Effects of the California graduated driver licensing program

PROBLEM: On July 1, 1998, in an effort to ameliorate the problem of high teenage driver crash rates, California implemented a graduated driver licensing system (GDLS). METHOD: Data on injury crashes of 16- and 17-year-old drivers from a pre-GDLS year were compared with data from two post-GDLS years. Per-capita crash rate ratios were adjusted for changes in crash rates of 25- to 34-year-old drivers, who were unaffected by the GDLS. Prevented numbers and 95% confidence intervals were estimated. RESULTS: Fatal or severe injury crash rates were significantly lower during each of the two post-GDLS years (adjusted rate ratios (RR)=0.72 and 0.83, for 2000 vs. 1997 and 2001 vs. 1997, respectively). Significant rate reductions were observed for all crash types, particularly for struck object (RR=0.71 and 0.80, for 2000 vs. 1997 and 2001 vs. 1997, respectively) and non-collision (RR=0.63 and 0.72, for 2000 vs. 1997 and 2001 vs. 1997, respectively). Minor injury crash rates were also lower during post-GDLS years (RR=0.87 and 0.90, for 2000 vs. 1997 and 2001 vs. 1997, respectively). Percent reductions were notably larger during the hours of the late night driving restriction (midnight-5 a.m.) (RR=0.79 and 0.87, for 2000 vs. 1997 and 2001 vs. 1997, respectively). SUMMARY: The implementation of the California GDLS was followed by large reductions in the rate of injury-producing motor-vehicle crashes. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This evaluation supports previous evidence that GDLS is an effective countermeasure to adolescent motor-vehicle crashes and their associated injuries. States with a traditional licensing system may prevent adolescent driver crashes by adopting a GDLS. Future studies should examine factors that influence teenager compliance with GDLS provisions and identify approaches to improving compliance.     

Effect of cropping and tillage on the dissipation of PAH contamination in soil

This study examined the effect of regular tillage and cropping on the dissipation rate of PAHs in contaminated soil. Lysimeters were placed under natural climatic conditions for 2 years and designed to measure the concentration of PAHs in soil and leachates and their toxicity. The soil initially contained 2077 microg PAHs g(-1). The largest decrease in PAHs concentration occurred during the first 6 months. No further significant decrease was observed after this time. The surface soil layer always contained significantly less PAHs than the deeper layer, regardless of the treatments. Less than 8.4 x 10(-8)% of the PAH initially present in the soil (e.g. less or equal to 33 microg PAHs per lysimeter) were leached from the soils during the experiment and the leachates presented no toxicity (as measured by the Microtox test). The toxicity of the soils decreased with time and was significantly lower on the cropped soil compared to the other treatments, despite the residual concentration of PAHs being the highest in this soil. This study demonstrated that the dissipation rates of PAHs were slow after using natural attenuation even when tillage and cropping were performed at the soil surface.     

Automated detection of frog calls and choruses by pulse repetition rate

Anurans (frogs and toads) are among the most globally threatened taxonomic groups. Successful conservation of anurans will rely on improved data on the status and changes in local populations, particularly for rare and threatened species. Automated sensors, such as acoustic recorders, have the potential to provide such data by massively increasing the spatial and temporal scale of population sampling efforts. Analyzing such data sets will require robust and efficient tools that can automatically identify the presence of a species in audio recordings. Like bats and birds, many anuran species produce distinct vocalizations that can be captured by autonomous acoustic recorders and represent excellent candidates for automated recognition. However, in contrast to birds and bats, effective automated acoustic recognition tools for anurans are not yet widely available. An effective automated call-recognition method for anurans must be robust to the challenges of real-world field data and should not require extensive labeled data sets. We devised a vocalization identification tool that classifies anuran vocalizations in audio recordings based on their periodic structure: the repeat interval-based bioacoustic identification tool (RIBBIT). We applied RIBBIT to field recordings to study the boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata) of temperate North American grasslands and the critically endangered variable harlequin frog (Atelopus varius) of tropical Central American rainforests. The tool accurately identified boreal chorus frogs, even when they vocalized in heavily overlapping choruses and identified variable harlequin frog vocalizations at a field site where it had been very rarely encountered in visual surveys. Using a few simple parameters, RIBBIT can detect any vocalization with a periodic structure, including those of many anurans, insects, birds, and mammals. We provide open-source implementations of RIBBIT in Python and R to support its use for other taxa and communities.     

