Dataset Information

Long-Term Spatio-Temporal Trends of Organotin Contaminations in the Marine Environment of Hong Kong.

ABSTRACT: Hong Kong imposed a partial restriction on application of organotin-based antifouling paints in 1992. Since September 2008, the International Maritime Organization prohibited the use of such antifouling systems on all sea-going vessels globally. Therefore, it is anticipated a gradual reduction of organotin contamination in Hong Kong's marine waters. Using the rock shell Reishia clavigera as a biomonitor, we evaluated the organotin contamination along Hong Kong's coastal waters over the past two decades (1990-2015). In 2010 and 2015, adult R. clavigera were examined for imposex status and analysed for tissue concentrations of six organotins. We consistently found 100% imposex incidence in female R. clavigera across all sites. Tissue triphenyltin (TPT) concentrations were high in most samples. A probabilistic risk assessment showed that there were over 69% of chance that local R. clavigera would be at risk due to exposure to phenyltins. Comparing with those of previous surveys (2004-2010), both imposex levels and tissue concentrations of organotins did not decline, while the ecological risks due to exposure to organotins were increasing. We also observed high concentrations of monobutyltin and TPT in seawater and sediment from locations with intense shipping activities and from stormwater or sewage discharge. Overall, organotins are still prevalent in Hong Kong's marine waters showing that the global convention alone may be inadequate in reducing organotin contamination in a busy international port like Hong Kong. Appropriate management actions should be taken to control the use and release of organotins in Hong Kong and South China.

SUBMITTER: Ho KK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4866715 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Long-Term Spatio-Temporal Trends of Organotin Contaminations in the Marine Environment of Hong Kong.

Ho Kevin K Y KK Zhou Guang-Jie GJ Xu Elvis G B EG Wang Xinhong X Leung Kenneth M Y KM

PloS one 20160513 5

Hong Kong imposed a partial restriction on application of organotin-based antifouling paints in 1992. Since September 2008, the International Maritime Organization prohibited the use of such antifouling systems on all sea-going vessels globally. Therefore, it is anticipated a gradual reduction of organotin contamination in Hong Kong's marine waters. Using the rock shell Reishia clavigera as a biomonitor, we evaluated the organotin contamination along Hong Kong's coastal waters over the past two ...[more]

PMID: 27176721

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundRecently, the availability of high-resolution microscopy together with the advancements in the development of biomarkers as reporters of biomolecular interactions increased the importance of imaging methods in molecular cell biology. These techniques enable the investigation of cellular characteristics like volume, size and geometry as well as volume and geometry of intracellular compartments, and the amount of existing proteins in a spatially resolved manner. Such detailed investigations opened up many new areas of research in the study of spatial, complex and dynamic cellular systems. One of the crucial challenges for the study of such systems is the design of a well stuctured and optimized workflow to provide a systematic and efficient hypothesis verification. Computer Science can efficiently address this task by providing software that facilitates handling, analysis, and evaluation of biological data to the benefit of experimenters and modelers.ResultsThe Spatio-Temporal Simulation Environment (STSE) is a set of open-source tools provided to conduct spatio-temporal simulations in discrete structures based on microscopy images. The framework contains modules to digitize, represent, analyze, and mathematically model spatial distributions of biochemical species. Graphical user interface (GUI) tools provided with the software enable meshing of the simulation space based on the Voronoi concept. In addition, it supports to automatically acquire spatial information to the mesh from the images based on pixel luminosity (e.g. corresponding to molecular levels from microscopy images). STSE is freely available either as a stand-alone version or included in the linux live distribution Systems Biology Operational Software (SB.OS) and can be downloaded from http://www.stse-software.org/. The Python source code as well as a comprehensive user manual and video tutorials are also offered to the research community. We discuss main concepts of the STSE design and workflow. We demonstrate it's usefulness using the example of a signaling cascade leading to formation of a morphological gradient of Fus3 within the cytoplasm of the mating yeast cell Saccharomyces cerevisiae.ConclusionsSTSE is an efficient and powerful novel platform, designed for computational handling and evaluation of microscopic images. It allows for an uninterrupted workflow including digitization, representation, analysis, and mathematical modeling. By providing the means to relate the simulation to the image data it allows for systematic, image driven model validation or rejection. STSE can be scripted and extended using the Python language. STSE should be considered rather as an API together with workflow guidelines and a collection of GUI tools than a stand alone application. The priority of the project is to provide an easy and intuitive way of extending and customizing software using the Python language.

