Significance of platinum group metals emitted from automobile exhaust gas converters for the biosphere

Intention, Goal, Scope, Background  Following the introduction of automobile catalytic converters the platinum group metals (PGM) platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd) and rhodium (Rh) gain on increasing interest in environmental research as these metals are emitted with exhaust fumes into the environment. Consequently, elevated PGM levels were found in different environmental matrices uch as road dusts, soils along heavily frequented roads, sediments of urban rivers etc. Accordingly, the effects of increasing PGM emissions on the biosphere are controversially discussed. Objective  This paper summarizes the present knowledge on the biological availability of PGM to plants and animals. As biological availability is one of the most decisive factors determining the toxicologi-cal potential of xenobiotics, this information is very important to evaluate the possible threat of the noble metals to ecosystems. Results and Discussion  The availability of soluble as well as particle bound PGM to terrestrial plants was demonstrated in several studies. Experimental investigations revealed uptake of Pt, Pd and Rh also by aquatic plants. Additionally, the biological availability of the noble metals for animals has been verified in experimental studies using soluble metal salts, catalytic converter model substances, sediments of urban rivers, road dust or tunnel dust as metal sources. These studies refer mainly to aquatic animals. Beside of free living organisms, in particular worms parasitizing fish demonstrated a high potential to accumulate PGM. This could be of great interest in respect of biomonitoring purposes. Generally, for plants as well as for animals Pd turns out to be the best available metal among the PGM. Compared to other heavy metals, the biological availability of PGM from road dust to zebra mussels(Dreissena polymorpha) ranged between that of Cd and Pb. Conclusion  Especially chronic effects of PGM on the biosphere can not be excluded due to (1) their cumulative increase in the environment, (2) their unexpected high biological availability and bioaccumulation and (3) their unknown toxicological and ecotoxicological potential. However, it appears that acute effects on ecosystems due to anthropogenic PGM emission are not likely. Recommendation and Outlook  Research on environmental PGM contamination of the biosphere, especially the fauna, and on long-term toxiciry of low PGM concentrations is highly appreciated. These studies require very sensitive analytical techniques to determine PGM even in low sample amounts. Research has to be done in particular on reliable determination of (ultra) trace levels of Pd and Rh as the lack of data on these two metals is mainly due to analytical problems.     

Teaching infant car seat installation via interactive visual presence: An experimental trial

Objective: A large portion of child restraint systems (car seats) are installed incorrectly, especially when first-time parents install infant car seats. Expert instruction greatly improves the accuracy of car seat installation but is labor intensive and difficult to obtain for many parents. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of 3 ways of communicating instructions for proper car seat installation: phone conversation; HelpLightning, a mobile application (app) that offers virtual interactive presence permitting both verbal and interactive (telestration) visual communication; and the manufacturer's user manual.

Methods: A sample of 39 young adults of child-bearing age who had no previous experience installing car seats were recruited and randomly assigned to install an infant car seat using guidance from one of those 3 communication sources.

Results: Both the phone and interactive app were more effective means to facilitate accurate car seat installation compared to the user manual. There was a trend for the app to offer superior communication compared to the phone, but that difference was not significant in most assessments. The phone and app groups also installed the car seat more efficiently and perceived the communication to be more effective and their installation to be more accurate than those in the user manual group.

Conclusions: Interactive communication may help parents install car seats more accurately than using the manufacturer's manual alone. This was an initial study with a modestly sized sample; if results are replicated in future research, there may be reason to consider centralized “call centers” that provide verbal and/or interactive visual instruction from remote locations to parents installing car seats, paralleling the model of centralized Poison Control centers in the United States.     

我国灾害信息传播的研究现状与展望

近年来灾害事件频发,有关灾害信息传播的研究成为传播学的一个热点研究方向,目前我国灾害信息传播的研究角度众多,取得了较为丰硕的成果,但大多还只停留在个案研究层面,系统研究有待加强。本文在分析现状的基础上,提出了整合传播是我国灾害信息传播研究的新方向,并可分出传播渠道整合、传播内容整合和传媒自身整合等众多研究分支。     

Maternally inherited architecture in tertiary leaf beetles: paleoichnology of cryptocephaline fecal cases in Dominican and Baltic amber

Complex ethological adaptations and intraspecific interactions leave few fossil traces. We document three Dominican (20 million years old [myo]) and Baltic (45 myo) amber fossils that exhibit firm evidence of highly integrated interactions between mothers and offspring in the diverse camptosomate lineage of beetles (Chrysomelidae, leaf beetles). As in contemporary species, these hard cases were initially constructed by mothers, then inherited and retained by offspring, which then elaborate this protective domicile with an unusual but economical building material, their feces. The three fossils are classified in the Subfamily Cryptocephalinae; two are classified in the tribe Chlamisini based on morphological evidence—the flattened head lacking a sharp keel and long legs with simple recurved untoothed claws. These diagnostic features are not clearly visible in the third specimen to permit more refined identification. These fossils provide more precise paleontological dating of tribal nodes within the cryptocephaline radiation of leaf beetles. These fossils are the first and earliest evidence of mother–offspring interaction, building behavior, and fecal recycling in Camptosomata beetles and of inheritance of architectural structures in beetles.     

