Spatio-temporal trends and influencing factors of PM2.5 concentrations in urban agglomerations in China between 2000 and 2016

An urban agglomeration (UA), similar to a megalopolis or a metropolitan area, is a region where cities and people are concentrated, and where air pollution has adversely impacted on sustainable and high quality development. Studies on the spatio-temporal trends and the factors which influence PM_2.5 concentrations may be used as a reference to support air pollution control policy for major UAs throughout the world. Nineteen UAs in China covering the years 2000–2016 were chosen as the research object, the PM_2.5 concentrations being used to reflect air pollution and being estimated from analysis of remote sensing images. The Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis method was used to study the spatio-temporal trends for PM_2.5 concentrations, and the Geodetector method was used to examine the factors influencing the PM_2.5 concentrations. The results revealed that (i) the temporal trend for the average values of the PM_2.5 concentrations in the UAs followed an inverted U-shaped curve and the inflection points of the curve occurred in 2007. (ii) The PM_2.5 concentrations in the UAs exhibited significant global spatial autocorrelation with the high–high type and the low–low type being the main categories. (iii) The rate of land urbanization and the structure of energy consumption were the main factors which influenced the PM_2.5 concentrations in the UAs.

     

Dicarboxylic acids and related compounds in fine particulate matter aerosols in Huangshi,central China

PM_2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm) samples were collected in Huangshi, central China, from March 2012 to February 2013 and were analyzed for dicarboxylic acids (diacids) and related compounds (DARCs). Oxalic acid (C₂; 416 ng m^?3) was the most abundant species, followed by phthalic (Ph; 122 ng m^?3), terephthalic (tPh; 116 ng m^?3), succinic (C₄; 70.4 ng m^?3), azelaic (C₉; 67.9 ng m^?3), and adipic (C₆; 57.8 ng m^?3) acids. Relatively high abundances of Ph and tPh differed from the distribution in urban and marine aerosols, indicating contributions from nearby anthropogenic sources. Glyoxylic acid (ωC₂; 41.4 ng m^?3) was the dominant oxoacid, followed by 9-oxononanoic (ωC₉; 40.8 ng m^?3) and pyruvic (Pyr; 24.1 ng m^?3) acids. Glyoxal (Gly; 35.5 ng m^?3) was the dominant α-dicarbonyl. Highest average concentrations were found for C₂, ωC₂, and C₉ in autumn, for C₄, for Pyr and C₆ in spring, for Ph, ωC₉, and Gly in summer, whereas the lowest values were observed in winter. Seasonal variations and correlation coefficients of DARCs demonstrate that both primary emissions and secondary production are important sources. Principal component analysis of selected DARCs species suggests that a mixing of air masses from anthropogenic and biogenic sources contribute to the Huangshi aerosols.

Implications: Both primary emissions and secondary production are important sources of diacids and related compounds in PM_2.5 from Huangshi, central China. Principal component analysis of selected diacids in Huangshi aerosols suggests that mixing of air masses from anthropogenic and biogenic sources contribute to ambient aerosols in central China.     

An improved graph convolutional network with feature and temporal attention for multivariate water quality prediction

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The analysis and prediction of water quality are of great significance to water quality management and pollution control. In general, current water...     

Prevention of surgical site infection under different ventilation systems in operating room environment

• The effectiveness of four different ventilation systems was compared in depth. • Airflow and bacteria-carrying particles concentration were quantitatively analyzed. • Vertical laminar airflow with high airflow rate could not achieve desired effect. • Temperature-controlled airflow ventilation could guarantee air cleanliness. Biological particles in the operating room (OR) air environment can cause surgical site infections (SSIs). Various ventilation systems have been employed in ORs to ensure an ultraclean environment. However, the effect of different ventilation systems on the control of bacteria-carrying particles (BCPs) released from the surgical staff during surgery is unclear. In this study, the performance of four different ventilation systems (vertical laminar airflow ventilation (VLAF), horizontal laminar airflow ventilation (HLAF), differential vertical airflow ventilation (DVAF), and temperature-controlled airflow ventilation (TAF)) used in an OR was evaluated and compared based on the spatial BCP concentration. The airflow field in the OR was solved by the Renormalization Group (RNG) k-e turbulence model, and the BCP phase was calculated by Lagrangian particle tracking (LPT) and the discrete random walk (DRW) model. It was found that the TAF system was the most effective ventilation system among the four ventilation systems for ensuring air cleanliness in the operating area. This study also indicated that air cleanliness in the operating area depended not only on the airflow rate of the ventilation system but also on the airflow distribution, which was greatly affected by obstacles such as surgical lamps and surgical staff.     

