scholarly journals Protected Cropping in Warm Climates: A Review of Humidity Control and Cooling Methods

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 2737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barkat Rabbi ◽  
Zhong-Hua Chen ◽  
Subbu Sethuvenkatraman

The projected increase of the world’s population, coupled with the shrinking area of arable land required to meet future food demands, is building pressure on Earth’s finite agricultural resources. As an alternative to conventional farming methods, crops can be grown in protected environments, such as traditional greenhouses or the more modern plant factories. These are usually more productive and use resources more efficiently than conventional farming and are now receiving much attention—especially in urban and peri-urban areas. Traditionally, protected cropping has been predominantly practised in temperate climates, but interest is rapidly rising in hot, arid areas and humid, tropical regions. However, maintaining suitable climatic conditions inside protected cropping structures in warm climates—where warm is defined as equivalent to climatic conditions that require cooling—is challenging and requires different approaches from those used in temperate conditions. In this paper, we review the benefits of protected cropping in warm climates, as well as the technologies available for maintaining a controlled growing environment in these regions. In addition to providing a summary of active cooling methods, this study summarises photovoltaic (PV)-based shading methods used for passive cooling of greenhouses. Additionally, we also summarise the current humidity-control techniques used in the protected cropping industry and identify future research opportunities in this area. The review includes a list of optimum growing conditions for a range of crop species suited to protected cropping in warm climates.

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-60
Author(s):  
Bartosz Czarnecki

Abstract The paper discusses the spatial consequences of the widespread use of self-driving cars and the resulting changes in the structure of urban areas. Analysing present knowledge on the technology, functionality and future forms of organisation of mobility with this type of means of transportation, conclusions are presented concerning the expected changes in the organisation of space in urban areas. The main achievement of the investigation is an outline of the fields of future research on the spatial consequences of a transportation system with a large share of self-driving cars.


