Impact of excess and harmful radiation on energy budgets in scleractinian corals

Using dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory, this paper explores the potential of excess and harmful radiation, notably UV, to cause changes in performance and, ultimately, bleaching in scleractinian corals for a range of ambient nitrogen and (beneficial) photosynthetically active radiation levels. Two negative impacts of radiation are considered: a reduction in the capacity of the symbiont to generate energy through photosynthesis (defined in this paper as photoinhibition); an increase in the costs for the symbiont to remain viable due to repair of damage (defined in this paper as photodamage). Model predictions indicate that although both types of impact reduce the growth potential of host and symbiont, photoinhibition predominantly affects host features, except at very low ambient nitrogen levels, under which conditions the severity of nitrogen limitation is so strong that a reduction in photosynthetic rates due to photoinhibition has minimal impact. In steady state, photoinhibition leads to a reduction in host biomass, and an increase in symbiont density, implying that photoinhibition (as defined in this paper) is unlikely to cause bleaching. In contrast, the impact of photodamage is mostly affecting symbiont features, including a decline in symbiont density. Thus, photodamage may contribute to coral bleaching. Furthermore, the model predicts that, with both photoinhibition and photodamage, an increasing ratio of harmful to beneficial radiation accelerates the suppression of growth rates of symbiont and host, implying that coral health deteriorates progressively faster with increasing harmful radiation, such as UVb.     

Seismic risk assessment of storage tanks in Turkish industrial facilities

In 1999, two earthquakes in northwest Turkey caused heavy damage to a large number of industrial facilities. This region is the most industrialized in the country, and heavy damage has a significant economic influence. Industrial storage tanks, ruptured by earthquakes, exascerbate damage through the spread of fire. Storage tanks are uniquely structured, tall cylindrical vessels, some supported by relatively short reinforced concrete columns. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the earthquake performance of Turkish industrial facilities, especially storage tanks in terms of earthquake resistance. Modeling a typical storage tank of an industrial facility helps to understand the structure’s seismic response. A model tank structure was modelled as a solid with lumped mass and spring systems. Performance estimation was done with 40 different earthquake data through nonlinear time history analyses. After the time history analyses, fragility analyses produced probabilistic seismic assessment for the tank model. For the model structure, analysis results were evaluated and compared. In the study, vulnerability of storage tanks in Turkey was determined and the probabilistic risk was defined with the results of the analysis.     

A Markov model for assessing ecological stability properties

Ecological systems are frequently modeled as dynamic systems. It is natural then to use the techniques of dynamic systems theory to analyze such models. However, the methods and results that are produced by dynamic systems theory do not always capture the aspects of ecological systems that are of greatest interest to managers and decision-makers. We identify some of the challenges of using dynamic systems theory to explore ecological systems and propose an alternative approach that emphasizes the understanding of transient effects in light of uncertainty and variability. We illustrate this method by an examination of a model for phosphorus levels in fresh water lakes.     

Testing the Stochastic Dynamic Methodology (StDM) as a management tool in a shallow temperate estuary of south Europe (Mondego, Portugal)

A long-term monitoring program has been carried out since the early 1990s in the Mondego estuary, on Portugal's west coast, which is presently under heavy human pressure. In this shallow warm-temperate estuary, a significant macroalgal proliferation has been observed, which is a clear sign of nutrient enrichment. As a result of competition with algae, the extension of the seagrass meadows (mainly Zostera noltii) has been reduced. The present paper examined the applicability of a holistic Stochastic Dynamic Methodology (StDM) in predicting the tendencies of trophic key-components (macrophytes, macroalgae, benthic macroinvertebrate and wading birds) as a response to the changes in estuarine environmental conditions. The StDM is a sequential modelling process developed in order to predict the ecological status of changed ecosystems, from which management strategies can be designed. The data used in the dynamic model construction included true gradients of environmental changes and was sampled from January 1993 to September 1995 and from December 1998 to December 2005. The dynamic model developed was preceded by a conventional multivariate statistical procedure performed to discriminate the significant relationships between the selected ecological components. The model validation was based on independent data collected from January 1996 to January 1997 and from February 1999 to April 2000 for all the state variables considered. Overall, the simulation results are encouraging since they seem to demonstrate the StDM reliability in capturing the trophic dynamics of the studied estuary, by predicting the behavioural pattern for the most part of the components selected, with a focus on the Zostera noltii meadows recovery after the implementation of important management measures.     

