Value transfer in ecosystem accounting applications

Ecosystem accounting is a statistical framework that aims to track the state of ecosystems and ecosystem services, with periodic updates. This framework follows the statistical standard of the System of Environmental Economic Accounting Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA). SEEA EA is composed of physical ecosystem extent, condition and ecosystem service supply-use accounts and monetary ecosystem service and asset accounts. This paper focuses on the potential use of the "Value Transfer" (VT) valuation method to produce the monetary ecosystem service accounts, taking advantage of experience with rigorous benefit transfer methods that have been developed and tested over many years in environmental economics. Although benefit transfer methods have been developed primarily for welfare analysis, the underlying techniques and advantages are directly applicable to monetary exchange values required for ecosystem accounting. The compilation of regular accounts is about to become a key area of work for the National Statistical Offices worldwide as well as for the EU Member States in particular, due to the anticipated amendment to regulation on European environmental economic accounts introducing ecosystem accounts. On this basis, accounting practitioners have voiced their concerns in a global consultation during SEEA EA revision, about three issues in particular: the lack of resources, the need for guidelines and the challenge of periodically updating the accounts. We argue that VT can facilitate empirical applications that assess ecosystem services in monetary terms, especially at national scales and in situations with limited expertise and resources available. VT is a low-cost valuation approach in line with SEEA EA requirements able to provide periodic, rigorous and consistent estimates for use in accounts. While some methodological challenges remain, it is likely that VT can help to implement SEEA EA at scale and in time to respond to the pressing need to incorporate nature into mainstream decision-making processes.

Unemployment, the Poll Tax, and the British General Election of 1992

The somewhat unexpected Conservative victory in the 1992 British general election was achieved because the party won seats, especially marginal seats in some southern regions, that it could have been expected to lose, given the impacts of its recent policies there. The initial analyses reported here show that the Conservatives were ‘punished’ by the electorate in constituencies with high unemployment and that the main opposition party, Labour, performed particularly well in areas with high community-charge levels. The ‘punishment’ was insufficiently hard to lead to Conservative losses on the scale needed for a Labour victory. The regional strength developed during the 1980s was not eroded substantially enough to yield a Tory defeat.

Player acceleration and deceleration profiles in professional Australian football

This study aimed to determine the validity and reliability of global positioning system (GPS) units for measuring a standardized set of acceleration and deceleration zones and whether these standardized zones were capable of identifying differences between playing positions in professional Australian football. Eight well trained male participants were recruited to wear two 5 Hz or 10 Hz GPS units whilst completing a team sport simulation circuit to measure acceleration and deceleration movements. For the second part of this article 30 professional players were monitored between 1-29 times using 5 Hz and 10 Hz GPS units for the collection of acceleration and deceleration movements during the 2011 and 2012 Australian Football League seasons. Players were separated into four distinct positional groups - nomadic players, fixed defenders, fixed forwards and ruckman. The GPS units analysed had good to poor levels of error for measuring the distance covered (<19.7%), time spent (<17.2%) and number of efforts performed (<48.0%) at low, moderate and high acceleration and deceleration zones. The results demonstrated that nomadic players and fixed defenders perform more acceleration and deceleration efforts during a match than fixed forwards and ruckman. These studies established that these GPS units can be used for analysing the distance covered and time spent at the acceleration and deceleration zones used. Further, these standardized zones were proven to be capable of distinguishing between player positions, with nomadic players and fixed defenders required to complete more high acceleration and deceleration efforts during a match.

Fish ecolabels and consumer choice: weighing the factors

Abstract

Ecolabelling is a stringent subset of environmental labelling in which the production processes of market goods are evaluated against established environmental standards by independent third-party certifiers. If the production process meets these standards, the producer or marketer may use a specific label in its marketing. The use of ecolabels is grounded in the assumption that consumers are willing to pay a price premium for labelled products, thereby providing a market incentive for more sustainable or 'environmentally friendly' production methods. This paper reviews the literature regarding seafood ecolabels and consumer choice, with an emphasis on systematic, quantitative assessments of consumer behaviour in hypothetical and actual markets. As shown by this review, there are a variety of published works addressing theoretical and empirical aspects of labelling in seafood and non-seafood markets. However, while seafood ecolabels have garnered substantial interest among many public and private organizations, there is a paucity of quantitative evidence regarding the impact of ecolabels on consumer behaviour. Evidence that does exist is found primarily in the stated preference literature, and suggests that while there may be a positive willingness to pay for seafood certification, consumers may be unwilling to give up a favoured seafood species in exchange for an ecolabel.

