Increase in Hair Lead, but not Blood Lead Content of Occupationally-Exposed Workers

This study attempted to investigate whether increased hair lead concentrations due to environmental exposure are accompanied by parallel increases in blood lead concentrations. A sample set consisting of both occupationally-exposed individuals and persons from the general population was investigated. The lead content of scalp and pubic hair from the general population (n=189), traffic police personnel (n=27) and battery workers (n=22) were analysed. The hair samples were taken from the nape of the neck by cutting 23 cm closest to the scalp and cleaned using a washing procedure developed in our laboratory. The effectiveness of the washing procedure was partly determined by examining the scanning electron micrographs of the hair samples. Venous samples of blood were taken from each volunteer's arm.The traffic police and battery plant operators sampled had significantly higher average scalp hair and pubic hair lead levels than the non occupationally-exposed general population. No significant differences were found between the blood lead values of these workers and the general population. Compared to the general population both occupationally-exposed groups had significantly more symptoms of lead toxicity.Lead particles were still observed on the hair shafts after the washing procedure. The amount of such lead contamination was difficult to quantify, the problem being further exacerbated by the difference in hair texture of the persons sampled. This exogenous contamination therefore detracts from the usefulness of hair as an indicator of lead exposure.     

Effects of size and nuptial gifts on butterfly reproduction: can females compensate for a smaller size through male-derived nutrients?

In butterflies and other insects, fecundity generally increases with female adult weight. Hence, most butterflies are essentially "capital breeders", because nutrients acquired during the larval stage are stored and subsequently used for egg production during the adult stage. However, in some species, males transfer a large nutritious ejaculate to the female at mating. These females can partly be characterized as "income breeders", and female mass can potentially be decoupled from fecundity to some extent. In the gift-giving green-veined white butterfly Pieris napi, it has been shown that female fecundity and longevity increase with number of matings and also that females mature at smaller size under poor food conditions compared to males. So it has been suggested that females can compensate for their smaller size through nuptial feeding. Here we test this hypothesis in P. napi by assessing female fecundity and longevity in relation to female mass and polyandry. The results showed no support for the hypothesis. Smaller females were not capable of increasing their mating rate to compensate for a low weight at eclosion. Instead, larger females remated sooner. Also, smaller females suffered from both a reduced daily and total fecundity compared to larger females and this decrease in fecundity was independent of female mating status, i.e. females allowed to mate only once and multiply mated females suffered to the same extent from their smaller size.     

Compliance and Emissions Trading under the Kyoto Protocol: Rules for Uncertain Inventories

A solution is proposed for proving compliance with emission targets and for emissions trading in the event of uncertainties in reported emission inventories. The solution is based on the undershooting concept, from which the mathematical conditions for both proving compliance with a risk α and calculating effective emissions for trading are derived. Based on the reported emission units, the number of permits granted is reduced in proportion to the uncertainty in the inventory. A country whose inventory has higher uncertainty is thereby allotted fewer permits than a country with the same inventory but smaller uncertainty.     

Fitting complex population models by combining particle filters with Markov chain Monte Carlo

We show how a recent framework combining Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) with particle filters (PFMCMC) may be used to estimate population state-space models. With the purpose of utilizing the strengths of each method, PFMCMC explores hidden states by particle filters, while process and observation parameters are estimated using an MCMC algorithm. PFMCMC is exemplified by analyzing time series data on a red kangaroo (Macropus rufus) population in New South Wales, Australia, using MCMC over model parameters based on an adaptive Metropolis-Hastings algorithm. We fit three population models to these data; a density-dependent logistic diffusion model with environmental variance, an unregulated stochastic exponential growth model, and a random-walk model. Bayes factors and posterior model probabilities show that there is little support for density dependence and that the random-walk model is the most parsimonious model. The particle filter Metropolis-Hastings algorithm is a brute-force method that may be used to fit a range of complex population models. Implementation is straightforward and less involved than standard MCMC for many models, and marginal densities for model selection can be obtained with little additional effort. The cost is mainly computational, resulting in long running times that may be improved by parallelizing the algorithm.     

Environmental policy evaluation in the EU: between learning,accountability, and political opportunities?

