Leachable 226Ra in Philippine phosphogypsum and its implication in groundwater contamination in Isabel, Leyte, Philippines

Phosphogypsum (PG), the major waste material in phosphate fertilizer processing, has been known to contain enhanced levels of naturally-occurring radionuclides especially (226)Ra.The lack of radioactivity data regarding Philippine phosphogypsum and its environmental behavior in the Philippine setting has brought concern on possible contamination of groundwater beneath the phosphogypsum ponds in Isabel, Leyte, Philippines. The radioactivity of Philippine phosphogypsum was determined and the leaching of (226)Ra from phosphogypsum and through local soil was quantified. Level of (226)Ra in groundwater samples in Isabel, Leyte, Philippines was also quantified to address the primary concern. It was found that the (226)Ra activity in Philippine phosphogypsum is distributed in a wide range from 91.5 to 935 Bq/kg. As much as 5% of (226)Ra can be leached from Philippine PG with deionized water. In vitro soil leach experiments suggest that the soil in the phosphate fertilizer plant area would be able to deter the intrusion of (226)Ra into the water table. Compared to reported values of natural groundwater levels of (226)Ra, the concentration of this radionuclide in Isabel, Leyte groundwater suggest that there is no (226)Ra intrusion brought about by the presence of phosphogypsum ponds in the area.     

Do national levels of individualism and internal locus of control relate to well‐being: an ecological level international study

Data were collected from managers in 24 nations/territories on work locus of control (LOC), individualism–collectivism (I–C), and well‐being (job satisfaction, absence of psychological strain, and absence of physical strain). There were significant mean differences across samples on all five of these measures, and consistent with our hypothesis, at the ecological or sample mean level well‐being was associated with an internal locus of control. However, contrary to our hypothesis, well‐being was not associated with I–C, despite a strong correlation between I–C and LOC. Findings at the ecological level were consistent with the literature concerning the salutary effects of control on well‐being. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

National contributions to global ecosystem values

Current conservation templates prioritize biogeographic regions with high intensity ecosystem values, such as exceptional species richness or threat. Intensity-based targets are an important consideration in global efforts, but they do not capture all available opportunities to conserve ecosystem values, including those that accrue in low intensity over large areas. We assess six globally-significant ecosystem values—intact wilderness, freshwater availability, productive marine environments, breeding habitat for migratory wildlife, soil carbon storage, and latitudinal potential for range shift in the face of climate change—to highlight opportunities for high-impact broadly-distributed contributions to global conservation. Nations can serve as a cohesive block of policy that can profoundly influence conservation outcomes. Contributions to global ecosystem values that exceed what is predicted by a nation's area alone, can give rise to countries with the capacity to act as ‘conservation superpowers’, such as Canada and Russia. For these conservation superpowers, a relatively small number of national policies can have environmental repercussions for the rest of the world.     

Twin–twin transfusion syndrome—possible roles for doppler ultrasound and amniocentesis

A 29-year-old woman was referred for suspicion of twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). Several ultrasonographic and neonatal criteria of TTTS were encountered in this twin pregnancy. The peculiar observations in this case were, firstly, the demonstration of superficial anastomosis by Doppler ultrasound and, secondly, that one single therapeutic amniocentesis could have been sufficient to partially correct the progression of the syndrome, as after amniocentesis it was no longer possible to demonstrate the vascular communication. This observation suggests that superficial anastomoses could also have a role in the genesis of TTTS. Their effect could be monitored by Doppler ultrasound and could be more easily corrected by therapeutic amniocentesis.     

我国西北黄土对阿特拉津的吸附行为及影响因素

为了探讨ATZ(阿特拉津)在黄土中的吸附/解吸行为及主要影响因素,以我国西北黄土为供试土样,采用批量试验法研究了黄土对ATZ的吸附动力学和热力学行为特征. 结果表明:黄土对ATZ的吸附动力学过程更符合准二级动力学模型,吸附热力学过程更符合线性分配的Henry吸附模型(R2>0.90),吸附过程中ΔGθ(吉布斯自由能)及ΔHθ(焓变)均小于0、ΔSθ(熵变)大于0,25～45 ℃温度范围内E(吸附平均自由能)为0.86～1.30 kJ/mol,表明黄土对ATZ的吸附过程以物理吸附为主,属于自发放热过程且导致吸附体系混乱度增加. 黄土对ATZ的吸附影响因素分析结果显示,随着系统温度的升高,ATZ在黄土中的饱和吸附量下降;pH在2～10范围内变化时,ATZ在黄土中的饱和吸附量随pH的增加呈明显降低趋势;初始ρ(ATZ)从2.5 mg/L增至10.0 mg/L时,黄土对ATZ的饱和吸附量也相应地从0.082 5 mg/g增至0.621 0 mg/g. 结果显示,ATZ在黄土中的吸附速率受内部扩散、表面吸附和液膜扩散的共同影响,并且吸附过程主要受到土壤有机质疏水性分配作用的影响.      

Patterns of mussel recruitment in southern Africa: a caution about using artificial substrata to approximate natural recruitment

Quantifying sessile marine invertebrate recruitment often requires destructive sampling or extrapolation from artificial substrata, the latter introducing the danger of artifacts. We measured intertidal mussel recruitment into mussel beds and into brushes at three-month intervals for five years across 3,200 km of southern Africa and determined substrata effects on recruitment rate. Recruitment into mussel beds showed a strong, coast-wide gradient, with high recruitment on the West coast, diminishing on the South coast, and increasing slightly on the East coast. At scales of 10 s of km, brushes reflected natural temporal recruitment variability, with a strong significant linear correlation between recruitment into brushes and into mussel beds. However, the relationship became semi-logarithmic when comparing among locations at a scale of 100 s of km. Artificial substrata thus reflect local natural settlement well but may be a poor indicator of it when spatial scales are large, particularly when mussel bed topography is complex, or localities have very different recruitment densities.