Thromboembolic disease: comparison of combined CT pulmonary angiography and venography with bilateral leg sonography in 70 patients

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to compare combined CT pulmonary angiography and venography with leg sonography for accuracy and relative efficacy in diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis from the popliteal vein to the common femoral vein.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Seventy consecutive patients with clinically suspected pulmonary embolism underwent both combined CT pulmonary angiography and venography and bilateral leg sonography within 24 hr. CT venograms were analyzed independently in a blinded fashion for quality of venous opacification and patency by two observers. CT venography was compared with sonography for femoropopliteal vein thrombosis, and the final assessment based on multiple subjective and objective clinical and imaging criteria was recorded in three categories: 1, CT venography better than sonography; 2, CT venography equivalent to sonography; and 3, sonography better than CT venography.

RESULTS

Sixty-eight patients (97%) had a satisfactory or good quality CT venography examination. Two CT venography studies had false-positive findings due to flow artifacts. Both CT venography and sonography had positive findings for deep venous thrombosis in five patients, and both had negative findings in 63 patients (100% sensitivity, 97% specificity, 100% negative predictive value, and 71% positive predictive value). CT venography was better and more efficacious than sonography (category 1) in 25 patients (36%). CT venography was equivalent to sonography (category 2) in 26 patients (37%), and sonography was better than CT venography (category 3) in 19 patients (27%).

CONCLUSION

Compared with sonography, CT venography in addition to CT pulmonary angiography is a relatively accurate method for evaluation of femoropopliteal venous thrombosis. Combined CT pulmonary angiography and CT venography may be more efficacious than sonography or two separate examinations in selected patients.

Compartmental specificity of cellular membrane fusion encoded in SNARE proteins

Membrane-enveloped vesicles travel among the compartments of the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells, delivering their specific cargo to programmed locations by membrane fusion. The pairing of vesicle v-SNAREs (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors) with target membrane t-SNAREs has a central role in intracellular membrane fusion. We have tested all of the potential v-SNAREs encoded in the yeast genome for their capacity to trigger fusion by partnering with t-SNAREs that mark the Golgi, the vacuole and the plasma membrane. Here we find that, to a marked degree, the pattern of membrane flow in the cell is encoded and recapitulated by its isolated SNARE proteins, as predicted by the SNARE hypothesis.

Close is not enough: SNARE-dependent membrane fusion requires an active mechanism that transduces force to membrane anchors

Is membrane fusion an essentially passive or an active process? It could be that fusion proteins simply need to pin two bilayers together long enough, and the bilayers could do the rest spontaneously. Or, it could be that the fusion proteins play an active role after pinning two bilayers, exerting force in the bilayer in one or another way to direct the fusion process. To distinguish these alternatives, we replaced one or both of the peptidic membrane anchors of exocytic vesicle (v)- and target membrane (t)-SNAREs (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein [NSF] attachment protein [SNAP] receptor) with covalently attached lipids. Replacing either anchor with a phospholipid prevented fusion of liposomes by the isolated SNAREs, but still allowed assembly of trans-SNARE complexes docking vesicles. This result implies an active mechanism; if fusion occurred passively, simply holding the bilayers together long enough would have been sufficient. Studies using polyisoprenoid anchors ranging from 15-55 carbons and multiple phospholipid-containing anchors reveal distinct requirements for anchors of v- and t-SNAREs to function: v-SNAREs require anchors capable of spanning both leaflets, whereas t-SNAREs do not, so long as the anchor is sufficiently hydrophobic. These data, together with previous results showing fusion is inhibited as the length of the linker connecting the helical bundle-containing rod of the SNARE complex to the anchors is increased (McNew, J.A., T. Weber, D.M. Engelman, T.H. Sollner, and J.E. Rothman, 1999. Mol. Cell. 4:415-421), suggests a model in which one activity of the SNARE complex promoting fusion is to exert force on the anchors by pulling on the linkers. This motion would lead to the simultaneous inward movement of lipids from both bilayers, and in the case of the v-SNARE, from both leaflets.

