Incorporating stakeholder decision support needs into an integrated regional Earth system model

A new modeling effort exploring the opportunities, constraints, and interactions between mitigation and adaptation at regional scale is utilizing stakeholder engagement in an innovative approach to guide model development and demonstration, including uncertainty characterization, to effectively inform regional decision making. This project, the integrated Regional Earth System Model (iRESM), employs structured stakeholder interactions and literature reviews to identify the most relevant adaptation and mitigation alternatives and decision criteria for each regional application of the framework. The information is used to identify important model capabilities and to provide a focus for numerical experiments. This paper presents the stakeholder research results from the first iRESM pilot region. The pilot region includes the Great Lakes Basin in the Midwest portion of the United States as well as other contiguous states. This geographic area (14 states in total) permits cohesive modeling of hydrologic systems while also providing strong gradients in climate, demography, land cover/land use, and energy supply and demand. The results from the stakeholder research indicate that, for this region, iRESM should prioritize addressing adaptation alternatives in the water resources, urban infrastructure, and agriculture sectors, including water conservation, expanded water quality monitoring, altered reservoir releases, lowered water intakes, urban infrastructure upgrades, increased electric power reserves in urban areas, and land use management/crop selection changes. For mitigation in this region, the stakeholder research implies that iRESM should focus on policies affecting the penetration of renewable energy technologies, and the costs and effectiveness of energy efficiency, bioenergy production, wind energy, and carbon capture and sequestration.     

Establishment of facultative sexuals

The existence of sex is one of the major unsolved problems in biology. We use computer simulations to model conditions in which sex may first become established. We develop an individual-based population model and show that a hypothetical facultative sex gene can fix, provided that the initial cost is low. It is demonstrated that the equilibrium fitness in the population increases with increasing population size and decreasing mutation rate. The probability of the establishment of the sex gene is found not to be directly related to the fitness difference between the asexual and sexual populations. This change in fitness on changing the parameters of the model is investigated.     

Experience,but not distance,influences the recruitment precision in the stingless bee <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scaptotrigona mexicana</Emphasis>

Recruitment precision, i.e. the proportion of recruits that reach an advertised food source, is a crucial adaptation of social bees to their environment. Studies with honeybees showed that recruitment precision is not a fixed feature, but it may be enhanced by factors like experience and distance. However, little is known regarding the recruitment precision of stingless bees. Hence, in this study, we examined the effects of experience and spatial distance on the precision of the food communication system of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona mexicana. We conducted the experiments by training bees to a three-dimensional artificial patch at several distances from the colony. We recorded the choices of individual recruited foragers, either being newcomers (foragers without experience with the advertised food source) or experienced (foragers that had previously visited the feeder). We found that the average precision of newcomers (95.6 ± 2.61%) was significantly higher than that of experienced bees (80.2 ± 1.12%). While this might seem counter-intuitive on first sight, this “loss” of precision can be explained by the tendency of experienced recruits to explore nearby areas to find new rewarding food sources after they had initially learned the exact location of the food source. Increasing the distance from the colony had no significant effect on the precision of the foraging bees. Thus, our data show that experience, but not the distance of the food source, affected the patch precision of S. mexicana foragers.     

Organizational policy and other factors associated with emergency medical technician seat belt use

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to determine factors associated with seat belt usage among Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). METHODS: As part of biennial re-registration paperwork, nationally registered EMTs completed a survey on the safety and health risks facing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers. Respondents were asked to describe their seat belt use while in the front seats of an ambulance. They were categorized as "high" in seat belt use if it had been more than a year since they had not worn their seat belt or "low" in seat belt use if they had not worn their seat belt at least once within the past 12 months. A logistic regression model was fit to estimate the association between seat belt use, organizational seat belt policy, type of EMS organization worked for, EMT certification level, and the size of community where EMS work is performed. RESULTS: Of the 41,823 EMTs that re-registered in 2003, surveys were received from 29,575 (70.7%). A significant interaction between organizational seat belt policy and type of EMS organization was found to exist. Participants reporting no organizational seat belt policy had lower odds of seat belt usage when compared to individuals that do have a seat belt policy. Odds Ratios ranged from 0.20 (95% CI 0.10-0.40) for military organizations to 0.59 (95% CI 0.38-0.93) for private EMS organizations. Paramedics and those working in rural areas also had lower odds of seat belt use. CONCLUSION: Several factors were found to be associated with seat belt usage among EMTs while in the front compartment of an ambulance. However, it appears that only one, organizational policy, is a modifiable characteristic.     

