Scenario-based assessment and multi-objective optimization of urban development plan with carrying capacity of water system

• Impact of urban development on water system is assessed with carrying capacity. • Impacts on both water resource quantity and environmental quality are involved. • Multi-objective optimization revealing system trade-off facilitate the regulation. • Efficiency, scale and structure of urban development are regulated in two stages. • A roadmap approaching more sustainable development is provided for the case city. Environmental impact assessments and subsequent regulation measures of urban development plans are critical to human progress toward sustainability, since these plans set the scale and structure targets of future socioeconomic development. A three-step methodology for assessing and optimizing an urban development plan focusing on its impacts on the water system was developed. The methodology first predicted the pressure on the water system caused by implementation of the plan under distinct scenarios, then compared the pressure with the carrying capacity threshold to verify the system status; finally, a multi-objective optimization method was used to propose regulation solutions. The methodology enabled evaluation of the water system carrying state, taking socioeconomic development uncertainties into account, and multiple sets of improvement measures under different decisionmaker preferences were generated. The methodology was applied in the case of Zhoushan city in South-east China. The assessment results showed that overloading problems occurred in 11 out of the 13 zones in Zhoushan, with the potential pressure varying from 1.1 to 18.3 times the carrying capacity. As a basic regulation measure, an environmental efficiency upgrade could relieve the overloading in 4 zones and reduce 9%‒63% of the pressure. The optimization of industrial development showed that the pressure could be controlled under the carrying capacity threshold if the planned scale was reduced by 24% and the industrial structure was transformed. Various regulation schemes including a more suitable scale and structure with necessary efficiency standards are provided for decisionmakers that can help the case city approach a more sustainable development pattern.     

Biological conversion pathways of sulfate reduction ammonium oxidation in anammox consortia

• The SRAO phenomena tended to occur only under certain conditions. • High amount of biomass and non-anaerobic condition is requirement for SRAO. • Anammox bacteria cannot oxidize ammonium with sulfate as electron acceptor. • AOB and AnAOB are mainly responsible for ammonium conversion. • Heterotrophic sulfate reduction mainly contributed to sulfate conversion. For over two decades, sulfate reduction with ammonium oxidation (SRAO) had been reported from laboratory experiments. SRAO was considered an autotrophic process mediated by anammox bacteria, in which ammonium as electron donor was oxidized by the electron acceptor sulfate. This process had been attributed to observed transformations of nitrogenous and sulfurous compounds in natural environments. Results obtained differed largely for the conversion mole ratios (ammonium/sulfate), and even the intermediate and final products of sulfate reduction. Thus, the hypothesis of biological conversion pathways of ammonium and sulfate in anammox consortia is implausible. In this study, continuous reactor experiments (with working volume of 3.8L) and batch tests were conducted under normal anaerobic (0.2≤DO<0.5 mg/L) / strict anaerobic (DO<0.2 mg/L) conditions with different biomass proportions to verify the SRAO phenomena and identify possible pathways behind substrate conversion. Key findings were that SRAO occurred only in cases of high amounts of inoculant biomass under normal anaerobic condition, while absent under strict anaerobic conditions for same anammox consortia. Mass balance and stoichiometry were checked based on experimental results and the thermodynamics proposed by previous studies were critically discussed. Thus anammox bacteria do not possess the ability to oxidize ammonium with sulfate as electron acceptor and the assumed SRAO could, in fact, be a combination of aerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox and heterotrophic sulfate reduction processes.     

不同装煤方式和炭化室高度的焦炉周边环境空气总悬浮颗粒物碳组分特征

研究了山西省4座典型焦炉周边环境空气中总悬浮颗粒物(TSP)碳组分特征,分析了不同装煤方式和炭化室高度对其的影响。结果表明:(1)焦炉周边环境空气中TSP质量浓度为711.95～2 938.41μg/m3,其中有机碳(OC)、元素碳(EC)的质量浓度分别为189.45～595.90、285.38～806.71μg/m3,总碳占TSP的质量分数为44.81%～67.45%;捣固焦炉周边的TSP及其碳组分浓度高于顶装焦炉,炭化室高度越高的焦炉周边环境空气中TSP及其碳组分浓度越低。(2)4座焦炉周边环境空气TSP中OC和EC质量比为0.66～1.04,说明焦炉周边环境空气中碳组分以一次污染为主。(3)4座焦炉周边环境空气TSP中碳组分的分歧系数为0.092～0.490,均小于0.5,总体来说装煤方式和炭化室高度都对焦炉周边环境空气TSP中碳组分的分布有一定影响,特别是装煤方式和炭化室高度都不同的焦炉周边环境空气TSP中碳组分差异较大。     

粗枝云杉不同径级根系分解过程中4种养分元素的释放特征

植物根系分解是养分元素进入土壤的重要途径之一.为了解径级对根系分解过程中养分元素释放的潜在影响,以川西亚高山针叶林中的粗枝云杉(Picea asperata)为对象,采用原位分解试验,研究云杉3个径级(0-2 mm,2-5 mm和5-10 mm)根系分解过程中钾(K)、钠(Na)、钙(Ca)和镁(Mg)元素的浓度、残留...     

