bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Catalytic Combustion of Diesel Soot on Ce/Zr Series Catalysts Prepared by Sol-Gel Method
Authors: Ai Chaoqian , Zhang Yaoyao , Wang Pan , Wang Wei
Published: July 2019

Cerium-zirconium (Ce-Zr) solid solutions have been extensively used in a wide variety of catalytic processes due to their unique catalytic features in conjunction with lower cost compared to noble metal-based systems. A series of Ce-Zr-based catalysts was prepared by the sol-gel method. The structure and morphology of these catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Furthermore, investigation on catalytic performance was carried out by constructing a test platform, and the result indicated that the catalysts apparently decreased the soot ignition temperature. These catalysts exhibited higher catalytic activity for soot oxidation under narrow contact conditions. The results revealed that some soot particles could react with adsorbed oxygen, and other part of diesel soot reacted with lattice oxygen. The activity of these catalysts was attributed to synergistic effect arising from the combination of K/Co/Zr and Ce-Zr solid solution, which led to the decrease in the ignition temperature to 294 °C (data from the test platform). The catalyst still keeps good stability and catalytic activity after the cycle oxidation experiment. A reaction pathway was proposed to explain catalytic combustion process of soot, i.e., combination of K/Co/Zr with Ce-Zr solid solution reduced the binding energy of Ce-Zr solid solution, which was conducive to provide more active sites to release the active oxygen (O2−) or lattice oxygen (O2−).
Biomimetic Mineralization of Cytochrome c Improves the Catalytic Efficiency and Confers a Functional Multi-Enzyme Composite
Authors: Gong Xiao-Qing , Wei Chuan-Wan , Xu Jia-Kun , Wang Xiao-Juan , Gao Shu-Qin , Lin Ying-Wu
Published: July 2019

The encapsulated enzyme system by metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) exhibits great potential in biofuel cells, pharmaceuticals, and biocatalysis. However, the catalytic efficiency and the enzymatic activity are severely hampered due to enzyme leaching and deficiency of storage stability. In this study, we immobilized cytochrome c (Cyt c) into dimethylimidazole-copper (Cu(Im)2) by biomimetic mineralization, and constructed a bioinorganic hybrid material, termed Cyt c@Cu(Im)2. Encapsulated Cyt c in Cu(Im)2 with a nanosheet structure exhibited significantly improved catalytic efficiency, enzymatic activity and kinetic performance. The catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) for Cyt c@Cu(Im)2 was ~20-fold higher compared to that of free Cyt c. Moreover, the increased activity was not affected by long-term storage. Based on this system, we further constructed a multi-enzyme composite with glucose-oxidase (GOx), termed GOx-Cyt c@Cu(Im)2, which exhibited greatly improved enzymatic activity, stability, and excellent selectivity for the detection of low concentrations of glucose. This strategy may provide new insights into the design of enzymes with high activity and stability, as well as the construction of multi-enzyme systems.
Naturally Occurring Nervonic Acid Ester Improves Myelin Synthesis by Human Oligodendrocytes
Authors: Lewkowicz Natalia , Piątek Paweł , Namiecińska Magdalena , Domowicz Małgorzata , Bonikowski Radosław , Szemraj Janusz , Przygodzka Patrycja , Stasiołek Mariusz , Lewkowicz Przemysław
Published: July 2019

The dysfunction of oligodendrocytes (OLs) is regarded as one of the major causes of inefficient remyelination in multiple sclerosis, resulting gradually in disease progression. Oligodendrocytes are derived from oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), which populate the adult central nervous system, but their physiological capability to myelin synthesis is limited. The low intake of essential lipids for sphingomyelin synthesis in the human diet may account for increased demyelination and the reduced efficiency of the remyelination process. In our study on lipid profiling in an experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis brain, we revealed that during acute inflammation, nervonic acid synthesis is silenced, which is the effect of shifting the lipid metabolism pathway of common substrates into proinflammatory arachidonic acid production. In the experiments on the human model of maturating oligodendrocyte precursor cells (hOPCs) in vitro, we demonstrated that fish oil mixture (FOM) affected the function of hOPCs, resulting in the improved synthesis of myelin basic protein, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, and proteolipid protein, as well as sphingomyelin. Additionally, FOM reduces proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, and enhances fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) synthesis by hOPCs was also demonstrated. Based on these observations, we propose that the intake of FOM rich in the nervonic acid ester may improve OL function, affecting OPC maturation and limiting inflammation.
Absolute Absorption Measurements in Optical Coatings by Laser Induced Deflection
Authors: Bublitz Simon , Mühlig Christian
Published: July 2019

Absolute measurement of residual absorption in optical coatings is steadily becoming more important in thin film characterization, in particular with respect to high power laser applications. A summary is given on the current ability of the laser induced deflection (LID) technique to serve sensitive photo-thermal absorption measurements combined with reliable absolute calibration based on an electrical heater approach. To account for different measurement requirements, several concepts have been derived to accordingly adapt the original LID concept. Experimental results are presented for prominent UV and deep UV laser wavelengths, covering a variety of factors that critically can influence the absorption properties in optical coatings e.g., deposition process, defects and impurities, intense laser irradiation and surface/interface engineering. The experimental findings demonstrate that by combining high sensitivity with absolute calibration, photo-thermal absorption measurements are able to be a valuable supplement for the characterization of optical thin films and coatings.
Condensation of Model Lipid Films by Cholesterol: Specific Ion Effects
Authors: Martín-Molina Alberto , Del Castillo-Santaella Teresa , Yang Yan , Maldonado-Valderrama Julia
Published: July 2019

