TY - JOUR TI - What Should We Eat? AU - Booker, Matthew T2 - RCC Perspectives DA - 2015/1// PY - 2015/1// DO - 10.5282/rcc/6941 IS - 1 SP - 45–50 UR - http://doi.org/10.5282/rcc/6941 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Life cycle-optimization framework for photosynthetic biorefineries T2 - Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// UR - https://publons.com/wos-op/publon/7119295/ ER - TY - JOUR TI - Coupling fluid dynamics with kinetic modeling to quantify the effects of photosynthetic bioreactor design and operation on yield performance T2 - Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// UR - https://publons.com/wos-op/publon/7119297/ ER - TY - CONF TI - Characterization of atmospheric pressure rf discharges with aqueous plasma facing surfaces AU - Lindsay, A. AU - Byrns, B. AU - Knappe, D. AU - Shannon, S. AB - Summary form only given. Plasma modification of liquids has opened a broad range of new applications ranging from wound treatment to water purification to agricultural fertigation and herbicide. Two of the primary challenges facing systems designed to modify liquid chemistry through plasma treatment have been throughput and efficient introduction of liquid species in the active plasma region. In this presentation, we present novel pathways for both source scale up and liquid incorporation that can make plasma treatment of liquids more economically viable. C2 - 2015/// C3 - ICOPS/BEAMS 2014 - 41st IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science and the 20th International Conference on High-Power Particle Beams DA - 2015/// DO - 10.1109/PLASMA.2014.7012279 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84923050875&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - SOUND TI - Transgenic Corn and the Monarch Butterfly AU - Delborne, Jason DA - 2015/1/16/ PY - 2015/1/16/ ER - TY - SOUND TI - Genome Engineering for Biological Insights and Product Development AU - Delborne, Jason DA - 2015/4/28/ PY - 2015/4/28/ ER - TY - CONF TI - Public Engagement in Science and Technology AU - Delborne, Jason T2 - Winter School on the Anticipatory Governance of Emerging Technologies, organized by The Center for Nanotechnology in Society C2 - 2015/1/7/ CY - Arizona State University. Saguaro Lake Ranch, Mesa, AZ DA - 2015/1/7/ PY - 2015/1/7/ ER - TY - CONF TI - Engaging Publics in Science and Technology, When Science and Citizens Connect: Public Engagement on Genetically Modified Organisms AU - Delborne, Jason T2 - Workshop of the Roundtable on Public Interfaces of the Life Sciences (PILS) C2 - 2015/1/15/ CY - National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. DA - 2015/1/15/ PY - 2015/1/15/ UR - https://research.ncsu.edu/ges/files/2015/08/Engaging-Publics-Delborne.pdf ER - TY - CONF TI - Moral Fiber: Genetically Modified Trees, Responsible Innovation, and Environmental Justice AU - Delborne, Jason T2 - Atlanta Conference on Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy C2 - 2015/9/17/ CY - Atlanta, GA DA - 2015/9/17/ PY - 2015/9/17/ ER - TY - CONF TI - Roasting (GM) Chestnuts: Disruptions in GMO Innovation, Governance, and Engagement AU - Delborne, Jason T2 - Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science C2 - 2015/11/12/ CY - Denver, CO DA - 2015/11/12/ PY - 2015/11/12/ ER - TY - RPRT TI - Synthetic Biology AU - Siplon, G. AU - Herring, B. AU - Kuzma, J. AU - Delborne, J. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// M1 - NSF Award #1421179 M3 - Script SN - NSF Award #1421179 UR - https://www.informalscience.org/building-biology-multi-site-public-engagement-science-synthetic-biology-innovations-development ER - TY - CONF TI - Public Attitudes, Perceptions, and Engagement in the Field of Genetic Modification AU - Delborne, Jason T2 - Genetic Engineering Research at NC State C2 - 2015/4/28/ CY - Genetic Engineering and Society Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC DA - 2015/4/28/ PY - 2015/4/28/ UR - https://research.ncsu.edu/ges/files/2015/08/Public-Attitudes_Delborne.pdf ER - TY - CONF TI - Anticipating Responsible Innovation: Genetically-Modified Trees and Conceptualizations of Technological and Regulatory Futures AU - Delborne, J. T2 - Third Annual Conference on Governance of Emerging Technologies: Law, Policy and Ethics. C2 - 2015/5/27/ CY - Scottsdale Resort and Conference, Scottsdale, AZ DA - 2015/5/27/ PY - 2015/5/27/ ER - TY - CONF TI - Anticipatory Governance and Responsible Innovation: Technological and Regulatory Futures of Genetically Modified Trees AU - Delborne, J.A. AU - Rivers, L. AU - Robinson, M. T2 - Atlanta Conference on Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy C2 - 2015/9/17/ CY - Atlanta, GA DA - 2015/9/17/ PY - 2015/9/17/ ER - TY - CONF TI - Boasting Chestnuts: Genetically-Modified Trees, Responsible Innovation, & Anticipatory Governance AU - Delborne, J.A. AU - Harrison, R. T2 - Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science C2 - 2015/11/12/ CY - Denver, CO DA - 2015/11/12/ PY - 2015/11/12/ ER - TY - CONF TI - Coupling fluid dynamics with kinetic modeling to quantify the effects of photosynthetic bioreactor design and operation on yield performance AU - Manavi, R. AU - de los Reyes, F.L., III AU - Levis, J. AU - Ranjithan, R. AU - Ducoste, J. T2 - 249th American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting C2 - 2015/// CY - Denver, CO DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/3/22/ ER - TY - CONF TI - Directing Microbial Community Assembly by Deterministic Niche Differentiaion in Anaerobic Digesters AU - Wang, L. AU - Hossen, E.H. AU - Aziz, T.N. AU - Ducoste, J. AU - de los Reyes, F.L., III T2 - 88th Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference C2 - 2015/// C3 - WEFTEC 2015 : the water quality event : conference program and exhibitor guide : 88th Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference, McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois, USA, September 26-30, 2015 CY - Chicago, IL DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/9/26/ PB - Water Environment Federation ER - TY - CONF TI - Pore Channel Tortuosity in 3D Nonwoven Structures AU - Vallabh, R. AU - Seyam, A. AU - Banks-Lee, P. AU - Ducoste, J. T2 - 6th World Conference on 3D Fabrics and their Applications C2 - 2015/5/26/ CY - Raleigh, NC DA - 2015/5/26/ PY - 2015/5/26/ ER - TY - SOUND TI - How Restaurant Kitchen Practices Influence FOG Deposit Formation in Sewer Collection Systems AU - Ducoste, J.J. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// ER - TY - SOUND TI - Internal and External Grease Interceptors: Challenges in the Removal of FOG Emulsions and the Impact of Food Service Establishment Kitchen Operations AU - Ducoste, J.J. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// M3 - Keynote ER - TY - SOUND TI - Algorithm application to identify novel regulators in the Arabidopsis thaliana iron deficiency response AU - Matthiadis, Anna AU - Koryachko, Alexandr AU - Muhammad, Durreshahwar AU - Foret, Jessica AU - Brady, Siobhan M. AU - Ducoste, Joel AU - Tuck, James AU - Williams, Cranos AU - Long, Terri A. DA - 2015/7// PY - 2015/7// ER - TY - RPRT TI - Removal of perfluoroalkyl substances by PAC adsorption and anion exchange AU - Dudley, L.A. AU - Arevalo, E.C. AU - Knappe, D.R.U. A3 - Water Research Foundation DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// M1 - 4344 M3 - Executive summary PB - Water Research Foundation SN - 4344 ER - TY - RPRT TI - Removal of volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) from drinking water via granular activated carbon treatment AU - Summers, R.S. AU - Kempisty, D. AU - Daugherty, T. AU - Knappe, D. A3 - Water Research Foundation DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// M1 - 4440 M3 - Final report PB - Water Research Foundation SN - 4440 ER - TY - SOUND TI - Synthesis on National Water Use: Spatial Patterns and Socio-economic Controls, State of America’s Water: Present and Future AU - Arumugam, S. DA - 2015/5// PY - 2015/5// ER - TY - SOUND TI - Leonardo da Vinci: Contribution of the renaissance artist towards water management AU - Arumugam, S. DA - 2015/10// PY - 2015/10// ER - TY - SOUND TI - Synthesis on National Water Use: Spatial Patterns and Controls AU - Arumugam, S. DA - 2015/10/6/ PY - 2015/10/6/ ER - TY - CONF TI - Climate-Water-Energy Nexus: Opportunities and Challenges AU - Arumugam, S. T2 - Private Sector Partnership Forum: Climate Services and Decision Support Tools for the Energy Sector C2 - 2015/3/23/ CY - World Meteorological Organization, Geneva DA - 2015/3/23/ PY - 2015/3/23/ ER - TY - CONF TI - The role of hydroclimate and water use on freshwater sustainability over the Coterminous US AU - Arumugam, S. AU - Ruhi, A. AU - Sabo, J. AU - Sinha, T. AU - Seo, S.B. AU - Bhowmik, R.D. T2 - American Geophysical Union Fall meeting C2 - 2015/12/14/ CY - San Francisco, CA DA - 2015/12/14/ PY - 2015/12/14/ ER - TY - RPRT TI - Experimental Reservoir Storage Forecasts Utilizing Climate-Information Based Streamflow Forecasts AU - Sankarasubramanian, A. AU - Boyles, R. AU - Mazoorei, A. AU - Singh, H. A3 - NC Water Resources Research Institute DA - 2015/3// PY - 2015/3// M3 - Technical Report PB - NC Water Resources Research Institute ER - TY - RPRT TI - Routine Disasters: Floods, Human Capital and Adaptation in Bangladesh AU - Guiteras, R. AU - Jina, A. AU - Mobarak, A.M. DA - 2015/4// PY - 2015/4// ER - TY - JOUR TI - A framework for incorporating ecological releases in single reservoir operation AU - Wang, Hui AU - Brill, Earl D. AU - Ranjithan, Ranji S. AU - Sankarasubramanian, A. T2 - Advances in Water Resources AB - Most reservoir operation practices consider downstream environmental flow as a constraint to meet a minimum release. The resulting flow regime may not necessarily provide downstream aquatic conditions to support healthy ecosystems. These effects can be quantified in terms of changes in values of parameters that represent the flow regimes. Numerous studies have focused on determining the ecological response to hydrological alteration caused by reservoir operation. To mitigate hydrological alteration and restore the natural flow regime as much as possible, a reservoir operation framework is proposed to explicitly incorporate ecological flow requirements. A general optimization-based decision model is presented to consider simultaneously the multiple anthropogenic uses of the reservoir and desirable ecological releases represented by parameters that capture the flow regime. Multiple uses of the reservoir, including water supply, hydropower generation, etc., are modeled as a mixed integer programming problem. Hydropower generation, which is represented by a nonlinear function that usually depends on head and water flow, is linearized using a two-dimensional function. Investigations using a reservoir in Virginia, located in the southeastern United States, demonstrate that compared to standard releases based on current operation practice, releases simulated using this framework perform better in mimicking pre-development flows. The tradeoff between anthropogenic use and ecological releases is investigated. The framework is first demonstrated for instances with perfect stream flow information. To examine the flexibility of this framework in reservoir release management, monthly flow forecasts and disaggregated daily flow conditions are incorporated. Retrospective monthly flow forecasts are obtained through regression models that use gridded precipitation forecasts and gridded soil moisture estimates as predictors. A nonparametric method is chosen to disaggregate monthly flow forecasts to daily flow conditions. Compared with daily flow climatology, forecasted monthly and daily flow better preserves flow variability and result in lower changes of flow parameters under the proposed framework. DA - 2015/4// PY - 2015/4// DO - 10.1016/j.advwatres.2015.01.006 VL - 78 SP - 9-21 J2 - Advances in Water Resources LA - en OP - SN - 0309-1708 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2015.01.006 DB - Crossref KW - Ecological flow requirements KW - Natural flow regime KW - Sustainable reservoir operation KW - Mixed integer linear programming ER - TY - JOUR TI - Prokaryotic Community Analysis of a Hyperalkaline Spring in the Philippines Using 16S rRNA Gene Clone Library Construction AU - Baculi, R.Q. AU - Lantican, N.B. AU - de los Reyes lll, F.L. AU - Raymundo, A.K. T2 - Philippine Journal of Science DA - 2015/6// PY - 2015/6// VL - 144 IS - 1 SP - 7–18 ER - TY - BOOK TI - The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics. By Ayesha Jalal. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2014. 435 pp. $35.00 (cloth, ISBN 9780674052895). AU - Gilmartin, David AU - Jalal, Ayesha AB - The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics. By Ayesha Jalal. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2014. 435 pp. $35.00 (cloth, ISBN 9780674052895). - Volume 74 Issue 4 DA - 2015/11// PY - 2015/11// DO - 10.1017/S0021911815001473 VL - 74 PB - Cambridge University Press (CUP) SE - 1056–1057 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0021911815001473 ER - TY - CHAP TI - Enacting Change in Strategic Marketing Decisions: The Role of Regulatory Focus in Teams AU - Spanjol, Jelena AU - Tam, Leona AU - Qualls, William J. AU - Bohlmann, Jonathan D. T2 - Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science AB - The ability to enact change underlies long-term marketing success. We examine how individual and leadership motivations influence a team’s propensity to enact change across a variety of marketing decisions. We utilize regulatory focus theory and identify the effects of regulatory focus match vs. mismatch within teams on the propensity to enact change in decision-making across the marketing mix. We find that regulatory focus match renders leadership-prescribed goal pursuit strategies ineffective and that only teams under regulatory focus mismatch make decisions consistent with leadership-prescribed goal pursuit strategies. For regulatory match teams, our results demonstrate that a promotion focus is associated with greater levels of change in team marketing decisions than a prevention focus. PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1007/978-3-319-18687-0_17 SP - 37-37 OP - PB - Springer International Publishing SN - 9783319186863 9783319186870 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18687-0_17 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Evolution of the indoor biome AU - Martin, Laura J. AU - Adams, Rachel I. AU - Bateman, Ashley AU - Bik, Holly M. AU - Hawks, John AU - Hird, Sarah M. AU - Hughes, David AU - Kembel, Steven W. AU - Kinney, Kerry AU - Kolokotronis, Sergios-Orestis AU - Levy, Gabriel AU - McClain, Craig AU - Meadow, James F. AU - Medina, Raul F. AU - Mhuireach, Gwynne AU - Moreau, Corrie S. AU - Munshi-South, Jason AU - Nichols, Lauren M. AU - Palmer, Clare AU - Popova, Laura AU - Schal, Coby AU - Täubel, Martin AU - Trautwein, Michelle AU - Ugalde, Juan A. AU - Dunn, Robert R. T2 - Trends in Ecology & Evolution AB - •We review literature on evolution in the indoor biome. •The indoor biome is an expansive and expanding habitat. •Study of the indoor biome combines evolutionary biology, ecology, architecture, anthropology, building science, and human ecology. •Studies of the indoor biome are well suited for citizen science projects, public outreach, and large-scale international collaborations. Few biologists have studied the evolutionary processes at work in indoor environments. Yet indoor environments comprise approximately 0.5% of ice-free land area – an area as large as the subtropical coniferous forest biome. Here we review the emerging subfield of ‘indoor biome’ studies. After defining the indoor biome and tracing its deep history, we discuss some of its evolutionary dimensions. We restrict our examples to the species found in human houses – a subset of the environments constituting the indoor biome – and offer preliminary hypotheses to advance the study of indoor evolution. Studies of the indoor biome are situated at the intersection of evolutionary ecology, anthropology, architecture, and human ecology and are well suited for citizen science projects, public outreach, and large-scale international collaborations. Few biologists have studied the evolutionary processes at work in indoor environments. Yet indoor environments comprise approximately 0.5% of ice-free land area – an area as large as the subtropical coniferous forest biome. Here we review the emerging subfield of ‘indoor biome’ studies. After defining the indoor biome and tracing its deep history, we discuss some of its evolutionary dimensions. We restrict our examples to the species found in human houses – a subset of the environments constituting the indoor biome – and offer preliminary hypotheses to advance the study of indoor evolution. Studies of the indoor biome are situated at the intersection of evolutionary ecology, anthropology, architecture, and human ecology and are well suited for citizen science projects, public outreach, and large-scale international collaborations. Robert H. Whittaker first developed the biome concept to classify the different realms of life found on Earth. His classification scheme was based on two abiotic factors – precipitation and temperature – that he viewed to have the largest impact on the distribution of species and their traits and function. Subsequent biome classification systems have considered the biomes found in the absence of human agency and so exclude much of Earth's terrestrial area. One exception is the anthrome framework, which includes biomes engendered by humans [2]. However, even anthromes deal only with outdoor environments. the ecological realm comprising species that reside and can (although do not necessarily always) reproduce in enclosed and semi-enclosed built structures. the space enclosed by walled and roofed structures built by organisms to shelter themselves, their symbiotic partners, or stored goods. For the purposes of this review we focus on the indoor environments created by humans. DA - 2015/4// PY - 2015/4// DO - 10.1016/J.TREE.2015.02.001 VL - 30 IS - 4 SP - 223-232 J2 - Trends in Ecology & Evolution LA - en OP - SN - 0169-5347 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/J.TREE.2015.02.001 DB - Crossref KW - urban ecology KW - anthrome KW - microbiome KW - phylogeography KW - built environment ER - TY - JOUR TI - Shared and unique responses of insects to the interaction of urbanization and background climate AU - Diamond, Sarah E AU - Dunn, Robert R AU - Frank, Steven D AU - Haddad, Nick M AU - Martin, Ryan A T2 - Current Opinion in Insect Science AB - Urbanization profoundly alters biological systems; yet the predictability of responses to urbanization based on key biological traits, the repeatability of these patterns among cities, and how the impact of urbanization on biological systems varies as a function of background climatic conditions remain unknown. We use insects as a focal system to review the major patterns of responses to urbanization, and develop a framework for exploring the shared and unique features that characterize insect responses to urbanization and how responses to urbanization might systematically vary along background environmental gradients in climate. We then illustrate this framework using established patterns in insect macrophysiology. DA - 2015/10// PY - 2015/10// DO - 10.1016/J.COIS.2015.10.001 VL - 11 SP - 71-77 J2 - Current Opinion in Insect Science LA - en OP - SN - 2214-5745 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/J.COIS.2015.10.001 DB - Crossref ER - TY - CONF TI - Agent-Based Modeling to Simulate Demand Management Strategies for Shared Groundwater Resources AU - Al-Amin, Shams AU - Berglund, Emily Z. AU - Larson, Kelli L. T2 - World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2015 AB - Growing population centers in the arid southwest increase the demand for water, which is typically met through increased groundwater withdrawals. Hydro-climatic extremes due to climate change may also increase demands and decrease the replenishment of groundwater supply. Groundwater aquifers typically cross watershed, municipal, and management boundaries, and as a result, multiple diverse agencies manage a shared resource. Municipalities and management districts define individual demand management strategies that adapt water consumption to falling groundwater levels. The interactions among governing agencies, consumers, and the environment influence the performance of local management strategies and the availability of regional groundwater resources. This research develops an agent-based modeling (ABM) framework to analyze the dynamic interactions among changing water demands and limited groundwater resources under the stresses of population growth and climate change scenarios. Households are initialized as agents with properties and attributes to define indoor water use, outdoor water use, and water use reduction. Policy-maker agents are encoded to represent governing agencies that mandate or encourage water use restrictions. Demand management strategies are simulated as the response of a policy-maker agent to groundwater levels, safe yield, and climate variables. The framework is applied for municipalities located in the Verde River Basin, Arizona that withdraw groundwater from the Verde Formation-Basin Fill-Carbonate aquifer system. The effects of management strategies on water savings and basin-wide groundwater levels are explored, based on water use demands and reductions in different sectors of municipal water use. Insights gained through this simulation study can be used to guide groundwater policy-making under changing hydro-climatic scenarios for a long-term planning horizon. C2 - 2015/5/14/ C3 - World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2015 DA - 2015/5/14/ DO - 10.1061/9780784479162.203 PB - American Society of Civil Engineers SN - 9780784479162 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/9780784479162.203 DB - Crossref ER - TY - CONF TI - Results of a National Survey about the Public Acceptability of Reclaimed Water AU - Garcia-Cuerva, Laura AU - Schmidt, Michelle AU - Berglund, Emily Z. AU - Binder, Andrew R. T2 - World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2015 AB - Reclaimed water programs treat wastewater to remove hazardous compounds, pathogens, and organic matter and provide reclaimed water for non-potable applications. Reusing water may significantly reduce demands on freshwater resources and provide sustainable water management strategies. Though guidelines for reclaimed water are highly regulated, public acceptability has historically hindered the implementation of successful reclaimed water systems. The public generally opposes the use of reclaimed water due to the “yuck factor”, which is the instinctive disgust associated with the idea of recycling sewage and the fear that exposure to reclaimed water is unsafe. Public acceptability has been shown to vary significantly for diverse reclaimed water applications, and support for reclaimed water applications may vary based on the level of contact that consumers have with the recycled water. Opposition towards using reclaimed water in personal residences may be a major barrier in distributing reclaimed water to residential consumers, and the adoption of reclaimed water technologies by consumers can affect network performance and potable water savings. This paper reports the results of an extensive survey that was conducted to evaluate the potential acceptability of reclaimed water use. A total of 2800 respondents across the U.S. participated in the survey, and survey results demonstrate the types of reclaimed water applications that are most acceptable. In addition, climate, economic, and demographic factors affect the perceived acceptability of reclaimed water. Results and conclusions of the survey can provide insight for implementing successful reclaimed water programs. C2 - 2015/5/14/ C3 - World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2015 DA - 2015/5/14/ DO - 10.1061/9780784479162.121 PB - American Society of Civil Engineers SN - 9780784479162 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/9780784479162.121 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Degradation of microcystin-LR by highly efficient AgBr/Ag3PO4/TiO2 heterojunction photocatalyst under simulated solar light irradiation AU - Wang, Xin AU - Utsumi, Motoo AU - Yang, Yingnan AU - Li, Dawei AU - Zhao, Yingxin AU - Zhang, Zhenya AU - Feng, Chuanping AU - Sugiura, Norio AU - Cheng, Jay Jiayang T2 - Applied Surface Science AB - A novel photocatalyst AgBr/Ag3PO4/TiO2 was developed by a simple facile in situ deposition method and used for degradation of mirocystin-LR. TiO2 (P25) as a cost effective chemical was used to improve the stability of AgBr/Ag3PO4 under simulated solar light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity tests for this heterojunction were conducted under simulated solar light irradiation using methyl orange as targeted pollutant. The results indicated that the optimal Ag to Ti molar ratio for the photocatalytic activity of the resulting heterojunction AgBr/Ag3PO4/TiO2 was 1.5 (named as 1.5 BrPTi), which possessed higher photocatalytic capacity than AgBr/Ag3PO4. The 1.5 BrPTi heterojunction was also more stable than AgBr/Ag3PO4 in photocatalysis. This highly efficient and relatively stable photocatalyst was further tested for degradation of the hepatotoxin microcystin-LR (MC-LR). The results suggested that MC-LR was much more easily degraded by 1.5 BrPTi than by AgBr/Ag3PO4. The quenching effects of different scavengers proved that reactive h+ and •OH played important roles for MC-LR degradation. DA - 2015/1// PY - 2015/1// DO - 10.1016/J.APSUSC.2014.10.078 VL - 325 SP - 1-12 J2 - Applied Surface Science LA - en OP - SN - 0169-4332 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/J.APSUSC.2014.10.078 DB - Crossref KW - Microcystin-LR KW - Methyl orange KW - AgBr/Ag3PO4 KW - TiO2 KW - Photocatalysis ER - TY - JOUR TI - Pharmaceutical occurrence in groundwater and surface waters in forests land-applied with municipal wastewater AU - McEachran, Andrew D. AU - Shea, Damian AU - Bodnar, Wanda AU - Nichols, Elizabeth Guthrie T2 - Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry AB - The occurrence and fate of pharmaceutical and personal care products in the environment are of increasing public importance because of their ubiquitous nature and documented effects on wildlife, ecosystems, and potentially humans. One potential, yet undefined, source of entry of pharmaceuticals into the environment is via the land application of municipal wastewater onto permitted lands. The objective of the present study is to determine the extent to which pharmaceuticals are mitigated by or exported from managed tree plantations irrigated with municipal wastewater. A specific focus of the present study is the presence of pharmaceutical compounds in groundwater and surface water discharge. The study site is a municipality that land-applies secondary treated wastewater onto 930 hectares of a 2000-hectare managed hardwood and pine plantation. A suite of 33 pharmaceuticals and steroid hormones was targeted in the analysis, which consisted of monthly grab sampling of groundwater, surface water, and wastewater, followed by concentration and cleanup via solid phase extraction and separation, detection, and quantification via liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. More than one-half of all compounds detected in irrigated wastewater were not present in groundwater and subsequent surface water. However, antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, caffeine, and other prescription and over-the-counter drugs remained in groundwater and were transported into surface water at concentrations up to 10 ng/L. These results provide important documentation for pharmaceutical fate and transport in forest systems irrigated with municipal wastewater, a previously undocumented source of environmental entry. DA - 2015/12/9/ PY - 2015/12/9/ DO - 10.1002/etc.3216 VL - 35 IS - 4 SP - 898-905 J2 - Environ Toxicol Chem LA - en OP - SN - 0730-7268 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/etc.3216 DB - Crossref KW - Pharmaceuticals KW - Wastewater KW - Groundwater KW - Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry ER - TY - JOUR TI - Ethnic-specific associations of rare and low-frequency DNA sequence variants with asthma AU - Igartua, Catherine AU - Myers, Rachel A. AU - Mathias, Rasika A. AU - Pino-Yanes, Maria AU - Eng, Celeste AU - Graves, Penelope E. AU - Levin, Albert M. AU - Del-Rio-Navarro, Blanca E. AU - Jackson, Daniel J. AU - Livne, Oren E. AU - Rafaels, Nicholas AU - Edlund, Christopher K. AU - Yang, James J. AU - Huntsman, Scott AU - Salam, Muhammad T. AU - Romieu, Isabelle AU - Mourad, Raphael AU - Gern, James E. AU - Lemanske, Robert F. AU - Wyss, Annah AU - Hoppin, Jane A. AU - Barnes, Kathleen C. AU - Burchard, Esteban G. AU - Gauderman, W. James AU - Martinez, Fernando D. AU - Raby, Benjamin A. AU - Weiss, Scott T. AU - Williams, L. Keoki AU - London, Stephanie J. AU - Gilliland, Frank D. AU - Nicolae, Dan L. AU - Ober, Carole T2 - Nature Communications AB - Abstract Common variants at many loci have been robustly associated with asthma but explain little of the overall genetic risk. Here we investigate the role of rare (<1%) and low-frequency (1–5%) variants using the Illumina HumanExome BeadChip array in 4,794 asthma cases, 4,707 non-asthmatic controls and 590 case–parent trios representing European Americans, African Americans/African Caribbeans and Latinos. Our study reveals one low-frequency missense mutation in the GRASP gene that is associated with asthma in the Latino sample ( P =4.31 × 10 −6 ; OR=1.25; MAF=1.21%) and two genes harbouring functional variants that are associated with asthma in a gene-based analysis: GSDMB at the 17q12–21 asthma locus in the Latino and combined samples ( P =7.81 × 10 −8 and 4.09 × 10 −8 , respectively) and MTHFR in the African ancestry sample ( P =1.72 × 10 −6 ). Our results suggest that associations with rare and low-frequency variants are ethnic specific and not likely to explain a significant proportion of the ‘missing heritability’ of asthma. DA - 2015/1/16/ PY - 2015/1/16/ DO - 10.1038/ncomms6965 VL - 6 IS - 1 J2 - Nat Commun LA - en OP - SN - 2041-1723 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6965 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Associations of Ozone and PM2.5 Concentrations With Parkinsonʼs Disease Among Participants in the Agricultural Health Study AU - Kirrane, Ellen F. AU - Bowman, Christal AU - Davis, J. Allen AU - Hoppin, Jane A. AU - Blair, Aaron AU - Chen, Honglei AU - Patel, Molini M. AU - Sandler, Dale P. AU - Tanner, Caroline M. AU - Vinikoor-Imler, Lisa AU - Ward, Mary H. AU - Luben, Thomas J. AU - Kamel, Freya T2 - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine AB - Objective: This study describes associations of ozone and fine particulate matter with Parkinson's disease observed among farmers in North Carolina and Iowa. Methods: We used logistic regression to determine the associations of these pollutants with self-reported, doctor-diagnosed Parkinson's disease. Daily predicted pollutant concentrations were used to derive surrogates of long-term exposure and link them to study participants' geocoded addresses. Results: We observed positive associations of Parkinson's disease with ozone (odds ratio = 1.39; 95% CI: 0.98 to 1.98) and fine particulate matter (odds ratio = 1.34; 95% CI: 0.93 to 1.93) in North Carolina but not in Iowa. Conclusions: The plausibility of an effect of ambient concentrations of these pollutants on Parkinson's disease risk is supported by experimental data demonstrating damage to dopaminergic neurons at relevant concentrations. Additional studies are needed to address uncertainties related to confounding and to examine temporal aspects of the associations we observed. DA - 2015/5// PY - 2015/5// DO - 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000451 VL - 57 IS - 5 SP - 509-517 J2 - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine LA - en OP - SN - 1076-2752 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000451 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - IARC Monographs: 40 Years of Evaluating Carcinogenic Hazards to Humans AU - Pearce, Neil AU - Blair, Aaron AU - Vineis, Paolo AU - Ahrens, Wolfgang AU - Andersen, Aage AU - Anto, Josep M. AU - Armstrong, Bruce K. AU - Baccarelli, Andrea A. AU - Beland, Frederick A. AU - Berrington, Amy AU - Bertazzi, Pier Alberto AU - Birnbaum, Linda S. AU - Brownson, Ross C. AU - Bucher, John R. AU - Cantor, Kenneth P. AU - Cardis, Elisabeth AU - Cherrie, John W. AU - Christiani, David C. AU - Cocco, Pierluigi AU - Coggon, David AU - Comba, Pietro AU - Demers, Paul A. AU - Dement, John M. AU - Douwes, Jeroen AU - Eisen, Ellen A. AU - Engel, Lawrence S. AU - Fenske, Richard A. AU - Fleming, Lora E. AU - Fletcher, Tony AU - Fontham, Elizabeth AU - Forastiere, Francesco AU - Frentzel-Beyme, Rainer AU - Fritschi, Lin AU - Gerin, Michel AU - Goldberg, Marcel AU - Grandjean, Philippe AU - Grimsrud, Tom K. AU - Gustavsson, Per AU - Haines, Andy AU - Hartge, Patricia AU - Hansen, Johnni AU - Hauptmann, Michael AU - Heederik, Dick AU - Hemminki, Kari AU - Hemon, Denis AU - Hertz-Picciotto, Irva AU - Hoppin, Jane A. AU - Huff, James AU - Jarvholm, Bengt AU - Kang, Daehee AU - Karagas, Margaret R. AU - Kjaerheim, Kristina AU - Kjuus, Helge AU - Kogevinas, Manolis AU - Kriebel, David AU - Kristensen, Petter AU - Kromhout, Hans AU - Laden, Francine AU - Lebailly, Pierre AU - LeMasters, Grace AU - Lubin, Jay H. AU - Lynch, Charles F. AU - Lynge, Elsebeth AU - ‘t Mannetje, Andrea AU - McMichael, Anthony J. AU - McLaughlin, John R. AU - Marrett, Loraine AU - Martuzzi, Marco AU - Merchant, James A. AU - Merler, Enzo AU - Merletti, Franco AU - Miller, Anthony AU - Mirer, Franklin E. AU - Monson, Richard AU - Nordby, Karl-Cristian AU - Olshan, Andrew F. AU - Parent, Marie-Elise AU - Perera, Frederica P. AU - Perry, Melissa J. AU - Pesatori, Angela Cecilia AU - Pirastu, Roberta AU - Porta, Miquel AU - Pukkala, Eero AU - Rice, Carol AU - Richardson, David B. AU - Ritter, Leonard AU - Ritz, Beate AU - Ronckers, Cecile M. AU - Rushton, Lesley AU - Rusiecki, Jennifer A. AU - Rusyn, Ivan AU - Samet, Jonathan M. AU - Sandler, Dale P. AU - de Sanjose, Silvia AU - Schernhammer, Eva AU - Costantini, Adele Seniori AU - Seixas, Noah AU - Shy, Carl AU - Siemiatycki, Jack AU - Silverman, Debra T. AU - Simonato, Lorenzo AU - Smith, Allan H. AU - Smith, Martyn T. AU - Spinelli, John J. AU - Spitz, Margaret R. AU - Stallones, Lorann AU - Stayner, Leslie T. AU - Steenland, Kyle AU - Stenzel, Mark AU - Stewart, Bernard W. AU - Stewart, Patricia