Clinical validity of helical CT being interpreted as negative for pulmonary embolism: implications for patient treatment

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of our study was to assess the clinical usefulness of helical CT findings that are interpreted as negative for pulmonary embolism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One hundred twenty-six patients underwent 132 helical CT examinations and 352 patients underwent ventilation-perfusion scanning for suspected acute pulmonary embolism over a 17-month period at a single institution. Findings from clinical follow-up at a minimum of 6 months were assessed, with a special focus on the presence of recurrent thromboembolism and mortality in 78 consecutive patients in whom helical CT findings were interpreted as negative for pulmonary embolism and anticoagulant therapy was not administered (group I). During the same 17-month period, 46 patients underwent ventilation-perfusion scanning that was interpreted as normal (group II), and 132 patients underwent ventilation-perfusion scanning that was interpreted as showing a very low to low probability for pulmonary embolism (group III). Patients in groups II and III did not undergo helical CT or pulmonary angiography and did not receive anticoagulant therapy. However, clinical follow-up was solicited. Patients from groups II and III were used as control subjects.

RESULTS

Nine patients in group I died, one of whom was found to have a microscopic pulmonary embolism at autopsy. In group II, four patients died, none of whom were shown to have a missed or recurrent pulmonary embolism. Of the 18 patients in group III who died, three had a recurrent or missed pulmonary embolism (mean interval, 9 days), and two were found to have deep vein thrombosis on sonography of the leg (mean interval, 12 weeks). Negative predictive values for helical CT, normal lung scanning, and low-probability ventilation-perfusion scanning were 99%, 100%, and 96%, respectively (p = .299). CT provided either additional findings or an alternate diagnosis in 42 (53.8%) of the 78 patients in whom helical CT findings had been interpreted as negative for pulmonary embolism.

CONCLUSION

A helical CT scan can be effectively used to rule out clinically significant pulmonary emboli and may prevent further investigation or unnecessary treatment of most patients.

Pulmonary embolism: diagnosis with spiral CT and ventilation-perfusion scanning--correlation with pulmonary angiographic results or clinical outcome

PURPOSE

To compare the accuracy of spiral computed tomography (CT) with that of ventilation-perfusion (V-P) scintigraphy in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty-four patients in whom indeterminate V-P scans or discordant clinical and scintigraphic results were obtained underwent both V-P scanning and contrast material-enhanced spiral CT. The reference standard was pulmonary angiographic results in 26 patients (group I) or clinical outcome in 28 (group II).

RESULTS

Six (25%) of 24 group I patients had proved PE. The prospective sensitivity and specificity for segmental or subsegmental PE were 67% and 100%, respectively, and the positive and negative predictive values were 100% and 90%, respectively. In two group II patients, V-P scans had high probability for acute embolism, but spiral CT scans showed only chronic PE; in one patients, the V-P scan had low probability and the CT scan was positive for acute PE. An alternative CT diagnosis was established in four (31%) of 13 patients in whom a normal or low-probability V-P scan was obtained. Clinical outcome was consistent with spiral CT results in all cases.

CONCLUSION

Spiral CT has greater accuracy and specificity than V-P scanning in patients with an unresolved diagnosis and may be useful as the primary screening technique for PE.

Diagnosis of fatty infiltration of the liver on contrast enhanced CT: limitations of liver-minus-spleen attenuation difference measurements

BACKGROUND

We investigated whether liver-minus-spleen (L-S) attenuation differences can accurately diagnose fatty infiltration of the liver on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT).

METHODS

A group of 78 patients administered a fast injection (90-s duration) of 150 mL 60% ionic contrast was compared with 81 patients given a slow injection (152.5 s). The presence or absence of fatty infiltration of the liver was diagnosed by noncontrast CT.

RESULTS

The L-S attenuation differences varied significantly, depending on both injection rate and timing of measurements. For the fast-injection group, the optimal L-S threshold for diagnosing fatty infiltration ranged from -43 to -33 Hounsfield units (HU) for early (79 s) and late measurements (106 s), respectively. For the slow-injection group, the optimal threshold ranged from -31 to -25 HU (80 and 112 s, respectively). In addition, sensitivity was not very high (range = 0.54-0.71) for either injection protocol at any measurement time because of significant overlap of L-S values between normal and fatty infiltration patients. Moderate and severe fatty infiltration were more reliably diagnosed than mild fatty infiltration by this method.

