Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for exploration: Consultants,companies and communities in processes of engagements

Over the last fifteen years, large-scale mining companies have started engaging in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), with the aim of contributing to developing local communities affected by their operations. Large-scale mining companies, together with the World Bank, have formulated voluntary principles and benchmarks to guide these company–community relations. Recently, it has been argued that CSR is also crucial in the early stages of exploration. Nowadays, mining consultants propagate a process approach to company–community relations, from early exploration to post-mining planning.     

6A01-T5铝合金/304不锈钢的缝隙腐蚀行为研究

目的 研究6A01-T5铝合金和304不锈钢异种金属间的缝隙腐蚀行为规律。方法 采用常温常压浸泡腐蚀方法,结合SEM、EDS、XRD和白光干涉检测,对6A01-T5铝合金/304不锈钢缝隙结构在碱性Na Cl溶液中的腐蚀行为进行研究。结果 6A01-T5铝合金/304不锈钢缝隙腐蚀表现为在缝口处产生沿缝口方向的凹陷渠,在缝内,以局部减薄和腐蚀坑为主,并随着腐蚀时间的延长,腐蚀程度逐渐加重。不同区域腐蚀产物的形貌和成分组成不尽相同,缝外暴露区的腐蚀产物表现为晶体颗粒状,主要成分为Ca CO3和Al(OH)3等铝的腐蚀产物。缝口附近沿缝口方向形成一层有明显界线的腐蚀产物覆盖层,缝隙内部的腐蚀产物相对较少,表现为尺寸相对较小的结块,主要成分为Al(OH)3等铝的腐蚀产物。结论 在6A01-T5铝合金与304不锈钢非电连接情况下,6A01-T5铝合金/304不锈钢缝隙内2种金属分别独立发生缝隙腐蚀,因2种金属在腐蚀过程中争夺O2,使得304不锈钢对6A01-T5铝合金的缝隙腐蚀起到抑制作用。     

苜蓿根瘤菌乙酰-CoA合成酶的过量表达、纯化及特性

PCR扩增了苜蓿根瘤菌乙酰辅酶A合成酶编码基因 (acsA1) ,克隆到连接 -非依赖型载体pET30LIC ;在E .coliBL2 1(DE3)pLysS中得到了有效表达 ,表达需IPTG的诱导 ,诱导 3h达到酶活高峰 .采用His·Bind柱层析对ACS进行了纯化 ,纯化的酶蛋白经SDS-PAGE呈单一浓带 ,分子量约 72 0 0 0 ,具较高的酶活 ,是无细胞提取液的 12 .7倍 .酶动力学分析显示 ,Vmax、Km分别为 (4 13.6± 11.7)mmolL-1和 (5 .8± 0 .6 )mmolL-1.图 4表 2参 8     

不同基模势下luxAB标记的弗氏中华根瘤菌在土壤中的存活能力

经接合转移将luxAB基因插入弗氏中华根瘤菌（Rhizobium fredii)染色体,取可高效结瘤固氮的R fredii lux3菌株用于分子生态学研究,在不同基模势下,研究了lux3在土壤中的存活,基模势为－30和－750kPa时,lux3在灭菌土中的存活能力明显（P＜0．05）高于未灭菌土,当基模势为－1500kPa时,土壤是否灭菌对lux3的存活影响没有差异,不同基模势对lux3活性影响显著,在－1500kPa的未灭菌土中随着饥饿时间的延长,可恢复活性的细菌数量显著下降,比较了测定微生物活性的3种方法（即脱氢酶活性,生物发光和微生物呼吸）,发光值变化与活细胞密度变化一致。     

Linking empirical estimates of body burden of environmental chemicals and wellness using NHANES data

Biomonitoring of industrial chemicals in human tissues and fluids has shown that all people carry a “body burden” of synthetic chemicals. Although measurement of an environmental chemical in a person's tissues/fluids is an indication of exposure, it does not necessarily mean the exposure concentration is sufficient to cause an adverse effect. Since humans are exposed to multiple chemicals, there may be a combination effect (e.g., additive, synergistic) associated with low-level exposures to multiple classes of contaminants, which may impact a variety of organ systems. The objective of this research is to link measures of body burden of environmental chemicals and a “holistic” measure of wellness. The approach is demonstrated using biomonitoring data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). Forty-two chemicals were selected for analysis based on their detection levels. Six biological pathway-specific indices were evaluated using groups of chemicals associated with each pathway. Five of the six pathways were negatively associated with wellness. Three non-zero interaction terms were detected which may provide empirical evidence of crosstalk across pathways. The approach identified five of the 42 chemicals from a variety of classes (metals, pesticides, furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) as accounting for 71% of the weight linking body burden to wellness. Significant interactions were detected indicating the effect of smoking is exacerbated by body burden of environmental chemicals. Use of a holistic index on both sides of the exposure-health equation is a novel and promising empirical “systems biology” approach to risk evaluation of complex environmental exposures.     

