Vertical distribution of organochlorine pesticides in humus along Alpine altitudinal profiles in relation to ambiental parameters

In forest soils along vertical profiles located in different parts of the Alps, concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), namely organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) like dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH), heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin and mirex, were measured. Though local characteristics of the sites are influenced by numerous factors like orographic and meteorological parameters, forest stand characteristics and humus parameters, we ascertained a marked vertical increase of concentrations of some organochlorine compounds in the soil. On the basis of climatological values of each site, we found that the contamination increase with altitude can be ascribed to a certain ‘cold condensation effect’. In addition, the perennial atmospheric deposition of POPs is controlled by precipitation. Other key parameters explaining the accumulation of POPs are the soil organic carbon stocks, the turnover times, the re-volatilisation and degradation processes, which vary with altitude.     

Assessing the relationship between global warming and mortality: lag effects of temperature fluctuations by age and mortality categories

Although interests in assessing the relationship between temperature and mortality have arisen due to climate change, relatively few data are available on lag structure of temperature-mortality relationship, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. This study identified the lag effects of mean temperature on mortality among age groups and death categories using polynomial distributed lag models in Brisbane, Australia, a subtropical city, 1996-2004. For a 1 °C increase above the threshold, the highest percent increase in mortality on the current day occurred among people over 85 years (7.2% (95% CI: 4.3%, 10.2%)). The effect estimates among cardiovascular deaths were higher than those among all-cause mortality. For a 1 °C decrease below the threshold, the percent increases in mortality at 21 lag days were 3.9% (95% CI: 1.9%, 6.0%) and 3.4% (95% CI: 0.9%, 6.0%) for people aged over 85 years and with cardiovascular diseases, respectively. These findings may have implications for developing intervention strategies to reduce and prevent temperature-related mortality.     

Community livelihood and its dependence on nature resources under pressure of conservation

Conflict between conservation and community livelihood is a significant issue in China.Based on Sustainable Livelihood Framework(SLA),this study systematically analyzed livelihoods assets of a community in a Yunnan snub-nosed monkey conservation area and found that the livelihood pentagon of the community was shaped by multiple but frail and unstable income sources,abundant natural resources with restricted use right,underutilized labors,inadequate financial resources,inconvenient physical capital and weak social capital.Villagers'income heavily depended on forest,and grazing and nontimber forest products(NTFP)collection are common and major income sources for villagers.However,differentiation of income dependence on forest among villagers'groups showed that there is no close correlation between the level of income and the level of income dependence on forest.Households'daily life also heavily depended on the forest due to heating and pig-feed cooking;hence,fuelwood cannot be easily replaced by any other energy resource for a long period.     

A Study on the Environmental Degradation of Pesticides Azinphos Methyl and Parathion Methyl

Abstract

The effect of environmental parameters (temperature and relative humidity) on the degradation rate of azinphos methyl and parathion methyl was studied. Proprietary emulsifiable concentrates were diluted and added to each of 90 glass Petri dishes for each pesticide and were left overnight to dry. Petri dishes were placed in 18 air-tight containers (9 for each pesticide) in which were created environments with relative humidity (RH) of 60, 82, and 96%. The containers were stored at 0, 20, and 40°C. From the experimental results best fit curves, kinetic equations, rate constants, and half-lives were calculated. Half-lives of azinphos methyl for the RH studied were, from 124 to 267 days at 0°C, from 89 to 231 days at 20°C, and from 25 to 71 days at 40°C. Corresponding half-lives for parathion methyl were from 48 to 57 days at 0°C, from 9.2 to 10.5 days at 20°C and from 1.3 to 1.5 days at 40°C. The results were correlated with relevant results from the decomposition of the same or similar pesticides on apples both, on the trees and during refrigerated storage. These correlations are suggesting that biological factors strongly affected the decomposition rate of azinphos methyl. On the contrary the decomposition of parathion methyl was mainly affected by environmental rather than biological factors.     

