The Role of Disaggregation of Asset Values in Flood Loss Estimation: A Comparison of Different Modeling Approaches at the Mulde River,Germany

In loss estimation there is a spatial mismatch of hazard data that are commonly modeled on an explicit raster level and exposure data that are often available only for aggregated administrative units. Usually disaggregation methods that use ancillary information to distribute lumped exposure data in a finer spatial resolution help to bridge this gap. However, the actual influence of different mapping techniques and ancillary data on the final loss estimation has not been analyzed yet. In this paper three methods are applied to disaggregate residential building assets using two kinds of land use/land cover (LULC) data. The resulting disaggregated assets are validated and compared using census data of the residential building number on the community and constituency level. In addition, the disaggregated assets are taken to estimate residential building losses due to the flood in August 2002 in 21 municipalities on the River Mulde in Saxony, Germany. Losses are calculated with the help of four loss models. In general, disaggregation helps to decrease the error variance within the loss estimation. It must, however, be stated that the application of sophisticated disaggregation methods does not lead to significant improvements compared to the straightforward binary method. Therefore more effort should instead be put into the provision of high-resolution LULC data. Finally, the remaining uncertainties in loss estimation are high and demand further improvements in all modeling aspects.     

Understanding Interaction Effects of Climate Change and Fire Management on Bird Distributions through Combined Process and Habitat Models

Abstract: Avian conservation efforts must account for changes in vegetation composition and structure associated with climate change. We modeled vegetation change and the probability of occurrence of birds to project changes in winter bird distributions associated with climate change and fire management in the northern Chihuahuan Desert (southwestern U.S.A.). We simulated vegetation change in a process‐based model (Landscape and Fire Simulator) in which anticipated climate change was associated with doubling of current atmospheric carbon dioxide over the next 50 years. We estimated the relative probability of bird occurrence on the basis of statistical models derived from field observations of birds and data on vegetation type, topography, and roads. We selected 3 focal species, Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata), Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), and Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus), that had a range of probabilities of occurrence for our study area. Our simulations projected increases in relative probability of bird occurrence in shrubland and decreases in grassland and Yucca spp. and ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) vegetation. Generally, the relative probability of occurrence of all 3 species was highest in shrubland because leaf‐area index values were lower in shrubland. This high probability of occurrence likely is related to the species’ use of open vegetation for foraging. Fire suppression had little effect on projected vegetation composition because as climate changed there was less fuel and burned area. Our results show that if future water limits on plant type are considered, models that incorporate spatial data may suggest how and where different species of birds may respond to vegetation changes.     

Removal of perfluorinated surfactants from wastewater by adsorption and ion exchange——Influence of material properties,sorption mechanism and modeling

Perfluorooctane sulfonate(PFOS) has attracted increasing concern in recent years due to its world-wide distribution, persistence, bioaccumulation and potential toxicity. The influence of sorbent properties on the adsorptive elimination of PFOS from wastewater by activated carbons, polymer adsorbents and anion exchange resins was investigated with regard to their isotherms and kinetics. The batch and column tests were combined with physicochemical characterization methods, e.g., N_2 physisorption, mercury porosimetry, infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, titrations, as well as modeling. Sorption kinetics was successfully modelled applying the linear driving force(LDF) approach for surface diffusion after introducing a load dependency of the mass transfer coefficient βs.The big difference in the initial mass transfer coefficient βs,0, when non-functionalized adsorbents and ion-exchange resins are compared, suggests that the presence of functional groups impedes the intraparticle mass transport. The more functional groups a resin possesses and the longer the alkyl moieties are the bigger is the decrease in sorption rate.But the selectivity for PFOS sorption is increasing when the character of the functional groups becomes more hydrophobic. Accordingly, ion exchange and hydrophobic interaction were found to be involved in the sorption processes on resins, while PFOS is only physisorptively bound to activated carbons and polymer adsorbents. In agreement with the different adsorption mechanisms, resins possess higher total sorption capacities than adsorbents. Hence, the latter ones are rendered more effective in PFOS elimination at concentrations in the low μg/L range, due to a less pronounced convex curvature of the sorption isotherm in this concentration range.     

城市大气中臭氧浓度控制的困难与挑战——以成都市为例

研究城市化、工业化和区域经济一体化进程的不断加快,对城市大气环境的影响是当前大气环境领域研究的热点问题。在此过程中,利用空气质量模型模拟系统研究大气环境污染问题成为大气环境研究中不可缺少的组成部分。在当前空气污染复杂的形势下,针对城市大气环境中臭氧的浓度尚未有效的控制措施。研究主要利用Models-3/CMAQ空气质量模式对成都市臭氧浓度数值通过不同的控制情景进行模拟,揭示城市大气中臭氧浓度控制的困难与挑战,并尝试性提出今后的研究方向,以期为控制城市大气中臭氧浓度提供建议。     

雷达海杂波统计特性建模研究

介绍了海杂波统计特性建模的幅度特性、多普勒谱及空间相关这三个方面的研究状况,对各种建模的思路和模型效果进行了对比总结。对于幅度均值已有多个较为成熟的模型,但适用范围不同,结果差异也很大。幅度分布建模重点解决拖尾问题,复合建模是趋势。除平均谱外,开始研究短时多普勒谱。空间相关性建模主要建立空间相关长度与雷达及海洋参数间的联系,但是研究还不够全面。总的来看,已由单纯经验建模发展为力图在机理研究指导下有一定物理意义的建模。尽管海杂波建模效果愈来愈接近实际,但建模依然存在诸多问题。     

