Using Input-Output Analysis to Measure the Environmental Pressure of Consumption at Different Spatial Levels

Input-output modeling is a useful tool for tracing environmental impacts of consumption. Because it includes impacts originating from production layers of infinite order (capturing the entire economy), input-output modeling is highly relevant for studies operating in a life-cycle context. In this article we show how the input-output approach can be used to enumerate the problem of sustainable consumption. Based on a literature survey including research done by the authors we present measures of the emissions of carbon dioxide at different spatial levels: nation, city, and household. Further, we take more environmental effects into account and introduce the concept of environmental efficiency by combining input-output modeling and data envelopment analysis. Finally, we discuss the policy relevance of the different measures. The article demonstrates that input-output modeling has a wide range of life-cycle oriented applications when combined with other data sources such as detailed trade statistics, foreign input-output and environmental statistics, and household expenditure data.     

Biodiversity indicators in European ground waters: towards a predictive model of stygobiotic species richness

1. Estimates of species richness obtained from exhaustive field inventories over large spatial scales are expensive and time-consuming. For this reason, efficiency demands the use of indicators as 'surrogates' of species richness. Biodiversity indicators are defined herein as a limited suite of taxonomic groups the species richness of which is correlated with the species richness of all other taxonomic groups present in the survey area.
2. Species richness in ground water was assessed at different spatial scales using data collected from six regions in Europe. In total, 375 stygobiotic species were recorded across 1157 sites and 96 aquifers. The taxonomic groups collected from more than one site and with more than two species (Oligochaeta, Gastropoda, Cyclopoida, Harpacticoida, Ostracoda, Isopoda, Amphipoda, Bathynellacea and Acari) were used to develop nonparametric models to predict stygobiotic biodiversity at the aquifer scale.
3. Pair-wise correlations between taxonomic groups were low, i.e. variation in species richness of a single taxonomic group did not usually reflect variation of the other groups. In contrast, multiple regressions calculated between species richness of any combination of taxa and extra-group species richness along the six regions resulted in a number of significant relationships.
4. These results suggest that some taxonomic groups (mainly Copepoda and Amphipoda and, to a lesser extent, Oligochaeta and Gastropoda) combined in different ways across the regions, were good biodiversity indicators in European groundwater ecosystems. However, the uneven distribution of taxonomic groups prevented selection of a common set of indicators for all six regions. Faunal differences among regions are presumably related to both historical and ecological factors, including palaeogeography, palaeoecology, geology, aquifer fragmentation and isolation, and, less clearly, anthropogenic disturbance.     

Stand characteristics and biodiversity indicators along the productivity gradient in boreal forests: Defining a critical set of indicators for the monitoring of habitat nature quality

Abstract

We quantified the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on the structure and biodiversity of boreal forests on acidic soils and created a statistically supported rational set of indicators to monitor the stand “naturalness”. For that, we surveyed various traits of tree layer, understory, herb layer, forest floor and several widely accepted biodiversity epiphytic indicators in 252 old‐aged boreal stands in Estonia, mostly dominated by Scots pine or Norway spruce. Multifactorial general linear model analyses showed that many forest characteristics and potential indicators were confounded by the gradient of soil productivity (reflected by the forest site type), local biogeographic gradients and also by stand age. Considering confounding effects, boreal forests in a near‐natural state have more large‐diameter trees (diameter at breast height >40 cm) and larger variety of diameter classes, higher proportion of spruce or deciduous trees, a larger amount of coarse woody debris in various stages, a more closed tree canopy and denser understory than managed mature forests. By increasing light availability above the field layer, forest management indirectly increases the coverage of herbs and lichens on the forest floor but reduces the alpha‐ and beta‐diversity of herbs and the proportion of graminoids. Human disturbances reduce the relative incidence of many commonly accepted biodiversity indicators such as indicator lichens, woodpeckers, wood‐dwelling insects or fungi on trees. The test for the predictive power of characteristics reacting on disturbance revealed that only a fraction of them appeared to be included in a diagnostic easy‐to‐apply set of indicators to assess the nature quality of boreal forest: the amount of dead wood, the proportion of deciduous trees, the presence of specially shaped trees and woodpeckers and, as an indicator of disturbances, the forest herb Melampyrum pratensis. Many of these indicators have already been implemented in practice.     

