Leaching of phthalate acid esters from plastic mulch films and their degradation in response to UV irradiation and contrasting soil conditions

Phthalate acid esters (PAEs) are commonly used plastic additives, not chemically bound to the plastic that migrate into surrounding environments, posing a threat to environmental and human health. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) are two common PAEs found in agricultural soils, where degradation is attributed to microbial decomposition. Yet the impact of the plastic matrix on PAE degradation rates is poorly understood. Using 14C-labelled DBP and DEHP we show that migration from the plastic matrix into soil represents a key rate limiting step in their bioavailability and subsequent degradation. Incorporating PAEs into plastic film decreased their degradation in soil, DBP (DEHP) from 79% to 21% (9% to <1%), over four months when compared to direct application of PAEs. Mimicking surface soil conditions, we demonstrated that exposure to ultraviolet radiation accelerated PAE mineralisation twofold. Turnover of PAE was promoted by the addition of biosolids, while the presence of plants and other organic residues failed to promote degradation. We conclude that PAEs persist in soil for longer than previously thought due to physical trapping within the plastic matrix, suggesting PAEs released from plastics over very long time periods lead to increasing levels of contamination

Fisheries interactions of Delphinus delphis in the north-east Atlantic with an emphasis on Galicia, north-west Spain.

Bycatch from interactions with fisherie s remains the biggest global threat to marine mammals. Galicia, north - west Spain, is one of the world’s main fishing regions and a high level of cetacean - fisheries interactions has been reported from on - board observers, interviews with fisheries stakeholde rs and analysis of stranded and by - caught carcasses. Delphinus delphis is the most abundant cetacean in the area and since 1990 necropsies of over 1800 stranded and by - caught Delphinus have been conducted. Life history data (age, maturity, and pregnancy ra te data) from stranded and by - caught cetaceans can be used to construct life tables and to estimate overall mortality and fisheries mortality rates. Age and maturity were determined from stranded and by - caught Delphinus between 1990 and 2009. Males and fem ales reach sexual maturity at 8.5 and 7.5 years of age, respectively, and no temporal difference in age at sexual maturity was observed. Results indicate 13% annual mortality in the Delphinus delphis north - east Atlantic population and necropsy data suggest s that 60% of mortality (i.e. 7.2% annual mortality) is attributable to fisheries interactions, predominantly from pair trawls and gillnets. By - caught Delphinus were found to die significantly younger than non - by - caught animals (p=<0.001) although no sex - r elated difference in bycatch rate was observed (p=0.051). The estimated annual mortality due to fisheries interactions greatly exceeds the 2% limit set by ASCOBANS and the IWC and high bycatch rates are also reported for other countries e.g. the UK, France and Portugal. Although Delphinus delphis in the north - east Atlantic is one continuous population, the high level of bycatch occurring in parts of the range is most likely unsustainable and will be discussed. There is a need to carry out on - board monitorin g, notably in the north - west Iberian Peninsula (Galicia and Portugal), to incorporate cetacean bycatch into fisheries advice and, above all, to start introducing mitigation measures

A Systematic Review of Autistic People and the Criminal Justice System: An Update of King and Murphy (2014)

The purpose of this paper was to determine whether recommendations made by King & Murphy (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 44:2717–2733, 2014) in their review of the evidence on autistic people in contact with the criminal justice system (CJS) have been addressed. Research published since 2013 was systematically examined and synthesised. The quality of 47 papers was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Findings suggest a limited amount of good quality research has been conducted that has focused on improving our understanding of autistic people in contact with the CJS since 2013. Methodological limitations make direct comparisons between autistic and non-autistic offenders difficult. Autistic people commit a range of crimes and appear to have unique characteristics that warrant further exploration (i.e., vulnerabilities, motivations for offending)

Choosing how to choose : Institutional pressures affecting the adoption of personnel selection procedures

The gap between science and practice in personnel selection is an ongoing concern of human resource management. This paper takes Oliver´s framework of organizations´ strategic responses to institutional pressures as a basis for outlining the diverse economic and social demands that facilitate or inhibit the application of scientifically recommended selection procedures. Faced with a complex network of multiple requirements, practitioners make more diverse choices in response to any of these pressures than has previously been acknowledged in the scientific literature. Implications for the science-practitioner gap are discussed