Impacts from control operations on a recreationally hunted feral swine population at a large military installation in Florida

Feral swine were targeted for control at Avon Park Air Force Range in south-central Florida to avert damage to sensitive wetland habitats on the 40,000-ha base. We conducted a 5-year study to assess impacts from control to this population that had been recreationally hunted for many years. Control was initiated in early 2009. The feral swine population was monitored from 2008 to 2012 using a passive tracking index (PTI) during the dry and wet seasons and using recreational hunter take rates from the dry season. All three indices showed substantial feral swine declines after implementing control, with indices leveling for the final two study years. Military missions and recreational hunting seasons impacted temporal and spatial consistency of control application, thereby limiting further impacts of control efforts on the feral swine population. The PTI was also able to monitor coyotes, another invasive species on the base, and detect Florida black bear and Florida panther, species of particular concern.     

Prenatal diagnosis and management of twin pregnancies complicated by a co-existing molar pregnancy

Recent advances in ultrasound and molecular genetics have increased our understanding and hence enhanced the perinatal management of complete and partial hydatidiform mole. By contrast, the management of a twin pregnancy combining a normal pregnancy with a normal fetus and a complete hydatidiform mole (CHM) remains complex and controversial due to conflicting data from different parts of the world. The aim of this review is to analyse the international literature on twin pregnancies that include a mole, present the complications and outcome of pregnancy and to discuss the perinatal management. Management is complicated and women should be counselled about the maternal and fetal complications, and the pregnancy monitored carefully by a perinatal team with experience in high-risk obstetrics and access to neonatal care. The data reviewed here suggest that a woman who decides to continue with the pregnancy including a CHM must be aware that, overall, she only has a one in four chance of live birth and in around 35% of cases she will develop persistent trophoblastic disease (PTD) after delivery. In ongoing pregnancies, there will be, in at least 20% of the cases, an early onset of pre-eclampsia (PET) and a 29% risk of fetal loss due to late miscarriage, intrauterine death and neonatal death. Maternal serum human chorionic gonadotrophin (MShCG) could be useful in predicting outcome in twin pregnancy combining normal pregnancy and CHM, but this needs to be investigated prospectively. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics of drivers not using seat belts in a high belt use state

A study was undertaken in North Carolina to determine the characteristics of the minority of drivers who were not using seat belts following an extensive publicity/enforcement campaign, which had increased statewide use to 80%. Vehicles and drivers whose seat belt use was observed at sites across North Carolina were matched against Division of Motor Vehicles registration and driver history files for vehicle owners. The study file consisted of those observed drivers who matched the owners with respect to sex, race, and approximate age. The results of this investigation indicate that nonuse of seat belts was associated with males; younger age (<35); older vehicles (pre-1985); vehicles other than cars, especially pickups; and poor driving records. Telephone survey information indicated that nonusers were less likely to have health care coverage, more likely to acknowledge having consumed large amounts of alcohol in the past year, and more likely to have an arrest record. When asked about enforcement of the belt use law, many nonusers said that they would not respond to higher fines but they would respond to driver license points. To change the belt use behavior of this hard-core nonuser population, it well may be necessary as was done in Canada to combine publicity/enforcement campaigns with driver license points as a penalty for nonuse.     

