bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predicting Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen at the Farm Scale Using Quantitative Color Sensor Measurements
Authors: Stiglitz Roxanne Y. , Mikhailova Elena A. , Sharp Julia L. , Post Christopher J. , Schlautman Mark A. , Gerard Patrick D. , Cope Michael P.
Published: October 2018

Sensor technology can be a reliable and inexpensive means of gathering soils data for soil health assessment at the farm scale. This study demonstrates the use of color system readings from the Nix ProTM color sensor (Nix Sensor Ltd., Hamilton, ON, Canada) to predict soil organic carbon (SOC) as well as total nitrogen (TN) in variable, glacial till soils at the 147 ha Cornell University Willsboro Research Farm, located in Upstate New York, USA. Regression analysis was conducted using the natural log of SOC (lnSOC) and the natural log of TN (lnTN) as dependent variables, and sample depth and color data were used as predictors for 155 air dried soil samples. Analysis was conducted for combined samples, Alfisols, and Entisols as separate sample sets and separate models were developed using depth and color variables, and color variables only. Depth and L* were significant predictors of lnSOC and lnTN for all sample sets. The color variable b* was not a significant predictor of lnSOC for any soil sample set, but it was for lnTN for all sample sets. The lnSOC prediction model for Alfisols, which included depth, had the highest R2 value (0.81, p-value < 0.001). The lnSOC model for Entisols, which contained only color variables, had the lowest R2 (0.62, p-value < 0.001). The results suggest that the Nix ProTM color sensor is an effective tool for the rapid assessment of SOC and TN content for these soils. With the accuracy and low cost of this sensor technology, it will be possible to greatly increase the spatial and temporal density of SOC and TN estimates, which is critical for soil management.
Growth, Carcass Traits, Blood Hematology, Serum Metabolites, Immunity, and Oxidative Indices of Growing Rabbits Fed Diets Supplemented with Red or Black Pepper Oils
Authors: Abdelnour Sameh , Alagawany Mahmoud , Abd El-Hack Mohamed E. , Sheiha Asmaa M. , Saadeldin Islam M. , Swelum Ayman A.
Published: October 2018

The present study aimed to examine the impacts of the supplementation of red or black pepper oils to rabbit diet as growth promoters on New Zealand white (NZW) rabbits. One hundred and forty weaned NZW rabbits were divided randomly into seven groups in a completely randomized experiment using different quantities of red pepper oil (RPO; 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 g/kg diet) or black pepper oil (BPO; 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 g/kg diet), in addition to the control group. Compared to the control, values of live body weight (LBW) for rabbits fed either RPO or BPO enriched diets were greater. The concentrations of serum triglycerides and cholesterol were lower (p < 0.01) in the RPO- and BPO-treated groups than in the control. Immunity parameters and antioxidant indices were improved in treated groups in comparison to the control. Dietary RPO or BPO can affect some growth traits, improve immunity parameters and the antioxidant activity, and decrease the lipid profile and lipid peroxidation. The use of 0.5 g RPO/kg diet as a dietary supplement had a larger effect on growth parameters than the other treatment groups.
Comparative Genomics among Closely Related Streptomyces Strains Revealed Specialized Metabolite Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Diversity
Authors: Vicente Cláudia M. , Thibessard Annabelle , Lorenzi Jean-Noël , Benhadj Mabrouka , Hôtel Laurence , Gacemi-Kirane Djamila , Lespinet Olivier , Leblond Pierre , Aigle Bertrand
Published: October 2018

Specialized metabolites are of great interest due to their possible industrial and clinical applications. The increasing number of antimicrobial resistant infectious agents is a major health threat and therefore, the discovery of chemical diversity and new antimicrobials is crucial. Extensive genomic data from Streptomyces spp. confirm their production potential and great importance. Genome sequencing of the same species strains indicates that specialized metabolite biosynthetic gene cluster (SMBGC) diversity is not exhausted, and instead, a pool of novel specialized metabolites still exists. Here, we analyze the genome sequence data from six phylogenetically close Streptomyces strains. The results reveal that the closer strains are phylogenetically, the number of shared gene clusters is higher. Eight specialized metabolites comprise the core metabolome, although some strains have only six core gene clusters. The number of conserved gene clusters common between the isolated strains and their closest phylogenetic counterparts varies from nine to 23 SMBGCs. However, the analysis of these phylogenetic relationships is not affected by the acquisition of gene clusters, probably by horizontal gene transfer events, as each strain also harbors strain-specific SMBGCs. Between one and 15 strain-specific gene clusters were identified, of which up to six gene clusters in a single strain are unknown and have no identifiable orthologs in other species, attesting to the existing SMBGC novelty at the strain level.
Resolving Digital Staphylococcal Osteomyelitis Using Bacteriophage—A Case Report
Authors: Fish Randolph , Kutter Elizabeth , Bryan Daniel , Wheat Gordon , Kuhl Sarah
Published: October 2018

