Portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the in-field screening of organic pollutants in soil and water at pollution incidents.

Environmental pollution incidents generate an emergency response from regulatory agencies to ensure that the impact on the environment is minimised. Knowing what pollutants are present provides important intelligence to assist in determining how to respond to the incident. However, responders are limited in their in-field capabilities to identify the pollutants present. This research has developed an in-field, qualitative analytical approach to detect and identify organic pollutants that are commonly detected by regulatory environmental laboratories. A rapid, in-field extraction method was used for water and soil matrices. A coiled microextraction (CME) device was utilised for the introduction of the extracted samples into a portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for analysis. The total combined extraction and analysis time was approximately 6.5 min per sample. Results demonstrated that the in-field extraction and analysis methods can screen for fifty-nine target organic contaminants, including polyaromatic hydrocarbons, monoaromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, phthalates, organophosphorus pesticides, and organochlorine pesticides. The method was also capable of tentatively identifying unknown compounds using library searches, significantly expanding the scope of the methods for the provision of intelligence at pollution incidents of an unknown nature, although a laboratory-based method was able to provide more information due to the higher sensitivity achievable. The methods were evaluated using authentic casework samples and were found to be fit-for-purpose for providing rapid in-field intelligence at pollution incidents. The fact that the in-field methods target the same compounds as the laboratory-based methods provides the added benefit that the in-field results can assist in sample triaging upon submission to the laboratory for quantitation and confirmatory analysis.

Comammox Nitrospira Clade B is the most abundant complete ammonia oxidizer in a dairy pasture soil and inhibited by dicyandiamide and high ammonium concentrations.

The recent discovery of comammox Nitrospira, a complete ammonia oxidizer, capable of completing the nitrification on their own has presented tremendous challenges to our understanding of the nitrification process. There are two divergent clades of comammox Nitrospira, Clade A and B. However, their population abundance, community structure and role in ammonia and nitrite oxidation are poorly understood. We conducted a 94-day microcosm study using a grazed dairy pasture soil amended with urea fertilizers, synthetic cow urine, and the nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide (DCD), to investigate the growth and community structure of comammox Nitrospira spp. We discovered that comammox Nitrospira Clade B was two orders of magnitude more abundant than Clade A in this fertile dairy pasture soil and the most abundant subcluster was a distinctive phylogenetic uncultured subcluster Clade B2. We found that comammox Nitrospira Clade B might not play a major role in nitrite oxidation compared to the role of canonical Nitrospira nitrite-oxidizers, however, comammox Nitrospira Clade B is active in nitrification and the growth of comammox Nitrospira Clade B was inhibited by a high ammonium concentration (700 kg synthetic urine-N ha-1) and the nitrification inhibitor DCD. We concluded that comammox Nitrospira Clade B: (1) was the most abundant comammox in the dairy pasture soil; (2) had a low tolerance to ammonium and can be inhibited by DCD; and (3) was not the dominant nitrite-oxidizer in the soil. This is the first study discovering a new subcluster of comammox Nitrospira Clade B2 from an agricultural soil.

Balancing the push and pull factors of land-use change: a New Zealand case study.

New Zealand is increasingly facing environmental and social challenges associated with its current land-use choices. There is therefore a drive to find ways to continue to add value to its primary sectors, which are of significant economic value to the country whilst at the same time mitigating the externalities associated with the use of land in primary production. Next-generation systems (NGS) are identified as potentially being able to address these challenges. Through the application of a multi-criteria decision making tool, this paper identifies the factors that are important to individual land managers in terms of choice of land-use and how these factors may act as barriers or facilitators of change. By examining land-use change as a combination of push and pull factors between alternative systems, this paper highlights the complex and context specific nature of decision-making at the individual land-manager level and the importance of risk perceptions. It argues that simply pushing land managers away from land-uses that have "undesirable" characteristics through regulation is unlikely to lead to a sustainable transition without the existence of viable alternatives. There is a need to balance increasing the risk of current land-uses whilst at the same time reducing the risk of transitioning to next-generation systems. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10113-021-01865-0.

Understanding spatial and temporal variability of N leaching reduction by winter cover crops under climate change.

