Association between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and number of outpatient Helicobacter pylori infection visits

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Helicobacter pylori infection (HPI) is an important risk factor of gastrointestinal diseases, but factors leading to it are still not fully...     

Surface modelling of global terrestrial ecosystems under three climate change scenarios

A high accuracy and speed method (HASM) of surface modelling is developed to find a solution for error problem and to improve computation speed. A digital elevation model (DEM) is established on spatial resolution of 13.5 km × 13.5 km. Regression formulations among temperature, elevation and latitude are simulated in terms of data from 2766 weather observation stations scattered over the world by using the 13.5 km × 13.5 km DEM as auxiliary data. Three climate scenarios of HadCM3 are refined from spatial resolution of 405 km × 270 km to 13.5 km × 13.5 km in terms of the regression formulations. HASM is employed to simulate surfaces of mean annual bio-temperature, mean annual precipitation and potential evapotranspiration ratio during the periods from 1961 to 1990 (T₁), from 2010 to 2039 (T₂), from 2040 to 2069 (T₃), and from 2070 to 2099 (T₄) on spatial resolution of 13.5 km × 13.5 km. Three scenarios of terrestrial ecosystems on global level are finally developed on the basis of the simulated climate surfaces. The scenarios show that all polar/nival, subpolar/alpine and cold ecosystem types would continuously shrink and all tropical types, except tropical rain forest in scenario A1Fi, would expand because of the climate warming. Especially at least 80% of moist tundra and 22% of nival area might disappear in period T₄ comparing with the ones in the period T₁. Tropical thorn woodland might increase by more than 97%. Subpolar/alpine moist tundra would be the most sensitive ecosystem type because its area would have the rapidest decreasing rate and its mean center would shift the longest distance towards west. Subpolar/alpine moist tundra might be able to serve as an indicator of climatic change. In general, climate change would lead to a continuous reduction of ecological diversity.     

Photochemical indicators of ozone sensitivity: application in the Pearl River Delta,China

Surface O₃ production has a highly nonlinear relationship with its precursors. The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of O₃-NO _x -VOC-sensitivity regimes complicates the control-decision making. In this paper, the indicator method was used to establish the relationship between O₃ sensitivity and assessment indicators. Six popular ratios indicating ozone-precursor sensitivity, HCHO/NO _y , H₂O₂/ HNO₃, O₃/NO _y , O₃/NO _z , O₃/HNO₃, and H₂O₂/NO _z , were evaluated based on the distribution of NO_x- and VOC-sensitive regimes. WRF-Chem was used to study a serious ozone episode in fall over the Pearl River Delta (PRD). It was found that the south-west of the PRD is characterized by a VOCsensitive regime, while its north-east is NO _x -sensitive, with a sharp transition area between the two regimes. All indicators produced good representations of the elevated ozone hours in the episode on 6 November 2009, with H₂O₂/HNO₃ being the best indicator. The threshold sensitivity levels for HCHO/NO_y, H₂O₂/HNO₃, O₃/NO _y , O₃/NO _z , O₃/HNO₃, and H₂O₂/NO _z were estimated to be 0.41, 0.55, 10.2, 14.0, 19.1, and 0.38, respectively. Threshold intervals for the indicators H₂O₂/HNO₃, O₃/NO _y , O₃/NO _z , O₃/HNO₃, and H₂O₂/NO _z were able to identify more than 95% of VOC- and NO _x -sensitive grids. The ozone episode on 16 November 16 2008 was used to independently verify the results, and it was found that only H₂O₂/HNO₃ and H₂O₂/NO _z were able to differentiate the ozone sensitivity regime well. Hence, these two ratios are suggested as the most appropriate indicators for identifying fall ozone sensitivity in the PRD. Since the species used for indicators have seasonal variation, the utility of those indicators for other seasons should be investigated in the future work.

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Using regression models to evaluate the formation of trihalomethanes and haloacetonitriles via chlorination of source water with low SUVA values in the Yangtze River Delta region,China

The purpose of this study was to develop the multiple regression models to evaluate the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetonitriles (HANs) during chlorination of source water with low specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) in Yangtze River Delta, China. The results showed that the regression models of THMs exhibited good accuracy and precision, and 86–97 % of the calculated values fell within ±25 % of the measured values. While the HANs models showed relatively weak evaluation ability, as only 75–83 % of the calculated values were within ±25 % of the measured values. The organic matter [dissolved organic carbon (DOC) or UV absorbance at 254 nm] and bromide exerted the most important influence on the formation of HANs. While for THMs, besides the organic matter and bromide, reaction time was also a key factor. Comparing the models for total THMs (T-THMs) in this study with others revealed that the regression models from the low SUVA waters may have low DOC coefficients, but high bromide coefficients as compared with those from the high SUVA waters.     

