The living environment and children's fears following the Indonesian tsunami

The tsunami that struck South-east Asia on 26 December 2004 left more than 500,000 people in Aceh, Indonesia, homeless and displaced to temporary barracks and other communities. This study examines the associations between prolonged habitation in barracks and the nature of fears reported by school-age children and adolescents. In mid-2007, 30 months after the tsunami, the authors interviewed 155 child and parent dyads. Logistic regression analysis was used to compare the fears reported by children and adolescents living in barracks with those reported by their peers who were living in villages. After adjusting for demographic factors and tsunami exposure, the data reveals that children and adolescents living in barracks were three times more likely than those living in villages to report tsunami-related fears. The study demonstrates that continued residence in barracks 30 months after the tsunami is associated with higher rates of reporting tsunami-related fears, suggesting that barracks habitation has had a significant impact on the psychological experience of children and adolescents since the tsunami.     

两晋以来气候变化对太湖流域稻麦两熟复种的影响

太湖流域的稻麦两熟复种大约产生于东晋南朝时期（317～589年）,此后这一种植制度长期存在,并不断有所发展。考察发现,此一区域的稻麦两熟在历史上的大多数时候并无突出的季节矛盾,只是有两个时期例外。这两个时期一是明末清初,一是19世纪。太湖流域历史上突出的季节矛盾不由人口、品种等社会原因引起,而由气候变化这一自然因素导致。明末清初和19世纪分别是历史上最为寒冷的时期,是气候变冷造成了这一区域稻麦两熟突出的季节矛盾     

西南山区某气井井场地基稳定性模拟分析

中国西南山区蕴藏着丰富的天然气资源,但随着开发规模的日益扩大,天然气井逐步转向山区这类地质环境恶劣的地区。本文以西南山区某气井为原型,在详细阐明井场区地质环境背景特征的基础上,首先对井场出现的典型地质问题——地下采空区进行定性判断和分析;之后选用F lac-2D有限差分软件,对井场加载前/后地下采空区可能造成的井场地基应力和变形特征,采用双洞和采空区这2种计算模型,进行数值模拟分析。模拟结果表明,井场加载前/后地基最大位移量为2 mm,地基局部地段出现拉应力区,但总体上地基稳定。研究结论将为后期建设中井场建筑物的优化布局及基础的选型提供依据。     

断裂构造对斜坡应力场影响的数值模拟及成灾机理研究

断裂构造及活动强度对斜坡体的应力场分布具有重要的影响。采用基于强度折减法的有限元法,分别以正断层和逆断层与斜坡体的组合关系为例,剖析了断裂构造对斜坡体应力场的影响及成灾机理,揭示了含有断层的斜坡体塑性区的贯通过程。研究表明,包含断层的斜坡体在应力分布特征及斜坡变形破坏机理方面与无断层的斜坡体有较大差别:含断层的斜坡体在坡面和断层面附近的最大主应力迹线与坡面或断层面相平行,在天然状态下,塑性区同时出现在坡脚和断层面后方,随着折减系数的增大,塑性区分别从坡脚和断层面后方向坡体深部和上部发展,直至断层面前后两个塑性区相贯通,坡体发生破坏,并且对坡体变形破坏的影响程度以逆断层最强,其次为正断层,断层不活动时较弱。     

城乡二元制度对农民工市民化影响的实证分析

将影响农民工市民化的制度因素归结为城乡分割、城市偏向的城乡二元制度,分析了这一制度的内涵和基本特征,并运用Logistic回归模型和入户调查数据对这一制度对农民工市民化意愿、市民化能力和市民化进程的影响进行实证分析,结果发现,虽然农民工具有比较强烈的市民化愿望,但由于受到市民化能力的制约,绝大多数农民工无法转化为市民,因此尽快提离农民工的市民化能力成为促进农民工市民化的关键;在城乡二元制度中,除了城乡二元户籍制度之外,城乡二元就业制度、城乡二元社会保障制度、城乡二元土地制度和城乡二元教育制度对农民工市民化意愿和市民化能力,进而对农民工的市民化进程具有明显的阻碍作用:因此,未来城乡二元制度的创新重点不能再继续停留在形式化的城乡二元户籍制度层面,而应该尽快切换到对农民工的预期和收入等权利和待遇具有实质性影响的城乡二元就业制度、城乡二元社会保障制度、城乡二元土地制度和城乡二元教育制度上来.     

The Dual Model for Tourism Resource Productivity Improvement

For natural resource science, resource productivity studying is an important subject. But researches on tourism resource productivity are limited. The most significant influencing factor on tourism resource productivity is the potential market scale of tourist locations, and second most important influencing factor is the resource endowment. Regional urban population is significantly correlated with region tourist numbers, being the decisive factor of region potential tour market scale. In tourism development, the dual model should be adopted: on one hand to enhance tour spot attractiveness, on the other hand to cultivate the potential market by improving urbanization level and other means. In the situation of tourism development fever spreading, the dual model for improving tourism productivity helps to avoid the "Great Leap Forward" which means that too rapid tourism construction divorces from actual market demand.     

