goodness-of-fit, accuracy and robustness of positive density models, as well as the difference in performance of presence/absence and density models demonstrated the importance of validation procedures in the evaluation of the value of habitat suitability models as predictive tools. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Expression of the Clostridium difficile protease gene, cwp84, was moderately up-regulated by decreasing pH due to glucose metabolism. Purification under different pH conditions influenced the proteolytic process of Cwp84. Given this, acidic pH could favor the appearance of different forms of Cwp84 that may have different roles during the infection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although direct evidence for Neanderthal clothing is essentially nonexistent, information about Paleolithic clothing could provide insights into the biological, technological, and behavioral capabilities of Neanderthals. This paper takes a new approach to understanding Neanderthal clothing through the collection and analysis of clothing data for 245 recent hunter-gatherer groups. These data are tested against environmental factors to infer what clothing humans tend to wear under different conditions. Beta regression is used to predict the proportion of the body covered by clothing according to a location''s mean temperature of the coldest month, average wind speed, and annual rainfall. In addition, logistic regression equations predict clothing use on specific parts of the body. Neanderthal clothing patterns are modeled across Europe and over a range of Pleistocene environmental conditions, thereby providing a new appreciation of Paleolithic behavioral variability. After accounting for higher tolerances to cold temperatures, it is predicted that some Neanderthals would have covered up to 80% of their bodies during the winter, probably with non-tailored clothing. It is also likely that some populations covered the hands and feet. In comparison with Neanderthals, Upper Paleolithic modern humans are found to have worn more sophisticated clothing. Importantly, these predictions shed new light on the relationship between Neanderthal extinction and their simple clothing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The maximum specific growth rate (μ max) of Brochothrix thermosphacta, a spoilage bacteria of cooked peeled shrimp, and Lactococcus piscium CNCM I-4031, a bioprotective strain, was investigated under different conditions of temperature, NaCl concentrations and pH. The basic modelling approach used was the Gamma concept (γ-concept) and the model developed was then adapted to shrimp. Cardinal growth parameters were quite similar for the two strains, except for NaCl. No NaCl was required for growth and the NaClmax was three-times higher for B. thermosphacta than for L. piscium (62 and 23 g l−1 respectively). However, tolerance to NaCl was higher in seafood than in liquid broth, possibly due to presence of osmoltically active molecules. L. piscium and B. thermosphacta were psychrotolerant, with T min = −4.8 and −3.4 °C, T opt = 23.4 and 27.0 °C and T max = 27.2 and 30.8 °C respectively. The optimal pH was neutral and growth possible till pH = 4.8 for the two strains, assuming possible applications of the bioprotective strain in lightly marinated seafood. The μ max of B. thermosphacta in shrimp was a little higher than in L. piscium whatever the environmental conditions. Validation of the model showed that the γ-concept was suitable for predicting μ max of B. thermosphacta in shrimp. Data generated in this study can be used to adapt the model to other foods with few additional experiments and the effect of different parameters may be added in the future. The model was less accurate for the bioprotective strain and the effect of NaCl must be studied in more detail directly in the matrix. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We assessed the linkages between environmental variables and the spatio-temporal distribution patterns of larval abundance of coastal fish assemblages within and outside the Medes Islands marine protected area (MPA; NW Mediterranean) to explore possible fisheries effects such as larvae export of the latter. We analyzed small-scale fish larvae distribution of 28 representative taxa from the rocky fish assemblage and combined the former in different groups with the help of cluster analysis. Further we assessed the influence of selected abiotic variables on group and species distributions using Generalized Additive Models (GAM’s). We found a high level of variability in the response of larvae groups and species to environmental variables over the two studied periods (spring and summer); depth and habitat of the adults being the most important factors. In addition, distance to the MPA was found as an important variable in defining the location of larvae of strictly coastal species. Our results provided evidence of larval export of three commercial species affected by the MPA (Epinephelus marginatus, Pagellus erythrinus and Scorpaena porcus). Thus our study contributes to the few empirical assessments of larvae export from MPAs and adds to the understanding of the functioning of MPAs as fisheries management tools. Nevertheless, in the future integrated assessments of fisheries effects of MPAs