Uncovering the evolution of tin use in the United States and its implications

• US tin use decreases as the GDP value added by manufacturing sector increases. • Global and China’s tin use increases as the GDP added by manufacturing increases. • A sigmoid curve can fit the US tin use data well. • US tin use patterns is not due to the finite tin reserves or resources. • Policies, substitutions, etc. play key roles in the changing tin use patterns. Tin is of key importance to daily life and national security; it is considered an essential industrial metal. The United States (US) is the world’s largest economy and consumer of natural resources. Therefore, the analysis of historical tin use in the US is helpful for understanding future tin use trends in the world as a whole and in developing countries. Time series analysis, regression analysis with GDP or GDP/capita, and historical data fitted with logistic and Gompertz models are employed in this study. Historical tin use in the US shows three stages—increase-constant-decrease, as GDP per capita has increased. Tin use in the US is negatively correlated with the GDP value added by the manufacturing sector, while the use of tin worldwide and in China continues to increase along with the GDP value added by the manufacturing sector. Although a sigmoid curve can fit the US tin use data well, that use is not directly related to the limited tin reserves or resources. Rather, policies, economic restructuring, substitutions, new end-use markets, etc. have played key roles in the changing tin use patterns. This work contributes to understanding future tin use at both the global and national levels: tin use will continue to increase with GDP at the global level, but use patterns of tin at the national level can be changed through human intervention.     

Environmental effects and risk control of antibiotic resistance genes in the organic solid waste aerobic composting system: A review

• ARGs were detected in livestock manure, sludge, food waste and fermentation dregs. • The succession of microbial community is an important factor affecting ARGs. • Horizontal transfer mechanism of ARGs during composting should be further studied. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been diffusely detected in several kinds of organic solid waste, such as livestock manure, sludge, antibiotic fermentation residues, and food waste, thus attracting great attention. Aerobic composting, which is an effective, harmless treatment method for organic solid waste to promote recycling, has been identified to also aid in ARG reduction. However, the effect of composting in removing ARGs from organic solid waste has recently become controversial. Thus, this article summarizes and reviews the research on ARGs in relation to composting in the past 5 years. ARGs in organic solid waste could spread in different environmental media, including soil and the atmosphere, which could widen environmental risks. However, the conventional composting technology had limited effect on ARGs removal from organic solid waste. Improved composting processes, such as hyperthermophilic temperature composting, could effectively remove ARGs, and the HGT of ARGs and the microbial communities are identified as vital influencing factors. Currently, during the composting process, ARGs were mainly affected by three response pathways, (I) “Microenvironment-ARGs”; (II) “Microenvironment-microorganisms-ARGs”; (III) “Microorganisms-horizontal gene transfer-ARGs”, respectively. Response pathway II had been studied the most which was believed that microbial community was an important factor affecting ARGs. In response pathway III, mainly believed that MGEs played an important role and paid less attention to eARGs. Further research on the role and impact of eARGs in ARGs may be considered in the future. It aims to provide support for further research on environmental risk control of ARGs in organic solid waste.     

Bibliometric analysis of ecosystem monitoring-related research in Africa: implications for ecological stewardship and scientific collaboration

Regional ecosystem monitoring is a central form of knowledge sharing and collaboration amongst scientists and decision makers on environmental health, land use change, and science-policy development. Despite the proliferation of such research networks on long-term monitoring on many continents, little has been achieved in Africa. This study aims to assess and examine the spatiotemporal trend and categorical patterns in ecosystem monitoring-related research in Africa for the benefits of conserving biodiversity and sustaining natural resource sectors for well-being and livelihood security, environmental planning, and ecological stewardship. A systematic review was conducted using bibliometric tools. Based on a set of search terms and peer-reviewed publications retrieved from various ecosystem monitoring networks and journal databases, further analysis was conducted using social network approaches, mapping tools, and content analysis. About 1442 scientific publications on ecosystem monitoring and related research were documented from 1987 to 2014 mostly published in English. The number of publication increased progressively since 1992 after the Convention on Biodiversity was signed and this trend peaked till 2008. South African Journal of Science was the most leading journal and Nature the most cited. Internationally coauthored and collaborative articles represented majority of the findings with the United Kingdom at the central position in the research network due to colonial relationships. Regional collaboration amongst countries is limited owing to language barriers and other institutional constraints such as funding and short-term projects. These findings have implication for prioritizing national and regional policies toward biodiversity science and its contribution to human well-being, food security, and global change responses.     

冶炼企业周边农田土壤的多环芳烃污染及其细菌群落效应

多环芳烃是一类持久性有机污染物,进入土壤后可能产生多方面生态效应。为研究多环芳烃对土壤微生物的影响,选取南京某冶炼企业周边农田样品,在分析污染物含量基础上,采用高通量测序、定量PCR等方法综合评价了土壤细菌多样性和组成以及多环芳烃降解细菌丰度等特征。17个土壤样品中,多环芳烃总量为0.25~31.08 mg·kg-1,并具有随污染源距离增加而降低的空间分布特征。与土壤理化性质如p H相比较,多环芳烃污染对土壤细菌的总体多样性和群落组成影响不显著。进一步分析发现多环芳烃与潜在降解微生物的相对丰度和降解功能基因(芳香环羟基化双加氧酶,PAH-RHDα)拷贝数显著正相关。污染较重样品的克隆、测序分析表明,土壤中PAH-RHDα基因主要属于革兰氏阳性细菌nid A3/fad A1类群,且与分支杆菌相关序列较为接近。这些结果综合评价了冶炼企业周边农田土壤多环芳烃污染对微生物群落的影响,提示土壤污染在多环芳烃潜在降解细菌中的富集作用,将为后续污染土壤生物修复提供重要科学依据。     

