Groundwater and surface water contamination by PTE(Potentially Toxic Elements)was assessed in Ruashi and Annexe municipalities of Lubumbashi city.Analyses of seventy water samples collected from six drilled wells,eigh...Groundwater and surface water contamination by PTE(Potentially Toxic Elements)was assessed in Ruashi and Annexe municipalities of Lubumbashi city.Analyses of seventy water samples collected from six drilled wells,eight spade-sunk wells,one river and one spring in both municipalities in 2017 and 2018 were carried out by ICP-SF-MS(Inductively Coupled Plasma-Sector Field Mass Spectrometry).Twenty PTEs including aluminum,arsenic,barium,bismuth,cadmium,cesium,chromium,cobalt,copper,iron,lead,manganese,molybdenum,nickel,strontium,thallium,tungsten,uranium,vanadium and zinc were detected at various concentrations in each one of the samples.Many samples had concentrations and mean concentrations of PTEs,such as aluminum,cadmium,copper,iron,lead,manganese,nickel and zinc,higher than the respective acceptable limits set for drinking water by the EU(European Union),the USEPA(United States Environmental Protection Agency),and the WHO(World Health Organization)standards.Most PTEs being deleterious to human health even at very low concentrations,people who use the groundwater and surface water to meet their water needs in both Ruashi and Annexe municipalities are at risk.展开更多
Despite the global attention towards pollution,it remains a significant global threat and challenge for both developed and developing countries.Urbanization and economic development influence different types of pollut...Despite the global attention towards pollution,it remains a significant global threat and challenge for both developed and developing countries.Urbanization and economic development influence different types of pollution.Visual pollution is considered a new phenomenon referring to the impact of existing and growing mainstream pollution which impairs an individual’s ability to enjoy visits or views.Recently,Jordanian cities have expanded in response to urbanization and ongoing development.Irbid City has the second largest population in Jordan after the capital Amman City highest population density in Jordan.In the modern era,Irbid City dramatically increased in population and dimension.The growth of the demographic population has been significant and has led to overpopulation,rapid urbanization,and unresolved problems associated with spatial planning and infrastructures leading to different types of pollution including visual pollution.The study area focuses on the city center with the most crowded population through field visits and actual observations.The study technique is descriptive and analytical,with a focus on meticulous monitoring and a follow-up-based questionnaire which is a tool for the study,involving data collection,classification,presentation,analysis,interpretation,and exploration to identify new facts and generalizations that can help solve current issues of visual pollution.The study provides recommendations for Irbid Municipal to eliminate visual pollution,in parallel with stricter supervision from the municipality during the building process to ensure proper implementation of the new rules,adopting an integrated policy for the city with the rest of the social,political,sensory,cultural,economic,and functional aspects,so that this policy is in the short and long term.展开更多
The entomofauna in the Republic of Congo is very little known. Studies carried out in natural forests are few. It is in this context that this inventory of entomofauna was carried out from April to July 2022 in the Sc...The entomofauna in the Republic of Congo is very little known. Studies carried out in natural forests are few. It is in this context that this inventory of entomofauna was carried out from April to July 2022 in the Scientific City Forest. The general objective is to contribute to the knowledge of the trapping, mowing and sight hunting;the three types of traps used are: Barber pots, colored plates and aerial traps. This study made it possible to invent 1523 specimens belonging to 106 species, 99 genera, 59 families and 12 orders. The order Diptera is the most abundant and richest in species (47% and 26%). This order is followed by Hymenoptera (23% and 23%). Formicidae (14%) and Calliphoridae (13%) are the most abundant families. The Formicidae family presents the greatest species richness (7%), Calliphora sp and Polyrhachis cyaniventris present the highest specific relative abundance of the entire collection. These preliminary results of the entomofauna of Scientific City constitute a database. However, this study must be continued and extended to other areas of Brazzaville, using other capture techniques and taking into account the seasons.展开更多
Under the guidance of national policies,the“coal to gas”project has become one of the important measures to promote the transformation of energy structure in China.Foshan,an important industrial town in Guangdong pr...Under the guidance of national policies,the“coal to gas”project has become one of the important measures to promote the transformation of energy structure in China.Foshan,an important industrial town in Guangdong province,the implementation of the“coal to gas”policy has demonstrated significance for the optimization of the national energy structure.Through the analysis of the change in Foshan’s energy consumption structure and the implementation of the policy,this paper found that there were some challenges in the policy implementation process,such as high economic cost,lagging infrastructure,low social acceptance,and lack of technical personnel.To address this,suggestions are put forward,including increasing financial subsidies,improving laws and regulations,promoting technological innovation,and encouraging social inclusion policies.These recommendations aim to provide guidance and reference for the remaining“coal to gas”projects and the development of clean energy.展开更多
