以硝酸盐为主要氮源的反硝化除磷细菌驯化

以活性污泥为种泥,通过序批式反应器(Sequencing Batch Reactor,SBR),在厌氧-缺氧-好氧交替的条件下驯化培养以硝酸盐为主要氮源的反硝化除磷细菌(Denitrifying Phosphorus-Accumulating Organisms,DPAO)。在330 d的培养时间内监测磷酸盐、硝酸盐和亚硝酸盐等常规指标,并研究驯化不同阶段的一个周期内各指标的变化及进行相应的动力学分析。结果表明,随着驯化的进行,厌氧阶段释磷速率逐渐增加,释磷量也相应增大,出水磷质量浓度最终维持在0.8mg/L,去除率达到91.8%,硝氮全部去除。通过对16S r RNA测序结果的比对,得到聚磷菌占总菌的76.93%,反硝化除磷菌占聚磷菌的一半以上。而聚糖菌仅占5.13%,聚磷菌成为优势菌种。此外,在整个驯化过程中,水质和环境条件的变化使出水中磷质量浓度出现波动,而出水硝氮的变化不大。研究表明,以硝酸盐作为主要氮源培养反硝化除磷细菌的方式是可行的,并有利于聚磷菌对聚糖菌的竞争,使聚磷菌成为优势菌种。     

Unintentional non-traffic injury and fatal events: Threats to children in and around vehicles

Objective: There have been substantial reductions in motor vehicle crash–related child fatalities due to advances in legislation, public safety campaigns, and engineering. Less is known about non-traffic injuries and fatalities to children in and around motor vehicles. The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of various non-traffic incidents, injuries, and fatalities to children using a unique surveillance system and database.

Methods: Instances of non-traffic injuries and fatalities in the United States to children 0–14 years were tracked from January 1990 to December 2014 using a compilation of sources including media reports, individual accounts from families of affected children, medical examiner reports, police reports, child death review teams, coroner reports, medical professionals, legal professionals, and other various modes of publication.

Results: Over the 25-year period, there were at least 11,759 events resulting in 3,396 deaths. The median age of the affected child was 3.7 years. The incident types included 3,115 children unattended in hot vehicles resulting in 729 deaths, 2,251 backovers resulting in 1,232 deaths, 1,439 frontovers resulting in 692 deaths, 777 vehicles knocked into motion resulting in 227 deaths, 415 underage drivers resulting in 203 deaths, 172 power window incidents resulting in 61 deaths, 134 falls resulting in 54 deaths, 79 fires resulting in 41 deaths, and 3,377 other incidents resulting in 157 deaths.

Conclusions: Non-traffic injuries and fatalities present an important threat to the safety and lives of very young children. Future efforts should consider complementary surveillance mechanisms to systematically and comprehensively capture all non-traffic incidents. Continued education, engineering modifications, advocacy, and legislation can help continue to prevent these incidents and must be incorporated in overall child vehicle safety initiatives.     

非柔性连接石化储罐配管温差应力分析与对策

储罐配管在温差作用下产生热位移会导致管壁产生热应力，未采用柔性连接的配管由于热应力集中作用可能发生破漏。针对与石油化工储罐非柔性连接的配管的安全问题，应用ANSYS有限元分析软件模拟计算石化企业典型配管的热应力分布；根据不同类型配管的分析结果，提出了工程技术与管理方面的针对性安全措施。研究结果表明:温差效应对石化储罐配管热应力影响显著，随内外温差的增加，配管应力集中的区域增大，最大热应力值增大；补偿措施能够改善配管的柔性，降低配管应力；约束载荷限制配管热膨胀从而增大配管应力；三通管是多根配管接合的区域，这种复杂管道交汇处会形成明显应力集中。研究结果对于提高石油化工非柔性连接配管安全性有一定的指导意义。     

煤与瓦斯共采在错层位巷道布置中的机理研究及应用构想

为了完善现有煤与瓦斯共采技术，创新煤与瓦斯共采方法，对错层位巷道布置下的煤与瓦斯共采系统展开研究，利用相似模拟试验，分析错层位巷道布置覆岩运动情况，预测其开采围岩裂隙发育和瓦斯运移形式，提出了创新煤与瓦斯共采技术构想。研究结果表明:采空区覆岩三带高度随接续工作面的增加而增大，相邻采空区垮落矸石压实区呈现“O-L-O”形变化，多个相邻采空区覆岩出现大“O”形圈裂隙带；相邻采空区内瓦斯可实现相互运移，大“O”形圈裂隙带内赋存大量瓦斯气体；研究提出了地面钻井抽采瓦斯、走向高位瓦斯抽采巷和外错尾巷穿层钻孔3种煤与瓦斯共采技术，比传统巷道布置情况下的煤与瓦斯共采技术在安全、经济等方面更具优势。     

Is using nanosilver mattresses/pillows safe? A review of potential health implications of silver nanoparticles on human health

Human exposure to engineered nanoparticles has become inevitable in today’s extensive commercial use and large-scale production of engineered nanoparticles. Even though several studies have characterised the exposure to nanomaterials during wakeful state (related to occupational exposures and exposures from commercially available particles), very few studies on human exposure during sleep exist. As the study of exposure to all possible nanomaterials during sleep is extensive, this study focuses on exposure to specifically silver nanoparticles which are present in beddings and mattresses. The reasoning behind the use of silver nanoparticles in bedding and related materials, possible routes of entry to various population groups in several sleep positions, exposure characterisation and toxicity potential of such silver nanoparticles are reviewed in this study. The toxicity potential of silver nanoparticles in vivo tests with relation to mammals and in vitro tests on human cells has been tabulated to understand the risks associated during oral, dermal and inhalation exposure to silver nanoparticles. The exposure to humans with regard to dermal absorption and oral intake has been summarised. Although potential inhalation exposure to silver nanoparticles is increasing, only a few studies address the possible toxic effect of inhaled silver particles. Determination of exposure to silver nanoparticles in beddings is a topic that has been less researched, and this review aims to provide background information for future research and help establish a comprehensive risk assessment during sleep in the times of increasing usage of nanoparticles in our daily activities. Despite the current limitations of our understanding, risk assessments must utilise the available data and apply extrapolation procedures in the face of uncertainty, in order to address the needs of regulatory programs. This would enable safe use of the antimicrobial properties of silver nanoparticles without negatively impacting human health. Until then, it would be better to adopt a conservative approach on the usage of silver nanoparticles in daily used commercial items.

