Alpine medicinal plant trade and Himalayan mountain livelihood strategies

Commercial alpine medicinal plants are collected from the wild by local rural households throughout the Himalaya and sold in order to increase household incomes. Recent studies indicate that this annual trade amounts to thousands of tonnes of roots, rhizomes, tubers, leaves, etc., worth millions of US dollars. The main market is in India. Based on a national survey, including the most commonly traded species, and a village study this paper investigates the importance of the alpine medicinal plant trade at national and local levels in Nepal. The national survey included standardized open-ended interviews with 232 harvesters, 64 local traders, 66 central wholesalers, 47 regional wholesalers, and 16 production companies. The village survey is based on the daily records of household activities in 15 households in a one-year period. The annual Nepalese alpine and sub-alpine medicinal plant trade is conservatively estimated to vary from 480 to 2500 t with a total harvester value of US$0.8–3.3 million; the average harvester value is estimated at US$66.0 ± 99.0. The trade in 1997/98 amounted to 1600 t with a harvester value of US$2.3 million and an export value equivalent to 2.5% of total export from Nepal. Medicinal plant harvesting was found to constitute an integrated part of local livelihood strategies, contributing from 3 to 44% (average of 12%) of the annual household income. Importance at household level depended on land and animal holdings, and the availability of adult male labour. The validity and reliability of methods and analyses is evaluated, and issues of conservation and management of alpine medicinal plant species under the community forestry scheme are discussed.     

中外饭店区域集团化特征对比研究

随着饭店业全球化进程的发展，饭店之间的竞争日趋激烈，国际饭店集团的出现使国际旅游市场和饭店业都发生了极大的变化。与中国饭店集团相比，国际饭店集团具有诸多竞争优势，本文将以世界饭店集团300强为例，与中国饭店区域集团化特征进行对比分析，从而为中国饭店业借鉴国际饭店集团成功经验，应对其挑战提供启示。     

海拉尔盆地贝尔凹陷的油气运聚分析

海拉尔盆地贝尔凹陷是一个以白垩系沉积为主的陆相断陷区。采用条件分析法,对贝尔凹陷的油气运聚条件及其成藏的基本模式进行了系统研究,认为,贝尔凹陷在剖面上有3套成藏组合,其中中部成藏组合最佳;在平面上可分为5个运聚系统,其中以位于凹陷西北部的3个系统为最佳。该凹陷不同构造部位的运聚条件相差较大,生烃洼陷深部位的油气运移以砂岩储集层和断裂为主要输导通道,构造高部位的油气运移以断裂为主,而两者之间的油气输导则以不整合面和断裂为主。在油气运聚和成藏模式分析的基础上,认为贝尔凹陷油气运聚的有利条件主要包括生油凹陷有充足的油源、生油区内有继承性发育的圈闭构造以及各运聚要素间存在良好的时空配置关系3个方面。     

生命线地震工程的研究进展

以我国、美国和日本的研究成果为依据，综述了生命线地震工程的研究概况、研究对象、震后恢复过程优化以及抗震防灾对策的新趋势。     

河南及邻区地震前中小地震活跃-平静的定量指标研究

以累计频度定量计算方法，分区讨论了河南及邻区1970年以来地震活动非线性度ZL值的时间进程曲线，系统计算了M≥5．0级地震前的ZL值，结果表明：开始出现活跃(平静)异常的时间集中在地震前1—2年，结束异常的时间在地震前一年内，集中于0—4个月。同时提出了异常的定量指标以及发震类型。     

科技期刊编辑应具备的基本素质

对科技期刊质量和编辑素质的关系进行了研究，认为编辑是期刊的设计师。一本期刊从总体创意、策划选题、编审稿件到排版设计，无不体现编辑的主体意识。期刊质量的好坏，读者评价的高低都与编辑息息相关。编辑的素质关系到期刊的生存和发展。得出不断提高科技期刊编辑的素质是十分必要的结论。     

Effect of asymmetry and irregularity of seismic waves on earthquake-induced differential settlement of buildings on natural subsoil

The effect of asymmetry and irregularity of the inputted seismic waves on the earthquake-induced differential settlement of the buildings on natural subsoil is investigated in terms of the earthquake damage phenomena, theoretical analyses, dynamic triaxial tests and shaking table tests. A conclusion can be drawn from the investigation results that, the asymmetrical and irregular character of the inputted seismic waves themselves may have a significant contribution to the differential settlement of subsoil and buildings in some cases, and this is a necessary factor to be considered in reasonable evaluation for the differential settlement and other problems relating to the soil deformation due to earthquakes.     

