ASL Sediment Transport System Ordered By Geological Survey of Canada
ASL Environmental Sciences (Sidney, British Columbia, Canada) has received an order from the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) for the provision, deployment and recovery of a specialized, multi-instrument sediment transport platform for use in marine geological research on the Pacific coast of Canada.
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This platform (dubbed NORTON) has been designed by ASL and carries with it an array of off-the-shelf and custom instruments in order to measure and record various parameters.
this instance, NORTON will be deployed on Robert’s Bank on the Fraser River delta. It will be equipped to measure wave height, period and direction, mean current speed and direction at multiple locations above the seabed for bottom boundary layer characterization, optical backscatter for suspended sediment concentration at multiple locations above the seabed and sector scanning sonar images to monitor bedforms. In addition, according to the company, ASL will process all acquired data as specified by the GSC.
For more information, visit www.aslenv.com.
Going by the flow—using acoustics to track stream sediment
Listening to a flowing creek may be just the thing for relaxing on a peaceful afternoon. But ARS hydraulic engineer Roger Kuhnle listens for a different reason. He’s seeking clues about the overall state of the watershed that feeds the creek.
Kuhnle and colleagues use cutting-edge acoustic technology to monitor sediment flow, whose speed and concentration may alert researchers to changes and problems within water systems. The project, undertaken with the University of Mississippi, is being conducted on a model stream channel at the ARS Channel and Watershed Process Research Unit’s laboratory in Oxford, Mississippi, as well as in nearby Goodwin Creek.
“Accurate determinations of the rate of sediment movement by streams are necessary because sediment can fill reservoirs and reduce their capacities,” says Kuhnle, the project’s leader. “It can fill channels and cause flooding, degrade water quality, and destabilize channel banks, destroying land. Monitoring stream sediment also helps us evaluate its potential effect on aquatic organisms.”
Physical, chemical, and biological damage associated with sediment flow in North America costs around $16 billion annually, say ARS and U.S. Geological Survey researchers.
The amount of suspended solid material transported in rivers and streams is often the main indicator of watershed stability–as well as water quality–says Kuhnle. Ideally, early warning signals for watersheds will one day trigger effective preventive care and maintenance strategies. But for now, scientists at the unit are concentrating on the initial step: developing a mobile sensing system that would make such improved care possible. “We need a portable, efficient, automatic system that doesn’t require someone to be on site–one that can provide better data than what we get today, not only in quantity, but also in quality,” says Kuhnle.
He says years of research indicate that acoustic technology is one of the most promising sediment-tracking methods among those tested.
“It is more cost- and time-effective than current methods and the other methods tested,” he says. “The short-duration, high-intensity flows that cause most sediment movement in many streams are best observed by continuous monitoring systems.”
The studies have led to development of the Bedform and Sediment Information System, or BASIS. Devised by former University of Mississippi scientist Robert Derrow in close collaboration with ARS scientists, BASIS emits a pulse of acoustic energy and then gauges the strength and travel time of the back echo to determine sediment’s location and concentration. Like its predecessor–known as the SedBed Monitor–it locates sediment on a stream’s bottom, which can indicate either erosion or accumulation of sediment there.
But the new system’s most important enhancement is its ability to detect sediment suspended in water. It converts the acoustic data into a digital image that portrays suspended sediment as a cloud, in a multitude of colors that signify various concentrations. The main BASIS unit is compact, and the entire system can run from a laptop computer.
Kuhnle says BASIS technology is now available for use by private firms and government agencies. More sophisticated technology under development for total suspended-sediment load sampling will become available after about 3 to 5 more years of experimentation and field testing.
This research is part of Water Quality and Management, an ARS National Program (#201) described on the World Wide Web at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.
Roger A. Kuhnle is with the USDA-ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory, P.O. Box 1157, 598 McElroy Dr., Oxford, MS 38655; phone (662) 232-2971, fax (662) 281-5706, e-mail rkuhnle@ars.usda.gov.
