Incorporation of gypsum waste in ceramic block production: Proposal for a minimal battery of tests to evaluate technical and environmental viability of this recycling process

Civil engineering-related construction and demolition debris is an important source of waste disposed of in municipal solid waste landfills. After clay materials, gypsum waste is the second largest contributor to the residential construction waste stream. As demand for sustainable building practices grows, interest in recovering gypsum waste from construction and demolition debris is increasing, but there is a lack of standardized tests to evaluate the technical and environmental viability of this solid waste recycling process. By recycling gypsum waste, natural deposits of gypsum might be conserved and high amounts of the waste by-product could be reused in the civil construction industry. In this context, this paper investigates a physical property (i.e., resistance to axial compression), the chemical composition and the ecotoxicological potential of ceramic blocks constructed with different proportions of clay, cement and gypsum waste, and assesses the feasibility of using a minimal battery of tests to evaluate the viability of this recycling process. Consideration of the results for the resistance to axial compression tests together with production costs revealed that the best formulation was 35% of plastic clay, 35% of non-plastic clay, 10% of Portland cement and 20% of gypsum waste, which showed a mean resistance of 4.64 MPa. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry showed calcium and sulfur to be the main elements, while quartz, gypsum, ettringite and nacrite were the main crystalline compounds found in this formulation. Ecotoxicity tests showed that leachate from this formulation is weakly toxic toward daphnids and bacteria (EC_20% = 69.0 and 75.0, respectively), while for algae and fish the leachate samples were not toxic at the EC_50% level. Overall, these results show that the addition of 20% of gypsum waste to the ceramic blocks could provide a viable substitute for clay in the ceramics industry and the tests applied in this study proved to be a useful tool for the technical and environmental evaluation of this recycling process, bacterial and daphnid tests being more sensitive than algae and fish tests.     

An overview of short‐term tests for the mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of pesticides

Abstract

In the last few years, marked progress has been made in the development of methods for evaluating the mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of pesticide chemicals. The correlation of genetic and related biological activity in short‐term tests with carcinogenic activity in whole animals allows the utilization of short‐term mutagenicity bioassays to prescreen chemicals for effects related to mutation induction and presumptive carcinogenicity. In addition, bioassays now available can measure directly the chemical transformation of normal cells in culture into cells capable of producing tumors when injected into animals.

This paper will review briefly the major types of relevant short‐term tests and will develop a rationale for a phased approach to the evaluation of the mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of environmental chemicals. This approach involves the sequential application of bioassays which are organized into a three‐level matrix emphasizing first detection, then confirmation, and finally hazard assessment. Chemicals demonstrating positive results in the short‐term detection systems and confirmatory bioassays are pursued in higher level whole animal tests. A core battery of tests is proposed to operationally define a negative result. The phased approach should facilitate a cost effective utilization of limited testing resources and provide protection for human health in proportion to the anticipated hazard.

Results obtained in evaluating a series of thirty‐eight pesticide chemicals according to the phased approach are discussed in detail.     

原子荧光光谱法测定水中砷的方法比对试验

通过试验分析确定了原子荧光光谱法测定水样中砷的检测条件,并在优化试验条件下与现行砷的国家标准分析方法GB 7485-87进行了样品分析比对实验,试验表明,该方法操作简单方便,历时短,可大大提高检测效率,完全可以代替分析操作复杂繁琐的现行国家标准分析方法。     

纵向排烟与集中排烟下烟气控制效果的对比研究

以某特长公路隧道为研究背景,采用缩尺寸试验测试、数值模拟的方法分别对纵向排烟和集中排烟模式下隧道内火灾烟气的蔓延特性进行了研究,并对比分析了两种排烟系统在火灾工况下对烟气的控制效果。结果表明,纵向排烟模式将火灾烟气控制在火源下游并从隧道出口排出,高温烟气蔓延范围较长;集中排烟模式通过排烟阀将烟气抽离行车道,有效地控制了烟气蔓延和沉降,高温烟气维持在行车道的上部空间,主要通过竖井排出隧道。采用纵向排烟模式的坡度隧道烟气控制受烟囱效应影响较大,而在设置排烟道的坡度隧道中,将排烟阀开启进行自然排烟就能有效地减弱烟囱效应。因此,采用集中排烟模式的防灾安全性能要优于采用纵向排烟模式。     

制定环境与可靠性规范与标准的新思路

介绍制定环境与可靠性规范与标准的新观点。它包括按产品研制各阶段分别征询意见；按征询的意见确定环境任务；为顺利执行环境任务而配备的手册或工具。文章对如何、向谁征询意见、各产品研制阶段应确定哪些环境任务以及应配哪些手册或工具作了介绍。最后文章提出了４条有关发展环境与可靠性规范与标准的建议。     

