Rapporteur report: Mechanisms and interactions

The first two talks of this session described the basic characteristics of the interaction of ultrasound with matter, the first (by V.F. Humphrey) concentrating on the physical interactions, with the second (by W.D. O’Brien, Jr.) focusing on the biophysical effects and mechanisms. The regimes covered by the first and second talks were of primarily high-frequency (O(MHz)) ultrasound in liquids and tissue, respectively. In contrast, the third and final talk of the session (by M. Alves-Pereira) discussed observations made by her group of the vibroacoustic effects of low-frequency noise and infrasound, propagating through air, on humans and animals.     

Rapporteur report: Roundup, discussion and recommendations

There is a relative paucity of recent information regarding the long-term health effects associated with exposure to ultrasound, and to infrasound and low-frequency noise (LFN). For ultrasound, further epidemiological studies are recommended, and priority should be given to studies investigating the effects of handedness and to studies assessing possible subtle effects on brain function. These studies should reflect contemporary practises in diagnostic ultrasound and have sufficiently long follow-up periods to examine the possibility of effects into late adolescence or beyond. In the absence of a non-exposed control group, it would be advisable to make comparisons between a highly exposed group with a less exposed group, and to compare groups exposed at differing gestational stages. The effects associated with ultrasound contrast agents should also be studied, and the appropriateness of the thermal index (TI) and mechanical index (MI) should be reviewed. It is recommended that animal models should be used to investigate the effects of exposure at differing gestational ages on development, and modern cellular and molecular techniques used to investigate potential mechanisms of interaction. Although explicit morphological changes have been reported following occupational and experimental exposures to infrasound and low LFN, it was recommended that a thorough review of the relevant biological and health effects literature was necessary before specific proposals could be made. Uncertainties about the characterisation of these low frequencies also indicated the need to develop appropriate measurement techniques and protocols.     

Medical and non-medical protection standards for ultrasound and infrasound

Protection from inappropriate or hazardous exposure to ultrasound is controlled through international standards and national regulations. IEC standard 60601 part 1 establishes requirements for the mechanical, electrical, chemical and thermal safety for all electro-medical equipment. The associated part 2 standard for diagnostic medical ultrasonic equipment sets no upper limits on ultrasonic exposure. Instead, safety indices are defined that are intended to advise users on the degree of thermal and mechanical hazard. At present the display of these safety indices satisfies regulatory requirements in both the USA and Europe. Nevertheless there are reservations about the effectiveness of this approach to protection management. In the USA, there are national regulatory limits on diagnostic exposure, based on acoustic output from clinical equipment in use over 20 years ago. The IEC 60601 part 2 standard for therapeutic equipment sets 3 W cm⁻² as the limit on acoustic intensity. Transducer surface temperature is controlled for both diagnostic and therapy devices.

For airborne ultrasound, interim guidelines on limits of human exposure published by the IRPA are now 2 decades old. A limit on sound pressure level of 100 dB for the general population is recommended. The absence of protection standards for infrasound relates to difficulties in measurement at these low frequencies.     

Rapporteur report: Epidemiology

Three talks were presented in the session on “Epidemiology”. The first talk was a review of prenatal studies. The second talk presented epidemiological evidence from prenatal studies. The third talk presented general issues regarding the planning of an epidemiological study. It was noted that epidemiological studies of prenatal exposures use data from the early 1980s when ultrasound was first introduced for foetal scans. These studies did not show associations between prenatal ultrasound scanning and childhood cancer, reduced birth weight, impaired childhood growth or neurological development in childhood. However, there was a possible association between prenatal ultrasound scanning and left-handedness in boys. The aetiology of this association remains uncertain.     

Rapporteur report: implications for exposure guidelines

There is a paucity of information regarding the long-term health effects associated with exposure to static magnetic fields. Perceptual and other acute effects have been demonstrated above a threshold of about 2 T, and these form the basis for human exposure standards at present. Exposures well above this threshold are increasingly becoming more common as the technology associated with magnetic resonance imaging advances. Therefore, priority should be given to assessing the health risks associated with exposures to such fields. Studies should include a prospective cohort study investigating cancer risks of workers and patients exposed to fields in excess of 2 T, a study investigating effects on human cognitive performance from repeated exposures, and a molecular biology study investigating acute changes in genomic responses in volunteers exposed to fields of up to 8 T. Studies investigating the effects of long-term exposure on cancer, and on neurobehavioural development are also recommended using animals, where the use of transgenic models is encouraged. In addition, dosimetric studies should be conducted using high-resolution male, female and pregnant voxel phantoms, as should theoretical studies investigating the local currents induced in the eye and in the heart by movement during exposure. Finally, studies are recommended to investigate further the ability of static magnetic fields to significantly affect radical pair reactions in biological systems.     

