Impacts of high temperature,relative air humidity,and vapor pressure deficit on the seed set of contrasting maize genotypes during flowering

Heat stress is a major constraint to current and future maize production at the global scale.Male and female reproductive organs both play major roles in increasing seed set under heat stress at flowering,but their relative contributions to seed set are unclear.In this study,a 2-year field experiment including three sowing dates in each year and 20 inbred lines was conducted.Seed set,kernel number per ear,and grain yield were all reduced by more than 80%in the third sowing dates compared to the first sowing dates.Pollen viability,silk emergence ratio,and anthesis-silking interval were the key determinants of seed set under heat stress;and their correlation coefficients were 0.89^(***),0.65^(***),and-0.72^(***),respectively.Vapor pressure deficit(VPD)and relative air humidity(RH)both had significant correlations with pollen viability and the silk emergence ratio.High RH can alleviate the impacts of heat on maize seed set by maintaining high pollen viability and a high silk emergence ratio.Under a warming climate from 2020 to 2050,VPD will decrease due to the increased RH.Based on their pollen viability and silk emergence ratios,the 20 genotypes fell into four different groups.The group with high pollen viability and a high silk emergence ratio performed better under heat stress,and their performance can be further improved by combining the improved flowering pattern traits.

Prediction of Low Heating Value of Sugar Cane Bagasse as a Fuel for Industrial Boilers in the High Relative Humidity Region: Case of Cameroon

Many attempts have been made to estimate calorific value of bagasse using mathematical equations, which were created based on data from proximate, ultimate, physical and chemical analysis. Questions have been raised on the applicability of these equations in different parts of the globe. This study was initiated to tackle these problems and also check the most suited mathematical models for the Law Heating Value of Cameroonian bagasse. Data and bagasse samples were collected at the Cameroonian sugarcane factory. The effects of cane variety, age of harvesting, source, moisture content, and sucrose on the LHV of Cameroon bagasse have been tested. It was shown that humidity does not change within a variety, but changes from the dry season to the rainy season;the sugar in the rainy season is significantly different from that collected in the dry season. Samples of the same variety have identical LHV. LHV in the dry season is significantly different from LHV in the rainy season. According to the fact that this study was done for cane with different ages of harvesting, the maturity of Cameroonian sugarcane does not affect LHV of bagasse. Tree selected models are much superior tool for the prediction of the LHV for bagasse in Cameroon compared to others. The standard deviation of these validated models is around 200 kJ/kg compared to the experimental. Thus, the models determined in foreign countries, are not necessarily applicable in predicting the LHV of bagasse in other countries with the same accuracy as that in their native country. There was linear relationship between humidity, ash and sugar content in the bagasse. It is possible to build models based on data from physical composition of bagasse using regression analysis.

Analysis on the Climate Characteristics of Relative Humidity in Recent 40 Years in Urumqi City

By using the daily average relative humidity data in Urumqi during 1961-2000,the basic climate characteristics and the variation trend of relative humidity in Urumqi in recent 40 years were analyzed.The results showed that the yearly average relative humidity in Urumqi was 57.5%.The relative humidity in winter was 77.5% which was the biggest all the year round,and the relative humidity in summer was 41.2% which was the smallest.The relative humidity in spring,summer,autumn,winter and the yearly relative humidity all displayed the increase trend.The yearly mean relative humidity had the periods of mainly 2,3-4 and quasi-7 years.The periodic oscillation of quasi-7 years was the strongest.

Factors affecting relative humidity during wood vacuum drying

Effects of pressure and temperature in the chamber during vacuum drying on the relative humidity and evaporation of wood surface were investigated by using the vacuum chamber. The setting temperature during vacuum drying included dry-bulb temperature ta, the wet-bulb temperature tw and the temperature difference between the air in the vacuum chamber and the cooling water in the condenser. Results indicated that relative humidity during vacuum drying was affected by the dry-bulb temperature td, the wet-bulb temperature tw and the temperature difference between the air in the vacuum chamber and the water in the condenser. Relative humidity of wood decreased with the increase in temperature at the given temperature of the water in the condenser. The relative humidity was affected slightly by pressure in the vacuum chamber pA, and it decreased from 70% to 65% with pA increased from 50 kPa to 101 kPa. Moreover, there was nearly no evaporation under the vacuum without external heating.

