Environmental health in minority and other underserved populations: Benign methods for identifying lead hazards at day care centres of New Orleans

This study tests the hypothesis that exterior sources of lead dust are more important than interior sources in the route of exposure of children. Benign field methods were used to distinguish between potential and actual lead exposure problems. Utilising hand wipe and surface wipe techniques, hand and environmental samples were obtained from selected day care centres at different locations within New Orleans. Previous research has shown that soil lead is determined by location within the city. Private and public day care centres were selected from inner and outer city areas to estimate the extent of hand lead exposure. To measure and identify the extent of environmental lead exposure, hand wipes were taken before and after playing outdoors. Results of preliminary findings show that outdoor lead dust is a more potent contaminant of hands than indoor lead dust. An association was found between the amount of lead on children's hands after playing outdoors and the lead content in the exterior dust and soil. Although two girls out of forty children had exceptionally high hand lead quantities after playing outdoors, in general, boys have higher hand lead levels than girls. The private inner-city day care centre had a severe contamination problem in its outdoor play area. By contrast, the outdoor play area of the public inner city day care centre is of such a high quality that the quantity of lead dust is independent of location in the city.     

活性污泥运转效能的生物监测

讨论了θ/℃，pH,ρ(BOD)/mgL^-1,ρ(COD)/mgL^-1,ρ(SS)/mgL^-1,ρ(N)/mgL^-1,ρ(P)/mgL^-1,w(Cu^2 )/10^-6等几个影响活性污泥状况的理化因素，认为必须调节均化进水的水质水量，并调控污泥龄，回流比，曝气量等各种运行参数，分析了活性污泥的生理，生化监测法及运用细菌，藻类，原生动物，后生动物所进行的生物监测，提出通过监测原生动物群落动态是判断活性污泥运行效能的一种较简便准确的方法，比较了斑点杂交法（dot blot hybrid-ization)，最大机率法（most probable number methods,MPNM),抗体（antibody)法和荧光原位杂交（fluorescent in situ hy-bridization,FISH)法检测氨氧化菌（ammonia-oxidizing bacteria)数量的效果，表明斑点杂交法具有高的准确度，并能检测出较低密度的细菌，MPNM低估了细菌数量，抗体法有高估细菌数的可能，FISH法对氨氮含量高的活性污泥混合液检测结果较好，但对低氨氮含量污水厂出水和河水的检测效果不佳。     

水质在线监测中的若干问题

以环境水质自动监测子站的采样和配水系统为切入点，针对不同环节上极易出现的问题，分别提出具体的解决方案。     

同步辐射技术在环境纳米金属组学研究中的应用

随着我国工业的发展,在工业产值不断提升的同时,向环境中释放出的各类污染物也逐渐增加,其中包括多种金属纳米颗粒物。这些金属纳米颗粒物进入大气、水源及土壤中,累积到一定程度引起环境安全问题;进一步可被动植物所吸收,经过食物链富集和传递,造成直接或间接人体暴露,危害人体健康。环境纳米金属组学,研究的范畴主要涉及自然或人为因素产生的金属纳米颗粒在环境介质和生物有机体中的生物/化学行为、转化归趋,并且据此评价金属纳米颗粒物的环境安全性及其生物健康效应。随着对金属纳米颗粒环境效应研究的不断深入,对传统的研究方法提出了更多的挑战。同步辐射具有高亮度、高准直和宽频谱等特性,在金属元素分析方面具有无可比拟的优势。本文主要介绍了同步辐射技术,如同步辐射X射线荧光分析技术(SR-XRF)和同步辐射X射线吸收光谱技术(SR-XAS)等,在金属纳米颗粒物的环境行为及其生物健康效应研究中的应用;结合本实验室及国内外的一些研究工作,阐述了同步辐射技术应用于环境纳米金属组学研究领域所取得的一些新进展,以期为拓展同步辐射技术在环境金属纳米颗粒物分析的应用研究提供参考价值。     

Temporal dynamics of arsenic uptake and distribution: food and water risks in the Bengal basin

