Benefits of systems thinking for a human and organizational factors approach to safety management

This paper highlights the value of systems theory and its application to human and organizational factors (HOF). HOF specialists consider multiple systems characteristics in their analyses but are often unaware of the relevant theory applied in their analysis. We argue that a structured effort to take key systems characteristics into account in HOF practice would increase the depth and breadth of safety management analyses and help HOF specialists to act more effectively on industrial socio-technical systems. First, the paper identifies the following seven system theory characteristics: constitution, multi-axis representation, limit, emergence, variety, coherence, and causal interaction, which are then illustrated with examples from the HOF field. Finally, we discuss the two main benefits of integrating system thinking in a HOF approach to safety management: (1) an improved understanding of the inner workings of an industrial socio-technical system; and (2) a compendium or a reference to guide for decision-making and the implementation of actions within the industrial socio-technical systems.     

Conservative maternal care in an iteroparous mammal: a resource allocation experiment

When resources are limited, life history theory predicts a trade-off between growth, reproduction and survival. In summer, lactating females of temperate large herbivores such as the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) normally have access to abundant forage but also face the high energetic needs of lactation and recovery from winter mass loss. At high population density, however, females may face a trade-off between allocating resources for maintenance and for reproduction. To simulate the effects of increased intra-specific competition at high density, we measured for 2 years how an experimental food restriction of approximately 20% affected current reproduction and body mass changes of adult females and their fawns during the fawning and lactation periods. Fawn survival decreased 35%, and fawn growth decreased 26% in the food-restricted treatment. There was no effect of food restriction on female mass. Irrespective of treatment, however, lactating females gained 30 g/day less than non-lactating females, and females that had weaned a fawn the previous year gained 20 g/day less than females that had not. We conclude that when resources were scarce, females adopted a conservative strategy favouring their own survival, mass recovery and future reproductive potential over their current reproduction, probably to maximise their lifetime reproductive success.     

Genetic diversity,clonality and connectivity in the scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis: a multi-scale analysis in an insular,fragmented reef system

Clonality and genetic structure of the coral Pocillopora damicornis sensu lato were assessed using five microsatellites in 12 populations from four islands of the Society Archipelago (French Polynesia) sampled in June 2008. The 427 analysed specimens fell into 132 multilocus genotypes (MLGs), suggesting that asexual reproduction plays an important role in the maintenance of these populations. A haploweb analysis of ITS2 sequences of each MLG was consistent with all of them being conspecific. Genetic differentiation was detected both between and within islands, but when a single sample per MLG was included in the analyses, the populations turned out to be nearly panmictic. These observations provide further evidence of the marked variability in reproductive strategies and genetic structure of P. damicornis throughout its geographic range; comparison with results previously obtained for the congeneric species Pocillopora meandrina underlines the importance of life history traits in shaping the genetic structure of coral populations.     

Seasonality in reproduction of the deep-water pennatulacean coral Anthoptilum grandiflorum

The deep-sea pennatulacean coral Anthoptilum grandiflorum exhibits a cosmopolitan distribution and was recently determined to serve as habitat for other invertebrates and fish larvae in the northwest Atlantic. Colonies collected at bathyal depths between 2006 and 2010 in eastern Canada were analysed to determine their fecundity and characterize spatial and temporal trends in their reproductive cycle. Anthoptilum grandiflorum is a gonochoric broadcast spawner with a sex ratio that does not differ significantly from equality (although one hermaphrodite colony was observed). In male colonies, all the spermatocysts synthesized become mature over the annual cycle, while only ~21 % of the initial production of oocytes reaches maturity in female colonies. Female potential fecundity based on mature oocytes just before spawning was on average 13 oocytes polyp^?1; male potential fecundity was 48 spermatocysts polyp^?1. The spawning period of A. grandiflorum differs between geographic regions, from April (in southern Newfoundland) to July (in Labrador), closely following regional spring phytoplankton blooms after accounting for the deposition of planktic detritus. Release of oocytes by a live colony held in the laboratory was recorded in April 2011, coincident with field data for similar latitudes. Seawater temperatures at the time of spawning were around 3.6–4.8 °C in all regions and in the laboratory. Early stages of gametogenesis were detected in colonies collected shortly after the spawning season, and early and late growth stages occurred successively until December. Mature colonies were observed between April and July (depending on latitude). The diameter of mature oocytes (~1,100 μm maximum diameter) is consistent with lecithotrophic larval development.     

