Assessing economic impacts of forced land acquisition and displacement: a qualitative rapid research framework

The healthy functioning of ecosystems is fundamental to human wellbeing, but sustainable development policies have failed to reverse global decline in biodiversity and ecosystem services. Accepting loss of biodiversity as a tradeoff for socio-economic gains means that the global ecological deficit continues to grow, with attendant risks for human wellbeing. While impact assessment has become more effective at identifying potential impacts on biodiversity, it has generally retained a ‘damage limitation’ focus, rather than striving to sustain, or even enhance, important biodiversity and ecosystem services. This paper recommends changes in how biodiversity is addressed in impact assessment to avoid increasing the ecological deficit. It considers whether, and how, integration of biodiversity offsets, namely measurable conservation outcomes to compensate for significant residual loss of biodiversity, can achieve ‘no net loss’ outcomes for biodiversity. It also reviews some of the implementation challenges. These challenges include obtaining the information needed to assess impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services at appropriate spatial and temporal scales, and recognizing when impacts might be impossible to offset or compensate in practice, thus setting limits to tradeoffs.     

Chemical warfare and survival strategies in bacterial range expansions

Dispersal of species is a fundamental ecological process in the evolution and maintenance of biodiversity. Limited control over ecological parameters has hindered progress in understanding of what enables species to colonize new areas, as well as the importance of interspecies interactions. Such control is necessary to construct reliable mathematical models of ecosystems. In our work, we studied dispersal in the context of bacterial range expansions and identified the major determinants of species coexistence for a bacterial model system of three Escherichia coli strains (toxin-producing, sensitive and resistant). Genetic engineering allowed us to tune strain growth rates and to design different ecological scenarios (cyclic and hierarchical). We found that coexistence of all strains depended on three strongly interdependent factors: composition of inoculum, relative strain growth rates and effective toxin range. Robust agreement between our experiments and a thoroughly calibrated computational model enabled us to extrapolate these intricate interdependencies in terms of phenomenological biodiversity laws. Our mathematical analysis also suggested that cyclic dominance between strains is not a prerequisite for coexistence in competitive range expansions. Instead, robust three-strain coexistence required a balance between growth rates and either a reduced initial ratio of the toxin-producing strain, or a sufficiently short toxin range.     

生态导电油墨及其在包装领域的应用研究进展

导电油墨的制备已成为加快印刷电子发展的重要技术之一,近年来符合生态理念的导电油墨逐渐成为研究热点。通过对生态导电油墨的相关文献进行分析与梳理,综述了生态导电油墨的研究现状、导电机理和应用方向。归纳出生态导电油墨主要可分为溶剂型和能量固化型两类,总结了生态导电油墨在智能包装中的应用,如：印刷柔性电池、电子交互包装、RFID标签、薄膜开关等,此类产品为包装在智能交互、信息追踪溯源、防伪防盗等方面提供强力的技术支持。     

DCOIT防污剂在防污材料中的应用研究进展

鉴于4,5-二氯-2-正辛基-4-异噻唑啉-3-酮(DCOIT)具有广谱高效、环保低毒等优点,DCOIT逐渐成为替代有机锡(TBT)的一种新型防污剂,在防污材料中越来越得到广泛的关注和应用。本文总结了DCOIT环境归宿及其生态毒性的判断方法,介绍了DCOIT在防污材料的应用情况及防污效果,并对近年来DCOIT防污剂的控释技术进行了综述,最后对该防污剂的应用和发展趋势进行了展望。     

Species survival and carbon retention in commercially exploited tropical rainforest

Since deforestation is one of the sources of carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere, any measures that prevent or reduce the amount of forest removal are beneficial to the environment and to conservation of biodiversity. In recent years, there has been considerable research on the value of standing forests and many researchers have promoted the management of tropical forests as the best type of land use. On the other hand, the enormous diversity is a serious obstacle to management and use of tropical rainforest. A single hectare of forest can have up to 306 species of trees of 10 cm diameter or more. Here we present a brief review of some of the research and programmes that have tried to promote the use and conservation of tropical forest without clear felling. The sustainable use of the standing forest has usually been promoted as a means of species conservation; however, it is also a way to maintain the carbon fixed in the ecosystem. Here we review some of the pros and cons of extraction of non-timber forest products.     