Sulfate radical-induced incorporation of NO2 group into chlorophenols

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Sulfate radical ( $${\text{SO}}_{4}^{ \cdot - }$$ )-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) are promising in situ chemical oxidation technologies that...     

Female philopatry and its social benefits among Bornean orangutans

Female philopatry in mammals is generally associated with ecological and sometimes social benefits, and often with dispersal by males. Previous studies on dispersal patterns of orangutans, largely non-gregarious Asian great apes, have yielded conflicting results. Based on 7?years of observational data and mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses on fecal samples of 41 adult Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) from the Tuanan population, we provide both genetic and behavioral evidence for male dispersal and female philopatry. Although maternally related adult female dyads showed similar home-range overlap as unrelated dyads, females spent much more time in association with known maternal relatives than with other females. While in association, offspring of maternally related females frequently engaged in social play, whereas mothers actively prevented this during encounters with unrelated mothers, suggesting that unrelated females may pose a threat to infants. Having trustworthy neighbors may therefore be a social benefit of philopatry that may be common among solitary mammals, thus reinforcing female philopatric tendencies in such species. The results also illustrate the diversity in dispersal patterns found within the great-ape lineage.     

Polymetallic pollution from abandoned mines in Mediterranean regions: a multidisciplinary approach to environmental risks

Regional Environmental Change - Abandoned mines are a recurrent problem for nearby communities in Mediterranean regions because mine tailings represent a major source of polymetallic contamination....     

An End-Users Oriented Methodology for Enhancing the Integration of Knowledge on Soil–Water-Sediment Systems in River Basin Management: An Illustration from the AquaTerra Project

Research results in environmental and socio-economic sciences are often under-used by stakeholders involved in the management of natural resources. To minimise this gap, the FP6 EU interdisciplinary project AquaTerra (AT) developed an end-users’ integration methodology in order to ensure that the data, knowledge and tools related to the soil–water-sediment system that were generated by the project were delivered in a meaningful way for end-users, thus improving their uptake. The methodology and examples of its application are presented in this paper. From the 408 project deliverables, 96 key findings were identified, 53 related to data and knowledge, and 43 describing advanced tools. River Basin Management (RBM) stakeholders workshops identified 8 main RBM issues and 25 specific stakeholders’ questions related to RBM which were classified into seven groups of cross-cutting issues, namely scale, climate change, non-climatic change, the need for systemic approaches, communication and participation, international and inter-basin coordination and collaboration, and the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. The integration methodology enabled an assessment of how AT key findings meet stakeholders’ demands, and for each main RBM issue and for each specific question, described the added-value of the AT project in terms of knowledge and tools generated, key parameters to consider, and recommendations that can be made to stakeholders and the wider scientific community. Added value and limitations of the integration methodology and its outcomes are discussed and recommendations are provided to further improve integration methodology and bridge the gaps between scientific research data and their potential uptake by end-users.     

