Risk of flood-related mortality in Nepal

In July 1993, severe flooding devastated Sarlahi district in Nepal. The next month, a follow-up study of a large population cohort was undertaken. The study is unique in that a prospective research database was used to verify residency prior to the flood and to confirm vital status afterwards. It evaluated 41,501 children aged between two and nine years and adults aged 15-70 in 7,252 households. Flood-related fatality rates were 13.3 per 1,000 for girls and 9.4 per 1,000 for boys, 6.1 per 1,000 for women and 4.1 per 1,000 for men. Flood-related fatality rates for children were six times higher than mortality rates in the same villages a year before the flood (relative risk (RR) = 5.9, 95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 5.0-6.8). Flood-related fatality was associated with low socio-economic status preflood (RR = 6.4, 95 per cent CI 2.7-20.0), and having a house constructed of thatch (RR = 5.1, 95 per cent CI 1.7-24.5).     

Development and Evaluation of a Method to Determine Indicator Microorganisms in Air Emissions and Residue from Medical Waste Incinerators

To allow testing of microbial destruction in medical waste incinerators, methods were developed to determine indicator microorganisms (Bacillus Stearothermophilus spores) in incinerator air emissions and residue. The emission trapping train consisted of a water cooled glass probe and impingers containing a neutral phosphate buffer. In field tests, spores were injected directly into the probe, and results showed that approximately 60 percent of the spores were recovered. Spores were analyzed with adequate precision using a microbial membrane filter unit. Lab experiments indicated that spores were stable in neutral pH phosphate buffer for up to 20 days, and heat shocking samples (heating to 80°C for 20 minutes) reduced spore numbers in acidic or basic buffer. Laboratory tests also showed that 60 to 70 percent of spores initially added to ash were recovered up to 22 days after addition of the spores. In addition, lab tests showed that spores can be effectively recovered from residue test pipes spiked with indicator spores.     

Membrane Bioreactor Model for Removal of Organics from Wastewater

Abstract

The persistence of trace organics in wastewater effluent is a major environmental concern. Possible use of fixed microbial films in wastewater treatment processes is currently an active area of research that may be able to address many of these problems. In the waste effluent, the persistence of trace organics is attributed, in part, to the inability of microbial populations to extract energy from dilute environments at a rate fast enough to sustain themselves. To address this problem, a novel wastewater treatment scheme is considered. On the basis of previous hollow fiber biomass growth studies, we believe that an anaerobic biofilm supported by hollow fibers could achieve greater biomass density than a film grown on traditional impermeable supports. This in turn could lead to improved substrate removal efficiency in a reactor of a given volume. Using this concept, we developed a mathematical model to test the potential of hollow fiber membrane reactors for biodegradation of acetate solution. A computer simulation has shown that it would be possible to remove about 90% from feed solutions containing 0.1 mg-cm^-3 acetate with biomass density 25 mg-cm^-3 in the hollow fiber supported biofilm. More concentrated feeds could be effectively treated if sufficiently high biomass density could be attained. This process, therefore, shows promise in wastewater treatment. The advantages of hollow fiber membrane bioreactors are their high surface-to-volume ratio, separation of cells from flow, and high cell concentration. All of these are essential requirements for optimum utilization of biomass in wastewater treatment. The hollow fiber membrane bioreactor concept, therefore, may provide a new and unique approach to treating organics.     

Arsenic speciation and mobility in surface water at Lucky Shot Gold Mine, Alaska

Historical mining in Alaska has created a legacy of approximately 6,830 abandoned mine sites which include adits, tailing piles and contaminated land that continue to impact surface and groundwater quality through run-off and leaching of potentially toxic metals, especially arsenic (As). One such site is the Lucky Shot Gold Mine in Hatcher Pass, south-central Alaska, which operated from 1920 until 1942, mining gold-bearing quartz veins hosted in a Cretaceous tonalite intrusion. Arsenopyrite (FeAsS) and pyrite (FeS₂) present in the quartz veins contribute to elevated As levels in water draining, abandoned mine adits. As future underground mining at Lucky Shot may further adversely impact water quality, baseline geochemical studies were undertaken to assess As mobility in the vicinity of the mine adits. Water samples were collected from streams, adits and boreholes around the mine and analysed for major and minor elements using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and for anions by ion chromatography (IC). Arsenic species separation was performed in the field to determine the ratio of inorganic As(III)/As(V) using anion-exchange chromatography, following established methods. It was determined that water draining the adits had elevated levels of As roughly seventy times the United States Environmental Protection Agency Drinking Water Standard of 10?μg?L^?1, although this was rapidly diluted downstream in Craigie Creek to <2?μg?L^?1. Adit and surface water pH was circum-neutral and displayed no characteristics of acid mine drainage. Despite being well oxygenated, As(III) is the dominant As species in adit water, accounting for close to 100?% of total As. The proportion of As(V) increases downstream of the adits, as some As(III) is oxidized, but the speciation enhances arsenic mobility at the site. The δ¹⁸O measurements indicate that the water in the system has a short residence time as it is very similar to meteoric water, supporting the observation that the predominance of As(III) in adit water results from the lack of thermodynamical equilibrium being attained and preferential absorbance of As(V).     