CONCLUSIONS

Contrast injection rate and timing of measurements significantly influence the optimal L-S threshold for diagnosing fatty liver. This limits the clinical usefulness of such measurements.

Cardiac angiosarcoma: an unusual presentation with cutaneous metastases

Angiosarcoma is the most common primary malignant neoplasm of the heart. The incidence of metastatic disease is 66% to 89%; however, initial presentation with metastatic disease is rare. We report the case of a patient who presented initially with soft tissue and cutaneous metastases in the absence of cardiac symptoms.

Version of the osteoarthritic knee

Version of normal and osteoarthritic knees is evaluated by computed tomography in this study. Version of the knee is defined as the static rotation of the tibia with respect to the femur in full knee extension. It is measured as the difference between the transverse axes of the femoral condyles and tibia. The average knee version, or external rotation of the tibia with respect to the femur across the normal knee, was 0 degree. Version of the osteoarthritic knee was 5 degrees. Rotation of the tibia with respect to the femur across the extended osteoarthritic knee is a relationship that will affect the placement of components in total knee arthroplasty. This relationship should be addressed in alignment instrumentation and technique to avoid component malalignment in total knee arthroplasty.

Short duration radiotherapy in stage I seminoma of the testis: preliminary results of a prospective study

Ninety-four patients with Stage I seminoma of the testis, treated between November 1989 and December 1991, received short duration radiotherapy (2000 cGy in 8 fractions) to the para-aortic area only. The treatment was well tolerated and, after a median follow-up time of 34 months (minimum 15 months), no patient has relapsed in the abdomen. One patient developed an apparently solitary distant metastasis from a latent teratoma and is disease free after chemotherapy. This form of radiotherapy would appear to be well-tolerated with a low relapse rate. It offers the advantage of a simpler and shorter technique compared with conventional therapy and avoids the necessity of intensive surveillance to detect relapse.

Type III congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation associated with elevated maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein

Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation Type III with fetal ascites was diagnosed in a 19-week fetus after finding an abnormally elevated maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein value during routine screening. This discovery led to early elective termination of pregnancy. Sonographic evaluation of the fetal thorax is recommended in all cases referred for ultrasound because of unexplained elevation of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein.

Phase II trial of rDNA alfa 2b interferon in patients with malignant carcinoid tumor

Fourteen patients with malignant carcinoid tumors were treated with rDNA alfa 2b interferon by sc injection three times per week. Treatment was started at a dose of 2 milliunits/m2, with escalations to 3, 5, 7, and 10 milliunits/m2 at 2-week intervals depending on toxicity. No objective tumor regressions were seen, but five of 14 patients (36%) had 50% reduction in 24-hour 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid excretion and six of nine (67%) with carcinoid syndrome had a good symptomatic response. Biochemical responses occurred during the first 8 weeks of treatment, and escalation of the dose of interferon did not increase the response rate. The rDNA alfa 2b interferon has activity in patients with the carcinoid syndrome and should be used at a low dose (2-3 milliunits/m2) until symptoms recur.

The screening of more than 2,000 schoolgirls for bacteriuria using an automated fluorescence microscopy system

After initial evaluation of a manual fluorescence microscopy system on a variety of urines the method was automated and subsequently tested in a population survey of urinary tract infection in schoolgirls. This automated Bactoscan system allowed a rapid analysis of urine samples and with the introduction of modifications to the staining protocol it correctly eliminated 91% of samples as being not significantly infected.

Non-invasive magnetopneumographic estimation of lung dust loads and distribution in bituminous coal workers

Magnetopneumography is a non-invasive technique for measuring the ferrimagnetic portion of retained dust in the lungs by means of its permanent magnetism. Magnetopneumography was used to measure the magnetic fraction of coal mine dust in 21 retired disabled bituminous coal miners and 14 active miners. Twenty rural subjects served as controls. The retired disabled miners had significantly higher levels of pulmonary ferrimagnetic mineral than the control subjects and most active miners (p < 0.001). Three of the active miners had significantly higher levels of ferrimagnetic mineral than did the other active miners and the control subjects (p < 0.005), yet could not be differentiated from other miners by work history or chest roentgenograms. This elevation could not be accounted for by sources other than coal mine dust. A pattern of central hilar concentration of ferrimagnetic mineral was noted in both retired and active miners. These results suggest that magnetopneumography is sufficiently sensitive to permit the non-invasive study of coal mine dust accumulation and distribution in the lung.

