Identification of structural breaks in the forest product markets: how sensitive are to changes in the Nordic region?

Forests play a fundamental role in the global carbon cycle and can be managed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and conserve or sequester carbon. Global policy and environmental changes can affect regional consumption of forest products, as well as inter-regional trade of forest goods and services. This study analyzes global and regional change impacts on the production, consumption and trade of forest products in two Nordic countries, Finland and Sweden. Annual data on removal and trade (1964–2012) for roundwood and sawnwood is used to identify structural breaks based on Chow tests. According to the analysis, the time period is divided into two periods: t1 (1964–1980) and t2 (1981–2012). In the first period, breaks occurred in 1975 and 1976 in the Finnish model and no break is found in the Swedish model. In the second period, we identify breaks in 1991 and 1992 for the Finnish model and in 2004, 2005 and 2006 for the Swedish model. Although our findings have broad empirical support, we do not identify any specific incident as a direct cause of the changes in the consumption and trade patterns of the two types of wood in these countries. The models and analysis presented here can serve as methodological tools for policymakers to better understand the effects of structural changes in the production of forest goods and services in the Nordic region and globally.     

Exposure of aboriginal people to methylmercury due to gold mining in the Amazon, Brazil

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＳｉｎｃｅｔｈｅｅａｒｌｙ 1980’ｓ,ｒａｐｉｄｉｎｃｒｅａｓｅｓｉｎｇｏｌｄｍｉｎｉｎｇａｃｔｉｖｉｔｉｅｓｕｓｉｎｇｍｅｒｃｕｒｙａｍａｌｇａｍａｔｉｏｎｔｅｃｈｎｉｑｕｅｉｎｍａｎｙｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｉｎｇｃｏｕｎｔｒｉｅｓｈａｓｂｅｅｎｏｎｅｏｆｔｈｅｍａｉｎｓｏｕｒｃｅｓｏｆｍｅｒｃｕｒｙｐｏｌｌｕｔｉｏｎ ,ｐａｒｔｉｃｕｌａｒｌｙｉｎｔｈｅＡｍａｚｏｎａｎｄｏｔｈｅｒｔｒｏｐｉｃａｌｒｅｇｉｏｎｓ(Ｍａｌｍ ,1990 ;Ｒａｍｅｌ,1996;Ｉｋｉｎｇｕｒａ,1996;Ｌａｃｅｒｄａ,…     

Grooves to tubes: evolution of the venom delivery system in a Late Triassic “reptile”

Venom delivery systems occur in a wide range of extant and fossil vertebrates and are primarily based on oral adaptations. Teeth range from unmodified (Komodo dragons) to highly specialized fangs similar to hypodermic needles (protero- and solenoglyphous snakes). Developmental biologists have documented evidence for an infolding pathway of fang evolution, where the groove folds over to create the more derived condition. However, the oldest known members of venomous clades retain the same condition as their extant relatives, resulting in no fossil evidence for the transition. Based on a comparison of previously known specimens with newly discovered teeth from North Carolina, we describe a new species of the Late Triassic archosauriform Uatchitodon and provide detailed analyses that provide evidence for both venom conduction and document a complete structural series from shallow grooves to fully enclosed tubular canals. While known only from teeth, Uatchitodon is highly diagnostic in possessing compound serrations and for having two venom canals on each tooth in the dentition. Further, although not a snake, Uatchitodon sheds light on the evolutionary trajectory of venom delivery systems in amniotes and provide solid evidence for venom conduction in archosaur-line diapsids.     

Study on the toxicity of acid rain to microbiota in soils

With simulated acid rain and acidification, the soils from both Nanning and Liuzhou municipalities, Guangxi Zhuang Nationality Autonomous Region have been studied to determine the counts of azotobacter, bacteria, actinomyces and the activity of urease in soils, and the changes in respiratory intensity of soil so as to identify the toxicity of acidic substances to microbiota and enzyme in such soils. The concept of the critical pH of toxicity has been developed and used to discuss the representation of the concept, the basis on which the soil treated with simulated acid rain can be taken as an object of study, and the criteria for the identification of toxicity. Based on that as mentioned above, it was found that acid rain behaved to have toxicity to the microbiota in soils from Liuzhou other than from Nanning. The findings may be regarded as an objective basis to study the toxicity of acidic substances to microbiota and enzyme in soils in this region.     

