Devising a Compliance Strategy under the ISO 14000 International Environmental Management Standards

Two principal factors, the complexity of environmental regulation and the growing propensity of governments to criminalize infractions, have prompted companies conducting business in the United States and elsewhere to develop management strategies to assess and ensure compliance. There is a contemporaneous business movement afoot to measure and continuously improve environmental performance as a means not only to limit liability, but also to attain higher levels of efficiency, drive down costs, and ultimately, to get the best of the competition. Ongoing efforts to formulate standardized approaches to environmental management, such as the ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS) designed by the International Organization for Standardization, are in part a response to these imperatives. This Article emphasizes the importance of a well-conceived corporate compliance program for companies in the present business and enforcement climate. It begins by examining the evolution of criminal environmental law and suggests ways firms can minimize the threat of prosecution. Following that discussion is a brief survey of the \u27\u27beyond compliance movement, focusing on the role of compliance auditing in ISO 14000 and other EMS programs. The Article concludes with several ideas on EMS design and, more specifically, how to integrate compliance program elements within a comprehensive EMS

The Histone Deacetylase Complex (HDC) 1 protein of Arabidopsis thaliana has the capacity to interact with multiple proteins including histone 3-binding proteins and histone 1 variants

Intrinsically disordered proteins can adopt multiple conformations thereby enabling interaction with a wide variety of partners. They often serve as hubs in protein interaction networks. We have previously shown that the Histone Deacetylase Complex (HDC) 1 protein from Arabidopsis thaliana interacts with histone deacetylases and quantitatively determines histone acetylation levels, transcriptional activity and several phenotypes, including ABA-sensitivity during germination, vegetative growth rate and flowering time. HDC1-type proteins are ubiquitous in plants but they contain no known structural or functional domains. Here we explored the protein interaction spectrum of HDC1. In addition to binding histone deacetylases, HDC1 directly interacted with core histone H3-binding proteins and co-repressor associated proteins, but not with H3 or the co-repressors themselves. Surprisingly, HDC1 was also able to interact with variants of the linker histone H1. Truncation of HDC1 to the ancestral core sequence narrowed the spectrum of interactions and of phenotypic outputs but maintained binding to a H3-binding protein and to H1. The results indicate a potential link between H1 and histone modifying complexes

Infection dynamics, dispersal, and adaptation: understanding the lack of recovery in a remnant frog population following a disease outbreak

Emerging infectious diseases can cause dramatic declines in wildlife populations. Sometimes, these declines are followed by recovery, but many populations do not recover. Studying differential recovery patterns may yield important information for managing disease-afflicted populations and facilitating population recoveries. In the late 1980s, a chytridiomycosis outbreak caused multiple frog species in Australia's Wet Tropics to decline. Populations of some species (e.g., Litoria nannotis) subsequently recovered, while others (e.g., Litoria dayi) did not. We examined the population genetics and current infection status of L. dayi, to test several hypotheses regarding the failure of its populations to recover: (1) a lack of individual dispersal abilities has prevented recolonization of previously occupied locations, (2) a loss of genetic variation has resulted in limited adaptive potential, and (3) L. dayi is currently adapting to chytridiomycosis. We found moderate-to-high levels of gene flow and diversity (Fst range: <0.01-0.15; minor allele frequency (MAF): 0.192-0.245), which were similar to previously published levels for recovered L. nannotis populations. This suggests that dispersal ability and genetic diversity do not limit the ability of L. dayi to recolonize upland sites. Further, infection intensity and prevalence increased with elevation, suggesting that chytridiomycosis is still limiting the elevational range of L. dayi. Outlier tests comparing infected and uninfected individuals consistently identified 18 markers as putatively under selection, and several of those markers matched genes that were previously implicated in infection. This suggests that L. dayi has genetic variation for genes that affect infection dynamics and may be undergoing adaptation

Egg and clutch sizes of western chicken turtles (Deirochelys reticularia miaria)

