Evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions from wetland and agriculture ecosystems in Sanjiang Plain

Carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) are important greenhouse gases (GHGs). The objective of this study is to quantify the aggregate GHG (CH₄, N₂O and CO₂) emissions and estimate economic losses of three ecosystems (marsh, paddy field and upland) in the Sanjiang Plain, excluding the Muling-Xiangkai Plain, south of Wanda Mountain. The results indicate the economic losses from GHG emissions of marshes were from 6.40 to 7.75?×?10⁹ CNY (Chinese Yuan), those of paddy fields were from 1.41 to 3.20?×?10⁹ CNY; and from uplands were from 0.26 to 0.49?×?10⁹ CNY. Using linear trend analysis, the economic losses through GHG emissions of marshes fell between 1982 and 2005, but those from paddy fields and uplands increased. In our study, the sequence in magnitude of the economic losses from GHG emissions was: marshes > paddy fields > uplands. In fact, the economic value of GHG emissions was negative because of these adverse impacts on the environment. This article could provide a reference for calculation of GHG exchange. The results suggest that improvement of fertiliser use efficiency for more precise agricultural management and returning straw to cropland could mitigate GHG emissions and would help to achieve sustainable development.     

中子辐射防护服的设计、结构与效果

系统地阐述了中子辐射防护服的设计依据、结构、式样及使用效果。表明这是一种能有效地屏蔽热中子和中能中子的防护器具,可用于许多场所。     

Sex-specific effects of yolk-androgens on growth of nestling American kestrels

Maternally derived androgen hormones concentrate in avian egg yolks as the yolks grow on the female’s ovary, possibly forming a basis for important maternal effects in birds. In the American kestrel (Falco sparverius), experimental elevation of yolk androgens in the first-laid egg of a clutch (a-egg) to the concentrations found naturally in a clutch’s later-laid eggs reduces the growth rate of a-egg nestlings compared to controls. These findings, together with discoveries from other species that the effects of yolk androgens on growth of female nestlings may differ from their effects on growth of male nestlings, raise the hypothesis that natural changes in yolk-androgen concentrations with laying order are ultimately due to a difference between the sexes in their yolk-androgen sensitivity and between early- and late-laid eggs in their sex ratio. By re-analyzing previously published data and adding to the analysis data from previously unanalyzed blood samples used for sex determination, we investigated possible sex-specific effects of yolk-androgens in the context of a potential sex-biased laying order in free-living American kestrels. We used a multi-level, mixed model with a Gompertz function to analyze growth of nestlings hatching from a-eggs that were control-treated or in which we experimentally elevated yolk-androgen concentrations shortly after laying to the higher concentrations naturally found in later-laid eggs. We discovered that male nestlings were more susceptible than female nestlings to growth inhibition by yolk-androgen elevation but did not find a bias in sex ratio with respect to laying order. Together, these findings do not support the above hypothesis. However, they are consistent with the hypothesis that sex differences in yolk-androgen sensitivity enable mothers to economically tune reproductive effort to an individual offspring’s reproductive value, which can vary more for one sex than the other.     

中国降水量区域变化稳定性研究

利用中国气象中心160站点的实际观察资料,对中国半个世纪的降水变化进行了系统分析,发现中国的夏季降水变化稳定性有显著的纬度与海拔效应:纬度越高,方差值越小,降水变化的幅度也越小,稳定性越大;从海拔来看,海拔越高,降水稳定性越好,降水量的变化稳定性与海拔是成反相关关系.除过受区域水汽来源稳定性的影响,主要受全球降水稳定性的分布规律所制约;在海拔上,降水量稳定性的分布,除过受水汽来源影响外,还与水汽凝结的高度效应有一定的关系.     