Standards for biodiversity: a proposal based on biodiversity standards for forest plantations

The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity has not only focused attention on the concept of biodiversity it has also set expectations that the signatory nations will establish objectives. It is suggested here that the use of biodiversity standards could have a useful role in quantifying these objectives. The use of biodiversity standards is explored in connection with the levels of biodiversity In plantation forests. Forest plantations have been used for the basis of this investigation because such plantations could be used as large-scale experiments in which the use of standards, and the ecological monitoring of these standards, could be researched. The impact of intensive forestry practices on wildlife has often been the cause of concern and indeed controversy. Recently there has been a move towards the development of multipurpose forest plantations where management for recreation and wildlife takes place alongside management for timber. Some forest authorities are actively looking at ways of restoring levels of biodiversity in plantation forests. We suggest that if levels of biodiversity are to be restored, then forest managers must have something to aim for; that is, there must be a standard. The adoption of standards could provide a means whereby forest managers can meet biodiversity objectives. Standards may also enable managers to determine the effectiveness of those management practices which are intended to increase levels of biodiversity. We suggest a conceptual plan which combines a monitoring procedure with biodiversity objectives.     

Scientific basis for the Soviet and Russian radiofrequency standards for the general public

The former Soviet Union (USSR) and the USA were the first countries to introduce standards limiting exposure to radiofrequency (RF) fields. However, the exposure limits in the USSR standards were always much lower than those in the USA and other countries. The objective of this article is to provide a history of the development of the Soviet and Russian RF standards. In addition, we summarize the scientific evidence used to develop the original USSR RF and subsequent Russian public health standards, as well as the mobile telecommunications standard published in 2003, but we do not critique them. We also describe the protective approaches used by the Soviet and Russian scientists for setting their limits. A translation of the papers of the key studies used to develop their standards is available in the online version of this publication. Bioelectromagnetics 33:623–633, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

On principles and standards in ecological restoration

The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) has long debated how to define best practices. We argue that a principles‐first approach offers more flexibility for restoration practitioners than a standards‐based approach, is consistent with the developmental stage of restoration, and functions more effectively at a global level. However, the solution is not as simple as arguing that one approach to professional practice is sufficient. Principles and standards can and do operate effectively together, but only if they are coordinated in a transparent and systematic way. Effective professional guidance results when standards anchored by principles function in a way that is contextual and evolving. Without that clear relation to principles, the tendency to promote performance standards may lead to a narrowing of restoration practice and reduction in the potential to resolve very difficult and diverse ecological and environmental challenges. We offer recommendations on how the evolving project of restoration policy by SER and other agencies and organizations can remain open and flexible.     

碳足迹核算的国际标准概述与解析

各种层面上的碳足迹核算在全球气候变化控制领域得到了越来越多的关注。但是,这些关于碳足迹核算的相关国际标准繁多,彼此之间的关系复杂,不利于研究领域和工业界对这些标准进行应用与交流,限制了碳足迹核算的发展进度与深度。对目前已有的国际主要碳足迹核算标准及生命周期评价标准进行了整理,梳理出这些国际标准的一些基本特征,绘制了国际标准之间的关系图;并进一步从生命周期评价步骤的角度出发,解析了各种国际标准在这些阶段上的相关内容,以及每一个阶段上各标准相关规定中的不同特点及逻辑关系。对促进我国碳足迹核算相关研究与实践工作具有一定的理论与现实参考意义。     

Rapporteur report: cellular, animal and epidemiological studies of the effects of static magnetic fields relevant to human health

Three talks were presented in the session on “Cellular, Animal and Epidemiological Studies of the Effects of Static Magnetic Fields Relevant to Human Health”. The first talk presented the in vitro effects of static magnetic fields on cell cultures. The second talk presented the in vivo evidence obtained from animal studies. The final, third talk, presented the evidence obtained from epidemiological studies.

The overall conclusion of the three presentations and the following general discussion was that the scientific evidence available to date is weak and contains large gaps in knowledge either due to the poor quality of published studies or because of the lack of published research on certain health-related topics.

It was emphasized that the rapid development of new technological applications of static magnetic fields (e.g. magnetic levitation trains or magnetic resonance imaging—MRI) results in the human population at large, in certain occupations, and in a selected population of clinical patients being exposed to ever increasing static magnetic field strengths. It is of concern that the knowledge presently available concerning the health effects of these strong static magnetic fields is lagging a long way behind technological development.

In conclusion, it was suggested that there is an urgent need to perform new studies in all research areas (in vitro, in vivo and epidemiology) in order to fill the present gaps in knowledge and provide assurance that this technology will not cause any unwanted and unexpected health side effects.     

Cell biology and EMF safety standards

Abstract

Living cells react defensively and start to synthesize stress proteins when exposed to potentially harmful stimuli. Electromagnetic fields (EMF) are among the many different environmental stimuli that initiate stress protein synthesis. Although there is greater energy transfer and heating due to EMF at higher frequencies, there is no greater stress response. The cellular stress response is far more sensitive to EMF than to an increase in temperature. It should be obvious that an EMF safety standard should be based on the more sensitive, natural biological response.     