Dynamic response of chlorsulfuron herbicide to nitrogen mineralization and the ratio of microbial biomass nitrogen to nitrogen mineralization in the soil

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＨｅｒｂｉｃｉｄｅｓａｒｅｎｏｗｕｓｅｄｅｘｔｅｎｓｉｖｅｌｙｉｎｃｒｏｐｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ.Ｔｈｅｉｎｃｒｅａｓｉｎｇｕｓｅｏｆｈｅｒｂｉｃｉｄｅｓｗｉｔｈｎｉｔｒｏｇｅｎｆｅｒｔｉｌｉｚｅｒｓｈａｓｃｒｅａｔｅｄｓｅｒｉ?..     

Correction to: Assessing local climate vulnerability and winegrowers’ adaptive processes in the context of climate change

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - Section 3.4.2: Reference “Nicholas and Durham 2012” should have been cited in the last sentence. That is “Using a list of...     

Natural dyes in modern textile dyehouses — how to combine experiences of two centuries to meet the demands of the future?

Plant materials which are available from farming regions in the moderate Austrian climate were investigated to serve as sources for natural dyes in textile dyeing operations. The extraction of the dye components from the plant materials was performed with boiling water without addition of chemicals or solvents. Based upon a rigorous selection of possible plant sources, a selection of natural dyestuffs applicable in a one-bath dyeing step was established. A broad variation in shade and color depth can be achieved by applying mixtures of natural dyestuffs in various combinations of iron- and alum-mordants. More than 60% of tested dyeings achieved acceptable fastness properties.On the basis of the developed natural dyestuff-based dyeing procedures, a comparison was made between the effluents from processes based upon them and those based upon the current ‘state-of-the-art’ techniques utilizing synthetic dyes. The comparison revealed that a lowering of the chemical load released with waste water can be expected by shifting to the plant-based dyes.     

Juvenile morphology: A clue to the origins of the most mysterious of mysticetes?

The origin of the pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata) has long been one of the most vexing conundrums of marine mammal evolution. The extremely disparate skeletal structure of Caperea and a patchy fossil record have left morphology and molecules at odds: whereas most morphological analyses ally Caperea with right whales (Balaenidae), most molecular studies instead suggest a close relationship with rorquals (Balaenopteridae) and grey whales (Eschrichtiidae). The morphological evidence supporting a Caperea-balaenid clade consists of several shared features of the skull and mandible, as traditionally observed in adult individuals. Here, we show that at least two of these features, the ascending process of the maxilla and the coronoid process, arise from substantially different precursors early during ontogeny and therefore likely do not represent genuine synapomorphies. Both of these juvenile morphologies have adult counterparts in the fossil record, thus indicating that the ontogenetic variation in the living species may be a genuine reflection of differing ancestral states. This new evidence contradicts previous morphological hypotheses on the origins of Caperea and may help to reconcile morphological and molecular evidence.     

Nature reserve construction and its contribution to the biodiversity conservation in China mainland

ＮａｔｕｒｅｒｅｓｅｒｖｅｃｏｎｓｔｒｕｃｔｉｏｎａｎｄｉｔｓｃｏｎｔｒｉｂｕｔｉｏｎｔｏｔｈｅｂｉｏｄｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙｃｏｎｓｅｒｖａｔｉｏｎｉｎＣｈｉｎａｍａｉｎｌａｎｄ￥ＪｉａｎｇＭｉｎｇｋａｎｇ；ＸｕｅＤａｙｕａｎ（ＮａｎｊｉｎｇＩｎｓｔｉｔ...     

