Assessing a country's drink driving situation: an overview of the method used in 6 low- and middle-income countries

The International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) has developed an international program to reduce drink driving as part of its strategy for Global Actions on Harmful Drinking. The program focuses on capacity building, training, and the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of regional and local pilot projects in 6 participating low- and middle-income countries. The first step in developing an effective program that addresses specific problems in a region or country is to assess the current drink driving situation. In order to meet this key requirement, ICAP developed a situation assessment approach based largely on the recommendations of Chapter 2 of the good practice manual on drinking and driving produced by the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) Road Safety Collaboration. The aim of the assessment was to provide the foundation for preparing a prioritized and effective suite of projects using the good practice recommended by the GRSP/UN manual. Its output is intended to assist with determining program objectives, design, and evaluation so that the benefits from the investments in drink driving programs can be maximized and data led, focusing on the priorities identified by the assessment. The situation assessment approach was produced as a set of guidelines containing a detailed and structured list of questions. The questions are organized into 6 main groups or elements and they enable a comprehensive and systematic collection of existing information about the extent and nature of the drink driving problem, the strengths and weaknesses of the current prevention practices, and the capacity for improvements. Situation assessments using these guidelines have been completed in the 6 focus countries and the resulting information is now being used for capacity building and developing appropriate and relevant pilot projects, taking into consideration the country's culture with respect to transportation, enforcement, health care, and alcohol consumption.     

Availability of dissolved organic matter offsets metabolic costs of a protracted larval period for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bugula neritina</Emphasis> (Bryozoa)

For nearly a century researchers have investigated the uptake and utilization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) by marine invertebrates, but its contribution to their growth, reproduction, and survival remains unclear. Here, the benefit of DOM uptake was assessed for the marine bryozoan Bugula neritina (Linnaeus 1758) through performance comparisons of individuals in the presence and absence of DOM. The experiments were performed using B. neritina collected from floating docks in Beaufort, NC, USA from July to September 2004. Seawater was subjected to ultraviolet irradiation to reduce naturally occurring DOM, and then enriched with either 1 μM of palmitic acid or a mixture containing 1 μM each of glucose, alanine, aspartic acid and glycine. Larvae in DOM-enriched and DOM-reduced treatments were sampled and induced to metamorphose following 1, 6, 12, and 24 h of continuous swimming at 25°C. Sampled larvae were assessed for initiation of metamorphosis, completion of metamorphosis, and ancestrular lophophore size to determine the extent to which energy acquired from DOM uptake could offset the metabolic costs of prolonged larval swimming. DOM treatment had no significant effect on initiation of metamorphosis, but did have a significant effect on completion of metamorphosis and lophophore size. Larvae swimming in DOM-enriched treatments for 24 h experienced a 20% increase in metamorphic completion rate, compared to larvae swimming for 24 h in the DOM-reduced treatment. In addition, larvae in the amino acid and sugar mixture for 24 h had a significantly larger lophophore surface area and volume (23 and 31%, respectively), compared to larvae in DOM-depleted seawater. To ensure that the increases in performance found in larvae with access to DOM were not due to a decrease in metabolic activity, the respiration rates for these larvae were compared to those of larvae in DOM-depleted seawater. There were no significant differences between these treatments, indicating that the increases in performance were due to the energy acquired from DOM. These results clearly show that for B. neritina, DOM uptake results in increased metamorphic success and in the size of the feeding apparatus following an extended larval swimming duration.     

Genetic Diversity and Population Size in Four Rare Southern Appalachian Plant Species

Allozyme diversity was examined in four rare, high-montane plant species from the Appalachian Mountains of southeastern North America. These species may represent relictual members or descendants of an alpine community that was more widespread during the late Pleistocene. We sampled five populations of Geum radiatum (Rosaceae), Carex misera (Cyperaceae), Trichophorum cespitosum (Cyperaceae), and the four known populations of Calamagrostis cainii (Poaceae). Genetic diversity was low for all species but was typical of that found for plant species with limited ranges. Low genetic diversity may reflect historical events associated with changes in the species' biogeography. As the Pleistocene climate warmed, suitable habitat decreased in areal extent and became fragmented, probably resulting in smaller, more-isolated populations. In recent times these species, which co-occur in fragile rock outcrop habitats, have been adversely affected by human activities. Genetic analyses revealed reduced diversity in populations of decreasing size for three species. Estimates of gene flow were low ( Nm < 1.0) in all four species. Positive associations between genetic diversity and population size, evidence of recent population declines, and the low estimates of gene flow suggest that genetic drift may play a prominent role in shaping the present-day genetic composition of these species. Furthermore, these data suggest that the genetically depauperate populations are unlikely to regain genetic variation without human intervention.     