Infections involving diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are a major public health problem and have a substantial negative impact on patient outcomes. Osteomyelitis in an ulcerated foot substantially increases the difficulty of successful treatment. While literature suggests that osteomyelitis in selected patients can sometimes be treated conservatively, with no, or minimal removal of bone, we do not yet have clear treatment guidelines and the standard treatment failure fallback remains amputation. The authors report on the successful treatment, with a long term follow up, of a 63 YO diabetic female with distal phalangeal osteomyelitis using bacteriophage, a form of treatment offering the potential for improved outcomes in this era of escalating antibiotic resistance and the increasingly recognized harms associated with antibiotic therapy.
The Mathematical Model and Numerical Solution of Instantaneous Availabilities for the Two-Unit Series Repairable System and Parallel Repairable System with Three States
Authors: Yang Yi , Li Qianbin , Chen Xuefeng
Published: October 2018

This paper is aimed to obtain the instantaneous availabilities (IAs) for the two-unit series system and parallel system with three states. By the compound S i m p s o n formula and the compound trapezoidal formula, we get the numerical solution of IA for the two-unit series system with three states based on the renewal process. With four-order R u n g e - K u t t a formula, the numerical solution of IA for the two-unit parallel system with three states is obtained based on the Markov process.
Non-Newtonian Behaviors of Crumb Rubber-Modified Bituminous Binders
Authors: Wang Haopeng , Liu Xueyan , Apostolidis Panos , Scarpas Tom
Published: October 2018

Crumb rubber-modified bitumen (CRMB) has been utilized in the asphalt paving industry for decades due to its various benefits. The complex interaction between bitumen and crumb rubber as well as the addition of warm-mix additives makes the typical laws of Newtonian fluids insufficient to describe the behaviors of highly modified bituminous binders. To systematically explore the non-Newtonian behaviors of CRMB, a dynamic shear rheometer was utilized to apply shear loading on the samples at various temperatures and shear rates. Results show that the viscosity of different binders are highly temperature- and shear rate-dependent, while highly modified binders exhibit more obvious shear-thinning behaviors at certain temperatures. With the help of zero shear viscosity and yield stress, the shear-thinning behaviors of non-Newtonian binders can be sufficiently characterized. The Arrhenius equation is invalid to describe viscosity-temperature characteristics of bitumen in the non-Newtonian region. A second-order polynomial function was proposed to characterize the viscosity-temperature dependence with a high correlation degree.
Photovoltaic Power Systems Optimization Research Status: A Review of Criteria, Constrains, Models, Techniques, and Software Tools
Authors: Alsadi Samer , Khatib Tamer
Published: October 2018

The photovoltaic (PV) generating system has high potential, since the system is clean, environmental friendly and has secure energy sources. There are two types of PV system, which are grid connected and standalone systems. In the grid connected photovoltaic system (GCPV), PV generator supplies power to the grid, whether or not the whole or a portion of the generated energy will be used to supply load demands. Meanwhile, the standalone photovoltaic system (SAPV) is used to fulfil a load demand that close to its point of use. These days, many researchers study in term of optimization sizing of photovoltaic system, in order to select optimum number of PV modules, inverter, battery storage capacity, and tilt angle. Based on that, this review aims to give explanations on approaches done by previous researchers in order to find ultimate combinations for design parameters. Moreover, the paper discusses on modelling of PV system components, which includes PV panels’ output power estimation and battery system. Finally, simulation softwares that used as sizing tools in previous studies are reviewed and studied.
Post-Tensioning Steel Rod System for Flexural Strengthening in Damaged Reinforced Concrete (RC) Beams
Authors: Lee Swoo-Heon , Shin Kyung-Jae , Lee Hee-Du
Published: October 2018

In this study, a post-tensioning method using externally unbonded steel rods was applied to pre-damaged reinforced concrete beams for flexural strengthening. Nine simply-supported beams, three reference beams and six post-tensioned beams, were subjected to three-point bending. The design parameters observed in this study were the amount of tension reinforcements (3-D19, 4-D19, and 2-D22 + 2-D25; “D” indicates the nominal diameter of the rebar) and the diameters of the external rod (φ22 mm and φ28 mm). A V-shaped profile with a deviator at the bottom of the mid-span was applied to the pre-damaged beams, and a post-tensioning force was added to overcome the low load resistance and deflection already incurred in the pre-loading state. The post-tensioning force caused by tightening the nuts at the anchorage corresponded to a strain of 2000 με in the external rods; this value was approximately equal to the strain caused by torque that two adults can apply conveniently. The post-tensioning system increased the load-carrying capacity and flexural stiffness by approximately 40–112% and 28–73%, respectively, when compared with the control beams. However, the external rods did not yield in the post-tensioned beam with larger steel reinforcements and external steel rods. The external rod with the larger diameter increased the flexural strength more effectively.
Triple Planar Heterojunction of SnO2/WO3/BiVO4 with Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance under Front Illumination
Authors: Bhat Swetha S. M. , Lee Sol A , Suh Jun Min , Hong Seung-Pyo , Jang Ho Won
Published: October 2018