The importance of plant root characteristics in controlling concentrated flow erosion rates

While it has been demonstrated in numerous studies that the aboveground characteristics of the vegetation are of particular importance with respect to soil erosion control, this study argues the importance of separating the influence of vegetation on soil erosion rates into two parts: the impact of leaves and stems (aboveground biomass) and the influence of roots (belowground biomass). Although both plant parameters form inseparable constituents of the total plant organism, most studies attribute the impact of vegetation on soil erosion rates mainly to the characteristics of the aboveground biomass. This triggers the question whether the belowground biomass is of no or negligible importance with respect to soil erosion by concentrated flow. This study tried to answer this question by comparing cross‐sectional areas of concentrated flow channels (rills and ephemeral gullies) in the Belgian Loess Belt for different cereal and grass plant densities. The results of these measurements highlighted the fact that both an increase in shoot density as well as an increase in root density resulted in an exponential decrease of concentrated flow erosion rates. Since protection of the soil surface in the early plant growth stages is crucial with respect to the reduction of water erosion rates, increasing the plant root density in the topsoil could be a viable erosion control strategy. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanisms of riverbank failure along the Arno River,central Italy

Riverbanks along the Arno River have been investigated with the aims of de?ning the main mechanisms of failure and retreat, their spatial distribution, and their causes. Geomorphological aspects were investigated by a reconnaissance of riverbank processes, for a number (26) of representative sites. Laboratory and in situ tests were then performed on a selected number of riverbanks (15). Based on the material characteristics, six main typologies of riverbanks have been de?ned, with homogeneous ?ne‐grained and composite banks representing the most frequent types. Slab‐type failures are the most frequent mechanism observed on ?ne‐grained banks, while cantilever failures prevail on composite banks. The role of river stage and related pore water pressure distributions in triggering the main observed mechanisms of failure has been investigated using two different types of stability analysis. The ?rst was conducted for 15 riverbanks, using the limit equilibrium method and considering simpli?ed hypotheses for pore water pressure distribution (annulment of negative pore pressures in the portion of the bank between low water stage and peak stage). Stability conditions and predicted mechanisms of failure are shown to be in reasonably good agreement with ?eld observations. Three riverbanks, representative of the main alluvial reaches of the river, were then selected for a more detailed bank stability analysis, consisting of: (a) de?nition of characteristic hydrographs of the reach with different return periods; (b) modelling of saturated and unsaturated ?ow using ?nite element seepage analysis; and (c) stability analysis with the limit equilibrium method, by adopting pore water pressure values derived from the seepage analysis. The results are compared to those obtained from the previous simpli?ed analysis, and are used to investigate the different responses, in terms of stability, to different hydrological and riverbank conditions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of marine boundary layer characteristics using a 1-D PBL model over the Bay of Bengal during BOBMEX-99

The characteristic features of the marine boundary layer (MBL) over the Bay of Bengal during the southwest monsoon and the factors influencing it are investigated. The Bay of Bengal and Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX) carried out during July–August 1999 is the first observational experiment under the Indian Climate Research Programme (ICRP). A very high-resolution data in the vertical was obtained during this experiment, which was used to study the MBL characteristics off the east coast of India in the north and south Bay of Bengal. Spells of active and suppressed convection over the Bay were observed, of which, three representative convective episodes were considered for the study. For this purpose a one-dimensional multi-level PBL model with a TKE-ε closure scheme was used. The soundings, viz., the vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, zonal and meridional component of wind, obtained onboard ORV Sagar Kanya and from coastal stations along the east coast are used for the study. The temporal evolution of turbulent kinetic energy, marine boundary layer height (MBLH), sensible and latent heat fluxes and drag coefficient of momentum are simulated for different epochs of monsoon and monsoon depressions during BOBMEX-99.The model also generates the vertical profiles of potential temperature, specific humidity, zonal and meridional wind. These simulated values compared reasonably well with the observations available from BOBMEX.