SUSTAINABILITY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL: MANAGEMENT TOOLS AND MUNICIPAL TAX INCENTIVE MODEL

The implementation of sustainable development may seem a simple concept when written on paper. However to carry-out long term actions put forward by the Agenda 21 (AG21) at the local level represents one of the main challenges as municipal governments in general do not have the capacity to effectively implement the process. Regional environmental assessment (REA) has shown to be effective in supporting decision-making not only to correct environmental problems due to past unsustainable social-economic developments but also help local governments to implement sustainable actions. However this requires long-term investments of AG21 plans and projects. The allocation of regular and consistent financial resources is one of the main ingredients for the sustainable development process. But traditional plans and projects financed by national and/or international funds may not be sustainable in the long-term because they become dependent on external funding. Research demonstrate that innovative economic instruments such as ecotaxes represent a feasible alternative to sponsor local sustainability because taxes are collected permanently by the government and could be invested in continuous actions. Ecotaxes experiences have provided important reference to structure a municipal incentive model (MIM) to sponsor AG21’s environmental plans and projects on a long-term (permanent) basis. However sustainable development cannot be solely through economic investments. A comprehensive municipal environmental management scheme (MEMS) has been established to support the incentive model. The scheme seeks not only to improve local institutional framework but also incentive continuous participation of local stakeholders at all levels of society. Participatory events and the provision of incentives (educational and financial) are key to motivate society to protect the environment and support actively the sustainable development process as emphasised in the RIO-92 Conference.     

Pitfalls in molecular diagnosis in a family with severe factor VII (FVII) deficiency—misdiagnosis by direct sequence analysis using a PCR product

Molecular diagnostic tests are becoming a routine analysis in many laboratories. These modern analyses are widely used in clinical medicine, forensic, genetic and prenatal diagnosis and also in preimplantation genetic diagnosis. The accuracy of analysis is highly dependent on the success achieved in minimising genotyping errors. The pitfalls in molecular diagnostic tests can be due to a simple technique such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) used universally. This technique is routinely used for its apparent accuracy, but it is also a well-known source of errors. We report an error introduced during PCR reaction that leads to a wrong sequence result and consequently to a ‘false’ molecular result in a next prenatal diagnosis in a family with severe factor VII (FVII) deficiency. This error was verified using an unsuitable primer design in a rich repetitive sequence of the FVII gene that leads to a false annealing and then to a wrong molecular diagnosis. It is essential to link closely molecular data with clinical and phenotype analysis in order to avoid false-negative or false-positive results, which is of great importance to diagnosis and molecular prevention. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

爆炸事故过程分析中不确定性问题处理方法

针对事故过程分析中的不确定性问题,指出了不确定问题在危险分析中的重要性及处理该问题的复杂性和难点,列出了几种基于非线性数学方法处理不确定问题的基本方法,如微分法、MonteCarlo模拟、Fourier方法、响应表面法等,并对之进行了比较.建议在处理事故过程的不确定性时采用Monte Carlo模拟.     

青岛工业与资源灰色关联分析

本文应用灰色关联分析方法研究了青岛地区主导工业对资源的依赖状态及不同工业行业之产出对各类资源投入的反应程度,以灰关联树反映工业经济与资源复合系统之整体及不同层次子系统的耦合关系,定量揭示工业经济效益主导变量与各类资源变量的动态联系,从资源高效利用的角度探讨了青岛工业产业结构调整和优化的方向及区域经济与环境效益相协调的可能途径。     

亚热带稻田土壤碳氮磷生态化学计量学特征

为了解稻田土壤中是否存在稳定的土壤有机碳(C)、氮(N)和磷(P)比值,基于亚热带区110个水稻土剖面和587个发生层的土壤调查数据库,在区域尺度上分析了典型水稻土C∶N∶P比值的生态化学计量学特征,并应用相关分析和冗余分析,研究水稻土C∶N∶P比值与土壤-环境因子(地形和母质、土壤发生层、土壤类型和土壤理化性质)的关系.结果显示,亚热带区稻田土壤C∶N、C∶P和N∶P的剖面加权平均值分别为12. 6、49和3. 9,C∶N∶P为38∶3. 2∶1.不同母质起源、不同土壤亚类和不同发生层的水稻土C∶N变异相对较小;但C∶P和N∶P的变异很大,两者均值也远低于全球(186和13. 1)和中国土壤(136和9. 3)的C∶P和N∶P的平均水平.尽管稻田土壤剖面的C∶N∶P相对不稳定,但由于稻田表土生物与环境相互作用强烈,表土C∶N相对稳定(14. 2).这反映长期水耕熟化作用下,稻田表土中C和N仍存在紧密的耦合作用.然而,在稻田土壤剖面上,C∶P和N∶P并不稳定,SOC与全P含量、全N与全P含量也无显著相关性,表明环境变化可能导致土壤C∶N∶P解耦.地形、土壤质地、氧化铁和容重是调控稻田土壤剖面C∶N∶P的关键土壤环境因子.     

新疆石化工业区颗粒物含水量和酸度对二次无机组分形成的影响

大气二次污染物是新疆独山子区大气污染物的重要组成部分,研究大气中二次组分的转化过程对区域大气污染治理有着重要意义.对新疆独山子区2015年9月至2016年7月采集到的样品进行水溶性组分分析.结果表明,水溶性无机离子(TWSIs)表现出与PM_(2.5)一致的季节变化,为冬季(67.86μg·m~(-3))秋季(13.77μg·m~(-3))春季(10.09μg·m~(-3))夏季(4.85μg·m~(-3));冬季二次无机离子(NH~+_4、SO~(2-)_4和NO~-_3)占TWSIs的98%;结合气溶胶热力学模型(E-AIM)探讨独山子区大气颗粒污染物中颗粒相含水量以及颗粒酸碱性;表明独山子区颗粒物呈酸性,年均原位pH为0.81,其中冬季样品的pH(2.93)值最高;颗粒含水季节变化为冬季(331.32μg·m~(-3))秋季(5.91μg·m~(-3))春季(5.46μg·m~(-3))夏季(1.62μg·m~(-3));年均氮氧化率(NOR)和硫氧化率(SOR)分别为0.13和0.47,表明区域污染物存在二次转化;进一步分析表明颗粒相中的硫酸盐质量浓度受到颗粒含水量和颗粒酸碱度的影响较为明显;高的颗粒相含水条件下区域硝酸盐的形成主要以非均相反应为主.