A Cooperative Perception Environment for Traffic Operations and Control

Existing data collection methods for traffic operations and control usually rely on infrastructure-based loop detectors or probe vehicle trajectories. Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) not only can report data about themselves but also can provide the status of all detected surrounding vehicles. Integration of perception data from multiple CAVs as well as infrastructure sensors (e.g., LiDAR) can provide richer information even under a very low penetration rate. This paper aims to develop a cooperative data collection system, which integrates Lidar point cloud data from both infrastructure and CAVs to create a cooperative perception environment for various transportation applications. The state-of-the-art 3D detection models are applied to detect vehicles in the merged point cloud. We test the proposed cooperative perception environment with the max pressure adaptive signal control model in a co-simulation platform with CARLA and SUMO. Results show that very low penetration rates of CAV plus an infrastructure sensor are sufficient to achieve comparable performance with 30% or higher penetration rates of connected vehicles (CV). We also show the equivalent CV penetration rate (E-CVPR) under different CAV penetration rates to demonstrate the data collection efficiency of the cooperative perception environment

A Morphogenetic Description of Thigmokeronopsis stoecki Shao et al., 2008 (Ciliophora, Hypotricha) and a Comparison with Members of the Family Pseudokeronopsidae

The urostylid family Pseudokeronopsidae Borror and Wicklow, 1983 was considered to be a well-outlined taxon. Nevertheless, recent evidence, including morphological, ontogenetic, and molecular information, has consistently revealed the polyphyly of this family. In the present work, a new population of Thigmokeronopsis stoecki Shao et al., 2008 was found and its binary divisional process was described for the first time. In addition, the morphogenetic features of Thigmokeronopsis species and all the other pseudokeronopsids, for which detailed ontogenetic data are available, were rechecked and compared. This reveals that: (1) the ontogenetic process of T. stoecki corresponds well with its congeners T. jahodai and T. rubra except for the macronuclear behavior; (2) Apokeronopsis and Thigmokeronopsis share a similar ontogenetic mode despite of the differences in the number and origin of their buccal cirri; (3) most pseudokeronopsids share the same pattern in the origins of their oral primordia and fronto-ventral-transverse cirral anlagen, except for Pseudokeronopsis similis, which may not be a valid member of the family Pseudokeronopsidae

Taxonomic Descriptions of Two Marine Ciliates, Euplotes dammamensis n. sp. and Euplotes balteatus (Dujardin, 1841) Kahl, 1932 (Ciliophora, Spirotrichea, Euplotida), Collected from the Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia

The morphology, morphogenesis and infraciliature of two marine euplotid ciliates, Euplotes dammamensis n. sp. and Euplotes balteatus (Dujardin, 1841) Kahl, 1932, isolated from a sandy beach of the Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia, were investigated using observations in vivo and protargol-impregnation methods. Euplotes dammamensis n. sp. is characterized by a combination of features including its huge body size (100–170 × 80–120 μm), 10 conspicuous dorsal ridges, 10 normal-sized frontoventral and two marginal cirri, and 11 dorsal kineties. Euplotes balteatus is mainly characterized by 10 frontoventral, two caudal, and two left marginal cirri, 7–10 dorsal kineties and 5–7 prominent dorsal ridges as well as double-eurystomus silverline system. The small subunit rRNA (SSU-rRNA) gene sequences were determined for both species and phylogenetic analyses based on these data indicated that E. dammamensis is most closely related to E. parabalteatus Jiang et al., 2010, and E. balteatus clusters with E. plicatum Valbonesi et al., 1997, E. orientalis Jiang et al., 2010, and E. bisulcatus Kahl, 1932

Global Identification of Unelectrified Built-Up Areas by Remote Sensing

Access to electricity (the proportion of the population with access to electricity) is a key indica for of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), which aims to provide affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy services for all. Accurate and timely global data on access to electricity in all countries is important for the achievement of SDG7. Current survey-based access to electricity datasets suffers from short time spans, slow updates, high acquisition costs, and a lack of location data. Accordingly, a new method for identifying the electrification status of built-up areas based on the remote sensing of nighttime light is proposed in this study. More specifically, the method overlays global built-up area data with night-time light remote sensing data to determine whether built-up areas are electrified based on a threshold night-time light value. By using our approach, electrified and unelectrified built-up areas were extracted at 500 m resolution on a global scale for the years 2014 and 2020. The acquired results show a significant reduction in an unelectrified built-up area between 2014 and 2020, from 51,301.14 km2 to 22,192.52 km2, or from 3.05% to 1.32% of the total built-up area. Compared to 2014, 117 countries or territories had improved access to electricity, and 18 increased their proportion of unelectrified built-up area by >0.1%. The identification accuracy was evaluated by using a random sample of 10,106 points. The accuracies in 2014 and 2020 were 97.29% and 98.9%, respectively, with an average of 98.1%. The outcomes of this method are in high agreement with the spatial distribution of access to electricity data reported by the World Bank. This study is the first to investigate the global electrification of built-up areas by using remote sensing. It makes an important supplement to global data on access to electricity, which can aid in the achievement of SDG7

Influence of China’s Overseas power stations on the electricity status of their host countries

