The theme is related to “Large Parks on Post-industrial Sites in Contemporary Urban Landscape Conceptions”, which is expounded in the fields of landscape architecture, landscape ecology and urban ...planning. A worldwide perspective is created so as to conduct cross-cultural research on the theories and practices of large-scale urban parks in North America, Germany and China. Through the scientific approach of ‘critical rationalism’, three design paradigms of large parks in different conceptions of contemporary urban landscapes are formulated based on quantitative and qualitative analysis, which are classified as the organic parks of North American ‘landscape urbanism’, the structural parks of German ‘landscape structuralism’ and the large parks of Chinese ‘urban inventory renewal’. By means of critical thinking in diverse cultural interpretations, the research aims to reveal remarkable similarities and differences between the cultures in the Western world according to their understanding of landscapes (coherent vs. creative), landscape and ecology (representation vs. metaphor), and landscape and life (diversity vs. unpredictability). Through theoretical analysis and case studies, it demonstrates that the international park paradigms characterised by complexity, diversity, sustainability, appropriation and identity can influence various socio-cultural, ecological, and aesthetic developments. Finally, the analytical results of the two park paradigms in Western countries are adopted in the examination of landscape architectural park models and urbanistic theoretical frameworks in China. This monograph is written primarily for scholars, professionals and students in the fields of landscape architecture, urban planning and architecture. The book, involving in-depth analysis about urban parks, green open spaces, green infrastructure and post-industrial landscapes, will have international appeal. It will appeal to readers at different levels. Above all, it may be of interest to professionals who are concerned with the topics urban parks and post-industrial landscapes, as well as Chinese scholars and experts, particularly those looking at China’s urban renewal and the ongoing transformation of post-industrial sites at different scales. This book will have strong implications for relevant urban landscape practices in China. Furthermore, it will be supported by the author’s colleagues from various countries such as Germany, Italy, USA, Canada, Brazil and China. Moreover, students to whom the author teaches courses of Landscape Architecture History and Theory and Landscape Planning and Design at BUCEA, as well as the international students at Collaborative Classes organized by BUCEA, TUM, and POLIMI (Politecnico di Milano, Italy), are encouraged to read this book.
Open interior sands represent a highly threatened habitat in Europe. In recent times, their associated organisms have often found secondary refuges outside their natural habitats, mainly in sand ...pits. We investigated the effects of different restoration approaches, i.e. spontaneous succession without additional disturbances, spontaneous succession with additional disturbances caused by recreational activities, and forestry reclamation, on the diversity and conservation values of spiders, beetles, flies, bees and wasps, orthopterans and vascular plants in a large sand pit in the Czech Republic, Central Europe. Out of 406 species recorded in total, 112 were classified as open sand specialists and 71 as threatened. The sites restored through spontaneous succession with additional disturbances hosted the largest proportion of open sand specialists and threatened species. The forestry reclamations, in contrast, hosted few such species. The sites with spontaneous succession without disturbances represent a transition between these two approaches. While restoration through spontaneous succession favours biodiversity in contrast to forestry reclamation, additional disturbances are necessary to maintain early successional habitats essential for threatened species and open sand specialists. Therefore, recreational activities seem to be an economically efficient restoration tool that will also benefit biodiversity in sand pits.
•The influence of particle size on coal’s self-ignition behaviour was clarified.•Self-ignition characteristic parameters, such as MITL and HTL, were determined.•The aggregation effect improved the ...MITL of a layer containing fine particles.•Ideal spatial coal particle arrangement and geometry state were established.
Knowing the sizes of coal particles is vital for understanding the real ignition behaviour of coal dust deposits on a hot plate. Furthermore, such knowledge facilitates model construction for assessing industrial coal dust explosion risk. Three particle sizes (0.10–0.15, 0.15–0.20, and 0.20–0.30 mm) of coal samples were selected to analyse the influence of particle size on ignition and smouldering behaviour. Characteristic parameters, such as the minimum ignition temperature of a dust layer (MITL), highest temperature in a layer (HTL), ignition delay time, and heating rates were tested and analysed using a dust layer ignition apparatus. The results revealed that the MITL was 200–210 °C and that the MITL tended to decrease with particle size. The aggregation effect improved the MITL containing fine particles. The optimal ignition position was 7.2 mm from the hot plate. As the particle size increased, the ignition delay time of the sample became longer. However, the HTL and the time to reach the maximum temperature reduced accordingly. For corresponding geometrical shapes of a coal dust layer, the results demonstrated that particle size had a limited effect on the void fraction but had a considerable effect on the number of particles. The finer coal dust had a substantial number of particles, thus producing a larger overall specific surface area in which to oxidize and devolatilize. Small coal dust particles pose a severe hazard in industrial sites, and thus, sites should be cleaned regularly to avoid the possibility of unwanted fires or explosions.
