基于系统演化视角的可持续性评价方法

可持续发展水平的衡量是可持续发展研究的重要内容,它可以为政府的可持续发展决策提供重要的科学依据。现有的可持续性评价方法可分为指标列举法、流量分析法和系统分析法。前两类方法应用广泛,但理论基础较为薄弱,在指标的选取、标准化和赋权等方面存在一定的缺陷。基于系统运行机理的系统分析法尚不多见,但能弥补前两种方法的部分不足,Ulanowicz于2009年提出的演化模型是此类方法的代表。该模型从系统演化角度出发,以网络流为研究对象,以信息论为手段,指出系统的可持续性是系统上升性(效率)和恢复力平衡的结果,并提出了可持续性评价指标R。回顾了现有研究方法的优缺点。介绍了从演化视角分析可持续性的原理和数学模型,可持续发展的阈值范围以及该方法的应用案例。总结了该方法的应用步骤及尚需解决的问题。     

生物保护的经济学

生物保护研究已经从保护生物学发展到保护生态学,在社会经济因素对自然保护影响日益广泛深刻的今天,我们应该更加主动地从经济学角度进行生物多样性保护。建立自然保护区是生物多样性就地保护的重要措施之一。目前的自然保护区管理研究基本上是以生物学和生态学为主,缺乏系统的经济学考虑,导致一些自然保护区的管理效果不理想,可持续性受到威胁。本文在回顾生物保护的相关经济学研究的同时,提出保护经济学的概念和研究框架,以期为自然保护区的经济管理提供一种新思路,为管理部门的保护投资决策提供支持。     

景观可持续性与景观可持续性科学

人类活动已经剧烈地改变了自然环境,全球气候变化、生物多样性丧失、环境污染等种种迹象表明当今世界正处在一个不可持续的运行轨迹上,实现可持续发展成为21世纪人类面临的巨大挑战。景观是理解与塑造人类社会和环境关系最具操作性的尺度,也是提供景观服务,实现人类福祉最重要的场所。景观可持续性研究对于人类具有重要意义。景观可持续性是指特定景观所具有的、能够长期而稳定地提供景观服务、维护和改善本区域人类福祉的综合能力。景观可持续性具有跨学科、多维度特征,强调景观弹性和可再生能力;景观服务是景观可持续性研究中的重要概念,它是连接自然资本与人类福祉的关键桥梁,也是将景观可持续性与景观生态学紧密联系在一起的纽带。格局-过程-设计新范式的产生是景观可持续性研究的新发展。在景观可持续性快速发展的同时,聚焦于景观和区域尺度的景观可持续性科学应运而生。景观可持续性科学以景观格局、景观服务、人类福祉三者之间的动态关系为主要研究内容,充分融合了景观生态学空间显示方法、可持续性指标体系和GISRS等方法技术,其理论框架和研究方法体系正在逐步形成和完善之中。景观可持续性科学是可持续性科学的重要组成部分,虽然处于刚刚起步阶段,它必将成为未来十多年可持续性科学的研究热点。     

转基因抗虫棉经济效益可持续性研究

虽然种植转基因抗虫棉的短期经济效益已经被广泛证实了,然而其经济效益的可持续性问题仍待研究.对其经济效益可持续性的质疑,也成为近年来对转基因作物争论的焦点.本文首先通过构建和分析理论模型来回答这一问题.定性分析结果表明,种植转基因抗虫棉能间接导致次要害虫农药使用量的上升.本文用符合中国实际的生物和经济学参数来模拟棉花生产.数值模拟结果显示,次要害虫农药使用量的上升并不足以抵消种植抗虫棉带来的农药节省.而且由于有大量自然避难所的存在,棉铃虫对转基因蛋白的抗性在大田中并没有广泛建立起来.总之,本研究表明种植抗虫棉的经济效益不但在数量上是显著的,在时间上也是可持续的.     

