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PubMed1997

Malignant acanthosis nigricans and tripe palms in a patient with endometrial adenocarcinoma--a case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: In the world literature, uterine carcinoma associated with paraneoplastic malignant acanthosis nigricans and tripe palms has been mentioned in two review articles. Endometrial adenocarcinoma associated with malignant acanthosis nigricans without tripe palms has been cited in three case reports, and endometrial adenocarcinoma associated with tripe palms without malignant acanthosis nigricans has been cited in one case report. We present the case of a patient with endometrial adenocarcinoma associated with acanthosis nigricans and tripe palms which we have been following for the past 7 years. METHODS: Our 54-year-old patient had been operated for moderately differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma. She had also received postoperative radiotherapy. RESULTS: Three years after surgery, tripe palms and acanthosis nigricans with generalized pruritus occurred. After treatment with etretinate, the skin symptoms were somewhat mitigated while the pruritus persisted. Six years after gynecologic treatment, a solitary inguinal metastatic lymph node of endometrial carcinoma was detected. Following lymphadenectomy there was additional but not complete mitigation of skin symptoms including pruritus. CONCLUSIONS: In clinical practice the association of malignant acanthosis nigricans and tripe palms with endometrial adenocarcinoma is found extremely rarely. Although the survival time of adenocarcinoma patients with malignant acanthosis nigricans is short, our patient has been treated and followed for more than 7 years.

Acanthosis Nigricans↗
PubMed2001

A comparison of sustainability theory with UK and European airports policy and practice.

There are three main theoretical difficulties involved in relating sustainability to aviation, and which a research agenda for sustainable aviation needs to address. The first is uncertainty regarding the critical thresholds of global environmental systems. The second is a lack of protocols for allocating permissible environmental consumption shares to, and hence targets for, individual enterprises or sectors. The third is differing value judgements of what natural features should be sustained. For the time being, these difficulties preclude determination of the degree of sustainability or unsustainability of any individual airport with respect to global environmental systems. Nevertheless, at this stage it can at least be said that since most economic activity has an adverse environmental impact, airports with higher throughputs of material and people will tend to be less sustainable than smaller-scale airports given similar technologies and regulatory compliance. This is theoretically supported and illustrated with waste arising as an indicator at reviewed airports. Despite governmental policies of sustainable mobility, there is a disjunction between EU and UK policy on airports and individual airport practice, and environmental sustainability theory. In the UK and EU, airport practice and governmental policy is to mitigate the impacts of aviation, but not at the expense of its aviation growth. This mitigation practice is summarised for the reviewed airports and presented in a framework that accounts for the suggested, interim approach to sustainability assessment.

Aviation↗
PubMed1996

The influence of resuscitation on hemodynamics and oxygen radical-induced reperfusion injury after arterialized liver transplantation in the rat.

Extended hemodynamic monitoring during arterialized rat liver transplantation procedure and the effects of resuscitation with albumin, starch-desferrioxamine-conjugated hydroxyethyl starch (HES-DFO), or hydroxyethyl starch (HES) on hemodynamics are presented. Livers from SPRD rats were stored for 20 hr in ice-cold UW solution and were orthotopically transplanted with reconstruction of the hepatic artery under hemodynamical monitoring applying invasive measurement of mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and cardiac output (CO). Comparable amounts of albumin, HES-DFO, and HES were given in a randomized and blinded fashion after transplantation. Ringer's solution was given additionally when blood pressure was below 65 mmHg. Fifteen, 60, and 90 min after surgical procedure blood samples were taken to determine acid base status, blood gases, and blood cell count. Oxygen radical-induced reperfusion injury was determined by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in serum and total glutathione in liver tissue 90 min after surgery. During the anhepatic period CO was reduced to 20% of baseline and MAP to 40 mmHg. In all groups, declamping led to a transient recovery of hemodynamic situation, whereas during further reperfusion, CO and MAP were significantly reduced in the HES- and HES-DFO-treated group in contrast to the group receiving albumin. Animals of the HES group required significantly more Ringer's solution to maintain blood pressure (2.6 +/- 0.9 ml; 4 of 6 animals needed additional resuscitation) than animals given albumin (0.4 +/- 0.3 ml, P < 0.05, 2/9 needed further supplementation) or HES-DFO (1.2 +/- 0.5 ml; 5/10 required additional resuscitation), respectively. Animals treated with HES or HES-DFO failed to restore base excess and serum lactate in contrast to resuscitation with albumin. However, TBARS was mitigated by resuscitation with HES-DFO compared to albumin and HES, whereas no significant differences were observed in respect to tissue glutathione of transplanted livers. In conclusion the model described allows intensive monitoring of hemodynamic parameters and metabolic status during arterialized rat liver transplantation procedure. Moreover, the results indicate that resuscitation with albumin could maintain central hemodynamics and restore homeostasis during the early reperfusion period after transplantation in contrast to resuscitation with HES or HES-DFO, respectively. Although resuscitation with HES-DFO resulted in mitigation of lipid peroxides determined by TBARS, no significant improvement of hemodynamics and homeostasis could be observed during reperfusion as it can be observed with albumin.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

