A comprehensive review of climate adaptation in the United States: more than before, but less than needed

We reviewed existing and planned adaptation activities of federal, tribal, state, and local governments and the private sector in the United States (U.S.) to understand what types of adaptation activities are underway across different sectors and scales throughout the country. Primary sources of review included material officially submitted for consideration in the upcoming 2013 U.S. National Climate Assessment and supplemental peer-reviewed and grey literature. Although substantial adaptation planning is occurring in various sectors, levels of government, and the private sector, few measures have been implemented and even fewer have been evaluated. Most adaptation actions to date appear to be incremental changes, not the transformational changes that may be needed in certain cases to adapt to significant changes in climate. While there appear to be no one-size-fits-all adaptations, there are similarities in approaches across scales and sectors, including mainstreaming climate considerations into existing policies and plans, and pursuing no- and low-regrets strategies. Despite the positive momentum in recent years, barriers to implementation still impede action in all sectors and across scales. The most significant barriers include lack of funding, policy and institutional constraints, and difficulty in anticipating climate change given the current state of information on change. However, the practice of adaptation can advance through learning by doing, stakeholder engagements (including “listening sessions”), and sharing of best practices. Efforts to advance adaptation across the U.S. and globally will necessitate the reduction or elimination of barriers, the enhancement of information and best practice sharing mechanisms, and the creation of comprehensive adaptation evaluation metrics.     

杭州市环境保护背景下的工业产业发展研究

通过对杭州市工业产业发展现状的调研,分析杭州市工业产业发展与环境保护之间存在的问题,制定产业发展的环境约束指标,引导发展符合资源节约型、环境友好型的产业,在保持经济高度增长的同时降低污染物排放,最终形成节约资源和保护环境的产业结构.杭州市在今后一段时期内,需进一步明确各区域产业发展重点,利用总量减排倒逼产业结构调整和优化升级,积极推进行业发展环境准入,区域建设项目环境准入,最终实现经济效益与生态效益的有机统一.     

Presence of Torque Teno Virus (TTV) in Tap Water in Public Schools from Southern Brazil

Torque teno virus (TTV) was surveyed in tap water collected in schools from three municipalities located in the south of Brazil. TTV genomes were found in 11.7 % (4/34) of the samples. TTV DNA was detected in 10.5 % (2/19) of the samples collected at the city of Caxias do Sul and in 25 % (2/8) of the samples from Pelotas. Those cities have a low rate of sewage treatment. All samples from Santa Cruz do Sul, which has nearly 92 % of its sewage treated, were negative. These results suggest that the amount of sewage treated may have an effect on the detection rates of TTV DNA in drinking water in a given urban area, showing a mild negative correlation (r = ?0.76), when comparing the percentage of sewage treatment to the detection of TTV genomes. The detection rate of TTV was also compared with Escherichia coli, showing a strong correlation (r = 0.97), indicating that TTV may be a suitable marker of fecal contamination.     

间隔流动分析法测定水中总磷

采用间隔流动分析法(SFA)测定地表水和城镇污水处理厂废水中的总磷,并与现行国标方法作比对,发现悬浮物对SFA法的结果存在一定的干扰,并对此进行了详细讨论且设计了一系列实验。实验结果表明使用均质机对水样均质能够有效消除悬浮物对测定结果的影响。水样经均质处理后两种方法测定结果相对误差小于3.0%。SFA法绘制的校准曲线线性大于0.999 5,标准样品的平行测定RSD≤1.5%,方法检出低限为0.009 mg/L,地表水样品加标回收率为91.4%～97.7%。     

Management strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change on sea turtle’s terrestrial reproductive phase

