Benefits of indoor plants on attention capacity in an office setting

This research studied possible benefits of indoor plants on attention capacity in a controlled laboratory experiment. Participants were 34 students randomly assigned to one of two conditions: an office setting with four indoor plants, both flowering and foliage, or the same setting without plants. Attention capacity was assessed three times, i.e. immediately after entering the laboratory, after performing a demanding cognitive task, and after a five-minute break. Attention capacity was measured using a reading span test, a dual processing task known to tap the central executive function of attention. Participants in the plant condition improved their performance from time one to two, whereas this was not the case in the no-plant condition. Neither group improved performance from time two to three. The results are discussed in the context of Attention Restoration Theory and alternative explanations.     

纳米CeO2催化氧化甲苯的形貌效应研究

采用水热法合成CeO2纳米棒、纳米颗粒和纳米立方体,利用XRD、BET-N2、TEM/HRTEM、Raman、O2-TPD和H2-TPR等表征手段进行表征,并利用连续流固定床反应法研究各催化剂对甲苯的催化氧化性能.结果表明,CeO2纳米棒因具有高比表面积和细颗粒尺寸,且表面主要暴露高活性的{100}/{110}晶面,拥有更多的氧空位和高活性氧物种,因此,催化活性最高,CeO2纳米颗粒次之,立方体最低.原位红外甲苯催化氧化机理分析进一步表明,CeO2纳米颗粒和纳米立方体上生成的羧酸盐物质难以进一步深度氧化,而纳米棒能在贫氧和低温条件下诱导甲苯的完全氧化和产物脱附,使甲苯得以快速降解.     

脉冲载荷形状对锥壳瞬态响应的影响

在进行锥壳结构瞬态响应试验之前，需要考虑各种因素对试验结果的影响，而所要施加的脉冲载荷形状是要考虑的重要因素之一，本文利用数值模拟方法研究了锥壳在侧向脉冲载荷作用下，脉冲形状对结构响应的影响，分析表明，在作用冲量相同，作用时间一致且远小于结构响应周期的条件下，脉冲形状对壳体的瞬态响应结果没有明显的影响。     

除草剂三氟羧草醚经口暴露对小鼠学习记忆能力的影响

目前,有关三氟羧草醚(Acifluorfen,AF)的神经毒性未见报道且亟待确定.为探讨AF经口暴露对小鼠学习记忆能力的影响及其可能机制,将30只雄性昆明小鼠随机分成生理盐水对照组、0.13、1.3、13和130 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1) AF染毒组共5组,灌胃染毒14 d,进行Morris水迷宫实验,观察脑海马病理切片,并检测脑组织中活性氧(ROS)、丙二醛(MDA)、还原型谷胱甘肽(GSH)、磷酸化cAMP反应元件结合蛋白(pCREB)和脑源性神经营养因子(BDNF)含量.结果显示,与对照组相比,AF染毒剂量分别为13和130 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)时,小鼠行为学上学习记忆能力下降;海马细胞排列松散;出现氧化损伤,其中,ROS含量显著升高(p0.05),GSH含量显著减少(p0.05);神经保护能力减弱,其中,pCREB和BDNF水平显著(p0.05)或极显著(p0.01)下降.结果表明,AF能够导致小鼠学习记忆能力下降,氧化应激和CREB-BDNF通路级联下调可能是AF造成神经毒性的机制之一.     

