Technique for Controlling Spread of Limnotic Oncomelania

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease mostly found in areas along the Changjiang River of China. The disease is spread solely through an intermediary named oncomelania, so its spread of schistosomiasis can be controlled by properly designing water intakes which prevent oncomelania from entering farming land or residential areas. This paper reports a successful design process and a new oncomelania-free intake device. The design of the new intake is based on a sound research program in which extensive experimental studies were carried out to gain knowledge of oncomelania eco-hydraulic behavior and detailed flow field information through CFD simulation.     

APPLICATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL PARAMETER DATABASE TO ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIT POPULATION DATABASE

Now GIS is turning into a good tool in handling geographical, economical, and population data, so we can obtain more and more information from these data. On the other hand, in some cases, for a calamity, such as hurricane, earthquake, flood, drought etc., or a decision-making, such as setting up a broadcasting transmitter, building a chemical plant etc., we have to evaluate the total population in the region influenced by a calamity or a project. In this paper, a method is put forward to evaluate the population in such special region. Through exploring the correlation of geographical parameters and the distribution of people in the same region by means of quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis, unit population database (1km× 1km) is established. In this way, estimating the number of people in a special region is capable by adding up the population in every grid involved in this region boundary. The geographical parameters are obtained from topographic database and DEM database on the scale of     

Oxygen isotopic compositions and origins of calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusions and chondrules

Abstract— Primary minerals in calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusions (CAIs), Al‐rich and ferromagnesian chondrules in each chondrite group have δ¹⁸O values that typically range from ?50 to +5%0. Neglecting effects due to minor mass fractionations, the oxygen isotopic data for each chondrite group and for micrometeorites define lines on the three‐isotope plot with slopes of 1.01 ± 0.06 and intercepts of ?2 ± 1. This suggests that the same kind of nebular process produced the ¹⁶O variations among chondrules and CAIs in all groups. Chemical and isotopic properties of some CAIs and chondrules strongly suggest that they formed from solar nebula condensates. This is incompatible with the existing two‐component model for oxygen isotopes in which chondrules and CAIs were derived from heated and melted ¹⁶O‐rich presolar dust that exchanged oxygen with ¹⁶O‐poor nebular gas. Some FUN CAIs (inclusions with isotope anomalies due to fractionation and unknown nuclear effects) have chemical and isotopic compositions indicating they are evaporative residues of presolar material, which is incompatible with ¹⁶O fractionation during mass‐independent gas phase reactions in the solar nebula. There is only one plausible reason why solar nebula condensates and evaporative residues of presolar materials are both enriched in ¹⁶O. Condensation must have occurred in a nebular region where the oxygen was largely derived from evaporated ¹⁶O‐rich dust. A simple model suggests that dust was enriched (or gas was depleted) relative to cosmic proportions by factors of ～10 to >50 prior to condensation for most CAIs and factors of 1–5 for chondrule precursor material. We infer that dust‐gas fractionation prior to evaporation and condensation was more important in establishing the oxygen isotopic composition of CAIs and chondrules than any subsequent exchange with nebular gases. Dust‐gas fractionation may have occurred near the inner edge of the disk where nebular gases accreted into the protosun and Shu and colleagues suggest that CAIs formed.     

Development-Conservation Dilemma in the NilgiriMountains of South India

The Nilgiri Mountains of south India is considered unique by anthropologists, geologists, climatologists, botanists as well as tourists. It has remained a subject of constant study and research over the last two centuries. Man-nature balance had continued undisturbed in the Nilgiris for thousands of years until the early 19th century when it became a British colony attracting, in due course, various developmental activities. Subsequently, the Nilgiris and its popular hill stations emerged as favourite places for the British population in India for rest and recuperation, game and for raising commercial plantations. In the process, the traditional indigenous crops were replaced by “English“ vegetables and the natural forests gave way to commercial plantations of coffee, tea and other exotic species of trees.     

Large‐ion lithophile element fractionation during the early differentiation of Mars and the composition of the martian primitive mantle

Abstract— Basaltic shergottites display a systematic decrease in K/Th, K/U, and K/La ratios with increasing K content. These trends are interpreted as mixing lines between relatively young martian magmas derived from highly depleted mantle sources and an ancient large‐ion lithophile (LIL) element‐enriched crustal component. One implication of this is that a substantial fractionation of these ratios occurs during the early crustal differentiation on Mars. Isotopic evidence from SNC meteorites and compositional data from Pathfinder and orbital gamma ray spectroscopy suggest that in excess of 50% of the LIL element complement of Mars resides in the crustal reservoir. If so, the primitive mantle of Mars is significantly more volatile‐depleted (i.e., lower K/Th, K/U, K/La) than previously thought but probably (though not necessarily) still less volatile‐depleted than the primitive mantle of the Earth. The La/Th ratios of virtually all SNC meteorites are subchondritic, including those with the most severe LREE‐depletion. Extrapolation of the basaltic shergottite trend suggests that both the depleted mantle end member and the enriched crustal end member have subchondritic La/Th ratios. This is in contrast with the Earth where basalts from LIL element‐depleted sources such as MORB have superchondritic La/Th ratios, complementary to the subchondritic ratios of the continental crust. Accordingly, assuming that the refractory elements are in chondritic proportions for the Mars primitive mantle, an additional major geochemical reservoir must exist on Mars that may not yet have been sampled.     

