A dual-sensor-based method to recognize pipeline leakage and interference signals

During the detection of pipeline leakages, false alarms of leak detection could be markedly reduced if the interference signals resulting from pressure regulating, pump regulating or valve movements could be accurately distinguished. A digital recognition method for interference signals and leakage signals based on a dual-sensor system is proposed in this paper. It is demonstrated that the direction of the signal can be recognized by a cross-correlation calculation between two signals from the dual-sensor, one of which undergoes forward linear interpolation and backward linear interpolation. Based on this theory, the interference signal and the leak signal can be discriminated exactly, and the distance between the two sensors in the dual-sensor system can be considerably reduced without needing to increase the sampling frequency. The monotonicity of the cross-correlation function is demonstrated, and a fast discrimination algorithm based on a binary extreme search method, which decreases the computational load and maintains global optimization, is also proposed. A pre-processing method of the actual signal is proposed to decrease the identity requirement for the two sensors in a dual-sensor system. In the experiment based on artificial signals, the proposed discrimination algorithm could achieve accurate recognition of the abnormal signal, and as such, the theory and application of pipeline leak detection based on dual-sensor systems are extended.     

New York City Environmental Justice Alliance Waterfront Justice Project

This paper reviews key challenges and opportunities addressed by the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance's (NYC-EJA) Waterfront Justice Project, a citywide campaign to promote climate resilience and sustainability in urban industrial waterfront communities of New York City. NYC-EJA is a non-profit membership-driven network linking grassroots organisations from low-income neighbourhoods and communities of colour in their struggle for environmental justice. The Waterfront Justice Project is documenting community vulnerability in the context of climate change impacts, sources of industrial pollution, and demographic and socio-economic trends. This campaign is enabling community-based organisations, environmental justice communities, city planners, local and state government agencies, local business-owners, and other stakeholders to work in partnership to achieve community resilience while advocating for local jobs and promoting best practices in pollution prevention. New York City's waterfront policies ease the siting and clustering of public infrastructure, water pollution control plants, waste transfer stations, energy facilities, and heavy manufacturing uses in six areas designated as Significant Maritime and Industrial Areas (SMIAs). The SMIAs are located in environmental justice communities, largely low-income communities and communities of colour, in the South Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. New York City's local waterfront land use and zoning policies create cumulative risk exposure not only to residents and workers in the host waterfront communities, but also, in the event of storm surge or sea-level rise, to neighbouring, upland communities.     

The multiple communities of low-carbon transition: an assessment of communities involved in forest carbon measurement

In recent writing on sociotechnical transitions theory communities are mostly conceived of as being local and place-based (“grassroots”). In this paper the implications for sociotechnical transitions theory of having multiple communities operating at different geographical scales, and with different objectives, are examined through a case study of low-carbon innovation in forests. The focus of analysis is the communities promoting sociotechnical innovations in the measurement of forest carbon. Innovation is being driven by the international United Nations climate policy initiative “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation” (REDD+). The rise of REDD+ policy has prompted a flurry of activity in related scientific research, especially in the field of remote sensing. But other types of community are also actively positioning themselves as experts in forest carbon measurement: there are multiple communities at work, each with varying claims to innovation and expertise, from local (place-based) forest communities to international communities of foresters and forest ecologists. Recognition of the multiple communities operating within sociotechnical systems usefully draws our attention to the politics of innovation.     

污染排放对经济发展的负面影响研究

以1998—2009 年各地区的数据为样本,利用联立方程模型检验污染排放对经济发展的负面影响,以及宏观经济结构对这种影响的调节作用.研究发现,经济发展与污染排放之间存在相互影响的关系,经济结构与污染排放之间也存在相互影响的关系.当期经济发展水平的提高必然会引起污染排放的增加,但当期污染排放的增加会对今后经济发展产生滞后的负面效应.投资和出口对污染排放的负面影响存在调节作用,即投资比重越高,出口比重越低,当期经济增长引起的污染排放越少,污染排放的负面影响也越小.不过,消费比重对污染排放负面影响不存在调节作用.     

