Consistency and uncertainty of UK measurements of mercury in precipitation.

A novel method to assess the uncertainty of measurement of mercury in precipitation for the UK's Heavy Metals Monitoring Network is presented. The method makes use of the fact that, because of the high risk of sample contamination, samples are taken in duplicate in order to ensure valid data is available for as many sampling periods as possible. Where both samples are valid a good opportunity is afforded to use the statistical differences in the rain volumes sampled and the mercury concentrations measured to assess the overall uncertainty of the measurement.

Prevalence and predictors of underweight and stunting among children under 2 years of age in Eastern Kenya.

Objective: To investigate key risk factors associated with undernutrition in the first few years of life.

Design: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in January 2018 collecting anthropometric data and other information on household, caregiver and child characteristics. Crude and adjusted odds ratios were calculated to assess the association of these characteristics with stunting and underweight outcomes.

Lingual palpation for porcine cysticercosis: a rapid epidemiological tool for estimating prevalence and community risk in Africa.

Objective: To assess the association between the prevalence of tongue cyst-positive and antigen-positive pigs across different settings in Africa, to evaluate whether examining pigs for cysts could be used as a rapid surveillance tool for identifying geographical areas with a higher probability of high transmission of cysticercosis.

Methods: Published data were collated from 26 study sites across Africa that reported the prevalence of porcine cysticercosis by both lingual and serological examinations. The study sites were located in 10 countries across Africa.

Atmospheric deposition of phosphorus to land and freshwater.

We compiled published and newly-obtained data on the directly-measured atmospheric deposition of total phosphorus (TP), filtered total phosphorus (FTP), and inorganic phosphorus (PO4-P) to open land, lakes, and marine coasts. The resulting global data base includes data for c. 250 sites, covering the period 1954 to 2012.

Role of riverine colloids in macronutrient and metal partitioning and transport, along an upland-lowland land-use continuum, under low-flow conditions.

An assessment is made of the role of riverine colloids in macronutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon), metal and trace element partitioning and transport, for five rivers in the Ribble and Wyre catchments in north-western England, under baseflow/near-baseflow conditions. Cross-flow ultrafiltration was used to separate colloidal (<0.45 µm >1 kDa) and truly dissolved (<1 kDa) fractions from river water.