Elusive Partnerships: Gas extraction and CSR in Bangladesh

This paper examines Chevron's programme of CSR at a gas field in Bangladesh. Whilst apparently building partnerships in the villages that surround the Bibiyana Gas Field, we suggest that the corporation remains detached from the local population via their community development programmes and employment policies. This contradiction is submerged by ideas and practices within global development discourse which celebrate the disconnection and disengagement of donors via the rhetoric of sustainability. Chiming with development praxis and the neo-liberal values which underscore it by stressing self-reliance, entrepreneurship and ‘helping people to help themselves’, the corporation's Community Engagement Programme does little to meet the demands of local people who hoped for employment and long term investment, a form of connection that is discordant to discourses of self-reliance and sustainability.     

An awareness campaign decreases distracted driving among hospital employees at a rural trauma center

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate whether an educational campaign on distracted driving will have an impact in a given community.

Methods: Investigators were stationed in an employee parking lot of a 256-bed hospital to determine baseline distracted driving followed by a 4-week hospital-wide distracted-driving awareness campaign. The campaign included signs/posters in the hospital, a booth outside of the cafeteria with flyers, a large banner in the employee lot and an opportunity for people to sign a pledge form to drive distraction free. The same employee lot was observed at the same time of the day to re-assess distracted driving immediately following the campaign. The observations were repeated again one year later to evaluate the short and long-term impact of the campaign.

Results: A total of 485 vehicles were observed pre-campaign, identifying 170 (35%) distracted drivers at baseline. The awareness campaign resulted in 525 people pledging to drive distraction free. Following the campaign, 495 vehicles were observed and the number of distracted drivers was 64 (12.9%), showing a significant decrease in the number of distracted drivers by 22.1% (p?<?0.01). One year later, 530 drivers were observed with 150 (28%) displaying one form of distraction.

Conclusions: A local distracted driving educational campaign resulted in a significant decrease in the number of distracted drivers immediately following the campaign. However, one year after the campaign, there was an increase in distracted driving. The proportion of distracted drivers was still significantly lower than the initial rate of distracted-drivers.     

Role of economic growth and innovative technologies in the outlook of energy and environmental efficiency: a way forward for developing Asian economies

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Energy consumption is widely regarded as the primary driver of economic development and environmental degradation. The current study examines how...     

Assessment of cadmium,chromium, and copper levels in market fruit samples in Meerut,North India

The levels of cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and copper (Cu) were assessed in 24 fruit species in Meerut, North India using atomic absorption spectrometry. Data showed that Cd concentrations in fruits except banana, pomegranate, papaya, orange, and cherry were above the recommended maximum allowable limit of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) (0.2 µg/g). Average Cr concentrations in all analyzed fruit samples were also found higher than the safe limit of FAO/WHO (2.3 µg/g). In contrast, fruits viz. banana, lychees, papaya, Indian apple, Asian apple, and tiger nut showed concentration of Cu below the recommended safe limit (40 µg/g). Our study demonstrated that concentration of studied heavy metals in all tested samples varied according to fruit species and respective contaminants. Data suggest that more strict rules/standards need to be applied by National/International regulatory agencies in order to make these important fruit items free from heavy metals contamination and protect the consumer.     

High bat (Chiroptera) diversity in the Early Eocene of India

The geographic origin of bats is still unknown, and fossils of earliest bats are rare and poorly diversified, with, maybe, the exception of Europe. The earliest bats are recorded from the Early Eocene of North America, Europe, North Africa and Australia where they seem to appear suddenly and simultaneously. Until now, the oldest record in Asia was from the Middle Eocene. In this paper, we report the discovery of the oldest bat fauna of Asia dating from the Early Eocene of the Cambay Formation at Vastan Lignite Mine in Western India. The fossil taxa are described on the basis of well-preserved fragments of dentaries and lower teeth. The fauna is highly diversified and is represented by seven species belonging to seven genera and at least four families. Two genera and five species are new. Three species exhibit very primitive dental characters, whereas four others indicate more advanced states. Unexpectedly, this fauna presents strong affinities with the European faunas from the French Paris Basin and the German Messel locality. This could result from the limited fossil record of bats in Asia, but could also suggest new palaeobiogeographic scenarios involving the relative position of India during the Early Eocene.     

