Presence of Torque Teno Virus (TTV) in Tap Water in Public Schools from Southern Brazil

Torque teno virus (TTV) was surveyed in tap water collected in schools from three municipalities located in the south of Brazil. TTV genomes were found in 11.7 % (4/34) of the samples. TTV DNA was detected in 10.5 % (2/19) of the samples collected at the city of Caxias do Sul and in 25 % (2/8) of the samples from Pelotas. Those cities have a low rate of sewage treatment. All samples from Santa Cruz do Sul, which has nearly 92 % of its sewage treated, were negative. These results suggest that the amount of sewage treated may have an effect on the detection rates of TTV DNA in drinking water in a given urban area, showing a mild negative correlation (r = ?0.76), when comparing the percentage of sewage treatment to the detection of TTV genomes. The detection rate of TTV was also compared with Escherichia coli, showing a strong correlation (r = 0.97), indicating that TTV may be a suitable marker of fecal contamination.     

火车装油过程初期火灾扑救方法探讨

以敞口、小鹤管、人工装汽油为例,通过试验分析认为:通常采用的干粉灭火法从理论和生产实际来看都存在问题,细水雾法是适合火车装油过程初期火灾扑救的较好方法,具有安全高效的特点。     

军用电子设备的防雷措施研究

近年来,随着微电子技术和计算机网络在军用装备上的日益普及,雷电带来的危害和经济损失大大增加,仅依靠避雷针防雷己远远达不到电子、微电子、通信等设备的实际防雷需求。分析了雷电灾害对电子设备的危害,并针对目前军用电子设备的防雷现状提出了综合防雷措施。     

浅析石化行业环境风险高发原因及对策建议

从"十一五"末至今,中国石化行业安全事故及环境风险事件频发,影响区域生态环境安全和人民群众健康。从产业布局来看,中国石化企业及与之相关的化工园区分布相对集中,主要布置在沿海沿江地区。中国石化行业目前存在的布局分散、单体规模小等突出问题,如不加控制,行业发展将面临更大的环境风险和环境污染问题。应开展全面梳理排查隐患,提高区域环境风险联防联控水平;大力支持集群化发展、淘汰落后产能,缓解结构性环境风险;统筹规划,优化布局,强化管理,广泛征求社会公众意见,以减缓石化行业的环境风险。     

水稻重金属生态毒性诊断研究进展

从植物生态毒理学的角度,结合国内外研究成果,阐述了单一重金属和复合重金属在水稻中的生态毒性诊断研究进展,提出今后可以考虑追踪重金属在水稻中的运动规律,探讨复合污染对水稻的生态毒性.     

制浆造纸工业废水达标可行性研究

2008年6月颁布的《制浆造纸工业水污染物排放标准》(GB 3544-2008)与原标准(GB 3544-2001)相比,增加了控制排放的污染物项目,污染物排放控制要求也大幅提高,传统的废水二级生化处理工艺已不能满足新标准要求。文章通过梳理和分析调研及现场监测的资料和数据,提出目前制浆造纸企业通过有效的技术改造和升级,增加废水三级深度处理流程,在加强管理的情况下可以实现废水稳定达标排放。但不可避免会增加企业建设和运营成本,大中型制浆造纸企业尚可接受,对小型企业的冲击则相对较大。同时提出目前制浆造纸企业废水处理仍存在一些技术和管理方面的问题,尚需通过制定技术规范、强化环境监管、深入开展相关基础研究等多方面对策,优化制浆造纸行业结构调整,确保行业污染物减排。     

Triterpene saponin hemi-biosynthesis of a leaf beetle’s (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Platyphora kollari</Emphasis>) defensive secretion

The adults of the leaf beetle Platyphora kollari (Chrysomelidae) are able to metabolise the oleanane triterpene β-amyrin (1) into the glycoside 3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-d-glucuronopyranosyl-hederagenin (2) that is stored in their defensive glands. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that oleanolic acid (3) is an intermediate in the conversion of 1 into 2 and to check whether the sequestration of pentacyclic triterpenes is selective in favour of β-amyrin (1). To this end, adults of P. kollari were fed with Ipomoea batatas leaf disks painted with a solution of [2,2,3-²H₃]oleanolic acid or [2,2,3-²H₃]α-amyrin and the secretion of their defensive glands analysed by HPLC–ESIMS. The data presented in this work indicated that the first step of the transformation of β-amyrin (1) into the sequestered glycoside 2 is its oxidation into oleanolic acid (3) and that this conversion is selective but not specific in favour of β-amyrin (1).     

Time allocation between work and recreation and the associated injury risks among young people

PROBLEM: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between overall risk of injury and time use patterns between work and active recreation among adolescents and young adults. METHODS: Using a representative sample of 9,795 Canadians aged 15-24 years, a multivariate logistic regression on the likelihood of any medically attended injury was conducted, including sociodemographic, individual, and time factors. RESULTS: Young people who engaged in a combination of high work and high activity hours were twice as likely to sustain a medically attended injury compared to those who worked low hours, but did not participate in any recreational activity. Those respondents who were not in school had a 43% increase in injury risk compared to full-time students. SUMMARY: Our findings suggest that injury risk was not a simple function of fatigue and cumulative exposure time. Our findings suggest the importance of considering time use and the associated injury risk tradeoffs. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Relevant to state and federal work safety policy makers, our findings suggest the importance of understanding where youth might otherwise spend their time if constraint were placed on their employment opportunities, and the associated injury risk tradeoffs must be taken into consideration.     

Male satin bowerbirds (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ptilonorhynchus violaceus</Emphasis>) compensate for sexual signal loss by enhancing multiple display features

Numerous studies have focussed on the relationship between female choice and the multiple exaggerated sexual traits of males. However, little is known about the ability of males to actively enhance specific components of their display in response to the loss of one component. We investigated the capacity of male satin bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) to respond to the loss of one of their sexual signals by performing an experiment in which we removed decorations at their bowers. We found that males compensated for decoration loss by increasing bower construction behaviour and decreasing their latency to bower painting. These results are novel because they suggest that males can assess the quality of their own display and make decisions about how to augment their displays. We discuss these results in the context of previous studies of mate choice in satin bowerbirds, as both of the supplementary behaviours we observed are known correlates of male mating success.