Modelling agronomic properties of Technosols constructed with urban wastes

The greening of urban and suburban areas requires large amounts of arable earth that is a non-renewable resource. However, concentration of population in cities leads to the production of high amounts of wastes and by-products that are nowadays partly recycled as a resource and quite systematically exported out of urban areas. To preserve natural soil resources, a strategy of waste recycling as fertile substitutes is proposed. Eleven wastes are selected for their environmental harmlessness and their contrasted physico-chemical properties for their potential use in pedological engineering. The aim is (i) to demonstrate the feasibility of the formulation of fertile substrates exclusively with wastes and (ii) to model their physico-chemical properties following various types, number and proportions of constitutive wastes. Twenty-five binary and ternary combinations are tested at different ratios for total carbon, Olsen available phosphorus, cation exchange capacity, water pH, water retention capacity and bulk density. Dose–response curves describe the variation of physico-chemical properties of mixtures depending on the type and ratio of selected wastes. If these mixtures mainly mimic natural soils, some of them present more extreme urban soil features, especially for pH and P_Olsen. The fertility of the new substrates is modelled by multilinear regressions for the main soil properties.     

Anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and landfill leachate in single-phase batch reactors

In order to investigate the effect of raw leachate on anaerobic digestion of food waste, co-digestions of food waste with raw leachate were carried out. A series of single-phase batch mesophilic (35 ± 1 °C) anaerobic digestions were performed at a food waste concentration of 41.8 g VS/L. The results showed that inhibition of biogas production by volatile fatty acids (VFA) occurred without raw leachate addition. A certain amount of raw leachate in the reactors effectively relieved acidic inhibition caused by VFA accumulation, and the system maintained stable with methane yield of 369–466 mL/g VS. Total ammonia nitrogen introduced into the digestion systems with initial 2000–3000 mgNH₄–N/L not only replenished nitrogen for bacterial growth, but also formed a buffer system with VFA to maintain a delicate biochemical balance between the acidogenic and methanogenic microorganisms. UV spectroscopy and fluorescence excitation–emission matrix spectroscopy data showed that food waste was completely degraded.We concluded that using raw leachate for supplement water addition and pH modifier on anaerobic digestion of food waste was effective. An appropriate fraction of leachate could stimulate methanogenic activity and enhance biogas production.     

植被对厂房自然通风影响的数值模拟研究

通过对动量方程、能量方程等加源项的方法实现了对三维植物冠层湍流流动下厂房自然通风的数值模拟。计算结果和实测数据在下垫面温度以及叶面温度方面吻合较好,能充分反映实际的温度分布趋势。表明模拟体系对于有绿化情况下建筑自然通风各项参数的描述是准确的,可较好地预测不同植被配置下,建筑自然通风温度、速度等物理量的分布情况。同时,利用有效吹风温度差的分布分析了厂房内人员的热感觉情况。     

民航机务维修安全管理水平未确知测度分析

为了准确判断机务维修安全管理状况,从维修人员、机械设备、环境和管理4个方面分析和探讨机务维修安全管理影响因素。基于国内外民航机务维修日常安全管理现状,采用系统工程和安全科学理论,结合现场调研结果,提出机务维修安全管理水平指标体系,并确定指标体系中的安全管理水平分级标准。针对民航维修安全管理具有不确定性和复杂性的特点,运用未确知测度理论建立机务维修安全管理水平分析模型。应用该模型计算某维修单位安全管理测度向量值,利用置信度准则判定其安全等级。结果表明,应用该模型所得分析结果与航空公司机务维修实际安全管理水平相符,该单位今后应重点加强维修人员引进、新机型培训和老龄飞机维护等管理工作。     

基于BP神经网络的绿色建筑评价

绿色建筑是指在建筑的全寿命周期内,最大限度地节约资源,保护环境和减少污染,为人们提供健康、适用和高效的使用空间,与自然和谐共生。根据绿色建筑的特点,确立绿色建筑评价指标体系,并运用管理理论中的层次分析法(AHP)和模糊综合评价方法(Fuzzy),提出了人工神经网络(ANN)评价模型。评估结果表明,该评价体系用于绿色建筑等级综合评价是快速、有效的。     

Estimating non-native plant richness with a species-accumulation model along roads

Monitoring non-native plant richness is important for biodiversity conservation and scientific research. The species-area model (SA model) has been used frequently to estimate the total species richness within a region. However, the conventional SA model may not provide robust estimations of non-native plant richness because the ecological processes associated with the accumulation of exotic and native plants may differ. Because roads strongly dictate the distributions of exotic plants, we propose a species-accumulation model along roads (SR model), rather than an SA model, to estimate the non-native plant richness within a region. Using 270 simulated data sets, we compared the differences in performance between the SR and SA models. A decision tree based on prediction accuracy was created to guide model application, which was validated using field data from 3 national nature reserves in 3 different provinces in China. The SR model significantly outperformed the SA model when non-native species were restricted to the roadsides and the proportion of uncommon exotic species was small. More importantly, the SR model accurately estimated the non-native plant richness in all field sites with an error of <1 species per site. We believe our new model meets the practical need to efficiently and robustly estimate non-native plant richness, which may facilitate effective biodiversity conservations and promote research on non-native plant invasion and vegetation dynamics.     