The Knowledge Economic City (KEC) of Al Madinah Al Munawwarah is one of the major projects and represents the cornerstone for the new development activities for Al Madinah. The study area contains different geological...The Knowledge Economic City (KEC) of Al Madinah Al Munawwarah is one of the major projects and represents the cornerstone for the new development activities for Al Madinah. The study area contains different geological units dominated by basalt and overlain by surface deposits. The surface soils vary in thickness and can be classified into well-graded SAND with silt and gravel (SW-SM), silty SAND with gravel (SM), silty GRAVEL with sand (GM), and sandy SILTY clay (CL-ML). The subsurface soil obtained from the drilled boreholes can be classified into poorly graded GRAVEL (GP), well-graded GRAVEL with sand (GW), poorly graded GRAVEL with silt (GP-GM), silty CLAYEY gravel with sand (GC-GM), silty SAND with gravel (SM), silt with SAND (ML), and silty CLAY with sand (CL-ML), sandy lean CLAY (CL), and lean CLAY (CL). The relative density of the deposit and the different gravel sizes intercalated with the soil influenced the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) values. The SPT N values are high and approach refusal even at shallow depths. The shallow refusal depth (0.10 to 0.90 m) of the Dynamic Cone Penetration Test (DCPT) was observed. Generally, the soil can be described as inactive with low plasticity and dense to very dense consistency. The basalt of the KEC site is characterized by slightly (W2) to highly (W4) weathering, their strength ranges from moderate (S4) to very strong (S2), and the Rock Quality Designation (RQD) ranges from very poor (R5) to excellent (R1). The engineering geological map of the KEC characterized the geoengineering properties of the soil and rock materials and classified them into many zones. The high sulphate (SO42−) and chloride (Cl−) contents in groundwater call for protective measures for foundation concrete. The current study revealed that geohazard(s) mitigation measures concerning floods, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes should be considered.展开更多
Thedeployment of the Internet of Things(IoT)with smart sensors has facilitated the emergence of fog computing as an important technology for delivering services to smart environments such as campuses,smart cities,and ...Thedeployment of the Internet of Things(IoT)with smart sensors has facilitated the emergence of fog computing as an important technology for delivering services to smart environments such as campuses,smart cities,and smart transportation systems.Fog computing tackles a range of challenges,including processing,storage,bandwidth,latency,and reliability,by locally distributing secure information through end nodes.Consisting of endpoints,fog nodes,and back-end cloud infrastructure,it provides advanced capabilities beyond traditional cloud computing.In smart environments,particularly within smart city transportation systems,the abundance of devices and nodes poses significant challenges related to power consumption and system reliability.To address the challenges of latency,energy consumption,and fault tolerance in these environments,this paper proposes a latency-aware,faulttolerant framework for resource scheduling and data management,referred to as the FORD framework,for smart cities in fog environments.This framework is designed to meet the demands of time-sensitive applications,such as those in smart transportation systems.The FORD framework incorporates latency-aware resource scheduling to optimize task execution in smart city environments,leveraging resources from both fog and cloud environments.Through simulation-based executions,tasks are allocated to the nearest available nodes with minimum latency.In the event of execution failure,a fault-tolerantmechanism is employed to ensure the successful completion of tasks.Upon successful execution,data is efficiently stored in the cloud data center,ensuring data integrity and reliability within the smart city ecosystem.展开更多
Hydrogen is emerging as a promising alternative to fossil fuels in the transportation sector.This study evaluated the feasibility of estab-lishing hydrogen refueling stations in five cities in Oman,Duqm,Haima,Sur,Al B...Hydrogen is emerging as a promising alternative to fossil fuels in the transportation sector.This study evaluated the feasibility of estab-lishing hydrogen refueling stations in five cities in Oman,Duqm,Haima,Sur,Al Buraymi,and Salalah,using Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Electric Renewables(HOMER)software.Three hybrid energy systems,photovoltaic-wind turbine-battery,photovoltaic-battery,and wind turbine-battery were analyzed for each city.Results indicated that Duqm offers the lowest net present cost(NPC),levelized cost of energy,and levelized cost of hydrogen,making it the most cost-effective location.Additionally,Sensitivity analysis showed that as the life of electrolyzer increases during operation,the initial capital expenditure is distributed over a longer operational period,leading to a reduction in the NPC.More so,renewable energy systems produced no emissions which supports Oman’s mission target.This comprehensive analysis confirms the feasibility of establishing a hydrogen refueling station in Duqm,Oman,and highlights advanced optimization techniques’superior capability in designing cost-effective,sustainable energy systems.展开更多
China established Xiong’an New Area in Hebei Province in 2017,which is planned to accommodate about 5 million people,aiming to relieve Beijing City of the functions non-essential to its role as China’s capital and t...China established Xiong’an New Area in Hebei Province in 2017,which is planned to accommodate about 5 million people,aiming to relieve Beijing City of the functions non-essential to its role as China’s capital and to expedite the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.From 2017 to 2021,the China Geological Survey(CGS)took the lead in multi-factor urban geological surveys involving space,resources,environments,and disasters according to the general requirements of“global vision,international standards,distinctive Chinese features,and future-oriented goals”in Xiong’an New Area,identifying the engineering geologic conditions and geologic environmental challenges of this area.The achievements also include a 3D engineering geological structure model for the whole area,along with“one city proper and five clusters”,insights into the ecology and the background endowment of natural resources like land,geothermal resources,groundwater,and wetland of the area before engineering construction,a comprehensive monitoring network of resources and environments in the area,and the“Transparent Xiong’an”geological information platform that is open,shared,dynamically updated,and three-dimensionally visualized.China’s geologists and urban geology have played a significant role in the urban planning and construction of Xiong’an New Area,providing whole-process geological solutions for urban planning,construction,operation and management.The future urban construction of Xiong’an New Area will necessitate the theoretical and technical support of earth system science(ESS)from various aspects,and the purpose is to enhance the resilience of the new type of city and to provide support for the green,low-carbon,and sustainable development of this area.展开更多
