Monitoring Spots Research Articles

Genetic and hosts characterization of hantaviruses in port areas in Hainan Province, P. R. China.

BackgroundHantaviruses (HVs) are major zoonotic pathogens in China that cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) posing a major threat to people’s health. Hainan Province, an island located in Southeast China, is an ideal region for sea ports. The unique tropical monsoon climate in Hainan provides sufficient living conditions for rodents, which help spread HVs and other rodent-borne diseases. In the routine monitoring of hantavirus, there was no evidence that rodents in Hainan carried hantavirus. No patients infected with hantavirus were found in the past. However, the surveillance of HVs-carrying rodents covering the whole territory of Hainan has not stopped.Methodology/principal findingsFor the monitoring of the prevalence of HVs in rodents and the search for theoretical reference for rodent control and HFRS prevention, a total of 60 rodents from 6 monitoring spots were trapped around main ports in Hainan between 2016 and 2019. HV positive samples were identified by a specific kit and sequenced. The data indicated that seven rodents (Rattus norvegicus) were positive for hantavirus with a positivity rate of 11.67%. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the two complete sequence strains HN1 and HN4 in this research were highly similar to the sequence strains GZRn36 and GZRn148 isolated in Guangdong Province, and they located in the same phylogenetic tree branch which belongs to S2 subtype. Although the two partial sequences HT1 and HT2 isolated in Xisha Islands belong to S2 subtype according to the phylogenetic tree of L segment, they showed a great nucleotide difference with HN1 and HN4. We also found 13 amino acid variations compared with SEOV 80–39 and 6 amino acid mutations related to epitope, and the variations may reduce the effectiveness of the current HFRS vaccines used in humans.Conclusions/significanceThe study indicated HVs carried by rodents found in Hainan Province may be transmitted from Guangdong Province through trading ports and carriage of goods by sea. So it is of great significance to strengthen the surveillance of rodents in port areas especially capture and eliminate rodents on ship. Timely elimination of host animals of hantavirus in port areas is necessary to prevent an outbreak of HVs disease.

Towards Smart Farming: Fog-enabled intelligent irrigation system using deep neural networks

The most amount of withdrawn freshwater in the world is used for agriculture activities to extract essential products for human survival. Smart Farming can manage and optimize the water amount given to crop fields in various crop development stages, weather, and soil condition. Sensors installed in several monitoring spots can gather soil moisture of the crop field to indicate the level of water retained in it. However, due to connectivity or sensor failure problems, the smart farming system can not receive the soil moisture data given by the irrigation management. Deep learning techniques can predict soil moisture data using other irrigation management types as data from weather, crop, and irrigation systems. The Fog Computing paradigm also tackles the connectivity problem in the farms since it extends the traditional cloud computing architecture to the edge of the network, providing edge nodes with computational resources to process and analyze sensor requests. In this context, we propose different deep neural network architectures to build prediction models of soil moisture. We also handle the problem of missing data for the dataset features. For this purpose, we use KNN data imputation, which requires filling the values of unknown (or missing) features with values that ensure a desired degree of reliability. Finally, we also embedded the prediction models on a small single-board computer, often used as a fog node, to evaluate the performance of the prediction models according to CPU and RAM usage. This evaluation showed a maximum consumption increase of 10% CPU and 1% RAM. Therefore, the models are viable to fog architectures in the Internet of Things context. Our results indicate that the predictive models achieve a satisfactory efficiency to improve irrigation water saving.

Automatic fish measurement using a camera and a 3D sensor applied to a long-term experiment

Abstract The fish monitoring effort has been increasing over the past years, due to conservation and management requests demanding more accurate data and consequently raising costs. This is an important challenge especially for remote and disperse locations where fish sampling poses unbearable costs, leading to limited spatial sampling schemes, limited data on rare and occasional landed species, and erroneous and biased observations. In this article, we propose a new autonomous system that can be installed on monitoring spots or on board fishing vessels, which is able to remotely acquire all the landed or captured fish and measure it automatically without any physical interaction. The system uses (i) a camera and a 3D sensor to obtain a complete XYZ reading of the fish and (ii) a convolutional neural network, trained for a representative set of species to detect and measure the individuals visible in a box. The system was validated in real conditions, using continuous observations of the landed fish in three islands of the Azores Archipelago, for 2 years. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the measuring system and an analysis of the sampled data, by comparing the results of the proposed method with the traditional sampling methodology for a given period.

