Determination of Q1, an unknown organochlorine contaminant, in human milk, Antarctic air, and further environmental samples

Q1, an organochlorine component with the molecular formula C(9)H(3)Cl(7)N(2) and of unknown origin was recently identified in seal blubber samples from the Namibian coast (southwest of Africa) and the Antarctic. In these samples, Q1 was more abundant than PCBs and on the level of DDT residues. Furthermore, Q1 was more abundant in seals from the Antarctic than the Arctic. To prove this assumption, gas chromatography-electron-capture negative ion mass spectrometry (GC/ECNI-MS), which is sensitive and selective for Q1, allowed for screening of traces of Q1 even in samples with particularly high levels of other organochlorine contaminants. Q1 was isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) from a skua liver sample. A 1:1 mixture with trans-nonachlor in electron-capture detectors (ECDs) was used to determine the relative response factor with ECNI-MS. The ECNI-MS response of Q1 turned out to be 4.5 times higher than that of trans-nonachlor in an ECD. With GC/ECNI-MS in the selected ion-monitoring mode, four Antarctic and four Arctic air samples were investigated for the presence of Q1. In the Antarctic air samples, Q1 levels ranged from 0.7 to 0.9 fg/m(3). In Arctic air samples, however, Q1 was below the detection limit (<0.06 fg/m(3) or 60 ag/m(3)). We also report on high Q1 levels in selected human milk samples (12-230 microg/kg lipid) and, therefore, suggested that the unknown Q1 is an environmental compound whose origin and distribution should be investigated in detail. Our data confirm that Q1 is a bioaccumulative natural organochlorine product. Detection of a highly chlorinated natural organochlorine compound in air and human milk is novel.     

Uncertainty, learning, and the optimal management of wildlife

Wildlife management is limited by uncontrolled and often unrecognized environmental variation, by limited capabilities to observe and control animal populations, and by a lack of understanding about the biological processes driving population dynamics. In this paper I describe a comprehensive framework for management that includes multiple models and likelihood values to account for structural uncertainty, along with stochastic factors to account for environmental variation, random sampling, and partial controllability. Adaptive optimization is developed in terms of the optimal control of incompletely understood populations, with the expected value of perfect information measuring the potential for improving control through learning. The framework for optimal adaptive control is generalized by including partial observability and non-adaptive, sample-based updating of model likelihoods. Passive adaptive management is derived as a special case of constrained adaptive optimization, representing a potentially efficient suboptimal alternative that nonetheless accounts for structural uncertainty.     

太湖叶绿素a浓度分布的时空特征及其影响因素

基于2005—2009年20次太湖采样期间的水质监测数据,研究了太湖叶绿素a浓度的主要分布特征,分析了水环境因子对叶绿素a浓度分布的季节性和空间性影响.结果表明,太湖叶绿素a浓度分布的空间差异较大,主要表现为梅梁湾、竺山湾、太湖西部和西南部湖区为叶绿素a浓度距平经验正交分解(EOF)第一模态空间分布的显著正值区,太湖湖心和东南湖区则为负值区;影响叶绿素a浓度的因子有水温、溶解氧、总氮、磷酸根和总磷,但总磷和水温的影响相对更为显著,而各季节叶绿素a浓度的影响因子则略有差异;影响藻类生长的因子存在较大的空间分布差异,但总磷、水温和溶解氧是其主要限制性因子,氮类营养盐的影响则处于次要地位.     

Understanding implications of consumer behavior for wildlife farming and sustainable wildlife trade

Unsustainable wildlife trade affects biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities dependent upon those resources. Wildlife farming has been proposed to promote sustainable trade, but characterizing markets and understanding consumer behavior remain neglected but essential steps in the design and evaluation of such operations. We used sea turtle trade in the Cayman Islands, where turtles have been farm raised for human consumption for almost 50 years, as a case study to explore consumer preferences toward wild‐sourced (illegal) and farmed (legal) products and potential conservation implications. Combining methods innovatively (including indirect questioning and choice experiments), we conducted a nationwide trade assessment through in‐person interviews from September to December 2014. Households were randomly selected using disproportionate stratified sampling, and responses were weighted based on district population size. We approached 597 individuals, of which 37 (6.2%) refused to participate. Although 30% of households had consumed turtle in the previous 12 months, the purchase and consumption of wild products was rare (e.g., 64–742 resident households consumed wild turtle meat [i.e., 0.3–3.5% of households] but represented a large threat to wild turtles in the area due to their reduced populations). Differences among groups of consumers were marked, as identified through choice experiments, and price and source of product played important roles in their decisions. Despite the long‐term practice of farming turtles, 13.5% of consumers showed a strong preference for wild products, which demonstrates the limitations of wildlife farming as a single tool for sustainable wildlife trade. By using a combination of indirect questioning, choice experiments, and sales data to investigate demand for wildlife products, we obtained insights about consumer behavior that can be used to develop conservation‐demand‐focused initiatives. Lack of data from long‐term social–ecological assessments hinders the evaluation of and learning from wildlife farming. This information is key to understanding under which conditions different interventions (e.g., bans, wildlife farming, social marketing) are likely to succeed.     