Quantitatively assessing the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems in arid and semi-arid areas is crucial for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.In this work,taking Yulin City in China as...Quantitatively assessing the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems in arid and semi-arid areas is crucial for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.In this work,taking Yulin City in China as a case study and employing the Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation(CRITIC)method,a modified model of coupling degree was developed to evaluate the car-rying capacity of water and land resources systems endowment and utilization,as well as their coupling coordination degree from 2013 to 2020.Our findings indicate that the water and land resources of Yulin are diminishing due to declines in agriculture,higher industrial water use,and wetland shrinkage.However,reallocating domestic water for ecological sustainability and reducing sloping farmland can mitigate this trend of decline.Temporally,as the coupling coordination between water and land resources system endowment in Yulin continuously improved,the coupling coordination between water and land resources system utilization first decreased and then in-creased with 2016 as the turning point.Spatially,the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems,the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system endowment,and the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system utilization in Yulin exhibited the same pattern of being higher in the six northern counties than in the six southern counties.Improving the water resources endowment is vital for the highly efficient use of water and land resources.展开更多
The context of recognizing handwritten city names,this research addresses the challenges posed by the manual inscription of Bangladeshi city names in the Bangla script.In today’s technology-driven era,where precise t...The context of recognizing handwritten city names,this research addresses the challenges posed by the manual inscription of Bangladeshi city names in the Bangla script.In today’s technology-driven era,where precise tools for reading handwritten text are essential,this study focuses on leveraging deep learning to understand the intricacies of Bangla handwriting.The existing dearth of dedicated datasets has impeded the progress of Bangla handwritten city name recognition systems,particularly in critical areas such as postal automation and document processing.Notably,no prior research has specifically targeted the unique needs of Bangla handwritten city name recognition.To bridge this gap,the study collects real-world images from diverse sources to construct a comprehensive dataset for Bangla Hand Written City name recognition.The emphasis on practical data for system training enhances accuracy.The research further conducts a comparative analysis,pitting state-of-the-art(SOTA)deep learning models,including EfficientNetB0,VGG16,ResNet50,DenseNet201,InceptionV3,and Xception,against a custom Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)model named“Our CNN.”The results showcase the superior performance of“Our CNN,”with a test accuracy of 99.97% and an outstanding F1 score of 99.95%.These metrics underscore its potential for automating city name recognition,particularly in postal services.The study concludes by highlighting the significance of meticulous dataset curation and the promising outlook for custom CNN architectures.It encourages future research avenues,including dataset expansion,algorithm refinement,exploration of recurrent neural networks and attention mechanisms,real-world deployment of models,and extension to other regional languages and scripts.These recommendations offer exciting possibilities for advancing the field of handwritten recognition technology and hold practical implications for enhancing global postal services.展开更多
The horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio(HVSR)method has been used to characterize site-effect parameters that are indispensable in seismic hazard and risk-reduction studies in urban areas and rapid land-use planning...The horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio(HVSR)method has been used to characterize site-effect parameters that are indispensable in seismic hazard and risk-reduction studies in urban areas and rapid land-use planning.This method is widely used because it is the cheapest and simplest geophysical method for the acquisition and processing stages.In subsequent developments,the HVSR method has been widely used to determine elastic rock parameters,particularly shear wave velocity(v_(S)),through the HVSR curve inversion process.Furthermore,the v_(S)structural model can be used to delineate the presence of complex geological structures,particularly faults and sedimentary basins.Bandar Lampung is a city in Lampung Province with many fault structures and groundwater basins to the south.There are 83 HVSR measurement points around Bandar Lampung for delineating the presence of fault structures and groundwater basins.We produced the HVSR curve from the measurement results and then performed an inversion process using the particle swarm optimization algorithm to obtain v_(S)for the depth profile.Subsequently,from this profile,we produced a two-dimensional(2D)lateral and vertical model.The mean v_(S)value was calculated from all the measurement points,and we found stiff soil layers reaching depths of approximately 5 m,with a value of v_(S)<330 m/s.A bedrock layer with a velocity exceeding 1250 m/s was visible at a depth of 100 m.Based on the 2D model,the v_(S)structure shows that the city of Bandar Lampung is divided into two zones,with a NW-SE boundary.The north-middle-eastern part of the city consists of harder rocks.This harder rock is characterized by extremely high v_(S)values,starting from a depth of 50 m.In contrast,the south-middle-west exhibits a low-moderate v_(S)anomaly associated with groundwater basins SW of the city.From the 2D v_(S)structural model,fault structures can be found along the city,characterized by a contrast of v_(S)values from low to medium and from medium to high.展开更多
Seven tourist cities in eastern and western Guangdong were selected as the research objects to establish an evaluation index system of urban comprehensive carrying capacity,and its changing laws were analyzed.It was f...Seven tourist cities in eastern and western Guangdong were selected as the research objects to establish an evaluation index system of urban comprehensive carrying capacity,and its changing laws were analyzed.It was found that the comprehensive carrying capacities of cities in eastern and western Guangdong showed a trend of“first increasing and then decreasing”from 2015 to 2021,and reached the highest point in 2019,but there were significant differences among regions.From the perspective of spatial distribution,the comprehensive carrying capacities of cities in eastern and western Guangdong generally presented the law of high on both sides and low in the middle.In terms of the proportion of comprehensive carrying capacity of tourist cities,the larger part was always the carrying capacity of infrastructure and public services.The value of economic carrying capacity showed a trend of“first increasing and then decreasing”,while the value of environmental carrying capacity was always on the increase,and the value of tourism resources carrying capacity was basically stable.Finally,according to the analysis results,this paper put forward the optimization paths for comprehensive carrying capacities of tourist cities in eastern and western Guangdong from following four aspects:coordinating regional development,rationally utilizing natural resources,adjusting economic structure and adhering to the sustainable development concept.展开更多
