Alternating nitrification-denitrification via nitrite for nitrogen removal from soybean wastewater by SBR with real-time control

A novel treating technology for nitrogen removal from soybean wastewater was studied. The process for nitrogen removal was achieved by alternating aeration and mixing, combined with real\|time control strategies. Results showed that the COD and total nitrogen removal rates are more than 90% and 92% at COD and total nitrogen loads of 1.0-1.2 kg COD/(kgMLSS·d) and 0.20-0.27 kg TN/(kgMLSS·d), respectively. In addition, it could improve sludge settling property. SVI value is less than 70 g/ml during the whole cycles. The method not only may be adapted to treat soybean wastewater with high nitrogen, but also may be applied to treat other high nitrogen wastewater.     

Is love of nature in the US becoming love of electronic media? 16-year downtrend in national park visits explained by watching movies,playing video games,internet use,and oil prices

After 50 years of steady increase, per capita visits to US national parks have declined since 1988. This decline, coincident with the rise in electronic entertainment media, may represent a shift in recreation choices with broader implications for the value placed on biodiversity conservation and environmentally responsible behavior. We compared the decline in per capita visits with a set of indicators representing alternate recreation choices and constraints. The Spearman correlation analyses found this decline in NPV to be significantly negatively correlated with several electronic entertainment indicators: hours of television, (rs=-0.743, P<0.001), video games (rs=-0.773, P<0.001), home movies (rs=-0.788, P<0.001), theatre attendance (rs=-0.587, P<0.025) and internet use (rs=-0.783, P<0.001). There were also significant negative correlations with oil prices (rs=-0.547, P<0.025), foreign travel (rs=-0.452, P<0.05), and Appalachian Trail hikers (rs=-0.785, P<0.001). Income was significantly positively correlated with foreign travel (rs=0.621, P<0.005) but negatively correlated with national park visits (rs=-0.697, P<0.005). There was no significant correlation of mean number of vacation days, indicating available vacation time is probably not a factor. Federal funding actually increased during this period, and so was rejected as a probable factor. Park capacity was rejected as limiting since both total overnight stays and visits at the seven most popular parks rose well into the mid-1990s. Aging of baby boomers was also rejected as they are only now reaching retirement age, and thus during the period of visitation decline were still of prime family vacation age. Multiple linear regression of four of the entertainment media variables as well as oil prices explains 97.5% of this recent decline (r=0.975, multiple r2=0.950, adjusted multiple r2=0.925, SE=0.015, F=37.800, P<0.0001). We may be seeing evidence of a fundamental shift away from people's appreciation of nature (biophilia, Wilson 1984) to 'videophilia,' which we here define as "the new human tendency to focus on sedentary activities involving electronic media." Such a shift would not bode well for the future of biodiversity conservation.     

A Bird’s Eye View of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge Occupation: Nonhuman Agency and Entangled Species

In January 2016, armed militants occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, demanding an end to government control of the Refuge and other similarly protected public lands. Public discourse about the occupation highlights ongoing tensions around land use, property rights, and government overreach. The discourse foregrounds human animal concerns and all but erases nonhuman animal agency. This essay considers nonhuman animal agency and the entanglement of humans, nonhumans, and the land as seen in the occupation and surrounding discourse. We draw from critical animal studies and feminist posthuman theory to examine how discourses of the occupation produce and reinforce a sense of human exceptionalism that elides a more useful and nuanced understanding of human–nonhuman–land relatedness and agency. The analysis shows how, in the case of the Malheur occupation, occupiers and critics alike rely on discourses of “othering” towards both nonhuman animals and other humans. We take a “birding” perspective on the occupation to show how the webs of relationality that connect humans, nonhumans, and the land might be activated as an antidote to destructive discourses of human exceptionalism.     

环境标准样品在国家地表水采测分离工作中的应用

按照《国家地表水环境质量监测网监测任务作业指导书(试行)》中实验室分析测试的质量保证和质量控制要求,结合江苏省南京环境监测中心的实际工作,综合分析2017年10月—2018年8月间国家地表水采测分离工作中环境标准样品在样品测试准确度验证、检测人员能力确认、检测设备期间核查及关键化学试剂检查等方面的应用情况。为保障环境监测结果量值溯源的统一性、准确性、一致性和可比性,提出丰富水环境标准样品的浓度水平、解决标准样品供需不平衡问题、改善消耗量大的标准样品操作方法、建立环境标准样品使用信息共享平台等实践建议,为合理提升环境标准样品应用效能、有效保证水环境监测数据质量提供参考。     

福州青年运动会环境空气质量状况及原因分析

利用2015年10月福州市国控点位空气质量常规6项参数(SO_2、NO_2、CO、O_3、PM_(10)、PM_(2.5))、NCEP/NCAR再分析逐日高度场、风场资料、温度场资料(垂直方向为17层,分辨率为2.5°×2.5°),对10月及福州第一届青年运动会(以下简称"青运会")期间空气质量进行分析与评价,并结合采取的相关管控措施和气象条件情况,分析福州市空气质量变化原因。结果表明,2015年10月福州市空气质量达到优良水平,各项污染物指标均达到一级标准,浓度较2014年同期明显下降,同时青运会期间污染物浓度较10月显著降低,这与对重点工业源、流动源、扬尘源等采取的管控措施密不可分,而且青运会前期受台风"巨爵"外围气流影响,福州温度较常年偏高,有利于空气垂直湍流运动,青运会后期的降水清洁过程,易于污染物清除。     

