Changes in future potential distributions of apex predator and mesopredator mammals in North America

Regional Environmental Change - Climate change has determined shifts in distributions of species and changing climates are likely to continue to affect species in the future. In this study, we used...     

Toward an integrated marine protected areas policy: connecting the global to the local

Policy development related to marine protected areas (MPAs) occurs at three levels: international, national, and local. Recent developments with MPAs highlight their close links to broader national-level park and protected area policies, which in turn take their lead from initiatives and recommendations initiated, and increasingly dictated, by international organizations. Local-level inputs to MPA policies have tended to be limited to the immediate local area context despite the vital importance of community-level support and knowledge in meeting broader regional goals of marine conservation tied to networked MPAs. In this paper, we highlight the mechanisms to facilitate cooperation and communication among international, national, and local levels of policy and practice needed to address this deficit. These include the creation of a social network of institutions that both internationalizes and localizes MPA policy development, facilitating a more meaningful engagement of local people through their legitimate participation in national and international MPA gatherings. In addition, mechanisms to formalize partnerships, feedback information, resolve conflicts, and report accountabilities are needed. The success of the latter will depend on the level of recognition and support given to community-level institutions as opposed to the suite of technical training and short-term project-based interventions that have characterized local support over recent decades.     

Global invasive potential of 10 parasitic witchweeds and related Orobanchaceae

The plant family Orobanchaceae includes many parasitic weeds that are also impressive invaders and aggressive crop pests with several specialized features (e.g. microscopic seeds, parasitic habits). Although they have provoked several large-scale eradication and control efforts, no global evaluation of their invasive potential is as yet available. We use tools from ecological niche modeling in combination with occurrence records from herbarium specimens to evaluate the global invasive potential of each of 10 species in this assemblage, representing several of the worst global invaders. The invasive potential of these species is considerable, with all tropical and subtropical countries, and most temperate countries, vulnerable to invasions by one or more of them.     

浅议《周易·同人》的义战思想

战争在古代是国之大事,孔子曰:国之大事,在祀与戎。可见在古代人们把战争看作与祭祀一样重要的大事,所以二者殊途同重,互相交结,有别有同。既有关于战争的祭祀,又有祭祀时形成的卜辞,积累了丰富的战争智慧。《周易·同人》就是此例:之所以叫同人,是因为战亦有道,多助和同。对同人的理解,对于帮助我们理解孟子所说的义战,追溯古人的战争智慧有着重要意义。     

Children and elders exposure assessment to particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the city of Rome,Italy

It has been amply demonstrated that exposure to fine particulate matter, containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), may have adverse effects on human health, affecting especially the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Among population, school-age children and elders present particular susceptibilities and unique exposures to environmental factors. The study presented in this paper belongs to the Project EXPAH, founded by the European (EU) LIFE+ instrument, and consists of the personal monitoring of five elementary school children and four elders during the spring and the summer/autumn of the year 2012 in the city of Rome, Italy. The average exposure, expressed as the sum of eight high-molecular-weight PAHs, resulted equal to 0.70 ng/m³ (SD?=?0.37) for children and 0.59 ng/m³ (SD?=?0.23) for the elderly people. The mean levels of gravimetric PM_2.5 were equal to 23 μg/m³ (SD?=?10) and 15 μg/m³ (SD?=?4) for children and elders, respectively. During spring and summer seasons, personal BaP_eq resulted well below the EU Air Quality reference value of 1 ng/m³. The personal monitoring average values were in the same order of magnitude with available indoor and outdoor environmental data in Rome during the same periods, for both PAHs and PM_2.5. The results suggest that, during non-heating seasons, the personal exposure to PAHs in the city of Rome can be mainly ascribed to the urban background, especially traffic emissions and road dust resuspension; secondhand cigarette smoke can be also considered another possible source of PAHs personal exposure.     

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in water, sediment, and aquatic biota in the Houston Ship Channel, Texas

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were quantified in water, sediment, and catfish and crab tissue collected from the Houston Ship Channel (HSC) in Texas. The total concentrations of the 209 PCB congeners ranged from 0.49 to 12.49 ng l(-1), 4.18 to 4601 ng g(-1) dry wt, 4.13 to 1596 ng g(-1) wet wt, and 3.44 to 169 ng g(-1) wet wt, in water, sediment, catfish and crab tissue, respectively. All media showed maximum concentrations greater than studies in other regions with the highest concentrations occurring in the most industrialized segments of the channel. Inter-media correlations suggested that sediment is a source to water. Galveston Bay sediment concentrations compared to a previous study showed a declining trend though the rate of the decline may be slowing. Detailed homolog profiles revealed that the industrialized part of the channel may be receiving PCB-laden sediment from its tributaries. An unusually high fraction of the deca-chlorinated congener (PCB-209) was found in all media. Seen in only a few other studies and in previous air concentrations in the channel, this may point to unusual Aroclor mixtures used in the history of the HSC or to contemporary sources from local industry. A comparison of PCB concentrations obtained using Aroclor, representative congener, and all congener methods, indicated that Aroclors are not an appropriate surrogate for total PCBs and that the NOAA NST method is more representative than the NOAA EPA method.     