充填管道系统失效模式与影响分析(FMEA)及失效影响模糊评估

根据金川矿区充填管道系统的运行情况,结合充填实践经验,建立了充填管道系统的失效模式与影响分析法(FMEA)分析表,得出系统存在10种失效模式。针对FMEA分析表中失效影响存在较大模糊性而难以有效估计的特点,引入模糊评估方法来进行分析。通过该矿区充填管道系统各失效模式产生失效影响的模糊评估,得到不同失效模式对系统可靠性影响的排序结果。结果表明:该方法的评估结果与实际情况比较吻合;可以使分析定量化,有助于工程人员充分利用系统模糊信息;该方法也能用于其他系统失效模式影响的模糊评估。     

Preparing for major terrorist attacks against chemical clusters: Intelligently planning protection measures w.r.t. domino effects

Chemical industrial areas or so-called chemical clusters consist of hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of chemical installations situated next to each other. Such areas can thus be seen as the summation of a large number of structures exhibiting danger to a certain degree for initiating or continuing accident domino effects or knock-on effects. In this article, an approach to investigate in a systemic way the vulnerability of each installation within the larger chemical cluster context, is developed. Our suggested method results in a prioritization of chemical installations with respect to their vulnerability for domino effects. The method can be used for intelligently designed protection of chemical industrial areas against terrorist attacks.     

道路生态影响评价方法研究：以兰海高速公路为例

提出了将道路生态影响问题划分为3个尺度来进行评价,并根据不同尺度的生态特征采用不同的方法和指标,从而系统、定量的评价道路建设和运行所带来的生态影响.小尺度问题采用野外调查和样方对比的方法;中尺度问题主要依靠不同分辨率的遥感监测,辅之野外调研;大尺度问题主要依靠遥感和GIS结合进行分析.以兰海高速公路为例,运用该系统进行评价,取得了良好的结果.因此,该体系方法可以作为道路生态影响评价和研究的借鉴和参考.     

炼油厂行为安全体系实施和维护

本文是以价值为中心基于小组的行为安全体系在炼油厂实施的案例跟踪调查研究。员工安全小组定义了炼油厂安全价值和并制定了用于指导体系设计和实施的相关原则。行为安全体系包括:(a)安全评估;(b)安全相关价值和相关实践的说明;(c)程序设计和执行概观;(d)安全观察培训;(e)反馈、认可和庆典;(f)程序维护。20年来的数据统计及分析,印证行为安全体系对记录在案、工时损失等安全事件及相关直接成本具有长期效应。行为安全体系实施的8年中,记录在案安全事件降低81%,工时损失的案例减少了79%,年工人赔偿成本下降97%。本文纳入对炼油厂副总裁的采访内容,主要是为读者展示行为安全体系对炼油厂安全文化的影响。     

Being watched over by a conversation robot may enhance safety in simulated driving

IntroductionIn an aging society that is more and more information-oriented, being able to replace human passengers’ protective effects on vehicle drivers with those of social robots is both essential and promising. However, the effects of a social robot’s presence on drivers have not yet been fully explored. Thus, using a driving simulator and a conversation robot, this experimental study had two main goals: (a) to find out whether social robots’ anthropomorphic qualities (i.e., not the practical information the robot provides drivers) have protective effects by promoting attentive driving and alleviating crash risks; and (b) by what psychological processes such effects emerge. Method: Participants were recruited from young (n = 38), the middle-aged (n = 39), and the elderly (n = 49) age groups. They were assigned to either the treatment group (simulated driving in a conversation robot’s presence) or the control group (simulated driving alone), and their driving performance was measured. Mental states (peaceful, concentrating, and reflective) also were assessed in a post-driving questionnaire using our original scales. Results: Although the group of older participants did not experience protective effects (perhaps due to motion sickness), the young participants drove attentively, with the robot enhancing peace of mind. The protective effect was also observed among the middle-aged participants, and the verbal data analysis ascribed this to the robot’s role of expressing sympathy, especially when the middle-aged drivers nearly had not-at-fault crashes, which caused them to be stressed. In conclusion, we discuss the practical implications of the results.     

生物标志物在水环境研究中的应用

生物标志物是指示污染物危害效应的生物信号．可分为两类,一类指示生物体对有害物质的暴露;另一类指示污染物的毒性效应．与其它手段相比,生物标志物具有专一性、预警性和广泛适用性．本文介绍了指示水环境污染的主要几类生物标志物．生物转化酶和金属硫蛋白能有效地表征水体中的有机物和重金属对生物的影响．DNA加合物将有机污染与遗传物质变异相关联,因此成为生态毒理学研究的新热点．文中还讨论了生物标志物的缺陷和不足,并展望了该领域的应用前景．