Wildlife impacts and vulnerable livelihoods in a transfrontier conservation landscape

Interactions between humans and wildlife resulting in negative impacts are among the most pressing conservation challenges globally. In regions of smallholder livestock and crop production, interactions with wildlife can compromise human well-being and motivate negative sentiment and retaliation toward wildlife, undermining conservation goals. Although impacts may be unavoidable when human and wildlife land use overlap, scant large-scale human data exist quantifying the direct costs of wildlife to livelihoods. In a landscape of global importance for wildlife conservation in southern Africa, we quantified costs for people living with wildlife through a fundamental measure of human well-being, food security, and we tested whether existing livelihood strategies buffer certain households against crop depredation by wildlife, predominantly elephants. To do this, we estimated Bayesian multilevel statistical models based on multicounty household data (n = 711) and interpreted model results in the context of spatial data from participatory land-use mapping. Reported crop depredation by wildlife was widespread. Over half of the sample households were affected and household food security was reduced significantly (odds ratio 0.37 [0.22, 0.63]). The most food insecure households relied on gathered food sources and welfare programs. In the event of crop depredation by wildlife, these 2 livelihood sources buffered or reduced harmful effects of depredation. The presence of buffering strategies suggests a targeted compensation strategy could benefit the region's most vulnerable people. Such strategies should be combined with dynamic and spatially explicit land-use planning that may reduce the frequency of negative human–wildlife impacts. Quantifying and mitigating the human costs from wildlife are necessary steps in working toward human–wildlife coexistence.     

文化对机组资源管理的影响

针对国内民航机组资源管理(CRM)及训练中忽视文化的作用和影响的现状,在调研和分析国外CRM与文化影响的基础上,笔者结合国内民航的运行特点,总结、分析了民族文化、组织文化,以及职业文化对机组协作与配合,CRM训练等方面的积极与消极影响,提出中国民航应根据自身的文化特点调整CRM训练的内容和实施方式,并应从3个层面采取措施来提高CRM及其训练的效果,即航空公司CRM训练的设计、实施与评估;飞机制造商在进行驾驶舱人-机界面设计,以及政府部门在对航空器进行适航审定时,应充分识别不同文化的差异、在强化各种文化类型积极影响的同时,努力降低或消除其消极影响。     

Problems and issues in laser beam welding of aluminum–lithium alloys

Aluminum–lithium (Al–Li) alloys are very attractive for potential aerospace applications due to their lower density, higher specific strength and rigidity, better corrosion and fatigue crack growth resistance properties, compared to conventional aluminum alloys. Laser beam welding (LBW), being an advanced joining method, has already been approved for applications involving aluminum alloys. However, there are still a number of problems and issues to be answered and solved in LBW of Al–Li alloys. In this review, the properties of Al–Li alloys and the characteristics of LBW are introduced, the formation and prevention of the main weld defects such as porosity and hot cracking are discussed, and then the weld microstructure and the joint mechanical properties are described in highlight. At the end, an outlook on future trends is presented.     

Rethinking the study of human–wildlife coexistence

Although coexistence with wildlife is a key goal of conservation, little is known about it or how to study it. By coexistence we mean a sustainable though dynamic state in which humans and wildlife coadapt to sharing landscapes, where human interactions with wildlife are effectively governed to ensure wildlife populations persist in socially legitimate ways that ensure tolerable risk levels. Problems that arise from current conflict-oriented framing of human–wildlife interactions include reinforcing a human–nature dichotomy as fundamentally oppositional, suggesting coexistence requires the absence of conflict, and skewing research and management toward direct negative impacts over indirect impacts and positive aspects of living with wildlife. Human behavior toward wildlife is framed as rational calculus of costs and benefits, sidelining emotional and cultural dimensions of these interactions. Coexistence is less studied due to unfamiliarity with relevant methodologies, including qualitative methods, self-reflexivity and ethical rigor, and constraints on funding and time. These challenges are illustrated with examples from fieldwork in India and Africa. We recommend a basic approach to case studies aimed at expanding the scope of inquiries into human–wildlife relations beyond studies of rational behavior and quantification of costs and benefits of wildlife to humans.