Water and sediment quality in Qinghai Lake, China: a revisit after half a century.

Qinghai Lake, situated on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, is the largest lake in China. In this study, the water and sediment quality were investigated in Qinghai Lake, three sublakes, and five major tributaries. Both Na+ and Cl- were found to be the major ions present in Qinghai Lake and the three sublakes, while Ca2+ and HCO3- dominated the tributaries. Compared with historical data from the 1960s, the concentrations of NH4 (+), NO3 (-), and soluble reactive silica have increased considerably, likely caused by increased human activities in the area. Compared to the historical data, chemical oxygen demand has increased and lake water transparency has decreased, likely related to an increase in nutrient levels. Relatively high concentrations of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) were observed in Qinghai Lake sediments, although P fraction types and low water concentrations of these two indicate low possibility of transfer into the water column. The ratios of C/N suggest that the organic matter in the sediments are primarily from autochthonous sources. TN and total organic carbon in the sediment cores increased slowly up the core while TP and total inorganic carbon have been fairly constant

Multi-Objective Performance Evaluation of the Detection of Catenary Support Components Using DCNNs

The goal of this paper is to evaluate from a multi-objective perspective the performance on the detection of catenary support components when using state-of-the-art deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs). The detection of components is the first step towards a complete automatized monitoring system that will provide actual information about defects in the catenary support devices. A series of experiments in an unified test environment for detection of components are performed using Faster-CNN, R-FCN, SSD, and YOLOv2. Through the comparison of different assessment indicators, such as precision, recall, average precision and mean average precision, the detection performance of the different DCNNs methods for the components of the catenary support devices is analyzed, discussed and evaluated. The experiment results show that among all considered methods, R-FCN is the more suitable for the detection of catenary support components.Railway Engineerin

Protocol for Reading Out Majorana Vortex Qubits and Testing Non-Abelian Statistics

The successful testing of non-Abelian statistics not only serves as a milestone in fundamental physics but also provides a quantum-gate operation in topological quantum computation. An accurate and efficient readout scheme of a topological qubit is an essential step toward the experimental confirmation of non-Abelian statistics. In the current work, we propose a protocol to read out the quantum state of a Majorana vortex qubit on a topological superconductor island. The protocol consists of four Majorana zero modes trapped in spatially well-separated vortex cores on the two-dimensional surface of a Coulomb blockaded topological superconductor. Our proposed measurement is implemented by a pair of weakly coupled Majorana modes separately in touch with two normal-metal leads and the readout is realized by observing the conductance-peak location in terms of the gate voltage. Using this protocol, we can further test the non-Abelian statistics of Majorana zero modes in the two-dimensional platform. A successful readout of a Majorana qubit is a crucial step toward the future application of topological quantum computation. In addition, this Coulomb-blockaded setup can distinguish Majorana zero modes from Caroli-de Gennes-Matricon modes in vortex cores.ChemE/Delft Ingenious DesignQuTec

Crack monitoring method for an FRP-strengthened steel structure based on an antenna sensor

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) has been increasingly applied to steel structures for structural strengthening or crack repair, given its high strength-to-weight ratio and high stiffness-to-weight ratio. Cracks in steel structures are the dominant hidden threats to structural safety. However, it is difficult to monitor structural cracks under FRP coverage and there is little related research. In this paper, a crack monitoring method for an FRP-strengthened steel structure deploying a microstrip antenna sensor is presented. A theoretical model of the dual-substrate antenna sensor with FRP is established and the sensitivity of crack monitoring is studied. The effects of the weak conductivity of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) on the performance of crack monitoring are analyzed via contrast experiments. The effects of FRP thickness on the performance of the antenna sensor are studied. The influence of structural strain on crack detection coupling is studied through strain–crack coupling experiments. The results indicate that the antenna sensor can detect cracks in steel structures covered by FRP (including CFRP). FRP thickness affects the antenna sensor’s performance significantly, while the effects of strain can be ignored. The results provide a new approach for crack monitoring of FRP-strengthened steel structures with extensive application prospects.Transport Engineering and Logistic

High-Performance and Low-Cost Sodium-Ion Anode Based on a Facile Black Phosphorus-Carbon Nanocomposite

