Evaluation of equivalence between different methods for enumeration of fecal indicator bacteria before and after adoption of the new Bathing Water Directive and risk assessment of pollution

The quality of bathing water is of considerable public importance due to the possibility of fecal contamination. In 2009, Croatia implemented the new European Bathing Water Directive (BWD, 2006/7/EC) establishing stricter microbiological standards for new parameters with new reference methods. This study aims to evaluate the equivalence of different methods according to the old and revised BWD and to provide the possibility of data comparison. Furthermore, the directive requires the establishment of the bathing water profile (BWP) for pollution risk assessment. The estimation of consistency of pollution risk assessment with obtained microbiological results was also performed.     

Finding Optimal Travel Routes with Uncertain Cost Data

Geospatial data analysis techniques are widely used to find optimal routes from specified starting points to specified destinations. Optimality is defined in terms of minimizing some impedance value over the length of the route – the value to be minimized might be distance, travel time, financial cost, or any other metric. Conventional analysis procedures assume that impedance values of all possible travel routes are known a priori, and when this assumption holds, efficient solution strategies exist that allow truly optimal solutions to be found for even very large problems. When impedance values are not known with certainty a priori, exact solution strategies do not exist and heuristics must be employed. This study evaluated how the quality of the solutions generated by one such heuristic were impacted by the nature of the uncertainty in the cost database, the nature of the costs themselves, and the parameters used in the heuristic algorithm. It was found that all of these factors influenced the qualities of the solutions produced by the heuristic, but encouragingly, an easily controlled parameter of the heuristic algorithm itself played the most important role in controlling solution quality.     

Structure and nuclear density distribution in the cheralite—CaTh(PO4)2: studies of its behaviour under high pressure (36?GPa)

The crystal structure of the cheralite—CaTh(PO₄)₂—has been revisited by neutron diffraction and its behaviour under high pressure investigated by X-ray diffraction up to 36?GPa. The neutron diffraction data at ambient pressure gave a more accurate determination of the Ca/Th cation position than previous XRD data, taking advantage that the neutron scattering lengths of calcium and thorium are of same order of magnitude. The nuclear density distribution was also determined using the maximum entropy method (MEM) confirming that the two cations are not located at the same position in the unit cell but are slightly displaced from one another along a specific direction in order to minimize the electrostatic repulsion with the surrounding phosphorus atoms. At high pressure, the compound did not show any phase transition or amorphization. From the evolution of the unit-cell volume as a function of the pressure, the zero-pressure bulk modulus B₀ and its pressure derivative B₀ ^′ have been determined by fitting the experimental compressibility curve to the Birch–Murnaghan equation of state. The results are B₀?=?140(2) GPa and B ₀ ^′ ?=?4.4(4) GPa.     

Erosion rates and mechanisms of knickzone retreat inferred from 10Be measured across strong climate gradients on the northern and central Andes Western Escarpment

A steep escarpment edge, deep gorges and distinct knickzones in river profiles characterize the landscape on the Western Escarpment of the Andes between ~5°S and ~18°S (northern Peru to northern Chile). Strong north–south and east–west precipitation gradients are exploited in order to determine how climate affects denudation rates in three river basins spanning an otherwise relatively uniform geologic and geomorphologic setting. Late Miocene tectonics uplifted the Meseta/Altiplano plateau (~3000 m a.s.l.), which is underlain by a series of Tertiary volcanic‐volcanoclastic rocks. Streams on this plateau remain graded to the Late Miocene base level. Below the rim of the Meseta, streams have responded to this ramp uplift by incising deeply into fractured Mesozoic rocks via a series of steep, headward retreating knickzones that grade to the present‐day base level defined by the Pacific Ocean. It is found that the Tertiary units on the plateau function as cap‐rocks, which aid in the parallel retreat of the sharp escarpment edge and upper knickzone tips. ¹⁰Be‐derived catchment denudation rates of the Rio Piura (5°S), Rio Pisco (13°S) and Rio Lluta (18°S) average ~10 mm ky^?1 on the Meseta/Altiplano, irrespective of precipitation rates; whereas, downstream of the escarpment edge, denudation rates range from 10 mm ky^?1 to 250 mm ky^?1 and correlate positively with precipitation rates, but show no strong correlation with hillslope angles or channel steepness. These relationships are explained by the presence of a cap‐rock and climate‐driven fluvial incision that steepens hillslopes to near‐threshold conditions. Since escarpment retreat and the precipitation pattern were established at least in the Miocene, it is speculated that the present‐day distribution of morphology and denudation rates has probably remained largely unchanged during the past several millions of years as the knickzones have propagated headward into the plateau. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Boundary integral formulation and two-dimensional fundamental solutions for dynamic behavior analysis of unsaturated soils

