A review of regulations and guidelines related to winter manure application

Winter manure application elevates nutrient losses and impairment of water quality as compared to manure applications in other seasons. In conjunction with reviewing global distribution of animal densities, we reviewed worldwide mandatory regulations and voluntary guidelines on efforts to reduce off-site nutrient losses associated with winter manure applications. Most of the developed countries implement regulations or guidelines to restrict winter manure application, which range from a regulative ban to guidelines based upon weather and field management conditions. In contrast, developing countries lack such official directives, despite an increasing animal production industry and concern over water quality. An analysis of five case studies reveals that directives are derived from a common rationale to reduce off-site manure nutrient losses, but they are also affected by local socio-economic and biophysical considerations. Successful programs combine site-specific management strategies along with expansion of manure storage to offer farmers greater flexibility in winter manure management.     

一种基于图像内容过滤的有线电视网信息审计系统

如何实现广播电视网节目内容的自动审计已成为目前广播电视网网络安全所面临的问题。笔者首先分析了目前有线电视网节目内容的审计,大多基于人工,不仅费时费力,且与先进的现代电视技术极不相匹配,接着对图像内容过滤的关键技术进行了分析,并用反差、能量、熵、相关4个特征量表示纹理特征,在此基础上用交互的动态规划法来进行图像对象分割然后利用相似度描述两个特征量的相似程度,最后以对黄色内容识别为实例,通过提取图像的纹理特征与定义好的特征库相匹配,监控包含不良人体图像信息的视频,实现对有线电视网节目内容的自动审计。     

Gender in the boss–subordinate relationship: a Nigerian study

The present study examines the interaction effect of gender of both subordinates and supervisors on subordinates' perception of differentiation of boss–subordinate relationship in an African setting. Data was collected from a total of 60 boss–subordinate dyads in four‐sex combinations obtained through a survey of a large five‐star hotel in Abuja, Nigeria. Results revealed that subordinates in opposite‐sex dyads perceived better quality of exchange than those in same‐sex dyads. The strongest quality of exchange was perceived in male boss–female subordinate dyad, while the weakest was perceived in female boss–female subordinate dyad. This emphasizes the importance of gender in the differentiation of boss–subordinate relationships in an African setting. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

裹包青贮提高玉米秸秆厌氧消化效率的实验研究

秸秆是重要的沼气工程原料,秸秆预处理对其后续厌氧消化效率影响巨大。采用田间裹包青贮方法,设计3因素正交实验,考察了秸秆含水率、压缩比和添加剂对玉米秸秆发酵时间和厌氧消化产沼气的影响。结果表明:秸秆经过裹包青贮,发酵总时间(total fermentation time,TFT)减少1~2 d,累积产气量达到总产气量的90%所用时间(TFT90%)减少了40%~50%,消化效率明显提高;秸秆含水率对产气效果有明显影响,随着含水率增加,单位总固体(total solid,TS)累计产气量(cumulative biogas yields per TS,CBYT)和沼气日产率(biogas yields rate average day,BYR)由高到低排序为:35%~40%,40%~45%,30%~35%;秸秆压缩比对产气效果有明显影响,随着压缩比的增加,其对CBY和BYR的效应由高到低排序为:185、143与138 kg/m3;添加剂类型对产气效果亦有明显影响,在不同添加剂处理下,其对CBYT和BYR的效应由高到低排序为:尿素处理>甲酸处理>无添加剂处理;正交实验极差分析表明,对CBYT和BYR的影响排序为:含水率﹥压缩比﹥添加剂,其田间裹包青贮进行厌氧发酵的优化组合为:青贮秸秆含水率为35%~40%,压缩比为185 kg/m3,添加剂为营养型,青贮20 d,CBYT和BYR达到最大,分别为646.57 mL/g和173.25 mL/(d·g)。     

Circumpolar status of Arctic ptarmigan: Population dynamics and trends

Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) and willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus) are Arctic birds with a circumpolar distribution but there is limited knowledge about their status and trends across their circumpolar distribution. Here, we compiled information from 90 ptarmigan study sites from 7 Arctic countries, where almost half of the sites are still monitored. Rock ptarmigan showed an overall negative trend on Iceland and Greenland, while Svalbard and Newfoundland had positive trends, and no significant trends in Alaska. For willow ptarmigan, there was a negative trend in mid-Sweden and eastern Russia, while northern Fennoscandia, North America and Newfoundland had no significant trends. Both species displayed some periods with population cycles (short 3–6 years and long 9–12 years), but cyclicity changed through time for both species. We propose that simple, cost-efficient systematic surveys that capture the main feature of ptarmigan population dynamics can form the basis for citizen science efforts in order to fill knowledge gaps for the many regions that lack systematic ptarmigan monitoring programs.

