Can health feasibly be considered as part of the planning process in Scotland?

The planning system is significant because of its capacity to determine the quality of the built environment as well as the health, well-being and quality of life of the individuals and communities therein. Development planning is especially important because of the long-term impact of the decisions. This paper was developed in response to increasing recognition amongst HIA practitioners in Scotland of the importance of planning for health. It focuses on the relationship between the planning system in Scotland, specifically the Development Planning element of it, and population health and considers how the health impact assessment (HIA) approach can facilitate and support joint working with planners. In particular, consideration is given to the potential impact of the introduction of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) on the linkages between health, HIA and planning.     

Spectral characteristics of plant communities from salt marshes:A case study from Chongming Dongtan,Yangtzeestuary,China

The spectral reflectance of recently formed salt marshes at the mouth of the Yangtze River, which are undergoing invasion by Spartina alterniflora, were assessed to determine the potential utility of remotely sensed data in assessing future invasion and changes in species composition. Following a review of published research on remote sensing of salt marshes, 53 locations along three transects were sampled for paired data on plant species composition and spectral reflectance using a FieldSpec™ Pro JR Field Portable Spectroradiometer. Spectral data were processed concerning reflectance, and the averaged reflectance values for each sample were reanalysed to correspond to a 12-waveband bandset of the Compact Airborne Spectral Imager. The spectral data were summarised using principal components analysis (PCA) and the relationships between the vegetation composition, and the PCA axes of spectral data were examined. The first PCA axis of the reflectance data showed a strong correlation with variability in near infrared reflectance and ‘brightness’, while the second axis was correlated with visible reflectance and ‘greenness’. Total vegetation cover, vegetation height, and mudflat cover were all significantly related to the first axis. The implications of this in terms of the ability of remote sensing to distinguish the various salt marsh species and in particular the invasive species S. alterniflora were discussed. Major differences in species with various physiognomies could be recognised but problems occurred in separating early colonising S. alterniflora from other species at that stage. Further work using multi-seasonal hyperspectral data might assist in solving these problems.     

消融的冰川：加拿大班夫国家公园亚高山带鲍湖中持久性有机氯的主要来源

有机氯杀虫剂和多氯联苯（PCB）是环境中普遍而稳固的化合物。现已查明，由于它们从温暖的地区逐渐蒸发出来，并在较冷的地区凝聚下来，因而它们富集在寒冷的环境中。在本研究中，我们的结果是，消融的冰川供给阿尔伯达亚高山带湖泊中的有机氯输入量为50%～97％，而提供的水量为73％。对氚的分析结果表明，在夏季的中、晚期，至少10％的冰川消融物是在1950～1970年期间沉积下来的，这期间它受到有机氯更多的污染。这一发现表明，气候变暖可能会使消融的冰川成为日益增多的淡水污染物来源。由于有机物贫乏的冰川粘土对多氯联苯这样的疏水化合物的吸附能力有限，因此冰川水流带来的有机氯大多呈溶解状态。     

Upgrading of organic waste: production of the copolymer poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate by Ralstonia eutrophus with organic waste as sole carbon source

Two types of fermented organic waste (trade and industry waste and fruit and vegetable waste) were successfully used as a sole carbon source to produce poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV) by Ralstonia eutrophus (formerly Alcaligenes eutrophus) via oxygen limitation.The production of PHBV could be optimized by optimizing the oxygen transfer through the fermentor. Thereby, a peak concentration of 1.1 g PHBV per liter cell suspension, 40 w% of cell dry weight, was obtained at an aeration rate of 0.24 mol O₂/h·kg biomass. The yield of PHBV on the fatty acid concentration in the organic waste was 0.16 g polymer/g volatile organic matter. The process obtained, compares well with the commercial production process of PHBV based on glucose.     

Understanding farmer intentions to connect to a modernised delivery system in an Australian irrigation district: a reasoned action approach

Australian governments have sought to invest in irrigation infrastructure to improve the efficiency of water delivery to rural properties and improve water supply and on-farm efficiency. A programme of rationalising irrigation infrastructure has attracted criticism and doubts about its likely success. Attitude theory in the form of the Reasoned Action Model was applied to understand the intentions of landowners to connect to a ‘modernised’ irrigation system. Attitudes towards connecting to the system, social norms and perceptions of control over the behaviour provided an explanation of intentions to connect. Actual financial capability and other variables were important in discriminating a group of landowners who had already connected to the modernised system from farmers who had not.     

