Opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from households in Nigeria

Efforts to mitigate climate threats should not exclude the household as the household is a major driver of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through its consumption patterns. This paper derives an emission index that could be used to estimate inventories of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from kerosene combustion for lighting in Nigeria and also looks at the implications of solar pv lighting replacing kerosene lamp in Nigeria. Findings indicate that (1) average CO₂ emissions from kerosene combustion for lighting in Nigeria is about 0.06 kg per hour per lamp, which can be taken as the kerosene lamp CO₂ emission index for Nigeria. (2) about 3 × 10W_p solar pv will be required to replace a kerosene lamp, while about 0.124 tonnes of CO₂ will be avoided per lamp per year, operating at 6 h daily. At the national level, under the kerosene lamp replacement projection assumptions made, between 0.4 and 1.0 million tonnes of CO₂ will be avoided per year. The household investment required to owe a solar pv, including the capital cost of switching from kerosene lamp, is about US356, while the national capital investment outlay is between 1,138.265 and US356, while the national capital investment outlay is between 1,138.265 and US2,848 million. (3) Certified Emission Reduction (CER) units, assuming CO₂ is traded, will generate significant annual revenues on the order of 6.96 to almost US17.4 million per year, while earnings from unspent household kerosene fuel could amount to between 2,520 and US17.4 million per year, while earnings from unspent household kerosene fuel could amount to between 2,520 and US6,300 million over the life span of the solar pv. The micro-economic assessment carried out indicates the non-attractiveness of solar pv use at the household level, and (4) to promote solar pv use, both long and short term policy measures that aim at cost reduction were suggested. The paper concludes that, factoring the suggested measures into the climate, energy, and financial policy decision discourse in Nigeria could empower the households to play a significant role in achieving global CO₂ emission reduction, but at the local level.     

黄河入河沙漠颗粒物对磷酸盐的吸附特征

研究了黄河入河沙漠颗粒物在天然水(河水和海水)中对磷酸盐的吸附行为,用改进的Langmuir和Freundlich等温吸附模型对实验数据进行了拟合.结果表明,①改进的Langmuir等温吸附模型更适用于描述黄河入河沙漠颗粒物对磷酸盐的吸附特征,其物理意义更明确,得到的拟合参数更合理;②颗粒物对磷的最大吸附容量Qmax变化范围为41.322～357.143mg.kg-1,其中居延海颗粒物Y2的Qmax最大.Qmax与颗粒物(Y1～Y5)的有机质有着极显著的正相关关系;③除巴丹吉林沙漠颗粒物Y1外,颗粒物的临界磷平衡浓度EPC0值均大于其相应水体的磷浓度.Y1在黄河水中吸附磷的EPC0小于相应水体的磷浓度0.0100.053 mg.L-1,而在渤海海水中却大于相应水体的磷浓度0.1090.074 mg.L-1,表明Y1吸附了黄河水中的磷,进入渤海后Y1原有吸附可交换态磷NAP转移到海水中.其它颗粒物与相应水体进行磷交换的过程中存在着解吸磷的现象,具有向相应水体释放磷的能力;④黄河入河沙漠颗粒物对磷酸盐的吸附等温线是过溶液浓度轴0.00的交叉型等温线,这种新型交叉型吸附-解吸模型较好地解释了其吸附特征和天然粒子的双重性作用.     

The theory of planned behavior as mediator of the effect of parental supervision: a study of intentions to violate driving rules in a representative sample of adolescents

INTRODUCTION: The study reported here was designed to test the ability of the theory of planned behavior to mediate the effect of parental supervision on adolescents' intentions to violate driving rules. METHOD: A representative sample of 1,654 adolescents completed questionnaires during individual and anonymous interviews carried out at their schools. RESULTS: Results showed that age, gender, prior risky driving-behavior, and parental supervision significantly predict intentions to violate driving rules. Attitude and the subjective norm partially mediate the effect of age, prior behavior, and parental supervision. Perceived behavioral control does not predict intention and is not predicted by other variables. IMPACT: The results suggest that social cognitive variables partially mediate the effect of parenting practices such as supervision.     

