Differentiation in reproductive traits of geminate mangrove crabs of the genus Aratus (Decapoda: Brachyura) across the Central American Isthmus

The mangrove crab Aratus pisonii was considered to have an amphi‐American distribution; however, a recent study revealed that the Eastern Tropical Pacific populations were genetically distinct, thus representing a new species: Aratus pacificus. These species separated by the Isthmus of Panama have diverged under different environmental conditions that may have influenced their reproductive biology. As the available information about this genus concerns almost exclusively the Caribbean species, the aim of the present study was to analyse and compare reproductive aspects of A. pacificus and A. pisonii obtained from both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Costa Rica. Females were collected from April 2011 to April 2012, and reproductive features such as breeding season, size distribution of ovigerous females, fecundity, reproductive output, embryo volume and embryo water content were assessed. Both species produced embryos during the entire sampled period. Most females of A. pacificus carrying embryos close to hatching were found during the rainy season. Ovigerous females of A. pisonii were substantially larger and reached sexual maturity at a larger size than females of A. pacificus. Embryo production started in A. pacificus at a smaller female size than in A. pisonii. As fecundity increased with female size, the average fecundity was lower in A. pacificus. Females of A. pisonii produced larger embryos, which might be related to lower food availability: higher energy content in the embryo enhances the chances of larval survival. These data regarding reproductive features of the Pacific and Caribbean species support the conclusion to separate A. pacificus from A. pisonii.     

Uncertainty in dam safety risk analysis

The character and importance of uncertainty in dam safety risk analysis drives how risk assessments are used in practice. The current interpretation of uncertainty is that, in addition to the aleatory risk which arises from presumed uncertainty in the world, it comprises the epistemic aspects of irresolution in a model or forecast, specifically model and parameter uncertainty. This is true in part but it is not all there is to uncertainty in risk analysis. The physics of hazards and of failure may be poorly understood, which goes beyond uncertainty in its conventional sense. There may be alternative scenarios of future conditions, for example non-stationarity in the environment, which cannot easily be forecast. There may also be deep uncertainties of the type associated with climate change. These are situations in which analysts do not know or do not agree on the system characterisation relating actions to consequences or on the probability distributions for key parameters. All of these facets are part of the uncertainty in risk analysis with which we must deal.     

The Swedish Geotechnical Society’s methodology for risk management: a tool for engineers in their everyday work

The Swedish Geotechnical Society has adopted a general methodology for risk management in geotechnical engineering projects to reduce the costs related to negative outcomes of geotechnical risks. This technical note highlights the main features of the methodology and strives to inspire the international geotechnical community to apply sensible risk management methods. In the authors’ opinion, a successful geotechnical risk management needs to be structured, be tailored to the project, and permeate the engineers’ everyday work. Then, sufficient quality can be achieved in the project with larger probability.     

博茨瓦纳重要矿产资源潜力与投资前景分析

博茨瓦纳矿产资源丰富,金刚石和镍矿储量大,是南部非洲重要的资源国家。本文通过对博茨瓦纳金刚石、金、铜、镍矿等四大优势矿种的分布特征、产量和品位、主要矿业开发公司及投资环境等分析,认为金刚石、金矿、铜镍矿等矿产资源品位高且开发潜力巨大,与我国新发展阶段矿产资源需求形成很强的互补性。博茨瓦纳基础设施发展总体较为落后但正在逐步完善,经济发展形势向好,矿业相关法律制度较为完善,对外资企业也有较多的优惠政策,国内安全状况较为稳定,因而吸引了许多外资企业进行矿业投资。针对重要的金刚石、金矿和镍矿本文提出了相关开发建议,同时以“一带一路”为契机,加强人文领域交流,投资完善基础设施建设,带动中资企业在博茨瓦纳开展矿业合作。     

Landslide susceptibility zonation method based on C5.0 decision tree and K-means cluster algorithms to improve the efficiency of risk management

Machine learning algorithms are an important measure with which to perform landslide susceptibility assessments,but most studies use GIS-based classification methods to conduct susceptibility zonation.This study presents a machine learning approach based on the C5.0 decision tree(DT)model and the K-means cluster algorithm to produce a regional landslide susceptibility map.Yanchang County,a typical landslide-prone area located in northwestern China,was taken as the area of interest to introduce the proposed application procedure.A landslide inventory containing 82 landslides was prepared and subse-quently randomly partitioned into two subsets:training data(70％landslide pixels)and validation data(30％landslide pixels).Fourteen landslide influencing factors were considered in the input dataset and were used to calculate the landslide occurrence probability based on the C5.0 decision tree model.Susceptibility zonation was implemented according to the cut-off values calculated by the K-means clus-ter algorithm.The validation results of the model performance analysis showed that the AUC(area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve)of the proposed model was the highest,reaching 0.88,compared with traditional models(support vector machine(SVM)=0.85,Bayesian network(BN)=0.81,frequency ratio(FR)=0.75,weight of evidence(WOE)=0.76).The landslide frequency ratio and fre-quency density of the high susceptibility zones were 6.76/km2 and 0.88/km2,respectively,which were much higher than those of the low susceptibility zones.The top 20％interval of landslide occurrence probability contained 89％of the historical landslides but only accounted for 10.3％of the total area.Our results indicate that the distribution of high susceptibility zones was more focused without contain-ing more"stable"pixels.Therefore,the obtained susceptibility map is suitable for application to landslide risk management practices.     

