A Fuzzy-Interval Dynamic Optimization Model for Regional Water Resources Allocation under Uncertainty

In this study, a fuzzy-interval dynamic programming (FIDP) model is proposed for regional water management under uncertainty by combining fuzzy-interval linear programming (FILP) and dynamic programming (DP). This model can not only tackle uncertainties presented as intervals, but also consider the dynamic characteristics in the allocation process for water resources. Meanwhile, the overall satisfaction from users is considered in the objective function to solve the conflict caused by uneven distribution of resources. The FIDP model is then applied to the case study in terms of water resources allocation under uncertainty and dynamics for the City of Handan in Hebei Province, China. The obtained solutions can provide detailed allocation schemes and water shortage rates at different stages. The calculated comprehensive benefits of economy, water users’ satisfaction and pollutant discharge (i.e., COD) are [2264.72, 2989.33] × 108 yuan, [87.50, 96.50] % and [1.23, 1.65] × 108 kg respectively with a plausibility degree (i.e., λ±opt) ranging within [0.985, 0.993]. Moreover, the benefit from FIDP model under consideration of dynamic features is more specific and accurate than that of FILP model, whilst the water shortage rate from FIDP is [5.10, 9.10] % lower than that of FILP model.This research was supported by Nation Natural Science Foundation of China (61873084), and Natural Science Foundation of Hebei, in China (D2019402235)

Elevated level of polysaccharides in a high level UV-B tolerant cell line of Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd

A cell line of Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd with high level tolerance to UV-B radiation was obtained through exposure of the protoplasts to high doses of UV-B radiation at the intensity of 380 μW/cm2 for 240 s. The cell line was named anti-UV-B cell line and proved to be a mutant from the original protoplast by RAPD tests and kept the genetic stability among different generations. Chemical analyses showed that, the anti-UV-B cell line contained excessively higher content of polysaccharides and relatively higher content of triterpenes than those from the wild-type plants and cell lines from unscreened protoplasts. To understand the possible contribution of polysaccharides to its high tolerance to UV-B radiation, the antioxidant activity of the polysaccharides in this cell line was evaluated by free radical 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. The results showed a significant antioxidant effect of the polysaccharides from this cell line in a concentration-dependent manner. This indicated that, the high content of polysaccharides might account for the high tolerance to UV-B radiation of this anti-UV-B B. scorzonerifolium cell line. Furthermore, this cell line displayed vigorous growth ability with high content of polysaccharides and triterpenes under artificial conditions, especially in the bioreactor, indicating it could have promising application potential for industrial production of antioxidant in medical and cosmetic areas.Key words: Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd, polysaccharides, in vitro culture, UV-B tolerance, antioxidant

Continuous twin screw rheo-extrusion of an AZ91D magnesium alloy

© The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International 2012The twin screw rheo-extrusion (TSRE) is designed to take advantage of the nondendritc microstructure and thixotropic characterization of semisolid-metal slurries and produce simple metal profiles directly from melts. The extrusion equipment consists of a rotor-stator high shear slurry maker, a twin screw extruder, and a die assembly. The process is continuous and has a potential for significantly saving energy, manufacturing cost, and enhancing efficiency. The present investigation was carried out to study the process performance for processing rods of an AZ91D magnesium alloy and the microstructure evolution during processing. The semisolid slurry prepared by the process was characterized by uniformly distributed nondendritic granular primary phase particles. AZ91D rods with uniform and fine microstructures and moderate mechanical properties were produced. For the given slurry making parameters, decreasing extrusion temperature was found to improve microstructures and properties. The mechanisms of particle granulation and refinement and the effect of processing parameters on process performance and thermal management are discussed. © 2012 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International.EPSRC (UK) and Rautomead Lt

Effect of intensive melt shearing on the formation of Fe-containing intermetallics in LM24 Al-alloy

Fe is one of the inevitable and detrimental impurities in aluminium alloys that degrade the mechanical performance of castings. In the present work, intensive melt shearing has been demonstrated to modify the morphology of Fe-containing intermetallic compounds by promoting the formation of compact α-Al(Fe,Mn)Si at the expense of needle-shaped β-AlFeSi, leading to an improved mechanical properties of LM24 alloy processed by MC-HPDC process. The promotion of the formation of α -Al(Fe, Mn)Si phase is resulted from the enhanced nucleation on the well dispersed MgAl 2O 4 particles in the melt. The Fe tolerance of LM24 alloy can be effectively improved by combining Mn alloying and intensive melt shearing

Neurobiological Changes of Schizotypy: Evidence From Both Volume-Based Morphometric Analysis and Resting-State Functional Connectivity