Chicken turtles (Deirochelys reticularia) are generally characterized as having atypical reproductive characteristics relative to other sympatric emydids. However, the comparatively understudied western chicken turtle (D. r. miaria) has been shown to exhibit some reproductive characteristics that differ from the other subspecies. Therefore, we examined clutch and egg sizes from six D. r. miaria (13 clutches) in Oklahoma and compared the results to values that have been reported for the other two subspecies. Females nested up to three times per year, with clutches ranging from 8-13 eggs per clutch (mean = 10.9). The eggs were 19.4-25.3 mm wide (mean = 22.2 mm). These values are greater than the means reported for the other subspecies, but the differences were not statistically significant

A multi-object fiber spectrograph for The Hale Telescope

A new faint-object spectrograph has been designed around the capabilities of fiber optics. This instrument, the Norris Spectrograph, is for exclusive use at the Cassegrain focus (f/16) of The Hale Telescope and is optimized for faint galaxy spectroscopy. There are 176 independently positionable fibers that are serially manipulated by a single robotic system. Each of these fibers sees 1.6 arcsec on the sky and the total positionable area is in excess of 300 arcmin^2. Unlike most multiobject spectrographs which utilize fibers that are several tens of meters long, the philosophy of the design of the Norris was quite the antithesis, i.e., to minimize the fiber lengths; hence, it is an entirely self-contained telescope-mounted instrument for the Cassegrain focus. The instrument consists of an integrated xy stage, for the fiber positioning, and an attached optical spectrograph. The design of the spectrograph is basically classical: spherical collimator mirror, standard reflection grating, and a newly designed all-transmissive-optics camera lens. The detector currently used is a thinned, AR-coated 2048 X 2048 Tektronix CCD. Fibers are arranged in two linear opposing banks that can access the 20 arcmin diameter field-of-view (FOV) of the instrument. The accuracy of fiber placement (assuming errorless coordinates) is less than 0.1 arcsec over the entire FOV. Fibers may be placed as close as 16 arcsec. This permits close pairings of fibers for very faint-object spectroscopy. Beam switching between paired fibers, as was done with two-channel spectrographs of yesteryear, will help average out temporal and spatial variations of the light of the night sky. Actual observations performed in this mode of operation indicate that the quality of the sky subtraction improves, as would be expected. The density of paired fibers within the Norris FOV matches the approximate density of faint field galaxies expected to a blue magnitude of 21. Software exists to take object lists (α,δ) and convert them to rectilinear (x,y) values (mm) on the xy stage by gnomonic projection and to assign fibers. This software also corrects for precession of the equinoxes, proper motion if epoch differences exist, and corrects for differential atmospheric refraction. To place a single fiber takes approximately 5 s on the average. A lower limit to the efficiency of the spectrograph plus telescope has been estimated to be 6.8% at 5500 Å. In order to derive the throughput of the instrument, the efficiency of the telescope, estimated to be approximately 56%, must be divided out. This value is consistent with the expectation that the reduction in efficiency from that of a standard CCD spectrograph such as The Hale Telescope's Double Spectrograph will be about a factor of 2. This results from the 60%-70% transmittance of the fibers and other losses. The spectra produced are linear with little distortion. With 10 A spectral resolution, fitting residuals on the order of 100 km s^(-1) are easily obtainable by modeling the dispersion by a third-order polynomial. The resolutions currently available range from 1 to about 20 Å. The spectra have a FWHM in the direction perpendicular to that of the dispersion of about 90 µm, or equivalently about three 27 pixels found in the older Tektronix 2048 CCDs. The interorder spacing of 250 µm is large enough to permit clean spectrum extractions. The instrument has been in use for several years. The scientific programs vary from high resolution (1 Å resolution) spectroscopy of stars in nearby globular clusters to a low spectral resolution (10 Å) survey of faint field galaxies. In this latter survey, with typical 2-hr exposures, absorption-line redshifts as high as z ~ 0.5 have been routinely measured. Several heretofore unknown quasars with redshifts around three have also been discovered serendipitously

Corrosion of Steel Shipwreck in the Marine Environment: USS \u3ci\u3eArizona\u3c/i\u3e—Part 1

