Human appropriation of net primary production as determinant of avifauna diversity in Austria

The relationship between land-use induced changes in production ecology and avifauna diversity was analysed using a GIS land cover dataset on a 0.25 km × 0.25 km grid covering Austria's national territory. Considering only aboveground processes, the “human appropriation of net primary production” (HANPP = potential NPP − NPP_t), actual NPP (NPP_act), harvest (NPP_h) and NPP_t (= NPP_act − harvest) were recalculated based on existing datasets. Elevation as well as indicators of land cover heterogeneity and landscape heterogeneity were also considered. Correlation analyses were performed between these potential determinants of avifauna diversity and breeding bird species richness data as well as the percentage of endangered breeding birds included in the Austrian red list. Four spatial scales—0.25 km × 0.25 km, 1 km × 1 km, 4 km × 4 km and 16 × 16 km, were analysed. It was shown that breeding bird species richness was more strongly correlated with production ecological indicators and elevation than with heterogeneity indicators. A residual analysis in which the effect of elevation (a proxy for climate) on species richness and its potential determinants was removed confirmed the importance of the availability of trophic energy (NPP) for bird diversity patterns. The results support the species-energy hypothesis, thus confirming the notion that HANPP could be a useful pressure indicator for biodiversity loss.     

Human exposure to a mixture of endocrine disruptors and serum levels of thyroid hormones: A cross-sectional study

Exposure to endocrine disruptors (EDCs) could disrupt thyroid hormone homeostasis. However, human epidemiological studies reported inconsistent observations, and scarce information on the effect of a mixture of chemicals. The aim of the present study was to examine the associations of multiple chemicals with thyroid hormones among adults from China. We measured serum levels of thyroid hormones and urinary levels of 11 EDCs, including six phthalate metabolites, bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol S (BPS), perchlorate, and thiocyanate among 177 healthy adults without occupational exposure. Associations of multiple urinary analytes with serum thyroid hormones were examined by performing general linear regression analysis and bayesian kernal machine regression analysis. These EDCs were detected in almost all samples. After adjusting for various covariates, we observed only BPF significantly associated with total thyroxin (TT4) (β=-0.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-0.41, -0.14]), total triiodothyronine (TT3) (β=-0.02 95% CI [-0.03, -0.01]), free T4 (fT4) (β=-0.02, 95% CI [-0.03, -0.01]), and free T3 (fT3) (β=-0.04, 95% CI [-0.07, -0.01]), and mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) and monoethyl phthalate (MEP) positively associated with TT4 (β=0.24, 95% CI [0.01, 0.48]) and fT4 (β=0.02, 95% CI [0.01, 0.04]), respectively. Moreover, we observed significant dose-response relationships between TT4 and the mixture of 11 EDCs, and BPF was the main contributor to the mixture effect, suggesting the priority of potential effect of BPF on disrupting thyroid function under a real scenario of human exposure to multiple EDCs. Our findings supported the hypothesis that human exposure to low levels of EDCs could alter thyroid hormones homeostasis among non-occupational healthy adults.     

高等院校教师有效激励机制的探讨

高等院校管理者必须思考如何更加有效的激励教师工作的积极性。高等院校教师的有效激励机制包括教师工作激励机制、教师成就激励机制和优秀教师的价值激励机制。三者有机结合，才能更好的促进教师的工作积极性、主动性、创造性，实现高等院校教师的自我价值。     

水资源对人类安全的负面影响

水是丰富的.但水不等于水资源.由于水资源分布不均、人类需求的不断膨胀以及水资源污染等,造成了水资源的短缺.水资源关乎着人类的安全:冲突、战争因水而起;水污染威胁人类健康;水资源缺乏威胁着食品(粮食)安全;水资源制约着经济乃致社会的发展,成为人类生存的最大限制因子.     

Research on 10-year tendency of China coal mine accidents and the characteristics of human factors

The trend of China coal mine accidents in the latest 10 years was studied and the human factors in these accidents were analyzed by multi-dimensional statistic analysis. It shows that the number of major coal mine accidents and the death toll in the accidents were decreasing steadily, while sporadic death accidents still accounted for the largest percentage of deaths. Gas outburst accidents, gas explosion accidents and mine water accidents remained the major part of the whole story and subject to close attention. Among the causes of these accidents, human factors accounted for 94.09%, of which intentional violation, mismanagement and defective design accounted for 35.43%, 55.12%, 3.54% respectively. Improper operational and management practices in which the safety system, procedures and specifications were neglected or broken were still key roots of China coal mine accidents.     

