Not All Animals are Equal Differences In Moral Foundations For The Dutch Veterinary Policy On Livestock and Animals In Nature Reservations

The Netherlands is a small country with many people and much livestock. As a result, animals in nature reservations are often living near cattle farms. Therefore, people from the agricultural practices are afraid that wild animals will infect domestic livestock with diseases like Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease. To protect agriculture (considered as an important economic practice), very strict regulations have been made for minimizing this risk. In this way, the practice of animal farming has been dominating the practices of nature management completely. If, for instance, Foot and Mouth Disease strikes an agricultural area, all wild pigs and cattle living in the nearby nature reservations have to be killed, whether infected or not. This dominant position of one practice over the other has now become problematic. While the morality of the practice of nature management seems to be very different from the morality of agriculture and agriculture has become less important from an economic point of view, the public as well as those involved in nature management no longer seem to accept the dominant position of agriculture. Besides a literature study, we performed a field study with in-depth interviews with experts from both practices to analyze the dynamics of the internal moralities of both practices in the previous century, in order to clarify the contemporary situation. The conclusion was that the traditionally strong position of agriculture is not only weakening; it also appears that the internal values of agriculture are changing. The experts from both sides agreed that, in case of a disease outbreak, it is neither ethically justified nor necessary (because of the estimated low risk of disease transfer) to destroy the animals in nature reservations as a routine preventive measure. This is a major shift in morality.     

Environmental Issues in Brackish Water Shrimp Aquaculture in Sri Lanka

Shrimp exports are one of Sri Lanka's major foreign exchange earners and account for 40%–50% of total aquaculture exports. There has been a recent and rapid expansion of the industry in the Northwestern Province (NWP) of Sri Lanka but the industry has suffered from disease outbreaks and environmental problems. Currently, shrimp farms cover nearly 3000 ha of the coastal area of the NWP. The environmental impacts of shrimp cultivation in general are well known and numerous research studies have been done. However, little work has been carried out in Sri Lanka. This study provides some necessary background to brackish water shrimp aquaculture in Sri Lanka. It focuses briefly on the development of shrimp aquaculture and the current status of the industry. Emphasis is placed on two broader aspects—impacts on the existing wetland ecosystem and on the environment. These impacts are presumed to be the main causes hindering the growth of the industry and raising widespread public protest. Current ecosystem and environmental management practices are discussed. Finally, strategic issues for management and sustainable growth are discussed.     

遥感和GIS在森林病虫害监测管理中的应用模式

介绍了遥感技术,地理信息系统技术在森林病虫害监测管理中的应用模式,以及整个系统的集成。在整个系统中遥感用于获取森林病虫害信息,地理信息系统用于管理和处理森林病虫害信息。同时,也说明了全球定位系统可用于定位采集地面数据和导路。     

超声、紫外增强H2O2/KI降解磺胺甲基嘧啶

实验以H_2O_2和KI作为分子碘(I2)的来源,研究比较了超声、紫外分别增强H_2O_2/KI降解磺胺甲基嘧啶(sulfamerazine,SMR)的效果、主要影响因素、分子碘的生成、主要活性物种和产物.结果表明,超声、紫外均能有效增强H_2O_2/KI对磺胺甲基嘧啶的降解,超声的增强效果明显;pH值对磺胺甲基嘧啶的去除率影响较大,pH为2.6~5.6,去除率随pH升高而降低;自由基抑制结果表明,碘自由基(I·和I-2·)是超声、紫外增强H_2O_2/KI降解磺胺甲基嘧啶的主要活性物质.HPLC/MS/MS分析检测到一碘代苯.     

Total organic halogen (TOX) in human urine: A halogen-specific method for human exposure studies

Disinfection by-products(DBPs) are a complex mixture of compounds unintentionally formed as a result of disinfection processes used to treat drinking water. Effects of long-term exposure to DBPs are mostly unknown and were the subject of recent epidemiological studies. However,most bioanalytical methods focus on a select few DBPs. In this study, a new comprehensive bioanalytical method has been developed that can quantify mixtures of organic halogenated compounds, including DBPs, in human urine as total organic chlorine(TOCl), total organic bromine(TOBr), and total organic iodine(TOI). The optimized method consists of urine dilution, adsorption to activated carbon, pyrolysis of activated carbon, absorption of gases in an aqueous solution, and halide analysis with ion chromatography and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Spike recoveries for TOCl, TOBr, and TOI measurements ranged between 78% and 99%. Average TOCl, TOBr, and TOI concentrations in five urine samples from volunteers who consumed tap water were 1850, 82, and 21.0 μg/L as X~-, respectively.Volunteers who consumed spring water(control) had TOCl, TOBr, and TOI average concentrations in urine of 1090, 88, and 10.3 μg/L as X~-, respectively. TOCl and TOI in the urine samples from tap water consumers were higher than the control. However, TOBr was slightly lower in tap water urine samples compared to mineral water urine samples, indicating other sources of environmental exposure other than drinking water. A larger sample population that consumes tap water from different cities and mineral water is needed to determine TOCl, TOBr, and TOI exposure from drinking water.     

