Trace metals in Norwegian surface waters, soils, and lake sediments - relation to atmospheric deposition

Årsliste 2006This report presents results from simultaneous trace metal surveys 1995 in Norway on atmospheric deposition based on moss analysis, the humic layer of soils, lake sediments, and surface waters. The samples of sediment and water were not taken at the same geographical locations as the moss and soil samples, but a direct comparison of the data sets is still feasible. Retrospective studies indicate that long-range transport has been a significant source of heavy metal contamination in southern Norway for the last couple of centuries, but has been considerably reduced over the last 20 years. Long-range transboundary air-pollution (LRTAP) is a very important source of of heavy metal contamination in the Norwegian environment, in particular for As, Cd, Sb, Hg, Pb, and Bi but also to some extent for V, Zn, Se, Mo, Sn, Te, and Tl. The corresponding geographic trend is reflected in samples of moss, surface soil, lake sediment, and lake water. A similar geographic trend is also indicated in the water samples for Be and Co, but not in samples of moss or soil humus. This is interpreted as a possible result of higher acidic deposition in the south wich leads to enhanced weathering of mineral matter and subsequent leaching to the lakes.Norges forskningsråd, (PROFO

Conducting surveys on forestry attitudes and practices in Leyte Communities, Philippines: Experiences and lessons learnt

A survey of forestry practices and attitudes was undertaken in four communities in Leyte, the Philippines, to improve understanding of the social and economic factors affecting small-scale forestry development. The survey had three main data collection activities — initial focus group discussions (FGDs), household interviews, and reporting and validation FGDs. A team of enumerators was selected for household interviews which consisted of both males and females, to avoid potential problems of unwillingness of people to talk with those of the opposite gender. The interviewers were also required to be able to speak local dialects (Cebuano and Waray Waray), the survey questionnaires being administered in these dialects. Various methods were used to gain the support and assistance of local government units and barangay captains. Some difficulty was experienced by the survey team in the first community due to barangay elections at the time of the survey, and the requirement by the University of Queensland Ethics Committee that respondents sign a consent form. This requirement was found to be not culturally appropriate for the Leyte smallholder communities. Offering goods at the end of the interview was found to be of limited value for encouraging participation in the survey. Provision of food and drinks were found to encourage FGD participants to express their views, but too much alcohol had a negative effect. The importance of providing comprehensive feedback to respondents and involving them and other stakeholders in development of policy recommendations was apparent. These survey experiences provide valuable insights which are not generally available in textbooks on sample surveys, and provide lessons for planning and conducting smallholder community survey into natural resource management issues

Glueball Matrix Elements on Anisotropic Lattices

The glueball-to-vacuum matrix elements of local gluonic operators in scalar, tensor, and pseudoscalar channels are investigated numerically on several anisotropic lattices with the spatial lattice spacing in the range 0.1fm -- 0.2fm. These matrix elements are needed to predict the glueball branching ratios in $J/\psi$ radiative decays which will help to identify the glueball states in experiments. Two types of improved local gluonic operators are constructed for a self-consistent check, and the finite volume effects are also studied. The lattice spacing dependence of our results is very small and the continuum limits are reliably extrapolated.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, Lattice2003 (spectrum

Prostephanus truncatus IN AFRICA: A REVIEW OF BIOLOGICAL TRENDS AND PERSPECTIVES ON FUTURE PEST MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

