Sonographic diagnosis of cystic adenomatoid malformation in-utero

Routine ultrasound examination at 30 weeks gestation revealed an intrapulmonary cystic mass in an otherwise normal fetus. Following delivery at term, the diagnosis of congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the right lung was confirmed, and an elective right middle lobectomy successfully performed at nine days of age.     

The New Zealand experience of varroa invasion highlights research opportunities for Australia

The Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) is implicated as a major disease factor in honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations worldwide. Honey bees are extensively relied upon for pollination services, and in countries such as New Zealand and Australia where honey bees have been introduced specifically for commercial pollinator services, the economic effects of any decline in honey bee numbers are predicted to be profound. V. destructor established in New Zealand in 2000 but as yet, Australia remains Varroa-free. Here we analyze the history of V. destructor invasion and spread in New Zealand and discuss the likely long-term impacts. When the mite was discovered in New Zealand, it was considered too well established for eradication to be feasible. Despite control efforts, V. destructor has since spread throughout the country. Today, assessing the impacts of the arrival of V. destructor in this country is compromised by a paucity of data on pollinator communities as they existed prior to invasion. Australia’s Varroa-free status provides a rare and likely brief window of opportunity for the global bee research community to gain understanding of honey bee-native pollinator community dynamics prior to Varroa invasion.     

Biogeochemical consequences of a changing Arctic shelf seafloor ecosystem

Unprecedented and dramatic transformations are occurring in the Arctic in response to climate change, but academic, public, and political discourse has disproportionately focussed on the most visible and direct aspects of change, including sea ice melt, permafrost thaw, the fate of charismatic megafauna, and the expansion of fisheries. Such narratives disregard the importance of less visible and indirect processes and, in particular, miss the substantive contribution of the shelf seafloor in regulating nutrients and sequestering carbon. Here, we summarise the biogeochemical functioning of the Arctic shelf seafloor before considering how climate change and regional adjustments to human activities may alter its biogeochemical and ecological dynamics, including ecosystem function, carbon burial, or nutrient recycling. We highlight the importance of the Arctic benthic system in mitigating climatic and anthropogenic change and, with a focus on the Barents Sea, offer some observations and our perspectives on future management and policy.     

Use of beryllium-7 to document soil redistribution following forest harvest operations

Rapid and reliable methods for documenting soil erosion associated with forest harvest operations are needed to support the development of best management practices for soil and water conservation. To address this need, the potential for using 7Be measurements to estimate patterns and amounts of soil redistribution associated with individual post-harvest events was explored. The 7Be technique, which was originally developed for use on agricultural land, was employed to estimate soil redistribution associated with a period of heavy rainfall within a harvested forest area located in the Lake Region of Chile (39 degrees 44'7' S, 73 degrees 10'39' W; 22% slope; and mean annual rainfall 2300 mm yr(-1)). The results provided by the 7Be technique were validated against direct measurements of soil gain or loss during the same period obtained using erosion pins. The information produced by the two approaches was similar. The results of this study demonstrate the potential for using 7Be measurements to document event-based erosion in recently harvested forest areas.     

Environmentally Friendly Oil-Modified Polyesters as Polymeric Plasticizers for Poly(vinyl chloride)

Oil-modified polyesters were synthesized to serve as polymeric plasticizers for PVC. A total of four polymeric plasticizers with different average molecular weights were prepared. Characterizations were done using Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography. Some of the tests conducted on PVC films include thermal stability test using thermogravimetric analyser, determination of glass transition temperature (T_g), plasticizer migration and leaching resistance test, morphology study of plasticized PVC films using field emission scanning microscope, toxicity test, and tensile test. Owing to the plasticizing effect of the palm oil-based compound, T_g of the plasticized PVC has decreased to an average of 65 °C at 20 wt% loading. The polymeric plasticizer is also able to contribute positively to the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the PVC films. Some of the advantages of incorporating polymeric plasticizer with high molecular weight includes lower rate of leaching from plastic, and improved tensile strength and elongation at break. Besides, thermal stability of the plastic studied using Kissinger’s and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa’s approaches shows that PVC blended with high molecular weight oil-modified polyester is more thermally stable, evidenced by the increase in the activation energy of decomposition, E_d. Toxicity test using brine shrimp egg shows encouraging results, where the oil-based plasticizer is considerably less toxic compared to some of the commercial plasticizers.     