The condensing effect and the ability of cholesterol (CHOL) to induce ordering in lipid films is a question of relevance in biological membranes such as the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) in which the amount of CHOL influences the phase separation and mechanical resistance to rupture of coexisting phases relevant to emulsified food systems. Here, we study the effect of different salts (NaCl, CaCl2, MgCl2, LaCl3) on monolayers made of a model mixture of lipids (DPPC:DPPS 4:1) and CHOL. To this end, we apply Langmuir Film Balance to report a combined analysis of surface pressure-area (π-A) and surface potential-area (ΔV–A) isotherms along with Micro-Brewster Angle Microscopy (Micro-BAM) images of the monolayers in the presence of the different electrolytes. We show that the condensation of lipid by CHOL depends strongly on the nature of the ions by altering the shape and features of the π-A isotherms. ΔV–A isotherms provide further detail on the ion specific interactions with CHOL. Our results show that the condensation of lipids in the presence of CHOL depends on the combined action of ions and CHOL, which can alter the physical state of the monolayer.
Preparation and Characterization of Urea Formaldehyde @ Epoxy Resin Microcapsule on Waterborne Wood Coatings
Authors: Yan Xiaoxing , Qian Xingyu , Chang Yijuan
Published: July 2019

Urea formaldehyde @ epoxy resin microcapsules were prepared by two steps in situ polymerization, and the morphology and composition of microcapsules with different mass ratios of core to wall material were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The microcapsules were added to the waterborne wood coatings to explore the effect of microcapsules on the properties of coatings and their self-repairing characteristics, and the gloss, hardness, adhesion, and impact resistance of the waterborne wood coatings were investigated. The results showed that when the concentration of microcapsule was 10.0% and the mass ratio of core to wall material was 0.83:1, the waterborne wood coatings had a good comprehensive performance and less negative impact. In the scratch test, the waterborne wood coatings with a concentration of 10.0% microcapsule had good repair ability. The possibility of applying the self-repairing technology of microcapsule to waterborne wood coatings was discussed through the preparation and performance characterization of self-repairing coatings and the results can become a guideline for the engineering application of waterborne wood coatings.
Hydrophobic Modification of Magnesium Hydroxide Coating Deposited Cathodically on Magnesium Alloy and its Corrosion Protection
Authors: Zhang Yongjun , Cao Hui , Huang Hanxiong , Wang Zhiping
Published: July 2019

In this paper, hydrophobic modification of magnesium hydroxide film prepared by cathodic deposition on ME20M Mg alloy was achieved with ethanol solution of stearic acid. The effects of solution concentration, temperature and treatment time on the surface wettability were investigated. The corrosion behaviors of typical samples were evaluated by droplet test, total immersion corrosion test as well as PDP (Potentiodynamic Polarization) and EIS (Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy) techniques, respectively. Adhesion of coatings to the substrate were examined by tape test. The surface morphology and chemical composition of typical coatings were characterized by SEM, FTIR and XRD respectively. The results indicate that the superhydrophobic surface with 151.5° water static contact angle and 1° sliding angle could be fabricated successfully by simple immersion in a low-concentration stearic acid solution for a short period. Compared with blank sample, the composite surface modification based on cathodic deposition (CD) plus hydrophobic treatment (HT) extended the discoloration time in droplet tests by nearly 25 fold, decreased the icorr (corrosion current density) by three orders of magnitude, and increased the characteristic impedance modulus at 0.1 Hz by nearly four orders of magnitude, indicating that the CD/HT composite surface modification could enhance the corrosion resistance of Mg alloy significantly.
New Authentication Algorithm Based on Verifiable Encryption with Digital Identity
Authors: Kihara Maki , Iriyama Satoshi
Published: July 2019

We propose a new authentication algorithm for small internet of things (IoT) devices without key distribution and secure servers. Encrypted private data are stored on the cloud server in the registration step and compared with incoming encrypted data without decryption in the verification step. We call a set of encryptions that can verify two encrypted data items without decryption a verifiable encryption (VE). In this paper, we define VE, and claim that several cryptosystems belong to the VE class. Moreover, we introduce an authentication algorithm based on VE, and show an example of the algorithm and discuss its performance and security. As the algorithm neither shares any secret keys nor decrypts, its computation time becomes very small.
Fast Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Based Optical Switch: Simulation and Experiments
Authors: Sreenilayam Sithara P. , Brabazon Dermot , Panarin Yuri P.
Published: July 2019

The present work explains simulation and experimental investigation of the most significant performance parameters of a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) optical switch. The measurements were carried out with commercially available FLC mixture (θ = 22.5°), having a very fast response time within the range of 1–10 μs. The best achieved cross talk was ~19 dB, which is an exact match with the theoretical result.
Crystal Structure and Mechanical Properties of ThBC2
Authors: Zhou Xinchun , Zheng Baobing
Published: July 2019

