Protein expression signatures: an application of proteomics

The methods of proteomics, the study of the protein complement of the genome, are applicable to environmental testing. Sets of proteins specific to different stressors can be isolated using computer imaging software. Individual proteins can be identified by mass spectrometry. The Protein Expression Signatures (PES) obtained have potential in diagnosing adverse factors in the environment. The challenge is to demonstrate their feasibility in complex environments. We have shown that PES for three endocrine disrupting compounds in trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss), can be detected in mixed sewage effluent. Other studies support these results. As protein databases expand, identification becomes routine, and capture molecules specific to each protein are developed, the possibility of simple field tests for multiple stressors becomes real.     

Damage Localization of Offshore Platforms Under Ambient Excitation

In this paper Nondestructive Damage Detection (NDD) for offshore platforms is investigated under operational conditions. As is known, there is no easy way to measure ambient excitation, so damage detection methods based on ambient excitation have become very vital for the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of offshore platforms. The modal parameters (natural frequencies, damping ratios and mode shapes) are identified from structural response data with the Natural Excitation Technique (NExT) in conjunction with the Eigensystem Realization Algorithm (ERA) . A new method of damage detection is presented, which utilizes the invariance property of element modal strain energy. This method is to assign element modal strain energy to two parts, and defines two damage detection indicators. One is compression modal strain energy change ratio (CMSECR); the other is flexural modal strain energy change ratio (FMSECR). The present modal strain energy is obtained by incomplete modal shape and structural stiffness matr     

Effect of Band Width on Fatigue Life under Random Stress Response

A fatigue life estimation method for offshore structures under random stress response is studied in this paper. The method of broad band cumulative frequency number is used to determine the effect of band width of stress frequency spectra on fatigue. A formula of correction factor for fatigue under broad band stress spectra is suggested and compared with that given by P. H. Wirsching.     

Interannual fluctuations in recruitment of walleye pollock in the Oyashio region related to environmental changes

The Japanese Pacific walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) stock is the largest stock of this species in Japanese waters. It is a key component of the Oyashio ecosystem. In southern Hokkaido waters, these fish spawn mainly during January and February near the mouth of Funka Bay (FB), and most eggs and larvae are transported into FB. During midsummer juvenile pollock migrate along the southern coast of Hokkaido to a nursery ground on the continental shelf off eastern Hokkaido (Doto area). However, some eggs and larvae are transported southward to the Tohoku region (TR). Transport depends largely on the Oyashio, which generally flows southward along the eastern coasts of Hokkaido and Tohoku. Thus, this stock has two different recruitment routes: FB–Doto and FB–TR. In the 1980s, when the southward flow of the Oyashio was strong, the number of age-2 pollock estimated from a virtual population analysis (VPA) indicated that recruitment to the entire stock remained at a medium level. In the 1990s, when the Oyashio weakened, strong year-classes occurred in 1991, 1994, and 1995, but not in the latter half of the 1990s. Juvenile catches in the TR by commercial fisheries, which can be taken as indices of recruitment level via FB–TR, were high during the 1980s and decreased in the 1990s. Although there was no significant difference in the average number of recruits between the 1980s and the 1990s as estimated from a VPA, the recruitment patterns differed between the two decades. Here, we propose that recruitment routes of this stock shifted in response to environmental changes.     

Interviewing people about the coast on the coast: Appraising the wider adoption of ICZM in North East England

This paper tests the hypothesis that Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) is the best strategy for achieving good coastal governance on the North East coast of England using two geographically adjacent case studies: the East Riding coast, which has an ICZM framework in place and the Northumberland coast, which does not. Semi-structured questionnaires were used for face-to-face interviews with local representatives at each study site to underpin a common context and understanding between the interviewer and interviewee. Postal surveys were used to solicit responses from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and governmental representatives.     