A low-fat diet but not food restriction improves lactational performance in obese rats.

Rats fed a high-fat diet before and during lactation have difficulty initiating lactation and have high pup mortality rates, low milk production and, consequently, poor pup growth. To determine if these adverse outcomes can be mitigated with dietary changes made after delivery, obese Sprague-Dawley rats (who had previously been fed a high-fat diet [AIN-93M, modified to contain 35% fat, w/w]) were assigned at parturition to continue to be fed this diet (HF) or switched to free access to a corresponding low-fat (LF) diet (AIN-93M, 4% fat w/w) or switched to the LF diet and restricted to consuming only 75% of ad libitum intake (LF/R). Dams lost weight during lactation, but weight loss was much less in the LF group (19g) than in the other two groups (47 and 59g, HF and LF/R, respectively). There was no appreciable change in body water; body fat decreased by about half in all groups, but most substantially in the LF/R group. Compared with the HF group, milk production was 50% higher in the LF group and 12% lower in the LF/R group. Milk lipid concentration tended to be higher and milk water concentration lower in the HF compared with the other two groups. Growth of the litters of the LF dams was significantly higher than both HF and LF/R dams. These results indicate that switching to a low-fat diet mitigates the negative effects of obesity and continued high-fat feeding on lactational performance and pup growth. Consumption of restricted quantities of a low-fat diet negatively affected milk production and failed to improve pup growth, despite the dams' mobilization of body fat in support of lactation.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Effect of selective decontamination of the digestive tract of donor and recipient on the occurrence of murine delayed-type graft-versus-host disease.

In the present study we investigated the occurrence of delayed-type graft-versus-host disease (DT-GvHD) after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) between two H-2 incompatible mouse strains. BMT was performed on mice with a conventional intestinal microflora as well as on mice in which the Enterobacteriaceae were selectively eliminated from the intestinal microflora by oral antibiotic treatment. None of the conventional or the selectively decontaminated (SD) chimaeric mice suffering from DT-GvHD died of bacteraemia. While DT-GvHD was mitigated when C3H/He recipient mice were SD-treated, this was not the case when C57B1/6J recipient mice were SD-treated. SD-treatment of the digestive tract of donor mice only mitigated DT-GvHD when the recipients were also SD-treated. We conclude that Enterobacteriaceae in the digestive tract may only play a minor role, if any, in the occurrence of DT-GvHD. Instead, we postulate that in this study DT-GvHD was determined by differences in the composition of the resident intestinal microflora (IM) of both mouse strains together with the cellular composition of the bone marrow graft. The interaction between antigenic components of the recipient's IM and the developing donor immune system in the recipient as a possible cause for DT-GvHD is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Depression in old age. Is there a real decrease in prevalence? A review.

The discrepancy between the constancy or increase of the prevalence of depressive symptoms and dysphoria in old age on one hand, and the decrease in the prevalence of the DSM-III diagnoses of major depression and dysthymia on the other, is discussed in light of the most frequent explanatory hypotheses such as memory defects, interpretation of depressive as somatic symptoms, higher risk of institutionalization as well as higher mortality of depressives and a mitigated course of depression in old age. We conclude that higher mortality, mitigation and the rarity of true late-onset depression are arguments for a real decline in prevalence, which occurs in accordance with the decline in all psychiatric disorders that are connected with emotional upheavals and substance ingestion. On the other hand, the connection of depressive states with somatic illness is strengthened, and according to preliminary validation studies, clinically relevant depressive states not reaching the threshold of DSM-III diagnoses may be typical for the depressive psychopathology of old age.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Echolalia and comprehension in autistic children.

