Can the input of biocides and polymeric substances from antifouling paints into the sea be reduced by the use of non-toxic hard coatings?

Antifouling coatings are used to protect boat hulls from fouling organisms. The paints are designed to release biocides and by this prevent fouling organisms to attach. Until now the simultaneous release of the bulk plastic material has been over-looked. In this study the amount of antifouling paints on ships and leisure boats in Scandinavian countries and Germany has been compared and a calculation of the release of micro plastics has been performed. The result shows that use of a biocide-free hard coating will completely reduce outlet of biocides and the input of polymers will dramatically be reduced from at the most 5% in comparison to traditional paints where the release rate of plastics is estimated to be 70-85%. The advantage for the boat owners will be large since the hard maintenance work will be reduced, release of micro plastics will be low and thus lead to an improved environment.

Spatial and temporal variability in VOC levels within a commercial retail building.

UNLABELLED: A study was performed to characterize the concentration of dozens of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at 10 locations within a single large building and track these concentrations over a 2-year period. The study was performed at a shopping center (strip mall) in New Jersey. A total of 130 indoor air samples were collected from 10 retail stores within the shopping center and analyzed for 60 VOCs by US EPA Method TO-15. Indoor concentrations of up to 55,100 microg/m(3) were measured for individual VOCs. The indoor/outdoor ratio (I/O) was as high as 1500 for acetone and exceeded 100 at times for various compounds, indicating that significant indoor air sources were present. A large degree of spatial variability was observed between stores within the building, with concentrations varying by three to four orders of magnitude for some compounds. The spatial variability was dependent on the proximity of the sampling locations to the indoor sources. A large degree of temporal variability also was observed for compounds emitted from indoor sources, but the temporal variability generally did not exceed two standard deviations (sigma). For compounds not emitted from indoor sources at significant rates, both the spatial and temporal variability tended to range within an order of magnitude at each location. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Many cross-sectional studies have been published where the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured in indoor air at one or two locations for houses or offices. This study provides longitudinal data for a commercial retail building and also addresses spatial variability within the building. The data suggest that spatial and temporal variability are important considerations for compounds emitted from indoor sources. Elevated concentrations were found in retail spaces with no apparent emission sources due to their proximity to other retail spaces with emission sources.

Development of a growth inhibition test with the marine and brackish water red alga Ceramium tenuicorne.

The marine red macroalga Ceramium tenuicorne is cosmopolitan and naturally found in both brackish and marine waters. A growth inhibition test with this species can be carried out in salinities from 4 per thousand to 32 per thousand. The species is easily held in culture in the laboratory and the test can be performed in a completely defined medium. The robustness of the method is good with a CV of 14.6% of the controls. The EC calculations can be performed on linear regression on the length data. EC50 values of repetitive tests for zinc (20-33 microg Zn(2+)/l in 7 per thousand and 32-61 microg Zn(2+)/l in 20 per thousand) and copper (1.9-3.8 Cu(2+)/l in 7 per thousand and 7.9-13 Cu(2+)/l in 20 per thousand) show high sensitivity. This test is a good complement to any test battery with the purpose of estimating the hazard of substances to the brackish and marine environment.

Long-term results of 1047 cadaveric kidney transplantations with special emphasis on initial graft function and rejection.

We studied the effect of initial graft function and acute rejection on graft survival in 1047 cadaveric renal transplantations during 1991-1997 with a constant policy of donor selection, graft allocation, and immunosuppression. The overall 1- and 5-year patient survival rates were 96 % and 88 %, and the 1- and 5-year graft survival (GS) rates were 92 % and 78 %. Delayed graft function (DGF) occurred in 31 % and there were 1.2 % never-functioning grafts. One-year GS in transplantations with early graft function (EGF) was 95 % compared to 87 % in DGF (P < 0.001). Donor age and cause of death, type of graft perfusion and cold ischemia time, and type and length of dialysis treatment were significant factors in determining the onset of graft function. These factors did not have a significant direct effect on GS. Early ( < 100 days) acute rejection occurred in 25 %. In transplantations without rejection, the 1 and 5-year GS was 93.3 % and 80.8 %. In acute rejection responding to steroids, the GS was equal to that up to 3 years, but after that a significantly worse survival rate was observed (1- and 5-year GS: 93.6 % and 73.4 %). DGF was detrimental to GS both in transplantations without rejection and in all rejection types.

