Food acquisition during the African drought of 1983–1984: A study of Kenyan herders

In 1983 and 1984, drought spread across the northern rangelands of Kenya and herders in lowland Samburu lost substantial portions of their livestock. Food aid arrived when 50 to 75% of the cattle had already died, and after poorer pastoralists were hungry enough to sell their remaining productive animals. No pastoralists died of the immediate effects of the drought, but many were so impoverished that their longer-term prospects for remaining as herders look dim.
This essay discusses the timing and content of famine relief as it applies both to Samburu and other food-stressed areas. It focuses on the process of food acquisition during the northern Kenyan drought itself. The more "indigenous" food strategies of herding, hunting and gathering offered limited benefits. Equally, however, commercial channels for procuring food proved inadequate. Herders could not reliably sell animals to obtain cash for purchased food, nor were the grain and sugar staples always available even when cash was on hand. Lacking means to provide for themselves, Samburu came to depend on varied kinds of handouts.     

Transverse limb reduction defects after chorion villus sampling: A retrospective Cohort study

A retrospective cohort study was performed in five Italian obstetrical centres from 1984 to 1991 in order to verify the association between chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and transverse limb reduction defects (TLRDs). TLRD rates by period of gestation at CVS were calculated, and the study's results were compared with data from the general population. Of the 3430 pregnancies for which CVS was performed, 2759 had a known outcome. The overall rate for TLRDs was 1 in 1143 CVS pregnancies, four times higher than that of the general population in Italy (1 in 4458). The rate of TLRDs was 2·9/1000 for CVS performed at 9 weeks' gestation and 1·0/1000 for CVS at 10 weeks' gestation. A scalp defect was detected in a pregnancy in which CVS was performed at 10 weeks. A high proportion of pregnancies lost to follow-up and the poor quality of the data may have affected the results. Nevertheless, our results suggest an association between CVS carried out at less than 10 weeks' gestation and TLRDs which is consistent with the findings of other studies. CVS should not be prepared at less than 10 weeks' gestation until additional evidence is obtained.     

Progression of exencephaly to anencephaly in the human fetus—an ultrasound perspective

Exencephaly as a precursor of anencephaly is well delineated in animal studies. In humans, a similar though unproven embryologic sequence is postulated. In the case reported, serial ultrasound studies allowed us to identify a 16-week human exencephalic fetus and observe the cephalic changes during its progression to a classic anencephalic appearance.     

Prenatal sonographic appearance of foramina parietalia permagna

Foramina parietalia permagna (FPP) is an extremely uncommon congenital defect, inherited as an autosomal dominant condition. Its characteristics are two symmetrical orifices in the parietal bones (not of fixed size) on both sides of the midline. This defect does not affect either the psychic or the physical development of the affected person. This paper describes the sonographic appearance of FPP in utero as an enlargement of the posterior fontanelle.     

PCBs and HCHs in a salt-marsh sediment record from South-Central Chile: use of tsunami signatures and 137Cs fallout as temporal markers

This paper documents the occurrence of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) deposition inferred from a sedimentary record exposed in a salt-marsh trench in South-Central Chile. Sediments were carefully collected every 1 cm from the trench wall. The samples were analyzed for PCBs, HCHs, 137Cs, organic carbon and grain size. The 137Cs fallout and the sedimentary signature left by the 1960 Chilean tsunami were used as temporal markers to estimate the stratigraphic chronology and the sedimentation rates. PCBs were quantified by gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD), and positive samples were confirmed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry detection (GC-MS). Based on these results, PCBs and HCHs deposition over the last 40 years was estimated. No PCBs were detected below the tsunami signature. Total concentrations ranged from undetectable (ND) to 32 ng/g d.w. for PCBs and from undetectable (ND) to 1.29 ng/g d.w. for HCHs. The highest PCB concentrations were found in the upper 7 cm of the core. Even though PCBs were banned in 1982 as electrical fluids in Chile, total estimated PCB fluxes have increased approximately 20 times during the last 40 years: from undetectable values to 102.6 ng/cm2/year, reflecting that PCBs are still in use and being released into the environment.     

Using negative emotional feedback to modify risky behavior of young moped riders

Objective: The aim of this research was to investigate whether the use of messages with negative emotional content is effective in promoting safe behavior of moped riders and how exactly these messages modulate rider behavior.

Methods: Participants received negative feedback when performing risky behaviors using a computer task. The effectiveness of this treatment was subsequently tested in a riding simulator.