Development and Extension of Seawater Desalination by Reverse Osmosis

Seawater desalination has been people‘s fond dream since ancient times,the dream is now becoming a reality.This paper presents a brief development history of reverse osmosis.Much attention was paid to innovative development in mebranes,modules.equipments and applied technology,including asymmetric and composite membranes,spiral-wound element and hollow fiber module,energy recovery equipments and different technological processes.The extension of reverse osmosis,such as desalination,pre-concentration,integrated processes and nanofiltration,is also briefly mentioned.     

ANALYSIS ON THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION VARIATION CHARACTERISTIC OF URBAN HEAT ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND ITS MECHANISM——A Case Study of Hangzhou City

Urban heat environmental quality(UHEQ) is affected by the interacting of weather condition and underlying surface framework of urban area .In the last two decades,many researchers from domestic and overseas have studied many problems at the aspect of urban heat environment such as urban heat islands ,urban air temperature and their rela-tion with urban land cover,city population,air pollution etc,In the recent years,Hangzhou,acting as a center city of Zhejiang Province in China,its urbanization quantum and quantity have both changed greatly,in particular ,representing as business affairs building,resident real property and all kins of specialty market having arisen in built-up zone,Based on Landsat TM images data in 1991 and 1999,urban underlying surface temperature value and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were calculated using image interpreting and supervised classification technique by remote sensing software ERDAS image 8.4,The relation model between urban underlying surface temperature (UUST )and urban air temperature was setup according to the certain correlation patten .Reference to the relational standard of assessing human comfort and other meteorology data of Hangzhou City in summer,the spatial distribution characteristic and the spatial varia-tion degree of human comfort of heat environmental quality are estimated and mapped on a middle scale,that is ,in six districts of Hangzhou City .Then the paper reveals the main characteristic of spatial variation from 1991 to 1999.Lastly,the change mechanism is analyzed and discussed from the viewpoint of city planning,construction and environmental protec-tion.     

Desert methane: Implications for life detection on Mars

Methane, a potential biosignature, has recently been detected in the martian atmosphere. This Note focuses on field investigations/operational simulations and laboratory studies which resulted in successful detection of methane within arid terrestrial soils, as distinct from the usual methanogen environment, but in at least partial analogy to martian conditions.     

Relationship between footwall composition,crustal contamination,and fluid–rock interaction in the Platreef,Bushveld Complex,South Africa

In the northern limb of the 2.06-Ga Bushveld Complex, the Platreef is a platinum group elements (PGE)-, Cu-, and Ni-mineralized zone of pyroxenite that developed at the intrusion margin. From north to south, the footwall rocks of the Platreef change from Archaean granite to dolomite, hornfels, and quartzite. Where the footwall is granite, the Sr-isotope system is more strongly perturbed than where the footwall is Sr-poor dolomite, in which samples show an approximate isochron relationship. The Nd-isotope system for samples of pyroxenite and hanging wall norite shows an approximate isochron relationship with an implied age of 2.17 ± 0.2 Ga and initial Nd-isotope ratio of 0.5095. Assuming an age of 2.06 Ga, the ɛNd values range from −6.2 to −9.6 (ave. −7.8, n = 17) and on average are slightly more negative than the Main Zone of the Bushveld. These data are consistent with local contamination of an already contaminated magma of Main Zone composition. The similarity in isotope composition between the Platreef pyroxenites and the hanging wall norites suggests a common origin. Where the country rock is dolomite, the Platreef has generally higher plagioclase and pyroxene δ ¹⁸O values, and this indicates assimilation of the immediate footwall. Throughout the Platreef, there is considerable petrographic evidence for sub-solidus interaction with fluids, and the Δ _{plagioclase–pyroxene} values range from −2 to +6, which indicates interaction at both high and low temperatures. Whole-rock and mineral δD values suggest that the Platreef interacted with both magmatic and meteoric water, and the lack of disturbance to the Sr-isotope system suggests that fluid–rock interaction took place soon after emplacement. Where the footwall is granite, less negative δD values suggest a greater involvement of meteoric water. Consistently higher values of Δ _{plagioclase–pyroxene} in the Platreef pyroxenites and hanging wall norites in contact with dolomite suggest prolonged interaction with CO₂-rich fluid derived from decarbonation of the footwall rocks. The overprint of post crystallization fluid–rock interaction is the probable cause of the previously documented lack of correlation between PGE and sulfide content on the small scale. The Platreef in contact with dolomite is the focus of the highest PGE grades, and this suggests that dolomite contamination played a role in PGE concentration and deposition, but the exact link remains obscure. It is a possibility that the CO₂ produced by decarbonation of assimilated dolomite enhanced the process of PGE scavenging by sulfide precipitation.