• Title/Summary/Keyword: Environmental issue

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Ecological and Economic Aspects of Innovative Development of Urban Logistics Infrastructure Taking Considering Pandemic Constraints

  • Rusanova, Svitlana;Kuzkin, Olexiy;Melkonov, Hryhorii;Lavrushchenko, Yuliana;Kuzmenko, Oksana;Zhurian, Viktoriia
    • International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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    • v.22 no.3
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    • pp.9-16
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    • 2022
  • The relevance of the topic is determined by the existence of inconsistencies between economic and environmental aspects of innovative development of urban logistics infrastructure, as well as the conflict of public, state and private commercial interests in this issue. The purpose of the article is to determine the principles and effective tools for innovative development of urban logistics infrastructure, taking into account pandemic constraints. The influence of the environmental aspect on the dynamics of transport flows was analyzed in detail and characterized, the scheme of determining the optimal solution for the development of the city was proposed considering the compromise between economic and ecological interests of society, state and business entities. A scheme of innovative development of urban logistics infrastructure under pandemic constraints was also developed. Materials of the article are relevant for developers of city plans, managers of urban logistics infrastructure, employees of enterprises participating in transport and logistics markets, scientists, and doctoral students.

Implementation System and Project Characteristics of Green New Deal Projects in Korea and the U.S.A. -A Comparison between the Smart Green City in Korea and State and Tribal Assistance Grants in the U.S.A.- (한·미 그린 뉴딜 사업의 추진체계와 사업특성에 관한 연구 -국내 스마트 그린도시와 미국의 주 및 부족 지원 보조금의 비교를 중심으로-)

  • Yoon, Ji-Hui;Yeom, Sung-Jin
    • Journal of Environmental Science International
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    • v.31 no.7
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    • pp.593-607
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    • 2022
  • Climate change has recently become a serious global issue, and carbon emissions and energy consumption are increasing, particularly in cities where economic activities and populations are concentrated. Accordingly, various countries worldwide are promoting the Green New Deal and promoting urban-centered climate change response policies with the aim of carbon neutrality. In Korea, following the "smart green city" project that creates a city where humans and the environment coexist, a similar "carbon neutral green city" policy is set to be introduced. Therefore, in this study, implications and directions for the sustainable introduction of the carbon neutral green city policy will be derived by comparing and analyzing the State and Tribal Assistance Grants of the U.S. bipartisan infrastructure law and the smart green city of the Korean new deal.

Optimization of the Bacteriophage Cocktail for the Prevention of Brown Blotch Disease Caused by Pseudomonas tolaasii

  • Yun, Yeong-Bae;Um, Yurry;Kim, Young-Kee
    • The Plant Pathology Journal
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    • v.38 no.5
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    • pp.472-481
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    • 2022
  • Brown blotch disease, caused by Pseudomonas tolaasii, is one of the most serious diseases in mushroom cultivation, and its control remains an important issue. This study isolated and evaluated pathogen-specific bacteriophages for the biological control of the disease. In previous studies, 23 varieties of P. tolaasii were isolated from infected mushrooms with disease symptoms and classified into three subtypes, Ptα, Ptβ, and Ptγ, based on their 16S rRNA gene sequences analysis and pathogenic characters. In this study, 42 virulent bacteriophages were isolated against these pathogens and tested for their host range. Some phages could lyse more than two pathogens only within the corresponding subtype, and no phage exhibited a wide host range across different pathogen subtypes. To eliminate all pathogens of the Ptα, Ptβ, and Ptγ subtype, corresponding phages of one, six, and one strains were required, respectively. These phages were able to suppress the disease completely, as confirmed by the field-scale on-farm cultivation experiments. These results suggested that a cocktail of these eight phages is sufficient to control the disease induced by all 23 P. tolaasii pathogens. Additionally, the antibacterial effect of this phage cocktail persisted in the second cycle of mushroom growth on the cultivation bed.

