The dispersal of dinoflagellate cyst caused by international ships under repair conditions: a potential invasion risk to the Yangtze River Estuary, China

The foreign dinoflagellate cysts in ships' ballast water tank sediments (BWTS) can be viable for a long time under hostile storage conditions. It is crucial to understand the detailed mechanisms of harmful biological invasions in estuary ecosystems. To study the relationship between the abundance of dinoflagellate cysts and environmental factors, cyst assemblages were analyzed in 7 sediment samples, collected from one international commercial ship that arrived in Shanghai in August 2020. Twenty-three dinoflagellate cyst taxa were identified in 5 groups, including autotrophic (9) and heterotrophic (14) species. Distribution of dinoflagellate cysts in the different ballast water tanks is heterogeneous. Dinoflagellate cysts in BWTS of the repaired ship were dominated by Scrippsiella acuminata, Protoperidinium leonis, Protoperidinium oblongum, Lingulodinium polyedra, Alexandrium tamarense/A. catenella, Protoperidinium pentagonum, and Protoperidinium subinerme. The abundance of the dinoflagellate cysts in each tank ranged from 80.69 to 330.85 cysts g-1 DS (dry sediment). Multivariate statistical analyses revealed that the variation in cysts from different tanks had positive correlations with total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and pH and negative correlations with total organic carbon (TOC) except for sample TK5. For germination of dinoflagellate cysts in BWTS, 12 species were germinated in 40 days and cysts of potentially toxic dinoflagellate species were more abundant than those of non-toxic species. Results show that potentially viable and harmful/toxic dinoflagellate cysts are present in BWTS of ships arriving in Shanghai, China. Consequently, knowledge obtained in this study can be valuable for further managing of potential biological invasion of the Yangtze River Estuary.

Elemental, Oxidative and Functional Group Characteristics of Sediments in the Industrial Marine area in Tuzla Aydinli Bay, Istanbul, Turkey Between 2016 and 2020

This study aimed to examine particle and surface characteristics of sediments from three sampling areas‒the industrial marine area in Aydinli Bay, the Marmara Sea, and the river tributaries of Aydinli Bay in Istanbul, Turkey‒over a period of five years (2016-2020). Since elemental composition and surface functional groups onto sediments characterize sorption of organic and inorganic substances, the study revealed that C, O, Si, and Al were common elements of sediments and Ti, S and Mg were at a relatively low level. The C = O and O-H related groups were at a higher level in the river tributaries and the Marmara Sea than Aydinli Bay. These functional groups have indicated the oxidative or weathering potential of particles. Moreover, the mineralogical nature of the Al-O, Fe-O and Si-O compounds were at a higher level in Aydinli Bay compared to the other sampling fields. Another important surface characteristic was the oxygen to carbon ratio which showed that the oxidation state was higher in the river tributaries.

Mortality among workers exposed to asbestos at the shipyard of Genoa, Italy: a 55 years follow-up

BACKGROUND

Exposure to asbestos remains a global issue due to its massive use in the twentieth century and its long environmental persistence. Exposure to asbestos still occurs during dismantling of ships and vessels, buildings renovation, mining operations, and is reported in developing countries. Current estimate report exposure of hundreds of million people in occupational settings in countries where its use remains unregulated.

METHODS

We conducted a historical prospective cohort mortality study aimed at estimating mortality from specific causes, the temporal changes of pleural and lung cancer mortality, and the attributable fraction (AF) of lung cancer deaths following asbestos exposure. The study included 3984 shipyard workers employed at the shipyard of Genoa, Italy, between 1960 and 1981 and followed up to December 2014. Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were computed.

RESULTS

Overall deaths recorded were 3331 (83.6%). Excess mortality was observed for all cancers (SMR = 127, 95%CI:120-134), pleural mesothelioma (575, 469-697), cancers of the larynx (183, 134-244) and of the lung (154, 139-170), and for respiratory tract diseases (127, 114-141), including asbestosis (2277, 1525-3270). Ninety out of 399 deaths (22.6%) from lung cancer were attributed to asbestos exposure. The estimated lung cancer AF was 49.3% in workers with the highest SMR for pleural cancer. Median latency times for pleural and lung cancer were 42.8 years (minimum latency: 9.3 years) and 38.7 years (minimum latency: 6 years). The peak of mesothelioma incidence, expected in Italy in the period 2015-2024, was confirmed.

CONCLUSIONS

The long follow-up period of our study allowed the detection of a substantial disease burden following asbestos exposure. These findings support the urgent need for the prevention of asbestos related diseases through the implementation of asbestos ban worldwide, including those countries where asbestos is still mined, manufactured and used.

