WATERSHEDSS: A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR WATERSHED-SCALE NONPOINT SOURCE WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS1

ABSTRACT: A significant portion of all pollutants entering surface waters (streams, lakes, estuaries, and wetlands) derives from non-point source (NPS) pollution and, in particular, agricultural activities. The first step in restoring a water resource is to focus on the primary water quality problem in the watershed. The most appropriate NPS control measures, which include best management practices (BMPs) and landscape features, such as wetlands and riparian areas, can then be selected and positioned to minimize or mitigate the identified pollutant(s). A computer-based decision sup. port and educational software system, WATERSHEDSS (WATER, Soil, and Hydro-Environmental Decision Support System), has been developed to aid managers in defining their water quality problems and selecting appropriate NPS control measures. The three primary objectives of WATERSHEDSS are (1) to transfer water quality and land treatment information to watershed managers in order to assist them with appropriate land management/land treatment decisions; (2) to assess NPS pollution in a watershed based on user-supplied information and decisions; and (3) to evaluate, through geographical information systems-assisted modeling, the water quality effects of alternative land treatment scenarios. WATERSHEDSS is available on the World Wide Web (Web) at http://h2osparc.wq.ncsu.edu .     

Scaling the quality of teammates' mental models: equifinality and normative comparisons

We tested the impact of teammates' team and task mental model sharedness on team processes and performance using 70 undergraduate teams that completed a series of missions on a PC‐based flight simulator. Moreover, we considered how the quality of mental models might moderate such relationships. Team processes were found to partially mediate the relationship between task mental model sharedness and team performance. Although team mental model sharedness failed to exhibit a significant linear relationship with team processes or performance, it did evidence a multiplicative relationship as moderated by the quality of those models. Team processes and performance were better among teams sharing higher‐quality team mental models than among teams evidencing less sharedness or who had lower‐quality models. Again, team processes partially mediated these relationships. Results are discussed in terms of the equifinality of mental model quality and applications to various team environments. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Training Conservation Biologists in Human Interaction Skills

Questionnaires were sent to 298 graduate programs in conservation biology and other areas of the biological and agricultural sciences and to 702 public and private organizations that employ, or might employ, conservation biologists. The focus of the questionnaires was on the need for training conservation biologists in human interaction skills (e.g., interpersonal communication, leadership, group decision making). Respondents were asked to indicate the current availability of such training at their institutions or organizations. Questionnaires were returned by 28.5% of the graduate programs and 21.1% of the conservation organizations. A majority of both groups of respondents indicated a high need for training in the following seven areas: written and oral communication; explaining science and values of biodiversity to the lay public; group decision making; interpersonal skills; group planning; leadership; and advocacy. Despite the high level of perceived training need, relatively few academic institutions and even fewer conservation organizations offer or require courses in human interaction skills (with the exceptions of written and oral communication and foreign languages). Sixty-four percent of the graduate faculty respondents and 78% of the employer organization respondents indicated that human interaction skills are equally important or more important to the work of conservation biologists than science knowledge and skill. We suggest that follow-up research should be conducted to delineate further the need for human interaction skills training and to assess the relationship between specific human interactions skills and conservation outcomes. We also recommend that a curriculum on human interaction should be designed and developed for conservation biologists, perhaps through a cooperative effort of interested faculty and employers facilitated by the Society for Conservation Biology and conservation organizations.     

I will not go,I cannot go: cultural and social limitations of disaster preparedness in Asia,Africa, and Oceania

While much work has been invested in addressing the economic and technical basis of disaster preparedness, less effort has been directed towards understanding the cultural and social obstacles to and opportunities for disaster risk reduction. This paper presents local insights from five different national settings into the cultural and social contexts of disaster preparedness. In most cases, an early warning system was in place, but it failed to alert people to diverse environmental shocks. The research findings show that despite geographical and typological differences in these locations, the limitations of the systems were fairly similar. In Kenya, people received warnings, but from contradictory systems, whereas in the Philippines and on the island of Saipan, people did not understand the messages or take them seriously. In Bangladesh and Nepal, however, a deeper cultural and religious reasoning serves to explain disasters, and how to prevent them or find safety when they strike.     

Statistical evaluation and analysis of safety intervention in the determination of an effective resource allocation strategy

This paper provides an analytical background for the development of an effective safety intervention program with the aim of minimizing incident rates. Safety intervention data were collected from the environmental health and safety department of an American-owned oil company in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. A safety model was developed to determine the safety intervention factors and interactions which minimize incident rates, with the aim of predicting a better resource allocation strategy. Five main safety intervention factors (factor A: leadership and accountability; factor B: qualification selection and pre-job; factor C: employee engagement and planning; factor D: work in progress; factor E: evaluation, measurement and verification) were highlighted and investigated to show their effects on incident rate performance. Analysis of variance test showed that four safety factors (A, C, D, and E) were significant. Statistical techniques such as response surface design plots were used to determine the resource allocation method. The developed safety model recommended the allocation of 16.66% of the available resources to the significant safety intervention activities in order to achieve the desirable incident rate. In order to reap the benefits of this research, it will be important to concentrate more efforts and resources on significant factors which have positive impacts in minimizing incident rates.     

