Sounding Situated Knowledges - Echo in Archaeoacoustics

This article proposes that feminist epistemologies via Donna Haraway's “Situated Knowledges” can be productively brought to bear upon theories of sonic knowledge production, as “sounding situated knowledges.” Sounding situated knowledges re-reads debates around the “nature of sound” with a Harawayan notion of the “natureculture of sound.” This aims to disrupt a traditional subject-object relation which I argue has perpetuated a pervasive “sonic naturalism” in sound studies. The emerging field of archaeoacoustics (acoustic archaeology), which examines the role of sound in human behaviour in archaeology, is theorized as an opening with potentially profound consequences for sonic knowledge production which are not currently being realized. The echo is conceived as a material-semiotic articulation, which akin to Haraway's infamous cyborg, serves as a feminist figuration which enables this renegotiation. Archaeoacoustics research, read following Haraway both reflectively and diffractively, is understood as a critical juncture for sound studies which exposes the necessity of both embodiedness and situatedness for sonic knowledge production. Given the potential opened up by archaeoacoustics through the figure of echo, a critical renegotiation of the subject-object relation in sound studies is suggested as central in further developing theories of sonic knowledge production

Socio-Economic Position and Type 2 Diabetes Risk Factors: Patterns in UK Children of South Asian, Black African-Caribbean and White European Origin

BACKGROUND: Socio-economic position (SEP) and ethnicity influence type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk in adults. However, the influence of SEP on emerging T2DM risks in different ethnic groups and the contribution of SEP to ethnic differences in T2DM risk in young people have been little studied. We examined the relationships between SEP and T2DM risk factors in UK children of South Asian, black African-Caribbean and white European origin, using the official UK National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC) and assessed the extent to which NS-SEC explained ethnic differences in T2DM risk factors. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Cross-sectional school-based study of 4,804 UK children aged 9-10 years, including anthropometry and fasting blood analytes (response rates 70%, 68% and 58% for schools, individuals and blood measurements). Assessment of SEP was based on parental occupation defined using NS-SEC and ethnicity on parental self-report. Associations between NS-SEC and adiposity, insulin resistance (IR) and triglyceride differed between ethnic groups. In white Europeans, lower NS-SEC status was related to higher ponderal index (PI), fat mass index, IR and triglyceride (increases per NS-SEC decrement [95%CI] were 1.71% [0.75, 2.68], 4.32% [1.24, 7.48], 5.69% [2.01, 9.51] and 3.17% [0.96, 5.42], respectively). In black African-Caribbeans, lower NS-SEC was associated with lower PI (-1.12%; [-2.01, -0.21]), IR and triglyceride, while in South Asians there were no consistent associations between NS-SEC and T2DM risk factors. Adjustment for NS-SEC did not appear to explain ethnic differences in T2DM risk factors, which were particularly marked in high NS-SEC groups. CONCLUSIONS: SEP is associated with T2DM risk factors in children but patterns of association differ by ethnic groups. Consequently, ethnic differences (which tend to be largest in affluent socio-economic groups) are not explained by NS-SEC. This suggests that strategies aimed at reducing social inequalities in T2DM risk are unlikely to reduce emerging ethnic differences in T2DM risk

Sub-sewershed Monitoring to Elucidate Down-the-Drain Pesticide Sources

Pesticides have been reported in treated wastewater effluent at concentrations that exceed aquatic toxicity thresholds, indicating that treatment may be insufficient to adequately address potential pesticide impacts on aquatic life. Gaining a better understanding of the relative contribution from specific use patterns, transport pathways, and flow characteristics is an essential first step to informing source control measures. The results of this study are the first of their kind, reporting pesticide concentrations at sub-sewershed sites within a single sewer catchment to provide information on the relative contribution from various urban sources. Seven monitoring events were collected from influent, effluent, and seven sub-sewershed sites to capture seasonal variability. In addition, samples were collected from sites with the potential for relatively large mass fluxes of pesticides (pet grooming operations, pest control operators, and laundromats). Fipronil and imidacloprid were detected in most samples (>70%). Pyrethroids were detected in >50% of all influent and lateral samples. There were significant removals of pyrethroids from the aqueous process stream within the facility to below reporting limits. Imidacloprid and fiproles were the only pesticides that were detected above reporting limits in effluent, highlighting the importance of source identification and control for the more hydrophilic compounds. Single source monitoring revealed large contributions of fipronil, imidacloprid, and permethrin originating from a pet groomer, with elevated levels of cypermethrin at a commercial laundry location. The results provide important information needed to prioritize future monitoring efforts, calibrate down-the-drain models, and identify potential mitigation strategies at the site of pesticide use to prevent introduction to sewersheds

UAV-Based Wildland Fire Air Toxics Data Collection and Analysis

Smoke plumes emitted from wildland-urban interface (WUI) wildfires contain toxic chemical substances that are harmful to human health, mainly due to the burning of synthetic components. Accurate measurement of these air toxics is necessary for understanding their impacts on human health. However, air pollution is typically measured using ground-based sensors, manned airplanes, or satellites, which all provide low-resolution data. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have the potential to provide high-resolution spatial and temporal data due to their ability to hover in specific locations and maneuver with precise trajectories in 3-D space. This study investigates the use of an octocopter UAV, equipped with a customized air quality sensor package and a volatile organic compound (VOC) air sampler, for the purposes of collecting and analyzing air toxics data from wildfire plumes. The UAV prototype developed has been successfully tested during several prescribed fires conducted by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). Data from these experiments were analyzed with emphasis on the relationship between the air toxics measured and the different types of vegetation/fuel burnt. BTEX compounds were found to be more abundant for hardwood burning compared to grassland burning, as expected

