The objectives of this study were to measure exposure to dust in the small bakery shops, to define the determinants of occupational asthma, and to propose control measures for this. The study included bakery workers of one hundred bakeries (the cases; n=200, the controls; n=20). Their individual information was obtained by a simple questionnaire based on “Ear–Nose–Throat” (ENT) work–related symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and irritations. Subjects were considered as “possible occupational asthma cases”. Medical visit was carried out to complete clinical and lung function investigations for these subjects. The mean flour dust concentration in the current study was 28mg/m3. Fifty six of bakery workers had work related symptoms significantly higher than those in controls. The spirometric results illustrated that the workers with experience of less than five years are not affected as there was no significant difference between exposed cases and controls in mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) or forced vital capacity (FVC) percent determined. But workers with experience of five years or more showed significantly lower mean FEV1 and FVC percent predicted when compared with controls. The results of lung function test for subjects demonstrated that the flour dust pollution adversely affects on main lung function parameters, such as FVC and FEV1. This study confirms that the risk of pulmonary disease among flour dust exposed workers is higher than the unexposed control subjects.

Ambient measurements of elemental species concentrations were made using an online elemental monitor at an air pollution monitoring station in Gwangju, Korea to evaluate the performance of the monitor for near–real time PM2.5 elemental monitoring and identify possible sources of the observed elements. This study also demonstrates the utility of integrating hourly elemental data with the meteorological data to better understand the sources of elements. Good agreement between the online and filter–based measurements was obtained for the elements studied, with an R2 of 0.73–0.97 and regression slopes of 0.84–2.37, suggesting the potential use of the online monitor to observe temporal variations in anthropogenic aerosol particles. Atmospheric element concentration levels studied were 2–20 times greater than their background levels when pollution plumes coming from industrial areas had impacted the site. Examination of the elements data revealed several short spikes of elements that are associated with local industrial emissions and road dusts. For the haze episodes observed over the study period, the element K was significantly influenced by biomass burning emissions with some impacts from soil dusts and industrial activities. Based on the wind direction and wind speed data, As/Se, Se/SO42−, and correlations among Se, As, Pb, SO2, and SO42−, it is suggested that the observed As and Se were significantly impacted by local anthropogenic sources and long–range transport of aerosols, rather than local coal combustion or coke emissions. Conditional probability functions were applied to identify likely local emission source locations of the elements observed at the site, indicating that the elements contributions were from the southwest and northeast directions, where two industrial areas and an express highway are located. Results from principal component analysis indicate that the observed concentrations of the element species were likely attributed to road dust/local industrial emissions, oil combustion, and metal processing.

Temperature changes due to climate change and seasonal fluctuation can have profound implications on chemical toxicity to marine organisms. Through a comprehensive meta-analysis by comparing median lethal or effect concentration data of six chemicals for various saltwater species obtained at different temperatures, we reveal that the chemical toxicity generally follows two different models: (1) it increases with increasing temperature and (2) it is the lowest at an optimal temperature and increases with increasing or decreasing temperature from the optimal temperature. Such observations are further supported by temperature-dependent hazardous concentration 10% (HC10) values derived from species sensitivity distributions which are constructed using the acute toxicity data generated at different temperatures. Considering these two models and natural variations of seawater temperature, we can scientifically assess whether applying an assessment factor (e.g. 10) to modify water quality guidelines of the chemicals can adequately protect marine ecosystems in tropics, subtropics and temperate regions, respectively.

Dredged material is a potential resource for beneficial use for create/improve subtidal habitats. In a northwestern Adriatic lagoon, dredged sand was placed in inner areas with the management objective of improving the characteristics of the muddy areas being recharged. With this study we investigated the recolonization dynamics of benthic communities following the placement of dredged sand in a microtidal lagoon. The disposal of dredged sand had an immediate and negative effect on resident fauna. After an initial reduction, benthic communities followed different recovery pathways. One year after disposal, we recorded an almost complete recovery of the benthic invertebrates in terms of univariate parameters. Despite multivariate analyses still showed significantly different community structures, the trajectories of recovery for disposal areas converged towards the same basin of attraction of control areas. The ecological quality of sites, assessed with benthic indices, did not improve, thus no new beneficial habitat was created for macrobenthos.

