Effects of connectivity and spatial resolution of analyses on conservation prioritization across large extents

The outcome of analyses that prioritize locations for conservation on the basis of distributions of species, land cover, or other elements is influenced by the spatial resolution of data used in the analyses. We explored the influence of data resolution on prioritization of Finnish forests with Zonation, a software program that ranks the priority of cells in a landscape for conservation. We used data on the distribution of different forest types that were aggregated to nine different resolutions ranging from 0.1 × 0.1 km to 25.6 × 25.6 km. We analyzed data at each resolution with two variants of Zonation that had different criteria for prioritization, with and without accounting for connectivity and with and without adjustment for the effect on the analysis of edges between areas at the project boundary and adjacent areas for which data do not exist. Spatial overlap of the 10% of cells ranked most highly when data were analyzed at different resolutions varied approximately from 15% to 60% and was greatest among analyses with similar resolutions. Inclusion of connectivity or edge adjustment changed the location of areas that were prioritized for conservation. Even though different locations received high priority for conservation in analyses with and without accounting for connectivity, accounting for connectivity did not reduce the representation of different forest types. Inclusion of connectivity influenced most the outcome of fine-resolution analyses because the connectivity extents that we based on dispersal distances of typical forest species were small. When we kept the area set aside for conservation constant, representation of the forest types increased as resolution increased. We do not think it is necessary to avoid use of high-resolution data in spatial conservation prioritization. Our results show that large extent, fine-resolution analyses are computationally feasible, and we suggest they can give more flexibility to implementation of well-connected reserve networks.     

Effects of temperature on UV-B-induced DNA damage and photorepair in Arabidopsis thaliana

DNA damage in the form of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers(CPDs) and (6-4) photopreducts(6-4PPs) induced by UV-B radiation in Arabidopsis thaliana at different temperatures was investigated using ELISA with specific monoclonal antibodies. CPDs and 6-4PPs increased during 3 h UV-B exposure, but further exposure led to decreases. Contrary to the commonly accepted view that DNA damage induced by UV-B radiation is temperature-independent because of its photochemical nature, we found UV-B-induction of CPDs and 6-4PPs in Arabidopsis to be slower at a low than at a high temperature. Photorepair of CPDs at 24℃ was much faster than that at 0℃ and 12℃,with 50% CPDs removal during 1 h exposure to white light. Photorepair of 6-4PPs at 12℃ was very slow as compared with that at 24℃,and almost no removal of 6-4PPs was detected after 4 h exposure to white light at 0℃. There was evidence to suggest that temperaturedependent DNA damage and photorepair could have important ecological implications.     

Enhancement of the CO2 adsorption and hydrogenation to CH4 capacity of Ru–Na–Ca/γ–Al2O3 dual function material by controlling the Ru calcination atmosphere

Integrated CO₂capture and utilization (ICCU) technology requires dual functional materials(DFMs) to carry out the process in a single reaction system.The influence of the calcination atmosphere on efficiency of 4%Ru-8%Na₂CO₃-8%CaO/γ-Al₂O₃DFM is studied.The adsorbent precursors are first co-impregnated onto alumina and calcined in air.Then,Ru precursor is impregnated and four aliquotes are subjected to different calcination protocols:static a...     

Biomass gasification,catalytic technologies and energy integration for production of circular methanol:New horizons for industry decarbonisation

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) recognises the pivotal role of renewable energies in the future energy system and the achievement of the zero-emission target. The implementation of renewables should provide major opportunities and enable a more secure and decentralised energy supply system. Renewable fuels provide long-term solutions for the transport sector, particularly for applications where fuels with high energy density are required. In addition, it helps reducing the ca...     

Characterization of the fate of lipids in activated sludge

Experiments were carried out to characterize the transformation of lipids in activated sludge under aerobic conditions. Results showed that the overall lipid content in the effluent could not be reduced to values below 300 mg/L from an initial content of 2, 000 mg/L. However, the contents of individual fatty acids underwent drastic decreases and increases during all microbial growth phases. These changes in contents of individual fatty acids showed that fatty acids were used as substrates by microorganisms as well as released into the wastewater as by-products. We have therefore suggested a novel model of transformation of lipids in activated sludge, showing that utilization of microbial activity for complete removal of lipids from wastewater is limited.     

磺化酚醛树脂干燥工艺节能改造实践

文章对某助剂厂磺化酚醛树脂干燥工艺节能改造经验进行总结。比较了同行业类似干燥设备的优缺点,并进行工艺分析和技术论证,通过设备选型,采用了直燃热风炉等节能设备。结果表明:SMP干粉产能提高了1倍,单位产品耗电量和用煤量占原有生产线平均值的60%和48%。     

Problems of railway noise-a case study

Under Directive 2002/49/EC relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise, all European countries are obliged to model their environmental noise levels in heavily populated areas. Some countries have their own national method, to predict noise but most have not created one yet. The recommendation for countries that do not have their own model is to use an interim method. The Dutch SRM II scheme is suggested for railways. In addition to the Dutch model, this paper describes and discusses 3 other national methods. Moreover, discrepancies between the HARMONOISE and IMAGINE projects are analysed. The results of rail traffic noise measurements are compared with national methods.     