中国冰冻圈变化的适应研究：进展与展望

冰冻圈变化的适应研究是冰冻圈科学领域的新兴研究方向,是当今自然科学与社会科学交叉融合跨学科集成研究的典型代表。起步于2007年的中国冰冻圈变化适应研究,经历了早期的探索,研究重点由评价脆弱性发展为量化冰冻圈变化的影响,形成以影响/风险—脆弱性—适应全链条的完善的研究体系,研究方法突破传统的指标体系赋权法的不足,初步实现了定量化,有机结合影响/风险、脆弱性、适应三方面的研究结果,使冰冻圈变化的适应措施由偏重宏观性、普适性开始转向更有针对性。未来中国冰冻圈变化的适应研究应拓展、完善和深化现有的理论体系,构建冰冻圈与社会经济耦合模型,科学量化冰冻圈全要素变化的影响,建立不同利益相关者与科学家共同参与的研究新模式,科学有效应对与适应冰冻圈变化及其影响。     

Flood insurance arrangements in the European Union for future flood risk under climate and socioeconomic change

Flood risk will increase in many areas around the world due to climate change and increase in economic exposure. This implies that adequate flood insurance schemes are needed to adapt to increasing flood risk and to minimise welfare losses for households in flood-prone areas. Flood insurance markets may need reform to offer sufficient and affordable financial protection and incentives for risk reduction. Here, we present the results of a study that aims to evaluate the ability of flood insurance arrangements in Europe to cope with trends in flood risk, using criteria that encompass common elements of the policy debate on flood insurance reform. We show that the average risk-based flood insurance premium could double between 2015 and 2055 in the absence of more risk reduction by households exposed to flooding. We show that part of the expected future increase in flood risk could be limited by flood insurance mechanisms that better incentivise risk reduction by policyholders, which lowers vulnerability. The affordability of flood insurance can be improved by introducing the key features of public-private partnerships (PPPs), which include public reinsurance, limited premium cross-subsidisation between low- and high-risk households, and incentives for policyholder-level risk reduction. These findings were evaluated in a comprehensive sensitivity analysis and support ongoing reforms in Europe and abroad that move towards risk-based premiums and link insurance with risk reduction, strengthen purchase requirements, and engage in multi-stakeholder partnerships.     

内蒙古东南部暴雨洪涝灾害风险评估与区划——以通辽市为例

文章选取通辽市各气象站点气象数据、基础地理信息数据、历史灾情数据、第二次土地调查数据及相关社会经济等统计数据,基于自然灾害风险原理,利用数理统计、层次分析法及空间叠加分析等方法,提出了通辽市暴雨洪涝灾害风险评价指标体系,得到通辽市暴雨洪涝灾害风险评估空间分布图。结果表明:高风险区主要分布在通辽市北部山区、中东部地区及偏南部地区,包括扎鲁特旗鲁北镇、科尔沁区、科左中旗东南部及库伦旗东南部;而科左后旗大部地区易形成由短时强降水引发的洪涝,为次高风险区;低风险区及次低风险区主要分布在通辽市中部、西南部地区,包括开鲁县、奈曼旗北部、科左中旗西部。     

产业地理集聚与外商直接投资产业分布——以北京市制造业为例

外商直接投资理论强调跨国公司的垄断优势和东道国的区位优势决定外商直接投资的产业分布。本文认为外商直接投资的产业分布还可能取决于因产业地理集聚和地方化贸易所形成的竞争优势。本文采用1999~2004年北京外商直接投资的产业流资料建立面板数据回归模型,引入产业地理集聚系数、产业联系等变量来研究影响外资产业分布的因素。统计分析表明,在空间上比较集聚、产业内联系较强的产业能够吸引更多的外商直接投资;前期外商投资对于跟进投资具有显著的示范效应、信息溢出效应以及产业联系效应,从而直接导致外资的产业累积效应。外商也强烈偏好资本技术密集型产业以及在国际市场上具有显著比较优势、盈利率高的产业。外商在充分利用其垄断优势、产业比较优势和竞争优势的同时,也尽量避开实际劳动成本较高和进入壁垒较高的垄断性产业。本文的结果显示,发挥本地优势,完善产业配套,促成产业集群是提升城市吸引外商直接投资的有效途径。     

制度与文化对嵌入式技术海外转移的影响——以蒙内铁路为例

中国与东道国之间制度与文化上的差异,已经成为中国企业“走出去”关注的重点,也是推动“一带一路”建设向高质量发展转变必须考虑的重要因素。现代化铁路项目具有“自然垄断”、投资大、涉及地域广的特点,其建设对运营制度与文化的依赖性强,属于一种典型的变革性项目和嵌入式技术转移。“一带一路”沿线国家制度建设相对薄弱,与中国文化差异较大,且往往不具备铁路运营技术与能力,因此中国铁路在“走出去”的过程中,必须从设计—建设—运营乃至投融资进行全链条考虑,并将铁路项目作为“技术—制度—文化”复合体进行培育,即通过制度保障、文化相互适应以及技术标准、管理模式、产业链条的属地化管理,来保障项目的成功运营。蒙内铁路是中国铁路“走出去”较为成功的案例,本文通过实地调研,总结了“技术—制度—文化”复合体海外发展模式,从而为推动海外项目建设与运营成功、“一带一路”建设向高质量发展提供借鉴意义。