Sonar soundings of the Gulf of Mexico: sediment on the move
Patterns in sediments, swirling like plumes of smoke, mantle the mudflow fanning out from the Mississippi River. This seafloor scene in the Gulf of Mexico is a sample of the latest batch of sonar images taken by GLORIA, the sidescan sonar system towed by the British research ship Farnell. The ship surveyed 14,000 squae nautical miles of the gulf last fall as part of the United States’ EEZ-SCAN program–a six-year project to map the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which exends 200 nautical miles off U.S. Shores (SN: 9/21/85, p. 191). The new mosaics of sonar images, processed and compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), show that there’s a lot more activity on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico than previously suspected.
According to Bonnie McGregor, a Reston, Va.-based USGS marine geologist and project chief of the Gulf of Mexico cruises, the swirls of sediments in the Mississippi fan probably resulted from underwater landslides, which she says cover a much larger area than scientists had thought. She suspects that these landslides are generated during times of low sea level, when rivers like the Mississippi deposit piles of mud far out to the edge of the continental shelf. Then the breaking of ocean waves at the shell edge jars the piles, causing them to collapse and slide down the steeper continental slope. McGregor would like to test this idea by seeing if landslides in two coastal gulf areas to the east and west occurred at the same times as thos in the Mississippi fan.
The recent sonar images indicate that river channels are not the only means of carrying sediments to the fan. “Submarine landslides are also an important process in transporting sediments in the deep ocean,” says McGregor. Scientists are especially interested in studying these processes on the Mississippi fan, sh add, as part of an effort to make a model for oil exploration in ancient fans on land.
The recent survey of the gulf also produced images of the continental slope off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. The slope is being extensively deformed by a mass of salt diapirs, or rising domes, which is wedging itself between layers of mud as it flows downslope. At the edge of the salt mass is a 700-meter step called the Sigsbee escarpment. The EEZ-San images reveal that sediment is able to move across this escarpment, forming piles of debris on its seaward side. And engraved in these sediments are wavelike bedforms, indicating the McGregor that “water currents in the gulf are being channeled along the escarpment, reworking the sediments on the seafloor.”
On the eastern side of the gulf, the researchers obtained images of the west Florida escarpment, the edge of the carbonate platform that forms Florida. The images reveal an extensive network of channels that have been eroded into the escarpment edge. According to McGregor, these channels vary in shape and depth along the length of the escarpment. Her group is now studying the images in detail to try to understand the processes that form the channels and how these processes differ at different latitudes. Getting these kinds of images with conventional sonar techniques, which look straight down on the ocean bottom, has been difficult because of the steepness of the escarpment, says McGregor. “The sidescan images [which look at a broad swath, 22 km to either side of the ship] for the first time show us clearly what the topography of the steep escarpment is,” she observes. “Now we can look at the escarpment as a total unit.”
The main advantae of the GLORIA sidescan system is that it can cover large areas very quickly; last summer it surveyed 250,000 square nautical miles off the coasts of Oregon, California and Washington in 100 days and at a cost of about 1^ per acre. According to McGregor, the British are now building another GLORIA system, which the United States will lease or buy. Scientists hope the system will be completed by the time the Farnella, which returned to the United Kingdom for maintenance after surveying the EEZ around Puerto rico, returns early this year to survey the waters around Alaska and Hawaii.
Tombstone - Sediment Hosted Gold Deposit to be Drill Tested
VANCOUVER, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 8, 1996– TOMBSTONE EXPLORATIONS (TSE: TSO) Drilling has been completed on 12 holes at Tatanacho and assay results will be announced as they are received. The drill is being moved to San Antonio, approximately 2 km west of Tatanacho where drilling will commence on or about May 15.
