On eco-planning for an eco-demonstration park (EDP) and sustainability-Case study of the Luhua EDP in the Chongming Island of Shanghai,China

The background, concept, connotation, principles, and methods of eco-planning for an Eco-Demonstration Park (EDP) and sustainability were examined based on a case study of the Luhua EDP in the Chongming Island of Shanghai, China, which is an important part of Shanghai Eco-city planning and construction in the 21st century. By analyzing natural, social and economic conditions, calculating population using the land capacity eco-model, eco-function zoning, and eco-construction, an innovative eco-industrial structure and technical chain were formulated. A comprehensive eco-planning scheme for the EDP was proposed, including planning and management strategies for subsystems of efficient industry, good quality human settlement, high standard eco-construction and eco-tourism as well as effective environmental protection and attractive landscape. The EDP should be an area with coordinated and sustainable economic, social and environmental subsystems. Eco-planning for the EDP should be a very important part of eco-city planning and sustainability. The paper aims to set up a theoretical framework and practical basis for eco-planning and promoting harmony between human and nature.     

Suppression pheromone and cockroach rank formation

Although agonistic behaviors in the male lobster cockroach (Nauphoeta cinerea) are well known, the formation of an unstable hierarchy has long been a puzzle. In this study, we investigate how the unstable dominance hierarchy in N. cinerea is maintained via a pheromone signaling system. In agonistic interactions, aggressive posture (AP) is an important behavioral index of aggression. This study showed that, during the formation of a governing hierarchy, thousands of nanograms of 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (3H-2B) were released by the AP-adopting dominant in the first encounter fight, then during the early domination period and that this release of 3H-2B was related to rank maintenance, but not to rank establishment. For rank maintenance, 3H-2B functioned as a suppression pheromone, which suppressed the fighting capability of rivals and kept them in a submissive state. During the period of rank maintenance, as the dominant male gradually decreased his 3H-2B release, the fighting ability of the subordinate gradually developed, as shown by the increasing odds of a subordinate adopting an AP (OSAP). The OSAP was negatively correlated with the amount of 3H-2B released by the dominant and positively correlated with the number of domination days. The same OSAP could be achieved earlier by reducing the amount of 3H-2B released by the dominant indicates that whether the subordinate adopts an offensive strategy depends on what the dominant is doing.     

Short-term effects of compost amendment on the fractionation of cadmium in soil and cadmium accumulation in rice plants

Purpose

We used a sequential extraction to investigate the effects of compost amendment on Cd fractionation in soil during different incubation periods in order to assess Cd stabilization in soil over time.

Methods

Pot experiments using rice plants growing on Cd-spiked soils were carried out to evaluate the influence of compost amendment on plant growth and Cd accumulation by rice. Two agricultural soils (Pinchen and Lukang) of Taiwan were used for the experiments. The relationship between the redistribution of Cd fractions and the reduction of plant Cd concentration due to compost amendment was then investigated.

Results and discussion

Compost amendment in Pinchen soil (lower pH) could transform exchangeable Cd into the Fe- and Mn-oxide-bound forms. With increasing incubation time, exchangeable Cd tended to transform into carbonate- and Fe- and Mn-oxide-bound fractions. In Lukang soil (higher pH), carbonate- and Fe- and Mn-oxide-bonded Cd were the main fractions. Exchangeable Cd was low. Compost amendment transformed the carbonate-bound form into the Fe and Mn oxide form. Pot experiments of rice plants showed that compost amendment enhanced plant growth more in Pinchen soil than in Lukang soil. Compost amendment could significantly reduce Cd accumulation in rice roots in both Pinchen and Lukang soils and restrict internal transport of Cd from the roots to the shoots. Because exchangeable Cd can be transformed into the stronger bonded fractions quickly in Pinchen soil, a reduction of Cd accumulation in rice due to compost amendment of Pinchen soil was significant by 45?days of growth. However, carbonate-bonded fractions in Lukang soil may provide a source of available Cd to rice plants, and exchangeable and carbonate-bonded fractions are transformed into the other fractions slowly. Thus, reduction of Cd accumulation by rice due to compost amendment in Lukang soil was significant by 75?days of growth.

