Of timelines and timeliness: lessons from Typhoon Haiyan in early disaster response

Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines on 8 November 2013 with maximum sustained winds of 235 kilometres per hour, adversely affecting at least 11 million people and displacing some 673,000 in the central regions of the country. The disaster clearly overwhelmed the Philippine government despite its seemingly well‐crafted disaster management plan. Using timelines of different organisations, this paper identifies gaps in the government's response, mainly due to its failure in coordinating and managing relief operations, which adversely affected its effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of critical goods and services following the disaster. The paper also demonstrates how non‐governmental organisations (NGOs), the United Nations, foreign governments and other organisations provided assistance, mainly through aid niching, to cover the government's shortcomings. The paper recommends a paradigm shift in the government's disaster response by integrating collaborative arrangements between government agencies and NGOs, and giving local governments the lead role, with the national government as support, in disaster planning and response.     

川西高山峡谷区暗针叶林粗木质残体金属元素贮量特征

普遍存在于森林地表的粗木质残体(Coarse woody debris,CWD)是森林生态系统的重要组成部分.金属元素不断在CWD中积累—释放—转移,是认识植物-土壤金属元素循环的关键纽带.因此以长江上游高山峡谷区暗针叶林不同类型不同腐烂等级CWD为研究对象,调查其金属元素含量及贮量特征.结果表明:CWD类型和腐烂等级显著影响金属元素含量.CWD中生物必需非重金属元素(K、Ca、Na和Mg)含量分别介于0.29-2.56、2.41-8.13、0.56-1.65和0.34-1.03 g/kg之间,生物必需重金属元素(Cu、Mn和Zn)含量分别介于1.71-6.00、0.03-1.01和0.06-0.73 g/kg之间,非生物必需重金属元素含量(Cr、Cd和Pb)分别介于3.74-34.54、0.07-3.60和0.73-36.10 mg/kg之间.高山峡谷区暗针叶林CWD生物必需非重金属(K、Ca、Na和Mg)总贮量分别为43.77、220.63、40.78和31.37 kg/hm~2,生物必需重金属元素(Cu、Mn和Zn)总贮量分别为0.12、16.11和9.91 kg/hm~2,非生物必需重金属元素(Cr、Cd和Pb)总贮量分别为0.10、0.16和0.72 kg/hm~2.不同类型CWD金属元素贮量表现为倒木根桩大枯枝枯立木,且不同金属元素在相同类型CWD不同腐烂等级之间基本具有相对一致的变化趋势.可见,CWD是高山峡谷区暗针叶林金属元素重要贮存场所之一,其降解过程中金属元素的释放可能是生态系统元素循环的重要途径.     

鳄鱼的『天堂』

凡到过泰国的人,必去北榄鳄鱼湖,因为它是世界上最大的鳄鱼驯养基地,1500亩的湖区被绿树环绕,3万多条淡水鳄、咸水鳄、尖嘴鳄、扁嘴鳄、黑种鳄……在这里繁衍生息,被称为鳄鱼的天堂。     

Receiver sex differences in visual response to dynamic motion signals in Sceloporus lizards

Visual signal properties often vary greatly between and within individuals in a variety of social contexts. While it is widely known that visual displays emitted by senders can exhibit great variation in efficacy and content, far less is understood whether and how receivers vary in the ability to respond to variability in signal properties, such as motion. Here, we tested for receiver sex differences in visual response latency to motion signals in Sceloporus undulatus lizards. We used a moving robotic lizard model as a visual stimulus to assay response latency in male and female lizards. We measured visual reaction times to slow and fast, up-and-down motions, characteristic of territorial and courtship male motion displays, respectively. We found sex differences in response latency to the two different displays. Specifically, male lizards were faster than females at responding to slow motion produced by the robotic lizard, while female lizards were faster than males at responding to fast motion. These results demonstrate that dynamic visual signals that vary temporally under different social contexts can differ in eliciting a visual response from each sex. Our study highlights that physical differences in dynamic and complex visual signals exhibited during different social contexts (i.e., territorial and courtship contexts) can closely match sex differences in visual responses.     

Application of semipermeable membrane device (SPMD) to assess air genotoxicity in an occupational environment

Semipermeable membrane device (SPMD) is a passive sampler that sequesters lipophilic contaminants, mimicking the bioconcentration in the fatty tissue of organisms. This study was designed to assess the use of SPMD and biological tests (Comet assay and Ames test) for air monitoring. For this purpose an occupational environment with expected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contamination (coke plant) was selected for a case study. The SPMDs were deployed in five occupational contaminated sites and in a control site. The SPMD dialysates were chemically analysed and examined for in vitro DNA-damaging activity in human cells (Jurkat) by Comet assay and for mutagenicity with the Ames test (TA98 strain, w/o S9). Total suspended particulates were also collected and analysed (GC–MS). No biological effect of SPMD extract was revealed in the control site. On the other hand, air samples collected with SPMDs within the coke plant showed variable degrees of genotoxic and mutagenic activity. The highest effects were associated with the highest PAH level recovered in the SPMDs extracts and in particulate samples.Results obtained support the sensitivity of biological tests associated to SPMD sampling for evaluating the health risk of potentially contaminated work environments highlighting the usefulness of SPMDs for environmental air quality monitoring.     

基于空间信息技术的城市环境时空调控范式研究

城市环境－生态系统是高度复杂的时空复合动力学系统。通过对城市环境问题的空间动力学机制分析后,提出城市环境可持续发展时空调控的层次途径,并构造了融合遥感、地理信息系统等空间信息技术、环境建模技术、决策支持系统、人工智能等技术的城市生态－环境系统时空调控的体系框架,为城市环境管理及环境空间决策提供新的理论范。     

Flow cytometric characterization of bacterial abundance and physiological status in a nitrifying-denitrifying activated sludge system treating landfill leachate

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Flow cytometry has recently been presented as a research tool in the assessment of the viability/activity of activated sludge from municipal...     

Detached breakwaters’ effects on a microtidal Mediterranean Coast, case of the Hammam-Lif littoral (North-East of Tunisia)

The Hammam Lif shoreline, which is part of the Gulf of Tunis (North-East of Tunisia), suffered from a dramatic erosion event during a storm in 1981. Therefore, eight successive and detached breakwaters were built to protect it. The effect of these protection works on the evolution of this coastline is assessed using aerial photographs geo-referenced by digital photogrammetric methods. Results show that a general accretion has developed behind the detached breakwaters, with the formation of seven tombolos and one salient. The response of the coastline depends on the characteristics of the protective works (length, distance to coast, and spacing). Detached breakwaters which are short, far from the coastline and distant from each other, give rise to very small tombolos or salients. On the other hand, longer breakwaters which are near the coastline and closely spaced, give rise to more developed tombolos, showing that these structures are the most efficient.