Re-copulation and post-copulatory mate guarding increase immediate female reproductive output in the dragonfly Nannophya pygmaea Rambur

After copulation, male Nannophya pygmaea dragonflies mate guard by hovering over ovipositing females and repelling conspecific males. Copulation is not always a prerequisite for oviposition in the females of this species because females can store the sperm received during previous visits/copulations. An oviposition episode consists of several bouts of oviposition separated by periods of perching. We conducted two types of male-removal experiments to examine the effects of mating and post-copulatory mate guarding on the oviposition behaviour of females. In the first experiment, we removed all males from the habitat to eliminate the effect of re-copulation, mate-guarding and harassment by males. In the second experiment, we removed males immediately after copulation to eliminate the effects of guarding and other post-copulatory male-female interactions. We compared these experimental data with data obtained under natural conditions. The dipping rate in an oviposition bout was not influenced by copulation or guarding. However, guarded females made more dips per episode than did solitary females. The proportion of time actually spent ovipositing (total bout duration/oviposition episode duration) of guarded females was higher than that of solitary females. Solitary females often oviposited in more than one territorial site, while guarded females usually oviposited within a single territorial site during an oviposition episode. Because males tend to hold territories at sites where egg survival is high, guarded females (and the male guardian) benefit from guarding in terms of egg hatchability. The possible benefits for solitary females are discussed.     

工业废弃场地健康风险评价

城市的发展,越来越多的工业企业都在逐步搬迁出主城区,拆迁遗留下的场地将会用作商业或居住用地,对这些拆迁场地如不加强环境管理,将会对公众健康造成危害。本文以化工企业拆迁场地为例,按照危害识别、暴露评估、毒性评估、风险表征4个步骤介绍了健康风险评价的一般方法,着重介绍了"危害识别"中对于化工企业拆迁场地"场地环境调查"方面的方法与注意事项。最后针对我国在污染场地健康风险评价方面的不足,提出了相应的建议。     

DNA聚合酶对PCR方法检测基因点突变的干扰分析

以野生型斑马鱼p53基因外显子7为目的片段,运用变性高效液相色谱(DHPLC),比较分析三种常用的商品DNA聚合酶对聚合酶链式反应(PCR)技术检测基因点突变的影响.DHPLC检测结果显示,Promega Shanghai公司Taq DNA聚合酶,Promega公司Taq DNA聚合酶和BD Biosciences公司高保真酶Advantage-HF2的分子突变频率分别为14.3%,5.95%和0.76%.通过DNA直接测序法确认表明,Promega公司Taq DNA聚合酶和BD Biosciences公司高保真酶Advantage-HF2的碱基突变频率分别为3.61×10-4和7.69×10-5.研究表明,不同的DNA聚合酶对PCR技术的检测结果有明显影响,高保真酶Advantage-HF2所造成的碱基错配率明显低于其它两种商业化Taq酶.     

基于B-P人工神经网络的环境测点的优选

为了对有多项污染物的环境测点进行优选,提出了单项污染物对环境作用的“相对贡献率"和多项污染物对环境综合作用的“作用和贡献率"的新概念及其计算公式。将B-P神经网络原理与逐步聚类分析思想相结合,用于环境测点聚类优选。该方法用于成都市12个环境测点的优选结果符合客观实际。此外,它还具有简便实用、客观性好的特点。      

Variations in Environmental Tritium Dose Estimates Due to Meteorological Data Averaging and Uncertainties in Pathway Model Parameters

The large amounts of tritium produced at the Savannah River Site (SRS) coupled with the current dose reconstruction study at the facility emphasize the importance of ensuring accurate and efficient prediction of tritium doses to the public. Presently, dose estimates to the general population in the site vicinity are calculated annually using a five year meteorological database. Determining whether detailed monthly dose estimates are necessary or whether annual averaged data is sufficient offers the potential for more efficient dose prediction. In this study, off site collective committed doses and maximum individual doses due to atmospheric tritium releases were calculated according to the methods outlined in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Regulatory Guide 1.109 and compared using monthly versus five-year meteorological data and source terms. Site-specific variables not currently utilized at SRS for annual dose estimates also have been included. In addition, the range of predicted doses, based on the distribution in model parameters given in the literature, were estimated. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed in order to determine the influence of model inputs on dose estimates. Results corroborate previous studies by indicating that the primary contributor to infant tritium dose is the ingestion of milk, while for all other age groups, the most important pathway is the ingestion of vegetation. These relative pathway contributions remain constant throughout the year for infants; for children, teenagers, and adults, however, inhalation and absorption of tritium through the skin increases in relative importance in the months of June to September. It was found that the model utilized was most sensitive to dose factors, the ratio of the specific activity of tritium oxide in vegetation to the specific activity of atmospheric tritium oxide, and breathing rates. Most importantly, it was found that over a five-year period, the use of averaged meteorological data results in total individual doses that are only 2 to 6% higher than doses determined monthly, depending on the pathway of interest.     