再论可持续性科学: 新形势与新机遇

近10年来,可持续性科学蓬勃发展,已成为21世纪全球普遍关注的一个重要的新科学领域.然而,在大力提倡可持续发展和生态文明建设的中国,可持续性科学尚未引起科学家和实践者的足够重视.为促进可持续性科学在中国的发展,2014年邬建国等曾撰文介绍什么是可持续性科学.本文进一步探讨了这一问题,并补充阐述了可持续性科学与可持续发展研究的关系、可持续性科学的科学范式及其8个基本论题.基于对可持续性科学发展动态的分析,作者认为,一方面,可持续性科学已进入系统推进的成熟发展期;另一方面,虽然我国可持续发展研究、实践与教育的热情高涨,但在可持续性科学领域起步较晚,落后于主要发达国家和南非.为此,本文在文献综述的基础上,提出促进中国发展可持续性科学的“三位一体”策略:一是“请进来”以服务中国实践;二是“走出去”以贡献中国智慧;三是“中西医结合”以引领学科发展.     

腺病毒介导BDNF基因对无血清培养SH-SY5Y细胞的生物学作用研究

目的 :为了有效的将腺病毒介导的脑源性神经营养因子 (BDNF)用于神经损伤的保护治疗。方法 :在体外用BDNF重组腺病毒 (Ad BDNF)对SH SY5Y细胞进行感染 ,在无血清培养条件下对细胞的生长分化进行了形态学的观察 ,利用MTT法检测不同浓度的Ad BDNF对SH SY5Y细胞的促存活作用 ,并对细胞凋亡作用进行了检测。结果和结论 :腺病毒介导的BDNF可有效的促进感染后的SH SY5Y细胞的存活 ,生长和分化 ,并可有效的抑制无血清状态下细胞凋亡的发生     

人羊膜上皮细胞移植及基因治疗帕金森病大鼠

观察人羊膜上皮细胞(human amniotic epithelial cell,HAEC及)人脑源性神经营养因子(brain-derived neurotrophic factor,BDNF基)因修饰的HAEC在帕金森病(Parkinson’sdisease,PD)模型大鼠脑内的长期存活和对旋转行为的治疗效果。用包装BDNFcDNA的慢病毒转染原代HAEC(HAEC/BDNF),HAEC/BDNF与HAEC分别植入6-羟基多巴胺损伤的PD模型大鼠纹状体内,观察动物的旋转行为,用免疫组织化学方法鉴定移植物在体内的存活。结果表明,治疗组PD大鼠的旋转行为改善明显达14周,HAEC/BDNF组能使恢复时间提前。免疫组织化学方法发现移植细胞在14周后仍有少量存活且部分表达BDNF、酪氨酸羟化酶,纹状体内星形胶质细胞增生。实验结果说明,HAEC和BDNF基因修饰的HAEC移植对PD模型大鼠的行为有一定改善,HAEC可以作为一种治疗PD的供体细胞。     

再论可持续性科学:新形势与新机遇

近10年来,可持续性科学蓬勃发展,已成为21世纪全球普遍关注的一个重要的新科学领域.然而,在大力提倡可持续发展和生态文明建设的中国,可持续性科学尚未引起科学家和实践者的足够重视.为促进可持续性科学在中国的发展,2014年邬建国等曾撰文介绍什么是可持续性科学.本文进一步探讨了这一问题,并补充阐述了可持续性科学与可持续发展研究的关系、可持续性科学的科学范式及其8个基本论题.基于对可持续性科学发展动态的分析,作者认为,一方面,可持续性科学已进入系统推进的成熟发展期;另一方面,虽然我国可持续发展研究、实践与教育的热情高涨,但在可持续性科学领域起步较晚,落后于主要发达国家和南非.为此,本文在文献综述的基础上,提出促进中国发展可持续性科学的"三位一体"策略:一是"请进来"以服务中国实践;二是"走出去"以贡献中国智慧;三是"中西医结合"以引领学科发展.     

