The hidden costs of relocating sand and gravel mines

Mining of construction aggregate is often unwelcome near communities because of its disamenities or because it can destroy prime farmland and displace other desirable land uses. Such conflicts have led to prohibitions against mining near cities or on high-value farmland, causing these operations to be relocated to more distant locations. The cost of this relocation may go unnoticed if they are indirect, diffused and rise gradually over time, but they may be significant due to the high transportation cost of moving these materials long distances.     

VTB-Based Design of a Standalone Photovoltaic Power System

Abstract

Design and prototyping of a standalone photovoltaic power generation system using the Virtual Test Bed software environment is presented. The design includes establishing physics-based models for components, prototyping system architectures, implementing control algorithms, testing and evaluating the system performance using the actual weather data at a particular geographical location. The dynamic performance of the photovoltaic power system and its components are revealed in great details through the system level simulation. This knowledge is used for verification and improvements of the system design in order to achieve the best system power capability, efficiency and size.     

Dispersal and persistence of genetically modified oilseed rape around Japanese harbors

Background, aim, and scope

The possibility of gene transfer from genetically modified oilseed rape (OSR) to its cultivated or wild relatives is of concern since its commercial cultivation, because of its potential weediness and impact on the environment. Introgression of modified genes can affect conservation of agricultural crops, because there are many cultivars and wild Brassicaceae that may cross with genetically modified OSR (Brassica napus) in Japan. Japan imports more than 2 million tons of OSR a year from Canada and other countries. Since volunteers of GM OSR were found around harbors in 2004, a lot of feral GM OSR was discovered in Japan. To consider the way how to keep domestic Brassicaceae from GM contamination, we surveyed and analyzed the dispersal and persistence of GM OSR around Japanese harbors. We present the cause and abundance of GM OSR in Japan by this paper.

Materials and methods

Survey of the feral OSR was performed several times a year at different seasons when domestic OSR either grows or does not around port areas. Detection of herbicide tolerance in feral B. napus was done by test papers that cross react with the modified gene product. Two kinds of herbicide tolerance (glyphosate and glufosinate) were tested.

Results

The feral B. napus were discovered around all 13 harbors that import rapeseeds from foreign countries. Genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant OSR were frequently found in the surveyed populations. Two kinds of herbicide-tolerant OSR (glyphosate- and glufosinate-tolerant) were discovered in a natural condition 40 km from port to an oil factory where 60,000 tons of OSR seed are processed a year. The cause of voluntary growth of OSR is seed spillage during transportation by trucks from harbors to oil factories and other processing facilities. Some of the feral OSR growing along the roadsides of transport paths exhibited perennial growth spilling their seeds around the places. Alteration of the generation of feral GM OSR was discovered for the first time in Japan as a result of this study. We studied the yearly change of feral OSR abundances focusing on Yokkaichi port over the 4 years since 2004. The rate of GM OSR increases year to year, and reaches nearly 90% in 2008.

Discussion

The possibility and consequences of gene transfer from the genetically modified OSR to domestic species (B. rapa and B. juncea) were discussed in relation to impact on domestic agriculture and on environments. Evolutional meaning of the gene transfer was also discussed with respect to the gene construct of GM OSR. This study shows the importance of another pathway of modified gene transfer to non-GM relative species by seed transportation in addition to pollen transfer from commercial cultivation of genetically modified OSR.

Conclusions and recommendations

We identified unintended dispersal and persistence of GM OSR around Japanese harbors that import OSR from Canada and other countries. Both glyphosate- and glufosinate-tolerant feral B. napus were discovered. The cause of volunteer OSR is spillage of the seeds during transportation by truck to oil factory. The feral GM OSR sometimes showed perennial growth in Japanese phonological conditions which are not observed for domestic Brassicaceae. In addition, we confirmed an alteration of generations by feral GM OSR in Japan. The possibility of cross pollination and GM gene introgression to domestic varieties can occur in these environments. To improve the situation, each responsible organization, company, administration, or government should establish measures how to stop the dispersal and persistence of GM OSR in nature. Also, the GM plant developers are responsible for revising this situation.     

Implicit beliefs about self and nature: Evidence from an IAT game

Recent psychological research has examined the beliefs that individuals hold about their relationship with the natural world. This article builds on the previous literature on connectedness with nature and we introduce a new game version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT), known as FlexiTwins. The game is intended to facilitate research using the IAT and provides a flexible platform for measuring implicit associations. In this paper, we report three studies in which we use the game to measure self-nature associations. Study 1 reports the development and validation of FlexiTwins with a college sample. Study 2 further validates the game using a known-groups sample of environmental activists. Finally, Study 3 examines the implicit connectedness of a sample of 30 grade school children. Across all three studies, we find good evidence for reliability, as well as theoretically meaningful results.     