A. AU - Symanski, Elaine AU - Terracini, Benedetto AU - Tolbert, Paige E. AU - Vainio, Harri AU - Vena, John AU - Vermeulen, Roel AU - Victora, Cesar G. AU - Ward, Elizabeth M. AU - Weinberg, Clarice R. AU - Weisenburger, Dennis AU - Wesseling, Catharina AU - Weiderpass, Elisabete AU - Zahm, Shelia Hoar T2 - Environmental Health Perspectives AB - Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Programme for the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans has been criticized for several of its evaluations, and also for the approach used to perform these evaluations. Some critics have claimed that failures of IARC Working Groups to recognize study weaknesses and biases of Working Group members have led to inappropriate classification of a number of agents as carcinogenic to humans.The authors of this Commentary are scientists from various disciplines relevant to the identification and hazard evaluation of human carcinogens. We examined criticisms of the IARC classification process to determine the validity of these concerns. Here, we present the results of that examination, review the history of IARC evaluations, and describe how the IARC evaluations are performed.We concluded that these recent criticisms are unconvincing. The procedures employed by IARC to assemble Working Groups of scientists from the various disciplines and the techniques followed to review the literature and perform hazard assessment of various agents provide a balanced evaluation and an appropriate indication of the weight of the evidence. Some disagreement by individual scientists to some evaluations is not evidence of process failure. The review process has been modified over time and will undoubtedly be altered in the future to improve the process. Any process can in theory be improved, and we would support continued review and improvement of the IARC processes. This does not mean, however, that the current procedures are flawed.The IARC Monographs have made, and continue to make, major contributions to the scientific underpinning for societal actions to improve the public's health. DA - 2015/6// PY - 2015/6// DO - 10.1289/ehp.1409149 VL - 123 IS - 6 SP - 507-514 J2 - Environmental Health Perspectives LA - en OP - SN - 0091-6765 1552-9924 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409149 DB - Crossref ER - TY - CHAP TI - Customer Experience Mapping: The Springboard to Innovative Solutions AU - Bohlmann, Jonathan AU - McCreery, John T2 - Design Thinking AB - A primary method to understand the total customer experience and integrate it with the new product development (NPD) innovation process is experience mapping. The goal is to create an experience-based springboard for product design and innovation. Experience mapping is part of many design thinking toolboxes, and is directly linked to other methods in the design process such as personas, ideation, and stakeholder value exchange. This chapter discusses the three essential elements of experience mapping: understanding the total customer experience as inputs to the experience map; making the experience map; and utilizing the experience map as a springboard to developing innovative solutions. It describes how the experience map can be effectively utilized to envision and design innovative solutions for users. The chapter presents an example of a patient who requires physical therapy services to demonstrate how experience maps can be effectively utilized to add value and satisfy user needs. PY - 2015/10/7/ DO - 10.1002/9781119154273.ch4 SP - 41-58 OP - PB - John Wiley & Sons, Inc SN - 9781119154273 9781118971802 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119154273.ch4 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Encouraging sanitation investment in the developing world: A cluster-randomized trial AU - Guiteras, R. AU - Levinsohn, J. AU - Mobarak, A. M. T2 - Science AB - Poor sanitation contributes to morbidity and mortality in the developing world, but there is disagreement on what policies can increase sanitation coverage. To measure the effects of alternative policies on investment in hygienic latrines, we assigned 380 communities in rural Bangladesh to different marketing treatments-community motivation and information; subsidies; a supply-side market access intervention; and a control-in a cluster-randomized trial. Community motivation alone did not increase hygienic latrine ownership (+1.6 percentage points, P = 0.43), nor did the supply-side intervention (+0.3 percentage points, P = 0.90). Subsidies to the majority of the landless poor increased ownership among subsidized households (+22.0 percentage points, P < 0.001) and their unsubsidized neighbors (+8.5 percentage points, P = 0.001), which suggests that investment decisions are interlinked across neighbors. Subsidies also reduced open defecation by 14 percentage points (P < 0.001). DA - 2015/4/16/ PY - 2015/4/16/ DO - 10.1126/science.aaa0491 VL - 348 IS - 6237 SP - 903-906 J2 - Science LA - en OP - SN - 0036-8075 1095-9203 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa0491 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Satellites, Self-reports, and Submersion: Exposure to Floods in Bangladesh AU - Guiteras, Raymond AU - Jina, Amir AU - Mobarak, A. Mushfiq T2 - American Economic Review AB - A burgeoning “Climate-Economy” literature has uncovered many effects of changes in temperature and precipitation on economic activity, but has made considerably less progress in modeling the effects of other associated phenomena, like natural disasters. We develop new, objective data on floods, focusing on Bangladesh. We show that rainfall and self-reported exposure are weak proxies for true flood exposure. These data allow us to study adaptation, giving accurate measures of both long-term averages and short term variation in exposure. This is important in studying climate change impacts, as people will not only experience new exposures, but also experience them differently. DA - 2015/5/1/ PY - 2015/5/1/ DO - 10.1257/aer.p20151095 VL - 105 IS - 5 SP - 232-236 J2 - American Economic Review LA - en OP - SN - 0002-8282 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.p20151095 DB - Crossref ER - TY - THES TI - Understanding Sources and Determinants of Fecal Contamination of Water, Hands, Food, and Household Floors in Low-income Countries AU - Harris, Angela R DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// PB - Stanford University ER - TY - CONF TI - Using 16s metagenomics to determine microbial population shifts associated with a 336% boost in methane yield during anaerobic co-digestion of grease waste AU - Wang, L. AU - Hossen, E.H. AU - Aziz, T.N. AU - Ducoste, J. AU - Reyes, F.L. C2 - 2015/// C3 - 88th Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference, WEFTEC 2015 DA - 2015/// VL - 8 SP - 6112-6118 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84992022948&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - Computational approaches to identify regulators of plant stress response using high-throughput gene expression data AU - Koryachko, Alexandr AU - Matthiadis, Anna AU - Ducoste, Joel J. AU - Tuck, James AU - Long, Terri A. AU - Williams, Cranos T2 - Current Plant Biology AB - Insight into biological stress regulatory pathways can be derived from high-throughput transcriptomic data using computational algorithms. These algorithms can be integrated into a computational approach to provide specific testable predictions that answer biological questions of interest. This review conceptually organizes a wide variety of developed algorithms into a classification system based on desired type of output predictions. This classification is then used as a structure to describe completed approaches in the literature, with a focus on project goals, overall path of implemented algorithms, and biological insight gained. These algorithms and approaches are introduced mainly in the context of research on the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana under stress conditions, though the nature of computational techniques makes these approaches easily applicable to a wide range of species, data types, and conditions. DA - 2015/9// PY - 2015/9// DO - 10.1016/j.cpb.2015.04.001 VL - 3-4 SP - 20-29 J2 - Current Plant Biology LA - en OP - SN - 2214-6628 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpb.2015.04.001 DB - Crossref KW - Stress response KW - Transcription factors KW - Gene regulatory networks KW - Algorithms KW - Arabidopsis thaliana ER - TY - JOUR TI - Interbasin flow of geothermally modified ground water stabilizes stream exports of biologically important solutes against variation in precipitation AU - Ganong, Carissa N. AU - Small, Gaston E. AU - Ardón, Marcelo AU - McDowell, William H. AU - Genereux, David P. AU - Duff, John H. AU - Pringle, Catherine M. T2 - Freshwater Science AB - Geothermally modified ground water (GMG) in tectonically active areas can be an important source of stream nutrients, and the relative importance of GMG inflows is likely to change with shifts in precipitation that are predicted to occur in response to climate change. However, few studies have quantified the influence of GMG inflows on export of biologically important solutes from watersheds across years differing in precipitation. We quantified N, soluble reactive P (SRP), and dissolved organic C (DOC) export during a year with high precipitation (6550 mm rain) and a year with average precipitation (4033 mm rain) in 2 gauged tropical streams at La Selva Biological Station in lowland Costa Rica. One stream receives extensive inputs of regional GMG, whereas the other is fed entirely by local runoff. In the stream fed only by local runoff, a 62% increase in precipitation from the dry year to the wet year led to a 68% increase in stream discharge, a 67% increase in export of SRP, DOC, dissolved organic N (DON), and NH4+, and a 91% increase in NO3– export. In contrast, in an adjacent stream where >⅓ of discharge consists of GMG, the same increase in precipitation from dry year to wet year led to a 14% increase in discharge, a 14 to 31% increase in export of NO3–, NH4+, DON, and DOC, and only a 2% increase in SRP export. We are unaware of an SRP export rate from a natural system that is higher than the export from the stream receiving interbasin flow of GMG (19 kg ha–1 y–1). Our results illustrate that regional ground water, geothermally modified or not, can stabilize stream export of biologically relevant solutes and water across a varying precipitation regime. DA - 2015/3// PY - 2015/3// DO - 10.1086/679739 VL - 34 IS - 1 SP - 276-286 J2 - Freshwater Science LA - en OP - SN - 2161-9549 2161-9565 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/679739 DB - Crossref KW - stream KW - geothermal KW - ground water KW - nutrient KW - nitrogen KW - phosphorus KW - DOC KW - flux KW - precipitation KW - stoichiometry KW - climate change KW - tropical ER - TY - CHAP TI - Financial and Economic Evaluation Guidelines for International Forestry Projects AU - Cubbage, Frederick AU - Davis, Robert AU - Frey, Gregory AU - Behr, Diji Chandrasekharan AU - Sills, Erin T2 - Tropical Forestry Handbook PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1007/978-3-642-41554-8_68-2 SP - 1-17 OP - PB - Springer Berlin Heidelberg SN - 9783642415548 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41554-8_68-2 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Pesticide use and risk of end-stage renal disease among licensed pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study AU - Lebov, Jill F AU - Engel, Lawrence S AU - Richardson, David AU - Hogan, Susan L AU - Hoppin, Jane A AU - Sandler, Dale P T2 - Occupational and Environmental Medicine AB - Experimental studies suggest a relationship between pesticide exposure and renal impairment, but epidemiological evidence is limited. We evaluated the association between exposure to 39 specific pesticides and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) incidence in the Agricultural Health Study, a prospective cohort study of licensed pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina.Via linkage to the US Renal Data System, we identified 320 ESRD cases diagnosed between enrolment (1993-1997) and December 2011 among 55 580 male licensed pesticide applicators. Participants provided information on use of pesticides via self-administered questionnaires. Lifetime pesticide use was defined as the product of duration and frequency of use and then modified by an intensity factor to account for differences in pesticide application practices. Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age and state, were used to estimate associations between ESRD and: (1) ordinal categories of intensity-weighted lifetime use of 39 pesticides, (2) poisoning and high-level pesticide exposures and (3) pesticide exposure resulting in a medical visit or hospitalisation.Positive exposure-response trends were observed for the herbicides alachlor, atrazine, metolachlor, paraquat, and pendimethalin, and the insecticide permethrin. More than one medical visit due to pesticide use (HR=2.13; 95% CI 1.17 to 3.89) and hospitalisation due to pesticide use (HR=3.05; 95% CI 1.67 to 5.58) were significantly associated with ESRD.Our findings support an association between ESRD and chronic exposure to specific pesticides, and suggest pesticide exposures resulting in medical visits may increase the risk of ESRD.Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00352924. DA - 2015/7/15/ PY - 2015/7/15/ DO - 10.1136/oemed-2014-102615 VL - 73 IS - 1 SP - 3-12 J2 - Occup Environ Med LA - en OP - SN - 1351-0711 1470-7926 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2014-102615 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Optimized oral cholera vaccine distribution strategies to minimize disease incidence: A mixed integer programming model and analysis of a Bangladesh scenario AU - Smalley, Hannah K. AU - Keskinocak, Pinar AU - Swann, Julie AU - Hinman, Alan T2 - Vaccine AB - In addition to improved sanitation, hygiene, and better access to safe water, oral cholera vaccines can help to control the spread of cholera in the short term. However, there is currently no systematic method for determining the best allocation of oral cholera vaccines to minimize disease incidence in a population where the disease is endemic and resources are limited. We present a mathematical model for optimally allocating vaccines in a region under varying levels of demographic and incidence data availability. The model addresses the questions of where, when, and how many doses of vaccines to send. Considering vaccine efficacies (which may vary based on age and the number of years since vaccination), we analyze distribution strategies which allocate vaccines over multiple years. Results indicate that, given appropriate surveillance data, targeting age groups and regions with the highest disease incidence should be the first priority, followed by other groups primarily in order of disease incidence, as this approach is the most life-saving and cost-effective. A lack of detailed incidence data results in distribution strategies which are not cost-effective and can lead to thousands more deaths from the disease. The mathematical model allows for what-if analysis for various vaccine distribution strategies by providing the ability to easily vary parameters such as numbers and sizes of regions and age groups, risk levels, vaccine price, vaccine efficacy, production capacity and budget. DA - 2015/11// PY - 2015/11// DO - 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.09.088 VL - 33 IS - 46 SP - 6218-6223 J2 - Vaccine LA - en OP - SN - 0264-410X UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.09.088 DB - Crossref KW - Cholera KW - Vaccine KW - Bangladesh KW - Mixed integer programming KW - Vaccine distribution ER - TY - JOUR TI - An optimization framework for measuring spatial access over healthcare networks AU - Li, Zihao AU - Serban, Nicoleta AU - Swann, Julie L. T2 - BMC Health Services Research AB - Measurement of healthcare spatial access over a network involves accounting for demand, supply, and network structure. Popular approaches are based on floating catchment areas; however the methods can overestimate demand over the network and fail to capture cascading effects across the system. Optimization is presented as a framework to measure spatial access. Questions related to when and why optimization should be used are addressed. The accuracy of the optimization models compared to the two-step floating catchment area method and its variations is analytically demonstrated, and a case study of specialty care for Cystic Fibrosis over the continental United States is used to compare these approaches. The optimization models capture a patient’s experience rather than their opportunities and avoid overestimating patient demand. They can also capture system effects due to change based on congestion. Furthermore, the optimization models provide more elements of access than traditional catchment methods. Optimization models can incorporate user choice and other variations, and they can be useful towards targeting interventions to improve access. They can be easily adapted to measure access for different types of patients, over different provider types, or with capacity constraints in the network. Moreover, optimization models allow differences in access in rural and urban areas. DA - 2015/7/17/ PY - 2015/7/17/ DO - 10.1186/s12913-015-0919-8 VL - 15 IS - 1 J2 - BMC Health Serv Res LA - en OP - SN - 1472-6963 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12913-015-0919-8 DB - Crossref KW - Optimization KW - Health access KW - Measurement of access KW - Intervention ER - TY - JOUR TI - Small-Area Estimation of Spatial Access to Care and Its Implications for Policy AU - Gentili, Monica AU - Isett, Kim AU - Serban, Nicoleta AU - Swann, Julie T2 - Journal of Urban Health AB - Local or small-area estimates to capture emerging trends across large geographic regions are critical in identifying and addressing community-level health interventions. However, they are often unavailable due to lack of analytic capabilities in compiling and integrating extensive datasets and complementing them with the knowledge about variations in state-level health policies. This study introduces a modeling approach for small-area estimation of spatial access to pediatric primary care that is data "rich" and mathematically rigorous, integrating data and health policy in a systematic way. We illustrate the sensitivity of the model to policy decision making across large geographic regions by performing a systematic comparison of the estimates at the census tract and county levels for Georgia and California. Our results show the proposed approach is able to overcome limitations of other existing models by capturing patient and provider preferences and by incorporating possible changes in health policies. The primary finding is systematic underestimation of spatial access, and inaccurate estimates of disparities across population and across geography at the county level with respect to those at the census tract level with implications on where to focus and which type of interventions to consider. DA - 2015/8/18/ PY - 2015/8/18/ DO - 10.1007/s11524-015-9972-1 VL - 92 IS - 5 SP - 864-909 J2 - J Urban Health LA - en OP - SN - 1099-3460 1468-2869 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11524-015-9972-1 DB - Crossref KW - Spatial access KW - Health policy KW - Optimization KW - Small-area estimates ER - TY - JOUR TI - Estimating Prevalence of Overweight or Obese Children and Adolescents in Small Geographic Areas Using Publicly Available Data AU - Davila-Payan, Carlo AU - DeGuzman, Michael AU - Johnson, Kevin AU - Serban, Nicoleta AU - Swann, Julie T2 - Preventing Chronic Disease AB - Interventions for pediatric obesity can be geographically targeted if high-risk populations can be identified. We developed an approach to estimate the percentage of overweight or obese children aged 2 to 17 years in small geographic areas using publicly available data. We piloted our approach for Georgia.We created a logistic regression model to estimate the individual probability of high body mass index (BMI), given data on the characteristics of the survey participants. We combined the regression model with a simulation to sample subpopulations and obtain prevalence estimates. The models used information from the 2001-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the 2010 Census, and the 2010 American Community Survey. We validated our results by comparing 1) estimates for adults in Georgia produced by using our approach with estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and 2) estimates for children in Arkansas produced by using our approach with school examination data. We generated prevalence estimates for census tracts in Georgia and prioritized areas for interventions.In DeKalb County, the mean prevalence among census tracts varied from 27% to 40%. For adults, the median difference between our estimates and CDC estimates was 1.3 percentage points; for Arkansas children, the median difference between our estimates and examination-based estimates data was 1.7 percentage points.Prevalence estimates for census tracts can be different from estimates for the county, so small-area estimates are crucial for designing effective interventions. Our approach validates well against external data, and it can be a relevant aid for planning local interventions for children. DA - 2015/3/12/ PY - 2015/3/12/ DO - 10.5888/pcd12.140229 VL - 12 J2 - Prev. Chronic Dis. OP - SN - 1545-1151 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd12.140229 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - The effect of geographic access on severe health outcomes for pediatric asthma AU - Garcia, Erin AU - Serban, Nicoleta AU - Swann, Julie AU - Fitzpatrick, Anne T2 - Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology AB - Access to medical care and severe pediatric asthma outcomes vary with geography, but the relationship between them has not been studied.We sought to evaluate the relationship between geographic access and health outcomes for pediatric asthma.The severe outcome measures include emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations for children with an asthma diagnosis in Georgia and North Carolina. We quantify asthma prevalence, outcome measures, and factors included in the statistical model using multiple data sources. We calculate geographic access to primary and asthma specialist care using optimization models. We estimate the association between outcomes and geographic access in the presence of other factors using logistic regression. The model is used to project the reduction in severe outcomes with improvement in access.The association between access and outcomes for pediatric asthma depends on the type of outcome measure, type of care, and variations in other factors. The expression of this association is also different for the 2 states. Access to primary care plays a larger role than access to specialist care in explaining Georgia ED visits, whereas the reverse applies for hospitalizations. In North Carolina access to both primary and specialist care are statistically significant in explaining the variability in ED visits.The variation in the association between estimated access and outcomes affects the projected reductions of severe outcomes with access improvement. Thus applying one intervention would not have the same level of improvement across geography. Interventions must be tailored to target regions with the potential to deliver the highest effect to gain maximum benefit. DA - 2015/9// PY - 2015/9// DO - 10.1016/j.jaci.2015.01.030 VL - 136 IS - 3 SP - 610-618 J2 - Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology LA - en OP - SN - 0091-6749 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2015.01.030 DB - Crossref KW - Geographic access KW - pediatric asthma KW - severe health outcomes ER - TY - JOUR TI - Quantifying and explaining accessibility with application to the 2009 H1N1 vaccination campaign AU - Heier Stamm, Jessica L. AU - Serban, Nicoleta AU - Swann, Julie AU - Wortley, Pascale T2 - Health Care Management Science DA - 2015/9/4/ PY - 2015/9/4/ DO - 10.1007/s10729-015-9338-y VL - 20 IS - 1 SP - 76-93 J2 - Health Care Manag Sci LA - en OP - SN - 1386-9620 1572-9389 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10729-015-9338-y DB - Crossref KW - Public health KW - Potential spatial accessibility KW - Game theory KW - Network optimization KW - Statistics ER - TY - RPRT TI - Vermicomposting in childcare center gardens AU - Sherman, R. A3 - NC State Cooperative Extension DA - 2015/9/28/ PY - 2015/9/28/ M1 - LF‐007‐08 PB - NC State Cooperative Extension SN - LF‐007‐08 ER - TY - CHAP TI - Composting. AU - Sherman, R. T2 - Extension Gardener Handbook PY - 2015/// PB - NC Cooperative Extension Service ER - TY - CHAP TI - Fertilizer Use AU - Osmond, D.L. AU - Crozier, C.R. AU - Sherman, R. AU - LeBude, A.V. T2 - Nutrient Contact of Fertilizer Materials PY - 2015/// PB - AgChem Manual, NC State University ER - TY - RPRT TI - Composting in childcare center gardens AU - Sherman, R. A3 - NC State Cooperative Extension DA - 2015/9/28/ PY - 2015/9/28/ M1 - LF‐007‐07 PB - NC State Cooperative Extension SN - LF‐007‐07 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Soil Pollution Due to Irrigation with Arsenic-Contaminated Groundwater: Current State of Science AU - Gillispie, E.C. AU - Sowers, T.D. AU - Duckworth, O.W. AU - Polizzotto, M.L. T2 - Current Pollution Reports AB - Food with elevated arsenic concentrations is becoming widely recognized as a global threat to human health. This review describes the current state of knowledge of soil pollution derived from irrigation with arsenic-contaminated groundwater, highlighting processes controlling arsenic cycling in soils and resulting arsenic impacts on crop and human health. Irrigation practices utilized for both flooded and upland crops have the potential to load arsenic to soils, with a host of environmental and anthropogenic factors ultimately determining the fate of arsenic. Continual use of contaminated groundwater for irrigation may result in soils with concentrations sufficient to create dangerous arsenic concentrations in the edible portions of crops. Recent advances in low-cost water and soil management options show promise for mitigating arsenic impacts of polluted soils. Better understanding of arsenic transfer from soil to crops and the controls on long-term soil arsenic accumulation is needed to establish effective arsenic mitigation strategies within vulnerable agronomic systems. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1007/s40726-015-0001-5 VL - 1 IS - 1 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85039931557&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Arsenic KW - Soil KW - Irrigation KW - Crops KW - Human health KW - Mitigation ER - TY - JOUR TI - Genotypic and Phenotypic Characterization of Escherichia coli Isolates from Feces, Hands, and Soils in Rural Bangladesh via the Colilert Quanti-Tray System AU - Julian, Timothy R. AU - Islam, M. Aminul AU - Pickering, Amy J. AU - Roy, Subarna AU - Fuhrmeister, Erica R. AU - Ercumen, Ayse AU - Harris, Angela AU - Bishai, Jason AU - Schwab, Kellogg J. T2 - Appl. Environ. Microbiol. AB - ABSTRACT The increased awareness of the role of environmental matrices in enteric disease transmission has resulted in the need for rapid, field-based methods for fecal indicator bacteria and pathogen detection. Evidence of the specificity of β-glucuronidase-based assays for detection of Escherichia coli from environmental matrices relevant to enteric pathogen transmission in developing countries, such as hands, soils, and surfaces, is limited. In this study, we quantify the false-positive rate of a β-glucuronidase-based E. coli detection assay (Colilert) for two environmental reservoirs in Bangladeshi households (hands and soils) and three fecal composite sources (cattle, chicken, and humans). We investigate whether or not the isolation source of E. coli influences phenotypic and genotypic characteristics. Phenotypic characteristics include results of biochemical assays provided by the API-20E test; genotypic characteristics include the Clermont phylogroup and the presence of enteric and/or environmental indicator genes sfmH , rfaI , and fucK . Our findings demonstrate no statistically significant difference in the false-positive rate of Colilert for environmental compared to enteric samples. E. coli isolates from all source types are genetically diverse, representing six of the seven phylogroups, and there is no difference in relative frequency of phylogroups between enteric and environmental samples. We conclude that Colilert, and likely other β-glucuronidase-based assays, is appropriate for detection of E. coli on hands and in soils with low false-positive rates. Furthermore, E. coli isolated from hands and soils in Bangladeshi households are diverse and indistinguishable from cattle, chicken, and human fecal isolates, using traditional biochemical assays and phylogrouping. DA - 2015/3/1/ PY - 2015/3/1/ DO - 10.1128/AEM.03214-14 VL - 81 IS - 5 SP - 1735-1743 J2 - Appl. Environ. Microbiol. LA - en SN - 0099-2240, 1098-5336 UR - https://aem.asm.org/content/81/5/1735 DB - aem.asm.org Y2 - 2019/1/25/ ER - TY - JOUR TI - Upgrading a Piped Water Supply from Intermittent to Continuous Delivery and Association with Waterborne Illness: A Matched Cohort Study in Urban India AU - Ercumen, Ayse AU - Arnold, Benjamin F. AU - Kumpel, Emily AU - Burt, Zachary AU - Ray, Isha AU - Nelson, Kara AU - Jr, John M. Colford T2 - PLOS Medicine AB - Intermittent delivery of piped water can lead to waterborne illness through contamination in the pipelines or during household storage, use of unsafe water sources during intermittencies, and limited water availability for hygiene. We assessed the association between continuous versus intermittent water supply and waterborne diseases, child mortality, and weight for age in Hubli-Dharwad, India.We conducted a matched cohort study with multivariate matching to identify intermittent and continuous supply areas with comparable characteristics in Hubli-Dharwad. We followed 3,922 households in 16 neighborhoods with children <5 y old, with four longitudinal visits over 15 mo (Nov 2010-Feb 2012) to record caregiver-reported health outcomes (diarrhea, highly credible gastrointestinal illness, bloody diarrhea, typhoid fever, cholera, hepatitis, and deaths of children <2 y old) and, at the final visit, to measure weight for age for children <5 y old. We also collected caregiver-reported data on negative control outcomes (cough/cold and scrapes/bruises) to assess potential bias from residual confounding or differential measurement error. Continuous supply had no significant overall association with diarrhea (prevalence ratio [PR] = 0.93, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.83-1.04, p = 0.19), bloody diarrhea (PR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.60-1.01, p = 0.06), or weight-for-age z-scores (Δz = 0.01, 95% CI: -0.07-0.09, p = 0.79) in children <5 y old. In prespecified subgroup analyses by socioeconomic status, children <5 y old in lower-income continuous supply households had 37% lower prevalence of bloody diarrhea (PR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.46-0.87, p-value for interaction = 0.03) than lower-income intermittent supply households; in higher-income households, there was no significant association between continuous versus intermittent supply and child diarrheal illnesses. Continuous supply areas also had 42% fewer households with ≥1 reported case of typhoid fever (cumulative incidence ratio [CIR] = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.41-0.78, p = 0.001) than intermittent supply areas. There was no significant association with hepatitis, cholera, or mortality of children <2 y old; however, our results were indicative of lower mortality of children <2 y old (CIR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.22-1.07, p = 0.10) in continuous supply areas. The major limitations of our study were the potential for unmeasured confounding given the observational design and measurement bias from differential reporting of health symptoms given the nonblinded treatment. However, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of the negative control outcomes between study groups that would suggest undetected confounding or measurement bias.Continuous water supply had no significant overall association with diarrheal disease or ponderal growth in children <5 y old in Hubli-Dharwad; this might be due to point-of-use water contamination from continuing household storage and exposure to diarrheagenic pathogens through nonwaterborne routes. Continuous supply was associated with lower prevalence of dysentery in children in low-income households and lower typhoid fever incidence, suggesting that intermittently operated piped water systems are a significant transmission mechanism for Salmonella typhi and dysentery-causing pathogens in this urban population, despite centralized water treatment. Continuous supply was associated with reduced transmission, especially in the poorer higher-risk segments of the population. DA - 2015/10/27/ PY - 2015/10/27/ DO - 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001892 VL - 12 IS - 10 SP - e1001892 J2 - PLOS Medicine LA - en SN - 1549-1676 ST - Upgrading a Piped Water Supply from Intermittent to Continuous Delivery and Association with Waterborne Illness UR - https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001892 DB - PLoS Journals Y2 - 2019/1/25/ ER - TY - JOUR TI - Effects of source- versus household contamination of tubewell water on child diarrhea in rural Bangladesh: a randomized controlled trial AU - Ercumen, Ayse AU - Naser, Abu Mohd AU - Unicomb, Leanne AU - Arnold, Benjamin F. AU - Colford, John M. AU - Luby, Stephen P. T2 - PloS One AB - Shallow tubewells are the primary drinking water source for most rural Bangladeshis. Fecal contamination has been detected in tubewells, at low concentrations at the source and at higher levels at the point of use. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess whether improving the microbiological quality of tubewell drinking water by household water treatment and safe storage would reduce diarrhea in children <2 years in rural Bangladesh.We randomly assigned 1800 households with a child aged 6-18 months (index child) into one of three arms: chlorine plus safe storage, safe storage and control. We followed households with monthly visits for one year to promote the interventions, track their uptake, test participants' source and stored water for fecal contamination, and record caregiver-reported child diarrhea prevalence (primary outcome). To assess reporting bias, we also collected data on health outcomes that are not expected to be impacted by our interventions.Both interventions had high uptake. Safe storage, alone or combined with chlorination, reduced heavy contamination of stored water. Compared to controls, diarrhea in index children was reduced by 36% in the chlorine plus safe storage arm (prevalence ratio, PR = 0.64, 0.55-0.73) and 31% in the safe storage arm (PR = 0.69, 0.60-0.80), with no difference between the two intervention arms. One limitation of the study was the non-blinded design with self-reported outcomes. However, the prevalence of health outcomes not expected to be impacted by water interventions did not differ between study arms, suggesting minimal reporting bias.Safe storage significantly improved drinking water quality at the point of use and reduced child diarrhea in rural Bangladesh. There was no added benefit from combining safe storage with chlorination. Efforts should be undertaken to implement and evaluate long-term efforts for safe water storage in Bangladesh.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01350063. C2 - PMC4376788 DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0121907 VL - 10 IS - 3 SP - e0121907 J2 - PLoS ONE LA - eng SN - 1932-6203 ST - Effects of source- versus household contamination of tubewell water on child diarrhea in rural Bangladesh DB - PubMed ER - TY - CONF TI - How to train your digester - Using step and pulse feeding of grease waste to increase community resistance and methane yield by up to 336% AU - Wang, L. AU - Hossen, E.H. AU - Aziz, T.N. AU - Ducoste, J.J. AU - De Los Reyes, F.L. C2 - 2015/// C3 - Proceedings of the Air and Waste Management Association's Annual Conference and Exhibition, AWMA DA - 2015/// VL - 3 SP - 1581-1589 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84983745996&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - Assessing biophysical controls on Gulf of Mexico hypoxia through probabilistic modeling AU - Obenour, Daniel R AU - Michalak, Anna M AU - Scavia, Donald T2 - Ecological Applications DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// VL - 25 IS - 2 SP - 492-505 ER - TY - RPRT TI - Tender instruments: programme participation and impact in australian conservation tenders, grants and volunteer organisations AU - Brown, Z.S. AU - Alvarez, B. AU - Johnstone, N. T2 - OECD Environment Working Papers A3 - OECD Publishing AB - A striking variety of policy instruments are used in Victoria, Australia to achieve conservation objectives. These include highly active voluntary programmes, a variety of conservation grants, and a reverse auction for the provision of ecosystem services, known as EcoTender. An open question regarding such payments for ecosystem services (i.e. grants and tenders) is whether they achieve ‘additionality.’ That is, do they lead to conservation above the status quo? Critics of these instruments allege that the majority of funds for such programmes are merely paying individuals for conservation work they are already doing. A related concern is that monetary incentives for conservation may skew landowners’ motives more towards monetary concerns, and erode nature conservation values. The practical implication of this ‘moral crowding out’ is that, if funding is ever suspended for conservation grants or EcoTenders, then conservation may decline below its original, pre-programme level. To investigate both of these concerns, a telephone survey was conducted with 266 farmers in Victoria. Analysis of the data suggests that there is a strong correlation between stated levels of own-property conservation effort and activity in local volunteer groups, as well as having received a conservation grant or tender. However, this does not address the additionality question, because landowners already engaged in such efforts may be more likely to be awarded grants or tenders. This presents an endogeneity problem. While panel data are ultimately necessary to answer this question definitively, application of instrumental variables methods provides some insight. The methods imply that grants and tenders may achieve ‘additionality’ only when they reach those otherwise uninvolved with conservation programmes, in particular those not volunteering. This suggests that conservation tenders can improve their cost-effectiveness by increasing participation among those not already volunteering in other conservation programmes. Meanwhile, there is fairly strong evidence in the data for the potential for moral-crowding-out; tender or grant receipt appears to shift stated motivations towards more monetary concerns. However, the practical implications of this finding – that is, whether this erosion of attitudes translates in blunted conservation efforts – remain unknown. C6 - 858585 DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1787/5js4k0t30hvc-en M1 - 85 PB - OECD Publishing SN - 85 UR - https://ideas.repec.org/p/oec/envaaa/85-en.html ER - TY - CHAP TI - Addressing environmental risks for child health AU - Trasande, L. AU - Brown, Z.S. T2 - Promoting health, preventing disease: the economic case A2 - McDaid, D. A2 - Sassi, F. A2 - Merkur, S. PY - 2015/// PB - World Health Organization, Open University Press UR - https://books.google.com/books?id=COrSCgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA169&ots=CAuZbBcuiL&lr&pg=PA169#v=onepage&q&f=false ER - TY - JOUR TI - Tropical freshwater sciences: An overview of ongoing tropical research AU - Ramírez, A. AU - Ardón, M. AU - Douglas, M.M. AU - Gra?a, M.A.S. T2 - Freshwater Science AB - Previous articleNext article No AccessTropical StreamsTropical freshwater sciences: an overview of ongoing tropical researchAlonso Ramírez, Marcelo Ardón, Michael M. Douglas, and Manuel A. S. GraçaAlonso Ramírez1Department of Environmental Science, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00919 USA5E-mail addresses: [email protected] Search for more articles by this author , Marcelo Ardón2Department of Biology and Center for Biodiversity, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina 27858 USA6[email protected] Search for more articles by this author , Michael M. Douglas3Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territories 0909 Australia7[email protected] Search for more articles by this author , and Manuel A. S. Graça4MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Largo Marquês de Pombal, Coimbra, Portugal8[email protected] Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Freshwater Science Volume 34, Number 2June 2015 Published on behalf of the Society for Freshwater Science Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/681257 Views: 142Total views on this site Citations: 6Citations are reported from Crossref HistoryPublished online March 18, 2015Received February 17, 2015Accepted February 18, 2015 © 2015 by The Society for Freshwater Science.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Sydney Moyo An enigma: A meta-analysis reveals the effect of ubiquitous microplastics on different taxa in aquatic systems, Frontiers in Environmental Science 10 (Sep 2022).https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.999349Nicholas S. Marzolf, Marcelo Ardón Ecosystem metabolism in tropical streams and rivers: a review and synthesis, Limnology and Oceanography 66, no.55 (Feb 2021): 1627–1638.https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11707Lina Paola Giraldo, Juan F. Blanco-Libreros, Julián Chará Controles extrínsecos e intrínsecos en la descomposición de hojas de tres especies de árboles pioneros comunes en quebradas de bajo orden en los Andes Centrales de Colombia, Neotropical Biodiversity 7, no.11 (Aug 2021): 392–404.https://doi.org/10.1080/23766808.2021.1964913José L. S. Mello, Daniel P. Abrahão, Wesley A. Saltarelli, Matt R. Whiles, Walter K. Dodds, Checo Colón-Gaud, Vinicius Neres-Lima, Davi G. F. Cunha, and Juliano J. Corbi Patterns of macroinvertebrate production and energy flow in headwater streams of the Brazilian Savanna, Freshwater Science 39, no.44 (Oct 2020): 848–859.https://doi.org/10.1086/711756 References, (Jan 2020): 833–948.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813255-5.00037-5Kate Baker, Michael A. Chadwick, Rafhiah Kahar, Zohrah Haji Sulaiman, Rodzay A. Wahab , Ecosphere 7, no.1212 ( 2016).https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1479 DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1086/681257 VL - 34 IS - 2 SP - 606-608 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84953737675&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - Thermodynamic constraints on the utility of ecological stoichiometry for explaining global biogeochemical patterns AU - Helton, A.M. AU - Ardón, M. AU - Bernhardt, E.S. T2 - Ecology Letters AB - Carbon and nitrogen cycles are coupled through both stoichiometric requirements for microbial biomass and dissimilatory metabolic processes in which microbes catalyse reduction-oxidation reactions. Here, we integrate stoichiometric theory and thermodynamic principles to explain the commonly observed trade-off between high nitrate and high organic carbon concentrations, and the even stronger trade-off between high nitrate and high ammonium concentrations, across a wide range of aquatic ecosystems. Our results suggest these relationships are the emergent properties of both microbial biomass stoichiometry and the availability of terminal electron acceptors. Because elements with multiple oxidation states (i.e. nitrogen, manganese, iron and sulphur) serve as both nutrients and sources of chemical energy in reduced environments, both assimilative demand and dissimilatory uses determine their concentrations across broad spatial gradients. Conceptual and quantitative models that integrate rather than independently examine thermodynamic, stoichiometric and evolutionary controls on biogeochemical cycling are essential for understanding local to global biogeochemical patterns. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1111/ele.12487 VL - 18 IS - 10 SP - 1049-1056 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84941022537&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - A global perspective on wetland salinization: ecological consequences of a growing threat to freshwater wetlands AU - Herbert, E.R. AU - Boon, P. AU - Burgin, A.J. AU - Neubauer, S.C. AU - Franklin, R.B. AU - Ardon, M. AU - Hopfensperger, K.N. AU - Lamers, L.P.M. AU - Gell, P. AU - Langley, J.A. T2 - Ecosphere AB - Salinization, a widespread threat to the structure and ecological functioning of inland and coastal wetlands, is currently occurring at an unprecedented rate and geographic scale. The causes of salinization are diverse and include alterations to freshwater flows, land‐clearance, irrigation, disposal of wastewater effluent, sea level rise, storm surges, and applications of de‐icing salts. Climate change and anthropogenic modifications to the hydrologic cycle are expected to further increase the extent and severity of wetland salinization. Salinization alters the fundamental physicochemical nature of the soil‐water environment, increasing ionic concentrations and altering chemical equilibria and mineral solubility. Increased concentrations of solutes, especially sulfate, alter the biogeochemical cycling of major elements including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, iron, and silica. The effects of salinization on wetland biogeochemistry typically include decreased inorganic nitrogen removal (with implications for water quality and climate regulation), decreased carbon storage (with implications for climate regulation and wetland accretion), and increased generation of toxic sulfides (with implications for nutrient cycling and the health/functioning of wetland biota). Indeed, increased salt and sulfide concentrations induce physiological stress in wetland biota and ultimately can result in large shifts in wetland communities and their associated ecosystem functions. The productivity and composition of freshwater species assemblages will be highly altered, and there is a high potential for the disruption of existing interspecific interactions. Although there is a wealth of information on how salinization impacts individual ecosystem components, relatively few studies have addressed the complex and often non‐linear feedbacks that determine ecosystem‐scale responses or considered how wetland salinization will affect landscape‐level processes. Although the salinization of wetlands may be unavoidable in many cases, these systems may also prove to be a fertile testing ground for broader ecological theories including (but not limited to): investigations into alternative stable states and tipping points, trophic cascades, disturbance‐recovery processes, and the role of historical events and landscape context in driving community response to disturbance. DA - 2015/10// PY - 2015/10// DO - 10.1890/ES14-00534.1 VL - 6 IS - 10 SP - art206 J2 - Ecosphere LA - en OP - SN - 2150-8925 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES14-00534.1 DB - Crossref KW - biodiversity KW - biogeochemistry KW - ecosystem services KW - global change KW - hydrology KW - wetland KW - non-linear feedbacks KW - salinization KW - salinification KW - saltwater intrusion ER - TY - JOUR TI - The Legacy of Mexico's Agrarian Counter-Reforms: Reinforcing Social Hierarchies in Calakmul, Campeche AU - Navarro-Olmedo, Santana AU - Haenn, Nora AU - Schmook, Birgit AU - Radel, Claudia T2 - Journal of Agrarian Change AB - In this paper, we examine how M exico's 1992 counter‐reforms reinforced social hierarchies between two ‘classes’ of residents within three ejidos in an agricultural frontier in C ampeche. We carried out qualitative research with 94 ejidatarios , 92 pobladores and 13 government officials. Our research shows that the reforms cemented the second‐class status of pobladores, as their access to land, natural resources such as firewood and governmental subsidies is now even more contested. Ejidal residents have responded to these tensions by invoking various conceptions of citizenship to press for different forms of justice. Ejidatarios seek to enforce their legal prerogatives by advocating a tiered citizenship, inflected with aspects of ‘market citizenship’, in which pobladores have less access to resources and voice. Pobladores seek inclusion in the ejido via a cultural model of citizenship built around a ‘civil sociality’. Despite this generalization, both groups also selectively move between and combine these citizenship frameworks to advance their claims. DA - 2015/1/8/ PY - 2015/1/8/ DO - 10.1111/joac.12095 VL - 16 IS - 1 SP - 145-167 KW - ejidatarios KW - intra-ejidal relations KW - pobladores KW - resource conflict KW - citizenship ER - TY - JOUR TI - Innovation at the Crossroads: Exploring the Intersection of Innovation Adoption and Specification Reform in Public Highway Construction AU - Kimmel, Shawn AU - Toohey, Nathan AU - Delborne, Jason T2 - Transportation Research Circular DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// VL - E-C199 IS - 199 SP - 9-18 SN - 0097-8515 ST - Innovation at the Crossroads UR - https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=1371964 DB - trid.trb.org Y2 - 2018/11/28/ N1 - place: Washington, DC RN - place: Washington, DC ER - TY - CHAP TI - Precautionary Principle AU - Harremoës, P. AU - Delborne, J. T2 - Ethics, Science, Technology, and Engineering: A Global Resource A2 - Holbrook, J.B. PY - 2015/// ET - 2nd VL - 3 SP - 449–455 PB - Macmillan Reference USA ER - TY - CHAP TI - HeLa Cells AU - Hoopes, J. AU - Delborne, J. T2 - Ethics, Science, Technology, and Engineering: A Global Resource A2 - Holbrook, J.B. PY - 2015/// ET - 2nd VL - 2 SP - 446–448 PB - Macmillan Reference USA ER - TY - JOUR TI - Modified auger for pit latrine desludging in developing countries AU - Sisco, Tracey AU - Rogers, Tate AU - Reyes, Francis T2 - HUMANITARIAN TECHNOLOGY: SCIENCE, SYSTEMS AND GLOBAL IMPACT 2015, HUMTECH2015 AB - A modified auger was developed in response to the need for a hygienic and low-cost pit emptying technology. An auger is housed inside a 4” pipe and powered by a hydraulic motor. As the auger turns, sludge is conveyed up and out of the pit into containers for disposal. Development and lab testing of prototypes was followed by field-testing on pit latrines in South Africa. Flow rates up to 40 LPM were achieved in field-testing, which are high enough to empty a typical pit in 1 to 2 hours. Field testing also revealed new challenges and progress has continued in order to solve these problems, including improved manoeuvrability and management of trash often found in latrines. The addition of a dolly frame improved the movement of the auger inside and outside of the pits. Trash removal technologies that could be coupled with the auger are currently in development. Further field-testing of the auger and trash management techniques will be carried out. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1016/j.proeng.2015.06.101 VL - 107 SP - 427-429 SN - 1877-7058 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84946054501&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - pit latrine emptying KW - fecal sludge management ER - TY - JOUR TI - The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim homeland and global politics AU - Gilmartin, D. T2 - Journal of Asian Studies DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// VL - 74 IS - 4 SP - 1056-1057 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Decomposition of sources of errors in seasonal streamflow forecasting over the U.S. Sunbelt AU - Mazrooei, Amirhossein AU - Sinha, Tushar AU - Sankarasubramanian, A. AU - Kumar, Sujay AU - Peters‐Lidard, Christa D. T2 - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres AB - Abstract Seasonal streamflow forecasts, contingent on climate information, can be utilized to ensure water supply for multiple uses including municipal demands, hydroelectric power generation, and for planning agricultural operations. However, uncertainties in the streamflow forecasts pose significant challenges in their utilization in real‐time operations. In this study, we systematically decompose various sources of errors in developing seasonal streamflow forecasts from two Land Surface Models (LSMs) (Noah3.2 and CLM2), which are forced with downscaled and disaggregated climate forecasts. In particular, the study quantifies the relative contributions of the sources of errors from LSMs, climate forecasts, and downscaling/disaggregation techniques in developing seasonal streamflow forecast. For this purpose, three month ahead seasonal precipitation forecasts from the ECHAM4.5 general circulation model (GCM) were statistically downscaled from 2.8° to 1/8° spatial resolution using principal component regression (PCR) and then temporally disaggregated from monthly to daily time step using kernel‐nearest neighbor (K‐NN) approach. For other climatic forcings, excluding precipitation, we considered the North American Land Data Assimilation System version 2 (NLDAS‐2) hourly climatology over the years 1979 to 2010. Then the selected LSMs were forced with precipitation forecasts and NLDAS‐2 hourly climatology to develop retrospective seasonal streamflow forecasts over a period of 20 years (1991–2010). Finally, the performance of LSMs in forecasting streamflow under different schemes was analyzed to quantify the relative contribution of various sources of errors in developing seasonal streamflow forecast. Our results indicate that the most dominant source of errors during winter and fall seasons is the errors due to ECHAM4.5 precipitation forecasts, while temporal disaggregation scheme contributes to maximum errors during summer season. DA - 2015/12// PY - 2015/12// DO - 10.1002/2015jd023687 VL - 120 IS - 23 SP - J2 - J. Geophys. Res. Atmos. LA - en OP - SN - 2169-897X 2169-8996 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2015jd023687 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Environmental Threats and Political Opportunities: Citizen Activism in the North Bohemian Coal Basin AU - Shriver, Thomas E. AU - Adams, Alison E. AU - Longo, Stefano B. T2 - SOCIAL FORCES AB - Extant research has established important linkages between threats and social movement mobilization in a variety of political and economic settings. Yet, comparatively little attention has been paid to the relationship between environmental threats and activism. Drawing from literatures in environmental sociology and social movements, we examine the coal industry and its resultant environmental devastation in Czechoslovakia to investigate the intersection of political and environmental threats in provoking activism in highly repressive settings. Using a range of data sources, we illustrate how the externalities of extreme production coupled with developing weaknesses in the state ultimately incited public protest against the regime. Our analysis of protest in North Bohemia provides insight into broader patterns of elite legitimacy and resistance. Our findings show that the environmental externalities stemming from state-mandated production in the North Bohemian region posed an imminent threat that spurred residents to protest despite harsh state repression. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for future research on environmental and political threats, elite legitimation, and citizen activism. DA - 2015/12// PY - 2015/12// DO - 10.1093/sf/sov072 VL - 94 IS - 2 SP - 699-722 SN - 1534-7605 ER - TY - BOOK TI - The tragedy of the commodity: Oceans, fisheries, and aquaculture AU - Longo, S. B. AU - Clausen, R. AU - Clark, B DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// PB - New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press SN - 9780813565781 ER - TY - BOOK TI - The man who touched his own heart: True tales of science, surgery, and mystery AU - Dunn, R. R. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// PB - New York: Little, Brown and Company SN - 9780316225793 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Influence of basin characteristics on the effectiveness and downstream reach of interbasin water transfers: displacing a problem AU - Emanuel, Ryan E. AU - Buckley, John J. AU - Caldwell, Peter V. AU - McNulty, Steven G. AU - Sun, Ge T2 - ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS AB - Interbasin water transfers are globally important water management strategies, yet little is known about their role in the hydrologic cycle at regional and continental scales. Specifically, there is a dearth of centralized information on transfer locations and characteristics, and few analyses place transfers into a relevant hydrological context. We assessed hydrological characteristics of interbasin transfers (IBTs) in the conterminous US using a nationwide inventory of transfers together with historical climate data and hydrological modeling. Supplying and receiving drainage basins share similar hydroclimatological conditions, suggesting that climatological drivers of water shortages in receiving basins likely have similar effects on supplying basins. This result calls into question the effectiveness of transfers as a strategy to mitigate climate-driven water shortages, as the water shortage may be displaced but not resolved. We also identified hydrologically advantageous and disadvantageous IBTs by comparing the water balances of supplying and receiving basins. Transfer magnitudes did not vary between the two categories, confirming that factors driving individual IBTs, such as patterns of human water demand or engineering constraints, also influence the continental-scale distribution of transfers. Some IBTs impact streamflow for hundreds of kilometers downstream. Transfer magnitude, hydroclimate and organization of downstream river networks mediate downstream impacts, and these impacts have the potential to expand downstream nonlinearly during years of drought. This work sheds new light on IBTs and emphasizes the need for updated inventories and analyses that place IBTs in an appropriate hydrological context. DA - 2015/12// PY - 2015/12// DO - 10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124005 VL - 10 IS - 12 SP - SN - 1748-9326 UR - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=ORCID&SrcApp=OrcidOrg&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=WOS:000367286300012&KeyUID=WOS:000367286300012 KW - water resources KW - global change KW - hydrological cycles KW - water management KW - climate ER - TY - JOUR TI - How Study Design Influences the Ranking of Medicinal Plant Importance: A Case Study from Ghana, West Africa AU - Dudney, Katherine AU - Warren, Sarah AU - Sills, Erin AU - Jacka, Jerry T2 - ECONOMIC BOTANY DA - 2015/12// PY - 2015/12// DO - 10.1007/s12231-015-9322-y VL - 69 IS - 4 SP - 306-317 SN - 1874-9364 KW - Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge (TEK) KW - Ghana KW - medicinal plants KW - quantitative ethnobotany KW - informant consensus KW - cultural importance ER - TY - JOUR TI - Exploring Tradeoffs in Demand- Side and Supply- Side Management of Urban Water Resources Using Agent- Based Modeling and Evolutionary Computation AU - Kanta, Lufthansa AU - Berglund, Emily Zechman T2 - SYSTEMS AB - Urban water supply systems may be managed through supply-side and demand-side strategies, which focus on water source expansion and demand reductions, respectively. Supply-side strategies bear infrastructure and energy costs, while demand-side strategies bear costs of implementation and inconvenience to consumers. To evaluate the performance of demand-side strategies, the participation and water use adaptations of consumers should be simulated. In this study, a Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) framework is developed to simulate consumer agents that change their consumption to affect the withdrawal from the water supply system, which, in turn influences operational policies and long-term resource planning. Agent-based models are encoded to represent consumers and a policy maker agent and are coupled with water resources system simulation models. The CAS framework is coupled with an evolutionary computation-based multi-objective methodology to explore tradeoffs in cost, inconvenience to consumers, and environmental impacts for both supply-side and demand-side strategies. Decisions are identified to specify storage levels in a reservoir that trigger: (1) increases in the volume of water pumped through inter-basin transfers from an external reservoir; and (2) drought stages, which restrict the volume of water that is allowed for residential outdoor uses. The proposed methodology is demonstrated for Arlington, Texas, water supply system to identify non-dominated strategies for an historic drought decade. Results demonstrate that pumping costs associated with maximizing environmental reliability exceed pumping costs associated with minimizing restrictions on consumer water use. DA - 2015/12// PY - 2015/12// DO - 10.3390/systems3040287 VL - 3 IS - 4 SP - 287-308 SN - 2079-8954 KW - agent-based modeling KW - complex adaptive systems analysis KW - multi-objective optimization KW - urban water resources management KW - sustainability ER - TY - JOUR TI - Evaluating the long-term impacts of promoting "green" agriculture in the Amazon AU - Sills, Erin O. AU - Caviglia-Harris, Jill L. T2 - AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS AB - Abstract Frontier development in the Brazilian Amazon has created vast areas of largely deforested landscapes. Conservation efforts in these post‐frontier zones seek to protect the remaining forest fragments and promote sustainable agricultural practices that absorb labor, meet market demand, and generate ecosystem services. Assessments of these efforts often find that rates of sustained uptake are disappointingly low and that impacts are difficult to discern, but this could be due to the short‐time frames of both the efforts themselves and their evaluation. We investigate the impacts of participation in an internationally sponsored farmer association that for 15 years promoted sustainable agricultural practices in the heavily deforested state of Rondônia, Brazil. Using data from a georeferenced four‐period panel survey of farmers in combination with remote sensing data on land use spanning the life of the association, we apply matching methods to estimate the impacts of participation. We find that membership resulted in more diversified production systems, including more land allocated to agroforestry. Members also deforested less of their farms, but this difference is not statistically significant after we control for selection bias in membership. DA - 2015/11// PY - 2015/11// DO - 10.1111/agec.12200 VL - 46 SP - 83-102 SN - 1574-0862 KW - Brazilian Amazon KW - Tropical deforestation KW - Impact evaluation KW - Genetic matching KW - Agroforestry KW - Productive conservation KW - Diversification ER - TY - JOUR TI - REDD plus at a critical juncture: assessing the limits of polycentric governance for achieving climate change mitigation AU - Sunderlin, W. D. AU - Sills, E. O. AU - Duchelle, A. E. AU - Ekaputri, A. D. AU - Kweka, D. AU - Toniolo, M. A. AU - Ball, S. AU - Doggart, N. AU - Pratama, C. D. AU - Padilla, J. T. AU - Enright, A. AU - Otsyina, R. M. T2 - INTERNATIONAL FORESTRY REVIEW AB - In 2007, REDD+ emerged as the leading option for early climate change mitigation. In 2010, after the failure of negotiations at the Copenhagen COP, observers cited REDD+ projects and other subnational initiatives as examples of the polycentric governance (based on multiple independent actors operating at multiple levels) necessary to move climate change mitigation forward in the absence of a binding international agreement. This paper examines the ways subnational initiatives can and cannot play this role, based on the experiences and opinions of 23 REDD+ proponent organizations in six countries. These proponents have tested various approaches to climate change mitigation, demonstrating the value of a polycentric approach for promoting innovation and learning. However, from our sample, six initiatives have closed, four no longer label themselves as REDD+, only four are selling carbon credits, and less than half view conditional incentives (initially the core innovation of REDD+) as their most important intervention. While polycentric governance in REDD+ has benefits, it will not enable implementation of REDD+ as originally conceived unless accompanied by a binding international agreement. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1505/146554815817476468 VL - 17 IS - 4 SP - 400-413 SN - 2053-7778 KW - deforestation KW - climate KW - REDD KW - finance KW - governance ER - TY - JOUR TI - How does information communication technology affect energy use? AU - Longo, S. B. AU - York, R. T2 - Human Ecology Review DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.22459/her.22.01.2015.04 VL - 22 IS - 1 SP - 55-71 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Global divergence of the human follicle mite Demodex folliculorum: Persistent associations between host ancestry and mite lineages AU - Palopoli, Michael F. AU - Fergus, Daniel J. AU - Minot, Samuel AU - Pei, Dorothy T. AU - Simison, W. Brian AU - Fernandez-Silva, Iria AU - Thoemmes, Megan S. AU - Dunn, Robert R. AU - Trautwein, Michelle T2 - PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AB - Microscopic mites of the genus Demodex live within the hair follicles of mammals and are ubiquitous symbionts of humans, but little molecular work has been done to understand their genetic diversity or transmission. Here we sampled mite DNA from 70 human hosts of diverse geographic ancestries and analyzed 241 sequences from the mitochondrial genome of the species Demodex folliculorum. Phylogenetic analyses recovered multiple deep lineages including a globally distributed lineage common among hosts of European ancestry and three lineages that primarily include hosts of Asian, African, and Latin American ancestry. To a great extent, the ancestral geography of hosts predicted the lineages of mites found on them; 27% of the total molecular variance segregated according to the regional ancestries of hosts. We found that D. folliculorum populations are stable on an individual over the course of years and that some Asian and African American hosts maintain specific mite lineages over the course of years or generations outside their geographic region of birth or ancestry. D. folliculorum haplotypes were much more likely to be shared within families and between spouses than between unrelated individuals, indicating that transmission requires close contact. Dating analyses indicated that D. folliculorum origins may predate modern humans. Overall, D. folliculorum evolution reflects ancient human population divergences, is consistent with an out-of-Africa dispersal hypothesis, and presents an excellent model system for further understanding the history of human movement. DA - 2015/12/29/ PY - 2015/12/29/ DO - 10.1073/pnas.1512609112 VL - 112 IS - 52 SP - 15958-15963 SN - 0027-8424 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84952683497&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Demodex KW - phylogeography KW - symbiosis KW - coevolution ER - TY - JOUR TI - Comparison of process control viruses for use in extraction and detection of human norovirus from food matrices AU - Gentry-Shields, Jennifer AU - Jaykus, Lee-Ann T2 - FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL AB - Abstract Although RT-qPCR is a powerful tool for human norovirus (HuNoV) detection, low virus concentrations in potentially large sample volumes necessitate the use of inefficient sample processing step(s) prior to detection. Process control viruses (PCVs) are used to monitor the efficiency of these virus concentration steps. This study compared five PCVs [Mengovirus (Mengo), murine norovirus (MNV-1), MS2 coliphage, Tulane virus, and turnip crinkle virus (TCV)] to two HuNoV strains for recovery during the steps of elution, polyethylene glycol precipitation (PEG), and RNA extraction from select foods (lettuce and sliced deli ham). Results demonstrate high recovery efficiencies of HuNoV GI.6 and GII.4 using the methods described in this study: combined (sequential) losses during processing from sliced deli ham and lettuce were 10 genome equivalent copies (GEC). When considering the processing steps separately, HuNoV loss was negligible after elution, and low after PEG precipitation (mean 0.5 log 10 GEC) and RNA extraction (mean 0.1 log 10 GEC). The virus that least mimicked the behavior of HuNoV during sample processing was MNV-1. Of the viruses tested, a commercial mengovirus strain gave recovery efficiencies closest to HuNoV, showing combined losses from sliced deli ham and lettuce of 10 GEC and ~ 1 log 10 GEC, respectively. All PCVs do not behave equivalently and validation of their performance is recommended before their routine use on an application-by-application basis. DA - 2015/11// PY - 2015/11// DO - 10.1016/j.foodres.2015.05.027 VL - 77 SP - 320-325 SN - 1873-7145 KW - Norovirus KW - Process control virus KW - RT-qPCR KW - Processing efficiency ER - TY - JOUR TI - The ecology of microscopic life in household dust AU - Barberán, Albert AU - Dunn, Robert R. AU - Reich, Brian J. AU - Pacifici, Krishna AU - Laber, Eric B. AU - Menninger, Holly L. AU - Morton, James M. AU - Henley, Jessica B. AU - Leff, Jonathan W. AU - Miller, Shelly L. AU - Fierer, Noah T2 - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences AB - We spend the majority of our lives indoors; yet, we currently lack a comprehensive understanding of how the microbial communities found in homes vary across broad geographical regions and what factors are most important in shaping the types of microorganisms found inside homes. Here, we investigated the fungal and bacterial communities found in settled dust collected from inside and outside approximately 1200 homes located across the continental US, homes that represent a broad range of home designs and span many climatic zones. Indoor and outdoor dust samples harboured distinct microbial communities, but these differences were larger for bacteria than for fungi with most indoor fungi originating outside the home. Indoor fungal communities and the distribution of potential allergens varied predictably across climate and geographical regions; where you live determines what fungi live with you inside your home. By contrast, bacterial communities in indoor dust were more strongly influenced by the number and types of occupants living in the homes. In particular, the female : male ratio and whether a house had pets had a significant influence on the types of bacteria found inside our homes highlighting that who you live with determines what bacteria are found inside your home. DA - 2015/9/7/ PY - 2015/9/7/ DO - 10.1098/rspb.2015.1139 VL - 282 IS - 1814 SP - 20151139 J2 - Proc. R. Soc. B LA - en OP - SN - 0962-8452 1471-2954 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1139 DB - Crossref KW - microbial ecology KW - bacteria KW - fungi KW - dust KW - built environment KW - allergens ER - TY - JOUR TI - Opinions of clinical veterinarians at a US veterinary teaching hospital regarding antimicrobial use and antimicrobial-resistant infections AU - Jacob, Megan E. AU - Hoppin, Jane A. AU - Steers, Nicola AU - Davis, Jennifer L. AU - Davidson, Gigi AU - Hansen, Bernie AU - Lunn, Katharine F. AU - Murphy, K. Marcia AU - Papich, Mark G. T2 - Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association AB - Abstract Objective —To determine opinions of faculty members with clinical appointments, clinical veterinarians, residents, and interns at a US veterinary teaching hospital regarding antimicrobial use and antimicrobial-resistant infections. Design —Cross-sectional survey. Sample —71 veterinarians. Procedures —An online questionnaire was sent to all veterinarians with clinical service responsibilities at the North Carolina State University veterinary teaching hospital (n = 167). The survey included 23 questions regarding demographic information, educational experiences, current prescribing practices, and personal opinions related to antimicrobial selection, antimicrobial use, restrictions on antimicrobial use, and antimicrobial resistance. Results —Of the 167 veterinarians eligible to participate, 71 (43%) responded. When respondents were asked to rate their level of concern (very concerned = 1; not concerned = 5) about antimicrobial-resistant infections, most (41/70 [59%]) assigned a score of 1, with mean score for all respondents being 1.5. Most survey participants rated their immediate colleagues (mean score, 1.9) as more concerned than other veterinary medical professionals (mean score, 2.3) and their clients (mean score, 3.4). Fifty-nine of 67 (88%) respondents felt that antimicrobials were overprescribed at the hospital, and 32 of 69 (46%) respondents felt uncomfortable prescribing at least one class of antimicrobials (eg, carbapenems or glycopeptides) because of public health concerns. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance —Findings indicated that veterinarians at this teaching hospital were concerned about antimicrobial resistance, thought antimicrobials were overprescribed, and supported restricting use of certain antimicrobial classes in companion animals. Findings may be useful in educating future veterinarians and altering prescribing habits and antimicrobial distribution systems in veterinary hospitals. DA - 2015/10/15/ PY - 2015/10/15/ DO - 10.2460/javma.247.8.938 VL - 247 IS - 8 SP - 938-944 J2 - Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association LA - en OP - SN - 0003-1488 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.247.8.938 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Landscape Position Influences Microbial Composition and Function via Redistribution of Soil Water across a Watershed AU - Du, Zhe AU - Riveros-Iregui, Diego A. AU - Jones, Ryan T. AU - McDermott, Timothy R. AU - Dore, John E. AU - McGlynn, Brian L. AU - Emanuel, Ryan E. AU - Li, Xu T2 - APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY AB - Subalpine forest ecosystems influence global carbon cycling. However, little is known about the compositions of their soil microbial communities and how these may vary with soil environmental conditions. The goal of this study was to characterize the soil microbial communities in a subalpine forest watershed in central Montana (Stringer Creek Watershed within the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest) and to investigate their relationships with environmental conditions and soil carbonaceous gases. As assessed by tagged Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, community composition and structure differed significantly among three landscape positions: high upland zones (HUZ), low upland zones (LUZ), and riparian zones (RZ). Soil depth effects on phylogenetic diversity and β-diversity varied across landscape positions, being more evident in RZ than in HUZ. Mantel tests revealed significant correlations between microbial community assembly patterns and the soil environmental factors tested (water content, temperature, oxygen, and pH) and soil carbonaceous gases (carbon dioxide concentration and efflux and methane concentration). With one exception, methanogens were detected only in RZ soils. In contrast, methanotrophs were detected in all three landscape positions. Type I methanotrophs dominated RZ soils, while type II methanotrophs dominated LUZ and HUZ soils. The relative abundances of methanotroph populations correlated positively with soil water content (R = 0.72, P < 0.001) and negatively with soil oxygen (R = -0.53, P = 0.008). Our results suggest the coherence of soil microbial communities within and differences in communities between landscape positions in a subalpine forested watershed that reflect historical and contemporary environmental conditions. DA - 2015/12// PY - 2015/12// DO - 10.1128/aem.02643-15 VL - 81 IS - 24 SP - 8457-8468 SN - 1098-5336 UR - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=ORCID&SrcApp=OrcidOrg&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=WOS:000365212800020&KeyUID=WOS:000365212800020 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Continental US streamflow trends from 1940 to 2009 and their relationships with watershed spatial characteristics AU - Rice, Joshua S. AU - Emanuel, Ryan E. AU - Vose, James M. AU - Nelson, Stacy A. C. T2 - WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH AB - Abstract Changes in streamflow are an important area of ongoing research in the hydrologic sciences. To better understand spatial patterns in past changes in streamflow, we examined relationships between watershed‐scale spatial characteristics and trends in streamflow. Trends in streamflow were identified by analyzing mean daily flow observations between 1940 and 2009 from 967 U.S. Geological Survey stream gages. Results indicated that streamflow across the continental U.S., as a whole, increased while becoming less extreme between 1940 and 2009. However, substantial departures from the continental U.S. (CONUS) scale pattern occurred at the regional scale, including increased annual maxima, decreased annual minima, overall drying trends, and changes in streamflow variability. A subset of watersheds belonging to a reference data set exhibited significantly smaller trend magnitudes than those observed in nonreference watersheds. Boosted regression tree models were applied to examine the influence of watershed characteristics on streamflow trend magnitudes at both the CONUS and regional scale. Geographic location was found to be of particular importance at the CONUS scale while local variability in hydroclimate and topography tended to have a strong influence on regional‐scale patterns in streamflow trends. This methodology facilitates detailed, data‐driven analyses of how the characteristics of individual watersheds interact with large‐scale hydroclimate forces to influence how changes in streamflow manifest. DA - 2015/8// PY - 2015/8// DO - 10.1002/2014wr016367 VL - 51 IS - 8 SP - 6262-6275 SN - 1944-7973 UR - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=ORCID&SrcApp=OrcidOrg&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=WOS:000363402800022&KeyUID=WOS:000363402800022 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Using Agent-Based Modeling for Water Resources Planning and Management AU - Berglund, Emily Zechman T2 - JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT AB - Agent-based systems have been developed for many scientific applications and simulation studies to model a group of actors and their interactions based on behavioral rules. Agent-based models and multiagent systems simulate the emergence of system-level properties based on the actions of adaptive agents that interact with other agents, react to environmental signals, and optimize decisions to achieve individual goals. In water resources planning and management, agent-based modeling has been applied to explore, simulate, and predict the performance of infrastructure design and policy decisions as they are influenced by human decision making, behaviors, and adaptations. The goal of this paper is to provide a comprehensive introduction to agent-based modeling for water resources researchers, students, and practitioners, and to explore water resources systems as complex adaptive systems that can be studied using agent-based modeling. Agent-based modeling is defined, and the characteristics of complex adaptive systems that necessitate its use are described. A literature review is presented to demonstrate research in the field that uses agent-based modeling to gain insight for water resources management. Two illustrative case studies of agent-based water resources systems models are developed and described. The case studies demonstrate the use of reactive and active (e.g., optimizing) agents for simulating water resources planning problems. The limitations in applying agent-based modeling and the insights that are expected from further investigations are summarized. DA - 2015/11// PY - 2015/11// DO - 10.1061/(asce)wr.1943-5452.0000544 VL - 141 IS - 11 SP - SN - 1943-5452 KW - Multi-agent systems KW - Complex adaptive systems KW - Coupled human and natural systems KW - Water management KW - Decision-making KW - Review ER - TY - JOUR TI - Rethinking the Public through the Lens of Sovereignty AU - Gilmartin, David T2 - SOUTH ASIA-JOURNAL OF SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES AB - The interrelationships of the various, seemingly contradictory, uses of the public as a concept are best understood by relating the concept to sovereignty. The concept of the public thus gained particular structural meaning in colonial India through the state's efforts to legitimise its authority as the embodiment of a discourse of reason in the nineteenth century, with the courts serving as a critical model for the public. With the emergence of the concept of the sovereignty of the people in the twentieth century, the nature of the public was significantly transformed, and gained increasing significance as an arena for the open performance of the autonomous self. DA - 2015/7/3/ PY - 2015/7/3/ DO - 10.1080/00856401.2015.1055422 VL - 38 IS - 3 SP - 371-386 SN - 1479-0270 KW - Law KW - performance KW - public KW - reason KW - sovereignty ER - TY - JOUR TI - Private development-based forest conservation in Patagonia: comparing mental models and revealing cultural truths AU - Serenari, Christopher AU - Peterson, M. Nils AU - Leung, Yu-Fai AU - Stowhas, Paulina AU - Wallace, Tim AU - Sills, Erin O. T2 - ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY AB - Private protected area (PPA) conservation agents (CA) engaging in development-based conservation in southern Chile have generated conflict with locals.Poor fit of dominant development-based conservation ideology in rural areas is commonly to blame.We developed and administered a cultural consensus survey near the Valdivian Coastal Reserve (RCV) and Huilo Huilo Reserve (HH) to examine fit of CA cultural truths with local residents.Cultural consensus analysis (CCA) of 23 propositions reflecting CA cultural truths confirmed: (1) a single CA culture exists, and ( 2) RCV communities were more aligned with this culture than HH communities.Inadequate communication, inequitable decision making, divergent opinions about livelihood impacts and trajectories, and PPA purpose may explain differences between CAs and communities.Meanwhile, variability in response between and within communities may reflect differing environmental histories.Private protected area administrations might use CCA to confront cultural differences and thereby improve their community interactions. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.5751/es-07696-200304 VL - 20 IS - 3 SP - SN - 1708-3087 KW - Chile KW - cultural consensus KW - development KW - mental model KW - private protected area ER - TY - JOUR TI - Meeting multiple water quality objectives through treatment using locally generated char: improving organoleptic properties and removing synthetic organic contaminants and disinfection by-products AU - Kearns, Joshua P. AU - Shimabuku, Kyle K. AU - Mahoney, Ryan B. AU - Knappe, Detlef R. U. AU - Summers, R. Scott T2 - JOURNAL OF WATER SANITATION AND HYGIENE FOR DEVELOPMENT AB - A variety of natural and anthropogenic contaminants can compromise the safety and esthetics of surface water collected for drinking and disinfected using chlorine by households in developing communities. While household chlorination is effective against most microbial pathogens, many users find the taste and odor of chlorine unacceptable and revert to drinking untreated water. Moreover, reactions between chlorine and the dissolved organic matter form harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs) such as trihalomethanes (THMs). Char adsorbers have been used to treat drinking water for thousands of years and are still widely used today. Results obtained here demonstrate that locally produced biomass chars (biochars) exhibit removal capacities comparable to those of activated carbon for removal of THMs, synthetic organic chemicals (SOCs) such as warfarin (WFN) (anticoagulant pharmaceutical, rodenticide), and naturally occurring trace organics such as the taste-and-odor compound 2-methylisoborneol (cyanobacterial metabolite). Results show chars can be used effectively to remove objectionable tastes and odors related to chlorine and cyanobacteria, DBPs, and SOCs. The use of char may lead to microbial risk reduction through greater acceptance of chlorine-based disinfection due to improved water esthetics, as well as chemical risk reduction associated with DBP and SOC exposure. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.2166/washdev.2015.172 VL - 5 IS - 3 SP - 359-372 SN - 2043-9083 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84940023189&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - adsorption KW - biochar KW - charcoal KW - chemical water contaminants KW - point-of-use water treatment ER - TY - JOUR TI - Mapping the spatial distribution of the biomass and filter-feeding effect of invasive dreissenid mussels on the winter-spring phytoplankton bloom in Lake Michigan AU - Rowe, Mark D. AU - Obenour, Daniel R. AU - Nalepa, Thomas F. AU - Vanderploeg, Henry A. AU - Yousef, Foad AU - Kerfoot, W. Charles T2 - FRESHWATER BIOLOGY AB - Summary The effects of the invasive bivalves Dreissena polymorpha (zebra mussel) and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis (quagga mussel) on aquatic ecosystems, including Lake Michigan, are a topic of current interest to scientists and resource managers. We hypothesised that the winter–spring phytoplankton bloom in Lake Michigan is reduced at locations where the fraction of the water column cleared per day by Dreissena filter feeding approached the net growth rate of phytoplankton, when the water column was not stratified. To test this hypothesis, we compared the spatial distribution of Dreissena filter‐feeding intensity (determined from geostatistical modelling) to the spatial distribution of chlorophyll (determined from satellite remote sensing). To map the spatial distribution of Dreissena biomass and filter‐feeding intensity, we developed a geostatistical model based on point observations of mussel biomass measured in Lake Michigan in 1994/1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010. The model provided fine‐scale estimates of the spatial distribution of biomass for the survey years and provided estimates, with their uncertainty, of total biomass lakewide and within subregions. The approach outlined could be applied more generally to map the distribution of benthic biota in lakes from point observations. Total biomass of Dreissena in Lake Michigan, estimated from the geostatistical model, increased significantly over each five‐year period. The total biomass in units of 10 6 kg ash‐free dry mass ( AFDM ) (with 90% confidence interval) was 6 (4–8) in 1994/1995, 18 (14–23) in 2000, 408 (338–485) in 2005 and 610 (547–680) in 2010. From 1994/1995 to 2005, increases were observed in all regions of the lake (northern, central and southern) and in all depth zones (<30, 30–50, 50–90 and >90). However, from 2005 to 2010, for depths of <50 m, biomass declined in the northern region, remained constant in the central region and increased in the southern region; biomass continued to increase in all three lake regions for depths >50 m. The filter‐feeding intensity of Dreissena exceeded the benchmark spring phytoplankton growth rate of 0.06 day −1 in 2005 for depths <50 m (lakewide). In 2010, the filter‐feeding impact exceeded 0.06 day −1 within depths <90 m (lakewide), which greatly increased the spatial area affected relative to 2005. A regression analysis indicated a significant relationship between the reduction in satellite‐derived chlorophyll concentration (pre‐ D. r. bugensis period to post‐ D. r. bugensis period) and spatially co‐located filter‐feeding intensity (fraction of water column cleared per day) during periods when the water column was not stratified (December to April). DA - 2015/11// PY - 2015/11// DO - 10.1111/fwb.12653 VL - 60 IS - 11 SP - 2270-2285 SN - 1365-2427 KW - benthos KW - GIS KW - invasive species KW - invertebrates KW - lakes KW - modelling KW - physical environment KW - population KW - statistics ER - TY - JOUR TI - Feasibility of Using Traditional Kiln Charcoals in Low-Cost Water Treatment: Role of Pyrolysis Conditions on 2,4-D Herbicide Adsorption AU - Kearns, Joshua P. AU - Knappe, Detlef R. U. AU - Summers, R. Scott T2 - ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE AB - Prior research has established that pyrolysis temperature during charcoal production is the primary variable influencing adsorption capacity. The first objective of this work was to monitor thermal conditions during charcoal production within three common traditional kiln models. Then, a programmable laboratory furnace pyrolyzer was used to generate chars from eucalyptus, pine, and longan woods and bamboo under a similar range of thermal conditions as identified in the field study. Using chars produced from the furnace, the second objective of this study was to investigate the influence of biomass feedstock and grain size, peak pyrolysis temperature, and duration of thermal treatment on 2,4-D herbicide sorption capacity. A third objective was to determine if chars produced in the laboratory furnace using thermal profiles similar to those observed in the horizontal drum kiln would exhibit similar adsorbent characteristics to kiln charcoals. Field observations revealed significant variability in temperature profiles during pyrolysis in traditional charcoal kilns, and laboratory experiments indicated corresponding variability in equilibrium 2,4-D uptake from surface water ranging from virtually no adsorption to around 10% of the adsorption capacity of commercial activated carbon. Increasing pyrolysis temperature or duration increased 2,4-D adsorption capacity, whereas feedstock did not affect adsorption capacity for the materials studied. Similar herbicide adsorption capacity was observed for furnace chars and kiln charcoals generated using similar thermal profiles. The difficulty of achieving precise temperature control with traditional charcoal production systems contributes to wide thermal variability within and between batches, which translates to wide variability in adsorption of organic compounds. DA - 2015/11/1/ PY - 2015/11/1/ DO - 10.1089/ees.2015.0243 VL - 32 IS - 11 SP - 912-921 SN - 1557-9018 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84946830926&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - 2,4-D KW - adsorption KW - biochar KW - charcoal KW - decentralized water treatment KW - engineering for developing communities KW - low cost adsorbents ER - TY - JOUR TI - Complex Adaptive Modeling Framework for Evaluating Adaptive Demand Management for Urban Water Resources Sustainability AU - Giacomoni, M. H. AU - Berglund, E. Z. T2 - Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management AB - New water resources management methodologies are needed to address increasing demands and future uncertainty for urban water resources. Adaptive water demand management strategies provide an approach to improve the efficiency of water system operations and meet water demands by adapting flexibility to increasing stresses, such as droughts. This study simulates adaptive water demand management through the development of a complex adaptive system modeling framework, which couples cellular automata modeling, agent-based modeling, and hydrologic modeling to simulate land-use change, consumer behaviors, management decisions, the rainfall-runoff process, and reservoir storage. The model is applied to simulate the effect of demand management strategies on reductions in municipal water demands and on the sustained storage in a surface water supply reservoir. Historic and projected climate change hydroclimatic time series are used to assess the effectiveness of domestic water restrictions, including outdoor watering restrictions, a rainwater harvesting rebate program, and a high-density land-use change policy. Strategies are adaptively implemented based on the amount of water storage available. The framework is applied to evaluate strategies for the Arlington, Texas, metropolitan area that historically suffers from severe droughts. The framework provides an approach to evaluate a combination of multiple strategies for effectively managing the increasing stresses caused by urbanization, population growth, and climate change. Results demonstrate that adaptive demand management strategies that respond to water shortages result in long-term per capita demand reductions. For climate projections that forecast severe water shortages, development density strategies are more effective than rainwater harvesting strategies, and a combination of strategies can reduce the need for interbasin transfers and maintain reservoir volumes. DA - 2015/11// PY - 2015/11// DO - 10.1061/(asce)wr.1943-5452.0000543 VL - 141 IS - 11 SP - 04015024 J2 - J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. LA - en OP - SN - 0733-9496 1943-5452 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000543 DB - Crossref KW - Adaptive management KW - Demand management KW - Drought management KW - Water resources sustainability KW - Complex adaptive systems ER - TY - JOUR TI - Clustering and Differential Alignment Algorithm: Identification of Early Stage Regulators in the Arabidopsis thaliana Iron Deficiency Response AU - Koryachko, Alexandr AU - Matthiadis, Anna AU - Muhammad, Durreshahwar AU - Foret, Jessica AU - Brady, Siobhan M. AU - Ducoste, Joel J. AU - Tuck, James AU - Long, Terri A. AU - Williams, Cranos T2 - PLOS ONE AB - Time course transcriptome datasets are commonly used to predict key gene regulators associated with stress responses and to explore gene functionality. Techniques developed to extract causal relationships between genes from high throughput time course expression data are limited by low signal levels coupled with noise and sparseness in time points. We deal with these limitations by proposing the Cluster and Differential Alignment Algorithm (CDAA). This algorithm was designed to process transcriptome data by first grouping genes based on stages of activity and then using similarities in gene expression to predict influential connections between individual genes. Regulatory relationships are assigned based on pairwise alignment scores generated using the expression patterns of two genes and some inferred delay between the regulator and the observed activity of the target. We applied the CDAA to an iron deficiency time course microarray dataset to identify regulators that influence 7 target transcription factors known to participate in the Arabidopsis thaliana iron deficiency response. The algorithm predicted that 7 regulators previously unlinked to iron homeostasis influence the expression of these known transcription factors. We validated over half of predicted influential relationships using qRT-PCR expression analysis in mutant backgrounds. One predicted regulator-target relationship was shown to be a direct binding interaction according to yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) analysis. These results serve as a proof of concept emphasizing the utility of the CDAA for identifying unknown or missing nodes in regulatory cascades, providing the fundamental knowledge needed for constructing predictive gene regulatory networks. We propose that this tool can be used successfully for similar time course datasets to extract additional information and infer reliable regulatory connections for individual genes. DA - 2015/8/28/ PY - 2015/8/28/ DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0136591 VL - 10 IS - 8 SP - SN - 1932-6203 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84943338816&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - Cancer incidence and metolachlor use in the Agricultural Health Study: An update AU - Silver, Sharon R. AU - Bertke, Steven J. AU - Hines, Cynthia J. AU - Alavanja, Michael C.R. AU - Hoppin, Jane A. AU - Lubin, Jay H. AU - Rusiecki, Jennifer A. AU - Sandler, Dale P. AU - Beane Freeman, Laura E. T2 - International Journal of Cancer AB - Metolachlor, a widely used herbicide, is classified as a Group C carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency based on increased liver neoplasms in female rats. Epidemiologic studies of the health effects of metolachlor have been limited. The Agricultural Health Study (AHS) is a prospective cohort study including licensed private and commercial pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina enrolled 1993-1997. We evaluated cancer incidence through 2010/2011 (NC/IA) for 49,616 applicators, 53% of whom reported ever using metolachlor. We used Poisson regression to evaluate relations between two metrics of metolachlor use (lifetime days, intensity-weighted lifetime days) and cancer incidence. We saw no association between metolachlor use and incidence of all cancers combined (n = 5,701 with a 5-year lag) or most site-specific cancers. For liver cancer, in analyses restricted to exposed workers, elevations observed at higher categories of use were not statistically significant. However, trends for both lifetime and intensity-weighted lifetime days of metolachor use were positive and statistically significant with an unexposed reference group. A similar pattern was observed for follicular cell lymphoma, but no other lymphoma subtypes. An earlier suggestion of increased lung cancer risk at high levels of metolachlor use in this cohort was not confirmed in this update. This suggestion of an association between metolachlor and liver cancer among pesticide applicators is a novel finding and echoes observation of increased liver neoplasms in some animal studies. However, our findings for both liver cancer and follicular cell lymphoma warrant follow-up to better differentiate effects of metolachlor use from other factors. DA - 2015/6/25/ PY - 2015/6/25/ DO - 10.1002/ijc.29621 VL - 137 IS - 11 SP - 2630-2643 J2 - Int. J. Cancer LA - en OP - SN - 0020-7136 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ijc.29621 DB - Crossref KW - cancer KW - epidemiology KW - pesticide KW - occupation ER - TY - JOUR TI - The spatial and temporal evolution of contributing areas AU - Nippgen, Fabian AU - McGlynn, Brian L. AU - Emanuel, Ryan E. T2 - WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH AB - Abstract Predicting runoff source areas and how they change through time is a challenge in hydrology. Topographically induced lateral water redistribution and water removal through evapotranspiration lead to spatially and temporally variable patterns of watershed water storage. These dynamic storage patterns combined with threshold mediation of saturated subsurface throughflow lead to runoff source areas that are dynamic through time. To investigate these processes and their manifestation in watershed runoff, we developed and applied a parsimonious but spatially distributed model (WECOH—Watershed ECOHydrology). Evapotranspiration was measured via an eddy‐covariance tower located within the catchment and disaggregated as a function of vegetation structure. This modeling approach reproduced the stream hydrograph well and was internally consistent with observed watershed runoff patterns and behavior. We further examined the spatial patterns of water storage and their evolution through time by building on past research focused on landscape hydrologic connectivity. The percentage of landscape area connected to the stream network ranged from less than 1% during the fall and winter base flow period to 71% during snowmelt. Over the course of the 2 year study period, 90% of the watershed areas were connected to the stream network for at least 1 day, leaving 10% of area that never became connected. Runoff source areas during the event shifted from riparian dominated runoff to areas at greater distances from the stream network when hillslopes became connected. Our modeling approach elucidates and enables quantification and prediction of watershed active areas and those active areas connected to the stream network through time. DA - 2015/6// PY - 2015/6// DO - 10.1002/2014wr016719 VL - 51 IS - 6 SP - 4550-4573 SN - 1944-7973 UR - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=ORCID&SrcApp=OrcidOrg&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=WOS:000358301200036&KeyUID=WOS:000358301200036 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Pesticide exposure and end-stage renal disease risk among wives of pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study AU - Lebov, Jill F. AU - Engel, Lawrence S. AU - Richardson, David AU - Hogan, Susan L. AU - Sandler, Dale P. AU - Hoppin, Jane A. T2 - Environmental Research AB - Pesticide exposure has been found to cause renal damage and dysfunction in experimental studies, but epidemiological research on the renal effects of chronic low-level pesticide exposure is limited. We investigated the relationships between end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among wives of licensed pesticide applicators (N=31,142) in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) and (1) personal pesticide use, (2) exposure to the husband's pesticide use, and (3) other pesticide-associated farming and household activities. AHS participants reported pesticide exposure via self-administered questionnaires at enrollment (1993–1997). ESRD cases were identified via linkage to the United States Renal Data System. Associations between ESRD and pesticide exposures were estimated with Cox proportional hazard regression models controlling for age at enrollment. Models of associations with farming and household factors were additionally adjusted for personal use of pesticides. We identified 98 ESRD cases diagnosed between enrollment and 31 December 2011. Although women who ever applied pesticides (56% of cohort) were less likely than those who did not apply to develop ESRD (Hazard Ratio (HR): 0.42; 95% CI: 0.28, 0.64), among women who did apply pesticides, the rate of ESRD was significantly elevated among those who reported the highest (vs. lowest) cumulative general pesticide use (HR: 4.22; 95% CI: 1.26, 14.20). Among wives who never applied pesticides, ESRD was associated with husbands' ever use of paraquat (HR=1.99; 95% CI: 1.14, 3.47) and butylate (HR=1.71; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.95), with a positive exposure–response pattern for husband’s cumulative use of these pesticides. ESRD may be associated with direct and/or indirect exposure to pesticides among farm women. Future studies should evaluate indirect exposure risk among other rural populations. DA - 2015/11// PY - 2015/11// DO - 10.1016/j.envres.2015.10.002 VL - 143 SP - 198-210 J2 - Environmental Research LA - en OP - SN - 0013-9351 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2015.10.002 DB - Crossref KW - Pesticide exposure KW - End-stage renal disease KW - Farm women KW - Agricultural exposures ER - TY - JOUR TI - Organophosphate insecticide use and cancer incidence among spouses of pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study AU - Lerro, Catherine C AU - Koutros, Stella AU - Andreotti, Gabriella AU - Friesen, Melissa C AU - Alavanja, Michael C AU - Blair, Aaron AU - Hoppin, Jane A AU - Sandler, Dale P AU - Lubin, Jay H AU - Ma, Xiaomei AU - Zhang, Yawei AU - Beane Freeman, Laura E T2 - Occupational and Environmental Medicine AB -

