Breast Milk Lead and Cadmium Levels in Suburban Areas of Nanjing,China

Objective To evaluate levels of lead(Pb) and cadmium(Cd) in the breast milk in the second postpartum month,to investigate the relationship between Pb/Cd levels in breast milk and some sociodemographic parameters,and to explore whether these levels affect the infants' physical status or the mothers' psychological status(postpartum depression).Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2009 and December 2010.Altogether 170 healthy mothers were enrolled from Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital.The inclusion criteria were:voluntary to participate in this study,healthy,with no chronic disease,breastfeeding in the second postpartum month,living in a suburban but not non-industrial area of Nanjing,and not occupationally exposed to toxic metals.All the mothers completed a questionnaire and were evaluated based on the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale(EPDS) to identify the risk of postpartum depression.Pb and Cd levels in breast milk were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy.The infants of these mothers were examined for their z scores of weight for age,length for age,head circumference for age,and body mass index for age.Results The median breast milk levels of Pb and Cd were 40.6 μg/L and 0.67 μg/L,respectively.In 164(96.5%) of the 170 samples,Pb levels were higher than the limit reported by the World Health Organization(> 5 μg/L).Breast milk Cd level was > 1 μg/L in 54(31.8%) mothers.The mothers with a history of anemia had a higher breast milk Pb level than those without a history of anemia(41.1 μg/L vs.37.9 μg/L,P = 0.050).The median breast milk Cd level in those who were active and passive smokers during pregnancy was significantly higher than that in non-smokers(0.88 μg/L vs.0.00 μg/L,P = 0.025).The breast milk Cd level in the mothers not taking iron and vitamin supplements for 2 months postpartum was higher than in those taking the supplements(iron supplement:0.74 μg/L vs.0.00 μg/L,P = 0.025;vitamin supplement:0.78 μg/L vs.0.00 μg/L,P = 0.005).Breast milk Cd level at the second postpartum month was negatively correlated with the z scores of head circumference(r = 0.248,P = 0.042) and weight for age at birth(r = 0.241,P = 0.024) in girls.No correlation was found between the breast milk Pb/Cd levels and the EPDS scores.Conclusion Considering the high levels of Pb and Cd in breast milk in this study,breast milk monitoring programs are necessary.

Residents’attitudes and behaviours on private green spaces in the suburban areas of Central European countries

Green spaces in urban and suburban areas play a significant role in helping settlements adapt to climate change.The design,quantity,quality,and location of green spaces influence their ability to provide benefits to people and enhance the quality of life.Private green spaces,if adequately managed,can enhance the environmental quality.This study,based on a questionnaire survey and the Motivation/Attitude-Driven Behaviour(MADB)model,investigated how the attitudes and behaviours of residents shape private green spaces in 12 settlements of the 4 city regions(Cluj region,Nitra region,Kecskemét region,and Györ region)in 3 Central European countries(Hungary,Slovakia,and Romania).The results showed that beautiful natural environment,abundance of green spaces,beautiful settlement and streetscape,and village atmosphere were mentioned most often,along with good quality of life,with a mention rate of over 70.00%in the four city regions.Convenience also played a significant role in the management of green spaces,showing that convenience factors(less work,less waste,and cheaper management)more important for those who live in settlements nearer to the cities.The importance of biodiversity and ecology was positively correlated with socio-economic status such as education and financial situation.However,the importance of the utility of green spaces was less prevalent among original villagers and settlers.Moreover,we found that the percentage of green spaces of settlers is slightly higher than that of original villagers.The results of factor analysis revealed that socio-economic status can influence respondents’attitudes towards green spaces.It suggests to increase ecological awareness of residents,especially for new settlers,and promote good management techniques for green spaces.This study can improve the awareness of urban planners about the importance of green spaces in suburban areas.

Assessment of metals in dry-toilet collected matters from suburban areas of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, using biosolids quality guidelines and potential ecological risk index

Dry-toilet collected matter （DCM） from traditional dry-toilet pits are a potential health and ecological risk in suburban areas. In this study, the characteristics of metals in DCMs from suburban areas of Ulaanbaatar were surveyed. The results indicate that DCMs contain a high percentage of organic matter and nutrients, while heavy metals are at low levels, which shows good agricultural potential. The concentration ranges of Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn were 11±5, 46±9, 0.08±0.05, 9±3, 17±9, and 338±86mg·kg^-1, respectively. The concentration of Cd was below 0.5 mg.kgl, and a high positive relation was shown between chromium and nickel concentrations. The heavy metals in DCMs were safe for land application but Zn in DCMs was close to the effects range median （ERM）, which is toxic in some cases, such as amphipod bioassays. Because it is mandatory to treat DCMs to reduce pathogens, in the case of heavy metal enrichment and agricultural reuse, composting or pyrolysis are better choices than incinera- tion. Compared with global soil background values, the heavy metals in DCMs showed a low level of ecological risk, but a medium level when compared with Mongolian soil background values. The ecological risk of six heavy metals was in the descending order Hg 〉 Cu 〉 Zn 〉 Pb 〉 Ni 〉 Cr and the contribution rate of Hg exceeded 60%.

Classification and Spatial Pattern of Rural Multifunction from the Diversify of Construction Land Use:Taking Tongshan District of Jiangsu Province as a Case Study

The development of rural area in suburban(RAS)is comprehensively influenced by the mixed processes of non-farming,local urbanization and rural industrialization and has distinctive multifunctional features on the socioeconomic and resource utilization.Multifunctional reconstruction in the RAS is mainly manifested by changes in the quantity and structure of the construction land use(CLU).We took Tongshan District of Jiangsu Province as the study case.Following the logic of identifying,clustering,and diagnosing,we assessed the functional features of CLU and analyzed the differentiation of the scale and structure of CLU in RAS,with the aim of identifying the types and characteristics of multifunctional development in these regions.This study found that:1)typical RAS were experiencing multifunctional space reconstruction,and their multifunctional value was emerging and highlighted.The CLU was rapidly expanding,and the types of CLU were evolving from single to multiple uses;2)based on the dominant function of diverse rural CLU,we classified RAS into five types,dominated by the following functions,respectively:commercial services,industrial production,residential living,basic support and public service;3)according to the dominant function and spatial pattern,the development types of RAS were classified into agricultural service,comprehensive services,and integrated industries service,showing a circular spatial pattern from the suburbs to distant suburbs.The results can provide policy implication by creating new development impetus from rural multifunction perspective to promote the RAS revitalization.