Dealing with drought: The challenge of using water system technologies to break dryland poverty traps

We explore strategies among farmers in semi-arid Tanzania to cope with drought, and investigate if access to a local supplemental irrigation system (the Ndiva system) can improve coping capacity. Results show high dependency on local ecosystem services when harvests fail, and indicate that farmers commonly exhaust asset holdings during droughts. Ndiva access did not have any direct effects on coping capacity, but seemed to have some indirect effects. Drawing on our findings we discuss the complexity of escaping persistent dryland poverty, and outline the circumstances under which small-scale water system technologies, such as Ndiva irrigation, may help.     

南阳市灰霾天气污染特征及其健康效应

利用南阳市1971—2007年地面气象站观测资料以及2004—2005年环境检测站提供的空气污染物监测数据和南阳市中心医院门诊逐日病例资料,统计分析了南阳市灰霾天气及其空气污染特征,并根据灰霾天气对应的门诊病历,分析了灰霾天气对人体健康的影响。结果表明:南阳市灰霾日数的年代际变化非常明显,37年来南阳市霾的发生频率和持续时间都呈持续增加的趋势。秋冬是灰霾的高发季节。灰霾天气出现时空气污染程度加剧,特别是PM10浓度在灰霾出现日明显升高。就诊人群以呼吸系统为主的疾病发生率在灰霾发生当天明显升高,呼吸系统疾病门诊例数与PM10浓度正相关。     

小秦岭金矿区小麦和玉米重金属的健康风险评价

重金属污染引发的农产品质量安全问题已成为全社会关注的焦点。为了解小秦岭金矿开发引起的重金属污染风险,采集了同点位的农田土壤、小麦和玉米籽粒样品,测定了其中Hg、Pb、Cd、Cr、As、Cu和Zn的含量及其在土壤中的形态;采用指数法和RAC风险评价法分析了土壤重金属的污染风险,采用转移因子和目标风险指数法评价了小麦、玉米籽粒中重金属的健康风险。结果表明:小秦岭金矿区土壤中Hg、Pb、Cd、Cu、Zn含量受矿业活动影响强度大,在土壤中累积明显;土壤中Hg、Cd、Pb、Cu总量超过了国家限值,呈现污染;Cd、Hg、Cu具有潜在生态风险。小麦和玉米籽粒中Pb以及玉米籽粒中的Cd的平均含量高于国家标准,呈现一定程度的污染;部分小麦样品中的Hg、Cd和部分玉米样品中的Cd超过WHO/FAO安全限值,小麦和玉米籽粒中度Pb平均含量超过欧盟安全标准,说明具有潜在的健康风险。重金属的转移因子表明Cd、Zn及Cu比其他重金属更容易从土壤转移到小麦和玉米籽粒中;通过小麦对重金属的摄入量略高于玉米,远低于WHO/FAO推荐剂量;目标风险指数评价表明,只消费小麦或玉米基本不产生健康风险,但同时消费矿区生长的小麦和玉米具有较高的Pb健康风险。     

北京城乡接合部地表颗粒物中重金属污染负荷及健康风险评价

随着我国城市建设的不断推进,城市径流污染越来越受到关注。地表颗粒物(RDS)是重金属的重要载体,雨水径流对地表颗粒物的冲刷引起的径流重金属污染问题凸显。本研究选取北京市城乡接合部作为研究区域,研究区域内地表颗粒物中重金属(As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Mn、Pb、Zn)污染负荷并进行健康风险评估。结果表明,地表颗粒物含有的重金属中,除Mn外,As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Pb、Zn的平均浓度均超过背景值。其中,Cd的平均浓度是其背景值的3倍,Cr的平均浓度是其背景值的4倍之多。在径流冲刷条件下,Cr的污染负荷在各研究区域均最高,为其他重金属的3~4倍。暴露模型计算表明,重金属非致癌日平均暴露量为手口摄入量＞皮肤吸收量＞吸入空气量,经手口接触是人体地表灰尘暴露风险的主要途径。对于非致癌风险,在芦求路主路以及黄鹅路十字路口区域存在对于儿童的非致癌风险,整体区域内成人所受非致癌风险较低。各研究区域内重金属呼吸暴露途径的总致癌风险均低于环境阈值,致癌风险较低。     