钾对龙眼产量和品质的影响

为了提高龙眼产量，提高钾肥的施肥效益，于1993～1995年进行龙眼果园不同钾肥用量的施肥试验．结果表明，龙眼在施用氮碗肥及补充土壤缺乏的中微量元素养分的基础上，增施钾肥可增大果型、提高单果重，显著增加果实产量，并可改善果实品质；龙眼增施钾肥有明显的经济效益．提出龙眼适宜的施钾量为：每株每产50kg鲜果树面年施K2O1.2kg．     

Density estimation using ranked-set sampling data

The ranked-set sampling (RSS) is applicable in practical problems where the variable of interest for an observed item is costly or time-consuming but the ranking of a set of items according to the variable can be easily done without actual measurement. In the context of RSS, the need for density estimation arises in certain statistical procedures. The density estimation also has its own interest. In this article, we develop a method for the density estimation using RSS data. We derive the properties of the resulted density estimate and compare it with its counterpart in simple random sampling (SRS). It is shown that the density estimate using RSS data provides a better estimate of the density than the usual density estimate using SRS data. The density estimate developed in this article can well serve various purposes in the context of RSS.     

Arsenic-induced health crisis in peri-urban Moyna and Ardebok villages, West Bengal, India: an exposure assessment study

Drinking of arsenic (As)-contaminated groundwater has adverse effects on health of millions of people worldwide. This study aimed to determine the degree of severity of As exposure from drinking water in peri-urban Moyna and Ardebok villages, West Bengal, India. Arsenic concentrations in hair, nail and urine samp les of the individuals were determined. Arsenical dermatosis, keratosis and melanosis were investigated through medical evaluation. We have evaluated the association between As exposure from drinking water, and keratosis and melanosis outcomes. The results showed that 82.7?% of the sampled tube wells contain As concentrations above 10?μg/L, while 57.7?% contain As concentrations above 50?μg/L. The hair, nail and urine As concentrations were positively correlated with As concentrations in drinking water. In our study population, we observed a strong association between As concentrations ranging 51-99?μg/L and keratosis and melanosis outcomes, although the probability decreases at higher concentration ranges perhaps due to switching away from the use of As-contaminated tube wells for drinking and cooking purposes. High As concentrations in hair, nail and urine were observed to be associated with the age of the study population. The level of As concentrations in hair, nail and urine samples of the study population indicated the degree of severity of As exposure in the study region.     

Zn2+对黄瓜发芽期生理特性的影响

锌是植物必需的营养元素,同时也是一种常见的环境有毒重金属元素.以黄瓜(Cucumis sativus L.)为试验材料,设置不同Zn2 处理(0、25、50、100、200、300 mg·L-1),利用发芽和出苗试验,研究了Zn2 对黄瓜发芽期生理特性的影响.结果显示,低处理(0～25 mg·L-1)对黄瓜种子萌发和幼苗生长有促进作用,当为25 mg·L-1时最有利于黄瓜种子萌发和幼苗生长,其种子发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数、活力指数、根长、下胚轴长、下胚轴粗度和相对含水量均高于对照及其他浓度处理;幼苗相对电导率、丙二醛含量、可溶性糖含量、游离脯氨酸含量、SOD活性及POD活性均在此浓度得到最低.但从50 mg·L-1开始,随着增加,黄瓜种子萌发的各项指标开始下降,幼苗生长的各项生理指标开始上升,对黄瓜种子发芽和幼苗生长产生抑制作用,并在300 mg·L-1时抑制作用得到最大.该研究为进一步研究农业生态整治与安全高效利用提供理论基础.     

部分水溶性偶氮染料的光催化降解研究

本研究以高压汞灯为光源,系统地研究了１６种偶氮染料在水溶液中的ＴｉＯ２光催化降解。结果表明,这些偶氮染料的光解为一级动力学反应,采用ＴｉＯ２光催化降解方法处理所研究的偶氮染料是可行的,并初步探讨了染料的结构与光解反应表观速率常数之间的关系。