Are Life Patents Ethical? Conflict between Catholic Social Teaching and Agricultural Biotechnology's Patent Regime

Patents for genetic material in theindustrialized North have expandedsignificantly over the past twenty years,playing a crucial role in the currentconfiguration of the agricultural biotechnologyindustries, and raising significant ethicalissues. Patents have been claimed for genes,gene sequences, engineered crop species, andthe technical processes to engineer them. Mostcritics have addressed the human and ecosystemhealth implications of genetically engineeredcrops, but these broad patents raise economicissues as well. The Catholic social teachingtradition offers guidelines for critiquing theeconomic implications of this new patentregime. The Catholic principle of the universaldestination of goods implies that genes, genesequences, and engineered crop varieties areineligible for patent protection, although theprocesses to engineer these should be eligible.Religious leaders are likely to make a moresubstantive contribution to debates aboutagricultural biotechnology by addressing theselife patents than by speculating that geneticengineering is ``playing God.'     

GC/MS/MS分析复杂基体中痕量组分的优越性

在现代实验室中,GC/MS用于痕量分析极为普遍,要求更低的检测限而被分析样品的基体越来越复杂的情况由来已久.……     

Utilizing a 'systems' approach to improve the management of waste from healthcare facilities: best practice case studies from England and Wales.

Changes in environmental legislation and standards governing healthcare waste, such as the Hazardous Waste Regulations are expected to have a significant impact on healthcare waste quantities and costs in England and Wales. This paper presents findings from two award winning case study organizations, the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust and the Cornwall NHS Trust on 'systems' they have employed for minimizing waste. The results suggest the need for the development and implementation of a holistic range of systems in order to develop best practice, including waste minimization strategies, key performance indicators, and staff training and awareness. The implications for the sharing of best practice from the two case studies are also discussed.     

What’s ‘evangelical’ got to do with it? Disentangling the impact of evangelical Protestantism on environmental outcomes

Empirical research on the relationship between evangelical Protestants and the environment has generated a range of divergent findings. Measurements of evangelical Protestants vary greatly, as do the dependent environmental outcomes they are used to predict. Serious questions remain concerning when and how ‘evangelicals’ diverge from others in their environmental views and behaviors. Here, two foundational questions concerning the relationship between evangelical Protestants and the environment are explored. First, do religious effects differ based on how evangelicals are defined and measured? Second, does the relationship vary with the outcome variable used? Utilizing 14 dependent variables from two nationally representative data sets, among the measures of evangelical Protestantism, biblical literalism is the most important predictor of environmental outcomes. Negative religious effects are more pronounced when questions concern future environmental outcomes, but not current environmental concerns, and when outcomes are related to collective actions rather than individual ones.     

Using integrated food‐web and population‐based models for environmental monitoring,remediation decisions,and long‐term planning

While ecologists have used food‐web models to understand how ecosystems function, the potential role of integrated food‐web and population‐based models in environmental monitoring and decision making has been ignored. Sound ecological principles should be integrated with state‐of‐the‐art monitoring and management practices. This article presents the ways in which population‐based models can answer basic ecological questions necessary for decision making about remediation and restoration, and for monitoring to ensure long‐term stewardship. Discussed are the uses of food‐web and population‐based models for understanding the movement of chemicals through different trophic levels. Three examples, including global warming, tributyltin, and monomethylmercury scenarios, are presented to illustrate how such models are useful. The responses of the component parts varies, depending on parameters such as birth, death, and respiration, as well as feeding rates, predator‐prey rates, and uptake and elimination rates. There are several different models available for decision making, with different levels of complexity, based on the specific hypothesis or question being asked and the amount of current information available. Therefore, it is recommended to use deterministic‐based, population‐based food‐web models for ecological risk assessment. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.