Community evacuation following a chlorine release, Mississippi

On 7th September 1986, four miles north of Collins, Mississippi, a train transporting chlorine derailed. Two cars ruptured and gas escaped. As a result, 100 families were evacuated. To study the evacuation process, we conducted person-to-person interviews with sixty-two families staying in the evacuation center. Only 52.5% of the families received their first directive to evacuate directly from police or other officials. Delays in evacuating tended to be shorter when people were warned by the police and were told the reason for evacuating. Lack of personal transportation and preexisting health problems resulted in delays in evacuation. Concerns about evacuation included fear of looting, lack of a place to go, lack of transportation, difficulty in moving with children and elderly persons, and the need to take care of pets. One third of the interviewees reported feeling panic. Community evacuation procedures would be improved if: (1) officials contact all households directly; (2) the warning message addresses people's concerns; and (3) transportation is provided.     

Is there a link between children's motor abilities and unintentional injuries?

PROBLEM: The common view is that clumsy children experience unintentional injury more frequently. Empirical evidence supporting this position is mixed. METHOD: One hundred 6- and 8-year-olds completed a battery of nine tasks designed to assess motor ability. Mothers completed a lifetime injury history measure about their children and families completed a 2-week injury diary assessing frequency and severity of daily injuries. RESULTS: Internal reliability for the motor ability battery was good. Correlations between motor ability measures and injury risk were nonsignificant and near zero. DISCUSSION: Motor ability does not appear to be directly related to injury risk. Possible explanations include: (a) coordinated and clumsy children engage in hazardous activities with differing frequency; or (b) other individual difference factors may interact with motor ability to explain children's injury risk. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Children's motor abilities do not appear to be directly linked to rate of unintentional injury, but instead may influence risk for injury in conjunction with other factors. Results could have implications to the engineering of children's toys and playground equipment and to the design of appropriate supervision strategies for children engaging in potentially dangerous activities.     

The MRI spectrum of congenital cytomegalovirus infection

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an ubiquitous pathogen, with a high worldwide seroprevalence. When acquired in the prenatal period, congenital CMV (cCMV) is a major cause of neurodevelopmental sequelae and hearing loss. cCMV remains an underdiagnosed condition, with no systematic screening implemented in pregnancy or in the postnatal period. Therefore, imaging takes a prominent role in prenatal diagnosis of cCMV. With the prospect of new viable therapies, accurate and timely diagnosis becomes paramount, as well as identification of fetuses at risk for neurodevelopmental sequelae. Fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a complementary method to ultrasound (US) in fetal brain and body imaging. Anterior temporal lobe lesions are the most specific finding, and MRI is superior to US in their detection. Other findings such as ventriculomegaly, cortical malformations and calcifications, as well as hepatosplenomegaly, liver signal changes and abnormal effusions are unspecific. However, when seen in combination these should raise the suspicion of fetal infection, highlighting the need for a full fetal assessment. Still, some fetuses deemed normal on prenatal imaging are symptomatic at birth or develop delayed cCMV-associated symptoms, leaving room for improvement of diagnostic tools. Advanced MR sequences may help in this field and in determining prognosis, but further studies are needed.     

Biological alkylation and colloid formation of selenium in methanogenic UASB reactors

Bioalkylation and colloid formation of selenium during selenate removal in upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) bioreactors was investigated. The mesophilic (30 degrees C) UASB reactor (pH = 7.0) was operated for 175 d with lactate as electron donor at an organic loading rate of 2 g COD L(-1) d(-1) and a selenium loading rate of 3.16 mg Se L(-1) d(-1). Combining sequential filtration with ion chromatographic analysis for selenium oxyanions and solid phase micro extraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) for alkylated selenium compounds allowed to entirely close the selenium mass balance in the liquid phase for most of the UASB operational runtime. Although selenate was removed to more than 98.6% from the liquid phase, a less efficient removal of dissolved selenium was observed due to the presence of dissolved alkylated selenium species (dimethylselenide and dimethyldiselenide) and colloidal selenium particles in the effluent. The alkylated and the colloidal fractions contributed up to 15 and 31%, respectively, to the dissolved selenium concentration. The size fractions of the colloidal dispersion were: 4 to 0.45 mum: up to 21%, 0.45 to 0.2 mum: up to 11%, and particles smaller than 0.2 mum: up to 8%. Particles of 4 to 0.45 mum were formed in the external settler, but did not settle. SEM-EDX analysis showed that microorganisms form these selenium containing colloidal particles extracellularly on their surface. Lowering the temperature by 10 degrees C for 6 h resulted in drastically reduced selenate removal efficiencies (after a delay of 1.5 d), accompanied by the temporary formation of an unknown, soluble, organic selenium species. This study shows that a careful process control is a prerequisite for selenium treatment in UASB bioreactors, as disturbances in the operational conditions induce elevated selenium effluent concentrations by alkylation and colloid formation.     

