User involvement in the ergonomic development of a medical instrument: a longitudinal case study

In this study the focus is on the continuous ergonomic-focused development of a medical instrument that is capable of performing blood group serological tests. Primarily, a medical device must be clinically effective and safe. At the same time it must also meet the needs of its users. This calls for consideration of numerous ergonomic aspects. The development process of the product line in question was supported by a longitudinal series of carefully designed focus groups. Altogether, the 23 focus groups conducted included 245 participants from 72 laboratories. The aim of the empirical research was to collect users’ experiences, ideas and needs as inputs for the following phase of the product development process. During the mentioned focus group analyses, around 100 development proposals were conceived. Besides presenting more of the mentioned development proposals, the focus group analysis was shown as a proper methodology to involve end-users in the development and implementation of new technology or devices.     

Local governance of greenhouse gas emissions from air travel

Global greenhouse gas emissions from air travel (GHG-A) are on the rise, and projections point towards a rapid growth in the coming decades. This study aims to examine how local government (cities), addresses GHG-A in their Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAP). To fulfil this aim, over 200 SEAPs were analysed focusing on three issues: (1) Treatment of GHG-A in local emissions inventories; (2) Policy initiatives within this domain; and (3) The cities’ perceptions of the conflicts of interests. Results showed that more than half of the cities acknowledge the challenge of GHG-A, around one third include GHG-A in their emissions inventories, and more than one quarter have initiated policy interventions. To categorise these interventions, we have added a mode ‘governing by agenda setting’ to an existing analytical framework, ‘Modes of governing’. With their authority limited to the local setting, this mode of governing is a common channel for cities to push changes at higher levels.     

Implementation of the ecosystem services approach in Swedish municipal planning

While ecosystem-based planning approaches are increasingly promoted through international and national policies, municipalities are still struggling with translating them into practice. Against this background, this paper aims to increase the knowledge of current advances and possible ways to support the implementation of the ecosystem services (ES) approach at the municipal level. More specifically, we analyze how ES have been integrated into comprehensive planning within the municipality of Malmö in Sweden over the last 60 years, a declared forerunner in local environmental governance. Based on a content analysis of comprehensive plans over the period 1956–2014 and interviews with municipal stakeholders, this paper demonstrates how planning has shifted over time toward a more holistic view of ES and their significance for human well-being and urban sustainability. Both explicit and implicit applications of the ES concept were found in the analyzed comprehensive plans and associated programs and projects. Our study shows how these applications reflect international, national, and local policy changes, and indicates how municipalities can gradually integrate the ES approach into comprehensive planning and facilitate the transition from implicit to more explicit knowledge use.     

The kinetics of reductive dehalogenation of a set of halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons in anaerobic sediment slurries

Disappearance rate constants are reported for the reductive transformation of 17 halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons in anaerobic sediment-water samples. Statistical experimental design in combination with multivariate chemical characterization of their chemical properties was used to select the compounds. Degradation followed pseudo first-order kinetics through at least two half-lives for 15 of the 17 compounds. Of all the compounds investigated, 1,2,3-trichloropropane and dichloromethane were unique in that they were dehalogenated according to zero-order kinetics. Reductive dehalogenation was the sole transformation reaction taking place.     

Review articles: Tankships in the marine environment

This report gives an inside view on discussions held at the headquarters of the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency concerned with maritime safety and the prevention of pollution from ships. Marine environmental protection regulations and their historical development are presented and discussed. The regulative measures that have been taken under the responsibility of this organization during the last decades to reduce accidental and operational discharge from tankships have achieved success although the marine environment is still suffering. Those standards which will come into force will further reduce the risks of accidental pollution. The report summarizes aspects beyond issues of environmental science which have to be analysed in order to reduce the impact of tankships on the marine environment. The report ends with the thesis that safer ships and improved occupational conditions on board are prerequisites for cleaner seas.     

