In a statewide survey of 856 Iowa municipal drinking water supplies in 1986-1987 the Rathbun rural water system was found to contain elevated levels of triazine herbicides. Rates of low birth weight, prematurity, and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) in live singleton births during the period 1984-1990 by women living in 13 communities served by the Rathbun water system were compared to other communities of similar size in the same Iowa counties. The Rathbun communities had a greater risk of IUGR than southern Iowa communities with other surface sources of drinking water (relative risk = 1.8; 95% CI = 1.3, 2.7). Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that levels of the herbicides atrazine, metolachlor, and cyanzinc were each significant predictors of community IUGR rates in southern Iowa after controlling for several potentially confounding factors including maternal smoking and socioeconomic variables. The association with IUGR was strongest for atrazine, but all three herbicides were intercorrelated and the independent contributions of each to IUGR risk could not be determined. We conclude that communities in southern Iowa with drinking water supplies contaminated with herbicides have elevated rates of IUGR compared to neighboring communities with different water supplies. Because of the limitations of the ecologic design of this study, including aggregate rather than individual measures of exposure and limited ability to control for confounding factors related to source of drinking water and risk of IUGR, a strong causal relationship between any specific water contaminant and risk of IUGR cannot yet be inferred. The association between the water supplied to the Rathbun communities and the increased risk of IUGR should be considered a preliminary finding that needs to be verified by more detailed epidemiologic studies.

The potential reproductive effects of long-term, low-dose exposure to chloroform have received little attention despite the known, acute toxicity of high exposures and the wide-spread occurrence of low concentrations in drinking water. We studied the association of waterborne chloroform with low birthweight (less than 2,500 gm), prematurity (less than 37 weeks gestation), and intrauterine growth retardation (less than 5th percentile of weight for gestational age). Cases were not mutually exclusive, but each outcome was analyzed independently. Birth certificates from January 1, 1989, to June 30, 1990, were used to identify cases and randomly selected controls. All were live, singleton infants born to non-Hispanic, white women from Iowa towns with 1,000-5,000 inhabitants. Exposures to chloroform and other trihalomethanes were ecologic variables based on maternal residence and a 1987 municipal water survey. After adjustment for maternal age, parity, adequacy of prenatal care, marital status, education, and maternal smoking by multiple logistic regression, residence in municipalities where chloroform concentrations were greater than or equal to 10 micrograms/liter was associated with an increased risk for intrauterine growth retardation (odds ratio = 1.8, 95% confidence interval = 1.1-2.9). The major limitations of this study involve the ascertainment and classification of exposures to trihalomethanes, including such issues as the imprecision of using aggregate municipal measures for classifying exposure at the level of the individual, the potential misclassification due to residential mobility, and the fluctuation of trihalomethane levels.

Familial aggregation of breast cancer in males was investigated in a population-based case-control study. Cases were ascertained from 10 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program registries in the United States between 1983 and 1986. Controls were identified by random-digit dialing and from lists of Medicare recipients. The relative odds of developing breast cancer were similar in men with affected paternal and maternal relatives and in men with affected mothers and sisters. The risk increased with the number of affected relatives. The relative odds of developing breast cancer were greater in men with first-degree relatives who developed their mammary neoplasm before the age of 45 than in men with older first-degree affected relatives; the enhancement of risk in men with an affected sister was greater in those under age 60 than in older men. These results are similar to those observed by others in studies of breast cancer in women.

Independent review of slides of 668 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) by a panel of 4 experienced pathologists using the Working Formulation (WF) allowed determination of the agreement between reported diagnoses and panel review of slides. The panel agreed with the reported diagnosis of NHL in 93% of cases, but with the NHL subtype in only 55% of cases overall. The ability of the panelists to agree among themselves, however, was only slightly better than the panelists' agreement with the reported diagnosis (60% vs. 54%, respectively). Agreement of the panel with the reported subtype diagnosis varied from 14% to over 90%. The best agreement was with small lymphocytic lymphoma and follicular subtypes. Conclusions from this study are: 1) The WF functions well as common language for translation and comparison of diagnoses of subtypes of NHL. 2) Relative to time and cost involved, panel review using only light microscopy may not be useful in epidemiologic studies of NHL. 3) Small lymphocytic and follicular subtypes of NHL can be used more confidently in epidemiologic studies than can other subtypes whether the subtyping is done from abstracted reports or by panel review.

Land use changes are among the primary drivers of declining biodiversity. To reverse this decline, governments and agencies are promoting conservation measures. However, these initiatives often lead to conservation conflicts associated with competing land uses. This study analyzes the potential for using the Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) framework to manage conservation conflicts in multifunctional landscapes with competing land demands. On the basis of lessons learned from a real conservation conflict within the European Natura 2000, the largest network of protected areas in the world, this article provides guidance on how to develop holistic and inclusive processes that consider the multiple dimensions of conflicts. The SMCE framework offers a structured approach for dealing with incommensurate values, addressing trade-offs and their impacts on affected parties. Under this framework, transparent and inclusive decision-making processes are heralded as key factors for managing conservation conflicts and searching for equitable and sustainable solutions.

