A Laboratory Evaluation of Leachate from the Jim Bridger Power Plant Scrubber Wastes

Introduction: Scrubber wastes obtained in an affort to limit air pollution generated by coal-fired pwoer plants may contribute to another possible sources of pollution. To date, scrubber wastse have been in a liquid phase which causes disposal problems partially due to the liquid characteristics. The use of solid scrubber wastes and the land deposition of such wastes is proposed. The feasibility of solid scrubber wastes disposal in landfills is under question. The primary area of concern is the effect that water percolation through such wastes would have on groundwater quality parameters. Contamination could result either as precipitation travels downward through the wastes and into the water table or as the water table rises into the scrubber wastes and then retreats. Groundwater contamination is a key concern because it is largely irreversible and has long term consequences. Objective: Disposal methods for coal-fired power plant fly ask and scrubber wastes present a potential for the contamination of groundwater aquifers. In this study the general objective was to evaluate the physical and chemical characteristics of the leachates of scrubber weastes and associated disposal materials separately and in appropriate combinations using laboratory bench scale techniques. Two appraoches, namely column leaching and batch elutriation, were developed and used to provide indicators characterisitic of the materials tested

Tick Bite Protection With Permethrin-Treated Summer-Weight Clothing

The number of tick bites received by individuals wearing either permethrin-treated or untreated summer clothing (T-shirt, shorts, socks, and sneakers) was compared during a controlled indoor study. Pathogen-free nymphal Ixodes scapularis Say were placed on the left shoe, right leg, and left arm of 15 (5/treatment group/d) human volunteers wearing untreated outfits or outfits treated with permethrin either commercially or using a do-at-home treatment kit. The number and location of ticks attached to subjects\u27 skin were recorded 2.5 h postinfestation. Subjects wearing outfits treated with permethrin received 3.36 times fewer tick bites than subjects wearing untreated outfits. No statistically significant differences in number of tick bites were detected between commercial permethrin treatment (19.33%) and the do-at-home permethrin application method (24.67%). The success of permethrin-treated clothing in reducing tick bites varied depending on the specific article of clothing. Subjects wearing permethrin-treated sneakers and socks were 73.6 times less likely to have a tick bite than subjects wearing untreated footware. Subjects wearing permethrin-treated shorts and T-shirts were 4.74 and 2.17 times, respectively, less likely to receive a tick bite in areas related to those specific garments than subjects wearing untreated shorts and T-shirts. Ticks attached to subjects were classified as alive or dead before removal. On subjects wearing untreated outfits, 97.6% of attached nymphs were alive, whereas significantly fewer (22.6%) attached nymphs were alive on subjects wearing repellent-treated outfits. Results of this study demonstrate the potential of permethrin-treated summer clothing for significantly reducing tick bites and tick-borne pathogen transmission

Expenditure and resource utilisation for cervical screening in Australia

BACKGROUND The National Cervical Screening Program in Australia currently recommends that women aged 18-69 years are screened with conventional cytology every 2 years. Publicly funded HPV vaccination was introduced in 2007, and partly as a consequence, a renewal of the screening program that includes a review of screening recommendations has recently been announced. This study aimed to provide a baseline for such a review by quantifying screening program resource utilisation and costs in 2010. METHODS A detailed model of current cervical screening practice in Australia was constructed and we used data from the Victorian Cervical Cytology Registry to model age-specific compliance with screening and follow-up. We applied model-derived rate estimates to the 2010 Australian female population to calculate costs and numbers of colposcopies, biopsies, treatments for precancer and cervical cancers in that year, assuming that the numbers of these procedures were not yet substantially impacted by vaccination. RESULTS The total cost of the screening program in 2010 (excluding administrative program overheads) was estimated to be A$194.8M. We estimated that a total of 1.7 million primary screening smears costing$96.7M were conducted, a further 188,900 smears costing $10.9M were conducted to follow-up low grade abnormalities, 70,900 colposcopy and 34,100 histological evaluations together costing$21.2M were conducted, and about 18,900 treatments for precancerous lesions were performed (including retreatments), associated with a cost of $45.5M for treatment and post-treatment follow-up. We also estimated that$20.5M was spent on work-up and treatment for approximately 761 women diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer. Overall, an estimated $23 was spent in 2010 for each adult woman in Australia on cervical screening program-related activities. CONCLUSIONS Approximately half of the total cost of the screening program is spent on delivery of primary screening tests; but the introduction of HPV vaccination, new technologies, increasing the interval and changing the age range of screening is expected to have a substantial impact on this expenditure, as well as having some impact on follow-up and management costs. These estimates provide a benchmark for future assessment of the impact of changes to screening program recommendations to the costs of cervical screening in Australia

Groundwater depth thresholds for tree condition

A range of ecological processes supported by groundwater are at risk where socio-economic and climate drivers increase net groundwater demand. Previous research has indicated close links between groundwater and riparian/floodplain tree condition. However, little is known about the nature of the relationship or whether critical groundwater-tree condition thresholds exist. Threshold responses may indicate the existence of groundwater depths associated with rapid ecological change. This study provides evidence of threshold responses between groundwater depth and tree condition in the Condamine catchment in eastern Australia, where groundwater decline due to over-extraction is well documented. It collates tree condition data (118 sites) from recent studies of two dominant Australian floodplain species, Eucalyptus camaldulensis Denh. (river red gum) and E. populnea F. Muell. (poplar box). Boosted regression trees and quantile regression were used to investigate the nature of the relationship and threshold values. A distinct non-linear response of tree condition to groundwater depth was identified, with thresholds identified at 12.5–17.2 m for E. camaldulensis and 15.6–22.0 m for E. populnea. Threshold responses may be explained in terms of physiological limitations to rooting depth in these and similar floodplain/riparian species, with groundwater decline effectively decoupling tree roots from accessible moisture resources leaving trees more vulnerable to hydraulic stress and/or failure particularly under drought conditions. The existence of thresholds suggest that groundwater decline may trigger rapid ecological changes in riparian and floodplain tree species, which may have important implications not only for their future persistence but also the various ecological functions they support

Evaluation of drug information resources for drug-ethanol and drug-tobacco interactions

Objective: The research evaluated point-of-care drug interaction resources for scope, completeness, and consistency in drug-ethanol and drug-tobacco content. Methods: In a cross-sectional analysis, 2 independent reviewers extracted data for 108 clinically relevant interactions using 7 drug information resources (Clinical Pharmacology Drug Interaction Report, Facts & Comparisons eAnswers, Lexicomp Interactions, Micromedex Drug Interactions, Drug Interactions Analysis and Management, Drug Interaction Facts, and Stockley’s Drug Interactions). Scope (presence of an entry), completeness (content describing mechanism, clinical effects, severity, level of certainty, and course of action for each present interaction; up to 1 point per assessed item for a total possible score of 5 points), and consistency (similarity among resources) were evaluated. Results: Fifty-three drug-ethanol and 55 drug-tobacco interactions were analyzed. Drug-ethanol interaction entries were most commonly present in Lexicomp (84.9%), Clinical Pharmacology (83.0%), and Stockley’s Drug Interactions (73.6%), compared to other resources (p<0.05). Drug-tobacco interactions were more often covered in Micromedex (56.4%), Stockley’s Drug Interactions (56.4%), Drug Interaction Facts (43.6%), and Clinical Pharmacology (41.8%) (p<0.001). Overall completeness scores were higher for Lexicomp, Micromedex, Drug Interaction Facts, and Facts & Comparisons (median 5/5 points, interquartile range [IQR] 5 to 5, p<0.001) for drug-ethanol and for Micromedex (median 5/5 points, IQR 5 to 5, p<0.05) for drug-tobacco, compared to other resources. Drug Interaction Facts and Micromedex were among the highest scoring resources for both drug-ethanol (73.7%, 68.6%) and drug-tobacco (75.0%, 32.3%) consistency. Conclusions: Scope and completeness were high for drug-ethanol interactions, but low for drug-tobacco interactions. Consistency was highly variable across both interaction types

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of a Camelina sativa Spring Panel

There is a need to explore renewable alternatives (e.g., biofuels) that can produce energy sources to help reduce the reliance on fossil oils. In addition, the consumption of fossil oils adversely affects the environment and human health via the generation of waste water, greenhouse gases, and waste solids. Camelina sativa, originated from southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, is being re-embraced as an industrial oilseed crop due to its high seed oil content (36–47%) and high unsaturated fatty acid composition (\u3e90%), which are suitable for jet fuel, biodiesel, high-value lubricants and animal feed. C. sativa’s agronomic advantages include short time to maturation, low water and nutrient requirements, adaptability to adverse environmental conditions and resistance to common pests and pathogens. These characteristics make it an ideal crop for sustainable agricultural systems and regions of marginal land. However, the lack of genetic and genomic resources has slowed the enhancement of this emerging oilseed crop and exploration of its full agronomic and breeding potential. Here, a core of 213 spring C. sativa accessions was collected and genotyped. The genotypic data was used to characterize genetic diversity and population structure to infer how natural selection and plant breeding may have affected the formation and differentiation within the C. sativa natural populations, and how the genetic diversity of this species can be used in future breeding efforts. A total of 6,192 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified using genotypingby- sequencing (GBS) technology. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) value of 0.29 indicate moderate genetic diversity for the C. sativa spring panel evaluated in this report. Population structure and principal coordinates analyses (PCoA) based on SNPs revealed two distinct subpopulations. Sub-population 1 (POP1) contains accessions that mainly originated from Germany while the majority of POP2 accessions (\u3e75%) were collected from Eastern Europe. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) identified 4% variance among and 96% variance within subpopulations, indicating a hig

