Limits of thermoluminescence dosimetry using quartz extracted from recent building materials in urban settlements

The luminescence of quartz extracted from recently fired building material is known to detect doses of few mGy and can be successfully employed in the case of large scale radiation exposures due to nuclear accidents or terrorist acts. One brick and two tiles (50-80 years range) collected from an urban settlement were used to test the realistic minimum detectable dose limits of retrospective luminescence dosimetry. Independent methods like alpha counting, beta dosimetry, gamma spectrometry and flame photometry were used for the annual dose assessment. Two approaches were employed for the evaluation of the total accrued dose: regenerative dose and additive dose. The former allows the assessment of doses due to anthropogenic sources of radiation as low as approximately 12 mGy by using 10-year-old samples, but it can be applied only in samples showing no sensitisation. The latter can be applied to any sample, however, the related uncertainty is higher and minimum detectable anthropogenic dose in young samples amounts to 20 mGy.     

Uptake of deuterium by dead leaves exposed to deuterated water vapor in a greenhouse at daytime and nighttime

Dead leaves were exposed to deuterated water vapor (D(2)O) as a substitute of tritiated water (HTO) in a greenhouse at daytime and nighttime to examine uptake and release of tritium by dead leaves because they cover a wide area of the forest floor and are therefore a major target material to be exposed when HTO is atmospherically derived to the forest. The dead cedar needles showed faster uptake and faster release rates during and after the exposure than the fresh ones, and the equilibrium concentration of the dead cedar needles was about two times higher than the fresh ones, indicating a quick response and a high buffering potential of dead leaves. The relation between uptake of D(2)O and number of stoma was examined for dead deciduous leaves; the species with larger number of stoma accumulated more D(2)O at the daytime and nighttime exposures. However, drying of the dead leaves suppressed D(2)O uptake greatly at daytime, suggesting stomata's opening and closing controls the D(2)O uptake of dead leaves.     

Anthropogenic radionuclides in sediment in the Japan Sea: distribution and transport processes of particulate radionuclides

Distributions of anthropogenic radionuclides ((90)Sr, (137)Cs and (239+240)Pu) in seabed sediment in the Japan Sea were collected during the period 1998-2002. Concentration of (90)Sr, (137)Cs and (239+240)Pu in seabed sediment was 0.07-1.6 Bq kg(-1), 0.4-9.1 Bq kg(-1) and 0.002-1.9 Bq kg(-1), respectively. In the northern basin of the sea (Japan Basin), (239+240)Pu/(137)Cs ratios in seabed sediment were higher and their variation was smaller compared to that in the southeastern regions of the sea. The higher (239+240)Pu/(137)Cs ratios throughout the Japan Basin were considered to reflect production of Pu-enriched particles in the surface layer and substantial sinking of particulate materials in this region. In the southern regions of the Japan Sea (<38 degrees N), both inventories and (239+240)Pu/(137)Cs ratios in sediment were larger than those in the other regions. In the southern Japan Sea, observations suggested that supply of particulate radionuclides by the Tsushima Warm Current mainly enhanced accumulation of the radionuclides in this region.     

Joint analysis of process and operator performance in chemical process operational safety

Independent studies of case histories by the Health and Safety Commission in the UK and by a Honeywell led industrial consortium world-wide showed that human errors represent the major cause of failure in process plant operation. In contrast to this discovery the majority of previous studies on computer aided systems for fault detection and diagnosis has focused on the process side. This paper presents a methodology, which can involve human factors into the development of systems for automatic identification and diagnosis of abnormal operations and develops methods and techniques that can be used to simultaneously capture, characterise and assess the performance of operators as well as of the process. A joint process–operator simulation platform is developed which is used as a test-bed for carrying out the study. The process part is a simulator, which simulates in high fidelity the dynamic behaviour of the process that is subject to the influence of various disturbances and operators’ interventions. The operator module is developed as a real-time expert system, which emulates operator’s behaviour in interpretation of received signals, and planning and execution of decisions. The interaction between the two modules is managed through an interaction module, which handles the real-time exchange of data using Dynamic Data Exchange. The interaction module also contains the toolkits for analysing the dynamic behaviour of the joint process–operator system. The method and system are illustrated using a simulated case study.     

Systematic review of conservation interventions to promote voluntary behavior change

Understanding human behavior is vital to developing interventions that effectively lead to proenvironmental behavior change, whether the focus is at the individual or societal level. However, interventions in many fields have historically lacked robust forms of evaluation, which makes it hard to be confident that these conservation interventions have successfully helped protect the environment. We conducted a systematic review to assess how effective nonpecuniary and nonregulatory interventions have been in changing environmental behavior. We applied the Office of Health Assessment and Translation systematic review methodology. We started with more than 300,000 papers and reports returned by our search terms and after critical appraisal of quality identified 128 individual studies that merited inclusion in the review. We classified interventions by thematic area, type of intervention, the number of times audiences were exposed to interventions, and the length of time interventions ran. Most studies reported a positive effect (n = 96). The next most common outcome was no effect (n = 28). Few studies reported negative (n = 1) or mixed (n = 3) effects. Education, prompts, and feedback interventions resulted in positive behavior change. Combining multiple interventions was the most effective. Neither exposure duration nor frequency affected the likelihood of desired behavioral change. Comparatively few studies tested the effects of voluntary interventions on non-Western populations (n = 17) or measured actual ecological outcome behavior (n = 1). Similarly, few studies examined conservation devices (e.g., energy-efficient stoves) (n = 9) and demonstrations (e.g., modeling the desired behavior) (n = 5). There is a clear need to both improve the quality of the impact evaluation conducted and the reporting standards for intervention results.     

