Long-term Impact of sewage sludge application on rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii: an evaluation using meta-analysis

The Long-Term Sludge Experiment (LTSE) began in 1994 at nine UK field sites as part of continuing research into the effects of sludge-borne heavy metals on soil fertility. The long-term effects of Zn, Cu, and Cd on the most probable numbers of cells (MPN) of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii were monitored for 8 yr in sludge-amended soils. To assess the statutory limits set by the UK Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations, the experimental data were reviewed using statistical methods of meta-analysis. Previous LTSE studies have focused predominantly on statistical significance rather than effect size, whereas meta-analysis focuses on the magnitude and direction of an effect, i.e., the practical significance rather than its statistical significance. Results showed Zn to be the most toxic element causing an overall significant decrease in Rhizobium MPN of −26.6% during the LTSE. The effect of Cu showed no significant effect on Rhizobium MPN at concentrations below the UK limits, although a −5% decrease in Rhizobium MPN was observed in soils where total Cu ranged from 100 to <135 mg kg−1. Overall, there was nothing to indicate that Cd had a significant effect on Rhizobium MPN below the current UK statutory limit. In summary, the UK statutory limit for Zn appears to be insufficient for protecting Rhizobium from Zn toxicity effects

The Dark Side of Transfer Pricing: Its Role in Tax Avoidance and Wealth Retentiveness

In conventional accounting literature, ?transfer pricing? is portrayed as a technique for optimal allocation of costs and revenues amongst divisions, subsidiaries and joint ventures within a group of related entities. Such representations of transfer pricing simultaneously acknowledge and occlude how it is deeply implicated in processes of wealth retentiveness that enable companies to avoid taxes and facilitate the flight of capital. A purely technical conception of transfer pricing calculations abstracts them from the politico-economic contexts of their development and use. The context is the modern corporation in an era of globalized trade and its relationship to state tax authorities, shareholders and other possible stakeholders. Transfer pricing practices are responsive to opportunities for determining values in ways that are consequential for enhancing private gains, and thereby contributing to relative social impoverishment, by avoiding the payment of public taxes. Evidence is provided by examining some of the transfer prices practices used by corporations to avoid taxes in developing and developed economies

An intercontinental analysis of food safety culture in view of food safety governance and national values

Taking food safety culture into account is a promising way to improve food safety performance in the food industry. Food safety culture (FS-culture) research is expanding from an organisational perspective to include characteristics of the internal and external company environment. In this study, the prevailing food safety culture in 17 food companies from four countries on three continents (Africa, Asia and Europe) was assessed in view of food safety governance and national values. The internal environment characteristics, i.e. food safety vision, food safety program and food production system vulnerability, were also assessed. Statistical analysis revealed little variation in FS-culture scores between the companies within the same country. Overall the FS- culture for Greek and Zambian companies was scored proactive, while for Chinese and Tanzanian companies an active score was achieved. Both the internal and external company environment seemed to influence the pre- vailing FS-culture. Cluster analysis showed that Tanzanian and Zambian companies exhibited similarities in the implementation of food safety programs, and in their national values and food safety governance as compared to Greece and China. Food safety governance was reflected in the food safety programs and supportiveness of the organisation to food safety and hygiene. All cultural dimensions were correlated with risk perceptions, with masculinity and long-term orientation also significantly correlated with the enabling conditions and attitude. Understanding how national values and food safety governance approaches differently influence food safety culture is expected to enable formulation of best approaches tailored for companies operating in countries with different company environments, to improve food safety performance

Modelling the impacts of agricultural management practices on river water quality in Eastern England

