Distribution of intestinal parasitoses in relation to environmental and sociocultural parameters in La Plata,Argentina

Environmental parameters influencing the distribution of parasite species in three neighbourhoods of differing socioeconomic conditions in La Plata, Argentina were analysed. Coproparasitological screenings were performed in children up to 14 years old from a marginal zone (100), a suburban neighbourhood (101), and an urban area (91) in 1999--2000. The presence of parasite species in environmental samples (water and soil) and the degree of association among parasite communities was documented and evaluated. The prevalence of infection in each population was 73.0%, 54.4% and 35.2%, respectively. The frequencies of helminths and pathogenic protozoa were both higher in the marginal zone, where sanitary and environmental conditions were significantly inferior compared with the other zones. The high prevalence of intestinal parasites in this infantile population was related to parasitic contamination of the soil and water sources in addition to deficient sanitary and sociocultural conditions. Calculation of an equitability index revealed that the specific richness was less equitable once socioeconomic conditions and hygienic practices were improved. This study demonstrates the need to implement management practices for the control of intestinal parasitoses in accordance with the environmental and sociocultural characteristics of a given ecosystem.     

Life cycle assessment and life cycle costing of road infrastructure in residential neighbourhoods

Purpose

The built environment consists of a huge amount of infrastructure, such as roads and utilities. The objective of this paper is to assess the life cycle financial and environmental impact of road infrastructure in residential neighbourhoods and to analyse the relative contribution of road infrastructure in the total impact of neighbourhoods.

Methods

Various road sections are analysed based on an integrated life cycle approach, combining life cycle costing and life cycle assessment. To deal with complexity, a hierarchic assessment structure, using the principles of the “element method for cost control”, is implemented. Four neighbourhood models with diverse built densities are compared to gain insight in the relative impact of road infrastructure in neighbourhoods.

Results and discussion

The results reveal important financial and environmental impact differences between the road sections analysed. Main contributors to the life cycle financial and environmental impact are the surface layer and electrical and piped services. The contribution of road infrastructure to the total neighbourhood impact, ranging from 2 to 9 % of the total cost, is relatively limited, compared to buildings, but not negligible in low built density neighbourhoods.

Conclusions

Good spatial planning of the neighbourhood is recommended to reduce the amount of road infrastructure and the related financial and environmental impact. The priority should be to design denser neighbourhood layouts, before decreasing the financial and environmental impact of the road sections.

     

Variation in cooperative behaviour within a single city

Human cooperative behaviour, as assayed by decisions in experimental economic dilemmas such as the Dictator Game, is variable across human populations. Within-population variation has been less well studied, especially within industrial societies. Moreover, little is known about the extent to which community-level variation in Dictator Game behaviour relates to community-level variation in real-world social behaviour. We chose two neighbourhoods of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne that were similar in most regards, but at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of level of socioeconomic deprivation. We administered Dictator Games to randomly-selected residents, and also gathered a large number of more naturalistic measures of cooperativeness. There were dramatic differences in Dictator Game behaviour between the two neighbourhoods, with the mean allocation to the other player close to half the stake in the affluent neighbourhood, and close to one tenth of the stake in the deprived neighbourhood. Moreover, the deprived neighbourhood was also characterised by lower self-reported social capital, higher frequencies of crime and antisocial behaviour, a higher frequency of littering, and less willingness to take part in a survey or return a lost letter. On the other hand, there were no differences between the neighbourhoods in terms of the probability of helping a person who dropped an object, needed directions to a hospital, or needed to make change for a coin, and people on the streets were less likely to be alone in the deprived neighbourhood than the affluent one. We conclude that there can be dramatic local differences in cooperative behaviour within the same city, and that these need further theoretical explanation.     

