Modelling short-term effects of ozone on morbidity: an application to the city of Milano,Italy, 1995–2003

In this paper, we explore a range of concerns that arise in measuring short-term effects of ozone on health. In particular, we tackle the problem of measuring exposure using alternative daily measures of ozone derived from hourly concentrations. We adopt the exposure paradigm of Chiogna and Bellini (Environmetrics 13:55–69, 2002) extending it to ozone concentrations, and we compare its performances with respect to traditional exposure measures by exploiting model selection. To investigate the stability of model selection, we then apply the idea of bootstrapping the modelling process.     

Effects of salinity on multiplication and transmission of an intertidal trematode parasite

Salinity levels vary spatially in coastal areas, depending on proximity to freshwater sources, and may also be slowly decreasing as a result of anthropogenic climatic changes. The impact of salinity on host–parasite interactions is potentially a key regulator of transmission processes in intertidal areas, where trematodes are extremely common parasites of invertebrates and vertebrates. We investigated experimentally the effects of long-term exposure to decreased salinity levels on output of infective stages (cercariae) and their transmission success in the trematode Philophthalmus sp. This parasite uses the snail Zeacumantus subcarinatus as intermediate host, in which it asexually produces cercariae. After leaving the snail, cercariae encyst externally on hard substrates to await accidental ingestion by shorebirds, which serve as definitive hosts. We found that at reduced salinities (25 or 30 psu), the cercarial output of the parasite was lower, the time taken by cercariae to encyst was longer, fewer cercariae successfully encysted and encysted parasites had lower long-term survival than at normal seawater salinity (35 psu). The strong effect of salinity on the replication and transmission of this parasite suggests that there may be sources and sinks of transmission to birds along coastal areas, depending on local salinity conditions. Also, unless it evolves to adapt to changing conditions, the predicted reduction in salinity as a consequence of climate change may have negative impact on the parasite’s abundance.     

Do corals select zooxanthellae by alternative discharge?

Loss of zooxanthellae (dinoflagellate Symbiodinium) from corals will sometimes lead to mass mortality of corals. To detect and quantify Symbiodinium released from corals, we developed a zooxanthellae “trap” and a quantitative PCR (qPCR) system with Symbiodinium clades A–F-specific primer sets. The trap was attached to a branch or the surface of several wild stony corals, and the water samples within the traps, including released Symbiodinium, were subjected to qPCR. All tested corals released clade C Symbiodinium at estimates of ~5,900 cells h⁻¹ cm⁻² of coral surface. Although all tested Pocillopora eydouxi harboured both clades C and D, some of these colonies released only clade C or released a lesser amount of clade D than that in the tissues. Our Symbiodinium quantification system revealed that wild hermatypic corals constantly release Symbiodinium to the environment. Our result suggests that some corals may discharge certain clades of Symbiodinium alternatively.     

The relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosures and financial performance: a mediating role of employee productivity

This study is trying to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures and financial performances (FP) through mediating role of the employee productivity (EP). This study classifies the CSR performances into four contexts, for instance, environment social governance (ESG), environmental improvement activity scores of CSR, social welfare activity score, and governance structure improvement score. The banking performance is classified into three different aspects such as returns on assets (ROA), returns on equity (ROE), and nominal interest margin profit (NIMP). The study covers the data set start from 2008 to 2019 regarding thirty commercial banks of China. The study uses the linear, non-linear, and quadratic techniques to explore the association between CSR disclosures and banking performances. The linear model result shows that the governance score is significant influencing the banking performance. Moreover, the employee productivities are also positive significant affecting the baking performances. The non-linear results of model show that composite score of ESG with employee productivity has significant influence on financial performance.

     

Biodegradable microplastics (BMPs): a new cause for concern?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - With the increasingly serious pollution of plastics, biodegradable plastics (BDPs) have attracted attention as a new material that can replace...     

Groundwater geochemical signatures and implication for sustainable development in a typical endorheic watershed on Tibetan plateau

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Groundwater resource is significantly important for sustainable development of the world, especially for arid endorheic watersheds. A total of 28...     

以农田高盐排水为替代镁源回收养殖废水中的磷素

为解决新疆南疆地区养殖废水高浓度氮磷和农田排水中的高浓度盐分的协同污染问题,以农田高盐排水为镁源对模拟养殖废水中的磷进行了回收实验,对比了高盐排水和常规镁源的磷回收效率,探讨了影响其回收的主要因素,并通过正交试验获得了高盐排水回收磷的最优反应条件.与常规MgC12镁源的磷回收对比分析结果表明,pH=10时高盐排水回收磷的效率最高,比MgCl2镁源达最大回收率所需的反应pH略高;利用L34正交试验探究了pH(8、9、10、11)、Mg:P摩尔比(1.0、1.5、2.0、2.5)、N:P摩尔比(1.0、1.5、2.0、4.0)对高盐排水镁源回收磷的影响,并结合SPSS统计分析得到高盐排水回收磷的最优反应条件为pH=10、n(Mg):n(P)=2.5,n(N):n(P)=4;高盐排水中的HCO3-和SO42-离子对磷回收有抑制作用,而Ca2+离子对磷回收有促进作用;XRD和SEM-EDS分析表明,高盐排水回收磷的产物以鸟粪石为主,并夹杂着磷灰石和粘土矿物等杂质.整体上,以高盐排水作为替代镁源回收磷的效果较好,本研究为解决鸟粪石沉淀法的镁源问题提供了一种新思路.     

一种简便高效的土壤石油烃提取方法的建立

通过开展单因子实验与正交实验,考察不同参数下超声萃取法对土壤中总石油烃(TPH)的提取效率,并对比了超声萃取法、超声-索氏萃取法及传统索氏萃取法对不同原油污染土壤的提取效果。结果表明:超声萃取法的最优工作参数为20 m L二氯甲烷,超声10 min,4000 r/min离心10 min,萃取4次。3种提取方法中,超声萃取法对石油烃平均回收率最高,为100.95%,而传统的索氏萃取法最低,仅为94.54%。可见,超声萃取法操作简单,效率高,可广泛用于土壤中总石油烃含量的提取测定。     

世界主要国家海洋环境监测情况及对我国的启示

我国的海洋环境监测工作已经取得了长足进步,但与发达国家相比还存在差距,对国际先进经验和技术进行学习与借鉴是非常重要的。本文主要分析了美国、加拿大、日本、韩国和芬兰等国家的海洋环境监测情况,主要从海洋环境监测机构、海洋环境监测项目和海洋环境监测参数等方面进行了介绍和研究,提出了国际海洋环境监测的特点,并在此基础上从监测制度、监测体系和国际交流合作三个方面对我国海洋环境监测提出建议。