Environmental Impact Assessment, Human Health and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Objectives: Developmental processes influence the determinants of health and, consequently, human health. Yet, assessing human health impacts in impact assessment, with exception of health impact assessment, is still rather vague. Inclusion of Sustainable Development Goal indicators in environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an opportunity to enhance addressing human health in EIA practices. Methods: We reviewed a list of health-related targets and indicators for SDGs as defined by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in Seattle, WA, United States with the aim of identifying those to be suggested as outcome indicators within EIA. Results: Among 42 health-related indicators, we identified 17 indicators which could be relevant for impact assessment procedures and categorized them into three groups: 1) direct health indicators (e.g., under five mortality). 2) complex indicators (e.g., cancer). 3) environmental determinant indicators (e.g., mean PM2.5). Conclusion: All 17 indicators can be employed to improve quantification assessing human health impacts and bring SDGs into EIA processes. Though our assessment has been conducted for Denmark and the set of suggested indicators could be different for contexts in other countries, the process of their identification can be generalized.

Certain fatty acids and steroids protect Tetrahymena from cell division stress caused by shaking.

Cultures of Tetrahymena are routinely shaken to ensure proper access to oxygen. Recent work showed that growth of dilute cultures (inocula < 10(4) cells ml-1) of T. pyriformis was sensitive to shaking. Addition of oleic acid (9 microM) or linoleic acid (140 microM) before or at the onset of shaking gave considerable protection to the cells. A similar effect was seen with ergosterol (25 microM) and to some extent with cholesterol (100 microM). Octanoic acid (20 microM), palmitic acid (140 microM) and palmitoleic acid (100 microM) had no effect. Paraquat (230 microM), which induced peroxidation of unsaturated fatty acids, increased the effect of shaking-induced cell division stress. Such results may be due to changes in the membrane composition of Tetrahymena. It has not been possible to demonstrate differences in the 14C-oleic acid labelling of phospholipids of cells with and without shaking.

Characteristics of dividing and non-dividing Tetrahymena cells at different physiological states.

Eight defined physiological states of Tetrahymena pyriformis are described. For dividing cells the states comprise: 1. Exponentially growing cells, 2. Cells at late exponential growth phase, 3. Cells kept at a high cell concentration, 4. Cells shifted up or down by change of medium, temperature or degree of aeration. For non-dividing cells the states are: 5. Cells at stationary phase, 6. Cells during starvation, 7. Cells during shift-up after long-term starvation, 8. Cells at self-induced hypoxia. The different cellular states are described by one or more of the following characteristics: growth rate, volume, swimming speed, oxygen consumption and by the oxygen saturation and the pH in the medium. The results show that T. pyriformis grows equally well in proteose-peptone (PY) medium from 1 cell ml(-1) to 10(3) cells ml(-1) as from - e.g. - 10(2) to 10(5) cells ml(-1). The maximum cell concentration obtained depends on the medium and the availability of oxygen. At shift-down by decrease of temperature the cells grow slower and obtain a considerable oversize. Single cells tolerate starvation for 12 days. The cell volume (electronically determined) decreased from about 7000 µm(3) to about 200 µm(3). Long-term starved cells may be upshifted. Thereby growth without cell division can be studied until the cell volume approaches 2100 µm(3) which is the minimum volume of division competence. Under certain conditions cells may grow into self-induced hypoxia leading to growth arrest. These cells will attain an oversize. The swimming speed at 28°C of exponentially growing cells is 0.33 to 0.59 mm sec(-1) depending on the medium. At lower temperature the swimming speed is decreased. In PY-medium the values are: 28°C (0.57), 16°C (0.50), 9°C (0.37). During starvation the swimming speed decreases from about 0.6 to about 0.1 mm sec(-1) (after 6 days). The oxygen consumption is for state 1 cells: 3.9 µl O(2)/10(6) cells min(-1) (maximal value). The value of hypoxic cultures is 2.1, for cells kept at high concentration 0.4, and for starved cells (24 h) 0.2.

A paper membrane filter assay for ciliate chemoattraction.

A quantitative bioassay for ciliate chemoattraction based on the Boyden assay is described with the ciliates Tetrahymena thermophila and Tetrahymena pyriformis as test organisms. A chamber is separated into two compartments by a Whatman 3MM filter, and a suspension of starved cells (approximately 10(5) cells/ml) is placed in one compartment and a solution containing attractant in the other. The gradient of chemoattractant across the filter causes the cells to swim through the filter into the attractant-containing compartment where their appearance is determined by electronic cell counting. The assay described is convenient with a signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 10. It is shown here to work with the attractants proteose peptone and platelet-derived growth factor.