Assessment of China's economic loss resulting from the degradation of agricultural land in the end of 20th century

Land degradation is a consequence stemming from both natural processes and social economic activities. On the bases of analyzing general situation of agricultural land degradation in China, the monetary estimating methods such as market value method and shadow engineering method were used to quantitatively assess the economic loss resulting from land deterioration. Results showed that the economic loss in 1999 was 326.8l billion RMB Yuan, which accounted for 4.1% of GDP in the same year of China. If taking five items namely farmland conversion, soil erosion, salinization, decline in reservoir functions, and siltation in waterways and, comparing with that in 1992, the percentage of economic loss to GDP has increased by 1.5 in the only 7 years.     

Organische Leiter

Only three decades ago it was thought inconceivable that organic compounds could transport electric charges like metals do. However, recently organic molecules exhibiting high conductivities have been synthesized. Some examples of organic conductors are presented together with the present status of this research which is both interesting to chemists and physicists. Some applications of organic conductors are discussed.     

Patients' attitudes following chorionic villus sampling

The attitudes of 190 patients who had undergone chorionic villus sampling (CVS) were assessed by means of a questionnaire. One hundred and fifty-two patients replied of whom 68 (45 per cent) were referred because of increased maternal age and in the other 84 cases the indications included previous chromosomal abnormalities, fetal sexing, DNA analysis, and biochemical analysis. One hundred and twenty-two patients had a transcervical procedure, 24 had a transabdominal, and six patients required both procedures. One hundred and forty-one patients (93 per cent) reported CVS to be a satisfactory procedure, and the same percentage thought earlier diagnosis was beneficial. Thirty-nine patients (81 per cent) reported a better experience with CVS than with a previous amniocentesis. A majority of patients (93 per cent) wished a CVS in a future pregnancy and 137 patients (97 per cent) would accept a risk of miscarriage from the procedure of twice that quoted for amniocentesis (1 per cent).     

Rapid prenatal diagnosis of Patau's syndrome in a fetus with an abdominal wall defect by 72 hour culture of cells from amniotic fluid

A woman in the 32nd week of pregnancy was referred for investigation because of fetal abnormalities, including an abdominal wall defect, detected by ultrasonography. In view of the increased risk of chromosome abnormality, amniocentesis was performed to enable informed decisions about the management of the pregnancy and delivery to be taken. Cells from the liquor were inoculated into standard lymphocyte culture medium and incubated for 72 h. Slides with a high mitotic index and good quality metaphases, comparable to those from a blood culture, were obtained after harvesting. Cytogenetic analysis showed the karyotype to be 46,XY,—14,+t(13ql4q), which is consistent with Patau's syndrome. This technique appears to be an option for rapid karyotyping in cases of abdominal wall defect, where a chromosomal abnormality is suspected.     

Indicators of sustainable production: framework and methodology

This paper presents a new tool for promoting business sustainability — indicators of sustainable production. It first introduces the concept of sustainable production as defined by the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts Lowell. Indicators of sustainable production are discussed next, including their dimensions and desirable qualities. Based on the Lowell Center Indicator Framework, the authors suggest a new methodology of core and supplemental indicators for raising companies' awareness and measuring their progress toward sustainable production systems. Twenty-two core indicators are proposed and a detailed guidance for their application is included. An eight-step model provides a context for indicator implementation. The paper concludes with a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology as well as recommendations for testing the indicators.     

Effects of atmospheric mercury pollution on terrestrial ecosystem in Chongqing, China

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Simulating dairy liquid waste management options as a nitrogen source for crops

Large scale dairy operations are common. In many cases the manure is deposited on a paved surface and then removed with a flushing system, after which the solids are separated, the liquid stored in ponds, and eventually the liquid applied on adjacent crop land. Management of liquid manure to maximize the fertilizer value and minimize water quality degradation requires knowledge of the interactive effects of mineralization of organic N (ON) to NH₄⁺, crop uptake of mineral N, and leaching of NO₃⁻ on a temporal basis. The purpose of the research was to use the ENVIRO-GRO model to simulate how the amount of applied N, timing of N application, ON mineralization rates, chemical form of N applied, and irrigation uniformity affected (1) yields of corn (Zea mays) in summer and a forage grass in winter in a Mediterranean climate and (2) the amount of NO₃⁻ leached below the root zone. This management practice is typical for dairies in the San Joaquin Valley of California. The simulations were conducted for a 10-year period. Steady state conditions, whereby an equivalent amount of N applied in the organic form will be mineralized in a given year, are achieved more rapidly for materials with high mineralization rates. Both timing and total quantity of N application are important in affecting crop yield and potential N leaching. Major conclusions from the simulations are as follows. Frequent low applications are preferred to less frequent higher applications. Increasing the amount of N application increased both the crop yield and the amount of NO₃⁻ leached. Increasing irrigation uniformity increased crop yields but had variable effects on the amount of NO₃⁻ leached. A winter forage crop following a summer corn crop effectively reduced the leaching of residual soil N following the corn crop.     

呼和浩特市发电厂污染物综合治理与资源化利用技术研究

本文以呼市发电厂废水、粉尘和灰场污染治理为例，研究制定发电厂粉煤灰综合治理与回收利用技术方案、旧灰场的生态工程建设和冲灰水的回收利用方案，通过污染物治理，废水的利用率达到85％，粉煤灰处理后的产草量和年利用率为98％，灰场的植被覆盖度达到97％，通过治理使发电厂的污染物排放量减少，废弃物资源得以利用，灰场变成环境优美的生态旅游区，为我国电厂的治理工作提供一个切实可行的科学依据。     

BP网络应用于大气环境监测点的优选

为了对大气环境监测点进行优化选择 ,以大气质量分级标准为训练样本 ,构造BP网络进行训练 ,用训练好的BP网络对某地的大气环境监测采样点进行了优选 ,并与物元分析法优选结果进行比较。结果表明 ,BP网络用于环境测点优选具有较好的客观性和应用性     

Detecting forest landcape boundary between Mountain Birch and evergreen eoniferous forest in the northern slope of Changbai Mountain

Boundaries between different forest types in Changbai Mountain Eatern China are results from complex interactions between forest ecosystems,topogrphy,and geomorphology.Detecting and quantifying the transitional zones are highly important since high environmental beterogeneity and biodiversity are ofter found within these zpmes.In this study,we used GIS and multivariate statistics techniques(PCA and MSWA) to analyze data from Landsat TM satellite imageries and quantitatively determined the positions and widths of the landscape boundary betweeen mountain birch and evergreen coniferous forests in the northern slope of Changbai Mountain.The results showed that the widths of the landscape boundary ranges from 30-50 m while using the MWW A or/and PC method.Such detected widths are consistent with field transect data that suggest a 50m tranistional zone width.The results further suggest that TM data can be used in combination with GIS and statistical techniques in determining forest landscape boundaries.MSWA is more reliable than PCA,while PCA can also be used to determine the landscape boundary when transects are properly located.