The research reported in this paper investigates the phenomenon of echolalia in the speech of autistic children by examining the relationship between the frequency of echolalia and receptive language ability. The receptive language skills of 10 autistic children were assessed, and spontaneous speech samples were recorded. Analysis of these data showed that those children with poor receptive language skills produced significantly more echolalic utterances than those children whose receptive skills were more age-appropriate. Children who produced fewer echolalic utterances, and had more advanced receptive language ability, evidenced a higher proportion of mitigated echolalia. The most common type of mitigation was echo plus affirmation or denial.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Dose-response studies with co-dergocrine mesylate under hypoxia utilizing EEG mapping and psychometry.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, human brain function and mental performance were studied under two different degrees of hypoxia after administration of two different doses (6 mg and 9 mg) of co-dergocrine mesylate (CDM) utilizing blood gas analysis, EEG mapping and psychometry. Hypoxic hypoxidosis (i.e. impairment of cerebral metabolism due to hypoxia) was experimentally induced by a fixed gas combination of 9.8% oxygen (O2) and 90.2% nitrogen (N2) (found in 6000 m altitude), and of 8.6% O2, 91.4% N2 (found in 7000 m altitude), which was inhaled for 23 min under normobaric conditions by 18 healthy volunteers. They received randomized after an adaptation session placebo, 6 mg and 9 mg co-dergocrine mesylate (CDM). Evaluation of blood gases, brain mapping and psychometry was carried out at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 h after oral drug administration. Blood gas analysis demonstrated a drop in PO2 to 42 and 32 mm Hg 23 min after inhalation of the 9.8% and 8.6% gas mixture, respectively, PCO2 decreased to 32 and 31 mm Hg, pH increased to 7.46 and 7.47 and base excess increased to 0.50 and 0.90 nmol/l, respectively. EEG mapping demonstrated an increase in delta and decrease of alpha power and a slowing of the centroid over almost the whole brain. 6 mg and slightly less so 9 mg CDM attenuated this deterioration of vigilance (i.e. dynamic state of the neuronal network determining adaptive behavior). At the behavioral level, moderate hypoxia induced a deterioration of noopsychic performance, which was mitigated by 6 mg, but not by 9 mg CDM. A deepening of the hypoxia resulted in a loss of these brain protective effects of both doses. Decrement of the thymopsyche increased after both doses in the moderate hypoxic condition, while under marked hypoxia 6 mg CDM attenuated and 9 mg aggravated this deterioration. Time-wise, brain protective effects reached the level of statistical difference between the 2nd and the 6th hour. Somatic complaints like feeling dazed, giddiness and headache were mitigated dose dependently by CDM in the moderate, but not in the marked hypoxic hypoxidosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Recognition and management of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor fetopathy.

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are extensively used for the treatment of hypertension, to decrease proteinuria, and to mitigate hyperfiltration. These drugs now have been shown to be fetotoxic causing profound fetal hypotension, renal tubular dysplasia, anuria-oligohydramnios, growth restriction, hypocalvaria, and death when used in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. We recommend that ACE inhibitors not be used in pregnancy. However, if a child is born with ACE inhibitor fetopathy, aggressive therapy with dialysis to remove the inhibitor may mitigate the profound hypotensive effects. Therapy will depend on the specific ACE inhibitor, and care recommendations cannot be generalized for the entire class of drugs as their protein binding and volume of distribution differ substantially.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1998

Effect of aprotinin on the red cell immunity in cardiopulmonary bypass.

