The call of the other 0.1%: genetic aesthetics and the new Moreaus

Remakes of popular novels and films indicate how animals have become a primary means of representing not only the rapid development and proliferation of genetically modified organisms in plant form but also the interplay of aesthetics and scientific technologies in the post-Darwinian emphasis on species as a social form. Where vivisection worked in the 1896 novel The Island of Dr. Moreau as a scientific mechanism for social dominance, ensuing versions of the story over the past 100 years have come to position eugenic breeding and, most recently, transgenic splicing as the trope for playing out the central cultural work of ordering species in the distinction of human species being. But the contradictions of representing animals also open up other possibilities for genetic aesthetics. Especially in the 1996 film remake, the isolation of the successful transgenic animal (akin to what artist Eduardo Kac calls “the beautiful chimera”) and her alignment with the human become the conditions of possibility for a theriocentric (nonhuman animal centered) community of animal transgenics that emerges in opposition to the human genetic aesthetic. Animals remain the medium in which these struggles are (re)enacted, but their transgenic forms enable an investigation of how and why the human is increasingly defined as genetically 0.1% removed from the animal.

Relative demand by double-crested cormorants and anglers for fish production from lakes on Manitoulin Island,Lake Huron

The magnitude of angler harvest (kg·ha^− 1·yr^− 1) and cormorant consumption (kg·ha^− 1·yr^− 1) were compared for a set of lakes (N = 11) on Manitoulin Island. Empirical models relating total phosphorus to total fish production as well as production to body mass were used to scope the possible range of fish production and to partition production among small, medium and large size segments of fish populations, respectively. Medium (66–112 g) and large (> 200 g) size segments were defined as size categories targeted by cormorants (stomach diet analysis) and anglers (creel interviews), respectively. Angling effort and cormorant density were estimated from aerial surveys of the lake set during the open water season and for anglers during the winter ice-fishing season. Results showed that anglers harvested almost all large fish production, assuming the mean total fish production model, and 43% of large fish production under the more optimistic upper 80% prediction limit of total fish production. Cormorant consumption of medium fish production was less (39% using mean regression model; 15% using upper 80% prediction model) than angler consumption of large fish production. Anglers therefore imposed more population stress on their preferred sizes of fish than cormorants imposed on their preferred sizes of fish. Population stress was increased when cormorant consumption of medium size fish was discounted from contributing to large fish production. Angler harvest near (or above) sustainable yield levels will be exacerbated and appear as a fish collapse when cormorants consume fish production destined for fish size segments preferred by anglers.     

浅析西南石油大学校园一卡通

本文主要介绍了西南石油大学校园一卡通的建设情况。     

Identification and analysis of urban surface temperature patterns in Greater Athens, Greece, using MODIS imagery

Thermal infrared images are being acquired by satellites for more than two decades enabling studies of the human-induced Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon. As a result, the requirement of the scientific community for fast and efficient methods for extracting and analyzing the thermal patterns from a vast volume of acquired data has emerged. The present paper proposes an innovative object-based image analysis procedure to extract thermal patterns for the quantitative analysis of satellite-derived Land Surface Temperature (LST) maps. The spatial and thermal attributes associated with these objects are then calculated and used for the analyses of the intensity, the position and the spatial extent of UHIs. A case study was conducted in the Greater Athens Area, Greece. More than 3000 LST images of the area acquired by MODIS sensor over a decade were analyzed. Three daytime hot-spots were identified and studied (Megara, Elefsina-Aspropyrgos and Mesogeia). They were all found to exhibit similar behavior, gradually increasing their maximum temperature during the summer season and reaching their maxima in mid-July. The hot-spots' thermal intensities compared to a suburban area were of 9-10 °C and were found to be highly correlated to their areal extent. During the night-time, Athens center developed a typical UHI spatially coinciding with the dense urban fabric. The nighttime maximum LST peaked (on average) at the end of July, two weeks later than the daytime surface patterns. The mean spatial extent of UHI in Athens was 55.2 km², whilst its mean intensity was 5.6 °C. The proposed automatic extraction process can be customized for other cities and potentially used for comparison of LST patterns and UHI behavior between different cities.     

