Measuring water resource use efficiency of the Dong Nai River Basin (Vietnam): an application of the two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA)

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The recent growth of agriculture, industry and urban areas in Vietnam requires a large amount of water consumption as a production factor. This paper...     

淀山湖上覆水与沉积物孔隙水中重金属的分布特征

研究了淀山湖上覆水和沉积物孔隙水中Pb ,Cd,Cr,Cu ,Fe和Mn的浓度及Eh 分布 ,分析了孔隙水中重金属的扩散通量 .结果表明 ,淀山湖中重金属的浓度由高到低依次为 :Mn >Fe >Cr,Cu ,Pb >Cd ;Fe和Mn在孔隙水中的浓度远远大于它们在上覆水中的浓度 ,表层沉积物孔隙水中Pb ,Cd ,Cr,Cu的浓度稍大于它们在上覆水中的浓度 ;沉积物中的重金属可能按照浓度梯度经孔隙水从沉积物向上覆水中扩散而最终影响上覆水的水质     

Evidence of non-DDD pathway in the anaerobic degradation of DDT in tropical soil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - DDT transformation to DDD in soil is the most commonly reported pathway under anaerobic conditions. A few instances of DDT conversion to products...     

Experimental evaluation of emission factors of cement kilns burning hazardous wastes

Cement industry is an interesting way to eliminate combustible wastes. Thermal valorization is maximal, conditions of combustion are especially favorable to the destruction and the trapping of pollutants, and there are neither ultimate residues (slag) nor aqueous rejects. Moreover the properties of the cement are not modified. Nevertheless the increased use of substitution fuel may lead to deal with unusual amounts of heavy metals. Tests were realized on several rotary cement kilns with varying substitution ratios of fossil fuels by wastes. Mass balances were fitted over the whole plant, and emission factors were explained.     

底泥浸出液对脊尾白虾抗氧化解毒酶及相关基因表达的影响

以脊尾白虾(Exopalaemon carinicauda)糠虾幼体为实验材料,研究底泥浸出液对抗氧化解毒酶和基因表达的影响。用长江口水域的底泥浸出液与过滤海水按等比例间距稀释成4个体积浓度水平(1∶4,1∶2,1∶1,1.5∶1),以过滤海水为对照组,每一个浓度组设3个平行样本,进行20 d的毒性实验。结果表明:实验进行20 d,底泥浸出液对糠虾幼体肌肉组织CAT酶活性有一定的诱导作用,浸出液浓度与CAT酶活性表现出正相关的剂量效应关系。实验开始10 d,不同浸出液胁迫下,GST酶活性均出现增加受到诱导,实验20 d后,GST酶活性下降受到抑制作用,但不同浸出液浓度胁迫下抑制和诱导效应关系不明显。虾类肌肉组织3种基因(CAT、GSTD和HSP70)表达量基本都表现为实验开始10 d时升高,而实验20 d后表达量下降,仅为10 d数值的百分之一左右,表明底泥浸出液对CAT、GSTD和HSP70的3种基因的mRNA转录水平表达在一定时间内有一定的诱导作用,但胁迫时间过长时,则产生较明显的抑制作用。     

How age and sex drive the foraging behaviour in the king penguin

As predicted by life history theory, once recruited into the breeding population and with increasing age, long-lived animals should be able to manage more efficiently the conflict between self-maintenance and reproduction. Consequently, breeding performances should improve with age before stabilizing at a certain level. Using temperature–depth recorders and isotopic analysis, we tested how age affects the foraging behaviour of king penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus during one trip in the chick-rearing phase. Depending on sex and age, king penguins expressed two different foraging strategies. Older birds gained more daily mass per unit body mass than younger ones. Older females conducted shorter trips, dived deeper and performed more prey pursuits. They also had higher blood levels of δ¹⁵N than younger individuals and males indicating sex- and age-specific dietary regimes. However, we found no differences in carbon isotopic signature, suggesting that individuals exploited the same foraging areas independently of sex and age. Our results suggest that king penguins are able to increase the quantity of energy extracted with increasing age and that such a strategy is sex-related. Our study is the first to reveal of an interaction between age and sex in determining foraging efficiency in king penguins.     

A new method for high-resolution bivalve growth rate studies in hydrothermal environments

The age and shell growth rate of deep-sea hydrothermal bivalves were investigated for the first time using in situ chemical staining combined with high-resolution micro-increment analysis. A staining chamber developed for this purpose was applied to a patch of Bathymodiolus thermophilus mussels at 2,500 m depth at the 9°47′N vent field on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) in May 2010. This approach minimizes disturbance of the mussels in their habitat. Bathymodiolus thermophilus grows according to a circalunidian rhythm, with one increment formed each day, and displays tide-related growth rate variability. Based on the von Bertalanffy growth rate model, the largest shell collected (SL = 20.5 cm) would be 10.0 year old, with a growth rate of 4.2–1.1 cm year^?1 as the shell ages. This fast growth rate is consistent with the instability of the environment in this section of the EPR and observed recolonization rates and could reflect a specific adaptation of this species.