Last Glacial mammals in South America: a new scenario from the Tarija Basin (Bolivia)

The chronology, sedimentary history, and paleoecology of the Tarija Basin (Bolivia), one of the richest Pleistocene mammalian sites in South America, are revised here based on a multidisciplinary study, including stratigraphy, sedimentology, geomorphology, paleontology, isotope geochemistry, and ¹⁴C geochronology. Previous studies have indicated a Middle Pleistocene age for this classic locality. We have been able to obtain a series of ¹⁴C dates encompassing all the fossil-bearing sequences previously studied in the Tarija Basin. The dated layers range in age from about 44,000 to 21,000 radiocarbon years before present (BP), indicating that the Tarija fauna is much younger than previously thought. Glacial advances correlated to marine isotopic stages (MIS) 4 and 2 (ca. 62 and 20 ka BP, respectively) are also documented at the base and at the very top of the Tarija–Padcaya succession, respectively, indicating that the Bolivian Altiplano was not dry but sustained an ice cap during the Last Glacial Maximum. The results of this multidisciplinary study enable us to redefine the chronological limits of the Tarija sequence and of its faunal assemblage and to shift this paleontological, paleoclimatological, and paleoecological framework to the time interval from MIS 4 to MIS 2.     

Time allocation between work and recreation and the associated injury risks among young people

PROBLEM: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between overall risk of injury and time use patterns between work and active recreation among adolescents and young adults. METHODS: Using a representative sample of 9,795 Canadians aged 15-24 years, a multivariate logistic regression on the likelihood of any medically attended injury was conducted, including sociodemographic, individual, and time factors. RESULTS: Young people who engaged in a combination of high work and high activity hours were twice as likely to sustain a medically attended injury compared to those who worked low hours, but did not participate in any recreational activity. Those respondents who were not in school had a 43% increase in injury risk compared to full-time students. SUMMARY: Our findings suggest that injury risk was not a simple function of fatigue and cumulative exposure time. Our findings suggest the importance of considering time use and the associated injury risk tradeoffs. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Relevant to state and federal work safety policy makers, our findings suggest the importance of understanding where youth might otherwise spend their time if constraint were placed on their employment opportunities, and the associated injury risk tradeoffs must be taken into consideration.     

A juvenile lizard specimen with well-preserved skin impressions from the Upper Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China

Lizards are now relatively well known from the Yixian Formation of northeastern China. In this study, we describe a juvenile lizard from a fossil horizon at Daohugou, Inner Mongolia. These beds predate the Yixian Formation, and are probably Late Jurassic or earliest Cretaceous in age. The new specimen thus documents the first lizard material from the Daohugou locality and is the earliest lizard skeleton from China. Comparisons with developmental stages of modern lizards suggest the Daohugou lizard is a hatchling. Although tiny, the specimen is notable in preserving exquisite skin impressions showing the variation in scalation across the body, the shape and position of the cloacal outlet, and details of the manus and pes. These are the earliest recorded lepidosaurian skin traces. In its general proportions and the possession of paired frontals, the small Daohugou lizard resembles both the Yixian taxon Yabeinosaurus tenuis and the questionable Jeholacerta formosa, but it differs from the latter in scalation and, based on other characters, may be distinct from both.     

Rollover injury: effects of near- and far-seating position, belt use, and number of quarter rolls

PURPOSE: Vehicle and occupant responses in rollovers are complex since many factors influence both. This study analyzes the following factors: 1) belt use, 2) seated position with respect to the lead side in the rollover, 3) another front occupant in the crash, and 4) number of quarter rolls. The aim was to improve our understanding of rollover injury mechanisms. METHOD: Rollover accidents were analyzed using 1992-2004 NASS-CDS data. The sample included adult drivers and right-front passengers. All occupants were evaluated and then a subset of non-ejected occupants was analyzed. Using roll direction and seating position, the sample was divided into near- and far-seated occupants. Injury and fatality risks were determined by seatbelt use, occupancy, rollover direction, and number of quarter rolls. Risk was defined as the number of injured (e.g., MAIS 3+) divided by the number of exposed occupants (MAIS 0-6). Significance in differences was determined. A matched-pair analysis was used to determine the risk of serious injury for near- and far-seated occupants who were either belted or unbelted in the same crash. RESULTS: For all occupants, serious injury risks were highest for far-seated, unbelted occupants at 18.1% +/- 4.8%, followed by near-seated unbelted occupants at 12.0% +/- 3.5%. However, the difference was not statistically significant. Belted near- and far-seated occupants had a similar injury risk of 4.3% +/- 1.2% and 4.0% +/- 1.2%, respectively. For non-ejected occupants, serious injury risk was 9.5% +/- 3.2% for far-seated unbelted occupants and 4.9% +/- 2.1% for near-seated unbelted occupants, not a statistically significant difference. Serious injury risk was similar for belted near- and far-seated non-ejected occupants, at 3.6% +/- 1.1%. Seatbelts were 64.2%-77.9% effective in preventing serious injury for all occupants and 62.1%-26.5% for far- and near-seated, non-ejected occupants, respectively. Based on the matched pairs, seatbelts were less effective for near-seated (5.0%) compared to far-seated (2.8%) occupant MAIS 3+F risks. This was similar for non-ejected occupants. An unbelted near-seated occupant increased the risk for a belted far-seated occupant by 2.2 times, whereas an unbelted far-seated occupant increased the risk for a belted near-seated occupant by 10.2 times. For all occupants, the risk of serious injury increased with the number of quarter rolls, irrespective of seated position. For near-seated occupants, seatbelt effectiveness was higher in < or =1 roll than 1+ roll, at 72.3% compared to 28.3%. For far-seated occupants, seatbelt effectiveness was similar in < or =1 and 1+ roll samples at 78.3% and 76.8%, respectively. Near-seated occupants had the lowest serious injury risk when they were the sole occupant in the vehicle. This was also true for non-ejected occupants. However, far-seated occupants had a lower injury risk when another occupant was involved in the crash. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of carrying another occupant appears to reduce the risk of serious injury to far-seated occupants. However, near-seated occupants are better off being the sole occupant in the vehicle. Seatbelt effectiveness was lowest at 28.3% for non-ejected, near-seated occupants in 1+ rolls. This finding deserves further evaluation in an effort to improve seatbelt effectiveness in rollovers. For belted drivers alone in a rollover, fatality risks are 2.24 times higher for the far- versus near-seated position. Analysis of rollovers by quarter turns indicates that occupants are both far-side and near-side in rollovers. The extent to which this confounds the relationship between roll direction, seating position, and injury risk is unknown.     

