Local governance of greenhouse gas emissions from air travel

Global greenhouse gas emissions from air travel (GHG-A) are on the rise, and projections point towards a rapid growth in the coming decades. This study aims to examine how local government (cities), addresses GHG-A in their Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAP). To fulfil this aim, over 200 SEAPs were analysed focusing on three issues: (1) Treatment of GHG-A in local emissions inventories; (2) Policy initiatives within this domain; and (3) The cities’ perceptions of the conflicts of interests. Results showed that more than half of the cities acknowledge the challenge of GHG-A, around one third include GHG-A in their emissions inventories, and more than one quarter have initiated policy interventions. To categorise these interventions, we have added a mode ‘governing by agenda setting’ to an existing analytical framework, ‘Modes of governing’. With their authority limited to the local setting, this mode of governing is a common channel for cities to push changes at higher levels.     

The effect of clock-shift on the initial orientation of wild rock doves (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Columba l. livia</Emphasis>)

Previous experiments on wild rock doves ( Columba l. livia Gmelin) released within their familiar area revealed an evident effect of fast-shifting, although shifted doves, but not controls, tended to orient homeward. Such an outcome suggested a possible influence of the release time per se on the directional choices of the tested doves. In the present study, this hypothesis was investigated by comparing the orientation of slow-shifted birds to that of two control groups released at different times of the day. As would be expected if doves make use of a time-compensated sun compass, the bearings of shifted birds were deflected clockwise with respect to controls. The time of release itself seemed to influence only the scatter of the vanishing bearings of controls. These findings testify to the substantial similarity of clock-shift effects on the initial orientation of rock doves to those on homing pigeons released from familiar sites.     

Critical Steps for Continuing Advancement of Satellite Rainfall Applications for Surface Hydrology in the Nile River Basin1

Gebremichael, Mekonnen, Emmanouil N. Anagnostou, and Menberu M. Bitew, 2010. Critical Steps for Continuing Advancement of Satellite Rainfall Applications for Surface Hydrology in the Nile River Basin. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):361-366. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00428.x. Abstract: Given the increasingly higher resolution and data accessibility, satellite precipitation products could be useful for hydrological application in the Nile River Basin, which is characterized by lack of reasonably dense hydrological in situ sensors and lack of access to the existing dataset. However, in the absence of both extreme caution and research results for the Nile basin, the satellite rainfall (SR) products may not be used, or may even be used erroneously. We identify two steps that are critical to enhance the value of SR products for hydrological applications in the Nile basin. The first step is to establish representative validation sites in the Nile basin. The validation site will help to quantify the errors in the different kinds of SR products, which will be used to select the best products for the Nile basin, include the errors in decision making, and design strategies to minimize the errors. Using rainfall measurements collected from the unprecedented high-density rain gauge network over a small region within the Nile basin, we indicate that SR estimates could be subject to significant errors, and quantification of estimation errors by way of establishing validation sites is critically important in order to use the SR products. The second step is to identify the degree of hydrologic model complexity required to obtain more accurate hydrologic simulation results for the Nile basin when using SR products as input. The level of model complexity may depend on basin size and SR algorithm, and further research is needed to spell out this dependence for the Nile basin.     

Type 0092丝状菌污泥微膨胀在短程硝化中的实现

利用Type 0092丝状菌不易引发污泥恶性膨胀的特点,本实验采用实际生活污水,以SBR反应器接种短程硝化污泥,考察了短程硝化状态下启动Type 0092丝状菌污泥微膨胀的特性,研究了系统启动与维持期间的污泥沉降性能、亚硝酸盐积累率(NAR)、污染物去除特性以及污泥菌群结构变化情况.结果表明控制DO为0. 3～0. 8 mg·L~(-1),F/M(以COD/MLSS计)=0. 24 kg·(kg·d)~(-1),按照交替缺氧/好氧模式运行(单周期3次,缺氧∶好氧=20 min∶60 min),能够启动Type 0092丝状菌污泥微膨胀与短程硝化耦合,系统SVI值维持在180 m L·g~(-1)左右,NAR一直维持在99%左右,COD和TN去除率能够分别提高约13%和5%,相较于传统全程硝化非微膨胀状态曝气量能节省约62. 5%.当交替缺氧/好氧模式变为单周期交替6次,缺氧∶好氧=10 min∶30 min,亚硝酸盐氧化菌(NOB)的活性会恢复,使短程硝化被破坏;低溶解氧、交替缺氧/好氧、低负荷是实现Type 0092丝状菌污泥微膨胀的关键因素,当负荷(以COD/MLSS计)大于0. 25 kg·(kg·d)~(-1)时,仅靠低溶解氧和间歇曝气无法维持污泥微膨胀状态.     