Under the influence of anthropogenic and climate change,the problems caused by urban heat island(UHI)has become increasingly prominent.In order to promote urban sustainable development and improve the quality of human...Under the influence of anthropogenic and climate change,the problems caused by urban heat island(UHI)has become increasingly prominent.In order to promote urban sustainable development and improve the quality of human settlements,it is significant for exploring the evolution characteristics of urban thermal environment and analyzing its driving forces.Taking the Landsat series images as the basic data sources,the winter land surface temperature(LST)of the rapid urbanization area of Fuzhou City in China was quantitatively retrieved from 2001 to 2021.Combing comprehensively the standard deviation ellipse model,profile analysis and GeoDetector model,the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of the winter urban thermal environment were systematically analyzed.The results showed that the winter LST presented an increasing trend in the study area during 2001–2021,and the winter LST of the central urban regions was significantly higher than the suburbs.There was a strong UHI effect from 2001 to 2021with an expansion trend from the central urban regions to the suburbs and coastal areas in space scale.The LST of green lands and wetlands are significantly lower than croplands,artificial surface and unvegetated lands.Vegetation and water bodies had a significant mitigation effect on UHI,especially in the micro-scale.The winter UHI had been jointly driven by the underlying surface and socio-economic factors in a nonlinear or two-factor interactive enhancement mode,and socio-economic factors had played a leading role.This research could provide data support and decision-making references for rationally planning urban layout and promoting sustainable urban development.展开更多
Mountain excavation and city construction(MECC)projects being launched in the Loess Plateau in China involve the creation of large-scale artificial land.Understanding the subsurface evolution characteristics of the ar...Mountain excavation and city construction(MECC)projects being launched in the Loess Plateau in China involve the creation of large-scale artificial land.Understanding the subsurface evolution characteristics of the artificial land is essential,yet challenging.Here,we use an improved fiber-optic monitoring system for its subsurface multi-physical characterization.The system enables us to gather spatiotemporal distribution of various parameters,including strata deformation,temperature,and moisture.Yan’an New District was selected as a case study to conduct refined in-situ monitoring through a 77 m-deep borehole and a 30 m-long trench.Findings reveal that the ground settlement involves both the deformation of the filling loess and the underlying intact loess.Notably,the filling loess exhibits a stronger creep capability compared to underlying intact loess.The deformation along the profile is unevenly distributed,with a positive correlation with soil moisture.Water accumulation has been observed at the interface between the filling loess and the underlying intact loess,leading to a significant deformation.Moreover,the temperature and moisture in the filling loess have reached a new equilibrium state,with their depths influenced by atmospheric conditions measuring at 31 m and 26 m,respectively.The refined investigation allows us to identify critical layers that matter the sustainable development of newly created urban areas,and provide improved insights into the evolution mechanisms of land creation.展开更多
Mainstream media play a crucial role in constructing the cultural memory of a city.This study used 319 short videos released by“Hi Chengdu,”a new media product of Chengdu Radio and Television,as samples.Based on the...Mainstream media play a crucial role in constructing the cultural memory of a city.This study used 319 short videos released by“Hi Chengdu,”a new media product of Chengdu Radio and Television,as samples.Based on the grounded theory,a research framework encompassing“content,technology,and discourse”was established to explore the paths through which mainstream media construct the cultural memory.Regarding content,this paper emphasized temporal and spatial contexts and urban spaces,delving deep into the themes of the cultural memory and vehicles for it.In terms of technology,this paper discussed the practice of leveraging audio/visual-mode discourse to stitch together the impressions of a city and evoke emotional resonance to create a“flow”of memory.As for discourse,this paper looked at the performance of a communication ritual to frame concepts and shape urban identity.It is essential to break free from conventional thinking and leverage local culture as the primary driving force to further boost a city’s productivity,in order to excel in cultural communication.展开更多
The post-earthquake emergency period,which is a sensitive time segment just after an event,mainly focuses on saving life and restoring social order.To improve the seismic resilience of city road networks,a resilience ...The post-earthquake emergency period,which is a sensitive time segment just after an event,mainly focuses on saving life and restoring social order.To improve the seismic resilience of city road networks,a resilience evaluation method used in the post-earthquake emergency period is proposed.The road seismic damage index of a city road network can consider the influence of roads,bridges and buildings along the roads,etc.on road capacity after an earthquake.A function index for a city road network is developed,which reflects the connectivity,redundancy,traffic demand and traffic function of the network.An optimization model for improving the road repair order in the post-earthquake emergency period is also developed according to the resilience evaluation,to enable decision support for city emergency management and achieve the best seismic resilience of the city road network.The optimization model is applied to a city road network and the results illustrate the feasibility of the resilience evaluation and optimization method for a city road network in the post-earthquake emergency period.展开更多