Using the past to contextualize anthropogenic impacts on the present and future distribution of an endemic Caribbean mammal

Island species are difficult to conserve because they face the synergy of climate change, invasive species, deforestation, and increasing human population densities in areas where land mass is shrinking. The Caribbean island of Hispaniola presents particular challenges because of geopolitical complexities that span 2 countries and hinder coordinated management of species across the island. We employed species distribution modeling to evaluate the impacts of climatic change and anthropogenic activities on the distribution of an endemic mammal of conservation concern, the Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus). We aggregated occurrence points for this poorly known species for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the present (1975–2016) based on museum collections, online biodiversity databases, and new field surveys. We quantified degree of overlap between periods and scenarios with Schoener's D. Through a conservation paleobiology lens, we found that over time humans played an increasing role in shaping the distribution of S. paradoxus, thus, providing a foundation for developing conservation strategies on appropriate spatiotemporal scales. Human population density was the single most important predictor of S. paradoxus occurrence. Densities >166 people/km² corresponded to a near-zero probability of occurrence. Models that accounted for climate but not anthropogenic variables falsely identified suitable habitat in Haiti, where on-the-ground surveys confirm habitat is unavailable. Climate-only models also significantly overestimated the potential for habitat connectivity between isolated populations. Our work highlights that alternative fates for S. paradoxus in the Anthropocene exist across the political border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti due to the fundamentally different economic and political realities of each country. Relationships in the fossil record confirm that Hispaniola's sociopolitical boundary is not biologically significant but instead represents one imposed on the island's fauna in the past 500 years by colonial activity. Our approach reveals how a paleontological perspective can contribute to concrete management insights.     

Distribution patterns of larval myctophid fishes in the transition region of the western North Pacific

We examined the species composition and horizontal distribution of myctophid fish larvae in the transition region of the western North Pacific during the early summer. In total, 4,760 myctophid larvae were collected at 44 stations; 18 species of myctophids from 15 genera were collected, and the 8 most abundant species accounted for >95% of larvae. The distribution patterns of these larvae were well defined by the hydrographic structures of the study area including the Oyashio and Kuroshio fronts, the Subarctic Boundary, and a warm core ring. The horizontal distribution patterns of the eight dominant species were categorized into three groups: northern transition water (Stenobrachius nannochir, Tarletonbeania taylori, and Lampanyctus jordani), southern transition water (Symbolophorus californiensis, Diaphus theta, and Nannobrachium regale), and Kuroshio (Myctophum asperum and Diaphus garmani). The Subarctic Boundary defined the distributions of the northern and southern transition-water groups. The importance of areas of western North Pacific transition water as spawning and nursery grounds for subarctic, transitional, and subtropical myctophid fishes was indicated by the relationship between the horizontal distribution patterns of larvae, juveniles, and adults and the physical oceanographic structures.Communicated by T. Ikeda, Hakodate     

R-cells and the digestive cycle in Penaeus semisulcatus (Crustacea: Decapoda)

Shrimp, Penaeus semisulcatus, were collected from Kuwaiti waters in 1980, and the R-cells in the hepatopancreas were observed during the digestive cycle. During the first 12 h they absorb soluble material from the lumen of the gland and, subsequently, they take-up soluble and particulate material from the haemolymph. Within the cytoplasm, apical and basal systems of smooth endoplasmic reticulum are concerned with these processes. Pinocytosis only occurs at the basal cell membrane. The absorbed material is stored as lipid and glycogen, and copper, sulphur and other elements are accumulated in a large dense vacuole. These activities are integrated with those of the other cell types to effect the assimilation of food in the hepatopancreas. A scheme is proposed which accounts for the main processes of digestion. The hepatopancreas governs the duration of the digestive cycle, which takes at least 24 h. Observations on the nature of intracellular storage and waste products could be used to assess the dietary requirements of artificially reared shrimp.     

Male-male competition selects for delayed sex change in the protandrous shrimp<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Pandalus latirostris</Emphasis>

In most protandrous species, male size advantage is generally regarded as unimportant in determining the timing of protandrous sex change. In pandalid shrimp, the size/age of male sex change often fluctuates among years and populations, but the adaptive significance of late reversing males (LRMs) is not well understood. This study experimentally examined the adaptive significance of LRMs in the protandrous pandalid shrimp Pandalus latirostris Rathbun. Field and laboratory studies were carried out in August–September of 1998–2002 on P. latirostris in Notoro Lagoon, Japan (44°03′N; 144°10′E). Mature females that had molted (i.e. mate receptive) were tethered in the field and their mating behavior with wild males was observed. Copulations occurred with a single male at a time, although other males could sequentially mate with a tethered female. Because tethered females rejected male approaches, males had difficulty transferring their spermatophores. In the laboratory, males copulated with non-tethered, recently molted females for only 15 min after molting. Recently molted females are wary of potential predators, since their soft exoskeleton makes them particularly vulnerable. Fast access by males enhanced fertilization success in this shrimp. The effect of male size on mating success in the laboratory was examined. Both small and large males successfully inseminated females in the absence of competitors. In experiments where large, medium, and small males competed for a female, however, larger males guarded females longer than smaller males, until the female molted and became receptive. Moreover, large males were more successful at copulating once molting occurred. These results imply that male-male competition drives delayed sex change in some situations.