Evolution of working conditions under the impact of ICTs

IntroductionInformation and communication technologies (ICTs) play a major role in the current evolution of work. They are both a great tool for emancipating human beings from the most tedious and most dangerous tasks and an effective vector for intensifying work.MethodsOn the basis of three foresight exercises carried out in recent years and by describing concrete examples of work organizations, the authors highlight the main possible trends for the changes to come.ConclusionsThey conclude on a few general principles that could allow the establishment of a win–win policy.     

Engagement with climate change and the environment: a review of the role of relationships to place

A growing body of literature examines how human bonds with place influence engagement with climate change and other environmental issues. Yet, studies in this vein derive from a number of disconnected literatures with a variety of place concepts employed. We set out to assess the current state of knowledge in this field and provide a framework for analysing dimensions of relations to place and their links with environmental engagement. We systematically analysed the characteristics of 66 studies identified for: focus of research, location, methods, and findings, particularly whether relationships to place aided in environmental engagement. We also categorised the studies according to our dimensions of place relations framework, cultural and environmental contexts, and intensity of climate impacts experienced. The answer to our guiding research question – whether place attachment was an effective way to communicate with people about climate change and get them actively engaged with it – was yes (74.2%), but with considerable variation according to these characteristics and dimensions. Based on this analysis, we identify gaps in current research and suggest critical paths for future research, especially in terms of geography and demography because of their implications for justice and equity in the processes of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Needed future research includes studies of place relations in regards to climate change specifically, studies in the Global South, of minority populations, beyond rural areas, and qualitative or mixed-method studies able to draw out the complexities of relations to place.     

生态学视野下的研究生教育沟通系统建构

在以导师指导下的自主学习为主要特点的研究生教育阶段,沟通显得尤为重要,通过沟通不断调整策略和目标是实现教育共识的基石,但在现实中,研究生与导师的沟通活动常常难以有效进行。从生态学的视角研究建构研究生教育沟通系统,分析影响沟通系统平衡的各个要素及其协调平衡的方法,可以有效促成目标的实现。     

环境DNA技术在环境监测与动物生产管理中的应用进展

概述了环境DNA技术目前的研究方向和分析原理,介绍了该技术在水生、土壤和植物生态系统中的应用进展,以及在监测畜舍环境、促进畜禽粪污无害化处理、检测动物营养与健康状况、调查动物群体遗传多样性、监测和预防畜禽疾病等动物生产管理中的应用前景。分析了环境DNA技术的优势与局限,并在此基础上提出了建立标准操作流程、提高检测精确度、积极推广应用环境DNA技术等建议。     

磷酸铁锂电池不同应用场景的生命周期评价

为评估磷酸铁锂(LFP)电池梯次应用的生命周期环境影响,设定直接应用和梯次应用2个应用场景,采用生命周期评价(LCA)方法,对应用场景生命周期各阶段的环境影响及其贡献进行分析.功能单位设定为应用总容量1GWh的LFP电池作为通讯基站(CBS)储能电池,循环寿命为800次.结果表明,2个应用场景的环境影响热点均为储能应用...     

Less attention paid to waterborne SARS-CoV-2 spreading in Beijing urban communities

• A survey on individual’s perception of SARS-CoV-2 transmission was conducted. • Waterborne transmission risks are far less perceived by individuals. • Precautions of preventing wastewater mediated transmission are implemented. • The precautions for wastewater transmission are less favored by the public. • Education level differs the most regarding to waterborne transmission perception. SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in various environmental media. Community and individual-engaged precautions are recommended to stop or slow environmentally-mediated transmission. To better understand the individual’s awareness of and precaution to environmental dissemination of SARS-CoV-2, an online survey was conducted in Beijing during March 14–25, 2020. It is found that the waterborne (especially wastewater mediated) spreading routes are far less perceived by urban communities. The precautions for wastewater transmission are less favored by the public than airborne and solid waste mediated spreading routes. Such risk communication asymmetry in waterborne transmission will be further enlarged in places with fragile water system. Furthermore, education level is the most significant attribution (Sig.<0.05) that causes the difference of awareness and precautions of the waterborne transmission among the respondents, according to the variance analysis results. Our survey results emphasize the urgent need for evidence-based, multifactorial precautions for current and future outbreaks of COVID-19.