Effects of relative humidity on animal health and welfare

Farm animals are sources of meat, milk and eggs for the humans, and animal health ensures the quality and security of these agricultural and sideline products. The animal raising conditions in livestock stations and poultry houses play vital roles in both animal health and production. One of the major factors affecting raising conditions, relative humidity, has not received much attention even though it is important for animal husbandry. In this review, we summarize the impacts of relative humidity on animal health and welfare to draw attention for its importance in the improvement of animal raising conditions in the future.

High-resolution Surface Relative Humidity Computation Using MODIS Image in Peninsular Malaysia

Forest fire is a serious disaster all over the world. The Fire Weather Index (FWI) System can be used in ap- plied forestry as a tool to investigate and manage all types of fire. Relative humidity (RH) is a very important parameter to calculate FWI. However, RH interpolated from meteorological data may not be able to provide precise and confident values for areas between far separated stations. The principal objective of this study is to provide high-resolution RH for FWI using MODIS data. The precipitable water vapor (PW) can be retrieved from MODIS using split window tech- niques. Four-year-time-series (2000-2003) of 8-day mean PW and specific humidity (Q) of Peninsular Malaysia were analyzed and the statistic expression between PW and Q was developed. The root-mean-square-error (RMSE) of Q es- timated by PW is generally less than 0.0004 and the correlation coefficient is 0.90. Based on the experiential formula between PW and Q, surface RH can be computed with combination of auxiliary data such as DEM and air temperature (Ta). The mean absolute errors of the estimated RH in Peninsular Malaysia are less than 5% compared to the measured RH and the correlation coefficient is 0.8219. It is proven to be a simple and feasible model to compute high-resolution RH using remote sensing data.

Homogenized Daily Relative Humidity Series in China during 1960?2017

Surface relative humidity(RH)is a key element for weather and climate monitoring and research.However,RH is not as commonly applied in studying climate change,partly because the observation series of RH are prone to inhomogeneous biases due to non-climate changes in the observation system.A homogenized dataset of daily RH series from 746 stations in Chinese mainland for the period 1960–2017,ChinaRHv1.0,has been developed.Most(685 or 91.82%of the total)station time series were inhomogeneous with one or more break points.The major breakpoints occurred in the early 2000s for many stations,especially in the humid and semi-humid zones,due to the implementation of automated observation across the country.The inhomogeneous biases in the early manual records before this change are positive relative to the recent automatic records,for most of the biased station series.There are more break points detected by using the MASH(Multiple Analysis of Series for Homogenization)method,with biases mainly around?0.5%and 0.5%.These inhomogeneous biases are adjusted with reference to the most recent observations for each station.Based on the adjusted observations,the regional mean RH series of China shows little long-term trend during 1960–2017[0.006%(10 yr)^?1],contrasting with a false decreasing trend[?0.414%(10 yr)?1]in the raw data.It is notable that ERA5 reanalysis data match closely with the interannual variations of the raw RH series in China,including the jump in the early 2000s,raising a caveat for its application in studying climate change in the region.

Observations of nitrous acid and its relative humidity dependence in Shanghai

Nitrous acid, HNO2, is an important precursor of OH radicals in the troposphere. Measurements of HNO2 and NO2, using differential optical absorption spectroscopy （DOAS）, were performed in Shanghai, China for a period from October 22, 2004 to January 4, 2005. The mean （and median） hourly concentrations of HNO2 and NO2 during this period were 1.1 （0.7） ppb and 24 （21.4） ppb respectively. A correlation between HNO2/NO2 and PM10 mass concentrations was obtained. This correlation suggests that significant heterogeneous chemical production of HNO2 may occur through NO2 reactions on aerosol surfaces. This hypothesis was further supported by detailed analysis of selected pollution episodes in this study. At the same time, the water dependence of HNO2 formation was studied by analysis of relative humidity （RH）. It showed that the maximum HNO2/NO2 ratio was increased along with RH below 70% and inhibited at RH〉70%.