The Fate of Murine Norovirus and Hepatitis A Virus During Preparation of Fresh Produce by Cutting and Grating

Human noroviruses and hepatitis A virus (HAV) are commonly associated with outbreaks occurring in restaurant establishments and catered events. Food handlers are major contributing factors to foodborne illnesses initiated in the kitchen setting. In this study, transfer of HAV and murine norovirus (MNV-1), a human norovirus surrogate, between produce (cucumbers, strawberries, tomatoes, cantaloupes, carrots, and honeydew melons) and common kitchen utensils (graters and knives) was investigated. The extent of virus transfer to produce during utensil application, in the presence and the absence of food residue, and the impact of knife surface properties (sharp, dull, serrated) was also investigated. Transfer of MNV-1 and HAV from produce items, initially contaminated with ~5.5 log PFU, to knives and graters during application ranged from 0.9 to 5.1 log PFU. MNV-1 transfer to knives was the greatest for cucumbers, strawberries, and tomatoes, and the least for honeydew melons, while transfer of HAV to knives was greater for tomatoes and honeydew melons than strawberries, cantaloupes, and cucumbers. After preparation of a contaminated produce item, knife cross-contamination easily occurred as viruses were detected on almost all of the seven produce items successively prepared. Produce residues on utensils often resulted in less virus transfer when compared to utensils without residue accumulation. Knife surface properties did not impact virus transfer. The ease of virus transfer between produce and utensils demonstrated by the current study highlights the importance of efforts aimed toward preventing cross-contamination in the kitchen environment.     

Efficacy of a Levulinic Acid Plus Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS)-Based Sanitizer on Inactivation of Influenza A Virus on Eggshells

Influenza A virus poses a major public health concern and is associated with annual epidemics and occasional pandemics. Influenza A H3N2 viruses, which are an important cause of human influenza, can infect birds and mammals. Contaminated undercooked poultry products including eggs with avian influenza virus constitute a possible risk of transmission to humans. In this study, a novel levulinic acid plus sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) sanitizer was evaluated for eggshell decontamination. Influenza A H3N2 virus-inoculated chicken eggshells were treated with a 5 % levulinic acid plus 2 % SDS, 2 % levulinic acid plus 1 % SDS, and 0.5 % levulinic acid plus 0.5 % SDS liquid solution for 1 min. Log reductions of viable viruses were observed by plaque assay. The 5 % levulinic acid plus 2 % SDS sanitizer provided the greatest level of influenza A H3N2 virus inactivation (2.23 log PFU), and differences in virus inactivation were observed for the various levulinic acid plus SDS concentrations tested (P ≤ 0.05). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating influenza A H3N2 virus inactivation on eggshells using a novel levulinic acid plus SDS sanitizer. The sanitizer may be useful for reducing egg contamination and preventing the spread of avian influenza virus to humans.     

Green chemistry

A grand challenge facing government, industry, and academia in the relationship of our technological society to the environment is reinventing the use of materials. To address this challenge, collaboration from an interdisciplinary group of stakeholders will be necessary. Traditionally, the approach to risk management of materials and chemicals has been through inerventions intended to reduce exposure to materials that are hazardous to health and the environment. In 1990, the Pollution Prevention Act encouraged a new tact-elimination of hazards at the source. An emerging approach to this grand challenge seeks to embed the diverse set of environmental perspectives and interests in the everyday practice of the people most responsible for using and creating new materials—chemists. The approach, which has come to be known as Green Chemistry, intends to eliminate intrinsic hazard itself, rather than focusing on reducing risk by minimizing exposure. This chapter addresses the representation of downstream environmental stakeholder interests in the upstream everyday practice that is reinventing chemistry and its material inputs, products, and waste as described in the “12 Principles of Green Chemistry”.     

Emission study of a diesel engine fueled with higher alcohol-biodiesel blended fuels

This work examines the effect of butanol (higher alcohol) on the emission pattern of neat neem oil biodiesel (NBD100) fueled diesel engine. Single-cylinder, 4-stroke, research diesel engine was employed to conduct the trial. Blends comprising the mixture of biodiesel and higher alcohol were prepared by employing an ultrasonic agitator. Four test fuels such as neat neem oil biodiesel, diesel, and two blends of higher alcohol/neem oil biodiesel: 10% and 20% (by volume). Experimental result showed that increasing alcohol content to biodiesel brought down the various emissions such as Smoke, NO_x, HC, and CO by 6.8%, 10.4%, 8.6%, and 5.9%, respectively, at all loads. It was also concluded from the trail that a 20% higher alcohol/neem oil biodiesel blends show the promising signs in reducing all the emissions associated with biodiesel fuelled diesel engine.