Thorium borocarbide compounds have fascinating physical properties and diverse structures, and hence have stimulated great interest. In this work, we determine the ground state structure of ThBC2 by the unbiased structure prediction method based on first-principles calculations. The dynamical and elastic stabilities of our proposed ThBC2 are verified by the calculations of phonon spectrum and elastic constants. To study the mechanical properties fundamentally, we estimated the elastic anisotropy of ThBC2. The results show that the Young’s and shear moduli possess high degree of anisotropy. The ideal strength calculations reveal that ThBC2 readily collapses upon applied stress due to small ideal strengths. The cleavage fracture probably occurs along the [111] direction while slip may easily appear along the [ 1 ¯ 10 ] direction on the (111) plane for ThBC2. In addition, we provide an atomic explanation for the different characteristics of the strain–stress curves under different strains.
The Problem of Formation of Mixed Crystals and High-Efficiency K2(Co, Ni)(SO4)2 • 6H2O Optical Filters
Authors: Voloshin Alexey , Rudneva Elena , Manomenova Vera , Vasilyeva Natalie , Kovalev Sergey , Emelchenko Gennadii , Masalov Vladimir , Zhokhov Andrey
Published: July 2019

This review, for the first time, summarizes the results of studies of the defect formation mechanisms in mixed crystals grown from aqueous solutions. The general mechanism of interaction of a crystal with a foreign solution is described (reaction of isomorphous replacement). As a result of this reaction, the crystal surface turns into a mosaic of local areas where multidirectional processes (dissolution and growth) occur simultaneously. Data on mosaic microinhomogeneity, which is a new type of composition inhomogeneity inherent solely to multicomponent crystals, is presented. A new mechanism for the mismatch stress relaxation in heterocompositions of brittle crystals grown from low-temperature solutions is described; in this case, the formation of misfit dislocations is impossible and stress relaxation occurs due to the formation of numerous inclusions at the interface. The general concept of growing high-quality mixed crystals from solutions is described, using the example of K2(Co, Ni)(SO)2 · 6H2O (KCNSH) mixed crystals.
Phylogenomic Reconstruction of the Neotropical Poison Frogs (Dendrobatidae) and Their Conservation
Authors: Guillory Wilson X. , Muell Morgan R. , Summers Kyle , Brown Jason L.
Published: July 2019

The evolutionary history of the Dendrobatidae, the charismatic Neotropical poison frog family, remains in flux, even after a half-century of intensive research. Understanding the evolutionary relationships between dendrobatid genera and the larger-order groups within Dendrobatidae is critical for making accurate assessments of all aspects of their biology and evolution. In this study, we provide the first phylogenomic reconstruction of Dendrobatidae with genome-wide nuclear markers known as ultraconserved elements. We performed sequence capture on 61 samples representing 33 species across 13 of the 16 dendrobatid genera, aiming for a broadly representative taxon sample. We compare topologies generated using maximum likelihood and coalescent methods and estimate divergence times using Bayesian methods. We find most of our dendrobatid tree to be consistent with previously published results based on mitochondrial and low-count nuclear data, with notable exceptions regarding the placement of Hyloxalinae and certain genera within Dendrobatinae. We also characterize how the evolutionary history and geographic distributions of the 285 poison frog species impact their conservation status. We hope that our phylogeny will serve as a backbone for future evolutionary studies and that our characterizations of conservation status inform conservation practices while highlighting taxa in need of further study.
Reinforcement Learning in Financial Markets
Authors: Meng Terry Lingze , Khushi Matloob
Published: July 2019

Recently there has been an exponential increase in the use of artificial intelligence for trading in financial markets such as stock and forex. Reinforcement learning has become of particular interest to financial traders ever since the program AlphaGo defeated the strongest human contemporary Go board game player Lee Sedol in 2016. We systematically reviewed all recent stock/forex prediction or trading articles that used reinforcement learning as their primary machine learning method. All reviewed articles had some unrealistic assumptions such as no transaction costs, no liquidity issues and no bid or ask spread issues. Transaction costs had significant impacts on the profitability of the reinforcement learning algorithms compared with the baseline algorithms tested. Despite showing statistically significant profitability when reinforcement learning was used in comparison with baseline models in many studies, some showed no meaningful level of profitability, in particular with large changes in the price pattern between the system training and testing data. Furthermore, few performance comparisons between reinforcement learning and other sophisticated machine/deep learning models were provided. The impact of transaction costs, including the bid/ask spread on profitability has also been assessed. In conclusion, reinforcement learning in stock/forex trading is still in its early development and further research is needed to make it a reliable method in this domain.
HoneyComb ROS: A 6 × 6 Non-Blocking Optical Switch with Optimized Reconfiguration for ONoCs
Authors: Yahya Muhammad Rehan , Wu Ning , Yan Gaizhen , Ahmed Tanveer , Zhang Jinbao , Zhang Yuanyuan
Published: July 2019

