Inspection Agency Research Articles

Promoting the Knowledge Economy in the Arab World

This article looks at the information and communication technology (ICT)–related education reform programs in three countries in the Middle East. It indicates the evident policy linkage between the implementation of school-based ICT programs and the development of pupils’ 21st-century skills to address the knowledge economy. The policy aspirations are put in the context of the history of education in the region and the Islamic traditions and beliefs about the nature of knowledge. The impact of the reforms is evaluated on the basis of realities of day-to-day life in schools as reported by independent inspection, review, and evaluation agencies. It concludes that much deeper institutional reform is necessary to fulfill the policy aspirations rather than speculating over progress through technology-enriched futures.

Remote Real-Time Monitoring of Subsurface Landfill Gas Migration

The cost of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions from landfill sites is of major concern for regulatory authorities. The current monitoring procedure is recognised as labour intensive, requiring agency inspectors to physically travel to perimeter borehole wells in rough terrain and manually measure gas concentration levels with expensive hand-held instrumentation. In this article we present a cost-effective and efficient system for remotely monitoring landfill subsurface migration of methane and carbon dioxide concentration levels. Based purely on an autonomous sensing architecture, the proposed sensing platform was capable of performing complex analytical measurements in situ and successfully communicating the data remotely to a cloud database. A web tool was developed to present the sensed data to relevant stakeholders. We report our experiences in deploying such an approach in the field over a period of approximately 16 months.

Determining all Nash equilibria in a (bi-linear) inspection game

This paper addresses a “game” between an inspection agency and multiple inspectees that are subject to random inspections by that agency. We provide explicit (easily computable) expressions for all possible Nash equilibria and verify that none is left out. In particular, our results characterize situations when there exists a unique Nash equilibrium. We also explore special features of the Nash equilibria and the solution of the problem the inspection agency faces in a non-strategic environment.

Evaluating the Use of Humidification Systems During Heat Treatment of MPB Lumber

Lumber produced from lodgepole pine logs attacked by the mountain pine beetle (MPB) infestation in British Columbia, Canada, exhibits very low initial moisture content (MC). Depending on the time elapsed since attack, the initial MC can be significantly lower than the fiber saturation point (FSP ∼30%). Lumber exhibiting 19% MC or less is considered ready for the dimension lumber market and does not necessarily need to be kiln dried. However, phytosanitary regulations require that lumber products be heat treated before delivery to customers. For lumber already quite dry, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) kiln drying/heat treatment schedules may be too long and can result in overdrying. For the significant volume of MPB lumber with an initial MC below 19%, the use of low-pressure steam or cold water spray could allow this lumber to be heat treated without causing further drying. This approach should result in improved lumber quality because overdrying would certainly be minimized and probably eliminated. In this study, two sorts (dry and wet sort) of MPB lumber were dried in a pilot laboratory kiln humidified with low-pressure steam or cold water spray. Twelve drying runs were carried out. The experimental results indicated that the times to reach the temperature of 56°C in the core of the lumber were shortened and warp for the dry-sort lumber group was reduced when the low-pressure steam or cold water spray system was used. Thus, for MPB lumber with a low initial MC, the utilization of lower pressure steam or cold water spray during heat treatment represents an attractive alternative to reduce kiln residence time, minimize or eliminate overdrying, and improve lumber quality.

(A328) Food and Water Risk Assessments during Disaster Operations

Although the exact burden of foodborne disease is unknown, diarrheal diseases kill approximately 2.2 million people annually. Even in developed countries foodborne illness is estimated to affect over 20% of the population annually. During natural disasters existing food safety and security measures may be damaged and mission priorities during emergencies may prevent inspection agencies from conducting normal inspections and enforcing government regulations. This breakdown in the food safety infrastructure may lead to increases in foodborne diseases within the local population and relief workers. The risk in this latter group is possibly magnified by their immunologic naïveness to local pathogens and an outbreak among relief workers can severely impact support operations, interfere with the aid delivery, and may result in the loss of life. In addition to natural disease transmission, there is the potential for terrorist organizations to target relief workers through deliberate contamination of the food and water supplies. Consequently, relief agencies should consider both food safety and security during disaster operations. A Food and Water Risk Assessment (FWRA) is a tool for identifying potential high risk food items and practices in local food sources and facilities and examines the overall food operation, the food facilities and equipment, water potability, cleaning and sanitation, pest control, employee health and sanitation, food security, and the source of the food items. The FWRA identifies risk items and provides mitigative control measures designed to reduce the residual risk to acceptable levels and minimize potential disruption of mission operations. Although the ultimate goal is protecting the health of the relief workers, the FWRA can also be used as a tool to improve the food safety practices of local food facilities and suppliers which will in turn help to reduce the incidence of foodborne disease among the local population during the disaster relief operations and beyond.

