A model-based assessment of the environmental impact of land-use change across scales in Southern Amazonia

Regional Environmental Change - This article describes the design of a new model-based assessment framework to identify and analyse possible future trajectories of agricultural development and...     

A mixture of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and non-ortho polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) changed the lipid content of pregnant Long Evans rats

Pregnant Long Evans rats received 1.0 μg/kg of dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQ) by oral gavage on the 15th gestational day (GD 15), using a dosing mixture that contained two polychlorinated dioxins, four polychlorinated furans and three non-ortho polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Rats were sacrificed on GD 16, GD 21 and postnatal day 4 (PND 4). The lipid content of fetus, pup, placenta and maternal liver, serum and adipose tissue were determined. Treated GD 16 and GD 21 fetuses had identical lipid content to the control group, yet the lipid content of treated pups on PND 4 was 32% higher than that of the control group. On the other hand, the lipid content of placenta, liver, and serum from the treated dams was 44–50%, 24%, and 38% lower than that of the control group, respectively. Thus, a low-dose mixture of dioxin-like compounds can cause changes in lipid content. The lipid content of offspring was not affected until they were exposed via lactation.     

Environmental Awareness and Public Support for Protecting and Restoring Puget Sound

In an effort to garner consensus around environmental programs, practitioners have attempted to increase awareness about environmental threats and demonstrate the need for action. Nonetheless, how beliefs about the scope and severity of different types of environmental concerns shape support for management interventions are less clear. Using data from a telephone survey of residents of the Puget Sound region of Washington, we investigate how perceptions of the severity of different coastal environmental problems, along with other social factors, affect attitudes about policy options. We find that self-assessed environmental understanding and views about the seriousness of pollution, habitat loss, and salmon declines are only weakly related. Among survey respondents, women, young people, and those who believe pollution threatens Puget Sound are more likely to support policy measures such as increased enforcement and spending on restoration. Conversely, self-identified Republicans and individuals who view current regulations as ineffective tend to oppose governmental actions aimed at protecting and restoring Puget Sound. Support for one policy measure—tax credits for environmentally-friendly business practices—is not significantly affected by political party affiliation. These findings demonstrate that environmental awareness can influence public support for environmental policy tools. However, the nature of particular management interventions and other social forces can have important mitigating effects and need to be considered by practitioners attempting to develop environment-related social indicators and generate consensus around the need for action to address environmental problems.     

Bias from two analytical laboratories involved in a long-term air monitoring program measuring organic pollutants in the Arctic: a quality assurance/quality control assessment

Initiated in 1992, air monitoring of organic pollutants in the Canadian Arctic provided spatial and temporal trends in support of Canada's participation in the Stockholm Convention of Persistent Organic Pollutants. The specific analytical laboratory charged with this task was changed in 2002 while field sampling protocols remained unchanged. Three rounds of intensive comparison studies were conducted in 2004, 2005, and 2008 to assess data comparability between the two laboratories. Analysis was compared for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in standards, blind samples of mixed standards and extracts of real air samples. Good measurement accuracy was achieved for both laboratories when standards were analyzed. Variation of measurement accuracy over time was found for some OCPs and PCBs in standards on a random and non-systematic manner. Relatively low accuracy in analyzing blind samples was likely related to the process of sample purification. Inter-laboratory measurement differences for standards (<30%) and samples (<70%) were generally less than or comparable to those reported in a previous inter-laboratory study with 21 participating laboratories. Regression analysis showed inconsistent data comparability between the two laboratories during the initial stages of the study. These inter-laboratory differences can complicate abilities to discern long-term trends of pollutants in a given sampling site. It is advisable to maintain long-term measurements with minimal changes in sample analysis.     