Nitrate-induced photodegradation of atenolol in aqueous solution: kinetics, toxicity and degradation pathways

The extensive utilization of β-blockers worldwide led to frequent detection in natural water. In this study the photolysis behavior of atenolol (ATL) and toxicity of its photodegradation products were investigated in the presence of nitrate ions. The results showed that ATL photodegradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics upon simulated solar irradiation. The photodegradation was found to be dependent on nitrate concentration and increasing the nitrate from 0.5 mM L⁻¹ to 10 mM L⁻¹ led to the enhancement of rate constant from 0.00101 min⁻¹ to 0.00716 min⁻¹. Hydroxyl radical was determined to play a key role in the photolysis process by using isopropanol as molecular probe. Increasing the solution pH from 4.8 to 10.4, the photodegradation rate slightly decreased from 0.00246 min⁻¹ to 0.00195 min⁻¹, probably due to pH-dependent effect of nitrate-induced OH formation. Bicarbonate decreased the photodegradation of ATL in the presence of nitrate ions mainly through pH effect, while humic substance inhibited the photodegradation via both attenuating light and competing radicals. Upon irradiation for 240 min, only 10% reduction of total organic carbon (TOC) can be achieved in spite of 72% transformation rate of ATL, implying a majority of ATL transformed into intermediate products rather than complete mineralization. The main photoproducts of ATL were identified by using solid phase extraction-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPE-LC-MS) techniques and possible nitrate-induced photodegradation pathways were proposed. The toxicity of the phototransformation products was evaluated using aquatic species Daphnia magna, and the results revealed that photodegradation was an effective mechanism for ATL toxicity reduction in natural waters.     

Nanoremediation and International Environmental Restoration Markets

Nanoscale zero‐valent iron (nZVI) is the most commonly used nanoremediation material. While there has been a reasonable level of application of nZVI technologies for in situ remediation in the United States, its utilization across Europe has been much more limited. There has been significant uncertainty about the balance between deployment risks and benefits for nanoparticles (NPs), which has affected the regulatory position in several countries. Some member states of the European Union (EU) take a strong precautionary view of the risks from the deployment of NPs into the subsurface, preventing the adoption of the technology. This article provides a risk–benefit assessment for nZVI based on published information and describes the steps that will be taken by a major European research project (NanoRem), as part of its work to provide a basis for better informed decision making in European environmental restoration markets. A key part of this process is dialogue between practitioners and researchers. NanoRem therefore has an active process of communication with different stakeholder networks (regulators, service providers, and site owners). NanoRem hopes to stimulate a consensus on appropriate use of nanoremediation and thereby stimulate effective technology transfer to the European remediation market. ©2015 The Authors     

Windsor, Ontario exposure assessment study: design and methods validation of personal, indoor, and outdoor air pollution monitoring

The Windsor, Ontario Exposure Assessment Study evaluated the contribution of ambient air pollutants to personal and indoor exposures of adults and asthmatic children living in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. In addition, the role of personal, indoor, and outdoor air pollution exposures upon asthmatic children's respiratory health was assessed. Several active and passive sampling methods were applied, or adapted, for personal, indoor, and outdoor residential monitoring of nitrogen dioxide, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter (PM; PM < or = 2.5 microm [PM2.5] and < or = 10 microm [PM10] in aerodynamic diameter), elemental carbon, ultrafine particles, ozone, air exchange rates, allergens in settled dust, and particulate-associated metals. Participants completed five consecutive days of monitoring during the winter and summer of 2005 and 2006. During 2006, in addition to undertaking the air pollution measurements, asthmatic children completed respiratory health measurements (including peak flow meter tests and exhaled breath condensate) and tracked respiratory symptoms in a diary. Extensive quality assurance and quality control steps were implemented, including the collocation of instruments at the National Air Pollution Surveillance site operated by Environment Canada and at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality site in Allen Park, Detroit, MI. During field sampling, duplicate and blank samples were also completed and these data are reported. In total, 50 adults and 51 asthmatic children were recruited to participate, resulting in 922 participant days of data. When comparing the methods used in the study with standard reference methods, field blanks were low and bias was acceptable, with most methods being within 20% of reference methods. Duplicates were typically within less than 10% of each other, indicating that study results can be used with confidence. This paper covers study design, recruitment, methodology, time activity diary, surveys, and quality assurance and control results for the different methods used.