An overview of environmental issues in Southern Africa

This paper provides an overview of some of the significant environmental problems in the Southern African region. The key problems highlighted are global warming and climate variability, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, desertification-land degradation, waste and littering, population growth, urbanization, pollution, poverty and health hazards. These problems present a challenge to governments and other players within and outside Southern Africa to seek for long-term solutions by addressing the root causes of these problems. The paper notes that although the environmental problems facing the Southern African region are being tackled at national, regional and international levels, there is more that can be done. At the national level, the different agencies and players, both within and outside government need to strengthen coordination and implementation of key interventions in different sectors in both rural and urban areas. At the African regional and international levels, there is a need to address geopolitical forces and issues that contribute to the underdevelopment of the African region. Among the major issues are poor terms of international trade, political instability, poverty, declining economic performance and international debt.     

Karma, reincarnation, and medicine: Hindu perspectives on biomedical research

Prior to the completion of the Human Genome Project, bioethicists and other academics debated the impact of this new genetic information on medicine, health care, group identification, and peoples’ lives. A major issue is the potential for unintended and intended adverse consequences to groups and individuals. When conducting research in, for instance, American Indian and Alaskan native (AI/AN) populations, political, cultural, religious and historical issues must be considered. Among African Americans, the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment is a reminder of racism and discrimination in this country. The goal of the current study is to understand reasons for participating, or not, in genetic research such as the HapMap project and other genetic/medical research from the perspective of the Indian American community in Houston, Texas. In this article, we report on a topic central to this discussion among Indian Americans: karma and reincarnation. Both concepts are important beliefs when considering the body and what should happen to it. Karma and reincarnation are also important considerations in participation in medical and genetic research because, according to karma, what is done to the body can affect future existences and the health of future descendants. Such views of genetic and medical research are culturally mediated. Spiritual beliefs about the body, tissue, and fluids and what happens to them when separated from the body can influence ideas about the utility and acceptability of genetic research and thereby affect the recruitment process. Within this community it is understood that genetic and environmental factors contribute to complex diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer; and acknowledgment of the significance of environmental stressors in the production of disease. A commitment to service, i.e. “betterment of humanity,” karmic beliefs, and targeting environmental stressors could be prominent avenues for public health campaigns in this population. This study suggests that minority status does not automatically indicate unwillingness to participate in genetic or medical research. Indian Americans were not skeptical about the potential benefits of biomedical research in comparison to other ethnic minority communities in the United States.     

Adolescent motivation to attend youth programs: A mixed-methods investigation

Research suggests that adolescents can benefit from participating in youth programs; however, recruitment and retention are challenging for many programs, and youth living in low-income, urban areas can be the hardest to reach. We investigated motivation to attend a neighborhood-based program for urban adolescents. Participants completed questionnaires (N = 141, M age = 16.6, 88% African American), and a subsample (n = 34) also participated in face-to-face interviews. Findings suggest that although content is the primary surface driver of attendance for most youth, a large majority of youth would choose to retain staff and peers over content, and that staff and content reasons are intertwined. Attending for peer reasons was negatively associated with attendance frequency. Cluster analysis suggested five patterns of reasons for continued participation, which were related to overall program motivation and attendance frequency. Implications for programs include focusing on providing quality content while recognizing the importance of strong youth-staff relationships.     

The Ethical Conduct of Studies Involving Controlled Human Exposure to Environmental Pollutants

In recent years, the concern for human research subject protection has increased markedly in the United States. The nature of research subject participation in controlled-exposure environmental health research is such that the individual subject bears the risk of participation, while the benefits of such research accrue to society. Therefore, particular attention must be paid when designing studies to protect the health and safety of human research subject. This paper outlines principles for the appropriate selection of pollutants to which humans can be exposed, and the principles that should be used to protect the health and safety of human research subject.     

The relative significance of environmental and anthropogenic factors affecting zooplankton community structure in Southeast Wisconsin Till Plain lakes