Registration of ‘Gadsby’ Barley

‘Gadsby’ (Reg. No. CV‐347, PI 659700; Canadian Food Inspection Agency Reg. No. 6831; Canadian PBR Appl. No. 10‐6980) is a two‐rowed, hulled, spring, general‐purpose barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) developed at the Field Crop Development Centre (FCDC), Lacombe, AB, Canada. Gadsby was tested in FCDC trials as H96043002 from 2002 to 2007 and in Prairie Recommending Committee for Oat and Barley trials as TR08684 during 2008 and 2009. It was registered for production in western Canada because of its good combination of yield, agronomic performance, grain quality traits, and disease resistance. Gadsby is resistant to scald [caused by Rhynchosporium secalis (Oudem.) J.J. Davis] and the surfaceborne and loose smuts (caused by Ustilago spp.) and is moderately resistant to the spot form of net blotch (caused by Drechslera teres f. maculata Smedeg). Gadsby has shown resistance to scald similar to that of the two‐rowed cultivar ‘Seebe’, which has proven to have durable resistance in Alberta, Canada.

Gaming in infection control: A qualitative study exploring the perceptions and experiences of health professionals in Mongolia

This study aimed to gain insight into the extent to which gaming is responsible for the underreporting of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in Mongolian hospitals, to identify gaming strategies used by health professionals, and to determine how gaming might be prevented. Eighty-seven health professionals, including policy- and hospital-level managers, doctors, nurses, and infection control practitioners, were recruited for 55 interviews and 4 group discussions in Mongolia in 2008. All study participants were aware of gaming, which could occur via the following mechanisms: (1) doctors or nurses concealing HAI by overprescribing antibiotics or discharging patients early; (2) infection control practitioners failing to report HAI cases to hospital directors; and (3) hospital directors preventing reporting of HAI cases to the Ministry of Health. Gaming was consistently perceived to be a response to punitive performance evaluation by the Ministry of Health and penalization of hospitals and staff by the State Inspection Agency when HAIs were detected. Participants held divergent views regarding the best approach to reduce gaming, including excluding the current single indicator (ie, HAI rate) from the performance indicator list, developing multiple specific infection control indicators, improving the awareness of health managers regarding the causes of HAI, and increasing funding for infection control activities. Inclusion of the overall HAI rate in the targeted performance indicator set and the strict control and penalization of hospitals with reported HAI cases are factors that have contributed to gaming, which has resulted in deliberate, extreme underreporting of HAIs in Mongolian hospitals.

The Role of Customs and Other Agencies in Trade Facilitation in Bangladesh: Hindrances and Ways Forward

This paper examines the role of the Customs service and other government agencies in trade facilitation in Bangladesh with the aim of suggesting some ways forward. A combination of primary and secondary data sources were used in the study which found that traders in Bangladesh face delays due to too many official formalities, inefficiencies and arbitrary discretion in conducting their trade. These problems mostly occur in Customs and the Port Authority. Other factors such as inaccurate Clean Report of Findings (CRF) certificates issued by Pre-shipment Inspection (PSI) agencies, lack of testing facilities, cases filed by traders and false declarations by the trading community are also found to be responsible for such delays and inefficiencies in import and export clearance. The study suggests that the efforts of a single Customs or Port administration are not sufficient to facilitate trade; rather an integrated approach is imperative to this end.

