Defining and Evaluating the Umbrella Species Concept for Conserving and Restoring Landscape Connectivity

Conserving or restoring landscape connectivity between patches of breeding habitat is a common strategy to protect threatened species from habitat fragmentation. By managing connectivity for some species, usually charismatic vertebrates, it is often assumed that these species will serve as conservation umbrellas for other species. We tested this assumption by developing a quantitative method to measure overlap in dispersal habitat of 3 threatened species—a bird (the umbrella), a butterfly, and a frog—inhabiting the same fragmented landscape. Dispersal habitat was determined with Circuitscape, which was parameterized with movement data collected for each species. Despite differences in natural history and breeding habitat, we found substantial overlap in the spatial distributions of areas important for dispersal of this suite of taxa. However, the intuitive umbrella species (the bird) did not have the highest overlap with other species in terms of the areas that supported connectivity. Nevertheless, we contend that when there are no irreconcilable differences between the dispersal habitats of species that cohabitate on the landscape, managing for umbrella species can help conserve or restore connectivity simultaneously for multiple threatened species with different habitat requirements. Definición y Evaluación del Concepto de Especie Paraguas para Conservar y Restaurar la Conectividad de Paisajes     

Environmental cost of using poor decision metrics to prioritize environmental projects

Conservation decision makers commonly use project‐scoring metrics that are inconsistent with theory on optimal ranking of projects. As a result, there may often be a loss of environmental benefits. We estimated the magnitudes of these losses for various metrics that deviate from theory in ways that are common in practice. These metrics included cases where relevant variables were omitted from the benefits metric, project costs were omitted, and benefits were calculated using a faulty functional form. We estimated distributions of parameters from 129 environmental projects from Australia, New Zealand, and Italy for which detailed analyses had been completed previously. The cost of using poor prioritization metrics (in terms of lost environmental values) was often high—up to 80% in the scenarios we examined. The cost in percentage terms was greater when the budget was smaller. The most costly errors were omitting information about environmental values (up to 31% loss of environmental values), omitting project costs (up to 35% loss), omitting the effectiveness of management actions (up to 9% loss), and using a weighted‐additive decision metric for variables that should be multiplied (up to 23% loss). The latter 3 are errors that occur commonly in real‐world decision metrics, in combination often reducing potential benefits from conservation investments by 30–50%. Uncertainty about parameter values also reduced the benefits from investments in conservation projects but often not by as much as faulty prioritization metrics.     

Computing sustainable manufacturing index with fuzzy analytic hierarchy process

The growing industrial interest in adopting sustainability programmes has ushered in studies regarding sustainability indicators which have continually flourished in current literature. However, limited attention is given to the development of priority ranking, which is an important input for any adopting firm. This paper presents a hybrid multi-criteria approach in determining priority areas in sustainable manufacturing (SM). Using fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to address uncertainty in hierarchical decision-making, this paper determines SM priority strategies and eventually identifies even lower level strategies. The computed sustainable manufacturing index is presented at both the organizational and operational levels for a real case study of an industrial plastic manufacturing firm. This work provides a detailed and transparent hierarchical decision-making approach based on SM framework, the use of which could be valuable to practicing managers across industries in their pursuit of greater sustainability.     

Credibility and advocacy in conservation science

Conservation policy sits at the nexus of natural science and politics. On the one hand, conservation scientists strive to maintain scientific credibility by emphasizing that their research findings are the result of disinterested observations of reality. On the other hand, conservation scientists are committed to conservation even if they do not advocate a particular policy. The professional conservation literature offers guidance on negotiating the relationship between scientific objectivity and political advocacy without damaging conservation science's credibility. The value of this guidance, however, may be restricted by limited recognition of credibility's multidimensionality and emergent nature: it emerges through perceptions of expertise, goodwill, and trustworthiness. We used content analysis of the literature to determine how credibility is framed in conservation science as it relates to apparent contradictions between science and advocacy. Credibility typically was framed as a static entity lacking dimensionality. Authors identified expertise or trustworthiness as important, but rarely mentioned goodwill. They usually did not identify expertise, goodwill, or trustworthiness as dimensions of credibility or recognize interactions among these 3 dimensions of credibility. This oversimplification may limit the ability of conservation scientists to contribute to biodiversity conservation. Accounting for the emergent quality and multidimensionality of credibility should enable conservation scientists to advance biodiversity conservation more effectively.     