A First Generation Stochastic Bioeconomic Analysis of Algal Bloom Control in a Coastal Lagoon (Sacca di Goro, Po River Delta)

Abstract. In this work we have developed a very simple stochastic mathematical model of Ulva spp. growth to quantitatively evaluate the economic costs of algal harvesting and the related benefits in terms of avoided'economic loss'of clam production due to an effective prevention of algal blooms and the consequent anoxic crises. Algal growth was simulated by means of a discrete time difference equation of Ulva biomass where the finite growth rate depends only upon water temperature. In order to explicitly include environmental variability, a seasonal autoregressive model calibrated on available data was used to simulate water temperature. Different harvesting scenarios were analysed in terms of the number of harvesting vessels employed and the threshold biomass of Ulva at which vessels start to operate. Costs of algal harvesting and disposal, as well as monetary damages resulting from the collapse of clam production as a consequence of algal blooms, were assessed by interviewing the managers of the Clam Fishermen's Union of Goro. A Monte Carlo approach was used to estimate the mean and total statistical distribution of costs and benefits of different harvesting strategies. Our analysis shows that the most cost-effective management policy is attained with 4–6 vessels operating at low algal density able to harvest as much Ulva as possible with intensive and short interventions at the beginning of the seasonal growth.     

锥状斯氏藻生活史及其生理生态调控

锥状斯氏藻ＳＴＤＰ０１克隆品系于１９９３年１月分离自大鹏湾底泥中的单个锥状斯氏藻孢囊，并经单细胞分离培养成藻侏。在电子显微镜下，对该藻的营养细胞和孢囊形态进行了观察，该藻营养细胞与多甲藻目的其它甲藻不同，没有非常明显的甲板；     

Genotoxic impacts in Klaip da Marine port and B ting oil terminal areas (Baltic Sea)

Genotoxic effects were evaluated in the somatic and gonadal cells of bivalve and gastropod molluscs inhabiting different sites of Klaip da port area in Lithuania. The occurrence of aneuploidy and polyploidy of cells, meiotic injures, centromere dissociation and fragmented polyploid nuclei as cytogenetic indicators of environmental stressors was assessed in snails Lymnaea ovata . The highest level of environmental genotoxicity (in 43.2 and 46.2% of studied cells) was observed in the tissues of snails inhabiting Malk Bay in 1995 and 1996. Dredging and thus removal of contaminated sediments from Malk Bay resulted in significant decrease (up to 27.2% in 1999) of cytogenetic injures in molluscs studied over the period from 1997 to 1999. However, the frequency of cytogenetic disturbances in molluscs from Vilhelmo Channel was increasing (1.8 times) from 1995 to 1999. Therefore, the ecological safety of the biggest drinking water supply for Klaip da population became questionable. Assessment of cytogenetic damage in Mytilus edulis (MN test) and the crustacean, Balanus improvisus, (aneugenic effects) inhabiting the Baltic Sea at B ting oil terminal has shown the highest genotoxicity level in the zone of sewage effluents from Palanga town and Ma eikiai oil refinery plant. Extensive cytogenetic injuries in gonadal cells indicated the potential long-term hazards of pollutants to ecological health and integrity of aquatic species.     

Ecosystem management bioindicators: the ECOMAN project – a multi-biomarker approach to ecosystem management

The ECOMAN project was initiated from an awareness of the complexity of the functioning of coastal marine systems and the clear need for more pragmatic environmental assessment techniques linking environmental degradation with its causes. The aim of the project is to develop a suite of easy to use, cost effective and environmentally valid biological responses (biomarkers) to assess the general health of coastal systems, including estuaries. To achieve this aim, various sublethal endpoints are being measured and evaluated from a range of common coastal organisms showing different feeding types (filter feeding, grazing and predation) and habitat requirements (estuary and rocky shore) and at different levels of biological response (cellular, physiological and behavioural). This holistic integrated approach is essential to identify the full impact of chemical contamination on organisms, and enables the sensitivity of organisms to be ranked and key sentinel species for specific habitats to be identified.