The ethics of genetic engineering and gene drives in conservation

The ethical issues associated with using genetic engineering and gene drives in conservation are typically described as consisting of risk assessment and management, public engagement and acceptance, opportunity costs, risk and benefit distributions, and oversight. These are important, but the ethical concerns extend beyond them because the use of genetic engineering has the potential to significantly alter the practices, concepts, and value commitments of conservation. I sought to elucidate the broader set of ethical issues connected with a potential genetic engineering turn in conservation and provide an approach to ethical analysis of novel conservation technologies. The primary rationales offered in support of using genetic engineering and gene drives in conservation are efficiency and necessity for achieving conservation goals. The instrumentalist ethical perspective associated with these rationales involves assessing novel technologies as a means to accomplish desired ends. For powerful emerging technologies the instrumentalist perspective needs to be complemented by a form-of-life perspective frequently applied in the philosophy of technology. The form-of-life perspective involves considering how novel technologies restructure the activities into which they are introduced. When the form-of-life perspective is applied to creative genetic engineering in conservation, it brings into focus a set of ethical issues, such as those associated with power, meaning, relationships, and values, that are not captured by the instrumentalist perspective. It also illuminates why the use of gene drives in conservation is so ethically and philosophically interesting.     

便携式GC-MS仪快速测定水中硝基苯及其在应急监测中的应用

采用便携式GC-MS仪快速测定水中硝基苯,通过优化水中离子强度和顶空加热时间,使方法在0μg/L^300μg/L范围内线性良好,方法检出限为2.5μg/L。标准溶液6次测定结果的RSD为7.8%~10.9%,实际水样的加标回收率为80.7%~103%。同步测定试验表明,硝基苯与7种苯系物分离良好。与国标方法对比,该方法单个样品测定时间由2 h缩短为15 min。将该方法用于应急监测工作中,及时有效的数据可为污水处理及事故调查提供分析和研判依据。     

官厅水库入库断面水质多指标评价与演变特征分析

水体质量状况及其污染特征是流域水污染防治规划和治理措施制定的前提和基础。采用主成分分析和层次聚类分析等多元统计分析方法,选取溶解氧、高锰酸盐指数、化学需氧量等10个不同类型的监测指标,综合评价了官厅水库入库断面八号桥2006—2017年丰水期和枯水期水质年际变化特征,识别了不同阶段关键污染指标。结果表明:各年份丰水期(9月)大多数水质指标均优于枯水期(5月),特别是粪大肠菌群和氨氮,但总磷和高锰酸盐指数的差异较小。根据水质指标年际变化情况,可将研究期分为污染严重阶段(2006—2007年)、污染改善阶段(2008—2015年)和污染全面好转阶段(2016—2017年)。大部分水质指标呈现逐年好转的趋势,特别是粪大肠菌群、氨氮和五日生化需氧量,但总磷仍是官厅水库入库河流的重要污染指标。     

某矿低铜废石综合回收利用项目职业病危害预评价

为了对某矿业有限公司低铜废石综合回收利用项目可能产生的职业病危害因素进行辨识、分析和评价，采用检查表、类比法相结合的原则对该项目的铲装、破碎、运输、筑堆等工艺进行分析评价，并利用经验法对浸出、萃取电积工艺进行分析评价。结果表明:类比工程中绝大部分粉尘、噪声检测点的浓（强）度符合国家标准；化学毒物、工频电场接触浓（强）度符合国家标准；电积车间的通风满足要求；萃取车间的事故通风能力不足。评价方法及通风计算方法对同类项目具有借鉴意义。     

瑞典环境法法典化对我国的启示

在《瑞典环境法典》编纂之前,其《环境保护法》存在诸多问题,如:指导性不强、威慑力不足、过于抽象、各环境法律法规之间存在重叠与冲突等,为了使环境领域的立法实现体系化并促进可持续发展,瑞典开始编纂《环境法典》。《瑞典环境法典》采取适度法典化的编纂模式,在编纂过程中注重本土化和国际化的有效结合,最后形成"以法典法为主,辅之以单行法"的环境法律体系。通过对瑞典环境法法典化的特点及原因进行深入研究,并结合我国环境保护领域的立法现状可以得知,我国环境立法应采取适度法典化的立法模式:编纂环境法典应分阶段进行,而不是一蹴而就;应以形式化法律汇编作为起点,逐步向实质性法典编纂迈进。此外,还要加强环境法典编纂的理论研究为法典编纂提供充足的理论支撑。     

