Waging the struggle for healthy eating: food environments,dietary regimes and Brazil's dietary guidelines

The struggle for healthy eating is a nascent social movement that represents active resistance to the hostile food environments created by multinational food and beverage corporations. Using a political economy approach and leveraging Winson's [2013. The industrial diet: the degradation of food and the struggle for healthy eating. Vancouver: UBC Press] concepts of dietary regimes and the industrial diet, this paper will examine the strengths and limitations of Brazil's new dietary guidelines and discuss its role as a precursor to a new dietary regime that incorporates social justice and sustainability.     

广东不同环境大气污染特性比较

利用2014年广东南岭背景站、天湖郊区站、磨碟沙城区站和受体区域桃源站SO2、NO2、PM10、O3、PM2.5与CO自动监测数据,分析不同环境大气污染特性。结果表明,4个站点的SO2、NO2、PM10与CO整体平均年均值较低,分别为14,28,59μg/m3和0.7 mg/m3;PM2.5整体平均值为36μg/m3,O3日最大8 h第90百分位数平均值为172μg/m3,二者高于国家二级标准限值。磨碟沙城区站和桃源站的污染物日变化规律较为明显,NO2、PM10和PM2.5在早晚交通高峰或紧接其后的时段出现峰值区。南岭背景站PM2.5质量浓度日间略高于夜间;O3未呈典型单峰分布,而是维持在较平稳、较高浓度水平。周末与工作日O3平均值的相对高低多与NO2、PM10和PM2.5的情况相反。4个站点O3日最大8 h值第90百分位数均未达标;南岭背景站和天湖郊区站O3值尤高,除10月外,在1月或6月也易出现O3高值。区域性的O3污染控制亟须深化开展。     

Evolution rates and PCB content of surface films that develop on impervious urban surfaces

Surface films on impervious surfaces mediate the fate of organic contaminants in urban areas. Using sheltered 3-mm diameter glass beads as a surrogate impervious urban surface, studies in downtown Toronto showed that surface films developed at a consistent rate of 1.6–2.6 nm day⁻¹. Linear film growth was observed up to and including the last day of three studies of 89-, 273-, and 84-day duration. Total PCB content (sum of 15 PCB congeners) also increased linearly, at a similar rate as the surface film. A complementary study using unsheltered beads showed that up to 80% of film mass and PCB content were removed by film wash-off during rain events. The film growth rate on beads exposed at a rural site, 200 km northeast of Toronto, was 12–20 times lower with PCB burdens that were 7–22 times lower compared to Toronto. Based on these findings, it is estimated that approximately 56–226 g of PCBs are captured by a 70 nm thick film covering just the horizontal surface area of Toronto. This is a substantial quantity of PCB that is available for rapid surface–air exchange and wash-off.     

中国粮食主产区耕地土壤重金属时空变化与污染源分析

土壤重金属污染威胁着农田生态系统安全和人类健康.基于2000年以来中国五大粮食主产区3 006个耕地样点的土壤重金属实测数据和20世纪80年代的土壤重金属历史数据,采用单因子指数法评估了粮食主产区耕地土壤重金属的污染现状和变化趋势,并基于地累积指数,结合区位环境污染探讨了其污染来源.结果表明,中国粮食主产区耕地土壤重金属点位超标率为21.49%,整体以轻度污染为主,其中轻度、中度和重度污染比重分别13.97%、2.50%和5.02%.四川盆地、长江中游及江淮地区、黄淮海平原、松嫩平原和三江平原的耕地点位超标率分别为43.55%、30.64%、12.22%、9.35%和1.67%,南方耕地污染重于北方.主要污染物为Cd、Ni、Cu、Zn、Hg,超标率分别为17.39%、8.41%、4.04%、2.84%、2.56%.自20世纪80年代以来,耕地土壤重金属含量呈增加趋势,整体上点位超标率增加了14.91%,其中Cd、Ni、Cu、Zn和Hg的污染比重分别增加了16.07%、4.56%、3.68%、2.24%和1.96%.除三江平原外,其他4个粮食主产区耕地土壤重金属点位超标比重增加趋势显著,且南方地区的Cd、Ni和Cu重金属超标比重变化量高于北方,而Hg和Cr增速低于北方.Cd、Hg以人为污染源为主,其他6种重金属以自然污染源为主,但Pb、Zn和Cu约有20.00%的点位受人为活动的影响.矿业、工业、污灌水是主要的污染源,除污灌水来源北方重于南方外,其余污染来源均是南方污染重于北方,污染物种类也多于北方.     

