Traditional agriculture in transition: examining the impacts of agricultural modernization on smallholder farming in Ghana under the new Green Revolution

Following the renewed effort at achieving a new green revolution for Africa, emphasis has been placed on modernizing smallholder agriculture through the deployment of improved inputs especially mechanized technologies. In Ghana, the government has in the last decade emphasized the provision of subsidized mechanized ploughing services to farmers alongside a rapidly growing private sector tractor service market. While mechanized technology adoption rates have increased rapidly, the deployment of these technologies has been without critical analysis of the impacts on production patterns and local agrarian systems. This paper examines the distributional impacts of agriculture mechanization on cropping patterns and farm sizes of smallholder farmers in northern Ghana using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, and semi-structured interviews with smallholder farmers (n=60). Specifically, comparative analysis of the field sizes and cropping patterns of participant farmers prior to and after the adoption of mechanized technologies was conducted. In-depth interviews were used to contextualize the experiences of smallholder farmers toward understanding how mechanization may be impacting traditional agriculture. Our findings reveal a mechanization paradox in which farm sizes are expanding, while cropping patterns are shifting away from traditional staple crops (pearl millet and sorghum bicolor) to market-oriented crops (maize, rice and groundnuts). This transition we argue, has adverse implications on the cultural dimension of food security, the organization of social life, and climate change adaptation. We recommend a retooling of the current agricultural policy focus to ensure context sensitivity for a more robust battle against food insecurity.     

武汉市一次污染过程的局地流场和边界层结构的数值模拟

利用2013年11月武汉市逐日空气质量资料、地面气象观测资料、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料和L波段雷达探空资料，通过WRF模式模拟空气污染生消过程中的局地气象条件变化，探讨特殊地形条件下边界层结构变化和局地环流在污染物生消过程中的作用和影响。结果表明：（1）武汉地区当背景环流场强的时候，由地形引起的局地流场对污染物扩散的影响就弱，反之当背景环流场弱的时候, 地形对流场影响明显:夜间为山风，白天为谷风。夜间山风与偏西北气流及偏东气流在武汉及周边地区辐合，形成气流汇聚带，在武汉地区形成一个反复污染带,即由地形引起的局地流场对污染物扩散的贡献就大；（2）武汉地区发生空气污染时，地面湿度较高，边界层呈上干下湿状态，其特征为暖而干且有偏东小风，这导致污染物不断堆积和重污染过程的形成。     

高温高压下煤孔隙结构的变化对瓦斯吸附特性的影响

为了研究高温高压条件下煤孔隙结构变化对瓦斯吸附特性的影响，选取九里山矿无烟煤，在压力为7 MPa、温度为40～130℃的条件下进行等温吸附实验和压汞实验。研究结果表明:煤样对甲烷的等温吸附曲线在该压力、温度条件下符合Ⅰ型吸附曲线特性，吸附规律符合Langmuir吸附模型；在压力7 MPa和温度130℃条件下，煤样的孔隙结构发生一定的变化，煤的比表面积增大、累计孔体积降低，可见孔及裂隙的数量比例增高，加强了煤样孔隙之间的连通度，导致原本吸附在煤样表面的甲烷分子大量解吸；在压力不变的情况下，随着温度的不断增高，煤的极限吸附量逐渐减小，其主要原因是样品孔隙结构的破坏和分子间作用力的变化。     

Rainfall Interception Based on Indirect Methods: A Case Study in Temperate Forests in Oaxaca,Mexico

Rainfall interception represents the amount of water trapped in natural cover that is not drained directly to the ground. Intercepted rainfall may evaporate after a rain event, making it one of the main drivers of water balance and hydrologic regionalization. This process can be affected by factors such as climate, altitude, vegetation type, and topography. Here is a simple method of calculating rainfall interception in temperate forests using in Santa Maria Yavesia, Oaxaca, and Mexico as an illustrative study area. We used two rain gauges to measure net precipitation (N_p) under the canopy at each study site and one gauge outside the canopy to obtain gross precipitation (G_p). Throughfall (T_h) was indirectly measured using hemispherical photographs. Rainfall interception was obtained through a combination T_h and G_p and N_p. The mean rainfall interception was 50.6% in the Abies forests, 23%–40% in the coniferous‐mixed forests, and 27.4% in the broad‐leaved forests. We classified rainfall events by intensity to determine the effect of canopy structure and precipitation and found that 75% of the events were weak events, 24% were moderate events, and 1% were strong events. In addition, we found that rainfall interception was lower when the intensity of precipitation was higher. Our method can be replicated in different ecosystems worldwide as a tool for assessing the influence of rainfall interception in terms of ecological services.     

太原汾河景区跨桥断面水体污染的时空变化模式研究

选取太原汾河景区跨桥断面8个监测点,在2012年3月—2013年10月期间对河流8项水质参数进行监测,并结合派生的水体综合污染指数及主成分分析方法分析和评价景区水污染时空变化特征。结果表明,景区水质污染变化时空差异明显,上游污染相对较小,下游污染较重;春季溶解氧和p H值变化幅度最大,夏季除总氮和氨氮外,其他各污染物均有显著变化特征,秋季则以氨氮、总氮和总磷变化最为显著。主成分分析结果显示,虽然各监测点水体污染的关键影响因子不同,但总磷是太原市河流水体污染的共同解释因子。     

