Application of a novel open-source program for measuring the effects of toxicants on the swimming behavior of large groups of unmarked fish

The aim of this study was to demonstrate a novel method for measuring the effects of toxicants on the behavior of groups of unmarked fish. Ctrax is an open source Python-based machine vision program that was originally designed to track fruit flies (Drosophila). The effects of the fish anaesthetic quinaldine sulfate on the behavior of groups of 10 unmarked Arabian killifish (Aphanias dispar) in a small arena were measured. Ctrax was able to identify and track the X-Y coordinates of the individual fish over 1 min recording periods. The data was analyzed using specifically written Matlab (The Mathworks™) toolboxes and the effects of quinaldine sulfate on absolute swimming velocity, forward swimming velocity, rate of change in orientation and distance to wall were calculated. Additionally the effects of quinaldine sulfate on path tortuosity were also measured. Ctrax has significant benefits over other available technologies for tracking the 2-dimensional coordinates of fish. In particular the software is open source and thus freely available, it is accurate, requires only simple easily available equipment and able to track potentially large groups of fish (possibly >50) while maintaining their individual identities.     

Addressing climate change: Determinants of consumers' willingness to act and to support policy measures

Consumers influence climate change through their consumption patterns and their support or dismissal of climate mitigation policy measures. Both climate-friendly actions and policy support comprise a broad range of options, which vary in manifold ways and, therefore, might be influenced by different factors. The aims of the study were, therefore, two-fold: first, we intended to find a meaningful way to classify different ways of addressing climate change. Second, we aimed to examine which determinants influence people's willingness to engage in these behaviors. We conducted a large-scale mail survey in Switzerland in which respondents rated, among other items, their willingness to act or support a range of possible actions and mitigations measures. A principal component analysis indicated that a distinction in terms of a behavior's directness as well as a differentiation according to perceived costs seem to be appropriate to classify climate-friendly actions. Multiple regression analyses showed that perceived costs and perceived climate benefit turned out to be the strongest predictors for willingness to act or to support climate policy measures. The strong influence of perceived climate benefit might reflect a strategy of reducing cognitive dissonance. As high-cost behaviors are more difficult to adopt, consumers may reduce dissonance by dismissing high-cost behaviors as not effective in terms of climate mitigation. Political affiliation proved to be another strong determinant of willingness to act or support. Participants on the right wing were less willing to show indirect climate-friendly behaviors, change their mobility behaviors, and to support any type of climate mitigation policy measures. Climate-friendly low-cost behaviors, however, were not influenced by political affiliation.     

多孔镁铝复合氧化物对水溶液中Cr（VI）的吸附性能

摘要以镁盐、铝盐、纯碱和烧碱为原料制备了一种多孔镁铝复合氧化物（P—Mg3.1AlO4.6）,其比表面积、平均孔径和总孔容分别为206．3m2／g、8．961nm和0．4208cm3／g。研究了这种多孑L材料对水溶液中cr（VI）的吸附性能,在25～45qC时,静态吸附量为82．32～141．7mg／g;当初始浓度100mg／L、流速5mL／min、床层高度10cm和pH=6时,半穿透时间、半穿透吸附量和饱和吸附量分别为406rain、49．28ing／g和51．30Ing／g;拟合参数及误差分析表明,cr（Ⅵ）在P—M敬。AIO4.6上的静态吸附过程符合Freundlich等温方程式和伪二级动力学方程,Yoon·Nelson模型能很好地预测cr（Ⅵ）在P—Mg3.1A104.6上的动态穿透曲线。     

人群疏散行为仿真技术研究

提出并建立了一种人群疏散仿真模型。针对疏散空间中障碍物的动态布局,采用网格法获得各障碍物包围盒坐标,依据最短路径原则采用几何法确定每个个体起始疏散路径,解决了人群疏散的空间连续性问题。针对人群疏散时个体之间的差异性,依据个体与个体之间的作用力、摩擦力动态改变个体的行进方向,以及依据人群密度采用人群疏散速度模型实时确定每个个体的运动速度,解决了个体之间的动态避碰、绕行和超越等问题。针对人群疏散时多个出口的选择问题,提出了把出口拥挤状态与个体心理慌乱状态相结合的出口选择方法。最后采用粒子系统实现了上述人群疏散行为的二维仿真并取得了较好的效果。     