Changes in soil carbon storage due to over-grazing in Leymus chinensis steppe in the Xilin River Basin of Inner Mongolia

ＣｈａｎｇｅｓｉｎｓｏｉｌｃａｒｂｏｎｓｔｏｒａｇｅｄｕｅｔｏｏｖｅｒｇｒａｚｉｎｇｉｎＬｅｙｍｕｓｃｈｉｎｅｎｓｉｓｓｔｅｐｐｅｉｎｔｈｅＸｉｌｉｎＲｉｖｅｒＢａｓｉｎｏｆＩｎｎｅｒＭｏｎｇｏｌｉａＬｉＬｉｎｇｈａｏ，ＣｈｅｎＺｕｏｚｈｏｎｇ，Ｗ...     

Industrial hazardous wastes in Finland – trends related to the waste prevention goal

The objective of this study was to analyse one of the goals of the latest National Waste Plan of Finland: the relative reduction of hazardous waste (HW) generation by 15% over the period 1992 to 2005.Official statistics and a national database of the annual reports of HW generators were used as one basis for this study. A case study was focused on a selection of HW classes that were considered to be typical to the metal workshop industry. These HW classes were combined to form functional HW groups for the purpose of forming time series. Trends at the company level were studied by performing interviews and by studying the environmental permit documents of about 50 companies.The total amount of HW reported in Finland increased by 133% over the studied period. Meanwhile the GDP of Finland grew by 74%. This means that thus far no de-coupling of HW generation with economic growth can be verified. However, several changes in the definition and classification of HW and changes in the statistical methods make the figures for the trend analysis unreliable.The waste groups in the metals sector that increased in quantity were: metal finishing wastes such as pickling acids, wastes from painting and lacquering, oily wastes and – more modestly – HW containing cyanide or heavy metals. HW from machining oils and emulsions did not increased significantly and finally, hazardous foundry wastes and HW from adhesives and sealants decreased. The number of registered HW producers has grown strongly, even doubled, in several waste groups, which may explain most of the growth. In addition, the changes in the HW classification apply also to these waste groups. The study of some exceptional anomalies in the data revealed significant coding errors in the waste information database.Interviews of personnel from selected companies from the metals sector indicated that all of them had been taking action to minimize wastes, including HW. However in the national or waste group specific data, this trend towards cleaner production was overshadowed by changes in classification, statistical errors, increased production, improvements in enforcement and also conflicting technical trends, such as increased HW output from wastewater treatment or air pollution control systems.The waste monitoring and reporting system in the industry should be improved to provide data about the specific generation of wastes from specific industrial processes. Such data could then be used in describing the BAT for these processes, as pointed out earlier by other experts.The authors suggest that quantitative HW prevention targets would not be effective in the forthcoming National Waste Plan for Finland and that HW minimization goals should mainly be promoted via sustainable chemicals policy, integrated pollution control and integrated product policy. The goal of minimizing HW generation is not feasible as an independent policy target.     

Beauty ranking of mammalian species kept in the Prague Zoo: does beauty of animals increase the respondents’ willingness to protect them?

Aesthetic preferences for animals correspond with the species’ presence in the worldwide zoos and influence the conservation priorities. Here, we investigated the relationship between the willingness of respondents to protect mammals and some attributed characteristics such as their aesthetic beauty. Further, several methodological aspects of measuring mammalian beauty were assessed. Animal beauty was associated not only with the respondents’ willingness to protect the species but also with its attributed dangerousness and usefulness. We found that the most preferred animals were carnivores and ungulates, whilst smaller species of rodents and afrosoricids were unpopular. The main characteristics determining that an animal will be ranked as beautiful were complex fur pattern and body shape. We demonstrated that the position of mammalian species along the ‘beauty’ axis is surprisingly stable, no matter the form (illustrations vs photographs), context of stimulus presentation (several number of stimuli per family vs one randomly selected species per family), or the method of beauty evaluation (relative order vs Likert’s scale).     

