The impact of lynx and wolf on roe deer hunting benefits in Sweden

Large carnivores provide ecosystem and cultural benefits but also impose costs on hunters due to the competition for game. The aim of this paper was to identify the marginal impact of lynx (Lynx lynx) and wolf (Canis lupus) on the harvest of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in Sweden and the value of this impact. We applied a production function approach, using a bioeconomic model where the annual number of roe deer harvested was assumed to be determined by hunting effort, abundance of predators, availability of other game, and winter severity. The impact of the predators on the roe deer harvests was estimated econometrically, and carnivore marginal impacts were derived. The results showed that if the roe deer resource was harvested under open access, the marginal cost in terms of hunting values foregone varied between different counties, and ranged between 18,000 and 58,000 EUR for an additional lynx family, and 79,000 and 336,000 EUR for an additional wolf individual. Larger marginal costs of the wolf, in terms of the impact on roe deer hunting, were found in counties where the hunting effort was high and the abundance of moose (Alces alces) was low. If instead, hunters could exert private property rights to the resource, the average marginal cost was about 20% lower than it would have been if there was open access, and the difference in wolf impact between counties with high and low moose density was smaller. Together, results suggest that the current plan for expanding the wolf population in south Sweden can be associated with a substantial cost.

     

Low dose exposure of patulin and protective effect of epicatechin on blood cells in vitro

In the present study, we aimed to assess antioxidant status in erythrocytes in vitro after patulin (PAT) and epicatechin exposure by measuring antioxidant enzymes (superoxide-dismutase – SOD, glutathione peroxidase – GPx and catalase – CAT) and parameters associated with oxidative stress (malondialdehyde – MDA and ROS). We also investigated the effect of PAT on viability and count of lymphocytes and lymphocyte subpopulations in rabbit blood in vitro. Whole blood of rabbits was used for analysis of antioxidant changes in rabbit erythrocytes after epicatechin and PAT treatment (separately or in combination, at concentrations of 0.2; 2; 20; 200?µg mL^–1 of epicatechin and 0.5; 5; 10?µg mL^–1 of PAT). Whole blood of rabbits was also used for analysis of count and viability of lymphocytes after PAT treatment at concentrations of 10; 25 and 50?µg mL^–1. Results from our experiment confirmed the ability of epicatechin to protect cells against oxidative stress and lipoperoxidation. Our findings indicate that mycotoxin PAT in low concentrations did not affect the activity of antioxidant enzymes in erythrocytes of rabbits significantly. Only slight non-significant changes in lymphocytes count after treatment with low doses of PAT in rabbit blood were observed.     

Misuse of booster cushions among children and adults in Shanghai—an observational and attitude study during buckling up

Objective: Traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of fatalities among Chinese children. Booster cushion usage in China is low, and there are no studies showing how a population with limited experience handles booster cushions during buckling up. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the handling of and explore the attitudes toward booster cushions among children, parents, and grandparents in Shanghai.

Methods: An observational study including a convenience sample of 254 children aged 4–12 years was conducted in 2 passenger cars at a shopping center in Shanghai. Parents, grandparents, or the children themselves buckled up the child on 2 types of booster cushions, a 2-stage integrated booster cushion (IBC) and an aftermarket booster cushion (BC). The test participants were observed during buckling up, first without and then with instructions. The test leaders conducted structured interviews.

Results: Ninety-eight percent of the uninstructed participants failed to buckle up without identified misuse on the aftermarket booster cushion and 31% of those uninstructed on the integrated booster cushion. The majority of misuse was severe, including placing the belt behind the arm and the lap belt routing above the guiding loops. Instruction reduced misuse to 58% (BC) and 12% (IBC), respectively, and, in particular, severe misuse. Some misuse was related to limited knowledge of how to buckle up on the booster cushion, and some misuse was intentional in order to reduce discomfort.

The participants, both children and adults, reported that they preferred the IBC due to good comfort and convenience. Safety was reported as the main reason for adults using booster cushions in general, whereas children reported comfort as the most important motivation.

Conclusions: Education is needed to ensure frequent and correct use of booster cushions in China and to raise safety awareness among children and adults. Furthermore, it is important that the booster cushions offer intuitively correct usage to a population with limited experience of booster cushions.

This is the first study published on the handling of and attitude toward booster cushions after child restraints laws were introduced in Shanghai 2014.     

The Danube Region—On Stream with Animal Welfare Assessment in the Last 35 Years: A Review of Research on Animal Welfare Assessment in a Multi-lingual Area in Europe

This review presents first ever literature survey on historical development of farm animal welfare indicators and assessment in the Danube region. This area, encompassing European Eastern countries and the Balkans, is to a large extent heterogeneous in terms of culture and language. However, international (English) publications were disproportionally small compared to the amount of research institutions and animal welfare activities present in the region. Therefore, the authors aimed at investigating the published literature, focusing on country level and on native languages. Data were collected for the 1980–2015 period referring to scientific papers published in international and national journals, papers and abstracts in proceedings of the international and national conferences, reviews, monographs, short communications, Ph.D., Master and Graduation theses. Welfare assessment of all farm animal species was observed including fish. Over 180 papers were in line with the preselected index. Data collected showed that publishing dynamics grew rapidly towards the last decade. Most of the studies were focused on animal welfare indicators such as stress, injuries and mutilations, behaviour, body condition and management practices. Cattle, chickens, pigs and sheep were the predominant species investigated. The study revealed that experts from the region were greatly involved in the studies of animal welfare indicators and assessment, contributing to development of the currently most widely used animal welfare assessment protocols, thus having an important role in animal welfare research and protection.     

