Strength and workability of masonry mortars manufactured with ladle furnace slag

Ladle furnace basic slag (LFS) is a by-product of the steelmaking process. It has rarely been recovered in the past and is usually disposed of in landfill sites. Despite containing stable chemical substances of great quality, some of which are potentially hydraulic, its practical applications have been limited. This paper discusses the attractive option of using LFS in the manufacture of masonry mortars for use in the construction industry, which requires an analysis of the principal characteristics of such mortars, i.e. workability and mechanical strength. It reports on a comparative study, using standard commercial admixtures, between conventional masonry mortars and mortars manufactured with LFS as a partial replacement for sand and cement, the results of which imply considerable economic savings in sand and cement, improvements in the properties of the mortars and in overall sustainability, by avoiding disposal and conserving natural resources.     

Modeling the mobility of glyphosate from two contrasting agricultural soils in laboratory column experiments

The method of single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) was modified in our laboratories for the characterization of baculoviruses, insect viruses with great potential for use as bioinsecticides in biological protection programs. A series of primers were synthesized after the comparison of the polyhedrin gene sequences of over 20 baculoviruses. Polyhedrin is a highly conserved protein which is responsible for the persistence of the virus in the environment. Universal primers were designed which could be used in polymerase chain reactions (PCR) containing genomic DNA from an array of nucleopolyhedrosis viruses (NPVs) including these which are used as biopesticides against important pests of forests and crops, such as Anticarsia gemmatalis, Spodoptera frugiperda, Lymantria dispar, Lymantria monacha and many others. PCR products were denatured and subjected to single-strand DNA electrophoresis at variable temperatures (MSSCP) where, after silver staining, they gave ssDNA band patterns characteristic for each baculovirus species. This technique can be potentially applied to detect baculoviruses in insects collected in the field, as well as to plant tissues and the excrements or bodies of predators without need for sequencing the PCR products. Sometimes MSSCP can be used not only for species determination but also as an indication of genomic variability which can be related to infectivity.     

Using of high-resolution topsoil magnetic screening for assessment of dust deposition: comparison of forest and arable soil datasets

Magnetic susceptibility (κ) is an easily detectable geophysical parameter that can be used as a proxy or semi-quantitative tracer of atmospheric industrial and urban dusts deposited in topsoil. An enhanced κ value of topsoil is in many cases also associated with high concentrations of soil pollutants (mostly heavy metals). High-resolution magnetic screening of topsoil in areas of high pollution influx is a useful tool for detection of pollution “hot spots”. General and regional screening maps with a grid density of 10 or 5 km have been performed on the basis of forest topsoil measurement only. The purpose of this study was to perform high-resolution magnetic screening with different grid densities in both forested and agricultural areas (arable land). Our large study area (ca. 200 km²) was located in a relatively more polluted region of the central part of Upper Silesia, and a second (small) one (ca. 100 m²) was located in the western part of Upper Silesia, with considerably lower influx of pollution. In the framework of this study, we applied a statistical comparison of data obtained in forested areas and on arable land. The arable soil showed statistically significantly lower κ values, the result of “physical dilution” of the arable layer caused by annual ploughing. Thus arable soils must be avoided during high-resolution field measurement. From semivariograms, it was clear that the spatial correlations in forest topsoil are much stronger than in arable soil, which suggests that a denser measurement grid is required in forested areas.     

南京市江北工业区降水酸性及化学成分分析

于2005年9月─2006年8月在南京市江北地区南京信息工程大学校园内采集降水样品共59个,测定pH和电导率,用离子色谱仪检测样品的阴、阳离子浓度.结果表明:pH为4.17～8.34,酸雨频率为49.2%,电导率为1.1～42.5 mS/m;阴离子为F-,Cl-,NO₂-和NO₃-,SO₄2-,阳离子为Na+,K+,Mg2+,Ca2+和NH₄+;主要阴、阳离子分别为SO₄2-,NO₃-, NH₄+和Ca2+,并存在季节性变化.ρ(SO₄2-)/ρ(NO₃-)的年均值为4.21,表明酸雨仍为硫酸型.南京市工业区的大气污染物主要是燃煤过程中排放的SO₂等气体.      

喜马拉雅东段错那地区雪中主要离子年际变化及来源分析

雪中阴阳离子化学记录可以提供关于大气环流、气候和环境变化的信息,喜马拉雅山因其独特的位置和丰富的冰川资源成为研究雪化学的重要地区。本论文基于两个年度(2018年2～3月和2018年12月～2019年1月)在喜马拉雅东段错那地区采集的新雪样品,对雪中主要离子的组成和浓度特征的年际变化进行分析,并结合相关分析法、海盐示踪法和气团后向轨迹法对其来源进行研究。结果表明,错那地区两年度雪中主要阳离子均为Ca²⁺,主要阴离子均为SO^2-₄。受2019年强降雪清除作用的影响,2019年度各离子的浓度明显低于2018年度。错那地区雪中Ca²⁺的含量明显高于喜马拉雅山其他研究区域,可能是由于其海拔较低,受近源陆地粉尘影响较大。离子来源分析结果表明,错那地区雪中离子以局地陆源物质输入为主,部分来源于海洋源(Cl^-、Na⁺)、盐湖矿物风化(Cl^-、Na⁺、K⁺和SO^2-₄)以及人为源(NH⁺₄、NO^-₃、SO^2-₄)。本文可为错那地区生态建设管理及喜马拉雅地区的雪化学和大气环流特征研究提供参考。     

MapBasic在震害评估应用中的一个问题

利用MapBasic编制震害评估软件时 ,无现成的工具直接绘制出长短轴不平行 (或不垂直 )于经纬度线的等烈度线。本文提出了一个通过椭圆旋转绘制出所要求的等烈度线椭圆的方法。