Three reasons to use annual payments in contingent valuation surveys: Convergent validity,discount rates,and mental accounting

We present three arguments for using ongoing annual payments in contingent valuation (CV) surveys that estimate the benefit of a long-lasting environmental improvement. First, by matching the duration of the payments with the duration of the environmental benefits, survey respondents are spared from performing complicated present value calculations. Second, willingness to pay (WTP) estimates from CV surveys that include ongoing annual payments best match WTP estimates obtained using travel cost surveys. Third, respondents are less likely to face binding mental budget constraints with ongoing annual payments than with a larger one-time payment. In addition, respondents’ discount rates may be estimated by collecting non-hypothetical, individual time preference data as part of the valuation survey.     

The impact of Local Authorities’ interventions on household waste collection: A case study approach using time series modelling

At a local Government level there have been many interventions and changes made to household waste collection services to meet new regulatory requirements. These changes include separate collection of recyclable and organic materials. This paper has used a time series model to quantify the success of interventions introduced by a LA.The case study was a medium sized UK LA, Charnwood Borough Council (CBC), the research analyses monthly data of quantities of recyclates, garden waste for composting and residual waste for landfill disposal. The time series model was validated with a five year data set and used to measure the impacts of the various changes to identify which intervention was the most successful, while controlling for season and number of working days. The results show the interventions analysed both had abrupt and permanent positive impacts on the yield of recyclable materials, and a corresponding negative impact on the residual waste.The model could be added to the National data base to help LAs to compare interventions and to understand which schemes encourage householder participation and improve recycling performance.     

革新的UNITANK法处理城市污水的特性

对UNITANK法的传统运行模式做了改进。在此基础上，考察了水力停留时问、溶解氧浓度和泥龄等重要因素对处理效果的影响。结果表明，将系统控制在适宜的条件下，出水COD和NH3-N均可达到污水综合排放一级标准。提出了后续研究中改善除磷效果的措施。     

大孔径冲孔翻边一次成型的设计

此文主要根据冲压件“前顶梁”冲孔翻边一次成型模设计的实践经验,提出大孔径冲孔翻边一次成型的工艺分析和计算及典型结构的设计,突破了冲孔与翻边同时进行只能在Φ8以下圆孔翻边的局限,并成功地一次试模合格,为类似的圆孔翻边在Φ8以上提供了宝贵的经验。     

洗柱废液的分析与再利用

本文通过对医药ＰＧ０５生产过程中产生的洗柱废液进行气相色谱分析，建立了洗柱废液二氯甲烷、甲醇的色谱分析条件，并且进行定性、定量的分析，从而达到重新利用的目的．该方法已在东北制药总厂三分厂应用．     

微生物絮凝剂产生菌的筛选及产絮凝剂的周期研究

用常规的分离、纯化方法 ,从活性污泥中共分离出 32株菌株。将单菌株分别培养于“JM- 1”、“DF-1”、“PT- 1”液体培养基中 ,摇床培养一定时间后 ,以高岭土悬浊液筛选具有絮凝活性的菌种 ,由此获得 8株微生物絮凝剂产生菌 ,其中有 1株絮凝活性较高 ,初步鉴定为酵母菌 ,代号为“Dfjm- 1”,产生的絮凝剂命名为“Dtjm-1”。本文研究了“Dfjm- 1”在不同培养时间的生长情况、培养液中 p H值变化情况及絮凝活性变化情况 ,得出絮凝活性与菌生长量呈正相关关系 ,絮凝剂“Dtjm - 1”在菌生长稳定后期达到稳定活性的最高值     

Influence of indoor transport and mixing time scales on the performance of sensor systems for characterizing contaminant releases

Optimizing real-time sensor systems to detect and identify relevant characteristics of an indoor contaminant event is a challenging task. The interpretation of incoming sensor data is confounded by uncertainties in building operation, in the forces driving contaminant transport, and in the physical parameters governing transport. In addition, simulation tools used by the sensor interpretation algorithm introduce modeling uncertainties. This paper explores how the time scales inherent in contaminant transport influence the information that can be extracted from real-time sensor data. In particular, we identify three time scales (within room mixing, room-to-room transport, and removal from the building) and study how they affect the ability of a Bayesian Monte Carlo (BMC) sensor interpretation algorithm to identify the release location and release mass from a set of experimental data, recorded in a multi-floor building. The research shows that some limitations in the BMC approach do not depend on details of the models or the algorithmic implementation, but rather on the physics of contaminant transport. These inherent constraints have implications for the design of sensor systems.     

