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At least 955 records · Page 53Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Modeling the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere of the south coast air basin of California. 2. HOx radical production.

The production of HOx radicals in the South Coast Air Basin of California is investigated during the smog episode of September 9, 1993 using the California Institute of Technology (CIT) air-quality model. Sources of HOx(hydroxyl, hydroperoxy, and organic peroxy radicals) incorporated into the associated gas-phase chemical mechanism include the combination of excited-state singlet oxygen (formed from ozone (O3) photolysis (hv)) with water, the photolysis of nitrous acid, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and carbonyl compounds (formaldehyde (HCHO) or higher aldehydes and ketones), the consumption of aldehydes and alkenes (ALK) by the nitrate radical, and the consumption of alkenes by O3 and the oxygen atom (O). At a given time or location for surface cells and vertical averages, each route of HOx formation may be the greatest contributor to overall formation except HCHO-hv, H2O2-hv, and ALK-O, the latter two of which are insignificant pathways in general. The contribution of the ALK-O3 pathway is dependent on the stoichiometric yield of OH, but this pathway, at least for the studied smog episode, may not be as generally significant as previous research suggests. Future emissions scenarios yield lower total HOx production rates and a shift in the relative importance of individual pathways.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2004

Public mis-notification of coastal water quality: a probabilistic evaluation of posting errors at Huntington Beach, California.

Whenever measurements of fecal pollution in coastal bathing waters reach levels that might pose a significant health risk, warning signs are posted on public beaches in California. Analysis of historical shoreline monitoring data from Huntington Beach, southern California, reveals that protocols used to decide whether to post a sign are prone to error. Errors in public notification (referred to here as posting errors) originate from the variable character of pollutant concentrations in the ocean, the relatively infrequent sampling schedule adopted by most monitoring programs (daily to weekly), and the intrinsic error associated with binary advisories in which the public is either warned or not. In this paper, we derive a probabilistic framework for estimating posting error rates, which at Huntington Beach range from 0 to 41%, and show that relatively high sample-to-sample correlations (>0.4) are required to significantly reduce binary advisory posting errors. Public mis-notification of coastal water quality can be reduced by utilizing probabilistic approaches for predicting current coastal water quality, and adopting analog, instead of binary, warning systems.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2005

Identifying pollutant sources in tidally mixed systems: case study of fecal indicator bacteria from marinas in Newport Bay, southern California.

This study investigates the contribution of several marinas to fecal indicator bacteria impairment in Newport Bay, a regionally important tidal embayment in southern California. Three different fecal indicator bacteria groups were assayed, including total coliform, Escherichia coli, and enterococci bacteria, all measured using the IDEXX Colilert and Enterolert system. To document temporal variability in the fecal indicator bacteria signal, water column samples (n = 4132) were collected from two marinas over time scales ranging from hours to months. To document spatial variability of the fecal indicator bacteria signal, water column and sediment samples were collected from a number of sites (n = 11 to 36, depending on the study) in and around the two marinas, over spatial scales ranging from meters to kilometers. To identify the dominant temporal and spatial patterns in these data a statistical approach--Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis--was utilized. Finally, to clarify the transport pathways responsible for the observed temporal and spatial patterns, fecal indicator bacteria data were compared to simultaneous measurements of tidal flow, temperature, and salinity. The results of this field effort collectively implicate runoff--both dry weather runoff at sampling sites located near some storm drains and wet weather runoff at all sites--as a primary source of fecal indicator bacteria in the water column and subtidal sediments. The results and analysis presented here reinforce the growing body of evidence that management of fecal indicator bacteria impairment in the coastal waters of southern California will require developing long-term strategies for treating nonpoint sources of both dry weather and stormwater runoff.

California↗
PubMed2006

Economic analysis of electronic waste recycling: modeling the cost and revenue of a materials recovery facility in California.

