Climatic, socio-economic, and health factors affecting human vulnerability to cholera in the Lake Victoria basin, East Africa

Cholera epidemics have a recorded history in the eastern Africa region dating to 1836. Cholera is now endemic in the Lake Victoria basin, a region with one of the poorest and fastest growing populations in the world. Analyses of precipitation, temperatures, and hydrological characteristics of selected stations in the Lake Victoria basin show that cholera epidemics are closely associated with El Ni?o years. Similarly, sustained temperatures high above normal (T(max)) in two consecutive seasons, followed by a slight cooling in the second season, trigger an outbreak of a cholera epidemic. The health and socioeconomic systems that the lake basin communities rely upon are not robust enough to cope with cholera outbreaks, thus rendering them vulnerable to the impact of climate variability and change. Collectively, this report argues that communities living around the Lake Victoria basin are vulnerable to climate-induced cholera that is aggravated by the low socioeconomic status and lack of an adequate health care system. In assessing the communities' adaptive capacity, the report concludes that persistent levels of poverty have made these communities vulnerable to cholera epidemics.     

Improved phytoaccumulation of cadmium by genetically modified tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum L.). Physiological and biochemical response of the transformants to cadmium toxicity

The response of tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum L.)--non-transformed and transformed with a metallothionein gene MThis from Silene vulgaris L.--to increase cadmium supply in the nutrient solution was compared. The transgenic plants accumulated significantly more Cd both in the roots and the leaves. Visual toxicity symptoms and disturbance in water balance were correlated with Cd tissue content. Treatment with 300 microM CdCl(2) resulted in inhibition of photosynthesis and mobilization of the ascorbate-glutathione cycle. Treatment with 500 microM CdCl(2) led to irreversible damage of photosynthesis and oxidative stress. An appearance of a new peroxidase isoform and changes in the leaf polypeptide pattern were observed at the highest Cd concentration. The level of non-protein thiols gradually increased following the Cd treatment both in transgenic and non-transformed plants.     

Partitioning and source diagnostics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in rivers in Tianjin, China

Water, suspended particulate matter (SPM), and sediment samples were collected from ten rivers in Tianjin and analyzed for 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate organic carbon (POC) in SPM and total organic carbon (TOC) in sediment. The behavior and fate of PAHs influenced by these parameters were examined. Generally, organic carbon was the primary factor controlling the behavior of the 16 PAH species. Partitioning of PAHs between SPM and water phase was studied, and K(OC) for some PAH species were found to be significantly higher than the predicted values. The source of PAHs contamination was diagnosed by using PAH isomer ratios. Coal combustion was identified to be a long-term and prevailing contamination source for sediment, while sewage/wastewater source could reasonably explain a short-term PAHs contamination of SPM.     

Export of toxic chemicals - a review of the case of uncontrolled electronic-waste recycling

This paper reviews the concentrations of persistent organic pollutants such as flame retardants (PBDEs), dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals/metalloid concentrations of different environmental media at Guiyu, a traditional rice-growing village located in southeastern Guangdong Province (PR China), which has turned into an intensive electronic-waste (e-waste) recycling site. Incomplete combustion of e-waste in open air and dumping of processed materials are the major sources of various toxic chemicals. By comparing with existing data available in other areas and also guidelines adopted in different countries, it is obvious that the environment is highly contaminated by these toxic chemicals derived from the recycling processes. For example, the monthly concentration of the sum of 22 PBDE congeners contained in PM(2.5) (16.8ngm(-3)) of air samples at Guiyu was 100 times higher than published data. In order to safeguard the environment and human health, detailed investigations are urgently needed, especially on tracking the exposure pathways of different toxic chemicals which may affect the workers and local residents especially mothers, infants and children.     

Optimization and validation of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the determination of endosulfan residues in food samples

In this study, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was optimized and applied to the determination of endosulfan residues in 20 different kinds of food commodities including vegetables, dry fruits, tea and meat. The limit of detection (IC(15)) was 0.8 microg kg(-1) and the sensitivity (IC(50)) was 5.3 microg kg(-1). Three simple extraction methods were developed, including shaking on the rotary shaker at 250 r min(-1) overnight, shaking on the rotary shaker for 1 h and thoroughly mixing for 2 min. Methanol was used as the extraction solvent in this study. The extracts were diluted in 0.5% fish skin gelatin (FG) in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at various dilutions in order to remove the matrix interference. For cabbage (purple and green), asparagus, Japanese green, Chinese cabbage, scallion, garland chrysanthemum, spinach and garlic, the extracts were diluted 10-fold; for carrots and tea, the extracts were diluted 15-fold and 900-fold, respectively. The extracts of celery, adzuki beans and chestnuts, were diluted 20-fold to avoid the matrix interference; ginger, vegetable soybean and peanut extracts were diluted 100-fold; mutton and chicken extracts were diluted 10-fold and for eel, the dilution was 40-fold. Average recoveries were 63.13-125.61%. Validation was conducted by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results of this study will be useful to the wide application of an ELISA for the rapid determination of pesticides in food samples.     

