An automated (novel) algorithm for estimating green vegetation cover fraction from digital image: UIP-MGMEP

Green vegetation cover fraction (VCF) is an important indicator of vegetation status in ecology and agronomy. Digital image analysis (DIA) has been widely accepted as a new VCF measurement technique. In this study, we present a novel fully automatic threshold segmentation algorithm for VCF measurements, which is named as upper inflection point plus mean gradient magnitude of edge pixels (UIP-MGMEP). The algorithm performs VCF estimation upon the vegetation index Excess Green (EXG). UIP-MGMEP optimizes the EXG threshold by searching the upper inflection point (UIP) of the M-Et curve (mean gradient magnitude of edge pixels (MGMEP) vs. EXG threshold), based on the assumption that EXG variance of the boundary pixels between vegetation and background is larger than the variance of the background. Five typical sample images are used to illustrate how ground complexity reduces the distinctness of the UIP. Three controlled experiments are illustrated to test the robustness of UIP-MGMEP to resolution, exposure, and ground complexity. The results show that UIP-MGMEP is a promising algorithm for automatic VCF estimation upon digital images. Compared to broad-leaved grass, narrow-leaved grass is more sensitive to resolution and exposure. To reduce ground complexity, smaller footprint size while more images to cover the same area may be better than one image with large footprint size. UIP-MGMEP is fully automatic, making it promising for batch processing of VCF measurements that is very difficult in any wide-range field survey in the past. UIP-MGMEP algorithm can only extract green vegetation and is not suitable for non-green (even grayish-green) vegetation, due to the limits of vegetation index EXG. In addition, UIP-MGMEP is not recommended for images with VCF less than 0.5% or greater than 99.5%.     

江苏省水质全要素代表性监测体系的设计

为了评价并进行城市水环境质量考核排名,介绍了江苏省组织开展涵盖地表水、饮用水、地下水、近岸海域和城市内河5种类型"全要素、代表性"水质监测断面(点位)体系建设工作的情况以及全要素断面设置的基本原则和做法。分苏南、苏北、苏中3个区域,对全省地表水监测代表性进行了量化计算,结果表明,调整后全省水质综合指数极差从41.07降至7.17,标准差从3.16降为0.49;采用德尔斐层次分析法分析,设计了水质代表性指数,含1项一级指标、5项二级指标、12项三级指标,计算表明,调整前全省水质代表性指数得分为69.1分,调整后为88.7分。将调整结果进行论证后再与各市环保主管部门交换意见,取得最终一致后正式实施。     

Robust Regression with Data-Dependent Regularization Parameters and Autoregressive Temporal Correlations

We introduce robust procedures for analyzing water quality data collected over time. One challenging task in analyzing such data is how to achieve robustness in presence of outliers while maintaining high estimation efficiency so that we can draw valid conclusions and provide useful advices in water management. The robust approach requires specification of a loss function such as the Huber, Tukey’s bisquare and the exponential loss function, and an associated tuning parameter determining the extent of robustness needed. High robustness is at the cost of efficiency loss in parameter loss. To this end, we propose a data-driven method which leads to more efficient parameter estimation. This data-dependent approach allows us to choose a regularization (tuning) parameter that depends on the proportion of “outliers” in the data so that estimation efficiency is maximized. We illustrate the proposed methods using a study on ammonium nitrogen concentrations from two sites in the Huaihe River in China, where the interest is in quantifying the trend in the most recent years while accounting for possible temporal correlations and “irregular” observations in earlier years.     

彩色玉米粉粉尘云最低引燃温度试验研究

利用HY16429粉尘云引燃温度试验装置,分别对5种彩色玉米粉在不同喷尘压力和不同质量浓度下进行粉尘云最低引燃温度的测定。结果表明:在不同的喷尘压力下,粉尘云最低引燃温度随粉尘云质量浓度增加先下降后上升,在2 250~3 500 g/m~3达到最危险浓度;在不同的质量浓度下,粉尘云最低引燃温度随喷尘压力增加先下降后上升,在60~80 k Pa达到最低值,表明当粉尘云形成的悬浮状态最佳时,最低引燃温度为360℃;无色玉米粉的引燃温度普遍低于含色素的玉米粉,表明色素的添加可使玉米粉的燃爆危险性降低,这与玉米粉粒度分布情况和所含元素中碳氮比有关,C元素含量和碳氮比越高所需引燃温度越低;无色玉米粉粒度分布相对分散且粉尘粒度相对较大,加入色素后粒度分布较集中且粉尘粒度相对较小;不同颜色的玉米粉最低引燃温度呈现不同的变化规律,可解释为色素的发色基团对应于不饱和双键的共轭体系,在受热时它的结构易发生变化所导致。     

