Willingness to pay for clean air in China

We use a residential sorting model incorporating migration disutility to recover the implicit value of clean air in China. The model is estimated using China Population Census Data along with PM2.5 satellite data. Our study provides new evidence on the willingness to pay for air quality improvements in developing countries and is the first application of an equilibrium sorting model to the valuation of non-market amenities in China. We employ two instrumental variables based on coal-fired electricity generation and wind direction to address the endogeneity of local air pollution. Results suggest important differences between the residential sorting model and a conventional hedonic model, highlighting the role of moving costs and the discreteness of the choice set. Our sorting results indicate that the economic value of air quality improvement associated with a one-unit decline in PM2.5 concentration is up to $8.83 billion for all Chinese households in 2005.     

Energy performance certification and time on the market

This paper analyzes whether energy performance certificates (EPCs) serve as means to reduce the information asymmetry among market participants during the sale of homes. Using a sample of 876,000 single-family homes in the Netherlands, we examine the impact of EPC adoption on the speed of sale. Our results indicate that energy-rated homes sell faster than non-energy-rated homes, an effect that varies by 7–12 percent depending on model specifications and increases when positive (green) ratings are granted. The information conveyed by these certificates reduces the information asymmetry between buyers and sellers, which helps to reduce the uncertainty of quality.     

Spatial aggregation and the value of natural capital

Location matters for the value of capital assets. The value of changes in natural capital wealth can depend on whether natural capital asset prices are measured locally and then aggregated or whether average values are applied over aggregate representative areas. Spatial heterogeneity of resource characteristics and institutions impact approximations of the intertemporal welfare function and accounting price function because when spatial aggregation precedes valuation it implies greater arbitrage opportunities leading to more inelastic shadow (accounting) price functions than when valuation is done locally and then aggregated. Aggregation of observed values across varying resource and institutional characteristics can lead to omitted variables bias. We illustrate these results in the context of groundwater in the Kansas High Plains Aquifer and demonstrate that the accounting price function is less elastic when the accounting price is measured locally. Failure to measure locally and then aggregate could lead to undervaluing scarce resources and overvaluing plentiful ones, which biases wealth accounts in favor of passing the non-declining wealth sustainability test.     

DEHP和MEHP对H295R细胞类固醇激素合成基因表达的影响

为探讨邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基己基)酯(di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate,DEHP)及其代谢产物邻苯二甲酸单-2-乙基己酯(mono-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate,MEHP)对H295R细胞类固醇激素合成关键基因表达的影响,本实验将H295R细胞分别暴露于DEHP(0、1、10、100、1 000μmol·L-1)和MEHP(0、1、10、100、1 000μmol·L-1)24 h,用MTT法检测细胞活性,并应用荧光定量PCR法分析细胞类固醇激素合成过程中关键酶的基因表达水平。结果显示,1 000μmol·L-1DEHP和MEHP对H295R细胞染毒24 h显著降低H295R细胞活力,所以本研究采用了较低的染毒浓度(0、1、10和100μmol·L-1)对H295R细胞染毒24 h来评估DEHP和MEHP对H295R细胞类固醇激素合成通路的影响。1、10和100μmol·L-1DEHP显著增加醛固酮合成酶CYP11B2的基因表达水平。10μmol·L-1DEHP显著上调了3-β羟基类固醇脱氢酶(3β-HSD2)的基因表达水平。1、10和100μmol·L-1MEHP显著下调了3-β羟基类固醇脱氢酶(3β-HSD1和3β-HSD2)、17β羟基类固醇脱氢酶17β-HSD4、17α羟化酶/17,20裂解酶CYP17和芳香酶CYP19a的基因表达水平。10和100μmol·L-1MEHP染毒H295R 24 h显著下调了CYP21和STAR的基因表达水平,然而,10和100μmol·L-1MEHP显著上调了CYP11B2的基因表达水平。100μmol·L-1MEHP显著下调了17β-HSD1的基因表达水平。上述研究结果表明,DEHP、MEHP都可不同程度影响H295R细胞类固醇激素合成过程中关键基因的表达。MEHP可以通过抑制STAR基因的表达,从而将影响胆固醇在细胞内的转运;并能显著性抑制类固醇激素合成过程中CYP17、CYP19a、3β-HSD1、3β-HSD2、17β-HSD1、17β-HSD4、CYP21基因的表达,最终将抑制H295R细胞中类固醇激素的合成。与DEHP相比,MEHP对H295R细胞类固醇激素合成关键基因表达的影响较明显。     

