MODIS-Derived Estimation of Soil Respiration within Five Cold Temperate Coniferous Forest Sites in the Eastern Loess Plateau, China

Soil respiration (Rs) is seldom analyzed using remotely sensed data because satellite technology has difficulty monitoring various respiratory processes in the soil. We investigated the potential of remote sensing data products to estimate Rs, including land surface temperature (LST) and spectral vegetation indices from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), using a nine-year (2007–2015) field measurement dataset of Rs and soil temperature (Ts) at five forest sites at the eastern Loess Plateau, China. The results indicate that soil temperature is the primary factor influencing the seasonal variation of Rs at the five sites. The accuracy of the model based on the observed data is not significantly different from the model based on MODIS-derived nighttime LST values. There was a significant difference with the model based on MODIS-derived daytime LST values. Therefore, nighttime LST was the optimum LST for estimation of Rs. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) consistently exhibited a stronger correlation with Rs when compared to the green edge chlorophyll index and enhanced vegetation index. Further analysis showed that adding the NDVI into the model considering only Ts or nighttime LST could significantly improve the simulation accuracy of Rs. The models depending on nighttime LST and NDVI showed comparable accuracy with the models based on the in situ Ts and NDVI. These results suggest that models based entirely on remote sensing data from MODIS have the potential to estimate Rs at the cold temperate coniferous forest sites. The performance of the model in other vegetation types or regions has also been proved. Our conclusions further confirmed that it is feasible for large-scale estimates of Rs by means of MODIS data in temperate coniferous forest ecosystems

Oil Content and Nervonic Acid Content of Acer truncatum Seeds from 14 Regions in China

Acer truncatum is considered a promising species as a raw material to produce nervonic acid (NA). The goal of this study was to explore the variation of oil content and nervonic acid content of 138 accessions native to 14 regions in China as well as provide guidance for establishing plantations and improving the production of nervonic acid. A large range of variation was found in oil content, nervonic acid per gram of oil, and nervonic acid per gram of seed (17.81%–36.56%, 3.90%–7.85%, and 0.84%–2.31%, respectively). Accessions YS-6, ABZ-6 and DQTL-8 were found as the most promising potential oil sources; PQ-2 was considered the optimal germplasm, and JY-6, NJ-8, LF-6, and CC-8 were found as promising potential sources for producing NA. A very significant difference (P < 0.01) among 14 regions was observed. DQTL and YS regions are considered the optimal farming regions for crops with high oil content, while the CC and PQ regions are regarded as the most suitable regions for nervonic acid production. A geographical trend from South to North was observed in which amount of seed oil increased but no such trend in nervonic acid content was observed. The data collected in the study on oil content and nervonic acid in accessions of A. truncatum in various regions can be utilized for establishing plantations of promising genotypes through clonal means. : Acer truncatum, Seed oil content, Nervonic acid, Variatio

Recent Advances in Multi-Phase Electric Drives Model Predictive Control in Renewable Energy Application: A State-of-the-Art Review

Model predictive control (MPC) technology for multi-phase electric drives has received increasing attention in modern industries, especially in electric vehicles, marine electrical propulsion, and wind power generation. However, MPC has several challenges in controlling multi-phase electric drives, including the design of weighting factors, high computational complexity, large harmonic currents, heavy reliance on the system model, fault-tolerant control operation, common-mode voltage, and zero-sequence current hazards. Therefore, this paper gives a comprehensive review of the latest and most effective solutions to the existing major technical challenges and prospects for the future trends of MPC for multi-phase electric drives

Recent Advances in Multi-Phase Electric Drives Model Predictive Control in Renewable Energy Application: A State-of-the-Art Review

Model predictive control (MPC) technology for multi-phase electric drives has received increasing attention in modern industries, especially in electric vehicles, marine electrical propulsion, and wind power generation. However, MPC has several challenges in controlling multi-phase electric drives, including the design of weighting factors, high computational complexity, large harmonic currents, heavy reliance on the system model, fault-tolerant control operation, common-mode voltage, and zero-sequence current hazards. Therefore, this paper gives a comprehensive review of the latest and most effective solutions to the existing major technical challenges and prospects for the future trends of MPC for multi-phase electric drives

Content and Dietary Exposure Assessment of Toxic Elements in Infant Formulas from the Chinese Market

In this study, the content of chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in domestic and imported infant formulas from Beijing, China were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The content of Cr, As, Cd and Pb was 2.51&ndash;83.80, 0.89&ndash;7.87, 0.13&ndash;3.58 and 0.36&ndash;5.57 &mu;g/kg, respectively. Even though there were no significant differences in toxic elements content between domestic and imported infant formulas, Cd content was slightly lower in domestic samples. The estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) were calculated for infants between 0.5 and 5 y of age. The EDIs were lower than the oral reference doses. THQ of As, Cr, Cd and Pb was 0.027&ndash;0.103, 0.024&ndash;0.093, 0.0025&ndash;0.0090 and 0.0015&ndash;0.0046, respectively. HI values were 0.055&ndash;0.192 for boys and 0.056&ndash;0.209 for girls and were inversely associated with age with a threshold &lt; 1. The non-carcinogenic risk value were in the safe range, indicating that exposure of As, Pb, Cr and Cd from infant formulas do not represent a health risk in China

Feeding Value Assessment of Substituting Cassava (Manihot esculenta) Residue for Concentrate of Dairy Cows Using an In Vitro Gas Test

The feeding value of replacing concentrate with cassava (Manihot esculenta) residue in the feed of Holstein cows was confirmed using an in vitro gas test. The treatments consisted of 0% (control, CON), 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30% inclusion of cassava residue in fermentation culture medium composed of buffer solution (50 mL) and filtrated rumen fluid (25 mL). The parameters analyzed included the kinetics of gas production and fermentation indexes. Forty-eight hours later, there were no significant differences on in vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD), pH, and microbial crude protein (MCP) content among treatments (p &gt; 0.05). However, the &ldquo;cumulative gas production at 48 h&rdquo; (GP48), the &ldquo;asymptotic gas production&rdquo; (A), and the &ldquo;maximum gas production rate&rdquo; (RmaxG) all increased linearly or quadratically (p &lt; 0.01). The GP48 was significantly higher in the 25% treatment compared to the other treatments, except for the 30% (p &lt; 0.01). The A was significantly larger in the 25% treatment compared to the other treatments, except for the 20% and 30% (p &lt; 0.01). The RmaxG was distinctly larger in the 25% treatment compared to other treatments (p &lt; 0.01); moreover, the &ldquo;time at which RmaxG is reached&rdquo; (TRmaxG) and the &ldquo;time at which the maximum rate of substrate degradation is reached&rdquo; (TRmaxS) were significantly higher in the 25% treatment than the CON, 20%, and 30% treatments (p &lt; 0.01). Additionally, the content of ammonia-N (NH3-N) in all treatments showed linearly and quadratically decreases (p &lt; 0.01), whereas total volatile fatty acid (VFA), iso-butyrate, butyrate, and iso-valerate contents changed quadratically (p = 0.02, p = 0.05, p = 0.01, and p = 0.02, respectively); all of these values peaked in the 25% treatment. In summary, the 25% treatment was associated with more in vitro gas and VFA production, indicating that this cassava residue inclusion level may be used to replace concentrate in the feed of Holstein cows. However, these results need to be verified in vivo