Air concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in 2002–2004 at a rural site in the Great Lakes

Atmospheric PBDEs were measured on a monthly basis in 2002–2004 at Point Petre, a rural site in the Great Lakes. Average air concentrations were 7.0 ± 13 pg m^?3 for Σ₁₄BDE (excluding BDE-209), and 1.8 ± 1.5 pg m^?3 for BDE-209. Concentrations of 3 dominant congeners (i.e., BDE-47, 99, and 209) were comparable to previous measurements at remote/rural sites around the Great Lakes, but much lower than those at urban areas. Weak temperature dependence and strong linear correlations between relatively volatile congeners suggest importance of advective inputs of gaseous species. The significant correlation between BDE-209 and 183 implies their transport inputs associated with particles. Particle-bound percentages were found greater for highly brominated congeners than less brominated ones. These percentages increase with decreasing ambient temperatures. The observed gas/particle partitioning is consistent with laboratory measurements and fits well to the Junge–Pankow model. Using air mass back-trajectories, atmospheric transport to Point Petre was estimated as 76% for BDE-47, 67% for BDE-99, and 70% for BDE-209 from west–northwest and southwest directions. During the same time period, similar congener profiles and concentration levels were found at Alert in the Canadian High Arctic. Different inter-annual variations between Point Petre and Alert indicate that emissions from other regions than North America could also contribute PBDEs in the Arctic. In contrast to weak temperature effect at Point Petre, significant temperature dependence in the summertime implies volatilization emissions of PBDEs at Alert. Meanwhile, episodic observations in the wintertime were likely associated with enhanced inputs through long-range transport during the Arctic Haze period.     

Relationship between carbonaceous materials and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the sediments of the Danshui River and adjacent coastal areas, Taiwan

Persistent organic pollutants, POPs (e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls) can seriously and deleteriously affect environmental quality and human health. These organic pollutants are exhibiting high affinities to solid phases and thus, quickly end up in sediments. To better understand the role of carbonaceous materials in the transport and distributions of POPs in terrestrial and near-shore environments, concentrations of PCBs and carbonaceous materials (including total organic carbon, black carbon and total carbohydrates), were determined in surface sediments of the Danshui River and nearby coastal areas, Taiwan. Total concentrations of PCBs in the sediments ranged from non-detectable to 83.9 ngg(-1), dry weight, with the maximum value detected near the discharge point of the marine outfall from the Pali Sewage Treatment Plant. These results suggest that the sewage treatment plant has discharged PCBs in the past and the concentrations are still high due to their persistence; alternatively, PCBs are still being discharged in the estuarine and near-shore environment of the Danshui River. Organic carbon and black carbon concentrations correlated well with those of total PCBs in the sediments, suggesting that both organic carbon and black carbon significantly affect the distribution of trace organic pollutants through either post-depositional adsorption, or by co-transport of similar source materials. The field results demonstrate that black carbon and plays an important role in the general distribution of PCBs, while concentrations of some specific PCBs are affected by both black carbon and organic carbon concentrations.     

Thermocoagulation of fetal sacrococcygeal teratoma

Fetal sacrococcygeal teratoma can lead to a high output cardiac failure resulting in hydrops fetalis. One of the prenatal therapeutic options is to occlude the feeding vessels by radiofrequency ablation. We present a case of fetal sacrococcygeal teratoma diagnosed at 13 weeks of gestation. The tumour increased in size more than 100-fold over 5 weeks causing polyhydramnios and cardiac and placental enlargement. Thermocoagulation was performed at 18 weeks' gestation by passing an insulated electric wire through an 18-gauge needle placed close to the feeding vessels of the tumour at its neck. Blood supply to the tumour was successfully reduced. However, fetal death was diagnosed 2 days after the procedure. We speculate that it may be safer to limit the extent of coagulation in one attempt but to repeat the procedure at a later stage when necessary. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of the hyperlipidemia risk for residents exposed to potential emitted metals in the vicinity of a petrochemical complex

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Hyperlipidemia, which is associated with certain environmental factors, is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Heavy metals are important...     