Silicon photonics has become a commonly used paradigm for on-chip interconnects to meet the requirements of higher bandwidth in computationally intensive applications for manycore processors. Design of an optical switch is a vital aspect while constructing an optical NoC topology which influences the performance of network. We present a HoneyComb optimized reconfigurable optical switch (HCROS), a 6 × 6 non-blocking optical switch where optimized reconfiguration of optical links utilizing the states of basic 2 × 2 optical switching elements (OSE) was achieved while keeping the input-output (I/O) interconnection intact. The proposed 6-port HCROS architecture was further optimized to reduce the number of OSEs to minimize overall power consumption. We proposed a generic algorithm to find the optimal switching combination of OSEs for a particular I/O link to minimize the insertion loss and power consumption. In comparison to other non-blocking architectures, a maximum of 66% reduction in OSEs was observed for the optimized HCROS, which consumes only 12 OSEs. Simulations were performed for all 720 I/O links in different configurations to evaluate the power consumption and insertion loss. We observed up to 92% power savings in the case of optimized HCROS as compared to un-optimized HCROS, and a 79% minimization in insertion loss was also reported as a result of optimization.
Selection of Suitable Reference Genes in Pinus massoniana Lamb. Under Different Abiotic Stresses for qPCR Normalization
Authors: Zhu Peihuang , Ma Yinyan , Zhu Lingzhi , Chen Yu , Li Rong , Ji Kongshu
Published: July 2019

The normalization of data by choosing suitable reference genes is fundamental for obtaining accurate and reliable results in quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analyses. In this study, the expression stability of 12 candidate reference genes of Pinus massoniana under different abiotic stresses was evaluated using four statistical algorithms: geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and RefFinder. The results indicate that the following genes could be used as reference genes under different treatments: Actin 2 (ACT2) and F-box family gene (F-box) for salinity treatment, cyclophilin (CYP) and alpha-tubulin (TUA) for ABA treatment, actin 7 (ACT7) and CYP for drought treatment, actin 1 (ACT1) and ACT7 for cold treatment, ACT1 and CYP for heat treatment, and TUA and ACT2 for the “Total” group. To validate the suitability of the selected reference genes in this study, the Short-Root protein (SHR), Alpha-pinene synthase (APS), and Pyrabactin resistance-like protein (PYL) gene expression patterns were analyzed. The expression patterns had significant biases when the most unstable reference genes were used for normalization, compared with when the optimum reference gene or gene combinations were used for normalization. These results will be beneficial for further studies on gene transcription in early-stage, unlignified seedlings of P. massoniana.
Hypocrealean Fungi Associated with Hylobius abietis in Slovakia, Their Virulence against Weevil Adults and Effect on Feeding Damage in Laboratory
Authors: Barta Marek , Lalík Michal , Rell Slavomír , Kunca Andrej , Horáková Miriam Kádasi , Mudrončeková Silvia , Galko Juraj
Published: July 2019

In temperate regions of Europe, the large pine weevil, Hylobius abietis, is a major pest of coniferous forests mostly at sites where clear-felling is followed by planting of saplings. Control measures against this pest are based on silvicultural techniques, an application of physical barriers on stems of saplings and insecticide treatments. To avoid the use of insecticides, alternative measures such as biological control have been investigated. The goal of the present study was to obtain local strains of entomopathogenic fungi (Ascomycota, Hypocreales) from natural populations of H. abietis, and to investigate their efficacy against the weevil. A survey on entomopathogenic fungi was undertaken at clear-felled areas of spruce forests in northern Slovakia. Two Beauveria species, B. bassiana and B. pseudobassiana, were identified, and 22 in vitro strains were obtained. Mean prevalence of infected adults was low (2.10% ± 0.67%) and the mycosis was mostly recorded during May and June. Virulence of Beauveria strains against the weevil was tested in laboratory. B. bassiana strain AMEP20 was significantly most virulent (LC50 of 0.65 ± 0.10 × 108 conidia mL−1). Treatment with conidia of AMEP20 strain affected feeding damage by the weevil on bark of Scots pine twigs. Daily bark consumption by B. bassiana-treated weevils was lower than by untreated individuals and decreased with increasing conidia concentration used for the treatment. In the outdoor experiment, AMEP20 strain killed weevils that fed on spruce saplings treated with conidia suspensions. Mortality due to mycosis on weevils exposed to the conidia-treated saplings reached 30.0%–76.5% and 55.0%–88.2% after 32 and 46 days, respectively.
Assessing Visitors’ Memorable Tourism Experiences (MTEs) in Forest Recreation Destination: A Case Study in Xitou Nature Education Area
Authors: Yu Chia-Pin , Chang Wei-Chun , Ramanpong Jittakon
Published: July 2019