are required that measure the effect of larvae and biomass export on increased fishing yield while taking into account fishing effort dynamics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Urban ecological studies, including focus on cities, suburbs, and exurbs, while having deep roots in the early to mid 20th century, have burgeoned in the last several decades. We use the state factor approach to highlight the role of important aspects of climate, substrate, organisms, relief, and time in differentiating urban from non-urban areas, and for determining heterogeneity within spatially extensive metropolitan areas. In addition to reviewing key findings relevant to each state factor, we note the emergence of tentative “urban syndromes” concerning soils, streams, wildlife and plants, and homogenization of certain ecosystem functions, such as soil organic carbon dynamics. We note the utility of the ecosystem approach, the human ecosystem framework, and watersheds as integrative tools to tie information about multiple state factors together. The organismal component of urban complexes includes the social organization of the human population, and we review key modes by which human populations within urban areas are differentiated, and how such differentiation affects environmentally relevant actions. Emerging syntheses in land change science and ecological urban design are also summarized. The multifaceted frameworks and the growing urban knowledge base do however identify some pressing research needs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study analyzes and compares the results of leachate composition at the semi-aerobic Pulau Burung Landfill Site (PBLS) (unaerated pond and intermittently aerated pond) and the anaerobic Kulim Sanitary Landfill in the northern region of Malaysia. The raw samples were collected and analyzed for twenty parameters. The average values of the parameters such as phenols (1.2, 6.7, and 2.6 mg/L), total nitrogen (448, 1200, and 300 mg/L N-TN), ammonia-N (542, 1568, and 538 mg/L NH3-N), nitrite (91, 49, and 52 mg/L NO2 −-N), total phosphorus (21, 17, and 19 mg/L), BOD5 (83, 243, and 326 mg/L), COD (935, 2345, and 1892 mg/L), BOD5/COD (0.096,0.1124,0.205%), pH (8.20, 8.28, and 7.76), turbidity (1546, 180, and 1936 Formazin attenuation units (FAU)), and color (3334, 3347, and 4041 Pt Co) for leachate at the semi-aerobic PBLS (unaerated and intermittently aerated) and the anaerobic Kulim Sanitary Landfill were recorded, respectively. The obtained results were compared with previously published data and data from the Malaysia Environmental Quality Act 1974. The results indicated that Pulau Burung leachate was more stabilized compared with Kulim leachate. Furthermore, the aeration process in PBLS has a considerable effect on reducing the concentration of several pollutants. The studied leachate requires treatment to minimize the pollutants to an acceptable level prior to discharge into water courses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: When performing Structural Health Monitoring, it is well known that the natural frequencies do not depend only on the damage but also on environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity. The Principal Component Analysis is used to take this problem into account, because it allows eliminating the effect of external factors. The purpose of the present work is to show that this technique can be successfully used not only for time-invariant systems, but also for time-varying ones. Referring to the latter, one of the most studied systems which shows these characteristics is the bridge with crossing loads, such as the case of the railway bridge studied in present paper; in this case, the mass and the velocity of the train can be considered as “environmental” factors.This paper, after a brief description of the PCA method and one example of its application on time-invariant systems, presents the great potentialities of the methodology when applied to time-varying systems. The results show that this method is able to better detect the presence of damage and also to properly distinguish among different levels of crack depths. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Saffron is well known for its use as a condiment spice, as a dye and in traditional medicine, but very little information is available on the relationship between agronomic management and the qualitative features of this spice, the latter strictly associated with its unique metabolic profile represented by the crocetin esters, picrocrocin and safranal. There is increasing interest in saffron because of its specific and multiple properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of climatic condition and genotype on compositional characteristics of saffron. Flower number and stigma yield were significantly affected by environment and corm provenance. The content of the main crocetin esters, namely trans-crocetin di-(β-d-gentibiosyl) ester (1), trans-crocetin (β-d-glucosyl)-(β-d-gentibiosyl) ester (2), trans-crocetin (β-d-gentibiosyl) ester (3), trans-crocetin (β-d-glucosyl) ester (4), and picrocrocin, were evaluated according to the spectrophotometric ISO standard methodology, which ranked the samples into three qualitatively decreasing categories (I–III); composition was evaluated