The Tourism Carrying Capacity of Underwater Trails in Isabel Island National Park, Mexico

The popularity of ecotourism in the marine protected areas of Mexico has increased over the last 10 years; in particular there is a large development of a SCUBA diving industry in the Mexican Pacific including Isabel Island. Given the risks associated with human activity in the marine environments around this island, we propose two ecotourism management strategies: (1) the creation and use of underwater trails, and (2) the estimation of the specific tourism carrying capacity (TCC) for each trail. Six underwater trails were selected in sites that presented elements of biological, geological, and scenic interest, using information obtained during field observations. The methodology used to estimate the TCC was based upon the physical and biological conditions of each site, the infrastructure and equipment available, and the characteristics of the service providers and the administrators of the park. Correction factors of the TCC included elements of the quality of the visit and the threat and vulnerability of the marine environment of each trail (e.g., divers’ expertise, size and distance between groups of divers, accessibility, wind, coral coverage). The TCC values ranged between 1,252 and 1,642 dives/year/trail, with a total of 8,597 dives/year for all six trails. Although these numbers are higher than the actual number of recreational visitors to the island (~1,000 dives per year), there is a need for adequate preventive management if the diving sites are to maintain their esthetic appeal and biological characteristics. Such management might be initially directed toward using only the sites and the TCC proposed here.     

Cd2+ adsorption on alkaline-pretreated diatomaceous earth: equilibrium and thermodynamic studies

Naturally occurring diatomaceous earth was modified by alkaline pretreatment, and its effectiveness for Cd²⁺ removal from contaminated water was investigated. Batch experiments were carried out to determine Cd²⁺ adsorption capacity and the efficiency of the sorption process under different experimental conditions. Experimental data showed good fitting to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms models. The Cd²⁺ maximum adsorption capacity was 0.058 mmol g⁻¹ for raw diatomite and increased to 0.195 mmol g⁻¹ for alkaline-pretreated diatomite with efficiency higher than 96% (diatomite dose 2.5 g L⁻¹, pH 6). Adsorption of Cd²⁺ to alkaline-pretreated diatomite increased as the temperature increased. Thermodynamic parameters were calculated to evaluate the feasibility of the adsorption process at different temperatures. The adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. The interaction between Cd²⁺ ions and diatomite surface was weak enough to be considered as physical sorption, confirmed by the low value of activation energy.     

Effects of copper sulfate on growth and physiological responses of Limoniastrum monopetalum

A glasshouse study of the coastal shrub Limoniastrum monopetalum was carried out to evaluate its tolerance and capacity to accumulate copper. We investigate the effects of Cu from 0 to 60 mmol l^?1 on the growth, photosynthetic apparatus, and nutrient uptake of L. monopetalum, by measuring gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, photosynthetic pigments, and total copper, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, calcium, and magnesium content in the plant tissues. Although L. monopetalum did not survive at 60 mmol l^?1 Cu, the species demonstrated a high tolerance to Cu-induced stress, since all plants survived external Cu concentrations of up to 35 mmol l^?1 and displayed similar growth in the Cu-enriched medium as in the control treatment of up to the external level of 15 mmol Cu l^?1 (1,000 mg Cu l^?1). The reduced growth registered in plants exposed to 35 mmol Cu l^?1 can be attributed to reduced photosynthetic carbon assimilation associated with the adverse effect of the metal on the photochemical apparatus and a reduction in the absorption of essential nutrients. Copper tolerance was associated with the capacity of the plant to accumulate the metal in its roots and effectively prevent its translocation to photosynthetic tissues. L. monopetalum has the characteristics of a Cu-excluder plant and could be used in the revegetation of Cu-contaminated soils.     