基于风洞实验的冷却塔空腔区范围影响因素研究

目的基于火电厂采用"烟塔合一"排烟方式时可能由于污染物下洗造成"空腔区"内地面高浓度等问题,分析空腔区范围,以科学设置环境防护距离。方法采用相似理论,将10个"烟塔合一"火电厂及地形按几何比缩小至风洞实验室内,通过测量冷却塔后方湍流度,并对比背景湍流度的方法,分析不同冷却塔形状以及不同下垫面条件下冷却塔空腔区的尺寸。结果空腔区的高度、宽度与冷却塔高宽比存在正相关性,山地地形更有利于湍涡耗散,而使空腔区范围较平坦地形更小,厂区内大型建筑物位置会对冷却塔空腔区的范围产生影响。试验分析得出,冷却塔空腔区范围基本在冷却塔高度的2倍以内,高宽比越大,则空腔区范围越小,地形越复杂,空腔区范围越小。结论火电厂采用"烟塔合一"排烟方式时,建议优先选择高宽比大的塔型,以降低排烟冷却塔对周围环境影响的可能性。     

Pd/silicalite-1: An highly active catalyst for the oxidative removal of toluene

Catalytic combustion is thought as an efficient and economic pathway to remove volatile organic compounds, and its critical issue is the development of high-performance catalytic materials. In this work, we used the in situ synthesis method to prepare the silicalite-1 (S-1)-supported Pd nanoparticles (NPs). It is found that the as-prepared catalysts displayed a hexagonal prism morphology and a surface area of 390−440 m²/g. The sample (0.28Pd/S-1-H) derived after reduction at 500°C in 10 vol% H₂ showed the best catalytic activity for toluene combustion (T_50% = 180°C and T_90% = 189°C at a space velocity of 40,000 mL/(g·hr), turnover frequency (TOF_Pd) at 160°C = 3.46 × 10⁻³ sec⁻¹, and specific reaction rate at 160°C = 63.8 µmol/(g_Pd·sec)), with the apparent activation energy (41 kJ/mol) obtained over the best-performing 0.28Pd/S-1-H sample being much lower than those (51−70 kJ/mol) obtained over the other samples (0.28Pd/S-1-A derived from calcination at 500°C in air, 0.26Pd/S-1-im derived from the impregnation route, and 0.27Pd/ZSM-5-H prepared after reduction at 500°C in 10 vol% H₂). Furthermore, the 0.28Pd/S-1-H sample possessed good thermal stability and its partial deactivation due to CO₂ or H₂O introduction was reversible, but SO₂ addition resulted in an irreversible deactivation. The possible pathways of toluene oxidation over 0.28Pd/S-1-H was toluene → p-methylbenzoquinone → maleic anhydride, benzoic acid, benzaldehyde → carbon dioxide and water. We conclude that the good dispersion of Pd NPs, high adsorption oxygen species concentration, large toluene adsorption capacity, strong acidity, and more Pd⁰ species were responsible for the good catalytic performance of 0.28Pd/S-1-H.     

神经网络法应用于酚类化合物对青海弧菌毒性的预测

青海弧菌对有毒酚类化合物具有强烈的敏感性,为建立酚类衍生物对青海弧菌毒性的定量结构-活性相关性(QSAR)模型,分析了16种酚类衍生物的分子结构与对青海弧菌毒性之间的相关关系,计算了酚类衍生物的分子连接性指数和分子形状指数,并优化筛选了分子连接性指数的1阶路径指数(~1χ)和分子形状指数的2阶特征指数(K_2)及1阶和2阶指数乘积值(K_4),用这3种指数与对青海弧菌的毒性进行多元回归分析,多元回归方程的决定系数R~2=0.971。为进一步提高预测精度,将这3种分子结构参数作为神经网络的输入变量,毒性值作为输出变量,采用3:2:1的网络结构,通过反向传播(BP)神经网络法获得满意的QSAR预测模型,总的相关系数r为0.996,计算得到的毒性预测值与实验值较为吻合,平均相对误差仅为1.98%,结果表明该模型具有良好的预测酚类衍生物毒性的能力,可以看出神经网络方法对酚类化合物发光菌毒性预测比多元线性回归方法的统计学意义更加明显。     