Peritoneal dialysis access: a comparison of peritoneoscopic and surgical insertion techniques.

Prospectively collected data were analysed comparing 108 consecutive peritoneoscopically (n = 65) and surgically (n = 43) placed peritoneal dialysis catheters during a three-year period. Catheter-linked mechanical complications occurred more often in the peritoneoscopical group, and pericatheteral leakage ended in catheter loss in 13.8%. Overall probability of catheter survival in the peritoneoscopic group at 12, 24 and 36 months was 73%, 56% and 24%, and in the surgical group 87%, 87% and 66%, respectively (p < 0.05). Rates of infectious complications, peritonitis and exit site infections were similar.

Is obesity still a risk factor in renal transplantation?

At our center, since 1982, a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30 has been a prerequisite for placing a patient on the waiting list for renal transplantation. This decision was made because obese transplant recipients seemed to have a less than favorable post-transplant outcome. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether this requirement is still justified. Forty-six patients with a BMI above 30 underwent primary cadaveric renal transplantation between 1972 and 1993. For each of these obese patients, five consecutive non-obese (BMI 20-25) control patients were selected. Patient and graft survival, causes of graft loss, and acute rejection rate were evaluated for the two patient groups before and after the year 1982. Within the first 30 post-transplant days, one patient (2%) and 11 grafts (24%) were lost in the group of obese patients whereas seven patients (3%) and 36 grafts (16%) were lost in the control group. Among the obese patients, renal circulatory complications were a major cause of graft loss. In the period 1973-1981, the 1-year patient survival rate was 65% among obese patients versus 75% among controls from 1982 to 1993, this was 90% versus 93%. From 1973 to 1981, the 1-year graft survival rate was 25% among obese patients versus 53% among controls (P < 0.05); from 1982 to 1993, it was 68% versus 84% (P = NS). Multivariate analysis showed that the immunosuppressive regimen, age of the patient, BMI, and cold ischemia time of the graft had a significant influence on graft survival. The acute rejection rate within the first 30 days was 28% among obese patients and 35% among controls (P = NS). We conclude that a BMI below or equal to 30 is still justified as a prerequisite for placement on the waiting list for renal transplantation, for despite an overall improvement, the outcome of renal transplantation in obese patients remains worse than that in non-obese patients.

Peritoneal dialysis access: prospective randomized comparison of single-cuff and double-cuff straight Tenckhoff catheters.

BACKGROUND: A prerequisite to the technical success of chronic peritoneal dialysis is a functioning peritoneal catheter. The option of using Tenckhoff catheters with single or double Dacron cuffs has been available for almost 3 decades, but still there is no consensus as to which is the preferable type. METHOD: Sixty consecutive patients requiring a catheter for CAPD were randomized to receive either a straight deep single-cuff Tenckhoff catheter or a double-cuff Tenckhoff catheter. The catheters were surgically inserted. RESULTS: There were no early failures. Two subcutaneous cuff extrusions were treated with shaving of the cuff. In the long term, eight patients in both groups required transfer to haemodialysis (5 and 3 prolonged peritonitis, 1 and 0 exit-site infection, 2 and 5 unable to cope or inadequacy of dialysis). There was no significant difference in the probability of developing first episode of peritonitis or exit site infection between the groups. Overall probability of catheter survival was 95.5 and 96.7% at 1 year, 82.7 and 79.9% at 2 in the two groups respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference between catheters with single or double cuffs with respect to catheter survival, episodes of peritonitis and exit-site infections.