Lost letter measure of variation in altruistic behaviour in 20 neighbourhoods

Altruistic behaviour varies across human populations and this variation is likely to be partly explained by variation in the ecological context of the populations. We hypothesise that area level socio-economic characteristics will determine the levels of altruism found in individuals living in an area and we use a lost letter experiment to measure altruism across 20 neighbourhoods with a wide range of income deprivation scores in London, UK. The results show a strong negative effect of neighbourhood income deprivation on altruistic behaviour, with letters dropped in the poorest neighbourhoods having 91% lower odds of being returned than letters dropped in the wealthiest neighbourhoods. We suggest that measures of altruism are strongly context dependant.     

Quantifying neighbourhood socioeconomic effects in clustering of behaviour-related risk factors: a multilevel analysis

Background

The extent to which neighbourhood characteristics explain accumulation of health behaviours is poorly understood. We examined whether neighbourhood disadvantage was associated with co-occurrence of behaviour-related risk factors, and how much of the neighbourhood differences in the co-occurrence can be explained by individual and neighbourhood level covariates.

Methods

The study population consisted of 60 694 Finnish Public Sector Study participants in 2004 and 2008. Neighbourhood disadvantage was determined using small-area level information on household income, education attainment, and unemployment rate, and linked with individual data using Global Positioning System-coordinates. Associations between neighbourhood disadvantage and co-occurrence of three behaviour-related risk factors (smoking, heavy alcohol use, and physical inactivity), and the extent to which individual and neighbourhood level covariates explain neighbourhood differences in co-occurrence of risk factors were determined with multilevel cumulative logistic regression.

Results

After adjusting for age, sex, marital status, and population density we found a dose-response relationship between neighbourhood disadvantage and co-occurrence of risk factors within each level of individual socioeconomic status. The cumulative odds ratios for the sum of health risks comparing the most to the least disadvantaged neighbourhoods ranged between 1.13 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03–1.24) and 1.75 (95% CI, 1.54–1.98). Individual socioeconomic characteristics explained 35%, and neighbourhood disadvantage and population density 17% of the neighbourhood differences in the co-occurrence of risk factors.

Conclusions

Co-occurrence of poor health behaviours associated with neighbourhood disadvantage over and above individual''s own socioeconomic status. Neighbourhood differences cannot be captured using individual socioeconomic factors alone, but neighbourhood level characteristics should also be considered.     

Environmental Performance Index at the Provincial Level for China 2006–2011

In recent years, China has experienced rapid economic development and thousands of people escaped from poverty. However, this high-speed development has also led to increased pressure on the environment. Although the Chinese government has focused on solving environmental problems for the past few decades, it appears to have had little effect. Environmental performance evaluation (EPE) is a quantifiable environmental management tool that can evaluate environmental protection effects and provide guidance to improve government efficiency. We use EPE to evaluate China’s environmental performance at the provincial level between 2006 and 2011. In this study, the theme framework and driver force-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) framework models are used to build the composite index (CI) for environmental performance. This index includes 39 indicators in four categories that were selected based on data that can be acquired from China’s Statistical Bureau. The results indicate that the environmental performance index (EPI) of 30 provincial administrative regions (PARs) from 2006 to 2011 ranges from 44.12 (Shanxi, 2006) to 80.87 (Beijing, 2010), from poor to good, respectively. To help develop more effective policies to improve China’s regional environmental performance, cluster analysis (CLA) is applied to divide the 30 PARs into 3 sub-regions. Recommendations for improving the environmental performance of different sub-regions are made to help guide the Chinese government to adjust environmental governance approaches to local conditions.     

