Application of decision tools to ethical analysis in biodiversity conservation

Achieving ethically responsible decisions is crucial for the success of biodiversity conservation projects. We adapted the ethical matrix, decision tree, and Bateson's cube to assist in the ethical analysis of complex conservation scenarios by structuring these tools so that they can implement the different value dimensions (environmental, social, and animal welfare) involved in conservation ethics. We then applied them to a case study relative to the decision-making process regarding whether or not to continue collecting biomaterial on the oldest of the two remaining northern white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), a functionally extinct subspecies of the white rhinoceros. We used the ethical matrix to gather ethical pros and cons and as a starting point for a participatory approach to ethical decision-making. We used decision trees to compare the different options at stake on the basis of a set of ethical desiderata. We used Bateson's cube to establish a threshold of ethical acceptability and model the results of a simple survey. The application of these tools proved to be pivotal in structuring the decision-making process and in helping reach a shared, reasoned, and transparent decision on the best option from an ethical point of view among those available.     

Voting Systems for Environmental Decisions

Voting systems aggregate preferences efficiently and are often used for deciding conservation priorities. Desirable characteristics of voting systems include transitivity, completeness, and Pareto optimality, among others. Voting systems that are common and potentially useful for environmental decision making include simple majority, approval, and preferential voting. Unfortunately, no voting system can guarantee an outcome, while also satisfying a range of very reasonable performance criteria. Furthermore, voting methods may be manipulated by decision makers and strategic voters if they have knowledge of the voting patterns and alliances of others in the voting populations. The difficult properties of voting systems arise in routine decision making when there are multiple criteria and management alternatives. Because each method has flaws, we do not endorse one method. Instead, we urge organizers to be transparent about the properties of proposed voting systems and to offer participants the opportunity to approve the voting system as part of the ground rules for operation of a group. Sistemas de Votación para Decisiones Ambientales     

Aluminum interaction with human brain tau protein phosphorylation by various Kinases

Abstract

Phosphorylation is an indispensable process for energy and signal transduction in biological systems. AlCl₃ at 10 nM to 10 uM range activated in‐vitro [γ‐³²P)ATP phosphorylation of the brain (tau) T protein in both normal human or E.coli expressed T forms; in the presence of the kinases P34, PKP, and PKC. However, higher concentrations of ALCl₃ inhibited the T phosphorylation with P34, PKP, and PKC to a maximum at 1 mM level. AlCl₃ at 100 uM to 500 uM range induced non‐enzymatic phosphorylation of T with γ‐ATP, γ‐GTP, and α‐GTP. AlCl₃ activated histone phosphorylation by P34 in a similar pattern. The hyperphosphorylation of T by Al³⁺ was accompanied by molecular shift and mobility retardation in SDS‐PAGE. This may demonstrate the mechanism of the longterm neurological effect of Al³⁺ in human brain leading to the formation of the neurofibrillary tangles related to Alzeheimer's disease.     

4S店VOCs废气治理方式探讨

调查收集汽车4S店VOCs废气治理情况,汽车4S店喷漆房废气量及VOCs浓度大小的相关参数,结合目前市场上VOCs的相关治理技术,从技术稳定性、投资建设成本、运营成本以及操作难易程度上进行对比分析,比选出技术稳定、建设以及运营成本低、操作简单的技术进行推广,从而使汽车4S店VOCs废气治理达标、规范。     

Management by Assertion: Beavers and Songbirds at Lake Skinner (Riverside County,California)

Management of ecological reserve lands should rely on the best available science to achieve the goal of biodiversity conservation. “Adaptive Resource Management” is the current template to ensure that management decisions are reasoned and that decisions increase understanding of the system being managed. In systems with little human disturbance, certain management decisions are clear; steps to protect native species usually include the removal of invasive species. In highly modified systems, however, appropriate management steps to conserve biodiversity are not as readily evident. Managers must, more than ever, rely upon the development and testing of hypotheses to make rational management decisions. We present a case study of modern reserve management wherein beavers (Castor canadensis) were suspected of destroying habitat for endangered songbirds (least Bell’s vireo, Vireo bellii pusillus, and southwestern willow flycatcher, Empidonax traillii extimus) and for promoting the invasion of an exotic plant (tamarisk, Tamarix spp.) at an artificial reservoir in southern California. This case study documents the consequences of failing to follow the process of Adaptive Resource Management. Managers made decisions that were unsupported by the scientific literature, and actions taken were likely counterproductive. The opportunity to increase knowledge of the ecosystem was lost. Uninformed management decisions, essentially “management by assertion,” undermine the long-term prospects for biodiversity conservation.     

Patterns of Citations of Open Access and Non‐Open Access Conservation Biology Journal Papers and Book Chapters

Abstract: Open access (OA) publishing, whereby authors, their institutions, or their granting bodies pay or provide a repository through which peer‐reviewed work is available online for free, is championed as a model to increase the number of citations per paper and disseminate results widely, especially to researchers in developing countries. We compared the number of citations of OA and non‐OA papers in six journals and four books published since 2000 to test whether OA increases number of citations overall and increases citations made by authors in developing countries. After controlling for type of paper (e.g., review or research paper), length of paper, authors’ citation profiles, number of authors per paper, and whether the author or the publisher released the paper in OA, OA had no statistically significant influence on the overall number of citations per journal paper. Journal papers were cited more frequently if the authors had published highly cited papers previously, were members of large teams of authors, or published relatively long papers, but papers were not cited more frequently if they were published in an OA source. Nevertheless, author‐archived OA book chapters accrued up to eight times more citations than chapters in the same book that were not available through OA, perhaps because there is no online abstracting service for book chapters. There was also little evidence that journal papers or book chapters published in OA received more citations from authors in developing countries relative to those journal papers or book chapters not published in OA. For scholarly publications in conservation biology, only book chapters had an OA citation advantage, and OA did not increase the number of citations papers or chapters received from authors in developing countries.     

裂解气脱硫新趋势

在回顾现有裂解气脱硫工艺的基础上，介绍了近年来国内外在该领域的研究和应用中所取得的进展及未来的发展趋势。     

化工废气排放量灰色预测的GPSM（1）模型

在对ＧＩＭ（１）模型研究的基础上，提出了一种化工废气排放的单变量灰色幂级数曲线预测新模型「简称（ＧＰＳＭ（１）」，并建立了辨识模型参数的优化方法。结果表明，ＧＰＳＭ（１）在有线性输出的平稳系统中，比ＧＭ（１，１）更能反映原始资料提供的信息，系统分辨率高，同态性好，预测精度理想，为环境系统的拟合、预测分析和决策开辟了新途径，从而拓宽了ＧＭ（１，１）模型在环境科学领域中的应用范围。     

癸二酸生产中甲酚废水治理方法的进展

对用蓖麻的生产癸二酸过程中产生的甲酚废水的各种处理方法进行了评述。在这些处理方法中，ＱＨ－１型络合萃取剂萃取法的处理效果最佳，废水经处理后酚浓度可达到国家排放标准。该法的投资较少，且回收的甲酚钠可回用于生产。经济上较合理，是一种比较理想的处理方法。