Benchmarking That Matters: A Proposed New Direction for Clinical Engineering

Benchmarking, not a new concept to clinical engineering (CE) managers, continues to be redefined and promoted as a “must have” by CE professionals. How we use benchmarking and how we should use benchmarking is the crux of this article. We need to prioritize and focus our resources in a way that matters most to our fellow caregivers and patients. There is a lot of valuable information to be gained from benchmarking articles offered by AAMI, ECRI Institute, and trade journals. And, as one might expect, there is a wide range of suggestions within the CE community as to which benchmarks are the most important, how to collect the data, and how various benchmarks can or should be used to support the growth and further development of a CE department. All too often, those of us responsible for managing CE departments fall into the trap of collecting and presenting data simply because we have always done it. This practice is truly a “sacred cow.” Why do we collect data? We do it to justify our existence, to prove our worth, and/or in an attempt to justify needed additional resources. We have been guilty of this for the past 30 years. We have always generated a yearend report for senior management in an attempt to wow them with all kinds of data: preventive maintenance (PM) compliance, response time, open vs. closed work orders, productivity, cost-of-service ratio, in-house vs. vendor repairs, etc., all nicely tabulated and formatted to identify trends. Impressive, no? Yet, can we really see significant, actionable outcomes when looking at year-to-year comparisons? Surely some metrics go up, some go done, others barely change. Then we compare our data by looking at similar metrics from other organizations. Interpretations of the results dissipate into concerns over data accuracy and integrity. After all, our CE profession can’t even agree on how to count devices (is it one monitor, or one with five modules); what purchase cost to use (list price vs. our negotiated top-secret price); or how to define a productive employee (captured work hours or available hours). With all these benchmarking variations and ambiguities of how and what to measure, is it any wonder that it has been challenging for CE professionals to determine how best to use them? Depending on how our numbers compare, we can look either better or worse than the CE program across town. Yet, both can have little or an unquantifiable impact on the quality of care and on the staff efficiencies of those we serve. Using our sacred cow benchmarks, we just don’t know.

CAREX Canada—Development of a National Environmental Carcinogen Exposure Surveillance Tool

O-31B6-4 Background/Aims: Our goal is to produce indicators for the surveillance of Canadians' exposures to environmental carcinogens that reflect spatial variability. Methods: We developed a spreadsheet-based tool to estimate life-stage weighted average daily intake. Factors considered include frequency of detection, bodyweight, intake rates, and time spent indoor and outdoor for 5 life-stages (infant, small child, child, teen, and adult). Using benzene as an example, we populated the tool with data from the National Air Pollution Surveillance network, Canadian Food Inspection Agency reports, US Food and Drug Administration Total Diet Study reports, the 2006 Statistics Canada Food Statistics report, California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment cancer potency values, and peer-reviewed literature. For outdoor air, we linked the results with a spatial model of benzene concentrations and block point population data from Statistics Canada. Results: Estimated lifetime average daily intake levels (and associated cancer risk) are: outdoor air, 3.4 μg/d (1:161,000); indoor air, 32 μg/d of benzene (1:20,250); drinking water, 1.5 μg/day (1:388,500); and food, less than 2.25 × 10–6 μg/day (>1:114 billion). After including the spatial variation in population locations and outdoor benzene concentrations, we assigned estimated excess lifetime risk for each of 487,000 block point locations (50th percentile = 1:263,000, 5th percentile = 1:399,000; 95th percentile = 1:75,250). Overall, we estimate that in 2006, the lifetime excess risk of cancer was 1:100,000 or more for 11.1 million Canadians, 35 percent of the total population. Conclusion: The tool provides a flexible but comprehensive method for producing comparable screening level indicators of exposure and excess cancer risk for numerous known and suspected carcinogens. Incorporating spatial variation, when appropriate, provides a new level of detail that aids in targeting prevention efforts.

Changing regulation: Canada's new thinking on Listeria

In 2008, Canada experienced one of its most serious outbreaks of foodborne listeriosis. During this outbreak, which was eventually traced back to contaminated deli-meat, there were 57 cases of illness and 23 deaths. As a result of the outbreak, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has developed new Directives for the registered meat and poultry sector. Under the new requirements, production facilities must implement food contact surface testing for Listeria spp. and/or Listeria monocytogenes. The enhanced requirements focus on early detection and control of L. monocytogenes by introducing new testing and reporting requirements for industry, e.g., positive test results from all food contact surface testing must now be immediately reported to the CFIA and companies must perform trend analysis on their test results. In addition, work has begun on updating the current Health Canada policy on L. monocytogenes. The Canadian approach to Listeria control stresses the importance of environmental sampling. In addition to government agencies and food industries working diligently at minimizing the exposure to L. monocytogenes, consumers also have an important role to play in the farm-to-fork continuum. That role calls for Canadians to learn and adopt safe food handling, avoidance of certain high-risk foods, and preparation practices. To this effect, Health Canada has and will continue to undertake the development of science-based consumer education material which will help create an understanding of food safety issues within the context of the public’s right to know about the potential dangers in food, and industry’s responsibility for producing safe food. A combination of all these approaches are currently being adopted and/or developed to improve the control of L. monocytogenes in RTE foods sold in Canada.