The performance of a BiVO4 photoanode is limited by poor charge transport, especially under front side illumination. Heterojunction of different metal oxides with staggered band configuration is a promising route, as it facilitates charge separation/transport and thereby improves photoactivity. We report a ternary planar heterojunction photoanode with enhanced photoactivity under front side illumination. SnO2/WO3/BiVO4 films were fabricated through electron beam deposition and subsequent wet chemical method. Remarkably high external quantum efficiency of ~80% during back side and ~90% upon front side illumination at a wavelength of 400 nm has been witnessed for SnO2/WO3/BiVO4 at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). The intimate contact between the heterojunction films enabled efficient charge separation at the interface and promoted electron transport. This work provides a new paradigm for designing triple heterojunction to improve photoactivity, particularly under front illumination, which would be beneficial for the development of tandem devices.
Functional Data Analysis in Sport Science: Example of Swimmers’ Progression Curves Clustering
Authors: Leroy Arthur , MARC Andy , DUPAS Olivier , REY Jean Lionel , Gey Servane
Published: October 2018

Many data collected in sport science come from time dependent phenomenon. This article focuses on Functional Data Analysis (FDA), which study longitudinal data by modelling them as continuous functions. After a brief review of several FDA methods, some useful practical tools such as Functional Principal Component Analysis (FPCA) or functional clustering algorithms are presented and compared on simulated data. Finally, the problem of the detection of promising young swimmers is addressed through a curve clustering procedure on a real data set of performance progression curves. This study reveals that the fastest improvement of young swimmers generally appears before 16 years old. Moreover, several patterns of improvement are identified and the functional clustering procedure provides a useful detection tool.
Elucidating the Energetics and Effects of Solvents on Cellulose Hydrolysis Using a Polymeric Acid Catalyst
Authors: Sun Xiaoquan , Qian Xianghong
Published: October 2018

A novel polymeric acid catalyst immobilized on a membrane substrate was found to possess superior catalytic activity and selectivity for biomass hydrolysis. The catalyst consists of two polymer chains, a poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PSSA) polymer chain for catalyzing carbohydrate substrate, and a neighboring poly(vinyl imidazolium chloride) ionic liquid (PIL) polymer chain for promoting the solvation of the PSSA chain to enhance the catalytic activity. In order to elucidate the mechanism and determine the energetics of biomass catalytic processing using this unique catalyst, classical molecular dynamics (MD) coupled with metadynamics (MTD) simulations were conducted to determine the free energy surfaces (FES) of cellulose hydrolysis. The critical role that PIL plays in the catalytic conversion is elucidated. The solvation free energy and the interactions between PSSA, PIL, and cellulose chains are found to be significantly affected by the solvent.
Leveraging Known Data for Missing Label Prediction in Cultural Heritage Context
Authors: Belhi Abdelhak , Bouras Abdelaziz , Foufou Sebti
Published: October 2018

Cultural heritage represents a reliable medium for history and knowledge transfer. Cultural heritage assets are often exhibited in museums and heritage sites all over the world. However, many assets are poorly labeled, which decreases their historical value. If an asset’s history is lost, its historical value is also lost. The classification and annotation of overlooked or incomplete cultural assets increase their historical value and allows the discovery of various types of historical links. In this paper, we tackle the challenge of automatically classifying and annotating cultural heritage assets using their visual features as well as the metadata available at hand. Traditional approaches mainly rely only on image data and machine-learning-based techniques to predict missing labels. Often, visual data are not the only information available at hand. In this paper, we present a novel multimodal classification approach for cultural heritage assets that relies on a multitask neural network where a convolutional neural network (CNN) is designed for visual feature learning and a regular neural network is used for textual feature learning. These networks are merged and trained using a shared loss. The combined networks rely on both image and textual features to achieve better asset classification. Initial tests related to painting assets showed that our approach performs better than traditional CNNs that only rely on images as input.
A Method of Free-Space Point-of-Regard Estimation Based on 3D Eye Model and Stereo Vision
Authors: Wan Zijing , Wang Xiangjun , Yin Lei , Zhou Kai
Published: October 2018

This paper proposes a 3D point-of-regard estimation method based on 3D eye model and a corresponding head-mounted gaze tracking device. Firstly, a head-mounted gaze tracking system is given. The gaze tracking device uses two pairs of stereo cameras to capture the left and right eye images, respectively, and then sets a pair of scene cameras to capture the scene images. Secondly, a 3D eye model and the calibration process are established. Common eye features are used to estimate the eye model parameters. Thirdly, a 3D point-of-regard estimation algorithm is proposed. Three main parts of this method are summarized as follows: (1) the spatial coordinates of the eye features are directly calculated by using stereo cameras; (2) the pupil center normal is used to the initial value for the estimation of optical axis; (3) a pair of scene cameras are used to solve the actual position of the objects being watched in the calibration process, and the calibration for the proposed eye model does not need the assistance of the light source. Experimental results show that the proposed method can output the coordinates of 3D point-of-regard more accurately.
Experimental Studies on the Spraying Pattern of a Swirl Nozzle for Coal Dust Control
Authors: Gao Guijun , Wang Changjiang , Kou Ziming
Published: October 2018

