Humanitarian governance and the consequences of the state‐fragility discourse in the Democratic Republic of Congo's health sector

This paper examines how the discourse on state fragility affects the preferences of key actors in humanitarian governance for different types of health‐sector interventions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It argues that, instead of focusing on the actual meaning of state fragility, attention should be paid to interactive processes around the discourse among stakeholders in the health sector. The lack of consensus on state fragility influences humanitarian governance, especially the perceptions of and interactions between the host government, donors, and international non‐governmental organisations. The latter have legitimised the persistence of vertical, emergency‐based interventions by emphasising state fragility, whereas state officials have preferred to assert political statehood and a higher degree of control. Nevertheless, they agree that donors’ financial contributions ensure the survival of the public health sector. Looking ahead, a policy coalition based on harmonised views about addressing fragility is necessary for effective engagement and the sustainability of interventions, but this is unlikely to happen any time soon.     

A Bayesian hierarchical approach to quantifying stakeholder attitudes toward conservation in the presence of reporting error

Stakeholder support is vital for achieving conservation success, yet there are few reliable mechanisms to monitor stakeholder attitudes toward conservation. Approaches used to assess attitudes rarely account for bias arising from reporting error, which can lead to falsely reporting a positive attitude toward conservation (false-positive error) or not reporting a positive attitude when the respondent has a positive attitude toward conservation (false-negative error). Borrowing from developments in applied conservation science, we used a Bayesian hierarchical model to quantify stakeholder attitudes as the probability of having a positive attitude toward wildlife notionally (or in abstract terms) and at localized scales while accounting for reporting error. We compared estimates from our model, Likert scores, and naïve estimates (i.e., proportion of respondents reporting a positive attitude in at least 1 question that was only susceptible to false-negative error) with true stakeholder attitudes through simulations. We then applied the model in a survey of tea estate staff on their attitudes toward Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in the Kaziranga–Karbi Anglong landscape of northeast India. In simulations, Bayesian model estimates of stakeholder attitudes toward wildlife were less biased than naïve estimates or Likert scores. After accounting for reporting errors, we estimated the probability of having a positive attitude toward elephants notionally as 0.85 in the Kaziranga landscape, whereas the proportion of respondents who had positive attitudes toward elephants at a localized scale was 0.50. In comparison, without accounting for reporting errors, naïve estimates of proportions of respondents with positive attitudes toward elephants were 0.69 and 0.23 notionally and at local scales, respectively. False (positive and negative) reporting probabilities were consistently not 0 (0.22–0.68). Regular and reliable assessment of stakeholder attitudes–combined with inference on drivers of positive attitudes–can help assess the success of initiatives aimed at facilitating human behavioral change and inform conservation decision making.     

Extrinsic and intrinsic determinants of winter foraging and breeding phenology in a temperate seabird

In temperate regions, winter presents animals with a number of challenges including depressed food abundance, increased daily energy requirements, higher frequency of extreme weather events and shortened day length. Overcoming these constraints is critical for overwintering survival and scheduling of future breeding of long-lived species and is likely to be state dependent, associated with intrinsic abilities such as food acquisition rates. We examined the relationship between environmental and intrinsic factors on overwintering foraging and subsequent breeding phenology of the European shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis, a diurnal marine predator. We tested a range of hypotheses relating to overwintering foraging time and location. We found that individuals greatly increased their foraging time in winter to a peak of more than 90% of available daylight at the winter solstice. The seasonal patterns of foraging time appear to be driven by a combination of light levels and weather conditions and may be linked to the availability of the shag's principal prey, the lesser sandeel Ammodytes marinus. There was no evidence that shags dispersed south in winter to increase potential foraging time. Foraging time decreased after the winter solstice and, crucially, was correlated with subsequent breeding phenology, such that individuals that spent less time foraging in February bred earlier. The relationship was much stronger in females than males, in line with their more direct control of timing of breeding. Our results demonstrate that pre-breeding intrinsic foraging ability is critical in determining breeding phenology.     

High-energy milling to decontaminate soils polluted by polychlorobiphenyls and atrazine

Mechanical energy has been used so far for running chemical reactions and for preparing new materials in absence of solvents. Very recently, the technology has been applied to solve environmental problems. In this paper, we describe the application of high-energy milling (HEM) for the remediation of soils contaminated by chlorinated organic compounds such as polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and agrochemicals like atrazine. NaBH₄ and LiAlH₄ have been successfully used for the total dehydrohalogenation of both classes of compounds, leaving a residue lower than 2 ppmw of the starting compound in the treated soil. LiAlH₄ was found to be more active than NaBH₄.     

