Vetoing the future: political constraints and renewable energy

Despite the increased importance of and attention to renewable energy, its share in the overall energy mix has varied significantly across countries and over time. There are many determinants of clean energy transitions; this study focuses on political constraints. Here it is argued that political systems that have fewer political constraints have fewer access points through which powerful status quo veto players can slow the progress of clean energy reforms. To test the theory, a hierarchical model is applied on a dataset of 125 countries over four decades. The results provide significant support for the theory. Furthermore, the effects for political constraints hold even when we distinguish between hydro and non-hydro renewable sources and control for regime type. This study builds on research that recognizes the importance of politics in understanding the challenges and opportunities of clean energy reform.     

铅冶炼区土壤重金属总量和有效态含量的函数分析

采集铅冶炼企业周边3 000 m范围内220个表层土壤样品,测定了有毒有害元素铅、镉、砷和汞的总量和有效态含量,探讨了它们之间的关系。结果表明:研究区土壤受到汞、砷、铅、镉的污染依次明显严重,土壤重金属的总量和有效态含量的变异系数均大于100%,土壤镉、铅、汞、砷的生物有效性系数平均值分别为25.9%、17.2%、0.58%、0.11%。土壤铅、镉和砷的总量与其有效态含量呈显著正相关(P0.001),而汞的总量与其有效态含量的相关性不显著(P0.05)。土壤铅和镉的总量和有效态含量可以用直线函数和幂函数表达,函数反推的有效态值和对应统计值的变异系数不大于10%。     

Enterotoxin production and antimicrobial susceptibility in Staphylococci isolated from traditional raw milk cheeses in Serbia

This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of coagulase positive staphylococci (CPS) by examining a total of 71 raw milk cheeses. Additionally, enterotoxigenicity, antimicrobial susceptibility and the presence of mecA and mecC genes in the staphylococcal isolates were investigated. The isolation and enumeration procedure of CPS followed the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard. The presumptive staphylococci were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) using the VITEK MS system. VIDAS® Staph enterotoxin II assay was used for the detection of classical enterotoxins. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) was accomplished performing the disk diffusion method. All suspected methicillin resistant staphylococci were investigated for the presence of mecA and mecC genes by PCR assay. A high prevalence (87.32%) of CPS was detected in the cheeses at contamination levels up to 5.58 log CFU g^?1. Among 47 staphylococcal isolates screened for enterotoxin production, only one isolate, identified as S. hyicus, was confirmed as being enterotoxigenic. Resistance to penicillin (63.70%) was the most common resistance among the tested Staphylococcus aureus isolates. The dominant phenotypic resistance patterns in coagulase negative staphylococci (CNS) were resistance to ofloxacin and fusidic acid. All CNS isolates were susceptible to the clinically important antibiotics clindamycin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, linezolid, rifampicin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. The mecA and mecC genes were not detected. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study concerning evaluation of the presence of methicillin resistant staphylococci (MRS) in dairy products in Serbia.     

Quantity and biochemical composition of sedimentary organic matter around offshore gas extraction platforms of the Adriatic Sea

Gas platforms can exert relevant effects on various ecosystem properties of the hosting area, modifying patterns of productivity and particle sedimentation. We hypothesised that the presence of gas platforms is associated with higher organic matter (OM) contents and we tested the null hypothesis by which benthic trophic conditions do not vary significantly among gas structures with different architectural characteristics. To test these hypotheses, we investigated sedimentary OM contents and biochemical composition at increasing distance from two distinct structures: one subsea well-site and one four-leg platform (FLP). We found that sediments surrounding the structures were characterised by similar OM contents, but different biochemical compositions, and that sedimentary OM compositional change with increasing distance from the structure is confirmed only at the FLP. These results suggest that: (i) benthic eutrophication is not consistent among different structures; (ii) OM biochemical composition changes are more evident than those in OM quantity; and (iii) the effect, wherever present, disappears at a very narrow distance from the platform. As biochemical composition of OM reflects food availability for benthic organisms, our results suggest that the enrichment of macrozoobenthic communities around these structures could be the consequence of increased nutritional quality of resources.     

Free market ideology and deregulation in Colorado’s oil fields: Evidence for triple movement activism?