The current study sought to examine the underlying brain changes in individuals with high schizotypy by integrating networks derived from brain structural and functional imaging. Individuals with high schizotypy (n = 35) and low schizotypy (n = 34) controls were screened using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire and underwent brain structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging on a 3T scanner. Voxel-based morphometric analysis and graph theory-based functional network analysis were conducted. Individuals with high schizotypy showed reduced gray matter (GM) density in the insula and the dorsolateral prefrontal gyrus. The graph theoretical analysis showed that individuals with high schizotypy showed similar global properties in their functional networks as low schizotypy individuals. Several hubs of the functional network were identified in both groups, including the insula, the lingual gyrus, the postcentral gyrus, and the rolandic operculum. More hubs in the frontal lobe and fewer hubs in the occipital lobe were identified in individuals with high schizotypy. By comparing the functional connectivity between clusters with abnormal GM density and the whole brain, individuals with high schizotypy showed weaker functional connectivity between the left insula and the putamen, but stronger connectivity between the cerebellum and the medial frontal gyrus. Taken together, our findings suggest that individuals with high schizotypy present changes in terms of GM and resting-state functional connectivity, especially in the frontal lobe

Evaluation of a rapid test for detection of H5N1 avian influenza virus

The performance of H5 Dot ELISA, a rapid test for detection of avian H5N1 influenza virus, was evaluated using 30 H5N1 strains belonging to 10 major genetic groups of H5N1 influenza virus, 14 strains of non-H5N1 influenza virus and 652 field samples collected from healthy and diseased chickens from markets and poultry farms. The detection limit of the test for all 30 strains of H5N1 virus was ≤0.1 hemagglutinin (HA) units and the test yielded a negative result when tested against 100 HA units of the non-H5N1 viruses. The test gave a positive result for 87 of the 106 poultry samples from which H5N1 virus was isolated by culture and 3 of 546 culture-negative poultry samples. Compared with virus culture, the overall prediction rate of the test was determined to be 96.6%; the positive prediction rate was 96.7% and negative prediction rate, 96.6%. The false positive rate was 0.5% and false negative rate 17.9%. Considering that the test is also convenient to use, it was concluded that H5 Dot ELISA is suitable for field use in the investigation of H5N1 influenza outbreaks and surveillance in poultry. Crown Copyright © 2008.postprin

Multi-Receiver Quantum Dense Coding with Non-Symmetric Quantum Channel

A two-receiver quantum dense coding scheme and an $N$-receiver quantum dense coding scheme, in the case of non-symmetric Hilbert spaces of the particles of the quantum channel, are investigated in this paper. A sender can send his messages to many receivers simultaneously. The scheme can be applied to quantum secret sharing and controlled quantum dense coding.Comment: To appear in Journal of the Korean Physical Societ

Revealing inherent quantum interference and entanglement of a Dirac Fermion

The Dirac equation is critical to understanding the universe, and plays an important role in technological advancements. Compared to the stationary solution, the dynamical evolution under the Dirac Hamiltonian is less understood, exemplified by Zitterbewegung. Although originally predicted in relativistic quantum mechanics, Zitterbewegung can also appear in some classical systems, which leads to the important question of whether Zitterbewegung of Dirac Fermions is underlain by a more fundamental and universal interference behavior without classical analogs. We here reveal such an interference pattern in phase space, which underlies but goes beyond Zitterbewegung, and whose nonclassicality is manifested by the negativity of the phase-space quasiprobability distribution, and the associated pseudospin-momentum entanglement. We confirm this discovery by numerical simulation and an on-chip experiment, where a superconducting qubit and a quantized microwave field respectively emulate the internal and external degrees of freedom of a Dirac particle. The measured quasiprobability negativities well agree with the numerical simulation. Besides being of fundamental importance, the demonstrated nonclassical effects are useful in quantum technology.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figure

Creación, re significación y uso de recursos simbólicos y discursivos durante el gobierno de Evo Morales (2006-2019)

Trabajo de conclusión de curso presentado al Instituto Latinoamericano de Economía, Sociedad y Política de la Universidad Federal de Integración Latino Americana, como requisito parcial para acceder a la Licenciatura en Relaciones Internacionales e Integración Orientador: Prof. Dra. Paula Daniela FernandezDurante los trece años de gobierno de Evo Morales (2006-2019) junto a su partido el Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), se observan grandes contradicciones entre su discurso político de orden indigenista y sus prácticas políticas, algunas que se remiten a formas políticas de gobiernos tradicionales y de corte occidental. En este sentido se pueden apreciar sus herramientas simbólicas y discursivas, que por un lado toman la imagen de Morales como el único camino posible para el “proceso de cambio”, y otros que resignifican elementos del mundo indígena para ser incorporados al ideario del MAS. De este modo el objetivo de este trabajo es describir y analizar los recursos simbólicos y discursivos utilizados por el gobierno de Evo Morales y el MAS en el periodo 2006- 2019 a fin de legitimarse y consolidarse en el poder.Durante os treze anos de governo de Evo Morales (2006-2019) com seu partido, o Movimento ao Socialismo (MAS), existem grandes contradições entre seu discurso político de uma ordem indigenista e suas práticas políticas, algumas que se referem a formas políticas de governos tradicionais e ocidentais. Nesse sentido, podem ser apreciadas suas ferramentas simbólicas e discursivas, que por um lado tomam a imagem de Morales como o único caminho possível para o “processo de mudança” e outras que ressignificam elementos do mundo indígena a serem incorporados à ideologia do MAS. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é descrever e analisar os recursos simbólicos e discursivos utilizados pelo governo de Evo Morales e pelo MAS no período 2006-2019 para legitimar e consolidar no poder