mainly through the application of HPLC equipped with ultraviolet visible diode array detector and electro-spray mass spectrometer detectors (HPLC–UV–vis-DAD–ESI-MS), which made it possible to determine the metabolic profiles of stigma samples in terms of crocetin esters and picrocrocin content. The chemical data were combined with the environmental conditions and genotype, and the results showed that crocetin esters 1 and 2 represent the major components of total crocetin ester amount, as indicated by the high positive correlation (0.971 and 0.833, respectively). Moreover crocetin esters 2 and 4, and total crocetin esters amount resulted correlated with picrocrocin content (0.794, 0.818 and 0.678, respectively). Finally, a Pearson correlation was performed in order to individuate any possible relationship between yield characteristics (flower number, total yield and unitary stigma weight) and the qualitative parameters of saffron. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Puberty comprises the transition from an immature juvenile to a mature adult state of the reproductive system, i.e. the individual becomes capable of reproducing sexually for the first time, which implies functional competence of the brain–pituitary–gonad (BPG) axis. Early puberty is a major problem in many farmed fish species due to negative effects on growth performance, flesh composition, external appearance, behaviour, health, welfare and survival, as well as possible genetic impact on wild populations. Late puberty can also be a problem for broodstock management in some species, while some species completely fail to enter puberty under farming conditions. Age and size at puberty varies between and within species and strains, and are modulated by genetic and environmental factors. Puberty onset is controlled by activation of the BPG axis, and a range of internal and external factors are hypothesised to stimulate and/or modulate this activation such as growth, adiposity, feed intake, photoperiod, temperature and social factors. For example, there is a positive correlation between rapid growth and early puberty in fish. Age at puberty can be controlled by selective breeding or control of photoperiod, feeding or temperature. Monosex stocks can exploit sex dimorphic growth patterns and sterility can be achieved by triploidisation. However, all these techniques have limitations under commercial farming conditions. Further knowledge is needed on both basic and applied aspects of puberty control to refine existing methods and to develop new methods that are efficient in terms of production and acceptable in terms of fish welfare and sustainability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The relative importance of estuarine nursery areas for species of the genus Diplodus and their relations with several environmental variables was evaluated along the Portuguese coast. Nine estuarine systems were sampled with beam trawl surveys. Species of the genus Diplodus were only present in estuaries south of the Ria de Aveiro (40°38′). A latitudinal gradient of increasing species richness and abundance towards the south was found. Estuarine nurseries of Diplodus vulgaris, Diplodus sargus and Diplodus puntazzo were characterized by mud substrate, lower salinity and lower dissolved oxygen, with the exception of Ria Formosa. Diplodus bellottii was associated with estuaries with large areas and high volumes, the Tejo and the Sado. Diplodus bellottii nursery grounds were characterized by low depth. Diplodus annularis was associated with seagrass and saltmarsh habitats, certainly because it is the only species of the genus Diplodus which recruits exclusively to seagrass meadows. Diplodus annularis nursery grounds were also characterized by sand substrate, higher salinity and higher dissolved oxygen. Niche breath varied widely amongst species and location. Diplodus vulgaris generally presented the highest values of niche breath, except when D. bellottii was present. Niche overlap was not high, the highest value being that between D. vulgaris and D. sargus in the Mira estuary, with 76% spatial niche overlap. Considerations were made on these species progress towards the north in a climate warming context, taking into account the habitat associations described here. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The tomato red spider mite, Tetranychus evansi (Acari: Tetranychidae) was recently introduced in Africa and Europe, where there is an increasing interest in using natural enemies to control this pest on solanaceous crops. Two promising candidates for the control of T. evansi were identified in South America, the fungal pathogen, Neozygites floridana and the predatory mite Phytoseiulus longipes. In this study, population dynamics of T. evansi and its natural enemies together with the influence of environmental conditions on these organisms were evaluated during four crop cycles in the field and in a protected environment on nightshade and tomato plants with and without application of chemical pesticides. N. floridana was the only natural enemy found associated with T. evansi in the four crop cycles under protected environment but only in the last crop cycle in the field. In the treatments where the fungus appeared, reduction of mite populations was drastic. N. floridana