     

Pleasure in using adaptive cruise control: A questionnaire study in The Netherlands

Objective: Adaptive cruise control (ACC), a technology that allows for automated car following, is becoming increasingly prevalent. Previous surveys have shown that drivers generally regard ACC as pleasant but that they have to intervene when the ACC reaches its operational limits. The former research has been mostly concerned with specific car brands and does not fully reflect the diversity of ACC types in traffic today. The objective of the present research was to establish the determinants of pleasure in using ACC.

Methods: A 55-item online questionnaire was completed by Dutch users of diverse ACC systems.

Results: Respondents (N = 182) rated their ACC highly, with a mean score of 8.0 on a scale from 1 (extraordinarily negative) to 10 (extraordinarily positive) and were most pleased with ACC on high-speed roads and in low-density traffic. Moreover, the findings point to specific operational limits such as associated with cut-in situations. Pleasure was greater for the types of ACC that are able to decelerate to a full stop, according to 48% of our sample. An analysis of the free-response items indicated that respondents who were displeased with ACC mentioned its occasional clumsiness and the dangerous situations it may evoke, whereas those who were pleased with ACC valued the complementarity of human and machine and emphasized the roles of responsibility and experience in using ACC.

Conclusion: Pleasure in using ACC is a function of both technological advances and human factors.     

Filtration of Radioactive Aerosols By Glass Fibers

Abstract

An ozone (O₃) exposure assessment study was conducted in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the winter and summer of 1992. A new passive O₃ sampler developed by Harvard was used to measure indoor, outdoor, and personal O₃ concentrations. Measurements were taken weekly and daily during the winter and summer, respectively. Indoor samples were collected at a total of 50 homes and workplaces of study participants. Outdoor O₃ concentrations were measured both at home sites using the passive sampler and at 20 ambient monitoring sites with continuous monitors. Personal O₃ measurements were collected from 123 participants, who also completed detailed time-activity diaries. A total of 2,274 O₃ samples were collected. In addition, weekly air exchange rates of homes were measured.

This study demonstrates the performance of our O₃ sampler for exposure assessment. The data obtained are further used to examine the relationships between personal, indoor (home and workplace), and outdoor O₃ concentrations, and to investigate outdoor and indoor spatial variations in O₃ concentrations. Based on home outdoor and indoor, workplace, and ambient O₃ concentrations measured at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) sites, the traditional microenvironmental model predicts 72% of the variability in measured personal exposures. An alternative personal O₃ exposure model based on outdoor measurements and time-activity information is able to predict the mean personal exposures in a large population, with the highest R² value of 0.41.     

Desulfurization of Flue Gases in A Fluidized Bed of Modified Limestone

This publication concerns the dry removal of SO₂ from gases using limestone absorbents. It reports bench-scale experiments made with commercial samples of powdered limestone (CaCO₃) activated by addition of a cheap substance, namely CaCl₂. The absorption was carried out in a fluidized bed traversed by the flue gases, between 600° and 900° C. The degree and rate of transformation of CaCO₃ to CaSO₄ in the presence of SO₂ and air have been compared for unmodified and modified absorbents. Initial rates of reaction, and the variation of the rate of absorption with time have been measured. The influence of the SO₂ content of the gas has been assessed. At 700° C, the maximum degree of transformation of activated limestone to sulfate exceeds 90%, whereas untreated CaCO₃ transforms only to 16–20%. At the same temperature, more than 90% of SO₂ contained In a gas carrying 0.35% SO₂ is removed. Because of the much smaller quantity of solid absorbent required, dry absorption processes based on the modified absorbents might get renewed interest. The modified absorbents might also be used for in situ absorption in fluidized bed combustion, in which the temperatures are in the range studied in the present paper.