Butyltin compounds in a sediment core from the old Tilbury basin, London, UK

Sections from a sediment core taken from the River Thames were analysed for butyltin species using gas chromatography with species-specific isotope dilution mass spectrometry. Results demonstrated that in most samples tributyltin concentrations of 20–60 ng/g accounted for <10% of the total butyltin species present, which is in agreement with data from other sediment samples which were historically contaminated with tributyltin. Vertical distribution of the organotin residues with depth throughout the core, with data on organochlorine compounds and heavy metals allowed for the construction of a consistent hypothesis on historical deposition of contaminated sediments. From this it was possible to infer that the concentrations of tributyltin in sediments deposited during the early 1960s were in the order of 400–600 lg/g by using degradation rate constants derived by other workers. Such values fall well within the range quoted for harbour sediments in the literature

Removal processes for tributyltin during municipal wastewater treatment

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2013 Springer.The fate and behaviour of tributyltin (TBT) at two wastewater treatment works was examined. Both sites had two inlet streams, and each utilised high rate biological filters (biofilters) on one the streams, before treatment of the combined flows on trickling filters, with one having additional tertiary processes, installed to remove ammonia and solids. The study was designed to determine if these processes enhanced the removal of TBT. Degradation of TBT was observed in one of the biofilters, possibly as a result of temperature and hydraulic loading. At the treatment works with tertiary processes, the mass flux showed the overall removal of TBT was 68 %, predominantly due to removal with solids in the primary settlement processes. However, overall removal of 95 % was observed in the conventional trickling filter works with 94 % of this due to biodegradation in the trickling filter. The two works both removed TBT, but at different treatment stages and by different processes. Differences in the form (solubility) of TBT in the influent may have attributed to this, although further understanding of factors controlling degradation would allow for a more complete assessment of the potential of biological processes to remove hazardous compounds from wastewaters.United Utilities PL

Imposex levels and tributyltin pollution in Ria de Aveiro (NW Portugal) between 1997 and 2007: evaluation of legislation effectiveness

Nucella lapillus imposex levels and organotin (OT) concentrations in water and female tissues were measured in samples collected from the Ria de Aveiro (NW Portugal) between 1997 and 2007. Vas deferens sequence index (VDSI), relative penis size index (RPSI), mean female penis length (FPL) and percentage of imposex affected females (%I) were used to determine imposex levels at each site. A significant temporal decline in imposex intensity was observed during the assessed period. Imposex decrease was evident after 2003 although improvements were most notable from 2005 to 2007, probably due to the implementation of the EU Council Regulation no.782/2003 forbidding further application of tributyltin (TBT) antifouling on vessels carrying EU flags. Despite these improvements, OT analysis in N. lapillus female tissues and water indicate there are still recent TBT inputs into the study area

Architecture muséale : une figure de l’art de la ville "Du British Museum à la spirale du Victoria & Albert Museum à Londres"

Beginning with "the Beaubourg effect", which was confirmed and greatly enhanced by the "Bilbao effect", hundreds of museums are now being built all over the world and are consecrated in an extreme media storm, from their very conception, to the point that the architectural object itself is a work of art, even taking precedence over the collections for which it was conceived, and is one of the first artistic objects to be taken into consideration in a town. In this great fascination for museums, we like to recognize the spirit of the Enlightenment, which sees the museum as something indispensable for any self-respecting city, a monument and/or an ornament, an instrument which gives value to the bourgeois city, the key edifice in many urbanistic programs. The new museum, above and beyond its economic importance, has become an essential element of symbolic capital for a city. This is true of the architectural object itself and the urbanistic project which accompanies it. Museal architecture, whether it be a contemporary creation or a rehabilitation, inevitably exhibits certain aesthetic norms which are revealed by the formal choices and the testimonies of the cultural attitudes of a given moment in time. The city prides itself on the multiplication of images offered by these places of art. Starting with an analysis of the architectural envelope of museums in the urban milieu, we will address the question of the museum as an ornament of the city. The demonstration will be developed using the city of London and its British Museum as a reference and will essentially refer to the projected extensions of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Tate Modern

Mensonge de voisinage

À l’occasion des Rencontres photographiques d’Arles de 2005, le public a pu découvrir une grande partie de l’étonnante collection de l’américain William Hunt. Au sein de plusieurs centaines de photographies réunies par la difficile problématique de « No eyes », et récemment publiées sous le titre L’Œil invisible, Hunt choisit d’assembler en dispositifs singuliers des œuvres de nature différente, au risque de troubler les esprits des visiteurs. C’est ainsi que la photographie de presse Falling Man, l’homme qui tombe, jeté dans le vide du haut d’une des tours du World Trade Center de New York au moment des attentats du 11-Septembre, se trouve cernée par des clichés de plongeurs, athlètes et autres sportifs en suspension dans l’air. Comment comprendre, comment recevoir cette association de photographies dont le voisinage conduit à véhiculer un message erroné, voire à faire mentir l’image en question 

Le Portel, grotte

Le siteLa grotte du Portel se situe dans le massif calcaire du Plantaurel (fig. 1a) qui constitue la limite nord du piémont pyrénéen. À 5 km à l’est se trouve la grotte de la Tuto de Camalhot (habitats aurignaciens, puis gravettiens) qui domine la large vallée de l’Ariège. Plus à l’ouest, à quelques kilomètres en continuant sur le piémont, s’ouvre l’immense porche du Mas-d’Azil.La grotte commence par un étroit couloir pentu et se poursuit par une galerie d’accès où se trouvent, entre 50 m et..