Abstract

Contaminated food chain is a serious contender for arsenic (As) uptake around the globe. In Nadia, West Bengal, we trace possible means of transfer of As from multiple sources reaching different trophic levels, and associated seasonal variability leading to chronic As uptake. This work considers possible sources-pathways of As transfer through food chain in rural community. Arsenic concentration in groundwater, soil, rice, and vegetable-samples collected detected in different harvest seasons of 2014 and 2016. Arsenic level in shallow groundwater samples ranged from 0.1 to 354?µg/L, with 75% of the sites above the prescribed limit by WHO (10?µg/L) during the boro harvest season. High soil As content (～20.6?mg/kg), resulted in accumulation of As in food crops. A positive correlation in As conc. with increase over period in all sites indicating gradual As accumulation in topsoil. Unpolished rice samples showed high As content (～1.75?mg/kg), polishing reduced 80% of As. Among vegetables, the plant family Poaceae with high irrigation requirements and Solanaceae retaining high moisture, have the highest levels of As. Contaminated animal fodder (Poaceae) and turf water for cattle are shown to contaminate milk (0.06 to 0.24?µg/L) and behoves strategies, practices to minimize As exposure.     

Extinction Rate Estimates for Plant Populations in Revisitation Studies: Importance of Detectability

Abstract:  Many researchers have obtained extinction-rate estimates for plant populations by comparing historical and current records of occurrence. A population that is no longer found is assumed to have gone extinct. Extinction can then be related to characteristics of these populations, such as habitat type, size, or species, to test ideas about what factors may affect extinction. Such studies neglect the fact that a population may be overlooked, however, which may bias estimates of extinction rates upward. In addition, if populations are unequally detectable across groups to be compared, such as habitat type or population size, comparisons become distorted to an unknown degree. To illustrate the problem, I simulated two data sets, assuming a constant extinction rate, in which populations occurred in different habitats or habitats of different size and these factors affected their detectability. The conventional analysis implicitly assumed that detectability equalled 1 and used logistic regression to estimate extinction rates. It wrongly identified habitat and population size as factors affecting extinction risk. In contrast, with capture-recapture methods, unbiased estimates of extinction rates were recovered. I argue that capture-recapture methods should be considered more often in estimations of demographic parameters in plant populations and communities.     

论职业卫生安全管理体系标准化与我国职业卫生安全管理及其改革的一致性

职业卫生安全管理体系（ＯＨＳＭＳ）标准倡导好的管理的共同原理,将ＯＨＳＭＳ融入组织总的管理体系,与我国组织职业卫生安全（ＯＨＳ）管理的经验相容,对我国组织在市场经济体制下建立自主安全管理机制有极重要的意义。实施ＯＨＳＭＳ标准不存在经济实力的前提,且ＯＨＳ投入与组织的经济效益是一致的。这种标准化适应了我国经济体制转变时期政府安全管理职能和管理方式的变化,还与我国ＯＨＳ管理体制的改革方向相吻合。我国基本具备实施ＯＨＳＭＳ标准的法律基础。为有效实施ＯＨＳＭＳ标准化,应加强ＯＨＳ法规建设,在监察体系上实行第三方机构的认证／注册制度     

计算机辅助确定外因火灾位置方法

系统介绍用计算机辅助确定矿井外因火灾位置方法的原理,给出该方法的具体步骤,剖析其定性分析、定量分析和定量分析结果评价三大步骤中的各技术关键,并借助一个实例验证了该方法实用的可行性     

Use of Airborne Thermal Imagery to Detect and Monitor Inshore Oil Spill Residues During Darkness Hours

/ Trials were conducted using an airborne video system operating in the visible, near-infrared, and thermal wavelengths to detect two known oil spill releases during darkness at a distance of 10 nautical miles from the shore in St. Vincent's Gulf, South Australia. The oil spills consisted of two 20-liter samples released at 2-h intervals, one sample consisted of paraffinic neutral material and the other of automotive diesel oil. A tracking buoy was sent overboard in conjunction with the release of sample 1, and its movement monitored by satellite relay. Both oil residues were overflown by a light aircraft equipped with thermal, visible, and infrared imagers at a period of approximately 1 h after the release of the second oil residue. Trajectories of the oil residue releases were also modeled and the results compared to those obtained by the airborne video and the tracking buoy. Airborne imagery in the thermal wavelengths successfully located and mapped both oil residue samples during nighttime conditions. Results from the trial suggest that the most advantageous technique would be the combined use of the tracking beacon to obtain an approximate location of the oil spill and the airborne imagery to ascertain its extent and characteristics.KEY WORDS: Airborne video; Thermal imagery; Global positioning; Oil-spill monitoring; Tracking beacon