All at sea: aquatic life modifies mate-recognition modalities in sea snakes (Emydocephalus annulatus, Hydrophiidae)

Alternative sensory modalities (e.g. vision, chemoreception) differ in the spatial scale, permanence and reliability of cues they provide to mate-searching males. Males of terrestrial snake species use chemoreception to locate females over large distances, but phylogenetic shifts to aquatic life render such cues unavailable. Do male sea snakes use alternative modalities for identifying potential sexual partners and if so, are the novel systems as effective for mate-finding as the ancestral ones? Observations and experiments show that free-ranging male turtle-headed sea snakes (Emydocephalus annulatus) in shallow-water reef habitats in New Caledonia use visual cues (including size, movement and color pattern) to assess whether snake-shaped objects are potential sexual partners. Skin lipids (pheromones) are important only after the male comes into physical contact with the stimulus. Visual cues provide unreliable information about potential mates, and function over short distances only (generally, <1 m). In consequence, mate-searching male snakes frequently failed to find nearby females, rarely managed to maintain contact with females they did find, and wasted time and energy investigating inappropriate stimuli (e.g. fishes, sea cucumbers, divers). The loss of effective pheromonal mate-location systems means that mate recognition by aquatic snakes functions over smaller distances than in their terrestrial relatives. Phylogenetic transitions among habitat types thus may directly modify central features of the mating system.     

巫山县大昌古镇拟选搬迁新址适宜性评价研究

大昌古镇始建于西晋太康年初,现保存较为完整的古镇建于明代。镇内目前保存完好的东、西、南三条街道,沿街多为具川东地区建筑风格的民居建筑,是重庆市著名的历史文化名镇。同时古镇又是三峡工程库区重庆段保存规模最大,结构最完整的古建筑群,为了更好地再现三峡库区古老的历史文化风貌,国家文物局经过充分论证和可行性研究,将其确定为“整体搬迁”项目。因此,对于大昌古镇搬迁新址的选择就成为本次保护工程的首要问题。对巫山县大昌古镇拟选的五处搬迁新址,在区域工程地质条件评价的基础上,综合环境、人文及地质等因素,建立了综合评估体系,并尝试性地对拟选的几处新址进行了客观的定性和半定量评价,为建设部门提供了决策依据。评估体系综合考虑了城市建设的适宜程度、工程建设投资的合理性、文物环境风貌的再生性及资源开发效益的合理性四方面影响单元,和与之密切相关的量化影响因子,建立了分层定量取值标准,采用加权平均原则,在单元评价的基础上完成了综合性评价。     

Household Location Choices: Implications for Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract: Successful conservation efforts require understanding human behaviors that directly affect biodiversity. Choice of household location represents an observable behavior that has direct effects on biodiversity conservation, but no one has examined the sociocultural predictors of this choice relative to its environmental impacts. We conducted a case study of the Teton Valley of Idaho and Wyoming (U.S.A.) that (1) explored relationships between sociodemographic variables, environmental attitudes, and the environmental impact of household location choices, (2) assessed the potential for small household sizes in natural areas to multiply the environmental impacts of household location decisions, and (3) evaluated how length of residency predicted the environmental attitudes of people living in natural areas. We collected sociodemographic data, spatial coordinates, and land‐cover information in a survey of 416 households drawn from a random sample of Teton Valley residents (95% compliance rate). Immigrants (respondents not born in the study area) with the lowest education levels and least environmentally oriented attitudes lived in previously established residential areas in disproportionately high numbers, and older and more educated immigrants with the most environmentally oriented attitudes lived in natural areas in disproportionately high numbers. Income was not a significant predictor of household location decisions. Those living in natural areas had more environmental impact per person because of the location and because small households (<3 people/household) were 4 times as likely in natural areas as large households. Longer residency in natural areas predicted less environmentally oriented attitudes, suggesting that living in natural areas does not foster more concern for nature. Because populaces are rapidly aging, growing more educated, and potentially growing more environmentally oriented, these patterns are troubling for biodiversity conservation. Our results demonstrate a need for environmentalists to make household location decisions that reflect their environmental attitudes and future research to address how interactions between education level, environmental attitudes, population aging, and household location choices influence biodiversity conservation.     

