Extraction and Dynamic Spatial-Temporal Changes of Grassland Deterioration Research Hot Regions in China

The authors use a web crawler to retrieve all periodical articles from CNKI between the 1950 s and 2016 and then parse the abstracts of 293368 articles about grassland deterioration by word segmentation, location matching and other methods. The authors also construct a research hot regions extraction model of grassland deterioration in China based on a comprehensive research hot regions index of toponyms and then analyze the spatial pattern and dynamic change in research hot regions of grassland deterioration in China. The research shows the following：（1） The spatial heterogeneity of grassland deterioration in China can be effectively described by a model of grassland deterioration based on the comprehensive research hot regions index.（2） The research hot regions of grassland deterioration are mainly distributed in most regions of Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet, Gansu and other provinces. The northeastern region of Inner Mongolia（such as Hulunbeier） and the eastern region of Inner Mongolia（such as Xilin Gol, Chifeng and Wulanchabu） are significant hot regions in the study of grassland deterioration.（3） The number of high research hot regions increases from 81 in the 1950 s to 99 in the 2000s; the area increases from 1.038 million km2 to 1.146 million km2. The degree of hot for grassland deterioration research in 197 counties showed an upward trend. This paper also discusses the relationship between the region of research hot regions and the region of grassland deterioration and then indicates the differences between them in time matching, space matching and concept matching.

Modulation of hot regions in waveguide-based evanescent-field-coupled localized surface plasmons for plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy

Coupling efficiency between the localized surface plasmons(LSPs) of metal nanoparticles(NPs) and incident light dominates the sensitivities of plasmon-based sensing spectroscopies and imaging techniques, e.g., surfaceenhanced Raman scattering(SERS) spectroscopy. Many endogenous features of metal NPs(e.g., size, shape,aggregation form, etc.) that have strong impacts on their LSPs have been discussed in detail in previous studies.Here, the polarization-tuned electromagnetic(EM) field that facilitates the LSP coupling is fully discussed.Numerical analyses on waveguide-based evanescent fields(WEFs) coupled with the LSPs of dispersed silver nanospheres and silver nano-hemispheres are presented and the applicability of the WEF-LSPs to plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy is discussed. Compared with LSPs under direct light excitation that only provide 3–4 times enhancement of the incidence field, the WEF-LSPs can amplify the electric field intensity about 30–90 times(equaling the enhancement factor of 10~6–10~8 in SERS intensity), which is comparable to the EM amplification of the SERS"hot spot" effect. Importantly, the strongest region of EM enhancement around silver nanospheres can be modulated from the gap region to the side surface simply by switching the incident polarization from TM to TE, which widely extends its sensing applications in surface analysis of monolayer of molecule and macromolecule detections. This technique provides us a unique way to achieve remarkable signal gains in many plasmon-enhanced spectroscopic systems in which LSPs are involved.

Investigation of the Effects of Glazed Balconies uponThermal Comfort in Hot Tropical Region

The balcony is responsible to a series of effects on the environmental behavior of a building,mainly in relation of thermal comfort and air distribution to their indoor spaces.Currently a very common practice in several metropolitan areas is the closing with retractable glass panels in balcony openings.This work analyzed the effects of glazed balconies upon thermal comfort in a hot tropical region.Environmental parameters were carried out in a flat alternating the conditions of retractable glass panels to balconies.Thermal simulations were performed considering closing or not the glass door that divides the balcony room;the building material used on the balcony sill;and the use of curtains or shading devices.The results show the maximum mean hourly temperatures recorded on the balcony during the period when the retractable glass panels were closed,reaching peaks between 31.7 and 39.2°C,above the comfort range recommended by ASHRAE 55.All situations simulated show the thermal discomfort prevails in the use of the closed glass panels reaching DhTD of 94.55°C/day.Thus,this practice of using most of the closed retractable glass panels in the balconies presents disadvantages and inefficiencies especially in hot and humid tropical climate regions.

Research on Passive Design Optimization about an Experimental Rural Residence in Hot Summer and Cold Winter Region of China

In China, rural residential environment under the poor construction measures has not been satisfactory due to the backward infrastructure of countryside and the lacking of professional planning, which will result in considerable amount of energy consumption in the future. The economy of rural residences in the hot summer and cold winter region of China is relative developed, but the indoor thermal environmental quality is not so good. In this paper, the design strategies directed by passive design ideas for a small experimental rural residential building located in Hangzhou city was introduced and researched in response to hot summer and cold winter climate. Through modeling solution undertaken by Ecotect software, the building performance was simulated and analyzed for the optimization of design factors, such as shape, roof angle, insulation system, shading devices, as well as day-lighting system. Based on the above study, a set of appropriate energy-saving technologies were provided for improving the new rural residences construction in Hangzhou, which should also be recommended to other projects constructed in the same climate region.