冷空气在北上台风“利奇马”致灾暴雨中的作用分析

利用NCEP逐6 h再分析资料、地面加密观测、探空、雷达资料,分析得出“利奇马”致灾暴雨是在长时间稳定维持的天气尺度环流背景下形成的。冷空气在降水所起的作用表现在:(1)长时间维持的弱冷空气与偏南暖湿气流交汇形成了边界层辐合线,辐射升温和暖湿气流的输送加大了辐合线两侧的温度和露点梯度,在高温高湿的有利环境下,对流在辐合线附近强烈发展。(2)高空槽后冷空气由“利奇马”环流西北侧渗入,先后形成3个冷平流中心,分别对应3个阶段的降水。(3)冷暖空气在降水区的持续辐合抬升作用增强了降水,最强降水时段发生在锋区垂直方向坡度最大的时段。(4)水平锋生有利于水汽输送和辐合抬升,垂直锋生有利于对流不稳定能量的累积和触发。冷空气形成的水平辐合和抬升造成大范围上升运动,使得锋生和垂直锋消同时存在,最强降水时段发生在水平锋生最强的时段。     

Laboratory evaluation of thermophilic-anaerobic digestion to produce Class A biosolids. 2. Inactivation of pathogens and indicator organisms in a continuous-flow reactor followed by batch treatment.

Thermophilic-anaerobic digestion in a single-stage, mixed, continuous-flow reactor is not approved in the United States as a process capable of producing Class A biosolids for land application. This study was designed to evaluate the inactivation of pathogens and indicator organisms in such a reactor followed by batch treatment in a smaller reactor. The combined process was evaluated at 53 degrees C with sludges from three different sources and at 51 and 55 degrees C with sludge from one of the sources. Feed sludge to the continuous-flow reactor was spiked with the pathogen surrogates Ascaris suum and vaccine-strain poliovirus. Feed and effluent were analyzed for these organisms and for indigenous Salmonella spp., fecal coliforms, Clostridium perfringens spores, and somatic and male-specific coliphages. No viable Ascaris eggs were observed in the effluent from the continuous reactor at 53 or 55 degrees C, with greater than 2-log removals across the digester in all cases. Approximately 2-log removal was observed at 51 degrees C, but all samples of effluent biosolids contained at least one viable Ascaris egg at 51 degrees C. No viable poliovirus was found in the digester effluent at any of the operating conditions, and viable Salmonella spp. were measured in the digester effluent in only one sample throughout the study. The ability of the continuous reactor to remove fecal coliforms to below the Class A monitoring limit depended on the concentration in the feed sludge. There was no significant removal of Clostridium perfringens across the continuous reactor under any condition, and there also was limited removal of somatic coliphages. The removal of male-specific coliphages across the continuous reactor appeared to be related to temperature. Overall, at least one of the Class A pathogen criteria or the fecal coliform limit was exceeded in at least one sample in the continuous-reactor effluent at each temperature. Over the range of temperatures evaluated, the maximum time required to meet the Class A criteria by batch treatment of the continuous-reactor effluent was 1 hour for Ascaris suum and Salmonella spp. and 2 hours for fecal coliforms.     

Pedestrian road crossing behavior (PEROB): Development and psychometric evaluation

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a theory-based questionnaire to measure road crossing attitudes and potentially risky pedestrian behavior.

Methods: A cross-sectional validation study was carried out on a total sample of 380 young adults aged 18 to 25 years who live in Tehran, Iran. Data were collected from January 27 to May 20, 2015, using a self-administered structured pool of 76 items that was developed from research on the theory of planned behavior. A panel of subject-matter experts evaluated the items for content validity index and content validity ratio, and the questionnaire was pretested. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to test construct validity. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analyses were done to assess internal consistency and stability of the scale.

Results: From the initial 76 items, 38 items were found to be appropriate for assessing the pedestrian road crossing behavior (PEROB) of young adults in Tehran. A 9-factor solution revealed an exploratory factor analysis that jointly accounted for 63.8% of the variance observed. Additional analyses also indicated acceptable results for the internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha value ranging from 0.67 to 0.88 and ICC values ranging from 0.64 to 0.96.

