Green schools that teach: identifying attributes of whole-school sustainability

2011 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.The combination of green school design, green organizational behavior, and aligned educational goals sets the stage for the attributes of green schools to become teaching tools. School facilities, whether functioning well or not, serve as powerful pedagogical 'instruments'. If the power of these attributes as "three-dimensional textbooks" was harnessed the impact on learning for the next generation of students would be limitless. This research study focused on five LEED certified green schools promoting sustainability through building design, operations, and curriculum. Participating schools were LEED certified and offered a formal environmental education program. The purpose of the study was to explore the combination of attributes leading to success in developing a methodology for best practices resulting in a model for whole-school sustainability. This model can be used as a tool for those seeking to establish whole school sustainability informing the development of 'green schools that teach' at local, national, and international levels. Participants (N = 77) included school principals and administrators, parents, community members, teachers, and support staff with building professionals responded to an e-survey relevant to sustainability integration: design process approach, organizational behavior, guiding educational philosophies, and the role of the building and grounds in curriculum. Responses provided an illustration of whole school sustainability in action. Shared sustainable values among stakeholders formed a supportive culture informing decisions about facility design and curriculum and guided the whole-school sustainability process. The physical context of participating schools reinforced successful whole-school sustainability through hands-on learning opportunities for students and physical representation of the entity's values. Finally, the alignment of sustainability values within culture, curriculum, and facility operations was found to be critical to the success of whole-school sustainability

Rethinking Biodiversity Conservation in an Era of Climate Change: Evaluating Adaptation in Canada’s Protected Areas

Protected areas worldwide face significant threats from rapid climatic and associated ecological change. The need to adapt to the impacts of climate change on biodiversity has been widely acknowledged for two decades; however, meaningful and effective adaptation within protected area agencies and organizations remains a widespread challenge. Given realized and projected future climate-induced ecological changes, conservation policy and practice in protected areas needs to be more proactive to adapt to changing climate conditions to preserve biodiversity. In light of this pervasive problem, the purpose of this dissertation is to review and advance climate change adaptation in and across Canada’s protected areas organizations. To do this, I examined the current state of adaptation within Canada’s protected areas organizations (Chapter 2), engaged practitioners working at the protected area site level to identify and evaluate adaptation options (Chapter 3), and examined the adaptation readiness of protected area organizations to identify strengths, challenges, and opportunies for capacity development (Chapter 4). First, a survey was distributed to provincial, territorial, and federal governments as well as environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) working in conservation in Canada (n=49). This survey revealed that little progress on adaptation in Canada’s protected areas sector from 2006 to 2018 has been made despite greater certainty about climate change impacts and climate change being considered pertinent to protected area planning and management (Chapter 2). Second, through a case study at Bruce Peninsula National Park and Fathom Five National Marine Park, I found that most adaptation strategies identified by workshop participants were conventional (i.e., historically used and low risk) and direct change (i.e., aid transition towards new states) compared to the other categories (i.e., conventional/resist change, interventionist/direct change, and interventionist/resist change). Conventional strategies had the highest perceived effectiveness and feasibility ratings (Chapter 3). Third, an adaptation readiness assessment found that Bruce Peninsula National Park and Fathom Five National Marine Park have moderate overall adaptation readiness with higher readiness in terms of social-ecological systems (e.g., mapping and monitoring values) and lower readiness in terms of knowledge (i.e., knowledge management and exchange) (Chapter 4). The results of this research identified limited progress and numerous barriers to adaptation. However, the potential for progress on adaptation exists if barriers can be overcome. Recommendations to increase adaptation include enhancing knowledge mobilization and partnerships, implementing a national adaptation strategy, having a climate change champion on staff in each park, and developing more flexible conservation objectives. This dissertation contributes to our understanding of progress on adaptation within Canada, the perceived effectiveness and feasibility of adaptation options, and adaptation readiness in a protected areas context. The results of this research can be used by practitioners to advance adaptation in Canadian protected areas organizations to better achieve their long-term conservation goals

Emerging exposures of developmental toxicants

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review is to identify emerging developmental toxicants that are understudied in children's health. Exposures may arise from new products designed to improve utility, to reduce toxicity, or to replace undesirable chemicals. Exposures to less-toxic chemicals may also be significant if they are very commonly used, thereby generating widespread exposure. Sources of exposure include the workplace, personal, home, and office products; food, water, and air. RECENT FINDINGS: We describe eight exposure categories that contain numerous potential developmental toxicants. References are discussed if reported in PubMed during the past decade at least 10 times more frequently than in 1990-2000. Examples included phthalates, phenols, sunscreens, pesticides, halogenated flame retardants, perfluoroalkyl coatings, nanoparticles, e-cigarettes, and dietary polyphenols. Replacements are often close structural homologs of their precursors. We suggest biomonitoring as preferred means of exposure assessment to emerging chemicals. Some existing analytic methods would require minimal modification to measure these exposures, but others require toxicokinetic and analytic investigation. SUMMARY: A deliberate strategy for biomonitoring of emerging replacement chemicals is warranted, especially in view of concerns regarding developmental toxicity. To prevent adverse health effects, it is important to characterize such exposures before they become widely disseminated

