Toward a psychological and cultural model of downsizing

Organizational downsizing is often counterproductive and applied irrespective of past financial performance. The popularity of this tactic leads to the question of whether an executive's propensity to downsize is linked to characteristics such as uncertainty avoidance and risk tolerance, which can be examined at either an individual or societal level. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influences of perfluorooctanoic acid on the aggregation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes

The aggregation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in the aqueous phase not only inhibits their extensive utilization in various aspects but also dominates their environmental fate and transport.The role of surfactants at low concentration in the aggregation of MWCNTs has been studied,however the effect of perfluorinated surfactants at low concentration is uncertain.To understand this interfacial phenomenon,the influences of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA),and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a control,on MWCNT aggregation in the aqueous phase were examined by the UV absorbency method.Influences of pH and cationic species on the critical coagulation concentration (CCC) value were evaluated.The CCC values were dependent on the concentration of PFOA,however a pronounced effect of SDS concentration on the CCC values was not observed.The CCC values of the MWCNTs were 51.6 mmol/L in NaCl and 0.28 mmol/L in CaCl 2 solutions,which suggested pronounced differences in the effects of Na+ and Ca2+ ions on the aggregation of the MWCNTs.The presence of both PFOA and SDS significantly decreased the CCC values of the MWCNTs in NaCl solution.The aggregation of the MWCNTs took place under acidic conditions and was not notably altered under neutral and alkaline conditions due to the electrostatic repulsion of deprotonated functional groups on the surface of the MWCNTs.     

Runoff of pesticides from rice fields in the Ile de Camargue (Rhône river delta, France): field study and modeling

A field study on the runoff of pesticides was conducted during the cultivation period in 2004 on a hydraulically isolated rice farm of 120 ha surface with one central water outlet. Four pesticides were studied: Alphamethrin, MCPA, Oxadiazon, and Pretilachlor. Alphamethrin concentrations in runoff never exceeded 0.001 microg L(-1). The three other pesticides were found in concentrations between 5.2 and 28.2 microg L(-1) in the runoff water shortly after the application and decreased thereafter. The data for MCPA compared reasonably well with predictions by an analytical runoff model, accounting for volatilization, degradation, leaching to groundwater, and sorption to soil. The runoff model estimated that runoff accounted for as much as 18-42% of mass loss for MCPA. Less runoff is observed and predicted for Oxadiazon and Pretilachlor. It was concluded that runoff from rice paddies carries important loads of dissolved pesticides to the wetlands in the Ile de Camargue, and that the model can be used to predict this runoff.     

Dioxin screening in fish product by pattern recognition of biomarkers

Two alternative, cost- and time-effective dioxin screening methods relying on two categories of potential lipid biomarkers were investigated. A dioxin range varying from 1.1 to 47.1 pg PCDD/F TEQ-WHO/g lipid using 64 fish meal samples was used for model calibration. The methods were based on multivariate models using either (1) fatty acid composition monitored by GC-FID or (2) fluorescence landscape signals analysed using the PARAFAC model and in both cases predicting dioxin content as pgPCDD/F TEQ-WHO/g lipid. In both cases, Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression was performed for predicting the dioxin content of a sample. The GC-FID data analyses was based on automatic peak alignment and integration, enabling extraction of the area of 140 peaks from the gas chromatograms, as opposed to the 31 fatty acids usually considered for fish oil characterisation. In addition to classic PLS employing the whole dataset for calibration, a two-step local PLS modeling approach was performed based upon an initial selection of k number of calibration samples providing the best match to the prediction sample using a so-called k Nearest Neighbors (kNN) approach, then followed by PLS calibration on these kNN selected samples for dioxin prediction. Fluorescence spectroscopy offers a promising non-invasive and ultra-rapid technique, with less than two minutes analysis time. However, fluorescence spectroscopy using the pattern recognition "kNN-PLS" yielded a correlation of 0.76 (r2) and a high root mean square error of prediction of 11.4 pg PCDD/F TEQ-WHO/g lipid. The predictions were improved when the PLS calibration was performed on all the sample with a root mean square error of prediction of 7.0 pg PCDD/F TEQ-WHO/g lipid. Unfortunately, these results failed to demonstrate the potential of fluorophore monitoring as a screening method. In contrast, the overall best screening performance was obtained with the fatty acid profile, when the kNN-PLS combination employed for pattern recognition (kNN) all the areas of the 140 detected peaks and the PLS regression used the areas of 46 selected peaks. This "kNN-PLS" prediction with three latent variables and based upon the 12 nearest neighbors selected out of the 64 x 2 fatty acid profiles (duplicate analyses), yielded a correlation of 0.85 (r2) and a root mean square error of prediction of 2.1 pg PCDD/F TEQ-WHO/g lipid and resulted in a total analysis time of one and half hour per sample.     

Reducing the risk of invasive forest pests and pathogens: Combining legislation,targeted management and public awareness

Intensifying global trade will result in increased numbers of plant pest and pathogen species inadvertently being transported along with cargo. This paper examines current mechanisms for prevention and management of potential introductions of forest insect pests and pathogens in the European Union (EU). Current European legislation has not been found sufficient in preventing invasion, establishment and spread of pest and pathogen species within the EU. Costs associated with future invasions are difficult to estimate but past invasions have led to negative economic impacts in the invaded country. The challenge is combining free trade and free movement of products (within the EU) with protection against invasive pests and pathogens. Public awareness may mobilise the public for prevention and detection of potential invasions and, simultaneously, increase support for eradication and control measures. We recommend focus on commodities in addition to pathways, an approach within the EU using a centralised response unit and, critically, to engage the general public in the battle against establishment and spread of these harmful pests and pathogens.     

Research and application of method of oxygen isotope of inorganic phosphate in Beijing agricultural soils

Phosphorus (P) in agricultural ecosystems is an essential and limited element for plants and microorganisms. However, environmental problems caused by P accumulation as well as by P loss have become more and more serious. Oxygen isotopes of phosphate can trace the sources, migration, and transformation of P in agricultural soils. In order to use the isotopes of phosphate oxygen, appropriate extraction and purification methods for inorganic phosphate from soils are necessary. Here, we combined two different methods to analyze the oxygen isotopic composition of inorganic phosphate (δ¹⁸O_P) from chemical fertilizers and different fractions (Milli-Q water, 0.5 mol L^?1 NaHCO₃ (pH = 8.5), 0.1 mol L^?1 NaOH and 1 mol L^?1 HCl) of agricultural soils from the Beijing area. The δ¹⁸O_P results of the water extracts and NaHCO₃ extracts in most samples were close to the calculated equilibrium value. These phenomena can be explained by rapid P cycling in soils and the influence of chemical fertilizers. The δ¹⁸O_P value of the water extracts and NaHCO₃ extracts in some soil samples below the equilibrium value may be caused by the hydrolysis of organic P fractions mediated by extracellular enzymes. The δ¹⁸O_P values of the NaOH extracts were above the calculated equilibrium value reflecting the balance state between microbial uptake of phosphate and the release of intracellular phosphate back to the soil. The HCl extracts with the lowest δ¹⁸O_P values and highest phosphate concentrations indicated that the HCl fraction was affected by microbial activity. Hence, these δ¹⁸O_p values likely reflected the oxygen isotopic values of the parent materials. The results suggested that phosphate oxygen isotope analyses could be an effective tool in order to trace phosphate sources, transformation processes, and its utilization by microorganisms in agricultural soils.