National short-term dietary exposure assessment of a selected group of pesticides in Argentina

ABSTRACT

An evaluation of acute dietary exposure to pesticide residues, applying deterministic and stochastic methods, was performed for a selected group of pesticides in two representative age groups from Argentina. Thus, 28 active ingredients (a.i.) and 75 food items were evaluated for the group of 2–5-year-old children, while 9 a.i. and 59 food items were considered for the 10–49-year-old women group. A deterministic assessment was conducting following the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) procedure but using the national maximum residue limits (MRLs) as pesticide residue concentration data, while in the stochastic approach, a theoretical distribution modeled with the available information was used. Food consumption data were obtained from the 2004–2005 comprehensive national nutrition and health survey. The risk was estimated by comparing the short-term dietary exposure with the acute reference dose (ARfD) values for each pesticide-food combination evaluated. In the deterministic assessment, 173 (39.1%) and 40 (31.3%) combinations exceeded the ARfD thresholds for the 2–5-year-old children and 10–49-year-old women groups, respectively. This conservative study generated relevant information as a first stage of acute dietary risk assessment in Argentina.     

A flexible intelligent algorithm for identification of optimum mix of demographic variables for integrated HSEE-ISO systems: The case of a gas transmission refinery

This study proposes a flexible intelligent algorithm for assessment and optimization of demographic features on integrated health, safety, and environment and ergonomics (HSEE)-ISO systems among operators of a gas transmission refinery. To achieve the objectives of this study, standard questionnaires with respect to HSEE and ISO standards are completed by 80 operators. Demographic features include age, education, gender, weight, stature, marital status, and work type. The average results for each category of HSEE are used as inputs and effectiveness of ISO systems (ISO 18000, ISO 14000, and ISO 9000) are used as output for the intelligent algorithm. Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) in addition to conventional regression are used in this paper. Result shows the applicability and superiority of the flexible intelligent algorithm over conventional methods through mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). Computational results show that the proposed ANN performs better than ANFIS and conventional regressions based on its relative error. Finally, the optimum mix of demographic variables from viewpoint of HSEE and ISO are identified. This is the first study that proposes a flexible intelligent algorithm for assessment of optimum mix of demographic features for HSEE and ISO systems in a complex system such as a gas transmission refinery.     

Effects of social networks on interventions to change conservation behavior

Social networks are critical to the success of behavioral interventions in conservation because network processes such as information flows and social influence can enable behavior change to spread beyond a targeted group. We investigated these mechanisms in the context of a social marketing campaign to promote a wildlife poisoning hotline in Cambodia. With questionnaire surveys we measured a social network and knowledge and constructs from the theory of planned behavior at 3 points over 6 months. The intervention initially targeted ∼11% (of 365) of the village, but after 6 months ∼40% of the population was knowledgeable about the campaign. The likelihood of being knowledgeable nearly doubled with each additional knowledgeable household member. In the short term, there was also a modest, but widespread improvement in proconservation behavioral intentions, but this did not persist after 6 months. Estimates from stochastic actor-oriented models suggested that the influences of social peers, rather than knowledge, were driving changes in intention and contributed to the failure to change behavioral intention in the long term, despite lasting changes in attitudes and perceived norms. Our results point to the importance of accounting for the interaction between networks and behavior when designing conservation interventions.     

INVERSE SOLUTION OF HYDRAULIC DIFFUSIVITY DETERMINED BY WATER LEVEL FLUCTUATION1

ABSTRACT: This study uses the spectral analysis to inversely solve for hydraulic diffusivity of a one-dimensional aquifer with boundaries subject to non-steady state water level fluctuation. Given water level spectra obtained from observation wells and tidal gauge stations, hydraulic diffusivity of a confined aquifer in a Quaternary alluvial plain is found to be about 1.8×10⁶m^2/hr which is one order of magnitude higher than the value obtained from a local pump test performed in the same area.     

基于贝叶斯网络的太湖叶绿素a影响因素分析

全球变暖加剧了湖泊富营养化问题.太湖作为中国典型的大型富营养化浅水湖泊,有害蓝藻水华问题尤为突出.以太湖作为研究对象,利用1992～2020年气象(气温、风速、降雨量、日照时长)、水质[总氮、总磷(TP)、电导率、pH、化学需氧量]和生物[叶绿素a(Chla)]监测数据,基于连续型贝叶斯网络模型构建了Chla的模拟模型,研究太湖不同气象和水质条件下的Chla水平.结果表明,春季“温风比”平均水平为6.67℃·s·m^-1,ρ(TP)低于0.130 mg·L^-1左右时,Chla偏高(>75分位数,下同)的概率小于75%;夏季“温风比”平均水平为10.52℃·s·m^-1,ρ(TP)低于0.257 mg·L^-1左右时,Chla偏高的概率小于75%;秋季ρ(TP)平均水平为0.154 mg·L^-1,“温风比”小于6.30℃·s·m^-1左右时,Chla偏高的概率小于75%.基于以上研究,进一步利用连续型贝叶斯网络模型构建的Chla模型模拟了不同气候变化背景下的营...     