Occurrence of blood-feeding terrestrial leeches (Haemadipsidae) in a degraded forest ecosystem and their potential as ecological indicators

Blood-feeding invertebrates are emerging model taxa in biodiversity assessments, both as indicators of mammal abundance and also as sources of mammal DNA for identification. Among these, terrestrial leeches arguably offer the greatest promise; they are abundant and widespread in the humid tropics, and their blood meals can be easily assayed to establish diet. Unfortunately, terrestrial leeches are understudied, with little known about their ecology and behavior. Such information is needed to evaluate their utility as ecological indicators and to account for potential sampling biases that might arise from habitat preferences. By combining occupancy modeling and thermal tolerance assays, we determined the factors affecting species occurrence in the related terrestrial brown (Haemadipsa sumatrana) and tiger leech (Haemadipsa picta), both of which are widespread in tropical forests in Southeast Asia. We sampled both species across a degraded forest landscape in Sabah, Borneo, in wet and dry seasons, associating occurrence with habitat-level metrics. We found that, for both species, detection probability increased with canopy height regardless of season. Additionally, increased vegetation heterogeneity had a strong negative influence on brown leech occurrence in the dry season, implying an interaction between vegetation structure and climate. However, we found no difference in physiological thermal tolerance (CT_MAX) between the two species. Finally, using a reduced dataset, we found a small improvement in brown leech model fit when including mammal abundance. Our results suggest that the presence of terrestrial leeches may act as useful ecological indicators of habitat quality and potentially mammalian abundance. Abstract in Indonesia is available with online material.     

从微生物指标中看我国肉类食品安全问题及解决措施

本研究从食品微生物指标人手,对我国肉类食品的微生物指标检测情况及其产品质量进行分析,在相关政府部门的有力的监管下,肉类产品质量与安全有了较大幅度提高.最后分析了我国肉类食品行业的现存问题,并提出改进的建议,最后对其发展进行展望.     

侵袭性牙周炎伴错牙合畸形患者牙周-正畸联合治疗前后血清SAA、leptin的变化及与牙周指标和辅助性T细胞亚群的相关性分析

摘要 目的：探讨侵袭性牙周炎伴错牙合畸形患者牙周-正畸联合治疗前后血清淀粉样蛋白A（SAA）、瘦素（leptin）的变化及与牙周指标和辅助性T细胞（Th）亚群的相关性。方法：选择2020年6月-2022年8月解放军总医院京中医疗区黄寺门诊部口腔科收治的80例侵袭性牙周炎伴错牙合畸形患者（牙周炎组）和65例于口腔门诊检查的健康志愿者（对照组）。所有患者均接受牙周-正畸联合治疗,治疗前后分别检测血清SAA、leptin水平以及外周血中Th1、Th2、Th17细胞占比,并评估牙周指标变化。Pearson相关性分析血清SAA、leptin水平与牙周指标以及外周血中Th1、Th2、Th17细胞占比的相关性。结果：牙周炎组治疗前血清SAA、leptin水平,外周血Th1、Th17细胞占比,出血指数（SBI）、菌斑指数（PLI）、附着丧失（AL）、牙周探诊深度（PD）高于对照组（P＜0.05）,外周血Th2细胞占比低于对照组（P＜0.05）。牙周炎组治疗后血清SAA、leptin水平,外周血Th1、Th17细胞占比,PLI、SBI、AL、PD较治疗前降低（P＜0.05）,外周血Th2细胞占比较治疗前增高（P＜0.05）。牙周炎组血清SAA、leptin与PLI、SBI、AL、PD,外周血Th1、Th17细胞占比呈正相关,与外周血Th2细胞占比呈负相关（P＜0.05）。结论：侵袭性牙周炎伴错牙合畸形患者血清SAA、leptin水平增高,经牙周-正畸联合治疗后下降,高水平SAA、leptin与牙周组织破坏程度以及Th亚群紊乱有关,检测血清SAA、leptin水平可评估侵袭性牙周炎牙周组织破坏程度以及细胞免疫状态。     