저소음 운항절차 개선을 위한 항공기 소음 측정지점 선정기준에 대한 연구

The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korea has been executing aircraft noise abatement and compensation schemes since 1993; however, there are constant complaints regarding aircraft noise. To establish effective aircraft noise reduction policy, accurate understanding and analysis of aircraft operating noise must be prioritized. This study reviewed the current system and measurement method of aircraft noise and analyzed the measured statistic data of aircraft noise. Three improvement plans were proposed for selecting aircraft noise monitoring spots to manage noise levels in the aircraft noise control areas and to improve noise abatement procedures.

Structural Stress Monitoring and FEM Analysis of the Cutting Operation of the Main Bracket of A Semi-Submersible Platform

For a semi-submersible platform in repair, the eight old main brackets which connect columns with pontoons need to be replaced by new ones. In order to ensure the safety of the cutting operation of the old main bracket and calculate the initial stress condition of new main bracket, the structural stress monitoring of eight key spots is carried out, and then the calibrated finite element model is established according to the field monitoring results. Before cutting the main bracket and all associated structures, eight rectangular rosettes were installed, and a tailored cutting scheme was proposed to release the initial stress, in which the main bracket and associated column and pontoon plates were partly cut. During the cutting procedure, the strains of the monitoring spots were measured, and then the structural stress of the monitored spots were obtained. The stress variation characteristics at different spots during the initial cutting operation were shown and the initial stress condition of the monitored spots was figured out. The loading and support conditions of the semi-submersible platform were calibrated based on the measured initial stress condition, which made the finite element model more credible. The stress condition with the main bracket and associated structures being entirely cut out is analyzed by the Finite Element Method (FEM), which demonstrates the cutting operation to be safe and feasible. In addition, the calibrated finite element model can be used to calculate the initial stress condition of the new main bracket, which will be very helpful for the long-term stress monitoring on the main bracket.

N2O emission in full-scale wastewater treatment: Proposing a refined monitoring strategy

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from wastewater treatment contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. They have been shown to exhibit a strong seasonal and daily profile in previously conducted monitoring campaigns. However, only two year-long online monitoring campaigns have been published to date. Based on three monitoring campaigns on three full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with different activated sludge configurations, each of which lasted at least one year, we propose a refined monitoring strategy for long-term emission monitoring with multiple flux chambers on open tanks. Our monitoring campaigns confirm that the N2O emissions exhibited a strong seasonal profile and were substantial on all three plants (1–2.4% of the total nitrogen load). These results confirm that N2O is the most important greenhouse gas emission from wastewater treatment. The temporal variation was more distinct than the spatial variation within aeration tanks. Nevertheless, multiple monitoring spots along a single lane are crucial to assess representative emission factors in flow-through systems. Sequencing batch reactor systems were shown to exhibit comparable emissions within one reactor but significant variation between parallel reactors. The results indicate that considerable emission differences between lanes are to be expected in cases of inhomogeneous loading and discontinuous feeding. For example, N2O emission could be shown to depend on the amount of treated reject water: lanes without emitted <1% of the influent load, while parallel lanes emitted around 3%. In case of inhomogeneous loading, monitoring of multiple lanes is required. Our study enables robust planning of monitoring campaigns on WWTPs with open tanks. Extensive full-scale emission monitoring campaigns are important as a basis for reliable decisions about reducing the climate impact of wastewater treatment. More specifically, such data sets help us to define general emission factors for wastewater treatment plants and to construct and critically evaluate N2O emission models.