ABSTRACT

Policy evaluation has grown significantly in the EU environmental sector since the 1990s. In identifying and exploring the putative drivers behind its rise – a desire to learn, a quest for greater accountability, and a wish to manipulate political opportunity structures – new ground is broken by examining how and why the existing literatures on these drivers have largely studied them in isolation. The complementarities and potential tensions between the three drivers are then addressed in order to advance existing research, drawing on emerging empirical examples in climate policy, a very dynamic area of evaluation activity in the EU. The conclusions suggest that future studies should explore the interactions between the three drivers to open up new and exciting research opportunities in order to comprehend contemporary environmental policy and politics in the EU.     

In search of human-associated bacterial pathogens in Antarctic wildlife: report from six penguin colonies regularly visited by tourists

We investigated the potential role of Antarctic tourism in the introduction of human-associated pathogens into Antarctic wildlife. We collected and analyzed 233 fecal samples from eight bird species. The samples were collected at six localities on the Antarctic Peninsula, which often is visited by tourists. Every sample was investigated for pathogens of potential human origin: Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella spp., and Yersina spp. None of these bacteria was found. Our data suggest that the tourism industry so far has achieved its goal of not introducing pathogens into the Antarctic region. There is, however, an urgent need to further investigate the situation in areas closer to permanent Antarctic settlements.     

Dynamics of Turbulence in Low-Speed Oscillating Bottom-Boundary Layers of Stratified Basins

This paper focuses on the impact of an oscillating low-speed current on the structure and dynamics of the bottom-boundary layer (BBL) in a small stratified basin. A set of high-resolution current profile measurements in combination with temperature-microstructure measurements were collected during a complete cycle of the internal oscillation (`seiching') in the BBL of Lake Alpnach, Switzerland. It was found that even a relatively long seiching period of 24 hours significantly changed the form of the near-bottom current profiles as well as the dynamics of the turbulent dissipation rate compared to the steady-state law-of-the-wall. A logarithmic fit to the measured current profiles starting at a distance of 0.5 m above the sediment led to inconsistent estimates of both friction velocity and roughness length. Moreover, a phase lag between the current and the turbulent dissipation of 1.5 hours and a persistent maximum in the current profile at a height of 2.5 to 3 m above the sediment were observed. The experimental findings were compared to the results of a k- turbulence model and showed good agreement in general. Specifically, the inconsistent logarithmic fitting results and the observed phase lag were reproduced well by the model.     

Azerbaijan: environmental conditions and outlook

The author describes present environmental conditions in Azerbaijan in relation to the Soviet legacy and measures taken since independence. Environmental projects have been financed largely by international organizations and foreign companies. The most serious problems are contaminants in the Caspian Sea; air, water, and soil pollution in Sumgait; illegal fishing; poor quality of drinking water; cutting of forests for fuel and pasture; overgrazing; and soil erosion and salinization. Progress in developing an environmental conscience, necessary for sustained protection of the environment, will depend most importantly on environmental education, growth of democratic institutions and attitudes that encourage both governmental and citizen responsibility for the environment, and economic development that produces a substantial middle class. Positive advances include a Constitution and laws that require protection of the environment, and individuals who speak out for environmental care. Negative factors include poverty and the present government's low priority for environmental protection.     

Models to Assess the Risk of Snow and Wind Damage in Pine, Spruce, and Birch Forests in Sweden

3 are damaged annually by snow and wind, roughly corresponding to a value of US$150 million, and in Europe, the damage amounts to hundreds of millions of US dollars each year. To help to reduce these losses, tools for risk assessment within forest management have been developed. Predictions were developed of the risk of damage from snow and wind to Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] and Birch (Betula spp. L.) plots using tree, stand, and site characteristics. The data were obtained from 6756 permanent sample plots within the Swedish National Forest Inventory, which were inventoried twice at five-year intervals between 1983 and 1992. Input data for model development used measurements from the first inventory of tree characteristics for the largest sample tree, stand, and site data, and records of snow and wind damage from the second inventory. Models were developed for three different regions for pine- and spruce-dominated sites, while models for the whole country were developed for birch sites. In general the estimated proportion of damaged plots was highly overestimated (31.7%–56.2%), compared with the observed proportion of 3.4%–11.9%. The models for Norway spruce comprising tree, stand, and site data show the best predictability of damaged plots, with 60.6%–67.6% of plots correctly classified. It is concluded that the models developed can be used to detect sites with a high probability of damage from snow and wind, and thus be used as tools to reduce future damage and costs in practical forestry.