A psychological—spatial approach for architectural design and research

The purpose of this paper is to describe a comprehensive approach for studying the interrelationships between the affective and the typological characteristics of the dwelling environment. The approach has a dual orientation: the observation of people's interaction with their habitat as it is designed, simulated and experienced during the design process (with the use of a spatial simulator) and the recollection of past experiences of the dwelling environment during their life-cycle. After describing the context of a current research project, which includes the design of a housing cooperative, the theoretical and methodological framework of the approach is discussed with respect to other studies in the field of environmental psychology. To conclude this paper an example of the kinds of results that can be obtained leads to a discussion with concluding remarks.     

From disaster management to adaptive governance? Governance challenges to achieving resilient food systems in Australia

Building resilient food systems in the context of climate change and increased natural disasters depends on governance being more ‘adaptive’. Through a case study of events surrounding the extensive flooding that occurred in Queensland, Australia, in 2011, this paper examines how governance settings and processes affected food system actors’ engagement with three aspects of adaptive governance – responsibility, participation and collaboration – as those actors sought to ensure food availability and access during the crisis. We found that, despite the existence of formal governance instruments committed to disaster management, food security and resilience at local, state and national levels, responsibilities for ensuring food supply during a disaster were not clearly articulated. Responsibility was largely assumed by supermarkets, who in turn increased the influence of retailer–government coalitions. The participation of non-supermarket food system actors in governance was low, and there was limited collaboration between local, and other, levels of governance. The policy challenge is to ensure that responsibility, participation and collaboration become a stronger foci for adaptive governance during and after a disaster such as flooding.     

Conserved male-specific cuticular hydrocarbon patterns in the trap-jaw ant Odontomachus brunneus

Cuticular hydrocarbons have been identified as the source of sex-recognition signals for many insects, but for social insects, specifically ants, cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of males are often ignored. This study reports male-specific cuticular hydrocarbon patterns for the trap-jaw ant Odontomachus brunneus. Analysis of samples from four Florida populations demonstrated that male-specific overabundance of four hydrocarbons is conserved across populations despite population-level divergence of the remainder of the profile. In addition, hydrocarbon patterns unique to adult males were not present on the cuticle of final instar male larvae, indicating that male-specific profiles arise late in development. The pattern of an abundant subset of conserved cuticular hydrocarbons characteristic of males across divergent populations was compared to earlier findings of the conservation of fertility signals of females across these same populations.     

Temporal variations in turbidity in an oil sands pit lake

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - We investigated temporal variations in turbidity in Base Mine Lake, an oil sands pit lake, located in northeast Alberta, Canada. The lake has a surface area of...     

Acid aerosols in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan area

This article presents data on ambient concentrations of selected acidic aerosols at four existing monitoring sites in the Pittsburgh PA metropolitan area. The data were collected by staff of the Allegheny County Health Department, Division of Air Quality during the summer and fall of 1993. The sampling protocol was focused on obtaining 24 h-average ammonia, ammonium, acidic sulfates, and particle strong acids data on a 2 to 3 day cycle. The data were obtained using Harvard University School of Public Health's “Short-HEADS” annular denuder sampling train. The Pittsburgh area is of interest because it is downwind of a major regional source of sulfur and nitrogen emissions from coal-burning power plants: the Ohio River Valley. The data presented here indicate that ground-level concentrations of acidic aerosols in Pittsburgh are highly correlated spatially and that many pollutants are higher on days when ground-level wind direction vectors indicate that wind is coming from the southwest rather than from the Pittsburgh source area itself. The monitoring site that is most upwind of the Pittsburgh source area – South Fayette – has particle strong acid levels about twice those of sites closer in to the Pittsburgh central business district.     

Identification of brake wear particles and derivation of a quantitative tracer for brake dust at a major road

Traffic-generated air pollutant emissions can be classified into exhaust and non-exhaust emissions. Increased attention is focussing on non-exhaust emissions as exhaust emissions are progressively limited by regulations. To characterise metal-rich emission from abrasion processes, size-segregated analysis of atmospheric aerosol particles sampled with micro-orifice uniform deposit impactors (MOUDI) in March 2007 in London was performed. The samples were collected at a roadside and a background site and were analysed for Al, Ba, Cu, Fe, Sb, Ti, V, Zn, Ca²⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, and NH₄⁺. Most components showed a clear roadside increment, which was evident as a higher mass concentration and a change in the size distribution. In particular, Fe, Cu, Ba, and Sb correlated highly, indicative of a common traffic-related source. Using complementary information on the fleet composition, vehicle number and average speed, the brake wear emission was calculated using the EMEP/CORINAIR emission database. The total PM₁₀ and barium emission of the traffic was determined by ratio to NO_x whose source strength was estimated from published emission factors. Barium was found to comprise 1.1% of brake wear (PM₁₀) particles from the traffic fleet as a whole, allowing its use as a quantitative tracer of brake wear emissions at other traffic-influenced sites.     