红球菌-R04生物降解多卤代联苯的影响因素研究

研究了不同取代元素以及取代元素的数量、位置等因素对 Rhodococcus sp. R04降解多卤代联苯的影响.结果表明,联苯苯环第4位上的氢分别被氟、氯、溴以及甲基基团取代后降解率由高到低依次为4-FB>4-CB34-MB>4-BrB;当取代元素相同时,随着取代原子数目的增加,多卤代联苯降解率降低;当取代元素及取代原子数目相同时,不同位置的取代对卤代联苯的降解影响较大,特别是2,6位取代会强烈抑制关键酶对卤代联苯的催化降解,导致降解率降低.     

A new index for measuring perpendicularity of animal movements in relation to patch boundaries

We introduce a new index for measuring perpendicularity of animal movements with respect to a boundary (e.g., a habitat patch edge), and provide a computer algorithm for its calculation. Our index, η, improves on an approach that measures perpendicularity with respect to a fixed boundary direction. This is because η accounts for moment-to-moment trajectories relative to nearest-neighbor boundary attributes at the scale of an animal's movement. Our algorithm prp calculates η efficiently and accurately with both synthetic data and large telemetry datasets. In addition, we have included routines in prp which account for scenarios inherently problematic to perpendicularity estimators.     

零价铁还原降解活性染料

在分别通氮气,不通氮气和曝气的情况下,在水溶液中用零价铁还原降解活性染料。实验发现：在不同的氛围中,活性染料的降解程度不同,其降解程度为：暴气〉不通氮气〉通氮气。在不同通氮 和曝气的条件下,活性染料的降解过程中有黄色絮状沉淀生成,经红外光谱鉴定为三聚氯氰的取代产物。     

砼芯水泥土复合桩在基坑支护工程中的应用与研究

砼芯水泥土复合桩是一种新型的基坑支护方法,即在水泥土搅拌桩中插入钢筋混凝土预制小方桩,形成一种新的复合桩体,兼有受力和止水的双重作用,并采用两排中间用圈梁相连的门型结构提高了支护结构的受力特性。该支护方案在南京某深基坑工程中得到了成功应用。本文分析了该新方法的结构特点、简要介绍了其设计计算方法,并结合有限元数值模拟和实际的监测数据与排桩方案进行分析比较。研究结果表明,该新型基坑支护形式取得了良好的支护和经济效果,具有重要的应用前景。     

Simulation and Trend Analysis of the Water Quality Monitoring Daily Data in Nestos River Delta. Contribution to the Sustainable Management and Results for the Years 2000–2002

The transboundary River Nestos in the Balkan Peninsula is a surface water resource shared by Hellas and Bulgaria. The Public Power Corporation of Hellas (DEH) proceeded to the dams' construction of Thesaurus in 1997 and Platanovrissi in 2000, to satisfy the increased needs for power production and irrigation in the Regions of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in the Hellenic Territory. DEH following the Ministerial Agreement of the Hellenic Parliament ‘`KYA 18492/19—09—1996’' funded a series of Research Projects concerned on the monitoring of the water quantity and quality data of Nestos from the Hellenic-Bulgarian borders to its estuaries in the Thracian sea. ‘`PERSEAS’' Research Group from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, carried out the research, design, construction, installation, operation and maintenance of the ‘`R.E.MO.S.’' (Remote Environmental MOnitoring System) networks. Three REMOS networks have been installed in the areas of (a) the River Nestos deltaic channel, (b) Thesaurus dam-lake in the intramountainous valley and (c) Potamoi (Despat) and Pagoneri (Nestos) villages close to the borders between Hellas and Bulgaria. They record water level (H), water and air temperature (T), water conductivity (ECw), Redox potential (RP) and dissolved oxygen (DO) on a 24h basis, since the beginning of the year 2000. The research carried out in this paper, is focused on the REMOS station in the final course of Nestos in the deltaic area. The continuous monitoring and the data analysis yield useful results for the quality and quantity of the hydrologic regime of Nestos after the dams' construction, as well as for the trends detected of the quality parameters (ECw, RP and DO) and the water level, using the nonparametric Spearman's criterion. The best fitted model of time trend, for each variable, was chosen. The statistical sample of each one of the quality variables consisted of about 1000 values based on daily measures on a three years monitoring program (1/1/2000—31/12/2002). Further research and analysis for the other network stations of REMOS should provide useful results for the sustainable management of the transboundary River Nestos.