Effects of Selenium Supplementation on Arsenism: An Intervention Trial in Inner Mongolia

This paper reports the effects of a placebo-controlled Se-enriched yeast supplementation trial, conducted for 14 months, on arsenism in adult farmers living in a rural community in Inner Mongolia, China. The farmers had been naturally exposed to elevated concentrations of As in drinking water from tube-wells since 1983 but changed to arsenic-free drinking water when the trial began in June 1996. Blood and hair Se and As concentrations were analysed pre-intervention and at the end of the 3rd, 9th and 14th month, while skin lesions were assessed pre-intervention, as well as at the end of the 14th month, using the Arsenism Clinical Criteria established by the Ministry of Health, China. As the trial was a voluntary one, a number of farmers did not routinely have their blood and hair samples taken for analysis. Consequently, the data have been analysed in two categories. Fifty-four farmers from the Se-group and 29 from the placebo-group who were sampled on each occasion were considered as one group, which has been compared with the second group comprising up to a total of 100 farmers in the Se-group and 86 in the placebo-group. Results calculated for those farmers who were sampled on each occasion, showed that at the end of the trial, blood and hair Se concentrations of the Se-group increased from 0.130 to 0.186 µg ml^–1 and from 0.431 to 0.502 µg g^–1, respectively, while those of the placebo-groups remained constant. Blood and hair As concentrations of the Se-group decreased from 0.051 to 0.015 µg ml^–1 and from 2.57 to 0.680 µg g^–1, respectively, a greater reduction than those in the placebo-group that went from 0.064 to 0.024 µg ml^–1 and from 2.62 to 1.25 µg g^–1, respectively. When the data from all patients were examined, the analytical trends were similar. An evaluation of skin lesions in the category who were sampled for hair and blood on each occasion showed that 41.2% of hyperkeratosis, 50.0% of depigmentation and 44.7% of pigmentation in the Se-group improved one or more degrees, while those in the placebo-group improved by only 7.1, 12.0 and 6.7%, respectively. A total of 61.1% of the adults in Se-group improved in one or more type of skin lesion, but only 17.2% improved in the placebo-group. Comparable results were obtained when all the data from both categories of farmers were examined. Results from the trial showed that Se supplementation was more effective for the improvement of adults who were affected by double or triple skin lesions. In the placebo-group, most of the severely affected adults improved in only one kind of skin lesion, but in the Se-group, more adults improved in two or three kinds of skin lesions. Although the trial was limited by its relatively small size, the results have provided some evidence of the usefulness of Se supplementation for people affected by arsenism.     

Arsenism Clinical Stages and their Relation with Hair Arsenic Concentration of Residents of Bayinmaodao Rural District, Inner Mongolia, China

The clinical skin lesions of arsenism in men and women in Bayinmaodao rural district in Inner Mongolia, Peoples Republic of China, have been examined by doctors, and their hair and drinking water samples analysed for arsenic by hydride generation and ICP-AES. Altogether 311 arsenism patients with a 15.53% prevalence rate for the district were recorded. The disease prevalence rate was positively related to population, age, and their exposure to elevated arsenic concentrations in the drinking water from 1983 when new wells were dug and drinking of surface water was abandoned. Hyperkeratosis was the most serious skin lesion with the highest occurrence rate, then depigmentation and pigmentation in decreasing order. With increasing severity of the disease, ranging from skin lesion with single hyperkeratosis 1° to hyperkeratosis 3° with depigmentation 3° and pigmentation 3°, the results showed that arsenic concentrations in head hair had increased. Arsenic concentrations in hair were positively correlated with the arsenic concentrations in drinking water obtained from local wells.     

