Importance of public information and perception for managing recreational activities in the Peel-Harvey estuary, Western Australia

Surveys of water recreational activities were conducted in the Peel-Harvey estuary. Channels used by recreationists to gain information about water quality, the perception of water quality and resulting behaviour were investigated. This study showed that personal perception, local knowledge and history, absence of warnings and residency were major factors contributing to risk perception and behaviour in this recreational community. Management strategies should take this information into account to achieve maximal outcomes.     

Economies of scale in global iron-making

In this paper, we investigate the presence of economies of scale in the global iron-making industry for integrated steel plants, iron making being the first stage in the steel-making process. Iron making depends on basic commodities, such as iron ore, coke and various forms of energy, required in the operation of the blast furnace, which can be classified as essential inputs and used in fixed proportions to produce iron. A generalized Leontief cost function is estimated using panel data for 69 integrated plants, such a specification being appropriate for technologies with essential inputs that are used in fixed proportions in production. A significant scale effect is observed due to the existence of fixed costs and a linear dependence of the cost function on production. Under a simple linear cost function, a rough estimate of the breakeven scale of plant, where costs equal revenue, is 4.5 Mt per year. Competitiveness, as measured by the ratio of plant average cost per tonne to best practice cost per tonne, can be shown to be positively related to the scale of production as well as the cost of essential inputs. Therefore, low-cost producers are also often producers with low raw material costs and production levels below the estimated breakeven scale of operation. Labor costs, although significant, are comparatively less important as a driver towards low costs.     

Evaluation of the temporal variations of air quality in Taipei City, Taiwan, from 1994 to 2003

Data collected from the five air-quality monitoring stations established by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration in Taipei City from 1994 to 2003 are analyzed to assess the temporal variations of air quality. Principal component analysis (PCA) is adopted to convert the original measuring pollutants into fewer independent components through linear combinations while still retaining the majority of the variance of the original data set. Two principal components (PCs) are retained together explaining 82.73% of the total variance. PC1, which represents primary pollutants such as CO, NO(x), and SO(2), shows an obvious decrease over the last 10 years. PC2, which represents secondary pollutants such as ozone, displays a yearly increase over the time period when a reduction of primary pollutants is obvious. In order to track down the control measures put forth by the authorities, 47 days of high PM(10) concentrations caused by transboundary transport have been eliminated in analyzing the long-term trend of PM(10) in Taipei City. The temporal variations over the past 10 years show that the moderate peak in O(3) demonstrates a significant upward trend even when the local primary pollutants have been well under control. Monthly variations of PC scores demonstrate that primary pollution is significant from January to April, while ozone increases from April to August. The results of the yearly variations of PC scores show that PM(10) has gradually shifted from a strong correlation with PC1 during the early years to become more related to PC2 in recent years. This implies that after a reduction of primary pollutants, the proportion of secondary aerosols in PM(10) may increase. Thus, reducing the precursor concentrations of secondary aerosols will be an effective way to lower PM(10) concentrations.     

Deep chlorophyll maximum distribution in the central Tyrrhenian Sea described by a towed undulating vehicle

The towed undulating vehicle (TUV), named SARAGO, was used for two fine-scale surveys between the Italian and the Sardinian coasts during the Astraea 2 cruise (6-7 and 26-27 September 1995), studying the deep chlorophyll maximum distribution. SARAGO sections identify a sub-surface doming with higher chlorophyll a and primary production concentrations in the upwelling area of a cyclonic gyre region, detected by sea-surface temperature images. In the first section, the cyclone presents a double doming, in density and salinity, with shallower and concentrated patches of chlorophyll a for about 2 miles. Twenty days later, the second section shows that the gyre changes shape and extension, showing a single doming with higher primary production and chlorophyll a concentrations, distributed over a large area of about 40 nautical miles. SARAGO allows analysis of this high-variability phenomenon (cyclonic gyre) and allows concentrated patches (2 nm) to be identified, thus proving the importance of TUVs in the study of mesoscale processes.     

Training refugees as primary health care workers: Past imperfect, future conditional

Many problems have been encountered in the planning and implementation of health care in refugee camps, and more specifically in the training of refugees as primary health care workers. A review of the published literature and a "survey" of the opinions and experiences of refugee, national and international health personnel regarding training has therefore been undertaken to provide an overview of what has been done and to make recommendations for future work.
The review highlights the need to reallocate resources away from high visibility emergency aid to development activities, such as training, that will create an infrastructure for primary health care and promote self-reliance.     

Recent advances in catalytic decomposition of ozone

Ozone (O₃), as a harmful air pollutant, has been of wide concern. Safe, efficient, and economical O₃ removal methods urgently need to be developed. Catalytic decomposition is the most promising method for O₃ removal, especially at room temperature or even subzero temperatures. Great efforts have been made to develop high-efficiency catalysts for O₃ decomposition that can operate at low temperatures, high space velocity and high humidity. First, this review describes the general reaction mechanism of O₃ decomposition on noble metal and transition metal oxide catalysts. Then, progress on the O₃ decomposition performance of various catalysts in the past 30 years is summarized in detail. The main focus is the O₃ decomposition performance of manganese oxides, which are divided into supported manganese oxides and non-supported manganese oxides. Methods to improve the activity, stability, and humidity resistance of manganese oxide catalysts for O₃ decomposition are also summarized. The deactivation mechanisms of manganese oxides under dry and humid conditions are discussed. The O₃ decomposition performance of monolithic catalysts is also summarized from the perspective of industrial applications. Finally, the future development directions and prospects of O₃ catalytic decomposition technology are put forward.     

垃圾填埋场室内模拟试验注水量确定方法及其应用

针对填埋场室内模拟试验往往忽略降雨径流和初损的问题,提出运用SCS模型确定室内模拟试验日注水量的方法,并将计算结果应用于成都长安填埋场室内模拟试验中.结果表明,采用SCS模型计算所得的日入渗量进行注水的模拟柱渗滤液产量和水质变化能够更准确的模拟填埋场实际情况.     

数值模拟的可视化及其实现技术

此文介绍了一个用于数值模拟过程的二维图形界面,它由两大部分组成:“MANU”实现计算结果的手工操作显示及编辑,“AUTO”用于数值计算过程的自动跟踪.文中详细介绍了系统的设计方法、结构、工作原理和主要功能.     

连续速度场解析圆管辊拔减径

此文利用连续速度场解析了圆管辊拔减径问题的拔制力,并获得上界解析解.该解与圆管辊拔实验结果比较表明,两者吻合较好.因而,该解析解可在工程上计算圆管辊拔拔制力时推广应用.     

托盘式烟气脱硫喷淋塔空塔冷态流场数值模拟

以600MW机组多孔合金托盘喷淋塔为研究对象,利用国际流行的商用CFD(ComputationalFluidDynamics)软件Fluent及其前处理软件Gambit对烟气脱硫立式喷淋空塔的流场进行二维数值模拟。计算中选用模型作为计算模型,用SIMPLE算法进行计算。计算结果表明,喷淋塔的烟气入口角度以及多孔合金托盘的安装高度对塔内流场分布有一定的影响,安装托盘后气速明显均匀化,斜切式烟气进口流场分布较直进式均匀,还获得了合适的托盘安装高度。