Parental investment, potential reproductive rates, and mating system in the strawberry dart-poison frog, Dendrobates pumilio

We studied the effect of relative parental investment on potential reproductive rates (PRRs) to explain sex differences in selectivity and competition in the dart-poison frog Dendrobates pumilio. We recorded the reproductive behavior of this species in a Costa Rican lowland rainforest for almost 6 months. Females spent more time on parental care than males, and `time out' estimates suggest that PRRs of males are much higher than than those of females, rendering females the limiting sex in the mating process. Males defended territories that provide suitable calling sites, space for courtship and oviposition, and prevent interference by competitors. Male mating success was highly variable, from 0 to 12 matings, and was significantly correlated with calling activity and average perch height, but was independent of body size and weight. Estimates of opportunity for sexual selection and variation in male mating success are given. The mating system is polygamous: males and females mated several times with different mates. Females were more selective than males and may sample males between matings. The discrepancy in PRRs between the sexes due to differences in parental investment and the prolonged breeding season is sufficient to explain the observed mating pattern i.e., selective females, high variance in male mating success, and the considerable opportunity for sexual selection. Received: 9 June 1998 / Received in revised form: 27 March 1999 / Accepted: 3 April 1999     

Mating system evolution in response to search costs in the speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria

A general and intuitive prediction from models of mate preference is that when the cost of searching for mates increases, individuals should become less choosy. Here, we test this prediction by comparing the mating propensity of females in two populations of the butterfly Pararge aegeria. The populations originated from southern Sweden and Madeira and due to different adult emergence patterns throughout the year, the average density of males per female is likely to be lower on Madeira. Therefore, we expected that the cost of searching should be greater on Madeira and, consequently, that the Madeiran females should be less choosy. In line with predictions, the Madeiran females mated significantly sooner after the first interaction with males than did females from southern Sweden. This difference may reflect a weaker preference for territorial males over non-territorial patrollers in the Madeiran population, because of the greater costs of searching. The Madeiran females also showed a shorter time lag between mating and the start of oviposition. We discuss this unexpected result and propose that the same mechanism could also explain this population difference, i.e. different costs of searching for suitable host plants. Both search processes are fundamental for female reproductive success and we find it plausible that they can be generalised into the same theory of optimal search behaviour. Received: 14 May 1998 / Accepted after revision: 13 December 1998     

A trail pheromone component of the African stink ant, Pachycondyla (Paltothyreus) tarsata Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae)

Summary. The African stink ants (Pachycondyla tarsata) lay recruitment trails with secretions from sternal glands. The glandular secretions consist of 10 compounds, 9 of which have been chemically identified. One of the substances, 9-heptadecanone, elicits trail following behavior in P. tarsata workers that have before been stimulated by a sucessful scout ant. Received 7 August 1998; accepted 24 November 1998.     

Verhalten von PAK im system boden/Pflanze

The results of lysimeter experiments conducted since 1991 dealing with the behavior of PAH in soil/plant systems demonstrate that the PAH pollution to cultivated plants may be caused by both atmospheric deposition and by the soil-to-plant transfer observed in contaminated sites. In the latter, a “direct contamination” of plant surfaces with PAH-loaded soil particles and the subsequent PAH turnover by desorption/adsorption processes is seen to dominate—at least for the most relevant PAHs toxic to humans, benzo(a)pyrene and dibenz(a,h)anthracene. Leafy vegetables growing close to the soil surface are therefore endangered most by a PAH contamination of the soil. The soil-to-plant transfer via “direct contamination” can be reduced to a high degree by covering the contaminated soil with different mulch materials. Systematic PAH transfer via root uptake could not generally be observed. From the reported results, a trigger value in the soil of 1 mg·kg^?1 for benzo(a)pyrene is proposed to make a judgement on PAH contaminated soils with regard to the soil-to-plant transfer pathways. Soils with excessive concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene demand special attention when considering the recommendations for the growth and consumption of cultivated vegetables. The “soil”as well as the “deposition pathways” must be integrated into a complete risk assessment of locations with food plant production, especially in urban areas.     

Effects of Amazonian flying rivers on frog biodiversity and populations in the Atlantic rainforest

Given the speed at which humans are changing the climate, species with high degrees of endemism may not have time to avoid extinction through adaptation. We investigated through teleconnection analysis the origin of rainfall that determines the phylogenetic diversity of rainforest frogs and the effects of microclimate differences in shaping the morphological traits of isolated populations (which contribute to greater phylogenetic diversity and speciation). We also investigated through teleconnection analysis how deforestation in Amazonia can affect ecosystem services that are fundamental to maintaining the climate of the Atlantic rainforest biodiversity hotspot. Seasonal winds known as flying rivers carry water vapor from Amazonia to the Atlantic Forest, and the breaking of this ecosystem service could lead Atlantic Forest species to population decline and extinction in the short term. Our results suggest that the selection of morphological traits that shape Atlantic Forest frog diversity and their population dynamics are influenced by the Amazonian flying rivers. Our results also suggest that the increases of temperature anomalies in the Atlantic Ocean due to global warming and in the Amazon forest due to deforestation are already breaking this cycle and threaten the biodiversity of the Atlantic Forest hotspot.