Effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide on mate location in a wolf spider that inhabits agroecosystems

Chemical communication is important to many arthropod species but the potential exists for anthropogenic chemicals to disrupt information flow. Although glyphosate-based herbicides are not acutely toxic to arthropods, little is known regarding their effects on natural chemical communication pathways. The wolf spider, Pardosamilvina, is abundant in agroecosystems where herbicides are regularly applied and uses air- and substrate-borne chemical signals extensively during mating. The aim of this study was to examine effects of a commercial formulation of a glyphosate-based herbicide on the ability of males to find females. In the field, virgin females, when hidden inside pitfall traps with herbicide, attracted fewer males than females with water. Likewise females in traps with a ring of herbicide surrounding the opening were less likely to attract males than those in traps surrounded by water. We explored the reaction of males to any airborne component of the herbicide in a laboratory two-choice olfactometer experiment. When no female pheromones were present, males were equally likely to select herbicide or water treated corridors and they all moved through the apparatus at similar speeds. When female pheromones were present, the males that selected control corridors moved more slowly than those that selected herbicide and, if we control for the initial decision time, more males selected the control corridors over the herbicide. These data suggest that glyphosate-based herbicides are “info-disruptors” that alter the ability of males to detect and/or react fully to female signals.     

A temporal trend study (1972-2008) of perfluorooctanesulfonate, perfluorohexanesulfonate, and perfluorooctanoate in pooled human milk samples from Stockholm, Sweden

The widespread presence of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS) in human general populations and their slow elimination profiles have led to renewed interest in understanding the potential human neonatal exposures of perfluoroalkyls (PFAs) from consumption of human milk. The objective of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of PFOS, PFHxS, and PFOA in pooled human milk samples obtained in Sweden between 1972 and 2008 (a period representing the most significant period of PFA production) and to see whether the time trend of these analytes parallels that indicated in human serum. Chemical analysis of PFOS, PFHxS, and PFOA was performed on pooled Swedish human milk samples from 1972 to 2008 after methodological refinements. The 20 samples which formed the 2007 pool were also analyzed individually to evaluate sample variations. Analyses were performed by HPLC-MS/MS. Due to the complexities of the human milk matrix and the requirement to accurately quantitate low pg/mL concentrations, meticulous attention must be paid to background contamination if accurate results are to be obtained. PFOS was the predominant analyte present in the pools and all three analytes showed statistically significant increasing trends from 1972 to 2000, with concentrations reaching a plateau in the 1990s. PFOA and PFOS showed statistically significant decreasing trends during 2001-2008. At the end of the study, in 2008, the measured concentrations of PFOS, PFHxS, and PFOA in pooled human milk were 75 pg/mL, 14 pg/mL, and 74 pg/mL, respectively. The temporal concentration trends of PFOS, PFHxS, and PFOA observed in human milk are parallel to those reported in the general population serum concentrations.     

A method for determining the analytical form of a radionuclide depth distribution using multiple gamma spectrometry measurements

When characterizing environmental radioactivity, whether in the soil or within concrete building structures undergoing remediation or decommissioning, it is highly desirable to know the radionuclide depth distribution. This is typically modeled using continuous analytical expressions, whose forms are believed to best represent the true source distributions. In situ gamma ray spectroscopic measurements are combined with these models to fully describe the source. Currently, the choice of analytical expressions is based upon prior experimental core sampling results at similar locations, any known site history, or radionuclide transport models. This paper presents a method, employing multiple in situ measurements at a single site, for determining the analytical form that best represents the true depth distribution present. The measurements can be made using a variety of geometries, each of which has a different sensitivity variation with source spatial distribution. Using non-linear least squares numerical optimization methods, the results can be fit to a collection of analytical models and the parameters of each model determined. The analytical expression that results in the fit with the lowest residual is selected as the most accurate representation. A cursory examination is made of the effects of measurement errors on the method.     

规范管理安全生产中介服务机构

近年来,各地针对中小企业普遍存在安全专业技术人员匮乏、安全管理不规范、隐患排查治理不彻底等问题,积极探索在安全生产领域引入中介服务机构,为企业提供安全技术、安全管理、宣传培训等专业化服务.从基层实践的角度来看,依托中介服务机构优势为安全生产提供技术支持和保障,在夯实企业安全管理基础、防范和遏制生产安全事故等方面发挥了积...     

Climatic and stream-flow controls on tree growth in a Western montane riparian forest

Humans have severely impacted riparian ecosystems through water diversions, impoundments, and consumptive uses. Effective management of these important areas is becoming an increasingly high priority of land managers, particularly as municipal, industrial, and recreational demands for water increase. We examined radial tree growth of four riparian tree species (Pinus jeffreyi, Populus trichocarpa, Betula occidentalis, and Pinus monophylla) along Bishop Creek, California, and developed models relating basal area increment (BAI) and relative basal area increment (RBAI) to climatic and stream flow variables. Between years 1995–1999, univariate regression analysis with stream flow explained 29 to 61% of the variation in BAI and RBAI among all species except P. trichocarpa; growth by P. trichocarpa was not significantly related to stream flows over this period. Stepwise linear regression indicated that species responded differently to climatic variables, and models based on these variables explained between 33 to 86% of variation in BAI and RBAI during the decade of the 1990s. We examined branch growth of P. trichocarpa for sensitivity to differences in stream flow regimes and found that annual branch growth did not vary between a high- and low-flow site, but that annual branch growth was significantly higher in wet years with greater stream flows. Our results support the establishment of site-specific management goals by land managers that take into account all of the important tree species present in riparian ecosystems and their differential responses to altered hydrologic condition. Instream flow requirements for maintaining tree growth and vigor are only one of the species-specific responses that need to be evaluated, and these assessments should attempt to separate experimentally stream-flow (managed) controls from climatic (unmanaged) controls on growth.     

道路声屏障工程渐成行业热点

隔声屏障作为噪声控制工程中的重要措施之一，在降低交通干线噪声、工业生产噪声和社会环境噪声中发挥着独特的作用。特别是随着近年来城市轨道交通和高等级公路的加速建设，各类道路声屏障也得到日益广泛的普及，逐渐成为环保行业的工程热点之一。目前北京“城市铁路”和“八通线”、“五号线”工程已全面展开，北京公路一环（五环路）和京承高速路也在加快建设；到２００８年举办奥运会前，北京市的快速轨道交通线路将增加到５条，将形成地下线路、地面线路及高架线路相结合并与地面交通干线相协调的立体交通网络。武汉、大连、天津、重庆…     

日本废弃物的循环再利用

本文从废弃物的循环再利用方面介绍了日本环境保护的最新动向。     

回顾与展望--记中国劳动保护科学技术学会第三届理事会工作

"三大"以来学会的历程和主要工作 中国劳动保护科学技术学会第三次全国会员代表大会是1993年召开的,迄今已有9年时间.     

为实现"安全发展"呐喊造势--2006年新年献词

飞雪迎春到，新年已来到。值此迎新之际，本刊编辑部全体员工向广大读者恭贺新年。祝您们新春快乐，身体健康，工作顺利，全家幸福!