Occult Cervical Avulsion: A Rare Cause of Intrapartum Vaginal Bleeding.

Background: Cervical avulsion, complete or partial, is a rare intrapartum complication that can go unrecognized without proper physician vigilance.

Cases: Case 1 is a 32-year-old multiparous woman admitted for induction of labor at 37 2/7 weeks for abnormal antenatal testing. Case 2 is a 22-year-old multiparous woman at 29 0/7 with spontaneous preterm labor 10 days after cerclage removal for preterm contractions.

The dispersion of heavy metals in the vicinity of Britannia Mine, British Columbia, Canada.

Britannia Mine in British Columbia, Canada, is a major source of copper and other heavy metal pollutants, which enter the sea at Howe Sound. This investigation aims to determine whether there is sufficient Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn, in the terrestrial environment surrounding the mine to suggest that dispersion and subsequent bioaccumulation has occurred in the past and continues. Samples of spoil, vegetation, and water were collected in January 2003 from areas at sea level and up to an altitude of 790 m.