Further investigation and initial clinical use of advanced CT display capability

The AUR Memorial Award Paper (this issue, pp. 403-416) described a technique for providing thin transverse CT sections and for redisplaying this transverse CT data as coronal or sagittal anatomic planes. This paper presents additional experience with cadaver models and the results of initial applications of the method to data obtained from living patients. The technique potentially enhances the clinical usefulness of CT scanning by providing precise triangulation and resolution of normal and abnormal structures.

1975 Memorial Award Paper. Image generation and display techniques for CT scan data. Thin transverse and reconstructed coronal and sagittal planes

The various limitations to computerized axial tomographic (CT) interpretation are due in part to the 8-13 mm standard tissue plane thickness and in part to the absence of alternative planes of view, such as coronal or sagittal images. This paper describes a method for gathering multiple overlapped 8 mm transverse sections, subjecting these data to a deconvolution process, and then displaying thin (1 mm) transverse as well as reconstructed coronal and sagittal CT images. Verification of the deconvolution technique with phantom experiments is described. Application of the phantom results to human post mortem CT scan data illustrates this method's faithful reconstruction of coronal and sagittal tissue densities when correlated with actual specimen photographs of a sectioned brain. A special CT procedure, limited basal overlap scanning, is proposed for use on current first generation CT scanners without hardware modification.

Successful separation of Xiphopagus-conjoined twins

The successful separation of xiphopagus-conjoined twins is described. Such an experience is of course a very gratifying and exciting surgical adventure.

Studies on experimental autoimmune thymitis in guinea-pigs

Normal and thymectomized outbred guinea-pigs were immunized with extracts of calf thymus, calf skeletal muscle or calf heart muscle emulsified in Freund's complete adjuvant. Immunization with either thymus or skeletal muscle produced a significant incidence of thymitis and a partial neuromuscular block in contrast to control animals either untreated or injected with an extract of calf lymph node or saline in Freund's complete adjuvant. The incidence of thymitis and partial neuromuscular block in animals that were injected with an extract of calf heart muscle in Freund's complete adjuvant was found not to be significant when compared to the control animals.

Neuromuscular transmission was studied using Copeland–Davis clip electrodes or a bipolar silver wire electrode threaded through the flexor digitorum muscle. The development of partial neuromuscular block in the test animals was found to be dependent on the presence of the thymus. All animals with a partial neuromuscular block had evidence of experimental thymitis.

These findings are in keeping with the hypothesis that a factor released by the thymus may be important in the development of the neuromuscular block characteristic of myasthenia gravis.

The immunochemistry of Shigella flexneri O-antigens. The biochemical basis of smooth to rough mutation

1. Smooth to rough mutation has the same biochemical basis in Shigella as in Salmonella. It is the result of enzyme defects blocking the incorporation of the O-specific side chains that characterize the smooth lipopolysaccharide with the consequent exposure of the underlying basal structures that determine ;rough'-specificity. 2. The Shigella flexneri basal structure resembles its Salmonella analogue in that it has the same qualitative sugar composition, and enzyme defects in its biosynthetic pathway give rise to ;rough'-lipopolysaccharides that are indistinguishable from those of Salmonella chemotypes Ra, Rb, Rc and Rd. However, the Salmonella and Shigella basal structures are not identical as judged by quantitative analysis and the absence of serological cross-reaction. 3. The Sh. flexneri basal structure side chain has been isolated and characterized as an alpha-N-acetylglucosaminyl-(1-->4)-galactosyl-(1-->3)-glucose sequence with alpha-glucosyl radicals substituted on the 3- and 4-positions of the galactose and glucose respectively. The different sugar types in this side chain are incorporated into the growing molecule in the same order as in Salmonella, which explains why the enzyme defects associated with smooth to rough mutation produce the same series of R-chemotypes from both genera. The terminal alpha-glucosyl and alpha-N-acetylglucosaminyl-(1-->4)-galactosyl residues of the Sh. flexneri basal structure are sufficiently different from the terminal alpha-galactosyl and alpha-N-acetylglucosaminylglucosyl residues of the Salmonella analogue that they offer an explanation for the absence of serological cross-reaction between these two basal structures.