Displacement as a predictor of functional impairment in tsunami‐exposed children

Thirty months after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004, thousands of families in Aceh Province, Indonesia, remained in temporary barracks while sanitation conditions and non‐governmental organisation support deteriorated. This study sought to determine the factors associated with functional impairment in a sample of 138 displaced and non‐displaced Acehnese children. Using multivariate linear regression models, it was found that displacement distance was a consistent predictor of impairment using the Brief Impairment Scale. Exposure to tsunami‐related trauma markers was not significantly linked with impairment in the model. Paternal employment was a consistent protective factor for child functioning. These findings suggest that post‐disaster displacement and the subsequent familial economic disruption are significant predictors of impaired functioning in children's daily activities. Post‐disaster interventions should consider the disruption of familiar environments for families and children when relocating vulnerable populations to avoid deleterious impacts on children's functioning.     

Mercury in the Mediterranean. Part 2: processes and mass balance

Mass balance of contaminants can provide useful information on the processes that influence their concentrations in various environmental compartments. The most important sources, sinks and the equilibrium or non-equilibrium state of the contaminant in individual environmental compartments can also be identified. Using the latest mercury speciation data, the results of numerical models and the results of recent studies on mercury transport and transformation processes in the marine environment, we have re-evaluated the total mercury (HgT) mass balance in the Mediterranean Sea. New calculations have been performed employing three distinct marine layers: the surface layer, the thermocline and the deep sea. New transport mechanisms, deep water formation and density-driven sinking and upwelling, were included in the mass balance calculations. The most recent data have even enabled the calculation of an approximate methylmercury (MeHg) mass balance. HgT is well balanced in the entire Mediterranean, and the discrepancies between inputs and outputs in individual layers do not exceed 20 %. The MeHg balance shows larger discrepancies between gains and losses due to measurement uncertainties and gaps in our knowledge of Hg species transformation processes. Nonetheless, the main sources and sinks of HgT (deposition and evasion) and MeHg (fluxes from sediment, outflow through the Gibraltar Strait) are in accordance with previous studies on mercury in the Mediterranean Basin. Mercury in the Mediterranean fish harvest is the second largest MeHg sink; about 300 kg of this toxic substance is consumed annually with sea food.     

基于物联网技术的环保能力建设研究

环保能力建设是环境规划的重要组成部分。物联网作为信息技术的深度拓展应用,在国家和山西省的环境保护“十二五”规划中都提出要推进物联网技术在环保领域的应用,加强环保监管能力建设。本文研究分析了山西省环保监管能力建设现状与需求,围绕环保物联网的三层技术架构和三条业务主线构建了山西省环保物联网建设的总体框架,实现了三个方面的环境管理创新。环保物联网建设对于进一步推动我省环保能力建设向科学化、精细化和智能化转变,实现“十二五”乃至“十三五”环境规划战略目标具有重要意义。     

Advances in airborne microorganisms detection using biosensors: A critical review

• Airborne microorganism detection methods are summarized. • Biosensors play an important role in detecting airborne microorganisms. • The principle of biosensor detection of airborne microorganisms is introduced. • The application and progress of biosensor in recent years is summarized. • The future perspectives of biosensor are identified. Humanity has been facing the threat of a variety of infectious diseases. Airborne microorganisms can cause airborne infectious diseases, which spread rapidly and extensively, causing huge losses to human society on a global scale. In recent years, the detection technology for airborne microorganisms has developed rapidly; it can be roughly divided into biochemical, immune, and molecular technologies. However, these technologies still have some shortcomings; they are time-consuming and have low sensitivity and poor stability. Most of them need to be used in the ideal environment of a laboratory, which limits their applications. A biosensor is a device that converts biological signals into detectable signals. As an interdisciplinary field, biosensors have successfully introduced a variety of technologies for bio-detection. Given their fast analysis speed, high sensitivity, good portability, strong specificity, and low cost, biosensors have been widely used in environmental monitoring, medical research, food and agricultural safety, military medicine and other fields. In recent years, the performance of biosensors has greatly improved, becoming a promising technology for airborne microorganism detection. This review introduces the detection principle of biosensors from the three aspects of component identification, energy conversion principle, and signal amplification. It also summarizes its research and application in airborne microorganism detection. The new progress and future development trend of the biosensor detection of airborne microorganisms are analyzed.     

海拔梯度上的植物生长与生理生态特性

环境是植物生存和发展的条件,在各种不同的生境中聚生着特定的植物种类.全球气候变化迅速而显著地改变着高海拔地区的生态环境,这必将导致山地植物生理生态适应性、分布界限等发生变化,这些变化反过来又会对气候变化造成深远影响.因此,研究山地植物的生理生态特性,揭示其对全球气候变化的响应和适应性,具有重要的现实与科学意义.海拔梯度由于包含了温度、湿度、光照等诸多环境因子的剧烈变化而成为了研究植物对全球气候变化响应的理想区域.随着海拔升高,气温下降、大气压及CO2分压降低、光强增加等,植物的生态和生理特征将产生巨大的变化,可能影响到植物种类在海拔梯度上的分布、植物群落的结构组成.一些亟待回答的问题包括:全球气候变化将如何影响高山植物的生长环境?环境变化如何影响植物生理生态适应性?植物群落的分布、结构和组成将发生哪些变化?这些变化又将怎么样影响气候进一步变化?众多的研究报导了树木的生理生态特征、生长速率和生产力等对海拔的响应.本文在总结前人研究的基础上,系统地综述了海拔梯度上温度、水分、光照、土壤等环境因子的差异对高山植物的生长及生理生态特性的影响,以及植被分布的变化,旨在阐明植物对全球气候变化的行为与生理生态响应,以期为该领域的深入研究提供参考.     

机动车燃料清洁化趋势

阐述了机动车燃料清洁化的主要方法和趋势。分析了几种汽油添加剂和替代品的使用对发动机，机动车排放及人体和环境的影响，以及我国燃料油质量标准和清净剂，燃油添加剂，清洁燃料替代品等技术。     

点评城市生活垃圾处置

城市生活垃圾处置技术是减量化、资原化和无害化3结合的最优系统集成，单一的垃圾处置则存在诸多弊病。建设现代化城市必须革新理念，改革简单处置城市生活垃圾的单一化思想，以国家有关政策法规为指导，采用国际先进技术，推进城市生活垃圾处置事业的国际化。     

汞污染土壤热解吸处理过程中不同形态汞的温度效应

选择贵州省具有代表性的汞污染土壤样品进行热解吸修复的试验研究,同时采用连续化学浸提法对土壤样品中5种形态的汞分别进行提取,探究了不同形态汞在热解吸修复过程中的浓度变化和转化规律. 结果表明,土壤样品中各形态汞所占比例为w(王水溶汞)(占76.52%)>w(酸溶汞)(占22.40%)>w(硝酸溶汞)(占0.87%)>w(水溶性汞)(占0.14%)>w(碱溶汞)(占0.06%). w(王水溶汞)与w(Σ汞)(各形态汞总量)的相关系数可达0.978 1. 升温过程中,w(酸溶汞)和w(王水溶汞)明显降低,而其余形态汞含量则呈先升后降的趋势. 采用热解吸技术可以有效处理汞污染土壤,在370 ℃条件下能够将土壤中w(Σ汞)降至1 mg/kg以下,处理率可达95.73%,处理后土壤中的汞以残渣态汞为主,环境风险较小.