Modelling accidental releases of dangerous gases into the lower troposphere from mobile sources

The article reports the results of different methods of modelling releases and dispersion of dangerous gases or vapours in cases of major accidents from road and rail transportation in urban zones. Transport accidents of dangerous substances are increasingly frequent and can cause serious injuries in densely inhabited areas or pollution of the environment. For quantitative risk assessment and mitigation planning, consequence modelling is necessary.

The modelling of dangerous substance dispersion by standard methods does not fully represent the behaviour of toxic or flammable clouds in obstructed areas such as street canyons. Therefore the predictions from common software packages as ALOHA, EFFECTS, TerEx should be augmented with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models or physical modelling in aerodynamic tunnels, and further studies are planned to do this.

The goal of this article is to present the results of the first approach of modelling using these standard methods and to demonstrate the importance of the next development stage in the area of transport accident modelling of releases and dispersions of dangerous substances in urban zones in cases of major accident or terrorist attacks.     

BTEX determination in water matrices using HF-LPME with gas chromatography-flame ionization detector

In the present work, a sample pre-treatment technique for the determination of trace concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene (BTEX) in aqueous samples has been developed and applied to analysis of the selected analytes in environmental water samples. The extraction procedure is based on coupling polypropylene hollow-fiber liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME) with gas chromatography by flame ionization detection (GC-FID). The effective parameters such as organic solvent, extraction time, agitation speed and salting effect were investigated. Good reproducibilities of the extraction performance were obtained, with the RSD values ranging from 2.02 to 4.61% (n=5). The method provided 41.47-128.01 fold preconcentration of the target analytes. The limits of detections for the BTEX were in the range of 0.005-03microg ml(-1). In addition, sample clean-up was achieved during LPME due to the selectivity of the hollow fiber, which prevented undesirable large molecules from being extracted. Real samples (River and waste waters) containing BTEX were examined using this method with good linearity and precision (RSDs most lower than 6.00%, n=5). All experiments were carried out at room temperature, 22+/-0.5 degrees C.     

Temporal variability of groundwater chemistry in shallow and deep aquifers of Araihazar, Bangladesh

Samples were collected every 2-4 weeks from a set of 37 monitoring wells over a period of 2-3 years in Araihazar, Bangladesh, to evaluate the temporal variability of groundwater composition for As and other constituents. The monitoring wells are grouped in 6 nests and span the 5-91 m depth range. Concentrations of As, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, and S were measured by high-resolution ICPMS with a precision of 5% or better; concentrations of Cl were measured by ion chromatography. In shallow wells <30 m deep, As and P concentrations generally varied by <30%, whereas concentrations of the major ions (Na, K, Mg, Ca and Cl) and the redox-sensitive elements (Fe, Mn, and S) varied over time by up to +/-90%. In wells tapping the deeper aquifers >30 m often below clay layers concentrations of groundwater As were much lower and varied by <10%. The concentrations of major cations also varied by <10% in these deep aquifers. In contrast, the concentration of redox-sensitive constituents Fe, S, and Mn in deep aquifers varied by up to 97% over time. Thus, strong decoupling between variations in As and Fe concentrations is evident in groundwaters from shallow and deep aquifers. Comparison of the time series data with groundwater ages determined by (3)H/(3)He and (14)C dating shows that large seasonal or inter-annual variations in major cation and chloride concentrations are restricted to shallow aquifers and groundwater recharged <5 years ago. There is no corresponding change in As concentrations despite having significant variations of redox sensitive constituents in these very young waters. This is attributed to chemical buffering due to rapid equilibrium between solute and solid As. At two sites where the As content of groundwater in existing shallow wells averages 102 microg/L (range: <5 to 648 microg/L; n=118) and 272 microg/L (range: 10 to 485 microg/L; n=65), respectively, a systematic long-term decline in As concentrations lends support to the notion that flushing may slowly deplete an aquifer of As. Shallow aquifer water with >5 years (3)H/(3)He age show a constant As:P molar ratio of 9.6 over time, suggesting common mechanisms of mobilization.     

