Psychological stress and marginalization as indicators of human carrying capacity in deforesting areas

SUMMARY

A scheme in which psychological factors are considered in effective forest management planning is proposed. A central role is played by human carrying capacity, the resilience of people to deal with the consequences of environmental degradation. Stress and marginalization are taken as indicators of human carrying capacity. A study in Côte d'Ivoire is described in which psychological stress and marginalization were studied in individuals from environments which show different degrees of degradation. Three related hypotheses are proposed: first that individuals living in or near a degrading forest are more stressed and marginalized than individuals in a reference group living in Abidjan; second that people living near the forest with the most sustained and severe degradation would be more stressed and marginalized; finally, that members of autochthonous cultural groups show higher stress and marginalization levels than members of migrant groups. The results of our study showed that people living near the degraded forest were more stressed but not marginalized unless the degradation was severe and sustained. Females were more stressed than males and members of both sexes from autochthonous cultural groups were more prone to stress and marginalization than members of migrant groups.     

300MW机组锅炉屏式过热器爆管原因分析

某电厂300MW机组锅炉在投产运行仅仅13260小时便发生了屏式过热器爆管事故,经初步分析该不锈钢管弯管是由于固溶化处理不当,在残余应力、热应力及氟离子等共同作用下,在奥氏体晶界薄弱处产生晶间腐蚀微裂纹,继而不断发展并最终造成爆管事故的发生。建议加强原材料验收检验及规范锅炉运行操作规程,以最大限度减少此类事故的发生。     

Stress and team performance: principles and challenges for intelligent decision aids

Advances in computer technology and artificial intelligence are providing powerful capabilities for developing intelligent decision aids (IDAs) to support operating teams in managing complex systems. Early system designs, which acted as independent computer advisors, constrained human decision making, were brittle and encountered problems of user acceptance. As a result, there has been a shift towards making IDAs more cooperative in assisting users to make decisions under stress. Although there is a growing body of research on how to design IDAs as collaborate team players, this article provides additional insights by focusing on the competencies manifested by efficient teams in adapting to stress. To this extent, a survey of how teams adapt their decision-making strategies, cooperation patterns and team structure has provided a good basis for proposing design principles for collaborative IDAs. The article concludes with some challenges for further developments in information technology and research needs in the area of teamwork under stress.     

基于常规试验设备的HASS技术在航空电子产品上的应用

高加速应力筛选（HASS）技术是一种新型的试验技术,试验效率高,能有效保障产品的可靠性。介绍了高加速应力筛选的基本原理和典型的HASS过程,然后将HASS应用于某航空电子产品,提出了一种基于常规试验设备的HASS方案。根据环境应力筛选（ESS）与基于强化试验设备的HASS技术,给出了基于常规试验设备的HASS初始剖面制定过程,并从理论上验证了该剖面的有效性,筛选验证结果表明该剖面具有安全性。     

植物抗盐机理的研究进展

盐胁迫是抑制植物生长 ,降低农作物产量的主要环境因素之一 .长期以来 ,关于如何提高植物的抗盐性 ,增加在盐胁迫下农作物的产量一直是人们关注的焦点 .植物对盐胁迫的反应机制和抗盐机理的探明 ,是指导通过生物工程方法或其它措施改造植物提高其抗盐能力的前提 .由于植物的抗盐性状涉及生理生化多方面的因素 ,是一个多基因控制的极为复杂的反应过程 ,而且不同植物甚至同一种类不同品种的植物 ,对盐胁迫的反应及其适应机制也不尽相同 .植物抗盐能力的强弱差异较大 ,有些植物在 2 0 0～ 50 0ｍｍｏｌ/ＬＮａＣｌ的条件下能继续生长 ,完成其生…     

Increased appreciation of forests and their restorative effects during the COVID-19 pandemic