交通建设环评中生物量影响评价指标探讨

随着公路铁路等交通项目的建设,其面临的生态环境压力日益增大,周边地区生物量发生很大变化。本文针对交通建设活动对生物量的影响问题,研究提出一种基于土地利用类型变化的交通建设项目前后生物量变化的评价指标和评价标准,并采用京沪铁路电气化北京-济南段实际工程建设进行实例应用。     

Development and pilot testing of an assessment battery for older drivers

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the study reported here was to develop and pilot test a comprehensive battery of assessment instruments for older drivers that would be inexpensive and easy to administer so that it could be used in longitudinal studies. METHOD: The resulting battery was developed by selecting a set of validated assessment instruments and combining them into a package, with a total acquisition cost of less than $900. As part of this battery, three questionnaires were developed utilizing items from established questionnaires with minor modifications. The battery was pilot tested with a convenience sample of 38 drivers aged 65 years or older. RESULTS: Results showed that the entire battery required less than one hour to complete. Data from the assessment outcomes fell within normative ranges. Feedback from subjects indicated that the battery was acceptable, free of problems, presented tasks in a good order, and was not too long. CONCLUSIONS: Based on study findings, the assessment battery appeared to be low-cost, transportable, easy to administer, easy for subjects to complete, provides a comprehensive assessment of a person's physical health, mental health, and driving behaviors, and would serve as a valuable data collection tool for a longitudinal study of older drivers. Such a longitudinal study is needed in order to answer some of the most important questions about older driver safety and mobility.     

A review on hybrid mixture explosions: Safety parameters,explosion regimes and criteria,flame characteristics

The hybrid mixture of combustible dusts and flammable gases/vapours widely exist in various industries, including mining, petrochemical, metallurgical, textile and pharmaceutical. It may pose a higher explosion risk than gas/vapor or dust/mist explosions since the hybrid explosions can still be initiated even though both the gas and the dust concentration are lower than their lower explosion limit (LEL) values. Understanding the explosion threat of hybrid mixtures not only contributes to the inherent safety and sustainability of industrial process design, but promotes the efficiency of loss prevention and mitigation. To date, however, there is no test standard with reliable explosion criteria available to determine the safety parameters of all types of hybrid mixture explosions, nor the flame propagation and quenching mechanism or theoretical explanation behind these parameters. This review presents a state-of-the-art overview of the comprehensive understanding of hybrid mixture explosions mainly in an experimental study level; thereby, the main limitations and challenges to be faced are explored. The discussed main contents include the experimental measurement for the safety parameters of hybrid mixtures (i.e., explosion sensitivity and severity parameters) via typical test apparatuses, explosion regime and criterion of hybrid mixtures, the detailed flame propagation/quenching characteristics behind the explosion severities/sensitivities of hybrid mixtures. This work aims to summarize the essential basics of experimental studies, and to provide the perspectives based on the current research gaps to understand the explosion hazards of hybrid mixtures in-depth.     

不同区域城市排水系统中H2S的溢出规律

通过对广州、兰州和昆明等城市排水系统中H2S的溢出浓度、管网参数与水质指标等进行实地监测,考察不同区域城市排水系统中H2S溢出规律.结果表明,不同城市排水系统中H2S的溢出浓度与当地居民生活习惯相关,并具有明显的时段特征;在相同监测时段内,不同区域H2S溢出浓度与溶解氧浓度(DO)、有机物浓度、硫化物浓度、硫酸盐浓度以及污水流量有关.单样本K-S检验结果表明,不同区域城市排水系统H2S的溢出浓度具有相同分布规律,均近似服从正态分布.独立样本t检验结果表明,广州与兰州H2S的溢出浓度没有显著差异,但与昆明的H2S溢出浓度则具有显著差异.     

平原感潮河网地区不同土地利用下营养盐迁移特征

分别在南通平原河网地区选择典型非圩区开展野外原位试验,用野外观测和室内分析相结合的方法,研究平原非圩区典型试验小区不同土地利用下营养盐在自然降雨—径流驱动下迁移的时空分布特征.结果表明,导致营养盐迁移时空分布存在显著差异的主要原因为不同的土地利用类型、施肥条件及植被覆盖度等,不同土地利用下的径流量差异是导致营养盐迁移通...     

燃煤电厂烟气中铅的测定方法初探

采用过滤法与吸收法联用的采样方法,测定燃煤电厂烟气中Pb,并通过试验考察4种不同的吸收液和4种不同采样流量对测定的影响。结果表明:0.1 mol/L HNO_3、体积分数为5%的HNO_3+10%的H_2O_2和体积分数为1.6%的HNO_3+2.5%的HCl 3种吸收液均对Pb起到良好的捕集作用,且测定结果相近。采样流量控制在20 L/min吸收效果最好。