Unconventional oil and gas extraction (UOGE) has spurred an unprecedented boom in onshore production in the US. Despite a surge in related research, a void exists regarding inquiries into policy outcomes and perceptions. To address this, support for federal regulatory exemptions for UOGE is examined using survey data collected in 2015 from two Northern Colorado communities. Current regulatory exemptions for UOGE can be understood as components of broader societal processes of neoliberalization. Free market ideology increases public support for federal regulatory exemptions for UOGE. Perceived negative impacts do not necessarily drive people to support increased federal regulation. Utilizing neo-Polanyian theory, interaction between free market ideology and perceived negative impacts is explored. Free market ideology appears to moderate people’s views of regulation: increasing the effect of perceived negative impacts while simultaneously increasing support for deregulation. To conclude, the ways in which free market ideology might normalize the impacts of UOGE activity are discussed.     

Economic and environmental value stream map (E2VSM) simulation for multi-product manufacturing systems

Value stream mapping (VSM) is a well-accepted tool within lean manufacturing concept which is often used for analysing and designing the flow of materials and information required to manufacture a product. However, the analysis is static and single product oriented, which fails to cope with either the variation of production plan or a multi-product environment. In addition, the environmental impact of a manufacturing system is highly associated with the dynamic consumption of energy and resources. Despite the recent integration of VSM with simulation or environmental studies (in the domain of energy efficiency), still neglected is the dynamic assessment of all the resources involved in a multi-product production environment. This paper presents a methodology for modelling multi-product manufacturing systems with dynamic material, energy and information flows with the aim to generate economic and environmental value stream maps (E²VSM). The proposed methodology is validated with an industrial case.     

有机物降解产气率模型研究

根据重庆市生活垃圾的组成特点,自配垃圾试样进行有机物降解实验,根据实验期间试样的质量变化,结合降解反应方程式,计算试样的产气量,并建立产气率模型.实验结果表明,试样质量随时间逐渐降低,呈指数型衰减规律.试样在实验初期产气率增加较快,达到产气高峰后逐渐降低.用建立的产气率模型进行计算,计算结果与实测数据比较接近,说明该产...     

以预处理剩余污泥为燃料MFC产电性能及不连续供电的可行性

为探讨微生物燃料电池(microbial fuel cell,MFC)处理经预处理后剩余污泥的可行性以及不连续供电能力,采用双室MFC,以剩余污泥热处理上清液为基质进行启动和运行,通过改变电池阴极电子受体而导致电势差变化来监测其产电的运行稳定性.结果表明,反应器以氧气作为阴极电子受体148 h后启动成功,最大输出电压0.24 V,将阴极电子受体换为铁氰化钾时,能获得0.66 V的最大输出电压和4.21 W·m~(-3)的最大功率密度.当将阴极电子受体分别替换为氧气或者开路,又转换为铁氰化钾后,电池输出功率恢复迅速,电池对有机物去除效率基本不受影响,对化学需氧量(COD)、氨氮去除效率分别达70%和80%.本研究表明,利用预处理剩余污泥进行MFC处理和产电是可行的,可获得较高的功率密度,同时MFC可以实现不连续供电.     

堆积体边坡渐进性破坏的随机模型

为精确模拟堆积体边坡变形破坏过程,根据堆积体所固有的非连续性、非均质性、各向异性等特点,以及边坡变形破坏的渐进性特征,采用改进的有限单元法(FEM)对堆积体边坡进行模拟。考虑堆积体边坡从连续位移函数到不连续位移函数的突变。破裂发生前,用连续位移函数进行计算;破裂发生后,引入不连续位移函数。研究结果表明,破裂面上不同点的安全系数(FOS)是不同的,但都随着破坏过程而降低。同时,可以得出不同非均匀程度下安全系数的概率分布。     

基于模糊均生函数和最优子集回归的飞行事故率预测

为有效预防飞行事故的发生,针对飞行事故率具有随机波动性和趋势性的特点,采用模糊均生函数(FMGF)和最优子集回归(OSR)建立飞行事故率预测模型。该方法把FMGF延拓序列作为预测因子加入OSR方程,将FMGF分析和因子筛选相结合作OSR,进而对飞行事故率进行预测。通过对美国空军1988—2004年的飞行事故率进行拟合预测,结果表明:将FMGF模型和OSR模型有机结合,能够有效刻画飞行事故率的随机波动特性,并且其预测结果的相对误差也较小。