The pest status of the Larger grain borer, Prostephanus truncatus (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), is higher in African countries than in Latin America, its region of origin. This pest reduces the storage period of maize grain and cassava chips in granaries of small scale farmers. This reduced storage period results from larval and adult feeding, with consequent shortening of the period these commodities are available for food and income generating sources. Depending on storage time, yield losses of up to 45 and 100% have been recorded for maize and cassava chips, respectively, in West Africa; while 62% yield losses have been reported in Mozambique. Since P. truncatus invaded Africa from approximately 1970, research mostly addressed its biology, ecology, dispersal and control methods. This review paper aims at evaluating P. truncatus pest status in Africa as a basis for designing pragmatic strategies for its control. Prostephanus truncatus pest status in Africa is high and the degree of infestation and damage vary between regions. The variation in pest status is due to climatic conditions, food sources, and degree of storage infra-structure development and efficacy of control methods. Prostephanus truncatus has established in 20 African countries. Its temporal and spatial dispersion is unpredictable and depends on ecological factors, maize and dry cassava trade routes, and availability of forest host plants. Development of sustainable integrated management strategies is a key to future successful management of this pest. Area-wide management strategies using the predator, Teretrius nigrescens , parasitoids, plant derived products and environmentally friendly insecticides is needed. Integrated management practices must be based on improved knowledge of P. truncatus population dynamics and its determining factors.Le statut de la peste de d\ue9voreur des grains, Prostephanus truncatus (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), est plus \ue9lev\ue9 dans les pays africains que dans ceux d\u2019Am\ue9rique Latine, sa r\ue9gion d\u2019origine. Cette peste r\ue9duit la p\ue9riode de stockage des grains de ma\uefs et de manioc dans des grainiers des petits exploitants. Ceci est d\ufb \ue0 l\u2019alimentation des larves et adultes, avec pour cons\ue9quence, l\u2019\ue9courtement de la p\ue9riode dont de ces produits devraient \ueatre disponibles pour nourriture et sources de g\ue9n\ue9ration des revenues. D\ue9pendamment du temps de stockage, les pertes de rendement d\u2019environ 45 et 100% ont \ue9t\ue9 observ\ue9es pour le ma\uefs et le manioc, respectivement en Afrique de l\u2019ouest; pendant que 62% de pertes de rendement ont \ue9t\ue9 report\ue9es au Mozambique. Depuis l\u2019invasion de l\u2019Afrique par P. truncatus aux environ de 1970, la recherche s\u2019est en grande partie attabl\ue9e sur sa biologie, \ue9cologie, propagation et m\ue9thodes de contr\uf4le. Cette revue \ue9value le statut de la peste P. truncatus en Afrique pour comme base de conception des strat\ue9gies pragmatiques pour son contr\uf4le. Le statut de la peste de Prostephanus truncatus est \ue9lev\ue9 en Afrique et les degr\ue9s d\u2019infestation et dommage varient entre les r\ue9gions. La variation du statut de cette peste est due aux conditions climatiques, sources d\u2019aliments et, degr\ue9 de d\ue9veloppement des infrastructures de stockage et l\u2019efficacit\ue9 des m\ue9thodes de contr\uf4le. Le Prostephanus truncatus s\u2019est \ue9tabli dans 20 pays africains. Sa propagation temporelle et spatiale est impr\ue9dictible et d\ue9pend des facteurs \ue9cologiques, les voies de commercialisation du ma\uefs et manioc sec, et disponibilit\ue9 des plantes h\uf4tes dans des forets. Le d\ue9veloppement durable des strat\ue9gies de gestion int\ue9gr\ue9e est une cl\ue9 pour un succ\ue8s futur de gestion de cette peste. Des strat\ue9gies de gestion utilisant le pr\ue9dateur, Teretrius nigrescens , les parasito\uefdes, les produits d\ue9riv\ue9s des plantes et des insecticides environnementalement viables sont n\ue9cessaires. Des pratiques de gestion int\ue9gr\ue9e doivent \ueatre bas\ue9es sur l\u2019am\ue9lioration des connaissances sur la dynamique des populations de P. truncatus et ses facteurs d\ue9terminants

Quality assessment for LCA

VakpublicatieInstitute of Environmental Science

Popular attitudes to memory, the body, and social identity : the rise of external commemoration in Britain, Ireland, and New England

A comparative analysis of samples of external memorials from burial grounds in Britain, Ireland and New England reveals a widespread pattern of change in monument style and content, and exponential growth in the number of permanent memorials from the 18th century onwards. Although manifested in regionally distinctive styles on which most academic attention has so far been directed, the expansion reflects global changes in social relationships and concepts of memory and the body. An archaeological perspective reveals the importance of external memorials in articulating these changing attitudes in a world of increasing material consumption

High-frequency metabolite profiling and the incidence of recurrent cardiac events in patients with post-acute coronary syndrome