UAV-Based Wildland Fire Air Toxics Data Collection and Analysis

Smoke plumes emitted from wildland-urban interface (WUI) wildfires contain toxic chemical substances that are harmful to human health, mainly due to the burning of synthetic components. Accurate measurement of these air toxics is necessary for understanding their impacts on human health. However, air pollution is typically measured using ground-based sensors, manned airplanes, or satellites, which all provide low-resolution data. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have the potential to provide high-resolution spatial and temporal data due to their ability to hover in specific locations and maneuver with precise trajectories in 3-D space. This study investigates the use of an octocopter UAV, equipped with a customized air quality sensor package and a volatile organic compound (VOC) air sampler, for the purposes of collecting and analyzing air toxics data from wildfire plumes. The UAV prototype developed has been successfully tested during several prescribed fires conducted by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). Data from these experiments were analyzed with emphasis on the relationship between the air toxics measured and the different types of vegetation/fuel burnt. BTEX compounds were found to be more abundant for hardwood burning compared to grassland burning, as expected

Water Quality and Toxicity Evaluation of Discharge Generated from Asphalt Pavement Surfacing Materials

Pavement engineers are constantly using new materials, such as polymer and rubber modified binders, recycled materials, and new types of asphalt mixes, such as open-graded surface courses. With their broader application, concern has been raised about the water quality of surface and subsurface runoff from modified pavement mixes used in the State of California. There are limitations in current worldwide research into runoff water quality regarding which contaminants are directly attributable to the pavement surfacing materials. This research project aims to provide that information, as part of ongoing stormwater runoff management program from the Division of Environmental Analysis of the State of California Department of Transportation (Department).This controlled experimental study was undertaken by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the University of California Pavement Research Center (UCPRC) for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Division of Environmental Analysis (DEA). Major focus of the project was to perform laboratory testing of various pavement surfacing materials currently being used by Department and evaluate the water quality of leachate that passed through or over each pavement. Pavement surfacing material tested include: rubberized asphalt concrete-open graded (RAC-O), rubberized asphalt concrete-gap graded (RAC-G), open graded asphalt concrete (OGAC) and Polymer Modified open graded asphalt concrete (OGAC) (two binder sources each for OGAC and polymer modified OGAC, resulting in four different binders), terminal blend modified binder gap graded (MB- G), dense graded asphalt concrete (DGAC), and portland cement concrete (PCC). For each of these 10 pavement materials, 9 specimens will be prepared for testing at three temperatures of 4, 20 and 45 °C and three replicates each. Additionally, one specimen of each asphalt pavement surfacing material was tested to address the influence of age on water quality

Chemical and Toxicological Properties of Emissions from a Light-Duty Compressed Natural Gas Vehicle Fueled with Renewable Natural Gas

Biogas consisting primarily of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) can be upgraded to a transportation fuel referred to as renewable natural gas (RNG) by removing CO2 and other impurities. RNG has energy content comparable to fossil compressed natural gas (CNG) but with lower life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this study, a light-duty cargo van was tested with CNG and two RNG blends on a chassis dynamometer in order to compare the toxicity of the resulting exhaust. Tests for reactive oxygen species (ROS), biomarker expressions (CYP1A1, IL8, COX-2), and mutagenicity (Ames) show that RNG exhaust has toxicity that is comparable or lower than CNG exhaust. Statistical analysis reveals associations between toxicity and tailpipe emissions of benzene, dibenzofuran, and dihydroperoxide dimethyl hexane (the last identification is considered tentative/uncertain). Further gas-phase toxicity may be associated with tailpipe emissions of formaldehyde, dimethyl sulfide, propene, and methyl ketene. CNG exhaust contained higher concentrations of these potentially toxic chemical constituents than RNG exhaust in all of the current tests. Photochemical aging of the vehicle exhaust did not alter these trends. These preliminary results suggest that RNG adoption may be a useful strategy to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels without increasing the toxicity of the vehicle exhaust

Composition and Toxicity of Biogas Produced from Different Feedstocks in California.

Biogas is a renewable energy source composed of methane, carbon dioxide, and other trace compounds produced from anaerobic digestion of organic matter. A variety of feedstocks can be combined with different digestion techniques that each yields biogas with different trace compositions. California is expanding biogas production systems to help meet greenhouse gas reduction goals. Here, we report the composition of six California biogas streams from three different feedstocks (dairy manure, food waste, and municipal solid waste). The chemical and biological composition of raw biogas is reported, and the toxicity of combusted biogas is tested under fresh and photochemically aged conditions. Results show that municipal waste biogas contained elevated levels of chemicals associated with volatile chemical products such as aromatic hydrocarbons, siloxanes, and certain halogenated hydrocarbons. Food waste biogas contained elevated levels of sulfur-containing compounds including hydrogen sulfide, mercaptans, and sulfur dioxide. Biogas produced from dairy manure generally had lower concentrations of trace chemicals, but the combustion products had slightly higher toxicity response compared to the other feedstocks. Atmospheric aging performed in a photochemical smog chamber did not strongly change the toxicity (oxidative capacity or mutagenicity) of biogas combustion exhaust