Environmental Health Impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Anticipating Hazards—Searching for Solutions

A scientific conference and workshop was held March 2004 in Iowa City, Iowa, that brought together environmental scientists from North America and Europe to address major environmental health issues associated with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in large, industrialized livestock production facilities. After one and a half days of plenary sessions, five expert workgroups convened to consider the most relevant research areas, including respiratory health effects, modeling and monitoring of air toxics, water quality issues, influenza pandemics and antibiotic resistance, and community health and socioeconomic issues. The workgroup reports that follow outline the state of the science and public health concerns relating to livestock production as they apply to each workgroup topic. The reports also identify areas in which further research is needed and suggest opportunities to translate science to policy initiatives that would effect improvements in public and environmental health. Viable solutions to some of the current environmental health problems associated with CAFOs are outlined. In addition, these reports bring to light several major concerns, including air and water contamination, the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in livestock, and the specter of influenza outbreaks arising from siting industrialized poultry and swine production in proximity to each other and to humans

Respiracijski, gastrointestinalni i drugi zdravstveni učinci u radnika na preradi otpada u gorivo

This study was conducted to investigate health effects in workers at two refuse-derived fuel processing plants. Cross-shift pulmonary function testing and self reporting of symptoms from questionnaires formed the basis of a crosssectional epidemiological study. Other topics addressed were exploration of the possibility of a hand to mouth component resulting in diarrhoea observed historically by the microbiological testing of skin. Symptoms of sinus trouble, headaches, nose irritation, and diarrhoea were reported by over 50% of the employees. Small, but statistically significant, cross-shift decrements of 1.50% and 2.01% were noted for forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), respectively. Workers employed seven years or more had significantly larger cross-shift decrements in FVC and FEV1 than those employed for a shorter period. No active cases of diarrhoea were observed. Low lung function decrements characterise the observed workforce. Elevated reporting of some symptoms and a cross-shift decrement that increases with length of employment indicate that further study is warranted.Istraživanjem su se željeli ispitati zdravstveni učinci u radnika dvaju pogona za preradu otpada u gorivo. U tu je svrhu testirana plućna funkcija radnika u svim smjenama. Radnici su, osim toga, ispunjavali i upitnik koji je sadržavao pitanja o simptomima uočenim samopromatranjem. Mikrobiološkim testiranjem uzoraka kože s ruku procijenjena je mogućnost dobivanja proljeva preko prljavih ruku. Više od polovice radnika žalilo se na tegobe sa sinusima, glavobolju, nadraženu sluznicu nosa te proljev. Malen, ali statistički značajan pad u plućnim funkcijama zamijećen je u forsiranom vitalnom kapacitetu (1,5%) i forsiranom ekspiratornom volumenu u prvoj sekundi (2,0%). Radnici sa stažem duljim od sedam godina iskazali su značajniji pad ovih vrijednosti od radnika s manjim stažem. Nije zamijećen niti jedan slučaj proljeva za trajanja istraživanja. To se, međutim, može pripisati vrlo učinkovitom pranju ruku za koje je utvrđeno da značajno smanjuje broj mikroorganizama na rukama radnika. Mali pad plućnih funkcija obilježje je promatrane skupine radnika. Učestale žalbe na neke simptome te smanjenje plućnih funkcija koje se pogoršava s godinama rada upućuju na potrebu daljnjeg istraživanja

Measuring sustainable intensification in smallholder agroecosystems: A review

In the sustainable intensification (SI) of smallholder agroecosystems, researchers and farmers collaborate to produce more food on land currently in cultivation, secure wellbeing in the present day, and bolster ecosystem services to sustain agricultural productivity into the future. In recent years there has been debate in the SI literature about the meaning and boundaries SI, accompanied by calls for clearly defined metrics to evaluate SI efforts. In this review, we present the current state of the literature in regards to SI metrics. We first survey the literature to identify key concepts and qualities associated with SI (referred to as SI indicators). We briefly discuss indicators that have been sources of contention in the SI literature, and highlight tradeoffs between certain SI indicators. The bulk of this review focuses on identifying measurable properties (referred to as SI metrics) associated with each SI indicator. We also identify metrics of broader system-level properties such as sustainability and intensification. We conclude by highlighting gaps in the current literature on SI metrics

Recovery and quantification of mycobacterium immunogenum DNA from metalworking fluids using dual-labeled probes

Mycobacteria in metalworking fluids (MWF) are associated with hypersensitivity pneumonitis but are difficult to recover using culture. Quantitative PCR is a promising approach to quantify mycobacteria, but three challenges exist: mycobacterial cell lysis, high-yield DNA extraction, and removal of PCR inhibitors. We used Mycobacterium spp. primers to amplify polymorphic regions of 16S-rDNA flanked with highly conserved regions. A standard curve was constructed by cloning M. immunogenum amplification product. We developed single tube DNA extraction employing mixer mill cell disruption, enzymatic digestions (lysozyme, proteinase K) followed by a mechanical disruption, and column purification. MWF was spiked with M. immunogenum, and DNA was successfully extracted. Mycobacterial 16S-RNA genes were quantified by comparing PCR amplification detection (Cycle Threshold) from our samples with that obtained from the standard curve. Recovery and quantification of mycobacterial DNA from spiked samples approached 100 %. A rapid method for quantification of mycobacteria in MWF was demonstrated

Nonlinear sub-cyclotron resonance as a formation mechanism for gaps in banded chorus

An interesting characteristic of magnetospheric chorus is the presence of a frequency gap at $\omega \simeq 0.5\Omega_e$, where $\Omega_e$ is the electron cyclotron angular frequency. Recent chorus observations sometimes show additional gaps near $0.3\Omega_e$ and $0.6\Omega_e$. Here we present a novel nonlinear mechanism for the formation of these gaps using Hamiltonian theory and test-particle simulations in a homogeneous, magnetized, collisionless plasma. We find that an oblique whistler wave with frequency at a fraction of the electron cyclotron frequency can resonate with electrons, leading to effective energy exchange between the wave and particles

Sustainable intensification (SI) innovations driven by crop ecology: Africa RISING science, innovations and technologies with scaling potential from the Ethiopian Highlands

United States Agency for International Developmen