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The aim of this paper was to summarize the current knowledge on how physical methods can reduce or control internal P release from sediments in lakes and reservoirs. Particular emphasis is given to the role of internal phosphorus load in fueling cyanobacterial blooms which are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity in response to climate change and eutrophication. We present selective case studies (both successful and unsuccessful) to assess the applicability and efficiency of major physical approaches used for decades to reduce internal loading in different systems of various morphology. In particular, we concentrate on where and when (1) hypolimnetic aeration/oxygenation, (2) hypolimnetic withdrawal and (3) sediment dredging are likely to reduce cyanobacterial blooms and whether these methods have an adverse impact on other organisms. We conclude that each method has its strength and weakness depending on the system considered. Sufficient knowledge of all lake nutrient sources and their dynamics together with detailed lake and sediment characteristics is an essential prerequisite for choosing an appropriate control method. We also report that many experiences demonstrated that a combination of restoration methods is often more successful than a single method. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

The present study compares the detection of adverse impact using the four-fifths rule and the ZD-test. We identified the boundaries that delineate where the four-fifths rule is more or less sensitive than significance testing in the detection of adverse impact. We further considered the practical effects of both criteria by comparing the number of minorities that need to be hired to avoid adverse impact. Finally, we discuss the various issues that researchers and practitioners must recognize in choosing an adverse impact criterion.

BackgroundPesticide exposure and its adverse impacts remain a major problem for women’s health, but a comprehensive scientific literature and summaries are still missing. With a specific focus in sub-Saharan Africa, this paper provides an overview of the scientific literature on how women deal with and are exposed to pesticides and the specific circumstances that might affect their health. We identified previously published studies from Google Scholar, Pubmed, and other electronic libraries.Main bodyIn addition to huge burden in the household, there is considerable evidence that women’s role in smallholder as well as commercial farming has become more visible and intense in sub-Saharan Africa. However, it is evident that women are a major risk group disproportionately exposed to and are affected by pesticides through multiple pathways. Closely linked to their biological characteristics, lifestyle and behavior, women experience acute-to-chronic diseases from pesticides. Women’s exposure to pesticides either during pregnancy or breastfeeding can pose a serious health risk for the fetus and the newborn babies.ConclusionOccupational as well as non-occupational exposure from pesticides seems to be grossly underestimated for women due to the perception that their work is not hazardous for their health and are not at risk of exposure. This is often the case why research on pesticide exposure and its adverse impacts for women’s health remains scarce in sub-Saharan Africa, where pesticides are often misused and poorly regulated. Therefore, further research that addresses women’s exposure to pesticides are strongly suggested.

Management of deep-sea fisheries in areas beyond national jurisdiction by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations/Arrangements (RFMO/As) requires identification of areas with Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs). Currently, fisheries data, including trawl and longline bycatch data, are used by many RFMO/As to inform the identification of VMEs. However, the collection of such data creates impacts and there is a need to collect non-invasive data for VME identification and monitoring purposes. Imagery data from scientific surveys satisfies this requirement, but there currently is no established framework for identifying VMEs from images. Thus, the goal of this study was to bring together a large international team to determine current VME assessment protocols and establish preliminary global consensus guidelines for identifying VMEs from images. An initial assessment showed a lack of consistency among RFMO/A regions regarding what is considered a VME indicator taxon, and hence variability in how VMEs might be defined. In certain cases, experts agreed that a VME could be identified from a single image, most often in areas of scleractinian reefs, dense octocoral gardens, multiple VME species’ co-occurrence, and chemosynthetic ecosystems. A decision flow chart is presented that gives practical interpretation of the FAO criteria for single images. To further evaluate steps of the flow chart related to density, data were compiled to assess whether scientists perceived similar density thresholds across regions. The range of observed densities and the density values considered to be VMEs varied considerably by taxon, but in many cases, there was a statistical difference in what experts considered to be a VME compared to images not considered a VME. Further work is required to develop an areal extent index, to include a measure of confidence, and to increase our understanding of what levels of density and diversity correspond to key ecosystem functions for VME indicator taxa. Based on our results, the following recommendations are made: 1. There is a need to establish a global consensus on which taxa are VME indicators. 2. RFMO/As should consider adopting guidelines that use imagery surveys as an alternative (or complement) to using bycatch and trawl surveys for designating VMEs. 3. Imagery surveys should also be included in Impact Assessments. And 4. All industries that impact the seafloor, not just fisheries, should use imagery surveys to detect and identify VMEs.