Biochemical biomarkers in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) after short-term exposure to diesel oil, pure biodiesel and biodiesel blends

Fossil fuels such as diesel are being gradually replaced by biodiesel, a renewable energy source, cheaper and less polluting. However, little is known about the toxic effects of this new energy source on aquatic organisms. Thus, we evaluated biochemical biomarkers related to oxidative stress in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) after two and seven exposure days to diesel and pure biodiesel (B100) and blends B5 and B20 at concentrations of 0.01 and 0.1 mL L⁻¹. The hepatic ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity was highly induced in all groups, except for those animals exposed to B100. There was an increase in lipid peroxidation in liver and gills in the group exposed to the higher concentration of B5. All treatments caused a significant increase in the levels of 1-hydroxypyrene excreted in the bile after 2 and 7 d, except for those fish exposed to B100. The hepatic glutathione-S-transferase increased after 7 d in animals exposed to the higher concentration of diesel and in the gill of fish exposed to the higher concentration of pure diesel and B5, but decreased for the two tested concentrations of B100. Superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase also presented significant changes according to the treatments for all groups, including B100. Biodiesel B20 in the conditions tested had fewer adverse effects than diesel and B5 for the Nile tilapia, and can be suggested as a less harmful fuel in substitution to diesel. However, even B100 could activate biochemical responses in fish, at the experimental conditions tested, indicating that this fuel can also represent a risk to the aquatic biota.     

Cobalt-induced oxidative stress in brain, liver and kidney of goldfish Carassius auratus

Cobalt is an essential element, but at high concentrations it is toxic. In addition to its well-known function as an integral part of cobalamin (vitamin B₁₂), cobalt has recently been shown to be a mimetic of hypoxia and a stimulator of the production of reactive oxygen species. The present study investigated the responses of goldfish, Carassius auratus, to 96 h exposure to 50, 100 or 150 mg L⁻¹ Co²⁺ in aquarium water (administered as CoCl₂). The concentrations of cobalt in aquaria did not change during fish exposure. Exposure to cobalt resulted in increased levels of lipid peroxides in brain (a 111% increase after exposure to 150 mg L⁻¹ Co²⁺) and liver (30-66% increases after exposure to 50-150 mg L⁻¹ Co²⁺), whereas the content of protein carbonyls rose only in kidney (by 112%) after exposure to 150 mg L⁻¹ cobalt. Low molecular mass thiols were depleted by 24-41% in brain in response to cobalt treatment. The activities of primary antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, were substantially suppressed in brain and liver as a result of Co²⁺ exposure, whereas in kidney catalase activity was unchanged and SOD activity increased. The activities of glutathione-related enzymes, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase, did not change as a result of cobalt exposure, but glutathione reductase activity increased by ∼40% and ∼70% in brain and kidney, respectively. Taken together, these data show that exposure of fish to Co²⁺ ions results in the development of oxidative stress and the activation of defense systems in different goldfish tissues.     

Plant communities in relation to flooding and soil contamination in a lowland Rhine River floodplain

Using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), relationships were investigated between plant species composition and flooding characteristics, heavy metal contamination and soil properties in a lowland floodplain of the Rhine River. Floodplain elevation and yearly average flooding duration turned out to be more important for explaining variation in plant species composition than soil heavy metal contamination. Nevertheless, plant species richness and diversity showed a significant decrease with the level of contamination. As single heavy metal concentrations seemed mostly too low for causing phytotoxic effects in plants, this trend is possibly explained by additive effects of multiple contaminants or by the concomitant influences of contamination and non-chemical stressors like flooding. These results suggest that impacts of soil contamination on plants in floodplains could be larger than expected from mere soil concentrations. In general, these findings emphasize the relevance of analyzing effects of toxic substances in concert with the effects of other relevant stressors.     

A hybrid method for quasi-three-dimensional slope stability analysis in a municipal solid waste landfill

Limited space for accommodating the ever increasing mounds of municipal solid waste (MSW) demands the capacity of MSW landfill be maximized by building landfills to greater heights with steeper slopes. This situation has raised concerns regarding the stability of high MSW landfills. A hybrid method for quasi-three-dimensional slope stability analysis based on the finite element stress analysis was applied in a case study at a MSW landfill in north-east Spain. Potential slides can be assumed to be located within the waste mass due to the lack of weak foundation soils and geosynthetic membranes at the landfill base. The only triggering factor of deep-seated slope failure is the higher leachate level and the relatively high and steep slope in the front. The valley-shaped geometry and layered construction procedure at the site make three-dimensional slope stability analyses necessary for this landfill. In the finite element stress analysis, variations of leachate level during construction and continuous settlement of the landfill were taken into account. The "equivalent" three-dimensional factor of safety (FoS) was computed from the individual result of the two-dimensional analysis for a series of evenly spaced cross sections within the potential sliding body. Results indicate that the hybrid method for quasi-three-dimensional slope stability analysis adopted in this paper is capable of locating roughly the spatial position of the potential sliding mass. This easy to manipulate method can serve as an engineering tool in the preliminary estimate of the FoS as well as the approximate position and extent of the potential sliding mass. The result that FoS obtained from three-dimensional analysis increases as much as 50% compared to that from two-dimensional analysis implies the significance of the three-dimensional effect for this study-case. Influences of shear parameters, time elapse after landfill closure, leachate level as well as unit weight of waste on FoS were also investigated in this paper. These sensitivity analyses serve as the guidelines of construction practices and operating procedures for the MSW landfill under study.