Pesticide Impact Rating Index – A Pesticide Risk Indicator for Water Quality

Pesticide users, natural resource managers, regulators, government agencies and many others are concerned about the off-site impact of pesticides on the environment. Systematic methods of the assessment of potential risk of pesticides to environmental components can serve as valuable tools in decision making and policy formulation. Simple risk indicators have been developed which cover a range of scenarios such as toxicity to organisms, health of farm workers, consumer health, and residues in harvested produce. The authors have developed a software package named Pesticide Impact Rating Index (PIRI) that outputs an improved pesticide risk indicator for water quality. PIRI is a standalone, user-friendly, platform-independent program. It can be used to (i) rank pesticides in terms of their relative pollution potential to groundwater or surface water, and (ii) to compare different land uses in a catchment or at a regional scale in terms of their relative impact on water quality. It is based on pesticides use; the pathway through which the pesticides are released to the water resources (drift, runoff, erosion, leaching) and the value of the water resources threatened. Each component is quantified using pesticide characteristics (including toxicity to organisms at different trophic levels, i.e. fish, daphnia, algae, etc.), environmental and site conditions (e.g. organic carbon content of soil, water input, slope of land, soil loss, recharge rate, depth of water table, etc.). This paper describes two case studies of the application of PIRI in Australia. The comparison of the risk assessment by PIRI on these revealed that PIRI correctly estimated the pollution potential of pesticides in greater than 80% of cases. A GIS version of PIRI is described in a companion paper in this volume. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Perceived mastery climate,felt trust,and knowledge sharing

Interpersonal trust is associated with a range of adaptive outcomes, including knowledge sharing. However, to date, our knowledge of antecedents and consequences of employees feeling trusted by supervisors in organizations remains limited. On the basis of a multisource, multiwave field study among 956 employees from 5 Norwegian organizations, we examined the predictive roles of perceived mastery climate and employee felt trust for employees' knowledge sharing. Drawing on the achievement goal theory, we develop and test a model to demonstrate that when employees perceive a mastery climate, they are more likely to feel trusted by their supervisors at both the individual and group levels. Moreover, the relationship between employees' perceptions of a mastery climate and supervisor‐rated knowledge sharing is mediated by perceptions of being trusted by the supervisor. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of our findings are discussed.     

The relationship between job experiences and psychological distress: A structural equation approach

Using structural equations, we estimated the relationship between employees' experiences of seven job conditions, that have been identified as potential job stressors, and psychological distress in a random sample of 504 full-time employed men and women in dual-earner couples. The seven job conditions were: skill discretion, decision authority, schedule control, job demands, pay adequacy, job security, and relations with supervisor. We found that two job conditions — skill discretion and job demands — were related to psychological distress, whereas five other conditions were not. These findings lend partial support to Karasek's job demand — job control model. In our analysis, skill discretion, one of the two components of job control (referred to jointly as decision latitude) was related to distress, however, decision authority, the second component, was not. A third aspect of control, schedule control, was also unrelated to distress. For full-time employed women and men in dual-earner couples, the additive effects of feeling concerned about having to do dull, monotonous work and having to work under pressure of time and conflicting demands were associated with psychological distress. Finally, the magnitude of the relationships between these job experiences and psychological distress did not differ between men and women.     

Placental MRI and its application to fetal intervention

Objective

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of placental invasion has been part of clinical practice for many years. The possibility of being better able to assess placental vascularization and function using MRI has multiple potential applications. This review summarises up-to-date research on placental function using different MRI modalities.

Method

We discuss how combinations of these MRI techniques have much to contribute to fetal conditions amenable for therapy such as singletons at high risk for fetal growth restriction (FGR) and monochorionic twin pregnancies for planning surgery and counselling for selective growth restriction and transfusion conditions.

Results

The whole placenta can easily be visualized on MRI, with a clear boundary against the amniotic fluid, and a less clear placental-uterine boundary. Contrasts such as diffusion weighted imaging, relaxometry, blood oxygenation level dependent MRI and flow and metabolite measurement by dynamic contrast enhanced MRI, arterial spin labeling, or spectroscopic techniques are contributing to our wider understanding of placental function.

Conclusion

The future of placental MRI is exciting, with the increasing availability of multiple contrasts and new models that will boost the capability of MRI to measure oxygen saturation and placental exchange, enabling examination of placental function in complicated pregnancies.     

一种改进的多学习教与学优化算法

针对传统教与学算法在解决复杂多峰函数优化问题时,具有局部最优且搜索开发能力较差的缺点,提出了一种改进的多学习教与学优化算法,新算法为学员的每一维加入不同的教学因子,设计了基于学员均值比较的教师选择策略和向教师及学员学习的多学习策略。基于多个单峰和多峰函数的仿真结果表明,新算法跟传统的、改进的教与学算法相比,在稳定性、寻优精度和收敛速度方面更具优势。     

Computer-assisted surgical planning and intraoperative guidance in fetal surgery: a systematic review

Fetal surgery has become a clinical reality, with interventions for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) and spina bifida demonstrated to improve outcome. Fetal imaging is evolving, with the use of 3D ultrasound and fetal MRI becoming more common in clinical practise. Medical imaging analysis is also changing, with technology being developed to assist surgeons by creating 3D virtual models that improve understanding of complex anatomy, and prove powerful tools in surgical planning and intraoperative guidance. We introduce the concept of computer-assisted surgical planning, and present the results of a systematic review of image reconstruction for fetal surgical planning that identified six articles using such technology. Indications from other specialities suggest a benefit of surgical planning and guidance to improve outcomes. There is therefore an urgent need to develop fetal-specific technology in order to improve fetal surgical outcome. © 2015 The Authors. Prenatal Diagnosis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Designing the next generation of climate adaptation research for development

Adaptation research has changed significantly in recent years as funders and researchers seek to encourage greater impact, ensure value for money and promote interdisciplinarity across the natural and social sciences. While these developments are inherently positive, they also bring fresh challenges. With this in mind, this paper presents an agenda for the next generation of climate adaptation research for development. The agenda is based on insights from a dialogue session held at the 2016 Adaptation Futures conference as well as drawing on the collective experience of the authors. We propose five key areas that need to be changed in order to meet the needs of future adaptation research, namely: increasing transparency and consultation in research design; encouraging innovation in the design and delivery of adaptation research programmes; demonstrating impact on the ground; addressing incentive structures; and promoting more effective brokering, knowledge management and learning. As new international funding initiatives start to take shape, we underscore the importance of learning from past experiences and scaling-up of successful innovations in research funding models.

     

Genetic amniocentesis in multiple gestations

Thirty-one genetic amniocenteses involving multiple gestations were performed in the genetics unit between 1976 and 1982. Three sets of triplets were included. Precise locations of the sacs were determined using real-time ultrasonography and successful sampling of all sacs was accomplished. Spontaneous abortions occurred in two normal twins and one normal triplet gestation. Two therapeutic abortions were performed for fetal abnormalities. Two cases of discordance for trisomy 21 (one twin and one triplet) were allowed to continue; the twin case terminated at 25 weeks' gestation with neonatal deaths and the triplets are alive and well.     

Modelling to bridge many boundaries: the Colorado and Murray-Darling River basins

Regional Environmental Change - Increasing pressure on shared water resources has often been a driver for the development and utilisation of water resource models (WRMs) to inform planning and...