Effects of traffic noise on tree frog stress levels,immunity, and color signaling

During the last decade, many studies have focused on the detrimental effects of noise pollution on acoustic communication. Surprisingly, although it is known that noise exposure strongly influences health in humans, studies on wildlife remain scarce. In order to gain insight into the consequences of traffic noise exposure, we experimentally manipulated traffic noise exposure as well as the endocrine status of animals to investigate physiological and phenotypic consequences of noise pollution in an anuran species. We showed that noise exposure increased stress hormone level and induced an immunosuppressive effect. In addition, both traffic noise exposure and stress hormone application negatively impacted H. arborea vocal sac coloration. Moreover, our results suggest profound changes in sexual selection processes because the best quality males with initial attractive vocal sac coloration were the most impacted by noise. Hence, our study suggests that the recent increases in anthropogenic noise worldwide might affect a broader range of animal species than previously thought, because of alteration of visual signals and immunity. Generalizing these results to other taxa is crucial for the conservation of biodiversity in an increasingly noisy world.     

“Horizontal” and “vertical” diffusion: The cumulative influence of Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) on mining policy-production in New Caledonia

The scale, duration and intensity of conflicts over mineral resources vary greatly. However, they always involve, in varying proportions, the triad stakeholder model—corporation, state, community—each element of which is internally heterogeneous. Increasingly, new players are entering the scene: international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), environmental grassroots groups, indigenous transnational networks, international aid and development agencies. Nevertheless, conflicts and arrangements around access to and control over mineral resources can take the apparent form of dyadic relationships between companies and local communities, resulting in negotiated company-community agreements, often called “Impact and Benefit Agreements” (IBAs). In our analysis, local agreements on mineral resource governance are seen as building blocks in the production of mining policy “from below”, even though they seem at first sight to exclude the state. This paper argues that these agreements, and the negotiations surrounding them, inform debates around mining through both “horizontal diffusion” (influence on other localities facing similar situations) and “vertical diffusion” (influence on policy design and implementation at upper political and administrative levels). This diffusion may occur in a “positive” sense, effecting further change in line with the intent of the original agreement, or in a “negative” one, actually making substantive change less likely, whether at a community or policy level. We build this argument through two case studies from New Caledonia, in the south-west Pacific, where mining has long been a key issue, especially in the current context of “negotiated decolonization” launched by the 1998 Nouméa Accord.     

Assessing Health Benefits of Controlling Air Pollution from Power Generation: The Case of a Lignite-Fired Power Plant in Thailand

The impact pathway approach (IPA) is used to estimate quantitatively the level of health effects caused by particulate matter (PM₁₀) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emission from a lignite-fired power plant located in the Mae Moh area in northern region of Thailand. Health benefits are then assessed by comparing the levels of estimated health impacts without and with the installation of the flue gas desulfurization (FGD) equipment. The US EPA industrial source complex model is used to model air pollution dispersion at the local scale, and the sector average limited mixing meso-scale model is used to model air pollution transport at the regional scale. The quantification of the health end points in physical terms is carried out using the dose–response functions established recently for the population in Bangkok, Thailand. Monetarization of these effects is based on the benefit transfer method with appropriate adjustment. Finally, it has been found that the installation of the FGD to control SO₂ emission at Mae Moh significantly reduces adverse health effects not only on the population living near the power plant but also all over the country. A FGD unit installed at the 300-MW power unit can result, on average, in 16 fewer cases of acute mortality, 12 fewer cases of respiratory and cardiac hospital admissions, and almost 354,000 fewer days with acute respiratory symptoms annually. In monetary terms this benefit is equivalent to US $18.2 million (1995 prices) per annum. This benefit is much higher than the annualized investment and operation costs of FGD (US $7.4 million/yr).     

Chitosan-supported palladium catalyst. IV. Influence of temperature on nitrophenol degradation and thermodynamic parameters

Glutaraldehyde cross-linked chitosan was loaded with palladium and then reduced using an in situ hydrogen generation procedure (Zn in sulfuric acid solution) to prepare a chitosan-supported palladium catalyst. This catalyst was successfully used to degrade nitrophenol in dilute solutions in the presence of sodium formate as the hydrogen donor. The influence of the initial concentration of nitrophenol and sodium formate was studied in order to determine the minimum molar ratio between these compounds required to achieve complete conversion of the nitrogenous product at two temperatures. Increasing the temperature decreased the excess of hydrogen donor required for complete conversion of nitrophenol. The temperature was also varied between 10 and 60 degrees C in order to determine the activation energy. The pseudo first-order equation was shown to fit degradation kinetics in most cases; however, for some cases it was necessary to use a variable-order equation to model the kinetics.     

Respective influence of habitat conditions and management regimes on prealpine calcareous grasslands

The calcareous grasslands of the south-western French Alps have been poorly studied, although they provide suitable habitat for rare plant species and communities. The separate and combined effects on calcareous grassland communities of habitat conditions (lithology, soil moisture) and management regimes (grazing intensity, cutting regime) were studied using constrained ordination techniques (canonical correspondence analysis with variance partitioning). Among the explanatory variables considered, the most important factor determining floristic composition was lithology, which explained 11.9% of floristic variability, followed by grazing intensity (6.0%). Additive effects of management and lithology explained 23.9% of floristic variability. Species niche amplitude was measured by conditional variances of samples along main ordination axes, in order to define adequate conservation management for the rarest short-lived species with narrow niche breadth on both habitat and management gradients.     

Indicators for sustainable energy development in Thailand

This article examines energy priorities for Thailand from the economic, social and environmental perspectives of sustainable development. The article uses a set of indicators devised by the International Atomic Energy Agency in partnership with other international agencies and research institutes in seven countries. Thailand's energy efficiency in the 1980s and 1990s are analysed using energy intensity indicators, and possible impacts on sustainable energy development are highlighted. The early 1990s in particular was an important period for Thailand, as the country was at the height of its economic growth, and a number of energy efficiency and conservation programmes were launched. Energy intensity indicators show continuing and faster growth in energy consumption relative to economic activity. The financial crisis in the late 1990s did halt growth in energy consumption, with positive consequences on environmental emissions, but only temporarily as Thailand's economy quickly started to recover in 2000. Notwithstanding the financial crisis, the other indicators show significant progress in economic and social dimensions.     

Miscanthus × Giganteus straw and pellets as sustainable fuels

In this paper we present, for the first time, data on the combustion of Miscanthus × Giganteus straw and pellets. We found that the heating value of Miscanthus is 17.744 MJ/kg. The gaseous emission indices of SO₂, NO _x and total organic carbon (TOC) in the exhaust are reported and compared with the European standards for biomass boilers. On the basis of our results, it is possible to evaluate a net energy yield between 152 and 326 MJ/hectare/year for the cultivation of Miscanthus with an energy balance estimated to be in the range of 7.7–15.4. According to the presented results, it seems reasonable to consider Miscanthus as a promising candidate as alternative fuel.     

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.