“Science is Everywhere,but No One Knows It”: Assessing the Cultural Distance to Science of Rural South African Publics

ABSTRACT

In science communication, a prerequisite for reaching different parts of a society is to find out how these publics experience and interpret science. Since rural South African publics are perceived to exhibit a large cultural distance to science, the present exploratory study aimed to know in more detail how rural South Africans perceive and understand science in their local and social contexts. Theoretical notions on cultural distance and the methodological approach of segmentation studies were considered. Semi-structured interviews with rural South Africans were carried out in four towns (n?=?52) that differ with respect to having a large scientific installation in their vicinity, or not. Sensitively comparing local and social contexts helped identifying three different publics who differed regarding their perceptions of science; however, the large scientific installations only made a difference in perceptions for those publics who were generally less exposed to and less knowledgeable about science.     

我国长江流域中三角区域大气污染物排放特征研究

中三角区域已经是我国第四个国家级城市群,也将成为我国经济增长的"第四极"。在经济发展的同时,更需要以节能减排、资源环境等为重点,以实现经济建设与生态文明"双可持续"的协同发展。本文以二氧化硫、氮氧化物、烟(粉)尘为主要大气污染物,对我国中三角区域大气污染物排放进行了详细的分析,并与京津冀、长三角、珠三角、"三区十群"等进行了多方位比较。结果表明,2013年中三角区域二氧化硫排放量为151.7万t,其中工业二氧化硫排放量为140.1万t;氮氧化物排放量为147.2万t,其中工业氮氧化物排放量为93.6万t;烟(粉)尘排放量为81.8万t,其中工业烟(粉)尘排放量为71.4万t。中三角区域二氧化硫、氮氧化物、烟(粉)尘排放量均位于"四极"的第三。中三角区域二氧化硫、氮氧化物、烟(粉)尘单位GDP排放强度分别为25.03t/亿元、24.29 t/亿元、13.50 t/亿元,分别位于"四极"的第一、第二、第二。同时,本文还从经济发展模式、产业结构调整、煤炭消费方式等方面对我国中三角等经济"四极"提出了相关建议。     

基于景观格局演变的流域生态风险评价与管控——以贵州赤水河流域为例

以岩溶地区典型流域——赤水河流域为研究对象,以2000、2005、2008、2013年4期遥感数据为基础,结合Arc Map的空间分析功能,对流域景观格局演变过程进行分析,构建流域生态风险评价体系与管控措施。研究表明:2000~2013年赤水河流域无风险区、潜在风险区、轻度风险区分别由1.66、2.95、75.41 km~2上升至5.63、21.81、115.45 km~2,而中度、重度风险区却分别下降了35.6和40.27 km~2;历年生态风险演变格局为以城乡建设用地为中心,生态风险由轻度、中度、重度向潜在或无风险区过渡,轻度、中度、重度主要以点状扩散或增加,潜在及无风险区则连片分布于农田区和山地丘陵区;基于不同生态风险区的风险源管控对策,对建立流域生态风险预警机制、降低流域生态环境风险、维护流域生态服务功能具有十分重要的意义。     

柴油低温临界吸收法回收装车挥发油气

研究了采用柴油低温临界吸收法回收装车挥发油气的效果。实验结果表明：按装车挥发油气中的总烃体积分数为20.88%、装车挥发油气流量为280 m³/h、年运行时间为2 668 h计,装置年回收油气量为291 t,装置年最大运行功率为206.770 MW,装置投资回收期为3 a;处理后净化气中的总烃体积分数为1.24%,排放质量浓度低于25 g/m³,油气回收率达95%。处理后净化气满足GB 20950—2007《储油库大气污染物排放标准》,取得了较好的环保效益和经济效益。     

干式厌氧消化过程挥发酸对硫酸盐还原菌的影响

在牛粪干式厌氧消化过程中,通过添加不同挥发酸(乙酸、丙酸、丁酸),考察消化稳定阶段,挥发性脂肪酸的分布特征,挥发性脂肪酸酸组成变化对硫酸盐还原菌(SRB)的影响,微生物种群组成和种群间关系。实验结果表明,挥发性脂肪酸对SRB还原速率的贡献依次为:丙酸丁酸乙酸。相比乙酸和丁酸,添加一定量的丙酸,更有利于激活SRB的活性,从而加强SRB与产甲烷菌(MB)的种间协同,保证厌氧系统的稳定运行。     

In vitro approaches to assess bioavailability and human gastrointestinal mobilization of food-borne polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