Corrosion map of South Africa’s macro atmosphere

The first atmospheric corrosion map of South Africa, produced by Callaghan in 1991, has become outdated, because it primarily focuses on the corrosivity of coastal environments, with little differentiation given concerning South Africa’s inland locations. To address this problem, a study was undertaken to develop a new corrosion map of the country, with the emphasis placed on providing greater detail concerning South Africa’s inland regions. Here we present this new corrosion map of South Africa’s macro atmosphere, based on 12-month corrosion rates of mild steel at more than 100 sites throughout the country. Assimilations and statistical analyses of the data (published, unpublished and new) show that the variability in the corrosion rate of mild steel decreases significantly moving inland. Accordingly, the average first-year corrosion rate of mild steel at the inland sites (at all corrosion monitoring spots located more than 30 km away from the ocean) measured 21±12 μm/a [95% CI: 18–23 μm/a]. The minimum inland figure was about 1.3 μm/a (recorded at Droërivier in the Central Karoo) and the maxima were approximately 51 μm/a and 50 μm/a in the industrial hearts of Germiston (Gauteng) and Sasolburg (Free State), respectively. The variability in the corrosion rate of mild steel also decreased by as much as 80% between 150 m and 1000 m from the coastline. Moreover, the impact of changing altitude on the corrosivity of the environment was confirmed, particularly along the coastal regions.&#x0D; Significance:&#x0D; &#x0D; A new corrosion map of South Africa’s inland and coastal regions is presented.&#x0D; The map facilitates the identification of South Africa’s least to most corrosive environments; enabling the selection of more appropriate corrosion protection solutions for general, business, mining and industrial installations.&#x0D; In identifying South Africa’s least corrosive areas, the use of more environmentally friendly corrosion protection procedures is potentially encouraged.&#x0D;

VARIATION OF WATER QUALITY ALONG A RIVER IN AGRICULTURAL WATERSHED WITH SUPPORT OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS

In this work we present the application of multivariate statistical analysis and Geographic Information Systems for the conduct of studies the variation of water quality in catchment predominantly agricultural. We conducted the study in the watershed of the Rio das Lontras river/Parana; being carried out with the aid of a multi-parameter probe, in ten spots defined upstream and downstream of the watershed, in four distinct seasons. For mapping land use and occupation, we used mosaicked images dating from the year 2014, from Google Earth. The definition of the areas of influence by the Thiessen polygons technique and multivariate statistical techniques, particularly the Redundancy Analysis (RDA), were used for the correlation research between the explanatory and explanatory variables. In the area of spring, located upstream of the watershed, the contribution to the variation in water quality became smaller, compared to the other monitoring spots. In spots located downstream, we found that the interference in water quality has become greater, due to the effects of diffuse pollution along the watercourse.

A subjective scheduler for subjective dedicated networks

Multiple access technique is one of important techniques within medium access layer in TCP/IP protocol stack. Each network technology implements the selected access method. Priority can be implemented in those methods to differentiate services. Some internet networks are dedicated for specific purpose. Education browsing or tutorial video accesses are preferred in a library hotspot, while entertainment and sport contents could be subjects of limitation. Current solution may use IP address filter or access list. This paper proposes subjective properties of users or applications are used for priority determination in multiple access techniques. The NS-2 simulator is employed to evaluate the method. A video surveillance network using WiMAX is chosen as the object. Subjective priority is implemented on WiMAX scheduler based on traffic properties. Three different traffic sources from monitoring video: palace, park, and market are evaluated. The proposed subjective scheduler prioritizes palace monitoring video that results better quality, xx dB than the later monitoring spots.

Acute effect of ambient air pollution on small airway lung functions among school children in Shanghai