appeared in tomato plants even when the population density of T. evansi was relatively low (less than 10 mites/3.14cm2 of leaf area) and even at this low population density, the fungus maintained infection rates greater than 50%. The application of pesticides directly affected the fungus by delaying epizootic initiation and contributing to lower infection rates than unsprayed treatments. Rainfalls did not have an apparent impact on mite populations. These results indicate that the pathogenic fungus, N. floridana can play a significant role in the population dynamics of T. evansi, especially under protected environment, and has the potential to control this pest in classical biological control programs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Nicaragua, home to the largest remaining extent of rain forest in Central America (total surface area) and to a significant indigenous population, has lost approximately half of its forest cover since 1950. This major and rapid loss of forest cover has been explained as the consequence of an eastward moving agricultural frontier that cuts through the region of Jinotega. If the current deforestation rate continues, the country could lose its remaining forest cover over the course of the next two decades; therefore, it is essential that the dynamics and relationships of land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) in this region are understood. To examine LUCC in Nicaragua over time, Landsat imagery from the southern portion of the region of Jinotega, taken in 1978, 1987, and 1999 was utilized. A remote-sensing method, supervised classification, which allows for the grouping of spectrally similar values for each year, followed by an image change detection analysis (post-classification comparison) was conducted. Groundtruthing (field validation) was conducted in 2006 to validate the data, which yielded increasing overall accuracy rates of 71.68% for 1978, 82.35% for 1987, and 84.38% for 1999. The classification and change detection results showed that if the agricultural cultivation overtook this region, it happened before 1978. Therefore, the possibility that either deforestation did not actually occur along an agricultural frontier or that it was located further east exists; this would be an interesting subject for future studies. There was, however, clear evidence of increased forest cover from 1987 to 1999 near the urban center, correlating with the enforced reforestation law in the city of Jinotega. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper aims to reveal spatial variation in the abundance of infaunal bivalves and polychaetes at different spatial scales (station: 200–800m intervals; plot: 5–20m), and to reveal environmental variables affecting the spatial distribution of animals in the Natori River estuary, Japan. We found six bivalve species and eight polychaete species from 52 plots at 12 stations. Nuttallia olivacea and Heteromastus sp. were found to be the most abundant species of bivalves and polychaetes, respectively. Assemblage patterns of bivalves and polychaetes were classified into five distinct groups. Substrata (silt-clay contents), salinity, and relative elevation were the variables found to affect the infaunal assemblage patterns. Chlorophyll a was not a significant variable, but benthic animals were absent at sites with extremely low chlorophyll a conditions. Macrobenthic assemblage patterns were different not only between stations but often differed between plots at the same station, reflecting the complex assemblage structure of benthic invertebrates. Detailing such animal–environment relationship is essential in understanding the potential food supply for estuarine fishes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Juan de Fuca Eddy is a seasonal, counter-clockwise gyre off the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Washington, USA and British Columbia, Canada that may provide favorable feeding habitat for juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) during their early marine existence. In late September 2002, physical and biological sampling was conducted along two transects of the eddy region. Surface rope trawling was conducted to capture juvenile salmon and other nekton, along with bongo and neuston net tows to examine potential mesozooplanktonic salmon prey. Presence of the Juan de Fuca Eddy was confirmed with vertical water profiles. In addition, nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations collected from 3-m depth were within the range observed in previous studies within the eddy region. In the mesozooplankton community, euphausiids, chaetognaths, and decapod megalopae were common. In the diet of juvenile coho salmon, euphausiids and decapod megalopae were dominant by percent number, and larval and juvenile fish were dominant by percent weight. Feeding intensity (percent body weight) based on stomach contents was variable, but not significantly different among stations. To compare the Juan de Fuca Eddy region with an upwelling area, we sampled along a transect off La Push (LP), Washington, USA which is south of the eddy. The eddy region was found to be less productive than the LP transect. Nutrients were lower, chlorophyll a concentrations were higher, and zooplankton abundance was generally higher along the LP transect than in the eddy region. In addition, more juvenile coho salmon were captured from the LP transect than the eddy region. Prey items in stomachs of salmon from the LP transect were heterogeneous compared to those from the eddy region. Feeding intensity along the LP transect was slightly lower and more variable than in the eddy region, and differences in feeding intensity among LP stations were significant. In addition, feeding intensities among stations nested within regions were significantly different. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Fish larvae and hydrographic data collected in the Gulf of California (GC) in December 2002 are used to describe larval fish assemblages (LFAs) and to explore their relationships with environmental variables (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, fluorescence maximum, and superficial chlorophyll a). The Bray–Curtis dissimilarity index defined three LFAs, distributed in areas with distinctly different environmental conditions. The affinity of most of the species with the environmental characteristics of their areas of distribution could be interpreted as an indication that spawning occurred inside those areas. Particle tracking in current fields from a 3D numerical model and connectivity matrices are used to assess larval retention in the LFA areas. The technique is well suited for seas like the GC that have well-defined circulation patterns. On time scales around 30days, retention (from 56% to 73% of the particles) occurred (1) for the North LFA in the Upper GC, (2) for the Channel-Center LFA in the anticyclone over the Northern GC and in Ballenas Channel, and (3) for the South LFA in the eddy over San Pedro Mártir basin and in the shallow zone off the peninsula. Therefore, the Lagrangian analysis revealed that the observed LFAs have a permanency long enough to allow fish larvae to remain in a favorable environment until they develop motility. The main particle export path (less than 26% of the particles) was from the North to the South LFA, following the anticyclonic main flow and coinciding with the gradient in species number and larval abundance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It is widely believed that female birds strategically allocate androgens to yolk in the manner that best equips offspring for feeding conditions during their development. Because most avian studies have focused on multi-egg clutch species, and interpreted results within the framework of sibling competition, we still know little about how yolk androgens might be allocated in direct response to environmental conditions. Most oceanic birds are long-lived and lay single-egg clutches, and their breeding success is tightly linked to highly variable marine production. That combination: a variable breeding environment, long lives, and single-egg clutches, makes oceanic birds good subjects to test hypotheses about yolk androgen allocation strategies. We measured concentrations of two yolk androgens, androstenedione (A4) and testosterone (T), in the single-egg clutches laid by early-laying Cassin’s (Ptychoramphus aleuticus) and rhinoceros (Cerorhinca monocerata) auklets at Triangle Island, British Columbia, Canada, in 2002–2004. Environmental conditions including sea-surface temperatures and the timing and intensity of marine primary production varied over the 3 years, and in response, both the timing and success of seabird breeding varied. As in other avian species, concentrations of A4 and T varied markedly among individual eggs in both species (by factors of 3–8), yet contrary to expectation, little of the variation could be attributed to year effects. The high interindividual variation and the lack of interannual variation suggest a non-adaptive explanation for yolk androgen deposition relative to environmental conditions in these species. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity of lettuce were evaluated using the Folin–Ciocalteu method and DPPH assay, respectively, on 25 cultivars of lettuce, including leaf, romaine, crisphead, and butterhead types, cultivated over two harvest periods. Leaf lettuce possessed the highest TPC and highest DPPH scavenging ability, followed by romaine, butterhead and Batavia (crisphead subtype). Within a lettuce type, red pigmented lettuce cultivars had higher TPC and antioxidant capacity than did green cultivars grown under the same conditions. In addition, lettuce harvested in July possessed higher TPC and antioxidant capacity than did lettuce harvested in September, suggesting that environmental conditions could influence the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of lettuce. These results suggest that Colorado grown lettuce may serve as potential dietary sources of natural phenolic antioxidants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, a novel approach for vibration based damage detection is proposed. The approach relies on the use of a large network of sensors (possibly hundreds of them) to which a programmable linear combiner is attached. The linear combiner is programmed to work as a modal filter. The frequency content of the output of the modal filter is proposed as feature for damage detection. It is shown that if a local damage is present, spurious peaks appear in the FRF of the modal filter