Toxic and essential elements in blood from delivering women in selected areas of São Paulo State, Brazil

This study was designed to evaluate the degree of environmental contamination and possible exposure of pregnant women to toxic elements in seven selected areas of S?o Paulo State, Brazil. The overall median concentration of Mo in maternal blood was 0.53 μg L?1, highly significant differences found between sites (p < 0.0001). Cd was found to be low overall - 0.09 μg L?1 (0.01-0.58 μg L?1) - with mothers from the Coastal and Rural 1 sites having the highest levels (p < 0.016).Median Hg concentration was 0.60 μg L?1 (0.06 μg L?1-4.35 μg L?1); median Pb level was 16.2 μg L?1 (3.5-57.7 μg L?1) and no differences between sites were observed for both metals. Median Mn level was 16.7 μg L?1 (7.0-39.7 μg L?1), being highest in Urban 2 site (p < 0.016). Concentrations of maternal Co were found to range between 0.06 μg L?1 and 1.1 μg L?1 (median 0.25 μg L?1) and As level was 0.60 μg L?1 (0.10-3.8 μg L?1) overall, with no statistical significance between sites for Co and As. Median Se concentrations were found to be 64 μg L?1 (36-233 μg L?1), with the highest median levels found in Urban 3 site; site differences were statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Correlation for each element (between paired maternal and cord blood) was measured only in Rural site 1; significant correlation was shown for Hg, Pb, Mn and Co (p < 0.05). These findings may be interpreted as indicating low environmental contamination in S?o Paulo State, Brazil. These findings could also indicate that pregnant women have little or no contact with pollutants, possibly due to awareness campaigns carried out by public health practitioners.     

Survival and Recruitment of Captive-Reared and Wild-Reared Takahe in Fiordland, New Zealand

Captive rearing for release back into the wild is considered a useful management tool for endangered species because it can potentially increase the rate of recruitment by bypassing the early, high-risk stages in an individual's life history. In evaluating the benefits of captive rearing to conservation, it is important to monitor the survival rate of animals after release, to be sure that they have the skills necessary for survival in the wild. Using radio telemetry, we compared the movement and survival of captive-reared Takahe (  Porphyrio mantelli), a large flightless rail endemic to New Zealand, to wild-reared Takahe in the rugged mountains of Fiordland over a 5–year period. The results indicated that captive-reared birds survived at least as well as wild-reared birds. Survival of wild-reared Takahe up to 1 year of age, which is prior to the release of captive-reared birds, was poor over two winters marked by particularly cold temperatures, which made the benefits of captive rearing more pronounced. Differences in post-release movements and habitat selection of the two groups did not have a detrimental effect on survival rate of captive-reared birds. Although there was no difference in the survival rate of captive-reared females versus males, eight out of nine (89%) surviving females have formed pairs since their release compared with only two of eight (25%) males. This unexpected result suggests there may be a shortage of females in the wild population. We conclude that captive rearing for release back into the wild increases the adult Takahe population in Fiordland.     

Polaroid's environmental accounting and reporting system: Benefits and limitations of a tqem measurement tool

Polaroid Corporation has established an ambitious pollution prevention program that calls for reducing chemical use and waste by 10 percent per unit per year during the period 1988 to 1993. A notable aspect of Polaroid'S efforts is the environmental accounting and reporting system (EARS) it has developed to measure progress toward this goal. EARS is a Total Quality Environmental Management tool with applicability in similar industries.     