Although accelerated urbanization has led to economic prosperity,it has also resulted in urban heat island effects.Therefore,identifying methods of using limited urban spaces to alleviate heat islands has become an ur...Although accelerated urbanization has led to economic prosperity,it has also resulted in urban heat island effects.Therefore,identifying methods of using limited urban spaces to alleviate heat islands has become an urgent issue.In this study,we assessed the spatiotemporal evolution of urban heat islands within the central urban area of Fuzhou City,China from 2010 to 2019.This assessment was based on a morphological spatial pattern analysis(MSPA)model and an urban thermal environment spatial network constructed us-ing the minimum cumulative resistance(MCR)model.Optimization measures for the spatial network were proposed to provide a theor-etical basis for alleviating urban heat islands.The results show that the heat island area within the study area gradually increased while that of urban cold island area gradually decreased.The core area was the largest of the urban heat island patch landscape elements with a significant impact on other landscape elements,and represented an important factor underlying urban heat island network stability.The thermal environment network revealed a total of 197 thermal environment corridors and 93 heat island sources.These locations were then optimized according to the current land use,which maximized the potential of 1599.83 ha.Optimization based on current land use led to an increase in climate resilience,with effective measures showing reduction in thermal environment spatial network structure and function,contributing to the mitigation of urban heat island.These findings support the use of current land use patterns during urban heat island mitigation measure planning,thus providing an important reference basis for alleviating urban heat island effects.展开更多
基金funding received from UNESCO-SIDA Project as well as Professor Martine Leermakers and Professor Willy Baeyens for their financial help to analyze the water samples in their laboratory at VUB.Acknowledgements
文摘Groundwater and surface water contamination by PTE(Potentially Toxic Elements)was assessed in Ruashi and Annexe municipalities of Lubumbashi city.Analyses of seventy water samples collected from six drilled wells,eight spade-sunk wells,one river and one spring in both municipalities in 2017 and 2018 were carried out by ICP-SF-MS(Inductively Coupled Plasma-Sector Field Mass Spectrometry).Twenty PTEs including aluminum,arsenic,barium,bismuth,cadmium,cesium,chromium,cobalt,copper,iron,lead,manganese,molybdenum,nickel,strontium,thallium,tungsten,uranium,vanadium and zinc were detected at various concentrations in each one of the samples.Many samples had concentrations and mean concentrations of PTEs,such as aluminum,cadmium,copper,iron,lead,manganese,nickel and zinc,higher than the respective acceptable limits set for drinking water by the EU(European Union),the USEPA(United States Environmental Protection Agency),and the WHO(World Health Organization)standards.Most PTEs being deleterious to human health even at very low concentrations,people who use the groundwater and surface water to meet their water needs in both Ruashi and Annexe municipalities are at risk.
文摘Despite the global attention towards pollution,it remains a significant global threat and challenge for both developed and developing countries.Urbanization and economic development influence different types of pollution.Visual pollution is considered a new phenomenon referring to the impact of existing and growing mainstream pollution which impairs an individual’s ability to enjoy visits or views.Recently,Jordanian cities have expanded in response to urbanization and ongoing development.Irbid City has the second largest population in Jordan after the capital Amman City highest population density in Jordan.In the modern era,Irbid City dramatically increased in population and dimension.The growth of the demographic population has been significant and has led to overpopulation,rapid urbanization,and unresolved problems associated with spatial planning and infrastructures leading to different types of pollution including visual pollution.The study area focuses on the city center with the most crowded population through field visits and actual observations.The study technique is descriptive and analytical,with a focus on meticulous monitoring and a follow-up-based questionnaire which is a tool for the study,involving data collection,classification,presentation,analysis,interpretation,and exploration to identify new facts and generalizations that can help solve current issues of visual pollution.The study provides recommendations for Irbid Municipal to eliminate visual pollution,in parallel with stricter supervision from the municipality during the building process to ensure proper implementation of the new rules,adopting an integrated policy for the city with the rest of the social,political,sensory,cultural,economic,and functional aspects,so that this policy is in the short and long term.
文摘The entomofauna in the Republic of Congo is very little known. Studies carried out in natural forests are few. It is in this context that this inventory of entomofauna was carried out from April to July 2022 in the Scientific City Forest. The general objective is to contribute to the knowledge of the trapping, mowing and sight hunting;the three types of traps used are: Barber pots, colored plates and aerial traps. This study made it possible to invent 1523 specimens belonging to 106 species, 99 genera, 59 families and 12 orders. The order Diptera is the most abundant and richest in species (47% and 26%). This order is followed by Hymenoptera (23% and 23%). Formicidae (14%) and Calliphoridae (13%) are the most abundant families. The Formicidae family presents the greatest species richness (7%), Calliphora sp and Polyrhachis cyaniventris present the highest specific relative abundance of the entire collection. These preliminary results of the entomofauna of Scientific City constitute a database. However, this study must be continued and extended to other areas of Brazzaville, using other capture techniques and taking into account the seasons.
文摘Under the guidance of national policies,the“coal to gas”project has become one of the important measures to promote the transformation of energy structure in China.Foshan,an important industrial town in Guangdong province,the implementation of the“coal to gas”policy has demonstrated significance for the optimization of the national energy structure.Through the analysis of the change in Foshan’s energy consumption structure and the implementation of the policy,this paper found that there were some challenges in the policy implementation process,such as high economic cost,lagging infrastructure,low social acceptance,and lack of technical personnel.To address this,suggestions are put forward,including increasing financial subsidies,improving laws and regulations,promoting technological innovation,and encouraging social inclusion policies.These recommendations aim to provide guidance and reference for the remaining“coal to gas”projects and the development of clean energy.
