Presence of UV filters in surface water and the effects of phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) following a chronic toxicity test

UV filters belong to a group of compounds that are used by humans and are present in municipal waste-waters, effluents from sewage treatment plants and surface waters. Current information regarding UV filters and their effects on fish is limited. In this study, the occurrence of three commonly used UV filters - 2-phenylbenzimidazole-5-sulfonic acid (PBSA), 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (benzophenone-3, BP-3) and 5-benzoyl-4-hydroxy-2-methoxy-benzenesulfonic acid (benzophenone-4, BP-4) - in South Bohemia (Czech Republic) surface waters is presented. PBSA concentrations (up to 13μgL(-1)) were significantly greater than BP-3 or BP-4 concentrations (up to 620 and 390ngL(-1), respectively). On the basis of these results, PBSA was selected for use in a toxicity test utilizing the common model organism rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Fish were exposed to three concentrations of PBSA (1, 10 and 1000µgL(-1)) for 21 and 42 days. The PBSA concentrations in the fish plasma, liver and kidneys were elevated after 21 and 42 days of exposure. PBSA increased activity of certain P450 cytochromes. Exposure to PBSA also changed various biochemical parameters and enzyme activities in the fish plasma. However, no pathological changes were obvious in the liver or gonads.

Campaigning Against Europe? The Role of Euroskeptic Fringe and Mainstream Parties in the 2009 European Parliament Election

In this article, we analyze political parties' campaign communication during the 2009 European Parliamentary election in 11 countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the UK). We study which types of issues Euroskeptic fringe and Euroskeptic mainstream parties put on their campaign agendas and the kind and extent of EU opposition they voice. Further, we seek to understand whether Euroskeptic and non-Euroskeptic parties co-orient themselves toward each other within their national party systems with regard to their campaigns. To understand the role of Euroskeptic parties in the 2009 European Parliamentary elections, we draw on a systematic content analysis of parties' posters and televised campaign spots. Our results show that it is Euroskeptic parties at the edges of the political spectrum who discuss polity questions of EU integration and who most openly criticize the union. Principled opposition against the project of EU integration, however, can only be observed in the UK. Finally, we find indicators for co-orientation effects regarding the tone of EU mobilization: In national political environments where Euroskeptic parties strongly criticize the EU, pro-European parties at the same time publicly advance pro-EU positions.

Gender and language in online job advertisements - a cross-cultural study

The aim of this project is to investigate the use of gender-fair language from a cross-linguistic perspective. Specifically, we are interested in whether the use of gender-fair language correlates with socio-economic rankings of gender equality and with structural features of a language. We decided to analyze online job advertisements, as they reflect common language use and can easily be compared across languages. Moreover, formulations in job advertisements have been shown to impact personnel selection via the way target groups are addressed and referred to. In the present study we examined to what extent job advertisements are formulated in a gender-fair way and how this correlates with factors such as language, culture as well as status and gender-typicality of the job advertised. The data consisted of job advertisements published online in four European countries which occupy different positions in socio-economic rankings of gender equality (World Economic Forum, 2011): Switzerland (10), Austria (rank 34), Poland (42), and Czech Republic (75). We randomly selected 100 job advertisements from four lines of business characterized by different proportions of female employees – steels/metals, science, restaurants/food services, and health care. The advertisements were analyzed with regard to the linguistic form of the job title and the remaining text; we also noted indicators of job status, reference to gender-typical traits, pictures of women/men and other information which might be relevant to the use of gender-fair language (e.g., equal opportunity policies). A first analysis of the data indicates that the phrasing of job titles is closely related to the gender-typicality of a profession. While mainly gender-fair forms are used in healthcare, masculine forms are used more often in the domain of steels and metals. Feminine forms only, however, are almost never used. Cultural differences as well as correlations with associated variables will be discussed.

How women and men are addressed in job advertisements

Research has shown that gender references in job advertisements play an important role for gender (in)equality in personnel selection. In advertisements gender is referred to in different ways, for instance, by using grammatically masculine and feminine human nouns (e.g., German Mechaniker/Mechanikerin 'mechanic, masc./fem.'), by mentioning typically feminine or typically masculine traits (e.g., kind and friendly versus determined and independent) as well as by showing pictures of women and men. The present study addresses the questions which forms of gender references occur in job advertisements, how these forms are distributed across different lines of business and across different countries. We collected job advertisements published online in four countries with different rankings of gender equality (i.e., Switzerland, Austria, Poland, and Czech Republic; World Economic Forum, 2011). We randomly selected 100 advertisements per country from four lines of business that are characterized by different proportions of female and male employees: (1) steels/metals, (2) science, (3) restaurants/food services, and (4) health care. The advertisements were analyzed with regard to the linguistic form of the job title and of the remaining text as well as reference to gender-typical traits. We also examined indicators of job status and other information (e.g., equal opportunity policies) which might be related to the use of gender references in job advertisements. The results show that, in general, gender-fair language occurs much more often in job ads from Switzerland and Austria than in those from Poland and the Czech Republic, where job titles are mostly masculine. While exclusive use of feminine forms are almost never used in Switzerland and Austria, they are more frequently used in Poland and Czech Republic. In general, gender-fair forms are more common when there are many women in a line of business, whereas more masculine forms are used where the proportion of women is low. In Switzerland and Austria, masculine forms are mostly combined with the supplement m/f to indicate that both women and men are addressed. The present data provide a sound basis for future studies on gender references in job advertisements. Furthermore it sheds a light on how companies comply with national guidelines of gender equality.

Increasing Silicon Concentrations in Bohemian Forest Lakes

Long-term trends of dissolved silicon (Si) concentrations in five glacial lakes in the Bohemian Forest, Czech Republic, recovering from acidification show higher mobility of Si from the soil to surface waters despite lower atmospheric deposition of acids. Si increased by 0.95 to 1.95 mu mol yr(-1) (36 to 51%) from 1986-2004 and with increasing pH. A change in soil solution conditions because of a sharp decrease in acidic deposition has led to marked decline in Al mobility and to considerable decreases in dissolved Al, especially Al3+. The increase in Si may be related to: (1) unblocking of the inhibitory effect of dissolved Al on weathering of alummosilicates, (2) biogenic opal (phytoliths) dissolving faster, and/or (3) lower Si precipitation as secondary alummosilicates in soil. The change in Al speciation on the dissolution rate of biogenic silica is critical. A lack of change in Si at sites outside central Europe may be explained by small or no decline in mobility of dissolved Al. The effect of a long-term increase in temperature was probably minor.