Thermal treatment technologies hold an important niche in the remediation of hydrocarbon- contaminated soils and sediments due to their ability to quickly and reliably meet cleanup standards. However, sustained high t...Thermal treatment technologies hold an important niche in the remediation of hydrocarbon- contaminated soils and sediments due to their ability to quickly and reliably meet cleanup standards. However, sustained high temperature can be energy intensive and can damage soil properties. Despite the broad applicability and prevalence of thermal remediation, little work has been done to improve the environmental compatibility and sustainahility of these technologies. We review several common thermal treatment technologies for hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, assess their potential environmental impacts, and propose frameworks for sustainable and low-impact deployment based on a holistic consideration of energy and water requirements, ecosystem ecology, and soil science. There is no universally appropriate thermal treatment technology. Rather, the appropriate choice depends on the contamination scenario (including the type of hydrocarbons present) and on site-specific considerations such as soil properties, water availability, and the heat sensitivity of contaminated soils. Overall, the convergence of treatment process engineering with soil science, ecosystem ecology, and plant biology research is essential to fill critical knowledge gaps and improve both the removal efficiency and sustainability of thermal technologies.展开更多
ISO 9000 certification has been considered as an effective competitive edge for manufacturing industries. In Hong Kong, the ISO 9000 certification has been widely adopted and extended to service industries for the so...ISO 9000 certification has been considered as an effective competitive edge for manufacturing industries. In Hong Kong, the ISO 9000 certification has been widely adopted and extended to service industries for the sole purpose of enhancing corporate image. However, complaints have been voiced by many certified organizations about increasing paperwork, non direct labour and excessive resources channelled into non core business. This paper is to propound the integrated management system, a single management system focusing on business purpose yet being flexible enough to integrate the requirements of various management standards such as the ISO 9000, ISO 14000 and future ISO 18000. This paper describes how the proposed system could be implemented to achieve the desired business results.展开更多
In the banking system, a context characterized by growing instability and by the speed of evolution of business dynamics, the system of corporate governance plays a key role, both for large banks and for banks with a ...In the banking system, a context characterized by growing instability and by the speed of evolution of business dynamics, the system of corporate governance plays a key role, both for large banks and for banks with a smaller size. The paper aims to investigate the influence of corporate governance of the banks that operate in the cooperative credit system on performance and quality of loans, over the years 2010-2011-2012. In order to achieve this aim, the following research hypotheses have been formulated: There is a statistically significant relationship between the size and the structure of the board and banks Performance operating in the cooperative credit system; there is a statistically significant relationship between the size and structure of the board and the credit quality of banks operating in the cooperative credit system. The analysis is conducted on a sample composed of 48 Italian banks, divided into 24 cooperative banks and 24 popular banks. The sample is made up of banks from all over Italy and very different in terms of dimension. For the sample construction, data relative to governance of banks were collected from the balance sheets in the period from June to August 2014. Financial-economic data were collected from the Financial Statements and from Bankscope database. The methodology of analysis is based on multivariate OLS (ordinary least squares) regression models. The main results refer to the presence of significant relationships between board dimension and the quality of loans and among the number of committees and performance and the quality of loans. The presence of a significant and negative relationship between the board dimension and the ratio of impaired loans to gross loans indicates the possibility that enlargement of board dimension allows a better quality of loans. The presence of a positive relationship between the number of committees and the ratio of impaired loans to gross loans signals the possibility that a greater number of committees can produce a worse quality of loans. The presence of a negative relationship between the number of committees and bank performance suggests to limit and manage the complexity of governance in banks operating in the cooperative credit system.展开更多
Developing materials with excellent properties has been the untiring pursuit of mankind.Metallic glasses(MGs)would be the ideal metallic materials if their size could be scaled up to be comparable to traditional metal...Developing materials with excellent properties has been the untiring pursuit of mankind.Metallic glasses(MGs)would be the ideal metallic materials if their size could be scaled up to be comparable to traditional metals.To address this challenge,a variety of approaches have been attempted over the past decades,including thermodynamicsbased alloy,3D printing and the recent artificial intelligenceguided optimal alloy.In this study,a facile and flexible route was demonstrated to manufacture giant MGs(GMGs)with diameters more than 100 mm through the thermo-joining process.The jointed GMG samples feature almost the same performance as the as-cast ones.The ability of manufacturing complex 3D components such as the Chinese Zodiacs was also demonstrated.Our approach might overcome the longstanding problem of glass forming ability(GFA)limitations in alloy systems and pave new concept and route to fabricate size unlimited MGs.展开更多
The Deep-towed Acoustics and Geophysics System (DTAGS) is a high frequency (220-820 Hz) multichannel seismic system towed about 300 m above seafloor.Compared to the conventional surface-towed seismic system,the DTAGS ...The Deep-towed Acoustics and Geophysics System (DTAGS) is a high frequency (220-820 Hz) multichannel seismic system towed about 300 m above seafloor.Compared to the conventional surface-towed seismic system,the DTAGS system is characterized by its shorter wavelength (<6 m),smaller Fresnel zone,and greater sampling in wavenumber space,so it has unique advantages in distinguishing fine sedimentary layers and geological structures.Given the near-bottom configuration and wide high-frequency bandwidth,the precise source and hydrophone positioning is the basement of subsequent seismic imaging and velocity analysis,and thus the quality of array geometry inversion is the key of DTAGS data processing.In the application of exploration for marine gas hydrate on mid-slope of northern Cascadia margin,the DTAGS system has shown high vertical and lateral resolution images of the sedimentary and structural features of the Cucumber Ridge (a carbonate mound) and Bullseye Vent (a cold vent),and provided abundant information for the evaluation of gas hydrate concentration and the mechanism of fluid flow that controls the formation and distribution of gas hydrate.展开更多
基金supported by Chevron Corporationsupport of NSF EAR 0949337
文摘Thermal treatment technologies hold an important niche in the remediation of hydrocarbon- contaminated soils and sediments due to their ability to quickly and reliably meet cleanup standards. However, sustained high temperature can be energy intensive and can damage soil properties. Despite the broad applicability and prevalence of thermal remediation, little work has been done to improve the environmental compatibility and sustainahility of these technologies. We review several common thermal treatment technologies for hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, assess their potential environmental impacts, and propose frameworks for sustainable and low-impact deployment based on a holistic consideration of energy and water requirements, ecosystem ecology, and soil science. There is no universally appropriate thermal treatment technology. Rather, the appropriate choice depends on the contamination scenario (including the type of hydrocarbons present) and on site-specific considerations such as soil properties, water availability, and the heat sensitivity of contaminated soils. Overall, the convergence of treatment process engineering with soil science, ecosystem ecology, and plant biology research is essential to fill critical knowledge gaps and improve both the removal efficiency and sustainability of thermal technologies.
