Efficiently Disassemble-and-Pack for Mechanism

In this paper, we present a disassemble-and-pack approach for a mechanism to seek a box which contains total mechanical parts with high space utilization. Its key feature is that mechanism contains not only geometric shapes but also internal motion structures which can be calculated to adjust geometric shapes of the mechanical parts. Our system consists of two steps: disassemble mechanical object into a group set and pack them within a box efficiently. The first step is to create a hierarchy of possible group set of parts which is generated by disconnecting the selected joints and adjust motion structures of parts in groups. The aim of this step is seeking total minimum volume of each group. The second step is to exploit the hierarchy based on breadth-first-search to obtain a group set. Every group in the set is inserted into specified box from maximum volume to minimum based on our packing strategy. Until an approximated result with satisfied efficiency is accepted, our approach finish exploiting the hierarchy.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figure

Local and regional smoke impacts from prescribed fires

Smoke from wildfires poses a significant threat to affected communities. Prescribed burning is conducted to reduce the extent and potential damage of wildfires, but produces its own smoke threat. Planners of prescribed fires model the likely dispersion of smoke to help manage the impacts on local communities. Significant uncertainty remains about the actual smoke impact from prescribed fires, especially near the fire, and the accuracy of smoke dispersal models

Physiological acclimation strategies of riparian plants to environment change in the delta of the Tarim River, China

The occurrence and development of riparian forests, which were mainly dominated by mesophytes species related closely with surface water. Since there was no water discharged to the lower reaches of Tarim River in the past three decade years, the riparian forests degrade severely. The groundwater table, the saline content of the groundwater, as well as the content of free proline, soluble sugars, plant endogenous hormones (abscisic acid (ABA), and cytokinins (CTK)) of the leaves and relative rates of sap flow of the Populus euphratica Oliv. (arbor species), Tamarix ramosissima Ldb. (bush species), and Apocynum venetum L. (herb species) were monitored and analyzed at the lower reaches of the Tarim River in the study area where five positions on a transect were fixed at 100 m intervals along a sampling direction from riverbank to the sand dunes before and after water release. The physiological responses and acclimation strategies of three species to variations in water and salinity stress were discussed. It was found that A. venetum population recovered to groundwater table ranging from -1.73 to -3.56 m, and when exposed to saline content of the groundwater ranging from 36.59 to 93.48 m mol/L; P. euphratica appeared to be more sensitive to the elevation of groundwater table than the A. venetum and T. ramosissima at groundwater table ranging from -5.08 to -5.80 m, and when exposed to saline content of the groundwater ranging from 42.17 to 49.55 m mol/L. T. ramosissima tended to be the best candidate species for reclamation in this hyper-arid area because it responded to groundwater table ranging from -1.73 to -7.05 m, and when exposed to saline content of the groundwater ranging from 36.59 to 93.48 m mol/L. These results explained the distribution patterns of desert vegetation in the lower reaches of the Tarim River. Understanding the relationships among ecological factors variables, physiological response and acclimation strategies of plant individuals could provide guidance to sustainable management, reclamation and development of this and similar regions

Genetic Basis of Phenotypic Differences Between Chinese Yunling Black Goats and Nubian Goats Revealed by Allele-Specific Expression in Their F1 Hybrids

Chinese Yunling black goats and African Nubian goats are divergent breeds showing significant differences in body size, milk production, and environmental adaptation. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying these phenotypic differences remain to be elucidated. In this report, we provide a detailed portrait of allele-specific expression (ASE) from 54 RNA-Seq analyses across six tissues from nine F1 hybrid offspring generated by crossing the two breeds combined with 13 genomes of the two breeds. We identified a total of 524 genes with ASE, which are involved in bone development, muscle cell differentiation, and the regulation of lipid metabolic processes. We further found that 38 genes with ASE were also under directional selection by comparing 13 genomes of the two breeds; these 38 genes play important roles in metabolism, immune responses, and the adaptation to hot and humid environments. In conclusion, our study shows that the exploration of genes with ASE in F1 hybrids provides an efficient way to understand the genetic basis underlying the phenotypic differences of two diverse goat breeds

Catalytic oxidation of 1,2-dichloroethane over three-dimensional ordered meso-macroporous Co 3 O 4 /La 0.7 Sr 0.3 Fe 0.5 Co 0.5 O 3 : destruction route and mechanism

Three-dimensional ordered meso-macroporous La0.7Sr0.3Fe0.5Co0.5O3 (3DOM LSFCO)-supported Co3O4 catalysts were designed and prepared via a PMMA-templating strategy for the total oxidation of 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCE). The physicochemical properties of all synthesized samples were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, HAADF-STEM, low-temperature N2 sorption, XPS, H2-TPR, and in situ FT-IR. The introduction of Co3O4 increases the generation rate of oxygen vacancy, playing a crucial role in adsorption and activation of oxygen species. The special 3DOM structure of perovskite-type oxide promotes 1,2-DCE molecules to effectively and intimately contact with the surface adsorbed oxygen over supported catalysts and further accelerates the redox process. Compared with pure LSFCO, all the Co3O4 supported catalysts show superior catalytic performance with reaction rate increases from 5.53 × 10−12 to 2.29 × 10−11 mol g−1 s−1 and Ea decreases from 74.7 to 22.6 KJ mol−1. Amongst, the 10Co3O4/3DOM LSFCO catalyst exhibits the best catalytic activity, highest resistance to chlorine poisoning and lowest by-products concentration because of the largest amount of surface adsorbed oxygen. CO2, CO, HCl, and Cl2 are the main oxidation productions, while some typical reaction intermediates such as vinyl chloride, 1,1,2-trichloroethane and trichloroethylene are also observed, especially over the 3DOM LSFCO sample. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism of 1,2-DCE oxidation over obtained catalysts was proposed based on the results of gas chromatography, in situ FT-IR, and on-line MS. It is believed that the Co3O4/3DOM LSFCO are promising catalysts for the total removal of chlorinated volatile organic compounds

Synthesis of dominant plastic microfibre prevalence and pollution control feasibility in Chinese freshwater environments

Microplastic pollution of freshwaters is known to be a great concern in China and these pollutants can be discharged into the coastal environment through fluvial processes, posing threats to the global marine ecosystem. This paper reviewed the literature measuring microplastic pollution in the Chinese freshwater environment and found that microfibres dominate other plastic morphologies in more than 65% of samples collected in surface water, sediments and effluents of wastewater treatment plants and domestic sewers. Current potential sources of microfibre pollution are identified including fishery activities, laundry sewage, and waste textiles according to previous research. Recommendations are offered using the circular economy management framework, such as textile waste reuse and recycling systems in China, for improving current control measures for microplastics in freshwaters

Application of two different weather typing procedures : an Australian case study

Publication originally created as part of a research project for STAT825, Macquarie University, Dept. of Statistics, 2010. Errata at end of book : Correction to p.100 Figure 18.Complete version suppressed for copyright reasons. Sections available are: Front Material, Chapter 1 - Introduction, References, Errata.148 page(s