Zooplankton community composition can be related to natural environmental factors such as lake morphology, lake landscape position, and water chemistry as well as anthropogenic factors such as agricultural and urban land-use. We hypothesized that within-lake factors, such as water chemistry, lake morphology, and human land-use would each be related to zooplankton community structure, but that watershed land-use would be the strongest correlate in southeast Wisconsin lakes. Zooplankton samples, collected every 3 months over a year, from 29 lakes were used to determine how lake and watershed morphology, water quality, and land-use were related to zooplankton community structure in the heavily developed Southeast Wisconsin Till Plain Ecoregion. Forward selection and a variation partitioning procedure were used to determine relative and shared contributions of each suite of variables in predicting zooplankton community structure. Redundancy analysis was used to characterize dominant gradients in pelagic zooplankton communities and related environmental factors and land-use. The major correlates of community structure included summer phosphorus, lake depth and surface area and urban and natural land. Variation partitioning illustrated that phosphorus alone accounts for the greatest part (12%) of community structure. Urban land-uses (residential, commercial and paved land) and lake morphology partially explain zooplankton community variation through combined effects with phosphorus. Small cladocerans and Skistodiaptomus pallidus were associated with higher phosphorus, shallow depth and higher urban land-use, while Daphnia pulicaria dominates in deep lakes with lower phosphorus and less urban land-use. This study contributes to the understanding of factors affecting zooplankton community structure in a largely human developed region and illustrates the importance of eutrophication in structuring zooplankton community composition.     

The biological and chemical contents of atmospheric particulate matter and implication of its role in the transmission of bacterial pathogenesis

Atmospheric particulate matter (APM) is an environmental hazard that endangers human health and causes a variety of diseases. In this work, the microbial community composition, chemical element composition and antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG) prevalence, along with their relationships with environmental parameters were analysed using APM samples collected in Jinan, China. Pathogenic Klebsiella and Aeromonas were found to be significantly correlated with PM_2.5 and temperature, suggesting their proliferation on APM. PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ have similar microbial community compositions but different chemical element compositions, suggesting they have different origins, which have little impact on microbial community structures. This finding, together with analysis of the timing of microbial community structure changes, suggests that microbial community composition is impacted by anthropic activities. Further investigations showed that rare metals including lanthanides are significantly negatively correlated with pathogens in APM, suggesting their inhibitory role. ARGs were observed for every class of antibiotic except for carbapenems in APM, suggesting high ARG prevalence in APM, and APM functions in transmission of antimicrobial resistance. Results obtained in this study suggest that APM can act as a transmission vehicle for pathogenic bacteria and ARGs and lead to the implication of a new transmission route for bacterial pathogenesis by APM.     

Ethical, legal and social issues of genetically modifying insect vectors for public health

The use of genetically modified (GM) insects for control of human disease can be consistent with common ethical norms of international society to reduce human suffering. This paper considers a range of ethical issues including animal rights, informed consent, community consensus and environmental viewpoints. Each community needs to decide its own priorities for methodology of disease policy guidance for ethical genetic engineering, and to negotiate with neighbouring countries. The approach to genetically modify insects raises few intrinsic ethical issues; however, important environmental and human health concerns need to be assessed before release of any GM insects. The policy that each community adopts should be the product of open dialogue involving all sectors of society. It can be expected that this process will take years and not all communities will endorse genetic control approaches to insect vectors.     

Reconciling female genital circumcision with universal human rights

One of the most challenging issues in cross‐cultural bioethics concerns the long‐standing socio‐cultural practice of female genital circumcision (FGC), which is prevalent in many African countries and the Middle East as well as in some Asian and Western countries. It is commonly assumed that FGC, in all its versions, constitutes a gross violation of the universal human rights of health, physical integrity, and individual autonomy and hence should be abolished. This article, however, suggests a mediating approach according to which one form of FGC, the removal of the clitoris foreskin, can be made compatible with the high demands of universal human rights. The argument presupposes the idea that human rights are not absolutist by nature but can be framed in a meaningful, culturally sensitive way. It proposes important limiting conditions that must be met for the practice of FGC to be considered in accordance with the human rights agenda.     

Urban Stormwater Runoff Drives Denitrifying Community Composition Through Changes in Sediment Texture and Carbon Content

The export of nitrogen from urban catchments is a global problem, and denitrifying bacteria in stream ecosystems are critical for reducing in-stream N. However, the environmental factors that control the composition of denitrifying communities in streams are not well understood. We determined whether denitrifying community composition in sediments of nine streams on the eastern fringe of Melbourne, Australia was correlated with two measures of catchment urban impact: effective imperviousness (EI, the proportion of a catchment covered by impervious surfaces with direct connection to streams) or septic tank density (which affects stream water chemistry, particularly stream N concentrations). Denitrifying community structure was examined by comparing terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms of nosZ genes in the sediments, as the nosZ gene codes for nitrous oxide reductase, the last step in the denitrification pathway. We also determined the chemical and physical characteristics of the streams that were best correlated with denitrifying community composition. EI was strongly correlated with community composition and sediment physical and chemical properties, while septic tank density was not. Sites with high EI were sandier, with less fine sediment and lower organic carbon content, higher sediment cations (calcium, sodium and magnesium) and water filterable reactive phosphorus concentrations. These were also the best small-scale environmental variables that explained denitrifying community composition. Among our study streams, which differed in the degree of urban stormwater impact, sediment grain size and carbon content are the most likely drivers of change in community composition. Denitrifying community composition is another in a long list of ecological indicators that suggest the profound degradation of streams is caused by urban stormwater runoff. While the relationships between denitrifying community composition and denitrification rates are yet to be unequivocally established, landscape-scale indices of environmental impact such as EI may prove to be useful indicators of change in microbial communities.     

