摘要:
The present invention provides methods for determining the toxicity of fresh-water and marine sediments and sediment pore water containing indigenous or introduced toxicants from each as a one-time analysis and/or for analysis over a period of time. The present invention further provides kits assembled for the afore-mentioned determination. The methods and kits of the present invention can be used for analyzing sediment and pore water samples from, among other locations, all environments where species having a dormant life stage may exist including, for example, natural zooplankton.
摘要:
Disclosed is an enhancement of a carbon sequestration process and method for calculating the quantity of atmospheric carbon sequestration manifested by enhanced oceanic photosynthetic productivity through the process of Iron fertilization. This method and process comprises (1) defining a project boundary, (2) obtaining certain baseline measurements, metrics and observations within and beyond the project boundary, (3) applying an Iron compound within the project boundary to enhance photosynthesis, (4) obtaining certain measurements, metrics and observations within and adjacent to the project boundary prior to and after the introduction of Iron compound and last, (5) applying a method based on the measurements from steps 2 and 4 to determine the net quantity of atmospheric carbon that is sequestered.
摘要:
The invention relates to the field of environment conservation, in particular, to methods and means of ecological environment monitoring with the help of a non-invasive control of functional state of native animals. The invention can predominantly be used for automatic on-line estimation of environment quality on the basis of remote real-time registration of cardiac activity in invertebrates with a hard outer covering.The method includes placing the test invertebrate in the environment under investigation, exposing it to IR optical radiation with the help of a transmitting optical fibre with the output end placed on its hard outer covering within its heart area and an optical radiation source being in optical contact with the input end of the transmitting optical fibre; receiving the reflected optical radiation with the help of the receiving optical fibre with its input end placed on the test invertebrate's hard outer covering within its heart area; converting it to an electrical signal with the help of the optical radiation receiver being in optical contact with the output end of the receiving optical fibre; amplifying the signal obtained; converting its instantaneous values to digital codes; entering them to the computer; making digital filtration of digital codes which is matched to the signal's shape and frequency; determining and memorizing the sample of values of the electrical signal period; determining a sample dispersion or arithmetical mean of difference moduli for each two, closest by the time of obtaining, sample values of the electrical signal period; and forming an ecological danger signal when the threshold value exceeds the sample dispersion of values of the electrical signal period or arithmetical mean of difference moduli for each two, closest by the time of obtaining, sample values of the electrical signal period.The system contains a computer and at least one shaper of the digital signal of cardiac activity in the form of series-connected cardiac activity sensor including a casing with an element for installing on the test invertebrate's body with a hard outer covering, a transmitting optical fibre and receiving optical fibre, an optical radiation source and optical radiation receiver; an amplifier and analog-to-digital converter whose output is connected to the computer input. The input end of the transmitting optical fibre and output end of the receiving optical fibre are secured so that they can have optical contact with, respectively, the optical radiation source and optical radiation receiver, and the output end of the transmitting optical fibre and input end of the receiving optical fibre face one side and are positioned in the casing at a distance satisfying the inequality (πd2P)0.07−2.2(1/(πd2P))0.02≦R≦(πd2P)0.07+2.2(1/(πd2P))0.02, where R—distance between the output end of the transmitting optical fibre and input end of the receiving optical fibre, mm; P—output power of the optical radiation source, mW; d—diameter of the transmitting optical fibre or receiving optical fibre, μm.The invention provides a higher reliability of environment monitoring, widening of functional potentials, as well as lower cost and simpler operation of the system for biological environment monitoring.
摘要:
A method of determining the effect of a spill on a marine environment, in which physical and chemical sensors are arranged with living organisms (4, 6) fitted with instruments, at an appropriate distance and position from the object (1) which is to be monitored, wherein the response of the living organism (4, 6), measured online in real time, is compared with known patterns of response, and where upstream and downstream measurements are compared to determine whether a change in response may be caused by a spill from the object, the significance of the real time measurements being validated through sampling of the organisms on a regular basis or as required, in order to analyze the effects on the health of the organisms, biomarkers, for the purpose of assessing the significance of the environmental effect.
