The dependence of the beta coefficient of REA system with dynamic deadband on atmospheric conditions

We simulated the REA system with dynamic deadband to study numerical value and the effect of atmospheric conditions on the empirical constant beta which relates vertical flux to concentration difference between updrafts and downdrafts. We found that the value of beta depends only weakly on the friction velocity and atmospheric stability. In agreement with previous studies, the median value obtained for a system with dynamic deadband proportional to 0.5 times the running mean of the standard deviation of vertical wind speed was beta=0.42+/-0.03. For a single half-hour measurement one has to consider the large uncertainty of +/-0.2. According to our study, the dynamic deadband enables the use of a constant value of beta in flux calculation.     

A multivariate analysis of beta diversity across organisms and environments

We examined variability in hierarchical beta diversity across ecosystems, geographical gradients, and organism groups using multivariate spatial mixed modeling analysis of two independent data sets. The larger data set comprised reported ratios of regional species richness (RSR) to local species richness (LSR) and the second data set consisted of RSR:LSR ratios derived from nested species-area relationships. There was a negative, albeit relatively weak, relationship between beta diversity and latitude. We found only relatively subtle differences in beta diversity among the realms, yet beta diversity was lower in marine systems than in terrestrial or freshwater realms. Beta diversity varied significantly among organisms' major characteristics such as body mass, trophic position, and dispersal type in the larger data set. Organisms that disperse via seeds had highest beta diversity, and passively dispersed organisms showed the lowest beta diversity. Furthermore, autotrophs had lower beta diversity than organisms higher up the food web; omnivores and carnivores had consistently higher beta diversity. This is evidence that beta diversity is simultaneously controlled by extrinsic factors related to geography and environment, and by intrinsic factors related to organism characteristics.     

Mass,energy and material balances of SRF production process. Part 1: SRF produced from commercial and industrial waste

This paper presents the mass, energy and material balances of a solid recovered fuel (SRF) production process. The SRF is produced from commercial and industrial waste (C&IW) through mechanical treatment (MT). In this work various streams of material produced in SRF production process are analyzed for their proximate and ultimate analysis. Based on this analysis and composition of process streams their mass, energy and material balances are established for SRF production process. Here mass balance describes the overall mass flow of input waste material in the various output streams, whereas material balance describes the mass flow of components of input waste stream (such as paper and cardboard, wood, plastic (soft), plastic (hard), textile and rubber) in the various output streams of SRF production process. A commercial scale experimental campaign was conducted on an MT waste sorting plant to produce SRF from C&IW. All the process streams (input and output) produced in this MT plant were sampled and treated according to the CEN standard methods for SRF: EN 15442, EN 15443. The results from the mass balance of SRF production process showed that of the total input C&IW material to MT waste sorting plant, 62% was recovered in the form of SRF, 4% as ferrous metal, 1% as non-ferrous metal and 21% was sorted out as reject material, 11.6% as fine fraction, and 0.4% as heavy fraction. The energy flow balance in various process streams of this SRF production process showed that of the total input energy content of C&IW to MT plant, 75% energy was recovered in the form of SRF, 20% belonged to the reject material stream and rest 5% belonged with the streams of fine fraction and heavy fraction. In the material balances, mass fractions of plastic (soft), plastic (hard), paper and cardboard and wood recovered in the SRF stream were 88%, 70%, 72% and 60% respectively of their input masses to MT plant. A high mass fraction of plastic (PVC), rubber material and non-combustibles (such as stone/rock and glass particles), was found in the reject material stream.     

From Resistance to Resilience: Media Discourses on Urban Flood Governance in Mexico

This article examines the continuities and changes in newspaper coverage of urban flood governance in Tabasco, southeastern Mexico, where highly destructive floods have made flood risks a socially sensitive and politically contested public issue. The analysis draws upon post-Foucauldian critical discourse analysis, paying special attention to different actors’ discursive strategies to further their agendas amid the shifting forms of environmental governance. We argue that in recent years, discourses that promote integrated flood governance, based on cultural adaptation and social resilience instead of technological control, have become prominent in the media presentation of flood governance. These discourses endorse neoliberal views of flood governance as an issue of public–private co-governance and civil self-responsibility while being reluctant to consider flood risk from the perspective of the uneven distribution of vulnerabilities or as an issue of human rights.     

Pedestrian behavior and exit selection in evacuation of a corridor - An experimental study

In this paper, we present an experiment whose purpose was to study evacuees’ exit selection under different behavioral objectives. The experiment was conducted in a corridor with two exits located asymmetrically. This geometry was used to make most participants face a nontrivial decision on which exit to use. We analyze the behavior on a macroscopic level using statistical methods. Our results suggest that the members of an evacuating crowd may not be able to make optimal decisions when assessing the fastest exit to evacuate. In addition, the egress time of the whole crowd turns out to be shorter when the evacuees behave egoistically instead of behaving cooperatively. This is an interesting result because many studies on real emergencies show that evacuees tend to cooperate and act altruistically.     