Metabolomics Standards Workshop and the development of international standards for reporting metabolomics experimental results

Informatics standards and controlled vocabularies are essentialfor allowing information technology to help exchange, manage,interpret and compare large data collections. In a rapidly evolvingfield, the challenge is to work out how best to describe, butnot prescribe, the use of these technologies and methods. AMetabolomics Standards Workshop was held by the US NationalInstitutes of Health (NIH) to bring together multiple ongoingstandards efforts in metabolomics with the NIH research community.The goals were to discuss metabolomics workflows (methods, technologiesand data treatments) and the needs, challenges and potentialapproaches to developing a Metabolomics Standards Initiativethat will help facilitate this rapidly growing field which hasbeen a focus of the NIH roadmap effort. This report highlightsspecific aspects of what was presented and discussed at the1st and 2nd August 2005 Metabolomics Standards Workshop.      

The HUPO proteomics standards initiative--easing communication and minimizing data loss in a changing world

The amount of data currently being generated by proteomics laboratories around the world is increasing exponentially, making it ever more critical that scientists are able to exchange, compare and retrieve datasets when re-evaluation of their original conclusions becomes important. Only a fraction of this data is published in the literature and important information is being lost every day as data formats become obsolete. The Human Proteome Organisation Proteomics Standards Initiative (HUPO-PSI) was tasked with the creation of data standards and interchange formats to allow both the exchange and storage of such data irrespective of the hardware and software from which it was generated. This article will provide an update on the work of this group, the creation and implementation of these standards and the standards-compliant data repositories being established as result of their efforts.     

Water Quality Quantification: Basics and Implementation

Quantitative estimation of water quality and its relationships with management activities is a necessary step in efficient water resources management. However, water quality is typically defined in abstract terms and management activities are rarely quantified with respect to their impact on lake water quality. Here we show by demonstration of systems for Lake Kinneret, Israel and the Naroch Lakes of Belarus how water quality can be quantified in relation to lake management activities to be a part of sustainable management.     

Resources, standards and tools for systems biology.

Modelling and simulation techniques are valuable tools for the understanding of complex biological systems. The design of a computer model necessarily has many diverse inputs, such as information on the model topology, reaction kinetics and experimental data, derived either from the literature, databases or direct experimental investigation. In this review, we describe different data resources, standards and modelling and simulation tools that are relevant to integrative systems biology.     

Clinical standards for growth in height of Belgian boys and girls,aged 2 to 18 years

The present paper presents the first clinical standard for growth in height of Belgian boys and girls, based on purely longitudinal data. Growth charts are provided with centiles of height for age along with growth curves of the typical early, average and late maturing child in the population. These new standards show the classical features of cross-sectional standards, but above that, they also provide information about the variability in individual growth patterns, as a result of variation in maturation. Average adult height is 176.6 cm (SD=6.3 cm) in boys and 163.3 cm (SD=5.7 cm) in girls. The representativity of these new standards with respect to the actual Belgian population has been by comparison with recent cross-sectional data, collected on a large number of subjects. These standards should be applied in all situations where interest lies in the evaluation of the normality of a child's growth pattern over some length of time and will therefore find their usefulness in clinical follow-up studies of growth.     

Data standards for proteomics: mitochondrial two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis data as a model system

Proteomics has emerged as a major discipline that led to a re-examination of the need for consensus and a nationally sanctioned set of proteomics technology standards. Such standards for databases and data reporting may be applied to two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D PAGE) technology as a pilot project for assessing global and national needs in proteomics, and the role of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and other similar standards and measurement organizations. The experience of harmonizing the heterogeneous data included in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) provides a paradigm for technology in an area where significant heterogeneity in technical detail and data storage has evolved. Here we propose an approach toward standardizing mitochondrial 2D PAGE data in support of a globally relevant proteomics consensus.     

Amniotic band syndrome in a rhesus monkey: a case report

A rhesus monkey fetus was examined by ultrasound at 110, 111, and 113 gestational days (GD) and showed features suggestive of Amniotic Band Syndrome (ABS). These included an unusual craniofacial configuration, cortical distortion, asymmetrical hydrocephalus, a right occipital porencephalic cyst, and hydropic membranes with several free strands attached to the fetal head, neck, and scapular regions. The fetus remained fixed in the same position with the head retroflexed during each consecutive exam. A hysterotomy was performed and ABS was confirmed.     

Cleanup standards for petroleum hydrocarbons. Part 1. Review of methods and recent developments

Many states across the U.S. use the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) measurement as a regulatory tool for setting cleanup standards for underground storage tank sites and other petroleum‐related sites requiring cleanup. In Part I of this article, alternative techniques for developing site‐specific cleanup standards for petroleum hydrocarbons are reviewed, including the use of chemical fingerprinting, constituent analysis, and risk assessment methods that address hydrocarbons found in the environment. New developments in standard setting for petroleum hydrocarbons are described, including risk‐based standards for hydrocarbon mixtures and ecological risk‐based approaches. In Part 2 of this article, the cost‐effectiveness and accuracy of the most commonly used of these approaches will be evaluated by comparing a generic TPH cleanup standards approach with site‐specific cleanup standards approaches for two actual sites in Washington State, a neighborhood gas station and a former bulk fuel storage facility.