Objective: To study the acute effects of compound ambient air pollution on small airway lung functions among school children in Shanghai. Method: A longitudinal survey on lung functions was conducted among 233 school-children from three schools (A, B and C, located in innerring, mid-ring and outer-ring areas). Lung function test was performed once a week for 3 times respectively, among children in school A and B in Dec. 2013 and in school C in Dec. 2014. The fourth lung function test was tested in Jun. 2014 and May 2015 in the respective schools. Results: from the lung function would include items as: forced mid-expiratory flow at 25% of forced vital capacity (MEF(25%)), mid-expiratory flow at 50% of forced vital capacity (MEF(50%)), mid-expiratory flow at 75% of forced vital capacity (MEF(75%)) and mid-expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of the forced vital capacity (FEF(25%-75%)). Data regarding the daily air quality real-time of PM(2.5), PM(10), SO(2) and NO(2) in Dec. 2013, Dec. 2014, Jun. 2014 and May. 2015 from the three environmental monitoring spots and meteorological data from the Shanghai Meteorological Service system which were physically close to the three schools, were collected simultaneously. Linear mixed effect model was used to examine the levels of correlation between lung function indicators and ambient air pollutants. Results When confounding factors on meteorology and individuals were controlled, the lag effects and accumulated lag effects were found to have existed between the internal quarter rang (IQR) concentration of PM(2.5) and PM(10) in lag2 day and lag02 days, IQR concentration of SO(2) in lag02 day and IQR concentration of NO(2) lag0 day, when small airway lung functions like MEF(25%), MEF(50%), MEF(75%) and FEF(25%-75%)(P<0.05) were inspected. Results from the two air pollutants model analysis showed that SO(2) and NO(2) presenting interactive effects with PM(2.5), PM(10) and lag effects more significant than the individual SO(2) and NO(2), respectively (P<0.05). Conclusion: Contents on the ambient air pollutants as PM(2.5), PM(10), SO(2) and NO(2) were negatively associated with the lung functions in the small airways of children, in Shanghai.

Real-time satellite monitoring spots small-scale changes in forests

Real-time satellite monitoring spots small-scale changes in forests

The Study of Monitoring and Control in the Urban Traffic Noise

In recent years, with the development of the automobile industry and urban traffic, the pollution of road traffic noise in Harbin has become more and more deleterious. After a detailed survey, it was found that the study about the situation of traffic noise pollution in Harbin was less and the result of evaluation was not accurate enough. In addition, the monitoring spots selected were so many that the workload was too heavy. Aim at this phenomenon, a new and comprehensive monitor on road traffic noise in Harbin and evaluation studies was done. The research was according to the state standards. The selected 35 road sections, the source of traffic noise and the state of traffic noise in Harbin and the state of traffic noise pollution were monitored detailed. The temporal and spatial distribution analysis on the source of traffic noise pollution in Harbin was carried out according to the monitoring datum. Through the monitoring safety analysis and overall character analysis on the state of road traffic noise, it was educed the phenomena of road traffic noise was serious pollution in Harbin. The mean value of equivalent continuous sound pressure level was 72.5dB, exceed state criterion about 2.5dB. Traffic noise of region was concluded that Daowai district&gt;Daoli district&gt;Xiangfang district&gt;Nangang district by the traffic noise monitoring and safety analysis. Finally, the researchers found out the main factors which influence the state of road traffic conditions in Harbin based on the previous studies, and provided the countermeasures to reduce the noise.

Application of Varying Coefficient Discrepancy Degree in Water Quality Evaluation of Water Supply Networks

Set pair analysis (SPA) is a new method to describe and process the system uncertainty and has been applied in many areas recently. In view of the uncertainty and complexity in the process of water quality evaluation of water supply networks, the paper introduced a new model-varying coefficient of discrepancy degree based on set pair analysis theory. In the model, a new effective method to the determination of discrepancy degree coefficient i is suggested. As an example, the paper evaluated water quality conditions of water supply networks from 3 monitoring spots by the model. The results of the assessment are in concordance with other evaluation methods. Compared with the other evaluation method, this model is perfect, the evaluating result is more reasonable and its resolving power is higher.

Research on the Influence of Reclamation to the Marine Ecological Environment – Taking Lianyun New City Constructing as an Example

Reclamation is adopted by many coastal countries to develop living space. Although reclamation changes natural coast pattern in local small scope, which most happen on beach area or shallow ocean area. Therefore, it has heavy destroy to local natural system, brings negative effect to coast area ecological environment stability, biodiversity and sustainable development. The paper takes constructing Lianyun new city as example. Biomass changes before construction and during construction at four monitoring spots are analyzed, negative effects to natural environment, marine product yield and marine animals' survival environment are deeply discussed. In order to develop marine ecology , several piece of advices are advanced in the paper to reasonably exploit coast resource and protect natural ecological environment.