The composition and abundance of phytoplankton in Lake Bukoni,western Uganda

Lake Bukoni is one of the crater lakes in western Uganda. Investigations into this lake is limited compared to other African lakes. Data on phytoplankton ecology in the lake are lacking. Phytoplankton consists of a community of photosynthetic, microscopic plants adapted to suspension in water. They constitute ‘hidden flora’ which make an important contribution to the primary productivity of a water mass. Some phytoplankton taxa, among them species belonging to Cyanophyta, are known to influence ecological transformations and to cause health hazards in water bodies that are used by humans. From July 2004 to December 2005, phytoplankton was collected from two sites (inshore and offshore) in Lake Bukoni. An inverted microscope, Sedgwick counting chamber and multiple tally denominator were used to quantify the phytoplankton. Phytoplankton was dominated by nonheterocystous cyanoprokaryotes especially Lyllgbya limnetica followed by the diatoms Synedra ulna and Fragillaria mutabilis. The inshore site had more phytoplankton species. Differences in phytoplankton diversity and density were mainly attributed to mixing and presence of macrophytes. The occurrence of large numbers of cyanoprokaryotes poses a potential health hazard to the local people who utilize the water from Lake Bukoni. The dominance of cyanoprokaryotes might result in ecological transformations like loss of biodiversity.     

Keeping the faith: African American faith leaders' perspectives and recommendations for reducing racial disparities in HIV/AIDS infection

In Philadelphia, 66% of new HIV infections are among African Americans and 2% of African Americans are living with HIV. The city of Philadelphia has among the largest numbers of faith institutions of any city in the country. Although faith-based institutions play an important role in the African American community, their response to the AIDS epidemic has historically been lacking. We convened 38 of Philadelphia's most influential African American faith leaders for in-depth interviews and focus groups examining the role of faith-based institutions in HIV prevention. Participants were asked to comment on barriers to engaging faith-based leaders in HIV prevention and were asked to provide normative recommendations for how African American faith institutions can enhance HIV/AIDS prevention and reduce racial disparities in HIV infection. Many faith leaders cited lack of knowledge about Philadelphia's racial disparities in HIV infection as a common reason for not previously engaging in HIV programs; others noted their congregations' existing HIV prevention and outreach programs and shared lessons learned. Barriers to engaging the faith community in HIV prevention included: concerns about tacitly endorsing extramarital sex by promoting condom use, lack of educational information appropriate for a faith-based audience, and fear of losing congregants and revenue as a result of discussing human sexuality and HIV/AIDS from the pulpit. However, many leaders expressed a moral imperative to respond to the AIDS epidemic, and believed clergy should play a greater role in HIV prevention. Many participants noted that controversy surrounding homosexuality has historically divided the faith community and prohibited an appropriate response to the epidemic; many expressed interest in balancing traditional theology with practical public health approaches to HIV prevention. Leaders suggested the faith community should: promote HIV testing, including during or after worship services and in clinical settings; integrate HIV/AIDS topics into health messaging and sermons; couch HIV/AIDS in social justice, human rights and public health language rather than in sexual risk behavior terms; embrace diverse approaches to HIV prevention in their houses of worship; conduct community outreach and host educational sessions for youth; and collaborate on a citywide, interfaith HIV testing and prevention campaign to combat stigma and raise awareness about the African American epidemic. Many African American faith-based leaders are poised to address racial disparities in HIV infection. HIV prevention campaigns should integrate leaders' recommendations for tailoring HIV prevention for a faith-based audience.     

