Fetoscopic myelomeningocoele closure: Is the scientific evidence enough to challenge the gold standard for prenatal surgery?

Since the completion of the Management of Myelomeningocoele Study, maternal-fetal surgery for spina bifida has become a valid option for expecting parents. More recently, multiple groups are exploring a minimally invasive approach and recent outcomes have addressed many of the initial concerns with this approach. Based on a previously published framework, we attempt to delineate the developmental stage of the surgical techniques. Furthermore, we discuss the barriers of performing randomized controlled trials comparing two surgical interventions and suggest that data collection through registries is an alternative method to gather high-grade evidence.     

An Assessment of Stakeholder Perceptions and Management of Noxious Alien Plants in Spain

Despite biological invasions being a worldwide phenomenon causing significant ecological, economic, and human welfare impacts, there is limited understanding regarding how environmental managers perceive the problem and subsequently manage alien species. Spanish environmental managers were surveyed using questionnaires to (1) analyze the extent to which they perceive plant invasions as a problem; (2) identify the status, occurrence, and impacts of noxious alien plant species; (3) assess current effort and expenditure targeting alien plant management; and, finally, (4) identify the criteria they use to set priorities for management. In comparison to other environmental concerns, plant invasions are perceived as only moderately problematic and mechanical control is the most valued and frequently used strategy to cope with plant invasions in Spain. Based on 70 questionnaires received, 193 species are considered noxious, 109 of which have been the subject of management activities. More than 90% of species are found in at least one protected area. According to respondents, the most frequently managed species are the most widespread across administrative regions and the ones perceived as causing the highest impacts. The perception of impact seems to be independent of their invasion status, since only half of the species identified as noxious are believed to be invasive in Spain, while 43% of species thought to only be casual aliens are causing a high impact. Records of management costs are poor and the few data indicate that the total actual expenditure amounted to 50,492,437 € in the last decade. The majority of respondents stated that management measures are insufficient to control alien plants due to limited economic resources, lack of public awareness and support, and an absence of coordination among different public administrations. Managers also expressed their concern about the fact that much scientific research is concerned with the ecology of alien plants rather than with specific cost-efficient strategies to manage alien species.     

Hydrologic analysis for coastal wetland restoration

Increasing recognition of the value of tidal wetlands has led to interest in how to restore and enhance areas that have been modified by human activity. The policy of recognizing restoration or enhancement as mitigation for destruction of other wetlands is controversial. Once policy questions are separated from technical questions, the steps in a successful project are straightforward A key element in the design of a successful project is quantitative hydraulic and hydrologic analysis of alternatives. Restoration projects at two sites in California used a combination of empirical geomorphic relationships, numerical modeling, and verification with field observations. Experience with these and other wetland restoration projects indicates the importance of longterm postproject monitoring, inspection, and maintenance     

The Potential of Brazil's Forest Sector for Mitigating Global Warming under the Kyoto Protocol

Activities in Brazil's forest sector have substantial potential for mitigating global warming as well as additional environmental and other benefits. Silvicultural plantations of different types, reduced impact logging, and deforestation avoidance all have potential mitigation roles. The magnitude of the annual emission from recent rates of deforestation in Amazonia presents an opportunity for carbon (C) benefits through reducing current rates of deforestation. Measures related to Amazonian deforestation have greater potential carbon benefits than do options such as plantation silviculture, but much depends on how benefits are calculated. Procedures are needed for assessing the environmental and social impacts of Clean DevelopmentMechanism (CDM) projects.     

Negotiations after the sale: The roots and ramifications of conflict in an acquisition

This paper presents a case study of negotiations over the combination of a small manufacturing firm into a multi-billion dollar conglomerate following its 'white knight' acquisition. It focuses on the strategic and tactical conflicts between the two firms and traces these to the party's emotional reactions to the combination. Feeling of loss versus gain in the two firms, each party's sense of uncertainty and threat, and their moves toward proactive versus reactive control in the combination are analysed to identify the roots of strategic conflict. These feelings, plus incompatibilities in the two company's managements, business systems, corporate cultures, and goals for combination ramify in conflict in the negotiations themselves. The paper concludes with a more generic model illustrating contextual features of combinations that shape human reactions and conflicts in negotiations after the sale.     

Case study: Management system verification using responsible care® at Rohm & Haas: Lessons learned

In this article, Rohm & Haas' Responsible Care® implementation strategy and management system verification (MSV) experiences are detailed. Recommendations on how to strengthen the verification process are provided.     

An Assessment of the Valuation Methods Used to Calculate the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW), Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), and Sustainable Net Benefit Index (SNBI)

For some time now, ecological economists have been putting forward a ‘threshold hypothesis’ – the notion that when macroeconomic systems expand beyond a certain size, the additional cost of growth exceeds the flow of additional benefits. In order to support their belief, ecological economists have developed a number of similar indexes to measure and compare the benefits and costs of growth (e.g., the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare and the Genuine Progress Indicator). In virtually every instance where an index of this type has been calculated for a particular country, the movement of the index appears to reinforce the existence of the threshold hypothesis. Of late, a number of observers have expressed concerns about whether these alternative indexes reflect concrete reality or the prejudices of ecological economists. In view of these concerns, this paper closely examines the valuation methods used in the calculation the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare, the Genuine Progress Indicator, and the Sustainable Net Benefit Index. It is argued that a consistent and more robust set of valuation techniques is required in order for these alternative indexes to gain broad acceptability.*Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.