The development of marine biotechnology in Oman: Potential for capacity building through open innovation

This study examines the current state of the art in the emerging and strategically important marine biotechnology sector in Oman, which has a long coastline, rich marine heritage and strong fishing industry. In a knowledge-based economy, the ability to innovate is a key factor for increasing organisational competitiveness and this may be achieved using open innovation. This is the use by firms of external knowledge, ideas and technology to innovate. In this study, the extent of open innovation in Omani marine bioindustry companies has been studied by examining data from the top sixteen companies ranked by number of employees. The results indicate that the extent of openness in these companies is higher towards market side activities. In addition, the use of open innovation to increase collaboration between companies, Universities and government research institutes needs to be significantly strengthened.     

Active open boundary forcing using dual relaxation time-scales in downscaled ocean models

Regional models actively forced with data from larger scale models at their open boundaries often contain motion at different time-scales (e.g. tidal and low frequency). These motions are not always individually well specified in the forcing data, and one may require a more active boundary forcing while the other exert less influence on the model interior. If a single relaxation time-scale is used to relax toward these data in the boundary equation, then this may be difficult. The method of fractional steps is used to introduce dual relaxation time-scales in an open boundary local flux adjustment scheme. This allows tidal and low frequency oscillations to be relaxed independently, resulting in a better overall solution than if a single relaxation parameter is optimized for tidal (short relaxation) or low frequency (long relaxation) boundary forcing. The dual method is compared to the single relaxation method for an idealized test case where a tidal signal is superimposed on a steady state low frequency solution, and a real application where the low frequency boundary forcing component is derived from a global circulation model for a region extending over the whole Great Barrier Reef, and a tidal signal subsequently superimposed.     

一种室内实时定位监控系统地图可视化方案

针对大型室内场所实时监控系统面临的地图可视化功能不足的问题,文章结合室内定位监控系统需求,提出一种基于开源WebGIS技术的实时定位监控系统室内地图可视化方案,基于Web三层体系分别设计了室内地图符号化方案、管理方案以及Web监控端显示方案;最后设计开发了一套室内实时定位监控系统HospMonitor,并在医院进行了应用实验,能够实现对医院特定人员进行实时定位、动态追踪和查询分析等功能,该方案提升了现有实时定位监控系统中的室内地图可视化性能,可推广应用于大型室内场馆实时监控管理应用中。     

Design of sediment detention basins: Scaled model experiments and application

Sediment detention basins are implemented on mountain rivers to trap solid material that may aggravate the flooding of downstream settlements.However,retention structures built in the past may unnecessarily retain sediment during non-hazardous flood events,resulting in high maintenance costs and sediment deficit downstream.In addition,the so-called spontaneous self-flushing of previously retained sediment during floods has occasionally been observed.Recent research suggests to design sediment detention basins for controlling sediment passage with a guiding channel across the deposition area upstream of a hybrid barrier.Such barriers consist of a check dam with a slot orifice and an upstream bar screen with a bottom clearance in order to benefit from a combined mechanical-hydraulic retention control.The present paper enhances this pioneering research with the help of new experimental data,including a wide range of sediment mixtures and large wood,as well as variable barrier heights.Improved design criteria are provided regarding the bar screen and the basin storage capacity.The functionality of the enhanced concept for sediment detention is illustrated by a case study on a physical model:the protection of the Villard-Bonnot village(France)against torrential hazards.     

GIS软件的发展方向研究

GIS软件发展到现在已经到了一个比较成熟的阶段。开源GIS的提出,从本质上为GIS软件的新发展提供了方向。开源GIS以开放、分享的特点将会成为以后GIS软件研发的主流方向。文章概述了开源GIS的基本构架、数据类型和优势特点,同时从研发角度以及商业角度分析了开源GIS的意义。     

EXPERIMENTS ON FLOW AROUND A CYLINDER IN A SCOURED CRANNEL BED

1 INTRODUCTION'LOcal scour around a pier is a result of the interatiOn amongst the pier, the aPproach flow and theerodible bed. The Presence of a pier results in a stagnation pressure build-up in front of the pier and athree-dimensional tUrbulent flow echaracterized by the downward flow ahead of the pier and the so-called horseshoe vortex along the base of the Pier forms itself The flow modifies the erothe bed inthe vicinity of the pier when local scour takes place (Graf and AJhnakar l…     

Post-analysis simulation of the collapse of an open sabo dam of steel pipes subjected to boulder laden debris flow

The objective of the proposed method is to utilize a site investigation of a debris flow disaster and verify a real scale analysis to evaluate the impulsive load on an open sabo dam. The Nagiso debris flow disaster which occurred in Nagano in 2014, where damage caused by Typhoon Neogri was studied. The verification result of the site investigation demonstrated the weak components of the open Sabo dam experienced damage owing to the debris flow. A discrete element method is normally applied to a solid body to calculate an interaction function force with respect to the contact point between boulders and the dam. The numerical method initially concatenates elements that model the open Sabo dam. Moreover, the stiffness coefficient of flanges and coupling joints between pipes was expressed to utilize the sectional partition method to determine the structural characteristics. The method was improved to separate from the connecting elements beyond the boundary conditions. The debris flow model uses a water flow distribution model, and the debris flow flowed from 200 m upstream of the open sabo dam. Accordingly, the proposed method was examined to verify the primary cause of damage to the open sabo dam and used to reproduce the circumstances that evaluated the impulsive load occurrence mechanism in the case of a real disaster. In addition, the coupling joints between the hollow steel pipes utilized a ‘reproduction analysis’ for a real sabo dam and a ‘reinforced analysis’ for a reinforced sabo dam were applied to assess the weak point of the dam.     

Distribution of cacti in Larrea spp. shrublands in Mendoza, Argentina

In three Larrea shrublands, cacti grow under Larrea canopy at northern and southern exposures and in open spaces were counted. Cacti distribution was related to environmental variables. Seven out of the 15 cacti present were found to be associated with shrubs, whereas the other species were found in the open spaces. The lower temperature and radiation occurring under shrubs at south exposures would explain the absence of cacti in these places. The higher organic matter, nutrients, and moisture in the soils under shrubs appeared to be correlated with higher cacti density. The presence of cacti seedlings only under shrubs could be attributed to the favourable environmental conditions for cacti seed germination and seedling survival that occurred in these places.