Prenatal Exposure to Organophosphates, Paraoxonase 1, and Cognitive Development in Childhood

Background: Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides has been shown to negatively affect child neurobehavioral development. Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is a key enzyme in the metabolism of organophosphates

Bariatric Surgery Outcomes in Appalachia Influenced by Surgery Type, Diabetes, and Depression

Background Most effective treatment for morbid obesity and its comorbidities is bariatric surgery. However, research is limited on weight loss and associated outcomes among patients in Appalachia. The objective of this study was to examine demographic and comorbidity influence on surgical outcomes of this population including age, sex, race, state of residence, education, marital status, body mass index (BMI kg/m2), excess body weight (EBW), percent excess weight loss (%EWL), blood pressure, diagnosed depression, diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and laboratory values (i.e., hemoglobin A1c). Methods A retrospective electronic medical record (EMR) data extraction was performed on N = 582 patients receiving bariatric surgery (laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass [RYGB] and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy [SG]) between 10/2013 and 2/2017. Results Patient population was 92.5% Caucasian, 79.3% female, 62.8% married, 45 ± 11.1 years, 75.8% received RYGB, and 24.2% received SG. Average %EWL from baseline to 1-year follow-up was 68.5 ± 18.4% (n = 224). In final descriptive models, surgery type, diagnosed T2D, HbA1c, and depressive symptoms were significant covariates associated with lower %EWL. Conclusions Findings suggest patients completing surgery within an Appalachian region have successful surgical outcomes at 1-year post-surgery, as indicated by significant reductions of \u3e 50% EWL, regardless of other covariates. Results suggest that bariatric programs should consider paying special consideration to patients with T2D or depressive symptoms to improve outcomes. Results have potential to inform future prospective studies and aid in guiding specific interventions tailored to address needs of this unique population

Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides and reciprocal social behavior in childhood

Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides (OPs) has been associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in childhood, including low IQ, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), attention problems and ADHD. Many of these disorders involve impairments in social functioning. Thus, we investigated the relationship between biomarkers of prenatal OP exposure and impaired reciprocal social behavior in childhood, as measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Using a multi-ethnic urban prospective cohort of mother-infant pairs in New York City recruited between 1998 and 2002 (n=404) we examined the relation between third trimester maternal urinary levels of dialkylphosphate (ΣDAP) OP metabolites and SRS scores among 136 children who returned for the 7–9 year visit. Overall, there was no association between OPs and SRS scores, although in multivariate adjusted models, associations were heterogeneous by race and by sex. Among blacks, each 10-fold increase in total diethylphosphates (ΣDEP) was associated with poorer social responsiveness (β = 5.1 points, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.8, 9.4). There was no association amongst whites or Hispanics, or for total ΣDAP or total dimethylphosphate (ΣDMP) biomarker levels. Additionally, stratum-specific models supported a stronger negative association among boys for ΣDEPs (β = 3.5 points, 95% CI 0.2, 6.8), with no notable association among girls. Our results support an association of prenatal OP exposure with deficits in social functioning among blacks and among boys, although this may be in part reflective of differences in exposure patterns

A Multicenter Phase 2 Study Incorporating High-Dose Rituximab into the CODOX-M/IVAC Regimen for Untreated Burkitt’s Lymphoma (BL): Examination of Correlative Serum and CSF Rituximab Levels

Background: Two-year survival rates for adult BL remain Methods: Twenty-five BL patients were enrolled. Patients had low-risk (LR) or high-risk (HR) disease; LR patients received 3 CODOX-M cycles, while HR had 4 alternating CODOX-M/IVAC cycles (Mead et al. Blood 2009). Rituximab (500mg/m2) was given x 2 doses each cycle. Correlative analyses of paired serum and CSF Rituximab levels were obtained for cycles 1+3 at 24+72 hours. Results: There were 20 HR and 5 LR patients and median age was 44 years (range, 23-70). 3 HR and 1 LR patient were HIV+, while 15% of HR patients had CNS disease. Additionally, 35% of HR patients had bulk \u3e10 cm and 40% had bone marrow involvement. Myelosuppression and mucositis appeared comparable with prior CODOX-M/IVAC data. The overall remission rate after 2 cycles was 100% with 67% complete remission. At 34-month median follow-up, 2-year PFS and OS rates for all patients were 86% and 86%, respectively (LR 2-year PFS and OS: both 100%; HR 2-year PFS and OS: both 82%). Further, the 2-year PFS and OS for HR, HIV-negative patients were 91% and 91%, respectively (disease-specific survival 100%). Two patients died from progressive disease (both HIV+ HR). The median serum and CSF rituximab levels for these patients were compared with patients without relapse (Table 1). Interestingly, cycle 1, 24-hour serum Rituximab levels were significantly higher among patients without relapse compared with the two patients who relapsed/died (P=0.042). Cycle 3, 24-hour Rituximab levels were of borderline significance (P=0.06). Conclusions: The integration of Rituximab into CODOX-M/IVAC was associated with excellent survival rates, especially for HIV-negative BL. Further investigation of the predictive value of serum Rituximab levels is warranted