Providing memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) plays a crucial role in determining the competitiveness and sustainability of a destination for not only the business sector, but also the environment. Therefore, destination managers face a challenge in identifying, facilitating, and maintaining memorable tourism experiences among visitors. Although MTEs have been increasingly studied, research of the effects of MTEs on word-of-mouth and revisit behavior intentions is still at an early stage of development, particularly in the forest recreation context. The objectives of this study were twofold: To assess visitors’ MTEs in a selected forest recreation destination and to examine the effects of MTEs on word-of-mouth and revisit intentions. This study identified key memorable experiences of visitors in Xitou Nature Education Area (XNEA), Taiwan (R.O.C.), and examined the relevant relationships among MTEs and behavioral intentions. The results revealed that both refreshment and involvement experiences received the highest scores from the respondents, whereas perceived local culture received the lowest score. Refreshment, local culture, and involvement positively influenced the word-of-mouth intention of visitors. Additionally, hedonism, local culture, and involvement significantly positively influenced the revisit intention of visitors. This study provides additional insights into MTEs in nature-based tourism. The study results underline the importance of MTEs in forest recreation destinations that can encourage more word-of-mouth and revisit intentions of tourists.
Improving Estimation Accuracy of Growing Stock by Multi-Frequency SAR and Multi-Spectral Data over Iran’s Heterogeneously-Structured Broadleaf Hyrcanian Forests
Authors: Ataee Mohammad Sadegh , Maghsoudi Yasser , Latifi Hooman , Fadaie Farhad
Published: July 2019

Via providing various ecosystem services, the old-growth Hyrcanian forests play a crucial role in the environment and anthropogenic aspects of Iran and beyond. The amount of growing stock volume (GSV) is a forest biophysical parameter with great importance in issues like economy, environmental protection, and adaptation to climate change. Thus, accurate and unbiased estimation of GSV is also crucial to be pursued across the Hyrcanian. Our goal was to investigate the potential of ALOS-2 and Sentinel-1’s polarimetric features in combination with Sentinel-2 multi-spectral features for the GSV estimation in a portion of heterogeneously-structured and mountainous Hyrcanian forests. We used five different kernels by the support vector regression (nu-SVR) for the GSV estimation. Because each kernel differently models the parameters, we separately selected features for each kernel by a binary genetic algorithm (GA). We simultaneously optimized R2 and RMSE in a suggested GA fitness function. We calculated R2, RMSE to evaluate the models. We additionally calculated the standard deviation of validation metrics to estimate the model’s stability. Also for models over-fitting or under-fitting analysis, we used mean difference (MD) index. The results suggested the use of polynomial kernel as the final model. Despite multiple methodical challenges raised from the composition and structure of the study site, we conclude that the combined use of polarimetric features (both dual and full) with spectral bands and indices can improve the GSV estimation over mixed broadleaf forests. This was partially supported by the use of proposed evaluation criterion within the GA, which helped to avoid the curse of dimensionality for the applied SVR and lowest over estimation or under estimation.
Development and Testing of a New Ground Measurement Tool to Assist in Forest GIS Surveys
Authors: Fan Guangpeng , Chen Feixiang , Li Yan , Liu Binbin , Fan Xu
Published: July 2019

In present forest surveys, some problems occur because of the cost and time required when using external tools to acquire tree measurement. Therefore, it is of great importance to develop a new cost-saving and time-saving ground measurement method implemented in a forest geographic information system (GIS) survey. To obtain a better solution, this paper presents the design and implementation of a new ground measurement tool in which mobile devices play a very important role. Based on terrestrial photogrammetry, location-based services (LBS), and computer vision, the tool assists forest GIS surveys in obtaining important forest structure factors such as tree position, diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height, and tree species. This paper selected two plots to verify the accuracy of the ground measurement tool. Experiments show that the root mean square error (RMSE) of the position coordinates of the trees was 0.222 m and 0.229 m, respectively, and the relative root mean square error (rRMSE) was close to 0. The rRMSE of the DBH measurement was 10.17% and 13.38%, and the relative Bias (rBias) of the DBH measurement was −0.88% and −2.41%. The rRMSE of tree height measurement was 6.74% and 6.69%, and the rBias of tree height measurement was −1.69% and −1.27%, which conforms to the forest investigation requirements. In addition, workers usually make visual observations of trees and then combine their personal knowledge or experience to identify tree species, which may lead to the situations when they cannot distinguish tree species due to insufficient knowledge or experience. Based on MobileNets, a lightweight convolutional neural network designed for mobile phone, a model was trained to assist workers in identifying tree species. The dataset was collected from some forest parks in Beijing. The accuracy of the tree species recognition model was 94.02% on a test dataset and 93.21% on a test dataset in the mobile phone. This provides an effective reference for workers to identify tree species and can assist in artificial identification of tree species. Experiments show that this solution using the ground measurement tool saves time and cost for forest resources GIS surveys.
Latency-Based Dynamic Controller Assignment in Hybrid SDNs: Considering the Impact of Legacy Routers
Authors: Yuan Jie , Li Erxia , Kang Chaoqun , Chang Fangyuan , Yuan Tingting , Li Xiaoyong
Published: July 2019

Software-defined networking (SDN) is a modern network architecture, which separates the network control plane from the data plane. Considering the gradual migration from traditional networks to SDNs, the hybrid SDN, which consists of SDN-enabled devices and legacy devices, is an intermediate state. For wide-area hybrid SDNs, to guarantee the control performance, such as low latency, multi SDN controllers are usually needed to be deployed at different places. How to assign them to switches and partition the network into several control domains is a critical problem. For this problem, the control latency and the packet loss rate of control messages are important metrics, which have been considered in a lot of previous works. However, hybrid SDNs have their unique characters, which can affect the assignment scheme and have been ignored by previous studies. For example, control messages pass through Legacy Forwarding Devices (LFDs) in hybrid SDNs and cause more latency and packet loss rate for queuing compared with SDN-enabled Forwarding Devices (SFDs). In this paper, we propose a dynamic controller assignment scheme in hybrid SDNs, which is called the Legacy Based Assignment (LBA). This scheme can dynamically delegate each controller with a subset of SFDs in the hybrid SDNs, whose objective is to minimize average SFD-to-control latency. We performed some experiments compared with other schemes, which show that our scheme has a better performance in terms of the latency and the packet loss rate.
Headspace Volatile Evaluation of Carrot Samples—Comparison of GC/MS and AuNPs-hpDNA-Based E-Nose
Authors: Gaggiotti Sara , Mascini Marcello , Pittia Paola , Della Pelle Flavio , Compagnone Dario
Published: July 2019