转基因植物在环境污染监测中的应用

在通常情况下,污染物的存在很难被发现。它们对环境和人类的潜在危害就更加难以估计。在众多生物监测体系中,转基因植物监测系统脱颖而出。综述了几种成功应用于污染物质遗传毒性监测的转基因植物系统,并对今后生产高效率转基因植物监测体系的关键问题进行了探讨。     

The impact of urbanization on taxonomic and functional similarity among bird communities

Aim To assess spatial relationships between avian community similarity and level of urbanization. We tested the following hypotheses for taxonomic similarity: Hypothesis A – the decline in taxonomic similarity with distance is stronger for the least urbanized locations compared to the most urbanized locations; Hypothesis B – the converse of Hypothesis A; and Hypothesis C – the decline in taxonomic similarity with distance is stronger for the most and least urbanized locations compared to locations with intermediate levels of urbanization. We also determined if increasing urbanization led to increased functional similarity within bird communities. Location South‐eastern Australia. Methods Bird species occurrence and density were sampled across 18 towns and 72 neighbourhoods occupying a spatial gradient of up to 882 km. We calculated pairwise values in taxonomic similarity among each town and neighbourhood using the Sørenson coefficient and a similarity measure that accounts for differences in species richness among locations. These values were plotted against pairwise distances among towns and neighbourhoods using linear regression to measure similarity–distance relationships. Neighbourhoods were categorized into four levels of urban development based on dwelling density, urban intensity, vegetation cover, or the density of native, nectar‐rich plants. Variation in bird species density across neighbourhoods and frequency of occurrence across broad habitat types (habitat specialization) was used to assess functional similarity of bird communities in each neighbourhood. Results Among the 18 towns, the decline in taxonomic similarity with distance was weak and significantly less than among regional bird communities that occurred within a 1° grid square around each town. Among the 72 neighbourhoods, similarity–distance relationships differed substantially depending on the level of urban development. Generally, the strongest decline in similarity with distance was for neighbourhoods with the highest and lowest dwelling density, urban intensity and vegetation cover, supporting Hypothesis C. The functional similarity of bird communities increased significantly with dwelling density, and decreased significantly with an increasing density of nectar plants. Main conclusions At the town level, urbanization appears to homogenize regional bird communities. Among neighbourhoods, similarity–distance relationships are substantially influenced by the level of urban development, and increasing urbanization leads to greater functional similarity within bird communities.     

Evaluation of Florida Palustrine Wetlands: Application of USEPA Levels 1, 2, and 3 Assessment Methods

Three categories of wetland assessment methods have been recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, including Level 1—Landscape-scale Assessment; Level 2—Rapid Field Methods; and Level 3—Intensive Biological and Physico–Chemical Measures. This study incorporates wetland assessment methods for each assessment level, including the Level 1 Landscape Development Intensity (LDI) index, Level 2 Wetland Rapid Assessment Procedure (WRAP), and Level 3 Florida Wetland Condition Index (FWCI). Using a neighborhood analysis in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), an LDI index map was created using 1995 land use, creating a calculated LDI index value for each 30 m² area in Florida. Level 1–3 assessment procedures were employed at 193 palustrine emergent (n = 75) and forested (n = 118) wetlands. Significant correlations were found among the multiple Level 1–3 assessment procedures using the nonparametric Spearman’s correlation coefficient for pair-wise comparisons of LDI and WRAP, LDI and diatom FWCI, WRAP and diatom FWCI, LDI and macrophyte FWCI, WRAP and macrophyte FWCI, LDI and macroinvertebrate FWCI, and WRAP and macroinvertebrate FWCI (|r| > 0.50, P < 0.01). Defining the relationship between Level 1–3 assessment methods may be used to estimate the more intensive and species assemblage-specific Level 3 FWCI assessment scores for wetlands with Level 1 or Level 2 scores. Inferences can then be made as to wetland condition based on established correlations with intensive assessment methods.     