In this paper the coupled equations governing the dynamic behavior of unsaturated soils are derived based on the poromechanics theory within the framework of the suction-based mathematical model presented by Gatmiri (1997) [Gatmiri B. Analysis of fully coupled behavior of unsaturated porous medium under stress, suction and temperature gradient. Final report of CERMES-EDF, 1997] and Gatmiri et al. (1998) [Gatmiri B, Delage P, Cerrolaza M, UDAM: a powerful finite element software for the analysis of unsaturated porous media. Adv Eng Software 1998; 29(1): 29–43]. In this formulation, the solid skeleton displacements, water pressure and air pressure are presumed to be independent variables. The Boundary Integral formulations as well as fundamental solutions for such a dynamic u–p_w–p_a theory are presented in this paper for the first time. The boundary integral equations are derived via the use of the weighted residuals method in a way that permits an easy discretization and implementation in a Boundary Element code. Also, the associated two dimensional (2D) fundamental solutions for such deformable porous medium with linear elastic behavior are derived in Laplace transform domain using the method of Hörmander. Finally, some numerical results are presented to show the accuracy of the proposed solutions. The derived results are verified analytically by comparison with the previously introduced corresponding fundamental solutions in elastodynamic limiting case.     

StalAge – An algorithm designed for construction of speleothem age models

Here we present a new algorithm (StalAge), which is designed to construct speleothem age models. The algorithm uses U-series ages and their corresponding age uncertainty for modelling and also includes stratigraphic information in order to further constrain and improve the age model. StalAge is applicable to problematic datasets that include outliers, age inversions, hiatuses and large changes in growth rate. Manual selection of potentially inaccurate ages prior to application is not required. StalAge can be applied by the general, non-expert user and has no adjustable free parameters. This offers the highest degree of reproducibility and comparability of speleothem records from different studies. StalAge consists of three major steps. Firstly, major outliers are identified. Secondly, age data are screened for minor outliers and age inversions, and the uncertainty of potential outliers is increased using an iterative procedure. Finally, the age model and corresponding 95%-confidence limits are calculated by a Monte-Carlo simulation fitting ensembles of straight lines to sub-sets of the age data.We apply StalAge to a synthetic stalagmite ’sample’ including several problematic features in order to test its performance and robustness. The true age is mostly within the 95%-confidence age limits of StalAge showing that the calculated age models are accurate even for very difficult samples. We also apply StalAge to three published speleothem datasets. One of those is annually laminated, and the lamina counting chronology agrees with the age model calculated by StalAge. For the other two speleothems the resulting age models are similar to the published age models, which are both based on smoothing splines. Calculated uncertainties are in the range of those calculated by combined application of Bayesian chronological ordering and a spline, showing that StalAge is efficient in using stratigraphic information in order to reduce age model uncertainty.The algorithm is written in the open source statistical software R and available from the authors or as an electronic supplement of this paper.     

Associated terrestrial and marine fossils in the late-glacial Presumpscot Formation, southern Maine, USA, and the marine reservoir effect on radiocarbon ages

Excavations in the late-glacial Presumpscot Formation at Portland, Maine, uncovered tree remains and other terrestrial organics associated with marine invertebrate shells in a landslide deposit. Buds of Populus balsamifera (balsam poplar) occurred with twigs of Picea glauca (white spruce) in the Presumpscot clay. Tree rings in Picea logs indicate that the trees all died during winter dormancy in the same year. Ring widths show patterns of variation indicating responses to environmental changes. Fossil mosses and insects represent a variety of species and wet to dry microsites. The late-glacial environment at the site was similar to that of today's Maine coast. Radiocarbon ages of 14 tree samples are 11,907 ± 31 to 11,650 ± 50 ¹⁴C yr BP. Wiggle matching of dated tree-ring segments to radiocarbon calibration data sets dates the landslide occurrence at ca. 13,520 + 95/−20 cal yr BP. Ages of shells juxtaposed with the logs are 12,850 ± 65 ¹⁴C yr BP (Mytilus edulis) and 12,800 ± 55 ¹⁴C yr BP (Balanus sp.), indicating a marine reservoir age of about 1000 yr. Using this value to correct previously published radiocarbon ages reduces the discrepancy between the Maine deglaciation chronology and the varve-based chronology elsewhere in New England.     