Cystoseira amentacea is a Mediterranean endemic alga thriving on very shallow rocky substrates. It has been considered as a threatened species, having experienced a steady decline and is therefore protected by international conventions. The historical distribution of the species has been assessed along the French Mediterranean coast, on the basis of 467 articles and herbarium vouchers. We have produced an accurate map of its current distribution and abundance along 1832km of coastline, through in situ surveys. C. amentacea was observed along 1125km of shoreline, including 33% of almost continuous or continuous belt. In most of its range, there is no evidence of loss, except in 4 areas of Provence, French Riviera and Corsica. A significant relation was found between the absence or low abundance of C. amentacea and the vicinity of ports and large sewage outfalls. The status of conservation of the species should therefore be reassessed.

In this study composition of marine debris and their blocking potential on the selectivity grid systems deployed on demersal trawls were investigated in the north eastern Mediterranean. For this, a total of 132hauls were examined in two fishing season between 20 September 2010 and 19 February 2012. Results showed that plastic items were the most abundant debris (73% in terms of weight) and they were followed by metals (10%). Because of plastics and packing debris, it is highly probable that grids may have been blocked in 85% of trawl hauls. The bathymetric and geographical variability in the quantity of debris were evaluated, and concluded that particularly in some areas where direction of currents and bottom topography favor deposition, such devices may easily be rendered ineffective by the plastics and packing debris in particular. To solve this problem, several solution proposals are submitted.

In order to test the relationship between the occurrence of marine debris and the distance from urban areas, nine beaches in the metropolitan area of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil and the adjacent northern coast were studied. Marine debris were collected, sorted in several categories and weighed. It was observed that plastics were numerically the most abundant component of the collected debris. As expected, the beaches closest to Salvador presented the largest density of debris, with the exception of the Porto da Barra beach, which has an efficient public cleaning system and does not have any vegetation, making it difficult toaccumulate solid waste. Linear regression analyses showed significant relationships between the distance from the urban center (Salvador) and the number of marine debris per m2, the total number of debris per beach (abundance), and the diversity of debris types (richness). The results showed that proximity to urban regions was a key factor in the marine debris distribution along the coast.

A primitive-equation model has been used to investigate the meteorologically-driven circulation of the Bay of Algeciras. It is shown that the mean circulation of Atlantic Water (AW) is characterized by an anticyclonic cell, while Mediterranean Water (MW) follows a preferred cyclonic pathway. Meteorological forcing distorts substantially the AW mean circulation pattern, and only modulates that of the MW. Winds drive a vertical circulation cell in the Atlantic layer consistent with Ekman dynamics, whereas the horizontal circulation pattern is markedly dependent on the swift Atlantic jet entering the Mediterranean and changes from clearly anticyclonic to cyclonic as the jet separates or approaches the strait’s northern shoreline. This occurs through atmospheric pressure-driven acceleration/deceleration of the jet, in agreement with internal hydraulics theory predictions. It is also found that the renewal of AW is largely modulated by tides, with meteorological forcing playing a secondary role. The opposite applies to the renewal of MW.

Future impacts from climate change and human activities may increase the likelihood of invasions of native marine species into existing habitats as a result of range shifts. To provide an understanding of the invasion of a native seagrass species (Syringodiumisoetifolium) into a tropical multi-species meadow, detailed field assessments were conducted over a six year period. After establishing in a discrete patch, the extent and standing crop of S.isoetifolium increased 800 and 7000 fold, respectively, between 1988 and 2003 (∼300–260,000 m2 and<1kgDW to 7596±555kgDW). The expansion of S.isoetifolium was confined to subtidal areas and appears primarily from clonal growth. The observed expansion of this species into a new locality was found to be clearly influenced by cumulative impacts and chronic small-scale physical disturbances. This study has immediate relevance to managing impacts which influence the spread of invasive species.

Glyphosate is one of the most widely applied herbicides globally but its persistence in seawater has not been reported. Here we quantify the biodegradation of glyphosate using standard “simulation” flask tests with native bacterial populations and coastal seawater from the Great Barrier Reef. The half-life for glyphosate at 25°C in low-light was 47days, extending to 267days in the dark at 25°C and 315days in the dark at 31°C, which is the longest persistence reported for this herbicide. AMPA, the microbial transformation product of glyphosate, was detected under all conditions, confirming that degradation was mediated by the native microbial community. This study demonstrates glyphosate is moderately persistent in the marine water under low light conditions and is highly persistent in the dark. Little degradation would be expected during flood plumes in the tropics, which could potentially deliver dissolved and sediment-bound glyphosate far from shore.