煤矿安全生产中人的行为影响因子系统动力学(SD)仿真分析

在构建影响人的安全行为因素因果关系的基础上,运用系统动力学(SD)理论和方法,对影响人的安全行为关键因素进行动态预测,并通过仿真计算、对比分析安全投入增加对系统安全水平的影响。应用该方法建立的煤矿生产中人的安全行为指标水平模型,以求证安全投入与人的安全行为水平的相关性,为煤矿安全管理决策提供一种新的思路,亦有助于政府和煤矿企业科学地明确安全投入方向,降低人因事故率,提高煤矿生产的安全水平。     

Passenger distractions among adolescent drivers

PROBLEM: Adolescents who drive with peers are known to have a higher risk of crashes. While passengers may distract drivers, little is known about the circumstances of these distractions among teen drivers. METHOD: This study used survey data on driving among 2,144 California high school seniors to examine distractions caused by passengers. RESULTS: Overall, 38.4% of youths who drove reported having been distracted by a passenger. Distractions were more commonly reported among girls and students attending moderate- to high-income schools. Talking or yelling was the most commonly reported type of distraction. About 7.5% of distractions reported were deliberate, such as hitting or tickling the driver or attempting to use the vehicle's controls. Driving after alcohol use and having had a crash as a driver were both significant predictors of reporting passenger-related distraction. CONCLUSION: Adolescents often experience distractions related to passengers, and in some cases these distractions are intentional. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: These results provide information about teenage drivers who are distracted by passenger behaviors. In some cases, passengers attempted to use vehicle controls; however, it seems unlikely that this behavior is common enough to warrant redesign of controls to make them less accessible to passengers.     

Socially facilitated egglaying behavior in Mediterranean fruit flies

We examined the behavior of individual mature female Mediterranean fruit flies (medflies), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), transferred from a holding cage without fruit to a clean host kumquat fruit already occupied by another medfly female engaged in ovipositional behavior. A significantly greater proportion of transferred (=test) ovipositionally naive females initiated ovipositor boring into a fruit in the presence than in the absence of an occupying medfly. Moreover, test females commenced boring significantly sooner in the presence than in the absence of another medfly. Interestingly, similar results occurred when a test medfly was transferred to a kumquat occupied by an ovipositing female oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel. In contrast, there was no enhancement of propensity to bore when a test medfly was transferred to a kumquat occupied by a female Biosteres arisanus (Sonan), a parasitoid attacking medfly eggs. The principal proximate stimulus giving rise to the higher tendency to oviposit of a test medfly in the presence of an occupying medfly or oriental fruit fly appeared to be wing-waving by the occupant during an encounter. We consider our findings to be good evidence of socially facilitated ovipositional behavior in ovipositionally naive medflies, and suggest that such females may benefit from acquisition of a cue demonstrating the acceptability of a host for oviposition. Received: 7 July 1997 / Accepted after revision: 30 August 1997     

基岩区断裂活动习性研究方法初探——以殷家汇-葛公镇断裂研究为例

对安徽省殷家汇葛公镇断裂旁侧方解石脉进行了野外考察和显微观测。露头上可识别出多期变形事件 ,显微镜下也能鉴别出脉的不同期次的变形特征和变形强度 ,脉的变形强度表现为从早期到晚期 ,脉的变形形态和组构从复杂趋于简单 ,方解石机械双晶从多组、弯曲趋于单组、平直。压性或压剪性脉体变形以交错揉皱为其主要特征 ,而张性、张剪性脉体则多表现为破裂、砾化等脆性变形形态。殷家汇葛公镇断裂宏观和微观系统分析研究为基岩区断裂活动期次及各期变形特征的鉴别研究提供了一个实例。     

试析加强环境监测、监察业务联动的意义、内容和措施

环境监察和环境监测是环境保护工作的重要组成部分,监察体现了环保工作的权威性,监测则保证了环保工作的科学性。全面论述加强环境监察监测联动的重要意义,从思想和技术方面探讨加强环境监察监测联动的可行方法,对如何建立科学的环境监察与环境监测联动机制,快速、准确查处环保违法行为具有一定的指导意义。     

环境污染物计算毒理学分析及环境行为模拟研究进展

根据国内外研究报道,系统地总结了计算毒理学和化合物环境行为模拟在环境科学领域的研究进展,包括二者的概念、理论、研究方法以及在环境研究中的应用;分析了计算毒理学和化合物环境行为模拟在发展中所面临的挑战,并提出对策;展望了计算毒理学和化合物环境行为模拟在环境研究中的发展前景。