Time discounting and the decision to protect areas that are near and threatened or remote and cheap to acquire

Should conservation organizations focus on protecting habitats that are at imminent risk of being converted but are expensive or more remote areas that are less immediately threatened but where a large amount of land can be set aside? Variants of this trade‐off commonly arise in spatial planning. I used models of land‐use change near a deforestation frontier to examine this trade‐off. The optimal choice of where to protect was determined by how decisions taken today accounted for ecological benefits and economic costs of conservation actions that would occur sometime in the future. I used an ecological and economic discount rate to weight these benefits and costs. A large economic discount rate favored protecting more remote areas, whereas a large, positive ecological discount rate favored protecting habitat near the current deforestation frontier. The decision over where to protect was also affected by the influence economic factors had on landowners' decisions, the rate of technological change, and ecological heterogeneity of the landscape. How benefits and costs through time are accounted for warrants careful consideration when specifying conservation objectives. It may provide a niche axis along which conservation organizations differentiate themselves when competing for donor funding or other support.     

On Characteristics of Production and Destruction Processes in Lowland and Mountain Tundras of the Extreme North

Parameters of the production and destruction processes in different types of tundras are compared. It is shown that there is a fairly high degree of correspondence between the structure of tundra communities and the ecotopes occupied by them. On the other hand, typologically similar lowland and mountain tundras markedly differ in the functional respect. The rate of decomposition processes is higher under environmental conditions of the mountain tundra belt.     

Study of high-frequency electromagnetic field effect on some somatic and neuro-behavioral characteristics in healthy and neurodefective mice

The effect of long-term exposure to high frequency electromagnetic field (HF EMF) on some somatic and neural characteristics was studied in neurodefective Lurcher mutant (+/Lc) and normal wild type mice (+/+). Both newborn and young adult (3 months) animals derived from two strains (C3H, B6CBA) were exposed to HF EMF (870 MHz) from 1st to 21st day or from 91st to 120th day respectively. In animals of both groups and controls we observed the development of body weight. Moreover, in the HF EMF exposed adult B6CBA animals we studied spatial learning ability, motor functions and the CNS excitability. To investigate specific energy absorption rate (SAR) in experimental animals we have done the basic 3D calculations of the electromagnetic energy distribution in the simplified model of the mouse. The HF EMF exposed animals exhibited mild differences of body weight between them and unexposed controls. The long-term exposure to HF EMF did not significantly influence the ability to learn in the Morris water maze. However, significant lower swimming speed was found in the irradiated +/Lc as well as lower motor activity of +/+ in the open field when compared to controls. No significant differences were found between HF EMF irradiated animals and controls in examination of the CNS excitability and motor functions.     

Modification of Evacuation Time Computational Model for Stadium Crowd Risk Analysis

The complexity of the evacuation process is associated with the flow of occupants through various egresses available inside the building. Several methods and algorithms are now available to analyse the problem related to evacuation. In the present paper an algorithm, evacuation discrete time model (EDTM) has been presented to analyse the building egress evacuation time problem with previous works. The algorithm is based on the crowd flow theory and uses discrete computational approach to identify various widths of egresses available for movement of the people, which is more accurate and practicable because the crowd flow rate is variable. The developed model has been compared with an existing model to show the capabilities of the developed algorithm. A case of stadium stand egress is chose for the validity of EDTM, and a comparison of EDTM, previous model and computer simulation indicates that both the EDTM and the simulation curves were found to give better predictions than the previous model. Based upon the comparison analysis with stranded crowd and evacuation crowd at a certain time, EDTM shows great value in explaining the cause of stampede-trampling and crushing incident of egress or narrow passage zone.     

Sedimentary Processes of the Qingdao Nearshore Traced Using a Multi-radionuclide Approach