DNA条形码技术的应用研究

自2003年加拿大科学家Paul Hebert首次提出DNA条形码的概念以来,DNA条形码技术在生物分类学领域已经越来越受关注.该技术是通过一个标准化基因短片段的序列变异来快速鉴定物种,提供了可信息化的分类学标准和有效的分类学手段,成为近年来生命科学和生物技术领域进展最迅速的学科前沿之一.我们针对目前DNA条形码技术的应用研究现状、存在问题及应用前景等予以综述,以期推动我国DNA条形码技术研究的发展.     

Ecological impacts of atmospheric CO2 enrichment on terrestrial ecosystems

Global change has many facets, of which land use and the change of atmospheric chemistry are unquestioned primary agents, which induce a suite of secondary effects, including climatic changes. The largest single contribution to the compositional change of the atmosphere, CO(2) enrichment, has (besides its influence on climate) immediate and direct effects on plants. Quantitatively, CO(2) is the plant 'food' number one, and the rate of photosynthetic CO(2) uptake by leaves is not yet CO(2)-saturated. This abrupt change of the biosphere's diet does and will affect all aspects of life, including our food. However, the plant and ecosystem responses are more subtle than had been assumed from the results of responses of isolated, well-fertilized and well-watered plants in greenhouses during the early days of CO(2)-enrichment research. In this article, I discuss potential responses of complex natural grassland and diverse forests, and address three key themes: CO(2) and nutrients; CO(2) and water; CO(2) and plant-animal interactions. Examples from a suite of climatic regions emphasize that the most important ecosystem level responses to elevated CO(2) will be introduced by differential responses of species. Atmospheric CO(2) enrichment is a biodiversity issue. Classical physiological baseline responses of leaves to elevated CO(2) can be overrun by biodiversity effects to such an extent that some of the traditional predictions may even become reversed. For instance, biodiversity effects may cause humid tropical forests (those which avoid destruction) to become more dynamic and store less, rather than more, carbon as CO(2) enrichment continues. The abundance of certain life forms and species and their lifespans exert major controls over the half-life of carbon stored in forest biomass, and there is evidence that elevated CO(2) can affect these controls and most likely does so already. Also, long-term hydrological consequences of atmospheric CO(2) enrichment will be driven by biodiversity effects, given that some, but not all, species reduce their rate of water loss when exposed to a CO(2)-rich atmosphere. Such insights call for much more realistic experimental conditions and larger-scale test units, which permit biotic interactions across taxa and trophic levels to occur while simulating our CO(2) future. The evidence currently available suggests that ecosystem processes reflect the composition of their biological inventory and this will be affected by a shift in carbon supply.     

石墨烯及其纳米复合材料的研究

石墨烯因其独特的结构和优异的性能,近年来已成为国内外研究的热点。简要介绍了石墨烯的制备方法,着重对石墨烯纳米复合材料的研究现状进行了综述。     

Collateral biodiversity benefits associated with 'free-market' approaches to sustainable land use and forestry activities