Black phosphorus (BP) has received increasing research attention as an anode material in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), owing to its high capacity, electronic conductivity, and chemical stability. However, it is still challenging for BP-based SIB anodes to achieve a high electrochemical performance utilizing cost-effective materials and synthetic methods. This work presents a sodium-ion anode based on a BP-carbon nanocomposite synthesized from commercial red phosphorus and low-cost super P carbon black. Intimate interactions between BP and carbon are present, which helps to maintain the electrical conduction during cycling and, therefore, a high cycling stability is achieved. It exhibits a high capacity retention of 1381mAhg-1 for sodium-ion storage after 100 cycles, maintaining 90.5% of the initial reversible capacity. Such high performance/materials cost ratio may provide direction for future phosphorus-based anodes in high energy density SIBs.ChemE/Materials for Energy Conversion & Storag

Evaluation of photocatalytic micro-surfacing mixture: road performance, vehicle exhaust gas degradation capacity and environmental impacts

To purify severe air pollution in traffic-intensive urban areas and tunnels, an innovative type of photocatalytic micro-surfacing mixture (PMM) was designed, which was enhanced by polypropylene (PP) fiber and nano-TiO2. In this work, the road performance of sixteen PMMs with the different contents of PP and nano-TiO2 were evaluated by wet-track abrasion test, wheel rutting deformation test and low-temperature splitting test. The vehicle exhaust (VE) gas degradation capacity of sixteen PMMs was characterized under ultraviolet (UV) light and visible light conditions. The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to evaluate the environmental impact of PMM. The results showed that the road performances of PMM were improved with the increase of the PP fibers amount. The VE gas degradation capacity was significantly enhanced with the increase of nano-TiO2 amount. PMM with 0.2 wt% PP fibers and 60 wt% replacement of mineral filler with nano-TiO2 was a viable alternative to improve photocatalytic degradation of VE in pavement engineering. In addition, the modified micro-surfacing mixture facilitates a significant reduction in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Pavement Engineerin

Nature–Inspired self–cleaning surfaces: Mechanisms, modelling, and manufacturing

Nature-inspired self-cleaning surfaces have attracted considerable attention from both fundamental research and practical applications. This review adopts a chemical-engineering point of view and focuses on mechanisms, modelling, and manufacturing (M3) of nature-inspired self-cleaning surfaces. We will introduce six nature-inspired self-cleaning mechanisms: The Lotus-effect, superhydrophobic-induced droplet jumping, superhydrophobic-induced unidirectional movement of water droplet, underwater-superoleophobic-based self-cleaning, slippery-based self-cleaning, and dry self-cleaning. These mechanisms of nature self-cleaning examples are popular and well-known as well as have been widely applied or exhibited potential applications in our daily life and industrial productions. The mathematical and numerical modelling of the identified self-cleaning mechanisms will be carefully introduced, which will contribute to the rational design and reproducible construction of these functional self-cleaning surfaces. Finally, we will discuss how these materials can be produced, with a focus on scalable manufacturing. We hope this review will strengthen the understanding on nature-inspired self-cleaning surfaces and stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration of material science, biology and engineering.ChemE/Product and Process Engineerin

Ground-based validation of the Copernicus Sentinel-5P TROPOMI NO2 measurements with the NDACC ZSL-DOAS, MAX-DOAS and Pandonia global networks

This paper reports on consolidated ground-based validation results of the atmospheric NO2 data produced operationally since April 2018 by the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on board of the ESA/EU Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P) satellite. Tropospheric, stratospheric, and total NO2 column data from S5P are compared to correlative measurements collected from, respectively, 19 Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS), 26 Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) Zenith-Scattered-Light DOAS (ZSL-DOAS), and 25 Pandonia Global Network (PGN)/Pandora instruments distributed globally. The validation methodology gives special care to minimizing mismatch errors due to imperfect spatiotemporal co-location of the satellite and correlative data, e.g. by using tailored observation operators to account for differences in smoothing and in sampling of atmospheric structures and variability and photochemical modelling to reduce diurnal cycle effects. Compared to the ground-based measurements, S5P data show, on average, (i) a negative bias for the tropospheric column data, of typically-23 % to-37 % in clean to slightly polluted conditions but reaching values as high as-51 % over highly polluted areas; (ii) a slight negative median difference for the stratospheric column data, of about-0:2 Pmolec cm-2, i.e. approx.-2 % in summer to-15 % in winter; and (iii) a bias ranging from zero to-50 % for the total column data, found to depend on the amplitude of the total NO2 column, with small to slightly positive bias values for columns below 6 Pmolec cm-2 and negative values above. The dispersion between S5P and correlative measurements contains mostly random components, which remain within mission requirements for the stratospheric column data (0.5 Pmolec cm-2) but exceed those for the tropospheric column data (0.7 Pmolec cm-2). While a part of the biases and dispersion may be due to representativeness differences such as different area averaging and measurement times, it is known that errors in the S5P tropospheric columns exist due to shortcomings in the (horizontally coarse) a priori profile representation in the TM5-MP chemical transport model used in the S5P retrieval and, to a lesser extent, to the treatment of cloud effects and aerosols. Although considerable differences (up to 2 Pmolec cm-2 and more) are observed at single ground-pixel level, the near-real-time (NRTI) and offline (OFFL) versions of the S5P NO2 operational data processor provide similar NO2 column values and validation results when globally averaged, with the NRTI values being on average 0.79 % larger than the OFFL values.Atmospheric Remote Sensin