The experimental and numerical studies were performed to understand the atomization mechanism of pressure spray of a swirl nozzle. The design and performance parameters such as spray cone angle, velocity of particles, spray pressure, and Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) of the droplets were studied using a laser particle size analyzer and high-speed camera. The results show that the SMD increases at first, then decreases as the spray distance increases, and finally tends to be stable after 1 m. The SMD is largest in the center of the spray field and decreases gradually along the radial direction. The SMD distribution is more concentrated near the nozzle. Increasing spray pressure and deceasing nozzle diameter both can make the SMD distribution more concentrated and uniform. The swirl nozzle has been used in a coal mine and was shown to be very effective in suppressing coal dust compared to other traditional nozzles.
Two-Dimensional Vortex Solitons in Spin-Orbit-Coupled Dipolar Bose–Einstein Condensates
Authors: Pang Wei , Deng Haiming , Liu Bin , Xu Jun , Li Yongyao
Published: October 2018

Solitons are self-trapped modes existing in various nonlinear systems. Creating stable solitons in two- and three-dimensional settings is a challenging goal in various branches of physics. Several methods have been developed theoretically and experimentally to achieve this, but few of them can support stable multi-dimensional solitons in free space. Recently, a new scheme using spin-orbit-coupling (SOC) has been proposed to create stable 2D solitons in Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs). This paper reviews recent theoretical progress on creating stable 2D solitons in spinor dipolar BEC with SOC, combined with long-range dipole-dipole interaction (DDI), Zeeman splitting (ZS) and contact nonlinearity, in free space. The continuous family of stable symmetric vortex solitons (SVS), asymmetric vortex solitons (AVS), as well as gap solitons (GS) is found via different settings. Their existence and stability conditions are summarized and discussed in detail. The mobility properties of these types of solitons are also addressed. For SVS, a potential method to manipulate its shape and mobility is investigated. These results are supposed to enrich our understanding of 2D solitons and help create multi-dimensional solitons in experiments.
Online Identification of Shearer Cutting State Using Infrared Thermal Images of Cutting Unit
Authors: Si Lei , Wang Zhongbin , Liu Yiwen , Tan Chao
Published: October 2018

In order to achieve accurate identification of a shearer cutting state, infrared thermal images were creatively adopted in this paper. As the position of a shearer cutting unit is constantly changing, and the temperature in the vicinity is obviously distinct, mathematical morphology theory was used to detect the cutting unit in an infrared thermal image. Furthermore, a target tracking method is put forward to achieve cutting unit tracking based on the combination of morphology and a spatio-temporal context (STC) algorithm. Then, the temperature field features of this tracking area were extracted, and an intelligent classifier based on a support vector machine (SVM) was constructed to identify the cutting state of the shearer. Some experiments are presented, and the results indicate the feasibility and superiority of the proposed method.
Design, Measurement and Shape Reconstruction of Soft Surgical Actuator Based on Fiber Bragg Gratings
Authors: He Yanlin , Zhu Lianqing , Sun Guangkai , Yu Mingxin , Dong Mingli
Published: October 2018

Soft actuators are the components responsible for organs and tissues adsorptive fixation in some surgical operations, but the lack of shape sensing and monitoring of a soft actuator greatly limits their application potential. Consequently, this paper proposes a real-time 3D shape reconstruction method of soft surgical actuator which has an embedded optical fiber with two Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors. First, the design principle and the sensing of the soft actuator based on FBG sensors are analyzed, and the fabrication process of soft actuator which has an embedded optical fiber with two FBG sensors is described. Next, the calibration of the FBG sensors is conducted. Based on curvatures and curve fitting functions, the strategy of 3D shapes reconstruction of the soft actuator is presented. Finally, some bending experiments of the soft actuator are carried out, and the 3D shapes of the soft actuator at different bending states are reconstructed. This well reconstructed 3D shape of a soft actuator demonstrates the effectiveness of the shape reconstruction method that is proposed in this paper, as well as the potential and increased applications of these structures for real soft surgical actuators.
3-D Point Cloud Registration Algorithm Based on Greedy Projection Triangulation
Authors: Liu Jian , Bai Di , Chen Li
Published: October 2018