The ways to prevent pollution of the pulp and paper industry in China

Water pollution from the pulp and paper industry is one of the most serious environment problems in China. In order to prevent and treat pollution of the pulp and paper industry, the following works have been done in recent years: 1. Making necessary policies, measures and regulations; 2. Making overall planning and rational layout; 3. Relying mainly on internal treatment developing external treatment as supplement; 4. Improving the technology of treating wastewater of the pulp and paper industry.     

Changes in nitrogen budget and potential risk to the environment over 20 years(1990–2010) in the agroecosystems of the Haihe Basin,China

The nitrogen balance can serve as an indicator of the risk to the environment of nitrogen loss from agricultural land. To investigate the temporal and spatial changes in agricultural nitrogen application and its potential threat to the environment of the Haihe Basin in China, we used a database of county-level agricultural statistics to calculate agricultural nitrogen input, output,surplus intensity, and use efficiency. Chemical fertilizer nitrogen input increased by 51.7% from1990 to 2000 and by 37.2% from 2000 to 2010, concomitant with increasing crop yields.Simultaneously, the nitrogen surplus intensity increased by 53.5% from 1990 to 2000 and by16.5% from 2000 to 2010, presenting a continuously increased environmental risk. Nitrogen use efficiency decreased from 0.46 in 1990 to 0.42 in 2000 and remained constant at 0.42 in 2010,partly due to fertilizer composition and type improvement. This level indicates that more than half of nitrogen inputs are lost in agroecosystems. Our results suggest that although the improvement in fertilizer composition and types has partially offset the decrease in nitrogen use efficiency, the environmental risk has still increased gradually over the past 20 years, along with the increase in crop yields and nitrogen application. It is important to achieve a better nitrogen balance through more effective management to significantly reduce the environmental risk,decrease nitrogen surplus intensity, and increase nitrogen use efficiency without sacrificing crop yields.     

Getting ready for the manned mission to Mars: the astronauts’ risk from space radiation

Space programmes are shifting towards planetary exploration and, in particular, towards missions by human beings to the Moon and to Mars. Radiation is considered to be one of the major hazards for personnel in space and has emerged as the most critical issue to be resolved for long-term missions both orbital and interplanetary. The two cosmic sources of radiation that could impact a mission outside the Earth’s magnetic field are solar particle events (SPE) and galactic cosmic rays (GCR). Exposure to the types of ionizing radiation encountered during space travel may cause a number of health-related problems, but the primary concern is related to the increased risk of cancer induction in astronauts. Predictions of cancer risk and acceptable radiation exposure in space are extrapolated from minimal data and are subject to many uncertainties. The paper describes present-day estimates of equivalent doses from GCR and solar cosmic radiation behind various shields and radiation risks for astronauts on a mission to Mars.     

A methodological proposal for the evaluation of farmer’s adaptation to climate variability, mainly due to drought in watersheds in Central America

The current study shows the process and the results of a methodology proposed to contribute with the issue of how to evaluate the adaptation to climate variability and future climate change. The proposed methodology consists of a standard to evaluate farmer’s adaptation to climate variability, mainly due to drought in watersheds in Central America; and was created with contributions from experts and professionals around this region. The phases for this process were: (1) literature review about the topic, (2) development of a preliminary standard, (3) expert interviews for the evaluation of this preliminary standard, (4) construction of a standard to evaluate the issue of adaptation to climate variability emphasizing drought through contributions from experts and their preliminary evaluations, (5) applicability test of this standard for the evaluation of climate variability under real conditions and (6) application of this standard through a case study in the Aguas Calientes river sub-watershed in Nicaragua, which permanently undergoes drought problems and climate variability. This standard has five main principles that go from the general, considering regional and national policies and institutionalism, to the specifics at the level of watersheds. In addition to those principles, the standard contains ten criteria, 26 indicators and 51 verifiers distributed among the main five principles. In the process for testing this standard in the Aguas Calientes river watershed in Nicaragua, the score for the general applicability to this standard was middle-level (score of 3 in a scale of 1 to 5), although, for the main principles of this standard, the score was four (high).     

