Tang Wai Lun. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-220). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.ii / 摘要 --- p.iv / Acknowledgements --- p.vi / Table of contents --- p.vii / List of Abbreviations --- p.xi / List of Tables --- p.xii / List of Figures --- p.xv / Chapter Chapter One --- Literature Review --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Marine pollution in Hong Kong --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Contamination of sediments --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Metals contamination in coastal sediments in Hong Kong --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Other contaminants in sediments --- p.7 / Chapter 1.3 --- Sediment toxicity assessment --- p.9 / Chapter 1.4 --- Fish as examples for the measurement of biological responses to contaminants --- p.9 / Chapter 1.5 --- Biomarkers for toxicity assessment --- p.11 / Chapter 1.5.1 --- Metallothionein (MT) --- p.11 / Chapter 1.5.2 --- Cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) --- p.13 / Chapter 1.5.3 --- Vitellogenin (Vtg) --- p.13 / Chapter 1.5.4 --- Enzyme biomarkers: Alanine transaminase (ALT); aspartate transaminase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK) --- p.14 / Chapter 1.5.5 --- DNA damage detected by the comet assay --- p.16 / Chapter 1.6 --- Multi biomarkers for sediment toxicity assessments --- p.16 / Chapter 1.7 --- Objectives --- p.16 / Chapter Chapter Two --- "Concentrations of Heavy Metals and Trace Organics in Coastal Sediments Collected from Victoria Harbour, Deep Bay, Tolo Harbour and Lai Chi Wo" --- p.18 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.18 / Chapter 2.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.19 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Sediment collection --- p.19 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Treatment of sediment samples --- p.21 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Acid wash of apparatus --- p.21 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Acid digestion of sediment sample --- p.21 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- Sequential extraction of heavy metals in sediment samples --- p.22 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- Heavy metals measurement --- p.23 / Chapter 2.2.7 --- Trace organic measurement in sediments --- p.24 / Chapter 2.2.8 --- Statistical Analysis --- p.24 / Chapter 2.3 --- Results --- p.25 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Concentrations of total Metals in sediments --- p.25 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Speciation of metals in sediments --- p.27 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Metal abundance in different fractions of sediment --- p.33 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Concentrations of trace organic in sediments --- p.33 / Chapter 2.3.5 --- Results summary --- p.36 / Chapter 2.4 --- Discussion --- p.36 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Comparison with international standards --- p.38 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Comparison with international studies of coastal sediments --- p.39 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Comparison of the present study with other studies concerning Hong Kong coastal sediments --- p.45 / Chapter Chapter Three --- "Heavy Metals Accumulation in Tissues of Tilapia Exposed to Coastal Sediments Collected from Victoria Harbour, Deep Bay, Tolo Harbour, and Lai Chi Wo" --- p.51 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.51 / Chapter 3.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.52 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Collection and treatment of coastal sediments --- p.52 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Sediment exposure tests with Tilapia --- p.53 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Dissection of fish samples --- p.54 / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Acid digestion of fish samples --- p.54 / Chapter 3.2.5 --- Statistical Analysis --- p.55 / Chapter 3.3 --- Results --- p.55 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Metal accumulation --- p.55 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- "Dose, duration and source of sediments affecting metals uptake" --- p.95 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Results summary --- p.99 / Chapter 3.4 --- Discussion --- p.99 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Site comparison --- p.99 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Comparison with other studies --- p.100 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Safety limits --- p.112 / Chapter Chapter Four --- "Expression of Biomarker Genes (MT, CYP1 A, Vtg) in Tissues of Male Tilapia After Eexposure to Coastal Sediments Collected from Victoria Harbour, Deep Bay, Tolo Harbour and Lai Chi Wo" --- p.115 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.115 / Chapter 4.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.116 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Sample collection --- p.116 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Preparation of apparatus --- p.117 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- mRNA expression analysis --- p.117 / Chapter 4.2.3.1 --- Isolation of RNA --- p.117 / Chapter 4.2.3.2 --- Reverse transcription --- p.118 / Chapter 4.2.3.3 --- Real time PCR --- p.118 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Vitellogenin (Vtg) --- p.120 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Statistics analysis --- p.121 / Chapter 4.3 --- Results --- p.121 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- MT mRNA expression in tissues of male Tilapia exposed to sediments --- p.121 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- CYP1A mRNA expression in tissues of male Tilapia exposed to sediments --- p.129 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Vtg expression in tissues of male Tilapia exposed to sediments --- p.137 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Dose and time dependent relationships --- p.137 / Chapter 4.3.5 --- Results summary --- p.137 / Chapter 4.4 --- Discussion --- p.142 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Correlation of MT and CYP1A expression with metals uptake in gills and liver --- p.142 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- MT as a biomarker of metals exposure --- p.144 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- CYP1A as a biomarker of trace organics exposure --- p.145 / Chapter 4.4.4 --- Real-time PCR --- p.147 / Chapter 4.4.5 --- Vtg as a biomarker of xenoestrogen exposure --- p.147 / Chapter Chapter Five --- "Expression of Enzyme Biomarkers (ALT, AST and CK) in Tissues of Male Tilapia After Exposure to Coastal Sediments Collected From Victoria Harbour, Deep Bay, Tolo Harbour and Lai Chi Wo" --- p.149 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.149 / Chapter 5.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.150 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Samples collection --- p.150 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Alanine transaminase (ALT) and Aspartate transaminase (AST) --- p.151 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Creatine kinase (CK) --- p.152 / Chapter 5.2.4 --- Statistical analysis --- p.153 / Chapter 5.3 --- Results --- p.153 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- ALT --- p.153 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- AST --- p.157 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- CK in gills --- p.157 / Chapter 5.3.4 --- CK in muscle --- p.164 / Chapter 5.3.5 --- "Dose, duration and source of sediments affecting metals uptake" --- p.164 / Chapter 5.3.6 --- Results summary --- p.169 / Chapter 5.4 --- Discussion --- p.169 / Chapter Chapter Six --- "DNA Damage in Liver of Male Tilapia After Exposure to Coastal Sediments Collected from Victoria Harbour, Deep Bay, Tolo Harbour and Lai Chi Wo" --- p.174 / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.174 / Chapter 6.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.176 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Samples collection --- p.176 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Tissue Preparation --- p.176 / Chapter 6.2.3 --- Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (Comet) Assay --- p.176 / Chapter 6.2.4 --- Image analysis --- p.177 / Chapter 6.2.5 --- Statistical analysis --- p.178 / Chapter 6.3 --- Results --- p.180 / Chapter 6.4 --- Discussion --- p.187 / Chapter Chapter Seven --- General Discussion and Conclusion --- p.190 / Chapter 7.1 --- General discussion --- p.190 / Chapter 7.2 --- Conclusion --- p.198 / References --- p.199 / Appendix --- p.221