Displacement as a predictor of functional impairment in tsunami‐exposed children

Thirty months after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004, thousands of families in Aceh Province, Indonesia, remained in temporary barracks while sanitation conditions and non‐governmental organisation support deteriorated. This study sought to determine the factors associated with functional impairment in a sample of 138 displaced and non‐displaced Acehnese children. Using multivariate linear regression models, it was found that displacement distance was a consistent predictor of impairment using the Brief Impairment Scale. Exposure to tsunami‐related trauma markers was not significantly linked with impairment in the model. Paternal employment was a consistent protective factor for child functioning. These findings suggest that post‐disaster displacement and the subsequent familial economic disruption are significant predictors of impaired functioning in children's daily activities. Post‐disaster interventions should consider the disruption of familiar environments for families and children when relocating vulnerable populations to avoid deleterious impacts on children's functioning.     

Mercury in the Mediterranean. Part 2: processes and mass balance

Mass balance of contaminants can provide useful information on the processes that influence their concentrations in various environmental compartments. The most important sources, sinks and the equilibrium or non-equilibrium state of the contaminant in individual environmental compartments can also be identified. Using the latest mercury speciation data, the results of numerical models and the results of recent studies on mercury transport and transformation processes in the marine environment, we have re-evaluated the total mercury (HgT) mass balance in the Mediterranean Sea. New calculations have been performed employing three distinct marine layers: the surface layer, the thermocline and the deep sea. New transport mechanisms, deep water formation and density-driven sinking and upwelling, were included in the mass balance calculations. The most recent data have even enabled the calculation of an approximate methylmercury (MeHg) mass balance. HgT is well balanced in the entire Mediterranean, and the discrepancies between inputs and outputs in individual layers do not exceed 20 %. The MeHg balance shows larger discrepancies between gains and losses due to measurement uncertainties and gaps in our knowledge of Hg species transformation processes. Nonetheless, the main sources and sinks of HgT (deposition and evasion) and MeHg (fluxes from sediment, outflow through the Gibraltar Strait) are in accordance with previous studies on mercury in the Mediterranean Basin. Mercury in the Mediterranean fish harvest is the second largest MeHg sink; about 300 kg of this toxic substance is consumed annually with sea food.     

试析清代北京地区政府救灾组织系统的主要特点

清代建都北京,在这里实行特殊的行政管理制度,与之相适应,救灾组织系统也与各地不同。清代北京地区政府救灾组织系统的主要特点有三：一是旗、汉分城办理。清初实行的旗、汉分城居住政策,导致北京城市居址环境的变迁。内城八旗救灾事务由八旗都统负责,外五城救灾事务由五城察院负责。这一特点既与清代逐渐演变形成的特殊官制有关,又与中央集...     

Species identification and mutation breeding of silicon-activating bacteria isolated from electrolytic manganese residue

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A strain of silicon-activating bacteria was isolated from electrolytic manganese residue (EMR); identified as a species of Ochrobactrum by integrated...     

A Protocol for Plant Conservation by Translocation in Threatened Lowland Fynbos

Abstract: A form of lowland, sandplain Fynbos restricted to the Cape Flats near the city of Cape Town is the South African vegetation type most threatened by urban and agricultural development. Cape Flats Fynbos remnants, totaling 4.8 km², contain 14 plant species endemic to the Cape Flats scattered through four protected areas and 11 unprotected vegetation fragments on public land. Despite their small size and management problems, the remaining protected areas are under pressure from the public and developers to function as "lifeboats," or places of safety, for attractive indigenous plant species from the unprotected areas destined for development because the popular perception is that any indigenous plant population threatened by habitat destruction should be saved by being transplanted into a protected area. The urgency for dealing with the issue of plant rescue in the Cape Town metropolitan area was the catalyst for a workshop held at the University of Cape Town in 1998 to develop protocols for Fynbos plant species translocations. We report on points raised by managers and academics at the workshop, including the selection of target taxa, individuals, and establishment sites, and methods for introduction, and present case histories illustrating possible solutions to the problems encountered.     

反应位移法中地基弹簧刚度系数求解方法对比研究∗

反应位移法是目前地下结构抗震设计中应用最为广泛的简化方法之一,其中的一个关键参数是结构周围弹簧刚度系数。基于《城市轨道交通结构抗震设计规范》(GB 50909—2014)中简化的静力有限元法,进行了不同加载形式的静力有限元刚度法和柔度法计算弹簧刚度系数,将其计算结果应用于反应位移法与严格的动力时程计算结果进行对比研究。结果表明:不论静力有限元刚度法还是柔度法,除水平竖直加载方式外,其余的加载方式确定的地基弹簧系数对反应位移法计算的结构变形及内力影响较小。考虑计算次数,可以采用刚度法和柔度法中的径向切向和径向环向一次加载方式对静力有限元法进行简化计算。     

锦州市农村生活污水质量现状与治理技术的研究

从锦州市农村生活污水现状入手,重点论述了农村生活污水的治理技术,对如何实施我市农村生活污水的治理技术提出新的举措。     

Study of gas-water properties under high temperature and pressure for water-soluble gas reservoirs

The physical properties of gas and water are important in usage of gas reservoirs with water and water-soluble gas reservoirs. According to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry Standards SY/T5542-2009 of the People's Republic of China, by applying the crude oil multistage degassing method from the “Test Method for Reservoir fluid Physical Properties” and the formation water high-pressure property testing method described in the “Theory and Application of Reservoir Fluid Phase”, this investigation employed a Ruska 2370–601A phase analyzer to obtain data regarding gas–water ratios, water volume factors, compressibility coefficients, and densities. The results showed curve trends with changes in the temperature and pressure. The gas–water ratio was compared to the gas content of subsurface samples from the X water-soluble gas reservoir, suggesting that these findings might help in the analysis of water-soluble gas reservoirs.     

Changes in nitrogen budget and potential risk to the environment over 20 years(1990–2010) in the agroecosystems of the Haihe Basin,China

The nitrogen balance can serve as an indicator of the risk to the environment of nitrogen loss from agricultural land. To investigate the temporal and spatial changes in agricultural nitrogen application and its potential threat to the environment of the Haihe Basin in China, we used a database of county-level agricultural statistics to calculate agricultural nitrogen input, output,surplus intensity, and use efficiency. Chemical fertilizer nitrogen input increased by 51.7% from1990 to 2000 and by 37.2% from 2000 to 2010, concomitant with increasing crop yields.Simultaneously, the nitrogen surplus intensity increased by 53.5% from 1990 to 2000 and by16.5% from 2000 to 2010, presenting a continuously increased environmental risk. Nitrogen use efficiency decreased from 0.46 in 1990 to 0.42 in 2000 and remained constant at 0.42 in 2010,partly due to fertilizer composition and type improvement. This level indicates that more than half of nitrogen inputs are lost in agroecosystems. Our results suggest that although the improvement in fertilizer composition and types has partially offset the decrease in nitrogen use efficiency, the environmental risk has still increased gradually over the past 20 years, along with the increase in crop yields and nitrogen application. It is important to achieve a better nitrogen balance through more effective management to significantly reduce the environmental risk,decrease nitrogen surplus intensity, and increase nitrogen use efficiency without sacrificing crop yields.