滏阳河河流水体中重金属污染特征及其对青海弧菌和斜生栅藻的毒性效应

为调查滏阳河水系的重金属污染状况,研究河流重金属污染对水生生物的毒性,根据河流结构、水文条件、排污口分布并考虑空间分布的均匀性,选取66个采样位点,采集河水及对应的表层沉积物样品,分析了样品中的重金属含量。用斜生栅藻和青海弧菌Q67作为模式生物,根据滏阳河水重金属污染较严重的邯郸近郊2号采样点采集水样的重金属含量配制系列重金属浓度的模拟河水进行重金属污染河水的生态毒性测试。结果表明,在全部66个采样点中,29个采样点河水重金属含量超过国家地表水III类水体重金属含量标准,主要污染元素是Hg、Pb、Cr、Zn。几乎所有采样点河水Mn和Fe含量都大大高于国家集中式生活饮用水地表水源地补充项目规定的标准限值。根据2号采样点河水样品中的重金属含量配成的模拟河水对青海弧菌Q67的EC₅₀值为6.65%,为毒性极强的污染物。模拟河水样品对斜生栅藻的抑制作用较小,在实验的最高浓度下(1000倍河水重金属含量)暴露4 d尚未引起半数藻细胞死亡。随河水重金属浓度上升,斜生栅藻超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性总体上呈现先升高后降低的趋势,丙二醛(MDA)含量变化则与此相反,反映河水重金属污染可引起藻细胞的氧化损伤。叶绿素a和b含量则随暴露浓度的提高逐渐降低。在重金属浓度达到2号采样点河水的10%时,斜生栅藻叶绿素a含量已有显著降低,MDA含量显著升高,海河流域重金属污染对生态系统的影响应予以重视。河水发光菌Q67的生长抑制率、斜生栅藻的叶绿素a和MDA含量可以作为评估河流重金属污染生态危害的指标。     

Duration and characteristics of metal price cycles

This paper addresses the fluctuations in real metal prices: are they simply random variations or do they display some degree of cyclicality? This study identifies peaks and troughs in the inflation adjusted prices for 14 metals, using monthly average data from January 1947 through December 2007. Duration dependence testing, which is performed on the expansions, contractions, and full cycles, finds many cases in which the duration of these phases are not purely random and have some degree of cyclicality. Additional characterization show that contractions generally persist longer than expansions (in contrast to macroeconomic cycles) that long-term real prices have been trendless, and that the amplitude of price changes over the phases has little regularity. For those performing this type of analysis, the appendices explain the procedures for dating turning points and assessing duration dependence.     

陆地生态系统呼吸温度敏感性及影响因素研究

陆地生态系统是全球第二大碳库,生态系统呼吸的任何细微变化都会在很大程度上影响着全球碳循环,改变大气中CO2浓度,而气候变化(如气候变暖)反过来会影响生态系统呼吸,从而增强温室效应.呼吸对温度的敏感性系数(Q10)是定量气候-碳循环反馈的一个关键参数,其相关研究仍存在较大的不确定性.本文探究了Q10的影响因素、时空变异性及机理解释,阐述了表观Q10和内在Q10的机理差异,指出内在Q10是有机物分解对温度的敏感性,更能反映生态系统碳循环对气候变化的本质反馈.     

万宁滨海与西沙群岛大气腐蚀性对比研究

统计分析了西沙群岛和万宁试验站近海场的润湿时间、空气中二氧化硫和氯离子沉积速率,根据环境因素法和标准金属法评定了两地的大气腐蚀性,两地的大气腐蚀等级同为C5级,但西沙群岛的腐蚀性稍弱于万宁试验站近海场。Q235钢、镀镍钢、镀铬钢、不锈钢钝化件在两地的试验结果证实了上述结论,试验结果表明,万宁试验站近海场积累的大量试验数据可应用于西沙群岛。     

黄土高原不同侵蚀区生物结皮土壤CO2通量日动态特征及其温度敏感性

利用LI-8100土壤碳通量自动观测系统监测了黄土高原不同侵蚀区(水蚀区、水蚀风蚀交错区、风蚀区)生物结皮土壤CO2通量的日变化,分析了土壤呼吸的温度敏感性.结果表明:以去除生物结皮为对照,具有生理活性的生物结皮降低了土壤CO2通量,其中,水蚀区、交错区和风蚀区土壤日平均CO2通量分别降低了5.0％、8.9％和20.5％.水蚀区、交错区和风蚀区生物结皮土壤CO2通量日动态均呈单峰型曲线,峰值出现在12:00-14:00左右,大小分别为1.64、1.64和1.37 μmol·m-2·s-1,但日变化幅度差异明显.土壤呼吸速率随温度的升高呈上升趋势,指数函数能够较好地描述二者的关系.生物结皮土壤呼吸的温度敏感性指数Q10在空间尺度上存在一定变异,其中,水蚀区、交错区Q10值变化范围为1.93～ 2.43,而风蚀区Q10值变化范围为4.80～ 5.56,说明风蚀区生物结皮土壤呼吸对温度的敏感性大于水蚀区和交错区.本研究表明,在探求黄土高原地区土壤碳交换时,应当考虑生物结皮的影响及不同侵蚀区生物结皮土壤CO2通量的差异性.     