To investigate the effects of aprotinin on red cell (RC) immune function in the patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), 20 patients who received valve replacement procedure were prospectively studied. The patients were randomly assigned to aprotinin group and control group. Red blood cell C3b receptor ratio (RC3bRR), red blood cell immune-component ratio (RICR), plasma C3, C4, CH50 and IgG level were determined before operation, at the end of CPB and 1st, 3rd, 7th postoperative days. Our results showed that: (1) The blood requirement was reduced in aprotinin group. (2) After bypass, plasma C3, C4, CH50 was maintained in aprotinin group, while they declined in control group. (3) Plasma level IgG fell in both groups, but at 7th postoperative day it recovered in aprotinin group while the level stayed at low level in control group. (4) The RC3bRR and RICR was mildly inhibited in aprotinin group. It is concluded that the impairment of RC immune function caused by CPB can be mitigated by aprotinin, which may be related to the effects of aprotinin in blood sparing, restriction of complement activation, and reduction of blood requirement which could mitigate the non-specific inflammatory reaction.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed2004

Application of therapeutic hypothermia in the ICU: opportunities and pitfalls of a promising treatment modality. Part 1: Indications and evidence.

OBJECTIVE: Hypothermia has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times. This paper reviews the current potential clinical applications for mild hypothermia (32-35 degrees C). DESIGN AND SETTING: Induced hypothermia is used mostly to prevent or attenuate neurological injury, and has been used to provide neuroprotection in traumatic brain injury, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, stroke, and various other disorders. The evidence for each of these applications is discussed, and the mechanisms underlying potential neuroprotective effects are reviewed. Some of this evidence comes from animal models, and a brief overview of these models and their limitations is included in this review. RESULTS: The duration of cooling and speed of re-warming appear to be key factors in determining whether hypothermia will be effective in preventing or mitigating neurological injury. Some other potential usages of hypothermia, such as its use in the peri-operative setting and its application to mitigate cardiac injury following ischemia and reperfusion, are also discussed. CONCLUSIONS: Although induced hypothermia appears to be a highly promising treatment, it should be emphasized that it is associated with a number of potentially serious side effects, which may negate some or all of its potential benefits. Prevention and/or early treatment of these complications are the key to successful use of hypothermia in clinical practice. These side effects, as well as various physiological changes induced by cooling, are discussed in a separate review.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Mutations and regulatory anomalies effecting tumor cell immune functions.

The immune system is capable of interacting with tumor cells in such a way as to lead to tumor cell death, and this knowledge has inspired therapies to manipulate patient immune systems to eradicate cancer. However, tumor cells are able to mitigate the antitumor immune response, a fact that has rarely been addressed in the design of immunotherapies. There are many different tumor cell immune functions that play a role in mitigating the antitumor immune response. In some cases, these functions appear to be intimately associated with the tumor cell abnormalities that lead to loss of growth control, such as the cases where classical tumor suppressor proteins regulate tumor cell immune function genes. In other cases, tumor cell mutations appear to affect only the antitumor response, such as tumor cell mutations that eliminate MHC class I expression. Here I review the bases for tumor cell immune functions, noting in particular where tumor cell mutations, the gold standard for identifying a tumor-specific function, are known to be responsible for the tumor cell immune function. This review also discusses other known regulatory anomalies, in the absence of a known mutation, that are apparently important for tumor development and that regulate tumor cell immune functions. Surprisingly, in many cases where the tumor cell immune function is well understood in terms of its effect on the antitumor immune response, the tumor abnormality underlying the tumor cell immune function is completely uncharacterized.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Phase IB trial of picibanil (OK-432) as an immunomodulator in patients with resected high-risk melanoma.

The microbial immunostimulant OK-432 has been studied intensively in preclinical systems and has shown promise as an anticancer agent in trials that have been conducted over the past 20 years in Japan. To date, no systematic dose response evaluation of this agent has defined its dose-limiting toxicity or immunobiological activity. A phase IA study has been conducted in 25 patients with metastatic cancer at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Melanoma Center, establishing 30 KE as the maximal tolerable dosage, on the basis of cutaneous reactions. Subsequently, 48 patients with resected high-risk melanoma participated in a phase IB study of OK-432. This study has evaluated the immunomodulatory activity of OK-432 at five dosages ranging from 1 KE to 20 KE, administered ID twice weekly for 3 months. A formal analysis of the treated population in comparison to the randomized control group has been conducted, and profound immunological effects have been defined in the group of patients treated with OK-432. Patients who participated in this trial had a significant depression of OK-432-inducible cytokine production (interleukin-1 beta, interferon gamma, and tumor necrosis factor alpha) at baseline. Treatment with OK-432 reversed this deficit for interferon gamma (IFN gamma) production in a dose-dependent manner, and mitigated the inhibition for interleukin-1 (IL-1) across all dosage groups. The impact of OK-432 upon other immunological functions of the treated cohorts is more variable, with durable suppression of mononuclear cell superoxide production, and in vitro cytotoxicity to tumor. Immunological characteristics of the entire cohort demonstrate a strong and significant correlation of elevated blood CD16+ cell counts and natural killer activity with early tumor progression and death due to melanoma. Favorable prognosis is associated with monocyte capacity to produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and polymorphonuclear leukocyte formylmethionyl-leucylphenylalanine-inducible superoxide release. This study reveals several new immunological correlates of tumor progression and lethal outcome in resected high-risk melanoma. It demonstrates that the depressed IL-1, TNF, and IFN gamma release associated with melanoma may be mitigated by treatment with OK-432. This study has defined treatment and dose response patterns of immunomodulation associated with one of the most complex immunological agents yet evaluated in phase IB trials, in a well-defined population of high-risk patients with resected melanoma.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed2003

