Mediterranean alien harmful algal blooms: origins and impacts

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are mostly phytoplankton blooms, which have detrimental environmental and socioeconomic impacts. The Mediterranean Sea due...     

Pregnancy outcome after transcervical cvs with a flexible biopsy forceps: Evaluation of risk factors

The pregnancy outcome of 1936 women who had transcervical chorionic villus sampling (CVS) with a flexible biopsy forceps was evaluated. Follow-up until 4 weeks after delivery was 99.4 per cent. Various patient- and procedure-related risk factors for spontaneous loss (fetal or neonatal death) were analysed using stepwise logistic regression analysis. The overall spontaneous loss rate was 4.5 per cent. Factors found to be significantly associated with spontaneous loss were quantity of villi ≤ 15 mg (relative risk (RR) 2.13), a history of first-trimester miscarriage (RR 1.87) or delivery between 16 and 27 weeks (RR 3.87), cervical culture positive for anaerobes (RR 4.52) or group B streptococcus (RR 3.62), post-procedural bleeding >3 days (RR 1.99), and multiple insertions (RR 2.64). Significant differences in loss rates between individual operators were found. A learning effect was not present. There were no infants born with terminal transversal limb anomalies in our series.     

Determination of tris(4-chlorophenyl)methanol and tris(4-chlorophenyl)methane in fish, marine mammals and sediment

Tris(4-chlorophenyl)methanol (TCP) and tris(4-chlorophenyl)methane (TCPMe) were determined in aquatic organisms and sediment by a method based on Soxhlet extraction, gel permeation chromatography, fractionation over silica and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. TCPMe was identified as the 4-substituted isomer after synthesis of this compound. TCP could be determined by GC/MS with negative chemical ionistation (GC/NCI-MS) with a detection limit of 0.02 g kg(-1) and a recovery of 90%. TCP concentrations in marine mammals from the North Sea and Dutch Wadden Sea ranged from 0.2 to 2 mg kg(-1), and those in marine and freshwater fish samples from 0.005 to 0.4 mg kg(-1) on a lipid wt basis. TCP concentrations in two Rhine delta sediment samples were 1.2 and 3.0 microg kg(-1) dry wt, respectively. TCPMe concentrations, determined by GC/MS with electron impact (GC/EI-MS), were 10-50% of the TCP concentration in all samples analysed.     

Statistical visualization for data exploration: a case study on Sydney Olympic Park

Due to the powerful graphic interface in modern computers, visualization techniques have become more and more popular for data exploration. As a preliminary investigation, visualization is a greatly useful tool to lead to further statistical analysis and modelling. It is likely that historical environmental data from a range of different studies may contain useful information that should be assessed for determining management actions. However, these historical data are collected from many different studies, which have different space and/or time scales making the visualization process complicated. In this paper we present several ways of visualizing historical data based on a study at Sydney Olympic Park. The tools include spatial coverage and variation for different spatial resolutions, temporal coverage and time series plots for different time scales, multi-panel scatterplots for a small number of variables and "one-to-all" scatterplots for a large number of variables.     

The Impact of the Hyperacid Ijen Crater Lake. Part II: A Total Diet Study

In Asembagus (East Java, Indonesia), surface water is contaminated with effluent from the hyperacid Ijen Crater Lake. In a previous study, we reported that food crops irrigated with this water had increased concentrations of various elements. Here, we present a total diet study for adults and 6-year-old children to determine if the mean daily intake of a broad range of elements is safe and adequate. For children, the intake of B, Mg, Mn and V is high with Hazard Quotients (HQ) of 1.1 (B), 1.4 (Mn) and 1.4 (V), respectively (no TDI is available for Mg). For Mn, the daily intake is high due to the consumption of locally produced rice. Drinking water is the main source of B, Mg and V. For adults, the intake of Mg, Mn and V is also high but HQ values are ≤0.7. For both children and adults, the intake of Ca, Zn and particularly Fe is below the RNI (Fe intake is 90% below the RNI for women). It is concluded the mean intake of elements is unbalanced and Fe deficiency is probably the most serious health problem. Toxic effects cannot be fully excluded since deficiency of essential elements such as Ca, Fe and Zn can increase the absorption and retention of various elements.     

The Organic Food Philosophy: A Qualitative Exploration of the Practices, Values, and Beliefs of Dutch Organic Consumers Within a Cultural–Historical Frame

Food consumption has been identified as a realm of key importance for progressing the world towards more sustainable consumption overall. Consumers have the option to choose organic food as a visible product of more ecologically integrated farming methods and, in general, more carefully produced food. This study aims to investigate the choice for organic from a cultural–historical perspective and aims to reveal the food philosophy of current organic consumers in The Netherlands. A concise history of the organic food movement is provided going back to the German Lebensreform and the American Natural Foods Movement. We discuss themes such as the wish to return to a more natural lifestyle, distancing from materialistic lifestyles, and reverting to a more meaningful moral life. Based on a number of in-depth interviews, the study illustrates that these themes are still of influence among current organic consumers who additionally raised the importance of connectedness to nature, awareness, and purity. We argue that their values are shared by a much larger part of Dutch society than those currently shopping for organic food. Strengthening these cultural values in the context of more sustainable food choices may help to expand the amount of organic consumers and hereby aid a transition towards more sustainable consumption.