The objectives of this study are to identify the various techniques used for treating electronic waste (e-waste) at material recovery facilities (MRFs) in the state of California and to investigate the costs and revenue drivers for these techniques. The economics of a representative e-waste MRF are evaluated by using technical cost modeling (TCM). MRFs are a critical element in the infrastructure being developed within the e-waste recycling industry. At an MRF, collected e-waste can become marketable output products including resalable systems/components and recyclable materials such as plastics, metals, and glass. TCM has two main constituents, inputs and outputs. Inputs are process-related and economic variables, which are directly specified in each model. Inputs can be divided into two parts: inputs for cost estimation and for revenue estimation. Outputs are the results of modeling and consist of costs and revenues, distributed by unit operation, cost element, and revenue source. The results of the present analysis indicate that the largest cost driver for the operation of the defined California e-waste MRF is the materials cost (37% of total cost), which includes the cost to outsource the recycling of the cathode ray tubes (CRTs) (dollar 0.33/kg); the second largest cost driver is labor cost (28% of total cost without accounting for overhead). The other cost drivers are transportation, building, and equipment costs. The most costly unit operation is cathode ray tube glass recycling, and the next are sorting, collecting, and dismantling. The largest revenue source is the fee charged to the customer; metal recovery is the second largest revenue source.

California↗
PubMed2005

Influence of climate change, tidal mixing, and watershed urbanization on historical water quality in Newport Bay, a saltwater wetland and tidal embayment in southern California.

Historical coliform measurements (n = 67,269; 32 years) in Newport Bay, a regionally important saltwater wetland and tidal embayment in southern California, have been compiled and analyzed. Coliform concentrations in Newport Bay decrease along an inland-to-ocean gradient, consistent with the hypothesis that this tidal embayment attenuates fecal pollution from inland sources. Nearly 70% of the variability in the coliform record can be attributed to seasonal and interannual variability in local rainfall, implying that stormwater runoff from the surrounding watershed is a primary source of coliform in Newport Bay. The storm loading rate of coliform from the San Diego Creek watershed--the largest watershed draining into Newport Bay--appears to be unaffected by the dramatic shift away from agricultural land-use that occurred in the watershed over the study period. Further, the peak loading of coliform during storms is larger than can be reasonably attributed to sources of human sewage, suggesting that nonhuman fecal pollution and/or bacterial regrowth contribute to the coliform load. Summer time measurements of coliform exhibit interannual trends, but these trends are site specific, apparently due to within-Bay variability in land-use, inputs of dry-weather runoff, and tidal mixing rates. Overall, these results suggest that efforts to improve water quality in Newport Bay will likely have greater efficacy during dry weather summer periods. Water quality during winter storms, on the other hand, appears to be dominated by factors outside of local management control; namely, virtually unlimited nonhuman sources of coliform in the watershed and global climate patterns, such as the El Nino Southern Oscillation, that modulate rainfall and stormwater runoff in southern California.

California↗
PubMed2006

Seasonal variations in concentrations of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in drinking water and reclaimed wastewater in southern California.

Southern California imports nearly all of its potable water from two sources: the Colorado River and the California State Water Project (Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin). Sewage treatment plant effluent (STPE) heavily impacts both of these sources. A survey of raw and treated drinking water from four water filtration plants in San Diego County showed the occurrence of several polar organic "pharmaceuticals and personal care products" (PPCP). These included phthalate esters, sunscreens, clofibrate, clofribric acid, ibuprofen, triclosan, and DEET. Several of these were also found in the finished water, such as di(ethylhexyl) phthalate, benzophenone, ibuprofen, and triclosan. Occurrence and concentrations of these compounds were highly seasonally dependent, and reached maximums when the flow of the San Joaquin River was low and the quantity of imported water was high. The maximum concentrations of the PPCPs measured in the raw water were correlated with low flow conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that feeds the State Water Project. The PPCP concentrations in raw imported water in the summer months approached that of reclaimed nonpotable wastewater.

California↗
PubMed1998

Sequence comparison of avian infectious bronchitis virus S1 glycoproteins of the Florida serotype and five variant isolates from Georgia and California.

The infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) spike glycoprotein S1 subunit is required to initiate infection and contains virus-neutralizing and serotype-specific epitope(s). Reported are the S1 gene nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequences for the Florida 18288 strain and isolates GA-92, CV-56b, CV-9437, CV-1686, and 1013. These sequences were compared with previously published gene sequences of IBV strains, and phylogenetic relationships are reported. The S1 amino acid sequence of Florida 18288 was 94.9% similar to the Connecticut strain, and GA-92 was 92.8% similar to the Arkansas 99 strain. S1 amino acid sequences of the California variants, CV-56b, CV-9437, and CV-1686, were 97.6-99.3% similar to one another and only 76.6%-76.8% similar to the Arkansas-type strains. Isolate 1013, also from California, was 84.0% similar to Ark DPI and 77.9% similar to CV-56b. When comparing 19 viruses isolated from the United States, sequence variations were observed between amino acids 55-96, 115-149, 255-309, and 378-395. Similar regions are reported to be involved in virus-neutralizing and/or serotype-specific epitopes. These data demonstrate that variant IBV strains continue to emerge, and unique variants may circulate among poultry in geographically isolated areas.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

Mammography utilization among california women age 40-49 in a managed care environment.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the utilization of screening mammography and the relationship between risk factors and mammography use in women age 40-49 in a managed care environment. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study based on a mailed survey. SETTING: A large HMO in California. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: The study population included respondents age 40-49 who completed a breast health assessment questionnaire mailed to all women age 34-49 and enrolled in a California HMO in early 1997. MAIN RESULTS: About 67.6% of the 20,391 women age 40-49 had at least one mammogram during 1995 and 1996. Logistic regression revealed that women age 40-44 were less likely (odds ratio: 0.83-0.90) than women age 45-49 to obtain mammography. Family history of breast cancer (odds ratio: 1.12-1.16), breast biopsy (odds ratio: 1.14-1.18), and a mammogram in the previous three years (odds ratio: 1.15-1.18) were associated with an increased likelihood of taking a mammogram. However, monthly breast self-exams (odds ratio: 0.996-1.04), having a child at or after age 30 (odds ratio: 0.97-1.02), and having menarche at age 12 or younger (odds ratio: 0.96-1.01) had no significant effect on the screening mammography rates. CONCLUSION: A relatively higher percentage of younger HMO members receive screening mammography than that of general population. However, some higher-risk groups, especially women whose first pregnancies were late in life, do not show a higher rate of using mammography.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Socioeconomic status and breast cancer incidence in California for different race/ethnic groups.

OBJECTIVE: The majority of research on breast cancer risk and socioeconomic status (SES) has been conducted for blacks and whites. This study evaluates the relationship between SES and breast cancer incidence in California for four race/ethnic groups. METHODS: Principal component analysis was used to create an SES index using 1990 Census data. Untracted cases were randomly allocated to census block groups within their county of residence. A total of 97,227 female breast cancer cases diagnosed in California between 1988 and 1992 were evaluated. Incidence rates and rate ratios (RRs) were estimated and a chi2 test for trend across SES levels was performed. RESULTS: SES was positively related to breast cancer incidence, and this effect was stronger for Hispanics and Asian/others than for whites and blacks. Adjusting by SES did not eliminate the differences in breast cancer rates among race/ethnic groups. RR differences between the race/ethnic groups were greatest in the lowest SES category and attenuated with increasing SES. An increasing trend over SES was statistically significant for all race/ethnic groups. Including randomly allocated cases affected RR estimates for white women only. CONCLUSIONS: Our results are consistent with similar findings for the Los Angeles area but differ from previous results for the San Francisco Bay area.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

The impact of realignment on utilization and cost of community-based mental health services in California.

Decentralization of California's public mental health system under program realignment has changed the utilization and cost of community-based mental health services. This study examined a sample of 75,951 users, representing 1.5 million adults who visited California's public mental health services during a 6-year period (FY 1988-1990 and FY 1992-1994). Regression analysis was performed to examine cost and utilization reduction over time, across regions, and across psychiatric diagnoses. Overall utilization and cost of community-based mental health services dropped significantly after the implementation of realignment. They were significantly lower for (a) 24-hour services in the urban industrialized Southern Region and (b) outpatient services in the agricultural Central Region of the state. Users diagnosed with mood disorders took a greater portion, but were associated with significantly less treatment and cost than other users in the post-realignment period. When local communities bear the financial risks and rewards, they find more efficient methods of delivering community-based mental health services.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The changing prevalence of autism in California.