Peritoneal dialysis access: prospective randomized comparison of the Swan neck and Tenckhoff catheters.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of peritoneal catheter configuration on mechanical complications, catheter survival, probability of episodes of peritonitis, and probability of exit-site infections associated with the use of catheters for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). DESIGN: Prospective randomized trial. SETTING: CAPD unit in one university hospital, serving a population of 1.2 million. PATIENTS: Forty consecutive patients requiring their first dialysis catheter for future CAPD were randomized to receive either a two-cuff permanently bent Swan neck catheter or a two-cuff straight Tenckhoff catheter. The skin exit was downward-directed in the Swan neck group and upward-directed in the Tenckhoff group. RESULTS: Dialysate leak, catheter migration, or tunnel infection did not occur in any of the patients. Three outer cuff extrusions needing cuff shaving occurred, all in the Tenckhoff group (p = 0.1). No significant differences could be demonstrated in catheter survival at 2 years, probability of episodes of peritonitis, or probability of exit-site infections. CONCLUSION: Catheter configuration did not influence the catheter-related mechanical or infectious complications, and equally good results were obtained with both catheter types studied.

Evaluation of VOC emission measurement methods for paint spray booths.

Interest in regulations to control solvent emissions from automotive painting systems is increasing, especially in ozone nonattainment areas. Therefore, an accurate measurement method for VOC emissions from paint spray booths used in the automotive industry is needed to ascertain the efficiency of the spray booth capture and the total emissions. This paper presents the results of a laboratory study evaluating potential VOC sampling and analytical methods used in estimating paint spray booth emissions, and discusses these results relative to other published data. Eight test methods were selected for evaluation. The accuracy of each sampling and analytical method was determined using test atmospheres of known concentration and composition that closely matched the actual exhaust air from paint spray booths. The solvent mixture to generate the test atmospheres contained a large proportion of polar, oxygenated hydrocarbons such as ketones and alcohols. A series of identical tests was performed for each sampling/analytical method with each test atmosphere to assess the precision of the methods. The study identified significant differences among the test methods in terms of accuracy, precision, cost, and complexity.

Cancer risk after renal transplantation in the Nordic countries, 1964-1986.

The theory that cancer may arise under conditions of reduced immune capacity is supported by observations of humans with immune deficiencies such as occur following organ transplants. However, no study on humans has been done in which the reference population was the same as that in which the cancer cases arose and in which there was a sufficiently long period of follow-up. Information on 5,692 Nordic recipients of renal transplants in 1964-1982 was linked with the national cancer registries (1964-1986) and population registries. Person-years at risk were calculated from the date of first transplantation until death or the end of the study period and were multiplied by the appropriate age- and calender-specific incidence rates to obtain the expected numbers of cancers. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were calculated after stratification by a number of recorded variables. Altogether, 32,392 person-years were accrued, and 471 cancers occurred, yielding overall SIR of 4.6 (95% CI, 4.0 to 5.2) for males and 4.5 (95% CI, 4.0 to 5.2) for females. Significant overall 2- to 5-fold excess risks in both sexes were seen for cancers of the colon, larynx, lung and bladder, and in men also for cancers of the prostate and testis. Notably high risks, 10-fold to 30-fold above expectation, were associated with cancers of the lip, skin (non-melanoma), kidney and endocrine glands, also with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and in women also with cancers of the cervix and vulva-vagina. Among a number of donor and recipient variables studied, including tissue types and compatibility (ABO, HLA, DR), age below 45 years at the time of transplantation was the most important determinant for increased risk at most sites. Kidney transplantation increases the risk of cancer in the short and in the long term, consistent with the theory that an impaired immune system allows carcinogenic factors to act. The tumor risk is small in comparison with the benefits of transplants, but patients should be followed up for signs of cancer.

Surgical implantation of CAPD catheters: presentation of midline incision-lateral placement method and a review of 110 procedures.

One hundred-and-ten consecutive surgically implanted one-cuff straight peritoneal dialysis catheters in 103 adult patients over a 7 year period have been reviewed. All catheters were placed for chronic dialysis (CAPD). There were no early failures. Early complications consisted of one leak, 14 migrations, and two wound infections. In the long term 15 patients required transfer to haemodialysis (5 recurrent peritonitis, 7 unable to cope, 3 inadequacy of dialysis). Overall probability of catheter survival was 92.4% at 1 year and 82.4% at 2 years. The surgical implantation technique described provides a safe, reliable access for peritoneal dialysis with a low complication rate.