| 2. |
- Castillo, N. A., et al.
(författare)
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Understanding pharmaceutical exposure and the potential for effects in marine biota : A survey of bonefish (Albula vulpes) across the Caribbean Basin
- 2024
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Ingår i: Chemosphere. - : Elsevier. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 349
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most research on pharmaceutical presence in the environment to date has focused on smaller scale assessments of freshwater and riverine systems, relying mainly on assays of water samples, while studies in marine ecosystems and of exposed biota are sparse. This study investigated the pharmaceutical burden in bonefish (Albula vulpes), an important recreational and artisanal fishery, to quantify pharmaceutical exposure throughout the Caribbean Basin. We sampled 74 bonefish from five regions, and analyzed them for 102 pharmaceuticals. We assessed the influence of sampling region on the number of pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical assemblage, and risk of pharmacological effects. To evaluate the risk of pharmacological effects at the scale of the individual, we proposed a metric based on the human therapeutic plasma concentration (HTPC), comparing measured concentrations to a threshold of 1/3 the HTPC for each pharmaceutical. Every bonefish had at least one pharmaceutical, with an average of 4.9 and a maximum of 16 pharmaceuticals in one individual. At least one pharmaceutical was detected in exceedance of the 1/3 HTPC threshold in 39% of bonefish, with an average of 0.6 and a maximum of 11 pharmaceuticals exceeding in a Key West individual. The number of pharmaceuticals (49 detected in total) differed across regions, but the risk of pharmacological effects did not (23 pharmaceuticals exceeded the 1/3 HTPC threshold). The most common pharmaceuticals were venlafaxine (43 bonefish), atenolol (36), naloxone (27), codeine (27), and trimethoprim (24). Findings suggest that pharmaceutical detections and concentration may be independent, emphasizing the need to monitor risk to biota regardless of exposure diversity, and to focus on risk quantified at the individual level. This study supports the widespread presence of pharmaceuticals in marine systems and shows the utility of applying the HTPC to assess the potential for pharmacological effects, and thus quantify impact of exposure at large spatial scales.
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| 3. |
- Rezek, Thiago Junqueira, et al.
(författare)
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Multi-Objective Aerodynamic Optimization of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
- 2016
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the present work, a global multi-objective optimization methodology with meta-models is developed and applied for optimizing the aerodynamic performance of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) airfoil. The shape of the airfoil is obtained using a parameterization scheme based on Bezier curves. The aim is to optimize the performance of a high-lift airfoil by increasing the lift force while minimizing the pitching moment generated by the integration of the viscous and pressure forces acting on the airfoil. The proposed strategy for determining the optimal design solution for maximum lift and minimum moment is based on the construction of meta-models in conjunction with robust optimization algorithms. In more detail, a direct multi-objective optimization methodology using the concept of Pareto front is utilized. A relatively small number of design points is evaluated and their function values are stored in a database for meta-model construction. Radial Basis Functions such as multi-quadrics are used for the meta-model construction. The overall optimization process is integrated with Computation Fluid Dynamics techniques, using automatic schemes that build on parameterized airfoil geometries to construct a suitable mesh through scripts. Tcl/Tk language is employed along with the commercial software ICEM-CFD in batch mode. For the numerical calculation of the flow, the software FLUENT is used with fluid properties, turbulence model and boundary conditions set also in batch mode. It is demonstrated that the proposed methodology allows to develop realistic high performance airfoil conceptual designs, with relatively little computational effort. The methodology is generic and can be applied in a variety of problems related to fluid mechanics and heat transfer.
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