Inexact fuzzy-stochastic constraint-softened programming – A case study for waste management

In this study, an inexact fuzzy-stochastic constraint-softened programming method is developed for municipal solid waste (MSW) management under uncertainty. The developed method can deal with multiple uncertainties presented in terms of fuzzy sets, interval values and random variables. Moreover, a number of violation levels for the system constraints are allowed. This is realized through introduction of violation variables to soften system constraints, such that the model’s decision space can be expanded under demanding conditions. This can help generate a range of decision alternatives under various conditions, allowing in-depth analyses of tradeoffs among economic objective, satisfaction degree, and constraint-violation risk. The developed method is applied to a case study of planning a MSW management system. The uncertain and dynamic information can be incorporated within a multi-layer scenario tree; revised decisions are permitted in each time period based on the realized values of uncertain events. Solutions associated with different satisfaction degree levels have been generated, corresponding to different constraint-violation risks. They are useful for supporting decisions of waste flow allocation and system-capacity expansion within a multistage context.     

Anaerobic biodegradation of cellulosic material: Batch experiments and modelling based on isotopic data and focusing on aceticlastic and non-aceticlastic methanogenesis

Utilizing stable carbon isotope data to account for aceticlastic and non-aceticlastic pathways of methane generation, a model was created to describe laboratory batch anaerobic decomposition of cellulosic materials (office paper and cardboard). The total organic and inorganic carbon concentrations, methane production volume, and methane and CO₂ partial pressure values were used for the model calibration and validation. According to the fluorescent in situ hybridization observations, three groups of methanogens including strictly hydrogenotrophic methanogens, strictly aceticlastic methanogens (Methanosaeta sp.) and Methanosarcina sp., consuming both acetate and H₂/H₂CO₃ as well as acetate-oxidizing syntrophs, were considered. It was shown that temporary inhibition of aceticlastic methanogens by non-ionized volatile fatty acids or acidic pH was responsible for two-step methane production from office paper at 35 °C where during the first and second steps methane was generated mostly from H₂/H₂CO₃ and acetate, respectively. Water saturated and unsaturated cases were tested. According to the model, at the intermediate moisture (150%), much lower methane production occurred because of full-time inhibition of aceticlastic methanogens. At the lowest moisture, methane production was very low because most likely hydrolysis was seriously inhibited. Simulations showed that during cardboard and office paper biodegradation at 55 °C, non-aceticlastic syntrophic oxidation by acetate-oxidizing syntrophs and hydrogenotrophic methanogens were the dominant methanogenic pathways.     

浅论健美操教学方法

随着人民群众生活水平的不断提高,健美操运动越来越受到广大青少年的喜欢,现已成为各大中专院校的一项重要教学内容,通过多年的教学实践,对当前健美操教学中常用的教学方法进行全面综合、比较与分析,提出8种行之有效的教学方法,以期与各位同仁共同提高健美操教学质量,使健美操这一优秀的健身方法成为全民健身的重要形式和手段。     

W_q方法及σ_H方法在华东地区中强震预报中的应用

应用两种描述地震活动平静的特征参数Wq 和σH 对华东地区 1972年以来ML≥ 2 .3地震进行时空扫描。结果表明 :Wq 在华东地区大多数M >5地震之前均出现 1年左右或稍长时间的平静异常 ,震中一般在平静异常区的边缘或内部。对Wq 空间异常区σH 的时间扫描在某些地区也能够较好地显示1年左右的平静异常。这可能说明了地震活动平静也是中强地震的一种中短期预报指标     

Inhibition of microbial activity of activated sludge by ammonia in leachate

Leachate samples were collected from the West New Territory Landfill (WENT), Hong Kong, and characterized in the laboratory. The analytical results confirmed that it has a typical nature of aged leachate with a low BOD₅/COD ratio of 0.22 and a high strength of ammonia-nitrogen around 5 g/L. A lab-scale study was conducted to investigate the inhibition of microbial activity of the activated sludge. In the first test, glucose-based synthetic wastewater was used in two parallel reactors. The experimental results demonstrated that COD removal declined from 95.1 to 79.1% and the dehydrogenase activity of the sludge decreased from 11.04 to 4.22 μg TF/mg mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS), when the ammonia-nitrogen concentration increased from 50 mg/L to 800 mg/L progressively. The remaining NH₃⁺-N residue in the treated wastewater increased from 0.58 mg/L to 649 mg/L extensively. In the second test, mixed wastewater samples containing glucose and raw leachate were fed into six parallel biological reactors and operated on batch mode. The experimental results showed COD removal decreased from 97.7 to 78.1% and the dehydrogenase activity decreased from 9.29 to 4.93 μg triphenyl formazon (TF)/mg MLSS, respectively, when the ammonia-nitrogen concentration increased within the same range. Microbial inhibition could also be substantiated by a decrease of specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) from 68 to 45 mg O₂/g MLSS. These results suggested leachate containing high-strength ammonia-nitrogen should be pretreated to an acceptable NH₄⁺-N level before it is fed into biological reactors.     