Sustainable Exploitation of Borassus aethiopum, Elaeis guineensis and Raphia hookeri for the Extraction of Palm Wine in Côte d'Ivoire

In the rural areas of developing countries palms are major sources of many products. One of these is palm wine, which has an important role for nutrition, income and social life. In the Côte d'Ivoire (West Africa), palm wine is extracted from three different species: Borassus aethiopum Mart., Raphia hookeri Mann & Wendland and Elaeis guineensis Jacq. As the extraction methods are destructive, palm stands are locally threatened by extinction. This could have serious consequences not only for the nutritional situation of the population but also for their income. Field visits were conducted in order to assess the degree of sustainability of palm wine extraction in eight villages of Côte d'Ivoire's three major agro-ecozones. Based on the annual palm wine need for consumption and commercialisation and on the availability of palms, a sustainability index was calculated for each palm species in each village. The occurrence of palm trees depends on the vegetation type. B. aethiopum is a typical savanna tree (> 20 palms per hectare) and is almost absent in other vegetation types. In 75% of the villages the exploitation of B. aethiopum is not sustainable. The preferred vegetation type for R. hookeri is the forest along the rivers (> 33 palms per hectare) compared to the other vegetation types of the forest zone (< 5 palms per hectare). Due to the high preference for the palm wine of this species its exploitation is not sustainable in any of the selected villages. The distribution of E. guineensis depends mostly on human activities, the main vegetation types being plantations (34 palms per hectare), fallow land and cultivated fields (15 palms per hectare) and the forest along the rivers (31 palms per hectare). The exploitation of this species is in general sustainable throughout all ecozones with some rare exceptions.     

Behaviour and dynamics of di-ammonium phosphate in bauxite processing residue sand in Western Australia—I. NH<Subscript>3</Subscript> volatilisation and residual nitrogen availability

Background, aim and scope

Australia is the largest producer of bauxite in the world, with an annual output of approximately 62 million metric dry tons in 2007. For every tonne of alumina, about 2 tonnes of highly alkaline and highly saline bauxite-processing residue are produced. In Western Australia, Alcoa World Alumina, Australia (Alcoa) produces approximately 15 MT of residue annually from its refineries (Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup). The bauxite-processing residue sand (BRS) fraction represents the primary material for rehabilitating Alcoa’s residue disposal areas (RDAs). However, the inherently hostile characteristics (high alkalinity, high salinity and poor nutrient availability) of BRS pose severe limitations for establishing sustainable plant cover systems. Alcoa currently applies 2.7 t ha^?1 of di-ammonium phosphate ((NH₄)₂HPO₄; DAP)-based fertiliser as a part of rehabilitation of the outer residue sand embankments of its RDAs. Limited information on the behaviour of the dominant components of this inorganic fertiliser in highly alkaline BRS is currently available, despite the known effects of pH on ammonium (NH₄) and phosphorus (P) behaviour. The aim of this study was to quantify the effects of pH on NH₃ volatilisation and residual nitrogen (N) in BRS following DAP applications.

Methods

The sponge-trapping and KCl-extraction method was used for determining NH₃ volatilisation from surface-applied DAP in samples of BRS collected from each of Alcoa’s three Western Australia Refineries (Kwinana, Pinjarra, Wagerup) under various pH conditions (pH 4, 7, 9 and 11). Following cessation of volatilisation, the residual N was extracted from BRS using 2 M KCl and concentrations of NH ₄ ⁺ –N and NO ₃ ^? –N were determined by flow injection analysis.

Results

The quantities of NH₃ volatilised increased dramatically as the pH increased from 4 to 11. Much of the N lost as NH₃ (up to 95.2%) occurred within a short period (24 h to 7 days), particularly for the pH 9 and 11 treatments. Concentrations of residual NH ₄ ⁺ –N recovered in DAP-treated BRS at the end of the experiment decreased with increasing pH. This finding was consistent with increasing loss of N via volatilisation as pH increased. The concentration of NO ₃ ^? –N was very low due to no nitrification in BRS.

Discussion

The pH was a key driver for NH₃ volatilisation from DAP-treated BRS and primarily controlled N dynamics in BRS. Results indicate that NH₄ not adsorbed by BRS was highly susceptible to volatilisation. The likely lack of nitrifying bacteria did not allow conversion of ammonium to nitrate, thereby further exacerbating the potential for loss via volatilisation

Conclusions

It was demonstrated that the pH is the key factor controlling the loss of inorganic N from BRS. Although volatilisation was considerably lower at pH 4, achieving this pH reduction in the field is not possible at present. Findings from this study highlight the need to better understand which forms of N fertiliser are most suitable for use in highly alkaline BRS.

Recommendation and perspectives

Although pH reduction is the most likely means of stopping NH₃ volatilisation in BRS, it is economically and operationally unfeasible to add sufficient acidity for adequately lowering pH in the BRS for revegetation. More attention on forms of fertilisers more suitable to highly alkaline, microbially inert soil conditions appears to be warranted.