Large-scale outbreaks of the dinoflagellate Karenia mikimotoi caused substantial mortality of abalone, Haliotis discus hannai in Fujian, China in 2012, resulting in 20 billion in economic losses to abalone industries. However, the mechanism behind the mortality, especially the reaction of abalone to this microalgal toxicity, which possibly differed significantly from the former ‘fish killer’ strain in the South China Sea (SCS). Our study revealed that K. mikimotoi FJ-strain exhibited a four-fold higher haemolytic toxicity than the SCS-strain during the late exponential phase. At the microalgal cell density of 3 × 107 cell L−1, the FJ-strain caused abalone mortality of 67% in 48 h, with decreased granulocyte–hyalinocyts ratio and phagocytic activity by 58.96% and 75.64%, respectively, increased haemocyte viability by 4.8-fold and severe gill damage. The toxic effect only worked for the haemolytic toxicity from active algal cells, which were probably produced under the contact of algal cells and abalone gills. However, under exposure to the SCS-strain, more than 80% of individuals survived under aeration. The results indicated that FJ-strain was a new K. mikimotoi ecotype with stronger toxicity. It evoked severe effects, with complete abalone mortality within 24 h under the cascading effect of non-aeration (dissolved oxygen declined to 2.0 mg L−1), when exposed to K. mikimotoi FJ-strain at the above density. Thus, apart from the microalgal toxicity, DO depletion exacerbated the mortality of abalone in the experiment. The massive abalone mortalities in Fujian were probably caused by the combination of microalgal toxic effects and oxygen depletion, leading to immunological depression and histopathological disruption.

States have long been understood to have an obligation to protect the international legal rights and interests of others, consistent with the maxim sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas (use what is yours in such a manner as not to injure that of another). As the world's population becomes more interdependent, this no harm obligation becomes more significant. Further, as knowledge increases about the consequences of human activity for the climate and the environment, the no harm obligation takes on greater relevance vis-à-vis the interests of the Earth's future populations. Future generations’ legal interests have been recognized in the context of sustainable development and through the principle of intergenerational equity. The no harm rule requires that these interests be properly considered and addressed appropriately, commensurate with what is at stake. At a minimum, this may require avoidance of ‘manifestly excessive adverse impacts’.

The predicting groundwater nitrate pollution risk, especially in terms of changes in fertilizing, has not been fully investigated so far. In particular, there is no comprehensive method to assess this risk in areas of different land use type, and not only in agricultural areas. The aim of this study was to develop a novel multicriteria methodology for groundwater nitrate pollution risk assessment, which meets these issues. A further aim was to determine how much this risk would change if the amount of organic and synthetic fertilization was reduced. An assumption was that groundwater pollution risk is a combination of the potential adverse impacts of land use, fertilization, and intrinsic groundwater vulnerability to pollution. The impact of fertilization was holistically evaluated by balancing nitrogen from spatially differentiated the size of the breeding, species of livestock, manure and synthetic fertilizers input, and spatially differentiated topsoil, with nitrogen uptake by different crops. The nitrate concentration in the leachate was used as a measure of the impact of fertilization. This concentration was compared to the natural baseline nitrate concentration in groundwater. Three fertilization scenarios for groundwater pollution risk assessment in two study areas were discussed. Under typical agricultural, climatic, soil, and geological conditions in Europe for the current total fertilization level of 95-120 kg N ha −1 groundwater nitrate pollution risk is low and moderate, but for fertilization of 150-180 kg N ha −1 , a reduction in the total fertilization (synthetic and manure) by 40 to 50% may be required to achieve low risk of degradation of natural groundwater quality. Predictive simulations of groundwater nitrate pollution risk confirmed that reducing synthetic and organic fertilization has an effect, especially in areas with intensive fertilization. This method may allow for a holistic and scenario-based assessment of groundwater pollution risk and may help decision-makers introduce solutions to manage this risk under conditions of climate change, preservation of groundwater quality, and food security.

