Serum concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the inhabitants of a Sicilian city

Background

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides are common environmental contaminants that have been associated with human health problems.

Objectives

To assess serum concentrations of several organochlorine contaminants in general population living in a city with an ancient agricultural tradition and to identify possible exposure sources in Sicily.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 101 individuals. Each participant answered a face-to-face questionnaire submitted by well-trained personnel and provided a serum sample which was analyzed for the concentrations of PCBs, HCB, HCHs and DDTs by using gas-chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.

Results

HCB, p,p′-DDE, PCB 138, PCB 153 and PCB 180 were detected in more than 80% of the study participants. The ng g⁻¹ lipid median concentrations were: 18.6 for HCB; 175.1 for p,p′-DDE; 22. for PCB 138; 32.5 for PCB 153 and 23.0 for PCB 180. PCB 153 and PCB 138, PCB 138 and PCB 180, PCB 153 and PCB 180, and p,p′-DDE and HCB showed a high correlation each other (p < 0.05). HCB and p,p′-DDE concentrations were significantly higher in subjects >49 years old (adj-p = 0.03 in 50-69 years old and adj-p < 0.001 in >69 years old, respectively) whereas PCB 138, PCB 153 and PCB 180 concentrations were higher in males (adj-p = 0.03), in subjects >69 years old (adj-p = 0.04) and in current smokers (adj-p = 0.04).

Conclusions

The present study shows that serum concentrations of organochlorine compounds detected in subjects living in a small Sicilian city with ancient agricultural tradition are similar to those found in subjects living in urban areas of other countries. However, further investigations are needed to compare data from rural/urban areas in the same country, assessing correlations between serum concentrations of several chemical compounds and potential health effects in general population.     

生态工业园保障体系的建设与完善

本文分析了目前生态工业因的保障体系建设存在的问题，从运行机制、政策法规、科学技术、人力资泺、意识能力培养五个方面，分析和探讨了生态工业园保障体系建设的具体内容，构建并完善了生态工业园建设的保障体系框架和内容，为生态工业园的建设提供了有效的保障和支撑。     

飞机字符显示的编码方式

着重论述了各类单个字符及显示格式的编码方式，有些编码方式在实际应用中已得证实，有些仍待研究解决。只有不断探索，才能在“人－机－环”系统中，使飞行员和“机器”能有效而可靠地工作，即“人的特性”与“机器”能有效配合，更好地发挥飞行员的技术和战术水平。由此国军标也将随着科学技术的进步而更加充实、完善、先进、合理。     

Modeling Discharge Rates Using a Coupled Modeled Approach for the Merced River in Yosemite National Park

This study describes the application of the NASA version of the Carnegie‐Ames‐Stanford Approach (CASA) ecosystem model coupled with a surface hydrologic routing scheme previously called the Hydrological Routing Algorithm (HYDRA) to model monthly discharge rates from 2000 to 2007 on the Merced River drainage in Yosemite National Park, California. To assess CASA‐HYDRA's capability to estimate actual water flows in extreme precipitation years, the focus of this study is the 2007 water year, which was very dry, and the 2005 water year, which was a moderately wet year in the historical record. Prior to comparisons to gauge records, CASA‐HYDRA snowmelt algorithms were modified with equations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Snowmelt‐Runoff Model (SRM), which has been designed to predict daily streamflow in mountain basins where snowmelt is a major runoff factor. Results show that model predictions closely matched monthly flow rates at the Pohono Bridge gauge station (USGS#11266500), with R² = 0.67 and Nash‐Sutcliffe (E) = 0.65. By subdividing the upper Merced River basin into subbasins with high spatial resolution in the gridded modeling approach, we were able to determine which biophysical characteristics in the Sierra differed to the largest degree in extreme low‐flow and high‐flow years. Average elevation and snowpack accumulation were found to be the most important explanatory variables to understand subbasin contributions to monthly discharge rates.     