Traditional Float Charges: are They Suited to Stationary Antimony-free Lead Acid Batteries?

International audienc

Reemergence of cattle paramphistomiasis in France : Current review of epidemiology, pathophysiology and diagnosis

The prevalence of cattle paramphistomiasis is growing in France. This recent reemergence may be related to several factors: limited number of specific anthelmintics available, longevity and high prolificity of adult worms, decreasing prevalence liver fluke which increases the availability of the snails which act as intermediate hosts for paramphistomids, and extensification of cattle farming. Although clinical signs are not very typical, the pathogenicity of paramphistomiasis cannot be ignored, due to the risk of acute form due to immature worms (difficult to identify) and of recurrent bloating due to the mechanical effect of adult worms. However, the pathogenicity of paramphistomids is much milder than that of Fasciola hepatica. There is currently no immunological method available for this diagnosis; a clinical suspicion is confirmed by faecal egg counts (epg), but there is no formal correlation between their numbers and the parasite load.On constate un accroissement de la prévalence de la paramphistomose bovine en France. Cette récente réémergence peut être reliée à différents facteurs : le peu d'anthelminthiques spécifiques disponibles, la longévité et la forte prolificité des vers adultes, la chute de la prévalence de Fasciola hepatica permettant la plus grande disponibilité des limnées, hôtes intermédiaires, et enfin l'extensification de l'élevage. En dépit d'une symptomatologie peu spécifique, la pathogénicité de la paramphistomose ne doit pas être ignorée : risques de forme aiguë liée aux vers immatures -difficile à identifier- et de météorisation récurrente par l'effet mécanique des adultes. Cette pathogénicité est néanmoins bien moindre que celle de Fasciola hepatica. Aucun test sérologique n'est actuellement disponible : seul le diagnostic coproscopique avec comptage des oeufs (OPG) vient confirmer la suspicion clinique. Cependant, le niveau des OPG n'est pas formellement corrélé à la charge parasitaire

Un procédé d’enregistrement tri-dimensionnel des mouvements de la mandibule chez l’homme

A 3 dimensional process of recording the human mandible movements.Our system belongs a general process made by the C.N.E.S. (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales) in Toulouse; it records and measures the movements of body and limbs of spacemen. A test of this process is adapted for movements of mandible.The system uses a various instrumentation: two electronic cameras; infra-red rays; reflectors; a multiplexor case; a magnetoscope; a dimultiplexor; a computer; two screens of control.Four reflectors are fixed on the face of subject; two others are fixed on a metallic system that is glued on the buccal face of inferior canines. These reflectors record the specific movements of mandible.Usual mastication and mastication on one side inturn are recorded in a young man with his natural teeth.Some graphs are showed for example. A data processing system measures the trajectory of mandible in the three dimensions of space, according to time and rapidity of movement.This video data processing seems to be a good method to analyze movements of mandible and mastication.La cinématique mandibulaire est complexe. Un procédé, à vocation spatiale, permettant l’analyse des mouvements dans les 3 dimensions de l’espace, est adapté à l’étude des mouvements mandibulaires.Les différentes technologies utilisées sont évoquées: caméras électroniques, rayonnement infra-rouge, réflecteurs permettent d’enregistrer les déplacements de points situés sur la mandibule et sur la face.Le traitement informatique des données permet une analyse très précise et très fine de la trajectoire mandibulaire dans les 3 sens de l’espace.Un essai est réalisé sur un patient sur lequel sont enregistrés des mouvements de mastication présentés à titre d’exemple.Le système VICON, technologie d’avant-garde, devrait permettre d’approfondir nos connaissances fondamentales de la physiologie mandibulaire

Doubles périodes de silence sur les muscles élérateurs de la mandibule chez l’homme: une étude électromyographique

This study is performed during a global E.M.G. on the elevators masseter and temporal muscles of the mandibule. 14 subjects out of a total of 81 present two successive silent periods following a single mechanical stimulation on the chin.The second, silent period occurs after a certain lagtime simular to the one observed by other research workers.The hypothesis of an etiology in the subjects occlusion or in a specificity of his masticatory function have been rejected.Various hypothesis are suggested by other research workers:- Response to a painful or to an electrical stimulation- A single silence period could be a weariness or dysfunctionnal symptom.- Different receptors or nervous pathway could be stimulated for both inhibition.The observation of two successive silent periods, for a single extern mechanical stimulation is an occasional fact and has no relationship with the subject’s occlusion.Cette étude est effectuée en EMG globale sur les muscles élévateurs de la mandibule, masséters et temporaux. Sur 81 sujets examinés, 14 présentent deux P.S. successives, après une stimulation mécanique unique sur le menton.La seconde P.S. est décalée dans le temps et séparée de la 1ère par une bouffée de potentiels.L’hypothèse d’une étiologie ayant son origine dans l’occlusion de l’individu ou dans une particularité de son système manducateur semble devoir être rejetée.Différentes hypothèses sont proposées par les chercheurs: réponse à un stimulus nocif ou électrique; la P.S. unique serait un symptôme de fatigue ou de dysfonction; des récepteurs et des trajets nerveux différents seraient concernés pour chacune des deux inhibitions.La formation de deux P.S. successives après une seule stimulation mécanique externe reste un phénomène occasionnel et sans lien direct avec l’articulé du sujet