An Ecological Integrity Index for Littoral Wetlands in Agricultural Catchments of Semiarid Mediterranean Regions

The main goal of the present study was to develop an ecological integrity index for littoral wetland management and conservation in semiarid Mediterranean areas that have been highly impacted by agriculture, including the selection of pressure and state indicators at landscape and wetlands scales that reflect the status, condition, and trends of wetlands ecosystems. We used a causality framework based on the relationship between pressure of anthropogenic activities and the ecological state of wetlands and their catchments, integrating environmental, biologic, economic, and social issues. From the application of 51 indicators in 7 littoral wetlands in the southeastern Iberian Peninsula, we selected 12 indicators (5 at catchment scale and 7 at wetland scale) to constitute the ecological integrity index proposed. The potential nitrogen export per area at catchment scale and the potential relative nitrogen export from the area surrounding the wetlands were the best pressure single predictors of state indicators with a causal relationship with environmental meaning. Wetlands in catchments with more agriculture had less ecological integrity than those in less impacted areas. A wide riparian zone in some wetlands acts as a buffer area, diminishing the effects of intensive agriculture. The index of ecological integrity developed here has a number of essential characteristics that make it a useful tool for ecosystem managers and decision-makers. The index can be used to (1) assess and control ecological integrity, (2) diagnose probable causes of ecological impairment, (3) establish criteria for protecting and restoring wetland ecosystems, and (4) integrate catchment management. Published online     

中海石油企业安全文化建设

企业安全文化建设既是中海石油自身持续、稳定发展的客观需要 ,也是新形势下企业内、外部环境变化的客观要求。通过不断完善企业安全文化系统工程及其管理体系 ,将安全生产工作提高到文化的高度去认识 ,依靠安全文化的潜移默化作用 ,提高全体员工的安全意识和整体安全文化素质 ,让“我要安全”、“我会安全”贯穿于生产经营活动的所有时空、每一个环节 ,树立“以人为本的绿色能源生产企业”的良好社会形象 ,大力推广“本质安全化”理念 ,增强企业的抗风险能力和竞争能力     

铁路安全预警系统的研究和实现

结合哈尔滨铁路局实际运营系统 ,基于事故树分析理论 ,探讨了铁路安全预警系统的实现。首先论述了事故树的建立方法和以事故树分析法为基础的铁路安全预警系统的核心算法 ,然后讨论了具体实现的数据结构和事故树编码方法 ,最后简要提出了铁路安全预警系统的系统设计思想     

Is there a link between children's motor abilities and unintentional injuries?

PROBLEM: The common view is that clumsy children experience unintentional injury more frequently. Empirical evidence supporting this position is mixed. METHOD: One hundred 6- and 8-year-olds completed a battery of nine tasks designed to assess motor ability. Mothers completed a lifetime injury history measure about their children and families completed a 2-week injury diary assessing frequency and severity of daily injuries. RESULTS: Internal reliability for the motor ability battery was good. Correlations between motor ability measures and injury risk were nonsignificant and near zero. DISCUSSION: Motor ability does not appear to be directly related to injury risk. Possible explanations include: (a) coordinated and clumsy children engage in hazardous activities with differing frequency; or (b) other individual difference factors may interact with motor ability to explain children's injury risk. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Children's motor abilities do not appear to be directly linked to rate of unintentional injury, but instead may influence risk for injury in conjunction with other factors. Results could have implications to the engineering of children's toys and playground equipment and to the design of appropriate supervision strategies for children engaging in potentially dangerous activities.     

Driving disability and dizziness

PROBLEM: People with dizziness caused by vestibular (i.e., inner ear) disorders complain of difficulty driving. Physicians occasionally warn their patients with vestibular disorders not to drive. Few studies have asked patients about their driving performance, so little data are available. METHOD: Using the Driving Habits Questionnaire, the authors did structured interviews with people with several different vestibular disorders and with normal subjects. The self-reported crash rate and rate of citations for moving violations did not differ between the subject groups. RESULTS: Patients report reduced driving skills, particularly in situations when visual information is reduced, rapid head movements are used, and specific path integration or spatial navigation skills are needed.     

Assessment of older drivers: relationships among on-road errors, medical conditions and test outcome

PROBLEM: It is essential that driver licensing authorities have a valid and reliable system for evaluating older drivers' continuing competency; road tests are usually required as part of such a system. This study sought to find information about the nature of driving errors made during license review tests, and about relationships between error type and test outcome for older drivers. METHOD: Data from licensing authority files from 533 road tests during a 12-month period were analyzed; medical and other referral information was included. Average driver age was 76 years. Performance scores were generated for intersection negotiation, lane changing, low speed manoeuvres, positioning and speed control, safety margin, and car control. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis showed that test outcome was well predicted by a subset of driving performance scores; adding driver age to the model explained very little variance. Age alone was strongly associated with outcome. Relationships between referral information and test outcome are also reported. IMPACT: Results highlight several factors relevant to the development of more valid and reliable road tests for older drivers.     

高速公路交通事故分析及预防对策研究

利用济青高速公路 1998～ 1999年发生的 10 85起交通事故数据 ,在资料收集、处理和统计分析的基础上 ,对影响高速公路交通事故的人、车辆、道路环境、天气和交通量等主要因素进行了分析 ,并与国外的统计结果进行对比研究 ,预测出随着高速公路交通量的增长 ,事故率将会增加。此外 ,笔者针对影响高速公路事故因素提出了主动性、被动性预防对策 ,这些对策的实施将会减少高速公路事故的发生     

鉴湖水域环境保护的思考和探讨

本文在对鉴湖水域保护工作历史回顾的基础上,分析了存在的主要问题,提出了在构筑“三大组团、绿色空间”城市框架中,加快鉴湖两岸城中村改造,建设“鉴湖生态林带”,形成联结越城、柯桥两大组团的“绿色生态走廊”的建议,重现“山阴道上走,如在镜中游”。     

Using the ECLPSS software environment to build a spatially explicit component-based model of ozone effects on forest ecosystems

We have developed a modeling framework to support grid-based simulation of ecosystems at multiple spatial scales, the Ecological Component Library for Parallel Spatial Simulation (ECLPSS). ECLPSS helps ecologists to build robust spatially explicit simulations of ecological processes by providing a growing library of reusable interchangeable components and automating many modeling tasks. To build a model, a user selects components from the library, and then writes new components as needed. Some of these components represent specific ecological processes, such as how environmental factors influence the growth of individual trees. Other components provide simulation support such as reading and writing files in various formats to allow inter-operability with other software. The framework manages components and variables, the order of operations, and spatial interactions. The framework provides only simulation support; it does not include ecological functions or assumptions. This separation allows biologists to build models without becoming computer scientists, while computer scientists can improve the framework without becoming ecologists. The framework is designed to operate on multiple platforms and be used across networks via a World Wide Web-based user interface. ECLPSS is designed for use with both single processor computers for small models, and multiple processors in order to simulate large regions with complex interactions among many individuals or ecological compartments. To test Version 1.0 of ECLPSS, we created a model to evaluate the effect of tropospheric ozone on forest ecosystem dynamics. This model is a reduced-form version of two existing models: , which represents an individual tree, and , which represents forest stand growth and succession. This model demonstrates key features of ECLPSS, such as the ability to examine the effects of cell size and model structure on model predictions.