按摩疗法加健康教育结合乳果糖口服液治疗便秘30 例疗效观察

目的：观察按摩疗法加健康教育结合乳果糖口服液治疗便秘的临床疗效。方法：将60 例便秘患者随机分为治疗组和对照组,每组各30 例。对照组给予乳果糖口服液治疗,治疗组在对照组基础上采用按摩疗法并结合健康教育。2组均以14 d为1个疗程,共治疗2个疗程。治疗结束后随访1个月,观察2组综合疗效、生活质量（PAC-QOL）评分及症状积分。结果：总有效率治疗组为93.33%（28/30）,高于对照组的76.67%（23/30）,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。2组治疗后PAC-QOL评分比较,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。治疗2周后,治疗组排便时间积分、症状总积分低于对照组（均P<0.05）;治疗4周后,治疗组排便困难、排便时间、排便感（下坠、不尽、胀感）、排便频度积分及症状总积分低于对照组（均P<0.05）;治疗结束后1个月,治疗组粪便性状、排便困难、排便时间、排便感（下坠、不尽、胀感）、排便频度积分及症状总积分低于对照组（均P<0.05）。结论：按摩疗法加健康教育结合乳果糖口服液治疗便秘效果优于单纯乳果糖口服液治疗,值得临床推广应用。     

Measuring fishery profitability: An index number approach

Tracking the financial well-being of vessels that depend on a marine fishery resource is an important function of regulators. This research demonstrates how simple indices can be constructed and utilized to track the economic well-being of vessels operating in the Northeast (USA) Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery. The indices, which use both public and private data, can separately track trends in inputs, outputs, and prices. For the Northeast Multispecies Fishery, the indices reveal that the economic well-being of the groundfish fleet has improved under catch share management through gains in productivity.     

中国城镇化对老年人健康的影响

基于2010年第六次全国人口普查微观数据和夜间灯光数据等,运用多层级logistic回归模型估计中国城镇化水平和速度与老年人自评健康的关联,分析城镇化健康效应在不同老年人群体间的差异,并运用倾向得分匹配方法,控制“自选择”机制对分析结果的干扰。结果表明：1）中国县区城镇化水平和速度与老年人自评健康呈显著正相关关系,居住于城镇化水平中等和城镇化速度较快县区的老年人更可能自评为健康;2）城镇化水平和速度与老年人自评健康的关系在不同受教育程度和户口状态的老年人群体间存在显著差异,城镇化水平和速度对受教育程度较低、持有本地户口老年人健康水平的提升效益更大;3）控制了老年人居住“自选择”的干扰后,县区城镇化水平和速度与老年人自评健康的正向关联依然稳健,表明“自选择偏误”对中国县区城镇化水平和速度与老年人自评健康的关系没有显著的影响。     

Mitigating Risks From Fracking-Related Earthquakes: Assessing State Regulatory Decisions

Public concern about earthquakes linked to wastewater injection from fracking operations is rising. However, few have examined how “induced seismicity” is acted upon by state officials. For some, an incremental response to smaller quakes can be viewed as an acceptable risk policy orientation because of the sizeable economic benefits that accompany drilling activities while others prefer risk mitigation policies (such as the use of “threshold policies”) as a better way to address quake-related problems. To account for state response to induced seismicity impacts, we examine three factors: the emergence of quakes as focusing events, the economic importance of oil and gas to state jobs and revenue, and selected characteristics of earthquakes as a policy issue, i.e., complexity and categorical precedence. Using information drawn from documentary sources, we consider which factors are most helpful in accounting for agency decisions aimed at reducing seismic risks linked to nearby injection wells.     

Ecosystem Services in a Transitional Forest Landscape: Shifting Trajectories in Southeast Michigan,USA

North American forests provide multiple ecosystem services, such as carbon storage, biodiversity, and recreation. These services are often coordinated through multifunctional management, whereby various users and owners contribute to collective agendas. Forests in exurban “transition” zones are crucial components in the sustainability of broader metropolitan landscapes, but represent a particularly understudied confluence of ecosystem services and multifunctional management. In this paper, we develop a place-based approach to assess ecosystem services in transitional forests (those between rural and urban). We demonstrate how trajectories of forest composition are linked with shifting ecosystem services that both shape and are shaped by management activities. Sited in Stinchfield Woods, a forest in southeast Michigan, this study draws on a household survey, interviews, ecological data, and archival information. Given variations in priorities over time and among different users, we suggest that coordinated, adaptive management may improve provisioning of ecosystem services in ways that benefit multiple users.     

The Geography of Malnutrition

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of an emerging theme within the subfield of nutritional geography we call the geography of malnutrition. Work relating to malnutrition is a high-priority research topic, with growing relevance to geographical concepts, but there is no overview of geographical approaches to this theme. Using keyword searches in Google Scholar and Web of Science to obtain relevant publications, we identified the major foci of work within this theme: undernutrition, diseases that cause malnutrition, the nutrition transition, and critical and feminist approaches to malnutrition. We review these foci, provide examples of prominent work, and identify areas of research concerning malnutrition that are highly spatial but have yet to be effectively studied using geographic techniques.