文摘The Knowledge Economic City (KEC) of Al Madinah Al Munawwarah is one of the major projects and represents the cornerstone for the new development activities for Al Madinah. The study area contains different geological units dominated by basalt and overlain by surface deposits. The surface soils vary in thickness and can be classified into well-graded SAND with silt and gravel (SW-SM), silty SAND with gravel (SM), silty GRAVEL with sand (GM), and sandy SILTY clay (CL-ML). The subsurface soil obtained from the drilled boreholes can be classified into poorly graded GRAVEL (GP), well-graded GRAVEL with sand (GW), poorly graded GRAVEL with silt (GP-GM), silty CLAYEY gravel with sand (GC-GM), silty SAND with gravel (SM), silt with SAND (ML), and silty CLAY with sand (CL-ML), sandy lean CLAY (CL), and lean CLAY (CL). The relative density of the deposit and the different gravel sizes intercalated with the soil influenced the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) values. The SPT N values are high and approach refusal even at shallow depths. The shallow refusal depth (0.10 to 0.90 m) of the Dynamic Cone Penetration Test (DCPT) was observed. Generally, the soil can be described as inactive with low plasticity and dense to very dense consistency. The basalt of the KEC site is characterized by slightly (W2) to highly (W4) weathering, their strength ranges from moderate (S4) to very strong (S2), and the Rock Quality Designation (RQD) ranges from very poor (R5) to excellent (R1). The engineering geological map of the KEC characterized the geoengineering properties of the soil and rock materials and classified them into many zones. The high sulphate (SO42−) and chloride (Cl−) contents in groundwater call for protective measures for foundation concrete. The current study revealed that geohazard(s) mitigation measures concerning floods, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes should be considered.
基金supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research and Graduate Studies at King Khalid University under research grant number(R.G.P.2/93/45).
文摘Thedeployment of the Internet of Things(IoT)with smart sensors has facilitated the emergence of fog computing as an important technology for delivering services to smart environments such as campuses,smart cities,and smart transportation systems.Fog computing tackles a range of challenges,including processing,storage,bandwidth,latency,and reliability,by locally distributing secure information through end nodes.Consisting of endpoints,fog nodes,and back-end cloud infrastructure,it provides advanced capabilities beyond traditional cloud computing.In smart environments,particularly within smart city transportation systems,the abundance of devices and nodes poses significant challenges related to power consumption and system reliability.To address the challenges of latency,energy consumption,and fault tolerance in these environments,this paper proposes a latency-aware,faulttolerant framework for resource scheduling and data management,referred to as the FORD framework,for smart cities in fog environments.This framework is designed to meet the demands of time-sensitive applications,such as those in smart transportation systems.The FORD framework incorporates latency-aware resource scheduling to optimize task execution in smart city environments,leveraging resources from both fog and cloud environments.Through simulation-based executions,tasks are allocated to the nearest available nodes with minimum latency.In the event of execution failure,a fault-tolerantmechanism is employed to ensure the successful completion of tasks.Upon successful execution,data is efficiently stored in the cloud data center,ensuring data integrity and reliability within the smart city ecosystem.
文摘Hydrogen is emerging as a promising alternative to fossil fuels in the transportation sector.This study evaluated the feasibility of estab-lishing hydrogen refueling stations in five cities in Oman,Duqm,Haima,Sur,Al Buraymi,and Salalah,using Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Electric Renewables(HOMER)software.Three hybrid energy systems,photovoltaic-wind turbine-battery,photovoltaic-battery,and wind turbine-battery were analyzed for each city.Results indicated that Duqm offers the lowest net present cost(NPC),levelized cost of energy,and levelized cost of hydrogen,making it the most cost-effective location.Additionally,Sensitivity analysis showed that as the life of electrolyzer increases during operation,the initial capital expenditure is distributed over a longer operational period,leading to a reduction in the NPC.More so,renewable energy systems produced no emissions which supports Oman’s mission target.This comprehensive analysis confirms the feasibility of establishing a hydrogen refueling station in Duqm,Oman,and highlights advanced optimization techniques’superior capability in designing cost-effective,sustainable energy systems.
基金supported by two projects initialed China Geological Survey: “Evaluation on Soil and Water Quality and Geological Survey in Xiong’an New Area (DD20189122)” and “Monitoring and Evaluation on Carrying Capacity of Resource and Environment in BeijingTianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development Zone and Xiong’an New Area (DD20221727)”
文摘China established Xiong’an New Area in Hebei Province in 2017,which is planned to accommodate about 5 million people,aiming to relieve Beijing City of the functions non-essential to its role as China’s capital and to expedite the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.From 2017 to 2021,the China Geological Survey(CGS)took the lead in multi-factor urban geological surveys involving space,resources,environments,and disasters according to the general requirements of“global vision,international standards,distinctive Chinese features,and future-oriented goals”in Xiong’an New Area,identifying the engineering geologic conditions and geologic environmental challenges of this area.The achievements also include a 3D engineering geological structure model for the whole area,along with“one city proper and five clusters”,insights into the ecology and the background endowment of natural resources like land,geothermal resources,groundwater,and wetland of the area before engineering construction,a comprehensive monitoring network of resources and environments in the area,and the“Transparent Xiong’an”geological information platform that is open,shared,dynamically updated,and three-dimensionally visualized.China’s geologists and urban geology have played a significant role in the urban planning and construction of Xiong’an New Area,providing whole-process geological solutions for urban planning,construction,operation and management.The future urban construction of Xiong’an New Area will necessitate the theoretical and technical support of earth system science(ESS)from various aspects,and the purpose is to enhance the resilience of the new type of city and to provide support for the green,low-carbon,and sustainable development of this area.
基金Under the auspices of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.42271279,41931293,41801175)。
文摘Quantitatively assessing the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems in arid and semi-arid areas is crucial for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.In this work,taking Yulin City in China as a case study and employing the Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation(CRITIC)method,a modified model of coupling degree was developed to evaluate the car-rying capacity of water and land resources systems endowment and utilization,as well as their coupling coordination degree from 2013 to 2020.Our findings indicate that the water and land resources of Yulin are diminishing due to declines in agriculture,higher industrial water use,and wetland shrinkage.However,reallocating domestic water for ecological sustainability and reducing sloping farmland can mitigate this trend of decline.Temporally,as the coupling coordination between water and land resources system endowment in Yulin continuously improved,the coupling coordination between water and land resources system utilization first decreased and then in-creased with 2016 as the turning point.Spatially,the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems,the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system endowment,and the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system utilization in Yulin exhibited the same pattern of being higher in the six northern counties than in the six southern counties.Improving the water resources endowment is vital for the highly efficient use of water and land resources.