Winter cover crops are sown in between main spring crops (e.g. cash and forage crops) to provide a range of benefits, including the reduction of nitrogen (N) leaching losses to groundwater. However, the extent by which winter cover crops will remain effective under future climate change is unclear. We assess variability and uncertainty of climate change effects on the reduction of N leaching by winter oat cover crops. Field data were collected to quantify ranges of cover crop above-ground biomass (7 to 10 t DM/ha) and N uptake (70 to 180 kg N/ha) under contrasting initial soil conditions. The data were also used to evaluate the APSIM-NextGen model (R2 from 62 to 96% and RMSEr from 7 to 50%), which was then applied to simulate cover crop and fallow conditions across four key agricultural locations in New Zealand, under baseline and future climate scenarios. Cover crops reduced N leaching risks for all location/scenario combinations but with large variability in space and time (e.g. 21 to 47% of fallow) depending on the climate change scenario. For instance, end-of-century estimates for northern (warmer) locations mostly showed non-significant effects of climate change on cover crop effectiveness and N leaching. In contrast for southern (colder) locations, there was a systematic increase in N leaching risks with climate change intensity despite a concomitant, but less than proportional, increase in cover crop effectiveness (up to ~5% of baseline) due to higher winter yields and N uptake. This implies that climate change may not only modify the geography of N leaching hotspots, but also the extent by which cover crops can locally reduce pollution risks, in some cases requiring complementary adaptive measures. The patchy- and threshold-nature of leaching events indicates that fine spatio-temporal resolutions are better suited to evaluate cover crop effectiveness under climate change.

Performance of Winter-Sown Cereal Catch Crops after Simulated Forage Crop Grazing in Southland, New Zealand.

(1) Background: Winter grazing of livestock poses significant environmental risks of nitrogen (N) leaching and sediment runoff. (2) Methods: A field study tested the effects of sowing catch crops of oats (Avena sativa L.), ryecorn (Secale cereale L.) or triticale (Triticosecale) in June and August (winter) in Southland, New Zealand (NZ), on the risk of N leaching losses from simulated N loads left after winter forage grazing. (3) Results: Catch crops took up 141-191 kg N ha-1 by green-chop silage maturity (approximately Zadoks growth stage 52; November/December). Importantly, early-sown catch crops were able to capture more N during the key leaching period from winter to mid-spring (77-106 kg N ha-1 cf. 27-31 kg N ha-1 for June and August treatments, respectively). At this time, ryecorn and triticale crops sown in June captured 20-29 kg ha-1 more N than June-sown oats (77 kg N ha-1). In October, early-sown catch crops reduced mineral N in the soil profile (0-45 cm depth) by 69-141 kg N ha-1 through the process of plant uptake. At green-chop silage maturity, catch crop yields ranged from 6.6 to 14.6 t DM ha-1. Highest yields and crop quality profiles (e.g., metabolizable energy, crude protein, soluble sugars and starch) were achieved by the oats, irrespective of the sowing date, indicating that trade-offs likely exist between environmental and productive performances of the catch crop species tested. (4) Conclusion: The catch crop of choice by farmers will depend on the desired end use for the crop, its place in the crop rotation and its potential for an environmental benefit.

Rapid on-site identification of hazardous organic compounds at fire scenes using person-portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-part 1: air sampling and analysis.

Recent advancements in person-portable instrumentation have resulted in the potential to provide contemporaneous results through rapid in-field analyses. These technologies can be utilised in emergency response scenarios to aid first responders in appropriate site risk assessment and management. Large metropolitan fires can pose great risk to human and environmental health due to the rapid release of hazardous compounds into the atmosphere. Understanding the release of these hazardous organics is critical in understanding their associated risks. Person-portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was evaluated for its potential to provide rapid on-site analysis for real-time monitoring of hazardous organic compounds at fire scenes. Air sampling and analysis methods were developed for scenes of this nature. Controlled field testing demonstrated that the portable GC-MS was able to provide preliminary analytical results on the volatile organic compounds present in air samples collected from both active and extinguished fires. In-field results were confirmed using conventional laboratory-based air sampling and analysis procedures. The deployment of portable instrumentation could provide first responders with a rapid on-site assessment tool for the appropriate management of scenes, thereby ensuring environmental and human health is proactively protected and scientifically informed decisions are made for the provision of timely advice to stakeholders.

