Modification of evaluation method for auto-assessment and electronic submission by businesses

SUMMARY

This paper describes the evolution of an evaluation method developed initially to assess progress towards sustainable development for various land use activities in Costa Rica. Since that time, the method has been expanded to apply to all types of business activities in any location, and refined so that a numerical score can be provided for each attribute. These scores can then be presented graphically in four categories. The method has since been tested on a variety of businesses and is being refined for electronic submission and display of the results. The benefits of this approach, as well as its shortcomings and some of the problems resolved, are presented.     

Effects of humic acid and surfactants on the aggregation kinetics of manganese dioxide colloids

The aggregation of common manganese dioxide (MnO₂) colloids has great impact on their surface reactivity and therefore on their fates as well as associated natural and synthetic contaminants in engineered (e.g. water treatment) and natural aquatic environments. Nevertheless, little is known about the aggregation kinetics of MnO₂ colloids and the effect of humic acid (HA) and surfactants on these. In this study, the early stage aggregation kinetics of MnO₂ nanoparticles in NaNO₃ and Ca(NO₃)₂ solutions in the presence of HA and surfactants (i.e., sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)) were modeled through time-resolved dynamic light scattering. In the presence of HA, MnO₂ colloids were significantly stabilized with a critical coagulation concentration (CCC) of ~300 mmol·L^-1 NaNO₃ and 4 mmol·L^-1 Ca(NO₃)₂. Electrophoretic mobility (EPM) measurements confirmed that steric hindrance may be primarily responsible for increasing colloidal stability in the presence of HA. Moreover, the molecular and/or chemical properties of HA might impact its stabilizing efficiency. In the case of PVP, only a slight increase of aggregation kinetics was observed, due to steric reactions originating from adsorbed layers of PVP on the MnO₂ surface. Consequently, higher CCC values were obtained in the presence of PVP. However, there was a negligible reduction in MnO₂ colloidal stability in the presence of 20 mg·L^-1SDS.     

强化好氧颗粒污泥稳定性的水力条件响应研究

好氧颗粒污泥是一项极具潜力的新型污水生物处理技术,但颗粒结构易失稳是瓶颈问题.本文围绕反应体系水力条件与颗粒污泥稳定性的相互关系,以序批式生物反应器(SBR)运行过程接种污泥(0d)、形成初期颗粒污泥(30d)和稳定颗粒污泥(90d)为研究对象,考察不同水力条件下颗粒污泥聚集形式和表面性质变化规律.结果表明,接种絮体污...     

影响微生物聚集体的聚集度的因素分析

提出了包括两层含义的污泥聚集度的概念(一是污泥空间上的物理聚集,即密实度;二是微生物种类的聚集),并将膨胀污泥、絮体污泥和颗粒污泥作为污泥聚集度的3种典型状态,以现有污泥膨胀控制理论为基本参照,结合好氧颗粒污泥形成条件,探讨了操作条件对污泥聚集度的影响:①较高的基质梯度、溶解氧水平和有机物的复杂程度有利于提高污泥的聚集度;②动力学选择、扩散限制理论对聚集度的影响受微生物聚集体大小的控制;③细胞存储能力的评估及其对聚集度的影响需要综合考虑PHB、聚磷和糖原的影响.另外,还提出了在污泥膨胀的控制中不一定要以抑制丝状菌的增殖作为控制目标,通过对丝状菌的颗粒化过程的探讨,进一步证实了污泥膨胀的控制与污泥聚集度的提高是相似的.本文提出的聚集度概念目前仍不成熟,尚无定量的描述方法,还需要进一步的研究.     

絮凝体的DLA分形模拟及其分形维数的计算方法

运用有限扩散凝聚(DLA)模型对絮凝体的成长过程进行了二维模拟.模拟絮凝体分别采用密度函数法、回转半径法、图像分析法进行分形维数计算,分形维数均随模拟絮凝体尺寸的增大而减小.三种计算方法的结果显示,密度函数法和回转半径法得到的分形维数基本相当,但图像分析法所得到的分形维数较小,约为密度函数法和回转半径法所得到的分形维数的0.8左右,其原因可能是图像分析过程中计算机对图像的识别误差所致.以DLA模型模拟得到的絮凝体内部的孔隙率随絮凝体尺寸的增大而增加.絮凝体中孔隙率的增加是絮凝体密度减小、结构松散的主要原因,也是絮凝体分形维数降低的主要因素.     

