Rapid amino acid cycling in arctic and antarctic soils

Amino acids constitute one of the largest inputs of organic nitrogen (N) to most polar soils and have been hypothesized to be important in regulating vegetational succession and productivity in Arctic ecosystems. Our understanding of amino acid cycling in these soils, however, is poor. The aim of this study was to investigate the size and rate of turnover of the amino acid pool in a range of Arctic and Antarctic soils. Our results indicate that in polar soils with either high or low ornithogenic inputs the amino acid pool is small in comparison to the inorganic N pool (NO^–₃ and NH⁺₄). The free amino acid pool constituted only a small proportion of the total dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) pool in these soils. Here we show that these low concentrations may be due to rapid use by the soil microbial community in both Arctic and Antarctic soils. The turnover of the amino acid pool in soil was extremely rapid, with a half-life ranging from 2 to 24 h, indicating that this N pool can be turned over many hundred times each summer when polar soils are frequently unfrozen. The implications of amino acids in N cycling and plant and microbial nutrition are discussed.     

Impact of Land Use on Soluble Organic Nitrogen in Soil

Although it has been hypothesized that soluble organic nitrogen (SON) plays a central role in regulating productivity in some terrestrial ecosystems, the factors controlling the size of the SON pool in soil remain poorly understood. Therefore our principal aim in this work was to assess the impact of seven different land use systems (rough and managed grassland, deciduous and coniferous woodland, heathland, wetland and tilled land) on the size of the SON and inorganic N (NO ₃ ^– , NH ₄ ⁺ ) pools in the surface soil layer (0–15 cm). After extraction with deionised water, we found that in most cases the size of the water extractable organic N (WEON) pool was similar in size to the inorganic N pool. In contrast, the KCl extractable organic N (KClEON) pool constituted the dominant form of soluble N in soils under all land uses, perhaps indicating that significant amounts were held on the soil exchange phase. In contrast to inorganic N, which varied significantly with land use, the size of the KClEON and WEON pool was similar for all land uses with the exception of KClEON in tilled land, where significantly lower amounts were observed. We conclude that SON constitutes an important soil N pool in a broad range of land uses, and that its role in microbial N assimilation, plant nutrition and ecosystem responses to atmospheric N deposition warrants further attention. SAFRD, University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, U.K.     

南充市空气中可吸入颗粒物污染水平分析

本文在连续1年又5个月同步采样的基础上，测得南充市市辖三城区5个采样监测点环境空气中PM10的浓度及其时空变化进行了分析。结果表明，PM10的日平均浓度范围为0．020～1．030mg／m^3，超标率达38．0％；周日均浓度在0.040～0．520mg／m^3之间，超标率达到了37．8％。空气污染最重为嘉陵城区，其次为高坪城区，再次为石油学院、炼油厂和市府二院。浓度季节变化特征表现为冬季最高，其次为秋季，再次为春季，最轻为夏季。     

城市污水除磷技术发展

磷是水体富营养化的一个主要限制因素，控制出水中磷的浓度尤其重要。污水除磷方法有生物除磷、化学除磷及生态除磷，也可将各种方法组合使用，如生物一化学除磷、生物一生态除磷等，实际应用中应根据具体情况选择适宜的除磷方法。     

人工湿地控制非点源污染的应用

随着点源污染的有效管理和控制，非点源污染已成为水环境污染的主要原因。人工湿地作为一种控制水环境非点源污染的有效工具，已被世界上很多国家所认可。本文首先简述了非点源污染的危害，其次对人工湿地的概念和类型进行了介绍，论述了人工湿地对非点源污染中氮、磷、重金属和农药等主要污染物的去除机理，最后对人工湿地处理系统的附属设施、水力因素、表土层以及植物收割等应用问题进行了探讨。     

整治塔里木河上、中游用水结构,恢复和重建下游绿色走廊

塔里木河下游的卡拉到罗布庄(台特马湖口)，河道长度491kin，塔河中、上游大规模水土开发，使其下游的水量不断减少。从20世纪70年代开始，大西海子水库就成了塔里木河最终归宿地，两大沙漠在绿色走廊的多处合拢。绿色走廊生态危机已越来越显露出来，遏制塔河下游生态恶化趋势刻不容缓，重新构筑绿色长城不能在延误了。笔者于2002-10月和2004—05月先后两次对塔河中、下游地区进行实地考察，在实地考察和前人研究资料的基础上，对整治塔河上、中游，恢复和重建下游绿色走廊问题进行探讨。     

美国油气开发钻井废物排放管理法规浅析

钻井是石油天然气勘探开发过程中的重要环节,钻井过程中污染物的排放管理也受到各国普遍的重视。对钻井污染物的特点进行了分析,在此基础上概括地介绍了美国的相关环境管理法规体系。重点论述了与钻井排污有关的资源保护与补偿法、安全饮用水法、清洁水法等,总结了可供我国借鉴的若干法规、标准制定的理念和方法。     

红外光度法测定石油类和动植物油常见问题探讨

根据石油类在波数为2930cm-1、2960 cm-1、3030 cm-1全部或部分谱带处有物征吸收的原理,采用红外光度测油仪和水样絮凝富集技术测定石油类、动植物油。     

大气环境立法新动向

大气环境法是随大气环境的变化而发展的。通过分析美、日、中等国家近年来的大气环境立法状况，概括出目前大气环境立法的五大趋势。这些趋势反映了人们对大气污染防治问题认识的深入和对大气环境污染防治法律观念的转变。     

Exploiting Abstract Possibilities: A Critique of the Concept and Practice of Product Patenting

Developments in biotechnology and genomics have moved the issue of patenting scientific and technological inventions toward the center of interest. In particular, the patentability of genes of plants, animals, or humans and of genetically modified (parts of) living organisms has been discussed, and questioned, from various normative perspectives. This paper aims to contribute to this debate. For this purpose, it first explains a number of relevant aspects of the theory and practice of patenting. The focus is on a special and increasingly significant type of patents, namely product patents. The paper provides three general arguments against the concept and practice of product patenting. The first argument briefly considers the claim that patents are legitimate because they promote socially useful innovation. Against this claim, it is argued that product patents may hamper rather than promote such innovation. The second and main argument concludes that product patents are not adequately based on actual technological inventions, as they should be according to the usual criteria of patentability. The principal moral issue is that product patents tend to reward patentees for inventions they have not really made available. The final argument proposes a method for patenting the heat of the sun. Assuming that granting this patent will be generally considered absurd, the argument exposes a further, fundamental problem of the concept and practice of product patenting.