Objectives

Organophosphates (OPs) are among the most commonly used insecticides. OPs have been linked to cancer risk in some epidemiological studies, which have been largely conducted in predominantly male populations. We evaluated personal use of specific OPs and cancer incidence among female spouses of pesticide applicators in the prospective Agricultural Health Study cohort.

Methods

At enrolment (1993–1997), spouses provided information about ever use of specific pesticides, including 10 OPs, demographic information, reproductive health history and other potential confounders. We used Poisson regression to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95% CIs for all cancers diagnosed through 2010 for North Carolina and through 2011 for Iowa.

Results

Among 30 003 women, 25.9% reported OP use, and 718 OP-exposed women were diagnosed with cancer during the follow-up period. Any OP use was associated with an elevated risk of breast cancer (RR=1.20, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.43). Malathion, the most commonly reported OP, was associated with increased risk of thyroid cancer (RR=2.04, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.63) and decreased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (RR=0.64, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.99). Diazinon use was associated with ovarian cancer (RR=1.87, 95% CI 1.02 to 3.43).

Conclusions

We observed increased risk with OP use for several hormonally-related cancers, including breast, thyroid and ovary, suggesting potential for hormonally-mediated effects. This study represents the first comprehensive analysis of OP use and cancer risk among women, and thus demonstrates a need for further evaluation. DA - 2015/7/6/ PY - 2015/7/6/ DO - 10.1136/oemed-2014-102798 VL - 72 IS - 10 SP - 736-744 J2 - Occup Environ Med LA - en OP - SN - 1351-0711 1470-7926 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2014-102798 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Improved reservoir sizing utilizing observed and reconstructed streamflows within a Bayesian combination framework AU - Patskoski, Jason AU - Sankarasubramanian, A. T2 - Water Resources Research AB - Abstract Reservoir sizing is a critical task as the storage in a reservoir must be sufficient to supply water during extended droughts. Typically, sequent peak algorithm (SQP) is used with observed streamflow to obtain reservoir storage estimates. To overcome the limited sample length of observed streamflow, synthetic streamflow traces estimated from observed streamflow characteristics are provided with SQP to estimate the distribution of storage. However, the parameters in the stochastic streamflow generation model are derived from the observed record and are still unrepresentative of the long‐term drought records. Paleo‐streamflow time series, usually reconstructed using tree‐ring chronologies, span for a longer period than the observed streamflow and provide additional insight into the preinstrumental drought record. This study investigates the capability of reconstructed streamflow records in reducing the uncertainty in reservoir storage estimation. For this purpose, we propose a Bayesian framework that combines observed and reconstructed streamflow for estimating the parameters of the stochastic streamflow generation model. By utilizing reconstructed streamflow records from two potential stations over the Southeastern U.S., the distribution of storage estimated using the combined streamflows is compared with the distribution of storage estimated using observed streamflow alone based on split‐sample validation. Results show that combining observed and reconstructed streamflow yield stochastic streamflow generation parameters more representative of the longer streamflow record resulting in improved reservoir storage estimates. We also generalize the findings through a synthetic experiment by generating reconstructed streamflow records of different sample length and skill. The analysis shows that uncertainty in storage estimates reduces by incorporating reconstruction records with higher skill and longer sample lengths. Potential applications of the proposed methodology are also discussed. DA - 2015/7// PY - 2015/7// DO - 10.1002/2014wr016189 VL - 51 IS - 7 SP - 5677–5697 SN - 0043-1397 1944-7973 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016189 KW - tree rings KW - reservoir sizing KW - sequent peak algorithm KW - storage-reliability-yield curves KW - ENSO ER - TY - JOUR TI - Aerosolization of a Human Norovirus Surrogate, Bacteriophage MS2, during Simulated Vomiting AU - Tung-Thompson, Grace AU - Libera, Dominic A. AU - Koch, Kenneth L. AU - de los Reyes, Francis L. AU - Jaykus, Lee-Ann T2 - PLOS ONE AB - Human noroviruses (NoV) are the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. Epidemiological studies of outbreaks have suggested that vomiting facilitates transmission of human NoV, but there have been no laboratory-based studies characterizing the degree of NoV release during a vomiting event. The purpose of this work was to demonstrate that virus aerosolization occurs in a simulated vomiting event, and to estimate the amount of virus that is released in those aerosols. A simulated vomiting device was constructed at one-quarter scale of the human body following similitude principles. Simulated vomitus matrices at low (6.24 mPa*s) and high (177.5 mPa*s) viscosities were inoculated with low (108 PFU/mL) and high (1010 PFU/mL) concentrations of bacteriophage MS2 and placed in the artificial “stomach” of the device, which was then subjected to scaled physiologically relevant pressures associated with vomiting. Bio aerosols were captured using an SKC Biosampler. In low viscosity artificial vomitus, there were notable differences between recovered aerosolized MS2 as a function of pressure (i.e., greater aerosolization with increased pressure), although this was not always statistically significant. This relationship disappeared when using high viscosity simulated vomitus. The amount of MS2 aerosolized as a percent of total virus “vomited” ranged from 7.2 x 10-5 to 2.67 x 10-2 (which corresponded to a range of 36 to 13,350 PFU total). To our knowledge, this is the first study to document and measure aerosolization of a NoV surrogate in a similitude-based physical model. This has implications for better understanding the transmission dynamics of human NoV and for risk modeling purposes, both of which can help in designing effective infection control measures. DA - 2015/8/19/ PY - 2015/8/19/ DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0134277 VL - 10 IS - 8 SP - e0134277 J2 - PLoS ONE LA - en OP - SN - 1932-6203 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134277 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Practicing the science of sustainability: the challenges of transdisciplinarity in a developing world context AU - Steelman, Toddi AU - Nichols, Elizabeth Guthrie AU - James, April AU - Bradford, Lori AU - Ebersöhn, Liesel AU - Scherman, Vanessa AU - Omidire, Funke AU - Bunn, David N. AU - Twine, Wayne AU - McHale, Melissa R. T2 - Sustainability Science DA - 2015/9/14/ PY - 2015/9/14/ DO - 10.1007/s11625-015-0334-4 VL - 10 IS - 4 SP - 581-599 J2 - Sustain Sci LA - en OP - SN - 1862-4065 1862-4057 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11625-015-0334-4 DB - Crossref KW - Sustainability science KW - Integration KW - Transdisciplinarity KW - Interdisciplinarity KW - Multidisciplinarity KW - Water security KW - South Africa ER - TY - JOUR TI - Heuristic optimization of a continuous flow point-of-use UV-LED disinfection reactor using computational fluid dynamics AU - Jenny, Richard M. AU - Jasper, Micah N. AU - Simmons, Otto D., III AU - Shatalov, Max AU - Ducoste, Joel J. T2 - WATER RESEARCH AB - Alternative disinfection sources such as ultraviolet light (UV) are being pursued to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia, while simultaneously reducing the risk of exposure to carcinogenic disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water. UV-LEDs offer a UV disinfecting source that do not contain mercury, have the potential for long lifetimes, are robust, and have a high degree of design flexibility. However, the increased flexibility in design options will add a substantial level of complexity when developing a UV-LED reactor, particularly with regards to reactor shape, size, spatial orientation of light, and germicidal emission wavelength. Anticipating that LEDs are the future of UV disinfection, new methods are needed for designing such reactors. In this research study, the evaluation of a new design paradigm using a point-of-use UV-LED disinfection reactor has been performed. ModeFrontier, a numerical optimization platform, was coupled with COMSOL Multi-physics, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software package, to generate an optimized UV-LED continuous flow reactor. Three optimality conditions were considered: 1) single objective analysis minimizing input supply power while achieving at least (2.0) log10 inactivation of Escherichia coli ATCC 11229; and 2) two multi-objective analyses (one of which maximized the log10 inactivation of E. coli ATCC 11229 and minimized the supply power). All tests were completed at a flow rate of 109 mL/min and 92% UVT (measured at 254 nm). The numerical solution for the first objective was validated experimentally using biodosimetry. The optimal design predictions displayed good agreement with the experimental data and contained several non-intuitive features, particularly with the UV-LED spatial arrangement, where the lights were unevenly populated throughout the reactor. The optimal designs may not have been developed from experienced designers due to the increased degrees of freedom offered by using UV-LEDs. The results of this study revealed that the coupled optimization routine with CFD was effective at significantly decreasing the engineer's design decision space and finding a potentially near-optimal UV-LED reactor solution. DA - 2015/10/15/ PY - 2015/10/15/ DO - 10.1016/j.watres.2015.06.031 VL - 83 SP - 310-318 SN - 0043-1354 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84938590485&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Drinking water disinfection KW - UV Light Emitting Diodes KW - Numerical model KW - Numerical optimization KW - Biodosimetry ER - TY - JOUR TI - Biological potential of microalgae in China for biorefinery-based production of biofuels and high value compounds AU - Li, Jingjing AU - Liu, Ying AU - Cheng, Jay J. AU - Mos, Michal AU - Daroch, Maurycy T2 - NEW BIOTECHNOLOGY AB - Microalgae abundance and diversity in China shows promise for identifying suitable strains for developing algal biorefinery. Numerous strains of microalgae have already been assessed as feedstocks for bioethanol and biodiesel production, but commercial scale algal biofuel production is yet to be demonstrated, most likely due to huge energy costs associated with algae cultivation, harvesting and processing. Biorefining, integrated processes for the conversion of biomass into a variety of products, can improve the prospects of microalgal biofuels by combining them with the production of high value co-products. Numerous microalgal strains in China have been identified as producers of various high value by-products with wide application in the medicine, food, and cosmetics industries. This paper reviews microalgae resources in China and their potential in producing liquid biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel) and high value products in an integrated biorefinery approach. Implementation of a 'high value product first' principle should make the integrated process of fuels and chemicals production economically feasible and will ensure that public and private interest in the development of microalgal biotechnology is maintained. DA - 2015/12/25/ PY - 2015/12/25/ DO - 10.1016/j.nbt.2015.02.001 VL - 32 IS - 6 SP - 588-596 SN - 1876-4347 ER - TY - JOUR TI - A techno-economic assessment of offshore wind coupled to offshore compressed air energy storage AU - Li, B. H. AU - DeCarolis, J. F. T2 - Applied Energy AB - A critical challenge associated with renewable energy is managing its variable and intermittent output. Offshore compressed air energy storage (OCAES) is a carbon-free storage technology that can used to support renewable energy generation in marine environments. This paper provides the first economic characterization of OCAES performance when coupled to an offshore wind farm by employing a mixed integer programming model. The model seeks the minimum levelized cost of electricity by optimizing the grid-tied cable capacity and OCAES component sizes across a range of specified cable capacity factors. OCAES can be used to increase the capacity factor of the grid-tied transmission cable, but the resultant levelized cost of electricity strongly depends on the OCAES cost assumptions. Compared to using a land-based gas turbine as backup, OCAES is significantly more expensive, even when the price of carbon exceeds 1000 $/tC. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.05.111 VL - 155 SP - 315-322 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Temperature alone does not explain phenological variation of diverse temperate plants under experimental warming AU - Marchin, Renee M. AU - Salk, Carl F. AU - Hoffmann, William A. AU - Dunn, Robert R. T2 - GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY AB - Abstract Anthropogenic climate change has altered temperate forest phenology, but how these trends will play out in the future is controversial. We measured the effect of experimental warming of 0.6–5.0 °C on the phenology of a diverse suite of 11 plant species in the deciduous forest understory (Duke Forest, North Carolina, USA) in a relatively warm year (2011) and a colder year (2013). Our primary goal was to dissect how temperature affects timing of spring budburst, flowering, and autumn leaf coloring for functional groups with different growth habits, phenological niches, and xylem anatomy. Warming advanced budburst of six deciduous woody species by 5–15 days and delayed leaf coloring by 18–21 days, resulting in an extension of the growing season by as much as 20–29 days. Spring temperature accumulation was strongly correlated with budburst date, but temperature alone cannot explain the diverse budburst responses observed among plant functional types. Ring‐porous trees showed a consistent temperature response pattern across years, suggesting these species are sensitive to photoperiod. Conversely, diffuse‐porous species responded differently between years, suggesting winter chilling may be more important in regulating budburst. Budburst of the ring‐porous Quercus alba responded nonlinearly to warming, suggesting evolutionary constraints may limit changes in phenology, and therefore productivity, in the future. Warming caused a divergence in flowering times among species in the forest community, resulting in a longer flowering season by 10‐16 days. Temperature was a good predictor of flowering for only four of the seven species studied here. Observations of interannual temperature variability overpredicted flowering responses in spring‐blooming species, relative to our warming experiment, and did not consistently predict even the direction of flowering shifts. Experiments that push temperatures beyond historic variation are indispensable for improving predictions of future changes in phenology. DA - 2015/8// PY - 2015/8// DO - 10.1111/gcb.12919 VL - 21 IS - 8 SP - 3138-3151 SN - 1365-2486 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84937524423&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - budburst KW - climate change KW - flowering KW - growing season length KW - leaf senescence KW - phenology KW - southeastern United States KW - temperature sensitivity KW - warming experiment ER - TY - JOUR TI - Reconstructed streamflow using SST and tree-ring chronologies over the southeastern United States AU - Patskoski, Jason AU - Sankarasubramanian, A. AU - Wang, Hui T2 - JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY AB - A hybrid approach that considers both tree-ring chronologies and sea surface temperature (SST) data for reconstructing annual streamflow is proposed. The most common approach to reconstruct annual streamflow is to develop statistical regression relationships between principal components of tree rings and observed annual flow values and then extend the relationship to estimate annual streamflow values over the period for which tree-ring chronology is available. The primary limitation of this approach is in estimating high flow values since tree-ring growth reaches its potential limit during wet years. The proposed hybrid approach overcomes this limitation by using SST conditions from the tropical Pacific and tree-ring chronologies from the watershed for reconstructing annual streamflows. For this purpose, we considered eight virgin watersheds having long tree-ring chronologies over the southeastern United States. Given the role of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in influencing the hydroclimatology of the southeastern United States, we estimated the periodic component of streamflow using Nino3.4 – an index representing ENSO – and the non-periodic component of streamflow using the non-periodic component of tree rings that represent interannual variability of moisture supply within the region. We employed Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) for extracting periodic and non-periodic components from tree-ring chronologies, Nino3.4 and streamflow data. The proposed tree ring and SST hybrid approach was compared with the traditional principal component regression (PCR) approach based on cross-validation. Results show that inclusion of SST provided better reconstructed flow values during high flow years but also resulted in overestimation of flow during low flow years. Combination of annual streamflow estimates from the two models – PCR and the hybrid approach – resulted in improved estimates of reconstructed annual streamflow for the selected eight watersheds. Potential applications for such improved reconstructed streamflow estimates is also discussed. DA - 2015/8// PY - 2015/8// DO - 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.05.041 VL - 527 SP - 761-775 SN - 1879-2707 KW - Dendro-hydrology KW - Streamflow reconstruction KW - Singular spectrum analysis KW - Principal component analysis KW - Paleo-climate ER - TY - JOUR TI - Real-Time Guidance for Hydrant Flushing Using Sensor-Hydrant Decision Trees AU - Shafiee, M. Ehsan AU - Berglund, Emily Zechman T2 - JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT AB - A utility may detect contaminant in a water distribution network through water quality sensor information, which indicates that a biological pathogen or chemical contaminant is present in the network. A utility manager should identify actions that can be taken to protect public health, and flushing a contaminant by opening a set of hydrants can be an effective response action. Hydrants should be selected and timed to flush the contaminant; however, accurately ascertaining the characteristics of the contaminant source may be impossible, which creates difficulties in developing a hydrant flushing strategy. This research develops a decision-making approach that is designed to select hydrant flushing strategies in response to sensor activations and does not require information about the characteristics of the contaminant source. A sensor-hydrant decision tree is introduced to provide a library of rules for opening and closing hydrants based on the order of activated sensors. Sensor-hydrant decision trees are developed for a wide range of contaminant events using a simulation-optimization methodology. Potential contamination events are generated using Monte Carlo simulation and are simulated using a water distribution system model. Events are classified based on the order of the activation of water quality sensors in the network, and a noisy genetic algorithm is used to identify hydrant strategies for each class of events. Three sensor-hydrant decision trees are developed to represent risky, risk-averse, and adaptive management strategies. A risk-averse strategy specifies immediate actions to achieve average performance over many events. A risky strategy specifies specialized actions based on the prediction of the plume movement or a decision to wait to receive more information. An adaptive strategy specifies the actions for opening hydrants as each sensor is activated. An adaptive approach does not require predictions of the plume movement, but may result in lower performance due to delays in taking actions. The methodology is demonstrated to develop sensor-hydrant decision trees for a virtual midsized municipality, Mesopolis. DA - 2015/6// PY - 2015/6// DO - 10.1061/(asce)wr.1943-5452.0000475 VL - 141 IS - 6 SP - SN - 1943-5452 KW - Hydrant flushing KW - Decision tree KW - Noisy genetic algorithm KW - Water distribution contamination event mitigation KW - Threat management KW - Adaptive management KW - Evolutionary computation adaptive strategies ER - TY - JOUR TI - Pesticide Use and Relative Leukocyte Telomere Length in the Agricultural Health Study AU - Andreotti, Gabriella AU - Hoppin, Jane A. AU - Hou, Lifang AU - Koutros, Stella AU - Gadalla, Shahinaz M. AU - Savage, Sharon A. AU - Lubin, Jay AU - Blair, Aaron AU - Hoxha, Mirjam AU - Baccarelli, Andrea AU - Sandler, Dale AU - Alavanja, Michael AU - Beane Freeman, Laura E. T2 - PLOS ONE AB - Some studies suggest that telomere length (TL) may be influenced by environmental exposures, including pesticides. We examined associations between occupational pesticide use reported at three time points and relative telomere length (RTL) in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS), a prospective cohort study of pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina. RTL was measured by qPCR using leukocyte DNA from 568 cancer-free male AHS participants aged 31-94 years with blood samples collected between 2006 and 2008. Self-reported information, including pesticide use, was collected at three time points: enrollment (1993-1997) and two follow-up questionnaires (1998-2003, 2005-2008). For each pesticide, we evaluated cumulative use (using data from all three questionnaires), and more recent use (using data from the last follow-up questionnaire). Multivariable linear regression was used to examine the associations between pesticide use (ever, lifetime days, intensity-weighted lifetime days (lifetime days*intensity score)) and RTL, adjusting for age at blood draw and use of other pesticides. Of the 57 pesticides evaluated with cumulative use, increasing lifetime days of 2,4-D (p-trend=0.001), diazinon (p-trend=0.002), and butylate (p-trend=0.01) were significantly associated with shorter RTL, while increasing lifetime days of alachlor was significantly associated with longer RTL (p-trend=0.03). Only the association with 2,4-D was significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Of the 40 pesticides evaluated for recent use, malathion was associated with shorter RTL (p=0.03), and alachlor with longer RTL (p=0.03). Our findings suggest that leukocyte TL may be impacted by cumulative use and recent use of certain pesticides. DA - 2015/7/21/ PY - 2015/7/21/ DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0133382 VL - 10 IS - 7 SP - e0133382 J2 - PLoS ONE LA - en OP - SN - 1932-6203 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0133382 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - National-level differences in the adoption of environmental health technologies: a cross-border comparison from Benin and Togo AU - Wendland, Kelly J. AU - Pattanayak, Subhrendu K. AU - Sills, Erin O. T2 - HEALTH POLICY AND PLANNING AB - Environmental health problems such as malaria, respiratory infections, diarrhoea and malnutrition pose very high burdens on the poor rural people in much of the tropics. Recent research on key interventions—the adoption and use of relatively cheap and effective environmental health technologies—has focused primarily on the influence of demand-side household-level drivers. Relatively few studies of the promotion and use of these technologies have considered the role of contextual factors such as governance, the enabling environment and national policies because of the challenges of cross-country comparisons. We exploit a natural experimental setting by comparing household adoption across the Benin–Togo national border that splits the Tamberma Valley in West Africa. Households across the border share the same culture, ethnicity, weather, physiographic features, livelihoods and infrastructure; however, they are located in countries at virtually opposite ends of the institutional spectrum of democratic elections, voice and accountability, effective governance and corruption. Binary choice models and rigorous non-parametric matching estimators confirm that households in Benin are more likely than households in Togo to plant soybeans, build improved cookstoves and purchase mosquito nets, ceteris paribus. Although we cannot identify the exact mechanism for the large and significant national-level differences in technology adoption, our findings suggest that contextual institutional factors can be more important than household characteristics for technology adoption. DA - 2015/3// PY - 2015/3// DO - 10.1093/heapol/czt106 VL - 30 IS - 2 SP - 145-154 SN - 1460-2237 KW - Bednets KW - Benin KW - cookstoves KW - governance KW - institutions KW - soybeans KW - technology adoption KW - Togo ER - TY - JOUR TI - Land-atmosphere carbon and water flux relationships to vapor pressure deficit, soil moisture, and stream flow AU - Mitchell, Stephen R. AU - Emanuel, Ryan E. AU - McGlynn, Brian L. T2 - AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY AB - Climatic change is exerting considerable influence on the hydrologic and biogeochemical cycles of snow- dominated montane forest ecosystems. Growing season drought stress is a common occurrence after snowmelt-derived soil water content (WC) and stream flow (Q) have declined, leading to an increase in atmospheric water demand (i.e., vapor pressure deficit, VPD). Here, we analyzed a 6-year record (2006–2011) of H2O and CO2 fluxes from the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest, a montane forest in the northern Rocky Mountains to examine (1) how growing season evapotranspiration (ET), net ecosystem production (NEP), and water-use efficiency (WUE, NEP/ET) respond to changing WC and VPD, (2) how stream flow (Q), an integrated measure of catchment-level water availability, relates to NEP, and (3) how annual NEP is related to annual precipitation and the temperature-defined growing season length (GSL). Growing season NEP exhibited a linear relationship with WC and a log-linear relationship with Q, indicative of persistent water limitations when streamflow and soil moisture reach their annual minima late in the growing season. Nevertheless, years with long GSLs had relatively higher NEP, with a small net carbon sink maintained even at low levels of WC and Q, suggesting that trees are able to obtain water from deeper portions of the soil profile (>30 cm) during droughts. However, the warmer, drier climate projected for this region could bring this system closer to a critical threshold of GSL, WC, and VPD, introducing vegetation water stress that could alter the current relationship between GSL and annual NEP. DA - 2015/8/15/ PY - 2015/8/15/ DO - 10.1016/j.agrformet.2015.04.003 VL - 208 SP - 108-117 SN - 1873-2240 UR - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=ORCID&SrcApp=OrcidOrg&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=WOS:000356114300010&KeyUID=WOS:000356114300010 KW - Carbon dioxide flux KW - Net ecosystem production KW - Net ecosystem exchange KW - Evapotranspiration KW - Climate change KW - Subalpine forests KW - Stream flow KW - Water-use efficiency ER - TY - JOUR TI - Impacts of Near-Term Climate Change and Population Growth on Within-Year Reservoir Systems AU - Singh, Harminder AU - Sinha, Tushar AU - Sankarasubramanian, A. T2 - Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management AB - Climate change and increased urban demand can significantly stress water supply systems, emphasizing the importance of reallocating reservoir storage for the designed uses. Most studies on climate change assessment have analyzed arid region reservoirs due to high interannual variability in streamflows. This study focuses on a within-year reservoir system, Lake Jordan in North Carolina, from a temperate region that has been experiencing rapid growth since the 1990s. Given the interest in utilizing climate change projections for planning purposes, the current operational policies are evaluated, and revised rules for operating the within-year system over 30 year period (2012–2041) are suggested. Downscaled general circulation model (GCM) projections are used to implement the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model for the Upper Cape Fear River basin to estimate changes in mean monthly streamflows during 2012–2041 at Lake Jordan. Projected monthly streamflows from four GCMs indicate wet winter conditions and increased interannual variability. The authors forced the reservoir model with multiple streamflow realizations that preserve the projected changes in monthly streamflow using a stochastic scheme. The within-year reservoir system performance was evaluated under stationary climate, climate change under existing and projected water demands, and by investigating interventions to ensure the design reliability under increased demands. These results indicate that the changes in the reliability due to increased urban demands are small because initial reservoir storage ensure the demand for multiple seasons. However, increases in the urban demand and streamflow variability tend to decrease the reservoir resiliency, forcing the within-year reservoir to behave like an over-year system. This could result in increased period of proactive measures such as restrictions and necessitates periodical reevaluation of drought management plans for better managing existing systems. DA - 2015/6// PY - 2015/6// DO - 10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000474 VL - 141 IS - 6 SP - 04014078 J2 - J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. LA - en OP - SN - 0733-9496 1943-5452 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000474 DB - Crossref KW - Climate change KW - Hydroclimate KW - Reservoir analyses KW - Water supply KW - Flood control ER - TY - JOUR TI - Human Norovirus as a Foodborne Pathogen: Challenges and Developments AU - Moore, Matthew D. AU - Goulter, Rebecca M. AU - Jaykus, Lee-Ann T2 - ANNUAL REVIEW OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, VOL 6 AB - Human noroviruses (NoVs) are the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States, and they exact a considerable human and economic burden worldwide. In fact, the many challenging aspects of human NoV have caused some to call it the nearly perfect foodborne pathogen. In this review, a brief overview of NoVs and their genetic structure is provided. Additionally, the challenges and recent developments related to human NoVs regarding viral evolution, transmission, epidemiology, outbreak identification, cultivation, animal and human models, and detection are presented. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1146/annurev-food-022814-015643 VL - 6 SP - 411-433 SN - 1941-1413 KW - epidemiology KW - detection KW - evolution KW - cell culture KW - infectivity ER - TY - JOUR TI - High diversity in an urban habitat: are some animal assemblages resilient to long-term anthropogenic change? AU - Guenard, Benoit AU - Cardinal-De Casas, Adrianna AU - Dunn, Robert R. T2 - URBAN ECOSYSTEMS DA - 2015/6// PY - 2015/6// DO - 10.1007/s11252-014-0406-8 VL - 18 IS - 2 SP - 449-463 SN - 1573-1642 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84939873649&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Urban ecosystem KW - Long term study KW - Formicidae KW - Disturbance KW - Invasive species ER - TY - JOUR TI - Estimating the Impacts of Local Policy Innovation: The Synthetic Control Method Applied to Tropical Deforestation AU - Sills, Erin O. AU - Herrera, Diego AU - Kirkpatrick, A. Justin AU - Brandao, Amintas, Jr. AU - Dickson, Rebecca AU - Hall, Simon AU - Pattanayak, Subhrendu AU - Shoch, David AU - Vedoveto, Mariana AU - Young, Luisa AU - Pfaff, Alexander T2 - PLOS ONE AB - Quasi-experimental methods increasingly are used to evaluate the impacts of conservation interventions by generating credible estimates of counterfactual baselines. These methods generally require large samples for statistical comparisons, presenting a challenge for evaluating innovative policies implemented within a few pioneering jurisdictions. Single jurisdictions often are studied using comparative methods, which rely on analysts' selection of best case comparisons. The synthetic control method (SCM) offers one systematic and transparent way to select cases for comparison, from a sizeable pool, by focusing upon similarity in outcomes before the intervention. We explain SCM, then apply it to one local initiative to limit deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. The municipality of Paragominas launched a multi-pronged local initiative in 2008 to maintain low deforestation while restoring economic production. This was a response to having been placed, due to high deforestation, on a federal "blacklist" that increased enforcement of forest regulations and restricted access to credit and output markets. The local initiative included mapping and monitoring of rural land plus promotion of economic alternatives compatible with low deforestation. The key motivation for the program may have been to reduce the costs of blacklisting. However its stated purpose was to limit deforestation, and thus we apply SCM to estimate what deforestation would have been in a (counterfactual) scenario of no local initiative. We obtain a plausible estimate, in that deforestation patterns before the intervention were similar in Paragominas and the synthetic control, which suggests that after several years, the initiative did lower deforestation (significantly below the synthetic control in 2012). This demonstrates that SCM can yield helpful land-use counterfactuals for single units, with opportunities to integrate local and expert knowledge and to test innovations and permutations on policies that are implemented in just a few locations. DA - 2015/7/14/ PY - 2015/7/14/ DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0132590 VL - 10 IS - 7 SP - SN - 1932-6203 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Do Payments Pay Off? Evidence from Participation in Costa Rica's PES Program AU - Arriagada, R. A. AU - Sills, E. O. AU - Ferraro, P. J. AU - Pattanayak, S. K. T2 - PLOS ONE AB - Payments for environmental services (PES) are often viewed as a way to simultaneously improve conservation outcomes and the wellbeing of rural households who receive the payments. However, evidence for such win-win outcomes has been elusive. We add to the growing literature on conservation program impacts by using primary household survey data to evaluate the socioeconomic impacts of participation in Costa Rica's PES program. Despite the substantial cash transfers to voluntary participants in this program, we do not detect any evidence of impacts on their wealth or self-reported well-being using a quasi-experimental design. These results are consistent with the common claim that voluntary PES do not harm participants, but they beg the question of why landowners participate if they do not benefit. Landowners in our sample voluntarily renewed their contracts after five years in the program and thus are unlikely to have underestimated their costs of participation. They apparently did not invest additional income from the program in farm inputs such as cattle or hired labor, since both decreased as a result of participation. Nor do we find evidence that participation encouraged moves off-farm. Instead, semi-structured interviews suggest that participants joined the program to secure their property rights and contribute to the public good of forest conservation. Thus, in order to understand the social impacts of PES, we need to look beyond simple economic rationales and material outcomes. DA - 2015/7/10/ PY - 2015/7/10/ DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0131544 VL - 10 IS - 7 SP - SN - 1932-6203 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Continental-scale distributions of dust-associated bacteria and fungi AU - Barberan, Albert AU - Ladau, Joshua AU - Leff, Jonathan W. AU - Pollard, Katherine S. AU - Menninger, Holly L. AU - Dunn, Robert R. AU - Fierer, Noah T2 - PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AB - Significance We inhale thousands of microbial cells when we breathe in outdoor air, and some of these airborne microbes can serve as pathogens or triggers of allergic disorders. Using settled dust samples from ∼1,200 locations, we generated the first atlas, to our knowledge, of airborne bacterial and fungal distributions across the continental United States. We found that airborne microbial communities, such as terrestrial plants and animals, exhibit nonrandom geographic patterns, and we identified the factors that shape the continental-scale distributions of microbial taxa. Furthermore, we found that the airborne microbes found in urban and more rural areas are not distinct in composition, but the dust-associated communities found in more urbanized areas are more homogeneous across the United States. DA - 2015/5/5/ PY - 2015/5/5/ DO - 10.1073/pnas.1420815112 VL - 112 IS - 18 SP - 5756-5761 SN - 1091-6490 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84928914690&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - aerobiology KW - microbial ecology KW - microbial dispersal KW - urbanization KW - allergens ER - TY - JOUR TI - The fate of siderophores: antagonistic environmental interactions in exudate-mediated micronutrient uptake AU - Harrington, James M. AU - Duckworth, Owen W. AU - Haselwandter, Kurt T2 - BIOMETALS DA - 2015/6// PY - 2015/6// DO - 10.1007/s10534-015-9821-4 VL - 28 IS - 3 SP - 461-472 SN - 1572-8773 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84939962296&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Siderophores KW - Biogeochemistry KW - Iron acquisition KW - Rhizosphere KW - Micronutrient uptake ER - TY - JOUR TI - Multi-Institutional Collaboration for a Shared Renewable Energy Assessment Curriculum AU - Nichols, Elizabeth AU - DeLuca, V.W. AU - Ebersohl, R. T2 - Natural Sciences Education AB - The growth of renewable energy markets in North Carolina (USA) requires workforce expertise. Natural resource majors are well-poised to contribute to future workplace needs, particularly to assess landscapes for appropriate renewable energy use, to evaluate the impact of renewable energy technologies on natural resources, and to manage renewable energy sites with regard to natural resource sustainability. The objective of this project is to establish a shared curriculum for Renewable Energy Assessment to support an online Undergraduate Certificate in Renewable Energy Assessment and minor at North Carolina State University (NC State), a 2-year Associate's Degree at Cape Fear Community College (CFCC), and an undergraduate minor at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU). We report on the development, implementation, and initial assessment of a multi-institutional curriculum developed between a historically black university (HBU), a community college, and a research-intensive university in North Carolina. After 2 years, the project has impacted 11 faculty (7 at NC State University, 2 at CFCC, and 2 at ECSU) and 197 students, collaboratively created three new courses, collectively revised three existing courses, and created one undergraduate online certificate and two undergraduate minors. Initial demographic assessment data show that each institution helps diversify student participation in the curriculum as a whole for gender, ethnicity, and age. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.4195/nse2014.10.0023 VL - 44 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Independent Data Validation of an in Vitro Method for the Prediction of the Relative Bioavailability of Arsenic in Contaminated Soils AU - Bradham, Karen D. AU - Nelson, Clay AU - Juhasz, Albert L. AU - Smith, Euan AU - Scheckel, Kirk AU - Obenour, Daniel R. AU - Miller, Bradley W. AU - Thomas, David J. T2 - ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AB - In vitro bioaccessibility (IVBA) assays estimate arsenic (As) relative bioavailability (RBA) in contaminated soils to improve accuracy in human exposure assessments. Previous studies correlating soil As IVBA with RBA have been limited by the use of few soil types and sources of As, and the predictive value of As IVBA has not been validated using an independent set of As-contaminated soils. In this study, a robust linear model was developed to predict As RBA in mice using IVBA, and the predictive capability of the model was independently validated using a unique set of As-contaminated soils. Forty As-contaminated soils varying in soil type and contaminant source were included in this study, with 31 soils used for initial model development and nine soils used for independent model validation. The initial model reliably predicted As RBA values in the independent data set, with a mean As RBA prediction error of 5.4%. Following validation, 40 soils were used for final model development, resulting in a linear model with the equation RBA = 0.65 × IVBA + 7.8 and an R(2) of 0.81. The in vivo-in vitro correlation and independent data validation presented provide critical verification necessary for regulatory acceptance in human health risk assessment. DA - 2015/5/19/ PY - 2015/5/19/ DO - 10.1021/acs.est.5b00905 VL - 49 IS - 10 SP - 6312-6318 SN - 1520-5851 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Early-life dietary spray-dried plasma influences immunological and intestinal injury responses to later-life Salmonella typhimurium challenge AU - Boyer, P. E. AU - S. D'Costa, AU - Edwards, L. L. AU - Milloway, M. AU - Susick, E. AU - Borst, L. B. AU - Thakur, S. AU - Campbell, J. M. AU - Crenshaw, J. D. AU - Polo, J. AU - Moeser, A. J. T2 - BRITISH JOURNAL OF NUTRITION AB - Increasing evidence supports the concept that early-life environmental influences, including nutrition and stress, have an impact on long-term health outcomes and disease susceptibility. The objective of the present study was to determine whether dietary spray-dried plasma (SDP), fed during the first 2 weeks post-weaning (PW), influences subsequent immunological and intestinal injury responses to Salmonella typhimurium challenge. A total of thirty-two piglets (age 16-17 d) were weaned onto nursery diets containing 0, 2·5 % SDP (fed for 7 d PW) or 5 % SDP (fed for 14 d PW), and were then fed control diets (without SDP), for the remainder of the experiment. At 34 d PW (age 50 d), pigs were challenged with 3 × 10⁹ colony-forming units of S. typhimurium. A control group (non-challenged) that was fed 0 % SDP in the nursery was included. At 2 d post-challenge, the distal ileum was harvested for the measurement of inflammatory, histological and intestinal physiological parameters. S. typhimurium challenge induced elevated ileal histological scores, myeloperoxidase (MPO), IL-8 and TNF, and increased intestinal permeability (indicated by reduced transepithelial voltage (potential difference) and elevated 4 kDa fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FD4) flux rates). Compared with S. typhimurium-challenged controls (0 % SDP), pigs fed the 5 % SDP-14 d diet exhibited reduced ileal histological scores, MPO levels, IL-8 levels and FD4 flux rates. Pigs fed the 5 % SDP-14 d nursery diet exhibited increased levels of plasma and ileal TNF-α in response to the challenge, compared with the other treatments. These results indicate that inclusion of SDP in PW diets can have an influence on subsequent immunological and intestinal injury responses induced by later-life S. typhimurium challenge. DA - 2015/3/14/ PY - 2015/3/14/ DO - 10.1017/s000711451400422x VL - 113 IS - 5 SP - 783-793 SN - 1475-2662 KW - Spray-dried plasma KW - Early-life nutrition KW - Salmonella typhimurium KW - Intestinal inflammation KW - Mucosal immunity KW - Intestinal permeability KW - Weaning ER - TY - JOUR TI - Destruction of the Capsid and Genome of GII.4 Human Norovirus Occurs during Exposure to Metal Alloys Containing Copper AU - Manuel, C. S. AU - Moore, M. D. AU - Jaykus, L. A. T2 - APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY AB - Human norovirus (HuNoV) represents a significant public health burden worldwide and can be environmentally transmitted. Copper surfaces have been shown to inactivate the cultivable surrogate murine norovirus, but no such data exist for HuNoV. The purpose of this study was to characterize the destruction of GII.4 HuNoV and virus-like particles (VLPs) during exposure to copper alloy surfaces. Fecal suspensions positive for a GII.4 HuNoV outbreak strain or GII.4 VLPs were exposed to copper alloys or stainless steel for 0 to 240 min and recovered by elution. HuNoV genome integrity was assessed by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) (without RNase treatment), and capsid integrity was assessed by RT-qPCR (with RNase treatment), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), SDS-PAGE/Western blot analysis, and a histo-blood group antigen (HBGA) binding assay. Exposure of fecal suspensions to pure copper for 60 min reduced the GII.4 HuNoV RNA copy number by ∼3 log10 units when analyzed by RT-qPCR without RNase treatment and by 4 log10 units when a prior RNase treatment was used. The rate of reduction of the HuNoV RNA copy number was approximately proportional to the percentage of copper in each alloy. Exposure of GII.4 HuNoV VLPs to pure-copper surfaces resulted in noticeable aggregation and destruction within 240 min, an 80% reduction in the VP1 major capsid protein band intensity in 15 min, and a near-complete loss of HBGA receptor binding within 8 min. In all experiments, HuNoV remained stable on stainless steel. These results suggest that copper surfaces destroy HuNoV and may be useful in preventing environmental transmission of the virus in at-risk settings. DA - 2015/8// PY - 2015/8// DO - 10.1128/aem.00388-15 VL - 81 IS - 15 SP - 4940-4946 SN - 1098-5336 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Associations between Weather and Microbial Load on Fresh Produce Prior to Harvest AU - Ward, Michelle AU - Dhingra, Radhika AU - Remais, Justin V. AU - Chang, Howard H. AU - Johnston, Lynette M. AU - Jaykus, Lee-Ann AU - Leon, Juan T2 - JOURNAL OF FOOD PROTECTION AB - Contaminated produce causes approximately 1 million cases of foodborne illness and 1 billion dollars in damages to the U.S. economy annually. The environmental conditions, especially weather, that influence the inoculation, proliferation, and dispersal of microbial load on produce are not well understood. Using a mixed models approach, we examined the relationship of temperature and precipitation to microbial indicators of contamination on fresh produce on the farm over a week-long period prior to harvest. Between 2000 and 2002, we assayed for four microbial indicators of contamination (aerobic plate count, Enterococcus, total coliforms, and Escherichia coli) on 10 produce types in 15 fields in the southern United States. The sample collection times varied, with most occurring between January and May. We collected hourly weather data for the corresponding time period and location. Our results indicated that there was a significant association between the average daily temperature (20°C) and both log aerobic plate count (e.g., an increase of 0.074 log CFU/g [standard error {SE}, 0.023] per °C increase in weekly average temperature) and log Enterococcus (e.g., an increase of 0.15 log CFU/g [SE, 0.031] per °C increase in weekly average temperature) for approximately 5 days prior to sample collection. Daily total precipitation was significantly associated with log coliforms on 2 days (∼0.11 log CFU/g [SE, 0.06] per mm of precipitation) during the week-long lag period prior to harvest. Our results suggest that microbial indicator concentrations may increase as the temperature increases. Precipitation may have a positive but complex relationship with microbial indicators, as precipitation may create moist conditions conducive to bacterial growth, spread contamination onto the field, or wash contamination off of the plant. DA - 2015/4// PY - 2015/4// DO - 10.4315/0362-028x.jfp-14-381 VL - 78 IS - 4 SP - 849-854 SN - 1944-9097 ER - TY - JOUR TI - The interplay of innovation, brand, and marketing mix variables in line extensions AU - Sinapuelas, Ian Clark S. AU - Wang, Hui-Ming Deanna AU - Bohlmann, Jonathan D. T2 - JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF MARKETING SCIENCE DA - 2015/9// PY - 2015/9// DO - 10.1007/s11747-015-0437-6 VL - 43 IS - 5 SP - 558-573 SN - 1552-7824 KW - Line extensions KW - Innovation KW - New product adoption KW - Innovative products KW - Marketing mix variables ER - TY - JOUR TI - The Evolution of Stomach Acidity and Its Relevance to the Human Microbiome AU - Beasley, DeAnna E. AU - Koltz, Amanda M. AU - Lambert, Joanna E. AU - Fierer, Noah AU - Dunn, Rob R. T2 - PLOS ONE AB - Gastric acidity is likely a key factor shaping the diversity and composition of microbial communities found in the vertebrate gut. We conducted a systematic review to test the hypothesis that a key role of the vertebrate stomach is to maintain the gut microbial community by filtering out novel microbial taxa before they pass into the intestines. We propose that species feeding either on carrion or on organisms that are close phylogenetic relatives should require the most restrictive filter (measured as high stomach acidity) as protection from foreign microbes. Conversely, species feeding on a lower trophic level or on food that is distantly related to them (e.g. herbivores) should require the least restrictive filter, as the risk of pathogen exposure is lower. Comparisons of stomach acidity across trophic groups in mammal and bird taxa show that scavengers and carnivores have significantly higher stomach acidities compared to herbivores or carnivores feeding on phylogenetically distant prey such as insects or fish. In addition, we find when stomach acidity varies within species either naturally (with age) or in treatments such as bariatric surgery, the effects on gut bacterial pathogens and communities are in line with our hypothesis that the stomach acts as an ecological filter. Together these results highlight the importance of including measurements of gastric pH when investigating gut microbial dynamics within and across species. DA - 2015/7/29/ PY - 2015/7/29/ DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0134116 VL - 10 IS - 7 SP - e0134116 J2 - PLoS ONE LA - en OP - SN - 1932-6203 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134116 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Stable isotopes reveal links between human food inputs and urban ant diets AU - Penick, Clint A. AU - Savage, Amy M. AU - Dunn, Robert R. T2 - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences AB - The amount of energy consumed within an average city block is an order of magnitude higher than that consumed in any other ecosystem over a similar area. This is driven by human food inputs, but the consequence of these resources for urban animal populations is poorly understood. We investigated the role of human foods in ant diets across an urbanization gradient in Manhattan using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. We found that some-but not all-ant species living in Manhattan's most urbanized habitats had δ(13)C signatures associated with processed human foods. In particular, pavement ants (Tetramorium sp. E) had increased levels of δ(13)C similar to δ(13)C levels in human fast foods. The magnitude of this effect was positively correlated with urbanization. By contrast, we detected no differences in δ(15)N, suggesting Tetramorium feeds at the same trophic level despite shifting to human foods. This pattern persisted across the broader ant community; species in traffic islands used human resources more than park species. Our results demonstrate that the degree urban ants exploit human resources changes across the city and among species, and this variation could play a key role in community structure and ecosystem processes where human and animal food webs intersect. DA - 2015/5/7/ PY - 2015/5/7/ DO - 10.1098/rspb.2014.2608 VL - 282 IS - 1806 SP - 20142608 J2 - Proc. R. Soc. B LA - en OP - SN - 0962-8452 1471-2954 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.2608 DB - Crossref KW - urban ecology KW - nutrition KW - stable isotopes KW - New York KW - ants KW - Tetramorium ER - TY - JOUR TI - SRWC bioenergy productivity and economic feasibility on marginal lands AU - Ghezehei, Solomon B. AU - Shifflett, Shawn D. AU - Hazel, Dennis W. AU - Nichols, Elizabeth Guthrie T2 - JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AB - Evolving bioenergy markets necessitate consideration of marginal lands for woody biomass production worldwide particularly the southeastern U.S., a prominent wood pellet exporter to Europe. Growing short rotation woody crops (SRWCs) on marginal lands minimizes concerns about using croplands for bioenergy production and reinforces sustainability of wood supply to existing and growing global biomass markets. We estimated mean annual aboveground green biomass increments (MAIs) and assessed economic feasibility of various operationally established (0.5 ha-109 ha) SRWC stands on lands used to mitigate environmental liabilities of municipal wastewater, livestock wastewater and sludge, and subsurface contamination by petroleum and pesticides. MAIs (Mg ha(-1) yr(-1)) had no consistent relationship with stand density or age. Non-irrigated Populus, Plantanus occidentalis L. and Pinus taeda L. stands produced 2.4-12.4 Mg ha(-1) yr(-1). Older, irrigated Taxodium distchum L., Fraxinus pennsylvanica L., and coppiced P. occidentalis stands had higher MAIs (10.6-21.3 Mg ha(-1) yr(-1)) than irrigated Liquidambar styraciflua L. and non-coppiced, irrigated P. occidentalis (8-18 Mg ha(-1) yr(-1)). Natural hardwood MAIs at 20-60 years were less than hardwood and P. taeda productivities at 5-20 years. Unlike weed control, irrigation and coppicing improved managed hardwood productivity. Rotation length affected economic outcomes although the returns were poor due to high establishment and maintenance costs, low productivities and low current stumpage values, which are expected to quickly change with development of robust global markets. DA - 2015/9/1/ PY - 2015/9/1/ DO - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.05.025 VL - 160 SP - 57-66 SN - 1095-8630 KW - Abandoned lands KW - Contaminated lands KW - Investment analysis KW - Short-rotation forestry KW - Sustainable feedstock production ER - TY - JOUR TI - Responses of Coastal Largemouth Bass to Episodic Hypoxia AU - Brown, Daniel T. AU - Aday, D. Derek AU - Rice, James A. T2 - TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY AB - Abstract The river systems inhabited by coastal populations of Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides in North Carolina and along the Atlantic and Gulf coast regions exhibit episodic (i.e., several times per year) fluctuations in environmental conditions (e.g., dissolved oxygen [DO]). Laboratory studies have documented the effects of low DO (hypoxia) on Largemouth Bass, yet few field studies have examined these effects in open systems. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of episodic hypoxia on Largemouth Bass distribution, survival, and feeding success in an open coastal system. We collected 45 Largemouth Bass from four tributaries of the Chowan River and tagged them with acoustic transmitters. Fish movements were monitored using active tracking and passive receivers, and these data were compared with DO levels recorded in the tributaries and main‐stem Chowan River. We found that tagged Largemouth Bass exhibited avoidance behavior at DO concentrations below 1.8 mg/L, with some seeking higher DO in the main stem or near tributary mouths during hypoxic events in the tributaries. The natural mortality rate of Largemouth Bass was low compared with rates reported in other studies, indicating that Largemouth Bass in coastal systems are able to survive hypoxic events. Analysis of stomach contents collected during hypoxic and non‐hypoxic periods indicated that Largemouth Bass had less food in their stomachs under hypoxic conditions; however, the CPUE (fish/h of pedal time) of potential prey fishes was not lower during hypoxic periods relative to non‐hypoxic periods, and thus a change in foraging opportunities did not appear to drive Largemouth Bass movement. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1080/00028487.2015.1024801 VL - 144 IS - 4 SP - 655-666 SN - 1548-8659 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Public health impacts of ecosystem change in the Brazilian Amazon AU - Bauch, Simone C. AU - Birkenbach, Anna M. AU - Pattanayak, Subhrendu K. AU - Sills, Erin O. T2 - PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AB - The claim that nature delivers health benefits rests on a thin empirical evidence base. Even less evidence exists on how specific conservation policies affect multiple health outcomes. We address these gaps in knowledge by combining municipal-level panel data on diseases, public health services, climatic factors, demographics, conservation policies, and other drivers of land-use change in the Brazilian Amazon. To fully exploit this dataset, we estimate random-effects and quantile regression models of disease incidence. We find that malaria, acute respiratory infection (ARI), and diarrhea incidence are significantly and negatively correlated with the area under strict environmental protection. Results vary by disease for other types of protected areas (PAs), roads, and mining. The relationships between diseases and land-use change drivers also vary by quantile of the disease distribution. Conservation scenarios based on estimated regression results suggest that malaria, ARI, and diarrhea incidence would be reduced by expanding strict PAs, and malaria could be further reduced by restricting roads and mining. Although these relationships are complex, we conclude that interventions to preserve natural capital can deliver cobenefits by also increasing human (health) capital. DA - 2015/6/16/ PY - 2015/6/16/ DO - 10.1073/pnas.1406495111 VL - 112 IS - 24 SP - 7414-7419 SN - 0027-8424 KW - infectious diseases KW - roads KW - mining KW - protected areas KW - Amazon forest ER - TY - JOUR TI - Metallophores and Trace Metal Biogeochemistry AU - Kraemer, Stephan M. AU - Duckworth, Owen W. AU - Harrington, James M. AU - Schenkeveld, Walter D. C. T2 - AQUATIC GEOCHEMISTRY DA - 2015/7// PY - 2015/7// DO - 10.1007/s10498-014-9246-7 VL - 21 IS - 2-4 SP - 159-195 SN - 1573-1421 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84931006609&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Metallophore KW - Siderophore KW - Trace metals KW - Nutrient uptake ER - TY - JOUR TI - Incidence of solid tumours among pesticide applicators exposed to the organophosphate insecticide diazinon in the Agricultural Health Study: an updated analysis AU - Jones, R. R. AU - Barone-Adesi, F. AU - Koutros, S. AU - Lerro, C. C. AU - Blair, A. AU - Lubin, J. AU - Heltshe, S. L. AU - Hoppin, Jane AU - Alavanja, M. C. R. AU - Freeman, L. E. B. AU - al. T2 - Occupational and Environmental Medicine AB -