Climate change poses a serious threat to sea turtles (Cheloniidae) as their terrestrial reproductive phase is only successful within a limited range of environmental and physical conditions. These conditions are likely to become less optimal as climate change progresses. To date, management and conservation of sea turtles has focused almost entirely on non-climatic stressors, due at least in part to practitioners not knowing what strategies to take and the feasibility and risks of potential strategies. To aid the management of sea turtles in a changing environment, we identified management strategies via a focus workshop and surveys to mitigate the impacts of climate change to the terrestrial reproductive phase of sea turtles. The effectiveness, ecological risks and potential social and logistical constraints associated with implementing each of the identified management strategies is discussed. Twenty management strategies were identified; strategies varied from habitat protection to more active and direct manipulation of nests and the nesting environment. Based on our results, we suggest a three-pronged approach to sea turtle conservation in light of climate change, where managers and researchers should: 1) enhance sea turtle resilience to climate change by mitigating other threats; 2) prioritise implementing the ‘no regret’ and ‘reversible’ management strategies identified here; and 3) fill the knowledge gaps identified to aid the trial and implementation of the potential strategies identified here. By combining these three approaches our collective toolkit of sea turtle management strategies will expand, giving us an array of viable approaches to implement as climate change impacts become more extreme.     

Design and manufacturing of femoral stems for the Indian population

Several researchers have stressed the need for a proper implant-patient match in hip joint replacements, in particular, for cementless femoral stems. Some of the complications of mismatch are aseptic loosening, improper load distribution, and discomfort. In this study, the differences in dimensions between femurs of elderly Indians and those of populations from other regions are compared in order to solve the problem of a possible geometric mismatch between a selected implant and the femurs of an Indian patients are concerned. This paper also describes a methodology for implant designing from measured anthropometric data, fit evaluation, finite element (FE) stress analysis and subsequently implant manufacturing using the CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) technique. The machining of the Titanium alloy femoral stem is usually performed on a 5 Axis CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining center. However, in this study the machining of the femoral stem was effectively performed on a 3 Axis CNC machining center to emphasize on economical benefits for low cost manufacturing strategy.     

Does safety climate moderate the influence of staffing adequacy and work conditions on nurse injuries?

PROBLEM: Hospital nurses have one of the highest work-related injury rates in the United States. Yet, approaches to improving employee safety have generally focused on attempts to modify individual behavior through enforced compliance with safety rules and mandatory participation in safety training. We examined a theoretical model that investigated the impact on nurse injuries (back injuries and needlesticks) of critical structural variables (staffing adequacy, work engagement, and work conditions) and further tested whether safety climate moderated these effects. METHOD: A longitudinal, non-experimental, organizational study, conducted in 281 medical-surgical units in 143 general acute care hospitals in the United States. RESULTS: Work engagement and work conditions were positively related to safety climate, but not directly to nurse back injuries or needlesticks. Safety climate moderated the relationship between work engagement and needlesticks, while safety climate moderated the effect of work conditions on both needlesticks and back injuries, although in unexpected ways. DISCUSSION AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Our findings suggest that positive work engagement and work conditions contribute to enhanced safety climate and can reduce nurse injuries.     

The theory of planned behavior as mediator of the effect of parental supervision: a study of intentions to violate driving rules in a representative sample of adolescents

INTRODUCTION: The study reported here was designed to test the ability of the theory of planned behavior to mediate the effect of parental supervision on adolescents' intentions to violate driving rules. METHOD: A representative sample of 1,654 adolescents completed questionnaires during individual and anonymous interviews carried out at their schools. RESULTS: Results showed that age, gender, prior risky driving-behavior, and parental supervision significantly predict intentions to violate driving rules. Attitude and the subjective norm partially mediate the effect of age, prior behavior, and parental supervision. Perceived behavioral control does not predict intention and is not predicted by other variables. IMPACT: The results suggest that social cognitive variables partially mediate the effect of parenting practices such as supervision.     

试论中国城市公共安全规划与应急管理体系建设

1国内外公共安全形势与城市公共安全的新挑战 　　进入21世纪,国际公共安全形势日趋严峻,城市面临的灾害形势从传统的自然灾害、火灾、瘟疫等为主扩大到传统灾害和生命线系统故障、信息安全、恐怖事件等非传统灾害共同影响的情况,呈现出以下特点:重大自然灾害的发生频率、量级加大,经济损失更严重;随着工业化、现代化和城市化的发展,事故灾难以及复合型事件的影响日益突出;生物和公共卫生危机严重威胁和影响公众健康;恐怖主义威胁呈现出新型化、大规模化和强灾难性的特点;经济危机连锁反应,各种社会危机交相激荡.……