Challenges to interdisciplinary research in ecosystem-based management

Despite its necessity, integration of natural and social sciences to inform conservation efforts has been difficult. We examined the views of 63 scientists and practitioners involved in marine management in Mexico's Gulf of California, the central California coast, and the western Pacific on the challenges associated with integrating social science into research efforts that support ecosystem-based management (EBM) in marine systems. We used a semistructured interview format. Questions focused on how EBM was developed for these sites and how contextual factors affected its development and outcomes. Many of the traditional challenges linked with interdisciplinary research were present in the EBM projects we studied. However, a number of contextual elements affected how mandates to include social science were interpreted and implemented as well as how easily challenges could be addressed. For example, a common challenge is that conservation organizations are often dominated by natural scientists, but for some projects it was easier to address this imbalance than for others. We also found that the management and institutional histories that came before EBM in specific cases were important features of local context. Because challenges differed among cases, we believe resolving challenges to interdisciplinary research should be context specific.     

Monitoring and reporting attacks on education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia

The United Nations' Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism is charged with documenting six grave violations against children in a time of conflict, including attacks on schools. Many of these incidents, however, remain unreported across the globe. This study explores whether or not a local knowledge base of education and child protection actors in North and South Kivu Provinces, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in Mogadishu, Somalia, could contribute to a more complete record of attacks on education in those areas. Hundreds of semi‐structured interviews were conducted with key informants across the three settings, and in total 432 attacks on education were documented. Purposive samples of these reports were verified and a large majority was confirmed. Local non‐governmental organisations and education institutions were most knowledgeable about these incidents, but most never reported them to a monitoring authority. The study concludes that attack surveillance and response were largely insufficient, and recommends investing in mechanisms that utilise local knowledge to address these shortcomings.     

Effect of thallium on phototactic behaviour in Daphnia magna

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Thallium (Tl) is a trace metal enriched in wastewaters associated with mining and smelting of base metals. The toxicity of Tl to aquatic biota is...     

Morphological and molecular data suggest a cosmopolitan distribution of the polychaete <Emphasis Type="Italic">Proscoloplos cygnochaetus</Emphasis> Day, 1954 (Annelida,Orbiniidae)

The discovery of a possibly invasive Proscoloplos species on the French Atlantic coast led to a detailed morphological and molecular investigation. Proscoloplos consists of three nominal species, but molecular analyses of the variable ITS1 and ITS2 region revealed no clade support for samples from South Africa, France and Australia, representing at least two of these nominal species. We found no unambiguous diagnostic characters for the three different species even with scanning electron microscopy. Two main characters—first appearance of branchiae and hooks—that were used for species delineation show considerable intrapopulational variation and do not withstand critical evaluation. The obtained data and the observed regenerative capabilities point to a cautious use of the position of branchiae and hooked chaetae as taxonomic marker in Proscoloplos. After experimental bisection of animals, the recovery led to a phenotype without recognizable signs of regeneration, but neither branchiae nor hooked chaetae reoccurred at the same initial segmental position. Summarising the molecular and morphological data we suggest the synonymy of the known Proscoloplos species under the senior synonym Proscoloplos cygnochaetus Day, 1967. The enormous geographic range of this species comprises the temperate waters of the whole southern hemisphere and includes the French population. We discuss a dispersal enabled through the effective anchorage on vessels using mucous glands and chaetae possibly combined with architomic reproduction.     

Biological Control of Water Hyacinth Under Conditions of Maintenance Management: Can Herbicides and Insects Be Integrated?

Neochetina eichhorniae and N. bruchi. We therefore sampled water hyacinth and weevil populations at 54 sites distributed statewide. Half were under maintenance control, half were not treated with herbicides. General site conditions were assessed, demographic data were collected on weevil and plant populations, the reproductive condition of the weevils was determined, and plant nutrient and proximate composition of water hyacinth leaves were analyzed. Water hyacinth infestations under maintenance control were minimal when compared to unmanaged sites. Likewise, on a population basis, all weevil cohorts were much lower due to the paucity of plants. Plants at unmanaged sites, where weevil intensities were much higher, suffered high levels of stress and showed low growth potential. Lower percentages of the female weevils were reproductive at unmanaged sites when compared to managed sites, so densities of reproductives and immatures were similar at both site types. Reproductive status of the weevils improved with increased plant quality. Plant quality, in turn, declined as stresses arising from weevil feeding increased. Plant quality was positively correlated with plant growth potential and flower production. Thus, maintenance control improved plant nutritive quality thereby inducing reproductive vigor of the weevils, but ensuring plant regrowth and the need for future control. This suggests that biological and herbicidal controls should be integrated, using herbicides to maintain water hyacinth infestations below management thresholds but in a manner that conserves biological control agent populations. This approach would lead to improved plant nutritional quality that would, in turn, stimulate reproduction in biological control agent populations.     

Flows across high aspect ratio street canyons: Reynolds number independence revisited

The Reynolds number for flow in a street canyon, Re?=?U_refH/ν (where U_ref is a reference velocity, H the street canyon height, and ν the kinematic viscosity), cannot be matched between reduced-scale experiments and full-scale field measurements. This mismatch is often circumvented by satisfying the Re independence criterion, which states that above a critical Re (Re_c), the flow field remains invariant with Re. Re_c?=?11,000 is often adopted in reduced-scale experiments. In deep street canyons with height-to-width aspect ratio ≥?1.5, reduced-scale experiments have shown two recirculation vortices induced by the mean flows, but full-scale field measurements have observed only one vortex. We investigated this discrepancy by conducting water channel experiments with Re between 10⁴ and 10⁵ at three aspect ratios. The canyons with aspect ratio 1.0 have Re_c?=?11,000, the canyons with aspect ratio 1.5 have Re_c between 31,000 and 58,000, while the canyons with aspect ratio 2.0 have Re_c between 57,000 and 87,000. Therefore, the widely adopted Re_c?=?11,000 is not applicable for canyons with aspect ratio greater than 1.5. Our results also confirm that there is only one vortex in deep canyons at high Re. This single-vortex flow regime could change our fundamental understanding of deep canyons, which are often assumed to exhibit multiple-vortex flow regimes. Applications such as numerical model validation based on the multiple-vortex regime should be revisited. Our experimental data with Re up to 10⁵ could be used to validate numerical models at high Re.     

