61 research outputs found
A small scale monitoring study for a range of pharmaceuticals in the River Foss catchment and comparison to concentrations in the River Nag, India: report of researcher exchange March 2018
No full textThe India-UK Water Centre (IUKWC) promotes cooperation and collaboration between the complementary priorities of NERC-MoES water security research.
This report represents an overview of the activities and conclusions of a Junior Researcher Exchange undertaken at the University of York from 7th March 2018 - 27th March 2018 convened by Akanksha Singh Kachhawaha (CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, India) and Dr Alistair B.A. Boxall (University of York, UK). It outlines the aims of the
exchange, describes the programme and the activities developed to meet the objectives, and details the outputs generated, as well as the ongoing and future collaboration. Finally, it assesses the support received from the IUKWC through the Researcher Exchange Scheme. The present report is intended for India-UK Water Centre members and water security stakeholders
Assessing the exposure risk and impacts of pharmaceuticals in the environment on individuals and ecosystems
No full textCopyright @ 2013 The authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.The use of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals is increasing. Over the past decade, there has been a proliferation of research into potential environmental impacts of pharmaceuticals in the environment. A Royal Society-supported seminar brought together experts from diverse scientific fields to discuss the risks posed by pharmaceuticals to wildlife. Recent analytical advances have revealed that pharmaceuticals are entering habitats via water, sewage, manure and animal carcases, and dispersing through food chains. Pharmaceuticals are designed to alter physiology at low doses and so can be particularly potent contaminants. The near extinction of Asian vultures following exposure to diclofenac is the key example where exposure to a pharmaceutical caused a population-level impact on non-target wildlife. However, more subtle changes to behaviour and physiology are rarely studied and poorly understood. Grand challenges for the future include developing more realistic exposure assessments for wildlife, assessing the impacts of mixtures of pharmaceuticals in combination with other environmental stressors and estimating the risks from pharmaceutical manufacturing and usage in developing countries. We concluded that an integration of diverse approaches is required to predict 'unexpected' risks; specifically, ecologically relevant, often long-term and non-lethal, consequences of pharmaceuticals in the environment for wildlife and ecosystems
Assessing the ecotoxicity of pesticide transformation products.
No full textOnce released to the environment, pesticides may be degraded by abiotic and biotic processes. While parent compounds are assessed in detail in many regulatory schemes, the requirements for the assessment of transformation products are less well developed. This study was therefore performed to explore the relationships between the toxicity of transformation products and their parent compounds and to develop a pragmatic approach for use in the risk assessment of transformation products. Data were obtained on the properties and ecotoxicity of transformation products arising from a wide range of pesticides. Generally, transformation products were less toxic to fish, daphnids, and algae than their parent compound. In instances where a product was more toxic, the increase in toxicity could be explained by either (1) the presence of a pesticide toxicophore; (2) the fact that the product is the active part of a propesticide; (3) the product is accumulated to a greater extent than the parent compound; or (4) the product has a more potent mode of action than the parent. On the basis of the findings, an approach has been proposed to estimate the ecotoxicity of transformation products based on chemical structure and data on the toxicity of the parent compound. The assessments can be performed at an early stage in the risk assessment process to identify those substances that require further testing
A New ecotoxicological model to simulate survival of aquatic invertebrates after exposure to fluctuating and sequential pulses of pesticides
No full textAquatic nontarget organisms are exposed to fluctuating concentrations or sequential pulses of contaminants, so we need to predict effects resulting from such patterns of exposure. We present a process-based model, the Threshold Damage Model (TDM), that links exposure with effects and demonstrate how to simulate the survival of the aquatic invertebrate Gammarus pulex. Based on survival experiments of up to 28 days duration with three patterns of repeated exposure pulses and fluctuating concentrations of two pesticides with contrasting modes of action (pentachlorophenol and chlorpyrifos) we evaluate the new model and compare it to two approaches based on time-weighted averages. Two models, the Threshold Damage Model and the time-weighted averages fitted to pulses, are able to simulate the observed survival (mean errors 15% or less, r2 between 0.77 and 0.96). The models are discussed with respect to their theoretical base, data needs, and potential for extrapolation to different scenarios. The Threshold Damage Model is particularly useful because its parameters can be used to calculate recovery times, toxicokinetics are separated from toxicodynamics, and parameter values reflect the mode of action
Evaluation of Judicial Performance: A Tool for Self-Improvement
No full textThe quality of our judicial system, like other institutions, is a function of the work performed by those who are afforded major roles in the dispensation of justice. Unmistakably. judges, jurors and lawyers assume key roles in this process. Professor Aynes, who is a member of the A.B.A.\u27s Evaluation of Judicial Performance Committee, recognizes that both judges and lawyers, unlike jurors, are professionals expected to bring more to the bench than honesty, good faith and diligence. The author observes that while efforts to improve the daily performance of attorneys have been well under way since the early 1970\u27s, it i now imperative that we address the issue of improving judicial performance. Professor Aynes reviews the historical antecedents of programs evaluating judicial performance, and shows the significant difference between the A.B.A. \u27s proposal and the various surveys and polls that have been previously utilized, while examining the critical issues confronting the profession in designing a responsible system for evaluating judicial performance
The sorption and transport of a sulphonamide antibiotic in soil systems
No full textVeterinary medicines are administered to animals to treat disease and protect their health. After administration, the substances can be metabolised and a mixture of the parent compound and metabolites may be excreted in the urine and faeces. For animals on pasture, the excreta will be released directly to soil whereas for intensively reared animals, the main route of entry will be through slurry and manure spreading. Whilst the behaviour of other classes of substance (e.g. pesticides and nutrients) that are applied to soil is well understood, limited information is available on the transport and fate of veterinary medicines applied to soils. Laboratory and field studies were, therefore, performed to investigate the sorption behaviour of the sulfonamide antibiotic, sulfachloropyridazine, in soil and to assess the potential for sulfachloropyridazine to move from soil to surface waters and groundwaters. Sorption coefficients (KD) for the compound in soil and soil/slurry mixtures were low (ranging from 0.9 to 1.8 l kg−1) and indicated that the substance would be highly mobile. Field studies on a clay field supported these observations and demonstrated that, after application, the compound was rapidly transported to surface waters, concentrations of up to 590 μg l−1 being observed in drainage waters. Leaching studies at a sandy site indicated that the substance had a low potential to leach to groundwaters, concentrations in the soil pore water being below or close to analytical detection limits. An assessment of currently available models for predicting concentrations of veterinary medicines entering surface waters indicated that for sulfachloropyridazine, the methods provide reasonable estimates, predicted concentrations being within a factor of two of the maximum measured concentrations. The approaches may not, however, be appropriate for use on highly hydrophobic substances or for predicting groundwater concentrations
Faecal residues of veterinary parasiticides: Non-target effects in the pasture environment
No full textResidues of veterinary parasiticides in dung of treated livestock have nontarget effects on dung-breeding insects and dung degradation. Here, we review the nature and extent of these effects, examine the potential risks associated with different classes of chemicals, and describe how greater awareness of these nontarget effects has resulted in regulatory changes in the registration of veterinary products
Tender Is the Night: Should Your Expert Be?
No full textThis article discusses the practice of tendering an expert for acceptance or certification by the court at trial in the presence of the jury. The article considers Tennessee and Montana state and federal evidence law. The author suggests that Montana courts and lawyers should comply with the A.B.A. Updated Civil Trial Standard 14 and let juries assess the testimony of a Rule 702 witness without a special designation accorded by the judge certifying a witness as an expert in his or her field
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