RIVER BASIN PLANNING: OBSERVATIONS FROM INTERNATIONAL AND CANADA-UNITED STATES EXPERIENCE

From a discussion of the main objectives of river basin planning, the author develops the elements needed to assure successful river basin planning at the multinational level. Functions of some existing international river basin commissions are described and a fourfold classification based on the degree of planning undertaken is proposed. The Canada—United States experience in river basin planning is placed in a historical framework and the political, legal and economic factors which influenced the operations of the Canada—US International Joint Commission are described. The central point about Canada—US experience appears to be that direct planning is less frequent than indirect “planning.” The two main functions of the Canada—US International Joint Commission are regulation on the one hand and dispute settlement on the other. Partant d'une discussion sur les principaux objectifs de la planification des bassins fluviaux, l'auteur analyse les éléments nécessaires à la planification efficace de ces bassins au niveau multinational. II décrit les fonctions de certaines commissions internationales de bassins fluviaux et propose une classification en quatre parties basée sur le degré de planification envisagé. L'auteur situe les travaux du Canada et des Etats-Unis en matière de planification de bassins fluviaux dans un contexte historique et analyse les facteurs politiques, juridiques et économiques qui influencent les activités de la Commission internationale mixte du Canada et des Etats-Unis. Le résultat principal des travaux de cette Commission semble être que la planification directe est plus rare que la planification indirecte. Les deux fonctions principales de la Commission sont la réglementation d'une part et le règlement de disputes de l'autre. Después de discutir los objetivos principales la Planificación de Cuencas Hidrográficas, el autor desarrolla los elementos necesarios para asegurar una planificación apropiada de cuencas a nivel multinacional. Se describen las funciones de algunas Comisiones de Cuencas Internacionales y se propone una clasificación basado en el grado de planificación emprendida. Se pone en un marco histórico la experiencia de Canadá y los Estados Unidos en materia de planficación de cuencas hydrográficas y se describen los factores politicos, legales y económicos que influenciaron las operaciones de la Comisión Conjunta Internacional Canadá-Estados Unidos. El punto central de la experiencia Canadá—Estados Unidos parece ser que la planificación directa es menos frecuente que la “planificación indirecta.” Las funciones principales de esta comisión son establecer regulaciones y dar solución a las disputas existentes.     

Biosynthesis of poly-(R)-3-hydroxyalkanoate: An emulsion polymerization

Poly-(R)-3-hydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are bacterial storage polyesters, which are accumulated by a wide variety of microorganisms as a reserve of carbon and energy. Currently, these biopolymers are receiving much attention because of their potential application as biodegradable and biocompatible plastics. The polymer appears as submicron intracellular granules. The biosynthesis of these granules has been studied extensively but many observations remain inexplicable. This paper draws an analogy between the process of emulsion polymerization and that of granule formation. This analogy may explain many of the unknown features of granule formation and may also lead to useful applications of granules as latex products.     

Reply to Discussion

In the Discussion, Nash et al. (2019) estimate the seasonal change in groundwater volume for a portion of the restored Sierra Nevada Meadow that we evaluated (Hunt et al. 2018) and use this estimate as an upper bound on the possible contribution to flow that is attributable to restoration. The authors conclude that raising the channel bed elevation and reconnecting the meadow floodplain most likely reduced summer streamflow. In contrast, we report at least a fivefold increase in baseflow from the meadow in the years following restoration. In addition, we observed that, after restoration, the previously intermittent stream below the meadow flowed continuously throughout the summer months, despite record drought conditions, and in 2015, the lowest snowpack on record. We suggest that the groundwater budget presented in the Discussion may not adequately represent conditions within the meadow because the authors extrapolate from 5 near‐channel groundwater wells across 62 ha of meadow and assume an area of influence that is approximately one‐sixth of the meadow area. We conclude that the conversion of an intermittent stream to perennial flow during drought conditions is a stronger check on our gauge data than the groundwater budget presented in the Discussion.     

The internationalisation of the Australian mineral industry in the 1990s

Overseas mineral exploration and mining investment by Australian companies increased dramatically from the early 1990s until 1997. In the wake of the Asian economic crisis and lower commodity prices it declined somewhat in 1998 and 1999. Reflecting their international competitiveness, Australian resource companies were actively involved in projects in about eighty nations in 1999. This study assesses the extent of growth in exploration and mining operations, the distribution between large and small companies and the changing regional focus which has been occurring. It also reflects on some of the key influences on this development. These include a strong domestic finance sector, supporting mining services provision, technological competitiveness, a growing attractiveness of offshore locations and increasing structural impediments at home.