Foliar fungal pathogens and grassland biodiversity

By attacking plants, herbivorous mammals, insects, and belowground pathogens are known to play an important role in maintaining biodiversity in grasslands. Foliar fungal pathogens are ubiquitous in grassland ecosystems, but little is known about their role as drivers of community composition and diversity. Here we excluded foliar fungal pathogens from perennial grassland by using fungicide to determine the effect of natural levels of disease on an otherwise undisturbed plant community. Importantly, we excluded foliar fungal pathogens along with rabbits, insects, and mollusks in a full factorial design, which allowed a comparison of pathogen effects along with those of better studied plant enemies. This revealed that fungal pathogens substantially reduced aboveground plant biomass and promoted plant diversity and that this especially benefited legumes. The scale of pathogen effects on productivity and biodiversity was similar to that of rabbits and insects, but different plant species responded to the exclusion of the three plant enemies. These results suggest that theories of plant coexistence and management of biodiversity in grasslands should consider foliar fungal pathogens as potentially important drivers of community composition.     

Evaluation of a fast response pressure solver for flow around an isolated cube

This work describes and evaluates a pressure solver that has been incorporated into a fast response three-dimensional building-resolving diagnostic wind modeling system. The solver computes the three-dimensional pressure field around buildings and on exterior walls in terms of a coefficient of pressure by solving a simplified pressure Poisson equation (that neglects turbulence stresses in the Navier-Stokes) for incompressible flow. The input to the solver is the three-dimensional mean wind field obtained from a fast response empirical-diagnostic urban wind model. The present study is an evaluation of the pressure solver using wind-tunnel data for flow normal to and at a 45° angle to an isolated cubical building. Results for the normal incident wind angle case indicate that the model satisfactorily reproduces the general spatial patterns and the magnitude of the pressure difference around much of the cube. Details of the flow field that are not satisfactorily predicted include the spatial distribution of pressure on the roof and the lower half of the front side of the building and the magnitude along the sidewalls where pressures are over predicted. The results for the 45° case show reasonable agreement between the model and experiments on the front and the back walls, but over predict pressures on the leading edge of the rooftop. Regions with poor pressure predictions appear to be a result of unsatisfactory mean wind modeling.     

Hot Steam Transfer Through Heat Protective Clothing Layers

The aim of this study was to analyse the transfer of steam through different types of textile layers as a function of sample parameters such as thickness and permeability. In order to simulate the human body, a cylinder releasing defined amounts of moisture was also used. The influence of sweating on heat and mass transfer was assessed.

The results show that in general impermeable materials offer better protection against hot steam than semi-permeable ones. The transfer of steam depended on the water vapour permeability of the samples, but also on their thermal insulation and their thickness. Increasing the thickness of the samples with a spacer gave a larger increase in protection with the impermeable samples compared to semi-permeable materials. Measurements with pre-wetted samples showed a reduction in steam protection in any case. On the other hand, the measurements with a sweating cylinder showed a beneficial effect of sweating.     

Reach‐Scale Geomorphic and Biological Effects of Localized Streambank Armoring

Armoring of streambanks is a common management response to perceived threats to adjacent infrastructure from flooding or erosion. Despite their pervasiveness, effects of reach‐scale bank armoring have received less attention than those of channelization or watershed‐scale hydromodification. In this study, we explored mechanistic ecosystem responses to armoring by comparing conditions upstream, within, and downstream of six stream reaches with bank armoring in Southern California. Assessments were based on four common stream‐channel assessment methods: (1) traditional geomorphic measures, (2) the California Rapid Assessment Method for wetlands, (3) bioassessment with benthic macroinvertebrates, and (4) bioassessment with stream algae. Although physical responses varied among stream types (mountain, transitional, and lowland), armored segments generally had lower slopes, more and deeper pools and fewer riffles, and increased sediment deposition. Several armored segments exhibited channel incision and bank toe failure. All classes of biological indicators showed subtle, mechanistic responses to physical changes. However, extreme heterogeneity among sites, the presence of catchment‐scale disturbances, and low sample size made it difficult to ascribe observed patterns solely to channel armoring. The data suggest that species‐level or functional group‐level metrics may be more sensitive tools than integrative indices of biotic integrity to local‐scale effects.     