离体培养嗅鞘细胞促进新生大鼠螺旋神经节细胞的存活

本文旨在探索离体实验中的嗅鞘细胞(olfactory ensheathing cells,OECs)有无促进耳蜗听觉传入神经元——螺旋神经节细胞(spiral ganglion cells,SGCs)存活作用及其可能机制。取成年大鼠嗅球和新生大鼠蜗轴组织块进行OECs与SGCs的培养,采用差速贴壁法纯化培养OECs。实验分OECs与SGCs共培养组和SGCs单独培养组。倒置相差显微镜下观察OECs和SGCs生长状态,神经营养因子受体p75免疫组织化学法鉴定OECs,神经元特异性标志物βIII-tubulin标记SGCs。为了研究OECs与SGCs共培养体系中,前者促进后者存活的可能机制,共培养组中分别加入脑源性神经生长因子(BDNF,500pg/mL)和BDNF抗体(IgY型,50μg/mL),对照组为未加任何处理的共培养组,然后检查各培养组中SGCs存活数量和存活时间。结果显示,OECs贴壁培养7d后形成一细胞单层,在OECs与SGCs共培养体系中,SGCs在OECs形成的细胞单层的表面生长,并伸出长突起,呈现典型的双极神经元形态;在培养的前6天内,随着培养时间的增加,两组中的SGCs都较接种前减少,但共培养组中SGCs存活数量明显高于SGCs单独培养组(P0.01);单独培养组的SGCs数量在培养的第6天出现大幅度减少,在培养的第9天几乎没有生长;共培养组的SGCs数量未见明显变化(P0.05);共培养中加入BDNF对OECs促进SGCs存活无明显影响,而加入BDNF抗体(IgY)后存活的SGCs减少(P0.01)。本研究结果提示,OECs与SGCs共培养能够促进新生大鼠SGCs存活和突起生长,延长存活时间,OECs分泌BDNF可能是促进SGCs存活的机制之一。     

生态足迹分析应用于区域可持续发展生态评估的缺陷

可持续发展的生态评估是当前国际生态经济学与可持续发展研究的前沿问题之一,生态足迹从生物生产的角度可以定量评估一个国家或地区发展的生态持续性程度,是近年来发展迅速的一种生物物理量衡量方法。尽管生态足迹分析具有指标指示意义明确、评估结果全球可比与模型方法简便、资料易获取、可操作性强等优点,但在理论方法上仍存在不足之处。综合国内外区域生态足迹分析的最新进展,生态足迹分析应用于区域可持续发展生态评估的理论缺陷主要表现为以下6点：①弱可持续性评价,难以完整反映系统的可持续性状态;②静态模型,缺乏预测功能;③长时间序列生态足迹研究的合理性有待商榷;④全球平均生产力的相对性,导致评估结果的非绝对性;⑤过于强调土地的数量,而忽略土地的质量;⑥假定各类生物生产性土地类型的空间互斥性,忽视兼业性。     

An Index of Regional Sustainability: A GIS-based multiple criteria analysis decision support system for progressing sustainability

GIS (Geographical Information Systems) based decision support tools will be useful in helping guide regions to sustainability. These tools need to be simple but effective at identifying, for regional managers, areas most in need of initiatives to progress sustainability. Multiple criteria analysis (MCA) has been used as a decision support tool for a wide number of applications, as it provides a systematic framework for evaluating various options. It has the potential to be used as a tool for sustainability assessment, because it can bring together the sustainability criteria from all pillars, social, economic and environmental, to give an integrated assessment of sustainability. Furthermore, the use of GIS and MCA together is an emerging addition to conducting sustainability assessments.This paper further develops a sustainability assessment framework developed for the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority region of Victoria, Australia by providing a GIS-based decision support system for regional agencies. This tool uses multiple criteria analysis in a GIS framework to assess the sustainability of sub-catchments in the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment. The multiple criteria analysis based on economic, social and environmental indicators developed in previous stages of this project was used as the basis to build a model in ArcGIS^®. The GIS-based multiple criteria analysis, called An Index of Regional Sustainability Spatial Decision Support System (AIRS SDSS), produced maps showing sub-catchment sustainability, and environmental, social and economic condition. As a result, this tool is able to highlight those sub-catchments most in need of assistance with achieving sustainability. It will also be a valuable tool for evaluation and monitoring of strategies for sustainability. This paper shows the usefulness of GIS-based multiple criteria analysis to enhance the monitoring and evaluation of sustainability at the regional to sub-catchment scale.     

Evaluating dynamics of national economies through cluster analysis within the input-state-output sustainability framework

In this paper a cluster analysis is applied to an input-state-output indicator framework that represents the interconnection of the three aspects of sustainability, namely environmental, social and economic. This framework is a useful and comprehensive tool for assessing country performances over time and improving guidelines for the classification of countries under a sustainability perspective. The method enables identification of trends and traps that characterize the evolution of countries over time. The analysis is performed for 83 countries in 2000 and 2008 in order to observe system behaviour and development patterns.     