Agricultural diffuse water pollution remains a notable global pressure on water quality, posing risks to aquatic ecosystems, human health and water resources and as a result legislation has been introduced in many parts of the world to protect water bodies. Due to their efficiency and cost-effectiveness, water quality models have been increasingly applied to catchments as Decision Support Tools (DSTs) to identify mitigation options that can be introduced to reduce agricultural diffuse water pollution and improve water quality. In this study, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to the River Wensum catchment in eastern England with the aim of quantifying the long-term impacts of potential changes to agricultural management practices on river water quality. Calibration and validation were successfully performed at a daily time-step against observations of discharge, nitrate and total phosphorus obtained from high-frequency water quality monitoring within the Blackwater sub-catchment, covering an area of 19.6 km2. A variety of mitigation options were identified and modelled, both singly and in combination, and their long-term effects on nitrate and total phosphorus losses were quantified together with the 95% uncertainty range of model predictions. Results showed that introducing a red clover cover crop to the crop rotation scheme applied within the catchment reduced nitrate losses by 19.6%. Buffer strips of 2 m and 6 m width represented the most effective options to reduce total phosphorus losses, achieving reductions of 12.2% and 16.9%, respectively. This is one of the first studies to quantify the impacts of agricultural mitigation options on long-term water quality for nitrate and total phosphorus at a daily resolution, in addition to providing an estimate of the uncertainties of those impacts. The results highlighted the need to consider multiple pollutants, the degree of uncertainty associated with model predictions and the risk of unintended pollutant impacts when evaluating the effectiveness of mitigation options, and showed that high-frequency water quality datasets can be applied to robustly calibrate water quality models, creating DSTs that are more effective and reliable

Precision, time, and cost: a comparison of three sampling designs in an emergency setting

The conventional method to collect data on the health, nutrition, and food security status of a population affected by an emergency is a 30 × 30 cluster survey. This sampling method can be time and resource intensive and, accordingly, may not be the most appropriate one when data are needed rapidly for decision making. In this study, we compare the precision, time and cost of the 30 × 30 cluster survey with two alternative sampling designs: a 33 × 6 cluster design (33 clusters, 6 observations per cluster) and a 67 × 3 cluster design (67 clusters, 3 observations per cluster). Data for each sampling design were collected concurrently in West Darfur, Sudan in September-October 2005 in an emergency setting. Results of the study show the 30 × 30 design to provide more precise results (i.e. narrower 95% confidence intervals) than the 33 × 6 and 67 × 3 design for most child-level indicators. Exceptions are indicators of immunization and vitamin A capsule supplementation coverage which show a high intra-cluster correlation. Although the 33 × 6 and 67 × 3 designs provide wider confidence intervals than the 30 × 30 design for child anthropometric indicators, the 33 × 6 and 67 × 3 designs provide the opportunity to conduct a LQAS hypothesis test to detect whether or not a critical threshold of global acute malnutrition prevalence has been exceeded, whereas the 30 × 30 design does not. For the household-level indicators tested in this study, the 67 × 3 design provides the most precise results. However, our results show that neither the 33 × 6 nor the 67 × 3 design are appropriate for assessing indicators of mortality. In this field application, data collection for the 33 × 6 and 67 × 3 designs required substantially less time and cost than that required for the 30 × 30 design. The findings of this study suggest the 33 × 6 and 67 × 3 designs can provide useful time- and resource-saving alternatives to the 30 × 30 method of data collection in emergency settings

Patterns of presence and concentration of pesticides in the main course of the Júcar River (Eastern Spain)

The Júcar River, in a typical Mediterranean Basin, is expected to suffer a decline in water quality and quantity as a consequence of the climate change. This study is focused on the presence and distribution of pesticides in water and fish, using the first extensive optimization and application of the QuEChERS method to determine pesticides in river fish. Majority pesticides in water -in terms of presence and concentration- were dichlofenthion, chlorfenvinphos, imazalil, pyriproxyfen and prochloraz (associated with a frequent use in farming activities), as well as buprofezin, chlopyriphos and hexythiaxoz. In fish, the main compounds were azinphos-ethyl, chlorpyriphos, diazinon, dimethoate and ethion. The analysis of bio-concentration in fish indicated differences by species. The maximum average concentration was detected in European eel (a critically endangered fish species). The wide presence of pesticides in water and fish suggests potential severe effects on fish populations and other biota in future scenarios of climate change, in a river basin with several endemic and endangered fish species. The potential effects of pesticides in combination with multiple stressors require further research to prioritize the management of specific chemicals and suggest effective restoration actions at the basin scale.This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness with the project SCARCE (Consolider-Ingenio 2010 CSD2009-00065). Authors also thank the help of the confederacion Hidrografica del Jucar (Gobierno de Esparia) which provided environmental data, and to all the colleagues who collaborated in sampling campaigns, R. Munoz-Mas, R.M.S. Costa and J.D. Alcaraz-Hernandez.Belenguer, V.; Martinez-Capel, F.; Masiá, A.; Picó, Y. (2014). Patterns of presence and concentration of pesticides in the main course of the Júcar River (Eastern Spain). Journal of Hazardous Materials. 265:271-279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.11.016S27127926