Sediment cores were collected from two sites (A2 and ZQ) in the Qingdao sea area of the Yellow Sea. Radionuclides ⁴⁰K, ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra, ²²⁸Th, ²³⁴Th, and ²³⁸U in the cores were measured using HPGe γ spectrometry. The sedimentation rate of the A2 Core using ²¹⁰Pb_ex and ¹³⁷Cs was 0.665 cm yr⁻¹, therefore this 32 cm long core represents a 48 year timespan leading to the sampling date in 2001. The mixing layer was restricted to the upper 5 cm as determined from the profile of ²³⁴Th. The uniformity of the activity distributions of ⁴⁰K and ²³⁸U throughout the A2 Core and the activity distributions of ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra and ²²⁸Th below the mixing layer suggested that no significant oceanographic event or change in sediment material source had occurred during this timespan. The ²¹⁰ Pb was in excess relative to ²²⁶Ra, but ²²⁶Ra was deficient with respect to ²³⁸U in the entire A2 Core, while excess ²³⁴Th and ²²⁸Th were apparent only in the surface 5 cm. Total organic matter (TOM) in Core A2 decreases with depth. The second core, taken to a depth of 14 cm, was from Site ZQ, which is located near Zhanqiao, Qingdao. The variations of the nuclide activity ratios in this core were similar to those in the A2 Core, i.e., the excess ²¹⁰ Pb and ²²⁶Ra deficiency were consistent throughout the core but excess ²²⁸Th was only in the surface to a depth of 2 cm. The ⁴⁰K activity in the ZQ Core fluctuated and showed no real trend with depth. The activities of ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Ra and ²³⁸U in the entire length of Core ZQ, and ²²⁸Ra and ²²⁸Th from 2 cm to the bottom, were comparable within the uncertainty of measured activity.     

Seasonal Variation of Inorganic Nutrient Uptake by Heterotrophic Bacterioplankton in Jiaozhou Bay,North China

The distribution patterns and factors affecting uptake rates and turnover times of dissolved inorganic nutrients by heterotrophic bacterioplankton (HB) in Jiaozhou Bay were studied based on in situ surveys and laboratory culturing. The uptake rates of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) by HB are limited by the temperature of the water and the concentration of dissolved organic carbon. The turnover times of DIP and DIN by HB are regulated by the concentrations of the nutrients and the numbers of HB, which show significant spatiotemporal variability in Jiaozhou Bay. HB may aggravate the P-limitation of phytoplankton by competing for phosphorus in summer in Jiaozhou Bay. HB play an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and may increase the N:P ratio and the accumulation of DIN, thereby accelerating the imbalance of the N:P ratio in Jiaozhou Bay.     

煤气管道的震害率分析

埋地管道的地震危险性分析方法可以分为理论分析法和经验统计法。震害率是经验统计法中常用的一个概念。埋地管道在地震中破坏的主要原因是地面运动和场地土液化等引起的场地土失效，另外管线的接口类型、管材、管径等也是决定其震害的因素。在查阅相关文献的基础上，对埋地管道的震害率分析方法进行了综述，并运用经验统计法提出了便于使用的煤气管道震害率估算表达式。     

二次过街路口行人违反交通法规规律的研究

为了解在不同类型二次过街路口行人违反交通法规闯红灯的违法率,找出二次过街路口不同参数对行人违法率的影响,从而找出降低路口行人违法率的对策,保障路口行人交通安全和人车流畅通,本文选取上海市5种类型的二次过街路口调查行人在路口的违法率.通过分析调查数据,行人在路口一次穿越车道数为2～7,两次穿越车道总数为6～12,违法率随车道数的增加而降低.在红灯等待时间90 s之内,行人违法率随等待时间的升高呈一定的下降趋势.红灯等待时间在90～150 s之间,行人违法率没有确定的规律.安全岛、引导护栏、中继信号灯等设施具有明显降低行人违法率的作用.根据二次过街路口设置安全岛、引导护栏、中继信号灯、车道数以及是否从路边穿越5个影响因素的安全评价系数之和建立综合安全评价系数,得到行人在二次过街路口违法率随综合安全评价系数的增大而降低.研究表明,完善和优化二次过街路口的设施参数可以降低路口行人违法率.     

间歇式活性污泥法处理1-4丁二醇废水的研究

用间歇式活性污泥法(SBR法)对高浓度1-4丁二醇废水进行了处理研究。实验测定了污泥沉降性能,测试了最佳曝气时间、最佳pH值范围以及SBR处理系统耐污染的负荷。实验结果表明:SBR法的污泥沉降比为15%～30%,完全符合活性污泥正常运行时的沉降标准。处理污水的最佳曝气时间为5h,最佳pH值范围为7～8。该处理系统耐冲击,能承受较高的污染负荷,对水质的波动有较强的承受能力。利用SBR法可以处理1-4丁二醇、聚丙烯酰胺和顺丁烯二酸酐三套装置排放的混合污水。     

四川省工业结构的水污染效应及对策分析

通过对四川省主要工业行业经济和污染贡献率（水）的剖析、污染物排放强度与全国平均水平的比较，反映出四川省工业结构的水污染效应状况——支柱产业经济效益差、水污染贡献大、产业结构不合理是造成水环境问题的主导因素；继而提出通过产业结构的优化和升级来控制水环境污染、协调经济和环境发展的对策和建议。