Simulations of Heat and Moisture Conditions in a Retrofit Wall Construction with Vacuum Insulation Panels

Vacuum insulation panels provide unprecedented possibilities for renovating the existing building stock in a manner that reduces the thermal losses through the building envelope. This study is focused on the implementation of VIPs （vacuum insulation panels） in energy retrofit projects with rendered outer walls. Particular emphasis is put on reducing the thermal bridges due to mechanical fasteners and at the joints of the panels. These are evaluated through a parametric study of the impact of the thermal conductivity of the joints of the panels and the adjacent insulation layer as well as the material of the fasteners. The study is carried out with 3D FEM （finite element method） simulations software. Furthermore, the moisture conditions in the construction are studied. The dynamic moisture behavior of a wall construction is modeled with a two dimensional FEM model. The long term effects of vapor diffusion are investigated in terms of accumulated moisture and the risk of condensation. The results illustrate that vacuum insulation on the outside of the wall construction does not pose a moisture problem to the construction. The simulations are based on a draft of a new technical solution for the refurbishment of a building that is typical for the great Swedish building program of the 1970s.

Study on the Optimum Moisture Amount Added to Brown Rice once during the Wet Conditioning

In the experiment, the brown rice whose moisture content was 12.5% was used as raw material. The brown rice was grouped, then moisturized differently and milled. While milling, the energy consumption, the rate of broken rice and the crack rate were tested. It is confirmed that the stress crack owing to the moisture added to the brown rice can be avoided when the moisture amount added once is limited to no more than 1.5%. It is also proved that the energy consumption can be reduced, the yielding rate of rice can be increased and that the quality of rice can be improved.

Effects of germination and aeration treatment following segmented moisture conditioning on theγ-aminobutyric acid accumulation in germinated brown rice

Brown rice was treated by segmented moisture conditioning to reach the suitable water content and aerated with air for germination.The effects of germination and aeration treatment on theγ-aminobutyric acid(GABA)content in germinated brown rice were studied.The results showed that the germination rate,glutamic acid,glutamate decarboxylase activity and GABA content in germinated brown rice increased significantly and then decreased with the increase of germination and aeration treatment parameters.Correlation analysis also revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between GABA accumulation and glutamic acid content,glutamate decarboxylase activity.These results suggested that the aeration treatment during germination following segmented moisture conditioning could contribute to a high GABA content of germinated brown rice.

Characteristics of In-Situ Soil Water Hysteresis Observed through Multiple-Years Monitoring

A soil water retention curve (SWRC) is an essential soil physical property for analyzing transport and retention of water in a soil layer. A SWRC is often described as a single-valued function that relates the soil water potential ψ to volumetric water content θ of the soil. However, an in-situ ψ − θ relation should show soil water hysteresis, though this fact is often neglected in analyses of field soil water regimes while long-term in-situ soil water hysteresis is not well characterized. This study aimed at probing and characterizing in-situ ψ − θ relations. The developments of large hysteresis in the in-situ ψ − θ relations were observed only a few times during the study period of 82 months. Any of the large hysteretic behaviors in the ψ − θ relations began with an unusually strong continual reduction in ψ. The completion of a hysteresis loop required a recorded maximum rainfall. Because the study field had very small chances to meet such strong rainfall events, it took multiple years to restore the fraction of soil water depleted by the unusually strong continual reduction in ψ. While wetting-drying cycles had occurred within a certain domain of ψ, hysteretic behaviors tended to be so small that the in-situ ψ − θ relation can be approximated as a single-valued function of θ(ψ). These observed patterns of the in-situ ψ − θ relations were characterized by kinds of difference in dθ/dψ between a drying process and a wetting process at a given ψ. Thus, more amounts of experimental facts about wetting SWRCs in parallel with drying SWRCs should be needed for correct modelling, analyzing, and predicting soil water regimes in fields. It is also necessary to increase our understandings about the long-term trends of occurrences of extreme weather conditions associated with possible change in climate.

The effect of soil moisture on the response by fungi and bacteria to nitrogen additions for N_(2)O production

In addition to bacteria,the contribution of fungi to nitrous oxide(N_(2)O)production has been recognized but the responses of these two broad and unrelated groups of microorganisms to global environmental changes,atmospheric nitrogen(N)deposition,and precipitation in terms of N_(2)O production are unclear.We studied how these two microbial-mediated N_(2)O production pathways responded to soil moisture conditions and to N addition in an N-limited temperate forest.Soils from a long-term N addition experiment in Changbai Mountain,northeastern China were incubated.Varied concentrations of cycloheximide and streptomycin,both inhibitors of fungal and bacterial activity,were used to determine the contributions of both to N_(2)O production in 66%,98%and 130%water-filled pore spaces(WFPS).The results showed that N_(2)O production decreased significantly with increasing cycloheximide concentration whereas streptomycin was only inhibiting N_(2)O emissions at 98%and 130%WFPS.The bacterial pathway of N_(2)O production in N-addition(Nadd)soil was significantly more dominant than that in untreated(Namb)soil.The difference in the fungal pathway of N_(2)O production between the soil with nitrogen addition and the untreated soil was not significant.Net N_(2)O emissions increased with increasing soil moisture,especially at 130%WFPS,a completely flooded condition.Bacteria dominated carbon dioxide(CO_(2))and N_(2)O emissions in Nadd soil and at 130%WFPS regardless of N status,while fungi dominated CO_(2)and N_(2)O emissions in soil without N addition at 66%and 98%WFPS.The results suggest that flooded soil is an important source of N_(2)O emissions and that bacteria might be better adapted to compete in fertile soils under anoxic conditions.

