An approach to evaluation of sustainability for Guangzhou's urban ecosystem

Guangzhou has ambitions to build itself into a world class metropolis by 2010. Sustainable development is the only way to achieve this magnificent goal. Based on the ecological perspective of sustainable development and the principles of ecosystem integrity, this paper develops an approach for evaluation of sustainable development in Guangzhou between 1986 and 1995. A hierarchical evaluation system of four tiers of sustainability indicators was established. Using the method of fuzzy multistage synthetic evaluation, sustainability development level index, QIx, was calculated for the indicators at the B, C, D, and E tiers. Development stages were identified based on these index values. The coordination degree among the economic, social, and natural subsystems was also computed. Further, an overall sustainability index for each year was computed by combining the development level index and the coordination degree. It was found that the urban ecosystem in Guangzhou had generally become more sustainable, in spite of fluctuations in coordination degree. The development level index of the economic subsystem has surpassed that of social and natural subsystems since 1995. Appropriate measures must be taken to ensure coordinated development among the subsystems for the purpose of sustainable development.     

Nonisothermal pyrolysis kinetics of waste printed circuit boards and product characterization using TG–MS

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - With characteristics of high resources, complex composition, and high toxicity, the treatment and disposal of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs)...     

应用概率物种敏感度分布法研究太湖重金属水生生物水质基准

目前广泛使用的水质基准推导方法—物种敏感度分布法存在曲线拟合模型不确定、曲线拟合效果不佳、种内差异欠考虑、基准值不准确等诸多问题,概率物种敏感度分布法可有效解决上述问题。应用概率物种敏感度分布法构建了太湖水体中5种重金属Ag、Pb、Cd、Hg和Zn的概率物种敏感度分布曲线,在此基础上得到了保护水生生物的急性水质基准分别为1.079μg·L~(-1)、637.973μg·L~(-1)、19.465μg·L~(-1)、8.729μg·L~(-1)和105.506μg·L~(-1),慢性水质基准分别为0.108μg·L~(-1)、63.797μg·L~(-1)、1.947μg·L~(-1)、2.340μg·L~(-1)和52.753μg·L~(-1);不同类群间生物对重金属的敏感度存在差异,不同重金属对同一类群生物的毒性也存在差异;通过与国内外已有的重金属水质基准值比较,发现水质基准具有明显的区域性,目前基于国外水质基准或我国整体水域特点来制定的太湖水质标准,往往造成对太湖水生生物欠保护或过保护的状况。     

Environmental Factors and Risk Areas of West Nile Virus in Southern California, 2007–2009

The West Nile virus (WNV) may post a significant health risk for mammals, including humans and insects. This study examines the spatial–temporal effects of environmental factors on WNV dissemination with a case study of ten counties in the southern California, where the epidemic was recently most prevalent within the USA. WNV surveillance data were obtained from the California Vectorborne Disease Surveillance System and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques were combined to derive environmental variables. Principal component analysis was performed to select the most relevant environmental variables. Two ecological zones were identified based on the selected variables. Identification of risk areas for WNV was limited to a zone with 95% mosquitoes surveillance records. Three time windows, the epidemiological weeks?18–26, 27–35, and 36–44 in each year of 2007–2009, were examined in details with risk area mapping. It is found that the southern part of San Joaquin Valley in Kern County and Los Angeles County (especially its southern part) were the most vulnerable locations for WNV outbreak. Main factors contributing to the WNV propagation included summer mean temperature, annual mean deviation from the mean temperature, land surface temperature, elevation, landscape complexity, landscape diversity, and vegetation water content. The result of this study improves understanding of WNV ecology and provides tools for detecting, tracking, and predicting the epidemic. The holistic approach developed for this study, which integrated remotely sensed, GIS-based, and in situ-measured environmental data with landscape metrics, may be applied to studies of other vector-borne diseases.     

Assessing Surface Water Quality and Its Relation with Urban Land Cover Changes in the Lake Calumet Area, Greater Chicago

Urban land use and land cover change significantly affect spatial and temporal patterns of runoff, which in turn impacts surface water quality. With the exponential growth in urban areas over the past three decades, changes in land use and land cover to cater for the growth of cities has been a conspicuous spectacle in urban spaces. The main goal of this study was to assess the impacts of land cover change on runoff and surface water quality using a partial area hydrology framework. The study employed ArcHydro GIS extension and a modified version of Long-Term Hydrologic and Nonpoint Source Pollution model (L-THIA-NPS) in estimating runoff and nonpoint source pollutant concentration around Lake Calumet between 1992 and 2001. Data employed include National Land Cover Data set, rainfall data, digital elevation model (DEM), Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) data, and The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s STORET (storage and retrieval) water quality data. The model was able to predict surface water quality reasonably well over the study period. Sensitivity analysis facilitated a manual calibration of the model. Model validation was executed by comparing simulated results following calibration and observed water quality data for the study area. The study demonstrates that the level of concentration of nonpoint source pollutants in surface water within an urban watershed heavily depends on the spatiotemporal variations in areas that contribute towards runoff compared to the spatial extent of change in major land use/land cover.     

PM2.5暴露诱发人支气管上皮细胞16HBE铁死亡

为了进一步揭示PM_2.5暴露对肺的毒性损伤作用,本工作采用16HBE人肺支气管细胞,检测了PM_2.5暴露后16HBE的细胞活性、细胞中铁含量、GSH含量、LPO和MDA的产生情况.结果显示,PM_2.5（200 μg·mL^-1）处理16HBE细胞24 h后可导致细胞存活率下降、细胞铁含量增加、细胞内LPO和MDA生成量增加、GSH含量降低,而铁死亡抑制剂DFOM （6.25 μmol·L^-1）及Fer-1（12.50 μmol·L^-1）可以显著减轻PM_2.5对细胞的毒性损伤作用,抑制MDA的产生,减少GSH的损耗.透射电子显微镜的形态学观察显示,PM_2.5暴露诱导细胞出现铁死亡的特征性线粒体超微结构改变,qPCR检测结果进一步提示PM_2.5暴露后细胞内铁死亡相关基因FTH1、NCOA4和ALOX15的表达量显著性增加,GPX4显著降低.结果说明PM_2.5暴露引起支气管上皮细胞16HBE发生铁死亡.     

Effects of green spaces on alleviating mortality attributable to PM2.5 in China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Increasing research suggested that green spaces are associated with many health benefits, but evidence for the quantitative relationship between green...     

3种复合铁基钝化剂对黔西南高砷土壤的修复效果研究

为研究不同复合铁基钝化剂对黔西南高砷(As)土壤修复效果,筛选出钝化土壤砷和抑制水稻籽粒砷富集效果较好的复合铁基钝化剂,以期为黔西南高砷背景土壤的修复和管理提供科学依据。本文以黔西南某矿区耕地高砷土壤为研究对象进行水稻盆栽实验,分析了3种市售复合铁基钝化剂(复合型铁基生物炭(A)、铁基生物炭(B)和铁基腐殖酸钾(C))在不同用量(0.67g/kg、1.34g/kg、2.68g/kg、5.36g/kg)下土壤有效态砷、土壤中砷的各种结合态以及水稻籽粒砷含量的变化。结果表明,三种复合铁基钝化剂的施加可不同程度的提高土壤pH和钝化土壤砷,其中钝化剂C在5.36g/kg施用量下效果最好,钝化率为26.2%;各处理均使土壤砷的赋存形态发生一定的改变,均不同程度的降低了非专性吸附态、专性吸附态及无定形和弱结晶铁铝氧化物结合态的砷,其中钝化剂A和B主要是向结晶铁铝氧化物结合态砷转变,C处理主要向残渣态砷转变;各处理均显著抑制了水稻精米砷含量,相比对照组,复合钝化剂A在1.34g/kg施用量下大米对As的富集作用最弱,降低率为48.6%;因为土壤砷钝化率不能完全表征水稻对砷的富集能力,其不宜作为土壤砷修复的唯一考察指标,因此土壤修复评估时应综合考虑土壤钝化率及水稻籽粒对砷累积的综合影响。     

An examination of the effect of landscape pattern, land surface temperature, and socioeconomic conditions on WNV dissemination in Chicago

This paper developed an approach by the synthesis of remote sensing, landscape metrics, and statistical methods to examine the effects of landscape pattern, land surface temperature, and socioeconomic conditions on the spread of West Nile virus (WNV) caused by mosquitoes and animal hosts in Chicago, USA. Land use/land cover and land surface temperature images were derived from Terra’s Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer imagery. An analytical procedure using landscape metrics was developed, applying configuration analysis of landscape patterns in the study area. The positive reports of mosquitoes and animal hosts for WNV in fall, 2001–2006, were collected from the Cook County Public Health Department. Forty-nine municipalities were found to have WNV-positive records in mosquitoes and animal hosts in fall 2004. Socioeconomic data were obtained from the 2000 US Census. Statistical analysis was applied to WNV data in fall 2004 to identify the relationship between potential predictors and WNV spread. As a result, landscape factors, such as landscape aggregation index and the urban areas and areas of grass and water, showed strong correlations with the WNV-positive records. Socioeconomic conditions, such as the population over 65 years old, also showed a strong correlation with WNV-positive records. Thermal conditions of water showed a less but still considerable correlation to WNV-positive records. This research offers an opportunity to explore the effects of landscape pattern, land surface temperature, and socioeconomic conditions on the spread of WNV caused by mosquitoes and animal hosts. Results can contribute to public health and environmental management in the study area.     

遗传禁忌搜索的能量均衡深井安全监测WSN分簇路由算法

针对深井巷道无线传感器网络（Wireless Sensor Networks,WSN）安全监测中节点能量消耗不均匀导致网络生命周期较短的问题,在分析低功耗自适应集簇分层型算法（Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy,LEACH）、遗传算法（Genetic Algorithm,GA）和禁忌搜索算法（Tabu Search Algorithm,TS）的基础上,提出遗传禁忌搜索的能量均衡深井安全监测WSN分簇路由算法（GTSR-EB）,以分簇方式来减少数据发送量与寻优开销,利用优化GA算法和TS算法进行多路径搜索以选出一条能耗均衡、路径传输距离最短的最优路径。仿真实验表明:GTSR-EB算法网络存活周期为LEACH算法的2.17倍、GA算法的1.18倍,GTSR-EB网络能量利用率更高、生存周期更长。