Stock-taking concerning international activities in the field of biotechnology. A basis for research policy decisions

The objective selection of biotechnological priority areas in accordance with global goals established by the government, which is undertaken jointly by science, industry and the government, poses some problems. In order to objectify decisions, therefore, a data recording system has been developed by way of example (for the field of biotechnology in Japan), which enables an analysis to be made of research activities to date as well as forecasts of the future development.     

A different approach for predicting reaeration rates in gravity sewers and completely mixed tanks.

A new semiempirical approach is presented for predicting air-to-water oxygen transfer rates in mixed tanks and gravity sewers, using methods adopted from mixing theory. First, a flocculation unit was used to impart selected mean velocity gradients (G) into a completely mixed tank, from which oxygen was first removed, and dissolved oxygen concentrations were measured with time. Regression analysis was used to fit the rate of oxygen transfer equation against G. The reaeration rate in completely mixed reactors was found to be proportional to G2 (R2 = 0.987). Subsequently, G was linked to headloss in sewers, and the equation was calibrated using a slope-adjustable, 27-m-long, gravity-flow, experimental sewer (internal diameter, D = 0.16 m). Here, the reaeration rate was proportional to G1 (R2 = 0.981). The equation was compared with existing oxygen transfer models and validated against experimental data from the literature, to which the overall mass transfer coefficient for oxygen, K(L)a, derived by the new approach, conformed well.     

Home buyouts and household recovery: neighborhood differences three years after Hurricane Sandy

Home buyout programs facilitate the permanent relocation of residents away from areas considered to be at risk from future hazards, though few studies have examined the impacts of home buyout programs on affected households and communities beyond the program implementation period. In this paper, we examine between-neighborhood variation in key recovery indicators for three neighborhoods that followed different paths to recovery after Hurricane Sandy: one that rebuilt in situ, one that participated in a buyout and relocated, and one located immediately adjacent to the buyout zone. Three years post-disaster, buyout participants are faring worse in terms of place attachment and social capital compared to residents in the other two neighborhoods, while the neighborhood adjacent to the buyout zone is also showing signs of decline. These findings suggest that the social costs of buyouts extend well into the recovery period, and that the place-based ties and social networks that would typically help individuals cope with disaster impacts and persevere through adversity may be diminished for buyout participants, ultimately hindering their recovery. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of buyouts on participating and affected communities, as well as implications for research and policy.     

Untersuchungen zur Nachhaltigkeit der Sanierung von Tributylzinnkontaminiertem Hafensediment durch Landablagerung

To allow ships to pass, most harbours have to be liberated from sedimented material. These sediments often contain high concentrations of tributyltin (TBT), which is used as a biocide in antifouling paints. Thus, the problem of a disposal which is acceptable with respect to a minimum risk for humans and the environment arises. The aim of our project was to assess land deposition as an alternative in dealing with TBT-contaminated harbour sediments. Therefore, we followed the biological degradation of TBT under aerobic and anaerobic conditions at different temperatures using defined laboratory experiments, and got important information about the land deposition, performing field measurements including biomonitoring. The biological degradation of TBT is faster under aerobic conditions and with increasing temperature. The half-lives found show the dependency of the degradation rates on the temperature between 5–55°C. The degradation rate determined for water under the same conditions (just biological degradation, without photolysis) is almost 4 times higher than in sediment. The field studies showed degradation rates of a maximum of 10–15% per year in untreated sediment and 30% per year in restacked sediments. We did not observe any interference of released TBT with ground water or surrounding areas. The TBT uptake in plants was low. Based on our results a multidimensional risk evaluation was performed, concerning the TBT and its degradation products dibutyltin (DBT) and monobutylin (MBT) released from the deposition areas. The land deposition appears to be a sustainable solution for dealing with TBT-contaminated harbour sediments.