某城市污水处理厂二期污水处理工程设计研究

详细介绍了某城市第一污水处理厂在现有工程的基础上二期工程的工艺设计以及构筑物、设备参数;二期工程充分利用原有工程场地,本着现有、新建运行管理便捷统一原则,采用改良型A/A/O生化池作为二级处理主体工艺;二期工程投入运营后,某城市污水处理厂达到20×104 m3/d的污水设计规模.最终污水厂出水水质达到了《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》(GB 18918-2002)一级 A排放标准.污水处理厂运营后,经济效益显著,可保本经营,并具有企业自我发展的能力.     

正常污泥和膨胀污泥中EPS膜污染特性及其与膜表面作用能分析

胞外聚合物(Extracellular polymeric substance,EPS)是导致膜污染的重要物质,且不同形态污泥的EPS具有不同的性质,研究正常污泥和膨胀污泥的EPS膜污染特性具有重要意义.因此,实验考察了正常污泥和膨胀污泥的膜污染速率.结果表明,膨胀污泥膜污染速率远高于正常污泥,膨胀污泥EPS(Bulking sludge-EPS,BS-EPS)浓度((172.9±10.4) mg·g-1)明显高于正常污泥EPS(Normal sludge-EPS,NS-EPS)浓度((95.9±6 6) mg·g-1),且膨胀污泥的蛋白质/多糖(Protein/Carbohydrate,P/C)值(2.26)高于正常污泥的P/C值(1 97)此外,通过序批式吸附实验研究了正常污泥和膨胀污泥的EPS膜污染差异,并基于Derjaguine-Landaue-Verweye-Overbeek (XDLVO)理论计算了EPS与PVDF膜表面之间的作用能结果表明,EPS-膜系统的总界面能为负值,即EPS-膜系统之间会发生自吸附行为,而膜与BS-EPS的总界面能(-63.943mJ.m2)较膜与NS-EPS(-56.366 mJ·m2)具有较高的能量,因此,BS-EPS与膜的吸附力较强;NS-EPS和BS-EPS主要能量壁垒分别为8.89 kT和7.51 kT,表明NS-EPS与膜之间的排斥力更强,因而BS-EPS更容易造成膜污染     

在用车I／M制度的脆性及脆性源研究

I／M制度作为一个系统存在着脆性源,如果该制度在运行过程中控制不好脆性源,则其有效实施将受到影响。利用系统脆性理论对该制度进行分析研究找出L／M制度系统的脆性源以及解决措施是其分析研究的目的。在系统子因子中从业人员素质、仪器设备是最大的脆性源,但是其均被维修企业和检测企业所包含。综合分析研究结果显示,由于其在维修企业的脆性度比在检测企业的脆性度大,所以维修企业是该制度最重要的脆性源。用系统脆性理论分析方法分析I／M制度的脆性是一种科学、有效和实用的方法,具有较好的应用前景,为保障更好的运行I／M制度以有效的控制在用车的排放提供了理论依据。     

博弈论在弹道导弹核潜艇威慑能力定性评估中的应用

以国际政治经济学领域常用的博弈论为基础,建立了不同情况下的弹道导弹核潜艇核威慑能力的定性分析模型,其核心是分析威慑双方的策略互动,以便能够更加客观地对弹道导弹核潜艇的威慑能力进行评估。针对信息完全和信息缺失的情况,博弈论模型能够简便快捷地对弹道导弹核潜艇的核威慑效果进行评估,并能够提出提高潜艇威慑效果的具体措施。     

基于熵权的改进密切值法在水质综合评价的应用

将2003至2008年宁德市金涵水库水质监测值与地表水环境质量标准相结合,建立了环境样本矩阵,运用信息熵原理确定各指标的权重,并应用改进密切值法进行水质综合评价。结果表明：金涵水库从2003至2008年水质都是Ⅱ类以上,水质总体良好。该评价方法操作简便易行,结论切实可行,并可反映出各评价单元的优劣变化。     

基于证据理论的烟花爆竹生产经营企业安全评价方法研究

在烟花爆竹生产经营企业的安全评价中,存在着很大的不确定性。证据理论作为一种处理不确定性问题的有效工具,已经被广泛应用到很多领域中。本文建立了烟花爆竹生产经营企业的安全系统风险评价指标体系,并应用证据理论处理烟花爆竹生产经营企业安全评价中的不确定性问题,通过实例验证结果表明基于证据理论对烟花爆竹生产经营企业进行风险评价具有可行性、有效性与实用性。