森林生态系统恢复力评价——以江西省莲花县为例

生态系统恢复力是森林资源可持续发展的中心目标之一。在明确生态系统恢复力定义和尺度的基础上,分析了森林生态系统恢复力的影响因素,从生境条件和生态存储两方面遴选出26个指标,建立了森林生态系统恢复力评价指标体系,并以江西省莲花县为案例区,采用组合赋权法确定了指标权重,通过空间叠加计算了莲花县森林生态系统恢复力。结果表明:森林生态系统恢复力主要受内部存储的影响,其权重达到0.554。莲花县森林生态系统恢复力在0.103到0.464之间,平均值为0.268,恢复力达到或超过平均水平的森林面积为37 907 hm²,占森林总面积的49.2%,整体处于较低水平;分级结果表明仅48.16%的森林达到高或较高恢复力水平;在空间分布上,莲花县森林生态系统恢复力为南高北低,南部和中部的森林大多处于高或较高恢复力水平,北部地区大部分森林处于中等、较低或低恢复力水平。此外,恢复力高的森林沿乡镇边界线分布的特点非常明显。该研究结果可为森林资源管理提供重要科学依据。     

挥发性有机物混合暴露对小鼠脑组织的氧化损伤及学习记忆能力的影响

为探讨挥发性有机物混合急性暴露对小鼠脑组织氧化损伤及学习记忆能力的影响,选用雄性昆明种小鼠50只,随机分为对照组和4个染毒组。1到4号染毒组中甲醛、苯、甲苯和二甲苯浓度依次为:(1.0+1.1+2.0+2.0)、(3.0+3.3+6.0+6.0)、(5.0+5.5+10.0+10.0)、(10.0+11.0+20.0+20.0)mg·m~(-3)。各染毒组混合气体组分的浓度分别是我国室内空气质量标准(GB/T18883—2002)的10、30、50和100倍。结果显示,在Morris水迷宫实验第4天,2、3和4号染毒组小鼠的逃避潜伏期分别为(68.9±10.3)、(72.2±4.0)和(71.5±5.1)s,比对照组(48.5±10.1)s显著延长(P<0.05或P<0.01),但小鼠的脑体比和抓力在染毒期间没有明显变化。同时,随着染毒剂量的增加,小鼠脑组织中GSH含量显著降低,ROS和MDA含量显著升高。研究表明,挥发性有机物混合暴露可导致小鼠学习记忆能力降低,而脑组织氧化损伤可能是引起神经毒性,导致学习记忆能力降低的原因之一。     

Modeling scale up of anthropogenic impacts from individual pollinator behavior to pollination systems

Understanding how anthropogenic disturbances affect plant–pollinator systems has important implications for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Previous laboratory studies show that pesticides and pathogens, which have been implicated in the rapid global decline of pollinators over recent years, can impair behavioral processes needed for pollinators to adaptively exploit floral resources and effectively transfer pollen among plants. However, the potential for these sublethal stressor effects on pollinator–plant interactions at the individual level to scale up into changes to the dynamics of wild plant and pollinator populations at the system level remains unclear. We developed an empirically parameterized agent-based model of a bumblebee pollination system called SimBee to test for effects of stressor-induced decreases in the memory capacity and information processing speed of individual foragers on bee abundance (scenario 1), plant diversity (scenario 2), and bee–plant system stability (scenario 3) over 20 virtual seasons. Modeling of a simple pollination network of a bumblebee and four co-flowering bee-pollinated plant species indicated that bee decline and plant species extinction events could occur when only 25% of the forager population showed cognitive impairment. Higher percentages of impairment caused 50% bee loss in just five virtual seasons and system-wide extinction events in less than 20 virtual seasons under some conditions. Plant species extinctions occurred regardless of bee population size, indicating that stressor-induced changes to pollinator behavior alone could drive species loss from plant communities. These findings indicate that sublethal stressor effects on pollinator behavioral mechanisms, although seemingly insignificant at the level of individuals, have the cumulative potential in principle to degrade plant–pollinator species interactions at the system level. Our work highlights the importance of an agent-based modeling approach for the identification and mitigation of anthropogenic impacts on plant–pollinator systems.