When experts disagree: the need to rethink indicator selection for assessing sustainability of agriculture

Sustainability indicators are well recognized for their potential to assess and monitor sustainable development of agricultural systems. A large number of indicators are proposed in various sustainability assessment frameworks, which raises concerns regarding the validity of approaches, usefulness and trust in such frameworks. Selecting indicators requires transparent and well-defined procedures to ensure the relevance and validity of sustainability assessments. The objective of this study, therefore, was to determine whether experts agree on which criteria are most important in the selection of indicators and indicator sets for robust sustainability assessments. Two groups of experts (Temperate Agriculture Research Network and New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard) were asked to rank the relative importance of eleven criteria for selecting individual indicators and of nine criteria for balancing a collective set of indicators. Both ranking surveys reveal a startling lack of consensus amongst experts about how best to measure agricultural sustainability and call for a radical rethink about how complementary approaches to sustainability assessments are used alongside each other to ensure a plurality of views and maximum collaboration and trust amongst stakeholders. To improve the transparency, relevance and robustness of sustainable assessments, the context of the sustainability assessment, including prioritizations of selection criteria for indicator selection, must be accounted for. A collaborative design process will enhance the acceptance of diverse values and prioritizations embedded in sustainability assessments. The process by which indicators and sustainability frameworks are established may be a much more important determinant of their success than the final shape of the assessment tools. Such an emphasis on process would make assessments more transparent, transformative and enduring.     

Evaluation of ion exchange resins for the removal of dissolved organic matter from biologically treated paper mill effluent

In this study, the efficiency of six ion exchange resins to reduce the dissolved organic matter (DOM) from a biologically treated newsprint mill effluent was evaluated and the dominant removal mechanism of residual organics was established using advanced organic characterisations techniques. Among the resins screened, TAN1 possessed favourable Freundlich parameters, high resin capacity and solute affinity, closely followed by Marathon MSA and Marathon WBA. The removal efficiency of colour and lignin residuals was generally good for the anion exchange resins, greater than 50% and 75% respectively. In terms of the DOM fractions removal measured through liquid chromatography–organic carbon and nitrogen detector (LC–OCND), the resins mainly targeted the removal of humic and fulvic acids of molecular weight ranging between 500 and 1000 g mol^?1, the portion expected to contribute the most to the aromaticity of the effluent. For the anion exchange resins, physical adsorption operated along with ion exchange mechanism assisting to remove neutral and transphilic acid fractions of DOM. The column studies confirmed TAN1 being the best of those screened, exhibited the longest mass transfer zone and maximum treatable volume of effluent. The treatable effluent volume with 50% reduction in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was 4.8 L for TAN1 followed by Marathon MSA – 3.6 L, Marathon 11 – 2.0 L, 21K-XLT – 1.5 L and Marathon WBA – 1.2 L. The cation exchange resin G26 was not effective in DOM removal as the maximum DOC removal obtained was only 27%. The resin capacity could not be completely restored for any of the resins; however, a maximum restoration up to 74% and 93% was achieved for TAN1 and Marathon WBA resins. While this feasibility study indicates the potential option of using ion exchange resins for the reclamation of paper mill effluent, the need for improving the regeneration protocols to restore the resin efficiency is also identified. Similarly, care should be taken while employing LC–OCND for characterising resin-treated effluents, as the resin degradation is expected to contribute some organic carbon moieties misleading the actual performance of resin.     

Impact of “Designated Smoking Area” Policy on Nicotine Vapor and Particle Concentrations in a Modern Office Building

A series of measurements of nicotine vapor and particle concentrations were carried out in a modern office building. The measurement program was designed to document the impact of the new smoking policy (e.g. smoking restricted to two specific areas) on air quality in various parts of the building.

Measurements at over 30 locations examined areas where smoking was restricted, where smoking was permitted, and where an air handler shared the load of a designated smoking area. These measurements were taken at the same locations before and after the policy was Implemented.

The measurement results Indicated that: ? After the policy was implemented, general employee exposure to nicotine vapor (as a surrogate for all environmental tobacco smoke) was reduced by about 98 percent on most floors. Other patterns related to spillover from designated smoking areas and changes in the designated smoking areas themselves are described in the paper.

? Substantial reductions in exposure to nicotine vapor were found even for those general office areas which had the highest concentrations after the policy was implemented.

     

The difference conservation makes to extinction risk of the world's ungulates

Previous studies show that conservation actions have prevented extinctions, recovered populations, and reduced declining trends in global biodiversity. However, all studies to date have substantially underestimated the difference conservation action makes because they failed to account fully for what would have happened in the absence thereof. We undertook a scenario‐based thought experiment to better quantify the effect conservation actions have had on the extinction risk of the world's 235 recognized ungulate species. We did so by comparing species’ observed conservation status in 2008 with their estimated status under counterfactual scenarios in which conservation efforts ceased in 1996. We estimated that without conservation at least 148 species would have deteriorated by one International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List category, including 6 species that now would be listed as extinct or extinct in the wild. The overall decline in the conservation status of ungulates would have been nearly 8 times worse than observed. This trend would have been greater still if not for conservation on private lands. While some species have benefited from highly targeted interventions, such as reintroduction, most benefited collaterally from conservation such as habitat protection. We found that the difference conservation action makes to the conservation status of the world's ungulate species is likely to be higher than previously estimated. Increased, and sustained, investment could help achieve further improvements.