The seasonal distribution of heavy metals in Mussel sample from Yalova in the Marmara Sea, 2008�C2009

Concentration of the some heavy metals (Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn) Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis from Yalova (Marmara Sea) were investigated seasonally. The mean concentrations of Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn in the soft tissues were 4.08 ± 0.67, 5.54 ± 0.59, 156.72 ± 20.18, 3.71 ± 1.14, 2.92 ± 0.51 and 106.23 ± 5.66 mg kg(?-1) dry weights, respectively. There were no significant differences between the metal concentrations among the seasons (P > 0.05). The mean Pb and Zn concentrations were higher than the acceptable limit proposed by International Turkish standards.     

Benthic diversity gradients and shifting baselines: implications for assessing environmental status

The increasing pressure on marine biodiversity emphasizes the importance of finding benchmarks against which to assess change. This is, however, a notoriously difficult task in estuarine ecosystems, where environmental gradients are steep, and where benthic biodiversity is highly variable in space and time. Although recent emphasis on diverse, healthy benthic communities in legislative frameworks has increased the number of indices developed for assessing benthic status, there is a lack of quantitative baselines in benthic diversity that would enable comparisons across broad spatial scales, encompassing different environmental settings and bioregions. By taking advantage of long-term monitoring data, spanning hundreds of stations over the past 40 years, we provide a comprehensive analysis of benthic a, beta, and gamma diversity, encompassing the entire' salinity gradient of the open sea areas of the large, brackish-water Baltic Sea. Using a relatively simple measure, average regional diversity, we define area-specific reference conditions and acceptable deviation against which to gauge current conditions in benthic macrofaunal diversity. Results show a severely impaired condition throughout large areas of the Baltic for the assessment period 2001-2006. All ecosystems are plagued by baselines that shift in time and space, and their definition is not trivial, but average regional diversity may offer a transparent way to deal with such changes in low-diversity systems. Identifying baselines will be of increasing importance given the potential of climatic drivers to interact with local anthropogenic stressors to affect patterns of biodiversity. Our analysis provides an evaluation of the current condition in a system that has been heavily influenced by anthropogenic impact and changing oceanographic conditions, and it provides a basis for future impact assessment and ecosystem-based management.     

New approach to calculate the probability of ignition

The probabilistic approach to the evaluation of fire hazard and the effectiveness of fire-precaution measures enables a rational response to the randomness of fire outbreaks. This article employs the statistical analysis methods to elucidate the causes for the ignition of fire on a random sample of industrial buildings in the Republic of Slovenia. The analyses are based on the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), which is a well established and important statistical analysis technique in the fields of social science, biology, psychology and medicine, but hitherto rarely applied in safety research. The results of the study demonstrate that for the analyzed random sample of industrial buildings the frequency of fire outbreaks statistically significantly depends only on the presence and the probability of exposure to the heat sources (flames, sparks, and hot surfaces), but does not significantly depend on the available quantity of flammable materials within the industrial structure.     

杂质对硝酸铵水溶液临界爆炸温度的影响

利用自制装置对含杂质的硝酸铵水溶液临界爆炸温度进行测试研究.结果表明,Cl-单独作用在一定程度上抑制硝酸铵溶液的热分解,提高了其临界爆炸温度;pH值一定时,随着Cl-浓度的增大,硝酸铵水溶液的临界爆炸温度呈指数形式降低;Cl-浓度一定时,pH值越小,硝酸铵水溶液的临界爆炸温度越低;油脂会降低硝酸铵溶液的热稳定性.该结果...     

Heart rate variability and motion sickness during forklift simulator driving

The goal of the study was to determine the effect of a 1-h hour long forklift truck virtual simulator driving on the mechanism of autonomic heart rate (HR) regulation in operators. The participants were divided into 2 subgroups: subjects with no definite inclination to motion sickness (group A) and subjects with a definite inclination to motion sickness (group B). Holter monitoring of electrocardiogram (ECG) signal was carried out in all subjects during the virtual simulator driving. For 12 consecutive epochs of ECG signal, HR variability analysis was conducted in time and frequency domains. In subjects with a definite inclination to motion sickness after ~30 min of the driving, changes in parameter values were found indicating an increase in sympathetic and parasympathetic activity with parasympathetic dominance.     

