The greening of agricultural policy: Scotland's environmentally sensitive areas (Esas)

The United Kingdom's 1986 Agriculture Act provided the basis for the designation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) “in order to contribute towards the introduction or the maintenance of farming practices compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment”. This paper examines the establishment of ESAs in Scotland, setting their creation and operation against the background of the move away from productionist farm support policies. There is consideration of how agriculture and the environment have fared since the first Scottish ESAs were created in 1987, with special reference to the Breadalbane ESA.     

Restoration ecology of riverine wetlands: II. An example in a former channel of the Rhône River

Riverine wetlands, which provide numerous valuable functions, are disappearing in floodplains of a channelized European river. A restoration project has been proposed by scientists to restore a former braided channel of the Rhône River by the removal of fine organic sediments in order to enhance groundwater supply. A precise and intensive prerestoration monitoring program during one year (including comparison with a reference channel) has taken into account several variables and ecological performance indicators measured at various spatial and temporal scales. Three restoration techniques were then suggested, taking into account two characteristics of ecosystem functions for increasing restoration success and self-sustainability: (1) the riparian forest as well as the shores must be preserved or disturbed as little as possible; and (2) the upstream alluvial plug must be preserved to prevent direct supply of nutrientrich water from the Rhône River. Among the three restoration options proposed, it was not possible to carry out the less ecologically disturbing one as it was considered too expensive, time consuming, and difficult to realize. A precise and intensive postrestoration monitoring program, conducted over two years, demonstrated restoration success but also unpredicted problems, such as a locally thick layer of fine organic sediment. As long as a self-sustainable state is not achieved, this monitoring should be continued. Afterwards, a less precise and less intensive long-term monitoring should enable the detection of future events that may influence ecosystem changes.     

A mathematical model of field population dynamics of the southern pine beetle, dendroctonus frontalis

The southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, is a major insect pest of pines in the southern U.S.A. A population dynamic model of D. frontalis within an infestation was developed. The model is based on the integration of several component submodels that describe individual life stage processes of the beetle. The inclusion of variable forest stand density and microclimate conditions results in a model response which closely follows actual field responses. A sensitivity analysis was performed to investigate effects of weather conditions and the importance of the spatial patterns within the forest.     

The Role Played by Acetyl Group Distribution Patterns in Substituted Starch Toward Enzymatic De-acetylation and Chain Fragmentation

The nature and distribution of the acetylated groups were evaluated by ¹³C-NMR and ¹H-NMR. The starch substrate with a DS of 1.5 comprises only two patterns: -(14)-d-glucopyranose and 2,3,6-tri-O-acetyl--(14)-d-glucopyranose. The starch with a DS of 3.0 also comprises two patterns: 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl--(14)-d-glucopyranose and 2,3,6-tri-O-acetyl--(14)-d-glucopyranose; whereas starch (DS = 1.9) contains 4 patterns: 2,3,6-tri-O-acetyl--(14)-d-glucopyranose, 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl--(14)-d-glucopyranose terminal, 2,6-di-O-acetyl--(14)-d-glucopyranose, and 3,6-di-O-acetyl--(14)-d-glucopyranose. Using esterase from Viscozyme, it has been possible to hydrolyze up to 7% of the DS 3.0 starch. An -amylase (Fungamyl 800) was then added to these acetylesterases. With a 2.4 FAU/mL fraction of -amylase and 2.4 U/mL from the Viscozyme's acetylesterase, 28% of the acetylated end groups were hydrolyzed for the starch substrates with DS 3.0. Moreover, a synergic action between -amylase and acetylesterase was noticed, allowing fragmentation of 32% for DS 1.5, 30% for DS 1.9, and 11% for DS 3.0.     

Perimeter air monitoring for soil remediation

Most environmental project managers are well versed in characterizing and remediating contaminants in soil and water media. When soil remediation activities are conducted at an environmental site, however, some project managers are faced with monitoring contaminants in the air medium for the first time. Remediation activities can disturb contaminants that are normally immobile in soil and transfer them to air. The resulting increase in airborne concentrations of contaminants, even if temporary, may be a health concern for individuals in neighboring residences or businesses. Perimeter air monitoring may be required by a regulatory agency to determine if unhealthy conditions are created and if work practices should be limited or modified. This article serves as a resource for project managers involved in perimeter air monitoring for soil remediation and provides a general summary of candidate sites, remediation activities that release contaminants, regulatory requirements, equipment and target contaminants, monitoring locations and schedule, analytical methods, and data interpretation. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Behavior of a hammerhead ribozyme in aqueous solution at medium to high temperatures

The “RNA world” hypothesis proposes that—early in the evolution of life—RNA molecules played important roles both in information storage and in enzymatic functions. However, this hypothesis seems to be inconsistent with the concept that life may have emerged under hydrothermal conditions since RNA molecules are considered to be labile under such extreme conditions. Presently, the possibility that the last common ancestor of the present organisms was a hyperthermophilic organism which is important to support the hypothesis of the hydrothermal origin of life has been subject of strong discussions. Consequently, it is of importance to study the behavior of RNA molecules under hydrothermal conditions from the viewpoints of stability, catalytic functions, and storage of genetic information of RNA molecules and determination of the upper limit of temperature where life could have emerged. In the present work, self-cleavage of a natural hammerhead ribozyme was examined at temperatures 10–200?°C. Self-cleavage was investigated in the presence of Mg²⁺, which facilitates and accelerates this reaction. Self-cleavage of the hammerhead ribozyme was clearly observed at temperatures up to 60?°C, but at higher temperatures self-cleavage occurs together with hydrolysis and with increasing temperature hydrolysis becomes dominant. The influence of the amount of Mg²⁺ on the reaction rate was also investigated. In addition, we discovered that the reaction proceeds in the presence of high concentrations of monovalent cations (Na⁺ or K⁺), although very slowly. Furthermore, at high temperatures (above 60?°C), monovalent cations protect the ribozyme against degradation.     

Climate change,adaptation and Eco-Art in Singapore

Eco-Art has recently emerged as a potential means to place emphasis on environmental issues such as climate change, recycling and the metabolism of the city experienced both materially and conceptually within local, regional and global contexts. Such art presents the possibility of shaping civic practices in arenas beyond those of traditional planning domains. Adopting a pragmatic approach, which recognises the contextual pluralism that exists in debates regarding climate change, this paper is interested in how Eco-Art projects encourage the re-imagining of urban spaces within the context of sustainability, and flows of materials and the recycling of plastic in art specifically.