Seasonal Variation in Air Temperature and Relative Humidity on Building Areas and in Green Spaces in Beijing, China

The cooling and humidifying effects of urban parks are an essential component of city ecosystems in terms of regulating microclimates or mitigating urban heat islands(UHIs).Air temperature and relative humidity are two main factors of thermal environmental comfort and have a critical impact on the urban environmental quality of human settlements.We measured the 2-m height air temperature and relative humidity at the Beijing Olympic Park and a nearby building roof for more than 1 year to elucidate seasonal variations in air temperature and relative humidity,as well as to investigate the outdoor thermal comfort.The results showed that the lawn of the park could,on average,reduce the air temperature by(0.80±0.19)℃,and increase the relative humidity by(5.24±2.91)% relative to the values measured at the building roof during daytime.During the nighttime,the lawn of the park reduced the air temperature by(2.64±0.64)℃ and increased the relative humidity by(10.77±5.20)%.The park was cooler and more humid than surrounding building area,especially in night period(more pronounced cooling with 1.84℃).Additionally,the lawn of the park could improve outdoor thermal comfort through its cooling and humidifying effects.The level of thermal comfort in the park was higher than that around the building roof for a total of 11 days annually in which it was above one or more thermal comfort levels(average reduced human comfort index of 0.92)except during the winter.

The Impact of Relative Humidity and Atmospheric Pressure on Mortality in Guangzhou, China

Objective Although many studies have examined the effects of ambient temperatures on mortality, little evidence is on health impacts of atmospheric pressure and relative humidity. This study aimed to assess the impacts of atmospheric pressure and relative humidity on mortality in Guangzhou, China. Methods This study included 213,737 registered deaths during 2003-2011 in Guangzhou, China. A quasi-Poisson regression with a distributed lag non-linear model was used to assess the effects of atmospheric pressure/relative humidity. Results We found significant effect of low atmospheric pressure/relative humidity on mortality. There was a 1.79% （95% confidence interval： 0.38%-3.22%） increase in non-accidental mortality and a 2.27% （0.07%-4.51%） increase in cardiovascular mortality comparing the 5th and 25th percentile of atmospheric pressure. A 3.97% （0.67%-7.39%） increase in cardiovascular mortality was also observed comparing the 5th and 25th percentile of relative humidity. Women were more vulnerable to decrease in atmospheric pressure and relative humidity than men. Age and education attainment were also potential effect modifiers. Furthermore, low atmospheric pressure and relative humidity increased temperature-related mortality. Conclusion Both low atmospheric pressure and relative humidity are important risk factors of mortality. Our findings would be helpful to develop health risk assessment and climate policy interventions that would better protect vulnerable subgroups of the population.

Evaluation of Surface Relative Humidity in China from the CRA-40 and Current Reanalyses

Recently,the China Meteorological Administration(CMA)released a new Global Atmospheric Reanalysis(CRA-40)dataset for the period 1979−2018.In this study,surface relative humidity(RH)from CRA-40 and other current reanalyses(e.g.,CFSR,ERA5,ERA-Interim,JRA-55,and MERRA-2)is comprehensively evaluated against homogenized observations over China.The results suggest that most reanalyses overestimate the observations by 15%−30%(absolute difference)over the Tibetan Plateau but underestimate the observations by 5%−10%over most of northern China.The CRA-40 performs relatively well in describing the long-term change and variance seen in the observed surface RH over China.Most of the reanalyses reproduce the observed surface RH climatology and interannual variations well,while few reanalyses can capture the observed long-term RH trends over China.Among these reanalyses,the CFSR does poorly in describing the interannual changes in the observed RH,especially in Southwest China.An empirical orthogonal function(EOF)analysis also suggests that the CRA-40 performs better than other reanalyses to capture the first two leading EOF modes revealed by the observations.The results of this study are expected to improve understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the current reanalysis products and thus facilitate their application.

Effect of Relative Humidity on Catalytic Combustion of Toluene over Copper Based Catalysts with Different Supports

The copper based catalysts, CuO/T-Al2O3, CuO/y-Al2O3-cordierite （Cord） and CuO/Cord, were prepared by impregnation method. The catalytic activity of the catalysts was tested in absence and presence of water vapor,and the catalysts were characterized. Temperature program desorption （TPD） experiments or toluene and water on the catalysts were carried out. The influence of water vapor on the activity of the catalysts was discussed. Results showed that addition of the water vapor has a significant negative effect on the catalytic activity of the catalysts.The higher the concentration of the Water vapor in feed steam was, the lower the catalytic activity of the copper based catalysts became, which could be mainly ascribed to the competition of water molecules with toluene molecules for adsorption on the catalyst surfaces. TPD experiments showed that the strength of the interaction between water molecules and three catalysts followed the order： CuO/γ-Al2O3〉CuO/γ-Al2O3-Cord〉CuO/Cord. As a consequence of that, the degree of degradation in the catalytic activity of these three catalysts by the water vapor followed the order： CuO/γ-Al2O3〉CuO/y-Al2O3-Cord〉CuO/Cord. However, the negative effect of the water vapor was reversible.