Lineage-Specific Expansion of IFIT Gene Family: An Insight into Coevolution with IFN Gene Family

In mammals, IFIT (Interferon [IFN]-induced proteins with Tetratricopeptide Repeat [TPR] motifs) family genes are involved in many cellular and viral processes, which are tightly related to mammalian IFN response. However, little is known about non-mammalian IFIT genes. In the present study, IFIT genes are identified in the genome databases from the jawed vertebrates including the cartilaginous elephant shark but not from non-vertebrates such as lancelet, sea squirt and acorn worm, suggesting that IFIT gene family originates from a vertebrate ancestor about 450 million years ago. IFIT family genes show conserved gene structure and gene arrangements. Phylogenetic analyses reveal that this gene family has expanded through lineage-specific and species-specific gene duplication. Interestingly, IFN gene family seem to share a common ancestor and a similar evolutionary mechanism; the function link of IFIT genes to IFN response is present early since the origin of both gene families, as evidenced by the finding that zebrafish IFIT genes are upregulated by fish IFNs, poly(I:C) and two transcription factors IRF3/IRF7, likely via the IFN-stimulated response elements (ISRE) within the promoters of vertebrate IFIT family genes. These coevolution features creates functional association of both family genes to fulfill a common biological process, which is likely selected by viral infection during evolution of vertebrates. Our results are helpful for understanding of evolution of vertebrate IFN system.In mammals, IFIT (Interferon [IFN]-induced proteins with Tetratricopeptide Repeat [TPR] motifs) family genes are involved in many cellular and viral processes, which are tightly related to mammalian IFN response. However, little is known about non-mammalian IFIT genes. In the present study, IFIT genes are identified in the genome databases from the jawed vertebrates including the cartilaginous elephant shark but not from non-vertebrates such as lancelet, sea squirt and acorn worm, suggesting that IFIT gene family originates from a vertebrate ancestor about 450 million years ago. IFIT family genes show conserved gene structure and gene arrangements. Phylogenetic analyses reveal that this gene family has expanded through lineage-specific and species-specific gene duplication. Interestingly, IFN gene family seem to share a common ancestor and a similar evolutionary mechanism; the function link of IFIT genes to IFN response is present early since the origin of both gene families, as evidenced by the finding that zebrafish IFIT genes are upregulated by fish IFNs, poly(I:C) and two transcription factors IRF3/IRF7, likely via the IFN-stimulated response elements (ISRE) within the promoters of vertebrate IFIT family genes. These coevolution features creates functional association of both family genes to fulfill a common biological process, which is likely selected by viral infection during evolution of vertebrates. Our results are helpful for understanding of evolution of vertebrate IFN system

Collaborative Interaction for Videos on Mobile Devices Based on Sketch Gestures

With the rapid progress of the network and mobile techniques, mobile devices such as mobile phones and portable devices, have become one of the most important parts in common life. Efficient techniques for watching, navigating and sharing videos on mobile devices collaboratively are appealing in mobile environment. In this paper, we propose a novel approach supporting efficiently collaborative operations on videos with sketch gestures. Furthermore, effective collaborative annotation and navigation operations are given to interact with videos on mobile devices for facilitating users' communication based on mobile devices' characteristics. Gesture operation and collaborative interaction architecture are given and improved during the interactive process. Finally, a user study is conducted showing that the effectivity and collaborative accessibility of video exploration is improved