SPE-GC-MS/SIM测定水节霉发生地河水中半挥发性有机物

为测定水节霉发生地河水中ρ(SVOCs)(SVOCs为半挥发性有机物),比较了LLE(液液萃取)和SPE(固相萃取)前处理法提取加标空白水样中ρ(SVOCs)的GC-MS/SIM测定结果,确定并采用重现性好的SPE-GC-MS/SIM法测定了水节霉发生地河水中的ρ(SVOCs). 结果表明,LLE和SPE法对SVOCs的加标回收率分别为41.8%~121.5%和31.5%~124.4%,相对标准偏差分别为6.0%~18.0%和0.9%~14.5%,二者回收率相差不大,但SPE法的相对标准偏差小于LLE法,SPE法重现性较好,因此采用SPE-GC-MS/SIM法测定2011年2月水节霉发生地河水中的ρ(SVOCs),共检出29种SVOCs,其中ρ(邻苯二甲酸二乙酯)、ρ(∑PAHs)、ρ(硝基苯)、ρ(1,2-二氯苯)和ρ(1,4-二氯苯)分别为1 020.59、532.14、43.39、38.52和19.57 ng/L,均未超出GB 5749—2006《生活饮用水卫生标准》相关限值,表明水节霉发生地未发生SVOCs污染.      

Integrated-signal-based leak location method for liquid pipelines

Leaks in pipelines can cause major incidents resulting in both human injuries and financial losses. Among the considerable leak detection and location methods, the Negative Pressure Wave (NPW) based method has been widely used in locating leaks in liquid pipelines. The NPW based method only monitors the pressure changes at two ends of a pipeline. But the pressure is apt to be fixed by the end equipment and the change of it induced by a small or slow leakage is too small to be detected, which limit the application of the NPW based method in these situations. This paper presents a novel leak location method based on integrated signal, which is a combination of the pressure and flow rate signals. The representation of the integrated signal is derived from the transient analysis of the leakage. For the change of the integrated signal induced by a leakage is larger than the pressure change and it is also unaffected by the end equipment, the proposed method can be used to detect and locate small or slow leakage in a pipeline and can also be used in pipelines which end pressures are fixed by some kinds of equipment. The validation of the proposed method also confirms its advantages.     

复杂火区条件下煤火圈划和火源位置探测方法及应用

应用同位素测氡法探测技术对老二井火区进行了精确探测,并结合数值插值技术对野外测氡数据进行相应处理,得成了火区氡测值等值线和火区高温火源位置分布等值线,进而区分了该火区东西测场内的温度异常区和燃烧区。分析结果表明,西区温度异常区总面积约255477m2,东区温度异常总面积约70370m2,为该矿区灭火方案的设计提供了科学依据,也可为国内同类问题的解决提供参考。     

Experimental study on leak detection and location for gas pipeline based on acoustic method

The leak of gas pipelines can be detected and located by the acoustic method. The technologies of recognizing and extracting wave characteristics are summarized in details in this paper, which is to distinguish leaking and disturbing signals from time and frequency domain. A high-pressure and long distance leak test loop is designed and established by similarity analysis with field transmission pipelines. The acoustic signals collected by sensors are de-noised by wavelet transform to eliminate the background noises, and time-frequency analysis is used to analyze the characteristics of frequency domain. The conclusion can be drawn that most acoustic signals are concentrated on the ranges of 0-100 Hz. The acoustic signal recognition and extraction methods are verified and compared with others and it proves that the disturbing signals can be efficiently removed by the analysis of time and frequency domain, while the new characteristics of the accumulative value difference, mean value difference and peak value difference of signals in adjacent intervals can detect the leak effectively and decrease the false alarm rate significantly. The formula for leak location is modified with consideration of the influences of temperature and pressure. The positioning accuracy can be significantly improved with relative error between 0.01% and 1.37%.     

Farm size and land-use policy: An oregon case study

Farmland conversion has become an important public policy issue in the United States and in many other countries. An important part of policy considerations in farmland protection programs is the minimum parcel size for farm-related land divisions and dwelling units. The rationale for establishing size thresholds varies considerably among jurisdictions. This article reviews the policies and criteria used in the United States and several other countries, discusses the policy implications of different types of objectives, and presents the results of a case study in Oregon. The case study was the first attempt by an Oregon county to articulate a set of measurable criteria to quantify a definition of commercial agriculture for land-use applications. The criteria and data base used in the model provide a systematic procedure to process permit applications in an objective, consistent manner. The ordinance was adopted in February 1988 and has worked successfully since that time. The article summarizes permit activity under the new ordinance and comments on its effectiveness.     

西藏“一江两河”资源开发和综合发展规划

本文简要介绍了西藏“一江两河”中部流域的开发工程,并提出了制定发展战略应考虑的几个问题。充分利用区域的特殊自然条件,制定合理的能源开发战略,以阻止生态环境恶化,促进区域经济和社会发展,有利于民族团结和社会进步。     

Structural trends in agriculture and preservation of family farms

The characteristics and role of the family farm have profoundly influenced the quality of human ecology. Considerable debate exists about the role of the family farm in the United States. This article attempts to clarify aspects of this debate by: (a) examining various definitions of the family farm and the conclusions that flow from these definitions, (b) presenting results of a structural analysis of American agriculture to better understand the origins of the debate and the relationship between people and agriculture, and (c) discussing the relevancy of some data and concepts used in evaluating the consequences of the structure of the agricultural sector.