重庆市男性PAHs和PAEs暴露与男性精液质量的相关性分析

多环芳烃(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,PAHs)和邻苯二甲酸酯(phthalate esters,PAEs)是三峡库区水中主要有机污染物。为探讨这2类化学物对三峡库区男性精液质量的影响,课题组于2007年在三峡库区6个区县进行了男性生殖健康的流行病学调查。调查中共收集到有效样本1 346例,对所有样本进行了精液常规检测,选取了冬季采样的232例标本进行了尿液中4种PAHs代谢产物和5种PAEs代谢产物含量的检测,并对这些样本的精子细胞凋亡(Annexin V/PI双标法)和精子脱氧核醣核酸(DNA)损伤(彗星电泳法)进行了检测。运用Spearman等级相关,多元线性回归和logisitic回归分析等方法分析了PAHs和PAEs代谢产物与精液常规指标、精子细胞凋亡、精子DNA损伤的相关关系。结果显示,1 346名三峡库区健康男性精液常规5项指标全部达到世界卫生组织(WHO)标准的比率仅为38.9%。PAHs代谢产物的含量与男性精液常规指标间未发现相关关系,但某些PAHs代谢产物水平与精子凋亡参数及精子DNA损伤指标有一定的关联性,随着尿中PAHs代谢产物浓度的增加,正常未发生凋亡的精子减少,精子DNA的损伤增加。未发现PAEs代谢产物与精液各项参数间的相关关系。本研究结果表明,在重庆市健康育龄男性中PAHs与PAEs的暴露与精液常规指标间没有明确的相关关系,但PAHs暴露与精子DNA损伤显著相关。为明确PAHs的暴露对精子DNA的损伤作用,有必要进行较大规模的队列研究以进行验证。     

Open and closed seascapes: where does habitat patchiness create populations with high fractions of self-recruitment?

Which populations are replenished primarily by immigrants (open) and which by local production (closed) remains an important question for management with implications for response to exploitation, protection, and disturbance. However, we lack methods for predicting population openness. Here, we develop a model for openness and show that considering habitat isolation explains the existence of surprisingly closed populations in high-dispersal species, including many marine organisms. Relatively closed populations are expected when patch spacing is more than twice the standard deviation of a species'. dispersal kernel. In addition, natural scales of habitat patchiness on coral reefs are sufficient to create both largely open and largely closed populations. Contrary to some previous interpretations, largely closed marine populations do not require mean dispersal distances that are unusually short, even for species with relatively long pelagic larval durations. We predict that habitat patchiness has strong control over population openness for many marine and terrestrial species with a highly dispersive life stage and relatively sedentary adults. This information can be used to make initial predictions about where populations will be more or less resilient to local exploitation and disturbance.     

A 200-year perspective on alternative stable state theory and lake management from a biomanipulated shallow lake

Multiple stressors to a shallow lake ecosystem have the ability to control the relative stability of alternative states (clear, macrophyte-dominated or turbid, algal-dominated). As a consequence, the use of remedial biomanipulations to induce trophic cascades and shift a turbid lake to a clear state is often only a temporary solution. Here we show the instability of short-term manipulations in the shallow Lake Christina (Minnesota, USA) is governed by the long-term state following a regime shift in the lake. During the modern, managed period of the lake, three top-down manipulations (fish kills) were undertaken inducing temporary (5-10 years) unstable clear-water states. Paleoecological remains of diatoms, along with proxies of primary production (total chlorophyll a and total organic carbon accumulation rate) and trophic state (total P) from sediment records clearly show a single regime shift in the lake during the early 1950s; following this shift, the functioning of the lake ecosystem is dominated by a persistent turbid state. We find that multiple stressors contributed to the regime shift. First, the lake began to eutrophy (from agricultural land use and/or increased waterfowl populations), leading to a dramatic increase in primary production. Soon after, the construction of a dam in 1936 effectively doubled the depth of the lake, compounded by increases in regional humidity; this resulted in an increase in planktivorous and benthivorous fish reducing phytoplankton grazers. These factors further conspired to increase the stability of a turbid regime during the modern managed period, such that switches to a clear-water state were inherently unstable and the lake consistently returned to a turbid state. We conclude that while top-down manipulations have had measurable impacts on the lake state, they have not been effective in providing a return to an ecosystem similar to the stable historical period. Our work offers an example of a well-studied ecosystem forced by multiple stressors into a new long-term managed period, where manipulated clear-water states are temporary, managed features.