Chitosan-polypropylene imine dendrimer hybrid: a new ecological biomordant for cochineal dyeing of wool

The classical use of synthetic dyes is causing issues of environmental pollution and heath risk. As a consequence natural dyes are gaining interest, but the use of natural dyes still includes toxic reagents such as metals as mordants and acids to enhance color and yield. Therefore, we designed a new chitosan-polypropylene imine dendrimer hybrid at 0–2000 mg/L to treat wool before dyeing with cochineal. We compared dye exhaustion, color depth, color characteristics, and color fastness of the new process with dyed pristine and metal mordanted wool. Results show that wool pretreatment improved dye exhaustion from 48 to 88 %, shifted saturation point toward lower dye concentration from 3000 to 1000 mg/L, and improved color depth from 13.68 for pristine wool and 15.17 for metal mordanted wool to 23.89 for the new process.     

The relations between natural and civic place attachment and pro-environmental behavior

The relation between place attachment and pro-environmental behavior is unclear. Studies have reported that place attachment is associated both with more and less pro-environmental behavior. To help clarify this, we distinguished two dimensions of place attachment: civic and natural, and explored their respective influences on pro-environmental behavior. A community sample of residents (N = 104) from two proximate towns with different environmental reputations reported the strength of their civic and natural place attachment, their performance of various pro-environmental behaviors, and a number of sociodemographic characteristics. Regression analyses revealed that natural, but not civic place attachment predicted pro-environmental behavior when controlling for the town, length of residence, gender, education and age. This demonstrates that research and theory on place attachment should consider its civic and natural dimensions independently.     

New methodological improvements in the Microtox® solid phase assay

The classic Microtox® solid phase assay (MSPA) based on the inhibition of light production of the marine bacteria recently renamed Aliivibrio fischeri suffers from various bias and interferences, mainly due to physico-chemical characteristics of the tested solid phase. To precisely assess ecotoxicity of sediments, we have developed an alternative method, named Microtox® leachate phase assay (MLPA), in order to measure the action of dissolved pollutants in the aqueous phase. Two hypotheses were formulated to explain the observed difference between MSPA and MLPA results: a real ecotoxicity of the solid phase or the fixation of bacteria to fine particles and/or organic matter. To estimate the latter, flow cytometry analyses were performed with two fluorochromes (known for their ability to stain bacterial DNA), allowing correction of MSPA measurements and generation of new (corrected) IC50. Comparison of results of MLPA with the new IC50 MSPA allows differentiating real ecotoxic and fixation effect in classic MSPA especially for samples with high amount of fines and/or organic matter.     

Evaluating Alternative Temporal Survey Designs for Monitoring Wetland Area and Detecting Changes Over Time in California

Evaluation of wetland extent and changes in extent is a foundation of many wetland monitoring and assessment programs. Probabilistic sampling and mapping provides a cost‐effective alternative to comprehensive mapping for large geographic areas. One unresolved challenge for probabilistic or design‐based approaches is how best to monitor both status (e.g., extent at a single point in time) and trends (e.g., changes in extent over time) within a single monitoring program. Existing wetland status and trends (S&T) monitoring programs employ fixed sampling locations; however, theoretical evaluation and limited implementation in other landscape monitoring areas suggest that alternative designs could increase statistical efficiency and overall accuracy. In particular, designs that employ both fixed and nonfixed sampling locations (alternately termed permanent and temporary samples), termed sampling with partial replacement (SPR), are considered to efficiently and effectively balance monitoring current status with detection of trends. This study utilized simulated sampling to assess the performance of fixed sampling locations, SPR, and strictly nonfixed designs for monitoring wetland S&T over time. Modeled changes in wetland density over time were used as inputs for sampling simulations. In contrast to previous evaluations of SPR, the results of this study support the use of a fixed sampling design and show that SPR may underestimate both S&T.     

