Integrated resource assessment and sustainable land use

Decision makers and planners in resource sectors recognize, at least in theory, the multiple uses of land, reflecting possible choices and options for society, and the need to evaluate the economic, social, and environmental implications of these choices. As such, the need for integrated resource management is now widely accepted in resource planning. This article contributes to the understanding of sustainable resource development through a specific case study. An integrated analytical system is developed and applied to the Peace River Region, British Columbia, Canada, to examine the impacts of a wide range of land-use options and policies upon the achievement of multiple resource use goals. The results indicate that an integrated approach in land resource analysis is not only possible but a necessary step in the move to develop procedures for assisting public decision makers in integrating the diverse functions of the land resource base and to revise demands or develop alternative strategies in order to move society closer to sustainable outcomes.     

Different salinity tolerance mechanisms in Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay conspecific oysters: glycine betaine and amino acid pool variations

Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin) collected in 1989 from several sites within the Chesapeake Bay have narrower salinity tolerances than conspecific oysters collected in 1989 from several Atlantic coast sites (Georgia to Cape Cod). The basis of this physiological difference appears to be the biochemical mechanisms that control cellular osmolality following salinity stress. When adapted to the same salinity, the amino acid pools of both gill and adductor muscles of Atlantic oysters are larger than those of Bay oysters and different in composition. The Atlantic oyster tissues rely primarily on taurine for salinity tolerance, while the Bay oyster tissues have relatively less taurine, depending instead upon alanine, glycine and proline to adapt to high salinity. In addition, Atlantic oyster gill and adductor have 10 to 25 times the glycine betaine concentrations of these tissues from Bay oysters, depending upor the salinity of acclimation. The betaine concentration varies with salinity in Atlantic oysters, but does not change in Bay oysters. The results suggest that these biochemical differences are the basis of the narrower salinity tolerance in Bay oysters. The biochemical differences may reflect genetic differences between Bay and Atlantic oysters.     

The costs and benefits of cooperation between the Australian lycaenid butterfly,Jalmenus evagoras,and its attendant ants

Summary The larvae and pupae of the Australian lycaenid butterfly, Jalmenus evagoras associate mutualistically with ants in the genus Iridomyrmex. Four ant exclusion experiments in three field sites demonstrated that predation and parasitism of J. evagoras are so intense that individuals deprived of their attendant ants are unlikely to survive. Larvae and pupae of J. evagoras aggregate, and the mean number of attendant ants per individual increases with larval age and decreases with group size. Field observations showed that young larvae could gain more attendant ants per individual by joining the average size group of about 4 larvae than by foraging alone. Aggregation behaviour is influenced by ant attendance: young larvae and pupating fifth instars aggregated significantly more often on plants with ants than on plants where ants had been excluded. In return for tending and protecting the larvae, ants were rewarded by food secretions that can amount to as much as 409 mg dry biomass from a single host plant containing 62 larvae and pupae of J. evagoras over a 24 h period. Larval development in the laboratory lasted approximately a month, and larvae that were tended by ants developed almost 5 days faster than larvae that were not tended. However, tended individuals, particularly females, pupated at a significantly lower weight than their untended counterparts, and the adults that eclosed from these pupae were also lighter and smaller. On average, pupae that were tended by ants lost 25% more weight than untended pupae, and in contrast with larvae, they took longer to eclose than pupae that were not tended. These experimental results are discussed in terms of costs and benefits of association for both partners, and of aggregation for the lycaenids.     

Interannual patterns of variation in concentrations of trace elements in arms of Octopus vulgaris

Concentrations of essential (copper, iron, manganese, selenium, and zinc) and non-essential (arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead) trace elements were measured in arms of Octopus vulgaris. The cephalopods were sampled from commercial fishery landings at two sites on the Portuguese coast in spring 2002 and 2003. Mercury was determined using an Advanced Mercury Analyser Spectrophotometer (AMAS) and other trace elements were measured using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Since high levels of arsenic were detected, identification of the forms present was carried out using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) followed by ICP-MS. Mean concentrations of trace elements analysed were in the following order: As > Zn > Fe > Cu > Cd > Pb > Se > Mn > Hg. The results of speciation of arsenic demonstrate that virtually all arsenic was in the arsenobetaine form, which is the less toxic form. The concentrations of several trace elements were generally high in samples from Viana in 2002. Cadmium concentrations were above the legal limit for human consumption in samples from Viana in 2002 and two of these animals also had lead concentrations that exceeded legal limits. Mercury appeared in all samples but levels were within legally defined safe limits. No relationship was detected between trace element concentrations and size or maturity of octopus.     