文摘ISO 9000 certification has been considered as an effective competitive edge for manufacturing industries. In Hong Kong, the ISO 9000 certification has been widely adopted and extended to service industries for the sole purpose of enhancing corporate image. However, complaints have been voiced by many certified organizations about increasing paperwork, non direct labour and excessive resources channelled into non core business. This paper is to propound the integrated management system, a single management system focusing on business purpose yet being flexible enough to integrate the requirements of various management standards such as the ISO 9000, ISO 14000 and future ISO 18000. This paper describes how the proposed system could be implemented to achieve the desired business results.
文摘In the banking system, a context characterized by growing instability and by the speed of evolution of business dynamics, the system of corporate governance plays a key role, both for large banks and for banks with a smaller size. The paper aims to investigate the influence of corporate governance of the banks that operate in the cooperative credit system on performance and quality of loans, over the years 2010-2011-2012. In order to achieve this aim, the following research hypotheses have been formulated: There is a statistically significant relationship between the size and the structure of the board and banks Performance operating in the cooperative credit system; there is a statistically significant relationship between the size and structure of the board and the credit quality of banks operating in the cooperative credit system. The analysis is conducted on a sample composed of 48 Italian banks, divided into 24 cooperative banks and 24 popular banks. The sample is made up of banks from all over Italy and very different in terms of dimension. For the sample construction, data relative to governance of banks were collected from the balance sheets in the period from June to August 2014. Financial-economic data were collected from the Financial Statements and from Bankscope database. The methodology of analysis is based on multivariate OLS (ordinary least squares) regression models. The main results refer to the presence of significant relationships between board dimension and the quality of loans and among the number of committees and performance and the quality of loans. The presence of a significant and negative relationship between the board dimension and the ratio of impaired loans to gross loans indicates the possibility that enlargement of board dimension allows a better quality of loans. The presence of a positive relationship between the number of committees and the ratio of impaired loans to gross loans signals the possibility that a greater number of committees can produce a worse quality of loans. The presence of a negative relationship between the number of committees and bank performance suggests to limit and manage the complexity of governance in banks operating in the cooperative credit system.
基金the Key Basic and Applied Research Program of Guangdong ProvinceChina(2019B030302010)+2 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51871157)the Science and Technology Innovation Commission of Shenzhen(JCYJ20170412111216258)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2018YFA0703605)。
文摘Developing materials with excellent properties has been the untiring pursuit of mankind.Metallic glasses(MGs)would be the ideal metallic materials if their size could be scaled up to be comparable to traditional metals.To address this challenge,a variety of approaches have been attempted over the past decades,including thermodynamicsbased alloy,3D printing and the recent artificial intelligenceguided optimal alloy.In this study,a facile and flexible route was demonstrated to manufacture giant MGs(GMGs)with diameters more than 100 mm through the thermo-joining process.The jointed GMG samples feature almost the same performance as the as-cast ones.The ability of manufacturing complex 3D components such as the Chinese Zodiacs was also demonstrated.Our approach might overcome the longstanding problem of glass forming ability(GFA)limitations in alloy systems and pave new concept and route to fabricate size unlimited MGs.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40830423 and 40904029)Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars,Ministry of Education of China
文摘The Deep-towed Acoustics and Geophysics System (DTAGS) is a high frequency (220-820 Hz) multichannel seismic system towed about 300 m above seafloor.Compared to the conventional surface-towed seismic system,the DTAGS system is characterized by its shorter wavelength (<6 m),smaller Fresnel zone,and greater sampling in wavenumber space,so it has unique advantages in distinguishing fine sedimentary layers and geological structures.Given the near-bottom configuration and wide high-frequency bandwidth,the precise source and hydrophone positioning is the basement of subsequent seismic imaging and velocity analysis,and thus the quality of array geometry inversion is the key of DTAGS data processing.In the application of exploration for marine gas hydrate on mid-slope of northern Cascadia margin,the DTAGS system has shown high vertical and lateral resolution images of the sedimentary and structural features of the Cucumber Ridge (a carbonate mound) and Bullseye Vent (a cold vent),and provided abundant information for the evaluation of gas hydrate concentration and the mechanism of fluid flow that controls the formation and distribution of gas hydrate.