Use of biomarkers in zooplankton for assessment of the ‘health status’ of marine and brackish environments: a short overview

The biomarker approach has been used for 25 years to study the environmental quality of marine, brackish and freshwater ecosystems. Biomarkers may indicate health status and can be applied to organisms of all zoological phyla by destructive or non destructive methods. For 5 years we have been using this approach in zooplankton to detect ecotoxicological alterations at low levels of the food chain due to contaminants. Here we review our approach to validate and apply biomarker techniques in zooplankton. We discuss advantages, limitations, some results and future research. We indicate that biomarkers in zooplankton can be used as new indices of trophic status and ecological integrity of Italian marine coastal and lagoon environments, to be included among the tools specified by Italian law D.Lgs. 152/2006.     

Using plants for health: Indigenous knowledge in health care in a tribal region of Bihar,India

While the potential of indigenous knowledge for health care is fully recognised in the literature and by many health professionals, the practices of so many indigenous peoples go unrecorded and untested. Indigenous knowledge remains essentially untapped, an unwritten resource involving information, language and skills in many groups, languages, cultures and environments. An attempt is made in this paper to identify selected indigenous health technologies in a tribal area of Bihar State, India; to describe the treatments, their application and preparation; and to link the traditional practice with the relevant scientific information to test or determine the validity of the practices. These practices were found to be effective in the treatment of a variety of health problems, and most were also scientifically confirmed. The paper argues, however, that other plant uses practised by tribal people still need to be explored: in order to popularise more widely the authenticated practices; to preserve indigenous knowledge; to integrate or blend it with scientific knowledge so that health professionals and healthcare users may benefit from a wider range of healthcare strategies which are environmentally unthreatening.     

全氟及多氟类化合物在人体分布及其毒性研究进展

全氟和多氟烷酸类化合物(perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFASs)是一类新型持久性有机污染物,目前其在民用和工业产品中得到广泛应用。在环境样品、野生动物以及人类体内都检测到了这类物质。PFASs对哺乳动物和水生生物具有广泛的毒性,其对生态环境和人体健康的影响受到公众关注。目前,PFASs对人类健康的研究还多停留在流行病学研究和体外细胞毒性研究方面,由于人类有复杂的免疫和代谢系统,因此PPASs对人类健康影响的具体机制和安全剂量仍然需要进一步研究。本文针对PFASs在人体的分布、流行病学研究、毒理学效应和作用机制等热点问题进行了总结,并对目前PFASs研究存在的问题及今后的研究方向进行讨论和展望。     

食品烹调处理过程中砷的浓度、形态和生物可给性研究进展

食品作为人体砷暴露的主要途径,其砷的含量和形态备受关注。由于食品原料通常要经过烹饪加工后才会被人食用,因此,食品的烹调处理过程及方式对砷的形态及生物有效性的影响在砷的健康风险评价研究中,需要作为重要因素进行研究。通过综述不同食品烹调处理前后砷浓度、形态和生物可给性变化的相关研究,分析了砷变化的特征,探讨了相关机理,并得出如下结论:烹调处理能使食品中砷的浓度发生升高或降低;高温烹调能使食品中砷形态发生变化,目前研究结果确定的变化主要是砷甜菜碱的分解,烹调中食品砷形态变化的机理尚不明确。不同烹调方式下,食品中砷的生物可给性差异较大,砷的形态变化可能是其生物可给性差异的主要原因。烹调特别是高温烹调下食品砷浓度升高及形态变化导致的健康风险值得进一步关注。     

城市环境铂族金属分布特性及生态健康风险研究进展

随着铂族金属铂（Pt）、钯（Pd）、铑（Rh）被广泛应用于汽车尾气催化净化器中,这三种金属在自然界中的含量逐渐升高。越来越多的研究表明,这几种曾被认为对环境影响较小的金属的确会带来潜在的生态健康风险。本文概括了国内外城市各种环境介质的含量分布,重点分析了铂族金属的源解析方法、粒径分布特性、影响其排放的因素和其潜在的生态健康风险。就全世界的城市来看,灰尘、空气、土壤、沉积物等各种环境介质中铂族金属的含量均有显著提高,主要来源于汽车三元催化净化器。这三种金属倾向于富集在细颗粒中,行车模式是影响其排放量的重要因素,自然界的共存物质可增强它们的溶解性和迁移性,从而使它们的生物可利用性大大提高。生物体吸收这类金属后,可与体内的物质发生反应,形态发生变化,毒性增强。在以后的研究中,除了持续跟踪调查这三种金属在环境中的含量水平以外,还应加强研究这三种金属在环境中的颗粒分布、迁移转化、形态变换、生物可利用性以及生物毒性等,使我们能够更好地评估其生态健康风险,并为与之相关的应用研发、防范措施、政策制订提供引导和支持。     