Multifractal Classification of the Disturbed Areas of the Sidi Chennane Phosphate Deposit, Morocco

  • Ayad, Abderrahim;Bakkali, Saad
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.55 no.3
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    • pp.231-239
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    • 2022
  • The irregular shape of the disturbances is a fundamental issue for mining engineers at the Sidi Chennane phosphate deposit in Morocco. A precise classification of disturbed areas is therefore necessary to understand their part in the overall volume of phosphate. In this paper, we investigate the theoretical and practical aspects of studying and measuring multifractal spectrums as a defining and representative parameter for distinguishing between the phosphate deposit of a low rate of disturbances and the deposit of a high rate. An empirical multifractal approach was used by analyzing the disturbed areas through the geoelectric images of an area located in the Sidi Chennane phosphate deposit. The Generalized fractal dimension, D(q), the Singularities of strength, α(q), the local dimension, f(α) and their conjugate parameter the mass exponent, τ(q) as well as f(α)-α spectrum were the common multifractal parameters used. The results reported show wide variations of the analyzed images, indicating that the multifractal analysis is an indicator for evaluate and characterize the disturbed areas within the phosphates deposits through the studied geoelectric images. This could be the starting point for future work aimed at improving phosphate exploration planning.

Deep reinforcement learning for optimal life-cycle management of deteriorating regional bridges using double-deep Q-networks

  • Xiaoming, Lei;You, Dong
    • Smart Structures and Systems
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    • v.30 no.6
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    • pp.571-582
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    • 2022
  • Optimal life-cycle management is a challenging issue for deteriorating regional bridges. Due to the complexity of regional bridge structural conditions and a large number of inspection and maintenance actions, decision-makers generally choose traditional passive management strategies. They are less efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This paper suggests a deep reinforcement learning framework employing double-deep Q-networks (DDQNs) to improve the life-cycle management of deteriorating regional bridges to tackle these problems. It could produce optimal maintenance plans considering restrictions to maximize maintenance cost-effectiveness to the greatest extent possible. DDQNs method could handle the problem of the overestimation of Q-values in the Nature DQNs. This study also identifies regional bridge deterioration characteristics and the consequence of scheduled maintenance from years of inspection data. To validate the proposed method, a case study containing hundreds of bridges is used to develop optimal life-cycle management strategies. The optimization solutions recommend fewer replacement actions and prefer preventative repair actions when bridges are damaged or are expected to be damaged. By employing the optimal life-cycle regional maintenance strategies, the conditions of bridges can be controlled to a good level. Compared to the nature DQNs, DDQNs offer an optimized scheme containing fewer low-condition bridges and a more costeffective life-cycle management plan.

The Effect of a Forest Healing Program on Cognitive Function, Depression, Anxiety, and Cortisol Levels in Elderly People

  • Soyeon, Kim;Jungkee, Choi
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.38 no.4
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    • pp.290-301
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    • 2022
  • Increasing life expectancy leads to a rise in the prevalence of aging-related mental diseases and a concomitant increase in the financial and societal pressures related to their prevention and management. This issue is attracting increasing attention from researchers. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether a healing program in a forest environment is effective for improving cognitive function, depression, anxiety, and stress in elderly people. A nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. The experimental group consisted of 18 males and females aged 60 to 80 years who participated in a forest healing program for seven days, while the comparison group comprised 10 people with similar demographics. For the process of data analysis, this study performed a cross-analysis to determine the homogeneity of the data and carried out the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, a nonparametric statistical test, to verify the significance of each group. Participation in the forest healing program led to a significant improve-ment in cognitive function (p=0.030). The levels of depression decreased, but this result was not statistically significant. The levels of anxiety decreased significantly (p=0.004). The mean cortisol score, a measurement of stress, decreased, but it was not statistically significant. These findings confirmed the effectiveness of this program for improving certain mental conditions of elderly people, and affirmed that the use of long-term forest healing programs can be expected to alleviate national pressures created by aging societies.

Enhancing fire resistance of steel bridges through composite action

  • Kodur, Venkatesh K.R.;Gil, Augusto
    • Steel and Composite Structures
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    • v.43 no.3
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    • pp.353-362
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    • 2022
  • Bridge fire hazard has become a growing concern over the last decade due to the rapid increase of ground transportation of hazardous materials and resulting fire incidents. The lack of fire safety provisions in steel bridges can be a significant issue owing steel thermal properties that lead to fast degradation of steel properties at elevated temperatures. Alternatively, the development of composite action between steel girders and concrete decks can increase the fire resistance of steel bridges and meet fire safety requirements in some applications. This paper reviews the fire problem in steel bridges and the fire behavior of composite steel-concrete bridge girders. A numerical model is developed to trace the fire response of a typical bridge girder and is validated using measurements from fire tests. The selected bridge girder is composed by a hot rolled steel section strengthened with bearing stiffeners at midspan and supports. A concrete slab sitting on the top of the girder is connected to the slab through shear studs to provide full composite action. The validated numerical model was used to investigate the fire resistance of real scale bridge girders and the effect of the composite action under different scenarios (standard and hydrocarbon fires). Results showed that composite action can significantly increase the fire resistance of steel bridge girders. Besides, fire severity played an important role in the fire behavior of composite girders and both factors should be taken into consideration in the design of steel bridges for fire safety.

