Genetic and environmental influences on migraine: a twin study across six countries

Migraine is a common neurovascular brain disorder that is manifested in recurrent episodes of disabling headache. The aim of the present study was to compare the prevalence and heritability of migraine across six of the countries that participate in GenomEUtwin project including a total number of 29,717 twin pairs. Migraine was assessed by questionnaires that differed between most countries. It was most prevalent in Danish and Dutch females (32% and 34%, respectively), whereas the lowest prevalence was found in the younger and older Finnish cohorts (13% and 10%, respectively). The estimated genetic variance (heritability) was significant and the same between sexes in all countries. Heritability ranged from 34% to 57%, with lowest estimates in Australia, and highest estimates in the older cohort of Finland, the Netherlands, and Denmark. There was some indication that part of the genetic variance was non-additive, but this was significant in Sweden only. In addition to genetic factors, environmental effects that are non-shared between members of a twin pair contributed to the liability of migraine. After migraine definitions are homogenized among the participating countries, the GenomEUtwin project will provide a powerful resource to identify the genes involved in migraine.

Structural and thermal properties of inorganic–organic montmorillonite: Implications for their potential environmental applications

Inorganic–organic clays (IOCs), clays intercalated with both organic cations such as cationic surfactants and inorganic cations such as metal hydroxy polycations have the properties of both organic and pillared clays, and thereby the ability to remove both inorganic and organic contaminants from water simultaneously. In this study, IOCs were synthesised using three different methods with different surfactant concentrations. Octadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (ODTMA) and hydroxy aluminium ([Al13O4 (OH)24(H2O)12]7+ or Al13) are used as the organic and inorganic modifiers (intercalation agents). According to the results, the interlayer distance, the surfactant loading amount and the Al/Si ratio of IOCs strictly depend on the intercalation method and the intercalation agent ratio. Interlayers of IOCs synthesised by intercalating ODTMA before Al13 and IOCs synthesised by simultaneous intercalation of ODTMA and Al13 were increased with increasing the ODTMA concentration used in the synthesis procedure and comparatively high loading amounts could be observed in them. In contrast, Al/Si decreased with increasing ODTMA concentration in these two types of IOCs. The results suggest that Al-pillars can be fixed within the interlayers by calcination and any increment in the amount of ODTMA used in the synthesis procedure did not affect the interlayer distance of the IOCs. Overall the study provides valuable insights into the structure and properties of the IOCs and their potential environmental applications.

Relationships between daily affect and pro-environmental behavior at work: The moderating role of pro-environmental attitude

Research in organizational psychology has increasingly focused on understanding the determinants of "green" employee behavior. The present study used a daily diary design to investigate relationships between employees' daily affect, pro-environmental attitude, as well as daily task-related pro-environmental behavior (i.e., the extent to which employees complete required work tasks in environmentally friendly ways), and daily proactive pro-environmental behavior (i.e., the extent to which employees show personal initiative when acting in environmentally friendly ways at work). Fifty-six employees working in small businesses completed a baseline survey and two daily surveys over ten workdays. Daily unactivated positive affect and pro-environmental attitude positively predicted daily task-related pro-environmental behavior. In addition, daily activated positive affect positively predicted daily proactive pro-environmental behavior among employees with a less positive pro-environmental attitude but not among employees with a more positive pro-environmental attitude. These findings suggest that fostering pro-environmental attitudes and, to some extent, positive affect among employees could help organizations to promote pro-environmental behavior in the workplace.

On the importance of pro-environmental organizational climate for employee green behavior

In their call to action, Ones and Dilchert(2012) discuss several possible individual and some contextual determinants of employee green behavior that await examination by industrial and organizational I–O) psychologists. Although these authors briefly mentioned organizational climate, specifically ethical climate, as a potentially relevant predictor of green behaviors, they mostly emphasized the role of individual difference characteristics and traditional job performance determinants such as knowledge, skills, abilities, and other person factors (KSAOs).