旅游景区(点)系统空间结构随机聚集分形研究——以南京市旅游景区(点)系统为例

根据旅游景区(点)系统自组织演化的特征,以南京市旅游景区(点)系统为例,采用随机聚集分形的方法对其空间结构进行了研究。认为景区(点)系统的演化类似于有限扩散集团凝聚模型,得出景区(点)系统空间结构是分形的,具有比较明显的随机聚集分形结构,在不同的地理区域上表现为不同的系统演化时段,空间结构上的向心性作用也有强弱之分,从系统的聚集中心向四周是景点密度衰减的。指出随机聚集维数的测算与分析是景区(点)系统空间结构自组织优化趋势的判据,同时提供了优化的途径。     

Pheromone-based aggregation behaviour of the firebrat, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thermobia domestica</Emphasis> (Packard) (Thysanura: Lepismatidae)

Summary. We tested the hypothesis that aggregation behaviour of the firebrat, Thermobia domestica (Packard) (Thysanura: Lepismatidae), an inhabitant of enclosed microhabitats, is mediated, at least in part, by a pheromone. Individual insects were released into the central chamber of a 3-chambered olfactometer and test stimuli were placed in lateral chambers. Paper discs previously exposed for 3 days to 10 female, male, or juvenile T. domestica were all preferred by female, male, or juvenile T. domestica over unexposed paper discs, indicating the presence of an aggregation/arrestment pheromone. In additional experiments, frass and scales from female T. domestica, tested singly and in combination, proved not to be the source of the pheromone. Physical contact was required for pheromone recognition, indicating that the pheromone arrests rather than attracts conspecifics. Arrestment by the long-tailed silverfish, Ctenolepisma longicaudata Escherich (Thysanura: Lepismatidae), but not by the common silverfish, Lepisma saccharina L. (Thysanura: Lepismatidae), to T. domestica exposed paper discs suggests closer phylogenetic relatedness between C. longicaudata and T. domestica, than between C. longicaudata and L. saccharina. Whether C. longicaudata or L. saccharina produce an aggregation signal, and whether T. domestica respond to this signal is unknown. Received 10 June 2002; accepted 30 September 2002.     

SPATIAL ECONOMICS OF TARGETING MANURE POLICY1

ABSTRACT: Increasing specialization separates animal production from cropland, complicating manure management. To assist policy targeting efforts, we highlight areas where on-farm use of manure may be problematic. Matching confined animal production with land, on the farm- rather than at the county-level, gives our analysis an advantage over previous studies in avoiding aggregation problems. With manure-based water quality problems, data aggregated to the county level may fail to convey the heterogeneity of animal production across regions and animal types. Aggregation bias blurs the distinction between areas with specialized animal production and those that merely have numerous animals. We estimate bias from using county aggregates, show its distribution spatially and by animal sector, and link it to concentration. Ongoing vertical integration in agriculture likely alters in-county variability in facility scale and scope, and may influence decisions about which data we should gather and use.     

An Approach for the Aggregation of Aerodynamic Surface Parameters in Calculating the Turbulent Fluxes over Heterogeneous Surfaces in Atmospheric Models

Experimental evidence indicates that there is a significant departure of the wind profile above the underlying surface consisting of patches of solid and liquid parts, and plant communities with different morphological from that predicted by the logarithmic relationship, which gives the values larger than those observed. This situation can seriously affect the transfer of momentum, heat and water vapor from the surface fluxes into the atmosphere.The object of this paper is to generalize the calculation of the exchange of momentum between the atmosphere and a very heterogeneous surface, find a general equation for the wind speed profile in a roughness sublayer under neutral conditions, and, then, derive aggregated roughness length and displacement height over the grid cell. The suggested expression for the wind profile is compared with some earlier approaches, using a common parameterization of aerodynamic parameters over the grid cell, and the observations obtained at an experimental site in Philadelphia, PA.     

Emission inventory on company level: lessons from Russia

Developing a transparent,accurate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissionsinventory is the first step toward buildingan effective GHG management system. Todate, GHG inventories have been conductedprimarily at national levels. Theinternationally accepted inventorymethodology developed by theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) is oriented to countrywideinventories. The electricity company RAOUESR is the largest single corporateemitter of GHG in the Russian Federation. The company is responsible for about 1/3 ofRussia's CO₂ emissions; RAO's fossil fuelemissions are comparable to the fossil fuelemissions of the United Kingdom. The GHGinventory prepared by RAO is the first suchcorporate emissions inventory undertaken ina non-OECD country. In this article wepresent a detailed independent examinationof the methodology RAO applied for theinventory. We identify the most importantsources of uncertainty and we estimate theuncertainty. The main conclusion of theindependent review is that the methodologyutilized by RAO and the informationsupporting the methodology are reliable andpresent a reasonably accurate company-widepicture of RAO's CO₂ emissions. The shareof other greenhouse gases is negligiblysmall and we did not focus on this fractionof RAO's GHG emissions. As a next step, RAOmay wish to conduct more precisefacility-by-facility inventories in orderto create a robust GHG emission managementsystem.