When is a Life Too Costly to Save? The Evidence from U.S. Environmental Regulations

Under certain environmental statutes the EPA is required to balance costs and benefits in setting standards, whereas under others this is prohibited. This paper examines EPA regulatory decisions made under three statues, two of which require balancing and one of which does not. Using discrete choice models, we find that costs and benefits are significant explanatory variables for all three sets of decisions. This suggests that balancing occurred in each case; however, the value (implicit in these decisions) of avoiding a cancer case varies widely. We also find that a 1987 court ruling effectively curtailed whatever balancing occurred under the statute that prohibited it.     

Inspiring Futures for European Local Governments!

Since 1994, more than 2000 European local governments have adopted the principles of the Aalborg Charter as a basis for local sustainability action. Now, ten years later in June 2004, these local governments will gather once again in Aalborg, Denmark at the Fourth European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns in Europe, Inspiring Futures—Aalborg+10. The Aalborg+10 event will celebrate a decade of European local sustainability action, evaluate progress and stagnation, and, more importantly, will adopt new commitments to move from Agenda to Action. The conference will be crucial for accelerating local sustainability in Europe and to move towards Local Action. Here an overview is provided on the context against which this important conference is set and its expected outcomes.     

The effect of the dumping of waste-acid from the titanium-dioxide production on the chlorophyl-a concentration of North Sea water: A time series analysis

Since 1963 the waste-acid of the German titanium dioxide industry is discharged off the Dutch coast. From March 1980 on the dumping takes place in an area situated 40–80 km from the coast. Although about 2 500 000 kg waste-acid is discharged every day, until now no effects could be found on the plankton.This paper describes the study on the effects of the dumping on the chlorophyl-a concentration of the seawater at a site north of the dumping area, with the help of time series analysis. It is shown that considerable changes in the chlorophyl concentration occur during the dumping period and that these changes coincide with certain events within the dumping history. However, it is most remarkable that the starting of the dumping itself does not show an effect on the chlorophyl concentrations. Explanations are suggested, but could not be investigated yet.This study shows also that collecting data without a proper statistical design make it impossible to draw unambiguous conclusions based on those data.     

Stress and mental strain in hospital work: Exploring the relationship beyond personality

This study focuses on the relationship between job stressors and mental strain in hospital work, adjusting for differences in personality traits. Questionnaires were obtained from 760 full-time employees. Fourteen scales of job stressors were clustered into four factors: professional latitude, clinical demands, workload problems and role difficulties. A mental strain index was derived from the addition of three sub-scales: depression, anxiety and irritation. Two personality traits were measured: Locus of Control (Rotter) and Striver-Achiever (Sales). The four job demand factors were dichotomized into high-low grouping variables. A 2⁴ factorial analysis of covariance was conducted, using the two personality traits as covariates, in order to test and adjust for trait-related strain. Results show that Locus of Control adjusted differences in mental strain appear significantly related to work stressors. A direct relationship was found with role difficulties, professional latitude and workload problems. Moreover, high levels of role difficulties and low levels of professional latitude interact significantly with adjusted levels of mental strain. The Striver-Achiever trait, however, appears most strongly correlated with workload problems but not with mental strain. We believe that this exploratory analysis suggests that the stressor-strain relationship might be best conceived as a combination of direct and complex pathways, relating facets of both job demands and of personality with outcomes, under a cognitive and conditional paradigm.     

Monitoring the progress of attempts to reduce nutrient load and inputs of certain compounds in the north sea by 50%

During the winter period an inverse linear relation is found between the concentration of dissolved nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) and salinity in the Dutch coastal zone. This indicates a conservative behavior of these compounds from the river, through the estuary to the sea. During summer this relation is much more scattered because of biological processes. The physical and statistical properties of the relationship between salinity and the concentration of dissolved inorganic phosphorus and nitrogen are used to calculate when, where, and how many samples have to be taken in order to monitor a reduction of a compound accurately. It appeared that at any given salinity in the estuary and in the sea, the winter period is the most suitable season to detect a reduction of a given dissolved compound. The higher the salinity in the estuary, the more samples are required to prove the reduction significantly. A reduction of only 10% cannot even be demonstrated by field measurements during summer at salinities above 25. It is concluded that one cruise from the river to the sea, covering the salinities from 0 to 35 during the winter period, aimed at establishing the relationship between the concentration and salinity by taking samples at a salinity interval of for instance 1%, is sufficient to monitor a wide-ranging reduction of 10%–50% in both the fresh water and marine water. This program must be combined with a sampling at a salinity of 0, directed to determine the riverine temporal variability.     