This study reports on the potential for gastrointestinal (GI) mobilization and bioavailability of food-borne PCBs in humans. The development and validation of a GI simulator and operational protocols, developed in compliance with the requirements of German DIN 19738 risk assessment test procedure, are presented. Food, naturally contaminated with PCBs, was homogenized with simulated saliva fluid and shaken in the GI simulator with simulated gastric fluids (containing pepsin, mucine) for 2 h at 37°C. Afterwards, the simulated intestinal fluids (containing pepsin, mucine, trypsin, pancreatin, bile) were added and the mixture shaken for a further 6 h prior to centrifugation and filtration using Buchner funnels to separate the undigested GI residues from GI fluids. PCBs were recovered from GI residues and fluids by Soxhlet and liquid-liquid extraction respectively, cleaned up using silica-SFE, and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry detection (GC-MSD). Detailed studies with fish indicate variations in mobilization and bioavailability of Σ PCBs (28, 52, 101, 118, 153, 138 and 180). For example, the bioavailable fractions (fractions mobilized) in mackerel, salmon, crab and prawn were 0.77, 0.60, 0.54, and 0.72 respectively of the Σ PCBs initially present in these food samples. The bioavailable fraction was dependent on the physicochemical characteristics of the PCBs. In mackerel bioavailable fractions for individual PCB congeners ranged from 0.47–0.82, from 0.30–0.70 in salmon, 0.44–0.64 in crab and in prawn from 0.47–0.77. Future studies will focus on understanding better, the variability in bioavailable fractions to be expected for different foodstuffs, in addition to tissue culture techniques using human gut cell lines to investigate a simultaneous mobilization and absorption of food-borne PCBs.     

Antibacterial activity against Clostridium genus and antiradical activity of the essential oils from different origin

In the present study, the antimicrobial and antiradical activities of 15 essential oils were investigated. The antimicrobial activities were determined by using agar disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods against Clostridium genus and antioxidant properties of essential oils by testing their scavenging effect on DPPH radicals activities. We determined the antibacterial activity of Clostridium butyricum, Clostridium hystoliticum, Clostridium intestinale, Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium ramosum. We obtained the original commercial essential oils samples of Lavandula angustifolia, Carum carvi, Pinus montana, Mentha piperita, Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Pinus sylvestris, Satureia montana, Origanum vulgare L. (2 samples), Pimpinella anisum, Rosmarinus officinalis L., Salvia officinalis L., Abies alba Mill., Chamomilla recutita L. Rausch and Thymus vulgaris L. produced in Slovakia (Calendula a.s., Nova Lubovna, Slovakia). The results of the disk diffusion method showed very high essential oils activity against all tested strains of microorganisms. The best antimicrobial activity against C. butyricum was found at Pimpinella anisum, against C. hystoliticum was found at Pinus sylvestris, against C. intestinale was found at Satureia hortensis L., against C. perfringens was found at Origanum vulgare L. and against C. ramosum was found at Pinus sylvestris. The results of broth microdilution assay showed that none of the essential oils was active against C. hystoliticum. The best antimicrobial activity against C. butyricum was found at Abies alba Mill., against C. intestinale was found at Abies alba Mill., against C. perfringens was found at Satureia montana and against C. ramosum was found at Abius alba and Carum carvi. Antioxidant DPPH radical scavenging activity was determined at several solutions of oil samples (50 μL.mL^?1–0.39 μL.mL^?1) and the best scavenging effect for the highest concentration (50 μL.mL^?1) was observed. The antioxidant properties were different in particular plant species. The highest% of inhibition after 30 min. of reaction was observed at Origanum vulgare (93%), Satureia montana (90.66%) and Lavandula augustifolia (90.22%).     

Characterization of distribution of pesticide residues in crop units

The characteristic features of distribution of pesticide residues in crop units and single sample increments were studied based on more than 19,000 residue concentrations measured in root vegetables, leafy vegetables, small-, medium- and large-size fruits representing 20 different crops and 46 pesticides. Log-normal, gamma and Weibull distributions were found to provide the best fit for the relative frequency distributions of individual residue data sets. The overall best fit was provided by lognormal distribution. The relative standard deviation of residues (CV) in various crops ranged from 15–170%. The 100–120 residue values being in one data set was too small to identify potential effects of various factors such as the chemical and physical properties of pesticides and the nature of crops. Therefore, the average of CV values, obtained from individual data sets, were calculated and considered to be the best estimate for the likely variability of unit crop residues for treated field (CV = 0.8) and market samples (CV = 1.1), respectively. The larger variation of residues in market samples was attributed to the potential mixing of lots and varying proportion of non-detects. The expectable average variability of residues in composited samples can be calculated from the typical values taking into account the sample size.     

黑龙江省东部煤电化基地经济与生态环境协调发展评价研究

构建东部煤电化基地是继哈大齐工业走廊启动建设后,黑龙江省做出的一项重大战略部署。基地建设要求深入贯彻科学发展观,大力发展煤化工产业,实现全面、协调、可持续发展。全面协调发展不仅是经济的发展,同时也要考虑生态环境的保护。运用层次分析法和协调发展度模型,研究黑龙江东部煤电化基地经济和生态环境的协调发展程度表明,黑龙江东部煤电化基地经济和生态环境协调发展水平处于中等协调状况。针对评价结果,提出了相应的对策和建议。     

环境公害的本土化解读与法律应对——以四川藏区矿产资源开发公害为对象

以四川藏区矿产资源的开发利用为研究对象,一方面,从环境公害本土化的视角解读四川藏区的资源开发公害问题;另一方面,从法律的价值和应对的视角对资源开发公害问题进行法律规制,以期对四川藏区生态环境的保护有所裨益。