Oxidative stress related enzymes in response to chromium (Ⅵ) toxicity in Oxya chinensis ( Orthoptera : Acridoidae)

The toxic effects of Cr（Vl） on antioxidant enzymes of Oxya chinensis（Orthoptera： Acridoidae） were determined. Changes in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase（SOD）, catalase（CAT）, and guaiacol peroxidase（GPx） were measured in O. chinensis insects injected with Cr（VI）. Fifth-nymphs of O. chinensis insects were injected with Cr（VI） with different concentrations （0, 75, 150, 225, 300, 375, 450 mg/kg of body weight）. The results showed that Cr（VI） led to the change of SOD, CAT, and GPx activities at different concentrations, which revealed that： （1） The oxidative stress of SOD increased with the increase of Cr （VI） concentration. （2） With the increase of Cr （VI） concentrations, CAT activities for females increased at lower concentrations, but decreased at higher concentration range, which indicated that antioxidant system of O. chinensis was not influenced by the presence of Cr （VI）. A very similar response to Cr（VI） effect for males indicated that Cr（VI） concentrations were not high enough to damage O. chinensis in terms of CAT. （3） The GPx activity for females increased in all treatments, which revealed that the damage power of Cr（VI） was increased with the increase of Cr（Vi） concentrations in terms of GPx, but the effect was not so remarkable. There was not a consistent trend of GPx activities for males in all treatments of Cr（VI）. Cr（VI）-induced changes in antioxidant enzymes were different for SOD, CAT and GPx, of which the tendency was that activities generally changed with increase of concentrations of Cr（VI） suggesting SOD, CAT, and GPx could serve as indices of oxidative stress to some extent.     

某隧道进口段边坡的变形破坏机理分析

某隧道进口段滑坡的发生是由于隧道开挖过程中破碎围岩向隧道开挖临空面位移,进而引发的坡面岩土体的失稳。数值模拟结果表明,因隧道开挖引起的洞顶区边坡岩体应力水平下降的区域一直延续到地表,这种应力场的变化会直接导致边坡表面的变形和破坏,表现在以隧道轴线为中心,向两侧呈扇形展开的坡体产生了一定的沉降变形。对比结果表明滑坡区与由隧道开挖引起的坡体附加位移较大的区域基本相当,说明此滑坡是由于隧道开挖引起了围岩应力场调整,导致围岩产生向洞内的位移变形,从而使岩体发生松动而引发的。     

便携式拉伸应力腐蚀试验器的研制

介绍了一种可以用于研究材料在自然环境及特定环境(如有毒有害气氛、各种腐蚀介质等)下应力腐蚀性能的便携式拉伸应力腐蚀试验装置。该装置将试样通过上、下夹头安装在主承力框架内,利用弹簧对试样施加轴向载荷,使试样承受恒定的拉伸应力。该试验器的特点是载荷范围大且加载精确、结构简单、体积紧凑、重量轻、造价低,特别适宜于户外的自然环境暴露试验。     

某大型储罐复合地基沉降计算分析

从某大型储罐复合地基沉降机理分析入手,合理选择沉降计算公式,对建造在该类复合地基上的大型储罐沉降量作计算,并经实测沉降资料对比后,验证该类储罐沉降计算方法的适用性,为今后类同工程地质条件下,储罐基础的优化设计积累经验.图1,表1,参3.     

Response of peroxidase and catalase to acid rain stress during seed germination of rice, wheat, and rape

Seed germination of plants with various acid-resistance display different responses to acid rain. To understand the reason why such differences occur, the effects of simulated acid rain (pH 2.5–5.0) on the activities of peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) during seed germination of rice (O. sativa), wheat (T. aestivum), and rape (B. chinensis var. oleifera) were investigated. Results indicated that the maximum change in activities of CAT and POD by acid rain treatment with different acidity and time in relation to the referent treatment without acid rain, was in the order: rice (28.8%, 31.7%) < wheat (34.7%, 48.3%) < rape (79.3%, 50.0%). The pH level for which the treatment with acid rain did not cause significant difference (p < 0.05) was in the order: rice (3.5).wheat (4.0).rape (5.0). Moreover, the change in activity of POD was higher than that of CAT, which showed that POD was more sensitive to acid rain stress than CAT. The difference in the ability of POD and CAT in removing free radicals was one reason why the germination indexes of these three species behaved differently. __________ Translated from Environmental Science, 2005, 26(6): 123–125 [译自: 环境科学]     