Road traffic injuries among riders of electric bike/electric moped in southern China

Objective: Electric bike/moped-related road traffic injuries have become a burgeoning public health problem in China. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence and potential risk factors of electric bike/moped-related road traffic injuries among electric bike/moped riders in southern China.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was used to interview 3,151 electric bike/moped riders in southern China. Electric bike/moped-related road traffic injuries that occurred from July 2014 to June 2015 were investigated. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews and analyzed between July 2015 and June 2017.

Results: The prevalence of electric bike/moped-related road traffic injuries among the investigated riders was 15.99%. Electric bike/moped-related road traffic injuries were significantly associated with category of electric bike (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–1.82), self-reported confusion (AOR = 1.77, 95% CI, 1.13–2.78), history of crashes (AOR = 6.14, 95% CI, 4.68–8.07), running red lights (AOR = 3.57, 95% CI, 2.42–5.25), carrying children while riding (AOR = 1.96, 95% CI, 1.37–2.85), carrying adults while riding (AOR = 1.68, 95% CI, 1.23–2.28), riding in the motor lane (AOR = 2.42, 95% CI, 1.05–3.93), and riding in the wrong traffic direction (AOR = 1.63, 95% CI, 1.13–2.35). In over 77.58% of electric bike/moped-related road traffic crashes, riders were determined by the police to be responsible for the crash. Major crash-causing factors included violating traffic signals or signs, careless riding, speeding, and riding in the wrong lane.

Conclusion: Traffic safety related to electric bikes/moped is becoming more problematic with growing popularity compared with other 2-wheeled vehicles. Programs need to be developed to prevent electric bike/moped-related road traffic injuries in this emerging country.     

Zr掺杂TiO_2介孔材料光催化降解头孢氨苄

采用固相合成法制备了Zr掺杂TiO_2(Zr-TiO_2),运用XRD技术对其进行了表征,并将其用于水中头孢氨苄的光催化降解,通过单因素实验及正交实验优化了光催化反应条件。结果表明:制备的Zr-TiO_2为锐钛矿型介孔材料,孔径约为8.12 nm;各因素对头孢氨苄去除率的影响由大到小依次为光照时间、Zr-TiO_2投加量、初始头孢氨苄质量浓度;在Zr-TiO_2投加量为1.5 g/L、初始头孢氨苄质量浓度为10 mg/L、溶液pH为7.0、光照(300 W UV)时间为1.5 h的优化条件下,头孢氨苄去除率高达99.46%;Zr-TiO_2光催化剂的重复使用性能良好。     

石墨烯纳米材料对哺乳动物的毒性及其作用机制

石墨烯是一种应用广泛的新兴非金属纳米材料,具有独特的电学机械性能、超大的比表面积以及潜在的生物相容性,在材料、电子、能源、光学以及生物医学等领域得到广泛应用。与此同时,石墨烯的环境行为和生物毒性也随之引起日益广泛的关注。本文通过对石墨烯纳米材料的动物毒性、细胞毒性、毒性影响因素和毒性机制等相关研究进展进行总结。石墨烯纳米材料可通过气管滴注、吸入、静脉注射、腹腔注射以及口服等方式进入体内,通过机械屏障、血脑屏障和血液胎盘屏障等积累在肺、肝、脾等部位引起急性或者慢性损伤;目前有关石墨烯毒性机制的研究主要集中于线粒体损伤、DNA损伤、炎性反应、凋亡等终点及氧化应激参与的复杂信号通路,不同石墨烯纳米材料的浓度、尺寸、表面结构和官能团等对石墨烯的生物毒性影响不同。鉴于当前该领域研究的局限性,对石墨烯纳米材料生物毒性研究的发展方向进行了展望,进而为石墨烯材料的安全应用提供理论借鉴和实践参考。     

