Fabrication of porous matrix membrane (PMM) using metal-organic framework as green template for water treatment

published_or_final_versio

Crosstalk Impacts on Homogeneous Weakly-Coupled Multicore Fiber Based IM/DD System

We numerically discussed crosstalk impacts on homogeneous weakly-coupled multicore fiber based intensity modulation/direct-detection (IM/DD) systems taking into account mean crosstalk power fluctuation, walk-off between cores, laser frequency offset, and laser linewidth.Comment: 3 pages, 11 figures

Learning a Planning Domain Model from Natural Language Process Manuals

Artificial intelligence planning techniques have been widely used in many applications. A big challenge is to automate a planning model, especially for planning applications based on natural language (NL) input. This requires the analysis and understanding of NL text and a general learning technique does not exist in real-world applications. In this article, we investigate an intelligent planning technique for natural disaster management, e.g. typhoon contingency plan generation, through natural language process manuals. A planning model is to optimise management operations when a disaster occurs in a short time. Instead of manually building the planning model, we aim to automate the planning model generation by extracting disaster management-related content through NL processing (NLP) techniques. The learning input comes from the published documents that describe the operational process of preventing potential loss in the typhoon management. We adopt a classical planning model, namely planning domain definition language (PDDL), in the typhoon contingency plan generation. We propose a novel framework of FPTCP, which stands for a Framework of Planning Typhoon Contingency Plan , for learning a domain model of PDDL from NL text. We adapt NLP techniques to construct a ternary template of sentences of NL inputs from which actions and their objects are extracted to build a domain model. We also develop a comprehensive suite of user interaction components and facilitate the involvement of users in order to improve the learned domain models. The user interaction is to remove semantic duplicates of NL objects such that the users can select model-generated actions and predicates to better fit the PDDL domain model. We detail the implementation steps of the proposed FPTCP and evaluate its performance on real-world typhoon datasets. In addition, we compare FPTCP with two state-of-the-art approaches in applications of narrative generation, and discuss its capability and limitations

Bone remodeling at microscrew interface near extraction site in the beagle dog mandible-histologic and immunohistochemical analyses

Extraction is often used as part of orthodontic therapy, and good control of anchorage is a key step after extraction. Although microscrews can be implanted close to the extraction site in order to achieve orthodontic support, the efficiency of bone remodeling at the implant-bone interface near the extraction region is dubious. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate bone remodeling of the bone-microscrew interface near the tooth extraction site, in the absence of loading. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Third and fourth premolars were extracted from the mandibles of beagle dogs, followed by placement of test microscrews near the extraction sites. Control microscrews were placed further away from the extraction site. All samples were collected after 1, 3, 8, or 12 weeks of healing following extraction. The bone remodeling process at the interface was evaluated using histologic and immunohistochemical analyses. RESULTS: Initially, a large number of inflammatory cells were aggregated at the interface. The expression levels of core binding factor (Cbfa1), osteocalcin (OC) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) were inconspicuous in both groups, whereas tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) was strongly expressed, especially in the test groups (

The Costs and Benefits of Nutrient Reduction Programs

IN THE fall of 1997, the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force was established to better understand and address hypoxia concerns in the Gulf of Mexico. The task force includes representatives from numerous state and federal agencies including the US Army Corps of Engineers, USDA, the US Department of Commerce, US Department of Interior, US Fish and Wildlife Service, EPA, and the National Tribal Water Council. In 2008, the Task Force released an action plan outlining a national strategy to tackle recurrent hypoxic conditions in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and improve water quality in the Mississippi River Basin (Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan 2008). The report suggests that at least a 45 percent reduction in riverine total nitrogen and phosphorus is needed in order to control the size of the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Complementary efforts by EPA have encouraged individual states to establish frameworks to reduce nutrient pollution in their states (US EPA 2011; 2016). The EPA underscores that nitrogen and phosphorus pollution could become “one of the costliest and the most challenging environmental problems [in the United States].

Economic Benefits of Nitrogen Reductions in Iowa

Iowa agriculture provides tremendous benefits to the state, national, and global economy. The intense nature of the state’s agricultural activities is not without cost. Agricultural industry is a large contributor to water quality problems both within the state as well as in downstream rivers, streams, and the Gulf of Mexico. First released in November 2012, the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (NRS) lays out a technology-driven framework for reducing nutrient delivery to waterways in Iowa and, ultimately, the Gulf of Mexico. These efforts are part of a broader strategy that includes 11 other states to reduce the size, severity, and duration of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/card_reports/1099/thumbnail.jp