Detection Method for Avian Influenza Viruses in Water

Recent events have shown that humans may become infected with some pathogenic avian influenza A viruses (AIV). Since soil and water, including lakes, rivers, and seashores, may be contaminated by AIV excreted by birds, effective methods are needed for monitoring water for emerging viruses. Combining water filtration with molecular methods such as PCR is a fast and effective way for detecting viruses. The objective of this study was to apply a convenient method for the detection of AIV in natural water samples. Distilled water and lake, river, and seawater were artificially contaminated with AIV (H5N3) and passed through a filter system. AIV was detected from filter membrane by real-time RT-PCR. The performance of Zetapor, SMWP, and Sartobind D5F membranes in recovering influenza viruses was first evaluated using contaminated distilled water. SWMP, which gave the highest virus recoveries, was then compared with a pre-filter combined GF/F filter membrane in a trial using natural water samples. In this study, the cellulose membrane SMWP was found to be practical for recovery of AIVs in water. Viral yields varied between 62.1 and 65.9% in distilled water and between 1 and 16.7% in natural water samples. The borosilicate glass membrane GF/F combined with pre-filter was also feasible in filtering natural water samples with viral yields from 1.98 to 7.33%. The methods described can be used for monitoring fresh and seawater samples for the presence of AIV and to determine the source of AIV transmission in an outbreak situation.     

Coastal flooding,climate change and environmental justice: identifying obstacles and incentives for adaptation in two metropolitan Boston Massachusetts communities

We explored the possible future impacts of increased coastal flooding due to sea level rise and the potential adaptation responses of two urban, environmental justice communities in the metropolitan Boston area of Massachusetts. East Boston is predominantly a residential area with some industrial and commercial activities, particularly along the coastal fringe. Everett, a city to the north of Boston, has a diversified industrial and commercial base. While these two communities have similar socioeconomic characteristics, they differ substantially in the extent to which residents would be impacted by increased coastal flooding. In East Boston, a large portion of residents would be flooded, while in Everett, it is the commercial/industrial districts that are primarily vulnerable. Through a series of workshops with residents in each community, we found that the target populations do not have an adaptation perspective or knowledge of any resources that could assist them in this challenge. Furthermore, they do not feel included in the planning processes within their communities. However, a common incentive for both communities was an intense commitment to their communities and an eagerness to learn more and become actively engaged in decisions regarding climate change adaptation. The lessons that can be applied to other studies include 1) images are powerful tools in communicating concepts, 2) understanding existing cultural knowledge and values in adaptation planning is essential to the planning process and 3) engaging local residents at the beginning of the process can create important educational opportunities and develop trust and consensus that is necessary for moving from concept to implementation.     

北京温榆河流域微生物污染调查研究

随着工业化和城市化进程的加快,我国河流普遍受到了不同程度的水质污染,而微生物指标对于水质评价具有重要作用.本研究选取细菌总数、总大肠菌群、粪大肠菌群以及SC噬菌体、F噬菌体作为指示微生物对北京市温榆河开展了历时一年多的调查研究,结果表明,除了有机污染和富营养化问题外,温榆河流域的微生物污染非常突出.温榆河上游已经受到了一定程度的微生物污染,微生物浓度(以粪大肠菌群为例)波动较大(5.01×10²~5.37×10⁶个·L^-1);下游受清河、坝河等排水河道的影响,微生物污染普遍严重(均值达6.3×10⁶个·L^-1以上),与地表水Ⅴ类水质标准(GB 3838—2002)相比FC浓度平均超出两个数量级.统计分析显示,温榆河微生物污染受季节的影响并不显著(p>0.05),表明人为因素很可能是其主要影响因素.温榆河处于微生物高污染水平,可能威胁地下水水质和农作物质量安全,应从源头加强微生物风险控制.     

Capability development of local communities for project sustainability in afforestation/reforestation clean development mechanism

It has been recognized that the involvement of local community is essential to ensure the sustainability of A/R CDM (afforestation/reforestation clean development mechanism) project. This study verifies if the risks of non-permanence and leakage are addressed in a registered small scale A/R CDM project in Vietnam. Workshops, interviews, and a questionnaire survey of local villagers revealed that the project has caused a shortage of land for conventional activities such as grazing, fuel wood collection and shifting cultivation, and consequently posed the risks of project non-permanence and leakage. It is suggested that participation of all stakeholders in the community to the A/R CDM project beyond existing land tenure and adequate carbon benefit sharing according to the level of contribution to the project are required to reduce the risk of non permanence. To ensure the participation, the community should have capability such as consensus building and collective action. Leakage would be minimized if the community has alternative measures to the conventional activities before starting the project. We argue that it is necessary to first develop a community’s capabilities in the readiness phase of any A/R CDM project in order to reduce the risks for the project sustainability, and that new sources of funding are needed for this purpose.     