Timing of advance and basal condition of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last glacial maximum in the Richardson Mountains,NWT

This study presents new ages for the northwest section of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) glacial chronology from material recovered from two retrogressive thaw slumps exposed in the Richardson Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada. One study site, located at the maximum glacial limit of the LIS in the Richardson Mountains, had calcite concretions recovered from aufeis buried by glacial till that were dated by U/Th disequilibrium to 18,500 cal yr BP. The second site, located on the Peel Plateau to the east yielded a fossil horse (Equus) mandible that was radiocarbon dated to ca. 19,700 cal yr BP. These ages indicate that the Peel Plateau on the eastern flanks of the Richardson Mountains was glaciated only after 18,500 cal yr BP, which is later than previous models for the global last glacial maximum (LGM). As the LIS retreated the Peel Plateau around 15,000 cal yr BP, following the age of the Tutsieta phase, we conclude that the presence of the northwestern margin of the LIS at its maximum limit was a very short event in the western Canadian Arctic.     

Application of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) to extraction of soft body for the determination of tissue Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in the prosobranch Hydrobia ulvae (Pennant)

The application of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) as a shell extractant for preparation of soft body parts with reference to tissue metal concentrations (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) in shellfish has been evaluated on the example of the mud snail Hydrobia ulvae, a small marine prosobranch densely present in rocky and soft-bottom habitats of the eastern Atlantic. A solution of 0.1 M TCA was tested on individuals treated according to two different protocols: (1) thawed after freezing ("non-dried") and (2) thawed and air-dried to a constant weight ("dried"). Two points were investigated in detail to improve the method: individual soft tissue dry weight and tissue metal concentration following a standard digestion method. In both instances, the results were compared with those from manually dissected snails. Conditions for total shell decalcification of 60 individuals (3-4 mm long) were 5.5 h in 20 ml of 0.1 M TCA.No differences in individual soft tissue weight were observed between the treatments, indicating good efficiency of the TCA extraction with respect to weight of soft body parts. In contrast, tissue metal concentrations varied among treatments. The TCA extraction of the dried animals had a good recovery for Cd, most likely due to the lower solubility of Cd vital cellular components (proteins and mineral concretions) from the dried tissue. Satisfactory recoveries of the tissue concentrations of Cu and Pb were obtained for the non-dried individuals. This might be related to the specific distribution of metals in the organism (namely in the digestive glands and gonads) and their different chemical reactivity with TCA after the tissue was dried. Limited susceptibility of Zn-bearing protein bindings to complexing with TCA also accounts for significantly lower concentrations of Zn in the mud snail's soft tissue that was extracted. The 0.1 M TCA solution is therefore recommended for extraction of the shells of Hydrobia ulvae for tissue determination of Cd, Cu and Pb; however the treatment protocol does affect metal recovery and thus a consistent procedure should be followed.The extracted metals from the soft tissues and shells of the mud snails (on the basis of both metal concentrations and contents) were ranked in order of increasing contribution of soft body parts to the total (shell+tissue): Pb相似文献   

SN 2009ip and SN 2010mc as dual-shock Quark-Novae

In recent years a number of double-humped supernovae （SNe） have been discovered. This is a feature predicted by the dual-shock Quark-Nova （QN） model where an SN explosion is followed （a few days to a few weeks later） by a QN explo- sion. SN 2009ip and SN 2010mc are the best observed examples of double-humped SNe. Here, we show that the dual-shock QN model naturally explains their light curves including the late time emission, which we attribute to the interaction between the mixed SN and QN ejecta and the surrounding circumstellar matter. Our model applies to any star （O-stars, luminous blue variables, Wolf-Rayet stars, etc.） provided that the mass involved in the SN explosion is ~ 20 Mo which provides good conditions for forming a QN.