Effects of Intraseasonal Oscillation on the Anomalous East Asian Summer Monsoon During 1999

The 1999 East Asian summer monsoon was very unusual for its weak northward advance and remarkably anomalous climate conditions. The monsoonal southwesterly airflow and related rain belt in East Asia were blocked south of the Yangtze River Valley. The monsoonal airflow and major moisture transport conduct shifted eastward and turned northward to Japan from the tropical western Pacific rather than to East China from the South China Sea （SCS） as in normal years. Severe and prolonged drought occurred over extensive areas of North China and heavy precipitation in South China and Japan. The investigation on the possible intrinsic mechanisms related to such an anomalous monsoon year has shown that the unique behavior of intraseasonal oscillation may play an essential role during this process. During this year, the northward propagation of 30-60-day anomalous low-level cyclone/anticyclone collapsed in the region around 20°N and did not extend beyond the latitudes of the Yangtze River basin due to the barrier of strong cold air intrusion from the mid-latitudes. The southwesterly moisture flux on the northwestern flank of the anticyclonic moisture transport system in the western North Pacific, which was regulated by the northward shift of 30-60-day cyclonic/anticyclonic moisture transport, also did not reach the region north of 30°N as well. Under this circumstance, the weak northward advance of the monsoon westerlies and associated northward moisture transport could not arrive in North China and led to the severe droughts there in 1999. The SCS and South China were mostly affected by the airflow in the southern and northern flanks of the same 30-60-day cyclones or anticyclones, respectively, and thus controlled by the nearly reverse zonal wind and moisture convergent/divergent conditions. The rainfall in the SCS and South China showed out-of-phase oscillation through the transient local Hadley circulation, with the rainfall maximum occurring in the SCS （South China） when the 30-60-day anticyclone （cyclone） reached its peak phase.

Analysis of the forest fires in the Antalya region of Turkey using the Keetch–Byram drought index

We investigated the correlation of large fires（[300 ha） from 1992 to 2013 within the borders of the Antalya Regional Directorate of Forestry using the Keetch–Byram drought index（KBDI）. Daily KBDI values were calculated for each year, and values for the period before the year 2000 differed significantly from those after2000. After 2000（large fires occurred in 2004, 2006, 2007,2008, 2010, and 2013）, when KBDI values increased, the KBDI, but not the number of fires, was inversely correlated with the natural log of the burned area（NLBA）. While there were both high and low KBDI values when the NLBA was small, only high KBDI values were associated with high NLBA values. Particularly for logarithmic values of 4 and higher, KBDI values increased in parallel with increases in NLBA values. On the basis of a Mann–Whitney U test done in addition to a Pearson correlation test, we found that when the burned areas were grouped according to small and large areas, the KBDI could be used to distinguish the two groups. Using a conditional probability analysis, we found that 4th, 5th and 6th class KBDI values may lead to large fires at the 60 % possibility.Similarly, the possibility of large fires greater than the median burned area in any given 6 years was found to be48 %. In addition, while the mean value of KBDI is 390.51 for the period from May to September for these 6 years, it is 359.93 for the other years. Consequently, the area burned also increased as the KBDI classes（Class 0： 0–99, Class 1：100–199, Class 2： 200–299, Class 3： 300–399, Class 4：400–499, Class 5： 500–599, Class 6： 600–699, and Class 7：700–800） increase.

Changes in vegetation and moisture in the northern Tianshan of China over the past 450 years

Knowledge of historical changes in moisture within semi-arid and arid regions is the basis of climatic change predictions and strategies in response to long-term drought.In this study,a multiproxy peat record with highresolution from Sichanghu in the northern Tianshan was used to document the changes in vegetation and climate over the past 450 years in the arid Central Asia.The pollen,grain size,and loss on ignition(LOI)records indicate that the productivity of local peat began to increase at^1730 AD.The vegetation in the Sichanghu area experienced several transitions,from temperate desert to dense desert,marsh meadow,and steppe desert vegetation.The climate in the study area was extremely dry during the early stages of the Little Ice Age(LIA)(before 1730 AD)and relatively wet during the late stages(1730–1880 AD).The inferred changes in the moisture conditions of the Sichanghu peatland since the LIA may have been controlled by the extent of Arctic sea ice,the North Atlantic Oscillation,and the Siberian High via the connections of large-scale atmospheric circulations such as the Westerlies.

A Comparative Study of the Cellular Microscopic Characteristics and Mechanisms of Maize Seedling Damage from Superabsorbent Polymers

Superabsorbent polymers(SAPs) as soil moisture conditioners have been increasingly used in agriculture, but conflicting results were reported regarding the effects of SAPs on crop growth. In this study, both laboratory cultivation and analysis were conducted to investigate the effects of different SAPs on the growth and physiology of crops under water-saving agricultural practices. Maize(Zea mays L.) seedlings were cultivated using distilled water or three different SAP hydrogels, sodium polyacrylate(SP), potassium polyacrylate(PP), and sodium polyacrylate embedded with phosphate rock powder(SPP), as growth media. Growth characteristics of the model plant and damage were assessed using scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The results showed that both the SP and PP treatments had pronounced negative effect on the hydrogels of growth of maize seedlings. The SPP treatment appeared to facilitate the stem-leaf growth and had no obvious adverse effect on root growth. All the three hydrogel treatments caused varying degrees of damage to the organizational structure and cellular morphology of the roots, with the SP and PP treatments causing the most severe damage; the membrane system of root cells was damaged by both SP and PP treatments. An excessive accumulation of sodium and reduction of calcium occurred in the roots may be responsible for the observed damage to the cell membrane system, which, in turn, may have promoted the wilting of the cells.