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Based on the DRASTIC model [A model for groundwater vulnerability assessment including seven indexes: depth to groundwater (D), net recharge (R), aquifer medium (A), soil type (S), topography (T), impact of the vadose zone (I), and hydraulic conductivity (C)], aiming at the impact of geological and geomorphological conditions and the human activity influence in Pingtan Island, four indexes, namely landform type (L), groundwater quality (Q), land-use type (U), and groundwater exploitation modulus (E), were added, and two indexes, namely hydraulic conductivity (C) and topography (T), were removed, and the groundwater vulnerability assessment model DRASLI-QUE [A model for groundwater vulnerability assessment including nine indexes: depth to groundwater (D), net recharge (R), aquifer type (A), soil type (S), landform type (L), impact of the vadose zone (I), groundwater quality (Q), land-use type (U), and groundwater exploitation modulus (E)] was established. The model was validated, and the conclusions were as follows. First, DRASLI-QUE model assessment results showed that areas of very low, low, and moderate vulnerability account for a large proportion of Pingtan Island. The very-high-vulnerability areas are mainly distributed in river basins and aeolian plain areas, and the high-vulnerability areas are mainly distributed in marine plain areas. Second, the water quality of drilling sites was selected to verify the assessment results, and the results showed that the groundwater vulnerability obtained by the DRASLI-QUE model was highly consistent with the actual water quality. Therefore, compared with the DRASTIC model, the DRASLI-QUE model was more suitable for the actual situation of Pingtan Island. Finally, compared with the DRASTIC model, the DRASLI-QUE model focuses on the process of surface pollutants entering the aquifer and water quality and the impact of human activities on water vulnerability. Therefore, in the evaluation results, the vulnerability level of aeolian plain areas with large amounts of farmland was raised from high to very high. In some mountain areas, due to heavy groundwater exploitation and poor groundwater quality, the vulnerability level was upgraded from very low vulnerability to low vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A groundwater function evaluation systems and associated model was applied to Pingtan Island in China, to support future development, use and protection of groundwater. Groundwater function was assigned to resource, ecology and geological environmental functions, and then further sub-divided, based on hydrogeological conditions, development status, planning and Chine policy requirements. At the same time, it is the first time to try to apply the technical requirements for the division of groundwater resources in island areas. According to the planning and utilization of groundwater resources in Pingtan Island, established a second-level system of shallow groundwater function zoning. Then, by comparing the strong and weak relationships among the groundwater resource function, ecology function, and geological environment function, developed a scoring system of the shallow groundwater function zoning. The division of shallow groundwater function zones in Pingtan Island was finally carried out. The zoning result will play an essential role in the future development, utilization, and protection of groundwater in Pingtan Island. At the same time, it provides the first example for the application of groundwater function zoning in island areas and improves the theoretical results of groundwater function zoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve the problem of imperfect flash flood warning indicators in mountainous watersheds, this study proposes a conversion method of critical rainfall for different warning periods on the basis of the existing stormwater calculation formulae and applies it to typical mountainous watersheds. The specific method is to use the multiplicative power function method to interpolate and extend the early warning indicators of other time periods through the known early warning indicators of some time periods, apply them to Hengmiao Village and Gaolou Village, typical disaster prevention objects in Qufu City, Shandong Province, China, and verify the rationality of the results. The results show that the multiplicative power function method interpolates and extends the early warning indexes of 0.5, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h under the same soil moisture condition. Based on the historical actual mountain flood disaster rainfall, the correlation coefficient R 2 and Nash coefficient Ens are calculated to be 0.85 and 0.86, respectively, which verifies the applicability of this method. This study provides a convenient and quick way to unify the time series of regional early warning indicators and a feasible way for other regions to study regional overall early warning.

Limited evidence exists concerning the impact of particulate pollution on acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined the effects of particulate pollution on emergency ambulance dispatches (EAD) for ARDS in Guangzhou, China. Daily air pollution concentrations for PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and PM 1 , as well as PM 2.5 chemical compositions, were available from a central air monitoring station. The association between incident ARDS and air pollution on the concurrent and previous 5 days was estimated by an over-dispersed Poisson generalized additive model controlling for meteorological factors, temporal trends, public holidays and day of the week. We identified a total of 17,002 EADs for ARDS during the study period. There were significant associations between concentrations of PM 10 , PM 2.5 , PM 1, and ARDS; corresponding excess risk (ER) for an interquartile range IQR increase in 1-day lagged concentration was 5.45% [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.70%, 9.33%] for PM 10 (45.4 μg/m 3 ), 4.71% (95% CI: 1.09%, 8.46%) for PM 2.5 (31.5 μg/m 3 ), and 4.45% (95% CI: 0.81%, 8.23%) for PM 1 (28.8 μg/m 3 ), respectively. For PM 2.5 chemical compositions, we found that OC, EC, sulfate and ammonium were significantly associated with ARDS. The observed effects remained even after adjusting for potentially confounding factors. This study suggests that PM 10 , PM 2.5, and PM 1 , as well as chemical constituents from combustion and secondary aerosols might be important triggers of ARDS in Guangzhou.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a global public health problem of increasing importance. The association between acute exposure to air pollution and HF has been well established in developed countries, but little evidence was available in developing countries where air pollution levels were much higher. We conducted a time-series study to investigate the short-term association between air pollution and overall emergency ambulance dispatches (EAD) due to HF in Guangzhou, China., Methods: Daily data of EAD due to HF from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2012 were obtained from Guangzhou Emergency Center. We applied the over-dispersed Poisson generalized addictive model to analyze the associations after controlling for the seasonality, day of the week and weather conditions., Results: We identified a total of 3375 EAD for HF. A 10-μg/m(3) increase in the present-day concentrations of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 μm, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide corresponded to increases of 3.54% [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.35%, 5.74%], 5.29% (95% CI: 2.28%, 8.30%) and 4.34% (95% CI: 1.71%, 6.97%) in daily EAD for HF, respectively. The effects of air pollution on acute HF were restricted on the concurrent day and in the cool seasons., Conclusions: Our results provided the first population-based evidence in Mainland China that outdoor air pollution could trigger the exacerbation of HF., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)