基于Lake模型的Pb胁迫对木荷和栾树幼树叶片叶绿素荧光参数的影响研究

以阔叶树种木荷和栾树1年生幼树为对象,采用室内盆栽,通过配制3个不同浓度梯度的Pb Cl_2溶液于盆栽土壤中(L1L2L3),对比研究Pb胁迫下两种幼树叶片叶绿素荧光参数的响应规律,运用Lake模型从能量平衡及分配的角度揭示不同浓度Pb胁迫下木荷和栾树光系统Ⅱ运转状况,并为木本植物幼树耐Pb程度的快速诊断提供数据支撑。结果表明:3个不同浓度的Pb处理下,两种供试幼树随着入射光强(PAR)的增大,除非调节性能量耗散(Y_(NO))以外其他叶绿素荧光参数均随着PAR的变化而变化,相对电子传递速率(r ETR)和可调节性能量耗散(Y_(NPQ))呈上升趋势,而光系统Ⅱ(PSⅡ)量子效率(Y_(Ⅱ))和光化学猝灭(q L)呈下降趋势。同时,两种供试幼树的最大光能利用效率(Fv/Fm)、r ETR、Y_(Ⅱ)、q L,随着Pb污染浓度的增加而降低,而Y_(NPQ)和Y_(NO)则随着Pb污染浓度的增加而升高。Pb对两种供试植物叶绿素荧光参数的抑制效果在最大净光合速率(Pn)上也有体现。本实验还得出,在L1浓度时木荷PSⅡ反应中心的开放程度能保持在较高水准,随着污染浓度的增大,其光能转化能力弱于栾树。同时,栾树调节能量耗散的能力和对Pb胁迫的敏感程度均高于木荷,进一步说明了栾树对Pb的耐性高于木荷。综合分析后得出,Y_(NO)和Y_(NPQ)可作为植物Pb胁迫的评价指标。     

微生物学检验实验教学的改革与实践

改革传统的微生物学检验实验教学,组织学生到大型医院和医学检验类企业开展实验。按照微生物检验室工作流程,分接种、培养、鉴定3大项目进行实验教学。同时,让学生与企业员工进行深入交流,体验企业文化氛围,感受人文关怀,提高了实验教学质量,让学生树立更科学合理的就业观和择业观。     

黄曲霉毒素B1生物脱毒的研究进展

黄曲霉毒素是一组由黄曲霉、寄生曲霉等多种真茵产生的次级代谢产物,具有强烈的毒性,可以引起动物肝脏肿大、病变甚至癌变,对人和家畜的健康产生极大的威胁。本文简介了黄曲霉毒素B_1的分子结构、理化性质、污染现状,综述了黄曲霉毒素B_1生物脱毒方面及其应用的研究进展,重点讲述通过微生物降解黄曲霉毒素B_1的研究近况。     

不同功率递增速率对正常人心肺运动试验整体功能的影响Ⅱ—亚极限运动相关指标的影响*

目的: 观察健康志愿者不同功率递增速率完成症状限制性极限心肺运动试验（CPET）对CPET亚极限运动相关核心指标的影响。方法: 选择12名健康志愿者在一周内不同工作天随机完成中等适度程度（30 W/min）及比较低（10 W/min）和比较高（60 W/min）3种不同功率递增速率CPET。按标准方法比较12名志愿者CPET亚极限运动相关核心指标：无氧阈（AT）、单位功率摄氧量（ΔVO₂/ΔWR）、摄氧通气有效性峰值平台（OUEP）、二氧化碳通气当量平均90 s最低值（Lowest VE/ VCO₂）、二氧化碳通气当量斜率（VE/ VCO₂ Slope）及截距（intercept）和无氧阈时的摄氧通气效率值（VO₂/ VE@AT）和无氧阈时的二氧化碳通气当量值（VE/ VCO₂@AT）。对三组不同功率递增速率下各个指标的差异组间两两比较。结果: 中等适度功率递增速率组与比较低和比较高功率递增速率组相比摄氧通气有效性峰值平台（42.22±4.76 vs 39.54±3.30 vs 39.29±4.29）和二氧化碳通气当量平均90 s最小值（24.13±2.88 vs 25.60±2.08 vs 26.06±3.05）明显好,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）;比较低、比较高功率递增速率组与中等适度功率递增速率组相比,单位功率摄氧量显著升高和降低（（8.45±0.66 vs 10.04±0.58 vs 7.16±0.60）ml/（min·kg））,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）;无氧阈值没有发生明显改变（（0.87±0.19 vs 0.87±0.19 vs 0.89±0.19）L/min）,差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）;结论: 比较低、比较高功率递增速率可以明显改变摄氧通气有效性、二氧化碳排出通气有效性、单位功率摄氧量等CPET亚极限运动相关指标;选择比较低和比较高的功率递增速率和适度功率递增速率CPET相比明显降低了健康个体的摄氧通气有效性和二氧化碳排出通气有效性。CPET规范化操作要求选择适合受试者的功率递增速率,这样得到的CPET亚极限相关指标才最能反应受试者的真实功能状态。