An intraindividual perspective on pro-environmental behaviors at work

Ones and Dilchert (2012) highlight the importance of examining workplace environmental sustainability at the interindividual (or between-person) and organizational levels. In this commentary, we aim to extend these authors’ framework by focusing on pro-environmental behaviors and their potential predictors at the intraindividual, or within-person, level. To this end, we will first describe the intraindividual perspective, its benefits, and the diary study methodology often used to operationalize this perspective. Secondly, we will share how the intraindividual perspective was useful in an empirical study we conducted on multilevel relationships among employees’ pro-environmental attitude, daily affect, and daily proenvironmental behaviors. Finally, we will discuss a number of possible limitations of the diary study methodology, ways to Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Megan J. Bissing-Olson. E-mail: m.bissing-olson@uq.edu.au Address: School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia overcome them, and directions for future research.

Pro-Environmental Organizational Culture and Climate

This chapter reviews the concepts of organizational culture and climate and applies them to environmental sustainability. Though culture and climate are often used interchangeably, the chapter identifies key distinctions between them and highlights how they can complement one another. The two concepts are used to discuss how the organizational context for environmental sustainability, and employee perceptions thereof, influence individual pro-environmental behavior. Organizational climate is integrated with a dynamic model of organizational culture to describe how pro-environmental cultures and climates emerge. The chapter also highlights how organizations with different motivations can create pro-environmental cultures and climates. The chapter uses the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company as an archetype of an organization with a pro-environmental culture and climate. In the course of the discussion, the chapter nominates several imperatives for research and recommendations for practice.

Interfuel substitution in Australia: A way forward to achieve environmental sustainability

This paper examines the possibilities for interfuel substitution in Australia in view of the need to shift towards a cleaner mix of fuels and technologies to meet future energy demand and environmental goals. The translog cost function is estimated for the aggregate economy, the manufacturing sector and its subsectors, and the electricity generation subsector. The advantages of this work over previous literature relating to the Australian case are that it uses relatively recent data, focuses on energy-intensive subsectors and estimates the Morishima elasticities of substitution. The empirical evidence shown herein indicates weak-form substitutability between different energy types, and higher possibilities for substitution at lower levels of aggregation, compared with the aggregate economy. For the electricity generation subsector, which is at the centre of the CO2 emissions problem in Australia, significant but weak substitutability exists between coal and gas when the price of coal changes. A higher substitution possibility exists between coal and oil in this subsector. The evidence for the own- and cross-price elasticities, together with the results for fuel efficiencies, indicates that a large increase in relative prices could be justified to further stimulate the market for low-emission technologies.

Feature - No pain, no gain: Pleasure and suffering in technologies of leidenschaft

Training for bodybuilding competition is clearly a serious business that inflicts serious demands on the competitor. Not only did Francis commit time and money to compete, but he also arguably put winning before his physical well-being—enduring pain and suffering from his injury. Bodybuilding may seem like an extreme example, but it is not the only activity in which people suffer in pursuit of their goals. Boxers fight each other in the ring; soccer players risk knee and ankle injuries, sometimes playing despite being hurt; and mountaineers risk their lives in dangerous climbs. In the arts there are many examples of people suffering to achieve their goals: Beethoven kept composing, conducting, and performing despite his hearing loss; van Gogh grappled with depression but kept painting, finding fame only posthumously; and Mozart lived the final years of his life impoverished but still composing. These examples show that many great achievements come at a price: severe suffering...

Preventing infections through cleaner hospitals (PITCH): An environmental cleaning bundle

Translating the numerous lengthy cleaning standards and guidelines into meaningful and sustained improvements in cleaning practice is challenging. This research hypothesized that an evidence based cleaning bundle would improve cleaning performance, knowledge and attitudes, and ultimately reduces healthcare associated infections (HAI) in a way that is value for money. A bundle is a small, straightforward set of evidence based practices, that when performed collectively and reliably, improves patient outcomes.