Objective

Diazinon, a common organophosphate insecticide with genotoxic properties, was previously associated with lung cancer in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) cohort, but few other epidemiological studies have examined diazinon-associated cancer risk. We used updated diazinon exposure and cancer incidence information to evaluate solid tumour risk in the AHS.

Methods

Male pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina reported lifetime diazinon use at enrolment (1993–1997) and follow-up (1998–2005); cancer incidence was assessed through 2010(North Carolina)/2011(Iowa). Among applicators with usage information sufficient to evaluate exposure-response patterns, we used Poisson regression to estimate adjusted rate ratios (RRs) and 95% CI for cancer sites with ≥10 exposed cases for both lifetime (LT) exposure days and intensity-weighted (IW) lifetime exposure days (accounting for factors impacting exposure).

Results

We observed elevated lung cancer risks (N=283) among applicators with the greatest number of LT (RR=1.60; 95% CI 1.11 to 2.31; Ptrend=0.02) and IW days of diazinon use (RR=1.41; 95% CI 0.98 to 2.04; Ptrend=0.08). Kidney cancer (N=94) risks were non-significantly elevated (RRLT days=1.77; 95% CI 0.90 to 3.51; Ptrend=0.09; RRIW days 1.37; 95% CI 0.64 to 2.92; Ptrend=0.50), as were risks for aggressive prostate cancer (N=656).