Comparison of breach-wave parameters determined by various methods

The problem concerning compulsory introduction of safety certificates for water-development works [1] that had previously not fallen under the safety-declaration procedure in conformity with resolution [2], as a result of which a significant volume of information on the status of water-development works that are potentially capable of causing an extreme situation, has been hidden from the attention of inspection agencies and directors of municipal education regarding subjects of the Russian Federation, is particularly urgent at the present time. In the majority of cases, numerous (of the order of 30,000 – 40,000) Class-III and -IV hydroprojects are such entities. One of the principal problems relating to the compilation of safety certificates is the determination of a zone of a possible extreme situation (flooding zone), amount of destruction, and number of victims. To determine a zone of possible flooding and damages due to a flood caused by breach of the thrust front of a hydroproject, it is necessary to establish and model a scenario for the emergency. Modeling of a breach flood is a complex multiple-factor problem. The original disturbances that had caused the emergency, characteristic design features of the hydroproject, the geologic conditions of the region, petrological factors, the conditions under which the land is utilized for agriculture in the tail race, etc. may exert a significant influence on the path of the emergency. As a rule, the paths of breach floods are investigated using oneor two-dimensional St. Venant equations [3, 4], which can be numerically realized by use of a finite-difference scheme. One of the most familiar finite-different schemes in Russia is the scheme developed by A. N. Militeev [5]. The scheme permits analyses in channels of arbitrary shape and with virtually arbitrary unexpected changes in the shape of the channel, as well as in initially dry channels. The procedure has been put through detailed testing by comparing results of calculations with a large number of analytical tests [6 – 8]. The testing has demonstrated that it permits calculation of flows with hydraulic jumps, bores, and critical sections. The “SV 1” program developed by S. Ya. Shkol’nikov, and also the “Bor” and “River” programs developed by V. V. Belikov implement Militeev’s scheme. In addition to developments of Russian scientists, their are a number of foreign methods of determining the parameters of a breach wave, which are based on similar analytical principles, for example, the “Mike 11” program developed in Denmark. Computer-assisted solution of similar problems requires a highly qualified engineer to perform the analysis, the investment of significant monetary resources, and the existence of a sufficiently well equipped computer laboratory in connection with the fact that similar calculations are, as a rule, performed for high-head hydroprojects falling under the mandatory procedure of the safety declaration. In addition to precise numerical methods that are implemented with a computer, there are also other methods of analyzing a breach wave. B. L. Istorik’s grapho-analytical procedure, which is compiled on the basis of study of breach waves using hydraulic and mathematical models was the first serious study in this field. Broad numerical experiments for schematized conditions and full-scaloe entities have made it possible to obtain a large amount of factual data, on the basis of which general laws and certain characteristic features of the propagation of a breach wave under various conditions have been revealed while making use of methods of the theory of dimensionality and similarity. All this has served as a base for development of simplified grapho-analytical procedures suitable for comparatively rapid preliminary estimation of breach-wave parameters, and also for final prediction of its parameters in certain less critical cases. Being simplified, B. L. Istorik’s procedure unconditionally possesses a number of restrictions. Among other things, it does not permit calculation of the aftereffects of emergencies in the case of cascade failure of hydroprojects, since there is no calculation for the case of a hydrostatic head in the tail race from a dam situated downstream. This procedure is distinguished, however, by considerable simplicity of analPower Technology and Engineering Vol. 44, No. 2, 2010