城市社区与乡镇卫生院医务人员工作倦怠情况分析

目的 分析基层医疗卫生机构中的城市社区卫生服务中心与乡镇卫生院医务人员的工作倦怠情况及影响因素,探讨两类机构中医务人员倦怠的水平差异。方法 采用Maslach职业倦怠普适量表（MBI-GS）对东北某地区城市社区卫生服务中心及乡镇卫生院进行问卷调查。结果 城市社区卫生服务中心医务人员工作倦怠检出率为27.8%,工作倦怠程度影响因素是学历、职称、工资收入和绩效方案合理性。乡镇卫生院工作倦怠检出率为34.1%,倦怠程度主要受性别、工作时间、工作量和工资收入影响。结论 乡镇卫生院较城市社区卫生服务中心医务人员的工作倦怠感严重,应引起有关管理部门的重视并采取相应的干预措施。     

城市景观格局视角下空气微生物研究进展

城市化进程将原有自然生态系统改造为以不透水面为主的人工景观,这种变化影响了空气微生物群落的生存环境及其时空异质性。空气微生物受城市化的影响程度与其生态功能的发挥关系密切,微生物群落特征的改变会在一定程度上影响当地生态环境质量并给人群健康带来潜在威胁。城市化进程和空气微生物群落动态分属两个时空尺度差异巨大的生态过程,二者的联合分析已成为目前生态安全与环境健康领域的研究热点。从空气微生物的来源及其组成特征、空气微生物群落的时空异质性及其影响因素以及空气微生物的生态环境效应三个方面系统梳理和总结了近年来探索城市化和空气微生物群落动态之间关系的研究,从宏观视角探讨了当前空气微生物研究的不足,并引入社会-经济-自然复合生态系统、景观格局与过程等相关理论和方法来分析城市化对空气微生物群落特征的影响,旨在明确城市景观格局作用下的空气微生物群落对人群健康的潜在威胁程度,为快速城市化过程中的人居环境的改善提供参考。     

典型社区家庭消费碳排放特征与影响因素——以北京市为例

家庭消费碳排放是中国碳排放总量的重要组成部分,已成为碳排放增长的主要驱动力,从消费角度研究家庭碳排量特征及影响因素对家庭碳减排和低碳社区建设有重要意义。使用碳排放系数法和消费者生活方式法计算北京市5种典型社区家庭消费月均碳排量,通过最优尺度回归和多重比较分析对不同社区家庭碳排放影响因素进行探究。研究发现：北京市5种社区户均碳排放总量及构成差异显著,影响因素不一致。其中：（1）平房类社区家庭直接碳排量732.26 kgCO₂/月高于其他社区,燃煤取暖是平房社区家庭直接碳排放高的主要因素,单位社区、政策性住房社区和商品房社区家庭直接碳排量较低,约50.00 kgCO₂/月。家庭类型显著影响每个社区家庭直接碳排量,家庭积极参与节能环保活动有利于减少家庭直接碳排放;（2）商品房社区家庭间接碳排量最高,达3879.06 kgCO₂/月,平房类社区家庭最低,间接碳排量仅为商品房社区的1/3,间接碳排放是家庭生活消费碳排放的主体。食品和居住消费产生的间接碳排量较高,老龄化社区家庭医疗保健消费碳排量更高;（3）家庭类型和月总收入对所有社区家庭间接碳排量影响显著,但社区环保工作满意度、社区环境满意度、家庭节能环保活动参与度、耐用品使用年限等因素影响程度存在差异,胡同社区和平房类社区中受教育水平高的家庭产生的间接碳排量更高,需积极灌输环保理念。进一步分析了主要影响因素在不同水平下对应的家庭碳排量差异程度与变化规律,有助于社区管理者识别高碳排家庭,为社区低碳管理提供新思路。     

Urbanization in Southeast Asia: Assessing Policy Process and Progress toward Sustainability

In investigating the relationship between urbanization and sustainability in cities of developing countries, many researchers have looked to rising incomes as a driver for environmental improvement. This article challenges the transition and evolutionary models of urban environmental development that suggest that as cities grow in per capita income, their local environmental problems will diminish. The transition model is outcomes-based, and a competing model based on greater attention to participation in setting sustainability goals and assessing the progress toward those goals is presented.
Consensus on appropriate sustainability indicators is a key element, albeit a challenging one, in the task of pursuing urban sustainability. This is due to the contested nature of the concept of sustainability and also the fact that much of the work done on sustainability has been conducted among countries or on a national scale. A brief review of health, urban transport, air quality, and sewerage indicators suggests that cities do not necessarily see more progress as the per capita income increases. Low-income cities in Southeast Asia that are performing well are likely to see a deterioration in standards with rapid economic and population growth.     

