DROUGHT POLICY IN THE U.S. AND AUSTRALIA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS1

ABSTRACT: Federal and state governments in the United States and Australia have come to play a key role in attempts to mitigate the impact of drought. Government actions have usually taken the form of loans and grants to individual citizens, businesses and municipalities experiencing the hardship of drought. Most of these actions have occurred in an environment of crisis management, rather than as a result of clearly stated policy objectives. Based on a review and evaluation of recent drought policy in the United States and Australia, recommendations are offered on ways to improve the United States’approach. A national drought plan is suggested as an efficient mechanism through which these recommendations could be implemented. States should also become more actively involved in drought assessment and response, but these actions must be coordinated with federal actions.     

对城市规划中抗震与应急救灾问题的思考

根据国内外震害教训和抗震经验，从震灾防御和应急救灾诸方面讨论了城市规划建设时应注意的问题及应采取的措施。     

Nitrogen accumulation and plant species replacement in three salt marsh systems in the Wadden Sea

Salt marsh development on the coastal barrier island of Schiermonnikoog (The Netherlands) was compared with two other salt marsh systems in the Wadden Sea. Accretion rate, nitrogen accumulation and changes in plant species composition were investigated using chronosequences. The age of the marsh was estimated from aerial photographs and old maps. In 7230 plots, the elevation of the marsh surface, the thickness of the sediment layer (clay) and the presence of plant species was recorded. In addition, the nitrogen pool was measured at each successional stage. Accretion rates were similar in the three salt marshes. Higher accretion rates were found at younger marshes. A strong linear relationship between nitrogen pool size and thickness of the clay layer was found for the three marshes. The accumulation rate of nitrogen is therefore strongly related to the accretion rate. Thus, more nitrogen is present in the sediment of later successional stages where more clay has accumulated. On the high salt marsh (55 cm+MHT),Ameria maritima disappeared andArtemisia maritima, Juncus gerardi andElymus athericus established at sites with a thicker clay layer. On the low salt marsh (25 cm+MHT),Plantago maritima, Puccinellia maritima andLimonium vulgare disappeared andAtriplex (Halimione) portulacoides established. Apparently, with the accumulation of clay and therefore of nitrogen, tall growing species take over in salt marshes not grazed by livestock.     

Interactive effects of multiscale diversification practices on farmland bird stress

Farmland diversification practices (i.e., methods used to produce food sustainably by enhancing biodiversity in cropping systems) are sometimes considered beneficial to both agriculture and biodiversity, but most studies of these practices rely on species richness, diversity, or abundance as a proxy for habitat quality. Biodiversity assessments may miss early clues that populations are imperiled when species presence does not imply persistence. Physiological stress indicators may help identify low-quality habitats before population declines occur. We explored how avian stress indicators respond to on-farm management practices and surrounding seminatural area (1-km radius) across 21 California strawberry farms. We examined whether commonly used biodiversity metrics correlate with stress responses in wild birds. We used ∼1000 blood and feather samples and body mass and wing chord measurements, mostly from passerines, to test the effects of diversification practices on four physiological stress indicators: heterophil to lymphocyte ratios (H:L), body condition, hematocrit values, and feather growth rates of individual birds. We then tested the relationship between physiological stress indicators and species richness, abundance, occurrence, and diversity derived from 285 bird point count surveys. After accounting for other biological drivers, landscape context mediated the effect of local farm management on H:L and body condition. Local diversification practices were associated with reduced individual stress in intensive agricultural landscapes but increased it in landscapes surrounded by relatively more seminatural area. Feathers grew more slowly in landscapes dominated by strawberry production, suggesting that nutritional condition was lower here than in landscapes with more crop types and seminatural areas. We found scant evidence that species richness, abundance, occurrence, or diversity metrics were correlated with the individual's physiological stress, suggesting that reliance on these metrics may obscure the impacts of management on species persistence. Our findings underscore the importance of considering landscape context when designing local management strategies to promote wildlife conservation.     

