Vitamins,folic acid and neural tube defects: Comments on investigations in the United States

No clear answer concerning whether multivitamin/folate supplementation prevents neural tube defects (NTDs) is provided by three studies in the United States. All these studies are occurrence in nature, no recurrence studies having been conducted. The Atlanta Birth Defects Study is subject to pronounced memory and recall biases, the length between event and interview being as long as 16 years. In a second study (Boston University), objections can be raised to certain aspects of the experimental design, and the claim that 22 per cent of women started vitamins sufficiently early after pregnancy diagnosis to influence NTD formation is suspicious. Our NICHD case control study of 541 women in California and Illinois revealed no evidence for multivitamins or folic acid preventing NTDs. U.S. public policy-makers face difficulties in applying results of recurrence or occurrence studies in high-risk areas to low-risk areas in the U.S.     

Monitoring and assessment of surface water acidification following rewetting of oxidised acid sulfate soils

Large-scale exposure of acid sulfate soils during a hydrological drought in the Lower Lakes of South Australia resulted in acidification of surface water in several locations. Our aim was to describe the techniques used to monitor, assess and manage these acidification events using a field and laboratory dataset (n?=?1,208) of acidic to circum-neutral pH water samples. The median pH of the acidified (pH?<?6.5) samples was 3.8. Significant (p?<?0.05) increases in soluble metals (Al, Co, Mn, Ni and Zn above guidelines for ecosystem protection), SO₄ (from pyrite oxidation), Si (from aluminosilicate dissolution) and Ca (from carbonate dissolution and limestone addition), were observed under the acidic conditions. The log of the soluble metal concentrations, acidity and SO₄/Cl ratio increased linearly with pH. The pH, alkalinity and acidity measurements were used to inform aerial limestone dosing events to neutralise acidic water. Field measurements correlated strongly with laboratory measurements for pH, alkalinity and conductivity (r ²?≥?0.97) but only moderately with acidity (r ²?=?0.54), which could be due to difficulties in determining the indicator-based field titration endpoint. Laboratory measured acidity correlated well with calculated acidity (r ²?=?0.87, acidity present as Al^III?>>?H⁺?≈?Mn^II?>?Fe^II/III) but was about 20 % higher on average. Geochemical speciation calculations and XRD measurements indicated that solid phase minerals (schwertmannite and jarosite for Fe and jurbanite for Al) were likely controlling dissolved metal concentrations and influencing measured acidity between pH 2 and 5.     

Ocean acidification: assessing the vulnerability of socioeconomic systems in Small Island Developing States

Regional Environmental Change - Ocean acidification poses an increasing threat to marine ecosystems and also interacts with other anthropogenic environmental drivers. A planned response strategy...     

Treatment of a clinical analysis laboratory wastewater from a hospital by photo-Fenton process at four radiation settings and toxicity response

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The photo-Fenton process was performed with four radiation settings to treat clinical analysis laboratory wastewater (CALWW) from a hospital, with the...     

PET bottle use patterns and antimony migration into bottled water and soft drinks: the case of British and Nigerian bottles

While antimony has been reported to migrate from PET bottles into contents, reports on bottled water and soft drinks usage and PET bottle reuse patterns are currently unavailable in the literature. Bottle use conditions and patterns are important determinants of antimony migration. In this work a survey assessing the pattern of bottle use and reuse in Britain and Nigeria was undertaken. The survey findings influenced the design of laboratory experiments that assessed the migration of antimony from PET bottles into water and soft drinks. Typical storage durations for bottled contents between purchase and opening for use were 7 days or less. However storage of up to one year was reported. Bottle reuse was high and similar for the two countries with reuse durations being higher in Nigeria. The antimony concentration in 32 PET bottle materials from Britain and Nigeria were similar and ranged between 177 and 310 mg kg(-1). For 47 freshly purchased British bottled contents antimony concentration ranged between 0.03 and 6.61 μg L(-1) with only one sample exceeding the EU acceptable limit. Concentrations of Cd, Ge, Zn, Al, Be, Ti, Co and Pb were also measured. At realistic temperatures of 40 and 60 °C antimony concentration in deionised water in bottles remained below the EU acceptable limit even after 48 h exposure. The limit was exceeded for most exposures at 80 °C. Concentration of antimony in some bottled contents exceeded the EU limit after 11 months of storage at room temperature. Bottle aging and increase in bottle volume were associated with decreased migration of antimony from bottles.     

Effects of economic growth on biodiversity in the United States

For many citizens and policymakers, the empirical relationship between economic growth and biodiversity conservation has not been sufficiently established for purposes of identifying the types of economic policies amenable to biodiversity conservation. Some think economic growth conflicts with biodiversity conservation; others think economic growth conduces biodiversity conservation. With panel data from 1997‐2011, encompassing US continental states, we developed a series of statistical models to investigate the relationships among species endangerment, human population, and economic growth as indicated by GDP and per capita GDP. Species endangerment is highly correlated with population and GDP, and per capita GDP is a significant regressor of species endangerment. Across US continental states, competitive exclusion of non‐human species occurs via human economic growth and population growth.     

Species-specific effects of elevated ozone on wetland plants and decomposition processes

Seven species from two contrasting wetlands, an upland bog and a lowland rich fen in North Wales, UK, were exposed to elevated ozone (150 ppb for 5 days and 20 ppb for 2 days per week) or low ozone (20 ppb) for four weeks in solardomes. The rich fen species were: Molinia caerulea, Juncus subnodulosus, Potentilla erecta and Hydrocotyle vulgaris and the bog species were: Carex echinata, Potentilla erecta and Festuca rubra. Senescence significantly increased under elevated ozone in all seven species but only Molinia caerulea showed a reduction in biomass under elevated ozone. Decomposition rates of plants exposed to elevated ozone, as measured by carbon dioxide efflux from dried plant material inoculated with peat slurry, increased for Potentilla erecta with higher hydrolytic enzyme activities. In contrast, a decrease in enzyme activities and a non-significant decrease in carbon dioxide efflux occurred in the grasses, sedge and rush species.     

Water demand management in England and Wales: Constructions of the domestic water user

Measures to manage demand include implicit and explicit messages about domestic water users, which have important potential impacts on their perceptions and practices. Drawing on recent literature, this paper identifies three different ‘dimensions’ along which demand management measures' constructions of the water user may vary: these relate to whether the water user is passive or active, whether they are motivated by individual or common needs and whether they perceive water as a right or a commodity. Demand management measures currently used in England and Wales are then discussed and analysed. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of communications associated with demand management, and in particular, notes the need to consider the cumulative impact of messages and their interactions with people's existing understandings.     

GRADUATE TRAINING IN WATER TRACK ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING: RESULTS OF A SURVEY OF EMPLOYERS1

ABSTRACT: The authors conducted a mail survey of 600 employers in the government and private sectors who were thought to hire water track environmental engineers. Of a total of 148 respondents, over 80 percent employed a combined total of over 2,800 environmental engineers. The survey addressed two basic questions: (1) what is the quality of graduate education recently trained engineers have received, and (2) what effect does a nonengineering undergraduate degree have on an engineering graduate student's employment potential. In answer to the first question, respondents indicated that engineering graduates were deficient in report writing, business law (contracts and specifications), economics and finance, and practical design. Many employers stated that students could better prepare themselves for employment by (1) obtaining professional experience through internships and summer or part-time jobs, and (2) learning to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. In answer to the second question, 50 percent of the respondents indicated that engineers without an engineering undergraduate degree would not necessarily be limited in their abilities to perform engineering duties.