PM2.5 concentration declining saves health expenditure in China

● Monthly hospitalization expenses are sensitive to increases in PM_2.5 exposure. ● The increased PM_2.5 causes patients with CHD and LRI to stay longer in the hospital. ● The impact of PM_2.5 on total expenses for stroke is greater in southern China. ● Males may be more sensitive to air pollution than females. Air pollution has been a severe issue in China. Exposure to PM_2.5 has adverse health effects and causes economic losses. This study investigated the economic impact of exposure to PM_2.5 pollution using monthly city-level data covering 88.5 million urban employees in 2016 and 2017. This study mainly focused on three expenditure indicators to measure the economic impact considering lower respiratory infections (LRIs), coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke. The results show that a 10 µg/m³ increase in PM_2.5 would cause total monthly expenses of LRIs, CHD, and stroke to increase by 0.226%, 0.237%, and 0.374%, respectively. We also found that LRI, CHD, and stroke hospital admissions increased significantly by 10%, 8.42%, and 5.64%, respectively. Furthermore, the total hospital stays of LRIs, CHDs, and strokes increased by 2.49%, 2. 51%, and 1.64%, respectively. Our findings also suggest heterogeneous impacts of PM_2.5 exposures by sex and across regions, but no statistical evidence shows significant differences between the older and younger adult subgroups. Our results provide several policy implications for reducing unequal public health expenditures in overpolluted countries.     

Maternal energy expenditure does not change with flight costs or food availability in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca): costs and benefits for nestlings

We manipulated parental work load without changing brood size in a population of pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca by removing two primaries (7 and 9) from each wing of females, thus reducing wing area and increasing flight costs. At other nests, we offered supplementary food in the form of live mealworms (10–20 g daily from hatching) to reduce brood demand and thus parental foraging costs. Other nests were left as controls. The daily energy expenditure of females feeding 12-day-old nestlings was measured with doubly labelled water D₂ ¹⁸O. Females in both treatments expended the same amount of energy, fed at the same rate and had similar body masses to birds in the control group. No effect of treatment on male mass and feeding effort was detected. More nestlings, however, died in nests of handicapped females. Nestlings of handicapped females had significantly lower body mass and haematocrit values than nestlings in food-supplemented nests, with nestlings in control nests occupying an intermediate position. The effects of both treatments on nestling mass, haematocrit values and mortality rates were only noticeable in nests infested with mites. Maternal energy expenditure is apparently constrained and offspring pay the costs imposed by reduced provisioning rate or increased demand caused by ectoparasites, while receiving benefits when food supply improves. The presumption that avian reproductive costs derive from changes in a flexible energy output may not be met in many cases. Received: 24 October 1998 / Received in revised form: 15 March 1999 / Accepted: 26 April 1999     

Sperm removal and ejaculate size correlate with chelae asymmetry in a freshwater crayfish species

Asymmetry in traits of sexual relevance may impair copulation behaviour and sexual performance of males, ultimately resulting in a fitness cost. Freshwater crayfish males use chelae, a sexually selected trait, to secure and position the female prior to and during mating. Thus, a relatively large chelae asymmetry, resulting from accidental loss and regeneration of one cheliped after autotomy, could have great consequences for male sexual behaviour. We studied copulatory behaviour and sperm expenditure of males paired to a mated female in Austropotamobius italicus, a freshwater crayfish species where both male and female mate multiply and where last-mating males are able to actively remove previously deposited sperm. We aimed at assessing whether male sperm removal and expenditure varied according to sperm allocated by first-mating males, and according to copulation behaviour and phenotypic traits (carapace length, chelae length and relative chelae asymmetry) of second-mating males. Second-mating males did not adjust their ejaculate size in relation to first-mating male ejaculate, nor to the first-mating male’s sperm removed. Moreover, the amount of sperm removed by second-mating males increased with increasing first-mating males ejaculate size, and first-mating male sperm remaining after removal did not correlate with the original first-mating male ejaculate size. Interestingly, the amount of sperm removed by second-mating males decreased with increasing relative chelae asymmetry, while increasing with male body size. However, second-mating (but not first-mating) asymmetric-clawed males produced larger ejaculates than symmetric-clawed ones. Importantly, the proportion of second-mating male sperm remaining after the two matings did not vary with relative chelae asymmetry nor with body size of second-mating males. Thus, small, asymmetric-clawed crayfish males appear to adopt sperm allocation tactics that allow them to fully compensate for their inferior sperm removal ability.     

