Anaerobic digestion in mesophilic and room temperature conditions: Digestion performance and soil-borne pathogen survival

Tomato plant waste(TPW) was used as the feedstock of a batch anaerobic reactor to evaluate the effect of anaerobic digestion on Ralstonia solanacearum and Phytophthora capsici survival. Batch experiments were carried out for TS(total solid) concentrations of 2%, 4% and 6% respectively, at mesophilic(37 ± 1°C) and room(20–25°C) temperatures. Results showed that higher digestion performance was achieved under mesophilic digestion temperature and lower TS concentration conditions. The biogas production ranged from 71 to 416 L/kg VS(volatile solids). The inactivation of anaerobic digestion tended to increase as digestion performance improved. The maximum log copies reduction of R. solanacearum and P. capsici detected by quantitative PCR(polymerase chain reaction) were 3.80 and 4.08 respectively in reactors with 4% TS concentration at mesophilic temperatures. However, both in mesophilic and room temperature conditions, the lowest reduction of R. solanacearum was found in the reactors with 6% TS concentration, which possessed the highest VFA(volatile fatty acid) concentration. These findings indicated that simple accumulation of VFAs failed to restrain R. solanacearum effectively, although the VFAs were considered poisonous. P. capsici was nearly completely dead under all conditions. Based on the digestion performance and the pathogen survival rate, a model was established to evaluate the digestate biosafety.     

电化学辅助微电解法处理焦化废水

制备了锰粉改进的规整化微电解填料,采用电化学辅助改进微电解填料处理初始COD为6 153.6 mg/L、ρ(NH_3-N)为182.6 mg/L的焦化废水,优化了工艺条件。实验结果表明,电化学辅助微电解法处理焦化废水的最佳工艺条件为电压8 V,填料投加量20 g/L,初始废水pH 6,反应时间30 min。在此条件下废水COD去除率为75.3%,NH_3-N去除率为65.4%;在其他工艺条件相同的情况下,未通过电化学辅助的填料微电解反应的COD去除率为33.0%,NH_3-N去除率为16.2%,电化学辅助后的COD去除率和NH_3-N去除率均明显提高。     

A multilevel perspective of interpersonal trust: Individual,dyadic, and cross‐level predictors of performance

While it is generally known that interpersonal trust facilitates individual functioning, few studies have examined the role of specific features of the interpersonal trust network — individual, dyadic, third‐party, and network‐level features — on individual performance. We adopt a multilevel perspective of interpersonal trust to examine how individuals' performance is not only predicted by their individual‐level centrality in the interpersonal trust network but also moderated, at the network level, by the overall centralized nature of that network. Further, we examine whether mutual trust relationships at the dyadic level, as well as shared trust ties to common third parties, can predict individuals' performance. We test our hypotheses with 206 members in 15 professional networking groups and find that interpersonal trust operates at multiple levels to predict members' performance in terms of generating income from business referrals. These findings provide theoretical and practical implications on how interpersonal trust relationships operate and can be managed for performance gains. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electroactive polyamide modified carbon paste electrode for the determination of ascorbic acid

Construction electroactive polyamide (EPA) with aniline-pentamer-based in the main chain has been modified on the surface of carbon paste electrode (CPE) for detecting ascorbic acid (AA). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies confirm the well-defined molecular structure of the oligoaniline and EPA. Further, the in situ chemical oxidation of EPA was monitored by UV-Visible absorption spectrum. The electroactivity of the EPA was evaluated by performing electrochemical cyclic voltammetry study. The sensing response studies have revealed that this EPA-modified CPE electrode can detect AA in the range of 0.05–0.7 mM with detection limit of 0.005 mM and sensitivity of 1.5 × 10^–5 AmM^–1. Besides, this EPA-modified CPE electrode shows a minimal relative standard deviation of 1.73%.     

New Institutional Mechanism in China Facilitating the Global Sustainability—Environment to Be Counted in Officials' Performance Rating

Abstract

Having argued the importance of China's sustainable development in global sustainability, the authors review the achievements of China in sustainable development, especially its institutional construction. Environment to be counted in official's political performance rating system is thought of as a new institutional mechanism in China facilitating its sustainable development and then global sustainability. Then its significance is narrated and visions in future are envisioned. In the end, certain concrete suggestions for the rating system are given in a practical way.     

