Correlates of bushmeat hunting among remote rural households in Gabon, Central Africa

Hunted wild animals (i.e., bushmeat) are a main source of protein for many rural populations in the tropics, and the unsustainable harvest of these animals puts both human food security and ecosystem functioning at risk. To understand the correlates of bushmeat consumption, we surveyed 1219 households in 121 rural villages near three newly established national parks in Gabon. Through the surveys we gathered information on bushmeat consumption, income, and material assests. In addition, we quantified land cover in a 5-km radius around the village center and distance of the village center to the nearest park boundary. Bushmeat was not a source of income for most households, but it was the primary animal protein consumed. Ninety-seven percent of households consumed bushmeat at least once during a survey period of 12 days. Income or wealth, land cover, distance of village to the nearest park boundary, and level of education of the head of the household were among the factors that significantly related to the likelihood of consuming any of the 10 most commonly consumed species of bushmeat. Household size was the predictor most strongly associated with quantities of bushmeat consumed and was negatively related to consumption. Total bushmeat consumption per adult male equivalent increased as household wealth increased and decreased as distance of villages to park boundaries increased. Bushmeat consumption at the household level was not related to unit values (i.e., price estimates for a good that typically does not have a market value; estimates derived from willingness to sell or trade the good for items of known price) of bushmeat or the price of chicken and fish as potential substitutes. The median consumption of bushmeat at the village level, however, was negatively related to village mean unit values of bushmeat across all species. Our results suggest that a lack of alternative protein sources motivated even the wealthiest among surveyed households to consume bushmeat. Providing affordable, alternative protein sources to all households would likely reduce unsustainable levels of bushmeat consumption in rural Gabon.     

Human perspectives and conservation of grizzly bears in Banff National Park, Canada

Some conservation initiatives provoke intense conflict among stakeholders. The need for action, the nature of the conservation measures, and the effects of these measures on human interests may be disputed. Tools are needed to depolarize such situations, foster understanding of the perspectives of people involved, and find common ground. We used Q methodology to explore stakeholders' perspectives on conservation and management of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) in Banff National Park and the Bow River watershed of Alberta, Canada. Twenty-nine stakeholders participated in the study, including local residents, scientists, agency employees, and representatives of nongovernmental conservation organizations and other interest groups. Participants rank ordered a set of statements to express their opinions on the problems of grizzly bear management (I-IV) and a second set of statements on possible solutions to the problems (A-C). Factor analysis revealed that participants held 4 distinct views of the problems: individuals associated with factor I emphasized deficiencies in goals and plans; those associated with factor II believed that problems had been exaggerated; those associated with factor III blamed institutional flaws such as disjointed management and inadequate resources; and individuals associated with factor IV blamed politicized decision making. There were 3 distinct views about the best solutions to the problems: individuals associated with factor A called for increased conservation efforts; those associated with factor B wanted reforms in decision-making processes; and individuals associated with factor C supported active landscape management. We connected people's definitions of the problem with their preferred solutions to form 5 overall problem narratives espoused by groups in the study: the problem is deficient goals and plans, the solution is to prioritize conservation efforts (planning-oriented conservation advocates); the problem is flawed institutions, the solution is to prioritize conservation efforts (institutionally-oriented conservation advocates); the problems have been exaggerated, but there is a need to improve decision-making processes (optimistic decision-process reformers); the problems have been exaggerated, but managers should more actively manage the landscape (optimistic landscape managers); and the problem is politicized decision making, solutions vary (democratizers). Although these 5 groups differed on many issues, they agreed that the population of grizzly bears is vulnerable to extirpation, human use of the area should be designed around ecological constraints, and more inclusive decision-making processes are needed. We used our results to inform a series of workshops in which stakeholders developed and agreed on new management strategies that were implemented by Parks Canada. Our research demonstrates the usefulness of Q method to illuminate people's perspectives and identify common ground in settings where conservation is contested.     

架空天然气管道泄漏事故后果数值模拟研究

针对架空天然气管道泄漏引起的火灾爆炸问题,采用事件树分析泄漏扩散引起的事故后果,并在数值模拟中着重分析了模拟数学模型的选择。在三种不同泄漏孔径、两种不同风速、两种不同运行压力条件下分别应用ALHOA软件对事故后果进行数值模拟,结果表明:泄漏孔径、运行压力与危害影响范围成正比关系;在闪火和蒸气云爆炸中,风速与危害影响范围成反比关系,而风速对射流火灾的热辐射范围基本没有影响。     

Epigenetic effect of long-term bisphenol A exposure on human breast adenocarcinoma cells

In this research, epigenetic effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells were analyzed. Genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression were analyzed in MCF-7 cells exposed to BPA (10^?5 and 10^?6 mol/L for 5 weeks). No significant changes in the global level of 5-methyl-2′-deoxycytidine and 5-hydroxymethyl-2′-deoxycytidine were observed. DNA methylation profiling analysis indicated that BPA exposure resulted in the hypermethylation of FOXK2, LKB1, LMX1A and CUGBP2 and the hypomethylation of PTPRN2, TRIM27, BCAS3 and ZNF423. Decreased expression of apoptosis genes (P38 and BCL2L1) and increased expression of chemokine (Cxcl2 and ccl20) were detected. Changes of these genes were speculated to affect the ERα-related cell growth as well as cell apoptosis.     

