The highs and lows of chemical communication in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): effect of scent deposition height on signal discrimination

The giant panda's (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) social system is not well known, but it is clear that competition and avoidance characterizes social interaction for this solitary species throughout most of the year. Chemical communication appears to play a major role in structuring these interactions. Pandas adopt four distinct marking postures that deposit anogenital gland secretions or urine at varying heights: squat, reverse, legcock and handstand. In this experiment we tested the behavioral responses of 28 captive pandas belonging to all age-sex groups to conspecific odors placed to mimic the height of these postures. We tested three odor stimuli: male urine, and male and female glandular secretions. In all cases, pandas spent more time investigating higher odors than lower odors, suggesting that pandas place more importance on gathering information about individuals that adopt elevated postures. Pandas, particularly subadult males, also showed evidence of avoiding areas where adult male urine was deposited to mimic the handstand posture. Based on these and other findings, we propose that elevated postures in pandas may function to communicate competitive ability and possibly aggressive intent. Height of odor deposition, especially in the handstand posture, may be associated with body size, a major determinant of competitive ability. Selection may favor signalers that capitalize on the assessment activities of assessors by depositing scents to emphasize height cues. If such signals of competitive ability are used to mediate aggressive interactions, subsequent selection may favor their use only when the signaler is prepared to escalate in a contest.     

A framework for predicting personal exposures to environmental hazards

This paper presents a general framework for constructing a predictive distribution of the exposure to an environmental hazard sustained by a randomly selected member of a designated population. The individual’s exposure is assumed to arise from random movement through the environment, resulting in a distribution of exposure that can be used for environmental risk analysis. A specialization of the general framework is that of predicting human exposure to air pollution that can be used to develop models for such things as exposure to particulate matter; practical aspects of their construction are considered. These models can help answer questions such as what fraction of the population sustained ‘high’ levels of exposure for say 5 days in a row. The immediate implementation of the above framework takes the form of a computing platform referred to as pCNEM. This provides a facility for simulating exposures to airborne pollutants and is described in detail elsewhere. This paper considers some theoretical aspects underpinning probabilistic exposure models of this type, with the ideas illustrated in developing a model for predicting human exposure to PM ₁₀.     

Mitochondrial DNA analyses of the red rock lobsterJasus edwardsii supports an apparent absence of population subdivision throughout Australasia

Nucleotide sequence polymorphism in the mitochondrial genomes of 132 adult lobsters (Jasus edwardsil) collected from widespread locales across southern Australia and from New Zealand (April 1989 to June 1990) was assayed, using six restriction endonucleases, to test the hypothesis of a lack of genetic subdivision in a marine species with a long-lived planktonic larva. The mean amount of mtDNA diversity among the 132 mitochondrial genomes was 0.77%. Phenetic clustering and gene-diversity analyses, as well as pairwise comparison of the genetics of specimens from each, or grouped, locales did not detect the presence of genetic subdivision across approx 4600 km of Southern Ocean habitats. The inability of this study to detect population subdivision does not preclude fortutitous, active or habitat-specific larval settlement from producing and maintaining hidden groupings. If genetic homogeneity is maintained in this species by larval dispersal in ocean currents flowing to the east, then westerly populations may deserve special conservation status.     

Representing the Connectivity of Upland Areas to Floodplains and Streams in SWAT+

In recent years, watershed modelers have put increasing emphasis on capturing the interaction of landscape hydrologic processes instead of focusing on streamflow at the watershed outlet alone. Understanding the hydrologic connectivity between landscape elements is important to explain the hydrologic response of a watershed to rainfall events. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool+ (SWAT+) is a new version of SWAT with improved runoff routing capabilities. Subbasins may be divided into landscape units (LSUs), e.g., upland areas and floodplains, and flow can be routed between these LSUs. We ran three scenarios representing different extents of connectivity between uplands, floodplains, and streams. In the first and second scenarios, the ratio of channelized flow from the upland to the stream and sheet flow from the upland to the floodplain was 70/30 and 30/70, respectively, for all upland/floodplain pairs. In the third scenario, the ratio was calculated for each upland/floodplain pair based on the upland/floodplain area ratio. Results indicate differences in streamflow were small, but the relative importance of flow components and upland areas and floodplains as sources of surface runoff changed. Also, the soil moisture in the floodplains was impacted. The third scenario was found to provide more realistic results than the other two. A realistic representation of connectivity in watershed models has important implications for the identification of pollution sources and sinks.     