神农架林区不同类型植物的叶片特征与光合性能研究

以神农架林区木鱼镇茶山上生长的8种不同类型植物为试验材料,于晴天选择其植株上东南朝向的顶部成长叶,采用LI—COR6400便携式光合测定系统、调制叶绿素荧光成像系统（IMAGING-PAMM-Series）及双通道PAM—100测量系统（Dual-PAM-100）和常规方法研究了其叶片特征、光合性能及相互间的关系,将有助于了解神农架植物的光合生产力及其植被管理。结果表明,不同类型植物叶片的叶片特征和光合性能存在明显的物种差异。比叶重（SLW）为乔木〉灌木〉草本;气孔参数以气孔导度（Cond）差异最大;草本植物的光合能力明显高于灌木和乔木,而灌木和乔木间的差异不大;叶绿素含量（Chl）及其组分的差异较小,类胡萝卜素（Car）和花青素含量（Ant）及其与Chl的比值差异极大。不同类型植物叶片特征和光合性能指标的变异系数在7．3％～73．0％间,Chla／Chlb最小,Car／Ant最大;Chla／Chlb、基于叶温的蒸汽压亏缺（VpdL）和胞间C02浓度（Ci）dx于15％,Cond、单位鲜重Car、PSII实际量子产量和PsI非光化学能量耗散的量子产量为40％～50％,单位干重Car、Ant、Chl／Ant和Car／Ant则大于60％,其他指标在20％-40％。相关分析显示,Jpn受Cond、叶片含水量和单位干重Chl的正向调控,Ant和Car对两无决定性作用;PSII和PSI的实际量子产量依赖于ci和Chl,Car过高导致其降低;PSI的光保护受SLW的负调控及单位鲜重Chl和单位干重Car的正调控;光合机构的光损伤受Ci的负调控和Chl／Car的正调控。     

产业园生态效率评价——以九发生态产业园为例

生态产业园区的发展和评价已成为包括我国在内的全球产业可持续发展研究的热点领域。生态效率指标强调以较少资源投入和较低污染排放生产更多较高质量的产品,能同时评价经济效益和环境效益,符合人类可持续发展目标,现已是指导和评价生态工业园可持续发展建设的有效工具。本文应用生态效率理论和方法,对2004年九发生态产业园的运行情况进行了效率评价和生态功能探讨,并与同年全国平均生态效率指标进行了对比,发现九发生态产业园虽然产业链网较完善,但系统实际运行的生态效率高低不一。其中,单位原材料产出率和单位废水排放产出率指标明显低于全国平均水平,表明系统的生态功能发挥不足。因此,需进一步提高九发生态产业园的资源利用效率和能源使用效率,从而增加其经济效益和环境效益、促进其可持续发展。     

A critique of the official report on the evacuation of the World Trade Center: continued doubts

This paper criticises the conclusions and the unanswered questions in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s official report on the evacuation of the World Trade Center in New York City, United States, on 11 September 2001. It reviews the extent to which the report disregards several conventional statistical methods and comments on the NIST's refusal to share the machine‐readable data file with the scientific community for replication and further analysis. Problems lie in the sampling methods employed, the treatment of missing data, the use of ordinary least squares (OLS) with binary dependent variables, the failure to document the scalability of the scales used, the lack of tests to check for constant error variance, and the absence of overall fit tests of the model. There are also conceptual and theoretical issues, such as the absence in the report of considerations of the influence of group‐level processes and their impact on the collective behaviour of evacuating collectivities.     

全国第二次土地调查前后中国耕地面积变化的空间格局

长期以来中国耕地数量受到国内外的高度关注,但是中国的耕地面积到底是多少,一直是个谜,特别是在耕地面积出现几十年持续下降的背景下,全国第二次土地调查结果居然比调查前多出了2亿多亩。论文利用全国第二次土地调查前后的耕地面积数据,从耕地总面积和不同类型的耕地面积两个维度,在不同空间尺度上,对耕地面积数据进行对比分析。研究表明：1）从区域尺度来看,“二调”多出的2亿多亩耕地主要分布在东北、华北与西北地区,其中东北地区几近一半,华南是唯一减少的区域;从省级尺度来看,26个省份耕地面积增加,以东北三省和新疆、内蒙古居多,京沪苏粤陕出现减少,尤以苏粤为甚;从市级和县级尺度来看,耕地增减空间集聚明显,耕地增加的地市和县市均以东北最为集中,耕地减少的地市以珠三角和长三角最为集中,耕地减少的县级单元以粤苏云三省最为集中。2）耕地的三种类型都出现增加,但旱地最多（53%）、水田最少（10%）;水田和水浇地均“北增南减”;旱地的增减主要分布在北方,且增减的空间分布都非常集中,东北增加较多,黄淮海平原减少较多。耕地分布重心的持续北移,加剧了水土资源的不协调性,从而影响耕地的质量,未来中国政府在高度关注耕地数量变化的同时,更应强化耕地质量的提高与保护。