A new approach to quantifying and comparing vulnerability to drought

In this study we develop an “inference modeling” approach to compare and analyze how different disciplines (economics, political science, and behavioral science/environmental psychology) estimate vulnerability to drought. It is thought that a better understanding of these differences can lead to a synthesis of insights from the different disciplines and eventually to more comprehensive assessments of vulnerability. The new methodology consists of (1) developing inference models whose variables and assertions incorporate qualitative knowledge about vulnerability, (2) converting qualitative model variables into quantitative indicators by using fuzzy set theory, (3) collecting data on the values of the indicators from case study regions, (4) inputting the regional data to the models and computing quantitative values for susceptibility. The methodology was applied to three case study regions (in India, Portugal and Russia) having a range of socio-economic and water stress conditions. In some cases the estimates of susceptibility were surprisingly similar, in others not, depending on the factors included in the disciplinary models and their relative weights. A new approach was also taken to testing vulnerability parameters by comparing estimated water stress against a data set of drought occurrences based on media analysis. The new methodologies developed in this paper provide a consistent basis for comparing differences between disciplinary perspectives, and for identifying the importance of the differences.

Application of fuzzy models to assess susceptibility to droughts from a socio-economic perspective

By combining the concepts of environmental stress, state susceptibility and environmental crisis, “Security Diagram” (SD) provides a quantitative approach to assessing environmental change and human security. The SD is a tool that clearly presents in a diagram the security situation of a population or region affected by a particular environmental crisis. Its underlying concept emphasises that the higher the level of environmental stress and socio-economic susceptibility, the higher the probability of the occurrence of crisis. Focusing on drought, this study analyses the susceptibility of case study regions in India, Portugal, and Russia from a socio-economic perspective. A conceptual framework of socio-economic susceptibility is developed based on the economic development theories of modernisation and dependency. Fuzzy set theory is used to generate susceptibility indices from a range of national and sub-national indicators, including financial resources, agricultural dependency and infrastructure development (for economic susceptibility), and health condition, educational attainment and gender inequality (for social susceptibility). Results indicate that socio-economic susceptibility over the period 1980–1995 was highest in India, followed by Russia and (since 1989) lowest in Portugal. Globalisation is likely to contribute to changes in the level of socio-economic susceptibility over time. Moreover, specific social and economic structures unique in each country (e.g., the role of women in society in India, the socialist legacy in Russia) may explain differences in susceptibility between the case study regions.

临近断层特厚煤层分层开采冲击地压发生机制

为了研究临近断层分层开采的冲击地压发生机制,以老虎台矿特厚煤层开采为研究背景,采用地质动力区划方法、数值模拟和现场监测方法对井田的地质动力环境、临近断层开采的围岩应力分布规律和断层滑移特征及其与冲击地压的关系进行了研究。采用地质动力区划方法,将老虎台井田断裂构造划分为5级,通过地震和矿震分布情况,确定老虎台矿地质构造活跃,处于较高的应力环境;采用FLAC3D数值模拟和锚索应力监测方法,分析断层围岩应力演化规律和断层滑移规律,在断层和开采共同作用下工作面断层侧超前支承压力急剧升高。结果表明,地质动力环境为冲击地压的发生创造了外界环境条件,断层和采动的耦合作用是冲击地压诱发的主要原因。     

特厚倾斜煤层采空区对公路路基沉降影响研究

为了研究采空区导致上覆复杂岩层运移致使公路路基沉降问题,以颗粒流理论为基础,通过下落法构建模型。根据煤层位置,假设了7种采空区长度进行模拟。模拟的结果为岩层应力、应变在不同情况下的最终状态,同时提出了影响区和松散堆积区的概念。结果表明,由于岩层构造复杂,在不同情况下主要影响区和松散堆积区的发展变化是不同的,特别是岩层4的作用较为特殊。根据公路路基设计规范,采空区只限于假设1和假设2的采空区范围内,路基沉降才能满足规范要求。     

Better understanding of the activated sludge process combining fluorescence-based methods and flow cytometry: A case study

This study aims to demonstrate the validity of fluorescence-based methods, together with flow cytometry, as a complementary tool to conventional physicochemical analyses carried out in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), for the control of the currently largely unknown activated sludge process. Staining with SYTO 9, propidium iodide and 5-(and 6)-carboxy-2′,7′-difluorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (carboxy-H₂DFFDA) was used for cell viability and oxidative stress monitoring of the bacterial population forming the activated sludge of a WWTP. Throughout the period of research, several unstable periods were detected, where the non-viable bacteria exceeded the 75% of the total bacterial population in the activated sludge, but only in one case the cells with oxidative stress grew to 9%, exceeding the typical values of 2%–5% of this plant. These periods coincided in two cases with high values of total suspended solids (SST) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the effluent, and with an excess of ammonia in other case. A correlation between flow cytometric and physicochemical data was found, which enabled to clarify the possible origin of each case of instability in the biological system. This experience supports the application of bacterial fluorescence staining, together with flow cytometric analysis, as a simple, rapid and reliable tool for the control and better understanding of the bacteria dynamics in a biological wastewater treatment process.