Post-market monitoring: legal framework in Brazil and first results

AbstractBrazil is presently (2010) the second largest producer of Genetically Modified (GM) crops. The legal framework to support both research activities and the commercial release of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is, however, very recent, as the Biosafety Law dates back from 2005. After the indispensable risk analysis, done by National Technical Committee for Biosafety (CTNBio), a GM plant can be approved for commercial release. Nevertheless, as stated in the Normative Resolution nr. 5 (NR-5), 2008, the post-market monitoring is mandatory. However, the first GM crop in Brazil, the herbicide tolerant soybean, was harvested in 2005. The CTNBio asked, then, for a monitoring plan and the applicant designed a complex study focused on case-specific monitoring. After four years the detailed field studies proved that no harm derived from this crop. The costs, nevertheless, were enormous. In May 2010, 21 GM plants were already approved for commercial release in Brazil, corresponding to different events in soybean (6), cotton (8) and maize (9). Single and stacked events tolerant to herbicides or insect-resistant are presently been planted for all three crops. If, for each single event and for the stacks, a laborious post market monitoring plan were to be executed, the total costs would be unbearably high. The applicant, i.e. the seed company in the case of the three common crops, is legally responsible for the monitoring in Brazil. It is also responsible to produce an adequate monitoring plan. Since the rules in the Normative Resolution nr. 5 are far from being clear, the applicants either propose an elaborated plan for case-specific monitoring or, conversely, submit a very simple plan, targeting some potential adverse effect that can be more easily evaluated in commercial fields. All data generated must be reported to federal agencies belonging to at least three different ministries. Monitoring is also a responsibility of some federal agencies, as stated in the Biosafety Law, like registration and inspection agencies and other entities, which are responsible for, among other duties, keep updated information in the Biosafety Information Systems (SIB) of institutions and technical responsible individuals that carry out activities and projects related to GMOs and their by products. It is not clearly stated either in the Biosafety Law or in the NR-5 that monitoring should be split in case-specific monitoring and general surveillance, as adopted in Europe. If case-specific monitoring plans are difficult to design, a sensible suggestion for the general surveillance was not yet achieved. Nevertheless, the info-concentrating SIB may be a valuable source for the general surveillance, once it starts to operate. In conclusion, due to the lack of clear information about how to produce an adequate monitoring plan, stakeholders either tend to unnecessarily enlarge the monitoring scope or shorten it to a few objectives. The general surveillance is either not contemplated in the monitoring plans or minimally treated. It is important to keep in mind that the applicants are responsible to produce most of the data, even for the general surveillance, and this can be extremely difficult in a scenario where 20 or more different events are cultivated, frequently in neighboring fields. The EuropaBio approach to general surveillance for cultivation of GM crops (available from Nature Precedings "doi:10.1038/npre.2010.4451.1":http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npre.2010.4451.1) is difficult to be largely adopted: farmers may be unable to meaningfully answer the questionnaire and the network has a very restricted number of potential participants. CTNBio is aware of these challenges and has already started to adjust the NR-5 to better guide the applicants in their writing of monitoring plans.

Immunopathological effects of ochratoxin A and T-2 toxin combination on broilers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the immunopathological effects of combinations of ochratoxin A (OTA) and T-2 toxin on broilers. Four hundred eighty 1-d-old broilers were randomly assigned to 4 groups, each group consisting of 4 duplicates each with 30 broilers. The 4 groups were fed the following diets for 4 wk: group 1=basal diet (control, mycotoxin-free); group 2=basal diet+2,000 mg/kg of Mycofix Plus; group 3=basal diet+0.25 mg/kg of OTA and 0.5 mg/kg of T-2; and group 4=basal diet+0.25 mg/kg of OTA and 0.5 mg/kg of T-2+2,000 mg/kg of Mycofix Plus. The feeding of OTA-T-2 toxin diets reduced (P<0.05) the level of anti-Newcastle disease virus antibody titers by 10.4%. When broilers were administered lipopolysaccharide, the results of real-time PCR showed that broilers fed OTA-T-2 toxin reduced the cytokine mRNA expression levels of interleukin-2 and interferon-gamma to some extent but not significantly (P>0.05). The concentrations of interleukin-2 and interferon-gamma in serum were significantly decreased (P<0.05) by OTA-T-2 toxin combination. Histopathological studies demonstrated that OTA-T-2 toxin combination caused abnormalities in the thymus, bursa of Fabricius, spleen, and liver. Ochratoxin A-T-2 toxicity could be counteracted by Mycofix Plus partially but not significantly (P>0.05). The concentrations of OTA and T-2 toxin used in this study are under the maximum tolerated levels recommended by Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Our study clearly put the standard and detoxification method for these toxins into question. We suggest that it may be time to reduce the maximum allowable limits of OTA and T-2 mycotoxins in feeds to improve animal health and the safety of the food chain.

