Hurricane Harvey and Greater Houston households: comparing pre-event preparedness with post-event health effects,event exposures,and recovery

Most disaster studies rely on convenience sampling and ‘after-only’ designs to assess impacts. This paper, focusing on Hurricane Harvey (2017) and leveraging a pre-/post-event sample of Greater Houston households (n=71) in the United States, establishes baselines for disaster preparedness and home structure flood hazard mitigation, explores household-level ramifications, and examines how preparedness and mitigation relate to health effects, event exposures, and recovery. Between 70 and 80 per cent of participants instituted preparedness measures. Mitigation actions varied: six per cent had interior drainage systems and 83 per cent had elevated indoor heating/cooling components. Sixty per cent reported home damage. One-half highlighted allergies and two-thirds indicated some level of post-traumatic stress (PTS). Three-quarters worried about family members/friends. The results of generalised linear models revealed that greater pre- event mitigation was associated with fewer physical health problems and adverse experiences, lower PTS, and faster recovery. The study design exposed the broad benefits of home structure flood hazard mitigation for households after Harvey.     

A scoping review of post-disaster social support investigations conducted after disasters that struck the Australia and Oceania continent

This scoping review provides a summary of research findings on social support dynamics in the wake of disasters that occurred on the continent of Australia and Oceania between 1983 and 2013. Forty-one studies, quantitative and qualitative, were summarised, investigating different facets of post-disaster supportive interactions. All inquiries assessed disasters resulting from natural hazards, with the majority of them conducted following events in Australia and New Zealand. The review revealed similar patterns of post-disaster social support dynamics that routinely unfold after disastrous incidents all over the world. Consistent with the disaster mental health literature, the documentation of social support mobilisation and social support deterioration processes was common. Salutary direct effects of supportive behaviours on post-disaster psychological distress were also highly evident. Most studies, however, posed research questions or hypotheses that lacked empirical or theoretical grounding. In conclusion, the review offers several recommendations on how to advance research on post-disaster social support.     

Cancer and Non-Cancer Health Risk from Eating Cassava Grown in Some Mining Communities in Ghana

Food crops such as cassava, cocoyam and other tuber crops grown in mining communities uptake toxic or hazardous chemicals such as arsenic, and cadmium, from the soil. Cassava is a stable food for Ghanaians. This study evaluated human health risk from eating cassava grown in some mining communities in Ghana such as Bogoso, Prestea, Tarkwa and Tamso, which are important mining towns in the Western Region of Ghana. The study evaluated cancer and non-cancer health effects from eating cassava grown in the study areas in accordance with US Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Assessment guidelines. The results of the study revealed the following: cancer health risk for Tamso, 0.098 (RME – Reasonable Maximum Exposure) and 0.082 (CTE – Central Tendency Exposure). This means that approximately 10 and 8 out of 100 resident adults are likely to suffer from cancer related cases by RME and CTE parameters respectively. For Prestea, we have 0.010 and 0.12, which also means that approximately 1 out of 100 and 10 resident adults out of 100 are also likely to suffer from cancer related diseases by RME and CTE parameters. The results of the study obtained were found to be above the acceptable cancer risk range of 1× 10⁻⁶ to 1× 10⁻⁴, i.e., 1 case of cancer out of 1 million or 100,000 people respectively.     

A Simulation Study to Assess the Sensitivity of a Forest Health Monitoring Network to Outbreaks of Defoliating Insects

The sensitivity of the United States Forest Health Monitoring network to outbreaks of defoliating insects was examined by means of a simulation study. A model constructed specifically for the study was used to generate a wide variety of defoliation patterns in forested landscapes. Forest configuration was that of Minnesota, USA, as expressed by the GAP land cover classification. Combinations of model parameters were based on a Latin Hypercube sample. The relationship between the average number of plots defoliated and outbreak characteristics was then examined via multiple regression. Both theoretical and model results pointed to a strong, linear relationship between the average number of plots defoliated and outbreak size. Model results provided additional insight, suggesting a significant relationship between the average number of plots defoliated and other outbreak characteristics after outbreak size was taken into account.     

松花江流域大型底栖动物生物完整性指数构建及其适用性

利用生物完整性指数评价河流健康状态,对于水环境管理决策具有重要的实践意义。基于大型底栖动物构建生物完整性指数(B-IBI),并评价松花江流域的水生态系统健康状况。在松花江主要干支流设定37个采样点,分别于2016年6、9月进行环境因子和大型底栖动物调查研究。最终从28个候选参数中确定了种类总数、摇蚊种类数、敏感种百分比、Hilsenhoff指数、Marglef指数作为核心参数构建B-IBI。通过0～10赋分法,计算得到了松花江流域全部采样点的生物完整性评价得分。结果显示,松花江流域内60%区域生物状态存在不同程度的损害。另外,B-IBI能够综合反映松花江大型底栖动物群落多样性、生境质量、理化水质等,具有一定的适用性。     

硝基苯灌胃致小鼠蛋白质氧化损伤作用的研究

为了探讨硝基苯对小鼠多器官的蛋白质氧化损伤程度,采用不同剂量的硝基苯对小鼠进行灌胃染毒(每天1次,共30 d),用2,4-二硝基苯肼比色法测定小鼠组织蛋白质羰基含量,用以判断蛋白质的损伤程度.结果显示,各组织空白对照和油对照组间差异均不显著(p＞0.05),随着染毒剂量的增加,肝脏、肾脏、脾脏和心脏的蛋白质羰基含量呈上升趋势,脑组织只在高剂量组表现明显升高趋势;低剂量组与油对照组相比,只有肝脏蛋白质羰基含量显著性升高(p＜0.05);中、高剂量组与油对照组相比,各组织蛋白质羰基含量显著性升高(p＜0.05).以上结果表明,低剂量硝基苯可以对细胞蛋白质产生氧化损伤作用,并且随着染毒剂量的增加,小鼠各组织蛋白质羰基含量呈上升趋势,蛋白质氧化损伤程度加重.     