도시배수시스템의 효율적 운영을 위한 모니터링 지점선정

As the urbanization proceeds, the extent of impermeability has expanded due to the increase of land use changes and pavement percentage of the road. These facts have aggravated the danger of inundation such as the increase of urban efflux and the decrease in time of reaching permissible range. To handle the increasing amount of inundation, numbers of retarding basins and drainage pump stations are already constructed or under contemplation in the urban areas. Consequently, due to the fact that the damage caused by the inundation might fluctuate according to the technique of drainage pump operation, the importance of appropriate management in detention storage and drainage pump system has aroused, despite of the identical constructional condition of the retarding basins. However, this may work effectively when the efflux from the upper stream is predicted and the pump is activated beforehand. Therefore, for more effective management of drainage pump stations, the following research provides the method of selecting an adequate monitoring spot in the sewer system for the urban basins. Utilizing the entropy methods and linear regressions, the model provided below suggests a method of selecting monitoring spots considering the efflux of each basins and the concentration time to the outlet.

Analysis of monitoring results on plague's host animal and its medium insects in Quanzhou city of Fujian province between 2000 and 2009

Objective To examine the composition and distribution of animal reservoir of plague in Quanzhou city, Fujian province, and so as to accumulate basic data for making the plague prevention and control measures. Methods Rodents were captured by cages in six monitoring spots of Quanzhou city between 2000 and 2009. Then rodents and flea species were identified. Rats liver and spleen homogenates were detected of plague F1 antigen by reverse indirect hemagglutination test (RIHA); rats serum were detected of plague F1 antibody by indirect hemagglutination test (IHA). Results A total of 26 264 rodents were captured between 2000 and 2009.Rattus norvegicus and Rattus flavipectus were dominant species, which were accounted for 45.97％ (12 074/26 264)and 32.01％(8407/26 264), respectively. The account of Rattus flavipectus captured between 2005 and 2009 was (26.99 ± 2.46)％ and (37.03 ± 3.79)％ between 2000 and 2004. The difference was statistically significant (t =4.97, P ＜ 0.05). Total rodent densities was (6.86 ± 1.44)％, including(5.36 ± 1.83)％ in mountains and (6.81 ±1.66)％ in coastal areas, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant(t =1.01, P ＞ 0.05). Total flea index and flea infection rate of rodents were 1.39 ± 0.34 and (35.90 ± 5.34)％, respectively. Xenopsylla Cheopis index was 1.20 and free flea index was 0.009. Flea infection rate was (32.36 ± 0.96)％ between 2005 and 2009, which was lower than (39.44 ± 0.39)％ between 2000 and 2004(t =2.76, P ＜ 0.05). Conclusions The major rodent species found in Quanzhou city is Rattus norvegicus. Xenopsylla Cheopis is the dominant flea species.Spreading of plague among Rattus is not found. Key words: Plague; Host-parasite relations; Fleas; Data collection

Evaluation of Underground Water Quality in QingShuihe District, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Abstract Based on the prospecting and the data that got through the investigation, to carry out the balance calculations on current situation of the water source by water balance method, and demonstrate the admittable exploitation, the calculation results showed that the water source can satisfy the water need for establishing the new district; meanwhile, the evaluation results about water quality in the water source which was conducted by single classification and comprehensive evaluation method shows that the monitoring spots that the water quality is good take up 84.2% in the whole planning area, the spots which the water quality is relatively poor account for 10.5%, the spots which the water quality is bad only account for 5.3%. The most part of the ground water in this area can be used as the source for daily life, industry and agriculture purpose. The water in some particular place only can be used in daily life after being processed.

