Injuries as a Result of California Earthquakes in the Past Decade

The devastating effects of earthquakes have been demonstrated repeatedly in the past decade, through moderate and major earthquakes such as the October 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake (5.9 on the Richter scale), the October 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (7.1) and the January 1994 Northridge earthquake (6.7). While 'official' tallies of injuries and deaths are reported for each event, the numbers vary from report to report. For Northridge, the number of injuries vary between 8,000 and 12,000; the number of deaths from 33 to 73 (Peek-Asa et al., 1997; Durkin, 1996).While official estimates are commonly reported following disasters, the study of actual numbers, types and causes of casualties has not developed. In this paper, we identify the numbers and risk factors for injuries within community-based samples across three earthquakes in urban California. We first report the numbers and types of injuries in each earthquake and then identify risk factors specifically associated with the Northridge earthquake     

Glutathione as a matrix for the synthesis of CdS nanocrystallites

GSH-capped CdS nanocrystallites were synthesized by reacting Cd(II)-GSH with aqueous sodium sulfide using specific initial sulfide/Cd(II) ratios. Spectroscopic analyses of fractions obtained from a size exclusion column showed varying absorption spectra indicating a significant dispersion in size-distribution of nanocrystallites at lower sulfide/Cd(II) ratios. However, size distribution of the nanocrystallites was narrower at initial sulfide/Cd(II) ratios that exceeded 1.0. An ethanol precipitation procedure was used to remove free Cd(II)-GSH complexes and selectively isolate GSH-capped nanocrystallites in a very narrow size range. Size exclusion chromatography indicated similar chemical compositions and overlapping spectral profiles of ethanol-precipitated samples suggesting apparent uniformity in both the size and the cap content. All of the GSH-capped CdS nanocrystallites with varying cap contents degraded p-nitrophenol upon irradiation at 366 nm. However, photocatalytic degradation of p-nitrophenol was significantly higher in samples with higher sulfide/Cd ratio and less capping material. The addition of H2O2 enhanced levels of photo-oxidation of p-nitrophenol.     

Oyster Contamination with Human Noroviruses Impacted by Urban Drainage and Seasonal Flooding in Vietnam

This study investigated the level of norovirus contamination in oysters collected at a lagoon receiving urban drainage from Hue City for 17 months (August 2015–December 2016). We also investigated the genetic diversity of norovirus GI and GII in oyster and wastewater samples by using pyrosequencing to evaluate the effect of urban drainage on norovirus contamination of oysters. A total of 34 oyster samples were collected at two sampling sites (stations A and B) in a lagoon. Norovirus GI was more frequently detected than GII (positive rate 79 vs. 41%). Maximum concentrations of GI and GII were 2.4 × 10⁵ and 2.3 × 10⁴ copies/g, respectively. Co-contamination with GI and GII was observed in 35% of samples. Norovirus GII concentration was higher at station A in the flood season than in the dry season (P = 0.04, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Six genotypes (GI.2, GI.3, GI.5, GII.2, GII.3, and GII.4) were identified in both wastewater and oyster samples, and genetically similar or identical sequences were obtained from the two types of samples. These observations suggest that urban drainage and seasonal flooding contribute to norovirus contamination of oysters in the study area.     

Nitrate removal and extracellular polymeric substances of autohydrogenotrophic bacteria under various pH and hydrogen flow rates

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the use of autohydrogenotrophic bacteria to treat nitrate from wastewater. However, our knowledge about the characteristics of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) releasing by these activities is not yet very advanced. This study aimed to investigate the change in EPS compositions under various pH values and hydrogen flow rates, taking into consideration nitrogen removal. Results showed that pH 7.5 and a hydrogen flow rate of 90 mL/min were the optimal operating conditions, resulting in 100% nitrogen removal after 6 hr of operation. Soluble and bound polysaccharides decreased, while bound proteins increased with increasing pH. Polysaccharides increased with increasing hydrogen flow rate. No significant change of bound proteins was observed at various hydrogen flow rates.     

A dynamic simulation of methane fermentation process receiving heterogeneous food wastes and modelling acidic failure

Microbial response on volatile fatty acids (VFAs) is a key for methane fermentation processes since accumulation of VFAs often causes an acidic failure, especially treating such organics as food wastes composed of mostly readily biodegradable materials. To evaluate the impact of VFA accumulation, a lab-scale continuous experiment was performed for 110 days with sequential feeding of heterogeneous food wastes. When the volumetric loading rate was increased from 6 to 8 kg-COD/m³/day, a sudden decrease of methane production was observed with an accumulation of acetate and propionate in the fermenter. After discontinuation of feeding for 10 days, the digestate in the fermenter was centrifuged and washed with tap water to reduce the VFAs to be acceptable concentration below 1000 mg-COD/L. Nevertheless, no recovery of methane production was observed and VFA concentrations consistently increased. To model the event, a modification of ADM1 was made assuming the methanogens in the fermenter were irreversibly inactivated under very high VFA. Also considering the different nature of the fed food wastes over 11 samples, decomposition kinetics of individual food wastes were manipulated. The modified ADM1 with methanogenic activity decay reasonably reproduced the responses for soluble material concentrations and methane gas production rate over the experimental period.     

