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PubMed2005

Coastal resource complexes of South India: options for sustainable management.

India's coastal resource complexes were traditionally characterized by a continuum of 'common property resources' or 'commons' that stretched from the shores to the seas. The continuum aided the existence of sustainable livelihood systems for local communities. Today, fragmented policy approaches and economic welfare schemes have caused the disintegration of community control over the continuum. As a consequence, livelihood systems of local communities have declined. The introduction of coastal management guidelines in the 1990s has exacerbated the situation. With reference to a coastal village located in the State of Kerala in South West India, the paper describes the trajectory of unsustainable change that has taken place in the coastal area resource complexes of the country. The paper argues for restoring the continuum of commons in the study area through community driven systems of natural resource management that are based on networks of nested institutions.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Policy and practice in Myanmar's protected area system.

Myanmar's protected area (PA) system began nearly 150 years ago under royal patronage. Park policies and practices, embodied in 19 pieces of legislation developed sporadically during and after the colonial period. As a result of the FAO-UNDP's Nature Conservation and National Parks Project (1981-1985) the government established the Nature & Wildlife Conservation Division and placed it within the Forest Department as the agency responsible for PA management. As a consequence the number of parks increased from 14 to 33. Myanmar's median park size is less than 50 km(2), but only five parks (15%) are larger than 1000 km(2). Most parks conserve terrestrial habitats; parks encompassing inland wetlands, mangrove, and marine habitats are limited in number and size. Existing PAs unequally represent Myanmar's ecosystems; the Malay Transition, Burmese coast, Burmese Transition and Cardamom Mountains bio-units are under-represented within the system. The effective total PA size (i.e., area of all parks less the area of 13 paper parks) is currently about 2.1%. Budgetary support for parks increased 11% since 1996, but is insufficient to address park needs, particularly in remote parks that are understaffed. Limited education and training of PA staff is a major factor limiting effective park management. Fifty-eight percent of park wardens are educated as foresters, and 42% have university degrees. The average posting in a park is 4 years, which is less than ideal for management continuity. Recommended actions to secure Myanmar's PAs include evaluation and reformulation of policies, increasing representation of Myanmar's habitats within the PA system, management planning, and standardizing protocols for anti-poaching patrols and other forms of law enforcement. Improved leadership training for wardens and range forest officers can also improve park management. Funding for community relations and more integrated management of parks and people can reduce conflicts, while environmental education and outreach activities can provide some needed services. Finally, new ways and means are needed to support these activities. Myanmar's PAs need creative and sustainable means of support, including partnerships with non-government organizations to supplement traditional means of support.

Animals↗
PubMed2007

Planning for sustainable tourism in southern Pulau Banggi: an assessment of biophysical conditions and their implications for future tourism development.

A priori assessments of a site's biophysical and socio-economic capacity for accommodating tourism are less common than tourism impact studies. A priori evaluations can provide a contextual understanding of ecological, economic and socio-cultural forces, which shape the prospects for sustainable tourism development at the host destination, and can avert adverse impacts of tourism. We conduct an a priori assessment of the biophysical environment of Pulau Banggi, in the Malaysian state of Sabah for sustainable tourism development. We characterise baseline conditions of the island's marine biodiversity, seasonality, and infrastructure. We then evaluate how existing biophysical conditions will influence options for sustainable tourism development. In particular, we suggest conditions, if there are any, which constitute a limit to future tourism development in terms of compatibility for recreation and resilience to visitor impacts. We find that the biggest constraint is the lack of adequate water and sanitation infrastructure. Blast fishing, although occurring less than once per hour, can potentially destroy the major attraction for tourists. We conclude that while Pulau Banggi possesses natural qualities that are attractive for ecotourism, financial and institutional support must be made available to provide facilities and services that will enable local participation in environmental protection and enhance prospects for future sustainable tourism.

Biodiversity↗
PubMed2004

Planning for protective action decision making: evacuate or shelter-in-place.