限氧EGSB反应器内颗粒污泥性能研究

研究限氧EGSB反应器内颗粒污泥的沉淀性能、产甲烷活性、形态、抗温度和负荷冲击等特性,以分析限氧EGSB反应器长期高效稳定运行的可行性.结果表明,限氧运行使得颗粒污泥的沉速降低,但仍能保持20.07～51.86 m/h的高沉速,保证了限氧EGSB反应器内约42 g/L的高污泥浓度;加入适量氧并没有对甲烷菌产生毒害作用,反而有所提高,提高幅度为11.94%.限氧EGSB反应器内颗粒污泥表面和内部微生物没有出现明显的分区分布,中高进水浓度时没有出现甲烷八叠球菌的明显优势;限氧EGSB反应器内颗粒污泥在经历温度和COD负荷双重冲击后,COD去除率明显降低,出水VFA明显增高,产气量明显降低,甚至出现不产气的情况.COD去除率的恢复很快,仅需20 d;出水VFA和产气也逐渐恢复,但有所滞后;微生物的恢复要慢些,扫描电镜结果表明,有些颗粒污泥表面的微生物细胞仍存在收缩现象.     

Experience,but not distance,influences the recruitment precision in the stingless bee <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scaptotrigona mexicana</Emphasis>

Recruitment precision, i.e. the proportion of recruits that reach an advertised food source, is a crucial adaptation of social bees to their environment. Studies with honeybees showed that recruitment precision is not a fixed feature, but it may be enhanced by factors like experience and distance. However, little is known regarding the recruitment precision of stingless bees. Hence, in this study, we examined the effects of experience and spatial distance on the precision of the food communication system of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona mexicana. We conducted the experiments by training bees to a three-dimensional artificial patch at several distances from the colony. We recorded the choices of individual recruited foragers, either being newcomers (foragers without experience with the advertised food source) or experienced (foragers that had previously visited the feeder). We found that the average precision of newcomers (95.6 ± 2.61%) was significantly higher than that of experienced bees (80.2 ± 1.12%). While this might seem counter-intuitive on first sight, this “loss” of precision can be explained by the tendency of experienced recruits to explore nearby areas to find new rewarding food sources after they had initially learned the exact location of the food source. Increasing the distance from the colony had no significant effect on the precision of the foraging bees. Thus, our data show that experience, but not the distance of the food source, affected the patch precision of S. mexicana foragers.     

The double trade-off between adaptation and mitigation for sea level rise: an application of FUND

This paper studies the effects of adaptation and mitigation on the impacts of sea level rise. Without adaptation, the impact of sea level rise would be substantial, almost wiping out entire countries by 2100, although the globally aggregate effect is much smaller. Adaptation would reduce potential impacts by a factor 10–100. Adaptation would come at a minor cost compared to the damage avoided. As adaptation depends on socio-economic status, the rank order of most vulnerable countries is different than the rank order of most exposed countries. Because the momentum of sea level rise is so large, mitigation can reduce impacts only to a limited extent. Stabilising carbon dioxide concentrations at 550 ppm would cut impacts in 2100 by about 10%. However, the costs of emission reduction lower the avoided impacts by up to 25% (average 10%). This is partly due to the reduced availability of resources for adaptation, and partly due to the increased sensitivity to wetland loss by adaptation.