Special needs hurricane shelters and the ageing population: development of a methodology and a case study application

Recent experience of hurricanes, particularly in the southeast United States, has heightened awareness of the multifaceted nature of and the challenges to effective disaster relief planning. One key element of this planning is providing adequate shelter at secure locations for people who evacuate. Some of these individuals will have ‘special needs’, yet there is little research on the relationship with shelter space. This study designed a geographic information systems‐based network optimisation methodology for the siting of special needs hurricane relief shelters, with a focus on the transportation component. It sought to find new locations for shelters that maximise accessibility by vulnerable populations, given capacity constraints, concentrating on the ageing population. The framework was implemented in a medium‐sized metropolitan statistical area in the state of Florida where data suggest a possible deficit in special needs shelter space. The study analysed options for increasing special needs shelter capacity, while considering potential uncertainties in transportation network availability.     

Knowledge for sustainable development: a worldviews perspective

A huge tension exists between recognizing sustainable development (SD) as a meta-discourse and accepting a limitless interpretational width. We analyse the impacts of diversity of worldviews on the interpretation of SD—as a knowledge-based concept—through a critical literature review, resulting in recommendations on the topic. We apply a social-constructionist approach, appreciating the complex socio-ecological interactions at the heart of SD. Only recently worldviews are recognized as constitutive elements of SD. Little attention has been given to the impacts on generated knowledge for SD. Variety of worldviews induces a variety of knowledge claims and needs. To retain SD’s ‘universal’ appeal as practical decision-guiding strategy for policy and action, we propose an integrative approach towards knowledge for SD—entailing an explicit pluralization of knowledge. SD should be re-interpreted as a joint worldviews construct, embracing a diversity of views in collaborative research and co-production of knowledge. Interpreting SD as a joint endeavour is necessary to overcome historical obstacles like cultural hegemony and a hierarchy of knowledge systems. We identified the following requirements for an inclusive knowledge for SD paradigm: re-interpretation of SD as a worldview constructs in progress; interpretative flexibility; co-production of knowledge; subjectivity awareness and self-reflexivity; respect for a diversity of worldviews/knowledges; identifying shared goals; collaborative research; a systems approach; transdisciplinarity; and recognition of contextuality. Further research—concerning potential methodologies and typologies—to reconcile variety of worldviews and knowledge systems in a joint SD worldviews construct is urgently needed.     

Paving the Way for Invasive Species: Road Type and the Spread of Common Ragweed (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ambrosia artemisiifolia</Emphasis>)

Roads function as prime habitats and corridors for invasive plant species. Yet despite the diversity of road types, there is little research on the influence of these types on the spread of invaders. Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), a plant producing large amounts of allergenic pollen, was selected as a species model for examining the impact of road type on the spread of invasive plants. We examined this relationship in an agricultural region of Quebec, Canada. We mapped plant distribution along different road types, and constructed a model of species presence. Common ragweed was found in almost all sampling sites located along regional (97%) and local paved (81%) roads. However, verges of unpaved local roads were rarely (13%) colonized by the plant. A model (53% of variance explained), constructed with only four variables (paved regional roads, paved local roads, recently mown road verges, forest cover), correctly predicted (success rate: 89%) the spatial distribution of common ragweed. Results support the hypothesis that attributes associated with paved roads strongly favour the spread of an opportunistic invasive plant species. Specifically, larger verges and greater disturbance associated with higher traffic volume create propitious conditions for common ragweed. To date, emphasis has been placed on controlling the plant in agricultural fields, even though roadsides are probably a much larger seed source. Strategies for controlling the weed along roads have only focused on major highways, even though the considerable populations along local roads also contribute to the production of pollen. Management prioritizations developed to control common ragweed are thus questionable.     

Trajectories for Energy Transition in EU-28 Countries over the Period 2000–2019: a Multidimensional Approach

Environmental Modeling & Assessment - Environmental issues have become a major concern for policymakers faced with the threat of global warming. The European Climate Energy Package is an...     

Prenatal tests for Sanfilippo disease type B in four pregnancies

We report the prenatal diagnosis of two fetuses with Sanfilippo disease type B. In both pregnancies there were excessive amounts of heparan sulphate in amniotic fluid and the activity of N-acetyl-α-D-glucosaminidase was undetectable in cultured amniotic fluid cells. The predictions were confirmed by enzyme assay of cultured skin fibroblasts from the aborted fetus or the affected infant. The disorder was excluded for two other pregnancies at risk and the predictions are considered to be correct because of the normal progress of the healthy children.     

