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Shellfish aquaculture can result in conflicts among stakeholders who perceive impacts and tradeoffs regarding sense of place, aesthetic, recreational, economic, and ecological values. Pacific geoduck clams (Panopea generosa Gould 1850) are grown in intertidal plots using gear- and labor-intensive techniques that result in a high value export product. A confluence of issues has resulted in on-going social and legal tensions surrounding geoduck aquaculture in southern Puget Sound, Washington (WA), USA. Using interviews and document analysis, we explored stakeholder perspectives and policy issues related to geoduck aquaculture in southern Puget Sound. Twenty-three stakeholders were interviewed, including state agency employees, representatives of the aquaculture industry, nongovernmental organizations, landowners, a tribal member, and an academic. Nine state hearings board decisions on challenges to aquaculture permits were also analyzed. Stakeholders articulated a variety of perspectives regarding a...

Groundwaters in Cainozoic sand and gravel aquifers in the arid Ti‐Tree Basin are becoming intensively used for irrigation. Carbon isotope chemistry indicates that most of the groundwaters in this basin were recharged in the Holocene. Estimated 14C ages of the groundwaters range from modern to 8910 years bp. The modern ages correlate with flood‐out recharge situations. Elsewhere in the basin, groundwater age correlates with the depth to aquifer suggesting that diffuse recharge by direct infiltration may have occurred episodically from 1730 to 8910 years BP. Stable isotope parameters indicate that recharge took place during exceptionally heavy rainfall events, and that the recharging groundwaters were subject to evaporation prior to infiltration. Only limited recharge takes place in the modern climatic regime, and this needs to be considered in groundwater resource management.

Human epidemiology studies demonstrate an inverse correlation between serum levels of vitamin A and the incidence of lung cancer. While such studies suggest that vitamin A may have a role in cancer prevention, the intent of this study was to investigate the use of vitamin A status parameters as markers for detection of occult lung cancer. In the first of two phases of this study, we established criteria for a prospective screening study. Serum levels of retinol-binding protein (RBP), zinc, retinol, and beta-carotene in lung cancer patients were compared to levels in controls. For the second phase, a prospective screening study, 100 ambulatory male cigarette smokers over the age of 45 were enrolled. Subjects were excluded if they had a known diagnosis of cancer, recent weight loss, or serum albumin less than 3.5 g/dl. Subjects with RBP less than 4.2 mg/dl and retinol less than 42 micrograms/dl were classified as high-risk; those remaining were classified as controls. A chest X-ray (CXR) was obtained on all 17 high-risk subjects and on 26 of the 83 controls. CXR was read and follow-up was performed by physicians without knowledge of this study. Lung cancer was detected in 24% (4/17) of the high-risk subset, and 4% (1/26) of the controls. These data suggest that retinol and RBP may be useful in lung cancer screening for selecting a high-risk population that warrants further examination.

Carbon isotope chemistry indicates episodic palaeorecharge of groundwater in the arid Amadeus Basin, central Australia. In this hydrogeologically complex region, groundwater has been recharged by three important mechanisms: direct infiltration of rainwater through sand dune cover or fissures in calcrete; through river bed sands following floods; and through joints in bedrock outcrops. Modern and Holocene groundwaters (0–5000 years B.P.) are found in the unconfined calcrete and sand dune aquifers which have evolved hydrochemically to Cl-SO4-Na waters with Ca and Mg, as a result of evaporative concentration. Holocene groundwaters (3–10,000 years B.P.) have been dated in river bed recharge situations; these groundwaters are mainly of the HCO3-Cl-Na type, with Ca and Mg, and preserve the hydrochemical signature of the flood recharge waters. Most groundwater sampled in the folded and jointed rocks of the basin has a low modern 14C content and was recharged in the Holocene and late Pleistocene (12–32,000 years B.P.). These waters are intermediate in their ionic composition, covering a spectrum between the HCO3-Cl-Na and Cl-SO4-Na types; solution is the dominant process int heir hydrochemical evolution. Stable isotope signatures and derived parameters indicate that the intensity of rainfall is an important factor in the evolution of arid-zone groundwaters. Modern reharged is limited implying that projected large scale groundwater development in this region will use an effectively nonrenewable resource and should be managed accordingly.