Gender differences and demographic influences in perceived concern for driver safety and support for impaired driving countermeasures

IntroductionDriving safety, impaired driving, and legislation to address these concerns remain important issues. It is imperative countermeasures be targeted toward the most appropriate groups. This paper explores the potential relationship between gender and driving attitudes toward safety issues and impaired-driving countermeasures.MethodThe data are from the 2007 Impaired Driving Survey commissioned by Transport Canada and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada. The survey is a, stratified by region, telephone survey of 1,514 Canadian drivers 18 years of age and older with a valid driver's license who had driven within the past 30 days.ResultsThe findings illustrate a consistent impact of gender on these issues. Other variables were also identified as relevant factors although less consistently. Current findings suggest that strategies for building support for interventions, or for changing risk perception/concern for risky driving behaviors should be tailored by gender to maximize the potential for behavior change.ImpactThis information may assist program and policy developers through the identification of more or less receptive target groups. Future research directions are also presented.     

Early murine immune responses from endotracheal exposures to biotechnology-related Bacillus strains

An immunology-based in vivo screening regime was used to assess the potential pathogenicity of biotechnology-related microbes. Strains of Bacillus cereus (Bc), Bacillus subtilis (Bs), Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), and Bt commercial products (CPs) were tested. Balb/c mice were endotracheally instilled with purified spores, diluted CP, or vegetative cells (VC) (live or dead). Exposed mice were evaluated for changes in behavioral and physical symptoms, bacterial clearance, pulmonary granulocytes, and pulmonary and circulatory pyrogenic cytokines (interleukins (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α), as well as acute phase biomarkers (fibrinogen and serum amyloid A). Except for some differences in clearance rates, no marked effects were observed in mice exposed to any spore at 10⁶ or 10⁷ colony forming units (cfu). In contrast, live Bc or Bt VCs (10⁵ or 10⁶?cfu) produced shock-like symptoms (lethargy, hunched appearance, ruffled fur, and respiratory distress), and 11–200-fold elevations in pyrogenic cytokines at 2-h post-exposure. In the study, 4-h effects included increased lethargy, ocular discharge, and 1.5–4-fold rise in circulatory acute phase markers, but no indications of recovery. Bs VC did not produce any changes in symptoms or biomarkers. After 2 or 4?h of exposure to dead VC, increases of only plasma IL-1β and TNF-α (4.6- and 12.4-fold, respectively) were observed. These findings demonstrate that purified spores produced no marked effects in mice compared to that of metabolically active bacteria. This early screening regime was successful in distinguishing the pathogenicity of the different Bacillus species, and might be useful for assessing the relative hazard potential of other biotechnology-related candidate strains.     

Rapana venosa as an indicator species for TBT exposure over decadal and seasonal scales

Imposex and decline in reproductive output in marine gastropods have been linked to tributyltin (TBT) exposure. This study describes Chesapeake Bay, USA, veined rapa whelk Rapana venosa imposex incidence and sex ratios from 1998 to 2009. Tissue TBT concentrations (ng g^?1) were examined with respect to whelk sex, size, and water temperature at the time of collection, and also to egg case size, hatching success, and veliger diameter. Imposex incidence declined and population sex ratios moved closer to parity from 1998 to 2009. Observed TBT concentrations (ng g^?1) were higher in James River than in Ocean View whelks with higher TBT concentrations observed in males than in females. Exponential declines in TBT concentrations from female-specific first to last clutches within a reproductive season were observed, indicating that whelks depurate TBT through egg case deposition. Egg capsule hatching success and veliger size were similar for female and imposex whelks. The R. venosa imposex levels observed in Chesapeake Bay apparently do not affect the production, release, or viability of larvae.     

Applying the zoo model to conservation of threatened exceptional plant species

Maintaining a living plant collection is the most common method of ex situ conservation for plant species that cannot be seed banked (i.e., exceptional species). Viability of living collections, and their value for future conservation efforts, can be limited without coordinated efforts to track and manage individuals across institutions. Using a pedigree-focused approach, the zoological community has established an inter-institutional infrastructure to support long-term viability of captive animal populations. We assessed the ability of this coordinated metacollection infrastructure to support the conservation of 4 plant species curated in living collections at multiple botanic gardens around the world. Limitations in current practices include the inability to compile, share, and analyze plant collections data at the individual level, as well as difficulty in tracking original provenance of ex situ material. The coordinated metacollection framework used by zoos can be adopted by the botanical community to improve conservation outcomes by minimizing the loss of genetic diversity in collections. We suggest actions to improve ex situ conservation of exceptional plant species, including developing a central database to aggregate data and track unique individuals of priority threatened species among institutions and adapting a pedigree-based population management tool that incorporates life-history aspects unique to plants. If approached collaboratively across regional, national, and global scales, these actions could transform ex situ conservation of threatened plant species.     

