Effects of upholstery materials on the burning behavior of real‐scale residential upholstered furniture mock‐ups

Fire spread and growth on real‐scale four cushion mock‐ups of residential upholstered furniture (RUF) were investigated with the goal of identifying whether changes in five classes of materials (barrier, flexible polyurethane foam, polyester fiber wrap, upholstery fabric, and sewing thread), referred to as factors, resulted in statistically significant changes in burning behavior. A fractional factorial experimental design plus practical considerations yielded a test matrix with 20 material combinations. Experiments were repeated a minimum of two times. Measurements included fire spread rates derived from video recordings and heat release rates (HRRs). A total of 13 experimental parameters (3 based on the videos and 10 on the HRR results), referred to as responses, characterized the measurements. Statistical analyses based on Main Effects Plots (main effects) and Block Plots (main effects and factor interactions) were used. The results showed that three of the factors resulted in statistically significant effects on varying numbers of the 13 responses. The Barrier and Fabric factors had the strongest main effects with roughly comparable magnitudes. Foam was statistically significant for fewer of the responses and its overall strength was weaker than for Barrier and Fabric. No statistically significant main effects were identified for Wrap or Thread. Multiple two‐term interactions between factors were identified as being statistically significant. The Barrier*Fabric interaction resulted in the highest number of and strongest statistically significant effects. The existence of two‐term interactions means that it will be necessary to consider their effects in approaches designed to predict the burning behavior of RUF.     

跨行政区游憩空间柔性一体化研究 ——以高莱茵河沿岸地区为例

随着城市化与区域一体化的迅速发展,不同行政区之间的联动关系越来越紧密,这种联动关系在城市各功能空间的设计上有所体现,更渗透到了与市民息息相关的游憩空间建构之中。受制于行政管理等方面的原因,在跨行政区的游憩空间一体化实施过程中,往往会采取一系列柔性措施。以欧洲高莱茵河沿岸地区为研究对象,分析高莱茵河沿岸地区游憩空间的发展与现状,总结其游憩空间体系的构建特点,为中国跨城市河流沿岸的游憩空间柔性一体化建构提供策略与建议。     

Reduced‐scale test to assess the effect of fire barriers on the flaming combustion of cored composites: An upholstery‐material case study

Herein, we describe a reduced‐scale test (“Cube” test), measuring the fire performance of specimens including a fire barrier (FB) and a flammable core material, which acts as the main fuel load. The specimen is intended to reproduce a cross‐section of a composite product where heat/mass transfer occurs primarily in a direction perpendicular to the FB. The Cube test procedure and benefits are discussed in this work by adopting residential upholstery furniture as an exemplary study. One flexible polyurethane foam, one polypropylene cover fabric, and 10 commercially available FBs were selected. They were used to compare the fire performance of FBs, measured in terms of peak of heat release rate, in the ASTM E1474‐14 standard test and the newly developed Cube test. Edge effects severely affected the performance of FBs in the ASTM E1474‐14 standard test but not in the Cube test. Furthermore, appropriate test conditions were determined in the Cube test to measure the so‐called “wetting point,” that is, the time and value of heat release rate measured when flammable liquid products were first observed on the bottom of the specimen. The relevance of the “wetting point” in terms of full‐scale fire performance and failure mechanism of FBs is discussed.     

Exploring the Cold-Adaptation Mechanism of Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase by Comparative Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Cold-adapted enzymes feature a lower thermostability and higher catalytic activity compared to their warm-active homologues, which are considered as a consequence of increased flexibility of their molecular structures. The complexity of the (thermo)stability-flexibility-activity relationship makes it difficult to define the strategies and formulate a general theory for enzyme cold adaptation. Here, the psychrophilic serine hydroxymethyltransferase (pSHMT) from Psychromonas ingrahamii and its mesophilic counterpart, mSHMT from Escherichia coli, were subjected to μs-scale multiple-replica molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to explore the cold-adaptation mechanism of the dimeric SHMT. The comparative analyses of MD trajectories reveal that pSHMT exhibits larger structural fluctuations and inter-monomer positional movements, a higher global flexibility, and considerably enhanced local flexibility involving the surface loops and active sites. The largest-amplitude motion mode of pSHMT describes the trends of inter-monomer dissociation and enlargement of the active-site cavity, whereas that of mSHMT characterizes the opposite trends. Based on the comparison of the calculated structural parameters and constructed free energy landscapes (FELs) between the two enzymes, we discuss in-depth the physicochemical principles underlying the stability-flexibility-activity relationships and conclude that (i) pSHMT adopts the global-flexibility mechanism to adapt to the cold environment and, (ii) optimizing the protein-solvent interactions and loosening the inter-monomer association are the main strategies for pSHMT to enhance its flexibility.     

