Capital assets framework for analysing household vulnerability during disaster

This paper examines the vulnerability of households to disasters, using an asset vulnerability framework to represent livelihoods. Such frameworks are widely employed to analyse household poverty and focus on living conditions and well-being rather than money-metric measures of consumption and income. The conceptualisation of household vulnerability is a challenge in current studies on coping with disasters. The paper considers whether a capital assets framework is useful in identifying and assessing household vulnerability in the context of the Wenchuan earthquake in China in 2008. The framework has five categories of assets (financial, human, natural, physical, and social capital) and attempts to measure the resilience and vulnerability of households. When applied to a major disaster, asset-based methods face the problem of heterogeneity of the population, such as with regard to livelihood type or residence. Moreover, the effect of external interventions, such as the provision of relief assistance, must be taken into account.     

Transitions in high-Arctic vegetation growth patterns and ecosystem productivity tracked with automated cameras from 2000 to 2013

Climate-induced changes in vegetation phenology at northern latitudes are still poorly understood. Continued monitoring and research are therefore needed to improve the understanding of abiotic drivers. Here we used 14 years of time lapse imagery and climate data from high-Arctic Northeast Greenland to assess the seasonal response of a dwarf shrub heath, grassland, and fen, to inter-annual variation in snow-cover, soil moisture, and air and soil temperatures. A late snow melt and start of growing season is counterbalanced by a fast greenup and a tendency to higher peak greenness values. Snow water equivalents and soil moisture explained up to 77 % of growing season duration and senescence phase, highlighting that water availability is a prominent driver in the heath site, rather than temperatures. We found a significant advance in the start of spring by 10 days and in the end of fall by 11 days, resulting in an unchanged growing season length. Vegetation greenness, derived from the imagery, was correlated to primary productivity, showing that the imagery holds valuable information on vegetation productivity.     

Synergy optimization for the removal of dye and pesticides from drinking water using granular activated carbon particles in a 3D electrochemical reactor

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The combination of adsorption on particulate materials and electrochemical oxidation in 3D electrochemical systems is potentially a very efficient...     

Synthetic musk fragrances in trout from Danish fish farms and human milk

Synthetic musk compounds used in detergents and cosmetics include nitro and polycyclic musk compounds. These compounds are discharged after use via domestic wastewater and sewage treatment plants to the aquatic environment. Quantitative detection of nitro musk and polycyclic musk compounds by GC/HRMS in Danish farmed trout and human milk from primiparous mothers are reported. The polycyclic musk, HHCB, dominated the synthetic musk compounds found in trout samples from 1999 with a median concentration of 5.0microg/kg fresh weight (n.d.-52.6microg/kg fresh weight) and in trout samples collected in 2003 and 2004 with a median concentration of 1.2microg/kg fresh weight (n.d.-28.0microg/kg fresh weight). It was also found that the concentration of musk xylene in trout sampled at the same fish farms decreased considerably from a median concentration of 5.1microg/kg fresh weight in 1992 to a median of 0.5microg/kg fresh weight in 1999 and to a median less than the detection limit (0.23microg/kg fresh weight) in 2003. HHCB also dominated in Danish human milk samples collected in 1999 with a median concentration of 147microg/kg fat (38.0-422microg/kg fat). Human dietary intake assessment and body burden calculations on data from 1999 indicate that the main source of exposure to human cannot be attributed to the consumption of farmed trout.     

Container-grown tree seedling responses to sodium chloride applications in different substrates

Seedlings of Norway maple (Acer platanoides), silver birch (Betula pendula), Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) were grown in selected sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations, soil types and under different watering regimes. Plants were raised from seeds, except for Scots pine plants which were obtained from a commercial source. Among the plant species tested, Scots pine was the most tolerant to soil salinity, while Norway spruce was the most susceptible. For both Norway maple and Norway spruce some half-sib families were more tolerant than others. No significant correlation was found between the tolerance of different half-sib families and the tolerance of mother trees observed in the field. The extent of leaf necrosis correlated significantly with the leaf concentrations of sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl). Among half-sib families within the species no such correlation was found. On the other hand, the least injured progeny of Norway maples had the highest concentrations of NaCl. The extent of salt-induced leaf necrosis varied with soil type, and a significant interaction between species and soil type was observed. Seedlings of Norway spruce grown in sand showed more severe necrosis and significantly higher concentrations of Na and Cl than seedlings grown in loam, silt loam, and peat. The severity of salt-induced leaf injury varied with the watering regime. Silver birch was the most affected species by drought and autumn watering treatments. Plants of silver birch subjected to drought showed increased leaf necrosis compared to the non-treated plants, and autumn watering treatment reduced the severity of leaf necrosis.     

