Effects of release pressure on the transportation characteristics in pipeline and the diffusion behaviors in enclosure space of typical gas extinguishing agent

Reducing the release pressure of fire extinguishing systems can decrease potential safety hazards in large transport airplanes. To explore whether reducing the release pressure can achieve the release effect required by the airworthiness standards or not, the transportation characteristics in the pipeline and diffusion behaviors in the enclosure space of a typical fire extinguishing agent (Halon 1301) were investigated under five release pressures in the present study. The effects of the release pressure on the degree of superheat, injection duration, jet structure, and concentration distribution of Halon 1301 were analyzed. The results show that both of the degree of superheat and the injection duration decrease with an increase in the release pressure. The supplement of bubble expansion in the fire extinguishing agent can slow down the pressure decrease in the vessel. Both of the maximum and mean values of the pipeline differential pressure increase with an increase in release pressure. The maximum value of the jet angle decreases linearly with the increase in release pressure, and the jet deflects upward owing to the effects of buoyancy. The maximum concentration value decreases with an increase in the distance from the nozzle. The maximum concentration values in the near field from the nozzle increase with an increase in the release pressure. Under five release pressures, the concentration and holding time (duration above 6% volume concentration) of Halon 1301 on the centerline of the jet meet the requirements of airworthiness provisions.     

任务驱动下的建筑施工现场危险源关联规则挖掘

大数据时代的建筑施工现场会产生海量数据信息,如何利用这些数据并从中找出建筑施工现场内外环境中危险源之间的关联关系,对于施工安全尤为重要。利用Apriori算法挖掘施工隐患数据集,生成危险源关联规则;然后依据任务驱动思想令计算机将施工任务映射到相应施工情境下的危险源关联规则中,管理者便可根据具体施工任务搜索到更想要关注的安全规则信息;从这些规则信息的搜索结果发现,隐患的发生常常是由于危险源在时间上的连续或在空间上的交互所致,因此利用这些挖掘出的关联规则可以帮助施工管理人员对施工现场进行有效安全管理。     

Statistical inference on patch-specific survival and movement rates from marked animals

Empirical estimates of patch-specific survival and movement rates are needed to parametrize spatially explicit population models, and for inference on the effects of habitat quality and fragmentation on populations. Data from radio-marked animals, in which both the fates and habitat locations of animals are known over time, can be used in conjunction with continuous-time proportional hazards models to obtain inferences on survival rates. Discrete-time conditional logistic models may provide inference on both survival and movement rates. We use Monte Carlo simulation to investigate accuracy of estimates of survival from both approaches, and movement rates from conditional logistic regression, for two habitats. Bias was low (relative bias < 0.04) and interval coverage accurate (close to the nominal 0.95) for estimates of habitat effect on survival based on proportional hazards. Bias was high ( relative bias 0.60) and interval coverage poor ( = 0.26 vs. nominal 0.95) for estimates of habitat effect based on conditional logistic regression; bias was especially influenced by heterogeneity in survival and the shape of the hazard function, whereas both bias and coverage were affected by ‘memory’ effects in movement patterns. Bias estimates of movement rate was low ( relative bias < 0.05), but interval coverage was poor ( = 0.48–0.80), possibly as a result of poor performance of a Taylor series estimate of variance. An example is provided from a radio-telemetry study of 47 wintering American woodcock (Scolopax minor), illustrating practical difficulties in field studies to parametrize these models. We also discuss extensions of continuous-time models to explicitly include a movement process, and further examine tradeoffs between continuous and discrete models.     

Environmental health in minority and other underserved populations: Benign methods for identifying lead hazards at day care centres of New Orleans

This study tests the hypothesis that exterior sources of lead dust are more important than interior sources in the route of exposure of children. Benign field methods were used to distinguish between potential and actual lead exposure problems. Utilising hand wipe and surface wipe techniques, hand and environmental samples were obtained from selected day care centres at different locations within New Orleans. Previous research has shown that soil lead is determined by location within the city. Private and public day care centres were selected from inner and outer city areas to estimate the extent of hand lead exposure. To measure and identify the extent of environmental lead exposure, hand wipes were taken before and after playing outdoors. Results of preliminary findings show that outdoor lead dust is a more potent contaminant of hands than indoor lead dust. An association was found between the amount of lead on children's hands after playing outdoors and the lead content in the exterior dust and soil. Although two girls out of forty children had exceptionally high hand lead quantities after playing outdoors, in general, boys have higher hand lead levels than girls. The private inner-city day care centre had a severe contamination problem in its outdoor play area. By contrast, the outdoor play area of the public inner city day care centre is of such a high quality that the quantity of lead dust is independent of location in the city.     