The performances of a quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs) based on an electronic nose (E-nose), modified with hairpin-DNA (hpDNA) for carrot aroma profiling has been evaluated. Solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) headspace sampling, combined with gas chromatography (GC), was used as a reference method. The changes in carrot aroma profiles stored at different temperatures (−18 °C, 4 °C, 25 °C, and 40 °C) were monitored during time up to 26 days. The principal component analysis of the data evidenced the different aroma patterns related to the presence of different key compounds. The output data achieved with the hpDNA-based E-nose were able to detect aroma patterns similar to gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This work demonstrates that hpDNA has different sizes of loops that can be used for the development of sensor arrays able to detect aroma patterns in food and their changes with advantages in terms of easiness of usage, rapidity, and cost of analysis versus classical methods.
Ecosystem Services Assessment and Valuation of Atmospheric Magnesium Deposition
Authors: Groshans Garth R. , Mikhailova Elena A. , Post Christopher J. , Schlautman Mark A. , Cope Michael P. , Zhang Lisha
Published: July 2019

Ecosystem services (ES) often rely on biogeochemical cycles, but values associated with abiotic services are often ignored or underestimated. Ecosystem services from atmospheric magnesium (Mg2+) deposition are abiotic flows (wet, dry, and total), which can be considered a source of naturally-occurring fertilizer and liming material, have not been included in economic valuations of ecosystem services. Market-based valuation of these atmospheric ecosystem service flows can partially address this negative externality. This study assessed the value of wet, dry, and total atmospheric magnesium deposition flows in the contiguous United States (USA) within boundary-based administrative accounts (e.g., state, region) based on data from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NRSP-3), and the market price of human-derived material (agricultural dolomite, CaMg(CO3)2). The total supporting ecosystem value of atmospheric magnesium deposition flows was $46.7M (i.e., 46.7 million U.S. dollars) ($18.5M wet + $28.2M dry) based on an average 2014 price of $12.90 per U.S. ton of agricultural dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2). The atmosphere is a common-pool resource that plays an important role in the pedosphere, providing important abiotic ES, but its monetary value is often not identified in the market due to a lack of information and/or knowledge of the proper valuation method. This study demonstrates one approach to translate atmospheric magnesium deposition flows entering the soil as an abiotic ES and potential monetary values at various scales. Omission of abiotic services in ES analysis can lead to an incomplete economic valuation.
Sequential Earthquake Damage Assessment Incorporating Optimized sUAV Remote Sensing at Pescara del Tronto
Authors: Freeman Michael , Vernon Cory , Berrett Bryce , Hastings Nicole , Derricott Jeff , Pace Jenessa , Horne Benjamin , Hammond Joshua , Janson Joseph , Chiabrando Filiberto , Hedengren John , Franke Kevin
Published: July 2019

A sequence of large earthquakes in central Italy ranging in moment magnitudes (Mw) from 4.2 to 6.5 caused significant damage to many small towns in the area. After each earthquake in 2016 (24 August and 26 October), automated small unmanned aerial vehicles (sUAV) acquired valuable imagery data for post-hazard reconnaissance in the mountain village of Pescara del Tronto, and were applied to 3D reconstruction using Structure-from-Motion (SfM). In July 2018, the site was again monitored to obtain additional imagery data capturing changes since the last visit following the 30 October 2016 Earthquake. A genetic-based mission-planning algorithm that delivers optimal viewpoints and path planning was field tested and reduced the required photos for 3D reconstruction by 9.1%. The optimized 3D model provides a better understanding of the current conditions of the village, when compared to the nadir models, by containing fewer holes on angled surfaces, including an additional 17% surface area, and with a comparable ground-sampling distance (GSD) of ≈2.4 cm/px (≈1.5 cm/px when adjusted for camera pixel density). The resulting three time-lapse models provide valuable metrics for ground motion, progression of damage, resilience of the village, and the recovery progress over a span of two years.
Catalogue of the Geological Effects of Earthquakes in Spain Based on the ESI-07 Macroseismic Scale: A New Database for Seismic Hazard Analysis
Authors: Silva Pablo G. , Rodríguez-Pascua Miguel A. , Giner Robles Jorge L. , Élez Javier , Pérez-López Raúl , Davila M. Begoña Bautista
Published: July 2019