Trait similarity, shared ancestry and the structure of neighbourhood interactions in a subtropical wet forest: implications for community assembly

Ecology Letters (2010) 13: 1503-1514 ABSTRACT: The phylogenetic structure and distribution of functional traits in a community can provide insights into community assembly processes. However, these insights are sensitive to the spatial scale of analysis. Here, we use spatially explicit, neighbourhood models of tree growth and survival for 19 tree species, a highly resolved molecular phylogeny and information on eight functional traits to quantify the relative efficacy of functional similarity and shared ancestry in describing the effects of spatial interactions between tree species on demographic rates. We also assess the congruence of these results with observed phylogenetic and functional structure in the neighbourhoods of live and dead trees. We found strong support for models in which the effects of spatial neighbourhood interactions on tree growth and survival were scaled to species-specific mean functional trait values (e.g., wood specific gravity, leaf succulence and maximum height) but not to phylogenetic distance. The weak phylogenetic signal in functional trait data allowed us to independently interpret the static neighbourhood functional and phylogenetic patterns. We observed greater functional trait similarity in the neighbourhoods of live trees relative to those of dead trees suggesting that environmental filtering is the major force structuring this tree community at this scale while competitive interactions play a lesser role.     

Lichens as suitable indicators of the biological effects of atmospheric pollutants around a municipal solid waste incinerator (S Italy)

A comprehensive biomonitoring programme should integrate several methods distributed along the biomonitoring chain, allowing to detect exposure, threads and impacts. In the case of a municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI), biomonitoring of air pollution can contribute to source attribution, detection of ongoing processes and assessment of environmental effects. Three different methods were used to assess the biological effects of air pollution around a MSWI using lichens as biomonitors: (1) lichen diversity; (2) bioaccumulation of trace elements; and (3) physiological status (photosynthetic efficiency, cell membrane damage, viability). The first method takes into account the native lichen flora, while the other two were applied to thalli of the lichen Evernia prunastri transplanted for 6 months in the study area. Lichen diversity and physiological parameters reflected the effects of air pollution around the incinerator and the surrounding industrial area. High frequencies of non-nitrophilous species corresponded to sites with higher environmental quality, while high frequencies of nitrophilous species corresponded to sites with higher level of eutrophication. Transplanted samples showed increased cell membrane damage and reduced vitality respect to control samples. Bioaccumulation of trace elements pointed at the atmospheric origin of Hg depositions in the area. These results suggest that an integrated use of lichen-based methods along the biomonitoring chain can provide useful biological outputs for decision-makers to establish correct sustainable waste management policies.     

Partitioning an elevation gradient of vegetation from southeastern Ethiopia by probabilistic methods

Vegetation and environment have been analyzed along an altitudinal gradient in Harena Forest, Bale Mountains National Park, southeastern Ethiopia. Vegetation data include numbers of each tree and shrub species and cover-abundance values of each herbaceous species. Environmental data comprise edaphic factors, altitude and topography. The two vegetation layers data were analysed separately.Probabilistic similarity coefficients were computed between the relevés, and these values were used in subsequent computations for classification and ordination. Two sets of stratocoena, comprising 6 types each, derived on the basis of separate analyses of tree-shrub and herb layers of the forest were recognised. A combination of the two sets of stratocoena produced a total of 11 vegetation types. Environmental fuzzy set analysis was applied to determine the strength of the relationship of the relevés to the environmental factors. Autocorrelation analysis was applied to the eigenvectors of probabilistic similarity matrices and environmental data. Altitude appears to be more important thant the other environmental factors in controlling the zonation of the forest. Other important environmental influences on the vegetation include pH, organic matter content and texture of the soil. It is suggested that the whole forest be included in the National Park to create suitable conditions for adequate protection.Abbreviations EFS Environmental fuzzy sets - PROSIM Probability similarity index - PCA Principal components analysis     

转基因植物检测体系在环境污染物突变性评价中的应用The

很多环境污染物都能对生物体产生诱变性,可利用多种测试材料与方法对其基因毒性进行检测。转基因植物检测体系不仅能对环境污染的诱变性大小进行评价,而且还可以进一步分析其突变的分子机理。本文介绍了转基因植株检测体系的应用前景。 Abstract: Environmental contaminants are powerful mutagenic factors for organisms. Several testing materials and methods have been used to assess the genotoxicity of environmental factors. Transgenic plants testing system can not only evaluate the level of genotoxicity, but also provide information on the genetic effects at molecular level. We introduce the use of transgenic plants in biomonitoring environmental factors.     