Results: The results demonstrated how riders receiving negative feedback had a lower number of traffic accidents than a control group. The reduction in accidents was accompanied by a set of changes in the riding behavior. We observed a lower average speed and greater respect for speed limits. Furthermore, analysis of the steering wheel variance, throttle variance, and average braking force provided evidence for a more even and homogenous riding style. This greater abidance of traffic regulations and friendlier riding style could explain some of the causes behind the reduction in accidents.

Conclusions: The use of negative emotional feedback in driving schools or advanced rider assistance systems could enhance riding performance, making riders aware of unsafe practices and helping them to establish more accurate riding habits. Moreover, the combination of riding simulators and feedback—for example, in the training of novice riders and traffic offenders—could be an efficient tool to improve their hazard perception skills and promote safer behaviors.     

Methane oxidation and attenuation of sulphur compounds in landfill top cover systems: Lab-scale tests

In this study,a top cover system is investigated as a control for emissions during the aftercare of new landfills and for old landfills where biogas energy production might not be profitable.Different materials were studied as landfill cover system in lab-scale columns:mechanical–biological pretreated municipal solid waste(MBP);mechanical–biological pretreated biowaste(PB);fine(PBS_f)and coarse(PBS_c)mechanical–biological pretreated mixtures of biowaste and sewage sludge,and natural soil(NS).The effectiveness of these materials in removing methane and sulphur compounds from a gas stream was tested,even coupled with activated carbon membranes.Concentrations of CO_2,CH_4,O_2,N_2,H_2S and mercaptans were analysed at different depths along the columns.Methane degradation was assessed using mass balance and the results were expressed in terms of methane oxidation rate(MOR).The highest maximum and mean MOR were observed for MBP(17.2 g CH_4/m~2/hr and 10.3 g CH_4/m~2/hr,respectively).Similar values were obtained with PB and PBS_c.The lowest values of MOR were obtained for NS(6.7 g CH_4/m~2/hr)and PBS_f(3.6 g CH_4/m~2/hr),which may be due to their low organic content and void index,respectively.Activated membranes with high load capacity did not seem to have an influence on the methane oxidation process:MBP coupled with 220 g/m~2and 360 g/m~2membranes gave maximum MOR of 16.5 g CH_4/m~2/hr and 17.4 g CH_4/m~2/hr,respectively.Activated carbon membranes proved to be very effective on H_2S adsorption.Furthermore,carbonyl sulphide,ethyl mercaptan and isopropyl mercaptan seemed to be easily absorbed by the filling materials.     

Inbreeding and local mate competition in the ant Cardiocondyla batesii

The ant species Cardiocondyla batesii is unique in that, in contrast to all other ant species, both sexes are flightless. Female sexuals and wingless, ergatoid males mate in the nest in autumn and young queens disperse on foot to found their own colonies in spring. The close genetic relatedness between queens and their mates (r_qm=0.76±SE 0.12) and the high inbreeding coefficient (F=0.55; 95%CI 0.45–0.65) suggest that 83% of all matings are between brothers and sisters. As expected from local mate competition theory, sex ratios were extremely female biased, with more than 85% of all sexuals produced being young queens. Despite the common occurrence of inbreeding, we could not detect any adult diploid males. Though the probability of not detecting multiple mating was relatively high, at least one-third of all queens in our sample had mated more than once. Multiple mating to some extent counteracts the effects of inbreeding on worker relatedness (r_ww=0.68±SE 0.05) and would also be beneficial through decreasing diploid male load, if sex was determined by a single locus complementary system.Communicated by L. Sundström     

The leachate composition of an old waste dump connected to groundwater: Influence of the reclamation works

This study has been carried out in an uncontrolled dump in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Argentina. This dump still contains solid wastes of different types in direct contact with the human consumption aquifer. After 18 years of overturning the dump was closed in 1992, and the reclamation works started.Three leachate samplings were carried out in three different zones of the dump, selected according to the topography, the age of residues and the degree of water contact. These samplings were done before the reclamation works, at the end, and four months after they were finished. Several chemical parameters, including heavy metals in solid and dissolved fractions, were analyzed.Multivariate analysis (PCA) was performed to help to understand the effects of the labors on leachate composition. The works could be responsible for a temporal increase of dissolved heavy metals and several chemical variables in the leachate. At the sites of the dump where the modifications were carried out, the levels of some elements analyzed recovered their former values a few months after the reclamations works. At the farthest site, the impact and recovery effects of the works on leachate composition, were delayed.     

Molecular behavior assessment on initial stages of oil spill in terrestrial environments

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The contamination of terrestrial environments by oil spills creates biological risks to humans and affects the ecosystem’s health. The studies...