Tracking and Assessing Oil Spill Toxicity to Aquatic Organisms: A Novel Approach.

An in situ exposure and effects bioassay system was developed for assessing the toxicity of oil spills to aquatic organisms. The assessment tool combines components of 2 previously developed systems, the sediment ecotoxicity assessment ring (SEA Ring) and the drifting particle simulator. The integrated drifting exposure and effects assessment ring (DEEAR) is comprised of a Global Positioning System (GPS) float, a drifter drogue, the SEA Ring, and the Cyclops-7 fluorescent sensor. Polyethylene passive sampling devices (PED) were mounted for an additional means to characterize water quality conditions and exposures. The DEEAR is optimized for evaluating oil exposure and toxicity in the shallow surface mixing layer of marine waters. A short-term preliminary test was conducted in San Diego, California, USA, to verify the operation of the GPS tracking, the iridium communications, and the integrated SEA Ring exposure system. Further, a proof-of-concept demonstration was conducted offshore in the Santa Barbara Channel, where natural oil seeps produce surface slicks and sheens. Two DEEAR units were deployed for 24 h-one within the oil slick and one in an area outside observable slicks. An aerial drone provided tracking of the surface oil and optimal sites for deployment. The DEEAR proof-of-concept demonstrated integrated real-time tracking and characterization of oil exposures by grab samples, PED, and fluorescent sensors. Oil exposures were directly linked to toxic responses in fish and mysids. This novel integrated system shows promise for use in a variety of aquatic sites to more accurately determine in situ oil exposure and toxicity. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:1452-1462. © 2021 SETAC.

Evaluating the efficacy of DGT to quantify copper in stormwater at end-of-pipe.

In many cases, stormwater compliance monitoring is labor intensive, expensive, and largely unsuccessful in providing the data needed to support stormwater management goals. To help address these issues, diffusive gradients in thin film (DGTs), time-integrative passive samplers for metals, were evaluated to monitor copper in stormwater runoff. DGTs were co-located with traditional autosamplers within the stormwater conveyance systems at Naval Base San Diego (NBSD) to provide a direct comparison with composite sampling. DGTs were exposed in the laboratory to flow-averaged composite samples from NBSD stormwater conveyance systems. These experiments showed increasing uptake over time (range = 1.5-24 h) for copper, with positive, linear correlations (r2 > 0.980) between exposure duration and copper mass accumulated. However, it appears that the corresponding calculations of the DGT-labile fraction (CDGT) relative to the dissolved fraction fluctuated across the different exposure durations. In general, trends observed for CDGT measurements from the field were consistent with trends in the lab DGT exposures and traditional dissolved metal measurements from composite samples. Finally, time-weighted average copper concentrations from DGTs deployed for the first and second phases of storm events were within 30% of measurements from DGTs that were deployed for the entire storm event in the same stormwater vault. Cumulatively, these results show promise for continuous monitoring with DGTs as an approach that produces data more representative of exposure to the receiving environment during episodic events than data from traditional grab or composite chemistry sampling, and can represent significant cost savings.

Volcanic-Tectonic Structure of the Mount Dent Oceanic Core Complex in the Ultraslow Mid-Cayman Spreading Center Determined From Detailed Seafloor Investigation.