Where is the best site for wave energy exploitation? Case study along the coast of northern Latium (ITALY)

The present work proposes a siting process for the detection of a suitable site for wave energy exploitation. The choice of a suitable site is based on the good agreement between energy availability, environmental sustainability, and equipped facilities to exploit wave energy. The case study in the northern Latium coast is explicative because in this area there are several activities that affect marine ecosystems, and the introduction of renewable energies promote the reduction of anthropic pressures. The nearshore wave power is studied through the numerical wave model (CMS-Wave), and available wave buoys along the coast were used to compare numerical results. In correspondence with Civitavecchia harbour, the largest nearshore wave energy was found; the large depth in front of the breakwater allows to conserve a great part of offshore wave power, with an average dissipation rate of 10 % less than offshore, with mean annual available wave energy of 25.4 MWh/m and seasonal fluctuation of 5.4 MWh/m. This area appears to be an optimal site for nearshore and shoreline wave energy device tests and installations, for energy availability (intermediate level respect Mediterreanean Sea), low potential environmental impact, easier accessibility, and policy oriented towards a larger sustainability of harbour activities.     

Separation of plastic waste via the hydraulic separator Multidune under different geometric configurations

The recovery of high-quality plastic materials is becoming an increasingly challenging issue for the recycling sector. Technologies for plastic recycling have to guarantee high-quality secondary raw material, complying with specific standards, for use in industrial applications. The variability in waste plastics does not always correspond to evident differences in physical characteristics, making traditional methodologies ineffective for plastic separation. The Multidune separator is a hydraulic channel allowing the sorting of solid particles on the basis of differential transport mechanisms by generating particular fluid dynamic conditions due to its geometric configuration and operational settings. In this paper, the fluid dynamic conditions were investigated by an image analysis technique, allowing the reconstruction of velocity fields generated inside the Multidune, considering two different geometric configurations of the device, Configuration A and Configuration B. Furthermore, tests on mono- and bi-material samples were completed with varying operational conditions under both configurations. In both series of experiments, the bi-material samples were composed of differing proportions (85% vs. 15%) to simulate real conditions in an industrial plant for the purifying of a useful fraction from a contaminating fraction. The separation results were evaluated in terms of grade and recovery of the useful fraction.     

Visualizing riparian ecotone fragmentation in urbanizing watersheds: A case study of upper Hickory Creek,north‐Central Texas

Many pollution sources and heavy runoff often plague urbanizing watersheds. Riparian ecotones can filter pollutants and attenuate runoff; however, changing land cover tends to diminish this buffering capacity. Visualizing riparian ecotone fragmentation at the watershed scale can help prioritize management efforts. A geographic information systems approach was developed to illustrate land cover and soil properties affecting buffering potential along riparian corridors. An application to the Hickory Creek watershed in north‐central Texas shows significant riparian ecotone fragmentation, suggesting high‐priority areas for preservation and restoration.     

Passenger head kinematics in abrupt braking and lane change events

Abstract

Objective: A test track study was conducted to quantify patterns of adult front seat passenger head motion during abrupt vehicle maneuvers.

Method: Eighty-seven men and women with a wide range of body sizes and ages participated in data collection on a closed test track in a passenger sedan under manual control by a test driver. Because a primary goal of the study was to gather “unaware” data, the participants were instructed that the study was concerned with vehicle dynamics and they were required to read from a questionnaire taped to the top of their thighs as the drive began. The first event was a hard brake (approximately 1 g) to a stop from 35?mph (56 kph). Within the space of approximately 5?min the participants also experienced an aggressive lane change, a sharp right turn with simultaneous hard braking, and a second hard braking event. A Microsoft Kinect v2 sensor was positioned to view the area around the front passenger seat. Head location was tracked using the Kinect data with a novel methodology that fit 3D head scan data to the depth data acquired in the vehicle.

Result: The mean (standard deviation) forward excursion of the estimated head center of gravity (CG) location in the first braking event was 135 (62) mm. The forward head CG excursion in the second braking event of 115 (51) mm was significantly less than that in the first, but the difference was small relative to the within-condition variance. Head excursion on the second braking trial was less than that on the first trial for 69% of participants. The mean maximum inboard head excursion in lane-change maneuvers was 118 (40) mm. Forward head excursions in braking were significantly smaller for older passengers and those with higher body mass index, but the combined factors accounted for less than 25% of the variance. Inboard head excursion in the lane-change event was significantly related to stature, but only about 7% of variance was related to body size. Head excursions for men and women did not differ significantly after accounting for body size.

Discussion: This is the first quantitative occupant dynamics study to use a large, diverse sample of passengers, enabling the exploration of the effects of covariates such as age and body size.

Conclusions: The data demonstrate that a relatively large range of head positions can be expected to result from abrupt vehicle maneuvers. The data do not support simple scaling of excursions based on body size.