Reduced cadmium accumulation in tobacco by sodium chloride priming

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Cadmium (Cd) pollution threatens agricultural security worldwide. This study tested the efficacy of priming chemicals to decrease Cd uptake by tobacco...     

Research on the effects of command-and-control and market-oriented policy tools on China’s energy conservation and emissions reduction innovation

The impact of environmental regulation on technology innovation is a hot spot in current research where a large number of empirical studies are based on Porter Hypothesis (PH). However, there are still controversies in academia about the establishment of “weak” and “narrow” versions of PH. Based on the panel data of application for patent of energy conservation and emission reduction (ECER) technology of Chinese city scale during 2008–2014, comprehensive energy price, pollutant emission, etc., mixed regression model and systematic generalized method of moments method were adopted, respectively, to study the impact of market-oriented and command-and-control policy tool on China’s ECER technology innovation. The results show that the environmental regulation hindered the technological innovation in the immediate phase; however, it turned out to be positive in the first-lag phase. Hence, the establishment of “weak” PH is time-bounded. The command-and-control policy tool played a more positive role in promoting technological innovation in the first-lag phase than market-oriented policy tool. Therefore, “narrow” PH is not tenable. The reason is that the main participants of China’s ECER technology innovation are state-owned companies and public institutions. Regionally speaking, the impact which command-and-control policy tool has on technological innovation at sight was non-significant in the eastern, the central, and the western regions of China whilst market-oriented policy tool had a negative effect. And market-oriented policy tool in the central region had strongest negative effect, which would diminish in the eastern region and become weakest in the western region. This was related to regional energy consumption level and the market economic vitality.     

Pesticide contamination profiles of water, sediment and aquatic organisms in the effluent of Gaobeidian wastewater treatment plant

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs, including DDT, HCH and HCB) and six indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB 28, 52, 101, 138, 153, and 180) were measured in water, sediment, zooplankton, fish and Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) from Gaobeidian Lake, which is located in the effluent of Gaobeidian wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Beijing, China. DDTs were dominant except for in water. In water, the concentrations of DDTs (6.22 ng l(-1)) and HCHs (18.0 ng l(-1)) were less than the limits (l000 ng l(-1) for DDTs and 5000 ng l(-1) for HCHs). However, PCBs concentration (20.8 ng l(-1)) exceeded the limit (14 ng l(-1)) suggested by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The high ratio of p,p'-DDT/DDTs (0.80) in water suggested that DDTs had recently been discharged into the ambient environment despite a longtime ban in China. For fish and Pelodiscus sinensis, the accumulation patterns of OCPs and PCBs were different in muscle and liver. And HCB and PCB 153 were significant different in different species (p<0.05). PCBs were dominated by PCB 52 in zooplankton, but by PCB 138 and 153 in Pelodiscus sinensis. The highest food web magnification factor (FWMF) was 4.83 for p,p'-DDT and the second highest was 4.36 for PCB 101 in Gaobeidian Lake. As compared with the other studies, biomagnification in the present study was not obvious. Trophic levels and age were two important factors that might contribute to the bioaccumulation in the present study.     

China’s Classification-Based Forest Management: Procedures,Problems, and Prospects

China’s new Classification-Based Forest Management (CFM) is a two-class system, including Commodity Forest (CoF) and Ecological Welfare Forest (EWF) lands, so named according to differences in their distinct functions and services. The purposes of CFM are to improve forestry economic systems, strengthen resource management in a market economy, ease the conflicts between wood demands and public welfare, and meet the diversified needs for forest services in China. The formative process of China’s CFM has involved a series of trials and revisions. China’s central government accelerated the reform of CFM in the year 2000 and completed the final version in 2003. CFM was implemented at the provincial level with the aid of subsidies from the central government. About a quarter of the forestland in China was approved as National EWF lands by the State Forestry Administration in 2006 and 2007. Logging is prohibited on National EWF lands, and their landowners or managers receive subsidies of about 70 RMB (US$10) per hectare from the central government. CFM represents a new forestry strategy in China and its implementation inevitably faces challenges in promoting the understanding of forest ecological services, generalizing nationwide criteria for identifying EWF and CoF lands, setting up forest-specific compensation mechanisms for ecological benefits, enhancing the knowledge of administrators and the general public about CFM, and sustaining EWF lands under China’s current forestland tenure system. CFM does, however, offer a viable pathway toward sustainable forest management in China.     

