How Can the Eco‐efficiency of a Region be Measured and Monitored?

The concept of eco-efficiency is commonly referred to as a business link to sustainable development. In this article, ecoefficiency is examined at a regional level as an approach to promoting the competitiveness of economic activities in the Finnish Kymenlaakso region and mitigating their harmful impacts on the environment. The aim is to develop appropriate indicators for monitoring changes in the eco-efficiency of the region. A starting point is to produce indicators for the environmental and economic dimensions of regional development and use them for measuring regional eco-efficiency. The environmental impact indicators are based on a life-cycle assessment method, producing different types of environmental impact indicators: pressure indicators (e.g., emissions of CO₂), impact category indicators (e.g., CO₂ equivalents in the case of climate change), and a total impact indicator (aggregating different impact category indicator results into a single value). Environmental impact indicators based on direct material input, total material input, and total material requirement of the Kymenlaakso region are also assessed. The economic indicators used are the gross domestic product, the value added, and the output of the main economic sectors of Kymenlaakso. In the eco-efficiency assessment, the economic and environmental impact indicators are monitored in the same graph. In a few cases eco-efficiency ratios can also be calculated (the economic indicators are divided by the environmental indicators). Output (= value added + intermediate consumption) is used as an economic indicator related to the environmental impact indicators, which also cover the upstream processes of the region's activities. In the article, we also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of using the different environmental impact indicators.     

Coming Full Circle: a Brief History of the Domestic Synthetic Dye and Biological Stain Industries

The synthetic dye industry is traced from its inception in England in 1856 to the European Continent and finally to the United States. The primitive state of this industry in America prior to World War I is described as is the desperate effort to develop the neglected technology once imports were difficult to obtain. Topics include biological stains, formation of the Biological Stain Commission (BSC), pioneers in the industry, dye shortages after World War II, formation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the decline of the domestic dye industry after the EPA was instituted, and the present state of the domestic dye industry.     

The enhanced effect of supplemented lighting on nutrient removal by an aquatic vegetables (lettuce) purification system from rural domestic sewage

Abstract

Aquatic plant treatment system (APTS) is a widely used sewage purification technique; however, it requires a large area of land due to its long hydraulic retention time. In order to improve the economic value of APTS in the treatment of rural sewage, an aquatic vegetables (lettuce) purification system strengthened with a set of supplemented lighting was evaluated. The effect of supplemented lighting of blue and red light on lettuce growth and sewage purification was studied by batch experiments. The results showed that the lettuce growth and the removal rates of pollutants were enhanced by supplemented lighting, of which red light is superior to blue light, and the increase of red light intensity further promoted the growth of lettuce and the removal rate of pollutants. Supplementary light is a suitable method which could improve the purification effect of APTS in most weather conditions especially in countries where day-night light patterns change substantially between winter and summer. The results would be useful for the APTS design for treating rural domestic sewage.     

应用定量微生物风险评估海水浴场人体健康风险

【背景】定量微生物风险评估作为定量评估游泳人群暴露于病原微生物后健康风险的方法,在国外已得到广泛应用,但目前国内的应用处于起步阶段且缺乏所需的游泳人群暴露数据。【目的】收集游泳人群暴露数据,并在海水浴场中进行应用,评估粪大肠菌群作为风险评估指标的可行性。【方法】通过对6个典型海水浴场的水质状况、粪大肠菌群浓度与环境因子的相关性进行分析,并发放调查问卷收集国内游泳人群的暴露数据,进而应用定量微生物风险评估方法,得出各个海水浴场的胃肠道疾病患病风险。【结果】6个海水浴场中粪大肠菌群浓度均与水温、气温及总云量具有显著相关性(P<0.01)。位于南方的海水浴场粪便污染情况较北方严重,粪大肠菌群浓度第95百分位数远高于国内“差”类水质标准的阈值。儿童、成年男性、成年女性单次沐浴事件吞下海水的体积分别为35.1 mL (95%置信区间为32.4-37.8,α=0.578,β=0.016),45.0 mL (95%置信区间为31.1-59.3,α=0.532,β=0.012),35.7 mL (95%置信区间为29.7-41.8,α=0.753,β=0.032)。6个海水浴场患胃肠道疾病的风险...     

关于苏北地区某三甲医院进口与国产医疗设备和耗材使用情况

目的:初步了解了进口与国产医疗设备与耗材的发展状况和使用反馈情况,并对国内医疗设备与耗材行业的发展提供合理化建议。方法:通过对苏北地区某三级甲等医院设备科工作人员、医生、护士长、患者及患者家属进行调研或访谈,并以调研和访谈的统计结果为依据得出结论并提出建议。结果:技术成熟的中小型医疗设备或耗材,从质量、价格等因素综合考虑,国内产品优于进口产品,一定程度上得到了医务人员和消费者的认可。在高端大中型医疗设备与耗材方面,进口产品具有较大的技术优势。结论:国内医疗设备生产企业应当积极开展研发工作,提高产品的技术含量与质量,巩固自身在中小型医疗设备与耗材方面的优势,并努力在高端大中型医疗设备与耗材方面取得突破。