Dust from Zambian smelters: mineralogy and contaminant bioaccessibility

Metal smelting is often responsible for local contamination of environmental compartments. Dust materials escaping from the smelting facilities not only settle in the soil, but can also have direct effects on populations living close to these operations (by ingestion or inhalation). In this particular study, we investigate dusts from Cu–Co metal smelters in the Zambian Copperbelt, using a combination of mineralogical techniques (XRD, SEM/EDS, and TEM/EDS), in order to understand the solid speciation of the contaminants, as well as their bioaccessibility using in vitro tests in simulated gastric and lung fluids to assess the exposure risk for humans. The leaching of metals was mainly dependent on the contaminant mineralogy. Based on our results, a potential risk can be recognized, particularly from ingestion of the dust, with bioaccessible fractions ranging from 21 to 89 % of the total contaminant concentrations. In contrast, relatively low bioaccessible fractions were observed for simulated lung fluid extracts, with values ranging from 0.01 % (Pb) up to 16.5 % (Co) of total contaminant concentrations. Daily intakes via oral exposure, calculated for an adult (70 kg, ingestion rate 50 mg dust per day), slightly exceeded the tolerable daily intake limits for Co (1.66× for fly ash and 1.19× for slag dust) and occasionally also for Pb (1.49×, fly ash) and As (1.64×, electrostatic precipitator dust). Cobalt has been suggested as the most important pollutant, and the direct pathways of the population’s exposures to dust particles in the industrial parts of the Zambian Copperbelt should be further studied in interdisciplinary investigations.     

Male chimpanzees compromise the foraging success of their mates in Kibale National Park,Uganda

Sexual conflict develops when the optimal reproductive strategy for one sex inflicts fitness costs upon the other sex. Among species with intense within-group feeding competition and high costs of reproduction, females are expected to experience reduced foraging efficiency by associating with males, and this may compromise their reproductive ability. Here, we test this hypothesis in chimpanzees, a species with flexible grouping patterns in which female avoidance of large subgroups has been attributed to their relatively high costs of grouping. In an >11-year study of the Kanyawara community of East African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the Kibale National Park, Uganda, the availability of sexually receptive females was a key determinant of the number of males in parties. In turn, females experienced significantly lower C-peptide of insulin levels, indicative of reduced energy balance, during periods when they associated with more males. Female associates did not produce the same negative effect. C-peptide levels positively and significantly predicted female ovarian steroid production, indicating that the costs of associating with males can lead to downstream reproductive costs. Therefore, we conclude that Kanyawara chimpanzees exhibit sexual conflict over subgroup formation, with the large groupings that allow males to compete for mating opportunities inflicting energetic and reproductive costs on females. Because association with males is central to female chimpanzees’ anti-infanticide strategy, and males may confer other benefits, we propose that reproductive success in female chimpanzees hinges on a delicate balance between the costs and benefits of associating with male conspecifics.     

Food allocation rules vary with age and experience in a cooperatively breeding parrot

Although it is known that parents can differ in their optimal resource allocation to offspring in size-structured broods, the mechanisms determining differences in allocation rules of carers are not yet clarified. In cooperatively breeding species, breeders and non-reproductive helpers often differ in their fitness payoffs of providing care and in their breeding experience. Cooperative breeders thus provide an appropriate system to examine two hypotheses originally proposed to explain differences in food allocation among parents: (i) food allocation between carers differs because of the distinct cost-benefit ratio of selective feeding (i.e. breeders and helpers are expected to differ in food allocation) and (ii) carers differ in their ability to feed selectively (i.e. differences in food allocation are expected between experienced adults and inexperienced yearlings). We compared feeding rates with which breeders, old helpers and yearling helpers provisioned nestlings of different hatching rank. The influence of experience upon food allocation was further assessed by comparing food allocation of yearlings early and late during nesting. We show that allocation rules differ between age classes because breeders and old helpers fed the youngest chicks most, whereas yearlings showed the opposite pattern. The role of experience was supported by the fact that yearlings adjusted food allocation to that observed in experienced adults during the breeding season. We thus suggest that food allocation in El Oro parakeets depends either on differential skills of adults to transfer food to the youngest chick or on their ability to recognize nestling needs.     

The difficulties of systematic reviews

The need for robust evidence to support conservation actions has driven the adoption of systematic approaches to research synthesis in ecology. However, applying systematic review to complex or open questions remains challenging, and this task is becoming more difficult as the quantity of scientific literature increases. We drew on the science of linguistics for guidance as to why the process of identifying and sorting information during systematic review remains so labor intensive, and to provide potential solutions. Several linguistic properties of peer‐reviewed corpora—including nonrandom selection of review topics, small‐world properties of semantic networks, and spatiotemporal variation in word meaning—greatly increase the effort needed to complete the systematic review process. Conversely, the resolution of these semantic complexities is a common motivation for narrative reviews, but this process is rarely enacted with the rigor applied during linguistic analysis. Therefore, linguistics provides a unifying framework for understanding some key challenges of systematic review and highlights 2 useful directions for future research. First, in cases where semantic complexity generates barriers to synthesis, ecologists should consider drawing on existing methods—such as natural language processing or the construction of research thesauri and ontologies—that provide tools for mapping and resolving that complexity. These tools could help individual researchers classify research material in a more robust manner and provide valuable guidance for future researchers on that topic. Second, a linguistic perspective highlights that scientific writing is a rich resource worthy of detailed study, an observation that can sometimes be lost during the search for data during systematic review or meta‐analysis. For example, mapping semantic networks can reveal redundancy and complementarity among scientific concepts, leading to new insights and research questions. Consequently, wider adoption of linguistic approaches may facilitate improved rigor and richness in research synthesis.