Author(s):  
А.В. Терешкин ◽  
А.Л. Калмыкова ◽  
Т.А. Андрушко

Вертикальное озеленение с участием различных видов лиан в современных условиях имеет важное эстетическое и санитарно-гигиеническое значение. Особо актуально решение вопросов обогащения флоры городских территорий лианами в степных районах в связи с бедным видовым составом и резким ухудшением экологической ситуации. Объектами исследований являлись 7 видов лиан, различных жизненных форм (однолетние, многолетние), произрастающие в населенных пунктах Саратовской области (Аткарск, Саратов). Цель исследований – изучение эколого-биологических особенностей и мелиоративных свойств лиан и выявление перспектив их использования в вертикальном озеленении селитебных территорий Саратовской области. В ходе исследования видового состава, были выявлены наиболее популярные виды однолетних лиан: ипомея красно-голубая (Ipomea tricolor (L.) Roth) и ипомея пурпурная (Ipomea purpurea (L.) Roth), горошек душистый (Lathyrus edoratus L.), настурция (Tropacolum peregrinum L.) и фасоль огненно-красная (Phaseolus coccineus). Большинство (70%) из них произрастают в местах ограниченного пользования. Изученные виды лиан в исследуемых регионах достигают средних природных показателей (при наличии надлежащего ухода), обладают хорошими показателями жизненного состояния, обильно цветут и плодоносят. При воздействии токсикантами различной концентрации на листовые пластинки лиан установлено их степень устойчивости. Выявлено, что однолетние лианы лучше использовать в декоративных целях, а не в санитарно-гигиенических. Сравнительная оценка однолетних видов с многолетними лианами (девичий виноград пятилисточковый и клематис тангутский) показывает устойчивость многолетних видов (в среднем на 3 балла - 40%). Разработаны варианты декоративных композиций с участием травянистых лиан. По степени декоративности выделены однолетние лианы – Ipomea tricolor, I. purpurea (37 – 41 балл), средней степенью отличаются – Lathyrus edoratus (33 балла), Tropacolum peregrinum (30 баллов) и Phaseolus coccineus (20 – 27 баллов). Преимущество многолетних лиан заключается в их устойчивости к резким изменениям климатических условий (на 40 %) по сравнению с однолетними формами. Поэтому они более предпочтительны для озеленения городской среды. Для усиления декоративного эффекта в сезонном аспекте рекомендуются сочетать расширение видового и формового разнообразия растений (многолетние и однолетние лианы, древесно-кустарниковая, цветочная растительность). Установлено, что природно-климатические условия зоны степи и лесостепи в пределах Саратовской области являются достаточно благоприятными для нормального роста и развития древесно-кустарниковой растительности, в том числе травянистых лиан. Таким образом, обоснованное применение древесных лиан в комплексе с традиционными видами насаждений позволит создать комфортные условия проживания населения, регулировать оптимальный температурный баланс и создавать благоприятные микроклиматические условия. Vertical gardening with different types of vines in modern conditions is important aesthetic and sanitary-hygienic value. It is especially important to address the issues of enrichment of the flora of urban areas with vines in the steppe regions due to poor species composition and a sharp deterioration of the ecological situation. The objects of research were 7 species of lianas, various life forms (annual, perennial), growing in the settlements of the Saratov region (Atkarsk, Saratov). The aim of the research is to study the ecological and biological features and reclamation properties of vines and identify the prospects for their use in vertical gardening residential areas of the Saratov region. In the study, species composition was the most popular species of annual vines: morning glory red-blue (Ipomea tricolor (L.) Roth) and purple morning glory (Ipomea purpurea (L.) Roth), the fragrant pea (Lathyrus edoratus L.), nasturtium (Tropacolum peregrinum L.) and runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus). Most (70%) of them grow in restricted areas. Studied species of vines in the study regions reach average natural performance (with proper care), have good indicators of vital condition, bloom abundantly and bear fruit. When exposed to toxicants of different concentrations on the leaf blades of vines established their degree of stability. It was revealed that the annual vines are better used for decorative purposes, and not in the sanitary-hygienic. A comparative assessment of annual species with perennial vines (maiden grapes and clematis Tangut) shows the stability of perennial species (an average of 3 points-40%). The options and decorative compositions with the participation of herbaceous vines. According to the degree of decoration of the allocated annual vine – Ipomea tricolor, I. purpurea (37 – 41 points), the average degree of differ – Lathyrus edoratus (33 points), Tropacolum peregrinum (30 points) and Phaseolus coccineus (20 to 27 points). The advantage of perennial vines is their resistance to sudden changes in climatic conditions (40 %) compared to annual forms. Therefore, they are more preferable for greening the urban environment. To enhance the decorative effect in the seasonal aspect, it is recommended to combine the expansion of species and form diversity of plants (perennial and annual lianas, tree and shrub, floral vegetation). It is established that the climatic conditions of the steppe and forest-steppe zone within the Saratov region are quite favorable for the normal growth and development of tree and shrub vegetation, including herbaceous lianas. Thus, the reasonable use of wood vines in combination with traditional types of plantings will create comfortable living conditions for the population, regulate the optimal temperature balance and create favorable microclimatic conditions.


Author(s):  
Yu-Tzu Wu ◽  
◽  
Linda Clare ◽  
Ian Rees Jones ◽  
Sharon M. Nelis ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between quality of life and both perceived and objective availability of local green and blue spaces in people with dementia, including potential variation across rural/urban settings and those with/without opportunities to go outdoors. Methods This study was based on 1540 community-dwelling people with dementia in the Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life (IDEAL) programme. Quality of life was measured by the Quality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease (QoL-AD) scale. A list of 12 types of green and blue spaces was used to measure perceived availability while objective availability was estimated using geographic information system data. Regression modelling was employed to investigate the associations of quality of life with perceived and objective availability of green and blue spaces, adjusting for individual factors and deprivation level. Interaction terms with rural/urban areas or opportunities to go outdoors were fitted to test whether the associations differed across these subgroups. Results Higher QoL-AD scores were associated with higher perceived availability of local green and blue spaces (0.82; 95% CI 0.06, 1.58) but not objective availability. The positive association between perceived availability and quality of life was stronger for urban (1.50; 95% CI 0.52, 2.48) than rural residents but did not differ between participants with and without opportunities to go outdoors. Conclusions Only perceived availability was related to quality of life in people with dementia. Future research may investigate how people with dementia utilise green and blue spaces and improve dementia-friendliness of these spaces.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chukwuedozie K. Ajaero ◽  
Nicole De Wet-Billings ◽  
Chiemezie Atama ◽  
Prince Agwu ◽  
Eberechukwu J. Eze