Conclusions: This psychometric evaluation of a self-administered instrument resulted in a reliable and valid instrument to assess young adult pedestrians' self-reported road crossing attitudes and behaviors in Tehran. Further development of the instrument is needed to assess its applicability to other road users, particularly older pedestrians.     

Removal of congo red and basic violet 1 by chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) sawdust,a saw mill waste: batch and column studies

The efficiency of chir pine sawdust (CPS) for adsorptive removal of the dyes, congo red (CR) and basic violet 1 (BV), from aqueous solution was evaluated using batch and column studies. The equilibrium was attained in 60 min for CR and 45 min for BV. The adsorption of BV obeyed the Langmuir isotherm model while the Freundlich isotherm fitted the equilibrium data of CR adsorption. The Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacities (Q_o) of CPS for BV and CR were 11.3 and 5.8 g kg^?1, respectively. The kinetic data for CR were best fitted to the Lagergren pseudo-first-order model and for BV to the pseudo-second-order model. The intra-particle diffusion was found to be the rate-controlling step for CR adsorption, while the adsorption kinetics of BV were controlled by both intra-particle and liquid-film diffusion. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The adsorption activation energy (E_a) for CR (124 kJ mol^?1) implied chemical adsorption while that for BV (5.4 kJ mol^?1) indicated physical adsorption. An increase in the Thomas model constant (K_Th) with increasing flow indicated that for both dyes the mass transport resistance decreased during adsorption. Thus, CPS may be an efficient low-cost adsorbent for decolorization of dye-containing wastewaters.     

How to Consider the Value of Farm Animals in Breeding Goals. A Review of Current Status and Future Challenges

The objective of this paper is to outline challenges associated with the inclusion of welfare issues in breeding goals for farm animals and to review the currently available methodologies and discuss their potential advantages and limitations to address these challenges. The methodology for weighing production traits with respect to cost efficiency and market prices are well developed and implemented in animal breeding goals. However, these methods are inadequate in terms of assessing proper values of traits with social and ethical values such as animal welfare, because such values are unlikely to be readily available from the product prices and costs in the market. Defining breeding goals that take animal welfare and ethical concerns into account, therefore, requires new approaches. In this paper we suggest a framework and an approach for defining breeding goals, including animal welfare. The definition of breeding goals including values related to animal welfare requires a multidisciplinary approach with a combination of different methods such as profit equations, stated preference techniques, and selection index theory. In addition, a participatory approach involving different stakeholders such as breeding organizations, food authorities, farmers, and animal welfare organizations should be applied. We conclude that even though these methods provide the necessary tools for considering welfare issues in the breeding goal, the practical application of these methods is yet to be achieved.     

Coexistence of Cr and Ni in anthropogenic soils and their chemistry: implication to proper management and remediation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In anthropogenic soils, there have been relatively limited studies focusing on Cr and Ni contaminants because they exhibit less toxic effects to...     

Synergetic effect of complex soil amendments to improve soil quality and alleviate toxicity of heavy metal(loid)s in contaminated arable soil: toward securing crop food safety and productivity

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Globally, various types of soil amendments have been used to improve the fertility and quality of soils in agricultural lands. In heavy metal(loid)...     

Melatonin exerts a neuroprotective effect against γ-radiation-induced brain injury in the rat through the modulation of neurotransmitters,inflammatory cytokines,oxidative stress,and apoptosis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The current study aimed to investigate the ameliorative effect of melatonin (MLT) against brain injury in rats undergoing whole-body exposure to...     

Impact of climatic shocks on child human capital: evidence from young lives data

This study attempts to assess the impact of two different climatic shocks, drought and excessive rainfall/flood, as perceived by households on child human capital across four countries: Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam – countries with diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Human capital, in this context, subsumes both child learning and health outcomes. The data source is the Young Lives Study and cross-sectional household data on the older cohort of children (between 14 and 16 years of age) are utilized, for the year 2009. The enrolment rate, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Cloze test and Math test scores are used as proxies for child learning outcomes. The health outcome variables being studied are the WHO-defined Body Mass Index z-scores and Height for Age z-scores. The overall objective is to study heterogeneity in responses to shock in terms of the development of human capital across the set of countries considered. Additionally, the study elaborates on the role of institutional help, during crisis, and the role of household characteristics in buffering these climatic shocks.