A moderated mediation test of personality,coping, and health among deployed soldiers

Our study examines how personality and coping influence soldiers' psychological health among 648 US Army personnel who were at that time deployed in Iraq at the height of an insurgency. Conscientiousness, neuroticism, and extraversion were associated with different coping behaviors, and these were in turn related to psychological distress. Conscientiousness was positively associated with problem‐focused coping and negatively with avoidance coping, whereas neuroticism was most positively associated with avoidance coping. Extraversion was positively related to both seeking social support and avoidance coping. As expected, avoidance coping was positively associated with psychological distress. Coping style explained more variance in the relationship between personality and distress among soldiers who perceived higher levels of threat, thus supporting a moderated mediation hypothesis. We discuss implications for facilitating the stress coping of workers who face acute and potentially traumatic stress exposures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recruitment of Hexagenia mayfly nymphs in western Lake Erie linked to environmental variability.

After a 40-year absence caused by pollution and eutrophication, burrowing mayflies (Hexagenia spp.) recolonized western Lake Erie in the mid 1990s as water quality improved. Mayflies are an important food resource for the economically valuable yellow perch fishery and are considered to be major indicator species of the ecological condition of the lake. Since their reappearance, however, mayfly populations have suffered occasional unexplained recruitment failures. In 2002, a failure of fall recruitment followed an unusually warm summer in which western Lake Erie became temporarily stratified, resulting in low dissolved oxygen levels near the lake floor. In the present study, we examined a possible link between Hexagenia recruitment and periods of intermittent stratification for the years 1997 2002. A simple model was developed using surface temperature, wind speed, and water column data from 2003 to predict stratification. The model was then used to detect episodes of stratification in past years for which water column data are unavailable. Low or undetectable mayfly recruitment occurred in 1997 and 2002, years in which there was frequent or extended stratification between June and September. Highest mayfly reproduction in 2000 corresponded to the fewest stratified periods. These results suggest that even relatively brief periods of stratification can result in loss of larval mayfly recruitment, probably through the effects of hypoxia. A trend toward increasing frequency of hot summers in the Great Lakes region could result in recurrent loss of mayfly larvae in western Lake Erie and other shallow areas in the Great Lakes.     

Lead and cadmium in urban allotment and garden soils and vegetables in the United Kingdom

In order to assess the intake of lead and cadmium by consumers of home grown vegetables in urban areas, replicated experimental plots of uniform size, comprising summer and winter crops, were established in 94 gardens and allotments in nine towns and cities in England.The geometric mean lead and cadmium concentrations for the soils (n = 94) were 217 g g^–1 (ranging from 27 to 1,676 g g^–1) and 0.53 g g^–1 (<0.2–5.9 g g^–1), respectively. Compared with agricultural soils, the garden and allotment soils contained elevated levels of lead but not cadmium.Lead concentrations in the vegetables ranged from <0.25 g g^–1 to 16.7 g g^–1 dry weight and cadmium concentrations ranged from <0.025 g g^–1 to 10.4 g g^–1 dry weight. Lead concentrations were higher than reported background levels, although <1% exceeded the statutory limit for saleable food in the UK (1 g g^–1 fresh weight). Cadmium concentrations were generally similar to background levels.     

A new satellite-based methodology for continental-scale disturbance detection.

The timing, location, and magnitude of major disturbance events are currently major uncertainties in the global carbon cycle. Accurate information on the location, spatial extent, and duration of disturbance at the continental scale is needed to evaluate the ecosystem impacts of land cover changes due to wildfire, insect epidemics, flooding, climate change, and human-triggered land use. This paper describes an algorithm developed to serve as an automated, economical, systematic disturbance detection index for global application using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)/Aqua Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Terra/MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data from 2003 to 2004. The algorithm is based on the consistent radiometric relationship between LST and EVI computed on a pixel-by-pixel basis. We used annual maximum composite LST data to detect fundamental changes in land-surface energy partitioning, while avoiding the high natural variability associated with tracking LST at daily, weekly, or seasonal time frames. Verification of potential disturbance events from our algorithm was carried out by demonstration of close association with independently confirmed, well-documented historical wildfire events throughout the study domain. We also examined the response of the disturbance index to irrigation by comparing a heavily irrigated poplar tree farm to the adjacent semiarid vegetation. Anomalous disturbance results were further examined by association with precipitation variability across areas of the study domain known for large interannual vegetation variability. The results illustrate that our algorithm is capable of detecting the location and spatial extent of wildfire with precision, is sensitive to the incremental process of recovery of disturbed landscapes, and shows strong sensitivity to irrigation. Disturbance detection in areas with high interannual variability of precipitation will benefit from a multiyear data set to better separate natural variability from true disturbance.     