River environmental decision support system development for Suzhou Creek in Shanghai

The Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project (SCRP) is one of the largest water-related environmental rehabilitation schemes ever undertaken in the vicinity of Shanghai, China. This paper details the development and application of a River Environmental Decision Support System (REDSS) for scientific planning and decision-making on the Suzhou Creek project, and illustrates the flexibility of the REDSS framework. We developed the following components: (1) a GIS-based analysis employing Component technology; (2) a "data mart" for multi-dimensional, multi-level, integrated, dynamic, and flexible data querying; and (3) a set of hydrodynamic and water quality models which can simulate complex tidal river networks. In addition, we detail how a water quality assessment model is embedded into the REDSS by employing an Identification Index Method. With the REDSS, all GIS and non-GIS components are integrated seamlessly and data from different sources can be queried simultaneously. This allows for various scenarios to be simulated and analyzed in advance to predict and assess the effects of proposed engineering and management measures. Generated information can thus support effective decisions. All operations of the REDSS can be implemented conveniently through user-friendly interfaces. The function of the REDSS framework is demonstrated through an application to Suzhou Creek. Because the REDSS characteristics are quite general, it may be applied in different geographic regions.     

Identification of the cellular site of polychlorinated peptide biosynthesis in the marine sponge Dysidea (Lamellodysidea) herbacea and symbiotic cyanobacterium Oscillatoria spongeliae by CARD-FISH analysis

Populations of the sponge Dysidea (Lamellodysidea) herbacea, which host the cyanobacterium Oscillatoria spongeliae, vary in their production of polychlorinated peptides. Peptide natural products previously isolated from D. herbacea are often halogenated and include dysidin, dysidinin, and a series of chlorinated diketopiperazines. Strikingly, the distinctive leucine-derived trichloromethyl signature of these compounds is shared only with metabolites of the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula, and includes such compounds as barbamide and nordysidinin. Genetic information available for the barbamide biosynthetic gene cluster was used to successfully polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplify a barB1 homolog (dysB1) from D. herbacea samples collected in Papua New Guinea. Catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH) analysis showed that dysB1 oligonucleotide probes hybridized to sequences in the filamentous cyanobacterial symbiont O. spongeliae. Consistent with this finding, a D. herbacea/O. spongeliae collection devoid of the polychlorinated peptides did not contain the barB1 homologs.Communicated by P.W. Sammarco, Chauvin     

Job level risk assessment using task level ACGIH hand activity level TLV scores: a pilot study.

Existing upper extremity musculoskeletal disorder analytical tools are primarily intended for single or mono-task jobs. However, many jobs contain more than 1 task and some include job rotation. This case/control study investigates methods of modifying an existing tool, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Hand Activity Level (HAL) Threshold Limit Value (TLV), to assess the upper extremity risk of multi-task jobs. Various methods of combining the task differences and ratios into a job level assessment were explored. Two methods returned significant odds ratios, (p < .05) of 18.0 (95% CI 1.8-172) and 12.0 (95% CI 1.2-120). These results indicate that a modified ACGIH HAL TLV may provide insight into the work-related risk of multi-task jobs. Further research is needed to optimize this process.     

RIVER-QUALITY ASSESSMENTS1

ABSTRACT: In 1972, the U.S. Geological Survey began a pilot program of river-quality assessments. The objectives of the program are (1) to define the character, interrelationships, and apparent causes of existing river-quality problems, and (2) to devise and demonstrate the analytical approaches and the tools and methodologies needed for developing water-quality information that will provide a sound technical basis for planners and managers to use in assessing river-quality problems and evaluating management alternatives. The most noteworthy finding of a pilot assessment of the Willamette River basin, Oregon, was that across-the-board advanced waste treatment was not the answer to the problem of meeting stringent water-quality standards established for the river. The assessment also found that existing water-quality data generally are inadequate for defining the critical cause-effect relationships that control river-quality problems and that intensive, synoptic surveys keyed to local problems and conditions would be required in most river basins to develop an adequate information base for managing important river-quality problems. The study illustrated that rigid nationwide standards and regulations are likely to result in unneeded expenditures in some river basins and in undesirable quality in others.