Environmental applications of inorganic-organic clays for recalcitrant organic pollutants removal: Bisphenol A

Bisphenol-A (BPA) adsorption onto inorganic-organic clays (IOCs) was investigated. For this purpose, IOCs synthesised using octadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (ODTMA, organic modifier) and hydroxy aluminium (Al13, inorganic modifier) were used. Three intercalation methods were employed with varying ODTMA concentration in the synthesis of IOCs. Molecular interactions of clay surfaces with ODTMA and Al13 and their arrangements within the interlayers were determined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Surface area and porous structure of IOCs were determined by applying Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) method to N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. Surface area decreased upon ODTMA intercalation while it increased with Al13 pillaring. As a result, BET specific surface area of IOCs was considerably higher than those of organoclays. Initial concentration of BPA, contact time and adsorbent dose significantly affected BPA adsorption into IOCs. Pseudo-second order kinetics model is the best fit for BPA adsorption into IOCs. Both Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms were applicable for BPA adsorption (R2 > 0.91) for IOCs. Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity for IOCs was as high as 109.89 mg g‒1 and it was closely related to the loaded ODTMA amount into the clay. Hydrophobic interactions between long alkyl chains of ODTMA and BPA are responsible for BPA adsorption into IOCs.

Transfunctional living walls-designing living walls for environmental and social benefits

Greater attention is being directed towards incorporating greenery into the built environment as increasing global urbanisation drives the search for sustainable urbanism. This research takes a parametric approach to studying living wall dynamics using three methods to cover a diversity of design parameters and performance criteria. The findings led to a functional typology for living walls based on a range of design, context and performance parameters wider than previously identified. Such parametric studies offer valuable insights into 'transfunctional' living walls for homes, schools and public spaces.

Predicting the temporal response of seagrass meadows to dredging using Dynamic Bayesian Networks

Predicting temporal responses of ecosystems to disturbances associated with industrial activities is critical for their management and conservation. However, prediction of ecosystem responses is challenging due to the complexity and potential non-linearities stemming from interactions between system components and multiple environmental drivers. Prediction is particularly difficult for marine ecosystems due to their often highly variable and complex natures and large uncertainties surrounding their dynamic responses. Consequently, current management of such systems often rely on expert judgement and/or complex quantitative models that consider only a subset of the relevant ecological processes. Hence there exists an urgent need for the development of whole-of-systems predictive models to support decision and policy makers in managing complex marine systems in the context of industry based disturbances. This paper presents Dynamic Bayesian Networks (DBNs) for predicting the temporal response of a marine ecosystem to anthropogenic disturbances. The DBN provides a visual representation of the problem domain in terms of factors (parts of the ecosystem) and their relationships. These relationships are quantified via Conditional Probability Tables (CPTs), which estimate the variability and uncertainty in the distribution of each factor. The combination of qualitative visual and quantitative elements in a DBN facilitates the integration of a wide array of data, published and expert knowledge and other models. Such multiple sources are often essential as one single source of information is rarely sufficient to cover the diverse range of factors relevant to a management task. Here, a DBN model is developed for tropical, annual Halophila and temperate, persistent Amphibolis seagrass meadows to inform dredging management and help meet environmental guidelines. Specifically, the impacts of capital (e.g. new port development) and maintenance (e.g. maintaining channel depths in established ports) dredging is evaluated with respect to the risk of permanent loss, defined as no recovery within 5 years (Environmental Protection Agency guidelines). The model is developed using expert knowledge, existing literature, statistical models of environmental light, and experimental data. The model is then demonstrated in a case study through the analysis of a variety of dredging, environmental and seagrass ecosystem recovery scenarios. In spatial zones significantly affected by dredging, such as the zone of moderate impact, shoot density has a very high probability of being driven to zero by capital dredging due to the duration of such dredging. Here, fast growing Halophila species can recover, however, the probability of recovery depends on the presence of seed banks. On the other hand, slow growing Amphibolis meadows have a high probability of suffering permanent loss. However, in the maintenance dredging scenario, due to the shorter duration of dredging, Amphibolis is better able to resist the impacts of dredging. For both types of seagrass meadows, the probability of loss was strongly dependent on the biological and ecological status of the meadow, as well as environmental conditions post-dredging. The ability to predict the ecosystem response under cumulative, non-linear interactions across a complex ecosystem highlights the utility of DBNs for decision support and environmental management.