This paper summarizes the content and scope of the “Catalogue of Earthquake Geological Effects in Spain”. The catalogue has been published by the Geological Survey of Spain (IGME) and constitutes the first official publication (in Spain) on seismic hazard containing geological information. The catalogue gathers the 51 stronger earthquakes that have occurred in Spain since the Neolithic period to the present and classifies earthquakes with geological or archaeological seismic records in paleoseismic, ancient, historical and instrumental earthquakes. The catalogue offers a variety of parametric information, quality indexes (Qe, Qi, Qg), and Environmental Seismic Intensity Scale (ESI-07) based description of environmental damage structured in individual “event files”. Sixteen of the 51 catalogued events present full information files (full event files), with individualized analyses of the geological and geoarchaeological data as well as graphic information with hybrid ESI-EMS intensity maps, ShakeMaps (seismic scenarios) and complementary kmz files (Google Earth) for each of the sixteen selected earthquakes; among which is the well-known AD 1755 Lisbon earthquake-tsunami. These selected earthquakes present individual environmental earthquake effects (EEE) or earthquake archaeoseismological effects (EAE) files for each catalogued effect containing specific site geo-information and graphic data (photos, graphs, maps, etc.). The second edition of the catalogue record 1027 EEEs and 187 EAEs, of which 322 effects have individual files.
Effect of Orchard Management Factors on Flesh Color of Two Red-Fleshed Apple Clones
Authors: Wellner Annika , Grimm Eckhard , Knoche Moritz
Published: July 2019

Little is known about factors affecting anthocyanin biosynthesis in red-fleshed apples (Malus × domestica Borkh.). The objective was to establish the effects of orchard management factors on flesh anthocyanin content of dark-colored (DC) and light-colored (LC) apple clones. Flesh color was assessed by measuring color in the L, a, b mode using a spectrophotometer and predicting the anthocyanin content based on relationships between the absorption of a flesh extract at 530 nm and the L-value determined using a spectrophotometer (r2 = 0.99 ***). Fruit from the DC clone were red by 86 days after full bloom (DAFB), whereas the LC clone began to color at 136 DAFB. Color intensity in both clones decreased from the top of the tree to the base. Further, the intensity of the flesh color of the DC clone decreased with shading (94% absorption of incident photosynthetic active radiation). Covering a fruit with a UV absorbing film (100% UV absorption) had no effect on flesh color in the DC clone but decreased color in the LC clone. Fruit thinning increased color in DC and LC fruit. There was little change in flesh color during storage. However, the DC clone developed severe flesh browning as storage progressed beyond 30 days. The results demonstrated that light (visible and UV wavelength) stimulated, whereas shade inhibited, anthocyanin biosynthesis in the flesh under orchard conditions.
Cumulative Impact of Environmental Pollution and Population Vulnerability on Pediatric Asthma Hospitalizations: A Multilevel Analysis of CalEnviroScreen
Authors: Alcala Emanuel , Brown Paul , Capitman John A. , Gonzalez Mariaelena , Cisneros Ricardo
Published: July 2019

The CalEnviroScreen created by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, USA, is a place-based dataset developed to measure environmental and social indicators that are theorized to have cumulative health impacts on populations. The objective of this study was to examine the extent to which the composite scores of the CalEnviroScreen tool are associated with pediatric asthma hospitalization. This was a retrospective analysis of California hospital discharge data from 2010 to 2012. Children who were hospitalized for asthma-related conditions, were aged 0–14 years, and resided in California were included in analysis. Rates of hospitalization for asthma-related conditions among children residing in California were calculated. Poisson multilevel modeling was used to account for individual- and neighborhood-level risk factors. Every unit increase in the CalEnviroScreen Score was associated with an increase of 1.6% above the mean rate of pediatric asthma hospitalizations (rate ratio (RR) = 1.016, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.014–1.018). Every unit increase in racial/ethnic segregation and diesel particulate matter was associated with an increase of 1.1% and 0.2% above the mean rate of pediatric asthma, respectively (RR = 1.011, 95% CI = 1.010–1.013; RR = 1.002, 95% CI = 1.001–1.004). The CalEnviroScreen is a unique tool that combines socioecological factors and environmental indicators to identify vulnerable communities with major health disparities, including pediatric asthma hospital use. Future research should identify mediating factors that contribute to community-level health disparities.
Heat Warnings in Switzerland: Reassessing the Choice of the Current Heat Stress Index
Authors: Burgstall Annkatrin , Casanueva Ana , Kotlarski Sven , Schwierz Cornelia
Published: July 2019

High temperatures lead to heat-related human stress and an increased mortality risk. To quantify heat discomfort and the relevant dangers, heat stress indices combine different meteorological variables such as temperature, relative humidity, radiation and wind speed. In this paper, a set of widely-used heat stress indices is analyzed and compared to the heat index currently used to issue official heat warnings in Switzerland, considering 28 Swiss weather stations for the years 1981–2017. We investigate how well warnings based on the heat index match warning days and warning periods that are calculated from alternative heat stress indices. The latter might allow for more flexibility in terms of specific warning demands and impact-based warnings. It is shown that the percentage of alternative warnings that match the official warnings varies among indices. Considering the heat index as reference, the simplified wet bulb globe temperature performs well and has some further advantages such as no lower bound and allowing for the calculation of climatological values. Yet, other indices (e.g., with higher dependencies on humidity) can have some added value, too. Thus, regardless of the performance in terms of matches, the optimal index to use strongly depends on the purpose of the warning.
Feasibility and Reliability of a Physical Fitness Test Battery in Individuals with Down Syndrome
Authors: Cabeza-Ruiz Ruth , Alcántara-Cordero Francisco Javier , Ruiz-Gavilán Isaac , Sánchez-López Antonio Manuel
Published: July 2019

