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Determinations of significance play a pivotal role in environmental impact assessments because they point decision makers to the predicted effects of an action most deserving of attention and further study. Impact predictions are always subject to uncertainty because they rely on estimates of future consequences. Yet uncertainty is often neglected or treated in a perfunctory manner as part of the characterization, evaluation, and communication of anticipated consequences and their significance. Proposals to construct fossil fuel pipelines in North America provide a highly visible example; casual treatment of how uncertainty affects significance determinations has resulted in poorly informed stakeholders, frustrated industry proponents, and inconsistent choices on the part of public decision makers. Using environmental assessments for recent pipeline proposals as examples, we highlight five ways in which uncertainty is often neglected when determining impact significance and suggest that a mix of known methods, new guidelines, and appropriate oversight could greatly improve current practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli isolates harboring New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM-1) were isolated from a patient who had returned to Canada from India. The NDM-1 gene was found on closely related incompatibility group A/C type plasmids. The occurrence of NDM-1 in North America is a major public health concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among 162 isolates of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-(ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli recovered from the urine of Canadian patients (2007–2017), five (3.1%) were not susceptible in vitro to fosfomycin (MIC ≥128 μg/mL). These isolates underwent whole genome sequencing to assess for the presence of fos genes. The fosA3 gene was detected in one isolate. • Urinary isolates of Escherichia coli that harbor an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) enzyme often remain susceptible in vitro to fosfomycin. • There is a paucity of data describing the frequency of fos gene mediated fosfomycin resistance among ESBL-positive E. coli in North America. • Among 162 isolates of ESBL-producing E. coli recovered from the urine of Canadian patients (2007–2017), a fos gene (fosA3) was detected in one isolate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determinations of significance play a pivotal role in environmental impact assessments because they point decision makers to the predicted effects of an action most deserving of attention and further study. Impact predictions are always subject to uncertainty because they rely on estimates of future consequences. Yet uncertainty is often neglected or treated in a perfunctory manner as part of the characterization, evaluation, and communication of anticipated consequences and their significance. Proposals to construct fossil fuel pipelines in North America provide a highly visible example; casual treatment of how uncertainty affects significance determinations has resulted in poorly informed stakeholders, frustrated industry proponents, and inconsistent choices on the part of public decision makers. Using environmental assessments for recent pipeline proposals as examples, we highlight five ways in which uncertainty is often neglected when determining impact significance and suggest that a mix of known methods, new guidelines, and appropriate oversight could greatly improve current practices., (© 2019 Society for Risk Analysis.)