Decomposition of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAHs) on Mineral Surface under Controlled Relative Humidity

The fate of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons （PAHs） residing in the atmosphere has received enormous attention in recent years due to their mutagenic and carcinogenic risks on human health. In this context, the stability of pyrene （as a representative PAHs） on quartz, alumina, montmorillonite, kaolinite, humic acid and quartz coated with sorbed humic acid was investigated at controlled relative humidity （RH： i.e. 5% and 30%） without light irradiation in order to detect the presence of catalytic effect of mineral surface on PAHs decomposition. The stability of pyrene was found to depend strongly on the physicochemical properties of the substrates. Quartz showed a strong catalytic effect for the decomposition of pyrene even though it was coated with sorbed humic acid. Pyrene sorbed on montmorillonite and humic acid remained stable during the experimental period （i.e. 3 days）. Moisture in the experimental cell also affected the stability of pyrene in particular minerals. Especially, pyrene sorbed on alumina was rapidly decomposed at higher RH. However, there were almost no effect in the case of quartz, kaolinite and humic acid. Depending on the physicochemical properties of aerosols and RH, PAHs associated with minerals in the atmosphere would be decomposed and/or stably reside in the atmosphere.

Relationship Between Autogenous Deformation and Internal Relative Humidity of High-strength Expansive Concrete

The relationship between autogenous deformation and internal relative humidity（IRH） of high-strength concrete and high-strength expansive concrete were investigated.The experimental results indicate that,there exists a good linear relationship between autogenous shrinkage and IRH of high-strength concrete but a nonlinear relationship between autogenous deformation and IRH of high-strength expansive concrete with expansive agent.The new autogenous deformation curve can be obtained by transforming the autogenous deformation data of high-strength expansive concrete,and there exists linear relationship between the autogenous deformation and IRH.The concept of ＂critical internal relative humidity＂ was proposed,which is defined as the value of IRH when autogenous deformation is zero,to effectively reflect the autogenous deformation characteristic of expansive concrete.

Effect of Pre-wetted Light-weight Aggregate on Internal RelativeHumidity and Autogenous Shrinkage of Concrete

This research indicates that the gradient of internal relative humidity （IRH） decreases rapidly within 7-day curing age in HPC. The amount of water imported by pre-wetted light-weight aggregate can regulate IRH of concrete. By importing a proper amount of water, the process of the decline of IRH can be delayed and the autogenous shrinkage can be reduced. The relationship among the amount of water imported by pre- wetted lightweight aggregate, IRH and AS was established. The result provides a new method of reducing early AS and enhancing early cracking resistance of HPC.

The Effect of Relative Humidity on the Corrosion-resisting Property of Fluorocarbon Coating

The effect of relative humidity on the corrosion-resisting property of fluorocarbon coating was investigated by water vapor transmission technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique. Measuremerits were carried out on samples, which were tested in an accelerated corrosion environment for the same time （300, 500, 800 and 1000 h ）. The experimental results were obtained as follows： （i） The water absorption, coating resistance and corrosion rate of metal under the coating changed with relative humidity and aging time, the results obtained by EIS are good consistent with those by water vapor transmission technique ; （ ii ） when the subject investigated presented two time constant, the goodness of fit by EEC R （ C （ R （ CR ） ） ） was inferior to that by EEC R（ C（ R（QR） ） ）, but the error of parameters acquired from the former was smaller, by which we could analyze the experiment result quantitatively. With the appearance of diffusion layer on the metal, the difference of metal capacitance was aggravated, the error of parameters acquired from EEC R（ C（ R（ C（RW） ） ） ）was bigger than that from EEC R（ C（ R（ Q（ RW） ） ） ） .

