Understanding implications of consumer behavior for wildlife farming and sustainable wildlife trade

Unsustainable wildlife trade affects biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities dependent upon those resources. Wildlife farming has been proposed to promote sustainable trade, but characterizing markets and understanding consumer behavior remain neglected but essential steps in the design and evaluation of such operations. We used sea turtle trade in the Cayman Islands, where turtles have been farm raised for human consumption for almost 50 years, as a case study to explore consumer preferences toward wild‐sourced (illegal) and farmed (legal) products and potential conservation implications. Combining methods innovatively (including indirect questioning and choice experiments), we conducted a nationwide trade assessment through in‐person interviews from September to December 2014. Households were randomly selected using disproportionate stratified sampling, and responses were weighted based on district population size. We approached 597 individuals, of which 37 (6.2%) refused to participate. Although 30% of households had consumed turtle in the previous 12 months, the purchase and consumption of wild products was rare (e.g., 64–742 resident households consumed wild turtle meat [i.e., 0.3–3.5% of households] but represented a large threat to wild turtles in the area due to their reduced populations). Differences among groups of consumers were marked, as identified through choice experiments, and price and source of product played important roles in their decisions. Despite the long‐term practice of farming turtles, 13.5% of consumers showed a strong preference for wild products, which demonstrates the limitations of wildlife farming as a single tool for sustainable wildlife trade. By using a combination of indirect questioning, choice experiments, and sales data to investigate demand for wildlife products, we obtained insights about consumer behavior that can be used to develop conservation‐demand‐focused initiatives. Lack of data from long‐term social–ecological assessments hinders the evaluation of and learning from wildlife farming. This information is key to understanding under which conditions different interventions (e.g., bans, wildlife farming, social marketing) are likely to succeed.     

Quantifying progress toward a conservation assessment for all plants

The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) set an ambitious target to achieve a conservation assessment for all known plant species by 2020. We consolidated digitally available plant conservation assessments and reconciled their scientific names and assessment status to predefined standards to provide a quantitative measure of progress toward this target. The 241,919 plant conservation assessments generated represent 111,824 accepted land plant species (vascular plants and bryophytes, not algae). At least 73,081 and up to 90,321 species have been assessed at the global scale, representing 21–26% of known plant species. Of these plant species, at least 27,148 and up to 32,542 are threatened. Eighty plant families, including some of the largest, such as Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, and Rubiaceae, are underassessed and should be the focus of assessment effort if the GSPC target is to be met by 2020. Our data set is accessible online (ThreatSearch) and is a baseline that can be used to directly support other GSPC targets and plant conservation action. Although around one‐quarter of a million plant assessments have been compiled, the majority of plants are still unassessed. The challenge now is to build on this progress and redouble efforts to document conservation status of unassessed plants to better inform conservation decisions and conserve the most threatened species.     

受限空间内惰性气体对CH4爆炸抑制特性研究

N2和CO2是常用的惰性抑爆气体,为研究两种气体的抑爆特性,采用20L球形爆炸试验装置,分析了不同浓度配比条件下N2/CH4/空气以及CO2/CH4/空气混合气体的爆炸压力,同时采集爆炸后的气体样品,对比分析爆炸后残留气体的主要成分。结果显示:随CH4浓度从5%增加至12.5%时,完全抑制CH4爆炸需要的惰性气体最小量先增大后降低,CH4浓度在6.5%~7.5%之间时,抑爆需要的惰性气体的量最大;在同一CH4浓度条件下,抑爆需要N2的量大于CO2,并且CH4浓度在5%~6.5%时,抑爆需要两种惰性气体的量值差别最大;当CH4浓度一定时,随着加入惰性气体量的增大,爆炸最大超压逐渐降低,惰性气体浓度和爆炸超压之间基本呈线性关系;在同样条件下,相对于N2,CO2为抑爆气体时,爆炸后腔体内残留的CH4浓度较高。研究成果为惰性气体抑爆技术提供技术支撑,同时为揭示惰性气体抑爆机理有一定作用。     

层状氧化物NaCo_2O_4热催化H_2O_2降解亚甲基蓝

采用固相烧结法制备了NaCo_2O_4催化剂,构建了NaCo_2O_4-H_2O_2热催化体系降解亚甲基蓝(MB)。XRD和SEM表征结果显示,合成的NaCo_2O_4催化剂具有良好的稳定性。NaCo_2O_4对H_2O_2具有良好的热催化性能,反应温度越高,反应速率常数k越大,该催化反应符合一级动力学方程。NaCo_2O_4-H_2O_2体系对MB具有较好的降解效果,在反应温度为50℃、NaCo_2O_4加入量为50 mg、MB溶液加入量为100 mL、MB初始质量浓度为30 mg/L、H_2O_2加入量为1.00 mL的最优条件下,反应340 min时,MB降解率达87.00%;催化剂重复使用三次,MB降解率仍可达85%以上;经捕获剂效果对比实验发现,催化反应体系中存在h~+、·OH等催化活性物种。     

