Hunger, poverty and food aid in Sub-Saharan Africa: Retrospect and potential

Frustrations and failures will continue to mount if we do not immediately summon the courage to revise the ways we think and take action-as well as maintaining essential services to support life and health … Saving hundreds of thousands … who are at risk of dying from malnutrition or infection is an immediate imperative. But it must be only one stage in the progress toward other activities, and one element in the truly comprehensive approach… The main intent of this paper is to explore aspects of the nature and evolution of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa with special reference to food and hunger and their interaction with macro-economic policy. An attempt is made to outline the overall context within which food aid needs to be used in order to have a greater developmental impact. Following an Introductory Section I, Section II provides a sketch map of how recession and lagging food production - with cyclical weather crises superimposed - affect the human condition of poor people. Section III reviews die interaction between "standard" IMF stabilization and World Bank structural adjustment strategies and poverty/hunger. Improvements in the design of stabilization and adjustment programmes, and of the inter-relationship with them of emergency programmes, can be identified. A number turn on the broadened and more innovative or catalytic use of food aid. Section IV reviews aspects of facing a continuing series of emergencies and of designing life support programmes to facilitate rehabilitation of the households directly affected as well as of the national economies. From this base it explores a series of elements in achieving renewed development. The concluding Section seeks to explore the strengths, limitations and potentials of food aid in the context set by the previous sections. The standard criticisms of food aid appear to be overstated and/or to relate to particular modalities or approaches rather than to anything intrinsic. A number of criteria for improving the effectiveness of food aid - especially in respect to rehabilitation, recovery and renewed development - are set out.     

溢油胁迫下孔石莼碳氮稳定同位素的变化

为了研究溢油对海岸潮间带重要的大型绿藻孔石莼（Ulva Pertusa）的影响,本文探究了在180#燃料油的原油分散液（WAF）胁迫下,孔石莼的生长速率、叶绿素a以及碳氮稳定同位素的变化。在低WAF浓度（1.43 mg/L、2.87 mg/L和4.30 mg/L）胁迫下,对孔石莼的生长具有促进作用,生长速率均高于对照组,同时叶绿素a和碳氮稳定同位素均呈现上升的趋势;而高浓度WAF（5.72 mg/L和7.17 mg/L）会抑制藻类生长,导致生长速率低于对照组,而叶绿素a含量却高于对照组,孔石莼的δ15N和δ13C相比对照组偏负。对于孔石莼来说,C、N稳定同位素变化的趋势比叶绿素a更明显,这表明在溢油胁迫下,孔石莼的C、N稳定同位素能够更好更快速地评价溢油胁迫毒性大小,因此可以作为海洋环境监测和评价的一种新手段。     

Effect of mecoprop drift on some plant species of conservation interest when grown in standardized mixtures in microcosms

There has been an increasing awareness of potential impacts of herbicide drift on to vegetation in nature reserves and field margin habitats adjacent to treated areas. Previous work using single species bioassays has suggested that the effects of a single drift event are confined close to the sprayer (< 10 m). In the present study eight native dicotyledonous species, with and without a perennial grass (Lolium perenne), were grown in standardized microcosms in order to study (1) the effects of herbicide drift where plants were exposed to competition, and (2) the effects of a second spray application. The microcosms were arranged downwind (0-8 m) of a standard agricultural sprayer applying mecoprop at recommended rates. The effects of the herbicide drift on foliar symptoms of plant damage and end-of-season yield were assessed in each of two years. The main conclusions were that (1) growth of Stachys sylvatica and Lolium perenne (where sown) was enhanced near the sprayer and, (2) six other species (Digitalis purpurea, Galium mollugo, Hypericum hirsutum, Lychnis flos-cuculi, Primula veris and Ranunculus acris) showed some evidence of reduction in either performance (assessed non-destructively after a single exposure) or yield after two exposures. Three species (Lychnis flos-cuculi, Primula veris and Ranunculus acris) showed a reduction in flowering performance. Thus, mecoprop drift affected the aesthetic appearance, possibly the fecundity of some species and the balance between species in these microcosm experiments. The implications of these results for the persistence of attractive plant communities in sensitive areas are discussed.     