响应面法优化UV/H_2O_2光氧化法处理高浓度LAS废水

采用响应面法对UV/H2O2光氧化法处理高浓度LAS废水的工艺参数进行了系统研究。根据Box-Behnken Design(BBD)设计原理,以初始pH与H2O2投加量、反应时间和温度为主要影响因素,设计4因素3水平共29个实验点的实验方案,并建立了二次响应面拟合模型。方差分析表明,初始pH与H2O2投加量、反应时间和温度以及初始pH和H2O2投加量、H2O2投加量和温度之间的交互作用,对实验结果具有显著性影响。实验得到的光氧化高浓度LAS废水最佳工艺条件,pH为4.0,H2O2投加量为40 mmol/L,反应时间为90 min,温度为25℃,在此条件下,LAS的平均去除率为98.1%。     

降解长链烷烃菌株的选育及性能研究

以正十六烷无机盐培养基为选择培养基,从武汉石化输油管附近土壤中筛选出1株高效降解长链烷烃的菌株,命名C3,对其进行生理生化、16S r DNA鉴定,C3为不动杆菌属。在正十六烷浓度为1 000 mg/L的无机盐培养基中接入4%的种子液,放入35℃、125 r/min摇床中震荡60 h,C3对正十六烷的降解率可达100%,其降解动力学拟合结果符合Monod模型。将C3应用到柴蜡的降解,96 h后,1 000 mg/L的柴蜡混合溶液的降解率能达到91%。C3产生的生物表面活性剂经鉴定为磷脂类活性剂,排油圈直径为80 mm,CMC约为35 mg/L,能将水的表面张力降低到20.79 m N/m。该菌株对长链烷烃的降解提供了良好的菌源。     

响应面法优化仿酶Fe_3O_4/Fe~0非均相类Fenton降解P-NP

采用原位氧化沉淀法制备出仿酶Fe_3O_4/Fe~0,并采用扫描电子显微镜和X射线衍射对样品进行表征,结果表明,Fe_3O_4与Fe~0负载牢固且保持良好的晶型。采用响应面分析法对仿酶Fe_3O_4/Fe~0催化降解P-NP的工艺条件进行优化,方差分析得到二次模型显著,优化条件为:催化剂用量1.2 g/L,反应温度30℃,初始pH=2.9,初始H_2O_2浓度10 mmol/L,对硝基苯酚去除率的实际值与预测值几乎一致。     

Young drivers' responses to anti-speeding advertisements: Comparison of self-report and objective measures of persuasive processing and outcomes

Objective: Self-report measures are typically used to assess the effectiveness of road safety advertisements. However, psychophysiological measures of persuasive processing (i.e., skin conductance response [SCR]) and objective driving measures of persuasive outcomes (i.e., in-vehicle Global Positioning System [GPS] devices) may provide further insights into the effectiveness of these advertisements. This study aimed to explore the persuasive processing and outcomes of 2 anti-speeding advertisements by incorporating both self-report and objective measures of speeding behavior. In addition, this study aimed to compare the findings derived from these different measurement approaches.

Methods: Young drivers (N = 20, M age = 21.01 years) viewed either a positive or negative emotion–based anti-speeding television advertisement. While viewing the advertisement, SCR activity was measured to assess ad-evoked arousal responses. The RoadScout GPS device was then installed in participants' vehicles for 1 week to measure on-road speed-related driving behavior. Self-report measures assessed persuasive processing (emotional and arousal responses) and actual driving behavior.

Results: There was general correspondence between the self-report measures of arousal and the SCR and between the self-report measure of actual driving behavior and the objective driving data (as assessed via the GPS devices).

Conclusions: This study provides insights into how psychophysiological and GPS devices could be used as objective measures in conjunction with self-report measures to further understand the persuasive processes and outcomes of emotion-based anti-speeding advertisements.     

建筑事故应激生理反应基础实验研究

拟通过事故应激和生理指标测量来定量评估建筑个体的应急素质。通过实验测量个体应激前后生理指标的变化情况,创新提出个体事故应激反应计算公式,定量计算出个体应激反应大小,并探讨其和性别及有无专业知识背景的关系。结果发现,所有4个生理指标实验后与前相比均发生非常显著的变化(P0.01),其中心率、收缩压、舒张压均升高,鼻尖皮温降低。男性的应激反应程度显著小于女性(P0.05),有安全专业知识背景的个体应激反应非常显著地小于没有安全专业知识背景的(P0.01)。研究结果还可以用来对个体的应激反应水平进行区间划分,以进行有针对性的培训和合理的岗位匹配。     

On the minimum cost of an evolutionary strategy response to environment stress

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