The Ratio of Rubidium to Caesium in Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus Aculeatus), Benthic and Limnetic Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus), and Juvenile Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus Nerka)

The ratios of rubidium to caesium were investigated in juvenile sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and benthic and limnetic sticklebacks (Gasterosteus) as a means of separating zooplankton consumers from benthic prey consumers. Only benthic and limnetic sticklebacks had Rb to Cs ratios that were influenced by diet. Ratios were higher in limnetic stickleback whose diet consists mainly of zooplankton compared with benthic stickleback which consume benthic prey. Ratios in juvenile sockeye appeared to be influenced by the concentrations of rubidium and caesium in the egg yolk during the early period of growth. in three-spine stickleback that inhabited both the littoral and limnetic zone of the same lake, results suggested that fish must occupy each area for several months before rubidium to caesium ratios in tissues reflect concentrations in prey.     

分子筛脱硅对其结构与吸附氨氮性能的影响

为提高分子筛吸附氨氮的能力,采用碱蚀法对4种不同硅铝比ZSM5型分子筛进行脱硅处理,对比了脱硅前后吸附氨氮性能的差异;结合X射线衍射、扫描电镜等分析手段观察了其孔隙与晶体结构、表面形貌的变化,同时借助X射线荧光光谱、傅里叶红外光谱等表征手段分析了其内部元素组成与骨架基团的变化;考察了分子筛脱硅处理对改善其吸附氨氮性能的影响机制.结果表明,分子筛经脱硅后氨氮吸附量大幅提高,硅铝比越大吸附氨氮性能改善越显著,其中,硅铝比最小的ZSM5-27型分子筛脱硅后的氨氮平衡吸附量由5.81mg/g上升至10.44mg/g,上升幅度亦达79.7%;碱蚀脱硅处理有效降低了ZSM5型分子筛的硅铝比,分子筛硅铝比越大降低越显著.分子筛脱硅后,其介孔比表面积与比孔容增加、孔径分布变得宽泛;晶体结构仍保持完整、晶粒形态变得更加清晰规整;离子交换容量增加、硅/铝氧四面体结构单元作用增强.碱蚀法对ZSM5型分子筛具有骨架脱硅补铝、疏通孔道等多重作用,脱硅后分子筛活性位点增加、氨离子扩散阻力下降,吸附性能得到改善.     

兰州市典型企业VOCs排放特征及反应活性分析

基于兰州市大气VOCs排放清单,选取石化厂、乙烯厂、涂料厂3个典型企业采集VOCs样品,分析其无组织排放特征,并采用MIR（最大增量反应活性）法和LOH（·OH反应速率）法综合评价其化学反应活性,识别各企业的VOCs活性优势物种,同时探究不同企业特征VOCs比值.结果表明:不同排放源φ（VOCs）差异较大,范围为20.8×10-9~6 520.3×10-9.从VOCs物种构成上来看,涂料厂芳香烃占比最高,而石化厂、乙烯厂均以烷烃物种最为丰富,石化厂不同工艺VOCs物种构成略有差异.从活性上看,涂料厂VOCs活性最高,其LOH和OFP（臭氧生成潜势）分别为2 676.9 s-1和72 519.0×10-9,约为其他行业的18~1 000倍,间/对-二甲苯、乙苯、邻二甲苯等物种活性较大;其次为石化厂,其LOH和OFP分别为273.2 s-1和4 039.1×10-9,正戊烷、异戊烷、乙烯、丙烯等物种活性贡献率高,其中柴油工艺对石化厂VOCs活性贡献率最大;乙烯厂的OFP最低,其LOH和OFP分别为4.6 s-1和69.7×10-9,其VOCs活性主要来自乙烯、丙烯、正丁烯等烯烃物种.各工业源BTEX（苯、甲苯、乙苯及3种二甲苯异构体的合称）分布具有一定的差异,对于指示不同VOCs来源有一定的参考价值,但不同源比值的重叠性也表明并非全部VOCs来源可以通过特征物种比值来区分.研究显示,控制工业源特别是涂料与石化工业VOCs的排放有助于控制兰州市O₃的生成.      

不同地域的阳光光谱分布特性

目的研究阳光的光谱能量分布特性。方法对高原、西北沙漠、热带海洋等3个地域200~800 nm波段的阳光进行光谱测量,分析不同地区、不同天气状况、不同扫描速度下的阳光光谱能量分布特性。结果高原地区阳光光谱中的紫外-可见波段的辐照强度明显比西北沙漠和热带海洋地区高,多云时200~800 nm波段的辐射总量与晴天相比降低1/4,200~400 nm的紫外波段的辐射总量仅为晴天时的54%。光谱测量仪的扫描速度对光谱测定结果基本无影响。结论研究获得的阳光紫外截止点、340 nm处的辐照强度、不同波段的辐照量,可为实验室光源暴露试验中的光源选择、光谱能量控制提供参考。     

Global Warming and Global Dioxide Emission: An Empirical Study

In this paper, the dynamic relationship between global surface temperature (global warming) and global carbon dioxide emission (CO₂) is modelled and analyzed by causality and spectral analysis in the time domain and frequency domain, respectively. Historical data of global CO₂emission and global surface temperature anomalies over 129 years from 1860–1988 are used in this study. The causal relationship between the two phenomena is first examined using the Sim and Granger causality test in the time domain after the data series are filtered by ARIMA models. The Granger causal relationship is further scrutinized and confirmed by cross-spectral and multichannel spectral analysis in the frequency domain. The evidence found from both analyses proves that there is a positive causal relationship between the two variables. The time domain analysis suggests that Granger causality exists between global surface temperature and global CO₂emission. Further, CO₂emission causes the change in temperature. The conclusions are further confirmed by the frequency domain analysis, which indicates that the increase in CO₂emission causes climate warming because a high coherence exists between the two variables. Furthermore, it is proved that climate changes happen after an increase in CO₂emission, which confirms that the increase in CO₂emission does cause global warming.     

Effects of Light Zenith Angle Variation on Spectral Responses of a Water Body’s Environmental Quality

The effect of light source zenith angle (θ_z) variation on the spectral reflectance measurement from sediment-laden water was studied in the laboratory using a spectroradiometer. Light source zenith angle in addition to sediment characteristics and concentration play a dominant role in affecting the reflectance characteristics of a suspension. With an increase in θ_z values, an increase in spectral reflectance is observed. The spectral reflectance characteristics of a water body also increase with the sediment concentration for all soil types and at all wavelengths. Empirical relationships between the spectral reflectance, suspended sediment concentration, and the light source zenith angle have been developed. Such a remote sensing technique for monitoring the concentration of the suspended sediment and their characteristics is a useful tool for economical estimation of a large water body’s quality related parameters vis-a-vis its environmental quality.Retd. Professor of Environmental Engineering & Pollution Control, Presently Residing at Makkhan Kutir, Bhargava Lane, Devpura, Haridwar-249401, India.Former Ph.D. student.     

The estimated reduction in the odds of loss-of-control type crashes for sport utility vehicles equipped with electronic stability control

INTRODUCTION: Using data from the NASS General Estimates System (GES), the method of induced exposure was used to assess the effects of electronic stability control (ESC) on loss-of-control type crashes for sport utility vehicles. METHOD: Sport utility vehicles were classified into crash types generally associated with loss of control and crash types most likely not associated with loss of control. Vehicles were then compared as to whether ESC technology was present or absent in the vehicles. A generalized additive model was fit to assess the effects of ESC, driver age, and driver gender on the odds of loss of control. In addition, the effects of ESC on roads that were not dry were compared to effects on roads that were dry. RESULTS: Overall, the estimated percentage reduction in the odds of a loss-of-control crash for sport utility vehicles equipped with ESC was 70.3%. Both genders and all age groups showed reduced odds of loss-of-control crashes, but there was no significant difference between males and females. With respect to driver age, the maximum percentage reduction of 73.6% occurred at age 27. The positive effects of ESC on roads that were not dry were significantly greater than on roads that were dry.     

高阶段尾砂胶结充填体力学研究与博弈树配比优化

在实验室试验了不同配比尾砂胶结试块强度,在充填采场取样测试了采场充填体强度.结果表明,如果以实验室试验的力学参数为充填配比设计依据,充填体最小设计安全系数为1.6～1.8比较合理.分析高阶段充填体受力,推导了分层充填力学计算公式及安全系数计算方法;根据充填工艺,确定最小充填高度,沿采场高度方向划分配比优化单元,建立了高阶段充填体配比优化设计模型;采用博弈树分析方法,解决了高阶段充填体配比优化问题,并对安庆铜矿5号矿房配比进行了优化.结果显示:与经验设计方法相比,采用本文方法优化充填配比,不仅使高阶段充填体内安全系数分布更趋合理,而且降低了水泥消耗.     

Deriving heart rate variability indices from cardiac monitoring—An indicator of driver sleepiness

Objective: Driver fatigue is considered to be a major contributor to road traffic crashes. Cardiac monitoring and heart rate variability (HRV) analysis is a candidate method for early and accurate detection of driver sleepiness. This study has 2 objectives: to evaluate the (1) suitability of different preprocessing strategies for detecting and removing outlier heartbeats and spectral transformation of HRV signals and their impact of driver sleepiness assessment and (2) relation between common HRV indices and subjective sleepiness reported by a large number of drivers in real driving situations, for the first time.

Methods: The study analyzed >3,500 5-min driving epochs from 76 drivers on a public motorway in Sweden. The electrocardiograph (ECG) data were recorded in 3 studies designed to evaluate the physiological differences between awake and sleepy drivers. The drivers reported their perceived level of sleepiness according to the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) every 5?min. Two standard methods were used for identifying outlier heartbeats: (1) percentage change (PC), where outliers were defined as interbeat intervals deviating >30% from the mean of the four previous intervals and (2) standard deviation (SD), where outliers were defined as interbeat interval deviating >4 SD from the mean interval duration in the current epoch. Three standard methods were used for spectral transformation, which is needed for deriving HRV indices in the frequency domain: (1) Fourier transform; (2) autoregressive model; and (3) Lomb-Scargle periodogram. Different preprocessing strategies were compared regarding their impact on derivation of common HRV indices and their relation to KSS data distribution, using box plots and statistical tests such as analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Student’s t test.

Results: The ability of HRV indices to discriminate between alert and sleepy drivers does not differ significantly depending on which outlier detection and spectral transformation methods are used. As expected, with increasing sleepiness, the heart rate decreased, whereas heart rate variability overall increased. Furthermore, HRV parameters representing the parasympathetic branch of the autonomous nervous system increased. An unexpected finding was that parameters representing the sympathetic branch of the autonomous nervous system also increased with increasing KSS level. We hypothesize that this increment was due to stress induced by trying to avoid an incident, because the drivers were in real driving situations.

Conclusions: The association of HRV indices to KSS did not depend on the preprocessing strategy. No preprocessing method showed superiority for HRV association to driver sleepiness. This was also true for combinations of methods for frequency domain HRV indices. The results prove clear relationships between HRV indices and perceived sleepiness. Thus, HRV analysis shows promise for driver sleepiness detection.     

Human digit ratios depend on birth order and sex of older siblings and predict maternal fecundity

In men, the length ratio of the second to fourth finger (2D:4D) is smaller, while the length of the fourth finger relative to body height (4D:H) is larger than in women. Inter- and intrasexual variations in 2D:4D and 4D:H may depend on variation in fetal androgen and oestrogen environment. As maternal physiology varies with parity and is differentially affected by gestation of either sex, offspring 2D:4D and 4D:H may change according to sex and number of older siblings and may predict subsequent maternal performance. We analysed 2D:4D and 4D:H in Caucasian university students. 2D:4D was smaller and 4D:H was larger in males than in females, but no sexual dimorphism existed in 2D:H. In males, length ratios did not vary with birth order. 2D:4D became more masculine with increasing proportion of males among older siblings, and 2D:4D and 4D:H became more feminine as the number of older sisters increased. In females, length ratios did not vary with the number of older sisters or brothers. 2D:4D was also not related to birth order, but 4D:H became more masculine with birth order. In females, residual maternal fecundity (number of maternal offspring after the participant) decreased as 4D:H became more masculine. These findings are partly consistent with those from previous studies and suggest that maternal fecundity co-varies with length ratios and thus possibly fetal hormone environment of older offspring. 2D:4D and 4D:H may therefore represent powerful tools to investigate the relationships between fetal environment, offspring phenotype and maternal life history at mechanistic and evolutionary levels.