Project description:Aims/hypothesisInfection is an under-recognised but important complication in people with diabetes. Studies on temporal trends in incidence of infection in this population are limited. We report the trends in infection-related hospitalisation in people with diabetes and compared hospitalisation rates between people with and without diabetes in Hong Kong.MethodsHospital admissions with infection, including pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis, kidney infection, urinary tract infection, cellulitis, osteomyelitis, foot infection and sepsis, listed as principal diagnosis occurring between 2001 and 2016 were identified from people with diabetes in the electronic medical record system of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. Data on hospitalisation for a subset of these infections in the general population between 2007 and 2016 were obtained from the Department of Health. The number of people with diabetes ranged between 117,322 in 2001 and 570,929 in 2016, and the number without diabetes ranged between 5,242,614 in 2007 and 5,593,153 in 2016. Joinpoint regression was used to describe the trends.ResultsIn people with diabetes, over a period of 16 years, the age-standardised annual rates of hospitalisation decreased for tuberculosis but increased for influenza; rates of hospitalisation for pneumonia increased up until 2004/2005 and declined in men and stabilised in women. The rates of hospitalisation for most infection types were unchanged or increased in the 20-44 year and 45-64 year age groups and decreased in those aged 65 years or above. Trends for most of the infections were similar when comparing sexes. Between 2007 and 2016, the rate ratios of hospitalisation for most infection types between people with and without diabetes were stable, and the rate ratios remained higher in people with diabetes, ranging from 1.3-1.4 for pneumonia to 3.2-4.9 for kidney infections in 2016 compared with non-diabetic individuals.Conclusions/interpretationDespite advances in medical care, hospitalisation due to infections remains a major healthcare burden in people with diabetes. Graphical abstract.

Project description:Species experience a variety of environmental and anthropogenic conditions across their ranges leading to spatial variation in population dynamics. Understanding population dynamics under different conditions is important but it is challenging to allocate limited effort to spatial and temporal subpopulation monitoring. Using GLMMs, we analyze survey data of a metapopulation of coconut crabs spanning 7 years and 15 sites in and near the Pemba archipelago, Zanzibar, to estimate trends in population size (based on catch per unit effort), weight and sex ratio at the meta- and subpopulation level and investigate anthropogenic drivers of these trends. We found that the overall metapopulation has remained stable in terms of size and composition over the survey period, but observed diverging trends in population size and sex ratio at some subpopulations. Formal protection of sites was associated with positive population trends. Of nine sites for which we could estimate site-specific trends, three showed increasing and two decreasing trends, whereas four sites had stable subpopulations. Although anthropogenic factors affected the average weight, and the incidence of small and large individuals, we found no temporal trends in any weight-related measures. Furthermore, there were no apparent patterns between weight-related measures and subpopulation trends. The metapopulation was biased toward males, and exploitation appeared to be associated with declining trends in the proportion of females, likely an artifact of a strong decline in the proportion of females in one of only two exploited sites in the dataset. Educational campaigns implemented in 2020 at six sites were not related to higher population sizes in later surveys. The variable trends in subpopulation sizes and composition highlight the need for spatially replicated monitoring in metapopulations. The analyses further provide a detailed baseline for future subpopulation studies of this vulnerable species in one of its last remaining metapopulations in the Western Indian Ocean.

Dataset Information

Long-Term Spatio-Temporal Trends of Organotin Contaminations in the Marine Environment of Hong Kong.

Publications

Long-Term Spatio-Temporal Trends of Organotin Contaminations in the Marine Environment of Hong Kong.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets