Assessing the Use of Soil Phosphate Analysis as an Archaeological Prospection Tool at the Ames Site (40FY7), Fayette County Tennessee

Archaeologists are increasingly integrating multiple survey techniques to reduce errors and biases in attempts to locate archaeological deposits and to gain a better understanding of people\u27s use of space. This study assesses the utility of soil phosphate analysis as an archaeological prospecting tool in western Tennessee through soil analyses at the Ames site (40FY7) in Fayette County, Tennessee. The spatial distribution of available phosphorus and percent loss on ignition are compared to mapped magnetometry data over two areas with confirmed archaeological deposits. The loss on ignition results did not visually correspond with areas of archaeological activity; however, the spatial distribution of available phosphorus corresponds with archaeological activity at Ames. Further post hoc statistical analyses indicate significant differences in phosphorus values between areas with archaeological activity and areas without archaeological activity. This study demonstrates the utility of soil phosphate analysis as a tool for locating archaeological deposits at the Ames site

Occurrence of pharmaceutical residues, personal care products, lifestyle chemicals, illicit drugs and metabolites in wastewater and receiving surface waters of Krakow agglomeration in South Poland

This is the first study of broad range of chemical classes CECs conducted in the upper Wisla river catchment including the biggest WWTPs in this region and surface waters. The list of compounds is extensive and the paper provides, for the first time, better understanding of environmental burden from PCPCs in Poland. Cumulative contribution of hypertension pharmaceuticals, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and lifestyle chemicals was 89% and 95% in wastewater influent, and 75% in wastewater effluent at both WWTPs. Significant removal efficiencies, exceeding 90%, were found for parabens, UV filters, NSAIDs, steroid estrogens, plasticizers, antibacterials/antibiotics, stimulants and metabolites and lifestyle chemicals. The comparison of the average mass loads of CECs between the influent and effluent, has shown that 27% and 29% of all detected CECs were removed by less than 50%. An increase of concentrations of CECs in the effluent was observed for 18% and 20% of all detected CECs in Kujawy and Plaszow WWTPs, respectively. Negative mass balances of fexofenadine, venlafaxine, o-desmethyltramadol, ketamine and temazepam were noted within WWTPs, which are a result of dissolution of persistent contaminants accumulated in aggregates and/or back-transformation or de-conjugation of metabolites into parent compounds. 44 CECs were detected in surface waters located upstream and downstream of the WWTPs. The concentrations of compounds were largely dependent on the dilution factor of WWTP discharge. The risk quotation (RQ) values for compounds present in surface waters were calculated in relation to their potential for bioaccumulation. Among compounds with high potential for bioaccumulation, with log KOW ≥ 4.5, diclofenac, atorvastatin and triclosan were found to be of high risk. Many CECs with high, moderate or even low environmental impact have shown high potential for bioaccumulation and should be considered as priority at the same risk level. Moreover, possible synergistic action is still of concern

Occurrence of pharmaceutical residues, personal care products, lifestyle chemicals, illicit drugs and metabolites in wastewater and receiving surface waters of Krakow agglomeration in South Poland

This is the first study of broad range of chemical classes CECs conducted in the upper Wisla river catchment including the biggest WWTPs in this region and surface waters. The list of compounds is extensive and the paper provides, for the first time, better understanding of environmental burden from PCPCs in Poland. Cumulative contribution of hypertension pharmaceuticals, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and lifestyle chemicals was 89% and 95% in wastewater influent, and 75% in wastewater effluent at both WWTPs. Significant removal efficiencies, exceeding 90%, were found for parabens, UV filters, NSAIDs, steroid estrogens, plasticizers, antibacterials/antibiotics, stimulants and metabolites and lifestyle chemicals. The comparison of the average mass loads of CECs between the influent and effluent, has shown that 27% and 29% of all detected CECs were removed by less than 50%. An increase of concentrations of CECs in the effluent was observed for 18% and 20% of all detected CECs in Kujawy and Plaszow WWTPs, respectively. Negative mass balances of fexofenadine, venlafaxine, o-desmethyltramadol, ketamine and temazepam were noted within WWTPs, which are a result of dissolution of persistent contaminants accumulated in aggregates and/or back-transformation or de-conjugation of metabolites into parent compounds. 44 CECs were detected in surface waters located upstream and downstream of the WWTPs. The concentrations of compounds were largely dependent on the dilution factor of WWTP discharge. The risk quotation (RQ) values for compounds present in surface waters were calculated in relation to their potential for bioaccumulation. Among compounds with high potential for bioaccumulation, with log KOW ≥ 4.5, diclofenac, atorvastatin and triclosan were found to be of high risk. Many CECs with high, moderate or even low environmental impact have shown high potential for bioaccumulation and should be considered as priority at the same risk level. Moreover, possible synergistic action is still of concern

Students’ Attitudes and Perceptions toward Interprofessional Education

Three scales were administered to measure attitudes of graduate students in health professions prior to their participation in an interprofessional education (IPE) pilot program. Overall, results indicated that students’ attitudes toward IPE were generally positive, but there is room for improvement. Additionally, medical students’ attitudes differed from the other disciplines

Critical evaluation of monitoring strategy for the multi-residue determination of 90 chiral and achiral micropollutants in effluent wastewater.

It is essential to monitor the release of organic micropollutants from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for developing environmental risk assessment and assessing compliance with legislative regulation. In this study the impact of sampling strategy on the quantitative determination of micropollutants in effluent wastewater was investigated. An extended list of 90 chiral and achiral micropollutants representing a broad range of biological and physico-chemical properties were studied simultaneously for the first time. During composite sample collection micropollutants can degrade resulting in the under-estimation of concentration. Cooling collected sub-samples to 4 °C stabilised ≥ 81 of 90 micropollutants to acceptable levels (± 20% of the initial concentration) in the studied effluents. However, achieving stability for all micropollutants will require an integrated approach to sample collection (i.e., multi-bottle sampling with more than one stabilisation method applied). Full-scale monitoring of effluent revealed time-paced composites attained similar information to volume-paced composites (influent wastewater requires a sampling mode responsive to flow variation). The option of monitoring effluent using time-paced composite samplers is advantageous as not all WWTPs have flow controlled samplers or suitable sites for deploying portable flow meters. There has been little research to date on the impact of monitoring strategy on the determination of chiral micropollutants at the enantiomeric level. Variability in wastewater flow results in a dynamic hydraulic retention time within the WWTP (and upstream sewerage system). Despite chiral micropollutants being susceptible to stereo-selective degradation, no diurnal variability in their enantiomeric distribution was observed. However, unused medication can be directly disposed into the sewer network creating short-term (e.g., daily) changes to their enantiomeric distribution. As enantio-specific toxicity is observed in the environment, similar resolution of enantio-selective analysis to more routinely applied achiral methods is needed throughout the monitoring period for accurate risk assessment

An Analysis of the Effect of Income on Life Insurance

This paper aims to analyze the relationship between the gross national income per capita and the premiums per capita of life insurance in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The data used comes from OECD.org, a collection of data from the OECD countries collected over the time period of OECD’s existence. We analyzed data over a three year period, from 2010 to 2012, using data from 22 of the 46 OECD countries. We included a total of six variables in our restricted model: gross national income per capita, life expectancy, youth dependency population (0-17), long term interest rates, life insurance as share of the entire insurance market, and fertility rate. In both our simple and multiple regression models, we can see the positive correlation between gross national income per capita and premiums per capita of life insurance. This brings us to state that there is a statistically significant positive correlation between the level of gross national income per capita and the premiums per capita of life insurance in OECD countries

Human population as a key driver of biochemical burden in an inter-city system:Implications for One Health concept

This paper tests the hypothesis that human population and city function are key drivers of biochemical burden in an inter-city system, which can be used to inform One Health actions as it enables a holistic understanding of city's metabolism encompassing all of the activities of a city in a single model: from lifestyle choices, through to health status and exposure to harmful chemicals as well as effectiveness of implemented management strategies. Chemical mining of wastewater for biophysico-chemical indicators (BCIs) was undertaken to understand speciation of BCIs in the context of geographical as well as community-wide socioeconomic factors. Spatiotemporal variabilities in chemical and biological target groups in the studied inter-city system were observed. A linear relationship (R2 &gt; 0.99) and a strong positive correlation between most BCIs and population size (r &gt; 0.998, p &lt; 0.001) were observed which provides a strong evidence for the population size as a driver of BCI burden. BCI groups that are strongly correlated with population size and are intrinsic to humans’ function include mostly high usage pharmaceuticals that are linked with long term non-communicable conditions (NSAIDs, analgesics, cardiovascular, mental health and antiepileptics) and lifestyle chemicals. These BCIs can be used as population size markers. BCIs groups that are produced as a result of a specific city's function (e.g. industry presence and occupational exposure or agriculture) and as such are not correlated with population size include: pesticides, PCPs and industrial chemicals. These BCIs can be used to assess city's function, such as occupational exposure, environmental or food exposure, and as a proxy of community-wide health. This study confirmed a strong positive correlation between antibiotics (ABs), population size and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). This confirms the population size and AB usage as the main driver of AB and ARG levels and provides an opportunity for interventions aimed at the reduction of AB usage to reduce AMR. Holistic evaluation of biophysicochemical fingerprints (BCI burden) of the environment and data triangulation with socioeconomic fingerprints (indices) of tested communities are required to fully embrace One Health concept.</p

Estimation of community-wide exposure to bisphenol A via water fingerprinting.

Molecular epidemiology in human biomonitoring allows for verification of public exposure to chemical substances. Unfortunately, due to logistical difficulties and high cost, it evaluates only small study groups and as a result does not provide comprehensive large scale community-wide exposure data. Wastewater fingerprinting utilizing metabolic biomarkers of exposure that are excreted collectively by studied populations into urine and ultimately into the community's wastewater, provides a timely alternative to traditional approaches. This study aimed to provide comprehensive spatiotemporal community-wide exposure to bisphenol A (BPA, including BPA intake) using wastewater fingerprinting. Wastewater fingerprinting was undertaken using high resolution mass spectrometry retrospective data mining of characteristic BPA human metabolism marker (bisphenol A sulphate), applied to a large geographical area of 2000 km2 and a population of ~1.5 million served by 5 WWTPs (wastewater treatment plants) accounting for >75% of the overall population in the studied catchment. Community-wide BPA intake was found to be below temporary tolerable daily intake (t-TDI) level of 4 μg kg−1 day−1 set by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) suggesting overall low exposure at 3 WWTPs serving residential areas with low industrial/commercial presence. However, at two WWTPs serving communities with higher industrial/commercial presence, higher BPA sulphate loads corresponding to higher (up to 14 times) BPA intakes (exceeding 10 μg kg−1 day−1 at one WWTP and reaching 50 μg kg−1 day−1 at the second WWTP) were observed and they are likely linked with occupational exposure. Characteristic temporal variations of BPA intake were noted in most studied WWTPs with the lowest intake occurring during weekends and the highest during weekdays

Diagnosing Down-the-Drain Disposal of Unused Pharmaceuticals at a River Catchment Level:Unrecognized Sources of Environmental Contamination That Require Nontechnological Solutions

Down-the-drain disposal of pharmaceuticals remains an overlooked and unrecognized source of environmental contamination that requires nontechnological “at-source” solutions. Monitoring of 31 pharmaceuticals over 7 days in five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serving five cities in South-West UK revealed down-the-drain codisposal of six pharmaceuticals to three WWTPs (carbamazepine and propranolol in city A, sildenafil in city B, and diltiazem, capecitabine, and sertraline in city D), with a one-off record codisposal of estimated 253 pills = 40 g of carbamazepine and estimated 96 pills = 4 g of propranolol in city A accounting for their 10- and 3-fold respective increases in wastewater daily loads. Direct disposal of pharmaceuticals was found to affect the efficiency of wastewater treatment with much higher pharmaceutical removal (decrease in daily load) during “down-the-drain disposal” days. This is due to lack of conjugated glucuronide metabolites that are cleaved during “consumption-only” days, with the release of a parent pharmaceutical counterbalancing its removal. Higher removal of pharmaceuticals during down-the-drain disposal days reduced pharmaceutical loads reaching receiving environment, albeit with significant levels remaining. The estimated daily loads in receiving water downstream from a discharge point accounted for 13.8 ± 3.4 and 2.1 ± 0.2 g day–1 of carbamazepine and propranolol, respectively, during consumption-only days and peaked at 20.9 g day–1 (carbamazepine) and 4.6 g day–1 (propranolol) during down-the-drain disposal days. Actions are needed to reduce down-the-drain disposal of pharmaceuticals. Our recent work indicated that down-the-drain disposal of pharmaceuticals doubled since the last study in 2005, which may be due to the lack of information and messaging that informs people to dispose of unused medicines at pharmacies. Media campaigns that inform the public of how to safely dispose of medicines are key to improving rates of return and reducing pharmaceutical waste in the environment. The environment is a key motivator for returning unused medicines to a pharmacy and so messaging should highlight environmental risks associated with improper disposal