Assessing effects of aerobic and anaerobic conditions on phosphorus sorption and retention capacity of water treatment residuals

Water treatment residuals (WTRs) are the by-products of drinking water clarification processes, whereby chemical flocculants such as alum or ferric chloride are added to raw water to remove suspended clay particles, organic matter and other materials and impurities. Previous studies have identified a strong phosphorus (P) fixing capacity of WTRs which has led to experimentation with their use as P-sorbing materials for controlling P discharges from agricultural and forestry land. However, the P-fixing capacity of WTRs and its capacity to retain sorbed P under anaerobic conditions have yet to be fully demonstrated, which is an issue that must be addressed for WTR field applications. This study therefore examined the capacity of WTRs to retain sorbed P and sorb further additional P from aqueous solution under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. An innovative, low cost apparatus was constructed and successfully used to rapidly establish anoxic conditions in anaerobic treatments. The results showed that even in treatments with initial solution P concentrations set at 100 mg l(-1), soluble reactive P concentrations rapidly fell to negligible levels (due to sorption by WTRs), while total P (i.e. dissolved + particulate and colloidal P) was less than 3 mg l(-1). This equated to an added P retention rate of >98% regardless of anaerobic or aerobic status, indicating that WTRs are able to sorb and retain P in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions.     

泸州市环保产业调查与分析

环保产业作为环境与经济协调发展的关键,是推进生态文明建设的关键举措。通过泸州市2008年环保及相关产业调查,对相关企业规模、结构、从业人员等相关数据进行分析,阐述了环保产业在泸州市经济发展中的作用和存在的问题。并针对泸州市社会经济发展现状,提出了政府调控、统筹规划、加大投入、全力扶持等大力发展泸州市环保产业的建议。     

微量钒的分光光度测定方法研究进展

综述分光光度法测定试样中微量钒,并对各种方法的测量条件、特点以及应用范围作了较为详尽的论述和介绍。     

Evaluating post-Katrina recovery in Mississippi using repeat photography

Hurricane Katrina of August 2005 had extensive consequences for the state of Mississippi in the United States. Widespread infrastructure and property damage, massive social dislocation, and ecological loss remain among the many challenges faced by communities as they work towards 'normalcy'. This study employs repeat photography to understand differential recovery from Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi. Revealing change with conventional landscape photography, a process known as repeat photography, is common in the natural sciences. Simply stated, repeat photography is the practice of re-photographing the same scene as it appears in an earlier photograph. Photographs were taken at 131 sites every six months over a three-year period. Each photograph was assigned a recovery score and a spatially interpolated recovery surface was generated for each time period. The mapped and graphed results show disparities in the progression of recovery: some communities quickly entered the rebuilding process whereas others have lagged far behind.     

新化县水车镇泥石流灾害研究

以湖南省新化县水车镇泥石流为研究案例,根据初勘、详勘资料,分析了该泥石流的形成条件,定量计算了相应的运动参数,预测了它的发展趋势,最后指出,生物工程〔植树造林〕防治措施在花岗岩残坡积层泥石流场地的适宜性尚有待商榷。     

Monitoring and estimating the flow conditions and fish presence probability under various flow conditions at reach scale using genetic algorithms and kriging methods

The combination of current velocity and water depth influences stream flow conditions, and fish activities prefer particular flow conditions. This study develops a novel optimal flow classification method for identifying types of stream flow based on the current velocity and the water depth using a genetic algorithm. It is applied to the Datuan stream in northern Taiwan. Fish were sampled and their habitat investigated at the study site during the spring, summer, fall and winter of 2008-2009. The current velocity, water depth and maps of the presence probability of fish were estimated by ordinary and indicator kriging. The optimal classification results were compared with the classification results obtained using the Froude number and empirical methods. The flow classification results demonstrate that the proposed optimal flow classification method that considers depth-velocity and optimally identified criteria for classifying flow types, yields a current velocity and water depth of 0.32 (m/s) and 0.29 (m), respectively, and classifies the flow conditions in the study area as pool, run, riffle and slack. The variography results of the current velocity and the water depth data reveal that seasonal flows are not spatially stationary among seasons in the study area. Kriging methods and a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model (River 2D) with empirical and optimal flow classification methods are more effective than the Froude number method in classifying flow conditions in the study area. The flow condition classifications and probability maps were generated by River 2D, ordinary kriging and indicator kriging, to quantify the flow conditions preferred by Sicyopterus japonicus in the study area. However, the proposed optimal classification method with kriging and River 2D is an effective alternative method for mapping flow conditions and determining the relationship between flow and the presence probability of target fish in support of stream restoration.     

