A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Animal Experiments with Guidelines for Reporting

To maximize the findings of animal experiments to inform likely health effects in humans, a thorough review and evaluation of the animal evidence is required. Systematic reviews and, where appropriate, meta-analyses have great potential in facilitating such an evaluation, making efficient use of the animal evidence while minimizing possible sources of bias. The extent to which systematic review and meta-analysis methods have been applied to evaluate animal experiments to inform human health is unknown. Using systematic review methods, we examine the extent and quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of in vivo animal experiments carried out to inform human health. We identified 103 articles meeting the inclusion criteria: 57 reported a systematic review, 29 a systematic review and a meta-analysis, and 17 reported a meta-analysis only. The use of these methods to evaluate animal evidence has increased over time. Although the reporting of systematic reviews is of adequate quality, the reporting of meta-analyses is poor. The inadequate reporting of meta-analyses observed here leads to questions on whether the most appropriate methods were used to maximize the use of the animal evidence to inform policy or decision-making. We recommend that guidelines proposed here be used to help improve the reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of animal experiments. Further consideration of the use and methodological quality and reporting of such studies is needed.     

金属填料塔火灾事故及预防

阐述了金属填料着火的原因、预防金属填料着火的措施以及应急反应的注意事项.     

Experimental Zn(II) retention in a sandy loam soil by very small columns

The use of column experiments, usually performed to better approximate field conditions, may provide information that is not available from batch experiments. In such experiments heavy metals are often adsorbed until saturation followed by desorption experiments. When the affinity of the metal to soil is high, the retention factor (R) could be greater than thousands and the duration of experiments can become impractically long. In order to use reasonable laboratory time, the flow rate should be increased or the column size decreased. The increase in flow rate produces undesirable kinetic and dispersion effects, so we used very small soil columns (pore volume = 0.31–0.70 ml) and relatively high flow rates (0.03–0.12 ml min⁻¹) in studies of Zn(II) adsorption and retention in soils. Conservative tracer flow column experiments under saturation conditions were carried out to determine flow parameters for different flow rates. Column pore volume (V_p), Peclet numbers (Pe) and longitudinal dispersion coefficients (D_L) were determined from breakthrough curves. The effect of type of electrolyte and ionic strength on the Zn(II) retention onto soil was determined. The influence of flow rate and bed height on the retention coefficient and on the mass transfer zone was also studied. The effect of different influent Zn(II) concentrations on the R values obtained was analyzed. Freundlich parameters from column experiments were compared with batch ones. The leaching efficiency of different electrolytes, salts of weak organic acids and EDTA was also studied.     

The effect of a biofilm on solute diffusion in fractured porous media

At sites in fractured rock where contamination has been exposed to the rock matrix for extended periods of time, the amount of contaminant mass residing in the matrix can be considerable. Even though it may be possible to diminish concentrations by the advection of clean water through the fracture features, back diffusion from mass held in the matrix will lead to a continuing source of contamination. In such an event, the development of a biofilm (a thin film of microbial mass) on the wall of the fractures may act to limit or prevent the back diffusion process. The objective of this preliminary study is to explore the influence imparted by the presence of a biofilm on the process of matrix diffusion. The investigation was conducted using radial diffusion cells constructed from rock core in which biofilm growth was stimulated in a central reservoir. Once biofilms were developed, forward diffusion experiments were conducted in which a conservative solute migrated from the central reservoir into the intact rock sample. Diffusion experiments were performed in a total of 11 diffusion cell pairs where biofilm growth was stimulated in one member of the pair and inhibited in the other. The effect of the presence of a biofilm on tracer diffusion was determined by comparison of the diffusion curves produced by each cell pair. A semi-analytical model that accounts for the presence of a biofilm was used to investigate the effect of the biofilm on mass transfer due to changes in the effective porosity, effective diffusion coefficient, and the depth of penetration of the biofilm into the intact rock. The results show that the biofilm acted to plug the rock matrix, rather than forming a discrete layer on the reservoir surface. The reduction in effective porosity due to the biofilm ranged from 6% to 52% with the majority of the samples in the 30% to 50% range. Based on the present results, with more efficient biofilm stimulation, it is reasonable to assume that a more complete plugging of the microcrack porosity might be possible, leaving a much thicker and efficient barrier than could be achieved via a surface biofilm.     

京津冀与长三角区域大气NO2污染特征

基于地面监测及遥感反演数据,研究了京津冀与长三角区域大气NO2污染特征,并进行了对比分析.从2005～2011年的平均近地面质量浓度和垂直柱浓度来看,京津冀与长三角中心城市大气NO2基本处于同一污染水平;其区域背景站的NO2浓度也差异不大,且与两大区域过渡地带的合肥市大致相同.区域NO2高浓度中心夏季较为分散,秋冬季高浓度范围明显扩大,冬季全部连为一片.近年来随着中心城区污染企业的外迁,北京、上海等城市核心区NO2近地面污染有所缓解,但区域背景站NO2近地面浓度和垂直柱浓度都有所升高,京津冀与长三角NO2整体污染水平形势依旧严峻.从区域分布看,北京、上海等城市NO2浓度较高,NO2柱浓度高出区域背景的50%左右,大约是欧亚大陆背景水平的3倍;近地面NO2浓度地域差异更大,北京、上海等中心城市NO2近地面质量浓度是城市清洁区的2倍,是区域背景的10倍以上,达欧亚大陆背景站瓦里关的上千倍.北京奥运及上海世博等大型活动之前及期间大气污染集中整治效果较为明显,但活动结束后,城市大气NO2污染都出现反弹.结果表明,区域空气质量的持续改善需要区域内各省市常抓不懈的联防联控,仅靠短期内运动式的污染治理难以从根本上解决大气环境问题.     