Application of crosswell seismic tomography using difference analysis with data normalization to monitor CO2 flooding in an aquifer

A pilot-scale experiment for carbon dioxide (CO₂) sequestration was undertaken at the Nagaoka test field in Japan. Time-lapse crosswell seismic tomography was conducted to detect and monitor the movement of CO₂ injected into an aquifer. We applied difference analysis with data normalization (DADN) to the time-lapse data to eliminate false images that were apparent in a conventionally processed difference section. Conventional difference analysis calculates travel-time delays after inversion, whereas the DADN method calculates them from raw travel-time records before inversion. Thus, fewer errors are generated with the DADN method compared to a conventional inversion analysis. We applied the DADN method to time-lapse tomography data recorded before and after the injection of CO₂ and computed the velocity variation in a subsurface section, which clearly showed the distribution of CO₂ flooding within a high permeability zone in the aquifer and showed no CO₂ leakage into the caprock. Our results also show the maximum velocity decrease as a result of CO₂ injection was about 9%, which is close to the results obtained in laboratory experiments. Finally, numerical simulations were inverted to test the effectiveness of the conventional and DADN methods in dealing with noise. These tests showed that the DADN method effectively reduces unique coherent noise for particular receiver and source combinations. We concluded that the DADN method provides useful data for monitoring the flow of CO₂ sequestered in underground aquifers.     

Accumulation of perfluorinated compounds in captive Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) and African lions (Panthera leo Linnaeus) in China

The accumulation of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the sera of captive wildlife species Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) and African lions (Panthera leo Linnaeus) from Harbin Wildlife Park, Heilongjiang Province, in China were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) was the predominant contaminant with a mean serum concentration of 1.18 ng mL(-1) in tigers and 2.69 ng mL(-1) in lions. Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) was the second most prevalent contaminant in both species. The composition profiles of the tested PFCs differed between tigers and lions, and the percentages of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were greater in lions than in tigers, indicating different exposures and/or metabolic capabilities between the two species. Assessments of the risk of PFC contamination to the two species were obtained by comparing measured concentrations to points of departure or toxicity reference values (TRVs). Results suggest no risk of PFOS exposure or toxicity for the two species.     

基于物元理论的自然灾害损失等级划分方法

基于"灾度"概念及其改进算法,结合物元理论,提出了自然灾害损失等级划分的可拓学算法,建立了基于物元理论的自然灾害损失等级划分模型,将物元分析方法应用于自然灾害损失等级划分,作为灾害损失等级评估方法的一种补充,并与之前算法互为验证.不仅论证了物元理论应用于灾害等级划分的可行性,阐述了自然灾害损失评估物元模型的算法过程,而且利用该模型正确评估了2008年中国南方冰冻灾害的损失等级.经过反复验证,证实了该方法的科学性,同时提出了该模型尚存在的细节问题,如灾度上限的取值,权重确定的方法等问题,以便于更好的完善该模型算法.     

MF-UF组合工艺处理再生纸废水的实验研究

针对再生纸废水体系,采用0.2 μm陶瓷微滤膜 （MF）与截留分子量为50 000 Dalton的疏水性PS有机超滤膜 （UF）组合工艺对再生纸废水进行处理。实验结果表明,此组合工艺对再生纸废水COD的去除率可达到846%,处理的废水达到造纸工业水污染物排放标准;根据再生纸废水的性质对膜清洗再生进行了考察,陶瓷膜及超滤膜通量约分别恢复85%与80%左右。     

《贵州省环境污染排放标准》中涉气项目修订原则与方法

以贵州省地方大气污染物排放标准为例,在充分分析其原标准存在问题的基础上,结合近年来颁布实施的环境质量标准、综合或行业污染物排放标准以及工作场所有害因素职业接触限值作为标准浓度限制值Cm,严格按照制定地方大气污染物排放标准的技术方法,重新计算了该省固定排放源的排放限值。计算时,首次以所涉行业区位商作为设置经济技术参数Ke值的重要依据,克服了对欠发达地区经济技术参数"一刀切"的缺点,增加了标准的经济技术可行性。通过计算,地方标准的排放限值更趋于合理,符合国家对地方标准的有关要求。