生态环境保护战略同国土空间规划的协调性分析

我国环境保护战略政策进入到推进环境质量改善和美丽中国建设的生态文明战略阶段,环境保护参与规划制定的必要性和重要性不断的显现。本文通过梳理近期在制定环境保护规划以及规划环境影响评价过程中所发现的问题,结合国土空间规划编制思路,进行在新阶段如何完善环境保护战略的探讨。     

Numerical and experimental investigation of state of health of Li-ion battery

ABSTRACT

Estimation of State of Health (SoH) of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery is essential to predict the lifespan of batteries of an electric vehicle (EV). The efficient prediction of battery health indicates to the effective and safe operation of EV. However, delivering an effective and accurate method for the estimation of SoH in the real condition is truly a challenging task. The present study proposed a holistic procedure of combining both experimental and numerical investigations to conduct the fundamental study on coupled mechanical-electrochemical behavior of Li-ion battery. The proposed investigation highlighted the effect of stress on the capacity of the battery, considering capacity fade as an equivalent parameter to its health for real-time estimation of SoH. Finally, a simple model of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is provided, which shows the linear dependency of stress with the SoH. The results obtained from the ANN model are validated with a Linear Regression (LR) model for a better understanding of the inspection. The predicted value of mean Square Error (MSE) and R square error in the ANN training model are found to be 0.000309 and 0.849687, respectively. Whereas for the test model, these predicted values are found to be 0.000438 and 0.819347, respectively.     

Red light: A novel,non-pharmacological intervention to promote alertness in shift workers

Introduction: Night work requires inversion of the natural, diurnal human activity-rest cycle and is associated with decreased alertness and some measures of performance, reduced safety, adverse health effects, and chronic disruption of the melatonin cycle that has been associated with increased risk for several major diseases. Previous studies show that red light exposures at night can promote alertness and improve performance while not negatively affecting melatonin secretion. Method: This ongoing crossover, mixed (within- and between-subjects) design field study is testing the efficacy and acceptance of red light delivered to day-shift and night-shift workers using personal light glasses while they are at work. Each participant experienced three lighting interventions at the eyes: red light (50 lx, 630 nm, the treatment intervention), blue light (50 lx, 460 nm, the positive control intervention), and dim white light (10 lx, 3,000 K, the placebo control). During the interventions, participants underwent visual performance testing, submitted salivary melatonin and cortisol samples, and provided subjective reports of sleepiness, sleep disturbance, and general health over the 20-week protocol. Due to the ongoing nature of the study, only the performance and subjective reports are presented here. Results: Preliminary results indicate that response times were improved by the red and blue interventions, but not accuracy and hit rates. Blue light was associated with improvements to self-reported sleep disturbances compared to dim light. Conclusions: These field results partially support our laboratory results that showed a positive effect of red light for promoting alertness and certain performance outcomes during the day and at night. Practical Applications: Red light may be used to improve response times in shift workers. Continued research will elucidate the lighting interventions’ effects on melatonin and objective sleep measures (actigraphy).     

12-Year longitudinal study linking within-person changes in work and family transitions and workplace injury risk

Introduction: Despite the rich tradition of research on predictors of workplace injury, most studies rely on cross-sectional, between-person designs. Furthermore, prior research has often overlooked the possibility that factors outside the work domain can influence the occurrence of actual injuries at work. To address these limitations, the current study examined the effects of work and family demands on the occurrence of workplace injury. Drawing on the intuition of the work-home resources model (W-HR), we investigated how within-person level changes in demands and resources from both domains influence work injuries over a 12-year period. Method: We used 12 years of longitudinal data (N = 7,820) to study the long-term within-person changes in work and family domains and to capture the event of low frequency incidence such as workplace injury. Specifically, we conducted multilevel analyses to study the links between within-person change in time and energy resources both in work and family domains and within-person change in the likelihood of experiencing a workplace injury. Results and conclusion: The findings showed that within-person changes in work hours, spousal work hours, income and number of children, were significantly associated with changes in the likelihood of experiencing a workplace injury. We conclude with a discussion of implications for theory and future research of workplace injuries. Practical application: The research provided useful insights on the intimate association between work and family domains in the context of safety management.     

基于生态风险评估的旅游目的地开发研究——以吉林省大布苏国家级自然保护区为例

吉林大布苏国家级自然保护区的主要生态风险源来自人类活动,该保护区目前以开展生态旅游为主。以吉林省大布苏国家级自然保护区为例,运用生态风险评估的一般方法系统分析影响其生态风险的因素,确定其主要生态风险源为干旱、盐碱化、水土流失和人类活动,其中人类活动造成的影响特别突出。将ArcGIS应用于生态风险的评价当中,结合2004--2011年土地利用类型变化,绘制综合生态风险等级分布图,提出针对性的旅游开发对策以降低该保护区面临的生态风险,实现吉林省大布苏国家级自然保护区的可持续发展。