We conducted a population-based study of eight successive California births cohorts to examine the degree to which improvements in detection and changes in diagnosis contribute to the observed increase in autism prevalence. Children born in 1987-1994 who had autism were identified from the statewide agency responsible for coordinating services for individuals with developmental disabilities. To evaluate the role of diagnostic substitution, trends in prevalence of mental retardation without autism were also investigated. A total of 5038 children with full syndrome autism were identified from 4,590,333 California births, a prevalence of 11.0 per 10,000. During the study period, prevalence increased from 5.8 to 14.9 per 10,000, for an absolute change of 9.1 per 10,000. The pattern of increase was not influenced by maternal age, race/ethnicity, education, child gender, or plurality. During the same period, the prevalence of mental retardation without autism decreased from 28.8 to 19.5 per 10,000, for an absolute change of 9.3 per 10,000. These data suggest that improvements in detection and changes in diagnosis account for the observed increase in autism; whether there has also been a true increase in incidence is not known.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1997

Cancer incidence in the Hmong of Central California, United States, 1987-94.

The Hmong are an ethnic minority in China, some of whom migrated to the mountainous areas of North Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand in the 19th and 20th centuries. Because of their support for the United States during the Vietnam war, many Laotian Hmong fled to Thailand and eventually were re-settled in the US after the end of that conflict. Approximately 100,000 Hmong currently live in the US, of whom about half reside in the Central Valley of California. The purpose of this study was to measure cancer incidence in this unique new immigrant population. Using the resources of the Cancer Registry of Central California (CRCC), a population-based cancer registry, cancer incidence in the Hmong was evaluated by calculating age-adjusted incidence rates as well as by calculating proportional incidence ratios. Compared with all races combined, elevated rates of cancer in the Hmong were observed for the following sites: nasopharynx, stomach, liver, pancreas, leukemia, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Cervical cancer incidence overall was elevated, but more noteworthy, invasive cervix cancer rates were much higher than expected. Lower cancer rates were found for breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer. Hmong also experienced advanced stage and grade of disease at diagnosis for many cancer sites in addition to cervical cancer, which may be explained by cultural factors, including avoidance of Western medical care and low rates of participation in screening programs. This population should be followed closely and monitored for patterns of cancer incidence in the future since it provides a natural laboratory for studies of cancer etiology as this population gradually becomes acculturated to the Western lifestyle.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Pretesting Spanish-language educational radio messages to promote timely and complete infant immunization in California.

California's Hispanic infants have lower immunization levels than non-Latino white infants, 53.7% versus 65.2%, respectively. Spanish-language radio is an effective mass media venue for imparting information to Latino populations. It has been demonstrated that lack of parental knowledge of infant immunization timing is associated with delayed immunization coverage. In an effort to improve Latino parent knowledge of immunization timing, two Spanish-language radio commercials were developed to be used in conjunction with community-based educational efforts. In order to gage the potential educational impact of the two commercials, they were pretested with a group of low-income Spanish-speaking Latino parents who represented members of the target population for whom the commercials were created. Both commercials were rated favorably by parents, and elicited immunization-specific responses. Although correct recall of the simplified, basic immunization schedule was low, the level of immunization response consistency and overall approval of both commercials appear to support their use as part of Latino infant immunization educational outreach in California.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Mortality among young immigrants to California: injury compared to disease deaths.

The authors "investigated adolescent and young adult immigrants' risk of death due to disease and injury.... The death certificates of 15- to 34-year-old California residents who died from 1989 through 1993 comprised the study population. Disease and injury deaths were identified using ICD-9 codes on the California Master Mortality data files. Frequencies and gender-standardized rates and risk ratios were calculated by nativity (U.S., non-U.S.) and by ethnicity and nativity." The results suggest that "young immigrants, at least in terms of mortality, do not constitute a burden in that they are at lower or similar risk of death than U.S.-born youth."

Americas↗
PubMed2003

Changes in youth smoking participation in California in the 1990s.