All-in-one whole exome sequencing strategy with simultaneous copy number variant,single nucleotide variant and absence-of-heterozygosity analysis in fetuses with structural ultrasound anomalies: A 1-year experience

Objective

We performed a 1-year evaluation of a novel strategy of simultaneously analyzing single nucleotide variants (SNVs), copy number variants (CNVs) and copy-number-neutral Absence-of-Heterozygosity from Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) data for prenatal diagnosis of fetuses with ultrasound (US) anomalies and a non-causative QF-PCR result.

Methods

After invasive diagnostics, whole exome parent-offspring trio-sequencing with exome-wide CNV analysis was performed in pregnancies with fetal US anomalies and a non-causative QF-PCR result (WES-CNV). On request, additional SNV-analysis, restricted to (the) requested gene panel(s) only (with the option of whole exome SNV-analysis afterward) was performed simultaneously (WES-CNV/SNV) or as rapid SNV-re-analysis, following a normal CNV analysis.

Results

In total, 415 prenatal samples were included. Following a non-causative QF-PCR result, WES-CNV analysis was initially requested for 74.3% of the chorionic villus (CV) samples and 45% of the amniotic fluid (AF) samples. In case WES-CNV analysis did not reveal a causative aberration, SNV-re-analysis was requested in 41.7% of the CV samples and 17.5% of the AF samples. All initial analyses could be finished within 2 weeks after sampling. For SNV-re-analysis during pregnancy, turn-around-times (TATs) varied between one and 8 days.

Conclusion

We show a highly efficient all-in-one WES-based strategy, with short TATs, and the option of rapid SNV-re-analysis after a normal CNV result.     

波罗的海未来冰情的数值研究

全球气候变化被认为对波罗的海物理和生态特性有影响.通过全球海气循环模型(AOGCM)的结果统计或动态缩减规模法可以预测未来气候对某一地区的影响.本文用两种不同的波罗的海冰-海耦合模型来模拟现在和未来约100年的冰情.已使用大气气候模型进行了两次以10年为期限的模拟实验,一个实验说明了工业化前的气候状况l检验模拟).另一个是CO2这种温室气体浓度增加150%时的全球气候变暖实验(方案模拟).模型模拟真实地再现了当前气候学冰情和一年里的变化.两个模型模拟的波罗的海每年最大结冰范围是l80～420×10xkm2(检验模拟)和45～270×103km2(方案模拟).检验模拟和方案模拟中每年的最大冰厚分别是32～96cm和11～60cm.对比早期的预测,海冰仍是每年冬天在波的尼亚湾北部和芬兰湾最东部形成总之,两个模型模拟得到的量的变化--像结冰范围和冰厚及其一年里的变化等--相对相似,这是值得注意的.因为这两个冰-海耦合模拟系统是独立研制的.这增加了预测波罗的海未来冰情的可靠性.     

Sexual signalling and viability in a wolf spider (Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata): measurements under laboratory and field conditions

This study examined the crucial prediction of the conditional-handicap theory, the relationship between male sexual trait size and male viability, in the wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata. In this species, males court females by drumming dry leaves with their abdomen, and males with the highest drumming rate enjoy highest mating success. We determined male drumming rate, body mass, and mobility, which reflects mate-searching activity, in relation to male survival. Because it is often difficult to know how results obtained from laboratory studies reflect the natural world, particularly when the measured variable is survival, we repeated our study in both laboratory and field conditions. Males drumming at the highest rate survived better than males drumming at a lower rate in both laboratory and field conditions. These results are in accordance with the predictions of conditional-handicap models of sexual selection. Survival was independent of male body mass and there was no significant correlation between male drumming activity and body mass. However, large males moved further than smaller males, and males moving longer distances lost less mass than those moving shorter distances. These results suggest that, moving, and consequently mate-searching activity, may be a condition-dependent trait and that there may be a advantage for large males in mate searching. Received: 22 October 1998 / Received in revised form: 28 January 1999 / Accepted: 14 February 1999     

Effect of catchment land use and soil type on the concentration,quality, and bacterial degradation of riverine dissolved organic matter

We studied the effects of catchment characteristics (soil type and land use) on the concentration and quality of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in river water and on the bacterial degradation of terrestrial DOM. The share of organic soil was the strongest predictor of high concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus (DOC, DON, and DOP, respectively), and was linked to DOM quality. Soil type was more important than land use in determining the concentration and quality of riverine DOM. On average, 5–9 % of the DOC and 45 % of the DON were degraded by the bacterial communities within 2–3 months. Simultaneously, the proportion of humic-like compounds in the DOM pool increased. Bioavailable DON accounted for approximately one-third of the total bioavailable dissolved nitrogen, and thus, terrestrial DON can markedly contribute to the coastal plankton dynamics and support the heterotrophic food web.