A comparison of required coefficient of friction for both feet in level walking

The required coefficient of friction (RCOF) is one of the critical elements in determining whether a slip incident might occur. Most researchers, when measuring RCOF, do not differentiate between the two feet of the same participant under the same walking condition. Results from a recent study (Chang et al., 2010) indicated that the stochastic distributions of the RCOF of both feet were different in 76% of the cases. Using the previous data (Chang et al., 2010), this paper presents a comparison of the RCOF for both feet of 50 participants under four level walking conditions resulting from two footwear types and two walking speeds using a t-test, commonly used by safety professionals to compare two pools of data. The current results indicated that 78% of the RCOF data showed a statistically significant difference between the RCOF from two feet for the same participant under each walking condition. The results of the logistic regression analysis used to identify factors that contributed to the outcome of the t-test indicated that the walking speed was the only factor with a statistical significance (p = 0.044).     

Principal sustainability components: empirical analysis of synergies between the three pillars of sustainability

Starting from the concept of three fundamental sustainability dimensions (environmental, social, and economic), this study investigated professional contributions to sustainability by means of principal component analysis (PCA). Graduates from the Environmental Sciences program (N?=?542) at ETH Zurich described their best professional contributions to sustainable development. Next, they evaluated whether their best practice example contributed to achieving any of the five environmental, social, and economic objectives of the Swiss national sustainability strategy. These judgments served as the basis for a PCA aiming to identify principal sustainability components (PSCs) covering typical synergies between sustainability objectives within and transcending the three fundamental dimensions. Three PSCs capturing important synergies were identified. PSC 1 Product and Process Development reflects how ecological innovation and modernization can generate social and economic benefits and at the same time facilitate the reduction in use of as well as the responsible use of natural resources. PSC 2 Education and Social Economics reflects how educational activities and sociocultural sustainability initiatives can simultaneously promote income and employment, social and human capital, and free personal development. PSC 3 Protection of Nature and Humans covers the synergetic benefits which protection of natural spaces and biodiversity and the reduction of environmental risks have for the protection of health and safety of the population. The study also revealed that integration of environmental, social, and economic aspects is often connected to conflicts between these dimensions. However, contributions which consider the economic situation of future generations or enhance social and human capital achieved considerable integration but showed no inclination toward such conflicts.     

Relationships of the dimensions of sustainability as measured by the sustainable society index framework

This article presents a study of the interrelationships between the different dimensions of sustainability as measured by the sustainable society index framework. We examine the statistical relationships between the four indices making up the sustainable society index framework. The analysis uses the complete existing data set provided by Sustainable Society Foundation for the years 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012 and for 151 countries. While the time period where data are available is quite short, we can make some preliminary observations about the apparent trends in the interrelationships of the different dimensions of sustainability. This study shows that the three dimensions of sustainability are far from all being synergic and positively correlated. There is a strong negative correlation between human well-being and environmental well-being. This is problematic from the point of view of the Brundtland Commission’s three-pillar definition of sustainability. However, the trade-off relationship between economic and environmental development measured by the economic well-being index and environmental well-being index is decreasing and the dimensions are becoming more de-linked. This trend is promising from the sustainability perspective.     

Sensitivity of stand dynamics to grazing in mixed Pinus sylvestris and Quercus pubescens forests: A modelling study

Only recently, studies of forest succession have started to include the effects of browsing by wild or domestic ungulates. We aim to contribute to this topic by analysing the influence of goat grazing on the long-term coexistence of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and pubescent oak (Quercus pubescens Willd.) in the low-elevation forests of an inner-Alpine dry valley. The forest gap model ForClim was first adapted to these site conditions by examining the site-dependent sensitivity of the model with regard to the species-specific parameterisation of the drought tolerance as well as the light demand of establishing and adult trees. In a second step, the behaviour of the model was investigated with respect to different grazing intensities and species-specific browsing susceptibilities. The last step was the application of a grazing scenario based on forest history, with 150 years of heavy browsing (by goats) at the beginning of the simulated forest succession, followed by less intensive grazing pressure.