Prenatal diagnosis for women aged 37 years and over: to have or not to have

Forty percent of pregnant women aged 37 years and over do not have prenatal diagnosis despite being eligible for a free test. The present study aimed to determine how often, and which, untested women were making a choice about this, how many declined an offer and why. A questionnaire was given to untested women, aged 37 years and over, at no less than 24 weeks gestation. A total of 375 (81.5%) women declined, 72 (16%) were not offered a test and 13 presented too late antenatally. There was a three-fold increased likelihood (OR 3.10 95% CI 1.44, 6.65) of no offer for urban non-English speaking background women, compared with the reference group (metropolitan, English speaking). Unpartnered women were also significantly less likely to receive an offer (OR 3.18, 95% CI 1.19, 8.46). Risk to the baby was the main reason for declining. When offered non-invasive prenatal screening, most decliners of prenatal diagnosis accepted, even those who declined because they were opposed to abortion. We estimate that overall 33% of older pregnant women were being offered and declining amniocentesis and/or chorion villus sampling (CVS). Only 6% were not offered a test, but this small proportion is over-represented by minority groups who must be given equal opportunity to make this choice. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ecological tracers and at-sea observations document the foraging ecology of southern long-finned pilot whales (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Globicephala melas edwardii</Emphasis>) in Kerguelen waters

The food and feeding ecology of the poorly known southern long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas edwardii) was investigated using ecological tracers (muscle and skin δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, and total mercury, Hg) on individuals from two mass strandings together with at-sea observations of live animals in Kerguelen waters, southern Indian Ocean. Sightings of cetaceans from longliners over 9 years (2003–2012) emphasized the regular occurrence of pilot whales in slope waters surrounding the archipelago. Tissue δ¹³C values (a proxy of consumer foraging habitat) suggest that pilot whales fed in slope waters and in oceanic subantarctic waters over the last months preceding stranding. Tissue δ¹⁵N values and Hg concentration (dietary proxies) indicate a high trophic position (~4.7) for the pilot whales, likely corresponding to a mixed diet of fish and squid (not crustaceans) of undetermined species. Both skin and muscle Hg concentrations were positively and linearly correlated to individual size with no concomitant δ¹⁵N changes, which can be interpreted as a progressive Hg accumulation in tissues of individuals throughout life with no parallel dietary shift. Skin and muscle Hg concentrations were linearly and positively related; hence, Hg skin could be used as a proxy of Hg concentration in muscle (a main Hg reservoir of the body). Kerguelen southern long-finned pilot whales were less Hg contaminated than most pilot whale populations studied so far, thus suggesting that they are not at a high risk to Hg-induced damages in the remote islands of the Southern Ocean.     

Double exposure and the climate gap: changing demographics and extreme heat in Ciudad Juárez,Mexico

Scholars have recognised a climate gap, wherein poor communities face disproportionate impacts of climate change. Others have noted that climate change and economic globalisation may mutually affect a region or social group, leading to double exposure. This paper investigates how current and changing patterns of neighbourhood demographics are associated with extreme heat in the border city of Juárez, Mexico. Many Juárez neighbourhoods are at-risk to triple exposures, in which residents suffer due to the conjoined effects of the global recession, drug war violence, and extreme heat. Due to impacts of the recession on maquiladora employment and the explosion of drug violence (2008–2012), over 75% of neighbourhoods experienced decreasing population density between 2000 and 2010 and the average neighbourhood saw a 40% increase in the proportion of older adults. Neighbourhoods with greater drops in population density and increases in the proportion of older residents over the decade are at significantly higher risk to extreme heat, as are neighbourhoods with lower population density and lower levels of education. In this context, triple exposures are associated with a climate gap that most endangers lower socio-economic status and increasingly older-aged populations remaining in neighbourhoods from which high proportions of residents have departed.     

Potential of conservation agriculture modules for energy conservation and sustainability of rice-based production systems of Indo-Gangetic Plain region

Rice-based cropping systems are the most energy-intensive production systems in South Asia. Sustainability of the rice-based cropping systems is nowadays questioned with declining natural resource base, soil degradation, environmental pollution, and declining factor productivity. As a consequence, the search for energy and resource conservation agro-techniques is increasing for sustainable and cleaner production. Conservation agriculture (CA) practices have been recommended for resource conservation, soil health restoration and sustaining crop productivity. The present study aimed to assess the different CA modules in rice-based cropping systems for energy conservation, energy productivity, and to define energy-economic relations. A field experiment consisted of four different tillage-based crop establishment practices (puddled-transplanted rice followed by (fb) conventional-till maize/wheat (CTTPR-CT), non-puddled transplanted rice fb zero-till maize/wheat (NPTPR-ZT), zero-till transplanted rice fb zero-till maize/wheat (ZTTPR-ZT), zero-till direct-seeded rice fb zero-till maize/wheat (ZTDSR-ZT)), with two residue management treatments (residue removal, residue retention) in rice–wheat and rice–maize rotations were evaluated for energy budgeting and energy-economic relations. Conservation-tillage treatments (NPTPR-ZT, ZTTPR-ZT, and ZTDSR-ZT) reduced the energy requirements over conventional tillage treatments, with the greater reduction in ZTTPR-ZT and ZTDSR-ZT treatments. Savings of energy in conservation-tillage treatments were attributed to reduced energy use in land preparation (69–100%) and irrigation (23–27%), which consumed a large amount of fuel energy. Conservation-tillage treatments increased grain and straw/stover yields of crops, eventually increased the output energy (6–16%), net energy (14–26%), energy ratio (25–33%), and energy productivity (23–34%) as compared with CTTPR-CT. For these energy parameters, the treatment order was ZTDSR-ZT ≥ ZTTPR-ZT > NPTPR-ZT > CTTPR-CT (p < 0.05). Crop residue retention reduced net energy, energy ratio, and energy productivity when compared with residue removal. Our results of energy-economic relations favored the “conservative hypothesis,” which envisages that energy and monetary investments are not essentially the determinants of crop productivity. Thus, zero tillage-based crop establishments (ZTTPR-ZT, ZTDSR-ZT) in rice-based production systems could be the sustainable alternative to conventional tillage-based agriculture (CTTPR-CT) as they conserved non-renewable energy sources, reduced water requirement, and increased crop productivity.

     

Fractionation of rare earth and other trace elements in crabs, Ucides cordatus, from a subtropical mangrove affected by fertilizer industry

Fractionation of rare earth elements (REE) and other trace metal concentrations (Th, U, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) between mangrove sediments and claw muscles and shells of male crabs (Ucides cordatus) from a subtropical estuary highly impacted by fertilizer industry activities was investigated. This is the first record of REE distribution in these organisms, and the results showed higher accumulations of these metals, U and Th in shells, probably related to the replacement of Ca during molting. Contents of Cd, Cr and Ni were similar in both tissues, but Cu, Zn and Pb were mostly accumulated in the claw muscle with concentrations above those considered safe for human consumption according to the Brazilian legislation. REE fractionation was different in the analyzed tissues being softer in the shells. The results provided evidences that the water absorbed during molting controls the chemistry of REE in shells. In contrast, the chemistry of REE in the claw muscle, in which was observed preferential absorption of light REE, is controlled by diet. REE fractionation obtained for the claw muscles was closely correlated to the observed in the contaminated substrate and in materials related to the production of phosphate fertilizers (contamination source), which supports their transference to this Ucides cordatus tissue without fractionation by the ingestion of sediments. Our results showed the potential use of crab tissues for monitoring REE and trace element sources in mangrove areas, with claw muscle exhibiting the contaminant source fingerprint.