Risk assessment of carcinogens in food with special consideration of non-genotoxic carcinogens. Scientific arguments for use of risk assessment and for changing the Delaney Clause specifically

The document "Risk Assessment of Carcinogens in Food with Special Consideration of Non-Genotoxic Carcinogens" was produced by the International Federation of Societies of Toxicologic Pathologists on the occasion of its triannual meeting in Tours, France, April 23-26, 1995. Subsequently, it was endorsed by the North American Society of Toxicologic Pathologists at its annual meeting in San Diego, CA, USA, June 11-15, 1995. This document was written to address up-to-date risk assessment of carcinogens and anachronisms in the Delaney Clause of the US Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act which have become evident since its enactment in 1958. In the intervening years, major progress has been made in understanding mechanisms of cancer induction and in recognizing causes of human cancer. The Clause in conjunction with its present legal interpretation and implementation does not provide for rational, scientific evaluation of carcinogens. It ignores the fact that the diverse mechanisms now known to underlie cancer increases in rodents exposed to high doses of chemicals are often inapplicable to man. In this regard, current evaluation of chemicals based on the tenets of the Delaney Clause is irrational in many cases. The document presents several examples of chemicals to which humans may be exposed through food and which illustrate the need for science-based risk assessment. Appropriate risk assessment methods are available to provide assurance of negligible risk, and accordingly, it is recommended that the Delaney Clause be rescinded as it has outlived its usefulness. This will enable US governmental agencies to regulate the use of chemicals in foods by using appropriate current scientific methods on a case by case basis within the context of other relevant legislation.     

Development of EPA OTM 10 for Landfill Applications

In 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency posted a new test method on its website called Other Test Method 10 (OTM 10) which describes direct measurement of pollutant mass emission flux from area sources using ground-based optical remote sensing. The method has validated application to relatively small bounded area sources but additional guidance is needed for large area sources, such as landfills, where the emission zone can exceed the size of optical configuration leading to difficulties in relating measured fluxes to emissions per unit area. This paper presents the findings of a series of tracer-release experiments designed to improve the understanding of OTM 10 in landfill applications. OTM 10 plume capture efficiency data acquired at a variety of landfill sites under a range of meteorological conditions and measurement configurations are presented. Experiments indicate an overall capture efficiency factor of 0.81 with a standard deviation of 0.33. Lower capture efficiencies from side slope releases are noted (0.69). The combined data set is analyzed for factors influencing capture efficiency. A multiple linear regression is used to model the capture efficiency as a function of primary parameters including distance of the tracer release from the observing plane and wind speed. A simplified model based on the regression analysis is described and its use for approximating the area contributing to flux is presented.     

Chemoprevention of DMBA-induced mammary carcinogenesis in rats by low-dose EPA and DHA

We investigated the effects of low-dose eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on the incidence and growth of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary carcinoma in rats fed a high-fat (HF) diet. We also examined the effects of these treatments on the fatty acid composition of tumour and serum. Tumour incidence was significantly decreased by the administration of low-dose EPA and DHA, whereas their inhibitory effects on tumour growth did not reach significance. Serum arachidonic acid (AA) level was decreased by the administration of low-dose EPA and tended to be decreased by the administration of low-dose DHA, whereas tumour AA levels were not changed. The administration of low-dose EPA and DHA may be useful for inhibiting the incidence of breast cancer.     

保险诈骗罪与保险法不可抗辩条款的关系及法律适用

刑法规定的保险诈骗罪和保险法规定的不可抗辩条款之间并不存在法律冲突,民事上合法的行为,在刑事上不可能是犯罪.不可抗辩条款限制了保险人的合同解除权,维持了合同的效力,但并不具有赋予欺诈行为以合法性的法律效果,适用不可抗辩条款的保险合同,仍有存在保险诈骗罪的余地.刑法和保险法从不同角度均对保险秩序予以保护,刑法是对保险法的有益补充和有力保障.     

Valuing the Warranty Ceiling Clause on New Mexico Highway 44 Using a Binomial Lattice Model

In 1998 the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department (NMSHTD) agreed to pay $60 million for a 20-year pavement warranty on their Route 44 project (NM 44, now US 550). The warranty includes a ceiling clause that caps total expenditures at $110 million. As the first long-term highway warranty in the United States, the transaction set a controversial precedent that parties interested in innovative highway contracting, including other state department of transportations (DOTs), the USDOT, sureties, and contractors, view as a test case for evaluating pricing and cost-effectiveness. An interim audit report published by the State of New Mexico [Abbey (2004). Rep. to the Legislative Finance Committee, State Highway and Transportation Department, Santa Fe, N.M.] provides invaluable fiscal projections and challenges the cost effectiveness of the $60 million expenditure. This paper presents an independent analysis of the effectiveness of the warranty clauses. Based upon NMSHTD data, the analysis contends that $60 million was a fair cost of the 20-year pavement warranty at the time of acceptance if the expenditure ceiling is not considered. Furthermore, this paper argues that the ceiling on expenditure can be valuable. Using the real options approach, the paper evaluates the warranty ceiling clause on NM 44 and some policy suggestions are discussed.     

