Climate readiness of recovery plans for threatened Australian species

The rapidly changing climate is posing growing threats for all species, but particularly for those already considered threatened. We reviewed 100 recovery plans for Australian terrestrial threatened species (50 fauna and 50 flora plans) written from 1997 to 2017. We recorded the number of plans that acknowledged climate change as a threat and of these how many proposed specific actions to ameliorate the threat. We classified these actions along a continuum from passive or incremental to active or interventionist. Overall, just under 60% of the sampled recovery plans listed climate change as a current or potential threat to the threatened taxa, and the likelihood of this acknowledgment increased over time. A far smaller proportion of the plans, however, identified specific actions associated with ameliorating climate risk (22%) and even fewer (9%) recommended any interventionist action in response to a climate-change-associated threat. Our results point to a disconnect between the knowledge generated on climate-change-related risk and potential adaptation strategies and the extent to which this knowledge has been incorporated into an important instrument of conservation action.     

Traditional agriculture in transition: examining the impacts of agricultural modernization on smallholder farming in Ghana under the new Green Revolution

Following the renewed effort at achieving a new green revolution for Africa, emphasis has been placed on modernizing smallholder agriculture through the deployment of improved inputs especially mechanized technologies. In Ghana, the government has in the last decade emphasized the provision of subsidized mechanized ploughing services to farmers alongside a rapidly growing private sector tractor service market. While mechanized technology adoption rates have increased rapidly, the deployment of these technologies has been without critical analysis of the impacts on production patterns and local agrarian systems. This paper examines the distributional impacts of agriculture mechanization on cropping patterns and farm sizes of smallholder farmers in northern Ghana using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, and semi-structured interviews with smallholder farmers (n=60). Specifically, comparative analysis of the field sizes and cropping patterns of participant farmers prior to and after the adoption of mechanized technologies was conducted. In-depth interviews were used to contextualize the experiences of smallholder farmers toward understanding how mechanization may be impacting traditional agriculture. Our findings reveal a mechanization paradox in which farm sizes are expanding, while cropping patterns are shifting away from traditional staple crops (pearl millet and sorghum bicolor) to market-oriented crops (maize, rice and groundnuts). This transition we argue, has adverse implications on the cultural dimension of food security, the organization of social life, and climate change adaptation. We recommend a retooling of the current agricultural policy focus to ensure context sensitivity for a more robust battle against food insecurity.     

河口切变锋引起的滩槽泥沙交换效应

切变锋是河口湾锋系中最为常见和最易观察到的锋面类型。本文对长江口的切变锋进行现场观察和滩，槽同步水文资料分析，简述了长江口切变锋发生的部分和基本特性，提出了切变锋引起的滩，槽泥沙呈现螺旋形交换形式等论点。     

三峡库区水土流失特点及其环境危害防治措施探讨

水土流失是三峡库区主要环境问题之一,也是库区产生大量泥沙的根本因素,更是造成库区人民生活贫困的根源。本文就三峡库区水土流失的特点及其环境危害作了分析,提出了相应的防治措施,为水土流失防治工程提供科学依据。     

Using fuzzy set theory to address the uncertainty of susceptibility to drought

This paper presents the technical aspects of a new methodology for assessing the susceptibility of society to drought. The methodology consists of a combination of inference modelling and fuzzy logic applications. Four steps are followed: (1) model input variables are selected—these variables reflect the main factors influencing susceptibility in a social group, population or region, (2) fuzzification—the uncertainties of the input variables are made explicit by representing them as ‘fuzzy membership functions’, (3) inference modelling—the input variables are used to construct a model made up of linguistic rules, and (4) defuzzification—results from the model in linguistic form are translated into numerical form, also through the use of fuzzy membership functions. The disadvantages and advantages of this methodology became apparent when it was applied to the assessment of susceptibility from three disciplinary perspectives: Disadvantages include the difficulty in validating results and the subjectivity involved with specifying fuzzy membership functions and the rules of the inference model. Advantages of the methodology are its transparency, because all model assumptions have to be made explicit in the form of inference rules; its flexibility, in that informal and expert knowledge can be incorporated through ‘fuzzy membership functions’ and through the rules in the inference model; and its versatility, since numerical data can be converted to linguistic statements and vice versa through the procedures of ‘fuzzification’ and ‘defuzzification’.     

关于长江产业带建设总体布局的初步思考

重点开发长江是90年代中国经济重大战略布署。将长江产业带建设成具有强大经济实力的国家一级经济轴线,宜采用分层次推进与中心辐射相结合的发展战略,以浦东开发和三峡建设为契机,加强基础产业,发展新兴产业和第三产业,优化产业结构,以能源和交通建设先行,改善基础设施。同时,要协调产业带建设与浦东开发、三峡工程建设的关系。     

长江三峡柑桔的冻害和热害（二）

本文从柑桔冻害和热害的危害因子和指标等级划分的研究和选取入手,着重探讨了长江三峡地区(湖北境内)两害显著的时空变化特征、差异与关联性及对柑桔生产的影响;揭示了80年代以来冬暖春热的重大气候变化是使两害向“两极分化”的根本原因;讨论了三峡水利工程对两害时空格局的可能调整及减灾原理;最后提出了可能的对策。     

Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of Toriello–Carey syndrome

Toriello–Carey syndrome is a rare malformative complex, described for the first time in 1988, characterized by agenesis of the corpus callosum, facial anomalies, cardiac defects and hypotonia. Relatively few neonatal cases have been reported. We describe here the first prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of the syndrome based on the detection of agenesis of the corpus callosum and spongious cardiomyopathy in a 22-week-old fetus of a couple with positive family history. The first sib of the couple was diagnosed with Toriello–Carey syndrome at 1 year of age, and had, in addition to the typical facial anomalies not detectable by ultrasound, agenesis of the corpus callosum and the same heart lesion (spongious cardiomyopathy). This report demonstrates that prenatal diagnosis of Toriello–Carey syndrome is feasible in the second trimester of pregnancy. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prenatal diagnosis of congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung by fetal lung biopsy

A case of type III congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung was successfully diagnosed prenatally by fetal lung biopsy. We performed this procedure at 22 weeks of gestation, using a biopsy gun system under ultrasound guidance. The pregnancy was undisturbed by the procedure but as the condition was incompatible with life, an abortion was performed. The diagnosis was confirmed at post-mortem examination. Fetal lung biopsy appears to be a useful method for prenatal diagnosis of fetal lung disorders.     

三峡工程与长江中游沿江产业带建设

讨论了长江中游沿江产业带发展条件、限制因素和未来发展，指出三峡工程的建设将对长江中游产业的布局和经济发展带来深刻的变化；防洪作用促进中游两岸大型工业项目的兴建，调整现有沿江城镇的布局，使之结构趋于合理化；电力供应经解能源的紧张状态，改善航运条件，发挥长江黄金水道的综合效益。当然，由于坝下河道冲刷，对现有的码头带来一定的影响，由于冬季水位抬升引起两岸低湖田地下水位上升，加剧两岸土壤潜育化和沼泽化。