湿地生态系统碳汇与碳源过程的控制因子和临界条件

湿地生态系统由于其自身的结构组分特征,已成为地球表层系统中最为重要的碳汇。但是近年来对于湿地系统的不合理开发利用、降水减少等原因使其碳＂汇＂功能减弱,湿地的碳蓄积能力下降且有转变为碳＂源＂的趋势。文章从湿地生态系统的水份、植物类型、土壤厚度、微生物（底物、pH、温度、氧化还原条件）等方面总结了影响湿地碳汇/源过程的控制因子和临界交替条件。湿地水位的高低决定湿地的氧气环境,与甲烷产生量成正相关,但却与二氧化碳产生量有一定的负相关关系。湿地植物通过通气组织与根系分泌物等影响湿地碳的吸收与排放通量,湿地植株的高度、覆盖率等也是影响湿地作为碳汇与碳源的重要因素。不同深度土层由于其产甲烷菌、甲烷氧化菌等微生物活性不同导致各个土层碳吸收、排放通量的差异,通常浅层土壤中的CO2、CH4的产生率高于深层土壤。微生物的活跃程度直接影响到湿地碳的吸收与排放,影响活跃程度的因素包括湿地底物、pH、温度与氧化还原条件等。湿地底物浓度的增加会在一定程度上提高甲烷的产生率,中性或者是弱碱性环境是产甲烷菌的最适宜条件,在一定范围内温度越高,甲烷产生量越大,而温度对于二氧化碳的影响则是通过改变光合作用来实现。氧化还原电位与甲烷产生量成负相关关系,-150 mV是产甲烷菌产生甲烷的最高电位。总体上,由于湿地生态系统的复杂性和碳吸收与排放过程的复杂,以上这些因子相互作用,且在一定条件下会相互转化。最后针对如何充分发挥湿地生态系统的碳＂汇＂功能,控制湿地向碳＂源＂转化的条件措施方面进行了讨论,包括间歇灌溉、种植多年生草本植物或木本植物等来增强湿地的固碳能力。     

Working Conditions in Small Private Enterprises in Poland

The study deals with working conditions in small private enterprises in Poland. Data come from 50 small enterprises from the Warsaw area. Information about the evaluation of working conditions and the existence of programmes for their improvement was gathered with the help of questionnaires addressed to employees and employers. The results constitute a ‘photograph’ of the Polish reality at the beginning of its transition from planned to market economy. The study revealed a lack of programmes for the improvement of working conditions in a significant number of the enterprises studied as well as little interest in occupational safety on the part of employers (owners).

The study also revealed that all decisions—including those about the improvement of working conditions—were made by employers. Hence, the need for the widest possible dissemination of knowledge on occupational safety and the protection of human in the working environment with particular stress put on employers. Employers who are knowledgeable in this field and who are aware of its importance can significantly influence the improvement of working conditions in small enterprises.     

Psychological Approaches to OSH Research—An Evaluation of 20 Years of Psychological Research on Industrial Safety and Health in Germany

During the past 20 years of research in occupational safety and health (OSH), major contributions have been made by psychology in general, foremost German work and organizational psychology. This is the result of an empirical study with 216 scientific projects that were analyzed by content, and 32 interviews on OSH with experts on science, as well as in professional occupations and federations. Its sound methodological and theoretical approach has helped work and organizational psychology to embody itself as a driving force of OSH. The research focuses on the development of tools for job analysis, striving for the valid diagnosis of occupational hazards and mental load. Consequently, work and organizational psychology provides a solid foundation for deriving human and personality ameliorating organizational measures. Among the predominant means of intervention are training in coping with stress, behavioral training and modeling, health circles, and the arrangement of environments sensitive to occupational load. Major deficits in the field of research show up within evaluation and transfer as well as within quality control of the developed diagnostic and devices regarding intervention. Future scientific effort by means of application-orientated methods is vital to detect and overcome effectively a mounting mental load in the occupational world.     

Anomalies of mouthparts in Rana arvalis Nilss tadpoles and ecological conditions providing for their emergence

Rana arvalis tadpoles reared under natural or experimental conditions have been studied to analyze anomalies in the development of mouthparts and to compile a catalog of corresponding characters. It has been shown that the frequency of these anomalies increases in the course of growth and development and that their manifestations differ in tadpoles from different spawns and depend on environmental conditions. In turn, anomalies of the mouthparts have an effect on the rate of larval growth and development and on the survival of tadpoles in the period of the metamorphic climax. The results of this study provide an explanation for some deviations observed in laboratory experiments.