Pre-sampling contamination of filters used in measurements of airborne (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan based on glucan-specific Limulus amebocyte lysate assay

Air sampling for (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan may be a good method for assessing inhalation exposure to airborne fungi. Pre-sampling contamination of filter media used for sampling (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan may lead to substantial exposure measurement errors. Using the Limulus amebocyte lysate assay, we tested for pre-sampling levels of (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan on three types of filters-mixed cellulose ester (MCE)[1 brand], glass fiber (GF)[1 brand], and polycarbonate (PC)[5 brands]. Levels of (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan on MCE filters exceeded 4586.1 pg per filter. Levels on GF filters averaged 135.3 (± 28.9) pg per filter (range = 94.8-160.4 pg per filter) and levels on PC filters averaged 152.4 (± 236.1) pg per filter (range = non-detectable-1760.7 pg per filter). Efforts to clean MCE and GF filters were unfeasible or unsuccessful. Sonicating PC filters for two hours in ethanol, followed by a wash in pyrogen-free water, effectively eliminated measured levels of (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan on four brands of PC filters, as compared to untreated PC filters. This pretreatment process did not appear to physically damage the PC filters. Air sampling results highlighted the potentially problematic contamination of untreated PC filters. Ensuring that sampling media are free of (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan before sampling is crucial to accurately measure levels of (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan exposure, especially in environments where levels of (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan are low.     

Observer reactions to interpersonal injustice: The roles of perpetrator intent and victim perception

The present research contributes to a growing literature on observer reactions to injustice experienced by others. In particular, we separated two variables that have previously been confounded in prior research, namely perpetrator intent to cause harm and victim perception of harm. We expected that injustice intent and injustice perceptions would have both unique and joint effects on observer reactions. The results of three experiments in which we manipulated perpetrator injustice intent and victim injustice perceptions supported our predictions. First, we found that observers had more negative reactions toward superiors who intended to inflict high versus low levels of interpersonal injustice toward a subordinate. Second, the injustice intent of the superior influenced observers' reactions more than did victim perceptions of injustice. Third, most novel, we found that the mere intent to cause injustice generated negative reactions in observers, even in the absence of a “true” victim—that is, when the subordinate perceptions of injustice were low. Together, our results emphasize the importance of examining observers' reactions to injustice and incorporating perpetrator intentions into the study of organizational justice. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adapting to Climate Change at the Local Level: The Spatial Planning Response

Abstract

Climate change is a major issue for all levels of government, global, national and local. Local authorities' responses to climate change have tended to concentrate on their role in reducing greenhouse gases. However, the scientific consensus is that we also need to adapt to unavoidable climate change. Spatial planning at a local level has a critical anticipatory role to play in promoting robust adaptation. This paper reviews the shift in local authorities' planning policies for climate change adaptation in the UK since 2000, and provides evidence of underlying attitudes amongst planning professionals to climate change. It shows that, while the issue of climate change is becoming recognized with respect to flood risk, the wider implications (for instance, for biodiversity and water resources) are not yet integrated into plans. The reasons for this lie in lack of political support and lack of engagement of the planning profession with climate change networks. But the paper also argues there are difficulties in acknowledging the need for adaptation at the local level, with the short-term horizons of local plans at odds with perceptions of the long-term implications of climate change.     

The Role of Foreign Debt in Deforestation in Latin America

Much current controversy exists about the role that foreign debt plays in deforestation in Latin America. In an attempt to familiarize concerned biologists with this issue, we present an overview of the proposed positive and negative effects that foreign debt has had on neotropical forest loss. From the literature, we identify three main hypotheses as to how the large external debts of developing Latin American countries may contribute to deforestation. We find that (1) countries have not increased exports of tropical timber and beef in response to rising debt; (2) external debts have contributed to economic stagnation and an associated increase in poverty in Latin America, which in turn has caused the degradation of marginal lands, but the role of debt in this process cannot be isolated from other important contributing factors; and (3) while debt payments have probably led to governmental budget cutbacks in environmental spending, historically spending in these areas has not been high. On the positive side, we found that (1) innovative debt-for-nature swaps have traded devalued debt for a commitment and funds to create and protect nature reserves; and (2) debt could be exchanged for forestry and agricultural sectoral reform, which would have very large positive effects on the conservation and management of forests.     