Trends and sources of particulate matter in the Superstition Wilderness using air trajectory and aerosol cluster analysis

Ambient aerosols adversely affect human health and visibility and impact climate. Identification of sources of particulate matter and its precursors is necessary for developing control strategies. The goal of this research is to utilize long-term speciated particulate matter data and back-trajectory cluster analyses to determine trends and sources of particulate matter in the Superstition Wilderness, a rural area east of Phoenix, Arizona. Twenty-four hour back-trajectories were calculated for every hour of every 24-h particulate matter sample obtained by IMPROVE from 1991 to 2004. Days that included back-trajectories with considerable spatial variance were excluded from further analyses. To minimize uncertainties inherent in single trajectories, all calculated trajectories for each sampling day were averaged to represent the air mass sampled during that day. Cluster analysis of trajectories identified four unique regions, including a region with Phoenix, a region with copper smelters, and one with coal-fired power plants. Yearly averages of sulfate, nitrate, soil, and carbon concentrations were calculated for each region. Statistically significant trends in species concentrations by region and independent of region and differences in concentrations between regions were examined.Sulfate concentrations from the region with smelters were higher than other regions but decreased during the study period. Emissions data from the smelters indicate that much of the sulfate from the region was due to the smelters. The overall 2.2% year⁻¹ decrease in sulfate concentrations at TNM is likely due to decreased emissions from the copper smelters. A 3.6% year⁻¹ increase in nitrate concentrations was driven largely by increasing NO_x concentrations from Phoenix and to a lesser extent the region southwest of the site which includes Tucson and suburban/urban areas between Phoenix and Tucson. Soil concentrations were higher from regions with deserts than the region without desert. This method could not identify trends or source regions of carbonaceous aerosols at this site.     

Analysis of gaseous diisocyanates in air using chemosorption sampling

A sampling procedure for 2,4- and 2,6-toluenediisocyanate (TDI) and 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) in the range 0.007-0.7 mg/m³ in a 15 L air sample is described. The sampling is performed with 9-(N-methylaminomethyl)-anthracene (MAMA) adsorbed on a solid sorbent, Amberlite XAD-2. The recoveries are 80–100% in this chemosorption reaction. The urea derivatives are desorbed with N,N-dimethylformamide and analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Samples and prepared chemosorption tubes are stable for at least two weeks if stored in the dark. To complete the investigation, field measurements of TDI were performed in an industrial atmosphere.     

Detection and Phylogenetic Analysis of the Hepatitis E Virus in a Canadian Swine Production Network

Viral contamination along the production chain is a significant concern in both food safety and livestock health. Pigs have been reported to act as a reservoir for zoonotic viruses, sometimes emerging ones, and epidemiological studies have shown direct links between the consumption of uncooked pork offal and cases of hepatitis caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 in humans. The presence of HEV in swine herds has been reported, but its dissemination in pork production environments is still unknown. To investigate viral contamination sources in the swine industry, 452 environment and fecal samples, including samples from livestock transportation vehicles, were collected over a period of 11 months from ten farms and one slaughterhouse that together represent a single production network. Hepatitis E virus RNA was detected by nested RT-PCR in 32 samples from both inside and outside farm buildings, on trucks, and, mostly, from fomites collected in the slaughterhouse yard, such as on a utility vehicle. Phylogenetic analysis showed a wide diversity of HEV genotype 3 strains, similar to human and swine strains previously found. According to the results of this study, the movements of trucks and utility vehicles might play an important role in HEV dissemination on a slaughterhouse site and throughout an entire network.     

Employee responses to employment‐relationship practices: The role of psychological empowerment and traditionality

In studying the effect of employment‐relationship practices on employees, research has largely ignored individual differences, both cross‐culturally and within cultures. In this study, the authors examine the moderating effect of middle managers' traditionality, a within‐culture value orientation regarding submission to authority and endorsement of hierarchical role relationships, on their responses to an organization's employee–organization relationship practices. Based on social learning and social exchange theories, the authors expect the more traditional middle managers to respond less positively in terms of their performance and commitment to high levels of expected contributions and the associated psychological empowerment but respond more positively to high levels of offered inducements. Using a sample of 535 middle managers from 40 companies in China, the authors find support for all hypotheses except the moderating effect of traditionality on the relationship between offered inducements and performance. Additional analysis reveals that less‐traditional managers responded to economic rewards (but not developmental rewards) with higher job performance. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for research and the practice of employment relationships. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biomass, diversity and production of rocky shore macroalgae at two nutrient enrichment and wave action levels

The littoral zone of temperate rocky shores is normally dominated by perennial macroalgae (e.g. Fucus, Ascophyllum, Laminaria), but nutrient enrichment and/or permanently decreased wave action may lead to structural community changes from dominance of perennials to increased amounts of annual opportunistic species (mainly green algae). Macroalgal biomass, diversity and production as well as relationships between the two latter were studied using Solbergstrand’s rocky shore mesocosms in SE Norway in connection with a long-term experimental manipulation of nutrient addition and wave action (high and low levels of both factors applied in a crossed way to eight outdoor basins). After more than 2 years of experimental treatment, the total standing stock of macroalgae was larger in low nutrient than in high nutrient treatments as well as in high wave compared to low wave treatments (in autumn only). For macroalgal functional groups, bushy and filamentous brown and filamentous red algae were generally favoured by low nutrient concentrations, while annual filamentous and sheet-like green algae were stimulated by the nutrient enrichment. There was only one significant interaction between nutrient enrichment and wave action (for brown filamentous algae in autumn) and also only one significant main effect of the wave treatment (for bushy brown algae in autumn). Surprisingly, the high nutrient treatments supported a higher diversity of macroalgae, whereas the low nutrient treatments generally showed higher production rates. Moreover, significantly negative correlations were found between macroalgal diversity and primary productivity in both summer and autumn. This study shows that it is the biological components of the communities subjected to external forcing (nutrient addition or decreased wave action) that regulate production and this contradicts the common misperception that resource production in natural systems simply can be fast-forwarded by fertilization. The negative relationships between diversity and productivity, although a consequence of unexpected results for diversity and production, are also novel and hint towards species identities having more important functional consequences than general species dominance patterns and the amount of species per se. These results also emphasise the context dependency of findings within the field of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.