加拿大浸入式教学对我国高职英语教学改革的启示

我国高职院校存在着学生英语水平较差、师资力量薄弱、课堂教学模式与教学大纲偏差的现状。通过探讨“浸入式”教学法的概念、分类及原则,并结合我国高职院校英语教学的现状,探讨“浸入式”英语教学法在我国高职院校实施的途径：从观念上重新认识浸入式教学模式,努力营造浸入式英语学习和教学的环境,引进既精通专业知识,又能熟练运用英语进行课堂授课的师资力量,组织编写适合高职院校浸入式英语教学的教材。     

Techno-Economic Study of CO2 Capture from an Existing Cement Plant Using MEA Scrubbing

Carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. Man-made CO₂ emissions contribute approximately 63% of greenhouse gases and the cement industry is responsible for approximately 5% of CO₂ emissions emitting nearly 900 kg of CO₂ per 1000 kg of cement. CO₂ from a cement plant was captured and purified to 98% using the monoethanolamine (MEA) based absorption process. The capture cost was $51 per tonne of CO₂ captured, representing approximately 90% of total cost. Steam was the main operating cost representing 39% of the total capture cost. Switching from coal to natural gas reduces CO₂ emissions by about 18%. At normal load, about 36 MW of waste heat is available for recovery to satisfy the parasitic heat requirements of MEA process; however, it is very difficult to recover.     

Modeling Fire Susceptibility to Delineate Wildland–Urban Interface for Municipal-Scale Fire Risk Management

The wildland–urban interface (WUI) is the region where development meets and intermingles with wildlands. The WUI has an elevated fire risk due to the proximity of development and residents to wildlands with natural wildfire regimes. Existing methods of delineating WUI are typically applied over a large region, use proxies for risk, and do not consider site-specific fire hazard drivers. While these models are appropriate for federal and provincial risk management, municipal managers require models intended for smaller regions. The model developed here uses the Burn-P3 fire behavior model to model WUI from local fire susceptibility (FS) in two study communities. Forest fuel code (FFC) maps for the study communities were modified using remote sensing data to produce detailed forest edges, including ladder fuels, update data currency, and add buildings and roads. The modified FFC maps used in Burn-P3 produced bimodal FS distributions for each community. The WUI in these communities was delineated as areas within community bounds where FS was greater than or equal to ?1 SD from the mean FS value ( ${\text{WUI}} = {\text{FS}} \geqslant - 1 \, [\bar \chi - \sigma ]$ ), which fell in the trough of the bimodal distribution. The WUI so delineated conformed to the definition of WUI. This model extends WUI modeling for broader risk management initiatives for municipal management of risk, as it (a) considers site-specific drivers of fire behavior; (b) models risk, represented by WUI, specific to a community; and, (c) does not use proxies for risk.     

土壤对铜和镉的静态吸附研究

通过静态吸附实验研究了德兴矿区大坞河下游下沽口土壤对铜和镉的吸附特点并采用Freundlich等温吸附方程进行拟合,探讨了pH值变化对铜和镉在土壤样品中分配系数的影响。结果表明：土壤铜和镉的吸附特性均符合Freundlich等温吸附方程,得到的金属铜和镉的Kf值分别为354．08、34．132;随着pH值的升高,铜和镉在土壤中的分配系数逐步增大,随后降低,pH值与分配系数关系曲线为单峰曲线。     

数值仿真技术在在建高层建筑物火灾中的应用

在建高楼火灾灭火困难。在建高楼灭火以及人员疏散的关键在于对灾变条件下在建高楼火灾参数变化的正确预测,特别是火焰、烟气蔓延范围、烟气浓度变化以及有毒气体的扩散范围等参数的预测。为了获得在建高层建筑物的火灾参数,论文利用美国国家标准和技术研究院（NIST）开发FDS（Fire Dynamics Simulator）软件,建立在建高楼模型,对高楼火灾进行全尺寸模拟,通过对模拟实验数据处理和分析,给出了在建高楼发生火灾时烟气浓度和氧气浓度纵向温度的变化规律以及不同方向风速对火灾的影响,提出一种阻火方案,并验证了它的阻火效果,为防灾减灾和消防决策提供有力的依据。     

Research on Tourism Competitiveness of Chinese Island Counties: Based on Factor and Cluster Analysis

Abstract

From the perspective of tourism competitiveness, the paper takes 12 island counties of China as the research object, and applies the method of factor analysis to study their competitiveness. The result shows that Putuo and Dinghai are more competitive while Pingtan and Nan’ao are less competitive. Finally, the 12 island counties are divided into four styles: first-class competitive county (Putuo), seond-class competitive counties (Dinghai,Yuhuan), third-class competitive counties (Chongming, Daishan, Changdao, Changhai and Shengsi), fourth-class competitive counties (Dongshan, Dongtou, Pingtan and Nan’ao) by cluster analysis. The classification of island counties is to clear their relative position, then to promote their development.