锡林河流域典型草原碳素生物小循环研究

应用生物地球化学分室方法研究了内蒙古锡林河流域2个典型草原群落——羊草草原和大针茅草原的碳素生物小循环,研究表明:①生长季禁牧的羊草草原植物分室碳素净固定量为165.50 gC.m-2,土壤分室碳素净排放量为174.36 gC.m-2,系统碳素净固定量为-8.86 gC.m-2,基本处于平衡状态,植物分室的碳输入和碳输出也近于平衡状态;②生长季禁牧的大针茅草原植物分室碳素固定量为130.04 gC.m-2,土壤分室碳素净排放量为128.28 gC.m-2,系统碳素净固定量为1.76 gC.m-2,基本处于平衡状态,植物分室的碳输入和碳输出在降水量大的年份以输入为主,在降水量小的年份近于平衡状态;③水热等生境条件较适宜的羊草草原碳素周转量比大针茅草原要大得多,水分是典型草原碳素循环量的主要影响因素。     

川渝地区农业生态系统NH3排放

基于县级农业活动水平数据及区域氮循环模型IAP-N方法,并根据地理特征、环境气候条件及地区行政区划将川渝地区划分成4个亚区,详细估算了1990~2004年川渝地区农业生态系统各氨排放源的排放及其时空分布状况.结果表明,1990~1994、1995~1999和2000~2004年3个时期,整个川渝地区农业生态系统氨(NH3)年均排放量(以纯氮量计)分别为626.7、670.5和698.8 Gg.a-1.氨排放年际变化呈增长趋势,各氨排放源贡献率的年际变化不大,2000~2004年川渝地区施肥农田、粪便管理系统和秸秆燃烧氨排放源的贡献率分别为53%、46%和1%,排放量分别为374.9、318.2和5.6 Gg.a-1.各地区的氨排放源结构有所不同,成都平原和重庆地区施肥农田氨排放贡献率最高,而川西南地区和川西北地区以粪便管理系统氨排放为主.川渝地区农业生态系统氨排放地理分布总体上呈"东高西低"现象,2000~2004年,重庆丘陵地区、成都平原地区、川西南山地区及川西北高原地区的氨排放量分别为165.6、408.8、85.9和38.8 Gg.a-1,氨排放强度分别为20、28、9.1和1.6kg.(hm2.a)-...     

煤与秸秆成型燃料的复合生命周期对比评价

利用复合生命周期对比评价方法,引入能量返还率、资源耗竭系数、环境影响负荷和生命周期成本4个参数,对煤和秸秆成型燃料在整个生命周期内的能源消耗、环境影响和经济性做了对比分析.同时,为了平衡能源、环境与经济三者之间的关系,建立EEE (Energy, Environment, Economic)综合指标进行整体评价.结果表明,在整个生命周期内,与煤相比,秸秆成型燃料的能量返还率低、资源耗竭系数小.秸秆成型燃料的全球变暖潜值、酸化潜值、富营养化潜值、工业烟尘、粉尘潜值及固体废弃物潜值均比煤小,因此,秸秆成型燃料的环境影响负荷比煤小.秸秆成型燃料的EEE指标值比煤小79.8%,所以,从平衡生命周期能源消耗、环境排放和经济性角度出发,秸秆成型燃料具有替代煤的潜力.但是,秸秆成型燃料的生命周期成本比煤高,其大力推广需要政府的财政补贴.     

Prospects for carbon-neutral housing: the influence of greater wood use on the carbon footprint of a single-family residence

This paper examines the energy and carbon balance of two residential house alternatives; a typical wood frame home using more conventional materials (brick cladding, vinyl windows, asphalt shingles, and fibreglass insulation) and a similar wood frame house that also maximizes wood use throughout (cedar shingles and siding, wood windows, and cellulose insulation) in place of the more typical materials used – a wood-intensive house. Carbon emission and fossil fuel consumption balances were established for the two homes based on the cumulative total of three subsystems: (1) forest harvesting and regeneration; (2) cradle-to-gate product manufacturing, construction, and replacement effects over a 100-year service life; and (3) end-of-life effects – landfilling with methane capture and combustion or recovery of biomass for energy production.The net carbon balance of the wood-intensive house showed a complete offset of the manufacturing emissions by the credit given to the system for forest re-growth. Including landfill methane emissions, the wood-intensive life cycle yielded 20 tons of CO₂e emissions compared to 72 tons for the typical house. The wood-intensive home's life cycle also consumed only 45% of the fossil fuels used in the typical house.Diverting wood materials from the landfill at the end of life improved the life cycle balances of both the typical and wood-intensive houses. The carbon balance of the wood-intensive house was 5.2 tons of CO₂e permanently removed from the atmosphere (a net carbon sink) as compared to 63.4 of total CO₂e emissions for the typical house. Substitution of wood fuel for natural gas and coal in electricity production led to a net energy balance of the wood-intensive house that was nearly neutral, 87.1 GJ energy use, 88% lower than the scenario in which the materials were landfilled.Allocating biomass generation and carbon sequestration in the forest on an economic basis as opposed to a mass basis significantly improves the life cycle balances of both houses. Employing an economic allocation method to the forest leads to 3–5 times greater carbon sequestration and fossil fuel substitution attributable to the house, which is doubled in forestry regimes that remove stumps and slash as fuel. Thus, wood use has the potential to create a significantly negative carbon footprint for a house up to the point of occupancy and even offset a portion of heating and cooling energy use and carbon emissions; the wood-intensive house is energy and carbon neutral for 34–68 years in Ottawa and has the potential to be a net carbon sink and energy producer in a more temperate climate like San Francisco.     

