Forest fuel treatment detection using multi-temporal airborne lidar data and high-resolution aerial imagery: a case study in the Sierra Nevada Mountains,California

Treatments to reduce forest fuels are often performed in forests to enhance forest health, regulate stand density, and reduce the risk of wildfires. Although commonly employed, there are concerns that these forest fuel treatments (FTs) may have negative impacts on certain wildlife species. Often FTs are planned across large landscapes, but the actual treatment extents can differ from the planned extents due to operational constraints and protection of resources (e.g. perennial streams, cultural resources, wildlife habitats). Identifying the actual extent of the treated areas is of primary importance to understand the environmental influence of FTs. Light detection and ranging (lidar) is a powerful remote-sensing tool that can provide accurate measurements of forest structures and has great potential for monitoring forest changes. This study used the canopy height model (CHM) and canopy cover (CC) products derived from multi-temporal airborne laser scanning (ALS) data to monitor forest changes following the implementation of landscape-scale FT projects. Our approach involved the combination of a pixel-wise thresholding method and an object-of-interest (OBI) segmentation method. We also investigated forest change using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and standardized principal component analysis from multi-temporal high-resolution aerial imagery. The same FT detection routine was then applied to compare the capability of ALS data and aerial imagery for FT detection. Our results demonstrate that the FT detection using ALS-derived CC products produced both the highest total accuracy (93.5%) and kappa coefficient (κ) (0.70), and was more robust in identifying areas with light FTs. The accuracy using ALS-derived CHM products (the total accuracy was 91.6%, and the κ was 0.59) was significantly lower than that using ALS-derived CC, but was still higher than using aerial imagery. Moreover, we also developed and tested a method to recognize the intensity of FTs directly from pre- and post-treatment ALS point clouds.     

绿色电镀技术系统示范项目

根据生产实践和现场数据,详细介绍了安美特公司配合中国环境保护产业协会和中国表面工程协会共同启动的"绿色电镀技术示范项目"的实施状况.该示范项目的核心内容是包括前处理、锌合金电镀及后处理在内的防腐蚀镀层组合实用技术.经被试点电镀企业投放于大生产实践的长期使用,该示范项目取得了上佳的环境和经济效益:单位水耗降低了85%,单位能耗降低了65%;电镀废水中COD减少了50%,电镀速率提高了50%,产品一次合格率从90%提高到98%;钝化液中锌杂质削减了65%～95%,铁杂质削减了85%～95%,而且彻底杜绝了锌镍合金电镀过程中氰化物的产生.     

Numerical modelling and implementation of ferrite cored eddy current probes

This paper focuses on the development of a magnetic moment method of calculating vector field quantities for a highly permeable ferrite cored eddy current probe. Basis functions are used in this method to replace the scattered field caused by the probe core in accordance with the surface equivalence theorem. These functions are further developed and tested for accuracy and convergence. An efficient material profile equation, independent of probe coil and basis function properties, is also designed and verified. Collocation point selection and optimisation is finally undertaken leading to the accurate determination of probe source coil impedance. The accuracy of calculation is verified using an industry standard finite element solver.     

喷涂房循环水槽涂漆解黏处理技术

在工业喷漆生产线,大约有25%～60%的涂漆由于超过量喷涂而损耗。在大型喷漆作业线如汽车行业,过喷的涂漆会被循环水系统所收集,然后采用传统的化学涂料解黏系统进行处理。本文介绍了循环水槽涂漆常用的化学、生物及生化处理工艺,并对结合了化学-生物处理方法开发出来的KleerAid生化涂漆解黏工艺与传统工艺进行了比较。生产应用表明,该生化工艺对水质的COD值、总悬浮物值、污泥含水率、污泥的解黏程度均优于传统的化学解黏工艺,提高了整体循环水处理的成本效益。     

Future trends of building heating and cooling loads and energy consumption in different climates

Principal component analysis of dry-bulb temperature, wet-bulb temperature and global solar radiation was considered, and a new climatic index (principal component Z) determined for two emissions scenarios – low and medium forcing. Multi-year building energy simulations were conducted for generic air-conditioned office buildings in Harbin, Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming and Hong Kong, representing the five major architectural climates in China. Regression models were developed to correlate the simulated monthly heating and cooling loads and building energy use with the corresponding Z. The coefficient of determination (R²) was largely within 0.78–0.99, indicating strong correlation. A decreasing trend of heating load and an increasing trend of cooling load due to climate change in future years were observed. For low forcing, the overall impact on the total building energy use would vary from 4.2% reduction in severe cold Harbin (heating-dominated) in the north to 4.3% increase in subtropical Hong Kong (cooling-dominated) in the south. In Beijing and Shanghai where heating and cooling are both important, the average annual building energy use in 2001–2100 would only be about 0.8% and 0.7% higher than that in 1971–2000, respectively.     

Subsecond voltammetric separation between dopamine and serotonin in the presence of ascorbate

Although voltammetry has proved an important tool for unraveling the dynamics of specific neurotransmitter molecules during the past decade, it has been very difficult to monitor more than one neurotransmitter simultaneously. In this work, we present a voltammetric methodology that allows discrimination between dopamine and serotonin, two important neurotransmitter molecules with very similar electrochemical properties, in the presence of high concentrations of ascorbate. We combined the application of a novel large-amplitude/high-frequency voltage excitation with signal processing techniques valid for the analysis of nonstationary and nonlinear phenomena. This allows us to minimize the contribution from capacitance and preserve the faradaic features of the voltammetric response providing us with excellent voltammetric detail. Using appropriate voltage excitation parameters and defining specific regions in the voltage space, so-called voltage windows, we can measure the concentrations of dopamine and serotonin separately or independently in mixed solutions even in the presence of high concentrations of ascorbate. Because of the enhanced voltammetric detail of this new technique, it is also possible to explore effects attributed to interfacial phenomena such as adsorption/desorption and electrode fouling.