An approach to sustainable development: the case of Cuba

This paper analyzes the Cuban model of sustainable development and explains the causes that made Cuba the only country that meets the conditions of sustainability according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). The Human Development Index has three main components: quality of life (health indicator measured as life expectancy at birth), knowledge (education indicator measured as adult literacy) and the standard of life (economic indicator measured by the Gross Domestic Income). This paper analyses the aspects of the educational and health system of Cuba and also of its energy policies that explain the excellent scores of the Human Development Index. Cuba shows a Human Development Index of 0.8 with an Ecological Footprint of 1.8?gha. This is achieved with a Gross Domestic Income lower than other countries with similar Human Development Index. The Ecological Footprint of Cuba is mainly determined by the CO₂ and the agricultural land footprint. The paper shows how the economic transition, after the economic crisis of the early 1990s, was realized without significantly increasing the Ecological Footprint.     

遗产旅游地生态移民影响的实证研究——以武陵源风景名胜区为例

生态移民是近年来诸多景区为保护生态环境而采取的重要举措之一。以世界遗产地武陵源风景名胜区为例,通过对安置点居民的问卷调查与实地访谈获取第一手资料,从居民感知的角度分析生态移民给安置区居民所带来的经济、社会文化、资源环境、心理及安置政策等方面的影响及其相关因素。构建生态移民影响的感知差异分析模型,探讨不同基本背景的居民对生态移民影响的感知差异性。结果表明,安置点居民对生态移民的社会文化、资源环境以及心理层面的正面影响比较认可;对于经济影响的感知分歧较大;而对于移民政策的感知十分消极;不同性别、年龄、文化程度、收入水平以及不同旅游业参与程度的居民对生态移民影响的认知态度存在显著差异。在此基础上,指出武陵源生态移民过程中所存在的主要问题及相关政策导向     

水环境质量评价3种方法的应用对比

从众多水质评价方法中选取单项指数法、加权均值型指数法、模糊数学法进行介绍,并通过运用这3种方法对大汶河某年监测数据的平均值进行评价.经对比分析发现,加权均值型指数法是一种比较实用的水质评价方法,模糊数学法可以作为必要的补充.     

Atmospheric composition change research: Time to go post-normal?

For more than two decades a number of frameworks for scientific knowledge production are being proposed by science and technology researchers. They all advocate an extended involvement of non-specialists, in particular when it comes to knowledge production applicable to practical societal problems. We look to what extent these new frameworks have taken ground within a particular research community: the ACCENT Network of Excellence which coordinates European atmospheric chemistry and physics research applicable to air pollution and climate change. We did so by stimulating a debate through a “blog”, a survey and in-depth interviews with ACCENT scientists about the interaction between science, policy making and civil society, to which a great deal of ACCENT member contributed in writing or verbally. Most of them had interactions with policy makers and/or the general public, and they generally believe that interactions with spheres other than the scientific are needed. While such interactions give personal insight and satisfaction, they seem to have little impact on the goals and the practice of the scientific work itself. Extended frameworks of science production that go beyond the disciplinary mode seem to emerge at the level of individual scientists, yet they still need to find their way to the level of scientific project management. In this paper we discuss the justifications and barriers to implement a higher degree of extended knowledge integration in applied science projects such as ACCENT. It is felt that the community of atmospheric chemists and physicists is mature for such an implementation and recommendations are given to help and make this happen.     

Chromium (III) recovery from waste acid solution by ion exchange processing using Amberlite IR-120 resin: batch and continuous ion exchange modelling

The use of ion exchange technology was studied to remove chromium (III) from acidic waste solution by Amberlite IR-120 resin. Batch and column experimental tests were conducted to provide data for theoretical models and verify the system performance of the adsorption process. Results of batch equilibrium tests indicated that Langmuir isotherm describes well the adsorption process, whereas experimental data also provide evidence that, under the present experimental conditions, chromium (III) adsorption by Amberlite IR-120 resin is film-diffusion controlled; on the other hand, the theoretical model used in the present investigation was found to predict reasonably well the ion exchange breakthrough performance.     