Cesium isotope ratios as indicators of nuclear power plant operations

There are multiple paths by which radioactive cesium can reach the effluent from reactor operations. The radioactive ¹³⁵Cs/¹³⁷Cs ratios are controlled by these paths. In an effort to better understand the origin of this radiation, these ¹³⁵Cs/¹³⁷Cs ratios in effluents from three power reactor sites have been measured in offsite samples. These ratios are different from global fallout by up to six fold and as such cannot have a significant component from this source. A cesium ratio for a sample collected outside of the plant boundary provides integration over the operating life of the reactor. A sample collected inside the plant at any given time can be much different from this lifetime ratio. The measured cesium ratios vary significantly for the three reactors and indicate that the multiple paths have widely varying levels of contributions. There are too many ways these isotopes can fractionate to be useful for quantitative evaluations of operating parameters in an offsite sample, although it may be possible to obtain limited qualitative information for an onsite sample.     

THE POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF RESIDENTIAL CONSUMERS ON WATER RATES1

ABSTRACT: The regulatory process such as that for water rates can be viewed as a bargaining process between regulators, utility management, and consumers. This bargaining process involves both political and economic influences. In an attempt to empirically verify that utility rates are a product of both economic and political factors, a sample of publicly-owned water utilities was subjected to regression analysis. As expected, cost and cost-related factors were positive and significant determinants of residential water rates. Using an admittedly imperfect measure of residential user political influence, there was evidence that increased political activity results in lower water rates. Furthermore, the political influence and water rate linkage is more evident in small water utilities than in larger suppliers.     

Changes in soil quality and below-ground carbon storage with conversion of traditional agricultural crop lands to bioenergy crop production

Berm-isolated (0.5 ha) plots have been used since 1995 to quantify changes in soil and water quality with conversion from agricultural to bioenergy crops. Soil quality improvements, including increases in soil carbon storage, have occurred on sites planted to woody or herbaceous species, and no-till corn compared with tilled corn or cotton. Initial increases in soil carbon occurred within the upper 10 cm of the soil profile. Soil carbon on plantings of switchgrass, no-till corn, and sweetgum with a cover crop between the rows increased over the first 3 years. Soil carbon decreased by 6% on the sweetgum plantings without a cover crop and remained lower through the fifth growing season. Overall, the greatest increases in below ground carbon storage have occurred primarily within the upper 40 cm. Former land use, growth characteristics, management practices, and soil characteristics appear to be the primary factors determining the timing, depth. and extent of changes in soil carbon storage for bioenergy and no-till crops.     

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND WATER RATES: A REPLY1

ABSTRACT: Mercer and Morgan provide several valid criticisms of a previous analysis on political influence and water rates. More sophisticated statistical analyses may be justified given the high degree of interdependence among regulated firm variables. Theoretically, there are numerous measures of political activity superior to the one employed in the original analysis; however, data unavailability precludes their use. A better (and yet practical) measure of consumer leverage may be relative dominance by a specific political party. Until relatively easy access is obtained to municipal election data, the possible political variables that can be employed in more elegant analyses are few in number, and each has theoretical limitations.     

Job level risk assessment using task level strain index scores: a pilot study.

This paper explores 2 methods of modifying the Strain Index (SI) to assess the ergonomic risk of multi-task jobs. Twenty-eight automotive jobs (15 cases and 13 controls) were studied. The first method is based on the maximum task SI score, and the second method is modeled on the NIOSH Composite Lifting Index (CLI) algorithm, named cumulative assessment of risk to the distal upper extremity (CARD). Significant odds ratios of 11 (CI 1.7-69) and 24 (CI 2.4-240) were obtained using the modified maximum task and CARD, respectively. This indicates that modification of the SI may be useful in determining the risk of distal upper extremity injury associated with a multi-task job.