土壤焙烧过程中碘的释放及其环境意义

研究了温度和焙烧时间对黄壤和红壤碘排放的影响。随着焙烧时间的增加,土壤中碘的逸出率呈上升趋势,900℃时焙烧90min后碘的排放基本达到平衡。土壤中的碘主要以吸附形式存在,各种吸附剂对碘的吸附强度不同,从105℃开始即有部分碘被释放出来,随着温度的升高,更多的碘被解吸、释放。焙烧90分钟,1100℃时碘的逸出基本达到平衡,红壤和黄壤碘的逸出率分别为99.85%和98.52%。500℃和900℃左右是土壤碘释放的两个高峰,分别对应着高岭石和蒙脱石的脱羟基作用,这表明有相当一部分I-取代粘土矿物晶格中的OH-而进入了晶格内部。粘土砖生产过程中碘的排放系数约为97.56%,通过计算得出我国粘土砖生产每年向空气中排放4100t碘,其对生态环境与人体健康有重要影响。     

上海大气颗粒物中溴、碘浓度水平的影响因素

统计分析了2008年采样期间大气颗粒物TSP和PM10中溴、碘浓度水平与气象条件和气态污染物SO2、NO2的关系。结果表明,风向为向岸流时,大气中TSP、PM10浓度以及颗粒物中溴、碘的浓度均低于离岸流时的数值;在各气象因素中,影响颗粒物中溴、碘浓度的主要气象因素为风向、气压和气温,风速和相对湿度的影响较小;颗粒物中溴、碘的浓度水平随大气中SO2、NO2浓度的上升而上升,颗粒物中碘与SO2、NO2呈显著正相关,而颗粒物中溴呈较弱的正相关性;当空气质量恶化时,PM10中Br、I浓度增大,而Br/I比值降低,城市大气中污染物质之间的化学反应对颗粒物中Br/I的比值有一定影响。     

富营养化对珊瑚礁生态系统影响的研究进展

根据国外最新文献,综述了富营养化对珊瑚礁生态系统影响的研究进展情况,这些进展主要包括:(1)对珊瑚生长及其共生虫黄藻的影响(如对珊瑚钙化作用、组织生长、虫黄藻的密度及其光合作用等的影响);(2)对珊瑚繁殖和补充的影响(包括对珊瑚的生育、受精、胚胎和幼虫的发展及其幼虫的附着等的影响);(3)对珊瑚疾病的影响(如对白化现象、疾病的易感性和病菌的适应性等的影响);(4)对珊瑚礁生态系统群落结构演替的影响(如刺激造礁藻的生长或者促进珊瑚礁不常见的营养性藻类变成优势种)。同时指出了一些该领域未来研究的重点,包括(1)珊瑚共生系对富营养化的长期性响应机制;(2)结合同位素技术和叶绿素荧光技术研究外部富营养化对珊瑚共生系碳、氮循环的影响;(3)富营养化对珊瑚繁殖和补充不同阶段的影响机制;(4)加强珊瑚病毒细菌的种类、结构研究,从基因这个微观的角度来研究富营养化对珊瑚疾病的影响机制;(5)富营养化与草食动物对珊瑚礁群落结构产生的耦合效应研究;(6)指示珊瑚礁生态系统富营养化的生物化学指标研究等。     

From the ground up: holistic management and grassroots rural adaptation to bovine spongiform encephalopathy across western Canada

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has been documented in 28 countries and adversely affected farmers and rural communities around the world. Our study examines the impacts of and adaptive responses of producers to BSE in western Canada. Moreover, it explores the role that holistic management (HM), and its combined focus on environmental, social, and economic sustainability, might play in mitigating the effects of BSE. One survey was sent to 835 HM producers and another to 9,740 producers across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The disease, and concomitant climate change and low commodity prices, had devastating impacts on both groups. Yet, HM producers were much more optimistic about their ability to adapt to BSE and the future of agriculture than their non-HM counterparts. Social networks, namely HM clubs and the larger HM community, enabled these producers to mitigate the impacts of BSE. Agronomic responses, especially those associated with rotational grazing and increases in on-farm biodiversity were also important. That HM has been such an effective adaptive response to BSE indicates the importance of this and other grassroots responses to rural crises, whether they be associated with zoonotic diseases or indeed environmental change as a whole.     

Growth promotion and disease prevention effects of streptomyces on Amorphophallus konjac K. Koch ex N.E.Br北大核心CSCD

This study aimed to evaluate the disease antagonism and seed growth promotion effects of streptomyces on Amorphophallus konjac by agar block and axenic fermentation extract experiments. Pot experiments were taken to assess relative biocontrol effiency and effect of streptomyce preparation M (mixture of S. carnosus and S. pactum in solid-state fermentation with 1:1 ratio) on biomass, photosynthetic rate, yield and corm quality of A. konjac K. Koch ex N.E.Br. Results showed that: 1 Streptomyces Act12 had obvious antagonistic activity against six soft rot pathogens, and the diameter of growth inhibition zones ranged from 19.4 to 31.6 mm. Fermentation filtrate of streptomyces exhibited growth-promoting activity on melon seed germination and seedling growth. 2 Streptomyce-derived viable preparations had biocontrol effect on A. konjac regarding soft rot-disease prevention. In the pot experiment, individual inoculation of preparations achieved 65.0% relative biocontrol effect on A. konjac during the harvest stage. After 10 and 20 days of inoculation combined with Pectobacterium chrysanthemi (a bacterial pathogen), the relative biocontrol effiency of streptomyces were 100.0% and 58.4%, respectively. 3 Streptomyces showed obvious growth-promoting effect on growth and yield of A. konjac. In the pot experiment, combined inoculation of streptomyces and Pectobacterium chrysanthemi significantly increased the petiole diameter by 11.1%, net photosynthetic rate by 111.7%, fresh weight of corm by 54.8%, fresh weight of rhizome by 304.2%, and the number of rhizomes by 200.0%, compared with individual inoculation of Pectobacterium chrysanthemi. 4 Individual inoculation with streptomyces improved corm quality of A. konjac. The contents of glucomannan, starch and cellulose significantly increased by 14.0%, 8.1% and 27.7%, respectively compared with control (P < 0.05) . This study indicates that streptomyces promotes the growth of A. konjac, enhances the yield and the content of glucomannan, and at the same time helps disease prevention of A. konjac.