EIA-Learning from Experience: Changes in the Quality of Environmental Impact Statements for UK Planning Projects

This paper draws on a research report recently produced (1996) by the authors for the UK Department of the Environment. The principal aim of the research was to establish clearly what changes, if any, there have been in the quality of Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) since the inception of mandatory EIA in 1988, and to explain reasons for the changes. The paper provides a critique of the meaning of 'quality' in an area such as this. Quality relates both to the EIS and to the EIA process. EIS quality can be assessed against various review frameworks in a structured and systematic way; quality can also be assessed according to the perspective of the individual participant in the EIA process. The findings of both macro and micro studies of quality are discussed. The macro study uses a range of review frameworks (minimum regulatory requirements, an EU framework, and comprehensive frameworks developed by EIA academics at UK universities, including Oxford Brookes University) for a large sample of EISs. The micro study uses a structured questionnaire of the participants (local planning officers, developers, consultants and others) involved in a smaller set of detailed case studies. The findings reveal that there has been a learning from experience and an improvementin quality, but they also highlight a number of problems in the EIA process. The paper outlines some of the determinants of the changes in quality, and concludes with recommendations for developments in EIA in response to particular issues raised. These recommendations are set in the context of European Commission amendments to the EC EIA Directive.     

Biogeography and decline of rare plants in New England: historical evidence and contemporary monitoring.

Detecting range shifts and contractions is critical for determining the conservation priority of rare and declining taxa. However, data on rare species occurrences frequently lack precise information on locations and habitats and may present a biased picture of biogeographic distributions and presumed habitat preferences. Herbarium or museum specimen data, which otherwise could be useful proxies for detecting temporal trends and spatial patterns in species distributions, pose particular challenges. Using data from herbaria and Natural Heritage Programs on numbers of occurrences within individual municipalities (towns, cities, or townships), we quantified temporal changes in the estimated distributions of 110 rare plant species in the six New England (USA) states. We used the partial Solow equation and a nonparametric test to estimate the probability of observing multiple absences (gaps in the collection record) if a given population was actually still extant. Bayes' Theorem was used to estimate the probability that occurrences were misclassified as extinct. Using the probabilities obtained from these three methods, we eliminated taxa with high probabilities of pseudo-absence (that would yield an inaccurate profile of species distributions), narrowing the set for final analysis to 71 taxa. We then expressed occurrences as centroids of town polygons and estimated current and historical range areas (extents of occurrence as defined by alpha-hulls inscribing occurrences), mean distances between occurrences, and latitudinal and longitudinal range boundaries. Using a geographic information system, we modeled first, second, and third circular standard deviational polygons around the mean center of the historical range. Examining the distribution of current occurrences within each standard deviational polygon, we asked whether ranges were collapsing to a center, expanding, fragmenting, or contracting to a margin of the former range. Extant ranges of the species were, on average, almost 67% smaller than their historical ranges, and distances among occurrences decreased. Five New England hotspots were observed to contain >35% of rare plant populations. Extant occurrences were more frequently marginalized at the periphery of the historical range than would be expected by chance. Coarse-grained data on current and historical occurrences can be used to examine large suites of species to prioritize taxa and sites for conservation.     

Thyroid status in juvenile alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) from contaminated and reference sites on Lake Okeechobee, Florida, USA

Exposure to environmental contaminants has been shown to alter normal thyroid function in various wildlife species, including the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Abnormalities in circulating levels of the thyroid hormone thyroxine (T₄) have been reported in juvenile alligators from several contaminated lakes in Florida. To further elucidate these functional thyroid abnormalities, this study examines the structure of thyroids and circulating T₄ concentrations from juvenile alligators collected from three sites of varying contamination on Lake Okeechobee, Florida. The following variables were used to characterize thyroid morphology: epithelial cell height, width and area, percent colloid, and follicle area. These variables were compared among study sites and between genders. No difference was detected in epithelial cell height, epithelial cell area, or follicle area among the sites, whereas significant differences in epithelial cell width (p=0.02) and percent colloid (p=0.008) were found. Animals from the most contaminated site (Belle Glade) had significantly greater epithelial cell widths and significantly less colloid present in their follicles compared to animals from the reference site (West). Gender did not have a significant interaction with site for any variable measured. Thyroxine (T₄) concentrations were elevated in the intermediately contaminated site (Conservation Area 3A) compared to the other sites (p<0.0001). It is proposed that the disruptions seen in Lake Okeechobee alligators are due to disruptions at both the thyroid and extra-thyroidal tissues.