MULTIVARIATE NONPARAMETRIC TESTS FOR TREND IN WATER QUALITY1

ABSTRACT: National and state fixed station stream quality monitoring networks have now been in existence for over ten years. The resulting data bases provide opportunities and challenges for statistical trend assessment. Although nonparametric tests have been developed that are well suited to such problems, the interpretation of variations in trend significance between seasons and variables remains a problem. One recently developed test is based on the sum of Mann-Kendall statistics over seasons or variables, with the test statistic variance computed as the sum of the covariances of the individual Mann-Kendall statistics. In this method, up- and downtrends can cancel, giving an overall indication of no trend. A related test which is sensitive to trend regardless of direction has been shown to behave poorly for typical stream quality record lengths. An alternative formulation which is sensitive to up- and downtrends and has power approaching that of the covariance sum method, is described. In addition, a variation of a contrast test for discriminating trend directions and magnitudes among variables or seasons where correlation between seasons or variables is present is described, and tests of its performance reported.     

Random denominators and the analysis of ratio data

Ratio data, observations in which one random value is divided by another random value, present unique analytical challenges. The best statistical technique varies depending on the unit on which the inference is based. We present three environmental case studies where ratios are used to compare two groups, and we provide three parametric models from which to simulate ratio data. The models describe situations in which (1) the numerator variance and mean are proportional to the denominator, (2) the numerator mean is proportional to the denominator but its variance is proportional to a quadratic function of the denominator and (3) the numerator and denominator are independent. We compared standard approaches for drawing inference about differences between two distributions of ratios: t-tests, t-tests with transformations, permutation tests, the Wilcoxon rank test, and ANCOVA-based tests. Comparisons between tests were based both on achieving the specified alpha-level and on statistical power. The tests performed comparably with a few notable exceptions. We developed simple guidelines for choosing a test based on the unit of inference and relationship between the numerator and denominator.     

CUSUM environmental monitoring in time and space

We consider the situation where there are n sampling sites in an area, with an environmental variable measured at some or all of the sites at m sample times. We assume that there is interest in knowing whether the environmental variable displays systematic changes over time at the sites. A cumulative sum type of analysis with associated randomization tests has been proposed before for this situation, when there is negligible correlation between the observations in different times at one site, and no correlation between the results at different sites. A modification that allows for serial correlation at the individual sites but with no correlation between sites has also been proposed before. In the present paper we discuss how the method can be modified further to allow for spatial correlation between the sites, by applying it only to a reduced set of sites that are far enough apart to give effectively independent results. Simulation results indicate that this strategy is effective providing that the level of spatial correlation is not too high.     

Fighting success and attractiveness as predictors of male mating success in the black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus: the effectiveness of no-choice tests

Females are generally assumed to prefer larger, more dominant males. However, a growing number of studies that control for male-male competition have shown no correlation between dominance and attractiveness. Aggressive males can interfere with female mate preference either by physically coercing females into mating or by driving submissive males away and restricting mate choice. The most common method of assessing female mate choice is by using simultaneous two-choice tests. These control for male-male interactions, but usually interfere with physical and chemical cues involved in mate selection or alter male behaviour. They are therefore unsuitable for many study species, especially insects. Another method is the no-choice test that measures a females latency to mating when placed with a single male as an indication of male attractiveness. No-choice tests control for male-male aggression while allowing full contact between pairs (they allow actual mating to be directly observed rather than to occur based on a correlated behaviour). So far, however, no study has confirmed that males that entice females to mate sooner actually enjoy increased longer-term mating success. As such, the accuracy of no-choice tests as a method of examining mate choice remains untested. Here, we used no-choice tests on the black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus, to show that (1) females did not prefer males that won fights (dominant males), and (2) latency to mating predicts actual mating success. We have clearly demonstrated the usefulness of no-choice tests and, considering the advantages of this method, they should be more often considered for a wider variety of taxa.Communicated by D. Gwynne     

深圳市南山区大沙河底泥毒物污染特征及对策探讨

运用生物毒性监测方法,对深圳市南山区大沙河底泥毒物污染特征进行了分析。结果表明,大沙河底泥不同程度受到了毒物污染,底泥毒物污染趋势与水体毒物污染趋势基本一致;文章还结合化学监测方法,分析了大沙河底泥毒物主要为有机毒物。此外,就大沙河底泥毒物的治理方法提出了自己的见解。