金华市义乌江沉积物磁性特征与重金属污染

对浙江省金华市义乌江采集的边滩沉积物柱样,进行了系统的环境磁学、粒度、地球化学分析,以探讨环境磁学方法诊断河流沉积物重金属污染的可行性.结果表明,柱样磁性特征由亚铁磁性矿物主导,其垂向变化受到粒度和早期成岩作用的一定影响.柱样中重金属Cr、Ni、Cu、Zn、Cd、Pb含量及其富集因子除底部外,自下而上呈增加趋势,指示了柱样上部存在人为来源的重金属污染.柱样沉积物磁性特征与重金属含量及其富集因子的垂向变化存在相似性,其中磁化率(χ)、频率磁化率(χfd%)和硬剩磁(HIRM)与Cr、Cu、Zn、Cd、Pb的含量具有显著的正相关关系,反映了磁性矿物与重金属具有相同的来源,或者细颗粒磁性矿物对重金属的吸附作用.上述结果表明,磁学方法可用于指示义乌江的重金属污染.但由于义乌江属于开放性的河流环境系统,磁性特征变化受多重因素影响,增加了利用磁学手段定量诊断重金属污染的复杂性.     

Sorption of biodegradation end products of nonylphenol polyethoxylates onto activated sludge

IntroductionRecently ,nonylphenolpolyethoxylates (NPnEO (n :numberofethoxyunits(EOs) )havebecomeaproblematicissueforthereasonthatthesecompounds,animportantgroupofnonionicsurfactants ,havebeenusedwidelyinvariousindustriesasflocculants,dispersants,emulsifie…     

Co-development of an integrated assessment framework to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of selected nature-based water treatment technologies in Sri Lanka,The Philippines,and Vietnam

Water quality is a critical challenge in Asia in the context of growing industrialization, urbanization, and climate change. Nature-based solutions (NbS) could play an important role in reducing urban water pollution, while generating multiple co-benefits that could make cities more liveable and resilient. In this regard, a number of pilot and demonstration projects have been set up to explore their potential across cities in Asia. Their effectiveness and impacts, however, have not been adequately documented, thus how they can be sustained, replicated and up-scaled remain poorly understood. This study aims to contribute to addressing this challenge by co-developing an integrated assessment framework and employing it to understand how existing evaluations of NbS in the region can be improved. It focuses specifically on a set of nature-based solutions that have been employed for water treatment across six cities in Southeast Asia (two in each Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Vietnam), namely, floating wetlands, constructed wetlands and maturation ponds. The study also suggests specific methodologies for capturing a set of core indicators considered relevant for assessing the effectiveness and capturing the multi-faceted impacts of the examined NbS.     

Early murine immune responses from endotracheal exposures to biotechnology-related Bacillus strains

An immunology-based in vivo screening regime was used to assess the potential pathogenicity of biotechnology-related microbes. Strains of Bacillus cereus (Bc), Bacillus subtilis (Bs), Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), and Bt commercial products (CPs) were tested. Balb/c mice were endotracheally instilled with purified spores, diluted CP, or vegetative cells (VC) (live or dead). Exposed mice were evaluated for changes in behavioral and physical symptoms, bacterial clearance, pulmonary granulocytes, and pulmonary and circulatory pyrogenic cytokines (interleukins (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α), as well as acute phase biomarkers (fibrinogen and serum amyloid A). Except for some differences in clearance rates, no marked effects were observed in mice exposed to any spore at 10⁶ or 10⁷ colony forming units (cfu). In contrast, live Bc or Bt VCs (10⁵ or 10⁶?cfu) produced shock-like symptoms (lethargy, hunched appearance, ruffled fur, and respiratory distress), and 11–200-fold elevations in pyrogenic cytokines at 2-h post-exposure. In the study, 4-h effects included increased lethargy, ocular discharge, and 1.5–4-fold rise in circulatory acute phase markers, but no indications of recovery. Bs VC did not produce any changes in symptoms or biomarkers. After 2 or 4?h of exposure to dead VC, increases of only plasma IL-1β and TNF-α (4.6- and 12.4-fold, respectively) were observed. These findings demonstrate that purified spores produced no marked effects in mice compared to that of metabolically active bacteria. This early screening regime was successful in distinguishing the pathogenicity of the different Bacillus species, and might be useful for assessing the relative hazard potential of other biotechnology-related candidate strains.