Application of M13 Phage Display for Identifying Immunogenic Proteins from Tick (\u3cem\u3eIxodes scapularis\u3c/em\u3e) Saliva

Background: Ticks act as vectors for a large number of different pathogens, perhaps most notably Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. The most prominent tick vector in the United States is the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis. Tick bites are of special public health concern since there are no vaccines available against most tick-transmitted pathogens. Based on the observation that certain non-natural host animals such as guinea pigs or humans can develop adaptive immune responses to tick bites, anti-tick vaccination is a potential approach to tackle health risks associated with tick bites. Results: The aim of this study was to use an oligopeptide phage display strategy to identify immunogenic salivary gland proteins from I. scapularis that are recognized by human immune sera. Oligopeptide libraries were generated from salivary gland mRNA of 18 h fed nymphal I. scapularis. Eight immunogenic oligopeptides were selected using human immune sera. Three selected immunogenic oligopeptides were cloned and produced as recombinant proteins. The immunogenic character of an identified metalloprotease (MP1) was validated with human sera. This enzyme has been described previously and was hypothesized as immunogenic which was confirmed in this study. Interestingly, it also has close homologs in other Ixodes species. Conclusion: An immunogenic protein of I. scapularis was identified by oligopeptide phage display. MP1 is a potential candidate for vaccine development

Fibrinogen in traumatic haemorrhage: A narrative review

Haemorrhage in the setting of severe trauma is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. There is increasing awareness of the important role fibrinogen plays in traumatic haemorrhage. Fibrinogen levels fall precipitously in severe trauma and the resultant hypofibrinogenaemia is associated with poor outcomes. Hence, it has been postulated that early fibrinogen replacement in severe traumatic haemorrhage may improve outcomes, although, to date there is a paucity of high quality evidence to support this hypothesis. In addition there is controversy regarding the optimal method for fibrinogen supplementation. We review the current evidence regarding the role of fibrinogen in trauma, the rationale behind fibrinogen supplementation and discuss current research.Griffith Health, School of Medical ScienceNo Full Tex

Adherence to cancer screening guidelines in Australian survivors of allogeneic blood and marrow transplantation (BMT)

Allogeneic Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) survivors are at high risk of secondary cancers. Although current guidelines endorse survivors following Country-specific general population screening recommendations to mitigate this risk, little is known about cancer screening adherence in Australian BMT survivors. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 441 BMT survivors who were >1 year post transplant, to explore rates of screening for secondary cancers and to identify barriers to cancer screening recommendations. Survey instruments included the Sydney Post-BMT Survey, FACT-BMT, DASS 21, The Chronic Graft versus Host Disease (GVHD) Activity Assessment–Patient Self-Report (Form B), the Lee Chronic GVHD Symptom Scale, Fear of Cancer Recurrence Scale, and The Post Traumatic Growth Inventory. Fifty-seven percent of respondents were male, median age 54 years, and 40% were >6 years post-BMT. Rates of cancer screening adherence were as follows: cervical 63.4%, breast 53.3%, skin 52.4%, and bowel 32.3%. Older BMT survivors and those >2 years post transplant were more likely to undergo cancer screening. Improved quality of life was associated with screening for skin, breast, and cervical cancer. Fear of cancer recurrence negatively impacted on cervical screening. For those who had not undergone screening, the majority reported not being advised to do so by their treatment team. This study is the largest and most comprehensive to date exploring cancer screening adherence in BMT survivors in Australia. These data provide the basis for health service reform to better meet the needs of BMT survivors and provide evidence to support counseling and education of both patients and professionals. Keywords: Australia, blood and marrow transplant (BMT), cancer screening, late effects, secondary cancers, survivorsfunded by the New South Wales Agency for Clinical Innovation, Blood and Marrow Transplant Network and supported by the Northern Blood Research Centr