Evaluation of photolysis and hydrolysis of pyraclostrobin in aqueous solutions and its degradation products in paddy water

This study evaluated the hydrolysis and photolysis kinetics of pyraclostrobin in an aqueous solution using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array detection and identified the resulting metabolites of pyraclostrobin by hydrolysis and photolysis in paddy water using high-resolution mass spectrometry coupled with liquid chromatography. The effect of solution pH, metal ions and surfactants on the hydrolysis of pyraclostrobin was explored. The hydrolysis half-lives of pyraclostrobin were 23.1–115.5?days and were stable in buffer solution at pH 5.0. The degradation rate of pyraclostrobin in an aqueous solution under sunlight was slower than that under UV photolysis reaction. The half-lives of pyraclostrobin in a buffer solution at pH 5.0, 7.0, 9.0 and in paddy water were less than 12?h under the two light irradiation types. The metabolites of the two processes were identified and compared to further understand the mechanisms underlying hydrolysis and photolysis of pyraclostrobin in natural water. The extracted ions obtained from paddy water were automatically annotated by Compound Discoverer software with manual confirmation of their fragments. Two metabolites were detected and identified in the pyraclostrobin hydrolysis, whereas three metabolites were detected and identified in the photolysis in paddy water.     

异戊醇低压热解的同步辐射真空紫外光电离质谱研究

作为新兴生物燃料,大分子醇类燃料在低压下的火灾安全基础迫切需要得到深入研究。热解过程作为火灾过程的初始阶段直接控制着火过程,火灾中碳烟颗粒的产生也依赖于热解反应,因此可燃物的低压热解研究在其低压火灾基础研究中具有重要意义。利用同步辐射真空紫外光电离质谱方法研究了异戊醇在0.2atm下的流动反应器热解,探测到了20余种热解产物,包括烯丙基自由基和C_4H_8O、C_5H_8、C_6H_6等同分异构体,并测量了其摩尔分数。基于实验结果,对燃料分解路径和主要产物的生成及消耗路径进行了探讨。与本组之前正戊醇热解实验的对比表明,由于存在支链结构,异戊醇在热解中比正戊醇更容易产生戊烯、丁烯和丙烯,但更少地产生乙烯。此外,异戊醇在热解中能够生成更多的丙炔和丙二烯等环状化合物前驱体,令其苯和1,3-环戊二烯的生成量更高,表明异戊醇比正戊醇更易于生成多环芳烃和碳烟。     

Importance of public information and perception for managing recreational activities in the Peel-Harvey estuary, Western Australia

Surveys of water recreational activities were conducted in the Peel-Harvey estuary. Channels used by recreationists to gain information about water quality, the perception of water quality and resulting behaviour were investigated. This study showed that personal perception, local knowledge and history, absence of warnings and residency were major factors contributing to risk perception and behaviour in this recreational community. Management strategies should take this information into account to achieve maximal outcomes.     

Economies of scale in global iron-making

In this paper, we investigate the presence of economies of scale in the global iron-making industry for integrated steel plants, iron making being the first stage in the steel-making process. Iron making depends on basic commodities, such as iron ore, coke and various forms of energy, required in the operation of the blast furnace, which can be classified as essential inputs and used in fixed proportions to produce iron. A generalized Leontief cost function is estimated using panel data for 69 integrated plants, such a specification being appropriate for technologies with essential inputs that are used in fixed proportions in production. A significant scale effect is observed due to the existence of fixed costs and a linear dependence of the cost function on production. Under a simple linear cost function, a rough estimate of the breakeven scale of plant, where costs equal revenue, is 4.5 Mt per year. Competitiveness, as measured by the ratio of plant average cost per tonne to best practice cost per tonne, can be shown to be positively related to the scale of production as well as the cost of essential inputs. Therefore, low-cost producers are also often producers with low raw material costs and production levels below the estimated breakeven scale of operation. Labor costs, although significant, are comparatively less important as a driver towards low costs.     

Evaluation of the temporal variations of air quality in Taipei City, Taiwan, from 1994 to 2003

Data collected from the five air-quality monitoring stations established by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration in Taipei City from 1994 to 2003 are analyzed to assess the temporal variations of air quality. Principal component analysis (PCA) is adopted to convert the original measuring pollutants into fewer independent components through linear combinations while still retaining the majority of the variance of the original data set. Two principal components (PCs) are retained together explaining 82.73% of the total variance. PC1, which represents primary pollutants such as CO, NO(x), and SO(2), shows an obvious decrease over the last 10 years. PC2, which represents secondary pollutants such as ozone, displays a yearly increase over the time period when a reduction of primary pollutants is obvious. In order to track down the control measures put forth by the authorities, 47 days of high PM(10) concentrations caused by transboundary transport have been eliminated in analyzing the long-term trend of PM(10) in Taipei City. The temporal variations over the past 10 years show that the moderate peak in O(3) demonstrates a significant upward trend even when the local primary pollutants have been well under control. Monthly variations of PC scores demonstrate that primary pollution is significant from January to April, while ozone increases from April to August. The results of the yearly variations of PC scores show that PM(10) has gradually shifted from a strong correlation with PC1 during the early years to become more related to PC2 in recent years. This implies that after a reduction of primary pollutants, the proportion of secondary aerosols in PM(10) may increase. Thus, reducing the precursor concentrations of secondary aerosols will be an effective way to lower PM(10) concentrations.     