Real-time organic aerosol chemical speciation in the indoor environment using extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Understanding the sources and composition of organic aerosol (OA) in indoor environments requires rapid measurements, since many emissions and processes have short timescales. However, real-time molecular-level OA measurements have not been reported indoors. Here, we present quantitative measurements, at a time resolution of five seconds, of molecular ions corresponding to diverse aerosol-phase species, by applying extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (EESI-MS) to indoor air analysis for the first time, as part of the highly instrumented HOMEChem field study. We demonstrate how the complex spectra of EESI-MS are screened in order to extract chemical information and investigate the possibility of interference from gas-phase semivolatile species. During experiments that simulated the Thanksgiving US holiday meal preparation, EESI-MS quantified multiple species, including fatty acids, carbohydrates, siloxanes, and phthalates. Intercomparisons with Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer suggest that EESI-MS quantified a large fraction of OA. Comparisons with FIGAERO-CIMS shows similar signal levels and good correlation, with a range of 100 for the relative sensitivities. Comparisons with SV-TAG for phthalates and with SV-TAG and AMS for total siloxanes also show strong correlation. EESI-MS observations can be used with gas-phase measurements to identify co-emitted gas- and aerosol-phase species, and this is demonstrated using complementary gas-phase PTR-MS observations.     

平原地区城市湖泊防洪与景观功能协调研究——以枝江市金湖为例

为了使城市湖泊尽可能滞蓄雨洪、发挥景观功能、打造良好的居民"亲水空间",以枝江市金湖为例,根据金湖主要泄洪渠道的实际情况,利用Mike 21模型模拟计算汛限水位值,按照景观水位确定大、小洪水工况下合理的水位。在此基础上,提出传统的静态景观水位与改进的动态景观水位两种方案。结果表明:以50年一遇、30年一遇为代表的大洪水工况下合理景观水位为40.7 m,以20年一遇、10年一遇为代表的小洪水工况合理景观水位为41.3 m;静态方案采用50年一遇洪水计算结果为标准执行,将40.7 m作为金湖固定的景观水位;动态方案水位可在41.3~40.7 m之间波动;金湖适宜采用动态景观水位运行方案,水位可在40.7~41.3 m之间波动;根据短期预报及历史监测资料分析后合理调度,将41.3 m作为金湖常水位,确定预测洪水大小后调整水位迎战洪水。据此,可在充分利用水资源的同时有效协调景观高水位需求与防洪之间的矛盾。     

基于街景地图数据的北京市东城区 街道绿色空间正义评估研究

绿色空间正义是城市空间正义的典型代表，意为在人群中公平分配维护绿色空间的责任和享有绿色空间的权益。根据其定义，以北京市东城区为例，从责任和权益2个角度着眼，一方面基于百度街景地图数据提炼街道空间绿视率的空间分布特点，表征街道绿色空间的客观可感知水平；另一方面将街道绿视率和实时人口热力叠加，探讨街道绿色空间的实际被感知程度，从而完成对北京市东城区街道绿色空间维护和享有情况的评估。发现邻近使用者维护街道绿色空间的责任对绿化客观可感知水平的重要性，以及合理的道路断面设计对同时提升街道空间活力和绿视率即绿化实际被感知程度的有效性。由此总结出2点街道绿色空间规划设计建议，即明晰权责边界并保证公共权益优先级，以及加强落地性设计导则中对绿色空间正义问题的关注，并对未来研究提出展望。     

地域文化元素在景观设计中的应用探究

景观设计与地域文化元素之间既互相影响又相互作用,在进行设计的时候要将这个地区的文化作为设计的基础,然后在设计的时候两者进行相互融合,这样设计出来的作品才会有更高的文化认同感,而且地域文化也能作为景观设计作者进行创作的源头。     

中国菊花主题花展及其对行业发展的作用

中国的菊花主题花展(菊花展览)是最重要的赏菊形式,对我国3种主要类型的菊花展览,即综合性菊花展览(中国菊花展览会、国际博览会菊花专项展和各级城市菊花展)、菊花专类园和菊花花田花海的发展现状进行了研究,并分析了菊花展览在促进菊花产业发展、弘扬菊花文化、服务生态文明及美丽乡村建设、加强菊花非物质文化遗产保护中的重要作用,为推动我国菊花展览水平的提高提供借鉴。     

道在山林，周弥六合——浙东天台山“洞天福地”的山岳景观流变及文化意象研究

道教洞天福地作为中国名山风景的经典类型之一，在宗教山岳景观中占据独特地位。浙东天台山水神秀，历代高道以入山隐修为主要目的，形成了道教在区域山林的景观文化基础。从天台山“神仙之乡”的文化背景出发，从“想象与实践”的视角切入，梳理了天台山洞天福地的景观流变：分析其“不死之福庭”地域性景观的形成经历了“赤城→桐柏”的信仰转移过程；以天台山为坐标，洞天福地格局打破了区域“层级”分布特征，而呈现大范围“州郡”空间格局。作为“联结点”的天台山，洞天世界沟通了宇宙、山、人3个基本场域，由此衍生出“洞宫”式和“周回”式山岳空间营建典范。旨在挖掘洞天福地中典型案例的价值，为中国洞天福地体系的构建提供理论依据。