Blockchain Framework for Occupant-centered Indoor Environment Control Using IoT Sensors

  • Jeoung, Jaewon;Hong, Taehoon;Jung, Seunghoon;Kang, Hyuna;Kim, Hakpyeong;Kong, Minjin;Choi, Jinwoo
    • International conference on construction engineering and project management
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    • 2022.06a
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    • pp.385-392
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    • 2022
  • As energy-saving techniques based on human behavior patterns have recently become an issue, the occupant-centered control system is adopted for estimating personal preference of indoor environment and optimizing environmental comfort and energy consumption. Accordingly, IoT devices have been used to collect indoor environmental quality (IEQ) data and personal data. However, the need to safely collect and manage data has been emerged due to cybersecurity issues. Therefore, this paper aims to present a framework that can safely transmit occupant-centered data collected from IoT to a private blockchain server using Hyperledger fabric. In the case study, the minimum value product of the mobile application and smartwatch application was developed to evaluate the usability of the proposed blockchain-based occupant-centered data collection framework. The results showed that the proposed framework could collect data safely and hassle-free in the daily life of occupants. In addition, the performance of the blockchain server was evaluated in terms of latency and throughput when ten people in a single office participated in the proposed data collection framework. Future works will further apply the proposed data collection framework to the building management system to automatically collect occupant data and be used in the HVAC system to reduce building energy consumption without security issues.

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An investigation into adequacy of separation gap to preclude earthquake-induced pounding

  • Yazan Jaradat;Pejman Sobhi and Harry Far
    • Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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    • v.86 no.1
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    • pp.29-48
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    • 2023
  • Pounding happens when contiguous structures with differing heights vibrate out of line caused by a seismic activity. The situation is aggravated due to the insufficient separation gap between the structures which can lead to the crashing of the buildings or total collapse of an edifice. Countries around the world have compiled building standards to address the pounding issue. One of the strategies recommended is the introduction of the separation gap between structures. AS1170.4-2007 is an Australian standard that requires 1% of the building height as a minimum separation gap between buildings to preclude pounding. This article presents experimental and numerical tests to determine the adequacy of this specification to prevent the occurrence of seismic pounding between steel frame structures under near-field and far-field earthquakes. The results indicated that the recommended minimum separation gap based on the Australian Standard is inaccurate if low-rise structure in a coupled case is utilised under both near and far field earthquakes. The standard is adequate if a tall building is involved but only when a far-field earthquake happens. The research likewise presents results derived by using the ABS and SRSS methods.

A Study of Energy and Spatial Structure -The Case of Rural-urban Regional Settlement- (에너지와 空間構造에 關한 硏究 -農村 $\cdot$ 都市地域 生 圈의 境遇-)

  • Kim, Kwi-Gon;Kim, Myung-Jin;Sung, Hyun-Chan;Lee, Ho-Jin
    • Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.45-57
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    • 1988
  • This is a close relationship between energy consumption and the way in which we develop and manage our regions. This study has estimated and compared energy requirements for the journey to work, resulting from alternative population and employment growth patterns in a rural-urban regional settlement of Korea. The broad scope of work was as follows: i) Select the study area ii) Formulate alternative growth patterns iii) Develop the Hansen and double-constrained gravity model iv) Application of Vogel's approximation method and the developed Hansen and gravity model to the case study area. v) Analyze the relationship between spatial structure, transport energy-requirements and environmental pollution. At issue here is the trade-off between air pollution averages and variations. Policies concentrating manufacturing industry and other regional facilities, for instance, may indeed reduce average pollution levels at the benefit of less-car miles, thus, reducing auto pollution, in the region, but increase local pollution peaks.

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