Conservation mycology in Australia and the potential role of citizen science

Fungi are undoubtedly important for ecosystem functioning; however, they have been omitted or given scant attention in most biodiversity policy documents, management plans, and formal conservation schedules throughout the world. This oversight may be due to a general lack of awareness in the scientific community and compounded by a scarcity of mycology‐associated curricula at the tertiary level and a lack of mycologists in research institutions. Although molecular techniques advance the systematic cataloging of fungi and facilitate insights into fungal communities, the scarcity of professional mycologists in the environmental sciences hampers conservation efforts. Conversely, citizen science initiatives are making significant contributions to the mycology discipline by increasing awareness and extending the scope of fungal surveys. Future research by professional and amateur mycologists into the distribution of fungi and their function in ecosystems will help identify wider and more effective conservation goals.     

锌在辽宁红沿河核电站的大气腐蚀研究

通过锌在红沿河核电站的大气暴露试验,研究了锌在红沿河地区SO2,Cl-含量较高以及高湿的环境条件下的腐蚀规律。试验结果表明锌的腐蚀质量损失与暴露时间呈线性关系。利用扫描电子显微镜、Fourier变换红外光谱仪以及X射线衍射仪对锌表面腐蚀产物进行了分析,进一步分析了腐蚀质量损失与暴露时间呈线性关系的原因,并探讨了锌在SO2,Cl-含量较高以及高湿的环境条件下的腐蚀机理。     

核电设备射频辐射抗扰度试验方法研究

参考美国核管制委员会(NRC)的行业规范RG 1.180,对比研究该规范中涵盖的两大标准体系,并以射频辐射抗扰度试验作为切入点,深入探讨了MIL-STD与IEC标准在干扰信号特性、试验布局、测试方法以及结果评价等关键技术上的差异。举例说明了具体测试中的技术细节以及试验结果的评估和使用方法。最终,形成试验实施的指导建议,为核电设备电磁兼容试验提供技术支持,并最终实现核电站的安全目标。     

高锰酸钾强化PAC混凝处理温瑞塘河黑臭水体试验研究

以浙江省温州市温瑞塘河某河段黑臭地表水为研究对象,考察高锰酸钾强化PAC混凝工艺的除污效能,获得处理温瑞塘河黑臭水体的最佳工艺条件,为恢复河流水体生态自净功能提供基础。试验结果表明,高锰酸钾的最优投加方式为在混凝剂PAC前投加,最佳预氧化时间5 min,最佳投加量1.5 mg/L。将本实验得出的最优混凝处理条件应用于温瑞塘河实际黑臭水体的处理时发现,处理后水质明显改善,此表明高锰酸钾强化混凝应急处理温瑞塘河黑臭水体是切实可行的,可为实际的应急处理工艺提供了理论依据和技术指导。     

纳米铁酸镍的制备及可见光催化性能研究

利用水热法制备了纳米铁酸镍,表征了其微观结构和光谱性能,并以罗丹明B溶液作为目标污染物,研究了铁酸镍催化剂的可见光催化性能。结果表明:所制备铁酸镍的微观形貌为由直径200-300 nm左右的类似球形小颗粒组成的大颗粒,平均粒径为95.60 nm,在紫外-可见光谱区均有较强的光吸收。光催化过程中催化剂的适宜用量为0.05 g,少量H2O2的加入有助于提高罗丹明B溶液的降解率。催化剂用量为0.05 g,加入0.4 mL 30%的H2O2,降解50 mL 20 mg/L罗丹明B溶液,模拟太阳光照射240 min后降解率能够达到99.2%。在实际太阳光照射下,240 min后罗丹明B溶液的降解率可以达到85.2%。     

Synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles in different thermal conditions and modeling its photocatalytic activity with artificial neural network

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles were prepared by sol gel route. The preparation parameters were optimized in the removal of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). All catalysts were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An artificial neural network model (ANN) was developed to predict the photocatalytic removal of 4-NP in the presence of TiO₂ nanoparticles prepared under desired conditions. The comparison between the predicted results by designed ANN model and the experimental data proved that modeling of the removal process of 4-NP using artificial neural network was a precise method to predict the extent of 4-NP removal under different conditions.