Measuring Relative Sustainability of Regions Using Regional Sustainability Assessment Methodology

Scientists analyze sustainability at the regional level with a combination of multiple indicators which reflect different characteristics of regions without combining the results in a single comparative unit. Moreover, the assessment of interdependencies between different characteristics requires experts' analyses, which makes sustainability analysis subjective, time consuming, and limited in use. This article analyzes the relative sustainability of subnational level regions through the application of regional sustainability assessment methodology (RSAM) based on accounting of resources capital and its internal and external transfers. This approach allows for assessment of regional sustainability as a function of resource quantity, quality, and interchangeability. The comparison of the two case study regions presented in the paper indicates the difference between a more sustainable region and a region of “weak sustainability.” First, the article indicates the discussion of the relevant geographic, economic, and social literature for both sustainability assessment and regional comparison. This discussion is followed by a conceptual representation of proposed RSAM and its application to various regions. Next, the article covers the data used and applied methods to test the proposed methodology and compare the two case study regions. The article concludes with a discussion of findings and recommendations for further application and testing.     

古代中国人造蓝紫硅酸铜钡颜料

这篇文章是对四件附着有硅酸铜钡颜料的中国古代器物的研究。其中三个样品是彩陶颗粒,来自甘肃省张家川马家源遗址,它属于战国晚期（474-221BC）。另外是对山东章丘威山汉墓壁画上的（206BC-8AD）单个晶体的单独研究。一个彩陶颗粒样品和单个晶体表明有中国深蓝（BaCu2Si2O7）存在,这是一关于硅酸铜钡的新发现。相对于已知道中国蓝（BaCuSi4O10）和中国紫（BaCuSi2O6）,这种BaCu2Si2O7成分被称为中国深蓝,该彩陶颗粒的颜料层也含有中国蓝中国紫。还运用了SEM和EDX对其表面形态的分析和通过拉曼光谱对中国蓝、中国紫元素成分的分析。x射线对单个晶体的分析知道了BaCu2Si2O7化合物的结构。通过现代仪器的综合分析研究,推断前期硅酸铜石英相谱图,白色Ba2CuSi2O7成分,仅有很小的可能性在历史遗迹中找到该颜料。     

Estimation of Spatio-Temporal Correlations of Prehistoric Population and Vegetation in North America

We discuss a simple methodology to enable a statistical comparison of human population with the vegetation of North America over the past 13,000 years. Nonparametric kernel methods are applied for temporal and spatial smoothing of point data obtained from the Neotoma Paleoecology Database and the Canadian Archaeological Radiocarbon Database, which results in sequences of maps showing the development of population and different plant taxa during the Holocene. The estimation of smooth spatial and spatio-temporal cross-correlation functions is proposed in order to detect relationships between population and vegetation in fixed time intervals. Furthermore, the effects of varying environment on demographic changes as well as potential impacts of populations on plant taxa over time are analyzed. Pointwise confidence bands for cross-correlation functions are computed and a robustness analysis is performed to assess the significance of obtained results. Considering the example of oak, an interpretation of our results for eastern North America shows the value of this methodology.