Using Multiple Antibiotic Resistance and land use characteristics to determine sources of fecal coliform bacterial pollution

Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) analysis and regression modeling techniques were used to identify surface water areas impacted by fecal pollution from human sources, and to determine the effects of land use on fecal pollution in Murrells Inlet, a small, urbanized, high-salinity estuary located between Myrtle Beach and Georgetown, South Carolina. MAR analysis was performed to identify areas in the estuary that are impacted by human-source fecal pollution. Additionally, regression analysis was performed to determine if an association exists between land use and fecal coliform densities over the ten-year period from 1989 to 1998. Land-use variables were derived using Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques and were used in the regression analysis.MAR analyses were conducted by comparing the frequency and patterns of antibiotic resistance found in Escherichia coli isolates derived from surface water samples and from sewage sources in the Murrells Inlet sewage collection system. The MAR results suggest that the majority of the fecal pollution detected in the Murrells Inlet estuary may be from non-human sources, including fecal coliforms isolated from areas in close proximity to high densities of active septic tanks.A MAR Index, which measures the frequency of antibiotic resistance, was calculated for each of twenty-three water samples and nine sewage samples. The antibiotic resistance pattern comparisons were performed using cluster analysis. Although the MAR indices indicated that several surface water sites had potential human-source contamination, the cluster analysis suggests that only one sampling site had MAR patterns that were similar to those found in the sewage samples. This site was in close proximity to several large pleasure boats as well as a sewage collection system lift station, but was not near areas with active septic tanks. The results of the regression analysis also suggest that sewage sources and rainfall runoff from urbanized areas may contribute to fecal pollution in the estuary.     

抚顺地区大气总悬浮微粒的元素富集特征及污染来源研究

本文采用Ｘ射线荧光法分析了抚顺地区采暖期与非采暖期大气总悬浮微粒中Ａｓ等２０种元素的浓度水平，用富集因子法，因子分析法及多元回归法识别该地区的主要污染源，并估算它们对总悬浮微粒的贡献，其贡献率为：煤炭燃烧２６．９％〈冶金工业２６．８％，风砂土壤２２．０％；汽车燃油６．７％，其它污染源１７．６％。     

一种序批式生物膜反应器及其氧传递系数测定

介绍了一种序批式生物膜反应器 ,并求出了在给定的工艺条件下的氧传递系数。结果表明 :本反应器有较强的氧传递能力 ,能满足微生物的新陈代谢和降解有机污染物的需要     

Effects of population density and cadmium toxicity on growth and survival of blowflies

The blowfly Lucilia sericata has been reared on artificial diets containing from 0 to 200 mg Cd kg(-1) at population densities ranging from 8 larvae per 4-g diet to 8 larvae per 32-g diet. Peak larval weight, development period, pupal weight, adult-emergence weight, and fecundity were measured. Larvae of blowflies respond to food deprivation by a reduction in larval weight and subsequent pupal and adult size. Contaminating the food supply with cadmium produced similar additive effects, reduced the growth rate, and increased the age of pupation. The results are of importance in determining the effects of environmental pollutants on population dynamics.     

Estimating the economic burden from illnesses associated with recreational coastal water pollution--a case study in Orange County, California

A cost-of-illness framework was applied to health and income data to quantify the health burden from illnesses associated with exposure to polluted recreational marine waters. Using data on illness severity due to exposure to polluted coastal water and estimates of mean annual salaries and medical costs (adjusted to 2001 values) for residents of Orange County, California, we estimated that the economic burden per gastrointestinal illness (GI) amounts to 36.58 dollars, the burden per acute respiratory disease is 76.76 dollars, the burden per ear ailment is 37.86 dollars, and the burden per eye ailment is 27.31 dollars. These costs can become a substantial public health burden when millions of exposures per year to polluted coastal waters result in hundreds of thousands of illnesses. For example, exposures to polluted waters at Orange County's Newport and Huntington Beaches were estimated to generate an average of 36,778 GI episodes per year. At this GI illness rate, one can also expect that approximately 38,000 more illness episodes occurred per year of other types, including respiratory, eye, and ear infections. The combination of excess illnesses associated with coastal water pollution resulted in a cumulative public health burden of 3.3 million dollars per year for these two beaches. This paper introduces a public health cost variable that can be applied in cost-benefit analyses when evaluating pollution abatement strategies.     

纯氧密闭干法焙烧硫化钼生产氧化钼工艺研究

氧化钼是钢铁行业和化工行业的重要原料,常用的氧化钼生产工艺包括反射炉焙烧工艺、回转窑焙烧工艺、多膛炉焙烧工艺、流化床焙烧工艺,这些工艺所获得的产品品质较低,且在生产过程中会产生大量的较高浓度的SO2(2%左右),难于利用和处理,会导致严重的环境污染.为降低SO2造成的环境污染,提高反应产物品质,采用纯氧密闭干法焙烧工艺...     

75t/h燃煤锅炉汞迁移转化规律研究

通过对2台75 t/h循环流化床锅炉烟气中汞排放浓度、燃煤和其他固体副产物中的汞含量进行测试,分析了燃煤大气汞的排放因子,并建立了燃煤汞的质量平衡。结果表明:燃煤锅炉中,大部分汞主要存在于烟气和脱硫副产物中,燃烧后进入炉渣、飞灰中的汞含量较少,低于5%。燃煤汞排放去向与脱硫除尘控制技术有关,不同控制技术协同除汞的效果差异较大,而单质汞是燃煤锅炉汞污染防治的重点和难点。