Municipal solid waste management in Rasht City, Iran

Pollution and health risks generated by improper solid waste management are important issues concerning environmental management in developing countries. In most cities, the use of open dumps is common for the disposal of wastes, resulting in soil and water resource contamination by leachate in addition to odors and fires. Solid waste management infrastructure and services in developing countries are far from achieving basic standards in terms of hygiene and efficient collection and disposal. This paper presents an overview of current municipal solid waste management in Rasht city, Gilan Province, Iran, and provides recommendations for system improvement. The collected data of different MSW functional elements were based on data from questionnaires, visual observations of the authors, available reports and several interviews and meetings with responsible persons. Due to an increase in population and changes in lifestyle, the quantity and quality of MSW in Rasht city has changed. Lack of resources, infrastructure, suitable planning, leadership, and public awareness are the main challenges of MSW management of Rasht city. However, the present situation of solid waste management in this city, which generates more than 400tons/d, has been improved since the establishment of an organization responsible only for solid waste management. Source separation of wastes and construction of a composting plant are the two main activities of the Rasht Municipality in recent years.     

The Effect of Masterbatch Addition on the Mechanical, Thermal, Optical and Surface Properties of Poly(lactic acid)

There has been considerable interest in the use of the biodegradable polymer poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as a replacement for petroleum derived polymers due to ease of processability and its high mechanical strength. Other material properties have however limited its wider application. These include its brittle properties, low impact strength and yellow tint. In an attempt to overcome these drawbacks, PLA was blended with four commercially available additives, commonly known as masterbatches. The effect of the addition of 1.5 wt% of the four masterbatches on the mechanical, thermal, optical and surface properties of the polymer was evaluated. All four masterbatches had a slight negative effect on the tensile strength of PLA (3–5% reduction). There was a four fold increase in impact resistance however with the addition of one of the masterbatches. Differential scanning calorimetry demonstrated that this increase corresponded to a decrease in the polymer crystallinity. However there was an associated increase in polymer haze with the addition of this masterbatch. The clarity of PLA was improved through the addition of an optical brightener masterbatch, but the impact resistance remained low. The glass transition and melting temperatures of PLA were not affected by the addition of the masterbatches, and no change was observed in surface energy. Some delay in PLA degradation, in a PBS degradation medium at 50 °C, was observed due to blending with these masterbatches.     

打造零事故的建筑安全文化

在研讨安全文化和建筑安全文化内涵,分析国内外建筑安全文化研究与国内实施现状的基础上,研究了5家国际建筑企业的安全创新活动,包括:企业背景、方案、实施过程等。结合利害关系者原理、风险管理和安全知识管理,笔者提出:要实现安全行为,应注重塑造员工的安全信念、态度和承诺;应有高层管理人员强有力的支持,将整个建筑业供应链的利害关系者都纳入到安全管理中,风险管理和安全知识管理的运用可促进零事故安全文化的形成。同时提出构建在我国实现零事故的建筑安全文化的流程,即承认-启动-执行-监督-更新的步骤,给出了一种提高员工安全知识、坚定员工安全信念、塑造员工安全态度、形成安全行为并最终打造健全安全文化的整体策略。     

地震灾害综合应急能力评估研究

汶川大地震在给我国带来巨大的悲痛和损失的同时,也检验了我国政府的突发事件应急能力。此次抗震救灾凸显出我国地震灾害应急能力存在的一些不足。建立“突发事件综合应急能力评估指标体系”的目的是为了评估政府的突发事件应急能力,以评促建。地震灾害由于其不同于其它突发事件的特性,其应急管理也有其特定的内容。现以地震灾害特征为标准,选取13个省市为样本,套用已有评估指标体系,分析和评估我国地震灾害应急能力。研究认为,我国应加强地震灾害应急能力建设,同时认为已有评估指标体系能满足使用要求。     

Effect of temperature and precipitation on linear increment of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sphagnum fuscum</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">S. magellanicum</Emphasis> in Western Siberia

The linear increment of Sphagnum fuscum and S. magellanicum in ombrotrophic mires of Western Siberia has been measured during two years over a transect about 2500 km long extending from forest–steppe to forest–tundra. Along the latitudinal gradient, the increment of both species has proved to be correlated with annual average air temperature and, in S. magellanicum, also with annual precipitation. The determinants of their growth differ between the southern, central, and northern parts of the study region. At the regional level, the annual and summer precipitation plays a more important role than the average air temperature. The increment of S. fuscum in the southern part is positively correlated with the amount of precipitation and negatively correlated with summer temperature, whereas the situation in the central part is inverse. In S. magellanicum, the linear increment is directly dependent on the annual average temperature and annual and summer precipitation in the south and on the annual and summer precipitation in the north of Western Siberia. The dynamics of linear growth of both species in bog pine forests during the growing season are similar: its rate is the highest in June, when the linear increment of S. fuscum and S. magellanicum amounts to 60 and 85% of the annual total, respectively.     