The geochemistry of iodine — a review

Iodine has long been recognised as an important element environmentally. Despite this there are many gaps in our knowledge of its geochemistry and even where information is available much of this is based on old data which, in the light of recent data, are suspect.Iodine forms few independent minerals and is unlikely to enter most rock-forming minerals. In igneous rocks its concentration is fairly uniform and averages 0.24 mg/kg. Sedimentary rocks tend to have higher concentrations with average iodine contents of:-recent sediments 5–200 mg/kg, carbonates 2.7 mg/kg, shales 2.3 mg/kg and sandstones 0.8 mg/kg. Organic-rich sediments are particularly enriched in iodine.Soils, generally, are much richer in iodine than the parent rocks with the actual level being decided mainly by soil type and locality. Little soil iodine is water-soluble and much iodine is thought to be associated with organic matter, clays and aluminium and iron oxides. Most iodine in soils is derived from the atmosphere where, in turn, it has been derived from the oceans. Seawater has a mean iodine content of 58 g/L, while non-saline surface waters have lower and very variable levels. Subsurface brines and mineral waters are generally strongly enriched in iodine.Marine plants are frequently enriched in iodine while terrestrial plants have generally low contents. Iodine is essential for all mammals.Consideration of the geochemical cycle of iodine reveals that its transfer from the oceans to the atmosphere is probably the most important process in its geochemistry.     

Bacteria on the surface of crustose coralline algae induce metamorphosis of the crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci

The crustose coralline alga Lithothamnium pseudosorum induces high rates of settlement and metamorphosis of larvae of the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci). In cases where crustose coralline algae (CCA) induce metamorphosis of marine invertebrate larvae it is normally assumed that the inductive molecules are produced by the alga, but an alternative is that they originate from bacteria on the plant surface. Bioassays using shards of L. pseudosorum treated with several antibiotics, whereby some shards were reinfected with bacteria from the alga, showed that if bacteria populations are depleted then settlement and metamorphosis of larvae of A. planci are inhibited. This demonstrates that bacteria are necessary for induction and suggests that morphogenic substances are produced by bacteria on the surface of the alga and not directly by the alga itself. However, surface bacteria are not inductive if they are isolated from soluble algal compounds, suggesting either that they require a substrate from the alga to produce the inductive agents or, alternatively but less likely, that compounds from both the alga and bacteria are required. There is no evidence that inductive compounds derive from the alga, since algal cell debris and soluble extracts prepared from the alga do not induce metamorphosis of A. planci. This is the first time that induction of metamorphosis in a marine invertebrate by CCA has been shown to be mediated by bacteria associated with the alga.     

Relative size of Aristotle's lantern in Echinometra mathaei occuring at different densities

Like species of sea urchins in Zanzibar and Oregon (USA), Echinometra mathaei (de Blainville) at Rottnest Island, Western Australia, displays variation in the size of Aristotle's lantern relative to the maximum diameter of the test. This variation was associated with local variations in density of urchins at each of two sites in each of two years (1980 and 1981); this association with density was consistent with the proposal that relatively larger lanterns are a response to decreased food availability. Furthermore, variation of relative lantern size associated with local density was similar in magnitude to the variation displayed between sites and between years. This temporal variation demonstrated the plasticity of the relative lantern size over periods as short as 12 mo. Further experimental studies are required before relative length of lanterns can be used as estimates of food availability.     

Fluxes of dissolved and particulate calcium in selected tissues of Crassostrea virginica

Rates of calcium incorporation by selected tissues of Crassostrea virginica increased in a step-wise fashion from lowest values among organisms exposed to ambient total calcium concentrations of 45 mg l^-1, intermediate values among oysters exposed to 135, 225, and 315 mg l^-1, to highest rates for oysters exposed to 360 mg l^-1. Although excised visceral mass tissue had highest rates of calcium incorporation relative to mantle, muscle, and both organic and inorganic portions of the shell, mantle tissue appeared to have the most dynamic response to changes in ambient calcium concentrations. Rates of dissolved calcium incorporation from ambient water were approximately two to three orders of magnitude higher than comparable rates from ingested algal food. Behavioral response to concentrations of selected inoic, species in the ambient environment may have been responsible for observed differences in rates of calcium incorporation.     

Population energetics of the intertidal isopod Cirolana harfordi

Laboratory experiments and field measurements generated a population energy-budget estimate for the isopod Cirolana harfordi (Lockington). Assimilation of food energy averaged 88% on a diet of fish. About 35% of assimilated energy is allocated for growth and reproduction, while the bulk of the remainder is used for maintenance and activity (respiration). The high growth efficiency of C. harfordi is discussed with respect to ecological efficiency and energy transfer in marine systems.     

Soil Lead and Children’s Blood Lead Levels in Syracuse, NY, USA

A geo-referenced data set of 12 228 first-time blood lead screening values for Syracuse, NY, children was established for the 4-year period 1992–1996. Soil lead values were measured in a 600 m by 600 m tessellation grid covering the city. The two data sets were merged for evaluation of relationships between them. Strong seasonal variation in blood lead levels suggests the importance of contaminated soils as an exposure source. When the data were aggregated at a large geographic scale (3 km²), a logarithmic model showed an R² of > 0.65 for the regression of geometric mean blood lead on median soil lead values. Results showed a striking similarity to those obtained by Mielke et al. (1999) for a study in New Orleans, LA, USA.