The decreased molar ratio of phytate:zinc improved zinc nutriture in South Koreans for the past 30 years (1969-1998)

For the assessment of representative and longitudinal Zn nutriture in South Koreans, Zn, phytate and Ca intakes were determined using four consecutive years of food consumption data taken from Korean National Nutrition Survey Report (KNNSR) every 10 years during 1969-1998. The nutrient intake data are presented for large city and rural areas. Zn intake of South Koreans in both large city and rural areas was low during 1969-1988 having values between 4.5-5.6 mg/d, after then increased to 7.4 (91% Estimated Average Requirements for Koreans, EAR = 8.1 mg/d) and 6.7 mg/d (74% EAR) in 1998 in large city and rural areas, respectively. In 1968, Zn intake was unexpectedly higher in rural areas due to higher grain consumption, but since then until 1988 Zn intake was decreased and increased back in 1998. Food sources for Zn have shifted from plants to a variety of animal products. Phytate intake of South Koreans during 1969-1978 was high mainly due to the consumption of grains and soy products which are major phytate sources, but decreased in 1998. The molar ratios of phytate:Zn and millimmolar ratio of phytate×Ca:Zn were decreased due to the decreased phytate intake in South Koreans, which implies higher zinc bioavailability. The study results suggest that Zn nutriture has improved by increased dietary Zn intakes and the decreased molar ratio of phytate:Zn in South Koreans in both large city and rural areas

Forest regeneration on European sheep pasture is an economically viable climate change mitigation strategy

Livestock production uses 37% of land globally and is responsible for 15% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Yet livestock farmers across Europe receive billions of dollars in annual subsidies to support their livelihoods. This study evaluates whether diverting European subsidies into the restoration of trees on abandoned farmland represents a cost-effective negative-emissions strategy for mitigating climate change. Focusing on sheep farming in the United Kingdom, and on natural regeneration and planted native forests, we show that, without subsidies, sheep farming is not profitable when farmers are paid for their labour. Despite the much lower productivity of upland farms, upland and lowland farms are financially comparable per hectare. Conversion to 'carbon forests' is possible via natural regeneration when close to existing trees, which are seed sources. This strategy is financially viable without subsidies, meeting the net present value of poorly performing sheep farming at a competitive $4/tCO2eq. If tree planting is required to establish forests, then ~$55/tCO2eq is needed to break-even, making it uneconomical under current carbon market prices without financial aid to cover establishment costs. However, this break-even price is lower than the theoretical social value of carbon ($68/tCO2eq), which represents the economic cost of CO2 emissions to society. The viability of land-use conversion without subsidies therefore depends on low farm performance, strong likelihood of natural regeneration, and high carbon-market price, plus overcoming potential trade-offs between the cultural and social values placed on pastoral livestock systems and climate change mitigation. The morality of subsidising farming practices that cause high greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, whilst spending billions annually on protecting forest carbon in less developed nations to slow climate change is questionable

A review of the rural-digital policy agenda from a community resilience perspective

© 2016 The Authors This paper utilises a community resilience framework to critically examine the digital-rural policy agenda. Rural areas are sometimes seen as passive and static, set in contrast to the mobility of urban, technological and globalisation processes (Bell et al., 2010). In response to notions of rural decline (McManus et al., 2012) rural resilience literature posits rural communities as ‘active,’ and ‘proactive’ about their future (Skerratt, 2013), developing processes for building capacity and resources. We bring together rural development and digital policy-related literature, using resilience motifs developed from recent academic literature, including community resilience, digital divides, digital inclusion, and rural information and communication technologies (ICTs). Whilst community broadband initiatives have been linked to resilience (Plunkett-Carnegie, 2012; Heesen et al., 2013) digital inclusion, and engagement with new digital technologies more broadly, have not. We explore this through three resilience motifs: resilience as multi-scalar; as entailing normative assumptions; and as integrated and place-sensitive. We point to normative claims about the capacity of digital technology to aid rural development, to offer solutions to rural service provision and the challenges of implementing localism. Taking the UK as a focus, we explore the various scales at which this is evident, from European to UK country-level