综合拉底、扩漏和出矿全过程的底部结构安全性颗粒流模拟技术研究

为探明自然崩落法从拉底崩落至出矿全过程中底部结构节理连续扩展过程与破坏过程规律，采用PFC2D软件，结合RocLab软件反演节理岩体参数，建立229 m×129 m的岩体扩大模型，对拉底崩落至出矿过程进行连续综合计算。研究结果表明:模拟结果及破坏现象与现场监测结果相近，建模与细观参数反演方法适用于该类岩体工程研究；裂纹扩展贯通导致岩体失稳破坏，破坏过程与裂纹扩展具有相对应的阶段特征，裂纹扩展分为崩落前稳定扩展期，崩落与聚矿槽开挖过程加速扩展期和后续持续扩展期；结构破坏分为蕴育过程，扰动失稳过程和宏观破坏过程；较大范围的宏观破坏主要在出矿阶段。该模拟方法与结果可为底部结构维护以及节理岩体长期稳定性研究提供参考。     

单芯铜线过电流故障电弧熔痕的微观特征研究*

为准确认定电气火灾中过电流故障，模拟4~7倍额定电流（Ie）条件下单芯铜导线过电流故障，利用光学显微镜和扫描电子显微镜（SEM）分析过电流故障电弧熔痕的组织特征，并结合Image-Pro Plus软件测定晶粒直径、周长和面积，探究金相组织的量化判据和变化规律。结果表明:当I＝4Ie时，过电流故障电弧熔痕的金相组织主要为方向性较强的树枝晶；当I＝5Ie，6Ie时，金相组织内树枝晶占比减小，胞状晶占比升高；当I＝7Ie时，方向性较弱的胞状晶占主导。随着电流增加，晶粒的平均直径、周长和面积均呈增长趋势。通过火灾案例分析可知，实验结果与现场的电弧熔痕组织特征基本相符，验证火灾事故原因为过电流故障。     

A bibliometric study of pool fire related publications

Pool fire is a common form of fire, which is constantly investigated along with the development of fire science and is also comprehensively employed as stable fire sources in examining other fire scenarios such as building and tunnel fires. According to the records in Science Citation Index Expanded database in the Web of Science Core Collection, a total of 1073 articles or reviews related to pool fires have been published from 1966 to 2019. In order to have a better understanding of knowledge structure of this topic and further identify its development history and currently popular concerns, a bibliometric analysis of pool fire research is conducted by means of visualization software VOSviewer and CiteSpace. This work visually provides a comprehensive overview of pool fire research in terms of annual publication output, source journals, productive countries/regions, authors and their cooperation network, subject terms, and reference co-citation analysis. The analysis provides networks of co-cited references, authors, countries, subject terms, and their respective clusters, indicating their ranking in contributions to the pool fire related publications. The results can be applied to enhance the understanding of pool fire research and support further work in this area.     

Evaluation of the spontaneous combustion characteristics of coal of different metamorphic degrees based on a temperature-programmed oil bath experimental system

Research on the micro- and macrocharacteristics of different metamorphic degrees of coal helps improve the control and protection techniques used during spontaneous combustion. Nine coals with different properties were thoroughly investigated in this study. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and a self-designed temperature-programmed oil bath experimental system were adopted to analyze the molecular structure and macrocharacteristic parameters of the spontaneous combustion of coal. Additionally, the influence of particle size on spontaneous combustion was considered. Various functional groups were employed as microcharacteristic parameters to capture the principal active groups in oxidation. The gas production rate, oxygen consumption rate, gas concentration, heat energy release rate, and characteristic temperatures were evaluated as macrocharacteristic parameters to investigate the changes in coal during oxidation. The results establish that the microcharacteristics of coal molecules determine the degree of spontaneous combustion based on intrinsic properties and that changes in the macrocharacteristics of the spontaneous combustion of coal reflect the microstructural changes. The contents of the hydroxyl groups, carbonyl groups, alkyl ether and aryl ether in the coal molecules gradually decrease with the metamorphic increase. Oxygen-containing functional groups have higher reactivities and easily react with oxygen, causing the macroparameters, such as the oxygen consumption rate, the gas generation rate and the heat energy release rate, to consistently decrease with the increase of the metamorphic degree. Small-particle-size coal molecules have more active aliphatic hydrocarbons, oxygen-containing functional groups and a larger specific surface area, increasing the chances of adsorbing the oxygen of active groups and promoting the reaction between coal and oxygen. The experimental results indicate that coal samples with higher metamorphic degrees or larger sizes exhibit lower tendencies toward spontaneous combustion. Evaluation of the spontaneous combustion of coal based on a temperature-programmed oil bath experimental system is of great practical importance for preventing the spontaneous combustion of coal during storage, processing and utilization and can serve as a convenient reference for production safety in mining applications.     

有机肥处理对旱地红壤细菌群落及玉米生产力的影响

为探明旱地红壤细菌群落特征及玉米生产力对不同有机肥处理的响应，基于自2002年设置在中国科学院鹰潭红壤生态实验站的有机培肥长期定位试验，采用Illumina高通量测序，研究不同有机肥（不施肥，M0；低量有机肥，M1；高量有机肥，M2；高量有机肥加石灰，M3）处理下土壤细菌群落多样性和结构以及玉米生产力的变化.结果发现，与M0相比，土壤pH、有机质（SOM）、全氮（TN）、全磷（TP）含量和玉米生产力在不同有机肥（M1、M2和M3）处理下均显著增加，其中M3处理的提升效果最佳.施用有机肥显著提高了土壤细菌群落的Shannon、Evenness、Chao1与ACE指数，重塑了细菌群落结构.基于随机森林模型分析，土壤性质中的pH和TP显著影响土壤细菌多样性，而pH、SOM、TP和TN对土壤细菌群落结构影响显著.相关性分析和结构方程模型分析表明，土壤TP和SOM可以通过改变土壤细菌多样性和群落组成间接影响玉米生产力.研究结果从指导我国南方红壤区农田合理施肥的角度，为农田土壤质量提高及耕地产能提升提供科学依据.