双酚S和双酚F在水环境中的分布、毒理效应及其生态风险研究进展

双酚S(BPS)和双酚F(BPF)作为双酚A(BPA)的替代品在工业中被广泛使用。近年来BPS和BPF在水环境中不断检出,因其难降解、易蓄积,可能会对水生态系统和人体健康造成不利影响。因此对BPS和BPF在水、沉积物等水环境介质中污染状况进行综述,发现BPS和BPF的含量有日益升高的趋势,甚至在某些水体中的浓度超过BPA。然后,从急性毒性、内分泌干扰效应、发育毒性等3个方面,阐述了它们对水生生物产生的毒理效应。并且基于水环境介质中的检出浓度和实验室毒理数据,对水体和沉积物中BPS和BPF的生态风险进行评估,发现沉积物中的风险要高于水体。最后对目前研究局限以及未来的研究方向进行了探讨和展望。     

Development of the PRCQ: A measure of perceived restorative characteristics of zoo attractions

This study describes the development of the Perceived Restorative Characteristics Questionnaire (PRCQ), a measure of perceived restorative characteristics of zoo attractions. The questionnaire was administered in two zoo attractions. The hypothesized five factor structure of the PRCQ, and relations between perceived restorative characteristics and experienced pleasure in and preference for the attractions were examined. In Study 1, 137 visitors of a Dutch zoo evaluated perceived restorative characteristics of a butterfly garden; In Study 2, 158 visitors evaluated those of a baboon attraction. In Study 1 three factors emerged (fascination, escape and coherence); In Study 2 four factors could be distinguished (fascination, novelty, escape, coherence). Compatibility did not appear as a separate factoring either study. Perceived fascination and escape were significant predictors of experienced pleasure and preference in both attractions. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

一种多参数小型化飞机结构腐蚀环境监测技术

目的研究腐蚀与环境条件之间的关系,提出一种用于飞机腐蚀环境监测的小型化监测节点的实现方法。方法针对影响腐蚀的4个关键环境参数(温度、相对湿度、湿润时间和氯离子浓度),研究其传感方法并研发选型相应传感器。在此基础上设计基于MSP430处理器的多参数飞机腐蚀环境监测节点。结果通过实验验证了节点中的温湿度传感器、湿润时间传感器和电化学传感器的适用性,能够完成对环境参数的的测量。结论设计的节点满足机载装置小型化、轻量化的要求,可以实现在线的腐蚀环境监测,从而保障飞行安全。     

Modeling the vegetation-atmosphere carbon dioxide and water vapor interactions along a controlled CO2 gradient

Ecosystem functioning is intimately linked to its physical environment by complex two-way interactions. These two-way interactions arise because vegetation both responds to the external environment and actively regulates its micro-environment. By altering stomatal aperture, and therefore the transpiration rate, plants modify soil moisture and atmospheric humidity and these same physical variables, in return, modify stomatal conductance. Relationships between biotic and abiotic components are particularly strong in closed, managed environments such as greenhouses and growth chambers, which are used extensively to investigate ecosystem responses to climatic drivers. Model-assisted designs that account for the physiological dynamics governing two-way interactions between biotic and abiotic components are absent from many ecological studies. Here, a general model of the vegetation-atmosphere system in closed environments is proposed. The model accounts for the linked carbon-water physiology, the turbulent transport processes, and the energy and radiative transfer within the vegetation. Leaf gas exchange is modeled using a carbon gain optimization approach that is coupled to leaf energy balance. The turbulent transport within the canopy is modeled in two-dimensions using first-order closure principles. The model is applied to the Lysimeter CO₂ Gradient (LYCOG) facility, wherein a continuous gradient of atmospheric CO₂ is maintained on grassland assemblages using an elongated chamber where the micro-climate is regulated by variation in air flow rates. The model is employed to investigate how species composition, climatic conditions, and the imposed air flow rate affect the CO₂ concentration gradient within the LYCOG and the canopy micro-climate. The sensitivity of the model to key physiological and climatic parameters allows it to be used not only to manage current experiments, but also to formulate novel ecological hypotheses (e.g., by modeling climatic regimes not currently employed in LYCOG) and suggest alternative experimental designs and operational strategies for such facilities.     

Climate,urbanisation and vulnerability to vector-borne disease in subtropical coastal Australia: Sustainable policy for a changing environment

This paper examines the current health policy response to the management of vector-borne disease (VBD), specifically Ross River (RR) virus, in subtropical coastal Australia. It demonstrates the multi-dimensional nature of the VBD problem and considers the value of more sustainable policy responses. The paper provides an integrated exploration of the incidence of RR virus in the context of socio-biophysical interactions and change, climate variability, and possible enhanced threat due to climate change. The study focuses on two subtropical coastal case study regions in Australia. Collectively, the existing and emerging socio-biophysical interactions in these regionsraise questions as to the future risks and management of RR virus, while climate change adds a significant further dimension. The paper demonstrates the need for the incorporation of environmental planning elements, particularly attention to strategic assessment and planning, into the traditional suite of health policy responses given the multi-dimensional nature of the problem and evident socio-biophysical environmental change.     

RESEARCH: Managing Mountainous Degraded Landscapes After Farmland Abandonment in the Central Spanish Pyrenees

Genista scorpius. Under a dense shrub cover both runoff and sediment yield are strongly controlled. As the shrub cover becomes open, sediment yield and runoff increase greatly. A dense herbaceous cover yields high runoff coefficients but moderate soil losses. From the results obtained, the possibility of abandoned field reclamation by means of selective clearing of scrub is discussed.