Environmental sustainability measurement in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index: An empirical analysis of its reliability

Indices provide a straightforward summary of the status of an object or concept. Examples of concepts are diverse and go from city quality of life, country level of freedom, human development to environment sustainability. This paper introduces a methodology to assess the reliability of the environmental sustainability index implemented by the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index that is published by the World Economic Forum using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.Results show that the original index is not reliable as most of the variables are weakly correlated. A simplified version of the original index is obtained by exploratory factor analysis and tested by confirmatory factor analysis. Measures of reliability show that the new index called TTESI – Travel & Tourism Environmental Sustainability Index – is reliable. Results also show that combining data from different sources (e.g., survey data and physical measurements) proves problematic. A z-score value for each country was computed and countries were ranked based on the TTESI. Additionally, the new index is more in line with the HDI – Human Development Index – and can therefore be integrated more easily in an overall index of sustainable development.     

Adolescents' Utilisation of Psychiatric Care,Neighbourhoods and Neighbourhood Socioeconomic Deprivation: A Multilevel Analysis

Mental health problems among adolescents have become a major public health issue, and it is therefore important to increase knowledge on the contextual determinants of adolescent mental health. One such determinant is the socioeconomic structure of the neighbourhood. The present study has two central objectives, (i) to examine if neighbourhood socioeconomic deprivation is associated to individual variations in utilisation of psychiatric care in a Swedish context, and (ii) to investigate if neighbourhood boundaries are a valid construct for identifying contexts that influence individual variations in psychiatric care utilization. Data were obtained from the Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis in Scania (LOMAS) database. The study population consists of all boys and girls aged 13–18 years (N=18,417), who were living in the city of Malmö, Sweden, in 2005. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was applied to estimate the probability of psychiatric care utilisation. The results from the study indicate that the neighbourhood of residence had little influence on psychiatric care utilisation. Although we initially found a variation between neighbourhoods, this general contextual effect was very small (i.e. 1.6 %). The initial conclusive association between the neighbourhood level of disadvantage and psychiatric care utilisation (specific contextual effect) disappeared following adjustment for individual and family level variables. Our results suggest the neighbourhoods in Malmö (at least measured in terms of SAMS-areas), do not provide accurate information for discriminating adolescents utilisation of psychiatric care. The SAMS-areas appears to be an inappropriate construct of the social environment that influences adolescent utilisation of psychiatric care. Therefore, public health interventions should be directed to the whole city rather than to specific neighbourhoods. However, since geographical, social or cultural contexts may be important for our understanding of adolescent mental health further research is needed to identify such contexts.     

Terrestrial isopods: useful biological indicators of urban metal pollution

Summary Environmental pollution by toxic metals is widespread in urban areas. In contrast to many industrialized sites, however, metal pollution in most urban regions occurs at low or moderately elevated levels. Reliable criteria of environmental quality have therefore to be established, with the consequence that there is an increasing need for sensitive monitoring of pollution. In this present study, the isopod species Porcellio scaber was used as a bioindicator of lead and cadmium pollution in Innsbruck, Austria. During May 1988, isopods were collected at 356 points over the whole city area; lead and cadmium in whole animals were measured using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Lead and cadmium contamination of urban districts were correlated with traffic density, the only exception being higher cadmium contamination of one district in which several factories are situated. Concentrations of lead, but not of cadmium, increased along the main arterial roads with increasing traffic density and with decreasing distance from the city centre. On a large scale, concentrations of lead and cadmium increased in the direction of the prevailing wind, from south-west to north-east. On a small scale, the variability of metal concentrations can be explained by the irregular distribution of active business centres, by different degrees of contamination between exposed and non-exposed sites, and by contamination gradients depending on wind direction. Compared to highly polluted sites around industrial factories and metal smelting works, lead contamination in Innsbruck can be considered as moderately elevated, whereas cadmium contamination is low.     

