Seeing,believing, and behaving: Heterogeneous effects of an information intervention on household water treatment

Providing information about environmental health risks only sometimes induces protective action. This raises questions about whether and how risk information is understood and acted upon, and how responses vary across contexts. To characterize such variation, we stratified a randomized experiment related to household water quality across two periurban areas in Cambodia. When we showed specific evidence of water contamination to lower-SES households who were initially more optimistic about water safety, they altered their beliefs about health risk and increased their demand for a treatment product. However, demand for the treatment product among higher and initially more pessimistic SES households did not change significantly. These findings highlight the importance of better understanding heterogeneity in the specific drivers of responses to health risk information.     

肠道微生物受环境污染的影响及其对宿主疾病的调控作用

宿主肠道内存在的大量微生物与其健康状况直接相关,这些微生物是人和动物健康成长不可或缺的。肠道微生物通过多种途径调节人体生理功能的同时也受到人体内外环境的影响。因此,分析建立肠道微生物、相关疾病的产生原因和作用机制以及环境影响因子之间的联系具有重要意义。本文首先针对肠道微生物对人体的物质与能量代谢、先天和获得性免疫、胃肠道功能等方面的影响进行综述。然后重点分析了近年来有关肠道微生物对环境污染所致健康效应的影响及作用机制的研究进展。以期加深肠道微生物与人类健康之间相互作用机理的理解,并为环境毒理学与肠道微生物之间关系的研究提供新的思路。     

噪声职业病的危害分析及预防对策探讨

随着工业生产、城市建设以及交通运输的迅速发展,噪声对人们产生的危害日益加剧,尤其以相关行业的职工患有噪声职业病为主.详细阐述了噪声职业病的各种危害,并根据相关法律标准,结合现今噪声领域前沿研究人员提出的噪声控制方法,对预防和控制噪声职业病提出了一些科学、系统的安全措施和防范对策.     

大骨节病病情下降与环境因素的定位研究

１９８７年４月－１９８９年９月对内蒙三个大骨节病村进行了随诊观察，结果表明，大骨节病病情逐年下降，人体硒营养水平相应提高，病情与硒营养水平之间呈显负相关，每日由外源性食物中摄取的硒与病情呈显负相关，而由当地产粮，菜中摄取的硒与情呈显正相关。由肉蛋类食物中摄取与病情呈显负相关，生态环境中的硒基本无变化，增加外源性高硒食物输入病区和改变病区食物构成是控制硒反应性疾病的主要途径。     

Monitoring of Biofilm-associated Legionella pneumophila on Different Substrata in Model Cooling Tower System

Cooling towers have the potential to develop infectious concentrations of Legionella pneumophila. Legionella counts increases where biofilm and warm water temperatures are present. In this study, biofilm associated L. pneumophila and heterotrophic bacteria were compared in terms of material dependence. Model cooling tower system was experimentally infected by L. pneumophila standard strain and monthly monitored. Different materials were tested for a period of 180 days. The lowest L. pneumophila and heterotrophic plate counts were measured on plastic polymers, whereas L. pneumophila and heterotrophic bacteria were accumulated rapidly on galvanized steel surfaces. It can be concluded that selection of plastic polymers, as a manufacturing material, are suitable for recirculating water systems.     

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and obesity,type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a review of epidemiologic findings

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of fluoro-surfactants widely detected in the environment, wildlife, and humans, have been linked to adverse health effects. A growing body of literature has addressed their effects on obesity, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. This review summarizes the brief historical use and chemistry of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, routes of human exposure, as well as the epidemiologic evidence for associations between exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and the development of obesity, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. We identified 22 studies on obesity and 32 studies on diabetes, while only 1 study was found for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis by searching PubMed for human studies. Approximately two-third of studies reported positive associations between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances exposure and the prevalence of obesity and/or type 2 diabetes. Causal links between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and obesity, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, however, require further large-scale prospective cohort studies combined with mechanistic laboratory studies to better assess these associations.     

Neurologic features of chronic minamata disease (organic mercury poisoning) and incidence of complications with aging

Abstract

To elucidate the neurologic features of chronic Minamata disease, and the incidence of complications with aging, we studied 80 patients with documented Minamata disease (organic mercury poisoning) from 1986 to 1994 (mean age: 63 years). Of the cardinal neurologic findings, sensory impairment was seen with highest frequency in 98.8% of patients limited to the extremities in 86.3%. Impairment of lower extremity coordination was observed in 60%, constriction of the visual field in 51.9%, and retrocochlear hearing loss in 41%. To assess age‐related complications, patients were separated into three groups by age: Group I (10 to 39 years); Group II (40 to 69 years); Group III (≥7 0 years). The incidences of hypertension and cerebrovascular diseases, organic ophthalmologic disorders (including cataracts), presbyacusis, and cervical spondylosis deformans increased significantly with age. Compared with a preceding survey (1981 to 1985, 171 patients, mean age: 63.5 years), the incidences of complicated hypertension and cataracts had decreased, whereas those of cerebrovascular disease and retinitis pigmentosa remained unchanged. The incidences of abnormal brain computed tomography (CT), presbyacusis, cervical spondylosis deformans, and positive tests for urine sugar also increased. The incidences of these complications other than retinitis pigmentosa were similar to those in the general population. These results accurately reflect the recent epidemiological disease tendencies in Japan toward a decreased incidence of hypertension and an increased incidence of diabetes.     

Control of bacterial speck of tomato by copper and ethylenebisuithiocarbamate fungicides: Their efficacy and residues on leaves

Abstract

Field studies were conducted to determine the synergism, persistence, and efficacy of a tank‐mix spray of cupric hydroxide and mancozeb for control of bacterial speck of tomato. The increased efficacy of the cupric hydroxide‐mancozeb mixture could not be attributed to the formation of a bacteriostatic compound in the tank mixture nor to a greater persistence of the mixture on the tomato foliage.     

非点源污染对人类健康影响的研究进展

社会经济的发展,在使社会得以进步、物质得以丰富的同时,也产生了一系列的工业点源、农业或城市非点源的污染问题,而这些污染对人类健康造成了极大的威胁。尽管非点源污染与人类健康息息相关,但在大多数情况下,人们只考虑污染对环境质量本身的影响,而由非点源污染直接或间接影响到人类健康的问题却没有得到足够的重视。文章综述了目前国内外对非点源污染直接和间接影响人类健康的研究进展,提出了控制非点源污染及减缓它对人类健康影响的对策。。     

城市综合污水处理厂出水消毒成本-效益分析

分析研究了污水处理厂出水液氯消毒实验所涉及的成本和效益概念,提出了相应的成本-效益分析的计算方法和计算参数.以无锡市芦村污水处理厂出水为例,30 mg/L有效氯作用30 min时,能杀灭出水中98%的大肠菌群,其实施成本约为730万元/a,而产生的总效益约为1 961万元/a.其中,减少肠道传染病发病的健康效益约767万元/a,减少湖水污染和蓝藻繁殖的环境效益约为1 194万元/a,整个技术的效益-成本比约为2.7∶1.