Risk of motor vehicle accident death among 1.3 million veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars

Objective: We conducted a cohort study of recent wartime veterans to determine the postservice mortality risk due to motor vehicle accidents (MVAs).

Methods: Veterans were identified from the Defense Manpower Data Center records. Deployment to te Iraq or Afghanistan war zone was determined from the Contingency Tracking System. Vital status of 317,581 deployed and 964,493 nondeployed veterans was followed from their discharge dates between 2001 to 2007 until earlier of date of death or December 31, 2009. Underlying causes of death were obtained from the National Death Index Plus.

Results: Based on 9,353 deaths (deployed, 1,650; nondeployed, 7,703), of which 779 were MVA deaths as drivers (166; 613), both cohorts had 25 to 24% lower mortality risk from all causes but had 44 to 45% higher risk of MVA deaths relative to the U.S. general population. The higher MVA mortality risk was not associated with deployment to the war zone. After controlling for age, sex, race, marital status, branch of service, and rank, the risk for deployed veterans was comparable to that of nondeployed veterans (hazard ratio = 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.77–1.09).

Conclusions: Veterans exhibit significantly higher risk of MVA deaths compared to the U.S. general population. However, deployment to the Iraq or Afghanistan war was not associated with the excess risk.     

改良UCT分段进水工艺处理生活污水性能优化研究

在某大型污水处理厂采用中试规模的改良UCT分段进水脱氮除磷工艺处理低COD/N生活污水,重点研究了流量分配比和原水营养元素比（COD/N、COD/P和TN/P）对工艺脱氮除磷性能的影响,目的是分析探索工艺对有机物和氮磷去除机制和污泥特性.连续运行试验表明,该工艺取得稳定高效的去除性能.在进水COD负荷为0.79～0.9...     

Population structure and dynamics of Monotarsobius curtipes (Myriapoda, Chilopoda) at the northern periphery of the species range

Studies on the population structure and dynamics of the stone centipede Monotarsobius curtipes C. Koch in soils of the northern Kola Peninsula have shown that, with respect to abundance and biomass, this species is a dominant of the soil macrofauna and, in particular, of the trophic group of zoophages. Life in high northern latitudes does not disturb the sex and age structure of populations but limits the reproductive activity of these centipedes. Specific biological features of M. curtipes at the northern periphery of its range include the absence of repeated breeding, completion of several developmental (age) stages within a short growing season, and long ontogeny involving several winterings.     

SAFE—The Special Non-invasive Advances in Fetal and Neonatal Evaluation Network: aims and achievements

In this short review, the objectives and work of SAFE—the Special Non-invasive Advances in Fetal and Neonatal Evaluation Network, a European Union Framework VI network of excellence is described. We demonstrate how this network facilitates the implementation of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) for single gene disorders, fetal rhesus typing, aneuploidy and pregnancy complications. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new approach to estimate nuclide ratios from measurements with activities close to background

Measurements of low-level radioactivity often give results of the order of the detection limit. For many applications, interest is not only in estimating activity concentrations of a single radioactive isotope, but focuses on multi-isotope analyses, which often enable inference on the source of the activity detected (e.g. from activity ratios). Obviously, such conclusions become questionable if the measurement merely gives a detection limit for a specific isotope. This is particularly relevant if the presence of an isotope, which shows a low signal only (e.g. due to a short half-life or a small transition probability), is crucial for gaining the information of interest.     

Persistent Unequal Sex Ratio in a Population of Grayling (Salmonidae) and Possible Role of Temperature Increase

In some fishes, water chemistry or temperature affects sex determination or creates sex‐specific selection pressures. The resulting population sex ratios are hard to predict from laboratory studies if the environmental triggers interact with other factors, whereas in field studies, singular observations of unusual sex ratios may be particularly prone to selective reporting. Long‐term monitoring largely avoids these problems. We studied a population of grayling (Thymallus thymallus) in Lake Thun, Switzerland, that has been monitored since 1948. Samples of spawning fish have been caught about 3 times/week around spawning season, and water temperature at the spawning site has been continuously recorded since 1970. We used scale samples collected in different years to determine the average age of spawners (for life‐stage specific analyses) and to identify the cohort born in 2003 (an extraordinarily warm year). Recent tissue samples were genotyped on microsatellite markers to test for genetic bottlenecks in the past and to estimate the genetically effective population size (N_e). Operational sex ratios changed from approximately 65% males before 1993 to approximately 85% males from 1993 to 2011. Sex ratios correlated with the water temperatures the fish experienced in their first year of life. Sex ratios were best explained by the average temperature juvenile fish experienced during their first summer. Grayling abundance is declining, but we found no evidence of a strong genetic bottleneck that would explain the apparent lack of evolutionary response to the unequal sex ratio. Results of other studies show no evidence of endocrine disruptors in the study area. Our findings suggest temperature affects population sex ratio and thereby contributes to population decline. Persistencia de Proporción de Sexos Desigual en una Población de Tímalos (Salmonidae) y el Posible Papel del Incremento de la Temperatura     

A Behaviorally Explicit Demographic Model Integrating Habitat Selection and Population Dynamics in California Sea Lions

