A Colour Design Tool Based on Empirical Studies

A colour design tool targeted at both unskilled consumers and professional designers is currently under development, on the basis of psychophysical studies into semantic associations of colour, the cultural influences and colour harmony. From experimental results for single-colour associations, 3 underlying factors were identified: “warm-cool”, “heavy-light” and “active-passive”, which were found to agree well with those identified by earlier research. For colour-combination associations, an “additive property” of colour association was discovered: the semantic score of a colour combination can be determined by averaging semantic scores of each constituent colour in that combination. According to the experimental results, there were 4 general patterns of colour harmony: similarity in hue and chroma, difference in lightness, high lightness and the hue effects. While the proposed colour design tool is still in its development stage and has a number of shortcomings, the system is believed to provide practical assistance and support not only for unskilled users but also for designers. Keywords: colour design; colour harmony; colour association; cross-cultural study; e-shopping; colour decision-making; design process; psychophysical method</p

Alleviation of Soil Compaction by Brassica Cover Crops

Soil compaction is a worldwide problem in modern agriculture associated with overuse of heavy machinery and intensification of cropping systems. Though tillage is traditionally used to alleviate compaction effect, increasing concerns about environmental impacts of tillage have led to interest in conservational tillage systems and incorporation of cover crops into crop rotations. Previous study showed soybean (Glycine Max L.) roots grew through a plowpan soil using channels left by canola (Brassica napus) cover crop roots, a process termed "biodrilling" to alleviate compaction effect. However, this study did not provide any quantitative data to support the observational conclusion. We studied "biodrilling" abilities of three cover crops and the effects of "biodrilling" on corn (Zea mays)/soybean growth by conducting three experiments. The first two experiments included three surface horizon compaction treatments (high, medium and no compaction), four cover crops [FR (forage radish: Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, cultivar `Daikon') and rape (rapeseed: Brassica napus, cultivar `Essex') (tap-rooted species in the Brassica family), rye (cereal rye: Secale cereale L., cultivar `Wheeler') (fibrous-rooted species) and NC (no cover crop)] in Exp. 1, and three cover crops (FR, rape and NC) in Exp. 2. The third experiment was conducted on field with a legacy plowpan (subsoil compaction) using FR, rye and NC cover crops. Roots of FR were least inhibited by compaction, while rye roots were severely arrested by compaction. The order of "biodrilling" ability was FR > rape > rye. Soil bulk density, strength and least limiting water range were controlled by compaction treatments. Soil air permeability was greatly reduced by compaction. Air permeability was greater in rape/FR treatments than in rye/NC treatments under high/medium compaction. Corn/soybean root penetrations, subsoil water uptake in the compacted soils were enhanced by FR/rape treatments but not by rye/NC treatments. Compaction decreased corn yield only in Exp. 2 where soil sand fraction was greater. The yield of corn was greater in three cover crop treatments than in NC control. In terms of "biodrilling", Brassica cover crops (FR and rape) were more effective than rye cover crop, would alleviate effects of soil compaction on plant growth in no-till farming systems

A Robust Interferometry Against Imperfections Base on Weak Value Amplification

The optical interferometry has been widely used in various high precision applications. Usually, the minimum precision of an interferometry is limited by various technique noises in practice. To suppress such kind of noises, we propose a novel scheme, which combines the weak measurement with the standard interferometry. The proposed scheme dramatically outperforms the standard interferometry in the signal noise ratio and the robustness against noises caused by the optical elements' reflections and the offset fluctuation between two paths. A proof-of-principle experiment is demonstrated to validate the amplification theory.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figures. submitted to PR

Quality comparison of traditional Chuanxiong produced in Dujiangyan City and Sichuan ProvinceC and Chuanxiong from other areas, based on analysis of volatile oil, total alkaloids and total ferulic acid contents

Purpose: To compare the qualities of Chuanxiong from different production areas (authentic and traditional production areas in Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province) and other non-authentic production areas, as well as different germplasm sources, using a combination of methods. Methods: A fingerprint spectrum of volatile oils was established, and the qualities of the chuanxiong samples were compared using gas chromatography (GC), while gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC -MS) was used to analyze the chemical compositions of the volatile oils. Results: There were significant differences in the chemical compositions of volatile oils of Chuanxiong from different plants. Most of the qualities of Chuanxiong were higher after transplantation to the germplasm nursery at Dujiangyan, Sichuan. There was increase in the contents of total alkaloids and total ferulic acid in some chuanxiong transplanted to the germplasm nursery. Conclusion: This is the first study that compares the quality of Chuanxiong from different producing areas using a combination of&nbsp; several methods. These methods are feasible and effective, and the results provide a reference for research on standardization and quality control of Chuanxiong. Keywords: Chuanxiong, Volatile oil, Total alkaloids, Ferulic acid, Fingerprint, Dujiangyan Cit