A review of the military approach to urban environmental deterioration in Nigeria

The concern of this paper is a review of the urban environmental degradation and the current approach by the military (environmental task force) in solving the problem. It is based on the experience of a few states in Nigeria. The paper proposes a comprehensive urban planning approach which should be integrated with an awareness campaign.     

A pattern of contractor selection for oil and gas industries in a safety approach using ANP-DEMATEL in a Grey environment

Contractor selection is one of the major concerns of industry managers such as those in the oil industry. The objective of this study was to determine a contractor selection pattern for oil and gas industries in a safety approach. Assessment of contractors based on specific criteria and ultimately selecting an eligible contractor preserves the organizational resources. Due to the safety risks involved in the oil industry, one of the major criteria of contractor selection considered by managers today is safety. The results indicated that the most important safety criterion of contractor selection was safety records and safety investments. This represented the industry’s risks and the impact of safety training and investment on the performance of other sectors and the overall organization. The output of this model could be useful in the safety risk assessment process in the oil industry and other industries.     

基于F-R-M法的刚构-连续梁桥施工期结构强度风险分析

为了解决刚构-连续梁桥施工过程中的风险问题,提出了一种神经网络与有限元结合的定量风险分析方法（F-R-M法）。以八盘峡黄河特大桥为工程背景建立有限元模型,运用参数敏感性分析确定出最不利施工阶段的结构强度主要风险随机变量,然后以蒙特卡洛原理为基础,通过径向基（RBF）神经网络计算结构失效概率,最后对桥梁施工风险进行定量分析。结果表明:该桥在最大悬臂状态下,结构应力仿真次数超过 1 000 万次时,梁体在最大悬臂端应力失效概率仅约为 1.17×10-5,失效概率极低。基于参数敏感性的F-R-M法可以快速、较高精度地对高速铁路刚构-连续梁桥施工期结构强度风险进行定量分析。     

咪唑类离子液体捕集CO_2性能的定量结构-性质相关性(QSPR)研究

CO_2是主要的温室气体,大量CO_2的存在严重影响着人类的生存环境和生态平衡,而咪唑型离子液体具有独特的气体溶解性,在CO_2的捕集分离中有很好的应用前景。基于定量结构-性质相关性(QSPR)原理,研究了咪唑类离子液体捕集CO_2的性能与其结构参数之间的内在定量关系。应用遗传算法获得与捕集量最为密切相关的一组描述符作为输入参数,随后,分别采用多元线性回归算法及支持向量机结合粒子群优化算法建立了咪唑类离子液体捕集CO_2的性能与其描述符之间的线性和非线性模型。多元线性回归算法得出训练集和测试集的复相关系数分别为0.765和0.814,支持向量机算法得出训练集和测试集的复相关系数分别为0.987和0.933。对预测模型进行了评价验证以及稳定性分析,结果表明,2种模型具有良好的稳定性能和预测能力。     

Exploration of the key functional proteins from an efficient cellulolytic microbial consortium using dilution-to-extinction approach

In the present study, the cellulose binding proteins(CBPs) secreted by a putative cellulolytic microbial consortium were isolated and purified by affinity digestion. The purified CBPs were subsequently separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE). Using mass spectrometric analyses, eight CBPs were identified and annotated to be similar to known proteins secreted by Clostridium clariflavum DSM 19732 and Paenibacillus sp. W-61. In addition, in combination with dilution-to-extinction approach and zymogram analysis technique, CBPs 6(97 k Da) and 12(52 k Da) were confirmed to be the key functional proteins that influence cellulolytic activities. Moreover, structural domain analyses and enzymatic activity detection indicated that CBPs 6 and 12 contained glycoside hydrolase families(GH) 9 and 48 catalytic modules, which both revealed endoglucandase and xylanase activities. It was suggested that the coexistence of GH9 and GH48 catalytic domains present in these two proteins could synergistically promote the efficient degradation of cellulose.     