whereas if temperature changes are considered, the FRF of the modal filter is shifted but its shape remains unchanged. The approach is interesting because of the ability to differentiate between local damage and global environmental changes to a structure. Issues about the practical implementation of the method are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study, a commercial enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was validated in detecting glucocorticoids in Pampas deer feces, in order to investigate the influence of several factors on the adrenocortical function. Fecal samples, behavioral data and information concerning male grouping and antlers status were collected at a monthly basis during a 1 year period from free-ranging stags living at Emas National Park, Brazil (18°S/52°W). The results revealed that concentrations of fecal glucocorticoids in winter were significantly higher than those corresponding to spring and summer. In addition, dry season data presented higher levels than during the wet season. Significant difference was found between fecal levels of breeding stags in summer and nonbreeding stags, whereas no difference was observed between breeding stags in winter and nonbreeding stags. On the other hand, males from areas with frequent human disturbance exhibited higher glucocorticoid concentrations and flight distances than individuals from areas of lower human activity. Males with antlers in velvet had elevated levels compared with animals in hard antler or antler casting. Also, we found that glucocorticoid levels were higher in groups with three or more males than in groups with only one male. The flight distances showed positive correlation with fecal glucocorticoid. These data indicate that fecal glucocorticoid provides a useful approach in the evaluation of physiological effects of environment, inter-individuals relationship and human-induced stressors on free-ranging Pampas deer stags. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Spatio-temporal variability in assemblages of pelagic fish in Chesapeake Bay from 1995 to 2000 was documented based on midwater trawl surveys conducted three times annually (April, July, and October). Numerically dominant pelagic and benthopelagic fishes, 30–256 mm TL, were included in the analysis. Species assemblages, diversity indices, biomass distributions, and a correspondence analysis revealed that physical forcing, primarily driven by freshwater input, shaped the structure of fish communities, both annually and regionally. But, seasonal succession occurred, with adults dominating in the spring and recruited juveniles dominating in the fall. The dominant species were bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli), Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), white perch (Morone americana), spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), weakfish (Cynoscion regalis), and Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus). Young-of-the-year (YOY) and age-1+ fish were concentrated in different regions and different seasons. A correspondence analysis showed that salinity was the most important environmental factor explaining annual differences in the upbay–downbay gradients in fish community structure. In 1997–2000, following a surge of freshwater input and nutrient loadings in 1996, October baywide fish biomass increased by 120% and mean baywide dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration below the pycnocline in summer decreased by 30%. These interannual variabilities in baywide fish biomass and mean DO suggest a relationship between bay plankton productivity and fish production. Species composition shifted markedly in 1996 when YOY and age-1+ anadromous fishes became dominant, but returned progressively in subsequent years to the usual structure in which bay anchovy and other polyhaline species were dominant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The distribution of epibenthic invertebrate biomass in relation to environmental factors was examined in the St. Lawrence system. Biomass estimates for epibenthos sampled yearly for 9 years on 102 suspended collectors (navigation buoys), were related to environmental data from the literature (surface water temperature, water salinity, water transparency, current velocity, chlorophyll a and primary production) using a weighted multiple linear regression analysis. Regression models were generated for total biomass and the biomass of the single dominant sessile species: Mytilus edulis, Semibalanus balanoides, Balanus crenatus, Obelia longissima and Hiatella arctica. Water temperature and water transparency, as well as some biogeographic groups of buoys represented by dummy variables, collectively explained 90.6% of the variance in total biomass. Water temperature, water transparency, biogeographic groups and, to a lesser degree, primary production, were the variables having a significant influence on the biomass of individual species. The lognormal weighted multiple regression model explained up to 84.5% of the variance in M. edulis biomass data and 67.9, 70.0, 71.6 and 38.9%, respectively, of the variance in S. balanoides, O. longissima, B. crenatus and H. arctica biomass data. The need to consider simultaneous biological and environmental sampling at the relevant