Ultrastructural changes in the rabbit liver induced by carbamate insecticide bendiocarb

Carbamates (CB) are used as insecticides and some of them have been registered as human drugs. The mechanism of CB poisoning involves reversible inhibition of acetylcholine esterase. In the present study, we investigated changes in liver ultrastructure in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) which were administered bendiocarb for 3, 10, 20, and 30 days. Rabbits in all experimental groups received capsules of bendiocarb (96% Bendiocarb, Bayer, Germany) per os daily at a dose of 5 mg/kg of body weight, and after day 11 received the same dose every 48 h. The observed changes were only moderate, focal, and the effect on the liver was not uniform. On the third day of the experiment, injured hepatocytes had dilated bile capillaries with reduced microvilli. There were no visible alterations in the intercellular contacts. Nuclei of these cells were irregular in shape. Many hepatocytes showed considerable increase in the number of peroxisomes. On day 10 of the experiment, the number of peroxisomes was reduced. Other changes, such as dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum and proliferation of smooth endoplasmic reticulum were observed on day 20. The number of lipid droplets in hepatocytes gradually increased. Usually they were present in low numbers, but on day 30 of the experiment their number increased significantly. They coalesced and formed a single lipid droplet which changed the shape of the nuclei. The results presented in this study indicate that both short and long-term administration of bendiocarb affects the liver ultrastructure. At the same time we also observed rapid onset of regeneration of the damaged tissue through activation of hepatocytes and oval cells.     

Performance optimisation of a passive sampler for monitoring hydrophobic organic pollutants in water

The performance of an integrative passive sampler that consists of a C18 Empore disk sorbent receiving phase fitted with low density polyethylene membrane was optimised for the measurement of time-weighted average concentrations of hydrophobic micropollutants in water. A substantial improvement of sampling characteristics including the rate of sampling and the sampling precision was achieved by decreasing the internal sampler resistance to mass transfer of hydrophobic organic chemicals. This was achieved by adding a small volume of n-octanol, a solvent with high permeability (solubility [times] diffusivity) for target analytes, to the interstial space between the receiving sorbent phase and the polyethylene diffusion-limiting membrane.     

Bus fleet emissions: new strategies for mitigation by adopting natural gas

Energy consumption is related to local, regional and global impacts. Thus, by comparing different replacement scenarios of diesel vehicles with compressed natural gas, this article estimates pollutants and greenhouse gases emission in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The calculation of fuel consumption is based on fleet characteristics, in terms of vehicle age, the average annual distance travelled by bus depending on the year and average fuel consumption. These values served as a basis to develop scenarios considering that a percentage of new vehicles that will be phased out and replaced with ones running on natural gas. Results show that the total avoided emissions can range from 579 thousand tons to 1.375 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂₎ over 20 years, depending on the scenario. For particulate matter, accumulated avoided emissions vary from 251 thousand to 584 tons over 20 years. The replacement of diesel buses with natural gas-fuelled buses presents favourable results, in comparison with the tendency scenario for CO₂ and particulate matter. Thus, a public policy for fuel replacement in largest cities, such as Sao Paulo, has an important global impact, especially when allowing the introduction of a renewable energy source, such as biogas. It will benefit from the natural gas previous infrastructure, which is largely available in Brazil. As recommendations, we explain the need to review the city of Sao Paulo Climate Change Law to allow the use of natural gas. Fuel replacement should be integrated with a public policy/public policies and operational strategies to promote citizens´ health as well as historical, cultural and heritage conservation for the city and its future generations.     

Metallophyte status of violets of the section Melanium

Violets from metal-enriched soils have controversially been described as both heavy-metal accumulators and excluders in the literature. The present study solves the issue for violets of the section Melanium (zinc violets, Viola lutea ssp. calaminaria and V. lutea ssp. westfalica; hartsease or wild pansy, Viola tricolor; and mountain pansy, V. lutea). The aims were to determine the concentrations of heavy metals in the soil and in the roots and shoots of field-collected plants, to evaluate the potential impact of colonisation by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on heavy-metal concentrations in the plant tissues, and to quantitatively define the localisation of the elements in root cross-sections. When these violets grow in low-metal soils, higher concentrations of the heavy metals were found in the roots and shoots than in the soil, whereas the opposite was seen in samples from high-metal soils. Under all field conditions examined, the roots of all of these species were colonised by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. However, V. tricolor was marginally colonised when the concentrations of Zn and P were higher in the soil. Determination of the spatial distribution of the elements in root cross-sections of these violets indicates tissue-specific deposition of elements within the vascular tissue, the cortex, and the rhizodermis. These data indicate that violets of the section Melanium are heavy-metal excluders.     

The impact of the type and position of the halogen atom on the biodegradation of halosubstituted benzyl alcohols

The biodegradation of 2‐halosubstituted and 4‐halosubstituted benzyl alcohols was studied using two sources of biodegrative micro‐organisms: mixed culture from the ?TUDA waste water treatment plant, Dom?ale, and the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium strain MZKI B‐223 (ATCC 24725). The results obtained by this study indicate the interrelationship between the types of micro‐organism used in the experiments and the type and position of the halogen element on the aromatic ring.