Background: Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder that occurs because of an abnormal division between cells that results in an extra copy of chromosome 21. Some studies show that physical exercise in people with DS increases some cognitive capacities, such as memory, and improves the quality of life. Aim: The main aim of this study was to perform an analysis of the reliability and feasibility of the SAMU-Disability Fitness (DISFIT) battery in adults with DS. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a test–retest design was performed in a maximum interval of 2 weeks in 37 subjects (11 women and 26 men) aged between 21 and 58 years old with DS. Eight field-based fitness tests were proposed to assess the physical fitness (PF) of adults with DS: Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC), the Timed Up and Go test (TUG), the Deep Trunk Flexibility test (DTF), the Hand Grip test (HG), the Timed Stand Test (TST), the 30-s Sit-Up (SUP) and the 6-Min Walk Test (6MWT). Results: The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) in all the tests was good and high (>0.80), except for the 6MWT, whose reliability was fair. Conclusion: The SAMU-DISFIT battery is a reliable and feasible physical fitness battery which has been created with the purpose of establishing tests which measure the four basic components of PF (flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness, musculoskeletal fitness and motor fitness) in adults with DS.
Improvement of Spatial Modeling of Cr, Pb, Cd, As and Ni in Soil Based on Portable X-ray Fluorescence (PXRF) and Geostatistics: A Case Study in East China
Authors: Xia Fang , Hu Bifeng , Shao Shuai , Xu Dongyun , Zhou Yue , Zhou Yin , Huang Mingxiang , Li Yan , Chen Songchao , Shi Zhou
Published: July 2019

To verify the feasibility of portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) for rapidly analyzing, assessing and improving soil heavy metals mapping, 351 samples were collected from Fuyang District, Hangzhou City, in eastern China. Ordinary kriging (OK) and co-ordinary kriging (COK) combined with PXRF measurements were used to explore spatial patterns of heavy metals content in the soil. The Getis-Ord index was calculated to discern hot spots of heavy metals. Finally, multi-variable indicator kriging was conducted to obtain a map of multi-heavy metals pollution. The results indicated Cd is the primary pollution element in Fuyang, followed by As and Pb. Application of PXRF measurements as covariates in COK improved model accuracy, especially for Pb and Cd. Heavy metals pollution hot spots were mainly detected in northern Fuyang and plains along the Fuchun River in southern Fuyang because of mining, industrial and traffic activities, and irrigation with polluted water. Area with high risk of multi-heavy metals pollution mainly distributed in plain along the Fuchun River and the eastern Fuyang. These findings certified the feasibility of using PXRF as an efficient and reliable method for soil heavy metals pollution assessment and mapping, which could contribute to reduce the cost of surveys and pollution remediation.
A Call for Preventing Suicide by Hanging from Ceiling Fans: An Interdisciplinary Research Agenda
Authors: Kariippanon Kishan , Wilson Coralie J. , McCarthy Timothy J. , Kõlves Kairi
Published: July 2019

Hanging is a common method of suicide in several countries. Even as global suicide rates decrease, there is no evidence of suicides by hanging declining. There is limited research by type of hanging, and only a few papers present suicide by hanging from ceiling fans. Our paper proposes a research agenda that will: specify the size of the problem of hanging by ceiling fan (Stage 1: Surveillance), use standard engineering product development processes to modify ceiling fans for reducing their lethal capacity (Stage 2: Design Testing and Redevelopment), and examine the resulting beta- and release-build fans for safety and potential to reduce suicide in community samples (Stage 3: Evaluation).
Fleet Size and Rebalancing Analysis of Dockless Bike-Sharing Stations Based on Markov Chain
Authors: Zhai Yong , Liu Jin , Du Juan , Wu Hao
Published: July 2019

In order to improve the dynamic optimization of fleet size and standardized management of dockless bike-sharing, this paper focuses on using the Markov stochastic process and linear programming method to solve the problem of bike-sharing fleet size and rebalancing. Based on the analysis of characters of bike-sharing, which are irreducible, aperiodic and positive-recurrence, we prove that the probability limits the state (steady-state) of bike-sharing Markov chain only exists and is independent of the initial probability distribution. Then a new “Markov chain dockless bike-sharing fleet size solution” algorithm is proposed. The process includes three parts. Firstly, the irreducibility of the bike-sharing transition probability matrix is analyzed. Secondly, the rank-one updating method is used to construct the transition probability random prime matrix. Finally, an iterative method for solving the steady-state probability vector is therefore given and the convergence speed of the method is analyzed. Furthermore, we discuss the dynamic solution of the bike-sharing steady-state fleet size according to the time period, so as improving the practicality of the algorithm. To verify the efficiency of this algorithm, we adopt the linear programming method for bicycle rebalancing analysis. Experiment results show that the algorithm could be used to solve the disordered deployment of dockless bike-sharing.