15,352 research outputs found
Heavy metal concentrations and their possible sources in paddy soils of a modern agricultural zone, southeastern China
No full textIn a typical modern agricultural Zone of southeastern China, Haining City, 224 topsoil samples were collected from paddy fields to measure the total concentrations of copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As) and cobalt (Co). The total concentrations ranged from 15.30 to 78.40 mg kg(-1) for Cu, 20.10 to 41.40 mg kg(-1) for Pb, 54.98 to 224.4 mg kg(-1) for Zn, 0.04 to 0.24 mg kg(-1) for Cd, 54.90 to 197.1 mg kg(-1) for Cr, 0.03 to 0.61 mg kg(-1) for Hg, 3.44 to 15.28 mg kg(-1) for As, and 7.17 to 19.00 mg kg(-1) for Co. Chemometric techniques and geostatistics were utilized to quantify their spatial characteristics and define their possible sources. All eight metals had a moderate spatial dependency except that Pb had a strong spatial dependency. Both factor analysis and cluster analysis successfully classified the eight metals into three groups or subgroups, the first group included Cu, Zn and Cr, the second group included Cd, As and Co, and the last group included Pb and Hg. The Cu, Zn and Cr concentrations in majority samples were higher than their local background concentrations and they were highly correlated (r > 0.80), indicating that they had similar pollution source and anthropic factor controlled their spatial distribution; the Cd, As and Co concentrations in majority samples were lower than their local background concentrations, indicating that the source of these elements was mainly controlled by natural factors; the mean concentration of Pb exhibited generally low level, close to its local background concentration, the Hg concentration in about half of samples was higher than its local background concentration, and they were poor correlated with the other metals, indicating that the source of Pb and Hg was common controlled by natural factor and anthropic factor.In a typical modern agricultural Zone of southeastern China, Haining City, 224 topsoil samples were collected from paddy fields to measure the total concentrations of copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As) and cobalt (Co). The total concentrations ranged from 15.30 to 78.40 mg kg(-1) for Cu, 20.10 to 41.40 mg kg(-1) for Pb, 54.98 to 224.4 mg kg(-1) for Zn, 0.04 to 0.24 mg kg(-1) for Cd, 54.90 to 197.1 mg kg(-1) for Cr, 0.03 to 0.61 mg kg(-1) for Hg, 3.44 to 15.28 mg kg(-1) for As, and 7.17 to 19.00 mg kg(-1) for Co. Chemometric techniques and geostatistics were utilized to quantify their spatial characteristics and define their possible sources. All eight metals had a moderate spatial dependency except that Pb had a strong spatial dependency. Both factor analysis and cluster analysis successfully classified the eight metals into three groups or subgroups, the first group included Cu, Zn and Cr, the second group included Cd, As and Co, and the last group included Pb and Hg. The Cu, Zn and Cr concentrations in majority samples were higher than their local background concentrations and they were highly correlated (r > 0.80), indicating that they had similar pollution source and anthropic factor controlled their spatial distribution; the Cd, As and Co concentrations in majority samples were lower than their local background concentrations, indicating that the source of these elements was mainly controlled by natural factors; the mean concentration of Pb exhibited generally low level, close to its local background concentration, the Hg concentration in about half of samples was higher than its local background concentration, and they were poor correlated with the other metals, indicating that the source of Pb and Hg was common controlled by natural factor and anthropic factor
Variability of copper availability in paddy fields in relation to selected soil properties in southeast China
No full textCopper (Cu) is an essential nutrient element for plant growth and is a toxic heavy metal in excess concentrations. As such, its concentration and availability in soils are of great agricultural and environmental concern. Availability and spatial pattern of copper in relation to selected soil properties in surface soils were evaluated for an agricultural region in southeastern China. A total of 224 topsoil samples (0-15 cm) were collected from paddy fields in a study area of 731 km2. We measured total Cu and DTPA-extractable Cu (available Cu) concentrations, soil pH, soil organic matter content (SOM), total nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). We estimated Cu availability by calculating the ratio of available Cu to total Cu concentration. The results of our chemical analyses indicated that both total Cu and available Cu concentrations had a wide range throughout the study area. In addition, we measured slight Cu accumulation in paddy fields of the study area in comparison to background levels at Zhejiang Province scale. Correlation analysis revealed that available Cu concentration was positively correlated with total Cu concentration, CEC and SOM as indicated by moderate to high correlation coefficients (r = 0.64-0.82), and Cu availability was directly correlated with SOM, pH and Cu concentration with moderate to high positive correlation (r = 0.47-0.82) at 0.01 level of significance. Spatial distribution maps illustrated that total Cu concentration and available Cu concentration had similar distribution trends with the highest concentrations in the northeast region and low concentrations in the southwest region of the study area. Copper availability ratio had a spatial distribution trend with high ratios in the northeast region and low ratios in the central region of the study area. Soil properties influencing the spatial distribution of Cu