Abstract Background The socioeconomic conditions of different environments manifest in varying experiences of illnesses. Even as migrants do transit across these different environments for various reasons, including settlement, they are bound to have peculiar experiences of diseases, which could be traced to lifestyle, gender, adaptation, and reactions to specific social, economic, psychological and climatic conditions. Paying attention to such unique scenarios, our study examines the prevalence and contextual correlates of non-communicable diseases among inter-provincial migrants and non-migrants in South Africa. Methods Data was from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), waves 5 of 2017, which comprised of 28,055 respondents aged 15–64 years made up of 22,849 inter-provincial non-migrants and 5206 inter-provincial migrants. A composite dependent/outcome variable of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) was generated for the study and data analysis involved descriptive statistics, chi Square analysis and multilevel logistic regression analysis. Results More migrants (19.81%) than non-migrants (16.69%) reported prevalence of NCDs. With the exception of household size for migrants and smoking for non-migrants, the prevalence of NCDs showed significant differences in all the community, behavioral, and individual variables. The factors in the full model, which significantly increased odds of NCDs among the migrants and the non-migrants, were older populations, the non-Blacks, and those with higher education levels. On the one hand, being married, having a household with 4–6 persons, and being residents of urban areas significantly increased odds of NCDs among the migrant population. While on the other, living in coastal provinces, being a female, and belonging to the category of those who earn more than 10,000 Rands were significantly associated with increased odds of NCDs among the non-migrants. Conclusions These findings, therefore, among other things underscore the need for increased education and awareness campaigns, especially among the older populations on the preventive and mitigative strategies for NCDs. In addition, changes in lifestyles with regard to smoking and physical exercises should be more emphasized in specific contextual situations for the migrant and non-migrant populations, as highlighted by the results of this study.


Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 358
Author(s):  
François Brassard ◽  
Chi-Man Leong ◽  
Hoi-Hou Chan ◽  
Benoit Guénard

The continuous increase in urbanization has been perceived as a major threat for biodiversity, particularly within tropical regions. Urban areas, however, may still provide opportunities for conservation. In this study focused on Macao (China), one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, we used a comprehensive approach, targeting all the vertical strata inhabited by ants, to document the diversity of both native and exotic species, and to produce an updated checklist. We then compared these results with 112 studies on urban ants to illustrate the dual roles of cities in sustaining ant diversity and supporting the spread of exotic species. Our study provides the first assessment on the vertical distribution of urban ant communities, allowing the detection of 55 new records in Macao, for a total of 155 ant species (11.5% being exotic); one of the highest species counts reported for a city globally. Overall, our results contrast with the dominant paradigm that urban landscapes have limited conservation value but supports the hypothesis that cities act as gateways for exotic species. Ultimately, we argue for a more comprehensive understanding of ants within cities around the world to understand native and exotic patterns of diversity.


Aerospace ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Malik Doole ◽  
Joost Ellerbroek ◽  
Victor L. Knoop ◽  
Jacco M. Hoekstra

Large-scale adoption of drone-based delivery in urban areas promise societal benefits with respect to emissions and on-ground traffic congestion, as well as potential cost savings for drone-based logistic companies. However, for this to materialise, the ability of accommodating high volumes of drone traffic in an urban airspace is one of the biggest challenges. For unconstrained airspace, it has been shown that traffic alignment and segmentation can be used to mitigate conflict probability. The current study investigates the application of these principles to a highly constrained airspace. We propose two urban airspace concepts, applying road-based analogies of two-way and one-way streets by imposing horizontal structure. Both of the airspace concepts employ heading-altitude rules to vertically segment cruising traffic according to their travel direction. These airspace configurations also feature transition altitudes to accommodate turning flights that need to decrease the flight speed in order to make safe turns at intersections. While using fast-time simulation experiments, the performance of these airspace concepts is compared and evaluated for multiple traffic demand densities in terms of safety, stability, and efficiency. The results reveal that an effective way to structure drone traffic in a constrained urban area is to have vertically segmented altitude layers with respect to travel direction as well as horizontal constraints imposed to the flow of traffic. The study also makes recommendations for areas of future research, which are aimed at supporting dynamic traffic demand patterns.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Duffy ◽  
K. Mullin ◽  
S. O’Dwyer ◽  
M. Wrigley ◽  
B. D. Kelly