Monitoring of nitrate leaching in sandy soils: comparison of three methods

Proper N fertilizer and irrigation management can reduce nitrate leaching while maintaining crop yield, which is critical to enhance the sustainability of vegetable production on soils with poor water and nutrient-holding capacities. This study evaluated different methods to measure nitrate leaching in mulched drip-irrigated zucchini, pepper, and tomato production systems. Fertigation rates were 145 and 217 kg N ha(-1) for zucchini; 192 and 288 kg N ha(-1) for pepper; and 208 and 312 kg N ha(-1) for tomato. Irrigation was either applied at a fixed daily rate or based on threshold values of soil moisture sensors placed in production beds. Ceramic suction cup lysimeters, subsurface drainage lysimeters and soil cores were used to access the interactive effects of N rate and irrigation management on N leaching. Irrigation treatments and N rate interaction effects on N leaching were significant for all crops. Applying N rates in excess of standard recommendations increased N leaching by 64, 59, and 32%, respectively, for pepper, tomato, and zucchini crops. Independent of the irrigation treatment or nitrogen rate, N leaching values measured from the ceramic cup lysimeter-based N leaching values were lower than the values from the drainage lysimeter and soil coring methods. However, overall nitrate concentration patterns were similar for all methods when the nitrate concentration and leached volume were relatively low.     

Significant emission reductions of carbonaceous aerosols from residential coal burning by a novel stove

Carbonaceous aerosols (CA) are crucial components in the atmospheric PM_2.5 and derived from diverse sources. One of the major sources for CA is from the incomplete combustion of bituminous coal that has been prevailingly used by household stoves in rural areas for heating during winter. To efficiently eliminate the CA emission, a new household stove (NHS) was developed based on a novel combustion technology and CA emissions from the NHS and a traditional household stove (THS) were comparably investigated under the actual stove operation conditions in a farmer's house. Compared with the THS, the emission factors of organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) from the NHS were reduced by 96%±1%, 98%±1%, and 91%±1% under the flaming process and 95%±1%, 96%±2%, and 83%±4% under the smoldering process, respectively. Additionally, the mass absorption efficiency of WSOC from the NHS reduced by 3 folds and the radiative forcing by WSOC relative to EC shrank remarkably by a factor of 3-8. Based on the reduction of emissions and light absorption of WSOC, the promotion of the NHS offers a possible solution to achieve the clean combustion of residential solid fuel.     

建设项目职业病危害评价现状及对策

职业卫生评价按其评价内容的不同,可分为建设项目职业病危害评价、生产过程中的职业病危害评价、职业病防护设施及防护用品评价、职业健康监护评价等.     

植物内生菌16S rRNA基因扩增子高通量测序中降低宿主污染的方法

植物内生菌能够帮助植物生长,增强其抗逆性与抗病性,研究植物内生菌对了解植物入侵机制、保护生态环境与农业的健康发展具有重要意义.通过阅读相关文献,总结归纳了降低植物内生菌16SrRNA基因扩增子高通量测序(16S-seq)中宿主基因污染的4种方法,即:①寻找特异性错配引物用来扩增细菌16S rRNA基因;②添加特异性阻断...     

HCl标准曲线与倍标曲线一致性验证

经实验分析了ＨＣｌ标准曲线与信标曲线的一致性。从理论上论证了ＨＣｌ倍标曲线是标准曲线的重合延伸线，为ＨＣｌ的实际监测工作提供可靠方法。     

Reductive degradation of nitrobenzene in aqueous solution by zero-valent iron

The reductive degradation of nitrobenzene (NB) by zero-valent iron was investigated. Experimental results showed that the degradation of NB was influenced by pH and NB concentration. The optimum pH value was found to be 3.0 for the reductive degradation of NB in the tested pH ranges of 3.0-12.0. The formation rate of aniline, a major reductive product of NB, followed zero-order kinetics at various pH levels. Furthermore, GC/MS analysis showed that aniline, azobenzene and azoxybenzene were the reductive products of NB by zero-valent iron. With the analysis of the products with GC/MS and FTIR, possible reductive pathways of NB by zero-valent iron were suggested.     

评定环境工程中标方案的AHP模型及应用

建立了评定环境工程中标方案的层次分析模型（以下简称ＡＨＰ）。对定性因素按１￣９标度构造判断矩阵；对定量因素则采用一定的数学变换，将量化值转化为判断矩阵。ＡＨＰ方法已成功地应用于某废水治理工程项目的评标工作。