Automatic Calibration of the U.S. EPA SWMM Model for a Large Urban Catchment

The Storm Water Management Model was adapted and calibrated to the Ballona Creek Watershed, a large urban catchment in Southern California. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to process the input data and generate the spatial distribution of precipitation. An optimization procedure using the complex method was incorporated to estimate runoff parameters, and ten storms were used for calibration and validation. The calibrated model predicted the observed outputs with reasonable accuracy. A sensitivity analysis showed the impact of the model parameters, and results were most sensitive to imperviousness and impervious depression storage and least sensitive to Manning roughness for surface flow. Optimized imperviousness was greater than imperviousness predicted from land-use information. The results demonstrate that this methodology of integrating GIS and stormwater model with a constrained optimization technique can be applied to large watersheds.     

Force Measurements in the Charpy Impact Test

Abstract

The behaviour of alkali-containing sintered hematite briquettes was studied under simulated blast furnace conditions. Alkalis lower the strength of the briquette because of the formation of oxide phases which have low softening temperature ranges. Softening is more pronounced with sodium than with potassium. The shrinkage of the briquette during reduction increases with both alkali concentration and temperature. The detrimental effects of alkalis are neutralized when the silica content is high. Magnesia additions increase the strength of the silica-containing briquettes. However, if lime or alumina is added, their strength decreases. Catastrophic swelling occurs only at low loads.

Résumé

Le comportement de briquettes d'hématite frittées contenant des alcalins a été étudié en stimulant les conditions d'un haut-fourneau. Les alcalins abaissent la résistance de la briquette à cause de la formation de phases d'oxydes qui ramollissent dans les domaines de températures peu élevées. Ce ramollissement est plus prononcé avec le sodium qu'avec le potassium. Le retrait de la briquette pendant la réduction s'accroit avec la concentration en alcalins et la température. Les effets néfastes des alcalins sont neutralises quand la teneur en silice est élevée. Des additions de magnésie accroissent la résistance des briquettes contenant de la silice. Cependant si de la chaux ou de l'alumine est ajoutée, leur résistance décroit. Un gonflement catastrophique n'a lieu que pour de faibles charges.     

开发区区域环评中环境空气影响预测模型的选择

本文对开发区区域环评环境空气影响模型选择中存在的问题进行分析,对如何解决这一问题进行了探讨。     

Impact of diagnostic laparoscopy in the management of the unilateral impalpable testis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of laparoscopy on the management of children with a unilateral impalpable testis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 27 children who underwent a primary inguinal exploration for a unilateral impalpable testis. RESULTS: Twelve of 27 (44%) children had inguinal or 'peeping' testes and 10 of 27 (37%) had blind-ending vasa and vessels in the inguinal canal; four of these 10 had atrophic tubular tissue in the excised remant. Four of 27 (15%) had blind-ending vasa and vessels proximal to the internal ring. Only one child had a testis proximal to the internal ring. Only the four children (15%) with blind-ending vasa and vessels proximal to the internal ring would have benefited from a laparoscopy by avoiding an inguinal exploration. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the time, expense and limited usefulness of laparoscopy in altering the management of children with a unilateral unpalpable testis, we reserve laparoscopy for cases where inguinal exploration has failed.     

Impact of changes in the environment on vector-transmitted diseases]

Achalasia, diffuse esophageal spasm, and nutcracker esophagus constitute the main primary esophageal motility disorders. During the past decade major progress has been made in understanding their pathophysiology and in the ability to establish a precise diagnosis. In addition, minimally invasive surgical intervention has radically changed the therapeutic approach, and thoracoscopic or laparoscopic myotomy is probably the best treatment for most patients.     

环评中的社会影响评价研究

社会是环境的重要要素之一,环境影响评价应包括社会影响的内容,文章论述了社会影响评价的概念、重要意义、产生与发展的历程,对我国环评中社会影响评价的现状进行了分析,并对我国如何开展社会影响评价提出了建议。