The performance of RAMS in representing the convective boundary layer structure in a very steep valley

Data from a comprehensive field study in the Riviera Valley of Southern Switzerland are used to investigate convective boundary layer structure in a steep valley and to evaluate wind and temperature fields, convective boundary layer height, and surface sensible heat fluxes as predicted by the mesoscale model RAMS. Current parameterizations of surface and boundary layer processes in RAMS, as well as in other mesoscale models, are based on scaling laws strictly valid only for flat topography and uniform land cover. Model evaluation is required to investigate whether this limits the applicability of RAMS in steep, inhomogeneous terrain. One clear-sky day with light synoptic winds is selected from the field study. Observed temperature structure across and along the valley is nearly homogeneous while wind structure is complex with a wind speed maximum on one side of the valley. Upvalley flows are not purely thermally driven and mechanical effects near the valley entrance also affect the wind structure. RAMS captured many of the observed boundary layer characteristics within the steep valley. The wind field, temperature structure, and convective boundary layer height in the valley are qualitatively simulated by RAMS, but the horizontal temperature structure across and along the valley is less homogeneous in the model than in the observations. The model reproduced the observed net radiation, except around sunset and sunrise when RAMS does not take into account the shadows cast by the surrounding topography. The observed sensible heat fluxes fall within the range of simulated values at grid points surrounding the measurement sites. Some of the scatter between observed and simulated turbulent sensible heat fluxes are due to sub-grid scale effects related to local topography.     

农药废水中有机硫、磷污染物湿式空气氧化反应的研究

以o,o-二甲氧基或o,o-二乙氧基硫代磷酰氯废水为典型废水,在180—230℃,氧气压力为0.7—1.5MPa的反应条件下,在2L的不锈钢高压釜中,研究了农药废水中有机硫磷化合物在湿式空气氧化过程中的降解机制。实验结果表明,有机硫磷化合物分子中的有机硫通过氧化反应降解为硫酸,有机磷通过水解反应降解为磷酸。有机硫氧化生成的硫酸是废水湿式空气氧化过程中酸度增加的主要来源,酸性条件比碱性条件更利于有机硫磷化合物的湿式空气氧化降解。     

黄土高原沟坡地土地生产力评价的指标体系与评价方法

通过对渭北黄土高原地区沟坡地土壤理化性质的分析和对当地社会经济状况的调查研究,应用层次分析法对沟坡地土地自然生产力和现实生产力进行了分析和评价.在分析过程中,把当地主要造林树种根系垂直分布特征及其根系抗旱性特性纳入了分析评价体系.结果表明,嘴头村和西坡村不同树种沟坡地上刺槐(Robinia pseudoacacia)的自然生产力属于中等稍微偏上水平,而山杏(Prunus armeniacia var. ansu)、油松(Pinus tabulaeformis)和侧柏(Platycladus orientalis)的自然生产力水平则较低.两地沟坡地上的现实生产力计算结果则证明刺槐和山杏两个树种表现出了较高的水平,具有较好的发展前途;而油松和侧柏的现实生产力水平则较低,其发展推广受到了限制.群众对沟坡开发治理的态度和对开发方案的认可对沟坡开发的成功起到了重要作用.     

炼焦污水零排放技术初探

本文介绍了炼焦污水零排小试结果,试验中采用新型大孔吸附树脂脱酚,蒸汽汽提脱氨,处理后的污水用作熄焦补充水.试验证明该零排放方案是可行的.     

废水的生物脱氮除磷新工艺的设想

结合废水生物脱氮除磷机理和影响因素，在对几种典型脱氮除磷工艺氮、磷去除率进行比较的基础上，解析了一些典型工艺除氮除磷不足之处。根据重庆城市污水水质实际情况和地形的特点，设想一种新的生物脱 氮除磷工艺，从而弥补传统工艺的不足。可望提高系统的脱氮和除磷效率，达到更好的脱氮除磷的目的，减少对水体的污染。     

试论江西省环境监理稽查

分析了环境监理稽查的分类和内容，结合江西省面临的环境保护问题，阐述了加强环境监理稽查工作的必要性和紧迫性。     

板料拉延成形中应力状态的研究

在采用Hill关于各向异性材料的修正屈服函数,并运用板块分析方法对板料轴对称成形进行数值模拟的基础上,着重分析了拉延成形中悬空区域材料的应力状态,提出了对该区域应力状态过渡点即周向应力为零的应力分界圆进行数值求解的公式及方法,同时对影响该分界圆位置的诸因素进行了细致分析.