To address the registration problem in current machine vision, a new three-dimensional (3-D) point cloud registration algorithm that combines fast point feature histograms (FPFH) and greedy projection triangulation is proposed. First, the feature information is comprehensively described using FPFH feature description and the local correlation of the feature information is established using greedy projection triangulation. Thereafter, the sample consensus initial alignment method is applied for initial transformation to implement initial registration. By adjusting the initial attitude between the two cloud points, the improved initial registration values can be obtained. Finally, the iterative closest point method is used to obtain a precise conversion relationship; thus, accurate registration is completed. Specific registration experiments on simple target objects and complex target objects have been performed. The registration speed increased by 1.1% and the registration accuracy increased by 27.3% to 50% in the experiment on target object. The experimental results show that the accuracy and speed of registration have been improved and the efficient registration of the target object has successfully been performed using the greedy projection triangulation, which significantly improves the efficiency of matching feature points in machine vision.
Dynamic Analytical Solution of a Piezoelectric Stack Utilized in an Actuator and a Generator
Authors: Liu Xinnan , Wang Jianjun , Li Weijie
Published: October 2018

This paper presents the dynamic analytical solution of a piezoelectric stack utilized in an actuator and a generator based on the linear piezo-elasticity theory. The solutions for two different kinds of piezoelectric stacks under external load were obtained using the displacement method. The effects of load frequency and load amplitude on the dynamic characteristics of the stacks were discussed. The analytical solutions were validated using the available experimental results in special cases. The proposed model is able not only to predict the output properties of the devices, but also to reflect the inner electrical and mechanical components, which is helpful for designing piezoelectric actuators and generators in a comprehensive manner.
Development of a Preventive Maintenance Strategy for an Automatic Production Line Based on Group Maintenance Method
Authors: Li Guofa , Li Yi , Zhang Xinge , Hou Chao , He Jialong , Xu Binbin , Chen Jinghao
Published: October 2018

The high maintenance costs and low reliability of automatic production line are attributed to the complexity of maintenance management. In the present study, a preventive maintenance strategy for the automatic production line was developed based on the group maintenance method. The criticality of machines in the production line was evaluated, and then the machines were classified into three groups: the most critical machines, the secondary critical machines and the general machines. The general machines were performed on the breakdown maintenance. The preventive maintenance model of the most critical machines was established with the shortest shutdown time as decision objective on basis of the Delay-time theory. The maintenance model of the secondary critical machine was established based on the considering of reliability-maintenance cost. A case study on an automotive part automatic production line was carried out to verify the proposed preventive maintenance strategy based on the production line data, and the maintenance periods of the most and secondary critical machines were gained; meanwhile, the machines all satisfied the reliability requirements during the maintenance periods.
UV-Driven Harmonic Generation for Time-Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Polyatomic Molecules
Authors: Adachi Shunsuke , Suzuki Toshinori
Published: October 2018

A single-order harmonic pulse in the vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) is highly desirable for time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (TRPES) of polyatomic molecules. A high-power 9th harmonic of a Ti:sapphire laser (hv = 14 eV) is obtained using a UV driving laser at 270 nm (the 3rd harmonic). We describe our recent efforts to develop VUV TRPES combined with UV-driven harmonic generation, and present a few representative results from our recent TRPES studies.
Dual-Dense Convolution Network for Change Detection of High-Resolution Panchromatic Imagery
Authors: Wiratama Wahyu , Lee Jongseok , Park Sang-Eun , Sim Donggyu
Published: October 2018

This paper presents a robust change detection algorithm for high-resolution panchromatic imagery using a proposed dual-dense convolutional network (DCN). In this work, a joint structure of two deep convolutional networks with dense connectivity in convolution layers is designed in order to accomplish change detection for satellite images acquired at different times. The proposed network model detects pixel-wise temporal change based on local characteristics by incorporating information from neighboring pixels. Dense connection in convolution layers is designed to reuse preceding feature maps by connecting them to all subsequent layers. Dual networks are incorporated by measuring the dissimilarity of two temporal images. In the proposed algorithm for change detection, a contrastive loss function is used in a learning stage by running over multiple pairs of samples. According to our evaluation, we found that the proposed framework achieves better detection performance than conventional algorithms, in area under the curve (AUC) of 0.97, percentage correct classification (PCC) of 99%, and Kappa of 69, on average.
Evaluation of Present Accelerated Temperature Testing and Modeling of Batteries
Authors: Diao Weiping , Xing Yinjiao , Saxena Saurabh , Pecht Michael
Published: October 2018

Battery manufacturers and device companies often test batteries at high temperature to accelerate the degradation process. The data collected from these accelerated tests are then used to determine battery performance and reliability over specified nominal operating temperatures. In many cases, companies assume an Arrhenius model, or prescribe a decade rule to conduct the data analysis. This paper presents the flaws in accelerated temperature testing of batteries using the Arrhenius model and the decade rule, with the emphasis on lithium-ion batteries. Experimental case studies demonstrate the inaccuracy of the Arrhenius model. Alternative methods based on reliability science are then provided.
Characterization for Disposal of the Residues Produced by Materials Used as Solid Oxygen Carriers in an Advanced Chemical Looping Combustion Process
Authors: Carrillo Adriana L. , Forero Carmen R.
Published: October 2018

