Tourists’ landscape perceptions and preferences in a Scandinavian coastal region

European cultural landscapes have been subject to change since the middle of the twentieth century, and among the most significant alterations are general re-growth, reforestation, and overgrowth. Such changes might lead to landscape loss for locals and deterioration of vistas for sightseeing holidaymakers. This article responds to a lack of academic research on landscape perceptions among tourists. The main objective is to explore international tourists’ landscape perceptions in a coastal area in northern Scandinavia, focusing on three different concepts thought to be important for tourists’ landscape preferences: typicality, vegetation lushness, and degree of human influence. A combination of free and directed sorting procedures was employed. Quantitative and categorical data derived from the multiple sorting methods were subjected to multidimensional scaling analysis. The results indicate that foreign tourists might have an understanding of re-growth in the case area. Preference ratings gave mixed results in relation to vegetation and human influence as important features for landscape preferences, as found in previous studies. The findings emphasise the need for taking into consideration typicality of setting in future landscape research.     

Accumulation of cadmium in livers and kidneys in Greenlanders

In the Arctic, the traditional diet exposes its people to a very high intake of cadmium because it is highly concentrated in the liver and kidneys of commonly eaten marine mammals. In one study in Greenland, the cadmium intake was estimated to 182 microg/day/person in the fall and 346 in the spring. To determine whether the cadmium is accumulated in humans, we analyzed autopsy samples of liver and kidneys from 95 ethnic Greenlanders (aged 19-89) who died from a wide range of causes. The cadmium concentration in liver (overall mean 1.97 microg/g wet wt) appeared to be unrelated to any particular age group, whereas the concentrations in the kidneys peaked in Greenlanders between 40 and 50 years of age (peak concentration 22.3 microg/g wet wt). Despite the high cadmium levels in the typical Greenlander diet, we found that the cadmium concentrations in livers and kidneys were comparable to those reported from Denmark, Sweden, Australia and Great Britain. Furthermore, even though the mean cadmium intake from the diet was estimated to be 13-25 times higher in Greenlanders than in Danes, we found similar cadmium levels in the kidneys of both. Seal livers and kidneys are the main source of cadmium in the diet of Greenlanders, but these tissues are not eaten in Denmark. Thus, our results suggest that the accumulation of cadmium from Greenlander's marine diet is very low.     

Cultural biases in migration: Estimating non‐monetary migration costs

We monetize the cost for moving to a culturally different location. We combine administrative social security panel data with a proxy for cultural difference based on historical dialect dissimilarity between German counties. Conditional on geographic distance and pre‐migration wage profiles, we find that migrants demand a (indexed with respect to local rents) wage premium of about 1 (1.5) per cent for overcoming one standard deviation in cultural dissimilarity. The effect is driven by males and those who earn above average occupational wages before migration, and more pronounced for geographically short moves.     

Identifying model pollutants to investigate biodegradation of hazardous XOCs in WWTPs

Xenobiotic organic compounds (XOCs) in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents might cause toxic effects in ecosystems. Several investigations have emphasized biodegradation as an important removal mechanism to reduce pollution with XOCs from WWTP effluents. The aim of the study was to design a screening tool to identify and select hazardous model pollutants for the further investigation of biodegradation in WWTPs. The screening tool consists of three criteria: The XOC is present in WWTP effluents, the XOC constitutes an intolerable risk in drinking water or the environment, and the XOC is expected to be biodegradable in WWTPs. The screening tool was tested on bisphenol A (BPA), carbamazepine (CBZ), di(2ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP), 17beta-estradiol (E2), estrone (E1), 17alpha-ethinyloetradiol (EE2), ibuprofen, naproxen, nonylphenol (NP), and octylphenol (OP). BPA, DEHP, E2, E1, EE2, and NP passed all criteria in the screening tool and were selected as model pollutants. OP did not pass the filter and was rejected as model pollutant. CBZ, ibuprofen, and naproxen were not finally evaluated due to insufficient data.     

The Role of Farm Advisors in Multifunctional Landscapes: A Comparative Study of Three Danish Areas, 1995 and 2008

This study investigates the influence of farm advisors on farmers’ decisions regarding ‘Multifunctional landscape commons’, a concept covering environmental and landscape values that benefit the public but which depend on farmers’ management practices. The influence of advisors is analysed by combining data about the source of advice with evidence of land use and landscape changes and participation in subsidy schemes. The study compares three agricultural areas in Denmark. Structured interviews were carried out with all farmers possessing more than 2 ha land in 1995–6 and in 2008. Vertical, production and business-oriented advisory services predominate, together with legal and organisational spatial competence networks. A new group of hobby farmers and pensioned farmers tend not to be included in traditional advisory networks, leaving them to carry out landscape changes and multifunctional landscape commons without professional guidance and consultancy. This means the horizontal coordination among farmers, that is, the territorial competences, decrease.     