Assessing and comparing relative farm-level sustainability of smallholder shrimp farms in two Sri Lankan provinces using indices developed from two methodological frameworks

As shrimp farming can be an important means of income generation, particularly among Sri Lanka’s rural communities, it is important that this industry grows in a sustainable manner, starting at the farm level. The objectives of this study were to; 1) create baseline farm-level sustainability indices for smallholder shrimp farms in Sri Lanka using both content-based and system-based frameworks adapted from agriculture; 2) determine whether arranging indicators within both content- and system-based sustainability frameworks would provide additional insight into relative farm sustainability (rather than using just one framework); and 3) seek differences between the North Western Province (NWP) and the Eastern Province (EP) in sustainability index, sub-index, or indicator scores that might be used to create province-specific policies and education programs designed to potentially improve sustainable practices at the farm level. Since little has been published on the development of practical indicators and evaluation of farm-level sustainability in aquaculture, this study adapted two types of frameworks used for measuring sustainability in agriculture: content- and system-based. Using both frameworks, along with expert opinion, indicators of farm level sustainability were developed into a questionnaire and measured on 225 farms in two provinces of Sri Lanka. Indicators primarily included modifiable practices that farmers could influence to improve the chances of their farms’ survival. The farm indicators were normalized using “min-max” normalization, where scores of zero and one were assigned for the least and most sustainable options, respectively. Farm indicators in each province were then aggregated into sub-indices as well an overall aggregated sustainability index score. Similar themes were gleaned from both the content-based and system-based sustainability frameworks, and there was no significant difference between mean overall sustainability scores for the two different frameworks. Farms in the NWP scored significantly higher on the overall sustainability indices of both models despite the NWP’s history of severe disease outbreaks while the EP farms had no disease. Possible reasons for this difference were explored with an in-depth analysis of sub-indices as well as individual indicators. An overall aggregated sustainability index score was a useful baseline measure for monitoring changes in sustainability over time; however, its use was limited when attempting to identify gaps in sustainable management practices and provide practical information for farmers and stakeholders to improve farm-level sustainability. It was important to evaluate individual indicators in addition to sub-indices and overall index scores when making recommendations or identifying gaps in sustainable practices at the farm level.     

A PCA-based method for construction of composite sustainability indicators

Purpose

Sustainable manufacturing is practiced globally as a comprehensive strategy for improving the sustainability performance of the manufacturing industry. While sustainability is characterized into such three dimensions as economic, environmental, and social, currently, there is no quantitative method yet to measure the so-called ??sustainability?? in the manufacturing industry. The objective of this research is to develop a comprehensive and effective quantitative method to measure the overall sustainability performance of manufacturing companies.

Methods

In this paper, an integrated methodology is presented for the development of composite sustainability indicators based on principal component analysis (PCA). In developing this integrated approach, both industry and academia surveys are conducted to identify what sustainability indicators are favored by the sustainable manufacturing community. A unique index is then generated to measure the overall sustainability performance of industrial practices. The methodology can be used for benchmarking the overall sustainability performance of various manufacturing companies.

Results

A case study is conducted on a total of 11 global electronic manufacturing companies. The overall sustainability performance of these companies are measured, benchmarked, and ranked. The results showed that PCA is an effective approach for constructing composite sustainability indicators across environmental, economic, and social dimensions.

Conclusions

From this research, it is found that industry and academia have different views on the sustainability measurement, evidenced by different weights put on the same indicator in industry and academia. The case study demonstrated that the methodology presented in this paper is an effective tool for comprehensive measurement of sustainability performance of manufacturing companies. Strengths and weaknesses of each company can be identified. Then, the recommended improvements can be suggested based on the study of each of the individual indicators.     

Dynamic sustainability assessment of countries at the macro level: A principal component analysis

Monitoring progress toward sustainable development requires the identification of operational indicators that provide manageable units of information on institutional, environmental, economic and social dimensions. This paper is an attempt to develop macro sustainability indicators of selected countries in order to track sustainability in a dynamic manner. Therefore, as a first step, sustainability pillar variables for 131 countries were defined and derived for the period 2000–2007. Three different methods, i.e., standardization, min–max and cyclical techniques, were used to normalize data and finally a principal component analysis (PCA) was applied for weighting selected variables. In the last step, countries were ranked based on their principal components (PCs) and spatially aggregated sustainability was tracked in four dimensions. The paper finds that while progress was observed for the institutional, economic and social dimensions, the environmental conditions deteriorated successively over the studied period. It is concluded that when institutional, environmental and economic pillars are strongly correlated, economic development cannot solely explain environmental deterioration.     