Identifying Potential Conflict Associated with Oil and Gas Exploration in Texas State Coastal Waters: A Multicriteria Spatial Analysis

Recent interest in expanding offshore oil production within waters of the United States has been met with opposition by groups concerned with recreational, environmental, and aesthetic values associated with the coastal zone. Although the proposition of new oil platforms off the coast has generated conflict over how coastal resources should be utilized, little research has been conducted on where these user conflicts might be most intense and which sites might be most suitable for locating oil production facilities in light of the multiple, and often times, competing interests. In this article, we develop a multiple-criteria spatial decision support tool that identifies the potential degree of conflict associated with oil and gas production activities for existing lease tracts in the coastal margin of Texas. We use geographic information systems to measure and map a range of potentially competing representative values impacted by establishing energy extraction infrastructure and then spatially identify which leased tracts are the least contentious sites for oil and gas production in Texas state waters. Visual and statistical results indicate that oil and gas lease blocks within the study area vary in their potential to generate conflict among multiple stakeholders.     

沈阳市赵家沟垃圾填埋场稳定化与场地回用评价

对沈阳市一个关闭2年左右的垃圾卫生填埋场的稳定化状态进行了研究。对填埋场达到稳定化状态的时间进行预测以及不同时期的稳定化程度进行评价,并提出了填埋土地的再利用方案。     

建设项目竣工环境保护验收监测现场勘察

从资料收集、工程概况了解和现场察看3方面阐述了建设项目竣工环境保护验收监测现场勘察的具体步骤和内容。     

Choice set formation for outdoor destinations: The role of motivations and preference discrimination in site selection for the management of public expenditures on protected areas

Effective public expenditure currently dominates the management focus of many protected areas. This calls for explicit modeling of constraints and motivations that, respectively, obstruct and stimulate visits to selected outdoor destinations. Choice set formation is the result of screening and/or inclusion of specific sites (alternatives) to form the set of sites considered in real choices. Evidence shows that the omission of a structural representation of choice set formation is harmful to econometric inference. Yet, the literature has largely ignored the underlying behavioral phenomenon. We show, using a discrete choice experiment involving selection among seven recreational sites in an Italian national park, that choice set formation is behaviorally relevant, even after controlling for preference discrimination. Motivations (why visit?) are important determinants of preliminary site screening for choice set inclusion, as well as site selection, justifying the additional value of such modeling extension.     

Diffusive partitioning tracer test for the quantification of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) in the vadose zone: Performance evaluation for heterogeneous NAPL distribution

A partitioning tracer test based on gas-phase diffusion in the vadose zone yields estimates of the residual nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) saturation. The present paper investigates this technique further by studying diffusive tracer breakthrough curves in the vadose zone for a heterogeneous NAPL distribution. Tracer experiments were performed in a lysimeter with a horizontal layer of artificial kerosene embedded in unsaturated sand. Tracer disappearance curves at the injection point and tracer breakthrough curves at some distance from the injection point were measured inside and outside of the NAPL layer. A numerical code was used to generate independent model predictions based on the physicochemical sand, NAPL, and tracer properties. The measured and modeled tracer breakthrough curves were in good agreement confirming the validity of important modeling assumptions such as negligible sorption of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) tracers to the uncontaminated sand and their fast reversible partitioning between the soil air and the NAPL phase. Subsequently, the model was used to investigate different configurations of NAPL contamination. The experimental and model results show that the tracer disappearance curves of a single-well diffusive partitioning tracer test (DPTT) are dominated by the near-field presence of NAPL around the tip of the soil gas probe. In contrast, breakthrough curves of inter-well tracer tests reflect the NAPL saturation in between the probes, although there is no unique interpretation of the tracer signals if the NAPL distribution is heterogeneous. Numerical modeling is useful for the planning of a DPTT application. Simulations suggest that several cubic meters of soil can be investigated with a single inter-well partitioning tracer test of 24-hour duration by placing the injection point in the center of the investigated soil volume and probes at up to 1 m distance for the monitoring of gaseous tracers.