基金MMU Postdoctoral and Research Fellow(Account:MMUI/230023.02).
文摘The context of recognizing handwritten city names,this research addresses the challenges posed by the manual inscription of Bangladeshi city names in the Bangla script.In today’s technology-driven era,where precise tools for reading handwritten text are essential,this study focuses on leveraging deep learning to understand the intricacies of Bangla handwriting.The existing dearth of dedicated datasets has impeded the progress of Bangla handwritten city name recognition systems,particularly in critical areas such as postal automation and document processing.Notably,no prior research has specifically targeted the unique needs of Bangla handwritten city name recognition.To bridge this gap,the study collects real-world images from diverse sources to construct a comprehensive dataset for Bangla Hand Written City name recognition.The emphasis on practical data for system training enhances accuracy.The research further conducts a comparative analysis,pitting state-of-the-art(SOTA)deep learning models,including EfficientNetB0,VGG16,ResNet50,DenseNet201,InceptionV3,and Xception,against a custom Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)model named“Our CNN.”The results showcase the superior performance of“Our CNN,”with a test accuracy of 99.97% and an outstanding F1 score of 99.95%.These metrics underscore its potential for automating city name recognition,particularly in postal services.The study concludes by highlighting the significance of meticulous dataset curation and the promising outlook for custom CNN architectures.It encourages future research avenues,including dataset expansion,algorithm refinement,exploration of recurrent neural networks and attention mechanisms,real-world deployment of models,and extension to other regional languages and scripts.These recommendations offer exciting possibilities for advancing the field of handwritten recognition technology and hold practical implications for enhancing global postal services.
文摘The horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio(HVSR)method has been used to characterize site-effect parameters that are indispensable in seismic hazard and risk-reduction studies in urban areas and rapid land-use planning.This method is widely used because it is the cheapest and simplest geophysical method for the acquisition and processing stages.In subsequent developments,the HVSR method has been widely used to determine elastic rock parameters,particularly shear wave velocity(v_(S)),through the HVSR curve inversion process.Furthermore,the v_(S)structural model can be used to delineate the presence of complex geological structures,particularly faults and sedimentary basins.Bandar Lampung is a city in Lampung Province with many fault structures and groundwater basins to the south.There are 83 HVSR measurement points around Bandar Lampung for delineating the presence of fault structures and groundwater basins.We produced the HVSR curve from the measurement results and then performed an inversion process using the particle swarm optimization algorithm to obtain v_(S)for the depth profile.Subsequently,from this profile,we produced a two-dimensional(2D)lateral and vertical model.The mean v_(S)value was calculated from all the measurement points,and we found stiff soil layers reaching depths of approximately 5 m,with a value of v_(S)<330 m/s.A bedrock layer with a velocity exceeding 1250 m/s was visible at a depth of 100 m.Based on the 2D model,the v_(S)structure shows that the city of Bandar Lampung is divided into two zones,with a NW-SE boundary.The north-middle-eastern part of the city consists of harder rocks.This harder rock is characterized by extremely high v_(S)values,starting from a depth of 50 m.In contrast,the south-middle-west exhibits a low-moderate v_(S)anomaly associated with groundwater basins SW of the city.From the 2D v_(S)structural model,fault structures can be found along the city,characterized by a contrast of v_(S)values from low to medium and from medium to high.
基金Sponsored by The Special Projects in Key Areas of General Colleges and Universities in Guangdong Province(2022ZDZX4057)Innovation Team Project of Colleges and Universities in Guangdong Province(2023WCXTD021)The Educational Science Planning Project of Guangdong Province(2022GXJK355).
文摘Seven tourist cities in eastern and western Guangdong were selected as the research objects to establish an evaluation index system of urban comprehensive carrying capacity,and its changing laws were analyzed.It was found that the comprehensive carrying capacities of cities in eastern and western Guangdong showed a trend of“first increasing and then decreasing”from 2015 to 2021,and reached the highest point in 2019,but there were significant differences among regions.From the perspective of spatial distribution,the comprehensive carrying capacities of cities in eastern and western Guangdong generally presented the law of high on both sides and low in the middle.In terms of the proportion of comprehensive carrying capacity of tourist cities,the larger part was always the carrying capacity of infrastructure and public services.The value of economic carrying capacity showed a trend of“first increasing and then decreasing”,while the value of environmental carrying capacity was always on the increase,and the value of tourism resources carrying capacity was basically stable.Finally,according to the analysis results,this paper put forward the optimization paths for comprehensive carrying capacities of tourist cities in eastern and western Guangdong from following four aspects:coordinating regional development,rationally utilizing natural resources,adjusting economic structure and adhering to the sustainable development concept.