The San Antonio sediment hosted gold zone has been mapped and sampled over a strike length of 900 metres and a width ranging from 50 to 200 metres. The west end of the gold zone was tested by diamond drill hole MOR-16, which graded 1.2 g/t of gold over an interval of 143 metres.
Surface trenching and channel sampling has indicated similar grades over the 900 metre strike length. Of particular interest is an outcrop 500 metres east of MOR-16 which grades 1.3 g/t of gold over approximately 100 metres. Other shorter trenches in the same zone, which tested only portions of the zone returned assays of 1.4 g/t over 10 metres and 2.4 g/t over 7 metres.
Management is very encouraged by results to date at San Antonio. The thick mineralized interval in MOR-16 coupled with the widespread gold mineralization in outcrop indicates the potential for a gold deposit of significant size. Once surface sampling is complete, a 10 hole, wide-spaced diamond drill program will commence to test the gold zone.
The Minoro Project is a large copper-gold mineralized system, which contains a number of encouraging targets with multi-million ounce potential. The Joint Venture controls approximately 100 square kilometres and plans to systematically explore and develop each target. Champion Resources Inc. is earning a 40TOMBSTONE EXPLORATIONS CO. LTD. Richard P. Clark, Chief Executive Officer
CONTACT: Tombstone Explorations Co. Ltd.
Richard P. Clark, 604/682-1545
or
800/668-0091 (Toll Free U.S./Canada)
Zircon age constraints on sediment provenance in the Caspian region
Sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb ages tor detrital zircons from the Caspian region reveal the age ranges of basement terrains that supplied the sediment. One sample from the modern Volga river has groupings at c. 340-370 Ma. c. 900-1300 Ma and c. 1450-1800 Ma, with a small number of older zircons. This is consistent with derivation from the Precambrian basement of the East European Craton, and Palaeozoic arcs in the Urals. Mid- and Late Proterozoic components may be derived from beyond the present Volga drainage basin, such as the Sveconorwegian orogen. A Bajocian sandstone from the Greater Caucasus has 73% zircons that post-date 350 Ma. Ages cluster at c. 165-185 Ma, c. 220-260 Ma, c. 280-360 Ma and c. 440-460 Ma. This pattern suggests derivation from Palaeozoic basement of the Greater Caucasus itself and/or the Scythian Platform, and igneous rocks generated at a Jurassic are in the Lesser Caucasus. Four samples from the Lower Pliocene Productive Series of the South Caspian Basin have common Phanerozoic grains, and groups between c. 900-1300 Ma and 1500-2000 Ma. Each sample contains zircons dated to c. 2700 Ma. The overall age patterns in the Productive Series samples suggest a combination of East European Craton and Greater Caucasus source components.
This paper presents the first detrital zircon provenance data for one of the world’s major rivers (Volga), mountain belts (Greater Caucasus) and thickest sedimentary basins (South Caspian). These data help define the sediment provenance patterns of the modern Volga and its Pliocene forerunner, the Palaco-Volga. They also help understand the crustalevolution of the sediment source regions: the East European Craton and neighbouring erogenic belts of the Urals and Greater Caucasus.
U-Pb ages of detrital zircons provide insights into the provenance of clastic successions in sedimentary basins. In ancient basins, this gives information on sediment pathways that may not be available by other means, such as palaeocurrent studies (Berry et al. 2001 ). In modern river systems, the age data improve understanding of the basement terrains that directly or indirectly supplied the sediment (Cawood et al. 2003). This paper uses both approaches, by presenting U-Pb ages for detrital zircons from: ( 1 ) a sample of modern river sand from the Volga river; (2) a Mesozoic (Bajocian) sandstone from the eastern Greater Caucasus; (3) four sandstones from the Pliocene Productive Series of the Apsheron Peninsula, Azerbaijan (two from the Kirmaky Suite and two from the Balakhany Suite; Figs 1 and 2). These analyses characterize the provenance of sediment in the modern Volga and the Pliocene Palaeo-Volga, which terminated several hundred kilometres south of the modern Volga delta, in the interior of the South Caspian Basin (e.g. Reynolds et al. 199S). No ‘exotic’ age ranges are identified in the age spectra that cannot be matched to one or more of the known basement provinces around the East European Craton. There are also known crustal segments that are not represented in our data, such as the r. 3.5 Ga crust of Sarmatia. The Greater Caucasus zircons reveal the age and nature of the sediment sources for the Mesozoic depocentre in this region: there is little evidence for involvement of the Prccambrian basement of the East European C’raton. The Greater Caucasus data also reinforce the idea that this range was a sediment source for the South Caspian Basin during its rapid Pliocene-Quaternary subsidence.