Clean fuels from municipal solid waste for fuel cell buses in metropolitan areas

Increasing volumes of municipal solid waste (MSW) pose disposal problems for many cities. Costs are rising as landfilling becomes more difficult. The production of clean transportation fuels (methanol or hydrogen) from MSW is one economically and environmentally promising option for dealing with these problems. An attractive feature is that elimination of essentially all air pollutant emissions is inherent in the process. Current and future air emissions standards should be easily met. Methanol or hydrogen used in fuel cell vehicles (FCV) can help address problems of deteriorating urban air quality due to vehicle pollution and heavy dependence of the transport sector on imported petroleum. Buses are initial targets for commercial application of fuel cells. Coupled with FCVs, MSW could become a major transportation energy resource. For example, less than 25% of New York City's MSW supply would be sufficient to produce the methanol or hydrogen needed to fuel the entire city's bus fleet, if the buses were fuel cell powered. Estimated breakeven tipping fees required for hydrogen or methanol from MSW to compete with the cost of these fuels made from natural gas today are $52 to $89/raw tonne MSW for hydrogen and $64 to $104/raw tonne MSW for methanol (in 1991$), depending on the gasification technology considered. For comparison, the average tipping fee today in New York City is $74/tonne (1991$). Because of the high fuel economies expected for fuel cell buses, total lifecycle costs per bus-km could be lower than for conventional diesel-engine buses.     

VARIABLES INDICATING NITRATE CONTAMINATION IN BEDROCK AQUIFERS,NEWARK BASIN,NEW JERSEY1

ABSTRACT: Variables that describe well construction, hydrogeology, and land use were evaluated for use as possible indicators of the susceptibility of ground water in bedrock aquifers in the Newark Basin, New Jersey, to contamination by nitrate from the land surface. Statistical analyses were performed on data for 132 wells located throughout the Newark Basin. Concentrations of nitrate (as nitrogen) did not exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level of 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L) in any of the water samples (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1991). Variables that describe hydrogeology and well construction were found not to be statistically significant in relation to concentrations of nitrate. This finding can be attributed to the complex nature of flow in bedrock aquifers and mixing of water from shallow and deep water-bearing zones that occurs within these wells, which are constructed with long open intervals. Distributions of nitrate concentrations were significantly different among land-use groups on the basis of land use within both a 400 and an 800-m radius zone of the well. The median concentrations of nitrate (as N) in water from wells in predominantly urban-residential (2.5 mg/L) and agricultural areas (1.8 mg/L) were greater than the median concentration of nitrate in water from wells in predominantly undeveloped areas (0.5 mg/L).     

Influence of groundwater conditions and co‐contaminants on sorption of perfluoroalkyl compounds on granular activated carbon

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are emerging and persistent organic pollutants that have been detected in many environmental media, humans, and wildlife. A common method to effectively remove PFAS from water is adsorption by activated carbon. Preliminary sorption experiments were conducted using five characterized Calgon Corporation coal‐based granular activated carbon (GAC; F100, F200, F816, F300, and F400), one coconut‐based GAC (CBC‐OLC 12 × 30), and one Jacobi Corporation coal‐based GAC (Omni‐G 12 × 40). Sorption of four representative PFAS onto each GAC was measured to select the most favorable carbon sources. F400 and CBC were chosen based on their performance in preliminary PFAS sorption experiments and contrasting properties. Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models were developed for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanoic sulfonate (PFOS) at an initial concentration of 1 mg/L. Sorption capacities were determined for PFOA and PFOS individually and in the mixture. Individual compounds showed higher sorption than when present in the mixture for both PFOA and PFOS. PFOS showed higher sorption than PFOA both individually and in the mixture and F400 showed higher sorption capacity than CBC. The presence of co‐contaminants (kerosene, trichloroethylene, and ethanol), and variations in groundwater conditions (pH, presence of anions, naturally occurring organic matter, and iron oxides) demonstrated limited impact on the sorption of PFAS onto GAC under the experimental conditions tested.     

Water leaching of titanium from ore flotation residue

Copper ore tailings were tested for the stability of titanium submitted to water leaching in three different reactor systems (agitated vessel, bioreactor and percolated fixed-bed column). For each of these systems, titanium extraction did not exceed 1% of the available metal. Biomass removed from ore residue adsorbed a small part of the titanium with sorption capacities below 20-30 mg g(-1), but most of this biomass was sequestered in the ore residue. Oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations were monitored and changes in concentration correlated with bacteria development at the initial stage of the process and to fungal development in the latter stages.