Concern over the ever more rapid and widespread losses of biodiversity has instigated various remedial actions: whether in situ conservation, such as the establishment of protected areas, or ex situ, such as the conservation of germplasm in gene banks. In the past, such activities were funded and managed by the public sector; however, in recent years, public support has declined and this has spawned a growing interest in conservation opportunities that might arise from 'free-market' approaches to sustainable land use and management. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the key framework for articulating policies and actions on biodiversity; however, progress in developing suitable economic and market incentives for biodiversity conservation and its sustainable use has been slow, with activities such as bioprospecting and ecotourism making some, albeit limited, headway. Given the United Nations Framework for Climate Change or United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's (UNFCCC's) high profile within the public and private sectors, there is some potential for using it to help advance CBD objectives and provide the much-needed economic incentives for conservation, through some of the market-based mechanisms presented under the Kyoto Protocol. Significant potential lies in the fact that many 'natural' forests and certain other ecosystems are both major stores of carbon and areas of valuable biodiversity. Thus, any attempt at conserving these areas has the potential to yield both carbon and biodiversity benefits. So far, however, the conservation of natural forests is not included in the Kyoto Protocol's definition of sinks. Instead the creation of sinks - through the establishment of fast-growing monocultures - may well lead to biodiversity losses, especially if partly degraded lands are cleared for this purpose. If real progress is to be made, our understanding of the relationship between land use and biodiversity benefits needs to be improved, and more appropriate proxies for biodiversity need to be developed. At the same time, we need to have a clear understanding of the precise nature of the potential synergies and be more able to identify possible jointaction opportunities that exist between the UNFCCC, the CBD and the Convention on Combating Desertification and other international trade and economic agreements.     

Maximizing benefits for biodiversity: the potential of enhancement strategies in impact assessment

Our demands on natural systems outweigh the capacity of those systems to support us. This paper calls for an approach to development that consistently delivers ‘net benefit’ for biodiversity or ‘ecological enhancement’. Examples of enhancement are presented through four case studies in India undertaken between 2005 and 2010. Actions focus on improving the overall ecological structure, composition and functions of sites; strengthening ecological networks by creating new habitats and buffer areas; and improving the services provided by the ecosystems, without jeopardizing biodiversity. While recognizing the importance of quantitative metrics of impacts and mitigation measures to determine outcomes, such measures were not available in these cases; enhancement is evaluated primarily in relation to pre-project conditions. The paper emphasizes the importance of considering alternatives that satisfy the mitigation hierarchy, and proposes a number of criteria for evaluating ecological enhancement.     

Quorum sensing and social networking in the microbial world

For many years, bacterial cells were considered primarily as selfish individuals, but, in recent years, it has become evident that, far from operating in isolation, they coordinate collective behaviour in response to environmental challenges using sophisticated intercellular communication networks. Cell-to-cell communication between bacteria is mediated by small diffusible signal molecules that trigger changes in gene expression in response to fluctuations in population density. This process, generally referred to as quorum sensing (QS), controls diverse phenotypes in numerous Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Recent advances have revealed that bacteria are not limited to communication within their own species but are capable of ‘listening in’ and ‘broadcasting to’ unrelated species to intercept messages and coerce cohabitants into behavioural modifications, either for the good of the population or for the benefit of one species over another. It is also evident that QS is not limited to the bacterial kingdom. The study of two-way intercellular signalling networks between bacteria and both uni- and multicellular eukaryotes as well as between eukaryotes is just beginning to unveil a rich diversity of communication pathways.     

产品设计中的伪生态设计现象研究

目的针对近年来生态设计理念被越来越多的人所关注,随之许多产品在设计及包装上以生态为噱头试图得到消费者的认可,实际本身并没有达到真正的生态设计标准这一现象展开研究。方法从案例分析法入手分析产品在设计与生产过程中、包装过程中和使用过程中的伪生态设计现象,并以对比分析的方法与真正的生态设计案例作比较。结论试图从根源上消除伪生态设计对生态设计发展的影响,提高人们对生态设计的理解,加深对生态设计的认识。     

Overview of research on carbon information disclosure

Against the background of addressing global climate change and carbon emission reduction, corporate carbon information disclosure (CID) has become an important measure to achieve carbon emission reduction worldwide and a research hotspot closely investigated by the academia. This study provides a systematic overview of literature on CID, including its research trend, theoretical basis, disclosing features, influencing factors, and consequences. Results indicate that, first, CID has been increasing in recent years, but the content and quality of the disclosure still need to be improved. Second, the main influencing factors of CID include company features, corporate governance, environmental performance, institutional characteristics, and stakeholders. Third, the consequences of CID are based mainly on company performance, ecological environment, and investors’ decision-making. Lastly, most studies have confirmed the positive effect of CID on company performance and investors’ decision-making, but the nexus of environmental performance and corporate CID remains to be investigated. Several important future research directions are also proposed based on these results.     