Conclusions

The results of the study suggest that the effectiveness of compost amendment used for stabilization of Cd and to decrease the phytoavailability of Cd for rice plants is different in acidic and alkaline soils. In acidic soil, Cd fractionation redistributes quickly after compost amendment and shows a significant reduction of Cd accumulation by the plant within a few weeks. In alkaline soil, due to the strongly bound fractions of Cd being in greater quantity than the weakly bound ones, a longer period (a few months) to redistribute Cd fractions is needed.     

Regeneration of used sand with sodium silicate binder by wet method and their core manufacturing

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Organic binders that are used in sand casting emit high amounts of hazardous pollutants and volatile organic compounds during the casting process....     

Scientometric analysis of coastal eutrophication research during the period of 1993 to 2008

No studies were reported on the field of coastal eutrophication research by using bibliometrics. The objective of this study was to evaluate the coastal eutrophication research performance based on all the related articles in Science Citation Index databases from 1993 to 2008. Document type, publication output, authorship, keywords, publication pattern, country, and institute of publication were analyzed. The USA contributed 35.0% of total articles where the ten major industrial countries accounted for the majority of the total production. An indicator citation per publication was presented in this study to evaluate the impact of number of authors, institutes, countries, and journals. The mean value of citation per publication of collaborative papers was higher than that of single country or institute publications. Collaboration trend was toward multi-authors, multi-institutes and multi-countries papers. This was coincident with the research trends of coastal eutrophication, which was thought to be a component of global change. Additionally, keywords analysis was used to indicate the formation and shift of hot research.     

The use of failure mode and effects analysis to construct an effective disposal and prevention mechanism for infectious hospital waste

In recent times, the quality of medical care has been continuously improving in medical institutions wherein patient-centred care has been emphasized. Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) has also been promoted as a method of basic risk management and as part of total quality management (TQM) for improving the quality of medical care and preventing mistakes. Therefore, a study was conducted using FMEA to evaluate the potential risk causes in the process of infectious medical waste disposal, devise standard procedures concerning the waste, and propose feasible plans for facilitating the detection of exceptional cases of infectious waste. The analysis revealed the following results regarding medical institutions: (a) FMEA can be used to identify the risk factors of infectious waste disposal. (b) During the infectious waste disposal process, six items were scored over 100 in the assessment of uncontrolled risks: erroneous discarding of infectious waste by patients and their families, erroneous discarding by nursing staff, erroneous discarding by medical staff, cleaning drivers pierced by sharp articles, cleaning staff pierced by sharp articles, and unmarked output units. Therefore, the study concluded that it was necessary to (1) provide education and training about waste classification to the medical staff, patients and their families, nursing staff, and cleaning staff; (2) clarify the signs of caution; and (3) evaluate the failure mode and strengthen the effects.     

Assessment of airborne environmental bacteria and related factors in 25 underground railway stations in Seoul,Korea

This study assessed bacterial concentrations in indoor air at 25 underground railway stations in Seoul, Korea, and investigated various related factors including the presence of platform screen doors (PSD), depth of the station, year of construction, temperature, relative humidity, and number of passengers. A total of 72 aerosol samples were collected from all the stations. Concentrations of total airborne bacteria (TAB) ranged from not detected (ND) to 4997 CFU m^?3, with an overall geometric mean (GM) of 191 CFU m^?3. Airborne bacteria were detected at 23 stations (92%) and Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) were detected at two stations (8%). TAB concentrations of four stations (16%) exceeded 800 CFU m^?3, the Korea indoor bio-aerosol guideline. The results of the study showed that TAB concentrations at the stations without PSD showed higher TAB concentrations than those with PSD, though not at statistically significant levels. TAB concentrations of deeper stations revealed significantly higher levels than those of shallower stations. Based on this study, it is recommended that mitigation measures be applied to improve the indoor air quality (IAQ) of underground railway stations in Seoul, with focused attention on deeper stations.     

Histopathological findings of the nose of Down syndrome abortuses

Recent reports of absent nasal bone in fetuses with Down syndrome have sparked much interest in the use of this finding for the screening of Down syndrome. We describe the histopathological findings of nasal bones of two fetuses with Down syndrome, one with absence and the other with normal ossification of the nasal bone. We propose that histopathological examination of the nasal bone could improve the accuracy of diagnosis of nasal hypoplasia among Down syndrome abortuses. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.