Several biologically important arsenic compounds including methylarsonate, trimethylarsine oxide, tetramethylarsonium ion, arsenobetaine and arsenocholine were prepared, in good yields, from sodium arsenite, or dimethylarsinic acid. These organoarsenic compounds together with arsenite, arsenate and dimethylarsinic acid were used as standards for the development of analytical methods for determining the levels of individual arsenic compounds (arsenic speciation) present in natural matrices. / Arsenobetaine, arsenocholine and tetramethylarsonium ion were separated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with on-line detection by thermochemical hydride generation (THG)-AAS. The analytes were eluted from the cyanopropyl bonded phase HPLC column with a 1% acetic acid methanolic mobile phase which also contained diethyl ether triethylamine, and trimethylsulfonium iodide or picrylsulfonic acid. A surface response methodology and a univariate optimization procedure were used to determine the optimum concentration of solvent modifiers in the methanolic mobile phase. Limits of detection in the range 4-5 ng (as As) were obtained for the arsonium analytes under optimum chromatographic conditions. / A simple phenol extraction procedure was developed to isolate arsonium analytes from edible marine tissues (lobster tail muscle, peeled and deveined shrimp, and cod fillet), cod liver oil and human urine. The crude extracts were separated on the cyanopropyl column using a methanolic mobile phase and detected on-line by THG-AAS. Recoveries from tissues or from urine which had been spiked at 0.1-3.4 $ mu$g of As cation/g of fresh weight were 80% or greater for each of five sample types. / An improved HPLC-AAS interface which was compatible with either aqueous or organic mobile phases was also developed. The interface provided approximately equivalent responses to different arsenic oxidation states which resulted in low to subnanogram chromatographic limits of detection for arsenic oxyanions and arsonium cations in an aqueous or methanolic mobile phase. Nascent As anions and As cations were conveniently coextracted from aqueous solution or from fish muscle by phenol extraction and quantified in the same chromatographic run. This method has been applied to a standard reference sample of dogfish muscle (DORM-1), a marine reference sediment sample (PACS-1) and to sediment porewaters (SAG-15) from the Saguenay Fjord.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2004. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Griffith University, 2002. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Apr. 28, 2005). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-80).

Thesis (M.Sc.), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2000. / Restricted until June 2001. Bibliography: leaves 135-143.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Hamburg. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. [231]-243).

xix, 187 p. : ill. (some col.) / In Chapter II I analyze eco-labeling in the tourism industry, specifically the impact of the Blue Flag label for marinas and beaches on prices of marina slip rentals, weekly sailboat charter prices and hotel accommodation prices. The principal findings include that Blue Flag certified marinas appear to enjoy an average premium between 6.6% and 22% for their daily slip rental prices, between 40% and 49% for their monthly slip rental prices, and 23% for their yearly slip rental prices. Within the sailboat charter sector, vessels whose home marina is awarded the Blue Flag on average carry a price premium between 14% and 20% on a weekly sailboat rental. When it comes to hotel accommodation, hotels managing a Blue Flag certified beach enjoy a price premium between 45% and 270%. In Chapter III I employ a dataset on the global frequency of climate-change-related natural disasters to explain the probability of the start and occurrence, in a given year, of civil war and civil war durations during the last half of the 20th century. Extreme cold events are found to have a measurable positive effect on the probability of civil war starting in the affected countries, previous years' extreme heat events have a positive effect on the probability of a civil war occurring in a given year, and droughts have a positive effect on civil war duration. These findings can be used by policymakers as they contemplate climate change mitigation policies. In Chapter IV I investigate the determinants of ratification delay of a major oil pollution international environmental agreement, MARPOL. Importantly, I analyze the impact of oil spills, as well as various country characteristics, on the time a country takes to ratify MARPOL. The major contribution lies in the examination of impacts of environmental pollution events on international political decision making. I find that the amount of oil spilled decreases the time to ratify MARPOL. This is the first study that seeks to address this issue in a quantitative fashion. The results should inform policymakers by giving them insight into relevant determinants of legislative delay in ratifying treaties. / Committee in charge: Dr. Trudy Ann Cameron, Chairperson; Dr. Wesley W. Wilson, Member; Dr. Benjamin Hansen, Member; Dr. Ronald Mitchell, Outside Member

Orientador: Camilo Dias Seabra Pereira / Resumo: O amplo uso de fármacos na medicina humana e veterinária tem resultado em problemas ambientais, uma vez que a ocorrência dessas substâncias em ecossistemas aquáticos têm sido demonstrada em regiões que recebem efluentes domésticos e industriais. Embora a ocorrência dessas substâncias no ambiente marinho e estuarino tenha sido amplamente observada, há poucos estudos que abordem a avaliação dos efeitos nocivos em organismos não-alvos, principalmente de áreas tropicais. Dada a importância de conhecer as concentrações ambientais de fármacos em zonas costeiras e estimar os efeitos biológicos adversos em organismos marinhos, o presente estudo visou identificar e quantificar por cromatografia líquida acoplada a espectrometria de massas (LC/MS/MS) os fármacos losartan, fluoxetina, metformina, 17 -etinilestradiol, amoxicilina e o antimicrobiano triclosan em amostras de água coletadas na Baía de Santos (SP); avaliar as respostas metabólicas (fases I (etoxiresorufina-O- desetilase/ EROD; dibenzilfluoresceína/ DBF) e II (glutationa-S-transferase/ GST)) do processo de biotransformação; a atividade antioxidante (glutationa peroxidase/ GPx) e estimar os efeitos subletais (lipoperoxidação (LPO), dano em DNA, colinesterase (ChE) e estabilidade da membrana lisossomal (EML)) associados à exposição a essas substâncias (48 e 96 horas), nos tecidos brânquia, glândula digestiva e hemolinfa do molusco bivalve Perna perna. Com o antimicrobiano triclosan foi realizada uma avaliação de risco ambiental ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The widespread use of drugs in human and veterinary medicine has resulted in environmental problems, as the occurrence of these substances in aquatic ecosystems has been demonstrated in regions receiving domestic and industrial effluents. Although the occurrence of these substances in the marine and estuarine environment has been widely observed, there are few studies that approach the evaluation of harmful effects in non-target organisms, mainly in tropical areass. Given the importance of knowing the environmental concentrations of pharmaceuticals in coastal zones and the adverse biological effects on organisms of these regions, the present study aimed to identify and quantify by mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) the pharmaceuticals losartan, fluoxetine, metformin, 17α- ethynylestradiol, amoxicillin and the antimicrobial triclosan in marine water samples collected in Santos Bay, evaluate the metabolic responses (phases I (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase/EROD, dibenzylfluorescein/DBF) and II (glutathione S-transferase/GST), antioxidant activity (glutathione peroxidase/GPx) and estimate sub-lethal effects (lipoperoxidation (LPO), DNA damage, cholinesterase (ChE) and lysosomal membrane stability (VN)) associated with the exposure to these substances (48 and 96 hours), in the gill tissues (BR), digestive gland (GD) and hemolymph of the marine bivalve Perna perna. With the antimicrobial triclosan, an environmental risk assessment was performed using marine invertebrate toxicity data. All... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology in Chemistry, M.L. Sultan Technikon, 2001. / The purpose of this study was to determine the concentration of selected metals in Durban Harbour water and sediments. Four sites were selected for the investigation. The water and sediment samples were collected from July 1998 to July 1999 to accommodate seasonal changes / M