Shifts in Microbial Communities, Microbial Biomass and Organic Matter Mineralization for Three Mediterranean Soils Contaminated By Metals

Microbial communities (phospholipid fatty acid pattern, bacterial growing strategies, eco-physiological index (EPI) and total bacteria counts, as a number of heterotrophic cuhurable bacteria), substrate-induced respiration (SIR), and nitrogen mineralization were studied in three Mediterranean soils at three different depth levels (A, B and C). Soils were experimentally treated with a final concentration of 1000 ppm of trace metals (Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Al³⁺, Fe²⁺, Pb²⁺, Ni²⁺, Mn²⁺, Cr³⁺ and Cd²⁺). Soils were stored in 571 plastic containers for one year, and watered with 1001 during this period. Leachate was recovered through a bottom tap. Samples of the three depths were studied. Soil microbial communities showed different effects to other studies presented in the literature, but carried out on non-Mediterranean soils. Dramatic differences were found between treated soils and untreated ones, but not between soils or horizons. the treated soil displayed a decrease in CFUs, SIR N-mineralization and EPI together with a dominance of r-growing strategists. the relative moles percent of several PLFAs, especially 15:0, 16: 1ω7, cy17: 0, br18:0 and 18: 1ω7 decreased because of the pollution of soils, whereas 10Me16, 18:2ω6, cy19:0, i16:0 and br17:0 showed higher values than in untreated soils.     

Spatial–temporal pattern of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus L. 1758) gonad maturation across the Mediterranean Sea

Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT; Thunnus thynnus) is a migrating species straddling the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. It is assumed that this species is divided into a western and an eastern stock, which spawn in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea, respectively. To learn more about the reproductive behavior of the eastern BFT stock, we tracked gonadal development in adult fish that were sampled between April and July during three consecutive years (2003–2005). Sampling campaigns were carried out using common fishing methods at selected locations within the Mediterranean Sea, namely Levantine Sea, Malta, and Balearic Islands. An additional sampling point, Barbate, was situated northwest of the Straits of Gibraltar along the Atlantic coast. Morphometric parameters such as the total body mass (M _B) and the weights of the gonads (M _G) were recorded, and the respective gonadosomatic index (GSI) values were calculated. The data collected revealed two important trends: (1) GSI values are higher in fish caught in the eastern rather than the western locations across the Mediterranean Sea, and (2) the GSI reaches maximum values between late May and early June in Levantine Sea (eastern Mediterranean Sea), and only 2 and 4 weeks later in the central (Malta) and western (Balearic Islands) locations, respectively. The advanced gonadal development in BFT correlates well with higher sea surface temperatures. Our findings also distinguish the northern Levantine Sea BFT population (mean M _B 78.41 ± 4.13 kg), and the Barbate BFT population with the greatest M _B (all fish sampled > 100 kg). These data reflect a situation in which the eastern Mediterranean basin may function as a habitat for young BFT, until they gain a larger M _B and are able to move to the Atlantic Ocean. However, the existence of genetically discrete BFT populations in the Mediterranean Sea cannot be ruled out.     

海星多糖对小鼠酒精性脂肪肝损伤的预防研究

以多棘海盘车体壁为材料提取海星多糖,探讨多糖对小鼠酒精肝损伤的预防作用。采用水提法提取多糖,硫酸—苯酚法进行测定。以正常小鼠作空白对照,将酒精肝小鼠分为酒精肝模型组,海星多糖低、中、高剂量组(20mg/kg、40mg/kg、80mg/kg)进行灌胃,测定小鼠生理指标。结果显示,与模型组相比,海星多糖组小鼠血清中ALT、AST含量降低(P<0.05),TG、MDA含量也降低(P<0.05),GSH-PX、SOD活性升高(P<0.05),肝脏脂肪变性明显减轻,说明海星多糖对酒精性肝脏有较明显的保护作用。