Rapid on-site identification of hazardous organic compounds at fire scenes using person-portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-part 2: water sampling and analysis.

Building and factory fires pose a great risk to human and environmental health, due to the release of hazardous by-products of combustion. These hazardous compounds can dissipate into the environment through fire water run-off, and the impact can be immediate or chronic. Current laboratory-based methods do not report hazardous compounds released from a fire scene at the time and location of the event. Reporting of results is often delayed due to the complexities and logistics of laboratory-based sampling and analysis. These delays pose a risk to the health and wellbeing of the environment and exposed community. Recent developments in person-portable instrumentation have the potential to provide rapid analysis of samples in the field. A portable gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) was evaluated for the on-site analysis of water samples for the identification of hazardous organic compounds at fire scenes. The portable GC-MS was capable of detecting and identifying a range of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds in fire water run-off, and can be used in conjunction with conventional laboratory analysis methods for a comprehensive understanding of hazardous organics released at fire scenes. Deployment of this portable instrumentation provides first responders with a rapid, on-site screening tool to appropriately manage the run-off water from firefighting activities. This ensures that environmental and human health is proactively protected.

A case study of new approaches to address health inequalities: Due North five years on.

INTRODUCTION: When local councils took on responsibility for public health in England in 2013, leaders from across the north of England met to consider the scale of the challenge. As a result, Public Health England commissioned the Due North Report which outlined new approaches in tackling health inequalities. This second paper outlines what has been learnt in five years as a case study. This includes influencing devolution deals and new elected city mayors, planning for economic growth in deprived areas and developing community asset-based approaches. The paper outlines a new framework for place-based planning to reduce health inequalities. SOURCES OF DATA: Data was gathered from annual reports from north of England directors of public health, Office for National Statistics, Public Health England's fingertips database and regional and national publications and strategies such as the Northern Powerhouse. AREAS OF AGREEMENT: Devolution to English cities and councils as 'places' is a new opportunity to address local needs and inequalities. Due North has supported a new public health narrative which locates health action in the most fundamental determinants-how local economies are planned, jobs created and power is to be transferred to communities and connects reducing years of premature ill health to increased economic productivity. Community asset approaches to empower local leaders and entrepreneurs can be effective ways to achieve change. AREAS OF CONTROVERSY: The north-south divide in health is not closing and may be worsening. Different ways of working between local government, health and business sectors can inhibit in working together and with communities. GROWING POINTS: Place-based working with devolved powers can help move away from top down and silo working, empower local government and support communities. Linking policies on health inequalities to economic planning can address upstream determinants such as poverty, homelessness and unsafe environments. AREAS TIMELY FOR DEVELOPING RESEARCH: More research is needed on; (i) addressing inequalities at scale for interventions to influence community-led change and prosperity in deprived areas, and (ii) the impact of devolution policy on population health particularly for deprived areas and marginalised group. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Commissioning high profile reports like Due North is influential in supporting new approaches in reducing inequality of health through local government, elected mayors; and working with deprived communities. This second paper describes progress and lessons.

The West African Ebola emergency and reconstruction; lessons from Public Health England.