Nocturnal NO3 radical chemistry in Houston,TX

Radical chemistry in the nocturnal urban boundary layer is dominated by the nitrate radical, NO₃, which oxidizes hydrocarbons and, through the aerosol uptake of N₂O₅, indirectly influences the nitrogen budget. The impact of NO₃ chemistry on polluted atmospheres and urban air quality is, however, not well understood, due to a lack of observations and the strong impact of vertical stability of the boundary layer, which makes nocturnal chemistry highly altitude dependent.Here we present long-path DOAS observations of the vertical distribution of the key nocturnal species O₃, NO₂, and NO₃ during the TRAMP experiment in Summer 2006 in Houston, TX. Our observations confirm the altitude dependence of nocturnal chemistry, which is reflected in the concentration profiles of all trace gases at night. In contrast to other study locations, NO₃ chemistry in Houston is dominated by industrial emissions of alkenes, in particular of isoprene, isobutene, and sporadically 1,3-butadiene, which are responsible for more than 70% of the nocturnal NO₃ loss. The nocturnally averaged loss of NO_x in the lowest 300 m of the Houston atmosphere is ～0.9 ppb h^?1, with little day-to-day variability. A comparison with the daytime NO_x loss shows that NO₃ chemistry is responsible for 16–50% of the NO_x loss in a 24-h period in the lowest 300 m of the atmosphere. The importance of the NO₃ + isoprene/1,3-butadiene reactions implies the efficient formation of organic nitrates and secondary organic aerosol at night in Houston.     

Levels of persistent organic pollutant and their predictors among young adults

Exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (p,p′-DDE), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) continues to be of concern due to their ubiquitous distribution and high persistence. Current toxicant body burden is still a primary concern within the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation since other studies conducted within the community have shown relationships between these POPs and endocrine disruption.In this article we describe the levels of these toxicants in young adults of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation between the ages of 17 and 21 years of age (mean age 18.1 years), and investigate potential influences of their current body burden. Seventeen congeners in fourteen chromatographic peaks were detected in 50% or more of the individuals sampled (geometric mean [GM] of the sum of these congeners = 0.43 ppb). Congeners 118, 138[+163 + 164] and 153 had the highest rate of detection (?98%) within the Akwesasne young adults. Of the other organochlorines, HCB (GM = 0.04 ppb) and p,p′-DDE (GM = 0.38 ppb) were found in 100% and 99% of the sample respectively.Significantly higher levels of PCBs were found among individuals who were breastfed as infants, were first born, or had consumed local fish within the past year. When compared to levels of p,p′-DDE, HCB, and 13 specific congeners reported by the CDC for youth between the ages of 12 and 19 years, the geometric means of several congeners (CBs 99, 105, 110, and 118) among the Akwesasne were higher than the reported CDC 90th percentile. In contrast, levels of CB 28 in Akwesasne young adults were ∼50% or less than those of the CDC cohort. p,p′-DDE and HCB levels were generally higher in the CDC cohort (GM of 0.516 and 0.065 ppb, respectively for Mohawks vs. 2.51 and 0.123, respectively, for CDC). Concentrations of non-persistent PCBs among this sample of Akwesasne young adults were higher than those reported by the CDC suggesting continued exposure, but lower than those associated with severe contamination.Additional research into the concentration trends of individual PCB congeners within Akwesasne youth and young adults is warranted to further improve our insight into the determinants and influences of organochlorine concentrations within members of the Akwesasne community.     

The Use of Health Risk Assessment to Estimate Desirable Sampling Detection Limits

Abstract

The inclusion of non-detected chemicals in a health risk assessment may lead, in some cases, to estimated risks that exceed regulatory thresholds, because one must use the detection limit or half of the detection limit. This study presents a methodology which will allow one to estimate appropriate detection limits by conducting a health risk assessment prior to the source sampling program. The advantages and shortcomings of various levels of detail in the risk assessment to determine those detection limits are discussed. The application of the methodology is demonstrated with a case study of the potential health effects of power plant stack emissions.