Application of a risk assessment based approach to designing ambient air quality monitoring networks for evaluating non-cancer health impacts

An ambient air quality monitoring network has been establishedusing risk assessment techniques to evaluate adverse health effects from exposures to airborne contaminants. The risk assessment method was compared to traditional methods of establishing air quality monitoring networks: identifying maximumconcentration impacts or maximum total population. Results suggest that the health risk method best predicted the locationof adverse, non-carcinogenic respiratory illnesses during the evaluation period. Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient, r _s, values obtained using the risk assessment method werestatistically greater than the values obtained using theconcentration and population methods. The concentration methodwas the least accurate predictor of adverse effects.     

企业文化与企业安全文化建设水平互动效应研究

为提高企业安全文化建设水平,基于人类协同国际环形和企业安全文化建设水平评价指标设计调查问卷,以赛轮金宇股份有限公司为研究对象,对其企业文化和企业安全文化建设水平进行相关性分析和多元逐步回归分析,探索二者的互动效应,从企业文化角度发掘安全文化建设重点。结果表明,自我实现文化、亲和文化、传统文化、成就文化与企业安全文化建设水平高度正相关,逃避文化则呈现高度负相关,其相关系数（绝对值）均在0.9以上;同时,多元逐步回归分析中,以上5个文化规则均进入回归方程,其标准化回归系数β分别为:0.395、0.182、0.169、0.129、-0.145。因此,这5种文化规则对企业安全文化建设水平具有很高的预测力,是企业安全文化建设的重点所在。     

A state of the science review of the potential health hazards associated with asbestos in shielded metal arc welding rods in the United States

Due to its unique chemical properties, chrysotile asbestos was historically incorporated into a wide variety of products, including the outer covering, or “flux” of certain classifications of general arc mild steel welding electrodes. The purpose of this analysis is to review the historical engineering, toxicology, regulatory, and epidemiology information relevant to asbestos in mild steel welding rods in order to assess whether mild steel welders are at increased risk of developing asbestos-related diseases as a result of welding rod use. We divided our analysis into four distinct time periods, based on what we perceived to be seminal events in welding technology or in the evolution of knowledge regarding asbestos and asbestos-related diseases. These time periods are as follows: late 1800s to 1929, 1930–1955, 1956–1970, and 1971–2006. We found that studies that attempted to measure airborne asbestos directly in welding rod fumes found no measurable fibers; this is likely due to the fact that the fibers degrade at high temperatures present in the welding arc. In addition, “worst-case” use simulation studies, specifically intended to generate airborne flux particles, reported that airborne asbestos concentrations were either undetectable or very low. The airborne concentrations generated were always below the current OSHA permissible exposure limit (0.1 f/cc TWA), and the lifetime doses associated with “worst-case” use were found to be far below the plausible thresholds for mesothelioma and lung cancer. The epidemiology of mild steel welders is difficult to interpret due to confounding exposures such as (1) possible exposure to nickel and hexavalent chromium in stainless steel welding fumes (lung cancer), (2) smoking (lung cancer), and (3) bystander exposure to amphibole asbestos (lung cancer and mesothelioma). None of the published welder studies controlled for all three factors, yet when any single source of bias was controlled for, the majority of the studies reported no significant risk in either asbestos-related disease. Furthermore, none of the investigators in any of the welder studies suggested that asbestos in welding rods might be a risk factor for lung cancer or mesothelioma, and there is not a single case report in the medical literature that attempts to link welding rod use to an asbestos-related disease. We conclude that the weight of evidence indicates that welders were not historically at risk of developing asbestos-related diseases as a result of welding rod use.     

Toward an Understanding of the Development of Ownership Feelings

Psychological ownership is increasingly recognized as a core feeling in the experience of work. Within jobs and the work context, there is a wide range of opportunities to experience psychological ownership. Yet empirical work on how feelings of ownership develop is lacking, and thus ways to develop psychological ownership in the workplace are not well understood. We explore the routes traveled to feelings of ownership by using job complexity as one example of work environment structure that affects the formation of psychological ownership. In two studies, we develop measures of the routes and confirm that perceived differences in one's work meaningfully predict psychological ownership. Collectively, the two studies provide insight into and offer suggestions for how ownership develops and ways in which managers might foster employee feelings of ownership toward their work. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.