表面活性剂对可离子化有机化合物在黄土中吸附行为的影响

研究了2，4-二氯苯酚、2，4-二硝基苯酚和苯甲酸三种可离子化有机化合物在天然黄土和阳离子表面活性剂改性黄土中的吸附行为。讨论了DH值、离子强度和二价重金属阳离子对可离子化有机化合物在改性黄土中吸附的影响。提出了可离子化有机化合物在改性黄土中的吸附模型，吸附等温曲线可分解为两条分别代表离子和非离子形态的等温吸附曲线；其吸附行为可用双模式吸附理论来解释。在2，4-二硝基苯酚共存时，苯甲酸在改性黄土中的吸附量减小，证明竞争吸附的存在。     

Use of Substitute Species in Conservation Biology

Abstract:  In conservation biology, researchers often want to study the reasons why an endangered population is faring poorly but are unable to study it directly for logistical or political reasons. Instead they study a species that substitutes for the one of concern in the hope that it will cast light on the conservation problem. Here we outline the assumptions underlying this approach. Substitutes can be different populations or species and may be chosen because they are similar biologically to the target or representatives of a constellation of species of which the target is one. They also may be used to develop a predictive model to which the conservation target can be related. For substitutes to be appropriate, they should share the same key ecological or behavioral traits that make the target sensitive to environmental disturbance and the relationship between population vital rates and level of disturbance should match that of the target. These conditions are unlikely to pertain in most circumstances and the use of substitute species to predict endangered populations' responses to disturbance is questionable.     

镉对稻田土壤典型微生物种的胁迫生理毒性

以水稻田土壤中典型的单种微生物为实验材料,采用纯培养方法,从个体水平上全面探讨了重金属镉胁迫对稻田土壤典型微生物的的生长、活性以及生化过程的生理毒性影响。研究表明:不同微生物纯培养对镉胁迫的敏感程度不同,G 较G-对Cd2 更为敏感,表现为世代时间缩短,最高菌浓度下降。固氮菌对Cd2 非常敏感,当Cd2 质量浓度为0.2mg·L-1时即完全抑制菌体增殖。同时,外源镉强烈的抑制作为稻田土壤中功能微生物的厌氧固氮菌及产甲烷细菌的生物活性,各菌种镉胁迫下细菌细胞内可溶性蛋白、还原糖、核酸质量浓度都在低质量浓度镉胁迫时有所增加;随着镉质量浓度的增加,细菌细胞内各种物质的质量浓度开始减小,以减慢细胞代谢速度,增强对镉胁迫的适应力;各种物质的质量浓度变化趋势为可溶性蛋白>还原糖>核酸,R.eutrophaDKC1细胞内含物质量浓度基本保持稳定。结果可在一定程度上说明镉对微生物的毒性效应,且能在早期较灵敏地指示污染的影响,作为稻田土壤环境受到污染胁迫的细胞生化指标具有一定可行性。     

Trace Metal Distribution and Enrichment in Benthic, Estuarine Sediments: Southport Broadwater, Australia

The distribution and enrichment of selected trace metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sn, Zn) in benthic sediments of the Southport Broadwater, a semi-enclosed coastal body of water adjacent to the Gold Coast city, south-eastern Queensland, Australia, was studied with the objective of assessing the extent and degree of sediment contamination. Sediment samples from the 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm depth intervals of 32 sites within the Southport Broadwater and surrounding residential canals were analysed for particle size distribution, pH, organic C and ‘near-total’ major (Al, Ca, Fe, Mn) and trace (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sn, Zn) metal contents. Sediment contamination for each trace metal was assessed by (1) comparison with Australian sediment quality guidelines, (2) calculation of the index of geoaccumulation based on regional background values, and (3) geochemical normalisation against Al (i.e. the abundance of alumino-silicate clay minerals). Based on this approach, the results indicate that submerged sediments in the study area are not presently enriched with Cd, Cr or Ni, with the spatial distribution of these metals being very well explained by the abundance of alumino-silicate clay minerals. However, several sites were strongly enriched with Cu, Pb, Sn and Zn, arising from sources related to either urban runoff or vessel maintenance activities. The study indicates that several varying approaches are needed for a satisfactory assessment of contaminant enrichment in estuarine sediments.     

Low-temperature oxidation of coal at elevated pressures

A mathematical model is presented to describe steady-state mass transfer and oxidation processes in coal at low temperatures in a fixed-bed flow reactor. The model incorporates the effects of partial pressure of oxygen, temperature and coal particle size, and accounts for the rate of coal oxidation and the composition of oxygenated products at high pressures. This is an important development since previous models did not include the effect of pressure in their formulation. It is found that, when the partial pressure of oxygen increases the rate of oxygen consumption increases accordingly. However, the influence of partial pressure of oxygen on the rate of oxidation is less pronounced when the pressure surpasses 1 MPa. In addition the model predicts that, for a constant partial pressure of oxygen, higher rates of oxygen consumption occur at lower total pressures. The same trends are also found for the concentration of oxygenated products at the reactor outlet. It is suggested that, the variation of partial pressure of oxygen leads to different concentration levels of oxygen at the surface and within the pores of coal particles, substantially affecting the rate of oxidation.     

A very simple yet accurate solution to the thermal explosion problem

A very simple solution to the thermal explosion problem for one-dimensional solids is presented. The solution produces analytical expressions for the criticality condition. Two different solutions are used. One solution gives higher answers than those known from exact solutions and the second solution gives lower answers. This allows bracketing the expected answer with a determined tolerance. The results obtained compare quite favorably with those obtained from known exact numerical solutions. This allows the utilization of the present method for many a practical problem with an acceptable tolerances.