An interval type-2 fuzzy stochastic approach for regional-scale electric power system under parameter uncertainty

In this study, an interval type-2 fuzzy stochastic linear programming method (IT2FSLP) is developed to support regional-scale electric power system (REM) planning. The IT2FSLP-REM model is based on an integration of interval type-2 fuzzy sets boundary programming and stochastic linear programming techniques enable it to have robust abilities to the deal with uncertainties expressed as type-2 fuzzy intervals and probabilistic distributions within a general optimization framework. Moreover, it can reflect dynamic decisions for energy supply and energy conversion processes, as well as provide capacity expansion options with multiple periods. The developed model is applied to a case of planning regional-scale energy and environmental systems to demonstrate its applicability. Based on a two-step solution algorithm, reasonable solutions have been obtained, which reflect tradeoffs among economic cost, environmental requirements, and energy-supply security. Thus, the lower and upper solutions of IT2FSLP-REM would then help energy authorities adjust or justify allocation patterns of regional energy resources and services.     

Incorporating Uncertainty of Management Costs in Sensitivity Analyses of Matrix Population Models

The importance of accounting for economic costs when making environmental‐management decisions subject to resource constraints has been increasingly recognized in recent years. In contrast, uncertainty associated with such costs has often been ignored. We developed a method, on the basis of economic theory, that accounts for the uncertainty in population‐management decisions. We considered the case where, rather than taking fixed values, model parameters are random variables that represent the situation when parameters are not precisely known. Hence, the outcome is not precisely known either. Instead of maximizing the expected outcome, we maximized the probability of obtaining an outcome above a threshold of acceptability. We derived explicit analytical expressions for the optimal allocation and its associated probability, as a function of the threshold of acceptability, where the model parameters were distributed according to normal and uniform distributions. To illustrate our approach we revisited a previous study that incorporated cost‐efficiency analyses in management decisions that were based on perturbation analyses of matrix population models. Incorporating derivations from this study into our framework, we extended the model to address potential uncertainties. We then applied these results to 2 case studies: management of a Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) population and conservation of an olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) population. For low aspirations, that is, when the threshold of acceptability is relatively low, the optimal strategy was obtained by diversifying the allocation of funds. Conversely, for high aspirations, the budget was directed toward management actions with the highest potential effect on the population. The exact optimal allocation was sensitive to the choice of uncertainty model. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for uncertainty when making decisions and suggest that more effort should be placed on understanding the distributional characteristics of such uncertainty. Our approach provides a tool to improve decision making.     

我国耕地利用效率的区域差异及其收敛性研究

基于地均种植业产值、地均劳动力及各种农业生产物质的投入情况,以耕地利用效率为主要研究对象,运用随机前沿生产函数方法计算了1990-2008年间中国各省区的耕地利用效率并对其时空变化规律进行了分析。研究表明:现阶段我国耕地利用仍以物资成本的投入为主,我国耕地产出的提高主要依赖于化肥使用量的增加,机械化程度的提高对其影响不大;我国耕地利用效率的整体水平不高,大部分地区耕地的实际产出与现有投入水平下的潜在产出之间存在较大差距,说明现阶段我国农业生产中存在着物质投入的严重浪费;近20 a来,我国耕地利用效率虽然逐渐提高,但提高的速率有着下降的趋势;省际间耕地利用效率有着明显的差异,而且表现出东、中、西部聚集的特征,与地区间经济发展差异不同的是,东部地区耕地平均效率最高,西部次之,中部地区的耕地利用效率最低;最后,在中国过去的近20 a里,全国范围内耕地利用效率虽有收敛的迹象,全域性的β-收敛特征并不显著,但中国的东、中、西三大地带内部却表现出较强的β-收敛特征。从区域收敛的稳态值看,东、西部地区的结果非常接近,而且均显示东部地带高于西部地带、西部地带高于中部地带的基本特征,这意味着随着时间的推移,中国的三大经济带将各自收敛于一个更高的耕地利用效率上。