长江中下游洪水灾害成因及洪水特征模拟分析

长江中下游地区洪水灾害的发生是自然地理条件及人类活动共同作用的结果。流域水系构造和地理特征决定了其洪水多发性,气候变化和土地利用/地表覆盖变化导致该地区水循环过程发生较大改变,而大量水库、堤防的建设以及城市化的发展使得洪水过程发生显著变化,因此在各种因素的综合作用下,长江中下游地区近年来洪水灾害频繁发生。综述了气候变化对长江中下游降水的影响,探讨了长江中下游水系特征与洪水灾害的关系,分析了人类活动对洪水灾害的影响规律,在此基础上,开展了气候和下垫面特征变化条件下的暴雨洪水模拟研究,以长江下游太湖东苕溪流域的南苕溪为研究区,进行了流域降雨径流过程的动态模拟验证和特征分析,并取得了较满意的成果,从而为长江中下游地区防洪减灾研究打下了基础。     

煤矿人为失误的原因及控制

随着科学技术的进步,机器设备的可靠性得到了大幅度的提高,人为失误导致的事故比例快速上升.掌握人为失误的原因,进而控制人为失误的发生是有效减少事故发生的重要措施.在对神火煤电股份有限公司新庄矿深入调查了解的基础上,初步探讨了煤矿人为失误的原因,提出了控制人为失误的有效途径.     

洪湖历史时期人类活动的湖泊沉积环境响应

以洪湖北部和南部两个短柱钻孔(HN和HS)研究湖泊沉积,采用137Cs定年,沉积速率为0.155 cm/a。沉积物的总有机碳、总氮、磷以及元素和磁化率等指标分析表明：1840年前洪湖地区人类活动较弱,在湖泊沉积物中基本没有早期的人类活动信号的记录;1840年以后由于人口大量增加,人类活动增强,湖泊的营养水平有所增加,尤其是1950年以来沉积物中营养元素急剧增加;近50年来的湖泊营养程度的加重主要与流域内大量营养物质进入湖泊,以及大面积的围垦造成湖泊面积减小、自我调节能力降低有关。洪湖两孔的对比研究表明,不同区域之间存在着差异,可能与洪湖湖流作用及人类活动的影响差异有关。     

2002~2009年兰州PM10人体健康经济损失评估

参考近年来公开发表的国内外流行病学文献,筛选出PM10的健康效应终点和适合于兰州地区的暴露-反应关系系数,对2002~2009年兰州地区PM10人体健康经济损失进行了计算.结果表明2002年以来兰州地区PM10人体健康经济损失并未明显升高,而是逐年波动;年损失值均在10亿元以上,其中2009年最高为16.6亿元; PM10人体健康经济损失与GDP的比值呈明显下降的趋势.     

Genotoxic effects of metals on human salivary gland tissue and lymphocytes as detected by the Comet assay

The etiology of salivary gland malignancies still remains unclear. Metal compounds are of special interest since they show ubiquitous presence in the environment, are present in many working places, and are accepted (co-)carcinogens in some other malignancies. Metals enter the body as xenobiotics by inhalation or ingestion. This study investigated the genotoxic potential of sodium dichromate (Na₂Cr₂O₇), nickel sulfate (NiSO₄), cadmium sulfate (CdSO₄) and zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) on human salivary gland cells and lymphocytes. Macroscopically healthy tissue of salivary glands was harvested from 46 patients during surgery and isolated to single cells by enzymatic digestion. The cells were incubated with Na₂Cr₂O₇, NiSO₄, CdSO₄ or ZnCl₂. Na₂Cr₂O₇ was also incubated in combination with the other metal compounds listed. Carcinogenic and co-carcinogenic effects of cadmium were tested by incubation with Na₂Cr₂O₇ and consecutive repair intervals. DNA damage and repair were evaluated by the Comet assay, determining DNA-strand breaks. The extent of damage was quantified using a digital analysis system. Na₂Cr₂O₇ produced significantly enhanced DNA-strand breaks in human salivary gland tissue and lymphocytes. All other metal compounds exerted no damaging effect on both cell types. Co-incubation of Na₂Cr₂O₇ with the other metals revealed a significant additive effect only for CdSO₄. Specific analysis of the influence of cadmium showed a reduction of DNA-repair after Na₂Cr₂O₇-induced strand breaks in salivary gland cells. This study provides evidence that exposure to distinct metals may significantly contribute to malignant salivary gland tumors. In consequence, further studies as epidemiological and toxicological data are warranted to determine the role of distinct metals as potential (co-) carcinogens.     