Purpose: The aim of this study was to study temporal changes in metabolite profiles in patients with post-acute coronary syndrome (ACS), in particular prior to the development of recurrent ACS (reACS). Methods: BIOMArCS (BIOMarker study to identify the Acute risk of a Coronary Syndrome) is a prospective study including patients admitted for ACS, who underwent high-frequency blood sampling during 1-year follow-up. Within BIOMArCS, we performed a nested case-cohort analysis of 158 patients (28 cases of reACS). We determined 151 metabolites by nuclear magnetic resonance in seven (median) blood samples per patient. Temporal evolution of the metabolites and their relation with reACS was assessed by joint modelling. Results are reported as adjusted (for clinical factors) hazard ratios (aHRs). Results: Median age was 64 (25th–75th percentiles; 56–72) years and 78% were men. After multiple testing correction (p < 0.001), high concentrations of extremely large very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles (aHR 1.60/SD increase; 95%CI 1.25–2.08), very large VLDL particles (aHR 1.60/SD increase; 95%CI 1.25–2.08) and large VLDL particles (aHR 1.56/SD increase; 95%CI 1.22–2.05) were significantly associated with reACS. Moreover, these longitudinal particle concentrations showed a steady increase over time prior to reACS. Among the other metabolites, no significant associations were observed. Conclusion: Post-ACS patients with persistent high concentrations of extremely large, very large and large VLDL particles have increased risk of reACS within 1 year

Personal goals, group performance and ‘social’ networks: participants’ negotiation of virtual and embodied relationships in the ‘Workplace Challenge’ physical activity programme

County Sports Partnerships (CSPs) epitomise the growing reliance upon building networks and partnerships sports delivery. This study investigated how social networks were created and contested in a CSP-led programme entitled the ‘Workplace Challenge’ (WPC). The WPC used a web-platform to encourage workplace-based teams to engage in physical activity by self-recording their activity over an eight-week period. Points were awarded for activity completed and a peer-challenge facility was promoted via online league tables, prizes and the opportunity to ‘challenge’ other users. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of seventeen participants recruited from one public and one private sector workplace and from a sample of participants registered as individuals. Two programme planners employed by the CSP also took part. A figurational framework was utilised to investigate participants’ negotiation of networks of embodied and virtual relationships within the programme. Findings suggest the messages promoted in the WPC were disseminated and transformed according to the organizational structure of these networks. Embodied social relationships within workplaces reinforced peer support in professional I-we identities, whereas virtual networks sometimes highlighted participants’ isolation. Moreover, emphasis upon competition within and between teams caused some to question their performance. Often, competition motivated engagement. For less active participants, constant comparison could prove discouraging, particularly if participants felt they had let their colleagues down. Planners of similar programmes must be cognizant of the uneven manner of programme dissemination. Contextual differences at the point of delivery including existing organizational structures and power hierarchies have an impact upon participants’ perceptions of a programme

Making things happen : a model of proactive motivation

Being proactive is about making things happen, anticipating and preventing problems, and seizing opportunities. It involves self-initiated efforts to bring about change in the work environment and/or oneself to achieve a different future. The authors develop existing perspectives on this topic by identifying proactivity as a goal-driven process involving both the setting of a proactive goal (proactive goal generation) and striving to achieve that proactive goal (proactive goal striving). The authors identify a range of proactive goals that individuals can pursue in organizations. These vary on two dimensions: the future they aim to bring about (achieving a better personal fit within one’s work environment, improving the organization’s internal functioning, or enhancing the organization’s strategic fit with its environment) and whether the self or situation is being changed. The authors then identify “can do,” “reason to,” and “energized to” motivational states that prompt proactive goal generation and sustain goal striving. Can do motivation arises from perceptions of self-efficacy, control, and (low) cost. Reason to motivation relates to why someone is proactive, including reasons flowing from intrinsic, integrated, and identified motivation. Energized to motivation refers to activated positive affective states that prompt proactive goal processes. The authors suggest more distal antecedents, including individual differences (e.g., personality, values, knowledge and ability) as well as contextual variations in leadership, work design, and interpersonal climate, that influence the proactive motivational states and thereby boost or inhibit proactive goal processes. Finally, the authors summarize priorities for future researc