Providing health services during a civil war: the experience of a garrison town in South Sudan

The impact of conflict, particularly conflict arising during civil wars, on the provision of healthcare is a subject that has not been widely considered in conflict‐related research. Combatants often target health services to weaken or to defeat the enemy, while attempts to maintain or improve health systems also can comprise part of counter‐insurgency ‘hearts‐and‐minds’ strategies. This paper describes the dynamics associated with the provision of health services in Malakal, an important garrison town in South Sudan, during the second Sudanese civil war (1983–2005). Drawing on the concepts of opportunity hoarding and exploitation, it explores the social and political dynamics of service provision in and around the town during the war. These concepts provide a useful lens with which to understand better how health services are affected by conflict, while the empirical case study presented in the paper illustrates dynamics that may be repeated in other contexts. The concepts and case study set out in this paper should prove useful to healthcare providers working in conflict zones, including humanitarian aid agencies and their employees, increasing their understanding of the social and political dynamics that they are likely to face during future conflict‐related complex emergencies.     

单元模态应变能法在输电铁塔损伤识别中的应用

输电塔结构在灾害中发生倒塌的现象时有发生,故而对输电塔结构进行健康监测具有重要的实际意义。介绍了单元模态应变损伤指数(EMSDI)在结构损伤识别中的表达式,并将其应用于输电铁塔模型试验中。采用单元形函数代替原有模态曲率计算方法,可有效降低计算单元模态应变能的计算误差,从而增加了识别的准确性。在输电铁塔仿真模拟和试验中,对该识别方法的准确性和可靠性进行了验证。实例表明:单元模态应变损伤指数法能够准确地识别出结构的损伤位置,并可在某种程度上反映出损伤程度,可以应用到实际输电塔结构损伤识别中。     

Incorporating health outcomes into environmental justice research: The case of children's asthma and air pollution in Phoenix,Arizona

Asthma is a health condition that is also an environmental justice issue. Using an environmental justice frame, this paper explores socio-demographic, indoor hazard, and air quality factors that contribute to disparities in asthma hospitalizations. Multivariate Poisson regression models predicting asthma hospitalizations at the zip code level are employed to examine the case of metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona (AZ). Controlling for socio-demographics, indoor hazards, and toxic releases from industry, ozone was the strongest predictor of asthma hospitalizations. This paper contributes to the project of inserting health measures into quantitative environmental justice studies.     

丹江口水库生态系统健康综合评价

2007年7月～2008年5月按季度对丹江口水库4个库区(丹江库区、汉江库区、取水口和五青入库区)的水环境和浮游生物进行了调查,采用生态系统健康指数(EHI)法和营养状态指数(TSI)法对该水库的生态系统健康状态进行定量的综合评价.结果表明:2007年7月～2008年5月,丹江口水库整体处于中营养状态,健康状态中等,健康状态总趋势是丹江库区>取水口>汉江库区>五青入库区;各库区生态系统健康状态存在季节性差异,丹江库区、取水口两库区全年为中等,汉江库区在夏季为较差,其它季节中等,五青入库区在冬季最差,其它季节较差.此外,对两种评价方法进行了比较,表明丹江口水库属于响应型生态系统,生态系统健康指数(EHI)适用于丹江口水库生态系统健康的评价.     

RBCA、CLEA及CalTOX模型在苯并[a]芘污染场地健康风险评估中的应用比较

为探讨不同模型对污染场地健康风险评估结果的影响,以苯并[a]芘为例,采用RBCA、CLEA和CalTOX模型对某工业污染场地表层土壤进行健康风险评估,分析了评估结果的差异和原因,同时对模型的主要暴露参数进行了敏感性分析,并推导出基于风险概率分布的土壤修复限值。结果表明,RBCA、CLEA和CalTOX模型计算的苯并[a]芘致癌总风险分别为2.40×10-4、6.32×10-4和7.04×10-6,且经口摄入和皮肤接触2个途径对人体健康造成的危害最大。降解作用是影响CalTOX模型风险评估结果不同于RBCA和CLEA模型的重要因素,3个模型间参数取值及方法学的差异也会导致风险评估结果不同。各模型暴露参数的敏感性排序也有差异。采用基于风险概率分布的方法推导土壤修复限值,RBCA、CLEA和CalTOX模型所得结果分别为0.18、0.08、0.13(不考虑降解作用CalTOX模型)和10.74(考虑降解作用CalTOX模型)mg·kg-1,为各模型直接推导值的1.5～2.6倍。基于风险概率分布的方法可有效降低风险评估过程中参数不确定性的影响,为工业污染场地土壤修复值的制定提供参考。