Because agglomeration economies may create competitive advantage and each location has a unique array of agglomeration economies, where should firms locate? We combine fundamental economic and ...strategy concepts to: (1) determine when firms must locate proximately to access factor pools; (2) show that factor pools controlled by fewer firms are less useful to new entrants; and (3) demonstrate that certain firms risk aiding competitors when contributing to efficient factor pools. We find support for our predictions with a test on new U.S. manufacturing entrants from 1985 to 1994, using an empirical specification that separates agglomeration levels from agglomeration economies.
Brownfields are remnants of the functional and spatial transformations of urban areas in Poland. They are particularly abundant in old industrial districts, based on coal mining and metallurgy. The ...aim of this study is to identify the transformation directions and functional changes of brownfields in the former Upper Silesian Industrial Region in southern Poland, which has evolved into the Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolis (GZM) through the process of socio-economic transformation. The study makes use of the χ2 test of independence and Cramer’s V as a post-test, and the method of in-depth interviews. The results indicate that the most popular new functions of post-industrial sites are production and services. When we consider large brownfields such as, in particular, disused mine dumps, dumping sites, settling ponds and workings, the most popular new form of land use is green spaces. Moreover, the study shows that the size of brownfields impacts their new forms of land use.
Surface active agents (surfactants) have found a variety of critical technological applications, from helping infant lungs breathe to fugitive dust control at industrial sites. Surfactant molecules ...adsorb to an interface and facilitate a decrease in the surface free energy (interfacial tension) between two immiscible phases. However, a limited number of methods (e.g., holography and fluorescence microscopy) achieved visualization of surfactant molecule distribution in multiphase systems qualitatively. To probe the efficacy and/or adsorption density of surfactants at such interfaces quantitatively, we demonstrate here a direct observation of surfactant adsorption by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). This work details the development of a research platform to study surfactant adsorption using Raman imaging. The imaging and analysis were successfully benchmarked against conventional interfacial tension measurements and thermodynamic theory employed to estimate surfactant adsorption at equilibrium. This in situ Raman-based experimental method provides a platform to interrogate structure–function relationships that inform the design process for new surfactant species.
Heavy metal pollution caused by a large number of abandoned industrial sites cannot be underestimated, but its human health risks have not been accurately assessed. This study investigated the ...pollution of heavy metals in soils of the typical abandoned industrial sites in southeastern China. Based on the bioaccessibility of different heavy metals (Pb, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr) in the industrial soils, the human health risks were accurately evaluated, and the controlling factors were quantitatively assessed. The results showed that the heavy metals in each typical abandoned industrial sites had a high degree of spatial heterogeneity. Among them, Cd was the most susceptible to relevant discrete input from external factors such as human activities, followed by Zn, Pb, Cr, Ni and Cu. The bioaccessible concentration of heavy metals by the physiological-based extraction test (PBET) had a good correlation (R2 = 0.58 ∼ 0.86) with its bioavailable concentration by diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) extraction. The regression model based on soil parameters had great potential to predict the bioaccessibility of heavy metals in abandoned industrial sites (R2 = 0.49 ∼ 0.95). The total concentration of heavy metals, Fe, soil texture and pH were the controlling factors of the metal bioaccessibility. Compared with the total concentration, the hazard index (HI) and carcinogenic risk (CR) values calculated based on gastrointestinal bioaccessibility were decreased by 39.0∼77.9% and 68.2∼79.9% in adults, and 45.3∼88.0% and 73.9∼83.5% in children, respectively. This work provides a feasible theoretical basis for reliable assessment of the human health risks of heavy metals in the abandoned industrial sites in the future.
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•Pb, Ni and Cd were the main pollutants in abandoned industrial sites.•Bioaccessibility of heavy metals were correlated with its bioavailability.•Regression models based on soil parameters could predict the bioaccessibility.•The BAC values of heavy metals in site soils were mostly below 50%.•The HI and CR values based on bioaccessibility decreased at different degrees.
•Vietnamese industrial workers suffer high risk of COVID-19.•Local health facilities, pharmacies to involve in detecting and reporting cases.•Local health gate-keepers to deliver appropriate COVID-19 ...response.•Having COVID-19 testing centers at or near industrial sites also recommended.