Fatal hit-and-run crashes: Factors associated with leaving the scene

Introduction: Hit-and-run crashes are a criminal offense that leave the victim without prompt medical care or the ability to receive financial compensation. Method: The purpose of the current study was to quantify the factors associated with the probability that a driver leaves the scene of a fatal crash, using multiple imputation to incorporate information from drivers who were never apprehended and thus whose characteristics were unknown. Results: The results of this study show that in addition to driver, vehicle, and environmental factors having significant impacts on the likelihood of a driver fleeing the scene, economic and demographic factors are important as well. Practical Applications: This analysis allows for a more holistic understanding of hit-and-run crashes and informs potential countermeasures and future research.     

高寒地区露天矿排土场稳定性分析研究*

为分析高寒地区露天排土场稳定性,以乌努格吐山铜钼矿排土场为工程背景,结合室内试验并利用GeoStudio及FLAC3D软件对边坡进行模拟计算分析,给出边坡治理有效措施。结果表明:前3次冻融循环对散体物料的抗剪强度影响显著,后期影响则趋于稳定;6个剖面的安全系数普遍大于1.2,在地下水的干扰下,各剖面安全系数普遍下降,尤其是剖面E-E,其安全系数低于1,存在滑坡风险;水对边坡的安全性影响较大,其次提出削坡治理及布置抗滑桩措施,当边坡角度削减至31°时,边坡的安全系数增至为1.383;抗滑桩增至8根时,安全系数增加至1.296,这些措施对边坡的治理皆起到积极作用。研究结果可为高寒地区矿山安全开采提供技术支持。     

二次电池电极材料环境影响计算系统

以生命周期评价理论为基础,建立了电极材料电化学性能与环境影响的内在量化关联关系分析方法。基于Java语言,设计和编写了二次电池电极材料环境影响综合计算系统,协调考虑了二次电池的循环特性、电化学特征等,实现了环境影响评价过程中对材料质量需求的便捷计算,进而实现了整个评价操作过程的综合化、软件化和信息化,提高了评价效率。选用LiFePO_4/C,LiFe_(0.98)Ti_(0.02)PO_4/C,LiFe_(0.98)Mn_(0.02)PO_4/C和FeF_3(H_2O)_3/C 4种正极材料基于此系统进行了实例应用。     

A qualitative study of college students' perceptions of risky driving and social influences

Objectives: Young adults and teens are documented as the riskiest drivers on the road, and newer issues such as texting and driving are a growing concern. This study sought to determine the risk perceptions of young adults regarding various driving behaviors, their past experiences, how their social circles are structured, and how this might affect their driving. Methods: This study conducted qualitative research with 25 college undergraduate students to determine their peer and social influences regarding distracted driving. Data were analyzed and related to the health belief model and past research on social influence. Results: Though most participants felt that their behaviors were set after learning to drive, they were, in fact, quite susceptible to the influence of those in their social circles (e.g., fear of judgment and accountability) and, more broadly, to social norms. Texting and driving was the largest and most topical distracted driving issue and was also identified as very difficult to stop due to perceived barriers and the idea that intervening is rude. Participants identified low perceived susceptibility and severity (perceived threat) for a number of risky driving behaviors, including texting and driving. Conclusions: Training is needed to encourage people to intervene and speak up regarding behaviors other than drinking and driving, and cues to action and campaigns should target intervention to increase self-efficacy, as well as norms, susceptibility, and common rationalizations for risky behavior.     

Exploring the association between working memory and driving performance in Parkinson's disease

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore whether varying levels of operational and tactical driving task demand differentially affect drivers with Parkinson's disease (PD) and control drivers in their sign recall.

Methods: Study participants aged between 50 and 70 years included a group of drivers with PD (n = 10) and a group of age- and sex-matched control drivers (n = 10). Their performance in a sign recall task was measured using a driving simulator.

Results: Drivers in the control group performed better than drivers with PD in a sign recall task, but this trend was not statistically significant (P =.43). In addition, regardless of group membership, subjects' performance differed according to varying levels of task demand. Performance in the sign recall task was more likely to drop with increasing task demand (P =.03). This difference was significant when the variation in task demand was associated with a cognitive task; that is, when drivers were required to apply the instructions from working memory.

Conclusions: Although the conclusions drawn from this study are tentative, the evidence presented here is encouraging with regard to the use of a driving simulator to examine isolated cognitive functions underlying driving performance in PD. With an understanding of its limitations, such driving simulation in combination with functional assessment batteries measuring physical, visual, and cognitive abilities could comprise one component of a multitiered system to evaluate medical fitness to drive.     

Predictors of health care provider anticipatory guidance provision for older drivers

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of health care provider (HCP) driving safety/cessation-related anticipatory guidance provision and predictors of driving safety-related anticipatory guidance provision by HCPs.

Methods: HCPs in several central/upper Midwest states were surveyed about frequency of anticipatory guidance provision (n = 265).

Results: More than half of HCPs stated that they frequently or always provide driving safety/cessation-related anticipatory guidance to patients aged 85 or older, 38.7% provided this guidance to patients aged 75 to 84, and 13.7% to patients aged 65 to 74. Predictors of driving safety/cessation-related anticipatory guidance provision differed by patient age. For patients aged 65–74, HCP personal experience with a motor vehicle crash (either the HCP themselves or a friend/family member) was significant in predicting anticipatory guidance provision. However, for patients aged 75 and older, significant predictors included HCP rural practice, HCP age, and percentage of HCP patients who were older adults.

Conclusion: HCP counseling provision related to driving issues differs by patient age and several HCP characteristics, including HCP rurality, age, and personal experience with motor vehicle crashes. Because aging results in physical and mental changes that affect driving and can be identified by HCPs, HCPs are in a position to counsel patients on the potential impacts of aging on the act of driving. Future research should examine the reasons for the differences in anticipatory guidance provision found in this study.