Geological background
The modern Volga river delivers sediment into the Caspian Sea from a drainage basin c. 1.3 × 10^sup 6^ km^sup 2^ in area (Kroonenberg et al. 1997; Fig. 1). Most of the bedrock across this area consists of Phanerozoic sediments that form the cover to the East European Craton. The basement to this succession belongs to three main blocks that accreted to each other to form the craton in the Early Proterozoic: Fennoscandia, Sarmatia and Volgo-Uralia (Bogdanova 1993; Gorbatschev & Bogdanova 1993; Claesson et al. 2001; Fig. I ). Basement is exposed in the Baltic and Ukrainian shields (Fig. 1), which contain large areas of late Archaean crust. The Sarmatian province is distinctive for Archaean crust of c. 3.53.6 Ga. which is not found in Fennoscandia or Volgo-Uralia (Bibikova & Williams 1990; Shchipansky & Bogdanova 1996). Most of the Volga drainage basin lies within the Volgo-Uralia segment, but the only exposures of Precambrian rocks in this region are along the western side of the Urals (Puchkov 1997). Here there is structural and geochronological evidence for both Mid- and Eate Proterozoic orogeny, affecting a thick sedimentary succession at the craton margin (Glasmacher et al. 2001 ). At the eastern side of the crnton, Palaeozoic volcanic rocks, granitoids, ophiolites and mctascdiments of the Urals, east of the Main Uralian Fault, record the accretion of arcs to the craton in the late Palaeozoic. Phanerozoic sediments deposited across the craton are presumably derived from a combination of the Precambrian basement blocks and the Uralian erogenic belt, but there are few provenance details based on radiometric age dating. Tectonic subsidence across the craton was generated by a combination of episodic rifting events, such as the late Palaeozoic Dneiper- Donets rift, and subsequent regional thermal subsidence (Nikishin et al. 1996).
Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Variability of Satureja montana L. Essential Oils Produced During Ontogenesis
The essential oils obtained from Satureja montana L. harvested in central part of Dalmatia (Croatia) at three ontogenical stages were evaluated for their chemical composition and antimicrobial activity. GC/MS analyses revealed the presence of 33 compounds in the oils. Carvacrol (52.4>26.2>16.1%) was found to be the main constituent especially before flowering while p-cymene (3.8
Key Word Index
Satureja montana, Lamiaceae, antimicrobial activity, essential oil composition, carvacrol, p-cymene, ontogenesis.
The importance of aromatic plants is considerable, owing on one hand to their applications in folk medicine and on the other hand to their potential for commercial exploitation in various fields such as aroma and flavor enhancers, cosmetics and pharmaceutics. The genus Saturejais represented in Croatia by nine species, five subspecies and seven varieties (7). The Satureja montana L., known as ‘Winter Savory,’ belongs to the family Lamiaceae, subfamily Nepetoidae, and tribe Mentheae (24). One of the diagnostic characteristics of the subfamily Nepetoidae is that its representatives contain more than 0.5% essential oil (2). Satureja montana, which is a perennial semi-shrubbery plant growing in Submediterranean area has developed a number of morphological and physiological adaptations because of having to endure dry climatic conditions (22). Environmental parameters such as precipitation and temperature were found to have an effect on the oil yield and composition (27,8). The oil isolated from various species of Satureja has been found to possess certain biological properties such as antibacterial (21,18), fungicidal (21,28) antiviral (17), antioxidant (19), antispasmodic and antidiarrhoeal (29). Because of the strong phenolic character of the Winter Savory oil, the taste and fragrance is reminiscent of commercial oregano and thyme oils. The biological activity and use of oils in different industries depends on the oil composition which is affected by several factors (4). The quantity and the quality of an oil can be influenced by the stage of plant growth (26,20).The purpose of this study is to examine the composition of S. montana oils produced from plants harvested at different stages of ontogenesis and determine their antimicrobial activities.
