Experimental study on the influence mechanism of gas seepage on coal and gas outburst disaster

By using the self-developed triaxial servo-controlled seepage equipment for thermo-fluid-solid coupling of coal containing gas and the self-developed coal and gas outburst simulation test device, experiments to study the influence mechanism of gas seepage on coal and gas outburst disasters. The results show that: (i) gas seepage decreases the strength of coal containing gas and accelerates its failure process; (ii) under the same gas pressure, the confining pressure is larger, the more difficult the gas flows and the greater the intensity of coal containing gas is; (iii) in the process of coal and gas outburst, the greater the vertical ground stress is, the more powerful the outburst will be; (iv) the influence mechanism of gas seepage on coal and gas outburst disasters is as follows: firstly, gas seepage weakens the mechanical properties of coal body, which makes it much easier for coal and gas outburst to occur; secondly, on the same effect of external force, it will be easy to form a high gas pressure zone in the coal body under the difficult condition of gas seepage, and accumulate more gas compression energy, which is the energy source for coal and gas outburst, and it is also the main dynamic source to throw and grind the coal.     

Exploring the perceived influence of safety management practices on project performance in the construction industry

Although safety management is known to be vital to construction projects, very few studies have solicited views from construction practitioners about their perceptions of which safety management practices (SMPs) are important to construction projects and related to project performance. An empirical study was undertaken in Hong Kong in order to shed more light on this topic. In the study, the importance levels of 15 popular SMPs and five project performance criteria were rated by 232 respondents. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and three SMP categories - information, process, and committees - were extracted. Of these three categories, safety management process was perceived by the construction practitioners as being the most important, followed by safety management information and committees. Moreover, the effect of the three SMP categories on a composite project performance variable was tested using hierarchical regression analysis. Results indicate that the “information” and “committees” categories were associated with project performance positively and significantly. One of the major conclusions of the study is that the construction industry has paid relatively less attention to safety management committees, which were empirically analyzed as having a strong perceived impact on project performance. In order to improve project performance, construction companies should promote the criticality of safety management committees.     

The effect of overtaking behavior on unidirectional pedestrian flow

We present a model of overtaking behavior that can be used to simulate unidirectional pedestrian flow in routine. All pedestrians have the ability to determine whether or not to overtake other pedestrians according to their desired velocity and position. Although existing models such as cellular automata models, lattice gas models, social force models, etc., can be used to predict evacuation performance, most of these models are either computationally inefficient or do not account for some crucial elements of human behavior in a moving crowd. Furthermore, these models use either empirical equations developed from experiments or mechanical system analogies to determine movement decisions. The pedestrian flow patterns simulated by these models may deviate significantly from reality. In reality, pedestrians walk at different velocities and pedestrians with a higher walking velocity are accustomed to overtaking other pedestrians with a lower walking velocity and this paper aims to mimic this behavior as the original social force model developed by Helbing et al. does not reflect this pattern of collective pedestrian behavior. In this paper, we propose modifications of the social force model that reflects how overtaking behavior operates in routine. The comparison of the pedestrian flow pattern between the original social force model and the modified social force models with the real data collected by the camcorder is also performed in order to demonstrate our modified social force model can be used to achieve reasonable simulations of overtaking behavior among pedestrians.     

Silver sources of archaic Greek coinage

We report on new chemical and lead isotopic results and interpretations of archaic Greek silver coins from the Asyut hoard which was buried around 475 B.C. Aeginetan coins were of central interest in this study. Possible ancient silver mines were explored in the Aegean region in the course of several geologic expeditions, and chemically and isotopically investigated. Some of the silver sources in Greece were traced by combination of the analytical methods and questions of provenance were solved. In addition, processes of silver smelting and refining were studied. Results and implications of this work are summarized in the final section on Conclusions.     

A new pheromone of the silkworm moth Bombyx mori

The female silkmoth Bombyx mori L. emits a second pheromone component bombykal (E-10, Z-12-hexade-cadien-1-al) in addition to the well-known sexual attractant bombykol (E-10, Z-12-hexadecadien-1-ol). Bombykal stimulates its own specialized and highly sensitive olfactory cells of the male moth. Surprisingly, the aldehyde inhibits the release of the male's wing-fluttering response to bombykol.     

Classification of local- and landscape-scale ecological types in the southern Appalachian Mountains

Five local ecological types based on vegetative communities and two landscape types based on groups of communities, were identified by integrating landform, soil, and vegetation components using multivariate techniques. Elevation and several topographic and soil variables were highly correlated with types of both scales. Landscape ecological types based only on landform and soil variables without vegetation did not correspond with types developed using vegetation. Models developed from these relationships could allow classification and mapping of extensive areas using geographic information systems.     

Fluxes and pools of methane in wetland rice soils with varying organic inputs

Measurements of methane emission rates and concentrations in the soil were made during four growing seasons at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, on plots receiving different levels of organic input. Fluxes were measured using the automated closed chambers system (total emission) and small chambers installed between plants (water surface flux). Concentrations of methane in the soil were measured by collecting soil cores including the gas phase (soil-entrapped methane) and by sampling soil solution in situ (dissolved methane). There was much variability between seasons, but total fluxes from plots receiving high organic inputs (16–24 g CH₄ m^–2) always exceeded those from the low input plots (3–9 g CH₄ m^–2). The fraction of the total emission emerging from the surface water (presumably dominated by ebullition) was greater during the first part of the season, and greater from the high organic input plots (35–62%) than from the low input plots (15–23%). Concentrations of dissolved and entrapped methane in the low organic input plots increased gradually throughout the season; in the high input plots there was an early-season peak which was also seen in emissions. On both treatments, periods of high methane concentrations in the soil coincided with high rates of water surface flux whereas low concentrations of methane were generally associated with low flux rates.