OBJECTIVE: To identify which key transitions in the adolescent smoking uptake process changed during periods of increasing and decreasing adolescent smoking participation in California. METHODS: Age groups (12-14 and 15-17 years) from longitudinal surveys of California adolescents, conducted in 1993-1996 (prevalence increasing) and in 1996-1999 (prevalence declining), allowed comparisons of transition rates across these periods for: never smokers (committed and susceptible) to any smoking, experimenters to established smokers, and current established smokers to former smokers (15-17-year-olds only). Analyses adjusted for demographics and other baseline environmental influences on adolescents to smoke, with a variable for 'time period' included to test for differential period transition rates. RESULTS: Adjusted analyses indicated a time period effect (1993-1996 versus 1996-1999) on all transitions examined for 12-14-year-olds. For 15-17-year-olds, the time period effect was significant for the transition from committed never smoker to any smoking, but only marginally significant for experimenter to established smoker and from current established to former smoker. CONCLUSION: Adolescent smoking participation appeared to decline at all phases in the smoking uptake process, with generally larger declines in younger adolescents. Intensified public health measures to curb adolescent smoking beginning in the mid 1990s may have been responsible.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

The health of the California region bordering Mexico.

Healthy Border (HB) 2010 is the health promotion and disease prevention agenda through the year 2010 of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission (BHC). On the United States side, it draws from the Healthy People (HP) 2010 objectives, identifying those most important and relevant for the border. The BHC has harmonized the list of objectives from both countries into a set of 19 that will be monitored and addressed in a collaborative manner. HB provides a framework for describing the border region's health and comparing with others. For this report, available data were collected for the HB indicators for San Diego and Imperial counties, and for California. Data on Latino populations were considered a proxy for Mexican-Americans and people of Mexican origin in California, because more specific data are not available. Results are presented on the 14 indicators for which the data were most complete. Those of most concern include access to health care and tuberculosis in both counties, plus motor vehicle crash injury deaths and asthma hospitalizations in Imperial. These issues should be given priority attention. Conversely, the region's and Latinos' experience with breast cancer mortality and infant mortality is favorable. Recommendations include binational collaborations in assessing and improving the health of our border communities.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1990

Genetic fingerprinting reflects population differentiation in the California Channel Island fox.

Restriction fragment profiles generated by hybridization of hypervariable minisatellite DNA probes have been used for paternity analysis but not for comparisons at the level of populations, because the profiles are thought to evolve too rapidly to be informative over large time intervals. But in small isolated populations, the fixation of restriction-fragment polymorphisms can outpace the generation of fragment-length variability through recombination. Here we report on an analysis of DNA fingerprints of the California Channel Island fox (Urocyon littoralis). These foxes comprise an island dwarf species found only on six of the Channel Islands off the coast of southern California. Variability of restriction-fragment profiles within fox populations, as indicated by the average percentage difference (APD), varied widely among the islands, from 0.0% (no variation) to 25.3%. The APDs between populations were considerably greater (43.8% to 84.4%). In addition, foxes on each island can be distinguished by the presence of diagnostic restriction fragments. Maximum parsimony and phenetic trees relating foxes from different islands are consistent with the archaeozoological and geological record. Therefore, in small populations of genetically isolated mammals, differences among hypervariable restriction-fragment profiles can be used to estimate relative genetic variability and to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships of natural populations.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Mortality of sea lions along the central California coast linked to a toxic diatom bloom.

Over 400 California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) died and many others displayed signs of neurological dysfunction along the central California coast during May and June 1998. A bloom of Pseudo-nitzschia australis (diatom) was observed in the Monterey Bay region during the same period. This bloom was associated with production of domoic acid (DA), a neurotoxin that was also detected in planktivorous fish, including the northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax), and in sea lion body fluids. These and other concurrent observations demonstrate the trophic transfer of DA resulting in marine mammal mortality. In contrast to fish, blue mussels (Mytilus edulus) collected during the DA outbreak contained no DA or only trace amounts. Such findings reveal that monitoring of mussel toxicity alone does not necessarily provide adequate warning of DA entering the food web at levels sufficient to harm marine wildlife and perhaps humans.

Animals↗