The USS Arizona has remained submerged in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, since the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. The ship presents a potential hazard from fuel oil still present in the ship’s hull. As an important factor in management decisions, the effect of corrosion after nearly 65 years is being studied to determine the integrity of the ship’s structure. Coupon samples from the hull revealed decreasing corrosion rates from ~1 to 3 mpy (0.03 to 0.08 mm/y) from just below the water surface to the mudline. This is about one-third of that expected in the absence of biofouling or concretion. Methods of determining the corrosion rate, including correlation of chemistry and properties, are discussed

A randomised controlled trial comparing graded exercise treatment and usual physiotherapy for patients with non-specific neck pain (the GET UP neck pain trial).

Evidence supports exercise-based interventions for the management of neck pain, however there is little evidence of its superiority over usual physiotherapy. This study investigated the effectiveness of a group neck and upper limb exercise programme (GET) compared with usual physiotherapy (UP) for patients with non-specific neck pain. A total of 151 adult patients were randomised to either GET or UP. The primary measure was the Northwick Park Neck pain Questionnaire (NPQ) score at six weeks, six months and 12 months. Mixed modelling identified no difference in neck pain and function between patients receiving GET and those receiving UP at any follow-up time point. Both interventions resulted in modest significant and clinically important improvements on the NPQ score with a change score of around 9% between baseline and 12 months. Both GET and UP are appropriate clinical interventions for patients with non-specific neck pain, however preferences for treatment and targeted strategies to address barriers to adherence may need to be considered in order to maximise the effectiveness of these approaches

The use of radio-iodinated toluidine blue for myocardial scintigrams,

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33788/1/0000043.pd

Stellar Iron Abundances at the Galactic Center

We present measurements of [Fe/H] for six M supergiant stars and three giant stars within 0.5 pc of the Galactic Center (GC) and one M supergiant star within 30 pc of the GC. The results are based on high-resolution (lambda / Delta lambda =40,000) K-band spectra, taken with CSHELL at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility.We determine the iron abundance by detailed abundance analysis,performed with the spectral synthesis program MOOG.The mean [Fe/H] of the GC stars is determined to be near solar,[Fe/H] = +0.12 $\pm$ 0.22. Our analysis is a differential analysis, as we have observed and applied the same analysis technique to eleven cool, luminous stars in the solar neighborhood with similar temperatures and luminosities as the GC stars. The mean [Fe/H] of the solar neighborhood comparison stars, [Fe/H] = +0.03 $\pm$ 0.16, is similar to that of the GC stars. The width of the GC [Fe/H] distribution is found to be narrower than the width of the [Fe/H] distribution of Baade's Window in the bulge but consistent with the width of the [Fe/H] distribution of giant and supergiant stars in the solar neighborhood.Comment: 41 pages, 9 figures, ApJ, in pres

Pre- and Post Impoundment Ichthyoparasite Succession in a New Arkansas Reservoir

Helminth and crustacean parasites from 2,387 Micropterus dolomieui, M. punctulatus, and M. salmoides were utilized to monitor annual pre- and postimpoundment succession patterns spanning eight con- tinuous years in Beaver Reservoir, Arkansas. Incidence of infection by ichthyoparasites with direct life cycles (monogenetic trematodes, leeches, and crustaceans) generally increased following impoundment, although leeches remained relatively constant. Exceptions to this general pattern occurred. Incidence of ichthyoparasites with indirect life cycles (digenetic trematodes, cestodes, acanthocephalans, and nematodes) decreased immediately following impoundment with subsequent increases to a point equal or above that of preimpoundment, although exceptions occurred. Time for species adaptation to the reservoir environment varied, with some species disappearing and others occurring for the first time. Diversity indices indicated that a moderate parasite community was maintained in the White River two years prior to its impoundment to form Beaver Reservoir. During the first impoundment year the parasite community declined to the lowest postimpoundment level with the abrupt change in habitat. Throughout the following four post- impoundment years the parasite community gradually increased to become much larger and more complex than it was during preimpoundment. Parasite community succession stabilization occurred in the fifth postimpoundment year and continued the following year indicating the establishment of a climax ichthyoparasite community