Advances in techniques for measuring environmental contaminants have revealed the widespread occurrence of chlorinated by-products of chlorination (chloroform, other triha1omethanes (THMs)), organic solvents and other industrial chemicals in drinking water. Chloroform is carcinogenic when fed to rats and mice (Page 1976). On addition, there is evidence that higher-molecular-weight halogenated compounds are likely to be carcinogenic (Loper 1980; McCann 1975). Other naturally occurring chemical and radiological constituents in drinking water are known or likely carcinogens.

Death certificate analyses of white male Iowans over age 30 who died of multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, prostate cancer or stomach cancer between 1964 and 1978 were completed. Each case was matched to two controls on age (within two years) at death, county of residence, and year of death. Consideration of usual occupation, as recorded on the death certificate, resulted in the following odds ratios for mortality due to the specified cancers among farmers: multiple myeloma, 1.48; non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 1.26; prostate cancer, 1.19; and stomach cancer, 1.32. Each is statistically significant (p less than 0.05). Odds ratios were computed separately for three birth cohorts according to counties stratified by crop and livestock production. Multiple myeloma was elevated in those born after 1890 and was associated with number of egg-laying chickens, hog production, insecticide use, and herbicide use. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was elevated in those born before 1901 and was associated with egg-laying chickens, milk products sold, hog production, and herbicide use. Although prostate cancer was elevated in those born before 1901, it was not associated with any agricultural practice. Stomach cancer was elevated in each birth cohort. It was associated with milk products sold, cattle production, and corn per acre.

Death certificate analyses of 1675 white, male Iowans over age 30 years who died of leukemia in 1964-1978 were completed. Each case was matched to two controls on age (within two years) at death, county of usual residence and year of death. Consideration of usual occupation, as recorded on the death certificate, resulted in an odds ratio for leukemia mortality among farmers of 1.24 (p less than 0.05). The highest odds ratios for farmers were observed in those born after 1890, those dying after 1970, and those dying at age 65 years or younger. Odds ratios for farmers were also elevated in counties with high soybean and corn production per acre for those born between 1890 and 1900. For those born after 1900, odds ratios for farmers were increased in counties with the greatest numbers of egg-laying chickens and largest number of acres treated with herbicides. The types of leukemia causing elevated mortalities in Iowa farmers were chronic lymphatic and unspecified lymphatic. Mortality from unspecified lymphatic leukemia was associated with corn per acre, number of milk cows and number of egg-laying chickens.

Age-adjusted, sex-specific cancer incidence rates for the years 1969-1978 were determined for municipalities in Iowa having a population of 1000 or over and public water supply that had remained stable for a minimum of 14 years. The incidence rates for the municipalities were examined according to major source of water supply (surface or ground) and depth of well. As municipality size increased, incidence rates increased for cancer of the lung among males and females. A slight gradient of increasing cancer incidence was seen for cancer of the bladder among males and females. When stratified for population size, incidence rates for cancers of the lung and rectum among males and females were higher for municipalities on surface water compared with those on ground sources. Incidence rates for cancer of the prostate rose as well depth increased, while a trend was seen toward decreasing incidence rates for cancer of the colon among females as well depth increased. When time trends were examined, an increase in cancer rates over time was seen for several cancer sites, with the increase most noticeable in municipalities supplied by surface water or shallow wells. These results are not always consistent with the hypothesis of an association between cancer and chlorinated water.

Measles incidence in the United States was calculated from estimates of the United States Immunization Survey for the years 1965 to 1975. These data were examined according to birth cohorts and cross-sectionally by age to determine the effect of live measles virus vaccine on measles epidemiology. The results showed a high rate of infection for children aged 1 year, followed by a decrease in the infection rates for preschool children, with rates increasing agin at ages 5 and 6 years. It was hypothesized that an effective vaccine-induced herb immunity exists in preschool children until they are of school age. When incidence rates were based on susceptible children, the highest rates occurred in the school-aged populations.

A comparison of national infection and immunization estimates for measles and rubella. J A Bean, L F Burmeister, C L Paule, and P IsacsonCopyRight https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.68.12.1214 Published Online: October 07, 2011

Methylene blue staining has already been used to help in determining the viability of schistosomula, but precise criteria were lacking. Such criteria have now been established using the schistosomula of Schistosoma mansoni and S. japonicum, Living schistosomula, depending on the time of reading, are either (1) unstained and motile or (2) a deep blue, contracted, and motionless. Dead organisms are (1) a light green-blue and flattened or (2) colorless and degenerate. Optimum readings are made in uncovered preparations, 50–60 min after addition of the dye, when all initially motile schistosomula will have contracted and been stained.