Abstract: Although there has been a call for the integration of behavioral ecology and conservation biology, there are few tools currently available to achieve this integration. Explicitly including information about behavioral strategies in population viability analyses may enhance the ability of conservation biologists to understand and estimate patterns of extinction risk. Nevertheless, most behavioral‐based PVA approaches require detailed individual‐based data that are rarely available for imperiled species. We present a mechanistic approach that incorporates spatial and demographic consequences of behavioral strategies into population models used for conservation. We developed a stage‐structured matrix model that includes the costs and benefits of movement associated with 2 habitat‐selection strategies (philopatry and direct assessment). Using a life table for California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), we explored the sensitivity of model predictions to the inclusion of these behavioral parameters. Including behavioral information dramatically changed predicted population sizes, model dynamics, and the expected distribution of individuals among sites. Estimated population sizes projected in 100 years diverged up to 1 order of magnitude among scenarios that assumed different movement behavior. Scenarios also exhibited different model dynamics that ranged from stable equilibria to cycles or extinction. These results suggest that inclusion of behavioral data in viability models may improve estimates of extinction risk for imperiled species. Our approach provides a simple method for incorporating spatial and demographic consequences of behavioral strategies into population models and may be easily extended to other species and behaviors to understand the mechanisms of population dynamics for imperiled populations.     

基于碳源优化的反硝化除磷及微生物特性

接种厌氧/缺氧/好氧-生物接触氧化（AAO-BCO）系统的反硝化除磷污泥,采用厌氧/缺氧/好氧-序批式（AAO-SBR）系统,重点考察了乙酸盐和丙酸盐配比（1：0,2：1,1：1,1：2和0：1）对反硝化除磷效率的影响,同时通过高通量测序对比了不同配比下微生物菌群结构的变化.结果表明,5种工况下,AAO-SBR系统均具有较高的有机物去除和反硝化除磷能力.而当乙酸钠/丙酸钠=1：0时,厌氧阶段在高效利用COD（87.63%）的同时完成聚-β-羟基烷酸（PHAs）的合成（174mgCOD/gMLSS）,释磷量高达31.22mg/L;缺氧阶段PO₄^3--P的去除（74%）伴随着NO₃^--N反硝化（90%）,PHAs利用率为72.4%,实现了氮磷的高效去除.高通量测序结果表明：不同碳源配比影响了微生物菌群的丰富度和多样性,其中变形菌门（Proteobacteria,31%~76%）、绿弯菌门（Chloroflexi,1%~26%）、拟杆菌门（Bacteroidetes,2%~31%）等占据绝大比例,而乙酸钠、丙酸钠共存时,微生物的多样性较好.当乙酸钠为单一碳源时,系统中聚磷菌（PAOs,21.364%）在与聚糖菌（GAOs,2.317%）的竞争中占绝对优势.     

纳滤膜截留特性与膜基本特征之间关系的研究

选择DF10、DF30、DF90 3种纳滤膜对无机盐(NaCl和CaCl_2)、微量有机物(药物及个人护理品)、富里酸溶液进行纳滤实验,考察具有不同物理化学特性的膜对不同种类溶质的截留能力差异.结果表明,膜孔大小和带电量共同决定了纳滤膜对无机物的截留率,而微量有机物和天然有机物的截留率主要由膜孔径决定.膜活性层厚度很大程度上影响了膜的透水系数;膜的透水系数与NaCl截留率呈现负相关;膜的截留分子量越小,其对有机物的截留率越高;脱盐(NaCl)能力不一定正相关于有机物截留率,也不正相关于CaCl_2截留率.研究发现,DF30具有低无机物截留、高有机物截留的特性,这与其截留分子量适中、膜表面电荷密度低、活性层厚度小等物化性质密切相关.     

初夏渤海湾营养盐结构特征及其限制状况分析

根据2016年初夏渤海湾营养盐、叶绿素a和相关水文参数等数据,利用浮游植物吸收营养盐最低阈值和化学计量关系作为判断依据对渤海湾营养盐限制状况进行分析.结果表明：受陆地径流和渤海中部冷水输入的影响,初夏渤海湾在近岸、中部和湾口呈现三个明显的温盐特征海区.溶解无机氮（DIN）和活性硅酸盐（SiO₃^2--Si）受陆源输入影响,呈现近岸高湾口低的特征;DIN平均浓度为（7.67±6.48）μmol/L,SiO₃^2--Si平均浓度为（5.44±3.01）μmol/L,在湾口表层,DIN含量较低仅为（2.21±2.94）μmol/L,其中50%站点含量低于阈值（1μmol/L）,58.3%的站点存在DIN限制.而活性磷酸盐（PO₄^3--P）受陆源输入和浮游植物吸收储存作用等因素影响,呈现西部和曹妃甸外近海高中部较低的分布特征,平均浓度为（0.07±0.07）μmol/L,近岸受陆源氮磷输入总量差异影响,表层存在磷潜在限制比例达100%,而中部表层受浮游植物消耗吸收的影响,PO₄^3--P含量较低,仅为（0.02±0.02）μmol/L （未检出设为0）,其中近74.3%的水样含量低于阈值（0.03μmol/L）,磷限制状况严重.随着渤海湾氮磷营养盐陆源输入总量差距不断扩大,磷限制状况必将会进一步发展.