An ASM/ADM model interface for dynamic plant-wide simulation

Mathematical modelling has proven to be very useful in process design, operation and optimisation. A recent trend in WWTP modelling is to include the different subunits in so-called plant-wide models rather than focusing on parts of the entire process. One example of a typical plant-wide model is the coupling of an upstream activated sludge plant (including primary settler, and secondary clarifier) to an anaerobic digester for sludge digestion. One of the key challenges when coupling these processes has been the definition of an interface between the well accepted activated sludge model (ASM1) and anaerobic digestion model (ADM1). Current characterisation and interface models have key limitations, the most critical of which is the over-use of X_c (or lumped complex) variable as a main input to the ADM1. Over-use of X_c does not allow for variation of degradability, carbon oxidation state or nitrogen content. In addition, achieving a target influent pH through the proper definition of the ionic system can be difficult. In this paper, we define an interface and characterisation model that maps degradable components directly to carbohydrates, proteins and lipids (and their soluble analogues), as well as organic acids, rather than using X_c. While this interface has been designed for use with the Benchmark Simulation Model No. 2 (BSM2), it is widely applicable to ADM1 input characterisation in general. We have demonstrated the model both hypothetically (BSM2), and practically on a full-scale anaerobic digester treating sewage sludge.     

Bemessung typischer massiver Bauteile des Kraftwerkbaus nach unterschiedlichen europäischen Regelwerken

Im Zuge ihrer Expandierung erweitern die Energieversorger ihre Kraftwerkparks zunehmend im Ausland. Aus Gründen der Wirtschaftlichkeit werden die Kraftwerksneubauten dabei teilweise im sogenannten “Konvoi” errichtet. Aufgrund der in den europäischen Ländern unterschiedlich geltenden Normen ergeben sich aber unter anderem Unterschiede in der Bemessung und Dimensionierung der Stahlbetontragwerke. In diesem Beitrag werden diese Unterschiede exemplarisch zwischen den für Deutschland und für die Niederlande gültigen Normen, sowie nach den in Europa zukünftig verbindlich anzuwendenden Eurocodes untersucht. Design of typical massive concrete elements in power plants according to different European codes. In course of expansion the energy companies expand their plant areas more and more in foreign countries. Because of economy the new built plants are partly built in the so called “convoy”. Due to the different standards in European countries there could be some differences for the design of concrete structures. In the following article the differences between the valid German, Dutch and the future authentic applicable European standards for design of concrete structures are analysed.     

光学式还是感应式？——伺服驱动控制环中的编码器

由于旋转变压器，感应式和光学式编码器在可达到的精度及分辨率上有着巨大的差别，伺服电机选用哪种编码器技术应由实际应用的精度要求来决定。旋转变压器的主要优点是耐用，而光学编码器则在定位精度，运转平稳度和驱动的静音性能等方面优点突出。感应式编码器采用和旋转变压器类似的扫描原理，但可以达到每转17Bit的较高分辨率。     

Distribution and mobility of arsenic in the Río Dulce alluvial aquifers in Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina

Factors controlling arsenic (As) mobilization in the aquifers of the Río Dulce alluvial cone were investigated. Groundwater analyses show severe As contamination (average concentration of 743 mug/L) from geogenic sources, but spatial variability of As concentration is considerable. Sequential leaching of sediment samples from unsaturated zone using de-ionised water, bicarbonate, acetate, and oxalate extracted As to different extents. Sediment oxalate extraction showed that Al and Mn oxide and hydroxides are more abundant than Fe oxides and hydroxides, in spite of similar total Fe, Mn, and Al concentrations in the sediment. Speciation calculations performed for saturated zone samples indicated that Fe and Al oxides and hydroxides are stable in groundwater, suggesting that As adsorption processes may be to some extent controlled by the presence of Fe and Al mineral phases. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that As is related to F, V, Mo, B, Si, most likely due to their common origin in volcanic ash. This suggests the volcanic ash as the probable source of groundwater As. Locally, elevated pH values linked to carbonate dissolution, cation exchange, and dissolution of silicates promote release of adsorbed As. Another factor contributing to the release of As locally may be the input of organic matter from excessive irrigation. The conceptual model of As release includes: i) As influx from dissolution of volcanic glass in volcanic ash, ii) adsorption of As on the surface of Fe and Al mineral phases in relatively low pH zones, and iii) high mobility of As in high pH zones. Future work should be focused on the determination of mineralogical forms of As in volcanic ash and on detailed investigation on factors controlling As mobility.     

Heat-integrated reactor concepts for catalytic reforming and automotive exhaust purification

Optimal solutions in environmental catalysis require a well-coordinated development of catalysts and of process design. This contribution is devoted to energy integrated design concepts for fuel reforming and for automotive exhaust purification. The examples presented demonstrate the importance of an innovative process design for optimal utilization of existing catalysts and show the potential of future developments.

New concepts for steam reforming through the efficient coupling of the endothermic reforming reaction with an exothermic combustion reaction are discussed in the first part. These concepts have been implemented for methanol steam reforming in a counter-current reactor with distributed side feed of burner gas and for methane steam reforming in a modular reactor with a co-current reaction section for the endothermic and the combustion reaction and attached counter-current heat exchangers. Both applications employ the so-called folded sheet reactor design, which ensures an excellent heat transfer between the reforming and combustion channels and efficient heat recovery.

A similar design solution is introduced for the apparently different case of automotive exhaust purification. The proposed concept aims at decoupling exhaust after-treatment from engine control. Its main component is a counter-current heat exchanger with integrated purification stages for HC-oxidation, NO_X storage and reduction and soot filtering. A small catalytic burner at the hot end of the heat exchanger provides both heat and oxidizing or reducing agents on demand. A new soot filter design allows for safe soot filter regeneration.