Will Limits of the Earth's Resources Control Human Numbers?

The current world population is 6 billion people. Even if we adopted a worldwide policy resulting in only 2.1 children born per couple, more than 60 years would pass before the world population stabilized at approximately 12 billion. The reason stabilization would take more than 60 years is the population momentum – the young age distribution – of the world population. Natural resources are already severely limited, and there is emerging evidence that natural forces already starting to control human population numbers through malnutrition and other severe diseases. At present, more than 3 billion people worldwide are malnourished; grain production per capita has been declining since 1983; irrigation per capita has declined 12% during the past decade; cropland per capita has declined 20% during the past decade; fish production per capita has declined 7% during the past decade; per capita fertilizer supplies essential for food production have declined 23% during the past decade; loss of food to pests has not decreased below 50% since 1990; and pollution of water, air, and land has increased, resulting in a rapid increase in the number of humans suffering from serious, pollution-related diseases. Clearly, human numbers cannot continue to increase.     

Gap junctions in freeze-fractured membranes of the arachnoid mater

The Science of Nature -     

Tree Leaf Biomarkers for Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on tree N cycling and identify potential biomarkers forNdeposition. Between April and October 2002 extensive fieldwork was undertaken at Mardley Heath in Hertfordshire. This woodland, located adjacent to the A1(M) motorway, is exposed to high levels of atmospheric nitrogen oxides from the traffic. Measurements of ¹⁵N, in vivo nitrate reductase (NR) activity, tissue, xylem and surface nitrate concentrations as well as N concentration and growth were made along a 700-m transect at 90° to the motorway. The ¹⁵N data show that oxidised N from the road traffic is taken up by nearby trees and is incorporated into plant tissues. Our measurements of NR activities suggest elevated rates close to the motorway. However, xylem sap, leaf tissue and leaf surface nitrate concentrations showed no differences between the roadside location and the most distant sampling point from the motorway. Taken together the ¹⁵N and nitrate reductase data suggest uptake and assimilation of N through the foliage.We conclude that for this lowland deciduouswoodland, tissue, xylem and surface measurements of nitrate are unreliable biomarkers for N deposition whereas ¹⁵N, growth measurements and integrated seasonal NR might be useful. The results also point to the benefit of roadside tree planting to screen pollution from motor vehicles.     

Simulating interactive effects of symbiotic nitrogen fixation, carbon dioxide elevation, and climatic change on legume growth

The underlying mechanisms of interaction between the symbiotic nitrogen-fixation process and main physiological processes, such as assimilation, nutrient allocation, and structural growth, as well as effects of nitrogen fixation on plant responses to global change, are important and still open to more investigation. Appropriate models have not been adequately developed. A dynamic ecophysiological model was developed in this study for a legume plant [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] growing in northern China. The model synthesized symbiotic nitrogen fixation and the main physiological processes under variable atmospheric CO2 concentration and climatic conditions, and emphasized the interactive effects of these processes on seasonal biomass dynamics of the plant. Experimental measurements of ecophysiological quantities obtained in a CO2 enrichment experiment on soybean plants, were used to parameterize and validate the model. The results indicated that the model simulated the experiments with reasonable accuracy. The R2 values between simulations and observations are 0.94, 0.95, and 0.86 for total biomass, green biomass, and nodule biomass, respectively. The simulations for various combinations of atmospheric CO2 concentration, precipitation, and temperature, with or without nitrogen fixation, showed that increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration, precipitation, and efficiency of nitrogen fixation all have positive effects on biomass accumulation. On the other hand, an increased temperature induced lower rates of biomass accumulation under semi-arid conditions. In general, factors with positive effects on plant growth tended to promote each other in the simulation range, except the relationship between CO2 concentration and climatic factors. Because of the enhanced water use efficiency with a higher CO2 concentration, more significant effects of CO2 concentration were associated with a worse (dryer and warmer in this study) climate.