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is a technology that is part of the capture and storage of CO2 through the combustion with solid oxygen carriers (OCs). It is considered an energy-efficient alternative to other methods, since it is a technology that inherently separates CO2 and has the advantage of not requiring additional energy for this separation. The key to the performance of CLC systems is the OC material. Low-cost materials, i.e., natural minerals rich in metal oxides (chromite, ilmenite, iron, and manganese oxides) were used in this investigation. These may contain traces of toxic elements, making the carrier residues hazardous. Therefore, the oxidized and reduced-phase residues of six OCs, evaluated in a discontinuous batch fluidized bed reactor (bFB) using methane and hydrogen as the reducing gas, were characterized by several techniques (crushing strength, SEM, XRD, and XRF). The researchers found that, in general terms, the residues present a composition very similar to that reported in the fresh samples, and although they contain traces of Ba, Cu, Cr, Ni or Zn, these compounds do not migrate to the leachate. It was mainly found that, according to the current regulations, none of the residues are classified as toxic, as they do not exceed the permissible limits of metals (100 and 5 mg/L for Ba and Cr, respectively), with 3.5 mg/L the highest value found for Ba. Thus, they would not have a negative impact on the environment when disposed of in a landfill.
Two Topics of Optical Excitation Dynamics, Newly Unveiled by the Time- and Momentum-Resolved Photo-Electron Emission from the Conduction Band of GaAs: A Theoretical Review
Authors: Ohnishi Hiromasa , Tomita Norikazu
Published: October 2018

We review the recent two topics of optical excitation and relaxation dynamics, newly unveiled by the time- and momentum-resolved photo-electron emission from the conduction band of GaAs. One is the real-time collective relaxation dynamics, resulting in the Fermi degeneracy formation in the Γ valley. We show that it takes almost infinite time to realize the exact Fermi degeneracy, due to a restricted selection rule for the intravalley transition of the photo-excited electrons. The other is the spontaneous and instantaneous intervalley transition from the Γ valley to the L one. By considering the electron-phonon coupling before the photo-excitation, such spontaneous intervalley transition is realized within the framework of the Franck–Condon principle of the photo-excitation.
A Robust Mutual Authentication with a Key Agreement Scheme for Session Initiation Protocol
Authors: Chen Chien-Ming , Xiang Bin , Wang King-Hang , Yeh Kuo-Hui , Wu Tsu-Yang
Published: October 2018

Session initiation protocol (SIP) is the most widely used application layer control protocol for creating, modifying, and terminating session processes. Many authentication schemes have been proposed for SIP aimed at providing secure communication. Recently, a new authentication and key agreement scheme for SIP has been proposed, and it was claimed that it could resist a variety of attacks. However, in this paper, we show that this scheme is vulnerable to an offline password guessing attack and a stolen memory device attack. Furthermore, we show that it lacks the verification mechanism for a wrong password, and that the password updating process is not efficient. To mitigate the flaws and inefficiencies of this scheme, we design a new robust mutual authentication with a key agreement scheme for SIP. A security analysis revealed that our proposed scheme was robust to several kinds of attacks. In addition, the proposed scheme was simulated by the automatic cryptographic protocol tool ProVerif. A performance analysis showed that our proposed scheme was superior to other related schemes.
A Privacy Measurement Framework for Multiple Online Social Networks against Social Identity Linkage
Authors: Li Xuefeng , Yang Yixian , Chen Yuling , Niu Xinxin
Published: October 2018

Recently, the number of people who are members of multiple online social networks simultaneously has increased. However, if these people share everything with others, they risk their privacy. Users may be unaware of the privacy risks involved with sharing their sensitive information on a network. Currently, there are many research efforts focused on social identity linkage (SIL) on multiple online social networks for commercial services, which exacerbates privacy issues. Many existing studies consider methods of encrypting or deleting sensitive information without considering if this is unreasonable for social networks. Meanwhile, these studies ignore privacy awareness, which is rudimentary and critical. To enhance privacy awareness, we discuss a user privacy exposure measure for users who are members of multiple online social networks. With this measure, users can be aware of the state of their privacy and their position on a privacy measurement scale. Additionally, we propose a straightforward method through our framework to reduce information loss and foster user privacy awareness by using spurious content for required fields.
Lightning Damage Testing of Aircraft Composite-Reinforced Panels and Its Metal Protection Structures
Authors: Wang Fusheng , Ma Xiangteng , Zhang Yao , Jia Senqing
Published: October 2018

In order to investigate the lightning damage behavior of an aircraft carbon fiber/epoxy composite-reinforced panel and its protection structures, four types of panels were selected to carry out a lightning experiment. Panels were without protection, with a full-sprayed aluminum coating, a local-sprayed aluminum coating, and a full-embedded copper mesh filling, respectively. Their surface and internal damage was detected via ultrasonic C-scanning. Results showed delamination damage for the protected and unprotected specimens due to substantial lightning Joule heat, thermal shock, and internal explosion. The aluminum coatings and the copper mesh had good shielding performance against anti-lightning strike damage. The protection method with a full-sprayed aluminum coating is more effective compared with the other two methods. This study is valuable to investigate the protection effectiveness of metal covers when aircraft composite structures are struck by lightning.
Identification of Hybrid Okra Seeds Based on Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging Technology
Authors: Zhang Jinnuo , Feng Xuping , Liu Xiaodan , He Yong
Published: October 2018

