On Index System and Quantitative Assessment of Eco-cities： A Case Study on Urban Agglomeration of the Yangtze Delta

Urban agglomeration of the Yangtze Delta （UAYD）, one of the most developed regions of China, has witnessed an increasing prevalence in building ecological cities when the ecological cities are pursued by many modem cities, and great achievements have been made in this regard. It is inevitable, however, that certain problems exist during the construction of ecological city, which include but not limited to non-harmonious development of urban complex ecosystem, and the difficulty in quantifying eco-city construction or incomplete quantification in assessing the construction of present and future eco-city. Based on the analysis on social-economic conditions and regional conditions of the UAYD, this paper attempts to set up an index system of eco-cities combining with local characteristics, and to adopt the indices of eco-city, urban harmony, and eco-city colligate to evaluate the ecological level, urban harmonious development and eco-city construction of cities within the UAYD. Results indicate that among 15 cities in UAYD, Suzhou City ranks the highest in terms of eco-city construction, whereas Nantong ranks relatively lower; sustainable eco-city construction is possible only when cities are developed in every respect of harmony.     

城市环境风险程度排序的模糊分析方法

首先，强调了加强我国城市环境风险程度排序的重要性，然后将城市环境风险系统分解为大气污染环境风险等5个子系统。在建立包含14个城市环境风险因素评价集的基础上，运用模糊集贴近度理论分别构建了城市风险程度排序中“最优序城市”、“中序城市”、“最劣序城市”3个数学模型，这将有利于防范城市环境风险，提高我国城市环境风险管理科学化水平。     

Fecal source tracking by antibiotic resistance analysis on a watershed exhibiting low resistance

The ongoing development of microbial source tracking has made it possible to identify contamination sources with varying accuracy, depending on the method used. The purpose of this study was to test the efficiency of the antibiotic resistance analysis (ARA) method under low resistance by tracking the fecal sources at Turkey Creek, Oklahoma exhibiting this condition. The resistance patterns of 772 water-isolates, tested with nine antibiotics, were analyzed by discriminant analysis (DA) utilizing a five-source library containing 2250 isolates. The library passed various representativeness tests; however, two of the pulled-sample tests suggested insufficient sampling. The resubstitution test of the library individual sources showed significant isolate misclassification with an average rate of correct classification (ARCC) of 58%. These misclassifications were explained by low antibiotic resistance (Wilcoxon test P < 0.0001). Seasonal DA of stream E. coli isolates for the pooled sources human/livestock/deer indicated that in fall, the human source dominated (P < 0.0001) at a rate of 56%, and that human and livestock respective contributions in winter (35 and 39%), spring (43 and 40%), and summer (37 and 35%) were similar. Deer scored lower (17–28%) than human and livestock at every season. The DA was revised using results from a misclassification analysis to provide a perspective of the effect caused by low antibiotic resistance and a more realistic determination of the fecal source rates at Turkey Creek. The revision increased livestock rates by 13–14% (0.04 ≤ P ≤ 0.06), and decreased human and deer by 6–7%. Negative misclassification into livestock was significant (0.04 ≤ P ≤ 0.06). Low antibiotic resistance showed the greatest effect in this category.     

Biomonitoring of heavy metals by pollen in urban environment

Abstract Industrial development and consumption of petroleum products leads to increase air pollution levels especially in urban and industrial areas. Heavy metal components associated with air pollutants have far reaching effects with respect to economic and ecological importance of pollens. The pollens are male reproductive organs of the plant and travel through air from flower to flower for pollination purpose. During this period they are exposed to air pollutants. Present investigation thus pertains to study of effect of air pollutants on pollens especially biosorption and bioaccumulation of heavy metals. The pollens of three commonly occurring plants namely Cassia siamea, Cyperus rotundus, Kigelia pinnata have been studied from the NH-6 of Nagpur city, India. The pollens exposed to polluted air showed the presence of higher concentrations of Ca, Al and Fe as compared to unexposed pollens. Higher concentration of these metals was observed in Cyperus rotundus followed by Cassia siamea and Kigelia pinnata. These results indicate that pollens act as good indicator of air pollution giving results in short time of exposure of 5–10 h. Apart from this, it is also reported that some of these metals play crucial role in the metabolic activity in pollens for example Calcium is necessary for growth of pollen tube and other metabolic activities in pollens. The presence of these metals in pollens may also enhance the allergenicity of the pollens. Similarly accumulation of heavy metals may also deteriorate the quality of pollen for their economical use. The viability of pollen is also affected by these pollutants in sensitive species leading to impairment of their fertility.     