A proposal to explore the role of sustainability indicators in local governance contexts: The case of Palmela,Portugal

The actual use of sustainability indicators and their steering potential is constrained by the particularities of governance contexts, by institutional patterns and changes, by the different interpretations of what sustainable development means and entails, and by the tensions around the main values nurturing the positions of the most relevant actors. This paper proposes a normative conceptual framework to further explore the role of sustainability indicators in local governance contexts, and applies it to the Portuguese municipality of Palmela. It aims to contribute to a better understanding of how, why and in what circumstances the processes of developing and using indicators can be important steering mechanisms for governance for sustainability, particularly at the local level. The methods used include primary literature review and official documents and data, interviews to local public officers and qualitative analysis. Palmela provides insights on concrete government achievements through the implementation of sustainability indicators, but clearly shows how they are insufficient to foster innovative governance arrangements for sustainability. The normative framework enables the identification of successes and failures of developing and using sustainability indicators in improving local governance and ultimately in helping to achieve sustainability goals.     

Assessing the sustainability of water companies: A synthetic indicator approach

Performance indicators (PIs) are essential in the benchmarking process used to rate and rank water companies. However, a set of individual PIs does not provide a holistic assessment of company performance from multiple perspectives. A multidimensional evaluation of the performance of water companies can be achieved by aggregating the PIs into a synthetic indicator. Although the concept of sustainability involves economic, environmental and social criteria, most of the previous studies have not considered these three dimensions simultaneously. This paper discusses a process of indicator aggregation using two approaches based on multi-criteria decision analysis to evaluate and compare the sustainability of water companies from a holistic perspective. A synthetic indicator embracing economic, environmental and social PIs was computed for a sample of 154 Portuguese water companies. Both methods yielded similar rankings of water company sustainability. The techniques and results presented in this paper may be utilized as a means of improving the benchmarking process in regulated water industries, as well as providing valuable contributions to decision-makers on the most efficient steps for improving the sustainability of urban water services.     

Changing perspectives on biodiversity conservation: from species protection to regional sustainability

Biodiversity is the basis for ecosystem goods and services that provide for human survival and prosperity. With a rapidly increasing human population and its demands for natural resources, landscapes are being fragmented, habitats are being destroyed, and biodiversity is declining. How can biodiversity be effectively conserved in the face of increasing human pressures? In this paper, Ⅰ review changing perspectives on biodiversity conservation, and discuss their relevance to the practice of biodiversity conservation. The major points include The notion of balance of nature is a myth rather than a scientific concept; the theory of island biogeography is useful heuristically but flawed practically; the SLOSS debate is intriguing in theory but irrelevant in reality; the concept of minimum viable population and population viability analysis are useful, but technically inefficient and conceptually inadequate; metapopulation theory is mathematically elegant but ecologically oversimplistic; and integrative perspectives and approaches for biodiversity conservation are needed that incorporate insights from landscape ecology and sustainability science. Ⅰ further discuss some key principles for regional conservation planning, and argue that the long-term success of biodiversity conservation in any region will ultimately depend on the economic and social sustainability of that region. Both research and practice in biodiversity conservation, therefore, need to adopt a broader perspective of sustainability.     

Global biomass potentials under sustainability restrictions defined by the European Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC

The political will to reduce global GHG emissions has largely contributed to increased global biofuel production and trade. The expanding cultivation of energy crops may drive changes in the terrestrial ecosystems such as land cover and biodiversity loss. When biomass replaces fossil energy carriers, sustainability criteria are therefore crucial to avoid adverse impacts and ensure a net positive GHG balance. The European Union has set mandatory sustainability criteria for liquid biofuels in its Renewable Energy Directive (RED) 2009/28/EC to ensure net positive impacts of its biofuel policy. The adoption of sustainability criteria in other world regions and their extension to solid and gaseous biomass in the EU is ongoing. This paper examines the effect of the EU RED sustainability criteria on the availability of biomass resources at global and regional scale. It quantifies the relevance of sustainability criteria in biomass resource assessments taking into account the criteria's spatial distribution. This assessment does not include agricultural and forestry residues and aquatic biomass. Previously unknown interrelations between sustainability criteria are examined and described for ten world regions. The analysis concludes that roughly 10% (98.5 EJ) of the total theoretical potential of 977.2 EJ occurs in areas free of sustainability concerns.