基于生态系统服务供需的景感尺度特征分析和应用

自然生态系统与人类感知的交互作用是景感生态学关注的焦点,与生态系统服务的供需紧密关联。生态系统、生态过程、生态系统服务以及人的需求均具有一定的时空尺度特征,因此,由这些过程产生的"景感"也具有时空尺度特征,并依赖于这个过程的尺度特征相互作用。梳理生态系统服务供需关系与景感营造规划的尺度特征,探索二者相互联系,进而提出基于景感生态学理论,通过景感营造实现生态系统服务供需平衡的多尺度实现路径。从空间维度,体现从"社区-城市-流域-区域"的多尺度景感规划框架,从应用维度,体现从生态系统服务需求探索-关键指标体系识别-多源谜码数据感知-景感营造与规划设计的具体流程。通过多尺度的联合景感营造,调整自然供给水平与人类不同尺度的生态系统服务需求以期达到平衡,从而实现人类生存环境福利与居民福祉提升的目标。在此基础上,结合雄安新区规划建设实例,从多尺度景感营造的角度为城市绿色生态建设与可持续发展提出优化建议。主要结论:(1)基于"社区-城市-流域-区域"的多尺度景感分析框架,将景感要素与生态系统服务供需思想融入城市规划,在不同尺度上趋善优化,对于实现可持续发展城市规划和管理具有重要指示意义;(2)雄安新...     

Common species have lower taxonomic diversity Evidence from the urban floras of Brussels and Rome

The species pool hypothesis claims that the large‐scale regional species pool is the chief parameter in determining small‐scale species richness through filtering of species that can persist within a community on the basis of their tolerance of the abiotic environment. Accordingly, different environmental conditions give rise to different species assemblages. From a taxonomic perspective, under the assumption of trait conservatism, co‐occurring species that experience similar environmental conditions are likely to be more taxonomically similar than ecologically distant species. The next step consists in understanding how commonness and rarity of individual species produce the observed taxonomic diversity. In this paper, the importance of environmental filtering in regulating the taxonomic structure of rare and common plant species in the urban floras of Brussels (Belgium) and Rome (Italy) is tested. First, we computed the taxonomic diversity of the rare and common species of Brussels and Rome based on the branching topology of the Linnaean taxonomic trees. Next, using a randomization procedure, we determined whether the taxonomic diversity of the rare species was significantly higher than the diversity of the common species. Results show that, for both urban floras, common species that shape the community matrix and experience similar environmental conditions have a taxonomic diversity that is significantly lower than that of the rare species that represent a relatively incidental set of species of more ‘disperse’ origin. Finally, from a conservation/management perspective our results imply that, given their high taxonomic heterogeneity, the protection of rare species is a central issue for preserving high levels of diversity in urban areas.     

Abundance and diversity of eukaryotic rather than bacterial community relate closely to the trophic level of urban lakes

Scientific understanding of biotic effects on the water trophic level is lacking for urban lakes during algal bloom development stage. Based on the Illumina MiSeq sequencing, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and multiple statistical analyses, we estimated distribution patterns and ecological roles of planktonic bacteria and eukaryotes in urban lakes during algal bloom development stage (i.e., April, May, and June). Cyanobacteria and Chlorophyta mainly dominated algal blooms. Bacteria exhibited significantly higher absolute abundance and community diversity than eukaryotes, whereas abundance and diversity of eukaryotic rather than bacterial community relate closely to the water trophic level. Multinutrient cycling (MNC) index was significantly correlated with eukaryotic diversity rather than bacterial diversity. Stronger species replacement, broader environmental breadth, and stronger phylogenetic signal were found for eukaryotic community than for bacterial community. In contrast, bacterial community displayed stronger community stability and environmental constraint than eukaryotic community. Stochastic and differentiating processes contributed more to community assemblies of bacteria and eukaryotes. Our results emphasized that a strong linkage between planktonic diversity and MNC ensured a close relationship between planktonic diversity and the water trophic level of urban lakes. Our findings could be useful to guide the formulation and implementation of environmental lake protection measures.     

上海环城林带保健功能评价及其机制

选取上海环城林带典型的植物群落,分别在夏季和冬季对群落的温湿度调节、负离子提升、抑菌、降噪和大气净化等保健功能进行测定和评价;同时结合群落结构因子,分析群落结构与保健功能之间的关系,并探讨了群落物种组成和结构特征对保健功能的影响,以期揭示群落保健功能发挥的机制.结果表明:夏季,落叶针叶林池杉群落除抑菌功能以外,在其他保健功能上均具有较好的效果,而落叶阔叶林全缘叶栾树群落和悬铃木群落效果较差,其他类型的群落居中;冬季,常绿阔叶林女贞群落在各种保健功能方面均具有较好的效果,其次为常绿落叶阔叶混交林的全缘叶栾树+香樟群落和杂交杨+香樟群落,其他类型的群落效果较差.群落各种保健功能与群落结构特征的相关性分析表明,叶面积指数和郁闭度在夏冬两季均与多种保健功能呈显著正相关,是指示群落保健功能优劣的重要结构因子.研究结果表明人工森林群落的保健功能可通过调整群落结构来提升,为城市森林的群落建构与管理提供了科学依据.