temporal and spatial scales to model large marine coastal ecosystems is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Environmental conditions may influence fecal glucocorticoid metabolite measurements if feces cannot be collected immediately after deposition. To evaluate the influence of environmental conditions on fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations, we exposed fresh fecal samples to 1 of 5 simulated conditions: (1) room temperature (22 °C), (2) high heat (38 °C), (3) alternating high heat and room temperature cycle, (4) alternating freezing (−20 °C) and room temperature cycle, and (5) simulated rainfall (0.85 cm every other day at 22 °C) for 7 days. We collected fresh white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) feces at various times pre- and post-adrenocorticotropin injection to provide samples with initially low (n=5), medium (n=5), and high (n=5) glucocorticoid concentrations. Feces were mixed thoroughly and then allocated into five 10-g samples. Also, a 5-g sub-sample was taken from each fecal mass prior to treatment and stored at −20 °C until assayed. We subsampled from all treatments once every 24-h for 7 days. Fecal samples were assayed using [125I]corticosterone radioimmunoassay kits. Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in all three groups in the simulated rainfall treatment and the low group in the alternating freezing and room temperature treatment increased significantly over the 7-day period. We believe increased microbial metabolism of fecal glucocorticoids may partly explain these results. Other biochemical processes (e.g., cleavage of conjugate side groups from hormone metabolites by non-microbial action or release of glucocorticoids from lipid micelles) may also have increased fecal glucocorticoid measurements. Our findings suggest that fecal samples exposed to rainfall for one week may artificially inflate fecal glucocorticoid measurements. Thus, researchers should recognize the potential bias when collecting fecal samples exposed to rainfall. Non-fresh samples may prove useful when care is taken to address the elevation in immunoreactive glucocorticoid concentrations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Spilled oil frequently reaches the shorelines and affects coastal biota and communities. The application of surface washing agents is an important shoreline cleanup technique that can help remove stranded oil from substrate surfaces with the advantages of high removal efficiency, low toxicity, and strong economic viability. In this study, the investigation into the oil removal from contaminated sand using a surface washing agent under variable environmental conditions was conducted. A preliminary test was conducted to obtain the optimal combination of operating factors of surface washing agent-to-oil ratio (SOR) 2:1, mixing speed 150 rpm, and mixing time 30 min. The results of single-factor experiments showed that high temperature and humic acid concentration of flush water contributed to the performance of a surface washing agent, while salinity and kaolinite concentration could inhibit its performance. The factorial analysis revealed the main effects of temperature and salinity, and the interactive effects of temperature and salinity as well as salinity and humic acid concentration that were significant to the washing efficiency of the surface washing agent. In addition, the comprehensive assessment of a surface washing agent from the aspects of toxicity, detergency, dispersion properties, and field trials was conducted. The results have significant implications for future application of surface washing agents in the shoreline cleanup. Image 1 • Application of surface washing agents is an important shoreline cleanup technique. • Up to 79% of oil on sand can be removed using the surface washing agent. • Various environmental factors affect the effectiveness of surface washing agent. • The factorial analysis revealed that temperature and salinity are main effects. • The assessment of toxicity, detergency, dispersion, and field work was conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine coastal areas have high social-economic relevance and ensuring the good quality of these areas has gained importance in the past decades due to the increase of anthropogenic pressures. Understanding the dynamics of these areas is crucial to support management decisions. In this context, phytoplankton communities are generally used as key indicators of environmental quality as they respond in short time-scales and are at the base of food webs. This work intends to improve our understanding on how phytoplankton communities respond to environmental conditions, particularly in upwelling areas. Seawater samples were collected from Algarrobo Bay, Central Chile, for both phytoplankton pigments and microscopy analysis. Data were analyzed in combination with physico-chemical parameters and two distinct hydrographic regions were identified for the study area: i) a region occupying most of the northern bay section, characterized by lower temperatures and dissolved oxygen (DO), higher concentration of nutrients and higher N:P, where a mixed community with diatoms, chrysophytes, cryptophytes, haptophytes and other small flagellates were observed; and ii) a central-southern