Mercury pollution in the Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh,India, and its health impacts

The Sonbhadra district in the Singrauli area of Uttar Pradesh, India, has many coal mines and thermal power plants and is a critically polluted area. Many residents of this area reported adverse health conditions which may be linked to metal pollution, especially of mercury investigated here.

In May 2012, samples of water (23), soil (7), blood, hair, and nails from persons showing adverse health conditions selected at random were collected and analyzed for total mercury by atomic absorption spectrometry.

Twenty percent drinking water samples contained mercury from 3 to 26 μg L^?1 (3–26 times the permissible limit). Soil samples had 0.5–10.1 mg kg^?1 Hg.

The average concentrations of mercury in human blood, hair, and nails were found to be 34 μg L^?1, 7.4 mg kg^?1, and 0.8 mg kg^?1, respectively. Mercury concentrations in the blood of these persons were 45 and 28 μg L^?1 on average in the case of men and women. This is much higher than the safe level of 5.8 μg L^?1 set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

It was concluded that all residents of Sonbhadra sampled could be suffering from mercury toxicity as the area is polluted by Hg released from the coal-fired thermal power plants.     

The cytotoxicity of nici2 for mammalian cells in culture†

The effects of NiCl₂ were studied in two human cell lines, HeLa and diploid embryonic fibroblasts as well as in V79 Chinese hamster cells and in L‐A mouse fibroblasts. NiCl₂ produces a dose‐dependent depression of proliferation, mitotic rate, and viability, accompanied by an increasing release of lactic dehydrogenase and stimulation of lactic acid production. The plating efficiency is reduced, as are DNA and protein synthesis and, to a lesser degree, RNA synthesis.

The cytotoxicity of NiCl₂ is comparable in degree to those of PbCl₂ and MnCl₂, but is weaker than those of HgCl₂ and CdCl₂. However, the different sensitivities of different cell lines must also be considered.

NiCl₂ effects are more severe in serum‐free medium than in medium containing serum or serum albumin indicating that serum constituents, notably albumin, bind the metal effectively and inhibit cellular uptake; this confirms earlier reports on the serum binding and slow uptake of NiCl₂.

Synchronized cells are most sensitive in the Gl and early S phases of the cell cycle. In the Painter test the depression of DNA synthesis persists following cessation of exposure to NiCI₂. These findings contribute an explanation for the known genotoxic effects of nickel.     

Principal sustainability components: empirical analysis of synergies between the three pillars of sustainability

Starting from the concept of three fundamental sustainability dimensions (environmental, social, and economic), this study investigated professional contributions to sustainability by means of principal component analysis (PCA). Graduates from the Environmental Sciences program (N?=?542) at ETH Zurich described their best professional contributions to sustainable development. Next, they evaluated whether their best practice example contributed to achieving any of the five environmental, social, and economic objectives of the Swiss national sustainability strategy. These judgments served as the basis for a PCA aiming to identify principal sustainability components (PSCs) covering typical synergies between sustainability objectives within and transcending the three fundamental dimensions. Three PSCs capturing important synergies were identified. PSC 1 Product and Process Development reflects how ecological innovation and modernization can generate social and economic benefits and at the same time facilitate the reduction in use of as well as the responsible use of natural resources. PSC 2 Education and Social Economics reflects how educational activities and sociocultural sustainability initiatives can simultaneously promote income and employment, social and human capital, and free personal development. PSC 3 Protection of Nature and Humans covers the synergetic benefits which protection of natural spaces and biodiversity and the reduction of environmental risks have for the protection of health and safety of the population. The study also revealed that integration of environmental, social, and economic aspects is often connected to conflicts between these dimensions. However, contributions which consider the economic situation of future generations or enhance social and human capital achieved considerable integration but showed no inclination toward such conflicts.     

Demonstrating a correlation between infrastructure and national development

This paper demonstrates a correlation between the extensiveness of infrastructure and national development. This was achieved by considering kilometres of paved roads, kilometres of rail, kilometres of paved runways, quality of shipping ports and quality of urban infrastructure. Data were collected from a variety of sources including the World Bank and the United Nations databases. Measures of the quantity or extensiveness of the infrastructures were normalized based on the populations of the various countries, transforming them into per capita measures, which were then logarithmically transformed to produce indices of the extensiveness of the infrastructures. These indices were then plotted against the national development indicator, the human development index (HDI). Of the infrastructures considered, paved roads per capita index showed the strongest correlation with HDI, while quality of port infrastructure index showed the weakest correlation. When the indices for the different infrastructures were combined into a single index the correlation with HDI appeared to be strongest, highlighting the synergistic effect of different infrastructures when working in tandem. Based on this, the findings of this study support the position of holistically managing a country's infrastructure assets.