Impact of photocatalytic remediation of pollutants on urban air quality

In the recent years, photocatalytic self-cleaning and “depolluting” materials have been suggested as a remediation technology mainly for NO _x and aromatic VOCs in urban areas. A number of products incorporating the aforementioned technology have been made commercially available with the aim to improve urban air quality. These commercial products are based on the photocatalytic properties of a thin layer of TiO₂ at the surface of the material (such as glass, pavement, etc.) or embedded in paints or concrete. The use of TiO₂ photocatalysts as an emerging air pollution control technology has been reported in many locations worldwide. However, up to now, the effectiveness measured in situ and the expected positive impact on air quality of this relatively new technology has only been demonstrated in a limited manner. Assessing and demonstrating the effectiveness of these depolluting techniques in real scale applications aims to create a real added value, in terms of policy making (i.e., implementing air quality strategies) and economics (by providing a demonstration of the actual performance of a new technique).

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Use of agro-industrial organic sludge amendment to remediate degraded soil: chemical and eco(geno)toxicological differences between fresh and stabilized sludge and establishment of application rates

Soil degraded by coal mining activities can be remediated by amendment with agro-industrial organic sludge. However, the environmental impacts associated with this management practice must be properly addressed. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the eco(geno)toxicity of a fresh and a stabilized sludge before use in a laboratory soil remediation test. Chemical analysis of the complex mixtures (degraded soil, fresh sludge, and stabilized sludge) was carried out, as well as a battery of eco(geno)toxicity tests on microbiological enzymes (fluorescein hydrolysis), earthworms, and higher plants (including Vicia faba genotoxicity test), according to published methodologies. The results of these tests showed that fresh sludge was more toxic than sludge stabilized over 6 months toward earthworms and higher plants (lettuce, corn, and wild cabbage), while phyto(geno)toxicity tests with V. faba indicated the same genotoxicity levels for the two types of sludge. In the soil remediation simulation using different mixtures of degraded soil and stabilized sludge, the proportions of 50:50 % (dry weight basis) provided the lowest phyto(geno)toxicity effects and this mixture can be used for the revegetation of the contaminated site.     

Humic substances—part 7: the biogeochemistry of dissolved organic carbon and its interactions with climate change

Background, aim, and scope  

Dissolved organic matter, measured as dissolved organic carbon (DOC), is an important component of aquatic ecosystems and of the global carbon cycle. It is known that changes in DOC quality and quantity are likely to have ecological repercussions. This review has four goals: (1) to discuss potential mechanisms responsible for recent changes in aquatic DOC concentrations; (2) to provide a comprehensive overview of the interactions between DOC, nutrients, and trace metals in mainly boreal environments; (3) to explore the impact of climate change on DOC and the subsequent effects on nutrients and trace metals; and (4) to explore the potential impact of DOC cycling on climate change.     

Experimental and Numerical Verification of Similarity Concept for Dispersion of Car Exhaust Gases in Urban Street Canyons

In urban conditions, car exhaust gases are often emitted inside poorly ventilated street canyons. One may suppose however that moving cars can themselves produce a certain ventilation effect in addition to natural air motions. Such ventilation mechanism is not sufficiently studied so far. A similarity criterion relating the vehicle- and wind-induced components of turbulent motion in an urban street canyon was proposed in 1982 by E. J. Plate for wind tunnel modelling purposes. The present study aims at further evaluation of the criterion and its applicability for a variety of wind and traffic conditions. This is accomplished by joint analyses of data from numerical simulations and wind tunnel measurements.     

42nd Congress of the “Groupe Français des Pesticides” (French Group of Pesticide research–GFP 2012)

The 42nd congress of the “Groupe Français des Pesticides” (French Group of Pesticide research–GFP 2012) took place 30 May–1 June at the “École Nationale Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Poitiers” (ENSIP), a French generalist engineering grande école in Poitiers. Its focus is on the protection of the environment and is part of the University of Poitiers, one of the oldest universities in Europe. GFP is an annual conference where the latest developments in the field of pesticide research are presented. The topics most commonly discussed mainly concern environmental quality, monitoring, fate, and transfer of pesticides in the environment or risks associated with use of pesticides, but every year a key theme sets the tone. For this 42nd edition, the theme “Innovative strategies for plant protection” was retained.     

Guidance for the Performance Evaluation of Three-Dimensional Air Quality Modeling Systems for Particulate Matter and Visibility

ABSTRACT

Guidance for the performance evaluation of three-dimensional air quality modeling systems for particulate matter and visibility is presented. Four levels are considered: operational, diagnostic, mechanistic, and probabilistic evaluations. First, a comprehensive model evaluation should be conducted in at least two distinct geographical locations and for several meteorological episodes. Next, streamlined evaluations can be conducted for other similar applications if the comprehensive evaluation is deemed satisfactory. In all cases, the operational evaluation alone is insufficient, and some diagnostic evaluation must always be carried out. Recommendations are provided for designing field measurement programs that can provide the data needed for such model performance evaluations.