The municipal solid waste landfill as a source of ozone-depleting substances in the United States and United Kingdom

This study provides observation-based national estimates of CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane emissions for the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. The scarcity of national estimates has lead to the assumption that a significant fraction of the lingering ozone-depleting substance (ODS) emissions, which have been detected in industrialized countries, could be emitted from landfills. Spatial coverage was achieved through sampling at seven landfills in Massachusetts and through data provided by nine UK landfills. Linear least square regressions of recovered ODS vs. CH4 were used in combination with national estimates of landfill CH4 emissions to estimate 2006 national US and UK ODS landfill emissions. The ODS landfill emission estimates were then compared to recent estimates of total US and UK ODS emissions. US ODS landfill emissions are 0.4%-1% (0.006-0.09 Gg/year) of total US emissions. UK ODS landfill emission estimates are 1% (0.008 Gg/year) and 6% (0.03 Gg/year) of total UK CFC-11 and CFC-12 emissions, respectively. This indicates that landfills are only a minor source of lingering ODS emissions in the US, but may be more significant for CFC-12 emissions in the UK. The implication is that the majority of current ODS emissions in industrialized countries is likely coming from equipment still in use.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NNX07AE89G)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NAG512669)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant ATM-0120468

Assessment of public health issues of migrants at the Greek-Turkish border, April 2011

A joint mission to assess the public health situation of migrants in Greek detention centres was undertaken in April 2011 by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe. The assessment visit follows the increased migration to the Evros prefecture, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace region, at the Greek-Turkish border where large numbers of migrants are entering Greece via the Evros River, a natural border. Migrants are housed in local detention centres. The main problem in detention centres are the substandard hygiene conditions, especially overcrowding and lack of personal hygiene facilities, lack of basic supplies and lack of access to fresh air and physical exercise. As the migration route via the Evros region is increasingly used since 2009, and due to the unstable political situation in North Africa and the Middle East, an increased influx of migrants was to be expected with the falling water levels of the Evros River in summer, resulting in further deterioration of the already critical situation in the Thrace region’s detention centres

Green consumer markets in the fight against climate change

Climate change has become one of the greatest threats to environmental security, as attested by the growing frequency of severe flooding and storms, extreme temperatures and droughts. Accordingly, the European Union’s (EU) 6th Environment Action Programme (2010) lists tackling climate change as its first priority. A key aim of the EU has been to cut CO2 emissions, a major factor in climate change, by 8% until 2012 and 20% until 2020. The European Commission has proposed the encouragement of private consumer market for green products and services as one of several solutions to this problem. However, existing research suggests that the market share of these products has been only 3%, although 30% of individuals favour environmental and ethical goods. This article uses Public Goods Theory to explain why the contribution of the green consumer market to fighting climate change has been and possibly may remain limited without further public intervention

Polymyositis Initiation Involving Amlodipine Besylate

© 2006 R. M. Golding, L. G.F. Giles and E. M. Sokoya. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Based on extensive blood pressure data and results from a scientific model of the analysis of the rate processes involved in polymyositis the evidence suggests that the polymyositis in a particular patient was initiated by taking the drug amlodipine besylate (norvasc). The method of our analysis should serve as a foundation in handling other drug related interactions

NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) P187S polymorphism and prostate cancer risk in Caucasians

NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) catalyses the reduction of quinoid compounds to hydroquinones, preventing the generation of free radicals and reactive oxygen. A “C” to “T” transversion at position 609 of NQO1, leading to a nonsynonymous amino acid change (Pro187Ser, P187S), results in an altered enzyme activity. No NQO1 protein activity was detected in NQO1 609TT genotype, and low to intermediate activity was detected in NQO1 609CT genotype compared with 609CC genotype. Thus, this polymorphism may result in altered cancer predisposition. For prostate cancer, only sparse data are available. We therefore analyzed the distribution of the NQO1 P187S SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) in prostate cancer patients and a healthy control group. Allelic variants were determined using RFLP analysis. Overall, 232 patients without any malignancy and 119 consecutive prostate cancer patients were investigated. The genotype distribution in our cohorts followed the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium in cases and controls. The distribution of the NQO1 codon 187 SNP did not differ significantly between prostate cancer patients and the control group (p = 0.242). There was also no association between the allelic variants and stage or Gleason score of the tumors. The NQO1 P187S SNP was not significantly associated with an increased prostate cancer risk in our cohorts. The SNP has also no influence on histopathological characteristics of the tumors. A combined analysis of all available data from published European studies also showed no significant differences in the genotype distribution between controls and prostate cancer patients. Our data suggest a minor role of the NQO1 nucleotide 609 polymorphism in prostate carcinogenesis