China has become a major investor and constructor of electrical power plants in developing countries. However, the impacts of China's overseas power stations (COPSs) on the developing countries hosting them are poorly understood. Here, a novel method is proposed to evaluate the influence of COPSs in 80 host countries. First, their electricity consumption from 1971 to 2017 was estimated using data provided by the World Bank, International Energy Agency, and World Resources Institute. Regression analysis was then used to predict consumption from 2018 to 2025. Finally, three parameters were used to evaluate the influences of COPSs. The results show that: 1) COPSs significantly increased the total installed capacity of 35 of the host countries by > 20%. 2) The power generated by COPSs is greater than the growing demands of 32 of the host countries. 3) COPSs will increase the per capita electricity consumption of all 80 host countries. 4) Among the 437 COPSs existing in 2000–2019, renewable power plants (including hydropower) were most numerous, accounting for 51.3%. This proportion increased significantly after 2013 and renewable plants will continue to dominate as China will no longer invest in new coal-fired power stations after 2021

A Morphogenetic Description of Thigmokeronopsis stoecki Shao et al., 2008 (Ciliophora, Hypotricha) and a Comparison with Members of the Family Pseudokeronopsidae

The urostylid family Pseudokeronopsidae Borror and Wicklow, 1983 was considered to be a well-outlined taxon. Nevertheless, recent evidence, including morphological, ontogenetic, and molecular information, has consistently revealed the polyphyly of this family. In the present work, a new population of Thigmokeronopsis stoecki Shao et al., 2008 was found and its binary divisional process was described for the first time. In addition, the morphogenetic features of Thigmokeronopsis species and all the other pseudokeronopsids, for which detailed ontogenetic data are available, were rechecked and compared. This reveals that: (1) the ontogenetic process of T. stoecki corresponds well with its congeners T. jahodai and T. rubra except for the macronuclear behavior; (2) Apokeronopsis and Thigmokeronopsis share a similar ontogenetic mode despite of the differences in the number and origin of their buccal cirri; (3) most pseudokeronopsids share the same pattern in the origins of their oral primordia and fronto-ventral-transverse cirral anlagen, except for Pseudokeronopsis similis, which may not be a valid member of the family Pseudokeronopsidae

Modelling Electricity Consumption in Cambodia Based on Remote Sensing Night-Light Images

The accurate estimation of electricity consumption and its spatial distribution are important in electricity infrastructural planning and the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). Electricity consumption can be estimated based on its correlation with nighttime lights observed using remote sensing imagery. Since night-light images are easily affected by cloud cover, few previous studies have estimated electricity consumption in cloudy areas. Taking Cambodia as an example, the present study proposes a method for denoising night-light images in cloudy areas and estimating electricity consumption. The results show that an exponential model is superior to linear and power function models for modelling the relationship between total night-light data and electricity consumption in Cambodia. The month-specific substitution method is best for annual night-light image synthesis in cloudy areas. Cambodia’s greatest electricity consumption occurs in its four most economically developed cities. Electricity consumption spreads outwards from these cities along the main transport routes to a large number of unelectrified areas

Taxonomy and molecular phylogeny of three marine benthic species of <i>Haslea</i> (Bacillariophyceae), with transfer of two species to <i>Navicula</i>

<p>Using light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and SSU rDNA and <i>rbc</i>L gene sequencing, we investigated three marine benthic diatoms: <i>Haslea avium</i> Tiffany, Herwig <i>et</i> Sterrenburg; <i>H. feriarum</i> Tiffany <i>et</i> Sterrenburg and <i>H. tsukamotoi</i> Sterrenburg <i>et</i> Hinz collected from intertidal sediments in China. These are the first records of these three species from China. Our observations showed that the typical valve structure of <i>Haslea</i>, with an inner basal layer and an outer tegumental layer, and walls (saepes sensu Sterrenburg et al.) between them is not present in either <i>H. tsukamotoi</i> or <i>H. avium</i>. Moreover, the two species possess small helictoglossae, an internal apical thickened area and hooked terminal fissures reaching to the valve mantle, suggesting a close relationship with <i>Navicula tripunctata</i>, the type species of <i>Navicula</i> s.s. In molecular phylogenetic analyses, <i>Haslea</i> was polyphyletic, being divided into two separate clades: <i>H. feriarum</i> belonged to a clade that comprised only <i>Haslea</i> species, including the type <i>H. ostrearia</i>, while <i>H. tsukamotoi</i> and <i>H. avium</i> were within the <i>Navicula</i> clade. Therefore, we propose transferring <i>H. tsukamotoi</i> and <i>H. avium</i> to <i>Navicula</i> and suggest that the presence of continuous longitudinal strips on the external valve surface is not a synapomorphy, but rather a homoplastic character for <i>Haslea</i>.</p

Thifluzamide, Fludioxonil, and Clothianidin as Seed Treatment Can Efficiently Control Major Soil-Borne Diseases, Aphids (Aphidoidea spp.), and Residue Distribution in the Field

Combined seed treatment with neonicotinoids and fungicides offers a potential control measure for pest management at the wheat seeding stage. In this study, a novel, highly-efficient seed-coating agent was prepared using thifluzamide, fludioxonil, and clothianidin as its active components and other additives (abbreviated to TFC). Laboratory experiments and field trials revealed a positive effect on germination, plant height, and root length, with 90% control efficiency on wheat sharp eyespots and aphid infestations. Meanwhile, the distribution of thifluzamide, fludioxonil, and clothianidin residues in the wheat plants at harvest was below 0.05 mg/kg both at the recommended dosage and at 2.0 times the recommended dose. Furthermore, an artificial soil assay of biotoxicity in earthworms revealed a low level of toxicity at LC50 &gt; 10 mg/kg. Overall, these findings suggest that TFC has the potential to control major soil-borne diseases and pest infestations in wheat, offering an environmentally-friendly alternative to more toxic pesticides