Persistent organic pollutants and organophosphate esters in feathers and blood plasma of adult kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) from Svalbard - associations with body condition and thyroid hormones.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and organophosphate esters (OPEs) were assessed in blood plasma and feathers of 19 adult black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) breeding in two colonies (Blomstrandhalvøya and Krykkjefjellet) at the Arctic archipelago, Svalbard. Potential associations with body condition index (BCI) and thyroid hormones were investigated. All compound classes were detected in both blood plasma and feathers, but due to low sample size and volumes, OPEs could only be quantified in four individuals, warranting larger follow-up studies. Kittiwakes breeding at Blomstrandhalvøya had significantly higher concentrations of organic pollutants in blood plasma than kittiwakes breeding at Krykkjefjellet (p < 0.001). Concentrations in blood plasma and feathers did not significantly correlate for any of the investigated compounds, and feather concentrations did not differ significantly between the colonies. This suggests that pollutant levels in adult kittiwake feathers do not reflect local contamination at breeding sites and are as such not useful to monitor local contamination at Svalbard. Significant negative associations between BCI and most pollutants were found in both populations, whereas significant correlations between the BCI, the ratio of total triiodothyronine to free triiodothyronine (TT3:fT3), and several pollutants were only found for kittiwakes from Blomstrandhalvøya (all r ≥ -0.60 and p ≤ 0.05). This indicates that higher levels of circulating pollutants during the breeding period covary with the TT3: fT3 ratio, and may act as an additional stressor during this period.

Nitrogen and phosphorus transport in runoff from compost berms on a simulated military training landscape.

Compost mulches have potential to significantly offset on- and off-site environmental impacts resulting from mechanical soil disturbances and training manoeuvres on military training ranges. N and P transport was investigated in runoff from compost mulch berms made from various organic waste materials in combination with each other and with soil on a simulated military training landscape in north Alabama in 2007 and 2008. Berms were constructed using composted municipal yard waste (YW), wood chips (WC), pine bark fines (PB), and soil (SL) mixed in eight different proportions. Berms made from 100% soil which had a cumulative runoff PO(4)-P content of 12 mg L(-1) posed the greatest threat of negatively impacting the environment from inorganic P transport. Using compost mulch material with 40% soil to build berms reduced the potential for yard waste and wood chips to cause off-site negative environmental impacts from total dissolved solids, N, and P transport. Berms made from 100% pine bark fines which had cumulative runoff values of 760, 9, 22 and 5 mg L( -1), respectively, of TDS, NH(4)-N, NO(3)-N, and PO( 4)-P had the least potential to cause negative off-site environmental impact. To prevent negative impacts of nutrient transport in runoff from berms on training landscapes, the sites need to be well buffered to hydrologically isolate them from adjoining ecosystems.

Strain- and sex-specific differences in the glutathione S-transferase class pi in the mouse examined by gradient elution of the glutathione-affinity matrix and reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography.

A gradient elution with glutathione (GSH) from a GSH-Sepharose 6B affinity column separated the hepatic mouse glutathione S-transferases (GST) to the alpha-, mu- and pi-classes. The GST-dependent conjugation of atrazine and glutathione was catalyzed by a pi-class GST. The pi- and mu-classes were both identified by their respective specific substrates, and after reverse-phase HPLC, by N-terminal analysis of 19-35 of the amino acids. The alpha-class GST was associated with a high selenium-independent GSH peroxidase activity and the purified protein had a N-blocked terminal. Strain related differences in the pi-class GST of the CD-1, C57BL/6, DBA/2 and Swiss-Webster males were observed by PhastGel electrophoresis of the GSH affinity chromatograph separated fractions, reverse phase HPLC and by N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis.

The separation and identification of glutathione S-transferase subunits from Orthosia gothica.

Four subunits of the cytosolic glutathione S-transferase (GST) in Orthosia gothica fed on willow leaves and a semisynthetic bean diet were purified as separate peaks (subunits 1-4) by a two-step gradient elution from a reverse-phase HPLC column after an initial purification by glutathione-Sepharose 1-chloro-2,4-dinitro-benzene (CDNB). Subunit 1 with a molecular weight of 26.0 kDa reconstituted into a GST homodimer with an isoelectric point of 4.8 and the N-terminal amino acid sequence (27 steps) indicated a relationship to the class theta GST of Musca domestica in the first 10 steps (50% homology), but also to the GST class pi of Caenohrabditis elegans (50% between steps 10 and 20). The three subunits 2-4 all had a molecular weight of 23.5 kDa and the isoelectric points of the reconstituted homodimers were > 9.0. The N-terminal amino acid sequence was determined (24 steps) and was identical for the three subunits. A high identity of sequence to the GST in C. elegans (70% between steps 1 and 17), and a low homology (25%) to the O. gothica subunit 1 was observed. Thus, we suggest the O. gothica subunit 1 belong to a different class (O. gothica GST class 1) of GST than subunits 2-4 (O. gothica GST class 2). When the larvae hatched and fed on a semisynthetic bean diet, subunits 3 and 4 were not present in the HPLC eluate, and the subunit 2/subunit 1 ratio increased compared to the corresponding ratio in the larvae which hatched and fed on willow leaves until the third instar.