Practitioner perspectives on the role of science in environmental impact assessment.

A large body of literature addresses the role of science in environmental impact assessment (EIA) but less attention has been given to the views of practitioners themselves. In this research a survey of 31 EIA practitioners in Western Australia was undertaken to determine their perceptions of the quality and importance of science in EIA. The survey results are compared with previous theoretical, empirical, and survey studies of the role of science in EIA. Interview questions addressed the role of science in impact prediction, monitoring activities, mitigation and management, and EIA decision-making. It was clear from the interviews that many practitioners are satisfied with the quality of science currently used in EIA, but do not believe that it is given sufficient importance in the process. The quality and importance of science in the predecision stages of EIA was rated higher than in the postdecision stages. While science was perceived to provide the basis for baseline data collection, impact prediction, and mitigation design, it was seen to be less important during decision-making and ongoing project management. Science was seen to be just one input to decision-makers along with other factors such as sociopolitical and economic considerations. While time and budget constraints were seen to limit the scientific integrity of EIA activities, pressure from the public and regulatory authorities increased it. Improving the scientific component of EIA will require consideration of all these factors, not just the technical issues.

Attitude↗
PubMed2004

Projecting large-scale area changes in land use and land cover for terrestrial carbon analyses.

One of the largest changes in US forest type areas over the last half-century has involved pine types in the South. The area of planted pine has increased more than 10-fold since 1950, mostly on private lands. Private landowners have responded to market incentives and government programs, including subsidized afforestation on marginal agricultural land. Timber harvest is a crucial disturbance affecting planted pine area, as other forest types are converted to planted pine after harvest. Conversely, however, many harvested pine plantations revert to other forest types, mainly due to passive regeneration behavior on nonindustrial private timberlands. We model land use and land cover changes as a basis for projecting future changes in planted pine area, to aid policy analysts concerned with mitigation activities for global climate change. Projections are prepared in two stages. Projected land use changes include deforestation due to pressures to develop rural land as the human population expands, which is a larger area than that converted from other rural lands (e.g., agriculture) to forestry. In the second stage, transitions among forest types are projected on land allocated to forestry. We consider reforestation, influences of timber harvest, and natural succession and disturbance processes. Baseline projections indicate a net increase of about 5.6 million ha in planted pine area in the South over the next 50 years, with a notable increase in sequestered carbon. Additional opportunities to expand pine plantation area warrant study of landowner behavior to aid in designing more effective incentives for inducing land use and land cover changes to help mitigate climate change and attain other goals.

Carbon↗
PubMed2006

Integrated risk framework for onsite wastewater treatment systems.

Onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) are becoming increasingly important for the treatment and dispersal of effluent in new urbanised developments that are not serviced by centralised wastewater collection and treatment systems. However, the current standards and guidelines adopted by many local authorities for assessing suitable site and soil conditions for OWTS are increasingly coming under scrutiny due to the public health and environmental impacts caused by poorly performing systems, in particular septic tank-soil adsorption systems. In order to achieve sustainable onsite wastewater treatment with minimal impacts on the environment and public health, more appropriate means of assessment are required. This paper highlights an integrated risk based approach for assessing the inherent hazards associated with OWTS in order to manage and mitigate the environmental and public health risks inherent with onsite wastewater treatment. In developing a sound and cohesive integrated risk framework for OWTS, several key issues must be recognised. These include the inclusion of relevant stakeholders throughout framework development, the integration of scientific knowledge, data and analysis with risk assessment and management ideals, and identification of the appropriate performance goals for successful management and mitigation of associated risks. These issues were addressed in the development of the risk framework to provide a generic approach to assessing risk from OWTS. The utilisation of the developed risk framework for achieving more appropriate assessment and management techniques for OWTS is presented in a case study for the Gold Coast region, Queensland State, Australia.