Multiresidue Pesticide Analysis in Fresh Produce by Capillary Gas Chromatography−Mass Spectrometry/Selective Ion Monitoring (GC-MS/SIM) and −Tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS)†

A multiresidue method for the analysis of pesticides in fresh produce has been developed using salt-out acetonitrile extraction, solid-phase dispersive cleanup with octadecyl-bonded silica (C(18)), and graphitized carbon black/primary-secondary amine (GCB/PSA) sorbents and toluene, followed by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring mode (GC-MS/SIM) or -tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Quantitation was determined from calibration curves using matrix-matched standards ranging from 3.3 to 6667 ng/mL with r(2) > 0.99, and geometric mean limits of quantitation were typically 8.4 and 3.4 microg/kg for GC-MS/SIM and GC-MS/MS, respectively. Identification was determined by using target and qualifier ions and qualifier-to-target ratios for GC-MS/SIM and two ion transitions for GC-MS/MS. Fortification studies (10, 25, 100, and 500 microg/kg) were performed on 167 organohalogen, organophosphorus, and pyrethroid pesticides in 10 different commodities (apple, broccoli, carrot, onion, orange, pea, peach, potato, spinach, and tomato). The mean percent recoveries were 90 +/- 14, 87 +/- 14, 89 +/- 14, and 92 +/- 14% for GC-MS/SIM and 95 +/- 22, 93 +/- 14, 93 +/- 13, and 97 +/- 13% for GC-MS/MS at 10, 25, 100, and 500 microg/kg, respectively. GC-MS/MS was shown to be more effective than GC-MS/SIM due to its specificity and sensitivity in detecting pesticides in fresh produce samples. The method, based on concepts from the multiresidue procedure used by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe), was shown to be efficient in screening, identifying, and quantitating pesticides in fresh produce samples.

First Report of Pear Decline Caused by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pyri’ in Ontario, Canada

Pear decline (PD) is a serious disease of pear (Pyrus communis L.) caused by 'Candidatus Phytoplasma pyri', which belongs to the subgroup 16SrX-C of the apple proliferation (AP) group of phytoplasmas (3). Pear seedlings from the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) pear breeding program, which have been selected for advanced test and grower trials, are routinely submitted to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Sidney Laboratory (formerly, CFIA Centre for Plant Health, Saanichton, BC) for virus testing at the same time that propagation is initiated to produce trees for further evaluations. In early 2007, the CFIA reported that samples of two seedling selections submitted in 2005 tested positive for phytoplasmas by a nested PCR assay with phytoplasma universal primers P1/P7 (1), followed by phytoplasma universal primers fU5/rU3 (2) and real time PCR with universal phytoplasma primers developed by the CFIA-Sidney (personal communication). Phytoplasmas present in both selections were subsequently identified as 'Ca. P. pyri' strains by nested PCR with the P1/P7 primers followed by PD/peach yellow leaf roll (PYLR)-specific primers fPD/rPDS (2,4). These were the first PD-positive results from many samples submitted over the years for testing. Following PD-positive diagnoses for the seedling trees, others propagated from these seedling trees were removed from the nursery. When tested by PD-specific nested PCR (P1/P7 then fPD/rPDS), one selection had 39 of 79 nursery trees (49%) that were PD positive, while the other selection had 27 of 96 trees (28%) testing as PD positive. PCR amplification of DNA isolated from leaves of six of the propagated trees, with primer pair fPD/rPDS, yielded an ~1,400-bp product that was sequenced. A consensus sequence of 1,313 bp (GenBank Accession No. GU565959) was subjected to a nucleotide BLAST search of the NCBI database and showed 100% nt identity with sequences of phytoplasmas PD1 (AJ542543) and PYLR (Y16394). Subsequently, the PD-positive results from leaf, dormant shoot, and root tissues from the original seedling trees were confirmed by PD-specific nested PCR. On the original seedling trees, visible symptoms typical of PD, especially premature leaf coloration, were observed in late summer 2008 and samples taken of green and red leaves were subjected to PD-specific PCR. Red leaves were PD-positive, while green leaves were mostly PD-negative. Pear leaves, dormant shoots, and roots collected from research and commercial orchards in southern Ontario in 2007 and 2008 were subjected to PD-specific nested PCR (P1/P7 then fPD/rPDS), AP-specific nested PCR (P1/P7 then fO1/rO1) (2), as well as the universal phytoplasma nested PCR (P1/P7 then fU5/rU3), resulting in the identification of PD-positive trees of several cultivars. The sequence of the 1,057-bp amplicon from accession PYR0190 (selection HW615), with AP-specific primers fO1/rO1, was deposited in GenBank (GU475131). Although there have been no previous reports of PD in Ontario, Canada, it would appear that PD has been present for some time based on the number and distribution (both geographic and cultivar) of positive samples.