摘要:
A submersible biomonitoring system for monitoring water quality in situ includes a submersible chamber constructed of a di-electric material and sized to allow suitable signals from one or more aquatic organisms to be received by eliminating cross-talk between cells while allowing ambient conditions to be maintained inside the chamber. The aquatic organism exhibits ventilatory behavior and body movement sensitive to water quality which manifest as electrical signals picked up by electrodes and communicated to a pre-amplifier that conditions the signals for communication to a land-based amplifier and/or controller that is used to interpret the signals to determine when the water to which the organism is exposed has caused physiological stress to the organism.
摘要:
(1) Transgenic medaka fish into which a polynucleotide having the nucleotide sequence from 211 to 1935 position represented by Sequence ID No: 1 is introduced, (2) A method of producing medaka fish having one or more thrombi, comprising the step of raising the transgenic medaka fish described in (1) in the presence of estrogen, (3) Medaka fish having one or more thrombi produced by the method described in (2), and (4) A method of testing an estrogen-like acting substance, comprising the steps of raising the transgenic medaka fish described in (1) in test water, and observing whether or not one or more thrombi are formed in the medaka fish after the raising step.
摘要:
A computer interfaced device for rapidly quantifying levels of toxicity to small aquatic organisms in aqueous environments. The device has a plurality of test chambers containing replicates of a plurality of concentrations of a substance or sample being tested for toxicity. Each chamber also contains a predetermined number of motile aquatic organisms. Light originating on one side of each test chamber is received by a photo-detector on the opposite side. The device's sensitivity is adjusted so that each interruption of a light beam caused by movement of a test organism in each test chamber is recorded for that chamber. Using this device and a toxicity testing protocol both lethality and changes in the frequency of test organism's movement in each concentration of substance or sample is monitored. Toxicity is by convention quantified as the concentration of a substance or sample which causes a predetermined level of lethal or sublethal response usually after a plurality of days. Using simple statistical software, the level of lethality which will occur following a plurality of days of exposure to each concentration can be predicted from motility data generated within just a few hours (usually 2.5 Hours) of exposing test organisms to the substance or sample. The computer includes software responsive to light beam interruption for deriving a set of parameters useful for predicting lethality. The device and accompanying software permits toxicity of a substance or sample to be quantified rapidly from motility data, long before lethality occurs.
摘要:
Aquatic animals that emit electrical signals are used to detect changes in the operating conditions of an aqueous medium (e.g., the presence of a pollutant). In one embodiment, the aquatic test animals are fishes of a species known as Apteronotus albifrons, whose electrical signals have frequency variations on the order of 0.1% under constant operating conditions; the temperature of the aqueous medium is stabilized to within 0.1.degree. C.; each aquatic test animal is placed in a perforated refuge within a holding tank in which the aqueous medium flows in a vertical direction; and three or more aquatic test animals are used, wherein phases of nychthemeral activity of the aquatic test animals are artificially offset to achieve overlapping of the nychthemeral activity of the aquatic test animals. All of these combine to yield a highly sensitive and reliable system for real-time biological monitoring of physico-chemical parameters of an aqueous medium.
摘要:
A fish is bred in a transparent basin, into which water to be tested is supplied. A light source and a television camera are arranged in such a manner that images of the fish are taken by the camera as a silhouette. From the thus obtained fish images, the frequency distribution of the gravity centers of the fish images in the direction of the depth of water are obtained. The abnormality of the behavior of the fish is detected by comparison of the obtained frequency distribution with a reference distribution provided in advance.
摘要:
A supply of water is continuously monitored to ensure purtiy by dividing the supply into a number of parallel streams and flowing each through a fish tank containing a fish (or other aquatic animal), the health of each fish being monitored by electrodes in each respective tank. The fish tanks are located together in a main tank and the water supply is drawn from a header tank via pipework, the tank being fed from supply. The apparatus includes an electronic system to monitor the activity of the fish.