Model selection in demographic time series using VC-bounds

The problem of distinguishing density-independent (DI) from density-dependent (DD) demographic time series is important for understanding the mechanisms that regulate populations of animals and plants. We address this problem in a novel way by means of Statistical Learning Theory (SLT); SLT is built around the idea of VC-dimension, a complexity index for classes of parameterized functions. Though VC-dimensions of nonlinear models are generally unknown, in the linear case VC-dimension actually corresponds to the number of free parameters; this allows one to straightforwardly apply the model selection framework developed within SLT, and called Structural Risk Minimization (SRM). We generate noisy artificial time series, both DI and DD, and use SRM to recognize the model underlying the data, choosing among a suite of both density-dependent and independent demographies. We show that SRM significantly outperforms traditional model selection approaches, such as the Schwartz Information Criterion and Final Prediction Error in recognizing both density-dependence and independence.     

<Emphasis Type="Bold">Chronodisruption and cancer</Emphasis>

Research into health effects of chronodisruption (CD), a relevant disturbance of the circadian organization of physiology, endocrinology, metabolism and behaviour, is evolving at a rapid pace. With regard to malignancies, our synthesis of key experiments indicates that CD can play a causal role for cancer growth and tumor progression in animals. Moreover, our meta-analyses of 30 epidemiological studies evince that flight personnel and shift workers exposed to chronodisruption may have increased breast and prostate cancer risks: summary relative risks (RRs) for investigations of flight personnel and of shift workers suggested a 70 and 40% increase in the risk of breast cancer, respectively, and excess relative risks of prostate cancer in nine studies in flight personnel (40%) and in two studies in male shift workers. There was a remarkable indication of homogeneity of results from the individual studies that contribute to the average statistics. However, in view of doubts about whether the differing assessments of CD can really be regarded as valid reflections of the same causative phenomenon and the lack of control of covariates in the majority of studies, it is premature to conclude that the risk observations reflect a real, rather than spurious, association with CD. The challenge for future epidemiological investigations of the biologically plausible links between chronodisruption and human cancers is to conduct studies which appreciate details of transmeridian travelling, of shift work and of covariates for the development of the diseases.     

Recent Changes of Sediment Yield in the Upper Yangtze, China

/ Reservoir sedimentation is one of the many environmental problems associated with the Three Gorges Project in China. The rate and characteristics of sedimentation that directly affect the operating life of the reservoir are closely related to soil erosion and sediment transport dynamics in the upstream catchment and to the ability to manage the throughput of sediment-laden waters. The recent changes in sediment yield were examined using gauging data from 187 stations of varying sizes from less than 100 km2 to larger than 1,000,000 km2 in the Upper Yangtze basin between 1956 and 1987. Whereas many previous studies have concentrated on the trends in the main channel of the Yangtze, the distributed pattern of changes across the whole catchment is complex. Results from time series analysis indicate ten stations, mainly located in the Dadu and Wu tributaries (with a total incremental catchment area of 78,963 km2) have shown increasing trajectories of sediment yield, and six stations, located in the upper Jialing and Tuo tributaries (with a total incremental area of 27,816 km2) have experienced decreasing trajectories. By dividing the time series into three components, it is possible to map significant decadal changes in sediment yields that can be related to phases of deforestation and the construction of water conservancy projects. Most of the observed decreases in sediment yield are associated with large reservoir schemes on tributary rivers. The lack of evidence for increasing sediment input to the Three Gorges area masks a considerable variation in sediment conveyance and storage within the Upper Yangtze catchment.KEY WORDS: Sediment yield; Reservoir sedimentation; Three Gorges Project; Time series analysis; China