Biochemical toxicity of benzene

Human exposure to benzene in work environment is a global occupational health problem. After inhalation or absorption, benzene targets organs viz. liver, kidney, lung, heart and brain etc. It is metabolized mainly in the liver by cytochrome P450 multifunctional oxygenase system. Benzene causes haematotoxicity through its phenolic metabolites that act in concert to produce DNA strand breaks, chromosomal damage, sister chromatid exchange, inhibition of topoisomerase II and damage to mitotic spindle. The carcinogenic and myelotoxic effects of benzene are associated with free radical formation either as benzene metabolites or lipid peroxidation products. Benzene oxide and phenol have been considered as proheptons. Liver microsomes play an important role in biotransformation of benzene whereas in kidney, it produces degenerative intracellular changes. Cohort studies made in different countries suggest that benzene induces multiple myeloma in petrochemical workers. Though extensive studies have been performed on its toxicity, endocrinal disruption caused by benzene remains poorly known. Transgenic cytochrome P450 IIE1 mice may help in understanding further toxic manifestations of benzene.     

The use and safety of medications known to affect driving in Jordan: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate the main driving-impairing medications used by drivers in Jordan, the reported frequency of medication side effects, the frequency of motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) while using driving-impairing medicines, as well as factors associated with MVCs.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 1,049 individuals (age 18–75 years) who are actively driving vehicles and taking at least one medication known to affect driving (anxiolytics, antidepressants, hypnotics, antiepileptics, opioids, sedating antihistamines, hypoglycemic agents, antihypertensives, central nervous system [CNS] stimulants, and herbals with CNS-related effects) was conducted in Amman, Jordan, over a period of 8 months (September 2013–May 2014) using a structured validated questionnaire.

Results: Sixty-three percent of participants noticed a link between a medicine taken and feeling sleepy and 57% stated that they experience at least one adverse effect other than sleepiness from their medication. About 22% of the participants reported having a MVC while on medication. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that among the participants who reported having a crash while taking a driving-impairing medication, the odds ratios were significantly higher for the use of inhalant substance (odds ratio [OR] = 2.787, P = .014), having chronic conditions (OR = 1.869, P = .001), and use of antiepileptic medications (OR = 2.348, P = .008) and significantly lower for the use of antihypertensives (OR = 0.533, P = .008).

Conclusion: The study results show high prevalence of adverse effects of medications with potential for driving impairment, including involvement in MVCs. Our findings highlight the types of patient-related and medication-related factors associated with MVCs in Jordan, such as inhalant use, presence of chronic conditions, and use of antiepileptics.     

Treatment of mixed dairy and dye wastewater in anode of microbial fuel cell with simultaneous electricity generation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a green technology that converts the stored chemical energy of organic matter to electricity; therefore, it can be used...     

Challenges and needs for process safety in the new millennium

Process industries have made quite a bit of progress in process safety since the tragic night of December 2, 1984 in Bhopal. Nonetheless, incidents continue to occur on a regular basis due to insufficient understanding of the urgency to identify best practices and drive for process safety improvements in the organization. This paper addresses some of the critical challenges in implementing effective safety programs: (a) failure to learn from past incidents and to capture those lessons into process design, procedures, training, maintenance, and other programs, (b) insufficient attention to leading indicators, and (c) an increase in complexity of process operations and lack of communication. In the presence of these challenges, there is a great need to develop better solutions by utilizing good science based approaches and best practice studies. Potential research areas include, but are not limited to, incident database analysis, reactive chemicals, inherently safer design, combustible dust explosion, facility siting, and the flammability of fuel mixtures and aerosols. In addition, an example was presented on LNG industry safety to illustrate that science-based research is needed to ensure the safe operation and to avoid or mitigate unintended consequences.