Characterization of a new smog chamber for evaluating SAPRC gas-phase chemical mechanism

A new state-of-the-art indoor smog chamber facility (CAPS-ZJU) has been constructed and characterized at Zhejiang University, which is designed for chemical mechanism evaluation under well-controlled conditions. A series of characterization experiments were performed to validate the well-established experimental protocols, including temperature variation pattern, light spectrum and equivalent intensity (J_NO2), injection and mixing performance, as well as gases and particle wall loss. In addition, based on some characterization experiments, the auxiliary wall mechanism has been setup and examined. Fifty chamber experiments were performed across a broad range of experimental scenarios, and we demonstrated the ability to utilize these chamber data for evaluating SAPRC chemical mechanism. It was found that the SAPRC-11 can well predict the O₃ formation and NO oxidation for almost all propene runs, with 6 hr Δ(O₃ – NO) model error of –3% ± 7%, while the final O₃ was underestimated by ~20% for isoprene experiments. As for toluene and p-xylene experiments, it was confirmed that SAPRC-11 has significant improvement on aromatic chemistry than earlier version of SAPRC-07, although the aromatic decay rate was still underestimated to some extent. The model sensitivity test has been carried out, and the most sensitive parameters identified are the initial concentrations of reactants and the light intensity as well as HONO offgasing rate and O₃ wall loss rate. All of which demonstrated that CAPS-ZJU smog chamber could derive high quality experimental data, and could provide insights on chamber studies and chemical mechanism development.     

中国环境保护相关电价政策效应与资金机制

本文从电价政策优化视角,分析了环保电价与可再生能源电价的目标、补贴率变化,首次核算了两类政策的资金总额,对比评估了两类政策的资金规模、微观作用机制、资金机制和决策机制.结果发现,环保电价长年稳定,为燃煤发电行业污染治理资金提供了稳定预期,实现了污染物的快速减排;可再生能源上网标杆电价多次下调,激励企业技术进步的同时,助长了企业投机行为.微观作用机制上,环保电价刺激了燃煤发电企业治污技术进步、企业私人成本下降,但社会承担了较高的污染治理成本;而可再生能源电价政策促进了发电社会成本的下降.可再生能源电价资金传导机制更为刚性,但存在附加征收率不高、资金缺口大等问题,政策设计未做到激励相容.2015年环保电价与可再生能源电价补贴资金总额分别为767.97亿元（不含税）和429.1亿元（供给侧）.环保电价资金总额超过可再生能源电价资金总额,强化了燃煤发电成本优势,制约了可再生能源发展,不利于电力结构的清洁化.     

钢渣改性研究进展及展望

我国钢渣产生量巨大,随着日益严格的环保要求,为使钢渣达到资源化利用的目的,钢渣改性成为需要迫切解决的工作。简述了我国钢铁行业产生的钢渣的组成特点、资源化利用存在的问题;重点综述了钢渣改性的研究进展。结合现存钢渣改性工艺的特点,指出热态钢渣碳酸化改性,不仅可以充分利用钢渣本身的巨大热能,实现钢厂内CO₂减排,还能够实现钢渣稳定性和胶凝性能的改善,是今后钢渣改性研究的重要方向。     

城市污水厂MCR-1基因及其携带菌的污染

研究了南京某城市污水处理厂MCR-1基因及其携带菌的污染特征,从MCR-1的分布特征、影响因素及MCR-1携带菌的耐药特征等方面综合评价.结果发现MCR-1随处理流程丰度下降,去除率达83.6%,但其相对丰度在出水中显著升高,剩余污泥中含有高浓度MCR-1,浓度达2.88×10¹²copies/L.粘菌素耐药菌同样沿处理流程逐渐降低,出水降至53CFU/mL,去除率达99.98%,但在剩余污泥中浓度高达2.04×10⁵CFU/mL.相关性分析发现MCR-1丰度与氨氮含量呈正相关,而相对丰度与COD、总氮和硝酸盐含量呈负相关.耐药特征分析表明曝气池（CAST、MSBR）和曝气生物流化池（ABFT）中MCR-1携带菌可耐受较高浓度粘菌素,且污水处理使MCR-1携带菌对粘菌素的耐受能力提高.表明污水处理流程不但无法完全去除MCR-1及其携带菌,且导致耐药性风险提高.本研究可为评价污水中以MCR-1为代表的超级抗性基因的环境风险提供参考.     

Young drivers' responses to anti-speeding advertisements: Comparison of self-report and objective measures of persuasive processing and outcomes

Objective: Self-report measures are typically used to assess the effectiveness of road safety advertisements. However, psychophysiological measures of persuasive processing (i.e., skin conductance response [SCR]) and objective driving measures of persuasive outcomes (i.e., in-vehicle Global Positioning System [GPS] devices) may provide further insights into the effectiveness of these advertisements. This study aimed to explore the persuasive processing and outcomes of 2 anti-speeding advertisements by incorporating both self-report and objective measures of speeding behavior. In addition, this study aimed to compare the findings derived from these different measurement approaches.

Methods: Young drivers (N = 20, M age = 21.01 years) viewed either a positive or negative emotion–based anti-speeding television advertisement. While viewing the advertisement, SCR activity was measured to assess ad-evoked arousal responses. The RoadScout GPS device was then installed in participants' vehicles for 1 week to measure on-road speed-related driving behavior. Self-report measures assessed persuasive processing (emotional and arousal responses) and actual driving behavior.

Results: There was general correspondence between the self-report measures of arousal and the SCR and between the self-report measure of actual driving behavior and the objective driving data (as assessed via the GPS devices).

Conclusions: This study provides insights into how psychophysiological and GPS devices could be used as objective measures in conjunction with self-report measures to further understand the persuasive processes and outcomes of emotion-based anti-speeding advertisements.