Environmental and socio‐economic factors related to urban bird communities

Urban fauna communities may be strongly influenced by environmental and socio‐economic factors, but the relative importance of these factors is poorly known. Most research on urban fauna has been conducted in large cities and it is unclear if the patterns found in these locations coincide with those from smaller human settlements. We examined the relative importance of environmental and socio‐economic factors in explaining variation in urban bird communities across 72 neighbourhoods in 18 regional towns in south‐eastern Australia. Native bird species richness varied from 6 to 32 across neighbourhoods and was higher in neighbourhoods with more nectar‐rich plants. Variation in bird species diversity across neighbourhoods was also strongly positively related to the density of nectar‐rich plants, but was higher also in neighbourhoods with higher socio‐economic status (reflecting higher levels of disposal income, education and home ownership). The density of native birds across neighbourhoods per season varied from 1 to 15 birds per hectare and was lower in neighbourhoods with a greater cover of impervious surfaces. The density of exotic birds (introduced to Australia) per season also varied across neighbourhoods (0–13 birds per hectare) and was lower in neighbourhoods with more nectar‐rich plants and higher in neighbourhoods with greater impervious surface cover. Our results demonstrated that the vegetation characteristics of household gardens, along streetscapes and in urban parklands had a strong influence on the richness and diversity of urban bird communities. The density of native and exotic birds varied primarily in response to changes in the built environment (measured through impervious surface cover). Socio‐economic factors had relatively little direct influence on urban birds, but neighbourhood socio‐economics may influence bird communities indirectly through the positive relationship between socio‐economic status and vegetation cover recorded in our study area.     

Estimation of environmental Kuznets curve for SO2 emission: A case of Indian cities

Interaction between environmental degradation and economic growth is a growing matter of interest among policymakers. Here we have estimated Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for 139 Indian cities considering SO₂ emissions. Study has been done for 2001–2013, and the data have been segregated by residential and industrial areas, and as well as low, medium, and high income areas. By virtue of different forms of EKC being found, policy level decisions have been designed. Moreover, non-rejection of EKC hypothesis reemphasized the impact of growth catalyzing economic policy decisions on environment.     

Development of a framework for landscape assessment of Taiwanese wetlands

Wetlands harbor rich biodiversity and biomass and provide a variety of ecosystem services. Therefore, environmental assessment of wetlands is critical for those seeking to manage these pivotal ecosystems. While the landscape development intensity (LDI) index is commonly used for wetlands assessment, it is, unfortunately, limited in scope and, in some regions, efficacy. The objectives of this study were to improve and modify methods for wetlands assessment using a multi-metric approach that incorporated both the LDI index and landscape metrics. We calculated the LDI index values for 10 test wetlands across both the area of each wetland and within a 0–600 m wide area (in 100-m intervals). The results showed that the LDI index values varied significantly as the buffer distance increased, and specifically, the wetlands plus a 300-m wide swath was found to encompass the most appropriate area of inclusion for assessment. Furthermore, based on the metrics selective criteria, only LDI index and area metrics were incorporated into the assessment schematic. Due to two types of wetlands identified significantly different in the scatter plots of the LDI index and area, the assessment system was built to accommodate appropriate cut-off points. Four levels were then designated; the coastal wetland had an overall accuracy of 70.0% (kappa coefficient of 0.61), while that of the inland wetlands, which included natural and artificial wetlands, was only 41.7% (kappa coefficient of 0.22). This study confirmed that the extent of assessment had an effect on the LDI value, and there were significant differences in the assessment schematics across wetland types. In addition, LDI and/or area indices could be incorporated into landscape assessments. The assessment methods of this study can be applied in regions with high population density and consequently altered terrain, though the metric, scoring ranges, and levels should be adjusted to local conditions.