Symptomatic profile and health‐related quality of life of persons affected by the Prestige catastrophe

This study analyses the impact of the Prestige oil spill on the mental health and the perception of physical health and functional capacity in the affected population. The sample comprised 926 residents from the section of the Spanish coast affected by the oil spill. The data was collected slightly more than one year after the accident. Scales referring to clinical symptoms (SCL‐36) and health‐related quality of life (SF‐36) were administered. The results suggest that individuals with higher degrees of exposure or residing in areas closest to the spill show lower levels of mental health in comparison to those with lower levels of exposure or living in areas farther away from the spill. This study also finds that women and fishermen tend to suffer more from the consequences of these types of disaster.     

Non-catalytic and catalytic wet air oxidation of pharmaceuticals in ultra-pure and natural waters

A wet air oxidation (WAO) process was applied to four selected pharmaceuticals (metoprolol, naproxen, amoxicillin, and phenacetin) individually dissolved in ultra-pure water, varying the temperature and oxygen pressure. Due to the moderate (amoxicillin) or low (metoprolol, naproxen, and phenacetin) efficiency found in the oxidation of these pollutants, a catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) process was then tested using a platinum catalyst supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT). In this CWAO process, the pharmaceuticals were dissolved together in ultra-pure water and in four natural water matrices—a reservoir water, a groundwater, and two waters from different municipal wastewater treatment plants. On the basis of the measurements of their removals, a discussion is given of the influence of the main operating variables: the presence or absence of catalyst, type of catalyst (the synthesized Pt/CNT or a commercial Pt/AC), catalyst dosage (0.005–0.050 g), temperature (120–140 °C), and oxygen pressure (20–40 bar). In most experiments, the removals were in the sequence: amoxicillin > naproxen > phenacetin. In addition, total organic carbon (TOC) removal measurements were made of some of the natural waters tested.     

Antenatal manifestation of congenital pancreatoblastoma in a fetus with Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome

An Erratum has been published for this article in Prenatal Diagnosis 23(9) 2003, 771 Antenatal detection of an isolated abdominal cyst was found to be a pancreatoblastoma in a female fetus with Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome. Prenatal and post-natal features and management of this very rare tumour are discussed. Molecular investigation disclosed a mosaic paternal 11p15 uniparental disomy in the tumoral cells. The prognosis of a congenital pancreatoblastoma is good if complete surgical excision is achieved. However, the association with Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome requires a prolonged follow-up because of the increased risk of developing malignant tumours. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prenatal diagnosis of Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease: detection of proteolipid protein gene duplication by quantitative fluorescent multiplex PCR

A prenatal diagnosis of Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD) resulting from proteolipid protein gene (PLP) duplication was performed by a quantitative fluorescent multiplex PCR method. PLP gene copy number was determined in the proband, the pregnant mother, the male fetus and two aunts. Small amounts of genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood and from chorionic villi were used. The fetus, in common with the proband, was identified as PMD-affected being a carrier of the PLP gene duplication, inherited from the mother, while the two aunts were non-carriers. The data obtained were confirmed by segregation analysis of a PLP-associated dinucleotide-repeat polymorphism amplified by the same multiplex PCR. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Primary and secondary organic winter aerosols in Mediterranean cities under different mixing layer conditions (Barcelona and Granada)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - PM10 was collected during an EMEP winter campaign of 2017–2018 in two urban background sites in Barcelona (BCN) and Granada (GRA), two...     

A novel survey of raptor collections in Europe and their potential to provide samples for pan-European contaminant monitoring

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper provides a novel survey of current collections of frozen raptor carcasses and tissue samples in natural history museums (NHMs),...     

Fine-scale distribution of juvenile Atlantic and Mediterranean loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean Sea

Loggerhead turtles nesting in the Mediterranean Sea exhibit remarkable genetic structuring. This paper tests the hypothesis that young loggerhead turtles from different rookeries do not distribute homogeneously among the major Mediterranean foraging grounds, due to a complex pattern of surface currents. We extracted long fragments of mitochondrial DNA from 275 stranded or bycaught juvenile turtles from six foraging grounds (Catalano-Balearic Sea, Algerian basin, Tyrrhenian Sea, Adriatic Sea, northern Ionian Sea and southern Levantine Sea). We used a Bayesian mixed-stock analysis to estimate the contributions from rookeries in the Mediterranean, the North-west Atlantic and Cape Verde to the studied foraging grounds. Differences were found in the relative contribution of juvenile turtles of Atlantic and Mediterranean origin to each foraging ground. A decreasing proportion of Atlantic juveniles was detected along the main surface current entering the Mediterranean, with a high prevalence of turtles from eastern Florida in the Algerian basin and lower numbers elsewhere. In regard to the turtles of Mediterranean origin, juveniles from Libya prevailed in central and western Mediterranean foraging grounds other than the Algerian basin. Conversely, the Adriatic Sea was characterised by a large presence of individuals from western Greece, while the southern Levantine Sea was inhabited by a heterogeneous mix of turtles from the eastern Mediterranean rookeries (Turkey, Lebanon and Israel). Overall, the distribution of juveniles may be related to surface circulation patterns in the Mediterranean and suggests that fisheries might have differential effects on each population depending on the overlap degree between foraging and fishing grounds.     

Environmental impact of incineration of calorific industrial waste: Rotary kiln vs. cement kiln

Rotary kiln incinerators and cement kilns are two energy intensive processes, requiring high temperatures that can be obtained by the combustion of fossil fuel. In both processes, fossil fuel is often substituted by high or medium calorific waste to avoid resource depletion and to save costs. Two types of industrial calorific waste streams are considered: automotive shredder residue (ASR) and meat and bone meal (MBM). These waste streams are of current high interest: ASR must be diverted from landfill, while MBM can no longer be used for cattle feeding. The environmental impact of the incineration of these waste streams is assessed and compared for both a rotary kiln and a cement kiln. For this purpose, data from an extensive emission inventory is applied for assessing the environmental impact using two different modeling approaches: one focusing on the impact of the relevant flows to and from the process and its subsystems, the other describing the change of environmental impact in response to these physical flows. Both ways of assessing emphasize different aspects of the considered processes. Attention is paid to assumptions in the methodology that can influence the outcome and conclusions of the assessment. It is concluded that for the incineration of calorific wastes, rotary kilns are generally preferred. Nevertheless, cement kilns show opportunities in improving their environmental impact when substituting their currently used fuels by more clean calorific waste streams, if this improvement is not at the expense of the actual environmental impact.