碳酸钙与生物炭对酸化菜地土壤持氮能力的影响

针对太湖地区稻田改种菜地后带来的土壤酸化现象,以碳酸钙与生物炭作为酸化改良剂,开展室内培养及多次淋洗模拟试验,比较两种改良剂对酸化菜地土壤持氮能力及酸化修复效果的影响.结果表明,基于碱缓冲曲线法,本试验用酸化菜地土壤每提高1个p H单位需向土壤中添加碳酸钙3.92×10-2mol·kg~(-1)或生物炭27.73 g·kg~(-1).无外源氮条件下碳酸钙添加使土壤氮矿化速率显著提高了37%,对土壤铵态氮、硝态氮含量影响不显著;生物炭添加使土壤氮矿化速率显著提高了35%~44%,且显著增加了土壤硝态氮含量42%~58%.模拟淋洗下,生物炭添加显著消减渗漏液体积24%,渗漏液氮浓度45%,显著减少氮淋失量42%~57%,而碳酸钙添加对渗漏液体积没有影响,增加了渗漏液中氮浓度,氮淋失量增加了12%~76%.淋洗后,各处理土壤p H值发生不同程度的降低,无外源氮条件下添加碳酸钙处理土壤p H值降幅最低,外源氮添加条件下生物炭添加处理降幅最低.由此可见,碳酸钙对酸化土壤修复效率较高,但在外源氮添加条件下降低了土壤持氮能力,更适用于酸化严重且需要休耕改良的菜地土壤;生物炭在维持土壤p H值的同时可以有效提高土壤矿质氮留存量,降低氮淋失,更适用于仍在高强度种植的菜地土壤.     

Have international remittance inflows degraded environmental quality? A carbon emission mitigation analysis for Ghana

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Despite the considerable contributions of remittances to households and economic advancements, their environmental implications have received little...     

Overview of the impact of noninvasive prenatal testing on diagnostic procedures

Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has had a profound influence in the field of prenatal diagnosis since the 1997 discovery of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal blood. Research has progressed rapidly, with clinical data supporting laboratory studies showing that NIPT is highly sensitive and specific for fetal aneuploidy, resulting in marked uptake in the high-risk patient population. The superior accuracy of NIPT compared with conventional screening methods has led to significant decreases in the number of invasive diagnostic procedures, in addition to a concomitant decrease in the number of procedure-related fetal losses. Yet, NIPT has been described as a ‘disruptive innovation’ due to the considerable changes the technology has commanded on current prenatal screening and diagnostic practices. This review summarizes both institutional and global experience with NIPT uptake, its effect on reducing diagnostic invasive procedures, and the unique challenges that reduced procedural volume may have on physician and trainee proficiency, cytogenetic laboratories, and neonatal outcome. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding the Underwater Behaviour of Scuba Divers in Hong Kong

Diving-related activities may constitute a major threat to coral reefs. This study aimed to quantify the impact of diving in Hong Kong on hard corals and understand how socio-economic characteristics and experience level of divers influence diver-inflicted damage. We recorded and analysed the underwater behaviour of 81 recreational divers. On average, a diver was in contact with marine biota 14.7 times with about 40 % of contacts involved corals and 38 % were damaging contacts with corals or other biota in a single dive. The most harm-inflicting groups included inexperienced and camera-carrying divers. Although Hong Kong divers did not make many damaging contacts with corals, there is still an imminent need to determine the scale of damage from diving activities on the marine ecosystem given the rapid development of marine-based tourism and the limited coral-inhabited areas in Hong Kong where the marine environment is already under stress from anthropogenic activities.     

Nonseparability and the voluntary approach to externality problems

Ronald Coase asserted that voluntary two-party bargaining with zero transaction costs results in an optimal resource allocation, which is invariant with respect to the liability rule. It has been argued that nonseparabilities destroy the validity of Coase's theorem. In this paper it is shown that this criticism is based on implausible assumptions about the externality-receivers adjustment to the externality level.     

Enhanced phytoremediation: A study of mycorrhizoremediation of heavy metal–contaminated soil

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are microscopic fungi that occur naturally in soil and form a symbiosis with plant roots. By colonizing the roots, the fungus increases plant growth by making soil essential elements like zinc and phosphorus more accessible. AMF can play a role in the phytoremediation of heavy metal–contaminated soil (mycorrhizoremediation). Two research experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of AMF on the extraction of different heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, selenium, and zinc) in contaminated soil. A grass mixture composed of Festuca rubra, Festuca eliator, Agropyron repens, and Trifolium repens was used in the experiments, and four different types of AMF were investigated: Glomus intraradices, Glomus mosseae, Glomus etunicatum, and Gigaspora gigantea. The results of the study showed that heavy metal extraction by Glomus intraradices colonized plants was the highest of all four AMF tested and was generally higher than nonmycorrhizal plants, depending on the heavy metal concentration in soil and whether it interacted with other metals in soil. However, metal extraction by AMF colonized grasses reached a plateau after an approximately two‐month period showing no further phytoaccumulation. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Alignment of the Lumbar Vertebrae in a Driving Posture

The purpose of this study was to define the anatomical arrangement of the lumbar spine in the mid-body sagittal plane of a human volunteer while in three postures: a driving posture; full flexion; and full extension. Radiographic images of the lumbar spine were made of a 33-year old 50th percentile male subject seated in a comfortable driving posture. Additional radiographs were made of the lumbar spine while the subject was postured in full voluntary flexion, and full voluntary extension. Anterior and posterior mid-sagittal vertebral endplate positions were plotted on an x-y coordinate system for each posture. Anterior and posterior disk thicknesses, and the positions of the centers of each vertebra were numerically determined using information from the plots. Disk thicknesses were then graphed and comparisons made for each posture. The arrangements of the centers of vertebrae were graphed and compared for the three different postures. The arrangement of the lumbar vertebrae tended toward that of full voluntary flexion while the subject was in a normal driving posture. Anterior disk thickness was a sensitive indicator of posture, while posterior disk thickness was not. While in a driving posture, the lower back approximated a straight-line that was nearly parallel to the seat back axis. The observations support those of an earlier study. Since soft tissue spinal elements can only be damaged by applying tensile forces in excess of their tolerance, the anterior elements of the lumbar spine would not be directly threatened in low velocity frontal collisions, since anterior elements would be in relative compression. Tension injury to the anterior structures as a result of a rear-end collision would first require reversing the preimpact conditions imposed by the normal driving posture. Tension injury to the posterior spinal elements resulting from low velocity rear-end collisions would be unlikely since axial compression loading would also diminish tension stress in posterior soft tissue structures. Any compression injury to posterior elements resulting from rear-end collisions would first require reversing the pre-impact conditions imposed by the normal driving posture.