Sexual forms and their ecological correlates of flowering plants in Siberia

The flora of Siberia includes 4500 species, 815 genera, and 123 families of angiosperms. The causes of the relationship between sexual forms and such ecological and biological features of plants as the life form, the mode of pollination, pericarp’s consistency, habitat type, zonal group, and the ecological group in relation to moistening were analyzed and discussed. For the first time, we demonstrated that gynomonoecy in the flora of Siberia was associated with a semiwoody growth form, pollination by wind, and propagation in zonal communities. It was revealed that gynodioecy in Siberia was associated with a semiwoody growth form, circumpolar or Eurasian distribution, and floodplain meadows. It was found that the ratio of dioecious and hermaphrodite plants in the ecological-biological complexes of species directly depends on the frequency of the abundance of species with endemic areas.     

西部大开发十五年环境效率评价及其影响因素分析

西部大开发政策实施以来,西部地区实现了快于东部和中部的经济增长。正确认识西部地区经济增长中的环境成本,评价西部地区的环境效率具有重要意义。本文运用考虑非期望产出的超效率SBM模型测算了2000—2014年西部大开发以来的环境效率。研究发现:西部地区环境效率偏低,处于相对无效状态。西部地区环境效率明显低于传统效率,经济增长付出了较高的环境代价。西部大开发以来传统效率与环境效率之间的差距呈现先扩大后缩小的"倒U"型走势变化。西部地区省份环境效率在全国排名靠后,各省份的环境效率呈现出差异化的发展态势,其中重庆和四川排名不断提升,新疆排名逐步回落,内蒙古和广西在西部地区排名相对靠前且比较稳定,云南和陕西一直处于中间水平,贵州、甘肃、青海、宁夏排名相对靠后。西部地区环境效率2000—2003年上升,2004—2010年不断下降,2010—2014年趋于平稳。西部地区环境效率低于东部地区且差距大,也低于中部地区和全国平均水平。通过收敛性检验发现,西部地区各省份间的环境效率差距呈现先缩小后扩大的趋势;西部地区与东部地区间的环境效率差距逐渐扩大,与中部地区间的环境效率差距先扩大后缩小。本文同时采用了Tobit模型进行面板回归,实证分析了西部地区环境效率的影响因素。结果表明:经济发展水平、科学技术水平、能源消费结构、环保投资力度对西部地区环境效率具有显著影响;产业结构变化和对外开放程度对西部地区环境效率影响不显著;西部地区存在环境效率的库兹涅茨曲线。     

东北地区农业现代化与新型城镇化协调发展研究

新型城镇化与农业现代化作为"三化"、"四化"乃至"五化"战略的重要核心内容,研究新型城镇化与农业现代化的协调发展对于开创中国未来城乡经济社会发展一体化的新格局至关重要。以东北三省34个地级城市为研究对象,构建农业现代化与新型城镇化的评价指标体系,结合熵值赋权、变异系数赋权的综合确权法测算城市农业现代化与新型城镇化的发展水平,基于耦合协调度模型探讨二者的耦合度与协调发展度,并划分其阶段类型,研究表明:(1)东北三省新型城镇化的发展水平排序:辽宁省吉林省黑龙江省,农业现代化的发展优势排序:黑龙江省辽宁省吉林省;辽宁与吉林省的新型城镇化发展速度超前于农业现代化,仅黑龙江省的新型城镇化发展滞后于农业现代化;(2)东北三省新型城镇化的高值区分布在以哈尔滨为核心的黑龙江省西南、以长春为核心的吉林省中部、以沈阳和大连为核心的辽宁省中部及南端,农业现代化的高值区分布在哈—大—齐—绥沿线的松嫩平原;沈阳、大连、哈尔滨、长春新型城镇化水平居于东北三省前列,哈尔滨、沈阳、齐齐哈尔、绥化农业现代化水平位于首位;(3)辽宁省新型城镇化与农业现代化的耦合协调发展度均强于黑龙江省,吉林省略低;耦合度高值区位于黑龙江省东北部的三江平原、辽宁省的沿海经济带,协调发展度高值区位于黑龙江省西南部的松嫩平原及以长春、沈阳、大连为核心的小范围圈层区域;仅哈尔滨与沈阳市处于勉强协调阶段,多数城市处于高强度、中高强度拮抗耦合与轻度、中度失调阶段。