Near-infrared (874–1734 nm) hyperspectral imaging technology combined with chemometrics was used to identify parental and hybrid okra seeds. A total of 1740 okra seeds of three different varieties, which contained the male parent xiaolusi, the female parent xianzhi, and the hybrid seed penzai, were collected, and all of the samples were randomly divided into the calibration set and the prediction set in a ratio of 2:1. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to explore the separability of different seeds based on the spectral characteristics of okra seeds. Fourteen and 86 characteristic wavelengths were extracted by using the successive projection algorithm (SPA) and competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS), respectively. Another 14 characteristic wavelengths were extracted by using CARS combined with SPA. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and support vector machine (SVM) were developed based on the characteristic wavelength and full-band spectroscopy. The experimental results showed that the SVM discriminant model worked well and that the correct recognition rate was over 93.62% based on full-band spectroscopy. As for the discriminative model that was based on characteristic wavelength, the SVM model based on the CARS algorithm was better than the other two models. Combining the CARS+SVM calibration model and image processing technology, a pseudo-color map of sample prediction was generated, which could intuitively identify the species of okra seeds. The whole process provided a new idea for agricultural breeding in the rapid screening and identification of hybrid okra seeds.
Temperature-Dependent Raman Scattering of Large Size Hexagonal Bi2Se3 Single-Crystal Nanoplates
Authors: Zhou Fang , Zhao Yujing , Zhou Weichang , Tang Dongsheng
Published: October 2018

Bi 2 Se 3 has extensive application as thermoelectric materials. Here, large-scale Bi 2 Se 3 single-crystal hexagonal nanoplates with size 7.50–10.0 μ m were synthesized successfully by hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to characterize the Bi 2 Se 3 nanoplates, which confirm the single-crystal quality and smooth surface morphology with large size. Micro-Raman spectra over a temperature range of 83–603 K were furthermore used to investigate the lattice dynamics of Bi 2 Se 3 nanoplates. Both 2A g 1 and 1E g 2 modes shift evidently with reduced temperature. The line shape demonstrates a significant broadening of full width at half maximum (FWHM) and red-shift of frequency with increased temperature. The temperature coefficient of A 1 g 1 , E g 2 , A 1 g 2 modes were determined to be −1.258 × 10 − 2 cm − 1 /K, −1.385 × 10 − 2 cm − 1 /K, −2.363 × 10 − 2 cm − 1 /K, respectively. Such low temperature coefficient may favor the obtaining of a high figure of merit (ZT) and indicate that Bi 2 Se 3 nanoplates were used as excellent candidates of thermoelectric materials.
Failure Identification of Dump Truck Suspension Based on an Average Correlation Stochastic Subspace Identification Algorithm
Authors: Liu Bingwen , Ji Zhiyong , Wang Tie , Tang Zhenghao , Li Guoxing
Published: October 2018

This paper proposes a fault identification method based on an improved stochastic subspace modal identification algorithm to achieve high-performance fault identification of dump truck suspension. The sensitivity of modal parameters to suspension faults is evaluated, and a fault diagnosis method based on modal energy difference is established. The feasibility of the proposed method is validated by numerical simulation and full-scale vehicle tests. The result shows that the proposed average correlation signal based stochastic subspace identification (ACS-SSI) method can identify the fluctuation of vehicle modal parameters effectively with respect to different spring stiffness and damping ratio conditions, and then fault identification of the suspension system can be realized by the variation of the modal energy difference (MED).
On Minimal Unique Induced Subgraph Queries
Authors: Jiang Lincheng , Zhao Xiang , Ge Bin , Hu Shengze , Xiao Weidong , Shang Haichuan , Jing Yumei
Published: October 2018

In this paper, a novel type of interesting subgraph query is proposed: Minimal Unique Induced Subgraph (MUIS) query. Given a (large) graph G and a query vertex (position) q in the graph, can we find an induced subgraph containing q with the minimal number of vertices that is unique in G? MUIS query has many potential applications, such as subgraph retrieval, graph visualization, representative subgraph discovery and vertex property exploration. The formal definition of MUIS is given and the properties are discussed in this paper. The baseline and EQA (Efficient Query Answering) algorithms are proposed to solve the MUIS query problem under the filtering-validation framework. In the EQA algorithm, the Breadth First Search (BFS)-based candidate set generation strategy is proposed to ensure the minimality property of MUIS; the matched vertices-based pruning strategy is proposed to prune useless candidate sets and the unnecessary subgraph isomorphism; and the query position-based subgraph isomorphism is proposed to check efficiently the uniqueness of the subgraphs. Experiments are carried on real datasets and synthetic datasets to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm under novel measurements. The influencing factors of the process speed are discussed at last in the paper.
Electromagnetically Induced Transparency in All-Dielectric U-Shaped Silicon Metamaterials
Authors: Qin Mengyao , Pan Chengda , Chen Yu , Ma Qiang , Liu Shikang , Wu E , Wu Botao
Published: October 2018