availability were SOM and pH, in addition to the concentration of available Cu.Copper (Cu) is an essential nutrient element for plant growth and is a toxic heavy metal in excess concentrations. As such, its concentration and availability in soils are of great agricultural and environmental concern. Availability and spatial pattern of copper in relation to selected soil properties in surface soils were evaluated for an agricultural region in southeastern China. A total of 224 topsoil samples (0-15 cm) were collected from paddy fields in a study area of 731 km(2). We measured total Cu and DTPA-extractable Cu (available Cu) concentrations, soil pH, soil organic matter content (SOM), total nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). We estimated Cu availability by calculating the ratio of available Cu to total Cu concentration. The results of our chemical analyses indicated that both total Cu and available Cu concentrations had a wide range throughout the study area. In addition, we measured slight Cu accumulation in paddy fields of the study area in comparison to background levels at Zhejiang Province scale. Correlation analysis revealed that available Cu concentration was positively correlated with total Cu concentration, CEC and SOM as indicated by moderate to high correlation coefficients (r = 0.64-0.82), and Cu availability was directly correlated with SOM, pH and Cu concentration with moderate to high positive correlation (r = 0.47-0.82) at 0.01 level of significance. Spatial distribution maps illustrated that total Cu concentration and available Cu concentration had similar distribution trends with the highest concentrations in the northeast region and low concentrations in the southwest region of the study area. Copper availability ratio had a spatial distribution trend with high ratios in the northeast region and low ratios in the central region of the study area. Soil properties influencing the spatial distribution of Cu availability were SOM and pH, in addition to the concentration of available (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Control and Filtering for Discrete Linear Repetitive Processes with H infty and ell 2--ell infty Performance
No full textRepetitive processes are characterized by a series of sweeps, termed passes, through a set of dynamics defined over a finite duration known as the pass length. On each pass an output, termed the pass profile, is produced which acts as a forcing function on, and hence contributes to, the dynamics of the next pass profile. This can lead to oscillations which increase in amplitude in the pass to pass direction and cannot be controlled by standard control laws. Here we give new results on the design of physically based control laws for the sub-class of so-called discrete linear repetitive processes which arise in applications areas such as iterative learning control. The main contribution is to show how control law design can be undertaken within the framework of a general robust filtering problem with guaranteed levels of performance. In particular, we develop algorithms for the design of an H? and dynamic output feedback controller and filter which guarantees that the resulting controlled (filtering error) process, respectively, is stable along the pass and has prescribed disturbance attenuation performance as measured by and – norms
Concentrations and potential health hazards of organochlorine pesticides in (shallow) groundwater of Taihu Lake region, China
No full textA total of 27 shallow groundwater samples were collected from the Taihu Lake region (TLR), to determine the concentrations of 14 organochlorine pesticide (OCP) species, identify their possible sources, and estimate health risk of drinking the shallow groundwater. All OCP species occurred in the shallow groundwater of TLR with high detection frequency except p, p'-dichlorodiphenyldichlorothane (p, p'-DDD) and p, p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p, p'-DDT). DDTs and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) were the dominant OCP contaminants in the shallow groundwater of TLR, and they account for 44.2% total OCPs. The low alpha-HCH/gamma-HCH ratio, high beta-HCH/(alpha + gamma)-HCH ratio and beta-HCH being the dominant HCH isomers for the majority of samples suggest that the HCHs were mainly from the historical use of lindane after a period of degradation. p, p'-DDE being the dominant DDT metabolite for all the samples indicated that the DDTs were mainly from the historical residues. Compositional analysis also suggested that there were fresh input sources of heptachlors, aldrins and endrins in addition to the historical residues. Correlation analysis indicated the hexachlorobenzene (HCB) impurity in the shallow groundwater of TLR was likely from the historical application of lindane and technical HCH (a mixture of HCH isomers that is produced by photochlorination of benzene). Carcinogenic risk values for alpha-HCH, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, aldrins and dieldrin in the shallow groundwater in majority area of TLR were found to be >10(-6), posing a potentially serious cancer risk to those dependant on shallow groundwater for drinking water. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.A total of 27 shallow groundwater samples were collected from the Taihu Lake region (TLR), to determine the concentrations of 14 organochlorine pesticide (OCP) species, identify their possible sources, and estimate health risk of drinking the shallow groundwater. All OCP species occurred in the shallow groundwater of TLR with high detection frequency except p, p'-dichlorodiphenyldichlorothane (p, p'-DDD) and p, p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p, p'-DDT). DDTs and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) were the dominant OCP contaminants in the shallow groundwater of TLR, and they account for 44.2% total OCPs. The low alpha-HCH/gamma-HCH ratio, high beta-HCH/(alpha + gamma)-HCH ratio and beta-HCH being the dominant HCH isomers for the majority of samples suggest that the HCHs were mainly from the historical use of lindane after a period of degradation. p, p'-DDE being the dominant DDT metabolite for all the samples indicated that the DDTs were mainly from the historical residues. Compositional analysis also suggested that there were fresh input sources of heptachlors, aldrins and endrins in addition to the historical residues. Correlation analysis indicated the hexachlorobenzene (HCB) impurity in the shallow groundwater of TLR was likely from the historical application of lindane and technical HCH (a mixture of HCH isomers that is produced by photochlorination of benzene). Carcinogenic risk values for alpha-HCH, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, aldrins and dieldrin in the shallow groundwater in majority area of TLR were found to be >10(-6), posing a potentially serious cancer risk to those dependant on shallow groundwater for drinking water. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Acoustic radiation due to scattering of T-S wave by the mean-flow distortion induced by steady local suction
No full textSubstantial sound waves can be generated by boundary-layer instability modes when the latter are scattered by a rapid mean-flow distortion. This is a rather generic mechanism and operates when an oncoming T-S wave is scattered by a steady local suction slot. This paper focuses on this problem by extending a recently developed Local Scattering Theory (Wu & Dong, J. Fluid Mech. submitted), where a so-called transmission coefficient, defined as the ratio of the T-S wave amplitude downstream of the scatter to that upstream, is introduced to characterize the effect of a local scatter on boundary-layer instability and transition. As in the earlier work, the mathematical formulation is based on triple-deck formulism, but in order to accommodate the acoustic far field, which was not considered in the paper mentioned, the unsteady terms in the upper deck, which play a leading-order role in radiation, are retained, and the influence of the radiated sound on the near-wall perturbation is included. The upper deck equation for the pressure is the Helmholtz equation rather than the Laplace equation. This leads to a modified pressure-displacement relation, which is coupled with the linearized boundary-layer equations in the lower deck. Discretization of the whole system formulates a generalized eigenvalue problem, which is solved numerically. It is found that suction suppresses oncoming T-S waves, and this effect increases with the suction velocity and the slot width. The directivity is ndependent of the flow parameters only when the Mach number is low. The intensity of the radiated sound in general increases with the frequency, the suction velocity and the width of the suction slot. Interestingly, for O(1) suction velocities, the radiated sound is very weak, indicating that the gain of stabilizing effect does not cause aeroacoustic penalty
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Tim Wu & “The Curse of Bigness”
No full textHost Nicholas Lemann sits down with Tim Wu, author of The Curse of Bigness, to discuss the politics of Louis Brandeis and Theodore Roosevelt as antitrust has reemerged this year as a major issue in the run-up to the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.
Spatial Prediction of Soil Organic Matter Content Using Cokriging with Remotely Sensed Data
No full textAccurately measuring soil organic matter content (SOM) in paddy fields is important because SOM is one of the key soil properties controlling nutrient budgets in agricultural production systems. Estimation of this soil property at an acceptable level of accuracy is important; especially in the case when SOM exhibits strong spatial dependence and its measurement is a time- and labor-consuming procedure. This study was conducted to evaluate and compare spatial estimation by kriging and cokriging with remotely sensed data to predict SOM using limited available data for a 367-km(2) study area in Haining City, Zhejiang Province, China. Measured SOM ranged from 5.7 to 40.4 g kg(-1), with a mean of 19.5 g kg(-1). Correlation analysis between the SOM content of 131 soil samples and the corresponding digital number (DN) of six bands (Band 1-5 and Band 7) of Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) imagery showed that correlation between SOM and DN of Band 1 was the highest (r= -0.587). We used the DN of Band I as auxiliary data for the SOM prediction, and used descriptive statistics and the kriging standard deviation (STD) to compare the reliabilities of the predictions. We also used cross-validation to validate the SOM prediction. Results indicate that cokriging with remotely sensed data was superior to kriging in the case of limited available data and the moderately strong linear relationship between remotely sensed data and SOM content. Remotely sensed data such as Landsat ETM imagery have the potential as useful auxiliary variables for improving the precision and reliability of SOM prediction
Spatial Estimation of Soil Total Nitrogen Using Cokriging with Predicted Soil Organic Matter Content