环境司法专门化下的特殊环境诉讼规则

我国的环境司法处于发展初期,有关环境纠纷的司法救济程序散落在不同的部门法中。为了维护国家环境安全和公共环境利益,构建环境司法专门化势在必行,但是在特殊的环境保护法院进行专门化的环境审判过程中,出现环境诉讼保护对象的争议性、生态环境损害责任承担的特殊性等问题亟待解决,环境民事公益诉讼和生态环境损害赔偿诉讼等特殊环境诉讼规则应运而生,虽然目前还面临着一些困境,但是整体上构建环境司法体系的进程依然在不断推进。     

A risk reduction approach for academic research labs: A case study on naphthenic corrosion

Academic research and development (R&D) labs are a significant part of academic life. But there can be physical, environmental, and experiment quality risks associated to this activity. Academic labs can present specific experiments, which have associated risks for researchers. Academic labs are also characterized by a high turnover of students and many of them are not fully aware of the level of physical and environmental risks of their activity. Accidents in academic labs with injuries and loss of life are facts that have to be tackled through risk management approaches. The objective of this paper is to present an integrated management approach, tackling risk management and analysis methods. HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Study) and PFMEA (Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) enabled, respectively, the analysis of safety and environmental risks. By quantifying the level of risk according to the type of experiment and the research context, it is possible to provide safety to the system. The resulting Digital Poka-Yoke – a mistake-proofing approach – has brought about the desired quality of results in experiments. The proposed approach was validated through a case study monitoring naphthenic corrosion experiments conducted by the Lab of Surface Electrochemistry and Corrosion (LSEC) at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR). As a consequence, this approach is currently in use at this lab.     

Factors affecting the quantitative uncertainty of the estimated short-term intake. Part I—Calculation methods

ABSTRACT

The calculation of the combined uncertainty of the international estimated short-term intake (IESTI) of ethephon residues in apples is shown as an example. The ethephon residues in apples were reported by the Joint FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)/WHO (World Health Organization) Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR). The apple consumption data were taken from the IESTI (international short-term intake) calculation template used by the JMPR. The IESTI was calculated with the currently used method (case 2a) and a proposed one recommended by the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority)/RIVM (Dutch National Institute for Public Health) Scientific Workshop co-sponsored by FAO and WHO. In this example, the ratio of IESTI_proposed/IESTI_current and their combined relative uncertainty are about 2.8, and 1.7, respectively. The larger IESTI and uncertainty obtained with the proposed equation are the consequence of calculation only with the large portion (LP) instead of its combination with unit mass, and the MRL instead of the highest residue (HR). The LP is the major contributor to the combined uncertainty. Both the calculated IESTI and its combined uncertainty depend on the actual food – pesticide residue combination, and should be calculated for each case.     

Gender differences in public office workers’ satisfaction,subjective symptoms and musculoskeletal complaints in workplace and office environments

This study investigates differences between male and female public office workers’ satisfaction levels, sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms and musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) complaints in workplace and office environments. Questionnaire surveys were performed in 30 offices from 15 public institutions. Male and female workers of the same age were coupled and selected from each office, gathering a total of 120 male and 120 female subjects. The results show that differences exist between genders in noise and lighting satisfaction levels, SBS-related symptoms (eye, nose, skin) and MSD complaints of hand/wrist/finger, while there is no difference in overall satisfaction level of office environments. The study also suggests that office design for public office workers should take into account gender differences in preventing MSDs and also SBS. The findings of this study are expected to serve as basic data for designing effective public office environments.     

Deliberative democracy meets democratised science: a deliberative systems approach to global environmental governance

The main achievements of the debates on deliberative democracy and democratised science are investigated in order to analyse the reasons, meanings and prospects for a democratisation of global environmental policy. A deliberative systems approach, which emphasises the need to explore how processes in societal spheres interact to shape the deliberative qualities of the system as a whole, is adopted. Although science plays a key role in this, its potential to enhance deliberative capacity has hardly been addressed in deliberative theories. The democratisation of science has potential to contribute to the democratisation of global environmental policy, in that it also shapes the potential of deliberative arrangements in the policy sphere. Deliberative arrangements within the policy sphere may stimulate the democratisation of science to different degrees.