As the number falls,alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number method: A review

This review examines the application, limitations, and potential alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number (FN) method used in the global wheat industry for detecting the risk of poor end-product quality mainly due to starch degradation by the enzyme α-amylase. By viscometry, the FN test indirectly detects the presence of α-amylase, the primary enzyme that digests starch. Elevated α-amylase results in low FN and damages wheat product quality resulting in cakes that fall, and sticky bread and noodles. Low FN can occur from preharvest sprouting (PHS) and late maturity α-amylase (LMA). Moist or rainy conditions before harvest cause PHS on the mother plant. Continuously cool or fluctuating temperatures during the grain filling stage cause LMA. Due to the expression of additional hydrolytic enzymes, PHS has a stronger negative impact than LMA. Wheat grain with low FN/high α-amylase results in serious losses for farmers, traders, millers, and bakers worldwide. Although blending of low FN grain with sound wheat may be used as a means of moving affected grain through the marketplace, care must be taken to avoid grain lots from falling below contract-specified FN. A large amount of sound wheat can be ruined if mixed with a small amount of sprouted wheat. The FN method is widely employed to detect α-amylase after harvest. However, it has several limitations, including sampling variability, high cost, labor intensiveness, the destructive nature of the test, and an inability to differentiate between LMA and PHS. Faster, cheaper, and more accurate alternatives could improve breeding for resistance to PHS and LMA and could preserve the value of wheat grain by avoiding inadvertent mixing of high- and low-FN grain by enabling testing at more stages of the value stream including at harvest, delivery, transport, storage, and milling. Alternatives to the FN method explored here include the Rapid Visco Analyzer, enzyme assays, immunoassays, near-infrared spectroscopy, and hyperspectral imaging.     

Near‐Infrared (NIR) Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes (OLEDs): Challenges and Opportunities

The rapid development of the science and technology of organic semiconductors has already led to mass application of organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) in television monitors of outstanding quality as well as in a large variety of smaller displays found in smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets, while introduction of the technology to the illumination sector is imminent. Notably, the requirements of all such applications for emission in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum are well tuned to the optical and electronic properties of typical organic semiconductors, thereby representing relatively “low‐hanging fruits,” in terms of material development and exploitation. However, the question arises as to whether developing materials suited for efficient near‐infrared (NIR, 700–1000 nm) emission is possible, and, crucially, desirable to enable new classes of applications spanning from through‐space, short‐range communications to biomedical sensors, night vision, and more generally security applications to name but a few. Here, the major fundamental hurdles to be overcome to achieve efficient NIR emission from organic π‐conjugated systems are discussed, recent progress is reviewed, and an outlook for further development of both materials and applications is provided.     

钱塘江景观与文化关系初析

我国进入经济高速发展期后,人们在防洪抗旱得到安全保障、开发资源和治理江道等对河流的基本需求得到满足后,逐渐重视河流的景观和生态功能.从分析研究钱塘江下游河流景观特征、地理水文及人类活动对形成丰富多彩的景观的作用,以及一些以钱塘江为吟颂对象的诗词出发,初步探讨钱塘江景观多样性对人的性格、文学家风格的影响,最后从景观角度探讨河流治理的一些原则.     

有植被的河道水流紊动特性模型试验研究

通过物理模型试验,研究了有植被的河道水流紊动特性.试验结果表明,在复式断面河道滩地种植柔性植被后,滩地糙率增大,水流紊动更为剧烈,河道水流紊动强度峰值由原先的滩槽交界区转移到滩地区.滩地的水流紊动强度沿程递减;滩槽交界区的水流紊动强度沿程不断增大;主槽的水流紊动强度主要与床面糙率有关,滩地植被影响了滩地水流的归槽时间,使主槽水流流速沿程增大.     

汽油烃类族组成测试方法对比

介绍了使用荧光指示剂吸附色谱法、多维气相色谱法的测定影响因素和近红外光谱快速法的分析特点以及三种方法在汽油族组成测定中的应用，并就三种方法对同一试样的测定结果进行了对比，找出各种测定方法容易产生误差的原因及分析对策。     

弯曲性分叉河道中污染物扩散性的初步研究

弯曲性分叉河道中水流特征复杂,对污染物扩散有很大影响。为了定量分析其水流特征对污染物扩散的影响,采用有限元方法求解弯曲性分叉河道中的污染物扩散数学模型,研究其中污染物扩散的状况。主要针对河道回流、绕流对污染物扩散的影响进行了详细数值模拟计算,并分别给出了可视化结果及平均的扩散距离。计算结果表明:边界层稍微减弱污染物的扩散,弯道分离使污染物扩散呈现多向扩散,而回流和绕流尾迹区使污染物很难扩散,从而有利于泄漏污染物的收集和集中治理。     

新安江流域安徽省地区水环境状况分析

统计分析流域内点源污染、面源污染产生量与污染物入河量的调查监测数据,结果表明:安徽省辖新安江流域点源入河系数约为面源入河系数2~3倍,点源污染是流域内主要污染来源,但面源污染的作用不容忽视,尤其是总磷,有近2/3来自面源,相对省辖淮河、长江两流域来说,面源污染贡献率明显增大。指出流域污染防治必须综合考虑点、面源污染两个方面;在点源污染不太严重的情况下,对面源污染的治理必须引起足够的重视,才能取得实效。     

应用改进BP网络对潼关高程的预测

作者在分析了影响汛前和汛后潼关高程变化值的因素的基础上，利用改进BP网络模型对非特征汛期和汛期潼关高程的变化值进行了计算。计算中不采用潼关的绝对高程，而用高程的变化量作为网络的较出物正量，从而减少计算误差，同时又能客观地考虑各影响因子的作用。改进后的BP模型学习时间短，精度满足要求。用该模型计算的潼关高程变化趋势与实际水库调度运行中的高程基本吻合。     

辽河防洪应急工程中的加筋粉细砂筑坝技术

加筋粉细砂筑坝是一门新兴技术,通过在辽河防洪应急工程右岸李家堡段应用表明,该项技术在技术上是可行的、在经济上是合理的。本文介绍了该技术在辽河防洪应急工程右岸李家堡段的应用。     

Expanding the analytical potential of channel locational probability maps using cellular statistics

The planimetric shifts in channel location of large alluvial rivers are a critical component in the creation of diverse structures and functions in riverine habitats. Engineered management schemes must also compensate for this type of channel change to protect resources and maintain navigation channels. The stability of the Lower Mississippi River channel was assessed through an analysis of historical records of channel position produced and archived by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Channel location was recorded for the years 1765, 1820, 1881, 1915, 1930, 1937, 1960 and 1970. Channel stability was measured by two introduced metrics on a cell‐by‐cell basis: (1) the standard deviation of Euclidean distance to a channel cell for the entire period of record, and (2) the rate of Euclidean distance change between years in the period of record. At a coarse spatial scale, channel instability increased in the downstream direction. The variability of channel stability also increased in the downstream direction. Analysis of this variability identified alternating areas of high and low stability occurring with greater frequency as distance downstream increased. These findings are validated by past studies of channel stability along the Lower Mississippi River. As a result, the proposed metrics provide a consistent, quantitative, efficient and cost‐effective means of identifying areas of channel instability at several spatial scales. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.