Statistical analysis of trends in organic pollution and pollution by nutrients at selected Danube river stations

The paper describes an application of a statistical analysis for estimating long-term trends in pollutant concentrations of selected pollutants in the Danube river. The results show the changes of concentrations of NH(4)(+)-N, NO(3)(-)-N, PO(4)(3-)-P, total P, BOD(5) and COD(Cr) in a ten year period with the aim to find how the concentrations vary in the whole stretch of this river. The study was based on the data collected in the frame of Transnational Monitoring Network of the ICPDR. To obtain plausible results we have chosen statistical methods, such as tests based on the Spearman correlation coefficient and median regression, which are not sensitive to departures from normality as high skewness or outliers.     

A 2019 Outbreak Investigation of Hepatitis A Virus Infections in the United States Linked to Imported Fresh Blackberries

Globally, hepatitis A virus (HAV) is one of the most common agents of acute viral hepatitis and causes approximately 1.4 million cases and 90,000 deaths annually despite the existence of an effective vaccine. In 2019, federal, state, and local partners investigated a multi-state outbreak of HAV infections linked to fresh blackberries sourced from multiple suppliers in Michoacán, Mexico. A total of 20 individuals with outbreak-related HAV infection were reported in seven states, including 11 hospitalizations, and no deaths. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Nebraska State and Douglas County Health Departments conducted a traceback investigation for fresh blackberries reportedly purchased by 16 ill persons. These individuals reported purchasing fresh blackberries from 11 points of service from September 16 through 29, 2019 and their clinical isolates assessed through next-generation sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were genetically similar. The traceback investigation did not reveal convergence on a common grower or packing house within Mexico, but all of the blackberries were harvested from growers in Michoacán, Mexico. FDA did not detect the pathogen after analyzing fresh blackberry samples from four distributors, one consumer, and from nine importers at the port of entry as a result of increased screening. Challenges included gaps in traceability practices and the inability to recover the pathogen from sample testing, which prohibited investigators from determining the source of the implicated blackberries. This multi-state outbreak illustrated the importance of food safety practices for fresh produce that may contribute to foodborne illness outbreaks.

     

The adverse effects of injected functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube (f-MWCNT) on in vivo neurosecretory brain cells of Jamaican field cricket,Gryllus assimilis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been increasingly more prevalent due to their use in product technology owing to their exceptional electrical and thermal...     

Key aspects of successful rehabilitation after repeated or serious driving offenses

Objective: In Germany, license restoration after serious or repeated offenses requires a positive medical psychological assessment (MPA), a test to determine the driver's aptitude. Fulfilling the conditions necessary for a positive MPA often takes longer than the period of license revocation, which is perhaps due to the involvement of different personal, organizational, and environmental factors. To optimize the rehabilitation process, the present study analyzed the key aspects of successful rehabilitation after repeated or serious driving offenses.

Methods: After participating in the MPA, 1,631 subjects completed a questionnaire about rehabilitation efforts. The selection of items for this questionnaire was made according to our own prior research, interviews with problem drivers, and the diagnostic criteria for the MPA. Participants were asked when and from whom they obtained certain information and how relevant this information was for their success. In contrast to other studies, which used reoffense rates as a criterion for successful rehabilitation, we used a positive MPA result (positive, negative, or training) as the criterion for success.

Results: Just over half (52%) of the participants considered themselves optimally informed about the rehabilitation process. The others (47.4% of participants) judged the adequacy of information received as less than satisfactory. Offenders who did not partake in counseling before the MPA achieved a successful result only about half as often (37.1%) as those who did (70%) and were around 3 times as likely to have additional courses imposed upon them (21 vs. 7.6%). Of the offenders who received crucial and helpful information at an early stage, 62.4% attained a positive MPA at the first attempt (regardless of having attended any training courses). The success rate for the first attempt rose to 81% for offenders who were well informed at an early stage and participated in counseling before their first MPA.

Conclusion: The results clearly indicate that the provision of relevant information at an early stage combined with counseling has a beneficial influence on success rates for the rehabilitation process (an increase from 37.1 to 81%). As such, we recommend the introduction of obligatory license consultations, offered by MPA experts, involving a status assessment to customize offenders' rehabilitation and thereby provide more or less intensive guidance or coaching depending on offenders' characteristics throughout their progression through the MPA system.     

Cancer and occupational exposure to pesticides: a bibliometric study of the past 10 years

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Occupational exposure to pesticides has been identified as a major trigger of the development of cancer. Pesticides can cause intoxication in the...     

Circular economy for durable products and materials: the recycling of plastic building products in Germany—status quo,potentials and recommendations

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The construction sector is the second largest area for the application for plastics. Due to the long life times of construction products, the...     

Diagnostic indicators of elevated nitrogen deposition

Tissue N content of mosses, which has been shown to be an indicator of enhanced N, was studied at a range of locations dominated either by wet or dry deposited and oxidised and reduced forms of N. Tissue N responded differently to wet and dry deposited N. For a 1 kg ha(-1) y(-1) increase in N deposition, tissue N increased by 0.01% at wet deposition sites but by 0.03% at sites dominated by dry deposited NH3. Tissue N at wet deposition sites responded more to concentrations of NO3- and NH4+ in precipitation (r(2) 0.63) than to total N deposition (r(2) 0.27), concentration explaining 66% of the variation in tissue N, wet deposition 33%. The study clearly concludes that tissue N concentration in mosses provides a good indication of N deposition at sites where deposition is dominated by NH3, and is also valuable in identifying vegetation exposed to large concentrations of NH4+ or NO3-, in wet deposition dominated areas, such as hilltops and wind exposed woodland edges.     

Lateral flow assay applied to pesticides detection: recent trends and progress

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Devices based on lateral flow assay (LFA) have been gaining more and more space in the detection market mainly due to their simplicity, speed, and low...     

Slow pyrolysis of olive mill solid residues as a sustainable valorization strategy for waste biomass

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Pyrolysis is a valid thermos-chemical process of energy production that produces biochar from potentially harmful biomasses. This study aims to...