Potential of SAR sensors TerraSAR-X, ASAR/ENVISAT and PALSAR/ALOS for monitoring sugarcane crops on Reunion Island

Multi-temporal TerraSAR-X, ASAR/ENVISAT and PALSAR SAR data acquired at various incidence angles and polarizations were analyzed to study the potential of these new spaceborne SAR systems for monitoring sugarcane crops. The sensitivity of different radar parameters (wavelength, incidence angles, and polarization) to sugarcane growth stages was analyzed to determine the most suitable radar configuration for better characterisation of sugarcane fields and in particular the monitoring of sugarcane harvest.Correlation between backscattered signals and crop height was also carried out. Radar signal increased quickly with sugarcane height until a threshold height, which depended on radar wavelength and incidence angle. Beyond this threshold, the signal increased only slightly, remained constant, or even decreased. The threshold height is higher with longer wavelengths (L-band in comparison with C- and X-bands) and higher incidence angles (~ 40° in comparison with ~ 20°).The radar backscattering coefficients (σ°) were also compared to the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) calculated from SPOT-4/5 images. Results showed a high correlation between the behaviors of σ° and NDVI as a function of sugarcane crop parameters. A decrease in NDVI for fully mature sugarcane fields due to drying of the sugarcane (water stress) was also observed in the radar signal. This decrease in radar signal was of the same order as the decrease in radar signal after the sugarcane harvest. In general, it is more suitable to monitor the sugarcane harvest using high incidence angles regardless of the radar wavelength. SAR data in L- and C-bands showed an ambiguity between the signals of ploughed fields and those of fields in vegetation because of the high sensitivity of the radar signal at these wavelengths to surface roughness of bare soils. Indeed, sometimes the radar signal of ploughed fields was of the same order as that of harvested or mature sugarcane fields. Results showed better discrimination between ploughed fields and sugarcane fields in vegetation (sugarcane canopy) when using TerraSAR-X data (X-band).Concerning the influence of radar polarization, results showed that the co-polarizations channels (HH and VV) were well correlated, but had slightly less potential than cross-polarization channels (HV and VH) for the detection of the sugarcane harvest. Finally, SAR data at high spatial resolution were shown to be useful and necessary for better analysis of SAR images when the fields were of small size.     

场地之上 斯塔滕岛的风景园林印记

关注场地的建构一直是风景园林的核心。历史上重要的风景园林设计实践和理念基本都是基于对场地的严谨认知和探索,并在发展过程中得到时间检验。本文以斯塔滕岛为研究场地,从时间的维度探讨与斯塔滕岛结下不解之缘的3位风景园林师的故事,剖析他们基于斯塔滕岛的风景园林实践与理论体系形成之路。追述场地自身随时代发展的改变,以及不同时代风景园林师与场地的互动所触发风景园林的源起和变革,并进一步探讨这些思想变革对风景园林行业和建成环境产生的深远影响。     

崇明三岛污水治理模式的探讨

崇明三岛的发展目标是建设世界级的生态岛,其中污水治理至关重要。对崇明三岛的污水治理工程[包括污水规模、治理模式(集中或分散)、污水厂布局、工艺选择、排放去向等]进行了讨论。预测三岛地区至2020年的污水总量约为28×104m3/d;提出采用分级治理的模式,以真正实现污水集中与分散处理相结合的方式;建议崇明三岛建设堡镇、新河、城桥、长兴等4座集中式污水处理厂,其余城镇和集中居住区的污水采用人工湿地等小型生态化治理方式分散处理,广大农村地区的污水则推广采用庭院式治理方式。     

面向海岛环境的海雾能见度监测系统应用研究

随着无线传感网技术的日益成熟,以及对海岛资源探索的需求,利用无线传感网监测海岛气象信息逐渐受到关注.本文设计实现了低成本的海雾能见度监测系统,可在海岛等崎岖地域组网工作.系统利用低成本传感器,实时采集温湿、风速等气象参数,获取同一时刻、地点的能见度数值,通过Z-score归一化方法进行数据校准,并使用人工神经网络结合支持向量机的方法训练模型,以收集的监测数据作为输入,获得较高精度的能见度输出.大量实验表明该系统可在地域偏远、传统方法难以奏效的场景下,实现较高精度的能见度监测应用.     

崇明东滩地貌演变对生态治理工程的响应研究

2013-2014年长江河口崇明东滩实施生态治理工程,围垦面积达14.4km~2。基于地面三维激光扫描技术(TLS),对治理工程前后崇明东滩地貌进行跟踪观测。研究发现崇明东滩北、中、南三部分对治理工程响应具有显著差异,可以看到自北至南的逐步响应过程。崇明东滩北部潮沟体系均发生改变,光滩淤积强度为+19.5cm/a,+2m线向海推进速率为356m/a,该区域原有地形、地貌均被改变,并逐步向新的动态平衡调整;中部区域部分潮沟体系发生改变,光滩淤积强度达+59cm/a,+2m线向海推进速率为251m/a,该区域部分地形、地貌发生改变,正在逐步调整过程中;南部潮沟体系格局基本稳定,但仍在缓慢发展中,光滩冲刷强度为-3.6cm/a,+2m线向海推进速率为3.9m/a,该区域目前还未受到治理工程的显著影响,地貌演变仍处于动态平衡中。