ObjectiveSubjective well-being in older people is strongly associated with emotional, physical and mental health. This study investigates subjective well-being in older adults in Ireland before and after the economic recession that commenced in 2008.MethodsCross-sectional data from the biennial European Social Survey (2002–2012) were analysed for two separate groups of older adults: one sampled before the recession and one after. Stratification and linear regression modelling were used to analyse the association between subjective well-being, the recession and multiple potential confounders and effect modifiers.ResultsData were analysed on 2013 individuals. Overall, subjective well-being among older adults was 1.30 points lower after the recession compared with before the recession (s.e. 0.16; 95% confidence interval 1.00–1.61; p<0.001) [pre-recession: 16.1, out of a possible 20 (s.d. 3.24); post-recession:14.8 (s.d. 3.72)]. Among these older adults, the pre- and post-recession difference was especially marked in women, those with poor health and those living in urban areas.ConclusionsSubjective well-being was significantly lower in older adults after the recession compared with before the recession, especially in women with poor health in urban areas. Policy-makers need proactively to protect these vulnerable cohorts in future health and social policy. Future research could usefully focus on older people on fixed incomes whose diminished ability to alter their economic situation might make them more vulnerable to reduced subjective well-being during a recession.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 891
Author(s):  
Eric Agboli ◽  
Julien B. Z. Zahouli ◽  
Athanase Badolo ◽  
Hanna Jöst

Mosquito-associated viruses (MAVs), including mosquito-specific viruses (MSVs) and mosquito-borne (arbo)viruses (MBVs), are an increasing public, veterinary, and global health concern, and West Africa is projected to be the next front for arboviral diseases. As in-depth knowledge of the ecologies of both western African MAVs and related mosquitoes is still limited, we review available and comprehensive data on their diversity, abundance, and distribution. Data on MAVs’ occurrence and related mosquitoes were extracted from peer-reviewed publications. Data on MSVs, and mosquito and vertebrate host ranges are sparse. However, more data are available on MBVs (i.e., dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, Zika, and Rift Valley fever viruses), detected in wild and domestic animals, and humans, with infections more concentrated in urban areas and areas affected by strong anthropogenic changes. Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Aedes albopictus are incriminated as key arbovirus vectors. These findings outline MAV, related mosquitoes, key knowledge gaps, and future research areas. Additionally, these data highlight the need to increase our understanding of MAVs and their impact on host mosquito ecology, to improve our knowledge of arbovirus transmission, and to develop specific strategies and capacities for arboviral disease surveillance, diagnostic, prevention, control, and outbreak responses in West Africa.


World ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-61
Author(s):  
Pouya Molaei ◽  
Liyaning Tang ◽  
Mary Hardie

The walkability of urban areas is an important criterion related to the level of physical activity and public health of citizens. This research aims to measure this parameter in Golsar town located in Rasht, Iran. Two methods were used in this research: Street connectivity and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The principal variables of street connectivity were measured in four districts of Golsar by Geographic Information System (GIS) to rank each one. Then, the acquired results were compared by the average walking time of the respondents of the questionnaire. The comparison explicitly indicated that there is a strong positive correlation between the measures of street connectivity and people’s tendency to walk. As well, District 1 had the highest value of connectivity and the highest average time for walking amongst the four districts. This supports the contention that walkability and the level of outdoor physical activities of people in each district are undoubtedly under the influence of the variables of street connectivity. Nevertheless, the evaluation of other indexes such as proximity, land use mix, safety, and density in Golsar, in future research. can expand our perception of the walkability of this region.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Abbasi

Abstract Objective Human is accustomed to climatic conditions of the environment where they are born and live throughout their lifetime. The aim of this study is to examine mood swings and depression caused by sudden climate changes that have not yet given the humans a chance to adapt. Results Our results showed that depression could be affected by climate change and as a result, the behavior of climatic elements and trends has damaged mental health in the western regions of Iran. By investigating the trends and changes of climatic time series and their relationship with the rate of depression in urban areas of western Iran, it can be said that climate change is probably a mental health challenge for urban populations. Climate change is an important and worrying issue that makes the life difficult. Rapid climate changes in western Iran including rising air temperature, changes in precipitation, its regime, changes cloudiness and the amount of sunlight have a negative effects on health. The results showed that type of increasing or decreasing trend, as well as different climatic elements in various seasons did not have the same effect on the rate of depression in the studied areas.


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