新安江流域生态补偿财政支出效率研究

在水环境保护长期受到高度重视的背景下,开展流域生态补偿试点是我国保护流域水环境的重要手段。目前我国多为政府主导型流域生态补偿,补偿资金全部来源于财政资金,提高财政支出效率可以让有限的财政资金发挥其最大效用。为明确流域生态补偿试点中的财政支出效率,本文以我国首个跨省界流域生态补偿试点——新安江流域生态补偿试点为案例对象,构建流域生态补偿财政支出效率评价模型,并建立评价指标体系。通过选取试点在2012—2017年的生态补偿财政支出进行效率测算与效率评价,结果显示,财政支出纯技术效率6年均值处在0.9以上的高水平,总体表现较好,但仍有改进空间;规模效率值较低是造成财政支出效率表现不佳的主要原因,生态补偿财政资金的配置规模急需完善。建议提高财政资金的管理水平,有针对性地实施生态补偿项目,建立流域和区域相结合的流域治理体系。     

自动净化-高分辨气相色谱/高分辨质谱测定废气中二(口恶)英

采用自动净化-高分辨气相色谱/高分辨质谱(HRGC/HRMS)测定废气中的17种2,3,7,8位取代的多氯代二噁英和呋喃(PCDD/Fs)。废气样品经索氏提取,DEXTech系统全自动净化,浓缩和定容后,以HRGC/HRMS对废气样品中的PCDD/Fs进行了定性和定量分析。结果表明,17种二噁英和呋喃采样内标平均回收率为93%~99%,提取内标平均回收率为80%~97%;17种二噁英和呋喃自动净化实测结果与手工净化测试结果基本一致。该方法不但满足相关国家标准要求,还极大提高了样品的净化速度,减少人体对有机试剂的暴露。     

Survey of Levels of Phthalate Ester Plasticizers in a Sewage Lagoon Effluent and a Receiving Stream

In this study, samples from a sewage treatment lagoon and those from a receiving stream were analyzed for their phthalate esters content. Knowledge of the distribution of ubiquitous phthalate esters in the sewage lagoon and the receiving stream was necessary because of the reports of their subtle toxicity to aquatic biota and humans. Liquid–liquid extraction, Clean-up experiment and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) were the methods employed for the quantitative determination of the Phthalates. A study of uncontaminated water was done to establish blank levels. The sewage lagoon and the receiving stream were grossly polluted as several phthalate ester plasticizers: DMP, DEP, DPhP, DBP, DEHP, DOP and DINP were found present at monthly mean levels of between 24.02 mg/L and 139.25 mg/L in the sewage treatment lagoon and 10.41 mg/L and 80.53 mg/L in the receiving stream. The results showed higher levels of phthalate esters in the sewage lagoon compared to the receiving stream. The sewage lagoon was identified as a pollution point source into the receiving stream. Levels of phthalates obtained from the receiving stream are much higher than the water criteria of 3 μg/L phthalates recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for the protection of fish and other aquatic life in water and the Suggested No-Adverse Effect Levels (SNAEL) of 7.5–38.5 μg/L for drinking water. This should give cause for great environmental concern. Peoples’ health downstream is at stake and so is the ‘health’ of the ecosystem.     

Public expenditure and the environmental management of Brazilian municipalities: a panel data model

Environmental expenditure can be classified as an indicator to measure the efforts of public agents with the environment. Cities and countries seek to understand the determinants of environmental spending over time. This research aims to analyze the variables that influence the environmental spending of Brazilian municipalities between the years 2012 and 2016. Thus, this research helps fill the gap on lack of longitudinal research that involves local contexts in relation to public municipal expenditures on the environment. The research method consists of the panel data model. Data were collected on the environmental expenditures of the municipalities and other variables of 4269 Brazilian municipalities, the collection generated 21,329 observations. The results showed that the municipalities of the state of Amapá had better relative expenditure averages, it was also observed that the municipalities in the Northeast region show the worst results. The municipality of Itamaracá, located in the state of Pernambuco, presented the best percentage of the country, 9.47% of the environmental expenditure in relation to total expenditure. Regarding the results of panel data, the variables revenue, population, density, GDP, and HDI presented significance in all models; the models estimated by fixed effects ensure the consistency of the parameters.     

我国环保产业科技投入机制研究

在分析科技投入体系的构成及环保科技投入的衡量指标基础上,研究政府和企业分别在环保产业科技投入体制中的机制;结论显示:必须强调企业科技投入的主体作用,并发挥其纽带作用;政府直接支持的科技投入具有杠杆作用,能够支持、引导和鼓励环保企业的研发投入。     

宁波市水资源可持续利用的经济分析

随着经济社会的快速发展,宁波水资源短缺矛盾日益突出,通过对宁波市历年的水价、人均用水量、人均可支配收入的变化的分析可以看出水价与用水量的关系,重点探讨了引进市场机制,建立水权转让制度,改革水资源价格和水资源的开发管理方式,实行水资源的有偿使用和转让,优化配置水资源,提高水资源的使用效率和效益,以水资源的可持续利用支撑经济和社会的可持续发展.     

美国联邦财政环保支出经验借鉴

为应对当前环境保护工作所处的新阶段、新形势、新任务,在分析美国联邦财政环保支出特征的基础上,从加大环保专项资金投入、提高环境科技支出占比、强化重点领域环保支出、注重建立环保基金等方面,提出优化我国中央财政环保支出可供借鉴的四点经验。