Driver education and graduated licensing in North America: past, present, and future

PROBLEM: A stated objective of driver education in North America is to produce safer drivers, typically defined as drivers less likely to crash. This paper examines the extent to which driver education has achieved this objective independently as well as the extent to which such programs can support the success of graduated licensing in reducing young driver crashes. In so doing, it discusses past experiences, recent developments, and the future direction of driver education and training in relation to graduated driver licensing. METHOD: Literature review and synthesis. RESULTS: Driver education programs have yet to demonstrate consistent attainment of their safety objectives. Moreover, they have not been found to enhance the safety effectiveness of graduated licensing programs--indeed, some practices, for example, "time discounts" for driver education have actually had a detrimental effect on teen safety. DISCUSSION: Despite its disappointing safety record to date, it is important not to abandon driver education. In particular, there are opportunities to improve driver education so that it achieves its safety objectives, and ensure that programs in the future complement graduated driver licensing and contribute to its overall safety benefits. Current and future efforts to improve driver education and better integrate it with graduated licensing programs, however, need to be rigorously evaluated to determine what does and does not work to reduce young driver crashes, and as importantly, to understand why this is the case. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Improved driver education integrated with graduated driver licensing has potential safety benefits.     

Application of winery and distillery waste composts to a Jumilla (SE Spain) vineyard: Effects on the characteristics of a calcareous sandy-loam soil

The effects on different physico-chemical, chemical and biological soil properties of the incorporation of different organic materials into a calcareous vineyard soil were studied in an experiment during three growing seasons. The organic materials used were sheep manure and four composts derived from the treatment of winery and distillery wastes. A multivariate technique, factor analysis (FA), was also used for interpreting the data obtained from the samplings carried out throughout the three vine growing seasons. The application of the organic materials induced an increase in the activity of the soil microorganisms and in the soil macro and micronutrient contents, as well as a slow release of inorganic N. Through FA of the soil properties studied, three factors that explained 74.7% of the variability were established and the effects of the treatments after the whole experimental period were assessed.     

Sustainability issues in sheet metal forming processes: an overview

Environmental sustainability in manufacturing is nowadays an urgent and remarkable issue and the main concerns are related to more efficient use of materials and energy.In sheet metal forming processes there is still a lack of knowledge in this field mainly due to the need of a proper modelling of sustainability issues and factors to be taken into account. The aim of this paper is mainly to underline the state of the art from a forming point of view about the sustainability contributions offered in any phase of a product life cycle. Actually, a lack in terms of comprehensive contributions is present in the technical literature, thus, the authors try to give a sort of holistic vision aimed to provide basic guidelines in order to help in identifying the possible solutions with regard to all the phases of a forming product life cycle. The main attention was paid to sheet metal forming technologies. The paper gives an overview of the main topics concerning sheet metal forming problems related to energy and resource efficiency with the aim to stress the principal contributions which may derive from such processes to environmental performances of manufacturing.     