Monitoring and reporting attacks on education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia

The United Nations' Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism is charged with documenting six grave violations against children in a time of conflict, including attacks on schools. Many of these incidents, however, remain unreported across the globe. This study explores whether or not a local knowledge base of education and child protection actors in North and South Kivu Provinces, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in Mogadishu, Somalia, could contribute to a more complete record of attacks on education in those areas. Hundreds of semi‐structured interviews were conducted with key informants across the three settings, and in total 432 attacks on education were documented. Purposive samples of these reports were verified and a large majority was confirmed. Local non‐governmental organisations and education institutions were most knowledgeable about these incidents, but most never reported them to a monitoring authority. The study concludes that attack surveillance and response were largely insufficient, and recommends investing in mechanisms that utilise local knowledge to address these shortcomings.     

吸收液对中空纤维膜接触器回收尿液中氨氮的影响

采用中空纤维膜接触器（Hollow Fiber Membrane Contactor, HFMC）回收尿液中的氨氮,系统研究了吸收液类型（H₃PO₄、H₂SO₄和HNO₃）对氨回收效能、水蒸气的跨膜通量和所获液体肥料的影响.结果表明,使用H₂SO₄作为吸收液时氨氮回收效能最优,其次是H₃PO₄和HNO₃.当采用H₂SO₄为吸收液时,氨氮回收率、氨跨膜通量和传质系数分别为84.49%±0.01%、22.92 g·m^-2·h^-1和2.37×10^-6 m·s^-1.HNO₃的挥发性使其从吸收液侧反向跨膜至料液侧,导致氨跨膜传质驱动力变小;此外,NH₃和HNO₃会在膜孔中反应并生成NH₄NO₃气溶胶,增加氨在膜孔中的传质阻力,导致氨氮的回收效能降低.对采用不同吸收液时膜两侧的水的活度差和理论水通量进行了计算,结果表明,随着氨氮的不断跨膜吸收,膜两侧的活度差和水通量逐渐增大,实验结束时水通量分别为7.44×10^-2 kg·m^-2·h^-1（H₃PO₄）、9.06×10^-2 kg·m^-2·h^-1（H₂SO₄）和2.00×10^-2 kg·m^-2·h^-1（HNO₃）.肥料组分分析表明,以H₂SO₄和HNO₃为吸收液可以获得仅含N素的单一液体肥料,以H₃PO₄作吸收液可获得N-P复合肥,（NH₄）₂HPO₄和NH₄H₂PO₄所占的比例分别为88.33%和11.67%.     

美国水环境质量基准体系

美国依据《清洁水法》建立了一套较完善的水环境质量基准体系,并开展了水生生物基准、人体健康基准、营养物基准、沉积物质量基准、细菌基准、生物学基准、野生生物基准和物理基准等方面的研究. 在重点分析美国水环境质量基准体系、基准制定方法和研究进展的基础上,提出了我国开展水环境质量基准研究的建议,即提高对我国开展水环境质量基准研究的迫切性和重要性的认识,并根据我国的实际情况,建立一套适合我国国情的水环境基准体系和基准制订工作指南,同时做好国外水环境质量基准的采用与验证工作.      

气相色谱-质谱联用测定母乳中合成麝香

建立了凝胶渗透色谱(GPC)柱和硅胶柱净化,气相色谱-质谱(GC/MS)测定母乳中合成麝香的分析方法.实验结果表明:GC/MS在0.01μg.ml-1到1μg.ml-1的浓度范围内对4种常见合成麝香(佳乐麝香HHCB、吐纳麝香AHTN、二甲苯麝香MX和酮麝香MK)均有良好的线性响应,4种合成麝香的基质加标回收率为76%—115%,相对标准偏差为2.8%—7.4%.利用信噪比(5/1)确定该方法的定性检测限,HHCB,AHTN,MX为5ng.g-1脂重,MK为4ng.g-1脂重,定量检测限为定性检测限的2倍.采用上述方法分析了上海母乳样品中合成麝香的浓度和分布特征,发现母乳中普遍存在这4种合成麝香,浓度分别为HHCB92±70;AHTN16±12;MX26±22;MK16±14ng.g-1脂重,与欧美国家的污染水平相比,总体含量偏低.     

Understanding the Diversity of Public Interests in Wildlife Conservation

Abstract:  North American state wildlife agencies are increasingly faced with the challenge of effectively representing a diverse public. With increasing social conflict over wildlife issues, the future of wildlife conservation hinges on preparedness of the profession to respond to this challenge. In the interest of finding ways to improve response, 19 agencies in the western U.S. joined forces to initiate an investigation that would provide a better understanding of the diversity of wildlife-related interests in the region. Specific objectives, accomplished through use of a mail survey administered in 2004, were to categorize people on the basis of their value orientations toward wildlife and explore how different groups were distributed across states and to examine differences on sociodemographic characteristics and attitudes toward wildlife-related topics among groups. The focus was on two orientations: domination (view of wildlife that prioritizes human well-being over wildlife and treats wildlife in utilitarian terms); and mutualism (view of wildlife as capable of relationships of trust with humans and defined by a desire for companionship with wildlife). Four types of people were identified on the basis of these orientations. Types differed in their geographic distribution and wildlife-related attitudes and behaviors, revealing how value orientations can form the foundation for conflict on wildlife issues. Our characterizations of stakeholder groups offer a framework that can be applied over time and across geographic scales to improve conservation planning efforts and inform broader thinking about the social aspects of wildlife conservation .     

辽宁省农用地质量空间分布格局及影响因素研究

采用GIS技术、地统计学分析和景观生态学方法对辽宁省农用地质量的空间分布规律及其多样性、均匀度、集中度、优势度等进行研究,结果表明：辽宁省农用地质量的区域分异明显,等别表现出由辽西低山丘陵区和辽东山地丘陵区向中部平原区的递增规律。探讨农用地质量空间格局的影响因素,发现农用地自然质量空间分布格局主要受到地带性因素与大尺度的非地带性因素的控制,农用地利用质量和经济质量空间分布格局受到人类活动的影响显著。