Public expectations of forests as high-quality restorative environments that facilitate subjective well-being and stress relief along with numerous health benefits have been rising sharply during recent decades. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying restrictive measures also transformed forests into some of the few places to spend time away from home. The presented study drew on the assumption that the pandemic situation and a rise in the number of forest visits would affect the experience, recognition, and appreciation of the well-being aspects related to spending time in forests. The study goal was to elucidate the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the relationships between forest visits, well-being and stress relief, emotions, perception of nature and forest value and importance, pro-environmental behavior, and societal expectations of the role of forests and forest ecosystem services. A survey using a digital questionnaire was conducted several months after the pandemic outbreak on a representative sample of the Slovak population. The Wilcoxon test and ordinal regression analysis were used to identify significant relationships, e.g., between the recency of anger episodes and the number of forest visits. The results showed that the pandemic strengthened the perception of forests as a high-quality restorative environment and that emotions associated with forest visits played an important role in the perceived importance of forests and their possible overexploitation. The results underscore the urgent need to put demands for forest recreation on par with the forest bioeconomy and to sensitize forest visitors to management and conservation requirements.     

Responses of three grass species to creosote during phytoremediation

Phytoremediation of creosote-contaminated soil was monitored in the presence of Tall fescue, Kentucky blue grass, or Wild rye. For all three grass species, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) were evaluated for plant growth promotion and protection of plants from contaminant toxicity. A number of parameters were monitored including plant tissue water content, root growth, plant chlorophyll content and the chlorophyll a/b ratio. The observed physiological data indicate that some plants mitigated the toxic effects of contaminants. In addition, in agreement with our previous experiments reported in the accompanying paper (Huang, X.-D., El-Alawi, Y., Penrose, D.M., Glick, B.R., Greenberg, B.M., 2004. A multi-process phytoremediation system for removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from contaminated soil. Environ. Poll. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2003.09.031), PGPR were able to greatly enhance phytoremediation. PGPR accelerated plant growth, especially roots, in heavily contaminated soils, diminishing the toxic effects of contaminants to plants. Thus, the increased root biomass in PGPR-treated plants led to more effective remediation.     

Dominance,cortisol and stress in wild chimpanzees (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii</Emphasis>)

Field studies of endocrine function in a range of social mammals suggest that high dominance rank is commonly associated with elevated glucocorticoid production. This is puzzling, because in stable dominance hierarchies, high status is normally associated with social control and predictability, key predictors of low psychological stress. One solution to this problem may be that high rank is commonly associated with elevated energetic expenditure, leading to increased metabolic stress and glucocorticoid secretion. We conducted behavioural observations and non-invasive hormone sampling of male chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda, to examine the relationship between cortisol, dominance and stress in wild chimpanzees. Results indicate that male dominance rank positively correlated with urinary cortisol excretion in a stable dominance hierarchy. Cortisol excretion also correlated positively with rates of male aggression. We suggest that the relationship between cortisol and rank in chimpanzees may be driven by energetic factors rather than psychosocial ones. This interpretation is supported by the observation that urinary cortisol levels correlated negatively with food availability. These findings suggest that dominant chimpanzees experience significant metabolic costs that must be set against the presumed reproductive benefits of high rank. Metabolic stress may mediate the relationship between rank and cortisol in other social mammals.Communicated by L. Sterck     

900t造船龙门起重机主梁自重应力测试及分析

对某港口一台在建900t造船龙门起重机,进行了主梁自重应力测试研究。以测试主梁分段平放在胎架上作为测试基点,通过应力测试,得到了起重机主梁在抬吊过程中产生的自重应力和自振频率。结果表明,随着测试主梁两端提升油缸的逐渐加力,主梁跨中产生的自重应力逐渐增加,并与提升力成线性关系;在整个提升过程中,主梁自振频率维持在0.1Hz以内。     

内盘管接管泄漏成因及改进

对反应釜内盘管接管处发生泄漏的原因进行了探讨，通过入釜检查和有限元分析，确认了该处由于局部应力集中导致角焊缝出现微小开裂，并结合该釜结构特点和工况对其改进方法进行了讨论。