Normal development in two six-year-old boys born after prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 20 mosaicism

Prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 20 mosaicism was made in two pregnancies by chromosome analysis of cultured amniotic fluid cells. In both cases, the pregnancy continued to term and a healthy male infant was delivered. Regular assessments up to the age of 6-5 years revealed normal physical and intellectual development in both children.     

Cumulative impact assessment in environmental planning: A coastal wetland watershed example

Several theoretical, analytical, and institutional difficulties have impeded the development and application of the assessment of cumulative environmental impacts. Watershed development on coastal wetlands offers an ideal context for evaluating the land disturbance target approach to cumulative impact assessment. A model land use planning system involving a time series approach was developed for Elkhorn Slough in California. The approach included four major components: evaluation of erosion susceptibility, measurement of land disturbance, establishment of a land disturbance target, and a comparison of existing and target land disturbance values. Further research is needed to test the transferability of the approach in a wide range of coastal watersheds and to verify the applicability of the methods to other cumulative impact problems.     

2017年厦门金砖会晤期间人为减排和气象条件变化对臭氧污染特征的影响

针对厦门"金砖会晤"空气质量保障活动，本研究选取2017年8月10日—9月10日的O₃、NO₂和挥发性有机物（VOCs），以及气象因子等在线观测数据，开展人为减排、副热带高压、台风等对东南沿海城市大气O₃污染特征的影响研究.结果表明，研究期间厦门大气O₃-8 h平均浓度为（110.0±40.6）μg·m^-3.与管控前相比，无台风影响的管控I期的O₃-8 h浓度上升了19.9 μg·m^-3，而管控II期的O₃-8 h浓度下降了27.9 μg·m^-3.对于管控I期和II期，台风影响下O₃-8 h浓度较无台风时段分别下降85.2 μg·m^-3和8.9 μg·m^-3.在排放控制和台风的共同作用下，峰会期间厦门大气O₃浓度的日变化显现出"削峰填谷"的特征.另外，与管控I期相比，管控II期O₃前体物VOCs浓度显著下降，其臭氧生成潜势（OFP）下降了44.6%.总之，运用区域联防联控策略，对臭氧前体物（NO_x和VOCs）实施针对性减排，可有效地降低沿海城市大气O₃日间最高浓度.     

水葱修复土壤镉污染潜力的研究

野外观察与研究发现水葱(Scirpus tabernaemontani G.)可以耐受土壤中高浓度的重金属污染,并对镉(Cd)有很高的生物富集量.实验室水培试验研究了两个主要因素,营养液pH与Cd含量,对水葱生物量以及Cd富集效果的影响.结果表明,它可耐受高浓度Cd (30 mg/L)和大范围pH变化 (3.7～7.7).当营养液pH为4.7, Cd为25 mg/L时,水葱富集的Cd达到最大值:地上部分264.71 mg/kg,地下部分234.39 mg/kg,平均转运系数1.13.这显示了它用于植物修复Cd污染土壤的潜力.     

Nonparametric functional data estimation applied to ozone data: prediction and extreme value analysis

The study of extreme values and prediction of ozone data is an important topic of research when dealing with environmental problems. Classical extreme value theory is usually used in air-pollution studies. It consists in fitting a parametric generalised extreme value (GEV) distribution to a data set of extreme values, and using the estimated distribution to compute return levels and other quantities of interest. Here, we propose to estimate these values using nonparametric functional data methods. Functional data analysis is a relatively new statistical methodology that generally deals with data consisting of curves or multi-dimensional variables. In this paper, we use this technique, jointly with nonparametric curve estimation, to provide alternatives to the usual parametric statistical tools. The nonparametric estimators are applied to real samples of maximum ozone values obtained from several monitoring stations belonging to the Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) in the UK. The results show that nonparametric estimators work satisfactorily, outperforming the behaviour of classical parametric estimators. Functional data analysis is also used to predict stratospheric ozone concentrations. We show an application, using the data set of mean monthly ozone concentrations in Arosa, Switzerland, and the results are compared with those obtained by classical time series (ARIMA) analysis.     

Study of oil-water partitioning of a chemical dispersant using an acute bioassay with marine crustaceans

The toxicity of seawater dispersions of a chemical dispersant to two marine crustaceans was investigated in the presence and absence of various quantities of a non-toxic mineral oil. From the results and a physical-chemical partitioning analysis, a limiting value of the oil-water partition coefficient of the toxic compounds is deduced suggesting that essentially all of the toxic compounds in the dispersant will partition into solution in water following dispersant application to an oil spill. This conclusion simplifies interpretation and prediction of the toxic effects of a dispersed oil spill.The combined bioassay-partitioning procedure may have applications to the study of the toxicity of other complex mixtures such as industrial effluents.     

Comprehensive temperature monitoring in an in-vessel forced-aeration static-bed composting process

Comprehensive temperature monitoring was done in an in-vessel forced-aeration static-bed composting process using sewage sludge. The three layers that divided the compost pile horizontally showed different temperature distributions. The temperature of the top layer appeared not to be influenced by the ambient temperature. The temperature of the center area of the top layer was taken to be the representative temperature for evaluating composting start-up performance. The temperature of the bottom layer was strongly influenced by the ambient temperature, and the temperature of the center area of the bottom layer was taken to be the representative temperature for pathogen control as it was the minimum temperature in the reactor. Composting start-up performance was influenced by several factors when the ambient temperature was either below or above 20°C. When the ambient temperature was below 20°C, the time taken to reach 65°C (T ₆₅) was influenced by the temperature of inflowing air, but when the temperature was higher than 20°C, it was influenced by the ratio of sewage sludge to seed compost (F/S). T ₆₅ was least when F/S was 1–2. Received: January 9, 2001 / Accepted: October 10, 2001     

The ecological insurance trap

Common pool resources often insure individual livelihoods against the collapse of private endeavors. When endeavors based on private and common pool resources are interconnected, investment in one can put the other at risk. We model Senegalese pastoralists who choose whether to grow crops, a private activity, or raise livestock on common pool pastureland. Livestock can increase the likelihood of locust outbreaks via ecological processes related to grassland degradation. Locust outbreaks damage crops, but not livestock, which are used for savings and insurance. We show the incentive to self-protect (reduce grazing pressure) or self-insure (increase livestock levels) changes with various property rights schemes and levels of ecological detail. If the common pool nature of insurance exacerbates the ecological externality even fully-informed individuals may make risk management decisions that increase the probability of catastrophe, creating an “insurance trap.”     

Good news for environmental self-regulation? Finding the right link

We investigate the stock market response to firm disclosure of positive environmental information and the link from that information to environmental outcomes. We classify environmental media releases by informational content and value relevance, and assess the abnormal stock returns of each type of event. While announcements of future environmental activities lead to the largest favorable stock market reactions, there is no guaranteed link from this type of information to environmental outcomes. Further analysis of the abnormal returns shows that the magnitude of the stock market reaction depends on firm financial characteristics across all event types rather than on firm environmental performance. Our results indicate that the ability for voluntary environmental information disclosure to induce environmental self-regulation is limited to the extent that firms are able to follow through with their announcements of planned environmental activities.