平朔露天煤矿排土场植被恢复树木短期死亡动态研究

以平朔露天煤矿排土场0.8 hm2刺槐+油松混交林复垦模式下固定监测样地为研究平台,以2010年和2015年两次调查数据为基础,分析了五年间样地内主要树种的短期死亡动态.结果表明:样地内所有树木总个体数由1026株减少到947株,死亡个体79株,占2010年总个体数的7.7%,刺槐和油松的平均胸径增量分别为1.44 cm和1.92 cm,样地内所有树木的胸高断面积增加2.3 m2·hm-2,中径级个体(7 cm相似文献   

A critical discussion of research on the social acceptance of renewable energy generation and associated infrastructures and an agenda for the future

Social sciences’ research on the social acceptance of renewable energy generation and associated technologies (RET), such as high voltage power lines, has been growing in the last decades. In fact, while RET are considered one of the main mitigation measures of climate change, opposition to their construction, and namely from the local communities living nearby, is often found. Important conceptual proposals have been made for a better understanding of opposition, however, this literature still presents some limitations. Here, I will discuss two of them: first, the main focus on the local and, with it, the lack of a relational and critical approach, which recognizes opposition and other types of responses to RET as public participation in RET-related issues; second, the focus on the individual and the consequent lack of examining people’s material practices and engagements.     

Bottom-up approach for downscaling CO2 emissions in Taiwan: robustness analysis and policy implications

The roles and responsibilities of cities in CO₂ mitigation have drawn increasing attention in recent years. To facilitate optimal design of effective mitigation policies, it is important for city authorities to understand the magnitudes and sources of their CO₂ emissions, and their relative shares of emissions at a higher spatial level. Although several studies estimate CO₂ emissions at the city level, the robustness of these estimates and their linkage to emissions at a higher level remains unclear. This kind of localized information on emissions is important for coordination of climate policies at different spatial scales. The study aims to fill a gap in understanding by building a systematic bottom-up approach for estimating urban CO₂ emissions and offering a consistency check with IPCC top–down estimates. Using Taiwan as a case study, we display the geographic distribution of CO₂ emissions. The significance and implications of the downscaling CO₂ emissions are indicated accordingly.     

Institutional quality effects on separate waste collection: some evidence from Italian provinces

Separate waste collection in Italy comes under the responsibility of local authorities, provinces, while national laws set quantitative targets to be achieved over time. Overall, just a few provinces have reached the thresholds set by the latest law (Legislative Decree 152/2006) and some territorial differentiation has been detected. The aim of this paper is twofold: to verify the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 in promoting higher levels of separate collection and to test whether institutional quality (considering the following indicators: voice and accountability, regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption) affects provinces’ efficiency in the separate collection process. For this purpose, we implement the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Results suggest that the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 has been affected by provinces’ institutional quality. In particular, the presence of institutional constraints did not allow the most virtuous provinces to achieve the targets set by law.     

Where to focus? Insights from safety personnel and external safety consultants on lessons learned about safety climate interventions – A qualitative approach

Introduction: Safety climate is important for promoting workplace safety and health. However, there is a dearth of empirical research on the effective ways of planning, designing, and implementing safety climate interventions, especially regarding what is going to be changed and improved. To address this gap, the present study sought to extract a comprehensive pool of compiled suggestions for safety climate intervention based on qualitative interviews with professionals in occupational safety and health management from potentially hazardous industries. Method: A series of systematic semi-structured interviews, guided by a comprehensive sociotechnical systems framework, were conducted with company safety personnel (n = 26) and external safety consultants (n = 15) of 21 companies from various industries. The taxonomy of five work system components of the sociotechnical systems approach served as overarching themes, representing different areas of improvement in an organization for occupational safety and health promotion, with an aim of enhancing safety climate. Results: Of the 36 codes identified, seven codes were based on the theme of external environment work system, four were based on the theme of internal environment work system, five were based on the theme of organizational and managerial structure work system, 14 codes were based on the theme of personnel subsystem, and six were based on the theme of technical subsystem. Conclusions: Safety climate intervention strategies might be most commonly based upon the principles of human resource management (i.e., codes based on the personnel subsystem theme and organizational and managerial structure work system theme). Meanwhile, numerous attributes of external/internal environment work system and technical subsystem can be jointly improved to bolster safety climate in a holistic way. Practical Applications: More systematic and organized management of safety climate would be available when various interrelated codes pertinent to a given context are carefully considered for a safety climate intervention.