Counteracting the focusing illusion: Effects of defocusing on car users’ predicted satisfaction with public transport

Car users underestimate their potential satisfaction with public transport due to a focusing illusion (i.e., focusing on a too narrow range of aspects related to the focal event). To investigate whether a defocusing technique would increase car users’ predicted satisfaction with public transport, the effects of defocusing techniques, generic (Study 1) and self-relevant (Study 2), were investigated. In Study 1 (estimate daily time spent on ten pre-selected activities), the generic defocusing technique did not generate higher predicted satisfaction with public transport. In Study 2, the self-relevant defocusing technique generated higher predicted satisfaction on quality attributes, namely satisfaction with the number of departures, the number of available seats and the condition of the vehicles, in comparison with controls. It is concluded that the self-relevant defocusing technique applied in Study 2 (state your various everyday activities and describe how much time you engage in them) was successful in making car users take into account activities in life that will remain unchanged if they were to use public transport for their daily travel. Additionally, in Studies 1 and 2, it was found that car-use habit, regardless of the experimental condition, influenced the magnitude of predicted satisfaction, that is, the higher the car-use habit, the lower the predicted satisfaction with public transport.     

Essential fatty acids influence metabolic rate and tolerance of hypoxia in Dover sole (Solea solea) larvae and juveniles

Dover sole (Solea solea, Linneaus 1758) were raised from first feeding on brine shrimp (Artemia sp.) with different contents and compositions of the essential fatty acids (EFA) arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4n − 6); eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n − 3), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n − 3), and their metabolic rate and tolerance to hypoxia measured prior to and following metamorphosis and settlement. Four dietary Artemia preparations were compared: (1) un-enriched; (2) enriched with a commercial EFA mixture (Easy DHA SELCO Emulsion); (3) enriched with a marine fish oil combination (VEVODAR and Incromega DHA) to provide a high ratio of ARA to DHA, and (4) enriched with these fish oils to provide a low ratio of ARA to DHA. Sole fed un-enriched Artemia were significantly less tolerant to hypoxia than the other dietary groups. Larvae from this group had significantly higher routine metabolic rate (RMR) in normoxia, and significantly higher O₂ partial pressure (PO₂) thresholds in progressive hypoxia for their regulation of RMR (P _crit) and for the onset of agitation, respiratory distress and loss of equilibrium. Metamorphosis was associated with an overall decline in RMR and increase in P _crit, but juveniles fed on un-enriched Artemia still exhibited higher P _crit and agitation thresholds than the other groups. Sole fed un-enriched Artemia had significantly lower contents of EFA in their tissues, both before and after settlement. Thus, enriching live feeds with EFA has significant effects on the respiratory physiology of sole early life stages and improves their in vivo tolerance to hypoxia. We found no evidence, however, for any effect of the ratio of ARA to DHA.     

Heavy metal load and dominance hierarchy in juvenile willow tits during winter

Possible links between plasma testosterone levels, heavy metal loads and dominance in juvenile male willow tits (Parus montanus) are studied during winter conditions in Norway. Dominant individuals have better access to food resources, significantly higher cadmium content in the liver and higher plasma testosterone level compared to subordinates. A positive correlation was also found between plasma testosterone level and content of cadmium in the liver. Although the results in our study shows only a limited difference in testosterone level of dominant and subordinate juvenile male willow tits, possible small changes in behaviour might have crucial effects on winter survival of these birds.     

Prediction of odor from pig production based on chemical odorants

The present work was performed to investigate the use of odorant measurements for prediction of odor concentration in facilities with growing-finishing pigs and to analyze the odorant composition in facilities with different floor and ventilation systems. Air was sampled in Nalophan bags, odor concentrations were measured by dilution-to-threshold olfactometry, and concentrations of odorants were measured by proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). Olfactometry and chemical analyses were synchronized to take place at identical time intervals after sampling. A principal component analysis revealed that different facilities for growing-finishing pigs can be distinguished based on the odorants. Pit ventilation comprising a small amount of the total ventilation air (10-20%) in facilities with both room and pit ventilation can be used to concentrate odorants, whereas the room ventilation contains lower concentrations of most odorants. A partial least squares regression model demonstrated that prediction of the odor concentration based on odorants measured by PTR-MS is feasible. Hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol, trimethylamine, and 4-methylphenol were identified as the compounds having the largest influence on the prediction of odor concentration, whereas carboxylic acids had no significant influence. In conclusion, chemical measurement of odorants by PTR-MS is an alternative for expressing the odor concentration in facilities with growing-finishing pigs that can be used to increase the understanding of odor from different types of facilities and improve the development of odor reduction technologies.