Chain of custody as an organizing framework in seafood risk reduction

Changes in the terms and direction of international trade in seafood, an increased understanding of and concern for the public health risk imposed by seafood products, and advances in information management technology combine to open opportunities to manage more effectively seafood-borne risk. Present regulatory mandates and programs lack sufficient integration for effective risk mitigation and do not adequately reflect the trans-national nature of seafood trade or the increased complexity of seafood production. This paper argues that the concept of a "chain of custody" - from the ocean to the final consumer - provides a useful integrating framework for understanding and refining efforts to reduce public health concerns surrounding the consumption of seafood.     

Predicting summer hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico: riverine N, P, and Si loading

We conducted a statistical analysis to discern the relative strengths of the loading of various forms of nitrogen, phosphorus, dissolved silicate and their molar ratios on the variance in the size of the summertime low oxygen zone found off the Mississippi River, northern Gulf of Mexico. A stable statistical model that included Year and riverine nitrate+nitrite loading for the 2 months prior to the measurement of hypoxic zone size described 82% of its variation in size from 1978 to 2004. The usefulness of the term Year is consistent with the documented increase in carbon stored in sediments after the 1970s, which is when the hypoxic zone is predicted to have become a regular feature on the shelf and to have expanded westward. The increased carbon storage is anticipated to cause a sedimentary respiratory demand influencing the size of the zone, and whose temporal influence is cumulative and transcends the annual variations in nitrogen loading. The variable Year is negatively correlated with the TN:TP ratio in a way that suggests N, not P, has become more important as a factor limiting phytoplankton growth in the last 20 years. Nitrogen, in particular nitrate+nitrite, and not phosphorus, dissolved silicate, or their molar ratios, appears to be the major driving factor influencing the size of the hypoxic zone on this shelf. This conclusion is consistent with cross-system analyses that conclude that the TN:TP ratio in the Mississippi River, currently fluctuating around 20:1, is indicative of nitrogen, not phosphorus, limitation of phytoplankton growth. Nutrient management that places stronger emphasis on reducing nitrogen loading as compared to phosphorus loading, is justified.     

Balancing urban and peri-urban exchange: water geography of rural livelihoods in Mexico

The peri-urban area is the region where there is a more dynamic interaction between the urban and rural. The peri-urban area supplies natural resources, such as land for urban expansion and agricultural products to feed the urban population. In arid and semi-arid lands, such as northern Mexico, these areas may also be the source of water for the city's domestic demand. In addition, scholars argue that peri-urban residents may have a more advantageous geographical position for selling their labour and agricultural products in cities and, by doing so, sustaining their livelihoods. A considerable number of studies have examined the peri-urban to urban natural resources transfer in terms of land annexation, housing construction, and infrastructure issues; however, the study of the effects of the reallocation of peri-urban water resources to serve urban needs is critical as well because the livelihoods of peri-urban residents, such as those based on agriculture and livestock, depend on water availability. In the case of Hermosillo there is a tremendous pressure on the water resources of peri-urban small farm communities or ejidos because of urban demand. Based on interviews and structured surveys with producers and water managers, this paper examines how peri-urban livelihoods have been reshaped by the reallocation of the city's natural resources in many cases caused some ejido members or ejidatarios to lose livelihoods.     

Reactive sulfides relationship with metals in sediments from an eutrophicated estuary in Southeast Brazil

The potential association of acid-volatile sulfides (AVS) and reactive (HCl soluble) Fe with the distribution of reactive trace metals (Cu, Cd, Ni, Pb and Zn) was investigated in sediment cores collected in the Igua?u river estuarine system (Guanabara bay, Brazil), within the river (core R) and the bay (core B) areas. Moderate to extremely high AVS concentrations (33-314 micromol g(-1)) were found in the rapidly-accumulated sediments of this eutrophicated estuary. AVS showed significant correlations with Fe, Ni and Pb in core B, whereas no correlation between AVS and metals was observed in core R. Results suggest that the AVS:Fe molar ratio may often reflect the diagenetic conditions controlling the distribution of Cd and Cu in core B better than AVS and Fe levels themselves. A shift in the biogeochemical controls of metal distribution from the river to the open bay sediments is suggested, with a greater association of most metals with AVS and Fe in bay sediments.     

碲锰铝矿在中国的首次发现

碲锰铁矿（Kuranakhite）最早是1975年发现于俄罗斯南雅库特金矿床氧化带之中，之后国内外均未见报导。本文所述碲锰铅矿发现于陕西省洛南县驾鹿金矿床中，常呈不规则粒状集合体，粒径一般为0．05～0．25nm，浅褐色至棕褐色，半透明，条痕棕色，玻璃光泽，维氏硬度HV=231～438kg／mm2，摩氏硬度HM=4～5。实测密度6．72（2）g／m3。反射色呈蓝灰至浅蓝色，非均性中等，双反射弱，偏光色蓝至灰棕色，无内反射。折射率N=2.01，NB=1．98，Nr=1．96。6个电子深外平均成分PbO为45.40％，MnO2为1641％，TeO3为38．10％，总和99．91％；计算的化学式为Pb0.99M0.92Te1.06O6，简写为PbMnTeO6。X射线粉晶分析主要强线d（I），（hkl）为：0．341（100），（111）；0.2556（60），（130）；0．2043（50），（041）；0．1666（20），（310）；0.1598（40），（241）；0.1472（15），（330）。根据粉晶指标化求得该矿物为斜方晶系，可能的空间群为C，a=0．511（1）um，b=0．891（2）nm，c=0．532（1）nm，a：b=0．57，c：b=0.60；V=0.242（3）nm3，Z=2，Dx=6.66（l）g／cm3。     

Value-by-alpha maps: An alternative technique to the cartogram

The cartogram, or value-by-area map, is a popular technique for cartographically representing social data. Such maps visually equalize a basemap prior to mapping a social variable by adjusting the size of each enumeration unit by a second, related variable. However, to scale the basemap units according to an equalizing variable, cartograms must distort the shape and/or topology of the original geography. Such compromises reduce the effectiveness of the visualization for elemental and general map-reading tasks. Here we describe a new kind of representation, termed a value-by-alpha map, which visually equalizes the basemap by adjusting the alpha channel, rather than the size, of each enumeration unit. Although not without its own limitations, the value-by-alpha map is able to circumvent the compromise inherent to the cartogram form, perfectly equalizing the basemap while preserving both shape and topology.