An analogy of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) based on all-dielectric metamaterial is theoretically demonstrated in this paper. The U-shaped Silicon-based metamaterial unit cell comprises a dipole antenna supported by one horizontal nanoscale bar and a quadrupolar antenna supported by two vertical nanoscale bars. The near-field coupling between the two antennas and the reduction of absorption loss lead to a narrow EIT-like transmission window with a high quality-factor of 130, which exhibits a refractive index sensitivity with a figure-of-merit of 29. The group delay of 0.75 ps and the group index of 2035 are obtained in the transmission window. Due to these unique optical properties, the proposed metamaterial structure can find many applications including slow-light devices, optical sensors, enhancement of non-linear processes, and storage of quantum information.
Application of Transient Electromagnetic Method for Investigating the Water-Enriched Mined-Out Area
Authors: Yu Chuantao , Liu Xinyue , Liu Jishan , Li Enguo , Yue Peng , Yan Shuaibin
Published: October 2018

The water-enriched mined-out area, which led to frequent accidents and the serious destruction of ecological environment and serious threat to coal-mining practices. To ensure safe mining practices and to avoid the intrusion of water from the bases of coal deposits, the detection of the mined-out areas, especially the water-filled mined-out area in advanced, is one of the most important issues. This research focuses on detecting mined-out area enriched by water with the large-loop transient electromagnetic method. Data acquisition system was arranged along 23 survey lines, and the total of 1975 survey points were recorded. An inversion technique was used to interpret the TEM data. The inversion results suggested that the mined-out areas enriched by water always exhibit a very low-resistivity, the resistivity contour present closed circle sharp. There are three main water enriched mined-out areas, named JS1, JS2, and JS3 in the north part of the survey area, as well as three main water weak-enriched areas named RJS1, RJS2 and RJS3 in the west and southwest part of the survey area can be inferred by TEM, the interpretation results were verified by drilling. Large loop TEM is proved as an efficient way to investigate water enriched mined-out areas under the rugged topography conditions, and this work provides more detailed geological information to the coal mining enterprise for further coal-mining practices safety arrangement.
A Source Pollution Control Measure Based on Spatial-Temporal Distribution Characteristic of the Runoff Pollutants at Urban Pavement Sites
Authors: Kou Changjiang , Kang Aihong , Xiao Peng , Mikhailenko Peter , Baaj Hassan , Sun Lu , Wu Zhengguang
Published: October 2018

The concentrations of pollutants in urban pavement runoff are normally higher than those in other urban surface runoff, which causes serious problems in protecting the environment of receiving water and soils. The purpose of this study was to propose a source pollution control measure based on the spatial-temporal distribution characteristics of the runoff pollutants at urban pavement sites. Therefore, samples from pavement runoff were collected and tested for analyzing the spatial-temporal distribution characteristics. Then, infiltration tests were conducted on selected purification materials to evaluate their purification ability to the simulated pavement runoff. Results indicated that heavy metals Zn and Pb were at high concentrations near the intersection, the reason being the frequent braking of vehicles at this site. The level of suspended solids was far higher than the limitation in the standard near the site where massive human activities occurred. Besides, the cumulative amounts of all kinds of pollutants tended to be stable with the extension of rainfall duration. The logarithmic function was found to fit the experimental data well. Finally, the pavement runoff was categorized into different situations. The combinations of purification materials were recommended and integrated into a source control measure for the treatments of different pollution situations, which made the most use of each purification material and ensured the high elimination efficiency of different pollutants.
A Novel Health Factor to Predict the Battery’s State-of-Health Using a Support Vector Machine Approach
Authors: Huang Kai , Guo Yong-Fang , Tseng Ming-Lang , Wu Kuo-Jui , Li Zhi-Gang
Published: October 2018

The maximum available capacity is an important indicator for determining the State-of-Health (SOH) of a lithium-ion battery. Upon analyzing the experimental results of the cycle life and open circuit voltage tests, a novel health factor which can be used to characterize the maximum available capacity was proposed to predict the battery’s SOH. The health factor proposed contains the features extracted from the terminal voltage drop during the battery rest. In real applications, obtaining such health factor has the following advantages. The battery only needs to have a rest after it is charged or discharged, it is easy to implement. Charging or discharging a battery to a specific voltage rather than a specific state of charge which is difficult to obtain the accurate value, so the health factor has high accuracy. The health factor is not dependent on the cycle number of the cycle life test of the battery and it is less dependent on charging or discharging current rate, as a result, the working conditions have less effect on the health factor. Further, the paper adopted a support vector machine approach to connect the healthy factor to the maximum available battery capacity of the battery. The experimental results show that the proposed method can predict the SOH of the battery well.