Warren Kaplan

Pure cultures of the marine ammonium-oxidizing bacterium Nitrosomonas sp. were grown in the laboratory at oxygen partial pressures between 0.005 and 0.2 atm (0.18 to 7 mg/liter). Low oxygen conditions induced a marked decrease in the rate for production of NO(2), from 3.6 x 10 to 0.5 x 10 mmol of NO(2) per cell per day. In contrast, evolution of N(2)O increased from 1 x 10 to 4.3 x 10 mmol of N per cell per day. The yield of N(2)O relative to NO(2) increased from 0.3% to nearly 10% (moles of N in N(2)O per mole of NO(2)) as the oxygen level was reduced, although bacterial growth rates changed by less than 30%. Nitrifying bacteria from the genera Nitrosomonas, Nitrosolobus, Nitrosospira, and Nitrosococcus exhibited similar yields of N(2)O at atmospheric oxygen levels. Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (Nitrobacter sp.) and the dinoflagellate Exuviaella sp. did not produce detectable quantities of N(2)O during growth. The results support the view that nitrification is an important source of N(2)O in the environment.

BACKGROUND: The ongoing policy debate about the value of communications technology in promoting development objectives is diverse. Some view computer/web/phone communications technology as insufficient to solve development problems while others view communications technology as assisting all sections of the population. This paper looks at evidence to support or refute the idea that fixed and mobile telephones is, or could be, an effective healthcare intervention in developing countries. METHODS: A Web-based and library database search was undertaken including the following databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, (nursing & allied health), Evidence Based Medicine (EBM), POPLINE, BIOSIS, and Web of Science, AIDSearch (MEDLINE AIDS/HIV Subset, AIDSTRIALS & AIDSDRUGS) databases. RESULTS: Evidence can be found to both support and refute the proposition that fixed and mobile telephones is, or could be, an effective healthcare intervention in developing countries. It is difficult to generalize because of the different outcome measurements and the small number of controlled studies. There is almost no literature on using mobile telephones as a healthcare intervention for HIV, TB, malaria, and chronic conditions in developing countries. Clinical outcomes are rarely measured. Convincing evidence regarding the overall cost-effectiveness of mobile phone " telemedicine" is still limited and good-quality studies are rare. Evidence of the cost effectiveness of such interventions to improve adherence to medicines is also quite weak. CONCLUSION: The developed world model of personal ownership of a phone may not be appropriate to the developing world in which shared mobile telephone use is important. Sharing may be a serious drawback to use of mobile telephones as a healthcare intervention in terms of stigma and privacy, but its magnitude is unknown. One advantage, however, of telephones with respect to adherence to medicine in chronic care models is its ability to create a multi-way interaction between patient and provider(s) and thus facilitate the dynamic nature of this relationship. Regulatory reforms required for proper operation of basic and value-added telecommunications services are a priority if mobile telecommunications are to be used for healthcare initiatives.

Emissions of nitrous oxide, methane, and carbon dioxide were measured at diverse locations in tropical forests of Brazil, Ecuador, and Puerto Rico, using a static open chamber technique. Mean fluxes to the atmosphere were 1.7 × 10 10 , −0.7 × 10 10 , and 1.5 × 10 14 molecules cm −2 s −1 for N 2 O, CH 4 , and CO 2 , respectively. The data indicate that tropical forests contribute a significant fraction of the global source for atmospheric N 2 O, about 40% of the current source and possibly 75% of the preindustrial source. Methane is consumed by soils on average, but the sink is an insignificant part (<5%) of the atmospheric cycle for the gas. Emissions of CO 2 from forest soils are higher at equatorial sites than at middle or high latitudes, as expected from ecological considerations. Soils emit CO 2 at rates more than twice as large as the rate of carbon infall in litter; hence much of the emitted CO 2 must arise from root metabolism.