Multiple myeloma following an episode of community-acquired pneumococcal bacteraemia or meningitis.

The risk of multiple myeloma subsequent to an episode of serious pneumococcal infection has not been ascertained. We identified 328 episodes of community-acquired pneumococcal bacteraemia and 77 episodes of pneumococcal meningitis in 227,000 persons over 40 years of age in the County of North Jutland, Denmark, in the period 1981 to 1996. The incidence rate of a subsequent diagnosis of multiple myeloma was determined by linkage to the Danish Cancer Registry. During 1,218 patient-years of follow-up in the bacteraemia cohort, 7 cases of multiple myeloma were diagnosed compared with 0.13 cases expected (standardized incidence ratio (SIR) 53.5, 95% confidence interval 21.4-111.4). During 444 patient-years of follow-up in the meningitis cohort, 4 cases of multiple myeloma were diagnosed compared with 0.05 cases expected (SIR 83.2, 95% confidence interval 22.6-214.8). Patients who survive an episode of community-acquired pneumococcal bacteraemia or meningitis are at increased risk of being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, but the absolute risk is low.

Calculation of pressure fields from arbitrarily shaped, apodized, and excited ultrasound transducers.

A method for simulation of pulsed pressure fields from arbitrarily shaped, apodized and excited ultrasound transducers is suggested. It relies on the Tupholme-Stepanishen method for calculating pulsed pressure fields, and can also handle the continuous wave and pulse-echo case. The field is calculated by dividing the surface into small rectangles and then Summing their response. A fast calculation is obtained by using the far-field approximation. Examples of the accuracy of the approach and actual calculation times are given.

Risk and case fatality rate of meningitis in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Bacterial infections are major causes of morbidity and death in patients with liver cirrhosis. The risk of bacterial meningitis in these patients is unknown, however. In this study on a nation-wide cohort of 22,743 patients with liver cirrhosis in Denmark an incidence rate of bacterial meningitis of 54.4 per 100,000 was found [95% confidence interval (CI) 40.3-71.9]. The highest incidence rate was found in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, 65.3 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI 46.2-89.6), compared with 34.6 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI 17.3-61.9) in patients with non-alcoholic cirrhosis. The 30-d case fatality rate was 53.1% (95% CI 38.3-67.5), and high age and alcoholic cirrhosis were associated with the highest case fatality rates. The main bacterial pathogens were pneumococci and unspecified bacteria. These findings suggest that patients with liver cirrhosis are at increased risk of bacterial meningitis with a poor prognosis.

Incidence and prognosis of tuberculosis in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. A Danish nationwide population based study.

We examined the incidence rate and prognosis of tuberculosis in a cohort of patients with liver cirrhosis in Denmark. In a study cohort of 22675 patients with liver cirrhosis, we identified 151 cases of tuberculosis from 1977 to 1993. The incidence rate was 168.6 per 100000 person-years of risk, and the highest incidence rate was among men above 65 years of age, with an incidence rate of 246.0 per 100000 person-years of risk. The 30-day case-fatality rate was 27.3% and the 1-year case fatality rate was 47.7%. The results demonstrate that patients with liver cirrhosis are at increased risk of tuberculosis. Additionally, it is suggested that liver cirrhosis is an independent risk factor for tuberculosis, and that patients with liver cirrhosis who acquire tuberculosis have a poor prognosis.

A comparative study of effects of atrazine on xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes in fish and insect, and of the in vitro phase II atrazine metabolism in some fish, insects, mammals and one plant species.

1. Atrazine (3 daily i.p. doses of 0.20 mg/kg or 10 ppb in the water for 14 days) did not change the xenobiotic metabolizing enzyme activities (XME) towards the substrates aldrin epoxidase (AE), NADPH-cytochrome c reductase (NCCR), 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD), 1-chloro-2,4-dinitro-benzene (CDNB) and 1,2-dichloro-4-nitrobenzene (DCNB) in trout liver (Oncorhynchus mykiss) compared to the controls. 2. Various treatment regimens of atrazine in a semisynthetic diet changed the XME activities towards AE, NCCR, CDNB and DCNB in the cabbage moth (Mamestra brassica L.) soft tissues and midgut compared to the controls. 3. A life-long cabbage diet induced the XME activity towards CDNB in the cabbage moth soft tissues and midgut, whereas no differences in the activities towards AE, NCCR and DCNB were observed compared to controls on a semi-synthetic diet. 4. The cabbage moth GSTs bound poorly to a glutathione (GSH)-linked epoxy-activated Sepharose 6-B; however, based on the CDNB activity recovered by a GSH elution, there were no differences in the molecular weights of the partly purified subunits (27, 26 and 25 kDa) or the pIs (5.4, 4.8, and 4.1) of the molecules in the soft tissues or midguts from respectively atrazine treated and control cabbage moth.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)