城市大气臭氧柱浓度时空变化研究——以天水为例

城市臭氧发生发展规律的研究将为城市环境管理提供理论依据。文章利用卫星OMITO3e数据产品,解译和分析了天水市2006~2014年臭氧柱浓度的时空动态信息。结果表明:(1)空间分布呈现东北、西北高,中部、南部低的倒"V"字形;(2)年变化呈单峰曲线,从2006年至2010年为上升期,每年的增长率为3.98%,2010年至2014年为下降期,年均下降率为2.52%;(3)四季变化明显分为两个阶段,前三年为冬季春季夏季秋季;后六年以夏、春季变化为主,冬、秋季为辅,夏季春季冬季秋季。夏、春两季在第二阶段明显升高与当地经济的快速发展有密切的关系;(4)9年间臭氧柱浓度平均值为301.177 DU,最大值为325.829 DU,最小值为279.093 DU,臭氧柱浓度指示的多年空气质量等级为良好。     

Comparison of several packings for CO2 chemical absorption in a packed column

CO₂ capture and storage has gained widespread attention as an option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Chemical absorption and stripping of CO₂ with hot potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) solutions has been used in the past, however potassium carbonate solutions have a low CO₂ absorption efficiency. Various techniques can be used to improve the absorption efficiency of this system with one option being the addition of promoters to the solvent and another option being an improvement in the mass transfer efficiency of the equipment. This study has focused on improving the efficiency of the packed column by replacing traditional packings with newer types of packing which have been shown to have enhanced mass transfer performance. Three different packings (Super Mini Rings (SMRs), Pall Rings and Mellapak) have been studied under atmospheric conditions in a laboratory scale column for CO₂ absorption using a 30 wt% K₂CO₃ solution. It was found that SMR packing resulted in a mass transfer coefficient approximately 20% and 30% higher than that of Mellapak and Pall Rings, respectively. Therefore, the height of packed column with SMR packing would be substantially lower than with Pall Rings or Mellapak. Meanwhile, the pressure drop using SMR was comparable to other packings while the gas flooding velocity was higher when the liquid load was above 25 kg m⁻² s⁻¹. Correlations for predicting flooding gas velocities and pressure drop were fitted to the experimental data, allowing the relevant parameters to be estimated for use in later design.     

爆炸荷载作用下方钢管混凝土柱的动力响应及破坏机理

方钢管混凝土柱是被广泛采用的组合构件之一.爆炸发生时产生的爆炸冲击波可能会对框架结构内部的方钢管混凝土拄造成严重破坏,然而目前对其动力响应及破坏机理的研究成果相对较少.本文采用有限元分析软件ANSYS/LS-DYNA对爆炸荷载作用下方钢管混凝土柱的动力响应和破坏机理进行了研究分析.建立了方钢管混凝土拄实体有限元模型,其...     

饱和砂质土壤中不同流速条件下1, 2-二氯乙烷的运移及模拟

采用室内土柱试验方法,研究了孔隙水流速对1,2-二氯乙烷(1,2-DCA)在饱和砂质土壤中运移行为的影响.借助CXTFIT模型,通过示踪剂(KBr)穿透试验,获取了土柱内部条件参数,包括弥散系数D和孔隙水流速v,以及可动水和不可动水的分配比例.应用示踪剂试验获取的参数,分别使用平衡模型和非平衡两点模型对1,2-DCA在不同孔隙水流速下的穿透曲线进行了拟合.结果表明,平衡模型不能很好地模拟本文试验条件下1,2-DCA的运移,而非平衡两点模型拟合精度较高.试验条件下,流速对1,2-DCA运移影响显著.孔隙水流速较高时穿透时间较短,穿透曲线峰值更高.土壤对1,2-DCA的吸附作用是影响穿透特征的主要因素,高流速条件下,吸附作用的影响较小.     

Dredged Material Disposal at the Edge of the Florida Current

A field data collection project was undertaken to investigate the short-term fate of dredged material discharged in the designated Miami Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS) before dredging of the Miami River and the Miami Harbor Turning Basin begins. the designated ODMDS is located in relatively deep water for discharge sites with a typical bottom depth of 150 metres and is also located in the western boundary region of the Gulf Stream current off Miami. Acoustical backscattering, current, particulate, temperature and salinity data were gathered over a three day period from April 24, 1990 through April 26, 1990. the major generic features of shallow-water discharge plumes were observed to be present: (a) the presence of a rapid convective descending plume portion; (b) impact of that plume portion with the ocean bottom and concomitant generation of a bottom surge; (c) rapid horizontal width growth of the descending plume through entrainment; and (d) retention of a residual plume portion within the water column. A well-mixed upper water column layer extending to a depth of 40 to 60 metres below the surface of the ocean permitted measurements of the plume entrainment coefficient free from bottom boundary, water column density gradient, and vertical current shear effects which are usually present in relatively shallow, e.g. less than 40 metres bottom depth, coastal ocean discharge studies. Entrainment coefficient estimates obtained in this study were between 0.5 to 0.7. the residual water plume material was tracked over one-half hour during each of eight discharge events and was transported in a north-northeast direction.