Experimental
Plant material: Test material of species Satureja montana was gathered in the littoral part of Croatia Brae island which ranged in altitude from 400 to 780 m above sea level. The plant used in this study was being gathered from june till October 2000. Voucher specimens were deposited in Herbarium of the Faculty of Natural Science and Education of the University of Split.
Oil isolation: Leaves and flowering tops (if available) of S. montana obtained from different maturity stages were separately subjected to hydrodistillation for 3 h using a modifled Unger-type apparatus. The oils obtained were dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and 2 µL, of each were used for GC/MS analysis.
Oil analysis: Analysis of the volatile compounds was carried out on a Hewlet Packard GC/MS system (GC 5890 Series II; MSD 5971A).
The fused silica HP-20 M polyethylene glycol column (50 m × 0.2 mm, 0.2 µm film thickness) was directly coupled to the mass spectrometer. The carrier gas was helium (1 mL/min). The temperature program used was 4 min isothermal at 70°C, then 70°-180°C at a rate of 4°C/min then held isothermal for 10 min. The injection port temperature was 250°C. The ionization of the sample components was performed in the EI mode (70 eV).
The linear retention indices for all the compounds were determined by co-injection of the sample with a solution containing the homologous series of C^sub 8^-C^sub 22^ n-alkanes (10). The individual constituents were identified by their identical retention indices, referring to the compounds known from literature data (25) and also by comparing their mass spectra with either the known compounds or with the Wiley mass spectral database. Quantitative data were obtained from integration of TIC data.
Biological material: The antimicrobial activity was evaluated against oils produced from plants harvested at different vegetative stages (before, during and after flowering). The bacteria screened included both laboratory control strains obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (Rockville, MD): Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 26633), Bacillus cereus (ATCC 11778) Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Streptococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), Gram-negative bacteria: Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 10031), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Proteus mirabilis (ATCC 25933), Salmonella typhi (ATCC 19430), and fungal organisms: Aspergillus niger (ATCC 9142), Aspergillus fumigatus (ATCC 9142), Candida albicans (ATCC 10231), Candida rugosa (ATCC 10571) and Saccharomyces ceremsiae (ATCC 561).
In vitro antimicrobial tests: To quantitate the antimicrobial activity of S. montana oils, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) were determined usingabroth dilution method (23,16). The MIC was the lowest decrease (> 90%) in inoculums viability while the MBC or MFC was the point inoculums survived. Aliquots of the investigated oils were dissolved in 0.5% dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) to give solution in a concentration ranges 0.06-4.0% (w/v). The broth cultures of selected organisms were prepared by inoculating Muller-Hinton broth (MHB) with l-2colonies from a blood agar plate and incubating for 18 h at 37°C with shaking. In the tests, triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) (Aldrich Chemical Company Inc., Milwaukee, WI) was also added to the culture medium as a growth indicator. The final concentration of TTC after inoculation was 0.05%. Serial doubling dilutions of S. montana oils were prepared in 100-well trays and incubated aerobically at 37°C (bacteria) for 24 h and 25°C (yeast and filamentous fungal strains) for 48 h. To confirm MIC and establish MBC, aliquots 10 µL of both were removed from the each well and inoculated on the media as spots Muller-Hinton agar (MHA) was used as the standard medium for bacteria and Potato dextrose agar (PDA) for fungi. After aerobic incubation at 37°C or 25°C overnight, the number of surviving organisms was determined. Each test was performed in triplicate and the results analyzed. Dimethyl sulphoxide (0.5%) and triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (0.05%) without oil were also used as a negative control and, in this case, no antimicrobial activity was observed.