Assessment of metal contamination in soil banks of the Rhumel wadi (Northeast Algeria)

Levels of six trace metals were assessed in bank soils of the Rhumel wadi (Northeast Algeria) and their association with soil properties was investigated. Samples were collected at 10 sites. The soils are neutral to moderately alkaline, have high contents of carbonate, and are low in organic carbon and clay. Mean metal concentrations are 1.1 (Cd), 63 (Cr), 20 (Cu), 26 (Ni), 31 (Pb), and 98 (Zn) mg kg^?1. The Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn contents in soil from sites closest to Constantine City were higher than in uncontaminated soils worldwide, indicating accumulation due to human activities (residential, industrial, and agricultural). Statistical analyses (correlation and principal component analysis) demonstrated that Cd, Pb, and Zn are of anthropogenic origin in the urban areas, whereas Cr and Cu enrichment in some situations is caused by industrial activities, while Ni was geogenic.     

Complex genetic structure of a euryhaline marine fish in temporarily open/closed estuaries from the wider Gulf of Aden

Temporarily open/closed estuaries (TOCEs) are major ecosystems of the Indian Ocean coastal zones. Their functioning is tightly linked to climatic events such as monsoons and storms, and their mouth can close up for prolonged and variable periods of time, thus limiting their connectivity with the marine environment. Two types of genetic markers (i.e., mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene and microsatellites) were used to assess the genetic structure of 288 individuals of Terapon jarbua, a widely distributed fish species in the wider Gulf of Aden. Firstly, the hypothesis of panmixia was tested. Then, alternative hypotheses were investigated to explain the population genetic structure of T. jarbua: could it be shaped by (1) regional biogeographic barriers (i.e., Socotra Island vs. mainland Yemen) and/or (2) the particular functioning of TOCEs in relation to the species life cycle and particular physical ocean parameters? On one hand, the polymorphism of the COI inferred (1) a high haplotype diversity and a reduced nucleotide diversity over the whole data set and (2) a “star-like” shape of the haplotype network, thus suggesting a population expansion after local extinctions during the Pleistocene glaciations. On a second hand, the genotyping of eight microsatellites showed a significant genetic differentiation between T. jarbua populations in the wider Gulf of Aden (F _ST = 0.035, p < 0.01), and thus, the panmixia hypothesis was rejected. Analyses of molecular variance results did not show any significant structure between Socotra Island and mainland Yemen and thus did not support the role of biogeographic barriers in structuring T. jarbua populations. Significant multi-locus deficits in heterozygotes at particular locations displaying high levels of F _IS were recorded. It was suggested that a possible Wahlund effect took place in those TOCEs which could gather several cohorts of larvae stemming from different marine subpopulations over the sampled area. The present study emphasized the uniqueness of each TOCE as a potential reservoir of biodiversity and the urgent need for a better conservation program of those estuaries in the region, in order to avoid habitat fragmentation and permanent closure of those nursery areas by human activities.     

Design and cognitive evaluation of 6 dynamic lane departure warning symbols

Objective: Lane departure, caused by inattention, distraction, drowsiness, or any unusual driver behavior, is a typical risk threatening the driver as well as other road users. Accurate perception of such situations through effective warnings would help drivers to avoid serious consequences. With regard to critical functions of warning symbols for risk communication, the present study focused on providing effective and easily perceivable symbols, compatible with human cognitive capabilities. Thus, the main purpose of the present study was to design and cognitively appraise 6 newly designed dynamic symbols, candidates for a new type of lane departure warning system.

Methods: Simplicity, familiarity, concreteness, meaningfulness, and semantic closeness were the major assessment criteria, defining cognitive features by the earlier researchers in the field. A total number of 187 driving license applicants, with a mean age of 20.58 years (SD = 3.20), participated in the present survey. The participants rated cognitive features of the 6 dynamic symbols along a 0–100 scale.

Results: Significant main effect of the element factor type of the designed symbols on rating cognitive features revealed that the existence of car element was the best predictor for illustrating lane departure. The interaction of both element factor and location of element factor significantly affected the ratings. However, the location of element factor did not solely have any strong effect on the ratings. The results also demonstrated that semantic closeness received the highest overall mean score across symbols (M = 61.80), especially within the symbols that include the car element (M = 75.67). Moreover, a significant difference was observed between the average ratings of the cognitive features, despite the fact that a significant correlation was found between cognitive features.

Conclusion: The most considerable result of the current study was the match between the symbol with the highest ratings and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-related icon in appearance. Because previous studies demonstrated a strong correlation between comprehension scores of the symbol and both semantic closeness and meaningfulness, high-level comprehensibility of the best ranked symbol is expected.     

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.