气候变化对陆地生物多样性影响研究的若干进展

气候变化对生物多样性影响的研究日益受到重视。文章总结了有关气候变化对基因多样性、物种多样性和生态系统多样性影响研究的趋势,并对存在的问题进行了讨论。目前,气候变化对生物多样性影响的研究总体上还不深入,研究需要加强。     

汽车轻量化技术的研究现状综述

近年来汽车行业的科技水平发展程度逐渐提高,汽车行业进入高速发展阶段,然而随之而来的环境和能源问题也日趋加重。轻量化技术变成了各个汽车企业提升市场竞争力的关键,作者根据近些年来汽车轻量化技术现状进行综述,主要介绍了包括轻量化材料(高强度钢、镁合金、铝合金、钛合金、塑料及复合材料)、现阶段应用于汽车制造的先进加工工艺(激光焊接技术、液压成形技术)以及发展逐步成熟、显著提高轻量化成果的结构优化(尺寸优化、形状优化、形貌优化、拓扑优化、多目标多学科优化)的使用现状以及对其发展趋势的探讨。     

Texture augmented analysis of high resolution satellite imagery in detecting invasive plant species

Abstract

During recent decades, a considerable number of alien species have been brought into Taiwan and have caused significant impacts to local ecosystems and biodiversity. High resolution satellite imagery can provide detailed spatial characteristics over a large area and has a great potential for accurate vegetation mapping. However, most traditional multispectral image classification techniques focus on spectral discrimination of ground objects and may overlook useful spatial information provided by high resolution images. To achieve the best result, analysis of high resolution imagery should also incorporate spatial variations of the data. Therefore, this paper has looked into using a texture augmented procedure to analyze a high resolution satellite (QuickBird) image in order to detect an invasive plant species (Leucaena leucocephala) in southern Taiwan. Samples of primary vegetation covers were selected from the image to determine suitable texture analysis parameters for extracting texture features helpful for classification. Validation with ground truth data showed that the analysis produced high accuracies in detecting the target plant species and overall classification for primary vegetation types within the study site.     

Amorphous semiconductors: Structural models

The structure of amorphous semiconductors has become the subject of intense study in recent years. In this paper, the models, that have been constructed and applied to represent the structures, have been briefly reviewed. Details of the construction of continuous random network (CRN) models have been presented and a comparative study of the microcrystallite model and the random network model has been made in the light of their recent applications.     

A color-tunable and high-effective organic light-emitting diode device with forward-inverse structure as intelligent lighting display

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - In recent years, the tunability of solid-state light sources has become an ideal feature for the illumination and exhibition industries....     

光伏太阳能电池厂房空调系统的改革

在当今能源日趋紧张、环境压力日趋增大的情况下,可再生能源受到各国政府的日益重视,太阳能作为一种永续利用的清洁能源,其开发和利用已成为各国可持续发展战略的重要组成部分。太阳能电池产业也成为世界快速、稳步发展的朝阳产业之一,最近10年世界太阳能电池及组件生产的年平均增长率达到40%,最近5年的年平均增长率达到45%,并将维持几十年的快速增长,技术工艺改进日新月异,与其配套的太阳能厂房空调系统也受到越来越多的人重视,如果能够设计一种无论厂房工艺设备动力需求如何变化,只需略加调整就可继续满足新工艺条件下的空调系统,将会为企业赢得时间的优势,提高企业的市场竞争力。     

The Next Frontier of 3D Bioprinting: Bioactive Materials Functionalized by Bacteria

3D bioprinting has become a flexible technical means used in many fields. Currently, research on 3D bioprinting is mainly focused on the use of mammalian cells to print organ and tissue models, which has greatly promoted progress in the fields of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and pharmaceuticals. In recent years, bacterial bioprinting has gradually become a rapidly developing research fields, with a wide range of potential applications in basic research, biomedicine, bioremediation, and other field. Here, this works reviews new research on bacterial bioprinting, and discuss its future research direction.