The Montara Oil Spill: A 2009 Well Blowout in the Timor Sea.

A well on the Montara platform on the Australian continental shelf blew out in August 2009 and spilled oil into the Timor Sea for 74 days. The oil, estimated at as much as 23.5 million L in total volume, spread over a large area of the shelf and eventually into Indonesian waters. This paper documents, through published literature, reports of both Australian and Indonesian governments and observations of coastal residents and fishermen the spread of the oil and attempts to estimate its impact. The lack of observers on the ocean and baseline, pre-spill data on populations of marine organisms, and delays in deploying scientific surveys after the spill severely limited efforts by the Australian government to determine damage in its territorial waters. Biological survey work was not done in Indonesian waters, but coastal residents attested to relatively severe impacts to algal farms. In addition fish landings declined in one port in southwest Timor Island.

Molecular organization of the mucins and glycocalyx underlying mucus transport over mucosal surfaces of the airways.

Mucus, with its burden of inspired particulates and pathogens, is cleared from mucosal surfaces of the airways by cilia beating within the periciliary layer (PCL). The PCL is held to be "watery" and free of mucus by thixotropic-like forces arising from beating cilia. With radii of gyration ~250 nm, however, polymeric mucins should reptate readily into the PCL, so we assessed the glycocalyx for barrier functions. The PCL stained negative for MUC5AC and MUC5B, but it was positive for keratan sulfate (KS), a glycosaminoglycan commonly associated with glycoconjugates. Shotgun proteomics showed KS-rich fractions from mucus containing abundant tethered mucins, MUC1, MUC4, and MUC16, but no proteoglycans. Immuno-histology by light and electron microscopy localized MUC1 to microvilli, MUC4 and MUC20 to cilia, and MUC16 to goblet cells. Electron and atomic force microscopy revealed molecular lengths of 190-1,500 nm for tethered mucins, and a finely textured glycocalyx matrix filling interciliary spaces. Adenoviral particles were excluded from glycocalyx of the microvilli, whereas the smaller adenoassociated virus penetrated, but were trapped within. Hence, tethered mucins organized as a space-filling glycocalyx function as a selective barrier for the PCL, broadening their role in innate lung defense and offering new molecular targets for conventional and gene therapies.

Sodium- and chloride-conductive pathways in cultured mouse tracheal epithelium.

The utility of a transgenic murine model of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease will likely depend on whether the mouse's proximal airway epithelium is characterized by Na(+)- and Cl(-)-conductive pathways comparable to those found in human airways. Therefore, the electrophysiological properties of primary cultures of mouse tracheal epithelium (MTE) were investigated using double-barreled, Cl(-)-selective microelectrodes. Epithelial cells isolated from freshly excised mouse tracheae formed confluent polarized monolayers on permeable collagen supports and developed significant transepithelial potential differences (approximately -10 mV) within 5-6 days postseeding. Under basal conditions, the MTE monolayers had an equivalent short-circuit current (Ieq) of -21.1 +/- 2.1 microA/cm2 and a transepithelial resistance of 424 +/- 49 omega.cm2. Intracellular measurements indicated that the apical (Va) and basolateral (Vb) membrane potential differences were -16.9 +/- 1.5 and -25.4 +/- 1.5 mV, respectively; apical membrane fractional resistance was 0.36 +/- 0.03; and intracellular Cl- activity was 56.1 +/- 2.3 mM. The presence of an apical Na+ conductance was demonstrated by luminal amiloride application (10(-4)M), which decreased Ieq, hyperpolarized Va, and increased the fractional resistance of the apical membrane. The presence of an apical Cl- conductance was demonstrated by substitution of Cl- with gluconate in the luminal bath, which decreased intracellular Cl- activity and increased the fractional resistance of the apical membrane. Luminal application of ATP (10(-4) M was also found to increase the rate of Cl- secretion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cocaine use in pregnancy: perinatal morbidity and mortality.

