Additional file 1: of Biological and behavioral factors modify urinary arsenic metabolic profiles in a U.S. population

Supplemental Information. (DOCX 512 kb

Additional file 1: of Factors associated with self-reported health: implications for screening level community-based health and environmental studies

Table S1. Sociodemographic Domain; Table S2. Health Care Domain; Table S3. Health Status Domain; Table S4. Lifestyle Domain; Table S5. Clinical Indicators; Table S6. Environmental Scores/Chemicals). This file details all associations between the domain factors and poorer SRH for both binary (poor/fair versus good/very good/excellent) and ordinal 5-point scoring of SRH (1 = poor, 2 = fair, 3 = good, 4 = very good, and 5 = excellent). (XLSX 45 kb

Dramatic Improvements in Beach Water Quality Following Gull Removal

Gulls are often cited as important contributors of fecal contamination to surface waters, and some recreational beaches have used gull control measures to improve microbial water quality. In this study, gulls were chased from a Lake Michigan beach using specially trained dogs, and water quality improvements were quantified. Fecal indicator bacteria and potentially pathogenic bacteria were measured before and during gull control using culture methods and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Harassment by dogs was an effective method of gull control: average daily gull populations fell from 665 before to 17 during intervention; and a significant reduction in the density of a gull-associated marker was observed (<i>p</i> < 0.001). <i>Enterococcus</i> spp. and <i>Escherichia coli</i> densities were also significantly reduced during gull control (<i>p</i> < 0.001 and <i>p</i> = 0.012, respectively for culture methods; <i>p</i> = 0.012 and <i>p</i> = 0.034, respectively for qPCR). Linear regression results indicate that a 50% reduction in gulls was associated with a 38% and 29% decrease in <i>Enterococcus</i> spp. and <i>E. coli</i> densities, respectively. Potentially human pathogenic bacteria were detected on 64% of days prior to gull control and absent during gull intervention, a significant reduction (<i>p</i> = 0.005). This study demonstrates that gull removal can be a highly successful beach remedial action to improve microbial water quality