阿维菌素对中华绒螯蟹肝胰腺氧化胁迫效应和组织结构的影响

采用半静态染毒法,研究不同浓度(1.6、8.0、16.0μg·L-1)阿维菌素在胁迫中华绒螯蟹12、24、48、96 h时肝胰腺超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性和丙二醛(MDA)积累量等氧化胁迫相关指标的变化;并在胁迫60 d时,记录各实验组和对照组中华绒螯蟹肝胰腺颜色的变化并进行组织病理观察。3个阿维菌素浓度组为实验组,空白组和溶剂组为对照组。结果表明在整个实验过程中空白组和溶剂组各个时间点各项指标之间无显著差异(P>0.05);低浓度(1.6μg·L-1)组SOD和CAT活力变化不显著(P>0.05);中浓度(8.0μg·L-1)组SOD和CAT活力变化趋势一致,持续被诱导,SOD活力在24 h以后显著高于空白组(P<0.01),CAT活力在48 h以后显著高于空白组(P<0.01);高浓度(16.0μg·L-1)组SOD和CAT活力在12 h~24 h之间变化趋势一致,表现为显著升高(P<0.05),但是在48 h之后,SOD活力显著下降(P<0.05);96 h时,高浓度组SOD活力显著低于空白组(P<0.01),而CAT活力显著高于空白组(P<0.01);在整个实验过程中各实验组MDA积累量逐渐增加,高浓度组氧化胁迫指标的变化幅度大于低浓度组。胁迫60 d时,取样观察可见对照组中华绒螯蟹肝胰腺正常,各实验组中华绒螯蟹肝胰腺发生了不同程度的病变,肝胰腺颜色由最开始的橘黄色变成了淡黄色、黄白色甚至白色,高、中、低各浓度组肝胰腺白化所占的比例分别是66.6%、57.1%和25.0%。组织病理分析显示,淡黄色肝胰腺的病理变化主要是B细胞数量减少,肝胰腺上皮细胞部分肿大并出现空泡;黄白肝病理观察可见肝胰腺上皮细胞中空泡数量增多,体积增大,且空泡内出现内容物,细胞核固缩;白肝的病理表现主要是基膜增厚,上皮细胞大量脱落,散落在管腔中,空泡数量进一步增多,肝胰腺的生理功能受损。由此得出,阿维菌素会对中华绒螯蟹肝胰腺造成氧化胁迫和组织损伤,且阿维菌素和对肝胰腺的氧化胁迫效应和组织结构损伤程度有一定的剂量-效应关系。     

Investigation of the accumulation of ash,heavy metals,and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to assess the stability of lysis–cryptic growth sludge reduction in sequencing batch reactor

The accumulation of ash, heavy metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (collectively called potential accumulating substances, PAS) was evaluated to ascertain the stability of lysis–cryptic growth sludge reduction process (LSRP) for municipal sludge treatment. One sequencing batch reactor (SBR) incorporated with homogenization was run to test the LSRP and another SBR as a control. The continuous monitoring results for 2 months showed that the ash and heavy metals slightly increased, and the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons decreased by 18.0%, indicating that there may be negligible accumulations during the LSRP. Their accumulations met pattern I, as demonstrated by statistical analysis, proving no PAS accumulation for LSRP. This was further confirmed by sludge activity and system performance. Moreover, the mechanism for no PAS accumulation was discussed. It was concluded that the LSRP was stable with no worries about PAS accumulation under the operational conditions.     

Effect of tea saponin on phytoremediation of Cd and pyrene in contaminated soils by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lolium multiflorum</Emphasis>

Tea saponin (TS), a kind of green biosurfactant produced by plants, was added into the Cd–pyrene co-contaminated soils to evaluate its influence on phytoremediation of Cd and pyrene by Lolium multiflorum. The results showed that the accumulation of pyrene in L. multiflorum was significantly promoted by the TS. Compared with no TS treatments (PL and ML), the aboveground concentrations of pyrene in TS treatments (PLT and MLT) increased by 135 and 30%, respectively, and the underground concentrations of pyrene in TS treatments (PLT and MLT) increased by 40 and 25%. The concentrations of Cd in the aboveground and underground parts in single contaminated treatments were all significantly more than those in co-contaminated treatments, while the situation of pyrene was quite the reverse. Besides, the addition of TS enhanced activities of dehydrogenase and polyphenol oxidase in soils and increased the biomass of L. multiflorum. The micromorphology of L. multiflorum was not affected by TS. The study suggests that the use of L. multiflorum with TS is an alternative technology for remediation of Cd–pyrene co-contaminated soils.