Women in Business seminar set for Feb. 12
Utah State University College of Business’ “Partners in Business” program continues Feb. 12 with the third annual Women in Business seminar.
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Speakers include Louise Francesconi, president of Raytheon Missile Systems; Cyndi Crother, author and professor at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Nancy Sullivan, vice president of aromatics/phenol for Shell Chemical; Cydney Neil, owner/ producer of the Rocky Point Haunted House; Jean D. Brown, chief executive officer of Jean Brown Research; Kathryn Pett, secretary and general counsel for the Utah Transit Authority; and Chris Redgrave, general manager of KSL Radio.The event, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ellen Eccles Conference Center, costs $165 for non-partners. Details are available at www.partnersusu.org or by calling 1-800-472-9965
Combustion-derived ultrafine particles transport organic toxicants to target respiratory cells
Epidemiologic evidence supports associations between inhalation of fine and ultrafine ambient particulate matter [aerodynamic diameter [less than or equal to]2.5 [micro]m (P[M.sub.2.5])] and increases in cardiovascular/respiratory morbidity and mortality. Less attention has been paid to how the physical and chemical characteristics of these particles may influence their interactions with target cells. Butadiene soot (BDS), produced during combustion of the high-volume petrochemical 1,3-butadiene, is rich in poly-nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including known carcinogens. We conducted experiments to characterize BDS with respect to particle size distribution, assembly, PAH composition, elemental content, and interaction with respiratory epithelial cells. Freshly generated, intact BDS is primarily (> 90%) PAH-rich, metals-poor (nickel, chromium, and vanadium concentrations all < 1 ppm) P[M.sub.2.5], composed of uniformly sized, solid spheres (30-50 nm) in aggregated form. Cells of a human bronchial epithelial cell line (BEAS-2B) exhibit sequential fluorescent responses–a relatively rapid (~ 30 min), bright but diffuse fluorescence followed by the slower (2-4 hr) appearance of punctate cytoplasmic fluorescence–after BDS is added to medium overlying the cells. The fluorescence is associated with PAH localization in the cells. The ultrafine BDS particles move down through the medium to the cell membrane. Fluorescent PAHs are transferred from the particle surface to the cell membrane, cross the membrane into the cytosol, and appear to accumulate in lipid vesicles. There is no evidence that BDS particles pass into the cells. The results demonstrate that uptake of airborne ultrafine particles by target cells is not necessary for transfer of toxicants from the particles to the cells. Key words: cytoplasmic vesicles, PAHs, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, punctate fluorescence, respiratory epithelium, soot, ultrafine particles. doi: 10.1289/ehp.7661 available via http://dx.doi.org/[Online 6 May 2005]
Increased morbidity and mortality have been associated with exposure to inhaled airborne particulate matter (PM; Dockery et al. 1993; Samet et al. 2000; Schwartz et al. 1996). In 1997, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued revised National Ambient Air Quality Standards (U.S. EPA 1997) for airborne PM, which supplemented the 1991 standards (U.S. EPA 1991) by focusing on PM with aerodynamic diameters [less than or equal to]2.5 [micro]m (P[M.sub.2.5]). Small increases in levels of ambient P[M.sub.2.5] result in increases (> 1%) in cardiovascular and respiratory mortality (Pope et al. 2002). Recently, the focus has begun to shift to health effects arising from inhalation of ultrafine particles (diameter < 0.1 [micro]n) that comprise a small fraction of the total mass, but most of the total number, of airborne PM (Peters et al. 1997). For equivalent masses of inhaled particles, ultrafine particles provide a greater surface area for adsorption of potentially toxic agents than do the larger sized particles.