A Fog Computing Based Cyber-Physical System for the Automation of Pipe-Related Tasks in the Industry 4.0 Shipyard

Pipes are one of the key elements in the construction of ships, which usually contain between 15,000 and 40,000 of them. This huge number, as well as the variety of processes that may be performed on a pipe, require rigorous identification, quality assessment and traceability. Traditionally, such tasks have been carried out by using manual procedures and following documentation on paper, which slows down the production processes and reduces the output of a pipe workshop. This article presents a system that allows for identifying and tracking the pipes of a ship through their construction cycle. For such a purpose, a fog computing architecture is proposed to extend cloud computing to the edge of the shipyard network. The system has been developed jointly by Navantia, one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, and the University of A Coruña (Spain), through a project that makes use of some of the latest Industry 4.0 technologies. Specifically, a Cyber-Physical System (CPS) is described, which uses active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to track pipes and detect relevant events. Furthermore, the CPS has been integrated and tested in conjunction with Siemens’ Manufacturing Execution System (MES) (Simatic IT). The experiments performed on the CPS show that, in the selected real-world scenarios, fog gateways respond faster than the tested cloud server, being such gateways are also able to process successfully more samples under high-load situations. In addition, under regular loads, fog gateways react between five and 481 times faster than the alternative cloud approach.

Monitoring the magnitude of marine vessel infestation by non-indigenous ascidians in the Mediterranean

Invasive ascidians (Chordata, Tunicata) are dominant nuisance organisms. The current study investigated the role of marine vessels in their dispersal and introduction. An examination of 45 dry-docked marine vessels, comprising recreational, commercial, and military craft, in five Israeli shipyards along the Mediterranean coast, revealed non-indigenous ascidians (NIA) on every second vessel investigated. Military vessels featured the highest ascidian abundance and richness, potentially related to their maintenance routine. Niche areas on the vessels such as sea chests and the propeller exhibited the highest occurrence of ascidians. Overall, these findings provide strong evidence that marine vessels play an acute role in NIA introduction and dispersal, with military vessels and niche areas on all the vessels being more susceptible to serving as vectors. A discovery of a new introduced species during the surveys suggests that the monitoring of marine vessels can serve as an effective tool for the early detection of NIA.

Use of passive samplers in pollution monitoring: a numerical approach for marinas

Triolein-containing semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and butyl rubber (BR) based sorbents were employed as passive samplers in 14 coastal stations of Turkey including shipyards and marinas to characterize time-integrated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and their relationship to potential pollution sources. Passive samplers of SPMDs and BR sorbents were deployed for 30days in the spring of 2012. The maximum concentrations of total PAH and PCB compounds sequestered by SPMDs were 3338 ng g(-1) SPMD and 4247 pg g(-1) SPMD. (END)-I and DDT-related compounds were dominant OCP compounds for most of the sites in passive samplers. Total PAH concentrations in SPMDs were found 1.2 to 8 times higher than the concentrations in BRs. However, BR sorbents were able to sample some PAHs which could not be sampled by SPMDs. The concentrations of PCBs and OCPs in BRs were similar or higher than SPMDs. SPMD-data were used to estimate the average ambient water concentrations of the contaminants. Two existing theoretical approaches have been used to derive the concentrations of hydrophobic pollutants in the ambient waters. The results were found very similar and range from 7318 to 183864 pg L(-1) for PAHs, from 2 to 186 pg L(-1) for PCBs, and from 98 to 848 pg L(-1) for OCPs. Furthermore, a simple numerical model was designed to estimate the boat-related water concentrations in marinas by using the seawater data supplied by SPMDs. The model was mainly built on the water concentration and the capacities of a particular marina and then applied to two sites in the second marina. A good correlation was found between the model outputs and SPMD-water data.

Risk Factors of Work-related Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders in Male Shipyard Workers: Structural Equation Model Analysis

OBJECTIVES

This study was conducted to develop a model describing the interaction between lifestyle, job, and postural factors and parts of the upper extremities in shipyard workers.

METHODS

A questionnaire survey was given to 2,140 workers at a shipyard in Ulsan City. The questionnaire consisted of questions regarding the subjects' general characteristics, lifestyle, tenure, physical burden, job control, posture and musculoskeletal symptoms. The overall relationship between variables was analyzed by a structural equation model (SEM).

RESULTS

The positive rate of upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms increased in employees who worked longer hours, had severe physical burden, and did not have any control over their job. Work with a more frequent unstable posture and for longer hours was also associated with an increased positive rate of musculoskeletal symptoms. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that unstable posture and physical burden were closely related to the positive rate of musculoskeletal symptoms after controlling for age, smoking, drinking, exercise, tenure, and job control. In SEM analysis, work-related musculoskeletal disease was influenced directly and indirectly by physical and job stress factors, lifestyle, age, and tenure (p < 0.05). The strongest correlations were found between physical factors and work-related musculoskeletal disease.

CONCLUSION

The model in this study provides a better approximation of the complexity of the actual relationship between risk factors and work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Among the variables evaluated in this study, physical factors (work posture) had the strongest association with musculoskeletal disorders.