Validation and Spatiotemporal Distribution of GEOS-5-Based Planetary Boundary Layer Height and Relative Humidity in China

Few studies have specifically focused on the validation and spatiotemporal distribution of planetary boundary layer height （PBLH） and relative humidity （RH） data in China. In this analysis, continuous PBLH and surface-level RH data simulated from GEOS-5 between 2004 and 2012, were validated against ground-based observations. Overall, the simulated RH was consistent with the statistical data from meteorological stations, with a correlation coefficient of 0.78 and a slope of 0.9. However, the simulated PBLH was underestimated compared to LIDAR data by a factor of approximately two, which was primarily because of poor simulation in late summer and early autumn. We further examined the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of two factors in four regions--North China, South China, Northwest China, and the Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that the annual PBLH trends in all regions were fairly moderate but sensitive to solar radiation and precipitation, which explains why the PBLH values were ranked in order from largest to smallest as follows： Tibetan Plateau, Northwest China, North China, and South China. Strong seasonal variation of the PBLH exhibited high values in summer and low values in winter, which was also consistent with the turbulent vertical exchange. Not surprisingly, the highest RH in South China and the lowest RH in desert areas of Northwest China （less than 30%）. Seasonally, South China exhibited little variation, whereas Northwest China exhibited its highest humidity in winter and lowest humidity in spring, the maximum values in the other regions were obtained from July to September.

Evolution of a Water Pendant Droplet: Effect of Temperature and Relative Humidity

As part of a better understanding of drying liquids within porous materials, measurements from 293 to 343 K of deionized water surface tension in air as a function of relative humidity are exposed. Experimental work was carried out using the pendant drop method coupled with image analysis within an adapted instrumented climatic chamber. Results show that surface tension linearly decreases when relative humidity increases. Although the effect of humidity is less compared to that of the temperature and even less compared to a surfactant impact, it must not be neglected and values have to be mentioned when dealing with water evaporation. Modifying surface tension also affects the pendant drop shape. The drying kinetics of the pendant drop volume and its outer shell are connected to this change of shape. Steam in the air can be assimilated to a wetting agent, hence a surfactant, and can be used in an environmental-friendly way to ease the drying stage. Indeed, the challenge is to limit the risk of cracking and damaging pieces during this crucial step in material processing.

Response of Tomato Sugar and Acid Metabolism and Fruit Quality under Different High Temperature and Relative Humidity Conditions

The combined stress of high temperature and high relative air humidity is one of the most serious agrometeorological disasters that restricts the production capacity of protected agriculture.However,there is little information about the precise interaction between them on tomato fruit quality.The objectives of this study were to explore the effects of the combined stress of high temperature and relative humidity on the sugar and acid metabolism and fruit quality of tomato fruits,and to determine the best relative air humidity for fruit quality under high temperature environments.Four temperature treatments(32℃,35℃,38℃,41℃),three relative air humidity(50%,70%,90%)and four duration(3,6,9,12 d)orthogonal experiments were conducted,with 28℃,50%as control.The results showed that under high temperature and relative air humidity,the activity of sucrose metabolizing enzymes in young tomato fruits changed,which reduced fruits soluble sugar content;in addition,enzyme activities involved phosphopyruvate carboxylase(PEPC),mitochondria aconitase(MDH)and citrate synthetase(CS)increased which increased the content of organic acids(especially malic acid).Eventually,vitamin C,total sugar and sugar-acid ratio decreased significantly,while the titratable acid increased,resulting in a decrease in fruit flavor quality and nutritional quality in ripe fruit.Specifically,a temperature of 32℃and a relative air humidity of 70%were the best cultivation conditions for tomato reproductive growth period under high temperature.Our results indicating that fruit quality reduced under high temperature at the flowering stage,while increasing the relative air humidity to 70%could alleviate this negative effect.Our results are benefit to better understand the interaction between microclimate parameters under specific climatic conditions in the greenhouse environment and their impact on tomato flavor quality.

Real-time in situ visualization of internal relative humidity in fluorescence embedded cement-based materials

The transmission and distribution of moisture in cement-based materials are of great significance to the properties and durability of materials. Traditional macro-humidity monitoring equipment in civil engineering cannot capture the microscale humidity inside cement-based materials in situ. In this paper, a method of using rhodamine 6G fluorescence to characterize the change in relative humidity in cement-based materials is proposed. Two kinds of moulding processes are designed, which are premixed and smeared after moulding, and the optimal preparation concentration is explored. The results showed that rhodamine 6G can reflect the relative humidity of cement-based materials in situ by its fluorescence intensity and had little effect on the hydration heat release and hydration products of cement-based materials;the fluorescence intensity was much higher when the internal relative humidity was 63% and 75%. The research results lead the application of polymer materials in the field of traditional building materials, help to explore the performance evolution law of cement-based materials in micro scale, and have important significance for the evolution from single discipline to interdisciplinary.