黑碳对呼吸系统发病急性影响及气温修正效应研究

为研究黑碳(BC)对呼吸系统急性发病的影响及气温的修正效应,收集北京市2009~2012年264075例呼吸系统急诊病例与同期空气污染物(BC、PM_2.5、SO₂、NO₂)及气象数据,在划分呼吸道感染部位(上、下呼吸道)与人群年龄的基础上,采用分布-滞后非线性模型与广义相加模型进行建模.首先分别研究BC、气温与发病的(滞后)关联,继而构造二元交互模型探索气温-BC的协同关系,再分层量化BC在不同气温水平的健康影响;并同时纳入气态污染物验证BC结果的稳健性.结果表明,对总呼吸系统、上感、下感而言,气温-发病风险的暴露-响应曲线均近似“V”型,阈值温度分别为24℃、26℃和24℃,且低温的滞后累积影响强于高温.主效应模型揭示BC诱发即时性风险,影响在3d内消失;BC浓度每升高四分位数(IQR),总呼吸系统、上感、下感的超额发病风险(ER)分别为1.97%、2.64%和1.34%.少儿(£14岁)超额发病风险最高(总呼吸系统,3.40%),而老年组(³60岁)结果不甚显著.双污染物模型显示,BC与SO₂共存会放大BC关联风险,尤以上感响应明显;而BC与NO₂共存会适度增强下感风险.BC-气温的非参数二元模型显示,BC升高使发病风险类似对数函数上升,且高温会显著增强BC的健康影响.分层模型得到,每IQR BC在气温高于阈值时导致的下感风险显著高于上感,分别为5.55%、1.27%(P>0.05);而低于阈值时BC所致上、下感风险相当,均在0.55%左右.BC对呼吸系统发病的急性影响与感染部位和气温水平紧密相关,不同年龄段间也体现差异化特征.     

Sensor design for saltwater ingress detection in high reliable all-electric deep sea actuators

Subsea oil and gas production relies on Xmas Trees which are mounted on boreholes. Xmas Trees are an arrangement of different valve types and sizes actuated by hydraulic, electro-mechanic or all-electric actuators. All these actuators sharing problems with saltwater ingress and the re-sulting increased wear. This paper investigates potential effects which can be measured after saltwater ingress. Extensive testing is executed and the investigated effects are used for novel sensor designs. These designs are evaluated regarding certain requirements and a resulting sen-sor design is proposed for industrialization. The resulting sensor can then be used to collect new important data to support optimal maintenance in the subsea industry.     

Age and spatial distribution of the world's oldest trees

Extremely old trees have important roles in providing insights about historical climatic events and supporting cultural values, yet there has been limited work on their global distribution and conservation. We extracted information on 197,855 tree cores from 4854 sites and combined it with other tree age (e.g., the OLDLIST) data from a further 156 sites to determine the age of the world's oldest trees and quantify the factors influencing their global distribution. We found that extremely old trees >1000 years were rare. Among 30 individual trees that exceeded 2000 years old, 27 occurred in high mountains. We modeled maximum tree age with climatic, soil topographic, and anthropogenic variables, and our regression models demonstrated that elevation, human population density, soil carbon content, and mean annual temperature were key determinants of the distribution of the world's oldest trees. Specifically, our model predicted that many of the oldest trees will occur in high-elevation, cold, and arid mountains with limited human disturbance. This pattern was markedly different from that of the tallest trees, which were more likely to occur in relatively more mesic and productive locations. Global warming and expansion of human activities may induce rapid population declines of extremely old trees. New strategies, including targeted establishment of conservation reserves in remote regions, especially those in western parts of China and the United States, are required to protect these trees.