Occurrence of estrogenic chemicals in South Korean surface waters and municipal wastewaters

Broad scale monitoring of estrogenic compounds was performed at 19 sampling points throughout the Yeongsan and Seomjin river basins and 5 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) adjacent to the Gwangju area, Korea, from December 2005 to August 2007. The concentrations of estrogenic compounds, including estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), bisphenol-A, nonylphenol (NP) and 4-octylphenol (OP), in the samples was measured with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In addition, the estrogenic activities throughout the river were investigated using the E-screen assay. Of the six estrogenic chemicals, NP (114.6-336.1 ng L(-1)) and EE2 (0.23-1.90 ng L(-1)) were detected at the highest and lowest levels, respectively in both the river waters and the WWTP effluents. Bisphenol-A showed the largest concentration range, from 7.5 to 335 ng L(-1). The concentrations of E1, E2 and octylphenol ranges were 3.6-69.1, 1.2-10.7, and 2.2-16.9 ng L(-1), respectively. According to the calculated estradiol equivalent concentration (EEQ); however, no estrogenic contribution was observed due to the phenolic compounds in the river waters and effluents. E1 and E2 dominated in both the river water and effluent samples, with contributions to the calculated EEQ of over 79 and 77%, respectively. Conversely, EE2 was rarely detected in the river waters (21%) and effluents (0%). The largest contribution of EE2 to the calculated EEQ was 21% in the river water at S-7. The levels of E1, E2, and EE2 were remarkably decreased in the effluents, indicating that the 5 WWTPs did not contribute to the estrogenic effect of the receiving streams. Overall, the WWTPs did not contributed to the estrogenic activity of the receiving waters, but the livestock industry or wildlife may play an important role in the estrogenic contribution to river water.     

A comparison of radiometric correction techniques in the evaluation of the relationship between LST and NDVI in Landsat imagery

Atmospheric corrections for multi-temporal optical satellite images are necessary, especially in change detection analyses, such as normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) rationing. Abrupt change detection analysis using remote-sensing techniques requires radiometric congruity and atmospheric correction to monitor terrestrial surfaces over time. Two atmospheric correction methods were used for this study: relative radiometric normalization and the simplified method for atmospheric correction (SMAC) in the solar spectrum. A multi-temporal data set consisting of two sets of Landsat images from the period between 1991 and 2002 of Penang Island, Malaysia, was used to compare NDVI maps, which were generated using the proposed atmospheric correction methods. Land surface temperature (LST) was retrieved using ATCOR3_T in PCI Geomatica 10.1 image processing software. Linear regression analysis was utilized to analyze the relationship between NDVI and LST. This study reveals that both of the proposed atmospheric correction methods yielded high accuracy through examination of the linear correlation coefficients. To check for the accuracy of the equation obtained through linear regression analysis for every single satellite image, 20 points were randomly chosen. The results showed that the SMAC method yielded a constant value (in terms of error) to predict the NDVI value from linear regression analysis-derived equation. The errors (average) from both proposed atmospheric correction methods were less than 10%.     

Survival of the intertidal pulmonate Onchidium tumidium during short term and long term anoxic stress

Onchidium tumidium showed a triphasic response to anoxia. Twelve hours of anoxic exposure had no effect on the glycogen content in O. tumidium. However, there were significant increases in the alanine, lactate and succinate contents in the anoxic individuals. These were accompanied by a significant decrease in the ATP content. These results suggest that O. tumidium survived the first 12 h of anoxic exposure without increasing the glycolytic flux to compensate for the lower efficiency of ATP production through anaerobic pathways. Indeed, the fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (F-2,6-P₂) content and the percentage of phosphofruc-tokinase (PFK) associated with the subcellular particles remain unchanged in O. tumidium exposed to 12 h of anoxia. Hence, a reduction in the metabolic rate of these individuals might have occurred during such a period of anoxia. In contrast, in between 12 and 24 h of anoxic exposure, the glycogen content O. tumidium decreased significantly, and levelled off thereafter. A significant increase in the percentage of PFK associated with the subcellular particles was observed in individuals exposed to 24 h of anoxia. In addition, the F-2,6-P₂ content of these anoxic individuals increased significantly. Taken together, these two mechanisms could activate PFK and lead to a greater glycolytic flux. Beyond 24 h of anoxic exposure, survival of O. tumidium must have required considerable suppression of metabolism as accumulation of end products and depletions of glycogen and ATP had reached constant levels.     

Does an educational video for aneuploidy screening improve informed choice among pregnant women? A randomised controlled trial

Background

Poor knowledge and the lack of deliberation have been cited as reasons for women making uninformed choices about aneuploidy screening. Adequate pre-test counselling is of particular importance where non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) is being increasingly offered as a primary screening test.