Evaluation of sound exposure and risk of hearing impairment in orchestral musicians

This study aimed to assess exposure to sound and the risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in orchestral musicians. Sound pressure level was measured in 1 opera and 3 symphony orchestras; questionnaires were filled in. On the basis of that data, the risk of NIHL was assessed according to Standard No. ISO 1999:1990. Classical orchestral musicians are usually exposed to sound at equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure levels of 81?90 dB (10th?90th percentiles), for 20?45 h (10th?90th percentiles) per week. Occupational exposure to such sound levels over 40 years of employment might cause hearing loss (expressed as a mean hearing threshold level at 2, 3, 4 kHz exceeding 35 dB) of up to 26%. Playing the horn, trumpet, tuba and percussion carries the highest risk (over 20%).     

Advances in the treatment of multi-pollutant flue gas in China's building materials industry

In most of the world's building material industries, the control of flue gas pollutants mainly focuses on a single pollutant. However, given the large capacity and high contribution of China's building materials industry to global air pollution, the need to develop multi-pollutant emission reduction technology is urgent. Recently, China has focused on reducing the emissions of flue gas pollutants in the building materials industry, established many key research and development projects, and gradually implemented more stringent pollutant emission limits. This project focuses on the most recent advances in flue gas emission control technology in China's building materials industry, including denitration, dust removal, desulfurization, synergistic multi-pollutant emission reduction, and the construction of pilot research and demonstration projects for pollutant removal in several building material industries. On this basis, revised pollutant limits in flue gas emitted in China's building material industry are proposed.     

中国生活源固体垃圾产生和处理及其N2O排放

核算和评估固体垃圾产生和处理及其N₂O排放具有重要的现实和指导意义.本研究以中国为例（2008—2017年）,建立了固体垃圾产生、处理和N₂O排放核算框架.结果表明,10年间中国固体垃圾产生量上升了34.6%,年均6.13亿t,生活垃圾（48.6%）和工业日用品垃圾（24.6%）是主要贡献源;处理格局仍以填埋为主（占53.0%）,焚烧为辅（25.5%）;堆弃（42.5%）和焚烧（31.2%）是固体垃圾处理中N₂O气体的主要排放源,堆肥占21.9%,填埋处理排放最少（4.4%）;固体垃圾处理产生的渗滤液逐年增加,渗滤液排放的N₂O占固体垃圾处理N₂O排放总量的41.7%,生活垃圾产生的渗滤液是其主要排放源.加大垃圾分类处理和资源化利用力度,加强农村生活垃圾处理处置能力、减少垃圾堆弃量及提高垃圾处理技术对固体垃圾的产生及其N₂O排放减排至关重要.     

Distribution and source of microplastics in China's second largest reservoir - Danjiangkou Reservoir

Fresh water microplastic pollution is of pressing concern globally, but its distribution and sources in reservoirs are poorly documented. Danjiangkou Reservoir is the second largest reservoir in China and is divided into the Han Reservoir and Dan Reservoir. In this work, microplastic abundances and morphological characteristics of the reservoir were investigated. The microplastic abundance of 15 main tributaries of the reservoir was also measured. The vertical distribution (in water column and sediment), horizontal distribution (in Han Reservoir and Dan Reservoir) and source of microplastics were analyzed. Microplastics accumulated in the middle layer of the reservoir, and the size and color of the microplastic particles changed from the surface to the bottom, which implies that surveys of surface water are not enough to determine the microplastic contamination for deep water reservoirs. In the surface water, the microplastic abundance in the Han Reservoir was lower than that in the Dan Reservoir (p < 0.05), but microplastic abundance did not differ significantly in the intermediate and bottom water. Tributaries were one of the main sources of microplastics for Han Reservoir but not for Dan Reservoir. Agricultural cultivation in the hydro-fluctuation belt might be an important source of microplastics in the Dan Reservoir, which should be given additional attention. The results of this study can provide valuable information for developing microplastic sampling strategies in deep water reservoirs. Further studies are recommended to investigate the process through which microplastics in the hydro-fluctuation belt enter the reservoir and the sinking behavior of microplastics in the reservoir.     

Recovery elemental sulfur from calcium sulfide prepared by red gypsum in sulfuric acid wastewater treatment

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Red gypsum comes from TiO2 production industry by sulfate method, which comes from the low acidic liquid stream treatment using lime or limestone....