Enforcement of Environmental Law in the Flemish Region

Enforcing compliance with environmental regulations has been on the agenda for many years in many legal systems. The recent European Union directive concerning the protection of the environment through criminal law shows that criminal law is increasingly used as an enforcement instrument. However, recent theoretical Law and Economics literature, as well as scarce empirical literature tend to suggest that, given the high administrative costs of criminal law, administrative law could be the primary enforcement instrument under certain conditions. This paper contributes to this debate by providing some evidence on criminal enforcement decisions made by the environmental inspection agency, the public prosecutor and the judges for the environmental violations in the Flemish Region. The results suggest that legal systems which primarily rely on the use of criminal law to enforce environmental regulations, such as the Flemish Region, do not provide ex ante enough incentives for a violator to comply. This stems from the fact that the probability of being apprehended and prosecuted is relatively small, as well as the average fines imposed by the court. In addition to the low expected sanction a violator faces, more than 60% of cases are dismissed. Even though the reasons for this might be more nuanced, our results cast serious doubts on the effectiveness of criminal law enforcement of environmental regulations.

Modelling the Risks Associated with the Increased Importation of Fresh Produce from Emerging Supply Sources Outside the EU to the UK

Abstract The risk of non‐indigenous plant pests entering the UK via international trade in fresh produce is increasing. The objective of this article is to identify existing and emerging supply sources for UK fresh produce importers and examine the extent to which they could provide invasion pathways. We tested the hypothesis that increased imports of fresh produce from new sources outside the European Union could increase the risks of non‐indigenous insect pests. We use a bio‐economic model approach in which the number of species arrivals is a function of the volume of imports, whereas the volume of imports itself is a function of gross domestic product, relative import prices and seasonality. The study has identified clear trends, which show import volumes of fresh produce and species detections increasing from new supply sources. If this trend continues in the future, then the UK inspection agency should expect to confront species from new suppliers in much greater numbers, given that import volumes of fresh produce are income elastic.

SAFETY MARGIN OF ULTIMATE LATERAL STRENGTH OF BUILDINGS BASED ON CALCULATION SHEETS

Ultimate lateral strengths of 208 buildings, designed after 2007, were obtained by the questionnaire survey to inspection agencies. The building strength is represented by the safety margin index which is the strength divided by the required strength of the Building Standard Law of Japan.The safety margin is clarified to fit a log-normal distribution with considerable accuracy regardless of structural types and systems. The distribution for all structural types and systems has the mode of 1.05 and the average of 1.34. The average for RC moment framed structures is 1.16, while that for Steel moment framed structures is 1.60.

Crown Immunity in a Food Crisis: A Consideration of the 2008 Listeriosis Outbreak in Canada

In Canadian law, the question of whether agents for federal and provincial governments can be liable to consumers in negligence has traditionally been resolved in the negative. However, when many Canadians suddenly fell ill and others died due to exposure to listeria-infected meat products in mid-2008, the ensuing public health crisis and criticism of the government agency that handled it obliged the Prime Minister to call for an investigation and report upon the conduct of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. In the context of the unfolding investigation, the authors examine the underlying rationale and policy reasons for the Canadian courts’ doctrine of Crown immunity and whether the time might be ripe for policy change in circumstances like those which gave rise to the losses caused by listeriosis.