Modified Fenton reaction for trichlorophenol dechlorination by enzymatically generated H2O2 and gluconic acid chelate

Glucose oxidase is a well-known enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of β-d-glucose to produce gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. Fenton reaction is a powerful oxidation technology used for the oxidation of groundwater pollutants. For the application of Fenton reaction in groundwater remediation, successful operation of Fenton reaction near neutral pH, and on-site generation of both H₂O₂ and chelate will be beneficial. The focus of this experimental study was to couple the glucose oxidation reaction with chelate-based Fenton reaction. The idea was to use the hydrogen peroxide and chelate gluconic acid generated during glucose oxidation for the dechlorination of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) by Fenton reaction. The oxidation of glucose was achieved using the enzyme in free and immobilized forms. The rate of production of hydrogen peroxide was determined for each system, and was used to estimate the time required for complete consumption of glucose during the process, thus avoiding any traces of glucose in the Fenton reaction. In the case of free enzyme reaction, separation of the enzyme was achieved using an ultrafiltration membrane before initiating the Fenton reaction. The oxidation of TCP by Fenton reaction was performed at varying ratios of gluconic acid/Fe, and its effect on the decomposition of TCP and H₂O₂ was studied. TCP degradation was studied both in terms of parent compound degradation and free chloride generation.     

草原旅游发展中旅游管理部门环境意识的调查研究

根据环境意识结构．设计了旅游管理部门环境意识调查问卷。其主要的指标体系包括：旅游环境知识水平、旅游环境态度、旅游环境评价和旅游环境行为四个方面。对指标体系各部分之间以及每一指标部分的每一题目之间的相对重要性进行权重的确定．而且对各部分的每道题目的各个选项予以赋分。基于权重和赋分．结合调查问卷的实际情况，设计了指标体系各部分评价模型和环境意识总体评价模型。以此来计算草原旅游发展中旅游管理部门环境意识水平的综合得分。经过分析得知，旅游管理部门环境意识模式是“环境知识制约型”模式。     

典型污染源中多环麝香的污染特征

合成麝香是一类近十多年才引起人们关注的有机污染物.合成麝香广泛分布于环境中.难降解,易生物富集,对水生生物和人体均呈现一定的生物毒性.文章对某一化妆品厂生产车闯内、外及工厂外的上、下风向大气中多环麝香进行了定性定量分析,结果表明,除ATⅡ之外,大气中检测出了五种多环麝香,其中作为对照点的上风向多环麝香总浓度为5.43ng/m3,而工厂室内、外及下风向的多环麝香浓度范围为17.25～5543.4ng/m3;气固分配实验研究发现,超过68.43%的多环麝香分布于气相中.     

Application of GIS in the study of mass transport of pollutants by Adyar and Cooum Rivers in Chennai, Tamilnadu

Residential, industrial, commercial, institutional and recreational activities discharge degradable and non-degradable wastes that reach the coastal water through rivers and cause coastal pollution. In the present study, mass transport of pollutants by Adyar and Cooum Rivers to the coastal water as a result of land-based discharges was estimated during low tide. The lowest and the highest flow recorded in Adyar varied from 514.59 to 2,585.08×10⁶ litres/day. Similarly, the flow in Cooum River fluctuated between 266.45 and 709.34×10⁶ litres/day. The present study revealed that the Adyar River transported 53.89–454.11 t/d of suspended solids, 0.06–19.64 t/d of ammonia, 15.95–123.24 t/d of nitrate and 0.4–17.86 t/d of phosphate, 0.004–0.09 kg/d of cadmium, 0.15–1.29 kg/d of lead and 3.03–17.58 kg/d of zinc to the coastal water owing to its high discharge. Similarly, the Cooum River transported 11.87–120.06 t/d of suspended solids, 0.08–58.7 t/d of ammonia, 6.11–29.25 t/d of nitrate and 0.66–10.73 t/d of phosphate, 0.003–0.021 kg/d of cadmium, 0.02–0.44 kg/d of lead and 1.36–3.87 kg/d of zinc. A higher concentration of suspended solids was noticed in post monsoon and summer months. An increase in the mass transport of ammonia, nitrate, phosphate in summer months (April and May) and an increase in the mass transport of cadmium, lead and zinc were observed in monsoon months (October–December) in both the rivers. Thus mass transport of pollutants study reveal that Cooum and Adyar Rivers in Chennai contribute to coastal pollution by transporting inorganic and trace metals significantly through land drainage.     

Determinants of Farmers’ Adoption of Improved Soil Conservation Technology in a Middle Mountain Watershed of Central Nepal

This study explores different socio-economic and institutional factors influencing the adoption of improved soil conservation technology (ISCT) on Bari land (Rainfed outward sloping terraces) in the Middle Mountain region of Central Nepal. Structured questionnaire survey and focus group discussion methods were applied to collect the necessary information from farm households. The logistic regression model predicted seven factors influencing the adoption of improved soil conservation technology in the study area including years of schooling of the household head, caste of the respondent, land holding size of the Bari land, cash crop vegetable farming, family member occupation in off farm sector, membership of the Conservation and Development Groups, and use of credit. The study showed that technology dissemination through multi-sectoral type community based local groups is a good option to enhance the adoption of improved soil conservation technology in the Middle Mountain farming systems in Nepal. Planners and policy makers should formulate appropriate policies and programs considering the farmers' interest, capacity, and limitation in promoting improved soil conservation technology for greater acceptance and adoption by the farmers.