section, with higher temperatures and DO, lower nutrients and lower N:P, where diatoms, in particular the centric diatom Chaetoceros Ehrenberg, 1844 sp. (~92.5% on average), dominated the phytoplankton assemblage. Other common but much less abundant diatom genus included Skeletonema Greville, 1865, Eucampia Ehrenberg, 1839 , Dactyliosolen Castracane, 1886, Nitzschia Hassall, 1845, Cylindrotheca Rabenhorst, 1859 and Asterionellopsis Round, 1990. Apart from diatoms, the most abundant taxa belonged to flagellates, mainly chrysophytes (228.4 × 103 cells L−1 on average) and cryptophytes (213 × 103 cells L−1 on average). Overall, results suggest that the southern part of the Algarrobo Bay, with higher residence times and nutrient discharges, may act as an upwelling shadow area, where phytoplankton species can accumulate. • Phytoplankton and environmental conditions were evaluated in a coastal bay under upwelling influence. • High phytoplankton biomass and diatom dominance were seen in the southern part of the bay. • Diatoms favored by cold and saline waters and flagellates were linked to the opposite conditions. • Two main regions characterized by distinct phytoplankton communities were found. • A potential zone of both upwelling shadow and anthropogenic impact is identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral inhalation is the main drug delivery route for treating obstructive lung conditions. Thus, many inhaler devices with various design and pharmaceutical formulation have been introduced. The fine particle dose (FPD) and mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD ≤ 5 μm) of the aerosol delivered dose (DD) dictate the therapeutically effective peripheral lung deposition. This study evaluated the in vitro aerosol emission performance of tiotropium bromide emitted from Spiriva® Respimat® soft mist inhalers (R) after living under patients' real-world, post-dispensing handling environments. This was a two-stage investigation. In the first clinical stage, research ethical approval was obtained to enrol patients already been using R for at least 3 months. Those who signed consent were given both new R to use and temperature and relative humidity (RH) handheld, portable data loggers to keep in the vicinity of the given R. The participants returned the given R and data loggers after 2 weeks. Patient recruitment took place in Amman, Jordan, during the summer (RS) and winter (RW). Subsequently, in the second laboratory stage, other R were strictly stored at an average of 21.0 °C and 46.9% RH as control (RC). The Next Generation Impactor (NGI) was used to evaluate the RS, RW and RC. The NGI was operated at a flow rate of 30 L/min. The RS were exposed to an average (range) 23.6 °C (18.2–37.5 °C) and 43.8% RH (21.4–60.0% RH) that were statistically comparable (p > 0.05) to that of the RW; 17.3 °C (13.2–26.7 °C) and 52.8% RH (26.3–69.1% RH). The RW and RC retention environments were statistically different (p < 0.05), whilst the RS and RC had comparable (p > 0.05) conditions. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found in the tiotropium bromide DD (2.39 vs 2.43 μg), FPD (0.88 vs 0.90 μg) and MMAD (5.1 vs 4.98 μm) between the RS and RW, respectively. Compared to the RC inhalers, both the RS and RW devices had significantly higher FPD and relatively smaller tiotropium bromide particles. Using the R under the fluctuating summer and winter environments of our patients would not affect its overall tiotropium bromide emission performance. The significant increase in the respirable mass of the RS and RW might be offset by the increase in particles <1 μm particularly in patients with poor inhaler technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mice are routinely used to study aqueous humour dynamics. However, physical factors such as temperature and hydration affect outflow facility in enucleated eyes. This retrospective study examined whether differences in temperature and relative humidity experienced by living mice within their housing environment in vivo coincide with differences in outflow facility measured ex vivo. Facility data and environmental records were collected for one enucleated eye from 116 mice (C57BL/6J males, 9–15 weeks old) at two institutions. Outflow facility was reduced when relative humidity was below the lower limit of 45% recommended by the UK Code of Practice, but there was no detectable effect of temperature on outflow facility. Even when accounting for effects of humidity, there were differences in outflow facility measured between institutions and between individual researchers at the same institution. These data indicate that humidity, as well as additional environmental factors experienced by living mice within their housing environment, may significantly affect outflow facility measured ex vivo. • The relative humidity experienced by living mice affects outflow facility measured after death. • A relative humidity below approximately 45% corresponds to a nearly 30% reduction in outflow facility. • Outflow facility was significantly different between institutions and between researchers despite similar relative humidity. • Humidity and environmental conditions in the housing environment should be controlled when measuring outflow facility in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]