新型阻燃剂TCPP对斑马鱼的毒性研究

为了明确新型阻燃剂磷酸三(2-氯丙基)酯(TCPP)的生态风险,本研究采用斑马鱼为模式生物,评价了TCPP对成鱼和胚胎的毒性效应。急性毒性研究结果表明,TCPP对斑马鱼成鱼的96 h致死中浓度(LC50)为47.06 mg·L~(-1),而对胚胎96 h-LC50为26.01 mg·L~(-1),且会影响胚胎的正常发育,导致孵化出的仔鱼产生畸形。成鱼14 d延长毒性试验结果表明,TCPP对斑马鱼成鱼的无可观察效应浓度(NOEC)为1.00 mg·L~(-1),染毒暴露后肝脏和性腺指数随TCPP浓度增加轻微下降,但肝脏中卵黄蛋白原(VTG)的含量和性腺中芳香化酶的活性随TCPP浓度增加普遍升高。此外,TCPP的暴露还会导致斑马鱼脑垂体中合成促性腺激素的相关基因表达量增加。因此,TCPP对斑马鱼成鱼和胚胎的急性毒性均为低毒级,但长期暴露会干扰内分泌系统的调控功能,影响斑马鱼的正常发育。     

Changes of microbial composition during wastewater reclamation and distribution systems revealed by high-throughput sequencing analyses

This study employed 454-pyrosequencing to investigate microbial and pathogenic communities in two wastewater reclamation and distribution systems. A total of 11972 effective 16S rRNA sequences were acquired from these two reclamation systems, and then designated to relevant taxonomic ranks by using RDP classifier. The Chao index and Shannon diversity index showed that the diversities of microbial communities decreased along wastewater reclamation processes. Proteobacteria was the most dominant phylum in reclaimed water after disinfection, which accounted for 83% and 88% in two systems, respectively. Human opportunistic pathogens, including Clostridium, Escherichia, Shigella, Pseudomonas and Mycobacterium, were selected and enriched by disinfection processes. The total chlorine and nutrients (TOC, NH₃-N and NO₃-N) significantly affected the microbial and pathogenic communities during reclaimed water storage and distribution processes. Our results indicated that the disinfectant-resistant pathogens should be controlled in reclaimed water, since the increases in relative abundances of pathogenic bacteria after disinfection implicate the potential public health associated with reclaimed water.     

大管径真空排水技术在雨水泵站中的应用与数值分析

针对传统雨水泵站存在的问题,介绍了大管径真空排水技术在雨水泵站应用中的独特优势及具体实施方法。为研究其排水过程中的流态分布、流体动力学性能,建立了典型管道的数值模型,采用κ-ξ紊流模型及Vof方法,对其进行了非稳态数值模拟,分析了两相流在大管径管道充水过程中的气液流动特性。结果表明:大管径排水过程中存在分层流、气泡流及波浪流,并在弯管附近出现短暂集气现象;液相在倾斜管路中有短暂流速停滞现象,随着压差的推进,最终在管道中形成液相满管流。     

下向进路回采钢筋混凝土假顶稳定性分析

〗为确保下向进路采场高效安全回采,采用ABAQUS的损伤塑性模型对下向进路钢筋混凝土假顶进行稳定性分析,得到假顶的应力与位移分布规律,分别从假顶的应力分布、变形量对不同进路尺寸及假顶厚度的影响进行比较分析。结果表明,进路假顶产生的最大拉应力（089MPa）小于混凝土层的抗拉强度（127MPa）;最大压应力（416 MPa）小于混凝土层的抗压强度（119MPa）;假顶底部最易被拉裂位置为偏离假顶中央(05~1)m处;钢筋承载了大部分拉应力,受拉性能得到充分利用。在进路尺寸为3m×3m或者4m×3m时假顶厚度取06m,进路尺寸为4m×4m时假顶厚度取08m,假顶最大拉应力值均未超过混凝土的抗拉强度值,此时假顶较为稳定,便于进路维护与提高回采强度。研究结果对下向进路采场的安全生产提供技术保障。     

桂林中小河流洪涝气象风险预警系统设计

基于自动站、数值预报和雷达估测降水等多种雨量资料,利用ArcGIS技术提取河流的经纬度、流域范围,利用泰森多边形技术计算流域面雨量,结合对桂林中小河流域的历史暴雨洪涝风险个例分析结果,确定临界面雨量,建立桂林中小河流域洪涝灾害风险等级预警系统。利用数学内插技术进行雨量精细化插值,实现全市100多个水库、200多条河流关键点的雨量监测、预报、预警。利用Web和GIS技术实现桂林中小河流洪涝预警网页发布。     

后汶川地震时期地震遗产旅游综合集成发展模式研究

中国在汶川地震后日益重视地震遗迹的旅游开发问题,龙门山地区是发展地震遗产旅游的关键区域。后汶川地震时期,地震遗产旅游的健康发展受到龙门山地区复杂多变的地质灾害环境的困扰。因此,对于地震遗产旅游的开发与管理等相关问题的研究不应只局限于短时间的震后恢复重建,而应以地震灾害事件的发展演变过程为时间轴,在其不同阶段均设置相应的动态应对措施。在回溯地震遗产旅游研究进展及该区域地震专题旅游发展现状的基础上,将系统工程的"三维结构体系"运用于解决"地震遗产旅游发展三维结构体系的构建",在此基础上提出了"地震遗产旅游综合集成发展模式"。研究结果为地震专题旅游开发中其它具体模式的理论框架,也为地震遗产旅游动态地应对地震等次生地质灾害的潜在威胁提供指导,其实践价值有赖于后续研究与实践的完善。