Protecting the public from an airborne hazardous chemical release requires that appropriate protective actions be selected quickly. When deciding whether to recommend evacuation or shelter-in-place, decision makers must weigh the interaction of numerous factors that characterize the release, the meteorological conditions, and the populations that may be affected. This article examines the components of the protective action decision process and describes steps that should be taken in a planning context to prepare for efficient decision making during an emergency. Methods of organizing information to facilitate decision making are identified, and a model useful for detailed analysis of specific emergency scenarios is described.

Chemical Warfare↗
PubMed2005

The third spatial dimension risk approach for individual risk and group risk in multiple use of space.

Buildings above roads and railways are examples of multiple use of space. Safety is one of the critical issues for such projects. Risk analyses can be undertaken to investigate what safety measures that are required to realise these projects. The results of these analyses can also be compared to risk acceptance criteria, if they are applicable. In The Netherlands, there are explicit criteria for acceptability of individual risk and societal risk. Traditionally calculations of individual risk result in contours of equal risk on a map and thus are considered in two-dimensional space only. However, when different functions are layered the third spatial dimension, height, becomes an important parameter. The various activities and structures above and below each other impose mutual risks. There are no explicit norms or policies about how to deal with the individual or group risk approach in the third dimension. This paper proposes an approach for these problems and gives some examples. Finally, the third dimension risk approach is applied in a case study of Bos en Lommer, Amsterdam.

Bayes Theorem↗
PubMed2005

A risk-based approach to land-use planning.

The Seveso II-Directive requires that the objectives of preventing major accidents and limiting their consequences be taken into account by the Member States in their land-use policies and/or other relevant policies. This is to be achieved by ensuring adequate distances between industrial establishments and residential areas, areas of public use and areas of particular natural sensitivity or interest. A risk-based framework implemented in a computer program is presented which enables one to calculate adequate distances. The criterion used is a limit on the individual risk of death. The method is a simplified risk analysis which represents the plant, whose characteristics are normally unknown at the stage of land-use planning, by generic frequencies of release for process units and storage tanks. Their number depends on the size of the site to be allotted. The procedure is capable of addressing the siting of new establishments and, with due regard to the simplifications used, modifications to and new developments in the vicinity of existing establishments. Given the numerous assumptions, which have to be made, the framework represents a convention.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed2006

Leaching of different elements from subbase layers of alternative aggregates in pavement constructions.

The objective of this study was to analyze the accumulated effects of leaching in two test roads were municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash and aggregate from a railway embankment, respectively, were used as subbase aggregates. Solid samples from the subbase and the subgrade were collected in trenches, which were excavated perpendicular to the road extension. The samples were analyzed with respect to pH, water content, electrical conductivity and extractable fractions of macro and trace constituents. To conclude, spatial distribution patterns of different constituents in subbase and subgrade layers confirms the existence of two major transport processes in a road with permeable shoulders: diffusion underneath surface asphalt layers driven by a concentration gradient directed horizontally towards the shoulder of the road where the dissolved elements are carried away by advection.

Calcium↗
PubMed2006

The influence of birth weight and socioeconomic position on cognitive development: Does the early home and learning environment modify their effects?

OBJECTIVE: To establish whether effects of birth weight and socioeconomic position on cognition are explained or modified by home or learning environments. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective birth cohort (n = 13,980) with math tests at 7, 11, and 16 years of age and qualifications by 33 years of age. RESULTS: For 1 kg increase in birth weight, 7-year math Z score increased 0.23 (0.19 adjusted for parental interest in child's progress) and adult qualifications increased 0.22 (on a 5-point scale). Maternal reading benefited math less among lower than higher birth weights (p < .05). The birth weight effect remained unchanged 7 to 16 years of age. For each increment in social class (4 categories; IV&V to I&II), 7-year math increased 0.19 (0.12 adjusted for parental interest). Benefits of mother's reading and father's interest were greatest in classes IV&V (interaction p < .05). The difference in Z scores between classes I&II to IV&V was 0.57 at 7 years; 1.12 at 16 years of age. Estimates were little affected by home and school factors. Adult qualifications increased 0.40 per unit social class (0.33 adjusted for parental interest). Maternal interest reduced the chances of those from unskilled manual origins gaining few qualifications (p < .05). Similarly, interactions were seen for maternal reading and paternal interest. CONCLUSION: Influences in the home partly underlie associations between social background and cognition, but they do little to explain a birth weight/cognition association.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Road safety effects of roundabouts in Flanders.