The flanks of the ultraslow-spreading Mid-Cayman Spreading Center (MCSC) are characterized by domal massifs or oceanic core complexes (OCCs). The most prominent of these, Mount Dent, comprises lower-crustal and upper-mantle lithologies and hosts the Von Damm vent field ~12 km west of the axial deep. Here, presented autonomous underwater vehicle-derived swath sonar (multibeam) mapping and deep-towed side-scan sonar imagery lead to our interpretation that: (i) slip along the OCC-bounding detachment fault is ceasing, (ii) the termination zone, where detachment fault meets the hanging wall, is disintegrating, (iii) the domed surface of the OCC is cut by steep north-south extensional faulting, and (iv) the breakaway zone is cut by outward facing faults. The Von Damm vent field and dispersed pockmarks on the OCC's south flank further suggest that hydrothermal fluid flow is pervasive within the faulted OCC. On the axial floor of the MCSC, bright acoustic backscatter and multibeam bathymetry reveal: (v) a volcanic detachment hanging wall, (vi) a major fault rifting the southern flank of Mount Dent, and (vii) a young axial volcanic ridge intersecting its northern flank. These observations are described by a conceptual model wherein detachment faulting and OCC exhumation are ceasing during an increase in magmatic intrusion, brittle deformation, and hydrothermal circulation within the OCC. Together, this high-resolution view of the MCSC provides an instructive example of how OCCs, formed within an overall melt-starved ultraslow spreading center, can undergo magmatism, hydrothermal activity, and faulting in much the same way as expected in magmatically more robust slow-spreading centers elsewhere.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander oral health and its impact among adults: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Robust oral health epidemiological information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults is scant. Set within a large urban population, this study describes self-reported oral health behaviours, status and impact assessed through computerized health checks (HC), stratified by age groups and sex, and identifies associations with dental appearance satisfaction. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults (aged ≥20 years) attending the Southern Queensland Centre of Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2015 who had HC and provided research consent. RESULTS: There were 945 patients, 466 (49.3%) female, with an average age of 41.3 years (range, 20-82). Overall, 97.3% owned a toothbrush and 56.2% brushed two or more times/day. Despite self-reporting a significant oral health burden, only 28.8% visited a dentist within 12 months, mostly due to problems (84.3%). Surprisingly, only 28.4% reported dental appearance dissatisfaction, likely a result of community normalization whereby people are resigned to poor oral health. CONCLUSIONS: Under-utilization of dental services remains problematic for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults. To close the oral heath gap, culturally appropriate, acceptable and safe integrated primary health systems, with co-located dental services, demand consideration.

A randomised controlled trial of a consumer-focused e-health strategy for cardiovascular risk management in primary care: the Consumer Navigation of Electronic Cardiovascular Tools (CONNECT) study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Fewer than half of all people at highest risk of a cardiovascular event are receiving and adhering to best practice recommendations to lower their risk. In this project, we examine the role of an e-health-assisted consumer-focused strategy as a means of overcoming these gaps between evidence and practice. Consumer Navigation of Electronic Cardiovascular Tools (CONNECT) aims to test whether a consumer-focused e-health strategy provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-indigenous adults, recruited through primary care, at moderate-to-high risk of a cardiovascular disease event will improve risk factor control when compared with usual care. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Randomised controlled trial of 2000 participants with an average of 18 months of follow-up to evaluate the effectiveness of an integrated consumer-directed e-health portal on cardiovascular risk compared with usual care in patients with cardiovascular disease or who are at moderate-to-high cardiovascular disease risk. The trial will be augmented by formal economic and process evaluations to assess acceptability, equity and cost-effectiveness of the intervention. The intervention group will participate in a consumer-directed e-health strategy for cardiovascular risk management. The programme is electronically integrated with the primary care provider's software and will include interactive smart phone and Internet platforms. The primary outcome is a composite endpoint of the proportion of people meeting the Australian guideline-recommended blood pressure (BP) and cholesterol targets. Secondary outcomes include change in mean BP and fasting cholesterol levels, proportion meeting BP and cholesterol targets separately, self-efficacy, health literacy, self-reported point prevalence abstinence in smoking, body mass index and waist circumference, self-reported physical activity and self-reported medication adherence. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Primary ethics approval was received from the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee and the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council. Results will be disseminated via the usual scientific forums including peer-reviewed publications and presentations at international conferences CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN12613000715774.

Breast-feeding and weaning practices of an urban community of indigenous Australians.

The aim of this survey was aimed to determine current breast-feeding and infant-feeding practices among a community of urban indigenous Australians in Brisbane, the largest city of Queensland, in Australia. In mid- 1998, a questionnaire was administered to 61 mothers with infants up to the age of 2 years. Breast-feeding had been initiated by 59% (95% CI: 46.7-71.3) of the mothers; however, by 4 months after birth only 24.6% (95% CI: 13.8-35.4) of the mothers were breast-feeding. Only 19.7% (95% CI: 9.7-29.7) of the infants were solely breast-fed during their first 4 months of life. Of the infants in the survey who were older than 6 months, only 25% (95% CI: 18.2-31.8) had been introduced to solid food after 6 months. The current diet of 80% (95% CI: 44.9-100) of infants aged 4-6 months and 37.5% (95% CI: 13.8-61.2) of infants aged 0-3 months included solids. This survey has indicated the need to appropriately promote breast-feeding as the best source of nutrition for new babies. The initiation rate of breast-feeding is low compared with other Australian rural indigenous and urban indigenous communities. Barriers to continued breast-feeding should also be addressed, as well as appropriate weaning practices.