Laboratory measurements of biomarkers and individual performances in Chironomus xanthus to evaluate pesticide contamination of sediments in a river of southeastern Brazil

This study aimed at evaluating biomarkers, individual and population responses in the native Chironomus xanthus to assess the toxicity of pesticide-contaminated sediments from the Monjolinho River (Southeast Brazil). We measured cholinesterase (ChE) and glutathione S-transferase activities (GST), as biomarkers and survival, individual growth and adult emergence, as individual performances. There was no response of the ChE activity and a tendency to decreased GST activity in contaminated sites, but this was generally not statistically significant. Therefore, there was no association of the biomarker responses with exposure to sediment containing pesticides. In contrast, ash free dry mass was significantly increased and male emergence was decreased in C. xanthus exposed to the same sediments. In conclusion, the selected biomarkers were not sensitive and specific enough to detect and anticipate effects of pesticide contamination at the levels measured in the study area. Nevertheless, individual performances alterations pointed to potential pollution problems and possible ecological consequences. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influência da adição de cinza do bagaço de cana calcinada em sistemas de pastas para cimentação de poços petrolíferos

Cementing operation is one of the most important stages in the oil well drilling processes and has main function to form hydraulic seal between the various permeable zones traversed by the well. However, several problems may occur with the cement sheath, either during primary cementing or during the well production period. Cements low resistance can cause fissures in the cement sheath and compromise the mechanical integrity of the annular, resulting in contamination of groundwater and producing zones. Several researches show that biomass ash, in particular, those generated by the sugarcane industry have pozzolanic activity and can be added in the composition of the cementing slurries in diverse applications, providing improvements in mechanical properties, revenue and cement durability. Due to the importance of a low cost additive that increases the mechanical properties in a well cementing operations, this study aimed to potentiate the use of sugarcane bagasse ash as pozzolanic material, evaluate the mechanisms of action of this one on cement pastes properties and apply this material in systems slurries aimed to cementing a well with 800 m depth and geothermal gradient of 1.7 °F/100 ft, as much primary cementing operations as squeeze. To do this, the ash beneficiation methods were realized through the processes of grinding, sifting and reburning (calcination) and then characterization by X-ray fluorescence, XRD, TG / DTG, specific surface area, particle size distribution by laser diffraction and mass specific. Moreover, the ash pozzolanic activity added to the cement at concentrations of 0%, 20% and 40% BWOC was evaluated by pozzolanic activity index with lime and with Portland cement. The evaluation of the pozzolanic activity by XRD, TG / DTG and compressive strength confirmed the ash reactivity and indicated that the addition of 20% in the composition of cement slurries produces improvement 34% in the mechanical properties of the slurry cured. Cement slurries properties evaluated by rheological measurements, fluid loss, free fluid, slurry sedimentation, thickening time and sonic strength (UCA) were satisfactory and showed the viability of using the sugarcane ash in cement slurries composition for well cementing

Valor nutritivo de macrófitas aquáticas flutuantes (Eichhornia crassipes, Pistia stratiotes e Salvinia molesta) utilizadas no tratamento de efluentes de aqüicultura

The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritive value of free-floating aquatic macrophytes, Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms (Pontederiaceae), Pistia stratiotes (L.) (Araceae) and Salvinia molesta (Mitchell) (Salviniaceae) used in a Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) waste treatment, and these species biomass potential uses. The vegetal biomass samples were collected from 0.25 m 2 floating squares and divided in aerial and submerse parts, to determine the concentrations of cell wall fraction, soluble carbohydrates, polyphenols, lipids, crude protein and total phosphorus. The higher nutritive value was observed in E. crassipes and S. molesta aerial parts, and in P. stratiotes total biomass, due to their lower cell wall fraction mean rates (60.7; 64.2 and 56.9 % dry mass, respectively) and to the higher rates of: crude protein (10.1; 9.1 and 8.8 % dry mass, respectively), soluble carbohydrates (26.6; 18.7 and 12.4 mg.g -1 dry mass, respectively) and lipids (7.6; 4.5 and 4.4% dry mass, respectively). It may be concluded that P. stratiotes total biomass, and E. crassipes and S. molesta aerial biomass have nutritive values with potential use for ruminant feeding or as ration ingredients.

Measurements of Mytilids Aulacomya atra and Mytilus chilensis from the Chilean Comau Fjord in 2012

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Seawater carbonate chemistry and biological processes of Mytilus edulis during experiments, 2010

Marine organisms are exposed to increasingly acidic oceans, as a result of equilibration of surface ocean water with rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations. In this study, we examined the physiological response of Mytilus edulis from the Baltic Sea, grown for 2 months at 4 seawater pCO2 levels (39, 113, 243 and 405 Pa/385, 1,120, 2,400 and 4,000 µatm). Shell and somatic growth, calcification, oxygen consumption and excretion rates were measured in order to test the hypothesis whether exposure to elevated seawater pCO2 is causally related to metabolic depression. During the experimental period, mussel shell mass and shell-free dry mass (SFDM) increased at least by a factor of two and three, respectively. However, shell length and shell mass growth decreased linearly with increasing pCO2 by 6-20 and 10-34%, while SFDM growth was not significantly affected by hypercapnia. We observed a parabolic change in routine metabolic rates with increasing pCO2 and the highest rates (+60%) at 243 Pa. excretion rose linearly with increasing pCO2. Decreased O:N ratios at the highest seawater pCO2 indicate enhanced protein metabolism which may contribute to intracellular pH regulation. We suggest that reduced shell growth under severe acidification is not caused by (global) metabolic depression but is potentially due to synergistic effects of increased cellular energy demand and nitrogen loss.

One size fits all: stability of metabolic scaling under warming and ocean acidification in echinoderms

Responses by marine species to ocean acidification (OA) have recently been shown to be modulated by external factors including temperature, food supply and salinity. However the role of a fundamental biological parameter relevant to all organisms, that of body size, in governing responses to multiple stressors has been almost entirely overlooked. Recent consensus suggests allometric scaling of metabolism with body size differs between species, the commonly cited 'universal' mass scaling exponent (b) of ¾ representing an average of exponents that naturally vary. One model, the Metabolic-Level Boundaries hypothesis, provides a testable prediction: that b will decrease within species under increasing temperature. However, no previous studies have examined how metabolic scaling may be directly affected by OA. We acclimated a wide body-mass range of three common NE Atlantic echinoderms (the sea star Asterias rubens, the brittlestars Ophiothrix fragilis and Amphiura filiformis) to two levels of pCO2 and three temperatures, and metabolic rates were determined using closed-chamber respirometry. The results show that contrary to some models these echinoderm species possess a notable degree of stability in metabolic scaling under different abiotic conditions; the mass scaling exponent (b) varied in value between species, but not within species under different conditions. Additionally, we found no effect of OA on metabolic rates in any species. These data suggest responses to abiotic stressors are not modulated by body size in these species, as reflected in the stability of the metabolic scaling relationship. Such equivalence in response across ontogenetic size ranges has important implications for the stability of ecological food webs.