3种氨基糖苷类抗生素对水生生物的时间依赖联合毒性作用比较

以3种氨基糖苷类(AG)抗生素:硫酸安普霉素(APR)、双氢链霉素(DIH)和硫酸链霉素(STS)为研究对象,以生态系统中2类重要的水生生物分解者如青海弧菌(Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67,Q67)和生产者蛋白核小球藻(Chlorella pyrenoidosa,CP)为受试生物,运用均匀设计射线法设计抗生素三元混合物体系,共5条具有不同浓度配比的射线,应用已建立的分别基于Q67和CP的时间毒性微板分析法系统测试抗生素及其三元混合物射线对Q67和CP在不同暴露时间的毒性。对于Q67和CP,暴露时间分别为0.25、2、4、8、12 h和12、24、48、72、96 h。应用浓度加和(CA)模型分析混合物在不同暴露时间的毒性相互作用。结果表明:APR、DIH和STS及其5条混合物射线对2种指示生物的毒性均具有明显的时间依赖性,且Q67对AG抗生素及其混合物射线的响应比CP的灵敏;以半数效应浓度的负对数p EC50值为毒性大小指标,3种抗生素对2种指示生物的毒性大小顺序随暴露时间的变化而变化,3种AG抗生素对Q67和CP分别在12 h和96 h的毒性大小顺序均为STSDIHAPR;5条具有不同浓度配比的混合物射线对Q67在不同暴露时间的毒性均呈加和作用,但对CP的毒性既有加和作用也有拮抗作用,且拮抗作用随暴露时间和组分浓度配比的变化而变化,表明AG抗生素毒性的联合毒性作用与暴露生物、暴露时间以及混合物组分的浓度配比等有关。     

Understanding conservationists’ perspectives on the new‐conservation debate

A vibrant debate about the future direction of biodiversity conservation centers on the merits of the so‐called new conservation. Proponents of the new conservation advocate a series of positions on key conservation ideas, such as the importance of human‐dominated landscapes and conservation's engagement with capitalism. These have been fiercely contested in a debate dominated by a few high‐profile individuals, and so far there has been no empirical exploration of existing perspectives on these issues among a wider community of conservationists. We used Q methodology to examine empirically perspectives on the new conservation held by attendees at the 2015 International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB). Although we identified a consensus on several key issues, 3 distinct positions emerged: in favor of conservation to benefit people but opposed to links with capitalism and corporations, in favor of biocentric approaches but with less emphasis on wilderness protection than prominent opponents of new conservation, and in favor of the published new conservation perspective but with less emphasis on increasing human well‐being as a goal of conservation. Our results revealed differences between the debate on the new conservation in the literature and views held within a wider, but still limited, conservation community and demonstrated the existence of at least one viewpoint (in favor of conservation to benefit people but opposed to links with capitalism and corporations) that is almost absent from the published debate. We hope the fuller understanding we present of the variety of views that exist but have not yet been heard, will improve the quality and tone of debates on the subject.     

循环热处理对高速钢超塑性的影响

此文研究了循环热处理工艺对W6Mo5Cr4V2钢超塑性的影响.结果表明:该钢在1040℃两次循环淬火是实现其超塑性的最佳热处理工艺;按此工艺进行预处理后,在810℃、初始应变速率为5.56×10~(-1)s~(-1)的条件下,该钢的超塑延伸率可达187%.     

Challenges with eradicating illegal mining in Ghana: A perspective from the grassroots

This paper argues that artisanal mining communities are somewhat bound to their operations, and helps explain why formalisation, alternative livelihood projects and military intervention—the traditional strategies employed by governments to tackle illegal mining—have proved ineffective. Findings from recent research carried out in Noyem (Eastern Region of Ghana) are used to illustrate why illegal artisanal mining is such a deeply rooted activity in sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis provides four explanations in support of this: a heavy involvement of traditional leaders in operations; the mindsets of many operators toward alternative income-earning activities; the numerous and diverse range of employment opportunities provided by the sector; and the level of investment in operations.     

Mining and social development: Refocusing community investment using multi-criteria decision analysis

This paper addresses the question: How can mining companies assess social investment projects so that projects create value for the company and communities in which they operate? Mining companies are still wrestling with the limits of their responsibility in relation to social development even though they accept the business case for community investment at a general level. Fully aware of the practical hazards involved in taking an active role in facilitating local development, companies increasingly avoid methods that are overly paternalistic or assume the functions of the national or local governments. Gaining senior management's commitment to long-term social projects, which are characterised by uncertainty and complexity, is made easier if projects are shown to benefit the site's strategic goals. Case study research on large global mining companies, including interviews with social investment decision makers, has assisted in developing a Social Investment Decision Analysis Tool (SIDAT), a decision model for evaluating social projects. Multi-criteria decision analysis techniques integrating business planning processes with social impact assessment have proved useful in assisting mining companies think beyond seeking reputational benefits, to how they can meet their business goals and contribute to sustainable development.     

Natural resource abundance in Nigeria: From dependence to development

There are several strategies open to an economy in its attempt to attain sustainable economic development depending on its historical background and resource endowment. One of such is the resource-led strategy. Nigeria is superabundantly rich in crude oil and has reaped billions of petrodollars. However, the country seems to be facing the problem of successfully translating this huge oil wealth into sustainable development. This paper employs the vector error-correction methodology in examining the long-run impact of the huge oil wealth accruing to Nigeria on its economic development. Indicators such as per capita GDP (PGDP), household consumption, infrastructural development (electricity), and agricultural and manufacturing output growth rates are examined. The results suggest a significant positive long-run impact of per capita oil revenue on per capita household consumption and electricity generation, while a negative relationship is established for GDP, agriculture and manufacturing. Even for those variables with negative relationship at current period, there exist positive relationships at subsequent lags. Thus, oil revenue, if properly managed and invested, could be effectively used to induce oil-led development in Nigeria provided the current inhibitions of corruption, lack of transparency, accountability and fairness in its use and distribution are removed.