Effects of acute γ-irradiation on community structure of the aquatic microbial microcosm

To characterise indirect effects of ionising radiation on aquatic microbial communities, effects of acute γ-irradiation were investigated in a microcosm consisting of populations of green algae (Chlorella sp. and Scenedesmus sp.) and a blue-green alga (Tolypothrix sp.) as producer; a ciliate protozoan (Cyclidium glaucoma), rotifers (Lecane sp. and Philodina sp.) and an oligochaete (Aeolosoma hemprichi) as consumer; and more than four species of bacteria as decomposers. Population changes in the constituent organisms were observed over 160 days after irradiation. Prokaryotic community structure was also examined by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rDNA. Principle response curve analysis revealed that the populations of the microcosm as a whole were not significantly affected at 100 Gy while they were adversely affected at 500-5000 Gy in a dose-dependent manner. However, some effects on each population, including each bacterial population detected by DGGE, did not depend on radiation doses, and some populations in the irradiated microcosm were larger than those of the control. These unexpected results are regarded as indirect effects through interspecies interactions, and possible mechanisms are proposed originating from population changes in other organisms co-existing in the microcosm. For example, some indirect effects on consumers and decomposers likely arose from interspecies competition within each trophic level. It is also likely that prey-predator relationships between producers and consumers caused some indirect effects on producers.     

Effects of a chelating resin on metal bioavailability and toxicity to estuarine invertebrates: Divergent results of field and laboratory tests

Benthic invertebrates can uptake metals through diffusion of free ion solutes, or ingestion of sediment-bound forms. This study investigated the efficacy of the metal chelating resin SIR 300™ in adsorbing porewater metals and isolating pathways of metal exposure. A field experiment (Botany Bay, Sydney, Australia) and a laboratory toxicity test each manipulated the availability of porewater metals within contaminated and uncontaminated sediments. It was predicted that within contaminated sediments, the resin would adsorb porewater metals and reduce toxicity to invertebrates, but in uncontaminated sediments, the resin would not significantly affect these variables. Whereas in the laboratory, the resin produced the predicted results, in the field the resin increased porewater metal concentrations of contaminated sediments for at least 34 days and decreased abundances of four macroinvertebrate groups, and richness in all sediments. These contrasting findings highlight the limits of extrapolating the results of laboratory experiments to the field environment.     

The measurement of place attachment: Personal,community, and environmental connections

Place attachment has been researched extensively in the social and behavioural sciences over the past two decades. However, it is challenging for researchers to assimilate the mixed messages presented in the place attachment literature and to understand the multiple place attachment terms. In this study, a four-dimensional model of rural landholder attachments to their natural resource management region was conceptually and empirically developed with the aim of developing an integrated approach to the measurement of place attachment that clearly distinguishes between different elements of place scholarship. A 29-item place attachment scale with the dimensions of place identity, place dependence, nature bonding, and social bonding was tested on a random sample of rural landholders in the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia (N = 320). The majority of respondents were male (69.3%) and the average age was 59 years. The scale was reduced to 20-items and then administered simultaneously and in the same response format to rural landholders in two other areas of South Australia: the Northern and Yorke region (N = 664) and South Australian Murray-Darling Basin region (N = 659). In both studies, the majority of respondents were male (85%) and the average age was 55 years. Exploratory factor and reliability analyses of Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges and Northern and Yorke datasets produced a five-dimensional model of place attachment with high reliabilities. Social bonding divided into the constructs of family bonding and friend bonding. The refined five-dimensional model was then examined for convergent validity, with moderate but significant correlations found between individual attachment constructs and dependent variables expected to be related to the construct, such as place identity and length of residence, and nature bonding and time currently spent in nature. We used confirmatory factor analysis to test the goodness-of-fit of the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin (SAMDB) dataset to the proposed five-dimensional model and then compared its fit to the traditional two-dimensional model of place identity and place dependence. The five-dimensional model provided moderate fit for the SAMDB data. We conclude with a discussion of the validity and reliability of the five-dimensional model and its future role in place attachment research.     

2013年长江丰水期河水化学特征及控制因素

为掌握长江河水化学组成特征及其控制因素,笔者运用Gibbs图、多种离子比例系数法和主成分分析法综合分析了长江流域丰水期河水化学及氢氧同位素特征。结果表明,长江丰水期河水主要来源为大气降水,河水化学类型主要为HCO₃·SO₄-Ca型,化学成分主要受流域内广泛分布的碳酸盐岩等岩石风化作用控制;河水pH值、HCO₃^-浓度沿长江径流方向降低,SO₄^2-、Ca²⁺浓度沿长江径流方向升高。2013年丰水期,长江河水化学组成特征变化的主要影响因子,是易溶盐岩溶解和人类活动(贡献率40%),其次为川贵及长江三角洲地区的酸雨沉降以及人为酸性废水排放促进了流域内石灰岩和富含碳酸盐的三叠系砂页岩溶解(贡献率20%),最后为硅酸盐矿物及其风化产物的溶解(贡献率19%)。为了解长江河水水质状况及其演变趋势,合理评价长江流域水资源提供很好的科学依据。     

利用多年期赤泥和煤矸石制备烧结砖

以多年期赤泥和煤矸石为主要原料,分析了其化学成分和物性特征,通过设计不同的原料配比和烧结温度,探讨其最佳工艺条件以及各种参数指标,试图为赤泥的大宗化利用提供一种新的途径。实验结果表明最佳工艺条件为:多年期赤泥与煤矸石质量比为20∶80,成型压力为6 MPa,烧结温度为1 100℃左右保温2 h。烧结砖体"泛霜"现象基本消失,抗压强度为12.18 MPa、吸水率为21.6%,满足国家粉煤灰普通烧结砖GB5101-2003中的要求。     