Inhaled ultrafine particles can be deposited in the lung and can migrate from there into systemic circulation and thus to the heart, as well as to more distal organs. Within 5 min of intratracheal instillation, 25-30% of [sup.99m]technetium-labeled albumin ultrafine particles (nominal diameter [less than or equal to] 80 nm) were detected in the blood (Nemmar et al. 2001).
Ambient fine and ultrafine particles arise from multiple sources, both combustion-related (e.g., diesel, petrochemical), and noncombustion-related (e.g., crustal, agricultural). The fine soot particles arising from incomplete combustion of coal and petroleum have been associated with increased mortality (Laden et al. 2000). In urban settings, diesel exhaust is a prominent source of fine particles (U.S. EPA 2002). Organic solvent extracts of diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) induce oxidative stress in respiratory epithelial cells and macrophages (Li et al. 2002). Particle-rich diesel exhaust contains relatively high levels of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including the well-characterized carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). Other contributors to the burden of airborne particulates include PM arising from flaring of volatile hydrocarbons at refineries and/or incomplete combustion of unused or fugitive hydrocarbons at petrochemical plants. These additional sources of inhalable, PAH-rich particles are of special concern where refineries and/or petrochemical processing plants are concentrated.
1,3-Butadiene (BD) is a volatile, “top 40″ U.S. production chemical [> 3 x [10.sup.9] lb produced annually; Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 2004]. Industrial petrochemicals, including BD, that escape the production stream or that remain unreacted are burned. The butadiene soot (BDS) produced during incomplete combustion of BD is a complex, PAH-rich mixture of particulates. A broad size range of PAHs [up to ~ 1,000 atomic mass units (amu)], including BaP and other carcinogens, is present in BDS. After incubation with BDS extracts in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), normal human bronchial epithelial cells, which are putative target cells for inhaled irritants, exhibited plasma membrane blebbing, small but statistically significant increases in the number of binucleate cells, and a diffuse cytoplasmic fluorescence when viewed under the light microscope (Catallo et al. 2001).
Safety evaluation of certain food additives
Safety evaluation of certain food additives.
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committe on Food Additives (JECFA) Meeting (65th: 2005: Geneva, Switzerland)
World Health Organization
2006
441 pages
$60.00
Paperback
WHO food additives; 56
TX553
These 13 monographs represent a meeting of an advisory body to the International Programme on Chemical Safety held at WHO headquarters in June 2005, and are intended to be read in conjunction with Food and Nutrition Paper, No. 52, Addendum 13. Focusing on the safety of specific food additives, international contributors present biological, toxicological, clinical, and dietary data on such common additives as beeswax, phospholipase A1 (an enzyme), and flavorings including aromatic amines and amides. Papers based on proprietary reports are generally not referenced. Appendices include a list of previous meeting reports, recommendations on acceptable daily intakes and a minority opinion.
Herbal medicine for pets
Since prehistoric times, native healers have learned some herbal medicine by observing wild animals to see which herbs they would seek. When an animal is sick or injured, it fasts and seeks out herbs (we call them weeds) to heal themselves. Now that we have domesticated animals, they depend on us to deliver these same herbs to them.
When possible, you should give herbs that are gathered fresh. Wildcrafting is not as safe today as it once was. Chemical pesticides and herbicides may contaminate wild herbs. Also some species of plants are endangered and should not be harvested in the wild. Herbs can be gardened or bought dried in health food stores. Most herbs lose their full medicinal properties after about one year, especially the aromatic ones. Herbs should be gathered when in full leaf or in full flower, depending on the part used. The best gathering time is midday. Do not gather herbs when leaves are turning yellow or flowers are fading, or when they are wet from rain or dew. Damp herbs don’t dry well and will mold.