基于宏基因组学探讨东平湖水库的菌群结构、耐药基因谱及其公共健康风险

水库中长时间滞留的水体会成为耐药基因的存储库,因此研究其菌群结构、耐药基因谱及其潜在的健康风险具有重要的公共卫生学意义.本研究以东平湖水库的水体和沉积物为研究对象,采用宏基因组测序技术,系统分析其在旱季和雨季中的菌群结构、耐药基因谱、耐药基因水平转移以及携带耐药基因的致病菌类型.结果表明,与水库沉积物相比,水体中的菌群...     

农地土壤重金属Pb和Cd有效性测定方法的筛选与评价

作物重金属累积主要受土壤中重金属有效性的制约,由于土壤种类和污染特征的差异,目前尚无公认的有效态测定方法.为筛选建立适宜土壤铅(Pb)和镉(Cd)有效性评价的方法,本文选择重庆市4种性质差异较大的典型农地土壤:酸性紫色土、中性紫色土、石灰性黄壤和钙质紫色土,系统比较了氯化钙(CaCl2)、醋酸铵(NH4OAc)、盐酸(...     

Warm forming die design,part I: Experimental validation of a novel thermal finite element modeling code

Finite element analysis (FEA) has become an invaluable tool in the design of sheet metal stamping dies and processes. FEA has gained widespread acceptance as the best method of optimizing dies for conventional stamping processes. More recently, FEA has been shown to be an effective method of designing tooling for sheet forming processes. In this work, an FEA based approach is applied to the warm stamping (warm forming) process. This work introduces a new thermal finite element analysis software called PASSAGE®/Forming (PASSAGE) that enables the up-front design of the thermal management of warm forming dies. This thermal finite element analysis software is designed to specifically handle the forming and optimization scenarios related to the heating of a stamping die while minimizing user interface time. In this work, PASSAGE has been applied to a simple block of steel embedded with cartridge heaters to validate the prediction capability of this software under two different heating conditions. The results show that PASSAGE is capable of predicting the actual steady-state temperature distribution within the block with an acceptable level of accuracy while yielding notable information to the user with respect to specifying power requirements. A finite element software package like PASSAGE is a valuable tool that will aid greatly in the implementation of warm forming as a manufacturing process beyond the scope of the laboratory and into production.     

Part based process performance monitoring (PbPPM)

The performances of completed manufacturing processes were evaluated using the surface response to excitation (SuRE) and Lamb wave methods. Both methods used the same piezoelectric elements attached to the surface of the workpiece. The SuRE method and the Lamb wave method were used to identify the structural changes created by welding, drilling, coating, filling a slot with glue, and composite patching. This study indicates that the tested methods are feasible for part based process performance monitoring (PbPPM) which evaluates the quality of the completed process with the sensors attached to the workpiece.     

Bechstein’s bats maintain individual social links despite a complete reorganisation of their colony structure

Several social mammals, including elephants and some primates, whales and bats, live in multilevel societies that form temporary subgroups. Despite these fission–fusion dynamics, group members often maintain long-term bonds. However, it is unclear whether such individual links and the resulting stable social subunits continue to exist after a complete reorganisation of a society, e.g. following a population crash. Here, we employed a weighted network analysis on 7,109 individual roosting records collected over 4 years in a wild Bechstein’s bat colony. We show that, in response to a strong population decline, the colony’s two stable social subunits fused into a non-modular social network. Nevertheless, in the first year after the crash, long-term bonds were still detectable, suggesting that the bats remembered previous individual relationships. Our findings are important for understanding the flexibility of animal societies in the face of dramatic changes and for the conservation of social mammals with declining populations.