Design

Women attending the antenatal clinic with a singleton pregnancy below 14 weeks were randomised to receive routine counselling or the intervention—a 16-min educational video on aneuploidy screening before their consult. The primary outcome, rate of informed choice, was assessed using an adapted multidimensional measure of informed choice questionnaire, where informed choice was defined as good knowledge and value-consistent behaviour. Secondary outcomes included informed choice with deliberation, decisional conflict and anxiety.

Results

Two hundred and eighty-six women were recruited. 69.8% of women in the intervention group made an informed choice compared with 53.6% in the control group (Risk Ratio [RR] 1.30, p = 0.014). A significantly higher number of women in the intervention group had good knowledge compared to controls (81% vs. 60.9%; RR 1.33, p = 0.001). Decisional conflict did not differ between groups, but women in the intervention group had higher anxiety scores (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

The study intervention was effective in helping women make informed choice. Qualitative studies to determine the reason for increased anxiety are needed.

Trial registration

Trial registry: ClinicalTrials.gov ; Identifier: NCT05492981.     

Association of amnioinfusion volume at the time of surgery for twin-twin transfusion syndrome and latency to delivery

Objective

To evaluate the impact of amnioinfusion and other peri-operative factors on pregnancy outcomes in the setting of Twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) treated via fetoscopic laser photocoagulation (FLP).

Methods

Retrospective study of TTTS treated via FLP from 2010 to 2019. Pregnancies were grouped by amnioinfusion volume during FLP (<1 L vs. ≥1 L). The primary outcome was latency from surgery to delivery. An amnioinfusion statistic (AIstat) was created for each surgery based on the volume of fluid infused and removed and the preoperative deepest vertical pocket. Regression analysis was planned to assess the association of AIstat with latency.

Results

Patients with amnioinfusion of ≥1 L at the time of FLP had decreased latency from surgery to delivery (61 ± 29.4 vs. 73 ± 28.8 days with amnioinfusion <1 L, p < 0.001) and increased preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM) <34 weeks (44.7% vs. 33.5%, p = 0.042). Amnioinfusion ≥1 L was associated with an increased risk of delivery <32 weeks (aRR 2.6, 95% CI 1.5–4.5), 30 weeks (aRR 2.4, 95% CI 1.5–3.8), and 28 weeks (aRR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1–2.3). Cox-proportional regression revealed that AIstat was inversely associated with latency (HR 1.1, 95% CI 1.1–1.2).

Conclusion

Amnioinfusion ≥1 L during FLP was associated with decreased latency after surgery and increased PPROM <34 weeks.     

Acute and chronic health risk assessment for inhalation and ingestion exposure in acrylic acid leak accidents

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - We established a hypothetical acrylic acid leak accident scenario, conducted a health risk assessment of local residents, and compared an actual...     

Racial mixing in South African honeybees: the effects of genotype mixing on reproductive traits of workers

To test the hypothesis that the honeybee hybrid zone in South Africa is a tension zone due to increased reproductive conflict in colonies that contain both Apis mellifera capensis and Apis mellifera scutellata worker genotypes, we constructed mixed subspecies and hybrid colonies via a combination of artificial and natural matings. We measured emergence weight, ovary activation, and the presence/absence of a spermatheca on workers of different genotypes. We show that the measured characteristics were all affected by genotype with some traits also affected by the social environment in which the worker was reared. Workers with both an A. m. capensis mother and father had the highest emergence weight. When workers had an A. m. capensis mother, paternity affected emergence weight with A. m. capensis fathers producing heavier workers. When the queen was A. m. scutellata, paternity had less effect on weight. Presence of spermatheca was highest in mixed colonies irrespective of maternity and colonies containing pure A. m. capensis workers only. Paternity had a significant effect on the presence of a spermatheca within mixed colonies, with workers that had an A. m. capensis father being more likely to possess a spermatheca. Rates of ovary activation were highest in colonies with an A. m. scutellata queen mated to drones of both genotypes, suggesting that mixed subspecies colonies likely suffer increased reproductive strife among workers. Our results provide support for the hypothesis that the South African honeybee hybrid zone is a tension zone arising from reduced fitness of genetically mixed colonies.     

Urban water infrastructure optimization to reduce environmental impacts and costs

Urban water planning and policy have been focusing on environmentally benign and economically viable water management. The objective of this study is to develop a mathematical model to integrate and optimize urban water infrastructures for supply-side planning and policy: freshwater resources and treated wastewater are allocated to various water demand categories in order to reduce contaminants in the influents supplied for drinking water, and to reduce consumption of the water resources imported from the regions beyond a city boundary. A case study is performed to validate the proposed model. An optimal urban water system of a metropolitan city is calculated on the basis of the model and compared to the existing water system. The integration and optimization decrease (i) average concentrations of the influents supplied for drinking water, which can improve human health and hygiene; (ii) total consumption of water resources, as well as electricity, reducing overall environmental impacts; (iii) life cycle cost; and (iv) water resource dependency on other regions, improving regional water security. This model contributes to sustainable urban water planning and policy.