NGO collaboration in community post‐disaster reconstruction: field research following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China

The number of communities affected by disasters has been rising. As a result, non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) that attend community post‐disaster reconstruction are often unable to deliver all requirements and have to develop cooperative approaches. However, this collaboration can cause problems because of the complex environments, the fight for limited resources and uncoordinated management, all of which result in poor service delivery to the communities, adding to their woes. From extensive field research and case studies conducted in the post‐Wenchuan earthquake‐stricken communities, this paper introduces an integrated collaboration framework for community post‐disaster reconstruction with the focus on three types of NGOs: international, government organised and civil. The proposed collaboration framework examines the three interrelated components of organisational structure, operational processes and reconstruction goals/implementation areas. Of great significance in better promoting collaborative participation between NGOs are the crucial concepts of participatory reconstruction, double‐layer collaborative networks, and circular review and revision.     

紫色土丘陵坡地土壤微生物群落的季节变化

采用稀释平板法和Biolog-ECO微平板技术,以剌槐（Robinia pseudoacacia）天然次生林为研究对象,研究湖南省衡阳市紫色土丘陵坡地表层（0~10 cm）土壤微生物群落的季节变化特征。结果表明：1）夏季,土壤微生物总数,细菌数量、真菌数量和放线菌数量最高,分别为16.34×106、16.09×106、10.43×104和14.64×104 cfu·g-1干土,春季次之：11.61×106、11.45×106、5.00×104和10.65×104 cfu·g-1干土,秋季最低：5.87×106、5.78×106、4.67×104和4.08×104 cfu·g-1干土,春、夏和秋3季的差异达显著水平（P<0.05）;2）在培养168 h时,土壤微生物C源平均颜色变化率（Average well color development, AWCD）以夏季最高（1.20）,春季次之（0.88）,秋季最低（0.83）;3）土壤微生物功能多样性表现为夏季明显高于春、秋2季（P<0.05）,夏季的Patrick丰富度指数（R）（28）、Shannon-Wiener指数（H）（3.22）、Simpson指数（D）（0.96）和McIntosh指数（U）（8.20）显著高于春、秋2季（P<0.05）,而春、秋2季的R（23,24）、H（3.06,3.08）、D（0.95,0.95）和U（5.90,5.91）无显著差异（P>0.05）;4）氨基酸类、聚合物类和羧酸C源类是衡阳紫色土丘陵坡地土壤微生物偏好且利用率较高的C源类型;5）主成分分析表明,土壤微生物群落的C源利用可分为2类,一类在夏季,另一类在春、秋2季,其得分系数的分布范围分别为（2.59~6.00,2.43~5.09）和（-7.65~-1.90,-6.38~-3.43）。研究结果为科学评价湖南省衡阳市紫色土丘陵坡地土壤生境质量退化和恢复过程中微生物特征的变化提供了本底值参考。     

雄黄矿区不同砷污染土壤中微生物群落结构及碳源利用特征

土壤砷污染是我国乃至世界范围内比较严重的环境问题.有关砷污染的生态毒理效应有很多研究,但对砷污染土壤中微生物群落的关注相对较少.本文以我国湖南省石门县雄黄矿地区长期砷污染土壤为例,采用PLFA及BIOLOG微平板技术考察了7个砷(As)污染程度不同的样点以及一个对照样点土壤微生物群落结构及碳源利用特征.结果发现,雄黄矿区存在多种重金属复合污染,除As含量较高以外,镉(Cd)和镍(Ni)的含量也超过了国家土壤环境质量三级标准.雄黄矿区土壤微生物的群落结构受到土壤有机碳(SOC)、有效磷(AP)、p H以及镁(Mg)、Cd、铁(Fe)、铜(Cu)含量的显著影响.各样点土壤微生物群落均以细菌为主,占微生物总量的71.54%~80.66%,真菌次之,放线菌最少.雄黄矿区土壤中的有效砷对微生物造成了较严重的胁迫.严重砷污染降低了微生物对于碳源利用的多样性以及均匀度.各样点微生物对于碳源的利用也表现出明显的差异.31种碳源中微生物利用较多的只有7类,分别属于糖类、胺类、羧酸类与多聚物,并且以糖类为主.     

Molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at a large-scale antimony mining area in southern China

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have great potential for assisting heavy metal hyperaccumulators in the remediation of contaminated soils. However, little information is available about the community composition of AMF under natural conditions in soils contaminated by antimony (Sb). The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics of AMF molecular diversity, and to explore the effects of Sb content and soil properties on the AMF community structure in an Sb mining area. Four Sb mine spoils and one adjacent reference area were selected from around the Xikuangshan mine in southern China. The association of AMF molecular diversity and community composition with the rhizosphere soils of the dominant plant species was studied by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). Results from all five studied sites showed that the diversity of AMF decreased with increasing Sb concentration. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the AMF community structure was markedly different among these groups. Further redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that Sb contaminationwas the dominating factor influencing the AMF community structure in the Sb mine area. However, the multivariate analysis showed that, apart from the soil Sb content, extractable nitrogen content and organic matter content also attributed to AMF sequence distribution type. Some AMF sequences were only found in the highly contaminated area and these might be ideal candidates for improving phytoremediation efficiency in Sb mining regions. Gene sequencing analysis revealed that most species were affiliated with Glomus, suggesting that Glomus was the dominant AMF genus in the studied Sb mining area.     

Adsorption and biodegradation of three selected endocrine disrupting chemicals in river-based artificial groundwater recharge with reclaimed municipal wastewater

Endocrine disrupting chemical(EDC) pollution in river-based artificial groundwater recharge using reclaimed municipal wastewater poses a potential threat to groundwater-based drinking water supplies in Beijing, China. Lab-scale leaching column experiments simulating recharge were conducted to study the adsorption, biodegradation, and transport characteristics of three selected EDCs: 17β-estradiol(E2), 17α-ethinylestradiol(EE2) and bisphenol A(BPA). The three recharge columns were operated under the conditions of continual sterilization recharge(CSR), continual recharge(CR), and wetting and drying alternative recharge(WDAR). The results showed that the attenuation effect of the EDCs was in the order of WDAR CR CSR system and E2 EE2 BPA, which followed first-order kinetics. The EDC attenuation rate constants were 0.0783, 0.0505, and 0.0479 m-1 for E2, EE2 and BPA in the CR system, respectively. The removal rates of E2, EE2, and BPA in the CR system were 98%, 96% and 92%, which mainly depended on biodegradation and were affected by water temperature.In the CR system, the concentrations of BPA, EE2, and E2 in soil were 4, 6 and 10 times higher than in the WDAR system, respectively. According to the DGGE fingerprints, the bacterial community in the bottom layer was more diverse than in the upper layer, which was related to the EDC concentrations in the water-soil system. The dominant group was found to be proteobacteria, including Betaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria, suggesting that these microbes might play an important role in EDC degradation.     

Investigation of physico-chemical properties and microbial community during poultry manure co-composting process

Co-composting of poultry manure and rubber wood sawdust was performed with the ratio of 2:1(V/V) for a period of 60 days. An investigation was carried out to study the extracellular enzymatic activities and structural degradation utilizing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR), thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis(TG/DTA)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM). The microbial succession was also determined by using denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis(DGGE). The compost was able to reach its highest temperature of 71°C at day 3 and stabilized between 30 and 40°C for 8 weeks.CMCase, FPase and β-glucosidase acted synergistically in order to degrade the cellulosic substrate. The xylanase activities increased gradually during the composting and reached the peak value of 11.637 U/g on day 35, followed by a sharp decline. Both Li P and Mn P activities reached their peak values on day 35 with 0.431 and 0.132 U/g respectively. The FT-IR spectra revealed an increase in aromaticity and a decrease in aliphatic compounds such as carbohydrates as decomposition proceeded. TGA/DTG data exhibited significant changes in weight loss in compost samples, indicating degradation of organic matter. SEM micrographs showed higher amounts of parenchyma exposed on the surface of rubber wood sawdust at day 60, showing significant degradation. DGGE and 16 S r DNA analyses showed that Burkholderia sp., Pandoraea sp., and Pseudomonas sp. were present throughout the composting process. Ornithinibacillus sp. and Castellaniella ginsengisoli were only found in the initial stage of the composting, while different strains of Burkholderia sp. also occurred in the later stage of composting.