Industrial Waste↗
PubMed2000

Ecological Restoration of Coastal Sage Scrub and Its Potential Role in Habitat Conservation Plans.

Extensive acreage loss of coastal sage scrub (CSS), isolation of surviving stands, and the federal listing of several animal species with obligate relationships to this plant community, particularly the threatened California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica), have led to attempts to create CSS to mitigate habitat lost to urban development and other causes. Many of these creations lie within habitat conservation plan (HCP) sites, and they could play a more prominent role by being repositories for plants taken from a single site having site-specific genetics. Among others, one technique that increases initial resemblance to natural stands uses digitized, to-scale photography, which has been ground-truthed to verify vascular plant associations, which appear as mosaics on a landscape. A combination of placing patches of salvaged, mature canopy plants within larger matrices of imprinted or container plant plots appears to significantly enhance immediate use by CSS obligate bird species, accelerate "spread" or expansion of CSS, and can also introduce many epiphytic taxa that otherwise would be slow or unable to occupy developing CSS creations. Reptile, amphibian, butterfly, and rodent diversity in a salvaged canopy restoration case study at the University of California, Irvine, showed CSS species foraging and inhabiting transplanted canopy patches. Using restoration techniques to expand existing CSS stands has more promise than creating isolated patches, and the creation of canopies resembling CSS mid-fire cycle stands is now common. Gnatcatchers and other birds use restorations for foraging and occasional nesting, and in some cases created stands along "biological corridors" appear to be useful to bird movement. Patches of transplanted sage scrub shrubs along habitat edges appear to break up linear edge effects. There are no data on which long-term survival, succession, or postfire behavior can be predicted for CSS restoration sites, and postfire community changes are not part of either mitigation or restoration planning at present. Long-term planning including burning is needed so that a fire-adapted habitat will develop. Restoration is important in retaining genetic resources, for ameliorating edge effects, as habitat extenders in buffer zones around HCP sites, and by providing areas into which natural stands can expand.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Environmental impacts of Brazil's Tucuruí Dam: unlearned lessons for hydroelectric development in Amazonia.

Brazil's Tucuruí Dam provides valuable lessons for improving decision-making on major public works in Amazonia and elsewhere. Together with social impacts, which were reviewed in a companion paper, the project's environmental costs are substantial. Monetary costs include costs of construction and maintenance and opportunity costs of natural resources (such as timber) and of the money invested by the Brazilian government. Environmental costs include forest loss, leading to both loss of natural ecosystems and to greenhouse gas emissions. Aquatic ecosystems are heavily affected by the blockage of fish migration and by creation of anoxic environments. Decay of vegetation left in the reservoir creates anoxic water that can corrode turbines, as well as producing methane and providing conditions for methylation of mercury. Defoliants were considered for removing forest in the submergence area but plans were aborted amid a public controversy. Another controversy surrounded impacts of defoliants used to prevent regrowth along the transmission line. Mitigation measures included archaeological and faunal salvage and creation of a "gene bank" on an island in the reservoir. Decision-making in the case of Tucuruí was virtually uninfluenced by environmental studies, which were done concurrently with construction. The dam predates Brazil's 1986 requirement of an Environmental Impact Assessment. Despite limitations, research results provide valuable information for future dams. Extensive public-relations use of the research effort and of mitigation measures such as faunal salvage were evident. Decision-making was closely linked to the influence of construction firms, the military, and foreign financial interests in both the construction project and the use of the resulting electrical power (most of which is used for aluminum smelting). Social and environmental costs received virtually no consideration when decisions were made, an outcome facilitated by a curtain of secrecy surrounding many aspects of the project. Despite improvements in Brazil's system of environmental impact assessment since the Tucuruí reservoir was filled in 1984, many essential features of the decision-making system remain unchanged.

Animals↗