Quantitative analysis of microbial biomass yield in aerobic bioreactor

We have studied the integrated model of reaction rate equations with thermal energy balance in aerobic bioreactor for food waste decomposition and showed that the integrated model has the capability both of monitoring microbial activity in real time and of analyzing biodegradation kinetics and thermal-hydrodynamic properties. On the other hand, concerning microbial metabolism, it was known that balancing catabolic reactions with anabolic reactions in terms of energy and electron flow provides stoichiometric metabolic reactions and enables the estimation of microbial biomass yield (stoichiometric reaction model). We have studied a method for estimating real-time microbial biomass yield in the bioreactor during food waste decomposition by combining the integrated model with the stoichiometric reaction model. As a result, it was found that the time course of microbial biomass yield in the bioreactor during decomposition can be evaluated using the operational data of the bioreactor (weight of input food waste and bed temperature) by the combined model. The combined model can be applied to manage a food waste decomposition not only for controlling system operation to keep microbial activity stable, but also for producing value–added products such as compost on optimum condition.     

电化学强化低能耗废水生物处理技术研究

以碳布为阴阳极材料构建一种新型的生物电化学系统（BES）,研究该系统在不曝气条件下对城市污水的处理效果,并与传统的厌氧和好氧处理方法进行比较。结果表明,该BES处理城市污水是可行的,与传统曝气法相比能够显著降低能耗。在进水CODcr,为350mg／L、NH3-N为15mg／L、水力停留时间（HRT）为24h时,电化学强化生物处理系统对CODcr和NH3-N的去除率达84％和80％,优于同等条件下的厌氧、好氧生物处理方法。BES的输出电压最高为211mV。     

基于改进RPS的共因失效模型及在安全仪表系统中的应用研究

基于安全仪表系统共因失效机理的定性分析,在单一冲击下的RPS模型基础上,以泊松分布作为冲击的先验分布,建立了多冲击下考虑共因失效的安全仪表系统可靠性模型;采用基于专家经验和估计的方法,对模型参数进行估计;并通过定量分析确定出影响系统共因失效的最大冲击因子,为降低系统共因失效对可靠性的影响提供辅助决策支持。将改进的多冲击RPS模型的可靠性分析结果与β模型和PDS模型进行比较,验证了该模型的工程准确性。     

基于GIS的海洋底栖生物栖息密度空间插值方法

在地理信息系统即GIS的支持下,分别采用反距离加权(inverse distance weighted,IDW)、普通克里格(ordinary krig-ing,OK)、规则样条(regularize spline,RS)和张力样条(tension spline,TS)4种插值方法对2006年7月获得的大连湾底栖生物栖息密度的数据进行空间插值处理,并对插值结果的精确度进行交叉验证,分析和比较不同插值方法获得的分布图。结果表明,插值精确度普通克里格>反距离加权>张力样条>规则样条;4种方法均能较客观的模拟出底栖生物栖息密度的分布趋势,但是在整体趋势和局部趋势两方面的综合考虑下,普通克里格的表现效果更好。文章进一步指出,在确定站位数量及分布前提下,插值结果的精确度可以通过选择空间插值方法得以改善,但其根本还是取决于站位布置的数量和其分布合理性。     

The predictive validity of safety climate

PROBLEM: Safety professionals have increasingly turned their attention to social science for insight into the causation of industrial accidents. One social construct, safety climate, has been examined by several researchers [Cooper, M. D., & Phillips, R. A. (2004). Exploratory analysis of the safety climate and safety behavior relationship. Journal of Safety Research, 35(5), 497-512; Gillen, M., Baltz, D., Gassel, M., Kirsch, L., & Vacarro, D. (2002). Perceived safety climate, job Demands, and coworker support among union and nonunion injured construction workers. Journal of Safety Research, 33(1), 33-51; Neal, A., & Griffin, M. A. (2002). Safety climate and safety behaviour. Australian Journal of Management, 27, 66-76; Zohar, D. (2000). A group-level model of safety climate: Testing the effect of group climate on microaccidents in manufacturing jobs. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(4), 587-596; Zohar, D., & Luria, G. (2005). A multilevel model of safety climate: Cross-level relationships between organization and group-level climates. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(4), 616-628] who have documented its importance as a factor explaining the variation of safety-related outcomes (e.g., behavior, accidents). Researchers have developed instruments for measuring safety climate and have established some degree of psychometric reliability and validity. The problem, however, is that predictive validity has not been firmly established, which reduces the credibility of safety climate as a meaningful social construct. The research described in this article addresses this problem and provides additional support for safety climate as a viable construct and as a predictive indicator of safety-related outcomes. METHODS: This study used 292 employees at three locations of a heavy manufacturing organization to complete the 16 item Zohar Safety Climate Questionnaire (ZSCQ) [Zohar, D., & Luria, G. (2005). A multilevel model of safety climate: Cross-level relationships between organization and group-level climates. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(4), 616-628]. In addition, safety behavior and accident experience data were collected for 5 months following the survey and were statistically analyzed (structural equation modeling, confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, etc.) to identify correlations, associations, internal consistency, and factorial structures. RESULTS: Results revealed that the ZSCQ: (a) was psychometrically reliable and valid, (b) served as an effective predictor of safety-related outcomes (behavior and accident experience), and (c) could be trimmed to an 11 item survey with little loss of explanatory power. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Practitioners and researchers can use the ZSCQ with reasonable certainty of the questionnaire's reliability and validity. This provides a solid foundation for the development of meaningful organizational interventions and/or continued research into social factors affecting industrial accident experience.