A new and simple water retention model for root-permeated soils

Vegetation can affect soil hydrology not only through evapotranspiration but also through changes in soil water retention curve (SWRC). Models that are able to predict root-induced change in SWRC are limited. Such models often contain many empirical parameters that are not easy to be obtained and calibrated. This letter proposes a new and simple model with only one root parameter, namely root volume ratio Rv, needed for predicting the SWRC of a root-permeated soil. The new model considers void ratio change through volume reduction of air void of soil due to the presence of roots. The modified void ratio of a root-permeated soil is then fed into a void-ratio-dependent SWRC model to predict any resultant change in SWRC. The performance of this new model is validated against three case studies. Good agreement between measurements and predictions is obtained, with discrepancies of degree of saturation &lt;13% for a given suction. </jats:p

Reversible Embedding to Covers Full of Boundaries

In reversible data embedding, to avoid overflow and underflow problem, before data embedding, boundary pixels are recorded as side information, which may be losslessly compressed. The existing algorithms often assume that a natural image has little boundary pixels so that the size of side information is small. Accordingly, a relatively high pure payload could be achieved. However, there actually may exist a lot of boundary pixels in a natural image, implying that, the size of side information could be very large. Therefore, when to directly use the existing algorithms, the pure embedding capacity may be not sufficient. In order to address this problem, in this paper, we present a new and efficient framework to reversible data embedding in images that have lots of boundary pixels. The core idea is to losslessly preprocess boundary pixels so that it can significantly reduce the side information. Experimental results have shown the superiority and applicability of our work

Raman spectroscopy of epitaxial graphene on a SiC substrate

The fabrication of epitaxial graphene (EG) on SiC substrate by annealing has attracted a lot of interest as it may speed up the application of graphene for future electronic devices. The interaction of EG and the SiC substrate is critical to its electronic and physical properties. In this work, Raman spectroscopy was used to study the structure of EG and its interaction with SiC substrate. All the Raman bands of EG blue shift from that of bulk graphite and graphene made by micromechanical cleavage, which was attributed to the compressive strain induced by the substrate. A model containing 13 x 13 honeycomb lattice cells of graphene on carbon nanomesh was constructed to explain the origin of strain. The lattice mismatch between graphene layer and substrate causes the compressive stress of 2.27 GPa on graphene. We also demonstrate that the electronic structures of EG grown on Si and C terminated SiC substrates are quite different. Our experimental results shed light on the interaction between graphene and SiC substrate that are critical to the future applications of EG.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Graph Distillation for Action Detection with Privileged Modalities

We propose a technique that tackles action detection in multimodal videos under a realistic and challenging condition in which only limited training data and partially observed modalities are available. Common methods in transfer learning do not take advantage of the extra modalities potentially available in the source domain. On the other hand, previous work on multimodal learning only focuses on a single domain or task and does not handle the modality discrepancy between training and testing. In this work, we propose a method termed graph distillation that incorporates rich privileged information from a large-scale multimodal dataset in the source domain, and improves the learning in the target domain where training data and modalities are scarce. We evaluate our approach on action classification and detection tasks in multimodal videos, and show that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art by a large margin on the NTU RGB+D and PKU-MMD benchmarks. The code is released at http://alan.vision/eccv18_graph/.Comment: ECCV 201

System Framework for Digital Monitoring of the Construction of Asphalt Concrete Pavement Based on IoT, BeiDou Navigation System, and 5G Technology

In the construction of asphalt pavement, poor quality is often the main reason for damage to the pavement, which necessitates the use of monitoring systems during the construction stage. Therefore, this study focuses on building an asphalt concrete pavement construction monitoring system to monitor the construction phase. Through a literature review and semi-structured interviews with industry experts, this paper provides an in-depth understanding of the goals and obstacles of asphalt pavement monitoring and discusses directions for improvement. Subsequently, based on the analysis of the interview results, a system framework for asphalt concrete pavement construction monitoring was constructed, and the system was successfully developed and applied to a highway construction project. The results show that the monitoring system significantly improves the construction quality of asphalt concrete pavement, improves the intelligent level of pavement construction management, and promotes the digital development of highway construction

Cloning and characterization of small RNAs from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Trabalho final do 6º ano médico com vista à atribuição do grau de mestre (área científica de gastroenterologia), apresentado à Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de CoimbraIntrodução: A endoscopia digestiva tem sido fundamental para o diagnóstico e tratamento de muitas patologias do foro gastrenterológico. Contudo, todos os procedimentos endoscópicos acarretam algumas complicações. Estas são bastante baixas com a endoscopia diagnóstica, aumentando com a endoscopia terapêutica. Esta revisão apresenta uma introdução à incidência e prevenção das complicações que podem ocorrer após a endoscopia digestiva alta, colonoscopia e colangiopancreatografia endoscópica retrógrada. Métodos: A pesquisa bibliográfica foi efectuada através da b-on (pubmed, medline, …) utilizando as palavras-chave: complicações da endoscopia digestiva alta, complicações da colonoscopia, complicações da colangiopancreatografia retrógrada endoscópica. Resultados: As complicações pré-procedimento incluem as resultantes da sedação, da anestesia tópica e da preparação intestinal. As principais complicações processuais consistem, principalmente, em perfuração e hemorragia. Há também um risco de transmissão de doenças infecciosas de e para o paciente. Conclusões: A endoscopia, como todos os procedimentos invasivos, traz significativos riscos potenciais para o paciente. Contudo, endoscopistas experientes e sensibilizados para as potenciais complicações, utilizando material apropriado, nas devidas condições de utilização e instalações físicas adequadas, podem evitar e tratar atempadamente as complicações resultantes da endoscopia.Background: Endoscopy has been critical to the diagnosis and treatment of many gastroenterologic pathologies. However, all endoscopic procedures entail some complications. These are very low with diagnostic endoscopy, increasing with the therapeutic endoscopy. This review presents an introduction to the incidence and prevention of complications that may occur after upper endoscopy, colonoscopy and ERCP. Methods: The literature search was carried out by b-on (pubmed, medline,…) using the keywords: complications of endoscopy, complications of colonoscopy and complications of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Results: The pre-procedure complications include those arising from sedation, topical anesthesia and bowel preparation. The major procedural complications consist mainly of perforation and hemorrhage. There is also a risk of transmission of infectious diseases to and for the patient. Conclusions: Endoscopy, like all invasive procedures, carries significant potential risks to the patient. However, endoscopists experienced and aware of potential complications, using appropriate material, under appropriate conditions of use and adequate physical facilities, can prevent and treat complications in a timely manner