INTRODUCTION: This paper analyzes the effect on road safety of 95 roundabouts that were built in Flanders between 1994 and 1999. RESULTS: The study shows that the effect on the number and severity of road accidents adjusted for the trend and regression to the mean is significant, but varies considerably in accordance with the speed limit regime on the intersection. Roundabouts are most effective on intersections of a main road with a high speed limit (90 km/h) and an adjacent road with a lower speed limit (50 or 70 km/h). The empirical analysis reveals a reduction of 34% (varying between 15% and 59%) for the total number of injury accidents, 30% (7%-45%) for light injury accidents, and 38% (27%-72%) for serious injury accidents. This study also takes a closer look at the impact of different post-implementation periods using accident data of 1-, 3-, or 6-years after the construction of a roundabout on the calculated effectiveness results and warns for a severe underestimation when a one-year period is used. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: An effective traffic safety policy based on scientific results thus requires some patience from the policy-makers.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2006

Trespassing on the tracks: a review of railway pedestrian safety research.

INTRODUCTION: Train-pedestrian collisions have been shown to be the leading cause of fatality in train-related accidents worldwide, yet there is remarkably little research in this area. METHOD: In this paper, the major types of railway transportation accident research are briefly highlighted to indicate the general context of research concerning train-pedestrian collisions, which are then reviewed. Themes emerging from the diverse research are identified, the various strategies that have been proposed for prevention of railway pedestrian accidents are discussed, and the empirical evidence for their efficacy examined in the light of the much more extensive literature on road pedestrian accidents. Finally, it is proposed that application of current theory in behavioral and cognitive psychology may usefully inform future research in transportation safety.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2006

New findings regarding the significance of pavement skid resistance for road safety on Swiss freeways.

INTRODUCTION: The significance of the influence of poor pavement skid resistance values on accident frequency in wet pavement conditions has been the object of many studies over several years. The various investigations have produced very diverse findings. Only seldom, however, has detailed consideration been given to the central question of whether pavement skid resistance is a decisive parameter in the occurrence of local accident "black spots." Until now, the focus has been more on describing a relationship between pavement skid resistance and accident frequency. METHOD AND RESULTS: In the course of the network-wide survey of the states of pavements and of accident occurrence on Switzerland's freeways from 1999 to 2003, it emerged that a relationship with inadequate pavement skid resistance was provable for only a small proportion of accident black spots. These findings were used to frame a guideline for authorities and highway operators about how to treat skid resistance when assessing pavements and accident occurrence on freeways.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed2005

An in vivo evaluation of induction of abnormal sperm morphology in mice by landfill leachates.

Although several reports have demonstrated the acutely toxic and genotoxic effects of landfill leachates in microbial organisms, plants and aquatic animals, the effects of pollutants present in these leachates have not been clarified yet in terrestrial animals. This study mainly aimed to evaluate a potential genetic effect of raw and simulated leachates from Orita-Aperin and Oworonsoki landfills in south-west Nigeria by use of the murine sperm-head abnormality test. These landfills neither have a synthetic membrane liner at the bottom, nor a natural layer of compacted soil with the desired hydraulic conductivity, nor a run-off control system. As a result, the leachates produced are discharged into the environment. Samples designated as Orita-Aperin Raw Leachate (OARL), Orita-Aperin Simulated Leachate (OASL), Oworonsoki Raw Leachate (OWRL) and Oworonsoki Simulated Leachate (OWSL) were analyzed in the sperm-head abnormality test at concentrations (v/v) of 1%, 2.5%, 5%, 10% and 25%. Mice were given 0.5 ml sample per day for five consecutive days by intraperitoneal injection. Each dose group comprised seven mice, and a 5-week exposure period was utilized. The data show that the test mixtures induced a dose-dependent, statistically significant increase (P<0.05) in the number of sperm with abnormal morphology. Physico-chemical analysis of the test samples shows that they contained constituents that are capable of inducing mutation in biologic system. The interaction of some of these constituents with the genetic material in the differentiating cells during spermatogenesis may be responsible for these observations. This is relevant in environmental waste management, and for the assessment of the hazardous effects of the chemicals in landfill leachates.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Gene expression profiling of the rat hippocampus one month after focal cerebral ischemia followed by enriched environment.