Adverse impact results from company hiring practices that negatively affect protected classes. It is typically determined on the basis of the 4/5ths Rule (which is violated when the minority selection rate is less than 4/5ths of the majority selection rate) or a chi-square test of statistical independence (which is violated when group membership is associated with hiring decisions). Typically, both analyses are conducted within the traditional frequentist paradigm, involving null hypothesis significance testing (NHST), but we propose that the less-often-used Bayesian paradigm more clearly communicates evidence supporting adverse impact findings, or the lack thereof. In this study, participants read vignettes with statistical evidence (frequentist or Bayesian) supporting the presence or absence of adverse impact at a hypothetical company; then they rated the vignettes on their interpretability (i.e., clarity) and retributive justice (i.e., deserved penalty). A Bayesian analysis of our study results finds moderate evidence in support of no mean difference in either interpretability or retributive justice, across three out of the four vignettes. The one exception was strong evidence supporting the frequentist vignette indicating no adverse impact being viewed as more interpretable than the equivalent Bayesian vignette. Broad implications for using Bayesian analyses to communicate adverse impact results are discussed.

Student diversity in health professions education (HPE) can be affected by selection procedures. Little is known about how different selection tools impact student diversity across programs using different combinations of traditional and broadened selection criteria. The present multi-site study examined the chances in selection of subgroups of applicants to HPE undergraduate programs with distinctive selection procedures, and their performance on corresponding selection tools. Probability of selection of subgroups (based on gender, migration background, prior education, parental education) of applicants (N = 1935) to five selection procedures of corresponding Dutch HPE undergraduate programs was estimated using multilevel logistic regression. Multilevel linear regression was used to analyze performance on four tools: prior-education grade point average (pe-GPA), biomedical knowledge test, curriculum-sampling test, and curriculum vitae (CV). First-generation Western immigrants and applicants with a foreign education background were significantly less likely to be selected than applicants without a migration background and with pre-university education. These effects did not vary across programs. More variability in effects was found between different selection tools. Compared to women, men performed significantly poorer on CVs, while they had higher scores on biomedical knowledge tests. Applicants with a non-Western migration background scored lower on curriculum-sampling tests. First-generation Western immigrants had lower CV-scores. First-generation university applicants had significantly lower pe-GPAs. There was a variety in effects for applicants with different alternative forms of prior education. For curriculum-sampling tests and CVs, effects varied across programs. Our findings highlight the need for continuous evaluation, identifying best practices within existing tools, and applying alternative tools.

Sustainable tourism has become an increasingly important topic in tourism development research. This study attempts to identify a set of sustainability issues that negatively affect residents’ attitudes toward tourism development. This study extends the importance-performance analysis (IPA) into the “adverse-impact and serious-level analysis” (AISLA) to evaluate sustainability issues in tourism development. A survey was carried out with 430 residents in Macau. According to the results of AISLA, the government was recommended to take “concentration” actions to reduce the levels of impacts of some economic (including inflation, urban service charge, and housing price) and environmental (including noise pollution and destruction of natural landscapes) issues. Furthermore, the government of Macau should take “keep down” actions for most of the socio-cultural issues. This work provides a new perspective for the government to develop sustainable tourism.