Content-based birdcall retrieval from environmental audio

This research investigates techniques to analyse long duration acoustic recordings to help ecologists monitor birdcall activities. It designs a generalized algorithm to identify a broad range of bird species. It allows ecologists to search for arbitrary birdcalls of interest, rather than restricting them to just a very limited number of species on which the recogniser is trained. The algorithm can help ecologists find sounds of interest more efficiently by filtering out large volumes of unwanted sounds and only focusing on birdcalls.

Social and environmental reporting practices of organisations operating in, or sourcing products from, a developing country : evidence from Bangladesh

This research consists of a broad study in three parts of the social and environmental reporting practices of organisations operating in or sourcing products from a developing country, in this case Bangladesh. The first part of this study explores the social and environmental disclosure practices of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the body responsible for organising the activities of 4,200 entities involved in the export of garments from Bangladesh. By way of interview, this part documents the opinions of numerous senior executives from the BGMEA with regard to any changes in the degree of social and environmental pressures since 1985. Utilising a complementary theoretical perspective that includes legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory and institutional theory this part then performs an analysis of the BGMEA's annual reports (1987-2005), t o explore the link between the perceived pressures and changes entailed therein and the social and environmental disclosure practices of the BGMEA across the period of analysis. The results show that the disclosure practices of BGMEA appear to be directly driven by the changing expectations of multinational buying companies- the group deemed to be the most powerful stakeholder group. This section is the first known study to interview managers from a large organisation in a developing country about shifting stakeholder expectations and then to link these changing expectations to annual report disclosures across an extended period of analysis. The findings then directly lead to the second major part of this thesis which investigates the social and environmental disclosure practices of two major multinational buying companies: Nike and H&M. Adopting a joint consideration of legitimacy theory and media agenda setting theory, this second part investigates the linkage between negative media attention and positive corporate social and environmental disclosures over a 19 year period. The results support the view that for those industry-related social and environmental issues that attract the greatest amount of negative media attention, these companies react by providing positive social and environmental disclosures. The results were particularly significant in relation to labour practices in developing countries-the issue that attracts the greatest amount of negative media attention for the companies in question. While the second part demonstrates that the media influences particular disclosure practices, the third part of the thesis shows what drives the media. Based on the speculation provided in the second part, the third part tests the proposition that the media is an important ally of NGOs in their quest to influence change in corporate accountabilities. Through the use of interviews, the results of this part of the study provide evidence to support previously untested perspectives about NGOs' utilisation of the m edia. The results reveal that NGOs use the media because the media is responsible for creating real changes in the operations and disclosure policies of organisations sourcing products from Bangladesh. The various pressures impacting the activities of organisations operating in or sourcing products from developing countries constitutes a fascinating area of investigation, and it is hoped that this study will motivate further research in this area.

Protocol for assessing maternal, environmental and epigenetic risk factors for dental caries in children

Background Expenditure on dental and oral health services in Australia is $3.4 billion AUD annually. This is the sixth highest health cost and accounts for 7 % of total national health expenditure. Approximately 49 % of Australian children aged 6 years have caries experience in their deciduous teeth and this is rising. The aetiology of dental caries involves a complex interplay of individual, behavioural, social, economic, political and environmental conditions, and there is increasing interest in genetic predisposition and epigenetic modification. Methods The Oral Health Sub-study; a cross sectional study of a birth cohort began in November 2012 by examining mothers and their children who were six years old by the time of initiation of the study, which is ongoing. Data from detailed questionnaires of families from birth onwards and data on mothers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices towards oral health collected at the time of clinical examination are used. Subjects’ height, weight and mid-waist circumference are taken and Body Mass Index (BMI) computed, using an electronic Bio-Impedance balance. Dental caries experience is scored using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS). Saliva is collected for physiological measures. Salivary Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA) is extracted for genetic studies including epigenetics using the SeqCap Epi Enrichment Kit. Targets of interest are being confirmed by pyrosequencing to identify potential epigenetic markers of caries risk. Discussion This study will examine a wide range of potential determinants for childhood dental caries and evaluate inter-relationships amongst them. The findings will provide an evidence base to plan and implement improved preventive strategies.