Oviposition strategies of conifer seed chalcids in relation to host phenology

Insects are considered the most important predators of seed cones, the female reproductive structures of conifers, prior to seed dispersal. Slightly more than 100 genera of insects are known to parasitize conifer seed cones. The most diverse (i.e., number of species) of these genera is Megastigmus (Hymenoptera: Torymidae), which comprises many important seed pests of native and exotic conifers. Seed chalcids, Megastigmus spp., lay eggs inside the developing ovules of host conifers and, until recently, oviposition was believed to occur only in fertilized ovules. Ovule development begins just after pollination, but stops if cells are not fertilized. The morphological stage of cone development at the time of oviposition by seed chalcids has been established for many species; however, knowledge of ovule development at that time has been documented for only one species, M. spermotrophus. Megastigmus spermotrophus oviposits in Douglas-fir ovules after pollination but before fertilization. Unlike the unfertilized ovules, those containing a M. spermotrophus larva continue to develop, whether fertilized or not, stressing the need to broaden our understanding of the insect–plant interactions for this entire genus. To achieve this task, we reviewed the scientific literature and assembled information pertaining to the timing of oviposition and to the pollination and fertilization periods of their respective host(s). More specifically, we were searching for circumstantial evidence that other species of Megastigmus associated with conifers could behave (i.e., oviposit before ovule fertilization) and impact on female gametophyte (i.e., prevent abortion) like M. spermotrophus. The evidence from our compilation suggests that seed chalcids infesting Pinaceae may also oviposit before ovule fertilization, just like M. spermotrophus, whereas those infesting Cupressaceae seemingly oviposit after ovule fertilization. Based on this evidence, we hypothesize that all species of Megastigmus associated with Pinaceae can oviposit in unfertilized ovules, whereas those exploiting Cupressaceae cannot, and thus oviposit only in already fully developed fertilized seeds. Furthermore, we predict that the presence of a larva in unfertilized ovules of all Pinaceae will influence the development of the female gametophyte by preventing its abortion. This influence on the Pinaceae can be interpreted as an ability to parasitize any of the potential seeds present in a seed cone, and as such represents a much more efficient oviposition strategy than searching and locating only fertilized seeds. Concomitantly, this ability has likely led to an overestimation of the impact of the species of seed chalcid infesting Pinaceae on seed production.     

Chromosome analysis of multipronuclear human oocytes after in vitro fertilization

Multipronuclear human eggs are frequent after in vitro fertilization. Their chromosome analysis can provide useful information. Before cleavage it can confirm the suspected poly-ploidy. Among the cleaved multipronuclear eggs it provides an estimation of the incidence of the possible return to diploidy. Ninety-four multipronuclear eggs were fixed at the first, second, or third cleavage according to the air-drying method of Tarkowski with or without colchicine exposure: 60 were successfully analysed. Twelve were stopped before cleavage (six without colchicine treatment and six with colchicine treatment). They were polyploid, confirming the cytological observation. Forty-eight eggs cleaved and were stopped by colchicine treatment and karyotyped. Seventeen eggs (35 per cent) had produced diploid embryos. Mosaicism was frequent (15 cases, 31 per cent). Triploidy was not frequent (8 eggs, 17 per cent). Haploidy constituted the remaining cases (8 eggs, 17 per cent). Our data indicate that the initial count of pronuclei is a reliable test. Multipronuclear one-cell oocytes were confirmed to be polyploid. Furthermore, the developmental capacity of the multipronuclear oocytes is variable. Most of them cleaved. However, many multipronuclear oocytes led to diploid cleaving eggs.     

Self-organized digging activity in ant colonies

Many ant species adjust the volume of their underground nest to the colony size. We studied whether the regulation of the volume of excavated sand could result from an interplay between recruitment processes and ant density. Experiments were performed with different group sizes of workers in the ant Messor sancta. When presented with a thin homogeneous sand disk, these groups excavated networks of galleries in less than 3 days. The excavation dynamics were logistic shaped, which suggests the existence of a double feedback system: a positive one resulting in an initial exponential growth phase, and a negative one leading the dynamics to a saturation phase. The total volume of excavated sand was almost proportional to the number of workers. We then developed a model in which we incorporated the quantitative behavioral rules of the workers digging activity. A positive feedback was introduced in the form of a recruitment process mediated by pheromones. The model predicts that the excavation dynamics should be logistic shaped and the excavation should almost stop despite the absence of any explicit negative feedback. Moreover, the model was able to reproduce the positive linear relationship between nest volume and colony size.Communicated by K. Ross     

Biofiltration of gasoline vapor by compost media

Gasoline vapor was treated using a compost biofilter operated in upflow mode over 4 months. The gas velocity was 6 m/h, yielding an empty bed retention time (EBRT) of 10 min. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) and total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal efficiencies remained fairly stable approximately 15 days after biofilter start-up. The average removal efficiencies of TPH and BTEX were 80 and 85%, respectively, during 4 months of stable operation. Biodegradation portions of the treated TPH and BTEX were 60 and 64%, respectively. When the influent concentration of TPH was less than 7800 mg TPH/m3, approximately 50% of TPH in the gas stream was removed in the lower half of the biofilter. When the influent concentration of BTEX was less than 720 mg BTEX/m3, over 75% of BTEX in the gas stream was removed in the lower half of the biofilter. Benzene removal efficiency was the lowest among BTEX. A pressure drop could not be detected over a 1-m bed height at a gas velocity of 6 m/h after approximately 4 months of operation. Results demonstrated that BTEX in gasoline vapor could be treated effectively using a compost biofilter.