The 2006 war and its inter-temporal economic impact on agriculture in Lebanon

The July 2006 war waged by Israel on Lebanon caused an estimated USD 1 billion of direct (financial) damage to infrastructure. However, it generated also significant indirect (economic/inter-temporal) costs. One sector that suffered considerably in this respect was agriculture, the main source of income for 30–40 per cent of Lebanese. This paper's main objective is to develop a methodology to estimate the total—direct and indirect—cost of the war to agricultural crop production, using an area of south Lebanon as a focal point. The indirect loss assessment viewed inter-temporal reductions in crop production values as the opportunity cost of not working fields due to the presence of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Various crops were evaluated for two scenarios (50 and 100 per cent damage due to UXO) over UXO-clearance periods of five and 10 years. The results indicate that any damage estimates that include only direct losses will under-estimate total losses by 80 and 87 per cent for the five- and 10-year periods, respectively.     

Oxidative stress and DNA damages induced by cadmium accumulation

Experimental evidence shows that cadmium （Cd） could induce oxidative stress and then causes DNA damage in animal cells, however, whether such effect exists in plants is still unclear. In the present study, Vicia faba plants was exposed to 5 and 10 mg/L Cd for 4 d to investigate the distribution of Cd in plant, the metal effects on the cell lipids, antioxidative enzymes and DNA damages in leaves. Cd induced an increase in Cd concentrations in plants. An enhanced level of lipid peroxidation in leaves and an enhanced concentration of H2O2 in root tissues suggested that Cd caused oxidative stress in Vicia faba. Compared with control, Cd-induced enhancement in superoxide dismutase activity was significant at 5 mg/L than at 10 mg/kg in leaves, by contrast, catalase and peroxidaseactivities were significantly suppressed by Cd addition. DNA damage was detected by neutral/neutral, alkaline/neutral and alkaline/alkaline Comet assay. Increased levels of DNA damages induced by Cd occurred with reference to oxidative stress in leaves, therefore, oxidative stress induced by Cd accumulation in plants contributed to DNA damages and was possibly an important mechanism of Cd-phytotoxicity in Vicia faba plants.     

Antioxidant responses to benzo[a]pyrene, tributyltin and their mixture in the spleen of Sebasticus marmoratus

It has been reported that there is an interaction between Benzo[a]pyrene （BaP）, a widespread carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and tributyltin （TBT）, an organometal used as an antifouling biocide. This study was therefore designed to examine the potential in vivo influence of BaP, TBT and their mixture on splenic antioxidant defense systems of Sebastiscus marmoratus. The fish were exposed to water containing environmentally relevant concentrations of BaP, TBT and their mixture. Spleens were collected for biochemical analysis after exposure for 7, 25, 50 d and after recovery for 7, 20 d. Cotreatment with BaP and TBT for 7 d potentiated the induction of glutathione peroxidase （GPx） activity by BaP or TBT alone. The cotreatment for 25 and 50 d resulted in inhibition of GPx activity, which was similar to the effect of TBT. Splenic glutathione S-transferase （GST） activities were significantly elevated in S. marmoratus exposed to BaP starting from 7 d and remained high up to 25 d. However, no further activity change was found with prolonged exposure. Cotreatment of BaP and TBT primarily inhibited the GST activity, which was similar to the effect of TBT. Cotreatment with BaP and TBT for 25 or 50 d potentiated the depletion of GSH （glutathione） by BaP or TBT alone. MDA （malondialdehyde） contents in spleen of S. marmoratus were not significantly altered compared with the control during the test period. Spleen, as an immune organ, is sensitive to exposure of BaP or TBT. It should have an effective mechanism to counteract oxidative damage. Antioxidative defense systems in spleen of S. marmoratus should be considered as potential biomarkers. Short-term exposure of BaP or TBT could result in induction of antioxidant defense system. A significant decrease of these indices, such as GSH, GST, GPx might indicate more severe contamination.     

上海隧桥工程海域生态系统健康的初步评价

随着上海经济的快速发展,一些大型海洋工程在上海海域纷纷兴建,造成了生境破碎化、生物多样性的破坏等一系列的生态损害。在分析海洋工程可能造成生态损害的同时,以上海长江口隧桥工程为例,选择2007年春季和秋季的2次生态调查数据进行研究。架桥阶段结束后,综合分析了春季与秋季的调查数据,发现各项指标均有偏向于不利的趋势。基于结构功能指标体系评价法,并利用层次分析法研究后得出上海长江口隧桥工程附近海域的综合健康指数分别为2043和2166。根据CHI≤3的情况下判断,该海域的生态健康状况属于不健康接近亚健康状态,表明河口生态系统自然属性发生明显改变,生物多样性及生态系统结构发生了一定程度的变化,主要生态服务功能出现退化或丧失。针对遭遇海洋工程破坏的生境,需要进行更多、更长时间的人工干预,并提出有效的生态保护和修复对策。