With the increasing use of cocaine in the United States, there has been growing concern regarding its effects on the fetuses and neonates of pregnant cocaine abusers. Fifty-two cocaine-using women enrolled in a comprehensive perinatal addiction program were evaluated and compared with 73 women who had used narcotics in the past and were maintained on methadone during pregnancy. The groups were similar in maternal age, socioeconomic status, number of pregnancies and cigarette, marijuana and alcohol use. The cocaine-using women had a significantly higher rate of premature labor, precipitous labor, abruptio placentae, fetal monitor abnormality and fetal meconium staining than the women in the methadone group. Neonatal gestational age, birth weight, length and head circumference were not affected by cocaine use compared to methadone use. However, the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale revealed that infants exposed to cocaine had significant depression of organizational response to environmental stimuli (state organization) when compared to methadone-exposed infants. In another aspect of the study, an increased rate of SIDS (15%) was found for 66 cocaine-exposed infants as compared to a 4% rate of SIDS in 50 methadone-exposed infants.

Vertical flux of hexachlorobenzene in coastal waters of the north-west Mediterranean Sea.

In a study on the biogeochemistry of chlorinated hydrocarbons in the Mediterranean Sea, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) has been analysed in particulate matter collected in sediment traps moored 2 km off the coast of Monaco. HCB concentrations in this material, which was composed largely of biogenic debris, ranged from non-detectable to 7.3 ng/g dry weight. Time-series measurements (n = 18) made between March-September 1981 demonstrated that the vertical flux of HCB through 100 m averaged 59 (range, non-detectable to 153) pg/cm2 per year. There was no clear relationship between the HCB flux and the time of year. Nor were there any correlations between either HCB concentrations in fast-settling particles or the HCB flux and that of organic carbon. The similarity in concentration of HCB in sediment-trap particulates and freshly excreted zooplankton faecal pellets suggests that faecal pellet deposition acts to remove this contaminant from surface waters. Comparison of the observed average HCB flux through 100 m with estimates of the flux to sediments at 250 m depth (7.3 pg/cm2 per year, based on HCB concentrations in surface sediments and independently derived average sediment-deposition rates) indicates that as much as 87% of the particulate-associated HCB is dissolved or degraded before burial into sediments. These results demonstrate that HCB is removed from the euphotic zone by sedimentation processes less rapidly than polychlorinated biphenyls but on the same time-scale as the pesticide lindane. An upper limit on the residence time in surface waters was calculated to be 135 years.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cocaine use in pregnancy.

With the increasing use of cocaine in the United States, there has been growing concern regarding its effects on the fetuses and neonates of pregnant cocaine abusers. Twenty-three cocaine-using women enrolled in a comprehensive perinatal-addiction program were divided into two groups: those using cocaine only and those using cocaine plus narcotics. These two groups were compared with a group of women who had used narcotics in the past and were maintained on methadone during pregnancy, and with a group of drug-free women. All four groups were similar in maternal age, socioeconomic status, number of pregnancies, and cigarette, marijuana, and alcohol use. Their medical histories indicated that the cocaine-using women had a significantly higher rate of spontaneous abortion than the women in the other two groups. In the pregnancies under study, four cocaine-using women had onset of labor with abruptio placentae immediately after intravenous self-injection of cocaine. Neonatal gestational age, birth weight, length, and head circumference were not affected by cocaine use. However, the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale revealed that infants exposed to cocaine had significant depression of interactive behavior and a poor organizational response to environmental stimuli (state organization). These preliminary observations suggest that cocaine influences the outcome of pregnancy as well as the neurologic behavior of the newborn, but a full assessment will require a larger number of pregnancies and longer follow-up.

Long-Term Effects of an Oil Spill on Populations of the Salt-Marsh Crab Uca pugnax.

A spill of fuel oil at West Falmouth, Massachusetts, in 1969, contaminated contiguous salt marshes with up to 6000 micrograms of oil per gram (ppm) of wet mud and affected local populations of Uca pugnax. Directly related to high-sediment oil content were reduced crab density, reduced ratio of females to males, reduced juvenile settlement, heavy overwinter mortality, incorporation of oil into body tissues, behavioral disorders such as locomotor impairment, and abnormal burrow construction. Concentrations of weathered fuel oil greater than 1000 ppm were directly toxic to adults, while those of 100 to 200 ppm were toxic to juveniles. Cumulative effects occurred at lower concentrations. Recovery of the marsh from this relatively small oil spill is still incomplete after 7 years.