Social determinants of soil and water conservation in rural Kenya

Soil erosion is a major environmental problem and threat to rural development in Kenya. Numerous attempts to address the problem have apparently had little success. There are however some districts that have been very successful, notably Machakos. In this study we search for the factors that determine successful development in soil conservation such as social capital, human capital and market integration. One of our main results is that social capital measures are significant determinants of investment in soil conservation. A better understanding of the relevant mechanisms is essential for developing policies targeting improvement in natural resource management.

3-甲基喹啉的微生物降解

从处理油制气废水的活性污泥中分离得到一株菌种Q10，经16SrDNA序列分析鉴定为睾丸酮丛毛单胞菌，该菌可以利用3-甲基喹啉作为唯一碳源和能源生长。着重研究了该菌在好氧条件下利用3-甲基喹啉作为唯一碳源和能源的降解特性．并初步分析了3-甲基喹啉的降解中间产物。实验结果表明：菌种Q10对3-甲基喹啉具有较高的降解性能．3-甲基喹啉降解的主要途径是首先生成单羟基化合物、多羟基化合物，然后主要在苯环上发生开环反应进一步降解。     

Valuation of human health: An integrated model of willingness to pay for mortality and morbidity risk reductions

This paper develops and applies an integrated model of mortality and morbidity valuation that is consistent with the principles of welfare economics. To obtain the integrated model, the standard one-period expected utility model of one person facing the prospect of either being alive or dead is extended to incorporate (1) a third health state (sick) with a utility level that is intermediate to utility if healthy and utility if dead, (2) a family perspective in which a parent makes choices about risk exposure both for herself and for a child, and (3) a multi-period framework that allows for possible parent/child differences in illness latency. Monetary benefits of health risk reduction obtained from the integrated model are compared with those that would be computed using the standard model. The integrated model then is applied using data obtained from two field studies of skin cancer and leukemia to demonstrate how it can be used to estimate health benefits of reduced illness and death risks.     

Reforming small-scale mining in sub-Saharan Africa: Political and ideological challenges to a Fair Trade gold initiative

In sub-Saharan Africa, artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has caused a range of environmental, social and economic problems. Most of the donor support pledged to improve conditions in the sector to date, however, has failed to facilitate marked improvements, in large part because emphasis has been placed on technical interventions; at the same time, impoverished miners’ needs and concerns have been seriously overlooked. It is against this background that this paper critically examines the underpinnings and potential of “Fair Trade gold” as a solution to many of the problems plaguing the ASM sector and a mechanism for alleviating the hardships of its operators. Unlike the majority of ASM-support support measures implemented in the past, “Fair Trade gold” is entrenched in the discourse of “partnership” and “participation”. To ensure its effectiveness initiatives must be adapted according to the specificities of ASM.     

An uncertainty based multi-criteria ranking system for open pit mining cut-off grade strategy selection

Cut-off grade strategy (COGS) is a concept that directly influences the financial, technical, economical, and environmental issues in relation to the exploitation of a mineral resource. Despite the simple definition of cut-off grade, the COGS problem is one of the complex and complicated problems in the mine planning process. From the optimization point of view, the COGS with an objective of maximizing the present value of future cash flows is a non-linear and a non-convex problem that even in its deterministic form can be solved using approximate optimization methods. This optimization problem will also be more complex and complicated under uncertainty conditions. This paper proposes an uncertainty based multi-criteria ranking system to investigate the problem of COGS selection considering metal price and geological uncertainties. The proposed system aims at selection of the best COGS among technically feasible alternative COGSs under uncertainty circumstances. Our developed system is based on integrating metal price and geological uncertainties as well as operating flexibility to close the mine early. We incorporate this operating flexibility into the proposed system using a Monte Carlo based real options (RO) valuation model. For this purpose, in addition to the expected value, other risk criteria are considered to rank the alternatives. These risk criteria include abilities of strategies in producing extra profits, minimizing losses, and achieving the predefined goals of the production. In this study, the technically possible COGSs are generated using the Lane comprehensive algorithm. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system, we utilize data of an Iranian gold mine. Results show that the proposed system outperforms conventional methods in the sense that it shows significantly lower average mis-ranking than the other methods and also selects a strategy with a higher value. The sensitivity analysis of the proposed system relative to the gold price shows that the system is highly dependent on the parameters of the stochastic process used to model the evolution of the metal price. Therefore, special consideration should be given in estimating stochastic process parameters.