A comparative study of vocational education and occupational safety and health training in China and the UK

In order to enhance Chinese workers’ occupational safety awareness, it is essential to learn from developed countries’ experiences. This article investigates thoroughly occupational safety and health (OSH) in China and the UK; moreover, the article performs a comparison of Chinese and British OSH training-related laws, regulations and education system. The following conclusions are drawn: China’s work safety continues to improve, but there is still a large gap compared with the UK. In China a relatively complete vocational education and training (VET) system has been established. However, there exist some defects in OSH. In the UK, the employer will not only pay attention to employees’ physiological health, but also to their mental health. The UK’s VET is characterized by classification and grading management, which helps integrate OSH into the whole education system. China can learn from the UK in the development of policies, VET and OSH training.     

Larval and Juvenile Fish Assemblage Structure of Inshore Habitats in the Middle Reaches of Li River,China: Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Relation to Abiotic Factors

To evaluate the effect of abiotic factors on larval and juvenile fish assemblage in shallow waters of middle reaches of Li River, Guilin, China. Samplings were taken monthly at 7 stations in the mainstream and 2 stations in 3 tributaries from May 2014 to April 2015. Synchronously, temperature, pH, turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen rainfall and discharge were obtained. In all, 11.886 larval and juvenile fish from 18 species belonging to 8 families, 16 genera was captured. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed obvious significant difference between the environmental variables across sampling areas and months. The results of Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicated that water temperature, turbidity, discharge and rainfall were dominant factors on larval and juvenile fish assemblage.     

长江三角洲城市群工业用水效率评价及时空差异研究

在水资源约束趋紧的背景下,选取长江三角洲城市群中26个城市2005~2014年的面板数据,运用SBM模型对工业用水效率进行测算,并基于可分解的泰尔指数分析长江三角洲城市群内部工业用水效率的空间差异。结果显示：（1）长江三角洲城市群工业用水效率水平整体偏低,在不考虑与考虑非期望产出的情况下,工业用水效率10a平均值分别为 0.591 8.和 0.519 7;（2）工业用水效率的地区内部差异是造成总差异的主要部分,并且有随时间递增的趋势,其中安徽省对于地区内部差异的贡献率最大,其次为浙江省,江苏省贡献率最低;（3）江苏省各城市工业用水效率虽然差异不大但整体水平较低,而上海市工业用水效率较高并处于稳步上升状态。因此,缩小地区内部差异是实现长江三角洲城市群工业用水效率整体上升的重要途径。     

Nutrients Availability Shapes Fungal Community Composition and Diversity in the Rare Earth Mine Tailings of Southern Jiangxi,China

Russian Journal of Ecology - The present study characterized the nutrients availability of three rare earth tailings deserted in different time stages in Southern Jiangxi of China, and revealed the...     

Disinfection and removal of human pathogenic bacteria in arctic waste stabilization ponds

Wastewater stabilization ponds (WSPs) are commonly used to treat municipal wastewater in Arctic Canada. The biological treatment in the WSPs is strongly influenced by climatic conditions. Currently, there is limited information about the removal of fecal and pathogenic bacteria during the short cool summer treatment season. With relevance to public health, the objectives of this paper were to determine if treatment in arctic WSPs resulted in the disinfection (i.e., removal of fecal indicator bacteria, Escherichia coli) and removal of selected human bacterial pathogens from the treated effluent. The treatment performance, with focus on microbial removal, was assessed for the one-cell WSP in Pond Inlet (Nunavut [NU]) and two-cell WSP in Clyde River (NU) over three consecutive (2012–2014) summer treatment seasons (late June-early September). The WSPs provided a primary disinfection treatment of the wastewater with a 2–3 Log removal of generic indicator E. coli. The bacterial pathogens Salmonella spp., pathogenic E. coli, and Listeria monocytogenes, but not Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter pylori, were detected in the untreated and treated wastewater, indicating that human pathogens were not reliably removed. Seasonal and annual variations in temperature significantly (p < 0.05) affected the disinfection efficiency. Improved disinfection and pathogen removal was observed for the two-cell system in Clyde River as compared to the one-cell system in Pond Inlet. A quantitative microbial risk assessment should be performed to determine if the release of low levels of human pathogens into the arctic environment poses a human health risk.     

Comparisons of three plant species in accumulating polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the atmosphere: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Plant leaves play a key role in the accumulation of PAHs, as they are able to capture PAHs from the air. In this paper, the mechanism, including...