Functional recovery after experimental stroke in rats is enhanced by environmental enrichment by stimulating plastic changes in brain regions outside the lesion, but the molecular mechanisms are not known. We investigated the effect of environmental enrichment after focal cerebral ischemia on cognitive recovery and hippocampal gene expression using microarray analysis. Rats placed in enriched environment (EE) for 1 month after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) showed significantly improved spatial memory in the Morris water maze compared to rats housed alone after MCAo. Microarray analysis suggested several EE-induced differences in neuronal plasticity-related genes, but these changes could not be confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. This study highlights some of the potential problems associated with gene expression profiling of brain tissues. Further studies at earlier time points and in additional subregions of the brain are of interest in the search for molecular mechanisms behind EE-induced neuronal plasticity after ischemic stroke.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Reducing fear of falling and avoidance of activity in elderly persons: the development of a Dutch version of an American intervention.

OBJECTIVE: The present study reports on the development of a Dutch version of an American intervention for community-residing older persons in The Netherlands. Adaptation of this cognitive behavioural group intervention, to reduce fear of falling and avoidance of activity in older persons, was required before evaluation in a different setting. METHODS: The process of adaptation consisted of defining the target population, translating the original intervention manual literally, consulting Dutch experts and a developer of the original intervention, selecting qualified facilitators and conducting a pilot study of the adapted manual. RESULTS: Adaptations were incorporated to improve the content, feasibility and didactic materials. The main adaptations were scheduling more time for some activities, changing session frequency from twice to once a week, adding a booster session after 6 months and adding more transparencies. CONCLUSION: A critical assessment of the appropriateness and feasibility of the original intervention provided important information to facilitate replication in the Dutch setting. Applying a systematic approach is recommended in the process of adapting an original intervention for use in a different setting. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: To facilitate replication, in general, more detailed information should be provided about interventions.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed2004

Preferred illuminance self-selected by women under the influence of face cooling.

The aim of the study was to investigate the illuminance selected in the morning by subjects whose face was cooled and whose tympanic temperature has been lowered by 0.15-0.25 degrees C. The hypothesis tested was that a difference between the actual core temperature and its set point (load error) will influence the preferred illuminance. Specifically, it was hypothesised that a greater load error would lead to the choice of a higher light intensity because this would suppress the melatonin secretion more effectively and thus accelerate the morning rise of core temperature. Seven females served as participants. They were required to rise in the morning 3 h after their minimum rectal temperature, as judged from measurements of rectal temperature made during sleep. The subjects sat 1.5 m away from a lighting box and every 15 min were instructed to choose the level of illuminance (light intensity) they preferred by manipulating a lever in the control box. This procedure was performed twice, in the face-cooling and no-face-cooling condition. The major finding was that a higher light intensity was preferred when the face was cooled down by 0.15-0.25 degrees C, suggesting that an increased load error between actual core temperature and its set point may play a behavioural role in the selection of preferred illuminance.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

How might districts identify local barriers to participation for children with cerebral palsy?

OBJECTIVES: To explore how data about participation and the local environment might be used to identify barriers to participation for children with cerebral palsy. METHODS: Participation is measured at 5 years of age using the six domains of the lifestyle assessment questionnaire. Individual child score profiles are compared with expected patterns from similar children and with the use of relevant services. Average scores for districts are compared with selected local authority performance indicators. Self-completion questionnaires are used to solicit information on barriers from families of children. RESULTS: Individual children who have poorer-than-expected participation scores and those who make less-than-expected use of relevant services can be identified. Children who live in districts with more facilities for the disabled appear to have better social participation scores. Common local barriers as well as specific access problems for individuals are revealed by simple questionnaires to families. Attitudes of strangers and staff in public places, lack of suitable transport and the presence of stairs are important barriers in many settings. CONCLUSIONS: Environmental barriers for children with cerebral palsy can be identified and related to their participation.

Activities of Daily Living↗