计算机辅助确定外因火灾位置方法

系统介绍用计算机辅助确定矿井外因火灾位置方法的原理,给出该方法的具体步骤,剖析其定性分析、定量分析和定量分析结果评价三大步骤中的各技术关键,并借助一个实例验证了该方法实用的可行性     

地面水水样预处理技术研究

研究了地面水中重金属元素Cu、Zn、Cd、Pb、Cr、Ni及Hg溶解态与悬浮态的分离技术;采用原子吸收光谱法定量测定上述元素,并比较了分离后两态重金属元素的浓度差异。实验结果,重金属元素大部分以悬浮态存在于水体中,溶解态的含量极微。采用最佳的过滤分离(滤膜和滤纸)和离心分离技术,能得到较好的分离效果,而澄清分离是不可取的,因其难以规范化。指出在地面水分析中,必须建立严谨和统一的地面水预处理技术,才能保证环境分析数据的准确性和可比性。     

潮汐河流动态水环境容量计算方法探讨

基于目前采用的静态水态水质数学模型计算河流平均水环境容量的方法，难于满足感潮河流的动态水环境容量时变过程，且计算精度不高的情况，提出了潮汐河流动态水环境容量的计算方法和计算步骤，以满足感潮河流水质管理规划的需要。通过对某一感潮河流实际计算应用，表明这一新的计算方法在理论上与实践上是可行的。     

渭河宝鸡市区段阴离子表面活性剂污染研究

本文采用改进的亚甲蓝分光光度法，对渭河宝鸡市区段阴离子表面活性剂进行监测分析。测定结果表明：渭河在进入宝鸡市至植物园断面时阴离子表面活性剂含量较低，日平均值为0．049mg／L，达到地面水环境质量I类标准(≤0．2mg／L)(GB3838-88．地面水环境质量标准)；在流经市区新世纪桥、渭河桥断面时，由于分别有清姜河和金陵河两个支流的汇入，污染越来越严重．在这两个断面阴离子表面活性剂含量日平均值分别为0．34mg／L和0．54mg／L；在即将流出宝鸡市的斗鸡断面阴离子表面活性剂含量日平均值为0．424mg／L，已远远超过地面水环境质量V类标准(≤0．3mg／L)(GB3838-88，地面水环境质量标准)。从监测结果看：双休日阴离子表面活性剂含量普遍高于工作日；清姜河、金陵河污染严重，这两条支流的汇入对渭河水质影响巨大，要治理好渭河，须先治理好清姜河和金陵河这两条支流。     

Methylmercury and total mercury in estuarine organisms from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Guanabara Bay (GB), located in the Rio de Janeiro State, is still a productive estuary on the south-eastern Brazilian coast. It is an ecosystem heavily impacted by organic matter, oil and a number of other toxic compounds, including Hg. The present study aimed to comparatively evaluate the aquatic total mercury (THg) and MeHg contamination, and the ratios of MeHg to THg (% MeHg), in 3 species of marine organisms, Micropogonias furnieri-carnivorous fish (N = 81), Mugil spp.--detritivorous fish (N = 20) and Perna perna--filter-feeding bivalves (N = 190), which are widely consumed by the population. A total of 291 specimens were collected at the bay in different periods between 1988 and 1998. THg concentrations were determined by cold vapour AAS with stannous chloride as a reducing agent. MeHg was extracted by dithizone-benzene and measured by GC-ECD. Analytical quality was checked through certified standards. All organisms presented both low THg and MeHg concentrations and they were below the maximum limit of 1,000 micrograms Hg.kg-1 wet wt. as established for human intake of predatory fish by the new Brazilian legislation. Carnivorous fish showed higher THg and MeHg concentrations, and also % MeHg in muscle tissues, than organisms with other feeding habits and lower trophic levels. The average of THg concentrations in carnivorous fish was 108.9 +/- 58.6 micrograms.kg-1 wet wt. (N = 61) in 1990 and 199.5 +/- 116.2 micrograms.kg-1 wet wt. (N = 20) in 1998, but they presented different total length and body weights. The average THg content in detritivorous fish was 15.4 +/- 5.8 micrograms.kg-1 wet wt., whereas THg concentrations ranged from 4.1 to 53.5 micrograms.kg-1 wet wt. for the molluscs. The THg and MeHg contents of mussel varied according to the sampling point and water quality. MeHg concentration in detritivorous fish was similar to MeHg concentration in molluscs, but there was a significant difference in the MeHg/THg ratio: the carnivorous fish presented higher MeHg percentages (98%) than the detritivorous fish (54%) and the molluscs (33%). Weight-normalised average concentration of THg in carnivorous fish collected in 1990 (0.18 +/- 0.08 microgram.g-1/0.7 kg wet wt.) and in 1998 (0.16 +/- 0.09 microgram.g-1/0.7 kg wet wt.) presented no significant difference (t = 1.34; P < 0.5). In conclusion, the low THg and MeHg concentrations in the organisms from the GB ecosystem, are related to its eutrophic conditions and elevated amounts of suspended matter. In this situation, Hg could be strongly complexed or adsorbed by the particulate, which would dilute the Hg inputs and reduce its residence time in the water column, with a consequent decrease in its availability to organisms.