Building regional priorities in forests for development and adaptation to climate change in the Congo Basin

Indentifying common priorities in shared natural resource systems constitutes an important platform for implementing adaptation and a major step in sharing a common responsibility in addressing climate change. Predominated by discourses on REDD + (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries) with little emphasis on adaptation there is a risk of lack of policy measures in addressing climate change in the Congo Basin. Forest products and ecosystem services provide security portfolios for the predominantly rural communities, and play major roles in national development programmes in both revenue and employment opportunities. Thus, raising the profile of forests in the policy arena especially in the twin roles of addressing climate change in mitigation and adaptation and achieving resilient development is crucial. Within the framework of the Congo Basin Forests and Climate Change Adaptation project (COFCCA) project, science policy dialogue was conducted to identify and prioritize forest based sectors vulnerable to climate change but important to household livelihoods and national development. The goal of the prioritization process was for the development of intervention in forest as measures for climate change adaptation in Central Africa. Participants constituted a wide range of stakeholders (government, Non Governmental Organizations, research institutions, universities, community leaders, private sectors etc.) as representatives from three countries directly involved in the project: Cameroon, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo. Building on national priorities, four forest related sectors were identified as common priorities at the regional level for focus on climate change adaptation. These sectors included: (1) energy with emphasis on fuel wood and Charcoal; (2) Water principally quality, quantity, accessibility, etc.; (3) Food with emphasis on Non Timber Forest Products, and (4) Health linked to healthcare products (medicinal plants). Using these prioritized sectors, the project focused on addressing the impacts of climate change on local communities and the development of adaptation strategies in the three pilot countries of the Congo Basin region. The four sectors constitute the key for development in the region and equally considered as priority sectors in the poverty reduction papers. Focused research on these sectors can help to inject the role of forests in national and local development and their potentials contributions to climate change adaptation in national and public discourses. Mainstreaming forest for climate change adaptation into national development planning is the key to improve policy coherence and effectiveness in forest management in the region.     

太湖梅梁湾和月亮湾春夏两季沉积物扰动下BAPP的转化规律

采用室内模拟试验研究了沉积物扰动下上覆水中可被生物利用颗粒态磷(BAPP)的变化规律,并分析了BAPP与悬浮物中内源磷间的内在联系.试验用沉积物分别于春季和夏季采自太湖梅梁湾和月亮湾.结果表明,沉积物扰动降低了上覆水中生物有效磷(BAP)含量,降至初始状态的40%左右.BAPP也明显降低,其占BAP的百分比稳定在50%左右,梅梁湾春季除外.扰动状态下颗粒态磷(PP)生物有效性显著降低,第12h时,BAPP占PP的百分比仅为10%左右;这与悬浮物中NH₄Cl-P和Fe/Al-P的降低明显相关,但其与 (AAP+NH₄Cl-P)占Tot-P的百分比相关性更好[r=0.565(n=48)].这暗示,沉积物扰动可能延缓了水体富营养化发展进程.     

凹凸棒石基复合材料处理印染废水的研究

以凹凸棒石为载体,钛酸四丁酯为原料,通过溶胶-凝胶法,制成TiO2/凹凸棒石基复合材料(TiO2/ATT),并对所制得的复合材料进行了XRD和BET表征。在波长为254 nm的16 W紫外灯光照下,以活性黑KN-B印染废水为脱色对象,分别探讨了TiO2/凹凸棒石复合材料的煅烧温度、投加量、活性黑KN-B染料的初始浓度、溶液的pH值和反应温度等因素对印染废水脱色率的影响。实验结果表明:用煅烧温度500℃的TiO2/凹凸棒石基复合材料处理活性黑KN-B印染废水,催化剂的投加量为15 g/L、活性黑KN-B的初始浓度为10 mg/L、pH小于7、反应温度为20℃时,光催化反应4 h内即能达到较高的去除率,对活性黑KN-B的脱色率可达95%以上。     

蒙脱石对Co2+吸附机理和性能研究

随着锂电池的广泛使用,废弃锂电池中所含的钴元素以离子形式开始进入地下水中。文章以吸附水中钴离子为研究内容。系统研究了吸附时间、溶液浓度、温度以及pH值对其吸附性能的影响。结果表明:蒙脱石对钴离子的平衡吸附时间约为1 h;在303 K下蒙脱石对钴离子的最大吸附量约为30.77 mg/g,且吸附方程可以用Langmuir模型进行良好的拟合;吸附行为符合拟二级动力学方程;最佳pH环境为弱酸性。     

Electrochemical and spectroscopic characteristics of dissolved organic matter in a forest soil profile

Dissolved organic matter （DOM） represents one of the most mobile and reactive organic compounds in ecosystem and plays an important role in the fate and transport of soil organic pollutants, nutrient cycling and more importantly global climate change. Electrochemical methods were first employed to evaluate DOM redox properties, and spectroscopic approaches were utilized to obtain information concerning its composition and structure. DOM was extracted from a forest soil profile with five horizons. Differential pulse voltammetry indicated that there were more redox-active moieties in the DOM from upper horizons than in that from lower horizons. Cyclic voltammetry further showed that these moieties were reversible in electron transfer. Chronoamperometry was employed to quantify the electron transfer capacity of DOM, including electron acceptor capacity and electron donor capacity, both of which decreased sharply with increasing depth. FT-IR, UV-Vis and fluorescence spectra results suggested that DOM from the upper horizons was enriched with aromatic and humic structures while that from the lower horizons was rich in aliphatic carbon, which supported the findings obtained by electrochemical approaches. Electrochemical approaches combined with spectroscopic methods were applied to evaluate the characteristics of DOM extracted along a forest soil profile. The electrochemical properties of DOM, which can be rapidly and simply obtained, provide insight into the migration and transformation of DOM along a soil profile and will aid in better understanding of the biogeochemical role of DOM in natural environments.     

建筑垃圾资源化处置技术及装备综述

介绍了国内外有关建筑垃圾资源化处置的相关工艺,并从分选除杂、破碎、筛分、整形强化四方面总结了建筑垃圾资源化处置技术与装备,分析其性能特点及应用范围,为我国相关工艺技术及装备的发展提供参考和借鉴。