Combined effects of deltamethrin, temperature and salinity on oxidative stress biomarkers and acetylcholinesterase activity in the black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon)

This study aimed to investigate the interactions of two abiotic factors (temperature and salinity) and deltamethrin (pyrethroid pesticide) exposure on some oxidative stress biomarkers as well as on acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) in hepatopancreas, gills and muscle of black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon). A combination of three temperatures (24, 29 and 34 °C), two salinities (15 and 25 ppt), and the absence or presence of 0.1 μg L⁻¹ deltamethrin was applied on shrimp during 4 d under laboratory conditions. Lipid peroxidation level (LPO) and glutathione S-transferase activity (GST) were not affected by combined effect of temperature, salinity and deltamethrin in any of the studied tissues. Deltamethrin impaired other tested oxidative stress biomarkers, i.e. total glutathione (tGSH), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx). tGSH level significantly increased in hepatopancreas due to deltamethrin exposure mainly at 34 °C, while pesticide effects on tGSH and CAT activity in gills were influenced by both temperature and salinity. In addition, GPx activity in hepatopancreas decreased after deltamethrin treatment mainly at 24 °C. Finally, AChE in muscle was strongly inhibited by deltamethrin at all tested temperatures and salinities. These novel findings demonstrate that interactions between abiotic factors and a commonly used pesticide exposure should be taken into account when analyzing some widespread biomarkers in black tiger shrimp.     

Methyl chloride emissions from halophyte leaf litter: dependence on temperature and chloride content

Methyl chloride (CH₃Cl) is the most abundant natural chlorine containing compound in the atmosphere, and responsible for a significant fraction of stratospheric ozone destruction. Understanding the global CH₃Cl budget is therefore of great importance. However, the strength of the individual sources and sinks is still uncertain. Leaf litter is a potentially important source of methyl chloride, but factors controlling the emissions are unclear. This study investigated CH₃Cl emissions from leaf litter of twelve halophyte species. The emissions were not due to biological activity, and emission rates varied between halophyte species up to two orders of magnitude. For all species, the CH₃Cl emission rates increased with temperature following the Arrhenius relation. Activation energies were similar for all investigated plant species, indicating that even though emissions vary largely between plant species, their response to changing temperatures is similar. The chloride and methoxyl group contents of the leaf litter samples were determined, but those parameters were not significantly correlated to the CH₃Cl emission rate.     

不同来流下火旋风的实验研究

已有的实验研究和数值模拟表明:火旋风存在一种中空燃烧的状态.本文通过燃烧风洞,对不同来流影响下的火旋风进行分析研究.通过一个置于大型燃烧风洞中的边角开有切向进风口的六边形小尺寸火旋风发生模型,应用热电偶测温和皮托管测速以及电子数据采集系统,对该模型内的温度分布数据和速度分布数据进行采集.通过燃烧风洞改变来流速度的大小,分析不同来流速度下火旋风内部的温度分布、速度分布和持续时间,研究来流速度对火旋风内部燃烧结构的影响、火旋风旋转速度的影响以及持续时间的影响.研究表明:来流改变了火旋风内部的燃烧结构,促进了中空燃烧状态的形成.中空燃烧状态有一个中心的低温区域.在中心低温区域温度最低时,火旋风持续时间最长.来流增强了火旋风的整体转动,并且加剧了火旋风的螺旋状上升.     

Study on the Regional Distribution of Energy Efficiency from the Point of Pollutant Emissions

In this paper,the author uses super-efficiency DEA model to measure the national and regional energy efficiency in China;using spatial econometric model and from the perspective of geo-spatial spillover,the author interprets the spatial characteristics of energy efficiency and extracts the main factors that influence the regional energy efficiency.The analysis results show that:(1) the national and regional energy efficiency is consistent with inverted U-shaped curve,and the nationwide energy efficiency gap is increasing;(2) energy efficiency has the obvious effect of the spatial external effect,and when the government makes energy saving strategies,inter-regional energy cooperation and the proliferation of advanced production technology should be given more priority;(3) energy efficiency has significant negative correlation with government intervention,industrial structure,ownership structure,the energy consumption structure,and resource endowments,and has positive correlation with the degree of opening-up and energy price.     

对温度环境中产品失效机理的探讨

温度影响造成产品的故障是各种环境中最多的,本文对温度环境下产品失效机理进行了分析,并针对性地提出了对产品进行有效防护的方法.     

温度对厌氧降解邻苯二甲酸二酯的影响研究

本试验是针对温度对厌氧降解邻苯二甲酸二酯影响的研究 ,目的是寻找适应这种反应的最佳温度或最佳温度区间。研究表明 ,对于原始污泥来说 ,最佳温度是其所生存的原始温度 ,即消化处理温度 3 7℃ ,对于污泥和填埋场渗出液的富集菌群来说 ,由于人工选择培养的介入 ,最佳温度有向高温偏移的趋势