Methods for collecting time/activity pattern information related to exposure to combustion products

Focus groups, surveys and questionnaires, diaries and observations can be used to gather information about people's exposure to a wide range of combustion products. Information about locations and durations of exposure, and sources of exposure can be obtained with these instruments. The types of instruments used must be fine tuned to meet the design characteristics of the community in which the study will be conducted.     

Ergonomics and safety of manual bag sealing.

A variety of seals is used to close bags. Each seal has advantages and disadvantages. For shop assistants sealing bags could be a repetitive physically demanding action. Opening and closing the bags again can cause some discomfort or annoyance for consumers. Besides, it is an activity which can endanger safety, i.e., knives being used in opening, children swallowing the systems of sealing. To prevent these problems a new sealing system was developed. In this paper the opinion of shop assistants, consumers and experts on several bag sealing systems was studied. It appeared that for sealing plastic bags, adhesive tape with paper is the best out of 4 systems, closely followed by adhesive tape. It is discussed that for the elderly, there is still room for improvement in opening bag seals.     

Constitutive and induced defenses to herbivory in above- and belowground plant tissues

A recent surge in attention devoted to the ecology of soil biota has prompted interest in quantifying similarities and differences between interactions occurring in above- and belowground communities. Furthermore, linkages that interconnect the dynamics of these two spatially distinct ecosystems are increasingly documented. We use a similar approach in the context of understanding plant defenses to herbivory, including how they are allocated between leaves and roots (constitutive defenses), and potential cross-system linkages (induced defenses). To explore these issues we utilized three different empirical approaches. First, we manipulated foliar and root herbivory on tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and measured changes in the secondary chemistry of above- and belowground tissues. Second, we reviewed published studies that compared levels of secondary chemistry between leaves and roots to determine how plants distribute putative defense chemicals across the above- and belowground systems. Last, we used meta-analysis to quantify the impact of induced responses across plant tissue types. In the tobacco system, leaf-chewing insects strongly induced higher levels of secondary metabolites in leaves but had no impact on root chemistry. Nematode root herbivores, however, elicited changes in both leaves and roots. Virtually all secondary chemicals measured were elevated in nematode-induced galls, whereas the impact of root herbivory on foliar chemistry was highly variable and depended on where chemicals were produced within the plant. Importantly, nematodes interfered with aboveground metabolites that have biosynthetic sites located in roots (e.g., nicotine) but had the opposite effect (i.e., nematodes elevated foliar expression) on chemicals produced in shoots (e.g., phenolics and terpenoids). Results from our literature review suggest that, overall, constitutive defense levels are extremely similar when comparing leaves with roots, although certain chemical classes (e.g., alkaloids, glucosinolates) are differentially allocated between above- and belowground parts. Based on a meta-analysis of induced defense studies we conclude that: (1) foliar induction generates strong responses in leaves, but much weaker responses in roots, and (2) root induction elicits responses of equal magnitude in both leaves and roots. We discuss the importance of this asymmetry and the paradox of cross-system induction in relation to optimal defense theory and interactions between above- and belowground herbivory.     

A global assessment of chromium pollution using sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) as an indicator species

Chromium (Cr) is a well-known human carcinogen and a potential reproductive toxicant, but its contribution to ocean pollution is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to provide a global baseline for Cr as a marine pollutant using the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) as an indicator species. Biopsies were collected from free-ranging whales around the globe during the voyage of the research vessel The Odyssey. Total Cr levels were measured in 361 sperm whales collected from 16 regions around the globe detectable levels ranged from 0.9 to 122.6 μg Cr g tissue⁻¹ with a global mean of 8.8 ± 0.9 μg g⁻¹. Two whales had undetectable levels. The highest levels were found in sperm whales sampled in the waters near the Islands of Kiribati in the Pacific (mean = 44.3 ± 14.4) and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean (mean = 19.5 ± 5.4 μg g⁻¹). The lowest mean levels were found in whales near the Canary Islands (mean = 3.7 ± 0.8 μg g⁻¹) and off of the coast of Sri Lanka (mean = 3.3 ± 0.4 μg g⁻¹). The global mean Cr level in whale skin was 28-times higher than mean Cr skin levels in humans without occupational exposure. The whale levels were more similar to levels only observed previously in human lung tissue from workers who died of Cr-induced lung cancer. We conclude that Cr pollution in the marine environment is significant and that further study is urgently needed.     

Simulations of the flow in the Mahakam river–lake–delta system,Indonesia

Large rivers often present a river–lake–delta system, with a wide range of temporal and spatial scales of the flow due to the combined effects of human activities and various natural factors, e.g., river discharge, tides, climatic variability, droughts, floods. Numerical models that allow for simulating the flow in these river–lake–delta systems are essential to study them and predict their evolution under the impact of various forcings. This is because they provide information that cannot be easily measured with sufficient temporal and spatial detail. In this study, we combine one-dimensional sectional-averaged (1D) and two-dimensional depth-averaged (2D) models, in the framework of the finite element model SLIM, to simulate the flow in the Mahakam river–lake–delta system (Indonesia). The 1D model representing the Mahakam River and four tributaries is coupled to the 2D unstructured mesh model implemented on the Mahakam Delta, the adjacent Makassar Strait, and three lakes in the central part of the river catchment. Using observations of water elevation at five stations, the bottom friction for river and tributaries, lakes, delta, and adjacent coastal zone is calibrated. Next, the model is validated using another period of observations of water elevation, flow velocity, and water discharge at various stations. Several criteria are implemented to assess the quality of the simulations, and a good agreement between simulations and observations is achieved in both calibration and validation stages. Different aspects of the flow, i.e., the division of water at two bifurcations in the delta, the effects of the lakes on the flow in the lower part of the system, the area of tidal propagation, are also quantified and discussed.     