Activity maintenance of the excised branches and a case study of NO2 exchange between the atmosphere and P. nigra branches

The efficient maintenance of the activity of excised branches is the powerful guarantee to accurately determine gas exchange flux between the detached branches of tall trees and the atmosphere. In this study, the net photosynthetic rate(NPR) of the excised branches and branches in situ were measured simultaneously by using two photosynthetic instruments to characterize the activity of the excised branches of Phyllostachys nigra. The ratio of normalized NPR of excised branches to NPR in situ was used to assess the photosynthetic activity of detached branches. Based on photosynthetic activity, an optimal hydroponics protocol for maintaining activity of excised P. nigra branches was presented:1/8 times the concentration of Gamborg B5 vitamin mixture with p H = 6. Under the best cultivation protocol, photosynthetic activity of excised P. nigra branches could be maintained more than 90% within 6 hr in the light intensity range of 200–2000 μmol/(m2·sec) and temperature range of 13.4–28.7°C. The nitrogen dioxide(NO2) flux differences between in situ and in vitro branches and the atmosphere were compared using double dynamic chambers.Based on the maintenance method of excised branches, the NO2 exchange flux between the excised P. nigra branches and the atmosphere(from-1.01 to-2.72 nmol/(m2·sec) was basically consistent with between the branches in situ and the atmosphere(from-1.12 to-3.16 nmol/(m2 sec)) within 6 hr. Therefore, this study provided a feasible protocol for in vitro measurement of gas exchange between tall trees and the atmosphere for a period of time.     

城市生活垃圾堆肥动态工艺 DANO 的研究

研究了DANO式动态堆肥工艺处理我国城市生活垃圾的主要参数。结果表明,对有机物含量为50％～60％的堆料,初步稳定化时间为3～4日,耗氧速率每分钟为0.1％～0.2％,温度高于50℃;达到完全稳定化,所需时间为14～15日,具体数值与堆料特性有关。有机物含量低于40％的堆料,则不宜以本工艺处理。     

吹扫捕集与色谱质谱联用测定水中挥发性有机物

采用吹扫描集与色谱质谱联用的对水中１９种挥发性有机物同时进行富集分离，定性和定量检测，结果表明，不同化合物的平均回收率大于９０％相对偏差小于５％，该方法的检测限约为０．１－０．４μ／Ｌ。实验证明吹扫描集与色谱质谱联用技术是快速测定水中挥发性有要峨的有效手段。     

基于DFTA的电梯制动器可靠性分析

电梯制动器是电梯最重要的安全部件之一,故研究其可靠性具有重要意义.首先分析了电梯制动器的故障机理并建立了动态故障树模型,其次利用二元决策图和马尔科夫方法对故障树进行了分析计算,得到了影响系统可靠性的相关指标以及制动器的薄弱环节,最后提出了改进措施和建议,为电梯制动器的设计、维修保养及检验提供了科学依据.     

门式起重机起升动载荷分析

以某工厂门式起重机为研究对象,利用轴套力建模法和编制相应CMD命令文件建立了钢丝绳模型,对部件添加材料属性,并对整机施加相应的约束、载荷和驱动,实现了门式起重机的虚拟样机建模.研究了不同的调速方法对起升动载荷的影响,采用联合仿真法对比分析了串电阻调速和变频调速法对动载荷的影响,为门式起重机的疲劳寿命研究提供数据支撑.     

集合卡曼滤波算法对FARSITE模型林火蔓延预测的修正效果研究

针对火源位置输入偏差导致的FARSITE林火行为模型火线预测不准确的问题,提出了一种基于集合卡曼滤波算法的动态修正方法。利用FARSITE对复杂工况下的林火蔓延过程进行数值模拟,以火线位置为待修正参量,以均方根误差(RMSE)为评价指标,对算法的可行性进行了验证,并研究了算法的集合元素个数,观测数据标准差及同化频率对FARSITE预测偏差的修正效果的影响。结果表明:算法能显著提高FARSITE火线预测精度;逐时同化时:集合元素个数为5 时,算法的修正效果并不理想,随着集合元素个数增大,样本误差减小,修正效果得到改善,但增大到30以上时, 修正能力的提升就不再明显;观测数据标准差大小与RMSE值呈正相关;给定条件下当同化频率由1 h/次降低至2 h/次,整个模拟时长内的误差仍能得到较好控制,RMSE曲线并不会过快增长。