BACKGROUND: West African governments, the WHO and wider international community were caught unprepared for the world's largest Ebola outbreak of 2014-16. This was an unprecedented challenge to local services and international agencies, since the emergency required high-tech molecular diagnostic services operated by specialist staff and a coordinated emergency response in addition to humanitarian support, which was not available at the beginning of the outbreak. Public Health England (PHE), as a new national public health agency was well placed to provide support for these needs. After the outbreak, PHE supported reconstruction to ensure diagnostic and emergency planning capability remained in place in the immediate aftermath of the outbreak and build necessary public health infrastructure for the future. The article describes the role PHE played as a national public health agency supporting reconstruction and long-term development through the UK Government (Department for International Development) programme called 'Resilient Zero'. SOURCES OF DATA: Public Health England (PHE), UK Government's Department for International Development, WHO, US Centers for Communicable Diseases (CDC), China Centre for Communicable Diseases (China CDC). AREAS OF AGREEMENT: The need for reliable, sustainable, in country molecular diagnostics, together with a programme to strengthen in country Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response (EPRR). AREAS OF CONTROVERSY: Providing high tech molecular capability in a resource-poor West African country with variable provision of basic diagnostic equipment, intermittent power supply, ineffective supply chains and maintaining training capacity for emergency planning in the long term. Emergency planning models from the West needed to be adapted for the countries' context. Short term aid projects as a model did not suite this development requirement. GROWING POINTS: PHE had strong local and international political support to reconstruct three Government regional laboratories and deploy molecular technology. Significant learning by PHE as a national public health agency and sharing this will be of benefit to other national public health agencies. UK staff reported increased levels of satisfaction and experience relevant to public health practice. The Sierra Leonean Government and officials requested long-term levels of commitment. It is important for agencies such as PHE to constantly learn, develop long-term institutional partnerships and play a bigger role with other similar agencies internationally. AREAS TIMELY FOR DEVELOPING RESEARCH: How best to support sustainable high-tech molecular technology in West Africa and modules for emergency planning relevant to the context; evidence for long term versus short-term support for highly complex diagnostic capabilities; relevance to maintaining individual country public health infrastructure to ensuring global health security; benefits of overseas work for employee of a national agency.

Adapting crop rotations to climate change in regional impact modelling assessments.

The environmental and economic sustainability of future cropping systems depends on adaptation to climate change. Adaptation studies commonly rely on agricultural systems models to integrate multiple components of production systems such as crops, weather, soil and farmers' management decisions. Previous adaptation studies have mostly focused on isolated monocultures. However, in many agricultural regions worldwide, multi-crop rotations better represent local production systems. It is unclear how adaptation interventions influence crops grown in sequences. We develop a catchment-scale assessment to investigate the effects of tactical adaptations (choice of genotype and sowing date) on yield and underlying crop-soil factors of rotations. Based on locally surveyed data, a silage-maize followed by catch-crop-wheat rotation was simulated with the APSIM model for the RCP 8.5 emission scenario, two time periods (1985-2004 and 2080-2100) and six climate models across the Kaituna catchment in New Zealand. Results showed that direction and magnitude of climate change impacts, and the response to adaptation, varied spatially and were affected by rotation carryover effects due to agronomical (e.g. timing of sowing and harvesting) and soil (e.g. residual nitrogen, N) aspects. For example, by adapting maize to early-sowing dates under a warmer climate, there was an advance in catch crop establishment which enhanced residual soil N uptake. This dynamics, however, differed with local environment and choice of short- or long-cycle maize genotypes. Adaptation was insufficient to neutralize rotation yield losses in lowlands but consistently enhanced yield gains in highlands, where other constraints limited arable cropping. The positive responses to adaptation were mainly due to increases in solar radiation interception across the entire growth season. These results provide deeper insights on the dynamics of climate change impacts for crop rotation systems. Such knowledge can be used to develop improved regional impact assessments for situations where multi-crop rotations better represent predominant agricultural systems.

Health benefits from devolution in England: international lessons.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer's recent announcements to devolve decision making power from Whitehall to 30 English regions provide a challenge to use devolution to deliver more favourable health outcomes. However evaluation of devolved health models internationally is scarce, because it is rarely considered. Evidence from countries with long-standing experience of devolution finds that the best approaches are holistic, seeking fiscal freedoms to sustain the environment, promote health, well-being and citizen engagement. Overall, international outcomes are mixed, with some evidence of greater efficiency of care delivery but little hard evidence of better clinical outcomes or health status. Handling specialised services in a devolved health system is challenging. Regulation by national authorities is important to avoid gaming of the system by providers. Information from the devolved area is important in demonstrating equitable access. We present an evaluation framework and recommend that evaluation continues through governance of these deals during implementation.

Health, equity and the north of England: a case study on a new approach.