Conclusions

Our updated evaluation of diazinon provides additional evidence of an association with lung cancer risk. Newly identified links to kidney cancer and associations with aggressive prostate cancer require further evaluation. DA - 2015/4/23/ PY - 2015/4/23/ DO - 10.1136/oemed-2014-102728 VL - 72 IS - 7 SP - 496-503 J2 - Occup Environ Med LA - en OP - SN - 1351-0711 1470-7926 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2014-102728 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - IARC monographs: 40 years of evaluating carcinogenic hazards to humans T2 - Environmental Health Perspectives DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// VL - 123 IS - 6 SP - 507-514 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Generation and characterization of nucleic acid aptamers targeting the capsid P domain of a human norovirus GII.4 strain AU - Moore, Matthew D. AU - Escudero-Abarca, Blanca I. AU - Suh, Soo Hwan AU - Jaykus, Lee-Ann T2 - JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY AB - Human noroviruses (NoV) are the leading cause of acute viral gastroenteritis worldwide. Significant antigenic diversity of NoV strains has limited the availability of broadly reactive ligands for design of detection assays. The purpose of this work was to produce and characterize single stranded (ss)DNA aptamers with binding specificity to human NoV using an easily produced NoV target—the P domain protein. Aptamer selection was done using SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment) directed against an Escherichia coli-expressed and purified epidemic NoV GII.4 strain P domain. Two of six unique aptamers (designated M1 and M6-2) were chosen for characterization. Inclusivity testing using an enzyme-linked aptamer sorbent assay (ELASA) against a panel of 14 virus-like particles (VLPs) showed these aptamers had broad reactivity and exhibited strong binding to GI.7, GII.2, two GII.4 strains, and GII.7 VLPs. Aptamer M6-2 exhibited at least low to moderate binding to all VLPs tested. Aptamers significantly (p < 0.05) bound virus in partially purified GII.4 New Orleans outbreak stool specimens as demonstrated by ELASA and aptamer magnetic capture (AMC) followed by RT-qPCR. This is the first demonstration of human NoV P domain protein as a functional target for the selection of nucleic acid aptamers that specifically bind and broadly recognize diverse human NoV strains. DA - 2015/9/10/ PY - 2015/9/10/ DO - 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2015.06.389 VL - 209 SP - 41-49 SN - 1873-4863 KW - SELEX KW - Aptamer KW - Norovirus KW - Molecular detection KW - Viral diagnostics ER - TY - JOUR TI - Fungi Identify the Geographic Origin of Dust Samples AU - Grantham, Neal S. AU - Reich, Brian J. AU - Pacifici, Krishna AU - Laber, Eric B. AU - Menninger, Holly L. AU - Henley, Jessica B. AU - Barberán, Albert AU - Leff, Jonathan W. AU - Fierer, Noah AU - Dunn, Robert R. T2 - PLOS ONE AB - There is a long history of archaeologists and forensic scientists using pollen found in a dust sample to identify its geographic origin or history. Such palynological approaches have important limitations as they require time-consuming identification of pollen grains, a priori knowledge of plant species distributions, and a sufficient diversity of pollen types to permit spatial or temporal identification. We demonstrate an alternative approach based on DNA sequencing analyses of the fungal diversity found in dust samples. Using nearly 1,000 dust samples collected from across the continental U.S., our analyses identify up to 40,000 fungal taxa from these samples, many of which exhibit a high degree of geographic endemism. We develop a statistical learning algorithm via discriminant analysis that exploits this geographic endemicity in the fungal diversity to correctly identify samples to within a few hundred kilometers of their geographic origin with high probability. In addition, our statistical approach provides a measure of certainty for each prediction, in contrast with current palynology methods that are almost always based on expert opinion and devoid of statistical inference. Fungal taxa found in dust samples can therefore be used to identify the origin of that dust and, more importantly, we can quantify our degree of certainty that a sample originated in a particular place. This work opens up a new approach to forensic biology that could be used by scientists to identify the origin of dust or soil samples found on objects, clothing, or archaeological artifacts. DA - 2015/4/13/ PY - 2015/4/13/ DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0122605 VL - 10 IS - 4 SP - e0122605 J2 - PLoS ONE LA - en OP - SN - 1932-6203 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0122605 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Climate mediates the effects of disturbance on ant assemblage structure AU - Gibb, Heloise AU - Sanders, Nathan J. AU - Dunn, Robert R. AU - Watson, Simon AU - Photakis, Manoli AU - Abril, Silvia AU - Andersen, Alan N. AU - Angulo, Elena AU - Armbrecht, Inge AU - Arnan, Xavier AU - Baccaro, Fabricio B. AU - Bishop, Tom R. AU - Boulay, Raphael AU - Castracani, Cristina AU - Del Toro, Israel AU - Delsinne, Thibaut AU - Diaz, Mireia AU - Donoso, David A. AU - Enriquez, Martha L. AU - Fayle, Tom M. AU - Feener, Donald H., Jr. AU - Fitzpatrick, Matthew C. AU - Gomez, Crisanto AU - Grasso, Donato A. AU - Groc, Sarah AU - Heterick, Brian AU - Hoffmann, Benjamin D. AU - Lach, Lori AU - Lattke, John AU - Leponce, Maurice AU - Lessard, Jean-Philippe AU - Longino, John AU - Lucky, Andrea AU - Majer, Jonathan AU - Menke, Sean B. AU - Mezger, Dirk AU - Mori, Alessandra AU - Munyai, Thinandavha C. AU - Paknia, Omid AU - Pearce-Duvet, Jessica AU - Pfeiffer, Martin AU - Philpott, Stacy M. AU - Souza, Jorge L. P. AU - Tista, Melanie AU - Vasconcelos, Heraldo L. AU - Vonshak, Merav AU - Parr, Catherine L. T2 - PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AB - Many studies have focused on the impacts of climate change on biological assemblages, yet little is known about how climate interacts with other major anthropogenic influences on biodiversity, such as habitat disturbance. Using a unique global database of 1128 local ant assemblages, we examined whether climate mediates the effects of habitat disturbance on assemblage structure at a global scale. Species richness and evenness were associated positively with temperature, and negatively with disturbance. However, the interaction among temperature, precipitation and disturbance shaped species richness and evenness. The effect was manifested through a failure of species richness to increase substantially with temperature in transformed habitats at low precipitation. At low precipitation levels, evenness increased with temperature in undisturbed sites, peaked at medium temperatures in disturbed sites and remained low in transformed sites. In warmer climates with lower rainfall, the effects of increasing disturbance on species richness and evenness were akin to decreases in temperature of up to 9°C. Anthropogenic disturbance and ongoing climate change may interact in complicated ways to shape the structure of assemblages, with hot, arid environments likely to be at greatest risk. DA - 2015/6/7/ PY - 2015/6/7/ DO - 10.1098/rspb.2015.0418 VL - 282 IS - 1808 SP - SN - 1471-2954 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84929997136&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - assemblage structure KW - dominance KW - global warming KW - probability of interspecific encounter KW - species evenness ER - TY - JOUR TI - A Review of Nonoccupational Pathways for Pesticide Exposure in Women Living in Agricultural Areas AU - Deziel, Nicole C. AU - Friesen, Melissa C. AU - Hoppin, Jane A. AU - Hines, Cynthia J. AU - Thomas, Kent AU - Freeman, Laura E. Beane T2 - Environmental Health Perspectives AB - BackgroundWomen living in agricultural areas may experience high pesticide exposures compared with women in urban or suburban areas because of their proximity to farm activities.ObjectiveOur objective was to review the evidence in the published literature for the contribution of nonoccupational pathways of pesticide exposure in women living in North American agricultural areas.MethodsWe evaluated the following nonoccupational exposure pathways: paraoccupational (i.e., take-home or bystander exposure), agricultural drift, residential pesticide use, and dietary ingestion. We also evaluated the role of hygiene factors (e.g., house cleaning, shoe removal).ResultsAmong 35 publications identified (published 1995–2013), several reported significant or suggestive (p < 0.1) associations between paraoccupational (n = 19) and agricultural drift (n = 10) pathways and pesticide dust or biomarker levels, and 3 observed that residential use was associated with pesticide concentrations in dust. The 4 studies related to ingestion reported low detection rates of most pesticides in water; additional studies are needed to draw conclusions about the importance of this pathway. Hygiene factors were not consistently linked to exposure among the 18 relevant publications identified.ConclusionsEvidence supported the importance of paraoccupational, drift, and residential use pathways. Disentangling exposure pathways was difficult because agricultural populations are concurrently exposed to pesticides via multiple pathways. Most evidence was based on measurements of pesticides in residential dust, which are applicable to any household member and are not specific to women. An improved understanding of nonoccupational pesticide exposure pathways in women living in agricultural areas is critical for studying health effects in women and for designing effective exposure-reduction strategies.CitationDeziel NC, Friesen MC, Hoppin JA, Hines CJ, Thomas K, Beane Freeman LE. 2015. A review of nonoccupational pathways for pesticide exposure in women living in agricultural areas. Environ Health Perspect 123:515–524; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408273 DA - 2015/6// PY - 2015/6// DO - 10.1289/ehp.1408273 VL - 123 IS - 6 SP - 515-524 J2 - Environmental Health Perspectives LA - en OP - SN - 0091-6765 1552-9924 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408273 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Zero Risk Does Not Exist: Lessons Learned from Microbial Risk Assessment Related to Use of Water and Safety of Fresh Produce AU - De Keuckelaere, Ann AU - Jacxsens, Liesbeth AU - Amoah, Philip AU - Medema, Gertjan AU - McClure, Peter AU - Jaykus, Lee-Ann AU - Uyttendaele, Mieke T2 - COMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY AB - Abstract Risk assessments related to use of water and safety of fresh produce originate from both water and food microbiology studies. Although the set‐up and methodology of risk assessment in these 2 disciplines may differ, analysis of the current literature reveals some common outcomes. Most of these studies from the water perspective focus on enteric virus risks, largely because of their anticipated high concentrations in untreated wastewater and their resistance to common wastewater treatments. Risk assessment studies from the food perspective, instead, focus mainly on bacterial pathogens such as Salmonella and pathogenic Escherichia coli . Few site‐specific data points were available for most of these microbial risk assessments, meaning that many assumptions were necessary, which are repeated in many studies. Specific parameters lacking hard data included rates of pathogen transfer from irrigation water to crops, pathogen penetration, and survival in or on food crops. Data on these factors have been investigated over the last decade and this should improve the reliability of future microbial risk estimates. However, the sheer number of different foodstuffs and pathogens, combined with water sources and irrigation practices, means that developing risk models that can span the breadth of fresh produce safety will be a considerable challenge. The new approach using microbial risk assessment is objective and evidence‐based and leads to more flexibility and enables more tailored risk management practices and guidelines. Drawbacks are, however, capacity and knowledge to perform the microbial risk assessment and the need for data and preferably data of the specific region. DA - 2015/7// PY - 2015/7// DO - 10.1111/1541-4337.12140 VL - 14 IS - 4 SP - 387-410 SN - 1541-4337 KW - fruits and vegetables KW - health risk KW - mitigation strategies KW - quantitative microbial risk assessment KW - water ER - TY - JOUR TI - Microbial Hazards in Irrigation Water: Standards, Norms, and Testing to Manage Use of Water in Fresh Produce Primary Production AU - Uyttendaele, Mieke AU - Jaykus, Lee-Ann AU - Amoah, Philip AU - Chiodini, Alessandro AU - Cunliffe, David AU - Jacxsens, Liesbeth AU - Holvoet, Kevin AU - Korsten, Lise AU - Lau, Mathew AU - McClure, Peter AU - Medema, Gertjan AU - Sampers, Imca AU - Jasti, Pratima Rao T2 - COMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY AB - Abstract Accessibility to abundant sources of high‐quality water is integral to the production of safe and wholesome fresh produce. However, access to safe water is becoming increasingly difficult in many parts of the world, and this can lead to the production of fresh produce contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms, resulting in increased risk of human disease. Water, an important raw material in the fresh produce chain, is used in considerable amounts in many operations, including irrigation and application of pesticides and fertilizers, but also as a transport medium and for cooling and washing in postharvest practices. In several reported outbreaks related to uncooked fruit and vegetable products, water has been identified as a likely source of the outbreak. The present study, initiated by the ILSI Europe Emerging Microbiological Issues Task Force in collaboration with 8 other ILSI branches and support of WHO/FAO, was undertaken to review the status of, and provide suggestions for, consideration by different stakeholders on water and sanitation and its impact on food safety and public health. A limited number of guidelines and regulations on water quality for agricultural production are available, and many of them are still heavily based on microbial standards and (debated) parameters such as fecal coliforms. Data gaps have been identified with regard to baseline studies of microbial pathogens in water sources in many regions, the need for agreement on methods and microbial parameters to be used in assessing water quality, the fate of pathogens in water, and their transfer and persistence on irrigated/processed produce. DA - 2015/7// PY - 2015/7// DO - 10.1111/1541-4337.12133 VL - 14 IS - 4 SP - 336-356 SN - 1541-4337 KW - water KW - irrigation KW - outbreaks KW - fresh produce KW - good practices KW - testing ER - TY - JOUR TI - Fine-scale heterogeneity across Manhattan's urban habitat mosaic is associated with variation in ant composition and richness AU - Savage, Amy M. AU - Hackett, Britne AU - Guenard, Benoit AU - Youngsteadt, Elsa K. AU - Dunn, Robert R. T2 - INSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY AB - Abstract Global urbanisation is rapidly expanding and most of the world's humans now live in cities. Most ecological studies have, however, focused on protected areas. To address this issue, we tested predictions from studies of protected areas in urban ecosystems. Because most cities are heterogeneous habitat mosaics which include habitats with varying levels of chronic environmental stress, we focused on predictions from studies of less modified ecosystems about community‐wide responses to variation in chronic stress. We sampled ants across Manhattan's urban habitat mosaic, at sites with varying levels of chronic environmental stress. Many predictions derived from less modified ecosystems were supported by our findings: despite being the most intensively sampled habitat, high stress urban medians had less variability in ant composition –both within and among sites – than either urban parks or urban forests, the lowest stress habitat – urban forests‐had significantly more accumulated species and a higher number of unique species than higher stress habitats, and urban parks, which have intermediate levels of chronic environmental stress, also had intermediate levels of variation in among‐site species composition, accumulated species richness, and the incidence of unique species. The most common species also differed across Manhattan's urban habitat mosaic. Nevertheless, the prediction that exotic species would occur more frequently in higher stress habitats was not supported; exotic species were equally common across all habitats. These findings suggest that fine‐scale heterogeneity in the chronic stress of urban habitats may be an underappreciated, but important structuring force for urban animal communities. DA - 2015/5// PY - 2015/5// DO - 10.1111/icad.12098 VL - 8 IS - 3 SP - 216-228 SN - 1752-4598 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84929312219&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Ants KW - chronic environmental stress KW - community structure KW - diversity KW - exotic species KW - Lasius KW - Tapinoma KW - Tetramorium KW - unique species KW - urban ecology ER - TY - JOUR TI - Dispersal Patterns of Coastal Largemouth Bass in Response to Tournament Displacement AU - Brown, Daniel T. AU - Rice, James A. AU - Suski, Cory D. AU - Aday, D. Derek T2 - NORTH AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AB - Abstract Tournament displacement, stockpiling near release points, and handling stress are major concerns for managers of sport fisheries in the southeastern USA. We examined the effects of transport distance and tournament handling stress on dispersal of 40 Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides via telemetry from May 2012 to September 2013 in the Albemarle Sound system of eastern North Carolina. Largemouth Bass were captured from four tributaries of Albemarle Sound and transported 16.5–45 km to a central release point before being acoustically tagged and released. Movement data from an array of passive receivers was used to calculate rates of dispersal from the release point, emigration from the study area and return to capture location over time. Blood cortisol concentration, collected from our tagged Largemouth Bass and those captured in an actual tournament, was used to determine the effect of stress on potential postrelease movement and survival. Our findings indicate little evidence of long‐term stockpiling (i.e., fish remaining close to release point; Richardson‐Heft et al. 2000); 57% of displaced Largemouth Bass dispersed more than 500 m from the release point within 7 d and 87% within 21 d postrelease. Half of those that emigrated from Edenton Bay returned to their capture location. However, no Largemouth Bass displaced 35–45 km returned to their capture locations, suggesting that long‐distance displacement inhibits return. Fishing (2.8%) and nonharvest mortality (0.5%) were low throughout this study except for peaks observed during late spring (42.9%) and early summer (25.1%) of 2013. Mean cortisol concentrations were similar in Largemouth Bass collected during our simulated tournament (126.7 ng/mL) and an actual tournament (118.4 ng/mL). However, cortisol concentrations were unrelated to survival, postrelease dispersal, or return of tagged individuals to their capture location. Largemouth Bass appear to be able to cope with current tournament practices; however, restrictions on displacement distance may increase return rates. Received August 26, 2014; accepted January 14, 2015 DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.1080/02755947.2015.1009660 VL - 35 IS - 3 SP - 431-439 SN - 1548-8675 ER - TY - JOUR TI - A methodological framework for linking bioreactor function to microbial communities and environmental conditions AU - de los Reyes, Francis L, III AU - Weaver, Joseph E AU - Wang, Ling T2 - Current Opinion in Biotechnology AB - In the continuing quest to relate microbial communities in bioreactors to function and environmental and operational conditions, engineers and biotechnologists have adopted the latest molecular and 'omic methods. Despite the large amounts of data generated, gaining mechanistic insights and using the data for predictive and practical purposes is still a huge challenge. We present a methodological framework that can guide experimental design, and discuss specific issues that can affect how researchers generate and use data to elucidate the relationships. We also identify, in general terms, bioreactor research opportunities that appear promising. DA - 2015/6// PY - 2015/6// DO - 10.1016/j.copbio.2015.02.002 VL - 33 SP - 112-118 J2 - Current Opinion in Biotechnology LA - en OP - SN - 0958-1669 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2015.02.002 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - A Comparison of the Sorption Reactivity of Bacteriogenic and Mycogenic Mn Oxide Nanoparticles AU - Droz, Boris AU - Dumas, Naomi AU - Duckworth, Owen W. AU - Pena, Jasquelin T2 - ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AB - Biogenic MnO2 minerals affect metal fate and transport in natural and engineered systems by strongly sorbing metals ions. The ability to produce MnO2 is widely dispersed in the microbial tree of life, leading to potential differences in the minerals produced by different organisms. In this study, we compare the structure and reactivity of biogenic Mn oxides produced by the biofilm-forming bacterium Pseudomonas putida GB-1 and the white-rot fungus Coprinellus sp. The rate of Mn(II) oxidation, and thus biomineral production, was 45 times lower for Coprinellus sp. (5.1 × 10–2 mM d–1) than for P. putida (2.32 mM d–1). Both organisms produced predominantly Mn(IV) oxides with hexagonal-sheet symmetry, low sheet stacking, small particle size, and Mn(II/III) in the interlayer. However, we found that mycogenic MnO2 could support a significantly lower quantity of Ni sorbed via inner-sphere coordination at vacancy sites than the bacteriogenic MnO2: 0.09 versus 0.14 mol Ni mol–1 Mn. In addition, 50–100% of the adsorbed Ni partitioned to the MnO2, which accounts for less than 20% of the sorbent on a mass basis. The vacancy content, which appears to increase with the kinetics of MnO2 precipitation, exerts significant control on biomineral reactivity. DA - 2015/4/7/ PY - 2015/4/7/ DO - 10.1021/es5048528 VL - 49 IS - 7 SP - 4200-4208 SN - 1520-5851 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84926434041&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - The effects of solid carrier material and surface roughness on microalgal cell attachment AU - Cui, Y. AU - Yuan, W. AU - Cheng, J. AU - Wang, B. T2 - Transactions of the ASABE DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// VL - 58 IS - 1 SP - 161-168 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Rob Dunn AU - Dunn, Rob T2 - CURRENT BIOLOGY AB - Rob Dunn is an ecologist and evolutionary biologist in the Department of Biological Sciences at North Carolina State University, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He and his group study the ecology and evolution of species humans interact with every day but tend to overlook, be they bacteria in belly buttons, crickets in basements or the yeast in beer. Topics of interest include the history of human-associated species, the role of species interactions in the health and well-being of humans and the future relationships between humans and the rest of life. His work has been published in scholarly and popular articles, as well as three books, most recently The Man Who Touched His Own Heart. What drew you to your specific field of research? Chance, mostly. The first opportunities I had were in ecology and evolution. But I also think I’d find professional fulfillment in other fields of science and scholarship more generally. I love what I do, but am also aware that there are many other fields in which I’d find delight. If you had to choose a different field, what would it be? Maybe history, or anthropology. Biochemistry intrigues me right now. I’m finally in that phase of my career when I’m realizing that my college chemistry professors were right when they told me that I would wish, someday, that I had taken more chemistry. I’m fascinated by alkaloids at the moment and don’t know quite enough about them to make full sense of what I am reading about them. Do you have a scientific hero? I’m partial to JBS Haldane, though ‘hero’ is the wrong word. I guess what I probably have is a list of scientists whose creative abilities I find either marvelous, enviable or both: Haldane, W.D. Hamilton, E.O. Wilson, Loren Eiseley, Dobzhansky. But all of these folks also had failings. That they are human, like the rest of us, is what makes them fascinating even if not heroes in the simplest sense of the word. Which historical scientist would you like to meet and what would you ask them? I’ve been writing about the human heart a lot lately, and in the story of the human heart Leonardo Da Vinci did a great deal of amazing work, but just what exactly he did or didn’t figure out has never been very well resolved. He figured out stories about heart valves and atherosclerosis that would not be well understood again until the 1900s, because his scientific discoveries were basically lost for centuries. What else did he figure out? I’d like a long dinner with Da Vinci to sort out what he knew and then also to see if he could figure out answers to some of the great mysteries now. Along those lines, I’d love to go to dinner with Galen, the Roman physician-scientist. Or Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. He would be fantastic! He studied belly-button biodiversity before belly-button biodiversity was cool. Do you have a favourite paper or science book? There is a book on my shelf at home about some of the great early field adventures. In it are copies of some of Henry Walter Bates’s field notes from the Amazon. Those of Alfred Russell Wallace too. I love that book, as it tells the stories of some of the great early attempts to lay hold of the world but then through those images it also shows the madness of coming to terms with the world’s diversity, an unfathomable diversity that led Bates and Wallace both to scribble like madmen as they tried valiantly to understand. What is the best advice you’ve been given? I’m going to rephrase a little, but in essence it was to make sure you are spending time doing work at the nexus of what you are best at and what you most enjoy. That sounds cheesy, but most of us spend a lot of time doing something that other people are better at and/or enjoy more. If you hadn’t made it as a scientist, what would you have become? Well, right now I sort of have two jobs, as a scientist and as a writer. My hope is that in addition to these that I still get a chance to become more than one thing over time, but if we are rewinding the tape all the way, maybe a sculptor. What has been your biggest mistake? Off and on I’ve spent too much time studying boring things that were interesting to the cultural group I was in (tropical ecologists, for instance) but that seem less interesting with the benefit of more perspective. Other times, I’ve focused too much on the question in front of me and not noticed the context. I spent a lot of time in Bolivia studying forest regeneration and failed to record many things that I now know no one has ever studied. Those are mistake of misspent time. I think I’ve also made mistakes in terms of how best to help people to become the scientists or professionals they want to be. It is easy to fail in terms of training others, particularly early in your career when you don’t know how anything works yourself. It is hard sometimes to know what the right advice is or how to best guide someone into being as great as they would like to be. Then there are missed opportunities. People I failed to learn from. Potential friends I failed to get to know when I might have. Also, a friend once convinced me to hand a stone to a monkey at a zoo in Ecuador. The monkey looked at the stone and then chucked it full force back through the bars at my head. It hit hard. I regret giving the monkey the stone. What is your favourite conference? I don’t usually go to conferences except those in fields very different from my own. Recently, I’ve been to conferences on surgical infections, astrobiology, and writing novels. They were all fun. What is your greatest research ambition? I guess my ‘great’ ambitions have more to do with the other parts, for instance my writing, than with my science. On the science side there are lots of fun things I’d like to figure out: the ecology of the human skin and how it has evolved; the evolutionary history of the species that live with us in our houses. A framework for thinking about how urban ecosystems work based on human food subsidies. Stuff like that. But if I never did any of those things, I’d still be a happy man. I guess what I’d really like to have done when the gong sounds is to write beautiful, compelling books that help people to engage with science in a world still filled with unnamed species, mystery and an increasing number of challenges that demand scientific literacy. Do you feel a push towards more applied science? How does that affect your own work? I feel pushed in two directions, away from one set of questions and towards another. What I feel pushed away from is basic science masquerading as application, for instance, studies of biodiversity gradients that pretend to have some relevance to conservation, but don’t really; or studies of the future distribution of species in light of climate change, studies with species distribution models that no one really believes will ever be useful in conservation planning. We modeled the future distribution of all ant species in North America, for instance, but never published it because I’m not convinced of what it really tells us. In being pushed away from this kind of work, I feel pushed toward very basic work, but basic work done with the practical challenges in mind. Do you believe there is a need for more crosstalk between biological disciplines? I live on the crosstalk. It makes my brain vibrate and hum and function. All of the good ideas, if I’ve had some, have come from going across fields. Maybe that isn’t fully true, but it is how I feel, emotionally, about my science. What do you think about post-publication peer-review of papers? I think it is fine. I like science to be open, for the public and other scientists to see the dirty bits, though also the tedious ones, and how damn hard it can be to figure out the world, how fish-like and slippery new knowledge can be. I guess my sense is that the real review is what happens over decades and generations, the time interval during which posterity’s review of science winnows away much of what scientists believe to be sexy but does not actually advance knowledge very much. Much of what gets people promotions and grants today won’t seem very interesting in a decade or a century. What do you think of the role of social media in science, for example, the role of science blogs in critiquing published papers? I find great value in the role of writers in contextualizing papers. Writers and scientists from other fields can sometimes better frame what a result means than the researchers themselves. The more atomized science becomes, the more value this contextualization offers. But here I’ve carefully chosen the word contextualize rather than critique. I’m wary of the blog critique in as much as it is boundless and subject to a meanness without responsibility. Science bloggers have the power to say things on the internet they would not say in person. So, of course, do reviewers, but reviewers do not have an audience and do not get egged on by their colleagues. Bloggers sometimes do. Which aspect of science would you wish the general public knew more about? What scientists find beautiful. How illusive answers can be. How hard-fought boring results sometimes are. How we evaluate progress and truths. The things we see on the horizon as possibilities but can’t yet discern well. The extent to which scientists are human, and so their successes and choices reflect both the endeavor of science but also the great and difficult daily aspects of love, marriage, parenting and all the rest. What do you think are the big questions to be answered next in your field? I guess I, more and more, feel as though ‘big questions’ are bullshit — a social construction that as scientists we have learned to value. In ecology, for instance, one of the ‘big’ old questions is what drives the latitudinal diversity gradient. A thousand papers and grants begin with the assertion that this is a big question in need of resolution. But we’ve been working on this question for a hundred years and are (from my perspective) no closer than we were a hundred years ago to a consensus as the resolution of this ‘big question’. I don’t think that there are many big discoveries in the history of biology where, if you look back at them you could say the scientists who made the discovery were addressing a big question. It seems like far more often the big discoveries come from knowing some organism or feature of an organism really well and then combining that deep knowledge and inquiry with some insight that spans fields. My guess is that the next big discovery is far more likely to come from someone studying, say, the behavior of squirrel sperm, than gunning for the next big question. If you could ask an omniscient higher being a scientific question, what would it be? I’d like to know about the dimensions of life. How small it gets, how deep in the Earth. Where else in the universe life exists. The most unusual organisms we have yet to detect, or the most unlikely biology. I’d like to see a cabinet of curiosities compiled by someone who knew where the best stuff was kept. I guess I’d also like to know if there are rules by which life or existence more generally works that we are still missing. We’ve got natural selection. We have the laws and regularities of ecology. We have genetics and epigenetics. But surely we are missing something. What is it that we are missing? There are also the practical concerns as well. Most of the challenges society faces need to be resolved with better education, better policies and better collective decisions, not necessarily more or newer science. But in those places where more or newer science is needed, what are the critical insights. Where, for example, are the new antibiotics? The new medicines? Which species should we be studying to best help humanity. The answer is almost certainly not mice, rats, and fruit flies though I’d love to hear as much from someone who could see it all. DA - 2015/3/16/ PY - 2015/3/16/ DO - 10.1016/j.cub.2014.12.039 VL - 25 IS - 6 SP - R212-R214 SN - 1879-0445 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84926359899&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - Growing duckweed for biofuel production: a review AU - Cui, W. AU - Cheng, J. J. T2 - PLANT BIOLOGY AB - Abstract Duckweed can be utilised to produce ethanol, butanol and biogas, which are promising alternative energy sources to minimise dependence on limited crude oil and natural gas. The advantages of this aquatic plant include high rate of nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) uptake, high biomass yield and great potential as an alternative feedstock for the production of fuel ethanol, butanol and biogas. The objective of this article is to review the published research on growing duckweed for the production of the biofuels, especially starch enrichment in duckweed plants. There are mainly two processes affecting the accumulation of starch in duckweed biomass: photosynthesis for starch generation and metabolism‐related starch consumption. The cost of stimulating photosynthesis is relatively high based on current technologies. Considerable research efforts have been made to inhibit starch degradation. Future research need in this area includes duckweed selection, optimisation of duckweed biomass production, enhancement of starch accumulation in duckweeds and use of duckweeds for production of various biofuels. DA - 2015/1// PY - 2015/1// DO - 10.1111/plb.12216 VL - 17 SP - 16-23 SN - 1438-8677 KW - Biofuels KW - biogas KW - butanol KW - duckweed KW - ethanol KW - starch ER - TY - JOUR TI - Full- and pilot-scale GAC adsorption of organic micropollutants AU - Kennedy, Anthony M. AU - Reinert, Allison M. AU - Knappe, Detlef R. U. AU - Ferrer, Imma AU - Summers, R. Scott T2 - WATER RESEARCH AB - Granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption of 30 environmentally relevant micropollutants (MP) from four surface waters was investigated at the pilot-scale with empty bed contact times (EBCTs) of 7 and 15 min. An increase in background dissolved organic matter resulted in more and earlier MP breakthrough. Compared to an EBCT of 7 min, MP breakthrough at an EBCT of 15 min demonstrated 52% later breakthrough on average for five MPs on a throughput basis. A regression model was developed with data from three waters to predict MP throughput in bed volumes to 10% breakthrough (BV10%) based on the influent dissolved organic carbon concentration and the MP pH-dependent octanol-water partition coefficient, polarizability, and molecular volume. The regression model over predicted full-scale BV10% values when applied to a wastewater-water impacted water source and to GAC with a larger particle diameter, for which a particle size adjustment was able to account for most of the difference. DA - 2015/1/1/ PY - 2015/1/1/ DO - 10.1016/j.watres.2014.10.010 VL - 68 SP - 238-248 SN - 0043-1354 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84908518266&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Granular activated carbon KW - Trace organic contaminants KW - Drinking water treatment KW - Pesticides KW - Pharmaceuticals KW - Personal care products ER - TY - JOUR TI - Validation of a novel rinse and filtration method for efficient processing of fresh produce samples for microbiological indicator enumeration AU - Heredia, N. AU - Solis-Soto, L. AU - Venegas, F. AU - Bartz, F. E. AU - Aceituno, A. F. AU - Jaykus, L. A. AU - Leon, J. S. AU - Garcia, S. T2 - Journal of Food Protection AB - Several methods have been described to prepare fresh produce samples for microbiological analysis, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of a novel combined rinse and membrane filtration method to two alternative sample preparation methods for the quantification of indicator microorganisms from fresh produce. Decontaminated cantaloupe melons and jalapeño peppers were surface inoculated with a cocktail containing 10(6) CFU/ml Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Enterococcus faecalis. Samples were processed using a rinse and filtration method, homogenization by stomacher, or a sponge-rubbing method, followed by quantification of bacterial load using culture methods. Recovery efficiencies of the three methods were compared. On inoculated cantaloupes, the rinse and filtration method had higher recovery of coliforms (0.95 log CFU/ml higher recovery, P = 0.0193) than the sponge-rubbing method. Similarly, on inoculated jalapeños, the rinse and filtration method had higher recovery for coliforms (0.84 log CFU/ml higher, P = 0.0130) and E. coli (1.46 log CFU/ml higher, P < 0.0001) than the sponge-rubbing method. For jalapeños, the rinse and filtration method outperformed the homogenization method for all three indicators (0.79 to 1.71 log CFU/ml higher, P values ranging from 0.0075 to 0.0002). The precision of the three methods was also compared. The precision of the rinse and filtration method was similar to that of the other methods for recovery of two of three indicators from cantaloupe (E. coli P = 0.7685, E. faecalis P = 0.1545) and was more precise for recovery of two of three indicators from jalapeño (coliforms P = 0.0026, E. coli P = 0.0243). Overall, the rinse and filtration method performed equivalent to, and sometimes better than, either of the compared methods. The rinse and filtration method may have logistical advantages when processing large numbers of samples, improving sampling efficiency and facilitating microbial detection. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.4315/0362-028x.jfp-14-324 VL - 78 IS - 3 SP - 525-530 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Transport of dissolved polyacrylamide through a clay loam soil AU - Kang, Jihoon AU - McLaughlin, Richard A. AU - Amoozegar, Aziz AU - Heitman, Joshua L. AU - Duckworth, Owen W. T2 - GEODERMA AB - Polyacrylamide (PAM) is becoming a widely used soil conditioning and erosion control agent, and a better understanding of its transport is required to improve its use. In this study vertical PAM transport through a clay loam soil was investigated using thin soil columns (7.62-cm diameter × 2-cm thick) under saturated condition. The columns received a water-soluble, anionic PAM solution (16 Mg mol− 1 with 50 mol% charge density) under pulse and step (continuous) inputs using a constant-head method. The pulse input was 500 mg L− 1 PAM solution applied for 0.6 pore volume (PV), after which the input was switched to deionized (DI) water for 25 PVs. The step input was 25 mg L− 1 PAM solution applied continuously for 129 PVs. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) was measured prior to PAM application and was monitored during PAM and DI water leaching. Leachate samples were collected frequently with time from each column and analyzed for the dissolved PAM concentration. The PAM applications reduced Ksat to 1% of the initial Ksat (4 cm h− 1) under the pulse input and to 0.3% of the initial Ksat under the step input. Transport of PAM was best-fitted with a two-region (dual-porosity) model. The fitted retardation factor (R) was more than two-fold greater for the step input (R = 2695) than for the pulse input (R = 1242). The results from transport modeling and pore size distribution analysis suggested that viscous PAM solution contributes to a mechanical entrapment of the PAM molecules, clogging most water-conducting pores smaller than 225–274 μm in diameter. Under saturated condition, either the pulse or step input of dissolved PAM could reduce seepage with limited mobility in the soil profile. DA - 2015/4// PY - 2015/4// DO - 10.1016/j.geoderma.2014.12.022 VL - 243 SP - 108-114 SN - 1872-6259 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84920432092&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Leaching KW - Polyacrylamide KW - Solute transport KW - Hydraulic conductivity KW - Pore size distribution ER - TY - JOUR TI - Population balance models: a useful complementary modelling framework for future WWTP modelling AU - Nopens, Ingmar AU - Torfs, Elena AU - Ducoste, Joel AU - Vanrolleghem, Peter A. AU - Gernaey, Krist V. T2 - WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AB - Population balance models (PBMs) represent a powerful modelling framework for the description of the dynamics of properties that are characterised by distributions. This distribution of properties under transient conditions has been demonstrated in many chemical engineering applications. Modelling efforts of several current and future unit processes in wastewater treatment plants could potentially benefit from this framework, especially when distributed dynamics have a significant impact on the overall unit process performance. In these cases, current models that rely on average properties cannot sufficiently capture the true behaviour and even lead to completely wrong conclusions. Examples of distributed properties are bubble size, floc size, crystal size or granule size. In these cases, PBMs can be used to develop new knowledge that can be embedded in our current models to improve their predictive capability. Hence, PBMs should be regarded as a complementary modelling framework to biokinetic models. This paper provides an overview of current applications, future potential and limitations of PBMs in the field of wastewater treatment modelling, thereby looking over the fence to other scientific disciplines. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.2166/wst.2014.500 VL - 71 IS - 2 SP - 159-167 SN - 1996-9732 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84923489194&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - bubble size KW - distributed properties KW - floc size KW - PBM KW - product specifications KW - quality by design ER - TY - JOUR TI - Habitat and species identity, not diversity, predict the extent of refuse consumption by urban arthropods AU - Youngsteadt, Elsa AU - Henderson, Ryanna C. AU - Savage, Amy M. AU - Ernst, Andrew F. AU - Dunn, Robert R. AU - Frank, Steven D. T2 - GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY AB - Urban green spaces provide ecosystem services to city residents, but their management is hindered by a poor understanding of their ecology. We examined a novel ecosystem service relevant to urban public health and esthetics: the consumption of littered food waste by arthropods. Theory and data from natural systems suggest that the magnitude and resilience of this service should increase with biological diversity. We measured food removal by presenting known quantities of cookies, potato chips, and hot dogs in street medians (24 sites) and parks (21 sites) in New York City, USA. At the same sites, we assessed ground-arthropod diversity and abiotic conditions, including history of flooding during Hurricane Sandy 7 months prior to the study. Arthropod diversity was greater in parks (on average 11 hexapod families and 4.7 ant species per site), than in medians (nine hexapod families and 2.7 ant species per site). However, counter to our diversity-based prediction, arthropods in medians removed 2-3 times more food per day than did those in parks. We detected no effect of flooding (at 19 sites) on this service. Instead, greater food removal was associated with the presence of the introduced pavement ant (Tetramorium sp. E) and with hotter, drier conditions that may have increased arthropod metabolism. When vertebrates also had access to food, more was removed, indicating that arthropods and vertebrates compete for littered food. We estimate that arthropods alone could remove 4-6.5 kg of food per year in a single street median, reducing its availability to less desirable fauna such as rats. Our results suggest that species identity and habitat may be more relevant than diversity for predicting urban ecosystem services. Even small green spaces such as street medians provide ecosystem services that may complement those of larger habitat patches across the urban landscape. DA - 2015/3// PY - 2015/3// DO - 10.1111/gcb.12791 VL - 21 IS - 3 SP - 1103-1115 SN - 1365-2486 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84923107777&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - ants KW - arthropods KW - biodiversity KW - ecosystem service KW - hurricane KW - urban food waste KW - urbanization ER - TY - JOUR TI - Do cities simulate climate change? A comparison of herbivore response to urban and global warming AU - Youngsteadt, Elsa AU - Dale, Adam G. AU - Terando, Adam J. AU - Dunn, Robert R. AU - Frank, Steven D. T2 - GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY AB - Cities experience elevated temperature, CO2 , and nitrogen deposition decades ahead of the global average, such that biological response to urbanization may predict response to future climate change. This hypothesis remains untested due to a lack of complementary urban and long-term observations. Here, we examine the response of an herbivore, the scale insect Melanaspis tenebricosa, to temperature in the context of an urban heat island, a series of historical temperature fluctuations, and recent climate warming. We survey M. tenebricosa on 55 urban street trees in Raleigh, NC, 342 herbarium specimens collected in the rural southeastern United States from 1895 to 2011, and at 20 rural forest sites represented by both modern (2013) and historical samples. We relate scale insect abundance to August temperatures and find that M. tenebricosa is most common in the hottest parts of the city, on historical specimens collected during warm time periods, and in present-day rural forests compared to the same sites when they were cooler. Scale insects reached their highest densities in the city, but abundance peaked at similar temperatures in urban and historical datasets and tracked temperature on a decadal scale. Although urban habitats are highly modified, species response to a key abiotic factor, temperature, was consistent across urban and rural-forest ecosystems. Cities may be an appropriate but underused system for developing and testing hypotheses about biological effects of climate change. Future work should test the applicability of this model to other groups of organisms. DA - 2015/1// PY - 2015/1// DO - 10.1111/gcb.12692 VL - 21 IS - 1 SP - 97-105 SN - 1365-2486 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84916930773&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Acer rubrum KW - climate change KW - global warming KW - herbivory KW - historical comparison KW - Melanaspis tenebricosa KW - urban ecosystem KW - urban warming ER - TY - JOUR TI - Understanding the low-frequency variability in hydroclimatic attributes over the southeastern US AU - Wang, Hui AU - Sankarasubramanian, A. AU - Ranjithan, R. S. T2 - JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY AB - Most studies on evaluating the potential in developing seasonal to interannual hydroclimatic forecasts have focused on associating low-frequency climatic conditions with basin-level precipitation/streamflow. The motivation of this study is to provide an understanding on how land surface characteristics modulate the low-frequency (interannual to decadal) variability in precipitation to develop low-frequency signal in streamflow. For this purpose, we consider basins with minimum anthropogenic impacts over southeastern United States and apply Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA), a data-driven spectrum analysis tool, on annual precipitation and streamflow time series for detecting the dominant frequencies and for estimating the associated variability with them. Hypothesis test against an AR(1) process is carried out via Monte Carlo SSA for detecting significant (at 90% confidence level) low-frequency oscillations. Thus, the study investigates how the observed low-frequency oscillations in precipitation/streamflow vary over the southeastern United States and also their associations with climatic conditions. For most study basins, precipitation exhibits higher low-frequency oscillations than that of streamflow primarily due to reduction in variability by basin storage. Investigating this further, we found that the percentage variance accounted by low-frequency oscillations in streamflow being higher for larger basins which primarily indicates the increased role of climate and basin storage. To develop a fundamental understanding on how basin storage controls the low-frequency oscillations in streamflow, a simple annual hydrological model is employed to explore how the given low-frequency signal in precipitation being modified under different baseflow index conditions and groundwater residence time. Implications of these analyses relating to streamflow predictions and model calibration are also discussed. DA - 2015/2// PY - 2015/2// DO - 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.09.081 VL - 521 SP - 170-181 SN - 1879-2707 KW - Interannual variability KW - Decadal oscillations KW - Singular Spectrum Analysis KW - Basin storage effect KW - Water management ER - TY - JOUR TI - The Historiography of India's Partition: Between Civilization and Modernity AU - Gilmartin, David T2 - JOURNAL OF ASIAN STUDIES AB - More than sixty-five years after the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, controversy about partition, its causes and its effects, continues. Yet the emphases in these debates have changed over the years, and it is perhaps time, in the wake of India's recent elections, to take stock once again of how these debates have developed in the last several decades and where they are heading. What gives these controversies particular significance is that they are not just about that singular event, but about the whole trajectory of India's modern history, as interpreted through partition's lens—engaging academic historians, even as they continue to be deeply enmeshed in ongoing political conflict in South Asia, and, indeed, in the world more broadly. DA - 2015/2// PY - 2015/2// DO - 10.1017/s0021911814001685 VL - 74 IS - 1 SP - 23-41 SN - 1752-0401 ER - TY - JOUR TI - SOURCES OF ENDOCRINE-DISRUPTING COMPOUNDS IN NORTH CAROLINA WATERWAYS: A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPROACH AU - Sackett, Dana K. AU - Pow, Crystal Lee AU - Rubino, Matthew J. AU - Aday, D. Derek AU - Cope, W. Gregory AU - Kullman, Seth AU - Rice, James A. AU - Kwak, Thomas J. AU - Law, Mac T2 - ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY AB - The presence of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), particularly estrogenic compounds, in the environment has drawn public attention across the globe, yet a clear understanding of the extent and distribution of estrogenic EDCs in surface waters and their relationship to potential sources is lacking. The objective of the present study was to identify and examine the potential input of estrogenic EDC sources in North Carolina water bodies using a geographic information system (GIS) mapping and analysis approach. Existing data from state and federal agencies were used to create point and nonpoint source maps depicting the cumulative contribution of potential sources of estrogenic EDCs to North Carolina surface waters. Water was collected from 33 sites (12 associated with potential point sources, 12 associated with potential nonpoint sources, and 9 reference), to validate the predictive results of the GIS analysis. Estrogenicity (measured as 17β-estradiol equivalence) ranged from 0.06 ng/L to 56.9 ng/L. However, the majority of sites (88%) had water 17β-estradiol concentrations below 1 ng/L. Sites associated with point and nonpoint sources had significantly higher 17β-estradiol levels than reference sites. The results suggested that water 17β-estradiol was reflective of GIS predictions, confirming the relevance of landscape-level influences on water quality and validating the GIS approach to characterize such relationships. DA - 2015/2// PY - 2015/2// DO - 10.1002/etc.2797 VL - 34 IS - 2 SP - 437-445 SN - 1552-8618 KW - Ecotoxicology KW - Endocrine disrupting compound KW - Estrogenicity KW - Geographic information system prediction KW - Surface water ER - TY - JOUR TI - Protective glove use and hygiene habits modify the associations of specific pesticides with Parkinson's disease AU - Furlong, Melissa AU - Tanner, Caroline M. AU - Goldman, Samuel M. AU - Bhudhikanok, Grace S. AU - Blair, Aaron AU - Chade, Anabel AU - Comyns, Kathleen AU - Hoppin, Jane A. AU - Kasten, Meike AU - Korell, Monica AU - Langston, J. William AU - Marras, Connie AU - Meng, Cheryl AU - Richards, Marie AU - Ross, G. Webster AU - Umbach, David M. AU - Sandler, Dale P. AU - Kamel, Freya T2 - Environment International AB - Pesticides have been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), and protective gloves and workplace hygiene can reduce pesticide exposure. We assessed whether use of gloves and workplace hygiene modified associations between pesticides and PD. The Farming and Movement Evaluation (FAME) study is a nested case-control study within the Agricultural Health Study. Use of protective gloves, other PPE, and hygiene practices were determined by questionnaire (69 cases and 237 controls were included). We considered interactions of gloves and hygiene with ever-use of pesticides for all pesticides with ≥5 exposed and unexposed cases and controls in each glove-use stratum (paraquat, permethrin, rotenone, and trifluralin). 61% of respondents consistently used protective gloves and 87% consistently used ≥2 hygiene practices. Protective glove use modified the associations of paraquat and permethrin with PD: neither pesticide was associated with PD among protective glove users, while both pesticides were associated with PD among non-users (paraquat OR 3.9 [95% CI 1.3, 11.7], interaction p=0.15; permethrin OR 4.3 [95% CI 1.2, 15.6] interaction p=0.05). Rotenone was associated with PD regardless of glove use. Trifluralin was associated with PD among participants who used <2 hygiene practices (OR 5.5 [95% CI 1.1, 27.1]) but was not associated with PD among participants who used 2 or more practices (interaction p=0.02). Although sample size was limited in the FAME study, protective glove use and hygiene practices appeared to be important modifiers of the association between pesticides and PD and may reduce risk of PD associated with certain pesticides. DA - 2015/2// PY - 2015/2// DO - 10.1016/j.envint.2014.11.002 VL - 75 SP - 144-150 J2 - Environment International LA - en OP - SN - 0160-4120 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2014.11.002 DB - Crossref KW - Personal protective equipment KW - Parkinson's disease KW - Pesticides KW - Neurodegenerative diseases KW - Movement disorders ER - TY - JOUR TI - Persistence of Human Norovirus RT-qPCR Signals in Simulated Gastric Fluid AU - Tung-Thompson, Grace AU - Gentry-Shields, Jennifer AU - Fraser, Angela AU - Jaykus, Lee-Ann T2 - FOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL VIROLOGY DA - 2015/3// PY - 2015/3// DO - 10.1007/s12560-014-9170-4 VL - 7 IS - 1 SP - 32-40 SN - 1867-0342 KW - Norovirus KW - Persistence KW - Simulated gastric fluid KW - Vomitus ER - TY - JOUR TI - Investing in prospective cohorts for etiologic study of occupational exposures AU - Blair, A. AU - Hines, C.J. AU - Thomas, K.W. AU - Alavanja, M.C.R. AU - Freeman, L.E. Beane AU - Hoppin, J.A. AU - Kamel, F. AU - Lynch, C.F. AU - Lubin, J.H. AU - Silverman, D.T. AU - Whelan, E. AU - Zahm, S. H. AU - Sandler, D. P. T2 - American Journal of Industrial Medicine AB - Prospective cohorts have played a major role in understanding the contribution of diet, physical activity, medical conditions, and genes to the development of many diseases, but have not been widely used for occupational exposures. Studies in agriculture are an exception. We draw upon our experience using this design to study agricultural workers to identify conditions that might foster use of prospective cohorts to study other occupational settings. Prospective cohort studies are perceived by many as the strongest epidemiologic design. It allows updating of information on exposure and other factors, collection of biologic samples before disease diagnosis for biomarker studies, assessment of effect modification by genes, lifestyle, and other occupational exposures, and evaluation of a wide range of health outcomes. Increased use of prospective cohorts would be beneficial in identifying hazardous exposures in the workplace. Occupational epidemiologists should seek opportunities to initiate prospective cohorts to investigate high priority, occupational exposures. Am. J. Ind. Med. 58:113–122, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DA - 2015/1/20/ PY - 2015/1/20/ DO - 10.1002/ajim.22403 VL - 58 IS - 2 SP - 113-122 J2 - Am. J. Ind. Med. LA - en OP - SN - 0271-3586 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22403 DB - Crossref KW - prospective cohorts KW - agricultural exposures KW - occupational epidemiology ER - TY - JOUR TI - Farm Characteristics, Allergy Symptoms, and Risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoid Neoplasms in the Agricultural Health Study AU - Hofmann, J. N. AU - Hoppin, J. A. AU - Lynch, C. F. AU - Poole, J. A. AU - Purdue, M. P. AU - Blair, A. AU - Alavanja, M. C. AU - Beane Freeman, L. E. T2 - Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention AB - Abstract Background: Because of unique exposures, studies among farmers may yield insights into the relationship between allergies and non-Hodgkin lymphoid (NHL) neoplasms. We evaluated farm characteristics, allergic symptoms and conditions, and risk of NHL including specific subtypes in the Agricultural Health Study, a prospective cohort of farmers and spouses from North Carolina and Iowa. Methods: We identified 710 incident cases of NHL (including chronic lymphocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma) among 82,370 participants with baseline data on crop and animal exposures, including 454 cases among 52,850 participants with baseline data on recent allergy symptoms (rhinitis) and living on a farm during childhood. HR and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using multivariable-adjusted proportional hazards models. Results: We observed reduced risks of NHL among farmers and spouses with rhinitis at baseline (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.51–0.79), related to growing soybeans (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67–0.96), and among farmers who handled stored grains or hay (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.52–0.82). Growing up on a farm was associated with increased NHL risk (HR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.15–1.98). Results did not differ significantly by NHL subtype. Conclusions: Both the reduced risk of NHL among those with allergy symptoms and specific farm exposures in adulthood, and the increased risk among those who grew up on a farm suggest that the host immune response to agricultural allergens may influence NHL development. Impact: This prospective study is, to our knowledge, the first to investigate the relationship between allergy symptoms and NHL risk in farmers; confirmation of these findings in other farming populations is warranted. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 24(3); 587–94. ©2015 AACR. DA - 2015/1/12/ PY - 2015/1/12/ DO - 10.1158/1055-9965.epi-14-1246 VL - 24 IS - 3 SP - 587-594 J2 - Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention LA - en OP - SN - 1055-9965 1538-7755 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-14-1246 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Ethnic-specific associations of rare and low-frequency DNA sequence variants with asthma AU - Igartua, C. AU - Myers, R. A. AU - Mathias, R. A. AU - Pino-Yanes, M. AU - Eng, C. AU - Graves, P. E. AU - Levin, A. M. AU - Del-Rio-Navarro, B. E. AU - Jackson, D. J. AU - Livne, O. E. AU - Rafaels, N. AU - Edlund, C. K. AU - Yang, J. J. AU - Huntsman, S. AU - Salam, M. T. AU - Romieu, I. AU - Mourad, R. AU - al, et a T2 - Nature Communications DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// VL - 6 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Computational fluid dynamics modeling alternatives for UV-initiated advanced oxidation processes AU - Ducoste, Joel J. AU - Alpert, Scott M. T2 - WATER QUALITY RESEARCH JOURNAL OF CANADA AB - Design and optimization of ultraviolet-initiated (UV-initiated) advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) must consider both system configuration and chemical kinetics. Alternative approaches to modeling AOP systems have been proposed in the literature; yet, due to the complex nature of the reactions involved, the literature lacks clarity in the appropriate selection of a modeling approach to help define the UV/AOP system performance. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was compared to the numerical solution of a system of ordinary differential equations describing the reaction mechanism for hydroxyl radical production and methylene blue destruction and to a UV dose distribution analysis produced by a Lagrangian particle track in CFD with a given dose–response curve. Similar analyses were also performed to simulate the destruction of tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) and tributyl phosphate (TBP), in two different photoreactors. To validate the simulations, the results of the models were compared to pilot reactor trials for methylene blue bleaching and literature data for TCEP and TBP. Modeling results suggest that the agreement of both CFD Eulerian and Lagrangian approaches to simulating the UV/H2O2 AOP is a function of reactor design, the water matrix, and operating conditions. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015/// DO - 10.2166/wqrjc.2014.035 VL - 50 IS - 1 SP - 4-20 SN - 1201-3080 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84961377595&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - computational fluid dynamics KW - fluid dynamics KW - numerical models KW - oxidation KW - water treatment ER - TY - JOUR TI - Chemical Composition, Speciation, and Elemental Associations in Coal Fly Ash Samples Related to the Kingston Ash Spill AU - Rivera, Nelson AU - Kaur, Navdeep AU - Hesterberg, Dean AU - Ward, Colin R. AU - Austin, Robert E. AU - Duckworth, Owen W. T2 - ENERGY & FUELS AB - Environmental impacts of potentially toxic trace elements from coal fly ash are controlled in part by the mineralogy of the ash matrix and the chemical speciation of the trace elements. Our objective was to characterize the chemical and mineralogical composition of fly ash samples that are pertinent to the 2008 release of coal ash from a containment area at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston fossil plant, which left 4 to 500 t of trace elements in adjoining river systems. Three fly ash samples were analyzed for elemental composition by digestion or neutron activation analysis, mineralogy and macroelement speciation by conventional and synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction (XRD and SXRD) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and for spatial associations of elements by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). Ash samples were mainly composed of Si (20–27% w/w), Al (10–14% w/w), Fe (4–6% w/w), and Ca (4–6% w/w). Concentrations of selected trace elements ranged from 8 to 1480 mg kg–1, with the following general trend: Sr > Mn ≈ Zn ≈ Cu ≈ Cr > As ≈ Pb > Se ≈ U. XRD and EPMA analyses indicated that fly ash matrices were heterogeneous mixtures of minerals and aluminosilicate glass containing Fe, Ca, Ti, Mg, Na, and K. XAS fitting analyses suggested that Fe was mostly in a poorly ordered, polymerized hydroxyl-Fe(III) phase, with minor proportions of magnetite, and hematite or maghemite. Consistent with XRD data, fits to Ca XAS data included standards of glass, anhydrite, lime, and calcite; and fits to S XAS data included anhydrite and reduced organic S forms. Electron microprobe analysis showed frequent correlations among Ca, Si, and Al (and with Sr), consistent with the glass and mineral phases identified. Ash composition and mineralogy help to define a geochemical basis for projecting the long-term fate of trace elements in residual ash left in sediments following cleanup operations at the TVA-Kingston site. DA - 2015/2// PY - 2015/2// DO - 10.1021/ef501258m VL - 29 IS - 2 SP - 954-967 SN - 1520-5029 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84923296129&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - Characterization of Uncertainty in Estimation of Methane Collection from Select US Landfills AU - Wang, Xiaoming AU - Nagpure, Ajay S. AU - DeCarolis, Joseph F. AU - Barlaz, Morton A. T2 - ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AB - Methane is a potent greenhouse gas generated from the anaerobic decomposition of waste in landfills. If captured, methane can be beneficially used to generate electricity. To inventory emissions and assist the landfill industry with energy recovery projects, the U.S. EPA developed the Landfill Gas Emissions Model (LandGEM) that includes two key parameters: the first-order decay rate (k) and methane production potential (L0). By using data from 11 U.S. landfills, Monte Carlo simulations were performed to quantify the effect of uncertainty in gas collection efficiency and municipal solid waste fraction on optimal k values and collectable methane. A dual-phase model and associated parameters were also developed to evaluate its performance relative to a single-phase model (SPM) similar to LandGEM. The SPM is shown to give lower error in estimating methane collection, with site-specific best-fit k values. Most of the optimal k values are notably greater than the U.S. EPA's default of 0.04 yr(-1), which implies that the gas generation decreases more rapidly than predicted at the current default. We translated the uncertainty in collectable methane into uncertainty in engine requirements and potential economic losses to demonstrate the practical significance to landfill operators. The results indicate that landfill operators could overpay for engine capacity by $30,000-780,000 based on overestimates of collectable methane. DA - 2015/2/3/ PY - 2015/2/3/ DO - 10.1021/es505268x VL - 49 IS - 3 SP - 1545-1551 SN - 1520-5851 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Analysis of material recovery facilities for use in life-cycle assessment AU - Pressley, Phillip N. AU - Levis, James W. AU - Damgaard, Anders AU - Barlaz, Morton A. AU - DeCarolis, Joseph F. T2 - WASTE MANAGEMENT AB - Insights derived from life-cycle assessment of solid waste management strategies depend critically on assumptions, data, and modeling at the unit process level. Based on new primary data, a process model was developed to estimate the cost and energy use associated with material recovery facilities (MRFs), which are responsible for sorting recyclables into saleable streams and as such represent a key piece of recycling infrastructure. The model includes four modules, each with a different process flow, for separation of single-stream, dual-stream, pre-sorted recyclables, and mixed-waste. Each MRF type has a distinct combination of equipment and default input waste composition. Model results for total amortized costs from each MRF type ranged from $19.8 to $24.9 per Mg (1Mg=1 metric ton) of waste input. Electricity use ranged from 4.7 to 7.8kWh per Mg of waste input. In a single-stream MRF, equipment required for glass separation consumes 28% of total facility electricity consumption, while all other pieces of material recovery equipment consume less than 10% of total electricity. The dual-stream and mixed-waste MRFs have similar electricity consumption to a single-stream MRF. Glass separation contributes a much larger fraction of electricity consumption in a pre-sorted MRF, due to lower overall facility electricity consumption. Parametric analysis revealed that reducing separation efficiency for each piece of equipment by 25% altered total facility electricity consumption by less than 4% in each case. When model results were compared with actual data for an existing single-stream MRF, the model estimated the facility's electricity consumption within 2%. The results from this study can be integrated into LCAs of solid waste management with system boundaries that extend from the curb through final disposal. DA - 2015/1// PY - 2015/1// DO - 10.1016/j.wasman.2014.09.012 VL - 35 SP - 307-317 SN - 0956-053X KW - Recycling KW - Material recovery facility KW - Life-cycle assessment KW - Municipal solid waste ER - TY - JOUR TI - An observational study of frequency of provider hand contacts in child care facilities in North Carolina and South Carolina AU - Fraser, Angela AU - Wohlgenant, Kelly AU - Cates, Sheryl AU - Chen, , Xi AU - Jaykus, Lee-Ann AU - Li, You AU - Chapman, Benjamin T2 - AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INFECTION CONTROL AB - •Children's clothing are the most frequently touched. •Common high-touch surfaces, such as light switches and doorknobs, are touched the least. •Guidelines are available for nonporous surfaces but not for porous surfaces. Background Children enrolled in child care are 2.3-3.5 times more likely to experience acute gastrointestinal illness than children cared for in their own homes. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency surfaces were touched by child care providers to identify surfaces that should be cleaned and sanitized. Methods Observation data from a convenience sample of 37 child care facilities in North Carolina and South Carolina were analyzed. Trained data collectors used iPods (Apple, Cupertino, CA) to record hand touch events of 1 child care provider for 45 minutes in up to 2 classrooms in each facility. Results Across the 37 facilities, 10,134 hand contacts were observed in 51 classrooms. Most (4,536) were contacts with porous surfaces, with an average of 88.9 events per classroom observation. The most frequently touched porous surface was children's clothing. The most frequently touched nonporous surface was food contact surfaces (18.6 contacts/observation). Surfaces commonly identified as high-touch surfaces (ie, light switches, handrails, doorknobs) were touched the least. Conclusion General cleaning and sanitizing guidelines should include detailed procedures for cleaning and sanitizing high-touch surfaces (ie, clothes, furniture, soft toys). Guidelines are available for nonporous surfaces but not for porous surfaces (eg, clothing, carpeting). Additional research is needed to inform the development of evidence-based practices to effectively treat porous surfaces. Children enrolled in child care are 2.3-3.5 times more likely to experience acute gastrointestinal illness than children cared for in their own homes. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency surfaces were touched by child care providers to identify surfaces that should be cleaned and sanitized. Observation data from a convenience sample of 37 child care facilities in North Carolina and South Carolina were analyzed. Trained data collectors used iPods (Apple, Cupertino, CA) to record hand touch events of 1 child care provider for 45 minutes in up to 2 classrooms in each facility. Across the 37 facilities, 10,134 hand contacts were observed in 51 classrooms. Most (4,536) were contacts with porous surfaces, with an average of 88.9 events per classroom observation. The most frequently touched porous surface was children's clothing. The most frequently touched nonporous surface was food contact surfaces (18.6 contacts/observation). Surfaces commonly identified as high-touch surfaces (ie, light switches, handrails, doorknobs) were touched the least. General cleaning and sanitizing guidelines should include detailed procedures for cleaning and sanitizing high-touch surfaces (ie, clothes, furniture, soft toys). Guidelines are available for nonporous surfaces but not for porous surfaces (eg, clothing, carpeting). Additional research is needed to inform the development of evidence-based practices to effectively treat porous surfaces. DA - 2015/2/1/ PY - 2015/2/1/ DO - 10.1016/j.ajic.2014.10.017 VL - 43 IS - 2 SP - 107-111 SN - 1527-3296 KW - Child care providers KW - Porous surfaces KW - Nonporous surfaces KW - Hand contact KW - Observational study ER -