Testing Decision Rules for Categorizing Species’ Extinction Risk to Help Develop Quantitative Listing Criteria for the U.S. Endangered Species Act

Lack of guidance for interpreting the definitions of endangered and threatened in the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) has resulted in case‐by‐case decision making leaving the process vulnerable to being considered arbitrary or capricious. Adopting quantitative decision rules would remedy this but requires the agency to specify the relative urgency concerning extinction events over time, cutoff risk values corresponding to different levels of protection, and the importance given to different types of listing errors. We tested the performance of 3 sets of decision rules that use alternative functions for weighting the relative urgency of future extinction events: a threshold rule set, which uses a decision rule of x% probability of extinction over y years; a concave rule set, where the relative importance of future extinction events declines exponentially over time; and a shoulder rule set that uses a sigmoid shape function, where relative importance declines slowly at first and then more rapidly. We obtained decision cutoffs by interviewing several biologists and then emulated the listing process with simulations that covered a range of extinction risks typical of ESA listing decisions. We evaluated performance of the decision rules under different data quantities and qualities on the basis of the relative importance of misclassification errors. Although there was little difference between the performance of alternative decision rules for correct listings, the distribution of misclassifications differed depending on the function used. Misclassifications for the threshold and concave listing criteria resulted in more overprotection errors, particularly as uncertainty increased, whereas errors for the shoulder listing criteria were more symmetrical. We developed and tested the framework for quantitative decision rules for listing species under the U.S. ESA. If policy values can be agreed on, use of this framework would improve the implementation of the ESA by increasing transparency and consistency. Evaluando Reglas de Decisión para Categorizar el Riesgo de Extinción de Especies con el Fin de Desarrollar de Criterios Cuantitativos de Alistamiento en el Acta de Especies en Peligro de los EE. UU.     

底部开缝预应力剪力墙结构力学性能的有限元分析

根据现浇混凝土结构与装配混凝土结构的耗能特点,建立了底部开缝后张拉预应力摇摆剪力墙结构模型,并采用数值模拟方法研究其抗震耗能性能,分析分布钢筋、预应力水平、轴压力等参数对其力学性能的影响,并与同类型整体现浇剪力墙进行了对比分析。结果表明:底部开缝后张拉预应力摇摆剪力墙结构具有一定的耗能能力,虽然相对于现浇剪力墙结构,其承载力较低,但变形能力较强,墙体损伤和残余变形较小,并且具有较好的自复位能力。     

Metrics of progress in the understanding and management of threats to Australian birds

Although evidence-based approaches have become commonplace for determining the success of conservation measures for the management of threatened taxa, there are no standard metrics for assessing progress in research or management. We developed 5 metrics to meet this need for threatened taxa and to quantify the need for further action and effective alleviation of threats. These metrics (research need, research achievement, management need, management achievement, and percent threat reduction) can be aggregated to examine trends for an individual taxon or for threats across multiple taxa. We tested the utility of these metrics by applying them to Australian threatened birds, which appears to be the first time that progress in research and management of threats has been assessed for all threatened taxa in a faunal group at a continental scale. Some research has been conducted on nearly three-quarters of known threats to taxa, and there is a clear understanding of how to alleviate nearly half of the threats with the highest impact. Some management has been attempted on nearly half the threats. Management outcomes ranged from successful trials to complete mitigation of the threat, including for one-third of high-impact threats. Progress in both research and management tended to be greater for taxa that were monitored or occurred on oceanic islands. Predation by cats had the highest potential threat score. However, there has been some success reducing the impact of cat predation, so climate change (particularly drought), now poses the greatest threat to Australian threatened birds. Our results demonstrate the potential for the proposed metrics to encapsulate the major trends in research and management of both threats and threatened taxa and provide a basis for international comparisons of evidence-based conservation science.     

集合智能安全帽的建筑工人施工安全行为绩效考核及激励机制

为实时监控现场工人不安全行为，有效降低建筑事故发生率，实现主动的安全与组织管理模式，结合基于智能安全帽的施工人员不安全行为监测与管理系统，构建了工人安全行为绩效考核模型并设计激励机制。通过在温银施工项目的应用，进行了现场工人安全行为绩效的横向与纵向对比。研究结果表明:依据现场行为进行监控和绩效考核能够有效地改善工人的安全行为，有助于形成施工现场的安全生产竞争氛围，有助于建筑工地的安全管理。