     

Climate readiness of recovery plans for threatened Australian species

The rapidly changing climate is posing growing threats for all species, but particularly for those already considered threatened. We reviewed 100 recovery plans for Australian terrestrial threatened species (50 fauna and 50 flora plans) written from 1997 to 2017. We recorded the number of plans that acknowledged climate change as a threat and of these how many proposed specific actions to ameliorate the threat. We classified these actions along a continuum from passive or incremental to active or interventionist. Overall, just under 60% of the sampled recovery plans listed climate change as a current or potential threat to the threatened taxa, and the likelihood of this acknowledgment increased over time. A far smaller proportion of the plans, however, identified specific actions associated with ameliorating climate risk (22%) and even fewer (9%) recommended any interventionist action in response to a climate-change-associated threat. Our results point to a disconnect between the knowledge generated on climate-change-related risk and potential adaptation strategies and the extent to which this knowledge has been incorporated into an important instrument of conservation action.     

Electrodisinfection of real swine wastewater for water reuse

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Swine production generates large volumes of wastewater, rich in organic matter, nutrients and pathogens. Electrodisinfection is used to remove organic matter and...     

Spatial and Seasonal Response of Municipal Water Use to Weather across the Contiguous U.S.

Weather variability has the potential to influence municipal water use, particularly in dry regions such as the western United States (U.S.). Outdoor water use can account for more than half of annual household water use and may be particularly responsive to weather, but little is known about how the expected magnitude of these responses varies across the U.S. This nationwide study identified the response of municipal water use to monthly weather (i.e., temperature, precipitation, evapotranspiration [ET]) using monthly water deliveries for 229 cities in the contiguous U.S. Using city‐specific multiple regression and region‐specific models with city fixed effects, we investigated what portion of the variability in municipal water use was explained by weather across cities, and also estimated responses to weather across seasons and climate regions. Our findings indicated municipal water use was generally well‐explained by weather, with median adjusted R² ranging from 63% to 95% across climate regions. Weather was more predictive of water use in dry climates compared to wet, and temperature had more explanatory power than precipitation or ET. In response to a 1°C increase in monthly maximum temperature, municipal water use was shown to increase by 3.2% and 3.9% in dry cities in winter and summer, respectively, with smaller changes in wet cities. Quantifying these responses allows urban water managers to plan for weather‐driven variability in water use.     

Mitigating Impact of Devils Lake Flooding on the Sheyenne River Sulfate Concentration

Devils Lake is a terminal lake located in northeast North Dakota. Because of its glacial origin and accumulated salts from evaporation, the lake has a high concentration of sulfate compared to the surrounding water bodies. From 1993 to 2011, Devils Lake water levels rose by ~10 m, which flooded surrounding communities and increased the chance of an overspill to the Sheyenne River. To control the flooding, the State of North Dakota constructed two outlets to pump the lake water to the river. However, the pumped water has raised concerns about of water quality degradation and potential flooding risk of the Sheyenne River. To investigate these perceived impacts, a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was developed for the Sheyenne River and it was linked to a coupled SWAT and CE‐QUAL‐W2 model that was developed for Devils Lake in a previous study. While the current outlet schedule has attempted to maintain the total river discharge within the confines of a two‐year flood (36 m³/s), our simulation from 2012 to 2018 revealed that the diversion increased the Sheyenne River sulfate concentration from an average of 125 to >750 mg/L. Furthermore, a conceptual optimization model was developed with a goal of better preserving the water quality of the Sheyenne River while effectively mitigating the flooding of Devils Lake. The optimal solution provides a “win–win” outlet management that maintains the efficiency of the outlets while reducing the Sheyenne River sulfate concentration to ≤600 mg/L.     

中国生态环境科技创新体系建设研究

分析国内外生态环境科技创新的发展现状，相比较国外以市场机制为导向、以企业为创新主体、政府通过政策和管辖支撑创新的体系特征，我国已形成四大类环境类科创载体，但尚未形成成熟有效的技术成果产业化机制以及市场与政策协同促进科技创新的发展模式。本文根据生态环境科技创新的强政策驱动性、技术验证放大周期长以及集成性强的特点，重点通过环境技术研发、技术成果转化、技术放大与赋能、产业拓展与推广四个方面阐述了生态环境科技创新体系建设的主要环节：环境技术的研发由以科研机构为主的传统自发性研发、企业迭代性研发和联合应用型研发组成；技术成果的转化经历挖掘发现、技术识别与判断、知识产权评估评价后进入已成立的企业或新设公司，在这一过程中，成果转化专业队伍起着至关重要的作用；技术放大与赋能旨在为有创新技术的企业提供科技创新政策、二次研发中试验证、首台套工程案例、投融资等资源的对接，以协助初创企业成长；产业的拓展与推广则通过为解决环境问题形成集成方案、孵化平台为企业背书和产业政策匹配等方式助力企业长期发展。最后从加强专业化创新平台、技术评估体系、成果转化人才培养体系建设以及疏通投融资渠道等方面对中国未来生态环境科技创新发展提出相关建议。