Deep chlorophyll maximum distribution in the central Tyrrhenian Sea described by a towed undulating vehicle

The towed undulating vehicle (TUV), named SARAGO, was used for two fine-scale surveys between the Italian and the Sardinian coasts during the Astraea 2 cruise (6-7 and 26-27 September 1995), studying the deep chlorophyll maximum distribution. SARAGO sections identify a sub-surface doming with higher chlorophyll a and primary production concentrations in the upwelling area of a cyclonic gyre region, detected by sea-surface temperature images. In the first section, the cyclone presents a double doming, in density and salinity, with shallower and concentrated patches of chlorophyll a for about 2 miles. Twenty days later, the second section shows that the gyre changes shape and extension, showing a single doming with higher primary production and chlorophyll a concentrations, distributed over a large area of about 40 nautical miles. SARAGO allows analysis of this high-variability phenomenon (cyclonic gyre) and allows concentrated patches (2 nm) to be identified, thus proving the importance of TUVs in the study of mesoscale processes.     

中国经济的“阿基米德支点”

资源是经济发展的“阿基米德支点”：世界十大经济国每年能源的生产占全球的６２．１％，消费为７１．０％。重要矿产资源的生产多排在世界前１０名生产国之，外面是消费则多排在１０名之内，且对这些矿产资源的消费量多在９５％以上。     

Training refugees as primary health care workers: Past imperfect, future conditional

Many problems have been encountered in the planning and implementation of health care in refugee camps, and more specifically in the training of refugees as primary health care workers. A review of the published literature and a "survey" of the opinions and experiences of refugee, national and international health personnel regarding training has therefore been undertaken to provide an overview of what has been done and to make recommendations for future work.
The review highlights the need to reallocate resources away from high visibility emergency aid to development activities, such as training, that will create an infrastructure for primary health care and promote self-reliance.     

基于卫星遥感气溶胶产品评估体系的气溶胶时空分布及变化趋势表征

卫星遥感气溶胶虽然空间覆盖度高,但不同产品数据在准确性和适用性上存在显著差异.为了能够科学定量的衡量各个产品的优劣,选择最合适的气溶胶产品,该研究以数学统计为基础,提出了一种卫星遥感气溶胶产品评估体系,并依此确定了全球6个人口密集地区的最优卫星数据集,在此基础上开展了近10年的（2009—2018）气溶胶时空变化分析.结果表明暗像元算法在植被覆盖度高的地区表现最好,深蓝算法在亮地表的沙漠干旱地区更占优势,而暗像元-深蓝融合算法在土地类型复杂且气溶胶来源多变时得以突出.人口密集的6个区域中,除了区域A和区域B,其它地区的大气污染水平整体偏高.其中,A、B、E的气溶胶负荷呈下降变化,区域F基本不变,其余区域上升变化.评估体系的建立为气溶胶遥感产品的选取提供了新的衡量方法,且该文关于气溶胶时空分布及变化的分析可以为区域性气溶胶研究提供一定的参考价值.     

黄渤海区域水产品中全氟烷基物质的分布特征

选取黄渤海区域水产品生产、消费水平较高的23个城市,采集鱼类、海洋贝类、甲壳类、头足类及海珍品（海参、鲍鱼）等5类水产品共1225个样本,采用超快速液相色谱-串联质谱法测定了23种全氟烷基物质（PFASs）的含量,并分析了黄渤海区域水产品中PFASs的残留水平及分布特征.结果表明,黄渤海区域水产品中PFASs的残留水平具有明显的组分差异、城市分布及品种分布差异等特征.在23种PFASs组分中,共检出20种PFASs,其中全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）和全氟辛酸（PFOA）的检出率最高,分别为79.1%和71.7%,且PFOA的质量浓度占比最高（64.5%）,为首要污染组分;在不同采样点样本中,莱州湾近岸的潍坊、滨州和东营,渤海湾近岸的沧州以及辽东湾近岸的营口为PFASs总质量浓度（∑PFASs）较高的城市,残留水平范围为10.2~16.8μg/kg;在不同品种样本中,检出PFASs组分的数量由高到低为：鱼类（20种） > 海洋贝类、甲壳类（18种） > 海珍品（16种） > 头足类（10种）,其中海洋贝类、海珍品样本中检出率最高的是PFOA,鱼类、甲壳类样本中检出率最高的是PFOS,而头足类则是全氟辛烷磺酰胺（PFOSA）;通过计算不同水产品中PFASs各组分的平均含量发现,PFOA、PFOS、全氟十一烷酸（PFUdA）和PFOSA在不同品种中平均含量相对较高,且表现出较为明显的组分差异性;通过计算危害指数（HR）评价人体暴露于PFASs的健康风险,得到PFASs各组分的危害指数均 < 1,说明黄渤海区域水产品中残留的PFASs对消费者的潜在健康风险较低.