Herbs can be dried by tying them in bunches and hanging them on strings in a well ventilated place. When dry, they can be placed in brown paper bags with the neck twisted and firm/y tied with elastic to exclude air and insects
Herbs can also be bought in health food stores. There are liquid tinctures, capsules, and powdered herbs. Though the tinctures may be more potent, the powders are sometimes easier to give to pets. Powdered herbs are easily disguised in food. Capsules can be opened and sprinkled on food. Tablets can be crushed with mortar and pestle. Cats enjoy meaty and salty flavors like fish, shrimp, and liver to disguise their herbs. Dogs like a great variety of flavors to disguise their herbs, such as meat, liver, honey, molasses, applesauce, cheese, and peanut butter.
If you can’t disguise the herbs, you can give them manually. Grasp the upper jaw with one hand and insert your thumb and forefinger behind the canine teeth. Pour liquids in the mouth with the head tilted back. The liquid will run back to the throat and be swallowed. To give pills, follow the same instructions, but hold the pill between your thumb and first finger. Use the other fingers to press down the lower jaw. Put the pill as far to the back as you can, then induce a swallow by rubbing the throat and blowing on the nose.
One of the most used herbal remediesis a first aid treatment for diarrhea. One teaspoon full of Slippery Elm Powder is mixed with one cup of distilled water. The mixture is brought to a boil while stirring. It is simmered for two to three minutes and then taken off the heat. For dogs, one tablespoon of honey is stirred in and the mixture is cooled. Cats and small dogs (up to twenty pounds) receive half to one teaspoon. Medium dogs (twenty to forty pounds) get two teaspoons to two tablespoons. Large dogs (over forty pounds) should get three to four tablespoons. This remedy is given four times a day. The mixture can be covered and kept at room temperature for up to two days.
Cats are very vulnerable to abscess formation. Puncture wounds tend to build up infection and close over. Heal them using a Purple Coneflower (Echinacea Angustifolia) infusion. One cup distilled water is boiled and poured over one teaspoon dry or one tablespoon fresh Echinacea. The mixture is covered and steeped for fifteen minutes. The liquid is extracted by straining through cheesecloth. This infusion is given three times a day by mouth. Cats and small dogs get half a teaspoon. Medium dogs get one teaspoon and large dogs get one tablespoon. As an alternative, the tincture is available in health food stores. Dilute three drops in one tablespoon of distilled water and give the same doses as the infusion. Abscesses also need external treatment to open and induce drainage. Soak a cloth in the warm Echinacea infusion or tincture and apply it to the abscess. Put a dry towel over the compress to keep in the heat. After five minutes, refresh the compress by dipping the cloth back in the warm solution, wringing it our and reapplying. Treat for fifteen minutes twice a day for up to two weeks. For wounds that are slow to heal and beginning to festeran infusion of Marigold (Calendula Officianalis) can be made using the same process.
Anal Glands sometimes become impacted in dogs. They will scratch the anal region or scoot on the floor when this happens. A warm infusion of either Marigold flower (Calendula Officianalis) or Red Clover (Trifolium Pratense) will stimulate the glands and soften their contents. Right after the compress, gently press the glands to stimulate them to empty.
Pets often develop smelly, watery ear discharges. Mix one teaspoon Calendula tincture with half a teaspoon sea salt and one cup distilled water. Flush and massage the ear canal twice a day.
These are gentle, natural herbals to use for first aid. Any condition that does not resolve in a few days should receive professional help. A physical exam and further diagnostic workup may be needed. Keep in mind that some pets (cats, especially) shut down emotionally when they are medicated constantly. Western herbal medicine is very versatile and can be used to treat most diseases naturally and without the side effects of pharmaceutical medicine. In addition, Traditional Chinese Medicine includes a powerful pharmacy of Herbal medicines. Chinese Herbals are stronger in effect than Western Herbals and must be accurately prescribed based on the pattern of imbalance in the patient. Because of this, they are available by prescription only.