从水产养殖目标到真实的社会和生态影响:评在墨西哥中部农村引进鲤鱼的功过

水产养殖一直被认为是贫穷国家农村地区居民获取食物/蛋白质的解决办法.它主要基于外来品种,一旦引进就会改变本地区系的动力学.水产养殖不仅改变淡水系统的生态,而且也导致社会关系的变化.到现在为止,水产养殖计划还没有充分地加以分析和探究.我们利用墨西哥中部一个城市的案例做分析,对农村地区在浅水池塘养殖鲤鱼对生态产生的影响和当地的社会效益作了评估.我们采用"环境权利"法,研究结果表明①养殖鲤鱼增加了水的浑浊度,减少了本地鱼品种,减少穷人捕捞本地鱼的机会;②水产养殖主要对池塘主有利而非对穷苦的农民有利.主要原因是捕捞权利的变化引起的.我们的结论是假如想要降低对生态产生的负面影响以及改善农村地区人们的生活条件应重新审议水产养殖的政策目标和对收益的假设.     

Discriminant analysis for assessing the value of amniotic fluid microvillar enzymes in the prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis

We have analysed the sensitivity, specificity, and reliability of biochemical diagnosis based on microvillar membrane enzyme assay and using discriminant analysis in amniotic fluid samples obtained from 54 pregnancies at high risk for cystic fibrosis and 125 normal pregnancies. Our results show that amniotic fluid trehalase, alkaline phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes and gamma-glutamyltransferase enzyme activities measured during 16–20 gestational weeks, in spite of their non-specificity for cystic fibrosis, have a very good predictive value for fetal cystic fibrosis or exclude the possibility of the disease. Overall enzyme activity analysis provided over 90 per cent reliability of the method.     

Bioenergy and the CDM in the Emerging Market for Carbon Credits

This paper analyses the eligibility of different types of biomass energy projects in developing countries for funding under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism and related funds. Specifically, GHG emission reductions through the replacement of non-renewable types of biomass with renewable energy, or the improvement of the efficiency of energy systems based on non-renewable biomass, is discussed in more detail, as it is currently difficult if not impossible for these to qualify as CDM projects under current rules. These problems are caused by the categorical exclusion of land-use from the CDM (with the exception of afforestation and reforestation projects). The paper offers some possible solutions for both small-scale and large-scale CDM projects. These limitations hold for a number of carbon funds. The paper covers of the major funds operated by the World Bank and that are already operational, to point out differences between existing funds in order to identify the best opportunities for different biomass sources and technologies. This systematic, comparative analysis covers the characteristics of the different funds in terms of eligible technologies, geographical foci, and size (targets and completed and ongoing transactions, CO₂ equivalents, project asset values). To provide the context for the analysis of the carbon funds, the regulatory drivers and frameworks influencing the demand side of the market are discussed. This first of its kind analysis for the specifics of the carbon market regarding bioenergy enables decision makers and project managers active or planning to become active in the area, to identify and target the most promising funds for their specific purposes.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bonitasaura salgadoi</Emphasis> gen. et sp. nov.: a beaked sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia

Ornithischian and theropod dinosaurs were morphologically diverse during the Cretaceous. In contrast, sauropods were relatively more conservative. The anatomy of Bonitasaura salgadoi, a new 9-m titanosaurian sauropod from Upper Cretaceous beds of Patagonia, suggests that sauropod anatomical diversity would have included unexpected items. Its unusual, rectangular lower jaw possesses narrow, anteriorly restricted teeth and shows evidence of a sharp keratinous sheath over the non-dentigerous region that probably worked to guillotine plant material. This discovery definitely demonstrates that titanosaurs acquired a mandibular configuration similar to that of some basal diplodocoids, as had already been suggested by the lower jaw of the controversial genus Antarctosaurus. This oral configuration, plus the beak-like structure and the skull shape, resemble some traits more commonly seen in Laurasian ornithischians, mostly unexpressed in southern continents. A high sauropod morphological diversity seems to be in agreement with the poorly represented ornithischian clades of the southern hemisphere.Communicated by G. Mayr     

Trihalomethane formation in ozonated and chlorinated surface water

The relatively recent discovery of disinfection by-products has driven the main regulatory organisms to set maximum contaminant levels for certain substances in drinking water. Trihalomethanes can be deemed as the most important group of by-products in chlorinated surface waters. The present work has focused on trihalomethane formation in a full-scale water treatment plant. We studied the effect of several factors, including ozonation, on trihalomethane levels in chlorinated treated water. The treatment scheme also includes an ozonation step. Electronic Publication