The sustainability of China's major mining cities

The aim of this paper is to identify principal factors controlling the Degree of Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources (DSDMR) of mining cities and then to measure their DSDMR and reveal their developing trends. To do this, 78 Chinese mining cities are used as an example. These cities are classified on a hierarchical level of the DSDMR in order to support decision-making of sustainable development. Six principal factors controlling the DSDMR are recognized using factor analysis. They are used to measure the DSDMR of the Chinese mining cities and their developing trends. The results show that in terms of the type of mineral resources, the DSDMR decreases from petroleum to multi-resources to non-metal to coal to metal cities. It decreases also from middle to old to young aged cities and from eastern to central to western cities in geographical location. In addition, large and very large cities have higher DSDMR values than middle- and small-sized cities. These Chinese mining cities are classified into six clusters by cluster analysis, which forms the basis for policy making.     

Valuation of natural capital under uncertain substitutability

Natural capital is complex to value notably because of the high uncertainties surrounding the substitutability of its future ecosystem services. We examine a Lucas economy in which a consumption good is produced by combining different inputs, one of them being an ecosystem service that is partially substitutable with other inputs. The growth rate of these inputs and the elasticity of substitution evolve in a stochastic way. We characterize the socially efficient ecological discount rates that should be used to value future ecosystem services at different time horizons. We show that the inverse of the elasticity of substitution can be interpreted as the CCAPM beta of natural capital. We also show that any increase in risk of this beta reduces the ecological discount rate. If our collective beliefs about the elasticity of substitution of ecosystem services are Gaussian, the ecological discount rates go to minus infinity for finite maturities. In that case, a marginal increase in natural capital has an infinite value. We provide a realistic calibration of the model that is coherent with observed asset prices by using the model of extreme events of Barro (2006). The bliss maturity for infinite discount factors is less than 100 years in this calibration.     

微囊藻毒素降解菌的分子鉴定和特性研究

在成功筛选出1株能够降解微囊藻毒素(Microcystins,MCs)菌株的基础上,利用16S rDNA的PCR扩增和序列分析对其进行了分子鉴定。由BLAST序列比对及进化树分析可将该菌株定属至鞘氨醇单胞菌USTB-01(Sphingopyxissp.USTB-01),这是我国首次筛选出高效降解MCs的鞘氨醇单胞菌。在鞘氨醇单胞菌USTB-01降解MC-RR和MC-LR活性研究方面发现,温度30℃和pH7.0条件下该菌降解MCs的速率最大,日均降解MC-RR和MC-LR分别达到了23.4mg/L和7.9mg/L,在进一步去除水体中的MCs的基础和应用研究方面都具有非常重要的意义。     

From landfill to water,land and life: The creation of the Centre for stone materials aimed at secondary processing

This paper focuses on the creation of a Centre for the recycling of stone materials. The Centre will be able to offer a range of activities amongst which is the improvement of the production chain of the Orosei Marble district in Sardinia, Italy. Several companies operate within the marble producing area, specializing in both quarrying and stone processing. They have formed a Consortium in order to rehabilitate an area of more than 17 ha. The restoration will be carried out through an environmentally sustainable procedure. The area was previously used as a landfill for waste deriving from marble quarrying and processing. At that time unshaped blocks of various sizes (which are unsuitable to block-cutter sawing), waste deriving from both block sawing and slab/strip cutting (such as broken slabs, strips, tiles) and microfine dust from filter presses of water treatment plants were representing an environmental problem. The local administration was struggling to find new areas which could be used for landfills, resulting in an additional cost for the landfill, ultimately affecting the variable production costs. The project involves the building of a venue to be used for temporary storage, treatment of wastes produced by both quarrying and primary processing, in order to make them suitable as secondary raw materials. The project also deals with the catch basin hydrology of the area involved in the project, the building of a multifunctional centre, the landscaping and other environmental features such as vehicle traffic and slopes greening.     

费氏中华根瘤菌15142的cysDN基因克隆及其相关功能

为确定cysDN操纵子的功能及对根瘤菌结瘤的影响,通过三亲本接合,将质粒转座子pTnMod-RKm′随机插入费氏中华根瘤菌15142中,建成随机插入突变体库,随后通过含有不同硫源的MM培养基的筛选得到一株不能利用硫酸盐但能够利用半胱氨酸的突变体.进一步克隆和测序分析后发现该操纵子与已报道的Sinorhizobium sp.strain BR816的cysDN在核苷酸水平上有92%的相似性,在氨基酸水平上有96%的相似性.用自杀质粒pK18mob分别构建含有cysD部分片段和cysN部分片段的重组质粒,通过三亲本接合导入出发菌株15142中,经过同源单交换,分别获得cysD的pK18mob正反向插入突变株cysDF/15142以及cysDR/15142和cysN的pK18mob正反向插入突变株cysNF/15142与cysNR/15142.用广谱宿主质粒pLAFRJ载体连接完整操纵子cysDN构建互补质粒cysDN+pLAFRJ,将该质粒通过三亲本接合导入突变株中,获得互补菌株.用不同硫源的液体MM培养基培养,发现互补菌株能够补回突变菌株不能利用硫酸盐作为唯一硫源的缺陷,说明cysDN操纵子确实与硫酸盐同化途径有关;植株试验表明突变株比出发菌株推迟结瘤1~2 d,固氮酶活也比出发菌株稍低;竞争结瘤试验表明突变菌株占瘤率较差,但在平均瘤数、平均瘤重、平均植株干重上则无差异.