INTRODUCTION OR BACKGROUND: In 2013, responsibility for public health returned to local government from the National Health Service (NHS) in England. This article describes, as a case study, a new fresh approach to tackling health inequalities, which built on a desire by local councils in the north of England to rethink approaches and collaborate on new ideas to improving health and reducing health inequalities. SOURCES OF DATA: The collaboration was supported by an independently commissioned inquiry that assessed the evidence and proposed new policy options. This article describes the context to the collaboration, called Health Equity North, findings from the independent inquiry and emerging impact. Four areas for action were recommended: linking poverty with economic prosperity, devolution and public sector reform, investment in early years and renewed impetus for the health sector. AREAS OF AGREEMENT: That health service action alone had been limited without addressing the wider determinants of health such as employment, education and housing. AREAS OF CONTROVERSY: The so-called north-south divide appears to be widening, and renewed efforts are needed locally and nationally to tackle these wider determinants of health. GROWING POINTS: This collaborative approach spanning a large geography supported by local and national leaderships, enabled new work locally and influenced policy nationally, such as devolution of power and resources to local areas. AREAS TIMELY FOR DEVELOPING RESEARCH: Research is needed on the economic returns of investing in the social determinants of health. The examples of local action indicate the need for research on 'asset-based approaches' to improving community health, presented so to empower local lay decision makers such as councillor rather than for technical experts.

Scabies.

INTRODUCTION: Scabies is a common public health problem. In many resource-poor settings, scabies is an endemic problem; whereas in industrialised countries, it is most common in institutionalised communities. METHODS AND OUTCOMES: We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of topical treatments for scabies? What are the effects of systemic treatments for scabies? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to July 2013 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). RESULTS: We found five studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions. CONCLUSIONS: In this systematic review, we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: benzyl benzoate (topical), crotamiton (topical), ivermectin (oral), malathion (topical), permethrin (topical), and sulfur compounds (topical).

Length of hospitalisation for people with severe mental illness.

BACKGROUND: In high-income countries, over the last three decades, the length of hospital stays for people with serious mental illness has reduced drastically although considerable variation remains. In lower-income countries this variation may be greater. Some argue that reduction in hospital stay leads to 'revolving door admissions' and worsening mental health outcomes despite apparent cost savings, whilst others suggest longer stays may be more harmful by institutionalising people to hospital care. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of short stay/brief admission hospital care with long stay/standard in-patient care in people with serious mental illness. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's register of trials, July 2007 and updated this search in May 2012. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included all randomised controlled trials comparing planned short/brief with long/standard hospital stays for people with serious mental illnesses. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We extracted data independently. For dichotomous data we calculated risk ratios (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) on an intention-to-treat basis based using a fixed-effect model. For continuous data, had we identified such data, we planned to calculate fixed-effect mean differences (MD). We assessed risk of bias for included studies and rated quality of evidence using GRADE. MAIN RESULTS: We included six relevant trials undertaken between 1969 and 1980. We found no significant difference in death (n = 175, 1 RCT, RR in the longer term 0.42, CI 0.10 to 1.83, very low quality evidence). In the long term, there was no difference in improvement of mental state (n = 61, 1 RCT, RR 3.39, CI 0.76 to 15.02, very low quality evidence). There was no difference in readmission to hospital (n = 651, 4 RCTs, RR by the long term 1.26, CI 1.00 to 1.57, low quality evidence). Data for leaving the study prematurely by the longer term showed no difference (n = 229, 2 RCTs, (RR 0.77, CI 0.34 to 1.77, low quality evidence). There was a significant difference favouring short stay (P = 0.01) in numbers of participants with delayed discharge from hospital exceeding the time planned in study (n = 404, 3 RCTs, RR in the longer term 0.54, CI 0.33 to 0.88, low quality evidence). There was no difference in numbers of participants lost to follow-up (n = 404, 3 RCTs, RR by the longer term 1.07, CI 0.70 to 1.62, low quality evidence). Finally, there was a significant difference favouring short-stay hospitalisation for social functioning, including unemployment, unable to housekeep, or unknown employment status (n = 330, 2 RCTs, RR by longer term 0.61, CI 0.50 to 0.76, very low quality evidence). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The effects of hospital care and the length of stay is important for mental health policy. We found limited low and very low quality data which were all over 30 years old. Outcomes from these studies do suggest that a planned short-stay policy does not encourage a 'revolving door' pattern of admission and disjointed care for people with serious mental illness. More large, well-designed and reported trials are justified especially where a short-stay policy is not routine care.