GeoNEX: A Cloud Gateway for Near Real-time Processing of Geostationary Satellite Products

The emergence of a new generation of geostationary satellite sensors provides land andatmosphere monitoring capabilities similar to MODIS and VIIRS with far greater temporal resolution (5-15 minutes). However, processing such large volume, highly dynamic datasets requires computing capabilities that (1) better support data access and knowledge discovery for scientists; (2) provide resources to enable real-time processing for emergency response (wildfire, smoke, dust, etc.); and (3) provide reliable and scalable services for the broader user community. This paper presents an implementation of GeoNEX (Geostationary NASA-NOAA Earth Exchange) services that integrate scientific algorithms with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide near realtime monitoring (~5 minute latency) capability in a hybrid cloud-computing environment. It offers a user-friendly, manageable and extendable interface and benefits from the scalability provided by Amazon Web Services. Four use cases are presented to illustrate how to (1) search and access geostationary data; (2) configure computing infrastructure to enable near real-time processing; (3) disseminate and utilize research results, visualizations, and animations to concurrent users; and (4) use a Jupyter Notebook-like interface for data exploration and rapid prototyping. As an example of (3), the Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF_ABBA) was implemented on GOES-16 and -17 data to produce an active fire map every 5 minutes over the conterminous US. Details of the implementation strategies, architectures, and challenges of the use cases are discussed

Customizable views on semantically integrated networks for systems biology

Motivation: The rise of high-throughput technologies in the post-genomic era has led to the production of large amounts of biological data. Many of these datasets are freely available on the Internet. Making optimal use of these data is a significant challenge for bioinformaticians. Various strategies for integrating data have been proposed to address this challenge. One of the most promising approaches is the development of semantically rich integrated datasets. Although well suited to computational manipulation, such integrated datasets are typically too large and complex for easy visualization and interactive exploration

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Between East And West In The Culture Of The Landscape In China. Protection, Conservation, Enhancement

Chinese and Western garden art are two different systems because of their different physical and culture conditions. However, both of them are important parts of the world garden. They belong to the garden because both of them have the common characteristics of the garden art. This thesis mainly discusses philosophy, mythological background, gardening elements, cultural implication and landscape art regarding Chinese and Western garden art. The traditional royal garden of Old Summer Palace and the key landscape culture heritage protection project of Daming Palace National Heritage Park in Xi'an of China are used as the examples. There are obvious differences in the category and application mode of plants in the Chinese and Western garden. For the differences in the cultural connotation, the common plants in the Chinese garden are obviously different from that of the West. In the representation of plants, there are geometric and natural modes. In the cultural context of emphasizing order and rationality, the majority of the Western gardens are geometric, such as the Italian and French classical garden. The beauty of gardens is represented through the pattern and the architectural extension. The Chinese garden art is the natural plant disposition, and it imitates nature and emphasizes similarity in spirit. As the largest protection and development project of the landscape cultural heritage since the foundation of the China, The Daming Palace National Heritage Park has aroused the awareness. To consider and reflection the Western idea of protecting the cultural heritage as the principal idea, it will be the essence that how to protect, conserve and enhance Chinese cultural heritage so to be the key features of Chinese cultur

Identity & development in the Chinese city. Beilin district urban design in Xi’an city, Shaanxi (PRC)

The northwestern part of the People's Republic of China has become, with the 2012-2020 urban development planning, the main area of future infrastructural development of the country. Historically lagged behind the development of coastal areas, this part of the country is growing at a rapid pace, with the support of the objectives of national planning. A great city plan is drawing up for Xi'an city that aims to transform it in the most important hub of northwest China, unifying the city of Xi'an with neighboring Xianyang, thus creating one large metropolitan area. The city enlarges like wildfire and the desire to maximize the economic performance within the central areas of the city led to a replacement of the urban fabric, often through processes of demolition of ancient buildings, evacuation of slums and relocation of people from central areas to peripheral areas. The ancient capital of China, which is running to become the most important city in inner China, is a good case study on which discuss concerning the complex dynamics of the city and its surroundings. In his urban framework, in fact, it is still possible to find the meaning of the ancient walled cities in China and that of the new development. The city is a non-stop construction site that from one hand tends to preserve and often reconstruct its past, from the other, pursues expansion with a frenzy out of control. The skyscrapers and major highways carry within them the image of the prodigious economic boom, but progress cannot be achieved through the destruction of historical memory. If a city does not protect its own history and its own culture, its architecture and its monuments, what makes it different from all others? The traditional historical buildings as well as the urban layout of the ancient city are factors of a unique identity, unlike the high-rise buildings under construction that are now commonplace in China as in the USA or in the United Arab Emirates. What is certain is that in Chinese cities, reconcile the objectives of protection of heritage with social ones, is more difficult than in other cities of the world. In fact, when we operate in similar contexts, we quickly realize how difficult it is to start development programs that aim to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants, preserving both the local communities that the historic urban fabric: attempt, this, pursued in the Beilin District Urban Design in Xi’an city

Innovative design of campus green spaces in the context of the "One Belt, One Road" and the digital use of Silk Road elements

In recent years, the strategic development concept of “the Belt and Road Initiative” has been put forward in China, which brought new significance and connotation to the development of “Silk Road” in this era of globalization, digitalization and knowledge. As the starting point of the Silk Road, Xi 'an is also an international cultural metropolis that is further building and promoting economic prosperity and development. This special location has entrusted its unusual historical task. As the campus of Xi 'an Jiaotong University, the scientific and Technological Innovation Port in western China, located in Xi 'an, needs the rendering and influence of Silk Road culture. Therefore, in order to make teachers and students consciously inherit and appreciate the Silk Road culture, it is of great significance to make the diversity of the Silk Road culture reflect on the campus and create a unique campus landscape. The paper is divided into five chapters. Firstly, it summarises the development of Silk Road culture from different dimensions such as era, level and region, extracts different categories of elements, summarises them with the analysis of the research of Suzhou Silk Museum, and discusses how to apply these elements to campus landscape design. Take the landscape of the green space in the east part of the Innovation Port as a design sample, combine with the field investigation and analysis, further outline the shape, path, colour, material and plant elements, follow the principles and principles of campus landscape design, enumerate the plant elements with data, explore new application methods, define the design concept with characteristics, from the road, culture and ecological landscape configuration, characteristic silk road culture elements in the whole site. In this way, the Silk Road culture can be inherited, history can embrace the future, and a distinctive campus landscape can be created that adapts to the new trends of the times