Wave sloshing in corrugated bottom tanks with two-dimensional flow

The boundary integral element method based on Green's formula is applied to the analysis of transient flow problem in corrugated bottom tanks. The problem is formulated as a two-dimensional linear, initial boundary value problem in terms of a velocity potential. The Laplace equation and the boundary conditions, except the dynamic boundary condition on the free surface, are transformed into an integral equation by the application of Green's formula. Finite Difference discretization is applied timewise. Initially a triangular wave on the free surface is assumed to be formed. The height of the triangular corrugated bottom is varied between 1/10 and 1/5 of the tank depth. The form of the free surface and the equipotential lines for the flow in the tank are presented at different time steps. An accuracy analysis is performed and distortion in time is considered. Proper coefficients for solutions are derived and presented. The results show that utilization of triangular corrugated bottoms may help to regulate the flow in tanks.     

The development of a rapid screening technique to measure antibiotic activity in effluents and surface water samples

Use of antibiotics in medicine, farming and aquaculture results in a continual supply of these pharmaceuticals and their breakdown products reaching the environment. A method has been developed to use for screening environmental samples to establish whether they contain antibiotics. The assay is based on a commercially available test kit and uses some modifications of the test procedure and SPE techniques to deliver a fast, semi-quantifiable result. Development of the assay and results from spiked and environmental samples are discussed.     

A note on common infections and the non-antibiotic treatment option

Recently, Batabyal and Nijkamp (Environ Econ Policy Stud 7:39–51, 2005) have used a theoretical model of antibiotic use to study the relative merits of interventionist (antibiotics) and non-interventionist (no antibiotics) treatment options. A key assumption in their paper is that the default treatment option is the interventionist option. Because there are several instances in which this assumption is invalid, in this paper, we suppose that the default treatment option is the non-interventionist option. Specifically, we first derive the long run average cost of treating a common infection such as acute otitis media (AOM). Next, we show that there is a particular tolerance level and that when a physician uses this tolerance level to determine when to administer the non-antibiotic medicine, the long run average cost of treating the common infection under study is minimized.

Influence of montmorillonite on antimicrobial activity of tetracycline and ciprofloxacin

Antibiotics are used not only to fight infections and inhibit bacterial growth, but also as growth promotants in farm livestock. Farm runoff and other farm-linked waste have led to increased antibiotic levels present in the environment, the impact of which is not completely understood. Soil, more specifically clays, that the antibiotic contacts may alter its effectiveness against bacteria. In this study a swelling clay mineral montmorillonite was preloaded with antibiotics tetracycline and ciprofloxacin at varying concentrations and bioassays were conducted to examine whether the antibiotics still inhibited bacterial growth in the presence of montmorillonite. Escherichia coli was incubated with montmorillonite or antibiotic-adsorbed montmorillonite, and then the number of viable bacteria per mL was determined. The antimicrobial activity of tetracycline was affected in the presence of montmorillonite, as the growth of non-resistant bacteria was still found even when extremely high TC doses were used. Conversely, in the presence of montmorillonite, ciprofloxacin did inhibit E. coli bacterial growth at high concentrations. These results suggest that the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents in clayey soils depends on the amount of antibiotic substance present, and on the interactions between the antibiotic and the clays in the soil, as well.     

Bacterial flora and antibiotic resistance from eggs of green turtles Chelonia mydas: An indication of polluted effluents

Sea turtles migrate to various habitats where they can be exposed to different pollutants. Bacteria were collected from turtle eggs and their resistance to antibiotics was used as pollutant bio-indicators of contaminated effluents. Eggs were collected randomly from turtles when they were laying their eggs. A total of 90 eggs were collected and placed into sterile plastic bags (3 eggs/turtle) during June-December of 2003. The bacteria located in the eggshell, albumen and yolk were examined, and 42% of the eggs were contaminated with 10 genera of bacteria. Pseudomonas spp. were the most frequent isolates. The albumen was found to be the part of the egg to be the least contaminated by bacterial infection. Bacterial isolates tested with 14 antibiotics showed variations in resistance. Resistance to ampicillin was the highest. The presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in eggs indicates that the green turtle populations were subjected to polluted effluents during some of their migratory routes and feeding habitats. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that Salmonella typhimurium penetrated all eggshell layers.     

Interactions of bacteria with diatoms: influence on natural marine biofilms

Interactions between microfouling components influence the biofilm community and the cascading events, thus playing an important role in the biofouling process. Bacteria and diatoms are among the dominant forms reported in biofilms. Experiments were carried out with natural marine biofilms from a tropical monsoon‐influenced environment to evaluate the interactions between bacteria and diatoms through application of antibiotics (streptomycin and chloramphenicol). Overall, chloramphenicol inhibited diatom communities, whereas streptomycin did not. These antibiotic‐mediated changes in the fouling diatom community were consistent across the seasons. However, the rates at which the fouling communities changed depended on the initial species composition. It was also observed that elevated nutrient concentrations overrode the inhibitory effect of chloramphenicol. Maximum Vibrio enhancement was observed in the enriched conditions during the pre‐monsoon and unenriched conditions during the monsoon (with naturally elevated background nutrient concentrations), highlighting the relevance of nutrient concentrations for Vibrio spp. This has interesting implications for antibiotic‐mediated interactions between fouling diatom and bacterial communities under differing nutrient regimes. Although this study indicates the relevance of ‘cross‐talk’ at the microfouling level, understanding the effects of additional microbial products (e.g. bacteriocins and peptidoglycan) on these community‐level interactions will represent a step forward.     

鄱阳湖流域南昌市城市湖泊水体抗生素污染特征及生态风险分析

采用固相萃取-超高效液相色谱-质谱法对南昌市5个城市湖泊——艾溪湖、瑶湖、青山湖、象湖和东西湖水体的抗生素进行监测,并分析其污染来源和生态风险.结果表明,南昌市5个城市湖泊水体中四环素类、磺胺类、喹诺酮类、林可霉素及大环内酯类5类抗生素的检出浓度范围分别为ND~6.3、ND~32.0、ND~97.2、ND~54.7和ND~98.4 ng/L;红霉素和林可霉素是5个城市湖泊水体中的主要抗生素类型;相比于其他湖泊,南昌市城市湖泊水体中主要检出抗生素浓度总体处于中等水平,其中恩诺沙星的检出浓度高于其他对比湖泊.南昌市城市湖泊中6种主要抗生素的风险商均小于0.1,表明均为最低生态风险;5个城市湖泊的主要生态风险因子分别是艾溪湖为红霉素,瑶湖为磺胺二甲嘧啶,青山湖为罗红霉素,象湖为红霉素,东西湖为磺胺嘧啶.本研究可为南昌市城市湖泊水环境管理,特别是新型污染物的环境管理提供基础依据.