No full textAccurate measurement of soil total N (TN) content in agricultural fields is important to guide reasonable application of nitrogenous fertilizer. Estimation of soil TN content with limited in situ data at an acceptable level of accuracy is important because laboratory measurement of N is a time- and labor-consuming procedure. This study was conducted to evaluate cokriging of soil TN with predicted soil organic matter (SOM) content as auxiliary data. The SOM content was predicted by cokriging with a digital number (DN) of Band I of Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) imagery. Soil TN content was estimated by using 88 soil samples for prediction and 43 soil samples for validation in a study area of 367 km(2) in Haining City, China. Field-measured soil TN content ranged from 0.47 to 2.48 g kg(-1), with a mean of 1.25 g kg(-1). Soil TN content of all 131 soil samples including samples for prediction and validation was highly correlated with measured (r = 0.81, p < 0.01) and predicted (r = 0.81,p < 0.01) SOM content in paddy fields. Then, the predicted SOM content was used as auxiliary variable for the prediction of soil TN content. By using the 43 samples for validation, we had a mean error (ME) of 0.03 g kg(-1) and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.31 g kg(-1) for kriging, and a mean error of 0.00 g kg(-1) and a root mean square error of 0.25 g kg(-1) for cokriging, respectively. Our results indicate cokriging with predicted SOM content data was superior to kriging. In addition, predicted data of the auxiliary variable have the potential to be useful for cokriging when the predicted auxiliary data have high prediction accuracy.Accurate measurement of soil total N (TN) content in agricultural fields is important to guide reasonable application of nitrogenous fertilizer. Estimation of soil TN content with limited in situ data at an acceptable level of accuracy is important because laboratory measurement of N is a time- and labor-consuming procedure. This study was conducted to evaluate cokriging of soil TN with predicted soil organic matter (SOM) content as auxiliary data. The SOM content was predicted by cokriging with a digital number (DN) of Band I of Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) imagery. Soil TN content was estimated by using 88 soil samples for prediction and 43 soil samples for validation in a study area of 367 km(2) in Haining City, China. Field-measured soil TN content ranged from 0.47 to 2.48 g kg(-1), with a mean of 1.25 g kg(-1). Soil TN content of all 131 soil samples including samples for prediction and validation was highly correlated with measured (r = 0.81, p < 0.01) and predicted (r = 0.81,p < 0.01) SOM content in paddy fields. Then, the predicted SOM content was used as auxiliary variable for the prediction of soil TN content. By using the 43 samples for validation, we had a mean error (ME) of 0.03 g kg(-1) and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.31 g kg(-1) for kriging, and a mean error of 0.00 g kg(-1) and a root mean square error of 0.25 g kg(-1) for cokriging, respectively. Our results indicate cokriging with predicted SOM content data was superior to kriging. In addition, predicted data of the auxiliary variable have the potential to be useful for cokriging when the predicted auxiliary data have high prediction accuracy
Measurement of dwell times of spin polarized rubidium atoms on octadecyltrichlorosilane- and paraffin-coated surfaces
No full textWe report the measurement of dwell times of spin polarized Rb atoms on octadecyltrichlorosilane OTS- and paraffin-coated surfaces. We find that at a cell temperature of 72 °C the dwell times for OTS- and paraffin-coated surfaces are 0.9+-0.1 microsecond and 1.8 +-0.2 microsecond , respectively. Since the relaxation probability on paraffin is almost one order of magnitude smaller than that on OTS, the longer dwell time for paraffin indicates that the average strength of the interactions experienced by Rb atoms while they are inside paraffin is much weaker than while they are inside OTS.Peer reviewe
[[alternative]]A Study on History of Shin-Wu Elementary School at Tao-Yuan（1905-2003）
No full text[[abstract]]To explore the school cultural development in Shin-Wu Elementary school in the last hundred years and the significance of school history research in educational history, this study examines documents and files in the school history room of Shin-Wu Elementary school and has oral history interviews as well. The main findings of this study are as follows.
1. In late Meiji, most of the teachers were Japanese or Taiwanese from the nearby common schools, however, the turnover was high. At that time, only affluent students attended schools while later, more students were from poor families. Yet, the drop-out rate was relatively high.
2. As for the age, most students went to school in their teens, for they had to share responsibilities in home chores.
3. In Taisyo period, there were more and more teachers who had been Shin-Wu graduates and students were from different sources.
4. Owing to the air raid during the war, schools got closed very often and the content of education was mainly about laboring.
5. Post-war education, compared with that before, varied little in educational contents and forms because of the position-retaining teachers and staff.
6. For the last hundred years, nearly one-third of Shin-Wu teachers were their graduates and principals and teachers of branch schools came form Shin-Wu Elementary School, too. Therefore, Shin-Wu Elementary School had played an influential role in the elementary education and the local people cultivation in Shin-Wu area.
7. Shin-Wu Elementary School had always followed the national educational policy, seldom did they have local standpoints, which meant, they had to strengthen their autonomy and capacity when faced with new challenges especially after the lifting of Martial Law.
8. Through elaborative school cultural analysis, relationship among education, politics, economy and society, in particular, individual area development will be more carefully investigated.
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