Overview of a combined computational–experimental evaluation for the assessment of panoramic sunroof impact characteristics for ejection mitigation

Abstract

Objective: To meet increasing customer demand, many vehicle manufacturers are now offering a panoramic sunroof option in their vehicle lineup. Currently, there is no regulatory or consumer test aimed at assessing the potential for ejection mitigation of roof glazing, which leaves manufacturers to develop internal performance standards to guide designs. The goal of this study was to characterize the variety of occupant-to-roof impacts involving unbelted occupants in rollover crashes to determine the ranges of possible effective masses and impact velocities. This information can be used to define occupant retention requirements and performance criteria for roof glazing in occupant ejection protection.

Methods: This study combined computational (MADYMO and LS-Dyna) simulations of occupant kinematics in rollover crashes with laboratory rollover crash tests using the dynamic rollover test system (DRoTS) and linked them through controlled anthropomorphic test device (ATD)-to-roof (“drop”) impact tests. The DRoTS and the ATD drop tests were performed to explore impact scenarios and estimate dummy-to-roof impact impulses. Next, 13 sets of vehicle kinematics and deformation data were extracted from a combination of vehicle dynamics and finite element model simulations that reconstructed variations of rollover crash cases from the field data. Then occupant kinematics data were extracted from a full-factorial sensitivity study that used MADYMO simulations to investigate how changes in anthropometry and seating position would affect occupant–roof impacts across all 13 cases. Finite element (FE) simulations of ATD and Global Human Body Models Consortium (GHBMC) human body model (HBM) roof impacts were performed to investigate the most severe cases from the MADYMO simulations to generate a distribution of head-to-roof impact energies.

Results: From the multiparameter design of experiment and experimental study, kinematics and energy output were extracted and analyzed. Based on dummy-to-roof impact force and dummy-to-roof impact velocity, the most severe rollover scenarios were identified. In the DRoTS experiments followed by the drop tests, the range of identified impact velocities was between 2 and 5.8 m/s. However, computational simulations of the rollover crashes showed higher impact velocities and similar effective masses. The largest dummy-to-roof impact velocity was 11 m/s.

Conclusions: This study combined computational and experimental analyses to determine a range of possible unbelted occupant-to-roof impact energies. These results can be used to determine design parameters for an impactor for the assessment of the risk of roof glazing ejection for unbelted occupants in rollover crashes.     

A Scottish approach to training for the unemployed: work‐start Ltd., Dundee

This article discusses the structure and performance of Work‐Start Ltd., a company located in Dundee and providing training for the unemployed. The company has attracted national and international attention by its innovative approach. Set up to meet the specific problems of peripheral housing estates, it is now responding to rapid changes in the local labour market.     

New estimates of down syndrome risks at chorionic villus sampling,amniocentesis, and livebirth in women of advanced maternal age from a uniquely defined population

Current measures of livebirth prevalence of Down syndrome are derived from data obtained up to 20 years ago, before the introduction of the prenatal diagnostic tests amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS). For women aged 36–52 years, but who were not tested prenatally, we proposed to make a direct estimate of current livebirth prevalence of Down syndrome. We could also determine prevalence at the time of CVS and amniocentesis in women of the same age undergoing prenatal testing. Differences in these prevalences allow an estimation of the relative loss of Down syndrome during pregnancy. In Victoria, Australia, we identified 3041 women having CVS, 7504 having amniocentesis, and 13 139 having no test. Smoothed regression estimates of age-specific livebirth prevalence were found to be higher than in the early studies. The estimate of spontaneous loss was 17 per cent between the time of CVS and amniocentesis, and 18 per cent after the time of amniocentesis. The latter figure is lower than previous estimates and may be explained by a greater likelihood of a Down syndrome fetus surviving to be liveborn, given the modern approach to early obstetric intervention. These current risk estimates of livebirth may be useful updates for genetic counselling, but perhaps more importantly, may be used as precise maternal age-related risk figures, necessary in the design and implementation of prenatal screening programmes for Down syndrome.     

The prognostic factors in the prenatal diagnosis of the echogenic fetal lung

The prenatal diagnosis of an echogenic fetal lung (EFL) is now often made in the early second trimester using high-resolution ultrasound. This ultrasound appearance is usually caused by a congenital cystic adenomatoid lung malformation (CCAM), an intrapulmonary lung sequestration or obstruction of a major airway. In order to provide prognostic guidelines to parents who may be considering termination of a fetus with these findings, we have analysed a series of 11 cases diagnosed in our centre over the past 2 years in conjunction with 60 cases from major published series. The data suggest that in the absence of non-immune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) or other anomalies, the outcome for the fetuses is excellent, with over 90 per cent survival. Neither early diagnosis (24 weeks) nor the presence of mediastinal shift is a poor prognostic indicator. In addition, it appears that if NIHF is absent at diagnosis, the chance that it will develop as the pregnancy continues is small (6 per cent). Furthermore, there is a significant (up to 30 per cent) chance that this ultrasound finding will resolve in utero. The development of in utero fetal surgical techniques may be the only hope for those hydropic fetuses who appear to have a dismal prognosis.