Early second-trimester diagnosis of sirenomelia

Two cases of sirenomelia are described, detected in the 14th and 16th weeks of gestation by transvaginal ultrasonography. A hypothesis for the aetiology of sirenomelia and its associated anomalies is discussed.     

Prenatal diagnosis of Hunter syndrome using fetal plasma

The X-linked Hunter syndrome or mucopolysaccharidosis II was diagnosed in a male fetus by demonstrating a severe deficiency of iduronate 2-sulphate sulphatase activity in fetal plasma obtained by umbilical fetal blood sampling at 23 weeks of pregnancy. The diagnosis was confirmed after termination of pregnancy.     

Polymerase chain reaction analysis of the cystic fibrosis ΔF508 mutation in human blastomeres following oocyte injection of a single sperm from a carrier

The efficiency of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in detecting the cystic fibrosis (CF) ΔF508 mutation (which is the most common mutation of CF) was assessed in single human blastomeres. Twenty-one human immature oocytes (germinal-vesicle-stage oocytes) that had been donated for research were matured in vitro and a single spermatozoon from a carrier of the CF ΔF508 mutation was injected into the ooplasm. Fourteen embryos were obtained after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). PCR analysis was carried out on 70 single blastomeres isolated from these 14 embryos. The results showed that the efficiency of DNA amplification by PCR in single nucleate blastomeres was 94 per cent (59/63). There were no false-positive results since none of the blank samples or the blastomeres without a nucleus showed an amplified signal. We found that nine embryos were homozygous for the unaffected genotype and that four embryos were heterozygous since they contained both the unaffected and the ΔF508 genotype. In a four-cell embryo, we observed the homozygous unaffected genotype in one blastomere and a heterozygous ΔF508/unaffected genotype in the other three blastomeres.     

Optimization, equilibrium, adsorption behavior and role of surface functional groups on graphene oxide-based nanocomposite towards diclofenac drug

Aquatic contamination of diclofenac (DCF), an emergent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs), can result in adverse effects to many ecosystems through biomagnification. Hence, introducing effective remediation techniques to sequester the pharmaceutical wastes is highly fundamental to prevent their accumulation in the environment. Generally, adsorption has been presented as a green and efficient approach. Herein, we report the characterization and application of the novel magnetic nanocomposite ([email protected]₂O₄) derived from cobalt-based ferrite (CoFe₂O₄) and graphene oxide (GO) for DCF adsorption. For the optimization procedure, the response surface methodology (RSM) was adopted to investigate the impacts of DCF concentration (1.6–18.4 mg/L), DCF dosage (0.08–0.92 g/L), and solution pH (2.6–9.4) to find the optimum conditions for DCF removal, at 10.5 mg/L, 0.74 g/L, and pH 4, respectively. For the adsorption experiments, the kinetic, isotherm, thermodynamic, and intraparticle diffusion models were systematically studied. Moreover, we have elucidated the role of functional groups on the surface of [email protected]₂O₄ in enhancing the adsorption of DCF drug. With good removal efficiency (up to 86.1%), high maximum adsorption capacity (32.4 mg/g), [email protected]₂O₄ can be a potential candidate to eliminate DCF drug from water.     

Prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis of radial-ray reduction malformations

Radial-ray reduction malformations (RRRMs) may occur isolated or in association with other anomalies. The data of seven fetuses born with RRRMs were collected. Six fetuses had associated lethal abnormalities of the central nervous system, urogenital system, and/or heart, detected by ultrasound. In five cases, it was possible to establish the precise diagnosis, enabling an informed prognosis and subsequent genetic counselling. The diagnoses were: Edwards syndrome (n=3), VACTERL association (n=1), and Poland-Moebius-like complex (n= 1). In two cases, a complete diagnosis was not possible because of inadequate evaluation of these fetuses before and/or after birth. A proposal is given for the diagnostic approach for infants with RRRMs detected in the antenatal period by means of ultrasonography.