Results and analysis on the national key monitoring of endemic arsenism in Jilin Province in 2005 and 2006

Objective To explore the present condition of endemic arsenism, the implementation of control measures and the effect of the monitored county (Tongyu County) and the monitoring spot (Baiyintuhai Village) in 2006 and 2007. Methods According to the National Survey Scheme of Endemic Arsenism, the progress of anti-arsenic water in Tongyu, and the management and running of all engineering projects and the arsenic content in water were surveyed. The patients with endemic arsenism in Tongyu were generally surveyed. The arsenic content of the improved drinking water in Tongyu and the arsenic in urine of children aged 8-12 and adults over 18 years of age were determinted. The causes of resident death in the monitoring spot from the year of 2006 and 2007 were investigated. Arsenic content of drinking water and the urine of local residents was examined with Model AFS-930 Double-Channel Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometer. Results There were 30 endemic arsenism areas, 157 areas with high arsenic content and all population of 57 576 in Tongyu. Six areas had improved water till 2006, where 20.0% of water had improved, and six water-improving projects were all running normally, benefiting a population of 1670. Eight high arsenic areas changed water, in a rate of 5.09%. Eight water-improving projects were functioning well, benefiting a population of 4350. Until 2007, 28 areas had improved water in Tongyu, accounting for 93.33%. These 28 projects were well running, covering a population of 7980. One hundred and fouty-eight high arsenic areas had changed water, reaching a rate of 94.27%. One hundred and fouty-eight projects changedg water were running normally, benefiting a population of 46 214. In the surveyed spots, arsenic content was between 0.004 mg/L and 0.005 mg/L in 2006 and between 0.010 mg/L and 0.021 mg/L in 2007, all in the normal range to the time being. The arsenic contents in urine of the children aged 8-12 in the monitoring spots were determinted, averaging at 0.024 mg/L in 15 samples, fluctuating between 0.005 mg/L and 0.048 mg/L in 2006. The average content in urine from adults was 0.019 mg/L in 53 samples, fluctuating between 0.005 mg/L and 0.087 mg/L in 2007. The arsenic contents in urine were all in the normal range in 2006 and 2007. In 2006 14 endemic arsenism patients, all in light symptoms, had been checked out, the morbidity being 6.19%. In 2007, 17 patients who were all in light symptoms were identified in a rate of 6.94%. There was no significant difference of morbidity between the two years(χ2=0.1059, P>0.05). Two patients died, unrelating with drinking high arsenic water in 2006 and 2007. Conclusions The prevention and control measures are well implemented in Tongyu. The water-improving projects are functioning well. The condition of endemic arsenism is slight and hasn't changed so much in these two years. The arsenic contents in urine of children and adults within the normal range, showing that improving water can control the occurrence and the development of endemic arsenism. Key words: Arsenic poisoning; Drinking; Environmental monitoring; Population surveillance

Evaluating lake eutrophication with enhanced thematic mapper data in Wuhan

By analyzing the enhanced thematic mapper (ETM) images of September 1999, and quality observation data for many consecutive years in several parts of the Donghu Lake in Wuhan, China, the authors discovered a good linear relation between grey scale (GS) abstracted from ETM b5, b7 images and eutrophication level of the lakes, and extended the study to eight other major lakes in the area of Wu- han by using lake eutrophication models. Based on the in situ monitoring data, we also evaluated the eu- trophication level of the lakes with modified trophic index method brought by M. Aizaki et al. The results of the two methods showed that the most of the lakes were eutrophicated, and even hyper-eutrophicated in some areas. Six of the 8 lakes had very similar trophic state index (TSI) values. Although two of them differed in TSI value, but within an order, while it was different largely from the one by traditional method. The difference of the results between the two methods might have been due to three causative reasons. First, remote sensing technology reflects the overall status of a certain area corresponding to the ETM images in a certain period, but the modified TSI reflects the annual average values of the monitoring spots. Second, the time the ETM images taken is later than that of in situ data. Third, ETM images are affected by clouds, water depth, and suspended matter. In short, remote sensing result agreed greatly with the in situ monitoring data, indicating that remote sensing technology is feasible and effective for moni- toring and evaluating the lake eutrophication in the Wuhan area and it also can be used to evaluate large-scope lake eutrophication.