Murine Norovirus Interaction with Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm in a Dynamic Bioreactor

Food and Environmental Virology - Biofilms can constitute permanent threats to food safety and public health. Bacteria and viruses lodged in biofilm can escape cleaning and sanitizing agents. The...     

A framework for learning from incidents in the workplace

Learning from Incidents (LFI) in the workplace has been gaining increasing importance in the Health, Safety and Environment context. Although organisations adopt a variety of LFI initiatives, it is often unclear what learning approaches are the most appropriate and the most effective for different types of incidents across a range of contexts. The aim of the paper is to surface factors that are important for effective Learning from Incidents (LFI). The paper builds on a conceptual framework for learning from incidents, developed through an earlier study. This conceptual framework was validated through empirical data collected at two multinational corporations in the energy sector. From this data a refined framework for learning from incidents was devised with five factors important for LFI: participants of learning, type of incidents, learning process, type of knowledge and learning context. This framework can be used as an evaluation tool and as a guidance tool to develop holistic, organisational learning approaches.     

Black swans,cognition, and the power of learning from failure

Failure carries undeniable stigma and is difficult to confront for individuals, teams, and organizations. Disciplines such as commercial and military aviation, medicine, and business have long histories of grappling with it, beginning with the recognition that failure is inevitable in every human endeavor. Although conservation may arguably be more complex, conservation professionals can draw on the research and experience of these other disciplines to institutionalize activities and attitudes that foster learning from failure, whether they are minor setbacks or major disasters. Understanding the role of individual cognitive biases, team psychological safety, and organizational willingness to support critical self‐examination all contribute to creating a cultural shift in conservation to one that is open to the learning opportunity that failure provides. This new approach to managing failure is a necessary next step in the evolution of conservation effectiveness.     

Correction to: Energetic trade-offs and feedbacks between behavior and metabolism influence correlations between pace-of-life attributes

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology - Comparative analyses have demonstrated the existence of a ”pace-of-life” (POL) continuum of life-history strategies, from fast-reproducing...     

Nitrogen and nature

Anthropogenic changes to the global N cycle are important in part because added N alters the composition, productivity, and other properties of many natural ecosystems substantially. Why does added N have such a large impact? Why is N in short supply in so many natural ecosystems? Processes that slow the cycling of N relative to other elements and processes that control ecosystem-level inputs and outputs of N could cause N supply to limit the dynamics of ecosystems. We discuss stoichiometric differences between terrestrial plants and other organisms, the abundance of protein-precipitating plant defenses, and the nature of the C-N bond in soil organic matter as factors that can slow N cycling. For inputs, the energetic costs of N fixation and their consequences, the supply of nutrients other than N, and preferential grazing on N-fixers all could constrain the abundance and/or activity of biological N-fixers. Together these processes drive and sustain N limitation in many natural terrestrial ecosystems.     

Development of a decision support system for Prioritization of multimedia dischargers

In 1990 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began sponsoring several pilot projects in its regional offices to examine the potential benefits of adopting a multimedia approach to facility management. This approach differs from traditional practices at EPA in that facilities (dischargers regulated under permits issued by the agency) are managed based upon their cumulative impacts to all media: air, water, and land. Currently, facilities are managed by separate programs at EPA that evaluate environmental impacts from a single-media perspective. One aspect of discharger management is the necessity to allocate limited financial resources in a way that will minimize risk to human health and the environment. A careful, risk-based prioritization of facilities is one means of providing insight to the most effective strategy of allocating monitoring, inspection, and enforcement resources. Prioritization from a multimedia perspective is particularly difficult, however, since it requires translation and integration of medium-specific facility performances, management objectives, and perceptions of risk into a cumulative rating. A computerized decision support system (DSS) designed to guide management through the prioritization process from a multimedia perspective was identified as a potentially valuable tool for use in the pilot projects. This article describes the development of such a prototype, outlines the features of the completed system, and discusses its potential for use at EPA.     

TRINITY RIVER BASIN,TEXAS1

ABSTRACT: In 1991 the Trinity River Basin National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) was among the first 20 study units to begin investigations under full-scale program implementation. The study-unit investigations will include assessments of surface-water and ground-water quality. Initial efforts have focused on identifying water-quality issues in the basin and on the environmental factors underlying those issues. The environmental setting consists of both physical and cultural factors. Physical characteristics described include climate, geology soils, vegetation, physiography, and hydrology. Cultural characteristics discussed include population distribution, land use and land cover, agricultural practices, water use, and reservoir operations. Major water-quality categories are identified and some of the implications of the environmental factors for water quality are presented.     

Personal exposures to particles and their relationships with personal activities for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients living in Boston

An exposure study of 18 subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) living in the Boston, MA, area was conducted. The objective was to examine determinants of personal exposures to particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameters of less than 2.5 microm (PM2.5), less than 10 microm (PM10), and between 2.5 and 10 microm (PM2.5-10). In a previous publication, the analyses of the longitudinal individual-specific relationships among indoor, outdoor, and personal levels showed that the relationships varied by subject and by particle size fraction. In the present paper, statistical and physical models were used to examine personal PM2.5, PM10, and PM2.5-10 exposure covariates. Results indicated that time-weighted indoor concentrations were significant predictors of personal PM2.5, PM10, and PM2.5-10 exposures. Also, time-weighted outdoor concentrations, time spent near smokers, and time spent during transportation were important predictors for PM2.5 but not for personal PM2.5-10 exposures. In turn, time spent cleaning contributed to all size-fraction personal exposures, whereas cooking affected only personal PM2.5-10 exposures. The findings showed that the relationship between personal PM2.5 exposures and the corresponding ambient concentrations was influenced by home air exchange rates (or by ventilation status). Because the particle properties or components causing the health effects are unknown, it is not certain to what extent the risk posed by ambient particles can be reduced by controlling any one of these factors.     

Recognizing reflexivity among conservation practitioners

When deciding how to conserve biodiversity, practitioners navigate diverse missions, sometimes conflicting approaches, and uncertain trade-offs. These choices are based not only on evidence, funders’ priorities, stakeholders’ interests, and policies, but also on practitioners’ personal experiences, backgrounds, and values. Calls for greater reflexivity—an individual or group's ability to examine themselves in relation to their actions and interactions with others—have appeared in the conservation science literature. But what role does reflexivity play in conservation practice? We explored how self-reflection can shape how individuals and groups conserve nature. To provide examples of reflexivity in conservation practice, we conducted a year-long series of workshop discussions and online exchanges. During these, we examined cases from the peer-reviewed and gray literature, our own experiences, and conversations with 10 experts. Reflexivity among practitioners spanned individual and collective levels and informal and formal settings. Reflexivity also encompassed diverse themes, including practitioners’ values, emotional struggles, social identities, training, cultural backgrounds, and experiences of success and failure. Reflexive processes also have limitations, dangers, and costs. Informal and institutionalized reflexivity requires allocation of limited time and resources, can be hard to put into practice, and alone cannot solve conservation challenges. Yet, when intentionally undertaken, reflexive processes might be integrated into adaptive management cycles at multiple points, helping conservation practitioners better reach their goals. Reflexivity could also play a more transformative role in conservation by motivating practitioners to reevaluate their goals and methods entirely. Reflexivity might help the conservation movement imagine and thus work toward a better world for wildlife, people, and the conservation sector itself.