Heavy metal exposure has adverse effects on the growth and development of preschool children

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and manganese (Mn) in the PM2.5 and...     

Seasonal variations of dissolved inorganic nutrients transported to the Linjiang Bay of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Field surveys were carried out from January 2007 to December 2008 to investigate seasonal variations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorus (DIP) transported to the Linjiang Bay of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China. The results revealed that both DIN and DIP exhibited large seasonal variability. DIN (dominated by NH₄?CN) concentrations were drastically higher in the dry season than those in the rainy season, and the same seasonal patterns of DIP concentrations and DIN and DIP fluxes were observed but inverse to that of DIN concentrations. The interannual variation in DIN fluxes descended by 28.2% from 2007 to 2008, while DIP fluxes increased by 40.9%, which were closely constant with interannual changes in DIN and DIP concentrations, respectively. The study indicated that nutrient fluxes (DIN and DIP) were strongly correlated with both nutrient concentrations and river discharge, and the Linjiang Bay received approximately 3,416 × 10³ kg DIN and 324 × 10³ kg DIP every year. In addition, DIN mainly originated from point sources, but DIP originated from non-point sources. It is shown that to control point source pollution is the most effective step for water quality improvement and reducing nutrient loading inputs in the Linjiang Bay.     

Is asynchronous hatching adaptive in herring gulls (Larus argentatus)?

Hatching asynchrony commonly induces a size hierarchy among siblings and the resultant competition for food between siblings can often lead to starvation of the smallest chicks within a brood. We created herring gull (Larus argentatus) broods with varying degrees of hatching synchrony by manipulating the timing of incubation while maintaining the originally laid eggs. The degree of hatching asynchrony affected sibling size hierarchy at the time of hatching of the last-hatched ”c-chick.” In unmanipulated broods, there was no disadvantage of being a c-chick. However, when asynchrony was experimentally increased, we found reduced survival of the c-chick only in the exaggerated asynchronous experimental group. The effects were observable only during the first 10 days of chick life. We recorded no cases of the chicks dying of starvation. Furthermore, behavioral observations indicated that there was no sibling competition, and no selective feeding of larger sibs in the study colony. We propose that the observed lower survival rates of c-chicks in exaggerated asynchronous broods resulted from their lesser motor abilities, affecting their chances of escaping predators. Fledging success for the whole colony was generally high and almost half of all pairs fledged all three chicks, which is indicative of a good feeding environment. We argue that normal hatching asynchrony is a favorable solution in a good feeding environment, but that increased asynchrony reduces breeding success. We do not view asynchrony in the herring gull as an adaptation for brood reduction and propose instead that it may come about because there has been selection for incubation to start before clutch completion. Received: 14 April 1999 / Received in revised form: 20 October 1999 / Accepted: 23 January 2000     

湖南省宁乡县巷子口—沩山荒漠化治理研究

巷子口—沩山地处我国南方红壤丘陵地区。由于长期过度砍伐和陡坡开垦等不合理人为活动的影响，加上降雨多且暴雨集中、丘陵地形和花岗岩母质的自然条件，这里由水蚀导致的荒漠化一度比较严重，１９８２年以来，采取封禁与造林相结合恢复植被、多途径解决农村能源问题、坡耕地退耕还林、广泛开展宣传、加强机构建设、落实政策、加强监督等措施，开展了荒漠化治理，取得了显著的生态和经济效益。