Insights of healthcare waste management practices in Vietnam

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Nowadays, together with the economic development, public health activities have gained substantial attention with increasing number of hospitals...     

Rapid prenatal diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy with gene duplications by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with competitive multiplex polymerase chain reaction strategy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) are caused by various mutations in the dystrophin gene. Rapid prenatal diagnosis of DMD with gene duplications is difficult due to limitation in gene dosage determination and the requirement for a known disease-causing mutation in the pedigree to achieve a rapid and accurate diagnosis. We report, here, a case with rapid prenatal diagnosis of DMD-affected male with gene duplications in the absence of a known disease-causing variation in the pedigree by using ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (IP-RP-HPLC) coupled with competitive multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol. In cases with clinical diagnosis of DMD/BMD, this test should identify greater than 92% of disease-causing DNA variants. The postnatal genetic diagnosis of this case and the same disease-causing mutations subsequently identified in other members of the pedigree confirmed the accuracy of competitive multiplex PCR/IP-RP-HPLC assay in direct prenatal diagnosis of DMD. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Commercially available garden products as important sources of antibiotic resistance genes—a survey

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment contributes to the global rise in antibiotic resistant infections....     

The introduction of Littorina littorea to British Columbia, Canada: potential impacts and the importance of biotic resistance by native predators

Although the establishment and spread of non-indigenous species depends upon survival in the face of novel environmental conditions and novel biological interactions, relatively little attention has been focused on the specific role of native predators in limiting invasion success. The European common periwinkle, Littorina littorea, was recently introduced to the Pacific coast of Canada and provides a case study of an introduction into an area with an important predator guild (sea stars) that is functionally minor in the invader’s native habitat. Here, we assess the likelihood of establishment, spread, and negative ecological impact of this introduced gastropod, with an emphasis on the role of native sea stars as agents of biotic resistance. Size frequency distributions and local market availability suggest that L. littorea was most likely introduced via the live seafood trade. Non-native hitchhikers (e.g., the trematode Cryptocotyle lingua) were found on/in both market and field specimens. Laboratory studies and field observations confirmed that L. littorea can survive seasonal low salinity in Vancouver, British Columbia. Periwinkles also readily consumed native Ulva, suggesting that periwinkles could impact native communities via herbivory or resource competition. Unlike native gastropods, however, L. littorea lacked behavioural avoidance responses to Northeast Pacific predatory sea stars (Pisaster ochraceus and Pycnopodia helianthoides), and sea star predation rates on L. littorea were much higher than predation rates on native turban snails (Chlorostoma funebralis) in common garden experiments. We therefore expect periwinkle establishment in British Columbia to be limited to areas with low predator density, as is seen in its field distribution to date. We caution that this conclusion may understate the importance of the L. littorea introduction if it also serves as a vector for additional non-indigenous species such as C. lingua.     

Development of an algorithm for an EEG-based driver fatigue countermeasure

PROBLEM: Fatigue affects a driver's ability to proceed safely. Driver-related fatigue and/or sleepiness are a significant cause of traffic accidents, which makes this an area of great socioeconomic concern. Monitoring physiological signals while driving provides the possibility of detecting and warning of fatigue. The aim of this paper is to describe an EEG-based fatigue countermeasure algorithm and to report its reliability. METHOD: Changes in all major EEG bands during fatigue were used to develop the algorithm for detecting different levels of fatigue. RESULTS: The software was shown to be capable of detecting fatigue accurately in 10 subjects tested. The percentage of time the subjects were detected to be in a fatigue state was significantly different than the alert phase (P<.01). DISCUSSION: This is the first countermeasure software described that has shown to detect fatigue based on EEG changes in all frequency bands. Field research is required to evaluate the fatigue software in order to produce a robust and reliable fatigue countermeasure system. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The development of the fatigue countermeasure algorithm forms the basis of a future fatigue countermeasure device. Implementation of electronic devices for fatigue detection is crucial for reducing fatigue-related road accidents and their associated costs.