不同粒径垃圾焚烧飞灰金属形态分布比较研究

研究了华南地区某垃圾焚烧厂的除尘器飞灰的化学组成和粒径分布,并采用分级提取法对不同粒径飞灰中的重金属化学形态进行了研究。同时比较了华南、华东、西南地区以及台湾地区垃圾焚烧飞灰的筛下累积分布和不同粒径飞灰中各重金属组成。结果表明,飞灰的组要成分为：CaO、SiO2和SO3等;各地区75%的飞灰粒径都主要集中在38.5～75μm。华南地区各粒径飞灰中挥发性金属（Zn和Pb）含量明显高于其他金属。除Ni和Cr外,Cu、Zn、Pb和Cd含量随粒径减小呈先减少后增大的趋势。华南地区Cu、Zn、Ni、Cr、Pb和Cd的含量均高于其他地区（台湾地区除外）。Cu、Zn和Cd的弱酸提取态和可还原态含量较高。高于40%的水溶态Pb表明其对环境有较大潜在危害;40%Ni和Cr主要以残渣态存在,对环境的潜在影响较小。     

Economic risk and mineral taxation on Indigenous lands

Mining generates risk of environmental and social harm for Indigenous peoples but can also generate substantial revenues for them, creating opportunities for community development in a context where economic and social disadvantage is the norm. Especially as mining revenues should, in part, compensate for mining’s negative social and environmental impacts, it is vital that mineral taxation on Indigenous lands reflect a careful assessment of appropriate tax mechanisms and a matching of these with community priorities. Yet little has been written that could serve as a guide for Indigenous decision makers. This article contributes to an understanding of the issues and choices facing Indigenous communities in designing mineral taxation regimes, by focusing on the question of economic risk. Risk arises as a key variable in choosing or designing a mineral taxation regime in three ways. Different approaches to mineral taxation are inherently more or less risky, in the sense that they are more or less certain to generate tax revenues. A second aspect of risk involves the degree of economic certainty or predictability associated with different types of commodities and projects. Third, the risk tolerance of Indigenous peoples and communities can vary significantly. We show how Indigenous groups can integrate and address these different dimensions of risk, by recognising the ‘risk consequences’ associated with different approaches to mineral taxation and choosing an approach that reflects, as fully as possible, the group’s risk tolerance.     

Incidence of thyroid disease following exposure to polybrominated biphenyls and polychlorinated biphenyls, Michigan, 1974-2006

Thyroid hormones, which influence body metabolism and development, could be affected by persistent organic pollutants. We sought to examine the relationship between polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and thyroid disease. We employed incidence density sampling to perform a nested case control analysis of the Michigan Long-Term PBB Cohort. Cohort members (n = 3333) were exposed to PBBs through contaminated cattle feed in 1973-1974 and to PCBs through daily life. Those with detectable serum PBB and PCB concentrations at enrollment were categorized into tertiles of PBB and PCB exposure. Case-patients were cohort members answering “Yes” to “Has a healthcare provider ever told you that you had a thyroid problem?” during follow-up interviews; control-patients were cohort members answering “No”. We used odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to compare odds of thyroid disease by PBB and PCB exposure and by various risk factors. Total cumulative thyroid disease incidence after 33 years was 13.9% among women and 2.6% among men. After adjusting for body mass index, we found no statistically significant differences in odds of any type of thyroid disease among women or men with elevated PBB or PCB exposure. Compared to control-patients, women with thyroid disease had increased odds of being overweight/obese (OR = 2.82, 95% CI: 1.94-4.11) and developing infertility (OR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.08-2.69), diabetes (OR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.04-2.51), or arthritis (OR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.18-2.50) during follow-up. Additional research should explore potential associations between PBBs/PCBs and thyroid disease among children exposed in utero.     

Four Decades of Plant Community Change in the Alpine Tundra of Southwest Yukon,Canada

Repeat measurements from long-term plots provide precise data for studying plant community change. In 2010, we visited a remote location in Yukon, Canada, where a detailed survey of alpine tundra communities was conducted in 1968. Plant community composition was resurveyed on the same four slopes using the same methods as the original study. Species richness and diversity increased significantly over the 42 years and non-metric multidimensional scaling indicated that community composition had also changed significantly. However, the direction and magnitude of change varied with aspect. Dominant species were not replaced or eliminated but, instead, declined in relative importance. Fine-scale changes in vegetation were evident from repeat photography and dendro-ecological analysis of erect shrubs, supporting the community-level analysis. The period of study corresponds to a mean annual temperature increase of 2°C, suggesting that climate warming has influenced these changes.     

The behavior of PCDD and PCDF during thermal treatment of waste incineration ash

The polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) content of three fly ash samples with different elemental compositions from different municipal waste incinerators were analyzed before and after thermal treatment at 300 °C or 500 °C. Gas phase emissions during the treatments were also collected and analyzed. Substantial reductions in the total PCCD/F content of the ashes were observed after treatment at 500 °C, seemingly due to degradation rather than dechlorination. Treatment at 300 °C resulted in an increase in the PCDD/F content of the three ashes. Initial concentration of PCDD/F in the untreated ashes did not reflect the outcome of the treatment at the different temperatures. In addition, the composition of the ash was found to influence the rate of decomposition and formation of PCDD and PCDF during thermal treatment; the results showed that Cu, Fe, Ca and S play important roles in these processes.