Role of nitric oxide in the genotoxic response to chronic microcystin-LR exposure in human–hamster hybrid cells

Microcystin-LR(MC-LR) is the most abundant and toxic microcystin congener and has been classified as a potential human carcinogen(Group 2B) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. However, the mechanisms underlying the genotoxic effects of MC-LR during chronic exposure are still poorly understood. In the present study, human–hamster hybrid(AL) cells were exposed to MC-LR for varying lengths of time to investigate the role of nitrogen radicals in MC-LR-induced genotoxicity. The mutagenic potential at the CD59 locus was more than 2-fold higher(p 0.01) in ALcells exposed to a cytotoxic concentration(1 μmol/L) of MC-LR for 30 days than in untreated control cells, which was consistent with the formation of micronucleus. MC-LR caused a dose-dependent increase in nitric oxide(NO) production in treated cells. Moreover, this was blocked by concurrent treatment with the NO synthase inhibitor NG-methyl-L-arginine(L-NMMA), which suppressed MC-LRinduced mutations as well. The survival of mitochondrial DNA-depleted(ρ0) ALcells was markedly decreased by MC-LR treatment compared to that in ALcells, while the CD59 mutant fraction was unaltered. These results provided clear evidence that the genotoxicity associated with chronic MC-LR exposure in mammalian cells was mediated by NO and might be considered as a basis for the development of therapeutics that prevent carcinogenesis.     

Agenesis of the corpus callosum: What to tell expecting parents?

Agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC) is one of the most common brain malformations, with an incidence estimated to range from 0.5 to 70 in 10,000 among the general population. Prenatal diagnosis is made via ultrasound; however, fetal MRI is useful to confirm or exclude the presence of associated cerebral abnormalities–mostly cortical malformations–that may affect postnatal prognosis. When no additional central nervous system (CNS) or extra CNS anomalies are identified and no genetic cause is found, an isolated ACC is diagnosed. Overall, in cases of ACC, an underlying genetic cause can be identified in up to 12.5% with chromosomal microarray (CMA) and up to 47% with whole exome sequencing (WES). In cases where ACC is the only anomaly detected, the yield of WES is 30%. Postnatal outcomes are variable and depend on whether the condition is isolated or not. In truly isolated ACC, outcomes range from normal in 65% of cases through mild to severe neurodevelopmental impairments in 35% of cases. An interdisciplinary team of medical experts is key in guiding parents toward informed decision-making in pregnancies complicated by ACC. Considering current and expected advancements in genetic testing and imaging technologies in upcoming years, we herein summarize current recommendations for the management and prenatal counseling of expecting parents of fetuses with ACC. Our review pertains primarily to expecting parents of fetuses with complete ACC.     

Role of nitric oxide in the genotoxic response to chronic microcystin-LR exposure in human–hamster hybrid cells

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is the most abundant and toxic microcystin congener and has been classified as a potential human carcinogen (Group 2B) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. However, the mechanisms underlying the genotoxic effects of MC-LR during chronic exposure are still poorly understood. In the present study, human–hamster hybrid (A_L) cells were exposed to MC-LR for varying lengths of time to investigate the role of nitrogen radicals in MC-LR-induced genotoxicity. The mutagenic potential at the CD59 locus was more than 2-fold higher (p < 0.01) in A_L cells exposed to a cytotoxic concentration (1 μmol/L) of MC-LR for 30 days than in untreated control cells, which was consistent with the formation of micronucleus. MC-LR caused a dose-dependent increase in nitric oxide (NO) production in treated cells. Moreover, this was blocked by concurrent treatment with the NO synthase inhibitor N^G-methyl-l-arginine (l-NMMA), which suppressed MC-LR-induced mutations as well. The survival of mitochondrial DNA-depleted (ρ⁰) A_L cells was markedly decreased by MC-LR treatment compared to that in A_L cells, while the CD59 mutant fraction was unaltered. These results provided clear evidence that the genotoxicity associated with chronic MC-LR exposure in mammalian cells was mediated by NO and might be considered as a basis for the development of therapeutics that prevent carcinogenesis.