Health implications of radon distribution in living rooms and bedrooms in U.K. dwellings--a case study in Northamptonshire

Environmental radon exposure of residents of domestic premises in the United Kingdom (UK) and elsewhere in Europe is estimated on the basis of the measured radon concentrations in, and the relative occupancies of, the principal living room and bedroom. While studies on radon concentration variability in the individual units in apartment blocks in various countries have been described, little data has been reported on variability in two-storey single-family dwellings, and the majority of extant studies consolidate living room and bedroom data early in the analysis. To investigate this further, detailed analysis was made of radon concentration data from a set of thirty-four homes situated in areas of Northamptonshire known to exhibit high radon levels. All homes were of typical UK construction of brick/block/stone walls under a pitched tile/slate roof. Approximately 50% of the sample were detached houses, the remainder being semi-detached (duplex) or terraced (row-house). Around 25% of the sample possessed cellars, while 12% were single-storey dwellings (bungalows), reflecting the typical incidence of this type of dwelling in England. In the two-storey homes, all monitored bedrooms were on the upper floor. Distribution of the ratios of bedroom/living room radon concentrations (BR/LR ratio) in individual properties was left-skewed (mean 0.67, median 0.73, range 0.05-1.05) with a tail extending to just above 1.0. The mean is consistent with the outcome of earlier extensive studies in England, while the variability depends principally on the characteristics of the property, and not on seasonal factors. In a small set of homes, the BR/LR ratio was anomalously low, (mean 0.3). BR/LR ratios in single-storey homes clustered around a value of 1.0, indicating that house design, rather than lifestyle, is the dominant factor in determining bedroom radon concentrations. Homes with higher mean annual radon concentrations showed lower BR/LR ratios, supporting our proposal that, in some homes, radon emanation from building materials may comprise a significant component of the overall radon level.     

Indoor radon monitoring in Northern Iran using passive and active measurements

In this work we present the results of a 2-year survey of indoor radon variations in four cities of Lahijan, Ardabil, Sar-Ein and Namin in North and Northwest Iran. We used both passive and active measurements by solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) with CR-39 polycarbonate and PRASSI Portable radon Gas Surveyor. A total of 1124 samplers in Lahijan, Ardabil, Sar-Ein and Namin were installed. Sampling frequency was seasonal and sampling locations were randomly chosen based on dwelling structures, floors, geological formations, elevation and temperature variation parameters. For quality assurance, 281 active measurements and double sampling were carried out. Based on our results and the results of previous surveys, Ardabil and Lahijan have the second and third highest radon concentration in Iran, respectively (Ramsar is first). The average radon concentration during the year in Lahijan, Ardabil, Sar-Ein and Namin were 163, 240, 160 and 144 Bq/m(3) with medians of 160, 168, 124 and 133 Bq/m(3), respectively. These concentrations give rise to annual effective doses of 3.43 mSv/y for Lahijan and 5.00 mSv/y for Ardabil. The maximum recorded concentration was 2386 Bq/m(3) during winter in Ardabil and the minimum concentration was 55 Bq/m(3) during spring in Lahijan. Relationships between radon concentration and building materials and room ventilation were also studied. The dosimetry calculations showed that these four cities could be categorized as average natural radiation zones. The correlation coefficients relating warm and cold season radon variation data were obtained.     

Radiocesium in caribou and reindeer in northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland from 1958 to 2000

This study summarizes the spatial and temporal trends of fallout (137)Cs concentrations in caribou and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus ssp.), reported in various programs in Canada, Alaska and Greenland, over a 40-y period. During the 1960s, the highest (137)Cs concentrations (2000-3000Bqkg(-1) wet weight in muscle) were found in the large caribou herds of central northern Canada, with levels about 50% lower in Alaska and Greenland. Concentrations varied by up to a factor of 6 between spring and fall. Concentrations in reindeer were comparable to those in caribou from the same regions. The highest (137)Cs concentrations (750Bqkg(-1)) in the late 1980s were found in the Caniapiscau herd of central Québec. The contribution from the Chernobyl accident in 1986 was estimated from (134)Cs measurements to be 10-40% of the total (137)Cs. Present concentrations have declined to 200-300Bqkg(-1). The effective half-life (T(eff)) of (137)Cs in Canadian caribou herds was estimated to be about 6 y. The potential impact on the health of northern residents is discussed.