基金Under the auspices of the Social Science and Humanity on Young Fund of the Ministry of Education of China(No.21YJCZH100)the Scientific Research Project on Outstanding Young of the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University(No.XJQ201920)+1 种基金the Science and Technology Innovation Special Fund Project of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University(No.CXZX2021032)the Forestry Peak Discipline Construction Project of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University(No.72202200205)。
文摘Under the influence of anthropogenic and climate change,the problems caused by urban heat island(UHI)has become increasingly prominent.In order to promote urban sustainable development and improve the quality of human settlements,it is significant for exploring the evolution characteristics of urban thermal environment and analyzing its driving forces.Taking the Landsat series images as the basic data sources,the winter land surface temperature(LST)of the rapid urbanization area of Fuzhou City in China was quantitatively retrieved from 2001 to 2021.Combing comprehensively the standard deviation ellipse model,profile analysis and GeoDetector model,the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of the winter urban thermal environment were systematically analyzed.The results showed that the winter LST presented an increasing trend in the study area during 2001–2021,and the winter LST of the central urban regions was significantly higher than the suburbs.There was a strong UHI effect from 2001 to 2021with an expansion trend from the central urban regions to the suburbs and coastal areas in space scale.The LST of green lands and wetlands are significantly lower than croplands,artificial surface and unvegetated lands.Vegetation and water bodies had a significant mitigation effect on UHI,especially in the micro-scale.The winter UHI had been jointly driven by the underlying surface and socio-economic factors in a nonlinear or two-factor interactive enhancement mode,and socio-economic factors had played a leading role.This research could provide data support and decision-making references for rationally planning urban layout and promoting sustainable urban development.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.4203070 and 41977217)the Key Research&Development Program of Shaanxi Province(Grant No.2020ZDLSF06-03).
文摘Mountain excavation and city construction(MECC)projects being launched in the Loess Plateau in China involve the creation of large-scale artificial land.Understanding the subsurface evolution characteristics of the artificial land is essential,yet challenging.Here,we use an improved fiber-optic monitoring system for its subsurface multi-physical characterization.The system enables us to gather spatiotemporal distribution of various parameters,including strata deformation,temperature,and moisture.Yan’an New District was selected as a case study to conduct refined in-situ monitoring through a 77 m-deep borehole and a 30 m-long trench.Findings reveal that the ground settlement involves both the deformation of the filling loess and the underlying intact loess.Notably,the filling loess exhibits a stronger creep capability compared to underlying intact loess.The deformation along the profile is unevenly distributed,with a positive correlation with soil moisture.Water accumulation has been observed at the interface between the filling loess and the underlying intact loess,leading to a significant deformation.Moreover,the temperature and moisture in the filling loess have reached a new equilibrium state,with their depths influenced by atmospheric conditions measuring at 31 m and 26 m,respectively.The refined investigation allows us to identify critical layers that matter the sustainable development of newly created urban areas,and provide improved insights into the evolution mechanisms of land creation.
文摘Mainstream media play a crucial role in constructing the cultural memory of a city.This study used 319 short videos released by“Hi Chengdu,”a new media product of Chengdu Radio and Television,as samples.Based on the grounded theory,a research framework encompassing“content,technology,and discourse”was established to explore the paths through which mainstream media construct the cultural memory.Regarding content,this paper emphasized temporal and spatial contexts and urban spaces,delving deep into the themes of the cultural memory and vehicles for it.In terms of technology,this paper discussed the practice of leveraging audio/visual-mode discourse to stitch together the impressions of a city and evoke emotional resonance to create a“flow”of memory.As for discourse,this paper looked at the performance of a communication ritual to frame concepts and shape urban identity.It is essential to break free from conventional thinking and leverage local culture as the primary driving force to further boost a city’s productivity,in order to excel in cultural communication.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos.U1939210 and 51825801。
文摘The post-earthquake emergency period,which is a sensitive time segment just after an event,mainly focuses on saving life and restoring social order.To improve the seismic resilience of city road networks,a resilience evaluation method used in the post-earthquake emergency period is proposed.The road seismic damage index of a city road network can consider the influence of roads,bridges and buildings along the roads,etc.on road capacity after an earthquake.A function index for a city road network is developed,which reflects the connectivity,redundancy,traffic demand and traffic function of the network.An optimization model for improving the road repair order in the post-earthquake emergency period is also developed according to the resilience evaluation,to enable decision support for city emergency management and achieve the best seismic resilience of the city road network.The optimization model is applied to a city road network and the results illustrate the feasibility of the resilience evaluation and optimization method for a city road network in the post-earthquake emergency period.
基金Under the auspices of Special Funds for Education and Scientific Research of the Department of Finance(Min Cai Zhi[2022]No.840)Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Technology and Resource Optimization Construction Project(No.PTJH17014)。
文摘Although accelerated urbanization has led to economic prosperity,it has also resulted in urban heat island effects.Therefore,identifying methods of using limited urban spaces to alleviate heat islands has become an urgent issue.In this study,we assessed the spatiotemporal evolution of urban heat islands within the central urban area of Fuzhou City,China from 2010 to 2019.This assessment was based on a morphological spatial pattern analysis(MSPA)model and an urban thermal environment spatial network constructed us-ing the minimum cumulative resistance(MCR)model.Optimization measures for the spatial network were proposed to provide a theor-etical basis for alleviating urban heat islands.The results show that the heat island area within the study area gradually increased while that of urban cold island area gradually decreased.The core area was the largest of the urban heat island patch landscape elements with a significant impact on other landscape elements,and represented an important factor underlying urban heat island network stability.The thermal environment network revealed a total of 197 thermal environment corridors and 93 heat island sources.These locations were then optimized according to the current land use,which maximized the potential of 1599.83 ha.Optimization based on current land use led to an increase in climate resilience,with effective measures showing reduction in thermal environment spatial network structure and function,contributing to the mitigation of urban heat island.These findings support the use of current land use patterns during urban heat island mitigation measure planning,thus providing an important reference basis for alleviating urban heat island effects.