Strategies for controlling hazards at work

This paper presents an heuristic framework for analyzing hazards (potential for loss or harm) and strategies that may be developed to control their realization. Two basic forms of intervention for hazard control (anticipation and reaction) are identified. Three broad anticipative strategies are discussed: (1) elimination of the source of the hazard, (2) containment of the risk of its realization, and (3) mitigation of likely consequences. The communication and judgmental processes involved in decisions about strategies are shown to be embedded in the organizational “political” context, in which a variety of interests backed by varying sources of power and influence are represented. The development, implementation, and monitoring of any strategies that are decided upon are then discussed, including the fact that such actions and events may not produce the intended results. Comments are also made on the need for data provided by monitoring to be evaluated and appropriate adaptations made. Finally, a brief section of the paper discusses reactive strategies.     

Sustainability and education for sustainability: An analysis of publications from the last decade

This study analyzes the characteristics of publications on sustainability topics and education for sustainability in the Web of Science (WOS) database during the period ranging from 2005 to 2014. We identified the topics that are being studied within those subjects and other relevant topics. We also analyzed a special edition of the Journal of Cleaner Production on “Higher Education for Sustainable Development: Emerging areas,” published in January, 2014. Our approach was both qualitative and quantitative and aimed at qualifying and quantifying certain variables related to the scientific literature on the broad subject of sustainability. The number of published pieces in the WOS focusing on sustainability issues during the period from 2005 to 2014 was 5,924. In our analysis of the special edition of the Journal of Cleaner Production, we found and analyzed 17 abstracts and full papers. The main results of our survey highlight the education, educational research, environmental sciences, ecology, and engineering areas as including the greatest number of publications. Articles, as opposed to conference proceedings or reviews, accounted for 63% of the published documents, and the year 2013 showed the largest number of publications. Huisingh, Suciu, Katane, and Barth are the most published authors on these topics. Furthermore, management, environmental studies, ecology, and environmental sciences are the “hot topics” with the best search results, meaning articles of impact and high quality. Finally, it should be emphasized that publications on the subject of sustainability appear most often in the sciences.     

Embryonic and parental preferences for incubation temperature in herring gulls: implications for parent-offspring conflict

According to Trivers (1974), parent-offspring (P-O) conflict arises because offspring are selected to solicit more care than parents are selected to provide. However, should benefits fail to increase with increasing care, the offspring optimum can be reduced to the point where predicted P-O conflict vanishes. We examined offspring demand and parental care in such a benefit-limited system in herring gulls (Larus argentatus). In this species, parents typically neglect their lasthatched (C-) egg during the final hours of hatching (pipped-egg stage), allowing mean temperature to drop by about 4°C, to near 33°C. Other studies indicate that no increased offspring benefit arises from increasing pipped egg incubation temperature above that level, but embryo damage occurs if temperature drops lower. In such a system, P-O conflict over preferred incubation temperature is predicted to be minimal or absent. We assessed phenotypic manifestations of conflict by determining incubation temperature preferences of parent and offspring independently. Temperature provided solely by parental initiative was 33.9°C (artificial eggs, corrected for embryonic heat production). Preferred incubation temperature of pipped embryos was measured by exposing them to moderate chilling (20°C) punctuated by 4-min periods of rewarming when they called. Temperature of vocally thermoregulating embryos stabilized around a mean of 32.9–33.4°C, about 0.5–1.0°C below parental preference. Acting independently, parents and embryos each maintained egg temperature at or near minimum developmentally safe levels. Results provided no evidence for phenotypic conflict, as predicted by a benefit-limited version of Trivers' P-O conflict model. Benefit limitation may also be relevant to P-O conflict in other contexts such as feeding of newly-hatched young.     

Photodegradation of sulfonamides and their N 4-acetylated metabolites in water by simulated sunlight irradiation: kinetics and identification of photoproducts

Once released into the aquatic environment, pharmaceuticals may undergo different degradation processes. Photodegradation, for example, might be an important elimination process for light-sensitive pharmaceuticals, such as antibiotics. In this study, the fate of sulfonamides (sulfamethazine, sulfadiazine, and sulfamethoxazole) and their N ⁴-acetylated metabolites (N ⁴-acetylsulfadiazine, N ⁴-acetylsulfamethazine, and N ⁴-acetylsulfamethoxazole) under simulated sunlight irradiation was investigated. The irradiation resulted in total or almost total degradation (88 to 98 %) of the pharmaceuticals tested, except for sulfamethazine (52 %), during 24 h of irradiation. The photoproducts of all investigated pharmaceuticals have been analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Structure elucidation performed from photodegradation products of both, sulfonamides and their N ⁴-acetylated metabolites, clearly showed two major formation pathways. These were cleavage of the sulfonamide bond as well as SO₂ extrusion. In total, nine photoproducts were elucidated. Among these photoproducts, the tautomers of sulfamethoxazole and desulfonated products of sulfadiazine and sulfamethazine were also present. Tautomers of sulfadiazine and sulfamethazine have been characterized here for the first time as well as some photoproducts of sulfadiazine, sulfametoxazole, and their metabolites N ⁴-acetylsulfadiazine and N ⁴-acetylsulfametoxazole. The obtained results are an important piece in the complex puzzle for assessing the environmental fate of sulfonamides and their metabolites in the environment.