The detection of first COVID-19 infected industrial worker in Vietnam on 13 April 2020 prompted timely effort to examine the health problems, behaviors, and health services access of industrial workers to inform effective and appropriate COVID-19 control measures, minimizing the risk of industrial sites becoming the next disease cluster. A search strategy involving search terms corresponding to ‘health’, ‘industrial worker’, and ‘Vietnam’ was applied to search for related papers published in English on Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Duplicates were removed, and relevant data were extracted from the full text of remaining publications. Results showed that underlying health problems, including respiratory system problems, were common among industrial workers. Many suffered occupational diseases and/or work-related injuries. Self-treatment (without medication) was the most used method when having health problems (by 28.2–51% of participants), followed by visiting commune health centers (24%) and self-medication (20.3%). Findings suggest a high risk of disease spreading among industrial workers and of them suffering more severe conditions when infected. Economic vulnerabilities may be the reason for workers’ reluctance to taking time off work to attend hospital/clinic. These imply a need for involving local pharmacies, commune health centers, traditional health providers or village health collaborators as local health gatekeepers who are the first point of detecting and reporting of suspected COVID-19 cases, as well as a channel where accurate information regarding COVID-19, protective equipment, and intervention packages can be delivered. Having COVID-19 testing centers at or near industrial sites are also recommended.
Phytoremediation is an economic process through exploitation of plants capacity to accumulate heavy metals in polluted habitats by their harvestable parts. In the present investigation, Portulaca ...oleracea was examined to estimate its role in the accumulation of Mn(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Fe(III) and Pb(II) ions and recognize its persistence against the industrial effluent toxicity from different farmlands located beside these regions (S1:S9) in Dakahlia district, Egypt. The most recorded associate plants were; Amaranthus viridus, Malva parviflora, Chenopodium murale and Echinochloa colonum, which have high potentiality of heavy metals (HM) accumulation. The phytoremediation efficiency (bioconcentration factor (BCF), bioaccumulation factor (BF), translocation factor (TF), enrichment coefficient of shoot (ECS) and element accumulation index (EAI)) of P. oleracea were calculated. Considering the results, S7 showed the highest BCF value for Cu(II), 7.40; Fe(III), 2.06; and Zn(II), 4.33, while Mn(II), 2.06 at S1 and Pb(II), 3.89 at S3. BF and TF values were less than unity 1.0 for most of the sites. However, ECS values showed small variations among the investigated HM at the nine sites. EAI values were higher in shoots out of all the sites except S2 > EAI of roots of the same sites. Also, there was positive correlation between the soil HM concentrations in most sites. Moreover, total protein was estimated quantitatively and qualitatively. The protein profile showed 16 bands of molecular weight ranged from 30.9 to 240.6 KDa. Finally, P. oleracea can be used for decontamination of soils with heavy metals due to the high ecological amplitude and phytoremediation characteristics.
•Portulaca oleracea L. was collected from heavy metals polluted soil in Egypt.•Phytoremediation efficiency was estimated through five parameters.•BF and TF values were less than unity 1.0 for most of the sites.•Protein profile of individuals had a considerable polymorphism value (87.5%).•We concluded that P. oleracea has high potentiality of heavy metals accumulation.
The aim of this study was to elucidate the contaminant sources and the processes controlling the groundwater quality and risk assessment of heavy metals posed on humans by statistical indices. The ...groundwater sampling was performed at Bodhjungnagar Industrial Estate, A.D. Nagar, Dukli and Badharghat Industrial Cluster, Tripura, India during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon in the year 2017. A total of 21 water quality parameters (Temp, pH, TDS, Ca, Mg, TH, Na, K, HCO
3
, Cl, SO
4
, PO
4
, NO
3
, F, Fe, Mn, Pb, Cd, As, Cu, Zn, and Cr) were determined from collected samples. The statistical and graphical methods were employed to assess the suitability of water. The water quality index (WQI) suggested that the majority of the samples are suitable for drinking purpose. The WATEQ4F model was applied to compute the saturation index (SI) of different minerals present in the water samples. Based on Piper plot the dominant water type is Ca-Cl in the study area. The Nemerow integrated pollution index (NIPI) indicates that the groundwaters of both industrial sites have moderately to highly deteriorated water with heavy metals. The hazard index (HI) revealed that amongst the population, chronic health risk was greater for children and considering the seasons, the risk was higher during the premonsoon season.
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